No Bull With Raging Robert.
Players should NOT live in fear of the league collapsing because we ask for the basic rights of mental and physical safety. We must rebuild and move toward a better future for the players, the fans and the young girls who aspire to play in the NWSL one day.
— Chicago Red Stars defender Kayla Sharples, poignantly responding to calls to “burn it all down” in the wake of the ongoing scandals rocking the NWSL. Preach, Kayla.
SOURCE: NWSL/GIPHY
⚾️ MLB Playoffs: Off to the races
SOURCE: ASTROS/TWITTER
The GIST: In the blink of an eye, the four Divisional Series are already underway. And people say baseball’s too slow?
The matchups: In the American League (AL), it’s the Houston Astros vs. the Chicago White Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays vs. the Wild Card–winning Boston Red Sox.
- Over in the National League (NL), the Atlanta Braves are taking on the Milwaukee Brewers while the LA Dodgers — fresh off Wednesday’s thrilling walk-off Wild Card win — will face the San Francisco Giants.
AL update: Behind 6 scoreless innings from starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr., the Astros jumped out to an early series lead with yesterday’s 6–1 win over the White Sox. Star Chicago pitcher Lucas Giolito will look to take out the trash even things up in Game 2 today at 2:07 p.m. ET.
- In Game 1 of the other ALDS, the Rays shut out the Red Sox. Outfielder Randy Arozarena hit a solo home run in the fifth inning and then stole home (!!!) in the seventh to lift Tampa Bay to a 1–0 series lead. First pitch of Game 2 is today at 7:02 p.m. ET.
NL preview: The first NLDS begins today at 4:37 p.m. ET when the Braves take on the Brewers. With NL CY Young candidate Corbin Burnes of the Brewers and Braves ace Charlie Morton set to take the mound, we’re in for an elite pitching battle. Spoiled.
- The NLDS Dodgers vs. Giants (two teams with over 100 wins on the season!) nightcap starts at 9:37 p.m. ET. The high-powered Giants offense will look to crack things open vs. Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler. California, here they come.
🏀 WNBA: Do or die
SOURCE: LAS VEGAS ACES/TWITTER
The GIST: The Chicago Sky are moving on to the WNBA Finals…but who will join them?
Game 5: Tonight’s matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury is for all the marbles. The №5 Mercury led the series 2–1 going into Game 4, but the №2 Aces showed total dominance, winning 93–76. Guard Chelsea Gray had 22 points as one of four Aces players who scored in the double digits.
- Given the back-and-forth nature of this series, tonight’s game is impossible to predict, but there is one key factor missing: starting Mercury guard Kia Nurse won’t play after suffering a knee injury in Game 4.
- Watch this one on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET. Not not stressing.
The Finals: With the №6 Sky as the lowest ranked team still in the postseason, whoever wins tonight will host the first two games of the Finals, set to begin Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
- Game 2 is scheduled for October 13th, and the rest of the best-of-five series will happen every other day after that. Yes, your calendar is booked.
#FANTASYFOOTBALL
🤗 Come one, come all
SOURCE: FANDUEL
The GIST: Tired of never being invited to play fantasy football? Same. That’s why we partnered with FanDuel for a GIST-exclusive weekly NFL contest. Everyone’s welcome here!
How to play: Click here to sign up. If you’re a new user, remember to return to fanduel.com/gist after paying the $2 entry fee. From there, you’ll be allotted $60K in fantasy money to choose eight players and a defense.
- Our player to watch this week? Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who threw four (!!!) touchdowns last week. Dak and better than ever.
What’s on the line: Oh, just over $300 in cash prizes each week. Plus, there’s up to $5,000 on the line with our season-long leaderboard contest, where your top 10 weekly scores will be entered.
- So whether you’re a fantasy football vet or new to the game, this contest is for you. Click here to play — we want you to join our community. We got this.
TOGETHER WITH
🏈 Football quick hits: Who’s hungry?
SOURCE: LINDSEY WASSON/GETTY IMAGES
NFL: The LA Rams kicked NFL Week 5 off with a bang, defeating the Seattle Seahawks 26–17 on Thursday Night Football. After a slow start, the Rams scored two touchdowns in the third quarter en route to the win. As for Seattle, quarterback (QB) Russell Wilson left the game with a finger injury, adding insult to…injury.
College football: Another week, another packed slate of key matchups. Kicking things off tomorrow at 12 p.m. ET is the “Red River Showdown,” which features №21 Texas vs. №6 Oklahoma. Oklahoma has won the last three matchups, and they look poised to make it four with Heisman Trophy candidate QB Spencer Rattler leading the way.
- Then at 4 p.m. ET, two unbeaten teams — №4 Penn State and №3 Iowa — go head-to-head. Someone has to lose, and these teams are so evenly matched that we’re not sure who it’ll be. A must-watch.
- Hungry for more? Feast your eyes on the inaugural BBQ Bowl, where the losing team must serve their opponent a postgame barbecue meal. Order up!
📺 Weekend watching
SOURCE: HOWARD SMITH/ISI PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES
⚽️NWSL: Orlando Pride vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC — Saturday at 7 p.m. ET
- These teams are separated by just two points, which is the difference between Orlando’s sixth place playoff position and Gotham’s non-playoff eighth place. Watch it on Twitch.
⚽️Men’s soccer: USMNT vs. Panama — Sunday at 6 p.m. ET
- The U.S. men’s national team is in the middle of their final set of World Cup Qualifiers. This one’s available on Paramount+.
THE GIST’S PICKS
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🇺🇸 WHAT TO CHECK OUT:
The first three members of the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey squad were announced yesterday: Toronto Maple Leaf Auston Matthews and Chicago’s Seth Jones and Patrick Kane (gross). The countdown to the 2022 Beijing Olympics is officially on, but it’s never too late to suspend Chicago general manager Stan Bowman…
🏒 WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
The PWHPA’s All-Star team will compete against various women’s national teams in the lead up to the 2022 Beijing Olympics. So much to do, so much to see.
🍴 WHAT TO COOK:
In honor of the NFL’s first London game of the season (NY Jets vs. Atlanta Falcons, Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET), treat yourself to a brunch of tea and crumpets. Jolly good!
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