The GIST of It

The iciest, spiciest rivalry. Today, we’re doing what we do best at The GIST: discuss perhaps the best rivalry in all of sports — Team Canada vs. Team USA women’s hockey. With the group stage of the Olympic women’s tourney almost wrapped, today’s 2:10 p.m. ET showdown is shaping up to be a gold medal match preview. Let’s skate to it. Show notes: Find Play You For It whenever books are sold More on...

The Games are almost here! It’s the pod you’ve all been waiting for: It’s time to preview the major storylines ahead of the Milano Cortina Olympics. The Opening Ceremony is tomorrow, and a few events are already underway in Italy. We could chat for hours about all the great athletes competing in this year’s Games, but for our purposes, we’ll focus on a few major storylines in this episode, includi...

Glowing up for the Big Game! For the first time since 2003, the two teams vying for a Super Bowl title — the AFC’s New England Patriots and the NFC’s Seattle Seahawks — missed the playoffs the season before. And on today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Steph Rotz and Lauren Tuiskula are breaking down the transformation. From the Pats’ locker room yap sessions that built a brotherhood to the...

When was your last doctor’s appointment? Women’s basketball star Erica Wheeler understands how hard it is for women to carve out time for themselves — and that’s why she’s speaking out. More than 13K American women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year, but early detection can save lives. With January, aka Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, coming to a close, Wheeler is spreading the word ab...

It’s tough to talk sports during times like these.  After the tragedy that occurred in Minneapolis, Minnesota, over the weekend, today’s episode of The GIST of It is a brief history of recent athlete activism, inspired by hoops star Breanna Stewart, who held up an “ABOLISH ICE” sign before Sunday’s Unrivaled game. Let’s reflect.  Show notes: Shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis has put America’s...

Work, cover girl.  Tennis star Naomi Osaka is making good on her April 2025 promise to treat every Grand Slam like the Met Gala , walking into her first-round match at the Australian Open in full custom couture on Tuesday. A four-time Slam winner, Osaka is generating a lot of conversation — both supportive and critical — with her look, which is why this episode of The GIST of It is about how fashi...

Hut, hut! There’s nothing quite like playoff football. On this episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz preview this weekend’s NFL Divisional Round slate, aka the postseason’s quarter-finals. There are four games gracing our screens this weekend — two on Saturday and two on Sunday — and in today’s episode, we’re breaking down every single one. Talk about a touchdown. Show no...

Axels, and lutzes, and salchows, oh my. Still picking your jaw up off the floor after last weekend’s national figure skating championships? Same. That’s why today’s episode of The GIST of It is a twizzling, axel-filled ode to the newly-named figure skating Olympians representing the USA and Canada at the Milano Cortina Games next month. Tune in to hear co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz wax poet...

It’s a love story, baby. Just like everyone on the Internet, today we’re talking about “Heated Rivalry.” However, considering Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams haven’t answered our DMs yet, we’re going in a different direction. On today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz detail the real-life “Heated Rivalry” love story from the women’s hockey world — because before...

The college sports landscape is a wonky place. And that’s an understatement. Between NIL rules, the transfer portal, and constantly changing eligibility requirements, it’s tough to keep up with what is and isn’t allowed. That’s why we’re taking today’s episode of The GIST of It to directly compare two college athletes: Baylor men’s basketball center James Nnaji and Augsburg University runner Moham...

Happy New Year! And welcome back to our exciting new series, She’s Not Next She’s Now. We’ll dig into eight different new and emerging women’s sports, discussing the history of how we got here, the current state of the game, and what comes next. And it’s not just co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Lauren Tuiskula driving the conversation; we’ll also be chatting with the executives, players, and fans who ma...

There’s no crying in baseball! Welcome to our exciting new series, She’s Not Next She’s Now. We’ll dig into eight different new and emerging women’s sports, discussing the history of how we got here, the current state of the game, and what comes next. And it’s not just co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Lauren Tuiskula driving the conversation; we’ll also be chatting with the executives, players, and fans...

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Is that “Auld Lang Syne” we hear? Must be, because it’s time for our favorite annual tradition: our Year-in-Review pod. On today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz share their favorite 2025 sports moments, from the Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series run to the heated rivalry before Heated Rivalry: The Four Nations tourney. Tune in and prepare to be nostalgic.  Show note...

Let’s ruck and roll! Welcome to our exciting new series, She’s Not Next She’s Now. We’ll dig into eight different new and emerging women’s sports, discussing the history of how we got here, the current state of the game, and what comes next. And it’s not just co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Lauren Tuiskula driving the conversation; we’ll also be chatting with the executives, players, and fans who make t...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. And not just because of the holidays. Between the final few weeks of a thrilling NFL season and the College Football Playoff, there’s no shortage of gridiron action to take in. That’s why on today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz are tossing the perfect spiral: a College Football Playoff special, breaking down the 12-team f...

’Twas a dark NFL Sunday. Two major injuries rattled the league in Week 15. First, superstar Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL in the final two minutes of his team’s loss to the LA Chargers. But that wasn’t all: hours later, Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Micah Parsons went down with a non-contact knee injury that was later confirmed to be an ACL tear. Today’s episode...

Batter up! Welcome to our exciting new series, She’s Not Next She’s Now. We’ll dig into eight different new and emerging women’s sports, discussing the history of how we got here, the current state of the game, and what comes next. And it’s not just co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Lauren Tuiskula driving the conversation; we’ll also be chatting with the executives, players, and fans who make these leagu...

Is it hot in here? Or is it just “Heated Rivalry,” the steamy gay romance hockey drama sweeping North America? On Tuesday, the NHL showed a trailer of the popular show at the Montreal Canadiens Pride Night, a viral moment that has everyone talking. On today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz contextualize the moment in the grand scheme of hockey culture, which is not...

Pass the thermometer. It’s time for a temperature check. Today’s episode of The GIST of It is a tale of three AFC teams — the Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts, and Kansas City Chiefs — who have traveled very different paths this season. With just four weeks left in the regular season, the playoff picture is starting to come into focus, and who’s in and who’s on the brink just might shock you. Sho...

Let’s kick it! Welcome to our exciting new series, She’s Not Next She’s Now. We’ll dig into eight different new and emerging women’s sports, discussing the history of how we got here, the current state of the game, and what comes next. And it’s not just co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Lauren Tuiskula driving the conversation; we’ll also be chatting with the executives, players, and fans who make these l...

Vroom, vroom. The 2025 Formula 1 season is coming down to the wire: After an uncharacteristically slow start, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has stormed back and is threatening to derail McLaren’s World Drivers’ Championship dreams. Is Verstappen’s stunning season the best comeback in F1 history — and would a fifth straight title make him the racing world’s GOAT? Co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz de...

A moment for the champions. Gotham FC star Jaedyn Shaw is in the house, and she has stories to share. On today’s episode of The GIST of It, Shaw sits down with The GIST’s Associate Managing Editor Lauren Tuiskula to spill the tea on Gotham’s NWSL Championship celebrations, plus tell us what it’s really like to score a game-winning goal. She shoots, she literally scores. Thanks to Fan Duel for supp...

Serve’s up! Welcome to our exciting new series, She’s Not Next She’s Now. We’ll dig into eight different new and emerging women’s sports, discussing the history of how we got here, the current state of the game, and what comes next. And it’s not just co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Lauren Tuiskula driving the conversation; we’ll also be chatting with the executives, players, and fans who make these leag...

Gobble, gobble.  It’s Turkey Day in the U-S of A, and that means one thing: It’s time for some football. Ahead of today’s three-g+ame feast, we invited football analyst Kay Adams to The GIST of It to share her predictions and tease her appearance in the EA Sports Madden NFL Cast during tonight’s primetime game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. Hut hut, here comes the pigskin.  S...