Captains, pick your sides.

Can Racing Louisville make Decision Day history?

NWSL Decision Day is just around the corner, as the final regular-season weekend puts the last playoff slot — and perhaps a bit of history — on the line.

• With seven of the eight postseason berths secured, No. 8 Louisville can punch a first-ever playoff ticket with a win over No. 13 Bay FC on Sunday.

• But if Racing’s match ends in a tie, No. 9 North Carolina can sneak in with a multi-goal win — or if Louisville happens to lose, a simple outright win.

• “I think it’s an incredible position that we’re in,” Racing manager Bev Yanez said last week. “It’s a privilege to be in this position, and I think the reality is we still control our destiny, and that needs to be the focus for us.”

Striking gold: Louisville’s playoff hopes might rest on the blazing form of USWNT rising star Emma Sears, after the 24-year-old forward registered a hat trick against New Zealand in a full 90-minute performance on Wednesday.

• “She’s got an instinct inside the box and a desire to score goals that you can’t teach,” USWNT manager Emma Hayes said of Sears.

Tune in: Louisville takes on Bay FC on Sunday at 5 PM ET, live on NWSL+.

NWSL playoff seeding comes down to Decision Day

Most NWSL teams have something to play for this weekend, as Sunday’s Decision Day finale will determine crucial seeding going into the 2025 playoffs.

• No. 1 Kansas City and No. 2 Washington have already locked in home-field advantage, leaving every other team above the cutoff line to battle for seeding this weekend.

• No. 3 Orlando and No. 4 Seattle will face each other with the third seed on the line, while No. 5 San Diego, No. 6 Portland, and No. 7 Gotham could all contend for a home playoff match depending on the day’s full results. (See full scenarios)

One to watch: Gotham will take on No. 9 North Carolina in their regular-season closer, as the Courage push to leap above the playoff line while the Bats aim to avoid a difficult path forward.

• Whichever team clinches the No. 8 seed — realistically Gotham, Louisville, or North Carolina — will travel to Kansas City to take on the record-breaking Shield winners for next week’s quarterfinal.

Tune in: Kansas City and San Diego kick Decision Day off at 3 PM ET on Sunday on ESPN, before the rest of the weekend’s slate kicks off simultaneously at 5 PM ET.

ACFC captain Sarah Gorden disavows teammate’s controversial op-ed

Angel City’s Sarah Gorden and Angelina Anderson spoke out yesterday, opening their gameday press conference by addressing teammate Elizabeth Eddy’s recent New York Post op-ed urging the NWSL to adopt a “clear standard” for gender eligibility.

• “Questions and controversy abound over intersex and transgender athletes,” Eddy wrote, suggesting the league require players be “born with ovaries” or undergo genetic testing, with a photo of Orlando Pride and Zambia striker Barbra Banda — who faced fan harassment earlier this year — as the lead image.

• The article inspired backlash, with Angel City issuing a statement saying the op-ed “does not reflect the opinion of an entire organization,” and that the team “has remained committed to equity, inclusion, and belonging.”

• ACFC captain Gorden used stronger language, telling reporters, “I’ve had a lot of convos with my teammates in the last few days and they are hurt and they are harmed by the article… We don’t agree with the things written for a plethora of reasons but mostly the undertones come across as transphobic and racist.” (Watch full video)

Big picture: After quietly abandoning a 2021 policy, the NWSL hasn’t had official gender eligibility guidelines in over three years — though no current players identify as trans.

• “The league may have hoped its silence over this lack of policy would be taken as an openness to revisiting or reworking its approach, or at least neutrality when it comes to the inclusion of trans and intersex players,” wrote The Athletic’s Meg Linehan in response. “But the league and commissioner Jessica Berman’s silence have instead repeatedly invited harassment of current players — to whom such a policy would not apply in any case — especially Black and queer players.”

Bottom line: “Any matter of policy must be collectively bargained,” an NWSL Players Association spokesperson told The Athletic. “Any position the NWSLPA takes… is and will be the product of a thoughtful, deliberate process that engages all our members and the issues that are important to them.”

JWS is putting women’s sports in the hot seat, with an all new episode of Athlete Spotlight presented by Delta delivering an up close and personal look inside the lives of some of the sports world’s most exciting players — including 2024 NWSL champion Ally Watt.

• In the episode, Watt details her soccer journey, from growing up in Colorado and coming into her own at Texas A&M to winning her first NWSL title with the Orlando Pride and becoming 2026 expansion side Denver Summit FC’s first-ever player signing.

• “It’s just like a full-circle moment — I get to go back to my community because they are my first fans,” she says of returning to her home state. “If I end up ending my career in Colorado, I don’t think there’s any better place to do that… Little Ally never thought she would be playing back in Colorado.”

Tune in: Catch Athlete Spotlight: Ally Watt on YouTube.

Book your next adventure at delta.com

Unrivaled 3×3 leaves key names off season 2 roster

Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball’s season two roster is complete, with the offseason league announcing its final three players yesterday — and revealing some big names will not feature in January’s tip-off.

• Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu and Sky forward Angel Reese will not return for 2026, though Unrivaled executive VP and GM Clare Duwelius told The Athletic this week that they had “lots of conversations” with the duo.

• Lynx guard DiJonai Carrington has withdrawn from the competition with a mid-foot sprain suffered during September’s WNBA playoffs, with Unrivaled opting to backfill her slot.

Stocking up: The league rounded out their numbers with Sky guard Rebecca Allen, Fever guard Aari McDonald, and Storm center Dominique Malonga.

• Malonga joins the 3×3 upstart after abruptly terminating her contract with Turkish club Fenerbahçe, following a postseason wrist surgery.

• Ex-Storm boss Noelle Quinn will serve as one of Unrivaled’s eight coaches, alongside returning managers Nola Henry and Teresa Weatherspoon.

Stay tuned: Unrivaled returns to action on January 5th, with live coverage on TNT.

Candace Parker headlines 2026 Women’s Basketball HOF class

The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame is ushering in a new class, announcing a list of 2026 inductees this week spanning four players, two coaches, an ESPN contributor, and a posthumous veteran honoree.

• Three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker headlines the player lineup, joined by 2019 WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne, French standout Isabelle Fijalkowski, and three-time WNBA champion Amaya Valdemoro.

• Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, Kirkwood Community College head coach Kim Muhl, and former Clemson great Barbara Kennedy-Dixon also received nods, while ESPN analyst Doris Burke was honored for her decades-long coverage.

High praise: “We are honored to pay tribute to eight distinguished legends of this exceptional sport,” Hall of Fame president Dana Hart said in Friday’s release. “They exemplify the highest standards in women’s basketball and have made substantial contributions to the sport, along with shaping the game’s historical trajectory.”

Up next: The Class of 2026 will be formally inducted in a June 27th ceremony hosted at Knoxville’s Tennessee Theatre.

Number of the day 

30

The WNBA and WNBPA have agreed to a 30-day CBA extension, giving both parties until November 30th to reach a new deal.