Stay humble.

Champions Cup semis kick off

The battle for continental soccer glory continues tonight, as the Portland Thorns and Gotham FC land in Mexico for this year’s Concacaf W Champions Cup semifinals.

• After advancing past last fall’s group-stage play, both NWSL sides now face Liga MX standouts in the knockout rounds with a ticket to Saturday’s Champions Cup Final on the line.

The action: The back-to-back semis will take place tonight in Nuevo León, Mexico, with live coverage streaming on Paramount+.

• Club América vs. Gotham FC, 7:30 PM ET: Both the Bats and this year’s Liga MX regular season champions are looking to bounce back, as Gotham attempts to shake off a recent NWSL skid while América seeks redemption after crashing out of their season-ending league tournament earlier this month.

• Tigres UANL vs. Portland Thorns, 10:30 PM ET: The three-time NWSL champs meet their match in the six-time Liga MX title-winners, with the Thorns coming off a five-match undefeated streak and the Tigres shooting to impress in front of their home crowd at Estadio Universitario.

Big picture: In addition to lifting the inaugural trophy, Saturday’s champions earn automatic entry into FIFA's 2026 Champions Cup — a six-team tournament between confederation winners — and the first-ever Club World Cup, set for 2028.

NCAA softball storms into Super Regionals

After a first-round of pitcher’s duels and red-hot bats, the 2025 NCAA softball tournament’s best-of-three Super Regionals field is set — and it's missing four of the 16 national seeds.

• No. 10 LSU fell first with Saturday’s upset loss to unseeded SE Louisiana, before Sunday saw No. 13 Arizona and No. 14 Duke follow suit while unseeded Liberty, Ole Miss, Georgia, and Nebraska all punched second-round tickets.

• No. 16 Oregon, No. 15 Alabama, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 11 Clemson, No. 9 UCLA, No. 8 South Carolina, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 6 Texas, No. 5 FSU, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 3 Florida, No. 2 Oklahoma, fill out the rest of the 16-team field.

Storylines to watch: The remaining teams will now battle for eight Women’s College World Series berths, with several matchups promising to pack a punch.

• Alabama vs. Oklahoma, Friday at 5 PM ET (ESPN2): After four-time defending champs Oklahoma bounced Alabama from the 2019 WCWS semifinals — the last time the pair squared off before becoming SEC rivals — the Tide got their revenge by narrowly beating the Sooners in April’s conference play, teeing up a tense weekend series.

•  Liberty vs. Oregon, Friday at 10 PM ET (ESPNU): Liberty eliminated overall No. 1 seed Texas A&M to book a program-first trip to the Supers while forcing the earliest-ever exit for an NCAA top-seed. Should they beat No. 16 Oregon this weekend, the Flames will become just the second mid-major team to make the WCWS since 2014.

• Nebraska vs. Tennessee, Friday at 7 PM (ESPN2): In their first Super Regionals in 11 years, unseeded Nebraska will face perennial contender Tennessee, with the Huskers riding in on the back of pitcher Jordy Bahl after the Oklahoma transfer threw 12 innings and hit four home runs in the Regional round.

Bottom line: Powerhouses might still rule the diamond but parity has never been higher, with this year’s NCAA tournament already delivering whiplash results.

Tune in: The NCAA softball Super Regionals kick off at 7 PM ET on Thursday with No. 12 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Florida State, live on ESPN2.

PWHL details 2025/26 expansion plan

With the 2025 PWHL Finals in full swing and new franchises on the horizon, the league rolled out a detailed expansion team-building plan on Monday.

• The process will see 24 current players eligible to compete in 2025/26 — four from each of the six founding teams — join either Vancouver or Seattle next month. 

• Each original team can protect three athletes at the outset, with teams reserving the right to protect one additional player should the incoming clubs select two players off the same roster.

How it works: In the lead-up to June 9th’s expansion draft, Vancouver and Seattle will have five days to sign up to five players each.

• After the window closes, the expansion draft will boost each new squad’s lineup to 12, before all teams have a chance to finalize their 23-player rosters via the league’s June 24th entry draft.

Bottom line: With such a broad unprotected player pool, about half of the PWHL’s current athletes — including its brightest stars — will be up for grabs, ensuring a very different landscape when the league takes the ice for its third season.

Shopping. Streaming. Live Sports. It’s on Prime. 

WNBA weekend smashes records

The numbers are in, with Saturday’s season tip-off doubleheader ranking as ESPN’s most-watched WNBA opening weekend on record — up some 115% over last year's regular-season coverage. 

• Starting at 1 PM ET, the Aces squared off against the Liberty in front of an average of 1.3 million viewers, before a heated battle between the Fever and the Sky averaged 2.7 million on ABC.

• Pre-game show WNBA Countdown also performed well, bringing in 804,000 viewers and seeing a 26% increase over last year's regular-season numbers.

Caitlin Clark in full effect: The lineup’s closing matchup between Indiana and Chicago made even more history, peaking at 3.1 million viewers to become the most-watched regular-season WNBA game in 25 years.

• The Midwest rivals also tallied the second-largest audience in league history, surpassed only by the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game's 3.44 million viewers.

Knight hangs up her skates

Team USA hockey titan Hilary Knight is hanging up her international skates, the record-10-time world champion announcing Tuesday that the 2026 Winter Games will be her fifth and final Olympic run.

• Making her national team debut at 17, the now-35-year-old is one of the sport’s most decorated athletes, winning Olympic gold in 2018 to complement three silver medals in 2010, 2014, and 2022.

• Just last month, Knight led the US to victory at the IIHF World Women's Championship, and will retire as the tournament’s all-time leader in goals (67), points (120), and assists (50).

Keeping her day job: Knight currently captains the PWHL’s Boston Fleet, telling USA Today that she plans to continue playing for the second-year league she helped bring to life in 2023.

• “I understood what the sport gave me and I wanted to give that to other people,” Knight said. “Obviously there's tons of work that always needs to be done, but I think we now have a career path.”

Number of the day 

25-10

Fever star Caitlin Clark had 27 points and 11 assists in Tuesday’s loss to the Dream, passing Sabrina Ionescu for the most 25-point, 10-assist games in WNBA history.