Gotham's Sam Kerr steps up to the plate

You can take the girl out of Dallas, but Paige and DiJonai’s bond will never break.

Gotham chases NWSL record at Citi Field

Gotham FC is kicking off in Queens, as the reigning NWSL champion hosts rival Washington at MLB’s Citi Field tonight in the first NWSL match played within New York City limits.

• With 40,000+ tickets sold, the Queens Classic is poised to shatter Gotham’s single-game attendance record (15,569 in the 2024 playoffs) and NYC’s women’s sports record (28,144 at Coco Gauff’s 2023 US Open final), while selling out the 42,000-seat park remains within reach. 

• The 2025 NWSL championship rematch also nods to the future, after the Bats announced a permanent move to Queens’s Etihad Park in 2028. (See full report)

Scouting report: No. 4 Gotham’s lineup raises the stakes, with both marquee 2026 signing Sam Kerr and Liverpool loanee Denise O’Sullivan expected to be available.

• At 2-0 since the break, the No. 2 Spirit is climbing the NWSL table behind twin Trinity Rodman game-winners, while Gotham’s split its first two games back with a loss to No. 1 San Diego before topping No. 5 Utah.

• “One of the main parts of me joining Gotham, is that I wanted to win stuff,” Kerr said earlier this month. “It helps they have some of the best players in the league.” (See full profile)

Tune in: The Queens Classic kicks off tonight at 8:15 PM ET, live on ESPN.

Valkyries ride winning streak into Fever clash

Two of the WNBA’s hottest teams collide tonight, as No. 3 Golden State visits No. 5 Indiana with the Valkyries hunting a franchise-record eighth straight victory.

• The Fever enters the series rubber match averaging 94 points on 47.3% shooting, pitting the league’s No. 1 offense against a Golden State defense that allows just 76.2 points per game while leading the WNBA in 3-pointers.

• The Valkyries took the pair’s May 28th meeting 90-88 behind Veronica Burton’s 25 points, while Indiana looks to run back Sunday’s 109-75 smackdown of No. 2 Las Vegas. (See full preview)

Scouting report: Kelsey Mitchell lit up the Fever with 25.9 points per game over her last 10, while Caitlin Clark is chipping in 20.1 points and 7.7 assists this season. 

• Kiah Stokes carries Golden State with 1.8 blocks per game — tied for the league’s second-most — while Gabby Williams is averaging a team-best 15 points per game despite missing Friday’s 79-64 win over No. 14 Connecticut with a back contusion.

• “Playing through adversity has been the key,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase told reporters. “We need everybody. We picked up the model from the [NBA’s] Warriors of strength in numbers.” (See full stats)

Tune in: Indiana battles Golden State tonight at 8 PM ET, live on USA.

NCAA overhauls March Madness seeding

March Madness is getting a makeover, as the NCAA announced it will no longer consider conference affiliation when seeding its Top 16 teams starting next season.

• Under the old system, the committee scattered conference rivals across different regions to prevent them from meeting before the Final Four, pushing teams like LSU from No. 5 to No. 7 and Vanderbilt from No. 7 to No. 8 to keep SEC powerhouses divided.

• Seeding will now follow each team’s true ranking — meaning the top four programs in any given region could theoretically hail from the same conference. (See full report)

Big moves: The shift arrives alongside next season’s expansion from 68 to 76 teams, but won’t apply to the men’s tournament.

• All four No. 1 seeds made it to last year’s semifinals, with Big Ten champion UCLA winning the 2026 title after dispatching SEC titan South Carolina.

• “We put a lot of time into establishing those Top 16 teams,” NCAA Committee Chair Amanda Braun said. “The work we did and the work those teams did justifies keeping them where they are.”

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Don’t miss ‘Time Wasting’ with Kelley O’Hara & Ali Riley

Soccer icons Kelley O’Hara and Ali Riley are back, as an all-new episode of Time Wasting presented by Amazon Prime serves up another jam-packed helping of tactical breakdowns, behind-the-scenes stories, and insider perspectives.

• In the episode, Ali and Kelley break down three of the weekend’s biggest NWSL matches, from Ally Sentnor cooking for Angel City, Orlando returning to the win column, and Sam Kerr gearing up for her Gotham debut.

• Later, Kelley breaks down the USWNT’s cut of this year’s World Cup prize money, and how the long fight for equal pay is finally paying off.

Tune in: Catch Time Wasting on YouTube.

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Suni Lee sets sights on LA28

Suni Lee is shooting for another Olympic run, as the decorated gymnast officially rejoins USA Gymnastics ahead of LA28.

• The 23-year-old Auburn alum has won six Olympic medals, including all-around gold in Tokyo and team gold in Paris. 

• “I know there’s more in me, and this is my chance to challenge myself, test my limits, and see what I’m truly capable of,” she said. (See full report)

Big screen: Lee’s return caps a remarkable arc, after a 2023 chronic kidney disease diagnosis nearly ended her gymnastics career and forced her to step away from collegiate competition.

• Lee, who entered remission in 2024, will chronicle her comeback in a forthcoming documentary produced by Fanatics Studios. (See full details)

ION adds FIVB World Cup to women’s sports lineup

ION is stacking its women’s sports slate, as the Scripps-owned network secured media rights to next year’s FIVB Volleyball World Cup in Canada and the US.

• All 64 of the 32-team tournament’s matches will air across ION’s platforms in both English and Spanish, with the event doubling as a 2028 Olympic qualifier for the top three not-yet-qualified national teams. 

• “This agreement represents an unprecedented level of US distribution for the FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup and a defining moment for the sport,” said 2027 World Cup CEO Craig Thompson. (See full release)

Big bets: The acquisition deepens the network’s growing women’s sports bill, after ION signed media deals with the WNBA, NWSL, and PWHL.

Stay tuned: The FIVB World Cup hits the court in August 2027, live on ION.

Quote of the day

Retired USWNT legend Megan Rapinoe
speaking out against anti-trans legislation in this week’s Marie Claire op-ed.