The crossovers we always knew we needed.

NWSL prepares for kick-off

The NWSL kicks off tonight, after an offseason packed with player movement, coaching hires, emerging storylines, and one compelling sneak peek.

• Orlando enters 2025 as the reigning NWSL Shield and Championship winners while Kansas City forward Temwa Chawinga defends her MVP award — but outside contenders are bound to keep 2024’s titans on their toes.

What to watch: All 14 NWSL teams will take the pitch this weekend, but three high-stakes matchups have separated themselves from the pack.

• Washington Spirit vs. Houston Dash, Friday at 8 PM ET (NWSL+): While an injury-plagued Washington managed to win this year’s Challenge Cup in a tight penalty shootout, 2024 last-place finishers Houston are making a play for worst-to-first with a revamped roster on their side.

• Gotham FC vs. Seattle Reign, Saturday at 10 PM ET (ION): See how the tension plays out between teams on either side of one of the offseason’s biggest trades, after Gotham sent veteran forward Lynn Biyendolo and goalkeeper Cassie Miller to Seattle while receiving promising young midfielder Jaelin Howell in return.

• Angel City vs. San Diego, Sunday at 6:50 PM ET (ESPN2): The SoCal rivalry heats back up between two work-in-progress teams, as Angel City begins anew under an interim manager while San Diego charts a new course with both a new coach and some big-name departures.

Bottom line: Without a major international tournament in sight, 2025 is full of NWSL potential — especially after a busy offseason that could either shift momentum away from last year’s top four or solidify their dominance.

Unrivaled playoffs tip-off

The Unrivaled playoffs have arrived, with the weekend’s 3×3 action determining who will compete for the grand prize in Monday night’s final.

• No. 3 Laces BC opens the league’s two-day postseason on Sunday against No. 2 Rose BC, with the No. 1 Lunar Owls taking on No. 4 Vinyl BC for the nightcap.

• The winners will then go head-to-head on Monday, battling it out in the championship with a $50,000-per-player payday on the line.

• “It’s money on the line,” Lunar Owls guard Courtney Williams said earlier this week. “Anytime money is on the line, I think everybody has to up the ante.”

• Fans will also be eager to hear an update on Rose BC star Angel Reese’s availability, after the 22-year-old seemed to re-aggravate her surgically repaired left wrist in Rose’s regular-season finale.

Big picture: While teams prep for postseason action, the offseason league has begun giving out end-of-season awards — including All-Unrivaled first and second team honors, as voted on by players, coaches, and media.

• Top scorer Napheesa Collier of the Lunar Owls earned a first-team nod, alongside Rose guard Chelsea Gray and Laces wing Kayla McBride.

• Lunar Owls guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, Vinyl wing Rhyne Howard, and Rose forward Angel Reese landed on the second-team after excelling in assists, three-pointers, and rebounds, respectively.

Bottom line: Money talks, but the weekend’s lineup is also the final opportunity to see some of the sport’s biggest stars hit the court in what’s been a wildly successful debut for Unrivaled before the 2025 WNBA season begins.

Tune in: Unrivaled’s first-ever playoffs tip off on Sunday at 7:30 PM ET, live on TNT.

Ivy Leaguers shoot their shots

As Selection Sunday looms, the five-team Ivy League is tipping off its two-day conference tournament with a trip to the Big Dance firmly front-of-mind.

• The comparatively tiny conference sent two teams to 2024 NCAA tournament, with Columbia ousted in the First Four while Princeton fell to West Virginia in the first round.

• This year, Ivy League No. 1-seed Columbia took the outright Ivy League regular-season title with a 13-1 conference record, while No. 2-seed Princeton and No. 3-seed Harvard also saw winning runs.

• ESPN’s Bracketology currently predicts Columbia as the NCAA tournament’s No. 11, seed should they win the conferences’s automatic bid.

Big picture: Princeton has dominated the Ivy in recent years, after making two second-round NCAA tournament appearances behind now-UConn starter Kaitlyn Chen.

• Likely NCAA tournament shoo-in Columbia tips off today’s Ivy League semifinals against No. 4-seed Penn, before Princeton and Harvard battle for a chance to solidify their place in the national tournament field.

Bottom line: Breaking into the outer margins of the NCAA tournament bracket is no small feat, but March Madness rests on the premise that even the smallest conferences can change the game with a single upset.

Tune in: The Ivy League tournament tips off today at 4:30 PM ET, live on ESPN+.

Naismith reveals POY semifinalists

Fresh off announcing their 2024/25 Defensive Player of the Year semifinalists, the Naismith Awards dropped this year’s National Player of the Year semifinalist lineup on Thursday, revealing a number of overlapping names.

• Defensive standouts Lauren Betts (UCLA), JuJu Watkins (USC), Aneesah Morrow (LSU), and Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) made both lists, joined in the NPOY race by Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore, Texas’s Madison Booker, UConn’s Paige Bueckers, Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson, Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles, and TCU’s Hailey Van Lith.

Up next: Just four of the 10 Naismith Women's College POY semifinalists will move on to March 25th’s final round, with the winner crowned ahead of the NCAA Final Four on April 2nd.

Kerr nears Chelsea return

Chelsea FC has listed star striker Sam Kerr on next week’s 25-player Champions League quarterfinal squad, manager Sonia Bompastor confirmed on Thursday.

• The Australia national team captain is nearing the end of a long road back from a January 2024 ACL tear, though Bompastor said it will be difficult to predict when she’ll be able to make an official return to the pitch.

• “The main focus for her will be to work really hard, be the best version of herself,” Bompastor told reporters yesterday.

• USWNT prospect Mia Fishel was left out of the UWCL group due to Kerr’s inclusion, while the 23-year-old continues to recover from her own February 2024 ACL tear.

Phoenix honors DT

The Phoenix Mercury are officially retiring franchise player Diana Taurasi’s No. 3 jersey in 2026, in addition to inducting the longtime WNBA star into the team’s Ring of Honor, the club announced on Thursday.

• Taurasi hung up her sneakers ahead of the 2025 WNBA season after spending the entirety of her 20-year career with the Mercury, leading the team to three championships while becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer.

• The sixth player to ever join the Mercury’s Ring of Honor, Taurasi shares the honor with legends Jennifer Gillom, Cheryl Miller, Bridget Pettis, Penny Taylor, and Michele Timms.

• “It’s really nice to feel that after you put in so much work,” Taurasi said on Thursday. “The names up there are just legends that I looked up to, got to share the court with, won championships with, and it’ll fit nicely with them.”

Number of the day 

1.44 million

The Big Ten final between No. 4 USC and No. 1 UCLA drew an average of 1.44 million viewers last Sunday, become the second most-watched women’s title game in conference history.