Maybe she’s born with it…

NWSL adopts ‘Rodman rule’ despite union opposition

The NWSL has made a decision, moving forward with the “High Impact Player” mechanism despite stated NWSLPA opposition.

• Approved last week, the rule change allows clubs to exceed to the salary cap by up to $1 million to attract or retain players that meet one of eight qualifying metrics determined by the league.

• Those metrics include major media award rankings like the Ballon d’Or and ESPN FC’s Top 50 Football Players, as well as marketing power, USWNT minutes, and monthly NWSL awards. (See NWSL statement)

Slow start: While the HIP rule was developed with Washington Spirit superstar — and current free agent — Trinity Rodman’s contract in mind, it’s not scheduled to go into effect until July 2026.

• The NWSLPA has spoken out against the mechanism, proposing instead to up the salary cap by $1 million without league-imposed spending regulations.

• “Under federal labor law, changes to compensation under the salary cap are a mandatory subject of bargaining — not a matter of unilateral discretion,” the union wrote on Wednesday. (See NWSLPA statement)

Bottom line: In a growing global market, the NWSL could be falling into a trap of half-measures, as the union pushes back with league parity potentially on the line.

Report: KC Current hire ex-MLS boss Chris Armas

Kansas City has apparently found a new manager, with ESPN reporting that the 2025 NWSL Shield winners will bring on former MLS head coach Chris Armas to lead the team in 2026.

• Armas built his career in the MLS, coaching the New York Red Bulls from 2018 to 2020, taking over Toronto FC in 2021, then spending the last three years heading up the Colorado Rapids.

• The ex-USMNT player also has experience in the women’s game, leading the Adelphi University women’s soccer team from 2011 to 2014.

Big picture: Despite their many victories in 2025, the Current found themselves without a coach this winter after third-year boss Vlatko Andonovski moved to a Sporting Director role with the club.

• ESPN reported that KC chose Armas over internal candidates like assistants Milan Ivanovic and ex-Angel City and Gotham manager Freya Coombe.

• “I want my staff and people I’ve worked with to become successful coaches. These are things I’m very passionate about and want to be able to execute,” Andonovski told ESPN last month.

Bottom line: Armas would be the first former MLS coach to make the leap to the NWSL, with the winds of change in Kansas City blowing stronger than anticipated.

US skier Mikaela Shiffrin wins 6th straight World Cup slalom

With the 2026 Winter Olympics fast approaching, US skiing icon Mikaela Shiffrin has started the 2025/26 World Cup cycle in top form — particularly in her favored slalom event.

• Closing out last season with a victory, Shiffrin is currently on a multi-event winning streak, earning her sixth straight slalom title on Sunday.

• “It was a really hard day today, tough conditions, a really big fight, and the pressure’s on… I did my best, best possible run,” Shiffrin said afterwards.

Big picture: Momentum is on her side, with Shiffrin set to enter the Winter Games as the winningest skier in Wold Cup history, surpassing Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark to become the first skier to reach 100 World Cup wins.

• Sunday’s race marked the 30-year-old’s 106th career title, with three more slalom events scheduled before February’s Olympics.

Up next: Shiffrin is expected to hit the slopes again next weekend, when the women’s World Cup lands in Slovenia for a giant slalom and slalom competition.

Top HS recruit Jerzy Robinson commits to South Carolina

No. 3 South Carolina is stocking up, as top-ranked high school senior Jerzy Robinson announced her commitment to coach Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks last week.

• “I chose South Carolina because I had a sense of peace when it came down to the decision for me,” Robinson told ESPN. “When I visited South Carolina, I was already home. I was already valued there... I felt like this was where I needed to be for the next four years.”

Big picture: A 6-foot-2 guard from Sierra Canyon High School, Robinson is now South Carolina’s highest-ranked Class of 2026 recruit — as well as the final Top 5 player to make a college decision after also visiting UConn and LSU.

• Robinson made a name for herself at the youth level, winning three gold medals and the 2025 U-19 World Cup with Team USA.

• “Basketball has always been my love and my passion,” she said. “To see it pay off and the hard work and the hours pay off, in the sense of I get to play for one of the best universities in the country, I just have so much gratitude.”

WTA world No. 1 Sabalenka loses ‘Battle of the Sexes’

WTA star Aryna Sabalenka suffered a blow on Sunday, as the world No. 1 fell to Australian ATP player Nick Kyrgios in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 in Dubai’s sold-out “Battle of the Sexes” showdown.

• “I made a lot of great shots, moved a lot to the net,” Sabalenka said postmatch. “I really enjoyed the show and I feel like the next time when I play him, I already know the tactics. I know his strengths, his weaknesses, and it’s going to be a better match for sure.”

• “Seeing someone as great as Aryna out here, and myself, it truly is a spectacle,” added world No. 671 Kyrgios. “I think this is a great moving stepping stone forward for the sport of tennis.”

Big picture: Designed to mirror 1973’s “Battle of the Sexes” between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, Sunday’s matchup received some criticism, stirring up fears it could exacerbate stereotypes surrounding men’s and women’s tennis.

• “The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That’s it,” King told BBC Sport ahead of the event. “Everything else, no. Ours was about social change; culturally, where we were in 1973. Mine was really political. I knew I had to beat him for societal change. I had a lot of reasons to win.”

Number of the day 

55.4

No. 5 LSU dominated their 2025/26 non-conference schedule, finishing with a 55.4-point average margin of victory while scoring 100+ points in 11 of their first 14 games.