NWSL reportedly approves salary cap boost for star players

The reason for the season.

Report: NWSL approves star player roster mechanism

Washington appears one step closer to keeping Trinity Rodman, after ESPN reported the NWSL Board of Governors approved a new “High Impact Player” mechanism late Thursday, allowing teams to exceed the salary cap to retain stars.

• Designed to be used on players crucial to a team’s competitive and commercial bottom line, the rule permits clubs to spend up to $1 million over the cap with a limited hit.

• The change still needs approval from the NWSL Players Association, with the union maintaining the ability to negotiate any alterations to the current CBA.

Big picture: The 11th-hour move could help the Spirit field a better deal for USWNT forward Trinity Rodman, while the team’s previous offer remains under arbitration after getting vetoed by the league office.

• The mechanism is expected to have individual restrictions, with sources telling ESPN the league recently refined and updated “exact qualifications for players eligible for the new funds.”

• The NWSL made similar salary cap concessions in 2020, introducing extra allocation money for certain top-line players before deciding to discontinue the rule by the end of 2026.

Bottom line: The league has remained committed to the salary cap while also creating loopholes to compete in the growing global market — but only the future can tell whether the move is too little, too late.

No. 16 USC hosts No. 1 UConn in NCAA weekend headliner

No. 16 USC is gearing up for another top-ranked test, hosting No. 1 UConn on Saturday in the weekend’s flashiest women’s college basketball matchup.

• USC topped No. 20 Washington 59-50 on Sunday, with freshman Jazzy Davidson’s 22 points and 12 rebounds helping pull the Trojans to a 7-2 record.

• “I saw a resolve in our team,” head coach Lindsey Gottlieb said postgame. “I knew we could get the next stop. I knew we could get the next play.” (Watch full highlights)

Déjà vu: Now without sidelined star JuJu Watkins, USC will face a particularly familiar foe against the Huskies, after UConn knocked the Trojans out of the NCAA tournament two years in a row.

• Sophomore guard Kayleigh Heckel departed USC for the reigning champions this past offseason, averaging 7.7 points per game so far this year.

• “I just try to take one game at a time, but I’m excited to go back,” Heckel said of her first trip to LA since transferring. “I had a great freshman year there, and I learned a lot, and it was a great experience, a lot of fond memories. So I’m looking forward to it.”

Tune in: USC takes on UConn this Saturday at 5:30 PM ET, live on FOX.

Nations League win boosts Spain to No. 1 FIFA ranking

The latest FIFA rankings dropped yesterday, with Spain widening their lead at No. 1 after winning a second consecutive UEFA Nations League title earlier this month.

• The USWNT remained at No. 2, ceding 7.48 points after losing a November friendly to No. 22 Portugal before going on to secure three straight wins.

• No. 3 Germany and No. 6 Brazil both saw boosts after successful fall runs, while Canada skidded to No. 10 amid a recent winless streak.

Big picture: The biggest changes occurred outside the top ranks, as No. 96 Nicaragua, No. 118 Burkina Faso, and No. 137 American Samoa all rose by 16 spots.

• Upcoming USWNT opponent Paraguay saw the largest fall in this month’s Top 50, sliding five spots to No. 46.

Read more: Check out December’s full FIFA Women’s World Ranking list.

Big Ten underdogs eye NCAA volleyball upsets

With half of the Elite Eight already set, a few Big Ten underdogs still have a shot at disrupting the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament’s No. 1 seed stronghold.

• No. 3 seed Purdue is through to the quarterfinals after defeating No. 2 seed SMU 3-1 on Thursday, while No. 4 seed Indiana, No. 3 seed Wisconsin, and No. 1 seed Nebraska all face stiff Sweet Sixteen competition this afternoon.

Big picture: Coming off a strong regular season, the Big Ten could still field half the quarterfinal round — though that would require the year’s first No. 1 seed upset.

• The Hoosiers booked just their second-ever Sweet Sixteen trip with last week’s win over No. 5 Colorado, bolstered by defensive leader Madi Sell.

Tune in: Today’s Sweet Sixteen action starts at 12 PM ET, live on ESPN and ESPN2.

Team USA shoots for 2025 Rivalry Series sweep

Team USA is on a roll, officially taking this year’s four-game Rivalry Series against Canada after three consecutive wins — and one shot left at a clean sweep.

• The US downed their northern neighbors 10-4 in Edmonton on Wednesday, marking Team USA’s first-ever 10 goal victory against the reigning Olympic champs while upping 2025’s series goal tally to 20-6. (Watch full highlights)

Big picture: While each team fine-tunes rosters ahead of the 2026 Olympics, one test remains for both international hockey titans before February’s Winter Games.

• “The work doesn’t stop. Our Olympic team is not named. There’s still one more game to go,” said US captain Kendall Coyne Schofield.

• “We have one more game against them before the Olympics,” echoed Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin. “We’re all aware of that.”

Tune in: The Rivalry Series concludes tomorrow at 9 PM ET, live on NHL Network.

Quote of the day

Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers
describing Team USA’s youth movement at this weekend’s national team camp.