Can anyone ever catch up to these unbreakable women’s sports records?

PWHL drops expansion team names & logos

The PWHL is setting the stage for Season 4, as the expanded 12-team pro hockey league unveiled names and logos for its four incoming teams on Tuesday.

• Each club taps into market history, as the Detroit Clutch references the Motor City’s auto industry, the Hamilton Havoc honors Canada’s “Steel City,” the San Jose Sea Lions pays tribute to the Negro League’s San Francisco Sea Lions, and the Las Vegas Vanguards spotlights the region’s native kit fox. 

• In keeping with tradition, players will debut wearing generic city-branded jerseys, with the new designs taking over in 2027/28. (See full release)

Making moves: This season ushers in additional revamps, including regional conferences, an 180-match regular-season and eight-team postseason, and game-play updates.

• Rulebook overhauls include mandating neck protection, legalizing high-sticking the puck, and clarifying body-checking regulations.

• “Player safety and innovation have been at our forefront since the league’s inception,” said EVP of Hockey Operations Jayna Hefford. “We believe these objectives are represented in this season’s rule updates.” (See full changes)

Stay tuned: Season 4’s opening weekend kicks off on December 5th. (See full schedule)

NCAA giants land top 2027 recruits

Next year’s NCAA rosters are taking shape, as four elite high school recruits verbally committed to top-ranked programs in recent days — with No. 4 UConn making the biggest splash.

• The Huskies landed ESPN’s ninth-ranked 2027 prospect Sydney Savoury, after the 5-foot-11 guard received offers from No. 3 USC, No. 6 Texas, No. 10 UCLA, No. 13 Notre Dame, and No. 23 UNC.

• “I chose UConn because of its incredible culture, dedicated coaching staff, and tradition of excellence and winning,” the 2026 Nike EYBL MVP said. (See full report)

Around the horn: Wing Qandace Samuels — ESPN’s No. 10 — picked Texas over No. 9 LSU, Rutgers, and Virginia Tech, entering the NCAA after sister Qadence won the 2025 title with UConn before transferring to NC State.

• New York native and No. 15 prospect Ashley MacCalla selected nearby Rutgers over No. 14 Oklahoma, Miami, and Cal, while LA’s No. 23 recruit Charis Rainey also elected to stay close to home, picking USC over No. 22 Illinois, Oregon, Arkansas, and Alabama. (See full rankings)

Stay tuned: Three Top 10 seniors remain uncommitted, as No. 1 Kaleena Smith, No. 3 Ivanna Wilson Manyacka, and No. 8 Haylen Ayers weigh their options — with UConn hosting all three for an official visit last weekend. (See full report)

Fortune 500 brands buy into women’s sports

Big business is buying in, as this week’s third annual Gather study found Fortune 500 sponsorship on the rise across the WNBA, NWSL, and PWHL. 

• The share of Fortune 500 companies backing women’s sports hit 16% — up from 13% over 2025 — while growing at 3.8 times the rate of the men’s side.

• Across 205 deals, the number of women’s sports sponsors grew 18% while total sponsorships jumped 38%, with corporations like CVS Health, Sprouts, and State Street dealing exclusively with women’s teams.

Trending up: Despite the upticks, the gender divide remains wide — though analysts predict women’s sports will continue to see gains across industries.

• Fortune 500 brands back men’s sports at 36%, with the NBA doubling the WNBA’s deals while the NHL outpaced the PWHL by more than nine times.

• “We’re going to start to see folks who didn’t have sports deals at all coming to the women’s side, both because it’s a lower dollar entry and because it is fashionable,” Gather’s Head of Innovation David Gaspar told SBJ. “There’s a permission structure now.” (See full report)

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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 Time Wasting presented by Amazon Prime serves up another jam-packed helping of tactical breakdowns, behind-the-scenes stories, and insider perspectives.

• The episode digs into the NWSL Playoffs, marveling over Utah’s massive upset and picking apart the controversial penalty that ended Angel City’s postseason.

• Plus, Kelley and Ali make title predictions, give flowers to the players who delivered, and take a trip down memory lane via the Talk Footy To Me hotline.

Tune in: Catch Time Wasting on YouTube.

From streaming to fast shipping. It's on Prime.

Aminata Diallo to stand trial for 2021 attack

Aminata Diallo is heading to court, after a French judge ordered the former PSG midfielder to stand trial for a 2021 assault on then-teammate Kheira Hamraoui.

• Five years ago, masked men stopped the pair in Diallo’s car near Paris before beating Hamraoui’s legs with an iron bar while holding Diallo back.

• The 31-year-old retired footballer faces charges of complicity in aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy, with investigators alleging she instigated the attack over “violent sporting jealousy.”

Stalemate: Diallo denies any wrongdoing, with her lawyer telling The Athletic his client “remains determined to prove her innocence.”

• “These years have been grueling," countered Hamraoui’s lawyer. “It is essential that Kheira Hamraoui is finally given a voice in a trial that reflects the gravity of the offences she has suffered.” (See full report)

USPS unveils new Pat Summitt stamp

Pat Summitt is getting a stamp of approval, as the US Postal Service plans to honor the legendary Tennessee coach with her own 2027 stamp.

• Summitt and MLB legend Willie Mays are the only two people depicted in next year’s lineup, joining a holiday- and Americana-inspired fleet.

• Designed by USPS Art Director Ethel Kessler, the stamp centers on artist Roberto Parada’s oil portrait of the record-setting Lady Vols boss, who died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. (See full release)

High praise: “Demanding, disciplined and fiercely competitive, Summitt pushed her players to excel on and off the court,” the USPS said in Tuesday’s statement.

Number of the day

3

Chelsea drew BK Häcken 0-0 on Tuesday, marking just the third scoreless result in the Blues’ last 185 matches.