The Sun's sale saga continues

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Sun’s sale saga drags on

The Connecticut Sun is still on the chopping block, with reports surfacing Tuesday that the WNBA made a $250 million offer to buy the team in order to control its final landing place.

• The Mohegan Tribe — the Sun’s current owners — are reportedly still seeking clarity on the league’s preferred relocation destination, after two prospective outside bids stalled in front of the Board of Governors.

• Multiple offers remain on the table, including two $325 million bids from groups in Boston and nearby Hartford, Connecticut as well as a plan to raise capital via minority investments rather than a full sale. [Read more]

Big picture: Recent reports point to the league’s desire to control the Sun’s fate while preserving certain markets for expansion, with the Mohegan Tribe under pressure to bend to the WNBA’s interests. [Read more]

• The league’s offer to buy the Sun outright is said to be part of a larger plan to then flip the team to a different prospective ownership group without an additional relocation fee — with Houston in the lead.

• The Mohegan Tribe already turned down a lower bid out of Cleveland, with WNBA later awarding the Ohio city an expansion team for a $250 million fee. [Read more]

Bottom line: NBA co-ownership was a clear priority during the league’s most recent expansion, with officials now looking to force that strategy onto the Sun’s future.

Phoenix battles for playoff seeding

As No. 1 Minnesota watches from above, the race for the No. 2 postseason seed is taking center stage as the WNBA nears the regular-season home stretch.

• Tuesday’s big wins helped boost No. 2 New York and No. 5 Las Vegas in the WNBA standings, while No. 4 Phoenix refused to fall off-pace with a 98-91 victory over No. 7 Golden State — and five players in double-digit scoring.

• “We’re just continuing to try to build,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts told reporters. “We’re on the right step, but there’s still work to be done.” [Watch more]

Big picture: Multiple talent-stacked teams are continuing to sharpen form, with only a half-game separating New York, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Las Vegas in the WNBA standings.

• The Mercury have benefitted a healthy Big Three — Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally, and Kahleah Copper — with Copper registering a team-high 24 points in Tuesday’s win.

• “Our support staff has been great and our culture and my teammates have been great in helping me navigate through [early-season injuries] and just being able to get back out there,” Copper said this week. [Watch more]

Next up: Phoenix will have their work cut out for them tomorrow, tipping off against surging Las Vegas at 10 PM ET, live on Prime.

Sparks keep grinding

The No. 9 Sparks haven’t given up the fight, with LA sitting just outside the playoff picture ahead of tonight’s clash with a No. 11 Dallas side facing postseason elimination.

• The Sparks have had an up-and-down season, arriving at a 16-18 record with five wins in their last eight games.

• “We control our destiny, so what do we do with it?” Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said on Tuesday. “And I love that we’re in that spot, but we’ll see how competitive we are.”

• “Obviously we feel like there’s some games that we should have and could have won at the beginning of the season early on but can’t change the past,” echoed Sparks forward Dearica Hamby. “We have good momentum right now.” [Read more]

Dallas’s downfall: Meanwhile, the Wings will try to stave off joining Connecticut in playoff elimination while their draft lottery odds rise with every loss. [Read more]

• The Wings will be even more shorthanded on Wednesday, after losing center Li Yeuru to an ACL sprain and star guard Arike Ogunbowale sidelined with knee tendinitis.

Tune in: The Sparks take on the Wings at 10 PM ET, live on League Pass.

Indiana’s injury woes continue

The No. 6 Fever are officially down another guard, with the team confirming Tuesday that Sophie Cunningham suffered a season-ending MCL tear in the team’s Sunday matchup against Connecticut. [Read more]

• In response, Indiana signed veteran guard Shey Peddy to a seven-day hardship contract while releasing previous hardship addition Kyra Lambert.

Guard trouble: Cunningham became the third Fever guard sidelined with an SEI in less than two weeks, after the team lost both Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald in the same game. [See more]

• Indiana is still awaiting the return of superstar guard Caitlin Clark from a lingering groin injury that’s kept her out of commission since July 15th, with Clark participating in practice this week as she ramps up her game fitness.

Orlando nears record signing

The Orlando Pride hit the headlines this week, with the third-place NWSL side reportedly close to finalizing a deal to sign UANL Tigres star Lizbeth Ovalle on a world-record $1.5 million transfer fee. [Read more]

• Better known to US fans for scoring in Mexico’s 2024 Gold Cup group-stage win over the USWNT, Ovalle has led Tigres to six Liga MX Femenil titles while making over 50 international appearances for Mexico. [Read more]

Big picture: If the deal goes through, the transfer fee will break Arsenal’s current $1.3 million women’s football record set last month, as well as the Pride’s club-record signing 2024 Barbra Banda signing.

Memorabilia drop honors ‘85ers

The first-ever USWNT match turns 40 this week, with sports and entertainment memorabilia authenticator The Realest teaming up with the 1985 roster’s 17 founding members to drop a limited edition ‘85ers tribute collection.

• “The opportunity to re-design our uniforms, on our terms, to reflect what we would have wanted to wear back in 1985 is incredibly meaningful,” said World Cup champion Michelle Akers, who took the field in that inaugural August 18th, 1985 match in Jesolo, Italy.

• The announcement coincides with the launch of The 85ers LLC, a first-of-its-kind athlete-owned business backed by the original USWNT players. [Read more]

Get yours: Browse the collection and pick up some gear on The Realest.

Quote of the day

Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu
after leading No. 2 New York to their first 2025 regular-season win over No. 1 Minnesota last night.