The 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup kicks off tonight with a rematch of last year’s title game between the Houston Dash and the Chicago Red Stars.

Tournament details: 

• Dates: April 9th — May 8th
• Format: Round-robin group stage followed by a Championship game between each division’s top teams. 
• West division: Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, OL Reign, Portland.
• East division: Gotham FC (formerly Sky Blue), North Carolina, Orlando, Louisville, Washington. 

Teams we’ll have our eyes on: 

• Portland: They’ll be without their USWNT stars for the opening weekend, but they enter the season as the prohibitive favorites.  
• North Carolina: For the first time in a while, they look beatable. And yet, any squad featuring Lynn Williams, Debinha and Jess McDonald can’t be counted out. 
• Louisville: The NWSL’s newest club could have a rocky first year on the field. Off the field, they’re already crushing the brand messaging. That’s half the battle at this stage!  

Tonight: 

• Houston vs Chicago: 8:30pm ET on CBSSN
• Portland vs Kansas City: 10:30pm ET on Paramount+

Tomorrow: 

• North Carolina vs Washington: 3:30pm ET on Paramount+
• Louisville vs Orlando: 7:00pm ET on Paramount+ 

Note: all games stream internationally on Twitch. 

Get prepped with our very own Haley Kopmeyer’s list of 12 players she’ll be watching for this season.

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• Marta talks motivation and legacy before busting out some instruments to show off her musical chops. 
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Watch the first episode here. 

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The WNBA won the internet Thursday, dropping fresh (and we mean fresh) new Nike unis for all 12 teams in honor of the league’s 25th anniversary season. 

Nike has been making WNBA uniforms since 2018, but they went all-in on the details this year. 

• Each jersey is numbered 1/144, for each of the 144 players who have earned their place in the world’s most exclusive league. 
• Each team will have three jersey editions: “Heroine,” “Explorer” and “Rebel,” aka H.E.R.
• Inspiration ranges from the Women’s March in DC to Atlanta’s musical legacy.  

Our favorites? We can’t decide between these icy-blue Chicago threads or Indiana’s Stranger Things-inspired unis. 

• But TBH, they’re all dope.  

Shop ‘em: Rebel Edition Uniforms are available on nike.com, with more jerseys coming April 14th.

The 2021 NCAA Championship game was the most-viewed since 2014, averaging 4.1 million viewers and peaking at 5.9 million in the closing minutes. 

It wasn’t just the championship:

• Final Four weekend viewership was up 14% from 2019. 
• The Elite Eight matchup between No. 2 Baylor and No. 1 UConn was the most-viewed Elite Eight game since 2011. 
• And the Sweet 16 was up 67% from 2019. 

Why these # matters: 

• 2021 was the first year that every game of the tournament was on national TV. 
• 5.9 million pairs of eyeballs tuned to a title game between two Pac-12 schools and without traditional powers like UConn or Baylor is huge. 

The real win is the Sweet 16 boost, however. 

• This year’s tournament was one of the most balanced in recent years.
• Schools like Iowa, Michigan, Texas and Arizona all have big-time athletic departments and growing reputations as women’s basketball schools. 
• Activating these massive fan bases will be key to the sport’s continued growth. 2021 was a big step in that direction.

Aari McDonald has officially declared for the WNBA draft after a scintillating run through the NCAA tournament. (Though already a senior, McDonald could have technically come back given the NCAA’s blanket waiver.) 

• Stanford’s Kiana Williams is likewise taking her talents to the pros. 
• UConn’s Evina Westbrook, however, is coming back for another run despite being considered a top-5 pick. 

Coaching changes: 

• Vanderbilt has fired Stephanie White after five seasons. 
• Washington has hired Tina Langley from Rice University. 
• Jim Jabir is coming back to Siena, 31 years after he previously led the women’s basketball team. 

Looking ahead: WNBA draft is next Thursday. 

• McDonald is now a likely first-rounder (No. 5) according to Mechelle Voepel, whose latest mock draft still has Charli Collier going first to Dallas. 

• The undefeated Tar Heels are led by Jamie Ortega (48 goals, 17 assists), while Notre Dame is powered by Samantha Lynch (26 goals, 6 assists)

• The Orange are looking to bounce back after a tough loss to UNC. Virginia is likewise hoping for a rebound after losing to Notre Dame.

Oklahoma softball continues to demolish everything in its path as the only unbeaten team (28-0) in the country. 

• The Sooners are averaging 3.25 home runs per game.
• They’ve outscored opponents 338-39 on the season (i.e., they’re beating most teams 12-1). 
• Their pitching staff has 14 shoutouts.
• And they’ve won by the run rule (being ahead by more than eight after five innings) in 20 of their 28 games. 

The only thing in their way: Covid, of course. 

• The Sooners’ series with Baylor this week was postponed due to Covid concerns within the Baylor program. 
• Coming up: the Sooners face off against rivals Texas next week. Good luck, Longhorns!

• Sky Blue FC has rebranded as (drumroll, please) NJ/NY Gotham FC. Cool name, even cooler jerseys (above).
• Lyon and Barcelona are heading to Portland this summer to face off with Houston and the Thorns in the 2021 Women’s International Champions Cup, according to Steven Goff. 
• The NWSL and its players association are officially beginning negotiations on a first-ever CBA, which will cover compensation, benefits, travel as well as health and safety issues.

• Missing March Madness already? Check out our JWS All-Tournament Team. 

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