What went into your decision to join Athletes Unlimited?

I don’t know if you know this, but I haven’t played softball in two years. So, a couple of my friends that are in this league reached out to me and were like, hey, would you be interested in this? And I wasn’t really, because I had been out of the game for two years, and I thought if I came here, I would just get embarrassed because of all the talent here. But they were like, you know what, just listen to the call, and if you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to. So I got on the call and AU presented the league and basically from that call, I couldn’t turn away because the structure seemed so cool and also because I was out of work from COVID. I needed income and I just thought about the whole presentation… they really sold me with everything this league is about. It’s pretty awesome.

And how has it felt being back on the softball field after taking some time off? Are you happy with your decision to return to the game?

I’m definitely happy I did it, especially because I miss these girls. I haven’t seen a lot of them in two years, so I’m definitely happy I did it. There are some days I feel really happy. Like wow, I miss this feeling of hitting a home run. And then after losing our first game, I was like, I did not miss this feeling. I forgot how mad I get and how depressing it is to lose. And I was like, God, I did not miss this. But for the most part, when I hit everyday I figured out something and I remembered something that I used to do, and it’s cool to get back into it again.

Your team finished out week 1 with a 7-6 win. Super exciting to end on that high note. What are your thoughts on that game specifically and about how the team made adjustments moving forward after your first two losses?

It was a really cool experience personally for me, because I had to make a lot of adjustments in the lineup, and I feel like the first couple of games I made decisions that I didn’t necessarily feel were right. I was advised by multiple people to do certain things that I felt iffy about. And I think game three, I was just like, nope, I want to win. We need to for our team. So, I’m just going to go with my gut decisions, and I did that. The first two games, we hit the ball well, but not when it needed to be done. So that last game players were like, let’s sacrifice more. Let’s just try to win each inning. That is how you get points. You can have great stats, but if your team doesn’t win, it kills you point wise. So as a team, we just played a little bit more unselfishly and just tried to keep moving runners on base and that’s how we won game three.

As a captain, you also acted as the team’s coach. You picked the lineups and made strategic decisions. Did you have any difficulties balancing your role as a coach and a player? 

There was some stress for sure. I feel bad for my roommate, Sam, because I was venting the whole weekend. It’s difficult because you’re picking nine players for a lineup, when you drafted all of them because they’re all good. So it was difficult. And it was hard for me too, because I had rookies on my team that I’ve never seen play before. And I had veterans who I know have played the best pitchers in the world. So the first couple of games I based my lineup on what I knew and then after that when certain people were not performing I had no choice, I had to take them out. It’s definitely hard because everybody knew my thought process when I was making the lineup, because it’s like, you’re good, but you didn’t do good today. So I know how good they are, but you have such a short time to prove yourself, and I have to go by who’s doing good on that particular day. It was tough.

Now you have seen who is playing well and how people mesh together. Do you think if you get the opportunity to captain a team again, you may pick differently? 

Yeah, I think I learned a lot about seeing other teams succeed. I feel like the players I picked are individually very strong. I was a hundred percent confident in my team. They were great. But everybody here is good, so you can’t really go wrong. You just have to trust that you can learn how to play with one another and make it work in a short amount of time. There’s a few adjustments that I may make moving forward just after having that experience.

With the new scoring system, there’s an emphasis on individual points. With that in mind, do you have any individual goals that you’re focused on this season?

No, I really don’t to be honest. I kind of went into this with low expectations, and that might sound bad. But after not playing for two years, I don’t want to have high expectations for myself. I want to do the best that I can do with my skills at this time. I still work out every day. I just want to hit the ball and try to help my team. I just want to win, really.

Athletes Unlimited has redesigned the way you play pro sports. They just added volleyball and there are other sports in the work. What do you think this type of a league will do for women’s sports at the pro level and specifically for softball?

I think this league is absolutely huge for our sport. I think that it’s already growing so fast, and I think the fact that we’re on ESPN and CBS, and the fact that all the players here have close to a combined one-million followers. They are marketing it great. And I think the biggest thing is that we’re on ESPN and CBS. I think if you look at college softball, it’s huge, and I feel like it’s because it’s on TV and people want to watch. So getting us on TV so people see us is making it big. And I think the point system is awesome. People are like, oh, they’re doing that? It’s exciting for fans and obviously for the players.

The New York Liberty dominated Indiana on Thursday night, winning by a whopping 36 points in the Fever's home opener. 

A sold-out crowd of 17,274 was in attendance to watch as star rookie Caitlin Clark finished the 102-66 defeat with nine points, seven rebounds, and six assists. It’s the first time since January 2021 — her freshman season at Iowa — that Clark's been held to single-digit scoring. 

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"The physicality is definitely up there... I'm easily pushed off screens," she told reporters after the loss. "The game seems a little fast for me right now. The more I play and the more comfortable I get, it's going to slow down a little bit. It will be easier for me to make reads, see things develop."

The Fever were outscored by a combined margin of 57 points in their first two games — the largest two-game point deficit in WNBA season-opening history, according to @ESPNStatsInfo.

"We've got to get to a level of toughness," Fever coach Christie Sides in her own postgame remarks. "When things are going south on us, we're not stopping the bleeding."

"I have great perspective on everything that happens," Clark added. "It was the same in my college career. There were some moments that were absolutely amazing. And there were some moments I was not happy with how I played and how my team performed. That's just life, that's just basketball."

Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, who herself experienced a rocky rookie season following a much-hyped college career, offered up some insight on the matter.

"In this league, there are tough defenses all centered around not letting you get the ball, trapping, not letting you score," Ionescu said. "There were many factors that played into what was a tough first season for me in the league, but it helps you be able to figure it out. You have to have those experiences."

But it was reigning league MVP Breanna Stewart that truly stole the show, racking up 31 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks on the night.

"In general, I just wanted to come out more aggressive coming off of last game," Stewart said after putting up the 24th 30-point game in her career.

Stewart she also commended the fans inside Indianapolis's packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse, noting that she hopes that level of support to continue across the WNBA.

"This is how you want every game to be and when it's a sell-out crowd, it gives you a similar playoff atmosphere feel," she said. "People want to be a part of this and the thing now is to continue to sustain it, continue to take the momentum that we have and turn it into something more."

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert admitted to a "faulty rollout" of the new charter travel initiative on Thursday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Ahead of Tuesday's season opener, it was announced that the only teams flying private this week would be Indiana and Minnesota. The announcement came mere days after the league made a new charter flight program for all WNBA teams public. At the time, they said it would be implemented "as soon as we have the planes."

But as two teams out of 12 chartered to their first games of the season, others like the Atlanta Dream and Chicago Sky were forced to fly commercial.

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A town hall meeting between Engelbert and the players was held in response to the confusion. Everything from the league's new media rights deal to private travel was covered in the meeting, with players submitting their questions ahead of time. Sky center Elizabeth Williams told Sun-Times reporter Annie Costabile afterwards that cross-country flights were prioritized.

"Flights that are across the country like [the Lynx] going to Seattle, crossing multiple time zones, or flights that usually require a connection, those were the priorities," Williams said. "That’s why New York didn’t go to DC with a charter, but Minny goes to Seattle."

What’s unclear under that metric is that the Atlanta Dream played the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday, which could technically be classified as a cross-country flight. 

On Tuesday, rookie forward Angel Reese shared a photo on her Instagram story lamenting the league's use of commercial flights.

"Just praying that this is one of the last commercial flights the Sky has to fly," Reese posted. The team still has at least three commercial flights awaiting them in the near future.

"Obviously, I think all teams should be able to get chartered," Reese told the Sun-Times. "But I know moving forward... going in the right direction, being able to have some teams [chartering] is cool. Within the next weeks, everybody will be flying charter, which will be really good."

On Thursday, Lindsay Schnell of USAToday Sports confirmed that the league intends to have all teams on charter flights by May 21st.

Brazil has been named the host for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, with FIFA announced early Friday. 

The decision came after a vote at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, with Brazil earning 119 votes to the joint European bid’s 78. 

This will be Brazil’s first time hosting the Women’s World Cup, with the country having hosted the men’s World Cup twice before in 1950 and 2014. It will also be the first Women’s World Cup held in South America. The tournament will follow the same 32-team format as the 2023 WWC in Australia and New Zealand.

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Brazil winning the bid was not entirely surprising after FIFA issued a report just last week, stating that the Brazilian bid had pulled ahead as host following technical inspection. After evaluation, Brazil was given a score of 4.0 out of 5, compared to the 3.7 awarded to the Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Brazil ranked higher in a number of key areas, including stadiums, accommodations, fan zones, and transport infrastructure. Though considered to be a frontrunner, the US and Mexico withdrew their joint bid prior to the technical inspection period, saying they would instead focus their efforts on 2031.

On Friday, Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues called it a "victory." 

"We knew we would be celebrating a victory for South American women's soccer and for women," he told reporters. "You can be sure, with no vanity, we will accomplish the best World Cup for women."

"We are working on a transformation, not only for the country but for the continent," added bid team operational manager Valesca Araujo.

Brazil intends to use 10 of the venues utilized at the 2014 men’s World Cup, including holding the final in Rio de Janeiro on July 25th. The CBF's proposal outlines that the 2027 tournament run from June 24th through the end of July. Last summer’s World Cup began at the end of July and concluded on August 19th.

Another notable element of Brazil's newly unveiled plan to grow of the women’s game is that "all [men’s] clubs wishing to take part in high-level national and continental competitions must now provide a structure for a women’s team." While the definition of "structure" was not specifically identified, the country has set targets with CONMEBOL to help increase the number of women’s club teams in the country.

In last week's inspection findings, FIFA noted that selecting Brazil as the next WWC host could "have a tremendous impact on women's football in the region."

Chelsea did what they needed to do on Wednesday in order to make Saturday's slate of season-ending WSL fixtures interesting: Beat Tottenham.

The Blues are now number one in the league, with an edge over Manchester City on goal differential thanks to an eight-goal outing against Bristol City last week. 

Yesterday's result tees up a league finale for the books as Chelsea looks to send coach Emma Hayes off with another trophy to add to her cabinet. The Blues will play FA Cup winner Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday, while City is away at Aston Villa.

"We will be leaving nothing on the pitch, we will be giving everything and no matter what the result is," Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert said after Wednesday's win. "At least we can look each other in the eye and say we gave everything."

It makes for a thrilling end to Chelsea's Emma Hayes era, as the decorated WSL coach will take over the USWNT in June. And it comes after Hayes all but conceded the title race early this month after Chelsea fell to Liverpool 4-3.

"I think the title is done," Hayes said at the time. "Of course, mathematically, it's not, but I think the title is done. Our job between now and the end of the season is to keep pushing until the end, but I think it will be very difficult.

"We will never give up. But the title is far from us; it's not in our hands. I think City are deserving, their consistency has put them in that position. Of course, we will go to the end, but I don't think the title will be going to us this year."

Be it mind games or Hayes truly thinking her team was that far off, her words lit something in Chelsea. Their following two performances showed the team’s determination to have a shot at some silverware.

As for Saturday's schedule, Hayes believes her team is facing the "tougher of the two games."

"It's a fitting finale for me, being my final game," she told BBC Sport. "As I said to the players if someone gives you a second chance in life, make sure you don't need a third one. We're in the position we want to be in, and we'll give it everything on Saturday no matter what."