Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark are sharing the spotlight as the Sporting News’ Athletes of the Year for 2023.

The honor caps off a banner year for both players, which included a run to the national championship game. Reese and the LSU Tigers won the title over Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes, but the Iowa guard swept the national player of the year awards.

Of course, much of the discussion after the championship game centered around Reese’s hand-waving “you can’t see me” gesture, which mimicked Clark’s own celebration from earlier in the tournament.

Reese also pointed to her ring finger. Men’s athletes have done so as well, including Joe Burrow after winning the College Football Playoff with LSU in 2020 and Aaron Donald after winning his first Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022. But Reese received widespread vitriol on social media.

“I don’t think I was really surprised, you see, because I had been criticized a lot during the year for a lot of things I did,” Reese told TSN. “Because I’m a trash talker. That’s what I do. And a lot of people aren’t really used to that. I think people don’t expect that from women in sports. If it was flipped, and it was a man, you know it wouldn’t have been talked about or said or anything.”

At the time, Clark came to the defense of Reese. She and Reese are cool, and she thought the LSU star shouldn’t have been criticized “at all.”

After all, they are both fierce competitors. And they respect one another (Reese even said in October that she “loves” Clark, who she’s competed against since AAU, and hopes they can be teammates in the future).

In Tuesday’s TSN article, Clark once again reiterated her respect for Reese and advocated for her competitive fire to spread throughout college basketball.

“I think Angel’s great. I think that’s why so many people tuned into to watch the game, because there were so many great players,” Clark told TSN. “Honestly, it wasn’t just me and Angel that were great on the court. Neither one of us would have been in the national championship game if it was that way. I had really great teammates. She had really great teammates – that really went off in the national championship game, and that’s why we struggled to guard them.

“I admire her game. I think it’s great for the game. That’s what you need. You need that competitive fire. And I hope that spreads not only from Iowa and LSU, but to many other teams. I hope it’s the same way with all those top teams, that people can continue to show emotion.”

Aliyah Boston loves Caitlin Clark’s versatility.

The Indiana Fever star and WNBA Rookie of the Year spoke with Indianapolis’ WISH-TV about what impresses her about Clark, who is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. The Fever won the top pick in the draft lottery for the second straight year after selecting Boston with the No. 1 pick in 2023.

“Super exciting,” Boston said of getting the No. 1 overall pick. “I think it’s going to be a great addition to our team whoever we’re able to draft in that moment. So, I’m really excited.”

When asked specifically about Clark, Boston played coy. Clark has another year of eligibility remaining and remains undecided about her future, though the Iowa star is treating this season as though it’s her last.

“I think whoever we add is going to be amazing,” Boston said. Even still, she did offer up some high praise for Clark, who leads the country in scoring with 30.2 points per game.

When asked what impresses her the most about Clark, Boston listed several attributes.

“How versatile she is. Her vision on the court,” Boston said. “I think that’s super important. And I think she does a great job of that at Iowa.

“I think it’s going to be exciting whatever she decides, whether that’s to come out (into the WNBA Draft) or that’s to stay in. Regardless, ultimately, it’s her decision. She has to do what’s best for her. But whoever we get in the number one pick, they’re going to enjoy the Fever.”

Gotham FC is headed to Times Square for New Year’s Eve.

Ali Krieger, Kelley O’Hara and Midge Purce are set to lead the 60-second countdown into 2024. The NWSL champions will be recognized as the official special guests for the famed celebration in New York City.

As part of the countdown, the trio will push the crystal button set on the main stage in Times Square, which will start the ball drop.

Krieger, O’Hara and Purce join an annual tradition for New Year’s Eve that dates back to the mid-1990s. Previous special guests include former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Lady Gaga and Muhammad Ali.

“As we bring 2023 to a close, we are excited to welcome the city’s newest champion – NJ/NY Gotham FC – to our global celebration,” said Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance. “There is no better place and no bigger party to celebrate NJ/NY Gotham FC than Times Square New Year’s Eve.”

Jeff Straus, president of Countdown Entertainment, which helps to put on the event, said they are “proud” to honor Gotham FC and the club’s first NWSL championship.

“The team serves as an inspiration for hard work and perseverance and their positivity and energy will carry with us into 2024,” he said.

The ball drop continues what has been a star-studded championship tour for Gotham FC, which has included ringing the opening bell on Wall Street and making an appearance on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live.”

Tierna Davidson is in advanced talks to sign with Gotham FC in NWSL free agency, The Equalizer’s Jenna Tonelli reported Tuesday.

Davidson, 25, is a star defender who has played for the Chicago Red Stars since 2019, when she was selected by the club with the No. 1 overall pick in the NWSL college draft.

A member of the 2019 World Cup-winning U.S. women’s national team, Davidson has made 51 international appearances. She also has made 61 appearances for Chicago since 2019.

Davidson becomes just the latest USWNT player to be linked to Gotham FC in free agency. Rose Lavelle and Emily Sonnett also reportedly are in advanced discussions to join the reigning NWSL champions, and Crystal Dunn has been linked to the club as well.

The addition of Davidson would make sense for Gotham FC given the retirement of 2023 NWSL Defender of the Year nominee and captain Ali Krieger.

Alex Morgan weighed in on the NWSL expansion draft discourse Monday, saying the draft “should not exist.”

Her reaction came after her now-former San Diego Wave teammate Rachel Hill, who was selected in the expansion draft by Bay FC, posted to social media, thanking the Wave and their fans.

“Did not think I’d be sitting here writing this after only one season,” wrote Hill, who had chosen the Wave in free agency last season and signed a two-year contract through 2024. “I’ve loved every second I had in San Diego and I’m sad it’s come to an end like this.”

Morgan shared Hill’s post to her own Instagram, writing: “The NWSL expansion draft should not exist. Period. If you reach free agency and choose the club and city you want to play for, you deserve the [opportunity] to see that through. It was torture watching the expansion draft, really.”

The USWNT and San Diego Wave forward isn’t the only person to criticize the process. Multiple head coaches have done so in the last week, including Wave head coach Casey Stoney, who wrote: “We have to find a different way!!!! It can be done because I have done it!!!!!!”

Meanwhile, Laura Harvey of OL Reign, who lost two players to the expansion draft, wrote: “I’d just like to make it official. I dislike the expansion draft. I also dislike that I chose to be in England whilst it was on, so now it’s 1.30am and I’m wired. Thanks very much!”

North Carolina Courage head coach Sean Nahas also was critical of the process. Seven players were selected, five by Bay FC and two by Utah Royals FC. Of those players, two already have been traded, as San Diego brought back Sierra Enge – who had been selected by Bay FC – with the help of Houston while also trading with Utah for former OL Reign forward Elyse Bennett.

“I don’t think people actually realize the damage that is created by this process and what it does to players, clubs and those relationships,” Nahas wrote Saturday. “We should be protecting the league and not 9 players per roster. There needs to be another way.”

Before the draft, North Carolina and San Diego engaged in trades with the new teams to try and limit their losses in the draft and to maintain more control over the future of their lineups. OL Reign did not make any trades with either Bay FC or Utah Royals FC.

Utah Royals sporting director Kelly Cousins conceded after the draft that the process of expansion should change.

“When you get to draft day, it’s not nice for anyone, even for us, being in it,” Cousins said. “You’re picking a player, and a new player finds out in the moment, live on telly, that they go to another club. For us, that doesn’t sit well, I think it is something that probably should change because you’re saying a player could be uprooted. We’re a week away from Christmas, and now they might have to move to the other side of the country.”

But Bay FC general manager Lucy Rushton called the expansion draft “imperative.”

“I think it’s essential because I think without it, it would have been very difficult for us to amass a roster from within the NWSL,” she said. “Is it the nicest mechanism through which to acquire players? No, probably not, not for the players and it’s tough. I certainly think it’s essential and especially now, having gone through the process, it scares me to think what some of the numbers might have looked like that teams might have asked for to trade their players.”

The league will go through an expansion process again in a couple of years, with Boston and one other team set to begin play in 2026.

After winning the 2023 NWSL championship, Gotham FC is surging into the offseason, with free agents and U.S. women’s national team stars Rose Lavelle and Emily Sonnett reportedly in “advanced discussions” to sign with the club.

The news was first reported by The Athletic’s Meg Linehan, though according to her sources, no paperwork has been signed yet.

Both Lavelle and Sonnett were major players for OL Reign in the 2023 NWSL final, in which their team fell, 2-1, to Gotham.

Last month, OL Reign general manager Lesle Gallimore said the club had been in contact with both players “just about daily” since the season ended. But head coach Laura Harvey also said the club was encouraging players to explore free agency.

“I just think that free agency is something that players should live through,” Harvey said. “I said this last year with our free agents: They should live through it. And I think the expansion draft adds an extra wrinkle to that, that they know that if they’re still free, they can’t be picked. So that gives them some power [over] their own destiny outside of wherever they choose their next destination to be.”

Even with that encouragement, though, Harvey also made it clear that she wants to see midfielders Lavelle and Sonnett back on her roster in 2024.

“I think everyone knows that we really value Rose and Sonnett,” she continued. “They’re a huge part of our team. I think Sonnett’s evolution this year has been exceptional. Rose obviously had a tough year, but you saw that at the back end of the season what she can do. They know that we love them, and we want them to stay here.

Lavelle and Sonnett aren’t the only big names to be tied to Gotham in free agency. Fellow USWNT veteran Crystal Dunn has also been linked to the club, with CBS Sports reporting earlier this month that Gotham, the Orlando Pride and the Washington Spirit all are interested in her services, though The Athletic later reported that the Pride were no longer among the top contenders.

After winning the first NWSL title in franchise history, Gotham lost Ali Krieger to retirement and Ellie Jean and Mandy Haught to trades for expansion draft protection.

OL Reign are up for sale this offseason, which could throw a wrench in their free agency plans. NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman has said that the club should be sold by the end of the year.

The NWSL’s transaction window opened at 9 a.m. ET Saturday. It will remain open until 6 p.m. ET Friday before closing for a holiday break and reopening on Dec. 29.

The 2024 WNBA season will bring a new Commissioner’s Cup format, another opportunity for a Las Vegas Aces title defense and an Olympic break.

The schedule tips off with four games on May 14, including the Aces hosting the Phoenix Mercury in their opener and the Indiana Fever potentially showing off the No. 1 overall draft pick against the Connecticut Sun. All 12 teams will play 40 games, and the season will end on Sept. 19 with every team in action.

“We eagerly anticipate tipping off the 2024 season and building on the success of last season, our most-watched in 21 years and a record-setter for social media engagement, digital consumption, All-Star merchandise sales and sports betting,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement.

No games will take place from July 18 through Aug. 14 due to the Paris Olympics, which will feature many WNBA players competing for their national teams. The All-Star game will be held on July 20 in Phoenix, and it will also serve as a send-off event for the U.S. Olympic team.

The revamped Commissioner’s Cup tournament will take place before the Olympic break, with the in-season tournament games taking place from June 1-13. The best two teams from that two-week qualifying period will face off in the championship game on June 25.

The Aces will go up against the New York Liberty, who the two-time reigning champions defeated in the 2023 WNBA Finals, three times in the regular season: June 15 and Aug. 17 in Las Vegas and Sept. 8 in New York.

The complete 2024 schedule can be viewed here.

The Houston Dash have made Maria Sánchez the NWSL’s highest-paid player, the Wall Street Journal and the Equalizer reported Monday.

The 27-year-old forward has signed a three-year deal with a fourth year option worth nearly $1.5 million total, per the reports. It’s the highest-value contract in NWSL history, surpassing Trinity Rodman’s $1.1 million deal over four years with the Washington Spirit.

Sánchez, who first joined Houston on loan from Liga MX in 2021, led the Dash with four goals and four assists in 2023.

“Her left foot is like magic,” Dash general manager Alex Singer told the Wall Street Journal.

In 2023, she played every single regular-season match for the Dash. Sánchez also plays for Mexico women’s national team, having made 64 international appearances. She played her high school soccer in Idaho, where she caught the attention of publications including Sports Illustrated.

“My end goal was to be a professional soccer player,” Sánchez said. “Back then, I didn’t realize how hard my dream actually was.”

She played collegiate soccer at Idaho State and Santa Clara. In 2019, she was drafted by the NWSL’s Chicago Red Stars. At the time, she was offered $14,584 a year to play.

“I remember looking at the contract and saying, ‘Wow, this is going to be a struggle,’” she said.

After receiving little playing time in Chicago, she played in Liga MX in 2020 and 2021, and then she joined the Dash. The rest is history.

“We are excited to share the signing of Maria Sanchez, a pivotal player and person on and off of the pitch,” Singer said in a news release. “Maria’s is a difference maker who embodies the ambition our club has – her world class left foot and attacking abilities, her desire to be a champion in Houston, and authentic connection to our community are what makes her a club leader.

“Securing Maria’s long-term future was a priority as we know she will play an important role for the Dash for years to come. Signing Maria to this robust, new deal signifies our commitment to investing in infrastructure and talent on the pitch and direction of our club.”

Texas took home the NCAA women’s volleyball title Sunday, sweeping No. 1 overall seed Nebraska to win its second straight championship.

The win came in front of a record-breaking crowd of 19,727 – breaking the indoor volleyball attendance record set just days before during the NCAA semifinals. And it caps off a record-breaking year for attendance in women’s volleyball, centered around Nebraska.

“You think you’re invincible. You think it’s destiny. ‘It’s ours.’ And I think Texas experienced that,” Nebraska coach John Cook said.

The Cornhuskers set the record for the largest crowd at a women’s sporting event, hosting 92,003 fans at an outdoor match at Memorial Stadium. They also had the largest home season total with 255,953 people turning out. And now, they are part-owners of the largest NCAA volleyball game.

Yet despite Nebraska’s historic season, there weren’t any doubts Sunday about Texas being national champion once again. Libero Asjia O’Neal served 10 consecutive points in the second set, which proved pivotal in the 3-0 sweep.

“Volleyball is a huge game of momentum,” O’Neal said. “During that run, I could totally feel the momentum shift to our side. We were playing with so much confidence and joy and I just knew that we had the game in the bag. … I was smiling because I was so happy with how we were feeling. You just feel it. I felt we were going to win the match.”

And the serving really became the key to the game.

“They had a level of serving we haven’t seen all year and that really impacted us in our momentum and our confidence and then everything started going their way and they got all the momentum and we just couldn’t ever get it back,” Cook said.

Texas took home the title in the first NCAA volleyball championship match to be televised on ABC.

“We had all the confidence in the world,” Texas star outside hitter Madisen Skinner told ESPN after the match. “I’ll say it until I die — this team was peaking right now and we just had so much trust and belief in one another. I mean our service pressure was insane. It gave us so many options in transition.”

O’Neal called it “the most joyous season I’ve ever had in my life.”

“We were just able to play free — we love each other and support one another and throughout the whole year, it was just so fun,” O’Neal said. “It was definitely challenging at times, but just today as an example, everyone played free, everyone had confidence in one another, and we were able to go out and take down some really incredible teams.”

LSU basketball star Angel Reese had to hold head coach Kim Mulkey back from referees during Sunday’s 81-36 win against Northwestern State.

Despite Reese’s effors, Mulkey ended up receiving a double technical foul and her first ejection in her three seasons at LSU. Mulkey took issue with a charging foul called on forward Aneesah Morrow with 4:56 left to play.

“I’ve been tossed before,” Mulkey said. “It was time.”

Referee Timothy Greene awarded the coach with the technical fouls. After the game, she admitted to goading Greene into ejecting her.

“I think I helped him,” she said. “I said, ‘I’m not leaving, so you’d better toss me.'”

Mulkey was so fired up that Reese had to hold her back, which the forward laughed about afterward. Mulkey also thought it was funny, with Reese even calling for her son, former LSU baseball player Kramer Robertson, to come and help her.

“It was fun,” Reese said. “We both have similar personalities and we really like to win no matter the score. Of course she’s gonna fight for us and we all fight for her so, that moment was fun. We know she has our back and we have her back.”