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Los Angeles Sparks are quietly crushing WNBA free agency

Nneka Ogwumike. (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Sparks are quietly crushing free agency.

All eyes have been on the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces – rightfully so – as they put together All-Star rosters. But the Sparks are creating their own strong squad.

The new-look Los Angeles team may not lead to the instant titles New York and Las Vegas fans are anticipating. Still, after missing the playoffs the last two seasons, the Sparks are getting back on track.

A historic WNBA franchise with three titles, LA has not been the same since the 2021 offseason. Candace Parker and Chelsea Gray left during free agency, and then a series of bad decisions by former coach Derek Fisher plagued the team.

But in 2023, things are looking up.

New coach Curt Miller has signed impactful free agents and traded for an All-Star, and he is expected to re-sign two other top players.

The first headline-grabbing move Miller made was bringing 12-year veteran guard Jasmine Thomas with him from Connecticut to LA. Thomas missed most of last season for the Sun with an ACL injury, but now that she’s healthy, the 33-year-old makes a great addition to the Sparks roster.

Thomas had been consistent over the last few seasons prior to her injury, and she’s a high IQ guard that makes good decisions on both ends of the court. In 2021, the Duke product averaged 10.6 points, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals for the Sun.

Then came the biggest move for the Sparks: The Dearica Hamby trade. The deal was overshadowed by controversy regarding the Aces’ treatment of Hamby, who claims she was traded because she was pregnant.

But strictly from a personnel basis, this was a win for LA. Hamby is a two-time All-Star and two-time sixth player of the year. She’s versatile and played a variety of roles during her time with Las Vegas. Now Hamby says she’s looking forward to stepping out of that “sixth player” box and contributing in bigger ways. Hamby averaged 9.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.1 assists last season as she helped the Aces to a title.

The Sparks also signed Azurá Stevens, a player poised for stardom. The 27-year-old forward spent the last three seasons playing for a stacked Chicago Sky team. Even while sharing minutes with the likes of Candace Parker and Emma Meesseman, Stevens was a major contributor. Last season she averaged 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.

And while Miller is making it a priority to bring in new talent, he’s also not neglecting who LA already has: Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike.

Nneka was the brightest spot in a dim season for LA in 2022, averaging 18.1 points (the third most of her 11-year career), 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 assists in her first All-Star season since 2019.

Chiney was a key contributor off the bench for LA last season, putting up 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Just a year earlier, the 30-year-old had back-to-back injuries: a microfracture in her right knee and a torn left Achilles. A healthy Chiney is capable of being much more than a role player, as the former rookie of the year averaged 14.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game before being hampered by injuries and missing nearly three full seasons.

The Ogwumike are free agents this offseasons, but both have made their intentions to re-sign with the Sparks clear.

Mallory Swanson returns to Chicago’s starting lineup in season opener

(Isaac Hale-USA TODAY Sports)

Mallory Swanson made her NWSL return on Saturday, after having missed the majority of last season with a knee injury. 

It was her first game with the Red Stars in 349 days, after she tore her patella tendon playing with the USWNT last April. She made her return to the USWNT earlier this year, coming in as a training camp player ahead of the Concacaf W Gold Cup. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore said that Swanson looked “phenomenal” in training. 

On Saturday, Swanson got to showcase just how far she’s come in her recovery, being named to the Red Stars’ starting lineup. 

Chicago got the 2-0 road win over Utah, and perhaps more importantly, Swanson looked like she hadn’t missed a beat. She wound up playing 80 minutes, which included two shots (one on target), passing accuracy of 81%, four crosses, four possession wins and two clearances. 

All in a day's work for the USWNT and Chicago striker.

Lorne Donaldson, who coached Swanson during her time with youth club team Real Colorado, took over as the Red Stars coach in the offseason. 

‘‘I haven’t seen the toughness in any player that I have seen in Mal,’’ Donaldson told the Chicago Sun-Times  ahead of the match. 

The fact that Swanson played 80 minutes means that she could be back to a full 90 sooner rather than later, which itself could lead to a full USWNT call-up and cap.

OL Groupe completes sale of Seattle Reign

(Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports)

The Seattle Reign have officially been sold, with OL Groupe announcing on Monday the team has signed an agreement with a group that includes the Seattle Sounders ownership group.

The transaction still needs to be approved by the NWSL and MLS Board of Governors. Global investment firm Carlyle joins the Sounders ownership group in the purchasing of the club.

OL Groupe’s entire stake in the club will be sold, which amounts to 97% of the club’s share capital. They originally purchased the club in 2019 for approximately $3.5 million. 

“The sale price is $58 million for 100% of the shares,” they said in a statement. Last October, Sportico had valued the club at $49 million.

According to OL Groupe, the sale is part of their strategy to refocus on men’s soccer. Recently, the group sold the women's side of Olympique Lyonnais to Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang.

"OL Groupe is delighted with this transaction as it ensures a locally-led group will continue OL Groupe's successful development of the Seattle franchise," the holding company said.

The Reign aren’t the first club to be sold this year, with the sale of the San Diego Wave for $113 million being announced last week. In August of last year, the Red Stars were sold to a group led by Laura Ricketts for $35.5 million and in January the Portland Thorns sold for $63 million, which was at the time the highest price ever paid for an NWSL team. 

Angel City, the league’s most valuable team, is also reportedly exploring a sale of a controlling number of shares.

Kansas City makes history with ‘standard setting’ stadium opener

CPKC Stadium. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The Kansas City Current opened their new stadium on Saturday, which is believed to be the world’s first stadium purpose-built for a women’s professional team. 

It was a full circle moment with the game being played against the Portland Thorns, 11 years after the two teams played the first-ever NWSL game at a high school football field in Overland Park, Kansas.

The game was a sellout, with the Current putting on a show in front of 11,500 fans, taking down Portland 5-4 in a chaotic, back-and-forth match. For both the league and Kansas City, it was a monumental moment. 

"I've only heard people talk about our game [Saturday] and not about Sporting [Kansas City, playing a MLS home game later that night],” Lo’eau LaBonta told ESPN. “Don't get me wrong, I love Sporting as well and I've been related to them [through marriage to Sporting player Roger Espinoza] for a while now, but that's what I'm hearing, and that's already different.

"Our faces are in the airport, on the streetcars. That would have never happened [before]. I bet you back in the day, not one person could name the team or when our game was gonna be on the weekend."

Members of the 1985 USWNT were in attendance, as the club celebrated the first-ever U.S. women’s national team. They also have a special spot in the stadium, recognizing their accomplishments. 

It was a day of many firsts, as Vanessa DiBernardo had the first goal in the stadium’s history. Alex Pfeiffer also got on the scoresheet with what would turn out to be the game winner, becoming the youngest player to score in NWSL regular season history at just 16 years old. 

“I think what this club is doing and setting the standard, and building this stadium, and people showing up and supporting it, and just women’s soccer growing in general, I think it’s just super special,” DiBernardo said. “Where we started with this league and where we are now, it just shows the growth and how much players have put into it and really pushed the standard, and how much we’ve kind of really had to fight for ourselves. And it’s just the start.”

Others celebrities were in attendance as well, including Brittany and Patrick Mahomes, who are also co-owners of the team. The duo kicked off the game with the stadium’s first “KC, baby!” chant.

"We've been saying if you build it they will come internally," NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told ESPN at halftime. "And then coming here and actually seeing what it means to actually invest in brick and mortar physical infrastructure, it's a game-changer."

Possible LSU, Iowa rematch headlines women’s March Madness bracket

LSU's Angel Reese points at her ring finger behind Iowa's Caitlin Clark in celebration of the Tigers' NCAA championship win. (Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The 68-team bracket for March Madness was revealed on Sunday, with Iowa facing a difficult road to the Final Four. 

As expected, Iowa was named a 1-seed – the team’s first since 1992 – and will host the first two rounds of the tournament at home. But they’re joined by No. 2 seed UCLA and No. 3 seed LSU in their quadrant, setting up a number of possible blockbuster showdowns before they even reach the Final Four. That includes a possible national championship rematch with the Tigers in the Elite Eight. 

They could also find themselves up against No. 4 seed Kansas State, a team that they played twice this season – and that beat them once. 

"They’ve got the hardest road in my opinion. This is the hardest road," ESPN analyst Andraya Carter said during the selection show with Rebecca Lobo in agreement.

Other storylines in the region include a possible matchup between LSU guard Hailey Van Lith and her former team Louisville in the second round after the Cardinals were drawn in the Baton Rouge regional. 

"Initially, I just thought, 'Oooh, this is a tough, tough region,'" LSU coach Kim Mulkey said of her first reaction to the bracket.

"You really have to go game to game. After you get out of the first round, every team is basically a top-25 team," Clark said. "You need a little luck, a good draw, need to be playing your best basketball, but I think the biggest thing for me is just enjoying every single second because this is the most fun basketball.”

Other No. 1 seeds include South Carolina, who earned the No. 1 overall seed, USC and Texas. Stanford dropped to a 2-seed following their Pac-12 tournament final loss, and are joined by UCLA, Ohio State and Notre Dame. UConn, NC State and Oregon State join LSU as 3-seeds. 

Columbia will be going dancing for the first time in school history, earning an at-large play-in bid against Vanderbilt. This is just the second time the Ivy League will have two teams in the NCAA tournament. 

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