All Scores

Amid complaints, Canadian NWSL broadcasts take a positive turn

(Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

In the top left corner of the CBS Sports Network channel last Wednesday night, the score was 1-0 for the Portland Thorns in front of a packed stadium in San Diego on Pride Night.

In the 46th minute, Canadian national team star and Thorns captain Christine Sinclair brought a lobbed ball down to her feet at the top of the Wave’s 6-yard box and blasted it past Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan to double Portland’s score.

The thrilling play resulted in Sinclair’s 58th goal, making her the NWSL’s second all-time leading goal scorer in her 150th appearance. Previously, she was tied with U.S. national team forward Lynn Williams at 57.

The best part was that Canadians were able to see the milestone unfold in real time, because just over two weeks ago, most wouldn’t have been able to.

To watch live NWSL games, Canadians and other international viewers use Twitch. Previously, Canadians were geo-blocked from the platform during CBSSN matches. The expectation was that they watch on CBSSN, an American pay channel that most Canadian viewers can only access with a VPN connection, which can get detected and therefore shut down. Other international viewers have never been blocked from Twitch during CBSSN games.

But last Wednesday, for the second time in two weeks, Canadians could watch the CBSSN match on Twitch. The Washington Spirit vs. Orlando Pride match on May 27 was the first time ever that Canadians had access to Twitch for an NWSL game on CBSSN.

The resolution comes just over a month after first-year NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman took office on April 20.

“Whereas it seemed always before it was an afterthought, it appears that it’s been an issue that was elevated enough to bring about a resolution,” said Ontario’s Raquel Kerr, the mother of Spirit goalkeeper Devon Kerr. “That is so positive that what the old administration could not resolve, nor even address, has been remedied.”

Before it was revealed that Canadians would obtain better access to NWSL broadcasts, Just Women’s Sports spoke with Canadian viewers at the beginning of May about their experiences with Twitch.

Vanessa Gilles’ mother, Josie Castelli-Gilles of Ottawa, Ont., didn’t miss a beat when asked about her viewing experience in Canada.

“Oh god, with the Twitch, eh?” she said. “AGH!”

With various NWSL channels on Twitch, games on CBSSN were always shown on Channel 3 to international viewers outside of Canada. Before May 27, the channel was set up specifically to create a geo-block for CBSSN games in Canada, and then remained geo-blocked even for games that weren’t televised. CBS and the NWSL did not respond to multiple requests for comment about why this was the case.

Canada’s Vanessa Gilles went undrafted out of college and took the scenic route to the NWSL. On March 19, the Angel City FC defender played in her first NWSL game. Seeing that it was geo-blocked on Twitch, Gilles’ parents scrambled through their Twitter timeline as kickoff began, determined to watch their daughter and the 2022 expansion team make their league debuts.

“Oh, it’s terrible,” Castelli-Gilles said at the time. “It is terrible.”

Castelli-Gilles’ in-laws in France, meanwhile, were able watch every single one of Gilles’ games.

Nichelle Prince’s mother, Robin, who lives in Ajax, Ont., said she started getting streams ready an hour before kickoff because she couldn’t predict whether Twitch would work and where they would be able to find the game.

Robin missed Nichelle’s first goal of the season in the Houston Dash’s 2-1 win over Racing Louisville FC in their last match of the Challenge Cup because the game was on CBSSN. Raquel Kerr subscribed to CBSSN this year just to be able to watch the 11 matches scheduled on that channel and watch Devon play for the Spirit.

“I was just so tired of not being able to [watch],” she said, also at the beginning of May. “It was hit or miss.”

It was still hit or miss with the VPN viewers needed for CBSSN, which could get shut down. That’s what happened to Raquel during the Spirit’s thrilling shootout win over OL Reign in the Challenge Cup semifinal. She had to find a grainy YouTube feed to watch instead.

In desperate situations, Canadians turned to SpankysPlace. The Twitch channel became familiar ever since it streamed Angel City and San Diego Wave FC’s NWSL debut. Castelli-Gilles ended up watching Vanessa’s first-ever NWSL match after she discovered the channel on Twitter in her last-minute hunt for streams.

Spankysplace is run by Richard Welsh, also known as Spanky. During games, he can be seen in a small screen in the top corner of the stream, eating his Cool Ranch Doritos, adding humorous commentary and occasionally leaving the room to let out his two Miniature Yorkshire Terriers.

“The broadcast was great,” Castelli-Gilles laughed. “He’s one of my favorites on Twitch.”

A Gotham FC fan from Pennsylvania, Welsh became interested in the NWSL after hearing other soccer broadcasts mention the league. Instead of speaking anonymously to avoid risk of his channel getting banned, Welsh said he has other priorities.

“I try to go by the law,” he said. “Everybody tries to go by the law, but if everybody wants to watch the soccer game and we’re trying to grow the NWSL, then I’ll take the chance to get a ban. And if it costs me court or jail time, I’m up for it I guess.”

As the NWSL and CBS begin to improve broadcast accessibility for Canadians, they’ve started including Radio-Canada Sports in their social media promotion. The broadcast platform with French-only commentary was previously discovered only by viewers who went digging into the depths of the internet for streams when they were geo-blocked from Twitch. Now, the league advertises it for viewers who might not yet know it’s an option.

“We should be the leaders in this,” Robin said in May, noting that North America is at the forefront of women’s soccer after the U.S. dominated the 2015 and 2019 World Cups and Canada won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer. “You have to tell people, ‘Listen, this game is going to be on CBS,’ or ‘This is what’s happening on this day. Sign up, subscribe.’ Whatever you need to do to watch those games.’”

Canadian viewers have made their concerns clear over the past couple of months, and the league, under new leadership this season, seems to be listening.

“It paints a picture that this swift action on matters of importance will be a transferable process to other matters that will see the league develop and evolve exponentially,” Raquel said on Thursday. “[It’s] exciting.”

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

WSL and WSL2 Clubs Vote in Favor of English League Expansion

Chelsea FC attacker Aggie Beever-Jones celebrates a goal during a 2025 WSL match.
Despite previous proposals, the expanding WSL will not forgo relegation. (Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

The Women's Super League (WSL) is growing, with the UK league's top two flights deciding in a Monday expansion vote to enlarge its top tier from 12 to 14 teams ahead of the 2026/27 season.

The number of matches played each season will also balloon from 22 to 26 games to accommodate the incoming clubs, as will established cup competitions.

Monday also saw the WSL vote down a prior proposal to temporarily suspend the relegation and promotion process to accommodate this expansion, deciding instead to adopt a "two up, one down" model for the second-tier WSL2 next season.

As such, the top two finishers of the 2025/26 WSL2 season will automatically join the higher-tier WSL, while the WSL's last-place team will battle the WSL2's third-place club in "a high-profile, high stakes match" for the final spot in the top flight.

After reaching 14 teams, both leagues will return to relegating the last-place WSL finisher while promoting the WSL2's top team for the following season.

Along with the increased investment in club infrastructure, a 14-team WSL keeps pace with the global women's game — most notably, the NWSL, which will become a 16-team league in 2026.

"Our priority was to find a route that would benefit the whole women's game pyramid, and we believe this next evolution of women's professional football will raise minimum standards, create distinction, and incentivize investment across the board," said WSL Football CEO Nikki Doucet.

WNBA Teams Offset Injuries, EuroBasket Departures with Short-Term Contracts

Golden State Valkyries rookie Kaitlyn Chen dribbles the ball up the court during a 2025 WNBA preseason game.
2025 WNBA draftee Kaitlyn Chen returned to the Golden State Valkyries to offset EuroBasket roster departures. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

With EuroBasket set to tip off on Wednesday and injuries mounting league-wide, WNBA teams are filling out dwindling rosters with more short-term contracts — and calling back some familiar faces along the way.

While some European standouts withdrew from EuroBasket consideration — including Phoenix's Satou Sabally and Seattle's Gabby Williams — others, like New York's Leonie Fiebich and Golden State's Temi Fagbenle, will join their national teams for the regional FIBA tournament through the end of June.

Due to these planned absences, WNBA teams temporarily suspend their EuroBasket players' contracts, allowing squads to add others to their rosters.

Players signed due to temporary absences are technically on rest-of-season deals, though the agreements can end whenever the missing athletes return.

In contrast, the league requires that teams release any hardship signings due to injury once squads tally enough healthy original players to satisfy the WNBA's 10-athlete roster minimum.

Featuring a lineup stacked with international talent, Golden State made the most transactions this week, temporarily suspending four regular contracts as 2025 EuroBasket stars departed for the annual competition.

To bolster their depleted bench, the Valkyries brought back 2025 WNBA Draft Cinderella pick Kaitlyn Chen and recent training camp participant Laeticia Amihere on short-term contracts, in addition to guard Aerial Powers and forward Chloe Bibby.

Elsewhere, after losing forward Maddy Siegrist to injury and temporarily suspending the contracts of centers Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsöder, Dallas acquired center Li Yueru from Seattle — with the Wings possibly needing additional hardship signings in the coming days.

The Storm snagged two future draft picks in the Saturday deal — a second-round selection in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2027.

Ultimately, teams are striving to find a balance between stocking up and maintaining consistency, all while operating under the WNBA's roster constraints — with further league expansion fast approaching.

WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Conference Play Comes Down to the Wire

Seattle Storm forward Ezi Magbegor tries to defend a jump-shot from Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier during a 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup game.
Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx will advance to a second straight WNBA Commissioner's Cup final with a Tuesday win. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup will wrap up its conference play on Tuesday, as both Eastern and Western teams battle for a ticket to the in-season competition's championship game — and a cut of the $500,000 prize pool.

With 12 of the league's 13 teams facing off across Tuesday's WNBA courts, the results will set the stage by minting the two squads who will battle in the July 1st final showdown.

Reigning Commissioner's Cup champs Minnesota have the West's easiest path, as a win over the Las Vegas Aces will send the Lynx to a second straight final.

Should the Lynx fall to the Aces, however, Seattle can grab the Western Conference berth by beating the Los Angeles Sparks.

Meanwhile in the East, a surging Atlanta could land a trip to the final by topping New York, while the Liberty need both a win over the Dream plus a loss by the Indiana Fever to clinch their own return ticket to the Cup's grand finale.

If New York does take down Atlanta, the Fever could advance to the team's first-ever Commissioner's Cup final by beating the struggling Connecticut Sun.

How to watch Tuesday's 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup games

All of Tuesday's six WNBA games count toward the 2025 Commissioner's Cup tally.

The action begins with the Atlanta Dream tipping off against the New York Liberty while the Indiana Fever battles the Connecticut Sun at 7 PM ET, live on WNBA League Pass.

Chicago Sky Star Angel Reese Files Trademark for ‘Mebounds’ to Silence Internet Trolls

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese grabs a rebound during a 2024 WNBA game.
Chicago Sky star Angel Reese is trademarking a term often used to criticize her play. (Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese made headlines this week, with the second-year WNBA forward announcing that she has trademarked word "mebounds" — a slang term opposing fans use to describe Reese rebounding her own missed shots.

"Whoever came up with the 'mebounds' thing, y’all ate that up, because mebounds, rebounds, keybounds...anything that comes off that board, it's mine," Reese said in a TikTok video on Saturday.

"And a brand? That's six figures right there," she continued, referencing her trademark application. "The trolling — I love when y'all do it because the ideas be good!"

Currently averaging 11.9 boards per matchup, Reese is leading the WNBA in rebounds for the second straight season.

Her rookie campaign saw Reese average 13.1 boards per game, a rate that set a single-season league record. She also blasted through the WNBA's consecutive double-double record last season, claiming it with 10 straight before extending it to an impressive 15 games.

Along with the average rebounds record, Reese also broke the single-season total rebounds record previously held by retired Minnesota Lynx legend Sylvia Fowles — a mark that was later surpassed by 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson following Reese's season-ending wrist injury.

"Statistically, all the rebounds that I get aren't always just mine," Reese added in her Saturday social media post. "They're the defense's, too, or somebody else on my team."

Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.