Welcome back to Fast Friends with Kelley O'Hara and Lisa Leslie!

Fast Friends brought the party to Kansas City on Thursday, as co-hosts Lisa Leslie and Kelley O'Hara, plus a roster of superstar guests, kicked off the 2024 NWSL Championship Weekend​ in style.

Retirement, goal cellies, NWSL title predictions, and more dominated conversation as league heavy-hitters Ali Riley, Merritt Mathias, Lo’eau LaBonta, and Kate del Fava — plus reps from each of the two championship contenders, Orlando's Carson Pickett and Washington's Croix Bethune and Ashley Hatch — took to the stage in front of a live audience.

The intrepid hosts also recapped the NWSL semifinals, including a mixup that saw Leslie texting O'Hara at exactly the wrong moment.

"I didn't really understand that they were going to add more time to the clock," Leslie explained, referencing her confusion over Washington's stoppage-time equalizer against O'Hara's Gotham FC.

"I got a text that was like, 'LETS GO!,'" laughed O'Hara. "And I'm like, 'Is she cheering for the Spirit?'"

About Fast Friends with Kelley O'Hara and Lisa Leslie

Coming off the success of JWS's Olympic commentary show The Gold Standard, Fast Friends features two legendary athletes serving up insider insights and unique takes on the biggest stories in women's sports every week.

Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.

UConn’s big NCAA championship win over South Carolina on Sunday weighed in as ESPN’s third most-watched title match in women’s March Madness history, with an average viewership of 8.6 million fans and a peak of 9.9 million.

Also making a viewership mark last weekend were Friday's Final Four tilts. Both the 4.2 million fans who tuned into UConn's win over UCLA and the 3.7 million who saw South Carolina take down Texas helped those games claim spots in the sport's Top 10 most watched across ESPN platforms.

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The 2025 grand finale fell short of the Caitlin Clark-fueled 2023 and 2024 championship games. However, Sunday’s matchup towered over the 2022 edition with an impressive 75% viewership increase.

The 2025 championship more than doubled the 2021's 4.1 million viewers. This demonstrates a sharp continued uptick in the sport's widespread popularity.

With the 2024/25 NCAA women's basketball tournament scoring massive viewership numbers from tip-off through trophy-lifting, it's not entirely surprising that this season's edition registered as the second most-watched women's March Madness on record, boasting an impressive 8.5 billion minutes of content consumed.

Auriemma, Staley push for new March Madness media deal

Both 2025 NCAA championship-contending head coaches subsequently voiced support for securing a new media rights deal. They seek one that separates women's basketball from its current package alongside 39 other collegiate championships.

"For years and years and years we’ve been packaged with all the other Olympic sports, so to speak, in one big chunk. Can we completely separate ourselves and say, 'What are we worth to you?,'" UConn manager Geno Auriemma said on Sunday.

Although a separate deal is a tough ask given that the current contract runs through 2032, South Carolina boss Dawn Staley echoed Auriemma's sentiment. She advocated for a standalone deal similar to the one that's brought lucrative success to the men's tournament.

"I don't know if [new WBCA president Jose Fernandez] can get that, [but opening] up negotiations for a new television deal would be nice," said Staley.

"We need our own television deal so we can understand what our worth is."

The NWSL Players Association released their most recent collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to the public on Tuesday, offering up all of the contractual details and league rules governing compensation, player trades, and other deciding factors through 2030.

Ratified in August 2024, the CBA includes several previously announced and already implemented bold strokes like establishing league-wide unrestricted free agency and a pathway towards revenue sharing, as well as the abolishment of the draft.

Tuesday's unedited document takes contract transparency a step further, outlining additional details such as protections for player data, including usage and privacy rights, and regulations and compensation surrounding name, image, and likeness usage.

In a boost to athletes' paydays, the NWSL's minimum salary will grow from $48,500 to $82,500 (plus bonuses) by 2030 under the new CBA, though an additional clause dictates that a revenue surge could see those terms renegotiated before the contract’s end.

The agreement also codifies financial benefits for family-building and increases support for players with children, plus connects housing stipends to the actual costs of living in each NWSL market.

Notably, the new CBA also bolstered the league's mental health leave, a resource that's already assisting NWSL stars like Angel City's Sydney Leroux and Racing Louisville's Bethany Balcer.

The puck dropped on the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Czechia early Wednesday morning, when the world’s most competitive hockey stars hit the ice for the annual international tournament.

Canada enters as the reigning champion after defeating the US 6-5 in overtime last year to earn their third IIHF title in four years.

Through the tournament's 23 previous editions, the USA and Canada remain the only winners, with the bitter rivals facing off in all but one gold-medal game — the 2019 finale in which Finland took silver behind the US, and Canada snagged bronze.

Both teams feature experienced squads this year, with 13-time tournament contender Marie-Philip Poulin captaining Canada while Team USA relies on the veteran leadership of Hilary Knight, now skating her 15th Worlds — a new IIHF record.

PWHL athletes take center stage at 2025 Worlds

Strengthening North America’s grip on the contest even more is the PWHL, with the second-year league sending 57 players — over 40% of its total athletes — to this year’s World Championship.

In the USA's 7-1 opening win against Finland on Wednesday morning, PWHL players produced every US goal, with the Minnesota Frost’s Kelly Pannek and Ottawa Charge’s Hayley Scamurra recording two each.

The PWHL kicked off the final international break of its 2024/25 season on April 3rd, with plans to resume after the Championship’s conclusion on April 26th.

How to watch the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship

The 2025 IIHF World Championship begins Wednesday, April 9th, and runs through the tournament's 12 PM ET championship game on Sunday, April 20th.

All US games will air live on the NHL Network.

Two of the biggest names in NCAA basketball revealed their transfer portal decisions on Tuesday, as student-athletes continue to weigh their options ahead of the April 23rd deadline.

Prospective top 2025 WNBA Draft pick Olivia Miles will instead play out her final year of collegiate eligibility at TCU, making the leap to the team that knocked her Notre Dame squad out of this season’s national tournament.

"I just want to be a pro without being a pro," Miles told TNT. "Every day on campus I want to be the way a pro would be, so I'm prepared when I do actually go to the league."

Similarly, Division I's 2024/25 leading scorer Ta'Niyah Latson announced her departure from Florida State to join 2025 NCAA runners-up South Carolina on Tuesday.

Latson already has connections in the Gamecock locker room, having played high school ball with South Carolina guard Raven Johnson — a draft-eligible junior who recently hinted she’ll be sticking around for one more NCAA season.

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Strong teams prevail as NCAA transfer portal continues

As strong teams like South Carolina and TCU grew stronger this week, talent drain affected other top squads, including 2025 Final Four contender UCLA.

The Bruins saw three highly touted freshmen enter the transfer portal this week, with Elina Aarnisalo, Kendall Dudley, and Avary Cain seeking fresh starts to their sophomore years.

The talented young trio are likely seeking increased playing time, as the Bruins will return most of their 2024/25 starters next season, all while adding top recruit Sienna Betts — the younger sister of Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Betts — to the mix.

All in all, college basketball’s new era can be dizzying but, while the portal's carousel is far from done spinning, the 2025/26 field is starting to take shape as players make their transfer announcements.