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Olympians Face Fan Favorites at 2024 WNBA All-Star Game

Team WNBA rookie Angel Reese at 2024 WNBA All-Star Game team practice in Phoenix, Arizona
Team WNBA is gearing up to take on a stacked Team USA roster on Saturday. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

WNBA All-Star Weekend has arrived, with orange carpet fits, courtside looks, and fierce competition adding up to one epic weekend in Phoenix, Arizona, all punctuated by the 2024 All-Star Game.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of Saturday's tip-off.

Alyssa Thomas high-fives her Team USA teammates at 2024 WNBA All-Star Weekend
Alyssa Thomas and the rest of Team USA will face Team WNBA on Saturday. (Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)

Olympians and All-Stars take the court

The much discussed Team USA vs. Team WNBA format will take centerstage on Saturday, as Olympic preparation meets a few snubs and some surprising teammates.

The US has limited opportunities to build chemistry within their squad of top American talent, and will need to take their rotations seriously despite the game's friendly nature.

For Team WNBA, the All-Star Game could provide vets like Arike Ogunbowale and star rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese the opportunity to publicly show how they match up against this year's Olympic roster, with thoughts toward the future.

Team WNBA's Angel Reese lines up a shot while fellow rookie Caitlin Clark looks on.
Saturday's showdown marks the first time rookies Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark will be teammates. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Star rookies link up for the first time

Saturday's showdown will also mark the first time Clark and Reese have ever suited up for the same team, taking the court for Team WNBA in the highly anticipated team-up of two former college rivals.

"She's probably going to lead the game in rebounds," Clark quipped when asked about playing alongside Reese.

"This is not going to be the [last] time, I know we'll be All-Stars again," Reese said about playing with Clark on last week's NBA Today. "Hopefully in 2028 we'll be Olympians together, too."

Team WNBA head coach Cheryl Miller at practice before Saturday's WNBA All-Star Game
Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller will lead Team WNBA at Saturday's All-Star Game. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

WNBA All-Star Game coaches face starting lineup decisions

Fans are keeping watch on Team USA's starting five, though recent injuries to Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier could affect head coach Cheryl Reeve's ability to immediately field the best group.

Meanwhile, WNBA legend Cheryl Miller — who coached the Phoenix Mercury from 1997-2000 — will serve as Team WNBA's boss for the night. Overall Top 10 All-Star vote-getters Clark, Ogunbowale, Aliyah Boston, and Dearica Hamby are expected to start the game for Team WNBA, alongside an additional player of Miller's discretion.

Olympians Collier and Stewart, plus A'ja Wilson, Kahleah Copper, Jackie Young, and Sabrina Ionescu also landed in the Top 10 of votes submitted by fans, media, and fellow players.

Where to watch the WNBA All-Star Game

The 2024 WNBA All-Star Game will tip off at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday, July 20th, on ESPN.

WPSL to Launch First-Ever 2nd Division U.S. Pro Women’s Soccer League

The new WPSL Pro league logo on a red-to-blue ombre gradient background.
The new WPSL Pro league is set to launch in 2026. (WPSL Pro Soccer)

The Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) announced a plan to launch a Division II pro arm in 2026, providing a domestic stepping stone for players aspiring to top-flight leagues like the NWSL and USL Super League.

The same Cleveland ownership group that recently fell short of securing an NWSL expansion team is backing the venture, making good on their promise to bring professional women's soccer to Northeast Ohio.

The league will launch with a shortened season following the 2026 men's World Cup, before beginning its first full-fledged campaign in April 2027.

With 15 teams already confirmed, WPSL Pro intends to field clubs in an initial 16 to 20 markets.

Along with Cleveland, the inaugural WPSL Pro season will include teams in Austin, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Fargo, Houston, Oklahoma City, Sioux Falls, Wichita, and the Bay Area, among others. Each franchise will pay a $1 million fee to enter the league.

The WPSL has a history of fostering high-level amateur competition, currently housing over 100 clubs and boasting a roster of former players that includes USWNT icons Brandi Chastain, Alex Morgan, and Rose Lavelle. WPSL Pro, however, will become the US soccer pyramid's first-ever second-tier league.

"WPSL Pro is the bridge that's been missing — not just for players, but for the communities, investors, and brands ready to be part of the next chapter in women's sports," league co-founder Sean Jones said in a statement.

Caitlin Clark Scores 2nd Best-Selling Jersey Across WNBA and NBA Sales

Fans clamor to buy Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark jerseys before a 2024 WNBA game.
Caitlin Clark sold the second-most basketball jerseys in the US in 2024. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

The No. 22 kit of Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark weighed in as last fall's second best-selling basketball jersey in the US according to sports outfitter Fanatics, with the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year trailing only NBA superstar Steph Curry on the top sales list.

Clark's merch dominance is nothing new, however. Her Indiana jersey sold out less than an hour after the Fever drafted her as the overall No. 1 pick in April 2024, making Clark the top seller of any draft night pick in the company's history.

Even more, Clark's merchandise led last season's record-shattering WNBA sales, with Fanatics reporting that 2024 sales of player-specific gear earned a jaw-dropping 1,000% year-over-year increase by last summer's All-Star break — in large part thanks to the 2024 WNBA rookie class.

Fellow 2024 WNBA debutants Chicago Sky standout Angel Reese and then-Las Vegas Aces guard Kate Martin — Clark's NCAA teammate at Iowa — trailed the Fever star with the league's second- and fourth-most merchandise sales, respectively.

This year, a new WNBA rookie could give Clark a run for her money, as the No. 5 Dallas Wings jersey for 2025's No. 1 draft pick, Paige Bueckers, is already doing numbers at retailers across the country.

Already a brand mogul in her own right, Bueckers topped the 2024 NIL list as college basketball’s biggest earner via endorsement deals and merchandise sales prior to going pro.

Kenyan Runner Sharon Lokedi Shatters Boston Marathon Record

Kenya's Sharon Lokedi raises her arms in triumph as she crosses the 2025 Boston Marathon finish line.
Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi beat the Boston Marathon course record by over two minutes. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Kenyan runner Sharon Lokedi shattered the women’s course record at the 2025 Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing the 129th edition of the race in 2:17:22 — more than two and a half minutes faster than the previous record set by Ethiopia's Buzunesh Deba in 2014.

The victory marked the 31-year-old runner's second major marathon championship following her 2022 New York City Marathon win.

After finishing second in the 2024 Boston Marathon behind fellow Kenyan Hellen Obiri, Lokedi avenged her runner-up status by overtaking the back-to-back defending champion in the final kilometer of Monday’s race.

"I'm always second to her and today I was like, 'There’s no way,'" Lokedi said of her rivalry with Obiri. "I just have to put it out there and fight 'til the end and see how it goes. I'm so glad I ran that fast and she was right behind me. We all fought and wanted this so bad."

All of this year’s top three finishers broke through the course record pace, with Obiri and Ethiopia's Yalemzerf Yehualaw joining Lokedi both at the finish line and in the Boston Marathon's record book.

Along with her $150,000 winner's check, Lokedi will pocket an additional $50,000 for claiming the fastest women's time in Boston Marathon history.

Naomi Girma Makes Champions League Debut for Chelsea in UWCL Semifinal Loss

Barcelona's Alexia Putellas shakes hands with Chelsea's Naomi Girma after their 2024/25 Champions League semifinal.
Naomi Girma subbed into Chelsea’s 4-1 Champions League semifinal loss to Barcelona on Sunday. (JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images)

USWNT star defender Naomi Girma made her UEFA Women’s Champions League debut this weekend, with Chelsea FC's million-dollar signing taking the pitch during the UK club's tough 4-1 semifinal loss to reigning champion Barcelona on Sunday.

Despite joining the WSL leaders on a world-record $1.1 million transfer fee from the NWSL’s San Diego Wave in January, injury hampered Girma's impact on the Blues, as the Stanford grad appeared in just one regular-season WSL match before exiting with a knock to the calf back in March.

Returning from that injury, Girma subbed in at the 81st minute on a mission to protect Chelsea's relatively tight 2-1 scoreline on Sunday.

Despite her efforts, a quick goal from center back Irene Paredes coupled with a 90th-minute strike from forward Clàudia Pina secured Barcelona the win — plus a significant lead going into this weekend's deciding second-leg semifinal match.

"Barcelona were sharper in tight spaces than we were, which is what they're known for," said Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze after the match.

"The whole rhythm of the game was very different from in England. This was much more of a Spanish tempo. We wanted to play a little more aggressively on the ball, but the staccato nature of the match worked against us."

How to watch the Chelsea at theChampions League semifinals

Girma will have another chance to earn her check this Sunday, when Chelsea hosts Barcelona in the second leg of their 2024/25 UEFA Champions League semifinal round.

The match kicks off at 9 AM ET, with live coverage on DAZN.

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