For Kevin Raphaël, the goal of a Premier Hockey Federation expansion team in Montreal dates back to 2019, when the Canadian Women’s Hockey League folded and left the city without a women’s professional team.

His work toward that goal came to fruition Tuesday, when the league announced its seventh team — and announced Raphaël as president of the new Montreal franchise.

“I’m proud to be present on this team,” Raphaël said. “I’ve been working so hard for the past four years now, to bring a team back to Montreal. I believe in women’s hockey, I believe they should be treated as professionals. I believe that we have the fan base and the infrastructure in the province of Quebec to support strongly a pro women’s hockey team.”

For those in the PHF, the addition of a team in Montreal has been a long time coming, even for commissioner Reagan Carey, who took on the job a little over two months ago.

“This has been circled on my list as a top priority since day one,” said Carey, who also called Montreal an “essential market” for the league. “In these last few months, there’s been a real awareness of the commitment not just of the ownership, but our front office to continue to build and add people. Montreal is an extension of just the credibility, the passion and purpose behind who we’re bringing on board with the PHF.”

BTM Partners will start out as Montreal’s ownership group, news not included in Tuesday’s announcement but confirmed by Carey. With that, the group now owns four of seven teams in the PHF (Montreal, Boston Pride, Metropolitan Riveters, Toronto Six). Back in March, it was announced that a BIPOC-led ownership group would be purchasing the Six, although according to Carey that sale is still in progress and has yet to officially close.

Carey called the sale a “priority” and a “continued discussion” similar to the ones that were had about adding a Montreal franchise.

Eventually, the league would like to see all seven teams owned by separate entities. Still, Raphaël made clear Tuesday that, for now at least, he’s just the Montreal team’s president.

“We’ll see later what will happen, but right now my job is to put the best team on the ice possible,” he said.

His goal for the team in Montreal is “to bring something to our women athletes.”

“My goal is to treat the players as professionals, to make sure they get paid for all the efforts they make, all the training — they train as much as the boys, and they do not get nothing,” he said. “So my mission is to make sure that we do right by the players, we do right by the sacrifice that they’ve made for the past four years.”

As the team looks to establish itself in the Montreal market, it will play “home” games around Quebec.

The PHF wants to grow support for professional women’s hockey within communities that may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience it. The league also anticipates that a lot of local players will want to join the new team, making it important that team leaders are connected throughout the province.

For training, the new franchise call Centre 21.02 home — the first and only recognized High Performance Hockey Center for women athletes across Canada.

As the PHF is already a few months into free agency, Raphaël likely faces an uphill battle in signing players. That’s part of the reason that the franchise announcement, which included minimal information beyond the addition of the team, came when it did: The league wanted to put Raphaël in a position to field the best team possible.

“I had been asked already about the concern of the timing of announcing this team,” said Carey. “I think there’s not going to be any lack of interest and roster building for Kevin [Raphaël]. In fact, he might have his roster sealed before the rest of the teams do. So we’ll let the competition begin.”

Boston Pride player and PHF Players Association member Mallory Souliotis told On Her Turf that news of the expansion team was sent to players’ reps early Tuesday morning ahead of the league’s official announcement.

Raphaël, meanwhile, played potential difficulties off due to the history of hockey in the community and player’s desires to play in Montreal. Several high-profile Canadian players, like Ann-Renée Desbiens, Marie-Philip Poulin and Mélodie Daoust, hail from Quebec.

“We have the best talent in the world. You just look at any world championship or Olympics, who are the best players? Who is the best goalies? Who is the clutch player? (It’s a) person from Quebec,” said Raphaël.

And while that’s certainly true, those players most recently have been committed to the PWHPA, which has plans to launch its own league.

So far this offseason, though, two players from the PWHPA — Brittany Howard and U.S. Olympian Amanda Pelkey — have signed with PHF teams. And, according to Raphaël, the announcement of a Montreal team has been met with buzz from players.

“We wanted to enter as a team before making moves. I’m not gonna lie that my phone’s been blowing up right now,” he said. “A lot of players want to play with Montreal. I think they know that Montreal is something else. We are Canada’s team.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be long before we sign players because a lot of people are hitting up my phone right now. I will answer every single call and we’ll build the best team possible to win the Isobel Cup.”

Other announcements, like the team’s name, game locations and its coaching staff, will come later.

There will also be discussions about further expansion teams. While many – including the league – had anticipated eight PHF teams gracing the ice in the league’s upcoming eighth season, there will only be seven.

This year’s expansion begins and ends with Montreal. Carey says the one-team increase is the right move for the league.

“We have other markets we’ve explored,” said Carey, adding that they are still looking into expansion teams for the league’s ninth season and beyond. “It’s my responsibility, once I got here a few months ago, to really vet and assess what is best for the league right now and what’s best for the long term.

“I feel very confident and strongly about this being the right move for the league.”

In the meantime, Raphaël, a French cable TV broadcaster, is looking forward to helping grow women’s hockey one step at a time.

“I have so many things I want to do for this team,” he said. “If I could do everything in a year, I would not sleep.”

For the first time in the NWSL's 12-year history, fans can now buy their own goalkeeper jerseys. And while replica goalkeeper jerseys representing all 14 NWSL teams hit the market on Wednesday, some didn't stick around for long. 

Fans across women's soccer have long vocalized their discontent over the position's lack of availability on social media, often comparing the shortcoming to the widespread availability of men’s goalkeeper jerseys. And as the NWSL has grown, so has demand — and not just from those in the stands. 

"To have goalkeeper kits available for fans in the women’s game as they have been for so long in the men’s game is not only a long-awaited move in the right direction, it’s just good business," said Washington Spirit goalie Aubrey Kingsbury in an team press release. "I can’t wait to see fans representing me, Barnie [Barnhart], and Lyza in the stands at Audi!"

just went looking at #nwsl goalkeeper kit stock out of curiosity — Alyssa Naeher's $145 kit already sold out S-XL (league announced GK jerseys on sale 3 hours ago)https://t.co/8bYA7tlwcx

— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) April 17, 2024

Business does, in fact, appear to be booming. Alyssa Naeher’s Chicago Red Stars kit sold out less than three hours after the league's announcement. Jerseys for other keepers like DiDi Haračić, Abby Smith, Michelle Betos, Katelyn Rowland, and Bella Bixby aren’t currently available via the Official NWSL Shop, though blank goalkeeper jerseys can be customized through some individual team sites. Jerseys start at $110 each.

"This should be the benchmark," said Spirit Chief Operations Officer Theresa McDonnell. "The expectation is that all players’ jerseys are available to fans. Keepers are inspiring leaders and mentors with their own unique fan base who want to represent them... I can’t wait to see them all over the city."

Decorated gymnast Simone Biles took to the popular Call Her Daddy podcast this week to open up about her experience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, revealing she thought she was going to be "banned from America" for her performance.

After Biles botched her vault routine due to a bout of the "twisties," she withdrew from the team final as well as the all-around final in order to focus on her mental health. She later reentered the competition to win bronze in the individual balance beam final.

In her interview with podcast host Alex Cooper, Biles admitted to feeling like she let the entire country down by failing her vault attempt.

"As soon as I landed I was like 'Oh, America hates me. The world is going to hate me. I can only see what they’re saying on Twitter right now,'" she recalled thinking. "I was like, ‘Holy s---, what are they gonna say about me?'"

"I thought I was going to be banned from America," she continued. "That’s what they tell you: Don’t come back if not gold. Gold or bust. Don’t come back."

Widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time, Biles has hinted at a desire to join her third Olympic team in Paris, though her participation won't be confirmed until after the gymnastics trials in late June. She holds over 30 medals from the Olympic Games and World Artistic Gymnastics Championships combined, and if qualified, would be a sure favorite heading into this summer’s games.

Caitlin Clark is reportedly close to cementing a hefty endorsement deal with Nike.

The Athletic was the first to break the news Wednesday evening, commenting that the deal would be worth "eight figures" and include her own signature shoe. On Thursday afternoon, the publication tweeted that the deal would top $20 million, according to lead NBA Insider Shams Charania. Both Under Armour and Adidas are said to have also made sizable offers to the college phenom and expected future WNBA star.

The new agreement comes after Clark's previous Nike partnership ended with the conclusion of the college basketball season. She was one of five NCAA athletes to sign an NIL deal with the brand back in October, 2022. 

Considering Clark's overwhelming popularity and Nike's deep pockets, the signing's purported value doesn't exactly come as a shock. New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu’s deal with the brand is reportedly worth $24 million, while NBA rookie and No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama’s deal is rumored to weigh in at $100 million. And in 2003, LeBron James famously earned $90 million off his own Nike deal. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Clark’s star power continues to skyrocket, with the NCAA championship averaging 18.9 million viewers and the 2024 WNBA Draft more than doubling its previous viewership record. Following the draft, Fanatics stated that Clark's Indiana Fever jersey — which sold out within an hour — was the top seller for any draft night pick in the company’s history, with droves of unlucky fans now being forced to wait until August to get their hands on some official No. 22 gear.

In Wednesday's Indiana Fever introductory press conference, the unfailingly cool, calm, and collected Clark said that turning pro hasn’t made a huge impact on how she’s conducting her deals.

"If I’m being completely honest, I feel like it doesn’t change a ton from how I lived my life over the course of the last year," she said. "Sponsorships stay the same. The people around me, agents and whatnot, have been able to help me and guide me through the course of the last year. I don’t know if I would be in this moment if it wasn’t for a lot of them."

Former Oklahoma slugger Jocelyn Alo has signed on with Athletes Unlimited and will compete in the AU Pro Softball AUX this June.

The NCAA record holder in career home runs (122), total bases (761), and slugging percentage (.987), Alo was originally drafted by the league in 2022 but opted instead to join the newly debuted Women’s Professional Fastpitch. 

Alo currently plays for independent pro softball team Oklahoma City Spark, with team owner Tina Floyd reportedly on board with her recent AUX signing. AUX games are scheduled for June 10-25, while the Spark's season will kick off June 19th. Alo will play for both. 

Among those joining Alo on the AUX roster are former James Madison ace pitcher Odicci Alexander and former Wichita State standout middle infielder Sydney McKinney.

According to Alo, the decision to play in the Athletes Unlimited league was fueled by her desire to propel women's sports forward as well as provide more exposure to a sport that's given her "so many opportunities."

"Not only to challenge myself more, but just for the growth of the game," Alo said, explaining her reasoning to The Oklahoman. "I genuinely believe that professional softball can be a career for girls."

Joining AUX is also one more step in her plan toward representing Team USA at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"I’m constantly thinking about how can I do these little things right in these four years to prepare me for the biggest stage of softball," she told The Oklahoman. "I definitely want to play in the Olympics, for sure."

Alo further expressed enthusiasm in the hope that the rise of other women’s sports, like women’s basketball and the NWSL, will push softball’s professional viability even higher.

"We’re seeing the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League) get their stuff going, I see the WNBA starting to get hot," she continued. "I feel like the softball community is like, 'All right, it’s our turn and it’s our turn to just demand more.'"