Nancy Darsch, the gold winning assistant coach for the USA Women’s Olympic Basketball team in both the 1984 (Los Angeles) and 1996 (Atlanta) Olympic games, died last Monday after battling Parkinson’s disease. She was 68.

Darsch’s influence on the game extended to all levels of women’s basketball. Her coaching career began at Longmeadow High School in Massachusetts before eventually progressing to Ohio State University in 1985, where she led the Buckeyes to four Big Ten Conference Championships and seven NCAA tournament appearances.

Former Buckeyes player and current Minnesota Lynx coach Katie Smith took to Twitter to remember her former coach and mentor.

Thank you Nancy for all you did for the game and for your players. You did everything with class. You will be missed. Rest Well ????????❤️ https://t.co/rdQYUCeEca

— Katie Smith - OLY (@katiesmith30) November 4, 2020

In 1997, Darsch started her professional coaching career during the WNBA’s inaugural season with the New York Liberty. She had the privilege of coaching the Liberty in the first-ever WNBA game against the Los Angeles Sparks, where she earned her first professional victory with a final score of 67-57.

As head coach, she led the team to a 17-11 season, as the team advanced to the WNBA Finals, where they fell to the Houston Comets. In her two seasons with New York, Darsch compiled a 36-24 record.

In a statement released to WNBA.com, the New York Liberty thanked Darsch for the contributions she made to the team:

“We are grateful for Nancy’s leadership as a pioneer of this game. Her contributions to the advancement of both collegiate and professional women’s basketball, and her passion for the game will forever be felt.”

Teresa Weatherspoon, a member of that 1997 Liberty squad and a 2010 inductee into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, was one of many former players who took to social media to commemorate her experience under Coach Darsch:

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Weatherspoon went on to start her own legacy of coaching women’s basketball, serving as the head basketball coach for the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters for five years.

After her first two seasons with New York, Darsch took over as head coach for the Washington Mystics. At the end of two seasons, she became an advance scout for the team, and from 2003-2005, seasons she served as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Lynx. Darsch joined the Seattle Storm as an assistant coach in 2008, winning a WNBA title with the team in 2010.

In “Remembering Nancy Darsch” a video created by WNBA.com documenting Darsch’s experiences as a coach, she shares a few insightful words describing her coaching style.

“The players, to me, need to be at the forefront. I’m just the architect. Let people come and enjoy the building and enjoy the team, and I’m in the backseat.”

Darsch’s humility underscores her importance to the league and the players she coached. In four seasons as WNBA head coach, she compiled a 57-57 record, but her legacy goes well beyond those numbers.

Darsch is one of many unsung heroes who helped carry women’s basketball to where it is today. And it’s this legacy that will live on, reminding us that not all heroes wear capes, but some carry clipboards.

Wimbledon is leveling up, as the annual London-based Grand Slam announced Thursday that it's increasing its purse by 7% across the board in 2025, pushing the total prize money to £53.5 million ($72.59 million) ahead of tennis tournament's June 30th kick-off.

Both the 2025 women's and men's singles champions will earn winner's checks in the amount of £3 million ($4.07 million) — an 11.1% increase over the amount won by 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková.

With increases across all Slam events, from singles and doubles to wheelchair competitions, even athletes who stumble early will see a raise over last year's competition.

For example, singles players ousted in this year's first round will take home 10% more than in 2024, earning deposits of £66,000 ($89,530).

The 2025 total purse now doubles the prize money offered by the tournament a decade ago, and makes Wimbledon the biggest potential payday across all four of the sport's Grand Slams.

"We're immensely proud of the fact that, if you look back 10 years, you can see the increase over that period and 7% this year," said All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club chair Deborah Jevans. "And we have listened to the players, we have engaged with the players."

Teen swimmer Summer McIntosh made a major splash at the 2025 Canadian Swimming Trials, shattering three world records in just five days of competition in Victoria, BC.

First on Saturday, the Toronto swimmer shaved 1.2 seconds off the Australian Ariarne Titmus's 400-meter freestyle mark to set a new world record time of 3:54.18.

Then on Monday, McIntosh took down a decade-old record in the 200-meter individual medley (IM), becoming the first woman swimmer to complete the race in less than 2:06.00.

Just two days later, the 18-year-old McIntosh broke her own 400-meter IM world record, besting her 2024 Canadian Olympic Trials time by 0.73 seconds with a 4:23.65 race Wednesday.

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With her unstoppable week-long performance, McIntosh became the first swimmer to set three new world records in different individual events at one meet since US legend Michael Phelps's historic run at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"Going into tonight, I knew I could do something really special because this has probably been the best meet of my career," McIntosh told reporters after Wednesday's race.

That said, the young star is already eyeing new times — and new records.

"Overall, [I'm] happy with the time, but I know I can go faster," said McIntosh following her 400-meter IM performance. "The faster I swim, the happier I am."

The NWSL Championship is on its way back West, with the league announcing on Friday morning that the 2025 title match will kick off from PayPal Park in San Jose, California.

Hosted at the home pitch of 2024 expansion team Bay FC, the game will take place on Saturday, November 22nd.

In addition to the championship match, the 2025 NWSL season's final weekend will include a variety of supporting events like Fan Fest and the annual Skills Challenge competition.

"We're thrilled to bring the NWSL Championship back to the West Coast and to a region with as rich a history in women's soccer as the Bay Area," said NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman in a league statement.

Citing a long list of former USWNT stars with local ties, including Julie Foudy, Kelley O'Hara, and Alex Morgan, Bay FC co-founder Brandi Chastain — a US legend herself — called the Bay Area "the place women's soccer calls home."

"Our community's fabric is woven with the greatest the game has to offer," explained Chastain.

"This community's passion for the game, combined with the excitement surrounding one of our newest teams in Bay FC, makes it the perfect setting to celebrate the league's top talent and crown our next champion," said Berman.

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How to attend and watch the 2025 NWSL Championship

Like last year, the 2025 NWSL Championship will air in primetime, with CBS set to broadcast the match live at 8 PM ET on November 22nd.

Tickets to the game will be available for purchase beginning in August, though interested fans can sign up for presale access online now.

The NWSL and WNBA Players Associations teamed up to release a joint statement on Thursday, with the unions expressing their solidarity with "all people seeking safety, dignity, and opportunity" after the recent ICE raids and ensuing protests in Los Angeles.

The move comes after Angel City published their own social media post addressing the ICE raids last Saturday, with the Los Angeles NWSL club noting "We know that our city is stronger because of its diversity and the people and families who shape it, love it, and call it home."

ACFC also directed immigrants in need of assistance in the wake of the ICE raids to two community organizations: the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights and the LA County Office of Immigrant Affairs.

Calling the WNBA Players Association "leaders in this space," NWSL Players Association executive director Meghann Burke told The Athletic that the basketball union initiated their joint statement.

"It's important to stand together as workers' unions," she noted.

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NWSL and WNBA unions speak to families impacted by ICE raids

"It's not lost on us that this country and the world are in turmoil right now," wrote the NWSLPA and WNBPA. "Across the country, families are facing fear, hardship, and uncertainty tied to immigration."

The athlete unions then crystallized their position, saying, "We stand with all people seeking safety, dignity, and opportunity, no matter where they come from or where they hope to go."

"Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect," they continued. "We know not every situation is simple. But offering compassion should never be up for debate."