Rooting for Spain at the 2023 World Cup can be complicated, as U.S. women’s national team players turned World Cup podcast hosts Christen Press and Tobin Heath admitted.

Last September, 15 Spanish players were left off the national team roster amid a dispute with the federation, one which remains unresolved. The players did not want to compete under head coach Jorge Vilda, who has remained with the team through the World Cup. While three of those players returned to the national team for the tournament, others remained off the team, including FC Barcelona stars Patri Guijarro, Mapi León and Sandra Paños.

“It will really piss me off not to go to the World Cup but my values come first,” León said in March.

So Spain has been left with a “complicated” dynamic as the team makes its first-ever World Cup semifinal appearance, as Press and Heath discussed on the latest episode of “The RE-CAP Show.”

“You’ve got this mix of some of their most important players [who] have now come back into the squad and then there’s all these new players that kind of took the place of the traditional 11,” Press said. “So you’ve got this weird dynamic and when I’m looking at the energy I see so much pride in Spain. I saw so many tears from my friends on the Spanish side.”

Both Press and Heath understand the tough position that creates for World Cup fans, with many wanting to support Spain but feeling uncertain over Vilda’s continued presence.

“I think for us fans it’s a little bit complicated too,” Heath said. “I think Spain is another team that it’s loved in football in terms of the way they play and the way that they’ve developed another part of what was missing I think in the women’s game. But it’s complicated, right?”

Someone tell Heath that they didn’t “feel good” rooting for Spain, which essentially meant rooting for the success of the coach. But for those who still want the players themselves to find success, the position leads to internal conflict.

“I think that the hope is that the more success the team has, the bigger voice and the more respect that they get from their country,” Press said. “I think that they deal with a lot of sexism in Spain. I think that in the course of our careers, it has gone from a federation that had absolutely no regard for their women’s program — they didn’t even qualify for World Cups, they weren’t even there — and now they’re winning Ballon d’Ors and they have established a league that can compete in the Champions League. It’s just transformed so quickly.”

The club experience in Spain is transforming, Press has heard from players, but the national team experience has lagged behind. It’s an interesting reversal from what U.S. players experienced, with their national team setting the precedent for club play in the country.

“Ultimately I will always root for the players on the field,” Press continued, “and I will hope that their success, their greatness, their beautiful performances, their goals – I hope the whole country can get behind them and I hope that it will help them get a voice. That’s sort of what you want to celebrate in sport is this idea that you can play for these these changes.

“They shouldn’t have to. They should be heard and listened to and respected the first time that they say something if someone’s talking about an unfriendly unhealthy environment, I don’t need to hear anything more.”

“There is no place for abuse in in women’s football any kind of it there’s no place for it,” Heath added. “It’s not okay, winning does not make abuse okay. And I wish that these players win so they get the platforms and the ability to really change the culture and the narrative that’s going on there because they all deserve better.”

Even still, Press remains behind both the players who chose to play within the system in hopes of changing it and those that opted not to play and put their personal well-being and values above the World Cup. To her, “there’s no wrong decision” from the players.

“I think when I see how much pride these players have, being in their first semi-final how complicated it is,” she said. “All those tears knowing that their play has driven the sport forward and driven the respect for women in their country in such a profound way, I know there it’s a really really hard thing to to process and to understand and we’re we’re with the players we’re rooting for them. Team Spain all the way.”

With the 2025 NCAA gymnastics season in full swing, top collegiate athletes are already eyeing mid-April's national championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

Unlike elite gymnastics, where difficulty can outweigh execution, the college level values precision over big tricks, so Division I athletes all aim for perfect 10s in their competition performances.

Despite this difference, many of the world's most decorated elite gymnasts also compete in the NCAA. Two-time Olympian Jade Carey is back for her senior season with No. 14 Oregon State while her US teammate in both Tokyo and Paris, Jordan Chiles, is entering her junior year at No. 11 UCLA.

The Bruin, who took the 2024 NCAA season off to prepare for last summer's Olympics, will attempt to reclaim the national titles on uneven bars and floor exercise that she earned in 2023.

Top teams poised for the podium

After earning their first national title last spring, No. 2 LSU is hitting the 2025 mat armed with a stacked roster, headlined by 2024 all-around champion Haleigh Bryant and social media star Livvy Dunne.

Add in last year's freshman phenom Konnor McClain, whose prowess on the balance beam ultimately clinched LSU the NCAA trophy, and 2024 Olympic alternate Kaliya Lincoln, who opened her NCAA career with a 9.825 vault two weeks ago, and the Tigers are more than capable of a back-to-back run.

LSU isn't the only SEC team predicted to make a deep run this season, as the conference is once again flush with perennial contenders.

Elite US stars Kayla DiCello and early Freshman of the Year frontrunner Skye Blakely will join two-time US Olympic alternate Leanne Wong in trying to return No. 7 Florida to the NCAA championship meet. At the same time, new SEC team No. 1 Oklahoma, winner of seven of the last 10 NCAA trophies, could see senior Jordan Bowers de-throne Bryant for the 2025 all-around title.

Also causing early national championship chatter are 2024 finalists No. 5 Cal, who return two of the country's best all-arounders in senior Mya Lauzon and junior eMjae Frazier, and Big Ten champs No. 6 Michigan State, whose veteran-heavy lineup boasts stars Skyla Schulte and Sage Kellerman.

How to watch NCAA gymnastics this weekend

Some of the country's top NCAA gymnasts will take the mat when No. 7 Florida visits No. 2 LSU at 7:30 PM ET on Friday. Live coverage will air on ESPN2.

The NCAA unanimously approved implementing a women's March Madness revenue-sharing plan on Wednesday, aligning the women's side with the compensation program the men’s edition has enjoyed since 1991.

"This is a historic day for women's sports, women's basketball, and the NCAA," said NCAA president Charlie Baker in the college sports governing body's statement. "Today's vote means our members have the opportunity to do even more on campus to promote and support female athletes. I can't wait to see all the incredible things they do."

Sparked by 2021's landmark NCAA gender equity review, the decision ultimately actualized after years of pressure from administrators and coaches.

"The long-awaited, hard fought for, and well-earned day is here," said UNC coach and Women's Basketball Coaches Association president Courtney Banghart. "I am so grateful for the effort of so many to bring this reality to our sport."

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Deep March Madness runs earn more revenue

Beginning this year, each team competing in the Division I tournament will now receive performance-based units of revenue, with deeper runs earning more units.

With plans to grow the prize pool to $25 million by 2028, this year's inaugural $15 million purse represents 26% of the competition's $65 million media rights valuation — putting it proportionally on par with the percentage allocated to the men's fund.

Distributions will begin in 2026 and, like the men’s program, they will be paid directly to conferences, whose member schools will collectively decide how to best invest the unrestricted funds.

For the 2025 edition, a unit will reportedly be worth $113,636. According to ESPN's calculations, a Final Four team could amass approximately $1.26 million for its conference over the next three years.

With conferences and schools set for an influx of funds should their teams flourish at the national tournament, the revenue plan becomes a significant incentive for institutions to further invest in women's basketball.

Ultimately, the NCAA's move not only addresses the sport's equity disparity, it could also bolster the annual tournament's level of competition.

Unrivaled basketball hits the court for the first time on Friday and, according to ESPN, the debut league's style of play will look a little different from the 3×3 Olympic game's rules.

Unlike the half-court version currently played in major international 3x3 basketball competitions, Unrivaled's full-court edition uses slightly smaller court dimensions from a traditional 5×5 setup.

Similarly, the inaugural league's format follows a four-quarter setup, but opts for seven-minute periods rather than the WNBA's 10-minute quarters. The shot clock will also be a speedier 18 seconds versus the professional 5×5 game's 24 seconds.

Unrivaled victories, however, rest solely in fourth-quarter play. This "winning score" quarter denotes that the win goes to the first team to score 11 more points than the highest final third-quarter score. For example, if a game's third quarter ends with a 45-43 scoreline, the first team to post the target score of 56 points in the final period walks away with the victory.

This system essentially eliminates the possibility of overtime. League organizers also hope it deters the late-game fouls used strategically and prolifically in 5×5 contests.

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Unrivaled 3×3 format revamps fouls

Speaking of fouls, Unrivaled is also condensing the free throw system to keep the game moving. Each player has six fouls to give, but each shooting foul will earn a single free throw at the line.

Those awarded free throws, however, will contain different point opportunities depending on the foul incurred. Fouled two-point shots grant a single free throw worth two points, while a free throw awarded from a three-point attempt will be worth three. All and-ones are worth one point.

With six players rostered on each of Unrivaled's six teams, the league also tweaked the traditional rule of fouling out to ensure games can be completed should they become especially chippy. If an athlete fouls out with only three available players left on their team, that player can continue competing. She will instead incur a technical foul — resulting in one opponent free throw — for each additional foul.

The new league's rules all point to Unrivaled's efforts to put an engaging, fast product on the court.

"This game is rooted in how you would play basketball as a kid on a black top," Unrivaled president of basketball operations Luke Cooper told ESPN's Kendra Andrews on Tuesday. "There's flow, there's pace. When you are watching, it feels like you are watching basketball... it's not a gimmick."

The WNBA free agency carousel started spinning this week, with teams evaluating rosters and coring athletes to either retain talent or trade players for a return.

Thus far, cored players include Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, and Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams.

Squads employ single-use coring on WNBA stars

Each of the WNBA's teams can core one unrestricted free agent on their roster, ensuring them exclusive rights to that cored athlete. Cored players receive an offer for a one-year, supermax salary contract, along with the option to negotiate different terms.

Cored athletes are unable to directly sign with another franchise, but they can be part of a trade offer by their coring team.

New York cored Stewart after she expressed interest in remaining with her 2024 WNBA Championship-winning squad. Sabally, on the other hand, will likely be part of a sign-and-trade deal after telling media late last week that she is looking to leave Dallas in 2025.

Plum's situation with the Aces is less clear-cut: The two-time WNBA champion could re-sign with her team, though Las Vegas could be exploring opportunities to cash in should she want to compete elsewhere.

Other offers spark WNBA free agent negotiations

In addition to coring, WNBA teams have also begun sending qualifying offers to certain restricted free agents, allowing them to initiate negotiations with those players.

Most notably, despite making Monday offers to three players — guard Dana Evans, forward Michaela Onyenwere, and forward Nikolina Milić — Chicago has yet to extend a qualifying offer to the Sky's 2024 points-leader Chennedy Carter.

Ultimately, while negotiations kick off next week, WNBA contracts cannot be finalized until free agency revs up in February, meaning more shuffling is on deck as teams gear up for the longest and most competitive roster-building season in recent memory.