After crashing out of their first-ever Final Four last season, No. 3 UCLA enters their 2025/26 campaign with heightened promise and added depth as the new-look Bruins take aim at another deep NCAA basketball tournament run.

"This is probably the most complete team I've ever coached, and I think if we can stay healthy and stay focused, we're going to have big things ahead," head coach Cori Close told JWS ahead of this week's season tip-off.

"We have an abundance of opportunities to invest in each other," she continued. "We have an abundance of ways in which we can improve week by week, and we're going to stay focused on those."

The Bruins' success could hinge on next year's projected No. 1 WNBA draft pick Lauren Betts, though Close indicated that teamwork would be key to unlocking the senior center's full potential.

"We both agreed she needs to have less minutes than in the past, and honestly, maybe even less shots, but more efficiency," said Close. "Everybody wins that way, including Lauren."

Recent transfers like former Utah forward Gianna Kneepkins and ex-Washington State guard Charlisse Leger-Walker should balance the 2025/26 UCLA basketball lineup alongside top freshman recruit — and Betts's little sister — Sienna.

How to watch UCLA basketball this week

While forward Sienna's NCAA debut has been postponed due to a lower leg injury, UCLA fans can catch the elder Betts and the rest of the No. 3 Bruins in action against unranked UC Santa Barbara at 2:30 PM ET on Thursday, streaming live on B1G+.

Football Manager is expanding its virtual horizons, with the popular soccer video game's latest release — FM26 — featuring women's teams for the first time in history.

The FM26 lineup spans some 40,000 players across 14 leagues, including the NWSL, the UK's WSL and WSL2, Germany's Frauen-Bundesliga, Italy's Serie A, and Japan's WE League as well as the UEFA Women's Champions League.

Football Manager's new women's soccer offering follows similar moves from other video game entities, with EA Sports also expanding its integration of women's teams and players across its NHL, FC, and NBA2K games in recent years.

Launched in 2004 by British developer Sports Interactive and gaming giant Sega, Football Manager puts users in the driver's seat of their favorite teams, navigating club finances, player transfers, tactics, and even training plans in the hunt for success.

To mimic the manager role most realistically, FM amasses extensive data on players and clubs — with that information bank now so deep on the men's side that clubs have employed it for scouting purposes for over 10 years.

The road to launching a similarly real-world women's game required similar stat-gathering, a project which began in 2021.

"An army of people from the women's game helped us, who wanted us to ensure that women's football was properly represented," said Sports Interactive studio director Miles Jacobson.

Football Manager also recreated their motion capture models using former WSL and WSL2 professional players, twins Mollie and Rosie Kmita, to accurately portray women's movement and body structure in FM26.

"Growing up, I would never have imagined playing Football Manager because it wasn't a space for us," Mollie told BBC Sport. "I think we're about to engage a whole new audience and I'm excited to see how this community continues to grow."

How to play Football Manager 26

FM26 is currently available for download across multiple gaming platforms.

With the 2026 Winter Olympics only a few months away, hockey giants Canada and the USA are hitting the ice, tuning up for February's global showdown with the pair's annual Rivalry Series.

The four-game slate kicks off in Cleveland, Ohio, on Thursday before the titans clash again in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, with the 2025 Rivalry Series finishing up with two games in Edmonton, Alberta, next month.

This sixth edition of the series will serve as both teams' final international face-offs before heading to Milan, Italy, where five-time Olympic champions Canada will aim to repeat their 2022 gold-medal run while the two-time winning US will hunt a return to the top of the podium.

No other nation has ever won Olympic gold in the seven editions of the women's hockey competition.

The last time the pair met was in April's IIHF World Championship final, in which the US topped Canada 4-3 to lift the 2025 trophy — though Canada holds the all-time head-to-head advantage with a 106-82 record.

Four-time Olympian Hilary Knight and three-time Olympian Kendall Coyne Schofield headline Team USA's Rivalry Series squad, backed by 11 additional US Olympians.

Longtime Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin leads her side, alongside 20 of her fellow 2025 IIHF Worlds silver medalists.

How to watch the 2025 Canada vs. USA Rivalry Series

The puck drops on the four-game docket in Cleveland at 7 PM ET on Thursday before the teams take the ice in Buffalo at 6 PM ET on Saturday.

Both games will air live on the NHL Network.

Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball is gearing up for its 2026 return to the court, dropping all six-player team rosters plus a six-athlete development pool ahead of its expanded eight-squad second season on Wednesday.

Reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers was the distribution draft's first pick, with the Dallas Wings star joining expansion side Breeze BC under recently dismissed Seattle Storm head coach Noelle Quinn.

Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell went second, set to lead fellow expansion team Hive BC under head coach Rena Wakama.

Not every Unrivaled lineup saw significant changes, however, with reigning champion Rose BC returning four of their six original players while all inaugural teams opted to protect at least one top performer.

Napheesa Collier and Skylar Diggins are back on the Lunar Owls, Kahleah Copper and Chelsea Gray remained with Rose BC, and Alyssa Thomas and Jackie Young will encore for the Laces while the Vinyl protected Dearica Hamby and Rhyne Howard.

Even non-playoff teams held onto key talent, with Satou Sabally returning to the Phantom and Breanna Stewart staying with the Mist.

A trio of 2025 WNBA rookies also headline Unrivaled's new development group, with Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith, Indiana Fever forward Makayla Timpson, and Dallas Wings guard Aziaha James part of the six-player group that will fill in across the league to offset any injuries during the season.

How to buy 2026 Unrivaled player jerseys

While Bueckers's Breeze BC replica jersey sold out just minutes after Wednesday's roster reveal and subsequent merchandise drop, fans can gear up for the 2026 Unrivaled season by snagging other player's jerseys from the Unrivaled shop.

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The 2026 Unrivaled team rosters

WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike made waves on Wednesday, with the Seattle Storm star becoming the first player to join offseason league Project B — a new overseas pro women's basketball venture set to tip off in late 2026.

"There's so many different opportunities for players [outside of the WNBA] and that's always been the case," said Ogwumike. "This is just another one of those opportunities and I know that a lot of players are doing what they can to ensure that they can maximize on the short time that they have in their playing careers. This is my chance to be able to do that."

The Project B deal reportedly exceeds the 35-year-old forward's WNBA salary, with Ogwumike also receiving an equity stake in the fledgling league as part of her deal.

"It's not something that's usually offered to us, and by us, I mean women athletes," Ogwumike explained. "So for there to be an entry level of equity across the board was eye-catching. It's something that I stand for, obviously."

Headed by Skype cofounder Geoff Prentice and former Facebook executive Grady Burnett, Project B looks to field a total of 66 players across six teams.

The concept revolves around a Formula One-style event, with teams playing a traveling circuit of tournaments across multiple European and Asian cities before winners advance to compete for a world title.

Project B expects to run from November 2026 through April 2027, with all games streaming live.

"Basketball has never been just a game," said retired WNBA legend and early Project B investor Candace Parker. "It's culture, community, and connection. But for too long, players have carried the game without a real stake in its future. And women, especially, [are] asked to wait for change."

"Project B isn't waiting."