This weekend is jam-packed with must-see WNBA matchups as the league’s regular season concludes. With one playoff spot left to clinch, Friday and Sunday’s games have big implications for the postseason, with the New York Liberty, Washington Mystics, and Los Angeles Sparks all in contention.

The oldest non-major LPGA tour event, the Portland Classic, will is also happening this weekend, airing every afternoon on the Golf Channel.

Minnesota Lynx vs. Indiana Fever

Friday, September 17 at 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network

Napheesa Collier and Sylvia Fowles lead the Lynx as Minnesota fights for a top seed in the playoffs. The team is up against the Fever, who are out of postseason contention but looking to build on something for next year.

Washington Mystics vs. New York Liberty

Friday, September 17 at 7 p.m. ET on Twitter

The final spot in the WNBA playoffs looms large over the Mystics and Liberty’s Friday-night matchup. Washington currently sits in the 8^th and last playoff slot, while New York is a game back in 10^th place.

Las Vegas Aces vs. Chicago Sky

Friday, September 17 at 8 p.m. ET on NBA TV

The Las Vegas Aces and Chicago Sky will face-off for the third time this regular season after splitting games earlier this month. A’ja Wilson has been red hot for the Aces, leading the team in points and rebounds.

Phoenix Mercury vs. Seattle Storm

Friday, September 17 at 10 p.m. ET on NBA TV

The Mercury sit 1.5 games back from the Storm and will look to cut into that lead this weekend. The Storm will have to fend off a surging Brittney Griner without Breanna Stewart, who is currently battling injury.

Atlanta Dream vs. Connecticut Sun

Sunday, September 19 at 1 p.m. ET on NBA TV

The Atlanta Dream will look to contain the Sun’s Jonquel Jones, who is averaging 19.6 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. Connecticut appears unstoppable heading into the playoffs, riding a 12-game win streak.

Las Vegas Aces vs. Phoenix Mercury

Sunday, September 19 at 3 p.m. ET on ABC

The Aces and Mercury have split games in their previous two regular-season meetings and will play a third and decisive match on Sunday. The matchup will be a battle of the frontcourt, with the Ace’s A’ja Wilson and Mercury’s Brittney Griner going head-to-head.

Minnesota Lynx vs. Washington Mystics

Sunday, September 19 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN3

Tina Charles will look to lift the Mystics to the playoffs after a season plagued by injuries. The Lynx have defeated Washington twice this season, while the Mystics edged out a win over Minnesota back in June.

Los Angeles Sparks vs. Dallas Wings

Sunday, September 19 at 5 p.m. ET on NBA TV

A playoff push once looked unlikely for the Sparks, but a solid end to the season has made a spot in the postseason possible. The game is a must-win for Los Angeles to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky

Sunday, September 19 at 6 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network

Candace Parker and the Sky will look for a solid win in their last regular-season game of the year. Chicago’s Courtney Vandersloot currently leads the league in assists with 8.8 per game.

Cambia Portland Classic

Thursday, September 16 at 3 p.m. ET on Golf Channel (tee-off)

Friday, September 17 at 3 p.m. ET on Golf Channel

Saturday, September 18 at 3 p.m. ET on Golf Channel

Sunday, September 19 at 3 p.m. ET on Golf Channel

This weekend marks the 50^th anniversary of the Cambia Portland Classic. Jin Young Ko is the highest-ranked golfer competing in the LPGA event.

Caitlin Clark made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend, which quickly went viral.

The Iowa star showed up on the show’s Weekend Update segment to playfully call out Michael Che’s history of making jabs at women’s sports.

It started when Che joked that Iowa should replace Clark’s retired No. 22 “with an apron.” 

When Clark entered, Che said that he was a fan. But Clark wasn’t convinced – especially not when co-host Colin Jost brought the receipts of Che’s jabs.

“Really, Michael? Because I heard that little apron joke you did,” she said, before making him read some jokes of her own in retaliation. Clark finished her segment by shouting out the WNBA greats that came before her. She then got in one final dig – bringing Che a signed apron as a souvenir. 

She’s got jokes 😎@CaitlinClark22 on @nbcsnl #Hawkeyes

pic.twitter.com/54khqQw2MR

— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) April 14, 2024

When Che promised to give it to his girlfriend, Clark delivered her last playful dig of the night.

“You don’t have a girlfriend, Michael,” she said.

Afterward, SNL castmember Bowen Yang told People that the 22-year-old and teammates Gabbie Marshall, Kate Martin and Jada Gyamfi – who joined her at Studio 8H – “were so cool.”

“She's so charming and witty,” Yang said. “They were just the most stunning, noble people.

“Athletes just have this air about them. They know they're amazing. I mean, these are people who have numeric attachments and values to their performance. That's something that comedians never have.”

The Portland Thorns continue to struggle to start the NWSL season, falling 2-0 to the North Carolina Courage over the weekend to remain winless through their first four games. 

It’s uncharted territory for Portland, who has never started the NWSL regular season without a win in four games before.

Following the loss, defender Becky Sauerbrunn voiced her frustrations with the start. 

“It’s hard to find a lot of encouraging things, but what I find encouraging is that people are frustrated,” she said. “People are pissed off that we’re not doing well. We care, and I think that’s really important.” 

She also added that while the team will reflect individually, “there’s going to be no finger pointing.”

“We’re going to look at ourselves and figure out what we should have done, or I should have done better,” she said. “There is a list of things that I could have done better, and I’m going to make sure I know every single thing and watch this game back.”

The Thorns currently sit at the bottom of the league table with just one point, having allowed 10 goals – tied for the worst in the league. They’ve yet to lead in a match. And as questions grow, attention turns to head coach Mike Norris. 

Norris is in his second year as head coach of the club after leading the team to a second-place finish in the regular season last year. When asked about the possibility of pressure growing after the unprecedented start, Norris said that the pressure has been there “from day one.”

“I cannot be driven by my day-to-day and the longer vision of the pressure of the job,” he said. “We’ve got a belief in how we want to play, how we operate. We’ve got to stick with the process of that. While we do it, we have to review and see what is working, what’s not working.

“I’ll be showing up for the team and being there for what they need from me as we approach getting back together as a group next week.”

Maria Sanchez, who signed one of the biggest deals in NWSL history just four months ago, has reportedly requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

ESPN was the first to report the news, which was confirmed by multiple sources.

In a statement to ESPN, the team said: “​​Maria Sanchez is under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

In December, Sanchez signed a new three-year contract with the Dash worth $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. At the time, it was the largest contract in NWSL history – something that was eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

The winger was a restricted free agent in the offseason, meaning that Houston could match any offer from another team and retain her rights. Should the team trade Sanchez, her contract would remain as it has been signed with the league. That limits the number of teams that could take on her contract. 

In three starts with the Dash this season, Sanchez has zero goals and an assist. The Dash are 1-2-1 through four games and have allowed a league-worst 10 goals.

The team hired a new coach, Fran Alonso, in December. Earlier this year, former goalkeeper coach Matt Lampson was fired for violating the league’s Coach Code of Conduct and Anti-Fraternization policy. 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close at midnight ET on Friday.

Canada got its revenge on Sunday, winning the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship and taking down the U.S. in a 6-5 overtime classic.

Marie-Philip Poulin, a longtime star for Canada, got her first two goals of the tournament, while Danielle Serdachny had the game-winner. 

GOLD FOR CANADA! DANIELLE SERDACHNY WINS IT IN OVERTIME! #WomensWorlds pic.twitter.com/fHmqUmHoGw

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 15, 2024

"I hate to say you're not trying to rely on it, expect it, but I know I've grown to expect it," Canada coach Troy Ryan said of Philip-Poulin. "Tonight was just a whole other level. I could see in her eyes every time we called her name that she was ready to go. It's just special."

The win came after Canada lost 1-0 to the U.S. in the group stage of the tournament. On Sunday, the two teams met for the 22nd time in 23 tournaments in the gold medal game – and the action between the two teams delivered. 

Among those scoring for the U.S. were Megan Keller, Alex Carpenter, Hilary Knight, Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey. Julia Gosling, Emily Clark and Erin Ambrose had the other three goals for Canada, giving them their 13th World title after falling to the U.S. in last year’s title game in Toronto. 

This year’s game was held in New York, and it was the second-highest scoring final between the two teams. The U.S. won a world championship 7-5 in 2015. 

"Oh man, that feels good to win it on U.S. soil," Canada goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens said after the game. "We owed it to them and owed it to ourselves to win that one."

Canada also denied Knight a record 10th World Championship win, although she did become the most decorated player in women’s world championship history with 14 medals. After the game, Poulin gave Knight a hug on the ice. 

"We just said 'that was unbelievable,'" Poulin said.

U.S. coach John Wroblewski echoed the sentiment that it was an outstanding game after being asked about ending the game on a power-play after leaving too many players on the ice. 

"Instead of talking about the isolated events of tonight's game, I think that normally that's an interesting storyline,” he said. “But I think the entity of an amazing 6-5 game is an amazing hockey game that took place."