The Phoenix Mercury will spend their final two games fighting for one of the last two WNBA playoff spots. But they will do so without Skylar Diggins-Smith.

The All-Star guard will miss the team’s two remaining regular-season games due to personal reasons, starting with Friday’s contest against the Dallas Wings, the team announced Thursday afternoon.

For Phoenix’s win Saturday over New York, Diggins-Smith was listed as out with a non-COVID illness. In the team’s loss Wednesday to Minnesota, the All-Star guard was once again absent, this time listed as out for personal reasons.

Two days ago, Diggins-Smith tweeted that the WNBA has to “decide what we want our game to look like” before saying that the league, players and officials all have “very different views on how our game should be played.” Four days before that, she tweeted that she was in “survival mode.” As of Thursday, Diggins-Smith’s Twitter account has been deleted.

Diggins-Smith last played on Aug. 4 against the Sun, contributing a team-high 16 points. The game took place hours after teammate Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.

After that game, Diggins-Smith said Griner’s imprisonment has taken a toll on the team during a challenging season for the Mercury.

Skylar Diggins-Smith had some powerful words on teammate Brittney Griner.pic.twitter.com/e4ytrxJs9A

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) August 5, 2022

“It’s heavy. It’s just heavy y’all,” Diggins-Smith said. “Y’all asking these questions don’t really take away from our trauma. You just add to our trauma. We can break down and cry in front of y’all, so you can see how we feel. I don’t know what else to really say about it. It’s our sister. This is not some random Jane off the street. It’s not anything we’re politicizing. It’s a human being and this is our real life friend and real life sister.

“Now I don’t expect everybody to give a damn, but we really do. We come out here and we’re still supposed to play this game. Nobody even wanted to play today. How are you supposed to approach the game, approach the court with a clear mind, and the whole group is crying before the game because you try to honor her, and you try to come out and still play hard for her.”

Phoenix head coach Vanessa Nygaard said Wednesday that the Mercury found out before the game that Diggins-Smith would be out.

“We have gone through this earlier on Saturday,” the coach said. “We’re just one day at a time moving forward. We’ve seen everything this year, so whatever gets thrown at us, we’re ready to just lace them up and go.

“It’s such an honor and a privilege to play this game and we’re so blessed every day that we get to go out and play in front of our great fans. So whoever we have available is going to come out and battle for our team. We still have fight, and we’re going to be ready to go. That’s what our fans deserve.”

Issues beyond Griner’s detention in Russia have plagued the team this season. In May, Diggins-Smith and Taurasi traded words and had to be separated by teammates while on the bench.

When Taurasi didn’t make the All-Star game, Nygaard praised the selection of Diggins-Smith but suggested the event wasn’t really an All-Star game without Taurasi. In response, Diggins-Smith sent out a tweet with the clip and a clown emoji that was seemingly directed at the coach.

As the trade deadline approached in July, reports emerged that the team was exploring the possibility of a trade involving Diggins-Smith.

Phoenix also agreed to a contract divorce in June with Tina Charles, who later signed with Seattle.

“I’m a strong believer that whatever adversity is thrown at me as a person, as a coach in my development, it’s all for me,” Nygaard said after Wednesday’s loss to Minnesota. “This is something that’s going to help me and make me personally better. I believe that for our team, too. Challenges and things that come to us forces us to try new things.

“I’m extremely proud to have coached this group tonight. That group that’s in the locker room, they are a tough group and they are so resilient. I don’t think anyone can imagine some of the challenges they’ve faced, but they’ve never quit. They’ve never given up.”

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. 

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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.'"