Sue Bird is getting ready to hang up her sneakers, with the WNBA veteran telling Kelley O’Hara on the latest episode of The Players’ Pod that this season will “probably” be her last.

“I am pretty sure it’s just one more time. In my attempt to not pull a Tom Brady, I am leaving a tiny crack open to be sure, to be like 100 percent sure,” Bird says, referring to the quarterback’s announcement in March that he was un-retiring to play another season in the NFL.

Bird, 41, initially planned to close out her career last year, on the heels of an Olympic gold medal and a postseason run with the Storm.

“I was pretty tired … so as the season was winding down, we probably had 10 or so games left, and it was just a little voice in the back of my head that was kind of like, ‘It’s been a good ride. Maybe this is it. It’s a good time to go out.’”

Then, something unexpected happened. After the Storm’s season ended in single-elimination playoff loss to the Phoenix Mercury last September, Seattle fans encouraged Bird to return for one final ride. In January, she announced her decision to return for her 19th WNBA season.

“What took me by surprise was that in our last game, which was a playoff game that we lost at home, the fans started chanting, ‘One more year,’” Bird says. “I just didn’t think anyone really knew that I was thinking about it. So when that happened, it took me back, but I also was like, all right.”

🗣 ONE. MORE. YEAR.

Sue Bird is coming back for her 19th season in the WNBA. pic.twitter.com/f1uS1ZpTwC

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 7, 2022

At the conclusion of the Storm’s season, Bird figured she would take some time to contemplate her future, but her decision became clear rather quickly.

“I took a couple days. … In those first couple days, like right away, I was like, ‘All right, I am going to do this. I think I might run this back one more time,'” Bird says.

While most people are focused on Bird’s career winding down with each game, the four-time WNBA champion is locked in on her team. The Storm have started the season 3-3, dropping two games to the Mercury while Breanna Stewart was sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols.

“There will be a time, like every player when they retire, there is a time to celebrate it,” Bird says. “That time will come. Until then, it is about the season.”

Listen to the full conversation between Bird and O’Hara on The Players’ Pod.

The Tour de France Femmes confirmed its course for 2026 this week, setting up next year's event as the longest iteration of the race in the women's tour history.

The 2026 course will run in nine stages starting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 1st and continuing through the finish line in Nice, France, on August 9th.

Cyclists will cover a total of 1,175 kilometers, with 18,795 meters of climbing.

The course will feature three flat stages and three hilly stages as well as two mountain stages and one individual time trial, with riders tackling Mont Ventoux — an iconic climb from the men's event — for the first time.

Though 2026 will only by the fifth edition of the modern Tour de France Femmes, the race will make its debut in a standalone time slot one full week after the men’s race ends, with recent record viewership fueling the move to separate the races rather than continue the previous tactic of scheduling the two events back-to-back.

"We no longer need men for the Tour de France Femmes to exist,"  said race director Marion Rousse at Thursday's course unveiling. "There's no need to have the men's race as a platform to launch the women's race. Now people are waiting to see us."

"People have embraced us," Rousse continued. "The new dates, separate to the men, prove it."

This weekend's slate of international soccer features more than one blockbuster matchup, as some of the summer's top performers, including England and Brazil, begin the long process of preparing for the 2027 World Cup.

Reigning UEFA Women's Euro champions England will be hosting 2025 Copa América Femenina winners Brazil at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Saturday, when the Lionesses officially kick off their four-game Homecoming Series to close out 2025 play.

The match between world No. 4 England and No. 7 Brazil will serve as the first of the series of friendlies that will span the final two international breaks of the year, with the Lionesses closing out the opening pair of games against No. 15 Australia on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, while England fans will be enjoying the team's victory lap after their second-straight Euro title, other top UEFA competition are honing in on 2025 Nations League play.

Behind a long-range goal from winger Klara Bühl, No. 5 Germany snagged a narrow 1-0 victory over No. 6 France on Friday morning, taking the lead in the pair's two-leg semifinal.

The second Nations League semifinal round kicks off at 2 PM ET on Friday, when No. 1 Spain faces No. 3 Sweden live on Prime.

How to watch England vs. Brazil this weekend

England takes on Brazil at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage streaming on Prime.

The Wings have found their next sideline leader, as multiple reports on Thursday linked longtime University of South Florida (USF) head coach Jose Fernandez to the open position in Dallas.

Fernandez is still finalizing his contract with the WNBA team, with the 53-year-old exiting USF having led the Bulls for 25 years, making 10 NCAA tournament appearances along the way.

Calling his impact "profound," USF athletics CEO Rob Higgins acknowledged that Fernandez is leaving for a WNBA position in a Thursday statement.

"While this is a bittersweet moment for our program, it is a well-deserved opportunity for Jose," said Higgins. "We are incredibly proud of him."

Replacing Chris Koclanes after one year, Fernandez will become the fifth Dallas head coach in seven seasons, with the Wings trying to build a title-contending roster around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 1 pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers.

Fernandez will also be the third WNBA hiring out of the college ranks in the last two years, joining Atlanta Dream boss Karl Smesko (FGCU) and LA Sparks manager Lynne Roberts (Utah).

Hoping to improve on a 13th-place 2025 finish — and make the WNBA Playoffs for the first time since 2023 — Dallas could claim a second straight No. 1 draftee next year, with the Wings entering 2026 with the highest odds to snag the top pick in the league's draft lottery.

The WNBA league office and the Players Association (WNBPA) exchanged escalating public statements this week, as both sides dispute terms surrounding a key issue in the ongoing CBA negotiations: revenue sharing.

"When the players opted out [of their CBA] a year ago, they made it clear they wanted a salary system that values their labor and allows them to grow with the business they are very clearly driving," WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told ESPN in a statement this week, citing the vast disparity in revenue sharing percentages between the WNBA and the NBA.

Jackson continued by claiming that the WNBA intends to "run out the clock" and double down on a model that "intentionally undervalues the players."

Days ago, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said publicly that "[Revenue] share isn't the right way to look at it," pushing instead for salary increases in "absolute numbers."

WNBA leadership, however, denied that their current offer to players omits all revenue sharing, with the league calling the WNBPA's claim "incorrect and surprising," while indicating that an uncapped revenue sharing model "directly tied to the league's performance" is on the table.

"It is frustrating and counterproductive for the union to be making misrepresentations about our proposals while also accusing the league of engaging in delay," the WNBA's statement continued. "That is simply not true."

With both parties not seeing eye to eye, a resolution before the October 31st CBA deadline appears unlikely, though a formal request for an extension on negotiations is not currently in the cards.