The WNBA is expanding to Portland by granting the league’s 15th franchise to the city. The team, which was announced Wednesday, will begin play in 2026 and be led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, the owners of the NWSL’s Portland Thorns. The family also has ties to the NBA as Raj Bhathal, their…

Tuesday night was supposed to be a celebration for the Los Angeles Sparks, their fan appreciation night on the final home game of the regular season. It was also an opportunity for the Southern California crowd to honor one of its own, as Phoenix Mercury legend Diana Taurasi played what could be her final professional…

Gotham FC, the reigning NWSL champion, will be the first NWSL team to visit the White House for a championship celebration. President Joe Biden will welcome the team on Monday, reuniting most of last season’s squad — including Ali Krieger, who retired at the end of the year. “This is such a monumental moment for…

In the old days, they were known as big plays. Or maybe long plays. It’s not clear when, or why, football people started to refer to them as “explosive plays” or just “explosives.” It was probably around the time football people started referring to position groups as “rooms.” The football people also can’t quite agree…

Deepdale was the venue of English football’s most interminable penalty shootout on Tuesday night. After playing out a 1-1 draw in normal time during their Carabao Cup third-round tie, Fulham and Preston North End took a record-breaking 34 penalties between them, with an astonishing 31 finding the net. Excluding FA Cup qualifiers, this was the…

ATLANTA — The elevator beeped, and the doors opened. We had arrived on the 17th floor. Fluorescent white lights hung from the ceiling of the office space. The sun, peeking in on this scorching summer day, brightened the gray walls. Past the expansive lobby and down a skinny hallway was a room with a cracked…

The miracle of Shohei Ohtani is his extraordinary skill level at everything a baseball player does. Seven seasons into a career like no other, he hasn’t even shown them all. “What he’s doing, he’s a freak of nature,” said Andruw Jones, who finished his standout career a decade ago in Japan. “I saw this kid…

It’s officially that time of year — when your social media timeline is flooded with posts about 0-2 starts and your team’s dwindling chances of making the playoffs. For the uninitiated, the outlook is bleak. Since 2015, fewer than 11% of NFL teams have made the playoffs after starting 0-2. However, that number is missing…

Noah Powell was sitting in his usual chair by the TV at his home in the suburbs north of Chicago, surrounded by a close-knit group of family and friends. The group hadn’t travelled to Vegas for the 2024 NHL Draft. Powell kept the gathering small because he had no idea if he’d even be picked. He’d…

What does the old Nationwide Insurance commercial say? “Life comes at you fast.” Indeed it does. Just ask Bryce Young, the quarterback once heralded as the savior of the Carolina Panthers. Sunday afternoon, despite another poor outing from the 2023 No. 1 pick, Panthers coach Dave Canales pledged loyalty to Young. Less than 24 hours…