Free agency adds intrigue to training camp: Teams use camp to evaluate their talent, making it the perfect place to identify roster holes…and the athletes outside the franchise who could fill them. A few big-name free agents remain unsigned: defensive juggernaut Natasha Cloud, WNBA legend Tina Charles, and international icon Emma Meesseman.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs feature 16 of the league’s 32 teams — eight from the Eastern Conference and eight from the Western Conference. The top three teams in each division (Atlantic and Metropolitan in the East; Central and Pacific in the West), along with the two next-best teams in each conference (the Wild Cards) complete the 16-team field.

As the LA Sparks seek a fourth WNBA championship, they’re building a roster around big-name veterans like Kelsey Plum and Nneka Ogwumike. But one young superstar is also at the heart of the team and the WNBA at large: third-year forward Cameron Brink. Last week, we caught up with her to learn about how she’s built her illustrious brand portfolio with “intentional” partnerships — and how she turned a difficult injury setback into an opportunity to build her entrepreneurial skills.

The top storylines to know as the NBA postseason tips off.

The NBA playoff field is almost locked in. Here's how the postseason works.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a national study involving Gen Z teens yesterday, highlighting that sports and athletes heavily influence how teens perceive societal issues.

For the WNBA’s 30th season, the league is looking back — and abroad. Three of the first 12 WNBA Draft picks were international, including No. 3 Awa Fam Thiam from Spain. It makes sense to lure stars stateside as the league hopes to build fandom abroad: W commissioner Cathy Engelbert said she’s “heavily looking at” staging international WNBA games.

A positively stacked eight-team field has touched down in Fort Worth, Texas, for the NCAA women’s gymnastics national championships. Join the party and giddy on up — these women are flippin’ fantastic.

Two games in, and the NBA Play-In Tournament is already doing what it does best — stirring up chaos. Official playoff berths are on the line, and the high-stakes hoopla has only just begun.

This Thursday, LOVB serves up its championship weekend, which will air on USA Sports for the first time. This will be the last chip featuring the league’s inaugural six teams as three expansion teams will be added next year, including LOVB San Francisco.

Nike netted a multiyear agreement with the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) and the Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL) yesterday as the official apparel partner of both leagues. This includes Nike-designed uniforms and sideline apparel, but doesn’t include cleats, a white space in the women’s lacrosse world — one that Caddix, a new USA Lacrosse partner, is busy filling.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy has cemented his legacy among golf’s greats, winning his second consecutive Masters yesterday. McIlroy’s victory wasn’t straightforward, but was decidedly human — par for the course for the Northern Irishman — complete with both brilliant strokes and bonehead swings. Truly a tradition unlike any other.