Thirty thrilling matches later, the record-breaking stage is set for tomorrow’s 11 a.m. ET Women’s Rugby World Cup championship match between world No. 1 England and No. 2 Canada. An immovable object meeting an unstoppable force? We’re so ready to ruck and roll.

Forget the Jo Bros, this weekend is all about WNBA hoops. Game 3s will grace our screens tonight, followed by a double dose of Game 4s on Sunday. Yes, with both best-of-five series knotted at one, that means the Finals matchup could be set before our next newsletter. Burnin’ up.

This week, Sports Business Journal shared details on how USA Volleyball is approaching a key opportunity in the women’s game. Along with Canada, the governing body is reportedly submitting a bid to FIVB to host the 2027 women’s world indoor volleyball championship. If chosen, it would be the first time the tournament has taken place stateside.

The X Games — ESPN’s iconic action sports competition that made sports like snowboarding and BMX mainstream and drove their Olympic inclusion — is ready for its glow-up. After its private equity acquisition in 2022, the X Games unveiled new branding and shared details about its forthcoming X Games League this week.

The still-chaotic push for the MLB playoffs — and toward our men’s pro baseball bracket challenge — continues ahead of Sunday’s regular-season finale. That said, a different race is grabbing headlines, with Seattle Mariners superstar Cal Raleigh chasing NY Yankees slugger Aaron Judge’s single-season American League (AL) home run record.

It seems like everyone has a podcast these days — last week, Front Office Sports pointed out that Billie Jean King, Abby Wambach, Julie Foudy, Sophie Cunningham, and the Williams sisters have all recently launched pods, not to mention Men In Blazers’ expanded slate. But how many is too many? In women’s sports, we may still have a ways to go to reach the peak.

The Red Roses did so much more than trounce France in the Women’s Rugby World Cup semis — they reached a record 3.3M peak audience across domestic broadcaster BBC Sport’s platforms. As the tournament continues in the UK, let’s review the viewership, attendance, and social media wins so far as we consider the women’s rugby opportunity ahead.

World No. 1 England and No. 2 Canada will battle for glory in Saturday’s Women’s Rugby World Cup final, a result of the sheer dominance both squads have shown all tourney long. It’s level on the pitch, but a different story emerges off of it…

The MLB playoff picture remains chaotic as ever with just five days remaining in the regular season and four spots of 12 still unclaimed. Luckily, there’s no robot needed to make a call on the latest.

There was no shortage of WNBA fireworks yesterday, so let’s start with last night’s on-court Game 2 action with both best-of-five semis now even. The Phoenix Mercury overcame a 20-point deficit, forced overtime, and topped the Minnesota Lynx 89–83, while NaLyssa Smith’s career-high 18 points fueled the Las Vegas Aces’ 90–68 win over the Indiana Fever.

This weekend, Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson made WNBA history by winning the league’s MVP award for a record fourth time, shortly after earning her third WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) and warranting the first-ever share of the award.

Yesterday’s semis Game 1 wasn’t so stellar for the Las Vegas Aces (more on that below), but the day started off strong for the inimitable A’ja Wilson, who won her unprecedented fourth WNBA MVP award. She’s not just raising the bar in the W — this hoops princess is the bar.