Thu, May 23 - International soccer, WNBA viewership growth, PWHL finals tied 1-1

Lots of updates in the world of international women's soccer! First, FIFA announced the host for the 2027 Women's World Cup - Brazil! In USWNT specific news, incoming coach Emma Hayes announced the June USWNT training camp roster in advance of preparatory international friendlies for the upcoming July Paris Olympics. Full list here. Notably absent is brick wall goalie Alyssa Naeher who is out with a quad injury as well as the NWSL's all-time scoring leader, Lynn Williams.

This is the WNBA's moment. There are so many stats to highlight but for now let's look at the following: From 2009-23, the WNBA had zero games with 1+ viewers. Now, there's been 3 in one week: 1/Fever vs. Sun, 2.12M (5/14), 2/Fever vs. Liberty, 1.71M (5/18), and 3/Sparks vs. Aces, 1.3M (5/18). Wow.

The PWHL (Professional Women's Hockey League) playoff final series is currently tied at 1-1. # 3 Boston fell to #4 Minnesota in their second home game 0-3 so now they'll have to take to the road and see if they can take down Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center. Next game is tomorrow (Fri, May 24) at 7pm EDT. More info on how to tune in here.