Basketball
Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty) and Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) faced off in the first-ever WNBA vs. NBA 3-point faceoff. Curry won 29-26, although Sabrina still holds the all-time 3-point record with 37 points. To be clear, this wasn’t a “Battle of the Sexes”. It was a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the two leagues that succeeded in bringing these fans together.
The Chicago Sky keep losing their 2021 championship roster, trading away Kahleah Copper, Rebekah Gardner, and rookie Alaina Smith. They’ve re-gained Diamond DeShields, however, which brings some hope for Coach Weatherspoon & Co. The Bulls, meanwhile, lost by ten on Feb. 28th to the last-ranked Pistons with a stunning 3-point performance of 2-for-29. But they leapt back the very next night with a double overtime win over Cleveland behind DeRozan, Drummond, and G League call-up Onuralp Bitim.
Iowa won the Women’s Big Ten Championship for the third year running with an overtime victory over Nebraska. Earlier in the month, Caitlin Clark not only announced her intention to join the WNBA but surpassed Pete Maravich’s all-time, all-gender NCAA scoring record. Heading into March Madness, Iowa was ranked #2 in the country, with players like Gabbie Marshall, Mollie Davis, and Kate Martin, though with less attention than Clark, keeping the team on a winning path through matchups with powerhouses LSU (a rematch of last year’s championship game) and UConn, before ultimately falling to undefeated South Carolina.
The real winner may be the women’s game as a whole, with the championship game drawing 18.7 million viewers, more than the 14.69 million viewers of last year’s men’s championship game.
That game, won by UConn, set up the championship repeat, this time over Purdue, which drew fewer viewers (14.82 million) than the women’s championship as well. Interestingly, both tournaments’ championships were between two #1 seeds, and each’s Player of the Year (Caitlin Clark and Zach Edey) lost.
Football
The NFL’s season has once again come to a close, with the Chiefs winning yet another title. They completed the rematch against San Francisco in the second overtime Super Bowl in history; Niners QB Brock Purdy got his heavily-anticipated shot at the national title but fell short 25-22. Now that KC are back-to-back champions, some fans are ready for a new victor. As some hail Joe Burrow and the Bengals as the only ones capable of stopping the three-peat, we can only look ahead in anticipation. We’ll have to wait a while, but it won’t be long until the XFL-USFL merger- the United Football League begins on March 30th and brings football back for another round of entertainment.
Soccer
The U.S. women have once again won the CONCACAF championship, beating Brazil 1-0 on a header from Lindsey Horan. The semifinal against Canada, though dangerously waterlogged, was an exciting battle into penalties after a 2-2 draw in extra time.
Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher saved three of four penalties and converted one herself to send the U.S. through; she would win Best Goalkeeper of the tournament with striker Jaedyn Shaw winning Best Player.
Inter Miami’s Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi continue to add excitement to the bandwagon following a 3-1 victory over Nashville in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. They join Portland, Minnesota, Montréal, New York, Toronto, and Columbus with seven points so far in the MLS season, while Chicago continues their struggles with just a single point.
Hockey
PWHL Toronto has completed an eight-game (and counting) win streak to punch their spot at the top of the standings, recently beating previous top-place Montréal 3-0. Minnesota has joined the first-place party in a tie with the other two, notably with #1 pick Taylor Heise back from injury.
Of the last three teams, Boston began their long road trip with a loss to Heise’s team in purple while Ottawa has risen slightly in the table, up to fifth place. New York, dubbed by fans as the “Pizza Rats”, can’t find their old spark, falling behind in their last several matchups.
Chicago hockey legend Chris Chelios’ jersey was retired February 25 in an overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Who else should score the clincher but fan-favorite and recent Red Wing Patrick Kane. As number eighty-eight completed his victory lap, the opposing crowd couldn’t help but cheer in thunderous support of the player who helped them win three Stanley Cups nearly a decade ago.
The White Sox have lost another star pitcher in Dylan Cease (to the Padres) one year after trading Lucas Giolito to Cleveland (both of whom were in the mix for the Golden Shovel environmental award, which Giolito won last year). Among other players, they received young talent Samuel Zavala at outfielder. The Cubs, meanwhile, are looking to regain last year’s successes with Bellinger, Steele, and Swanson among the leaders of the rebuild squad.
With the recent move of the A’s to Las Vegas, Oakland fans are rejoicing with the addition of a new minor league team, the B’s, to begin play this year.
After winning the inaugural Women’s Professional Fastpitch softball championship last year, the Texas Smoke look to continue their impressive season in 2024, going 22-14 previously. After a solo homerun for the win in Game 1 of the championship, they smoked the competition, winning Game 2 (and the title) 14-2 over the USSSA Pride.
