Sports
Diana Taurasi considers retirement as Mercury meet Lynx in playoffs
Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi (3) smiles after hitting a three-pointer on Sept. 19, 2024 at Footprint Center in Phoenix. What could potentially be the final WNBA postseason run for Diana Taurasi begins Sunday when the Phoenix Mercury visit the Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis for Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs.
Taurasi, 42, hasn’t yet confirmed that this WNBA season is her last one, but the league’s all-time leading scorer and 11-time All-Star gave an emotional speech to Mercury fans on Thursday after Phoenix (19-21) lost to the Seattle Storm in the regular-season finale.
“If it is the last time,” Taurasi said before being interrupted by fans who chanted “one-more-year!”
After her speech, Taurasi told reporters, “There’s still days where I’m like, I can still do this. I still want to play basketball. And then there’s the flip side, when there are days where I’m crawling out of bed, and that’s I guess a struggle you have when you get to this point in your career.
“You have to do so much to be able to get back on the court, and it’s bittersweet in a lot of ways,” she continued. “Once the season’s over, I think I’ll have a better idea of what it looks like for me in the future.”
Phoenix is the only team Taurasi has played for in her 20 years in the WNBA, helping them win championships in 2007, 2009 and 2014. Fresh off securing her record sixth gold medal at the Summer Olympics, the task in front of her now is powering the Mercury on one more deep postseason run.
She’s third on the team in scoring this season behind Team USA teammates Kahleah Copper and Brittney Griner, averaging 14.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Taurasi is the league’s all-time leader with 10,646 career points.
Up first on that road for seventh-seeded Phoenix is a game at second-seeded Minnesota (30-10) in a best-of-three series.
The Lynx, who won the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup earlier this season, have been powered by a career-best season from forward Napheesa Collier — who, like Taurasi, was a member of the Olympic squad and also starred at UConn. Collier, in her sixth WNBA season, is averaging 20.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor.
Were A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces not having a historically dominant season, Collier would be seen as a leading contender for the league MVP award.
“I think this year (Collier) is just playing with a little bit more tenacity and that expectation that she has of herself, that quiet confidence,” Lynx guard Kayla McBride told ESPN. “It’s always impressive to me how she handles it and carries it, and she has taken it to another level this year, for sure.”
Minnesota went 3-1 in the regular season against Phoenix, most recently notching an 89-76 win over the Mercury on Aug. 28 with McBride scoring a game-high 19 points.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Big 12 keeps Brendan Sorsby lawsuit active amid draft questions
Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby goes through warmups before the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Big 12 is not ready to close the book on the Brendan Sorsby case, even after the Texas Tech quarterback moved to leave college football behind.
The conference’s presidents and chancellors have not withdrawn the federal lawsuit filed earlier this week, with lingering questions about Sorsby’s NFL future and whether Texas Tech could still face consequences from the legal fight, a Big 12 source told ESPN. The league’s board of directors is expected to meet early next week to discuss its options.
“We don’t know the answer to those questions,” the source said. “We haven’t done anything different at this point. We’re going to reconvene next week to run through all the options. Right now that case is still active.”
The Big 12 filed suit Monday in the Northern District of Texas, looking for a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief that would allow the conference to use its bylaws to potentially discipline Sorsby. Hours later, Sorsby moved toward the NFL supplemental draft and dropped his lawsuit against the NCAA, a step needed for him to be declared ineligible in college by Monday’s deadline.
Sorsby admitted to violating NCAA rules by placing thousands of bets, including 40 on Indiana football while he was on the Hoosiers’ roster. The NFL still has to approve his application for the supplemental draft, which has not produced a selected player since 2019.
The Big 12 could also revisit whether Texas Tech should be responsible for the costs associated with the dispute. One Big 12 athletic director said the issue is less about punishment and more about whether the entire league should absorb legal fees from a case that other schools did not start..
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brazil's Raphinha (leg) departs match vs. Haiti
June 19, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.; Brazil’s Raphinha in action with Haiti’s Martin Experience. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images PHILADELPHIA — Brazil attacker Raphinha departed in the 40th minute of Friday night’s World Cup Group C clash against Haiti in Philadelphia with an apparent leg injury.
The 29-year-old FC Barcelona winger was making his second start of the tournament for manager Carlo Ancelotti after going the full 90 in a 1-1 draw against Morocco last Saturday.
He was a critical part of Brazil’s most recent qualifying effort, scoring five of the Selecao’s 24 goals while appearing in 13 of their 18 matches.
It was unclear what caused him to drop to his haunches shortly before halftime and eventually exit in favor of Rayan. He departed with his side leading 2-0 through Matheus Cunha’s brace, before Vinicius Junior added a third in first-half stoppage time.
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
Sports
UFC Freedom 250 Falls Short of Super Bowl Hype but Delivers Massive Win
UFC Freedom 250 was an unquestionable hit, but the biggest event in combat sports didn’t quite touch Super Bowl number.
Paramount+ said viewership for UFC Freedom 250 reached 17 million across the U.S. and Latin America, citing Nielsen in a press release on Thursday. The previous record was five million viewers for the first UFC card on Paramount+ in January.
How did UFC Freedom 250 compare to Super Bowl?
UFC boss Dana White was “expecting Super Bowl-type numbers” for the fight on the White House lawn. The 2026 Super Bowl was watched by an estimated 125 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
The UFC and Donald Trump promoted this event diligently. Even though they didn’t even come close to touching Super Bowl viewership numbers, this event was a massive success for the UFC.
Politics aside – the production quality of UFC Freedom 250 was awesome. Fighters walking out of the White House from all angles, surrounded by military heroes. The live band was great. The backdrops of Washington, D.C. completely trumped the visuals at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
But more importantly, the fights exceeded expectations. All seven bouts ended before decisions. Judges weren’t needed.
For the health of the sport, that’s a good thing. Casual fans love knockouts and finishes. For an event that hauled in well over 10 million more viewers than the average UFC fight, that feels like a massive win. The UFC has a few upcoming weekends of Fight Nights before UFC 329, where Conor McGregor is expected to make his long-awaited return against Max Holloway.
It’s probable that fight will pull in big ratings also, which should appease Paramount+ – as long as the streaming giant had more realistic expectations than Dana White’s Super Bowl prediction.
Over the last few years, many fans have griped that the UFC was running low on superstars. But Diego Lopes got a huge ovation from the American crowd after the first fight of the night. Bo Nickal got a much-needed victory to maintain relevance in the UFC.
More notably, Josh Hokit’s viral Michelle Obama comment got the heavyweight exactly what he wanted – attention. Even though the UFC publicly shamed these remarks, there’s no doubt that they understand his personality is polarizing and could cause fans to tune in. Similarly, Sean O’Malley earning big knockout finishes always feels good for those fans that tune in.
Sure, the point still stands that there aren’t a ton of intriguing names on the rise. But Hokit’s fights will be watched. Fans will always keep up with O’Malley. And there will be natural intrigue on what Justin Gaethje decides to do next after this win. Similarly, what will Ilia Topuria do following that first devastating defeat?
The White House card might’ve fallen hilariously short of Super Bowl expectations. Dana White loves to remind fight fans that he’s not competing with up and coming leagues like the PFL or Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. Instead, he insists that he’s competing with the NFL, NBA and MLB.
Report: Big 12 keeps Brendan Sorsby lawsuit active amid draft questions
Brazil's Raphinha (leg) departs match vs. Haiti
