Continuity, chaos and Rodman: how Washington Spirit are thriving in NWSL

International talent and one of US’s most marketable players to fore as league approaches business end

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is just past the midway point of its 14th regular season, with 12 of 30 games remaining in the regular season (though half the league’s teams have one or more games in hand). saltysenoritaaz.org

Despite a number of developments in 2026 – including two new expansion teams and the Utah Royals on a historic tear – some things have stayed consistent. At the moment, that includes a third consecutive season featuring the Washington Spirit as a top-two team. With the business end of the season looming, the mark of success is twofold: maintain that consistency through the end-of-year melee and into the playoffs (easier said than done) and, importantly for the Spirit, level up with a first-place finish in the table and/or a Championship trophy.

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Fifty summers after the ABA-NBA merger, George Gervin, Ralph Simpson and others reflect on the league whose swagger and innovations changed basketball forever

After practice, George Gervin wanted to go home. He was a rookie playing for the Virginia Squires of the upstart American Basketball Association, and the sleek, Detroit-born hooper didn’t yet know what being a pro quite meant. He didn’t know that the real workouts often started after practice. But his teammate Julius “Dr J” Erving quickly showed him the ropes.

“Doc would say, ‘Hey, young fella! Where you going? Me and you ain’t done!’” Gervin tells the Guardian. “Me and him would play one-on-one after practice. It was beautiful, probably one of the most beautiful experiences I had as a young pro.”

El amistoso de pretemporada disputado ayer en la Ciudad del Fútbol de Oeiras (Portugal) entre el Al Nassr y el Almería trascendió mucho más allá de lo ocurrido sobre el terreno de juego. Tal y como adelantó MARCA el pasado lunes, Cristiano Ronaldo estuvo presente en la grada del complejo de la Federación Portuguesa de Fútbol para presenciar el encuentro entre el conjunto saudí, en el que milita, y el club del que posee el 25 % de las acciones. De hecho, antes y durante el partido pudieron verse varias imágenes del propietario mayoritario del club indálico, Mohamed Al Khereiji, conversando de forma distendida con el astro portugués en la grada.

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“I’m certain there will be hard attacks … hopefully not heart attacks … and we will try to follow.” (Marlen Reusser).

“It’s one of the steps to the main goal,” says Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney of her performance yesterday. “I know the real stuff is ahead of us. We’re definitely happy with the execution, but we keep our focus on upcoming stages. One day at a time.”