🙏 Many thanks!

The Obsessive Race to Make a Four-Ounce Running Shoe Gas-injected foams and paper-thin uppers make high-tech shoes lighter than ever before—and records are tumbling just as fast.

“When you give them the box, they think it’s a joke. They think the box is empty.”

Running shoes are big and cushy as ever -- but are now lighter than a newborn kitten. Here's how.
www.wsj.com/sports/super...

Hi @stmfa.bsky.social. I'm hoping to talk to you about the World Cup. Could you message me? Thanks!

Viral Moments From Artemis II, the Moon Trip for the Digital Age Millions were captivated by the daily work and musings of the four astronauts during their journey.

The Artemis II crew’s camaraderie and daily high-jinks took the internet by storm, and turned the four astronauts into international celebrities. on.wsj.com/47Y1zY8

And Kiki Rice at No. 6!

Cori Close’s past eight days

April 5: Coached UCLA women to first NCAA basketball title

April 13: Two players selected in top five of WNBA Draft (Lauren Betts 4, Gabriela Jaquez 5)

New WNBA teams

2026: Portland, Toronto
2027: -
2028: Cleveland
2029: Detroit
2030: Philadelphia (will be 18th franchise).

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a pre-draft address mentions that the new CBA allows expanding the season to 52 games per team by 2029. The recent history:

2024: 40 games
2025: 44
2026: 44
…
2029: 52

2026 WNBA Highest Paid Players 2026 WNBA Highest Paid Players and Key WNBA CBA Info from Her Hoop Stats

(And yes, Paige and other players drafted in recent years will get their bags, too. Check out @herhoopstats.com for updated salaries, still in progress: herhoopstats.com/salary-cap-s...)

💰 Tonight's WNBA Draft will be the most financially historic in league history because of the new labor deal.

Last year, No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers got a $78,831 first-year salary.

Tonight, No. 1 will get a $500,000 salary, $2.2 million over four years.

Explaining the concept of college football and its ginormous stadiums to international soccer fans is always fun.

This book by Claudia Goldin, the Nobel-winning economist who advised the WNBA on its record-setting labor deal, helps explain gender pay gaps in various professions.

It also provides valuable context on why the birth rate keeps dropping:
bookshop.org/p/books/care...

A coach secretly filmed his women players undressing – yet he can still work in football (Gift Article) Kristyna Janku has chosen to speak out about what happened - and football's apparent inability to make sure it does not happen again

Players learned they had been secretly filmed after their soccer coach's arrest in 2023. Some vomited when they found out. Some needed to leave the club. Others sought psychological help.

He's still allowed to coach in most of the world:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/716...

Today’s @wsj.com sports page is all women’s basketball:

Artemis II astronaut Victor Glover was a college football player and wrestler at Cal Poly

“The hardest thing that I’ve ever chosen to do in my life was walking in space. The second-hardest thing ...was wrestling practice.”

Cool story about astronaut Victor Glover, who studied engineering, played football + wrestled at Cal Poly SLO.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/716...

She Was Coached by John Wooden—and Just Won UCLA Another Basketball Title Coach Cori Close, who defeated South Carolina in Sunday’s final, was mentored by the Bruins legend at the very start of her career. They remained close until his death in 2010.

In 1993, then-UCLA men's basketball assistant Steve Lavin introduced young UCLA women's assistant Cori Close to John Wooden.

“It was so clear right from the jump that they hit it off,” Lavin said.

On Sunday, Close led the UCLA women to their first NCAA title.
www.wsj.com/sports/baske...

UCLA Wins Its First NCAA Title in Women’s Basketball The Bruins delivered a shocking 79-51 defeat to perennial power South Carolina.

UCLA has won its first NCAA title in women’s basketball.

Coach Cori Close, who was mentored by John Wooden, is in her 15th season at UCLA.

Wooden won his first title in Year 16.
www.wsj.com/sports/baske...

UCLA Coach Cori Close’s sisters

No need to overthink it. This is the way

Geno Auriemma’s Messy Weekend of Missed Opportunities The UConn legend is still trying to climb out after an unnecessary clash with South Carolina rival Dawn Staley.

Geno Auriemma keeps stepping on rakes, my colleague Jason Gay writes. The latest: not saying Dawn Staley’s name in his apology.
www.wsj.com/sports/baske...

NASA just dropped this image of Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch looking back at us. The first woman to ever see our planet in its entirety. I’m not crying you’re crying 🥹🔭🧪 📸: NASA

As the new WNBA labor deal kicks in, players’ salaries are being updated on @herhoopstats.com.

Example: Caitlin Clark made $76,565 as a rookie two years ago.

This season she’ll make $528,846.

How the Final Four Devolved Into a Blowup Between Coaching Legends UConn’s Geno Auriemma was spurred by a perceived slight by South Carolina’s Dawn Staley before the Gamecocks’ win in the women’s semifinal on Friday.

The backdrop of Geno Auriemma's outbursts against Dawn Staley: UConn has won one national championship in the past decade. South Carolina has won three, and faces UCLA on Sunday for the chance to win a fourth:
www.wsj.com/sports/baske...

UConn's winning streak ends at 54 games.

The Huskies' 62-48 loss to South Carolina in tonight's NCAA semifinal is its first loss since Feb. 6, 2025.

First time all season we’ve seen UConn rattled. This is the moment when the great UConn teams of the past (and the team’s best players) found another level. We’ll see. South Carolina’s D has been relentless.

UConn trails South Carolina by eight points in the third quarter. That's the largest deficit the Huskies have faced all season.

Where FOUR art thou, Rodger

UConn 82-59 South Carolina (Apr 6, 2025) Box Score - ESPN Box score for the UConn Huskies vs. South Carolina Gamecocks NCAAW game from April 6, 2025 on ESPN. Includes all points, rebounds and steals stats.

The past two NCAA women's basketball champions face off now in the Women's Final Four.

Last time UConn and South Carolina played, it was an uncharacteristic blowout as Paige Bueckers got her NCAA title:
www.espn.com/womens-colle...