I don’t know if it’s the change of seasons, but it feels like a new chapter in sports is upon us. The US men’s national soccer team might have something cooking, thanks to a few fresh faces who seem genuinely excited to be there. (I’m still scarred from the World Cup.) LeBron James unveiled his new jersey in Philadelphia, then admitted he’d actually pictured his final NBA season with the Knicks. Maybe don’t tell your new team about the one that got away? In the MLB, one new beginning should have come with a box of tissues. Detroit Tigers pitcher and likely future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander closed out his 21-year career with a little help from his 7-year-old daughter. It was the perfect bookend to this viral dugout clip from his early days with now-wife Kate Upton. And no sports story is complete without a plot twist: The eighth-seeded Liberty swept the No. 1 Lynx to pull off a WNBA first, while Caitlin Clark’s record-setting double-double helped the Fever beat the Aces and stave off elimination. The semifinals start this weekend, so brush up with our WNBA playoffs guide. Now let’s get to the rest of the sports news…
— Mallory Simon / Writer / New York, NY
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Go Big or Go Own
What’s going on: Never underestimate a sports mom who sees room for improvement. Savannah James invested in a new Los Angeles volleyball team after her 11-year-old daughter, Zhuri, fell in love with the game. She joins Issa Rae and Alexis Ohanian as financial backers of the franchise, which will debut next year at the LA Clippers’ Intuit Dome. It’s one of the latest additions to League One Volleyball (LOVB), the US women’s pro organization that was founded in 2025 and will expand to 10 teams when its third season begins Dec. 16. LOVB started at the youth level, and now has 98 clubs and more than 27,500 players across its network. That gives it a pipeline from juniors to the pros, plus a built-in community around the sport. Savannah, who played high school softball, says she wants to help build something “girls like Zhuri can aspire to be part of one day.”
An ace move: LA isn’t the only LOVB team with famous names behind it. The league has raised more than $160 million from backers that include Candace Parker, Kevin Durant, Lindsey Vonn, and Chelsea Handler. There’s a precedent for that. In the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), Angel City FC launched with high-profile backers that included Billie Jean King, Natalie Portman, and Ohanian. The club was valued at $250 million when Bob Iger and Willow Bay acquired a controlling stake in 2024. NWSL expansion fees have since climbed as high as $205 million. LOVB took notes — and hired the investment bank that advised the NWSL to help guide its own growth. Plus, there’s an audience to build on: LOVB estimates 46 million volleyball fans in the US. Parker has already made her prediction that “volleyball is next.”
Simone Biles’s spending rule is simple: “If you can't buy it two or three times, probably don't purchase it.” Even though she still consults her parents about big purchases, there was one she recently tried to sneak past her dad. Let’s just say it didn’t stay secret for long.
