As the WNBA season starts today, there are a lot of changes to catch up on: The league now has a $7 million salary cap, supermax contracts and two new expansion teams \u2014 with three more on the way. <\/p>\n
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But one thing remains constant: The Las Vegas Aces are atop the sport \u2014 though the New York Liberty, Indiana Fever and Atlanta Dream might have something to say about that by season\u2019s end. Read our full WNBA season preview here<\/a>. Below, we have an excerpt on the Aces. <\/p>\n Also, our World Cup countdown continues with one of the most recognizable names in soccer, Cristiano Ronaldo. For more WNBA and World Cup coverage, check out the NBC News website<\/a>. <\/p>\n WNBA Preview<\/p>\n In the professional sports landscape, the WNBA is still a relatively young league. Today, it tips off its 30th season. Watching the WNBA grow, you get the sense that you\u2019re watching history unfold in real time. Any dominant player could end up an all-time great. Any dominant team could be the WNBA\u2019s version of the \u201890s Chicago Bulls.<\/p>\n Only a few WNBA teams have ever approached dynasty status. The Houston Comets won the first four league titles from 1997 through 2000, and the Minnesota Lynx won four titles in seven years from 2011 through 2017.<\/p>\n The 2020s Las Vegas Aces could surpass them both. The Aces have won three of the past four WNBA titles, including last year\u2019s 4-0 sweep of the Phoenix Mercury. They have the sport\u2019s best player in A\u2019ja Wilson; arguably the sport\u2019s best coach in Becky Hammon; and a supporting cast of all-star guards Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd.<\/p>\n Wilson is still in her prime, only 29 years old, and already being discussed as the WNBA\u2019s greatest player of all time. She\u2019s a 6-foot-4 center who, in 2025, averaged 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 42.4% on 3-pointers, on the occasions she took them. In eight seasons, she\u2019s won four MVP trophies, three Defensive Player of the Year awards and two Finals MVPs.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve worked so hard to get to these situations and put myself in these spaces that I\u2019m like, \u2018OK, yeah, I\u2019ve earned it, of course,\u2019\u201d Wilson recently told The Associated Press<\/a>. \u201cBut when it comes to people and where they want me and they\u2019re saying are you the next GOAT? I have no idea because in my mind I have a lot more winning to do.\u201d<\/p>\n World Cup Countdown Leading up to the 2026 World Cup, we\u2019re counting down 26 players to watch. They could be household names or unsung heroes, crucial to their team\u2019s success. The players you need to know before the games start. Today\u2019s entry is Portugal\u2019s Cristiano Ronaldo. <\/p>\n Ronaldo is among the most famous, most decorated and wealthiest players ever to step on a soccer pitch. What, then, is motivating the 41-year-old to don Portugal\u2019s kit for his sixth and final World Cup this summer? The lack of a World Cup title is the one gap on his historic r\u00e9sum\u00e9. And it doesn\u2019t help that the other player most mentioned alongside Ronaldo in soccer\u2019s GOAT debate, Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi, claimed his long-sought World Cup trophy in 2022.<\/p>\n Ronaldo burst onto the international scene as part of a so-called golden generation of Portuguese players ready to make the country a legitimate contender, yet Portugal\u2019s win at the 2016 Euros remains the country\u2019s high-water mark on the world stages. Portugal finished fourth at the 2006 World Cup; it has advanced as far as the quarterfinals just once since.<\/p>\n Ronaldo hasn\u2019t played against top-flight competition since leaving for Saudi Arabia\u2019s domestic league in 2023, so how he will adjust to world-class competition remains to be seen. And he will be playing on a roster that isn\u2019t quite what Portugal once envisioned. Diogo Jota, a spellbinding forward and national team mainstay, died in a car crash in 2025, a loss that gutted his teammates and is still being felt a year later as they attempt to compensate for his creativity. <\/p>\n It puts even more pressure on Ronaldo, the all-time leading men\u2019s goal-scorer internationally, to return to top form.<\/p>\n Yesterday\u2019s entry was Team USA\u2019s Weston McKennie. Read about him here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Premier League Preview There are a lot of big moments in a season, but Arsenal\u2019s 5-mile trip to West Ham on Sunday feels like the defining one in their title race, now that they\u2019ve been handed this glorious opportunity with three games to go. Manchester City\u2019s surprise 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday handed the Gunners the advantage in the title race. If they win their final three games against West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace, they will be Premier League champions for the first time in 22 years. Simple, right? Even in the great position they\u2019re in, Arsenal knows it won\u2019t be easy. <\/p>\n To add extra spice to the occasion, West Ham dropped back into the relegation zone last weekend and are scrapping with everything they have to stay up. Nuno Esp\u00edrito Santo\u2019s side is tough to break down, rapid on the counter and really good from set pieces. In the past, those kinds of strengths tripped Arsenal up in title quests. West Ham have only lost three of their last six league games against Arsenal, with the 2-2 draw in April 2023 particularly crushing for the Gunners\u2019 title hopes then. But this is a different Arsenal. They are more resilient, still confident, and have a deeper and more experienced squad. <\/p>\n Both North London teams are surging at the business end of the season, with Tottenham Hotspur winning back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since August to take them out of the relegation zone with three games to go. An escape from the most embarrassing relegation in Premier League history now seems possible. <\/p>\n Their third manager of the season, Roberto De Zerbi, has come in and cajoled this broken Spurs side a little, but their expensively assembled squad, which was supposed to challenge for the top four, has still underachieved epically. De Zerbi\u2019s desire and clear message, plus injuries calming down, have led to two improved performances against Sunderland and Brighton. But only 1 point has arrived since De Zerbi stepped in, as Spurs let in a heartbreaking late equalizer at home to Brighton last weekend. That is the kind of thing that happens when you\u2019re down at the bottom of the table, as Spurs are in the relegation zone and 2 points from safety heading into this weekend.<\/p>\n What We\u2019re Reading<\/p>\n The WNBA is back<\/a> today with more stars and superteams (and money) than ever before.<\/p>\n March Madness brackets for both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s sides will expand from 68 teams to 76<\/a>, the NCAA announced yesterday. <\/p>\n As we get closer to the World Cup, let\u2019s build the perfect player<\/a>. <\/p>\n Will Aaron Rodgers return for the Steelers next season? It could come down to money<\/a>. <\/p>\n![\"Cristiano](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260508-Cristiano-Ronaldo-ch-1331-f23b85.jpg\")
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal during the Republic of Ireland V Portugal, 2026 World Cup Qualifying – UEFA, Group Stage match at Aviva Stadium in Dublin in 2025.Tim Clayton \/ Getty Images file<\/p>\n![\"Bukayo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260508-Bukayo-Saka-ch-1334-cd00b4.jpg\")
Bukayo Saka of Arsenal FC during the UEFA Champions League 2025\/26 Semi Final Second Leg match between Arsenal FC and Atletico de Madrid at Arsenal Stadium on May 5 in London.Visionhaus \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
![\"Victor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260508-Victor-Wembanyama-ch-1335-d9ed0b.jpg\")
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama warms up before game two of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Frost Bank Center. Daniel Dunn \/ Imagn Images<\/p>\n