Hello, friend

We have a lot to discuss today:

• Shania Twain’s favorite basketball team is on a tear

• The NWSL is in FIFA23! That Don’t Impress Me Much.

• 6 chances to see a WNBA & NWSL game in the same city, in the same weekend! Let’s Go, Girls. (Or anyone, to be clear I’m doing a Shania bit 😁)

• Women’s World Cup teams, ranked. USWNT, You’re Still The One.

• WNBA free agency tracker. Folks I’ve reached my limit, please click this one too.

Now for real, Let’s Go Girls.

The Washington State Cougars’ hype train includes Shania Twain.

College sports are silly and wonderful from the celebrations to the upsets to the team that sang "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!" so frequently and loudly and online-ly that Shania Twain herself has become a fan.

I can't believe I didn't make any of that up. It's all true.

Please join the rest of society in falling in love with the Washington State Cougars:

Here is the Cougars' best player, Chanisse Leger-Walker, inviting "Auntie" Shania Twain to come watch their Pac-12 championship game and perform.

Unfortunately, Shania could not come to the game (she's in Switzerland), but she did give her support.

And ... it worked!?!?!

Wazzu upset everyone in the Pac-12 tournament

With a 19-10 record, the Cougars' place in the main tournament was in question. They'd won two games against ranked opponents (UCLA and Oregon), but had a pretty middling season overall; probably good enough to get in the tourney, but not as a very high seed.

Then the Shania Twain era began.

The Cougars upset three teams — No. 3 Utah, No. 20 Colorado & No. 19 UCLA — in a row as the No. 7 seed in the Pac-12 tournament to win the whole dang thing and earn an automatic bid to the big dance.

It was the first time in program history that a women's sports team won a championship in the Pac-12!

Though their entire team seems lovely, Bella Murekatete stands out

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START. IT'S HOW YOU FINISH!

Roll, Cougs!

Bet on the Washington State Cougars to win the National Championship

The Cougs are incredible longshots to win the tournament, so this is a risky bet. At +49000, a $10 bet on Washington State could win $4,900.

New to sports betting? Learn more from our Betting Academy.

🏀 See You In The Lobby: Should college stars take a fifth year for the NIL 💰?

Matt and Marissa discuss Ashley Owusu’s decision to forego a fifth year at Virginia Tech and presumably enter the WNBA Draft, plus Caitlin Clark’s comments on her looming fifth-year conundrum. The team then debates Caitlin Clark vs. Sabrina Ionescu as college stars, and discusses why this year’s March Madness is gonna be fire as hell.

🎟️ 6 ways to watch an NWSL & WNBA game in the same weekend 🎟️

André Carlisle’s Hashtag Go To The Games Campaign is back, and he’s here with me, Matt, to help plan your perfect women’s sports getaway.

🎮 NWSL is in FIFA23! That’s great, but it can be better 🎮

As women’s sports continue to grow, and with women’s football leading the way globally in many areas, these steps are overdue and necessary. Seeing women athletes as a part of a major video game franchise adds legitimacy to the game, which will no longer be ignoring a massive piece of the sport.

While this is good, EA Sports still needs to take the next step toward fully including women’s players and league.

⚽️ For fun, we asked fans for NWSL player rating predictions in FIFA ⚽️

Also screenshots of the players became memes:

And here’s the promo from FIFA:

🤗 Aces star Kelsey Plum and Raiders star Darren Waller got married 🤗

Yay!

⚽️ Women’s World Cup teams, ranked ⚽️

André Carlisle discusses the best nine teams, and the USWNT does not lead the list!

🤑 Where your favorite WNBA player is playing in 2023 🤑

The season is just two months away!