>>Women’s World Cup Kicks Off Thursday
(Auckland, New Zealand) — The ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup kicks off in New Zealand today. The host nation will square off against Norway in the opening match from Auckland. Australia is joint-hosting the event and will kick off against Ireland in the following match from Sydney. Nigeria and Canada will battle in the third and final match of Day One from Melbourne. The U.S. women begin their tournament in Auckland on Friday against Vietnam. The U.S. is coming off a record-fourth Women’s World Cup victory after edging the Netherlands 2-nil in the 2019 final from France.
>>Thunder Sign Mark Daigneault To Multi-Year Extension
(Oklahoma City, OK) — The Thunder are rewarding their head coach with a contract extension. Oklahoma City announced it signed Mark Daigneault to a multi-year contract extension on Wednesday. Terms of the contract were not announced. Daigneault finished second in the NBA Coach of the Year voting this past season after leading OKC to a 40-42 record and an appearance in the NBA play-in tournament. The 38-year-old heads into his fourth season with the Thunder after coaching the G League’s Oklahoma City Blue for five seasons.
>>Nets To Play Cavaliers In The NBA Paris Game 2024
(Undated) — The NBA is heading overseas next season. The Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers will face one another in a regular season game in Paris next year. The game, which will be the NBA’s third regular-season battle in the capital of France, will be played at Accor Arena on January 11th, 2024. The first regular-season NBA game played in Paris took place in January 2020 between the Charlotte Hornets and Milwaukee Bucks. The Chicago Bulls took on the Detroit Pistons in Paris last season. The Nets previously played a preseason game in Paris in 2008.
>>Phoenix Suns Aiming To Launch New G-League Team
(Phoenix, AZ) — The Phoenix Suns are aiming to join all other 29 NBA franchises with their own G League team. Suns owner Mat Ishbia said that “bringing a G League team to the Valley has been a priority” and that “the wheels are in motion to have a team in Phoenix as early as the 2024-25 season.” The Suns sold their previous G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, in July 2020 to the Detroit Pistons. They are currently the only franchise in the league without their own G League team. According to multiple reports, the team will play in the Phoenix area.
>>The Open Championship Preview
(Hoylake, England) — Another major championship is up for grabs when The Open Championship tees off at Royal Liverpool Golf Course. Cameron Smith will be looking to defend his title after winning last year’s tournament at St. Andrews Links. Smith finished atop the leaderboard at 20 under par. The 29-year-old will be alongside Xander Schauffele and Wyndham Clark for the opening round. Rory McIlroy is hoping to collect his second straight victory after winning the Scottish Open last week. McIlroy will be alongside Justin Rose and Jon Rahm to begin the first round.
>>Colorado’s Deion Sanders To Miss Pac-12 Media Day
(Las Vegas, NV) — The Pac-12 conference will be missing one of its head coaches for the conference’s media day. Colorado coach Deion Sanders will miss Friday’s Pac-12 media day because of a “routine, follow-up” procedure on his right foot. Sanders underwent a successful surgery last month to fix blood clots in his left leg. The next step for Sanders was to get another blot clot removed in his right leg. The Buffaloes will be represented by defensive coordinator Charles Kelly, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback Travis Hunter at the conference media day.