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This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Good morning, Winners! Olivia Miles is blowing up every WNBA mock draft you've seen on the internet for the last six months.
The Notre Dame — er, well, uh — reportedly ex-Notre Dame point guard is using her extra year of eligibility to go back to school for one last year. But the twist is that she won't be going back to Notre Dame — she's entering the transfer portal instead, according to reporting from ESPN's Shams Charania.
WHERE IS SHE HEADED?: Five potential landing spots for Olivia Miles as she leaves Notre Dame
Shocking is the only proper way to describe this. Miles, 22, was pegged in most mock drafts (including our own!) as the No. 2 overall pick to the Seattle Storm in April's WNBA draft. At worst, she wouldn't make it beyond No. 3 to the Washington Mystics. Now, if everything goes well next season, she'll potentially be the top draft pick in the 2026 draft.
The question everyone wants to know is why? It's one thing for a player to go back to school. It's another for them to forgo the jump to pro and change schools. This decision is a bit puzzling from Miles.
We know it's not name, image and likeness money. That cash will be there regardless — endorsements don't disappear when players turn pro. Whatever NIL opportunities Miles had in college, she'd keep in the WNBA. She'd also certainly get a few more.
There's been speculation that everyone's mock drafts are just wrong. This is the theory I buy into. Maybe Miles just wasn't the sure bet at No. 2 that everyone thought she was. ESPN's Kevin Pelton says Seattle is "extremely high" on French center Dominique Malonga, who played with the French national team in the Olympics over the summer. Malonga is a potential star talent at 6-foot-6 with perimeter skills.
As far as why she'd transfer from Notre Dame? Well, that's less obvious. Maybe there's another opportunity for Miles to take on a much larger role elsewhere. The Fighting Irish didn't finish the season well. Sonia Citron is leaving for the WNBA. Hannah Hidalgo's role is only going to increase. Maybe Miles is leaving to allow for a clean break for both sides.
Regardless of the reasons why, this is happening. WNBA draft boards everywhere are shattered. I can't wait to see how this plays out in a couple of weeks.
Elly De La Cruz is the latest to pick up the increasingly popular torpedo bat and, well, I'm sure pitchers across the league are hoping he puts it down ASAP after the game he had against the Rangers on Monday night.
This is the first game De La Cruz has used the bat. What does he do? Four hits. Two homers. Seven RBIs. Four runs. He nearly hit for the cycle. The only reason he didn't is because, well, home runs are better than triples.
The list of players using these bats keeps getting longer and longer. We'll see if these big games continue to follow or if pitching adjusts. In the meantime, I'm absolutely loving these fireworks across the league.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW: Here's more on the torpedo bat and why it works so well
With flag football coming to the 2028 Olympics, the NFL is looking to get in on the action, according to the latest from Front Office Sports.
The league is fielding interest from business partners that might be interested in starting a professional flag football league, according to FOS's reporting. The league would supposedly feature divisions for both men and women.
That's not shocking, given the sport's entry in the Olympics and the interest the NFL's players have shown in the game. Does that mean that we'd be seeing NFL players participating in whatever league sprouts up? Not necessarily. The NFL wouldn't operate the league, according to FOS, but it would heavily support it.
This sounds like it could be a lot of fun. My hope is that it's a new platform for folks who are already playing flag football at a high level to continue to grow and not just the NFL encroaching on the territory and trying to take over. We'll see.
But it sounds like this is definitely happening, one way or another.
— The inventor of the torpedo bat is keeping things classy. Love to see it. Charles Curtis has more.
— Tiger Woods is not playing in the Masters, y'all. This is an April Fools Day gag. Sorry.
— AJ Dybantsa dunking over Angel Reese is fun! Cory Woodroof has more.
— The Braves' terrible season just somehow got even worse. Tyler Nettuno explains.
— The Steelers are running on a hamster wheel, guys. Robert Zeglinski has more here.
— They finally found the guy who did this! Browns fans, you now have someone to blame for Deshaun Watson. Christian D'Andrea explains.
That's a wrap, folks. Thanks for reading. Peace.
-Sykes
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Olivia Miles broke 2025 WNBA draft with transfer from Notre Dame
Continue reading...
Good morning, Winners! Olivia Miles is blowing up every WNBA mock draft you've seen on the internet for the last six months.
The Notre Dame — er, well, uh — reportedly ex-Notre Dame point guard is using her extra year of eligibility to go back to school for one last year. But the twist is that she won't be going back to Notre Dame — she's entering the transfer portal instead, according to reporting from ESPN's Shams Charania.
WHERE IS SHE HEADED?: Five potential landing spots for Olivia Miles as she leaves Notre Dame
Shocking is the only proper way to describe this. Miles, 22, was pegged in most mock drafts (including our own!) as the No. 2 overall pick to the Seattle Storm in April's WNBA draft. At worst, she wouldn't make it beyond No. 3 to the Washington Mystics. Now, if everything goes well next season, she'll potentially be the top draft pick in the 2026 draft.
The question everyone wants to know is why? It's one thing for a player to go back to school. It's another for them to forgo the jump to pro and change schools. This decision is a bit puzzling from Miles.
We know it's not name, image and likeness money. That cash will be there regardless — endorsements don't disappear when players turn pro. Whatever NIL opportunities Miles had in college, she'd keep in the WNBA. She'd also certainly get a few more.
There's been speculation that everyone's mock drafts are just wrong. This is the theory I buy into. Maybe Miles just wasn't the sure bet at No. 2 that everyone thought she was. ESPN's Kevin Pelton says Seattle is "extremely high" on French center Dominique Malonga, who played with the French national team in the Olympics over the summer. Malonga is a potential star talent at 6-foot-6 with perimeter skills.
As far as why she'd transfer from Notre Dame? Well, that's less obvious. Maybe there's another opportunity for Miles to take on a much larger role elsewhere. The Fighting Irish didn't finish the season well. Sonia Citron is leaving for the WNBA. Hannah Hidalgo's role is only going to increase. Maybe Miles is leaving to allow for a clean break for both sides.
Regardless of the reasons why, this is happening. WNBA draft boards everywhere are shattered. I can't wait to see how this plays out in a couple of weeks.
The torpedo bat strikes again
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Elly De La Cruz is the latest to pick up the increasingly popular torpedo bat and, well, I'm sure pitchers across the league are hoping he puts it down ASAP after the game he had against the Rangers on Monday night.
This is the first game De La Cruz has used the bat. What does he do? Four hits. Two homers. Seven RBIs. Four runs. He nearly hit for the cycle. The only reason he didn't is because, well, home runs are better than triples.
The list of players using these bats keeps getting longer and longer. We'll see if these big games continue to follow or if pitching adjusts. In the meantime, I'm absolutely loving these fireworks across the league.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW: Here's more on the torpedo bat and why it works so well
The NFL x Flag Football
You must be registered for see images
With flag football coming to the 2028 Olympics, the NFL is looking to get in on the action, according to the latest from Front Office Sports.
The league is fielding interest from business partners that might be interested in starting a professional flag football league, according to FOS's reporting. The league would supposedly feature divisions for both men and women.
That's not shocking, given the sport's entry in the Olympics and the interest the NFL's players have shown in the game. Does that mean that we'd be seeing NFL players participating in whatever league sprouts up? Not necessarily. The NFL wouldn't operate the league, according to FOS, but it would heavily support it.
This sounds like it could be a lot of fun. My hope is that it's a new platform for folks who are already playing flag football at a high level to continue to grow and not just the NFL encroaching on the territory and trying to take over. We'll see.
But it sounds like this is definitely happening, one way or another.
Quick hits: The torpedo bat inventor speaks ... April Fools Day shenanigans ... and more
— The inventor of the torpedo bat is keeping things classy. Love to see it. Charles Curtis has more.
— Tiger Woods is not playing in the Masters, y'all. This is an April Fools Day gag. Sorry.
— AJ Dybantsa dunking over Angel Reese is fun! Cory Woodroof has more.
— The Braves' terrible season just somehow got even worse. Tyler Nettuno explains.
— The Steelers are running on a hamster wheel, guys. Robert Zeglinski has more here.
— They finally found the guy who did this! Browns fans, you now have someone to blame for Deshaun Watson. Christian D'Andrea explains.
That's a wrap, folks. Thanks for reading. Peace.
-Sykes
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Olivia Miles broke 2025 WNBA draft with transfer from Notre Dame
Continue reading...
