Portland brings back the Fire ahead of All-Star Weekend and spicy CBA negotiations

The GIST: The star-studded All-Star Weekend three-point contest lineup was revealed yesterday and Sunday’s Dallas Wings vs. Indiana Fever showdown drew historic numbers — but that’s not even the buzziest W news so far this week.

🔥 The Portland Fire are back: Turns out the rumors were true — the W’s newest expansion squad is returning to its roots, officially dropping their name and logo yesterday ahead of the team’s 2026 debut. And in an epic women’s sports crossover, the fiery logo is both an ode to the Rose City and ties into the city’s NWSL team, the Portland Thorns.

• What's more, that’s not the only commonality: The Fire and Thorns, who are both owned by RAJ Sports, will split state-of-the-art training facilities starting next year. Sharing is caring after all.

👀 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations resume this weekend: And according to NY Liberty superstar Breanna Stewart, “it’s going to be spicy.” The league and the Women’s National Basketball Player’s Association (WNBPA) reportedly remain far apart on CBA negotiations with players stating the league wasn’t “entirely responsive” to their goals in the initial proposal.

• WNBPA president and Seattle Storm icon Nneka Ogwumike (pronounced oh-gwoo-MIH-kay) is hoping for clarity at this weekend’s in-person meetings, especially with expansion fees sitting at a cool $250M, a metric Ogwumike says should be reflected in revenue sharing.

• Commissioner Cathy Engelbert remains confident a “transformational” deal will be done, but WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson isn’t so optimistic as she’d hoped for more progress ahead of All-Star weekend. Caliente, indeed.