Zero days since the last incident

The GIST: It’s been zero days since the WNBA’s last incident, so let’s talk the good, the bad, and the ugly. Onward.

❌ Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton has been suspended five games after she confronted two teenaged Indiana Fever fans wearing t-shirts displaying anti-trans rhetoric during Tuesday’s game between the Storm and Fever.

• Tensions were already high ahead of tipoff due to a (very) small rally in support of Fever player Sophie Cunningham, who’s since doubled-down on her statement that trans girls and women should be excluded from playing sports that align with their gender identity.*

• Cunningham was not available to the media after the game, while the Fever claimed that they had no knowledge of the event. A second rally is planned ahead of tonight’s game in Portland — transphobia doesn’t deserve any more oxygen.

🔄 Expect LA Spark Kelsey Plum to be on the move before Sunday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline. And while LA prepares to sell, the 10-17 Toronto Tempo are emerging as a buyer: They’re searching for a true big to add to their guard trio of Marina Mabrey, Brittney Sykes, and Kiki Rice.

🃏Las Vegas Aces icon A’ja Wilson bolstered her case for a third straight MVP last night, tallying 33 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks in Vegas’ nail-biting 104–99 win over their archrival, the NY Liberty. That unprecedented fifth MVP is looking like hers to lose.

The GIST: The Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) makes its long-awaited debut in front of a sold out crowd tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET, airing on ESPN Select in the U.S. and on YouTube for those outside the States. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the historic first pitch.

✅ Four inaugural teams will compete at neutral site in Illinois: Although the league’s four debut teams — Boston Hunters, NY Heights, LA Queens, and San Francisco Firebells — are connected to home cities, all season one games will be played at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois.

• Each team will play 15 regular-season games starting tomorrow through early September, battling to determine matchups for the inaugural WPBL playoffs. The first round will be best-of-three, followed by the best-of-five WPBL Championship. Hey, batter, batter.

🤩 LA’s Mo’ne Davis, San Francisco’s Kelsie Whitmore headline talent: Sixty players will compete in the inaugural season, including 2014 Little League World Series darling Davis and No.1 overall pick Whitmore, the first woman to play in an MLB Partner League and the first to pitch in Banana Ball.

• A couple other names to know? LA pitcher Ayami Sato, the first woman to play in a men’s pro league in Canada, and NY catcher Kylee Lahners, a softball-turned-baseball player and standout for Team USA.

♥️ Bigger than sport: Tomorrow’s opener between LA and New York is a moment years in the making. Women have always had a place on the diamond, a fact that was on full display during the AAGPBL’s heyday in the 1940s and 50s. Now, after a long road filled with firsts, women finally have a league of their own. That certainly merits a little crying in baseball.

🔥 Our pals at Outsports have you covered with their original coverage of LGBTQIA+ sports stories, news, and culture.

• 📰 Essential reading: The teammates falling in love plot? Real, and it has history. Pat Griffin's op-ed covers everything from secret romances in the 1940s leagues to the WNBA's married power couples of today.

⛳ LPGA: AIG Women’s Open — Ongoing through Sunday — Golf Channel

• World No. 3 Haeran Ryu’s epic run has extended to the fifth and final major of the LPGA season. She’s tied for second behind tourney leader No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul as she seeks her third straight major win.

⚾ MLB: NY Yankees vs. Chicago Cubs — Today at 2:20 p.m. ET — MLB.TV

• Summer Fridays were made for mid-day baseball, and this matchup between two teams likely to add ahead of Monday’s MLB Trade Deadline won’t disappoint. Go ahead and log off a little early — we won’t tell.

🚲 Tour de France Femmes — Beginning tomorrow — Peacock

• With the men’s competition done and dusted, it’s time for the women to hit the road. Keep an eye on favorites Demi Vollering, who won last month’s Giro d’Italia, along with defending champ and hometown hero Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who won’t go down on home turf without a fight.

⚽ NWSL: Boston Legacy FC vs. Denver Summit — Sunday at 9 p.m. ET — ESPN

• It’s time for the final expansion derby of the season. The Summit sit a smidge below the eight-team postseason line, but have looked strong following captain Lindsey Heaps’ NWSL return. Can the surging Legacy pull off yet-another victory?