And hello, college football season. ICYMI: We launched a three-times weekly college sports newsletter just in time for tomorrow’s Week 0 kickoff. Subscribe or share the exciting news with your circle, then dive into the other happenings in the sports world.

The GIST: Semifinals, here we come. The No. 3 Connecticut Sun punched their ticket with a convincing Wednesday win over the No. 6 Dallas Wings, setting up a couple of top-four seed best-of-five matchups. Getcha popcorn ready.

No. 1 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 4 Seattle Storm: A rematch of the 2020 Finals, this series is loaded with starpower, highlighted by All-Star captains and MVP contenders Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson and Seattle’s Breanna Stewart.

• The Aces won the regular season series 3-1 and are high-rolling after a historic three-point shooting display in the first round. Along with Wilson, expect Chelsea Gray to stay hot as they chase a first franchise championship.

• As for the Storm, GOAT Sue Bird is clearly hungry to go out on top — she posted a season-high 18 points in their semis-clinching win. She’ll need to keep it going against this stacked Las Vegas squad. Tip-off is Sunday at 4 p.m. ET. Counting down the hours.

No. 2 Chicago Sky vs. No. 3 Connecticut Sun: After both teams went all three games in their first-round matchups, this 2021 semis rematch is destined for thrilling finishes, especially considering their four regular season clashes were decided by single digits. To quote Eminem, our palms are already sweaty.

• The defending champ Sky won all four of those meetings and are right back in their groove after a stunning playoff-opening loss in round one. Plus, this team is deep — six players scored in double digits in Tuesday’s elimination win. Clutch.

• Meanwhile, the Sun looked disjointed in their Wednesday dub but received a major boost in veteran DeWanna Bonner’s 21-point outburst. They’ll rely on that experience to flip the script when this series tips Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. 

The GIST: While the season-culminating PGA Tour Championship teed off yesterday, the golf world remains at war as the PGA vs. Saudi Arabian–backed LIV Golf feud continues to ramp up off the links. And people say this sport is boring.

The context: LIV Golf officially launched in June amid boatloads of controversy. Thanks to some face-palm worthy comments from star golfer Phil Mickelson, LIV’s role in sportswashing for the Saudi government became the main topic of conversation.

• Despite the strife, a handful of PGA athletes defected to the dark side LIV thanks to the hefty sums of money (we’re talking nine figures) offered for jumping ship. Now, with LIV defectors suspended from the PGA, both factions are vying to sign or retain top talent.

Off the course: On Wednesday, the PGA announced some major changes seemingly intended to sway golfers from joining LIV. The enhancements include a guaranteed league-minimum in earnings, a travel stipend and a guaranteed 20 competitions for the top 20 players. Maybe you can buy loyalty?

• Meanwhile, superstars (and public PGA defenders) Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy announced plans for a new virtual golf league, set to launch in partnership with the Tour in 2024. This battle’s just getting started.

On the course: As for the actual golf, Scottie Scheffler impressed at yesterday’s PGA Tour Championship first round and holds a five stroke cushion thanks to his impressive performance on the tour this season and at the two previous FedEx Cup Playoff events. Sitting behind him are fellow American Xander Schauffele and England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick.

• What are they playing for? Oh, just a casual $18M grand prize, part of the $57.9M total purse. Somebody queue up Abba.

🏒 IIHF Women’s Worlds: Team USA vs. Team Finland — Tomorrow at 9 a.m. ET — NHL Network

• Team USA opened the tournament by crushing Japan 10–0 yesterday, and now the red, white and blue will look to upend the Finns in a rematch of the 2019 final.

⛳ LPGA: CP Women’s Open — Today through Sunday — Golf Channel

• South Africa’s Paula Reto leads after yesterday’s first round, but Americans Emma Talley, Lilia Vu and Robynn Ree are nipping at her heels just three strokes behind. Swing Bring it on.

🏎 F1: Belgian GP — Sunday at 9 a.m. ET — ESPN2

• The cars (and the drama) are returning to the circuits for the first time since July. The spice? After this season, Daniel Ricciardo and team McLaren are never getting back together. Like, ever.

⚾ Baseball: Little League World Series semifinals & final — Tomorrow and Sunday — ABC

• After over a week of competition, only four teams remain: Curaçao, Chinese Taipei, Team Hawaii (Honolulu) and Team Tennessee (Nolensville). Only one squad can win it all.