And L’Shana Tova to those who celebrate. Some incredible news to kick off the new year/new week? Rihanna confirmed yesterday that she’ll be headlining the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show. Please don’t stop the music, indeed.

• Queue up RiRi’s greatest hits, then get your groove on with today’s newsletter.

The GIST: Players from the Spanish women’s national team are setting the record straight amid an ongoing standoff with their federation, and they’re earning support from the international football community along the way.

The timeline: News broke Thursday that 15 La Roja players threatened to resign from the team unless head coach Jorge Vilda was fired, citing significant impact on their “emotional state and health.” Trouble is, that report came from the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) not the players themselves.

• Reigning Ballon d’Or Féminin winner Alexia Putellas and co. released their own statement the next day, pushing back on RFEF and refuting the resignation reports. They noted they had only wished not to be called up to the national team until the federation addressed concerns about their physical and emotional well-being. Simple enough.

• “We are sorry that in the context of feminine sport we have to get to this length…to be able to make progress in a professional and powerful project and ambitious [sic] for the present and for future generations,” the players concluded in their statement. It’s bigger than fútbol.

Zooming out: Fresh off a battle with their federation over equal pay, a handful of USWNT stars publicly backed the Spanish squad. Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Becky Sauerbrunn expressed support on social media, which is especially noteworthy as the U.S. is set to travel to Spain for a friendly next month.

• Spain’s stand also comes during an era of player empowerment in women’s soccer. With athletes in the NWSL refusing silence, the USWNT achieving equal pay and other international squads pushing to follow suit, this is just the beginning. LFG.

Under investigation: The Miami Dolphins overcame a butt punt (yes, you need to see this) to knock off the Super Bowl favorite Buffalo Bills 21–19 yesterday, but the Dolphins could be in hot water. The NFL Players Association is looking into Miami quarterback (QB) Tua Tagovailoa’s (TUNG-o-vai-LOA) concussion evaluation after the QB returned to the field despite suffering a scary hit. Stay tuned.

Upset alert: The Indianapolis Colts handed the Kansas City Chiefs a stunning 20–17 loss, with Colts safety Rodney McLeod picking off KC QB Patrick Mahomes in the fourth quarter to give Indy their first win of the season.

• Then QB Trevor Lawrence tossed three touchdowns to help his Jacksonville Jaguars shock (notably injured) QB Justin Herbert and the LA Chargers 38–10. Great day for underdogs.

Battle of the drama queens: QB Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers hung on to beat QB Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14–12 in what could be the last matchup between these two NFL legends. Hopefully no tablets were harmed in the making of this L.

Injury report: Bills superstar QB Josh Allen says he’s fine after heading to the X-ray room to have his hand checked following yesterday’s loss. However, the same can’t be said for New England Patriots QB Mac Jones, who was obviously not fine after being carried off the field with an ankle injury during their 37–26 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Brutal.

Looking ahead: It’ll be an NFC East battle in tonight’s Monday Night Football clash, with the shockingly 2-0 NY Giants taking on the 1-1 Dallas Cowboys. Dallas QB Dak Prescott is still on the mend, so all eyes will be on the Cowboys’ defense to hold Giants QB Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley at bay. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET.

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🐣 Happy World Contraception Day!

Last week’s stability was the calm before Week 4’s storm. The most jaw-dropping performance? Stephen F. Austin dismantled Warner in record-breaking 98–0 (not a typo!) fashion on Saturday. Meanwhile, now–No. 18 Oklahoma dropped 12 spots after falling 41–34 to now–No. 25 Kansas State. Chaos.

Team USA is officially quarter-finals bound after topping China 77–63 on Saturday. The reigning champs notched a 145–69 dub (again, not a typo!) over South Korea earlier this morning to remain undefeated in Group A.

• Now they’ll look to keep the momentum (and their unbeaten tourney run) going when they face Bosnia and Herzegovina tomorrow at 12 a.m. ET. Let’s go, girls.

The penultimate regular season weekend saw three squads punch their playoff tickets: OL Reign, Kansas City Current and the San Diego Wave (notably the league’s first expansion team to clinch in year one). With only two postseason spots remaining, the pressure is on heading into the final week of play. It all comes down to this.

There’s *gasps* less than two months to go until the men’s World Cup kicks off in Qatar, and the USMNT roster is still looking pretty shaky, especially after Friday’s tough 2–0 friendly loss to Japan. Hopefully the squad can sort things out during tomorrow’s 2 p.m. ET matchup against Saudi Arabia, their final friendly before the World Cup.

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