Sports
Willow Bay explains why she and Bob Iger bought Angel City FC: 'Culture-defining moment'
The Angel City Football Club is getting stronger financial wings, thanks to one of Los Angeles’ most prominent couples: Willow Bay, dean of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and her husband, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger.
The women’s soccer club on Wednesday announced an agreement with Bay and Iger, allowing them to join the club as controlling owners. As part of the arrangement, which is subject to the National Women’s Soccer League’s approval, the couple also agreed to provide $50 million in cash to expand Angel City FC’s budget and ease its losses.
Bay and Iger’s investment — which values Angel City at $250 million, making it the most valuable women’s sports team — comes amid increasing popularity of women’s sports and a growing recognition that female athletes often are as big a draw as their male counterparts.
The couple’s contribution tops $100 million, according to two people familiar with the deal who were not authorized to discuss financial terms.
Once the transaction is finalized, Bay will assume control of the team’s board of directors and become its league representative, replacing entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, the founding controlling shareholder. Ohanian, co-founder of the online discussion site Reddit and husband of tennis legend Serena Williams, will remain on the board.
This season, Angel City FC ranks 11th in the league, which has 14 teams. It has a record of four wins, three draws and nine losses.
“We’re really looking at this as a long-term commitment,” Bay said in an interview. “We know this is a long road and that’s part of what excites us.”
Angel City long has had Hollywood connections.
The club was founded in 2020 by actor Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman and entrepreneur Julie Uhrman. The seeds were planted as part of a heightened awareness of systemic gender inequities in the workplace and in sports that came about during the #MeToo movement and formation of the now-defunct Time’s Up coalition.
“Women’s sports is having a culture-defining moment,” Bay said. “Participation is on the rise, viewership is on the rise, and appreciation for the level of the skill that these athletes demonstrate also is on the rise. All of those things, we really believe, add up to the momentum that we know exists for this team.”
Due to his position at Disney overseeing sports broadcasting behemoth ESPN, Iger will recuse himself from all business matters dealing with the women’s soccer league, Bay said.
Late last year, the league unveiled a $240-million media rights deal with CBS, ESPN, Amazon Prime Video and Scripps’ network ION, which has been central to expanding the league’s revenue and visibility. So far this season, more than 7 million viewers have watched the league’s national broadcasts, according to the club.
There has been tension over the team’s spending. While Angel City generated the most revenue in the NWSL last year at $31 million, it also was spending enormous amounts.
Angel City’s board of directors unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in the next 30 to 60 days.
Bay said she and Iger are confident the club’s prospects are bright.
The team plays home matches at BMO Stadium near USC, south of downtown L.A. The club is in its third season. Olympic gold medalist Angela Hucles Mangano is general manager and Becki Tweed is the head coach.
Bay did not disclose the family’s ownership percentage.
To become a controlling shareholder, owners must hold more than a 35% stake, according to a knowledgeable person not authorized to comment publicly.
“We’ve followed the team as fans and friends since its inception,” Bay said. “We’ve attended games, we’ve brought our kids and granddaughters. … We love what [the team] has brought to this community.”
Angel City has a large ownership group that includes current and retired sports stars Billie Jean King, Ilana Kloss, Candace Parker, Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Lauren Cheney Holiday, Abby Wambach and Lindsey Vonn.
Music star Becky G and prominent actors Uzo Aduba, Jessica Chastain, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner, Eva Longoria and Lilly Singh also hold stakes, as does activist Glennon Doyle and NFL players Matthew Stafford and Ryan Kalil.
“We know they are the right partners to lead us into this new era — they are committed to further strengthening ACFC’s position as a preeminent organization and brand in women’s sports and to championing the team’s broader mission, including the advancement of equity for athletes and women-founded businesses,” Angel City FC’s board said in a statement.
Times staff writer Kevin Baxter contributed to this report.
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The 2026 UFL season kicked off on March 27 on FOX UFL Friday, and it consists of a 10-week regular season ending on May 31, followed by playoffs starting the week of June 7 and the championship game later that month.
There are new teams, new coaches, new players and new uniforms this season — and that’s just the beginning.
The league’s media partners — FOX, FS1, ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 — combine to broadcast all 43 games during the UFL’s third season. Select games in Spanish will also air across FOX Deportes and ESPN Deportes.
Here are the full 2026 schedules for all eight teams:
Week 1 (March 27-29)
Week 2 (April 3-7)
Week 3 (April 10-12)
Week 4 (April 16-18)
Week 5 (April 24-26)
Week 6 (April 30-May 3)
- St. Louis Battlehawks @ Louisville Kings (Thursday, April 30 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1)
- Houston Gamblers @ Columbus Aviators (Friday, May 1 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX)
- Dallas Renegades @ DC Defenders (Saturday, May 2 at noon ET on ABC)
- Birmingham Stallions @ Orlando Storm (Sunday, May 3 at 4 p.m. ET on FOX)
Week 7 (May 8-10)
- Columbus Aviators @ St. Louis Battlehawks (Friday, May 8 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX)
- Louisville Kings @ DC Defenders (Saturday, May 9 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX)
- Dallas Renegades @ Birmingham Stallions (Saturday, May 9 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN)
- Orlando Storm @ Houston Gamblers (Sunday, May 10 at 6 p.m. ET on FS1)
Week 8 (May 15-17)
- Orlando Storm @ Dallas Renegades (Friday, May 15 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX)
- DC Defenders @ Louisville Kings (Saturday, May 16 at noon ET on ABC)
- Houston Gamblers @ St. Louis Battlehawks (Saturday, May 16 at 3 p.m. ET on ABC)
- Columbus Aviators @ Birmingham Stallions (Sunday, May 17 at 1 p.m. ET on FOX)
Week 9 (May 22-24)
- DC Defenders @ Orlando Storm (Friday, May 22 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX)
- Birmingham Stallions @ Columbus Aviators (Saturday, May 23 at 3 p.m. ET on ABC)
- Dallas Renegades @ Louisville Kings (Sunday, May 24 at 4 p.m. ET on FOX)
- St. Louis Battlehawks @ Houston Gamblers (Sunday, May 24 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2)
Week 10 (May 29-31)
- Dallas Renegades @ St. Louis Battlehawks (Friday, May 29 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX)
- Houston Gamblers @ Birmingham Stallions (Saturday, May 30 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2)
- Orlando Storm @ DC Defenders (Sunday, May 31 at noon ET on ABC)
- Louisville Kings @ Columbus Aviators (Sunday, May 31 at 6 p.m. ET on FOX)
At a school with the rich athletic tradition of Santa Ana Mater Dei, it is rare to be the first to achieve anything, but Matteo Huarte made history Saturday by becoming the Monarchs’ only CIF singles champion at the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament.
After losing in straight sets to Rishvanth Krishna from Irvine University in last year’s final, Huarte was not about to squander his second chance. He raced to an early lead in the first-set tiebreaker, then broke to open the second set on his way to a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory over Woodbridge’s Brayden Tallakson in front of a packed grandstand at Libbey Park.
Huarte had four service breaks — the last being a cross-court passing shot on match point. The final resembled Huarte’s semifinal win versus Irvine University’s JiHyuk Im in which he took the first-set tiebreaker 7-4 then cruised 6-2 in the second set.
“I’m happy I was able to do it for my school,” said Huarte, a junior who has committed to USC. “We’ve played each other a couple times and the key was to manage his serve and get into the rally. Once I got ahead of him in the tiebreak and then won the first game of the second set I was able to run away with it.”
Mater Dei’s only other title in the Ojai tournament’s long and storied history came in doubles in 2008 when Charlie Alvarado and Chris Freeman upset top-seeded Tyler Bowman and Jon Kazarian of Peninsula in three sets.
“It’s kind of hard to believe I’m the first to do it,” said Huarte about his singles title.
Last year, Huarte fell in the Southern Section semifinals to Palos Verdes ninth-grader Andrew Johnson, who went on to beat Tallakson 6-4, 6-3 in the final.
Tallakson was trying to make history of his own Saturday at a venue near and dear to his heart.
Woodbridge’s Brayden Tallakson celebrates after his quarterfinal victory over Beckman’s Rohan Grewal at the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament on Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
“I started playing tennis down in lower Libbey, my dad Steve grew up here and won the men’s tournament, so this place is like home for my family,” said Tallakson, who quickly downed Palisades freshman Kensho Ford 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals. “Matteo came out real aggressive, I made a couple errors on big points and he was just the better player today.”
Tallakson won the boys’ 14s division at Ojai in 2022 and had he prevailed Saturday, he would have been the first player to capture CIF singles and doubles titles at Ojai since Santa Barbara’s Nathan Jackmon won the doubles in 1993 and the singles in 1994. Tallakson won the doubles crown in 2023 with older brother Avery, with whom he will reunite next year at Boise State.
Peninsula seniors Colin Bringas and Edward Feuer completed one of the most dominant runs through the doubles draw ever seen at Ojai by beating Harvard-Westlake’s Aaron Chung and Chase Klugo 6-4, 6-2 in the finals. The Panthers’ duo did not drop a set in six matches and did not give up more than three games in a set until the first set Saturday when they broke in the ninth game to go up 5-4 and then served it out.
Bringas and Feuer are the first Peninsula pair to reach the CIF final at Ojai since 2011 and the third tandem in history to win it, joining Rylan Rizza and Jeff Kazarian in 2001, and Kazarian and Tiege Sullivan the following year.
Peninsula seniors Colin Bringas, left, and Edward Feuer celebrate after winning the CIF boys’ doubles title at the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament on Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
“We’ve been playing together since second or third grade and we’ve been best friends since middle school at Ridgecrest Intermediate [in Palos Verdes],” Bringas said. “I always play the ad side, he’s always played the deuce court. I think the key was big serves … they make it easy for the net person to put balls away.”
Bringas and Feuer have partnered at Ojai the last three years, losing in the quarterfinal round as sophomores and juniors but steamrolling this year. They made a measly three unforced errors in a 6-1, 6-1 semifinal wipeout of Marina’s David Tran and Alejandro Hill. Tran was playing in his second straight final, having taken the runner-up prize with Trevor Nguyen in 2025.
“We were confident we’d win, but we felt the pressure and knew there are a lot of good teams here,” said Feuer, who plays No. 1 singles for dual matches while Bringas plays the No. 1 doubles spot with another teammate. “It’ll be really strange playing against each other next year.”
Bringas is bound for Westmont College and Feuer is headed to Point Loma Nazarene — rival NCAA Division II programs in the Pacific West Conference.
Harvard-Westlake, Woodbridge and University shared the Griggs Cup trophy, presented to the school with the most combined wins in singles and doubles. All three notched seven victories to force a three-way tie for only the fifth time since the award debuted in 1955 and the first since Santa Barbara, Palisades and Fresno Bullard were tri-champions in 1997. University has won it 13 times.
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If the Super Bowl marks the end of the NFL season, WrestleMania is when WWE’s year is over.
There is no offseason in WWE, and when waves of departures hit the company, it hits harder than a Gunther knife-edge chop.
Uncle Howdy, Erick Rowan, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, and Nikki Cross appear during SmackDown at First Horizon Center in Savannah, Ga., on May 23, 2025. (Rich Freeda/WWE)
Fightful and BodySlam both reported several superstars who left WWE on Friday ahead of “Friday Night SmackDown.” Some wrestlers confirmed their departures on social media.
Those who left included: Alba Fyre, Aleister Black, Alex Shelley, Andre Chase, Apollo Crews, Bo Dallas, Chris Island, Chris Sabin, Dante Chen, Dexter Lumis, Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy, Kairi Sane, Luca Crusifino, Malik Blade, Nikki Cross, Santos Escobar, Sirena Linton, Trill London, Tyra Mae Steele, Tyriek Igwe, Tyson Dupont, Zelina Vegas and Zoey Stark.
The WWE roster is loaded as it is with several NXT stars getting called up this week.
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Sol Ruca made her presence felt on Raw on Monday when she challenged women’s champion Liv Morgan. The Fatal Influence faction of Jacy Jayne, Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley took aim at the women’s tag team division on SmackDown on Friday. Ricky Saints and Blake Monroe also had vignettes for their upcoming appearances.
Meanwhile, former NXT champion Oba Femi has been on main WWE programming for the last few weeks and beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42.
Kairi Sane enters the ring during Monday Night RAW at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., on April 13, 2026. (Rich Freeda/WWE)
Aleister Black and Zelina Vega make their way to the ring during SmackDown at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 3, 2026. (Craig Melvin/WWE)
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It’s not the end of the road for any of the recent departures. Several former WWE stars have made waves elsewhere. Some have even returned over the course of time.
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