If you are reading this, you likely know who Paige Bueckers is. Maybe you are also familiar with Lauren Betts, Maddie Booker and MiLaysia Fulwiley.

But Meg Aronowitz, a senior vice president of production for ESPN and the company’s point person for its women’s basketball coverage, cannot afford to make a similar supposition. When the women’s Final Four games air on Friday (7 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. ET), she and her ESPN colleagues have to cater, at least in part, to the casual viewer who might watch only one or two women’s basketball games each year.

“This is the part of the tournament where we have to absolutely remind ourselves that this is an entirely new audience joining us,” Aronowitz said. “I know that that sounds very TV cliche, but we have to teach them who these stars are. I tell my people — repeat your best stuff. New viewers are tuning in every round, and we have to make sure that we are giving people a reason to come back on Sunday for the title game.”

We have reached the most interesting part of this tournament as far as a media-centric examination. Why? Because of last year’s outlier viewership. ESPN executives know that it will be impossible to duplicate the Final Four viewership numbers from a year ago — and that is a direct result of Caitlin Clark not being in this tournament. Iowa’s win over UConn in the national semifinals set a then-new record for the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history with an average of 14.2 million viewers. It was ultimately topped by the 18.9 million viewers who watched the title game between Iowa and South Carolina. Yes, there are plenty of popular players in women’s basketball but only one viewership unicorn — that kid from Iowa with unlimited range.

But this year’s numbers present data points that speak to the growth of women’s college basketball writ large. The Elite Eight games averaged 2.9 million viewers, the second most-watched Elite Eight round on record, only behind the Clark-infused (6.2 million viewers) numbers from last year. Elite Eight games in 2025 were up 34 percent from 2023. ESPN said four of the top 10 Elite Eight games on record aired this year, including:

• LSU-UCLA (3.4 million viewers, No. 3 Elite Eight game all-time)

• Duke-SC (3.1 million, No. 4)

• UConn-USC (3.0 million, No. 6)

• TCU-Texas (2.3 million, No. 9)

The Sweet 16 round averaged 1.7 million viewers across ESPN’s networks, the second-most-watched Sweet 16 on record behind last year (which averaged 2.4 million viewers) and up 39 percent from 2023. This year delivered four of the top 10 Sweet 16 games of all time, including 2.9 million for Tennessee-Texas (No. 3) and 2.5 million for Notre Dame-TCU (No. 4).

The second round of the women’s tournament averaged 982,000 viewers, the second-most-watched second round on record behind the 1.4 million viewer average last year. It was up 60 percent from 2023.

The first round of the women’s tournament averaged 367,000 viewers. That’s down 22 percent from 471,000 last year (as expected without Clark) but up 43 percent from 2023.

Heading into the Final Four, all games have averaged 967,000 viewers, up 47 percent from 2023.

“People came to the women’s Final Four last year because they wanted to see what Caitlin Clark would do,” Aronowitz said. “But it wasn’t just the Iowa games that were rating. The entire tournament rated for us, and it is our job to make sure that we continue to tell the stories of the teams and these student-athletes and give people a reason to stick around.”

ESPN will focus a ton this weekend on Bueckers because stars draw people in. The UConn star had 40 points in the Sweet 16 win over Oklahoma and 31 points against USC on Monday. She is averaging 29 points per game in the tournament.

We’ll never know, given the devastating ACL injury to USC star JuJu Watkins, but you can imagine that the Elite Eight game featuring a healthy Watkins and Bueckers might have become the most-watched Elite Eight game in history.

“Everybody’s talking about Paige,” said Aronowitz. “It’s not ‘Paige Bueckers.’ It’s just ‘Paige.’ When you get to that point where you are first name only, that’s when you know, wow, people are starting to pay attention. The story that comes along with her, all of the injuries, the playing through COVID and the resilience of this young woman, that’s a story that will get people to want to watch. So we are thrilled to have Paige in Tampa.”

(For fans of Watkins, Aronowitz said that ESPN’s women’s basketball group is going to make it a focus to document her return. Said Aronowitz: “We are going to document her journey to recovery, and we can’t wait till there’s a time where she’s got a spring in her step and she’s back out on the court and we get to be able to talk about her success and recovery.”)

As ESPN has seen more success with the women’s Final Four, the investment in technology increases. Aronowitz said this year’s Final Four will be in high dynamic range (HDR), a first for the women’s game. The production has 45 cameras in total, including more super slow-mo and high-frame-rate cameras than ever before.

These are all signs of growth. The interesting number for me will be how the Final Four and title game tracks not against 2023 but the 2022 title game, which we can call the “PTC Era” (Prior To Caitlin). That title game — a 64-49 South Carolina win over Bueckers and UConn — averaged 4.85 million viewers. At the time, it was the most-watched women’s title game since 2004, and the fourth-largest audience to watch a women’s championship game since 1996. The UConn-Stanford national semifinal in 2022 drew 3.23 million viewers, which was the most-watched women’s semifinal game in the PTC era since 2012.

These are the numbers to beat — and I think this Final Four and championship game will do it comfortably.

(Photo: Alika Jenner / Getty Images)

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin moved to within three goals of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time scoring mark as he netted his 892nd goal against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.

It was the Capitals’ lone goal in their 5-1 loss to the Hurricanes. He nearly scored two in the game but was stopped at point-blank range by goalie Frederik Andersen in the second period. He ended up beating Andersen on a 5-on-3 power play later in the second.

“We have a pretty good chance in the second, first shift a breakaway,” Ovechkin said. “And in this game, if you have a chance, you have to use it and I think all goalies play well tonight.”

Ovechkin acknowledged the playoff atmosphere in Raleigh, North Carolina. In the third period, eight players were given game misconducts after multiple fights broke out.

“We understand there’s a possibility to see them in the playoffs,” Ovechkin said. “It was a playoff atmosphere out there.”

FLYERS FIRE HEAD COACH JOHN TORTORELLA JUST BEFORE SEASON’S END AFTER QUESTIONABLE COMMENTS

Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin, #8, watches the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Washington and Carolina are the two top teams in the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals have 105 points and the Hurricanes have 96.

“The GR8 Chase” is still on, at least for seven more games. Ovechkin could close out the record by the end of the weekend with a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night and then a road game against the New York Islanders on Sunday.

Gretzky’s record of 894 career goals was once thought to be unbeatable but Ovechkin is set to defy the odds.

Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin, #8, flips a puck to a fan during warmups prior to the Capitals game against the Carolina Hurricanes at an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

“(The record) feels like it’s right there,” Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk said. “He feels like he’s still scoring every night. It’s been huge for us and awesome for him to see that he’s still doing it at this torrid pace.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

J’Onre “Big General” Reed was all smiles and laughter in his first interaction with media covering USC spring football practice.

With enthusiasm, he shared the story behind his befitting moniker.

“[It] was cold, it was night, and it was quiet,” Reed said, eagerly retelling the story. “My receiver heard me making calls on the sideline. He ran up to me after he got off the field and was like, ‘Big General! Big General!’”

The nickname was inspired by Reed’s imposing 6-foot-3, 322-pound frame and commanding presence while calling out blocking assignments at Hutchinson Community College. During the game when he was first called “Big General,” Reed helped power Hutchinson’s 300-yard rushing performance.

Since then, the former junior college All-American has embraced the nickname, saying, “You know what? I am Big General.”

Reed is one of 12 transfers who joined the USC football program during the offseason. Reed said he had a wild ride in the transfer portal and “I had whatever I wanted” from schools.

Despite being a hot commodity, he never imagined a program with USC’s prestige would come calling.

“I ended up seeing USC in my Twitter DMs, [and] I said, ‘This can’t be who I think it is,’” Reed said with a chuckle while recalling the direct messages. “It ended up being who it was, and the next thing you know, it was like, ‘Hey, we need to get you on a visit.’”

After playing junior college football in the midwest and spending two chilly seasons playing at Syracuse, he was eager to move to Southern California.

After one visit in January, it felt like a perfect fit — Reed wanted to head west and USC needed help on its interior line.

A center for most of his collegiate career, Reed is vying for one of the three open spots on the offensive line. He could start at center, where he played 25 games at Syracuse, though he remains open to any opportunity.

“Whatever they want to do, wherever they want me at, they put me there, I’m gonna do it,” Reed said. “They hired me as an assassin — that’s what I’m gonna do.”

USC coach Lincoln Riley said he feels about the offensive line early in spring practice.

“There will be a lot of competition within the room,” Riley said. “We have probably more guys right now that can play multiple positions than what we’ve had, we probably have more depth than what we’ve had, we have a few more centers than what we’ve had. So I’m excited about the room, excited about the competition. The new guys that we’ve brought in, I think have brought some experience.”

Reed, who grew up in Houston, uses colorful phrases and acknowledges the hard work it took to reach this point in his career. And he offered an enthusiastic endorsement of the energy former Hutchinson and now-USC teammate Waymond Jordan Jr. is bringing to the Trojans this spring.

“He worked hard, you know, fought for everything he wanted,” Reed said of Jordan, whose nickname is the “The Junk Yard Dog.” “Fought down, stayed down, because he’s a dog. Man, is he out here running around like a dog, just off the leash.”