An Historic Parade; Redskins Lawsuit; And A Female Quarterback

There's a lot of sports news in the world and not all of it gets the attention it deserves. That's where Only A Game's “3 Stories You Should Know” comes in. It's our discussion of sports stories and subplots you might have missed.

This week, Bill Littlefield was joined by Yahoo Sports contributor Danielle Elliott and USA Today columnist Nancy Armour.

1. The future of women's soccer:

The U.S. Women's National Team topped Japan 5-2 last Sunday to win its first World Cup since 1999. The team was feted in New York on Friday with a ticker-tape parade, the first such parade for a female athlete since figure skater Carol Heiss in 1960. But can the popularity of women's soccer continue to grow in the U.S.? Nancy Armour weighs in:

NA: The question is now: where does the women's game go from here? The league resumes play this weekend, the NWSL. And this is a pivotal season. The other two women's soccer leagues that there have been in the U.S. have folded after their third season. And this is the NWSL's third season.

When you think back to '99, there wasn't a league at that point. I think the fact that there is a league already in place gives them the potential to capitalize on the momentum, whereas it's a lot harder to do when, "Hey, remember that team from two years ago or three years ago? Now they're playing again!"

2. Judge rules in Washington NFL franchise's trademark case:

On Wednesday, United States District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee affirmed that the NFL team in Washington, D.C., was not entitled to trademark their name, because it’s a racial slur, as defined, by the way, in the dictionary. Team officials have said they plan to appeal the latest ruling. Danielle Elliot shares a story from her past:

DE: My junior year in high school my school decided to change our mascot from the one that's currently used by the Washington football team. We ended up changing it to the Red Hawks.

I was on the side that I don't like to admit I was on. I was in favor of keeping the name at that time. I'm happy to say that I've grown up and I'm no longer on that side whatsoever.

3. Missouri high school will start a girl at quarterback: 

A high school in Kansas City, Mo., will have a female starting quarterback this year on its freshman team. This follows the launch in May of a tackle football league for girls in Utah. As we become more aware of the health risks associated with playing football, should we celebrate these developments? Bill Littlefield gives his reaction:

BL: I respond to this story a little bit the same way as I respond when people say to me, "What do you think about women boxing?" And I say, "I don't think women should be boxing, but I don't think men should be boxing either." Head injuries, the concussions, the lying by the NFL, the covering up of what was happening — even doctors misrepresenting what had happened to the players.

We know from studies that girls and young women are even more prone to concussions than boys and men are. And I just really can't see anything too good coming from this, although I recognize mine may be an unpopular view.

Previous Editions Of "3 Stories You Should Know" On OAG: