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Recent milestones and "firsts" for female athletes have provided glimpses into just how women's sports may finally break through its most stubbornly unconquered frontier.

Listen to Geno Auriemma. Maybe a radical change such as lowering the hoops is the right way to increase the audience for women's basketball.

Even Nike has had enough? Wednesday's news of the company's split with Lance Armstrong is a remarkable twist in the cyclist's accelerating spiral from heroic cultural icon to disgraced champion and unconscionable liar.

Imagine what the world would look like without Title IX. Then celebrate the advances made by continuing the fight.

Our countdown of the Top 40 female athletes of the past 40 years starts with Chinese diver Fu Mingxia, who won every Olympic event she entered, grabbing four gold medals over three Games.