And now it’s August. Summer’s bookend and the most richly melancholy month of the year. My intentions for this month are to play outside and do good work and be a super good sport. Here’s your newsletter.

Subscribe now

On the Good Sport podcast: Last week’s pod covered the history of women’s pro baseball, what to expect from the WPBL, and reviewed the NY Heights roster. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

NYC women’s sports news & culture

Here’s what you should know this week.

1. NY Heights highlights from the WPBL’s Opening Weekend. After a rain delay and an extremely strong start, our NY Heights fell short in their first game of the season in a 10-8 loss against the LA Queens. But there’s still a ton to smile about. Our team captain Denae Benites hit the league’s first home run. She also got to spend time with 99-year-old Maybelle Blair, who was a pitcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League 70+ years ago. And the game was played in front of a sold-out crowd.

   

2. Another day in the women’s sports streaming hellscape. Two days before the games kicked off, the WPBL announced that it had inked a streaming deal: “ESPN will be the streaming home to the 2026 WPBL Inaugural Season, with all regular season and playoff games broadcasting live on ESPN Select (my note for anyone else who was confused: Select was FKA ESPN+). Additionally, 11 regular season games…will be broadcast co-exclusively on Scripps Sports Network.” Fans did not react well to a paywall announcement 48 hours before the opening day, as you can see in the comment section here. I personally didn’t watch the games because I don’t subscribe to ESPN Select, and I was bummed. My take: Deals like this are super important for the long-term success of our leagues, but I think fan engagement and sentiment should be the #1 priority for brand new leagues, and this alienated a lot of the casual fans (and some super fans) we need. I’m planning to watch at sports bars for now.

   

3. Gotham’s Emily Sonnett is out for the rest of the season. Ugh. The defender underwent surgery to repair the ruptured patellar tendon in her left knee and will miss the remainder of the 2026 NWSL season, according to the club. Literally nothing much to say other than this sucks, and I’m wishing her a speedy and safe recovery <3

What to watch this week

Monday 8/3

🏀 The Liberty host Seattle Storm at Barclays Center, 7:00 pm ET. Watch Peacock or My9 for local TV.

Wednesday 8/5

🏀 The Liberty host Seattle Storm again at Barclays Center, 7:00 pm ET. Watch USA or Fox 5 for local TV.

Friday 8/7

⚽ Gotham FC hosts San Diego Wave FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium, 8:00 pm ET. Watch on Prime Video.

Saturday 8/8

⚾ WPBL’s New York Heights play Boston Hunters at Robin Roberts Stadium, Springfield, IL, 2:00 pm ET. Watch on ESPN Select.

Sunday 8/9

🏀 The Liberty host Las Vegas Aces at Barclays Center, 12:30 pm ET. Watch on ABC.

⚾ New York Heights play Boston Hunters again, 7:30 pm ET. Watch on ESPN Select.

The Scene Report

Here’s some fun stuff going on in the NYC W sports scene.

Our friends at Women’s Sports Rally are hosting a NY Liberty watch party at Henrietta Hudson this Wednesday, August 5th. RSVP here.

Spykes, NYC’s beloved queer volleyball league, is going dual-sport athlete mode and hosting a Basketball Clinic Pop-Up for all skill levels on August 15th. I will do my best to attend because I need help with my bball skills BAD...RSVP here.

That’s a wrap…

Thanks for reading as always :) See you next week for more. Bye!

Share Good Sport NYC

Here’s what we covered:

• The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (1943–1954), and the racism and femininity requirements baked into the organization

• Toni Stone, Mamie “Peanut” Johnson, and Connie Morgan, the three women who played in the Negro Leagues

• Effa Manley, the first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame

• How A League of Their Own (the 1992 film and 2022 A24 series) depicted women’s pro baseball in pop culture and media

• Paths to the WPBL: Switching to softball, playing in the Banana Ball, and the US National Team bringing women like Kelsey Whitmore, Mo’ne Davis, and Ashton Lansdell into the spotlight

• A full breakdown of our team, the New York Heights: our head coach (the league’s only woman manager) and our roster

I read and listened to a lot of good stuff in prep for this episode, which I’ll link below as always. Enjoy, and watch women’s baseball this weekend!

LINKS

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack

Follow the WPBL on Instagram

Follow the NY Heights on Instagram

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram, TikTok

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

RESOURCES USED:

Crying In Baseball from the You’re Wrong About Podcast

Storied: Women of the Negro Leagues from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Dorothy Height by Arlisha Norwood from the National Women’s History Museum

I think we all know Cornhole, or Bags, depending on where you’re from. I had never heard of Bottle Bash, though, which is a game where you and a partner try to knock your opponent’s bottle off a stand with a frisbee, and everyone has to have a drink in one hand while playing.

A common intuitive test for deciding sport vs game: Does success depend substantially on physicality (strength, speed, endurance, or coordination)? If so, then sport. Or, some say it comes down to whether success depends on measurable, quantifiable performance.

Bernard Suits, the late thinker known for his work in the Philosophy of Sport, argued that games are activities where you adopt agreed-upon unnecessary obstacles for the sake of the activity itself. In his view, sports are a subset of games, but not all games are sports.

If you think about that long enough, though, whether it’s cornhole or soccer, it’s all kind of the same intellectual framework. People come together to suspend reality and play in a fantasy world where you can win or lose.

Guys, the truth is, it’s a spectrum. Like all of the best things in the world. There are levels to this and different categories of games and sports. Maybe when I go bowling, it’s a game. But when someone who has trained their whole life goes to work as a professional bowler, it’s a sport. Maybe a sport is whatever game you take extremely seriously and thus makes you sick in the head.

If I’m still thinking about a round of cornhole where I totally shit the bed, and I’ve thought about how I never play cornhole in New York and I might not get better before the next family trip…Am I a cornhole athlete? No. But I am sick in the head.

I love games and sports. Here’s your newsletter.

Subscribe now

NYC women’s sports news & culture

Here’s what you should know this week.

1. The Liberty’s Jonquel Jones adds All-Star MVP to her resume. This makes JJ the only player in WNBA history to have a WNBA MVP (2021), Commissioner’s Cup MVP (2023), Finals MVP (2024), and WNBA All-Star MVP (2026). It was an emotional weekend for JJ, who recently lost her aunt and had to miss the memorial service to attend ASW. To add to the weekend’s complication, JJ was also heard on the StudBudz livestream telling Courtney Williams that she thought the Lynx deserved to win the 2024 Championship, which got blown up by the media. She called that situation a gut punch and clarified her meaning in a press conference. My take: Everyone needs to lay off JJ. From everything I’ve heard about her, she’s salt of the earth, and I know what she meant, and it seems like most of the fans do, too. I hope she enjoyed that MVP moment because she deserved it.

   

   I wasn’t at All-Star, but my friend and Good Sport truther Ashtyn (who everyone should follow because she’s talented // hilarious // knows ball) was there and wrote about the weekend in her newsletter for Offball. Read it here to get more details on what appeared to be a very chaotic and fun weekend in the Windy City.

2. Esther Gonzalez departs from Gotham FC. Earlier today, it was announced that the forward and Gotham mutually agreed to a contract termination. Fans were quick to judge this as a bad soccer move by the team, possibly to make room for Sam Kerr, who joined us earlier this month, but it’s been made clear that this is due to Gonzalez temporarily stepping back from soccer to attend to personal matters back in Spain. In her time with Gotham, Gonzalez led the Bats in scoring and finished as a runner-up in the 2025 Golden Boot race. She won two NWSL Championships with the team. I wish she could’ve gotten a proper, more in-depth send-off, but I’m wishing her all the best as she takes care of what she needs to back home.

   

3. The WPBL kicks off this weekend. Our NY Heights will play in the league’s first game against the LA Queens. I’m going to dive into our roster and the history of women’s pro baseball on the podcast this week, so stay tuned for more come Thursday. All of the WPBL games will be played in Springfield, IL this season, and I have yet to find the details on streaming…Perhaps on the league’s YouTube? I’ll report back. But virtual or not, take me out to the gd ball game. Also, WPBL, please restock the merch. In need of the white jersey severely.

What to watch this week

Tuesday 7/28

🏀 The Liberty are at the LA Sparks at 10:00 pm ET. Watch on My9 local TV.

Wednesday 7/29

⚽ Gotham FC is at Bay FC at 10:00 pm ET. Watch on Fubo / CBS Sports Network.

Thursday 7/30

🏀 The Liberty are at the Las Vegas Aces at 10:00 pm ET. Watch on Prime Video.

Saturday 8/1

⚾ The New York Heights play the WPBL’s first-ever game vs the LA Queens at 5 pm ET at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, IL. Streaming details TBA.

And that’s a wrap…

That’s all for this week! At Good Sport HQ, we’re cooking up some fun events and other new stuff for the rest of summer and early fall…More soon but I’m excited.

Love you, bye!

Back2Back with the LOML at Prospect Park, for optimal comfort and posture. Hot spotting. Phony negroni in hand. All around me, people are defeating their Sunday scaries via recreational sports. PUGG goals and volleyball nets as far as the eye can see. My legs itch from the grass, but I don’t care, for I am summertime bliss.

Subscribe now

Enjoy this week’s guide :)

On the Good Sport podcast: I talked with DAMECORE founder Olivia Nielsen about building a basketball brand made for women from the jump, and the cultural intersection of women’s bball x fashion. Listen on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

NYC women’s sports news & culture

Here’s what you should know this week.

1. The Queens Classic: 42,175 fans set a NYC record. The attendance record for a women’s sporting event in NYC got blown out of the water last week at Citi Field. Despite the bad air quality and rain, Gotham fans turned out to see our team take a 1-0 victory over the Washington Spirit. It was a really special night for women’s sports in our city. Three friends and I got a seafood dinner before the game in Astoria, which was chased with stadium Dippin' Dots, as god intended. Sibling band Infinity Song played at halftime and crushed it.

2. We should all know Arsh Raziuddin: The designer behind NYC’s World Cup universe. The tournament may be over, but I plan to think about New York’s World Cup visual identity for the rest of my life. It’s one of my favorite brand campaigns I’ve ever seen, and we have Arsh Raziuddin to thank. She designed, consulted, and creative directed this project. She’s done a lot of great interviews on this work; you can watch this video to hear her talk about her process. Arsh said it best in her recent IG caption: “We are so lucky to have leadership who cares about artists and how design can change the way we approach the world.”

3. The women have HAD Heated Rivalry. The PWHL has many WLW couples between and among its teams, and quite a few got engaged this summer. Including our very own NY Sirens defender Jamie Bourbonnais <3 Bourbonnais got engaged to her partner Emily Clark, a fellow PWHL player (she’s on the new Hamilton team) and member of the Canadian national team. Loves it.

What to watch this week

Monday 7/20

🏀 The Liberty are at the Dallas Wings at 8:00 pm ET. This is a rescheduled matchup after mechanical issues with the Liberty’s plane led to the Thursday 7/16 game being canceled. Watch on local TV or on the Liberty livestream.

Wednesday 7/22

🏀 The Liberty are at the Chicago Sky at 7:00 pm ET. Watch on Fox.

Friday 7/24

⚽ Gotham FC is at Portland Thorns at 10:00 pm ET. Watch on Prime Video.

Saturday 7/25

🏉 The Exiles host the Boston Banshees at 5:00 pm ET, closing out the WER regular-season round robin. Watch on WSN.

The Scene Report

Here’s some fun stuff going on in the NYC W sports scene.

This Wednesday, our friends at Women’s Sports Rally are hosting a NY Liberty watch party at Henrietta Hudson. Fun fact: Hen’s is the longest-running lesbian bar in the country.

And that’s a wrap :)

As a reminder, no pod this week; I’m going on vacation and will need to focus on being on vacation.

Have a great week, and don’t be afraid to share Good Sport with a loved one…or an enemy…or someone you feel totally neutral about…

Share Good Sport NYC

I talked with Olivia Nielsen, the founder of DAMECORE, a fashion and media brand built for women's basketball. As a competitive athlete, and someone who knew herself and her fashion sense from a young age, Olivia was not satisfied with the options—or lack thereof—when it came to basketball gear and brands that treated women like an afterthought. So she decided to build a basketball fashion universe built for women from the start.

Here’s what we covered:

• Olivia’s journey from competitive basketball in the DMV to the fashion world in Paris, where she merged her two passions and started DAMECORE at just 18 years old

• Why the “shrink it and pink it” playbook pushed her to build something made for women from the ground up

• How the brand has grown from media to apparel to consulting, including styling for WNBA players

• The athletes killing it style-wise and Olivia’s takes on the fashion partnerships we’re seeing in the WNBA

• What’s next for DAMECORE and the fashion x women’s sports space

DAMECORE launched its latest drop of shorts TODAY. Check it out here. Enjoy the episode <3

LINKS

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram, TikTok

Shop DAMECORE’s latest drop and follow them on Instagram, Substack

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

Follow Olivia on Instagram

It’s sorta sad that I spent so much of my childhood doing something that now haunts me as a stand-in for whatever stressful thing is going on in my adult life. I would ask who hurt me, but I literally know: Coach Redacted and a few Redacted girls...

And yet, I miss playing! Maybe it’s that I’ve been watching some of the men’s World Cup, or dreaming about going to Brazil for the women’s next summer. Perhaps it’s not too late to heal my personal relationship with the beautiful game. Or perhaps I need to ask my therapist if we can tackle that time I was backpedaling during a game and tripped while the ball was nowhere near me.

Anyways…Here’s your newsletter.

NYC women’s sports news & culture

Here’s what you should know this week.

1. Meet our new baseball team: The NY Heights. The Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL) unveiled the names and logos for the four inaugural teams ahead of opening day on August 1st. Each team’s identity is inspired by a local legend. Our New York City team is the NY Heights, in honor of women’s and civil rights activist Dorothy Height. Height was known as the godmother of civil rights; she served as the president of the NCNW for 40 years. She focused on anti-lynching and criminal justice reform, and literacy and employment programs.

2. Gotham FC is officially moving to Queens. The team will start playing at Etihad Park, NYCFC's new $780M stadium, in 2028. This news joins an already packed announcement collection from the club: the new $35 million dedicated training facility, signing Sam Kerr, and the Queens Classic happening this Wednesday. Not everyone is jazzed about this; some longtime Jersey fans are feeling left in the dust and unseen in their commitment to the club during their tenure in the Garden State. I dug into the move, the club’s vision, the people pushing it forward, and more on this week’s podcast episode.

   

3. Let me tell you about Shoe Gate. The Liberty played Toronto last night, and things got chippy fast between the Tempo’s Marina Mabrey—self-proclaimed crash-out queen and one of the best shit talkers in the W—and our Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who is not someone I would ever want to have beef with, let me just say that. Both got techs for a dust-up earlier in the game. And then shoe gate happened. JJ lost a sneaker during the fourth quarter, and the next thing we saw was Mabrey getting hit in the back with it. Who threw it?? You guessed it: Laney! This led to her ejection from the game.

   

   People assumed she threw it on purpose, but in the post-game interview, Laney made it clear that wasn’t intentional:

   “I would never intentionally try to hit someone with a shoe, especially while they're not looking… Teammate was without a shoe, so I did my best to try and get it to her. Unfortunately, it did hit someone.” - Betnijah Laney-Hamilton on Shoe Gate

   I like that she said, “especially if they’re not looking.” It speaks to the ethos that she would consider throwing the shoe if she had been looking, which is honorable.

What to watch this week

Wednesday 7/15

⚽ Gotham FC hosts the Washington Spirit at Citi Field for the Queens Classic at 8:00 pm ET. You can get $15 tickets thanks to Gotham and Mayor Mamdani here. Watch on ESPN.

Thursday 7/16

🏀 The Liberty are at the Dallas Wings at 9:00 pm ET. Watch on WNBA League Pass.

Saturday 7/18

🏀 The Liberty are at the Indiana Fever at 8:00 pm ET. Watch on WNBA League Pass.

⚽ Gotham FC hosts the Seattle Reign at 12:00 pm ET. Watch on ABC.

🏉 The Exiles travel to face Bay Breakers at 8:00 pm ET. Watch on the Women's Sports Network.

The Scene Report

Here’s some fun stuff going on in the NYC W sports scene.

Snatch Magazine—created by artist, designer, and Good Sport podcast alum Sophia Mitropoulos—just announced the theme for Issue 3: Recreational Sports! The pitch window is open until 7/17. Find all the submission guidelines and info here.

Froot Hoops is celebrating its fourth anniversary with a ball + beach day! RSVP here.

And that’s a wrap…

New pod episode coming Thursday about WBB x fashion, and then I’m taking a week off from the pod to attend my girlfriend’s family reunion <3 Slay for me. Have a great week!

Love,

Christiana

On the big Gotham move, we hit on:

• Why now: The team’s vision of becoming an elite club, and overcoming Gotham’s attendance issues, which lag behind NWSL averages despite two championships in three years

• The New Jersey of it all: Empathy for longtime NJ fans, and what I hope Gotham does to honor them and the club’s Garden State roots

• This announcement as a crown jewel in a collection of buzzy moments: the new $35 million dedicated training facility, signing Sam Kerr, and the Queen’s Classic happening on July 15th

• The people behind the vision: Yael Averbuch West and Carolyn Tisch Blodgett

As for our WPBL team, the NY Heights, I talked about the woman who inspired our team name and identity: Dorothy Height, a lifelong leader in the women’s and civil rights movements.

Height’s contributions and legacy can’t be overstated, but of course she didn’t get nearly the same recognition for her work as her male counterparts. The league honoring her in this way feels extremely special; I’m really proud of the WPBL with this rollout. I plan to do a deep dive on Height and the other legends the league chose as namesakes in the coming weeks.

Hope you enjoy this episode! Links below to things I mentioned, as always.

LINKS

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack

Gotham’s announcement video

Learn more about Dorothy Height and her legacy

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram, TikTok

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

Miki Sudo won her 12th straight Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest this year, consuming 38.75 dogs in 10 minutes. The second-place competitor ate 22. Sudo holds the women’s world record with 51 total dogs downed, which she set in 2024.

For my part, I had 2 hot dogs this weekend at my bestie’s house in Connecticut <3 My truth: I find competitive eating gnarly and grotesque, but at the end of the day, I’ll hear it for the girls in male-dominated fields (eating). Also the organizing body being Major League Eating … Sounds like a hot girl’s Instagram handle.

We’ve got an absolutely jam-packed lineup of NYC women’s games for your viewing pleasure this week. Keep reading for your weekly news digest, the game schedule, and events happening in the scene.

On the Good Sport podcast: I chatted with journalist Frankie de la Cretaz about how to keep the magic, inclusivity, and community vibe alive amidst hypergrowth in women’s sports. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.

NYC women’s sports news & culture

Here’s what you should know this week.

1. The Queens Classic has already made history. The July 15th soccer match between Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit at Citi Field has officially broken the NYC attendance record for a women's sporting event, with over 30,000 tickets sold as of last week. This will be the first women’s sporting event ever held at Citi Field. For reference, Gotham’s home attendance record is 15,569 tickets sold, set back in 2024.

   

2. A moment for Gotham’s Queens Classic merch collection. It’s a limited drop, with pick-up only from the match. The baseball jersey…it calls to me…

3. The NY Liberty win the 2026 Commissioner’s Cup. We hosted the Las Vegas Aces for the 2026 in-league Commissioner’s Cup championship game, and brought home the win. The Aces were without their leader, 4x MVP A’ja Wilson, but they deleted a double-digit lead in the second half to make it a very fun watch. With our 93-85 win over the Aces, the Liberty became the first WNBA team to win multiple Commissioner’s Cup titles.

4. A’ja Wilson’s reaction to Marine’s 3. I’ve been replaying this video from the Cup game all week. A’ja is so funny.

   

   @espnw#basketball #WNBA #LasVegas #Aces #ESPNSocial

   Tiktok failed to load.
   
   Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

5. Fans rally behind Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. Liberty fans are making their feelings known after two consecutive healthy DNPs (did not play) for Laney-Hamilton. After working her way back from an injury that saw her miss all of last season, the healthy benchings are befuddling some fans — chants of “We want Laney” broke out at Friday’s game against the Lynx, and supporters are organizing to wear only Laney-Hamilton gear to Tuesday’s game. This is what Coach Chris DeMarco said about his decision:

   “We obviously didn’t play a lot of players tonight. I still have confidence in her, our staff and players have confidence in her. She’s going to get her opportunity again, we believe in her. I just didn’t go to her tonight, but we know what she can do, and we’ll get there.”

   Of course this is sparking trade rumors; even some Libs fans are getting behind it if she’ll get the playing time they think she deserves. My personal take: I love Laney as a person and player, and think she has the most defensive juice out of anyone on our team. I would hate to lose her from a play and vibes POV.

Subscribe now

What to watch this week

Monday 7/6

🥎 The Rise are on the road to open a 2-game set at Atlanta Smoke at 7:00 pm ET. Watch on AWSN (Pluto TV).

Tuesday 7/7

🏀 The Liberty are home at Barclays Center to take on the Dallas Wings at 8:00 pm ET. Watch on ESPN.

🥎 The Rise wrap up at Atlanta Smoke at 7:00 pm ET. Watch on AWSN (Pluto TV).

Thursday 7/9

🥎 The Rise open a 3-game homestand vs KC Diamonds at Bill Edwards Stadium in Hempstead, NY at 7:00 pm ET. Watch on AWSN (Pluto TV).

Friday 7/10

⚽ Gotham FC is on the road at Utah Royals FC at 10:00 pm ET. Watch on Victory+.

🥎 The Rise host KC Diamonds for game 2 of the series at 7:00 pm ET. Watch on AWSN (Pluto TV).

Saturday 7/11

🏀 The Liberty are at the Minnesota Lynx at 1:00 pm ET. Watch on ABC.

🥎 The Rise close out the KC Diamonds series at home at 7:00 pm ET. Watch on AWSN (Pluto TV).

🏉 The Exiles travel to face Chicago Tempest at 6:00 pm ET.

🥍 The Charging face the Maryland Charm at a neutral site in Chicago at 8:00 pm ET. Watch on ESPN+.

Sunday 7/12

🏀 The Liberty close out the road trip at the Toronto Tempo at 3:00 pm ET. Watch on Fox5 local.

The Scene Report

Here’s some fun stuff going on in the NYC W sports scene.

Blazer’s is hosting a shoe drive with the Liberty from July 8th - August 8th. Donate a pair, get a free drink. Deets here.

Women’s Sports Rally is hosting a Liberty watch x zine folding party at Kitty Sullivan’s in Astoria this Sunday. An amazing combo if you ask me. RSVP here.

One last thing…

Good Sport NYC is in GUNK this month: NYC’s physical indie show paper. GUNK was created by my friends Ceci Sturman and Hannah Pruzinsky of Sister. and it’s designed and printed at Secret Riso Club.

GUNK has been a huge inspiration for me as I’ve built Good Sport. It’s really special to be included in July’s issue. Thank you, GUNK <3 Subscribe to them on Substack here.

And that’s our newsletter for this week. Love you guys.

Cheers,

Christiana

Share Good Sport NYC

When it comes to what happens in women’s sports around and on top of actual gameplay, Frankie is prolific. They’re also deft at threading the needle between the joy and legacy of women’s sports, while saying the quiet part out loud about things like the consequences of hypergrowth, corporate interests in the women’s game, and racism and homophobia in media coverage, just to name a few.

Here’s what we covered:

• Frankie’s pivot from MLB reporter to women’s sports culture journalist

• Telling the (very gay) story of the women behind the National Women’s Football League with their book Hail Mary

• Inclusivity attracting fans rather than alienating them in women’s sports

• The gentrification of the WNBA and what the Liberty need to do better

• Misogynoir in ESPN's WNBA coverage

• How fans can help keep the magic and safety of women’s sports alive

• Frankie’s all-sport, all-gay starting 5

I could’ve talked to Frankie for hours, and the good news is they have a treasure trove of pieces that make me feel smarter about this space I love so much. All the links to keep in touch with their work are below. Enjoy!

Stay in touch with Good Sport NYC on Substack

Subscribe to Out of Your League

Follow Frankie on Instagram, BlueSky

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram, TikTok

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

Imagine the look Maya and I shared. I, the proprietor of Good Sport NYC. Maya, the proprietor of Liberty season tickets. This girl had no idea how unsafe an audience she had. Never have I been more excited to tell someone about this here project. And when I did, she was appropriately mortified, and attempted to get on my good side throughout the night. My love, I just think you’re so boring! I feel sad for you! You’re 30-something, and you haven’t figured out that you can be a fan of men’s sports without putting women down!

I trust my memory haunts her. I am a poltergeist for casual internalized sports misogyny. Anyways…

I’ve got something for ya that was the opposite of hater vibes, though: Last week’s Big Gay Knockout, our first event. Like 50 people came and we had fun and made merch and ate fruit roll-ups. I’m still smiling about it! More fun gatherings on the horizon.

In today’s newsletter: Gotham FC makes it official with Sam Kerr, and brings home a cup. Plus the Liberty look towards a chip of their own.

Subscribe now

What to know

1. Welcome back to NYC, Sam Kerr. Earlier today, Gotham FC confirmed what was reported last week: The all-time NWSL regular-season leading scorer is returning to the league, and returning to New York City. Gotham’s socials were buzzing with the announcement all day. Here’s what Gotham’s President of Soccer Operations, Yael Averbuch West, told Jenna Tonelli for Sports Illustrated:

   “There are very few players in the world who can take over a game the way Sam can, and she’s consistently proven why she’s one of a kind. The fact that she chose to return to Gotham speaks volumes about our ambition, the environment we’ve created, and the direction of this club.”

   I’ll be honest, Averbuch West has only given me reason to trust her vision and leadership so far. I am so excited to see Kerr play with our team.

   

2. Gotham FC are the 2026 NWSL Challenge Cup Champions. On Friday, we beat the Kansas City Current 2-0 in the Challenge Cup. TLDR on this thing: The Challenge Cup is a winner-take-all "super cup" game played between the two top teams from the previous season: the NWSL Champions and the NWSL Shield winners, which is the team with the best regular season record. I personally don’t put much stock into in-season tournaments, but for a league that’s still trying to grow, it’s fun, and I’m here for it. Especially when my girls win!

   

3. It’s the Liberty vs. the Aces for the 2026 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup. Speaking of in-season tournaments…Barclays hosts the Commissioner’s Cup Championship tomorrow (Tuesday) night. The quick on how this cup works: The team with the best Cup record in the Eastern Conference faces off against the team with the best Cup record in the Western Conference. Players are competing for a $500,000 prize pool, and the W donates money to both teams’ selected non-profits based on game results. Kay…maybe I do like these tournaments…

What to watch this week

Tuesday 6/30

🏀 The Liberty are home at Barclays Center to take on the Las Vegas Aces at 7:00 pm ET for the 2026 WNBA Commissioner's Cup Championship. Watch on Prime Video.

Thursday 7/2

🥎 The Rise open a 3-game road series at the KC Diamonds at 7:35 pm ET. Watch on AWSN (Pluto TV).

Friday 7/3

🏀 The Liberty host the Minnesota Lynx at Barclays Center at 7:30 pm ET. Watch on ION.

🥎 The Rise are at the KC Diamonds for game 2 of the series at 7:35 pm ET. Watch on AWSN (Pluto TV).

Saturday 7/4

⚽ Gotham FC returns to NWSL regular season play, traveling to face San Diego Wave FC at 8:45 pm ET. Watch on ION.

🥎 The Rise close the KC road trip with game 3 at 7:35 pm ET. Watch on AWSN (Pluto TV).

Before you go…

There are now over 200 of you subscribed to this thing! I am absolutely honored that you trusted me with your email address in exchange for information and community around our city’s women’s sports culture. Remember when I said I want to hit 1,000 by September? I’m scared, but I believe. Share Good Sport with your friends so our dreams come true…

Share

New pod on Thursday. Love you bye.

• Good Sport’s first event: Recapping Big Gay Knockout

• Gotham FC’s recent moves

  • Sam Kerr is coming to Gotham FC (& what we gave up to get her)

  • Gotham’s $35M training facility

  • The Queen’s Classic: First women’s sporting event at Citi Field, happening July 15th

  • Emily Sonnett extended through 2028

• Liberty check-in: the 30th anniversary game and Nneka’s buzzer beater, a W over the Aces, and an L in Seattle

• New York Charging lacrosse: the only undefeated team in the WLL

Our first event was truly a blast. Including some pics below, all by my friend Pino (@pix.4us). Hope you enjoy this ep :)

LINKS

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack
Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram, TikTok
Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

Sike. I lived.

Subscribe now

I even made it to the very beautiful wedding of my good friends, where I engaged in one of summer’s greatest pastimes: Velcro catch.

On the Good Sport podcast: I talked with Ish Islam from Game Griot about why he, as a man, loves women’s basketball <3 and he had amazing answers. We covered 30 years of the W, a NY Liberty progress report, players we don’t play about, and lots more. Listen on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your pods.

Listen now

What to know

1. Sam Kerr is coming back to NYC. Sam Kerr is one of the best strikers in soccer; she is a certified goal-scoring machine. And Gotham FC got her. She’s been at Chelsea for the past six-ish years, and after serious interest from multiple clubs, she’s returning to the reigning champs of the NWSL, filling our biggest need as a team. She was previously on Gotham back when it was Sky Blue FC, where she set the then-record for most regular-season goals. We traded defender Lilly Reale to Boston to make this happen, which is a huge loss: Lilly was the 2025 ROTY. But getting a player like Sam Kerr is the only way it makes sense. We are already a very solid team, and we just got a lot scarier. Prediction: Kerr will break that regular-season goal record with Gotham again.

   

2. Checking in on the NY Sirens roster. ICYMI, the PWHL was in chaos last week as current teams felt screwed over by the draft order prioritizing new expansion teams, and Sirens fans were rightfully stressed about all the players we’d lost. Good news: We got some great young additions during Wednesday’s draft:

   

   But one big gap in our roster remained: We didn’t have a starting goalie. But just yesterday, the Sirens announced that we signed Elaine Chuli, a three-year PWHL vet with a resume of amazing stats. Lots of changes, but our team is coming together.

   

3. The Liberty takes a historic L, but I’m still smiling. I hate when my teams lose, but if I had to pick how they lose, it’d be like last night’s game against the LA Sparks. It was the 30th anniversary of the league’s first game, which the Liberty won. Legends like Lisa Leslie, Kym Hampton, Rebecca Lobo, and so many more were in the stadium to celebrate the milestone. This time around, though, Nneka Ogwumike hit a 3-point buzzer beater to take LA to a 98-97 win over our Liberty. What a surreal moment for the President of the WNBPA, who led this year’s historic CBA negotiations, changing the lives of W players and their families. For a season all about legacy, it felt like we were watching a piece of Nneka’s emerge in real-time.

4. We have a really good lacrosse team. The NY Charging is the only undefeated team left in the WLL after this weekend’s win over the Maryland Charm. Peep this incredible behind the back goal from Darcy Felter. What a way to make your pro debut!

What to watch this week

Tuesday 6/23

🏀 The Liberty are on the road at the Las Vegas Aces at 10:00 pm ET. Watch on USA Network (or WWOR My9 in the NY market).

Thursday 6/25

🏀 The Liberty are on the road at the Seattle Storm at 10:00 pm ET. Watch on WNBA League Pass (or WWOR My9 in the NY market).

Friday 6/26

⚽ Gotham FC plays the Kansas City Current in the NWSL Challenge Cup in Columbus, OH at 8:00 pm ET. Watch on Prime Video.

Saturday 6/27

🥍 The NY Charging are on the road at the California Palms at 8:30 pm ET. Watch on ESPN+.

Sunday 6/28

🏀 The Liberty close the week on the road at the Golden State Valkyries at 7:00 pm ET. Watch on ESPN.

The Scene Report

Here’s some fun stuff going on in the NYC W sports scene.

The Good Sport big gay knockout game is this Wednesday, 6/24. Let’s go down to the basketball court and work it out on the remix or whatever Lorde said. RSVP here.

The creator rysasewsclothes is known for mixing her two fav things: Knitting and the NY Liberty. She’s hosting a slew of knit club nights at Wilka’s this summer on July 5th, August 2nd, and September 13th. Get your fiber arts and go.

And that’s a wrap.

Have a great week my friends. And if you’re in the mood, send this post to a friend who loves women’s sports in NYC. Maybe they’ll like it! Love you bye.

The Brooklyn native built Game Griot as a creative broadcasting outlet for the world of women’s hoops. He joined me on the podcast to talk:

• What 30 years of the WNBA mean for the game

• Standout 2026 rookies

• Who’s taking a step in their game this season

• Players we don’t play about

• What it means to show up for the Black women who lead women’s basketball

• A progress report on our NY Liberty 10+ games into the 2026 season

This convo with Ish felt special. We chatted about WBB and this season tactically, but also ventured into the intangible aspects of women’s sports that made me want to start Good Sport in the first place.

Links below to keep in touch with Ish and his work at Game Griot. Enjoy!

LINKS

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram, TikTok

Follow Game Griot on Instagram, TikTok, and Threads

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Knicks fever and seeing the way our city has come together through this playoff run. I don’t follow the NBA, and it turned me into a Knicks fan. And: This is a really good week for us to remind everyone that New York City has won three championships in the last three years, actually. Gotham FC 2023, Liberty 2024, and Gotham FC again in 2025. The NYC championship drought is similar to the loneliness epidemic: A men’s issue.

I don’t want to sound like the fun police. I love fun and I don’t like the police. I drank several beers in the street on Saturday night. But at the end of the day, women’s sports really are that serious to me. Anyways…

I would like to formally go on record and predict: NY Knicks and NY Liberty double championship 2026. Hasn’t happened since 2001 and 2002, when Los Angeles did it back-to-back with the Lakers and the Sparks.

Subscribe now

On the Good Sport podcast: I talked with Sophia Mitropolous, the artist behind Snatch Magazine, a queer-first women’s sports publication. We talked about how Sophia transformed Snatch from a DIY weightlifting zine into a full-scale women’s sports mag, what makes New York’s women’s sports scene special, and more. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What to know

1. Gotham FC is building a $35 million training facility. This is a major milestone for our 2x NWSL Champs: It’s the first time Gotham will have a dedicated training space after 20 years of sharing fields and playing second fiddle at men’s facilities. We have one of the best rosters in the world, and our players deserve this. Full story here.

   

2. The Sirens are doing some saving and some losing. Four new teams are joining the Professional Women’s Hockey League this year, and the six-phase expansion player distribution process is in full swing. New teams need to build rosters that will be immediately competitive while maintaining balance and some roster consistency for existing teams, so current franchises can save six players each from getting picked up by other teams during the process. Anyone not saved is eligible to get snagged.

   Our Sirens have saved forwards Sarah Fillier, Kristýna Kaltounková and Casey O’Brien, and defenders Micah Zandee-Hart, Jaime Bourbonnais and Maja Nylén Persson. Naturally, we’ve lost some beloved players—like goalie Kayle Osborne. The draft is coming up in just a few days, followed by free agency, so we’ll see our completed roster soon.

3. The Liberty treated the Young Hos to Block Nation. Please I am not being vulgar nor rude! The Washington Mystics named themselves the Young Hos as the youngest team in the W. And as someone lucky enough to sit in incredible seats at the game yesterday thanks to my bestie Ciara and her workplace perks, let me say that the Liberty big sister’d ‘em. Stewie got a career-high 7 blocks. JJ had 2. But I’ll let this clip of Big B do the talking…

4. Gotham FC Midfielder Emily Sonnett is living rent-free in Brazil. Sonnett, along with four other Gotham FC players, joined the USWNT for two friendly matches against the Brazil last week. The second game quickly turned not friendly <3 I talked about the details on the podcast, but the TLDR is Brazilian forward Dudinha shoved Sonnett, Sonnett hammed it up, Dudinha got a yellow for it, and Brazil fans are pissed. Marta took to her Instagram story to call Sonnett out after the game, and hella Portuguese hate comments flooded Sonnett’s mentions. I would guess that she is cracking up about it to be honest.

   

What to watch this week

Wednesday 6/17

🏀 The Liberty are on the road at the Chicago Sky at 8:00 pm ET. It’s a Commissioner’s Cup matchup — watch on USA Network or WNBA League Pass.

🏒 The 2026 PWHL Draft starts at 5:00 pm, live from Detroit. The Sirens have the 7th overall pick. Watch it on the PWHL YouTube channel.

Friday 6/19

🏀 The Liberty host the Washington Mystics at Barclays Center at 7:30 pm ET for Juneteenth Unity Night. Watch on WNBA League Pass.

Saturday 6/20

🥍 The NY Charging host the Maryland Charm at James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, NY at 6:30 pm ET. Watch on ESPN+.

Sunday 6/21

🏀 The Liberty are on the road at the LA Sparks at 5:00 pm ET. Watch on WNBA League Pass.

🏉 The NY Exiles are on the road at the Denver Onyx (Infinity Park) at 5:00 pm ET / 3:00 pm MT. Watch on the Women's Sports Network.

The Scene Report

Here’s some fun stuff going on in the NYC W sports scene.

You are extremely invited to Good Sport’s pride event. It’s on 6/24 at Edmonds Playground, and we’re going to play Knockout in a major way. RSVP here.

Every Wednesday in June, Cherry Golf Club is hosting free simulation sessions and coaching in partnership with Five Iron. Two more events are happening this month; check ‘em here.

Celebrate Juneteenth and Black tennis culture with All-Love Racquet Club at the Juneteenth Cup and Festival, happening on Juneteenth in Queens in partnership with USTA Eastern. There’s something for players at all skill levels - register here.

Our friends at Swish Swish Pod and Blazer’s are hosting sapphic speed dating next month for WNBA fans. It’s WAG season…RSVP here.

And that’s a wrap

Thanks as always for reading :) Drink water, wear sunscreen, and seriously, guys, remember that I’d do anything for you.

Share Good Sport NYC

That’s what artist Sophia Mitropoulos had to say when I asked what inspired her to create Snatch, a queer-first women’s sports magazine. There’s a rebelliousness to building an indie publication from scratch, especially when that publication is fiercely gay and unapologetically dedicated to women’s sports.

Sophia was an artist who found herself in the weight room and a competitive athlete who found herself in art school, and she built a world where all of her identities and passions could coalesce.

Sophia joined me on the podcast this week to talk about her athletic, artistic, and queer roots, how Snatch transformed from a DIY zine about weightlifting into a full-scale women’s sports magazine, what makes New York’s women’s sports scene special, and what’s next for Snatch.

On the other side of the rebelliousness it takes to create art and media dedicated to queerness and women’s sports is the joy that a lot of us could only dream of as kids. I can’t think of a more worthwhile project.

I absolutely loved this conversation with Sophia. Enjoy!

LINKS:

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram, TikTok

Check out the Snatch website and follow on Instagram

Follow Sophia on Instagram, TikTok

Read The Athletic’s article on Snatch

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

On the Good Sport podcast: I talked with Tori Keghlian, the founder of the sapphic volleyball community, Spykes, about post-D1 athlete life, burning out on sports, finding your way back, and what it takes to build an IRL queer community. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe now

3 things to know

1. The Liberty are on a 4-game win streak. Last week we scored Ws against the Tempo and the Fever. Stewie dropped 30 pts in the latter game. This stretch of success feels like we’re righting the ship after a rocky start with injuries figuring out how our unit will work together. More adjustments to make for sure, but we’re moving up in the power rankings. Love to see Pauline getting her flowers from her vets. New nickname just dropped:

2. The NWSL is on a break, but our Gotham players aren’t. Twelve Gotham FC players are competing with their national teams this June. Five of them are in South America this week with the USWNT for two friendly matches against Brazil; Defenders Tierna Davidson, Lilly Reale and Emily Sonnett and midfielders Rose Lavelle and Jaedyn Shaw. We lost 2-1 in the first game on June 6th, but hope to level the series in the next match on Tuesday, June 9th.

   

3. JJ’s aura goes crazy in post-game presser. Just wanted you to know that my swag inspo is our 6’6" center Jonquel Jones. I am 5’5" but working on it.

What to watch this week

Monday 6/08

🏀 The Liberty are on the road at the Connecticut Sun at 7:00 pm ET. Watch on NBC or WNBA League Pass.

Tuesday 6/09

⚽ Watch five of our Gotham FC players join the USWNT as they take on Brazil at 8:30 pm ET. Watch on HBO or TNT.

Thursday 6/11

🏀 The Liberty are on the road at the Atlanta Dream at 7:30 pm ET. Watch on FOX 5 or WNBA League Pass.

Saturday 6/13

🏉 The NY Exiles host the Twin Cities Gemini at Memorial Field in Mt. Vernon at 2:00 pm ET. Watch on the Women's Sports Network.

Sunday 6/14

🏀 The Liberty host the Washington Mystics at Barclays Center at 3:00 pm ET. It’s a WNBA Commissioner’s Cup game. Watch on Prime Video or FOX 5.

The Scene Report

Fun stuff going on in the NYC W sports scene.

Community group highlight: Soccer & Croissants is a pick-up soccer group that meets up on Sundays at 2pm in Williamsburg. I’ve been looking for something low-stress and high-vibes to get back in touch with my soccer roots, and this seems like an amazing group. Details here.

Leslie NYC is hosting a Liberty Pride event this Sunday, June 14th at the Branded Saloon. They’re fundraising to support the post-production work of In These Hands: The Black Birthworkers, a documentary film that follows three queer black women traveling 8,000 miles across country to interview black midwives, doulas, historians and mothers about their reproductive health and justice advocacy. More details here.

I was on a scroll through the feed this morning when I came across Super Champ - an org that hosts NYC women’s sports walking tours each month. The next one is on June 20th and goes through the iconic Canyon of Heroes, the nickname for the stretch of Broadway in Lower Manhattan that hosts our city’s ticker-tape parades, including after a team wins a championship. Get tix here.

Before you go…

Today marks one month of Good Sport NYC! Time flies when you’re having fun. We are truly just getting started, so if you’re here for the early days, thank you for being a truther. Love ya!

Share Good Sport NYC

That’s why Tori founded Spykes—NYC’s sapphic volleyball community. Just a few months after launching the group, Spykes hosts volleyball sessions every month, bringing dozens of folks out to play at all skill levels.

Tori and I talked through her journey as an athlete, building Spykes, the gorgeous crossover of queerness and sports, the joy of building WLW community, and what makes the NYC women’s sports scene so special.

I hope you enjoy this episode with Tori, and please check out Spykes and give this awesome community some love!

LINKS:

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack for the podcast + the weekly newsletter

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram, TikTok

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

Follow Spykes on Instagram and check out upcoming sessions

Follow Tori Kegs on Instagram

Yesterday I went to the Gotham FC game against the Houston Dash, courtesy of The Echo, which is the independent supporter’s group for our hockey team, the PWHL Sirens. The Sirens are not in season right now, but the founder of The Echo, Trish Golden, has been keeping the events calendar busy with group outings to support NYC’s other W sports teams. Apart from Gotham winning 1-0, I had the best soft pretzel I’ve ever had in a stadium. And I’ve had genuinely dozens.

Thanks to Trish and The Echo for inviting us and for all of her work building the community around women’s hockey. Can’t wait for the next Sirens season.

Speaking of soccer…On the latest episode of the Good Sport NYC podcast, Anumita Jain of the Bat Signal joined me for a deep dive on Gotham FC. We talked about our heater of a roster, strengths and weaknesses as a team, and Gotham’s struggle with low-tier attendance despite top-tier play. Give it a listen if you haven’t yet, wherever you get your podcasts.

Check out the podcast

5 things to know from last week

1. Gotham FC bounces back from losses abroad. The CONCACAF finals were bad for us <3 but as Anumita predicted on last week’s podcast, the bats bounced back for regular season play with a 1-0 win yesterday against the Dash. I have to shout out this cross from Midge Purce —> Bicycle kick shot from Esther González that was incredibly sick, even if it didn’t result in a goal.

2. Gotham’s got a goal scorer in rookie Jordan Dudley. Our first-year forward got her second goal of her NWSL career, and it was a beauty. Incredible ball handling, evading the defender, perfect shot placement. Watch it here. I am so glad she’s on our team.

3. The Liberty snap 3 game losing streak. We beat the Mercury in b2b wins last week, breaking a brutal string of Ls. Our defense looked better, we rebounded better, and there seemed to be more cohesion on the court. Yay. The rook Paulline Astier played excellente, and snagged player of the game for her efforts during Friday’s matchup. Allez.

4. Extremely cute Ellie x fan moment. They helicoptered their braids together <3 This actually was so precious. The way the hype squad member held the little girl tickled me beyond compare. I will see if he is at the next game and available to do that for me.

5. The Exiles did a graphic tee tunnel fit moment. Or maybe this is just a crazy coincidence. See ‘em all here. My fav was Daddy’s little meatball.

What to watch this week

Wednesday 6/03

🏀 The Liberty play the Toronto Tempo at home at 8:00 pm ET. It’s our first home game against the expansion team. Watch it the USA Network or League Pass.

Saturday 6/06

🏀 The Liberty play the Indiana Fever at home at 8:00 pm ET. Watch it on CBS or League Pass.

Sunday 6/07

🏉 NY Exiles play the Twin Cities Gemini in MN at 4:00 pm ET. Watch it on the Women’s Sports Network.

The Scene Report

Here’s some fun stuff going on in the NYC W sports scene.

NewFest is hosting the New York premiere of The Brittney Griner Story on June 1st in Gansevoort Plaza. This documentary follows Griner’s journey from playing abroad to her detention in Russia, her fight for freedom, and her work to help other wrongfully detained Americans. You can also stream the film through the NewFest site.

Every Wednesday, Blazers hosts the Sports Adjacent Comedy Show, and this week’s edition is a special new material night from 6:30pm - 7:30pm. Dream plan: Attending Sports Adjacent, then watching the Libs play at 8pm…

Before you go…

Thanks for reading! Good Sport hit 100 subs last week. Pretty good for three weeks, eh?

New goal: 1,000 by September 1st. Send this to someone in NYC who loves women’s sports :) I’ll love you forever if you do.

Share Good Sport NYC

We reviewed our roster, covering Gotham’s veterans like Rose Lavelle, Tierna Davidson, Anne-Katrin Berger, Emily Sonnett, Esther González, and Midge Purce, as well as our rising stars like Jaedyn Shaw, Lily Reale, and Jordan Dudley. We discussed our strengths and weaknesses as a team, and I was left with the impression that we have a pretty damn good soccer team. And the gleaming trophies from winning it all seem to back that up, too.

So then why does Gotham struggle with low attendance at our home games? Anumita and I tried to answer that, too, and discussed the concept of Gotham moving from New Jersey to Queens in the future. TLDR: We need more casual fans. I hope that Good Sport can help with that for Gotham, and all of our women’s teams here in NYC.

I had a great time recording this with Anumita. She’s smart, great at explaining sports and data concepts, and really good at true-or-false questions. Enjoy, and listen through the end for a bonus mini convo with me, myself, and I about the latest losing streak for our beloved NY Liberty…Don’t panic!

Cheers :)

Show notes:

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack for the podcast + the weekly newsletter

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

Follow our guest Anumita Jain on BlueSky and Instagram

Subscribe to The Bat Signal newsletter

On the latest episode of the Good Sport NYC podcast, I solo-hosted (please clap) a conversation (with myself) about Gotham’s potential move from Jersey to Queens, Mayor Mamdani’s fight to keep soccer accessible for New Yorkers with $5 Gotham tickets + a big FIFA World Cup lottery win, and more.

Give it a listen if you haven’t yet, wherever you get your podcasts.

Check out the podcast

3 things to know from last week

1. Liberty’s stars returned to the court after injuries. Satou Sabally and Sabrina Ionescu both got on the court last week after missing the season’s first games due to injury. On Sunday’s game against the Wings, we finally saw an ideal starting line-up: Sabrina Ionescu (Guard), Marine Johannes (Guard), Satou Sabally (Forward), Breanna Stewart (Forward) and Jonquel Jones (Center).

   

   Sadly the game results dimmed the energy. The Wings outscored and outdefended us in the second half. It seemed like we just couldn’t finish in the paint. As sports fans are want to do, the comment sections are in dire straights, but I personally am not going to panic. Satou just got here and she’ll need time to build chemistry and get in game mode. Many of our players are coming off of injury and need time. I hope our new Coach can show us something going into these next few games and pick better defensive matchups….Onward.

2. The Liberty signed hot and gay Aussie Anneli Maley to a developmental player contract. Let’s go lesbians! The saga with Maley went like this: She joined us for training camp and popped off in pre-season and got a lot of love from the fanbase…from some LGBTs in particular. Then we waived her on May 6th, she went to the Mercury for a bit and then they waived her, and THEN we signed her to a dev contract last week. Here is her tunnel fit for her first game. Abs.

   

3. Star Gotham FC Goalie Anne-Katrin Berger went down with an ab injury. Wow a lot of ab stuff this week huh? If you didn’t know, our soccer team has an amazing goal keeper, like one of the best in the world. AKB got injured during the semi-finals of the Concacaf W Cup this past week. I’m hopinh she’s back on the pitch soon and has a speedy recovery. She’s only allowed 5 goals in regular season play so far - lowest of any team, thanks to her and our awesome defense. We have a podcast episode coming out this week all about Gotham FC and we dig into AKB’s skills more there. Here’s one of her many highlights as a teaser…

What to watch this week

Monday 5/25

🏀 The Liberty play the Portland Fire at home at 8:00 pm ET. Watch it on Prime Video.semifinal at 7:30 pm ET. Watch it on Peacock or Fox 5 NY.

Wednesday 5/27

🏀 The Liberty play the Phoenix Mercury at home at 7:00 pm ET. Watch it the USA Network or local My9.

Friday 5/29

🏀 The Liberty play the Phoenix Mercury at home at 7:30 pm ET. Watch it on Ion.

Sunday 5/31

🏉 NY Exiles play the Denver Onyx at home 2:00 pm ET. Watch it on the Women’s Sports Network.

⚽ Gotham FC plays the Houston Dash at home at 3:00 pm ET. Watch it on ESPN or Fubo.

The Scene Report

Here’s some fun stuff going on in the NYC W sports scene.

Wilka’s — NYC’s women’s sports bar in the LES — shared it’s next quarterly rager, happening on June 5th. I’m famously 27 so I legally cannot go but I hope all the millennials have fun.

Athena Keke’s — our women’s sports bar in Clinton Hill — is linking up with The Gist to host a pride pop-up on June 7th.

And that’s a wrap.

Thanks as always for reading. Pod episode coming Thursday on Gotham FC :) Love you bye.

Subscribe now