Happy Monday, Good Sport community. The first round of the WNBA playoffs is underway, and the NY Liberty have Game 2 against the Minnesota Lynx at home tomorrow night. If you are like me and you won’t be at Barclays, come watch the game at Habana Outpost with Good Sport at 8:30pm. I’ll be having a piña colada and hoping we pull this upset off. RSVP here.
Here’s the other thing I wanted to tell you all about: I was very lucky to go to the Liberty’s final regular season game last week with Pinterest. Pinterest is doing a lot of brand activations around analog hobbies, so they locked our phones up and gave us digital cameras to use during the game instead. I don’t have a future as a photographer <3 but I do think it was fun to go no-phones mode at a game.
We played the Atlanta Dream, which meant I got to watch Angel Reese in person for the first time. Major for me because she’s a Player I Don’t Play About(tm). Credit to my friend Ish for coining that term.
But enough about me! Here’s your newsletter.
NYC women’s sports news & culture
Here’s what you should know this week.
The Liberty win Game 1 in Minnesota. After limping through two stinkers against Atlanta to close out the regular season and nail down the no. 8 seed in the playoffs, the Liberty headed to Minnesota to play the Lynx in the best-of-three Round 1 series. We came in as the clear underdogs, and it showed. But Stewie did what your star players are supposed to do. She put the team on her back and got the win. She reminded everyone why she’s one of the greatest players in the WNBA—and in women’s basketball history, period—finishing the game with 34 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks. The Lynx tried to shut Stewie down by sending extra defenders her way, giving Sabrina Ionescu and Leonie Fiebich the chance to get their shots off, adding 13 and 16 points respectively. It’s not called Stew York City for nothing.
Game 2 is on Tuesday at 8:30pm. The Liberty are hoping to become the first No. 8 seed in WNBA history to win the championship. My take: Stewie going Herculean can get us through a few rounds of the playoffs, but we need our other players to step up if that championship can become a reality.
At Gotham FC, young stars and vets shine. In Friday’s 3-1 win against the Chicago Stars, Gotham’s prowess was on display (though we shouldn’t crow too much, Chicago isn’t having a great season to say the least). Highlights include a brace (two goals) from Jaedyn Shaw, making her the youngest player in NWSL history to net 25 regular season goals. Plus, Sam Kerr scored a header after a cross from Guro Reiten, a duo that previously played together at Chelsea. I love it here.
PSA: Clinton Hill women’s sports bar Athena Keke’s opens early. In case you didn’t know, Athena Keke’s is open for café hours on weekdays starting at 9am. Laptops are welcome, and they’ve got pastries, coffee, espresso and tea. I will certainly be hitting some WFKeke’s moments this fall.
What to watch this week
Tuesday 9/29
🏀 The Liberty play at home against the Minnesota Lynx at 8:30 pm ET for First Round Game 2 of the WNBA playoffs (Liberty lead the series 1-0). Watch on USA Network/CNBC.
Thursday 10/1
🏀 The Liberty play Game 3 at the Lynx, if necessary — time TBD, broadcast not yet listed on the official schedule.
Sunday 10/4
⚽ Gotham FC host Angel City FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium, 1:00 pm ET. Watch on ABC.
Classifieds
Shouts and calls from the community. Plus some jobs.
✷ Spykes Training Sesh at Brooklyn Strength Club ✷ Spykes—best known for their volleyball sessions—is putting on a Strength & Conditioning Training session this Sunday 10/4 at Brooklyn Strength Club! Grab your ticket here.
✷ TOGETHXR is hiring a Social Media Coordinator ✷ TOGETHXR is a digital media company and women’s sports platform where representation and gender equality are both expected and required. This person will support the day-to-day management of TOGETHXR’s social channels. Apply and learn more.
And that’s a wrap…
Thanks for reading :) New podcast episode hitting your inbox this week. Come to the watch party tomorrow! Bye.