Good Sport readers, today I write to you from the Calgary Airport international terminal. That’s right, I’m in Canada. I attended my gorgeous friend Hope’s wedding in Canmore, which is right outside Banff. I painstakingly downloaded a VPN app so I could still watch the U.S. Open on YouTube TV, which Canada seriously does not want me to access while I’m over here. Wtf…
Another thing about Canmore: It’s roughly 4,300 feet above sea level. Something about me: I’m sensitive to altitude change. When I went to Denver for the first time, I got the spins after one measly margarita. It makes me think about how athletes will train at higher altitudes to gain an edge over their opponents, since their bodies adjust by producinh more red blood cells and growing new capillaries (ew), which boosts oxygen delivery and muscle efficiency. So in my case, this means I’ll be able to jump to Mr. Brightside—mandatory at a wedding if one of the betrothed attended a Big Ten university—in a vastly superior manner at my next sea-level wedding. Eat your heart out…
Anyways. Here’s your newsletter.
REMINDER: Good Sport’s next event is this week. Join us on Sunday 9/13 for Sports PowerPoint Party at Blazers. The lineup of talks is shaping up to be a mix of funny, informative, and crazy. RSVP here.
NYC women’s sports news & culture
Here’s what you should know this week.
The women of the US Open are giving us a show on and off the court. Here’s what I’ve been loving: Naomi Osaka outdoes herself with the court walk-in outfits, including a tribute to Allen Iverson during Round 1 that featured his signature cornrows and arm sleeve. Taylor Townsend’s hard work is paying off, and her star is rising; the doubles specialist made it to the Round of 16 in singles and put up a great fight against world #1 Aryna Sabalenka, showing she can compete with the world’s best singles players. Townsend’s authenticity seems to come naturally; she was open about what her success in this tournament has meant after a difficult year, and she’s gaining a ton of fans for her candor and how fun she is to watch. I liked Sabalenka telling a reporter off earlier in the tournament for implying she partied too much. My GOAT Coco doing Coco shit; I loved her yellow New Balance set from Saturday’s match. Plus, we got to see Venus and Serena hit the court as doubles partners. Lots of big matches coming this week; peep the schedule below for details.
The WPBL post-season picture is set. The semifinals kick off on Wednesday. No. 1 San Francisco faces No. 4 Boston in Series A, while No. 2 New York takes on No. 3 Los Angeles in Series B. Here’s how it’ll work: Each semifinal is best-of-three, and the first team to win two games advances. The Series A and Series B winners meet in the best-of-five WPBL Championship, with the first team to win three games claiming the title. Here’s a great write-up on our NY Heights semi-final match-up vs the LA Queens. We have momentum on our side thanks to a few clutch wins in the last few regular-season games that led us to clinch the #2 seed, but this is a very evenly matched series. Should be a blast…
Liberty forward Satou Sabally out for the season. Sabally suffered her second concussion in 8 months in June, and it was announced last week that she has been ruled out for the remainder of this season due to lingering symptoms. This is a huge loss for our team going into playoffs, but it is absolutely the right call for her long-term health. She is also missing out on representing Germany in the FIBA World Cup as a result. After losing Sabally, the Liberty signed developmental player Anneli Maley to a standard player contract and guard/forward Madison Scott to a developmental contract.
What to watch this week
Monday 9/7
🏀 Team USA closes out group play at the FIBA Women's World Cup against Czechia at 2:45 pm ET (8:45 pm in Berlin). USA is 2-0 in group play so far.
Tuesday 9/8
🎾 US Open women's singles quarterfinals matches. Watch on ESPN
Wednesday 9/9
🎾 US Open women's singles quarterfinals matches. Watch on ESPN
Thursday 9/10
⚾ The New York Heights play the Los Angeles Queens in Game 1 of their WPBL semifinal series at 7:00 pm ET. Watch on ESPN Select.
🏀 Team USA plays its FIBA Women's World Cup quarterfinal in Berlin, opponent and exact time slot are still TBD until the rest of the bracket is set. Watch on TNT/truTV, or stream on HBO Max.
🎾 US Open women's singles semifinals, roughly 7-11 pm ET. Watch on ESPN.
Friday 9/11
⚽ Gotham FC is at Racing Louisville FC at 6:30 pm ET. Watch on NWSL+.
Saturday 9/12
⚾ The New York Heights play the Los Angeles Queens in Game 2 of their WPBL semifinal series at 7:00 pm ET at Robin Roberts Stadium. Watch on ESPN.
🏀 If Team USA advances, it plays its FIBA semifinal in Berlin, opponent/exact slot TBD — the two semifinal windows are roughly 10:30 am and 2:00 pm ET. Watch on TNT/truTV, or stream on HBO Max.
🎾 US Open women's singles final at 4:00 pm ET. Watch on ESPN.
Sunday 9/13
🏀 FIBA Women's World Cup third-place game (~10:30 am ET) and final (~2:00 pm ET) in Berlin: Team USA plays if it advances. USA is going for a 5th straight world title. Watch on TNT/truTV, or stream on HBO Max.
Classifieds & Community
Shouts and calls from the community. Things to do. Plus jobs.
✷ Fruit Hoops is hosting a fall tournament ✷ The local basketball community for lesbians of all levels just announced their fall tournament, happening all day on October 4th. Sign-up here.
✷ Gotham FC is hiring ✷ Our #1 ranked NWSL team has posted a handful of jobs over the last few weeks, ranging from entry level positions like an Associate Partnership Marketing Manager, to senior roles like a VP of Community & Impact. Plenty more too. Visit Gotham’s career page.
✷ Street Lab is hiring Soccer Staff ✷ Soccer Streets—Street Lab’s pop-up youth soccer initiative that takes place in front of public schools—is hiring field staff for the fall. Apply and learn more.
And that’s a wrap…
Thanks as always for reading! We’ll be hitting your inbox again this week, all about the last women standing at the U.S. Open. See you then.