The Good Sport Guide to Women's Sports in NYC: August 3rd - 9th
Everything you should know, watch, and do this week as a women's sports fan in NYC.
Happy Monday, Good Sport legends. This past weekend I went upstate with a group of friends to celebrate my girlfriend’s birthday <3 It was frankly a perfect few days, filled with eating good and swimming and playing sleepover-style games that wouldn’t look out of place at slumber parties I attended in the 2010s. Less Omegle at sleepovers nowadays, though. And less saran wrapping the toilets.
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.
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.
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.
Denae Benites meeting Maybelle Blair + Blair with the mascot version of her?? I didn’t know this was happening ts <3 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.
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!