Kick back, relax and catch up on some reading
There's a lot happening in women's sports right now, and a vacation is a good time to get up to speed
As one who likes to take vacations in fall, when the weather is perfect and places are less crowded, that means it’s finally that time of the year. Vacation time.
My vacation has nothing to do with women’s sports, though that’s nothing I haven’t scheduled a trip around in the past. Last year at about this time my trip to the Pacific Northwest to visit my sister included a few days in Seattle so we could be there for Megan Rapinoe’s final home game with the OL Reign.
And a trip a couple years before that to Washington, D.C., unintentionally turned sporty when the Seattle Storm were staying in my hotel when they were in town to play the Mystics. I realized this when the elevator doors opened and there was Breanna Stewart, and when I walked outside there was Sue Bird sitting outside at a coffee shop texting somebody.
I don’t see that happening again.
So what does one do on vacation? Catch up on reading, of course.
Besides still trying to figure out what book I’m taking with me, I have squirreled away some women’s sports stories that I didn’t get around to finishing (or maybe even starting) to read when I’m sitting bored at an airport.
It’s not quite the same as bringing back a snow globe or sending a postcard, but maybe you can enjoy these vacation trinkets nonetheless.
Road trips now include hither and yon
When there was all the talk about West Coast teams coming to the Big Ten and Stanford heading to the ACC, all that talk was about football. Few seemed to ever mention all the other sports – you know, the ones that play more than once a week. (I did last spring, though.) Last week, Yahoo! Sports did a deep dive on what travel has been like for volleyball teams in a story with a great headline: ‘Conference realignment has redefined ‘travel ball.’ Interesting but ridiculous detail: The 25,000-plus miles Stanford will travel for its conference play is greater than the circumference of the Earth.
Fashion meets function, but just on one leg
Astute viewers (OK, you don’t have to be that astute) of women’s hoops might have noticed what look to be one-legged tights on some of the players. Those are compression sleeves, and many players prefer to wear them just on one leg. For some, it’s injury-related, for others it’s just fashion. And for some who might still be new to women’s basketball, it’s an easy way to pick out A’ja Wilson or Angel Reese. The Washington Post gives this story some legs. Or maybe just the one.
A new model for professional athletes
More and more, the ecosystem around women’s sports is discovering that it doesn’t just have to be a female version of what the men are doing. Nowhere is that clearer than in soccer and nothing proves that more than the National Women’s Soccer League’s new collective bargaining agreement. Trust me, this is not boring – it’s a whole new way of approaching professional sports. Gone is the draft; from now on, incoming players can negotiate where they want to play. Gone, too, are the days when a player can be traded without their consent. (This is particularly of note for female athletes with children.) It’s downright revolutionary, and The Wall Street Journal takes a closer look. So does Annie Peterson, soccer writer for The IX, a newsletter that covers women’s sports news across the board. Peterson’s story also includes other links on the topic.
Outdoor volleyball match gives sport a bounce
A little closer to home, a perfect night greeted fans for a little slice of history: the state’s first outdoor volleyball match. Ninth-ranked West Delaware, located in Manchester in northeast Iowa, hosted top-ranked Mount Vernon outside on the school’s football field in a five-set thriller between two of the state’s best teams. Jeff Linder of the Cedar Rapids Gazette was there and relays a wonderful story about a special night. Don’t miss the photo gallery within the story; it shows everything that’s wonderful about high school sports. (Also, hot tip: If you’re an Iowa sports fan who doesn’t have a lot of interest in eastern Iowa news, the Gazette has a sports-only digital subscription for $3.90 a month.)
It's his job to look at things differently
Women’s sports fans might know Alexis Ohanian best as Serena Williams’ husband, but his connection to women’s sports goes well beyond his famous wife. As co-founder of Reddit, he made his fortune understanding how online communities behave, and he noticed that women, and teenage girls in particular, drive online culture (hello, Swifties). Because of that, like the NWSL’s labor agreement, Ohanian sees opportunity in the ways women’s sports can be different. This Adweek profile explores his vision that includes, among other things, funding the franchise opportunity for The Sports Bra women’s sports bar founded in Portland and a new pro track and field circuit.
Liberty’s mascot has fans by the trunkload
Everyone loves a good mascot, but the love for the New York Liberty’s Ellie the Elephant is fur real (sorry, couldn’t resist). But until I read this Washington Post piece about Ellie, I had no idea what was sparking her fandom. And, as a bonus, the story hips us to why an elephant named Ellie is a mascot for New York.
Power brokers in the W and beyond
Power. Who’s got it? Who doesn’t? More importantly, who has more than they used to? Right now, the answer to that is clearly female athletes. Sports Illustrated’s annual power list looks at how the WNBA’s rookie class ushered in a new era of opportunity for the league, and the list within the story features athletes, owners and influencers who are doing the same in a variety of ways.
And a couple podcasts, too
OK, reading is fundamental and all that, but sometimes a good podcast comes in handy. A new favorite of mine is “Good Game with Sarah Spain,” hosted by the former ESPN reporter. It’s a daily podcast (so they pile up easily) featuring guests from across the range of women’s sports. It’s also immensely entertaining. And if you aren’t tired of the whole Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese thing, there’s a new podcast dedicated to it. Both of these podcasts are part of iHeart Network’s new women’s sports programming and available on Apple, Spotify and the usual podcast platforms.
Jane Burns is a former sports and features writer for the Des Moines Register, as well as other publications and websites. She’s a past winner of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Mel Greenberg Award for her coverage of women’s basketball. Over the course of her career she’s covered pretty much everything, which is why her as-yet-to-be-written memoir will be called “Cheese and Basketball: Stories From a Reporter Who Has Covered Everything.”
I’m happy to join fellow Iowa writers and journalists as part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. The collaborative is 60 writers throughout the state - likely some familiar names to Iowa readers - publishing on topics ranging from politics to food to sports and so much more. A subscription (paid or free) gets you a Sunday roundup of all the writers’ work that week. One of my colleagues described it as “Iowa’s Sunday newspaper.”
Meet the writers here, and see for yourself the great variety the collaborative offers.