Transcript 0:00 Hey everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Melanin MVP. Today, I'm starting a new series on the show. Each week, I'll come here and share my thoughts on the top headlines in women's sports for the week. 0:15 This is the first edition of this series, so I'm super excited to see what you guys think. First up, there have been three new women's sports podcasts announced within the past week or so. 0:25 The first one is with Aliyah Boston and Candace Parker called Post Moves. 0:30 The second one, Syd and TP are bringing their incredibly hilarious show to podcast format called Unsupervised, and the third is by Azzi Fudd of UConn women's basketball called Fudd Around and Find Out. 0:46 There have been quite a few shows popping up from professional women's basketball players. I think Candace Parker and Sue Bird are going toe for toe to see how many shows they can do. 0:56 I'm really excited to see Aliyah Boston join Candace Parker on her show. Aliyah Boston has done some sideline reporting on ESPN and other outlets. 1:06 She's joined reporting for NCAA women's basketball games and other special events. So really happy to see her put some of her media training to use in a show crafted around her position on the court. 1:20 Azzi Fudd, I mean, she's still in college and really creating her own presence in the media space, so really excited to see how this continues to grow as she goes from college player to pro. 1:33 She's not the only college women's basketball athlete or college athlete in general with their own podcast. Flau’jae Johnson has her own show. 1:40 I think she has one or two shows as well, so it's really interesting to see how many people are starting their own podcast and to see how they format them, how long they last, if they're seasonal or weekly, and how long they can continue them during regular season play. 1:56 Next up, Venus Williams, at 45 years old, becomes the oldest WTA match winner since 2004. Absolutely insane. It was teased that she was gonna get a wild card at another tennis event earlier in the season. 2:14 She didn't take it, and now she came to play. I thought that was, well, incredible to see her doing that and to come back fresh. She made a joke that it was for the insurance. I sincerely hope that's not the case. 2:26 [laughs] I don't think it is, but I'm really excited to see her back in Venus Williams form and see how far she goes in this tournament. Jackie Young signs with Skechers. 2:38 She was previously signed with Puma, so for her to make this jump is very interesting. 2:42 I'm surprised she didn't sign with Nike since A'ja Wilson's with Nike or Adidas because Chelsea Gray is with Adidas, so for her to go from Puma to Skechers is an interesting move. 2:52 As far as I know, Skechers has only signed one other women's basketball player, and that is Rickea Jackson. So they have some pretty talented people on their roster so far. 3:02 I think they're two for two, uh, if we're talking about [laughs] recruiting women's basketball players. 3:07 I'll be interested to see what a shoe drop from Skechers would look like, what the interest would be, and how that would work in terms of growing Skechers' profile in the professional sports arena. 3:20 Next up, the Portland Fire. Same name, new ownership. Sounds like they're bringing back the franchise name from the original Portland Fire. 3:28 I'm sure a lot of people are hoping that we are gonna see a resurgence of the Houston Comets and the Charlotte Sting, and we may still see that. 3:36 I think the WNBA has done a great job with the pacing of the new teams because the Portland Fire will start season play, I believe, in 2026 or 2027, so not this current season, and they'll be starting with the Toronto Tempo. 3:51 So bracing ourselves and giving teams time to develop and grow their brand and re-engage that nostalgia that comes with the name of the Portland Fire. 3:59 There are a lot of people who are wishing that they would get a new name, ironically, so I would love to hear what you guys think about that. Should they have chosen a new name? 4:06 Should they have kept the same name in honor of the original team? I'm just excited to see them back. 4:11 I think they are going to return to a joint training facility with Portland's, uh, women's soccer team, the Portland Thorns. So really excited to see their investment in making this franchise as great as it can be. 4:24 Next up, Athlos is bringing the long jump to Times Square on their 2025 event. In their inaugural event last year in 2024, they only had track events, so they had sprints, hurdles, and mid-range runs. 4:42 They did not have any field events. They did not have any longer runs. So it was really, really cool to see that they are bringing the long jump to Athlos, and not just any stage. 4:53 They're bringing it to New York City Times Square, and they even put out field and track tees instead of track and field to celebrate this addition to the competition this year. 5:04 Next up, Layla Edwards making history as the first Black woman to play on the US hockey team. 5:11 A while ago, I wrote about the women who shaped the PWHL and Black Girl Hockey Club, which is a fandom, a community, a vibrant group of women who are interested in the sport of hockey. 5:24 So super excited that Layla Edwards is making history, and we continue, hope to continue to see more Black women doing that. There are some Black women in the PWHL already. 5:35 Layla Edwards, to my understanding, is coming from college to the pros, so very excited to see her career trajectory continue to grow. 5:43 Skims has previously partnered with the WNBA for loungewear, and they are continuing their investment in women's sports. 5:51 They are now the official loungewear partner of League 1 Volleyball, which just had their inaugural season. 5:57 They're young, they're scrappy, they're excitable, and I'm super excited to continue to see the investment in League 1 Volleyball, both through partnerships, but also through team expansion, roster expansion, and of course, investment into individual teams. 6:12 2026 isn't here, but women's basketball has already in the future. Athletes Unlimited announced their first round of names for their 2026 roster, which includes three rookies. 6:25 Unrivaled also signed 14 college NIL deals ahead of the 2026 season, which kicks off in January. 6:35 Incredible what these professional athletes are doing to bridge the gap between college athletes and professional women's sports. 6:43 Some of these rookies, obviously they're already in the WNBA, so they're already professional athletes, but already thinking ahead about what their off-season looks like and giving them opportunities to be a part of these leagues is really, really fun. 6:55 Unrivaled, of course, not to be undone by these CBA negotiations, has increased the prize money from $50,000 to $100,000. 7:05 And I believe, and I could be wrong, I believe that's both for the 1v1 tournament and for the individual members of the winning team. 7:15 So six women, possibly seven, will take home $100,000 from Unrivaled on top of their salary for the season. Ooh. 7:26 There's so much to say about the WNBA's negotiations, All-Star Weekend, the stud buds, but that's way too much to put in this episode. 7:33 But if you would like to hear my thoughts on WNBA All-Star, the W- CBA, the stud buds, of course, subscribe to the newsletter, Melanin MVP, and the next issue will drop on Sunday. Thank you guys so much. 7:49 I'll see you guys in the next one
