Alex Azzi

Alex Azzi

@byalexazzi.bsky.social

Producer Good Game w/ Sarah Spain ✨ I know a lot about women's sports & the Olympics/ Paralympics! Previously: NBC Olympics Researcher, Writer, Editor ✨ she/ her

3.1K followers286 following395 posts

Alex Azzi reposted

Richard Cohen
@richardcohen.bsky.social

12 days ago I posted about these issues, merely by looking at the various online schedules for leagues and arenas. And it was all known plenty of time before that. And they're still figuring it out. It's embarrassing. The best plan they had in place was "Maybe it'll end in 5?" Ridiculous. #WNBA

Richard Cohen@richardcohen.bsky.social

Game 6 would be way more complicated. Thursday, so can't really play lunchtime+evening, like with Game 2. Hawks are scheduled to play at home the night before as well, so can't just shift one 24hrs earlier. Obviously won't want Games 6+7 on Fri/Sat back to back (and Warriors are home on Sun). #WNBA

Alex Azzi
@byalexazzi.bsky.social

I hate that my first thought was, "Wow, if the WNBA Finals end in 6 games, the players are gonna get really drunk at their 4pm afterparty."

Alexa Philippou@alexaphilippou.bsky.social

BREAKING: Game 6 of the WNBA Finals will be held Thursday at 12:30pm ET at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, sources told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. It will be a double-header with the Atlanta Hawks’ game, which will be moved to 8pm.

Alex Azzi
@byalexazzi.bsky.social

Me, realizing that Tobin Heath set the previous record for single-season assists (10) back when the NWSL season was only 20 games ... and she only played in 14 of those anyway because of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Alex Azzi
@byalexazzi.bsky.social

By Kansas’s City’s logic, if the “attendance” for today’s game was 18,000, then the score should be 35-32, cause goals scored during pre-game warmups count too.

Alex Azzi reposted

Reveal
@revealnews.org

Hundreds of thousands of voters will be heading to the polls in two weeks in newly redrawn, majority-white, majority-Republican districts. This week on Reveal, we look at the Supreme Court decision that made that happen.

revealnews.orgBecause of the Supreme Court, majority-Black voting districts are disappearing across the SouthBecause of the Supreme Court, majority-Black voting districts are disappearing across the South. What will that mean for November's election?

Alex Azzi reposted

The Washington Post
@washingtonpost.com

Masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villagers on Friday, setting olive groves on fire and slinging rocks. Caught in the attack was Post photographer Heidi Levine. “They just kept kicking me and kicking me, like probably 50 times,” Levine said. https://wapo.st/4yt6dHY

Alex Azzi reposted

Pablo Maurer
@mlsist.bsky.social

Having one of those days where I remember that US Soccer CEO JT Batson dated disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in college. From John Carreyrou's excellent post-mortem, "Bad Blood":

Alex Azzi
@byalexazzi.bsky.social

What a find from 1996: “We hope that, instead of glorifying Christine Brennan as a poor persecuted journalist and accepting her unquestioningly as a self-proclaimed expert on figure skating, the mainstream media will take a more critical look at her credibility and reporting in the future.”

thene@thene.bsky.social

so here it is, and it's a very strongly worded letter, which also talks about Brennan getting her press credentials pulled by USFSA, and how ignorant she was about the rules of the sport she was covering web.archive.org/web/20211019...

web.archive.orgA Letter to the Washington Post

Alex Azzi reposted

The Washington Post
@washingtonpost.com

Breaking news: The Trump administration is airing campaign-style TV ads using money Congress approved for border security upgrades, efforts to combat drug trafficking and memorials for officers killed in the line of duty, according to records.

washingtonpost.comCampaign-style Trump ads use money meant for border security, memorialsThe White House Office of Management and Budget added $20 million to the pot for commemorative events a day before DHS awarded an advertising contract of the same amount.

Alex Azzi reposted

Sarah Spain ✨
@sarahspain.com

LA Queens captain & newly crowned WPBL champ Ashton Lansdell gets emotional talking about what it means to her & the rest of the league to get to play with other women & be one of many instead of the “other.” Full ep: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g... Watch on iHeart Women’s Sports YouTube!

Alex Azzi
@byalexazzi.bsky.social

I struggle to care about stuff like this when the NWSL remains the biggest U.S. sports league to not have any public disclosure of player salaries or team salary caps.

Jeff Kassouf@jeffkassouf.bsky.social

SOURCES: The #NWSL has implemented a new player development rule (PDR) allowing teams to ID youth players and shape their development. If the player eventually signs in #NWSL, that team gets significant salary cap relief through their 23rd birthday. Signings could start in 2028. More on @espn.com:

espn.comSources: NWSL launches new player development rule for clubsThe NWSL has launched a new player development mechanism that will allow teams to identify youth players who they could sign in the future to contracts that would not fully count against the salary cap, multiple sources told ESPN.
Alex Azzi
@byalexazzi.bsky.social

As someone who doesn’t follow MLS, imagine my surprise last week when I discovered that the league publishes how much allocation money each team has! You’re telling me these aren’t just imaginary numbers thrown out in press releases??

Alex Azzi reposted

Sarah Spain ✨
@sarahspain.com

Washington Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson discusses adding veteran Betnijah Laney-Hamilton mid-season. Listen to the full episode: lnkd.in/gdiKFyvc Watch the full interview on the iHeart Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Alex Azzi
@byalexazzi.bsky.social

There's a long and shady history when it comes to conflicts of interest in the women's sports space. But Sue Bird partnering with Polymarket WHILE serving as managing director of USA Basketball AND as an investor in Gotham FC and Seattle Storm PLUS all of her various media roles?!?

Alex Azzi reposted

Sarah Spain ✨
@sarahspain.com

Big Citrus jumps on the pod to discuss the news that WNBA commish Cathy Engelbert is retiring. We get into the factors that make it difficult to give her tenure an official grade, discuss her legacy & start brainstorming the right person to take over the job. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...

Alex Azzi
@byalexazzi.bsky.social

A’ja certainly can (and should!) prioritize her own health. But to me, her decision highlights the fact that the FIBA World Cup isn’t as high on the priority list. In comparison, it is inconceivable to imagine a soccer player skipping the FIFA World Cup if they still had the option to play.

Maggie Hendricks@maggiehendricks.bsky.social

A'ja Wilson has helped the US win two Olympic gold medals and two World Cups. She's played deep into the playoffs, including four Finals appearances, since 2019. And still, when I report that she's not playing in this World Cup for health reasons, I have people in the mentions questioning it.

Alex Azzi reposted

E Anderson
@emcanderson.bsky.social

And there it is. The Stars currently have the worst goal differential in NWSL history. Stars are losing to Denver 6-1 with 3 min to go in regular time.

E Anderson@emcanderson.bsky.social

Worst is 33, Stars at -29 and this doesn’t include the current match. So if this score stands, the Stars will be tying the worst ever goal differenential in NWSL www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tin...

Alex Azzi reposted

Rodger Sherman
@rodger.bsky.social

there are like 3 moments in this where she's like "should i wrap this bit up or keep going?" and each time she comes back to the mic she ascends to a new level

Shameka ❤️🏀@shameka23.bsky.social

How much do you think this fine will be? Tash went IN on the men who keep throwing these green dildos 😭😂 #WNBA

Alex Azzi reposted

Rodger Sherman
@rodger.bsky.social

Did Mark Walter sell the Walter Cup

The Athletic@theathletic.com

The PWHL Walter Cup has gone missing. The trophy was set to arrive in Lethbridge, Alberta, for Montreal Victoire forward Dara Greig’s hometown celebration, but the event has been postponed. www.nytimes.com/athletic/753...

nytimes.comPWHL Walter Cup goes missing before scheduled appearance in Canada (Gift Article)Each championship team is issued its own version of the Cup, and now Montreal’s is missing.

Alex Azzi reposted

Jessica Luther
@jessicawluther.com

The Cunningham piece and the Briles piece both dropping today show the problem with access in (sports) journalism. The problem isn't that either person was interviewed. It's that journalists them didn't press them hard at all, on anything. Which is why they were allowed to ask questions.

Alex Azzi reposted

Sarah Spain ✨
@sarahspain.com

Special double-Leo Birthday ep this week for me & producer Bianca (plus producer Alex's Half-Bday!) and we're doing a birthday AMA-ask us anything! Last chance to pick our brains about the show, life, advice, careers, bdays...

Alex Azzi
@byalexazzi.bsky.social

Denae Benites is both incredibly legit and so fun to watch, and also… The lopsidedness feels a little inevitable for a pro league that was built without a strong and proven pipeline.

Rodger Sherman@rodger.bsky.social

Checking back in on the Women's Pro Baseball League: through four games, Denae Benites is hitting .824 (14-for-17) and leads the league with 5 home runs (the rest of the league has 6 combined) and 6 stolen bases (nobody else has more than 3) what the hell

Alex Azzi
@byalexazzi.bsky.social

In so many ways, the WPBL runs counter to what has historically been the norm in women’s sports. In so many sports, title IX helped develop the high school to college to Olympic pipeline… but until recently, when athletes graduated, the pro options were limited.

Alex Azzi
@byalexazzi.bsky.social

Anyway, it is kind of mind blowing to watch WPBL launch when there are still such limited opportunities for women to play baseball at the youth/college level.

Alex Azzi reposted

Sarah Spain ✨
@sarahspain.com

It’s Producer @biancahillier.bsky.social’s Birthday! 🎉🎉🎉🎉 Wish her a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 🎂🎈🥳 Annnnd… we’re doing a joint celebration of our Leo Bdays (mine is 8/18) on the show next week — AMA and ABA (ask Bianca anything) and maybe we’ll answer your question on the show! 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Alex Azzi reposted

Sarah Spain ✨
@sarahspain.com

Actor and writer Brendan Hunt – aka Coach Beard – talks about Season 4 of Ted Lasso taking some creative license when it comes to the footie calendar… Listen to the full episode: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g... Watch the full interview on the iHeart Women’s Sports YouTube channel!