Good Sport NYC

Why Do You As A Man Love Women's Basketball? with Ish Islam

Christiana Cromer — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:49:53 GMT

Ish Islam, the creative behind Game Griot, isn’t the only man who’s found his sport’s home in women’s basketball. But I’d personally take the odds that he’s one of the most dedicated.

The Brooklyn native built Game Griot as a creative broadcasting outlet for the world of women’s hoops. He joined me on the podcast to talk:

* What 30 years of the WNBA mean for the game

* Standout 2026 rookies

* Who’s taking a step in their game this season

* Players we don’t play about

* What it means to show up for the Black women who lead women’s basketball

* A progress report on our NY Liberty 10+ games into the 2026 season

This convo with Ish felt special. We chatted about WBB and this season tactically, but also ventured into the intangible aspects of women’s sports that made me want to start Good Sport in the first place.

Links below to keep in touch with Ish and his work at Game Griot. Enjoy!

LINKS

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram, TikTok

Follow Game Griot on Instagram, TikTok, and Threads

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

Get full access to Good Sport NYC at www.goodsportnyc.com/subscribe

Meet Me at the Intersection of Women’s Sports, Art & Queer Culture with Sophia Mitropoulos

Christiana Cromer — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:36:53 GMT

“Honestly, I’m trying to fulfill what I wanted when I was a kid.”

That’s what artist Sophia Mitropoulos had to say when I asked what inspired her to create Snatch, a queer-first women’s sports magazine. There’s a rebelliousness to building an indie publication from scratch, especially when that publication is fiercely gay and unapologetically dedicated to women’s sports.

Sophia was an artist who found herself in the weight room and a competitive athlete who found herself in art school, and she built a world where all of her identities and passions could coalesce.

Sophia joined me on the podcast this week to talk about her athletic, artistic, and queer roots, how Snatch transformed from a DIY zine about weightlifting into a full-scale women’s sports magazine, what makes New York’s women’s sports scene special, and what’s next for Snatch.

On the other side of the rebelliousness it takes to create art and media dedicated to queerness and women’s sports is the joy that a lot of us could only dream of as kids. I can’t think of a more worthwhile project.

I absolutely loved this conversation with Sophia. Enjoy!

LINKS:

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram, TikTok

Check out the Snatch website and follow on Instagram

Follow Sophia on Instagram, TikTok

Read The Athletic’s article on Snatch

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

Get full access to Good Sport NYC at www.goodsportnyc.com/subscribe

Building NYC's Sapphic Volleyball Community with Tori Kegs

Christiana Cromer — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:23:27 GMT

Like many D1 athletes, Tori Keghlian felt lost after leaving her college volleyball program. After spending years dedicated to her sport, it was time to find out who she was outside of it. After going on her own journey to find purpose beyond her identity as an athlete, she found her way back to volleyball and her love for the sport.

That’s why Tori founded Spykes—NYC’s sapphic volleyball community. Just a few months after launching the group, Spykes hosts volleyball sessions every month, bringing dozens of folks out to play at all skill levels.

Tori and I talked through her journey as an athlete, building Spykes, the gorgeous crossover of queerness and sports, the joy of building WLW community, and what makes the NYC women’s sports scene so special.

I hope you enjoy this episode with Tori, and please check out Spykes and give this awesome community some love!

LINKS:

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack for the podcast + the weekly newsletter

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram, TikTok

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

Follow Spykes on Instagram and check out upcoming sessions

Follow Tori Kegs on Instagram

Get full access to Good Sport NYC at www.goodsportnyc.com/subscribe

Gotham FC Deep Dive with Anumita Jain

Christiana Cromer — Thu, 28 May 2026 12:08:30 GMT

Writer and data enthusiast Anumita Jain of The Bat Signal joined me this week for a deep dive on Gotham FC, our NWSL soccer team that’s brought home two Championship trophies in the last three years.

We reviewed our roster, covering Gotham’s veterans like Rose Lavelle, Tierna Davidson, Anne-Katrin Berger, Emily Sonnett, Esther González, and Midge Purce, as well as our rising stars like Jaedyn Shaw, Lily Reale, and Jordan Dudley. We discussed our strengths and weaknesses as a team, and I was left with the impression that we have a pretty damn good soccer team. And the gleaming trophies from winning it all seem to back that up, too.

So then why does Gotham struggle with low attendance at our home games? Anumita and I tried to answer that, too, and discussed the concept of Gotham moving from New Jersey to Queens in the future. TLDR: We need more casual fans. I hope that Good Sport can help with that for Gotham, and all of our women’s teams here in NYC.

I had a great time recording this with Anumita. She’s smart, great at explaining sports and data concepts, and really good at true-or-false questions. Enjoy, and listen through the end for a bonus mini convo with me, myself, and I about the latest losing streak for our beloved NY Liberty…Don’t panic!

LINKS:

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack for the podcast + the weekly newsletter

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

Follow our guest Anumita Jain on BlueSky and Instagram

Subscribe to The Bat Signal newsletter

Get full access to Good Sport NYC at www.goodsportnyc.com/subscribe

Liberty rolling, Gotham to Queens?, and Zohran vs. FIFA

Christiana Cromer — Fri, 22 May 2026 20:32:25 GMT

I bravely went solo on this week’s podcast episode. What’s more empowering than speaking into a microphone alone in your apartment? Speaking about women’s sports into a microphone alone in your apartment, of course!

Here’s what I covered: Liberty’s 3-1 hot start and Satou Sabally FINALLY back on the court, Gotham’s potential move from Jersey to Queens, and Mayor Mamdani’s fight to keep soccer accessible for New Yorkers with $5 Gotham tickets and a big FIFA World Cup lottery win.

Plus: Goalie Anne-Katrin Berger’s injury + how she makes up 1/2 of a power couple on Gotham with Jess Carter, Charging and Exiles getting their first wins, and I gave out paper plate awards for May.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think in the comments.

LINKS:

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack for the podcast + the weekly newsletter

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

Get full access to Good Sport NYC at www.goodsportnyc.com/subscribe

A Guide to NYC's Eight Pro Women's Sports Teams with Sabine Bremner Pigg

Christiana Cromer — Fri, 15 May 2026 15:58:41 GMT

New York City women’s sports fans are some of the best fed in the country: We have eight professional women’s teams we get to support. But that’s new! Six of our eight teams were founded within the last three years. You know what that means: Get in early. It’s the perfect time to become a fan of our lesser-known teams as they establish themselves and their fan bases. All while keeping the energy going for our long-timers with the Liberty and Gotham FC, of course!

I learned about teams I didn’t know we had while I prepared for this episode, which rocked. I hope you will, too!

Thank you to my amazing girlfriend Sabine for gracing the pod this week <3 I created an incredibly jank setup for her so we could record remotely from the same apartment. And she was such a Good Sport(tm) about it.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

LINKS:

Subscribe to Good Sport NYC on Substack for the podcast + the weekly newsletter

Follow Good Sport NYC on Instagram

Follow Christiana on Instagram, Substack

Follow our guest Sabine Pigg on Instagram

Get full access to Good Sport NYC at www.goodsportnyc.com/subscribe

Liberty Season Preview with Christina Cooper

Christiana Cromer — Thu, 07 May 2026 03:00:00 GMT

First episode alert!!! Is the NY Liberty so back? We think so!

Women's basketball creator Christina Cooper joins the show for a 2026 Liberty Season Preview. Christiana and Christina break down the Liberty's Big Three — Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, and Breanna Stewart — the Satou Sabally pickup, Natasha Cloud 's free agency situation, key re-signings (Leonie Fiebich, Marine Johannes, Han Xu, Becky Allen), and the vibes around our new head coach Chris DeMarco.

Christiana closes the show with a watch guide for the Liberty, Gotham FC, and the Exiles for the weekend of May 8th, 2026.