You May Also Like: Unrivaled 201: 60 Hours In The Day with Breanna Stewart

Summary

Podcast Summary: Fudd Around And Find Out

Episode: “You May Also Like: Unrivaled 201: 60 Hours in the Day with Breanna Stewart”
Date: January 9, 2026
Host: Sarah Spain
Featured Guest: Breanna Stewart

---

Overview

This episode features WNBA superstar and Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart (“Stewie”) in a wide-ranging interview with Sarah Spain. The discussion centers on Stewart’s basketball journey, the evolution of the Unrivaled 3x3 league, the future of women’s pro hoops, and how Stewart balances her many roles—as player, entrepreneur, mother, and union leader—while also delving into the looming WNBA collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations. The episode showcases Stewart’s vision for women’s sports and her mission to elevate athlete experience, pay, and player empowerment.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Breanna Stewart’s On-Court and Off-Court Excellence (12:58–13:55)

• Sarah Spain introduces Stewart: A lengthy list of achievements vaults Stewart as “one of the winningest basketball players of all time.”
• Opening Game-Winner: Stewart describes hitting a game-winning shot in Unrivaled’s season opener and reflects on staying in rhythm despite substitutions and interviews.

“Everybody knows I like the right shoulder fade… I got a little bit close to the baseline, and I was like, all right, just don’t hit the backboard. And it was perfect.”
— Breanna Stewart (13:55)

---

2. Launching the Unrivaled League: Building Suspense & Community (14:30–16:17)

• Masterclass in Launch: Stewart explains the intentional roll-out of league branding, player reveals, and partnership announcements. The phased approach created buzz, community, and a sense of anticipation.
• Support from Sponsors: Both sponsors and business partners welcomed the league’s 3x3 format, seeking something “different” and dynamic.
• Player Adaptation: While the pace and space of 3x3 were initially a challenge for players, Stewart notes quick adjustment—and the appeal of solid pay.

“When you’re able to show them we’re going to be in Miami, we’re going to try something new, and you’re going to get paid a lot to do it—everybody’s willing to test it out.”
— Breanna Stewart (16:17)

---

3. Roses and Thorns: Season One Reflections (17:44–18:57)

• Highlights: Success of the debut season, positive player and fan experience, strong foundation.
• Lowlights: Stewart’s team struggled for wins and she played through injury, leading to mental and physical frustration.

“I was playing through like a partial meniscus tear. And when you have to play through injury, it’s just like a different type of mental… But I’m happy to be like, feeling back to myself, you know, feeling healthy and just being able to be the player that I am.”
— Breanna Stewart (18:33)

---

4. Growth & Improvements for Season Two (19:01–20:40)

• Facility Upgrades: Stewart details improvements, including increased space—three courts, expanded weight and training rooms, more fan seating.
• Enhanced Player Care: There are more opportunities for player development, with structured practice and individualized time ensuring reps and rest.
• Merchandise Boom: Jersey popularity is up, with stars like Paige Bueckers’ selling out immediately.

---

5. Developmental Pipeline & Player Improvement (20:40–21:44)

• Athlete Pathways: The league’s “developmental player pool” gives rising talent reps and readiness to step up, filling roster gaps due to injuries or absences.
• Proof of Concept: Players who compete in Unrivaled improve statistically when returning to the WNBA, both due to the format and elite competition/coaching.

“Every player that played in Unrivaled and then got back to [the WNBA] in 2025 improved statistically, which says something about the ability…”
— Sarah Spain (21:44)

---

6. Road Games & Market Expansion (22:22–24:39)

• Market Selection: Philly is the first new stop, chosen to introduce pro women’s hoops to a city—right before the city gets a WNBA expansion team.
• Future Expansion: Stewart suggests future stops and possibly individual team ownership could be in the cards, but Unrivaled will remain centralized to manage costs and community.

“As we continue to evolve…where do we want to go next? Who’s really engaging and watching this and from what cities…[we want to] make the most of it for them.”
— Breanna Stewart (23:02)

---

7. Team Structure, Expansion Drafts, and Fan Allegiance (24:57–27:03)

• Team Stability: Expansion means some team shakeup—expansion drafts when adding new teams, but otherwise limited restructuring.
• Fan Affiliation: There’s a tension between fans’ desire for continuity and the excitement of new player pairings.

“There's excitement around seeing different players play together, but there’s also like an allegiance, like—no offense—but I’m Ghost Gang, and I have been Ghost Gang for two years running…”
— Sarah Spain (25:32)

---

8. Unrivaled’s Model vs. Rival Leagues; Impact on WNBA (27:03–30:14)

• Competition: Project B, a new league, has “stolen” some Unrivaled talent, but Stewart is confident: long-term contracts, strong partnerships, and early NIL deals are key to Unrivaled’s appeal.
• Pay & Player Experience: Unrivaled’s high salaries and player-first model set a new standard. The league is cited as a bargaining chip in WNBA CBA talks.

“98% of the players here are making more than what they made in the WNBA. And that's what we want. We want to have a place where people can come, they can work hard, they can play, they compete, they get better and they make money.”
— Breanna Stewart (29:53)

• Comparison Caveat: Stewart and Spain agree, however, it’s “apples and oranges”—Unrivaled’s costs and structure differ from the traditional league model and its decades of legacy constraints.

---

9. Building a Legacy & Maintaining Balance—How Stewie Does It All (31:25–33:27)

• Juggling Roles: Stewart recounts her jam-packed schedule, balancing family, travel, awards trips, union work, and running Unrivaled, sometimes across time zones.
• Family Retreats: Offseasons in Spain allow for rare downtime and reset.

“Sometimes I don’t know [how I do it]… I saw this thing: ‘I swear Stewie has like 60 hours in her day.’”
— Breanna Stewart (31:25)

---

10. WNBA CBA Negotiations & the Free Agency Frenzy (33:27–35:48)

• Uncertainty: The expansion draft’s unknown details and delays in CBA talks create anticipation and anxiety for players, coaches, and teams.
• Goal for a Deal: Stewart is hopeful, but realistic, targeting a February 1 finish.

“It doesn’t mean on Saturday we’re going to have a lockout…hopefully everything can be done by February 1st.”
— Breanna Stewart (35:11)

---

11. Lightning Round: “Good, Gooder, Goodest”—Stewie’s Sneakers (35:52–37:14)

• Favorite signature shoes: Stewart ranks her Puma models—the Stewie 4 Night Vision (Good), the Stewie 2 Ruby (Gooder, named for her daughter), and the Stewie One Quiet Fire (Goodest, as the first signature shoe for a WNBA player in a decade).

“Goodest is the Stewie One Quiet Fire. First signature shoe in 10 years, really kind of starting a domino effect… so young girls and young boys can grow up and be like, they want to get the Stews or they want to get the Asians in store. Because we didn't have that.”
— Breanna Stewart (36:29)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On adapting to the 3x3 format:
  “When you’re told to like, sprint the lane… you’re not used to having four steps and then being at the next three point line.” (16:17)
• On player experience:
  “More space and more people—you're not running over everybody trying to get on a table or… able to get everything you need.” (19:42)
• On Unrivaled’s player development:
  “Making sure there’s developmental time… get that PD work where… after we practice together… your team has for you to get what you need, which is really cool.” (21:19)
• On balancing roles:
  “My schedule is, like, right, busy.” (32:21)
• On signature shoe legacy:
  “Now you have everything [in stores]… I’m really excited to be able to… be a part of that shared space and know that we’re really making a big change.” (37:08)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Stewart’s resume & game-winner: 12:58–13:55
• Unrivaled launch philosophy: 14:30–16:17
• Pace & adaptation to 3x3: 16:17–17:15
• Season one highlights/lowlights: 17:44–18:57
• Improvements for season two: 19:01–19:42
• Player development pipeline: 20:40–21:44
• Expansion & city choice: 22:22–23:31
• Ownership and team structure: 23:39–24:57
• Draft mechanics and fan affiliation: 24:57–27:03
• Competition & CBA impact: 27:03–30:14
• Balancing roles & family: 31:25–32:21
• WNBA CBA negotiations: 33:27–35:48
• Sneaker ranking (Good, Gooder, Goodest): 35:52–37:14

---

Tone and Takeaways

• The conversation is lively, candid, and insightful, blending basketball strategy, business acumen, athlete empowerment, and humor.
• Stewart is portrayed as both a generational player and a generational leader—forward-thinking, grounded, and laser-focused on creating lasting change.
• The episode is essential listening for fans seeking understanding of women’s basketball’s future and the visionaries shaping it.

---

For Further Engagement

• Watch Unrivaled games (links in episode show notes).
• Support women’s sports at all levels and keep an eye on upcoming WNBA CBA developments.

---

End of Summary

Transcript

[Sarah Spain]

Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're saying it out loud over and over again. It is not normal for a government agency to murder an American citizen and then gaslight people about that murder, one that they saw with their own eyes. It's Friday, January 9th and on today's show we are sending all of you love and strength during this increasingly terrifying and enraging time. And we hope this show gives you just a little break from the horrors of the news and reality. Today's episode, thankfully, is a great one. I'm going to be chatting with one of the winningest basketball players of all time, one of my faves, Brianna Stewart, about her role in founding Unrivaled and her goals for season two down in Miami, how the three on three league has played a role in setting a new standard for player experience and pay, and her best prediction for when the WNBA CBA negotiations will finally be done. Plus a trip to the world's most famous arena, a roster drop of the young and unattached, and we introduce a new segment in the lead up to the Milan Corte Martina Games, the Friday Fato Figo. It's all coming up right after this. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human this sports spotlight is brought to you by Capital One VentureXCart, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports did you know that the first modern Olympic Games to feature female athletes was the Paris Games in 1900? 22 women competed at those Games, just 2.2% of all the competitors in sailing, croquet, tennis and golf. Tennis and golf were the only sports in which women could compete in individual disciplines. With Venture X. Enjoy easy to use premium benefits like a $300 annual Capital One travel credit. Plus you can earn unlimited double miles on every purchase. Terms apply. See capitalone.com for details.

[NFL Announcer]

The NFL playoffs are here and it all starts with Wild Card Weekend powered by Verizon.

[Sports Promo Announcer]

Man, it all comes down to this.

[NFL Announcer]

12 teams, six games, three days and one epic weekend. My goodness, it's win or go home and every moment counts. On the road to Super Bowl 60. It's a touchdown wildcard weekend powered by Verizon. January 10th 12th. Visit watch.NFL.com for the full schedule.

[Odoo Advertiser]

Running a business is hard enough. Don't make it harder with a dozen apps that don't talk to each other. One for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting. That's software overload. Odoo is the all in one platform that replaces them all. CRM, Accounting, Inventory, E Commerce, hr, Fully integrated easy to use and built to grow with your business. Thousands of our already made the switch. Why not you try Odoo for free at O-O-O.com that's odoo.com ready to change your life.

[Orangetheory Fitness Advertiser]

For just $2 a day, Orangetheory Fitness delivers one hour workouts that combine strength and cardio to help you burn fat, build muscle and feel unstoppable. Right now, get a full month of unlimited classes for just $62. Don't wait. This offer ends soon. Visit orangetheory.com or your local studio and start your transformation today. Offer ends January 31, 2026. New members only Premier membership, performance monitor and monthly billing required. Discount applies to first month only. Other terms apply. See Studio for details.

[Sarah Spain]

Welcome back Slices. Here's what you need to know today. Let's start with hoops the third deadline for the WNBA and its Players association to reach a new deal on a CBA is today, but all signs point to the sides still being very far apart as of this recording on Thursday afternoon. There's no official announcement as to whether there'll be another deadline extension if they'll enter a period of quote unquote status quo, or if either side will declare work stoppage. When I talked to the New York Liberty's Brianna Stewart on Thursday, an interview you'll hear in its entirety in just a few minutes, she told us, quote, obviously it's not going to be done tomorrow. She went on quote, we'll continue to negotiate in good faith. It doesn't mean on Saturday we're going to have a lockout unless the league does something we're not prepared for, end quote. Plenty more from Stewie on both the CBA negotiations and the second season of Unrivaled in just a few minutes. Also, I highly recommend you read the latest take on the negotiations from friend of the show and economist David Berry over at Windsider. In his latest piece, he draws a comparison between the WNBA today and the NBA in 1981, explains the different ways the league and the PA view revenue sharing in their latest offers breaks down the approximate amount of future money the players have already conceded during negotiations by backing off their 40% of total revenue. Andy explains why the rallying cry pay us what you owe us is now looking more like just pay us closer to what you owe us. We'll link to the story in the show. Notes to unrivaled season two of the 3 on 3 league continues tonight with a double header featuring Vinyl BC versus Rose BC, followed by the first meeting between the two new expansion teams, Breeze BC and Hive BC. Those games get underway at 7:30pm Eastern on TNT and TruTV, and there's plenty more unrivaled action through the weekend and into Monday this season. To avoid back to backs, the league has four straight nights of action instead of just three, running Friday through Monday nights. We'll link to the full schedule in the show. Notes Speaking of second seasons, Love Pro Volleyball Season two got underway Wednesday night with last year's champion Love Austin picking up right where they left off, defeating Love Nebraska in five sets. We'll link to the full weekend slate of Love games in the show. Notes to Soccer the roster for the U.S. national team's upcoming training camp was unveiled on Thursday, and it does include Trinity Rodman, who will rejoin the U.S. women's National Team for the first time since April 2025 after a series of injuries kept her away from the national team in recent months. The January camp doesn't align with a FIFA window, so international clubs aren't required to release their players. As such, the 26 player US roster includes only NWSL players and Rodman, who's technically currently not signed with any team unattached is what it's listed as. As a whole, the roster skews young and lacks international experience, and four players, Matty Dahleen, Raylan, Riley Jackson and Sally Menti have received their first U.S. women's national team senior team call up. While Rodman is the most capped player in the bunch, boasting 47 international appearances as part of the training camp, the US will also host friendlies against Paraguay on January 24 and Chile on January 27, both in southern California. We'll link to the full roster as well as tickets to those friendlies in the show. Notes to the PWHL the New York Sirens announced on Thursday that the team will play at famed Madison Square Garden arena in New York on April 4, facing off against the Seattle Torrent. While the Sirens play most of their home games at the Prudential center in Newark, the one off contest at MSG offers the team a chance to compete in front of a new and hopefully very large set of fans. The arena can hold more than 19,000 people and tickets are available now. We'll link to the site in the show. Notes Speaking of the Seattle Torrent, by the way, Wednesday night saw Hillary Knight and her expansion Seattle team visit Boston for the first time since she parted ways with the Fleet and Boston earned the win on home ice two to one, snapping their two game losing skid and remaining perfect in their home games played in Massachusetts this season, four games on the slate and the PWHL this weekend. We'll link to the schedule in the show. Notes to College Hoops Iowa State suffered a second straight loss on Wednesday night, falling to unranked Cincinnati 7163 following a 7270 loss to Baylor on Sunday. Audi Crooks had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the loss, but it wasn't enough to secure the win for Iowa State. Crooks, who leads the nation in points per game, did continue her streak for most consecutive games with double digit points by an active player nationally with her 8 82nd straight. Up next Iowa State will look to get back in the win column when they face West Virginia this Sunday. Few more big games to keep tabs on this weekend. Notre Dame, unranked for the first time since 2021, will look to get back on track when they face number two UNC on Sunday at 1pm Eastern. Also on Sunday, number two Texas heads to number 12 LSU. The Longhorns are one of four remaining undefeated teams in Division 1, while the LSU Tigers are looking to rebound after stumbling to start their conference schedule. The game will help kick off the SEC's week long we Back Pat initiative with teams raising money to fight Alzheimer's disease in support of the late PAT Summit. That game tips off at 3pm Eastern and Sunday is going to require a second and third screen because at 4pm Eastern number five Oklahoma travels to number six Kentucky, while number eight Maryland hosts number 19 Ohio State. Then at seven Eastern it's number four UCLA taking on number 25 Nebraska. And also in action on Sunday, number one UConn, number three South Carolina, number seven Vanderbilt and so many more. So let's just say there's going to be a lot of good hoops on Sunday. We'll link to the full schedule in the show notes so you can start planning now to Kalitake, where there are also a bunch of big games this weekend, kicking off with this afternoon's meeting at 4pm Eastern between number one Wisconsin and number eight Minnesota Duluth, followed by a 7pm contest featuring number two Ohio State and number 15St. Cloud State. Those two games alone will feature five members of the U.S. team for the upcoming Milan Cortina games, with Wisconsin boasting four players on Team USA and Ohio State boasting one, plus another seven athletes from those four schools are going to compete for other teams at the Winter Olympics. So if you're looking for folks to cheer for in Milan, be sure to tune in. We'll link to the full college hockey schedule in the show notes Sticking on ice but to figure skating, Amber Glenn took a commanding lead at U.S. championships on Wednesday night, earning 83.05 points for her short program, the highest short program score ever recorded by a woman at US Nationals. Skating to Madonna's Like a Prayer, she was wearing the iconic red dress. One slice Nominated for Fit of the Year for the Slices and now Glenn is on track to win her third straight U.S. women's singles title and be one of three skaters selected to represent the U.S. at next month's Milan Cortina Winter Olympics 2025. World champion Alyssa Liu placed second in the short program with Isabel Levito coming in third. For folks less familiar with the world of figure skating, the final result is the sum of an athlete's score from the short program, which is about 2 minutes and 40 seconds long, and their free SK, which is about 4 minutes long. The women's title at the US Championships will be awarded following the free skate tonight and the Olympic team will be unveiled on Sunday. We'll link to the full broadcast schedule in the show notes. We gotta take a break. When we come back, it's the one and only Briana Stewart. This sports spotlight is brought to you by Capital One. Capital One offers no fees or minimums on checking accounts. Did you know that the Northern Super League, Canada's first women's professional soccer league, played its inaugural season last year? And the Vancouver Rise were the inaugural champions, defeating AFC Toronto 2. 1 in the league's first championship match on November 15th at BMO Field. Capital One, what's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank for details. Capital One NA member FDIC the NFL.

[NFL Announcer]

Playoffs are here and it all starts with Wild Card Weekend powered by Verizon.

[Sports Promo Announcer]

Man, it all comes down to this.

[NFL Announcer]

12 teams, six games, three days and one epic weekend. My goodness, it's win or go home and every moment counts on the road to Super Bowl 60. It's a touchdown wild card weekend powered by Verizon. January 10th through 12th. Visit watch.NFL.com for the full schedule.

[Orangetheory Fitness Advertiser]

Ready to change your Life? For just $2 a day, Orangetheory Fitness delivers one hour workouts that combine strength and cardio to help you burn fat, build muscle and and feel unstoppable. Right now, get a full month of unlimited classes for just $62. Don't wait. This offer ends soon. Visit orangetheory.com or your local studio and start your transformation today. Offer ends January 31, 2026. New members only Premier Membership Performance Monitor and monthly billing required. Discount applies to first month only. Other terms apply. C Studio for details.

[Covino and Rich (TCL Advertiser)]

Hey, it's Covino and rich. Super Bowl 60 is coming fast. If you're hosting, make the smartest play now. Upgrade before game week before the stores get picked over. Before kickoff sneaks up, go with the TCL ultimate series, the QM8K or the QM9K Ultimate Brightness Ultimate Black Levels for the ultimate game day experience. From the coin toss to the final drive, this is super bowl football stadium. Lights, fast cuts, big hits and bigger debates. Was he in? Did it move? Did it cross with tcl? The replay looks obvious. The picture is so real it feels like you're on the 50 at Levi's Stadium. You'll catch the ball, spin on a deep shot, the toe drag on the sideline. No blur, no squinting, no run it back and go big with sizes up to the massive 98 inch class. Every seat is a great seat, even the one by the snack table. On sale now at all major retailers. Get it while supplies last. TCL is the official TV partner of the NFL and Super Bowl 60.

[Sarah Spain]

Joining us now, one of the winningest basketball players of all time with a resume longer than a CVS receipt. We'll try to sum it up. In high school, a national Gatorade Player of the Year, Gatorade Female athlete of year, McDonald's All American. In college, a four time time national champion and final four most outstanding player. A record four times at UConn. First overall pick in the WNBA Rookie of the Year, a three time champion, two time league mvp, two time Finals mvp, seven time All Star, a three time Olympic Gold medalist and the co founder of the unrivaled league. A 2025 SI Innovator of the Year and Time 100 honoree. She said the league into a tizzy with her free agency emojis. Got wine hand delivered to her at the Liberty Championship parade and her literal WTF moment at Oppressor turned her into a meme. It's Stewie. Brianna Stewart. Hi.

[Brianna Stewart]

Hi. Thanks for having me.

[Sarah Spain]

Thanks for coming on. Oh my God. We've been so excited to have you on and talk to you and there is so much going on. Let's start with the game winner in your missed BC season opener. Couldn't have scripted it any better, huh?

[Brianna Stewart]

Honestly I it was like it's a little bit weird because I ca. I was in early at the start of the third and then I came out and then I did a an interview with Ross so then my rhythm was kind of Off. And it was like, all right, let that group keep playing. And in the fourth, after they got tired and stuff, Zach made some subs and I went in and I was like, you know what? Let me get to my spot. Like, let's just get to my spot and see what we could do. I. Everybody knows I like the right shoulder fade, but I got a little bit close to the baseline and I was like, all right, just don't hit the backboard. And it was perfect.

[Sarah Spain]

Well, as the founder, I'm sure you get to script those things, which is nice for you. You get to make sure everybody else hits their mark, and then you get to be the champion. We're talking to you on Thursday after the first full day of unrivaled Season 2 action. But the first weekend slate is coming up. I'm excited to kind of look back at Year one and then look ahead to Year two. So let's start with the lead up to last year's inaugural season. The player reveals the name and logo drops, the partnership and sponsorship reveals like it was a master class in launching a new league. Why were those elements so important to you and to Fee and everybody else involved when. When you were launching the league? League?

[Brianna Stewart]

Honestly, I feel like the. The elements of. Of dropping players, you know, weekly or one day at a time, but then also dropping the partners was really important because it kind of created a little bit of suspense, you know, for everybody that didn't know what was happening, how this league was going to function or perform or all these things. And we're telling fans and also just viewers like, day by day, who's coming here was really exciting. And I think that obviously for year one, we. We definitely exceeded expectations with what was going on and what we wanted to happen. But really, like, I can't say enough about appreciation for the players that first believed in what we had going here, because now you see as we, you know, are just getting into Year two, tons of excitement.

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah. You're creating not just a new league, but an ecosystem with teams and affiliations and a brand new style of play. Obviously, people watch 3x3 in Olympic play, but it's not. Not the way we usually watch basketball. So I wonder in the early planning stages if you did get any pushback from players you reached out to or sponsors or business partners about the format and whether there'd be interest in watching a league like this.

[Brianna Stewart]

Really not the sponsors or business partners. I think that they were excited to have something different. And. And the one thing about our format is that it's so fast paced. Like you're going to get so many highlights in a game. Sometimes you miss them, sometimes you don't even realize that that highlight happened until you see it later. And then as far as the players, it was like, you know, we're adaptable, we played everything and, and when we're able to show them that we're going to be in market, we're going to be in Miami, we're going to try something new and you're going to get paid a lot to do it. Everybody, everybody's willing to, to kind of test it out. But I will say like those first few days of that beginning practice, it was like when you, when you're told to like sprint the lane or like run wide, you're not used to having four steps and then being at the, the next three point line. So like trying to figure out like all right, where's my spacing? How far do I have to run before like looking up and, and that type of thing was funny for sure. But everybody, everybody caught on pretty quickly.

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah, it's not just like playing pickup. The court size is different and the style of play because you're working with just three players is different. But I remember talking to Nafisa Collier's husband Alex for the show last year and he talked about how so many actions in basketball are three player related and it would actually be such a useful tool for players in the off season to work on things and it feels like that's a really good selling point for a lot of people you're trying to bring in. Before we move on to season two, I want to talk roses and thorns from season one. Couple highlights for you. A couple lowlights.

[Brianna Stewart]

Oh, I think highlights for me was like just having everything be a success, like looking at the overall like from a co founder from a business standpoint that everyone came in and they, and they loved it.

[Sarah Spain]

It.

[Brianna Stewart]

I had a great time with my Missy's but at the same time that's, that's my low light is like we really struggled to, to kind of get some wins. But you know sometimes that happens. You know that's happened throughout w seasons and stuff like that. You never know. And what I really enjoyed was just getting to, to know and play with different kind of people and we, we made the most out of it. You know, every night we competed and we made sure that we were in the those situations but sometimes we just couldn't get over the hump and happy to say that now the season two misties we started off With a win. So I'm happy about that.

[Sarah Spain]

It's nice to be healthy. I'm sure for you too.

[Brianna Stewart]

Yeah. Yeah, I guess that was also a thorn in my side. Was just like I was playing through like a partial meniscus tear. And when you, when you have to play through injury, it's just like a different type of mental. And then also trying to like be great at the same time can be frustrating. But I'm happy to be like, feeling back to myself, you know, feeling healthy and just being able to. To be the player that I. That I am.

[Sarah Spain]

What did you learn from season one that you knew you wanted to change for season two?

[Brianna Stewart]

I think what I learned from season one was that we needed more space overall. Like, there's all the facilities and the amenities. I don't know if you ever had a chance to like, come down and.

[Sarah Spain]

Actually, I haven't yet.

[Brianna Stewart]

Well, you got to come down. Yeah, they're all like, top notch, but there was a lot of. There was only two courts last year. So you got to think like, there's like three blocks of practices happening a day and we just needed an another court. So now we have three courts. We have like basically three weight rooms and two training rooms. So it's like you're not running over everybody trying to get on a table or you're able to get everything that you need. So that's, that's the biggest improvement is just like more space and more people.

[Sarah Spain]

Now called Sephora arena, which got those updates, those upgrades, more player treatment options and things like that as well. More seating too, which I think that's exciting to know that after year one more people want to come and you need to make more space for them.

[Brianna Stewart]

Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think just like really adapting, figuring out what works, what went, what's in it, how we can change it. And one of the really cool touch points was just like, even when I was warming up last game, it's like I warm up at the 60 minute mark. So that's when the fans are let in and they were just like screaming just like of happiness just to be back in the arena. So I was like, this is great. This is perfect.

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah, the ones that were screaming watching you and the ones that were screaming because Paige Becker's jersey was already sold out. Out.

[Brianna Stewart]

Exactly.

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah. It was already not on the wall anymore. That's cool too. The jerseys on the merch and everything that's available right away. And then you've got the development player pool, which feels really important. Something that you might have learned from last year in terms of, like, injuries and availability. So tell us about that.

[Brianna Stewart]

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think that last year we were kind of like trying to figure out what's the perfect number, you know, when you play three on three, what's the perfect number to have on your team? And we found that to be six, you know, six healthy people, but also wanting to bring in the developmental team to come here and get better, you know, so it's the pros that, you know, are still waiting to be their best and still waiting to, like, make their mark in. In any league that they're in. And we have them so that they're. They're ready, you know, if someone goes down, they're ready to come in and fill that position. And I think it's an incredible opportunity for them just to get reps in and. And really get the work in. And, you know, that's. That's also like the. One of the bigger changes that we've made is like, we're making. Making sure that there's developmental time, you know, there's time to get that PD work where it's like, all right, after we practice together, for example, we practice together for 75 minutes today, and then the last 45 minutes your team has for you to get what you need, which is really cool. So then you don't have to, like, come back or like, make two make double sessions and that type of thing. You get it all done right away.

[Sarah Spain]

I don't have the number in front of me, but allegedly every player that played an unrivaled and then got got back to W play in 2025 improved statistically, which says something about the ability to, like I said, use those three person actions and then translate them to five on five, but also to use the time with other great players and coaches to get better. I remember we saw a lot of clips of like, Angel Reese working with Lisa Leslie down in the post and folks like that trying to improve parts of their game that they wanted to, which was really cool. This season in unrivaled, we're also seeing a couple games on the road outside of the Miami home. How did you choose Phil that?

[Brianna Stewart]

Well, we chose Philly because we wanted it to. We wanted to basically go to a market that didn't have a W team. And honestly, it's interesting because we announced that we were going to Philly, and then shortly after they announced that they were getting a W team, so it kind of worked out perfectly. But I think that's like our Top priority is like places where you're not normally playing and we have four teams going. My team is not going to Philly, which I am a little bit upset about.

[Sarah Spain]

Isn't that up to you? You. You're in charge.

[Brianna Stewart]

You know, there's, there's a lot of people in the room, so they wanted to, to keep it a pleasant or not so pleasant surprise for me, I guess.

[Sarah Spain]

Are there plans to eventually take games to other cities?

[Brianna Stewart]

Yeah, obviously not this year. We're, we're just doing a one stop shop in Philly. But I think as, as we continue to, to evolve to year three and year four, it's, it's kind of like, all right, where do we want to go next? You know, and, and I know that a big part of the figuring that out and the, the business side of it is, is seeing, well, where is the merch being bought most from and, and that type of thing and like, who's really engaging and watching this and from what cities and how can we make the most of it for them?

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah. Is the plan eventually to have teams attached to markets and owned by unique ownership groups?

[Brianna Stewart]

Oh, honestly, we haven't, we haven't gotten to that that far. I think that it's, it's definitely a possibility. You know, it's like as you continue to expand, it's like, well, what's the perfect number of teams, first of all? Now we have eight. Do we expand more than that or do we keep it like that? But I think it would be really cool to like have individual ownership come in and, you know, just handle a team they would any other league. Just to have that kind of attachment and that kind of pride will really make the fans have just even more teams to root for, I guess.

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah.

[Brianna Stewart]

So basically I said I don't know, but I think we should.

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah, well, and also, like, there's a difference between individual ownership versus actually moving a team to a place and then turning it into a league that travels. Obviously there's way more cost that goes into that and it's such a short league that to have it involve a lot of going to and from doesn't feel as realistic. And also there seems like there's a lot of value in having everyone in one place.

[Brianna Stewart]

Yeah, no, we definitely will not be like spreading the teams out. We will all be in, in one market. But there might be a point where we, we have individual ownerships kind of come in and make their team. You know, will you have an individual owner and then a GM and then like everybody kind of handles business themselves that way.

[Sarah Spain]

Do you imagine that every year the teams will shake up a little like they have with the ability to kind of do the same thing with an expansion draft? Or is that specific to the fact that you were adding two new teams this year? Year?

[Brianna Stewart]

I think that's specific to. To adding two new teams. You know, we have meetings and it's like, do we do like a free agency type of situation where you can. You can keep or you can tag franchise, tag a certain amount of players? But I think. I honestly, I'm not sure if we're adding more teams. I don't think we are right now, but if we did, we would definitely have to do an expansion draft again.

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah, because it's interesting. There's excitement around seeing different players play together, but there's also like an allegiance, like, no offense. But I'm Ghost G and I have been Ghost Gang for two years running, and I do it on a random. We do an unrivaled draft on the show.

[Brianna Stewart]

I was like, wait. I was like, tell me how you got this.

[Sarah Spain]

So both seasons we've done an unrivaled draft and we do it like a fun quiz form where we have multiple categories and you rank the teams 1 through 8 based on just that category. And then at the end, you assign the number of points based on how many times they were first, second, whatever, and the lowest number of points. So the team that was most often near the top of your ranks ends up being your team. And both years have ended up up with Phantom. So it wasn't a choice that they chose me. Ghost Gang chose me. Missed real high in the crest. I love the mountains. Real low in the name. I just reminds me of a feminine product. But respect.

[Brianna Stewart]

But did you see our new jerseys? Because those the come up for that has been like, so good.

[Sarah Spain]

So good. Yeah, I was very torn because also the hive vibes were really good this year. They, they. They made a fight for it. But yeah, I've been Ghost Gang two years in a row. So the question is whether you want to keep the allegiance of people who are RO for one team or keep, you know, switching it up. Because it is exciting to see different players play together. You know, you talked about having to evolve every year as you're growing or figuring out, like, what fans are looking for and what they want. How do you see competition? You've got a league like Project B that's supposed to start in December of this year. It could potentially and has already stolen away a couple players that are not in Unrivaled anymore. How do you deal with that?

[Brianna Stewart]

Honestly, I think the, the biggest way that we deal with it is we continue to make sure that we're, we're becoming bigger and better and that means like adding more partnership dollars, making sure that our sponsors, Turner and tnt, like they're, they're really important in what we do and signing players long term. I think that we have like 35, don't quote me on this number, but like at least half of our players I believe are signed through 2028, which, which is a huge deal and showing that they know what we're doing here and making sure that we're giving them everything that they need to be successful.

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah, and the NIL players is great too because you're grabbing that talent before they're even a free agent really for the off season market. Really smart. You mentioned it. Unrivaled made a really powerful statement last year about the value of prioritizing player experience, paying players what they're worth, showing players. This is where you want to be and we're going to treat you right so you can feel comfortable signing a multi year deal. It was really useful before CBA negotiations really heated up to have that model and it is being rightfully weaponized in interviews right now as an example of a league that is both financially successful and pays fair wages. How has it felt to be the co founder and kind of a spokesperson for something that not only supports and funds so many of your fellow players, but also has clearly impacted those negotiations in the WNBA and probably when all shakes out, will result in even more meaningful change in the financial solutions of an entire league like you will be a massive push for whatever does get done in your other league.

[Brianna Stewart]

Yeah, I mean I'm just really proud. I think that you know, obviously it's, it's almost like comparing apples and oranges between unrivaled and the WNBA. Because the W has been around for 28, 29 years and like their model, they started with a different model than the one that we're starting with at Unrivaled.

[Sarah Spain]

But I think that's important too. Just because costs are so different.

[Brianna Stewart]

Exactly.

[Sarah Spain]

I love, I think there's so much value in talking about what Unrivaled's doing. But I also think it's disingenuous not to point out that you don't have to pay for it offer flights and you don't have all the other restrictions that come with being a 30 year organization that has a tie to the NBA and everything. Else, but anyway.

[Brianna Stewart]

Exactly. So, like, we're. We're very aware of that. I. I'm very aware of that. And like, that's. That's kind of why it's like, it's really hard when people are like, oh, you compare this to that, and it just doesn't. It doesn't work. So I will say that, like, you know what? I am really proud of it unrivaled, is the fact that we are able to have the highest average salary in women's sports, that we are able to make sure that players don't have to go overseas, because that's. That's really. The competition is like, you know, you would go overseas and. And you would have to be away from home. And it's like, now we'll be here and. And build brands because not the partnerships, endorsements. All these people behind me are really invested in the sport.

[Sarah Spain]

And.

[Brianna Stewart]

And obviously there's been an explosion within the last however many years, pretty much after Covid and taking advantage of that. You know, I think that 98 of the players here are making more than what they made in the wnba. And that's what we want. We want to have a place where people can come, they can work hard, they can play, they compete, they. They get better and they make money.

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah. I think your point is a really valuable one. Obviously, globally, things are more accessible than ever before because of streaming and the Internet and whatever. But I remember listening to a great episode of A Touch More with Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe, and they talked about how much value there is in a domestic legacy. Not just that you get more endorsement deals when you've got brands that see you playing, and that some of their deals actually required you to be in America playing in order for those activations and sponsorships to pay out, but also that your legacy is affected by where people watch you and against whom. And Project B might be great, but, like, what. How do we decide what value there is to playing in that league in those places with the other players on it? And that's yet to be seen. But there's a. A great amount of value added in having this incredible offseason opportunity that you've created with unrivaled, which is fantastic. I'm wondering how you do it all, because I'm looking at your Insta with your little kiddos and your beautiful family and your matching PJs and your trips to Disneyland. And then at the same time, you're planning for season two of this. You're one of seven WNBA players That's on the union executive committee. So you're trying to manage your responsibilities as cba negotiations have unfolded while you're getting ready for Miami. Like, how have you. How do you do it?

[Brianna Stewart]

Honestly, sometimes, like, I don't know. I literally saw this thing yesterday, and it was like, I swear Stewie has, like, 60 hours in her day. Like, how does she make it work? Yeah. But I think, like, especially in the. The months leading up to Unrivaled, Martin and I and the fam, we were in Spain, and. And it was a lot of fun just to get to kind of reset, like, R and R. I took some time off from basketball, but at the same time, it's like, while I am now 6 hours ahead, that means I do have midnight 1am calls with the EC or getting updated with unrivaled. So it's really just kind of like being ready for anything. Definitely being prepared. Like, I had a. I went to. To Vegas on Tuesday there and back Tuesday to accept the SI Innovator of the Year award for Fee and I, which was really cool. It's just like, you know, now my schedule is, like, Right. Busy.

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah. It's hard to carve out time to get all the awards. I understand. Relatable. Last year we called unrivaled Tamper Bay, even though it's in Miami, and even more so this year because nearly every vet in the WNBA is a free agent. So how much are the players talking about the free agent frenzy that could occur once the CBA actually gets done?

[Brianna Stewart]

I think people are definitely aware that free agency has the potential to be very, very wild. The only thing that people that we don't know is like. Like the expansion draft.

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah.

[Brianna Stewart]

Because that's going to happen. Like, how many players can the team protect? Rumor has it that they say five and. And that type of thing. But where do you go from. From here? Are you. Are you protected or are you not? Like, can you get picked up by these two other teams? But we're going to make the most out of it. You know, hopefully we'll have a CBA contract done sooner than later, just so things aren't going to be extremely late. Like, they're going to be late already because, as you know, like, free agency would have started. But when that does happen, we'll definitely have to check back in and see the vibes, you know, see. See how the hallways are looking or going.

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah.

[Brianna Stewart]

Who's sending what?

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah, there's going to be a lot of care packages and gifts sent from room to room. For. I feel bad for the expansion teams who can't plan for their first home game. I feel bad for new coaches that are trying to figure out how to work with players that they haven't really met yet. Yeah. All right, last two questions for you. What are your goals for season two of unrivaled? What does success look like?

[Brianna Stewart]

Like, success for season two of unrivaled. For me, like Misty's making to the playoffs. We're. We want to. We want to fight for a championship. And I think that with this group, it's a group that I've really never played with any of these players individually before. So I'm excited to, to kind of learn from them, you know, share a lot and help them as, as they grow throughout their careers. And then also, it's just like making sure that we have a, a sold out packed house every single night night here in Miami, but also in Philly and making sure the, the fan experience is top notch. Like, that's, that's one of my biggest measures is when you go places and you're not playing games, but you see people having the gear, you know, after we won and when we had the ticker tape parade and it was like, you know, you don't know how it's going to be when you're driving down fifth Ave. But then we turned the corner and everybody had the gear year, you know, so now people are able to get that and support players here at unrivaled and, and honestly, whether they're in person or watching from afar.

[Sarah Spain]

Realistic goal for the CBA to be done.

[Brianna Stewart]

Realistic goal, like a timeline.

[Sarah Spain]

What do you actually think will happen?

[Brianna Stewart]

I mean, I think like, obviously it's not going to be done tomorrow, which.

[Sarah Spain]

The third deadline.

[Brianna Stewart]

Exactly. Which, that. The third deadline. Which sucks for. It sucks for everyone involved. But at the same time, we'll, we'll continue to negotiate in good faith. Like, there's, it doesn't mean on Saturday we're going to have a lockout, right? Unless the league does something that we're not prepared for. Like, I know that's not going to happen, but hopefully everything can be done by February 1st. Because it's like, even if we agree, we still have to wait for, like, contracts to be written. So there's a lot to be thinking about. It's not just like, oh, you're done now. It'll work. If we can get by February 1st, we'll. We'll all be in a good place.

[Sarah Spain]

All right. The final thing, it's like bench, start, cut but you don't have to cut anything.

[Brianna Stewart]

It's good.

[Sarah Spain]

Gooder. Goodest. Something's good. Something's gooder. And the best one is goodest. So the Stewie one, Quiet Fire, the Stewie two Ruby, and the Stewie four, Night Vision. Start with good.

[Brianna Stewart]

Oh, okay. Good is the Stewie Fortnite Vision.

[Sarah Spain]

Okay.

[Brianna Stewart]

Gooder is the next one, right?

[Sarah Spain]

Yep.

[Brianna Stewart]

This is tough for me. Goodr is the Ruby 2, even though I want to make that my number one.

[Sarah Spain]

Named after your daughter?

[Brianna Stewart]

Yeah.

[Sarah Spain]

Goodest.

[Brianna Stewart]

Goodest is the Stewie One Quiet Fire. First signature shoe in 10 years. Really kind of starting a domino effect in and getting that. That back so that people are able to. To see their shoes in market and, you know, share their stories and. And be relatable so that young girls and young boys can grow up and. And be like, they want to get the stees or they want to get the Asians in store. Because we didn't have that. You know, we had the. The katies and the LeBrons and. And that type of thing, and now you have everything. So I'm really excited to be able to. To kind of be a part of that. That shared space and know that we're. We're really making a big change.

[Sarah Spain]

Yeah, we didn't have that, but I have the Quiet Fires now that I wear to not play basketball in because I'm not allowed to play anymore.

[Brianna Stewart]

Pickleball or what?

[Sarah Spain]

Like, literally nothing. My. My body is trash, but I wear them and I look good. And that's one part of the battle.

[Brianna Stewart]

We love it.

[Sarah Spain]

Stewie, thanks so much for coming on. It's always so great to talk to you.

[Brianna Stewart]

Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

[Sarah Spain]

Thanks again to Stewie for hanging out with us. We gotta take another break. When we return, it's the first edition of our new Olympic segment Friday. Fato Figo, stick around. This sports spotlight is brought to you by. Capital One. Capital One offers no fees or minimums on checking accounts. Did you know that the Northern Super League, Canada's first women's professional soccer league, played its inaugural season last year? And the Vancouver Rise were the inaugural champions, defeating AFC Toronto 2. 1 in the league's first championship match on November 15 at BMO Field? Capital One, what's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.combank for details. Capital One NA Member FDIC.

[NFL Announcer]

The NFL playoffs are here, and it all starts with Wild Card weekend, powered by Verizon.

[Sports Promo Announcer]

Man, it all comes down to this.

[NFL Announcer]

12 teams, six games, three days, and one epic weekend. My goodness, it's win or go home and everyone moment counts on the road to Super Bowl 60. It's a touchdown wild card weekend powered by Verizon. 1-10-12 visit watch.NFL.com for the full schedule.

[Orangetheory Fitness Advertiser]

Ready to change your Life? For just $2 a day, Orangetheory Fitness delivers one hour workouts that combine strength and cardio to help you burn fat, build muscle and feel unstoppable. Right now, get a full month of unlimited classes for just $62. Don't wait. This offer ends soon. Visit orangetheory.com or your local studio and start your transformation today. Offer ends January 31, 2026. New members only Premier membership, performance monitor and monthly billing required. Discount applies to first month only. Other terms apply.

[Covino and Rich (TCL Advertiser)]

C Studio for details hey, it's Covino and rich. Super Bowl 60 is coming fast. If you're hosting, make the smartest play now. Upgrade before game week before the stores get picked over before kickoff sneaks up on you. Go with the TCL ultimate series, the QM8K or the QM9K Ultimate Brightness Ultimate Black Levels for the ultimate game day experience. From the coin toss to the final drive, this is super bowl football Stadium Lights, fast cuts, big hits and bigger debates. Was he in? Did it move? Did it cross with tcl? The replay looks obvious. The picture is so real it feels like you're on the 50 at Levi's Stadium. You'll catch the ball, spin on a deep shot, the toe drag on the sideline. No blur, no squinting, no run it back and go big with sizes up to the massive 98 inch class. Every seat is a great seat, even the one by the snack table on sale now at all major retailers. Get it while supplies last. TCL is the official TV partner of the NFL and Super Bowl 60.

[Sarah Spain]

Welcome back slices. Or should I say Ben Tornado Speechy the Rancha. Okay, my Italian stinks, but that's supposed to be welcome orange slices. Anyway, I always slip into French when I try to speak Italian or I sound like an over the top stereotypical waiter so I won't do it too often. But I am going to give it one more go because I want to introduce a new weekly segment we're doing as we ramp up for our trip to the Milan Cortina games Friday Fattofigo, which loosely translates by me to Friday Fun facts. Now, is this an official Italian term? Absolutely not. But it's alliterative and it sounds good. Just be sure if you say it, you say fatto figo and not fatto figa because Figa is a highly vulgar term for female anatomy. Anyway, Today, with exactly four weeks until the Olympic opening ceremony on February 6th, we're going to take a big picture look at the 2026 Winter Games, focusing on Italy's history with the Olympics and how the country's unique flair and flavor will be a part of this year's extravaganza. Now, Italy has hosted three previous Olympic Games, Cortino d', Ampezzo, hosted in the winter of 1956, Rome in the summer of 19, and Turin in the winter of 2006. Fatto figo about that first Winter Games in Cortina. It was the last time the figure skating competition was held outdoors at the Olympics. Now, 70 years later, returning to Cortina as one of the Olympic competition sites, medal events have increased from just 24 at that 1956 Games to 114 this year. Now, Italy has won 141 Winter Olympic medals to date, combining men's, women's and mixed events, taking home 42 gold, golds, 43 silvers and 56 bronze. The first Italian woman ever to compete in the modern Olympics was equestrian competitor Elvira guerra at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Meantime, it wasn't until 1936 that Italy sent women to the Winter games. More than 90% of the venues that are going to be used this year already existed or will be temporary. And these Games are going to make history as the most geographically widespread Olympic Winter Games Games in history. So hello, long bus trips to and from the mountains. For me and Alex and everyone else, attending is going to be the first Olympic Games to be officially hosted in two cities, Milan and Cortina. Two regions, Lombardia and Veneto, and two autonomous provinces, Trento and Bolzano. Now we're going to have more on the cities and the areas in which events will be competed and our personal plans for travel and event coverage in a future Friday Fatofig. That's really fun to say. By the way, you should try it now before Alex and I even begin our travels. The Olympic torch has already seen Many miles beginning November 26th in Olympia, Greece, arriving in Rome on December 4th and ever since, traveling through every region of Italy. It'll eventually arrive in Milan on February 5, in time for the next day's opening ceremony. Oh, and speaking of Milan, you may also hear the city referred to as Milano. That's the Italian name for the city. Most of the rest of the world cuts it short with just Milan, so sometimes you'll hear Milano, Cortina and Sometimes just Milan Cortina. The official motto for the Games, whatever you're calling them, is it's your vibe. Capital it for Italy. And the official mascots of the Games are two cheerful stoats named Tina for Cortina and Milo for Milano. The lighter colored Tina is the mascot for the Olympics, and her younger brother Milo, the darker colored stoat, who was born without one paw, is the representative for the Parents Olympics. Now, I know what you're thinking. What is a stoat? Great question. My brain said large rodent, but the Internet said no ermine weasel family. But y' all stoats are really cute, especially the snow White kind. So cute, they almost look made up. Promise you Google White stoat right now. Perfect winter mascot in my opinion. So adorable. And then joining Tina and Milo are allegedly six little anthropomorphized snowdrops called the flower flow. What is a snowdrop? Is it a snowflake that's more water based? Is it just a drop of water and snow? I don't know, but the flow is no W. And I assume not to be confused with ant flow or flow from Progressive. Per the website, these snow drops are, quote, six curious and irresistible little flowers, symbol of rebirth. They never leave their friends and love to have fun, even if this sometimes gets them into trouble. And end quote. Sounds like me and Al traipsing around Italy, right, Alex?

[Brianna Stewart]

Yeah.

[Sarah Spain]

No, we need hell yeah.

[Brianna Stewart]

Hell yeah.

[Sarah Spain]

A couple other Italian touches include the introduction of Olympic rings, pasta. Also a short film that's supposed to get viewers to fall in love with Italy, set to the song T amo, which means I love you. There's an official anthem, an official soundtrack, and I guess one would assume, official toilet paper, energy drink, condoms, everything. I'm excited to see all the ways Italian culture is incorporated into the Games, both in person and in the coverage that folks will be watching on television. I've been to Italy a bunch of times, and it is a really beautiful, fashionable, remarkable, culturally rich, culinarily delightful place. So I'm excited for nearly three weeks of Buonapartita in Italy. That's it for today's Friday Fattofigo. Seriously, say it's really fun. Fattofigo slices. We love that you're listening, but we want you to get in the game every day, too. So here's our good game play of the day. Watch a little unrivaled this weekend. Check out our girl, Brianna. As a reminder, we've linked to the full schedule in the show notes so you can find all the games and we always love to hear from you. So hit us up on email goodgameondermedianetwork.com or leave us a voicemail at 872-204-5070. And don't forget to subscribe, rate and review slices. It's real easy. Watch Beauty Brands Pouring into the Women's Sports Space Rating 10 out of 10 for finally seeing the light Review For a long time, beauty brands didn't see women's sports as a natural fit for their sponsorships and promotions. Surely the sports girlies didn't care about giving good face, right? Wrong. There is no better ad for foundation, mascara or lip color than an athlete playing a full four quarters of hoops and then looking fresh as a daisy when the final buzzer sounds. So shouts to Sephora for the previously mentioned Sephora arena at the unrivaled facility and their brilliant Sephora branded ref uniforms to elf, who are all over the place in women's sports. Tennis, soup, Soccer Soccer had a spectacular skydiver activation at the NWSL Championships that Al and I saw in person. Also covergirls new sponsorship with three time Olympic medalist Gabby Thomas. She's putting the brand's new mascara to the test on the track in a new campaign. There are just countless smart collabs between beauty brands and athletes and leagues popping up all over. And it's about damn time I said it yesterday, but it bears repeating. Look good, feel good, play good. And speaking of looking good, y', all, I'm doing okay with my eyebrow intention. I have to admit that there was one day that I left not only with no eyebrows on, but two zit stickers on that I forgot to take off. So I wouldn't say I'm nailing it in 2026. But you know what? As I said before, I don't know if it's my turn to get better or the year's turn to get better. And I'll tell you what, this year is not nailing it either. So I guess we're even. Now it's your turn. You rate and review. Thanks for listening. See you next week. Good game Brianna. Good game. Missed bc I guess. Ghost Gang, you ice forever and ever and always. Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts Production by Wonder Media Now Network. Our producers are Alex Azzy, Grace Lynch, Taylor Williamson and Lucy Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rutter. Our editors are Emily Rutter, Brittany Martinez and Gianna Palmer. Production assistance from Avery Loftus. And I'm your host, Sarah Spain.

[NFL Announcer]

The NFL playoffs are here, and it all starts with wild card weekend powered by Verizon.

[Sports Promo Announcer]

Man, it all comes down to 12.

[NFL Announcer]

Teams, six games, three days and one epic weekend. My goodness, it's win or go home. And every moment counts on the road to Super Bowl 60. It's a touchdown wild card weekend powered by Verizon. January 10th through 12th. Visit watch.NFL.com for the full schedule.

[Grainger Advertiser]

If you're a maintenance supervisor for a commercial property, you've had to deal with everything from leaky faucets to flickering light bulbs. But nothing's worse than that ancient boiler that's lived in the building since the day it was built 50 years ago. It's enough to make anyone lose their cool. That's where Grainger comes in. With industrial grade products and dependable, fast delivery, Grainger can help with any challenge, from worn out components to everyday necessities. Call clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

[Sports Promo Announcer]

Live, CBS Sunday. Hollywood's biggest party is now bigger than ever.

[Sarah Spain]

Perfect. No, no.

[Sports Promo Announcer]

The Golden Globes. With more stars, more glamour, more chaos and more host Nikki Glazer.

[Sarah Spain]

We're gonna laugh at the celebrities that can take it and completely ignore the ones who can't.

[Orangetheory Fitness Advertiser]

I'm just kidding.

[Sarah Spain]

They're not safe either.

[Sports Promo Announcer]

The Golden Globes live CBS Sunday, 8 Eastern, 5 Pacific and streaming on Paramount. Plus, the new year brings new health goals and wealth goals. Protecting your identity is an important step. Your info is in endless places that could expose you to identity theft leading to lost funds. LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second. If your identity is stolen, Lifelock's restoration specialist will fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Resolve to make identity, health and wealth part of your New year's goals. With LifeLock, save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com iHeart terms apply.

[Sarah Spain]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.