While the rest of us enjoyed an extended holiday weekend, Team USA was on the clock at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. They barely escaped Italy on Sunday, then beat Czechia by 41 points Monday to sweep group play. (USA Basketball’s social team had the perfect response.) After the Italy scare, Coach Kara Lawson had a message of her own for a roster so deep that Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers come off the bench (controversially). Talent alone isn’t going to win their fifth straight World Cup title, especially with France on their heels. The Olympic silver medalists just set a World Cup record with 22 threes. Since they’re on the opposite side of the bracket, Sunday’s championship game could be a rematch of the one-point Paris Olympics final. It’s a prospect I find equal parts thrilling and terrifying, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First, we have to beat Hungary in the quarterfinals tomorrow…
— Jordan Galloway / Editor / Katonah, NY
Let's Discuss
Mum's the Word
What's going on: More women’s sports organizations are putting fertility care on the benefits list. Spain’s soccer federation just announced it will cover egg freezing and other fertility treatments for eligible national-team members through 2029. The WSL’s Chelsea Women recently launched a fertility fund, while UEFA has encouraged clubs to incorporate reproductive care into their employment policies. To some extent, the US has been ahead of that curve. The WNBA added family-building benefits for players in 2020, and Racing Louisville became the first NWSL club to offer free egg and embryo freezing the following year. Just last month, Gotham FC announced a partnership that includes fertility assessments, preservation consultations, egg freezing, and IVF. The idea is simple: Give athletes more control over whether and when they want to have children, while teams gain another tool to attract and retain top talent.
Freeze frame: The complicated part? Women’s sports have also gotten better at making motherhood possible during an athlete’s career. As of June, there were 28 moms in the NWSL, with maternity leave, childcare, and contract protections to help more of them return after childbirth. That progress fuels some of the criticism of Spain’s new benefit. Olympic medalist and mom of two Ana Peleteiro called the program “deeply sexist,” while a Spanish labor union argued the priority should be to make pregnancy more compatible with a professional career. Spain says the program is meant to add another option, not steer anyone toward one. Still, the debate exposes a bigger question about what progress for female athletes actually looks like. Preserving fertility can provide reassurance about the future. Making sure motherhood doesn’t cost them playing time, money, or opportunity could offer something else: the freedom to start their families when they want to, without sacrificing their careers.
⚽ With three-time defending champ Aitana Bonmatí out of the running for the Women’s Ballon d’Or, this year’s short list just got a whole lot more interesting.
📚 The Perilous Fight by Colin Kaepernick hits bookstores
The former NFL star chronicles his early life through his decision to kneel during the national anthem — and its aftermath.
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Timeout...
Why are US Open night matches starting so late?
Our Well Played co-hosts and friends of the show tackle listener Qs.
Blame the doubleheader, longer matches and a schedule that can’t quite keep up. The US Open packs two marquee matches into its night session, with the first set for 7 pm, and the second at the mercy of however long that one takes. Case in point: Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton didn’t take the court for last night’s quarterfinal until 11:05 pm. Four hours and 28 minutes later, Shelton pulled off the upset at 3:33 am, the latest finish in tournament history. And he’s hardly the only player who’s had to stay up past bedtime. The USTA has tried to help, with fewer daytime contests on its biggest courts to prevent pileups. But as long as primetime action stays stacked at Arthur Ashe Stadium, one marathon can push the other deep into the night. The Open has now logged four post-2 am finishes in this tournament, including last night’s record-setter, which has players questioning whether the city that never sleeps could use a curfew.
Skimm'd by: Jordan Galloway and Margaret Wheeler Johnson. Fact-checked by Jordan Mamone.
Photos: Photos by Juan Ocampo/NBAE, Luke Johnson for The Washington Post, Alex Burstow, Gregory Shamus, Al Bello, and Patrick Smith via Getty Images | Design: theSkimm
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