Herlights

Host Erin Foley welcomes Jane McManus, a distinguished sports journalist, author, and educator. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at NYU’s Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport. McManus spent nearly a decade at ESPN, covering the NFL and as a columnist for espnW. She also hosted two ESPN Radio shows and was a frequent analyst for SportsCenter. Her work has appeared in Newsday, The New York Times, USA Today and recently authored The Fast Track: Inside the Surging Business of Women’s Sports, a book that explores the economic growth and cultural impact of women's athletics. And most importantly, she skated with Suburbia Roller Derby under the pseudonym Leslie E. Visserate for 7 years, retiring in 2014. Foley & McManus discuss the scope of her book, her writing process, the investment and media coverage surrounding women’s sports, and of course, her Roller derby days. Follow Erin on Social!  Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic Email the show: erin@herlights.com [erin@herlights.com] Jane McManus on IG: @janesports

Host Erin Foley welcomes Shea Ralph, the head coach of Vanderbilt women’s basketball and former UConn star. A standout multi-sport athlete in high school, she set 17 state basketball records and was named USA Today’s National High School Player of the Year in 1996. At UConn, she led the Huskies to a national title in 2000 and earned NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors, despite a career marked by multiple ACL injuries. After assistant coaching stints at Pitt and UConn, Ralph took over at Vanderbilt in 2021, quickly revitalizing the program and leading the Commodores to their first NCAA Tournament in a decade.  Foley and Ralph talk about her basketball lineage, ACL injuries, playing and coaching at UCONN, building the Vandy program, navigating NIL challenges and more. Enjoy!  Follow Erin on Social!  Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic Email the show: erin@herlights.com [erin@herlights.com] Follow Shea Ralph: https://www.instagram.com/coachshearalph/

Host Erin Foley welcomes Madison Packer, a six-time NWHL/PHF All-Star and the all-time leading scorer for the Metropolitan Riveters. She helped lead the Riveters to an Isobel Cup championship in 2018 and finished her career ranked second in league history with 129 points. She won the 2011 NCAA National Championship at University of Wisconsin and took home two gold medals at the IIHF U18 Women's World Championships. Off the ice, Madison co-hosts the podcast "These Packs Puck" with her wife, Anya Packer. Foley and Packer talk PWHL hockey playoffs, the highs and lows of league changes, parenting, retirement and hosting a podcast with her wife. Enjoy! Follow Erin on Social!  Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic [https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic] Email the show: erin@herlights.com [erin@herlights.com] Madison Packer: https://www.instagram.com/mpacker14/ [https://www.instagram.com/mpacker14/]

Host Erin Foley welcomes Shea Holbrook, champion race car driver and the owner and team principal of BSI Racing, a professional motorsports team based in Daytona Beach. Shea is featured in the Amazon Prime Docu-series, First to the Finish — a six-part docuseries that delves into the high-stakes world of professional motorsports through the eyes of three pioneering women. Shea is a seven-time Pirelli World Challenge winner and became the first female to win a major touring car race at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. In 2017-2018 she raced full-time in the IMSA Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series. The following year she earned one of the most prestigious opportunities in her career—becoming one of only two Americans to qualify for the W Series, a ground-breaking all-female Formula 3 championship.  Foley & Holbrook discuss her experience making the docuseries, the state of women in motorsports, balancing her life on and off the track, mentorship and the challenges of competing in the Mazda MX5 Cup Series. Enjoy!  Follow Erin on Social!  Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic Email the show: erin@herlights.com Shea Holbrook: https://shearacing.com/ First to the Finish: https://www.amazon.com/First-Finish-Season-1/dp/B0DR5JCBRD [https://www.amazon.com/First-Finish-Season-1/dp/B0DR5JCBRD] Mazda MX5 Cup Series: https://www.mx-5cup.com/

Molly McCage and Khat Bell, League One Volleyball stars, join host Erin Foley onstage at 1972 women's sports pub in Austin, Texas. McCage and Bell are teammates on LOVB Austin, recently winning the championship in the league's inaugural season. This power duo also won the NCAA Volleyball championships at UT Austin in 2012, both receiving All-American honors.  Foley, McCage and Bell discuss LOVB's first season, playing overseas, hype music, trash talking, the popularity of women's volleyball and what lights them up on the court.  Follow Erin on Social!  Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic Email the show: erin@herlights.com LOVB: https://www.lovb.com/ [https://www.lovb.com/] Molly McCage: IG @mollymccage Khat Bell: IG @_khatbell 1972 Women's Sports Pub: https://1972pub.com/ [https://1972pub.com/]