The IX Sports Podcast Basketball Edition: Inside benching Skylar Diggins & Chennedy Carter's release

The IX Sports Podcast Basketball Edition: Inside benching Skylar Diggins & Chennedy Carter's release

A lot of news and history is unpacked in the latest episode of The IX Sports podcast women’s basketball edition. Cheryl Reeve became the winnest head coach in WNBA history, All-Star teams have been announced in full and two players in particular made headlines this week. What is going on with Skylar Diggins and Chennedy Carter and what happens next for the Chicago Sky and Las Vegas Aces. Later, Howard and Jackie discuss how politics have made it into WNBA circles this week. The new Obama Center will play a role at WNBA All-Star. What is this about a letter going to Cathy Engelbert from members of US Congress?And don’t miss a one-on-one interview Jackie did with the New York Liberty’s Jonquel Jones on what it means to be now a 6X All-Star.  0:00 - Introduction  2:18 - # 1 at The IX  3:16 - Cheryl Reeve’s legacy  8:47 - All-Star roster reactions  14:46 - Jonquel Jones talks about being a 6X All-Star  18:45 - Why Skylar Diggins got benched  27:39 - Why the Aces waived Chennedy Carter  31:46 - Obama Center X WNBA  34:17 - Why was there a letter from Congress to protect Caitlin Clark? Thumbnail Photo Credits:  Left: Chicago Sky guard Skylar Diggins (4) reacts against the Toronto Tempo during the first half at Wintrust Arena. Photo Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Right: Chennedy Carter (2) drives the ball  during the WNBA game between the Las Vegas Aces and the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut, USA on May 15, 2026. Photo Credit: Chris Poss Links to click that are referenced throughout the show:  Howard’s column on WNBA All-Star https://www.theixsports.com/newsletter/wnba-all-star-rosters-are-pretty-much-fine-jonquel-jones-talks-all-star-selection/ [https://www.theixsports.com/newsletter/wnba-all-star-rosters-are-pretty-much-fine-jonquel-jones-talks-all-star-selection/]   Who were Jackie’s snubs? https://www.nbcsports.com/wnba/news/wnba-notebook-2026-all-star-snubs-and-who-could-make-it-as-replacements [https://www.nbcsports.com/wnba/news/wnba-notebook-2026-all-star-snubs-and-who-could-make-it-as-replacements] Alissa Hirsh on Skylar Diggins being benched:  https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/07/06/skylar-diggins-caught-off-guard-by-benching-as-tension-builds-with-sky [https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/07/06/skylar-diggins-caught-off-guard-by-benching-as-tension-builds-with-sky] Callie Fin provides context on Chennedy Carter’s time with the Aces:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2026/07/08/why-the-las-vegas-aces-moved-on-from-chennedy-carter/90844488007/ [https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2026/07/08/why-the-las-vegas-aces-moved-on-from-chennedy-carter/90844488007/] Cassandra Negley writes on Caitlin Clark being used as a pawn:  https://sports.yahoo.com/wnba/article/caitlin-clark-has-become-a-pawn-in-everyones-game-but-what-about-her-own-155901665.html [https://sports.yahoo.com/wnba/article/caitlin-clark-has-become-a-pawn-in-everyones-game-but-what-about-her-own-155901665.html] Follow us & Subscribe on:  YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@TheIXSports [https://www.youtube.com/@TheIXSports] Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0vn5r287B0oS3wX2fHmLZ8?si=39f2fd261ec1467f [https://open.spotify.com/show/0vn5r287B0oS3wX2fHmLZ8?si=39f2fd261ec1467f] Apple Podcasts  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ix-sports-podcast/id1845604905 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ix-sports-podcast/id1845604905] BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/theixsports.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/theixsports.bsky.social] Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/theixsports/ [https://www.instagram.com/theixsports/]

The IX Sports Podcast Soccer Edition: Chicago Stars shine in NWSL return to play

Host Kathleen Gier starts this episode with the news that Gotham FC is moving to Queens in 2028. The team has been playing in New Jersey, but will build a new 25,000-seat venue. Then, Kathleen dives into the last week of NWSL scores and how they've affected the standings after the break. Links: https://www.theixsports.com/features/nwsl-returns-sanchez-goals-utahs-streak-broken-gloom-louisville/ https://www.theixsports.com/newsletter/san-diego-wave-melanie-barcenas-honors-idol-alex-morgan-with-cheeky-celly/ Photo credit: David Banks | Imagn Images Video credit: Kansas City Current, Portland Thorns

The IX Sports Podcast College Basketball Edition: Aqua Franklin

Lamar Women’s Basketball coach Aqua Franklin starred as a high school hooper in East Texas before matriculating to Texas A&M, where she was a three-year captain and two-time All-American honorable mention. She led the Aggies to their first-ever Big 12 championship, an Elite Eight, and was named to the school’s Hall of Fame in 2018.After spending a few seasons in the WNBA, Franklin moved to the bench, where she learned under some of the best program builders in the country, including Gary Blair and Vic Schaefer. Now, she finds herself at Lamar, where she has been the head coach since 2019. Under her guidance, the Cardinals have won at least 20 games each of the last four seasons, and were Southland Champions in 2024.In this episode, Coach Franklin walks us through what it means to coach in the mid-majors in this era of NIL and revenue sharing, how she’s successfully kept her players in Beaumont year after year, the excitement she feels for the coming season, and the hilarious story of how she ended up at Lamar in the first place.

The IX Sports Podcast Hockey Edition: What's Next for the Vancouver Goldeneyes?

Merry off-season, podcast listeners! The entire PWHL is taking a much-needed week off, but there's still news to talk about. Montréal Victoire's captain and playoff MVP, Marie-Philip Poulin, announced that she will be undergoing knee surgery and is out for the foreseeable future. What does that mean for Montréal and why is it going to take so long? Maya breaks all of that down in the #1 at the IX. Then Maya gives a recap of the other PWHL headlines of the week, including a few of the players at NHL development camps this week, like Chloe Primerano and Abbey Murphy. She also talks about the recent signings and what they might mean for teams going forward. Finally, she kicks off an off-season series doing a deep dive into each PWHL team and where they stand heading into next season. Starting with the Vancouver Goldeneyes, Maya talks about who is under contract, some key question marks, like whether Claire Thompson will re-sign, and what pieces they need to figure out before training camp begins. Dylan's article on Montréal's future without Poulin: https://www.theixsports.com/the-ice-garden/pwhl/pwhl-montreal/how-the-montreal-victoire-are-built-to-withstand-marie-philip-poulin-absence/ [https://www.theixsports.com/the-ice-garden/pwhl/pwhl-montreal/how-the-montreal-victoire-are-built-to-withstand-marie-philip-poulin-absence/] Maya on the Golden V Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1869778/episodes/19419041-maya-smith-the-ice-garden-vancouver-goldeneyes-pwhl-catchup [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1869778/episodes/19419041-maya-smith-the-ice-garden-vancouver-goldeneyes-pwhl-catchup] Follow Maya on X: https://x.com/mayaxeverysport [https://x.com/mayaxeverysport] Photo credit: PWHL

The IX Sports Podcast Basketball Edition: Liberty win Commissioner’s Cup & Alyssa Thomas Speaks Out

It was a wild day and some change in the WNBA and Jackie Powell and Howard Megdal broke it all down. They start at the game that was actually played on Tuesday night, the Liberty vs. Aces for the Commissioner’s Cup Championship and then address the off-court drama that is still brewing in the aftermath of Alyssa Thomas’ suspension. The IX Sports’ Dylan Kane joins the show to explain what we learned from Thomas addressing the media for the first time since the suspension where she called out the league after receiving threats over the Caitlin Clark incident. And then her former head coach Stephanie White, who is now on the Fever side, condemned the racist attacks that her former player Thomas has been receiving. And finally for court vision, Jackie and Howard return to this idea of head coaching in the WNBA and who and what credentials are actually ones that lead to success. Becky Hammon spoke passionately on Tuesday about why the lack of women being hired in the NBA are influencing what we are seeing now in the WNBA. 0:00 - Introduction 1:57 -  # 1 at The IX 3:03 - Takeaways from the Liberty’s Commissioner’s Cup win 13:24 - Dylan Kane joins the show to discuss Alyssa Thomas speaking out on death threats following her one game suspension  21:34 - Fever head coach Stephanie White responds to Thomas’ frustrations and agrees with them 25:41 - How did Nate Tibbetts talk about this? 28:32 - Court Vision: Revisiting how head coaches get jobs in the WNBA with thoughts from Becky Hammon about the NBA’s role in this Left: New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) waves to the crowd after being named the game MVP after winning the Commissioners Cup Championship against the Las Vegas Aces at Barclays Center. Photo Credit: John Jones | Imagn Images Right: New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) reacts after winning the Commissioners Cup Championship against the Las Vegas Aces at Barclays Center. Photo Credit: John Jones  | Imagn Images Links to click that are referenced throughout the show:  Howard’s takeaways from Commissioner’s Cup championship:  https://www.theixsports.com/newsletter/live-from-new-york-liberty-assert-who-they-are/ [https://www.theixsports.com/newsletter/live-from-new-york-liberty-assert-who-they-are/] Dylan Kane on Alyssa Thomas speaking out  https://www.theixsports.com/the-ix-basketball-newsroom/wnba/alyssa-thomas-wnba-threats-caitlin-clark-incident/ [https://www.theixsports.com/the-ix-basketball-newsroom/wnba/alyssa-thomas-wnba-threats-caitlin-clark-incident/] Jackie on someone who needs to be considered for a WNBA head coaching job:  https://www.nbcsports.com/wnba/news/wnba-spotlight-roneeka-hodges-has-earned-her-shot [https://www.nbcsports.com/wnba/news/wnba-spotlight-roneeka-hodges-has-earned-her-shot] Howard wrote about coaching back when Hammon was first hired by the Aces:  https://www.legends-mag.com/wnba-legends-breaking-barriers [https://www.legends-mag.com/wnba-legends-breaking-barriers]   Cheryl Reeve brings up the idea of a coaching diversity taskforce:  https://youtu.be/C9gp5GUxLec?t=247 [https://youtu.be/C9gp5GUxLec?t=247] Follow us & Subscribe on:  YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@TheIXSports [https://www.youtube.com/@TheIXSports] Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0vn5r287B0oS3wX2fHmLZ8?si=39f2fd261ec1467f [https://open.spotify.com/show/0vn5r287B0oS3wX2fHmLZ8?si=39f2fd261ec1467f] Apple Podcasts  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ix-sports-podcast/id1845604905 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ix-sports-podcast/id1845604905] BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/theixsports.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/theixsports.bsky.social] Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/theixsports/ [https://www.instagram.com/theixsports/]