Why Caitlin Clark’s injury scratch matters and Toronto Tempo early reactions | The IX Sports Podcast

The IX Sports Podcast Basketball Edition: WNBA expands to 50 games, Aces vs. Liberty Cup Final Set

The WNBA makes history once again??!! Howard Megdal and Jackie Powell are back on The IX Sports Podcast Women’s Basketball Edition to break down the recent news that the WNBA will be expanding to 50 regular season games in 2027. Also, Howard and Jackie react to the two teams facing off in the Commissioner’s Cup championship game, the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces. Later in the show The IX Sports’ Dallas Wings beat reporter Drake Keeler joins the show to shine light on all things Wings leading up to this point. And finally for our Court Vision segment, Jackie reveals what stands out to her most following the first returns of WNBA All-Star voting.  0:00 - Introduction 2:47 -  # 1 at The IX 3:42 - What 50 regular season games means for the WNBA  12:31 - Liberty vs. Aces in Commissioner’s Cup Championship 17:30 - Drake Keeler joins the show to discuss the Dallas Wings 25:08 - What is the ceiling of the Wings? 27:29 - Court Vision: Reaction to WNBA All-Star returns 34:41 - Join Howard on Zoom on Monday to discuss his All-Star votes Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) celebrates a shot after being fouled against the Phoenix Mercury in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Links to click that are referenced throughout the show:  Howard’s column from 2024 about the WNBA and NBA schedules:  https://www.theixsports.com/features/rethinking-the-wnba-nba-seasons-kelly-krauskopf-talks-indiana-fever/ [https://www.theixsports.com/features/rethinking-the-wnba-nba-seasons-kelly-krauskopf-talks-indiana-fever/] Read Drake’s coverage of the Dallas Wings: https://www.theixsports.com/author/drake-keeler/ [https://www.theixsports.com/author/drake-keeler/] WNBA All-Star returns:  https://www.wnba.com/news/2026-all-star-voting-first-returns [https://www.wnba.com/news/2026-all-star-voting-first-returns] 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 Hockey Edition: Caroline Harvey Goes First Overall

The 2026 PWHL Entry Draft has come and gone, with 72 players hearing their names called by 12 different teams. With the first overall pick, the Vancouver Goldeneyes selected Caroline ‘KK’ Harvey, who won Gold and Olympic MVP at the Milano Cortina Olympics. Host Maya Smith breaks down why Harvey is a good fit for the Vancouver Goldeneyes and talks about each player selected in the first round. She also highlights notable selections, Olympians, and a couple of interesting exclusions. Lastly, the expansion process is finally wrapping up. Maya recaps the last two phases of expansion and talks about what’s left to do. The off-season is officially here, and there’s plenty of content still to come! Caroline Harvey drafted first overall: https://www.theixsports.com/the-ice-garden/pwhl/pwhl-vancouver/vancouver-goldeneyes-draft-caroline-harvey-first-overall-in-2026-pwhl-draft/ Follow Maya on X: https://x.com/mayaxeverysport Photo credit: PWHL

Maryland women's basketball coach Brenda Frese | The IX Sports Podcast: CBB Edition

Maryland Women’s Basketball head coach Brenda Frese joins Melissa Triebwasser and Michael Waterloo for an incredible, wide-ranging conversation about her legendary 25-year tenure with the Terrapins. Coach Frese pulls back the curtain on how she’s built a modern powerhouse, reflecting on last season’s gritty 24-win run despite a wave of injuries, and how she’s adapting to the new era of NIL, revenue sharing, and rapid roster turnover. Photo Credit: USA Today via Reuters Connect

Why the Indiana Fever & Caitlin Clark are NOT in crisis in WNBA with parity | The IX Sports Podcast

Are the Indiana Fever in crisis? That’s a question that Howard Megdal and Jackie Powell try to answer today on the latest episode of The IX Sports Podcast Women’s Basketball Edition. What are productive ways to be talking about the Fever: their successes and their current flaws as they may be? Later, Jackie shines some light on some data and reporting she collected to explain why we are talking about WNBA parity and what exactly that means. What does the WNBA draft and WNBA expansion have to do with it? What about coaches too? Lastly, the hosts dive into two interesting Commissioner’s Cup matchups tonight. What matchup matters most in Dream vs. Liberty and can the Chicago Sky find success against the Fever?  0:00 - Introduction 0:52 - # 1 at The IX: Are the Fever in crisis? 2:37- What do we need to consider when discussing the Fever?  24:39 - How and why parity has hit the WNBA 31:01 - Court Vision: What to Watch For on Thursday Night’s Slate 31:29 - Atlanta Dream vs. New York Liberty  33:04 - Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) brings the ball up court against the Washington Mystics during the third quarter at CareFirst Arena. Photo Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images Links to click that are referenced throughout the show:  Howard’s recent column on the Fever: https://www.theixsports.com/newsletter/caitlin-clark-reality-distortion-field-indiana-fever-discuss-win-basketball-insider/ [https://www.theixsports.com/newsletter/caitlin-clark-reality-distortion-field-indiana-fever-discuss-win-basketball-insider/]   Jackie writes about why there’s parity in the WNBA:  https://www.nbcsports.com/wnba/news/wnba-notebook-the-wnbas-parity-era-has-arrived [https://www.nbcsports.com/wnba/news/wnba-notebook-the-wnbas-parity-era-has-arrived] Watch Hunter Cruse’s video grading all WNBA teams so far:  https://youtu.be/v3d3yeWvxi8?t=761 [https://youtu.be/v3d3yeWvxi8?t=761] 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/]

Building out the expansion teams + 2026 PWHL Entry Draft preview | The IX Sports

Phase 2 of expansion is complete, and the newest PWHL expansion teams have all signed five new players... well, more or less. Host Maya Smith and guest Giselle Velazquez introduce the 20 players headed to expansion teams in this phase. They also talk about the Hilary Knight situation and whether or not Detroit made the right decision to give up a draft pick. Then, they dive into the PWHL Entry Draft coming up next week. Giselle breaks down whether Caroline Harvey is still the likely first overall pick and who might surprise us by going earlier than expected. Check out The Ice Garden's NCAA coverage: https://www.theixsports.com/category/the-ice-garden/ncaa-hockey/ [https://www.theixsports.com/category/the-ice-garden/ncaa-hockey/] Check out The Ice Garden's expansion coverage: https://www.theixsports.com/category/the-ice-garden/pwhl/ [https://www.theixsports.com/category/the-ice-garden/pwhl/] Follow Giselle on X: https://x.com/emptyrink [https://x.com/emptyrink] Follow Maya on X: https://x.com/mayaxeverysport [https://x.com/mayaxeverysport] Photo credit: PWHL