The WNBA is back, the NWSL season is well underway, the NCAA softball tournament bracket is set and the battle for the PWHL Walter Cup is on.
If you’re looking for a way to keep up with all the action — other than USA TODAY SPORTS’ Studio IX —the podcast Billie Jean King takes with her daily coffee is probably a good place to start.
That would be "Good Game with Sarah Spain," a daily women’s sports podcast hosted by the two-time Emmy Award winner, who is former ESPN host.
“Billie Jean King is my friend,” Spain said in an interview with Studio IX. “Literally every time I see (King and her wife, Ilana Kloss), they're like, ‘We're Slices. We listen every day.’”
Spain, 45, lovingly calls her audience “Slices,” selling merch with the matra: "I'm a Slice." The name of her listeners is one of those things you should tune in to understand (hint: it’s an ode to the snack of choice in many youth sports).
That said, it’s hard to imagine Spain getting a bigger endorsement King's. The sports icon helped pass Title IX legislation that prohibits gender discrimination in sports and education — the same legislation that inspired the name of our women’s sports vertical here at USA TODAY.
In addition to King, Spain said she also frequently hears from general managers and coaches of teams who listen. And that’s just the start, as Spain has also welcomed guests on the show whose titles range from Olympian to league commissioner.
It all began in 2024, when the iHeart Women’s Sports Network launched Good Game as the first-ever daily women’s sports podcast from a corporate media company. Last year, Spain announced she’d been promoted to content director for the network, helping shape its identity as it grows.
Learns where these WNBA stars went to high school starting with Cheryl Miller, who attended Riverside Polytechnic High School in Riverside, California. She went on to play college basketball at the University of Southern California.
Diana Taurasi, Don Antonio Lugo High School (CA)
Sue Bird, Christ the King Regional High School (NY)
Candace Parker, Naperville Central High School (IL)
Maya Moore, Collins Hill High School (GA)
Tamika Catchings, Duncanville High School (TX)
Caitlin Clark, West Des Moines Dowling High School (IA)
Sylvia Fowles, Gulliver Preparatory School (FL)
Nancy Lieberman, Far Rockaway High School (NY)
Sheryl Swoopes #22, Brownfield High School (TX)
Breanna Stewart, Cicero-North Syracuse High School (NY)
A’ja Wilson, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School (SC)
Elena Delle Donne, Ursuline Academy (DE)
Brittney Griner, Nimitz High School (TX)
Dawn Staley, Murrell Dobbins High School (PA)
Lynette Woodard, Wichita North High School (KS)
Nneka Ogwumike, Cypress Fairbanks High School (TX)
Olympic Legend Ann Meyers Drysdale (R) and daughter Drew / Sonora High School (CA)
Cynthia Cooper, Locke High School (CA)
Lusia Harris, Amanda Elzy High School (MS)
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Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Learns where these WNBA stars went to high school starting with Cheryl Miller, who attended Riverside Polytechnic High School in Riverside, California. She went on to play college basketball at the University of Southern California.
1 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Learns where these WNBA stars went to high school starting with Cheryl Miller, who attended Riverside Polytechnic High School in Riverside, California. She went on to play college basketball at the University of Southern California.
2 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Diana Taurasi, Don Antonio Lugo High School (CA)
3 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Sue Bird, Christ the King Regional High School (NY)
4 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Candace Parker, Naperville Central High School (IL)
5 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Maya Moore, Collins Hill High School (GA)
6 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Tamika Catchings, Duncanville High School (TX)
7 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Caitlin Clark, West Des Moines Dowling High School (IA)
8 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Sylvia Fowles, Gulliver Preparatory School (FL)
9 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Nancy Lieberman, Far Rockaway High School (NY)
10 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Sheryl Swoopes #22, Brownfield High School (TX)
11 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Breanna Stewart, Cicero-North Syracuse High School (NY)
12 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
A’ja Wilson, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School (SC)
13 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Elena Delle Donne, Ursuline Academy (DE)
14 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Brittney Griner, Nimitz High School (TX)
15 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Dawn Staley, Murrell Dobbins High School (PA)
16 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Lynette Woodard, Wichita North High School (KS)
17 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Nneka Ogwumike, Cypress Fairbanks High School (TX)
18 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Olympic Legend Ann Meyers Drysdale (R) and daughter Drew / Sonora High School (CA)
19 / 20
Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Cynthia Cooper, Locke High School (CA)
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Who's women's basketball's GOAT? 21 players to debate
Lusia Harris, Amanda Elzy High School (MS)
With Spain helping to steer the ship, iHeart women’s sports recently added new shows from 2026 WNBA overall No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd and longtime sportswriter Jemele Hill.
“With iHeart Women's Sports, you can go for a show that's just softball, just skateboarding, just basketball, all these different things. You can find what you want,” Spain said. “Now, if anyone ever writes, ‘Oh, I like the show, but I don't like this part,’ then I'm like, ‘OK, go find another one. There's actually a lot, now.’”
No boobs and no holds barred
When asked for a women’s sports hot take, Spain spat one out at as easy as breathing. That’s to be expected from someone who notched 127 career wins on ESPN’s "Around the Horn" before it was canceled in May 2025.
“I do not like when female mascots have boobs. I understand that it's supposed to be a female. That makes sense. But first of all, if it's an animal — a female bird doesn't have boobs,” Spain said boldly. “And then it weirds me out for it to have a body part that feels sexualized in any way. So, I would prefer my female mascots to to, like, strap it down. Keep the boobs out of it. And I know that's not very empowering for women, and we should always embrace our bodies. I just feel weird when an animal has a rack of lamb.”
By the end of her take, even Spain was laughing. And that’s the same energy she brings to Good Game; a concept she said pitched at ESPN incessantly while she was there. Even before then, Spain recalled yearning for sports coverage with “humor and snark,” finding the tone on blogs misogynist and sexist.
Now, she’s bringing her vision to women’s sports fans across the nation. Speaking to her audience in a tone that is both entertaining and informative.
“I do not want women's sports to be infantilized for the millionth time,” Spain said. “If you want your kids to listen, they can listen to another show — or they can listen to mine, and there's going to be the occasional swear word. But like, this has been my life's work.”
Spain’s commitment to levity in women’s sports coverage isn’t without guidelines. Even though she wants to channel the energy of gossiping about sports with her friends, she knows there’s no need to amplify baseless speculation in a media landscape that’s already left fans struggling to identify fact from fanfiction.
That’s no easy feat for Spain. She makes up a three-man band with producers Alex Azzi and Bianca Hillier, who regularly reach out to sources for comment and procure statements to ensure they’re correct. Spain takes pride in the journalism she is producing.
“If you come to our show; what we're saying is reported in fact. And if I'm giving an opinion, you know it's an opinion,” Spain said. “And we want to do it in a way that a lot of podcasts aren’t.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How 'Good Game' balances snark, reporting and women’s sports growth
