She’s Baaaaaaaack
A letter from our founder + a sportsish recap is a perfect start to the weekend.
“I’m kind of like an amorphous blob.”
— Alex Lyon on what it’s like being an older player for the Sabres.
The Stars are Out: The Detroit Lions and Leon Thomas were out on Thursday, cheering on the Pistons, who lead the Cavs 2-0. Timothée Chalamet, Flavor Flav, Noah Kahan, and Kylie Jenner were all seen rooting for the Knicks in their 2-0 lead over the 76ers. OKC leads the Lakers, and the Spurs are tied 1-1 with Minnesota.
W’s Back: Our favorite basketball league tips off its 30th season, and we are locked in. It was reported that the Golden State Valkyries’ $1 billion value is the FIRST time a women’s team in ANY sport has hit the billion-dollar mark. Don’t forget to catch the new kids on the block, Toronto and Portland, in their first-ever games on Friday and Saturday.
PWHL 🤝 Michigan: The PWHL is heading to Detroit, and we are sat. We’re still not over the fact that the Montréal Victoire are wearing WAG and HABS jackets in their 2-1 lead over the Frost. The Boston Fleet and Ottawa Charge are tied 1-1 in the best-of-five series.
Ice Update: Colorado and Carolina look next to unstoppable with their leads in the Stanley Cup playoffs. But despite the Flyers now being down 3-0, the Eagles showed up to cheer them on. Vegas and Anaheim are tied 1-1, with the Sabres leading the Canadiens 1-0.
Here’s what we are shopping, playing, obsessing over, recommending, and treating ourselves to this week.
Shopping: Playa Society never misses, and this jersey is perfection.
Playing: Madison Beer just dropped her newest album, and we are loving this music video featuring Justin Herbert.
Obsessing: Obsessed with Mikaela Shiffrin after our latest Sports & Ish interview.
Recommending: Gameday for the Girls is happening tomorrow! Get your tickets here.
Treating: Ann Michael Maye’s cookie recipe for Mother’s Day? Yes, please.
On the first Monday in May in 2021, I sat in my NYC apartment scouring the internet for proof that athletes were attending the Met Gala.
Three weeks earlier, I had launched Sportsish, a media company built around the idea that the intersection of sports, fashion, and pop culture deserved far more attention than it was getting. I knew there was an audience for it—die-hard and casual fans alike—even if much of traditional media largely ignored it.
That night, I found a few GQ Twitter photos of the Williams sisters and Russell Westbrook. Otherwise, the coverage centered almost entirely around actors, musicians, and models.
Five years later, ESPN credentialed me to cover the Met Gala live.
Together, ESPN and Sportsish collaborated on 20+ pieces of content from the night, generating millions of impressions across social media. But maybe the most staggering part was the sheer number of athletes in attendance: Olympians, NFL players, NBA stars, tennis champs, and a WNBA MVP serving as a co-chair (!!!).
Their invitation, and mine, felt symbolic of an entire shift taking place in this industry. In a culture seemingly more and more disillusioned with Hollywood, athletes have become the new icons. They’re heroes that people are genuinely connecting with. The screams for Alysa Liu matched the screams for Sabrina Carpenter. The demand for an Angel Reese quote rivaled that of some of the night’s biggest actors.
It was the thrill of my life to be there.
And an even bigger thrill to look back and see that Sportsish was leading a conversation the industry would eventually embrace.
Endless gratitude to my partners at ESPN for believing in the vision and taking a chance on me. So much more to come.
xo,
Lily, CEO & Founder of Sportsish
Love that the PWHL is expanding. Hope they choose California soon.
Congrats Lilly!