maya goldberg-safir
@roughnotes
maya (she/her) / independent women's basketball writer I subscribe to my newsletter/blog WNBA ROUGH NOTES I i love queer community, adventures & audio I oakland via chicago via oakland <3
i understand that s*ph*e is ~meant~ to have some bball utility to her team. but if she's not even a top 4 performer in the game, why is she sitting with the mic at that presser?
i knowwww you wanna subscribe to the #65 rising sports substack aka rough notes & help me break this top 10 brick wall of MEN wnbaroughnotes.substack.com
there are two million things to do during wnba all star weekend, which starts today in chicago! but what if you're looking for the most affordable, accessible, weird/experimental, intergenerational & local stuff? here are my picks slash an (aspirational) schedule for the weekend:
two of the most stylish people in the world showed up to the valkyries game wearing rough notes merch and i'm losing my mind!!!
because ultimately, these beautiful words by @nnekaogwumike.bsky.social are about the players in both those leagues!
when we talk about the start of the wnba, we must also talk about the start of the abl <3
i'm bad notoriously bad at math but we also know the @wnba.com's marketing language of "30 years after the inaugural game" is simply false/inaccurate, right? here's their language vs. my recent writing on rough notes:
if u weren't a grad transfer why you even saying u went to uconn
i think even after those 2 minutes of garbage time the movement still stands
Spent some time today writing about WNBA Rough Notes for ~potential sponsorship opportunities~ with brands & I wanted to share it because now I’m all fired up again about how my 'lil experimental site is TRULY unlike anything else out there. If yr into it, pls share wnbaroughnotes.substack.com
indie woes in the wnba media landscape rn! but also a rough notes shout out in @poynterinstitute.bsky.social, a la @orenweisfeld.bsky.social, thanks for chatting: www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...
chunky, cool & interesting comment from the perspective of a wnba fan who can't stand empty court side seats:
there's something about 5'9.... cause these chennedy carter stats are kinda giving the legendary cardte hicks:
I prioritized adding places/communities that have a *particular appreciation* for women's basketball, bars/restaurants where they're likely to put the sound ON + spaces that center women + queer folks. I believe deeply in extended WNBA community far beyond the walls (& cost) of games + arenas!
Hi world! I'm working on creating a "Map of Valkyries Fandom" with spots across Northern California & will publish the results on Rough Notes to kick off the WNBA season. Got recs for watch parties, events, bars that show games, where you find extended Ballhalla community, etc? Let me knowwww :)
i loved this nerdy lil thing that gabby williams said about the valks coaching staff at her presser saturday & can't wait to see how it plays out:
and emma in nyc, who is an amazing women's basketball writer working on a book about the wnba that will one day blow ur damn mind:
and anna, in santa cruz ca, who was once the baby stud to my goofy budz on a cross country road trip in 2012:
also, reviews from the customers are IN. here's rin in albuquerque new mexico, who told me they *always* have this shirt in their rotation bc....
YESSSS to this on the flau'jae trade shenanigans, from @aghaubner.bsky.social