r/WomenSportsNews

At what point do we include Joey Chestnut in the GOAT conversation? No single athlete has been as dominant in their craft as him. Am I missing something here?

I’ve been working on player features ahead of the first WPBL season, and these three are now up on This Is Women’s Baseball.

Ela Day-Bédard, Liz Gilder and Natsuki Yonetani all arrive in the league through different baseball paths, including Team Canada, Baseball BC, Samurai Japan and international competition.

There are quite a few player features on the site now, with more being added as I keep working through the rosters.

Read them here:
https://thisiswomensbaseball.com/player-features

r/AUSL is thrilled to present a chance to ask the Senior Manager for the Softball Operations at the AUSL, Sam Fischer, your questions live Friday July 3rd at 5pm ET!

Sam Fischer is the Senior Manager of Softball Operations for the AUSL. She competed in all eight AU Pro Softball seasons and closed her AU Pro Softball career as one of seven players to appear in 100 or more games between AUX and Championship Season play. She finished with a .333 career batting average, while her 86 combined hits rank eighth on the league’s all-time career chart. Prior to Athletes Unlimited, she competed for Team USA, the Akron Racers, Scrap Yard Fastpitch, and in the Japanese Professional League for the Toda Medics.

A four-year letter winner at Loyola Marymount from 2009-12, Fischer was the first player in program history to earn First-Team All-Pacific Coast Softball Conference recognition four times while claiming a spot on the NFCA All-America Second Team during her senior season after leading NCAA Division I with a .492 batting average. Inducted into the Loyola Marymount Sports Hall of Fame in 2019, Fischer also entered the West Coast Conference’s Hall of Honor in March 2023 and had her No. 52 jersey retired by Loyola Marymount.

Sam should have a really unique birds-eye view of the league and be able to provide insight into where the league is and where it is going. She's also personally paved the way for what this league represents with her own athletic career. Definitely don't miss this opportunity and mark your calendars.

The WPBL and The Realest are teaming up on official trading cards and authenticated memorabilia for the league’s inaugural season.

The part I’m most excited about is that this starts right away. Opening Day patches, game-used items and cards from the first season will be part of the record as the league is being built, not something people have to dig for years later.

Quick note on the graphic: the player cards and baseball shown are fan-made concept artwork by This Is Women’s Baseball. They are not official WPBL or The Realest products. I just wanted to make something that matched the excitement around the news.

Really curious to see what the first official checklist looks like.

Welcome to WRR 251 for July 13 to 19. The Barbarians have released a star-studded roster ready to clash against Wales, while Brazil’s Yaras lock in a home series against South Africa’s Springbok A team. Plus, we've updated our WXV tracker with updates from Scotland and Ireland. In 7s, the Nagato Blue Angels soared to the top of the podium by capturing the opening leg of Japan’s Taiyo Seimei Series. Meanwhile, domestic leagues featured a breathtaking late comeback by the Western Force in the Super W, unbeaten runs for the Blues and Matatū in Super Aupiki, and ASM Romagnat and Stade Bordelais punched their tickets to France's AXA Elite 1 grand finale. Rounding out the action, the Bay Breakers continue to dismantle the competition at the top of the WER table, while the playoff matchups are officially set for the historic women's franchise debuts in India's Rugby Premier League.

🌍 Our global women's rugby news recap can be found at: https://scrumhalfconnection.com/2026/06/22/historic-indian-rpl-debut-wxv-updates-preview-of-axa-pwr-finals-wrr-251/