The WNBA's Popularity Has Never Been Higher
Sports Media with Richard Deitsch
Audacy
4.5 • 757 Ratings
🗓️ 7 May 2026
⏱️ 60 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Episode 620 of the Sports Media Podcast features two WNBA-specific segments. First up is Sandy Brondello, the first-ever head coach of the Toronto Tempo, which begins play in the WNBA this season. Brondello previously was a head coach in San Antonio, Phoenix and New York and won WNBA titles in 2014 and 2024. She is followed by a roundtable with Annie Costabile, a senior writer for The Athletic, a co-host for the "No Offseason" podcast and a writer for the "No Offseason" newsletter, and Savannah Hamilton, a Toronto-based sportscaster covering the Tempo who previously covered the Toronto Raptors. In this podcast, Brondello discusses what success look like this season for the Tempo; why she took a job with an expansion franchise; how much input she had in the Expansion and WNBA Draft selections; her thoughts on her players; why strong ownership is the key to longterm success; choosing A'Ja Wilson has the hardest player to game-plan against; why she's developed a reputation as a media-friendly coach, and if she's getting recognized on the streets of Toronto and more. Costabile and Hamilton discuss realistic expectations for the Tempo this season; why Vegas is the preseason pick to win a title from most who cover the league nationally; how popular the WNBA will be in Canada; all of the Indiana Fever games being nationalized; advocacy coverage versus journalism and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the sports media podcast. |
| 0:09.3 | I'm your host, Richard Dodge. |
| 0:10.1 | My producer is James Jackson. |
| 0:12.7 | This podcast will be a little bit different. |
| 0:15.2 | It's a little step away from the traditional sports media stuff that we do. |
| 0:20.0 | It's going to be a one-off. |
| 0:26.1 | Maybe we'll do it mid-year and then at the end of the year. But having covered the Toronto tempo during the preseason for a number of different places, I did want to do kind of a preview |
| 0:32.2 | episode because there really is so much excitement where I am in Toronto and the country, Canada at large. |
| 0:39.1 | And so we have a show or an episode, I should say, that will be very, very heavy WMBA. |
| 0:47.9 | First up, Sandy Brandel, first ever head coach of the Toronto Tempo. |
| 0:51.9 | Again, they begin play this Friday. |
| 0:54.9 | First game against the Washington Mystics. She, of course, is a two-time WNBA championship coach, one of the most |
| 1:00.9 | famous coaches in history. We had a great conversation just about why she took the job, |
| 1:04.9 | where she sees the temple right now, and just some larger questions about building a franchise in a new city. |
| 1:14.2 | Again, one of the most media-friendly coaches that exist out there, and I really appreciate |
| 1:18.1 | her time and thank her for coming on. |
| 1:20.1 | That segment is followed by two excellent reporters who cover the sport. |
| 1:23.5 | Any Constable is a senior writer for the Athletic and the co-host of their no-offseason |
| 1:27.4 | podcast as well as their new no offseason newsletter. |
| 1:31.4 | Savannah Hamilton is a Toronto-based sportscaster covering the tempo. |
| 1:35.6 | You can find her work on various platforms as well as various social media platforms. |
| 1:40.3 | We talk about from sort of more of an objective perspective on where the tempo is, |
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