At Liberty to Speak: NY Liberty Official Podcast

New York Liberty head coach Katie Smith speaks with the media hours after being named the 7th head coach in franchise history. She talks about moving over to the head coach role and her plans for the future of the team.

John Focke the play by play voice of the Minnesota Lynx joins David to talk all things WNBA. John breaks it all down the season so far for Minnesota, the injury to Lindsey Whalen, potential for a WNBA Finals rematch, the dark horses of the league, the MVP race, and so much more.    The Liberty host the Lynx Sunday 3pm ET for the first ever Unity Game in WNBA history.

The NY Liberty are partnering with RISE (Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality) to host the first ever Unity Game on Sunday. Jocelyn Benson the CEO of RISE stops by to talk about the work they are doing to further the conversation around racial equality in America, and how the partnership with the Liberty came to be. Sunday will be an action packed day the unity theme will be reflected in programming throughout the day, including a panel discussion, concourse activations, fan giveaways, and community outreach. Prior to tipoff, the Liberty and RISE will host a panel discussion from 1-2:30 PM in the Madison Square Garden Theater lobby, featuring a diverse group of athletes, law enforcement officials, and community activists, with a goal of developing a solution-oriented agenda focusing on creating positive change in the community. For more information go to NYLiberty.com

The Liberty head coach chats with David to preview the Minnesota Lynx game and the second half of the season. He also talks game plan, opening up the offense, and keys to the second half of the season.

On the latest episode Bria Hartley joins David cominf off her 15 point starting performance against Washington. Bria talks about playing back at home, revenge against her old team, finding her place on the Liberty this season, the experience of being a new mother & pro basketball player, and so much more. 

Liberty assistant coach Katie Smith chats with David about the in's and out's of working the Liberty bench, scouting for the team, being passed in the record books by Diana Taurasi, and much more.

Lindsey Allen is back on the AL2S (presented by Indigo Rein) pod for the second time but now as a full fledged member of the squad. Called in at the beginning of the month Lindsey talks about her attitude to stick this time, working out with Spoon and Katie Smith, wow moments in WNBA, the upcoming road trip and more.

The NY Liberty are on a 4 game winning streak and Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe has been an unexpected major part of that. In her first WNBA season the Canadian international has been a bright spark off the bench and is looking to build more. She talks to David about her wild ride so far, the next steps in her international basketball career, and more.

Two young players sit down in person with David at the MSG training center during preseason camp. Nayo a Canadian international who has played pro overseas for the last four years talks about her basketball journey, Canada's jump up the international rankings, and her fight to make the Liberty.    Kei James then joins the show (maybe as a future cohost) to talk about learning the pro game, her family of 13 including another pro basketball player, her work with coach Herb Williams, and much more.   Make sure to subscribe to the show on iTunes or wherever your download.

The Liberty's top draft pick comes on to talk about her draft night experience, what she expects from the WNBA, her Notre Dame career, and much more.

The other half of the recent NY Liberty trade the infectious Kia Vaughn joins David and Vincent. They discuss learning Czech, playing against other WNBA players in Europe, her excitement for the season, being a NYC local back with the Liberty, and so much more.

The most senior member of the NY Liberty joins David and Vincent from Istanbul. She talks about her time in Turkey, having Kiah Stokes by her side, favorite nights out in the city, being a leader this coming Liberty season, and how to win a title.

David and Vincent check in with the former #2 overall pick. Over in Russia playing EuroLeague Amanda chats about her season in Russia so far, her basketball upbringing in Sweden (playing for the national team since she was 13!), and the upcoming Liberty season.   Keep an eye out next week for Shavonte Zellous calling in from Istanbul.

This week Tina joins David and Vincent to talk about her offseason, Hopey's Heart Week coming up in NYC, the new faces on the team, Caribbean vacations, USA basketball, and of course Geno Auriemma. 

Calling in from Kosice, Slovakia, New York Liberty forward Rebecca Allen joins At Liberty 2 Speak to talk about her WNBA offseason. As her team gets ready for the EuroCup quarterfinals, Bec talks about all of her team success, the excitement of advancing through EuroCup, seeing snow for the 1st time, and what she is looking forward to about re-joining the Liberty in April for her 3rd WNBA season.

Kiah Stokes calls in from Istanbul to tell us about her time with Besiktas, her turkish tour guide Shavonte Zellous, hanging out with Salt Bae, preparing for the 2017 WNBA season and so much more.

David and Vincent are ready to get the 2017 WNBA calendar kicked off. And what better way than to talk to the newest NY Liberty guard Bria Hartlety. After the birth of her first child a month ago the Long Island native and UCONN Husky alum checks in to talk basketball. From her workout regiment, to old New York high school stories, to expectations for the upcoming season she hits it all.  

John Focke, radio broadcaster for the Minnesota Lynx, calls in to discuss Tuesday night's showdown between the Lynx and Liberty at Madison Square Garden. In what figures to be a critical early season matchup the unbeaten Lynx take on a Liberty squad coming off consecutive overtime losses. Focke talks about what has been key to Minnesota's hot start and also goes around the league to cover teams the Lynx have seen so far this season including Phoenix, Seattle, and Chicago.

We take an inside look at the Liberty's unique partnership with Blueprint for Athletes and how it helps the team train and prepare before, during, and after the season. Maren Fragala, Director, Athlete Health and Performance at Quest Diagnostics joins the podcast to talk about the product then Carolyn Swords (16:50) stops by to explain how she has benefitted from Blueprint for Athletes and how it helps the Liberty stay prepared year round to compete at a high level.

NY Liberty star Tina Charles stops by to talk with David about arange of topics. Starting with being named to the Olympic team forthe second time they discuss the upcoming season, Tina'sfoundation, UCONN, and more.