As the calendar turns to a new year, now is as good a time as any to look back at some of Just Women’s Sports’ best conversations of 2021.

Snacks, the Just Women’s Sports Podcast and Tea with A & Phee all welcomed some of the best athletes in sports to spill some secrets, relive their most iconic moments and share never-before-heard stories with the JWS fam.

Feed your ears during some holiday downtime with our 10 favorite podcast episodes from 2021:

10. Tea with A & Phee: Dawn Staley

When Dawn Staley stopped by the Tea with A & Phee podcast in August, the Team USA and South Carolina coach did not disappoint. Getting honest with Napheesa Collier and A’ja Wilson about NIL, interviewing for the Portland Trail Blazers job and her favorite Olympic memories, Staley spilled the tea with incredible candor and humor.

9. Snacks: Megan Rapinoe

Snacks kicked off their second season with guest Megan Rapinoe in an episode to remember. The USWNT star reminisced about the first time she met teammates Mewis and Williams, handed out some sage fashion advice and revealed Sue Bird’s famous breakfast sandwich recipe. The veteran forward also talked about how she learned to harness her voice as an activist and stand up for what she believes in.

8. Just Women’s Sports: Sasha Banks

At 29 years old, Sasha Banks is one of the most accomplished and decorated athletes in the WWE. She stopped by the JWS podcast in June, telling Kelley O’Hara what it was like coming up in a male-dominated field. “I just wanted to prove to the guys every single night that women can wrestle,” said Banks.

7. Tea with A & Phee: Jrue and Lauren Holiday

Power couple Jrue and Lauren Holiday swapped stories from their respective careers, with Jrue recounting his NBA championship and Olympic run, and Lauren sharing memories from her days with the USWNT. The duo also told Collier and Wilson what it’s like living in a household of elite athletes, including just how competitive things can get on and off the court.

6. Just Women’s Sports: Tina Charles

Tina Charles is a basketball legend, with three gold medals to her name and 11 seasons in the WNBA under her belt. The 33-year-old relives some of her favorite memories from her renowned career with O’Hara, telling the JWS host about winning her first gold in London, playing abroad and building a legacy that transcends sports.

5. Snacks: Midge Purce

Gotham FC and USWNT star Margaret Purce stopped by the Snacks podcast in October, giving listeners a behind-the-scenes look into the founding of the Black Women’s Player Collective. Purce explains that the group was born out of conversations between players during the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup around the issue of kneeling during the anthem.

“I think all the conversations and the responsibility that the Black players on all the teams were being given and delegated to explain the dynamic of race in America, and then their experiences, their challenges, and their privileges — it became a lot,” says Purce.

4. Just Women’s Sports: Lynn Williams

In an epic Just Women’s Sports crossover event, Snacks co-host Lynn Williams sat down with USWNT teammate Kelley O’Hara to discuss her unique and illustrious career for both club and country. Williams gives listeners an inside look into her rollercoaster ride with the national team: after falling off the 2019 World Cup roster, Williams returned to the team first as an alternate, then as a full member of the 2020 Olympic squad. The star forward certainly left her mark in Tokyo, scoring a game-saving goal in the quarterfinals.

3. Just Women’s Sports: Alyssa Naeher

Alyssa Naeher joined USWNT teammate Kelley O’Hara on the Just Women’s Sports podcast in September, chronicling her struggle to break into the national team. Training in Hope Solo’s shadow, Naeher spent years working toward the U.S. starting goalkeeper position. Finally, in 2019 Naeher was awarded the role, proving herself in the 2019 World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics with a number of iconic PK saves.

2. Tea with A & Phee: Team USA 3×3

Kelsey Plum, Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray and Jackie Young joined Wilson and Collier fresh off clinching an Olympic gold medal in 3×3 Basketball. The squad gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look into their Tokyo journey, shares the real story behind the team’s epic champagne celebration and talks about what’s next for the golden crew.

1. Snacks: Kristie Mewis

“Are you having an okay time?” The expression first uttered on the Snacks podcast started as a humorous moment between sisters Kristie and Sam Mewis and has since taken on a life of its own. With hilarious sibling stories and candid Olympic insights, Kristie’s appearance on Snacks was an instant classic.

PWHL fans can now own a piece of hockey history, as the third-year league unveiled a new memorabilia collection with auction site The Realest on Thursday morning.

According to a release, the partnership creates "the first-ever witness-based, fully-authenticated collection of game-used and player-sourced PWHL hockey jerseys, equipment, and one-of-a-kind artifacts."

"As we enter our third season of unprecedented growth and record-shattering fan support, it was important to preserve our league's history and share those moments with our fans," PWHL VP of merchandising Kate Boyce also added.

The debut collection features memorabilia from all six original franchises as well as the two new 2025/26 expansion teams, with fans able to bid on game-used collectables like Montréal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin's game-worn 2025 PWHL Playoffs jersey, a stick from then-Boston Fleet star and now-Seattle Torrent captain Hilary Knight, and Minnesota Frost defender Natalie Buchbinder's helmet.

Additional items include 2025 PWHL Draft selection cards as well as autographed posters and pucks, among other exclusives.

"From day one, we set out to make women's sports memorabilia a true category, not an afterthought, and our record-setting work across women's leagues proves the demand," said The Realest CEO Scott Keeney.

How to score PWHL memorabilia

The PWHL collection is now open for bidding via The Realest, with all items in the league's debut auction set to close on Sunday, December 28th.

The WTA scored a major victory this week, entering into a multi-year partnership with luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz that has the potential to become the largest deal in women's sports history.

Mercedes-Benz signed on as the pro tennis association's premier partner on Wednesday, committing $50 million per year to the WTA for up to 10 years — a possible lifetime value of half a billion dollars.

What's more, the deal's intention is to help the WTA Tour reach its goal of achieving equal prize money across all men's and women's tournaments and standalone tennis competitions by 2031.

While the four Grand Slams already achieved equal purses nearly two decades ago, this week's partnership allowing the WTA to recommit to adopting that prize money parity across all its events.

The move also reflects the growing global investment in women's sports, building on the WTA's expiring four-year, $20 million-per-year contract with Hologic.

"From the day we founded the WTA, our mission was to ensure that every girl, every woman, could have a place to compete... and make a living playing the sport she loves," legend Billie Jean King said in a press release. "Seeing a global brand like Mercedes-Benz stand with us sends a message that echoes far beyond tennis. It says women's sport matters."

One NWSL legend isn't hanging up her club boots just yet, as former USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher signed a one-year contract to remain in net for the Chicago Stars this week.

The 2026 NWSL season will mark the 37-year-old's 11th season with the Stars, where she holds the club record for regular-season starts and appearances (165), minutes played (14,821), and saves (512).

"I feel like I still have more to give and want to be out there competing with my teammates and continue to push this organization forward," Naeher said in a Wednesday club statement. "We made a lot of positive strides to close out last season and I want to build on that."

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Naeher and her veteran presence will be a boost for Chicago as the team welcomes new head coach Martin Sjögren, with the Stars aiming for consistency after cycling through three interim sideline leaders following Lorne Donaldson's April firing.

The Stars finished the 2025 season in last place, and have not made it past the first round of the NWSL Playoffs since 2021.

"If you feel like you can still give 100% to what you're trying to do, then keep going," Naeher told fellow NWSL vet Ali Riley on Monday's episode of BFFR. "If you don't think that you can, then it's not fair to yourself or the team to do that."

With just one league-phase matchday left, a trio of unbeaten clubs — Barcelona, OL Lyonnes, and Chelsea — stand alone atop the 2025/26 Champions League table, leading the 18-team pack after all three squads notched midweek wins.

No. 1 Barcelona and No. 2 OL Lyonnes each have 13 points, with the Spanish contenders earning the edge over their French counterparts with a +15 goal differential.

Meanwhile, Chelsea sits in third with 11 points following a 6-0 drubbing of No. 17 AS Roma on Wednesday, though the Blues will need a result against No. 7 Wolfsburg next week to secure a spot in March's quarterfinals with a top-four finish.

Though the byes into the quarterfinals are still up for grabs, with just one matchday left before the knockouts, several of Europe's biggest teams have qualified for February's playoffs.

Wolfsburg alongside No. 10 Paris FC, No. 9 Manchester United, No. 8 Arsenal, No. 6 Juventus, No. 5 Real Madrid, and No. 4 Bayern Munich have already racked up enough points to advance out of the league phase.

Three clubs — No. 13 Vålerenga, No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven, and No. 11 Atlético de Madrid — are fighting for the two remaining playoff tickets, with December 17th's simultaneous kickoff set to determine the winners.

How to watch the final 2025/26 Champions League league-phase matches

Determining both the first four UWCL quarterfinalists and the eight teams entering the playoffs, the final league-phase matchday will see all 18 clubs kicking off at 3 PM ET next Wednesday.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.