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Speaker 1: Joining us now, and I'm sure thrilled to be doing

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Speaker 1: so based on that intro. She is the head coach

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Speaker 1: of the Indiana Fever, who tonight finished the regular season

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Speaker 1: with a game at seven point thirty. You can hear

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Speaker 1: the pre game at seven fifteen with Eddie between the

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Speaker 1: Fever and the Minnesota Lynx, and Stephanie White has her

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Speaker 1: team bound for the playoffs. After that, Coach, how are you?

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Speaker 2: I'm well, how are you well?

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Speaker 1: I mean, listen, I waded through the Taylor Swift thing there.

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Speaker 1: I got through it just okay, right, I mean that

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Speaker 1: was okay. I don't think Eddy really played enough of

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Speaker 1: it though, for to really what your whistle?

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Speaker 3: Right?

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Speaker 2: No, I mean I can't believe that that catchy tune

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Speaker 2: that you weren't sitting along.

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Speaker 1: It's not bad.

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Speaker 2: It's not Oasis.

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Speaker 1: But listen now, I have somewhat bad news for you here, coach.

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Speaker 1: I went to the Oasis concert at the Rose Bowl

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Speaker 1: on Saturday night, and I thought the urine flying cups

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Speaker 1: was just a British thing, and it appears as though

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Speaker 1: it's not.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, that's really bad.

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Speaker 1: So if you go to a show to go see Oasis,

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Speaker 1: just you don't want to be on the main floor

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Speaker 1: up in the stands. You're fine. Down on the main

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Speaker 1: floor a little bit dangerous.

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Speaker 2: It's probably as likely of a chance of me going

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Speaker 2: to asis as you go on.

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Speaker 1: Taylor's okay, it's fair point taking. Okay, let's get to

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Speaker 1: this to begin with tonight, and that is, you know,

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Speaker 1: you have a situation here that's unique because Minnesota is

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Speaker 1: very good. We know that Minnesota may also you know,

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Speaker 1: they may have some players that are not available, but

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Speaker 1: there's still a lot to play for. This is not

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Speaker 1: one because sometimes we see it like at the end

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Speaker 1: of the year where you say, hey, we've got the

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Speaker 1: postseason to get ready for, and so therefore we're maybe

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Speaker 1: going to do things differently or rest or not show everything.

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Speaker 1: But this is a big one for you tonight because

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Speaker 1: you still have seating that is in play. Correct, that's correct.

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Speaker 2: Yes, we've got seating that's in play. And for us

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Speaker 2: again continuing to really mesh our new players and be

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Speaker 2: clicking as much on all cylinders as we possibly can

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Speaker 2: heading into the playoffs. So seating implications, yes, certainly, but

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Speaker 2: also momentum, just just continuing to build strong positive momentum

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Speaker 2: with our group.

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Speaker 1: I was thinking about this with that, okay, And I

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Speaker 1: this is going to sound weird the way I ask this,

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Speaker 1: But with so much talk that has been and I

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Speaker 1: don't mean within your locker room, okay, but the media,

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Speaker 1: the fans, you know, anywhere you turn, with so much

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Speaker 1: of the season conversation being about the question of the

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Speaker 1: availability of Caitlyn Clark as a coach, how did you

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Speaker 1: address to your team so that there is not a

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Speaker 1: resentment of Look, we are defined by who we are,

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Speaker 1: not who we are not? Does that make sense what

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Speaker 1: I'm saying? And you know, how did you balance that

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Speaker 1: to keep the rest of the roster aware of and

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Speaker 1: on task and on point of the fact that you

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Speaker 1: are all professionals that have a chance to win in

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Speaker 1: this league and you can't pay attention to people worrying

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Speaker 1: and wondering about who's not here.

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Speaker 2: Well, I mean we talk about it frequently, just the

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Speaker 2: being able to you know, for for lack of a

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Speaker 2: better term, silence and noise, which which it's it's it's

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Speaker 2: very difficult to do, right. There's the noise that are

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Speaker 2: outside the building, outside the locker room, and and and

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Speaker 2: you really have to make it a point to set

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Speaker 2: boundaries and and you've got to make points to invest

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Speaker 2: in in in us and one another. And we talked,

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Speaker 2: we've talked about that since the beginning of the season.

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Speaker 2: We knew that there were going to be lots of expectations.

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Speaker 2: We know that there are lots of fans and and

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Speaker 2: there are lots of people who aren't fans who have

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Speaker 2: taken who aren't w NBA fans or women's basketball fans,

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Speaker 2: who have taken an interest in our team. And and

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Speaker 2: so for us, it's it's more about pouring into what's

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Speaker 2: in our locker room. And so we haven't had to

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Speaker 2: have outside of just continual reminders, constant conversations. I I

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Speaker 2: think and I hope and I believe that you know,

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Speaker 2: for us, the way that we interact with one another

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Speaker 2: on a daily basis the way that we prioritize our

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Speaker 2: key over over individual are we over me and pouring

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Speaker 2: into the relationships on this team that you you you

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Speaker 2: get that, and you know that, and you know that

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Speaker 2: it's about who's on the floor just as much as

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Speaker 2: who's not on the floor. But those people who are

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Speaker 2: not on the floor are still very much a part

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Speaker 2: of the fabric of who we are. And I think

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Speaker 2: it's everything from our daily engagement with one another to

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Speaker 2: their daily engagement with their teammates even though they're not

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Speaker 2: playing on the floor. It's really about relationship and how

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Speaker 2: we've continued to build relationship and and and at the

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Speaker 2: end of the day, there are a lot of narratives

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Speaker 2: that are out there in the media in social media

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Speaker 2: that absolutely aren't true. And because we know them, we

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Speaker 2: know what is true. It's able to keep keep our

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Speaker 2: players engaged in what really matters.

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Speaker 1: What player on your roster that is you know, that

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Speaker 1: is going to be playing for you in the playoffs

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Speaker 1: is the key to your resiliency.

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Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know if if it's any one player,

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Speaker 2: I think it's it really is. The the sum is

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Speaker 2: great ter than its parts, you know. I think our

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Speaker 2: you know, u Aliah Boston is a great communicator and

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Speaker 2: connector uh, you know, Natasha Howard has been a really

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Speaker 2: good leader for our group. You know, Kelsey Mitchell has

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Speaker 2: put us on on our on our back.

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Speaker 4: You know.

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Speaker 2: I think when you have players like that that that

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Speaker 2: have been on the floor, and then you you look

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Speaker 2: at at Sidney Colson, who's been a part of championship

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Speaker 2: teams who is also like a coach on the floor

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Speaker 2: and now she's she's on the venture in practice coaching.

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Speaker 2: It's on the sideline. And you know Sophie who brings

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Speaker 2: energy and uh and and and Caitlin who has been

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Speaker 2: working her way back but still actively involved on the

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Speaker 2: sideline of pouring into her teammates. I mean, you know,

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Speaker 2: all of all of it matters, and so I don't

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Speaker 2: know if there's any one singular. I just think we

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Speaker 2: have a really good, solid group of women who pour

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Speaker 2: into each other on a daily basis, and and that

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Speaker 2: allow us to be allow us to be uh be

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Speaker 2: be better at the unit.

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Speaker 1: By the way, when you talk about Stephanie White is

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Speaker 1: our guest. She is the head coach of the Indiana Fever.

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Speaker 1: Fever in Action tonight seven thirty pre game, you can

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Speaker 1: art listening to it seven fifteen on this radio station.

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Speaker 1: When you talk about seeing narratives that are inaccurate about

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Speaker 1: your team, give me an example.

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Speaker 2: I mean, I know, I don't. I'm not on social media,

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Speaker 2: so I don't really, but you know, just hearing conversations,

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Speaker 2: you know, I have to tell even my family sometimes

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Speaker 2: like I don't want to know everything that's out there. Hey,

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Speaker 2: is this true? Is that true? Is that whatever? So

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Speaker 2: I think that there are often, you know, narratives about

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Speaker 2: whether it's players not getting along or whether it's you

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Speaker 2: know who, who knows what else. I don't know, but

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Speaker 2: it's just it's just there are I think it's my

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Speaker 2: product of just our culture right now in trying to

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Speaker 2: create oftentimes create division where there's not division and utilizing

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Speaker 2: social media to do that. And whether it's the reality

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Speaker 2: of its fans, if it's bots, if it's whatever, it's

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Speaker 2: not exactly sure. But you know, for us, I think

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Speaker 2: making sure that our players understand how to create boundaries,

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Speaker 2: you know, how to create separation. The young people don't

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Speaker 2: get off of social media, right, I mean, their brands

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Speaker 2: are associated with social media. Sold people can do that,

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Speaker 2: but to be able to keep the focus and keep

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Speaker 2: the main thing, the main thing, and the focus is

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Speaker 2: on our group, how we come together, how we continue

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Speaker 2: to to build our culture that is going to set

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Speaker 2: us up for championship type of culture year after year.

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Speaker 1: I do know this. I'm fairly certain of this coach

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Speaker 1: on my social media, anybody that reacts to anything I

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Speaker 1: post definitely about I'm convinced of that. I'm like, wait

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Speaker 1: a minute, no person's actually responding to this. All right,

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Speaker 1: We're going to do a fun exercise.

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Speaker 3: Here are you ready?

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Speaker 5: M uh.

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Speaker 1: We thought of a question for you, and then I thought,

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Speaker 1: you know what, here's how I think you're going to

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Speaker 1: answer said question. So what we're going to do is

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Speaker 1: I'm going to ask you the question, I'm going to

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Speaker 1: allow you to answer it, and then I'm going to

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Speaker 1: play for you. Eddie has the audio of me predicting

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Speaker 1: your answer, and then I want you to grade my answer.

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Speaker 1: Okay on coach speak. The question for you is this

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Speaker 1: Stephanie White, and that is over the course of the season,

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Speaker 1: and in particular the second half of the season, clearly

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Speaker 1: a big talking point around the Indiana fever was the

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Speaker 1: availability the health of Caitlin Clark. Now that we have

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Speaker 1: answer to that, even though I know that you would

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Speaker 1: love to have her as a player, are you somewhat

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Speaker 1: relieved to have that answer so that you don't have

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Speaker 1: to continue to answer that question?

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Speaker 6: Uh?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm relieved to not have to answer that question

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Speaker 2: every day, to not have to keep repeating myself. But

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Speaker 2: you're absolutely right, like not relieve the fact that Caitlin

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Speaker 2: Clark isn't on the fourth for US.

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Speaker 1: Okay, now here's the answer in my coach speak that

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Speaker 1: I gave and that I want you to critique my answer.

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Speaker 1: Maybe it's a little too involved. Here we go, Eddie, Well,

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Speaker 1: Caitlin's a great player, and you know, I think it

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Speaker 1: speaks to what a great player she is, and it's

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Speaker 1: a testament to her contribution not only in the WNBA,

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Speaker 1: but are placed in women's basketball and what she means

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Speaker 1: to this franchise that I'm asked that a lot. So

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Speaker 1: I understand the questions and to an extent, it's, you know,

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Speaker 1: part of the job and it's an honor to be

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Speaker 1: able to oversee this franchise that has such a great

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Speaker 1: player on it. But at the same time, you know,

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Speaker 1: we still have games to win, and we still have

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Speaker 1: a great roster of women that are ready and prepared,

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Speaker 1: and we've had a lot of players that have stepped

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Speaker 1: up and that's what we want to focus on. Okay,

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Speaker 1: how would you grade my answer?

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Speaker 2: That was pretty good?

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Speaker 3: It's just pretty good.

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Speaker 1: That was that was I mean, can I coach?

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Speaker 3: What do you think?

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Speaker 2: No, I don't know. There's a lot more that goes

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Speaker 2: into coaching than just answering questions.

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Speaker 5: You know what is the hardest part of coaching, you know,

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Speaker 5: it's it's the challenge of number one, how you build consistency.

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Speaker 2: I mean, you know, it's we are our season isn't

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Speaker 2: as long as the NBA season, but it's still forty

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Speaker 2: four games. And as a coach, you want your players

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Speaker 2: to be at their best every game and putting combinations

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Speaker 2: of players together that can that can do that. Not

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Speaker 2: you can't just put the five best players always just

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Speaker 2: on the floor and expect them to have the chemistry

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Speaker 2: and the continuity and the and uh the complementary assets

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Speaker 2: to be the best unit on the floor. I think

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Speaker 2: being able to try to stay ahead of the curve

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Speaker 2: and in in in game planning, execution offensively, defensively, the

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Speaker 2: chess match that that entails that as well. And and

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Speaker 2: it's a lot about about player management and relationships and

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Speaker 2: you know, pouring into your players while holding them accountable,

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Speaker 2: understanding what it takes, you know, managing ego. There's there's

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Speaker 2: all of those things, because every single person in any

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Speaker 2: profession has an ego, or you wouldn't be there, right

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Speaker 2: And then how do you navigate managing the the individual

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Speaker 2: ego and appealing to that while also selectively uh the

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Speaker 2: team ego and and what is best for the team.

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Speaker 2: And so those are all challenging aspects of putting teams together.

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Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you one other thing, Stephanie White,

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Speaker 1: our guest, I thought about this. I read an article,

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Speaker 1: Stephanie about Justin Fields, the quarterback for the New York

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Speaker 1: Jets that was you know, in Chicago before that, of course,

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Speaker 1: Ohio State quarterback. And I'm going to get into this

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Speaker 1: later in the show, but I read an article where

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Speaker 1: he just did an interview about the fact that he

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Speaker 1: had juvenile epilepsy and then he had to deal with

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Speaker 1: seizures when he was a kid. And it jumped out

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Speaker 1: to me because I myself had juvenile epilepsy and I

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Speaker 1: look back on the time when I was a kid

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Speaker 1: and just knowing that I was a little bit different

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Speaker 1: in that regard, and I've always kind of been proud

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Speaker 1: of it because it made me different and it was

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Speaker 1: just something, you know, that's part of my story, so

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Speaker 1: to speak. But I was happy that he was talking

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Speaker 1: about that because it will give young kids, you know,

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Speaker 1: that go through that somebody look up to and say, hey,

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Speaker 1: you know what, like I can achieve my goals and whatnot.

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Speaker 1: And so I wanted to ask you, when you were

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Speaker 1: a younger player and a younger athlete, was there either

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Speaker 1: an athlete that you identified with that gave you like

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Speaker 1: an aspiration or a hope or was there something that

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Speaker 1: you went through as a young person that you look

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Speaker 1: back on and you say, that was something that was

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Speaker 1: difficult in the time, but maybe somebody young can learn

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Speaker 1: from what Stephanie White went through.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, there were There weren't a lot of

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Speaker 2: athletes that were visible to me as a young player

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Speaker 2: that I necessarily looked up to to emulate in terms

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Speaker 2: of women's sports, because women's sports weren't televised like they

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Speaker 2: are now when I was a kid. You know, that

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Speaker 2: was a lifetime ago. I mean certainly, you know, I

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Speaker 2: watched the NBA. I watched college basketball, mostly the men,

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Speaker 2: you know, But I think the thing that that always

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Speaker 2: motivated me when I was young. Remember one, I just

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Speaker 2: I always enjoyed playing sport. But number two, my parents

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Speaker 2: were barely eighteen when I was born, and you know,

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Speaker 2: we didn't have a lot growing up. In fact, I've

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Speaker 2: I've you know, often tell my kids this story about

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Speaker 2: and I know they rolled their eyes like most kids

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Speaker 2: do and their parents talk. But like most of the

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Speaker 2: time growing up, I had one pair of shoes that

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Speaker 2: I had that had to last meet the entire year.

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Speaker 2: Like we just didn't have anything. And I knew that,

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Speaker 2: you know, for me, the opportunity to go to college

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Speaker 2: was likely going to come through other means. And I

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Speaker 2: didn't know that basketball was going to be it, you know.

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Speaker 2: And then I got into when I got into seventh grade,

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Speaker 2: I got my first recruiting letter, you know, for basketball,

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Speaker 2: and it was like, okay, well maybe this is my

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Speaker 2: way to to be able to go to college, to

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Speaker 2: be able to to to find my way into you know,

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Speaker 2: a university and get a free education. And it saved

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Speaker 2: my parents. My parents had to work incredibly hard, you know.

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Speaker 2: My mom went back to college when I was in

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Speaker 2: fifth grade and went on to become a teacher and

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Speaker 2: showed me a lot of life lessons about what that

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Speaker 2: meant for hard work and you know, handling things as

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Speaker 2: they come, handling university. And just didn't have a lot

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Speaker 2: growing up, and so basketball was always number one my

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Speaker 2: escape and number two the thing that I thought was

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Speaker 2: going to get me to college and get me an

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Speaker 2: education and get me a degree that was going to

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Speaker 2: hopefully propel me. So whatever was next, I had no

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Speaker 2: idea what that would be at the time, and little

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Speaker 2: did I know that it would take me around the

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Speaker 2: world and give me this profession and these relationships that

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Speaker 2: I've been able to build because of that. So, you know,

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Speaker 2: I am a quintessential quote unquote, who's your story coming

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Speaker 2: from a small town, coming from nothing and being able

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Speaker 2: to fulfill my dreams.

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Speaker 3: And then so what.

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Speaker 1: School was it when you were in seventh grade? Was

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Speaker 1: it Perdue?

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Speaker 2: It was not. Purdue. Louisiana Tech was my first college.

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Speaker 1: That's a big one. I mean, that was a big program.

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Speaker 3: Yeah it was.

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Speaker 1: That's impressive.

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Speaker 3: All right.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, obviously people are happy that you stuck close

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Speaker 1: to home and ended up at Purdue, and we know

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Speaker 1: the story from there. But tonight, seven thirty story continues

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Speaker 1: against Minnesota. Coach will wish you the best of luck

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Speaker 1: and in the playoffs as well.

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Speaker 2: All right, appreciate it, Thank you, all right.

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Speaker 1: Stephanie White joining us the head coach of the Indiana Fever.

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Speaker 1: I'd like to know between myself and Steven Holder. Eddie,

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Speaker 1: which one you actually think is the sharp dressed man Caleb? Okay,

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Speaker 1: that's Caleb's Iversouver who's hanging out with us in here today.

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Speaker 1: He's a coworker, I mean, but he's hanging out and shadowing.

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Speaker 1: Usually when people shadow it's because Eddie, you spring on

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Speaker 1: me at the last minute. You're going on vacation. Are

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Speaker 1: you going on vacation again somewhere next month? Yeah? Next month,

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Speaker 1: next month? Yeah, Okay, that's when you're driving to You

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Speaker 1: can number have too many pictures in the bullpen, Jake.

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Speaker 7: It's like sunglasses and phone chargers. Look at you, Eddie

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Speaker 7: with the query analogies. I like it joining us now,

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Speaker 7: and I'm sure thrilled to be doing so on the

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Speaker 7: always busy and shockingly unsponsored guest line. Stephen Holder is

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Speaker 7: with ESPN dot Com. Steven, I'm going to begin with

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Speaker 7: this coming off of game number one for the Colts,

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Speaker 7: and we'll rehash that in a second, but from an

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Speaker 7: injury standpoint, you know, Shane Stik and oftentimes afterwards we'll

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Speaker 7: just kind of go over what they found out over

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Speaker 7: the course of a game. Between the game and then

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Speaker 7: yesterday as well, where do we stand in terms of

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Speaker 7: players that may have been dinged up in game number one?

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Speaker 3: Well, I think the big one is Shavarius Ward. Uh.

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Speaker 3: He is in the concussion protocol and that didn't really

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Speaker 3: present or the symptoms didn't present themselves until I think

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Speaker 3: Monday morning, So they have sidelined him until that gets resolved. No,

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Speaker 3: you know, no way to project whether that lingers into

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Speaker 3: this weekend yet or not, but certainly that's going to

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Speaker 3: be a big one to watch because they also are

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Speaker 3: dealing with h Jalen Jones with a hamstring injury. You know,

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Speaker 3: he would be the next corner off the bench, and

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Speaker 3: you know behind you know the top three, which would

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Speaker 3: be Ward, Kenny Moore, and I guess Xavier excuse me,

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Speaker 3: Xavian Howard. And so that injury is problematic too, just

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Speaker 3: to compounds the Ward situation. So corner was was an

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Speaker 3: injury or was't? Was an area of a lot of

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Speaker 3: injuries in the preseason, and we at least for right now,

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Speaker 3: there's there's a lot of problems there. Again, So those

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Speaker 3: are the two spots I think you got to watch

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Speaker 3: for as the week goes on.

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Speaker 1: Okay, here's a wild one and I have. This is literally,

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Speaker 1: I just have this weird feeling. There's nothing to base

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Speaker 1: this on other than he like took a weird hit

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Speaker 1: and then didn't return to the game, but he didn't

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Speaker 1: need to. And that is is there any chance We're

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Speaker 1: going to find out that Jonathan Taylor's not one hundred

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Speaker 1: percent okay?

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Speaker 3: So that was asked, and uh, I did not get

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Speaker 3: the sense that there's anything going on there since Dykin

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Speaker 3: said he was fine. He said that they pulled them

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Speaker 3: because the score was kind of lopsided and maybe he

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Speaker 3: was a little dinged up not There's a difference between

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Speaker 3: being dans up in being you know, actually hurt, I

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Speaker 3: suppose in the minds of NFL people, But I don't

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Speaker 3: think there's any official injury diagnosis at this moment, so

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Speaker 3: we'll see. So I'm in the locker room back to

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Speaker 3: the game. He certainly spent a lot of time in

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Speaker 3: the training room, but Taylor tends to do that anyway.

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Speaker 3: He's always one of the last guys out because he

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Speaker 3: does have a very intense sort of postgame routine. So

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Speaker 3: I think he's okay unless and until you hear differently again.

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Speaker 1: Stephen Holder is our guest ESPN dot com. All right, Steven,

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Speaker 1: let's get to the game itself. I'm gonna ask this

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Speaker 1: one in elementary form. Did we learn more Sunday about

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Speaker 1: Indianapolis or Miami.

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Speaker 3: That's a great question, because I don't. I don't know that.

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Speaker 3: It's actually tough, the tough question to answer. I would

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Speaker 3: say this, the Dolphins were infinitely worse than I anticipated,

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Speaker 3: at least game right. I don't know what they're going

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Speaker 3: to be all season, but in that game, they're infinitely

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Speaker 3: worse than I could have projected. I did think there

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Speaker 3: was a scenario whether the Colts could be very good,

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Speaker 3: but they were. They were far better than my wildest expectations.

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Speaker 3: That is certainly true. But I think we probably learned

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Speaker 3: more about the Dolphins. But I'm not. But I'm also

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Speaker 3: not discounting what the Colts did whatsoever, not at all,

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Speaker 3: because I think there are some things there that you

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Speaker 3: can build on. Now that defense is legit. I thought

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Speaker 3: it might be, and I think it is. I still

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Speaker 3: think that. I think a couple of things. Number One, Uh,

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Speaker 3: they lou Narriumo has a great knack for timing blitzes,

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Speaker 3: stunts and twists different coverages, you know, like dropping Laatu

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Speaker 3: Latu into a zone drop at just the right time.

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Speaker 3: I mean that that's just a knack that a veteran coach,

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Speaker 3: you know, you know, not to call him old, but

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Speaker 3: he's been around a long time, you know, a guy

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Speaker 3: like Loui an Rumo just has an act for those things.

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Speaker 3: So that's something this defense can build on. And the

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Speaker 3: pass rush was very good too, So I think that's

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Speaker 3: something that can you can take with you throughout the season.

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Speaker 3: The other thing I would say is, I mean Tyler

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Speaker 3: Warren is exactly who we thought he was. I mean,

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Speaker 3: I had no doubts, but it was certainly confirmation. And

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Speaker 3: the other thing I'd say is, you know, look when

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Speaker 3: Shane Steichen has a quarterback who he can speak the

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Speaker 3: same language with, he can get a lot out of him.

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Speaker 3: And I think we saw that with Gardner Minshew a

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Speaker 3: couple of years ago, and I wondered if this could

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Speaker 3: be a better version of that, And it looks like

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Speaker 3: it's possible. But we'll see this week.

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Speaker 1: One, Steven, when you look at let's go to Tyler Warren.

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Speaker 1: It is my belief and I want you to tell

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Speaker 1: me if this, if you think that I'm game one

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Speaker 1: overreaction type stuff. But I think Tyler Warren is going

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Speaker 1: to be the key, like you know, little floating piece

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Speaker 1: in the cell here that everything feeds off of, and

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Speaker 1: they're going to try to establish him early in games

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Speaker 1: with a couple of looks in the first couple of drives,

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Speaker 1: because then defenses have to constantly keep an eye on

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Speaker 1: him more than any other player, and that frees up

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Speaker 1: everybody else more so than any other player that they

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Speaker 1: could do that with. Am I overreacting?

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Speaker 3: Well, I think there will be games where that's true.

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Speaker 3: It'll be it will vary from game to game, so

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Speaker 3: I think there will be games where that player is

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Speaker 3: Jonathan Taylor. Now that wasn't the case on Sunday because

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Speaker 3: the Dolphins, as you can see, they shut the run

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Speaker 3: game down, or at least they made it difficult to run.

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Speaker 3: I mean, Taylor was I think three point eight or

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Speaker 3: nine yards per care which is not notable at all.

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Speaker 3: I mean he's he's certainly for his career well above

436
00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:09,639
Speaker 3: four yards per carry, maybe close to five. So I

437
00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:13,399
Speaker 3: would say that wasn't one of those games for Jonathan Taylor,

438
00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:16,520
Speaker 3: But I think with Tyler Warren maybe it was. And

439
00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:20,399
Speaker 3: this was by design. The Colts came into that game

440
00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,560
Speaker 3: thinking we have an opportunity to throw the ball, and

441
00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,000
Speaker 3: so who did they come out throwing the ball too?

442
00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,520
Speaker 3: Right out of the gate. It was Tyler Warren. So

443
00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:31,760
Speaker 3: I do think there was an effort to do exactly

444
00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,879
Speaker 3: what you just said in the first certainly in the

445
00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:37,520
Speaker 3: first half I guess of that game and then threw

446
00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,560
Speaker 3: out as well. And he is tonesetter, though, and I

447
00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:42,679
Speaker 3: think that's a good thing. I think it's good thinking

448
00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:46,840
Speaker 3: he's a tone setter. When he catches the ball. There's

449
00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:49,959
Speaker 3: more to come after he catches the ball because now

450
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,600
Speaker 3: you got to tackle him. So he's a real tone

451
00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:55,560
Speaker 3: setter and the kind of guy you want to include

452
00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:59,000
Speaker 3: into your scripted early plays because that can get you going.

453
00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:04,800
Speaker 1: Daniel Jones looked, I thought, very good. And I said

454
00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:09,440
Speaker 1: yesterday Steven that Daniel Jones showed why Shane Steichen's an

455
00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:13,199
Speaker 1: NFL coach and I'm a radio host, And by that,

456
00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:17,639
Speaker 1: I mean he sees all the inner workings, and I

457
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,879
Speaker 1: think he knew with this offense that Jones is the

458
00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:22,760
Speaker 1: guy that can hit the layups and that's what they

459
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,919
Speaker 1: need to use Chris Ballard's term. So you got that

460
00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:29,160
Speaker 1: like check good, quarterback, play good, tight end play good.

461
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,280
Speaker 1: You know we know what John Andan Taylor is. Michael Pittman,

462
00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:35,000
Speaker 1: you know, we know who he is. With all of

463
00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:37,840
Speaker 1: the positives that came that we talked about, who is

464
00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:42,280
Speaker 1: somebody or an area or aspect on Sunday that you

465
00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:46,080
Speaker 1: thought was very positive for Indianapolis that got overshadowed by

466
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:47,200
Speaker 1: those other storylines.

467
00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:52,520
Speaker 3: The offensive line, I really thought they did a good job.

468
00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:56,280
Speaker 3: Daniel Jones part of the reason he was so successful.

469
00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:00,040
Speaker 3: And I'm not saying that he doesn't deserve credit. He

470
00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:02,400
Speaker 3: deserves a lot of credit. That was a great performance.

471
00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:07,400
Speaker 3: But let's give let's give everybody credit. That offensive line

472
00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:10,720
Speaker 3: did a fantastic job. I talked to Shaan Stikeen last

473
00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:13,639
Speaker 3: week and one of the things he told me was

474
00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:16,840
Speaker 3: he said, this entire game boils down to whether we

475
00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:19,359
Speaker 3: can block those guys up front. He was very worried

476
00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:22,480
Speaker 3: about it. Worries might not be the right word, but

477
00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:27,119
Speaker 3: he was definitely concerned and wanted to see if it

478
00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:32,000
Speaker 3: could hold up. He wasn't entirely sure they did. They

479
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,160
Speaker 3: felt they held up beautifully, and I think when you

480
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,200
Speaker 3: look at the two new starters on that unit. There

481
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:41,000
Speaker 3: were questions there, and I don't have a lot of

482
00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:43,639
Speaker 3: questions today because that was a tough opening matchup for

483
00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:46,719
Speaker 3: whatever people might think about the Dolphins today, which is

484
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:52,160
Speaker 3: not much. I get that that defensive front, the personnel

485
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:54,440
Speaker 3: they have up front. You look at the names there,

486
00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:58,879
Speaker 3: those are legit guys, and they did not really have

487
00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:02,480
Speaker 3: much of an effect on Angel Jones whatsoever. So the

488
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:06,520
Speaker 3: other thing that was interesting is, I don't know, this

489
00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:08,560
Speaker 3: might be more of a Shane Stikeing thing, or maybe

490
00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:10,679
Speaker 3: it's a reflection of the Dolphins. I don't know, but

491
00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:13,440
Speaker 3: I don't know that I've ever seen that many wide

492
00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,720
Speaker 3: open guys, So whatever he was doing to scheme those

493
00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:18,879
Speaker 3: guys wide open, or maybe the Dolphins are just a

494
00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:23,040
Speaker 3: complete travesty and can't cover anybody. But for whatever reason,

495
00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:25,840
Speaker 3: they schemed a lot of guys wide open. That was

496
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,639
Speaker 3: a fantastic job by Shane Ssykeing. I got to get

497
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:31,359
Speaker 3: him some credit there too. So off in the line

498
00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:34,560
Speaker 3: and then Shane's play calling chefs.

499
00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:37,119
Speaker 1: Kiss do you, by the way, I noticed you used

500
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,000
Speaker 1: travesty there? Do you more often than not find yourself

501
00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:43,240
Speaker 1: using travesty? I mean, is that maybe your safety one

502
00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:46,480
Speaker 1: train wreck or dumpster fire? Which one do you most

503
00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:52,080
Speaker 1: prefer when describing a team. I think it's hard to Stephen.

504
00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:54,199
Speaker 1: As the Colts beat writer for the last decade or so,

505
00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:56,400
Speaker 1: you've had plenty of opportunity for all three.

506
00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:00,919
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think I'm partial to train wreck. Yeah, I

507
00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:02,760
Speaker 3: think I am, and I've had a lot of practice.

508
00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:07,160
Speaker 3: As you said, I don't find myself using dumpster fire

509
00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:08,240
Speaker 3: quite as much.

510
00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:11,600
Speaker 1: Dumpster Fire I think is safer because though here's the thing.

511
00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:14,080
Speaker 1: Dumpster fire I think is safer because we've never actually

512
00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:16,320
Speaker 1: had like human loss due to dumpster fire anywhere.

513
00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:19,439
Speaker 3: Right, No, right, No one dies, right, no one. No

514
00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:23,200
Speaker 3: one dies in a dumpster fire. Right, train wrecks they can.

515
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:28,040
Speaker 3: So that's it's definitely very insensitive of me to describe

516
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,399
Speaker 3: the Colt as a train wreck. There you go, because

517
00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:33,119
Speaker 3: no one dies when they lose, you just feel like

518
00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:35,320
Speaker 3: you want to die sometimes, right with the way they've

519
00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:37,080
Speaker 3: played over the last you know, ten.

520
00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:42,640
Speaker 1: Years or so, based on one game, was there something

521
00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:45,679
Speaker 1: and it's it's been a long time since we've been

522
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:47,920
Speaker 1: able to say this, and that is if you were

523
00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:53,239
Speaker 1: somebody who was a professional dumpstered fire seeker and you

524
00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,439
Speaker 1: were looking at the Indianapolis Colts and you're like, Okay,

525
00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:57,639
Speaker 1: I need to find an area to nitpick that was

526
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,480
Speaker 1: a negative in Game one? Was there one? Was there

527
00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:03,880
Speaker 1: an area that might have been forecasting that there could

528
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:06,840
Speaker 1: be a problem this year, but everything else masked it.

529
00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:13,159
Speaker 3: You know, I would say, I don't think it's going

530
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,119
Speaker 3: to be a problem, but you do want to be

531
00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:19,800
Speaker 3: able to run the ball with a little bit of consistency.

532
00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:22,080
Speaker 3: They got some better runs as the game went on.

533
00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:25,480
Speaker 3: I'll give them that, but this offense did shut them down.

534
00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:28,800
Speaker 3: At the same time, I think you're not surprised by

535
00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,760
Speaker 3: that because that's the kind of personnel they have up front.

536
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:36,560
Speaker 3: So the question that there is one would be, can

537
00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:40,520
Speaker 3: this offensive line and the personnel they have and you know,

538
00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:44,760
Speaker 3: this composition of the offensive line, can this line create

539
00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:47,000
Speaker 3: the running lanes the way they have over the last

540
00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:49,239
Speaker 3: few years. And I guess we'll have to wait till

541
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:51,280
Speaker 3: week two to see if that if that is true

542
00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:51,520
Speaker 3: or not.

543
00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:54,720
Speaker 1: Somebody asked me this question, Steven Steveholder, our guest, and

544
00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:57,280
Speaker 1: it's a very good question that I wanted to pass

545
00:27:57,359 --> 00:28:00,760
Speaker 1: along to you. So let's get background to this. To begin,

546
00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:05,440
Speaker 1: the NFL players Association, Is it my understanding? I think

547
00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:08,440
Speaker 1: this is correct. Each team in the league has a

548
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:14,119
Speaker 1: player that represents that franchise's players within the players Association. Correct.

549
00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:19,720
Speaker 3: Yeah, there are player reps for every team, at least one.

550
00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,520
Speaker 3: I think most teams even have two, Okay, and then

551
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:25,200
Speaker 3: and then And in addition to that, there is an

552
00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:28,520
Speaker 3: Executive Committee of the Union, which is I don't know,

553
00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:32,320
Speaker 3: eight to ten guys something like that, and that is

554
00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:34,840
Speaker 3: composed of players throughout the league as well.

555
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:37,639
Speaker 1: And Ryan Kelly was on that executive committee while a

556
00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:40,000
Speaker 1: member of the Colts. He is obviously no longer a

557
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,479
Speaker 1: member of the Colts. Do we know who is the

558
00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:44,760
Speaker 1: Colts representative on the NFLPA.

559
00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:48,400
Speaker 3: Oh, that's a good question. It tends to change every year,

560
00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:49,360
Speaker 3: or it can.

561
00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:51,440
Speaker 2: It.

562
00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:54,960
Speaker 3: Zire Franklin comes to mind.

563
00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:58,640
Speaker 1: But AMREI did Eddie you believe it's Kenny. I think

564
00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:00,600
Speaker 1: Kenny Moore did an interview on train Camp with the

565
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:02,040
Speaker 1: Morning Show ad mention of it.

566
00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:06,000
Speaker 3: Okay, I honestly I haven't. I haven't followed up on

567
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,360
Speaker 3: who it is this year. Sometimes it's more than one guy.

568
00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:11,120
Speaker 3: I mean, I said Zaire because in the past he

569
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,200
Speaker 3: has kind of been at the forefront of some union

570
00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:16,840
Speaker 3: related things, but it could well become any more. That

571
00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:21,880
Speaker 3: makes sense. I honestly haven't followed up for this new season.

572
00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:26,160
Speaker 3: They usually decided, I think in training camp, so that's

573
00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:27,040
Speaker 3: probably accurate.

574
00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:31,000
Speaker 1: Steven. I know that Chris Ballard, and I also know

575
00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:33,760
Speaker 1: the broken record nature of what I'm about to ask,

576
00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:36,880
Speaker 1: But I know that Chris Ballard has been very adamant

577
00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:39,200
Speaker 1: about the fact that Anthony Richardson is not on the

578
00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:42,840
Speaker 1: trade block. I understand that. But if Daniel Jones one

579
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:45,760
Speaker 1: game does not a season make. But if Daniel Jones

580
00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:49,080
Speaker 1: is able to play at the efficiency game in and

581
00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:51,320
Speaker 1: game out that we saw in week one, does that

582
00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:52,920
Speaker 1: change Chris Ballard's tune?

583
00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:58,160
Speaker 3: Too early to say, however, I do. I would say

584
00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:02,040
Speaker 3: this when when he came out and said he was

585
00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:06,120
Speaker 3: not trading him, I thought I understood at that point

586
00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:08,800
Speaker 3: at least you have to assume at that point that

587
00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:12,840
Speaker 3: the uncertainty about Daniel Jones was at least a factor,

588
00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:16,240
Speaker 3: if not the primary factor, it was at least some factor.

589
00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:19,400
Speaker 3: The other factor was that Daniel Jones does have some

590
00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:23,280
Speaker 3: injury history, which they acknowledge, So you know, there's a

591
00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:28,440
Speaker 3: little you know, a little uneasiness about that, But you

592
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:32,960
Speaker 3: have to think, watching that game, it's certainly more likely

593
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:36,600
Speaker 3: today than it was prior to that game. I mean,

594
00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:38,720
Speaker 3: I'm not saying it's likely at all. I'm saying it's

595
00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:41,760
Speaker 3: it's at least a little bit more likely today given

596
00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:44,160
Speaker 3: what you just saw from Daniel Jones. Because a big

597
00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:48,840
Speaker 3: part of any hesitation in trading Anthony Richardson was what

598
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:51,520
Speaker 3: do we have in Daniel Jones? Because what if you

599
00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:56,600
Speaker 3: were wrong about him? Right? And look, we have sixteen

600
00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:59,320
Speaker 3: games to go. We know nothing. Okay, we really know

601
00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:03,680
Speaker 3: nothing yet. I warned fans they come up to you,

602
00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,200
Speaker 3: you know, at Starbucks or Costco and like, hey, you know,

603
00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:07,560
Speaker 3: what do you think about this? What do you think

604
00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:11,040
Speaker 3: about that? And my advice is always like, let's talk

605
00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:14,600
Speaker 3: after week three, just because generally, after like three or

606
00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:17,240
Speaker 3: four weeks, you start to see the trends, you start

607
00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:19,880
Speaker 3: to see some you know, you start to see the

608
00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:22,640
Speaker 3: identity of players and teams and all that. So you know,

609
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:26,320
Speaker 3: we know nothing after week one. However, that was it

610
00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:29,320
Speaker 3: was such a good performance that you have to feel

611
00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:34,480
Speaker 3: infinitely better today than you did what you know, seventy

612
00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:37,680
Speaker 3: two hours ago about Daniel Jones and that includes the colts.

613
00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:42,240
Speaker 1: What's the last thing that you impulse bought at Costco

614
00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:44,400
Speaker 1: because you were there and you're like, oh my gosh,

615
00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:46,680
Speaker 1: this is a deal I can't pass up. It happens

616
00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:49,280
Speaker 1: like every third time you go in there, right.

617
00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:55,000
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I this is such a stupid thing.

618
00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:56,840
Speaker 3: I went in there the other day. I buy these

619
00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:00,760
Speaker 3: protein bars there because you know, that's what. So I

620
00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:02,760
Speaker 3: grab a protein bar in the morning and I go

621
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:05,640
Speaker 3: to the gym. That's what. That's like my old man routine.

622
00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:08,840
Speaker 3: And so I'm a creature of habit. I'm at that age, right,

623
00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:11,720
Speaker 3: And so I go in there, no shopping cart, no

624
00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:14,120
Speaker 3: shopping cart because I'm just running in, right, I'm not

625
00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:17,400
Speaker 3: buying anything. When me get my protein bars, go through

626
00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:19,280
Speaker 3: the self checkout, and I'm out of it. I'm out of

627
00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:22,280
Speaker 3: there in five minutes, right. But as I walk in,

628
00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:24,320
Speaker 3: They've got that shelf right in the front, across from

629
00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:26,640
Speaker 3: the TVs and it's got all this random stuff and

630
00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:31,120
Speaker 3: they had this like twelve pack of toothbrushes, and I

631
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:35,160
Speaker 3: was like, these are amazing toothbrushes. Oh my god. I

632
00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:39,440
Speaker 3: mean because you know, people come over. You know, my

633
00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,719
Speaker 3: daughter has a sleepover or family comes visit or whatever,

634
00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:47,720
Speaker 3: and everybody inevitably needs a toothbrush, right, and you know,

635
00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:48,400
Speaker 3: and I'm like.

636
00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:52,600
Speaker 1: Going on, are you treating your house like a holiday inn?

637
00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:54,920
Speaker 1: Like if people kids come to spend the night, they

638
00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:56,240
Speaker 1: get a free toothbrush out of the deal.

639
00:32:57,320 --> 00:32:59,800
Speaker 3: Well, I mean, I guess she's got to pick better

640
00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:02,600
Speaker 3: for apparently, because she has friends that I just don't

641
00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:05,920
Speaker 3: care about hygiene because they've never seen to bring the toothbrush. Okay,

642
00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:10,120
Speaker 3: all my extra toothbrushes they're gone. So I said, you

643
00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:12,600
Speaker 3: know what, this will last us a long time. And

644
00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:16,520
Speaker 3: I got to be honest, they're amazing toothbrushes. So that

645
00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:19,720
Speaker 3: was an impulse buy a bargain like eighteen bucks man.

646
00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:21,440
Speaker 3: I got like twenty of them. It was pretty good.

647
00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:22,680
Speaker 1: By the way, do you know how you know that

648
00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:26,960
Speaker 1: that device was invented in Kentucky? I do not, because

649
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:30,360
Speaker 1: anywhere else it would be known as a teeth brush.

650
00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:30,760
Speaker 3: Thank you.

651
00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:33,520
Speaker 1: I'm here all week. By the way, Tipsy, that's not bad, right,

652
00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:34,120
Speaker 1: And that's not bad?

653
00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:35,400
Speaker 3: Seriously, did there?

654
00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:38,120
Speaker 1: And actually here's the other thing, Steven, And I've noticed

655
00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:41,920
Speaker 1: this from in you know, like I don't want this

656
00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:44,080
Speaker 1: to become awkward all of a sudden for listeners or

657
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:46,640
Speaker 1: for yourself. But I've noticed when you have gone to

658
00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:49,840
Speaker 1: pacer games with me, you have very nice teeth. And

659
00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:52,160
Speaker 1: I noticed that because primarily when people are in my

660
00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:55,239
Speaker 1: company they smile often, and so you're smiling usually when

661
00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:56,920
Speaker 1: you're around me. You have very nice teeth. So I

662
00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:59,080
Speaker 1: would say the Costco purchase is paying off, not just

663
00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:00,600
Speaker 1: for your daughter's friends, but for yourself.

664
00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:05,440
Speaker 3: Well, yes, my Dennis doctor foss. She hates me because

665
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:08,319
Speaker 3: I've done a much better job and i haven't had

666
00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:10,640
Speaker 3: a cavity in a very long time. So well, there

667
00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:14,239
Speaker 3: you go off. You're very happy about this pay off.

668
00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:16,719
Speaker 1: I will tell you this, not big brush around any

669
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:19,959
Speaker 1: money off of me. I've got like, way, way, way

670
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,560
Speaker 1: too many of the like ankle high puma socks from Costco.

671
00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:25,439
Speaker 1: Like every time I go in and that that thing

672
00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:27,080
Speaker 1: is right there, and I'm like, oh man, I need

673
00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:29,080
Speaker 1: more of them. I've got a life times apply that

674
00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:29,839
Speaker 1: I need even more.

675
00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:32,920
Speaker 3: You can never have too many socks.

676
00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:34,720
Speaker 1: That's correct. That is not a thing that is correct,

677
00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:37,320
Speaker 1: not a thing, not unlike tooth brushes. All right, Steven,

678
00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:40,000
Speaker 1: we will let you get those Pearly Whites grinning on

679
00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:42,560
Speaker 1: ESPN and get back to the regular gig. But we

680
00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:46,080
Speaker 1: appreciate the time as always. All Right, you got it, I,

681
00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:51,360
Speaker 1: Steven olare joining us on ESPN dot com. Two o'clock

682
00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:53,640
Speaker 1: hour underway in Indianapolis, for that matter, of the two

683
00:34:53,640 --> 00:34:57,080
Speaker 1: o'clock hours underway everywhere in the Eastern time zone. My

684
00:34:57,160 --> 00:35:01,440
Speaker 1: name is Jake Querry. Eddie Garret is the producer of

685
00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:04,640
Speaker 1: this show most of the time. By that, I mean

686
00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:06,440
Speaker 1: like the seventy two percent of the time that he's

687
00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:10,680
Speaker 1: not taking off for his neighbor's birthday or simply having

688
00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:13,319
Speaker 1: Caleb fill in. Caleb is sitting in and that's Caleb.

689
00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:16,920
Speaker 1: Z Iver zuver correct, z Iver's over. That's correct. I noticed,

690
00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:18,440
Speaker 1: Caleb by the way that you you rock a lot

691
00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:21,000
Speaker 1: of snoopy gear. Are you a big Peanuts guy? Is

692
00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:23,279
Speaker 1: that it is that because you moved here from Minneapolis.

693
00:35:23,719 --> 00:35:26,680
Speaker 4: Yeah, oh, Charles Schultz home up in Minneapolis. But now,

694
00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:29,440
Speaker 4: my uncle was a big Peanuts guy, and I have

695
00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:31,359
Speaker 4: a lot of hand me down gear from him, So.

696
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:35,160
Speaker 1: Hand me down okay, fair enough. Do you have a

697
00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:36,760
Speaker 1: favorite Peanuts character?

698
00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:37,759
Speaker 3: Uh?

699
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,880
Speaker 4: I like Linus because I used to have an attachment

700
00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:42,880
Speaker 4: to my blanket as well.

701
00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:46,840
Speaker 1: So Ill, that's what age were you when the attachment

702
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:51,680
Speaker 1: to the blanket went away? It hasn't okay, Yeah, I

703
00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:54,200
Speaker 1: will you know what, Caleb, I will confess this to you.

704
00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:58,239
Speaker 1: I'm fifty three years old. I still have my blanket

705
00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:00,880
Speaker 1: and cow, which was my stuffed animal when I was

706
00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:02,080
Speaker 1: a kid. I still have both of them.

707
00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:03,279
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm the same way.

708
00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:05,120
Speaker 1: So I don't like to struggle up with them per se,

709
00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:07,400
Speaker 1: but I do. Still they are within my possession. They

710
00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:12,200
Speaker 1: made the cut of the great cut down, of the

711
00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:14,480
Speaker 1: purge of my gear, the Great Purge. Yes, thank you,

712
00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:16,759
Speaker 1: Eddie joining us now and I'm sure thrilled to be

713
00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:19,520
Speaker 1: doing so. Based on that segue from Fieldhouse Files, is

714
00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:23,640
Speaker 1: Scott Agnes fever in action tonight seven thirty against Minnesota

715
00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:27,320
Speaker 1: and then into the playoffs, where they, by all account

716
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:29,640
Speaker 1: will take on Atlanta. There are a couple of factors

717
00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:32,080
Speaker 1: that we went over earlier that could affect their seating,

718
00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:36,160
Speaker 1: but let's begin with Scott. This matchup tonight with Minnesota.

719
00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:39,319
Speaker 1: The Lenks are also a team that has dealt with

720
00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:41,640
Speaker 1: some injury not I don't think anybody has to the

721
00:36:41,719 --> 00:36:45,000
Speaker 1: level of Indiana and what Stephanie White's group has contended with.

722
00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:49,960
Speaker 1: But the challenge I guess will start with that about

723
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,719
Speaker 1: this particular team to close out the year would be what.

724
00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:57,399
Speaker 6: The reality is, Jake, I'm it's unclear right now who

725
00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:01,200
Speaker 6: I'm on Minnesota will play right Nafisa Collier? Why would

726
00:37:01,239 --> 00:37:03,680
Speaker 6: you play her? If you're the Links and the playoffs

727
00:37:03,719 --> 00:37:05,640
Speaker 6: are starting this week and I have not seen an

728
00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:09,040
Speaker 6: injury report for them for tonight's game. They held shoot

729
00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:11,760
Speaker 6: around but have not announced that. I would be surprised

730
00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:14,839
Speaker 6: to see them. I would they have chosen to sit

731
00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:16,759
Speaker 6: some players from time to time over the last couple

732
00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:20,040
Speaker 6: of weeks with a five game lead on the two seed.

733
00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:22,879
Speaker 6: On the other side, You're exactly right. The Fever are

734
00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:26,600
Speaker 6: still playing for spot six and seven and so they

735
00:37:26,719 --> 00:37:28,800
Speaker 6: very much still have something to play for here tonight.

736
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:34,600
Speaker 1: Do you believe Scott that? And maybe I'm just saying

737
00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:40,440
Speaker 1: this because it's locally and we cover the Fever. You know,

738
00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:42,400
Speaker 1: I paid more attention to the Fever than I do

739
00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:47,560
Speaker 1: other teams within the WNBA. I think that Stephanie White

740
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,239
Speaker 1: should get a lot of praise for the coaching job

741
00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:52,040
Speaker 1: she did this year, and I know that people are

742
00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:53,680
Speaker 1: going to look at it and say, yeah, but that's

743
00:37:53,719 --> 00:37:56,760
Speaker 1: a team that you had Caitlin Clark and Leah Boston,

744
00:37:56,960 --> 00:38:00,200
Speaker 1: and you know they had higher expectation to begin of

745
00:38:00,239 --> 00:38:02,080
Speaker 1: the year than they did to go stay twenty three

746
00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:05,040
Speaker 1: and twenty and eke their way into the playoffs. But

747
00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:09,520
Speaker 1: when you look at the attrition of roster, to me,

748
00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:14,520
Speaker 1: she has done top level coaching this year. But am

749
00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:17,040
Speaker 1: I simply looking at it myoptically?

750
00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:21,440
Speaker 6: I would agree she's much like Kelsey Mitchell for MVP

751
00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:24,759
Speaker 6: that she should be in the conversation. But it's really

752
00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:27,000
Speaker 6: hard to overlook with a job they've done with the

753
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:31,040
Speaker 6: Golden State Valkyries, an expansion franchise, a team that selected

754
00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:33,680
Speaker 6: players that most of us did not recognize, like why

755
00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:36,680
Speaker 6: are you drafting them? They leaned in the expansion draft.

756
00:38:36,719 --> 00:38:39,040
Speaker 6: To be clear, they did not make any big trades.

757
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:42,960
Speaker 6: They did they leaned on foreigners and are in the

758
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:46,160
Speaker 6: playoffs and are right now six there. But I think

759
00:38:46,239 --> 00:38:50,640
Speaker 6: Stephanie White should be probably third or fourth in Coach

760
00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:52,399
Speaker 6: of the Year for all the reasons you laid out

761
00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:55,320
Speaker 6: just I think so many times Jake we overused, maybe

762
00:38:56,040 --> 00:39:00,600
Speaker 6: within hyperbole, the unprecedented no this fever season, in the

763
00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:04,000
Speaker 6: variety of things that Steph and the entire team have

764
00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:08,520
Speaker 6: dealt with are absolutely unprecedented, and they've navigated these choppy

765
00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:10,200
Speaker 6: waters to be in the playoffs firmly.

766
00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:13,719
Speaker 1: How have they had to play differently? How in any

767
00:39:13,719 --> 00:39:20,160
Speaker 1: way has their approach offensively changed in terms of style,

768
00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:23,080
Speaker 1: if at all, over the course of the attrition and

769
00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:24,160
Speaker 1: the things that they've lost.

770
00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:28,239
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's absolutely required some adjustment and mostly dumbing it down,

771
00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:31,160
Speaker 6: simplifying because you're dealing with a lot of players that

772
00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:33,759
Speaker 6: joined less than a month ago. It was just one

773
00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:36,279
Speaker 6: month ago when you started to have your first of

774
00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:40,400
Speaker 6: five players suffer season ending injuries, and so they've continued

775
00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:43,840
Speaker 6: to have to adapt on the fly. I think defensively,

776
00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:46,919
Speaker 6: some of their coverages, how they're trying to trap. They're

777
00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:50,600
Speaker 6: still trying to get out in transition offensively and play

778
00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:53,000
Speaker 6: at that fast tempo that gives them their greatest advantage

779
00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:56,360
Speaker 6: always has been. But I think some of the play calls,

780
00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:58,960
Speaker 6: you're seeing a lot less pick and roll action. I

781
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:02,759
Speaker 6: think Leah, you're not utilizing as much as you would

782
00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:06,319
Speaker 6: be normally, and you're leaning a lot more on your

783
00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:09,359
Speaker 6: perimitive guards just to create something and try to make

784
00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:10,600
Speaker 6: a quick action decision.

785
00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:16,560
Speaker 1: Scott, you have covered the WNBA, specifically the Indiana Fever

786
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:18,880
Speaker 1: for how many and I don't mean consecutively, but for

787
00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:20,160
Speaker 1: how many total seasons?

788
00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:25,160
Speaker 6: Yeah, I've covered it, not at this level daily all

789
00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:30,279
Speaker 6: the time, but certainly since twenty twelve and before that.

790
00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:32,480
Speaker 6: I was around the franchise since two thousand and three.

791
00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:35,080
Speaker 6: It's just the reality is, go back three to five

792
00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:38,319
Speaker 6: years ago, there was very little interest. You would spend

793
00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:40,640
Speaker 6: two weeks on a feature for five hundred people to

794
00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:43,880
Speaker 6: read it. And obviously that dynamic has changed entirely in

795
00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:45,600
Speaker 6: the last two years because of Caitlin Clark.

796
00:40:45,640 --> 00:40:45,799
Speaker 2: Well.

797
00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:47,239
Speaker 1: The thing I was going to ask you is just

798
00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:50,080
Speaker 1: how has the league itself changed? And I don't even

799
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:52,360
Speaker 1: mean necessarily in the interest of it, but as the

800
00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:56,960
Speaker 1: interest of it has increased, you know, the overall I

801
00:40:56,960 --> 00:41:00,239
Speaker 1: guess competitive nature of the league. I mean, and what

802
00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:03,600
Speaker 1: ways is the WNBA different today? Or for that matter,

803
00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:06,839
Speaker 1: are there any ways where it's the same today as

804
00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:07,480
Speaker 1: it was then?

805
00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:11,600
Speaker 6: I would say no, it's drastically different. I think I

806
00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:15,120
Speaker 6: would say the biggest area is more parody in the

807
00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:17,360
Speaker 6: years past. I feel like it was always one or

808
00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:19,839
Speaker 6: two teams kind of every year. Now that might change

809
00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:23,120
Speaker 6: from time to time. What two teams it was. I

810
00:41:23,160 --> 00:41:25,920
Speaker 6: think you just have more talent to go around. I

811
00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:28,520
Speaker 6: think the physicality that a lot of people have been

812
00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:31,480
Speaker 6: talking about it has always been there. I don't think

813
00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:34,319
Speaker 6: there will rivalries, and I think that's more so a

814
00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:38,239
Speaker 6: systemic thing in all of sports now as more people

815
00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:43,280
Speaker 6: root on individuals and follow players much more than maybe

816
00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:47,040
Speaker 6: teams perhaps so I think that is definitely a relation there.

817
00:41:47,040 --> 00:41:50,080
Speaker 6: I don't see any rivalries really within the league from

818
00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:53,600
Speaker 6: team to team, and then the other aspect in all

819
00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:55,680
Speaker 6: this is just how much more it is consumed, how

820
00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:58,279
Speaker 6: many more games you're playing it used And this is

821
00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:00,400
Speaker 6: the big conversation Jake, they've got to be having with

822
00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:03,719
Speaker 6: the collective bargaining agreement, both in terms of how you

823
00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:07,640
Speaker 6: schedule and breaks given, but also how the players are

824
00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:11,600
Speaker 6: obviously compensated for. Back when Stephanie was playing and Tamika,

825
00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:14,960
Speaker 6: it was like thirty thirty two to thirty four games. Well,

826
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:17,000
Speaker 6: this year for the first time, they're up to forty

827
00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:20,279
Speaker 6: four and they're going to add even more, presumably with

828
00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:23,799
Speaker 6: two more teams joining the fold as expansion teams next year,

829
00:42:23,880 --> 00:42:27,440
Speaker 6: so you know, now about thirty seasons in, I think

830
00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:31,480
Speaker 6: you can the changes just continue on down the line

831
00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:34,400
Speaker 6: and are inevitable with this growing product.

832
00:42:34,960 --> 00:42:37,880
Speaker 1: And this is a dumb question. I apologize for this.

833
00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:40,320
Speaker 1: In terms of expansion of the league. I mean, I

834
00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:45,160
Speaker 1: think the league the WNBA, and we've seen this this year, Scott.

835
00:42:45,200 --> 00:42:47,560
Speaker 1: What I what to me is very intriguing about the

836
00:42:47,640 --> 00:42:53,400
Speaker 1: league is that because you don't have the high number

837
00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:55,960
Speaker 1: of teams that you see in other leagues. When a

838
00:42:56,040 --> 00:42:59,359
Speaker 1: franchise like the Fever this year, have to do mid

839
00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:03,200
Speaker 1: season acts acquisition of free agents, there are good players

840
00:43:03,239 --> 00:43:05,440
Speaker 1: out there that you know what I mean, it's not

841
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:08,560
Speaker 1: as watered down. Where do things stand? And I know

842
00:43:08,640 --> 00:43:11,239
Speaker 1: that we've seen we have two new teams coming in,

843
00:43:11,280 --> 00:43:14,279
Speaker 1: but are they looking to continue to expand or are

844
00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:15,520
Speaker 1: we kind of at a cap there?

845
00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:19,000
Speaker 6: Yeah, so next year they'll add two more that will

846
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:22,040
Speaker 6: make it fifteen, and they've already promised three other spots.

847
00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:25,360
Speaker 6: Those are staggered out, one after one after one, and

848
00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:28,040
Speaker 6: so you'll have eighteen teams here by the end of

849
00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:30,640
Speaker 6: this ten year period. I think it's by twenty thirty.

850
00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:34,320
Speaker 6: I wouldn't be surprised for them to go to twenty,

851
00:43:34,520 --> 00:43:38,520
Speaker 6: let's say, But right now you're set on eighteen. I

852
00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:40,560
Speaker 6: just think you might want to get off that odd number,

853
00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:44,160
Speaker 6: having nine to nine or whatever. But eighteen's a nice

854
00:43:44,239 --> 00:43:47,720
Speaker 6: round number as well. I just wonder to your point earlier,

855
00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:51,239
Speaker 6: you need to expand rosters. That's where the focus needs

856
00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:54,600
Speaker 6: to be in my opinion, before you expand these teams,

857
00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:58,560
Speaker 6: because all the different players that have gone down from

858
00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:02,239
Speaker 6: that instance, a lot of teams have experienced that, just

859
00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:05,560
Speaker 6: not at this level and for this duration. Certain teams

860
00:44:05,560 --> 00:44:08,040
Speaker 6: of experience where they've had to use the emergency hardship

861
00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:10,439
Speaker 6: or go to a hardship once or twice a year.

862
00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:13,560
Speaker 6: The Fever have signed too many players at this point

863
00:44:13,760 --> 00:44:17,680
Speaker 6: to that level, and that's why you need a development system.

864
00:44:17,719 --> 00:44:19,759
Speaker 6: I think as well, a player like Bree Hall, who

865
00:44:19,840 --> 00:44:22,560
Speaker 6: was drafted by them in the second round. Clearly there

866
00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:24,640
Speaker 6: was no room for her on the twelve man roster,

867
00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:26,719
Speaker 6: but think if she was here from the start of

868
00:44:26,760 --> 00:44:30,560
Speaker 6: training camp till today, both contributing or around or in

869
00:44:30,600 --> 00:44:33,520
Speaker 6: this environment where she could develop and maybe now at

870
00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:36,440
Speaker 6: the end of the season, she'd be much more comfortable

871
00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:39,560
Speaker 6: and certainly confident in what her role is in this

872
00:44:39,600 --> 00:44:42,520
Speaker 6: Fever system and all that, whether she's used or not.

873
00:44:42,760 --> 00:44:45,200
Speaker 6: I'd like to see the rosters expand at least fourteen,

874
00:44:45,239 --> 00:44:46,280
Speaker 6: maybe fifteen players.

875
00:44:46,360 --> 00:44:49,120
Speaker 1: By the way, do we need to say twelve woman roster?

876
00:44:50,760 --> 00:44:51,120
Speaker 1: I don't know.

877
00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:53,879
Speaker 6: I've always wondered about that, Like you talk about what

878
00:44:53,960 --> 00:44:54,880
Speaker 6: man are you guarding?

879
00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:56,240
Speaker 1: Or mann a man defense?

880
00:44:56,880 --> 00:44:59,880
Speaker 6: We all understand what it references, but I don't know

881
00:44:59,920 --> 00:45:01,840
Speaker 6: that right answer to that, that's.

882
00:45:01,680 --> 00:45:03,520
Speaker 1: A good man to man. I never thought of that.

883
00:45:03,640 --> 00:45:06,000
Speaker 1: I mean, it's got to be a woman to woman, right,

884
00:45:06,920 --> 00:45:09,279
Speaker 1: I mean, for what it's worth, I guess semantically right,

885
00:45:09,320 --> 00:45:11,799
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, okay, these are the kinds of things

886
00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:12,600
Speaker 1: that keep me awake at night.

887
00:45:12,600 --> 00:45:15,440
Speaker 6: Scott right, I've thought about it. I just don't know

888
00:45:15,480 --> 00:45:19,200
Speaker 6: who you know. I'm I geared towards more simplifying and

889
00:45:19,280 --> 00:45:21,400
Speaker 6: keeping it easy and less changes.

890
00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:25,480
Speaker 1: Do you buy into the do you buy into the

891
00:45:25,480 --> 00:45:32,400
Speaker 1: the soccer version of using team names like the plural

892
00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:38,080
Speaker 1: like you know, Indiana have Indiana have won a playoff

893
00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:40,960
Speaker 1: game as opposed to Indiana has won a playoff game?

894
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:43,520
Speaker 6: Because it's to me, I've always struggled with Fever from

895
00:45:43,560 --> 00:45:44,319
Speaker 6: that standpoint.

896
00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:48,239
Speaker 1: I think, yeah, the fever has or the fever have

897
00:45:48,760 --> 00:45:52,480
Speaker 1: right when you get into it that way. Absolutely, these

898
00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:54,440
Speaker 1: are again the things that keep me awake at night.

899
00:45:54,520 --> 00:45:56,200
Speaker 1: Right for what it's.

900
00:45:56,080 --> 00:45:58,880
Speaker 6: Worth, Miami Heats the same way, going back to the Pacers,

901
00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:00,880
Speaker 6: battles with them and the playoffs.

902
00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:03,400
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean he is the Heat have won five

903
00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:06,759
Speaker 1: in a row. Yeah, I mean absolutely. When you look

904
00:46:06,840 --> 00:46:09,560
Speaker 1: at Scott Agnes our guest fieldhouse files where you can

905
00:46:09,600 --> 00:46:13,000
Speaker 1: read his work the WNBA playoffs in general, I mean,

906
00:46:13,080 --> 00:46:18,440
Speaker 1: obviously I know that Minnesota has been the upper echelon team,

907
00:46:18,800 --> 00:46:22,360
Speaker 1: but is this a league that has, to your point,

908
00:46:22,400 --> 00:46:25,759
Speaker 1: the parody? Is there the parody there? Or do we

909
00:46:25,920 --> 00:46:30,400
Speaker 1: expect that the Indiana and the Atlantas and those teams

910
00:46:31,080 --> 00:46:34,080
Speaker 1: that the odds are really really stacked against him, that

911
00:46:34,080 --> 00:46:35,200
Speaker 1: they can make playoff noise?

912
00:46:36,520 --> 00:46:39,480
Speaker 6: I think there's about I think Minnesota is a clear favorite.

913
00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:41,800
Speaker 6: Let's put him in tears. I think Minnesota number one easily.

914
00:46:42,360 --> 00:46:44,520
Speaker 6: Then after that I would put your aces in Liberties,

915
00:46:44,560 --> 00:46:47,960
Speaker 6: your traditional powers, and then the only other team outside

916
00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:50,400
Speaker 6: that I could see is sneaking up as Atlanta. So

917
00:46:50,560 --> 00:46:53,479
Speaker 6: to me, it's really a three team playoff race. As

918
00:46:53,520 --> 00:46:56,480
Speaker 6: I look at it. Phoenix doesn't seem threatening the Valkyries.

919
00:46:56,680 --> 00:46:58,720
Speaker 6: We know what the Fever have been dealing with here.

920
00:46:59,560 --> 00:47:02,160
Speaker 6: Keep in mind that Vegas Aces. They were really going

921
00:47:02,239 --> 00:47:05,680
Speaker 6: through it last month like the Fever. If I remember right,

922
00:47:05,719 --> 00:47:07,279
Speaker 6: they beat him by thirty. It might have been the

923
00:47:07,280 --> 00:47:10,080
Speaker 6: worst opponent I've ever seen played. Think about to the

924
00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:13,160
Speaker 6: Miami Dolphins this past week. It was worse than that

925
00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:16,000
Speaker 6: from the Aces. But guess what now since that Jake,

926
00:47:16,160 --> 00:47:18,680
Speaker 6: they've ripped off fourteen wins in a row, and a

927
00:47:18,680 --> 00:47:21,239
Speaker 6: team that had won back to back championships a couple

928
00:47:21,239 --> 00:47:23,759
Speaker 6: of years ago is the hottest team in the league

929
00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:26,439
Speaker 6: right now. They're in third in the standings in New York.

930
00:47:26,480 --> 00:47:28,080
Speaker 6: We know what they can do if they are healthy.

931
00:47:28,719 --> 00:47:32,359
Speaker 6: But to me, I'd be surprised given Nafisa Collier's health,

932
00:47:32,560 --> 00:47:35,799
Speaker 6: should she stay healthy. It's Minnesota versus everybody.

933
00:47:35,920 --> 00:47:39,239
Speaker 1: Scott, do you, Scott Agnes our guest fieldhouse files, have

934
00:47:39,320 --> 00:47:41,200
Speaker 1: you had a chance to I don't know how much

935
00:47:41,200 --> 00:47:42,839
Speaker 1: we've talked about it, but I want to get back

936
00:47:42,880 --> 00:47:45,759
Speaker 1: into this on the men's side of things, talking about

937
00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:49,240
Speaker 1: the Pacers. You know there has been a change at

938
00:47:49,320 --> 00:47:53,480
Speaker 1: the on the coaching staff for Rick Carlisle and I

939
00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:55,600
Speaker 1: don't know that a lot of people. By all account,

940
00:47:55,719 --> 00:48:00,200
Speaker 1: it seemed to be a mutual parting of ways. Do

941
00:48:00,320 --> 00:48:03,799
Speaker 1: we know what has gone into the changes on the

942
00:48:03,800 --> 00:48:05,400
Speaker 1: bench for Rick Carlisle.

943
00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:08,279
Speaker 6: No, not exactly unfortunately, which is a little bit odd

944
00:48:08,360 --> 00:48:12,360
Speaker 6: because the timing of it wasn't ideal. Right, It was

945
00:48:12,880 --> 00:48:16,800
Speaker 6: announced by the team basically a month before training camp.

946
00:48:16,840 --> 00:48:19,520
Speaker 6: After Mike Winer you're talking about, was with the team

947
00:48:19,640 --> 00:48:22,759
Speaker 6: out in Las Vegas for Summer League, and usually any

948
00:48:22,760 --> 00:48:25,239
Speaker 6: coaching changes are made by July and then everybody goes

949
00:48:25,239 --> 00:48:28,960
Speaker 6: on vacation there in August. Mike Winer was one of

950
00:48:29,040 --> 00:48:32,799
Speaker 6: his top assistants. He was Rick Carlile's basically right hand

951
00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:35,920
Speaker 6: man going back to two thousand and eight in Dallas.

952
00:48:36,239 --> 00:48:39,279
Speaker 6: He ran the offense, He ran into game situations. He

953
00:48:39,360 --> 00:48:42,279
Speaker 6: was the one that drew up that spread five foot

954
00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:45,040
Speaker 6: or spread four football play that we all remember Halibert

955
00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:48,759
Speaker 6: knocking down the shot for the win over Milwaukee. And

956
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:51,680
Speaker 6: then you bring him in and you replace him with

957
00:48:51,760 --> 00:48:54,719
Speaker 6: someone that doesn't have a ton of experience. He spent

958
00:48:54,800 --> 00:48:57,880
Speaker 6: a summer with the Pacers, spent some time at the

959
00:48:57,920 --> 00:48:59,680
Speaker 6: coaching level at UVA.

960
00:49:00,280 --> 00:49:00,840
Speaker 1: If anything.

961
00:49:00,960 --> 00:49:04,520
Speaker 6: My biggest takeaway from this is further belief in Jim Boylan,

962
00:49:04,560 --> 00:49:06,640
Speaker 6: who is promoted to the front of the bench and

963
00:49:06,719 --> 00:49:10,480
Speaker 6: what he has contributed. Obviously, he has a great experience

964
00:49:10,520 --> 00:49:13,080
Speaker 6: with the Pacers. He won a championship in San Antonio

965
00:49:13,440 --> 00:49:15,480
Speaker 6: and was a head coach with the Chicago Bulls.

966
00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:19,960
Speaker 1: But other than natural cynicism, we have no reason to

967
00:49:20,040 --> 00:49:23,920
Speaker 1: believe that this was anything other than a mutual part correct.

968
00:49:24,760 --> 00:49:28,240
Speaker 6: I would agree, yeah, absolutely, just given all the different

969
00:49:28,280 --> 00:49:32,280
Speaker 6: things here. But we have not been given any evidence

970
00:49:32,480 --> 00:49:35,200
Speaker 6: to the contrary, and nobody wants to talk about it,

971
00:49:35,239 --> 00:49:36,600
Speaker 6: so that's a little bit odd as well.

972
00:49:36,719 --> 00:49:39,520
Speaker 1: One of the things that I find interesting, Scott, is

973
00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:43,319
Speaker 1: that the Pacers in the last couple of weeks, I

974
00:49:43,360 --> 00:49:46,120
Speaker 1: have seen several posts on social media and they do

975
00:49:46,160 --> 00:49:48,359
Speaker 1: this with other players, you know what I mean, Like, Hey,

976
00:49:48,400 --> 00:49:52,040
Speaker 1: it's a been mather an appreciation post or whatever, you know,

977
00:49:52,080 --> 00:49:54,680
Speaker 1: that kind of thing they seem to have sent. And

978
00:49:54,719 --> 00:49:58,120
Speaker 1: maybe this is me overthinking it, but I've seen a

979
00:49:58,120 --> 00:50:05,120
Speaker 1: fairly consistent narrative about their appreciation or kind of pumping

980
00:50:05,200 --> 00:50:08,200
Speaker 1: up Andro Nimhard. Do you think part of that is

981
00:50:08,280 --> 00:50:13,239
Speaker 1: just because Andronimhart as good as he's been his elevation,

982
00:50:13,560 --> 00:50:15,279
Speaker 1: his role is going to elevate in terms of how

983
00:50:15,360 --> 00:50:18,600
Speaker 1: much they have to lean on him, and so they're

984
00:50:18,680 --> 00:50:22,040
Speaker 1: kind of prepping him, if you will, psychologically for that moment.

985
00:50:22,040 --> 00:50:23,880
Speaker 1: Does that make sense at all?

986
00:50:24,120 --> 00:50:24,560
Speaker 4: It does?

987
00:50:24,640 --> 00:50:26,880
Speaker 6: I think the number one thing in all this, quite frankly,

988
00:50:26,960 --> 00:50:29,640
Speaker 6: is the Pacers reached the NBA Finals. Then it went

989
00:50:29,719 --> 00:50:32,000
Speaker 6: right to the draft like three days later, right to

990
00:50:32,040 --> 00:50:35,520
Speaker 6: free agency, right to summer league, And ordinarily the Pacers

991
00:50:35,600 --> 00:50:37,239
Speaker 6: digital team has about a month and a half two

992
00:50:37,239 --> 00:50:39,680
Speaker 6: months to roll out into season reviews for each player,

993
00:50:40,160 --> 00:50:42,719
Speaker 6: and so they're pumping out one each day leading up

994
00:50:42,719 --> 00:50:44,920
Speaker 6: here to training camp, if that's what you're referencing with

995
00:50:44,960 --> 00:50:48,839
Speaker 6: all that, But with Nimart in particular, I think number one,

996
00:50:48,880 --> 00:50:51,480
Speaker 6: the franchise is leaning hard into it because they're going

997
00:50:51,560 --> 00:50:54,319
Speaker 6: to need his contributions. And the other thing is, I

998
00:50:54,320 --> 00:50:56,880
Speaker 6: think everyone's very curious to see what it will be

999
00:50:57,000 --> 00:50:59,399
Speaker 6: like with him having a higher usage rate, with him

1000
00:50:59,520 --> 00:51:02,880
Speaker 6: coming in as a point guard, being so good that

1001
00:51:02,920 --> 00:51:05,360
Speaker 6: they couldn't play him as backup point guard but instead

1002
00:51:05,360 --> 00:51:08,719
Speaker 6: the off ball guard and the starting lineup, and now

1003
00:51:08,760 --> 00:51:11,440
Speaker 6: he has much greater responsibilities, and this team's going to

1004
00:51:11,520 --> 00:51:14,960
Speaker 6: go as far as he and maybe Pascal can lead them.

1005
00:51:15,520 --> 00:51:18,160
Speaker 1: Scott Agnes, our guest from Fieldhouse Files. All right, Scott,

1006
00:51:18,200 --> 00:51:20,960
Speaker 1: I assume you've got plenty of coverage coming up regarding

1007
00:51:21,000 --> 00:51:22,880
Speaker 1: the Fever to end their regular season.

1008
00:51:22,960 --> 00:51:23,120
Speaker 3: Right.

1009
00:51:23,640 --> 00:51:27,719
Speaker 6: Absolutely, we got the final game tonight fan Appreciation Night,

1010
00:51:27,760 --> 00:51:30,160
Speaker 6: and then we should find out in the next twenty

1011
00:51:30,200 --> 00:51:33,000
Speaker 6: four to forty eight hours whether it'll be Atlanta or

1012
00:51:33,080 --> 00:51:36,279
Speaker 6: Las Vegas. Seemingly and flight prices aren't cheap either way.

1013
00:51:36,360 --> 00:51:38,960
Speaker 1: Unfortunately, here's the well, you can drive to Atlanta, right

1014
00:51:39,280 --> 00:51:43,880
Speaker 1: at the very least. The thing I was going to

1015
00:51:43,960 --> 00:51:46,520
Speaker 1: ask Atlanta. I know Indiana two and two in the

1016
00:51:46,560 --> 00:51:48,520
Speaker 1: regular season, if you were to look at it just

1017
00:51:48,560 --> 00:51:50,800
Speaker 1: in terms of matchups of and that was a different

1018
00:51:50,840 --> 00:51:53,560
Speaker 1: group for a large part of it, because it's been

1019
00:51:53,880 --> 00:51:56,279
Speaker 1: well over month since they've played Atlanta. But if you

1020
00:51:56,320 --> 00:51:58,480
Speaker 1: were to look at Atlanta and Las Vegas, is there

1021
00:51:58,520 --> 00:52:01,239
Speaker 1: a preference you think for the Fever in terms of

1022
00:52:01,239 --> 00:52:02,440
Speaker 1: which one is a better matchup?

1023
00:52:02,880 --> 00:52:03,080
Speaker 3: Yeah?

1024
00:52:03,120 --> 00:52:06,879
Speaker 6: All along, excluding leaving Vegas out of this conversation, I've

1025
00:52:06,880 --> 00:52:09,600
Speaker 6: said Atlanta is one of their most difficult matchups just

1026
00:52:09,680 --> 00:52:12,920
Speaker 6: given the physicality and the toughness in the style of

1027
00:52:12,960 --> 00:52:17,359
Speaker 6: play for the Atlanta Dream. But it's hard, Jake, for

1028
00:52:17,400 --> 00:52:20,279
Speaker 6: me to go over go past and look over the

1029
00:52:20,320 --> 00:52:23,360
Speaker 6: big game experience, the coaching with Becky Hammond on the

1030
00:52:23,360 --> 00:52:26,160
Speaker 6: other side, it's a rookie head coach, and the fact

1031
00:52:26,200 --> 00:52:28,000
Speaker 6: that they are the hottest team over the last month

1032
00:52:28,040 --> 00:52:30,240
Speaker 6: and a half. Right now, I would say I'd prefer

1033
00:52:30,280 --> 00:52:32,840
Speaker 6: the Dream over the Aces given those factors.

1034
00:52:33,040 --> 00:52:34,640
Speaker 1: All right, we will keep an eye on it in

1035
00:52:34,680 --> 00:52:36,680
Speaker 1: the way that it all pans out. Fever in Action.

1036
00:52:36,760 --> 00:52:40,880
Speaker 1: Tonight seven thirty seven fifteen is the pregame show with

1037
00:52:41,040 --> 00:52:43,920
Speaker 1: Eddie right here on this radio station. Appreciate it as always, Scott,

1038
00:52:44,320 --> 00:52:47,759
Speaker 1: you bet, Thanks Jake. Scott Agnes joining US field House

1039
00:52:47,760 --> 00:52:48,120
Speaker 1: Files