WEBVTT - Birthday Shenanigans, Coaching Nonsense, and WNBA High Jinks 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:03.199 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're still 0:00:03.240 --> 0:00:06.640 reeling over meeting two fifths of Girls five EVA at 0:00:06.680 --> 0:00:09.319 the Hollywood Bowl this weekend. Shout out Paula Pell and 0:00:09.360 --> 0:00:13.320 Renee Eleise Goldsberry. Speaking of shouting, that's how my voice 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:17.919 ended up like this birthday Shenanigans. On today's show, producer 0:00:17.960 --> 0:00:19.680 Mische will react to the start of the second half 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:22.759 of the WNBA season, plus a notable first that we 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:26.320 should all remember and an NWSL coaching announcement that has 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:29.400 us asking questions. It's all coming up right after this. 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:35.120 Welcome back, my little orange slices. Here's what you need 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:39.520 to know today. In the WNBA, the New York Liberty 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:41.879 clinched a playoff spot with a month left in the 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:45.040 regular season. In a rematch of last year's WNBA finals, 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:48.480 the Liberty beat the Aces seventy nine sixty seven on Saturday, 0:00:48.920 --> 0:00:51.360 less than one week after winning Olympic gold. Sabrina and 0:00:51.520 --> 0:00:54.160 Escu led New York with a team high twenty three points, 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:57.480 while Brianna Stewart added eighteen. We'll have more on that 0:00:57.520 --> 0:01:01.520 game and the other WNBA weekend matchup later in today's show, 0:01:02.440 --> 0:01:05.440 but while we're talking WNBA. Over the weekend, the Connecticut 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:07.919 Sun announced that its game against the Los Angeles Sparks 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:11.640 tomorrow night officially sold out. Why is that such a 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:14.200 big deal, Well, the game is making history as the 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:17.679 first WNBA game to be held at the storied TD Garden, 0:01:17.920 --> 0:01:21.200 home of the Celtics and the Bruins. The Sun's nineteen 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:24.240 one and fifty six tickets sold will make for the 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:28.000 third highest attendance to a WNBA game this season to date, 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:30.720 and the largest amount of tickets ever sold to a 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:35.319 Connecticut Sun game in franchise history. In the NWSL, the 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:38.920 San Diego Wave has appointed former men's national team standout 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:42.280 Landon Donovan as interim head coach for the remainder of 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:44.920 this season. Given that all of our brains are a 0:01:44.959 --> 0:01:47.160 little bit fried post Olympics and it's been a while 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:49.840 since we had a regular season NWSL game. Here's a 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:52.280 quick refresher on San Diego search for a new coach, 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:56.400 which began two full months ago. Okay, so Donovan's taking 0:01:56.440 --> 0:01:59.840 over for Paul Buckle. Buckle was serving as interim head 0:01:59.840 --> 0:02:03.040 coach ever since the Wave fired Casey Stony in June. 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:05.200 If you remember that was a move that shocked fans 0:02:05.320 --> 0:02:08.280 and media because Stoney's firing was at the end of 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:10.120 a seven week winless street, but her record with the 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:11.519 team was otherwise strong. 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:13.480 Just a three year old team, she had been there 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:14.160 since the start. 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:17.320 Last year, the Wave won the NWSL Shield, awarded to 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:20.280 the club with the best regular season record, and Stony 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:23.080 began this season by leading her side to a Challenge 0:02:23.120 --> 0:02:26.760 Cup win. So looking ahead, Landon Donovan has a lot 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.079 to prove, given that he doesn't have very much coaching 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:32.239 experience in general, and he has no experience. 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:32.840 Coaching the women's game. 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:35.920 From twenty twenty to twenty twenty two, he was the 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:38.799 head coach and executive vice president of the now defunct 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:41.720 San Diego Loyal There was a men's team that played 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:45.519 in the Division two USL Championship League, and the lack 0:02:45.560 --> 0:02:48.120 of experience is probably why his head coach title was 0:02:48.160 --> 0:02:52.400 given an interim label. With a three win seven loss 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:56.080 six straw record, San Diego's currently sitting tenth out of 0:02:56.120 --> 0:03:00.560 fourteen teams with ten regular season games remaining, land In 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:04.119 Scott has work cut out for him to cycling. Poland's 0:03:04.120 --> 0:03:07.040 Cassia New Viadoma won the Tour de France FEM on Sunday. 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:09.919 In an epic finish, New Viadoma took the win over 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:14.280 defending champ Demivolloring by just four seconds, the closest margin 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:16.800 in the history of the tour. And to be clear, 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:19.639 we're not just talking about women's tour history. That record 0:03:19.680 --> 0:03:22.840 includes the men's event too. You remember Kristin Falkner, the 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:25.440 two time Olympic gold medal ast we've mentioned in previous shows. 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:27.960 She ended up finishing thirty eighth in the final standings, 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:31.480 the best American rider in the race. This year, in golf, 0:03:31.480 --> 0:03:34.079 American Lauren Coughlin won the Scottish Open on Sunday. That's 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:37.200 her second LPGA title of this summer and with the win, 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:39.480 she secured herself a spot on the US team for 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:42.720 the twenty twenty four Solheim Cup coming up in September. Now, 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:45.320 if you don't follow golf super closely, the Solheim Cup 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:49.200 is a biennial women's golf tournament between the US and Europe. 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:51.720 Europe enters this year's tournament, which will be in Gainesville, 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:54.440 Virginia as the three time defending champion. 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:57.600 Finally, in Sportsmanship News. 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:01.040 Soccer legend Marta Fresh off and Olympic silver medal just 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:04.720 got engaged to Orlando Pride teammate Kerrie Lawrence. No word 0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:07.240 yet on whether the engagement ring is silver or gold. 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:12.360 Congrats to the happy couple. Okay, we're going to talk 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:15.520 WNBA hoops in a minute, but first a few numbers 0:04:15.520 --> 0:04:19.600 from Olympic basketball that had us saying WTF, which means 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.880 it's time for another what the fact? 0:04:23.200 --> 0:04:24.000 So check this out. 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:27.920 Per Australian basketball coach Liz Mills at coach Underscore Liz 0:04:27.960 --> 0:04:31.400 Mills on Twitter, of the eighty one basketball coaches across 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:34.599 the twenty four teams at the Paris Olympics, only twenty 0:04:34.640 --> 0:04:37.960 two point two percent were women. There were six female 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:42.160 head coaches and twelve female assistant coaches in the women's competition. 0:04:42.760 --> 0:04:45.039 There were no female coaches as part of the staff 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:46.520 for any of the men's teams. 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:49.960 And this isn't just a basketball or Olympic thing. 0:04:50.040 --> 0:04:52.440 We took a look at college sports numbers and in 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.760 the US, the percentage of women coaches is lower in 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:58.200 college sports today than it was when Title nine was 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:02.120 enacted in nineteen seventy two. So prior to Title nine's passing, 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:05.360 more than ninety percent of women's collegiate sports teams were 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:09.120 coached by women, but post nineteen seventy two and Title nine, 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:12.880 as prestige, revenue and coaching salaries went up, men started 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:14.040 to apply for and. 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:14.880 Get the jobs. 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:18.760 Over fifty years later, for all three nc DOUBLEA divisions, 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:21.440 the number of women head coaches of women's teams has 0:05:21.480 --> 0:05:25.720 decreased to forty one percent, and the percentages decreased drastically 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:29.240 when gender intersects with race. For example, black women coaches 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:32.400 account for just four percent of all women's team coaches 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:35.719 across all three divisions, so while men are coaching a 0:05:35.760 --> 0:05:39.360 majority of women's teams, women make up just six percent 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:43.120 of head coaches across all divisions leading NCABA men's teams, 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:45.720 and most of those women are in sports like swimming 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:47.919 and track and field, where it's common for coaches to 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:50.880 work with both the men's and women's programs. You can 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:53.599 read about all the gender coaching statistics in Division I 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:56.560 and the grades given to various schools and conferences in 0:05:56.640 --> 0:05:59.160 the latest college Coaching report Card from the Tucker Center 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:02.000 for Research on Girls and Women in Sport and We Coach. 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:04.599 We'll link to it in our notes shout out my 0:06:04.600 --> 0:06:06.560 girl and Nicoleavoy. She does a great job over there 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:08.800 at the Tucker Center. We're going to take a quick 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:11.560 break when we come back. Producer mich dishes on the 0:06:11.600 --> 0:06:18.240 return of the WNBA. 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:20.440 Welcome back, my little Orange slices. 0:06:20.760 --> 0:06:23.040 It's time for a segment I just made up right 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:24.840 now called Meshe's Minute. 0:06:25.200 --> 0:06:27.000 Although it might be more like ten minutes or so. 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:30.279 It's been a loaded few days of WNBA action, and 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:35.160 while I was participating in those aforementioned birthday shan hannigans, 0:06:35.440 --> 0:06:37.320 I know Mesh was glued to the TV for the 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:38.760 return of the WNBA. 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:40.200 So we're coming off that. 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:43.200 Olympic break, and the twenty twenty four Paris Olympics featured 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:47.360 thirty one current WNBA players. That obviously includes the twelve 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:50.279 members of Team USA's five on five roster, plus the 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:53.320 players that suited up for other national teams. They all 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:56.600 returned stateside to join their well rested teammates and tip 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:59.320 off the WNBA's second half, And in a few games 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:02.000 since the restart, we've already seen a couple records broken 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:05.839 by our favorite rookie duo, Kaitlyn Clark and Angel Reese. 0:07:05.920 --> 0:07:06.400 In a loss. 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:09.600 On Thursday, Reese officially broke the Sky franchise record for 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:12.480 offensive rebounds in a single season, previously held by the 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:15.720 Great Sylvia Fowls. And the Sky still have fourteen more 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:18.400 games to play this regular season, so Reese will be 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:21.320 adding to it. And on Sunday, Kitlyn Clark broke t 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:24.600 Cha Pennicero's record and is now first in all time 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:27.280 rookie assists. And we know she's going to continue to 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:30.239 add to that number because the Fever have twelve regular 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.720 season games remaining. Okay, so I need your expertise, Niche. 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:36.960 I know you were glued to these games. It was 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:39.880 a super quick turnaround from the Olympic break back to 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:40.760 the W season. 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:42.720 Has it always been like that? Has it always been 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:43.160 so quick? 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:44.120 Well? 0:07:44.160 --> 0:07:48.760 Actually yeah since oh for every Olympic year, the W 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:51.360 makes space for the Olympic break and the players have 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:54.040 to jump right back into competition. So for example, Real 0:07:54.120 --> 0:07:57.600 twenty sixteen gold medal match versus Spain August twentieth, the 0:07:57.640 --> 0:08:01.960 first WNBA game back August Si Tokyo twenty twenty one 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:04.680 gold medal match VERSU Japan August eighth, first w game 0:08:04.720 --> 0:08:06.520 back August twelfth, So you get what I'm saying. It's 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:09.360 this isn't new, But you also have to take into 0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:12.720 account this season specifically, this is only the second year 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:14.840 the w has had a forty game season, so there's 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:18.240 also that extra wear and tear from even shorter turnarounds 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:20.960 from the thirty four game season, the twenty eight game season, 0:08:21.000 --> 0:08:23.840 et cetera, et cetera. So those folks who were in Paris, 0:08:24.200 --> 0:08:26.360 they're going through it as opposed to those folks who 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:28.400 were at home and joining the comforts of home, resting 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:29.840 and recuperating all that good stuff. 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:32.800 Yeah, or tanskin partying on stage with their favorite artists, 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:34.680 because we saw a couple of those videos during the 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:38.600 Olympics break too. Let's talk about those Team USA players. 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:40.600 How are the teams that had a bunch of those 0:08:40.600 --> 0:08:43.240 players faring in their first game back. Does it feel 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:46.040 like the Olympic workload slowed down some of those stars? 0:08:47.360 --> 0:08:50.440 Short answer, yes, And what I think is coming down 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:52.360 to is what teams also have. 0:08:52.400 --> 0:08:54.040 Some depth that they can fall back on. 0:08:54.480 --> 0:08:56.959 It's a team sport, right, You got five players out there, 0:08:57.120 --> 0:08:59.480 and some teams had a lot of those those starters 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:01.319 in the lineup for Team USA. 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:01.720 But Yeah. 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:03.520 For me, New York seems to be faring the best, 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:07.400 which is not necessarily surprising considering they came in to 0:09:07.440 --> 0:09:09.960 the Olympic break as the number one seed, and I 0:09:10.000 --> 0:09:12.160 had a chance to hop on with our good friend 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:14.959 Erica Laala and they got to get up a podcast 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:17.800 from New York Liberty Fans this past weekend, and a 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:20.960 lot of what we talked about was Brianna Stewart, who 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:25.080 was obviously on Team USA, and Sabrini and Escu just 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:27.400 looking seamless in terms of their transition back to the 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:29.800 W And I think that's where we talk about the depth, 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:32.760 because New York also played a lot of their bench 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:34.960 players in these last couple of games since the break 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:38.400 has ended, and for me, Sab looks like she's playing. 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:38.760 A lot freer. 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:42.360 We heard Sue Bird talk about Team USA basketball being 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:43.760 uncomfortable if you're not a star. 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:45.679 That was kind of the position Sab was in. 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:48.040 But New York feels like she came back home and 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:49.240 she's ready to settle back in. 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:53.760 Yeah. And then there's also, you know, whatever closeness they 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:56.320 already had. Those players that go back to their teams 0:09:56.559 --> 0:10:00.480 were playing together in Paris and continuing to grow as 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:03.960 sort of teammates even in a different situation, so they 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:06.880 might actually benefit in some ways from a slightly different 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:09.640 look at how they play with other players on the court, 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:12.080 and then returning back to their w teams being able 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:14.280 to use some of that information just to inform them. 0:10:14.679 --> 0:10:17.200 It felt like I watched the Fever Phoenix game and 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:19.880 Phoenix was another team that had a couple Olympic players 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:23.040 on it, and Brittany grinder In particularly looked a little 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:26.960 bit slower to me. Diana Tarassi was a little off 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:28.880 and on, although that's kind of been this season, like 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:30.800 we've seen her get super hot and then other times 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:32.000 fall back. 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:32.319 A little bit. 0:10:32.679 --> 0:10:34.880 But what was most notable to me about that was 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:36.880 a player who wasn't at the Olympics that looked like 0:10:36.920 --> 0:10:39.240 she was shot out of the cannon in Caitlyn Clark. 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:41.640 I think this is the first like two days in 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:42.760 a row off she's. 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:46.200 Had in like a year. Yeah, and girl was on fire. 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:49.439 The court looked wide open, especially in the first half, 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:52.559 and she was finding all of her teammates. She was 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:55.880 hitting deep threes, Like I really am looking forward to 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:57.960 seeing the second half of the season with Caitlyn based 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:00.640 on what we saw off that first game back, which 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:03.280 she was like, Okay, I'm rested, y'all better look out. 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:06.240 Yeah, and it's it's it's the whole team looks that 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:08.000 way too, right, because they were all in that gym, 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:10.960 jumped together and kicking their feet up, probably pool side 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:14.599 at somebody's apartment, and you know that team likes to 0:11:14.600 --> 0:11:16.839 play with pace. They were all looking shot out of 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:18.920 a cannon. And the way she's distributing and helping throw 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:21.679 the needle there, I mean, they're gonna ruin somebody's day 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:24.360 there's gonna they're gonna ruin somebody's day time. 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:26.400 Well, and that's a great point you made, because it 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:27.680 obviously wasn't just Caitlin. 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:28.920 What we saw early in the season. 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:31.679 This occasionally turnovers, either because she was kind of a 0:11:31.720 --> 0:11:34.640 step ahead and her teammates weren't on the same page, 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:36.800 or just that they couldn't finish on a pass or 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:39.679 something that she made. But what I saw was these 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:43.720 like football passes down the court, you know, sliding it 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:47.840 between defenders, players being ready in those moments every single time. 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:48.520 That she fed them. 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:51.199 And if that team could take advantage of the way 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:54.240 she sees the floor and Aliah Boston could be eaten 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:57.400 like she was underneath. They're going to, like you said, 0:11:57.640 --> 0:11:59.800 be ruining some days and be a team to watch 0:11:59.840 --> 0:12:02.080 for the postseason, which I don't think at the beginning 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:03.800 of the season, when they still looked pretty rough a 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:05.360 on the edges, we thought they would be making this 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:06.040 kind of jump. 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:07.959 Not at all, not at all. 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:11.079 And you know, it's also worth noting Melissa Smith, you 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:12.959 know what I mean. She's another one of those unsung 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:16.600 heroes who I think pops in to the scoreboard and 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:19.400 stat leaders at the end of certain weekends, but can't 0:12:19.400 --> 0:12:21.840 forget about her, can't forget about Kelsey Mitch. Kelsey Mitchell 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:24.440 twenty eight points next to Kaitlin Clark's twenty nine points. 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:26.600 So yeah, that team's got a lot of weapons. 0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:28.559 It's just whether or not they can connect all the 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:30.560 pieces to the puzzle before playoff time hits. 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:33.160 Any other stars from the Olympics that you saw shining. 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:35.079 I know we talked earlier in the show about how 0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:37.760 the Liberty were able to beat up on the Aces 0:12:37.880 --> 0:12:41.440 because I mean not only players but their coach, you know, 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:44.480 dealing with everything going on with Dereka Hamby. There's a 0:12:44.480 --> 0:12:46.360 lot going on for the Aces right now. Did it 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:47.920 feel like that was noticeable in the games? 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:48.920 It did. 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:50.480 It felt like a lot of the same of what 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:52.280 we saw in the first half of the season, Asia 0:12:52.320 --> 0:12:55.280 Wilson carrying a lot of that load, and frankly everybody 0:12:55.280 --> 0:12:58.640 else you know, still contributing but not being stars in 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:01.600 the same way. And because that team, as opposed to 0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:04.839 the New York Liberty, don't have as much depth, you 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:07.199 got to rely on those four. You got Jackie Young, 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:09.480 you got Chelsea Gray, you got Asia Wilson, you got 0:13:09.559 --> 0:13:10.240 Kelsey Plump. 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:11.640 They carry a lot of the load. 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:16.320 Four starters who also played significant minutes, like not just 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:17.880 sitting on the bench. And I want to talk about 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:21.000 call because I know Co's been going off as well, 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:23.280 hitting almost thirty points in her last two games back. 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:25.920 But when you've got four players who all carried a 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:28.720 lot of load internationally on that stage, you know you 0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:30.439 gotta expect this is gonna take a little bit of time. 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:33.839 But back to Kaw, Yeah, Khalia copper Man, she does 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:38.280 not look tired at all. Maybe that one game she said, yep, she's. 0:13:38.080 --> 0:13:40.520 Really reaping the benefits of not playing as many minutes 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:43.680 and she's one of those microwave scorers. Any situation you 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:45.000 put her in, if you need her to go get 0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:46.960 a bucket, She's gonna go get a bucket. So yeah, 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:49.040 she's a big, a big piece for the Mercury. 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:52.440 What about those I mean, the Sky is the team 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:55.080 that didn't send anybody. It's interesting with the team like that, 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:57.920 especially that's young, and also that had a big trade 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:01.720 happen right before the break, Yes to have time together 0:14:02.000 --> 0:14:04.560 and obviously we talked about Angel Reese going off. But 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:07.480 that's an interesting team too that you know right now 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:09.559 is sitting in a position to try to push for 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:12.800 a playoff spot. What do you expect from them with 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:14.959 the new look post Marina Maybray trade. 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:17.800 I mean, so, first of all, I don't know if 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:20.720 we even really dove into that trade. I was shocked 0:14:20.760 --> 0:14:23.320 to hear about that, But they gained from that as well. 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:26.040 I think Marina Maybury was ready to go and be 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:29.040 on a ready contender kind of team. As far as 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:32.040 Chicago goes, I think they're making space for Kennedy Carter 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:34.360 to keep doing Kennedy Carter things and keep being a 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:37.160 star and see what she can really do. When you 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:39.520 give her the reins on a team, I think Angel 0:14:39.560 --> 0:14:43.040 and Camilla are still very much figuring out how they 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:44.240 can dominate in different ways. 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:44.640 In the post. 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:46.800 Camilla had a great game this past weekend, so I 0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:48.800 think she's starting to really get her feet under She 0:14:48.960 --> 0:14:50.440 was in and out of the lineup in the first 0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:53.000 half of the season. But another young team, like you said, 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:55.240 who just has pieces that they're trying to fit together, 0:14:55.760 --> 0:14:58.760 They're gonna have some more trying times, I anticipate. I 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:02.400 think Teresa Weatherspoon is the per perfect person to continue. 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:05.040 To lead that charge. But yeah, they're a wildcard to me. 0:15:05.240 --> 0:15:06.920 They're a team that could either fall off the face 0:15:06.920 --> 0:15:08.440 of the earth in the second half of the season, 0:15:08.880 --> 0:15:11.520 or like Indiana, get back in the swing of things 0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:12.600 and ruin somebody's day. 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:15.080 As a sky fan, I was grateful for that game 0:15:15.120 --> 0:15:17.520 against the Sparks in the middle of the Mercury sandwich 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:20.800 because you know, no, no offense to the Sparks, but 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:23.520 you know, without cam Brink and you know, rebuilding year. 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:26.560 Let's just say kindly about their six wins so far, 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:30.280 and I don't think anybody wants to see that Mercury 0:15:30.320 --> 0:15:32.640 team twice in the first three games back from the break, 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:34.480 so I was grateful for a. 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:37.400 Little bit of eating on the on the sparks. Anything 0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:38.240 else about. 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:43.280 The WNBA from Misha's lengthy minute, Well, I'm just thinking 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:45.480 now that we're at the second half, the playoffs rider 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:46.120 around the corner. 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:48.400 So something to look out for the first round is 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:50.800 best of three in the top four teams in the 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:53.160 league get to host that first game in the best 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:56.280 of three. So you got Connecticut right now, Minnesota, Vegas, 0:15:56.320 --> 0:15:59.480 and Seattle all jockeying for those spots two through four because, 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:01.320 as we know and talked about earlier in the show, 0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:04.440 the New York Liberty have secured their spot in the playoffs. 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:06.560 So keep an eye on those four teams. 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:09.880 And again, Indiana, are they gonna have something to say 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:10.360 about that? 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:14.520 We'll see awesome stuff. Mesh, thanks for doing the work while. 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:18.080 I was doing other things. We got to take a break. 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:20.240 When we come back, we're going to welcome another member 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:23.200 into the hallowed halls of the Good Game Hall of Fame. 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:29.320 You're back. 0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:32.120 We're back to and it's time for the latest entry 0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:38.040 into our Good Game Hall of Fame. It's a place 0:16:38.080 --> 0:16:41.960 to remember and honor women's sports lore and history, and 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:44.440 we're all quite familiar with the recent history and the 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:47.080 success of our US women's national soccer team. This is 0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:50.920 a squad that has won nine World Championships, five Olympics, 0:16:51.200 --> 0:16:53.760 four Women's World Cups. Meanwhile, the rest of the world 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:57.720 combined has won just eight major championships. So yeah, US 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:00.600 women's national team is a truly epic team. But you 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:03.400 might be surprised to learn that the very first US 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:04.639 women's national soccer. 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:06.520 Team game wasn't all that long ago. 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:11.680 Exactly thirty nine years ago yesterday, that's right, over the weekend, 0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:14.879 on the same day yours truly was celebrating her birthday, 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:16.320 the US women's national. 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:18.200 Soccer team celebrated its birthday too. 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:21.080 On August eighteen, nineteen to eighty five, the US women's 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:24.639 national team played its first ever match, competing against Italy 0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:25.840 in Yesselo, Italy. 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:27.280 They lost one nothing. 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:30.119 Here are a few details from that game via Kaitlin 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:33.160 Murray's book The National Team. Okay, so back in nineteen 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:35.920 eighty five, the first Women's World Cup was still six 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:39.040 years away and the first women's Olympic tournament was still 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:42.160 over a decade away. That first US team, coached by 0:17:42.160 --> 0:17:45.080 Mike Ryan, included seventeen players who were selected from a 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:49.200 national festival held just one week prior. The night before 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:51.840 flying to Italy, the American players and their athletic trainer 0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:55.280 had to tailor their two large uniforms to fit the players. 0:17:55.640 --> 0:17:59.280 Everything was super big, like probably US Soccer found men's 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:02.280 uniforms and ironed USA on the front. There weren't even 0:18:02.280 --> 0:18:04.919 any numbers on the back. During their time in Italy, 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:08.359 that first US women's national team roster went winless, drawing 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:11.040 one game and losing three others, and the players recalled 0:18:11.119 --> 0:18:14.119 being super surprised by just how good the other nations 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:18.080 there were, like Italy, England, and Denmark. One of the 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:21.600 players on that roster, Tucka Heely, recalled to Murray that 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:24.080 the players were so excited to be there that they 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:28.000 even cheered on their competition. Here's what Healy said, quote 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:30.960 while watching the Denmark Italy game, we grabbed an Italian 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:33.440