Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're pre
Speaker 1: panicking about all the things that could happen in Game
Speaker 1: four of the WNBA Finals tonight. My heart rate is
Speaker 1: through the roof just thinking about it. On today's show,
Speaker 1: we'll be talking to Phoenix Mercury and college basketball play
Speaker 1: by play announcer Cindy Brunson about the wild finish to
Speaker 1: WNBA Finals Game three, and we'll get a grade on
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty four season down in the Valley. Plus
Speaker 1: the NWSL season is getting down to the wire, and
Speaker 1: ooh boy, did I have a night out in New
Speaker 1: York with the folks of the Women's Sports Foundation. It's
Speaker 1: all coming up right after this welcome back slices. Here's
Speaker 1: what you need to know today in WNBA News. Tonight
Speaker 1: could be it. The New York Liberty have a two
Speaker 1: to one lead in the best of five series against
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Links after pulling off a stunner in Game three.
Speaker 1: They've got a chance to win the franchise's first WNBA
Speaker 1: championship on Minnesota's home court. In case you mystic, which
Speaker 1: we're sure you didn't if you're listening to this show,
Speaker 1: but Sabrina Escue took the joy out of the gym
Speaker 1: on Wednesday night with a thirty foot game winner in
Speaker 1: the final seconds of Game three. Earlier in the day,
Speaker 1: it was announced that Unescu had been named the All
Speaker 1: WNBA Second Team. After the game, she was asked about
Speaker 1: what she considered a snub and had this to say, that.
Speaker 2: Was just a great All WNBA Second Team performance.
Speaker 1: It's just too good. Can she put together another All
Speaker 1: WNBA second Team performance tonight? Will Brianna Stewart drop another
Speaker 1: thirty piece? Howell and the FISA, Collier and Company respond.
Speaker 1: We'll talk about that and more with Cindy Brunson in
Speaker 1: just a couple minutes. Speaking of those All WNBA teams,
Speaker 1: League MVP Asia Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces and
Speaker 1: Defensive Player of the Year and if you Sacalier of
Speaker 1: the Links were unanimously selected to the All WNBA First Team,
Speaker 1: joining them the Liberties Brianna Stewart, the Connecticut Sons Alissa Thomas,
Speaker 1: and the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark, who became the first
Speaker 1: rookie to make the first team team since Candice Parker
Speaker 1: in eight Always in mark a greatness when a player
Speaker 1: is mentioned in the same breath as CP three Really
Speaker 1: cool stuff for Kaitlin Clark. We'll link to that full
Speaker 1: list of first and the second team players in our
Speaker 1: show notes and the w is back on the big
Speaker 1: screen or whatever screen you're watching streaming channels. On a
Speaker 1: Radical Act, a feature documentary about a big choice made
Speaker 1: by Atlanta dream co owner Renee Montgomery, is officially out
Speaker 1: on Roku. The documentary explores Renee's journey through childhood in
Speaker 1: West Virginia, her time starring as a player at yukon
Speaker 1: the two WNBA championships she won as a member of
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Links, and her move to the Dreams front office.
Speaker 1: It was produced by Uninterrupted and P and G Studios
Speaker 1: and directed by Emmy Award winner Sandren or A Bona.
Speaker 1: Whenever you got some downtime, be sure to check it out.
Speaker 1: We'll link to the trailer in our show notes, and
Speaker 1: if you're listening, Renee, we still want to get you
Speaker 1: on the show. In the NWSL, it's the second to
Speaker 1: last week of the regular season and the playoff picture
Speaker 1: is getting clearer. First, a crucial matchup between the number
Speaker 1: seven Portland Thorns and the number nine Racing Louisville FC Saturday,
Speaker 1: seven thirty pm Eastern on Ion. Portland needs a win
Speaker 1: or a draw to clinch a playoff spot, while Racing
Speaker 1: Louisville is on the brink of elimination. Right after that,
Speaker 1: the number five North Carolina Courage hit the road to
Speaker 1: play number eight BAFC at ten pm Eastern, also on Ion.
Speaker 1: The Courage are already in the playoffs, while Bay could
Speaker 1: lock up a spot if things go their way. On Sunday,
Speaker 1: Number three Gotham FC hosts the top ranked Orlando Pride
Speaker 1: in a match that could move Gotham into second place
Speaker 1: with the right result. As always, we'll link to Alison
Speaker 1: Gale's excellent playoff scenario breakdowns in our show notes. More
Speaker 1: NWSL sale news out of Southern California, The Levine Likeman
Speaker 1: Family Office has officially acquired the San Diego Wave Football
Speaker 1: Club from its last owner, Ron Burkele. Lauren Likeman will
Speaker 1: be the club's new NWSL governor, and Zachary Likeman Levine
Speaker 1: will serve as the new NWSL alternate governor. Lauren Likeman
Speaker 1: and Arthur Levine are the founders of Lavine Likeman Capital Partners,
Speaker 1: a global private equity firm. Along with this acquisition, their
Speaker 1: family office is also added, investing partners from around the
Speaker 1: San Diego area to help bolster the club. In a statement,
Speaker 1: Lauren Likeman said of the move, quote, our commitment to
Speaker 1: the club will extend beyond the field as we pursue
Speaker 1: the construction of a new, state of the art training facility,
Speaker 1: while also supporting local youth development and community programs. Our
Speaker 1: mission is to create an unparalleled experience for fans, players
Speaker 1: and staff, further cementing the Wave's position as the premier
Speaker 1: women's soccer club. End quote. The owners will have to
Speaker 1: hit the ground running this offseason with two pressing matters
Speaker 1: on the docket. Find a new head coach and address
Speaker 1: the allegations against team president Jill Ellis and complaints of
Speaker 1: former staff regarding a toxic work environment. Interesting note, said
Speaker 1: Ellis in a statement about the team's sale. Quote, Arthur
Speaker 1: and Lauren have been great supporters of mine for many years.
Speaker 1: I have no doubt they will fit right in with
Speaker 1: the San Diego Wave community, and it is my pleasure
Speaker 1: to welcome them to the organization. End quote. Elsewhere in
Speaker 1: soccer news, the US women's national team has released its
Speaker 1: October training camp roster. Fresh off leading team USA to
Speaker 1: a gold medal in the Paris Olympics, Head coach Emma
Speaker 1: Hates called up six uncapped players, meaning they haven't seen
Speaker 1: any playing time for the national team yet. Three of
Speaker 1: them are making a US women's national team roster for
Speaker 1: the first time. Worth noting that the national team's collective
Speaker 1: bargaining agreement requires all Olympic players to be called up
Speaker 1: to camps ahead of victory tour games so long as
Speaker 1: they're available and uninjured, which means eighteen players who competed
Speaker 1: in Paris were automatically named to the squad. The team
Speaker 1: will host Iceland twice this month, first at Q two
Speaker 1: Stadium in Austin, Texas, on the twenty fourth, then again
Speaker 1: at Geotis Park in Nashville, Tennessee on the twenty seventh.
Speaker 1: Both Mallory Swanson and Kelly O'Hara will be honored at
Speaker 1: the Nashville match. Swanson celebration for her one hundredth cap,
Speaker 1: which came during the Olympic gold medal game Loal O'Hara
Speaker 1: will get a well deserved retirement ceremony at halftime. The
Speaker 1: US women's national team will also play Argentina on October
Speaker 1: thirty at a Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky, where
Speaker 1: Rose LaVale will be honored for her one hundredth cap,
Speaker 1: which she reached back in June. We'll link to the
Speaker 1: full training camp roster in our show notes. In college volleyball,
Speaker 1: the top four teams are at action tonight, beginning at
Speaker 1: six Eastern with number two Nebraska against Michigan State. The
Speaker 1: huskers only loss this season is to Southern Methodist University,
Speaker 1: and they're hoping to keep a thirteen game winning streak alive.
Speaker 1: Then at seven pm, number one ranked Pit takes on
Speaker 1: unranked Cal and number four Louisville plays wake Forest. At
Speaker 1: eight pm Eastern, Number three Penn State faces Ohio State.
Speaker 1: There are a slew of other top twenty five teams
Speaker 1: in action tonight as well, so we'll link to the
Speaker 1: full schedule of games in our show notes. In college soccer,
Speaker 1: plenty of games to keep track of tonight as well,
Speaker 1: most notably an in state showdown between number three ranked
Speaker 1: Mississippi State and Ole Miss at eight pm Eastern. We'll
Speaker 1: link to that schedule in our show notes too. All right,
Speaker 1: ceisis some more volleyball news. But this has some implications
Speaker 1: for the upcoming election. Two, we told you about the
Speaker 1: San Jose State volleyball team and how other schools have
Speaker 1: forfeited matches against them this season. The schools who have
Speaker 1: forfeited have not explicitly stated why, but the presence of
Speaker 1: a reported transgender athlete on the San Jose State team
Speaker 1: is believed to be behind the decisions. Last month, as
Speaker 1: JSU Coca captain Brooks Slusser joined a lawsuit seeking to
Speaker 1: overturn NCAA guidelines that allowed trans women to play under
Speaker 1: certain conditions. When she joined that suit, Slusser outed one
Speaker 1: of her teammates as transgender. Now, according to reporting from
Speaker 1: Marissa and Jemmy at the San Francisco Chronicle, former President
Speaker 1: Donald Trump is using the situation as political fodder in
Speaker 1: his run for president. In a match last Thursday, the
Speaker 1: outed teammate spiked a ball that hit a San Diego
Speaker 1: State player and knocked her down for a moment, but
Speaker 1: she popped right back up. Trump seemed to reference the
Speaker 1: play on Wednesday during a town hall on Fox News
Speaker 1: channels The Faulkner Focus. He said, quote, I saw the slam.
Speaker 1: It was a slam. I never saw a ball hit
Speaker 1: so hard hit the girl in the head. But other people,
Speaker 1: even in volleyball, they've been permanently. I mean they've been
Speaker 1: really hurt badly, women playing men. But you don't have
Speaker 1: to do the volleyball. We stop it. We stop it.
Speaker 1: We absolutely stop it. You can't have it. End quote.
Speaker 1: This kind of exaggeration and fear mongering is common from
Speaker 1: those seeking to demonize transathletes, and usually involves a ignoring context.
Speaker 1: In this case, the player in question isn't the tallest
Speaker 1: or hardest hitting on our own team, and in volleyball,
Speaker 1: spikes and hard to return balls are not just common,
Speaker 1: they're sort of the point. San Diego State's director of
Speaker 1: athletic communications push back on Trump's remarks in a statement
Speaker 1: on Wednesday, saying, quote this did not happen. The ball
Speaker 1: hit her in the shoulder, she was uninjured and did
Speaker 1: not miss a play end quote. He also added that
Speaker 1: the school has called for corrections from media outlets. A
Speaker 1: video from the San Francisco Chronicle proves that Trump's words
Speaker 1: are inaccurate. The ball not only hit the SDSU player
Speaker 1: in the arms, the result was actually a dig that
Speaker 1: allowed the point to continue. We'll link to the video
Speaker 1: in our notes so you can watch for yourself, and
Speaker 1: again we'll keep you updated on this situation as the
Speaker 1: reporting continues. We've got to take a quick break. But
Speaker 1: first I want to remind y'all that we've got a
Speaker 1: survey we would love for you orange slices to fill out.
Speaker 1: Just visit the link in the episode notes or check
Speaker 1: my Twitter at Sarah Spain where I posted the link
Speaker 1: as well. It'll take two minutes of your time, promise,
Speaker 1: and don't forget. One lucky participant will win a sports
Speaker 1: prize pack, So go fill it out. Okay when we
Speaker 1: come back, sab shot and the links on the Ropes
Speaker 1: with Cindy Brunson. Stay tuned. Joining us now the TV
Speaker 1: play by play voice for the Phoenix Murcury. You can
Speaker 1: hear calling Big Ten women's soups on Peacock Arizona Women's
Speaker 1: basketball play by play on ESPN Plus as they pivot
Speaker 1: to the Big twelve. Former longtime sports center host on ESPN,
Speaker 1: principal play by play voice for Athletes Unlimited Basketball for
Speaker 1: the last three seasons, and a proud Washington State alum.
Speaker 1: We partied on a very hot Phoenix rooftop during the
Speaker 1: All Star weekend seeking out mister's hair Bedamned, it's Cindy Brunson.
Speaker 1: What's up, Cindy?
Speaker 2: Oh, A happy slice reporting for duty here.
Speaker 1: We love a certified slice. I'm good. I'm recovering from
Speaker 1: WNBA and pre panicking about WNBA. This series has not
Speaker 1: given us a moment to take a breath, and I
Speaker 1: don't want to be prisoner of the moment here. But
Speaker 1: if we get another classic, and especially if it goes
Speaker 1: to five? Am I wrong in saying this might be
Speaker 1: one of the best series of all time.
Speaker 2: In the w OH I don't think that's an overstatement
Speaker 2: at all. I really do hope it goes to five.
Speaker 2: I know Courtney Williams was very adamant after Game two
Speaker 2: saying that the Links don't want to go back to
Speaker 2: New York. But I think all of us are hoping
Speaker 2: that that indeed happens, except for probably the Liberty. Yeah. No,
Speaker 2: I think they'd be happy didn't pack enough clothes to
Speaker 2: go beyond Game four that they want to wrap this
Speaker 2: up on Friday.
Speaker 1: Okay, we got to start with Sabrina and Escut two Daggers.
Speaker 1: At the end of game three. Of course, the second
Speaker 1: one sealed the win. That thirty footer was insane. But
Speaker 1: I have to say the first three, just a couple
Speaker 1: moments before, might be the biggest energy suck I've ever
Speaker 1: heard in an arena. I've heard big shots that caused
Speaker 1: the groans and the screams and the ugh That was
Speaker 1: just silence, just everybody taking the big gasp at the
Speaker 1: same time. And then the second one that just knocked
Speaker 1: everyone out. How big of a shot was that, not
Speaker 1: just for this series, but in the history of the Liberty.
Speaker 2: It was pretty big. I would put it right behind
Speaker 2: t spoons half course shot to extend that series against
Speaker 2: the comments. Yeah, it was ginormous. But PAC twelve fans,
Speaker 2: former PAC twelve fans, and Oregon Duck fans know that
Speaker 2: that is what Sabrina does. She has been showing off
Speaker 2: the mama mentality forever. I mean, you remember she was
Speaker 2: one of the speakers at Kobe Bryant's funeral. She is
Speaker 2: built for this and we saw it all the time
Speaker 2: when she was at Oregon. That's why she walked away
Speaker 2: with twenty seven triple doubles in college. She is just
Speaker 2: that person and hand to God, Sarah and I will
Speaker 2: fight people in the streets over this. If the pandemic
Speaker 2: hadn't taken over our lives and canceled the twenty twenty
Speaker 2: NCAA tournament, Oregon would have cut down the nets. They
Speaker 2: had three first round draft picks on that roster, led
Speaker 2: by Sabrina. That team was built to win a championship,
Speaker 2: and this is the chip that Sabrina has been chasing
Speaker 2: ever since COVID denied her in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was heartbreaking. That was heartbreaking for Sabin for
Speaker 1: that team, and then you know the injuries early in
Speaker 1: her w season, and then you know the questions about
Speaker 1: whether she would translate her game. What we have seen
Speaker 1: from her this season, continuing to be an absolute killer
Speaker 1: from beyond the art, continuing to be an offensive threat,
Speaker 1: but defensively improving, being a point guard for a team
Speaker 1: when they needed one to step up in Courtney vander
Speaker 1: Slut's absence. This is a different Sabrina. And this feels
Speaker 1: like if the Liberty go on to win this title,
Speaker 1: you know, Johnquell and Brianna Stewart and everybody else are
Speaker 1: playing their role, but it's the difference in Sabrina's game
Speaker 1: that might just be the thing that puts them over
Speaker 1: the top.
Speaker 2: Oh, Sabrina is out in these streets proving she deserved
Speaker 2: to be first Team All WNBA, no doubt, because what
Speaker 2: did she do? She led the number one team in
Speaker 2: the league and she did it averaging fewer than three
Speaker 2: turnovers a night. She was efficient, She was effective and
Speaker 2: deserve to be on that first team.
Speaker 1: I was going to ask you about that because after
Speaker 1: the game we played the crack about that was just
Speaker 1: a good second team All WNBA performance. Do you think
Speaker 1: she should have been the first teamer?
Speaker 2: Based on wins and losses? What team was at the
Speaker 2: top of the table for the majority of the season,
Speaker 2: Her New York Liberty. That matters. Winning matters, especially in
Speaker 2: the WNBA.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's interesting obviously, Caitlin Clark a tremendous season and
Speaker 1: records talk and maybe not working with as much on
Speaker 1: a team that needs to pull itself out of the
Speaker 1: lower rung of the league. But certainly an argument there.
Speaker 1: And hey, I bet you if you asked Sabrina and
Speaker 1: the rest of the Liberty if they'd rather have her
Speaker 1: in this series with the chip on her shoulder for
Speaker 1: the last couple games and win it all or have
Speaker 1: her be first team. They would unanimously say, we'll take
Speaker 1: the championship. But they've still got to win going forward,
Speaker 1: and the way this series has gone that is not
Speaker 1: a guarantee. We saw Brianna Stewart put up an effort
Speaker 1: that helped them get that game three thirty points in
Speaker 1: all unbelievable fourth quarter. Defensively, offensively, how do you even
Speaker 1: begin to try to stop Brianna Stewart, especially the way
Speaker 1: she's playing now where they're using her a lot bringing
Speaker 1: the ball up the floor.
Speaker 2: Well, you don't stop her. You hope that you can
Speaker 2: absorb what she puts up and then limit those around her.
Speaker 2: I think that that is the game plan that Minnesota
Speaker 2: has tried to use in this series. What I think
Speaker 2: they didn't expect was how much of a defensive impact
Speaker 2: Stewie would end up having. She had seven steals a
Speaker 2: WNBA record in the game to win, and three of
Speaker 2: those steals came in the fourth quarter. In Game three
Speaker 2: to take a two to one series lead, Stewie scored
Speaker 2: fourteen points in the third quarter to get her team
Speaker 2: level and then provided another eight when it was closing
Speaker 2: time in the fourth quarter to go along with half
Speaker 2: of her blocks on the night two. Stewie is etching
Speaker 2: her name on the MVP Finals trophy right now. All
Speaker 2: the Liberty have to do is help her secure that
Speaker 2: last win.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the Links had the Liberty down early. It looked
Speaker 1: like home court was absolutely the home cooking that they needed.
Speaker 1: They were forcing turnovers, they were in a rhythm offensively.
Speaker 1: Courtney Williams looked fire. Was it just the injury and
Speaker 1: the foul trouble for Alanta Smith that turned the tight
Speaker 1: or did you see something else?
Speaker 2: Alana Smith leaving the floor was devastating for Minnesota because
Speaker 2: it interrupted their defensive rotations. Minnesota has created so much
Speaker 2: havoc and for so many Liberty turnovers that they feast
Speaker 2: on their points off turnovers, averaging the double digits. In
Speaker 2: this series. It's gigantic. And with that little tick of
Speaker 2: an interruption in the rotation, that's how evenly matched these
Speaker 2: teams are. It tilted toward the Liberty. It gave Sabrina
Speaker 2: a little more room to operate in space, and it
Speaker 2: gave New York its advantage coming into this series, and
Speaker 2: that is size. John Quell Jones had five points in
Speaker 2: the fourth quarter. She went on a little five oh
Speaker 2: scoring run of her own when she said, you know what,
Speaker 2: I listened to Stewie in that huddle when she said,
Speaker 2: we are not leaping losing this game and she produced.
Speaker 2: We've been waiting for JJ to exact her force and
Speaker 2: she did it in that fourth quarter.
Speaker 1: Well, and it's something we've talked about with these two teams.
Speaker 1: It has been incredible to watch Cheryl Reeve take this
Speaker 1: collection of players with only one Drew superstar in the FISA,
Speaker 1: Collier taking someone like Smith who was out of the league,
Speaker 1: thought she would stay out of the league and then
Speaker 1: got a call from James Wade, went to the Chicago
Speaker 1: Sky and then ended up on this link squad. The
Speaker 1: way shol Reef has put them together has been impressive.
Speaker 1: But with somebody from that starting lineup, when one of
Speaker 1: their big players go out and they have to start
Speaker 1: making substitutions, it's a very different game for Minnesota. On
Speaker 1: the liberty side, when you go to the bench, you're like, oh,
Speaker 1: let's bring up you know, one of the greatest facilitators
Speaker 1: in the history of the game in forty Van Right,
Speaker 1: Let's swap out some of our superstars for other people
Speaker 1: who would be absolutely starters on other teams. That depth
Speaker 1: for the Liberty is a killer, So that seems like
Speaker 1: something that will be really important for the Links in
Speaker 1: game four in order to keep the series alive and
Speaker 1: force in game five is to keep people out of
Speaker 1: foul trouble and be able to have their leaders lead.
Speaker 2: First of all, if you're a New York Liberty player,
Speaker 2: you need to call out screens for Leona Phoebeish oh
Speaker 2: because girl is getting knock all.
Speaker 1: I literally was going to ask you going down the line,
Speaker 1: who's the top person who needs to buy our dinner?
Speaker 1: A couple of them? Do? I think it might be
Speaker 1: John Quall who's gotten the most A.
Speaker 2: Couple of dinners, for sure, But Foebish has got to
Speaker 2: stay on the floor and upright. The defensive switch to
Speaker 2: put Phoebish on McBride was brilliant because McBride struggled with
Speaker 2: that extra height. Again, the Liberty have the advantage being
Speaker 2: so tall. Feavish six 's four. All of a sudden,
Speaker 2: those sightlines that were working so well for McBride and
Speaker 2: Carleton went away, and that was huge. And how about
Speaker 2: Niara sobely five steady minutes Rookie came in with some
Speaker 2: energy and some oof and it just reminded me of
Speaker 2: a conversation I had with head coach Kelly Graves at
Speaker 2: Oregon who always told me keep an eye on Niara.
Speaker 2: She is just a bigger version of the unicorn that
Speaker 2: we know, as her sister saw to goes. If she
Speaker 2: can stay healthy, she is going to wreck everybody. And
Speaker 2: that I saw that on display, her effort, her energy,
Speaker 2: her fire, her want, the liberty needed that they needed
Speaker 2: to match what Courtley Williams brings to the floor, what
Speaker 2: Fee has brought to the floor. They needed to do that.
Speaker 2: You questioned their toughness muscle, you know, especially when they
Speaker 2: get up so big and lose those leads. So it
Speaker 2: was nice to see a young, young players in Foebish
Speaker 2: and Sodly bring that toughness for New York.
Speaker 1: What can the Links do? What do the Links have
Speaker 1: to do? What do you see going right for the Links?
Speaker 1: In game four? To extend the series.
Speaker 2: It's critical to know the health status of Smith. If
Speaker 2: Atlanta Smith is not healthy and can't contribute, that's devastating.
Speaker 2: But then you tap Maysha heinz Allen on the shoulder,
Speaker 2: remind her she's got a WNBA championship on her resume,
Speaker 2: and to just channel it like we need you. You're
Speaker 2: our person now and you have got to listen to
Speaker 2: the leaders on the floor of where you need to
Speaker 2: be because she's disruptive and she is a sneaky good
Speaker 2: shooter like New York was leaving her open a lot
Speaker 2: in Game three, and if they do that in Game four,
Speaker 2: m aj can make them pay.
Speaker 1: What do the Liberty need to do? What do you
Speaker 1: see happen in game four for the Liberty that helps
Speaker 1: them to win their very first title.
Speaker 2: The Liberty need to re watch Game four in the
Speaker 2: loss against the Aces last year where they were this
Speaker 2: close to extending the series and let go of the rope.
Speaker 2: They cannot do that again because Minnesota is happy to
Speaker 2: force a Game five and we saw what happened in
Speaker 2: Game one. Home court may as well not be in
Speaker 2: play now. They may as well find an empty gym
Speaker 2: somewhere and do this because home court is not helping
Speaker 2: like we normally see it, especially with the role players.
Speaker 2: That was stunning to me with Minnesota. The extra pieces
Speaker 2: that she brings off the bench in like a Natisha Heideman,
Speaker 2: just they were more effective in New York than they
Speaker 2: were in Minnesota. So if that trend continues for Minnesota,
Speaker 2: that could be problematic as well.
Speaker 1: And we've seen it across all sports. If you have
Speaker 1: a chance to finish off a series and you allow
Speaker 1: the other team to tie things back up, there shouldn't
Speaker 1: be momentum either way. You're tied, but the momentum is
Speaker 1: all with the team that extended the series and did
Speaker 1: not allow themselves to be eliminated. The Liberty do not
Speaker 1: want to find out what that looks like if the
Speaker 1: Links win Game four and force the Game five, And
Speaker 1: I have to be honest if I'm making a pick,
Speaker 1: This collapse of fifteen point lead in the first quarter
Speaker 1: feels different to me than when the Liberty did it
Speaker 1: at home for a couple reasons, mainly because it's deeper
Speaker 1: into the series. There's less of that mental weight of it.
Speaker 1: It feels like by this point you should be able
Speaker 1: to not have the nerves get in the way, You
Speaker 1: should be able to finish off a game like the
Speaker 1: Links started out with. But also, the Liberty are a better,
Speaker 1: deeper team. I believe that. I believe if you're just
Speaker 1: talking who's a better team, Who should win this series.
Speaker 1: It should be the Liberty. And so if you have
Speaker 1: them on the ropes the way that they did and
Speaker 1: you let them back in to win, it doesn't feel
Speaker 1: like Game one. It feels like to me the end
Speaker 1: of the series, the Liberty come out, and I think,
Speaker 1: if I have to have a hot take, I say,
Speaker 1: confidently win on Friday night.
Speaker 2: Okay, confidently like they won in Game two.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, that it doesn't come down to a final
Speaker 1: shot that they that they get out ahead. Maybe hold it.
Speaker 2: I can see that. I know that the mathematics will
Speaker 2: tell you that the team that goes up to one
Speaker 2: wins the series eighty something percent of the time. So
Speaker 2: that's a good sign for New York. They got a
Speaker 2: control fee. The Visa Collier presents a lot of problems,
Speaker 2: so the defense has to continue to stay locked in
Speaker 2: on her and switching up the defenses on Courtney Williams
Speaker 2: also imperative because those two players in particular, brings so
Speaker 2: much want to the table it's frightening. So I think
Speaker 2: more than skills that New York brings to the table,
Speaker 2: it's between the ears. They have got to believe that
Speaker 2: they can seal the deal on Friday.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about the Phoenix Murcer whill we got you here.
Speaker 2: You were better than a season ago.
Speaker 3: Let's go there you go.
Speaker 1: Would you call this season a six for a failure
Speaker 1: based on the pieces that they had a success?
Speaker 2: I think for as top heavy as the roster is
Speaker 2: or was for the twenty twenty four season, it was
Speaker 2: a great success. The integration of the new pieces in
Speaker 2: Kalia Copper, who finished the season second team All WNBA,
Speaker 2: had nine thirty point games, one shy of the Phoenix
Speaker 2: Mercury record set by Diana Tarrossi and Natasha Cloud, making
Speaker 2: All defensive team in the WNBA, guarding positions one through
Speaker 2: five for Nate Tibbets all season long. Those two in
Speaker 2: particular were amazing. Diana was fantastic, putting up numbers that
Speaker 2: she almost hit when she first came into this league
Speaker 2: twenty seasons ago. It's and then Britney Griner finally found
Speaker 2: her group. We saw flashes last season in our first
Speaker 2: season back after that wrongful detention. But I saw BG smile.
Speaker 2: I saw Beg hit the best three two point percentage
Speaker 2: on the team. She had a half for three point drives. Yeah,
Speaker 2: so I just I saw Ney things. What I didn't
Speaker 2: see was a very deep bench, and that's where Phoenix
Speaker 2: got exposed against the top tier of the league and
Speaker 2: in the playoffs against Minnesota. And the thing that that
Speaker 2: Minnesota really showed me is that Phoenix is missing a four.
Speaker 2: We haven't had a great four since Candue to Decree
Speaker 2: and that championship that was won back in twenty fourteen
Speaker 2: and the team that set the world on fire in
Speaker 2: twenty thirteen when BGI was just a rookie. You got
Speaker 2: to have a four in this league, a big four
Speaker 2: who can compete and score, because you see the fours
Speaker 2: on display in these finals and Steuwie and fee ISJ.
Speaker 2: Wilson got eliminated because they didn't have enough depth. But
Speaker 2: it's start. The full crumb is the four in this league.
Speaker 1: I don't want to talk about Colia Copper. It makes
Speaker 1: miss that the Chicago Sky.
Speaker 2: Okay, the Sky.
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm happy for her, on I miss her.
Speaker 2: They're a mess. If you're going to let go Weather,
Speaker 2: I'm listen, man, that's official dumpster fire status.
Speaker 1: Listen.
Speaker 2: Put that on a coach in her first season, her
Speaker 2: first one, I know, they messed around and almost made
Speaker 2: the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and why do you bring someone in in that
Speaker 1: situation and then not give it time. It just doesn't
Speaker 1: make any sense. Okay, let's stick with Phoenix because I've
Speaker 1: got plenty of time to mourn whatever the hell's going
Speaker 1: on with this guy. Do you think the roster for
Speaker 1: the for the Mercury is going to look similar or
Speaker 1: different next season?
Speaker 2: I think it's going to look different because I don't
Speaker 2: think Diana Tarroossi's name is going to be on there
Speaker 2: for the first time since two thousand and four. I'm
Speaker 2: I'm putting that out there because I've been bracing myself,
Speaker 2: feels this eventuality.
Speaker 1: What's happening. She hasn't said it, no.
Speaker 2: But there's so many round numbers, right, twenty w NBA seasons,
Speaker 2: the exact number that Kobe played, and Kobe anointed DT
Speaker 2: the White Mamba, So there's that.
Speaker 1: Well, and then my friends of hers, you know, after
Speaker 1: that final game, there was a big party, and I
Speaker 1: saw in the captions a hashtag if you know you know,
Speaker 1: And I'm thinking that feels like the insiders are being
Speaker 1: told this was a retirement party.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and then I just go based on what I
Speaker 2: saw across the floor, from me. Penny Taylor had court
Speaker 2: side seats, and the last two seasons I hadn't seen
Speaker 2: Penny at the kids at very many games. This season,
Speaker 2: the second half of the season, they were at almost
Speaker 2: every single game, and that was the bell for me.
Speaker 2: I was like, Okay, Leo is sitting with her court side.
Speaker 2: Oh okay, here, we're taking in these moments. We're cataloging
Speaker 2: memories now. So that was the big signal for me.
Speaker 1: Okay, So, no, DT, what are they adding? Who else
Speaker 1: makes sense to keep or get rid of? What else
Speaker 1: do you anticipate in terms of changes?
Speaker 2: Then, well, it all depends on who they protect right
Speaker 2: for the Valkyries expansion draft and who else is available
Speaker 2: from other teams because of that expansion draft. I would
Speaker 2: love to see Melissa Smith a big four in Phoenix.
Speaker 2: Kelsey Mitchell is an unrestricted free agent, Satu Sabai is
Speaker 2: an unrestricted free agent, and Phoenix has all the bells
Speaker 2: and whistles right. They've got an owner who is ready
Speaker 2: to write checks, and they've got a brand new fifty
Speaker 2: eight thousand square foot practice facility that is elite. So
Speaker 2: when it comes to creature comforts and how players should
Speaker 2: be treated, there's a handful of teams that can offer
Speaker 2: those to players and free agents, and Phoenix is one
Speaker 2: of them.
Speaker 1: What are you given a grade for Nate Tibbitts in
Speaker 1: his first year as head coach.
Speaker 2: I give him a bee. I thought he did a
Speaker 2: very good job of leaning on Christy Tolliver, his associate
Speaker 2: head coach, and learning the league quickly. I think he's
Speaker 2: a good ex'es and O's guy. I just don't think
Speaker 2: that he had the personnel to run what he wanted
Speaker 2: to do the thirty three these attempts. Again, he just
Speaker 2: didn't have that much three point shooting on his roster.
Speaker 2: But I understand his vision of what he wants. Now
Speaker 2: it's up to matt Ishbia and the leadership to give
Speaker 2: him the pieces that he needs for that offense to function.
Speaker 2: It would be very akin to what we see from
Speaker 2: Minnesota and New York.
Speaker 1: We're keeping a NYE a couple big picture of things
Speaker 1: in the w that includes the CBA conversations. That includes
Speaker 1: the potential for players to start looking ahead to that
Speaker 1: renegotiation and having it affect their deals. I know someone
Speaker 1: pointed out Stue mentioned she only plans on one year
Speaker 1: deals going forward. That's something that her old teammate Sue
Speaker 1: Byrd was the master of for her last few years
Speaker 1: in the league. Can you see a whole bunch of
Speaker 1: players all saying, why would I sign more than a
Speaker 1: one year deal when we know that this potential reorg
Speaker 1: is coming down the pike and I might have a
Speaker 1: little more leverage to deal with? Might we have absolute
Speaker 1: insane free agency right ahead the twenty twenty sixth season.
Speaker 2: Oh, I think so. I know if I was an
Speaker 2: unrestricted free agent and I had the opportunity to shot
Speaker 2: my skills to the highest bidder, but knew more money
Speaker 2: was on the table down the pike, you bet that
Speaker 2: is a good business decision. And I think it will
Speaker 2: make for electric team building because you got to get
Speaker 2: good and fast.
Speaker 1: And now we'll have unrivaled where a bunch of players
Speaker 1: will get to play with folks that aren't on their
Speaker 1: w team, get a chemistry going, get relationships going. I
Speaker 1: mean that whole league is basically just Tampa City, USA.
Speaker 2: Like I'm just going to rename Miami. You don't know
Speaker 2: Miami anymore. We're going to Tampa City.
Speaker 1: Tampa City, USA. I don't even know how it's legal
Speaker 1: but I'm fired up for it. I'm also fired up
Speaker 1: for this Game four of the WNBA Finals. Cindy, thank
Speaker 1: you so much for getting us ready for it in
Speaker 1: a way that only you could. Your voice is been
Speaker 1: so important to this league and you continue to be
Speaker 1: a leader in the space, and we so appreciate all
Speaker 1: of your efforts and especially your efforts coming on our
Speaker 1: show today.
Speaker 2: Oh, thanks so much. Appreciate you. A reminder, Athletes Unlimited
Speaker 2: will start season four. They're going to be in Nashville,
Speaker 2: so you'll have a five on five option against the
Speaker 2: three x three option four Unrivaled. And shout out to
Speaker 2: TNT for not only saying we're going to broadcast the
Speaker 2: Unrivaled games, we're going to be a partner in the league.
Speaker 2: That is ten toes down and it is so nice
Speaker 2: to see.
Speaker 1: I mean, women's hoops fans are spoiled right now. We're
Speaker 1: going to get one of the most highly anticipated college
Speaker 1: seasons of all time, plus Nashville AU plus Unrivaled in January.
Speaker 1: It's almost too much. How can we be expect to
Speaker 1: have jobs even if our jobs are to watch basketball?
Speaker 2: Oh well, that's the beauty of it, right Like, oh,
Speaker 2: it never ends, Like I was really happy that I
Speaker 2: didn't have time to take a vacation. Here you go,
Speaker 2: my WNBA season ended, and then it was like, okay,
Speaker 2: I got to get ready for ten and Big twelve
Speaker 2: and all right, here we go. So yeah, it's a
Speaker 2: nice problem to have, for sure.
Speaker 1: Amazing, so spoiled. Thank you, Cindy, Thank you, Thanks so
Speaker 1: much to Cindy for chatting with us, such a pros pro.
Speaker 1: We got to take another break when we come back.
Speaker 1: How many powerful women's sports athletes can you fit into
Speaker 1: one room? Welcome back slices. I am still recovering from
Speaker 1: an incredible night at the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the
Speaker 1: Women's Sports Foundation. Every year they throw an incredible galap
Speaker 1: but they really pulled out all the stops for this
Speaker 1: one and number fifty, including killer videos for each decade
Speaker 1: of the Foundation's existence, mixing political and current events footage
Speaker 1: with the top women's sports performances of the decades. I'm
Speaker 1: going to post clips from some of those to my
Speaker 1: Instagram at Spain two three two three so you can
Speaker 1: check them out. So good. They even brought out a
Speaker 1: few of the women from each generation on stage, including
Speaker 1: basketball legends Cheryl Miller and Myers Drysdale, Swin Cash Marathon groundbreaker,
Speaker 1: Katherine Switzer, Paralympic legend, Tatiana McFadden, Pool Shark, the Black
Speaker 1: Widow aka Janette Lee, Knockout Queen Claressa, Shields hockey great,
Speaker 1: Kendall Coin, Schofield, and more fun side note, Claressa was
Speaker 1: in the bathroom talking to someone from the Women's Sports
Speaker 1: Foundation complaining about the highlight videos not having enough of
Speaker 1: her knocking people out freaking hilarious. They were like, you
Speaker 1: were in plenty of the video. She was like, but
Speaker 1: I want to be knocking bitches out so good. Julie
Speaker 1: Foudy and Ari Chambers were incredible hosts for the evening
Speaker 1: and they took us in a Fax time machine through
Speaker 1: those generations of footage, including costume changes. And let me
Speaker 1: just tell you, Foudy can rock a seventies jumpsuit. That's
Speaker 1: all I gotta say. I want to send a big
Speaker 1: thank you to CEO Dennette Layton. I want to congratulate
Speaker 1: friend of the show, current President of the Wind Sports Foundation,
Speaker 1: Scout Bassett. I want to say what's up to founder
Speaker 1: Billy Jean King for starting the whole thing fifty years ago. Honoree,
Speaker 1: Alana Klaus and everyone else for just a really powerful,
Speaker 1: incredible evening. We'll have some more stories from the Galla
Speaker 1: next week, including sharing some powerful words from one of
Speaker 1: Wilma Rudolph's teammates from the nineteen sixty Olympics, eighty seven
Speaker 1: year old Lucinda Williams, and how she and Tobinheath wove
Speaker 1: a story about the thread that ties female athletes together.
Speaker 1: It was really cool. But for now, I just want
Speaker 1: to give a shout out to friend of the show
Speaker 1: Monica McNutt, who probably, like right before we were at
Speaker 1: the gala together, signed a multi year contract extension with ESPN.
Speaker 1: We love to see it. So congrats to Monica. And
Speaker 1: here's a couple questions I asked her in honor of
Speaker 1: the Women's Sports Foundations big fiftieth anniversary.
Speaker 3: What is your.
Speaker 1: Favorite women's sports memory from the last fifty years?
Speaker 3: Wow?
Speaker 4: Fifty years? I think, oh man, that's so hard, okay
Speaker 4: for me, Definitely falling in love with the Williams sisters.
Speaker 4: I remember there being so formative and then I got
Speaker 4: us still go back to my origin story. Shout out
Speaker 4: to WNBA nineteen ninety seven, like the comments, these are leslies.
Speaker 3: There's a weatherspore, we're back of love. Oh yeah, So
Speaker 3: for me, those are the things that come to top
Speaker 3: of mine.
Speaker 1: Okay, if you had a team, I'm a professional team
Speaker 1: in the city where you're from?
Speaker 3: Where are you from?
Speaker 2: And what would the name be? Oh?
Speaker 3: Okay, do I go the major city that I'm from
Speaker 3: or like the actual city city?
Speaker 2: Either one?
Speaker 4: All right, there's already professional teams in DC. So if
Speaker 4: I was gonna bring them straight all the way to
Speaker 4: my city of Suitland, Maryland, I don't know. I want
Speaker 4: them to be like the rough Riders or something. We're
Speaker 4: a basketball city. We're a basketball region for sure.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: Last one, any athlete past or current that you would.
Speaker 3: Want to be teammates with?
Speaker 4: Okay, so can I tell you I don't fangirl often
Speaker 4: we work in this whatever.
Speaker 3: But Cheryl Miller is like, what athlete do you want
Speaker 3: to go? See? That played?
Speaker 4: Before you got around to see what athlee do you
Speaker 4: want to be teammates with?
Speaker 3: Like it's schel Miller, Show Miller, Shoel Miller.
Speaker 4: And she was so cool today and I like introduced
Speaker 4: myself to her and was trying to be cool, but
Speaker 4: I really.
Speaker 3: Wasn't at all.
Speaker 4: But she's here and she'll be celebrated along with her teammates,
Speaker 4: and it's such a dope event.
Speaker 3: It's always a great night, but fifty makes it extra special.
Speaker 1: Thanks to Monica. Love those answers, and thanks again to
Speaker 1: the Women's Sports Foundation. More about that night coming on
Speaker 1: the show in a few days. We always love you're listening,
Speaker 1: but we want you to get in the game every
Speaker 1: day too, So here's our good game play of the day.
Speaker 1: I mean, I might as well ask you for money.
Speaker 1: Donate to the Women's Sports Foundation. They're doing a giant
Speaker 1: capital raise to continue the work they're doing. Go to
Speaker 1: their website, click that donate button. Help the cause and
Speaker 1: help your own cause by getting in the game and
Speaker 1: choosing a fighter For all the upcoming sports, who are
Speaker 1: you rooting for in the PWHL season? Do you have
Speaker 1: a favorite inau volleyball? Are you ready to pick a
Speaker 1: side in the inaugural Love Pro Volleyball season? In college sports?
Speaker 1: Who's your squad this college basketball season? And they've already started,
Speaker 1: so you got to hop on quick with college hockey, volleyball, soccer,
Speaker 1: Pick a team is what I'm saying. Decide where your
Speaker 1: loyalties lie and let it rip. Start talking shit. Buy
Speaker 1: the merch, buy the tickets, go to the games. Sports
Speaker 1: are more fun when you've got a team to follow us.
Speaker 1: So if you don't have one for one of those sports,
Speaker 1: do a little research and pick one. And please do
Speaker 1: us a favor and fill out our survey. We linked
Speaker 1: to it in our show notes. I'm gonna keep telling
Speaker 1: you please fill it out. It's super helpful to us.
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. Hit us up on
Speaker 1: email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com, or leave us
Speaker 1: a voicemail at eight seven two two oh four fifty seventy,
Speaker 1: and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review. Just scroll
Speaker 1: down from the podcast On Apple Podcasts, click the stars,
Speaker 1: give us all the stars possible, and leave us a review.
Speaker 1: It's super easy. Watch New York Cabby's asking where you're
Speaker 1: going before they let you in their car, rating negative
Speaker 1: fifty eleven piles of street garbage review. Isn't it your
Speaker 1: job to get me where I need to go? Am
Speaker 1: I going uptown or downtown?
Speaker 2: What do you mean?
Speaker 1: You're going to decide whether to unlock your doors and
Speaker 1: let me in based on where I'm headed. We do
Speaker 1: not do this in civilized cities. We hail, we get in,
Speaker 1: we say where we're going, they take us there. That's
Speaker 1: the relationship that we've all agreed upon. Okay, I know
Speaker 1: you got shifts and you got to drop the cab off, YadA, YadA.
Speaker 1: Why is that my problem? I'm just more on out
Speaker 1: here on these streets who usually barely knows if I'm
Speaker 1: headed down or up down. You're the one who's supposed
Speaker 1: to know where things are. That's the point.
Speaker 3: I mean.
Speaker 1: One time I was literally halfway to the airport in
Speaker 1: New York when a cabby pulled up next to another one.
Speaker 1: They talked, and then he passed me off like a
Speaker 1: joint to the other cab driver just got me right
Speaker 1: out of his car, suitcase and all, and had the
Speaker 1: other guy finish the ride to LaGuardia. It's a wild
Speaker 1: system you got here in New York, absolutely wild. All right, Now,
Speaker 1: it's your turn, rate and review. Thanks for listening, slices,
Speaker 1: see you next week. Good game, Cindy, good game, Women's
Speaker 1: Sports Foundation, Thank you, Donald Trump. Good game with Sarah
Speaker 1: Spain is an iHeart Women's Sports production in partnership with
Speaker 1: Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie
Speaker 1: and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Speaker 1: Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutner,
Speaker 1: Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and Lindsay Craterwell. Production assistants from
Speaker 1: Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain