WEBVTT - Welcome to the Good Place 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:07.720 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, the daily women's 0:00:07.720 --> 0:00:11.119 sports show you've always wanted. Even more than coach Cheryl 0:00:11.160 --> 0:00:13.240 Reeve wants us all to stop asking about the Olympic 0:00:13.320 --> 0:00:14.400 roster at links games. 0:00:15.320 --> 0:00:16.760 We're going to tell you all about us at a. 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:19.319 Few, but first we start every show by giving you 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:24.880 what you need to know today. The US women's national 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:28.000 soccer team played its final Olympic sendoff match last night 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:31.040 against Costa Rica in Washington, DC, and that's it for 0:00:31.120 --> 0:00:34.159 tune ups. Next time they play, it's for keeps. The 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:36.840 opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics is just over one 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:40.200 week away on Friday, July twenty six, but Olympic soccer 0:00:40.320 --> 0:00:43.000 actually begins a few days before that, so the US 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:46.040 opens up its tournament on Thursday, July twenty fifth with 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:50.199 a Group B matchup against Zambia. Episode two of the 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:54.080 eight part Docuseriies in the Arena Serena Williams drops tonight 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:57.120 on ESPN Plus, and it details her struggle to keep 0:00:57.200 --> 0:00:59.720 up momentum after her first Grand Slam, and also her 0:01:00.000 --> 0:01:02.440 sperience competing with older sister Venus when she was the 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:05.360 world number one. It has been really fun to watch 0:01:05.360 --> 0:01:06.920 so far, and it also feels really good to be 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:09.800 in an era where female legends like Serena are getting 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:12.920 their flowers while they're still here. We're only two years 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:15.880 removed from her retirement and we already have this multipart 0:01:15.920 --> 0:01:20.119 doc which is so great. Cameron Brink, former Stanford women's 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:23.319 basketball star and rookie with the WNBA's La Sparks, did 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:27.080 an amazing photo shoot and interview with Flaunt magazine. Now 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:28.959 you should be but if you're not yet familiar with 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:31.240 Cameron Brink, I think this tweet sort of sums her up. 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:34.440 Quote it's like the Cameron Diaz Factory decided to put 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:35.400 out at Kevin Durant. 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:38.200 Just check out the photo shoot and it'll make sense. 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:41.440 This is just another example of the incredible versatility of 0:01:41.480 --> 0:01:45.040 all these WNBA athletes, and especially this rookie class. They're 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:48.560 bringing so much flavor, so much personality, and really handling 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:51.720 the bright spotlight so well. And if you just remember 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:53.960 the early days of the w where players look like 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:57.800 they were exclusively allowed to shop at Ann Taylor, it 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:00.600 feels like things are just really different now. Of course, 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:03.440 we wish we were watching Cameron on the court as well, 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:06.160 but she's currently out with an ACL tear, and that 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:08.400 injury also means she's no longer able to compete in 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:11.120 three x three at the upcoming Paras Olympics, which is 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:14.799 a super bummer. Speaking of three on three, we're continuing 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:17.560 to get details about the thirty players that are participating 0:02:17.600 --> 0:02:21.040 in this new Unrivaled Basketball League. We're getting one new 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:23.679 player named every day. And the league, if you haven't 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:25.640 heard about, is created by the New York Liberties Brianna 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:28.200 Stewart and the Minnesota Lynx is Nefisa Collier. It's going 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:30.360 to be a three on three format and tip off 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:32.920 in Miami in January of twenty twenty five. And the 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:35.000 cool thing about this is it's going to offer all 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:37.800 these WNBA players a chance to stay and play in 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:40.320 the US during the offseason. You could see all the 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:42.959 players that they've been out so far at www Dot 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:48.200 Unrivaled dot Basketball. We got two WNBA games tonight, and 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:51.119 that's before the Olympic break takes over. So Alicia Gray 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:52.639 in the Atlanta Dream hit the road to face the 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:55.720 Minnesota Links. Links are without their star and Olympia and 0:02:55.760 --> 0:02:58.200 Nafisa Colliers. She's missed the last four games with Planner 0:02:58.200 --> 0:03:01.440 fashion pain in her left foot dream are just outside 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:04.160 the playoff picture right now. Meanwhile, Minnesota's flirting with third 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:07.120 place in the standings. Game tips off at one Eastern 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:09.320 on League Pass, So go ahead, take a long lunch 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:12.000 break and watch that. And we've also got Caitlin Clark 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:14.440 and the Indiana Fever heading down south to play Arique 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:16.200 Agunbowalle and the Dallas Wings. 0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:17.600 The Fever are in a. 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:20.440 Battle with the Chicago Sky for eighth seed, and that's 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:23.480 a last playoff spot come end of the regular season. Meanwhile, 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:28.800 the Wings are talented, but struggling and inconsistency has pushed 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:32.359 them down to last place in the league. The only 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:35.840 good news about that is producer Misha's mystics aren't last anymore. 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:38.320 But we'll talk some about that later. Game tips off 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:42.480 at seven thirty pm Eastern on ESPN. Also, of course, 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:45.560 WNBA All Star Game is this weekend, with the US 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:47.640 Olympic team taking on the All Stars. We'll get more 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:49.360 into that the next couple of days as we're getting 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:54.680 pumped and excited for Phoenix. Okay, okay, we've waited long enough. 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:59.400 Let's make this about US hi we're so excited you're here, 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:01.280 and we're so so pump to get the chance to 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:05.560 bring you awesome women's sports takes, debates, conversations five days 0:04:05.600 --> 0:04:08.000 a week. As far as I know, there's never been 0:04:08.040 --> 0:04:11.320 a daily women's sports podcast, and if you know of one, 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:13.320 definitely do not write in and tell me about it. 0:04:13.680 --> 0:04:15.640 I don't want to know. I really want to consider 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:20.040 myself your first. Now, usually we'd dive into the day's 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:21.680 biggest stories or we'd have a guest on. 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:24.120 But I feel like that would be a little forward, right. 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:26.800 I mean, you don't even know me, and I certainly 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:29.279 can't introduce a whole other person already. I haven't even 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:31.880 bought you dinner, So I feel like maybe a little 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:34.120 for play, right, It's like, take a little moment to 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:35.000 get to know each other. 0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:36.640 I'm Sarah Spain. 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:38.520 You might know me from seeing me on Around the 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:43.120 Horn on ESPN, perhaps intentionally, or maybe just at an 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:45.360 airport or a gym or in a restaurant, because that 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:48.440 show is everywhere and it's the one with the little 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:51.240 faces in the boxes. If you haven't seen it, maybe 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:53.200 you saw me on Sports Center Outside the Lines. E's 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:57.280 sixty highly questionable Dan Levittard show, my old podcast on ESPN. 0:04:57.320 --> 0:04:58.480 That's what she said, My. 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:00.760 Old radio shows Spain and Fifth it's Izzy in Spain, 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:02.040 Spain and Prim the trifecta. 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:02.920 YadA, YadA, YadA. 0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:05.359 Maybe we even listened to back when I started my 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:08.200 career in Chicago at ESPN one thousand or Mouthpiece Sports. 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:10.359 Maybe we even met at a bar in La in 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:10.880 my twenties. 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:13.720 The point is, I have been at this for a while, 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:19.120 like twenty years, and that's included spending the last fourteen 0:05:19.600 --> 0:05:23.000 covering both men's and women's sports for ESPN. And I'm 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:25.360 looking around as we start this show and thinking about 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:28.039 how I've really dreamed of the kind of women's sports 0:05:28.120 --> 0:05:30.440 landscape that we have today. And I know that we 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:34.839 saw ways to go, but it is really awesome watching 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:36.400 the rest of the world catch up to those of 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:38.440 us who knew the product was great and that the 0:05:38.520 --> 0:05:41.120 audience would be there if we just gave it a chance. 0:05:42.080 --> 0:05:45.200 And so between media coverage and merch and streaming services 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:48.080 so we can watch more games, social media accounts dedicated 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:51.719 solely to women's sports, all of that plus this massive 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:55.800 shift in societal expectations have really changed the game entirely, 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:59.200 and perhaps that biggest change is society. Over the years, 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:03.520 I've watched the media and just America at large slowly 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:06.320 stop requiring that women leave their identities at the door 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:08.040 in order to be welcomed into sports. 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:11.680 It was bad. It was really bad, y'all. 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:14.920 I'm telling you, youngsters, you would not last an hour 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:17.000 in the asylum where they raised me when I tell 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:19.440 you that if you used to google best female athletes, 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:21.599 you only got lists of the hottest ones. 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:23.240 That is not an exaggeration. 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:26.640 Top results every time, not the best athletes, but the 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:31.320 hottest female athletes. And the same with media hottest sportscaster 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:35.680 list or endless blogs about which women you want to 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:38.520 have sex with and also why women were ruining sports. 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:41.919 Now that's just my Twitter mentions, just kidding, sort of, 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:45.279 But for real, I've watched the landscape change, and they've 0:06:45.279 --> 0:06:48.359 stopped demanding the sort of homogenized idea of drinking beer, 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:51.400 eating a steak, and quoting bro movies as the only 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:55.119 acceptable identity for people who love sports. Society has started 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:58.680 to let women, athletes and fans and media be multi dimensional, 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:04.640 be queer, straight, virtuous, villainous, funny, serious, fashionable, sporty, feminine, masculine, 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:07.760 and that was the secret sauce to all of it. 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:09.480 It was never about being one of the guys or 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:12.480 trying to copy men's sports. It was about being authentic 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:15.400 and genuine and just letting women's sports be their own thing. 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:17.800 And that's what we want to do here on Good Game. 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:20.200 We're going to talk about how sometimes things look a 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:23.800 little different in women's sports. Those where else but women's 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:27.160 sports moments? Where else but women's sports do we see 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:29.840 a player help launch a brand new professional hockey league, 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:32.800 lead her team to the first ever championship win in 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:34.920 that league, and then take a victory lap with her 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:37.760 ten month old son in her arms. That's Kendall Coin 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:41.480 Schofield and the PWHL. Where else but women's sports can 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:46.400 we hear announcers calling to opponents embracing postmatch good sportsmanship 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:49.640 instead of the truth, which is they're dating and they 0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:51.120 got to go back to the same house. 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:52.840 One of them's a winner and one just took a 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:55.480 huge l. I can't wait to get into that. 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:58.160 I can't wait to talk to some power couples about 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:02.000 those moments. Those are really cool only women's sports moments. 0:08:02.320 --> 0:08:05.160 Players that are dating married exes who really can hate 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:05.600 each other. 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:07.360 I want to talk about that. 0:08:07.960 --> 0:08:10.360 I also want to talk about embracing new superstars while 0:08:10.400 --> 0:08:12.440 remembering that what's happening. 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:14.320 Now took decades and decades to build. 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:17.960 I'm here because women before me were covering sports when 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:21.040 they weren't even allowed inside locker rooms. And the athletes 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:24.200 are here because for centuries women just wanted to play 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:26.840 without the pay and the fame and the celebrity and 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:29.920 the coverage and the sponsorships. And because of all those women, 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:34.120 today's athletes are getting these incredible opportunities. It's a little 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:37.160 segment we're gonna call Yes and because in a previous life, 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:38.400 I wanted to be a comedian. 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:41.320 Actually I still do. 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.280 So if Louren Michaels is listening, and I'm sure he is, 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:47.520 I will blow this podcast off to be on Saturday 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:50.200 at Live in a second, won't even think about it twice. 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:53.400 Very happy about this opportunity, though, so if Lauren is 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:56.960 not listening, my time at Second City and my time 0:08:57.000 --> 0:09:00.319 in improv taught me these magical words, this way of 0:09:00.360 --> 0:09:02.920 approaching life. Yes and and it's a secret to everything 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:05.400 right now in women's sports, we need to be coming 0:09:05.400 --> 0:09:08.080 from a place of yes, and both in the sense 0:09:08.080 --> 0:09:10.560 of sort of yes, we're getting more investment and attention 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:13.320 than ever and we still want more, and in the 0:09:13.360 --> 0:09:16.120 sense of yes, we've been here for decades doing this 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:20.160 and welcome aboard. We're so glad that you're here now too. Yes, 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:24.280 Caitlin Clark, and let me tell you about maya more. Yes, 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:28.920 Simone Biles and do you remember Dominique Dawes. So yeah, 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:31.079 we're gonna yes and some stuff in women's sports so 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:32.920 we can remember the greats who pave the way and 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:35.400 give context to what we're watching now. We're also going 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:37.720 to do some of the mythologizing that we always see 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:39.720 in men's sports but we don't do enough of in 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:42.440 women's sports. The Good Game Hall of Fame is going 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:45.079 to help us spread the word about great women's sports 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:48.600 lore that should be common knowledge. Stories like if you 0:09:48.640 --> 0:09:51.000 haven't heard this one, the traffic jam and the ninety 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:53.719 nine Ers women's soccer team. The players were stuck on 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:55.760 their bus complaining about all the traffic that they were 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:57.199 in as they were trying to get to their World 0:09:57.240 --> 0:10:00.040 Cup opening game at Giant Stadium, only to find no 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:03.920 doubt that the traffic was for them, seventy eighty nine 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:06.959 hundred and seventy two fans en route to watch their game. 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:11.079 That's such a cool story. Faudy talks about it. Julie 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:13.280 Foudy of the ninety nine ers team, sitting on the bus. 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:15.240 What is all this traffic? We're going to be laid 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:18.319 to the game. Oh my god, it's for us. Now. 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:21.000 If we need to know about I don't know, Derek 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:24.600 Jeter's infamous gift bags and a Rod's alleged centaur painting, 0:10:24.920 --> 0:10:26.360 then I think we should know about the ninety nine 0:10:26.440 --> 0:10:28.600 US traffic jam, and I think we should know about 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:30.400 so many other great moments in women's sports. 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:30.840 Lord too. 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:33.680 It's hard in part because we know it can be 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:36.680 tough to find coverage of those moments of the games 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:39.200 and the events that you're watching. I know we're all 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:41.600 sort of trading jokes on social and dipping into group 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:44.320 chats to spill the tea about stuff, and scanning different 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:46.600 websites looking to find an update on a roster drop 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:48.880 or an injury. Well, we want to be all that 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:51.439 good stuff. We want to be all that good stuff 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:56.200 plus unbelievable stats and facts, infuriating what the facts and 0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:58.440 takes on all the latest news and events, all the 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:01.280 things you're trying to cobble together for social media and friends, 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:04.080 and all these once a week podcasts all in one place, 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:08.560 and we want to hear from you, our listeners, our 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:14.280 good gamers, our gg our Spain. 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:16.400 I don't know what we're gonna call you guys. We 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:17.960 need a name. We need a name for the We 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:20.199 need a name for our listeners. What do you want 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:20.680 to be called? 0:11:21.040 --> 0:11:23.840 You're gonna be with us here every day, right, five 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:26.960 days a week. Right, You're gonna be here, so uh, 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:29.880 you deserve a quality name. So email or call us 0:11:30.000 --> 0:11:32.240 tell us what you want to be called. Eight seven 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:36.240 two two oh four fifty seventy is the number to 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:39.760 call us. Eight seven two two oh four fifty seventy. 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:44.840 Or you can email us good Game at wondermedianetwork dot com, 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:46.959 or you can always hit me up. I'm at Sarah 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:49.840 Spain on Twitter or x or whatever we're calling it 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:53.920 these days, and I'm Spain two three two three on Instagram. 0:11:54.640 --> 0:11:57.640 You can also hit up my amazing producers who are 0:11:57.679 --> 0:11:59.760 going to be joining me every day with their insight, 0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:04.840 their experiences, their knowledge. They're very important fact checking. Alex 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:08.640 Azzi and Misha aka MJ Jones. And by the way, 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:10.320 for those of you that know me well, I did 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:12.960 not only hire Mish because their name is MJ. But 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:16.640 it didn't hurt my obsessim with Michael Jordan knows no bounds. 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:19.120 And if you're gonna be named MJ, you it just 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:22.640 like bumps up your resume. Just a couple of dotches. Okay, 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:25.680 I've talked enough about you. Now talk about yourselves, MJ. 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:28.640 Tell everyone everything they need to know about you, your 0:12:28.720 --> 0:12:29.320 entire life story. 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:30.480 You have thirty seconds or less. 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:34.600 Woof well first and foremost, just happy to be here. No, 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:37.439 I am a former d one hooper. That's why I 0:12:37.440 --> 0:12:39.920 claim to fame. Played for about sixteen years now. I 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:41.680 want to play pickup. I just kind of run corner 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:43.440 at the corner and shoot threes and try to stay 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:44.040 out of the way. 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:46.480 Not about defense, any defense, Oh never. 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:49.320 I didn't play defense when I was a college athlete. No, 0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:55.160 absolutely not. Yeah, not a defensive stalwart, but yeah, I 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:58.160 grew up with the WNBA. I grew up watching athletes 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:02.400 like Serena in Abby Womba and Alison Felix in their prime. 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:04.800 So I feel so lucky now to be working in 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:08.199 a job where that's my priority. Women's sports is my priority, 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:10.760 because I just feel like, you know, this space opens 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:15.440 up the conversation to so many fun, entertaining, educational and 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:16.520 important stuff. 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:17.680 That we all need to be talking about. So just 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:19.520 happy to be here, Happy to be working with. 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:22.680 Sarah and Alex, and can't wait, can't wait, keep doing 0:13:22.679 --> 0:13:23.040 this thing. 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:26.360 Love it Okay, Alex. Everything that everyone needs to know 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:27.720 about you thirty seconds least. 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:32.840 Oh man, Well, I am also extremely excited to be here. 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:35.560 Also a college athlete, though I would say that maybe 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:37.920 doesn't impact my identity as much as it does for 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:41.000 other college athletes. I played field hockey at Wellesley, which 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:43.920 was a women's college, and honestly, the part of it 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:46.200 that impacted me the most, though, was going to a 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:48.840 women's college where we didn't have to share resources with 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:51.200 a football team. We didn't have to share resources with 0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:52.520 men's basketball teams. 0:13:52.960 --> 0:13:56.760 Wellesley, the Lady Anything, the Lady stick holders. What's the 0:13:56.800 --> 0:14:01.160 Wellesley mascot? The blue? The blue? What you ask? We 0:14:01.280 --> 0:14:04.280 don't know. Cornell's big Red. I'm like, big Red. 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:04.440 What? 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:07.200 And then we just have a bear, which no one explains. 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:11.320 But yeah, that experience impacted my perspective to be able 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:13.520 to say, what would the world look like if women's 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:16.440 sports were the priority? And I interned at my first 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:19.040 Olympics in twenty twelve because I was a huge Olympics 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:21.840 nerd still am, and I remember on day one of 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.480 that I was like, how do you make this your 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:28.240 full time thing? And in retrospect, I think I loved 0:14:28.240 --> 0:14:30.000 working on the Olympics and wanted to work on the 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:32.480 Olympics because it was the only way in the year 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:36.520 twenty twelve that you could get paid to cover women's sports, 0:14:37.120 --> 0:14:41.440 maybe not exclusively, but certainly more than most sports industry 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:47.160 jobs at that time. And I'm still around ten years later. 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:50.640 And still an Olympics expert. I'm so excited that this 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:53.520 show is starting with the Olympics about to start, because 0:14:53.560 --> 0:14:56.720 Alex is going to shine with every little detail and 0:14:56.840 --> 0:15:00.040 fact and I'm sure great stories about interviews and re 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:02.320 search and trips and everything you've done around the Olympics 0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:05.120 in the past. So pumped for everything that y'all are 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:08.000 going to bring to the table and the conversation and 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:10.440 just so excited to get started. 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:12.720 And yeah, that's us, just a. 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:15.400 Couple of folks standing in front of a podcast Mike 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:19.280 asking you to love them. We're good game with Sarah Spain. 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:22.840 Thanks for joining us. After the break, the Bird's the word, 0:15:23.280 --> 0:15:31.480 Sue Bird. We're back and we have an extra special 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:33.600 guest that's going to join us on Friday. 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:35.440 But we wanted to give you a little bit of. 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:38.840 A tease because she's so special and technically I believe 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:42.080 a little bit my boss in this new endeavor, so 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:44.840 we want to make sure she feels very appreciated. It's 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:47.880 the legendary Sue Bird. So a couple things we talked 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:49.720 about that I want to just give you a little 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:51.040 tease of one. 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:52.160 I'm so pumped about. 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:55.640 I somehow miss this, despite pretty much stalking Sue and 0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:58.000 all of her social media and all of her announcements, 0:15:58.200 --> 0:16:00.680 I had not heard about this new show that she 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:04.000 and her fiancee, Meghan Rapino, and their production company are 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:08.680 putting together. And when she dropped this news during our interview, well, 0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:10.600 I mean you could basically hear me squealing. 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:11.080 Here it is. 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:15.600 We recently announced we're going to do like a reality 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:19.440 show around the dating lives of of women's athletes. 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:23.600 No way, where did you announce it? How do miss this? 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:26.800 It's like a touch more, which is me and Megan's 0:16:26.800 --> 0:16:29.680 production company in partnership with Together, but also partnership with 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:33.200 Bunna Murray. Does I mean they're like the wizards of this? 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:38.720 Oh my wait wait wait wait wait more details details. 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:42.680 Basically yeah, I mean we're going to follow you know, 0:16:42.800 --> 0:16:45.000 any female athlete that wants to be a part of it. 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:46.920 We're going to follow their dating lives. So whether it's 0:16:46.960 --> 0:16:50.320 people who are in relationships mary, partner, husband, white, doesn't matter, 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:54.760 all the above, everything in between, single dating, you know, singing, 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:57.800 mingled and just like, yeah, we don't want it to 0:16:57.840 --> 0:16:59.840 be it's not gonna it's not gonna start out as 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:00.960 some salacious thing. 0:17:01.080 --> 0:17:02.720 So it's going to turn into Fantasy Island. 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:06.120 It's going to turn Remember you remember that show, wasn't 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:07.040 it Fantasy Island? 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:11.440 America can't stop talking about Temptation Island. 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:12.560 I never watched it. 0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:16.800 I never literally watched it with my dad. I don't know. 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:19.320 Weird that was when we were growing up. It was 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:21.440 like they sent couples to a place. 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:23.399 And they were like, either this will bring you closer together, 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:25.800 or you'll all start having sex with each other instead, 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:27.879 Like I feel. 0:17:27.600 --> 0:17:29.720 Like that's like that. I feel like that could be 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:31.880 this show. It's like, hey, we have a bunch of them. 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:34.760 I might have teammates. You might have teammates dating. 0:17:34.920 --> 0:17:37.719 You might have you know, like inter league dating. 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:40.480 Yeah, different sports, you name it. 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:44.000 I also really enjoyed talking to Sue about the current 0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:46.639 state of the WNBA and just how close she was 0:17:46.640 --> 0:17:48.879 to being one of the beneficiaries of all of the 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:50.600 hard work she put in in her twenty years in 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:53.760 the league, and whether there was like a little bit 0:17:53.800 --> 0:17:56.600 of a mixed vibe about just how much the league 0:17:56.640 --> 0:18:01.119 has blown up this year. You really like made the 0:18:01.240 --> 0:18:03.800 WNBA what it is today. You and many many others 0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:08.600 are such a huge part of why these current athletes 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:12.360 are getting unprecedented levels of coverage and endorsements and support 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:17.600 and love. What percentage of you, be honest, is proud 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:20.800 and happy for them, and what percentage of you is 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:23.639 jealous that you retired right before all of this. 0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:28.280 I'm in a pretty good place about it. I'll say, 0:18:28.440 --> 0:18:31.639 like I'll say, like I was gonna say ninety ten, 0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:33.399 then I was gonna say eighty twenty, So we'll go 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:36.720 eighty five. Just the difference eighty five to fifteen. I mean, 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:39.240 of course there's a part of me that wishes I 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:42.400 could play, but simultaneously, I don't wish I could play 0:18:42.440 --> 0:18:46.000 at forties three, Like if I was twenty three, Uh, 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:47.720 forget it. I would love to be able to go 0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:49.600 back in time and be a twenty three year old 0:18:49.640 --> 0:18:52.600 right now. Absolutely. I actually said that recently to someone 0:18:52.600 --> 0:18:54.280 who was like, I was like, dang, I was born 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:56.399 too soon, and They're like, yeah, but you could have 0:18:56.440 --> 0:18:58.000 been born earlier and it would be even worse. And 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:00.480 I was like, okay, good point. Yeah, So yeah, of 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:02.720 course I think someone will be lying if they said 0:19:02.720 --> 0:19:05.920 they wouldn't want to go back like any WNBA player 0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:08.880 who is now retired and play right now. It's everything 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:10.560 we always thought or always wanted. 0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:12.600