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Speaker 1: This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.

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Speaker 2: What is up Straight Fire, Fam, It's me Jason McIntyre.

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Speaker 2: Straight Fire for Friday, July nineteenth. Oh, the weekend is here,

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Speaker 2: so exciting. Don't have a whole hell of a lot planned.

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Speaker 2: But one of my buddies is moving east and for

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Speaker 2: his like going away party, he wanted to play basketball.

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Speaker 2: He's one of the guys on The Great Foxes. So

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Speaker 2: we have a pretty stacked lineup for hoops this weekend

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Speaker 2: and I couldn't be more excited. Yes, that's the kind

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Speaker 2: of stuff that gets me pumped up. It's like, oh,

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Speaker 2: you want to go out to a bar, you want

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Speaker 2: to go out for drinks. It's like maybe you're gonna

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Speaker 2: play hoops? Hell Yeah? Who hoops with good players who

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Speaker 2: are your friends and know how to ball? Yeah, that

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Speaker 2: to me is super exciting. Anyways, we have a phenomenal

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Speaker 2: guest today, first timer on the podcas Cindy Brunson. She

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Speaker 2: used to work at ESPN. She's now a w NBA

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Speaker 2: announcer for the Phoenix Mercury. Guess who's hosting the WNBA

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Speaker 2: Al Star Game this weekend The Phoenix Mercury. So Cindy

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Speaker 2: is boots on the ground, all sorts of interesting Kitlin

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Speaker 2: Clark nuggets. Now, I will say this, I'll preface it.

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Speaker 2: I knew Cindy Brunson's way back when. I you know,

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Speaker 2: we're not like best friends or anything, but she had

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Speaker 2: recently heard something we were talking about on the herd

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Speaker 2: and ended up texting me, and I was like, oh,

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Speaker 2: I totally forgot, you know, Cindy, even though I follow

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Speaker 2: her on social media, totally forgot. You know, she's plugged in,

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Speaker 2: she knows, and she knows what's going on, and she's

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Speaker 2: got some interesting Kitlin Clark takes. I'll say this, and

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Speaker 2: I'm not saying she's not a fan, but there's definitely

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Speaker 2: a I've been with the WNBA forever, I know a

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Speaker 2: lot of these hoopers. Caitlin Clark is great. It's been

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Speaker 2: great for the league, but like, let's slow down. That's

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Speaker 2: the vibe. I God, it's not a negative vibe. It's

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Speaker 2: just that, you know, for instance, we get into the

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Speaker 2: Olympic thing and she just doesn't think on a guard

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Speaker 2: heavy team that there was room for Caitlin Clark. And

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Speaker 2: she does remind me that Diana Tarassi is the logo

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Speaker 2: of the WNBA. That is something I had totally forgotten.

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Speaker 2: And how they're gonna pull the logo off the Olympic

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Speaker 2: team who's trying for the sixth time to let some

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Speaker 2: rookie on. Well, they're definitely not doing that. There's no

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Speaker 2: question they just they're not doing that. And she makes

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Speaker 2: some interesting comments about Clark's defensive lapses, obviously, the turnovers, obviously,

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Speaker 2: the assists, the positive, the good and the bad. You know,

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Speaker 2: it's a good discussion. I think you guys will really

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Speaker 2: enjoy it. Listen. I think you're gonna enjoy this. I'll

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Speaker 2: just leave it at that. A couple quick notes before

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Speaker 2: we get to it. The Russell Westbrook to Denver thing,

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Speaker 2: which feels very odd. I don't understand the affinity. I mean,

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Speaker 2: the only thing I can think of is when Russ

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Speaker 2: was averaging a triple double that year and won the MVP.

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Speaker 2: I feel like that's what maybe Jokic thinks he's getting

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Speaker 2: from Russ, because you know, Russ has had some good years,

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Speaker 2: just not like in the last five when Denver's ascended.

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Speaker 2: But this idea that he's gonna like help. I did

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Speaker 2: read that in Denver. Michael Malone. If you remember in

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Speaker 2: the playoffs. Like Peyton, Watson was pretty solid in the

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Speaker 2: regular season. He's spicy, He's considered to be like an

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Speaker 2: up and coming player for the Nuggets, a rotational guy.

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Speaker 2: He like, barely played in the playoffs for whatever reason,

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Speaker 2: just reduced to bench fodder and Malone trusts veterans in

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Speaker 2: his court. Now, Christian Brown two years ago, yes he

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Speaker 2: did play as a rookie, but by and large this

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Speaker 2: season he didn't play the young guys. Julian Strawther from

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Speaker 2: Good Zaga. They've got some young dude, Zeke Naji who

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Speaker 2: they paid a lot of money, and for whatever reason,

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Speaker 2: Malone just he's not paying these guys playing these guys.

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Speaker 2: So it's like one of these hmm. And now you

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Speaker 2: go out and get Russell Westbrook, what's he a veteran

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Speaker 2: And it's just I don't know if this is a

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Speaker 2: I'm not sure what this could possibly be about other

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Speaker 2: than I need vets because I'll tell you right now, Yes,

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Speaker 2: KCP got cooked by Anthony Edwards in the playoffs. Well,

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Speaker 2: it's not like Russell Westbrook's coming into Guardian. That's not happening.

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Speaker 2: And if you want to make the argument, listen, we

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Speaker 2: need rush to boost the second unit when Murray's getting

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Speaker 2: a breather and Yoki's just getting a breather. Okay, hey,

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Speaker 2: you know he tried that with the Lakers and it

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Speaker 2: didn't quite work out. Then he tried it with the

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Speaker 2: Clippers and it worked out for like flashes. So I

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Speaker 2: don't see why it's going to be different Denver. I'm

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Speaker 2: kind of out on the Nuggets. Fox asked me for

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Speaker 2: my over unders this year, and I took under Nuggets

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Speaker 2: fifty two and a half. I don't see them as

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Speaker 2: a fifty two win team. I don't love them anyways.

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Speaker 2: The other thing is Bronnie James had another good game

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Speaker 2: for the Lakers. Is back to back wins where Bronnie

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Speaker 2: has played good, got double digit points. He had a

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Speaker 2: step back three Like, listen, are you guys surprised that

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Speaker 2: a nineteen year old struggled out of the gate in

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Speaker 2: the summer League? Not the nineteen year old number two

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Speaker 2: pick overall, the fifty fifth pick. By the way, Alex Sar,

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Speaker 2: who went number two overall, had a game where he

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Speaker 2: was oh for fifteen. You didn't hear about it because

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Speaker 2: nobody cares about Alex Sar. But Bronnie James is oh

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Speaker 2: for fifteen and four games from deep and it's oh

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Speaker 2: my gosh, he's a bum. He's a bus you see

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Speaker 2: how that works. So anyways, Bronnie James bouncing back nicely,

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Speaker 2: happy to see it. Just get off the kids back, guys,

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Speaker 2: you know. Anyways, without further ado, let's get to our guest,

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Speaker 2: former Sports Center anchor and WNBA announcer, Cindy Brounson.

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Speaker 1: You know, guy Jason likes to think he knows everything

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Speaker 1: when it comes to sports. I know what sports fans want,

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Speaker 1: but for everything he doesn't, he knows the guy who does.

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Speaker 3: Let's just say I know a guy who knows a

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Speaker 3: guy who knows another guy.

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Speaker 2: All right, let's welcome into straight Fire, a first time

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Speaker 2: guest on the podcast. Although you obviously know who she is.

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Speaker 2: She's been on Sports Center hosting for years. She is

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Speaker 2: been an announcer in the WNBA, and she just so

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Speaker 2: happens to be working with the Phoenix Mercury where the

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Speaker 2: NBA a WNBA All Star Game is this weekend. Cindy Brunson, Cindy,

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Speaker 2: how you doing.

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Speaker 3: I'm great, thanks so nice to see your face again

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Speaker 3: and chat with you it's been too long.

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Speaker 1: It has.

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Speaker 2: Indeed, So you've been around basketball your entire life. You

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Speaker 2: obviously played sports growing up, correct mm hmm.

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Speaker 3: I did until my left knee stopped cooperating and forced

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Speaker 3: me to talk about basketball instead of play basketball. I've

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Speaker 3: had my left acl repair three different times, so it

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Speaker 3: was easy for me to focus on, Hey, I'm going

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Speaker 3: to be involved from the sideline. So for more twenty years,

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Speaker 3: I've been receiving my mail at the corner of women's

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Speaker 3: college basketball and the WNBA.

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Speaker 2: See, now, that's incredible. So you've been doing this for

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Speaker 2: twenty years, and then I'm going to go ahead and

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Speaker 2: guess that you're seeing on your end kind of what

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Speaker 2: we're seeing just a tsunami of interest and discussion around both.

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Speaker 2: You know, women's college basketball last year was unbelievable. I mean,

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Speaker 2: the final four, the tournament was incredible and the WNBA

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Speaker 2: obviously have you seen a massive change? Would you call

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Speaker 2: it gradual? Has it been building up to this or

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Speaker 2: I don't know. Does some of those Yukon teams back

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Speaker 2: in the day have have massive interest.

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Speaker 3: The Yukon teams have always had interests. It's why Geno

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Speaker 3: Arima has more national championships than any other coach in

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Speaker 3: women's college basketball with his eleven, but he was the

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Speaker 3: first and up until Kitlyn Clark and IOWA, the only

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Speaker 3: traveling circus as far as women's basketball is concerned. Now

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Speaker 3: with Caitlyn Clark and to your word, tsunami that she

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Speaker 3: has created, ratings wise, folks are paying acute attention and

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Speaker 3: it's good to see because for those of us that

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Speaker 3: have been involved with the game for decades, we've always

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Speaker 3: known the product was great. The product was never the problem,

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Speaker 3: it was the promotion. So now the two have finally merged,

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Speaker 3: and having been in the halls of ESPN from nineteen

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Speaker 3: ninety nine to twenty thirteen, I left and headed west

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Speaker 3: when my husband, Steve Berthhume got hired to be the

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Speaker 3: play by play voice for the Arizona Diamondbacks on the

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Speaker 3: TV side. So I fought those battles in those halls

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Speaker 3: in Bristol, just begging for a promo during Sports Center

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Speaker 3: about an upcoming WNBA game on our air. And credit

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Speaker 3: to Carol Stiff and Pat Lowry, who are no longer

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Speaker 3: with ESPN, they fought the good fight. They did the

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Speaker 3: best that they could in a territory that just was

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Speaker 3: not open to promoting women's sports. It just wasn't. It

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Speaker 3: paid it lip service over and over and over again.

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Speaker 3: And when I left, I was beyond frustrated because I

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Speaker 3: just saw the potential for what it could be the

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Speaker 3: explosion that we're having right now, that could have happened

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Speaker 3: fifteen twenty years ago. Shoot, when Diana Tarasi came out

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Speaker 3: of Yukon in two thousand and four, she could have

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Speaker 3: created this same kind of swell of interest that we're

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Speaker 3: seeing with Caitlin Clark now, because Caitlin is just Diana

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Speaker 3: two point zero just twenty years later. The talent has

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Speaker 3: always been there, it's just the amplification and the availability

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Speaker 3: and access on TV.

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Speaker 2: So you you followed up obviously WNBA twenty years announcing games.

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Speaker 2: You mentioned the ratings and I saw it stat that

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Speaker 2: like the last sixteen years there hadn't been an audience

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Speaker 2: of a million for a game, and then boom, now

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Speaker 2: like almost every game on TV featuring Clark has has

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Speaker 2: topped to a million. Or when you're.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and it doesn't just have to feature Clark either,

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Speaker 3: I mean, yeah.

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Speaker 2: There's been Vegas aces. I guess had had one of

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Speaker 2: the top games and then I think an Angel rees

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Speaker 2: game against someone. Yeah, but like in the arena, are

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Speaker 2: you seeing a difference in terms of just volume of

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Speaker 2: fans interest? Are people stopping you in the street at

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Speaker 2: Starbucks whereas stuff that had not happened in the past

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Speaker 2: is now happening more frequently.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm getting stopped at Starbucks. I'm getting stopped at Safeway.

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Speaker 3: It's kind of cool. Somebody asked me today if I

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Speaker 3: had our All Star Game tickets. I'm like, are you

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Speaker 3: kidding me? No, no, goo boo, you didn't get that

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Speaker 3: many advans. I'm sorry. Check the secondary sites. Yeah, it's

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Speaker 3: it's been really cool to see. But again, the product

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Speaker 3: has always been outstanding. We have had so many unbelievably

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Speaker 3: talented female basketball players booping and I mean Age OPI

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Speaker 3: and Apostrophe all caps for decades and we just haven't

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Speaker 3: had the promotion. And now the Caitlin Clark train is

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Speaker 3: forcing the promotion and everybody else is getting to learn

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Speaker 3: more names, more teams, more storylines, and it's fantastic.

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Speaker 2: What do you think it is. I don't know how

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Speaker 2: much time you spent around Clark, but what is it

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Speaker 2: about her? Or has she just captured like a time

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Speaker 2: and a place. You know. Listen, I'm not gonna make

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Speaker 2: it too much about me a low it is my podcast,

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Speaker 2: but like I got, I'm not gonna lie. I got

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Speaker 2: super lucky with my website. Back in the day, you know,

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Speaker 2: websites were just popping up. There wasn't release social media,

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Speaker 2: and you had to come to my website multiple times

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Speaker 2: a day to get the updates on whatever. And I

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Speaker 2: was fortunate. Now, if somebody tried to start a website

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Speaker 2: in twenty twenty four, it's like good luck, you know,

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Speaker 2: just people don't go to website. So I was fortunate.

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Speaker 2: Clark's timing social media. What's going on in the country

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Speaker 2: at large, I don't know. Can you pinpoint one thing

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Speaker 2: or is it just a confluence of events.

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Speaker 3: I think it is a couple of factors. The Peacock

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Speaker 3: Big ten television deal and more television access on different platforms.

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Speaker 3: I'm also a member of Nbcpeacock. So I did a

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Speaker 3: Caitlin Clark game at Minnesota and the place had never

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Speaker 3: been that full in its history. More than fourteen thousand fans,

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Speaker 3: like it was crazy, and it was seventy five to

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Speaker 3: eighty percent Iowa fans and the rest Minnesota and just

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Speaker 3: general basketball fans. So she has had a Tim Tebow

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Speaker 3: esque effect on the college campus and that has now

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Speaker 3: transferred to the WNBA and it's been fantastic. And the

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Speaker 3: wild thing that I never thought I would see was

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Speaker 3: that her fan base is taking away home court advantage

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Speaker 3: from stout venues. Indiana came to Phoenix. We have what

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Speaker 3: we call the X factor. We were the worst team

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Speaker 3: in the WNBA last season, and yet we finished second

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Speaker 3: in attendance. Our fan base is elite. It is smart,

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Speaker 3: very educated, and diehard, and it was drowned out by

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Speaker 3: the voices that were supporting Caitlin Clark and not kind

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Speaker 3: of the fever, but mostly Caitlin Clark. And I had

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Speaker 3: never experienced that on the WNBA level, and that was wild,

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Speaker 3: and I've seen it. I saw Indiana do that at Minnesota.

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Speaker 3: You know, Minnesota is kind of they call it carb

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Speaker 3: North because that's where the Big Ten tournament was held,

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Speaker 3: and so Iowa fans are used to going there and supporting.

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Speaker 3: But I think it really it unsettled the links. You

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Speaker 3: could tell it was just well, wait a minute, we

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Speaker 3: can't hear our own fans Why are they cheering for

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Speaker 3: the opposing team. We're supposed to happen a home court

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Speaker 3: advantage here. So that's the singular thing that has stuck

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Speaker 3: out to me, like, Wow, that is really changing the

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Speaker 3: scales in a way that I didn't anticipate. I knew

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Speaker 3: that she would challenge for Rookie of the Year. I

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Speaker 3: knew she would challenge to break the assists record, which

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Speaker 3: she has done. She has also set the record for

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Speaker 3: the most turnovers in a season and she still got

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Speaker 3: fifteen games ago, so that'll be interesting. And I didn't

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Speaker 3: think the three point shooting would translate, and to this

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Speaker 3: point it hasn't, just because she's meeting bigger, faster, stronger

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Speaker 3: defenders and as quick as she is to go to

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Speaker 3: that left to shoot that logo three, somebody's in her face.

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Speaker 3: But she can get that pass off and fire it

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Speaker 3: in a variety of different ways and that has been

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Speaker 3: really cool to see. So not only is she in

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Speaker 3: the Rookie of the Year conversation at the top of

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Speaker 3: the table, she's also now in the MVP conversation for

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Speaker 3: the league, and the WNBA has only had one person

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Speaker 3: when Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same

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Speaker 3: season and that was the amazing canvas partner.

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Speaker 2: M that's right. She was a legend. Now, wait, let

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Speaker 2: me go back to the Phoenix game where it was noisy.

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Speaker 2: I can't imagine that many. I can't imagine say, ten

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Speaker 2: thousand people traveling from Indiana to Phoenix for a game.

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Speaker 3: So well, we average ten thousand. We vacillate between ten

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Speaker 3: and fourteen, so right around twelve, so five to six

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Speaker 3: thousand that day were her fans, Indiana fans, Kate Clark fans,

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Speaker 3: and so when the X factor was trying to boom,

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Speaker 3: they were getting tamped down. I was in the seats.

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Speaker 3: I bought a ticket to the game because it was

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Speaker 3: an ESPN game. I'd never seen anything like it.

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Speaker 2: Okay, so let's say five thousand Fever fans. Do you

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Speaker 2: think they traveled from Indiana or is this just basketball

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Speaker 2: fans in Phoenix in the area maybe an hour way,

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Speaker 2: two hours whatever, who just have got the Caitlyn Clark

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Speaker 2: bug and they're like, let's check this out.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think yeah, I think they weren't able to

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Speaker 3: get tickets to see her in Los Angeles or in

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Speaker 3: Las Vegas. They came to Phoenix because we're all in

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Speaker 3: close proximity, a four and a half hour drive away

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Speaker 3: from Las Vegas, a six hour drive from Los Angeles,

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Speaker 3: so it's easy to get to a b She is

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Speaker 3: one of those players because of the logo three. Just

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Speaker 3: like everybody wanted to see step they want to see

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Speaker 3: Caitlin Clark and person, and to her absolute credit, despite

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Speaker 3: only being a pro for five minutes, she puts on

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Speaker 3: a show.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm loath to mention, but Curry did have a

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Speaker 2: lot of detractors in the league. When like around twenty fifteen,

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Speaker 2: I remember going to a game in Philadelphia with my

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Speaker 2: kid and it was like Steph Curry jerseys all over

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Speaker 2: the Lower Bowl and there was still pushback about Curry.

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Speaker 2: This was before he got his first MVP, and it

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Speaker 2: was like Chris Paul was like, I don't know, I'm

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Speaker 2: not a fan whatever. Russell Westbrook like this stuff is

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Speaker 2: documented to somebody wrote a book essentially about this, a

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Speaker 2: writer for The Athletic, And it was like there was

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Speaker 2: almost so much excitement for Curry that there was some

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Speaker 2: jealousy among the guards, like what's so special about this guy?

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Speaker 2: He's making some long threes, so what And then all

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Speaker 2: of a sudden, you couldn't You couldn't like, you couldn't

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Speaker 2: say that anymore. Steph Curry just took over the league.

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Speaker 2: Do you feel there is some pushback from players around

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Speaker 2: the Clark circus if you will.

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Speaker 3: It'll be interesting to see how Indiana proceeds as a team.

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Speaker 3: They have a highly touted player at two time All

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Speaker 3: Star in Kelsey Mitchell, who will be an unrestricted free

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Speaker 3: agent next year, and will she stay with a fever?

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Speaker 3: Does she want to be one of the pips next

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Speaker 3: to Gladys Knight or does she want to be a

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Speaker 3: star in her own right? Because before Kateland Clark came along,

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Speaker 3: it was Kelsey Mitchell who was the business coming out

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Speaker 3: of Ohio State. She had the three point shooting record,

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Speaker 3: she had the big ten scoring record, she was one

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Speaker 3: of the top five all time scores in NCAA history,

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Speaker 3: and all of that just kind of went to the

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Speaker 3: side when Kitlyn Clark came along. So I'm curious to

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Speaker 3: see how that because they've got a nice core for

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Speaker 3: together right now, if that stays that way, is that

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Speaker 3: big ass sorry about wow?

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Speaker 2: No, no, I got a dog now, this is something

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Speaker 2: I didn't know that Yeah, like I didn't know about that.

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Speaker 2: I do have a friend who's in dp's from Iowa's

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Speaker 2: he's a huge fan. So I'm looking at Kelsey Mitchell stats. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: she's got good numbers. But that's interesting. So I don't

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Speaker 2: have you heard anything or are you just speculating?

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Speaker 3: No, no, I'm I'm just curious now because we saw

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Speaker 3: Marina Maybury ask for a trade out of Chicago and

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Speaker 3: the Angel ree Show, so they why she left. I

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Speaker 3: don't know why, but I thought it was interesting to

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Speaker 3: demand the trade as we hit the All Star Olympic

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Speaker 3: break when the team is doing really well. They just

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Speaker 3: beat Las Vegas, the two time defending champs on there

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Speaker 3: for to hit the All Star break, and now Mayby

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Speaker 3: says I need, I need to go somewhere else. So

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Speaker 3: to me that was like, hmmm, why don't you like winning?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well, it's weird because.

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Speaker 3: Chicago, thanks to Angel Reese and her record string of

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Speaker 3: double doubles, is in the playoff hunt and that is

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Speaker 3: so surprising. And to me it gives me a no

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Speaker 3: for Angel Rees for Rookie of the Year over Caitlin Clark,

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Speaker 3: because only because Chicago was in rebuild mode. They were

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Speaker 3: in revamp mode. They were supposed to be bottom four,

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Speaker 3: if not the worst, so the fact that they are

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Speaker 3: competing for playoff positioning is jarring. Indiana was supposed to

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Speaker 3: make the playoffs. Caitlyn Clark was supposed to perform really well,

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Speaker 3: so the fact that she's doing that is not a surprise.

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Speaker 3: And the fact that they stubbed their toe Indiana did

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Speaker 3: against Dallas, a team that was the bottom of the league.

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Speaker 3: You're not supposed to do that. You're not supposed to

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Speaker 3: set the assists. Yeah, you're not supposed to set the

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Speaker 3: assist record all time in a game with nineteen dimes

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Speaker 3: and then commit a late turnover that cost your team

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Speaker 3: of victory if you are the Rookie of the Year

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Speaker 3: and or MVP. Where Angel Reese and her team's victories

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Speaker 3: late in crunch time against great competition has stepped up,

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Speaker 3: hit big free throws, got big reback, whatever her team needs.

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Speaker 3: So it's it'll be interesting Rookie of the Year conversation

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Speaker 3: going down the stretch and Rakia Jackson has entered the

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Speaker 3: chat from Los Angeles. Kurt Miller has discovered how slippery

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Speaker 3: and awesome she is, so yeah, tons to be excited about.

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Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in

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Speaker 1: the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio

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Speaker 1: dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to

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Speaker 1: listen live.

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Speaker 2: This Mitchell things fascinating. So I looked up the fever.

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Speaker 2: They have not been good for a while. They won

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Speaker 2: the title in twelve twelve, but they haven't made the

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Speaker 2: playoffs since twenty sixteen. I mean single digit wins most

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Speaker 2: of the time. So she do you think she would

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Speaker 2: actually want to leave a winning team? I mean they're

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Speaker 2: gonna set obviously, they'll finish the season more wins they've

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Speaker 2: had in the last like eight years, so that that

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Speaker 2: would be interesting. You want to win? Or do you

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Speaker 2: want to be like the show? Because, like you said,

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Speaker 2: the girl Jackson on the sparks like they're terrible. Brink

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Speaker 2: got in I think during I think I saw this

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Speaker 2: at during Angel Reset. What you have sixteen double doubles

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Speaker 2: in a row? They were like six and ten or something,

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Speaker 2: So like, yeah, these rookies, they're they're not going to

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Speaker 2: impact winning that much. But the fact that Chicago and

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Speaker 2: Indiana are kind of creeping on the playoffs, that's kind

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Speaker 2: of interesting though.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, if the playoffs started today. Both teams are in

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Speaker 3: and that is now Indiana was supposed to be in.

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Speaker 3: You've got back back number one draft picks overall, you've

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Speaker 3: got the number two draft pick, and Melissa Smith, who

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Speaker 3: plays with a huge chip on her shoulder. She is outstanding.

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Speaker 3: She's just a walking double double waiting to happen. And

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Speaker 3: then you know Eliah Boston, the reigning rookie of the Year.

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Speaker 3: They have a core four that is really nice. And

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Speaker 3: if they don't make the playoffs, you will hear calls

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Speaker 3: for Christie Sides and her job as head coach because

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Speaker 3: all of the pieces are there and they've already survived

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Speaker 3: the gauntlet of the season. Right. They had to play

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Speaker 3: New York a bunch of times, they had to play

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Speaker 3: Connecticut out of the gate. They were terrible at the beginning.

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Speaker 3: But now that they've been able to spend time together

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Speaker 3: and develop some cohesion, they are showing everybody what Indiana

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Speaker 3: basketball can be. And again, my expectation for Caitlin Clark

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Speaker 3: coming out of Iowa was to get Indiana into the playoffs.

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Speaker 3: My big bar of whether she is it the deal,

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Speaker 3: the transformational aura, you name it, is if she makes

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Speaker 3: Indiana nine wins better than they were a year ago.

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Speaker 3: I use that standard because that's what Diana Tarassi did

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Speaker 3: when she left Yukon in two thousand and four. She

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Speaker 3: made the Mercury, who were terrible nine wins better. And

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Speaker 3: when you only have thirty six at the time or

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Speaker 3: forty games now, that's a quarter of the season. So

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Speaker 3: if you turn those losses into wins, you have my attention,

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Speaker 3: and it's enough to get a team comfortably into the

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Speaker 3: playoffs and possibly hold home court advantage as well. So

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Speaker 3: they would have to get to twenty two wins for

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Speaker 3: that to happen Indiana. So that's the last little piece

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Speaker 3: that I'm looking for, because I think she's gonna set

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Speaker 3: the rookie record for a sisper game at Tisha Pennacherial

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Speaker 3: in nineteen ninety eight said that at seven and a

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Speaker 3: half per Clark is leading the league right now. And

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Speaker 3: what was my other metric, Well, I'm trying that twenty

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Speaker 3: two wins.

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Speaker 2: They would have to go eleven and three down the stretch.

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Speaker 2: I don't know if that's forty game regular seasons, So yeah,

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Speaker 2: that would be tough, but it's doable. The schedule, it's.

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Speaker 3: Doable, and there their second half schedule is Sharman saw

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Speaker 3: it's very second easy schedule left so they could do it.

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Speaker 2: Did you think it was unfair that they front loaded

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Speaker 2: her schedule coming right off the college basketball run.

428
00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:51,440
Speaker 3: Nope, nope, you got you got to play those teams

429
00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:53,840
Speaker 3: at some point, and you would rather play them while

430
00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:57,320
Speaker 3: you're figuring it out and just take those losses and

431
00:23:57,359 --> 00:23:59,159
Speaker 3: figure out how to beat the teams that you know

432
00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:03,000
Speaker 3: you can beat, because even at their best, Indiana hasn't

433
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:04,840
Speaker 3: been able to figure out how to beat the Liberty

434
00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,960
Speaker 3: And that's tough because the Liberty are really good. There's

435
00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,160
Speaker 3: a reason why they are at the top of the table.

436
00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:14,480
Speaker 3: Minnesota really good. So Indiana gets that win, that's a

437
00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,199
Speaker 3: feather in their cap. But then you can't stub your

438
00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:20,919
Speaker 3: toe against the Washington Midsticks and the Dallas Wings. You

439
00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:24,160
Speaker 3: just can't do that. So we're going to see what

440
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,080
Speaker 3: Indiana is made of when everybody comes back from the

441
00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:30,120
Speaker 3: Olympic break and the All Star break after hopefully Team

442
00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:34,280
Speaker 3: USA wins an eighth straight gold medal in tenth overall. Yeah, well,

443
00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:34,679
Speaker 3: I don't know.

444
00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:38,919
Speaker 2: Of course, a second hold on.

445
00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:44,040
Speaker 3: France is coming, Germany is coming, Belgium is coming like

446
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:48,680
Speaker 3: there are Australia. Australia has dusted off forty three year

447
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:52,159
Speaker 3: old Lauren Jackson, who has the distinction of being a

448
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:59,120
Speaker 3: three time in WNBA MVP. She is special and now

449
00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:03,240
Speaker 3: that she is playing paying free, Australia is a problem.

450
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,000
Speaker 2: Okay, hold on, we'll come back to I just one

451
00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:08,399
Speaker 2: last thing. So in the end, we know the NBA

452
00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:12,080
Speaker 2: is a players league where I don't want to say

453
00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:13,680
Speaker 2: the stars get to pick the coaches. But we just

454
00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,320
Speaker 2: saw Donovan Mitchell and Bickerstaff blow up. Donovan Mitchell gets

455
00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:19,440
Speaker 2: a new coach, Lebron and Darvin Ham Lebron gets a

456
00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:22,040
Speaker 2: new coach. This is not like a strange thing. And

457
00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:24,800
Speaker 2: the NFL, to an extent, quarterback has a say on

458
00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:29,320
Speaker 2: the coach. I'm curious you mentioned the Indiana Fever coach.

459
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:31,879
Speaker 2: You know the fans don't love her. She takes a

460
00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:35,720
Speaker 2: beating from some of these analytical Caitlin Clark fans online.

461
00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:40,600
Speaker 2: Do you think if they replaced the coach, Kaitlin Clark

462
00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,000
Speaker 2: should have a say in all your time around basketball.

463
00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:46,879
Speaker 3: I think to put that at her feet would be

464
00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:50,399
Speaker 3: a lot. They are already asking her to hold for

465
00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:52,199
Speaker 3: the first time in my life. I'd never seen this

466
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:57,479
Speaker 3: a visiting team holding a news conference pre game. I

467
00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:02,080
Speaker 3: attended the Caitlyn Clark pre game news conference. I've never

468
00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:06,040
Speaker 3: seen that before in the WNBA, So I think they're

469
00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:11,199
Speaker 3: already putting a lot on her. The thing that I

470
00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:14,639
Speaker 3: do think is interesting is that Lisa Bluter, her former

471
00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:18,720
Speaker 3: coach at Iowa, did retire and handed the keys to

472
00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:22,800
Speaker 3: the car to Jan Jensen for the Hawkeyes. So her

473
00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:27,320
Speaker 3: coach who they took Iowa from nowhere to a pair

474
00:26:27,359 --> 00:26:32,920
Speaker 3: of final fours and champ games. So I'm just I

475
00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:35,240
Speaker 3: always leave that simmering on the back burner.

476
00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:38,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, that's interesting, and you just made a good point.

477
00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:42,080
Speaker 2: I think we've touched on this before. But like U,

478
00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,320
Speaker 2: Coon's had some amazing runs with Gino, They've had stacked

479
00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:49,240
Speaker 2: teams undefeated. All that is part of what's made Clerk special.

480
00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,800
Speaker 2: We saw Curry dominate at Davidson Little Davidson made a

481
00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:54,720
Speaker 2: run to the Elite eight, and that kind of put

482
00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:56,360
Speaker 2: him on the map. I mean, he had already been

483
00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:58,840
Speaker 2: doing good things going against Blake Griffin and stuff, but

484
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:02,080
Speaker 2: that tournament run against the big boys, pushing Kansas to

485
00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:06,040
Speaker 2: the limit, taking down a Gonzaga and then a Georgetown.

486
00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:10,160
Speaker 2: Is that part of the allure to Clark that, Hey,

487
00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:13,040
Speaker 2: she didn't go to Hong Kon or a factory, you

488
00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:14,840
Speaker 2: went to the championship with Iowa.

489
00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:20,200
Speaker 3: Right, That's part of the mystique for sure. But funny

490
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:23,920
Speaker 3: thing is is Caitlin Clark was a huge Yukon fan

491
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,840
Speaker 3: growing up. Her favorite player was Maya Moore and she

492
00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:32,320
Speaker 3: wanted to attend Yukon and Gino Rima had the choice,

493
00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:34,880
Speaker 3: am I going with Paige Beckers or am I going

494
00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:38,359
Speaker 3: with Caitlin Clark? And he chose Paige Beckers. He said

495
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:41,240
Speaker 3: Paige had way more upside. We'll make a better pro,

496
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:46,320
Speaker 3: We'll be a better Olympian. And just like Caitlin, she's

497
00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:49,840
Speaker 3: been a National Player of the Year already and now

498
00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:53,760
Speaker 3: that she's healthy, she probably has the best chance to

499
00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:57,639
Speaker 3: break the drought, right because since Stewie four peeded, Yukon

500
00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:00,800
Speaker 3: hasn't won a title. Twenty sixteen was the last one.

501
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:04,280
Speaker 3: That's where I got unnerved when people said Caitlin Clark

502
00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:08,280
Speaker 3: was the best player in college period. Now, Rianna Stewart

503
00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:15,000
Speaker 3: won four championships in a row, and in women's basketball,

504
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:20,840
Speaker 3: unlike the men winning means more. The more gold medals,

505
00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:25,119
Speaker 3: the more championships, the more euro League championships, whatever. If

506
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,520
Speaker 3: you're getting a prize for crossing the street faster than

507
00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:31,800
Speaker 3: your teammate, that matters more than just getting to the

508
00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:35,040
Speaker 3: final four or putting your program on the map. You

509
00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:38,240
Speaker 3: got to seal the deal. Diane and I won three

510
00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:43,400
Speaker 3: championships at Yukon. Coming into the WNBA, she was a

511
00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:48,440
Speaker 3: venerable force because she had proven it at the collegiate level. Yeah.

512
00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:50,880
Speaker 2: I think my guess is the people who were saying

513
00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,600
Speaker 2: that is wait a minute, hold on Yukon had how

514
00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:56,560
Speaker 2: many McDonald's all Americans of those teams, like maybe the

515
00:28:56,680 --> 00:28:59,720
Speaker 2: entire starting lineup, and Iowa has like two star kids.

516
00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:03,440
Speaker 2: I mean, I think, uh, Martin is a pro right

517
00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:06,400
Speaker 2: on Vegas. And then other than that, Yes, yeah, I

518
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:08,840
Speaker 2: don't know, maybe the big kids. Stokey, I don't know

519
00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:11,520
Speaker 2: if she's uh, I don't know what her at pro

520
00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:12,200
Speaker 2: prospects are.

521
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,360
Speaker 3: She she needs she needs to get in the gym

522
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:18,280
Speaker 3: and learn how to play defense and finish at the rim.

523
00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:20,040
Speaker 3: But yeah, she has potential.

524
00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,000
Speaker 2: And those Yukon teams were absolutely loaded.

525
00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:23,160
Speaker 3: Now.

526
00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:25,720
Speaker 2: Beckers, though had the unfortunate. Didn't you have back to

527
00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:29,480
Speaker 2: back injuries? Like yes out, yeah, yeah, she's a superstar.

528
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,400
Speaker 2: There was when when Indiana was stinking up the joint,

529
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:34,280
Speaker 2: going like what one intend to start the season or

530
00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:38,280
Speaker 2: whatever against the competition. It was like, oh, Page Page

531
00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:41,360
Speaker 2: and uh Caitlin back court next. Everybody's all excited. Well,

532
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:44,360
Speaker 2: no chance of that happened. Now, all right, let's get

533
00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:45,800
Speaker 2: to the go ahead, Go ahead.

534
00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:48,360
Speaker 3: No, I would just I would not want Indiana to

535
00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:51,040
Speaker 3: take Page Beckers as well. That I don't think would

536
00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:53,440
Speaker 3: be good for the league. I think we need to

537
00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:57,400
Speaker 3: spread the talent around Indiana. Indiana has its point guard.

538
00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:00,880
Speaker 2: So all right, let's get to the Olympics.

539
00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:01,000
Speaker 3: Now.

540
00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:05,600
Speaker 2: This is obviously a very dicey issue. Almost it's almost

541
00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:08,080
Speaker 2: gotten a little political. I don't know if you've felt that,

542
00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:11,640
Speaker 2: but people are just so worked up about it. Obviously,

543
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:15,200
Speaker 2: listen from from a from a my standpoint, like Cindy,

544
00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:17,440
Speaker 2: I'd never been to a w NBA game. My daughter,

545
00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:18,080
Speaker 2: I coached her.

546
00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:20,200
Speaker 3: And who.

547
00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:25,240
Speaker 2: Well, no hold on Kitlin Clark. She went back East

548
00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:27,720
Speaker 2: with my wife and son during the holiday break. I

549
00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:29,600
Speaker 2: couldn't go because I had to work, And they're like, please,

550
00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:31,880
Speaker 2: get us tickets to the Rutgers Kaitland Clark game. So

551
00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:34,280
Speaker 2: we came through. So then Caitlin Clark comes out here

552
00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:36,840
Speaker 2: to face the Sparks and we got tickets, and it's like,

553
00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:39,239
Speaker 2: oh my gosh, I voted for the w NBA. I'll

554
00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:41,920
Speaker 2: start getting like I'm interested in the Caitlin Clark show

555
00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:43,720
Speaker 2: if I'm laying on the couch and I'm like, let

556
00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:45,800
Speaker 2: me just check the w NBA. Scorse, Oh, Kitlin Clark's

557
00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:50,280
Speaker 2: playing altroarn game. Now the Olympics not gonna lie. I

558
00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:54,000
Speaker 2: couldn't tell you who were the starting five on the

559
00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:56,400
Speaker 2: Olympic team for the women's The last time around, I

560
00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:01,040
Speaker 2: will say I'm shocked Clark because not on the team.

561
00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:03,000
Speaker 2: I know she didn't make the camp because she's in

562
00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:05,240
Speaker 2: the final four. And this is a very A lot

563
00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:09,320
Speaker 2: of women's basketball diehards are like, no, she can't be

564
00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:12,720
Speaker 2: on the team. Now, I want you to has opinion.

565
00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:16,280
Speaker 2: First of all, tell me do you think she should

566
00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:16,680
Speaker 2: have made it?

567
00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:16,960
Speaker 3: Then?

568
00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:22,000
Speaker 2: And now? Given how herst numbers match up extremely favorably

569
00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:24,840
Speaker 2: with the girls who are on the Olympic team, and

570
00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:27,760
Speaker 2: in several categories she's beating them in WNBA status here

571
00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:30,320
Speaker 2: at least. I'm just curious how you've gone, and you

572
00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:33,520
Speaker 2: could be as honest as you want. I don't mind disagree.

573
00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:36,440
Speaker 3: I don't think Caitlin Clark should be on the twenty

574
00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:39,880
Speaker 3: twenty four Olympic team. I think it's a team that's

575
00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:46,280
Speaker 3: already guard heavy, so to add another guard is just nonsensical.

576
00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:48,480
Speaker 3: And then who are you going to take off? Are

577
00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:51,560
Speaker 3: you going to deny Diana Tarassi who has spent more

578
00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:56,160
Speaker 3: than half of her life with USA Basketball and opportunity

579
00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:00,880
Speaker 3: to do the unprecedented win a six straight gold medal

580
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:05,000
Speaker 3: for her comfort, for her country. She's the logo of

581
00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:09,840
Speaker 3: the WNBA, the layand with the bun. That's Diana, So

582
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:12,160
Speaker 3: you don't want to take her off. You can't take

583
00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:17,240
Speaker 3: off Chelsea Gray, she's amazing, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plumb Sabrina Yonescue, Like,

584
00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:20,520
Speaker 3: which guard are you going to take away to give

585
00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:26,239
Speaker 3: Caitlin an opportunity? When defense and physicality is going to

586
00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:29,560
Speaker 3: be the name of the game at the Olympics. In

587
00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:34,520
Speaker 3: Paris late game situations, Christy Sides has to take out

588
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:39,720
Speaker 3: Caitlin because they're afraid she'll get beat. You cannot take

589
00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:43,880
Speaker 3: out anybody when you are on the Olympic stage, they

590
00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:47,240
Speaker 3: have to be able to defend. So it's the lack

591
00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:50,160
Speaker 3: of ability to play defense, which she will shore up

592
00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:52,160
Speaker 3: and she will get better at and she will have

593
00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:55,720
Speaker 3: a chance to represent Team USA for years to come.

594
00:32:56,360 --> 00:33:01,240
Speaker 3: It's just not her turn now, and that's okay. Everybody

595
00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:03,400
Speaker 3: just needs to get out of their feelings about it

596
00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:07,240
Speaker 3: and get behind the fact that Team USA has two

597
00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:11,400
Speaker 3: first timers on it already, Kalia Copper of the Mercury

598
00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:16,480
Speaker 3: and Alissa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun, the all time

599
00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:20,600
Speaker 3: triple doubles leader in WNBA history. Are you going to

600
00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:23,960
Speaker 3: take one of those two players off to put Caitlyn on?

601
00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:28,560
Speaker 3: I don't think so. So I love the way that

602
00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:32,160
Speaker 3: the team is constructed. I think it is constructed to

603
00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:35,720
Speaker 3: win an eighth straight gold medal and stand on that

604
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:40,840
Speaker 3: metal stand and let everybody hear the Star spangled banner

605
00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:44,200
Speaker 3: and all of it. With Team USA winning an eighth

606
00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:46,720
Speaker 3: straight gold medal, I think Caitlyn is going to help

607
00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:49,920
Speaker 3: Team USA win down the road, So she just doesn't

608
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:52,040
Speaker 3: have to help in twenty twenty four.

609
00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:55,560
Speaker 2: Okay, So the counter would be I had to look

610
00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:57,600
Speaker 2: this up just because you made a good point about

611
00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:00,920
Speaker 2: winning an eighth straight. So two thousand eight eight Summer

612
00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:04,000
Speaker 2: Olympics US women won every game by fifteen or more.

613
00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,680
Speaker 2: Twenty twelve, they won every game by thirteen or more.

614
00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:11,439
Speaker 2: Twenty sixteen, every game by nineteen or more, so zero

615
00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:15,399
Speaker 2: single digit games. Twenty twenty they had one single digit game,

616
00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:18,319
Speaker 2: beating Nigeria by nine everything else. So basically, in the

617
00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:23,040
Speaker 2: last four Olympics they have utterly been dominant, like nobody

618
00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:24,960
Speaker 2: can touch them. My guess, I know you said that

619
00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:27,319
Speaker 2: everybody else is better, but my guess is they're going

620
00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:29,560
Speaker 2: to steamroll and win every game by double digits again.

621
00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:32,680
Speaker 2: So if we are to assume that, hey, they've got

622
00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:36,719
Speaker 2: the gold locked up, then don't you kind of sort

623
00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:38,719
Speaker 2: of want to say, you know what, it would be

624
00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:42,799
Speaker 2: great for the WNBA and women's basketball in general to

625
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:46,360
Speaker 2: have Clark on the team. Who's going to generate more eyeballs.

626
00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:48,440
Speaker 2: We've seen her do it for the league. Wouldn't she

627
00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:51,720
Speaker 2: do it for the Olympics. But I guess your counter

628
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:56,160
Speaker 2: would be the Caitlin Clark circus. And I am curious

629
00:34:56,400 --> 00:34:58,960
Speaker 2: where you are on whether or not the circus is

630
00:34:58,960 --> 00:34:59,480
Speaker 2: a bad thing.

631
00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:04,680
Speaker 3: Well in this instance, it might be a distraction, and

632
00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:10,640
Speaker 3: nothing can detract from the mission. Team USA is all

633
00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:14,920
Speaker 3: about the mission of completing the assignment, and that is

634
00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:19,120
Speaker 3: an eighth straight gold medal. And just like in the WNBA,

635
00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,720
Speaker 3: where it's not like New York woke up and isn't

636
00:35:22,719 --> 00:35:25,320
Speaker 3: as good as it was last season, or Las Vegas

637
00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:28,520
Speaker 3: for that matter, they've dealt with injuries and what has

638
00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,799
Speaker 3: happened is the rest of the league has leveled up.

639
00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:36,000
Speaker 3: Everybody else has gotten better. Even the worst team, the

640
00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:39,799
Speaker 3: Washington Mystics, can get you if you're not buttoned up.

641
00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:44,880
Speaker 3: And the same goes on the world stage. Australia is better,

642
00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:50,360
Speaker 3: France is better, Belgium is better. Belgium has a former

643
00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:55,720
Speaker 3: Finals MVP in Ma Mesiman from the twenty nineteen Washington

644
00:35:55,719 --> 00:36:00,440
Speaker 3: Mystics sitting out this WNBA season getting her team ready

645
00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:05,040
Speaker 3: for this fight. All of the other teams are together.

646
00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:09,399
Speaker 3: Gabby Williams sitting out from the Storm. She's helping Team

647
00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:14,800
Speaker 3: France get better. The competition this year will be unlike

648
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:19,440
Speaker 3: any other, and that's why Cheryl Reeve and the committee

649
00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:25,600
Speaker 3: leaned into veteran leadership ability to score off the bounce,

650
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:30,040
Speaker 3: create off the bounce and defend as if your ability

651
00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:34,000
Speaker 3: to breathe depends on it. It will all be needed

652
00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:35,600
Speaker 3: to triumph in Paris.

653
00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:39,120
Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in

654
00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:42,520
Speaker 1: the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio

655
00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:46,719
Speaker 1: dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to

656
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:47,520
Speaker 1: listen live.

657
00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:49,879
Speaker 2: So you don't think they're like kind of a lock

658
00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:51,600
Speaker 2: with or without Clark.

659
00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:55,560
Speaker 3: No, don't. I don't take anything for granted at all.

660
00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:58,759
Speaker 2: So you know, again, the gambling markets are just one

661
00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:05,760
Speaker 2: aspect us. According to you know, DraftKings minus eighteen hundred

662
00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:10,080
Speaker 2: to win gold. So Australia is second, Belgium is looks

663
00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:12,480
Speaker 2: like fifth. So basically Vegas is saying you've got to

664
00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:16,160
Speaker 2: lay a ton of money to win a little bit

665
00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:19,000
Speaker 2: of money. That's how heavy they are. Famous. Now, upsets

666
00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:22,200
Speaker 2: do happen. I get that. But regarding to circus, I

667
00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:26,320
Speaker 2: am curious, And this is a loaded word that people

668
00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:29,480
Speaker 2: don't seem to like. But do you, Cindy, think that

669
00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:33,160
Speaker 2: there's any jealousy over the attention Clark's getting. Whether it's

670
00:37:33,239 --> 00:37:36,240
Speaker 2: Reeve who has made some pointed comments, I think Cheryl

671
00:37:36,239 --> 00:37:40,240
Speaker 2: Swoots had a couple comments. TARROSSI had a comment, and again,

672
00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,120
Speaker 2: nothing really that harsh, except maybe Reeve if you want

673
00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:46,719
Speaker 2: to dig into it. But do you think there is like, Hey,

674
00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:49,000
Speaker 2: we've had a good league, We've got a lot of

675
00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:52,560
Speaker 2: great players. What's the big deal about Caitlin Clark. Do

676
00:37:52,719 --> 00:37:55,640
Speaker 2: you think jealousy works? Maybe not for all. I don't

677
00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:58,520
Speaker 2: want a blanket statement, but there is some jealousy around

678
00:37:58,520 --> 00:37:59,880
Speaker 2: the league with the intention she's getting.

679
00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:04,120
Speaker 3: I think what's disquieting for a lot of people, and

680
00:38:04,160 --> 00:38:08,439
Speaker 3: myself included, is that the focus is on one when

681
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:13,800
Speaker 3: the greater good is fantastic. We've never been a league

682
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:18,360
Speaker 3: just about Diana or Cheryl Swoops or Lisa Leslie or

683
00:38:18,440 --> 00:38:22,200
Speaker 3: Lauren Jackson or Sue Byrd. It's always been about the collective,

684
00:38:23,239 --> 00:38:27,239
Speaker 3: and that, for me is what is jarring. That all

685
00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:31,680
Speaker 3: of the focus is on one person, and it just

686
00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:35,759
Speaker 3: goes against everything we fought for for decades, like look

687
00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:38,640
Speaker 3: at us, look at us as a collective. We are

688
00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:42,319
Speaker 3: a great product. And to have it boiled down to

689
00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:46,040
Speaker 3: a singular thing, I think everybody's just trying to navigate

690
00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:51,000
Speaker 3: that because it runs contrary to everything that we have

691
00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:58,200
Speaker 3: ever experienced before. But nobody discounts that Caitlin is a

692
00:38:58,239 --> 00:39:01,839
Speaker 3: generational talent that I have said time and again. When

693
00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:04,160
Speaker 3: I was on the call at Minnesota, I said, she

694
00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:07,480
Speaker 3: is Dinah TARROSSI two point zero like this, this is it.

695
00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:10,320
Speaker 3: And I know that the women's fans and some of

696
00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:13,279
Speaker 3: the pundits hate the male comp but she, Caitlin Clark

697
00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:15,920
Speaker 3: is Larry Bird. Just write it down with a sharpie,

698
00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:20,160
Speaker 3: just that that same vibe, that killer instinct, just makes

699
00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:25,720
Speaker 3: his teammates better, terrific passing and just goes about his business,

700
00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:29,360
Speaker 3: never really gets ruffled, just just as a killer and

701
00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:33,839
Speaker 3: gets it done, period, full stop. So yeah, So that's

702
00:39:33,880 --> 00:39:36,319
Speaker 3: that's kind of where I stand on it. It's just it's

703
00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:39,320
Speaker 3: jarring because all of the focus is on one person.

704
00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:42,640
Speaker 3: That's why I'm very curious to see if what we

705
00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:47,720
Speaker 3: see as an Indiana Fever roster currently stays together, because

706
00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:51,840
Speaker 3: that's a lot. You are dealing with alpha's at every position,

707
00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:55,680
Speaker 3: and does an alpha want to give up and concede?

708
00:39:56,200 --> 00:40:00,560
Speaker 3: Oh I'm I'm on her team and that's the best

709
00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:01,440
Speaker 3: I get.

710
00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:06,040
Speaker 2: So wait, are you what were you getting that? Are

711
00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:09,040
Speaker 2: you hearing that? Are you seeing that? Are you speculated? Like?

712
00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:09,360
Speaker 1: That?

713
00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:12,960
Speaker 2: To me? Is interesting? I had not even considered. Listen,

714
00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:15,240
Speaker 2: you know, I play in men's leagues out here, Obviously

715
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:18,600
Speaker 2: nobody cares. But I'm out here recruiting for a team.

716
00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:20,080
Speaker 2: I want the best players. I don't care if I

717
00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:21,080
Speaker 2: play let's. I want to win.

718
00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:22,160
Speaker 1: I want championships.

719
00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:23,680
Speaker 2: I want my name on the band. We've got one,

720
00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:26,120
Speaker 2: I want another. So I'm out there. I want to win,

721
00:40:26,440 --> 00:40:28,680
Speaker 2: and I think I'm an alpha. I'm obviously not at

722
00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:32,360
Speaker 2: my age, but uh, I'm surprised that people would not

723
00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:35,040
Speaker 2: like I'm trying to think like you. Historically Lebron and

724
00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:38,279
Speaker 2: his prime, it's guys Steph Curry and his prime. Yeah,

725
00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:40,080
Speaker 2: Kevin Durant, I want to go play there.

726
00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:44,120
Speaker 3: Yeah, but they did that as established players. This is

727
00:40:44,120 --> 00:40:48,040
Speaker 3: a rookie, okay, who is ringing the bell? So do

728
00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:51,560
Speaker 3: you want to get in line behind a rookie who?

729
00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:52,040
Speaker 1: Okay?

730
00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:54,560
Speaker 2: One min yumpa. Well, I guess you know he just

731
00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:58,240
Speaker 2: finished his rookie season. But in this off season, Chris

732
00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:00,400
Speaker 2: Paul now that could have been a financial thing. Nobody

733
00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:03,600
Speaker 2: was given him total million bucks. But Chris now goes,

734
00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:05,480
Speaker 2: maybe he's just like, hey, I'll collect twelve million. And

735
00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:07,359
Speaker 2: then at the deadline, they'll ship me when we're not good.

736
00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:11,480
Speaker 2: But I don't know what wem Begnama's generational. My guess

737
00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:14,080
Speaker 2: is people would want to play with him, right.

738
00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:19,040
Speaker 3: I think it's different in the NBA because there's so

739
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:22,479
Speaker 3: many more teams and more options. We've got twelve teams now,

740
00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:26,440
Speaker 3: we'll expand to thirteen next season and fourteen and twenty

741
00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:29,160
Speaker 3: twenty six when Toronto comes on board after the Golden

742
00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:34,960
Speaker 3: State Valkyries. So there are still a finite number of spots,

743
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:40,919
Speaker 3: and there are other things that players are chasing, like amenities.

744
00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:44,960
Speaker 3: There are only three teams in the WNBA, that's Las Vegas,

745
00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:50,279
Speaker 3: Seattle and now Phoenix that have dedicated practice facilities for

746
00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:55,200
Speaker 3: the women's teams in town. Our practice facility just opened.

747
00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:59,399
Speaker 3: One hundred million dollars was spent by owner Matt Ishbia,

748
00:41:59,440 --> 00:42:02,400
Speaker 3: and I always say Matt with one tea and a

749
00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:06,440
Speaker 3: whole lot of zeros, and it was ready. It was

750
00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:08,319
Speaker 3: supposed to take two years to build and get done,

751
00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:10,680
Speaker 3: and of course he had it done for all Stars

752
00:42:10,719 --> 00:42:13,759
Speaker 3: so it could be displayed as the crown jewel that

753
00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:17,680
Speaker 3: it is. But it's the amenities that players are also

754
00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:21,440
Speaker 3: looking for, in addition to more money and all of

755
00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:24,000
Speaker 3: the other things that they have been chasing for decades.

756
00:42:24,520 --> 00:42:29,920
Speaker 3: So does Indiana have that? Not at this juncture. It

757
00:42:29,960 --> 00:42:33,440
Speaker 3: doesn't have a practice facility, It doesn't have dedicated resources

758
00:42:33,480 --> 00:42:36,560
Speaker 3: to the fever. At this point. Now that could change.

759
00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:40,319
Speaker 3: Gamebridge and all of the associates with the arena and

760
00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:43,160
Speaker 3: everything is getting a lot of cash flow like they've

761
00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:46,520
Speaker 3: never seen before. So you would hope that would happen.

762
00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:50,759
Speaker 3: But until it does, free agents are going to go, well,

763
00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:55,120
Speaker 3: Seattle's got this, Vegas has that, and Seattle, Vegas and

764
00:42:55,120 --> 00:42:59,040
Speaker 3: Phoenix will run players through their practice facility just to

765
00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:03,480
Speaker 3: show them what they are missing, because the magic stuff matters.

766
00:43:03,719 --> 00:43:06,560
Speaker 2: So how about this, I'd counter and say, hey, you

767
00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:08,600
Speaker 2: know what, you know who's getting all the great primetime

768
00:43:08,640 --> 00:43:11,560
Speaker 2: games and the most coverage and the most promo Indiana.

769
00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:12,759
Speaker 2: You come on this team with.

770
00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:16,800
Speaker 3: Everybody, everybody, everybody's boat is rising because of that. All

771
00:43:16,840 --> 00:43:22,120
Speaker 3: are ye are getting more coverage than they ever have before. True,

772
00:43:22,160 --> 00:43:24,640
Speaker 3: So my counter to your counter is all the boats

773
00:43:24,640 --> 00:43:27,960
Speaker 3: are rising. That really doesn't That really doesn't resonate.

774
00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:30,239
Speaker 2: Well, I would I would counter to the to the

775
00:43:30,600 --> 00:43:32,560
Speaker 2: to the potential free agent. I would say, hey, just

776
00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:36,800
Speaker 2: for fun watch Sports Center on a night the Caitlin

777
00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:39,320
Speaker 2: Clark plays, and I guarantee you she's in the A bloc.

778
00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:41,680
Speaker 2: I guarantee you that's not the case for any other team,

779
00:43:41,840 --> 00:43:44,160
Speaker 2: Like the Las Vegas Aces play, they're not making early

780
00:43:44,200 --> 00:43:47,080
Speaker 2: in the show Kitlin Clark plays, it's early. And if

781
00:43:47,120 --> 00:43:48,719
Speaker 2: you look at some of the social metrics, and again

782
00:43:48,719 --> 00:43:51,120
Speaker 2: I don't know what social media is totally worth, but

783
00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:54,960
Speaker 2: like the Indian and the Fever are now the league's

784
00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:58,120
Speaker 2: leader in I think social media followers and they were

785
00:43:58,160 --> 00:44:01,200
Speaker 2: like middle of the pack. This is all obviously because

786
00:44:01,200 --> 00:44:01,520
Speaker 2: of Clark.

787
00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:04,160
Speaker 3: Yes, but that's Caitlyn Clark, right.

788
00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:07,560
Speaker 2: But proximity to greatness does an equal greatness, but it

789
00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:09,120
Speaker 2: puts you on the map a little bit more.

790
00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:14,640
Speaker 3: No, again, you're dealing with women that have busted their tails.

791
00:44:14,840 --> 00:44:16,759
Speaker 3: Can I swear on this that I can see whatever

792
00:44:16,800 --> 00:44:21,520
Speaker 3: you are past is for years looking for this kind

793
00:44:21,520 --> 00:44:26,160
Speaker 3: of shine. And on a night that Caitlyn Clark leads

794
00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:29,120
Speaker 3: Sports Center or is in the A block, to your point,

795
00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:35,239
Speaker 3: she's doing so when you could talk about four other

796
00:44:35,320 --> 00:44:38,960
Speaker 3: players for the opposing team and two on her team

797
00:44:39,239 --> 00:44:43,200
Speaker 3: that were just as special, that put up what we

798
00:44:43,320 --> 00:44:47,200
Speaker 3: haven't seen before this Steaven has just been the season

799
00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:51,880
Speaker 3: of records all over the place. Cop Copper KFC for

800
00:44:51,920 --> 00:44:55,120
Speaker 3: Phoenix Mercury, the first player in WNBA history with back

801
00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:58,520
Speaker 3: to back thirty seven point games. She's put up eight

802
00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:01,560
Speaker 3: thirty point games already this season. The record for the

803
00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:04,719
Speaker 3: franchise is ten that was held by Diana Tarassi set

804
00:45:04,800 --> 00:45:09,839
Speaker 3: in two thousand and nine. So everything can be highlighted

805
00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:11,239
Speaker 3: and talked about.

806
00:45:11,400 --> 00:45:14,640
Speaker 2: Not just just Clark. All right, so we got to

807
00:45:14,680 --> 00:45:17,759
Speaker 2: wrap on. I know, I went because you said some

808
00:45:17,800 --> 00:45:20,760
Speaker 2: defensive stuff that I hadn't noticed on Clark getting pulled

809
00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:21,480
Speaker 2: lat in games.

810
00:45:22,760 --> 00:45:26,080
Speaker 3: Again, defense created offense for defense, and defense is the

811
00:45:26,160 --> 00:45:29,279
Speaker 3: last thing that a player will take from college to

812
00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:32,200
Speaker 3: the WNBA. They have to learn how to depend I

813
00:45:32,320 --> 00:45:35,920
Speaker 3: talked to a lot of my yeah, yeah, upper body strength.

814
00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:37,400
Speaker 3: But I talked to a lot of my friends, and

815
00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:40,319
Speaker 3: we cannot believe how teams just don't drive at her

816
00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:43,600
Speaker 3: because she will olay out of the way and hope

817
00:45:43,640 --> 00:45:46,480
Speaker 3: her rim protection is there, or she will commit the foul.

818
00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:50,480
Speaker 3: She just doesn't have the footwork necessary to move against

819
00:45:50,520 --> 00:45:53,840
Speaker 3: the speed of a Khalia Copper or an a Rique

820
00:45:53,880 --> 00:45:57,640
Speaker 3: at gloom a Rique kept going at her and she

821
00:45:57,680 --> 00:45:59,800
Speaker 3: would just get out of the way. So o, Rique

822
00:46:00,239 --> 00:46:03,239
Speaker 3: had shots that were open. And you don't want to

823
00:46:03,320 --> 00:46:08,160
Speaker 3: leave Rique open available to hit shots because she will

824
00:46:08,239 --> 00:46:11,239
Speaker 3: kill you. She's the only player this season that had

825
00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:13,120
Speaker 3: a forty piece. She had a forty point game and

826
00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:15,040
Speaker 3: happened against the Mercury. I was their courts at But

827
00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:20,080
Speaker 3: she is a bucket. So yeah. And is she the

828
00:46:20,080 --> 00:46:20,560
Speaker 3: one who was.

829
00:46:20,560 --> 00:46:22,880
Speaker 2: Snubbed from the from the Olympic team as well or

830
00:46:23,040 --> 00:46:25,520
Speaker 2: didn't make it? Yeah, you could, so there was another

831
00:46:25,520 --> 00:46:28,640
Speaker 2: one based on points. So I looked this up. This

832
00:46:28,719 --> 00:46:31,799
Speaker 2: is this is surprising to me, given you know that

833
00:46:31,960 --> 00:46:35,240
Speaker 2: the defense has been suspect. So she's And again, defensive

834
00:46:35,239 --> 00:46:38,080
Speaker 2: stats are hard, even in the NBA. You know, defensive

835
00:46:38,080 --> 00:46:39,960
Speaker 2: wind shares. I mean, you can look at whatever. But

836
00:46:40,600 --> 00:46:42,839
Speaker 2: Kalen Clark is tenth in the league in steels and

837
00:46:42,840 --> 00:46:45,799
Speaker 2: thirteenth in blocks, So I know that's you can't really

838
00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:49,240
Speaker 2: it's tough to chirt blowbys. But I mean, for instance,

839
00:46:49,280 --> 00:46:51,879
Speaker 2: she has twenty two blocks. Angel Reese only has ten

840
00:46:51,920 --> 00:46:56,040
Speaker 2: angel Resa center. I was stung by that note many

841
00:46:56,080 --> 00:46:56,600
Speaker 2: more minutes.

842
00:46:56,760 --> 00:47:00,879
Speaker 3: Yeah, Angel Reese is a boer who plays the She's

843
00:47:00,920 --> 00:47:05,359
Speaker 3: an undersize center and when you're asking her to block

844
00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:08,600
Speaker 3: a shot, you're asking her to take a shot away

845
00:47:08,600 --> 00:47:11,600
Speaker 3: from six foot nine inch Britney grinder or six foot

846
00:47:11,640 --> 00:47:15,600
Speaker 3: seven inch Tierram account Like her ask is a little

847
00:47:15,640 --> 00:47:18,560
Speaker 3: bit more than what Caitlyn is asked to defend on

848
00:47:18,600 --> 00:47:20,880
Speaker 3: the perimeter. Like I think she blocked one of odyssey

849
00:47:20,920 --> 00:47:24,480
Speaker 3: sims shots. Odyssey is three four inches shorter than she is,

850
00:47:24,560 --> 00:47:27,520
Speaker 3: so Caitlyn should get that block and while she does

851
00:47:27,600 --> 00:47:29,960
Speaker 3: come through, she'll get the block on a swipe right

852
00:47:30,080 --> 00:47:32,880
Speaker 3: after the person has gone by. Don't want to have

853
00:47:32,960 --> 00:47:35,920
Speaker 3: that kind of block follow you all the time. And

854
00:47:35,960 --> 00:47:39,239
Speaker 3: then the steals come up because she does have very excellent,

855
00:47:39,640 --> 00:47:42,840
Speaker 3: excellent hand eye coordination. I mean she can see it.

856
00:47:42,880 --> 00:47:44,960
Speaker 3: She can pick up a rhythm and then she can

857
00:47:44,960 --> 00:47:48,120
Speaker 3: pick your pocket. But usually only happens once and then

858
00:47:48,440 --> 00:47:50,200
Speaker 3: the blitz comes at her the next two or three

859
00:47:50,200 --> 00:47:52,160
Speaker 3: times down the floor and you can see her get

860
00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:55,760
Speaker 3: a little unsteady and then figure it out. So teams,

861
00:47:56,120 --> 00:47:58,480
Speaker 3: I know will go into the lab and look at

862
00:47:58,520 --> 00:48:03,799
Speaker 3: film and really key on slowing her down after the

863
00:48:03,840 --> 00:48:07,440
Speaker 3: all star break and teams will be healthier, Like if

864
00:48:07,520 --> 00:48:10,880
Speaker 3: Satu Sodily comes back after representing Germany and the Olympics

865
00:48:10,960 --> 00:48:13,799
Speaker 3: and rejoins the wings. That is a six foot four

866
00:48:13,880 --> 00:48:17,880
Speaker 3: inch unicorn nightmare at the top. That will defend Caitlyn Clark.

867
00:48:18,400 --> 00:48:22,040
Speaker 3: It is Clark's worst nightmare because that's what she ran

868
00:48:22,080 --> 00:48:24,799
Speaker 3: into in college, right, Nebraska through size at her to

869
00:48:24,800 --> 00:48:28,200
Speaker 3: beat her, Indiana through size at her to beat her.

870
00:48:28,360 --> 00:48:33,399
Speaker 3: So that size is there in the WNBA. Now they

871
00:48:33,480 --> 00:48:35,640
Speaker 3: just have to get into the lab and figure out

872
00:48:35,719 --> 00:48:39,480
Speaker 3: how to counter because what's more devastating from Caitlyn than

873
00:48:39,520 --> 00:48:42,719
Speaker 3: anything else is her finding her open teammates, and so

874
00:48:42,920 --> 00:48:47,440
Speaker 3: there's going to be a lot more concentration on We

875
00:48:47,520 --> 00:48:49,279
Speaker 3: got to slow that down. We got to cross the

876
00:48:49,280 --> 00:48:49,880
Speaker 3: head of snake.

877
00:48:50,160 --> 00:48:52,640
Speaker 2: It feels like a Yokic deal. Like Yokic is just

878
00:48:52,680 --> 00:48:55,319
Speaker 2: too good. Okay, you can either double team him and

879
00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:58,279
Speaker 2: let Jamal Murray go off reporter, or you can just say,

880
00:48:58,280 --> 00:49:00,000
Speaker 2: you know what yokis, We're going to man you up

881
00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:01,800
Speaker 2: and you're gonna score forty eight and we're just gonna

882
00:49:01,840 --> 00:49:05,520
Speaker 2: hope that nobody else goes off and we're able to win. Right,

883
00:49:05,520 --> 00:49:06,240
Speaker 2: I don't know that, Clark.

884
00:49:06,320 --> 00:49:08,759
Speaker 3: So what makes Dallas interesting? Right with Luca and now

885
00:49:08,840 --> 00:49:12,240
Speaker 3: Clay and Kyrie. You know, pick your poison, but Luca

886
00:49:12,360 --> 00:49:14,320
Speaker 3: is the one you really focus on because he's the

887
00:49:14,360 --> 00:49:17,800
Speaker 3: triple double waiting to happen and can pass like nobody's business.

888
00:49:17,840 --> 00:49:19,960
Speaker 3: So you've got to approach it the same way.

889
00:49:20,239 --> 00:49:23,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, this has been great, Cindy, illuminating stuff from

890
00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:25,640
Speaker 2: somebody who's boots on the ground. I mean, you're you're

891
00:49:25,719 --> 00:49:29,080
Speaker 2: in arena seeing all this stuff. I think I'm frankly

892
00:49:29,120 --> 00:49:32,400
Speaker 2: stunned that you think there's a chance people just not

893
00:49:32,440 --> 00:49:34,560
Speaker 2: want to be part of the circus. I think that

894
00:49:34,719 --> 00:49:37,360
Speaker 2: is that's a great take, and we'll see what happens.

895
00:49:37,360 --> 00:49:39,879
Speaker 2: I mean, maybe there is. I don't know. I guess

896
00:49:40,160 --> 00:49:41,480
Speaker 2: you probably don't know off the top of your head.

897
00:49:41,480 --> 00:49:44,680
Speaker 2: But like, what do you think the fever would need

898
00:49:44,760 --> 00:49:47,160
Speaker 2: in free agency to get better? You have Clark, you

899
00:49:47,200 --> 00:49:50,319
Speaker 2: have the two bigs. I don't what do they need?

900
00:49:50,360 --> 00:49:53,000
Speaker 2: I mean, Indiana fans would say a new coach.

901
00:49:52,800 --> 00:49:57,799
Speaker 3: But itsides is a really good coach. I've had a

902
00:49:57,920 --> 00:50:00,640
Speaker 3: lot of time spent with her because I was in

903
00:50:00,680 --> 00:50:04,480
Speaker 3: the room when nobody cared about Indiana asking questions, and

904
00:50:04,960 --> 00:50:08,000
Speaker 3: she knows her stuff. She is really good and it

905
00:50:08,080 --> 00:50:12,200
Speaker 3: has been a lot to handle everything that goes along

906
00:50:12,560 --> 00:50:15,880
Speaker 3: with Kitlyn Clark. Not only do you have increased security

907
00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:19,960
Speaker 3: in the WNBA, Caitlyn has her own security. Like Britney

908
00:50:19,960 --> 00:50:23,120
Speaker 3: Griner has her own security, but Britney Griner had death

909
00:50:23,120 --> 00:50:26,359
Speaker 3: threats and was wrongfully detained in Russia. Caitlyn just has

910
00:50:26,400 --> 00:50:30,520
Speaker 3: her own extra layer of security. So there's just a

911
00:50:30,560 --> 00:50:33,759
Speaker 3: lot that gets baked into the Caitlin Clark cake that

912
00:50:33,840 --> 00:50:37,440
Speaker 3: people just aren't used to and are navigating how to

913
00:50:37,480 --> 00:50:40,480
Speaker 3: figure it out. And I think, if I'm a player,

914
00:50:42,160 --> 00:50:45,080
Speaker 3: I just want to hoop. I want it to be

915
00:50:45,120 --> 00:50:48,080
Speaker 3: about the team. I want a chance to get the shine,

916
00:50:49,040 --> 00:50:52,879
Speaker 3: you know. And case in point Aliah Boston comes through

917
00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:56,400
Speaker 3: with a double double, has a career high with sixteen rebounds,

918
00:50:56,719 --> 00:51:00,000
Speaker 3: made some critical plays down the stretch, and they interviewed

919
00:51:00,080 --> 00:51:02,320
Speaker 3: Caitlin after the game and she had a bunch of

920
00:51:02,360 --> 00:51:04,480
Speaker 3: turnovers and really didn't score, and it was just like,

921
00:51:04,840 --> 00:51:09,759
Speaker 3: wait a minute, what are we doing. That's not the

922
00:51:09,880 --> 00:51:11,280
Speaker 3: person you should be interviewing.

923
00:51:11,520 --> 00:51:13,879
Speaker 2: But Cindy, you got to give the people what they want,

924
00:51:14,000 --> 00:51:16,480
Speaker 2: like congrats on your game, if.

925
00:51:16,320 --> 00:51:18,479
Speaker 3: You're gonna if you're gonna do that, interview them both,

926
00:51:18,960 --> 00:51:21,399
Speaker 3: or start with the Leah then bring in Caitlyn. There's

927
00:51:21,440 --> 00:51:25,680
Speaker 3: a way to do this so that just by how

928
00:51:25,760 --> 00:51:29,960
Speaker 3: it's approached it's not alienating. Because the way I see

929
00:51:30,000 --> 00:51:33,719
Speaker 3: it sitting on my couch, I don't like how it's going.

930
00:51:33,960 --> 00:51:36,200
Speaker 2: Well that's that Part's a media thing. That's not a

931
00:51:36,239 --> 00:51:38,799
Speaker 2: Caitlyn thing. Right, it's not her fault that they're grabbing her.

932
00:51:39,080 --> 00:51:40,680
Speaker 2: I mean, I guess she could say, hey, no, no,

933
00:51:40,719 --> 00:51:42,480
Speaker 2: go talk to Aleah Boston. It's like, come on, what

934
00:51:42,480 --> 00:51:43,080
Speaker 2: are you talking about?

935
00:51:43,160 --> 00:51:46,919
Speaker 3: Yeah? No, I remember, well what's going on with my hair?

936
00:51:47,800 --> 00:51:52,359
Speaker 3: I remember when uh, there we go? H Cameron Brent

937
00:51:52,600 --> 00:51:55,520
Speaker 3: was very intentional about No, I don't want to just talk.

938
00:51:55,600 --> 00:51:58,520
Speaker 3: Let's pull in Deerca Handy or or whoever it was

939
00:51:58,920 --> 00:52:02,960
Speaker 3: for the La Spark. I think that the player could

940
00:52:03,000 --> 00:52:06,360
Speaker 3: be more intentional and just make it easy on the media.

941
00:52:06,440 --> 00:52:09,279
Speaker 3: The media can't do the right thing. Caitlyn can help

942
00:52:09,360 --> 00:52:11,360
Speaker 3: them take the right exit on the preway.

943
00:52:12,280 --> 00:52:14,880
Speaker 2: Well that's another good take. All right, City ones, and

944
00:52:15,960 --> 00:52:18,200
Speaker 2: enjoy the All Star Game this weekend. And you know,

945
00:52:18,440 --> 00:52:20,840
Speaker 2: if the Caitlyn Clark mob comes after you after listening

946
00:52:20,880 --> 00:52:23,000
Speaker 2: to this, you know, just listen.

947
00:52:23,520 --> 00:52:27,239
Speaker 3: I love Caitlyn's game. I do. I knew when she

948
00:52:27,360 --> 00:52:29,960
Speaker 3: hit this league that she would take it by storm.

949
00:52:30,320 --> 00:52:32,719
Speaker 3: I want her to improve defensively. I want her to

950
00:52:32,719 --> 00:52:36,279
Speaker 3: get in the weight room. She could be what she

951
00:52:36,400 --> 00:52:40,560
Speaker 3: could pass Sue Bird's all time assists record. Now, the

952
00:52:40,680 --> 00:52:43,600
Speaker 3: question is will she hoop that long? She's not going

953
00:52:43,640 --> 00:52:46,120
Speaker 3: to have to play ten years, fifteen years. She's already

954
00:52:46,120 --> 00:52:51,360
Speaker 3: got transformational money thanks to just her deal with Wilson Basketball,

955
00:52:52,040 --> 00:52:56,239
Speaker 3: let alone Nike like. She has gotten generational wealth and

956
00:52:56,280 --> 00:53:00,440
Speaker 3: she hasn't even played a WNBA complete season. So is

957
00:53:00,480 --> 00:53:04,080
Speaker 3: she going to play long enough to break all of

958
00:53:04,120 --> 00:53:07,399
Speaker 3: these records? Because Sue was around for a long time,

959
00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:12,680
Speaker 3: Diana's been around for twenty years. These records, you know,

960
00:53:13,360 --> 00:53:16,879
Speaker 3: I think they could fall. But she will she hoop

961
00:53:16,960 --> 00:53:19,279
Speaker 3: that long? I hope she does, but she certainly won't

962
00:53:19,320 --> 00:53:20,520
Speaker 3: have to to chase a paycheck.

963
00:53:20,960 --> 00:53:23,279
Speaker 2: Another good question. All right, Cindy Brunson, thanks a lot.

964
00:53:23,320 --> 00:53:24,719
Speaker 2: We'll talk to you. Sue, thanks so

965
00:53:24,840 --> 00:53:26,040
Speaker 3: Much for having me be good