1
00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,000
Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're wondering

2
00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:07,120
Speaker 1: if the WNBA website really just accidentally leaked the new

3
00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:10,920
Speaker 1: name of the Toronto expansion team. It's Thursday, December fifth,

4
00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:13,399
Speaker 1: and on today's show, we'll be talking all things college

5
00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,800
Speaker 1: hoops with ESPN's Alexa Philippoo. Who's your number one team,

6
00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,320
Speaker 1: what's the ceiling for USC's Juju Watkins? And just how

7
00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:23,000
Speaker 1: big were those Notre Dame Els, Plus her take on

8
00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:26,599
Speaker 1: the breaking WNBA coaching news and the upcoming expansion draft.

9
00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,479
Speaker 1: Then a shark tale and is this permanent or just

10
00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:31,560
Speaker 1: tempo rary?

11
00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:33,360
Speaker 2: It's all coming up right after this.

12
00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:43,400
Speaker 1: Welcome Backslices, and a special shout out to Slices Justin Baird,

13
00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:47,400
Speaker 1: Margo Cison and Kalaine Conahan, who posted their Spotify rapped

14
00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:50,160
Speaker 1: results showing Good Game with Sarah Spain as their most

15
00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:51,320
Speaker 1: listened to show of the year.

16
00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:53,880
Speaker 2: We love seeing those, y'all are the best. Thanks.

17
00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:56,040
Speaker 1: We got a lot of college hoops here today, so

18
00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:58,640
Speaker 1: we're going to get to all your news and updates tomorrow.

19
00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:00,800
Speaker 2: Let's get right into my check with Alexa.

20
00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,520
Speaker 1: She covers college basketball and the WNBA for ESPN. She

21
00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,319
Speaker 1: previously covered the Yukon Huskies and the Connecticut Sun for

22
00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:11,040
Speaker 1: the Hartford Current, and her work has appeared in the

23
00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:15,240
Speaker 1: Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times, and Cincinnati Inquirer. A Stanford alum,

24
00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:17,560
Speaker 1: she loves a pancake and she'll crush a plate of

25
00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:18,800
Speaker 1: Raising Cane's chicken.

26
00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:21,240
Speaker 2: It's Alexa, Philipoo. What's up, Alexa?

27
00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,000
Speaker 3: That was an impressively you know, good bio on my

28
00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:26,400
Speaker 3: food preferences.

29
00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,080
Speaker 4: So, yeah, you keep your research.

30
00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,520
Speaker 2: Keep it pretty tight. You're very journalists forward.

31
00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:33,440
Speaker 1: But occasionally you do give us a plate of food

32
00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:35,839
Speaker 1: on the road, and that's where the real diging happens

33
00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:38,400
Speaker 1: for me before we get to college hoops. And I

34
00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:40,400
Speaker 1: have so much to ask about college hoops. Let's quickly

35
00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:42,640
Speaker 1: touch on the news that broke Wednesday afternoon, the Connecticut

36
00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,600
Speaker 1: Sun hiring Rashid Mazien, who coached in the French Women's

37
00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:47,360
Speaker 1: League and has served as the head coach for the

38
00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,160
Speaker 1: Belgian national team, also sometime as assistant coach for the

39
00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:51,080
Speaker 1: French national team.

40
00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:53,000
Speaker 2: Thoughts on the hire for the Sun.

41
00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:55,600
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the reaction from a lot of people

42
00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:58,080
Speaker 3: might have been who is this guy? Because we're used

43
00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:00,840
Speaker 3: to domestic hires or people. You know, we've seen obviously

44
00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:03,880
Speaker 3: a few people coming from the college ranks this coaching cycle.

45
00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:06,520
Speaker 3: We've seen people moving around from the pro side, but

46
00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:09,520
Speaker 3: you know, for someone to come over from the international circuit,

47
00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:11,520
Speaker 3: I think it's a really interesting out of the box

48
00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:15,320
Speaker 3: higher And I not shocked the Sun went that direction,

49
00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,680
Speaker 3: because I think the Sun can be a little bit

50
00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:20,239
Speaker 3: of a I don't want to say a tough market,

51
00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,800
Speaker 3: but you know that you want someone that can really

52
00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:25,320
Speaker 3: be invested in being in Uncasville. I know that's something

53
00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,560
Speaker 3: that was important to President gen Rizzotti when she was

54
00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:29,760
Speaker 3: looking for a replacement for Steph White. And they have

55
00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,240
Speaker 3: a lot of uncertainty too, and what their roster looks like.

56
00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:35,280
Speaker 3: They're big threes off free agents, so you know, we're

57
00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:37,040
Speaker 3: going to have to see if they end up staying

58
00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:40,280
Speaker 3: or if they're really rebuilding from scratch. For so, I

59
00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,600
Speaker 3: think with a with a hire that has proven success

60
00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:47,200
Speaker 3: even in Europe and also like has you know, relationships

61
00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,760
Speaker 3: with different WNBA players, different international prospects and players, I

62
00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:52,840
Speaker 3: think it's something that you know, they want to try

63
00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:53,400
Speaker 3: and see if this.

64
00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,559
Speaker 5: Kind of more creative solution works.

65
00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:58,519
Speaker 3: And they you know, I think they wanted to find

66
00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:00,639
Speaker 3: someone who was really going to be committed to this

67
00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,440
Speaker 3: Sun team because of the fact that you know, they've

68
00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,240
Speaker 3: had a little bit of turnover in the last few years,

69
00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:08,040
Speaker 3: and so you know, my read on this is that

70
00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,560
Speaker 3: this is someone they probably thought would be committed and

71
00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:12,320
Speaker 3: would be able to help them kind.

72
00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,960
Speaker 5: Of navigate this really challenging.

73
00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,080
Speaker 3: Era for not just the Sun but the whole WNBA,

74
00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:18,440
Speaker 3: with so much change undergoing.

75
00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:21,200
Speaker 1: The key will be for him to remember the differences

76
00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:23,839
Speaker 1: between FOEBA and w rules when it comes like down

77
00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:26,680
Speaker 1: the stretch of a tight, close game, remembering, you.

78
00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:28,720
Speaker 2: Know, all the specific differences.

79
00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:31,000
Speaker 1: While we're on the w quick Friday is the expansion

80
00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:32,640
Speaker 1: draft for the Golden State Valkyries.

81
00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:34,440
Speaker 2: We don't have to get too deep into it.

82
00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:36,200
Speaker 1: Tomorrow, we're going to do a little primer so everybody

83
00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,480
Speaker 1: knows what to expect. But are you expecting any big splashes,

84
00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,279
Speaker 1: any surprises in terms of players left unprotected?

85
00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:44,320
Speaker 4: I don't think anything.

86
00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:46,840
Speaker 3: Maybe that will be shocking, but I do think what

87
00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:49,520
Speaker 3: could be interesting to see is, you know, this is

88
00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:52,160
Speaker 3: their initial step at building a roster. But to me,

89
00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:54,920
Speaker 3: I'm really looking at Okay, this is obviously going to

90
00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:56,920
Speaker 3: be exciting. But what does free agency look like for

91
00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,400
Speaker 3: the Valkyries, Because obviously they can get players, they're going

92
00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:01,800
Speaker 3: to be able to train players. They are probably going

93
00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:03,680
Speaker 3: to want to go after some free agents because if

94
00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,040
Speaker 3: you've heard the Lake or Joe Lacum in particular talk

95
00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:08,880
Speaker 3: about this team, he wants the Valkyries to win a

96
00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:10,720
Speaker 3: championship in the first five years, just like he said

97
00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:12,400
Speaker 3: with the Warriors when he bought the team. So for

98
00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:14,320
Speaker 3: them to be able to do that realistically, they're gonna

99
00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:16,400
Speaker 3: have to sign really tot named free agents. So I

100
00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,279
Speaker 3: think this is like the appetizer more or less, and

101
00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:20,760
Speaker 3: then we'll really get some of the good stuff in

102
00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,520
Speaker 3: January and February. But definitely we'll be exciting to see

103
00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,600
Speaker 3: them put those initial bricks down of painting this path

104
00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:27,279
Speaker 3: for the new team.

105
00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:30,680
Speaker 1: Yeah, setting the plate with potentially just some good, solid

106
00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,760
Speaker 1: young players that they can grow into and potentially picking

107
00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:36,680
Speaker 1: up some draft picks by dealing with teams that will say, hey,

108
00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:38,560
Speaker 1: don't choose this player of ours that we aren't able

109
00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:40,520
Speaker 1: to protect, but we'll give you this draft pick. The

110
00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:42,560
Speaker 1: one thing I heard Kevin Pelton was on ESPN Daily

111
00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:44,800
Speaker 1: talking about and His hot take was that they might

112
00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:47,919
Speaker 1: be able to convince Elena Deladon to come help launch

113
00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,880
Speaker 1: this team as someone who maybe the mystics won't protect

114
00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:52,920
Speaker 1: because she wasn't playing last year, was looking for a

115
00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:55,039
Speaker 1: trade that they couldn't make happen. I think that would

116
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:57,960
Speaker 1: be real spicy and real fund So that's what I'm

117
00:04:58,000 --> 00:04:58,679
Speaker 1: hoping to see.

118
00:04:59,000 --> 00:04:59,880
Speaker 2: But we're all excited for that.

119
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,440
Speaker 1: Okay, let's talk college hoops because we predicted chaos and

120
00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,039
Speaker 1: excitement this season and we are already getting it.

121
00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:06,279
Speaker 2: It is so fun so far.

122
00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,279
Speaker 1: A forty three game win streak ended a team reaching

123
00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:11,240
Speaker 1: number one in the eight people for the first time

124
00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,680
Speaker 1: in program history, a top five squad taken back to back.

125
00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:19,039
Speaker 1: El's already a thrill ride regardless of the official AP ranking.

126
00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,000
Speaker 2: Right now, Who is your number one right now? Yeah?

127
00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,000
Speaker 3: I had. I mean I'm an AP voter, so I've

128
00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,440
Speaker 3: had UCLA as my number one right now because I

129
00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:28,920
Speaker 3: was actually at that game where they beat South Carolina

130
00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:29,760
Speaker 3: in LA and I.

131
00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:31,240
Speaker 4: Was just pretty floored.

132
00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:34,640
Speaker 3: It wasn't just that they beat South Carolina, it was

133
00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,320
Speaker 3: that they were up by twenty plus for much of

134
00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,279
Speaker 3: the game and they really didn't put you know, they

135
00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:42,360
Speaker 3: didn't take their foot off the break or foot off

136
00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:44,360
Speaker 3: the gas, I should say, so the fact that they

137
00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:46,680
Speaker 3: were able to do that, they didn't really show many weaknesses.

138
00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:49,039
Speaker 3: And they were such a tough matchup for a South

139
00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:51,719
Speaker 3: Carolina squad that I've seen them many times. You know,

140
00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:53,760
Speaker 3: they get down, they come back and end up winning

141
00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:56,359
Speaker 3: the game. But really South Carolina had no answer to

142
00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,479
Speaker 3: their shooting, to their length, to their depth, and to

143
00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,479
Speaker 3: all the kind of things that make that UCLA team go.

144
00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:04,560
Speaker 3: The thing to me though, is that this is a

145
00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,440
Speaker 3: team that hasn't made the final four in program history.

146
00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:10,880
Speaker 3: They have some inexperienced players in terms of, you know,

147
00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,799
Speaker 3: as a group, because they have transfers, because they have freshmen,

148
00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:16,080
Speaker 3: and so they do have a core that's experienced in

149
00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,800
Speaker 3: playing together. But can they really get to that next

150
00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,880
Speaker 3: step of a final four of a national championship.

151
00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:23,200
Speaker 4: That I think remains to be seen.

152
00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:24,960
Speaker 3: And I'm really eager to see how they deal with

153
00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,000
Speaker 3: the challenges of playing in the Big ten, especially you know, USC,

154
00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:29,560
Speaker 3: I'm sure it is only going to get better, right,

155
00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:31,839
Speaker 3: So are they gonna be challenged by the Trojans? Are

156
00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:34,320
Speaker 3: they going to be able to stay at that top spot.

157
00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:36,440
Speaker 3: We'll have to see, but right now I still have

158
00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:38,919
Speaker 3: UCLAs B one and I wouldn't be shocked tho if

159
00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,080
Speaker 3: we see some more movement over the couple months.

160
00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:44,599
Speaker 1: Trojans and travel are probably the two biggest things for

161
00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:45,599
Speaker 1: them in the Big Ten.

162
00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:46,640
Speaker 2: Trojans and travel.

163
00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:48,480
Speaker 1: I don't know if we've talked about the travel enough

164
00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,200
Speaker 1: for those teams coming out of California. You mentioned Don

165
00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:55,720
Speaker 1: Staley's South Carolina squad u A the streak breakers for them,

166
00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,520
Speaker 1: they're incredible forty three game run dating back to the

167
00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,600
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three Final four, And how big of a.

168
00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:03,120
Speaker 2: Deal is it that they took a loss?

169
00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:06,320
Speaker 3: So in the kind of big picture, I don't think

170
00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:08,320
Speaker 3: it's a huge deal, because of course, I think the

171
00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:10,560
Speaker 3: Gamecock fans were all saying, hey, the last time we

172
00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,120
Speaker 3: lost a regular season game, we still won a national title.

173
00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:15,520
Speaker 3: They even lost, you know, in the SEC tournament that

174
00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:18,200
Speaker 3: year when they won in twenty twenty two. So no,

175
00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:20,240
Speaker 3: in and of itself, it's not a huge deal. But

176
00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,360
Speaker 3: I do feel like there have been some slow starts,

177
00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:26,640
Speaker 3: are been some offensive issues and just you know the

178
00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,160
Speaker 3: lack of a dominant big and Camilla Cardos, so that

179
00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,280
Speaker 3: there's still the game Cocks are still trying to work through,

180
00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:35,200
Speaker 3: and the season's long, they have time to figure that out.

181
00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:36,640
Speaker 3: But I do think it showed a little bit of

182
00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:40,200
Speaker 3: a snapshot that hey, you know, this team did return

183
00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:42,520
Speaker 3: a you know, most of the same pieces from last

184
00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:43,760
Speaker 3: year's seen that went undefeated.

185
00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:45,760
Speaker 4: But for whatever the reason, they're just.

186
00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:48,800
Speaker 3: Not quite you know, as dominant as they were last year.

187
00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:51,320
Speaker 3: They still have to work on some things Offensively. I

188
00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:54,040
Speaker 3: think Raven Johnson, you know, has another level that she

189
00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,440
Speaker 3: can get to in terms of orchestrating the offense.

190
00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:57,600
Speaker 4: We've seen to Heina.

191
00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:00,240
Speaker 3: Palpal play, you know, some great games we've seen Essa

192
00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,640
Speaker 3: Johnson and Malaysia will whiley have their a moment. So

193
00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:05,840
Speaker 3: I think if I'm a game Cocks fan, I'm not

194
00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:08,400
Speaker 3: necessarily totally concerned, but I do think there's a ways

195
00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:10,400
Speaker 3: to go if they want to be able to do

196
00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:12,720
Speaker 3: something they'd never done before as a program and repeat.

197
00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:15,560
Speaker 1: Yeah, it feels almost like it might be one of

198
00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:18,360
Speaker 1: those scary teams that during the regular season has to

199
00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:20,880
Speaker 1: figure some of that stuff out and then when they

200
00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,119
Speaker 1: get to the tournament might be an absolute.

201
00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:27,840
Speaker 2: Just game wrecker. And because of the talent that they have.

202
00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,200
Speaker 1: It felt like preseason it was like, this team's going

203
00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:32,400
Speaker 1: to be even scarier because they're returning all the talent.

204
00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:34,480
Speaker 2: But maybe that made it harder. There wasn't as.

205
00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,320
Speaker 1: Much creativity going into how it might work because they

206
00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:39,280
Speaker 1: felt like so much of their pieces were coming back.

207
00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:41,680
Speaker 2: But it does look different without Cardoso in the middle.

208
00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:44,520
Speaker 2: That's a huge thing to lose, and so maybe.

209
00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:46,120
Speaker 1: The tinkering that will go on in the regular season

210
00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:47,920
Speaker 1: will strengthen them because it looks like just a lot

211
00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:49,800
Speaker 1: of talent that should still be scaring the hell out

212
00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:50,160
Speaker 1: of people.

213
00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:51,960
Speaker 3: Right, no one's going to want to play them in March.

214
00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,920
Speaker 3: It doesn't even matter if they lose another few games, Like,

215
00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:56,680
Speaker 3: no one's gonna be like, oh great, we got South

216
00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:59,120
Speaker 3: Carolina in our rocket, right, And yeah, I think I'm

217
00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:02,200
Speaker 3: really interested too. I know, you know, you mentioned uh

218
00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:05,880
Speaker 3: Cardoso and you know, replacing her presence inside, But to me,

219
00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,360
Speaker 3: I'm so curious to look at Malaysia ful Wiley's trajectory

220
00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:12,120
Speaker 3: this season. I know a lot of people were surprised

221
00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:14,200
Speaker 3: she didn't play much in that UCLA game.

222
00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:16,520
Speaker 5: She's you know, gone back to kind of more normal

223
00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:17,400
Speaker 5: minutes since then.

224
00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:18,080
Speaker 4: But to me.

225
00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:21,000
Speaker 3: I mean, she's the player on South Carolina that has

226
00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,120
Speaker 3: the highest ceiling. So is she gonna continue to do

227
00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:27,080
Speaker 3: what Don Staley needs from her to display that to

228
00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:29,440
Speaker 3: play with discipline, to play you know, I think the

229
00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:31,880
Speaker 3: word that I've heard don muse is almost like play

230
00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:34,800
Speaker 3: with you know, play lean and be efficient and not

231
00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,120
Speaker 3: you know, go for maybe all the flashy moves or

232
00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:39,480
Speaker 3: all the flashy plays. So I'm definitely keeping my eye

233
00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:41,200
Speaker 3: on her and her trajectory for this game.

234
00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,000
Speaker 2: Cops squad talking about upsets.

235
00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:48,040
Speaker 1: Notre Dame falls to number seventeen TCU and then unranked

236
00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,040
Speaker 1: Utah in the Cayman Islands Classic. How much weight are

237
00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:53,439
Speaker 1: you putting into those back to back losses or can

238
00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:57,040
Speaker 1: we call it, you know, Cayman Islands collapse and move on?

239
00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,199
Speaker 1: It was it was special to that particular area. I'll

240
00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:02,199
Speaker 1: come back to the States and be okay, I.

241
00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:03,200
Speaker 4: Mean a little bit of both.

242
00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,040
Speaker 3: I saw that game where they you know, really just

243
00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:09,199
Speaker 3: dominated USC and so I mean, I don't even want

244
00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,199
Speaker 3: to say that was their ceiling because they're still getting healthy. Right.

245
00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:15,120
Speaker 3: They have Maddi Westpelled on the sideline, They have Liza

246
00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:17,760
Speaker 3: Carlon on the sideline, that they're expecting back, right, So

247
00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:20,480
Speaker 3: it was pretty shocking that they could do that and

248
00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:23,640
Speaker 3: they're really not playing they're playing like six seven players really,

249
00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:26,520
Speaker 3: So the fact that they had that high and then

250
00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:28,400
Speaker 3: they had that low and there's a little bit of

251
00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:30,600
Speaker 3: vary or not a little bit, a lot of variants

252
00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:34,440
Speaker 3: wasn't necessarily shocking to me. Also, Kate caval coming in

253
00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:36,920
Speaker 3: as a freshman, she struggled in the Cayman Islands, and

254
00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:38,720
Speaker 3: I think that's where, you know, you see she had

255
00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:41,000
Speaker 3: some you know, she's having those freshmen lom set, you know,

256
00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:44,000
Speaker 3: first year players take and that's where again having Maddy

257
00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,080
Speaker 3: Westbuld back, having Liza Carlon back will make a difference

258
00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:49,280
Speaker 3: for the squad. So I think they're still really capable

259
00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,040
Speaker 3: of getting in the final four. I'm not too worried.

260
00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:51,280
Speaker 4: I think.

261
00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,800
Speaker 3: Also holiday tournaments can be a little funky at times

262
00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:57,959
Speaker 3: and whatnot. But I mean, Hanna Hidalgo and Olivia Miles

263
00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:02,439
Speaker 3: just as a backcourt are just so electric, so dynamic.

264
00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:04,199
Speaker 3: Then you throw in Sonia Citron and then some of

265
00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:07,480
Speaker 3: their other pieces. Again, they're gonna get healthier. I mean,

266
00:11:07,559 --> 00:11:10,080
Speaker 3: if I had a bet right now, I think they

267
00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:12,240
Speaker 3: would be in Tampa even if they lost those back

268
00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:13,119
Speaker 3: to back games.

269
00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,280
Speaker 1: Let's talk about TCU eight and no top team in

270
00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:16,880
Speaker 1: the Big twelve.

271
00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:20,120
Speaker 2: They're at number nine. That's the highest ranking in school history.

272
00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:22,840
Speaker 1: Obviously buoyed by that big win over Notre Dame, our

273
00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:26,520
Speaker 1: Sodona Prince and Haley Vanlyth making that team a real contender.

274
00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:29,800
Speaker 4: I mean, it's hard not to say that they are.

275
00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,280
Speaker 3: It's really kind of surprising because I think we knew

276
00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:34,640
Speaker 3: they had some of this talent and the pieces to

277
00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:37,079
Speaker 3: do what they're doing now, but to see it really

278
00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:41,400
Speaker 3: go so smoothly, so quickly. I mean, Haley Vanlyth and

279
00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:44,240
Speaker 3: Sedona Prince kind of look like they've been playing together for,

280
00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:46,960
Speaker 3: you know, years, not just whatever eight games or nine games,

281
00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:47,520
Speaker 3: whatever it is.

282
00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:49,520
Speaker 4: So I think Hayley Bentliss.

283
00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:51,520
Speaker 3: Looked really comfortable, like she looks like she has her

284
00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:54,559
Speaker 3: confidence back after all the ups and downs that came

285
00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,040
Speaker 3: with her season at LSC last year. And Sadona Prince,

286
00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,760
Speaker 3: now that she's healthy, has really been dominant and some

287
00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:04,040
Speaker 3: of the teams that she was impossible to start to stop.

288
00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:06,319
Speaker 3: If you know NC State, obviously they don't have a

289
00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:08,319
Speaker 3: dominant big but you know she was going off I

290
00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:10,480
Speaker 3: think for thirty points and you know, Notre Dame and

291
00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:12,480
Speaker 3: some of these other teams that they're able to beat.

292
00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:15,240
Speaker 4: She's really just asserted her will in the paints.

293
00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:17,320
Speaker 3: So if they can stay healthy, because obviously that was

294
00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:19,680
Speaker 3: their big issue last year, leading to the walk on

295
00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:20,720
Speaker 3: tryouts and whatnot.

296
00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:22,240
Speaker 4: And that's a team.

297
00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:25,080
Speaker 3: And you know they play South Carolina this weekend, so

298
00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:27,520
Speaker 3: I'm so excited for that game to see you this

299
00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:28,680
Speaker 3: is you know, on a big test.

300
00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:30,000
Speaker 4: You know, it doesn't get bigger than.

301
00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,600
Speaker 3: South Carolina, So that'll tell I think a lot about

302
00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:34,280
Speaker 3: them and if they're really the real deal.

303
00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:37,520
Speaker 1: I have to say, Hayley Vanleth is such an interesting

304
00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:40,760
Speaker 1: thing to see because we know system matters, we know

305
00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:43,720
Speaker 1: teammates and coaches and how you're being used matters. But

306
00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:46,400
Speaker 1: the way she fell off at LSU and then to

307
00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:49,000
Speaker 1: see her play now to your point about her confidence,

308
00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,720
Speaker 1: but also just it's a reminder for us that a

309
00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:54,880
Speaker 1: player is so much more than their ability. It is

310
00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:57,319
Speaker 1: about everything else around them as well. I want to

311
00:12:57,320 --> 00:12:59,280
Speaker 1: talk about Sadona Prince. She's the focus of one of

312
00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:01,800
Speaker 1: a couple darker stories in women's soups this year.

313
00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:03,400
Speaker 2: We got to take a quick break, but when we.

314
00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,400
Speaker 1: Come back, we're going to talk to you about those

315
00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:08,240
Speaker 1: stories and what the ceiling is for Juju Watkins, So

316
00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:19,880
Speaker 1: stick around slices. Okay, before the break, Alexi, we were

317
00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:23,080
Speaker 1: talking about TCU. Sodona Prince played for Texas and Oregon

318
00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:26,040
Speaker 1: before transferring to TCU before the twenty twenty three season,

319
00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:28,079
Speaker 1: and she's somewhat of a household name in part because

320
00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,319
Speaker 1: she had that big role in calling out the lack

321
00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,320
Speaker 1: of resources provided by the NCAA during the twenty twenty

322
00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:36,880
Speaker 1: one NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, and her complaints really helped

323
00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:40,960
Speaker 1: inspire an independent investigation sweeping changes new TV deals. All that,

324
00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:44,440
Speaker 1: but Prince has also drawn attention for accusations from her

325
00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:48,360
Speaker 1: ex girlfriend, Olivias Debil, alleging physical and verbal abuse, and

326
00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:51,560
Speaker 1: another former girlfriend posted on social media that's Tabiel's account

327
00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,920
Speaker 1: paralleled some of her experiences with Prince. Meantime, we also

328
00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,800
Speaker 1: have Notre Dames Hannah Hidalgo making headlines in July after

329
00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:02,360
Speaker 1: reposting an Instagram video of a conversial conservative commentator calling

330
00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:06,280
Speaker 1: gay marriage a sin, and then South Carolina's Ashlyn Watkins

331
00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,240
Speaker 1: recently returned to the team after charges were dismissed after

332
00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:12,119
Speaker 1: an August arrest for first degree assault and battery and kidnapping,

333
00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:14,760
Speaker 1: and per court records, the charges were dismissed because she

334
00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:18,839
Speaker 1: completed a pre trial intervention program. I don't necessarily want

335
00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:20,800
Speaker 1: to dig into each of these issues individually, in part

336
00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:22,840
Speaker 1: because I know you didn't cover them, But I do

337
00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:25,000
Speaker 1: want to talk about what has felt like sort of

338
00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:28,400
Speaker 1: a relative lack of coverage and discussion about them, not

339
00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,280
Speaker 1: a lot of commentary from these players or their coaches

340
00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:32,000
Speaker 1: and teammates.

341
00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:33,640
Speaker 2: And I wonder if you feel like.

342
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:36,720
Speaker 1: Women's hoops media and fans are ready to start holding

343
00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:39,800
Speaker 1: women athletes accountable the same way that we demand male

344
00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:43,080
Speaker 1: players and especially their coaches be held accountable and transparent

345
00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:43,920
Speaker 1: in these situations.

346
00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:46,520
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think we have a little bit of a

347
00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:48,480
Speaker 3: ways to go in the women's sports world. And I

348
00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:51,840
Speaker 3: think it's a really layered discussion when we talk about

349
00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:54,240
Speaker 3: media coverage, you know, we have to talk about how

350
00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:56,280
Speaker 3: there's still not a lot of full time people covering

351
00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,960
Speaker 3: women's sports that can really you know, give these important

352
00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:03,920
Speaker 3: issues or these you know, complicated matters the full kind

353
00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:08,040
Speaker 3: of coverage or reporting depth that they deserve.

354
00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:09,360
Speaker 4: Right, and so I think it's a little bit of that.

355
00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:12,880
Speaker 1: I think time even because when there's legal things involved,

356
00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:15,480
Speaker 1: a lot of people do not understand behind the scenes,

357
00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:19,280
Speaker 1: there isn't access, there isn't ability to get comment or

358
00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:21,360
Speaker 1: to do research. A lot of people get stymied by

359
00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:24,360
Speaker 1: the fact that once there are lawsuits or legal issues involved,

360
00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:26,080
Speaker 1: you're just sort of stuck in waiting for a while.

361
00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:28,800
Speaker 1: And a lot of people reporting on everything else can't

362
00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:30,840
Speaker 1: also be showing up for that stuff every day.

363
00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:33,920
Speaker 3: No, absolutely, that's a huge part of it as well.

364
00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:36,640
Speaker 3: And then two, I think in women's sports, maybe it's

365
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,720
Speaker 3: fans or people that care about women's sports. Also there's

366
00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:43,840
Speaker 3: this tendency I think at times where we want to

367
00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,440
Speaker 3: put I say we but like people want to protect

368
00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,320
Speaker 3: the women's athletes or women's sports athletes because of the

369
00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:52,200
Speaker 3: fact there's so many bad faith actors that do try to.

370
00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:54,120
Speaker 4: Tear people and women's sports down.

371
00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:57,400
Speaker 3: But I think you know, to really give these athletes

372
00:15:57,400 --> 00:15:59,320
Speaker 3: and the sports and the leagues, you know, the coverage

373
00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,240
Speaker 3: that they do, you have to hold them accountable at times,

374
00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:04,720
Speaker 3: whether or not that's an instances that you just mentioned

375
00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,640
Speaker 3: or you know, bigger picture matters when a league does

376
00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:09,680
Speaker 3: something wrong or when you know team you know there's

377
00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:12,720
Speaker 3: a coach issue or whatnot, Like you have to be

378
00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:15,200
Speaker 3: able to hold everyone accountable in the same way. And

379
00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:18,560
Speaker 3: then you know, there's some of the ones the examples

380
00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:22,240
Speaker 3: you brought up too, we're talking about queer relationships or

381
00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:25,640
Speaker 3: dynamics where the you know, a woman is the one

382
00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:28,560
Speaker 3: that's allege of being you know, the abuser or someone

383
00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,120
Speaker 3: that you know has been, you know, in a bad situation.

384
00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:35,480
Speaker 3: I just think that maybe as a society there's still

385
00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:38,920
Speaker 3: just like we don't quite know how to grapple with

386
00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,360
Speaker 3: that or talk about that when it comes to women

387
00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:44,360
Speaker 3: or queer relationships as opposed to maybe the stereotype of

388
00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:48,800
Speaker 3: like this male football player was accused of his girlfriend.

389
00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:50,600
Speaker 3: So I think it's there's a lot of different layers.

390
00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:52,760
Speaker 3: I do hope that we as a society continue to

391
00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:57,480
Speaker 3: have difficult conversations and obviously people also can grow and

392
00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:00,560
Speaker 3: can change, and you know, we want to hold for that,

393
00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:03,440
Speaker 3: but there's also times to hold them accountable. And as

394
00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:07,399
Speaker 3: a media kind of environment and stand bases, we can

395
00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:09,600
Speaker 3: do that. And it's not like they're always in men's

396
00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:12,399
Speaker 3: sports doing that as well. There's many examples that people

397
00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:15,560
Speaker 3: that are still have jobs that have been accused of

398
00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,439
Speaker 3: horrible things. So I think in general sports fans, but

399
00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,720
Speaker 3: also in women's sports, there's a lot of ways for

400
00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:23,600
Speaker 3: us to kind of continue to improve on that.

401
00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:26,439
Speaker 2: I think all of that is absolutely spot on. And

402
00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:27,040
Speaker 2: it's tough.

403
00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:30,600
Speaker 1: It's you don't want to have poison and already poisoned. Well,

404
00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:32,879
Speaker 1: you're working so hard just to get coverage of the

405
00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:38,000
Speaker 1: stuff that isn't salacious or extreme or or toxic. But yeah,

406
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:39,360
Speaker 1: I mean, I think as someone who spent a lot

407
00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:41,560
Speaker 1: of my career writing about and trying to call out

408
00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,439
Speaker 1: the spaces where we aren't at least transparent in the

409
00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:48,200
Speaker 1: alleged change that someone has gone through or the ways

410
00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:50,159
Speaker 1: that they might have addressed their issues, and why we

411
00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:53,240
Speaker 1: could expect that recidivism isn't likely. We should do the

412
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,560
Speaker 1: same for women to make sure that they're safety for

413
00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:57,480
Speaker 1: the teammates, for the players, for the people around them,

414
00:17:57,640 --> 00:17:59,399
Speaker 1: and also that the coaches are being held to the

415
00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:01,960
Speaker 1: example that they claim, which is to lead these young

416
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,399
Speaker 1: women in these athletes. And but yeah, it's it's a

417
00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,640
Speaker 1: bit complicated, and to all the points that you made.

418
00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:10,520
Speaker 1: I think that demands for more comprehensive coverage of women's

419
00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:13,080
Speaker 1: sports will continue as the quality of the product grows

420
00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:15,840
Speaker 1: and the investment grows, Right, We're going to expect coverage

421
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,639
Speaker 1: to improve. That includes having more people to report on it.

422
00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:22,639
Speaker 1: But I think we're seeing such incredible competition this season

423
00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:25,320
Speaker 1: in college hoops. We're seeing players get more skilled, younger

424
00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:27,399
Speaker 1: and younger, And I wonder what you think the biggest

425
00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:29,439
Speaker 1: factor is to that leap in talent.

426
00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:34,119
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean there's more obviously investment, and like the

427
00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:37,240
Speaker 3: youth program. So the younger players that we've seen come

428
00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:40,360
Speaker 3: up through the sport are you know, as as good

429
00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:42,200
Speaker 3: as they've ever been. Right, We talked so much last

430
00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:45,560
Speaker 3: year about that freshman class and how now obviously as sophomore,

431
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:47,560
Speaker 3: is that they helped change the game. And even just

432
00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,680
Speaker 3: that you know, Page Beckers, Caitlin Clark class, Angel Reese

433
00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:53,159
Speaker 3: was in there too. You know, those were you know,

434
00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:56,920
Speaker 3: the just transformational players that like came up and are

435
00:18:56,960 --> 00:18:59,879
Speaker 3: now like with the bigger spotlight with Nil and everything,

436
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,000
Speaker 3: are really just taking off and making the sport you.

437
00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:03,720
Speaker 4: Know, what it is now.

438
00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:06,040
Speaker 3: And then I think when we talk about specifically you

439
00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,240
Speaker 3: know what we've seen at the college level. It's you know,

440
00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,840
Speaker 3: the transfer portal is allowing for super teams more or

441
00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:13,720
Speaker 3: less to be to be informed. Right, So we have

442
00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:16,080
Speaker 3: a team like UCLA that got all these you know,

443
00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:18,840
Speaker 3: really big name transfers, and now like there are USC

444
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,320
Speaker 3: even they're a team that is able to acquire talent,

445
00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:24,639
Speaker 3: and we have more, more and more players that we

446
00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:27,480
Speaker 3: used to talk about how everyone is just Yukon and Tennessee,

447
00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:29,840
Speaker 3: but now you have players. You know, Juju Watkins decided

448
00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:32,240
Speaker 3: to stay home. I mean, she could have very easily

449
00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,360
Speaker 3: gone to South Carolina or Stanford, but instead she decided

450
00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:36,880
Speaker 3: to stay home at a program that at the time

451
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:38,720
Speaker 3: of her commitment hadn't even been to the tournament of

452
00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:41,520
Speaker 3: nearly a decade. Right, So people are the talent's more

453
00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:44,000
Speaker 3: spread out, there's more talent kind of coming up through

454
00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:46,919
Speaker 3: the youth levels, and you know, now it's like kind

455
00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,280
Speaker 3: of all moving around too with a transfer portal and whatnot.

456
00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,000
Speaker 3: So I think too, that's just kind of been a

457
00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,560
Speaker 3: perfect storm to make this college.

458
00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:55,919
Speaker 4: Game what it is.

459
00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:57,440
Speaker 3: And even though you know, I know a lot of

460
00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:59,400
Speaker 3: people are like, oh, Caitlin Clark's gone and Angel Reese

461
00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:01,560
Speaker 3: has gone, but as we just kind of went through,

462
00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:03,040
Speaker 3: there's so many other stars.

463
00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:06,840
Speaker 1: And so many Yeah, And I think also it's often

464
00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,600
Speaker 1: about money. There is money to be made in women's

465
00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,280
Speaker 1: sports and ways that weren't there before, whether that's nil,

466
00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:16,200
Speaker 1: whether that's for colleges, whether that's for coaches, agents, THEAU

467
00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:20,080
Speaker 1: Folks Tournament, you know, over time basketball, Like, there are

468
00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:22,760
Speaker 1: so many places now where people want to watch and invest,

469
00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:25,679
Speaker 1: and the great thing about that is that there is

470
00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:28,640
Speaker 1: such an investment in the pipeline of talent, and there's

471
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:31,840
Speaker 1: such an opportunity for young girls to see, hey, I

472
00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:33,600
Speaker 1: can do this, I can make money doing this, I

473
00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:35,959
Speaker 1: can get a scholarship doing this, all this stuff that

474
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:38,080
Speaker 1: was a little rare before you mentioned Angel Reas. I

475
00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:40,199
Speaker 1: want to talk about LSU really quick. Obviously a ton

476
00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:42,480
Speaker 1: of talent still there. What have you seen from them

477
00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:44,480
Speaker 1: this year as they adjust to life without.

478
00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:47,480
Speaker 3: Angel, Yeah, I mean it's it's hard always with LSU

479
00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:51,199
Speaker 3: because their schedule isn't necessarily the strongest, and it's and

480
00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,239
Speaker 3: you know, I try to, you know, you can't do

481
00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:56,040
Speaker 3: anything about the schedule. You got to watch them for

482
00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:58,480
Speaker 3: you know who they're playing. But they did beat NC

483
00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,600
Speaker 3: State and that was a pretty you know, convincing win.

484
00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:04,080
Speaker 3: I mean they were able to you know, and I

485
00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:05,920
Speaker 3: know NC State's not ranked right now in the poll,

486
00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:07,520
Speaker 3: but that's a team that went to the final four

487
00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:10,040
Speaker 3: last year, right, So I do feel like we still

488
00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:12,040
Speaker 3: have a little bit to learn about them. I think

489
00:21:12,119 --> 00:21:15,399
Speaker 3: Vlaja Johnson's been playing fantastic. I think she's top ten

490
00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:19,360
Speaker 3: in the nation scoring her efficiencies, you know, really strong. Obviously,

491
00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:22,119
Speaker 3: her energy on both ends is really what drives this

492
00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:25,560
Speaker 3: LCU team. So if she's able to continue to make

493
00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:28,439
Speaker 3: that big step now, I think that especially you know,

494
00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,720
Speaker 3: with Angel Rees gone and you know, Hailey Vanlett obviously

495
00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:33,480
Speaker 3: is out as well, then I think that's going to

496
00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:35,760
Speaker 3: really build well for them. And then they're a team too,

497
00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,760
Speaker 3: Like they have so many new pieces with transfers that

498
00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:42,040
Speaker 3: the team that kind of comes together in March or

499
00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:44,320
Speaker 3: in February when in the heart of SEC play might

500
00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:45,960
Speaker 3: be a little bit different than the team we're saying now.

501
00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:48,240
Speaker 3: So definitely still have my eye on them, but I

502
00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:50,679
Speaker 3: you know, I need a little more data to fully

503
00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:53,359
Speaker 3: you know, see what we're working with. But Kim Molki

504
00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:56,120
Speaker 3: tends to find a way it feels like, even when

505
00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:58,800
Speaker 3: you're not completely sure if they're being challenged and non

506
00:21:58,800 --> 00:21:59,480
Speaker 3: conference play.

507
00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,800
Speaker 1: You just mentioned efficiency, and if we're talking efficiency, we

508
00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:05,960
Speaker 1: have to talk Page Beckers. Right now, the projected WNBA

509
00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:08,720
Speaker 1: number one pick next year, her shooting efficiency right now

510
00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:12,280
Speaker 1: is insane. Sixty point nine percent from the field, forty

511
00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:15,080
Speaker 1: six point nine percent from three, eighty percent from the

512
00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:17,399
Speaker 1: free throw stripe. What are you seeing from Page and

513
00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:18,439
Speaker 1: what are you seeing from Yukon?

514
00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:22,280
Speaker 3: Yeah, they're, you know, a fascinating team because Page, it

515
00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,119
Speaker 3: feels like, is that one experienced player and then they

516
00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:28,879
Speaker 3: have a bunch of other either freshmen or newcomers that

517
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:30,960
Speaker 3: they're kind of filling in around her. This is a

518
00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:33,239
Speaker 3: team that I think most people just expect will make

519
00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:35,000
Speaker 3: it to the final four. But they did lose you know,

520
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,840
Speaker 3: Aleah Edwards and Nika Mule to the WNBI, So it

521
00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:41,400
Speaker 3: really is Paige's team and the players coming back from

522
00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:44,000
Speaker 3: injury to that we're unproven. So I think Paige, you know,

523
00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:46,400
Speaker 3: there's been a lot talked about and made of her

524
00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,399
Speaker 3: just having that aggressive mindset of wanting to make the

525
00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:51,600
Speaker 3: most of I guess supposedly her last year.

526
00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:54,960
Speaker 1: Right And then you say that by the way, for

527
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,800
Speaker 1: those listening, she has announced this as her last year.

528
00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:01,040
Speaker 1: But ever since the Dallas Wins won the first pick

529
00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:04,280
Speaker 1: in the w NBA draft, a lot of people are like, Paige,

530
00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:06,479
Speaker 1: why don't you go ahead and stay at Yukon. You

531
00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,760
Speaker 1: have eligibility because of COVID and injury. We don't know

532
00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,760
Speaker 1: if that's gonna happen. She has said she's leaving, but

533
00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:16,679
Speaker 1: the door is a jar, I think based on the wings,

534
00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:18,280
Speaker 1: and I think it would have been a very different

535
00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:19,800
Speaker 1: story if the Sparks had won that pick.

536
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:22,000
Speaker 3: Well, the way she said it too is like you

537
00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,880
Speaker 3: just you know, I've learned never to decide too much

538
00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:26,960
Speaker 3: or speak too much on the future, right, which you

539
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,560
Speaker 3: know she said even last year. And you know she

540
00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:33,000
Speaker 3: has the injury history, so I do believe that's genuine

541
00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:34,840
Speaker 3: where she doesn't she wants to be in the present moment.

542
00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:37,920
Speaker 3: But yeah, so there's there's a lot of potentially on.

543
00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:38,920
Speaker 4: There, a lot of factors.

544
00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,879
Speaker 3: But yeah, regardless, she wants to win a national championship

545
00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:45,119
Speaker 3: and she wants to do that now. She feels like

546
00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:47,560
Speaker 3: that's the one thing really she hasn't been able to do.

547
00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:51,720
Speaker 3: As really, if she doesn't win a national championship at Yukon,

548
00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:53,200
Speaker 3: she will probably be the best you go one player

549
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:56,600
Speaker 3: to not absolutely, so that's something that not that she

550
00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:58,399
Speaker 3: you know, she wants to be able to do it

551
00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:01,199
Speaker 3: for the program, for her team, for her own personal goals.

552
00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:03,760
Speaker 3: So I see her, you know, wanting to just try

553
00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:06,920
Speaker 3: and continue on that route. I think Sarah Strong looks

554
00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,480
Speaker 3: incredible as a freshman talent that there's times I've watched

555
00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:12,119
Speaker 3: her plan and I think she looks like a senior,

556
00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:15,359
Speaker 3: and so to me Yukon. I think also in March,

557
00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:18,160
Speaker 3: once they have more time together, once the pieces kind

558
00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,520
Speaker 3: of all match and build that chemistry is going to

559
00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,200
Speaker 3: be really really dangerous, even if they take some lumps

560
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:25,920
Speaker 3: in December in non conference play. So I would look

561
00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:28,879
Speaker 3: out too for that page Sarah Strong Azy Fudd trio

562
00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:33,240
Speaker 3: because that, you know, especially once Azy Fudd gets more

563
00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:35,000
Speaker 3: games under her feet, I think that could be one

564
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,399
Speaker 3: of the best you know trios in the nation of

565
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:39,840
Speaker 3: any team page.

566
00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,480
Speaker 1: One of the biggest stars in the Sky, but perhaps

567
00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:44,720
Speaker 1: the most hyped player in college hoops right now, is

568
00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:47,240
Speaker 1: Juju Watkins. You wrote a great story about her for

569
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:49,400
Speaker 1: ESPN dot Com. Folks should go read that we'll put

570
00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:52,960
Speaker 1: the link in our show notes. In her incredible freshman year,

571
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,440
Speaker 1: she helped USC to its best record in forty years.

572
00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:58,320
Speaker 1: They got to the Elite eight after missing every NCAA

573
00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:02,159
Speaker 1: tournament from twenty fifteen to twenty twenty two. Just on

574
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,280
Speaker 1: Tuesday night, she had a school record nine three pointers

575
00:25:05,359 --> 00:25:09,960
Speaker 1: forty points as USC routed California Baptist. She is just

576
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,840
Speaker 1: continuing to set marks there sort of beyond belief. What

577
00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:16,080
Speaker 1: is the ceiling for Juju Watkins.

578
00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:19,080
Speaker 3: I mean, when I've talked with people around the game,

579
00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:21,119
Speaker 3: they've said that she has the potential to be a

580
00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:24,280
Speaker 3: WNBA MVP. She has the potential to be kind of

581
00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:26,719
Speaker 3: at that level that really Caitlin Clark has been at

582
00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,440
Speaker 3: one WNBA evaluator said, it's like she's the next one

583
00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:33,159
Speaker 3: we're waiting for. It's her really, and Caitlyn, I know

584
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,280
Speaker 3: the Ukon fans are also like wait a second about

585
00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:37,880
Speaker 3: Page and so that's you know, she's obviously up there too.

586
00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,320
Speaker 3: But I just think the way that her you know,

587
00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:44,760
Speaker 3: she has you know, tremendous size and skill athleticism for

588
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:47,960
Speaker 3: a guard. She's really you know, she's a three level scorer.

589
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,119
Speaker 3: She has you know, I think tools to be a

590
00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,000
Speaker 3: really good defender. I mean, she has it all. She

591
00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:55,240
Speaker 3: has that La swagger. She's a real hooper. I mean,

592
00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:57,879
Speaker 3: that's the word that I think Katis Parker used to

593
00:25:57,920 --> 00:25:59,919
Speaker 3: describe her. And so if Kadith Parker's saying that, you know,

594
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:03,120
Speaker 3: I mean that means something too. So I know that

595
00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:05,840
Speaker 3: you know, the WBA is just waiting for her to

596
00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:08,560
Speaker 3: make it to that level. Of course, as of the

597
00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,680
Speaker 3: rules now, she can't leave early. She wouldn't be age eligible.

598
00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:14,200
Speaker 3: Obviously some of that could change with the CBA, but

599
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:15,240
Speaker 3: we won't get it ahead of it.

600
00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:17,040
Speaker 1: It's almost a good thing in some ways, though not

601
00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:19,359
Speaker 1: necessarily for her because of the changing landscape of the

602
00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,840
Speaker 1: w but for college fans getting knowing that you're going

603
00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:25,440
Speaker 1: to have several more years of this player to develop

604
00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:29,399
Speaker 1: and be a superstar, especially when she's business savvy in

605
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,439
Speaker 1: the way she already is. She's co producing, you know,

606
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:36,399
Speaker 1: a television series, a digital series about her.

607
00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:37,800
Speaker 2: Life and growing up in Watson.

608
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:42,199
Speaker 1: You know, that business side of also coming around at

609
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:44,080
Speaker 1: the right time when it comes to nil, when it

610
00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,720
Speaker 1: comes to fan interest in this kind of content. Man,

611
00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:50,359
Speaker 1: she can build something big the same way to your

612
00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:52,879
Speaker 1: point that Caitlin did before even getting to the W

613
00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:54,440
Speaker 1: and there's something to.

614
00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:55,639
Speaker 2: Be said for that.

615
00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:59,000
Speaker 1: There's there's just an incubator sort of sense to the

616
00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:03,199
Speaker 1: college game that allows for that massive blow up and

617
00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,160
Speaker 1: taking that with you to the W that's a little

618
00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:07,359
Speaker 1: bit harder to do when you get great once you're

619
00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:08,280
Speaker 1: already in the pros.

620
00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:09,520
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I think too.

621
00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:12,280
Speaker 3: I mean, now this could be the year where this

622
00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:16,040
Speaker 3: really explodes for her because unfortunately, as a PAC twelve alum,

623
00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:17,679
Speaker 3: I hate to say this, but you know, it was

624
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,040
Speaker 3: harder to watch her games last year, like when she

625
00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:22,639
Speaker 3: scored fifty one points against Stanford. I think that was

626
00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:24,920
Speaker 3: on the PAC twelve network, and you know, just people

627
00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:27,720
Speaker 3: weren't necessarily watching it. But now USC's playing in the

628
00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:30,200
Speaker 3: Big Ten, they have you know, more games on Fox

629
00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:33,119
Speaker 3: and you know these other national broadcasts, So I do

630
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:34,960
Speaker 3: think more people are going to see her. I think

631
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:37,639
Speaker 3: there's obviously a lot of attention on USC. Yes, you

632
00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:40,320
Speaker 3: know I wrote in the story, you know, everyone is

633
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:42,919
Speaker 3: no one. They're not shocking anyone this year. They're the hunted,

634
00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:45,840
Speaker 3: not the hunter like they were her freshman year. So

635
00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:48,919
Speaker 3: there's more eyeballs on her but yeah, she has. I mean,

636
00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:51,040
Speaker 3: this was something really beginning in high school. I think

637
00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,639
Speaker 3: they started filming that documentary and she's signed with Clutch,

638
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:56,639
Speaker 3: which is the same agency that represents Lebron James as

639
00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:59,240
Speaker 3: a high school athlete. So you could see the pieces

640
00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:01,080
Speaker 3: were starting to grow even then. And so I do

641
00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:03,600
Speaker 3: feel like, like your point of it being an incubator,

642
00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:05,359
Speaker 3: it's only going to continue to grow with all these

643
00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,720
Speaker 3: different forces that are happening in women's basketball, but also

644
00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,800
Speaker 3: the way that she's kind of assembled a team around her.

645
00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:13,639
Speaker 3: She has a you know, a really big family support

646
00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:16,159
Speaker 3: system kind of to keep her grounded and tethered. But

647
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:17,960
Speaker 3: then you know, she always remembers where she came from,

648
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,000
Speaker 3: right She's still that kid in Lots that was playing

649
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:21,919
Speaker 3: on you know, the court that was named after her

650
00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:23,760
Speaker 3: great grandfather, and you know, I don't think she'll ever

651
00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:24,359
Speaker 3: lose sight.

652
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:24,680
Speaker 4: Of that either.

653
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:27,720
Speaker 1: Also, I think we talked a lot about how Caitlin's

654
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,760
Speaker 1: success was in part buoyed by a very organic rivalry

655
00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:33,679
Speaker 1: with Angel Reese and the fact that UCLA and USC

656
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:35,960
Speaker 1: have this rivalry the likes of which we have not

657
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,560
Speaker 1: seen in women's hoops for a long time, and it's

658
00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,200
Speaker 1: built into the city, into a place that has the

659
00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:44,440
Speaker 1: superstars that are showing up court side to watch these games.

660
00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:47,080
Speaker 1: That's really just going to help with the lore for

661
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:49,480
Speaker 1: Juju in addition to eyeballs on her getting to see

662
00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:51,200
Speaker 1: how great she is. Okay, we got to let you go,

663
00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:55,680
Speaker 1: but college hoops speed round quickly. So biggest surprise team

664
00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,680
Speaker 1: so far, I'll go with TCU. I hope that's not

665
00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:01,600
Speaker 1: too basic, but I do feel like, give it to you. Yeah,

666
00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:05,040
Speaker 1: I would say TCU for now, biggest surprise player so far,

667
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:07,959
Speaker 1: biggest surprise player.

668
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:12,160
Speaker 3: Well, I don't want to repeat, you know, the Haley

669
00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,080
Speaker 3: Van listen own to Prince saying, I think Sarah Strong

670
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:16,680
Speaker 3: was like I heard she was going to be good,

671
00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:18,400
Speaker 3: but she's like way better than I thought.

672
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:20,400
Speaker 4: So I'll go with her for right now.

673
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,760
Speaker 1: Team that's in the top ten or twenty five that

674
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:26,480
Speaker 1: just hasn't faced anyone yet, and you expect to see

675
00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:28,640
Speaker 1: drop when they actually start playing tough competition.

676
00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:30,320
Speaker 4: Oh, expect to see Drop.

677
00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:35,480
Speaker 3: Oh maybe el CU Again, I'm gonna say, let's tested,

678
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:37,360
Speaker 3: let's see them. Yeah, I want to see them play

679
00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,120
Speaker 3: someone a little bit better than Nancy State.

680
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:42,480
Speaker 1: And then finally, a new team that will be number

681
00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:43,600
Speaker 1: one sometime this season.

682
00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:49,680
Speaker 3: I would say Yukon will be number one this season

683
00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:51,520
Speaker 3: at one point, and.

684
00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:55,200
Speaker 4: I'll throw in Texas in there.

685
00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:59,000
Speaker 1: Okay, I would love it. Alexai. This was amazing. This

686
00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:00,880
Speaker 1: was just what we need. It did to get us

687
00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:02,800
Speaker 1: all caught up on the beginning of this college hoop

688
00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:04,200
Speaker 1: season and talk a little w two.

689
00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:05,520
Speaker 2: Thanks so much for giving us some time.

690
00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:07,080
Speaker 4: Of course, thanks for having me.

691
00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:11,640
Speaker 1: Thanks again to Alexa for joining us. We got to

692
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:13,960
Speaker 1: take a quick break when we come back. That sound

693
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:16,840
Speaker 1: you here is the screaming of executives north of the border.

694
00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:26,840
Speaker 2: Welcome back slices. Let's talk about our neighbors to the north.

695
00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:31,080
Speaker 1: So late Tuesday, a screenshot started circulating on social media.

696
00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:33,960
Speaker 1: The originator not clear, but it showed a drop down

697
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:37,440
Speaker 1: menu on the WNBA website listing all of the league's teams, and.

698
00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:40,120
Speaker 2: It included the Toronto Tempo.

699
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:44,360
Speaker 1: Now it sure looks like the league accidentally included the

700
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,440
Speaker 1: as of yet unreleased name of the Toronto expansion side

701
00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,760
Speaker 1: via a little tech oopsie. Now there are some great

702
00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:54,080
Speaker 1: responses to the screenshot. In the comments on Blue Sky,

703
00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:56,920
Speaker 1: Cool Guy Party said they're named after Canada's favorite car,

704
00:30:57,040 --> 00:31:00,400
Speaker 1: the nineteen ninety two Ford tempo Chase, Butkers said, I

705
00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:01,440
Speaker 1: pray to God this is.

706
00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:02,680
Speaker 2: Short for temporary.

707
00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:05,560
Speaker 1: At raw, Rex said, everyone's going to be hating on

708
00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:08,760
Speaker 1: it till that's set. The tempo hashtag starts going crazy

709
00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:11,960
Speaker 1: when they win. At Michael waterlooseid, I can't wait for

710
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:15,280
Speaker 1: the Lizzo and Missy Elliott halftime show to perform tempo.

711
00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:17,360
Speaker 2: That's a good one, That's a good song.

712
00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:21,560
Speaker 1: At Mike Dash, Stevie said, awaiting the inevitable Drake Bars

713
00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:25,880
Speaker 1: Shorty Baalam like she's starting for the tempo Landlord Collins.

714
00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:29,360
Speaker 1: She ain't never missing rent though it's pretty good. I

715
00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:31,479
Speaker 1: reached out to friend at the show and president of

716
00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:37,000
Speaker 1: the Toronto Unnamed Team, Teresa Resh and not surprisingly, they

717
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,080
Speaker 1: are having a crazy couple days. So we'll give you

718
00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,440
Speaker 1: the latest out of Toronto's camp soon. We love that

719
00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:43,840
Speaker 1: you're listening, but we want you to get in the

720
00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:45,680
Speaker 1: game every day too, So here's our good game play

721
00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:49,680
Speaker 1: of the day, Toronto Tempo. Your thoughts ready to buy

722
00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:52,080
Speaker 1: the merch or hoping the leak is a fake? Let

723
00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:54,840
Speaker 1: us know your instant reaction on email. Good game at

724
00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:57,960
Speaker 1: wondermedianetwork dot com, leave us a voicemail at eight seven

725
00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:00,640
Speaker 1: two two oh four fifty seventy, or hit me up

726
00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:02,760
Speaker 1: at Sarah Spain on Twitter at Sarahspain dot com, on

727
00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:05,600
Speaker 1: Blue Sky at Spain two three two three on Instagram.

728
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:09,400
Speaker 1: Oh also, don't forget to watch the NCAA Volleyball tournament

729
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:12,040
Speaker 1: and follow along with your brackets in the Good Game Group.

730
00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:15,520
Speaker 1: First round action starts today, and if you want to

731
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:16,880
Speaker 1: get more in the game, you could check out the

732
00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:18,440
Speaker 1: new site from the folks behind.

733
00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:19,200
Speaker 2: Her hoop Stats.

734
00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:22,560
Speaker 1: It's called Evolve with two l's e v O l

735
00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:26,760
Speaker 1: l ve dot net. Similar to her hoop Stats for basketball,

736
00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:29,400
Speaker 1: Evolve is a public stat site for women's indoor volleyball.

737
00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:31,920
Speaker 1: So it's got things like team ratings, player stats. There's

738
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,160
Speaker 1: a spot to sort of query stats to find players

739
00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,000
Speaker 1: or teams that meet certain criteria, like games where a

740
00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,720
Speaker 1: team had fifty kills and fifteen aces, stuff like that.

741
00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:43,120
Speaker 1: They've also got Turney predictions. They're giving pitt a forty

742
00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:45,560
Speaker 1: eight percent chance to win it all this year. Go

743
00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:47,320
Speaker 1: check it out, and thanks to Aaron B for the

744
00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:51,320
Speaker 1: heads up. Finally, Slices you Knew is coming, don't forget

745
00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:54,840
Speaker 1: to subscribe. Rate and review just like this, being part

746
00:32:54,920 --> 00:33:00,520
Speaker 1: shark rating five out of five. Holy shit, that's badass review.

747
00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,400
Speaker 1: Ali Mastriani, star for the US lacrosse team, is literally

748
00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,520
Speaker 1: part shark. When she was a freshman at UNC, she

749
00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:09,640
Speaker 1: tore her hamstring in the final game of the regular

750
00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:13,000
Speaker 1: season and was a Grade three proximal tear, so all

751
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,880
Speaker 1: three hamstrings tore and her siatic nerve was exposed. When

752
00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:19,240
Speaker 1: doctors went in to do the surgery, they repaired the hamstring,

753
00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:22,520
Speaker 1: but they also wrapped her sciatic nerve in shark collagen

754
00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:24,400
Speaker 1: to give it extra support.

755
00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:26,920
Speaker 2: She went on to be an NCAA title winner.

756
00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:30,360
Speaker 1: Twenty twenty two Worlds gold medalist, AU lacrosse player, and

757
00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:34,760
Speaker 1: future Women's Lacrosse League athlete, all well being part shark,

758
00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:37,200
Speaker 1: so freakin' metal.

759
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:40,640
Speaker 2: Now it's your turn. Rate and review. Thanks for listening,

760
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:41,360
Speaker 2: See you tomorrow.

761
00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:48,400
Speaker 1: Good Game, ALEXA, Good Game WNBA website detectives few ssiatic nerves.

762
00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:52,200
Speaker 1: Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports

763
00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:55,240
Speaker 1: production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You

764
00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:57,920
Speaker 1: can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

765
00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:01,280
Speaker 1: Wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network.

766
00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:04,520
Speaker 1: Our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive

767
00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:08,200
Speaker 1: producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.

768
00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:11,680
Speaker 1: Our editors are Emily Rudder, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and

769
00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:15,120
Speaker 1: Lindsay Cratowell. Production assistant from Lucy Jones and I'm Your

770
00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:16,120
Speaker 1: Host Sarah Spain