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Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we've officially

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Speaker 1: entered basque soccery season, hawk, socket ball, sock baskiddy, whatever,

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Speaker 1: whatever you call it. It's the magical week long period

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Speaker 1: when the WNBA and WSL and PWHL are all in action.

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Speaker 2: What a time to be alive.

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Speaker 1: It's Monday, May nineteenth, and on today's show we'll be

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Speaker 1: getting into all of that action with Big Citrus joining

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Speaker 1: me to discuss everything from the WNBA's season opening weekend,

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Speaker 1: including my adventures at the Valkyrie debut to the PWHL

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Speaker 1: playoffs and the final two facing off in the Walter

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Speaker 1: Cup Finals, plus celebrating with banners and rings, an Italian sweep,

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Speaker 1: and some unanswered questions. It's all coming up right after

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Speaker 1: this happy Monday slices. Welcome back.

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Speaker 2: Here's what you need to know today.

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Speaker 1: Let's start with the PWHL where the Walter Cup Finals

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Speaker 1: are set with the Ottawa Charge preparing to take on

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Speaker 1: the defending champs, the Minnesota Frost. Ottawa clinched a spot

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Speaker 1: in the best of five finals with a two to

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Speaker 1: one win over Montreal on Friday, winning that semi final

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Speaker 1: series three to one. You remember earlier last week, the

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Speaker 1: Minnesota Frost upended the Toronto Scepters for a second straight year,

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Speaker 1: bouncing them and finding their way back to the finals.

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Speaker 1: Finals get underway with Game one on Tuesday night in Ottawa.

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Speaker 1: The Charge will host Games one and two at TD

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Speaker 1: Place before the series heads to Minnesota for Game three.

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Speaker 1: More on the PWHL a little later in the show

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Speaker 1: to the WNBA, where the twenty twenty five season tipped

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Speaker 1: off this weekend with a couple close games, a few blowouts,

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Speaker 1: and lots of exciting storylines.

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Speaker 2: Let's start with the game.

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Speaker 1: I was at the Golden State Valkyries franchise opener on Friday,

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Speaker 1: which the Valks lost eighty four to sixty seven to

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Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Sparks. Yeah, they lost the game, but

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Speaker 1: I have to say the night was a success. So

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Speaker 1: shout out to President Jess Smith and the whole Valkyrie's team,

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Speaker 1: not just for the incredible hospitality, but the absolutely killer

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Speaker 1: opening night, the videos on the JumboTron, the sponsor activations,

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Speaker 1: the dance team that was everyone from ages ten to

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Speaker 1: fifty seven, the ties to Bay Area hoops of the

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Speaker 1: past e forty. It was a scene, and even though

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Speaker 1: they lost, I think it's clear that the fan base

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Speaker 1: are super excited to have women's hoops in the Bay

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Speaker 1: and that they're going to be patient, get excited about

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Speaker 1: the bright spots on the roster, and be ready for

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Speaker 1: the team to get better as the franchise grows. There

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Speaker 1: was one tough moment on Friday night, though. Sparks guard

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Speaker 1: Ray Burrell went down in the first quarter after an

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Speaker 1: awkward collision on a foul, and after the game it

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Speaker 1: was announced that she'll miss six to eight weeks with

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Speaker 1: a right leg injury. It was honestly super sad watching

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Speaker 1: her get carried off the court just minutes into a fresh,

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Speaker 1: exciting season when everyone was so pumped to be back

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Speaker 1: out there. So we're wishing Ray the best in her recovery.

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Speaker 1: Let's add east to New York, where the Liberty got

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Speaker 1: their season started in style, handing out rings and raising

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Speaker 1: last year's championship banner into the rafters at Barclays. Did

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Speaker 1: y'all see these rings? These rings are huge and beautiful,

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Speaker 1: and of course even Ellie got a ring, which we love.

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Speaker 1: This team was fresh off the franchise's first ever WNBA

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Speaker 1: title and proved they still got it. They defeated the

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Speaker 1: Las Vegas Aces ninety two seventy eight, with Brianna Stewart

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Speaker 1: recording twenty five points and Natasha Cloud putting on a

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Speaker 1: show in her Liberty debut, contributing twenty two points, nine assists,

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Speaker 1: three steals, and two blocks. Asia Wilson had thirty one

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Speaker 1: points in the loss, all while rocking her new signature

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Speaker 1: A one shoes.

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Speaker 2: Of course, let's head to Dallas.

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Speaker 1: Where Paige Becker's Welcome to the WNBA party was spoiled

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Speaker 1: by fellow Yukon grad Nofisa Collier, who scored thirty four

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Speaker 1: points to lead the Minnesota Links to a ninety nine

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Speaker 1: eighty four win. Beckers finished the night with ten points,

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Speaker 1: shooting three for ten from the field. Ari k Agunbawallee

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Speaker 1: led the way for the Wings with sixteen points, while

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Speaker 1: DJ Carrington looked strong in her Dallas debut, adding fifteen.

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Speaker 1: There was also allegedly a little bit of drama in

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Speaker 1: this game, as Tara McCown left the game before the

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Speaker 1: clock hit.

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Speaker 2: All zeros with her team still in the huddle.

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Speaker 1: She only played five minutes in that one, and if

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Speaker 1: social media accounts are to be believed, she did not

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Speaker 1: look happy when she was heading out.

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Speaker 2: We'll keep you updated on that story.

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Speaker 1: To the Midwest, where the Indiana Fever opened their season

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Speaker 1: with a ninety three fifty eight blowout win over My

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Speaker 1: Chicago Sky. Caitlyn Clark a triple double in the first

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Speaker 1: game of the season. The thirty five point win is

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Speaker 1: tied for the second largest Fever win in franchise history,

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Speaker 1: but lots of attention after the game was focused on

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Speaker 1: a chippy moment that happened between Caitlin and Angel Reese.

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Speaker 2: We all love this rivalry.

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Speaker 1: We are looking for this rivalry to grow, but sometimes

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Speaker 1: maybe we're getting a little too excited about what happens

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Speaker 1: between these two players. This wasn't that big of a deal.

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Speaker 1: Reese was going for a layup. Clark committed a hard

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Speaker 1: foul and then pushed her, causing her to fall. Reese

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Speaker 1: got quickly to her feet and yelled at Clark and

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Speaker 1: then Aleah Boston tried to keep the two players apart.

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Speaker 1: Clark's initial foul was upgraded to a flagrant one. It

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Speaker 1: was a good take fowl to prevent a wide open

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Speaker 1: bucket for Reese, but she had a little shove at

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Speaker 1: the end with her left hand, and that's what made

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Speaker 1: it quote unquote excessive, and it made it a good

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Speaker 1: call to make it a flagrant one. Boston and Reese

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Speaker 1: picked up offsetting technical fouls for the little RGI bargie afterward,

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Speaker 1: but after the game, both Clark and Reese were quick

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Speaker 1: to note it was just part of the game of basketball,

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Speaker 1: said Reese, quote, basketball play.

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Speaker 2: Ref's got it right. Move on.

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Speaker 1: Honestly, I think it's as simple as that. Things get

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Speaker 1: heated in the moment, they get sorted. Real competitors, keep

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Speaker 1: it pushing, keep it moving. I have already seen way

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Speaker 1: too many fans making a big deal out of this

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Speaker 1: and making it fit the narrative of whichever quote unquote

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Speaker 1: side they're on. We're not doing this this year. Okay,

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Speaker 1: We're not doing it. It was a hard foul, it

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Speaker 1: was a good call. We're all set. Meantime, on Sunday,

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Speaker 1: the WNBA announced that it was investigating some hateful comments

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Speaker 1: from a fan during that game. Now, the league hasn't

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Speaker 1: publicly said the context of the comments, but multiple media

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Speaker 1: outlets have reported that they were racist comments directed at

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Speaker 1: Angel Reese. In a statement, the league said, quote, the

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Speaker 1: WNBA strongly condemns racism, hate and discrimination in all forms.

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Speaker 1: They have no place in our league or in society.

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Speaker 1: We are aware of the allegations and are looking into

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Speaker 1: the matter. The Indiana Fever also issued a statement saying

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Speaker 1: the team was working with the league to investigate the

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Speaker 1: matter and was committed to providing a safe environment for

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Speaker 1: all players. Good to know both the league and teams

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Speaker 1: are responding immediately and with intention to this kind of thing.

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Speaker 1: We'll have tons more on WNBA opening weekend in segment

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Speaker 1: two of today's show when Alex and Meish join me.

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Speaker 2: For a good old fashioned, big Citrus chat.

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Speaker 1: Moving on to the NWSL, the Utah Royals and Washington

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Speaker 1: Spirit competed in a classic NWSL chaos match on Saturday

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Speaker 1: at Audiefield in DC. The game opened with a league

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Speaker 1: record four goals in the first twenty two minutes, with

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Speaker 1: each team scoring a pair.

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Speaker 2: Utah then added a third.

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Speaker 1: And hung on to a three to two lead for

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Speaker 1: most of the game until the very end of the

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Speaker 1: second half, when Spirit defender Casey Krueger found an equalizer

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Speaker 1: in the thirteenth minute of thirteen minutes of stoppage time.

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Speaker 2: You can't do it any later.

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Speaker 1: The game ended in a three to three draw, with

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Speaker 1: both teams picking up one point. More NWSL angels sit

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Speaker 1: DA defender Savvy King was discharged from the hospital on

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Speaker 1: Saturday after she collapsed in a game just over a

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Speaker 1: week earlier and underwent.

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Speaker 2: Subsequent heart surgery.

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Speaker 1: On Saturday, as Angel City returned to competition for a

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Speaker 1: match against AFC, players from both teams took the field

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Speaker 1: wearing black shirts with King's initials and number SK three.

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Speaker 1: King posted an update to Instagram on Sunday, writing quote,

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Speaker 1: I'm still finding the words to express just how much

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Speaker 1: your love and support have meant to me over these.

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Speaker 2: Past few days.

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Speaker 1: What I do know is that I wouldn't be getting

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Speaker 1: through this without my incredible family by my side, my

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Speaker 1: amazing teammates who have shown up for me and prayed

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Speaker 1: for me, the fans, the entire soccer community, and the

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Speaker 1: outstanding medical team here at ACFC who saved my life

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Speaker 1: and cared for me every step of the way. I

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Speaker 1: know God's got me, and I'm looking forward to recovering

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Speaker 1: and getting back out.

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Speaker 2: On the field. End quote.

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Speaker 1: We also have an update on how the NWSL plans

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Speaker 1: to address similar situations moving forward. We mentioned last week

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Speaker 1: that the NWSL Players Association issued a statement saying that

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Speaker 1: the game between Angel City and Utah should not have

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Speaker 1: been allowed to continue following King's collapse on the field.

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Speaker 2: On Friday, the league issued its.

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Speaker 1: Own statement, saying it regretted that the game had been

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Speaker 1: allowed to continue and vowing that any future game involving

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Speaker 1: a similar situation would be abandoned. Speaking to reporters on Saturday,

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Speaker 1: League Commissioner Jessica Berman was asked about the incident, and

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Speaker 1: while she committed to ensuring the league was better prepared

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Speaker 1: moving forward, she offered very little insight on why the

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Speaker 1: match involving King was allowed to continue in the first place.

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Speaker 1: On Friday, she didn't provide an answer to a question

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Speaker 1: from the athletics to Maria Griffin about whether she was

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Speaker 1: awake at the time of the incident, which was after

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Speaker 1: eleven pm Eastern, nor did she have an answer to

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Speaker 1: whether the league had a replacement ambulance in place when

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Speaker 1: the game resumed. Now, listen, I don't expect a commissioner

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Speaker 1: to have the answer to every single thing or know

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Speaker 1: exactly what to do in every tricky situation, but she

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Speaker 1: does have to answer those questions to the best of

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Speaker 1: her ability, and it stood out that she didn't more NWSL.

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Speaker 1: Kansas City center back Kayla Sharples joined the NWSL's five

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Speaker 1: thousand club on Friday, playing her five thousandth minute in

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Speaker 1: a one to zero win over the Orlando Prize Sharp Bulls,

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Speaker 1: who joined the league in twenty nineteen, has played for

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Speaker 1: Kansas City for just under a year. She was traded

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Speaker 1: to the Current from BFC last August. Prior to joining Bay,

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Speaker 1: she was a member of the Chicago Stars Slash Red

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Speaker 1: Stars Slash Color Neutral Stars. To Tennis, where some cool

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Speaker 1: history was made at the Italian Open this weekend. Italy's

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Speaker 1: owned Jasmin Pallini won the singles tournament, defeating Coco Goff

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Speaker 1: in two sets on Saturday to become the first home

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Speaker 1: player to win an Italian Open singles title in forty years.

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Speaker 1: After the win, Paulini said, it didn't feel real. Quote

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Speaker 1: I came here as a kid to see this tournament,

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Speaker 1: but winning it and holding up this trophy wasn't even

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Speaker 1: in my dreams end quote. Then on Sunday, Paulini won

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Speaker 1: the doubles title two competing alongside partner Sarah Irani. That

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Speaker 1: final was a nail bier with Paulini and Irani needing

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Speaker 1: to mount comebacks after starting each.

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Speaker 2: Set with a four to zero deficit.

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Speaker 1: With her second win of the tournament, Paulini became the

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Speaker 1: first player to win both the singles and doubles titles

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Speaker 1: at a WTA one thousand tournament since two thousand and nine. Also,

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Speaker 1: we had tons of NCAA SOPT action going on this weekend.

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Speaker 1: We'll have your update on that and tomorrow show. All right, y'all,

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Speaker 1: we got to take a quick break. When we come back.

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Speaker 2: Big Citrus jumps on to discuss the opening weekend of

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Speaker 2: the WNBA season. Welcome back, y'all.

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Speaker 1: Hope you had as much fun as we did watching

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Speaker 1: all of the WNBA action this weekend.

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Speaker 2: It's kind of hard to.

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Speaker 1: Believe that it's already back, like it felt like a

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Speaker 1: long break before we got our WNBA hoops. But also

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Speaker 1: between Unrivaled and March Madness that everything else, it just

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Speaker 1: never stops.

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Speaker 2: There's always some good hoops to be talking about.

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Speaker 1: And I have to say my trip to the Bay

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Speaker 1: Area for the Valkyries opening night was so awesome. Not

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Speaker 1: only did I get there for the game, but there

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Speaker 1: was a dinner the night before a JP Morgan Chase

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Speaker 1: Dinner with Deep Blue, and it was in this beautiful

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Speaker 1: room in the Chase Center with views across the Bay

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Speaker 1: and some really awesome partners and women in investment and

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Speaker 1: lots of There was a panel with Jess Smith among others,

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Speaker 1: and a gorgeous dinner of course Bay Area, so it

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Speaker 1: was all real fancy with silver Oak and Toomey wines

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Speaker 1: and oysters and gorgeous soured oat bread and this amazing

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Speaker 1: female chef. I just love how the Bay does their

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Speaker 1: food and drink right because I'm.

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Speaker 2: Super into that stuff.

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Speaker 1: So that was super fun and great to talk to

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Speaker 1: so many people that were really interested in the investment side.

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Speaker 1: And there was something I heard in the panel from

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Speaker 1: Jess that I thought was worth sharing. And I think

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Speaker 1: she's mentioned this potential on the show before, but it

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Speaker 1: really stood out to me the way she talked about

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Speaker 1: how they recognized it in.

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Speaker 2: The Bay Area.

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Speaker 1: There are so many basketball fans, but they are really

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Speaker 1: distinct fans who are looking for an experience that's different

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Speaker 1: from what they get from the Golden State Warriors.

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Speaker 2: So ten thousand season ticket.

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Speaker 1: Holders for both the Warriors and the Valkyries, and there's

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Speaker 1: only ten percent crossover between the two. So only ten

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Speaker 1: percent of those ten thousand are folks who have season

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Speaker 1: tickets to both teams. That means that they're serving a

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Speaker 1: whole bunch of people that didn't.

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Speaker 2: Feel like they were served by the Warriors.

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Speaker 1: Maybe they still root for them, maybe they still want

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Speaker 1: to go, but especially with ticket prices the way they

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Speaker 1: are for the Warriors at this point, it is frankly

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Speaker 1: untenable to expect to go for anything less than five

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Speaker 1: hundred dollars. And that's even if you already have paid

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Speaker 1: for the right to have season tickets and everything else.

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Speaker 1: So for there to be an option for fans who

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Speaker 1: are in the Bay who want to catch them good

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Speaker 1: basketball and maybe fans who don't feel served by the

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Speaker 1: NBA or men's sports, that's really cool and I think

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Speaker 1: it's something we probably haven't talked about as much in

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Speaker 1: this is how much you are potentially reaching a fan

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Speaker 1: base that feels like they haven't been thought of. And

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Speaker 1: that was what was noticeable on opening night was it was,

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Speaker 1: of course similar in a lot of other ways to

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Speaker 1: a basketball game.

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Speaker 2: Right there was.

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Speaker 1: Intros with a really elaborate video, There was a merch

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Speaker 1: on the seats for everybody that was the intendance for

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Speaker 1: the very first game, but it also felt very specific

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Speaker 1: and special to women's basketball. For instance, they have this

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Speaker 1: opening drum, giant drum that someone hits to kind of

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Speaker 1: get the game going, and they had Anna Johnson, who

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Speaker 1: was from the San Francisco Pioneers, the very first professional

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Speaker 1: women's basketball team in the Bay Area, be the first

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Speaker 1: person to bang that drum. It felt very intentional, It

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Speaker 1: felt very specific for them to acknowledge the history of

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Speaker 1: women's basketball in the area. And then there were a

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Speaker 1: lot of Bay Area touches during the opening intros. It

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Speaker 1: was too short from the Bay blow the whistle, which

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Speaker 1: was pretty rad. During halftime, of course, E forty came

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Speaker 1: out and did a live performance, and it just really

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Speaker 1: felt like they tied in the elements of what makes

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Speaker 1: the Bay special with this brand new opportunity to touch

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Speaker 1: fans and as far as the basketball man, there's some

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Speaker 1: work to be done, let's just say that, but still

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Speaker 1: a good effort from the team, and it seems like

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Speaker 1: a fan base that's going to be really excited about

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Speaker 1: watching them develop.

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Speaker 2: Let's get to the basketball of this weekend, not.

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Speaker 1: Just that game, but all the other games that we

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Speaker 1: got to watch the first looks at players on new teams,

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Speaker 1: players who came back and reasserted themselves from day one.

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Speaker 1: So I want to bring in producer Alex and producer

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Speaker 1: Meiche for this.

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Speaker 2: This is a big Citrus.

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Speaker 1: Chat about all the games that we got to see

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Speaker 1: this weekend. Let's get a couple of takeaways from each person. Alex,

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Speaker 1: Let's start with you, what's something that stood out to

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Speaker 1: from this weekend?

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Speaker 3: Man, I think the number one thing that stood out

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Speaker 3: to me is this is Nafisa Collier's season and her

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Speaker 3: MVP race is truly already on, both in her performance

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Speaker 3: but also I think in the way that she is

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Speaker 3: treating the season. After that win against Dallas, she was like, yep,

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Speaker 3: forty three more games and explicitly said, we are here

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Speaker 3: to win a championship this season. And you know, it's

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Speaker 3: one thing to internally believe, hey, it's our here to

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Speaker 3: win a championship, and it's another thing to be gutsy

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Speaker 3: enough after game one to say we are.

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Speaker 4: Here to win a championship.

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Speaker 3: And so I think her teammates are also very much

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Speaker 3: on the Nafisa Collier MVP train and are going to

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Speaker 3: do whatever it takes to make sure that happens.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, this is something I talked about during our previews

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Speaker 1: of the Links and said, listen and Fee was second

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Speaker 1: only to Asia Wilson last year, and Asia had the

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Speaker 1: greatest season in the history of women's basketball. That was

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Speaker 1: not a debate. She deserved that MVP last year, but

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Speaker 1: Fee was close. And then Fee comes up just short

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Speaker 1: in the finals, starts unrivaled, wins unrivaled MVP, wins unrivaled

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Speaker 1: one v one, has a postseason with the most points

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Speaker 1: ever in the history of the WNBA postseason, leads her

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Speaker 1: team in every single category, like she is putting up

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Speaker 1: a case for being the MVP. And if you're gonna

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Speaker 1: argue with me about Asia deserving it again, if she

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Speaker 1: has another season like that, she probably will deserve it again.

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Speaker 2: Will they give it to her again?

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Speaker 1: Is my argument, because you saw back in the day

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Speaker 1: in the NBA the Jordan years, he should have won

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Speaker 1: the MVP every single year. They started to spread it around,

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Speaker 1: and so if they decided somebody else's turn, I think

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Speaker 1: it's the feasier.

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Speaker 5: Yeah. I hate the fact that that's even a thing. Also, Yeah,

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Speaker 5: because that should have not anything to do with the decision,

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Speaker 5: but you know, inevitably it does.

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Speaker 2: Every year we're proven that it does.

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Speaker 5: And Fee she is she to me, is paralleling Asia

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Speaker 5: because Asia is coming off and off season where all

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Speaker 5: these things are going right for her. She's in the spotlight,

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Speaker 5: she's on commercials. Fee you might not have seen her

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Speaker 5: in as many commercials, but just signed with Jordan Brand, right,

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Speaker 5: so she's got her own stuff popping off. And when

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Speaker 5: the thing I love about, when you get more publicity,

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Speaker 5: more exposure, it's time to put up her shut up, right,

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Speaker 5: And so the both of them are just really showing

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Speaker 5: the evidence as to why we need to be treating

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Speaker 5: in like stars.

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Speaker 1: And by the way, the other person in the top

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Speaker 1: three odds for the MVP is Caitlin Clark. And I

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Speaker 1: know we're going to get to the fever, but starting

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Speaker 1: off your season with a triple double and becoming the

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Speaker 1: fastest player in WNB history to three triple doubles is

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Speaker 1: a pretty good way to say, excuse me. I've got

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Speaker 1: a lot of talent around me in another season under

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Speaker 1: my belt coming here, so I think you're gonna have

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Speaker 1: to be paying attention to me too. And I very

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Speaker 1: much agree with that. Mesh, what's one of the things

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Speaker 1: that stood out to you.

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Speaker 5: I mean, let's stick with Indy, right. I think Caitlyn

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Speaker 5: Clark put on a masterclass of how to fill your

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Speaker 5: teammates out. I think she could have had fifteen assists

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Speaker 5: right at the end of that game had there not

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Speaker 5: been a couple blown bunnies, but ending that game with

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Speaker 5: twenty points, ten rebounds tennisists in the way that they

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Speaker 5: put her back in the game to make sure she

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Speaker 5: got that last rebound, I was like, yeah, Steph White, Yeah,

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Speaker 5: that's how you build the.

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Speaker 3: Did Steph put her back in the game or did

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Speaker 3: she ask to go in?

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Speaker 1: Do you think, oh, she asked to go in, but

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Speaker 1: that still had to put her back in.

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Speaker 2: She had to agree.

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Speaker 1: And a lot of coaches might say, listen, man, we're

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Speaker 1: up by x amount. It's a long season, you're gonna

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Speaker 1: get yours. But I think it's knowing your personnel kyp

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Speaker 1: and Caitlyn is the kind of personnel that's going to

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Speaker 1: be pretty fiery if you don't put her back in.

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Speaker 1: And that's going to probably and hopefully be smart about

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Speaker 1: going back in, getting the board and then being okay

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Speaker 1: with coming back out.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, and appreciate you that much more for caring about

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Speaker 5: what she wanted to do, and not just that, but

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Speaker 5: getting to want Bonner in that game so she could

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Speaker 5: secure the sole possession of third overall or third leading

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Speaker 5: scorer in WNBA history. Like those are little things that

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Speaker 5: just build culture, that build chemistry, that build connection within

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Speaker 5: a team. So Steph White, she's doing it right. From

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Speaker 5: the first weekend all, she's doing it right. And based

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Speaker 5: on the way they played on the court, Sarah, I'm

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Speaker 5: gonna go ahead and say it now. I'm gonna go

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Speaker 5: ahead and say it. They've got a championship caliber team.

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Speaker 2: Oh yeah, they have a.

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Speaker 5: Championship I was reluctant to say it at first because again,

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Speaker 5: and we'll get to the aces in a second. And

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Speaker 5: how having all the pieces and all the tools in

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Speaker 5: your arsenal doesn't necessarily mean you know it's gonna come together.

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Speaker 5: It's already coming together. It's already looking beautiful.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, for for the first game with that new roster.

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Speaker 1: First of all, Natasha Howard, she gonna be real happy there.

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Speaker 1: She and they're gonna be really happy to have her

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Speaker 1: to want to bond her to your point, love getting

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Speaker 1: to see that milestone passed, but she just needs to

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Speaker 1: kind of find her space and her place there. I

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Speaker 1: think she's a vet who understands, like let me see,

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Speaker 1: I think Mitchell listen, Kelsy.

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Speaker 2: Mitchell's amazing.

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Speaker 1: But she's gonna have to figure out when it's her

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Speaker 1: time to take the shot and when not. She got

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Speaker 1: a little bit she went a little bit of rogue

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Speaker 1: a couple times where it wasn't probably the right move

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Speaker 1: for her to take the shot or to make the move.

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Speaker 1: But I think we've talked about this all off season.

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Speaker 1: A lot of mouths to feed, and so it's gonna

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Speaker 1: be a matter of figuring out how to balance all

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Speaker 1: the different talented players that they have there. And to

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Speaker 1: your point about Caitlyn and the assists, Eliah Boston is

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Speaker 1: so effective points, blocks, defense, everything, but there are moments

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Speaker 1: where she just isn't quite ready for those passes from Caitlyn,

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Speaker 1: and I would love to see her develop her hands

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Speaker 1: to be able to get those feeds because Caitlyn set

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Speaker 1: her up a couple of times and it didn't work out.

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Speaker 5: And it was it was the long distance throw. The

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Speaker 5: long distance passes. Those yes, I need those to connect.

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Speaker 5: I need those because there's so much fun to watch,

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Speaker 5: my goodness.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: Well, before we move on from that, Meche, I'm gonna

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Speaker 3: build on your take with If the Fever win the

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Speaker 3: title this year, it is because of the off season

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Speaker 3: move that was signing to Wanna Honor. I think that

438
00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,440
Speaker 3: she is the glue and the veteran presence that that

439
00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:13,879
Speaker 3: team needed last year, especially with so many youngsters, and

440
00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:17,600
Speaker 3: it was fascinating. In the postgame press conference, both Caitlyn

441
00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:20,000
Speaker 3: and Aliyah were just so effusive in their praise of her,

442
00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:22,320
Speaker 3: Caitlyn saying that she has the strongest voice in our

443
00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:25,719
Speaker 3: locker room, which that's a big statement for somebody that

444
00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,480
Speaker 3: literally just came into this locker room a few weeks ago.

445
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:31,359
Speaker 3: So I'm really curious to kind of see how her

446
00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:33,439
Speaker 3: role evolves over the course of the season, but to

447
00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,160
Speaker 3: know that she already has that trust from her teammates

448
00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:36,960
Speaker 3: is huge.

449
00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:39,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think Caitlyn pointed out after the game,

450
00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:42,360
Speaker 1: when Holly Row was interviewing them both together, how much

451
00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:45,720
Speaker 1: she's already learned from Dowana. And it's not that Caitlyn

452
00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:48,640
Speaker 1: isn't willing to say those things, but when she says it, she.

453
00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:49,960
Speaker 2: Means it, you know what I mean.

454
00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:52,360
Speaker 1: Like, Caitlyn is a very prideful player and she's very

455
00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:54,920
Speaker 1: certain of herself. So to talk about this player that

456
00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:56,720
Speaker 1: she's already learned so much from in a short time,

457
00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:58,600
Speaker 1: I think really says a lot. And to your point

458
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:00,959
Speaker 1: about being the loudest voice in the lone that veteran

459
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:03,320
Speaker 1: presence between her and Natasha Howard.

460
00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:05,200
Speaker 2: It's going to going to make a huge difference.

461
00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:07,760
Speaker 1: I'm going to stick in that game for my first takeaway,

462
00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,920
Speaker 1: and it's about pace for both teams in that game.

463
00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:14,320
Speaker 1: For the Fever, pace is going to be huge. And

464
00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,040
Speaker 1: also they need to pick their moments because there were

465
00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:19,520
Speaker 1: still a lot of turnovers, not just Caitlin but some

466
00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:22,560
Speaker 1: other players Lexi Hall and others trying to make these great,

467
00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,920
Speaker 1: spicy long distance passes and really push the ball.

468
00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:27,479
Speaker 2: They'll just have to find the balance.

469
00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:29,000
Speaker 1: It'll be worth it a lot of the time, even

470
00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,119
Speaker 1: if there are turnovers to push it like that. And

471
00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:32,639
Speaker 1: then there's times where they're going to have to be

472
00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:34,760
Speaker 1: willing to settle into a half court because they aren't

473
00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:37,359
Speaker 1: able to finish enough, and it does cause problems against

474
00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:40,360
Speaker 1: a more talented team on the other side. My Chicago

475
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:42,439
Speaker 1: Sky are going to be more fun to watch. I

476
00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:44,320
Speaker 1: know they got the break speed off them, and it

477
00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,120
Speaker 1: wasn't super fun by the end. But what I saw

478
00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:52,080
Speaker 1: with having Courtney van Derslute out there, Kia Nurse, Ariel Atkins,

479
00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:55,080
Speaker 1: having these new players, it changed the dynamic of the

480
00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:57,800
Speaker 1: inside outside game. I still think there was stuff to

481
00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:00,720
Speaker 1: work on that I was surprised didn't look right in

482
00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:06,080
Speaker 1: this first game, particularly getting Angel and Camila Cardoso set

483
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:08,480
Speaker 1: up on the block to do more damage. It felt

484
00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,719
Speaker 1: like Angel's points mostly came from drives. They really couldn't

485
00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:13,840
Speaker 1: get her to set up on the block, take a

486
00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:15,000
Speaker 1: post feed and make a move.

487
00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:16,160
Speaker 2: And same with Kamila.

488
00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:18,399
Speaker 1: It was very rare to see and usually then she

489
00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:20,119
Speaker 1: had to follow up for a rebound and get a

490
00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:25,680
Speaker 1: second chance. Camila just didn't quite look sharp enough yet,

491
00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:29,320
Speaker 1: and I'm hoping, I don't know, I have high expectations

492
00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:31,320
Speaker 1: for her, and I'm starting to wonder if maybe they're too.

493
00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:36,800
Speaker 5: High mm spicy, I don't know. I think it's another

494
00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,000
Speaker 5: one of those things. It's the first game. Some of

495
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:41,960
Speaker 5: these players are gonna have jitters like it's a but

496
00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:44,159
Speaker 5: in terms of not hitting the paint, and posting up.

497
00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:45,920
Speaker 5: That's something you can control. It don't matter if you

498
00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:47,439
Speaker 5: got jitners or not. You know, if you have a

499
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,480
Speaker 5: mismatched in the post, you know, if you know you

500
00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,040
Speaker 5: have a seal opportunity down there. But as we know,

501
00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:54,200
Speaker 5: it takes two to tango, right, it takes two to tango.

502
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:56,200
Speaker 5: You gotta have folks who can get you the ball.

503
00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:59,240
Speaker 5: You gotta have a team in the half court on

504
00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:02,439
Speaker 5: one accord with that mission. So I have I have

505
00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:04,680
Speaker 5: confidence in this group though, I really do. They've got

506
00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:08,960
Speaker 5: really strong pieces an angel. I mean watching that first quarter,

507
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:10,240
Speaker 5: she came out like a blaze of fire.

508
00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:10,960
Speaker 2: Right she was.

509
00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,560
Speaker 5: She was aggressive, rebound special, a rebounding. I remember one

510
00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:17,639
Speaker 5: play in particular, she attacked Natasha Howard directly in the

511
00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:20,360
Speaker 5: chest and put a put a bucket on her head.

512
00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:22,480
Speaker 5: Hit a three like So there's a lot to look

513
00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:24,720
Speaker 5: forward to as well. I think, you know, all these

514
00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:27,440
Speaker 5: teams won two games in it's not it's not yet

515
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:29,119
Speaker 5: time to hit the panic button.

516
00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,800
Speaker 1: But yeah, I think there'll be more fun. I just

517
00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:34,040
Speaker 1: want to see better finishes and a little bit more

518
00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:36,840
Speaker 1: intention on the offense. It didn't seem like they were

519
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:38,879
Speaker 1: running stuff so much as like.

520
00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:40,840
Speaker 2: If they got an open three, they let it fly.

521
00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:44,000
Speaker 1: Like coach Tyler Marsh said, they just didn't let it

522
00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:46,080
Speaker 1: sink very often when they.

523
00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:48,440
Speaker 2: Did let it fly. What else did you see?

524
00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:52,200
Speaker 5: You know what I saw, Sarah. I saw my Mystics

525
00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:56,399
Speaker 5: go to it out, tue it out after starting oh

526
00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:00,639
Speaker 5: and twelve last season. But what I really saw is

527
00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,840
Speaker 5: that Britney Sykes. I can say this with my whole chest.

528
00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:04,160
Speaker 2: Now.

529
00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,840
Speaker 5: She is a bona fide franchise player.

530
00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:08,160
Speaker 2: She is the.

531
00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:11,560
Speaker 5: Player that the Mystics need to continue to build around

532
00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:14,520
Speaker 5: because she has proven herself since coming over from the

533
00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:18,080
Speaker 5: Sparks in twenty twenty three that she cannot only defend

534
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:21,240
Speaker 5: and lead on that end. She cannot only take care

535
00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:22,800
Speaker 5: of the ball and handle it, even though that's not

536
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:25,919
Speaker 5: her primary position. She naturally wants to play off the basketball.

537
00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,680
Speaker 5: But she can do both those things, and she can

538
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:31,680
Speaker 5: get it done. In the score and column, she averages

539
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:35,000
Speaker 5: twelve points for her entire career, Sir, she had twenty

540
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,360
Speaker 5: two points in that first game against Atlanta, twenty seven points.

541
00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:39,920
Speaker 2: She said, you saw that game.

542
00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:43,160
Speaker 5: I could do a little bit better against Connecticut on Sunday.

543
00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:49,080
Speaker 5: I mean, she is just evolving exponentially season overseason, and

544
00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:50,840
Speaker 5: I'm so excited to see what else she does. She

545
00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:51,880
Speaker 5: stresses me out.

546
00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:53,240
Speaker 2: She stresses me out.

547
00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:56,040
Speaker 5: Because she uses her body and she's all over the place.

548
00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:58,239
Speaker 5: She's putting her body on the line, and so that

549
00:24:58,359 --> 00:24:59,880
Speaker 5: is a little bit concerning. You want to make sure

550
00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:01,760
Speaker 5: she stays healthy, but I mean.

551
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:04,399
Speaker 2: Slim into it. I'm happy for you.

552
00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:07,520
Speaker 1: I doubted them, and I'm not gonna say I don't

553
00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,800
Speaker 1: still have doubts. Like you said, first couple of games

554
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:13,240
Speaker 1: of the season, Remind me, Remind me who they are playing.

555
00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:17,400
Speaker 5: Atlanta and Connecticut. They're not necessarily the best.

556
00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:18,080
Speaker 2: I believe.

557
00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:21,879
Speaker 1: Again, I'm excited for you, and I hope it continues.

558
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:26,920
Speaker 1: We'll just keep our expectations to yeah, certain minimum.

559
00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:29,320
Speaker 5: But but even more than that, and just want to

560
00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:32,919
Speaker 5: sneak this in quickly. Five different players hit double figures

561
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,760
Speaker 5: in that game, four in that Connecticut game. So that

562
00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:39,480
Speaker 5: just proves to me and the rookies. Right, you're your fan,

563
00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:44,200
Speaker 5: cit Tron Lucy Olsen. That was gonna be my next takeaway.

564
00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:47,200
Speaker 1: I am excited that appears to be for a second

565
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:49,400
Speaker 1: straight year that we are having some rooks that are

566
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:51,919
Speaker 1: really going to make a difference right away. We spend

567
00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:54,760
Speaker 1: so much time, rightfully so, talking about how hard it

568
00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,480
Speaker 1: is to make a w roster, talking about how many

569
00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:00,480
Speaker 1: folks don't even make the cut and see any play time.

570
00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:04,360
Speaker 1: So to have a couple players last year in Angel

571
00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:07,879
Speaker 1: and Caitlin in particular, who broke records in their first season,

572
00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:10,920
Speaker 1: and then this year to have excitement around Paige Beckers,

573
00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:13,120
Speaker 1: who was fine in her first game, you know, nothing

574
00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,360
Speaker 1: to write home about but good solid effort. But Keiki

575
00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,200
Speaker 1: and Sonya Citron looking like they did in that very

576
00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:23,680
Speaker 1: first game, in that very first weekend, and already hearing

577
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,080
Speaker 1: debates about which one of them might be trying to

578
00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:28,520
Speaker 1: take home Rookie of the Year awards this early on.

579
00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:31,320
Speaker 1: I know it's early, but did we talk about this

580
00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:31,840
Speaker 1: on Monday?

581
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:34,520
Speaker 5: You talked about this last Monday Sonia.

582
00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:36,240
Speaker 1: From my fantasy team, because I'm like, I think she's

583
00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:40,200
Speaker 1: going to contribute right away, and of the same mind, yes,

584
00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,520
Speaker 1: and I just I think it's exciting to have that

585
00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:46,639
Speaker 1: next guard a player, to have that next generation not

586
00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,639
Speaker 1: just get on a roster, but start playing it and

587
00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:50,560
Speaker 1: play well right away.

588
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:53,240
Speaker 2: That was something I noticed, all right, Meish, what's the

589
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,000
Speaker 2: last thing it took away from this weekend.

590
00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:02,240
Speaker 5: The aces, Sarah, the aces, the aces. They simply need

591
00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:03,240
Speaker 5: more cards in the deck.

592
00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:07,120
Speaker 2: I don't know how well played. You know, we try to.

593
00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:09,000
Speaker 5: Get a little fancy with the lingo with the language.

594
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:10,920
Speaker 5: If I'm gonna be on good game with Sarah's.

595
00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:12,920
Speaker 2: Face your best, bring your medal.

596
00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:17,879
Speaker 5: But Asia Wilson had to go into that mode just

597
00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:20,600
Speaker 5: to keep that game respectable and granted, right, this is

598
00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:22,720
Speaker 5: against the Liberty team and New York Liberty team that

599
00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,760
Speaker 5: came out real strong, shot forty eight percent from the field.

600
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,680
Speaker 5: They played amazing. I'm not gonna act like they weren't

601
00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:33,800
Speaker 5: a juggernaut in that game. But defensively, more than anything,

602
00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:36,439
Speaker 5: I was very surprised at all the breakdowns. There's a

603
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:38,359
Speaker 5: lot of holes that are going to need to be

604
00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:40,880
Speaker 5: patched in their connectivity on that end of the ball.

605
00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:43,560
Speaker 5: You saw, if you watch that game, Chelsea Gray getting

606
00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:47,000
Speaker 5: really visibly irritated with that because there's a standard that

607
00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:51,200
Speaker 5: that franchise has set and it felt like everybody wasn't

608
00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,320
Speaker 5: on the same page there. Juel Lloyd only five points

609
00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:56,000
Speaker 5: in that game. That's gonna change, That's not going to

610
00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,159
Speaker 5: stay the same right. They talked a lot on the

611
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:02,439
Speaker 5: broadcast about her and that mentality, recognizing that she is

612
00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:05,280
Speaker 5: a killer and that she has to be that in

613
00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:08,000
Speaker 5: the WNBA because she's She's Julouis. She already has a

614
00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:10,080
Speaker 5: reputation for herself. She has to bring that every She'll

615
00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:11,960
Speaker 5: get better, so she's yeah, she'll get better. I'm not

616
00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:14,960
Speaker 5: worried about that, but you know, it was just the

617
00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:16,240
Speaker 5: It was hard to watch.

618
00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:18,320
Speaker 2: It was a little bit hard to watch. First game.

619
00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:21,199
Speaker 1: Tough opponent. We'll give them some time. And we know

620
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:23,159
Speaker 1: the Aces took a little while to get going last year.

621
00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:25,520
Speaker 1: We attributed that mostly to Chelsea Gray not being healthy,

622
00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:27,320
Speaker 1: but maybe it is just a matter too of you

623
00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:29,359
Speaker 1: have a team that's won a handful of titles lately,

624
00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:32,320
Speaker 1: and so getting up for it, getting fired up, maybe

625
00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:33,479
Speaker 1: takes a little bit longer.

626
00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:35,280
Speaker 2: That brings me, actually, though, to.

627
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,040
Speaker 1: My final takeaway, which has to do with a former

628
00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:45,880
Speaker 1: Aces player, Kelsey Plum. We're all talking Caitlin and Asia

629
00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:49,680
Speaker 1: and Fee, but Kelsey Plumb was like, oh, thank you.

630
00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,280
Speaker 1: I would like to be the dominant player on my team.

631
00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:54,600
Speaker 1: I would like room to grow, I would like to

632
00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:56,720
Speaker 1: prove myself. I would like to give myself a challenge.

633
00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:58,080
Speaker 1: I would like to go to the worst team in

634
00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:00,600
Speaker 1: the league and set a record for the most points

635
00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:02,680
Speaker 1: by a player in their Sparks debut and the most

636
00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:04,560
Speaker 1: points by a player in the first game of a

637
00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,600
Speaker 1: w season thirty seven. For Kelsey Plumb, she is a

638
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:12,640
Speaker 1: problem and will continue to be a problem. I'm not

639
00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:14,960
Speaker 1: sure what to expect from this Sparks team. Cameron Brink

640
00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:18,360
Speaker 1: wasn't there yet. Obviously, the Ray Burrell injury hurts. It

641
00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:20,960
Speaker 1: took a little while for Deerica Hamby to heat up

642
00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:23,000
Speaker 1: on Friday night. She looked a little slow on the

643
00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:25,720
Speaker 1: early going, obviously, a lot of pieces to try to

644
00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:28,320
Speaker 1: put together. But when you've got Kelsey Plum leading the

645
00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:30,640
Speaker 1: way and she decides, let me get hot.

646
00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:31,960
Speaker 2: Because there was a.

647
00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:34,240
Speaker 1: Moment that was really fun where Julie Van lu got

648
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:37,280
Speaker 1: real hot three triples in a very short time. The

649
00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:41,160
Speaker 1: crowd's going crazy. She's hyping everyone up, screaming at the

650
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,160
Speaker 1: camera like hey, Kelsey's like, well that's cute. Let me

651
00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:46,400
Speaker 1: go ahead and shut everyone up. Boot boop boop, just

652
00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:48,800
Speaker 1: training her own threes, looking mugging at everyone.

653
00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:53,479
Speaker 2: I'm excited to see Kelsey just lead this team. It

654
00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:55,480
Speaker 2: feels like a natural move for her at this point.

655
00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:57,680
Speaker 1: It's tough to leave a successful team like the Asist,

656
00:29:57,760 --> 00:29:59,320
Speaker 1: but to go there and be like, let me start

657
00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,120
Speaker 1: something fresh, and that's cool, It's very cool.

658
00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,360
Speaker 5: I will say, I think cam Brink completely changes that

659
00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:07,959
Speaker 5: dynamic of that team. I think she opens up space

660
00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:11,760
Speaker 5: for KP, especially because cam Brink is a tall post

661
00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:14,000
Speaker 5: player who can stretch the floor and knock down the three.

662
00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:16,720
Speaker 5: So I think she completely changes the dynamic of their

663
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:18,600
Speaker 5: offense when she's on the court when she gets back.

664
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:24,720
Speaker 5: But I'll also say KP going for thirty seven is

665
00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:26,760
Speaker 5: not gonna be thirty seven every night, so I'm gonna

666
00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:28,680
Speaker 5: need other people to step up. Rakiya, I don't think

667
00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:30,680
Speaker 5: Rakia Jackson had the best night she could have had.

668
00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:33,640
Speaker 5: I think Odyssey sim still has plenty left in the tank.

669
00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:36,680
Speaker 5: A player who kind of had to prove herself yet

670
00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:38,600
Speaker 5: again last season, but has been solid in all the

671
00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:41,280
Speaker 5: years of her WNBA career. So there's a few things

672
00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:42,760
Speaker 5: I'm waiting to come together for them as well.

673
00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:45,480
Speaker 1: As Ray was more quiet Asray Stevens was more quiet

674
00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:47,560
Speaker 1: than I expected her to be. Yeah, And like I said,

675
00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:51,840
Speaker 1: Dereka Hanby was slow. I also have identified in that

676
00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:54,920
Speaker 1: game my least favorite player in the WNBA, but I'm

677
00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:55,960
Speaker 1: not gonna say who she is.

678
00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:57,000
Speaker 2: I don't want to be mean.

679
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:00,680
Speaker 1: This is a nice show, this is a friendly show.

680
00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:02,360
Speaker 1: But I just want to say there was somebody out

681
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:05,600
Speaker 1: there in a valkyrie's jersey that is not ready for

682
00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:06,200
Speaker 1: prime time.

683
00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:09,800
Speaker 2: She looked so nervous, so awkward.

684
00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:13,840
Speaker 1: I told my husband, I'm like, this is the this

685
00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,120
Speaker 1: is the fastest I've disliked a player in the history

686
00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:17,880
Speaker 1: of the w I don't know why she hadn maayded

687
00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:19,600
Speaker 1: me so much, but I'm like, get her out of

688
00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:22,120
Speaker 1: there and sign one of the players that were super

689
00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:24,080
Speaker 1: bummed didn't make a roster because there's no way she

690
00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:24,920
Speaker 1: could be worse than that.

691
00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:28,160
Speaker 2: Again, I'm not gonna say any names. I don't want

692
00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:28,960
Speaker 2: to be a mean person.

693
00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:31,600
Speaker 4: I'm like, looking through the roster right now, speculated.

694
00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:34,320
Speaker 1: I felt bad having the thought, But every time she

695
00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:35,080
Speaker 1: went out there, I'm like.

696
00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,160
Speaker 2: No, get her out of there.

697
00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:40,040
Speaker 4: Oh now, I've given us clues. So she went out

698
00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:41,000
Speaker 4: multiple times.

699
00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:43,640
Speaker 1: We're not gonna We're not gonna, all right, Alex, what

700
00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:44,680
Speaker 1: was your final takeaway?

701
00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:49,520
Speaker 3: My final takeaway is not about the basketball. It is

702
00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:53,320
Speaker 3: about the league and how the WNBA has seemingly evolved

703
00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:55,840
Speaker 3: since last year. You know, at the end of last season,

704
00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:57,600
Speaker 3: I think one of the jokes that we made was

705
00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,680
Speaker 3: even during our slices, how the Welcome to the w

706
00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:04,240
Speaker 3: commercials when they started last season seemed super original, and

707
00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:05,920
Speaker 3: by the end of the season it seemed like the

708
00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:07,840
Speaker 3: only thing that the league had done to try to

709
00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:11,920
Speaker 3: welcome new fans. And it feels like the WNBA has

710
00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:15,440
Speaker 3: actually taken some strides. So that starts with last week

711
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:18,320
Speaker 3: they announced this new plan, No Space for Hate, which

712
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:24,280
Speaker 3: has everything from technological innovations that are helping scan player

713
00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:28,200
Speaker 3: social media, a new fan code of conduct, and then

714
00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:30,240
Speaker 3: I think we even saw it with the very quick

715
00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:34,160
Speaker 3: response to the alleged hateful comments that were made during

716
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,440
Speaker 3: that Indiana Chicago game. There were a lot of times

717
00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:39,480
Speaker 3: last year where stuff like that was kind of in

718
00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:40,400
Speaker 3: the news and it was like.

719
00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:41,920
Speaker 4: Where's the WNBA.

720
00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:44,600
Speaker 3: So the fact that they have listened to players saying hey,

721
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,480
Speaker 3: this is a problem, Hey the league was not prepared

722
00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:50,200
Speaker 3: and taken that feels significant and.

723
00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:51,520
Speaker 4: It makes me hopeful for what the rest of the

724
00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:52,320
Speaker 4: season will look.

725
00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:55,240
Speaker 1: Like, yeah, I totally agree, and I wish there wasn't

726
00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:57,520
Speaker 1: a need for it, but since there very clearly is,

727
00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:00,680
Speaker 1: I'm glad the league seems like they're they're addressing so

728
00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:03,680
Speaker 1: much we could say about this opening weekend. Lots of

729
00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:07,440
Speaker 1: really interesting storylines, and you could tell it was really cool.

730
00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:09,880
Speaker 2: At the end of that Fever Sky game, it.

731
00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,520
Speaker 1: Was a blow out, and they were like, Okay, but

732
00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:14,920
Speaker 1: we get to see Haley Vanlists first minutes. Hey, we

733
00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:17,760
Speaker 1: get to see ju Wanna Bonner try to set the record.

734
00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:19,680
Speaker 1: We get to see Kaitlin going for triple double. So

735
00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:22,480
Speaker 1: we I think also as a fan base, the more

736
00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:24,800
Speaker 1: people know about the stories of the players, the more

737
00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:27,720
Speaker 1: exciting every game is. And so I'm excited for anybody

738
00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:29,680
Speaker 1: who showed up last year for the first time to

739
00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:31,760
Speaker 1: now get to build on the rivalries they learned about

740
00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:34,640
Speaker 1: last year, to know which players are coming back with

741
00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:36,880
Speaker 1: some revenge on the brain, and which ones are trying

742
00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:38,760
Speaker 1: to defend their title and all that other good stuff.

743
00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:40,280
Speaker 2: All Right, we got to take a quick break.

744
00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:43,920
Speaker 1: When we come back, it's time to talk PWHL finals.

745
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:54,000
Speaker 2: That's next. Welcome back, everybody, Let's do that hockey.

746
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:57,760
Speaker 1: As I mentioned, earlier finals for the Professional Women's Hockey

747
00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:01,120
Speaker 1: League the PWHL are set with the Ottawa Charge in

748
00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:05,040
Speaker 1: their first postseason appearance, taking on last year's Walter Cup champs,

749
00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:08,120
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Frost. The pair of teams were actually seated

750
00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:11,080
Speaker 1: third and fourth respectively heading into the playoffs, so they

751
00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:12,560
Speaker 1: upset the top seeds to.

752
00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:13,040
Speaker 2: Make it here.

753
00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:15,359
Speaker 1: And you might remember that we mentioned that the number

754
00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:18,200
Speaker 1: one seed Montreal Victoire actually got to select their opponent

755
00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:21,040
Speaker 1: in the semi finals and they picked the three seed

756
00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:24,960
Speaker 1: Charge instead of the four seed Frost. So on Tuesday night,

757
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:27,520
Speaker 1: there were seven thousand, two hundred and eighty two fans

758
00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:31,880
Speaker 1: in Ottawa chanting you picked us as Ottawa got the

759
00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:34,240
Speaker 1: win and moved within one win of going to the finals.

760
00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:37,120
Speaker 1: Of course, the series shifted to Montreal where the number

761
00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:40,840
Speaker 1: one seed got bounced, so Alex, let's start there. The

762
00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:44,480
Speaker 1: Charge finished off the Victoire, making them pay for their selection,

763
00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:48,440
Speaker 1: and we saw that bulletin board material pinterest board eaten

764
00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:52,560
Speaker 1: good shit working out well for the Outawa Charge.

765
00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:52,919
Speaker 2: Yeah.

766
00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:54,920
Speaker 3: Well, I just want to point out that we don't

767
00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:57,640
Speaker 3: have very much data at this point in the PWHL, right,

768
00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:01,080
Speaker 3: only two seasons, but both seasons. It is the number

769
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:03,440
Speaker 3: three and number four seeded teams that have made it

770
00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:08,120
Speaker 3: to the p WHL finals, and looking ahead, I'm really

771
00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:10,359
Speaker 3: excited for this final series and to see how these

772
00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:13,280
Speaker 3: two teams match up. They've played each other six times

773
00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:16,720
Speaker 3: in the regular season so far, Minnesota winning three, Ottawa

774
00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:20,160
Speaker 3: winning three. But they weren't super close games. There were

775
00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:22,839
Speaker 3: some real blowouts in there. I think Minnesota won one

776
00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:26,920
Speaker 3: five zero, Ottawa one another eight to three. So are

777
00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:28,520
Speaker 3: they going to be tighter now that they're playing each

778
00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:30,920
Speaker 3: other back to back and each team is at the

779
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:32,000
Speaker 3: high point of their season.

780
00:35:32,239 --> 00:35:34,719
Speaker 4: Hard to say, but super excited to see it.

781
00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:37,799
Speaker 1: Yeah, And we talk about the Minnesota Frost making it back.

782
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:40,360
Speaker 1: This was a team that struggled in the regular season

783
00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:43,400
Speaker 1: last year in the opening season of the PWHL, but

784
00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:46,520
Speaker 1: found their way, squeezed their way into the postseason, and

785
00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:48,480
Speaker 1: then won it all from the four spot. They're going

786
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:51,960
Speaker 1: to try to do that again this year, and they

787
00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:54,960
Speaker 1: bounced the Toronto Scepters in the semi finals to make

788
00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:57,120
Speaker 1: it to their second straight postseason and go for a

789
00:35:57,160 --> 00:35:58,160
Speaker 1: defense of their title.

790
00:35:58,520 --> 00:35:59,760
Speaker 2: Al This is a very.

791
00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:02,400
Speaker 1: Authentic rivalry to me, even though we're only two seasons in.

792
00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:07,000
Speaker 1: If your team gets bounced from the postseason two seasons

793
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:08,520
Speaker 1: in a row by the same team.

794
00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:09,160
Speaker 2: You hate them.

795
00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:11,239
Speaker 1: So I feel like, if I feel like you're a

796
00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:14,359
Speaker 1: Toronto Scepters fan, that's it. The Minnesota froster and are

797
00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:15,600
Speaker 1: like they're the sworn enemy.

798
00:36:16,560 --> 00:36:17,480
Speaker 4: And you know, it's interesting.

799
00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:20,120
Speaker 3: Last year Toronto was the number one seed and they

800
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:22,239
Speaker 3: picked Minnesota the number four seed.

801
00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:23,800
Speaker 4: I guess technically they just went.

802
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:25,920
Speaker 1: With the with what it would have been, but they

803
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:28,120
Speaker 1: still got to pick. They could have changed it up

804
00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:29,799
Speaker 1: and gone with the three like we saw this year.

805
00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:33,840
Speaker 3: Yeah, so yeah, maybe Minnesota should have been having a

806
00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:35,400
Speaker 3: you picked us chan at some point.

807
00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:38,160
Speaker 4: Too fun, Too fun.

808
00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:41,440
Speaker 1: Best of five final series begins Tuesday and Autowa. We're

809
00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:44,399
Speaker 1: gonna have lots more p WHL conversation as we get

810
00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:44,920
Speaker 1: ready for that.

811
00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:47,839
Speaker 2: If you haven't been watching, it's been real fun.

812
00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:51,320
Speaker 1: The barns have been wild, the fans have gone crazy,

813
00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:55,080
Speaker 1: So get in before it's over, Get in and start watching.

814
00:36:55,120 --> 00:36:56,400
Speaker 2: These finals start on Tuesday.

815
00:36:56,640 --> 00:36:58,160
Speaker 1: We always love to hear from y'all, so hit us

816
00:36:58,239 --> 00:37:00,759
Speaker 1: up on email, good game at Wonder Media Network or

817
00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:02,560
Speaker 1: leave us a voicemail At eight seven two two o

818
00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:04,879
Speaker 1: four fifty seventy. You can still send us your wild

819
00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:07,520
Speaker 1: and wacky thoughts about the upcoming w season, or you

820
00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:08,880
Speaker 1: want to send us some thoughts about.

821
00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:11,319
Speaker 2: The PWHL finals. We love to hear those two and

822
00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:14,720
Speaker 2: don't forget to subscribe, rate and review, y'all. It's easy.

823
00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:19,880
Speaker 1: Watch the rollout of the NWSL times UNWELLFC partnership rating

824
00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:25,160
Speaker 1: dozens and dozens of deleted comments review. This weekend, at

825
00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:28,480
Speaker 1: the Angel City versus BFC game, the NWSL welcomed Alex

826
00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:32,880
Speaker 1: Cooper of Call Her Daddy and her UNWELLFC Hydration Drink

827
00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:35,720
Speaker 1: to PayPal Park in the Bay Area. It's the first

828
00:37:35,719 --> 00:37:40,320
Speaker 1: of several games schedule to host the UNWELLFC Experience, promising

829
00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:43,560
Speaker 1: quote Alex Cooper on the move during pre match taking

830
00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:46,840
Speaker 1: in the BFC spirit and atmosphere throughout PayPal Park, a

831
00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:51,840
Speaker 1: dedicated UNWELLFC table and FanFest with photo opportunities, brand activations,

832
00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:55,280
Speaker 1: and unwell Hydration sampling, meet and greet moments with Alex

833
00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:58,560
Speaker 1: for BAFC fans, Unwell merch for those who purchase tickets

834
00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:03,359
Speaker 1: through the special UNWELLFC link end quote. So I was

835
00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:05,000
Speaker 1: not there for this game. I had to fly back

836
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:07,239
Speaker 1: to Chicago and unfortunately couldn't stick around for it.

837
00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:09,399
Speaker 2: But based on the social media posts.

838
00:38:09,080 --> 00:38:13,800
Speaker 1: I would say that fans were uninterested in and unenthused

839
00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:18,160
Speaker 1: about the Unwell partnership. On the Instagram posts about the activation,

840
00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:22,239
Speaker 1: several users mentioned that the admin was deleting comments and

841
00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:24,560
Speaker 1: if you pointed out that Cooper was wearing an LA

842
00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:27,960
Speaker 1: Dodgers hat at a women's sporting event in San Francisco,

843
00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:30,080
Speaker 1: so the fit seemed to miss the mark a little,

844
00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:33,879
Speaker 1: and more importantly, so did the activation. If you want

845
00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:36,000
Speaker 1: to read a good summation of why fans are rightfully

846
00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:38,719
Speaker 1: frustrated by the choice of Cooper for the league and

847
00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:42,240
Speaker 1: the idea of an unwell FC supporters group as opposed

848
00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:45,640
Speaker 1: to organic supporters groups of the team, you can read

849
00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:47,920
Speaker 1: the newsletter of friend of the show Frankie de la

850
00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,040
Speaker 1: Creta called out of your League.

851
00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:52,040
Speaker 2: They wrote a piece for it about it. We'll link

852
00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:53,160
Speaker 2: to it in our show notes.

853
00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:55,880
Speaker 1: Again, this is a nice show, and I want to

854
00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:58,480
Speaker 1: commend the League on trying something new and different, but

855
00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,160
Speaker 1: it feels like not properly vetting the kind of partners

856
00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:04,240
Speaker 1: you want to bring into a space and immediately hearing

857
00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:06,600
Speaker 1: from your supporters that this is not what they want

858
00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:08,680
Speaker 1: is a very bad sign.

859
00:39:09,239 --> 00:39:09,920
Speaker 2: Now it's your turn.

860
00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:13,200
Speaker 1: Slices, rate and review, give us five stars, tell us

861
00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:14,920
Speaker 1: you love us, thanks for listening.

862
00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:15,720
Speaker 2: See you tomorrow.

863
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:19,360
Speaker 1: Good game, Valkyries, Good game, WNBA, so good to have

864
00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:24,440
Speaker 1: you back. You best soccer e season being so short,

865
00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:29,120
Speaker 1: we want more. Good Game with Sarah Spain is an

866
00:39:29,120 --> 00:39:32,240
Speaker 1: iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports

867
00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:35,080
Speaker 1: and Entertainment. You could find us on the iHeartRadio app,

868
00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:38,560
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by

869
00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:42,400
Speaker 1: Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones.

870
00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:46,480
Speaker 1: Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan,

871
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:50,160
Speaker 1: and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rudder, Brittany Martinez,

872
00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:53,560
Speaker 1: Grace Lynch, and Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy

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Speaker 1: Jones and I'm your host Sarah Spain