WEBVTT - Shuttle That Cock on Outta Here with Big Citrus 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:03.040 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're setting 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:06.280 a timer every ninety minutes to remind ourselves to reapply 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:10.080 our sunscreen. Over here at Big Citrus Enterprises, we're still 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:12.640 on summer break and living the good life. But that 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:16.160 doesn't mean we're leaving y'all contentless. So on today's show, 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:18.800 it's a Big Citrus summer hang where we're talking about 0:00:18.840 --> 0:00:21.919 our favorite summer sports traditions. Storylines will be watching in 0:00:21.960 --> 0:00:24.800 the WNBA, and a couple events going on while we're 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:27.479 out of office, lounging at the pool. It's all coming 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:36.360 up right after this Welcome back slices. I'm joined now 0:00:36.400 --> 0:00:41.919 by producer Meshin, producer Alex. What's up Big Citrus Yo? Hello, 0:00:42.000 --> 0:00:46.479 we consider summer peak big Citrus time. Yeah, we're right. 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:48.840 I feel like citrus is a winter fruit. 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:51.040 Is it? That's what I'm wondering. It feels like I'm 0:00:51.159 --> 0:00:53.440 using it a lot now. But I feel like, you know, 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:56.240 in certain places, whether that's you know, Florida or otherwise, 0:00:56.240 --> 0:00:58.480 that are year round nice. It can be really any 0:00:58.520 --> 0:00:59.040 time of year. 0:00:59.320 --> 0:01:02.160 Yeah, the citru I mean where I'm at, the oranges 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:05.559 have been juicy. The lemons and the limes have been flavorful. 0:01:05.640 --> 0:01:07.560 We've been using a lot of them. A lot of 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:09.520 the summer stuff we like to cook has a lot 0:01:09.520 --> 0:01:11.720 of citrus in it. So yeah, I think we're at 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:12.479 our best right. 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:15.200 Now, cutting a lot of wedges to put in drinks. Yeah, 0:01:15.360 --> 0:01:21.280 just me, Yeah, baby, that's right. We're recording this on 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:23.160 June twenty fifth, just a couple of days ahead of 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:26.640 the start of our summer break and what will eventually 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:29.559 be the start of season two. We're very excited about 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:31.559 season two for the show, but we need a little 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:36.000 bit of rest. So if somehow, some way by the 0:01:36.040 --> 0:01:39.040 time you're listening to this and this episode drops, I 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:42.200 don't know. Caitlin Clark was shockingly traded to the Connecticut 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:46.640 Sun in exchange for Blaze, the mascot or Wimbledon decided 0:01:46.640 --> 0:01:48.640 to replace all the ball kids at this year's tournament 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:52.680 with rescue dogs. Please make it happen. Just know that 0:01:52.720 --> 0:01:55.240 me and Mish and Alex haven't quite gotten there yet, 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:58.200 so our conversation is mostly going to be about what's 0:01:58.240 --> 0:02:01.280 going on in sports while we're taking our break, and 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:04.360 one of those things is a couple weeks of WNBA 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:06.760 action before the All Star break. We're gonna come back 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:09.040 and get you all the stuff you need before All 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:12.040 Star weekend. But in the meantime, Misha, I gotta ask 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:14.880 what storylines you're gonna be keeping an eye on during 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:16.960 the break. I know you're gonna be taking your trips 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:19.640 to King's Dominion for roller coaster rides and everything else, 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:21.480 but I know you'll be watching W two. 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:24.280 Oh absolutely, I think you know where I'm gonna start. 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:30.320 Sarah Washington, miss Sticks, Like you said, we're recording this 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:33.120 on June twenty fifth. June twenty fourth is the day 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:37.200 they slayed the Giants. They took out the Minnesota Lynx, 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:40.520 the number one team at this time in the WNBA, 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:43.400 and my Sticks are kind of good on the low, 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:46.720 Like what's up with that? They're just not consistent, and 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:49.480 I think that's the part that's still kind of pinching 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:52.040 me in the ass. But I feel like I can 0:02:52.080 --> 0:02:54.040 say that about all the teams this year that are 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:55.920 in spots five through thirteen. So it's not just a 0:02:55.919 --> 0:03:00.240 Mystic specific thing, but there's just a lot of really 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:03.919 great basketball being played. I think Seattle, you know I'm 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:06.560 keeping eyes on them. After all of the waterworks and 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:10.960 shared sentiments between Nekka Guomakay and Skyler Diggins after Mekka 0:03:11.040 --> 0:03:14.320 one Western Conference Player of the Week. It really put 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:16.480 me in my fields, but it also made me realize, 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:20.240 like this is one of those teams. They're trying to 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:22.480 figure some things out still, but they feel like they're 0:03:22.480 --> 0:03:25.680 gonna continue to steadily get better and better and better 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:27.359 with the two of them driving the ship well. 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:31.079 And Gabby Williams, Yes, has been unreal. If you are 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:33.840 not watching Gabby Williams and what she's been doing in Seattle, 0:03:34.240 --> 0:03:35.760 you are missing out in one of the best stories 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:36.560 of the season so far. 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:40.280 Oh Man absolutely like talk about a player who could. 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:42.560 She makes it look effortless on the floor too. That's 0:03:42.560 --> 0:03:45.560 the part that gets me. She's so fluid in her movement. 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:48.760 She's so athletic, but she can do so many different things. 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:50.800 She can attack the basket, she can hit a mid range. 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:52.880 Has been struggling with that three ball as of late, 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:58.120 but facilitating extremely, extremely well for that squad. So I'm 0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:01.440 keeping my eyes on them for sure. And then the 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:03.240 Golden State Valkyries. 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:06.600 Yeah, be so th real fight Jess Smith is. 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:13.520 Yes, they they've surprised a lot of people. But I'll 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:14.760 tell you what. They didn't surprise me. 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:15.640 And you know why. 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:18.640 When we first talked about this team, you remember what 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:20.640 I said, this is a team full of six players 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:24.040 of glue players and temmy fact. Ben actually echoed those 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:27.120 sentiments not too long ago in a postgame press conference, saying, like, 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:29.159 we're a bunch of role players. We know how to 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:31.479 do what we need to do individually for their group 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:32.320 to be successful. 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:35.719 And we talked about a team of a lot of 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:39.080 European players and whether their style of play might be 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:42.200 different enough that it just takes some other teams off 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:43.919 their game for a little while before they could figure 0:04:43.920 --> 0:04:44.200 it out. 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:48.360 Yeah, And I've just been so extremely impressed with that squad. 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:51.600 I hope they keep it up. Natalie Nicasse is pressing 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:53.880 all of the right buttons. She's finding a way to 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:56.720 give everybody, you know, whether it's somebody who gets signed 0:04:56.720 --> 0:04:58.880 on a hardship contract and comes in for a second, 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:01.040 or you know, somebody who's on for the long run 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:03.760 of the season, Like she's given these players individual confidence 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:05.560 to go out there and be great in whatever it 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.520 is they're trying to do. So very very impressed with 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:09.359 the Valkyries. 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:12.320 I hope we someday get the behind the scenes story 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:15.360 about what happened leading into the Valks first season, because 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:18.120 I just remember during free agency it was like crickets 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:20.080 over there and we're like, why are they not signing 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:22.640 any big players? Why don't any of the stars want 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:26.760 to go there? And I'm so curious now how much 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:29.360 of it was intentional of Natalie having a vision of 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:33.200 what she wanted versus were there players that she really 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:35.960 did want to sign and just weren't willing to maybe 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:37.760 sign a longer deal because they wanted to be a 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:39.920 free agent after one season, Like, I just want to 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:41.040 know the answers. 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:44.239 Right, That's what I was wondering. If they had any 0:05:44.400 --> 0:05:47.640 conditions around joining the team whereby they wanted to have 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:50.640 people on longer deals where they were sure they could 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:53.479 use them to continue to build, that they could have 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:56.040 fans grow attached to members of the roster that they 0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:58.960 knew would stick around, And if that was really difficult 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:00.280 at a time when most of the players in the 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:02.599 league don't want to be signed past this season, that 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:05.159 could be one explanation for why they struggled to get 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:08.920 those players. But yeah, I think It's a great point, Alex, 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:12.359 because we were watching from Afar, like both questioning what 0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:15.400 they were doing on there and also questioning top players 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:18.120 for not wanting to go to a place with incredible resources, 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:22.440 great leadership, super ton of support from the men's side, 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:25.080 Like we thought it would be really cool to be 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:27.360 one of the first players in a valx Jersey, even 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:29.760 if they didn't win a ton right away, and they're 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:32.040 winning a lot more than some other teams that players 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:32.799 chose instead. 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:36.680 I did just pull up the Valk's salary cap cheat 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:39.880 sheet courtesy or her hoop stats. And even without signing 0:06:39.920 --> 0:06:42.960 those big name players though, they weren't able to get 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:45.920 anyone on a longer contract except for Carla Lay and 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:48.400 Kate Martin, both of whom are on contracts that they 0:06:48.440 --> 0:06:51.880 signed as rookies. Everyone else is either an unrestricted or 0:06:51.920 --> 0:06:54.800 restricted free agent next year, so still could be a 0:06:54.920 --> 0:06:55.840 very different look team. 0:06:55.960 --> 0:06:57.760 Yeah. I mean, that's just a guess from me that 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:00.640 they might want folks to sign longer term content to be, 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:03.039 you know, a part of this process for longer, but 0:07:03.120 --> 0:07:06.000 they also might be thinking, we just need to put 0:07:06.040 --> 0:07:10.200 out a team this first season. Once everybody sees the fans, 0:07:10.800 --> 0:07:14.160 season ticket holders, the vibes at Balhalla. We're gonna get 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:16.560 some of those free agents to come start that new 0:07:16.880 --> 0:07:20.040 part of their career post new CBA with us here, 0:07:20.080 --> 0:07:22.840 and boy are those wins gonna help with that. Yeah. 0:07:22.880 --> 0:07:25.640 And well, one thing that we did find out this week, 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:28.440 we know who's not going to be headed to Golden State. 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:30.320 It's not gonna be Subrinian Sq. I know there were 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:33.880 so many people before the draft, the expansion draft, and 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:36.480 things were like, is Sabrina going to return to the 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:39.320 Bay and become the franchise. It's not happening, she told. 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:42.040 I think it was the post. She told some publication 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:44.240 that she's she plans on spending the rest of her 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:46.600 WNBA career in New York. What's valid? 0:07:46.800 --> 0:07:47.200 Valid? 0:07:47.200 --> 0:07:49.760 They got a good thing going over there. But I'm 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:51.480 right there with you, Alex. I hope that one day 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:55.040 we do get a Golden State documentary so they can 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.400 tell us exactly all the ins and outs and everything 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:03.240 that happened behind the scenes. But I'm extremely, extremely impressed 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:03.560 with them. 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:06.960 By the way, I love sab saying that for loyalty reasons, 0:08:07.000 --> 0:08:07.840 but girl. 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:11.679 What you're doing, I feel so must. 0:08:11.400 --> 0:08:16.239 Leverage use your leverage to make them pay your ass. 0:08:16.280 --> 0:08:18.240 I mean they think you might be going to the bay, 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:20.240 they're gonna have to up the amount that you're getting. 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:22.960 Maybe there's other things happening behind the scenes that we 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:24.400 don't know about in our preview too. 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:27.880 Alex, I'm sure you're gonna be watching the w in 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:30.720 between checking for the first ripe tomatoes of your harvest 0:08:30.760 --> 0:08:32.680 in your garden this summer. So what are you gonna 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:33.360 be keeping an eye on? 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:38.200 Phoenix Mercury. I did not expect them to beeed third 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:41.720 in the standings as of this recording, and uh, I 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:43.560 just want to see if they can keep it going. 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:45.560 I think it's so funny though. I was thinking back 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:49.560 to our early season predictions and we're recording this on 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:52.560 the day that it was confirmed that Dowana Bonnor no 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:55.920 longer with Indiana. They waved her there's a chance she 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:59.280 could be heading to Phoenix, of course to join her 0:08:59.320 --> 0:09:03.040 wife Alyssa. But I had this crazy prediction that if 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:06.120 the Fever won a title it would be because of 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:08.840 the off season signing that was Dowanna Bonner. Butcause early 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.760 on in the season it mightense they were saying, hey, 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:14.040 she's the glue in the locker room. Hey, her leadership 0:09:14.080 --> 0:09:17.880 is invaluable. Clearly it did not work in the long 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:21.600 term or even the short term. So I'm super curious 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:23.600 to see if she ends up with that Mercury team, because, 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:25.960 as we've seen before, just because you get a star 0:09:26.000 --> 0:09:29.280 player doesn't necessarily always mean that the results are going. 0:09:29.280 --> 0:09:30.560 To continue going up and up. 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:33.680 But as for the Mercury, they've been really making it 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:35.360 work with a lot of pieces, and I think it 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:38.760 also speaks to how good of a player Alsa Thomas is. 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:42.640 Right like, she during her time at Connecticut was continually 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:46.559 somebody that should have been in the MVP conversation. Sometimes 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:49.160 she was, sometimes she wasn't, but it was just the respect. 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:52.160 She didn't always get it despite her very good play. 0:09:52.200 --> 0:09:54.240 And I think she's showing, hey, it doesn't matter where 0:09:54.240 --> 0:09:56.160 I am, I can still bring these same results. 0:09:56.880 --> 0:10:00.720 Especially important with Colliacopper missing so many games to start 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:03.040 the season. This is a team that we were like, 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:06.200 oh no, they lost Danna Tarassi, They're gonna be without 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:09.080 Britney Griner. This is going to be a completely different look. 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:11.199 How is this gonna work? And between Alyssa Thomas and 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:14.079 of course to Sabi the Unicorn doing what she does. 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:17.640 They have outperformed my expectations a ton, and they were 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:19.400 for sure one of the teams I was keeping an 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:21.560 eye on two to your point, sitting up there in 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:24.480 third with Ka out for as long as she was 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:26.720 and with a completely new look roster trying to figure 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:28.520 things out has been so impressive. 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:32.359 Yeah, and then just thinking about adding Dewana Bonner. 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:35.640 Yeah, all of that, it's just. 0:10:35.720 --> 0:10:40.360 Completely unfair, completely insane. But to your point out, you know, 0:10:41.080 --> 0:10:42.679 at the beginning of the season, I don't know if 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:44.360 I was thinking that she was going to be the 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:46.720 reason they wanted championship per se, but I did think, 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:49.160 you know, she was gonna have a very particular kind 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:50.880 of impact on this squad, and I'm kind of sad 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:53.640 to see that it didn't work out that way. But 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:55.959 of course, you know, we never know what's actually happening 0:10:56.000 --> 0:10:58.959 in the locker rooms behind the scenes. But I think 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:01.760 Indiana's made it decision about what path they're going to follow. 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:03.480 They're going to be behind Caitlin Clark, which is a 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:06.520 I think that's a pretty pretty good plan, pretty damn 0:11:06.520 --> 0:11:09.480 good plan. And Dowana Bonner, I think also deserves to 0:11:10.120 --> 0:11:12.800 in year sixteen, this far into her career, to be 0:11:12.920 --> 0:11:15.160 somewhere that she feels really good about being. She feels 0:11:15.160 --> 0:11:17.600 like she fits, she feels like she's able to contribute 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:20.080 the way she wants to contribute. So it's sad, but 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:22.320 I also feel like this is the best. 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:25.360 For both parties. And if you look at the advanced 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:30.360 statistics around Lexi Hall, she is whop been. When she 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:33.560 is on the court, the team is playing significantly better. 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:35.360 I don't have the plus minus in front of me, 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:39.480 but her presence on the court changes the style of 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:42.640 play and that works better for them. Even though Dewanna 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:46.600 Bonner is an incredible player, and sometimes it's about fit, 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:49.600 it's about style, and I think they came into the 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:52.480 season expecting things to look different with Bonner out there, 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:56.160 and at least the silver lining is that they figured 0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:58.200 out pretty quick it wasn't going to work. And instead 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:00.800 of her sitting on the bench all see and resenting 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:03.720 the decision to go there, and the team being fractured 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:06.640 because they know that they've got this all star sitting 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:10.400 there not being really used right, she's out. Hopefully she 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:13.360 finds a better spot. Although to your point earlier me. 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:14.920 If it ends up being the Mercury, the rest of 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:17.280 the league is going to be cursing the Fever for 0:12:17.400 --> 0:12:19.520 not figuring out how to keep her on the roster. 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:21.120 Yeah, for sure. 0:12:21.160 --> 0:12:25.480 For sure. Well, in between literally laying down horizontally and 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:28.800 doing absolutely nothing for as long as possible during this break, 0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:31.800 potentially getting up occasionally to pet my dogs, I will 0:12:31.840 --> 0:12:33.840 be watching some w and one of the things I 0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:38.240 will be watching is the Atlanta Dream you just mentioned, Alex. 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:41.480 The Phoenix Mercury are in third, and the Atlanta Dream, 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:44.559 a team that I did not expect to be ballin 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:48.240 with a new roster, brand new pieces to try to 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:51.320 fit together, is getting it done. And a lot of 0:12:51.320 --> 0:12:56.360 that is Alisha Gray. Holy shit, is that girl on 0:12:56.360 --> 0:12:59.360 one right now? It reminds me of the Gabby Williams. 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:02.560 If you are not watching Dream games as painful as 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:05.080 it is because of that court, I don't know what. 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:08.240 I agree, I disagree. 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:10.920 I liked the idea of it, and then I tried 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:13.959 to watch a Sky Dream game where the Sky we're 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:16.640 wearing light blue with navy accents, and the Dream we're 0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:19.360 wearing navy with light blue accents, and the court was 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:22.800 navy with blue accents, and I was like, I don't 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:26.080 know what's happening. What am I watching right now? So 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:28.679 other than the court, which is a nice idea but 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:32.800 sucks in practice, I'm really enjoying watching this team. And 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:36.280 you should be watching Ali Schagray and watching Britney Griner 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:40.880 on a new squad and finding your way Ryan Howard, whoa. 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:44.440 I mean? Also nice whenever you can play my Chicago Sky, 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:46.320 because you're probably gonna set some sort of three point 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:49.440 record because our perimeter defense is can trash. It's just 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:52.199 team after team plays the Sky and then comes out 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:54.400 of there with some new record for efficiency from beyond 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:57.199 the arc. But yeah, I've just been really surprised by 0:13:57.200 --> 0:13:58.520 the Atlanta Dream. Yeah. 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:01.679 With Ali Chagre is current averaging the most points per 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:04.640 game she's averaged in her entire career, nineteen point seven 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:06.760 per game. She's the sixth leading scorer in the Wright. 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:09.120 Now you mentioned Ryan Howard, the twelfth leading scorer in 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:11.760 the Wright. Now it's seventeen point seven. Like that's a 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:14.960 two headed monster if I've ever seen one. And it's 0:14:15.120 --> 0:14:17.880 just it's the confidence. I think we've watched both of 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:20.240 these players grow over the past few years, you know 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:22.040 what I mean, trying to figure out how to be 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:26.360 the top people on a team for a franchise, be 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:28.640 the leaders. And when you're younger it can be a 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:30.720 little bit harder to step into that role. But they're 0:14:30.760 --> 0:14:34.360 really figuring it out, coming into their own and it's 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:36.520 a beautiful thing, man, It's a beautiful thing. 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:39.880 The other one, I'm gonna be keeping an eye on 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:43.720 the Las Vegas Aces. Listen, y'all. You know I'm not 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:46.360 keeping an eye in the sky because it's painful, but 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:50.239 the fact that the Aces only have two more wins 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:54.560 than my sky at the time of this taping tells 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:57.120 you just how dire things are for a team that 0:14:57.200 --> 0:14:58.480 should be much better than that. 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:00.880 Say, I'm gonna make a bold pretty By the time 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:03.240 people are listening to this, I think they're going to 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:04.680 be even in the stand ins. 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:08.920 The sky and the Aces. Good Lord for that one. 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:10.400 I'm full of bold predictions. 0:15:10.920 --> 0:15:12.600 Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean you you were the one 0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:15.520 who came up with the idea of ball dogs at Wimbledon, 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:18.720 which I'm here for. No, but I mean, this is 0:15:18.760 --> 0:15:23.840 still a team with Jackie Young, Asia Wilson, Chelsea Gray, 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:28.160 Jewel Lloyd You should not have that much talent on 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:33.120 the court and be sitting at six wins. You should 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:38.800 not be able to misuse that much talent at this 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:40.920 point in the season. We should have started to figure 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:44.960 it out by now. Six and seven is just not acceptable. 0:15:45.000 --> 0:15:47.800 And I know Becky Hammond comes with a tremendous resume. 0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:52.680 I'm not blaming her, but also she's not blame less 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:54.800 in trying to figure out how to get these folks 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:58.040 together and get a game plan to get them out 0:15:58.040 --> 0:15:58.640 of this hole. 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:01.200 I'm stumped when it comes to this group because there 0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:04.880 have also been moments where they've played their asses off right, 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:07.440 Like I think distinctly back to that last game they 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:10.680 played against the Indiana Fever, it looked like they were 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:14.120 starting to get their lives together a little bit. But 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:18.040 there's just something, some piece is missing, some connection is missing. 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:20.880 When you have one of the best the sisters, the 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:23.200 best point guards in the history of basketball, and you 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:25.200 have one of the most prolific scores in the history 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:27.720 of basketball and jewl Loyd, it doesn't make sense to 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:29.880 be why that's not clicking. And then you've got Asia Wilson, 0:16:30.240 --> 0:16:33.280 who admittedly by her own account, has struggled a little 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:36.360 bit offensively. Aliah Boston gave her the work. I can't 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:38.440 lie to you. Aliah Boston gave her the work. The 0:16:38.480 --> 0:16:40.280 other night she did. 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:40.800 She did. 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:43.800 I saw a social media post where it was like, 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:47.080 Aliah Boston belongs in the rage baiting Hall of Fame. 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:51.840 Something she does. It was a good night for bigs. 0:16:51.960 --> 0:16:56.080 Camilla Cardoza that same night really went off. Yah, yeah, yeah, 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:58.240 the bigs. The Bigs had a night of it. Yeah. 0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:01.640 I mean, it's time to start questioning whether there's a 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:03.120 Deerica Hamby curse. 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:04.919 Occur. 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:09.000 I'm just saying that ever since Deerica Hanby left and 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:12.160 said there was some bad things going on over there, 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:13.720 that team hasn't seen a title. 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:16.920 It could be that, or it could be the back 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:19.600 to back curse, you know what I mean, because though 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:22.439 they had some success that that season, right after the 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:25.720 back to back, it's I don't know. It's hard, man. 0:17:25.720 --> 0:17:27.879 It changes your psyche once you know you can do it. 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:30.119 It's like, are there more moments where you say, ah, 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:32.359 it doesn't matter as much, or ah, this little detail 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:33.760 isn't as important. You know. 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:35.359 It's it's hard. 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:37.520 It's hard to win a championship, and it's even harder to, 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:40.240 you know, have a successful season year in and year out. 0:17:40.320 --> 0:17:41.239 So I don't know. 0:17:41.600 --> 0:17:44.639 I also wonder if Kelsey Plumb is just sit in 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:47.760 LA thinking to herself every time she sees another L 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:56.240 pop up on the screen, like what's changed? Line is. 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:00.920 Well? I mean, needless to say, there's gonna be a 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:03.600 lot to watch in the w while we're gone, and 0:18:03.640 --> 0:18:06.560 I will be watching Page Becker's highlights. I don't know 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:11.840 if I'm willing to commit to full Wings games, but 0:18:12.200 --> 0:18:15.520 I'm gonna work with Shade because Page is looking good. 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:17.879 It's kind of like when you get invited to a 0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:21.040 JV game for someone that you really love and you're like, oh, 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:23.400 I really want to go support you, but also like. 0:18:23.640 --> 0:18:27.600 The ball is bad. Yeah, the ball is bad. They'll 0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:29.959 figure it out, hopefully, because I need her to be 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:32.399 on a team that's thriving, because she looks damn good 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:35.520 and she is smooth with it right now, and so 0:18:35.560 --> 0:18:37.520 it's fun to watch except for then, you know the 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:41.600 rest of the game that's happening around her. We got 0:18:41.600 --> 0:18:43.560 to take a quick break when we come back. More 0:18:43.680 --> 0:18:55.520 happenings while we're on hiatus. Stick around. We're also going 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:57.080 to be off for a couple other sporting events. We're 0:18:57.080 --> 0:18:59.919 gonna be off for all of Wimbledon, which will be 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:02.640 fun to watch just as a fan and not try 0:19:02.680 --> 0:19:05.399 to get into the show, because tennis is one of 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:07.160 the hardest things for us to put into the show 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:10.280 because of how often the games happen and when we record, 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:12.200 so we're always like, oh, they might be playing again 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:15.560 at five am in Europe or whatever before we get 0:19:15.600 --> 0:19:18.320