WEBVTT - The Two-Timers Club with Rebecca Lobo 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:02.880 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're downing 0:00:02.920 --> 0:00:05.520 caffeine like our lives depend on it. I could use 0:00:05.519 --> 0:00:08.039 about I don't know, eight extra hours to get some 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:12.520 things done today, but alas I checked, still only twenty 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:17.560 four hours. Maybe tomorrow. It's Friday, April eleventh, Happy Friday Slices. 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:20.680 On today's show, ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo will join us 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:23.160 to look back at another great season of college hoops 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:25.640 and take a little peek ahead to the WNBA Draft. 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:28.040 We talk about are getting to call a Yukon championship 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:30.320 win as an analyst for the first time this year, 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:33.920 whether Gino was actually crying over Pagebeckers in that viral 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:37.720 press conference clip, the positive vibe around this year's NCAA tournament, 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:41.080 and the influx of transfers changing the college hoops landscape 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:44.440 early in this offseason. Plus the Love Finals continue, the 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:47.360 Billy Jean Kingcup makes a move, and a goat gets 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:49.800 the dock treatment. It's all coming up. Right after this 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:01.120 welcome back, Sligh says, here's what you need to know 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:06.800 today in pro Vib's news. The Love Finals continue tonight 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:09.800 in Louisville at the KFCM Center, make sure you catch 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:12.360 the semi final action starting at six thirty pm Eastern 0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:15.600 on ESPN two or ESPN Plus. And if you miss 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:18.039 the semis remember that a champ will be crowned on 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:21.440 Sunday at four pm Eastern. That contest will also be 0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:24.640 on ESPN two and ESPN Plus. In tennis news, the 0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:27.000 billyj and King Cup Finals, which we had the honor 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:29.680 of attending this past fall, will be held in September 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:32.720 instead of November this year. Quick refresher. This is the 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:36.479 top international team tennis competition where each nation's best tennis 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:38.480 players team up to take on the rest of the 0:01:38.520 --> 0:01:42.080 world stars. The Cup is had to take place in Shenjin, China, 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:44.240 and has been moved in the hopes of aligning better 0:01:44.280 --> 0:01:47.640 with the players competition schedule. In the past, top athletes 0:01:47.680 --> 0:01:51.080 like IGAs Fontec, Coco Goff, and Jessica Pagoula have skipped 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:54.480 the event because of the strenuous travel requirements. The WTA 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:57.240 Tour Finals, held around the same time in past years, 0:01:57.440 --> 0:02:00.560 weren't located anywhere near the BJK Cup site, but this 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:03.880 year's BJK Cup Finals in China will run from September 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:07.280 sixteenth to September twenty first, the same time WTA Tour 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:10.400 events will be held across Asia. In hockey news, the 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:14.239 PWHL's Montreal Victoire have activated goaltender and Renee Debn from 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:17.440 long term injured reserve. She leads all goaltenders and wins 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:20.120 goals against average and save percentage, but was placed on 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:22.880 long term injured reserve last week, retroactive to March eighteenth, 0:02:22.919 --> 0:02:24.920 after suffering a lower body injury in a game against 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:27.720 the Boston Fleet. Debien is currently in Chechia with Team 0:02:27.800 --> 0:02:30.000 Canada for the World Championships, and while she didn't dress 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:32.359 for the team's opening game against Finland, perhaps we'll see 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:34.239 her later in the tournament. We'll link to the full 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:37.840 World Championship schedule in the show notes to the NWSL, 0:02:37.840 --> 0:02:39.720 where we were so caught up with college hoops we 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:42.120 missed last week's announcement of the Best eleven for the 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:44.800 month of March, a list that included the Washington Spirits 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:47.440 Ashley Hatch, who scored three goals in March, including a 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:50.000 game winner against Houston and a brace in week three, 0:02:50.280 --> 0:02:53.239 and the Casey Currents ten with Shawana also named NWSL 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:55.880 Player of the Month. Shweinga's three goals in March extended 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:59.080 her scoring streak to eight straight regular season contests, tying 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:02.080 her own league records. In twenty twenty four, Houston Dash 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:04.680 midfielder Maggie Graham was also named Rookie of the Month 0:03:04.720 --> 0:03:07.560 for March after scoring in each of her first two appearances, 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:10.640 becoming the fifth player in NWSL history and just the 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:13.320 third rookie to do so. Heading into Week four, three 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:15.519 teams in the league looked to continue their season long 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:19.040 unbeaten streak. The three and O Orlando Pride taken out Seattle, 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:21.640 the three and O KC Current taken on San Diego, 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:24.200 and the two to one in oh Washington Spirit who 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:26.960 will face Louisville. You could check out the full NWSL 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:30.440 schedule in our show notes. Some more NWSL news, Denver's 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:33.200 expansion side has made its first big hire, naming Jen 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:36.040 Millett as the club's first president. The Colorado native was 0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:41.000 the chief operating officer for BAYFC. We got to take 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:42.640 a quick break when we come back. We caught up 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:44.880 with Rebecca Lobo yesterday and she helped us put this 0:03:44.960 --> 0:04:01.400 college hoop season in perspective. Keep it locked here, joining 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:04.160 us out for the second time. She's an Olympic gold medalist, 0:04:04.280 --> 0:04:07.520 NCAA champion, inaugural player in the WNBA, and a w 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.080 All star in ninety nine, member of the Women's Basketball 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:11.840 Hall of Fame and the Naysmith Hall of Fame. Now 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:14.480 a reporter and color analyst for ESPN with a focus 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:17.520 on women's college hoops and the WNBA. She's guest starred 0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:21.000 on Martin Sister Sister, Matt, About You, and Girls five Eva, 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:23.560 And she's got her own street in South mlkmass where 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:26.120 she went to high school, Rebecca Lobo Way, It's Rebecca 0:04:26.160 --> 0:04:27.360 Lobo High. Rebecca. 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:29.479 Hi. When do I get a jacket? Is that like 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:30.880 when I'm on for my fifth time? 0:04:31.000 --> 0:04:33.760 Yeah? We need we have a five timers club. Okay, 0:04:33.800 --> 0:04:35.680 so you're working your way toward it. 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:39.680 You're slowly, but Shirley, all right, you. 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:41.840 Have just finished a hell of a run covering women's 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:43.800 college hoops. How are you holding up? 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:48.720 I'm tired. It's funny because everybody just assumed, like assumes 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:50.640 that when the Final four is over, oh, you take 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:52.960 a break. I'm like, no, We've got a week we're 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:55.839 preparing for the draft. But then when we have the draft. 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:59.800 That's a glorious three weeks that follow it because college 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:03.720 over WNBA training camps haven't even started. So it was like, 0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:06.080 it's the three weeks of my year where I can 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:09.039 exhale and there's nothing that I should be prepping for. 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:11.359 But right now we're still in the middle of the 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:12.039 work of it all. 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:15.159 Yeah, you're still in the grind when that three weeks comes. 0:05:15.160 --> 0:05:18.159 Are you more of a staycation, get stuff done around 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:20.280 the house, doodle around, or are you like, I hit 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:22.159 a tropical spot immediately kind of person. 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:25.120 I'm a mom, so we never get to hit the 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:28.560 tropical spot and very rarely does it coincide with my 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:34.200 with my kids vacation at school. So usually it's just relax, decompress, 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:37.440 do some stuff around the house, and if it is 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:39.480 a year where it coincides with the kids stuff, we'll 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:41.400 try to get out and about, but it typically does not. 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:44.120 We're going to get to the draft because yeah, it's Monday, 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:49.120 which is insane. But let's talk about this run because 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:52.160 this was one of my favorite college basketball seasons ever. 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:55.120 And I feel like, if you could try to get 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:57.640 back into your brain back when the season started, what 0:05:57.640 --> 0:05:59.960 would you be most surprised to see happen this year, 0:06:00.240 --> 0:06:02.960 like a certain player popping off or a team under 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:06.200 or overperforming. What what did you have a different mind 0:06:06.200 --> 0:06:07.239 about when things started. 0:06:08.480 --> 0:06:11.320 I think we were all pretty open minded because, you know, 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:14.360 while South Carolina was the favorite coming in because they 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:16.840 had been undefeated and won the championship the year before, 0:06:16.920 --> 0:06:18.480 you also knew, all right, but they don't have Camilla 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:20.760 Cardoso and she was such a huge part of what 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:23.640 they did last year. What is USC going to look 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:25.520 like this year? What is Yukon going to look like 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:28.200 this year? And then I certainly don't think any of 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:32.120 us anticipated, like in December and January, that Notre Dame 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:33.640 would be the best team in the country and that 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:36.440 hannahad all Go would be playing like the front runner 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:39.039 for National Player of the Year. And then sort of 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:41.640 the ebbs and flows that we saw from from that 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:43.640 point on in terms of you know, I think we 0:06:43.680 --> 0:06:46.680 had for the first time three consecutive weeks, maybe at 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:48.520 some point in January or February, we had a new 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:51.760 number one team. You know, I don't think people would 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:54.760 have expected UCLA to, you know, grab hold of that 0:06:54.839 --> 0:06:57.960 number one ranking in November December, and then ride it 0:06:58.000 --> 0:07:00.680 for much of the season, So it's kind of fun. 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:02.520 We're in a place with women's basketball now are it's 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:05.159 a lot less predictable than it has been in previous years. 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:07.719 What do you think is the biggest driver of that parody? 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:11.720 Is that nil transfer portal, investment from schools into their 0:07:11.760 --> 0:07:12.640 women's programs. 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:15.680 Probably a little bit of all of those things. I 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:18.200 think the transfer portal has played a really big part 0:07:18.240 --> 0:07:21.360 in that because you can have a team like LSU, 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:24.000 who you know, Kim Molki's done a phenomenal job every 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.640 year kind of building a Final four caliber team out 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:31.000 of the transfer portal by bringing in seniors and experienced players, 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:34.400 and so there's a little bit less of you know, ooh, 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:36.720 they got a really good freshman class, We're going to 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:39.160 watch them grow, and that team's going to be really 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:41.960 good their junior and senior year. You can you know, 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:44.520 bring the pieces is and you see what Mark Campbell 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:47.560 did at TCU this year, you know, going, you know, 0:07:47.720 --> 0:07:50.360 from a team two years ago with hardly any wins 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:52.560 to this year going to the Elite eight. So I 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:55.480 think that the transfer portal has probably played the biggest 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:57.800 role in all that, And of course NIL is combined 0:07:57.840 --> 0:07:59.640 with the transfer portal as well. 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:03.280 You got to see your alma mater, Yukon get the 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:05.600 big win in Tampa, Pagebackers gets to ride off into 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:08.440 the sunset as a champion. It felt a little different 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:09.880 for me and I think a lot of people watching 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:13.320 this time. It's been since twenty sixteen since Yukon has won. 0:08:13.600 --> 0:08:15.600 After all those years of kind of being like, oh, Gino, 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:18.400 Riam and company, here we go again. It was like 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:20.440 they were kind of an underdog almost. They were a 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:23.800 number two seed, which was weird but ended up, you know, 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:26.440 it all worked out for them. How did it feel 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:29.080 for you watching this year versus maybe some of the 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:30.960 runs they made when they were dominating. 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:33.640 Yeah, I think there's a little bit of all of that. 0:08:33.880 --> 0:08:36.320 You know, there's that cycle when Brianna Stewart was there 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:38.520 where they win four in a row and the expectation 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:41.200 is for them to always win, and I think this 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:44.400 year what was different was what happened the previous four 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:48.280 years where this team, season after season after season was 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:51.400 decimated by injury and even last year. I think last 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:54.520 year was one of the coach Oriama's greatest jobs as 0:08:54.559 --> 0:08:57.120 a coach to get that group to the final four. 0:08:57.200 --> 0:08:59.439 They were a three seed a year ago when they 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:02.200 beat us in the regional final page and Juju going 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:05.280 going at it, and and so it just there was 0:09:05.320 --> 0:09:08.680 a very different feel I think about the Yukon team 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:11.600 this year because it's the first time where I think 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:13.880 people are like, man, I really want this for this kid. 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:16.439 She's you know, she's had all this bad luck going 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:19.240 poor coach Oriama and Yukon they've had all of this 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:24.559 bad luck. And so it was a completely completely different vibe. 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:27.199 And while they were in some ways the favorite going 0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:30.360 into the final four because of how well they played, yeah, 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:32.679 they were the only two seed in the in the 0:09:32.679 --> 0:09:35.040 final four, just because of some of the ups and 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:37.360 downs that they'd had this season. So certainly a very 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:39.760 different journey than we're used to seeing from a Yukon 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:41.040 player and a Yukon team. 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:44.000 When you're around as long as you've been and you're 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:48.520 such a just legendary member of the women's basketball community, 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:51.000 how do you approach knowing that no matter how you 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:53.760 call the game, people will say you're being biased for Yukon. 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:58.360 You know what, I have somewhere on my phone a 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:01.959 screenshot from you years ago when I was calling Minnesota 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:04.600 Links and the LA Sparks in the finals, and I 0:10:04.600 --> 0:10:07.200 had back to back tweets. One of them said, you 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:10.840 know you can be any more biased for Minnesota, followed 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:13.280 by you know you couldn't be any more biased for 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:16.800 for the Sparks, And so, like, I feel confident in 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:19.480 how I call games, and I just sit down and 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:21.040 I'm going to say what I see. I'm going to 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:24.000 say what I see, and and that's what I you know, 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:27.080 that's what I did this year, and the best way 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:29.480 for me to handle it is what I've done since September. 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:32.920 And that's not look at any app replies because look, nobody, 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:35.440 nobody ever says to me to my face. You know, 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:38.280 you really sounded bias in that in that game, you 0:10:38.280 --> 0:10:42.520 know so, But like you know, we're always hoping on 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:45.720 the TV side for close games. That's what's best for us. 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:48.520 It's it's you know, more enjoyable to watch. We know 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:51.280 it's gonna have a big impact on the ratings as well. 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:53.760 That's certainly not how it played out in any of 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:56.320 the games that our crew called in the tournament this year. 0:10:57.440 --> 0:11:00.800 But yeah, like I I can't even about that, And 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:03.800 what's interesting, Sarah is like, I've done a ton of 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:07.880 Yukon's championships as a sideline reporter, a sideline analyst, and 0:11:07.960 --> 0:11:10.400 as a studio analyst. This is the first time I've 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:13.640 ever called one of their national championships as the game analyst. 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:16.199 You know, I've been doing it on the National championship 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:18.600 last five or six years, and so I've seen plenty 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:21.520 of their heartbreaking losses, but this is the first time 0:11:21.559 --> 0:11:23.920 I got to call one of their wins. So that 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:27.320 was kind of a fun new experience for me. 0:11:28.240 --> 0:11:30.280 Wait, so you've been out of the Menchi said September. 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:32.199 When that three week pause hits, are you going to 0:11:32.280 --> 0:11:34.080 go digging back in or are you trying to say 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:35.600 why would I? 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:38.480 Why would I? Like like I've hopped in and posted 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:40.520 some stuff and then I just get right back out, 0:11:40.600 --> 0:11:43.640 like I don't you know? And this is and I 0:11:43.679 --> 0:11:45.640 may have told you this story before, I'm not sure, 0:11:45.720 --> 0:11:47.559 but you know this was back before when I was 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:49.840 still in my mensions and I was sitting in my 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:51.400 living room looking at him and saying something to my 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:53.640 husband like look at this, you know kind of a thing, 0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:55.800 and he goes, would you invite that person into our 0:11:55.840 --> 0:11:58.040 living room, and I said no. He said, then why 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:00.600 are you inviting that person into our living room? And 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:02.680 I was like, you know what, no one's allowed in 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:05.440 my living room. The living room is fine, and so 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:07.720 I'm not gonna I'm not gonna worry about any of 0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:08.280 that stuff. 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:12.240 I love that. You know, We've been talking to a 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:15.240 handful of Yukon folks. We even had Gino on the show, 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:18.400 but we had him on before the moment that everyone 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:21.440 was talking about at the press conference last regular season game. 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:24.560 Page gets up and walks away, and everyone says Gino's crying, 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:27.880 But Sue Byrd and if you said Collier, all these 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:32.240 former players say, no chance Gino was crying. To everyone else, 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:35.079 it was very clear it looked like he was definitely crying. 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:37.679 And we think this is a new, older, softer Gino 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:40.199 and that the old players just don't get it. You 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:41.920 don't You don't think he was crying. 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.840 No, And I'm I'm a little bit more informed on 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:47.280 this because that was the game where they played the 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:49.800 last her last game at Gamble. It was in the 0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:52.040 second round of the tournament. That's that game. I called 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:54.720 that game. Right after the game, he came Page came 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:57.400 and sat down with us and talked to us first live, 0:12:57.760 --> 0:13:00.240 and then coach came and we had an interview with him, 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:04.080 and he was very much in his upbeat spirits, kind 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:08.760 of given crap mode, and and so in that press conference, 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:11.000 what I saw, and what I believe is one hundred 0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:13.960 percent true, is him kind of rolling his eyes like 0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:17.400 you know, they're like just there she goes, or that 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:18.160 sort of a thing. 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:19.000 You know. 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:22.960 Here, there was nothing in that moment that should have 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:25.319 made him cry, like he had more time with her, 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:28.120 and we all obviously saw what happened after the National 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:31.240 Championship game and the full emotion that he brought. I 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:34.959 more saw him in like, you know, given her crap 0:13:35.080 --> 0:13:37.760 kind of mode in the moment where people thought he 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:38.320 was crying. 0:13:38.360 --> 0:13:40.000 All right, we'll take your word for it. 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:42.840 And I can tell this story because I heard him 0:13:42.840 --> 0:13:46.120 tell a piece of it at their welcome reception back 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:50.280 at Gamble Pavilion. But after the game, you know, it's 0:13:50.280 --> 0:13:52.280 it's late at night. I'm kind of hanging out with 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:55.920 Stuwie and Sue and Diana and Ryan and Holly, and 0:13:56.400 --> 0:13:58.840 we've got some of our you know, former Yukon players 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:00.880 saying you should come by. You should come by and 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:04.120 say say hi to coach. Come buy the team hotel 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:08.160 and so so we did so so D and Sue 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:10.880 and Stuie and Megan and myself we get in a 0:14:11.040 --> 0:14:13.520 in an uber and we go out to the team 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:15.840 hotel and we're not near the players. They're like on 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:18.760 the roof or wherever they're doing their thing. And like 0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:21.040 we walk by where the parents are, we're not with them. Well, 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:23.560 we get like to the back of the area and 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:25.920 and coach or Aama is there and CD and Jamel 0:14:26.120 --> 0:14:30.720 and Morgan and Tanya and all the coaching staff kind 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:32.960 of just sitting sitting in their separate places, and there's 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:35.680 some other former players back there, and so we're just 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:39.240 kind of sitting around and talking and and Coach Arima 0:14:39.320 --> 0:14:42.280 told the story and uh in their welcome reception and 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:44.640 how you know, he started pointing at players, like, you know, 0:14:44.840 --> 0:14:48.440 Jen has one, Rebecca has one, Stue has two, d 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:51.160 has three, and he's like counting around the part of 0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:53.880 the story he didn't tell was right before he started 0:14:53.880 --> 0:14:57.280 doing the counting. It's probably two in the morning and 0:14:57.880 --> 0:14:59.920 Page comes down and you know, she's got the net 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:04.200 and her championship had on, and she comes over and 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:06.720 like it's all kind of the older players sitting around, 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:08.760 and Coach kind of looks at her and is like, oh, 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:11.120 what you know, you got one and you're done, so 0:15:11.160 --> 0:15:13.800 you think you can be down here now and then 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:16.400 and remember this is just a couple hours after we 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:18.960 saw him crying and hugging her and telling her he 0:15:19.000 --> 0:15:21.760 loves her. And he looks at Page and he points 0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:24.840 at me and he said, go sit next to her. 0:15:24.920 --> 0:15:26.000 You guys only have one. 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:27.760 Oh my god. 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:31.560 And then he started like pointing. He's like, I won, 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:34.920 and then he points to Stewie four, Jessic Moore three, 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:38.560 like the whole thing. So that's who he is. Never 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:42.320 so no, and so him sitting at the podium when 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:45.600 she was still his player, you know, after the second round, 0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:48.800 he wasn't crying. And the thing that was interesting to 0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:51.600 me was it was thirty years since our team won 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:54.560 the championship, and the night after we won, we all 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:56.400 ended up in coaches room and he's like, put the 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:59.480 VHS tape of our game on and he starts giving 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:02.000 all of us us shit after just winning him as 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:04.280 first national championship. And I was just like I felt 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:07.000 like I was in a time warp, like thirty years ago. 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:07.640 It was me. 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:11.360 He was, you know, giving crap to tonight. It's Paige. 0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:13.720 She just won a championship. But he's already said to her, 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:16.000 go sit over by her, because you guys at leave. 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:20.880 That's amazing. That's what makes those people great. They're they're 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:24.280 they're crazy like that. That's literally what drives him already 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:25.840 ready to pop in the tape and tell you what 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:28.280 to do. That's such a great story. What are some 0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:30.480 of the highlights for you from the tournament, regional games, 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.240 Final four? Anything besides the basketball. 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:36.760 I mean just the the energy and the excitement. You know, 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:39.600 my journey in the tournament was I did call the 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:42.480 first two games and stores all of them sold out, 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:45.520 incredible crowds. Go out to Spokane, we get to call 0:16:45.560 --> 0:16:50.200 the games out in Spokane. That building was packed for 0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:52.840 for all rounds. Going to the final four, same thing, 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:56.600 the energy and the vibe and the feeling of just 0:16:56.680 --> 0:16:59.520 excitement about women's basketball. And you know, I've been at 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:01.560 the final covering the Final four for a lot of 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:04.440 years and there is definitely a different feeling that we've 0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:06.600 had in these last three or four. You know, not 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:11.240 only the games being sold out, there's just a different energy, excitement, 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:14.800 you know, people texting you or whatever excited for these games, 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:17.840 for these players, for the stories. There's a different juice. 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:20.919 There's a different juice there and I felt it in 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:23.359 stores and I felt it, and we felt it all 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:25.160 in the regular season too, because we got to call 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:28.200 some incredible games in the regular season. You know, Notre 0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:30.960 Dame at NC State and the students section is exploding, 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:33.560 LSU at South Carolina and you've got twenty five hundred 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:37.440 students there. Just like the building felt like it was pulsing. 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:41.320 There's a different energy about it, and it's been awesome. 0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:44.960 And I will say this year, minus the juju injury, 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:48.399 was a mostly positive season. You know, last year I 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:52.840 had almost forgotten about the Spokane region having some issues 0:17:52.920 --> 0:17:55.639 around you know, overscheduling with like I think it was 0:17:55.640 --> 0:17:58.240 a volleyball tournament, and then players staying in a hotel 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:01.800 just outside of state, facing some racial epithets. There was 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:05.560 a lot more complaints about investment and resources and all 0:18:05.600 --> 0:18:08.640 those other things. It's not fixed, but between the economic 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:11.320 units finally getting applied to the women's game, to the 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:14.560 storylines around the teams and the players and the game itself. 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:16.440 It did feel like there was a leap this year 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:18.400 and just talking about ball, which was awesome. 0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:21.119 Yeah, and there were still some of those issues and 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:23.280 coach o Aama brought them up. Kim Multky was talking 0:18:23.320 --> 0:18:25.920 about them and that that high school volleyball tournament was 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:28.639 still happening because many of those players and their parents 0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:32.640 were at the hotel we were in No Way Spokane, 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:35.160 And yeah, I mean it's hard because how those super 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:37.920 regionals are set up, like they literally the teams the 0:18:38.000 --> 0:18:41.080 day before they're going to play a Sweet sixteen, an 0:18:41.080 --> 0:18:42.960 elite A game, they only get an hour on the court. 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:45.040 They get a half hour on game day for shoot 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:46.920 around and this year one of the ones in Spokane, 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:49.280 their time was like five forty five am. There are 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:52.080 certain certainly things that need to get fixed and become better, 0:18:52.720 --> 0:18:55.240 But yeah, I think the basketball was so good. And 0:18:55.280 --> 0:18:57.080 you brought up the Juju injury. I think that's the 0:18:57.119 --> 0:19:00.560 one thing that did take a considerable amount of air 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:03.960 out of the bubble. And I think part of it 0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:07.119 is because you know, last year it was like people 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:10.600 are on Team Angel or Team Caitlin. There wasn't that feeling. 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:14.440