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Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we can't

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Speaker 1: stop thinking about Game one of the WNBA Finals. Last night.

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Speaker 1: That shit was bananas, b ananas. On today's show, we'll

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Speaker 1: talk about the game, then we'll chat with Golden State

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Speaker 1: Valkyries President Jess Smith and WNBA Toronto President Teresa Resh

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Speaker 1: about building a team from scratch, logos, colors, name and all,

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Speaker 1: plus a mother's revenge and a call to action. It's

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Speaker 1: all coming up right after this welcome back slices. Before

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Speaker 1: we dive in, we just want to say that we're

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Speaker 1: sending love to all of those affected by Hurricane Milton.

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Speaker 1: Here's what you need to know today in the WNBA,

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Speaker 1: Game one was an absolute ride. The New York Liberty

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Speaker 1: came out fast in front of a Rock and Barclays crowd,

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Speaker 1: building as much as an eighteen point lead in the

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Speaker 1: second quarter, but they went cold in the third and

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Speaker 1: the Links got hot, pulling within two points. New York

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Speaker 1: pulled away again, getting their lead back up to fifteen

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Speaker 1: with about five minutes to play in the game, but

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Speaker 1: the Links battled back again, down three. With the clock

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Speaker 1: winding down, Courtney Williams hit a three and got the

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Speaker 1: foul for Minnesota, draining the free throat for the four

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Speaker 1: point play and the lead, Minnesota's first lead of the

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Speaker 1: game with five point five seconds to play. But that

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Speaker 1: wasn't it. The Links played lockdown d on multiple attempts

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Speaker 1: from the liberty, but Brianna Stewart took a fowl with

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Speaker 1: no time remaining and got sent to the line where

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Speaker 1: Stewie made the first and missed the second. That's right,

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Speaker 1: we got ot slices and the extra period was just

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Speaker 1: as wild. It came down to a Brianna Stewart driving

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Speaker 1: layup with time running out, surrounded by Minnesota bodies, and

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Speaker 1: the touch wasn't there too hard, No bucket. Links get

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Speaker 1: the improbable win ninety three and steal Game one from

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Speaker 1: the Libs on their home court in front of a

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Speaker 1: stunned crowd that included Jason Sadeikas, Spike Lee, Gail King

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Speaker 1: and Moore. Twenty three for Courtney Williams, twenty two for

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Speaker 1: Kayla McBride and twenty one for Nafisa Collier in the

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Speaker 1: Minnesota win, twenty four and ten for John qwell Jones,

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Speaker 1: eighteen and nine for Brianna Stewart, and nineteen points for

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Speaker 1: Sabrina and Escu in the Liberties losing effort. Game two

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Speaker 1: is Sunday at three pm on ABC. Do not miss

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Speaker 1: it Before game one. WNBA Commissioner Katy Engelbert broke some

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Speaker 1: news announcing that starting next season, the WNBA Finals will

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Speaker 1: be a best of seven format. It'll be a two two,

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Speaker 1: one one one format, meaning the higher seed team will

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Speaker 1: host games one, two, five, and seven. Also, the first

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Speaker 1: round best of three series will shift from a two

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Speaker 1: to one format to alternating games one, one one, giving

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Speaker 1: each team at least one home playoff game. Engelbert also

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Speaker 1: announced that next year's regular season will ex span from

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Speaker 1: forty to forty four regular season games. Some player news

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Speaker 1: out of the day too. Duana Bonner, in her exit

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Speaker 1: interview with The Connecticut Sun, said for the first time

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Speaker 1: explicitly she does not plan to retire in twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: five and fully intends to play in the WNBA next season.

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Speaker 1: More WNBA news. Former Las Vegas Aces assistant coach Natalie

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Speaker 1: Nicasse has been named the first head coach of the

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Speaker 1: Golden State Valkyries. The forty one year old LA native

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Speaker 1: has plenty of coaching experience to draw on. She's been

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Speaker 1: Becky Hammond's assistant for the past three seasons with the Aces,

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Speaker 1: but also spent eleven seasons on staff with the mnba's

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Speaker 1: Los Angeles Clippers as a video coordinator, assistant coach of

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Speaker 1: the franchise's G League affiliate, and as a player development coach.

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Speaker 1: As a hooper, she walked down at UCLA and was

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Speaker 1: a team captain there for three years, then spent two

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Speaker 1: seasons playing in the National Women's Basketball League, a pro

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Speaker 1: league that existed from ninety seven to two thousand and seven.

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Speaker 1: We'll talk more about her hiring with Jess Smith in

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Speaker 1: just a few minutes. In volleyball news. On World Mental

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Speaker 1: Health Day yesterday, the Pro Volleyball Federal announced that it's

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Speaker 1: teaming up with on Rise, a mental health care service

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Speaker 1: specializing in work with current and retired athletes, to provide

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Speaker 1: care and support to each athlete on every team roster.

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Speaker 1: These services will be offered at no cost to the players.

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Speaker 1: More World Mental Health Day news broke over in the NWSL,

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Speaker 1: the Players Association announced its establishing the Ohm Arvind Gift,

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Speaker 1: meant to honor the life and legacy of soccer journalist

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Speaker 1: In women's soccer advocate Om Arvin, who died by suicide

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Speaker 1: in May of this year. Ohm dedicated himself to growing

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Speaker 1: the women's game through his coverage and analysis, including but

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Speaker 1: not limited to spearheading dedicated in depth coverage of Real

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Speaker 1: Madrid Feminina on espionations, managing Madrid site. As part of

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Speaker 1: Ohm's final wishes, a GoFundMe was created to raise funds

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Speaker 1: for the NWSLPA. That GoFundMe has raised over twenty five

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Speaker 1: thousand dollars, which has been allocated to the support the

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Speaker 1: Player's National Emergency Trust to provide mental health support for

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Speaker 1: nwsl players. The new gift in his name will encompass

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Speaker 1: any future contributions made to the NWSLPA for mental health support.

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Speaker 1: In a statement, NWSLPA Executive Director at Meghan Burke said,

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Speaker 1: quote with the om Arvind Gift, the NWSLPA seeks to

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Speaker 1: honor Ohm's life, legacy and the vision he had for

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Speaker 1: a better world. We are deeply moved by the gift

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Speaker 1: he has left us and we believe it will save lives.

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Speaker 1: End quote. We've got nwsl game action tonight as well.

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Speaker 1: Fresh off winning the nwsl Shield, the Orlando Pride is

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Speaker 1: on the road to face the Portland Thorns. Also this

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Speaker 1: weekend a bunch of games with playoff implications. Here's a

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Speaker 1: quick refresher on where everyone sits heading into the weekend. Orlando, Washington, Gotham,

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Speaker 1: Kansas City, and North Carolina have already wrapped up five

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Speaker 1: of the eight playoff spots. The Houston Dash are the

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Speaker 1: only team already out of the running, meaning eight teams

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Speaker 1: are technically still in contention for just three spots. The

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Speaker 1: Chicago Red Stars can clinch a spot in the postseason

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Speaker 1: with a win this weekend against Gotham, or if a

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Speaker 1: few other things go their way. A few teams are

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Speaker 1: also at risk of being eliminated from playoff contention this weekend.

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Speaker 1: The Seattle Rain, Utah Royals, Angel City, and San Diego

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Speaker 1: could all be mathematically eliminated depending on how things play out.

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Speaker 1: As always, the scenarios are pretty complex, so we'll link

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Speaker 1: to art Queen and data viz Whiz Alison Gale's research

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Speaker 1: in the show notes, along with the full game schedule.

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Speaker 1: In college hoops, sophomore USC guard Juju Watkins keeps bringing

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Speaker 1: in the business. She has officially signed with Gatorade, making

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Speaker 1: her only the third college hooper dependent nil deal with

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Speaker 1: the brand. The other two are Yukon's Pagebeckers and former

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Speaker 1: Iowah Hawke Caitlin Clark. Add this to the multi year

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Speaker 1: extension she just signed with Nike, and it's clear that

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Speaker 1: Juju's got next, Actually no scratch that her time is

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Speaker 1: right now. They even gave her the Gatorade sweat treatment.

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Speaker 1: You could check out that post in our episode notes

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Speaker 1: more in college sports. On Thursday, the NCAA released findings

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Speaker 1: from a study done in partnership with the data science

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Speaker 1: companies Signify Group, analyzing the social media accounts of over

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Speaker 1: three thousand student athletes, about five hundred coaches, two hundred

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Speaker 1: event officials, and one hundred and sixty five teams. Their findings,

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Speaker 1: the abuse, harassment, and threats of violence that college athletes

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Speaker 1: face on social media reaches a high during March Madness.

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Speaker 1: Eight out of ten ABUSI posts sent to college athletes

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Speaker 1: on social media we're sent during the NCAA tournament. Further,

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Speaker 1: women's basketball players are targeted three times more than their

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Speaker 1: male counterparts. The NCAA made a point of noting that

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Speaker 1: the study only covered public facing threats, and Signified Group

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Speaker 1: executives believe harassment is likely worse in private messages and dms. Now,

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Speaker 1: maybe this doesn't come as a huge surprise, but that's

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Speaker 1: kind of the problem. We expect these young athletes to

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Speaker 1: just take the online bullying in stride, keep up with

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Speaker 1: their academic responsibilities, and perform to the best of their

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Speaker 1: abilities in the sport they choose. But these kids are humans,

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Speaker 1: and that status quo has to change. In news news,

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Speaker 1: Yahoo Sports and The Athletic announced yesterday that they're teaming

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Speaker 1: up to bring a women's sports hub to the Yahoo

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Speaker 1: Sports website and app. The hub will provide written, audio,

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Speaker 1: and video content produced by both entities, and it'll be

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Speaker 1: free and available globally, no subscription required. All right, celisis

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Speaker 1: it's time for another What the fact we've heard this

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Speaker 1: a million times pitched to us as a positive? The

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Speaker 1: US women's national team jersey sold out in twenty four hours.

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Speaker 1: Caitlin clear Mark's All Star jersey sold out in fifteen minutes.

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Speaker 1: An immediate game sellout is great news. An immediate merch

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Speaker 1: sellout means you left money on the table and didn't

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Speaker 1: account for demand, and also that you're contributing months or

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Speaker 1: even years later to a statistic that someone can hold

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Speaker 1: up to say there isn't much money in women's sports

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Speaker 1: merch or the sales are significantly less than the men's

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Speaker 1: or other context freebs that weakens the business case for

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Speaker 1: women's sports. So here's what the fact. According to research

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Speaker 1: done this year by Klarna and the sports innovation lab

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Speaker 1: called Repper, revealing the unmet demand for women's sports merchandise,

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Speaker 1: more than sixty percent of fans who searched for and

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Speaker 1: intended to buy women's sports merchandise didn't make a purchase

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Speaker 1: because it wasn't in stock. Thirty two percent of women's

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Speaker 1: sports fans can't find a retailer that carries merchandise related

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Speaker 1: to their favorite teams and athletes, and seventy nine percent

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Speaker 1: of respondents reported that they would purchase more women's sports

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Speaker 1: merch if there were more options available to them, twenty

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Speaker 1: eight percent reporting that they couldn't find a style that

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Speaker 1: they liked. The report estimated that women's sports merchandise is

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Speaker 1: a four billion dollar annual opportunity and it's falling short.

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Speaker 1: And here's another fact. Did you know that eighty four

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Speaker 1: percent of sports fans are into women's sports, but they

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Speaker 1: only get fifteen percent of the media coverage That doesn't

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Speaker 1: add up. As a founding partner of Iheartwomen's Sports, elf

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Speaker 1: Beauty is serious about changing the game and igniting conversations

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Speaker 1: that will reshape the future of sports. Join the movement

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Speaker 1: now at Elfbauty dot com. We're going to take a

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Speaker 1: quick break. When we come back, we talk expansion with

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Speaker 1: two WNBA team presidents. Stick around. It's time for another

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Speaker 1: edition of group chat, where we take the t from

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Speaker 1: the text and put it on the airwaves. She's the

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Speaker 1: president of the WNBA expansion team tipping off in twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty five the Golden State Valkyries, formerly head of revenue

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Speaker 1: and head of corporate Partnerships for Angel City FC of

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Speaker 1: the NWSL. She also spent five years working in men's

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Speaker 1: Major League Soccer and six years with the Oakland A's

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Speaker 1: a twenty twenty three Sports Business Journal forty under forty

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Speaker 1: honoree and a member of the twenty twenty three Leaders

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Speaker 1: in Sport Under forty class. We made a human pyramid

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Speaker 1: in the Vice President of the United States of America's house.

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Speaker 1: It's Jess Smith. What's up, Jess, Hi?

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Speaker 2: I mean the last piece was the most memorable part

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Speaker 2: of all of that.

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Speaker 1: Important part of your resume. Joining her. She's the president

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Speaker 1: of the WNBA expansion team tipping off in twenty twenty six,

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Speaker 1: the yet to be named Toronto team, Formerly vice president

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Speaker 1: of basketball operations for the Toronto Raptors. She also spent

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Speaker 1: four years at the NBA office. We eat a basketball

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Speaker 1: team's worth a sushi together in Toronto and we send

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Speaker 1: each other Rex for extra long pants. It's Teresa Rush.

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Speaker 1: What's up, Teresa?

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Speaker 3: Oh, great to be here.

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Speaker 4: I aged out of all those awards that just won,

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Speaker 4: so maybe maybe my profile will be in the Golden years.

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Speaker 3: No other time, but yeah, great to have.

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Speaker 1: More fifty under fifty, sixty under sixty. We all got

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Speaker 1: so much time to get shit done before we get

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Speaker 1: to anything. Jess, thank you so much for timing big

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Speaker 1: important breaking news just before your arrival on our show.

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Speaker 1: We are recording this Thursday afternoon, and you just announced

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Speaker 1: that the Las Vegas Aces assistant coach Natalie Nicassi has

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Speaker 1: been higher as the head coach of the Valkyries. So

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Speaker 1: take us through it. Tell us about the decision.

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Speaker 2: A huge, huge day for us here. It's Ohemma's first

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Speaker 2: move as our general manager, and you know it was

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Speaker 2: quite a process for her, But Natalie comes with not

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Speaker 2: only incredible expertise, but really leans into the culture that

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Speaker 2: we're focused on building, where we want to be the best,

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Speaker 2: but we want to be great people and we want

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Speaker 2: to bring people into that and do great things. So

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Speaker 2: she's going to be a powerhouse. We're so fortunate to

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Speaker 2: have her in Valkyrie Violet. Moving forward, Sorry, Asis Valkyrie Violet.

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Speaker 1: Oh Scott, it's just rolling off the tongue already. Okay,

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Speaker 1: We're going to get into that because I'm so excited

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Speaker 1: to talk about how you build a brand logo and

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Speaker 1: colors and name and mascot and all of it. But

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Speaker 1: I want to do a quick though on the WNBA

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Speaker 1: Finals first, because we're recording this just before the tip

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Speaker 1: off of Game one. We'll go big picture, Teresa, who

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Speaker 1: you got and.

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Speaker 4: Why I got the Liberty. I think they're al for revenge.

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Speaker 4: I think they're playing really well. New York City is

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Speaker 4: on fire. Ellie's my favorite mascot. I'm all in on

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Speaker 4: the Libs.

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Speaker 3: Even though I.

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Speaker 4: Grew up I grew up in Minnesota. Minnesota always wants

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Speaker 4: wants a winner, is always looking for a winner. But

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Speaker 4: I'm going with the Liberty.

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Speaker 1: Ellie is also my favorite mascot, although tied with Benny

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Speaker 1: the Bowl for very different reasons. Jess, who you got

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Speaker 1: and why?

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Speaker 3: Yeah?

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Speaker 2: Unbelievable finals and playoffs, you know, to date with the

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Speaker 2: talent that's coming out. But I also have the liberty.

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Speaker 2: I think there's a consistency that they're playing with right now.

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Speaker 2: In Teresa's point, they have something to prove and there's

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Speaker 2: a lot of emotion behind that, and the way that

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Speaker 2: they're showing up for each other is a pretty pretty

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Speaker 2: special squad. So I've got them in the finals, but

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Speaker 2: I think it's I think it's going to be a

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Speaker 2: tit for tat, full game finals, full five games.

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Speaker 1: Completely agreat. I also love calling women's sports anything tit

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Speaker 1: for tat. It has a totally different meaning. Also, I'm

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Speaker 1: hoping that we're not like when they show those like

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Speaker 1: full boards of like Fox Sports or ESPN, people who

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Speaker 1: all pick the same team and ultimately jinx them. So

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Speaker 1: if so, sorry libs, Uh sorry, because I got the

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Speaker 1: libs too. Okay, once that final shot of that series

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Speaker 1: has been taken, once the champions are crowned, you got next, Jess,

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Speaker 1: which means all eyes will be on the Valkyries. You

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Speaker 1: already have over eighteen thousand season ticket deposits secured despite

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Speaker 1: having zero players on your roster and just today announcing

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Speaker 1: your coach. So let's start there. What an incredible accomplishment.

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Speaker 1: How have you pulled that off?

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Speaker 2: A lot of it. It's a testament to the Bay,

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Speaker 2: this ownership group and the intention about how we're building

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Speaker 2: the team. You know, it's really important that you come

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Speaker 2: out from day one and share what this is going

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Speaker 2: to be and what people will be a part of,

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Speaker 2: and listen to them and how to build it alongside

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Speaker 2: of them, to give them exactly what they're looking for.

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Speaker 2: And we did just that, you know, right down to

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Speaker 2: the name where twenty five percent of people actually wrote

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Speaker 2: into the chronicle after they said at the announcement day,

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Speaker 2: you know, what should the team be named? They wrote

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Speaker 2: in Valkyries. You know, we listened to them. That's what

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Speaker 2: they wanted us to be, That's what they wanted us

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Speaker 2: to build around, and we continue to do that. But

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Speaker 2: it really is a testament to understanding the base power

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Speaker 2: and ability to lead. You know, this is a region

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Speaker 2: that people often look to to see what comes next,

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Speaker 2: whether it's technology, innovation or just how we treat people

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Speaker 2: and progress the world forward and building with women's basketball,

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Speaker 2: and with that in mind, you know, it's just been

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Speaker 2: an incredible opportunity, but we're very grateful for it. But

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Speaker 2: we are going to create incredible experiences to make sure

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Speaker 2: that we're matching the excitement that's being given to us.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, you created something that has such a

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Speaker 1: brand already, which is wild. There are teams that have

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Speaker 1: existed for years and you don't really know who they are,

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Speaker 1: what they stand for in the Valkyries, so clearly already

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Speaker 1: have this identity. Take us back to day one on

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Speaker 1: the job. What is the first place that you start

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Speaker 1: in creating a new team. And I'm not talking as

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Speaker 1: much like business wise, but more creative wise.

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Speaker 2: No, creative wise, it's you know, the name had been

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Speaker 2: selected by the time I started, but then how we

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Speaker 2: were going to define that was a big moment. You know,

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Speaker 2: a lot of the conversation was should we be blue

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Speaker 2: and gold. Often when you see a women's team with

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Speaker 2: a sports ownership group that already has an existing men's team,

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Speaker 2: they have a similar color way, and we were really

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Speaker 2: adamant that that was not going to be us. For

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Speaker 2: good reason. When you see blue and gold and Golden State,

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Speaker 2: you're going to think of the Warriors. They've earned every

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Speaker 2: piece of that legacy. We want the ability to build

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Speaker 2: our own legacy. And also, we've talked about in sports

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Speaker 2: business now for the last number of years, this audience

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Speaker 2: is a unique audience. Now all of them will be

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Speaker 2: Warriors fans, and you want to make sure that you're

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Speaker 2: building a product that invites everybody to have a seat

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Speaker 2: at the table. Well, of course we want Warriors fans too,

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Speaker 2: and so when we thought about the colorway, the WBA

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Speaker 2: has done a great job of this with the orange

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Speaker 2: ho titty. We wanted to own something that was ours,

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Speaker 2: so whether it had our logo on it or not,

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Speaker 2: that when you saw it you thought of the Valkyries,

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Speaker 2: and not only thought of the Valkyries, but thought of

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Speaker 2: who we are from a value perspective and what that means.

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Speaker 3: You know.

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Speaker 2: I think what's really special about what all of us

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Speaker 2: are doing, including this show, is that we know that

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Speaker 2: there's power in listenership, viewership, buying merchandise, buying tickets, and like,

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Speaker 2: what this feels like is so much more than sport.

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Speaker 2: It's really part of our culture and our identity, and

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Speaker 2: so building a brand that allowed our fans, you know,

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Speaker 2: to make sure that they can embody that as well.

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Speaker 1: And I love that and it's so true. First of all,

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Speaker 1: I love the violet, not just because it looks really

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Speaker 1: good on me. You set me a shirt and I

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Speaker 1: was like, oh, this might be my color, but also because,

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Speaker 1: much like Angel City, that sort of reclaimed pink in

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Speaker 1: a way that had been something to mock. This is

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Speaker 1: a color that you don't see in professional sports really

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Speaker 1: the same way racing Louisville has a touch of it,

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Speaker 1: but this is really your dominant color. Real quick. You

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Speaker 1: did help launch angel City as well. What's been the

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Speaker 1: biggest difference in starting a team from scratch in the

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Speaker 1: WNBA versus NWSL.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's such a different time. Even four years later,

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Speaker 2: it often feels like dog years to me, like one

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Speaker 2: day is one month's time, and so launching Angel City

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Speaker 2: feels like ten years ago to me in the best

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Speaker 2: ways of just the amount of work we poured into

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Speaker 2: that organization. But really what I took from the it's

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Speaker 2: different in some ways, but what I think is similar

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Speaker 2: is the opportunity to really lean in and be unapologetically yourself.

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Speaker 2: And build something that's really unique, and I think that's

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Speaker 2: incredibly important. You're going to see a lot more of

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Speaker 2: it in women's sports.

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Speaker 1: I love it. Teresa. You're sitting where Jess was less

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Speaker 1: than a year ago, a blank page in front of you,

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Speaker 1: and not really just a city, but a whole country

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Speaker 1: to represent with your name and your brand. The Toronto

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Speaker 1: WNBA team is Toronto, but like a whole bunch of Canadians,

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Speaker 1: I mean, watch them from all over. Where did the

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Speaker 1: process start for you?

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Speaker 4: Funny, I didn't even realize just that when you arrived

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Speaker 4: and took the job, like Valkyrie's has already chosen, Like,

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Speaker 4: I feel so honored that I get to actually impact that.

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Speaker 4: So where we started was, I mean a similar place.

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Speaker 4: Like we wanted to hear from Canadians and we thought

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Speaker 4: it was really really important that they had a voice

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Speaker 4: in it. So we set up a website, We set

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Speaker 4: up a text number and said tell us what you want.

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Speaker 4: And it was really really interesting to see the submissions.

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Speaker 4: We had over ninety eight different countries actually interact with website,

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Speaker 4: which really surprised me. We got over a thousand unique names,

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Speaker 4: and then from there we just started calling them out right, Like,

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Speaker 4: there was a lot of a lot of names in there.

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Speaker 4: That Valkyrie actually was very popular, and like I'm not

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Speaker 4: sure if they paid attention, Raptors was really popular. Like

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Speaker 4: there's a lot that came up.

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Speaker 1: With the hders at the end, right, Raptors, Well.

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Speaker 4: Yep, that was part of it. Yeah, there's a lot

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Speaker 4: of genderized names in there too. But what was interesting is, yeah,

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Speaker 4: there's a lot of names that are taken, right, there's

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Speaker 4: trademark and IP and all those those crazy things, But

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Speaker 4: there is still an unbelievable universe that hasn't even been

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Speaker 4: touched yet, and we are really excited to play in

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Speaker 4: that universe.

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Speaker 3: So we're not quite there. We don't have our name and.

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Speaker 4: Colors yet selected, but we've actually taken a lot of

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Speaker 4: insight and direction from Canadians and also from what other

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Speaker 4: teams have done. Like we take a lot of cues

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Speaker 4: from the Valkyries, and we talked to Jess a lot.

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Speaker 4: We take a lot of cues from the NWSL PWHL.

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Speaker 4: We're learning a lot. We're looking around in the marketplace.

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Speaker 4: So we can't wait to have Brandon Dendy. Like the

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Speaker 4: fact that right now my name says Teresa rash WNBA

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Speaker 4: Toronto is kind of boring. I can't wait to actually

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Speaker 4: have a name to put at the end there and

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Speaker 4: really plant our flag. But it's fun to also see

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Speaker 4: like oh, Emma being hired and Nally being in hired,

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Speaker 4: and like, you know, I kind of hate that just

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Speaker 4: keeps stealing all the people on my short list. But

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Speaker 4: it's good because that means that this league is only

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Speaker 4: going to be elevated. And what the Valkyries are doing

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Speaker 4: is setting the bar that we are going to try

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Speaker 4: to raise, that Portland's going to try to raise, and

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Speaker 4: the next team is going to try to raise, and

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Speaker 4: I think in general, we're just so excited to be

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Speaker 4: part of this movement.

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Speaker 1: It's really cool how you've been sort of transparent and collaborative,

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Speaker 1: right You've you've asked people for their suggestions, and then

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Speaker 1: you've also put up on the w NBA Toronto Instagram

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Speaker 1: rejected suggestions by category nature and Animals. Can you name

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Speaker 1: one of the weirdest suggestions you got?

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Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, there's a lot. Honestly, it was very common.

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Speaker 4: Toronto is obsessed with raccoons.

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Speaker 1: Oh my god, I love raccoons.

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Speaker 4: It showed up so many different times, like not only that,

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Speaker 4: but like trash panda, like all the kinds of things.

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Speaker 3: And likely want to be associated with a pest.

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Speaker 1: First of all, have some respect.

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Speaker 3: I wouldn't say that.

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Speaker 4: Was the most unique, but you know, my dad keeps

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Speaker 4: telling me we should be called the solar flares with

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Speaker 4: like neon colors. So every time he's like, a solar

417
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Speaker 4: flare is still.

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Speaker 3: In the running. I don't have the heart to tell

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Speaker 3: him it's been.

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Speaker 4: But I guess if he listens, No, he listens, I

421
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Speaker 4: told him to listen, he'll he'll know now that it's

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Speaker 4: not quite there anymore. But it's been really interesting, Like

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Speaker 4: it's been really fun as well to be transparent in

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Speaker 4: the process, Like the cutting room floor has been really fun.

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Speaker 3: To talk about. And the thing is is a lot

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Speaker 3: of those are great names. It just doesn't work for us.

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Speaker 4: It doesn't work for us to make sense this sport

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Speaker 4: or this marketplace. But there's a lot of great names.

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Speaker 4: And yeah, our Instagram page talks about it. We also

430
00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:19,479
Speaker 4: have a podcast bringing Home the w just like you

431
00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,399
Speaker 4: have a podcast that talks about it. Really excited to

432
00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:28,360
Speaker 4: have doctor Edwards come on board. He's just a legend

433
00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:30,640
Speaker 4: in design. He works out a pencil out of Detroit

434
00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:32,840
Speaker 4: and he's a consultant on the project with us, and

435
00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:36,600
Speaker 4: his insights were incredible. On this cool journey, we're going

436
00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:39,000
Speaker 4: to talk to some athletes about what it means to

437
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,040
Speaker 4: wear the different jerseys, how it impacts their experience in

438
00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,320
Speaker 4: different cities. So just like the whole three six c

439
00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:47,919
Speaker 4: of what brand identity means has been really fun to

440
00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:49,040
Speaker 4: super fun.

441
00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:51,800
Speaker 1: I think we're super aware now of how much that

442
00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:55,879
Speaker 1: branding can affect the exposure, the awareness, the interest all that.

443
00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:58,480
Speaker 1: I want to say, I love raccoons and trash pandas,

444
00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:01,280
Speaker 1: and also not choosing solar flares is a good choice.

445
00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:04,480
Speaker 1: But if you have Neon, especially like the Brat Neon

446
00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:07,320
Speaker 1: green slash yellow, I will buy all of your ear.

447
00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:09,840
Speaker 1: That is my favorite color right now. I guess because

448
00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:11,240
Speaker 1: I'm a basic pitch, but I want to say I

449
00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,040
Speaker 1: was rocking it. Jess can account for this. I was

450
00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:18,600
Speaker 1: rocking a Neon green Onesie jumpsuit in Sydney well before

451
00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:19,800
Speaker 1: Charlie XCX.

452
00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,520
Speaker 2: So you were think you set the scene.

453
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,479
Speaker 1: I set the scene, that's for sure, Jess. We were

454
00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:28,040
Speaker 1: just talking colors, names, vibes. Take us through that process

455
00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:32,320
Speaker 1: it sounds fun and so overwhelming. So you arrive and

456
00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:34,879
Speaker 1: it's valkyries. What else did you get to kind of

457
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:35,679
Speaker 1: put your stamp on.

458
00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, so it's valkyries. But very quickly when we create

459
00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:42,120
Speaker 2: the brief of wanting that unique color, we realize how

460
00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:45,320
Speaker 2: difficult that is. There's actually only so many colors that

461
00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:48,160
Speaker 2: exist in the color way that we get a chance

462
00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:51,000
Speaker 2: to work on a lot of boring production details about

463
00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:52,800
Speaker 2: how that can get done and how to match the

464
00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,000
Speaker 2: color and different types of fabrics and those types of things.

465
00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:57,240
Speaker 2: So you actually don't have that many to choose from,

466
00:21:57,320 --> 00:21:59,240
Speaker 2: even though you think you would. And then you have

467
00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:01,639
Speaker 2: to kind of do as elimination, right, So some of

468
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,000
Speaker 2: it's like, okay, the b area, every team has chosen

469
00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,840
Speaker 2: different color waves already, you have to eliminate those. Then

470
00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:08,719
Speaker 2: you have to look at what the WMA is doing,

471
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:10,840
Speaker 2: which has obviously done a great job in a variety

472
00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,560
Speaker 2: of different markets, having some beautiful branding already too, and

473
00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:16,520
Speaker 2: then find this space to work in. I mean, for us,

474
00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:19,879
Speaker 2: the color fits so perfectly with the modern depiction of

475
00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:23,439
Speaker 2: the valkyrie as well, and you know has such history

476
00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,359
Speaker 2: in women's empowerment. It really just fell into place in

477
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:28,919
Speaker 2: a great way, and we wanted it to feel like

478
00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:32,359
Speaker 2: it's very icy, right. It's a very specific type of

479
00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:35,280
Speaker 2: valkyrie violet. It's not a deep purple by any means.

480
00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:37,320
Speaker 2: That's why we're so specific about how we talk about it.

481
00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:41,879
Speaker 2: But there were some great conversations back and forth of

482
00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:45,000
Speaker 2: why this color versus that blew and gold over and

483
00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:48,200
Speaker 2: over again. But when we landed it, we all felt

484
00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:50,120
Speaker 2: incredibly strong about it. But I mean, I can't tell

485
00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:52,040
Speaker 2: you the number of iterations of the shade of the

486
00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,960
Speaker 2: color for the fonts and exactly how it would work

487
00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,359
Speaker 2: together that way, and how the lines lined up like

488
00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:00,840
Speaker 2: the you know, the logo itself, if it's thirteen lines

489
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,120
Speaker 2: or the thirteenth team coming in it's wings. It's it's

490
00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:06,560
Speaker 2: dual in every way, but every single detail it's a

491
00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:09,040
Speaker 2: bridge exactly right, which is a big piece about us

492
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,320
Speaker 2: making sure that we're connectors both locally and you know,

493
00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:15,720
Speaker 2: just as a brand in totality. But the thickness of

494
00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:18,439
Speaker 2: the lines, the indentse I mean, Teresa, you're probably in

495
00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:18,840
Speaker 2: the mix of.

496
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,360
Speaker 4: Thick of that right now. I literally just came from

497
00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:25,960
Speaker 4: a call with Nike about color swatches and how the

498
00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:30,280
Speaker 4: colors show up on different types of fabric and like high, medium, low,

499
00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:33,160
Speaker 4: super low, no risk, Like what does all that mean?

500
00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:36,200
Speaker 4: Like all the details you never think about when you're

501
00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:36,800
Speaker 4: just love.

502
00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,960
Speaker 3: It throwing out a color like yeah, I like black

503
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:40,439
Speaker 3: and white.

504
00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:43,480
Speaker 1: I I tend to be pretty understanding with teams when

505
00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:45,359
Speaker 1: they make decisions because I'm like, I actually don't know

506
00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,000
Speaker 1: everything that went behind that. So unless you're totally moronic

507
00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:50,160
Speaker 1: and offensive, I'm going to assume there's a reason why

508
00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:52,720
Speaker 1: extra wire it's not the exact thing I want. I'm

509
00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:54,480
Speaker 1: wondering now, just now that you've done all this, if

510
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:57,399
Speaker 1: you know the Pantone color code for Valkyrie violet.

511
00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:00,720
Speaker 2: I do, but I'm mistaking it right now. We have

512
00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:03,040
Speaker 2: some plans around the color. You know, they can come

513
00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:06,199
Speaker 2: out because of that ownership opportunity. But yes, we do

514
00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:08,439
Speaker 2: have a Pantone color Teresa.

515
00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:11,159
Speaker 1: The w NBA Toronto team owned and operated by Kilmer

516
00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:13,920
Speaker 1: Sports Ventors. Larry Tannenbaum, the chairman of Kilmer, is also

517
00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:16,400
Speaker 1: chairman of the NBA Board of Governors, chairman of Maple

518
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:19,199
Speaker 1: Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Toronto Raptors. How

519
00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:21,520
Speaker 1: much of a connection is there between the Raptors and

520
00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:23,280
Speaker 1: your squad.

521
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:25,919
Speaker 4: So we are partners in this and the fact that

522
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,119
Speaker 4: we get to play in their arena. So we're going

523
00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:30,919
Speaker 4: to play in Coca Cola Coliseum, which is owned and

524
00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:34,000
Speaker 4: operated by Maple Leave Sports and Entertainment. We plan to

525
00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:39,720
Speaker 4: play some games across Canada, so Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edton,

526
00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:42,320
Speaker 4: like all the different all the different cities. We are

527
00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:48,359
Speaker 4: gonna The Raptors and MLSC are separate entity from Kilmer

528
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,399
Speaker 4: Sports Ventures and WNB Toronto, so we're not under the

529
00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:55,080
Speaker 4: same ownership umbrella like the Valkyries and Golden State Warriors are,

530
00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:59,119
Speaker 4: but we share a sport, we share a city, and

531
00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:01,800
Speaker 4: we are definitely going to work together and partners who

532
00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:03,520
Speaker 4: grow the game of basketball across this country.

533
00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:06,880
Speaker 1: I love it. So your kind of cousins, whereas Jess,

534
00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:09,880
Speaker 1: your brother sister. So tell us about the connection between

535
00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:11,960
Speaker 1: the work you're doing and the Golden State Warriors, the

536
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:13,320
Speaker 1: kind of support you're getting.

537
00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:15,840
Speaker 2: For sure, and just to share. It's such a pivotal

538
00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,160
Speaker 2: moment for this league to have Toronto representing the entire

539
00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:22,000
Speaker 2: country of Canada. Like that type of growth and the

540
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,639
Speaker 2: opportunity to represent women's sports in that landscape, which has

541
00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:27,840
Speaker 2: had such incredible history, is huge, So very excited that

542
00:25:28,359 --> 00:25:31,000
Speaker 2: collectively we get a chance to witness that and then

543
00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:33,240
Speaker 2: to have that a part of our league for us,

544
00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:35,719
Speaker 2: you know, Golden State is really what the connection is

545
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:38,439
Speaker 2: where we play, how our athletes show up, and we

546
00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:40,919
Speaker 2: want to really define the Golden State way and what

547
00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:43,320
Speaker 2: that means. And so, while were there are separate entities,

548
00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:46,280
Speaker 2: how are we working together to do things like ensuring

549
00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:49,240
Speaker 2: the interchangeability of jerseys between young boys and girls where

550
00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:50,760
Speaker 2: it's not just if you're a girl, you're avelch or

551
00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:53,240
Speaker 2: you're a boy or a warrior. How are we supporting

552
00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:55,760
Speaker 2: the idolization of all genders through the opportunity to work

553
00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,640
Speaker 2: together in things like our academy systems, in building safe

554
00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:00,720
Speaker 2: places to play and the branding that goes into that

555
00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:02,680
Speaker 2: as well.

556
00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:03,200
Speaker 3: Well.

557
00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:05,840
Speaker 1: Also, you have stolen a number of employees from the

558
00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,800
Speaker 1: Golden State Warriors since you started over there, so it

559
00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,160
Speaker 1: feels like there's a real give and take and then

560
00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:12,760
Speaker 1: take some more and then take again.

561
00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:17,359
Speaker 2: I mean, who's keeping track. Let's just say that, yes,

562
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:20,200
Speaker 2: a decent amount of my leadership team, but in honor

563
00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:22,399
Speaker 2: of them, like truly, and the Warriors have been a

564
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:24,960
Speaker 2: leader in so many things globally for quite some time.

565
00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:27,920
Speaker 2: And as I came in looking to build a leadership team,

566
00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:30,680
Speaker 2: we had some incredible internal and external candidates with every

567
00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:33,119
Speaker 2: single role, and I will say just the staff that

568
00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:35,199
Speaker 2: we put together and the ones that have had, you know,

569
00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:38,360
Speaker 2: the work with the Valkyries, which happens to be Kimberly Veal,

570
00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:41,560
Speaker 2: who's our senior vice president of Marketing Communications, Katie Jones,

571
00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:45,199
Speaker 2: who's our new head of Partnerships, and then Maria Veldezweza

572
00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:47,560
Speaker 2: who's our VP of Ticketing and Events SVP of Ticketing

573
00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:51,360
Speaker 2: and Events. They bring ten twenty years of just legacy

574
00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,359
Speaker 2: experiencing and opening Chase Center, building this business, you know,

575
00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:58,359
Speaker 2: and comfortability in this region right, Like this is a

576
00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:00,679
Speaker 2: really specific region in the try that we have with

577
00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:03,719
Speaker 2: our community is so pure with this ownership group, and

578
00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:07,200
Speaker 2: so that added extension of their experience. But now their

579
00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:09,920
Speaker 2: excitement to build something of their own legacy with the

580
00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:12,680
Speaker 2: Valkyries has been great. But yes, please stop telling CEAR

581
00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:15,240
Speaker 2: leadership to like start counting, because they've just like consistently

582
00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:17,360
Speaker 2: happened and like, oh no, it's just another one. It's

583
00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:19,320
Speaker 2: totally fine, but very fortunate.

584
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:21,800
Speaker 1: I love it. It's so smart though, It's really so smart.

585
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:23,520
Speaker 1: Not only do they have this new challenge, but they're

586
00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,480
Speaker 1: bringing so much literal experience from the exact space that

587
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:30,280
Speaker 1: you're in, which makes such a difference. Teresa, What exactly

588
00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:33,880
Speaker 1: does the job of team president entail? At least as

589
00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:35,679
Speaker 1: long as you've been at it up in Toronto?

590
00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:37,960
Speaker 4: I mean, I'm just jealous hearing about all the people

591
00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,160
Speaker 4: that Jess has working for her. We're a mighty team

592
00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:43,760
Speaker 4: of four right now in Toronto, so I can't wait

593
00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:45,679
Speaker 4: to get some more staff to help us out and

594
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,200
Speaker 4: be part of this team. But team president, I mean

595
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:52,840
Speaker 4: in a complete startup organization. It's literally level setting every

596
00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:56,639
Speaker 4: single aspect of this organization, whether it's on the court,

597
00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:02,280
Speaker 4: business off the court, setting culture, making hires. It's literally

598
00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:04,680
Speaker 4: starting from scratch. And I could be more excited every

599
00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:07,560
Speaker 4: day I wake up, and not that I even have

600
00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:09,199
Speaker 4: it to do list, it's just what's going to hit

601
00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:14,600
Speaker 4: me today, And we are choosing the most exciting, which

602
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:16,840
Speaker 4: means the most difficult pathway in order to bring this

603
00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 4: team to life. We could just play all our games

604
00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:20,639
Speaker 4: in one arena, but no, we want to play across

605
00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:23,160
Speaker 4: this country. We could have just gone in a room

606
00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:26,800
Speaker 4: and picked a design agency and chosen our name and

607
00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:28,840
Speaker 4: color and logo, but no, we want Canada to be

608
00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,359
Speaker 4: part of it. But like, that's exciting. That's how you

609
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:33,800
Speaker 4: build culture, That's how you build something that people feel

610
00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:36,919
Speaker 4: part of. And I'm really excited to be able to

611
00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:40,200
Speaker 4: share that, be transparent and get people to join us

612
00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:43,160
Speaker 4: on this, on this ride, on this movement. And I

613
00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:45,680
Speaker 4: don't know, maybe they maybe they can also see themselves

614
00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,120
Speaker 4: as team president someday because they're gonna they're gonna have

615
00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:50,960
Speaker 4: a little peak behind a curtain and actually know what

616
00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:51,600
Speaker 4: it's all about.

617
00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:52,520
Speaker 3: Yeah.

618
00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:55,200
Speaker 1: I also love the idea of you playing across Canada

619
00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:58,600
Speaker 1: because now that I've visited Vancouver and Toronto twice in

620
00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:00,840
Speaker 1: the last year, I'm like, just kitchen to get to

621
00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:04,920
Speaker 1: more places in Canada. So perfect excuse slot on over

622
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:07,640
Speaker 1: to a WNBA game up there. And I love the

623
00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:10,000
Speaker 1: idea of bringing all of Canada with you. It's smart

624
00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:13,000
Speaker 1: business wise, and it's also just really cool and keep

625
00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:16,200
Speaker 1: things interesting. Jess, does that sound like the job you've

626
00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:18,720
Speaker 1: been tasked with so far? Fewer to do lists as

627
00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:20,320
Speaker 1: opposed to what just hit you in the face and

628
00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:21,400
Speaker 1: has to be dealt with immediately.

629
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:24,960
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's everything, and there's an actual timeline, right, there's

630
00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,720
Speaker 2: no like, Okay, we can push launch off by thirty days. No,

631
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,360
Speaker 2: opening night is opening night. So you need to have

632
00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:34,160
Speaker 2: everything ready by that moment in time. And to the

633
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:37,600
Speaker 2: expectations of you know, Teresa and I share really intentional

634
00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:40,800
Speaker 2: owners that expect greatness. You know that we're delivering against too,

635
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:42,880
Speaker 2: and so that's a big piece. You know, I'm fortunate

636
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:45,200
Speaker 2: to have a leader like Ohama side by side with

637
00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:48,120
Speaker 2: me and her having that responsibility. She reports directly into

638
00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:50,400
Speaker 2: Joe on the player side, so that I get to

639
00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:52,560
Speaker 2: focus directly on the business side.

640
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:56,760
Speaker 1: And interesting to the time during which you're arriving and

641
00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,600
Speaker 1: during which Toronto will arrive to Teresa, the expectations are

642
00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:02,480
Speaker 1: much high than even five years ago for any new

643
00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,840
Speaker 1: women's professional sports team. There isn't a lot of time

644
00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:07,959
Speaker 1: that you will be given to mess things up, to

645
00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:10,760
Speaker 1: have things not be ready, to not have good facilities,

646
00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:14,880
Speaker 1: to not have smart ownership. Like, the expectations are different now.

647
00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:18,760
Speaker 1: It is a different world, and that's great and wonderful,

648
00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:21,320
Speaker 1: but you better hit the ground running, because those eighteen

649
00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:23,640
Speaker 1: thousand who already have their deposits are going to expect

650
00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:26,880
Speaker 1: a certain experience day one, and that's exciting and that

651
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:30,480
Speaker 1: holds you to a certain standard. Speaking of jess expansion

652
00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:32,840
Speaker 1: draft coming up in December, this is when it stops

653
00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:36,440
Speaker 1: being about playing with colors and starts being about what's

654
00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:38,200
Speaker 1: our record going to be and what's our team going

655
00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:40,400
Speaker 1: to look like? First of all, are you one hundred

656
00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:43,240
Speaker 1: percent clear on the rules, how it works, who's available.

657
00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:45,000
Speaker 1: There's a lot of fine print here.

658
00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:47,800
Speaker 2: A lot of fine print. I will not be digesting that.

659
00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:50,320
Speaker 2: Ohemma can can walk you through every piece of the puzzle.

660
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:52,880
Speaker 2: I more so I'm like, hey, how's it going. What's

661
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:56,240
Speaker 2: going to happen? So it's exciting for any league and

662
00:30:56,280 --> 00:31:00,480
Speaker 2: expansion because just a lot happens, Right, There's always shake ups,

663
00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,040
Speaker 2: there's always thoughts here. You know that's going into free

664
00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:05,600
Speaker 2: agencies in college draft. I think you know the league

665
00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:07,240
Speaker 2: in total, you know, I think there's just going to

666
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:09,480
Speaker 2: be a lot of exciting things to watch in this offseason.

667
00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:13,200
Speaker 1: Yeah, you keep mentioning. Ohima, formerly the assistant GM for

668
00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:15,800
Speaker 1: the New York Liberty, so comes in with experience and

669
00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:18,800
Speaker 1: from a very well run team. So that's very helpful

670
00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:20,640
Speaker 1: to you to have someone who's been in this space

671
00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:24,000
Speaker 1: in the w UH to make some of those decisions. Jess,

672
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:26,400
Speaker 1: have you decided who your biggest rival is going to be? Yet?

673
00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:29,040
Speaker 2: I mean everybody, right, we want we want a fresh

674
00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:32,320
Speaker 2: take to literally hate every single team in the WNBA.

675
00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:35,080
Speaker 2: I have joke, but listen, like, we want to win

676
00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:37,920
Speaker 2: and we want to be great, so we want everyone

677
00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:40,240
Speaker 2: to succeed, and yet we still want to be the best.

678
00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:42,160
Speaker 2: I don't think that's, you know, a unique mindset when

679
00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:44,440
Speaker 2: you're looking at the world of sports. But I have

680
00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:46,840
Speaker 2: a feeling that there will be some natural rivalries. But

681
00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:49,440
Speaker 2: whether you have the La Bay Area natural rival that

682
00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:52,320
Speaker 2: comes in for the state of California or certainly you

683
00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:54,160
Speaker 2: know him is coming from New York, So once we're

684
00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:55,720
Speaker 2: on the court, there's going to be an extra added

685
00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:57,520
Speaker 2: weight to that. Natalie is coming from the Vegas so

686
00:31:57,560 --> 00:31:58,960
Speaker 2: there's going to be an extra added way to that

687
00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:00,520
Speaker 2: as she goes head to head with that who's a

688
00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:02,640
Speaker 2: mentor you know and friend of hers, you know, first

689
00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:04,840
Speaker 2: time on the court as at head coach, and I'm

690
00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:07,880
Speaker 2: sure we'll have some game moments like every franchise and

691
00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:10,840
Speaker 2: every franchise dies, where something's not going to go as

692
00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:13,040
Speaker 2: planned and we will all decide for the for the

693
00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:15,360
Speaker 2: rest of our lives. We hate said franchise curse. That's

694
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:16,160
Speaker 2: why sports are fun.

695
00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:19,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would also posit. As soon as Toronto arrives,

696
00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:22,320
Speaker 1: it's the battle of the expansion team, so you guys

697
00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:24,320
Speaker 1: will be rivals as well. Teresa, you got your eyes

698
00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:26,400
Speaker 1: set on starting any beefs with any particular team.

699
00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:31,080
Speaker 4: I think that the competition will be fierce, and I

700
00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:32,720
Speaker 4: think we're all going to make each other better.

701
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,440
Speaker 1: That is that a It's not the answer I was

702
00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:39,320
Speaker 1: looking for. Maybe we'll start a beef between Chicago and Toronto,

703
00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:43,440
Speaker 1: sister cities. People are always comparing us. We're both wonderful places,

704
00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:46,200
Speaker 1: but we could start fighting about about who's better.

705
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:48,560
Speaker 3: Give you the Battle of the Great Lakes, right.

706
00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:52,040
Speaker 1: That's right there? You go. Okay, before we go, Jess,

707
00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:54,640
Speaker 1: I need you to give Teresa the most pertinent piece

708
00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:56,680
Speaker 1: of advice that you think she needs right now at

709
00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:57,760
Speaker 1: this point in her journey.

710
00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:02,680
Speaker 2: Don't forget to drink water. I like half joke, but

711
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:05,440
Speaker 2: I go hours sometimes I'm like, why am I so thirsty.

712
00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:07,400
Speaker 2: It's like, oh, because you haven't sit up in eight hours,

713
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:10,560
Speaker 2: like get up half a gless of water. But just

714
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:13,080
Speaker 2: enjoy it. I think for me, you know, building Angel

715
00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:15,760
Speaker 2: City is such a unique opportunity because building the brand

716
00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:17,080
Speaker 2: from day one, when there were five of us in

717
00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:18,720
Speaker 2: the middle of a pandemic inside of our house, is

718
00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:20,240
Speaker 2: being like, we're going to do this and then do

719
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:24,160
Speaker 2: the end. You know, It's there's no greater feeling than

720
00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:27,240
Speaker 2: that first opening night looking around at something that didn't

721
00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:29,600
Speaker 2: exist and seeing the support and what it means to

722
00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:34,560
Speaker 2: our society, cultures, countries, et cetera. Is just unbelievable. So

723
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:38,440
Speaker 2: every day and everything that's hard, just enjoy it because

724
00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:40,680
Speaker 2: this piece ends up being your favorite part. And I'm

725
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:43,080
Speaker 2: so grateful that I now know that because in Angel City,

726
00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:44,920
Speaker 2: I was just very stressed all the time, And now

727
00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:46,720
Speaker 2: when I'm very stressed all the time, I'm like, oh,

728
00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:49,880
Speaker 2: but that's because it's fun. So just enjoy it as

729
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:50,240
Speaker 2: you can.

730
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:53,680
Speaker 1: I love that it is such a beautiful responsibility to

731
00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:55,640
Speaker 1: have to usher in a brand new era for a

732
00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:59,000
Speaker 1: whole city or country, and to be representative of all

733
00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:00,560
Speaker 1: the fans that are going to come and gather and

734
00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:03,400
Speaker 1: support the thing that you're creating. Gosh, I would love

735
00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:04,880
Speaker 1: to be in the room with you guys as you're

736
00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:09,960
Speaker 1: doing it. It sounds so fun. Okay, Teresa, we'll see you

737
00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:11,480
Speaker 1: back here as soon as you're ready to announce to

738
00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:13,400
Speaker 1: break the news right here on this show and nowhere else.

739
00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:16,120
Speaker 3: I'll be here. Don't worry, tune in.

740
00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:21,480
Speaker 1: Not an answer again, You're getting good at that, mister President.

741
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:25,439
Speaker 1: Not an answer. Thank you so much, ladies for being

742
00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:27,800
Speaker 1: on here. We can't wait to start watching the Valkyries

743
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:29,600
Speaker 1: if we can't wait for all the news out of Toronto.

744
00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:31,040
Speaker 1: So thanks for taking some time.

745
00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:33,760
Speaker 3: Thanks Sarah, oh, I appreciate you having us.

746
00:34:36,719 --> 00:34:39,120
Speaker 1: Thanks so much to Jess and Teresa for joining us.

747
00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:40,680
Speaker 1: We got to pay the bills when we come back.

748
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:49,960
Speaker 1: A pivotal play of the day. Welcome back, Orange Slices.

749
00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:52,000
Speaker 1: You know we love that you're listening, but we want

750
00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:53,520
Speaker 1: you to get in the game every day too. So

751
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:56,200
Speaker 1: here's our good game play of the day. First, keep

752
00:34:56,239 --> 00:34:59,680
Speaker 1: sending in those evesdropping stories that Alex asked for yesterday.

753
00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:02,920
Speaker 1: We love to hear about unexpected sources, talk and women's sports.

754
00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:05,840
Speaker 1: But we got another play and it's a big one today, slices.

755
00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:09,080
Speaker 1: We are exactly twenty five days away from election day,

756
00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:12,040
Speaker 1: so you need to read up on Project twenty twenty five,

757
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:15,440
Speaker 1: the extremist blueprint for the next Republican President, written by

758
00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:19,160
Speaker 1: the Heritage Foundation and one hundred and forty former Trump staffers.

759
00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:22,000
Speaker 1: It's necessary to understand how a win for Donald Trump

760
00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:25,520
Speaker 1: in this election would mean the implementation of the terrifying

761
00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:29,920
Speaker 1: policies outlined in Project twenty twenty five. Those include reclassifying

762
00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:32,960
Speaker 1: tens of thousands of federal civil service workers as political

763
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:35,600
Speaker 1: appointees in order to replace them with people that are

764
00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:39,520
Speaker 1: loyal to the president, infusing government and society with conservative

765
00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:44,160
Speaker 1: Christian values, reducing environmental and climate change regulations, abolishing the

766
00:35:44,239 --> 00:35:48,400
Speaker 1: Department of Education, cutting Medicare and Medicaid, and rejecting abortionist

767
00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:52,240
Speaker 1: healthcare and reducing access to contraception. The removal of quote

768
00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:57,120
Speaker 1: gender equality language from government websites, criminalizing pornography, removing legal

769
00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:00,960
Speaker 1: protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,

770
00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:05,680
Speaker 1: and terminating DEI programs and affirmative action. Project twenty twenty

771
00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:08,920
Speaker 1: five is particularly focused on enforcing a vision of the

772
00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:13,719
Speaker 1: family that relies unfixed, narrowly defined gender rules and undermining

773
00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:16,840
Speaker 1: protections that allow women and LGBTQ plus IA people to

774
00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:20,279
Speaker 1: thrive outside of a male dominated, heterosexual family. If you're

775
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,759
Speaker 1: an undecided voter, if you no undecided voters, or if

776
00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:26,120
Speaker 1: you have friends and family planning to vote for Donald Trump,

777
00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:29,839
Speaker 1: please have conversations with them about Project twenty twenty five

778
00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:32,960
Speaker 1: and its implications for our civil rights and liberties. And

779
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:35,680
Speaker 1: if you really want to get involved, you could share

780
00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:39,520
Speaker 1: one terrifying policy suggestion from Project twenty twenty five each

781
00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:41,560
Speaker 1: day for the next twenty five days. Make sure the

782
00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:45,759
Speaker 1: people around you and in your circles really understand what's

783
00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:47,880
Speaker 1: going on here. We always love to hear from you,

784
00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:50,000
Speaker 1: slice hit us up on email, Good game at Wondermedia

785
00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:52,200
Speaker 1: network dot com, or leave us a voicemail at eight

786
00:36:52,239 --> 00:36:55,040
Speaker 1: seven two two o four fifty seventy. By the way,

787
00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:57,200
Speaker 1: shout out to producers mis Alex for holding down the

788
00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:00,080
Speaker 1: fort while I was out yesterday. Mama bears back and

789
00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:02,000
Speaker 1: it looks like the Cubs did not trash the place

790
00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:05,279
Speaker 1: while I was out yesterday. So good game producers, and

791
00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:08,720
Speaker 1: don't forget to subscribe, rate and review, y'all. It's easy.

792
00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:11,640
Speaker 1: Speaking of mama bears, let's rate the voters of Fat

793
00:37:11,719 --> 00:37:15,280
Speaker 1: Bear Week, rating five out of five feelings of vengeance

794
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:20,279
Speaker 1: and satisfaction. Review Graser, a proud mama bear, has won

795
00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:23,879
Speaker 1: Fat Bear Week for the second straight year. Alaska's cat

796
00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:26,080
Speaker 1: My National Park and Preserve runs the contest every year.

797
00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:28,720
Speaker 1: Fans picked the bear that they think best exemplifies winter

798
00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:31,880
Speaker 1: preparedness via the fat that they got over the summer.

799
00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:35,759
Speaker 1: Graser defeated Chunk, the most dominant bear on the Brooks River.

800
00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:39,759
Speaker 1: And get this, the bear that killed her cub after

801
00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:43,399
Speaker 1: it slipped over the waterfall fishing for salmon. Graser fought

802
00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:45,520
Speaker 1: Chunk in an effort to save her cub, but it

803
00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:48,120
Speaker 1: later died. This is some real reverse line king shit.

804
00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:52,920
Speaker 1: The people have spoken and Graser, the mama bear won. Now,

805
00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:54,840
Speaker 1: it won't bring back her baby, but she deserved the

806
00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:57,960
Speaker 1: honor for her bravery and middle paw finger to you, Chunk.

807
00:37:58,680 --> 00:38:01,720
Speaker 1: Now it's your turn. Great and Review have great weekend slices.

808
00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:05,320
Speaker 1: Talk to you Monday. Good Game, Jess, Good Game, Teresa

809
00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:10,319
Speaker 1: fe merch sellouts. Good Game with Sarah Spain is an

810
00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,360
Speaker 1: iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports

811
00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:16,000
Speaker 1: and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app,

812
00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:19,239
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by

813
00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:22,800
Speaker 1: Wonder Media Network. Our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones.

814
00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:26,400
Speaker 1: Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan

815
00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:29,920
Speaker 1: and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rudder, Britney Martinez,

816
00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:33,600
Speaker 1: Grace Lynch, and Lindsay Cradowell. Production assistant from Lucy Jones

817
00:38:33,719 --> 00:38:35,160
Speaker 1: and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain