WEBVTT - Operating in Truth with Roneeka Hodges  

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're happy

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<v Speaker 1>to report that all of the discourse in the WNBA

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<v Speaker 1>spas has simmered down and everyone's acting totally respectful and

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<v Speaker 1>rational and focusing on just the basketball.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh I'm sorry, what's that?

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<v Speaker 1>The vice president has now inserted himself into the conversation.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh and the president too. He'd be the greatest women's

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<v Speaker 1>basketball coach of all cool.

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<v Speaker 2>Cool.

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<v Speaker 1>It's Friday, August seventh, and on today's show, Connecticut Sun

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<v Speaker 1>assistant coach Ronika.

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<v Speaker 2>Hodges joins us to discuss how.

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<v Speaker 1>The team and staff are handling the franchise's final season

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<v Speaker 1>in Connecticut, what it was like getting her first win

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<v Speaker 1>as acting head coach earlier this year, the lack of

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<v Speaker 1>black women head coaches in the w and the legends

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<v Speaker 1>on speed dial that she's always learning from. Plus the

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<v Speaker 1>twelve athletes gunning for a fifth straight These bats are

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<v Speaker 1>on top and one small leap to worlds. It's all

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<v Speaker 1>coming up right after this slices, Here's what you need

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<v Speaker 1>to know today. Let's start with basketball. The US team

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<v Speaker 1>for next month's Foebo World Cup was unveiled on Thursday,

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<v Speaker 1>and it includes twelve players from eight WNBA teams. The

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<v Speaker 1>Las Vegas Aces boast the most members, with the trio

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<v Speaker 1>of Asia Wilson, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray all set

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<v Speaker 1>to make the trip to Germany. The rest of the

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<v Speaker 1>US team features pagebackers of the Dallas Wings, Brienna Stewart

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<v Speaker 1>of the New York Liberty and Nefisa Collier of the

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<v Speaker 1>Minnesota Lynx, the Atlanta Dreams Ryan Howard and Angel Reese,

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<v Speaker 1>the Indiana Fevers Caitlin Clark and Eliah Boston, and the

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<v Speaker 1>Phoenix Mercuries Kelsey Plum.

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<v Speaker 2>And Kalia Copper.

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<v Speaker 1>The roster was selected by National Team Managing Director Sue

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<v Speaker 1>Byrd and approved by USA Basketball's Board of directors. Five

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<v Speaker 1>members of the squad Copper, Gray, Plum, Stewart, and Wilson

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<v Speaker 1>were members of the US team that won the last

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<v Speaker 1>World Cup back in twenty twenty two. In fact, Team

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<v Speaker 1>USA has won the last five editions of the Women's

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<v Speaker 1>World Cup, and they enter this year's tournament as the

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<v Speaker 1>heavy favorites to repeat again. With the WNBA All Star

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<v Speaker 1>break in the rear view, the focus is now solely

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<v Speaker 1>on the playoff push when you take into account the

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<v Speaker 1>Feeble World Cup break, which runs from August thirty first

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<v Speaker 1>through September sixteenth. There are only about four weeks left

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<v Speaker 1>in the regular season, and only the top eight teams

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<v Speaker 1>qualify for the postseason. As it stands right now, there's

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<v Speaker 1>a big gap between the top eight teams in the

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<v Speaker 1>standings and the bottom seven. If the season were to

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<v Speaker 1>end today, Minnesota, Las Vegas, Golden State, Atlanta, Indiana, Dallas,

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<v Speaker 1>New York, and Washington would all make the cut in

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<v Speaker 1>that order, while Chicago and Los Angeles would be the

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<v Speaker 1>first teams out. As of this recording on Thursday afternoon,

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<v Speaker 1>the Minnesota Links are on a ten game win streak

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<v Speaker 1>and are in control of the top spot in the standings.

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<v Speaker 2>Now.

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<v Speaker 1>We're recording this before their Thursday night matchup with the

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<v Speaker 1>Sparks and head of the biggest game of the weekend,

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<v Speaker 1>a meeting with the number two Las Vegas Aces on

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday at one pm Eastern on CBS. A couple more

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<v Speaker 1>to watch this weekend. The Wings host The Valkyrie Friday

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<v Speaker 1>night and nine to thirty pm Eastern tip off at

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<v Speaker 1>a American Airlines Arena that's the team's new permanent home

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<v Speaker 1>venue beginning next season. On Sunday, the Aces visit the Liberty.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a twelve thirty pm Eastern contest on ABC, and

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<v Speaker 1>later that afternoon Wings Links at three thirty pm Eastern

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<v Speaker 1>on NBC. All these w games on broadcast television. Y'all,

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<v Speaker 1>What a time to be alive. One more w note.

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<v Speaker 1>We don't usually report Player of the Month awards, but

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<v Speaker 1>when Minnesota Links stand out Olivia Miles wins yet another

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<v Speaker 1>Rookie of the Month award, and has won every single

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<v Speaker 1>Rookie of the Month award this season, it.

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<v Speaker 2>Deserves a shout out.

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<v Speaker 1>Miles leads all rookies in scoring, assists, and efficiency and

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<v Speaker 1>ranks among the league's top ten in those categories. Two

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<v Speaker 1>In late July, she became the fastest player in WNBA

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<v Speaker 1>history to reach five hundred points and one hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>fifty assists.

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<v Speaker 2>Cheryl Miller called her the show I saw.

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<v Speaker 1>Someone online started calling her the Spectacle, which is a

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<v Speaker 1>fine play on her signature goggles. Whatever you call her,

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<v Speaker 1>she's bawlin to the NWSL. Ahead of this weekend's LA games,

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<v Speaker 1>Gotham FC is atop the table for the first time

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<v Speaker 1>this season, sitting at thirty seven points with eleven wins

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<v Speaker 1>four draws, and three losses. Right behind them with thirty

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<v Speaker 1>six points the Washington Spirit and in third with thirty

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<v Speaker 1>three points the surprising Utah Royals, who were dead last

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<v Speaker 1>in the league at this point last season. Gotham will

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<v Speaker 1>look to hang on to the top spot tonight when

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<v Speaker 1>they host the San Diego Wave at Sports Illustrated Stadium

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<v Speaker 1>in Harrison, New Jersey. The Batties have gone undefeated in

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<v Speaker 1>their last six games, but it was actually the Wave

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<v Speaker 1>who handed them their last loss on July fourth, right

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<v Speaker 1>after the World Cup break ended. Still, Gotham does have

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<v Speaker 1>one record in its sights. If Gotham is able to

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<v Speaker 1>shut out San Diego this weekend, they'll set a record

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<v Speaker 1>a new club single season record for clean sheets with twelve. Meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>the number two Washington Spirit will host the North Carolina

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<v Speaker 1>Courage on Saturday at six thirty pm Eastern. The Courage

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<v Speaker 1>and friend of the Show Kaylin Sheridan are coming off

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<v Speaker 1>a two nil win against the Denver Summit on Wednesday night.

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<v Speaker 1>As for the Utah Royals, they'll be on the road

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<v Speaker 1>in Denver for a f four pm Eastern game on

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday to cycling the nine Stage twenty twenty six Tour

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<v Speaker 1>de France fem of Xwift wraps up this Sunday. As

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<v Speaker 1>of this recording on Thursday afternoon, Swiss cyclist Marlon Reus

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<v Speaker 1>of Team Movistar is in the lead and wearing the

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<v Speaker 1>yellow jersey. She'll look to hold on for the final

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<v Speaker 1>three stages as the race heads to the mountains today.

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<v Speaker 1>To gymnastics, the US Championships are this weekend in Phoenix, Arizona,

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<v Speaker 1>with the women's portion of the competition getting underway tonight

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<v Speaker 1>and concluding on Sunday. In addition to competing for national titles,

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<v Speaker 1>gymnasts will also be aiming to earn an invitation to

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<v Speaker 1>a US selection committee this fall, after which the team

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<v Speaker 1>for the twenty twenty six World Championships will be announced.

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<v Speaker 1>Top contenders entering this weekend include reigning US champion Hesley

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<v Speaker 1>Rivera and three time Olympic medalist Jade Carey, both of

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<v Speaker 1>whom were members of the twenty twenty four US squad

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<v Speaker 1>that won Olympic gold. The twenty six year old Kerry,

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<v Speaker 1>who also competed at the twenty twenty one Tokyo Olympics,

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<v Speaker 1>only returned to elite competition earlier this season after she

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<v Speaker 1>took time off following the Paris Games. Two time world

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<v Speaker 1>medalist Sky Blakely should also be in the mix for

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<v Speaker 1>the all around podium. To softball, the AUSL All Star

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<v Speaker 1>Cup begins Saturday in Rosemont, Illinois. Forty five of the

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<v Speaker 1>league's top players get together for a four week competition

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<v Speaker 1>that ends in old school AU fashion with the crowning

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<v Speaker 1>of one individual All Star Cup champion. All twelve games

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<v Speaker 1>will air nationally across ESPN platforms, MLB Network, and CBS

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<v Speaker 1>Sports Network. Will link to the schedule in the show notes. Finally,

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<v Speaker 1>in rugby, Saturday marks the Women's Elite Rugby Championship in Glendale, Colorado.

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<v Speaker 1>The Denver Onyx and the Bay Breakers will face off

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<v Speaker 1>for the wer Legacy Cup title at eight pm Eastern Time,

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<v Speaker 1>and that'll stream live on the Women's Sports Network.

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<v Speaker 2>The WR is.

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<v Speaker 1>Currently mired in controversy surrounding the league's ban on transgender athletes,

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<v Speaker 1>something we touched on briefly in a previous show. If

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<v Speaker 1>you want to read about the Let Them Play Project,

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<v Speaker 1>a coalition of rugby players and supporters calling for the

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<v Speaker 1>league to allow inclusion of trans players, we'll link to

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<v Speaker 1>their social account.

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<v Speaker 2>Plus we'll link to the gist.

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<v Speaker 1>Summary of the wr's band and the response from players

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<v Speaker 1>and supporters.

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<v Speaker 2>Both will be in the show notes. All right, We're

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<v Speaker 2>going to take a break.

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<v Speaker 1>When we come back, we talk Sunset seasons and the

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<v Speaker 1>future with Connecticut Sun assistant coach Ronica Hodges.

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<v Speaker 2>Joining us now.

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<v Speaker 1>She's an assistant coach for the Connecticut Sun and was

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<v Speaker 1>head coach for the Phantom in the last unrivaled season.

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<v Speaker 2>Ghost Gang. She was a college hooper for LSU and

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<v Speaker 2>Florida State.

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<v Speaker 1>She was drafted by the Houston Comments and played eleven

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<v Speaker 1>seasons in the WNBA for six teams, plus an extensive

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<v Speaker 1>career hooping in countries around the globe. After assistant coaching

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<v Speaker 1>stops at Old Dominion and Colgate, she joined Sandy Brondella

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<v Speaker 1>staff at the New York Liberty before teaming up with

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<v Speaker 1>coach Rashid Mezan and the Sun last season. Her twin sister, Donika,

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<v Speaker 1>also played in the w She's a few months away

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<v Speaker 1>from marrying her gorgeous fiance and if her fits are

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<v Speaker 1>any indication, she's going to be the baddest bride on

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<v Speaker 1>the planet, it's Ronica Hodges.

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<v Speaker 2>Hi, Ronica, Hi.

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<v Speaker 1>So congrats on the recent birth. Congrats on the wedding

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<v Speaker 1>coming up, you got a lot going on.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, thank you, thank you.

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<v Speaker 1>I appreciate that we're a little more than halfway through

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<v Speaker 1>the final season for the Connecticut's unfranchise, and I wonder

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<v Speaker 1>if this year has felt different with everyone knowing it's

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<v Speaker 1>the last.

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<v Speaker 4>I would say, I'll start with the basketball first. I

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<v Speaker 4>would say, you know, it's been challenging with us not

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<v Speaker 4>having the success that we're accustomed to having, But I

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<v Speaker 4>think the joy and all of it is just the

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<v Speaker 4>opportunity to continue to prepare and continue to find ways

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<v Speaker 4>to develop the young talent. Connecticut has been a story

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<v Speaker 4>franchise in a wa for twenty plus years. We've had success.

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<v Speaker 4>But I think now understanding that it's the last, it

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<v Speaker 4>feels different. But in the same sense, it feels the

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<v Speaker 4>same because the preparation is the same, the goals are

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<v Speaker 4>still the same. And then when I think about myself,

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<v Speaker 4>just as a coach, I prepare the same way understanding

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<v Speaker 4>that it's the last. But I think about the opportunity

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<v Speaker 4>to coach these players for the last time. Maybe it's

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<v Speaker 4>the last time that I get a chance to coach

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<v Speaker 4>BG the last time that I get a chance to

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<v Speaker 4>work with Sonaria the last time that I get a

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<v Speaker 4>chance to work with Kennedy. You know, rosters are ever changing,

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<v Speaker 4>so you just never know the situation. I think that

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<v Speaker 4>the franchise has had great success and has meant a

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<v Speaker 4>lot to WNBA, and we want to continue to grow

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<v Speaker 4>and continue to build, understanding that it's the last but

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<v Speaker 4>wanting to put a good product on the floor.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and you consider the fans too, I imagine, because

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<v Speaker 1>it's the last chance they have to show their appreciation

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<v Speaker 1>for the franchise.

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<v Speaker 4>They've supported, oh one hundred percent. The fans have been

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<v Speaker 4>amazing throughout Connecticut's time. I think about the times that

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<v Speaker 4>I came to Connecticut to play as a player, and

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<v Speaker 4>it was always one of the toughest arenas to go

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<v Speaker 4>in into play. And I think even with this being

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<v Speaker 4>the last in the Sunset season, the fans are still

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<v Speaker 4>doing a good job of showing up and supporting us

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<v Speaker 4>each and every night.

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<v Speaker 1>You were drafted by and played your first three seasons

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<v Speaker 1>for the Houston Comments, So what emotions are there around

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<v Speaker 1>the return of that team, especially since it does coincide

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<v Speaker 1>with the end of the sun.

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<v Speaker 4>You know what, Houston all fans of the WNB knows

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<v Speaker 4>the history of Houston. I grew up as a kid

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<v Speaker 4>watching the Houston comments. Before I got drafted there, I

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<v Speaker 4>was raising the roof for cool as well. So to

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<v Speaker 4>be drafted to that team, and to be honest, I

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<v Speaker 4>had no idea that I would be drafted to that team.

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<v Speaker 4>It was like something that you could never dream of

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<v Speaker 4>as a young player. So I think the WNBA bringing

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<v Speaker 4>back such a historical franchise, it's going to be great

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<v Speaker 4>for the future of the league and also great for

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<v Speaker 4>Connecticut Sun. We're relocating there, but it's a historically great

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<v Speaker 4>franchise and we're looking forward to all that's to come.

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<v Speaker 2>Are you hoping to continue on with the team when

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<v Speaker 2>it shifts to Houston?

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<v Speaker 4>You know what, I'm not sure what the future holds.

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<v Speaker 4>That would be lovely to be able to go back

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<v Speaker 4>and be a part of something that's near and dear

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<v Speaker 4>to my heart. Like I said, I was drafted there.

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<v Speaker 4>I had a ton of great experiences if I think

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<v Speaker 4>about it deeply, it was my first stop as a

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<v Speaker 4>professional and where I truly learned how to be a

0:10:56.080 --> 0:10:58.480
<v Speaker 4>professional and what it meant and what it took. The

0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:01.240
<v Speaker 4>sacrifices that you have to make in order to stay

0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:04.319
<v Speaker 4>in the league and not just make it, so it

0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:06.720
<v Speaker 4>would be great for my soul, for my heart, and

0:11:06.800 --> 0:11:07.440
<v Speaker 4>for my career.

0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:10.040
<v Speaker 1>I'm just excited for some of those great players from

0:11:10.040 --> 0:11:13.600
<v Speaker 1>the Comets past to get their moments at halftime and

0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:16.360
<v Speaker 1>pregame ceremonies. Like, one of the things that happens when

0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:18.640
<v Speaker 1>those teams goes away is that it's harder for them

0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:21.920
<v Speaker 1>to be recognized and for people to be really honored

0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:23.920
<v Speaker 1>for what they contributed. So that's going to be really

0:11:23.960 --> 0:11:26.760
<v Speaker 1>cool when the comments come back back to the Sun

0:11:27.120 --> 0:11:29.720
<v Speaker 1>this year seven and twenty three, as we're talking here

0:11:29.840 --> 0:11:31.880
<v Speaker 1>what's gone well for the team and your estimation?

0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:34.560
<v Speaker 4>In my estimation, the first thing that comes to mind

0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:36.800
<v Speaker 4>is the development of the young players. So for some

0:11:36.840 --> 0:11:39.840
<v Speaker 4>of them, they're essentially learning on a job. So for

0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:41.840
<v Speaker 4>us to be able to go out and to get

0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:45.000
<v Speaker 4>better each game and to be able to be competitive

0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:49.160
<v Speaker 4>and to seek growth in them, that is great for

0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:51.240
<v Speaker 4>coach because you know, it's a great feeling to see

0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:53.800
<v Speaker 4>them come and continue to work every day regardless of

0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:57.559
<v Speaker 4>our record. So that's been a great feeling, but it's

0:11:57.559 --> 0:11:59.439
<v Speaker 4>still a work in progress. You know, we still have

0:12:00.400 --> 0:12:03.160
<v Speaker 4>maybe thirteen or fourteen more games to go there, so

0:12:03.160 --> 0:12:04.760
<v Speaker 4>there's still a lot of room for growth and there's

0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:08.760
<v Speaker 4>still a lot of things that we could achieve internally.

0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:10.800
<v Speaker 2>What has the team struggled with What are you most

0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:11.320
<v Speaker 2>working on?

0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:14.040
<v Speaker 4>Well, we talked about just having a team full of

0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:16.319
<v Speaker 4>young players. I think that it's a process in general.

0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:20.240
<v Speaker 4>When you have young players, they're learning. The learning curve

0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:22.439
<v Speaker 4>is huge when you're coming from college and you're learning

0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:24.160
<v Speaker 4>how to be a pro. You're learning what that takes,

0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:26.839
<v Speaker 4>what that means, the work that goes into it. You're

0:12:26.840 --> 0:12:30.720
<v Speaker 4>having to retain a ton of information, and then it's

0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:32.680
<v Speaker 4>also not easy.

0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:33.880
<v Speaker 3>When you don't have success early.

0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:35.680
<v Speaker 4>But I think that they're doing a good job of

0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:38.280
<v Speaker 4>learning on a job and staying the course and continue

0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:42.040
<v Speaker 4>to be receptive of information and open and willing to grow.

0:12:42.400 --> 0:12:44.520
<v Speaker 1>You got the chance to fill in for head coach

0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:46.360
<v Speaker 1>or Sheet in late June. You led the team to

0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:48.600
<v Speaker 1>a win over the Washington Mystics. That was your first

0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.120
<v Speaker 1>time serving as head coach in the w How did

0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:51.880
<v Speaker 1>it feel.

0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:53.960
<v Speaker 4>When I think back on I mean, I just think

0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:56.720
<v Speaker 4>about that day and I was so calm that I

0:12:56.800 --> 0:12:59.880
<v Speaker 4>almost scared myself. I had to check myself in like

0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:02.400
<v Speaker 4>asked myself or I think, what's going on?

0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:03.000
<v Speaker 3>Are you okay?

0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:06.280
<v Speaker 4>But I think when I finally processed it and it

0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:09.000
<v Speaker 4>settled in what happened. First, it was the lower because

0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:11.040
<v Speaker 4>I know that my steps are guided. And then I

0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:14.280
<v Speaker 4>think about all the preparation that I put in. Some

0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:17.440
<v Speaker 4>people see and some people don't see the preparation. But

0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:21.120
<v Speaker 4>I think me being able to step in and have

0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:24.960
<v Speaker 4>success on that particular game and that particular day, it

0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:29.280
<v Speaker 4>came from the preparation. So I was calm and it

0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:32.600
<v Speaker 4>felt great to have that success. But it also made

0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:36.200
<v Speaker 4>me hungrier and helped me to understand that preparation is key,

0:13:36.280 --> 0:13:38.800
<v Speaker 4>you know, and just to keep preparing and to be

0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.240
<v Speaker 4>ready with my opportunity is called and my number is called.

0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:42.880
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you get a little hungry if you do it

0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:45.400
<v Speaker 1>and you're like, oh I did it, we won. I

0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:47.080
<v Speaker 1>felt good doing it. Now I want to do it

0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:49.480
<v Speaker 1>some more. I think the preparation thing is good advice

0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:51.600
<v Speaker 1>for pretty much anything. That's what I tell folks in

0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:54.840
<v Speaker 1>my business too, Like the more prepared you are, the

0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:56.960
<v Speaker 1>more you just settle in and get the work done.

0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:59.960
<v Speaker 1>It's when you're unprepared that the nerves come because you know,

0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:01.600
<v Speaker 1>oh you're unprepared.

0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:02.800
<v Speaker 2>And you know you might not be ready for what's

0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:05.240
<v Speaker 2>to come. But that preparation, I mean, it showed through.

0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:06.959
<v Speaker 1>And for folks who didn't see it, we'll put a

0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:08.600
<v Speaker 1>link in the show notes to the celebration in the

0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:10.920
<v Speaker 1>locker room. It was so joyful to see the way

0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:13.360
<v Speaker 1>the player celebrated you in that moment. So take me

0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:16.680
<v Speaker 1>to that time walking into the locker room getting absolutely

0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:20.280
<v Speaker 1>doused by your team with water after you won the game.

0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:24.160
<v Speaker 4>And dowson is a good word because that was definitely

0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:26.400
<v Speaker 4>a shower. I think that I had it in my

0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:29.680
<v Speaker 4>mind that the shower would come, but I also understood

0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:33.080
<v Speaker 4>what that moment was. I understood that I'm just an

0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:35.480
<v Speaker 4>extension of Rashid in that moment, so I'm feeling in

0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:37.600
<v Speaker 4>and as part of my job, that's part of my

0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:40.840
<v Speaker 4>responsibility as associate head coach that if he weren't able

0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:43.480
<v Speaker 4>to be there, to show up is my job to

0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:46.920
<v Speaker 4>do it. So in my mind, I was prepared, I

0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:50.119
<v Speaker 4>was prepared for something, but I still was an extension,

0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:53.840
<v Speaker 4>so it wasn't necessarily credit going to me I didn't

0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:56.800
<v Speaker 4>look at it like that, so I really wasn't looking

0:14:56.800 --> 0:14:59.440
<v Speaker 4>forward to the shower, I should say, but if there

0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:01.120
<v Speaker 4>was nothing, there was nothing that I could do to

0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:03.880
<v Speaker 4>stop it. But I was also happy, and I felt

0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:07.760
<v Speaker 4>grateful for the reception that I got from the players

0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:09.000
<v Speaker 4>as well as the organization.

0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:11.640
<v Speaker 3>It was a great feeling to have that support.

0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:14.960
<v Speaker 1>You are the only black woman to earn a win

0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:16.920
<v Speaker 1>in the w this season as a coach, because this

0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:19.440
<v Speaker 1>season marks the first time since twenty twenty that the

0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:22.360
<v Speaker 1>WNBA has been without a single black woman head coach.

0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:25.520
<v Speaker 1>Also the first season since twenty twenty one in which

0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:28.080
<v Speaker 1>the w has employed more men than women head coaches.

0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:31.680
<v Speaker 1>How concerned are you about the current coaching demographics in

0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:32.240
<v Speaker 1>the league.

0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:35.800
<v Speaker 4>You know, it's something to be concerned about. When I

0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:40.800
<v Speaker 4>think about the landscape in its entirety. The league has

0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:43.880
<v Speaker 4>been built on black women, and if you think about it,

0:15:44.040 --> 0:15:45.840
<v Speaker 4>seventy percent of the league is black.

0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:47.480
<v Speaker 3>There's zero black.

0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:50.360
<v Speaker 4>Head coaches, I want to say, twenty two black assistant

0:15:50.640 --> 0:15:56.280
<v Speaker 4>assistant coaches in the league. So I understand that there

0:15:56.320 --> 0:15:59.520
<v Speaker 4>are many black women or just women in general, that

0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:02.920
<v Speaker 4>are qualified to lead and to be heay coaches.

0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:05.240
<v Speaker 3>So it is my hope that you know that changes

0:16:05.240 --> 0:16:05.840
<v Speaker 3>here person.

0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.000
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know, we've seen this trend before.

0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:11.320
<v Speaker 1>We've seen it big, large scale, like after Title nine

0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:13.720
<v Speaker 1>money started coming into women's sports and jobs started going

0:16:13.720 --> 0:16:16.360
<v Speaker 1>to men. We've also seen this in the w before,

0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:19.440
<v Speaker 1>where the NBA starts to have an outsize impact on

0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:21.960
<v Speaker 1>the people that are coming in. Right now, this year,

0:16:22.040 --> 0:16:25.160
<v Speaker 1>the contracts are bigger than ever, the opportunities are bigger

0:16:25.160 --> 0:16:28.400
<v Speaker 1>than ever, the profile is higher, and male coaches are benefiting.

0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:30.680
<v Speaker 1>So do you think the league needs to consider a

0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:33.480
<v Speaker 1>Rooney rule like provision whereby teams are required to at

0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:36.720
<v Speaker 1>least interview women coaches and coaches of color before hiring anyone.

0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:38.520
<v Speaker 1>Is there some other way that you think that they

0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:41.840
<v Speaker 1>can be intentional about making sure that the demographics look better?

0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:44.000
<v Speaker 4>To me, I look at it like this. The critics

0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:46.960
<v Speaker 4>say that the Runy rule is a formality, supporters that

0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:49.440
<v Speaker 4>it as a pathway. I believe that two things could

0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:52.320
<v Speaker 4>be true, But when I look at it overall the

0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:56.160
<v Speaker 4>reality is that it just needs to happen, regardless of

0:16:56.320 --> 0:16:59.160
<v Speaker 4>how we get there, because there are women that are qualified.

0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:01.560
<v Speaker 4>Black women at a qu qualify to lead and to

0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:04.439
<v Speaker 4>be in these positions. I've always been from the school

0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:06.919
<v Speaker 4>of just control the things that you could control and

0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:09.679
<v Speaker 4>hope that you know, the people are the powers that

0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:13.200
<v Speaker 4>be make the right decisions. And I'm going to continue

0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:15.280
<v Speaker 4>to move in that direction. But I do think that

0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:18.760
<v Speaker 4>ultimately it just needs to get done because it is.

0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:19.920
<v Speaker 3>The right thing.

0:17:20.359 --> 0:17:23.600
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's a little bit concerning with ownership shifting back

0:17:23.640 --> 0:17:28.080
<v Speaker 1>toward primarily co owners from the NBA having WNBA teams

0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:32.520
<v Speaker 1>because the relationships that they already have in NBA circles

0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:36.240
<v Speaker 1>with those coaches might lend even more to that feeling

0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:38.280
<v Speaker 1>that you've got to get that experience there.

0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:40.440
<v Speaker 2>We've seen not just male coaches, but also both of

0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:41.680
<v Speaker 2>the league's head coaches who.

0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:43.879
<v Speaker 1>Are women of color, the Golden State Valkyries Dataie Nicasse

0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:48.680
<v Speaker 1>and the Seattle Storms Sonya Rahman came through NBA experience.

0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:51.040
<v Speaker 1>Does it feel to you like you have to go

0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:53.320
<v Speaker 1>to the NBA and come back to the w to

0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:54.520
<v Speaker 1>get a shot at the top jobs.

0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:56.960
<v Speaker 4>Well, you know, each year looks different. Now, each higher

0:17:57.000 --> 0:17:59.440
<v Speaker 4>in cycles looks different. That was the hiring cycle the

0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:02.639
<v Speaker 4>last time. But like I mentioned, I'm always going to

0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:05.320
<v Speaker 4>be from the school of continuing to prepare, And if

0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:09.080
<v Speaker 4>I think about my journey, I've had a great some

0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:12.480
<v Speaker 4>great opportunities and great experiences to prepare so that when

0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:17.480
<v Speaker 4>opportunity presents itself to me, I'm prepared to deliver in

0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:19.919
<v Speaker 4>that moment. So that's the way my mind has to

0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:23.160
<v Speaker 4>continue to work in order to grow in to evolve,

0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:26.320
<v Speaker 4>and just continue to prepare and be ready.

0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:30.240
<v Speaker 1>It's always fascinating to me how the goalposts move for women.

0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:33.439
<v Speaker 1>So in men's sports, the argument is always that they

0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:36.639
<v Speaker 1>didn't play in that league, so how could they possibly coach? Yes,

0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:39.359
<v Speaker 1>And in women's sports, it doesn't matter that none of

0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:41.600
<v Speaker 1>the men played in that league. They are still getting

0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:44.160
<v Speaker 1>the benefit of the doubt across the board. Even those

0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:46.840
<v Speaker 1>who have never had head coaching experience anywhere tend to

0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:48.760
<v Speaker 1>be able to step into those positions. Even those who

0:18:48.800 --> 0:18:51.320
<v Speaker 1>have never coached women at any level before are able

0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:54.080
<v Speaker 1>to step into those experiences. And meanwhile, you, as a

0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:57.240
<v Speaker 1>former player, truly have one of the longest playing career

0:18:57.240 --> 0:18:59.320
<v Speaker 1>Wikipedia sections I've ever seen.

0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:01.120
<v Speaker 2>It goes on forever.

0:19:01.280 --> 0:19:05.000
<v Speaker 1>So talking about playing in multiple leagues across different spaces

0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:07.720
<v Speaker 1>internationally and in the w you've got.

0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:08.760
<v Speaker 2>The experience for the job.

0:19:09.400 --> 0:19:11.600
<v Speaker 1>But as I was looking at that Wikipedia section, I

0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:13.119
<v Speaker 1>thought about giving.

0:19:12.840 --> 0:19:13.720
<v Speaker 2>You a little quiz.

0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:18.359
<v Speaker 1>So can you name the first three and last three

0:19:18.359 --> 0:19:21.040
<v Speaker 1>international teams you played for off the top of your head?

0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:29.040
<v Speaker 4>Ooh, first Weepla in France, Second Tarsus Beladese in Turkey.

0:19:29.400 --> 0:19:31.520
<v Speaker 4>Third Canary Island in Spain.

0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:34.480
<v Speaker 2>So the one I'm seeing is a donna ASKI as

0:19:34.480 --> 0:19:34.959
<v Speaker 2>the second?

0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:37.240
<v Speaker 3>Oh? Oh, you know, no, it's the same.

0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:39.359
<v Speaker 4>You know, over the years, the ownership change and the

0:19:39.400 --> 0:19:40.760
<v Speaker 4>team name change overseas.

0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:42.359
<v Speaker 3>Okay, okay, we'll.

0:19:42.200 --> 0:19:42.679
<v Speaker 2>Give it to you.

0:19:43.000 --> 0:19:44.719
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, okay, we'll go back to you. Back then it

0:19:44.800 --> 0:19:46.320
<v Speaker 3>was the name of the team was called.

0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:47.800
<v Speaker 2>Tarsus, okay.

0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:53.679
<v Speaker 4>And then the last three I played in Jordan, I

0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:57.080
<v Speaker 4>played in Lebanon, and I played in Spain.

0:19:57.520 --> 0:19:59.160
<v Speaker 3>Casseris what's the name of the team.

0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:01.000
<v Speaker 2>Okay, I don't know, I don't know these teams.

0:20:01.400 --> 0:20:05.400
<v Speaker 1>It was Stadium Casablanca, al Riatti be Root and al

0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:07.280
<v Speaker 1>Cazera's yep.

0:20:07.200 --> 0:20:08.680
<v Speaker 3>So l Castris.

0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:13.440
<v Speaker 4>El Riatti be Root was in Lebanon and the other

0:20:13.440 --> 0:20:16.840
<v Speaker 4>one was in Egypt. And then Castus was in Spain.

0:20:16.920 --> 0:20:19.280
<v Speaker 2>You got it. I'm impressed. I mean, the list goes

0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:19.760
<v Speaker 2>on forever.

0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:22.120
<v Speaker 1>Are there any wild memories from any of those stops,

0:20:22.119 --> 0:20:24.000
<v Speaker 1>like a real crazy culture shock moment.

0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:27.000
<v Speaker 3>You know, I wouldn't say that I was culture shocked.

0:20:27.280 --> 0:20:32.639
<v Speaker 4>I think I went overseas understanding or supposedly understanding what

0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:34.800
<v Speaker 4>it was. But I always had an open mind to

0:20:35.400 --> 0:20:39.919
<v Speaker 4>new experiences, and I've had a good ability to connect

0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:42.719
<v Speaker 4>with people, so I never really felt like I had

0:20:42.760 --> 0:20:46.360
<v Speaker 4>a culture shock. It was just adjusting to different cultures

0:20:46.359 --> 0:20:48.399
<v Speaker 4>and understanding what that was and what that meant and

0:20:48.400 --> 0:20:51.000
<v Speaker 4>how I could move and continue to grow and be

0:20:51.080 --> 0:20:53.600
<v Speaker 4>happy in those countries. So I would never say that

0:20:53.640 --> 0:20:55.879
<v Speaker 4>it was it was a culture shock. But there are

0:20:55.880 --> 0:20:59.760
<v Speaker 4>always some wild stories about overseas, But in all, my

0:21:00.000 --> 0:21:04.080
<v Speaker 4>experiences were great. The time that I spent overseas, I'm

0:21:04.119 --> 0:21:06.639
<v Speaker 4>always grateful for that. I talk to players all the

0:21:06.640 --> 0:21:08.680
<v Speaker 4>time about you know, some of them never had a

0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:10.920
<v Speaker 4>chance to go overseas, so they don't understand what those

0:21:10.960 --> 0:21:13.840
<v Speaker 4>experiences are like. But they shape you in different ways

0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:16.280
<v Speaker 4>to just be prepared for whatever, because you never know

0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:17.920
<v Speaker 4>what type of situation you're going to get in when

0:21:17.960 --> 0:21:18.520
<v Speaker 4>you go over there.

0:21:18.840 --> 0:21:20.600
<v Speaker 1>There are certain countries that you see on the list

0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:24.000
<v Speaker 1>that don't have a rich women's basketball history places like Lebanon.

0:21:24.240 --> 0:21:25.760
<v Speaker 1>Do you have a sense of why they were able

0:21:25.840 --> 0:21:28.840
<v Speaker 1>to form pro leagues and teams and have some success

0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:29.760
<v Speaker 1>putting links together?

0:21:30.000 --> 0:21:33.000
<v Speaker 4>Well, I think at that particular moment, especially in particular Lebanon,

0:21:33.119 --> 0:21:35.919
<v Speaker 4>they love basketball over there. It's not that you know,

0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:38.600
<v Speaker 4>they've had a ton of success with women's basketball, but

0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:40.199
<v Speaker 4>they love it so much that they wanted to be

0:21:40.320 --> 0:21:42.199
<v Speaker 4>a part of growing the game. They wanted to be

0:21:42.280 --> 0:21:45.240
<v Speaker 4>a part of the success. And I think it was

0:21:45.280 --> 0:21:47.840
<v Speaker 4>big for that particular club ereality and being able to

0:21:47.880 --> 0:21:50.560
<v Speaker 4>sign American players and to bring us over and to

0:21:50.640 --> 0:21:53.520
<v Speaker 4>have that experience and to help grow the game in

0:21:53.560 --> 0:21:54.080
<v Speaker 4>their country.

0:21:54.160 --> 0:21:56.320
<v Speaker 3>I think that that's a well.

0:21:56.600 --> 0:21:59.000
<v Speaker 4>I know that that's a well respected club in Lebanon,

0:21:59.040 --> 0:22:01.560
<v Speaker 4>and I appreciated that opportunity to go over there when

0:22:01.560 --> 0:22:03.520
<v Speaker 4>not many Americans had that opportunity.

0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:06.640
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you played in so many places in the W

0:22:06.840 --> 0:22:09.479
<v Speaker 1>and abroad. Who were some of your mentors coming up

0:22:09.520 --> 0:22:10.080
<v Speaker 1>as a player.

0:22:10.320 --> 0:22:12.920
<v Speaker 4>When I think about my mentors, I like to start

0:22:12.960 --> 0:22:15.560
<v Speaker 4>with my family because I learned a lot of things early.

0:22:15.680 --> 0:22:18.760
<v Speaker 4>I come from a big family. I was raised by

0:22:18.800 --> 0:22:21.000
<v Speaker 4>my grandmother. She had twelve kids and eight of them

0:22:21.040 --> 0:22:25.000
<v Speaker 4>were women, and they were strong women, and I saw

0:22:25.040 --> 0:22:26.960
<v Speaker 4>the way that they carried themselves. I saw the way

0:22:27.000 --> 0:22:30.040
<v Speaker 4>that they handle situations. I saw the way that they

0:22:30.560 --> 0:22:34.000
<v Speaker 4>pushed through whether they regardless of what they had, what

0:22:34.040 --> 0:22:35.639
<v Speaker 4>they didn't have, what they were going through. And I

0:22:35.640 --> 0:22:38.240
<v Speaker 4>think that that was instilled in me early on. So

0:22:38.359 --> 0:22:41.600
<v Speaker 4>I was always resilient and headstrong to do the things

0:22:41.640 --> 0:22:42.280
<v Speaker 4>that I wanted to do.

0:22:42.359 --> 0:22:43.560
<v Speaker 3>So I think it started with that.

0:22:44.160 --> 0:22:46.879
<v Speaker 4>But when I think about just mentors and all of

0:22:46.920 --> 0:22:49.520
<v Speaker 4>those things, I took a little bit from every coach

0:22:50.320 --> 0:22:52.640
<v Speaker 4>that I encountered, and the first one I think about

0:22:52.720 --> 0:22:55.800
<v Speaker 4>is sus m raw when I transferred to Florida State Basketball.

0:22:55.800 --> 0:22:57.600
<v Speaker 4>Aside because we knew that she's a great coach, but

0:22:57.680 --> 0:23:00.639
<v Speaker 4>the way that she led people with grace and her charisma,

0:23:01.280 --> 0:23:03.920
<v Speaker 4>that was something important for me to see. Nikki Fargus

0:23:04.040 --> 0:23:07.040
<v Speaker 4>a strong black woman. She gave me the opportunity to

0:23:08.600 --> 0:23:12.320
<v Speaker 4>volunteer at LSU, and just the way that she gave

0:23:12.720 --> 0:23:18.399
<v Speaker 4>and pulled other people and women include me up along

0:23:18.440 --> 0:23:20.159
<v Speaker 4>the way. I think that that was something great for

0:23:20.240 --> 0:23:20.880
<v Speaker 4>me to see.

0:23:21.480 --> 0:23:23.679
<v Speaker 2>Now president of the Las Vegas Aces.

0:23:23.720 --> 0:23:27.119
<v Speaker 4>Now president of the Las Vegas Aces, the Alisia, Milton Jones.

0:23:27.160 --> 0:23:29.119
<v Speaker 4>I took something from that stop that was my first

0:23:29.119 --> 0:23:32.919
<v Speaker 4>opportunity as a coach on a collegiate level. I understood

0:23:32.960 --> 0:23:36.320
<v Speaker 4>the importance of the way you build out your staff

0:23:36.720 --> 0:23:39.080
<v Speaker 4>as a coach. It's no different than you build out

0:23:39.119 --> 0:23:41.119
<v Speaker 4>the team. Everybody has to play a role, everybody has

0:23:41.160 --> 0:23:43.920
<v Speaker 4>to be team players, all of those things that essential

0:23:44.160 --> 0:23:47.080
<v Speaker 4>to the success of a program. Gania, I'd have done.

0:23:47.400 --> 0:23:50.040
<v Speaker 4>I had a stop at Kogate University. Ganiat was my

0:23:50.600 --> 0:23:55.480
<v Speaker 4>college roommate and my college teammate. Kogate isn't necessarily a

0:23:55.560 --> 0:23:58.760
<v Speaker 4>sports university. It's a high academic institution. And the way

0:23:58.800 --> 0:24:02.320
<v Speaker 4>that she prepared, she went above and beyond because that

0:24:02.400 --> 0:24:04.760
<v Speaker 4>was just part of the job. The job wasn't just basketball.

0:24:05.160 --> 0:24:07.720
<v Speaker 4>And then when I think about Sandy, an elite human,

0:24:08.080 --> 0:24:10.800
<v Speaker 4>a high level offensive mind. Like all of these people

0:24:10.800 --> 0:24:13.480
<v Speaker 4>that I had the opportunity to work with, I took

0:24:13.520 --> 0:24:15.480
<v Speaker 4>something from each one of them and then added my

0:24:15.520 --> 0:24:18.119
<v Speaker 4>own twist to it. Yeah, I'm appreciated.

0:24:18.359 --> 0:24:20.240
<v Speaker 2>Who is your go to call right now?

0:24:20.280 --> 0:24:22.600
<v Speaker 1>You got one call when you're really trying to work

0:24:22.640 --> 0:24:24.280
<v Speaker 1>through a basketball or coaching question.

0:24:24.880 --> 0:24:25.440
<v Speaker 3>Coach Sue.

0:24:25.520 --> 0:24:28.320
<v Speaker 4>Coach Sue Simarl is my first call for a ton

0:24:28.359 --> 0:24:29.960
<v Speaker 4>of things because she means so much to me, and

0:24:30.000 --> 0:24:33.080
<v Speaker 4>I've had history and a relationship with her since I

0:24:33.160 --> 0:24:37.359
<v Speaker 4>was twenty one years old, so I think she's always

0:24:37.359 --> 0:24:39.320
<v Speaker 4>somebody that could lean on and call for anything that

0:24:39.359 --> 0:24:39.680
<v Speaker 4>I need.

0:24:39.880 --> 0:24:40.919
<v Speaker 2>Right, you mentioned Sandy.

0:24:40.960 --> 0:24:43.919
<v Speaker 1>What's the biggest lesson you learned working under Sandy that

0:24:44.000 --> 0:24:46.040
<v Speaker 1>maybe when you're coaching now you're like, oh, I can

0:24:46.040 --> 0:24:47.679
<v Speaker 1>hear Sandy in my ear while I'm doing that.

0:24:48.240 --> 0:24:49.080
<v Speaker 3>Oh. Two things.

0:24:49.200 --> 0:24:51.800
<v Speaker 4>First, One, she would always say, never get too high

0:24:51.880 --> 0:24:54.160
<v Speaker 4>and never get too low. And I like to think

0:24:54.160 --> 0:24:56.679
<v Speaker 4>that I'm an even killed person, but Sandy was on

0:24:56.720 --> 0:25:00.439
<v Speaker 4>another level just what her personality in a way that

0:25:00.480 --> 0:25:02.640
<v Speaker 4>she could keep her composure in any situation.

0:25:03.200 --> 0:25:04.040
<v Speaker 3>What's admirable.

0:25:04.200 --> 0:25:06.480
<v Speaker 4>And then if I take that a step further, she

0:25:06.480 --> 0:25:09.560
<v Speaker 4>would always tell me, Ronnie, you can't be my way

0:25:09.560 --> 0:25:11.720
<v Speaker 4>at a highway. So that's something that I keep in

0:25:11.760 --> 0:25:14.240
<v Speaker 4>my mind because I think about like who I am

0:25:14.400 --> 0:25:16.040
<v Speaker 4>as a person and who I am as a coach,

0:25:16.080 --> 0:25:19.080
<v Speaker 4>and what I stand for and how I'm just about

0:25:19.080 --> 0:25:21.320
<v Speaker 4>the standards. I want to make sure that the standards

0:25:21.359 --> 0:25:23.720
<v Speaker 4>are always being met, but also understanding that you have

0:25:23.760 --> 0:25:27.159
<v Speaker 4>to be flexible, so I could hear that in the

0:25:27.440 --> 0:25:29.119
<v Speaker 4>back of my head at all times when I think

0:25:29.160 --> 0:25:30.160
<v Speaker 4>about Sandy.

0:25:30.560 --> 0:25:33.119
<v Speaker 1>So smart, especially with younger generations, my way at the

0:25:33.160 --> 0:25:35.439
<v Speaker 1>highway does not work. They want to know why and

0:25:35.440 --> 0:25:37.040
<v Speaker 1>they want to be in it with you, and then

0:25:37.080 --> 0:25:38.560
<v Speaker 1>you're all moving together, which.

0:25:38.320 --> 0:25:39.080
<v Speaker 2>Is so much better.

0:25:39.680 --> 0:25:42.840
<v Speaker 1>What about biggest lesson working under Rashid. Let's say on

0:25:42.920 --> 0:25:45.679
<v Speaker 1>that day, you're on the sideline, he's home, second.

0:25:45.440 --> 0:25:47.439
<v Speaker 2>You're leading away. What are you hearing in your ears?

0:25:47.600 --> 0:25:47.840
<v Speaker 3>For me?

0:25:47.920 --> 0:25:49.760
<v Speaker 4>When I think about Rashid, I just think about the

0:25:49.840 --> 0:25:53.720
<v Speaker 4>importance of delegation. Rashid has done a great job of

0:25:53.960 --> 0:25:57.639
<v Speaker 4>allowing everybody to grow in their space and giving you

0:25:57.720 --> 0:26:00.439
<v Speaker 4>the freedom to do what you do well. It's no

0:26:00.480 --> 0:26:02.800
<v Speaker 4>different than the team. Everybody has a role and things

0:26:02.800 --> 0:26:04.760
<v Speaker 4>that they're good at and doing well. He's done a

0:26:04.760 --> 0:26:08.960
<v Speaker 4>great job. You know, everybody has different experiences with coaches

0:26:08.960 --> 0:26:10.560
<v Speaker 4>that they work for, but I think that he does

0:26:10.560 --> 0:26:13.040
<v Speaker 4>a great job of putting us in position to be successful.

0:26:13.440 --> 0:26:16.840
<v Speaker 4>And I'm forever grateful for all the opportunities that he's

0:26:16.880 --> 0:26:19.080
<v Speaker 4>given me as well as Sandy.

0:26:19.359 --> 0:26:22.280
<v Speaker 1>Okay, so you've pulled from all these different places and

0:26:22.320 --> 0:26:25.719
<v Speaker 1>pieces and people, What makes you you, What defines and

0:26:25.760 --> 0:26:27.560
<v Speaker 1>sets apart your approach to coaching.

0:26:28.000 --> 0:26:28.920
<v Speaker 3>I'm a player's coach.

0:26:29.840 --> 0:26:32.520
<v Speaker 4>I can relate to a lot of situations that they

0:26:32.600 --> 0:26:35.080
<v Speaker 4>have been in, situations that they're going to go through.

0:26:35.160 --> 0:26:39.560
<v Speaker 4>I think that that is a separator. It's a separator

0:26:39.560 --> 0:26:43.199
<v Speaker 4>for me and and I think about just like my

0:26:43.400 --> 0:26:47.280
<v Speaker 4>ability to speak their language. I think that that's important

0:26:47.359 --> 0:26:51.040
<v Speaker 4>nowadays with this younger generation and being able to understand

0:26:51.080 --> 0:26:54.000
<v Speaker 4>and being able to feel like they could relate. I

0:26:54.000 --> 0:26:57.080
<v Speaker 4>also think that I have a unique ability to just

0:26:57.240 --> 0:26:59.120
<v Speaker 4>push and to pull a little bit more out of them.

0:26:59.160 --> 0:27:02.520
<v Speaker 4>Sometimes players don't know exactly the amount that they have

0:27:02.640 --> 0:27:06.679
<v Speaker 4>to give until you push, until you pull, just to

0:27:06.720 --> 0:27:09.119
<v Speaker 4>get a little bit more from them. And I believe

0:27:09.160 --> 0:27:11.520
<v Speaker 4>that I operate in truths and I think that that

0:27:11.600 --> 0:27:14.560
<v Speaker 4>goes a long way nowadays with players, because, like you

0:27:14.600 --> 0:27:16.520
<v Speaker 4>said earlier, they want to know there has to be

0:27:16.560 --> 0:27:19.479
<v Speaker 4>a why behind behind things. So being able to operate

0:27:19.480 --> 0:27:21.680
<v Speaker 4>in truth and being able to tell them the hard

0:27:21.720 --> 0:27:25.159
<v Speaker 4>things and also being able to coddle them when needed,

0:27:25.320 --> 0:27:27.560
<v Speaker 4>I think that that's important. And I think it's just

0:27:27.640 --> 0:27:29.040
<v Speaker 4>my ability to be authentic.

0:27:29.560 --> 0:27:30.080
<v Speaker 3>I think that.

0:27:30.920 --> 0:27:35.400
<v Speaker 4>I encourage my players are the players that I work

0:27:35.440 --> 0:27:37.399
<v Speaker 4>with to show up as the authentic cells, because I

0:27:37.440 --> 0:27:39.040
<v Speaker 4>think that you can get the best out of a

0:27:39.080 --> 0:27:43.120
<v Speaker 4>player when they feel comfortable and understand that whoever they are,

0:27:43.280 --> 0:27:46.560
<v Speaker 4>that's enough. And I think that that there's power in

0:27:46.600 --> 0:27:48.080
<v Speaker 4>that nowadays.

0:27:48.280 --> 0:27:51.080
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, completely agree. You got the chance to be a

0:27:51.080 --> 0:27:53.320
<v Speaker 1>head coach for a whole season. Short season, but the

0:27:53.359 --> 0:27:56.400
<v Speaker 1>full season of Unrivaled. You were leading team Phantom. I've

0:27:56.400 --> 0:27:59.960
<v Speaker 1>been ghost getting since the start, so any big take

0:28:00.080 --> 0:28:02.080
<v Speaker 1>away from that experience.

0:28:01.640 --> 0:28:03.159
<v Speaker 4>I would just like to lead with. That was a

0:28:03.200 --> 0:28:07.200
<v Speaker 4>great experience for me. I'm grateful for unrival for that opportunity.

0:28:07.520 --> 0:28:11.159
<v Speaker 4>I'm always talking about preparation, and for me, that was

0:28:11.200 --> 0:28:15.479
<v Speaker 4>another opportunity to prepare. I had the opportunity to, you know,

0:28:15.920 --> 0:28:19.080
<v Speaker 4>build the culture, to build my own team, to implement

0:28:20.160 --> 0:28:23.840
<v Speaker 4>an offensive system, to implement a defensive system, and to

0:28:24.080 --> 0:28:27.840
<v Speaker 4>lead on my own terms. And that's part of the preparation.

0:28:27.960 --> 0:28:30.160
<v Speaker 4>I also had the opportunity to work with some great

0:28:30.200 --> 0:28:34.879
<v Speaker 4>players Plumb and ab and Tip Cloud, Dana, all of

0:28:34.920 --> 0:28:37.240
<v Speaker 4>those players. That was a great opportunity for me. I

0:28:37.280 --> 0:28:40.360
<v Speaker 4>think we didn't have the outcome at the end that

0:28:40.400 --> 0:28:42.360
<v Speaker 4>we wanted, but overall, I.

0:28:42.320 --> 0:28:44.080
<v Speaker 3>Thought that the players got better.

0:28:45.080 --> 0:28:47.400
<v Speaker 4>They got what they needed out of, you know, their

0:28:47.440 --> 0:28:50.440
<v Speaker 4>off season, which was to work on their games. And

0:28:50.480 --> 0:28:52.320
<v Speaker 4>I think for me overall, as a coach, I got

0:28:52.320 --> 0:28:56.720
<v Speaker 4>the opportunity to lead and try some things and understand

0:28:56.800 --> 0:28:58.800
<v Speaker 4>a little bit more about who I am as a

0:28:58.800 --> 0:29:00.360
<v Speaker 4>coach and who I want to be. And we had

0:29:00.400 --> 0:29:02.560
<v Speaker 4>some great moments and some great memories.

0:29:02.840 --> 0:29:04.680
<v Speaker 2>But did you leave with a fancy crop?

0:29:04.960 --> 0:29:07.400
<v Speaker 3>I did? I left, I left, I left with a

0:29:07.440 --> 0:29:09.640
<v Speaker 3>fancy crop. Everything fantom in my heart.

0:29:10.000 --> 0:29:13.320
<v Speaker 1>Okay, great t Cloud hooked everybody up with that, and

0:29:13.480 --> 0:29:17.440
<v Speaker 1>now you know we're all ghost gang. Well, ghost Gang Ronique,

0:29:17.480 --> 0:29:19.240
<v Speaker 1>thank you so much for the time, good luck the

0:29:19.280 --> 0:29:23.560
<v Speaker 1>rest of the season. Thank you, and uh good luck

0:29:23.560 --> 0:29:25.640
<v Speaker 1>on your journey to help change those demographics.

0:29:25.960 --> 0:29:27.440
<v Speaker 3>And thank you. Thank you for having me.

0:29:30.240 --> 0:29:32.840
<v Speaker 1>Thanks again to Ronica for taking the time, and don't forget.

0:29:32.840 --> 0:29:35.160
<v Speaker 1>You can now watch full length good game interviews on

0:29:35.200 --> 0:29:36.600
<v Speaker 1>the Iheartwomen's.

0:29:35.960 --> 0:29:37.040
<v Speaker 2>Sports YouTube channel.

0:29:37.480 --> 0:29:39.760
<v Speaker 1>We got to take another break when we return the

0:29:39.800 --> 0:29:42.000
<v Speaker 1>type of gender equality we never asked for.

0:29:49.280 --> 0:29:50.280
<v Speaker 2>Welcome mac slices.

0:29:50.360 --> 0:29:51.800
<v Speaker 1>We love that you're listening, but we want you to

0:29:51.800 --> 0:29:54.000
<v Speaker 1>get in the game every day too, so here's our good.

0:29:53.840 --> 0:29:54.760
<v Speaker 2>Game play of the day.

0:29:55.760 --> 0:29:59.680
<v Speaker 1>First producer, Alex, did you do your slice work? According

0:29:59.680 --> 0:30:01.840
<v Speaker 1>to my this was the deadline for you to bake

0:30:01.880 --> 0:30:02.600
<v Speaker 1>homemade bread.

0:30:03.600 --> 0:30:03.760
<v Speaker 5>Hm.

0:30:04.480 --> 0:30:05.680
<v Speaker 2>I see you're shaking your.

0:30:05.600 --> 0:30:09.320
<v Speaker 1>Head, too ashamed to come to the mic and tell

0:30:09.400 --> 0:30:10.640
<v Speaker 1>us you haven't met your intention.

0:30:11.520 --> 0:30:12.200
<v Speaker 2>Ah, no worries.

0:30:12.240 --> 0:30:13.920
<v Speaker 1>You still have plenty of months left to make it

0:30:14.000 --> 0:30:16.680
<v Speaker 1>this year. As for the rest of you, a few

0:30:16.680 --> 0:30:18.680
<v Speaker 1>of you message us that you do want to hear

0:30:18.720 --> 0:30:21.920
<v Speaker 1>a bit of WNBA and Women's Sports Tea after we

0:30:21.960 --> 0:30:24.240
<v Speaker 1>asked you post All Star Break, so we'll keep our

0:30:24.280 --> 0:30:26.360
<v Speaker 1>noses in a couple Reddit threads to see if anything

0:30:26.440 --> 0:30:29.000
<v Speaker 1>rises to the level of sharing. We'll keep in mind,

0:30:29.040 --> 0:30:32.680
<v Speaker 1>of course, that we want to be curious, not nosy, interested,

0:30:33.160 --> 0:30:36.040
<v Speaker 1>not invasive. Thanks to all of you who chimed in

0:30:36.080 --> 0:30:37.880
<v Speaker 1>on that. You know we always love hearing from you.

0:30:38.560 --> 0:30:41.360
<v Speaker 1>We also loved hearing from super Slice Doug Ratcliffe, who

0:30:41.440 --> 0:30:43.720
<v Speaker 1>shared how he's doing on his intentions and mentioned that

0:30:43.760 --> 0:30:46.400
<v Speaker 1>he's starting a music club with friends that meets once

0:30:46.400 --> 0:30:49.200
<v Speaker 1>a month, with each person picking an album to discuss.

0:30:49.560 --> 0:30:52.880
<v Speaker 1>I love that idea. Also, don't rely on just algorithms

0:30:52.920 --> 0:30:55.520
<v Speaker 1>to teach you about cool new tunes. Maybe your friends

0:30:55.520 --> 0:30:58.640
<v Speaker 1>have good taste. We also loved hearing from Slice Alana

0:30:59.400 --> 0:31:03.360
<v Speaker 1>or Elaine or Alana will stick with Alana, who wrote

0:31:03.400 --> 0:31:06.480
<v Speaker 1>in High Good Game Squad, I spent an absurd amount

0:31:06.520 --> 0:31:08.840
<v Speaker 1>of time doing this silly passion project, so I wanted

0:31:08.840 --> 0:31:10.360
<v Speaker 1>to share it with you in the hopes of spreading

0:31:10.440 --> 0:31:13.200
<v Speaker 1>some fun queer joy. I wanted to figure out which

0:31:13.200 --> 0:31:15.720
<v Speaker 1>teams have won Slash loss the most pride games in

0:31:15.760 --> 0:31:18.240
<v Speaker 1>their history, and ended up making a lot of fun

0:31:18.360 --> 0:31:21.200
<v Speaker 1>charts in the process. The end result was, in my

0:31:21.360 --> 0:31:24.640
<v Speaker 1>non statistical opinion that's at least partially vibes based, a

0:31:24.760 --> 0:31:27.640
<v Speaker 1>tie between the Storm Valkyries and Mercury is the most

0:31:27.680 --> 0:31:31.560
<v Speaker 1>prideful teams, which tbh is completely unsurprising.

0:31:32.720 --> 0:31:33.360
<v Speaker 2>Thanks Alana.

0:31:33.520 --> 0:31:36.920
<v Speaker 1>If you're into the w hoops and gaishit and data visualization,

0:31:37.200 --> 0:31:39.600
<v Speaker 1>this is definitely for you. I'll post the link to

0:31:39.600 --> 0:31:43.840
<v Speaker 1>Alana's findings in the show notes. Of course, not every

0:31:43.880 --> 0:31:47.160
<v Speaker 1>message we get is like Ilana's, like this one from

0:31:47.200 --> 0:31:49.760
<v Speaker 1>a guy who clearly didn't agree with my recent take

0:31:49.840 --> 0:31:50.920
<v Speaker 1>on Sophie Cunningham.

0:31:51.360 --> 0:31:52.000
<v Speaker 2>Take a listen.

0:31:52.600 --> 0:31:56.280
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, then, John Jory, I'll show your Countess about Conningham,

0:31:56.520 --> 0:31:59.480
<v Speaker 5>I'll really John, how much more ignorant people can get

0:32:00.080 --> 0:32:02.880
<v Speaker 5>what you're right there to talk to the list my opinion,

0:32:02.920 --> 0:32:06.240
<v Speaker 5>just to fucking more on you can be announcing anything

0:32:06.320 --> 0:32:08.920
<v Speaker 5>to anybody. You yourself can't be making comments with lot

0:32:08.960 --> 0:32:12.440
<v Speaker 5>hear your half to it, my opinion andperence.

0:32:13.160 --> 0:32:16.720
<v Speaker 1>Now, if that guy, which I'll save my commentary on

0:32:16.760 --> 0:32:19.840
<v Speaker 1>how many wits it sounds like he's got, let's just

0:32:19.880 --> 0:32:23.680
<v Speaker 1>say half a one would be generous. If that guy

0:32:23.800 --> 0:32:26.200
<v Speaker 1>can figure out how to leave us a voicemail, surely

0:32:26.240 --> 0:32:28.520
<v Speaker 1>more of you lovely slices can call in with your.

0:32:28.360 --> 0:32:29.360
<v Speaker 2>Thoughts and questions.

0:32:29.920 --> 0:32:33.360
<v Speaker 1>In fact, we got two birthdays coming up, mine and Bianca's,

0:32:33.680 --> 0:32:36.200
<v Speaker 1>so we're gonna do a little big Citrus Leo celebration.

0:32:36.720 --> 0:32:38.520
<v Speaker 1>If you want in on the party, give us a

0:32:38.520 --> 0:32:44.920
<v Speaker 1>call and Ama ask me anything, and Abba ask Bianca

0:32:44.960 --> 0:32:48.719
<v Speaker 1>anything too. Your questions will count as your birthday present

0:32:48.760 --> 0:32:51.200
<v Speaker 1>to me. You can leave us a voicemail at eight

0:32:51.280 --> 0:32:54.360
<v Speaker 1>seven two two O four fifty seventy, or if you

0:32:54.400 --> 0:32:56.960
<v Speaker 1>prefer being able to record multiple takes, you can send

0:32:56.960 --> 0:32:59.120
<v Speaker 1>it in the form of a voice memo and email

0:32:59.160 --> 0:33:02.640
<v Speaker 1>it to Good Game wondermedianetwork dot com and don't forget

0:33:02.640 --> 0:33:05.960
<v Speaker 1>to subscribe, rate and review slices. It really helps the show.

0:33:06.240 --> 0:33:08.720
<v Speaker 1>If you haven't done it, run along and do it now.

0:33:09.040 --> 0:33:14.720
<v Speaker 1>It's real easy. Watch crotch machine meet the chest check rating.

0:33:15.200 --> 0:33:19.760
<v Speaker 1>One brought it for everyone review You remember back in

0:33:19.800 --> 0:33:22.080
<v Speaker 1>the lead up to the Winter Olympics there were accusations

0:33:22.080 --> 0:33:25.240
<v Speaker 1>that athletes for getting penis injections to better fill out

0:33:25.240 --> 0:33:29.120
<v Speaker 1>their ski jumping suits. Well, we've got the cycling equivalent

0:33:29.160 --> 0:33:32.240
<v Speaker 1>in this year's Tour de France Femme. This time it's

0:33:32.360 --> 0:33:36.240
<v Speaker 1>chest maxing. Dutch Media has reported that some writers might

0:33:36.320 --> 0:33:39.440
<v Speaker 1>be using bra padding to smooth airflow and be more

0:33:39.480 --> 0:33:43.479
<v Speaker 1>aerodynamic during the race. Before the race's time trial stage

0:33:43.480 --> 0:33:48.240
<v Speaker 1>to Dijon on Tuesday, the UCI Union Cyclist Internaconal insisted

0:33:48.320 --> 0:33:51.640
<v Speaker 1>riders be examined to ensure they weren't wearing chest fairings

0:33:51.720 --> 0:33:55.480
<v Speaker 1>or hiding unnecessary clothing or items in their busts. Per

0:33:55.600 --> 0:33:59.080
<v Speaker 1>the Guardian quote, the UCI directive that selected riders have

0:33:59.160 --> 0:34:01.800
<v Speaker 1>extra checks before the stage to Dijon came at the

0:34:01.840 --> 0:34:04.800
<v Speaker 1>instigation of some teams who had noticed changes to rider

0:34:04.840 --> 0:34:06.480
<v Speaker 1>physiques before time trials.

0:34:06.920 --> 0:34:07.920
<v Speaker 2>End quote.

0:34:08.040 --> 0:34:11.240
<v Speaker 1>Many top athletes supported the checks as necessary to ensure

0:34:11.280 --> 0:34:14.760
<v Speaker 1>fair practice, but the CPA and independent group that represents

0:34:14.800 --> 0:34:18.080
<v Speaker 1>the interests of riders criticized the lack of transparency around

0:34:18.120 --> 0:34:20.760
<v Speaker 1>the testing and the late rollout of a never before

0:34:20.760 --> 0:34:25.359
<v Speaker 1>employed test, expressing concern for rider privacy and dignity. All

0:34:25.400 --> 0:34:27.560
<v Speaker 1>this has me thinking, how did I miss out on

0:34:27.600 --> 0:34:29.640
<v Speaker 1>trying the one sport where a big rack a lamb

0:34:29.719 --> 0:34:33.640
<v Speaker 1>is a competitive advantage? Now it's your turn slices, rate

0:34:33.719 --> 0:34:37.920
<v Speaker 1>and review. Thanks for listening, See you next week. Good Game, Ronika,

0:34:38.480 --> 0:34:42.040
<v Speaker 1>Good Game, Olivia Miles view the fact that the joy

0:34:42.080 --> 0:34:45.360
<v Speaker 1>of Houston fans is coming at the expense of Connecticut fans.

0:34:47.320 --> 0:34:50.160
<v Speaker 1>Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iheartwomen's sports production

0:34:50.239 --> 0:34:53.080
<v Speaker 1>in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can

0:34:53.120 --> 0:34:56.280
<v Speaker 1>find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

0:34:56.280 --> 0:34:59.600
<v Speaker 1>you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network, our

0:34:59.600 --> 0:35:03.280
<v Speaker 1>producer are Alex Azzi and Bianca Hillier. Our executive producers

0:35:03.320 --> 0:35:06.520
<v Speaker 1>are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder.

0:35:06.760 --> 0:35:09.600
<v Speaker 1>Our editors are Emily Rudder, Lucy Jones, Britney Martinez, and

0:35:09.680 --> 0:35:13.200
<v Speaker 1>Gianna Palmer, production assistant from Avery LOFTUS and I'm Your

0:35:13.200 --> 0:35:14.280
<v Speaker 1>Host Sarah Spain