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Speaker 1: This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.

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Speaker 2: What is up Straight Fire, fam, It's me Jason McIntyre,

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Speaker 2: Straight Bowyer for Friday, June the twenty seventh. We got

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Speaker 2: a great podcast today, folks. Not a lot happened in

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Speaker 2: the sports world, but recently I spoke to Christine Brennan,

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Speaker 2: author of a new book, Oh Yeah, on her game,

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Speaker 2: Kitlin Clark in the Revolution in Women's Sports. So we

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Speaker 2: have a lengthy, awesome interview with Christine Brennan, who dives

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Speaker 2: deep into Kitlin Clark, all the hate she was getting

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Speaker 2: around the league, how the league was ill prepared to

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Speaker 2: handle her, the Olympic snub. I mean it was, I mean,

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Speaker 2: it was all really really interesting last year, and Christine

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Speaker 2: Brennan puts it into this new book that she's got.

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Speaker 2: It's going to be a bestseller. It is out, I

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Speaker 2: believe within the next week. And I spoke to her recently,

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Speaker 2: so we'll talk about that real quick. From a housekeeping notes,

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Speaker 2: your boy hung another banner out here in California thirty

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Speaker 2: five and up league. We go undefeated, win the championship.

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Speaker 2: This is a tea quick backstory. Nobody cares about this,

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Speaker 2: absolutely nobody cares except for like the fifteen people who

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Speaker 2: go to my gym that listen to this and really

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Speaker 2: get crack up and come up to me telling me

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Speaker 2: how much they laugh at this stuff. So we joined

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Speaker 2: this thirty five and up league, and then I had

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Speaker 2: to go to Japan for spring break. So I had

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Speaker 2: our team of ten and I submitted. I basically told

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Speaker 2: our guy here, here's what we're doing. Submit these names.

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Speaker 2: So he submits ten, and while I'm in Japan, he

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Speaker 2: adds two dudes. The roster limits ten. So I come back.

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Speaker 2: I'm sorry, I'm in Japan. I remember being on the

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Speaker 2: bullet train. I think we had just left Tokyo. Oh no,

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Speaker 2: we had just left Kyoto. We're on a bullet train.

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Speaker 2: And I start getting texts. Hey, j Mac, you got

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Speaker 2: to talk to you about the league. You guys try

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Speaker 2: to have twelve people. This isn't gonna work. From the commissioner,

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Speaker 2: who's a great guy, and his daughter is the number

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Speaker 2: six recruit in the country in the rising sophomore class.

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Speaker 2: She is amazing at basketball. I see her play like

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Speaker 2: I'm not lying. She's the best women's basketball player I've

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Speaker 2: seen up close. I mean, I've seen WNBA players, but like,

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Speaker 2: this girl's incredible. So anyways, so we now have twelve

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Speaker 2: players when the roster limits ten. The guys like, come on,

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Speaker 2: how could you guys do this? So I get upset

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Speaker 2: at my guy, how could you do this? So we

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Speaker 2: have to basically chop the twelve and a half and

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Speaker 2: then each of us has to add guys. That's the

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Speaker 2: only fair way to do it. We couldn't, but we

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Speaker 2: couldn't cut any of the dudes that we already committed,

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Speaker 2: so the Great Foxes kind of had to split up,

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Speaker 2: and then we had to get six and six, and

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Speaker 2: then we added some dudes and they added some dudes.

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Speaker 2: Ends up. Of course, we were the two best teams,

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Speaker 2: although they didn't have guys show up all the time,

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Speaker 2: so they lost a few games. Anyways, we meet in

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Speaker 2: the semifinals Monday. While I'm in Arizona. I had we

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Speaker 2: already beat them in a close game, the only team

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Speaker 2: to lead us in the second half all season. I

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Speaker 2: tell one of my guys, hey man, FaceTime me for

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Speaker 2: the end of the game. You know, I just want

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Speaker 2: to see it. I'm at dinner in Arizona with you know,

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Speaker 2: the team, and all of a sudden, I get FaceTime.

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Speaker 2: I'm like, why, Oh, the game I totally forgotten. So

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Speaker 2: he's like, oh, we're up seven with about a minute left.

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Speaker 2: I'm like, all right, sweet, out of the blue boom,

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Speaker 2: they hit a three, cut it to four. Next possession,

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Speaker 2: we don't score, they score. It's down to two with

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Speaker 2: thirty seconds left. I'm like, oh my gosh, it's this real.

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Speaker 2: We're trying to inbound the ball, we turn it over.

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Speaker 2: They get a layup, tie game with like ten seconds left.

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Speaker 2: I'm like, oh my gosh. I actually considered flying back

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Speaker 2: from Arizona to La for the game because it's against friends, right,

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Speaker 2: opted against it, thinking we're fine because we had everybody

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Speaker 2: except me and this guy on our team who's who's

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Speaker 2: like a doctor of some kind. Draw He's like six

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Speaker 2: to three, so you know he's a good basketball player.

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Speaker 2: He drives and scores at the buzzer. Pretty cool move,

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Speaker 2: and I was like, oh sweet, so I celebrate. Then

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Speaker 2: one of our guys was telling his son, who plays

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Speaker 2: point guard on the local high school team, Yeah, this guy,

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Speaker 2: he was really good. He had a lot of points.

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Speaker 2: Let me look him up at the internet. I didn't

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Speaker 2: even know this, but the guy who scored the game

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Speaker 2: winner was a D three star, scored two thousand points

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Speaker 2: for his college in Colorado, and he's really really good anyway,

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Speaker 2: So we play in the championship game and we kind

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Speaker 2: of roll. Matt Liner hit three threes in a row.

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Speaker 2: If you look on my ig stories, Liner just cooked,

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Speaker 2: and we pulled away in the second half and beat him.

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Speaker 2: So I was able to hang a banner last night.

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Speaker 2: So I missed most of the NBA Draft. I get

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Speaker 2: home and I'm like trying to go down. It's funny

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Speaker 2: if you go to Wikipedia and you just look at oh,

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Speaker 2: let me look at the picks. Okay, Fleming a good pick, Okay,

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Speaker 2: Johnny Brew, Oh yeah, to the Sixers. So that's fine.

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Speaker 2: But then if you go to ESPN for the draft,

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Speaker 2: you have to look closer because apparently like half of

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Speaker 2: the second round was traded. I was stunned. I was like,

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Speaker 2: is this real? Almost every it felt like every other

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Speaker 2: pick was traded. So like the Lakers, according to Wikipedia,

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Speaker 2: got this dude, Lachlan Orblick from the NBL in Australia.

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Speaker 2: It's like, oh great. Then I go to ESPN. No,

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Speaker 2: he was traded to Chicago. So who do the Lakers

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Speaker 2: get Oh, they got thero the young kid from Arkansas

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Speaker 2: who actually look pretty good in limited moments, but he's

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Speaker 2: kind of a tweeter, can't really shoot, But holy hell,

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Speaker 2: is the athletic an upside play? But you have to

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Speaker 2: like Different websites are struggling to capture what happened in

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Speaker 2: the draft because there were so many trades. So I'm

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Speaker 2: not going to dive deep. There's really nothing in the

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Speaker 2: second round, So enjoy the interview with Christine Brennan. The

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Speaker 2: book is on her Game, Caitlin Clark and the Women

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Speaker 2: and the Revolution in Women's Sports.

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Speaker 1: You know a guy, Jason likes to think he knows

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Speaker 1: everything when it comes to sports.

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Speaker 3: I know what sports fans want, but.

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Speaker 1: For everything he doesn't, he knows the guy who does.

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Speaker 3: Let's just say I know a guy who knows the

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Speaker 3: guy who knows another guy.

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Speaker 2: All right, let's welcome into Fire a first time guest

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Speaker 2: on the podcast, and oh boys, she might have the

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Speaker 2: sports book of the summer. Christine Brennan, a longtime USA

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Speaker 2: Today columnist, has a new book out titled On Her Game,

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Speaker 2: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports. Christine, how

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Speaker 2: are you?

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Speaker 3: Oh? I'm great, Jason, thanks for having me. How are

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Speaker 3: you doing. I'm excellent.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for sending me the book. It's going to make

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Speaker 2: for great summer reading. It just so happens. Kaitlin Clark's

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Speaker 2: in the news kind of sort of often recently, Christine,

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Speaker 2: I mean, it is such a massive story. She has

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Speaker 2: hit this league. Like a comment. Let's start from the beginning. Obviously,

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Speaker 2: you've done a lot of books before, and you you

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Speaker 2: covered everything for USA today. I'm just curious, what were

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Speaker 2: the origins of this of this book on Kitlin Clark.

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Speaker 3: Jason, I'm going to say it started in my kitchen.

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Speaker 3: And I'm not one of those women. You know the

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Speaker 3: old line about women in the kitchen, right, you do

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Speaker 3: not want me in the kitchen. I mean, I'm not

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Speaker 3: a cook, right, It's it's you know, order out or restaurants, whatever.

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Speaker 3: But I was. I was aware of Caitlin Clark her

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Speaker 3: sophomore year at Iowa. But I was also I'm fortunate

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Speaker 3: to cover the Olympics, so like I'm at the Beijing Olympics,

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Speaker 3: the Winter Olympics in twenty twenty two, with massed up

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Speaker 3: being tested every you know, COVID, We're all in the

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Speaker 3: midst of it, when she had some monster game against

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Speaker 3: Michigan that people kind of I think was a moment

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Speaker 3: people saw I missed that because I was, you know,

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Speaker 3: halfway around the world happily so and so now it's

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Speaker 3: her junior year. It's February of twenty twenty three, and

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Speaker 3: my whole I went to Northwestern, but my siblings, all

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Speaker 3: three siblings and a brother in law and niece all

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Speaker 3: went to Indiana. And the Indiana women's basketball team was

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Speaker 3: number two in the country and they're playing Iowa. I

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Speaker 3: knew Kaitlyn Clark was on the team obviously, and I

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Speaker 3: was watching on my iPad and at the very end

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Speaker 3: of that game, Indiana's up by one and I was

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Speaker 3: got a second and a half, and of course they're

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Speaker 3: inbounding to Caitlin and she breaked free and it's kind

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Speaker 3: of sideways and one leg askew, and you know, just

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Speaker 3: heaving the ball kind of from the parking lot and

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Speaker 3: it goes in and they won the game, and all

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Speaker 3: of a sudden, you know, she's going crazy and the

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Speaker 3: place is going crazy. I think they win by one,

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Speaker 3: So may have my numbers off a little on that,

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Speaker 3: but bottom line is, you know, it's just this moment

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Speaker 3: and ESPN's showing highlight after highlight after highlight. And I've

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Speaker 3: very lucky. I've covered a lot. I've been around the

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Speaker 3: world a lot, covered super Bowls, you know, Olympics, Wimbledon's

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Speaker 3: Daytona five hundred. I mean, I've been very fortunate. I

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Speaker 3: found myself kind of weirdly watching it over and over again,

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Speaker 3: like what had I just seen? My family is we're

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Speaker 3: texting same thing, friends, like texting me, did you just

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Speaker 3: see that? It is just a February Big Ten basketball game?

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Speaker 3: And I kind of at that moment like this is interesting,

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Speaker 3: And for me it was really I think informative to

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Speaker 3: not be on pres row. Not that press row changes it,

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Speaker 3: but you know, there's a way of kind of being

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Speaker 3: on press row, like you're racing on deadline, right, You've

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Speaker 3: done all this kind of stuff. It's sound, getting the

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Speaker 3: locker room out of the locker room, whatever, and it

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Speaker 3: maybe makes it a little more just work or more

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Speaker 3: like I've seen this before versus kind of watching it,

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Speaker 3: you know on this iPad. Wow, that was really something,

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Speaker 3: and I think that helped inform me. Once this Kitlin

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Speaker 3: Clark thing started getting going of just how big a

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Speaker 3: deal she is and how people I was an observer.

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Speaker 3: I wasn't. I wasn't a fan. I was just watching.

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Speaker 3: But it's observers, fans, people in their homes starting to

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Speaker 3: catch on to this, and all of a sudden, the

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Speaker 3: TV ratings once she and Iowa against LSU nine point

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Speaker 3: nine million watching. And then the next year when she

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Speaker 3: takes Iowa back to the women's final four and the

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Speaker 3: final game, improbably that Iowa team should you know, was

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Speaker 3: not expected to get anywhere near that, and then they

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Speaker 3: end up with eighteen point nine million viewers for the

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Speaker 3: women's final, and the next night the men have four

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Speaker 3: million fewer. The first time ever the women's on the

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Speaker 3: NCAA beats the men by four million. And the women

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Speaker 3: were in the afternoon on network ABC, but afternoon versus

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Speaker 3: nighttime studying, no matter what the what the comparison is.

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Speaker 3: And I think that really kind of showed me and

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Speaker 3: started me on this, you know, kind of following her,

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Speaker 3: keeping an eye on or not not excluding other things,

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Speaker 3: but from a different point of view. I finally wrote

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Speaker 3: a column about the Olympics. I thought they should absolutly

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Speaker 3: put her on the team and should she stay for

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Speaker 3: a fifth year. She had the COVID opportunity to have

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Speaker 3: the fifth and I thought, you know, she probably wouldn't,

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Speaker 3: but you know, no one's more loved than Caitlin Clark

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Speaker 3: and Iowa for that fifth year. I wrote that in

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Speaker 3: February of twenty twenty four, So that's the first column

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Speaker 3: I wrote almost a year later, and then started writing

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Speaker 3: a few more columns. And as interest was growing, as

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Speaker 3: people were trying to minimize her, IS got Diana dross

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Speaker 3: Is saying not the nicest things and other and Sheryl

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Speaker 3: Swoops strange things, and you know, started to really kind

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Speaker 3: of cover it more. And then finally literally I met her.

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Speaker 3: I covered a game or two in Indiana when the

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Speaker 3: Olympic swimming trials were in Indianapolis. If they'd not been there,

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Speaker 3: I wouldn't have been at the Fever Games. And I

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Speaker 3: went over to those five blocks away from Lucas Oil

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Speaker 3: and the swimming and started, you know again, wrote a

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Speaker 3: couple of columns and did get a chance to meet

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Speaker 3: her and have a you know, five minute chat off

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Speaker 3: the record, just you know, got finally meeting this person,

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Speaker 3: and she was thanking me for my coverage and I'm

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Speaker 3: thanking her for the greatest show in sports and anything.

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Speaker 3: One one thing led to the next, and it was

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Speaker 3: just an idea and an editor and I were talking

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Speaker 3: at Scribner, and sure enough I had a book deal

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Speaker 3: and I was writing a book after I got back

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Speaker 3: from the Paris Olympics, and just go that that point,

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Speaker 3: I'm just going right to Indy and just following the

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Speaker 3: team and asking Caitlin Clark questions, what I get a

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Speaker 3: chance anything, nothing's off limits, no holds barred, journalistic book,

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Speaker 3: you know, not authorized, but Caitlin certainly was incredible in

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Speaker 3: answering anything I asked her, And of course the coaching

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Speaker 3: staff and the practices I was in and all the

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Speaker 3: other things that come with writing a book about a

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Speaker 3: moment and a time and also reporting the heck out

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Speaker 3: of it and having breaking news in the book. So yeah, truly,

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Speaker 3: I know that's a long answer, but it all started

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Speaker 3: with watching on my iPad, Yeah, and seeing something that

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Speaker 3: even in this stage of my career, Jason covering Tiger

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Speaker 3: Woods the length of his career covering Olympics, and Michael

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Speaker 3: Phelps and Katie Lidecki and some Moan Biles and you know,

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Speaker 3: Carl Lewis back at the eighty four Olympics in LA.

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Speaker 3: There was something about this kid and the way she

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Speaker 3: was shooting and what was happening that was truly intriguing

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Speaker 3: to me. And obviously, well clearly I'm not alone in

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Speaker 3: the country as people have fallen obviously in love with

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Speaker 3: everything about her, as I've of course continued to cover

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Speaker 3: her journalistically.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so she those names you just mentioned are like

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Speaker 2: Mount Rushmore type names, but I think you're probably right.

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Speaker 2: She's headed there. That season you're talking about, that was

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Speaker 2: the one where they met LSU in the title game, right, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: that was hERG you here because I remember we were

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Speaker 2: on my kids at spring break. We were in Hawaii

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Speaker 2: and my wife and daughter. My daughter plays hoop, so

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Speaker 2: we had gotten into Caitlin Clark a little bit. We

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Speaker 2: start following this and we're in Hawaii. It's the middle

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Speaker 2: of the day and we're like, all right, we got

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Speaker 2: to get to a TV and we went to like

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Speaker 2: the bar next to the pool, and we're like, can

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Speaker 2: you put the the LSU game on? And we're watching

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Speaker 2: it while in Hawaii on spring break, Like, I my

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Speaker 2: family won't let me do that for regular sports, Okay,

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Speaker 2: this was a unique situation and Clark, she's been basically

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Speaker 2: the biggest deal in women's sports. I know people don't

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Speaker 2: want to hear this, but women's team sports. Ever, can

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Speaker 2: we say that? Or Christine? Is that out of bounce?

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Speaker 3: No, definitely, women's team sports. Absolutely nothing even close. And

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Speaker 3: I think it's important to say, and I know you

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Speaker 3: did say women's team sports because tennis kind of is

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Speaker 3: in its own right. And when you've got Althea Gibson

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Speaker 3: breaking the color barrier in the fifties, I mean, that's

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Speaker 3: incredible what she did winning a few Grand Slam tournaments

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Speaker 3: as an American woman, a black American woman, way way

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Speaker 3: way back, and then of course Billy Jean King and

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Speaker 3: Chris Evert and Martina and Abertilova, and then the last

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Speaker 3: twenty five years Venus Williams and Serena Williams extraordinary and

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Speaker 3: the equal mont prize money that Billy Jean King got

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Speaker 3: in seventy three at the US Open, when it took

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Speaker 3: another quarter century for the other three Grand Slams to

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Speaker 3: have equal prize money. So yes, you kind of have

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Speaker 3: put tennis in its own category. But it's also an

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Speaker 3: individual sport and it's also not a sport where there's

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Speaker 3: a home game every other day or you know leagues. Yeah, yeah, right,

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Speaker 3: so in terms of league, you know, what do we

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Speaker 3: build on as kids growing I grew up in the

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Speaker 3: suburbs of Toledo and we were I was following the

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Speaker 3: Detroit Tigers and we had season tickets to the Toledo

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Speaker 3: mud Hens, and every day in the newspaper you can

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Speaker 3: see the standings, you know, my Triple A mud Hens,

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Speaker 3: and then the Tigers where the parent club. And then

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Speaker 3: you know, and you'd follow the NBA, you'd follow the NFL,

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Speaker 3: the standings, you know who's playing where, you know, where

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Speaker 3: are these games? You know, that's that's the backbone of

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Speaker 3: American sports, and that's how kids start watching sports, cheering

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Speaker 3: for their hometown team or you know, falling in love

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Speaker 3: with the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Miami Dolphins or whatever

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Speaker 3: it might be. Well, women's sports has not never been

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Speaker 3: a player in that space, right, it's never They've tried,

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Speaker 3: but it just never has caught on. And you know,

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Speaker 3: we have a male dominated mainstream sports media. It's tough

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Speaker 3: to crack. Got a very very you know, heavily packed,

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Speaker 3: you know, sports landscape and you know, to try to

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Speaker 3: then wedge another sport in that's hard. You know. The

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Speaker 3: WNBA gets started in nineteen ninety seven after the success

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Speaker 3: at the ninety six Atlanta Olympics, the gold medal there,

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Speaker 3: and and you know, they actually had some really big

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Speaker 3: crowds in Detroit. They had some nice TV ratings when

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Speaker 3: there were only three or four channels back then. But

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Speaker 3: in general it was ignored. It was given short shrift.

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Speaker 3: You know, newspapers would put the summer intern on it. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: you know. The idea, as you know, is to keep

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Speaker 3: the arenas open. A lot of these owners were NBA

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Speaker 3: owners who wanted to have something to you know, fill

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Speaker 3: the arena in the summertime, and they'd have girls from

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Speaker 3: camp and you'd get those high pitched squeals from all

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Speaker 3: the girls in the crowd. But it never really really

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Speaker 3: caught on as much as I wanted it to, Pat

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Speaker 3: Sean and I certainly talked to editors and wrote and

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Speaker 3: talked about things on TV. I did a lot, but

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Speaker 3: and so many other people did too. It just never

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Speaker 3: really caught on until this kid from Iowa shows up

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Speaker 3: chucking it from the parking lot and all of a

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Speaker 3: sudden now it truly is in that major league conversation

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Speaker 3: sports conversation obviously you have every day and so many

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Speaker 3: of us have and and it truly is remarkable that

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Speaker 3: it's happened. And you know, I know a lot of

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Speaker 3: people this is there's a lot of friction, a lot

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Speaker 3: of controversy. What ye say it right? You got to

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Speaker 3: give credit to Caitlin Clark because attendance figures moving to

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Speaker 3: bigger arenas, selling out the arenas. You know, twenty four

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Speaker 3: regular season games last year in the WNBA had a

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Speaker 3: million or more viewers. Twenty one of the twenty four

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Speaker 3: of regular season featured Kitlin Clark. It was either Indiana

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Speaker 3: Fever or the All Star Game twenty one out twenty four.

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Speaker 3: You cannot deny the impact this one woman has made

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Speaker 3: on a league that so deserved the attention but never

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Speaker 3: got it.

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Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in

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Speaker 1: the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio

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Speaker 1: dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to

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Speaker 1: listen live.

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Speaker 2: People are and I know that Dinah Rossi doesn't want

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Speaker 2: to hear this, but for the first time in league history,

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Speaker 2: people are seeking out the WNBA, being like I want

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Speaker 2: to find this game. I want to watch this game

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Speaker 2: that's never happened before. So I guess my question would be,

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Speaker 2: what is it about Clark that has America so captivating?

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Speaker 2: It can't just be the threes. It can't just be

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Speaker 2: that she's from Little Indiana. It can't just be that

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Speaker 2: she's white. Like, is there one thing or maybe it's

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Speaker 2: just a ton of things combined.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think certainly. You know, starting from Iowa as

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Speaker 3: a launching pad is extraordinary because that is where six

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Speaker 3: on six girl basketball, which I deal with in the

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Speaker 3: book as well, you know where I talk about the

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Speaker 3: history there going back to the nineteen twenties, girls were

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Speaker 3: playing six on six basketball. What that meant was they

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Speaker 3: couldn't cross the center line, I guess because people thought

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Speaker 3: if they ran full court that they might not be

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Speaker 3: able to have children or not. What you know, it's

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Speaker 3: really do that. It's fascinating. So you had three defenders

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Speaker 3: and three offensive players from each team on one side

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Speaker 3: of the court, the same on the other, and girls

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Speaker 3: in high school grew up not knowing if you were

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Speaker 3: a defender, you never shot, and if you were a shooter,

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Speaker 3: you never defended. And eventually this one as great as

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Speaker 3: this was, and they'd fill up the des Moines Arena,

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Speaker 3: you know, the auditorium for the finals, and everyone from

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Speaker 3: It's kind of like Hoosiers, you know, everyone comes around

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Speaker 3: from the movie Hoosiers, from the state and the girls,

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Speaker 3: you know, after they put the bucket up and the

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Speaker 3: hayloft and the girls were shooting, after they did their

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Speaker 3: shores on the farm, and the teams, whatever teams won

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Speaker 3: and there was no delineation of the size of the

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Speaker 3: high school, just like Hoosiers, just like what Indiana had,

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Speaker 3: so you know, the little school can beat the big school.

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Speaker 3: They'd all meet in Des Moines and the cars, you know,

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Speaker 3: the caravans of people going to Des Moines for these games.

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Speaker 3: It was huge. What that tells us as ridiculous as

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Speaker 3: it was that they couldn't cross the center line. And

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Speaker 3: that changed, by the way, when Iowa girl high school

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Speaker 3: players were not being recruited by college coaches because you

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Speaker 3: can't how do you recruit someone that doesn't not how

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Speaker 3: to play defense? So the push started internally in Iowa

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Speaker 3: to to like some of the players obviously made it

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Speaker 3: out and Jan Jensen and Lisa Bluter, the former coach

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Speaker 3: and the current coach of both played. Jan Jensen was

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Speaker 3: a superstar six on six and they both played college.

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Speaker 3: But in general, most of the kids never had a

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Speaker 3: chance because they weren't playing the right game. But you've

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Speaker 3: got this attitude of love of girls' sports and love

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Speaker 3: of girls basketball at a very very early time in

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Speaker 3: our history, well before title line which was signed in

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Speaker 3: nineteen seventy two. So that's going on. I think there's

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Speaker 3: a mindset there. Then, I do truly believe I agree

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Speaker 3: with you. It's not just the logo threes, but the

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Speaker 3: logo threes are the kind of thing. I've got a

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Speaker 3: chapter title and on her game, and the chapter is

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Speaker 3: you can't take your eyes off her. It's a quote

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Speaker 3: from Curtis Strange to US Open Golf champion. Yeah, was

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Speaker 3: talking to Curtis about about Tiger Woods and Caitlin Clark

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Speaker 3: about a year ago actually for USA Today column. And

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Speaker 3: then I use some of that in the book. And

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Speaker 3: you know, he's like, you don't run to the bathroom,

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Speaker 3: don't leave the room when she's bringing the ball up.

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Speaker 3: You just never know what's going to happen. And that,

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Speaker 3: I mean, for anyone to say that is amazing for

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Speaker 3: you know, hey, men's golf, right kind of guys. Guys

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Speaker 3: you know, and Curtis is a great guy. I like

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Speaker 3: them a ton, but I wouldn't necessarily think that the

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Speaker 3: men's Golf World would be your number one target audience

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Speaker 3: for women's basket right. And I'm saying that with a

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Speaker 3: big smile because I like those guys a lot, But

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Speaker 3: that's not your fan base that you would think of,

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Speaker 3: and here it is now it is, So I think

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Speaker 3: that's it. The passing, you know this Jase and the

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Speaker 3: passes are absolutely extraordinary. Again, if she's not checking it

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Speaker 3: from the parking lot, she's literally going to pass the

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Speaker 3: ball behind her back. She's going to find someone who's open.

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Speaker 3: The players are running, like, by the way, sorry, I've

427
00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:03,639
Speaker 3: got a big storm brewing here behind in Washington. You know,

428
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,159
Speaker 3: the players are running. Her teammates can't wait to just

429
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:09,920
Speaker 3: run down the court. She's eyes up and she's bringing

430
00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:13,399
Speaker 3: the ball up. So it's anticipation and you can almost

431
00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:17,159
Speaker 3: if you could ever hear anticipation in a crowd, you

432
00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:20,399
Speaker 3: can hear it. In Indiana. There's something about like, you know,

433
00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,240
Speaker 3: people are just what's going to happen with bringing the

434
00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,200
Speaker 3: ball down the court. I think that's why people buy tickets,

435
00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,199
Speaker 3: take their daughters, granddaughters, their sons, their grandsons, whoever, to

436
00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:31,720
Speaker 3: the games. But I also think it's the reason people

437
00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:35,800
Speaker 3: tune in. It's just the absolute thrill of what's happening next,

438
00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:40,520
Speaker 3: which is in many ways the very definition of good entertainment.

439
00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,640
Speaker 3: And that's what she provides, whether she's dribbling the ball

440
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:48,160
Speaker 3: up the court, whether she's passing or shooting. I think

441
00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:52,480
Speaker 3: that's it being a white woman absolutely, you know, I

442
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:54,480
Speaker 3: mean any of us should say this. I deal with

443
00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:56,800
Speaker 3: the racial issue in the book in a big way

444
00:22:57,720 --> 00:22:59,760
Speaker 3: and talk about the history of a seventy four percent

445
00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:05,080
Speaker 3: league and the difficult times starting that league, and the

446
00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:09,000
Speaker 3: difficult difficulties that these great women like Maya Moore and

447
00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:12,880
Speaker 3: you know, so many others, Cheryl Swoops and others over

448
00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:15,919
Speaker 3: the years just to get attention. They got some, but

449
00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,840
Speaker 3: to have people take them seriously and to cover them,

450
00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:21,920
Speaker 3: you know, like a men's sport that just wasn't happening

451
00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:24,359
Speaker 3: back in the day, and so all of that I

452
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:26,879
Speaker 3: think you put in to play and the timing was

453
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:31,440
Speaker 3: right with a WNBA. You know, you've got a pro

454
00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,640
Speaker 3: league she can go to. Whereas like the ninety nine

455
00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,560
Speaker 3: Women's World Cup Soccer, which I think everyone remembers, Brandy

456
00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:40,919
Speaker 3: chest Ain womeners shook over her head. I covered that

457
00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:44,119
Speaker 3: July ten, nineteen nine in the Rose Bowl. That was huge,

458
00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:46,840
Speaker 3: and they made the team made the cover of Time, Newsweek, People,

459
00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:50,600
Speaker 3: and Sports Illustrated only time ever that one story has

460
00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,040
Speaker 3: made those four covers in a week ever, and that's

461
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:55,720
Speaker 3: the US women's soccer team and Brandy chest Ain. Well,

462
00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:58,800
Speaker 3: that was great. And then you know, remember the nation

463
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:03,080
Speaker 3: was just riveted these players. And basically the next time

464
00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:06,280
Speaker 3: we saw them other than some friendlies and Olympic preparation

465
00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:11,560
Speaker 3: was the Olympic Games in two thousand. I covered the

466
00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:14,720
Speaker 3: game in Melbourne for the Sydney Olympics where they started

467
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,480
Speaker 3: their Olympic quest to theme won the silver medal, and

468
00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:23,240
Speaker 3: that was fourteen months later. Eland Clark from the moment

469
00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:25,600
Speaker 3: she plays her last college game to being drafted in

470
00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:30,040
Speaker 3: the w NBA is eight days, eight days, during which

471
00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:33,919
Speaker 3: time she was on Saturday Night Live eight days. And

472
00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:36,800
Speaker 3: the women's soccer team, which is a comparison a team

473
00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,800
Speaker 3: versus individual, but the same kind of national love, and

474
00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:44,000
Speaker 3: that team goes away for fourteen months, fourteen months, eight days.

475
00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:47,840
Speaker 3: I think that really helped to keep it going and

476
00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:50,880
Speaker 3: that fan interest could just go there's a bridge right

477
00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,000
Speaker 3: to the WNBA, and clearly it did go right to

478
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:54,760
Speaker 3: the WNBA.

479
00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:59,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, it's weird the brushback that they're getting

480
00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,480
Speaker 2: or they're giving Clark. I know you taught, you interviewed

481
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:06,000
Speaker 2: I'm sure a million people for the book. I'm mostly curious.

482
00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:09,000
Speaker 2: This seventy four percent black league is interesting. Did you

483
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,280
Speaker 2: get a sense that there was I know, the word

484
00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:15,400
Speaker 2: jealousy is very polarizing, but like, there's been a lot

485
00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:18,240
Speaker 2: of great African American basketball players in the WNBA, A

486
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:21,399
Speaker 2: ton of them, dozens, I'm sure Hall of Fame Cherild swooped,

487
00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:25,720
Speaker 2: and they never got this attention that Clark's getting. And

488
00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:29,000
Speaker 2: I just wonder, and I'm asking, do you think that

489
00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,960
Speaker 2: there is some jealousy and that's why there was so

490
00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:34,760
Speaker 2: much blowback last year and this year already for Clark.

491
00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:38,159
Speaker 3: Yeah, I do think that's that's the case. And I

492
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:41,520
Speaker 3: do have some quotes in the book and some people

493
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:45,040
Speaker 3: that I talked to that kind of discuss this issue.

494
00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:46,600
Speaker 3: For sure. I mean, I deal with it. I mean,

495
00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:48,639
Speaker 3: you have to deal with this and book that's an

496
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,719
Speaker 3: honest portrayal of Caitlin Clark, and this time in women's

497
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,280
Speaker 3: sports and in our culture and of course in the WNBA.

498
00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,320
Speaker 3: And yeah, and I think that I don't think that's

499
00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,840
Speaker 3: shocking to anyone, right, I mean, you know, you've been

500
00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:06,639
Speaker 3: doing something for a long time, and you've been trying hard,

501
00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:09,720
Speaker 3: and people, you know, mostly people haven't paid attention. I mean,

502
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,560
Speaker 3: the TV ratings have clicked up a little, but you know,

503
00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:15,480
Speaker 3: in general, it's it's an it's been an afterthought. And

504
00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:19,080
Speaker 3: I've hated I've hated that. Oh my gosh, I worked

505
00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:22,440
Speaker 3: for CNN and ABC. I'm honored to do that. And

506
00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,840
Speaker 3: when we were talking about the NBA in the bubble

507
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:29,960
Speaker 3: during COVID in twenty twenty and all the you know

508
00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:35,399
Speaker 3: civil you know, the social injustice and their action, the

509
00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:38,840
Speaker 3: incredible the protests and the things that the players were

510
00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:40,680
Speaker 3: doing in the NBA, I made sure when I was

511
00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:43,520
Speaker 3: talking to the anchor on air, just say, well, let's

512
00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:46,240
Speaker 3: also talk about the WNBA and what they're doing about

513
00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:48,879
Speaker 3: George Floyd's murder and what they're doing about Black Lives

514
00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:51,480
Speaker 3: Matter and other things like that. You know, it was like, Oh,

515
00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:54,479
Speaker 3: we're just kind of forgetting the WNBA. I'm not blaming anyone,

516
00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,680
Speaker 3: it's just easier to talk about the NBA and what, yeah,

517
00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:01,280
Speaker 3: as they were doing civil disobedient, you know, and and

518
00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,080
Speaker 3: just obviously on the very important topic of civil rights

519
00:27:04,119 --> 00:27:07,399
Speaker 3: and and the you know, the terrible treatment of and

520
00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:10,760
Speaker 3: murder of of some uh you know, black men and

521
00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:14,320
Speaker 3: black women, you know, because of on the you know,

522
00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:16,600
Speaker 3: by the police. So so many issues there, of course,

523
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,160
Speaker 3: as we know, and George Floyd was huge, terrible, tragedy,

524
00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:23,679
Speaker 3: awful at that particular moment. And so you know, I

525
00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,600
Speaker 3: think I think it's easy to kind of go, geez,

526
00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:30,520
Speaker 3: we're never getting attention, and that's and that and and

527
00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:33,119
Speaker 3: also I think you settle into something at that point

528
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:38,359
Speaker 3: like this is our world. Well, then here comes a woman,

529
00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:43,520
Speaker 3: obviously great player, deservedly so getting the spotlight. Maybe that

530
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,960
Speaker 3: surprises some people, but as we described a few moments ago,

531
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:49,800
Speaker 3: there's a lot that goes into the entertainer that Caitlyn

532
00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:53,439
Speaker 3: Clark is bringing grandma and grandpa who would never have

533
00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:55,919
Speaker 3: even known what time a w NBA game. They weren't

534
00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:58,160
Speaker 3: even known there was a w NBA game on TV.

535
00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:01,040
Speaker 3: Now are trying to figure out on their cable package

536
00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:04,439
Speaker 3: or what or they're streaming whatever. Where is that channel

537
00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:06,919
Speaker 3: so we can do? I have Prime so I can

538
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,080
Speaker 3: watch the streaming. I mean people are doing that. I

539
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:11,320
Speaker 3: know they are. I'm family members have been doing it

540
00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,760
Speaker 3: and I've found out about that. Like do we have

541
00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,119
Speaker 3: eye on on Archie? Where is that? Yes, I'd never

542
00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:18,760
Speaker 3: heard of that channel. I never had either, and I oh, okay,

543
00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:22,080
Speaker 3: I got there. It is even NBA TV, Like what

544
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:25,560
Speaker 3: you know, most people probably hadn't turned that on until

545
00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:28,159
Speaker 3: they wanted to watch Caitlin Clark. Okay, Now, this is

546
00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,480
Speaker 3: all happening the way I look at it, and I

547
00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:36,080
Speaker 3: think it's very important to discuss this I have. I'm

548
00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:37,920
Speaker 3: very proud of all the people I was able to

549
00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:39,640
Speaker 3: interview in the voices that I was able to have

550
00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:43,760
Speaker 3: in the book. One of the most proud moments was

551
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:47,320
Speaker 3: spending time talking to doctor Harry Edwards. Of course, doctor

552
00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:54,680
Speaker 3: Edwards is the renowned voice of reason of social activism

553
00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:58,960
Speaker 3: of obviously the issue of black athletes, and he was

554
00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:02,640
Speaker 3: in fact the impotent is for the Black Power Salute

555
00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:06,800
Speaker 3: at the nineteen sixty eight Mexico City Olympics. So doctor

556
00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:09,640
Speaker 3: Harry Edwards goes back a long way. We know each

557
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:12,200
Speaker 3: other well, We've been on panels together at Super Bowls

558
00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:16,480
Speaker 3: and other things. And I interviewed him in August, and

559
00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:18,840
Speaker 3: I spent lots of time talking to him and then

560
00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:23,000
Speaker 3: texting and chatting again about this and again it's in

561
00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:24,880
Speaker 3: the book and obviously the books that could be out

562
00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:27,320
Speaker 3: in a couple of weeks. So I can't just divulge

563
00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:30,760
Speaker 3: any a ton of secrets by any but I certainly

564
00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:33,960
Speaker 3: can say that when I talk to someone like Harry

565
00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:39,040
Speaker 3: Edwards or Brianna Scurry, the goalkeeper, the black I arguably

566
00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:42,080
Speaker 3: not arguably just she is the most famous, the first

567
00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:47,320
Speaker 3: famous superstar black you know, black superstar on the US

568
00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:49,920
Speaker 3: women's national soccer team, the most famous soccer team on

569
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:53,720
Speaker 3: the women's most famous women's sports team on the planet. Yeah,

570
00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:58,800
Speaker 3: Bryan Scurry, same thing. And about what the WNBA could

571
00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:03,520
Speaker 3: have done to prepare the players for this moment, not

572
00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:08,080
Speaker 3: because they're damsels in distress, not because they're lacking or

573
00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:12,680
Speaker 3: they're weak, or they're you know, you know, just you know,

574
00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:16,920
Speaker 3: needing help, but because this was such an unusual situation,

575
00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:22,480
Speaker 3: the w NBA getting this infusion of interest. It's incredible interest,

576
00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:26,520
Speaker 3: like just dropped on its head. You know, millions of

577
00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,120
Speaker 3: people caring about something that they didn't care about the

578
00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:33,120
Speaker 3: year before. What at I mean, we can that's a

579
00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:35,680
Speaker 3: whole other story. I mean, why do are people following?

580
00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:37,640
Speaker 3: Why do they love Kaalen? Whatever? That's we know some

581
00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:40,440
Speaker 3: of it. Is there some racial component? You bet there is.

582
00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:44,680
Speaker 3: I deal with them for sure. But that the players again,

583
00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:49,479
Speaker 3: seventy four percent black league? That what what Harry Edwards,

584
00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:53,440
Speaker 3: Bryanna Scurry and a few others like, why on earth

585
00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:59,960
Speaker 3: did the league not have seminars and zooms and experts

586
00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:04,640
Speaker 3: available to help the players? Again, not they're needy, but

587
00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:07,760
Speaker 3: because this is like anything we have ever seen in sports,

588
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:12,520
Speaker 3: and be ready for it, and be ready to accept it,

589
00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:17,560
Speaker 3: understand it, and move forward. And again not blaming the athletes, Nope,

590
00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:21,960
Speaker 3: blaming the leadership of the WNBA for just not seeing it.

591
00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:25,520
Speaker 3: And I've got some quotes from some officials too that

592
00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:29,440
Speaker 3: are really revealing about just how unprepared the WNBA was

593
00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:33,560
Speaker 3: for the most important moment in its entire history.

594
00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:36,200
Speaker 2: They've had poor leadership for a while. I never I'll

595
00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:39,120
Speaker 2: never forget talking to a I don't want to reveal

596
00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:41,720
Speaker 2: his name, but a former NBA player who was very

597
00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:43,680
Speaker 2: close to someone who was up for like a top

598
00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,880
Speaker 2: job at the WNBA, And as they're interviewing the league,

599
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,560
Speaker 2: essentially was saying, like a lot of these like super

600
00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,280
Speaker 2: popular influencer basketball players don't want to play in the WNBA.

601
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:55,000
Speaker 2: This was like four years four or five years ago.

602
00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:58,320
Speaker 2: Why because like, who wants to go on chartered flights

603
00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:01,040
Speaker 2: and do all this practice to make like no money

604
00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:03,760
Speaker 2: And I could just go on Instagram with my two

605
00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:06,120
Speaker 2: million followers and do some video and get paid to

606
00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:09,640
Speaker 2: advertise for Nabisco or whatever. And they were struggling to

607
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,640
Speaker 2: get players in the league. Like that's what makes it

608
00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:15,080
Speaker 2: so weird that the league a was ill prepared and

609
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:18,320
Speaker 2: b so many players had the disdain for Clark her

610
00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:21,160
Speaker 2: joining the league, Christine, wouldn't you say that? Like it

611
00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:24,160
Speaker 2: elevated everybody? Like the what is that rising tide lifts

612
00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:26,040
Speaker 2: all the boats? Isn't that what happened?

613
00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:29,480
Speaker 3: Oh? Without a doubt, absolutely, I mean, first of all,

614
00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:32,600
Speaker 3: you can see now it was in the works, but

615
00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:35,840
Speaker 3: the TV deal is four times what it was before.

616
00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:41,080
Speaker 3: Certainly Caitlin Clark and these and these incredible numbers, viewership

617
00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:43,840
Speaker 3: numbers that have you know, records of course, every you

618
00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:48,640
Speaker 3: know when the other day when her return to the

619
00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:52,400
Speaker 3: WNBA was the third highest rated or third highest viewed

620
00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:57,400
Speaker 3: game on ABC ever WNBA ever, Yeah, yeah, Well what

621
00:32:57,480 --> 00:32:59,760
Speaker 3: were the first two? I got in touch with ESPNPRD

622
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,120
Speaker 3: them the first two Well, of course they were Kaitlin

623
00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:05,440
Speaker 3: clark Games first game of this season and won last year.

624
00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:09,160
Speaker 3: And so she's won two and three and probably four, five, six,

625
00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:12,360
Speaker 3: you know whatever. However, moneymore there are, but that she's

626
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:16,040
Speaker 3: been in the point is that, yes she is. They say,

627
00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:18,760
Speaker 3: not only is she moving the needle, she is the needle.

628
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:23,680
Speaker 3: And that that, you would say, you would think would

629
00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:27,840
Speaker 3: be a positive development, had again the leadership of the

630
00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:32,280
Speaker 3: WNBA understood what was coming. And hey, all leagues make mistakes.

631
00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,360
Speaker 3: I've I've covered the NFL, I've government Major League Baseball.

632
00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:38,600
Speaker 3: I mean we've all covered there, you know, universities, the NCAAA.

633
00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:42,480
Speaker 3: I mean, there are mistakes made by everybody. And so

634
00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:44,960
Speaker 3: I'm not even necessary being that critical of the WNB.

635
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:46,880
Speaker 3: I'm just saying, like what should have been, what could

636
00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:48,880
Speaker 3: have been? And the voices that I have in the

637
00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:52,880
Speaker 3: book talking about that. Yeah, you know, you could kind

638
00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:56,000
Speaker 3: of see this coming and why not celebrate it? And

639
00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:59,600
Speaker 3: if you help everyone understand and celebrate it, then whatever

640
00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:02,560
Speaker 3: maybe jealousy or hurt feelings are just kind of uncertainty

641
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:07,400
Speaker 3: maybe can melt away and you can understand that. Because

642
00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:10,680
Speaker 3: of Caitlyn Clark, the spotlight is on her. Well, I've

643
00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:12,960
Speaker 3: heard people say this. I'm sure you have too. It's like,

644
00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:16,440
Speaker 3: oh my gosh, Kelty Mitchell, what a player. Yeah, but

645
00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:17,719
Speaker 3: no one knew.

646
00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:18,839
Speaker 2: Nobody knows.

647
00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:23,840
Speaker 3: People knew obviously now they know the same with Eliah Boston.

648
00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:27,040
Speaker 3: What an incredible player and what a great friend of Caitlin.

649
00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:29,560
Speaker 3: And the way there. I have this in the book

650
00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:32,160
Speaker 3: where they're before every game, you know, you're amazing, No,

651
00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:36,200
Speaker 3: you're amazing little and Caitlyn started it. According to the

652
00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:38,600
Speaker 3: Leah Boston I asked her, ask Lea about like, how

653
00:34:38,640 --> 00:34:41,240
Speaker 3: did that get to these lovely moments that are uplifting

654
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:44,319
Speaker 3: for every girl or boy athlete to see how how

655
00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:47,440
Speaker 3: these professionals handle it and their friendship and their how

656
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:49,759
Speaker 3: they support each other. How Caitlyn leads away on that

657
00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:52,880
Speaker 3: she's an optimist, she's a total for her charger in

658
00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:57,000
Speaker 3: terms of team and loving her teammates. You know, all

659
00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:00,200
Speaker 3: this stuff is there and and but the spotlight is

660
00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:02,320
Speaker 3: on these women, other women who are going to be

661
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:05,080
Speaker 3: paid more because of it, Because of Caitlin. You've got

662
00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:10,000
Speaker 3: the bargaining agreement the CBA open. Now that's so essential

663
00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:13,480
Speaker 3: that they get more money because they get paid almost

664
00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:16,480
Speaker 3: nothing the players. Which is why Britney Grinder was in Russia.

665
00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:18,680
Speaker 3: It wasn't the ambiance and you know, hanging out with

666
00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,160
Speaker 3: the weather. You know, she had to go because she

667
00:35:22,239 --> 00:35:25,719
Speaker 3: wanted to supplement a very small, basically lessland quarter million

668
00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:28,239
Speaker 3: salary with the million bucks or so she could get

669
00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:33,080
Speaker 3: in Russia. So anyway, all this changes. Caitlin Clark is

670
00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:36,560
Speaker 3: the rising tide that lives. All boats take it and

671
00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:39,880
Speaker 3: run with it. Yeah, some players have, I mean, you know,

672
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:42,279
Speaker 3: but I think again when we see the chief shot

673
00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:46,760
Speaker 3: from Marina Maybray, I mean, and then of course mimicking

674
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:50,959
Speaker 3: the one from Kennedy Carter about a year earlier, really

675
00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:53,440
Speaker 3: within about twenty feet on that floor and almost in

676
00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:55,560
Speaker 3: the exact same spot, in the exact same arena. No,

677
00:35:55,719 --> 00:35:59,560
Speaker 3: that's right, Yeah, yeah, Cambridge and Indy, you know, like,

678
00:35:59,719 --> 00:36:03,000
Speaker 3: what on earth? What are you doing and and I'll

679
00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:07,000
Speaker 3: say this knock on wood. Thankfully of course no one

680
00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:10,120
Speaker 3: was injured. Yeah, in any of those skirmishes, there's a

681
00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:11,960
Speaker 3: lot and Caitlin dishes, is it out too? I mean,

682
00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:15,440
Speaker 3: we're not saying she's again wallflower that has to be protected,

683
00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:18,800
Speaker 3: But how on earth is someone like Marina Maraby? This

684
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:22,360
Speaker 3: is a dead ball situation, comes flying in like a

685
00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:25,160
Speaker 3: freight train and knocks Caitlyn to the ground. What if she's,

686
00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:27,600
Speaker 3: you know, again knock on wood a million times? You know,

687
00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:32,239
Speaker 3: injured her ankle, broken arm, Like that's propic for the

688
00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:35,640
Speaker 3: league because we know when she was gone and missed

689
00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:38,440
Speaker 3: those few games with the five games with the quadrucepstrain,

690
00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:42,560
Speaker 3: we know that they lost more than half of their viewership,

691
00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:45,320
Speaker 3: literally more than half of the viewership of the WNBA.

692
00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:49,600
Speaker 3: As you know, Jason disappeared for one person. Let me,

693
00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:52,560
Speaker 3: you want as a player, other players, you want her

694
00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:57,200
Speaker 3: to play because that, of course helps the economic It

695
00:36:57,320 --> 00:36:59,440
Speaker 3: helps your economic future as a player.

696
00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:01,600
Speaker 2: Pretty soon they're going to start getting stuff off the

697
00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:04,160
Speaker 2: court as well marketing opportunities. But let me ask you,

698
00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:07,319
Speaker 2: this is a tough one. When you were approaching people

699
00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:09,319
Speaker 2: about the book, did anybody when you say, hey, question

700
00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:11,239
Speaker 2: about Kaitlyn Cark. Did anybody say I don't want to

701
00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:13,800
Speaker 2: talk about her. I'm not taking Caitlin Clark questions. I

702
00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:15,120
Speaker 2: don't want to contribute to the book.

703
00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:22,000
Speaker 3: No one said necessary. I mean, I'm trying to think,

704
00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:24,080
Speaker 3: did anyone say, no, I don't want to talk about

705
00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:27,279
Speaker 3: Kaitlyn Clark. There were people that got angry with me,

706
00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:31,799
Speaker 3: and actually quite a public thing actually, and I'm happy

707
00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:32,640
Speaker 3: to just you know, go in.

708
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:33,799
Speaker 2: Was that the Angel Reese one?

709
00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:38,160
Speaker 3: No, that was djn A Carrington Carrington right right right

710
00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:41,000
Speaker 3: when I asked her questions that of course, actually has

711
00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:43,360
Speaker 3: nothing to do with the book. I mean I was

712
00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:46,120
Speaker 3: at that point reporting for the book. But any journalists

713
00:37:46,239 --> 00:37:48,520
Speaker 3: should have and I would have asked, I did it.

714
00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:51,880
Speaker 3: I was the one that asked after dj A. Carrington

715
00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:56,279
Speaker 3: in Game one of the playoffs Connecticut against Indiana, was trying.

716
00:37:56,320 --> 00:38:00,440
Speaker 3: It was swaddening at the ball and her finger end

717
00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:02,000
Speaker 3: up hitting Kitlin Clark in.

718
00:38:02,040 --> 00:38:04,040
Speaker 2: The eye with the long fingernails, right right right.

719
00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:08,080
Speaker 3: And and you know the Internet, which of course the

720
00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:11,959
Speaker 3: Twitter x whatever is a cesspool, no surprise, everything's running

721
00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:13,839
Speaker 3: rampant for a couple of days, and there's so many

722
00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:17,880
Speaker 3: storylines about the WNBA on social media, and you know,

723
00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:21,560
Speaker 3: millions and millions of people weighing in, jumping in blaming

724
00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,880
Speaker 3: djn A Carrington for trying to stick her fingers in

725
00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:28,160
Speaker 3: Kaitlin Clark's eyes. Kitlyn did not have a great shooting night.

726
00:38:28,239 --> 00:38:30,200
Speaker 3: She's never she said, had nothing to do with it.

727
00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:32,560
Speaker 3: She had a bit of a shiner under her eye,

728
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:34,320
Speaker 3: and then she said she was fine the next and

729
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:36,879
Speaker 3: had a much better game in game two, but again

730
00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:40,040
Speaker 3: said that had nothing to her credit. Kaitlin Clarkson, that

731
00:38:40,160 --> 00:38:42,440
Speaker 3: was not it, that was not the problem, and made

732
00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:44,440
Speaker 3: sure of that. And I've got that of course in

733
00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:48,480
Speaker 3: the book as well. Anyway, opportunity to interview DJE Carrington,

734
00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:51,319
Speaker 3: I mean journalism one on one, you have to ask,

735
00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:54,160
Speaker 3: and you have to ask specifically. That's what everyone's out

736
00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:57,400
Speaker 3: there and in fact, as you know athletes, this is

737
00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,400
Speaker 3: what most athletes if again, if they have been prepared

738
00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:03,760
Speaker 3: or understand what the media is, which would be something

739
00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:07,680
Speaker 3: that WNBA should probably prepare everyone for a national scrutiny

740
00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:10,680
Speaker 3: that they understand they can hit it out of the park.

741
00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:14,640
Speaker 3: You want that question, so then you can then go

742
00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:17,920
Speaker 3: specifically to the issue. The journalists just asked, and you

743
00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:21,320
Speaker 3: can tell everybody what the truth is and try to

744
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:23,920
Speaker 3: finally nip all the controversy and all the confusion and

745
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:26,839
Speaker 3: all the criticism in the butt. And that's I asked

746
00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:29,759
Speaker 3: the question. I asked to follow up. And instead of

747
00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:34,600
Speaker 3: I mean, Karenton answered it fine, but instead of instead of,

748
00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:38,320
Speaker 3: you know, just moving on, she got mad, Other players

749
00:39:38,400 --> 00:39:41,719
Speaker 3: got mad. It was a whole, you know, big kind

750
00:39:41,719 --> 00:39:44,200
Speaker 3: of soap opera for a day or two, with her

751
00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:47,120
Speaker 3: yell getting involved, yelling at me and two other journalists.

752
00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:52,279
Speaker 3: The next day. It's all in the book. It's it's

753
00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:54,239
Speaker 3: kind of an epilogue because I didn't I wanted to

754
00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:56,320
Speaker 3: keep it away from the magic of Caitlin Clark and

755
00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:59,720
Speaker 3: the storytelling. But I needed to deal with this story.

756
00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:03,040
Speaker 3: And and the Players Association actually wanted to ban me

757
00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:04,560
Speaker 3: for that question.

758
00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:08,080
Speaker 2: Oh that's right, I remember that now. The IA total nonsense.

759
00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:10,880
Speaker 3: And you know, because this still is the United States

760
00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:16,759
Speaker 3: of America. I you know, a journalist asking questions that

761
00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:20,320
Speaker 3: called to ban me, to take my credentials, which of

762
00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:22,040
Speaker 3: course is the very essence of wanting to ban a

763
00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:26,000
Speaker 3: journalists that failed miserably. I had credentials for game one

764
00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:30,160
Speaker 3: of the finals October tenth and New York. And yeah,

765
00:40:30,239 --> 00:40:33,320
Speaker 3: it was just a total failure. But you know, it

766
00:40:33,560 --> 00:40:36,080
Speaker 3: just again to me, it was it almost made me sad.

767
00:40:36,400 --> 00:40:38,320
Speaker 3: Not for me. I mean, I'm doing my job, and

768
00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:41,399
Speaker 3: you know that's I've done this. You know thousands of times.

769
00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:43,759
Speaker 3: People get mad at questions all the time. I mean,

770
00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:45,960
Speaker 3: you know when I was covering the Washington football team,

771
00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:47,240
Speaker 3: the Skins, you know, in the eighties.

772
00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:49,919
Speaker 2: Oh, I remember I was a Washington Post reader growing

773
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:52,920
Speaker 2: up in northern Virginia. You guys had, we had, I know,

774
00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:55,600
Speaker 2: Rachel Nichols a little now, but the staff you guys

775
00:40:55,680 --> 00:40:58,080
Speaker 2: had was just I mean it was like basically what

776
00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:01,279
Speaker 2: with like the twenty seven Yankees, Right, Will Bond, Coroneizer,

777
00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:03,239
Speaker 2: you were there, I think Ja Donde, right.

778
00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:06,239
Speaker 3: Jay came in and Rachel came in a little bit. Yeah,

779
00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:08,800
Speaker 3: towards I mean, yes, it's definitely towards the end. And

780
00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:12,200
Speaker 3: they were amazing interns. I mean, like that's your intern group.

781
00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:17,680
Speaker 3: But well absolutely, And Wilbond my of course college classmate

782
00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:20,600
Speaker 3: my first day freshman year, Mike Wilbon and I like

783
00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:22,480
Speaker 3: brother and sister to this day, and then we were

784
00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:25,480
Speaker 3: sitting next to each other, and yeah, so many others

785
00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:28,600
Speaker 3: George solom Sports it was great. But yeah, I mean

786
00:41:28,640 --> 00:41:30,239
Speaker 3: you asked tough questions. I mean, this is what you do.

787
00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:33,440
Speaker 3: You're not their friend and you're not a pr person.

788
00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:36,680
Speaker 3: You're there to be a journalist asking questions, and so yes,

789
00:41:36,760 --> 00:41:39,440
Speaker 3: people were not happy with my questions. And then you know,

790
00:41:39,520 --> 00:41:42,439
Speaker 3: there were some some coverage of that whole thing where

791
00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:45,240
Speaker 3: people who really didn't even know what I was doing

792
00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:47,880
Speaker 3: and what you know, had hardly been around me, were

793
00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:51,279
Speaker 3: quoted in a story like saying, I'm always asking about

794
00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:55,720
Speaker 3: Caitlin Clark, like this was a problem. I cannot tell you, Jason,

795
00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:58,840
Speaker 3: how many times covering golf, covering tiger you know, the

796
00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:01,560
Speaker 3: whole you know, the whole time is entire, you know,

797
00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:04,760
Speaker 3: a career. You know that you've got people asking questions,

798
00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:06,520
Speaker 3: and you know three or four of them are writing

799
00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:10,440
Speaker 3: Tiger Woods books, right, I mean, yet, somehow this became

800
00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:13,520
Speaker 3: a big deal and I'm shocked that there aren't more

801
00:42:13,640 --> 00:42:16,680
Speaker 3: Kaitlin Clark books out now. I'm thrilled, you know, mine

802
00:42:16,760 --> 00:42:18,960
Speaker 3: is coming in a couple of weeks, but you know,

803
00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:23,560
Speaker 3: like what what like again, I think the league just

804
00:42:24,480 --> 00:42:28,520
Speaker 3: clearly did a terrible job or or somebody did a

805
00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:31,520
Speaker 3: terrible job. And I do again, you know, certainly have

806
00:42:31,960 --> 00:42:35,600
Speaker 3: have stories and news in the book of not preparing

807
00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:39,000
Speaker 3: them to say this is what journalists do. That you've

808
00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:42,320
Speaker 3: got national scrutiny now because of Kaitlyn Clark. I don't know,

809
00:42:42,400 --> 00:42:46,399
Speaker 3: maybe you hate that, but if national scrutiny brings should

810
00:42:46,440 --> 00:42:48,919
Speaker 3: bring more money to everybody, that's not my job. That's

811
00:42:49,040 --> 00:42:51,840
Speaker 3: you know that that just comes from endorsements and whatever

812
00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:55,960
Speaker 3: and salaries. And somehow this turned into a terrible thing

813
00:42:56,320 --> 00:43:00,560
Speaker 3: when you're asking an athlete to answer a question, or

814
00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:03,200
Speaker 3: asking two questions that allow her to clear the air,

815
00:43:03,680 --> 00:43:06,239
Speaker 3: allow her to you know, literally hit a fat pitch

816
00:43:06,280 --> 00:43:08,960
Speaker 3: out of the park, and it's somehow it's seen as

817
00:43:09,719 --> 00:43:12,759
Speaker 3: something bad. And you know, I'll leave you with this,

818
00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:16,000
Speaker 3: I'd ask men that those questions, all that I've asked

819
00:43:16,080 --> 00:43:19,600
Speaker 3: Tiger was about steroid you you know, implications of steroids

820
00:43:19,680 --> 00:43:23,440
Speaker 3: or hgh use rumors that were flying around at the

821
00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:26,560
Speaker 3: masters I've talked to. I'll ask any question of anyone.

822
00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:30,120
Speaker 3: That's my job to serve the readers, the viewers, whatever.

823
00:43:30,719 --> 00:43:33,600
Speaker 3: And are we saying that women cannot handle questions that

824
00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:37,000
Speaker 3: men can handle. Is that what we're saying? I mean,

825
00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:40,840
Speaker 3: I was giving to me the WNBA the greatest respect

826
00:43:40,920 --> 00:43:44,200
Speaker 3: I could by treating it like the NFL. Yeah, reading

827
00:43:44,239 --> 00:43:47,319
Speaker 3: it like the Olympics, asking those same questions of women

828
00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:49,640
Speaker 3: that I, of course would ask of men that no

829
00:43:49,719 --> 00:43:53,160
Speaker 3: one would even beat an eyelash about me asking a

830
00:43:53,239 --> 00:43:58,799
Speaker 3: male athlete those questions. That was incredibly enlightening and disappointing,

831
00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:02,560
Speaker 3: because these and they're tough, they're strong, they can handle it.

832
00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:06,719
Speaker 3: And how this turned into something it's it's just really surprising.

833
00:44:06,880 --> 00:44:09,160
Speaker 3: Is that what we're saying in twenty twenty four that

834
00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:14,239
Speaker 3: women cannot women athletes cannot handle questions that male athletes can. Boy,

835
00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:16,280
Speaker 3: if that's what we're saying, if that's what the WNBA

836
00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:20,719
Speaker 3: Players Association is saying, my goodness, what a what a

837
00:44:20,840 --> 00:44:22,000
Speaker 3: sad state of affairs.

838
00:44:22,440 --> 00:44:24,760
Speaker 2: We can wrap up Christine real quick. So the Olympic

839
00:44:24,920 --> 00:44:27,640
Speaker 2: snub of Clark. Clark seemed to handle it well, was like, hey,

840
00:44:27,680 --> 00:44:29,359
Speaker 2: I could use the time off. I went right from

841
00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:33,399
Speaker 2: college to the WNBA. But we know that that team

842
00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:36,520
Speaker 2: would have got way more coverage had they had Caitlin

843
00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:38,920
Speaker 2: Clark they still did win. I think they won by

844
00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:40,600
Speaker 2: like two in the championship. I don't know. I didn't

845
00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:42,640
Speaker 2: really follow it. I'm gonna be honest, they didn't have Clark.

846
00:44:43,280 --> 00:44:46,160
Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in

847
00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:49,560
Speaker 1: the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio

848
00:44:49,719 --> 00:44:53,759
Speaker 1: dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to

849
00:44:53,920 --> 00:44:54,560
Speaker 1: listen live.

850
00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:59,359
Speaker 2: In your reporting, was there anything behind the scenes from

851
00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:02,560
Speaker 2: players on the team, maybe Diana Trossi saying we don't

852
00:45:02,600 --> 00:45:04,200
Speaker 2: want her on the team. Was there any of that

853
00:45:04,400 --> 00:45:04,960
Speaker 2: that you heard?

854
00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:09,640
Speaker 3: Certainly it was crystal clear the committee. There's a committee

855
00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:13,480
Speaker 3: of six that made the decision, but then there was

856
00:45:13,520 --> 00:45:17,120
Speaker 3: also the coach, Cheryl Reeve, who was not officially on

857
00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:19,799
Speaker 3: the committee and making the decision, but she's the head coach. Yeah.

858
00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:22,960
Speaker 3: And it doesn't even take much reporting. I mean, I

859
00:45:23,080 --> 00:45:25,560
Speaker 3: report that what this is at the time for USA

860
00:45:25,640 --> 00:45:27,759
Speaker 3: Today and now it's in the book. You know, Cheryl

861
00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:30,839
Speaker 3: Reeve is literally kind of going after twenty two year

862
00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:33,280
Speaker 3: old Kaitlyn Clark. By the way, who does that, middle

863
00:45:33,320 --> 00:45:38,319
Speaker 3: aged anyone, any authority figure, you know, targeting a twenty

864
00:45:38,400 --> 00:45:40,719
Speaker 3: two year old like our game's not on TV, but

865
00:45:41,320 --> 00:45:44,160
Speaker 3: you know hers is and you know, and some some

866
00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:46,520
Speaker 3: unknown person says yeah because of Kaitlyn Clark, and then

867
00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:49,279
Speaker 3: Cheryl Reeve you know, immediately or not immediately, but then

868
00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:53,360
Speaker 3: replies on social on Twitter, X yeah that part. I mean, like,

869
00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:56,760
Speaker 3: Caitlyn Clark is in the pool to be selected potentially

870
00:45:56,840 --> 00:45:59,839
Speaker 3: for the team, and you've got a coach on social

871
00:46:01,680 --> 00:46:05,080
Speaker 3: looking directing comments right at that person. I've never seen

872
00:46:05,120 --> 00:46:07,000
Speaker 3: anything like that. And I've covered the Olympics since eighty

873
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:09,279
Speaker 3: four in LA and you know, that is just no

874
00:46:09,440 --> 00:46:12,000
Speaker 3: way to pick a team. That's no way to act.

875
00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:16,800
Speaker 3: And how that was allowed by USA Basketball beyond me.

876
00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:21,160
Speaker 3: But to answer your question, yes, there certainly was a

877
00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:22,880
Speaker 3: mood and a feeling that she was not going to

878
00:46:22,920 --> 00:46:24,640
Speaker 3: make that team, that they wanted to leave her home,

879
00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:29,239
Speaker 3: which is unbelievable. The woman that has just passed not

880
00:46:29,400 --> 00:46:32,319
Speaker 3: only all the female basketball players but the male ones,

881
00:46:32,480 --> 00:46:35,400
Speaker 3: pistol Pete Maravitch to be the greatest scorer in Division

882
00:46:35,480 --> 00:46:39,480
Speaker 3: I college basketball history, male or female, Such a big name,

883
00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:44,920
Speaker 3: bringing eyeballs everywhere, opening up the game to countries. I

884
00:46:45,040 --> 00:46:47,440
Speaker 3: had a Brazilian journalist come up to me at in

885
00:46:47,600 --> 00:46:49,240
Speaker 3: Paris and say, where's Caitland Clark.

886
00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:50,120
Speaker 2: Oh wow.

887
00:46:50,200 --> 00:46:52,840
Speaker 3: I had a British journalist who asked me at the

888
00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:55,319
Speaker 3: Masters explain the Caitlyn Clark thing to it, and he said,

889
00:46:55,440 --> 00:46:58,080
Speaker 3: I couldn't wait to see her at the Olympics. Oh

890
00:46:58,200 --> 00:47:01,960
Speaker 3: my god, what a missed opportunity be What sport doesn't

891
00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:05,920
Speaker 3: want to reach a global audience? Women's basketball had that opportunity.

892
00:47:05,960 --> 00:47:08,400
Speaker 3: That's why the NHL is in the Olympics, the Winter Olympics,

893
00:47:08,640 --> 00:47:13,200
Speaker 3: That's why the NFL plays overseas. You want to reach people. Now,

894
00:47:13,400 --> 00:47:15,640
Speaker 3: for those who say, well, her stats weren't good, well,

895
00:47:16,200 --> 00:47:18,640
Speaker 3: statistics on the day it happened. I broke the news

896
00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:22,480
Speaker 3: on June seventh into the morning of June eighth, and

897
00:47:22,960 --> 00:47:25,960
Speaker 3: her statistics were better than Diana Tarassi's and some of

898
00:47:26,000 --> 00:47:29,080
Speaker 3: the other guards that they picked. So this notion she

899
00:47:29,239 --> 00:47:33,399
Speaker 3: was playing poorly is just wrong. It is just absolutely wrong.

900
00:47:33,480 --> 00:47:35,920
Speaker 3: And I wanted to get to the bottom of why

901
00:47:36,120 --> 00:47:39,600
Speaker 3: several reporters felt this way and wanted to highlight negative,

902
00:47:40,520 --> 00:47:43,000
Speaker 3: be much more negative about Caitlin Clark and minimizing her

903
00:47:43,080 --> 00:47:46,920
Speaker 3: play when she was already playing so much better than

904
00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:50,080
Speaker 3: most people thought she would and would. And obviously a

905
00:47:50,120 --> 00:47:54,920
Speaker 3: lot of the reporting indicated. So there I did not

906
00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:57,759
Speaker 3: find a conspiracy. I do not have a conspiracy that

907
00:47:57,800 --> 00:48:01,879
Speaker 3: they were all in cohudes. But consider this. On June sixth,

908
00:48:02,040 --> 00:48:05,359
Speaker 3: Geno Arima, who I like very much and known them

909
00:48:05,520 --> 00:48:07,600
Speaker 3: for a long time, get along with them. Of course,

910
00:48:07,640 --> 00:48:10,600
Speaker 3: the legendary Yukon coach, just when his twelfth national title.

911
00:48:11,040 --> 00:48:13,840
Speaker 3: He goes on Dan Patrick and he talks about the

912
00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:19,080
Speaker 3: delusional fan base, you know, following Kaitlyn Clark. Who would

913
00:48:19,120 --> 00:48:21,719
Speaker 3: ever say that if you've got new fans, you accept them.

914
00:48:23,800 --> 00:48:27,680
Speaker 3: Roger Goodell calling some of the nutty fans that show up,

915
00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:32,080
Speaker 3: you know, bare chested and buffalo and minus twenty degree delusional. No,

916
00:48:32,440 --> 00:48:35,440
Speaker 3: you say thanks for buying tickets and buy you know,

917
00:48:35,920 --> 00:48:40,600
Speaker 3: jerseys and come back. So there was this negativity from

918
00:48:41,040 --> 00:48:44,080
Speaker 3: Gino that that occurred. And then the next day you

919
00:48:44,200 --> 00:48:46,719
Speaker 3: have later that night you have the decision, you get

920
00:48:46,760 --> 00:48:48,880
Speaker 3: the news comes out that Kaitlin Clark is not on

921
00:48:48,960 --> 00:48:51,640
Speaker 3: the Olympic team. I am not saying that is a

922
00:48:52,280 --> 00:48:54,719
Speaker 3: quot pro quo. I'm not saying timing is interesting though,

923
00:48:55,000 --> 00:48:57,640
Speaker 3: but I think it does show the mood of the

924
00:48:57,680 --> 00:49:00,000
Speaker 3: basketball establishment. And I do say that in the book

925
00:49:00,480 --> 00:49:04,239
Speaker 3: and talk about how it's just so strange, instead of

926
00:49:04,320 --> 00:49:07,200
Speaker 3: going this is the like, yipe, this is the greatest

927
00:49:07,239 --> 00:49:10,719
Speaker 3: opportunity we've ever had. Let's go, let's get all of

928
00:49:10,840 --> 00:49:13,839
Speaker 3: these players again. To your point, I've covered all these

929
00:49:13,840 --> 00:49:17,400
Speaker 3: Olympic basketball games. I've been there. The press section is

930
00:49:17,480 --> 00:49:21,480
Speaker 3: mostly tumbleweeds. A few other reporters. Most of the guys

931
00:49:21,719 --> 00:49:24,080
Speaker 3: that cover the Olympics would laugh like, oh where you go.

932
00:49:24,120 --> 00:49:25,480
Speaker 3: I said, I'm going to the Women's Olympic you know,

933
00:49:25,520 --> 00:49:28,800
Speaker 3: basketball gold medal game, and they're like, why would you

934
00:49:28,840 --> 00:49:31,600
Speaker 3: do that. They're going to win. You've got stories on

935
00:49:31,960 --> 00:49:35,359
Speaker 3: you know, soccer and whatever. And so they didn't get

936
00:49:35,400 --> 00:49:38,320
Speaker 3: the coverage they deserved. All of those great players, Asia Wilson,

937
00:49:38,440 --> 00:49:42,560
Speaker 3: so many others that deserve more attention did not get it.

938
00:49:42,840 --> 00:49:47,320
Speaker 3: The TV ratings went down, not up. The media coverage,

939
00:49:47,320 --> 00:49:52,440
Speaker 3: to your point, not there paultry coverage. I predicted it.

940
00:49:52,520 --> 00:49:54,160
Speaker 3: I hate to say I was right. I wish I'd

941
00:49:54,160 --> 00:49:56,400
Speaker 3: been wrong. It was right, and it was just an

942
00:49:56,520 --> 00:50:01,400
Speaker 3: incredible missed opportunity. At the key moment, you bring collegians,

943
00:50:01,480 --> 00:50:04,279
Speaker 3: you know, Rebecca Lobo made the team, Diana Tarsci, this

944
00:50:04,520 --> 00:50:08,000
Speaker 3: is the collegian you bring at this moment, and they

945
00:50:08,120 --> 00:50:12,360
Speaker 3: failed miserably. And again I think certainly the undercurrent of

946
00:50:12,480 --> 00:50:18,520
Speaker 3: feeling towards Caitlin Clark by the basketball establishment cannot be ignored.

947
00:50:19,160 --> 00:50:22,719
Speaker 3: And clearly that committee, who's Don Staley and others, they

948
00:50:22,800 --> 00:50:25,560
Speaker 3: made the choice we do not want Caitlin Clark on

949
00:50:25,600 --> 00:50:28,279
Speaker 3: our Olympic team. Can you believe how history, not only

950
00:50:28,400 --> 00:50:32,080
Speaker 3: right now, but how history will judge that one? And

951
00:50:32,200 --> 00:50:34,440
Speaker 3: they paid the price in terms of ratings and interest,

952
00:50:35,120 --> 00:50:37,440
Speaker 3: And it's just a shame because what could have been

953
00:50:37,920 --> 00:50:41,319
Speaker 3: for that team with the spotlight that could have been

954
00:50:41,360 --> 00:50:44,880
Speaker 3: shining on it. Not only for them, but can you

955
00:50:44,960 --> 00:50:47,840
Speaker 3: imagine girls in Africa who never got a chance to

956
00:50:47,880 --> 00:50:51,800
Speaker 3: watch one's basketball Kitlin Clark's on TV, but she's hardly

957
00:50:51,840 --> 00:50:53,600
Speaker 3: playing right. She would have been on the bench most

958
00:50:53,680 --> 00:50:56,239
Speaker 3: a lot of it. But now you're seeing maybe five

959
00:50:56,320 --> 00:50:58,239
Speaker 3: black women playing for the United States and you're a

960
00:50:58,280 --> 00:51:01,080
Speaker 3: black you know, a little black girl obviously in Africa?

961
00:51:01,520 --> 00:51:05,320
Speaker 3: How inspiring is that You're not going to get that

962
00:51:05,480 --> 00:51:09,320
Speaker 3: game on TV unless you've got the attention magnetic COULDR

963
00:51:09,920 --> 00:51:12,359
Speaker 3: to bring that game and put that game on TV?

964
00:51:12,480 --> 00:51:14,359
Speaker 2: Could have been like the ninety two dream team where

965
00:51:14,480 --> 00:51:17,760
Speaker 2: Jordan and company basically were signing autographs with their opponents

966
00:51:17,800 --> 00:51:21,080
Speaker 2: after the game, and that really is made basketball a

967
00:51:21,160 --> 00:51:23,040
Speaker 2: global game. Right. Were you at that Olympics?

968
00:51:23,480 --> 00:51:25,640
Speaker 3: I was. I was. I was actually covering a lot

969
00:51:25,719 --> 00:51:28,279
Speaker 3: of swimming and gymnastics in track and fields, so I

970
00:51:28,400 --> 00:51:30,240
Speaker 3: was probably at some of the great track and field

971
00:51:30,719 --> 00:51:32,480
Speaker 3: but yeah, I was there, and I remember I was

972
00:51:32,520 --> 00:51:35,040
Speaker 3: at the press conference. At first press conference, it was incredible.

973
00:51:35,360 --> 00:51:38,920
Speaker 3: Caitlyn Clark, right, Jason would have been a personal version

974
00:51:39,400 --> 00:51:43,960
Speaker 3: of the dream team, individualized version of that, and they

975
00:51:44,200 --> 00:51:48,640
Speaker 3: decided no. Truly the worst Olympic team decision I have

976
00:51:48,920 --> 00:51:52,120
Speaker 3: selection I have ever seen in my forty one years

977
00:51:52,160 --> 00:51:57,920
Speaker 3: of covering the Olympics, and frankly appalling that the powers

978
00:51:57,960 --> 00:52:00,400
Speaker 3: that be in USA Basketball and the US Olympic and

979
00:52:00,440 --> 00:52:04,160
Speaker 3: Paralympic Committee allowed that kind of behavior from Cheryl Reeve

980
00:52:04,280 --> 00:52:08,239
Speaker 3: and others to continue. Just absolutely not the way an

981
00:52:08,280 --> 00:52:09,840
Speaker 3: Olympic team should be selected.

982
00:52:10,360 --> 00:52:13,120
Speaker 2: All right, Christine Brennan, the book on her game, Caitlin

983
00:52:13,160 --> 00:52:16,399
Speaker 2: Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports, it's out July.

984
00:52:16,719 --> 00:52:17,359
Speaker 2: I believe eight.

985
00:52:17,480 --> 00:52:21,839
Speaker 3: You said that's correct. People can pre now and I'll

986
00:52:21,880 --> 00:52:23,840
Speaker 3: be going around the country, a lot of stops in

987
00:52:23,880 --> 00:52:26,000
Speaker 3: Iowa and Indiana that put it all on social media.

988
00:52:26,040 --> 00:52:27,440
Speaker 3: Hopefully I'll see a lot of folks.

989
00:52:27,239 --> 00:52:29,960
Speaker 2: Out there gonna be big congratulations on all your success

990
00:52:30,080 --> 00:52:32,240
Speaker 2: and great career and keep up the good work. Christine,

991
00:52:32,560 --> 00:52:32,800
Speaker 2: Well you

992
00:52:32,880 --> 00:52:34,360
Speaker 3: Too, Jason, Thanks so much for having me