WEBVTT - Explain It To The Five-Year-Olds with Eben Novy-Williams 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:03.400 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're practicing 0:00:03.400 --> 0:00:07.040 our moves before the big audition tomorrow. Valkyries are hiring 0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:10.640 a mascot, and our patented combination of the Elaine into 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:14.680 the Splits is a show stopper. It's Thursday, May twenty second, 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:17.280 and on today's show, we'll be chatting with Eben Noby Williams, 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:21.360 Sportco's deputy editor and co host of the Sportacast podcast. 0:00:21.640 --> 0:00:24.840 We talk about the Connecticut Suns potential sale and relocation, 0:00:25.320 --> 0:00:29.080 the relationship between sports team valuations and revenue, and how 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:34.040 the complicated WNBA ownership structure affects investment and expansion. Plus, 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:36.519 Game two of the PWHL Finals is on deck, and 0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:39.400 our show Soccer Side plays its first home match. It's 0:00:39.440 --> 0:00:53.600 all coming up right after this welcome back slices. Here's 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:57.680 what you need to know today. Let's start with the 0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:01.400 PWHL Finals, where Emily Clark scored two minutes and forty 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:04.280 seven seconds into overtime to lead the Ottawa Charge to 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:06.720 a two to one win over the defending champion Minnesota 0:01:06.720 --> 0:01:10.039 Frost on Tuesday night in Game one. Minnesota has yet 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:12.720 to win a season opener across four series in their 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:16.840 two seasons of playoff action. Meantime, Ottawa is a perfect 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:19.520 three to zero on home ice in this year's playoffs. 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:22.760 They host again tonight Game two, a seven pm Eastern 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:26.559 puck drop at TD Place. More Hockey Team USA legend 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:29.520 Hillary Knight says the twenty twenty six Milan Courtina Olympics 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:32.319 will be her final games. Knight, who turns thirty six 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:35.160 in July, is currently tied for the most Olympic medals 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:38.279 of any American hockey player. A fifth medal in Milan 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:41.120 would make her the sole record holder, a ten time 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:44.080 world champ and the career leader in points, goals, and 0:01:44.120 --> 0:01:46.760 assists at the World Championships. Knight has been one of 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:49.640 the most influential women in hockey for over a decade. 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:51.840 She talked a friend of the show, Nancy Armor at 0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:54.600 USA Today Sports about the decision to make Milan her 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:58.200 last games, saying, quote, it's time. I have grown up 0:01:58.200 --> 0:02:00.559 in this program and it's just given me so much. 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:03.520 I'm at peace. I just have this feeling that it's time, 0:02:03.800 --> 0:02:06.760 and I'm grateful that hopefully I can stay healthy and everything, 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:08.960 I can go out when i'd like to be done 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:11.200 that is such a privilege that only a handful of 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:15.359 competitors get end quote. Night isn't retiring just yet, though 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:18.040 she does plan to play in the PWHL after Milan 0:02:18.639 --> 0:02:21.160 to Soccer. The US women's national team officially announced the 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:24.000 twenty four player training camp roster for its upcoming friendlies 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:27.080 against China and Jamaica. Defender Naomi Germa is back in 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:30.079 the fold after missing every contest this calendar year due 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:33.160 to injuries. She returns after winning the Women's Super League 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:36.280 title and FA Cup with Chelsea FC, the side that 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:38.680 made her the first ever player in women's soccer with 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:42.440 a million dollar transfer fee. Seattle Rain forward lynd Biandolo 0:02:42.560 --> 0:02:45.480 also makes an appearance after missing. The squad's April games. 0:02:45.960 --> 0:02:48.320 Also had coach Emma Hayeses granted a few players their 0:02:48.360 --> 0:02:52.240 first ever senior national team call ups, including Orlando Pride 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:56.040 defender Carriabello and Kansas City current midfielder she of the 0:02:56.280 --> 0:03:00.320 iconic twerk celebration Low Labanta. If thirty two year old 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:02.680 Leabonta plays in either of the matches, she'll become the 0:03:02.800 --> 0:03:05.440 oldest player to debut for the US women's national team 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:08.800 program ever. In its forty year history. I heard friends 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:10.799 of the show sam Us and Becky Sowerbrun on the 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:14.520 women's game advocating for a Grandma seally if Lebonta scores, 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:18.720 so here for it, fake Caine limping walk the whole thing, 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:21.280 Let's see it. We'll link to the full training camp 0:03:21.360 --> 0:03:23.880 roster in our show notes. The US women's national team 0:03:23.919 --> 0:03:26.520 will face China on May thirty first at Alion's Field 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:29.160 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and then Jamaica June third at 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:32.520 Energizer Park in Saint Louis. That second match, we'll also 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:37.440 see a pregame retirement celebration, including bobbleheads for Soerbrun, Saint 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:42.320 Louis Native and US Women's national team legend. More soccer slices. 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:44.440 We want to let you know that our show side, 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:49.080 Minnesota Aurora FC, plays its home opener tonight, facing off 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:52.760 against Rochester FC. Kickoff is at eight pm Eastern, and 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:54.840 we are so excited to cheer them on as they 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:58.600 try to dominate the USLW league. Thanks again to everybody 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:01.400 who bought a slice of this community owned team, and 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:03.440 we hope you're taking as much pride in them as 0:04:03.480 --> 0:04:06.360 we do. Also, some more details to come on my 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:09.320 visit to Aurora FC, but it's almost certainly going to 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:13.280 be the June twelfth game against the Chicago City Dutch Lions. 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:16.520 There also might be some cool Aurora good game merch 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:18.560 to look forward to, so we'll keep you updated on 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:21.400 that as well. Moving on to a different pitch, we're 0:04:21.400 --> 0:04:24.960 approaching the tenth weekend of women's Elite rugby action. The 0:04:25.000 --> 0:04:27.680 Denver Onyx are leading the league with a perfect six 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:30.600 and zero record, followed closely by the Boston Banshee's at 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:33.120 five and two and the New York Exiles at four 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:37.640 and three. My Chicago Tempest are, how shall we say, 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:41.240 suffering from a bit of a drought, oh and seven, 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:46.159 y'all zero wins. To quote Billy Shakespeare's The Tempest, Hell 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:49.640 is empty and all the devils are here. We'll keep 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:51.920 an eye on the standings as the league championship, the 0:04:52.000 --> 0:04:54.280 Legacy Cup is just a little over a month away, 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:56.359 and we'll link to the full league schedule and to 0:04:56.360 --> 0:04:59.480 where you can purchase tickets in our show notes to hoops. 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:02.720 The wa NBA's opening weekend was a smashing success, and 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:07.279 one game in particular had incredible viewership. The Indiana Fever's 0:05:07.320 --> 0:05:10.080 home opener against the Chicago Sky on Saturday averaged two 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:13.760 point seven million viewers, making it the most watched WNBA 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:17.000 regular season game since two thousand. Per Sports Media Watch, 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:20.240 the game peaked at three point one million viewers, good 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:22.800 for the second biggest average audience for any league event, 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:26.920 behind only last year's WNBA All Star Game. No official 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:29.960 numbers on how many dumbass talking heads who don't say 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:32.320 shit about the w until there's some sort of Fracice 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:35.679 just had to chime in on Angel versus Caitlin all week, 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:38.760 but it feels like three point one million. The Fever 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:40.800 looked like world beaters in that game against the Sky, 0:05:40.839 --> 0:05:43.400 but they came down to Earth pretty quickly. On Tuesday night, 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:45.200 the Atlanta Dream got the best of them in Indy, 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:48.760 winning a nail bier ninety one to ninety. Britney Grinder 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:51.080 led Atlanta with twenty one points and eight rebounds before 0:05:51.080 --> 0:05:53.320 she fouled out. Ryan Howard put up twenty points and 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:56.279 three assists, and Brianna Jones posted a dominant nineteen point 0:05:56.400 --> 0:06:00.400 thirteen rebound double double. Indiana had some bright spots two 0:06:00.440 --> 0:06:02.560 in the loss in the form of some more broken 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:06.040 records for Kaitlin Clark and Dewana Bonner. Clark notched her 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:08.600 tenth career game with more than twenty points in tennisis, 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:11.880 tying Courtney Vandersloot for the most such games in WNBA history. 0:06:12.200 --> 0:06:15.080 And get this, Clark did it in forty two games. 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:18.279 Slute achieved the milestone in three hundred and ninety four. 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:21.599 Caitlyn also recorded her sixth career twenty five plus point 0:06:21.720 --> 0:06:24.400 tennisist game, passing Sabrina and Nascue for the most in 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:27.640 WNBA history, and she became the first player in WNBA 0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:29.680 history to open a season with back to back twenty 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:32.760 plus point ten plus assist games. Last, but not least, 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:35.400 Clark is now the first player in WNBA history with 0:06:35.480 --> 0:06:38.480 multiple games of twenty five plus points, ten plus assists, 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:42.040 five plus rebounds, and five plus three pointers made. Who 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:45.440 She is off to a hot start. Meanwhile, de Wana 0:06:45.520 --> 0:06:48.280 Bonner moved up a spot on the league's career rebounds list, 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:51.800 leaprogging Tina Thompson to secure sole possession of eighth most 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:54.799 boards all time. She's now got three thousand and seventy 0:06:54.839 --> 0:06:59.080 one eighth and rebounds third in points. Bonner is leaving 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:03.760 her mark more basketball news On Monday, Minnesota Linkstar and 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:07.239 if He Sikalier appeared on ESPN's NBA Today alongside Boniever 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:10.440 frontman Justin Vernon, who announced that he's collabing with the 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:13.560 Links franchise on a first of its kind partnership focused 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:17.000 on gender equity and community impact. The team offered more 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:19.560 details in a release, noting that the multi year collaboration 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:23.200 starting this season, will quote focus on addressing gender inequities 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:26.400 as a result of domestic and sexual violence, sex trafficking, 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:31.400 health care disparities, and barriers within education and leadership end quote. Vernon, 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:34.120 a longtime Links fan with family ties to both Minnesota 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:37.400 and Wisconsin, has been a big advocate for gender equity. 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:40.760 He assisted in creating Boniver's two a Billion campaign, which 0:07:40.840 --> 0:07:43.640 raises support and awareness and creates interpersonal connections in an 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:47.400 effort to end gender inequity, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. Now, 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:50.040 Boniyver's two AB and the Links will collaborate on a 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:53.280 variety of things, including shining a spotlight on local nonprofits 0:07:53.360 --> 0:07:56.640 and activations throughout the season. The two AB campaign will 0:07:56.640 --> 0:07:59.080 also donate two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in total 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:02.880 grant money to ten Minnesotan and Western Wisconsin nonprofits and shelters. 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:05.800 This partnership packs even more of a punch than what 0:08:05.800 --> 0:08:07.760 we've said, so we'll link to the Lynx's full release 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:10.640 explaining all the details in our show notes. Also a 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:13.600 link to Fee and Vernon's five minute segment on NBA Today. 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:16.040 In that links release, Vernon summed up why he's so 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:19.280 excited to get involved. He said, quote, basketball is exactly 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:22.840 like music. It's a group and individual improvising to create 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:26.080 moments of vision, excitement, and joy. Simply said, the Minnesota 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:28.640 Lynks team is my favorite band in the world right now. 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:31.800 As Boney Verra, we also saw an unprecedented opportunity to 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:34.640 not only support this band of incredible women on the court, 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:37.640 but by combining forces to more urgently support the communities 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:40.360 of women in the Upper Midwest end quote. As if 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:43.680 I didn't already love him enough, What a mention. Finally, 0:08:43.679 --> 0:08:47.040 in hoops, Seattle Storm players Dominique Maloga and Gabby Williams 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:50.200 have announced that they'll skip this summer's EuroBasket competition, which 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:52.880 is slated to begin June eighteenth. Both players were part 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:54.920 of the French national team that earned a silver medal 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:57.240 at the Paris Olympics, but they'll stick around in the 0:08:57.280 --> 0:09:00.040 States to help build with Seattle. Williams hasn't play. I 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:02.560 had a full WNBA season since twenty twenty two, and 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:04.839 staying in the US offers her a chance to do so. 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:07.600 Malonga spoke about her own choice on Monday, saying, quote, 0:09:07.640 --> 0:09:10.000 it was a difficult decision because the French jersey is 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:12.760 very important for me. I decided to stay here because 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:14.800 I think my rookie season is really important and I 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:17.160 wanted to leave it all with the team end quote. 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:20.640 This is great news for Seattle, who started the year 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:23.080 a little shorthanded because of the league's hard salary cap 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:26.040 and because of unfortunate knee injuries to Nica Mule, Jordan 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:29.440 Horsten and Katie lu Samuelson, who suffered hers just weeks 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:32.040 before the regular season tipped off. The French team will 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:34.559 also be without Marin Johannes, who shared that she'll skip 0:09:34.559 --> 0:09:36.960 euro Basket as well to focus on her time with 0:09:37.000 --> 0:09:41.360 the New York Liberty. We got to take a quick 0:09:41.400 --> 0:09:44.520 break slices when we come back. Evan Novie Williams explains 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:46.960 a bunch of stuff to me like I'm five, stick 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:59.240 around joining us now. He's sport of Ghost, deputy editor 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:02.040 and co host of sport a Cast podcast. Prior to 0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:04.800 joining Sportico, he was at Bloomberg News for almost a decade, 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:07.439 covering everything from media deals and team sales to e 0:10:07.559 --> 0:10:10.400 sports and the Olympics. He played sprint football for the 0:10:10.440 --> 0:10:13.400 Princeton Tigers, and when we wrote this bio was the 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:15.760 first time Alex ever heard that there is a sport 0:10:15.800 --> 0:10:18.400 called sprint football. It's Evan Noby Williams. 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:21.120 Hi, Evan, Hey, Sarah, how are you good. 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:24.160 I'm quite familiar with sprint football because was the sprint 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:27.760 football team at Cornell, But for those who don't understand, 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:29.000 give us a brief synopsis. 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:33.400 Sprint football is varsity football. Had a few institutions in 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:36.280 the Northeast, Cornell being one of them with a weight limit, 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:39.680 so everybody on the field when I played was weighing 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:42.360 in at one hundred and seventy two pounds. It feels 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:45.520 like the vestiges of a very privileged people who could 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:48.920 not play full weight football but got to college and 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:51.320 were likey, I want to keep doing this. How do 0:10:51.360 --> 0:10:53.920 we structure something so that my one hundred and sixty 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:56.880 five pound body can still be competitive. And they built it. 0:10:57.080 --> 0:10:58.719 And I will say I played on I played on 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:01.360 a Princeton team that was went twenty years without winning 0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:06.160 a game and was losing games by very, very large sums. 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:10.200 Cornell Army and Navy are in the Sprint League, and 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:12.720 you can imagine they've got one hundred guys that are 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:15.480 one hundred and seventy two pounds exactly and are quite athletic, 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:18.839 and we were losing games like seventy to nothing or 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:22.040 like eight to five and things like that. So it 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:24.840 was amazing. The guys were great. It was very fun 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:27.480 for me, and it was a good learning life lesson 0:11:27.640 --> 0:11:30.079 that sometimes you know you're gonna lose before you take 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:30.439 the field. 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:32.520 You know. We were pretty nice about it. I don't 0:11:32.520 --> 0:11:35.080 remember there being and maybe there was between the football 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:37.160 guys and the sprint football guys. Maybe there was like 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:40.400 beef about, like you're not real football, but we never 0:11:40.600 --> 0:11:43.400 we never like heard that. We definitely knew who was 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:45.959 on the football team and who was on sprint football, 0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:48.920 but we accepted everyone. We loved everyone. I also love 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:51.880 how men always come up with the best names like 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:55.160 euphemisms for their sizes, Like you know, if you're in 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:59.440 a heavy set man, your suit is called executive. Did 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:02.760 you know that that that's the name of the size, Like, oh, 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:06.240 you must be very important because you're larger. And then 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:09.240 like sprint football, like you're not sprinting the whole time, Like, 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:11.640 but you didn't want to call it like small ball 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:15.840 or like tiny man football, so they had to go 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:17.719 with something that sounded impressive. 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:20.840 The I do. I do triathlon sometimes, and there's a 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:23.960 triathlon category for larger people. And I think it is 0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:26.360 like Clyde Gale and Athena. I think to your point 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:29.360 of money, like choose. I love that choose terms that 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:33.880 we call the main Princeton team the heavies. The heav 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:37.040 differentiate them from the sprint folks. 0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:39.640 Well, you were not here to talk football, though it 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:42.400 seems we could. We're going to talk a whole bunch 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:43.920 of stuff, and I want to start with the news 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:47.160 you recently broke about the Connecticut Sun. What is the latest, 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:50.800 if anything after the report you released about the team 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:53.200 being engaged in talks about potentially selling Yeah. 0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:55.040 I think this is a fascinating one because it comes 0:12:55.040 --> 0:12:58.200 in the middle of the WNBA's expansion talks also, and 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:00.800 there's very few people that I have talked to that 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:02.960 think that that team is going to stay in Connecticut 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:06.520 if it is sold. It's certainly possible, but you can 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:09.840 see a world where someone who pays hundreds of millions 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:13.679 of dollars to buy this asset decides that, hey, maybe Uncasville, 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:15.800 Connecticut is not the market that I want this team 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:17.960 to play in, and maybe playing in a venue owned 0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:21.160 by the former owner is not the situation that I 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:24.560 really want. So if this team is indeed sold, then 0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:28.160 the person who buys it is looking to potentially move it. 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:31.360 What does that mean for the already ongoing expansion talks? 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:33.640 And there were dozens of I'm sure you know this Thereah, 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:36.040 there was more than a dozen different groups and different 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:39.679 cities that really wanted and put together bids and offers 0:13:39.720 --> 0:13:43.280 for WNBA expansion. My understanding is that a lot of 0:13:43.320 --> 0:13:45.640 those groups that learned they were not getting expansion are 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:48.400 now in talks with the Sun as well. So I 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:50.600 think it all kind of comes together at a critical 0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:53.640 time for the WNBA where they're deciding how many new 0:13:53.640 --> 0:13:56.000 teams they want to add. How many is too many 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:59.480 because there's only so much talent, right, and you can 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:03.600 expand to quickly. It's certainly a possibility. And then they've 0:14:03.600 --> 0:14:07.080 done it before exactly. So in the middle of all that, 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:09.120 also this team that's on the market that could move 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:11.000 to any one of these other cities as well, So 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:13.680 a lot going on behind the scenes from a team 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:15.320 sales and expansion standpoint. 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:17.719 For the W couple things there. I assume that the 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:20.680 league still has to approve a sale. So these expansion 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:23.240 groups that are looking to buy both have to convince 0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:26.240 the Connecticut Sun ownership group that they have the best 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:30.240 offer and have the Mohegan suntribe want to take their offer. 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:32.640 But then the W also has to approve. Will they 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:35.680 have to approve where the buyers take the team. 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:38.440 I'm sure that's all part of the conversation. The other 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:41.880 interesting aspect here is price, and from what I understand, 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:44.960 the conversation around expansion got up to, at least in 0:14:44.960 --> 0:14:47.760 Cleveland's case with Dan Gilbert, two hundred and fifty million 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:51.760 dollars cash for expansion. It seems inconceivable to me that 0:14:51.800 --> 0:14:54.080 the Sun would sell for two hundred and fifty million dollars. 0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:57.239 So in some ways you now also have an expansion 0:14:57.440 --> 0:14:59.760 opportunity on the market that costs less than the actual 0:14:59.760 --> 0:15:04.040 ex expansion that the league is selling, which again creates 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:05.640 a kind of interesting dynamic there. 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:08.760 But we'll probably benefit the Sun and it will go 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:10.520 for more than it's worth because it will be the 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:13.240 only way for someone who wasn't awarded a team to 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:15.240 get the team that they want in the place that they. 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:18.680 Want totally, and just to go one step further. Perhaps 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:21.600 even let's say that w decided on three expansion teams, 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:24.640 maybe the league tries to push and I should say 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:27.040 Allen and Company, the bank is doing both these transactions, 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:29.720 Maybe they push one of the ones they wanted for 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:32.240 expansion just towards the Sun. Right. There's a whole bunch 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:36.000 I think possible iterations. But this process has been going 0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:37.800 on for a very long time in the W As 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:40.320 you know, there are new teams that have been announced, 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:42.080 new teams that have joined, new teams that are going 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:44.200 to join. I think a lot of people in the 0:15:44.280 --> 0:15:46.560 league are looking forward to this being in the rearview mirror, 0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:50.000 having set the expansion conversation and then trying to figure 0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:52.840 out the fun stuff about how these teams join. What 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:55.960 the player situation looks like. There's a labor deal looming 0:15:55.960 --> 0:15:58.120 in the background as well, which is obviously a big 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:01.280 piece of the business puzzle for the double. So there's 0:16:01.280 --> 0:16:03.840 a lot going on and a mid rapid change. This 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:05.760 league is going to look very different in a few years. 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:08.280 How does the fact that there's expected to be a 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:11.520 new CBA and eighty percent of the league's contracts and 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:15.240 in twenty twenty five affect the conversations around expansion or 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:18.800 even buying, because what exactly are you buying? What players, 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:22.640 who plays for whom right? All of those things are 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:24.080 kind of going to be tossed in the air at 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:24.680 the same time. 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:26.520 I think this is such a good question, and it's 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:29.000 something that I am also kind of confused about. The 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:33.200 traditional way that most leagues have looked at expansion is 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:36.760 you do your media deals, you get your labor piece, 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:38.880 and then you hit the market with expansion. When you 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:40.960 know that there's a certain amount of you know the 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:44.200 rules of the game for player contracts and the relationship 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:47.440 with the union, you know what the basically contracted revenue 0:16:47.480 --> 0:16:49.800 is coming in from media, that's the time to strike. 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:52.000 And if you listen to Adam Silver, over the past 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:55.080 few years, every time he was asked about NBA expansion, 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:57.160 he was like, we're going to get our media deals done, 0:16:57.160 --> 0:16:59.000 We're going to get our labor piece locked in, and 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:01.600 then sometime around literally right now, we're going to start 0:17:01.600 --> 0:17:04.560 talking about expansion. Formally, you would think that that is 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:07.280 when your teams are most valuable, when there's that kind 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:10.800 of comfort in the marketplace about long term revenue. But 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:13.239 the W has done something differently right that W has 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:16.520 had the expansion talks. The media deals are done, but 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:20.560 the W had expansion talks before before the labor deal 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:24.560 at least was signed and executed. And this is a 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:28.359 potentially thornier labor deal than most other men's leagues at 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:31.600 least have seen in the past few years. I can't 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.199 tell if that says something about the way both the 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:36.680 NBA and the WNBA think this labor deal is going 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:38.480 to pan out, that they think that maybe selling a 0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:42.000 team teams now and expansion now is better. But I 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:45.160 do think it's definitely interesting that the kind of traditional 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:47.439 way you think about maximizing your value as to do 0:17:47.560 --> 0:17:50.560 labor first, and instead in the W we see teams 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:54.439 hitting the market and expansion conversations happening before that labor 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:55.160 deal gets signed. 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:57.879 A couple more quick things about this Sun team. We 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:00.080 did see them play a sellout game in Boston at 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:02.679 the Garden last summer. It was a huge success. It 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:05.400 had a lot of Sun fans nervous about the potential 0:18:05.480 --> 0:18:08.120 of them taking the team elsewhere, and of course den 0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:10.480 Risotti said no, no, we're very committed, and the Mohiget 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:13.359 suntribe is very committed. And then here we are today 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:16.440 talking about how they're taking calls about potentially leaving. Does 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:20.159 it seem like Boston would have any priority or that 0:18:20.200 --> 0:18:23.520 there'd be any feeling about the existing fan base and 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:26.880 not taking the team so far away that current Connecticut 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:29.879 Sun fans couldn't root for whatever team it becomes in 0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:31.080 the same general area. 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:34.960 I think it's certainly it's a great question, and I'm 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:38.480 sure it's something that will come up. My understanding is 0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:41.520 that of the let's just call them twelve expansion groups 0:18:41.520 --> 0:18:44.840 that were really interested in this process, Boston was not 0:18:44.840 --> 0:18:48.320 a name I heard very often, and my understanding of 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:52.080 the three kind of leading horse finalists right now, Boston 0:18:52.160 --> 0:18:55.560 was certainly not one of them. So not to say never, 0:18:55.640 --> 0:18:58.200 and who knows, the W could announce it's three expansion 0:18:58.200 --> 0:18:59.840 teams and then the Sun are not part of that. 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:02.000 The Sun gets sold to a group in Boston. There's 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:05.480 an NBA transaction obviously that is in the works potentially 0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:07.920 and in Boston at the same time, which either makes 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:10.480 that more complicated or makes that potentially easier, depending on 0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:13.840 who the group is. But it would not be the 0:19:13.880 --> 0:19:16.080 first place that I would have thought, even given the 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:18.800 proximity and obviously the fact that, as you said, they've 0:19:18.840 --> 0:19:21.840 played games there and have had good, good crowds. The 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:24.720 interesting thing about the W to me is that the 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:26.920 league is so small that there's so many good markets 0:19:26.960 --> 0:19:29.879 that don't have teams. And when you think about like 0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:34.600 baseball expansion, they're talking about like Portland, Oregon and maybe Nashville, 0:19:34.760 --> 0:19:36.920 and not to say those are bad markets, but there's 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:39.880 just so many massive markets that don't have WNBA teams 0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:43.840 right now, right Philadelphia. So yeah, in some ways the 0:19:43.880 --> 0:19:47.159 competition is way fiercer because the options for the W 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:50.040 in terms of huge markets, big sports cities that they 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:52.240 can go to. It's just way wider than we see 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:54.399 in these thirty or thirty two team men's leagues. 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:56.719 You mentioned that there are three front runners. 0:19:56.760 --> 0:19:59.879 Give them to us, Yeah, I mean the three that 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:02.960 I think are in the best place right now. Cleveland's 0:20:02.960 --> 0:20:07.240 been written about. Philadelphia seems very likely as well, particularly 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:10.879