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

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Speaker 1: need lip readers to know that a couple of yous

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Speaker 1: were thrown in an NWSL handshake line this weekend.

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Speaker 2: It's Tuesday, October seventh.

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Speaker 1: And on today's show, we'll be chatting with Athletic Women's

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Speaker 1: Basketball staff writer and co host of the No Off

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Speaker 1: Season podcast, Sabrina Merchant about what she witnessed in games

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Speaker 1: one and two of the WNBA Finals in Vegas, whether

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Speaker 1: we should be reading more into Alisa Thomas's hand injury

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Speaker 1: based on her handles, the cost benefit of letting Asia

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Speaker 1: Wilson eat, and what to expect next in the ongoing

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Speaker 1: WNBACBA negotiations. Plus coming together to align the women's hockey calendar,

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Speaker 1: plastic confidence, and the boys are fighting. It's all coming

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Speaker 1: up right after this welcome back slices, Here's what you

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Speaker 1: need to know today. Let's start with hockey and some

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Speaker 1: joint news from the PWHL and the International Ice Hockey

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Speaker 1: Federation AKAHF. You may recall during an episode week we

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Speaker 1: discussed how the PWHL calendar for the upcoming season doesn't

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Speaker 1: include a break for the Women's World Championship, An annual

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Speaker 1: tournament that has historically happened in April, and that there

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Speaker 1: still weren't dates or a host city for next year's tournament,

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Speaker 1: while on Monday, the IIHF announced that, thanks to a

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Speaker 1: collaboration with the PWHL, beginning in twenty twenty six, the

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Speaker 1: Women's World Championship will be held in November instead of April,

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Speaker 1: and that next year's tournament will be played in Denmark.

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Speaker 1: For its part, the PWHL has agreed to adjust the

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Speaker 1: league's schedule to start later so the two competitions won't clash.

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Speaker 1: The IIHF also announced that, beginning in twenty twenty seven,

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Speaker 1: the organization will stage a European Women's Championship in April

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Speaker 1: of each year. Given that the majority of p WHL

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Speaker 1: players are still American and Canadian, this European tournament will

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Speaker 1: allow for more international growth of the game without having

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Speaker 1: a huge impact on the PWHL. To quote friend of

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Speaker 1: the Show and Queen of all Things Women's Soccer, Meg Linahan, wait,

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Speaker 1: international governing bodies and pro leagues can just align their

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Speaker 1: calendars because they think it will improve the sport. What

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Speaker 1: at God's yeah, somebody get FIFA and the NWSL on

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Speaker 1: the horn, speaking of the NWSL and a moment we

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Speaker 1: wanted to highlight from.

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Speaker 2: This past weekend's competition.

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Speaker 1: You remember, in yesterday's show we mentioned a draw between

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Speaker 1: the Chicago Stars and Utah Royals that saw the Stars

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Speaker 1: fight back from down two nil to tie the game

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Speaker 1: to to and earn a point, while Stars interim head

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Speaker 1: coach Anders Yakobsen and Royals coach Jimmy Kohnrots could be

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Speaker 1: seen yelling at each other after the final whistles sounded,

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Speaker 1: with players and staff members clearly making an effort.

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Speaker 2: To calm the situation.

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Speaker 1: We wanted to get a little more information before he

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Speaker 1: told you about this, and it's still not clear exactly

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Speaker 1: what sparked the dispute or who started yelling first, based

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Speaker 1: on the game broadcast and the videos we watch, but

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Speaker 1: both men were asked about it during their postgame press conferences.

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Speaker 1: First here, Stars coach Yakobsen in the postgame take a listen.

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Speaker 3: There's motions and when you end the game, I think,

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Speaker 3: and in this case, I think the Chicago Stars today

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Speaker 3: did many good things. I think the team deserved to win,

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Speaker 3: and I think we created enough of chances during maybe

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Speaker 3: this seventy five until the seventy five minute, But there

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Speaker 3: was some incidents during the game which made the game

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Speaker 3: a bit difficult for us, I think, and when the

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Speaker 3: game then is clear, we have too too, which I

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Speaker 3: wanted the team today to not leave this pitch without

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Speaker 3: any points, and I was just emotional for me seeing

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Speaker 3: that they did it, and those emotions were there. Maybe

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Speaker 3: I should have handled a little bit better, But I

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Speaker 3: also think sometimes I think it's important for every person

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Speaker 3: to reflect on in general in life, what kind of

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Speaker 3: values you'd want to follow, and I tried to follow

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Speaker 3: mine today, which made it a bit rough, I think.

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Speaker 1: When asked directly what thing Utah did to inspire his anger,

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Speaker 1: Yakobsen seemed to intimate there was some funny business on

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Speaker 1: a few occasions after Royals players went down with the injury.

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Speaker 1: So it's not entirely clear, but my read is that

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Speaker 1: he believed Utah was trying to delay or interrupt game

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Speaker 1: flow to hold on to their lead, you know, prevent

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Speaker 1: the Stars from getting into a rhythm or come back.

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Speaker 1: As for Coon Rots, he was also asked about the

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Speaker 1: moment take a listen, just.

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Speaker 4: Think there is a form of decency to talk at people,

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Speaker 4: and when people start shouting at me for things that

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Speaker 4: are completely out of my control, I think that's just

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Speaker 4: when you lose decency as a person and you lose

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Speaker 4: also credibility in my opinion as a coach. We all

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Speaker 4: get emotional, we all know what the pressure is on

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Speaker 4: the game. But shouting to me for the fact that

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Speaker 4: it was a concussion, they were in possession, we didn't

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Speaker 4: give possession back. I think that's a bit mad to

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Speaker 4: start shouting about, and like, if that's bothering you for

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Speaker 4: thirty minutes, then I'm afraid you're focusing on the wrong thing.

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Speaker 4: And I think again, I was the one that was

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Speaker 4: actually ironically shouting at the official that was their ball.

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Speaker 4: It was not even claiming that it was our ball.

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Speaker 4: So yeah, again, like I think, if you just lose

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Speaker 4: decency start shout in like a dog, that doesn't take

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Speaker 4: well to be done.

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Speaker 1: As it was just a.

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Speaker 4: Form of emotional stability that we only need in this league.

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Speaker 5: I think a lot of talk of decency here.

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Speaker 1: Shout out to Taylor Vincent for posting videos of the

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Speaker 1: incident and the postgame quotes on Blue Sky. Will link

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Speaker 1: to those in the show notes. Also shout out to

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Speaker 1: Star's assistant coach Ela Mazar, who somehow ended up calming

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Speaker 1: down and restraining both of the coaches her own and

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Speaker 1: the opposing teams at different moments during that postgame. TIF

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Speaker 1: you the real mvp Ella and some news from the

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Speaker 1: World of Barbie where they're rolling out some more athlete dolls.

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Speaker 1: In celebration of International Day of the Girl on October eleventh,

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Speaker 1: Barbie has introduced a team of dolls honoring four international

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Speaker 1: rugby athletes, including our USA Eagles Queen Alone o Mar Permettel.

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Speaker 1: The Alone Omar doll, available for purchase next year, will

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Speaker 1: feature quote a new Barbie body sculpt designed to reflect

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Speaker 1: the build of many strong athletes.

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Speaker 2: End quote.

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Speaker 1: Mar told Reuters quote Barbie's are the ultimate image of

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Speaker 1: beauty and femininity, and so that's what we grew up

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Speaker 1: seeing every day. What I want is that when girls

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Speaker 1: play with this and they see my Barbie and the

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Speaker 1: broad shoulders and the big arms, that can kind of

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Speaker 1: shape their views of beauty as well.

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Speaker 2: End quote.

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Speaker 1: As part of their International Day of the Girl rollout,

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Speaker 1: Barbie also conducted a study across the US, UK, France,

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Speaker 1: and New Zealand, the home countries of the team Barbie

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Speaker 1: Rugby role models to better understand what holds girls back,

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Speaker 1: both from their perspective and their parents' perspective. Among the findings,

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Speaker 1: one in three girls disengages from sports by age fourteen,

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Speaker 1: primarily due to body confidence concerns, self doubt, and a

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Speaker 1: lack of visible female role models. Only fifty three percent

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Speaker 1: of girls ages six to fourteen feel confident while playing sports.

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Speaker 1: The leading reason for a lack of confidence is fear

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Speaker 1: of making mistakes, and forty eight percent of parents pointed

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Speaker 1: to social attitudes that discourage girls from sports as a

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Speaker 1: major barrier. Will put a link to the matel release

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Speaker 1: in the show notes if you want to read more

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Speaker 1: about the study. Also links to check out Alona's doll

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Speaker 1: and her work with Barbie. We got to take a

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Speaker 1: quick break when we come back. My conversation with Sabrina Merchant.

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Speaker 2: Joining us now.

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Speaker 1: She's a women's basketball staff writer for The Athletic and

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Speaker 1: co host of No off Season, The Athletic Women's Basketball podcast,

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Speaker 1: with previous stops at Espionation and Dime Magazine. A ducalum,

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Speaker 1: she was on Jeopardy and not the easy celebrity version,

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Speaker 1: the real one.

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Speaker 2: It's Sabrina Merchant.

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Speaker 5: Hi, Sabrina, Hi Sarah, thanks for having me.

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Speaker 2: You're welcome.

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Speaker 1: I need to talk about Jeopardy first. That is definitely

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Speaker 1: a life dream of mine. Was it everything you imagined?

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Speaker 6: Yes?

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Speaker 4: And no.

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Speaker 7: I mean I got to go on when it was

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Speaker 7: still hosted by Alex Jabreck, which was definitely amazing, big

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Speaker 7: bucket list item. It was unfortunately during the pandemic, so

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Speaker 7: I couldn't invite anybody to come watch at the time.

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Speaker 6: It was just an empty soundstage.

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Speaker 7: Had to sit in the Wheel of Fortune studio like

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Speaker 7: while we're waiting for the other games to finish, and

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Speaker 7: you're not allowed touch the wheel, which is a real downer.

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Speaker 7: And I was very concerned that if I did touch

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Speaker 7: the wheel, I wouldn't no longer be allowed to play Jeopardy.

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Speaker 6: But yeah, it was. It was really fun.

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Speaker 7: I went up against a super champ, so longer than

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Speaker 7: a game, but hey, you know, second place is better

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Speaker 7: than fourth place?

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Speaker 1: Was the buzzer as hard as it allegedly is because

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Speaker 1: a lot of people say, oh, I knew all the answers,

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Speaker 1: I just couldn't.

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Speaker 6: Buzz No, I did not know as many answers as

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Speaker 6: the game.

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Speaker 1: Still amazing, still amazing. Let's talk WNBA Finals. You were

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Speaker 1: in Vegas for games one and two, so let's start

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Speaker 1: with the vibe there. What did it feel like being

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Speaker 1: in Michelobaltra for those two Aces wins. Certainly the crowd

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Speaker 1: shots made it look pretty fiery.

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Speaker 7: Yeah, it felt very similar, honestly to the last time

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Speaker 7: I was here for the WNBA Finals in twenty twenty three.

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Speaker 7: A lot of confidence from the fans, just an expectation

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Speaker 7: that their team is going to win, which admittedly was

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Speaker 7: probably not the case back in June and July.

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Speaker 6: But they've gotten there.

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Speaker 7: The swagger's back, Like everyone in Vegas feels like this

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Speaker 7: is happening. Definitely a weird thing to have a game

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Speaker 7: start at five pm on a Friday local time, But

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Speaker 7: vibes are really good, you know, Vegas, the aces are

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Speaker 7: super chill. They really are very comfortable with who they

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Speaker 7: have now. The fans are locked in. I mean, I

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Speaker 7: don't think they've seen so the Fever beat them at

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Speaker 7: home for the first game of the Semis, but otherwise

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Speaker 7: they haven't seen their team lose since August, so you know,

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Speaker 7: just just rolling here right.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, they're up two games to none and what I

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Speaker 1: thought heading in was a stacked Mercury team is looking

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Speaker 1: pretty meek so far. So how are the Aces so

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Speaker 1: effectively shutting down in particular Alissa Thomas?

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Speaker 6: Yeah, you and me both right.

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Speaker 7: I saw the Mercury beat both of last seasons WNBA finalists,

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Speaker 7: including the Minnesota Lynks, who basically disrect through the entire

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Speaker 7: regular season and had a lot of respect and appreciation

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Speaker 7: for what they accomplished. And yet they come up against

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Speaker 7: the Aces who have just had their number all year.

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Speaker 7: You know, the Aces have beaten them in every game

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Speaker 7: that Asia Wilson has played this season, And like what

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Speaker 7: you said, it comes right down to Alyssa Thomas. You know,

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Speaker 7: they're throwing hard doubles at her every time she gets

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Speaker 7: the ball, really having their guards swipe in to disrupt

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Speaker 7: her handle, and it's just making her very uncomfortable, which

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Speaker 7: is not a position that you see Alis thomasin. Like

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Speaker 7: she's the one who creates the space, right, who makes

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Speaker 7: other people uncomfortable and bounce off of her, And yet

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Speaker 7: the Aces have been able to crowd her take away

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Speaker 7: the middle of the floor, and it's sort of revealing

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Speaker 7: the fact that, like the Mercury might be deep, but

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Speaker 7: they are all players who are kind of dependent on

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Speaker 7: Alissa Thomas to create for them, and without her as

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Speaker 7: this folk rome, you know, center of gravity within the

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Speaker 7: Phoenix Mercury offense, it's just a lot of people trying

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Speaker 7: to take contested shots and it looks not as pleasant

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Speaker 7: as you would hope for if you're a Mercury fan.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's really just been Kalie, a copper who's looked

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Speaker 1: to be in rhythm. And you're right, it all comes

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Speaker 1: back to Alissa Thomas who in previous series, even against

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Speaker 1: good teams, there was a freedom of movement, it felt like,

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Speaker 1: and she was dictating both the defense and offensive sides

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Speaker 1: of the of the floor what the Mercury are doing.

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Speaker 1: But to your point, she's getting doubled inside the A

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Speaker 1: said nine steals and six blocks in game two. They

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Speaker 1: made it really difficult. And then you mentioned on your show,

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Speaker 1: which is fantastic. By the way, I feel like I

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Speaker 1: know we met very briefly once, but I feel like

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Speaker 1: I know you because you're in my ears all the time.

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Speaker 5: You guys do such a fantastic job.

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Speaker 1: But you mentioned on your show at reacting to Game

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Speaker 1: two how much the defense for the Mercury has.

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Speaker 2: Been impacted by their failures on offense.

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Speaker 1: They turn the ball over, the Aces get going and

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Speaker 1: they can't get back and set up either, so it's

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Speaker 1: like they can't really get set on either side of

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Speaker 1: the floor. Why have the Aces been so able to

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Speaker 1: control tempo in this series?

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Speaker 7: Yeah, I think a lot of it is because they're

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Speaker 7: creating those live ball turnovers. Right during Game one, when

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Speaker 7: Vegas was down for a good chunk of that game, right,

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Speaker 7: they still only turned the ball over I think seven

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Speaker 7: times as a team, and Phoenix so much of their

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Speaker 7: tempo is created by turnovers. A less Thomas getting out

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Speaker 7: of the open court even off of makes right, like

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Speaker 7: dictating that pace, and the Aces just a lot of

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Speaker 7: dead balls, right, and they're very disciplined at taking care

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Speaker 7: of the ball. They don't let you get out in transition,

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Speaker 7: and that's been affecting Phoenix's ability to get out and

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Speaker 7: go and really up their offense, like get their other

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Speaker 7: people in rhythm other than Alyssa Thomas, and it goes

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Speaker 7: the other way too, right, Like the fact that Phoenix

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Speaker 7: can't take care of the ball themselves is hurting them

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Speaker 7: in defensively, and Vegas is a hard enough team to

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Speaker 7: stop in the half court, right, Like with Chelsea Gray,

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Speaker 7: the way that she's playing, some of those times that

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Speaker 7: she had in Game two, or just I don't even

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Speaker 7: want to say vin to Chelsea Gray, because as long

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Speaker 7: as she's passed her prime, you know, she's just like

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Speaker 7: a perfect point guard for this day and age.

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Speaker 6: In the WNBA.

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Speaker 7: She's just creates so many openings in the half court

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Speaker 7: for her teammates. Like one of the passes she threw

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Speaker 7: in Melissa Smith, I think I'm still not sure like

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Speaker 7: where the angle came from, but like obviously it was

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Speaker 7: right on point right at the.

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Speaker 6: End of the shock.

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Speaker 7: Like, but yeah, like everything Phoenix is doing is just

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Speaker 7: like a negative feedback loop into the next right, Like,

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Speaker 7: they can't stop Vegas and that prevents them from getting

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Speaker 7: out in transition. They can't control the ball themselves and

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Speaker 7: that hurts their defense. And like, if you were to

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Speaker 7: pick one side of the ball that I think they're

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Speaker 7: probably more disappointed in, it's that they can't do anything

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Speaker 7: defensively in the half court against Las Vegas, and that

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Speaker 7: was really supposed to be their bread and butter. Right,

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Speaker 7: they were able to stop New York, they were able

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Speaker 7: to stop Minnesota. Their offense has been the lesser side

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Speaker 7: of the ball for them all season, and the fact that,

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Speaker 7: like the Aces, I mean, we should have seen this coming, right.

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Speaker 7: They have its great, they have Jackie Young, the ad

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Speaker 7: Asra Wilson, they have all of these offensive weapons who

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Speaker 7: have been there on the stage before it together and

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Speaker 7: the Mercury just haven't had any answers for them on

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Speaker 7: that endother floor.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, the Aces are finally putting it together. This is

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Speaker 1: a team that at times looked unfocused or weren't being themselves,

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Speaker 1: And so I think there were some questions then because

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Speaker 1: of how the Mercury blew through two finalists from last

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Speaker 1: year to get here. But I think we spent all

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Speaker 1: season talking about how the Aces are nothing without Asia,

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Speaker 1: and perhaps we also should have anticipated that the Mercury

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Speaker 1: might be nothing without Thomas.

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Speaker 2: Does the series.

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Speaker 1: Hinge on her being dominant again both as a facilitator

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Speaker 1: and as a scorer herself, or is it possible to

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Speaker 1: see a game where they ride a hot Khalia Copper

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Speaker 1: or Sachusabuli Or does it ultimately feel like without Thomas

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Speaker 1: being able to be who she is, there's no chance

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Speaker 1: for them?

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Speaker 6: Yeah?

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Speaker 7: So Cock her feels like the only player who really

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Speaker 7: is able to get her offense independently of Lyssa Thomas.

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Speaker 7: When we saw a lot of those drives in the

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Speaker 7: basket and came to the problem with Kay is that

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Speaker 7: she's guarding Jackie Young on the other end, and everything

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Speaker 7: she's doing is basically neutralized, right, And I have aultmate

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Speaker 7: respect for both of them, Like they're not gonna be

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Speaker 7: able to stop much of the other. Like it's they're

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Speaker 7: just too good at getting into the paint, right, So

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Speaker 7: where are the advantage is going to come from? And

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Speaker 7: I think that's where you need Alyssa Thomas. And like

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Speaker 7: Elyssa Thomas is such a specific kind of player, they

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Speaker 7: built her team. They built the McCree team basically in

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Speaker 7: her image, right. They got shooters around her, defenders around her,

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Speaker 7: but they've also gotten a lot of complimentary players around her.

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Speaker 7: And I just don't know what other buttons they have

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Speaker 7: to push if Alyssa Thomas isn't dictating the flow of

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Speaker 7: the game like they talked about. So I think that

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Speaker 7: that's just like the number one thing they have to

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Speaker 7: get a list Thomas going. I know she's been very

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Speaker 7: adamant that like nothing is wrong with her hand. She's

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Speaker 7: perfectly fine. Her handle would suggest otherwise, Like, I don't

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Speaker 7: think she's ever been that loose with the ball. But

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Speaker 7: I mean, whatever adjustments the Murker you're going to make

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Speaker 7: have to start with getting Thomas in the middle of

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Speaker 7: the floor and and space to operate, because that was

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Speaker 7: the whole thesis of this roster. And I like, if

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Speaker 7: that's not going to happen, I just I don't know

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Speaker 7: where else you.

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Speaker 2: Look, Right, Well, that's what I was gonna ask.

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Speaker 1: They got six six or eight points off the bench

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Speaker 1: in Game two.

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Speaker 6: Right, and a couple of those were just in garbage time.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, right, So who needs to step up? And you

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Speaker 1: know it is something like Sammy Witcomb being injured going

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Speaker 1: to be an issue.

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Speaker 6: Yeah.

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Speaker 7: I mean, I thought Sammy Wickham and Jewel Lloyd was

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Speaker 7: like an interesting pivot coming into this series because you know,

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Speaker 7: former Seattle Storm teammates, says who won a couple titles together.

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Speaker 6: They've both been very effective off the bench.

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Speaker 7: Sammy Wickham hit like to this point the shot of

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Speaker 7: the playoffs right to have that Game two come back

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Speaker 7: against Minnesota, and she has just been very limited.

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Speaker 6: Every shot she takes looks rushed.

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Speaker 7: Jewel looks completely comfortable, right, Like just that that hasn't

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Speaker 7: even been a matchup, right, like Jewels convincingly dominating the

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Speaker 7: six woman discussion there and then like Dana Evans and

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Speaker 7: to want to Bonner, Right, Dana has been so much

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Speaker 7: more effective than to want to Bonner, And I don't

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Speaker 7: think anybody would predicted that coming in right, liked Wana

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Speaker 7: hasn't been able to make much of an impact defensively,

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Speaker 7: Dana being like ten inches shorter, and Wanna Bonner is

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Speaker 7: just really like kind of like a knack, right, She's

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Speaker 7: just like getting into Dewana's space.

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Speaker 1: Did you see when Dowana tried to like bump her

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Speaker 1: and she bounced off of her because do Wanna is

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Speaker 1: so lithe and lean she literally tried to like show

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Speaker 1: like be like oh I got you, little one, and

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Speaker 1: then bounced off of her and Dana Evans did not

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Speaker 1: move like Okay, it's crazy, ok yeah.

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Speaker 7: I mean if you're not winning that matchup, like Satan,

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Speaker 7: Jewel is one thing, Like Jewell is a former scoring

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Speaker 7: champion in this league. Just because her role is a

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Speaker 7: little different now doesn't mean she's still not capable. But

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Speaker 7: like all due respect, to Dana Evans. Do Wanna Bonner

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Speaker 7: is the third leading score in WNBA history, like one

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Speaker 7: of the leading scorers in playoff history, and she has

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Speaker 7: not been able to make an impact whatsoever. So I

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Speaker 7: think do Wanna's got to be a lot better. I

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Speaker 7: do wonder if we see like any bit of Colaonnie

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Speaker 7: Brown in this series, because all of the options on

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Speaker 7: Asia Wilson have just like either you're tiring Alyssa Thomas

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Speaker 7: out when you really need her to do work offensively,

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Speaker 7: or you're putting like Natasha mac Bonner or kat Westbeldonner

379
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Speaker 7: who just don't have a prayer really like, you get

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Speaker 7: Asia in the middle of the floor and she can

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Speaker 7: see right over them. So maybe that's something that we

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Speaker 7: see from the Mercury, just because you can't go down

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Speaker 7: through nothing right.

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Speaker 1: Like wait, maybe just throw some bodies at her that

385
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Speaker 1: can take some fouls and just physically make it hard

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Speaker 1: for her. You know, we had Cindy Brunston on the

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Speaker 1: show yesterday. She knows the Mercury very well, being the

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Speaker 1: TV play by play voice.

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Speaker 2: For a number of years.

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Speaker 1: She said, just let Asia eat and see who else

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Speaker 1: bes you Do you agree with that?

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Speaker 7: I mean I don't love the idea of like letting

393
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Speaker 7: Asia get thirty eight points in the game, like it's

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Speaker 7: kind of Storm did.

395
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Speaker 6: But then again, you know that happened in.

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Speaker 7: An elimination game that Seattle only lost by one, So

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Speaker 7: I do think that, like it's it's not necessarily an

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Speaker 7: easier task, but it's like a more clarifying task to

399
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Speaker 7: just try to stop Ada Wilson. So it simplifies like

400
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Speaker 7: the decision making process for your defense, so at least

401
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Speaker 7: you're not making mistakes and considering everybody else they've been

402
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Speaker 7: able to let get off.

403
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Speaker 6: Maybe that is the play here.

404
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Speaker 1: Just let Asia go didn't work in the third quarter

405
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Speaker 1: a Game two with Jackie Young playing the way she did, though,

406
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Speaker 1: So I guess if that's a small sample size there.

407
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Speaker 2: What can the Mercury learn.

408
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Speaker 1: From what the Storm and Fever did to push the

409
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Speaker 1: Aces to the brink in their previous series, Because it's

410
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Speaker 1: it's been surprising to me that the Storm and Fever

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Speaker 1: made it so much harder for the Aces.

412
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Speaker 2: I mean, the.

413
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Speaker 1: Aces looked less, focus, less in rhythm, They didn't have

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Speaker 1: their swagger. Is that something you can go back and say, hey,

415
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Speaker 1: pull this that Seattle did or.

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Speaker 2: Do this that Indiana did.

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Speaker 7: I thought the first round Seattle just has a lot

418
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Speaker 7: better interior defense with Don Malonga. I think mag mcgor

419
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Speaker 7: like that size actually had something of an impact on

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Speaker 7: the Aces. And I think something that Beggy Hammond has

421
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Speaker 7: been talking about all playoffs long is just her team

422
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Speaker 7: really felt that physicality from Seattle.

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Speaker 6: They felt it from Indiana.

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Speaker 7: I think Indiana is the most instructive option here because like,

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Speaker 7: let's just call it space bad. I think Phoenix is

426
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Speaker 7: less talented than the Aces are right now, Like just

427
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Speaker 7: what you got four gold medalists, you know who are

428
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Speaker 7: in their closing five, Like it's just it's hard to

429
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Speaker 7: match that level of star power.

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Speaker 6: But Indiana, what they were able to do is they.

431
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Speaker 7: Just were so disruptive, like Lexi Hell going through every

432
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Speaker 7: screen Odyssey sam Is picking up like ninety four feet

433
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,359
Speaker 7: the entire time, Leah Boston just moving Asia Wilson out

434
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Speaker 7: of her preferred spots. They were so strong and like

435
00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:09,280
Speaker 7: to the spot and they just didn't give away any inch.

436
00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:12,080
Speaker 7: And you're not feeling the Phoenix Mercury at all, right,

437
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Speaker 7: Like Sasu Sabli is not like a physical presence. Kalia

438
00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:17,800
Speaker 7: Kopperet even hasn't been a physical presence, Like I think

439
00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:20,480
Speaker 7: that's where it starts. Like on the defensive end, they

440
00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:22,840
Speaker 7: just need to be more disruptive. They need to be

441
00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:25,080
Speaker 7: defending for the full length of the court. They can't

442
00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:28,160
Speaker 7: let any any ball get passed half court really without

443
00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:30,240
Speaker 7: like five or six seconds at least coming off of

444
00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:33,720
Speaker 7: the shot clock, just to try to disrupt that rhythm

445
00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:35,520
Speaker 7: a little bit. I think Indiana was so good at that,

446
00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:37,920
Speaker 7: And honestly, like the more I watched this series, I'm

447
00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:41,080
Speaker 7: just like in awe of what Stephanie why was able

448
00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:44,800
Speaker 7: to accomplish with this imbortam and how how hard they played,

449
00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:46,760
Speaker 7: Like Phoenix is not playing as hard as.

450
00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:50,000
Speaker 1: Indiana played, Like they're missing Lexi Hall for one, who

451
00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:53,200
Speaker 1: seemed to be everywhere on the court, getting every rebound,

452
00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:55,680
Speaker 1: fighting for every loose ball. There was like a heart

453
00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,120
Speaker 1: and a fight there that it's surprising not to see

454
00:19:58,119 --> 00:20:00,400
Speaker 1: from a Mercury team that was physical, was.

455
00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:03,240
Speaker 6: Able, and he's led by Alissa Thomas.

456
00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:06,399
Speaker 1: Yes, who's literally a football player on a basketball court.

457
00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,360
Speaker 1: It's been wild to see how their identity has sort

458
00:20:09,359 --> 00:20:12,760
Speaker 1: of disappeared so far. But we've got a nice long

459
00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:14,960
Speaker 1: break Game three on Wednesday. You have to think that

460
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:16,840
Speaker 1: helps the Mercury. And then you've got an Aces team

461
00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:20,200
Speaker 1: that you mentioned on your show lost Game three in

462
00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:22,880
Speaker 1: twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three, and those were

463
00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:25,359
Speaker 1: not seven game series. This is the first ever seven

464
00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,640
Speaker 1: game final series, which means that the Mercury maybe can

465
00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:31,840
Speaker 1: take a little more hope if they grab Game three.

466
00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:34,440
Speaker 1: Do anticipate a little letdown for the Aces when they're

467
00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:35,920
Speaker 1: in hostile territory on Wednesday?

468
00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:38,119
Speaker 7: I don't think it's so much of a letdown for

469
00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:39,960
Speaker 7: the Aces as I think the Mercury will just be

470
00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,520
Speaker 7: really amped playing in Phoenix, knowing that they need this

471
00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:44,800
Speaker 7: when role players always tend to play a little bit

472
00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:47,000
Speaker 7: better at home. You know, I would expect a couple

473
00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:49,080
Speaker 7: of those Sami Wigums threes to start going in when

474
00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,240
Speaker 7: they're in Phoenix, you know, maybe to want to Bonner finds.

475
00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:51,760
Speaker 6: A little bit of life.

476
00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,919
Speaker 7: But you know, the Aces, like we talked about the streak, right,

477
00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:57,240
Speaker 7: they won sixteen games in a row, They've been very

478
00:20:57,280 --> 00:20:59,400
Speaker 7: up and down in the playoffs, Like they haven't been

479
00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,720
Speaker 7: the Las Vegas Aces for more than two games in

480
00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:04,760
Speaker 7: a row, which I think is why I mean at

481
00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:07,040
Speaker 7: least from my perspective, I thought the Mercury had a

482
00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:10,280
Speaker 7: chance in this series because as good as the Aces

483
00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:13,000
Speaker 7: can be, they just weren't often at that level during

484
00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:15,160
Speaker 7: the playoffs. And I'm beginning to think it was more

485
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:17,720
Speaker 7: an Indiana perspective than it was an actual Las Vegas thing.

486
00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:21,560
Speaker 7: But I don't know if the Aces like have shown

487
00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:23,639
Speaker 7: the ability to play that many good games in a

488
00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:27,000
Speaker 7: row during the playoffs, at least defensively, and if the

489
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,640
Speaker 7: Mercury can get some shots to fall. Like Becky Hammon

490
00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:31,399
Speaker 7: always talks about closing out series on the road, I

491
00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:32,600
Speaker 7: know it's the thing that she likes to do. It's

492
00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:33,879
Speaker 7: gonna be, I think, little bit harder to get it

493
00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:37,000
Speaker 7: done in four, maybe like six, with the more apt

494
00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:40,280
Speaker 7: to finishing for that series. But yeah, it's not that

495
00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:42,119
Speaker 7: I expect the Aces to be like that much worse

496
00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:44,520
Speaker 7: in Game three. I just think that Phoenix will find

497
00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,199
Speaker 7: like an extra reservoir, if not in Game three, at

498
00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:48,560
Speaker 7: least in game four. It I don't think this is

499
00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,280
Speaker 7: going to be a sweep, but it is looking more

500
00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:54,080
Speaker 7: lopsided than I anticipated to start the series.

501
00:21:54,359 --> 00:21:56,879
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree, and I think you know, there's that

502
00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:00,679
Speaker 1: old adage series doesn't start until a road teams. Right

503
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:02,920
Speaker 1: that the Aces were supposed to win the first two

504
00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:05,080
Speaker 1: games at home, and in theory that Mercury are supposed

505
00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:07,680
Speaker 1: to hold serve on their home court, So we'll see

506
00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:08,919
Speaker 1: how that goes in game three. What do you think

507
00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:10,399
Speaker 1: the biggest adjustments are going to be And how do

508
00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:14,199
Speaker 1: you think Nate Tibbets has coached so far in this playoffs,

509
00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:17,800
Speaker 1: whether that's use of challenges, whether that's rotation and personnel.

510
00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:19,760
Speaker 1: What have you seen from him so far and what

511
00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:22,280
Speaker 1: do you expect to change potentially in game three.

512
00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:24,200
Speaker 7: Well, I think the number one adjustment has to be

513
00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:26,120
Speaker 7: just finding a way to get a Lista Thomas free

514
00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:28,520
Speaker 7: from this pressure. They've got to create some space for her.

515
00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:32,240
Speaker 7: I thought they kind of conceded the point against Vegas

516
00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:34,520
Speaker 7: in the second game where Alysta Thomas was so dominant

517
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:36,280
Speaker 7: during the first three quarters of Game one and then

518
00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:37,720
Speaker 7: they go to that zone and it denies her the

519
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:39,720
Speaker 7: middle of the floor, and then they just stopped running

520
00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:41,320
Speaker 7: pick and roll with her in game two, and I

521
00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:43,760
Speaker 7: was so curious as to why they let Vegas win

522
00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,240
Speaker 7: that point. So I do wonder what Nate Tibbets is

523
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:49,560
Speaker 7: going to do two free at a little bit more

524
00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:52,160
Speaker 7: in game three. I think he's He's been pretty good

525
00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:55,800
Speaker 7: throughout the course of the playoffs. I thought the adjustments

526
00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:57,840
Speaker 7: that they made against Minnesota, the pressure that they ratcheted

527
00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,680
Speaker 7: up against the Links, are really good. Series is a

528
00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:02,639
Speaker 7: little bit different, just because Twoey was so compromised in

529
00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:04,520
Speaker 7: Game two and then I don't really know what was

530
00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:06,359
Speaker 7: happening with the rest of their team down the stretch

531
00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:08,720
Speaker 7: it which just wasn't a fully realized version of the

532
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:12,320
Speaker 7: liberty that we've become accustomed to. But you know, Nate admitted,

533
00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:13,840
Speaker 7: first of all, like he made a mistake down the

534
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:15,720
Speaker 7: end of Game four by not calling a time out

535
00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:17,639
Speaker 7: on that final position when they wanted to get a

536
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,119
Speaker 7: game time three point look up. And this is his

537
00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,080
Speaker 7: first finals, right, Like not just his first finals, this

538
00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:24,200
Speaker 7: is his first real playoff run, like they made the

539
00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:27,280
Speaker 7: playoffs last year. But it was a very quick two

540
00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:29,080
Speaker 7: games sweep at the hands of the Links. And it's

541
00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:30,399
Speaker 7: not like he has a lot of experience as a

542
00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:34,080
Speaker 7: head coach on this stage, so it's a growing experience.

543
00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:35,879
Speaker 7: Like not everyone is Becky Hammond and comes in and

544
00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:39,439
Speaker 7: just wins dial in their first year right. Admittedly, like

545
00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:42,280
Speaker 7: it's a good example to draw from, but I don't

546
00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,600
Speaker 7: think it should be the expectation for anyone, especially since

547
00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:47,760
Speaker 7: Phoenix is such a new team come together, Like obviously

548
00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:49,680
Speaker 7: they seem to want to have a lot of history together.

549
00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:52,880
Speaker 7: But you know, Sammy Wickham's never played with them, Khalia

550
00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:54,760
Speaker 7: Copper's never played with them, Soto's never played with them. Like,

551
00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:56,240
Speaker 7: They's just a whole group of players who were learning

552
00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:58,520
Speaker 7: each other for the first time, and they've done remarkably

553
00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:02,040
Speaker 7: well to get to this point. But I think, like

554
00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:04,320
Speaker 7: I've like NAT's use of timeouts quite well, Like he

555
00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:05,960
Speaker 7: always seems to have one in his back pocket at

556
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:07,359
Speaker 7: the end of the game, and yet he always has

557
00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:09,400
Speaker 7: like the right feel of when to stop a run

558
00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:11,119
Speaker 7: or when to just like makes a couple of mistakes

559
00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:14,840
Speaker 7: that he says in real time. I wish they would

560
00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:16,240
Speaker 7: go to the bench like a little bit more, just

561
00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:20,560
Speaker 7: because it has been very limited production from them. Like

562
00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:22,719
Speaker 7: I do wonder what like Alexi help could do if

563
00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:24,320
Speaker 7: you just wanted a little bit of point of attack defense,

564
00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:27,240
Speaker 7: or what Kalani could do in the middle of you know,

565
00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:29,560
Speaker 7: the paint, just like a body on Asia Wilson, you know,

566
00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,080
Speaker 7: so maybe we'll see more of that, but I think

567
00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:34,959
Speaker 7: like Nate's been very clear, like this is his rotation,

568
00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:36,840
Speaker 7: this is the group that got them there, This is

569
00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:39,520
Speaker 7: that he's going to ride with, and maybe that gives

570
00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:41,600
Speaker 7: them more confidence going into Game three, knowing that they

571
00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:43,480
Speaker 7: have so much trust from their head coach.

572
00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:46,159
Speaker 1: I want to ask you quickly, there's kind of been

573
00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,320
Speaker 1: an obsession with Nate Tibbett's salary because he became the

574
00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:51,840
Speaker 1: highest paid coach in the league despite not having a

575
00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,919
Speaker 1: lot of experience and was a man and so of

576
00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:56,760
Speaker 1: course there's a lot of discussion and on the show

577
00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:58,720
Speaker 1: we've sometimes poked fun at him. I have said that

578
00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:00,560
Speaker 1: he should no longer be the butt of Jakes based

579
00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:03,159
Speaker 1: on the job he's done with this team. But you know,

580
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:05,600
Speaker 1: the whole girl dad thing in the salary thing still

581
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:09,280
Speaker 1: sticks with some people looking at you, Producer Alex. So

582
00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:12,080
Speaker 1: between that pr surrounding is hiring and everything else and

583
00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:14,240
Speaker 1: what we've seen from the last two years and his

584
00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:17,200
Speaker 1: run to the finals, do we think that we should.

585
00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:17,760
Speaker 2: Stop making fun of him?

586
00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:19,760
Speaker 5: Do we think he's worthy of the league highest salary?

587
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:22,520
Speaker 1: Where do we stand on making fun of Nick Tibbets

588
00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:24,520
Speaker 1: for being a girl dad who makes a lot of money.

589
00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,560
Speaker 7: You know, the podium when they announced his hiring is

590
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:29,560
Speaker 7: just really hard to get over. You know, those three

591
00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,160
Speaker 7: dudes sitting there announcing the Sea or the Phoenix. Mercury

592
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,720
Speaker 7: was that it was just a hard book. But I

593
00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:36,080
Speaker 7: think makes it a really good job. And I think

594
00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:39,080
Speaker 7: Khalia Kapper likes him, which is a good enough endorsement

595
00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:41,720
Speaker 7: for how he's done in Phoenix. Obviously, listen, Thomas takes

596
00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:43,440
Speaker 7: really highly of him. There's no reason he should be

597
00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:45,680
Speaker 7: the highest paid coach in WNBA. Like how has Becky

598
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:48,159
Speaker 7: Hammond's contract happen renegotiated to get her on top of

599
00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:48,600
Speaker 7: that number?

600
00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:49,560
Speaker 6: Like Mark Davis, what do we do?

601
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,679
Speaker 1: At the same time, I do think like when teams

602
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:55,600
Speaker 1: are willing to pay money to have coach a good

603
00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:57,840
Speaker 1: thing they want it's a good thing. We would love

604
00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:00,359
Speaker 1: for it to be the women, and maybe women have color.

605
00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:02,320
Speaker 1: But you know what, if a white dude needs to

606
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:04,239
Speaker 1: get the ball rolling and the rest of them can

607
00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:08,240
Speaker 1: negotiate based on his dollar amount, Let's spin it positive,

608
00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:12,199
Speaker 1: as I always try to do. Let's switch gears for

609
00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:15,480
Speaker 1: a minute to the bigger picture. Surrounding the w right now,

610
00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:19,639
Speaker 1: which is the Katy Engelbert versus Nefisa Kalier beef.

611
00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:21,240
Speaker 2: It's the CBA negotiations.

612
00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,960
Speaker 1: And you've reported about this whole CBA negotiation process, including

613
00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,320
Speaker 1: that the players have talked about the WNBA quote unquote stalling.

614
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:31,439
Speaker 1: It's easy to see even from the outside that players

615
00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:33,200
Speaker 1: in the league don't seem to be in lockstep. But

616
00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:35,920
Speaker 1: I wonder what specific issues you've heard players actually cite

617
00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:38,080
Speaker 1: as being important to them in the upcoming CBA that

618
00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:40,840
Speaker 1: maybe they're not feeling like they're getting a lot of

619
00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:41,679
Speaker 1: reciprocation on.

620
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:45,040
Speaker 7: Yeah. I mean, it's interesting because so much of the

621
00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:48,119
Speaker 7: discussion has been about revenue share and salary, and that's

622
00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,440
Speaker 7: just the number one sticking point, Like they can't move

623
00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:52,720
Speaker 7: beyond anything if that is not part of the deal, right,

624
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,159
Speaker 7: an equitable share of the revenue, like whatever percentage that

625
00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:57,800
Speaker 7: ends up being, I don't think it's gonna end up

626
00:26:57,800 --> 00:26:59,760
Speaker 7: looking like the NBA percentage. Fifty fifty just doesnt seem

627
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,120
Speaker 7: like it's on the table, but definitely more than the

628
00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:05,840
Speaker 7: incremental targeted revenue sharing system that the WNBA has right now,

629
00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:08,720
Speaker 7: which has not yet kicked in for the players. So

630
00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:11,200
Speaker 7: all of the revenue that the league has generated over

631
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:13,080
Speaker 7: the last three years and this monumental period of growth

632
00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:16,600
Speaker 7: has not made it back towards that portion of the league.

633
00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:20,040
Speaker 7: So it's kind of hard to even get beyond that issue.

634
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,119
Speaker 7: Just like there's no future of the league without that.

635
00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:24,240
Speaker 7: But no other things that the union has talked about

636
00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:27,480
Speaker 7: are pensions, right, want to make sure that retired players

637
00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:29,119
Speaker 7: are served, which has just not been the case in

638
00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:30,080
Speaker 7: the WNBA so far.

639
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:33,720
Speaker 6: Maternity and family planning benefits.

640
00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:35,720
Speaker 7: You know, we've seen a lot more parents in the

641
00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:37,960
Speaker 7: league than before, and that has been the result. I

642
00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:40,520
Speaker 7: think of some changes in policies where like, remember when

643
00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:42,280
Speaker 7: if you were pregnant used to have to be suspended

644
00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:43,960
Speaker 7: and you weren't allowed to get paid from your team.

645
00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:45,719
Speaker 6: It's like, why would anybody do that?

646
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,240
Speaker 7: And now you see a team like, you know, Shan

647
00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:50,520
Speaker 7: Parker tires gets to join the Aces and sit the

648
00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:52,840
Speaker 7: whole season up until the final month, and like they

649
00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:55,280
Speaker 7: welcome her back, and like that just wasn't possible in

650
00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:57,440
Speaker 7: the league. But there's still more room to grow there

651
00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:00,280
Speaker 7: where like players can bring caretakers on the road them

652
00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:02,359
Speaker 7: and like get an extra room for their children and

653
00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:03,520
Speaker 7: you know whoever's watching their.

654
00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:06,040
Speaker 1: Kids, and we're still trying to figure out exactly what

655
00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:08,080
Speaker 1: happened with d york A Hamby and the exactly right

656
00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:09,200
Speaker 1: not a problem.

657
00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:10,879
Speaker 7: Yeah, the fact that the aces are you know, in

658
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:13,280
Speaker 7: the middle of this again is just a lovely little

659
00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:16,800
Speaker 7: bit of a coincidence or not, who knows, but that's

660
00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,240
Speaker 7: on the list. I know Satu's actually talking about the

661
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:21,960
Speaker 7: fact that, like they haven't been paid since September fifteenth,

662
00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:24,359
Speaker 7: they're working in the postseason, and like they're getting playoff

663
00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:26,600
Speaker 7: bonuses with those playoff bonesses are just like a fraction

664
00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,520
Speaker 7: of you know, a Commissioner's Cup bonus for example. So

665
00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:33,720
Speaker 7: just general like leveling out across the board and making

666
00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:38,520
Speaker 7: sure that there's minimum standards for therapists and you know,

667
00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:42,080
Speaker 7: massage therapists and you know, pets and everything like on

668
00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:44,760
Speaker 7: staff at all times, places for players to work out

669
00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:47,960
Speaker 7: during the off season. Like there's there's so much that

670
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:49,800
Speaker 7: goes into be a DOMM player during the off season

671
00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:52,360
Speaker 7: that like they have to fund out of their own dime.

672
00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,720
Speaker 7: Like I remember Boomkay talking about just getting gym memberships

673
00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:59,440
Speaker 7: in Houston, like finding a way to you know, get

674
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:02,360
Speaker 7: shots in during the off season that players would like

675
00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:04,760
Speaker 7: to get paid for at some point so that they're not,

676
00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:08,840
Speaker 7: you know, using their salary to help fund their off seasons.

677
00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:10,320
Speaker 2: So much good stuff in there.

678
00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:11,880
Speaker 1: I want to backtrack to one of the first things

679
00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:13,800
Speaker 1: you said, though, and explain it like we're five, just

680
00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:15,840
Speaker 1: for anyone who doesn't know the details of this. The

681
00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,520
Speaker 1: current CBA has a revenue share agreement in it, but

682
00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:22,720
Speaker 1: you mentioned that the players have not benefited by the recent.

683
00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:24,600
Speaker 2: Rocket ship growth of the league. Why is that?

684
00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:27,080
Speaker 5: Can you explain what they're hoping to change for the

685
00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:27,760
Speaker 5: next CBA.

686
00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,800
Speaker 7: Yeah, so, just as simply as I can make this,

687
00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:35,000
Speaker 7: The way that the CBA created revenue share when it

688
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:38,000
Speaker 7: was enacted in twenty twenty was there were these targets

689
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:39,560
Speaker 7: that the league had to hit every year, and the

690
00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:42,960
Speaker 7: target goes up by twenty percent each season. So let's

691
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:44,960
Speaker 7: say it started at I don't know, one hundred million

692
00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:46,640
Speaker 7: in twenty twenty, then the target in twenty twenty one

693
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,120
Speaker 7: would be one hundred and twenty million, and so on

694
00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:51,040
Speaker 7: and so forth, and so you have the league has

695
00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:53,400
Speaker 7: to hit the cumulative target for that year, and then

696
00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:56,680
Speaker 7: any excess revenue gets put into a revenue sharing system.

697
00:29:57,120 --> 00:29:58,200
Speaker 6: So because the.

698
00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,040
Speaker 7: WNBA had basically no right venue in twenty twenty because

699
00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:04,560
Speaker 7: the pandemic season, and very limited revenue in twenty twenty

700
00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:07,880
Speaker 7: one because it was also a you know, social distancing.

701
00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:09,560
Speaker 7: People are barely coming back into arenas, A lot of

702
00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:11,800
Speaker 7: arenas weren't even selling tickets for the majority of that season.

703
00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:14,760
Speaker 7: They've just been behind the eight ball to hit these

704
00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,640
Speaker 7: targets over the last five years. So despite the fact

705
00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:21,160
Speaker 7: that they've gotten an enormous amount of revenue in twenty three,

706
00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:23,200
Speaker 7: twenty four, and twenty five, it just has not made

707
00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:25,360
Speaker 7: up for the deficit that was created back.

708
00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:28,320
Speaker 1: Right, because it's cumulative, it's out restarting and hitting it

709
00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:28,920
Speaker 1: for a year.

710
00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:29,720
Speaker 6: Got it exactly.

711
00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:31,800
Speaker 7: You got to hit that cumulative target and that just

712
00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:33,200
Speaker 7: has never been hit. And then even when you do

713
00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:36,600
Speaker 7: hit the cumulative target, only thirty five percent ends up

714
00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:39,200
Speaker 7: going back to the players. And of that thirty five percent,

715
00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:41,360
Speaker 7: seventeen and a half percent goes into like the those

716
00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:44,520
Speaker 7: league marketing agreements versus seventeen and a half percent back

717
00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:46,640
Speaker 7: to the players themselves. But it's just like a ridiculous

718
00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:49,600
Speaker 7: number because salaries have gone up by about three percent

719
00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:52,719
Speaker 7: each year, and they're expecting the revenue to go up

720
00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,240
Speaker 7: by twenty percent each year, and then it has to

721
00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:57,760
Speaker 7: go up by more than twenty percent for revenue share

722
00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:00,600
Speaker 7: to come back to the players. So like, you look

723
00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:02,320
Speaker 7: at the growth of their salaries and you look at

724
00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:04,760
Speaker 7: the growth of the league's revenue, and they just don't

725
00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:05,840
Speaker 7: match up with one another.

726
00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:10,240
Speaker 1: Yeah, how do you think the current tensions between Commissioner

727
00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:13,040
Speaker 1: Kathy Engelbert and a FISA Kllier and then all the

728
00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,360
Speaker 1: players who have now been supporting fees statements publicly might

729
00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:21,040
Speaker 1: impact negotiations beyond the awkwardness of Kathy seeming to be

730
00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:25,840
Speaker 1: on the firing line potentially while trying to do these negotiations,

731
00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,280
Speaker 1: you now also have a group of players that already

732
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:32,840
Speaker 1: seemed pretty pissed and now have a fire lit under

733
00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:36,040
Speaker 1: their ass from a public conversation about being let down

734
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:39,120
Speaker 1: by leadership as opposed to what was I think seemed

735
00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:43,440
Speaker 1: more intentional messaging from say the WNBPA and things like that,

736
00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:46,400
Speaker 1: you know, posting about how they weren't coming to an agreement.

737
00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:47,920
Speaker 1: Now it feels like sort of all bets are off

738
00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:51,120
Speaker 1: because everyone's just firing on social in interviews.

739
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:54,240
Speaker 7: You know, I do wonder how much the relationship between

740
00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:56,640
Speaker 7: the players and the leadership has actually changed, because it

741
00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:58,720
Speaker 7: seemed pretty contentious even before.

742
00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:01,840
Speaker 6: And Ifisa Kllier went scorch strength in that exit interview.

743
00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:03,360
Speaker 7: Like we know how bad it is now, but I

744
00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:04,960
Speaker 7: think the players are well aware of how they felt

745
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:06,880
Speaker 7: about Kathy Engelbert and how the leaders have felt about

746
00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:07,840
Speaker 7: Gathy Anglbert before that.

747
00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:09,720
Speaker 1: I just feel like when you say something though, and

748
00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:12,400
Speaker 1: then everyone agrees with you and egg you on and

749
00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:14,320
Speaker 1: a bunch of people are like yeah, fire, or you're

750
00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:16,440
Speaker 1: like yeah, you know, like you just feel a little

751
00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:17,200
Speaker 1: bit more in bold.

752
00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:19,440
Speaker 6: And maybe Kathy didn't know how bad it.

753
00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:22,680
Speaker 7: Was, yeah, yeah, yeah, there might have been some wilful

754
00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:24,920
Speaker 7: ignorance on her part of how the players felt about her.

755
00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:27,920
Speaker 7: That has just been disabused at this point because it's

756
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,000
Speaker 7: very clear now how the players feel about her.

757
00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:31,680
Speaker 2: Yeah.

758
00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:35,240
Speaker 7: I I can't imagine it's gonna help negotiations, obviously, but

759
00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:36,800
Speaker 7: I don't know how much worse they could possibly get,

760
00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:40,520
Speaker 7: considering how far apart they are on these things at

761
00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:42,480
Speaker 7: this point. Like the point of the commissioner is to

762
00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:44,680
Speaker 7: be a shield for the owners, right, Like she takes

763
00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:48,440
Speaker 7: all of the public punching, so to speak, for the league,

764
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,200
Speaker 7: and the owners get to make their money and not

765
00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:52,320
Speaker 7: have to do anything, and Kathy handles all of it.

766
00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:54,680
Speaker 7: And I think this is something that like Adam Silver,

767
00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:57,120
Speaker 7: for example, on the NBA has perfected pretty well. Like

768
00:32:57,440 --> 00:32:59,920
Speaker 7: the owners get to cash their checks and Adam Silver

769
00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:02,000
Speaker 7: gets to just be the public face who says silly

770
00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:04,600
Speaker 7: things and you know, is claimed to be too reactive,

771
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:06,360
Speaker 7: and all everybody knows about him is that he has

772
00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:09,320
Speaker 7: like bro hugs everyone at the NBA Draft. But Kathy

773
00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:12,640
Speaker 7: now is like messing with the WNBA owners bottom lines, right, Like,

774
00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,640
Speaker 7: if there's not a season, then all of this money

775
00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:18,360
Speaker 7: that they but to be fair, like owners have actually

776
00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:20,040
Speaker 7: started to put some money into the WNBA, all this

777
00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:21,560
Speaker 7: money that they put back in is no longer going

778
00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:24,200
Speaker 7: to see return if like the season doesn't happen. So

779
00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:26,680
Speaker 7: this is where I wonder if like the NBA Board

780
00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,000
Speaker 7: of Governors starts to step in, or you know, Adam

781
00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:31,040
Speaker 7: Silver starts to apply some pressure on Kathy to just

782
00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:32,080
Speaker 7: get a deal done.

783
00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:33,920
Speaker 6: Because the group of owners that.

784
00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:36,880
Speaker 7: Owns the WNBA, like a lot of them are are

785
00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:39,120
Speaker 7: his owners too, right, Like in the NBA Board of Governors,

786
00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:41,960
Speaker 7: there's so many that are NBA owners WNBO owners, and

787
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,040
Speaker 7: part of that capital raised like triple dipping in terms

788
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:48,520
Speaker 7: of that WNBA pie and it's getting embarrassing and it's

789
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:51,000
Speaker 7: affecting their bottom lines, and that's when things start.

790
00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:52,440
Speaker 2: To happen well.

791
00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:54,600
Speaker 1: And I said in yesterday show, like I have a

792
00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:59,520
Speaker 1: real fear for this league being going in a direction

793
00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:01,680
Speaker 1: that feels opposition to so much of what else is

794
00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:05,360
Speaker 1: happening in society, and at this very pivotal moment of growth,

795
00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:09,359
Speaker 1: fighting itself. Every single other piece of society right now

796
00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:14,640
Speaker 1: feels like it's pushing against women making money, getting appropriate

797
00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:18,480
Speaker 1: treatment in the office, being afforded respect, like everything else.

798
00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:20,120
Speaker 1: And then you've got this league that is like in

799
00:34:20,200 --> 00:34:24,399
Speaker 1: this gigantic moment of growth, that is cutting itself at

800
00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:27,200
Speaker 1: the knees because they can't come to agreement on how

801
00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:29,200
Speaker 1: to spend all the money that they're currently making.

802
00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:31,239
Speaker 2: And I know it's not that simple, but there is

803
00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:31,879
Speaker 2: something to be said.

804
00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:33,719
Speaker 1: I think, for no matter how bad the relationship was

805
00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:35,759
Speaker 1: before and how much the public was already on the

806
00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:39,840
Speaker 1: side of the players, how this particular incident has ratcheted

807
00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:42,600
Speaker 1: that up and made it probably even less likely to

808
00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:44,960
Speaker 1: come into meetings feeling like you want to shake hands

809
00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:48,200
Speaker 1: and get to work, being more pissed at the opposition

810
00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:49,920
Speaker 1: that you're trying to meet with and agree with. So

811
00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:52,839
Speaker 1: interesting to watch this continue to play out, and very

812
00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:55,280
Speaker 1: interesting to me to continue to have such little financial

813
00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:58,560
Speaker 1: transparency around the league when we're trying to figure out

814
00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:01,040
Speaker 1: from the outside exactly what's going on.

815
00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:03,000
Speaker 2: Okay, so real quick, can you game plan it out

816
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:03,319
Speaker 2: for us?

817
00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:05,799
Speaker 1: If there isn't an agreement by October thirty first, how

818
00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:09,480
Speaker 1: might that disrupt the two expansion drafts and free agency?

819
00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:12,520
Speaker 7: Yeah, so it kind of depends on whether they negotiate

820
00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:15,160
Speaker 7: an extension or just immediately go into a lockout on

821
00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:18,719
Speaker 7: October thirty first. If there's an extension, there could be

822
00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:21,560
Speaker 7: an opportunity to continue league business while the CBA is

823
00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:24,040
Speaker 7: being negotiated, So that could allow for the expansion drafts

824
00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:26,120
Speaker 7: like before the end of the calendar year, even if

825
00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:28,160
Speaker 7: a full CBA is not yet agreed upon.

826
00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:30,080
Speaker 6: I don't think that's what's going to happen.

827
00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:31,640
Speaker 7: I think these expansion drafts are going to be pushed

828
00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:34,839
Speaker 7: back into January like after or however long it takes

829
00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:36,479
Speaker 7: to work on a deal. My hope is it doesn't

830
00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:38,560
Speaker 7: take longer than the calendar year. But like obviously, things

831
00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:42,399
Speaker 7: are going terribly and just the general inventum doesn't feel great,

832
00:35:42,719 --> 00:35:45,600
Speaker 7: So my expectation would be that we're not going to

833
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:48,520
Speaker 7: see expansion drafts, free agency draft lottery, or any of

834
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:51,680
Speaker 7: that stuff until after a deal is I signed up

835
00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:53,160
Speaker 7: on knock on one all right.

836
00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:55,480
Speaker 1: Finally, your podcast is called No off Season, and the

837
00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:58,480
Speaker 1: name is not hyperbole because there is now no off

838
00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:01,800
Speaker 1: season in women's soups got two weeks after the WNBA

839
00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:04,239
Speaker 1: finals wrap up, college season tips off, and of the

840
00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:07,320
Speaker 1: college season, just a couple of days between NCAA Championships

841
00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:10,359
Speaker 1: and the WNBA Draft, and you got unrivaled thrown in

842
00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:12,759
Speaker 1: there to watch as well and to cover as well. Now,

843
00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:14,399
Speaker 1: on the men's side, a lot of reporters will stick

844
00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:16,600
Speaker 1: to just college or just the NBA, but on the

845
00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:19,760
Speaker 1: women's side, people usually cover both, partly due to the schedule,

846
00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:22,080
Speaker 1: given that you know, college and NBA happened at the

847
00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:22,399
Speaker 1: same time.

848
00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:24,040
Speaker 2: That makes it a little harder for those reporters, but

849
00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:24,480
Speaker 2: also I.

850
00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:27,400
Speaker 1: Think you know, it sort of limits your ability to

851
00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:31,160
Speaker 1: cover WNBA news during the NCAA season if your knee

852
00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:33,760
Speaker 1: deep in the stories of the college game and vice versa.

853
00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:36,120
Speaker 1: So how do you handle the pivot of switching your

854
00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:39,040
Speaker 1: coverage focus? And do you think at some point we're

855
00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:40,880
Speaker 1: going to get to a place where we need to

856
00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:44,600
Speaker 1: have dedicated w reporters who are just focused on all

857
00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:47,720
Speaker 1: of the off season goings on, particularly in a moment

858
00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:50,320
Speaker 1: like this with the CBA negotiations and all the expansion coming.

859
00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:53,840
Speaker 7: Yeah, I'd say in response to your first question, I

860
00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:55,960
Speaker 7: don't do a very good job of being second I'm

861
00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:58,560
Speaker 7: WNBA news while we're in Collegeason, because how could you

862
00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:01,920
Speaker 7: write like the college worth landscape is just incredibly vast

863
00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:04,799
Speaker 7: and there's so many interesting stories, and you know, just

864
00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:06,960
Speaker 7: focusing in on the top twenty five is a herculean

865
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:08,759
Speaker 7: task in and of itself. And then we talked about

866
00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:10,319
Speaker 7: the tournament and all of these schools that are you know,

867
00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:15,359
Speaker 7: making noise. So ideally, that's why newsrooms build out staffs of.

868
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:17,200
Speaker 6: Writers, you know, who can do things.

869
00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:19,759
Speaker 7: We have we have three, so that's you know, more,

870
00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:23,000
Speaker 7: I would say than some, but not necessarily enough to

871
00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:26,120
Speaker 7: cover all of the things that are happening in women's basketball.

872
00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:30,880
Speaker 7: There is some overlap, right, Like you talk to a

873
00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:32,759
Speaker 7: lot of college coaches who know things about things that

874
00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:34,560
Speaker 7: are happening with their former players who are in the

875
00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:39,279
Speaker 7: pros and vice versa, and just having conversations with people

876
00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:39,759
Speaker 7: in the loop.

877
00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:40,840
Speaker 6: Like everybody is sort.

878
00:37:40,719 --> 00:37:43,279
Speaker 7: Of in this space where like they can't go to

879
00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:46,319
Speaker 7: something right, Like they all have to be plugged in

880
00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:48,360
Speaker 7: on things that are happening at the pro, international, and

881
00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:51,120
Speaker 7: college level at the same time. So it helps that

882
00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:54,040
Speaker 7: everybody sort of having the same conversations and trying to

883
00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:56,560
Speaker 7: be as plugged in as possible to every little thing.

884
00:37:56,600 --> 00:37:59,319
Speaker 7: But that doesn't make it any easier, Like there's just

885
00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:01,960
Speaker 7: too much, too many news items happening, especially this year

886
00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:04,040
Speaker 7: when the WNBF season is going to be so pivital

887
00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:07,319
Speaker 7: to like the future of the league itself, Like it

888
00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:10,800
Speaker 7: seems almost impossible to think about, like, oh, ucl is

889
00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:13,600
Speaker 7: playing Tennessee at LA, should I go to that camera

890
00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:14,359
Speaker 7: like be focused on.

891
00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:15,440
Speaker 6: On CBA negotiations.

892
00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:19,520
Speaker 7: But yeah, I think we are reaching a point where

893
00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:23,640
Speaker 7: like national WNBA reporters make sense independent of college just

894
00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:25,680
Speaker 7: because all of the things that are happening on the

895
00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:27,320
Speaker 7: off season, and then just the fact that the season

896
00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:29,000
Speaker 7: is going to stretch so much longer, right, Like we're

897
00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:31,680
Speaker 7: talking about the WNBA season next year that no matter

898
00:38:31,719 --> 00:38:33,680
Speaker 7: when it starts, even if it starts on time, is

899
00:38:33,719 --> 00:38:36,160
Speaker 7: going to extend into November because of the World Cup.

900
00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:38,279
Speaker 7: That's going to you know, create a gap in the

901
00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:41,080
Speaker 7: middle of the regular season. And that means like we're

902
00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:43,120
Speaker 7: not even talking about like a theoretical like oh, I

903
00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:45,520
Speaker 7: have to go straight from college or WM to college,

904
00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:47,440
Speaker 7: Like there's literally going to be an overlap of games

905
00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:51,279
Speaker 7: the WNB in college, And with how much popular the

906
00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:53,000
Speaker 7: league is getting, with how much more of a profile

907
00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:54,920
Speaker 7: the players have during the off season where there's actually

908
00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:57,320
Speaker 7: a demand for their stories when they're not in season,

909
00:38:57,880 --> 00:39:00,480
Speaker 7: I do think it's going to be something where, you know,

910
00:39:00,719 --> 00:39:02,600
Speaker 7: people are going to want to know about what's happening

911
00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:03,600
Speaker 7: in the WNBA.

912
00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:04,480
Speaker 6: Even when the games aren't happening.

913
00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:06,600
Speaker 7: And yeah, I think it's the same thing with college right,

914
00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:08,680
Speaker 7: Like so many of the college writers I know, they

915
00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:11,480
Speaker 7: go like from basketball and then they end up covering

916
00:39:11,480 --> 00:39:14,240
Speaker 7: football or other college sports like during those off seasons,

917
00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:16,520
Speaker 7: and there's so much news during the college off season.

918
00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:19,600
Speaker 7: Really think about all the transfer portal stuff and recruiting,

919
00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:23,400
Speaker 7: and I mean it's both of these seasons are NonStop

920
00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:25,879
Speaker 7: and the fact that like they just sort of lead

921
00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:28,160
Speaker 7: in one into the other is is great for fans

922
00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:29,799
Speaker 7: if you were interested in women's basketbyeh.

923
00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:30,919
Speaker 6: But it's a lot.

924
00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:33,000
Speaker 2: It's a lot, a lot for reporters.

925
00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:34,919
Speaker 1: So if you had a clone and there was one

926
00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:37,879
Speaker 1: thread you could be pulling right now to send your

927
00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:40,560
Speaker 1: clone to work on something, maybe people aren't talking enough

928
00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:42,480
Speaker 1: about that you wish they were something you wish you

929
00:39:42,520 --> 00:39:43,439
Speaker 1: could really dig into.

930
00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:44,200
Speaker 2: What would it be?

931
00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:46,560
Speaker 7: I mean, there's all of these college stories that I

932
00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:47,759
Speaker 7: want to tell right now, but like when am I

933
00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:50,840
Speaker 7: supposed to report that, you know, I mean there's like

934
00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:52,719
Speaker 7: a Kid Mulkey story that I still think it needs

935
00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:55,120
Speaker 7: to be told that you know, we're teased off last year,

936
00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:58,360
Speaker 7: but something that I would love to, you know, spend.

937
00:39:58,080 --> 00:39:58,560
Speaker 6: Some time on.

938
00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:00,680
Speaker 7: And yet here I am at the time WNB Finals

939
00:40:00,719 --> 00:40:03,960
Speaker 7: until basically the start of LSU season. So you know,

940
00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:08,480
Speaker 7: we'll keep checking along, but hopefully that there's just more

941
00:40:08,520 --> 00:40:10,000
Speaker 7: resources come forward.

942
00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:13,240
Speaker 1: Yes, well, y'all are killing it over at the Athletic really,

943
00:40:13,239 --> 00:40:14,480
Speaker 1: and the podcast is so great.

944
00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:16,320
Speaker 2: I know we've had Ben on a couple of times.

945
00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:18,440
Speaker 1: We'll get the rest of the crew on at some point,

946
00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:20,360
Speaker 1: but keep it up and we're looking forward to the

947
00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:21,240
Speaker 1: coverage of game three.

948
00:40:21,600 --> 00:40:23,680
Speaker 6: Yeah, thanks so much for the invite.

949
00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:26,600
Speaker 5: Thanks again to Sabrina for taking the time.

950
00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:28,080
Speaker 2: We got to take another break.

951
00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:43,360
Speaker 1: When we come back, brush and give me twenty.

952
00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:38,400
Speaker 2: Welcome back slices.

953
00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:39,840
Speaker 1: We love that you're listening, but we want you to

954
00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:41,480
Speaker 1: get in the game every day too, So here's our

955
00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:43,920
Speaker 1: good game play of the day. It's an easy one.

956
00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:46,439
Speaker 1: Follow Sabrina on social media. We'll link to her Blue

957
00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:49,320
Speaker 1: Sky and Instagram in the show notes. And we always

958
00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:50,600
Speaker 1: love to hear from you, so hit us up on

959
00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:53,480
Speaker 1: email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or leave us

960
00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:56,360
Speaker 1: a voicemail at eight seven two two four fifty seventy

961
00:40:56,800 --> 00:41:00,000
Speaker 1: and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review. It's easy well.

962
00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:04,400
Speaker 1: Electric Toothbrushes rating thirty two out of thirty two. Clean

963
00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:08,520
Speaker 1: Teeth Review producer Alex just told me she's joined the

964
00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:11,879
Speaker 1: magical world of electric toothbrushes. And first of all, all

965
00:41:11,880 --> 00:41:14,399
Speaker 1: you folks out there still using regular toothbrush, you don't

966
00:41:14,440 --> 00:41:16,320
Speaker 1: know what you're missing, so get on board.

967
00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:17,640
Speaker 2: Better late than never.

968
00:41:18,239 --> 00:41:20,960
Speaker 5: But also the talk of electric toothbrushes.

969
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:24,000
Speaker 1: Reminded me of like fifteen years ago when I interviewed

970
00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:27,560
Speaker 1: WNBA legend Lisa Leslie, and I asked her about staying

971
00:41:27,600 --> 00:41:30,319
Speaker 1: fit and active in retirement, and she told me that

972
00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:33,480
Speaker 1: she knows that her electric toothbrush timer is two minutes,

973
00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:35,600
Speaker 1: so in the morning, when she's brushing her teeth, she

974
00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:37,759
Speaker 1: does two minutes of squats, and at night, when she

975
00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:40,520
Speaker 1: brushes her teeth, she does two minutes of lunges. And

976
00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:42,960
Speaker 1: I proceeded to think, Wow, that's why Lisa Leslie is

977
00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:43,719
Speaker 1: who she is and.

978
00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:45,040
Speaker 2: I'm just a NARP.

979
00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:47,560
Speaker 1: So I thought, well, I'm going to start my lunges

980
00:41:47,600 --> 00:41:49,239
Speaker 1: and squats when I brush my teeth. But I didn't

981
00:41:49,239 --> 00:41:51,719
Speaker 1: have an electric toothbrush, and I immediately stopped doing it

982
00:41:51,719 --> 00:41:54,440
Speaker 1: after two days because I forgot. But today, having been

983
00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:58,480
Speaker 1: reminded of Lisa's practice and now owning an electric toothbrush,

984
00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:01,480
Speaker 1: I commit to trying again. So squats and lundes for

985
00:42:01,520 --> 00:42:03,120
Speaker 1: me as well, at least for the next two weeks.

986
00:42:03,440 --> 00:42:06,320
Speaker 1: We'll see if it sticks. Now it's your turn, slices,

987
00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:09,160
Speaker 1: rate and review. Thanks for listening, See you tomorrow.

988
00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:09,919
Speaker 2: Good game.

989
00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:13,560
Speaker 1: Sabrina Good Game NWSL coaches, proving us right that the

990
00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:15,440
Speaker 1: handshake lines sometimes.

991
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:16,120
Speaker 2: Ain't for handshakes.

992
00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:19,960
Speaker 1: Thank you is absolutely what Yakobsen and Kunratz said to

993
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:23,960
Speaker 1: each other. Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart

994
00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:27,560
Speaker 1: women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.

995
00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:30,879
Speaker 1: You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

996
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:34,760
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,

997
00:42:34,960 --> 00:42:38,360
Speaker 1: our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive

998
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:42,840
Speaker 1: producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rutterer.

999
00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:46,680
Speaker 1: Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and

1000
00:42:46,719 --> 00:42:50,960
Speaker 1: Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones. Production assistance

1001
00:42:51,040 --> 00:42:54,000
Speaker 1: from Avery Loftis and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain