WEBVTT - The Boom Boom Room 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:02.800 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're trying 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:04.520 to figure out what we need to do to get 0:00:04.559 --> 0:00:08.280 into that Taylor Swift Caitlin Clark suite. You know, I 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:12.280 make a killer hot onion dip. It's Tuesday, January twenty first, 0:00:12.280 --> 0:00:14.600 and on today's show, we'll be diving into the debut 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:17.119 of Unrivaled, trying to figure out what the hell is 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:20.160 going on in pro women's beabs, and celebrating a contract 0:00:20.160 --> 0:00:23.279 extension for the highest paid women's basketball coach in history. 0:00:23.720 --> 0:00:27.960 Plus underfrogs, double corks, and a big teal dinosaur. It's 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:37.000 all coming up right after this welcome back slices. Here's 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:41.519 what you need to know today. Unrivaled tipped off on 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:45.040 Friday with Nafisa Collier's lunar owls defeating Branda Stewart's missed 0:00:45.080 --> 0:00:47.479 eighty four to eighty. Now, because the league uses the 0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:51.159 elam ending, every game ends with a basket, not a buzzer. 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:53.760 The winning score is determined by adding eleven points to 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:55.960 the leading teams score at the end of the third quarter. 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:59.920 Whoever hits that total first wins. The mist led seven 0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:02.680 three sixty seven heading into the fourth, but the Lunar 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:05.559 Owls pulled out a fourth quarter comeback with Skyler, Digg 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:08.199 and Smith draining the game winning three after a big quarter, 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:11.319 so in the Battle of Unrivaled Founders, Fee came out 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:13.760 on top to grab the first win in Unrivaled history. 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:17.080 Shout out to Amy Clerkson, Joey Maldonado, Kim Cook, and 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:19.480 the rest of the slices on Team Lunar. 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:22.360 Owls Hoo Doo, who. 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:23.400 After the first week ind of play Alex's Lace has 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:25.720 got the only dub of the big Citrus squads. But 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:28.240 lots more season to go and we'll have lots more 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:30.039 on the debut of Unrivaled later in the show. 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:32.399 By the way, while lots of w stars are. 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:35.479 Playing in Unrivaled and AU hoops this offseason, there are 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:37.760 plenty playing overseas and I want to shout out the 0:01:37.840 --> 0:01:40.840 Chicago Sky for sending us updates on their players, including 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:44.440 two that are having huge januaries. Kennedy Carter has scored 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:46.920 at least thirty points in every game but one for 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:49.640 her Wuhan team over the past two weeks, including back 0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:52.320 to back forty point games on January tenth and twelfth, 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:55.560 and Kamila Cardoso scored career highs of forty points and 0:01:55.640 --> 0:01:58.320 seventeen boards to help per Shanghai team to a win 0:01:58.400 --> 0:01:59.440 on January eighteenth. 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:01.600 Well on those players overseas as well. 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:04.840 To college basketball, South Carolina coach Don Staley has signed 0:02:04.840 --> 0:02:07.680 a contract extension, making her the highest paid coach in 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:11.359 women's soups either college or the WNBA. The contract, which 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:13.720 runs through the twenty twenty nine to twenty thirty season, 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:16.399 includes a base salary of four million dollars a year, 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:17.600 plus other bonuses. 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:19.440 Here's an interesting nugget. 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:21.880 Though, if Staley were to leave South Carolina prior to 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:24.639 the end of the contract, she would osc one hundred 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:27.200 percent of the remaining compensation left on the deal, but 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:29.440 not if she leaves the game Cocks to take a 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:30.360 coaching gig in the. 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:32.640 WNBA or the MNBA. 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:35.880 Sticking with college hoops, Paige Becker's became the fastest Yukon 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:39.760 Huskies women's basketball player to reach two thousand points, accomplishing 0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:42.480 the feat in one hundred and two games, passing Maya Moore, 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:44.560 who got to two thousand and one aw eight. Becker's 0:02:44.560 --> 0:02:47.000 achieved the milestone during the Huskies ninety six thirty six 0:02:47.040 --> 0:02:50.120 blowout of Seaton Hall on Sunday, Becker shouted out everyone 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:52.040 behind the scenes who's helped her on the journey when 0:02:52.080 --> 0:02:53.600 talking to SNY after the game. 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:56.880 But it's been a beautiful journey, and I've seen so 0:02:56.919 --> 0:02:59.040 many people invest a lot and do a lot for me, 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:01.200 and I just really want to their hard work, because 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:03.840 everybody sees the two thousand points, but NOBB sees the 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:06.200 two thousand days of hard work. So it's just a 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:08.000 testimony to everybody who's invested in me. 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:11.680 Couple upsets Sunday and women's college hoops to mention as 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:14.760 fifteenth ranked Tennessee fell to unranked Vanderbilt seventy one to 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:18.120 seventy on a last second put back from Vandy's michaelab Blake's, 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:21.160 who led the Commodorees with twenty three points in the win. Also, 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:24.320 number nine Ohio State fell to unranked Penn State sixty 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:27.280 two to fifty nine. Four Lady Lyons scored in double 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:29.239 digits to hand the Buckeyes their first. 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:29.920 Loss of the season. 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:33.079 Lady Lyons, Yeah, we still got to do a show 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:36.600 on ending the whole Lady nicknames in college sports uugh 0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:39.760 to soccer. Kristin Press has agreed to a one year 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:43.080 contract extension with Angel City FC. Press was the club's 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:45.920 first ever signee ahead of its debut season in twenty 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:48.360 twenty two, but she missed most of twenty twenty two 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:51.160 and all of twenty twenty three after tearing your ACL. 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:54.520 After four surgeries, she returned to the field in twenty 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:56.600 twenty four and played in nine games for the club. 0:03:57.200 --> 0:03:58.320 Some more angel City news. 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:02.240 Former Portland Thorns and Lynn's national team coach Mark Parsons 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:05.680 has been named Angel City's new sporting director and general manager, 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:09.800 replacing Angela Hugley's Mangano, who mutually parted ways with ACFC 0:04:09.880 --> 0:04:12.000 in December to take a role with the Houston Dash. 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:14.920 The first order of business for Parsons hire a new 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:15.440 head coach. 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:19.479 More soccer, Alyssa Nayer was named the US Soccer twenty 0:04:19.520 --> 0:04:21.599 twenty four Female Player of the Year. Now, if you 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:24.240 haven't watched it, check out the adorable video of national 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:26.400 team teammate and last year's Player of the Year Naomi 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:29.400 Germa breaking the news to nayor they pranked her into 0:04:29.400 --> 0:04:31.960 thinking that she was surprising Naomi with the award. 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:32.880 It's really cute. 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:35.560 We'll link to it in our show notes to snowboarding 0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:38.240 competing at the locks Open in Switzerland over the weekend, 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:41.480 Americans Chloe Kim and Matti Mastro became the first women 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:43.960 to land a double cork ten eighty in a snowboard 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:47.760 halfpipe competition to finish first and second on the podium, respectively. 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:50.880 If you're wondering what exactly double cork ten eighty means, 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:54.200 ten eighty is for the three full rotations done while 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:57.760 in the air, cork means that one rotation is off axis, 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:01.680 and double cork means two of their rotations are off axis. 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:03.120 We'll link to the video. 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:04.599 Of Chloe's winning run in the show notes so you 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:07.760 could see it for yourself. Also in snowsports News, cross 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:10.440 country skier and friend of the show, Jesse Diggins extended 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:13.200 her overall World Cup lead this weekend, winning a ten 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:16.240 k freestyle in France in what was a monumental day 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:18.720 for US cross country skiing. While Diggins has put the 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:20.880 US women on the map in cross country during the 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:24.200 last decade, the US men aren't exactly well known contenders. 0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:27.159 But on the same day Diggins one Ben Ogden placed 0:05:27.200 --> 0:05:29.400 third in the men's ten k, marking the best ever 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:31.719 day for US cross country skiing at an event not 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:34.119 held on US soil. So shout out to the Bros 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:37.640 for doing their part to the Professional Women's Hockey League 0:05:37.720 --> 0:05:41.240 aka the PWHL. Quebec City hosted the fourth of nine 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:45.120 stops of the PWHL Takeover Tour on Sunday, and competing 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:47.680 in front of a sold out crowd of eighteen two 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:50.799 hundred and fifty nine, the Montreal Victoire defeated the Ottawa 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:53.480 Charge two to one to take sole possession of the 0:05:53.520 --> 0:05:57.040 top spot in the PWHL standings. Catherine Dubois, who's from 0:05:57.080 --> 0:05:59.600 Quebec City, opened scoring for the Victoire in front of 0:05:59.600 --> 0:06:02.240 more than one one hundred family and friends in attendance 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:06.479 to wrestling. At last week's NCUBLEA convention, all three divisions 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:10.520 voted to make women's wrestling the organization's ninety first championship sport. 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:14.279 Women's wrestling was previously part of the NCAA's Emerging Sports 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:18.159 for Women program, but it now gains official NCUBA status. 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:21.080 The first NCAA Women's Wrestling Championship will be held in 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:24.760 twenty twenty six. Women's wrestling is the sixth Emerging sport 0:06:24.800 --> 0:06:30.040 to earn NCAA championship status, joining rowing, ice hockey, water polo, bowling, 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:34.680 and beach volleyball. Finally, we haven't forgotten about the Australian Open, 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:36.760 but due to the time difference, it's really tough to 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:38.800 update you on scores, so we're keeping an eye on 0:06:38.839 --> 0:06:40.960 the action and also we're sending our best wishes to 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:43.080 Naomi Osaka who had to pull out due to injury. 0:06:45.520 --> 0:06:48.240 Want to share a quick underdog story from the TCU 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:49.920 hoops program where. 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:52.320 Should I say under frog story? 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:55.560 Last year, first year had women's hoops, coach Mark Campbell 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:59.080 had to hold open tryouts from the TCU student body 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:01.480 after injuries and a shortage of players forced the horn 0:07:01.520 --> 0:07:04.880 Frogs basketball team to forfeit two games. Four students who 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:08.719 became known as the Underfrogs joined the team and helped 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:12.000 TCU finish the season. Now, one of those players, Ella Hamlin, 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:14.520 returned to play for the team this season and got 0:07:14.560 --> 0:07:17.080 a big surprise from Coach Campbell last week. 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:21.640 Take a listen, Ello, When there's adversity, most people run 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:26.440 away from it. The Underfrogs diversity hit and you guys 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:29.040 decided to step up so we could continue our season 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:38.000 and I appreciate you, Ellah more than you know. Hey, 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:40.360 by Ella, thank you for stepping up with the plate 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:44.080 and coming back and being a huge part of this team. 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:45.720 But Ella, you've earned. 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:46.560 A full right scholarship. 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:51.680 So cool. 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:54.520 After getting through last year's struggles, the horn Frogs are 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:57.880 now thriving, sitting at nineteen and one on the season 0:07:57.920 --> 0:07:59.440 and ranked ninth in the country. 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:01.640 We're going to take a quick break when we come back. 0:08:01.680 --> 0:08:04.680 Big Citrus convenes to dig into the debut of Unrivaled, 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:08.640 discuss a volleyball star who shares our concerns, and remind 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:11.200 all of y'all to grab a slice stick around. 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:18.280 Welcome back Slices. 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:20.720 We felt like it was time for Big Citrus to 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:22.800 convene about a couple things that we watched over the 0:08:22.840 --> 0:08:24.800 weekend and a couple of things we have some serious 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:28.320 questions about. But let's start with the debut of Unrivaled. 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:31.320 What did we like, What surprised us, what didn't. 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:33.520 Go our way? Like I don't know winning a game. 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:36.880 Let's start with what we liked, Alex, what stood out 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:37.800 to you It was. 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:41.520 Just so fun, Like everything about it just felt fun. 0:08:41.400 --> 0:08:45.280 The basketball was fun, the energy around it was really fun. 0:08:46.280 --> 0:08:48.400 I feel like I'm blanking because I'm such a critical 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:51.079 person and I want to say something critical here, but 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:52.720 I don't really have that much to say. 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:55.280 Ah, we foiled, Alex. Don't worry. 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:56.920 We'll give you a couple of minutes and something is 0:08:57.000 --> 0:08:58.960 certain to come to mind that you would like to 0:08:58.960 --> 0:08:59.520 fix me. 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:01.840 What about you, oh buddy. 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:04.880 I think that was the most fun I've had watching 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:09.600 basketball in a very long time. I believe the homie 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:12.520 Megan el Hall, who writes and does all the things 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:15.440 we love you. Meghan also tweeted this and put it 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:17.640 on Blue Sky that she was just standing in the 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:19.760 middle of her living room the entire time and couldn't 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:23.000 sit down. That was entire That was me, like I 0:09:23.040 --> 0:09:25.559 need blue light glasses. For how long I was standing 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:28.640 in front of my television. My head was hurting, But 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:31.600 it was because I couldn't turn away, not for a second. 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:34.200 Because in a game like that, and it's something we 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:36.600 all talked about coming into it, of course, but I 0:09:36.640 --> 0:09:40.160 think seeing that pace in practice was just different. 0:09:41.440 --> 0:09:42.920 I think I agree with Alex. 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:44.640 On the energy tip, and I kind of feel like 0:09:44.840 --> 0:09:46.440 the reason why I love it and a lot of 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:48.280 people loved it is because we knew we were gonna 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:51.440 get the vibe that these players witness and practice every 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:53.960 single day they witness in the offseason when they're training 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:56.240 with each other or overseas if they had previously gone 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:58.000 overseas to play for other teams. 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:00.280 But I really enjoyed it. 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:02.240 Because there are things that I thought happened that I 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:06.040 don't see happen as often in my opinion on WNBA 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:09.120 stages at WNBA games and those kind of platforms. And 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:13.200 at risk of putting this in two simplistic terms, it 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:15.960 felt like when I go to La Fitness to play pickup, 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:18.559 there's no cameras out there unless somebody trying to get 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:20.160 you on Instagram. 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:20.800 Getting your ankles broke. 0:10:21.280 --> 0:10:24.439 But you know, when I'm at La Fitness, I might 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:26.600 say a few things that I probably wouldn't say if 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:28.760 you know. I was at a college basketball game on 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.199 the court in front of thousands of people, and. 0:10:31.160 --> 0:10:33.280 I think we were getting more organic reactions. 0:10:33.320 --> 0:10:35.640 I think the celebration from Skylehi Digg and Smith was 0:10:35.679 --> 0:10:38.000 probably my favorite one I've seen in years. 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:39.880 Just I thought our head was about to roll off 0:10:39.880 --> 0:10:40.920 her soldier for a second. 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:43.640 But I'm not mad at her, because that's the kind 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:45.839 of energy that you draw from three on three knowing 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:48.200 that you didn't get a single second of rest that 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:51.160 entire game unless you were literally on the bench resting. 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:55.040 It's just such a fun brand of basketball, it really is. 0:10:55.360 --> 0:10:57.600 I completely agree. A couple things stood out to me. 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:01.000 The intimacy, Like you talked about the way that the 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:03.360 behind the scenes has given us a look at how 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:05.760 these players all interact off the court, and then the 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:08.440 way that they are establishing this new brand of whatever 0:11:08.480 --> 0:11:09.840 team it is that they just created. 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:11.760 We're seeing them for the first time. 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:13.720 Talk about like what do we want our fans to 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:17.160 be called, what's our little like calling card or thing 0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:19.400 that we say if we win a game, how do 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:21.440 we interact? And how is our team different than the 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:23.760 other ones? Like all those fun things give us a 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:25.920 peek inside that makes us more interested in what we're watching. 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:29.000 And then really impressive to give us a new format 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:31.880 and have it feel really seamless, to have the rule 0:11:32.000 --> 0:11:34.320 changes feel like they make the game a better watch. 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:37.320 One free throw worth two points instead of sitting and 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:38.920 watching someone watch shoot too. 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:40.880 It keeps it moving, you know. 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:44.120 The elam ending felt organic, It felt fun, and exciting. 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:46.280 It felt like the thing that you're excited to see 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:49.280 at the end of every game. It can be tough 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:51.880 to introduce people to a new format, new court size, 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:55.480 new rules, new expectations, and instead, Unrivaled has done such 0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:57.760 a good job along the way of teaching us and 0:11:57.800 --> 0:11:59.719 showing us how things are going to go that when 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:01.880 it or we were ready for it, and even the 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:04.800 things we weren't ready for or used to yet felt 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:05.560 really thought out. 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:07.000 It just felt really smart. 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:09.560 And sometimes when you see new iterations of things, you're like, Oh, 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:10.560 they're trying stuff out. 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:13.240 It'll work itself out. We're gonna get to volleyball after this. 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:16.080 Like the first couple Love games, I was like, these 0:12:16.080 --> 0:12:18.960 camera angles suck. I'm not enjoying this, and they have 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:22.000 since fixed that. Unrivaled seem to have most of it down, 0:12:22.320 --> 0:12:24.400 except for maybe how long the games are, because I 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:26.960 noticed that the time slots that they have set on 0:12:27.000 --> 0:12:31.520 television ain't working. That's not gonna have it, bro dudes, 0:12:31.640 --> 0:12:34.000 pranks and jokes is gonna get run into every single 0:12:34.000 --> 0:12:36.640 time or whatever the hell show is scheduled to run after. 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:41.600 Except they have postgame shows I know, and pregame shows. 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:43.440 Which is amazing. What a world. 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:47.960 Yes, Candace in Renee on one panel, I know chef's 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:49.480 kiss no notes. 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:52.120 Yes, I mean you give me Candace Park and Renee Montgomery. 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:54.160 I'm gonna listen all day. But shout out to Lauren Jabarro. 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:55.520 I was not familiar with your work, and I think 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:57.280 she did a really nice job of setting them up 0:12:57.480 --> 0:12:59.199 and setting up the league. I think it's a really 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:02.040 fun show. It's a really good pre and post game. 0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:05.080 And then the last thing I'll say is that I 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:07.400 just in an interview with someone talking about the growth 0:13:07.400 --> 0:13:09.960 of women's sports, and when I was thinking very honestly 0:13:10.040 --> 0:13:13.800 about my own investment, I realized how much my excitement 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:17.440 about Unrivaled came from my knowledge about Unrivaled because of 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:19.280 this show, and because of the amount of work we've 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:21.520 put in since we first heard about it, telling you 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:23.840 about all the different steps, from the player announcements, to 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:27.319 the teams, to the rules to everything else. That very 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:29.160 first day when I sat down to watch it, I 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:32.280 had so much information about the players and the teams 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:34.319 and everything that it made me really excited. And it's 0:13:34.360 --> 0:13:37.520 such a microcosm for women's sports that if you give 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:43.360 people the names the stakes, the players, the rules, the backstories. 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:44.920 All those things. They're going to be fired up for it. 0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:47.720 And there's so many awesome opportunities for us to do 0:13:47.720 --> 0:13:50.280 that with these new leagues or even existing leagues, and 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:52.480 this show is like, I just like, I'm so grateful 0:13:52.520 --> 0:13:55.160 to this show for giving me the time and making 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:57.600 it my job to watch and care about this stuff 0:13:57.640 --> 0:13:59.560 instead of a side thing that I used to always do. 0:13:59.800 --> 0:14:01.600 Try trying to follow it along with having to cover 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:04.040 every other men's sport that I was covering. So I 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:06.920 just noticed immediately the first day that I was like 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:09.160 so down for this because I knew so much about it. 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:11.800 Me should anythink surprise you? 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:12.040 You know? 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:17.040 The thing that surprised me is not the format, it's 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:18.280 not the rules, it's. 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:18.640 None of that. 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:21.760 It's and I want to be extremely I want to 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:26.000 be extremely clear here. I revere Lisa Leslie. I love 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:31.160 Lisa Leslie. I one of the goats, but if I 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:35.560 had to hear boom boom room one more time, I 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:36.480 was gonna lose it. 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:38.840 I don't think Lisa knows what that's used for. 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:39.720 I don't think. 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:41.760 I don't think she does, and it's not her fault. 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:44.160 It's not her fault, but I hope somebody has told her. 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:44.560 Lisa. 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:48.360 People are interpreting this in a completely different way. And 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:51.680 we did mention that Unrivaled is very gay, so okay, 0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:52.760 but also. 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:54.880 Yeah, oh no, I'm not during the game. 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:58.360 By the way, the night two of Unrivaled, there were 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:00.800 no boom boom rooms dropped far as I remember, so 0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:03.560 I think someone did get to Lisa and explain to her. 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:06.560 I was just I was just surprised it lasted so long, 0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:09.000 agree because I just knew somebody was gonna one of 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:10.440 the researchers gonna be like, hey. 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:11.400 So we're seeing on. 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:17.960 True story. When I was a researcher, I would google 0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:21.200 or search on Twitter for the commentator. I was working 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:24.120 with mid broadcast to make sure that there wasn't anything 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:25.280 that was slipping by us. 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:28.720 That's really smart al so that like if if you 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:30.400 don't know and they don't know, but a whole bunch 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:32.480 of other people know, you can whisper in there and 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:34.960 be like, oh, by the way, mentioned to everyone like 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:37.800 I'd like to apologize for or I was unaware of, 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:39.240 or in the future. 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:40.680 I very smart. 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:42.600 Everyone needs an Alex on their side to just be 0:15:42.720 --> 0:15:45.800 like double checking for all the potential errors. 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:47.840 Thousand and then the other thing. 0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:51.440 That didn't necessarily surprise me because I knew that they 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:55.520 both had very strong rookie years, but it surprised me 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:58.440 the prominence in the dominance that they both displayed. 0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:00.720 Kate Martin and Rakia. 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:04.120 Jackson people people, we knew that this was gonna be 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:06.440 great for the young players to be competing with the 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:08.520 elite of the elite, the best of the best on 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:12.320 this kind of stage. But they didn't just compete, they excelled. 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:15.120 I thought there were moments where Rakia Jackson looked like 0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:17.640 the best player on her team. I thought there were 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:20.960 moments where Kate Martin fit in like a glove with 0:16:21.040 --> 0:16:23.960 anybody they put her on the floor with and made 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:26.080 reads on closeouts, which for folks who don't know what 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:28.280 closeouts are, or when you catch the ball and the 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:30.520 defense is running out at you, what decision do you 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:32.960 make as an offensive player. I thought her decision making 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:36.440 was excellent on and off the ball. So not necessarily 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:40.120 surprised by that, But I hope other people are really 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:42.320 paying attention to what they're doing and the rest of 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:43.800 the rookiesing young players as well. 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:48.240 I was not surprised by Jewel Lloyd and Kalia Kopper, 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:50.720 both of whom I was so fired up to watch 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.000 in this and who came through as expected. 0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:54.040 Same with Skyler Diggens. 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:57.120 You and I mentioned that like, it's gonna go off 0:16:57.160 --> 0:16:58.960 and it's gonna be dramatic and fun to watch when 0:16:59.000 --> 0:17:02.320 it does. I honestly was surprised that my Phantom team 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:03.160 looks so trash. 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:07.160 Now, I'll tell you what, but the system we used 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:08.560 was official, Sarah. 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:11.000 I'm not going back on it. I love my squad. 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:13.199 I'm giving them some time to get it together. I 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:15.359 don't think so too Sobbly it's going to be, you know, 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:17.639 putting up eleven every game. I think she could do better. 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:20.880 I want to see Marina Maybury out there. She did 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:23.359 not play, and there were some concerns about both health 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:27.200 illness and physical health like injuries heading into that game. 0:17:27.400 --> 0:17:29.600 There were a lot of jokes about the whole team 0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:32.719 eating Marina's food and getting bubble guts and her just 0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:35.359 taking out the team with whatever. That weird bow tie 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:38.840 shrimp chicken pasta business that looked like Croston Flakes. 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:41.040 Was the mac and cheese she may look fire. That's 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:41.520 what I saw. 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:45.040 Her second round looked good, and I would like to 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:47.480 think that future efforts from Marina defeed her team will 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:50.159 not result in them getting blown the fuck out. But 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:54.359 that was a terrible start, and I'm enthusiastic and optimistic. 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:58.440 My concern is mainly my concern during our draft, which 0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:01.480 was I want to see how Britain deals with that 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:04.560 up and back and having to be mobile in a 0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:06.520 way that like, if you can use her the right 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:08.840 way and get her dominant inside, she'll be helpful, but 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:12.160