WEBVTT - Footy Daddy with Meg Linehan and Tamerra Griffin 0:00:00.960 --> 0:00:03.560 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where our mouths 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:07.280 are agape after hearing the news that Captain America Hillary 0:00:07.360 --> 0:00:10.400 Knight is unprotected by the Boston Fleet ahead of the 0:00:10.400 --> 0:00:14.520 PWHL expansion Draft. It's Thursday, June fifth, and on today's show, 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:16.920 we'll be chatting with the Athletics Meg Lenahan and Tamara 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:20.439 Griffin for a mid season NWSL check in, a big 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:23.360 picture look at what excites and worries them about the league, 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:26.200 how to handle growing pains as the prices go up, 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:28.760 and a dive into the standings. Which top of the 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:31.240 table teams look primed to stay on top, who could 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:33.279 challenge from the middle of the pack, and is there 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:36.680 any hope for Utah and Chicago? Plus a hard launch 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:40.240 done Wright Night moves and is this keeper the keeper? 0:00:40.560 --> 0:00:48.559 It's all coming up right after this Welcome back slices. 0:00:48.600 --> 0:00:53.000 Here's what you need to know today. Let's start with hockey. 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:56.480 All six PWHL teams announced the three players they'll be 0:00:56.560 --> 0:00:59.880 protecting during the expansion draft process. As we've said before, 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:02.080 the fact that teams were allowed to protect just three 0:01:02.120 --> 0:01:06.240 players from the start is absolutely bonkers, and that means 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:09.160 that these decisions must have been excruciating for the general 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:12.280 managers and coaching staffs. Some of the protection lists that 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:15.480 have been released are pretty unsurprising, like Montreal protecting Marie 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:19.520 Philippe Pulen, Laura Stacey, and Anne Renee Dabien, in Minnesota 0:01:19.560 --> 0:01:22.920 protecting Taylor Heisie Kendall, Quint Schofield, and Lease Decline. But 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:27.160 the biggest surprise was Boston opting not to protect Captain 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:31.440 and superstar Hillary Knight, choosing instead to go with Aaron Frankel, 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:34.640 Meghan Keller, and Alina Mueller. There is so much to 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:37.920 unpack from this decision, especially given that in her interview 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:40.920 on this show less than two weeks ago, Hillary Knight 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:43.440 mentioned her commitment to bringing a p WHL trophy to 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:47.039 Boston before the end of her career. Now maybe Boston's 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:49.880 front office was wondering just when that end might be 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:53.080 given Knight's recent announcement that next year's Winner Olympics will 0:01:53.080 --> 0:01:55.440 be her last, but she did say she plans to 0:01:55.480 --> 0:01:58.920 continue playing in the PWHL. Other surprises include the New 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:02.200 York Sirens failing to protect Alex Carpenter and the Toronto 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:05.680 Scepters leaving Sarah nurse vulnerable. Now we just have to 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:07.880 wait and see if any of those big surprise players 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:10.880 are willing to negotiate with Seattle or Vancouver or if 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:14.040 they'll end up getting snatched up in the draft. If 0:02:14.080 --> 0:02:16.480 you want to better understand the decision making that might 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:19.320 go into when and if players are pursued by Seattle 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:23.160 and Vancouver during the current exclusive signing window or later 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:26.160 acquired in the upcoming draft, I highly recommend the June 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:29.120 four episode of Jackson Jill's podcast. We'll link to that 0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:32.120 in the show Notes to Soccer. The US women's national 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:34.960 team defeated a shorthanded Jamaic inside four nil and a 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:37.520 friendly and energizer park in Saint Louis on Tuesday night, 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:40.440 Ali sent Nora and lynd Biandolo scored two goals apiece 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:42.960 to lead the team. Meantime, on the other end of 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:45.799 the pitch, Fallon Tullis Joyce started her second game for 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:49.480 the US of this international window, recording clean sheets in both. 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:51.839 She made two saves in the US team's three nil 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:54.120 went over China and didn't have to make any saves 0:02:54.160 --> 0:02:56.960 against Jamaica. After the game, coach Emma Hayes said that 0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:58.880 while she's not yet ready to name a full time 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:01.640 replacement for long time time keeper A Lissenaire. She noted 0:03:01.680 --> 0:03:05.120 that Tullis Joyce akaid the octopus is ahead when it 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:08.640 comes to the current pool of keepers. The WNBA on 0:03:08.720 --> 0:03:12.040 Wednesday announced its first monthly honors of the season. The 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:15.240 Minnesota Link System Feasa Collier was named Western Conference Player 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:17.800 of the Month after averaging twenty six point eight points 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:20.800 per game in six games in May, while Atlanta's Ali 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.400 Shagre was awarded Eastern Conference Player of the Month helping 0:03:23.480 --> 0:03:25.600 lead the dream to a five and two record with 0:03:25.760 --> 0:03:28.760 twenty one point four points per game. The league also 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:31.600 named Washington Mystics forward Kiki erie Fen Rookie of the 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:34.560 Month after she recorded thirteen point nine points per game 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:36.640 and ten point one rebounds per game in her first 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:40.680 seven games as a pro. A double double is insane. 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:45.160 Eriefn also responsible for multiple reverse welcome to the WNBA moments, 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:48.000 as the rookie's been sitting vets on their asses with 0:03:48.120 --> 0:03:51.200 big blocks and sturdy screens since day one of the season. 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:52.960 Coach of the Month honors went to the New York 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:56.680 Liberty Sandy Brondello, which feels pretty deserved given that during 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:58.920 the month of May, the undefeated Liberty led the league 0:03:58.920 --> 0:04:02.200 in points per game, assists per game, defensive rebounds per game, 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:04.200 blocks per game, three per game, field goal percentage, lowest 0:04:04.200 --> 0:04:06.400 opponent field goal percentage, true shooting percentage, just assist to 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:09.360 turnover ratio, net rating, offensive rating, and defensive rating. So 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:14.440 basically all of the stats more hoops news and the 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:20.080 best kind, especially during Pride Month. Hoops and gayshit Olivia Miles, 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:22.720 the former Notre Dame standout who transferred to TCU after 0:04:22.800 --> 0:04:26.240 last season, and Matty Westbeld, recent Notre Dame grad now 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:29.000 in her first year with the Chicago Sky Hard launched 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:32.159 their relationship with a cat who has a hyphenated name 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:37.080 in his own Instagram, yep Bean. Miles Westbeld is the 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:40.600 debonair Kat's son of the two former teammates and his Insta. 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:43.039 Along with a recent post by Miles featuring a couple 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:46.640 picks of the two hoopers, canoodling constitutes the official hard 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:50.560 launch for the Irish duo, commented fellow Irish Hooper Kaylie Watson, 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:55.640 and the Hard launch I'm in tears with lots of emojis. 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:58.760 We feel the same way, congrats to the happy couple 0:04:59.440 --> 0:05:02.240 to softba all. The Women's College World Series continues tonight 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:04.400 with Game two of the best of three series between 0:05:04.480 --> 0:05:08.120 Number six Texas and Number twelve Texas Tech. We're recording 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:10.720 this before Game one wrapped on Wednesday night, but we're 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:13.240 sure all of you slices were watching that game live 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:16.880 along with many other folks. Because the College World Series 0:05:16.920 --> 0:05:20.920 has been drawing huge numbers, The pre Finals World Series 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.800 games have been averaging one point one million viewers, up 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:27.240 twenty five percent year over year. It's ESPN's most watched 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:30.919 pre Finals College World Series on record. To tennis. The 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:33.400 French Open continues today with the semi finals at the 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:36.520 women's tourney. First up at nine am Eastern Arena Sabalanka 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:39.760 takes on Igaspontech. Then after that match wraps, it'll be 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:43.760 Coco Golf taking on hometown favorite Los Boisson of France. 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:47.400 Ranked three hundred and sixty first in the world, she 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:49.960 has a fairy tale run to make it to this stage. 0:05:50.160 --> 0:05:52.680 Boissan is the first woman to reach the semifinals at 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:55.680 her debut Grand Slam tournament since Jennifer Capriotti at the 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:59.040 nineteen ninety French Open. And she's the first women's wildcard 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:01.400 entry ever to reach the French Open semis in the 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:05.000 open era that dates back to nineteen sixty eight. The 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:07.320 twenty two year old tore her acl last year, just 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:09.320 one week ahead of the French Open, which prevented her 0:06:09.360 --> 0:06:12.000 from accepting an invitation to compete in the tournament. What 0:06:12.120 --> 0:06:14.880 a comeback for Boisson and what a cool scene for 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:17.039 her to be doing it in France. We'll link to 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:20.279 the full tournament schedule in the show notes. Finally, an 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:22.960 update on a story we mentioned earlier this week. We 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:25.839 told you about the absolute piece of shit heckler that 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:28.440 five time Olympic medalist Gabby Thomas had to deal with 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:30.680 while she was competing at a Grand Slam Track event 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:34.440 in Philadelphia over the weekend. While on Wednesday, Fan Duel 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:37.400 told DESPN that the company has banned the man from 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:40.640 using their services. The man had posted on social media 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:43.359 quote I made Gabby lues by heckling her and it 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:47.040 made my parlay win, alongside screenshots of a one thousand 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:50.920 dollars parlay bet on FanDuel go round and find out 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:56.400 bro ground and find out we got to take a 0:06:56.440 --> 0:06:58.480 quick break when we come back the state of the 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:09.159 NWSL with Megan to joining us now. She's a senior 0:07:09.200 --> 0:07:11.760 writer and the women's sports lead at The Athletic. The 0:07:11.760 --> 0:07:14.720 co host of the fantastic weekly podcast full Time with Meglenahan. 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:17.280 She's everybody's go to journalist for coverage of the US 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:20.000 women's national team, the NWSL, and all things women's soccer. 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:22.640 Her dog Dewit's gonna be a big bro because she 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:25.200 and her wife have a baby do in August fingers 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:28.640 crossed for an eight to eighteen birthday. It's the best. 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:33.040 It's Meg Lenahan. Welcome back bag, Hello, Hello, Hello, congratulation, 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:36.640 thank you, thank you, very exciting news joining her. The 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:39.040 other co host of Full Time with Meglenahan and now 0:07:39.080 --> 0:07:42.040 a full time women's soccer writer for The Athletic. She's 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:44.160 known for not just soccer writing, but also her coverage 0:07:44.160 --> 0:07:47.000 of the intersection of fashion, style, art and visual culture. 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:48.920 She's a new auntie and she can order you a 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:52.040 coffee in French and Portuguese. It's Tamara Griffin. Hi, Tamara. 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:54.600 I'm so flat that I was not ready for that. 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:58.640 Hi. Can you say swing and Portuguese right now? Ah, 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:04.640 Bondia and simple enough before we get to the NWSL. 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:10.400 We have actually a quick hockey tangent. Okay, because on Tuesday, 0:08:10.440 --> 0:08:13.120 the PWHL announced the three players each team was protecting 0:08:13.160 --> 0:08:15.600 ahead of the upcoming expansion Draft, and the biggest surprise 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:18.640 by far, especially for us having just had her on 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:21.480 the show and joking about how it would be hilarious 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:25.440 if somehow she wasn't protected, was Boston Fleet captain and 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:28.600 Captain America Hillary Knight. Meg, you're a friend of Hillary's, 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:31.400 you're an East Coaster, and you wrote about this on 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:35.280 Blue Sky and said, quote personal bias aside, including honestly 0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:38.079 feeling like Hillary Knight belongs in Boston, but just looking 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:40.920 at it with NWSL glasses on, it's intensely wild that 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:42.840 a player of this caliber, in this stage of her 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:46.200 career has essentially no control over where she's playing in 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:48.679 the lead up to the Olympics too. End quote. I 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:50.440 totally agree with you, And of course some of that 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:53.760 is that the PWHL is only two seasons old, even 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:55.920 though Hillary Knight's pro career is much older than that. 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:58.920 But what were your initial thoughts when you saw the 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:02.600 expansion draft rule only protecting three players and the whole 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:03.480 night all of it. 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:06.280 Yeah, I mean it is interesting just because obviously the 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:08.719 NBCL has done away with the expansion Draft and we're 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:10.959 about to like live through it from an NWCL point 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:13.480 of view with Boston and Denver coming into the league, 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:16.520 and we still need the final rundown of how this 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:19.520 is going to look without an expansion draft. But the 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:23.000 PWHL expansion Draft heavily favors the two teams coming in 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:26.480 like you can build. I mean, Hillary Knight's unprotected, Sarah 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:30.520 Nurse is unprotected, Alice Carpenter is under unprotected. Like yeah, 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:33.400 like just the sheer list of names. Like if an 0:09:33.520 --> 0:09:37.240 NWBCL team had come in with that caliber a player 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:39.800 available to them, I think they would have been weeping 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:41.120 with joy. 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:42.600 But it is. 0:09:42.559 --> 0:09:44.960 Really and like, yes, one hundred percent bias when it 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:46.840 comes to Hillary, I do get the sense that this 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:49.720 was not anknown thing that was about to happen, and 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:52.920 there is that period of free agency negotiation, right, so 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:55.920 like there is maybe that angle, but like if you 0:09:56.800 --> 0:09:59.120 live in Boston and you have your stuff in Boston, 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:02.200 this isn't an NBA shock trade or anything. 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:03.439 These players aren't. 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:05.760 Super wealthy and can just kind of pick up and 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:08.440 move at the drop of a hat. And it's just 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:10.840 I don't know. I think like this is why the 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:15.680 NWSL Players Association has been so thoughtful and intentional about 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:19.440 realizing how important it is for players to have control 0:10:19.600 --> 0:10:22.120 over where they and free agency was so important to 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:26.320 the NWLPA. So again, like the lifespan of these leagues 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:29.160 does come into it. But yeah, heading into her her 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:32.040 final Olympics, right, like that's the one thing she's announced. Yeah, 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:34.319 and then in theory, you know, maybe potentially having to 0:10:34.400 --> 0:10:36.839 move to the Pacific Northwest in some form or another. 0:10:37.000 --> 0:10:40.600 It's just I don't know, it was it was I 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:42.120 definitely had a very WTF. 0:10:42.840 --> 0:10:44.480 She said she wanted to keep playing in the p 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:47.240 WHL after the Olympics and that one of her big 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:49.040 goals was to bring a title to Boston. 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:52.240 It's tough. It's tough. It's tough. 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:54.480 We could keep talking about this because I think also, 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:57.920 as producer Alex rightfully points out, being a single entity 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:00.800 owner for the PWHL, you don't really have to please 0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:04.360 individual owners by letting them keep rosters intact. But you 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:06.880 also don't have players who are maybe going to be 0:11:07.000 --> 0:11:09.160 angry at the ownership of the team. That acquires them, 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:11.480 understanding that it's the rules made by the larger league. 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:14.320 But yeah, anyway, we're gonna do a lot of PW digital, 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:16.320 so we'll have some guests on to talk us through 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:19.160 once everything is shaken out and where everybody lands. But 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:21.600 wanted to get your thoughts on that, particularly because we 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:24.360 know of your ties to that market and to Hillary. 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:28.400 All Right, soccer time. NWSL is about to return from 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:30.280 a short international break, so it's a good time for 0:11:30.360 --> 0:11:32.760 us to kind of consider the league through week ten 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:36.240 to America, Kansas City Current sitting alone atop the table, 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:38.760 four points ahead of second place San Diego Wave, then 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:41.199 the Orlando Pride in Washington Spirit just to point behind 0:11:41.200 --> 0:11:44.280 the Wave. What's your take on the top teams through 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:44.719 week ten. 0:11:46.160 --> 0:11:49.080 I swear this is not my California native bias, but 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:51.839 I am endlessly fascinated by what the Wave have been 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:55.160 doing so far this season. I also don't think I'm 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:59.280 being dramatic and saying that nobody saw this coming when 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:02.360 you consider how their season ended last season. And I'm 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:04.480 not just talking about what was happening on the pitch, 0:12:04.600 --> 0:12:06.240 because a lot of that was informed by what was 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:09.720 happening off of it, the shock firing of Casey Stoney, 0:12:09.760 --> 0:12:15.080 the departures of Alex Morgan, Naomi Gara, Jaden Shaw. I 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:17.640 don't think anyone was expecting them. I mean, I think 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:19.880 that I won't name them, but there were some people 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:22.280 who projected this team finishing the season at the bottom 0:12:22.280 --> 0:12:25.800 of the table, which is wild but not totally unexpected 0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:27.680 in the end of USL, where we see teams go 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:30.160 from bottom to top from one season to the next, 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:32.800 We've seen it before. But the fact that they have 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:35.120 a new coach and Yonics Adaval who is not only 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:36.840 new to the way, but new to the end of USL, 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:40.560 coming over from Europe, which is usually really really hard 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:43.720 in terms of an adjustment, pretty much a brand new team. 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:47.960 I think they only have maybe nine returning faces, and 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.000 only three of those have been with the club from 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:53.200 the very beginning. They have international players, they have players 0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:57.000 who are new professionals, they have young players. All of 0:12:57.040 --> 0:12:59.800 the pieces that really will spell we're going to give 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:02.880 you t to cook. Yeah, but they've been cooking this season. 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:05.960 I mean so many different goal scorers. They're on like 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:09.440 a five or six game unbeaten streak. I am so 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:11.760 impressed by them. And it's not only what they've been 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:14.560 able to accomplish, it is how it looks on the field. 0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:18.120 They look unified. They are saucy in the midfield. I 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:21.520 am all in on Kenza Dali, the French international who 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:24.240 has just commited. She's like a centripaal force when you 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:28.240 watch them play. Melanie Barsenas, who is still a teenager. 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:30.360 I think she just went to prom not too long ago. 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:34.000 She's been developing beautifully within the club. And like I said, 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:37.079 nobody saw this coming. They've had so many changes and 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:40.280 I can see them definitely making it into the postseason. 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:44.040 Everyone else less surprising because it feels a little bit 0:13:44.160 --> 0:13:46.400 like how the table looked around this time last season. 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:48.640 But the Wave have been the chakra for me so 0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:49.480 far for sure. 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:53.000 While you're already offering up titles for the episode with 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:55.960 Saucy in the midfield, which I love, but also teeing 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:58.400 up the stats for this team that I had written down, 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:00.720 which you're right. So last year and they finished in 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:04.120 tenth place with thirteen losses, we're now in second. They're 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:06.960 second in goals with twenty one, and they have a 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:10.760 lead leaguing thirteen different goal scorers, with more than half 0:14:10.760 --> 0:14:14.880 the regular season left to play, just unbelievable. Meg. The 0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:18.920 bottom two teams by a lot are the Utah Royals 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:23.680 and the Chicago Neutral Colored Stars five and four points respectively. 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:25.280 Any surprises there for. 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:28.360 You, I don't think so really. 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:31.760 I mean Utah, I think everybody did have higher expectations 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:32.600 of like that run. 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:35.920 Alle sent Nor driven, right like, I thought that her 0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:38.880 Bangers could alone carry a team that wasn't really buil 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:40.520 for success. 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:42.960 I think Ali sent Nor and Minazanaka right like. 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:45.120 I think those were the two players that everybody, especially 0:14:45.120 --> 0:14:47.080 coming out of She Believes Cup, everybody was very amped 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:51.000 about the two of them, and then that didn't happen 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:54.440 for Chicago. I really don't think anything is all that surprising. 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:58.720 What I've ranted about Chicago a lot, so I don't 0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:01.440 want to like revisit the the same complaints time and 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:05.040 time again. But it just feels so very unserious. Lauren 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:07.680 Donaldson may or may not have been a problem, but 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:12.000 fundamentally that roster build really is one of the main issues. 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:13.800 Like if they brought in some more pieces, but like 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:16.840 it just feels like, you know, you have new investors 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:20.400 come in, they're very focused about a stadium solution. 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:21.520 Which is great. 0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:25.480 The current you know, news cycle around Chicago is that 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:28.760 they're now in this equality bill around money for building 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:31.080 a public stadium, which also isn't even on the table. 0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:34.720 There's no there's no public stadium that's about to get 0:15:34.720 --> 0:15:36.720 built for men's or women's sports. 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:38.600 Chicago Fire just announced. 0:15:38.520 --> 0:15:41.680 Yes, but that's privately funded, yeah, right, right, public public, yes, 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:43.520 public money, right, And I think. 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:45.800 It's the only win they've got, Meg, I'm gonna do. 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:48.120 I think it's great that they're getting themselves at the 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:51.160 table and in that conversation if that comes up, and 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:53.320 it's about the only thing that they have to send 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:55.920 out a press release about that isn't just here's the 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:57.640 final of another loss. 0:15:57.240 --> 0:15:59.840 Right, And so I mean, the nice thing about the end, 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:02.560 as Tamara already mentioned, is that you can have a 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:07.120 very quick turnaround. But when you have the quotes coming 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:10.760 from the general manager out of Chicago that have been circulating. 0:16:10.800 --> 0:16:14.120 Shout out to to Leslie from Kalpals who got him 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:17.800 on record, who he's very proud about not spending money 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:22.600 on that roster and for getting money incoming which is 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:27.160 then not being spent, you just don't see a solution 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:31.320 coming anytime soon. And like, even if Mallory Swanson, you know, 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:33.880 post pregnancy, comes back and is the player that we 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:36.400 all expect her to be, one player alone is not 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:38.400 going to solve the problems of that team. 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:38.880 So it is. 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:41.240 It's disappointing, but it's not surprising. 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:44.320 It's especially disappointing with Alyssa nay Or. 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:49.720 Yes, so like listen, I watched her suffer in Boston 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:52.240 for so long. 0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:55.640 The magnitude of that tragedy. Knowing that she is going 0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:57.840 to end a professional career with the Stars. 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:01.760 Ah, it pains left out to dry. I know it 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:05.320 hurts loyalty though it is. It is it is, and 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:08.760 talk about someone that's good at getting the next generation 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:12.760 to want more and want better and get through this. 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.840 But she's a better woman than I am. I'll tell 0:17:15.840 --> 0:17:18.840 you that much, Tamor. If you're looking at the middle 0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:21.600 of the pack, which team or couple of teams do 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:23.400 you think has the best shot to push up into 0:17:23.440 --> 0:17:24.119 the top three. 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:29.040 I remain intrigued by Racing Louisville, although I do think 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:33.120 someone needs to check in on their like emotional welfare 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:37.160 because this deep into the season, we're barely halfway through, 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:40.320 there've already been two players who have not only gotten 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:45.639 red cards in games, but had their disciplinary action escalated, 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:48.760 And for me, I'm trying to not like equate that 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:51.560 to being a cry for help. I know that Beviannas 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:54.600 has this team playing a super aggressive style of football, 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:58.359 high pressing from top to bottom, but I just wonder 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:01.280 if something's going on there beyond what we're seeing on 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:03.280 the field, because what I see on the field outside 0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:07.760 of that does have some promise and probably more momentum 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:09.600 than I see coming out of this team at this 0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:12.840 point in the season. The way that sav Damelo is 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:16.480 able to draw foul, she's excellent with her free kick service. 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:19.800 Kayla Fisher prior to getting the red card, I mean, 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:22.639 even considering it, I think has had a really interesting 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:24.679 run of form. When Ari Borges comes back, the other 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.000 player who got that red card, I do think that 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:29.879 they're putting some interesting pieces together, and I'm going to 0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:32.600 be paying attention. I mean, they tend to not make 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:35.400 too many moves during these transfer windows, but maybe I'll 0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:38.520 be surprised this summer. So that's one team I'm going 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:42.240 to be paying attention to. This is probably a little 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:45.120 bit of California bias, but I'm hoping for better for BFC. 0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:49.399 They just started playing Hannah Biebar who they signed a 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:51.840 few months ago, but in her first game, I think 0:18:51.920 --> 0:18:53.639 she and this is what I've been told even before 0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:55.360 she started playing with the team, that she was going 0:18:55.400 --> 0:18:58.679 to revitalize that midfield. I think there's probably been a 0:18:58.680 --> 0:19:01.440 little bit too much rotation for them to be able 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:04.840 to build on any sort of consistency. But I'm going 0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:07.720 to be hoping for them just from like a spiritual perspective. 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:10.359 I hope that I'm right, But right now, I'm going 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:12.720 to say Louisville is most intriguing to me, and they 0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:15.119 love to crush people's dreams, so I think the second 0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:16.840 half of the season for them is going to be interesting. 0:19:17.119 --> 0:19:19.159 I love that you're digging into the psyches and the 0:19:19.200 --> 0:19:22.159 spiritual wellbeings of those times to the California girl, I 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:26.359 appreciate that. Speaking of spiritual wellbeing, we did sort of 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:28.840 not talk about it on our show, and we should 0:19:28.840 --> 0:19:32.200 have mentioned Kayla Fisher's three match ban for the hair 0:19:32.240 --> 0:19:37.119 poll Meg. We heard Tamara concerned about potentially being a 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:39.399 cry for help for me, certainly when I see that 0:19:39.520 --> 0:19:42.879 it is so outside the bounds of just I'm frustrated, 0:19:43.440 --> 0:19:45.239 and this is coming from someone that got a lot 0:19:45.280 --> 0:19:48.240 of yellow cards in field hockey. I bumped a lot 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:49.960 of people. I pushed a lot of people out of 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:51.879 my way, but it was all in pursuit of the 0:19:51.960 --> 0:19:55.080 next play. When you yank someone and pull them by 0:19:55.080 --> 0:19:58.120 the hair, that is a totally different thing. What did 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:02.280 you make of that? And it feels sort of I 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:06.840 don't feel like we've seen something similar in the NWSL. No, 0:20:06.960 --> 0:20:11.240 I think we have, remembering the college gal who like 0:20:11.320 --> 0:20:12.159 lost her mind during that. 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:14.520 Yeah, I mean, hair pulling is definitely not as rare, 0:20:14.560 --> 0:20:17.440 but like there have been some stomps that have happened 0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:20.879 in the NWSL, right Like there, there is absolutely you know, 0:20:21.000 --> 0:20:25.720 people get wildly competitive and things happen. But I do think, 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:28.640 you know, the NWSL has to send a message here 0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:30.800 of saying like this has to go right, and so 0:20:32.080 --> 0:20:34.680 immediately turning it into a three game suspension, yes, good. 0:20:34.800 --> 0:20:37.240 Could it have even been more like send the message 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:41.080 now and get it cut out right and so there, 0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:43.439 I think there probably could have been a little bit 0:20:43.480 --> 0:20:46.200 more or you know, like really upping the fine generally, 0:20:46.280 --> 0:20:49.159 player finds are really not that high. But I think 0:20:49.440 --> 0:20:51.639 there does have to be a consequence to like really 0:20:51.840 --> 0:20:58.400 keep this out of bout exactly and so but at 0:20:58.400 --> 0:21:00.360 the at the end of the day, like I don't 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:02.400 know the physicality piece of it. 0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:03.920 I mean from a from a. 0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:05.720 Racing point of view, I think there is a really 0:21:05.720 --> 0:21:08.040 interesting question of just like why they rely so much 0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:11.800 on physicality and because that's not what I ever would 0:21:11.800 --> 0:21:15.840 have associated Beviana's as a player with. That's not something 0:21:15.840 --> 0:21:18.760 that like when I think about watching her with Seattle Rain, 0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:22.680 that comes to mind immediately. And I believe in her 0:21:22.760 --> 0:21:24.720 as a head coach. I think she's, you know, a 0:21:24.760 --> 0:21:27.919 head coach that the end of cl also honestly desperately 0:21:28.000 --> 0:21:29.160 needs to succeed to. 0:21:29.160 --> 0:21:34.560 Like prove that path exists for players. But yeah, could 0:21:34.600 --> 0:21:34.840 the n. 0:21:34.880 --> 0:21:38.760 OFSL have sent a much stronger message on that front. Honestly, probably, 0:21:38.960 --> 0:21:40.919 but they they have so much going on. 0:21:41.000 --> 0:21:44.240 Sarah, I mean, at least we're grateful about the three 0:21:44.280 --> 0:21:45.080 match band is. 0:21:48.840 --> 0:21:50.720 She's been very star of the show today. 0:21:50.880 --> 0:21:54.840 So waits she called her, I was like, maybe she 0:21:54.920 --> 0:21:56.440 meant bro in the gender expansive. 0:21:56.520 --> 0:21:58.200 I mean that's totally true. 0:21:58.320 --> 0:22:00.440 I mean I do actually refer to her as bro 0:22:00.840 --> 0:22:03.720 frequently in this household, so it's totally acceptable. 0:22:03.280 --> 0:22:07.920 My apologies to w a big sibling. Big sibling. There 0:22:08.080 --> 0:22:13.120 goes Tamaragatham FC, winners of the inaugural conkakaf W Champions Cup, 0:22:13.160 --> 0:22:15.919 a tournament dating back to last season. What kind of 0:22:15.960 --> 0:22:18.120 weight are you putting into that win in that tournament 0:22:18.480 --> 0:22:21.199 and also currently in ninth place with twelve points? What 0:22:21.320 --> 0:22:23.760 needs to happen for them to find similar success in 0:22:23.800 --> 0:22:25.040 the league that they play in. 0:22:25.560 --> 0:22:28.600 So as far as continental tournaments go, this one is 0:22:28.640 --> 0:22:31.920 still very much in its nascent stage. I don't think 0:22:31.960 --> 0:22:34.640 it helped that it happens so close to Champions League, 0:22:34.640 --> 0:22:38.480 which is the biggest continental club tournament that you get. 0:22:39.640 --> 0:22:42.560 I think in terms of the club, they from the 0:22:42.600 --> 0:22:45.520 coach to players have spoken at length about the importance 0:22:45.560 --> 0:22:50.119 of sort of acquiring these sort of continental trophies because 0:22:50.119 --> 0:22:51.600 they want to be a global club, they want to 0:22:51.640 --> 0:22:53.439 be a global brand, So I think in terms of 0:22:53.480 --> 0:22:56.320 that it was a positive for them. I think given 0:22:56.320 --> 0:22:58.720 where they are right now in the NW cell table, 0:22:58.760 --> 0:23:01.959 it's got to be some sort of confidence boost in 0:23:02.000 --> 0:23:05.480 a broader sense. I am not yet going to put 0:23:05.520 --> 0:23:09.280 too much weight into them winning this tournament only because 0:23:09.280 --> 0:23:12.119 it's so new. I mean, Tigress definitely put up a fight. 0:23:12.560 --> 0:23:15.399 From an atmospheric standpoint. They had a ton of fans 0:23:15.480 --> 0:23:18.919 in the crowd for both games in the semi final 0:23:18.960 --> 0:23:21.639 and the final, which is great and obviously something that 0:23:21.680 --> 0:23:24.760 you want to build on. It was an entertaining game, 0:23:25.600 --> 0:23:28.679 it wasn't I think the on field product in that 0:23:28.720 --> 0:23:32.720 final probably wasn't the best. But I know Estaire had 0:23:32.760 --> 0:23:35.840 been on a bit of a gold route leading up 0:23:35.880 --> 0:23:38.679 to that. She's now definitely in competition for the end 0:23:38.720 --> 0:23:42.160 of your Cell Golden Boot, so I think from individual standpoints, 0:23:42.200 --> 0:23:44.399 it was important for her to get that penalty to 0:23:44.480 --> 0:23:48.399 convert it. Hopefully that'll carry over into league play in 0:23:48.480 --> 0:23:50.280 terms of what they need to do to sort of 0:23:50.320 --> 0:23:53.400 get squarely back into the playoff table or just get 0:23:53.440 --> 0:23:55.600 back to where I know that they believe they're meant 0:23:55.600 --> 0:23:59.000 to be. I think they probably need to be better 0:23:59.080 --> 0:24:02.760 at making adjustments in games. I mean, es there, she 0:24:03.119 --> 0:24:05.120 is still on a run right now. 0:24:05.200 --> 0:24:07.960 She started off crazy hot despite that little gap. 0:24:08.400 --> 0:24:14.280 Right but I think that they probably need to be 0:24:14.359 --> 0:24:17.719 a little bit more humble about their ability to just 0:24:17.960 --> 0:24:21.720 do their thing and play their style, and that that 0:24:21.760 --> 0:24:26.840 will necessarily translate to success. I think similar to what 0:24:26.880 --> 0:24:29.199 I was saying about AFC and the rotations, I know 0:24:29.320 --> 0:24:32.600 that Wan Carlos Amorros is spoiled for choice when it 0:24:32.640 --> 0:24:35.960 comes to Gotham's attacking line between Jase, between Midge Purse, 0:24:36.040 --> 0:24:39.639 between us there between oh my god, I'm blinking on 0:24:39.680 --> 0:24:42.520 her name, the really the other saucy one who. 0:24:42.440 --> 0:24:47.040 Wears her soas over. As soon as you said Sleeves, 0:24:47.080 --> 0:24:48.440 I was like, Eli Stevens. 0:24:48.080 --> 0:24:51.480 Yes, thank you, I get Chicago stars who made it 0:24:51.480 --> 0:24:52.920 out okay to celebrate. 0:24:53.520 --> 0:24:57.360 Yes, Gaby Porcillo when she comes back from injury. And 0:24:57.480 --> 0:25:00.639 I appreciate that. You know, based on what the game needs, 0:25:00.680 --> 0:25:03.880 that will determine who makes that starting lineup. But I've 0:25:03.920 --> 0:25:06.879 seen what I think is an emerging partnership between Jason 0:25:06.920 --> 0:25:08.760 Mitche Purse, for example. What does it look like to 0:25:08.800 --> 0:25:09.919 sort of build on that. 0:25:10.080 --> 0:25:11.879 With It's kind of wild for you to say all 0:25:11.920 --> 0:25:13.800 those names and then realize that the team only has 0:25:13.800 --> 0:25:17.160 twelve points. It's like, what ch'all doing something? 0:25:17.240 --> 0:25:18.400 Let's clicking, let's. 0:25:18.240 --> 0:25:21.439 Figure it out. Yeah, Meg, I was listening to a 0:25:21.520 --> 0:25:25.320 touch more and it's always hilarious to me when Rapino 0:25:25.400 --> 0:25:30.960 tries to explain to Sue Bird Soccer, especially cups like this. 0:25:31.600 --> 0:25:34.119 She's like, Okay, so like Europe is like the CONCA 0:25:34.160 --> 0:25:36.960 calf and then the different leagues are like the countries. 0:25:37.080 --> 0:25:39.480 And then and I was listening, I was like, I 0:25:39.600 --> 0:25:42.199 know what it is, and I'm still confused. So for 0:25:42.280 --> 0:25:46.200 those who are listening, maybe explain why the NWSL would 0:25:46.200 --> 0:25:49.160 want to be involved in a CONCA Cafe W Champions Cup, 0:25:49.200 --> 0:25:51.600 what it is compared to Europe, and especially for those 0:25:51.600 --> 0:25:54.280 who don't even really understand how Europe works. You don't 0:25:54.280 --> 0:25:55.880 have to get too deep in, but just a top 0:25:55.960 --> 0:25:58.400 level idea of how the NWSL, both in the way 0:25:58.440 --> 0:26:02.080 that they abolished the draft and joined the FIFA International Timeline, 0:26:02.280 --> 0:26:04.400 but also in some of these decisions around the cups 0:26:04.440 --> 0:26:06.080 are trying to become part of the global game. 0:26:06.280 --> 0:26:06.520 Yeah. 0:26:06.560 --> 0:26:10.600 I mean, so NWUSL, right, is a league. There's kind 0:26:10.600 --> 0:26:12.600 of two structures. You have a club structure and an 0:26:12.600 --> 0:26:16.800 international structure. So from a club point of view, everyone 0:26:17.800 --> 0:26:21.680 like all of the leagues then belonged to their federation. Right, 0:26:21.800 --> 0:26:26.520 So NWSL is sanctioned by US Soccer, US soccer belongs 0:26:26.520 --> 0:26:31.840 to CONKA CAF, which is the confederation and represents North 0:26:32.440 --> 0:26:37.480 and you know basically like Canada, US, Mexico and Central America. 0:26:38.119 --> 0:26:41.280 So there is this kind of structure that keeps going up. 0:26:41.320 --> 0:26:44.520 Eventually you do hit FIFA. In Europe, they have UEFA, 0:26:44.600 --> 0:26:47.400 which is you know, truly all of Europe and Champions 0:26:47.480 --> 0:26:50.000 League and I think every you know, casual viewer is 0:26:50.040 --> 0:26:52.760 probably familiar with what Champions League looks like in terms 0:26:52.760 --> 0:26:55.199 of all these clubs coming together playing and then you 0:26:55.200 --> 0:26:57.440 get a trophy at the end of it. So why 0:26:57.480 --> 0:26:59.879 this is actually really important for the NWSL is because 0:27:00.080 --> 0:27:05.800 now FIFA are global overlords have decided that there's going 0:27:05.880 --> 0:27:10.200 to be is that there's going to be a Club 0:27:10.240 --> 0:27:14.240 World Cup on the women's side. So what is interesting 0:27:14.280 --> 0:27:16.440 about that is they had announced it and you know, 0:27:16.520 --> 0:27:19.520 we're kind of chugging along with absolutely zero details, and 0:27:19.560 --> 0:27:22.480 then they had to be like, oh, actually wait, we're 0:27:22.520 --> 0:27:25.959 not ready for this entirely, and so they've kind of 0:27:26.240 --> 0:27:29.000 restructured it so it's an every four year thing, just 0:27:29.040 --> 0:27:30.800 like on the men's side. But what's going to happen 0:27:30.880 --> 0:27:34.399 is that there's essentially like a smaller version of it 0:27:34.440 --> 0:27:37.880 where the champion from every confederation for the most part 0:27:38.000 --> 0:27:41.800 minus one plays in and then you get a club 0:27:41.840 --> 0:27:43.960 World Champion, and then there's going to be a full 0:27:44.000 --> 0:27:46.840 Club World Cup. So Gotham winning this actually is important 0:27:46.880 --> 0:27:49.439 because it gets them into the smaller version of it, 0:27:49.480 --> 0:27:51.520 and it gets them into the bigger version of it, 0:27:51.760 --> 0:27:54.479 which isn't going to happen until twenty twenty eight. I 0:27:54.560 --> 0:27:57.080 really hope your listeners are just like, Wow, I love 0:27:57.280 --> 0:27:58.120 governance talk. 0:27:58.240 --> 0:27:59.280 It's so much fun. 0:27:59.359 --> 0:28:02.159 Actually help me because I was slightly confused about the 0:28:02.200 --> 0:28:07.600 different World Club Cups Club World Cups, and so the 0:28:07.640 --> 0:28:09.680 idea that the smaller one is happening because the bigger 0:28:09.680 --> 0:28:11.359 one wasn't ready, but the bigger one is still happening, 0:28:11.440 --> 0:28:13.359 that all makes sense now. And so essentially, if you 0:28:13.440 --> 0:28:16.080 like watching the US and the World Cup, it's like that, 0:28:16.119 --> 0:28:19.040 except it will be your NWSL team, not mine, because 0:28:19.320 --> 0:28:22.360 I still live for the Chicago Stars, but the one 0:28:22.400 --> 0:28:24.240 that you like might be in it, and then they'll 0:28:24.280 --> 0:28:27.440 play other clubs from around the world and it would 0:28:27.480 --> 0:28:30.359 be awesome. I would love to watch the best NWSL 0:28:30.840 --> 0:28:33.639 against you know, Chelsea and other teams like that. You 0:28:33.960 --> 0:28:35.679 hear about that you know, are great, and then we 0:28:35.720 --> 0:28:38.360 could stop having our subjective conversations, Yeah, which is the 0:28:38.360 --> 0:28:40.520 best league in the world if one of the ends 0:28:40.600 --> 0:28:42.960 up having all the best teams in the finals of 0:28:43.000 --> 0:28:43.600 the You know. 0:28:43.880 --> 0:28:45.360 Though, I will say, what is going to be really 0:28:45.360 --> 0:28:47.560 interesting about this is just in terms of you know, 0:28:47.920 --> 0:28:50.440 one of the biggest conversations on both the men's and 0:28:50.480 --> 0:28:53.160 women's side is player load and the calendar getting more 0:28:53.160 --> 0:28:57.120 and more congested and fitting things in, and so when 0:28:57.160 --> 0:29:01.320 you have these sort of you know, club competitions also 0:29:01.360 --> 0:29:05.080 stacking on top of international competitions, I think there's always 0:29:05.160 --> 0:29:07.440 going to be that cavea of who's in season, who's 0:29:07.480 --> 0:29:10.680 out of season, who's in season right, and so like 0:29:10.840 --> 0:29:14.360 Epipe exactly, and so it like, yes, we are going 0:29:14.400 --> 0:29:16.560 to finally be able to maybe say, like oh, okay, 0:29:16.560 --> 0:29:19.040 an nd OFB sale team versus Barcelona with a trophy 0:29:19.080 --> 0:29:22.000 on the line, But at the same time, one. 0:29:21.880 --> 0:29:24.320 Of those seasons, who's healthy, who's healthy. 0:29:24.480 --> 0:29:26.680 Yeah, it's gonna I think there's always going to be 0:29:26.720 --> 0:29:27.800 that level to it as well. 0:29:27.800 --> 0:29:30.160 We'll just have Kathy Engelbert pop on over and make 0:29:30.200 --> 0:29:33.560 a prioritization rule like in the WNBA and force people 0:29:33.600 --> 0:29:37.440 to stick around for whatever she most prioritizes. Tamara, you 0:29:37.480 --> 0:29:40.440 guys did a great episode discussing the Unwell FC League 0:29:40.440 --> 0:29:43.840 Supporters group that is headed by Call Her Daddy podcast 0:29:43.840 --> 0:29:46.760 host Alex Cooper. Now that the debut of the Unwell 0:29:46.880 --> 0:29:50.400 FC event has happened, any of your own takeaways or 0:29:50.400 --> 0:29:52.360 maybe standout comments that you saw from some of the 0:29:52.360 --> 0:29:55.200 Supporters Group members that you had on the show that 0:29:55.240 --> 0:29:55.880 stand out to you. 0:29:56.720 --> 0:30:01.680 I will say I was pleasantly something a little bit 0:30:01.680 --> 0:30:05.600 more diluted than surprise necessarily by how thoughtful a lot 0:30:05.600 --> 0:30:09.320 of the Supporters Group members were. I think that you 0:30:09.360 --> 0:30:12.680 could probably characterize most supporters groups in the NWSL as 0:30:12.760 --> 0:30:16.720 super super progressive, if not like straight up lefty. So 0:30:16.840 --> 0:30:19.560 for them to say things like listen, I know that 0:30:19.720 --> 0:30:21.600 everyone is out here just trying to make a buck, 0:30:21.800 --> 0:30:22.680 I understand. 0:30:22.800 --> 0:30:23.840 I have no qualms. 0:30:23.880 --> 0:30:25.800 I'm not holding it against Alex Cooper for wanting to 0:30:25.840 --> 0:30:27.920 get involved in the NWSL, because who wouldn't want to 0:30:27.920 --> 0:30:30.600 be involved in the NWSL right now, I wasn't necessarily 0:30:30.640 --> 0:30:33.840 expecting to hear them sort of preface their arguments with that, 0:30:34.080 --> 0:30:37.080 and that to me speaks to a real sense of 0:30:37.080 --> 0:30:39.760 thoughtfulness that I think at least people who are involved 0:30:39.800 --> 0:30:43.480 in supporters' groups sort of embrace in the NWSL, which 0:30:43.520 --> 0:30:46.320 is nice and I think it gives me some hope 0:30:46.360 --> 0:30:49.479 about how these sorts of partnerships might work in the future, 0:30:49.600 --> 0:30:52.560 especially if others who are interested to have listened to 0:30:52.800 --> 0:30:56.480 or been following the way things went with Unwell. So 0:30:56.600 --> 0:30:59.000 I think that was probably one of the more surprising 0:30:59.080 --> 0:31:01.960 things that I heard, but it was a resounding Save 0:31:02.080 --> 0:31:05.120 for one person that I spoke to who had ties 0:31:05.160 --> 0:31:07.440 to the club team that he was supporting, he wasn't 0:31:07.480 --> 0:31:10.320 an independent supporters group by any means. He formed the 0:31:10.320 --> 0:31:12.640 group with the husband of one of the founders of AFC. 0:31:14.040 --> 0:31:15.520 But people are. 0:31:15.480 --> 0:31:18.520 Skeptical, and rightfully so. I mean, it's hard to not 0:31:18.760 --> 0:31:21.360 sort of view what happened with Unwell and this sort 0:31:21.360 --> 0:31:26.560 of corporate backed supporters group as like a colonial sort 0:31:26.600 --> 0:31:30.080 of thing where you have these like indigenous actors who 0:31:30.080 --> 0:31:32.640 have been organizing and building things from scratch with very 0:31:32.640 --> 0:31:35.440 little resources. Most of them are volunteers, none of them 0:31:35.440 --> 0:31:38.040 are getting paid to do this, who are now sort 0:31:38.040 --> 0:31:40.560 of being imposed upon by people who have been like, oh, 0:31:40.600 --> 0:31:42.960 look at this way to make money let me bring 0:31:43.480 --> 0:31:47.320 myself and my sort of somewhat knowledge of what's going 0:31:47.360 --> 0:31:48.920 on and just make shit happen. 0:31:49.480 --> 0:31:50.480 Sorry, can I curse? 0:31:50.680 --> 0:31:52.000 That just came out? Absolutely? 0:31:52.040 --> 0:31:52.280 Okay? 0:31:52.360 --> 0:31:52.600 Cool? 0:31:54.320 --> 0:31:56.160 And now there's a question of what happens to the 0:31:56.160 --> 0:31:58.960 people who've been here all along, What does visibility look like, 0:31:59.000 --> 0:32:01.400 what does investment look like, what is partnership with those 0:32:01.400 --> 0:32:06.040 people look like. I will say things have been crickets 0:32:06.280 --> 0:32:09.200 from the Unwell front since that game, And I'm just 0:32:09.280 --> 0:32:12.040 realizing this because you're asking me now, I've barely even 0:32:12.280 --> 0:32:15.640 been thinking about it myself. I will definitely be staying 0:32:15.640 --> 0:32:18.920 tune because the plan is to sort of tour these 0:32:19.040 --> 0:32:22.520 activations around the league, which probably is not going to 0:32:22.560 --> 0:32:24.880 happen until the other side of the summer break. But 0:32:25.440 --> 0:32:27.920 one thing that a supporters group mentioned to me that 0:32:27.960 --> 0:32:31.200 I hadn't really considered is that where Unwell goes is 0:32:31.240 --> 0:32:34.240 also going to be determined by the end of your 0:32:34.280 --> 0:32:37.640 cell club's pre existing partnerships. So, for example, if an 0:32:37.760 --> 0:32:40.440 end of you cl club has already partnered with a 0:32:40.440 --> 0:32:44.320 beverage company, Unwell won't be able to sort of bring 0:32:44.360 --> 0:32:46.160 themselves to that club because there's going to be a 0:32:46.160 --> 0:32:48.920 conflict of interest, So if anyone is trying to sort 0:32:48.960 --> 0:32:52.520 of predict where Unwell might land next, that's an important 0:32:52.560 --> 0:32:54.320 filter to consider. 0:32:54.000 --> 0:32:55.360 A city is one of those. 0:32:55.520 --> 0:32:57.640 Yeah, Angel City is one of those clubs, for example, 0:32:57.680 --> 0:33:00.720 because they partnered with Yoba Mante. I think they have 0:33:00.760 --> 0:33:04.520 a gatorade partnership one with like a local winery, So 0:33:04.560 --> 0:33:06.560 that was one of the more interesting things I learned 0:33:07.120 --> 0:33:08.040 covering that story. 0:33:09.120 --> 0:33:12.000 Yeah, Meg, there's been criticism for things like on WELLFC, 0:33:12.080 --> 0:33:15.000 and I think tamaraw of note in your comparison is 0:33:15.040 --> 0:33:18.080 that whether or not supporters groups are consistently led by 0:33:18.120 --> 0:33:20.160 people of color, which a lot of them are, they 0:33:20.160 --> 0:33:24.200 are often led by LGBTQ plus people or other marginalized groups. 0:33:24.200 --> 0:33:27.440 So whether the comparison goes toe to toe or apples 0:33:27.440 --> 0:33:31.080 for apples when it comes to colonials usually being you know, 0:33:31.160 --> 0:33:33.480 white folks going into spaces and trying to plunder them 0:33:33.480 --> 0:33:37.080 for greed reasons, it does apply in terms of like 0:33:37.160 --> 0:33:42.040 power dynamics and majority versus my minority or at least marginalized, 0:33:42.680 --> 0:33:46.080 So I think it's a good analogy. Mega. Aside from UNWELLFC, 0:33:46.520 --> 0:33:49.600 the league has some giant wins like Big valuation numbers 0:33:49.640 --> 0:33:52.560 and new investors coming in. What excites you and what 0:33:52.760 --> 0:33:55.840 concerned you about the NWSL right now? Because I know 0:33:55.920 --> 0:33:58.360 you and I have talked kind off the record sometimes 0:33:58.400 --> 0:34:00.960 about like what's going on, but then also like, oh 0:34:01.080 --> 0:34:03.600 this is good, there's you know, there's a lot to 0:34:03.760 --> 0:34:04.160 look at. 0:34:04.440 --> 0:34:06.840 Yeah, yeah, I think it is. I mean it's always 0:34:06.840 --> 0:34:08.920 a big spag with the NWSL, right I think you 0:34:08.960 --> 0:34:10.840 can point to the valuations, you can point to the 0:34:10.880 --> 0:34:13.440 expansion fees. But I also think that there's now this 0:34:13.520 --> 0:34:17.399 kind of I don't know, like almost doom lingering over 0:34:17.440 --> 0:34:20.200 the NWSL when it comes to expansion, because Jessica Berman 0:34:20.239 --> 0:34:22.480 has gone on the record a few times being like, hey, 0:34:22.480 --> 0:34:25.840 we could be as big number wise as the NFL 0:34:25.920 --> 0:34:27.799 when it comes to teams, and everybody's kind of looking 0:34:27.840 --> 0:34:30.520 at that and being like does this league need to 0:34:30.560 --> 0:34:33.840 be at thirty teams right now? So for every good story, 0:34:33.880 --> 0:34:37.759 there's also this kind of big question mark hanging out 0:34:38.040 --> 0:34:42.360 after it, being like what. 0:34:40.880 --> 0:34:42.480 Where where are you going with this? 0:34:42.600 --> 0:34:45.600 Because it doesn't seem to resemble where earth logic would 0:34:45.640 --> 0:34:46.840 necessarily take you. 0:34:47.719 --> 0:34:49.319 So there's that part of it. 0:34:49.400 --> 0:34:52.360 I think what I'm also watching for from the NWSL 0:34:52.440 --> 0:34:54.120 is like, yes, they've announced all the Pride stuff. I 0:34:54.160 --> 0:34:56.960 think the teams are still very into it. But I 0:34:56.960 --> 0:35:00.000 think the nw CL has not yet really figured out 0:35:00.120 --> 0:35:03.799 how it wants to exist in the Trump world right 0:35:03.840 --> 0:35:06.080 at the moment, and so I think there is some 0:35:06.120 --> 0:35:09.279 real cautiousness, and there is you know, I think we've 0:35:09.280 --> 0:35:09.920 been seeing. 0:35:09.719 --> 0:35:12.160 Some quotes about like this isn't DEI and it's. 0:35:13.640 --> 0:35:16.560 You also can't give up on some of the like 0:35:16.680 --> 0:35:21.520 really founding values that the league has has had since 0:35:21.560 --> 0:35:26.200 the beginning, And yeah, that's kind of what I'm watching 0:35:26.320 --> 0:35:30.160 for right now, is just the path that is being charted. 0:35:30.360 --> 0:35:34.560 I have, honestly probably a lot more questions than I 0:35:34.640 --> 0:35:37.719 do sort of feeling confident. I think what has been 0:35:37.719 --> 0:35:40.560 good is watching more kind of like big name partners 0:35:40.600 --> 0:35:41.960 come in the title MLL deal. 0:35:42.040 --> 0:35:43.640 Though I will say the. 0:35:43.640 --> 0:35:46.080 Timing was really funny on that title mull deal, because 0:35:46.080 --> 0:35:49.080 I don't know if anybody else is a dedicated Netflix watcher, 0:35:49.160 --> 0:35:51.759 But over the past like a couple of days, right 0:35:51.800 --> 0:35:53.759 as that deal got announced, the number one show on 0:35:53.760 --> 0:35:56.440 Netflix was about the title Nall Murders in the eighties, 0:35:56.480 --> 0:35:58.800 and I was like, oh, no, one's actually thinking about 0:35:58.840 --> 0:36:00.759 like this in terms of tile all right now, But. 0:36:00.960 --> 0:36:03.239 No, I was thinking about how it was like tail 0:36:03.280 --> 0:36:06.360 and all unwell, like our sponsorships are really starting to 0:36:06.400 --> 0:36:07.680 reflect how we're all feeling right now. 0:36:07.800 --> 0:36:10.680 Yeah, I know it was like I am an advil Gurley, 0:36:10.760 --> 0:36:14.040 but I can honestly I like the Painkiller front like 0:36:14.160 --> 0:36:20.239 sure it's great, yeah, so's there's good, there's bad. I 0:36:20.239 --> 0:36:23.640 think you know my question for the NB so honestly, 0:36:24.239 --> 0:36:27.520 even you know post Lisa Baird, Jessica Berman coming in, 0:36:27.920 --> 0:36:30.520 after you get through the crisis, right, what comes next? 0:36:30.560 --> 0:36:33.920 And the business side has looked really really strong and 0:36:33.960 --> 0:36:38.480 then departures from the front office. Tatiana, who ran the 0:36:38.480 --> 0:36:40.840 sporting side, is going to leave. Julie Hadden was a 0:36:40.960 --> 0:36:43.960 name that I don't think anyone expected to be departing 0:36:44.040 --> 0:36:47.839 as chief commercial officer, and that was really I think 0:36:48.040 --> 0:36:50.960 someone that if you interacted with her, you trusted her 0:36:51.200 --> 0:36:52.520 and her sort of vision. 0:36:52.600 --> 0:36:55.320 And she was in the ownership group of the Stars 0:36:55.320 --> 0:36:58.759 with me and then left and smartly got out of 0:36:58.800 --> 0:37:00.880 it before the sale and everything else happened so that 0:37:00.880 --> 0:37:03.319 she could divest and go to the league. And had 0:37:03.360 --> 0:37:05.760 worked with the NFL in some really high level places before, 0:37:05.800 --> 0:37:07.040 so it felt like sort of she was going to 0:37:07.120 --> 0:37:08.840 be there for a while. I was surprised by that 0:37:08.880 --> 0:37:09.279 as well. 0:37:09.440 --> 0:37:13.000 Right, So there's just a few things, and like I 0:37:13.000 --> 0:37:16.080 think Julie Hadden and I would frequently kind of if 0:37:16.080 --> 0:37:18.480 there is one area where I think we would have 0:37:18.520 --> 0:37:21.880 some really interesting conversations, is just you know, using NFL 0:37:21.960 --> 0:37:25.439 as an example for the NWSL, because I think there's 0:37:25.480 --> 0:37:29.120 definitely some instructive stuff for the NWSL to take. Like 0:37:29.320 --> 0:37:32.840 the NFL is the dominant professional sports league in America, 0:37:32.960 --> 0:37:34.520 you have to be looking at it in what it's 0:37:34.520 --> 0:37:36.720 doing in order to learn things from. 0:37:36.520 --> 0:37:38.960 It, right, And you can take pieces without embracing the. 0:37:38.920 --> 0:37:40.480 Whole correct, right. 0:37:40.640 --> 0:37:44.799 And so the sort of story that I've been kind 0:37:44.800 --> 0:37:46.719 of keeping in the back of my head is the 0:37:46.880 --> 0:37:53.000 nflification of the NWSL, right, and how that seems to 0:37:53.040 --> 0:37:55.680 be the path that they really want to follow, whereas 0:37:55.680 --> 0:37:59.839 you have maybe this alternate kind of like value slash, 0:38:00.080 --> 0:38:03.680 you know, example of the WNBA, and how the WNBA 0:38:03.800 --> 0:38:06.200 has like truly you know, gone mainstream in a way 0:38:06.200 --> 0:38:08.320 that the end of Yousell still has yet to achieve, 0:38:09.200 --> 0:38:13.200 and why they're kind of healing I would say right 0:38:13.640 --> 0:38:17.920 towards the end of the NFL rather than left towards 0:38:18.000 --> 0:38:18.640 the WNBA. 0:38:18.760 --> 0:38:21.120 Well, and it's interesting too, and I've had some really 0:38:21.160 --> 0:38:24.120 great conversations with Jessica Berman. I know that she has 0:38:24.160 --> 0:38:27.120 her critics as well, but she came from men's sports. 0:38:27.280 --> 0:38:30.120 A lot of her reference points and mentors are in 0:38:30.160 --> 0:38:32.600 men's sports. And there are folks who have alleged, and 0:38:32.640 --> 0:38:35.200 I have no idea if they have any factual evidence 0:38:35.200 --> 0:38:37.239 behind this, but that they believe she's working toward a 0:38:37.280 --> 0:38:39.959 return to a high profile job in men's sports. Everyone 0:38:40.000 --> 0:38:42.319 thinks she's angling for the NHL for whatever reason. That's 0:38:42.360 --> 0:38:44.600 just what's out there. I have never had a conversation 0:38:44.680 --> 0:38:46.520 with her about that. And then you look at some 0:38:46.560 --> 0:38:50.000 of the really powerful emerging leaders in women's sport, like 0:38:50.840 --> 0:38:54.479 Jess Smith from the Valkyries. Totally when interviewed at every turn, 0:38:54.520 --> 0:38:56.240 when they say you're going to be running the NFL, 0:38:56.280 --> 0:38:58.480 she says, I don't want to. Yes, I want to 0:38:58.560 --> 0:39:00.360 run women's sports. I want to do that in the 0:39:00.360 --> 0:39:03.640 women's space. And again, I don't think anyone's asked jess 0:39:03.640 --> 0:39:05.960 Berman that directly, so I don't want to mischaracterize anything 0:39:06.000 --> 0:39:08.040 but it is interesting to your point, which ones are 0:39:08.280 --> 0:39:11.040 veering toward. How do we do this differently while learning 0:39:11.080 --> 0:39:14.080 from existing leagues versus how do we compare to the 0:39:14.080 --> 0:39:17.040 things that make the most money, even though they're at 0:39:17.040 --> 0:39:20.319 times at odds with the very center of who we 0:39:20.360 --> 0:39:22.279 are and what we stand for, especially what our fans 0:39:22.280 --> 0:39:24.680 stand for. For those who missed it, by the way, 0:39:25.200 --> 0:39:28.320 the quote that Meg was referring to, jess Coberman and 0:39:28.320 --> 0:39:30.720 the NASCL commissioner told Forbes quote, if you're a business 0:39:30.719 --> 0:39:33.600 person and you look at sports investment as an asset class, 0:39:33.719 --> 0:39:35.480 I do not actually see a world where it could 0:39:35.480 --> 0:39:39.240 be justifiably viewed through the lens of DEI and social cause. 0:39:39.520 --> 0:39:41.719 It is the same fundamental business as the men's leagues, 0:39:41.719 --> 0:39:44.320 who have achieved incredible growth via the same exact investments 0:39:44.320 --> 0:39:46.440 and revenue streams that we've already begun to tap and 0:39:46.480 --> 0:39:48.319 in many ways remain untapped. And I think that's why 0:39:48.360 --> 0:39:51.040 you're seeing the valuations continue to be validated. End quote. 0:39:51.280 --> 0:39:53.799 Now that might be a message to investors that even 0:39:53.880 --> 0:39:56.200 during the time of Trump, this is a good investment 0:39:56.400 --> 0:39:59.480 because we don't rely on social issues. We are a 0:39:59.520 --> 0:40:01.719 league that is independent of that and even if we're 0:40:01.719 --> 0:40:04.360 being criticized or held back by the powers that be, 0:40:05.040 --> 0:40:08.120 we'll still be fine. That's probably best, most generous version 0:40:08.160 --> 0:40:10.280 of that. The other version is why are we running 0:40:10.280 --> 0:40:13.120 away from the thing that has often been what drives 0:40:13.800 --> 0:40:17.239 interest and support for women's sports. We'll have to have 0:40:17.239 --> 0:40:20.160 that conversation another time, because we're running out of time tomorrow. 0:40:20.200 --> 0:40:21.880 Before I we'll let you go, though I wanted to 0:40:21.920 --> 0:40:23.840 ask the same thing of you. What are you excited 0:40:23.880 --> 0:40:25.240 about and what has you concerned? 0:40:26.320 --> 0:40:29.920 I'm excited about the increased globalization of the NWSL. I 0:40:29.960 --> 0:40:33.360 think once teams were given more space to bring in 0:40:33.440 --> 0:40:36.640 players from outside the US, the game got a lot 0:40:36.840 --> 0:40:39.279 more fun because now you have different game styles, you 0:40:39.320 --> 0:40:43.200 have different objectives, especially on the player side, but even 0:40:43.280 --> 0:40:45.719 I mean it's not as new to see this on 0:40:45.760 --> 0:40:48.520 the manager side, but I think that when we get 0:40:48.560 --> 0:40:51.920 more players from Asia, from Europe, from Africa, from South America, 0:40:52.000 --> 0:40:54.719 from the Caribbean, the game just gets richer because it 0:40:54.760 --> 0:40:58.200 was always meant to be played in this sort of globalized, 0:40:58.560 --> 0:41:03.560 diverse way. My concern is to sort of pick up 0:41:03.560 --> 0:41:05.560 from where the two of you left off in terms 0:41:05.600 --> 0:41:08.080 of investment and who is paying attention to the end 0:41:08.120 --> 0:41:11.239 of your cell, who's interested in getting involved. You know, 0:41:11.640 --> 0:41:14.360 we're not going to be under a Trump administration forever, 0:41:14.800 --> 0:41:18.120 and I just have questions about I mean, God willing 0:41:20.160 --> 0:41:24.160 everything right, knock on all the woods, but I am 0:41:24.280 --> 0:41:27.080 concerned about the people who are getting involved right now 0:41:27.120 --> 0:41:28.680 what that's going to look like in the long run. 0:41:30.200 --> 0:41:33.960 I think that there is a very understandable sensitivity toward 0:41:34.080 --> 0:41:36.680 any time that the end of USL is mentioned in 0:41:36.760 --> 0:41:41.640 context or comparison to any sort of men's sport. And 0:41:41.719 --> 0:41:44.120 I think right now feels very much like an inflection 0:41:44.239 --> 0:41:47.040 point where we're going to see those divergences between people 0:41:47.120 --> 0:41:50.080 who are involved in the Indigo cell because they want 0:41:50.080 --> 0:41:52.160 to work in women's sports and those who are drawn 0:41:52.200 --> 0:41:55.360 to the power or even the stepping stone that this 0:41:55.480 --> 0:41:57.400 might provide to get back into men's sports at a 0:41:57.480 --> 0:42:00.440 higher level. I think we're going to get to a 0:42:00.480 --> 0:42:03.440 point where we won't be able to ignore who's choosing 0:42:03.480 --> 0:42:05.760 which path, which I think is a good thing, because 0:42:06.120 --> 0:42:07.920 you want to know what you're signing up for, and 0:42:08.000 --> 0:42:10.920 if you have an owner, if you have a GM, 0:42:10.960 --> 0:42:12.879 if you have a coach who is just viewing this 0:42:13.000 --> 0:42:16.799 as this sort of self contained stepping stone for them professionally. 0:42:16.880 --> 0:42:18.719 It's going to become clear because I think we're going 0:42:18.760 --> 0:42:21.080 to see that reflected in the table, We're going to 0:42:21.120 --> 0:42:23.080 see that reflected in investment. We're going to see that 0:42:23.120 --> 0:42:26.239 reflected into the success of these teams, which of course 0:42:26.320 --> 0:42:28.880 is going to lead to revenue down the line. And 0:42:28.960 --> 0:42:30.680 I think that's a good thing, because I'd rather know 0:42:30.719 --> 0:42:33.160 what people are about from jump rather than having to 0:42:33.200 --> 0:42:35.279 find out the hard way. So it's a concern, but 0:42:35.719 --> 0:42:37.520 refreshing kind of I think. 0:42:37.600 --> 0:42:40.279 So my concern is the same as yours, and I 0:42:40.280 --> 0:42:43.000 think it also ends up rolling out to decision making 0:42:43.040 --> 0:42:45.160 down the line if you end up getting too many 0:42:45.160 --> 0:42:47.400 people in there that are about either the stepping stone 0:42:47.480 --> 0:42:49.719 or just about not quite having the money to be 0:42:49.760 --> 0:42:51.600 a pro men's owner, but having the money to be 0:42:51.640 --> 0:42:53.759 in the women's game, and then having their morals and 0:42:53.760 --> 0:42:56.560 ideas and principles reflected in that team, and the way 0:42:56.600 --> 0:42:59.200 it affects the league. I think the growing pains are 0:42:59.200 --> 0:43:01.759 the thing that concerns me most. We want investment, we 0:43:01.840 --> 0:43:04.040 want women to get paid, we want the league to 0:43:04.080 --> 0:43:07.719 be successful, and we want our cake and eat it too. 0:43:07.760 --> 0:43:09.399 And have it still be a league that we feel 0:43:09.440 --> 0:43:13.120 aligned with and represents us in our values. And that's hard. 0:43:13.360 --> 0:43:17.560 There's just not a lot of cool rich people. They're honest, 0:43:17.719 --> 0:43:18.640 good rich people. 0:43:18.800 --> 0:43:19.839 Yeah, that's what I cool. 0:43:20.000 --> 0:43:24.000 Good, Yeah, kind, well meaning. The people who become billionaires 0:43:24.040 --> 0:43:25.960 become them for a reason. There's like a couple that 0:43:26.000 --> 0:43:28.000 are probably okay, and the rest of them like weren't 0:43:28.040 --> 0:43:31.040 cool with many millions, why you have to ask that question, 0:43:31.120 --> 0:43:32.920 why did you need more than that? And how are 0:43:32.960 --> 0:43:34.600 you ever going to reconcile that with the kind of 0:43:34.680 --> 0:43:36.799 things that this league and women's sports kind of stand for. 0:43:37.200 --> 0:43:40.360 Yeah, I do think it is really interesting. Just I 0:43:40.360 --> 0:43:42.759 think just the the end of you cell in general, right, 0:43:42.800 --> 0:43:46.400 and supporters in general, do have this true desire to 0:43:46.760 --> 0:43:50.040 want end of you sell owners to be you know, 0:43:50.320 --> 0:43:54.280 value aligned, sort of morally good, and that those days 0:43:54.360 --> 0:43:56.960 were never present in the league, right, Like, that's the 0:43:57.040 --> 0:43:59.040 part of the problem, is we the end of your 0:43:59.080 --> 0:44:01.719 cell never had and then I think there was that 0:44:01.800 --> 0:44:06.759 kind of over correction and now as the money flows in, right, 0:44:06.920 --> 0:44:10.080 it's just it's not possible, and so there has to 0:44:10.080 --> 0:44:13.120 be a line of a you know, reading owners like 0:44:13.160 --> 0:44:15.600 a Michelle Kang right in good faith because I do 0:44:15.680 --> 0:44:19.520 think based on every interaction, Yes, she is rich, she 0:44:19.560 --> 0:44:22.080 has a lot of money. She is so many gruithless 0:44:23.480 --> 0:44:26.839 like great fashion right, like she is ruthless. I think 0:44:26.880 --> 0:44:31.760 she is good, well intentioned, but like not above critique, right, 0:44:31.800 --> 0:44:34.040 and like she's not going to get everything right. She's 0:44:34.080 --> 0:44:36.560 not going to do stuff that every fan agrees with 0:44:37.160 --> 0:44:39.400 all of the time. And so you like you just 0:44:39.440 --> 0:44:41.960 have to have a whole bunch of things be true 0:44:42.080 --> 0:44:45.240 at the same time, and that when it comes to ownership, 0:44:45.239 --> 0:44:47.400 it's just really it's really hard to grapple with. 0:44:47.960 --> 0:44:51.759 And I try to keep myself always full of questions 0:44:51.840 --> 0:44:55.319 instead of just definitive feelings, because I guarantee that some 0:44:55.400 --> 0:44:57.320 of these folks would say, if you came into a 0:44:57.400 --> 0:44:59.360 room and now you gave me five hours to explain 0:44:59.400 --> 0:45:01.319 to you, why can't be exactly what you want all 0:45:01.320 --> 0:45:04.360 the time and also get the money and the players 0:45:04.400 --> 0:45:07.239 and the stadium and the things that you want, you 0:45:07.360 --> 0:45:09.960 might understand it a little more. That's not a release 0:45:10.040 --> 0:45:12.840 to be a terrible person and make terrible things. But 0:45:13.640 --> 0:45:16.120 there is that balance of like sometimes the people that 0:45:16.160 --> 0:45:18.239 are successful, they do have to have a give and 0:45:18.239 --> 0:45:20.440 take with stuff that those of us who don't want 0:45:20.440 --> 0:45:22.400 to be put in those positions and making those decisions 0:45:22.440 --> 0:45:25.759 would be unwilling to make. And you know, oh my god, 0:45:25.760 --> 0:45:27.200 there's so much more I want to talk about, because 0:45:27.239 --> 0:45:29.200 now you brought up the fact that Michelle Kank's coach 0:45:29.239 --> 0:45:31.080 is going to a different Michelle Kank King and we 0:45:31.160 --> 0:45:32.560 never got to talk about that, and we never got 0:45:32.560 --> 0:45:34.879 to talk about whether Emma Hayes has a particular ie 0:45:34.920 --> 0:45:36.960 for folks that are playing in European leagues instead of 0:45:37.000 --> 0:45:39.200 American and that's why she's playing them a little bit more. 0:45:39.239 --> 0:45:41.920 But we'll have to have you back, so thank you 0:45:41.960 --> 0:45:43.799 so much for the time. I always love catching up 0:45:43.800 --> 0:45:46.280 with both of you. Everybody, of course already is listening 0:45:46.280 --> 0:45:48.000 to Full Time with Meg Glenham, but if they aren't, 0:45:48.040 --> 0:45:50.000 what the hell are you doing? You could be listening 0:45:50.000 --> 0:45:52.200 to this once a week and sometimes more, depending on 0:45:52.239 --> 0:45:55.240 if you listen to the other elements of the podcast 0:45:55.320 --> 0:45:57.160 that come out every Monday, which I always listen to. 0:45:57.920 --> 0:46:00.840 But yeah, thank you so much for coming out, Thanks 0:46:00.880 --> 0:46:04.920 for having us. We got to take another break when 0:46:04.920 --> 0:46:08.000 we come back. We take credit for the WNBA's newest viewer, 0:46:08.280 --> 0:46:17.920 stick around, Welcome back, slicas. We love that you're listening, 0:46:17.960 --> 0:46:19.200 but we want you to get in the game every 0:46:19.239 --> 0:46:21.520 day too, So here's our good game play of the day. 0:46:22.000 --> 0:46:25.240 Listen to Wednesday's episode of Full Time with Meglenahan called 0:46:25.440 --> 0:46:28.760 is Michelle Kang's multi club ownership good for women's soccer? 0:46:29.440 --> 0:46:31.320 As you could tell, there was so much I wanted 0:46:31.320 --> 0:46:33.520 to talk to Megan Tamaherr about, and as I mentioned, 0:46:33.560 --> 0:46:36.320 the news that the Washington Spirits head coach Jonathan Heraldaz 0:46:36.400 --> 0:46:39.120 is headed to another of Michelle Kank's teams, ohel Leon 0:46:39.640 --> 0:46:41.640 was one of those things I wanted to talk about. 0:46:41.960 --> 0:46:44.120 So I guess instead of listening to me ask Megan 0:46:44.160 --> 0:46:46.440 Tamayor about it, go listen to them discuss it on 0:46:46.480 --> 0:46:49.040 their pod. Instead. We'll link to that episode in the 0:46:49.040 --> 0:46:51.520 show notes. And we always love to hear from you, 0:46:51.560 --> 0:46:54.520 so hit us up on email good game at wondermedianetwork 0:46:54.560 --> 0:46:56.960 dot com or leave us a voicemail at eight seven 0:46:57.040 --> 0:47:00.839 two two oh four fifty seventy, and don't forget to subscribe, 0:47:01.000 --> 0:47:03.640 rate and review, y'all. It's real easy. Just take it 0:47:03.680 --> 0:47:06.839 from these slices who didn't forget and who left us 0:47:06.880 --> 0:47:11.440 five stars. Jay Bing five one two wrote, quote nailing it. 0:47:11.640 --> 0:47:13.279 I've been a fan of Sarah's work for a long 0:47:13.320 --> 0:47:16.120 time and was psyched to see this pod. This team's 0:47:16.160 --> 0:47:19.240 attention to detail and intersectional lens make this an essential 0:47:19.280 --> 0:47:22.120 and fun listen for any women's sports fan. Thank you 0:47:23.360 --> 0:47:26.960 or l Robinson ten thirty, who said, quote my favorite 0:47:26.960 --> 0:47:29.920 sports show. I've listened to many podcasts about my favorite 0:47:29.920 --> 0:47:31.880 sports teams over the years, but this one does an 0:47:31.920 --> 0:47:34.399 amazing job at pulling me into leagues I'm not even 0:47:34.400 --> 0:47:37.319 familiar with. I've been a big NWSL fan, but this 0:47:37.440 --> 0:47:40.520 year I've enjoyed watching the p WHL and look forward 0:47:40.560 --> 0:47:44.759 to watching my first season of the WNBA. End quote. Ah, 0:47:45.440 --> 0:47:49.120 we love a WNBA virgin. Enjoy the ride, El Robinson, 0:47:49.440 --> 0:47:52.040 and thanks to both of you for writing in. Now 0:47:52.040 --> 0:47:54.600 it's your turn slices. If you haven't done it yet, 0:47:54.960 --> 0:47:59.200 come on rate and review. Thanks for listening, See you tomorrow. 0:47:59.520 --> 0:48:02.959 Good game, Good game, Tamara, You rich people that aren't 0:48:03.000 --> 0:48:07.560 cool or kind? Good Game with Sarah Spain is an 0:48:07.560 --> 0:48:10.680 iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports 0:48:10.680 --> 0:48:13.480 and Entertainment. You could find us on the iHeartRadio app, 0:48:13.520 --> 0:48:16.960 Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by 0:48:17.000 --> 0:48:20.840 Wonder Media Network. Our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. 0:48:21.120 --> 0:48:24.880 Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan 0:48:24.960 --> 0:48:28.600 and Emily Rutterer. Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez, 0:48:28.600 --> 0:48:32.000 Grace Lynch, and Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy 0:48:32.080 --> 0:48:34.400 Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain