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Speaker 1: Welcome to good game with Sarah Spain. We're much like

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Speaker 1: Ottawa charge goalie Gwyneth Phillips. We would be willing to

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Speaker 1: commit arson for our team. It's Thursday, May twenty ninth,

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Speaker 1: and on today's show, we'll be chatting with softball legend

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Speaker 1: Jessica Mendoza about this weekend's College World Series. We'll get

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Speaker 1: her favorites, potential upsets, and the scene out in Oklahoma City,

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Speaker 1: plus the upcoming athletes, unlimited softball season.

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Speaker 2: And her ka hot take on softball at the LA Olympics.

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Speaker 1: And WNBA players are fast to the record books, French

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Speaker 1: open organizers keep doing gender equity wrong, and the sixth

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Speaker 1: grade losses that still sting. It's all coming up right

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Speaker 1: after this welcome back slices. Here's what you need to

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Speaker 1: know today. Let's start with the WNBA. On Tuesday, the

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Speaker 1: league announced that it could not substantiate a report of

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Speaker 1: racist fan behavior at a game between the Indiana Fever

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Speaker 1: and Chicago Sky earlier this month. Following that game, which

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Speaker 1: was played at Indiana's Gainbridge Field House, the league said

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Speaker 1: it was looking into reports of quote unquote hateful comments.

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Speaker 1: In a statement Tuesday, the league said quote based on

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Speaker 1: information gathered to date, including from relevant fans, team and

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Speaker 1: arena staff, as well as audio and video review of

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Speaker 1: the game, we have not substantiated it. The WNBA is

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Speaker 1: committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for everyone

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Speaker 1: and will continue to be vigilant in enforcing our fan

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Speaker 1: code of Conduct end quote.

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Speaker 2: Both teams involved release.

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Speaker 1: Statements thanking the league for taking the matter seriously and

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Speaker 1: investigating it more WNBA.

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Speaker 2: There are two games tonight.

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Speaker 1: First, the four and oh New York Liberty hosts the

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Speaker 1: two and two Golden State Valkyries. That game tips off

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Speaker 1: at seven pm Eastern, Then at eight pm, the O

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Speaker 1: and four Chicago Sky and the one in four Dallas

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Speaker 1: Wings matchup. Rookie Paige Beckers is fresh off her first

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Speaker 1: win as a pro. She scored a season best twenty

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Speaker 1: one points in the Wings one O nine eighty seven

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Speaker 1: victory in Connecticut on Tuesday night. I love that she

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Speaker 1: got that first dub back in the Nutmeg State where

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Speaker 1: she ascended to greatness at Yukon some friendly fans there

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Speaker 1: to see her do it. Beckers also made a little

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Speaker 1: history in that win. Per ESPN, she's the first player

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Speaker 1: in WNBA history to record at least sixty points and

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Speaker 1: thirty assist in the first five games of a career. Also,

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Speaker 1: did y'all hear Diana Tarassi on a podcast the other

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Speaker 1: day saying she is certain that Beckers will end up

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Speaker 1: being the best player in league history when all is.

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Speaker 2: Said and done.

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Speaker 1: Not a bad endorsement for Page Beckers to get sky forward.

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Speaker 1: Angel Reese also celebrating a little record breaking herself. In

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Speaker 1: a loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday night, the

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Speaker 1: sophomore became the fastest player in WNBA history to record

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Speaker 1: at least five hundred plus points and five hundred plus rebounds,

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Speaker 1: doing so in just thirty eight games. In that same

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Speaker 1: game Tuesday night, the Mercuries, Alyssa Thomas became just the

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Speaker 1: third player in w history with fifteen or more assists

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Speaker 1: in multiple games. She's in rare air with legendary point

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Speaker 1: guards t Schapenicero and Courtney Van der Sloot, and as

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Speaker 1: a forward, which is wild to softball. The College World

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Speaker 1: Series gets underway today with the eight winners of last

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Speaker 1: weekend Super Regionals converging at Devon Park in Oklahoma City

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Speaker 1: to compete for the NCAA title. We'll link to the

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Speaker 1: full schedule and bracket in the show notes, and we'll

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Speaker 1: get into the nuts and bolts of the Greatest Show

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Speaker 1: on Dirt later in the show with Jessica Mendoza to

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Speaker 1: tennis and the ongoing French Open, but off the court stuff.

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Speaker 1: On Tuesday, Tunisian player On Shabor criticized tournament organizers for

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Speaker 1: yet again prioritizing men's matches for the late evening slot

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Speaker 1: on the tournament's marquee court. During the first four days

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Speaker 1: of play, men's matches have filled that slot, which requires

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Speaker 1: a separate night ticket, all four times per ESPN since

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Speaker 1: the French Open introduced a night session in twenty twenty two,

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Speaker 1: just two of the thirty three matches played in that

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Speaker 1: prime slot have been women's singles. On's also called out

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Speaker 1: French organizers last year, and after her first round loss

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Speaker 1: in this year's tournament, she spoke out on the issue again.

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Speaker 2: Take a listen.

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Speaker 3: It's a bit ironic. You know, they don't show women's sports,

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Speaker 3: They don't show women's tennis. And then they asked a question, Yeah,

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Speaker 3: but mostly they watch men. Of course they watch men

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Speaker 3: more because you show men mores. So everything goes together.

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Speaker 1: Exactly It's the same damn argument we have in every

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Speaker 1: sport at every level. If you give women no resources,

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Speaker 1: no facilities, no marketing, no coverage, and no attention, how

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Speaker 1: can they possibly match the interest of the men who

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Speaker 1: were given all of those things? In space two of

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Speaker 1: thirty three matches French Open bullshit. Oh sorry, Marred finally

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Speaker 1: got to shout out some hockey folks. First, we're loving

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Speaker 1: the sallies from the Walter Cup champs the Minnesota Frost,

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Speaker 1: including dogs drinking out of the cup and bringing the

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Speaker 1: cup onto the court to celebrate it at the Minnesota

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Speaker 1: Lynx game on Tuesday night, a game, by the way,

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Speaker 1: that also saw the Links hosting the US women's national

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Speaker 1: soccer team, who are in town for a friendly in

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Speaker 1: Minnesota this weekend. Also shout out Ottawa charge goalie Gwyneth Phillips,

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Speaker 1: who was named the twenty twenty five Alana Claus Playoff

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Speaker 1: MVP despite her team coming up short. It's really impressive

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Speaker 1: and all of her teammates stayed on the ice after

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Speaker 1: their heartbreaking loss to cheer her on and support her

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Speaker 1: MVP win. Repl a headline about her team waiting for

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Speaker 1: her award and wrote quote, I would commit Arson for

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Speaker 1: this team. I'm obsessed, all.

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Speaker 2: Right, Slicis.

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Speaker 1: Today we debut a new segment that is tentatively called

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Speaker 1: Gimme a Minute. It's a working title, but we're willing

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Speaker 1: to take any suggestions that you might have. This is

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Speaker 1: where we're going to tee up a topic in women's sports,

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Speaker 1: set a timer, and vent because sometimes we got to

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Speaker 1: say a little more than the need to know will allow.

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Speaker 1: Today we're talking Caitlin Clark injury takes.

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Speaker 4: Now.

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Speaker 1: We told you yesterday she's out for a couple weeks

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Speaker 1: with a quad strain, which is of course a real

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Speaker 1: bomber for Clark and the Fever and the w fans

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Speaker 1: and the league. She is obviously a massive draw and

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Speaker 1: already get in prices are dropping for games she's going

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Speaker 1: to miss, like the Sky Fever matchup at the United

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Speaker 1: Center coming up on June seventh. It would be ridiculous

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Speaker 1: to deny her impact on viewership, attendance, and awareness. But

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Speaker 1: also there's no need to report on the injury as

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Speaker 1: a sort of sky is falling situation for the WNBA,

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Speaker 1: which some.

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Speaker 2: Are wrote USA Today's C Brennan quote.

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Speaker 1: I can personally confirm the pronounced change and interest in

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Speaker 1: Fever games without Clark. A week ago, I bought four

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Speaker 1: tickets on Stop up to take my sports playing nieces

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Speaker 1: to the Fever Washington Mystics game Wednesday night in Baltimore.

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Speaker 1: Tickets in the same row are now going for less

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Speaker 1: than half of what I paid. I can only imagine

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Speaker 1: what they will cost by game time. Perhaps they'll be

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Speaker 1: giving them away. And yes, we are still going to

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Speaker 1: the game.

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Speaker 2: End quote.

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Speaker 1: Brennan also reached out to the league several times for

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Speaker 1: comment on Clark's injury and its impact. Writing quote, one

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Speaker 1: would think that the league might acknowledge the moment, but

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Speaker 1: so far no. Asked three times for a comment on

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Speaker 1: Clark's injury and what it meant to the league, a

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Speaker 1: WNBA spokesman never replied.

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Speaker 2: End quote.

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Speaker 1: All right, big Citrus convene, let's set the timer. I'm

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Speaker 1: not going to go in actual minutes, so give me

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Speaker 1: a minute. Kind of a missomer. I'm gonna go three

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Speaker 1: minutes on this one. I think that's what we need.

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Speaker 1: Setting the timer.

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Speaker 2: Alex thoughts, Oh so many thoughts.

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Speaker 5: I want to both simultaneously scream into avoid and do

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Speaker 5: the longest deep sigh ever. Okay, I'm gonna start with

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Speaker 5: the math. Take one. In Christine's column, she mentions that

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Speaker 5: ticket prices have fallen more than three hundred percent in

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Speaker 5: less than two days. Now, I know that percentage changed

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Speaker 5: calculations are hard, but three hundred percent drop would mean

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Speaker 5: that the WNBA would be paying people to go to

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Speaker 5: the game. So if a ticket was one hundred dollars

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Speaker 5: before and it drops three hundred percent, that means each

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Speaker 5: person would get two hundred dollars for just showing up.

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Speaker 4: That's not what's happening. So first, math lesson.

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Speaker 5: Second, I'm so tired of hearing the argument that Caitlin

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Speaker 5: Clark is lifting the league and shining a light on

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Speaker 5: all these players that never had respect before by someone

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Speaker 5: who continually ignores every other player in the league, and

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Speaker 5: at the same time suggesting that, oh, maybe they're going

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Speaker 5: to be giving tickets away for free. Those two things

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Speaker 5: do not line up. They are arguing against each other. Okay,

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Speaker 5: I'm gonna leave it right there for now.

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Speaker 2: All right, Mesha hop In.

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Speaker 6: So the first thing that really pisses me off here

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Speaker 6: is because is that the Fever are playing my mystics

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Speaker 6: this game that Christine's talking about, where tickets should be

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Speaker 6: given away. Are the Fever against the Mystics in Baltimore

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Speaker 6: for the first time in forever by my accounts, which

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Speaker 6: is really cool as an opportunity to uplift women's sports

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Speaker 6: generally speaking in the DMV area and to bring more

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Speaker 6: people to rally around this team that has so much potential,

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Speaker 6: so many young guns, so much exciting stuff still on

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Speaker 6: the table for them this season, and it feels like

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Speaker 6: spinning in their face just to say that they should

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Speaker 6: be giving away tickets. That's insane to me, first and

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Speaker 6: foremost second of all. At the time of recording this,

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Speaker 6: the Fever have played four games. Four games. Caitlin Clark

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Speaker 6: missing two weeks here is not going to ruin the WNBA.

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Speaker 6: It's not going to ruin the Indiana Fever, and it's

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Speaker 6: not going to make people turn the TV off and say,

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Speaker 6: you know what, I don't care about the WNBA anymore.

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Speaker 6: Matter of fact, it doesn't exist to me. I don't

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Speaker 6: know it's that's not gonna happen. And I think she's

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Speaker 6: blowing it way out of proportion. Anybody who is just

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Speaker 6: needs to take a deep breath, wo Saw, calm the down.

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Speaker 2: Everything is going to.

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Speaker 1: Be Okay, I think for me, the thing that stands

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Speaker 1: out the most is what is the intention of the writing. Yes,

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Speaker 1: let's acknowledge the impact that Caitlyn Clark has had on attendance,

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Speaker 1: on merchandise, on awareness, all of that.

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Speaker 2: Nobody is saying otherwise.

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Speaker 1: But your opportunity here is to write a column that says,

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Speaker 1: with Caitlin Clark out for two weeks, how can w

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Speaker 1: fans learn about the other players and storylines that will

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Speaker 1: make them.

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Speaker 2: Enjoy the game more? Exactly?

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Speaker 1: If you want to tell us that this is a

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Speaker 1: massive gap and opportunity for the league, then step into

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Speaker 1: that gap and offer up something else that uplifts the

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Speaker 1: rest of the players in the league instead of bemoaning

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Speaker 1: something that can't be fixed because there isn't a solution. Well,

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Speaker 1: you could do put the league on hold until Caitln

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Speaker 1: feels better.

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Speaker 2: Everybody you got to do.

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Speaker 1: Everybody pause, nobody do anything until her booboo is better.

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Speaker 5: It reminds me of how Christine Brennan's women's basketball coverage

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Speaker 5: from last Summer's Olympics focused on how few members of

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Speaker 5: the press were there. She didn't actually cover the basketball, right,

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Speaker 5: It just always along her same agenda.

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Speaker 2: And it's the same thing here. The timer's up.

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Speaker 1: So I'm just going to give us one last thought,

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Speaker 1: which is, again, it is okay to acknowledge all these things.

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Speaker 1: And certainly there is a bias that we bring to

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Speaker 1: this conversations because of previous interactions with both Christine Brennan

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Speaker 1: and players in the w and stories that she's written about.

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Speaker 2: So this isn't a takedown of her.

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Speaker 1: It's an opportunity for us to recognize that when we

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Speaker 1: want to say these things about this transcendent player, let's

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Speaker 1: use these opportunities where people are going to click on

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Speaker 1: that story and read about her absence, to instead tell

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Speaker 1: a better story than the one where we're just complaining

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Speaker 1: about her being injured, because that is a reality that

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Speaker 1: we cannot fix and you are not making the league

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Speaker 1: any stronger or any better by complaining about.

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Speaker 2: It, and it's lazy, all right. I feel good about that.

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Speaker 2: I think I'm really going to enjoy that segment.

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Speaker 1: I really do need to vent a lot of times

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Speaker 1: during these and I'm like, oh, I'm going to keep

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Speaker 1: a journalistic but.

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Speaker 2: We're going to vent from here on out.

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Speaker 1: And I don't know if you started your clock and

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Speaker 1: you were like, that wasn't exactly three minutes.

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Speaker 3: Shh shh.

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Speaker 2: We're just that was our first try. Okay, give us

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Speaker 2: a break. We're not so good with the clock.

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Speaker 1: All right, we got to take a quick break when

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Speaker 1: we come back. All things softball with Jessica Mendoza joining.

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Speaker 2: Us now, she's softball Royalty.

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Speaker 1: She was a collegiate four time first team All American

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Speaker 1: at Stanford and a two time Olympic medalist with Team

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Speaker 1: USA gold in Athens and Silver and Beijing. She played

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Speaker 1: her pro ball in the National Pro Fast Pitch League

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Speaker 1: and was the twenty eleventh Player of the Year. A

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Speaker 1: Women's College World Series analyst for ESPN and baseball analysts

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Speaker 1: for ESPN and the Los Angeles Dodgers. She's also advising

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Speaker 1: Athletes Unlimited for the inaugural season of the Athletes Unlimited

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Speaker 1: Softball League aka the AUSL, launching next month. A past

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Speaker 1: president of the Women's Sports Foundation, she wanted to be

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Speaker 1: an orthopedic surgeon, pivoted to politics and educational reform, then

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Speaker 1: made the Olympic team in softball and sports have never

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Speaker 1: let her quit them. It's jess ben Doza.

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Speaker 2: Hi, Jess, Oh.

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Speaker 4: My gosh, that is the most unique intro I've ever

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Speaker 4: had in my life. I love it. You kind of

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Speaker 4: wrapped up everything about me like ten seconds.

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Speaker 2: I try my best.

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Speaker 1: I remember when you came on my old podcast that

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Speaker 1: your bio was like a thousand miles long, and I

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Speaker 1: was just like so impressed that everything you managed to

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Speaker 1: accomplish at Stanford, while playing, while being in the Olympics,

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Speaker 1: at everything else, and you just get more impressive. So

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Speaker 1: we're gonna talk College World Series and a little AUSL

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Speaker 1: but I'm really excited to get your insight on College

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Speaker 1: Women's World Series, aka the Greatest Show on Dirt. The

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Speaker 1: action kicks off twelve pm Eastern on Thursday, Florida, take

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Speaker 1: it on Texas Live on ESPN, part of a quadruple header.

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Speaker 1: So before we get to the matchups, I want you

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Speaker 1: to set the stage. You cover this event every year.

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Speaker 1: It's one of the most popular sports in all of television,

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Speaker 1: all of college sports.

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Speaker 2: Ratings growing popularity growing. What makes it so.

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Speaker 4: Special the emotion and the passion, and you see that

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Speaker 4: across sports in the postseason. But there's something about softball,

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Speaker 4: you know, just being an outdoor sport in this like

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Speaker 4: fast pace, like just absolutely emotionally like the way you know,

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Speaker 4: any girl who played softball, even growing up, you had

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Speaker 4: like the cheering and the loud and the just there's

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Speaker 4: so much uniqueness to our game that even though we're

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Speaker 4: compared with baseball, the pace and the emotional passion that

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Speaker 4: comes out every time everyone's that a new fan comes in.

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Speaker 4: That's probably the biggest thing they always remark on is like,

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Speaker 4: oh my gosh, these girls had me in tears that

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Speaker 4: they had me out of my seat. It's just so

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Speaker 4: emotionally charged.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the chanting and just the vibes. The vibes are

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Speaker 2: so good.

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Speaker 1: Tell me about the seat in Oklahoma City ahead of

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Speaker 1: the game starting on Thursday.

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Speaker 4: Well, it's kind of nuts right now because we got

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Speaker 4: the NBA happening right now literally in front of me.

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Speaker 4: So I'm right across the street from the arena. The

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Speaker 4: Timberwolves are on my floor, and so you know, like

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Speaker 4: a Rods down the road, Like it's just NBA meets

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Speaker 4: with so the Oklahoma who's the favorite here They're at

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Speaker 4: the same hotel. So you just kind of have this

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Speaker 4: and this has happened in the past as well, where

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Speaker 4: the thunder are in either the finals or you know

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Speaker 4: this far down and it's just a playoff atmosphere. But

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Speaker 4: then you have you have the team. So I was

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Speaker 4: at the stadium all day to day. You know, we're

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Speaker 4: meeting with eight teams and you know, you teams that

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Speaker 4: have never been here before in Old miss you have

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Speaker 4: teams that haven't been here in a really long time.

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Speaker 4: Like you niver see an organ in a new conference.

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Speaker 4: So you get this like just little kid vibe, right,

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Speaker 4: like the little girl in you comes out. We all

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Speaker 4: kind of grew up watching our heroes in some capacity,

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Speaker 4: and for a lot of these women, it was the

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Speaker 4: women that were on this stage, the greatest show on dirt,

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Speaker 4: and they have those memories and now they're just like

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Speaker 4: are you kidding me? Like I get to be on

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Speaker 4: this field that's so historic.

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Speaker 1: Well, and as if there wasn't enough enthusiasm and excitement,

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Speaker 1: which there is every year because it's always in Oklahoma City.

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Speaker 2: Everybody knows it's going to be there.

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Speaker 1: Everybody knows, you know, the scene is going to be incredible.

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Speaker 1: But then to add into that the thunder and the

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Speaker 1: playoff excitement around that team, Gosh, it must be absolutely crazy.

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Speaker 1: There is this feeling I think when the event is

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Speaker 1: in the same place pretty much every year, and you

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Speaker 1: return and you have the feelings as soon as you

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Speaker 1: land of the peak moments from the years before, of

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Speaker 1: this bond with all the people that you share it with,

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Speaker 1: and you have quite a bond with the fellow broadcasters

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Speaker 1: and analysts that you work with. Tell us about the

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Speaker 1: team that we'll be hearing from and what it means

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Speaker 1: to get to come back home every year to Oklahoma

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Speaker 1: City to work on this.

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Speaker 4: Well, first of all, can I give a little shout out?

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Speaker 4: We just found out we are the longest tenured broadcast

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Speaker 4: team of any sport, in any genre, gender, whatever. Next

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Speaker 4: year will be our twentieth year doing the Women's College

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Speaker 4: World Series. Beth Mowens, who's our play by play, myself

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Speaker 4: and Michelle Smith are the analyst. And Holly row as

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Speaker 4: everyone knows from all the sports.

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Speaker 2: That she does.

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Speaker 4: But this is all of us together, our twentieth year

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Speaker 4: this next year, so nineteen this year, longest tenured booth,

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Speaker 4: and it really is like a family. I was just calling,

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Speaker 4: let me go get my wife, because Beth is like

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Speaker 4: my road wife, and like, I know what she likes

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Speaker 4: between games. I know how much coffee she's gonna need Like,

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Speaker 4: I mean, it's just unbelievable when you kind of live

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Speaker 4: and breathe with these women for so many years. But

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Speaker 4: also like I mean, we are at the fields twenty

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Speaker 4: hours a day, like, you know, extra innings. Through it all,

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Speaker 4: we've Beth Mowens has called the biggest moments of our sport.

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Speaker 4: You know, she was calling games when I played, and

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Speaker 4: I mean it's like, okay, let's bring it back right

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Speaker 4: black and white television. So it's pretty cool that she's

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Speaker 4: the voice of the sport. The fact that we've all

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Speaker 4: been able to stay together and he's you know, Sarah,

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Speaker 4: like pretty feels I possible, you know, within a sport. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Have you noticed the broadcast set up, the resources,

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Speaker 1: the investment in it change over the years.

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Speaker 4: Sarah, Oh my gosh. So when I first started, first

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Speaker 4: I was with John Cropp, who, for those that don't

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Speaker 4: know phil longtime Philadelphia Phillies player, MLB analysts for ESPN

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Speaker 4: now those games for the Phillies. So it was him

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Speaker 4: and I He's a big, huge softball fan, but we

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Speaker 4: were literally they built us because they didn't have a

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Speaker 4: press box at the time. They built us a hardboard

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Speaker 4: box like legit made it, and they would paint it

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Speaker 4: black so that it looked professional. So if you can

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Speaker 4: imagine Oklahoma City end in May early June in a

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Speaker 4: black literally a black box with no A, C, know nothing,

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Speaker 4: and then they kind of like windows, and so the

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Speaker 4: fans which is coming like pop their heads and be like, hey,

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Speaker 4: what are you guys doing, like live on air, So

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Speaker 4: you like put signs up like please don't put your

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Speaker 4: head in the booth, like please don't talk to us.

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Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, the animals.

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Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, Sarah, and we would be like dripping

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Speaker 4: swig like yeah, unbelieva. Of course you don't know, right,

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Speaker 4: You're just like this is awesome, this is so cool.

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Speaker 4: And now I mean state of the art stadium most

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Speaker 4: likely going to host the twenty twenty eight Olympics as

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Speaker 4: we know. So it is definitely the home for all

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Speaker 4: of softball and the amount of money that the city

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Speaker 4: of Oklahoma City is put into it, and obviously the

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Speaker 4: sport in USA softball is profound.

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Speaker 1: That reminds me of one of my only two occasions

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Speaker 1: quote unquote calling softball but not legitimately, both relating to

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Speaker 1: allege of their own and at the espn W summit

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Speaker 1: one year, a bunch of alums from the movie. We're

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Speaker 1: playing against a local team and Penny Marshall and I

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Speaker 1: were in the makeshift booth that the local whatever Division

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Speaker 1: III college had no AC and she was just churning

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Speaker 1: through siga, just heater after heater directly in my face.

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Speaker 1: Not long before she passed away, actually, but like telling

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Speaker 1: me stories about working with Madonna and getting Rosie O'Donnell

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Speaker 1: and who was the best at actually playing baseball for

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Speaker 1: the movie.

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Speaker 2: It's like an incredible memory.

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Speaker 3: That I have.

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Speaker 1: But it was eight thousand degrees and I inhaled about three.

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Speaker 2: Packs that day.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, that was me back then too, just thrown them down,

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Speaker 4: you know, just smoke.

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Speaker 2: Computers the whole game. All right, let's talk about the

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Speaker 2: teams competing.

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Speaker 1: The SEC is always a powerhouse conference for softball, but

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Speaker 1: even more so this year.

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Speaker 4: Right, Yeah, it's it's as we've seen with all sports,

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Speaker 4: but with Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC, it's just

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Speaker 4: changed the game completely. And you know, you got to

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Speaker 4: think Texas and Oklahoma played each other in the championship

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Speaker 4: the last two of the three years, so you know,

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Speaker 4: those two teams come of the SEC. We now have

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Speaker 4: five teams, which ties the record. I feel like that

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Speaker 4: record's going to even eventually get broken. Our side of

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Speaker 4: the bracket is all SEC. Yeah, but you know, at

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Speaker 4: the same time, like the familiarity with each other almost

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Speaker 4: hurts them because I'll tell you what, when Oklahoma plays

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Speaker 4: anyone else that's outside of the conference, there's an intimidation factor.

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Speaker 4: They haven't seen them. They understand the history, the dynasty,

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Speaker 4: all the things, but when do you want to play

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Speaker 4: them all season long? And it's like, Okay, we got this.

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Speaker 4: I mean tomorrow Oklahoma plays Tennessee their first game. Tennessee

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Speaker 4: be Oklahoma two out of three games, so they feel like, Okay,

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Speaker 4: we can do this. Versus if you're playing Oregon or

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Speaker 4: UCLA or Texas Tech. There's that intimidation factor of like,

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Speaker 4: these are the big dogs and you see that with teams.

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Speaker 4: So having all the teams from the same conference is

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Speaker 4: exciting for the SEC. I think the teams here would

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Speaker 4: love to see like somebody else too, Yeah, someone's familiar.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yes, you mentioned it.

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Speaker 1: The SEC programs represent more than half of this year's bracket.

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Speaker 1: Number two, Oklahoma, number three, Florida, number seven, Tennessee, number

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Speaker 1: six Texas an unseated ole miss all advanced out of

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Speaker 1: the Super Regionals to come to Oklahoma City, and then

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Speaker 1: Big ten Newcomers number nine U Silly, number six organ

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Speaker 1: plus the Big twelve's number twelve Texas Tech.

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Speaker 2: So that's the lineup.

437
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:06,639
Speaker 1: We've got working with eight teams remaining, they enter a

438
00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:07,960
Speaker 1: double elimination tournament.

439
00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:09,760
Speaker 2: So can you explain exactly how that works in the

440
00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:10,560
Speaker 2: College World Series?

441
00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:15,119
Speaker 4: Yeah, so, I mean, you gotta lose twice. And what's cool, Sarah,

442
00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:17,960
Speaker 4: what I love about it is when you lose, you

443
00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:19,840
Speaker 4: actually switch the other side of the brackets. You have

444
00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:22,840
Speaker 4: eight teams, but really two sets of brackets four and four,

445
00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:26,520
Speaker 4: and you kind of stay with your bracket. But until

446
00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:29,280
Speaker 4: you hit the loser's bracket, if you come back through

447
00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:31,840
Speaker 4: to face to get to the championship, you'll actually face

448
00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:34,800
Speaker 4: a different team that knocked you out, which ensures that

449
00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:36,919
Speaker 4: you're gonna get the two best teams at the end. So,

450
00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:40,400
Speaker 4: because seating, as you know, the NCAA is like way

451
00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:43,160
Speaker 4: back when all that happened, you never want the two

452
00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:45,160
Speaker 4: best teams to have to match up at the World

453
00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,600
Speaker 4: Series and knock each other out. You want that to

454
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:50,479
Speaker 4: be the championship, so that helps ensure it. Now it

455
00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:53,960
Speaker 4: does make like we have lots of quadruple headers, meeting

456
00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:56,760
Speaker 4: four games in a day, including our kickoff day on Thursday,

457
00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:59,800
Speaker 4: we have our elimination Sunday where teams are flying going

458
00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:02,840
Speaker 4: home like you know, tears are happening before you know.

459
00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:04,879
Speaker 4: You go from eight teams to four teams. That happens

460
00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,520
Speaker 4: on Sunday. So it's a super unique way. But what's

461
00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,120
Speaker 4: beautiful about it is if you lose a game, your

462
00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:13,480
Speaker 4: season doesn't end. You have a chance, like I said,

463
00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:16,880
Speaker 4: to face different teams that have lost also to make

464
00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:18,720
Speaker 4: it back through to the championship series.

465
00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:20,160
Speaker 2: Let's talk favorites.

466
00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:24,760
Speaker 1: The Sooners are looking for their fifth straight NCAA softball title.

467
00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:26,399
Speaker 2: Fifth that is insane.

468
00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:29,920
Speaker 1: Tell me about this dynasty and this particular iteration.

469
00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,160
Speaker 4: You know what's cool, Sarah. So when they won four

470
00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:35,199
Speaker 4: in a row that had never been done. That was

471
00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:38,000
Speaker 4: last year. It was the same senior class, right, so

472
00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:41,879
Speaker 4: they were freshmen, just an unbelievable class that won it

473
00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:45,000
Speaker 4: every single year. That's never happened before. And then they

474
00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:49,000
Speaker 4: graduate all of them. Right, this team has two players

475
00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,320
Speaker 4: two in their lineup from last year and by the way,

476
00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,320
Speaker 4: their sophomore, so they were Frasci's on that championship team.

477
00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:58,240
Speaker 4: It's a totally different team. Even their pitcher is a

478
00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:01,960
Speaker 4: transfer from Louisiana that came over Sam Landry, and so

479
00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:05,199
Speaker 4: you've got all these Freshee's, all these transfers, like just

480
00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,479
Speaker 4: these new players, fourteen new players. In fact, they are

481
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:13,800
Speaker 4: playing with this like fun looseness that senior class last year, Sarah,

482
00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:15,719
Speaker 4: they had fun at the end, but to be honest,

483
00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:19,320
Speaker 4: they like hated it. They felt that pressure when you're

484
00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:22,600
Speaker 4: that dominant, that expectations are so high. Oklahoma comes into

485
00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:24,560
Speaker 4: this year, they're not even ranked number one, they weren't

486
00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:27,600
Speaker 4: even seated number one, and they're just loving it. They're

487
00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:30,760
Speaker 4: like great, no one even knows our names, Like because

488
00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,439
Speaker 4: you are you watch Oklahoma, You're like, where's Tierry Jennings

489
00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:35,760
Speaker 4: AND's where's all the players that I knew, Jada Coleman

490
00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:38,480
Speaker 4: And they're not there. They graduated. So now it's this

491
00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:40,800
Speaker 4: newbie group and they're like, we want to win our first.

492
00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:43,199
Speaker 4: So it's not about for them winning the fifth in

493
00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,479
Speaker 4: a row. It's like we want to win our first.

494
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,000
Speaker 2: For most of the team. Yeah, that's wild.

495
00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,760
Speaker 1: So they entered the postseason, as you mentioned, as the

496
00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,600
Speaker 1: number two seeded team despite winning four straight titles leading

497
00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,280
Speaker 1: up to this. Who managed to steal number one from them?

498
00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,199
Speaker 1: And tell us what happened to that team?

499
00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,680
Speaker 4: Texas A and M got the number one seed, which

500
00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:05,359
Speaker 4: was interesting because they were supposed to face off at

501
00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:07,679
Speaker 4: the SEC tournament final. The game got rained out, so

502
00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:10,760
Speaker 4: it was kind of like coming down into in the

503
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,000
Speaker 4: country like everything of course ESPN wants, and then it's

504
00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:18,480
Speaker 4: like rain game canceled co champions So the selection committee

505
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,640
Speaker 4: gave the nod to tex ANM or someund strengths schedule

506
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,240
Speaker 4: and all those crazy rules for RPI and stuff, and

507
00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,239
Speaker 4: so Oklahoma gets the two seed, but an M for

508
00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:29,399
Speaker 4: the first time the history of the sport is the

509
00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,560
Speaker 4: one seed doesn't make it out of their regionals. So

510
00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,080
Speaker 4: the way softball, you go to a regional with four

511
00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:38,040
Speaker 4: teams and then you go to super regionals with two teams.

512
00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:40,560
Speaker 4: So a number one seed might have been knocked out

513
00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:44,720
Speaker 4: in supers, but never in a regional. Liberty to fighting

514
00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:49,000
Speaker 4: Dot Richardson's for U softball fans out there, totally upset them,

515
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,280
Speaker 4: not once but twice because again your favorite it was

516
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:54,240
Speaker 4: a double elimination, so you had to beat them twice.

517
00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:59,199
Speaker 4: They did, like, I mean, just absolutely unbelievable what they

518
00:23:59,240 --> 00:23:59,800
Speaker 4: were able to do.

519
00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,359
Speaker 1: So Oklahoma's like, okay, ball, don't lie. We should have

520
00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:05,040
Speaker 1: been the number one seed in the first place, but

521
00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:07,760
Speaker 1: now we basically are because we're the top seed in

522
00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:09,760
Speaker 1: the tournament and everyone expects us to win it.

523
00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:12,000
Speaker 2: What team has the best shot to upset them?

524
00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:17,440
Speaker 4: You know? I Okay, Carlin Pickens, if you've seen the viral.

525
00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:18,800
Speaker 2: We've talked about you have.

526
00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:22,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, both times breaking her own record with the pitches.

527
00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:24,080
Speaker 2: Yeah, so we.

528
00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:26,440
Speaker 4: Were doing her Super Regional game last when she broke

529
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:29,120
Speaker 4: the record again seventy nine point four miles an hour,

530
00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:31,760
Speaker 4: which now it's like these things like the mile run,

531
00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:33,560
Speaker 4: like all these like marks, right.

532
00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:35,280
Speaker 2: Like you used to mean something, Jess.

533
00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:38,200
Speaker 4: No, yeah, it used to be like, okay, can you

534
00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:40,600
Speaker 4: ever throw seventy five? But if we get to eighty,

535
00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:43,520
Speaker 4: like eighty is equivalent to one hundred and eleven miles

536
00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:45,840
Speaker 4: an hour in Major League baseball when you talk about

537
00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:48,840
Speaker 4: forty three feet in reaction time, So it's like, you know,

538
00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,560
Speaker 4: mind blowing, and no one's near her, like Carlin Pickens

539
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:57,399
Speaker 4: is just unbelievable. So she has already beat Oklahoma twice

540
00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:00,720
Speaker 4: this year, and so she has that ability without a doubt.

541
00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,000
Speaker 4: Then you've got Nija Kennedy out of Texas Tech. Now

542
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,159
Speaker 4: they're not maybe as complete of a team. This is

543
00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:07,480
Speaker 4: their first time in school history they've been to Oklahoma City,

544
00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:09,840
Speaker 4: so we've never seen them on the stage. You know,

545
00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:11,520
Speaker 4: I hate saying it. She led them to Stanford the

546
00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,240
Speaker 4: last with Stanford the last two years. That's my alma mater.

547
00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:16,920
Speaker 4: Now she's here taking Texas Tech. But Niga Kennedy's the

548
00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:19,600
Speaker 4: best picture. So I know what Carlon pickenstroon in seventy nine,

549
00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:23,640
Speaker 4: you like tune in and why Nija Kennedy like her

550
00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:26,080
Speaker 4: rise ball change up and she is a beast in

551
00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:29,720
Speaker 4: the circle. So those two Texas Tech and Tennessee have

552
00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:33,280
Speaker 4: the ability to shut down Oklahoma's offense any given day.

553
00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:35,520
Speaker 4: But being a West Coast girl, like I got to

554
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:37,880
Speaker 4: give a shout out to UCLA, Like if you talk

555
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,040
Speaker 4: about history, I know Oklahoma's got it recency bias, but

556
00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,520
Speaker 4: UCLA has this is their thirty third World series. Like

557
00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,520
Speaker 4: that's insane, It's mind blowing. And they have that history.

558
00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:50,520
Speaker 4: They're here every year like they always surprise team. So

559
00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:54,240
Speaker 4: that's another another team. I would say to look out UCLA.

560
00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:56,800
Speaker 2: Shout out to our all of our life coaches.

561
00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,600
Speaker 1: Suit Aquist, who is just like the OG, one of

562
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:01,760
Speaker 1: the greatest coaches of all time. And if you meet her,

563
00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:03,879
Speaker 1: even for five minutes, you'll be like, tell me everything

564
00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:07,480
Speaker 1: you know about life and help me. You talked about

565
00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:11,399
Speaker 1: the potential for Texas Tech because of Nija Kennedy. What

566
00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:16,840
Speaker 1: about Ole Miss in their debut only unranked team left standing.

567
00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:19,600
Speaker 1: What does it mean for that program to reach this

568
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:21,719
Speaker 1: stage and what kind of shot do they have?

569
00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:25,400
Speaker 4: Well, Jamie Traxel has do an amazing job. Their staff,

570
00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:28,920
Speaker 4: their coaching staff has gotten them to really believe. I mean,

571
00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:31,560
Speaker 4: that's a program in a conference that you kind of

572
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,520
Speaker 4: feel like you got no chance. They use that to

573
00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:38,080
Speaker 4: their advantage. They understood like we've played all the best teams,

574
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,239
Speaker 4: like we've been able to compete, and they have and

575
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,200
Speaker 4: even watching them at the SEC Tournament and obviously going

576
00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:45,920
Speaker 4: in to Arkansas and beating them, go shoot start from

577
00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:48,359
Speaker 4: the beginning. They went to Tucson, they weren't see it.

578
00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:52,240
Speaker 4: They went to Tucson upset Arizona and their history then

579
00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:54,960
Speaker 4: to Arkansas. So those are always the fun teams, right,

580
00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:57,360
Speaker 4: The dangerous ones are like yeah, like no one's talking

581
00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,760
Speaker 4: about old miss right, like and they never have like

582
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,920
Speaker 4: this is not a historic program, but their coaching staff

583
00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,560
Speaker 4: has that belief and they've got it going right now.

584
00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:08,840
Speaker 4: And it's not because one or two players, Like they

585
00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:12,040
Speaker 4: are literally playing free because they have zero pressure and

586
00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:13,040
Speaker 4: they're enjoying the moment.

587
00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:13,920
Speaker 2: That's awesome.

588
00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:16,880
Speaker 1: Okay, Individually, give us a couple of people to keep

589
00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:18,600
Speaker 1: an app for. You've mentioned a few, but just a

590
00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:19,760
Speaker 1: couple of stars to watch for.

591
00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:25,160
Speaker 4: Well, Jordan Woolery and Megan Grant. They are bash brothers,

592
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:27,760
Speaker 4: bomb sisters, whatever. They have all these nicknames because they

593
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:30,080
Speaker 4: hit right after each other. They were just I was

594
00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:32,480
Speaker 4: just in interviews with them, and they are like Hilaria.

595
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:34,080
Speaker 4: They've known each other since they were in fifth grade,

596
00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:37,040
Speaker 4: grew up in the Bay Area together, like that total

597
00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:40,160
Speaker 4: example of like sisterhood, like your girls when you meet

598
00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:41,720
Speaker 4: younger and then you end up going to the same

599
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,919
Speaker 4: school together. They finish each other since they've lived together,

600
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:48,320
Speaker 4: Like they're such a great tandem of hitters. They have

601
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:50,800
Speaker 4: broken the record at UCLI just talked about their history

602
00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:54,200
Speaker 4: and they lead all of Division one in RBIs together

603
00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:56,640
Speaker 4: and that's just such a fun They hit right after

604
00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:59,320
Speaker 4: each other and they both play the corner positions. It's

605
00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:01,960
Speaker 4: cool to see that bond. The way they'll communicate after

606
00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:04,119
Speaker 4: a bat like hey, look, you'll see like one of

607
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:06,080
Speaker 4: them will get out, strikeout and go whisper to the

608
00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:08,080
Speaker 4: other like this is what I saw. Like that to

609
00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,560
Speaker 4: me is like, Sarah, you get this team sport at

610
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:13,920
Speaker 4: its perfection. Yeah, I'm pissed and like I want to

611
00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:15,480
Speaker 4: go back to the dugout and chuck my helmet, but

612
00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:17,399
Speaker 4: instead I'm gonna I got you, and I want to

613
00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:19,520
Speaker 4: make sure that like we are helping each other. They

614
00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:23,160
Speaker 4: do that in such a beautiful way. If you want

615
00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:26,040
Speaker 4: to see a freshman, that is like she just went

616
00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:29,320
Speaker 4: freshman the year. Okay, Taylor's shoemaker. She's a socaw girl

617
00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:35,800
Speaker 4: playing for Florida. Unbelievable numbers. Her swing is so beautiful

618
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,280
Speaker 4: and I'm a lefty, so like watching my lefty swing

619
00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:40,360
Speaker 4: and speaking of Florida, I got one more for you,

620
00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:42,960
Speaker 4: Kendra Falby. I mean, let's be real. When you're watching

621
00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:45,280
Speaker 4: sports center and you're looking at highlight reels. It's all

622
00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:49,000
Speaker 4: about the outfielders. Kendra Falby. We call her Kendra Walby

623
00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:51,640
Speaker 4: because she's literally robbed like twenty home runs this year.

624
00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:54,840
Speaker 4: We even got her wingspan, her height jump because she

625
00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:58,400
Speaker 4: does things we've never seen from an athlete before. So

626
00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:00,840
Speaker 4: she will definitely be making plays in the beyond being

627
00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:01,880
Speaker 4: Florida's lead off there.

628
00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:03,120
Speaker 2: I love it.

629
00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:05,240
Speaker 1: I'm so excited to look out for all those And

630
00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:08,040
Speaker 1: last thing for the World Series. Is there any cool

631
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:10,880
Speaker 1: story or maybe two stories that are coming out. Someone

632
00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,560
Speaker 1: coming back from injury, someone getting one final shot after

633
00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:15,960
Speaker 1: coming up short every year, a coach that's heading out

634
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:18,320
Speaker 1: after this season, something that stands out to you.

635
00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:24,680
Speaker 4: Gosh, there's a ton you know. I think Texas, who

636
00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:28,280
Speaker 4: haven't talked a lot about there's some serious redemption. They

637
00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:31,000
Speaker 4: got swept by Oklahoma this year, they lost to them

638
00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:33,600
Speaker 4: in the championship last year. They've got a senior class

639
00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:36,600
Speaker 4: led by Mia Scott, who's like a little sassy, like

640
00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:39,360
Speaker 4: third in the lineup, like want the punchy in the face.

641
00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:42,200
Speaker 4: She's another star by the way to look out for.

642
00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:44,760
Speaker 4: And they're led by Taking Cavan in the circle So

643
00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:46,880
Speaker 4: that's a team that has made it to the Championship

644
00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:49,760
Speaker 4: over and over and their coach, Mike White, even going

645
00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:51,360
Speaker 4: back to when he was at Oregon, there's been no

646
00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:53,840
Speaker 4: coach that's ever made it to the World Series so

647
00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:58,040
Speaker 4: many times and never won. So like there's a lot

648
00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,640
Speaker 4: of like, just like they call it like fire right now,

649
00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,720
Speaker 4: fuel for fire, because that's all they have in their mouth,

650
00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,240
Speaker 4: the bad taste of losing last year, getting swept by

651
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:09,840
Speaker 4: Oklahoma this year, and you just kind of feel like

652
00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:12,080
Speaker 4: they're going to meet up the fact that they both win.

653
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:16,320
Speaker 4: It'll be Saturday on ABC Entuck Eastern Texas versus Oklahoma,

654
00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:18,360
Speaker 4: which is a rematch of the championship last year.

655
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:20,480
Speaker 2: Amazing. We will look for that.

656
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:22,560
Speaker 1: Before we let you go, I have to ask you

657
00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:26,240
Speaker 1: about AUSL because the Athletes Unlimited Softball League is launching

658
00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:31,400
Speaker 1: so very soon in my backyard in Chicago, technically Rosemont,

659
00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:34,400
Speaker 1: but close enough. I will be one of the hosts

660
00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:38,480
Speaker 1: for the opening night party on June sixth in downtown Chicago.

661
00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:40,240
Speaker 2: And then I'll be there for the very first game

662
00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:41,240
Speaker 2: on June seventh.

663
00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:43,480
Speaker 1: What are you most excited about when it comes to

664
00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:47,280
Speaker 1: this AUSL league and how it's different than previous iterations

665
00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:48,000
Speaker 1: of pro softball.

666
00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:50,480
Speaker 4: The fact that we've got everybody. I mean, we got

667
00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:52,320
Speaker 4: Sarah Spain host, and I mean, what are.

668
00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:54,719
Speaker 2: We talking about now, Like that is it?

669
00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:58,320
Speaker 4: Like yeah, i mean like just let's be run. No,

670
00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:01,360
Speaker 4: Like we've got freaking Kim Ang their commissioner, Like we've

671
00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:05,400
Speaker 4: got Lisa Fernandez, cat aster Man, like every name that's

672
00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,680
Speaker 4: never this is three decades. People don't know this, over

673
00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:12,240
Speaker 4: three decades of professional softball, Sarah, and we've never had

674
00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:15,760
Speaker 4: everybody come together the way that they are now. And

675
00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:19,520
Speaker 4: it's backed by Athletes Unlimited, which isn't just for softball,

676
00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:22,440
Speaker 4: like it's a for women's sports. There's this whole idea

677
00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:25,640
Speaker 4: in seat of individual owners and like fairness and equality,

678
00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:28,960
Speaker 4: like everybody's under the same umbrella. And it's finally this

679
00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:33,360
Speaker 4: fresh new start. I'm so excited because there's some breaking

680
00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:35,160
Speaker 4: news that's going to come out probably by the time

681
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,560
Speaker 4: this podcast comes out, that we'll talk about a partnership

682
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:40,760
Speaker 4: that's never existed that everyone's always asked, like when is

683
00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,760
Speaker 4: this happening? Well, it's here, and that just further tells

684
00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:48,360
Speaker 4: you that this is the right moment now for women's softball.

685
00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:52,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's so hard when you're a little early, or

686
00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:55,440
Speaker 1: maybe when not everyone else is on board to be

687
00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:57,480
Speaker 1: able to put in the kind of resources that are

688
00:31:57,520 --> 00:31:59,920
Speaker 1: required to have a startup.

689
00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:01,600
Speaker 2: Company, which is basically what a new league is.

690
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:03,960
Speaker 1: And so there's been these great efforts in the past,

691
00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:06,360
Speaker 1: and there's been a lot of really good softball being played,

692
00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:09,400
Speaker 1: but never quite breaking through. And you mentioned this at

693
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:12,120
Speaker 1: THEESPNW summit in a panel you hosted. You're sick of

694
00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:16,000
Speaker 1: people asking you why isn't there professional softball and you're saying.

695
00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:18,160
Speaker 2: There is, you just don't know about it.

696
00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:21,120
Speaker 1: And this feels like the opportunity to really break through,

697
00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:23,440
Speaker 1: like you mentioned, because of all the different people involved

698
00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:26,360
Speaker 1: in that embargoed news that our listeners might have heard

699
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:28,160
Speaker 1: by now if they're listening to this, but we're not

700
00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:31,080
Speaker 1: going to say it just in case. Last thing, you know,

701
00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:33,320
Speaker 1: you mentioned that Oklahoma City set to host softball at

702
00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:35,880
Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Olympics in twenty twenty eight. What's your

703
00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:39,240
Speaker 1: sense of how players feel about that because obviously great facility,

704
00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:41,520
Speaker 1: but also not a part of everything going on in

705
00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:44,440
Speaker 1: LA and not a part of everybody else being in

706
00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:47,600
Speaker 1: the Olympics spirit and the athlete village and everything else.

707
00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:52,960
Speaker 4: I think it sucks. Yeah, And I love Oklahoma City,

708
00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:54,600
Speaker 4: don't get me wrong. And I'm not trying to be

709
00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:58,239
Speaker 4: offensive to what's here, but as an Olympian, as a

710
00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:02,840
Speaker 4: Southern California native, like I mean, like there is something

711
00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:06,200
Speaker 4: magical about being there. And the thing is is all

712
00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:09,280
Speaker 4: these women have played in Oklahoma City, whether it wasn't

713
00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:12,160
Speaker 4: the Women's College World Series or the numerous events that

714
00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:15,719
Speaker 4: are hosted in Oklahoma City. Every international international team, like,

715
00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:18,400
Speaker 4: we've played here a million times and it's a beautiful

716
00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:21,800
Speaker 4: place and a dream to play. But it's not the Olympics.

717
00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:24,840
Speaker 4: If the Olympics are in Los Angeles, so my heartbreaks

718
00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,160
Speaker 4: because I want them to have that. I do. I

719
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,680
Speaker 4: have talked to Janet Evans, who's helping with LA twenty eight.

720
00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:32,280
Speaker 4: They do want to do something special for these women

721
00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:35,120
Speaker 4: at Dodger Stadium where the Olympics will be kicking off,

722
00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:38,800
Speaker 4: whether it's an exhibition game or a moment to recognize them. Shoot,

723
00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,080
Speaker 4: they're still like I hear all the talk about like

724
00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:43,040
Speaker 4: someone's going to build a stadium. It's going to happen,

725
00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:44,080
Speaker 4: so we'll see we're not here.

726
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:46,200
Speaker 2: You got time in eight Yeah, we got time.

727
00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:48,400
Speaker 4: But yeah, if I'm going to be perfectly honest with you, Sarah,

728
00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:51,120
Speaker 4: you know I am like I am pissed.

729
00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:54,000
Speaker 1: I would be too, and I would be if I

730
00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:56,320
Speaker 1: was one of those players. I want my Olympic experience

731
00:33:56,320 --> 00:34:00,320
Speaker 1: to be truly, truly the Olympic experience if you are

732
00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:03,000
Speaker 1: the perfect ambassador for this sport at every single level.

733
00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:04,880
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for making some time to chat

734
00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:05,120
Speaker 2: with me.

735
00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:08,400
Speaker 1: We're super excited to watch you cover this and super excited.

736
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,000
Speaker 2: For the launch of AUSL. So thanks for the time.

737
00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:13,200
Speaker 4: Awesome. When I see in Chicago for ASL launch, I'm

738
00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:15,880
Speaker 4: going to test you on who you thought was gonna win. Actually,

739
00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:17,560
Speaker 4: I need to do that right now, who do you

740
00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:18,279
Speaker 4: think is going to win?

741
00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:18,840
Speaker 2: Okay?

742
00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:20,960
Speaker 1: Putting here on the spot, Yeah, I mean I kind

743
00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:25,120
Speaker 1: of like your idea of like Texas just having a

744
00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:26,560
Speaker 1: mouthful of revenge.

745
00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:28,279
Speaker 2: I like the idea of.

746
00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:30,920
Speaker 1: Carlin Pickens, but I worry about if she shuts him down,

747
00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:33,120
Speaker 1: you still need to get your offense to show up.

748
00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:35,239
Speaker 2: So I feel like I don't know why.

749
00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:37,759
Speaker 1: It's too easy to say It's too easy to say

750
00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:38,680
Speaker 1: sooners again, So.

751
00:34:38,640 --> 00:34:39,680
Speaker 2: I'm going to go Texas.

752
00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:42,719
Speaker 4: Okay, all right, listeners, we're going to check back in

753
00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:44,960
Speaker 4: because you guys will all be there paying attention to

754
00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:47,439
Speaker 4: the AOSL launches, and we'll.

755
00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:49,960
Speaker 1: Make your picks in your head right now, slices, and

756
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:51,759
Speaker 1: we'll see if any of us are right, and we'll

757
00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:55,080
Speaker 1: reconvene at AUSL launch in Chicago and pat each other

758
00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:56,480
Speaker 1: on the back for our best effort.

759
00:34:57,160 --> 00:35:00,799
Speaker 4: Thank you, Jess, Thanks Sarah.

760
00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:02,799
Speaker 1: Thanks again to Jess for taking the time. We got

761
00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:05,000
Speaker 1: to take another quick break when we come back. What

762
00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:07,120
Speaker 1: if the real middle school trauma was the words we

763
00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:12,560
Speaker 1: misspelled along the way? Ps At first Alex misspelled, misspelled,

764
00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:14,080
Speaker 1: So the answer is definitely yes.

765
00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:24,800
Speaker 2: Spelling trauma is lasting trauma. Welcome back, slaces.

766
00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:27,040
Speaker 1: Earlier this week, we asked you if you remember the

767
00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:29,279
Speaker 1: word you went out on in your school spelling bee,

768
00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:32,920
Speaker 1: and we loved reading your responses. Here, a couple Panda

769
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:34,920
Speaker 1: with a Cookie wrote on Blue Sky that they lost

770
00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:38,600
Speaker 1: on the word cylinder in sixth grade cyl I N

771
00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:42,560
Speaker 1: d er. They also recommended the documentary Spellbound and offered

772
00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:46,800
Speaker 1: their own parting remarks, Good game scripts, good game, small children, spelling,

773
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:48,640
Speaker 1: long words, h Cylinder.

774
00:35:49,239 --> 00:35:51,480
Speaker 2: Thanks Panda with the cookie, by the way, panded with

775
00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:51,840
Speaker 2: the cookie.

776
00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:54,440
Speaker 1: Also the one who told us about those hot dogs

777
00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:55,120
Speaker 1: that you drilled.

778
00:35:55,719 --> 00:36:00,520
Speaker 2: What was this called camp dogs? Oh god, would you

779
00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:05,719
Speaker 2: drill potato dog? Potato tater drill, tatato, tater tato. Wait, wait,

780
00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:11,400
Speaker 2: tat tater pigs, tater pigs. We're leaving all of that in.

781
00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:16,239
Speaker 1: Okay, this next response, we're gonna keep anonymous, and I

782
00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:18,600
Speaker 1: think you'll see why quote. I was good at spelling

783
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:21,239
Speaker 1: and had high expectations the first time my fourth grade

784
00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:23,480
Speaker 1: class had a contest, so I could still remember the

785
00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:25,799
Speaker 1: absurdity of the teacher who was running it, starting me

786
00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:27,920
Speaker 1: off with an incomprehensible word that.

787
00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:29,080
Speaker 2: Sounded like babboled.

788
00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:31,160
Speaker 1: When I asked for it in a sentence, she said

789
00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:34,680
Speaker 1: the baby bab old, which certainly didn't help. I thought

790
00:36:34,719 --> 00:36:37,399
Speaker 1: maybe it was some obscure chimpanzee type animal that I'd

791
00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:39,960
Speaker 1: never heard of, so I guessed b A B O

792
00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:43,160
Speaker 1: L D, and of course got bounced. It turned out

793
00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:46,239
Speaker 1: it was babbled, which I'm certain no other human being

794
00:36:46,239 --> 00:36:49,680
Speaker 1: has ever pronounced that way, either before or since forty

795
00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:51,960
Speaker 1: years later, and I'm not bitter about it at all,

796
00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:53,000
Speaker 1: So please don't put on.

797
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:55,960
Speaker 2: The Internet that I was mad end quote. We won't

798
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,480
Speaker 2: say you're mad. Super Slice Hagaya Litzer Oops.

799
00:36:59,239 --> 00:37:01,600
Speaker 1: By the way, the Script Spelling Bee concludes tonight with

800
00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:03,719
Speaker 1: the final round. Tune in at eight pm Eastern on

801
00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:06,480
Speaker 1: Ion to see which tiny child takes home the trophy

802
00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:08,600
Speaker 1: and the rights to a killer fun fact they could

803
00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:10,520
Speaker 1: brag about for the rest of their life. We love

804
00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:12,040
Speaker 1: the ear list in slices, but we want you to

805
00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:13,680
Speaker 1: get in the game every day too, So here's our

806
00:37:13,719 --> 00:37:16,360
Speaker 1: good game play of the day. Watch the College World

807
00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:19,279
Speaker 1: series games get going at twelve pm Eastern today, and

808
00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:21,440
Speaker 1: we've linked to the tune in info in full schedule

809
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:23,600
Speaker 1: in our show notes. And we always love to hear

810
00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:25,439
Speaker 1: from you, so hit us up on email good game

811
00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:28,359
Speaker 1: at wondermedianetwork dot com or leave us a voicemail at

812
00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:30,480
Speaker 1: eight seven two two four fifty seventy.

813
00:37:30,719 --> 00:37:33,880
Speaker 2: Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review, y'all. It's easy.

814
00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:37,839
Speaker 1: Just let certified slice Nicole Scomena show you how. This

815
00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:40,479
Speaker 1: is an email she sent that truly warmed my heart

816
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:43,960
Speaker 1: from Nicole quote running into Sarah Spain in an elevator

817
00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:47,080
Speaker 1: at the Valkyrie's first game. Rating ten out of ten

818
00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:51,319
Speaker 1: Best elevator ride ever review. Trying to exit the Chase

819
00:37:51,320 --> 00:37:53,520
Speaker 1: Center from the top floor after the Valkyries game, my

820
00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:55,520
Speaker 1: dad and I jumped in an elevator to avoid the

821
00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:59,200
Speaker 1: annoying stairwell. I heard a familiar voice and shouted Sarah's name,

822
00:37:59,239 --> 00:38:02,160
Speaker 1: way louder than that for an elevator, and also something

823
00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:05,000
Speaker 1: about how we were slices. I was so surprised, that's

824
00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:07,520
Speaker 1: just what popped out. I've gotten my dad hooked on

825
00:38:07,520 --> 00:38:10,200
Speaker 1: women's basketball, and like most dads, he really dug in.

826
00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:11,600
Speaker 2: With Caitlin Clark a couple years ago.

827
00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:13,879
Speaker 1: We listened a good game together in the car a lot,

828
00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:16,120
Speaker 1: and he sends me photos from when he's listening alone

829
00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:18,439
Speaker 1: to brag about what he learned from Sarah. That day,

830
00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:21,040
Speaker 1: after the elevator ride, we shyly asked Sarah for a

831
00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:23,799
Speaker 1: photo and she agreed, and to our surprise, instead of

832
00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:25,880
Speaker 1: rushing off to meet her friends in the fancy club

833
00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:28,000
Speaker 1: area she was trying to get into, she wanted to

834
00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:31,200
Speaker 1: chat sports with us. How cool we were both buzzing

835
00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:33,480
Speaker 1: more about our chat with Sarah than the slightly rough

836
00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:38,160
Speaker 1: Valkyrie's first game. Nicole continues in her review quote had

837
00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:40,279
Speaker 1: I been less in shock running into Sarah, I would

838
00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:42,319
Speaker 1: have liked to express my gratitude to her for all

839
00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:44,880
Speaker 1: she's done and continues to do to highlight and elevate

840
00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:47,279
Speaker 1: women's sports. I grew up loving sports and played D

841
00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:50,520
Speaker 1: three college softball. During the pandemic, I rediscovered my love

842
00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:54,120
Speaker 1: for women's sports with the NWSL and WNBA getting real airtime.

843
00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:55,000
Speaker 2: How wild.

844
00:38:55,440 --> 00:38:57,680
Speaker 1: Since then, I've been an avid women's sports fan. I've

845
00:38:57,719 --> 00:39:00,080
Speaker 1: been working in the wine industry as a winemaker and

846
00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:01,800
Speaker 1: to figure out how to jump over into the women's

847
00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:04,560
Speaker 1: sports world. I'm so inspired by the athletes and the

848
00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:07,720
Speaker 1: causes they champion for and the positive domino effect women's

849
00:39:07,719 --> 00:39:10,160
Speaker 1: sports has on the world. I'm also inspired by media

850
00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:13,000
Speaker 1: groups like your team the share stories that connect listeners

851
00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:15,520
Speaker 1: to these incredible athletes. I think that's such an important

852
00:39:15,520 --> 00:39:17,880
Speaker 1: part of growing a strong women's sports fan base, and

853
00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:20,880
Speaker 1: I really love your stars Stake, stats and stories concept.

854
00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:22,719
Speaker 1: If you have any advice on how to crack into

855
00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:25,120
Speaker 1: the women's sports job market, I'd be happy to hear.

856
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:27,480
Speaker 1: Thanks for all you do, Big Citrus, and thanks to

857
00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:31,800
Speaker 1: Sarah for a memorable meetup. Thank you, Nicole, Oh my gosh,

858
00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:34,360
Speaker 1: that was such a nice email slices. If any of

859
00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:38,080
Speaker 1: you have wine and women's sports connections, email us. It

860
00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:40,720
Speaker 1: is a tough business because everybody wants in now Nicole,

861
00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:44,200
Speaker 1: but maybe you start by seeing if any women's athletes

862
00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:47,160
Speaker 1: that love wine are interested doing a signature wine of

863
00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:49,799
Speaker 1: their own, And once you've got relationship with some of

864
00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:53,080
Speaker 1: those stars, maybe they'd be interested in working on other stuff.

865
00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:55,359
Speaker 1: I know there's a lot of male athletes that work

866
00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:57,520
Speaker 1: in the wine industry, so why not get some of

867
00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:00,120
Speaker 1: our women's faves in the game as well.

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Speaker 2: Give it a shot. Thanks for listening, y'all, See you tomorrow.

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Speaker 1: Good game, Jessica, Good game listening to Good Game in

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Speaker 1: the car with your dad? He you French open organizers?

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Speaker 1: Who's at the Zimbisio sexist? Good Game with Sarah Spain

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Speaker 1: is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep

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Speaker 1: Blue Sports and Entertainment. You could find us on the

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Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Speaker 1: Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie

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Speaker 1: and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,

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Speaker 1: Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutterer,

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Speaker 1: Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer

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Speaker 1: is Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain