Speaker 1: Welcome to good game with Sarah Spain. We're much like
Speaker 1: Ottawa charge goalie Gwyneth Phillips. We would be willing to
Speaker 1: commit arson for our team. It's Thursday, May twenty ninth,
Speaker 1: and on today's show, we'll be chatting with softball legend
Speaker 1: Jessica Mendoza about this weekend's College World Series. We'll get
Speaker 1: her favorites, potential upsets, and the scene out in Oklahoma City,
Speaker 1: plus the upcoming athletes, unlimited softball season.
Speaker 2: And her ka hot take on softball at the LA Olympics.
Speaker 1: And WNBA players are fast to the record books, French
Speaker 1: open organizers keep doing gender equity wrong, and the sixth
Speaker 1: grade losses that still sting. It's all coming up right
Speaker 1: after this welcome back slices. Here's what you need to
Speaker 1: know today. Let's start with the WNBA. On Tuesday, the
Speaker 1: league announced that it could not substantiate a report of
Speaker 1: racist fan behavior at a game between the Indiana Fever
Speaker 1: and Chicago Sky earlier this month. Following that game, which
Speaker 1: was played at Indiana's Gainbridge Field House, the league said
Speaker 1: it was looking into reports of quote unquote hateful comments.
Speaker 1: In a statement Tuesday, the league said quote based on
Speaker 1: information gathered to date, including from relevant fans, team and
Speaker 1: arena staff, as well as audio and video review of
Speaker 1: the game, we have not substantiated it. The WNBA is
Speaker 1: committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for everyone
Speaker 1: and will continue to be vigilant in enforcing our fan
Speaker 1: code of Conduct end quote.
Speaker 2: Both teams involved release.
Speaker 1: Statements thanking the league for taking the matter seriously and
Speaker 1: investigating it more WNBA.
Speaker 2: There are two games tonight.
Speaker 1: First, the four and oh New York Liberty hosts the
Speaker 1: two and two Golden State Valkyries. That game tips off
Speaker 1: at seven pm Eastern, Then at eight pm, the O
Speaker 1: and four Chicago Sky and the one in four Dallas
Speaker 1: Wings matchup. Rookie Paige Beckers is fresh off her first
Speaker 1: win as a pro. She scored a season best twenty
Speaker 1: one points in the Wings one O nine eighty seven
Speaker 1: victory in Connecticut on Tuesday night. I love that she
Speaker 1: got that first dub back in the Nutmeg State where
Speaker 1: she ascended to greatness at Yukon some friendly fans there
Speaker 1: to see her do it. Beckers also made a little
Speaker 1: history in that win. Per ESPN, she's the first player
Speaker 1: in WNBA history to record at least sixty points and
Speaker 1: thirty assist in the first five games of a career. Also,
Speaker 1: did y'all hear Diana Tarassi on a podcast the other
Speaker 1: day saying she is certain that Beckers will end up
Speaker 1: being the best player in league history when all is.
Speaker 2: Said and done.
Speaker 1: Not a bad endorsement for Page Beckers to get sky forward.
Speaker 1: Angel Reese also celebrating a little record breaking herself. In
Speaker 1: a loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday night, the
Speaker 1: sophomore became the fastest player in WNBA history to record
Speaker 1: at least five hundred plus points and five hundred plus rebounds,
Speaker 1: doing so in just thirty eight games. In that same
Speaker 1: game Tuesday night, the Mercuries, Alyssa Thomas became just the
Speaker 1: third player in w history with fifteen or more assists
Speaker 1: in multiple games. She's in rare air with legendary point
Speaker 1: guards t Schapenicero and Courtney Van der Sloot, and as
Speaker 1: a forward, which is wild to softball. The College World
Speaker 1: Series gets underway today with the eight winners of last
Speaker 1: weekend Super Regionals converging at Devon Park in Oklahoma City
Speaker 1: to compete for the NCAA title. We'll link to the
Speaker 1: full schedule and bracket in the show notes, and we'll
Speaker 1: get into the nuts and bolts of the Greatest Show
Speaker 1: on Dirt later in the show with Jessica Mendoza to
Speaker 1: tennis and the ongoing French Open, but off the court stuff.
Speaker 1: On Tuesday, Tunisian player On Shabor criticized tournament organizers for
Speaker 1: yet again prioritizing men's matches for the late evening slot
Speaker 1: on the tournament's marquee court. During the first four days
Speaker 1: of play, men's matches have filled that slot, which requires
Speaker 1: a separate night ticket, all four times per ESPN since
Speaker 1: the French Open introduced a night session in twenty twenty two,
Speaker 1: just two of the thirty three matches played in that
Speaker 1: prime slot have been women's singles. On's also called out
Speaker 1: French organizers last year, and after her first round loss
Speaker 1: in this year's tournament, she spoke out on the issue again.
Speaker 2: Take a listen.
Speaker 3: It's a bit ironic. You know, they don't show women's sports,
Speaker 3: They don't show women's tennis. And then they asked a question, Yeah,
Speaker 3: but mostly they watch men. Of course they watch men
Speaker 3: more because you show men mores. So everything goes together.
Speaker 1: Exactly It's the same damn argument we have in every
Speaker 1: sport at every level. If you give women no resources,
Speaker 1: no facilities, no marketing, no coverage, and no attention, how
Speaker 1: can they possibly match the interest of the men who
Speaker 1: were given all of those things? In space two of
Speaker 1: thirty three matches French Open bullshit. Oh sorry, Marred finally
Speaker 1: got to shout out some hockey folks. First, we're loving
Speaker 1: the sallies from the Walter Cup champs the Minnesota Frost,
Speaker 1: including dogs drinking out of the cup and bringing the
Speaker 1: cup onto the court to celebrate it at the Minnesota
Speaker 1: Lynx game on Tuesday night, a game, by the way,
Speaker 1: that also saw the Links hosting the US women's national
Speaker 1: soccer team, who are in town for a friendly in
Speaker 1: Minnesota this weekend. Also shout out Ottawa charge goalie Gwyneth Phillips,
Speaker 1: who was named the twenty twenty five Alana Claus Playoff
Speaker 1: MVP despite her team coming up short. It's really impressive
Speaker 1: and all of her teammates stayed on the ice after
Speaker 1: their heartbreaking loss to cheer her on and support her
Speaker 1: MVP win. Repl a headline about her team waiting for
Speaker 1: her award and wrote quote, I would commit Arson for
Speaker 1: this team. I'm obsessed, all.
Speaker 2: Right, Slicis.
Speaker 1: Today we debut a new segment that is tentatively called
Speaker 1: Gimme a Minute. It's a working title, but we're willing
Speaker 1: to take any suggestions that you might have. This is
Speaker 1: where we're going to tee up a topic in women's sports,
Speaker 1: set a timer, and vent because sometimes we got to
Speaker 1: say a little more than the need to know will allow.
Speaker 1: Today we're talking Caitlin Clark injury takes.
Speaker 4: Now.
Speaker 1: We told you yesterday she's out for a couple weeks
Speaker 1: with a quad strain, which is of course a real
Speaker 1: bomber for Clark and the Fever and the w fans
Speaker 1: and the league. She is obviously a massive draw and
Speaker 1: already get in prices are dropping for games she's going
Speaker 1: to miss, like the Sky Fever matchup at the United
Speaker 1: Center coming up on June seventh. It would be ridiculous
Speaker 1: to deny her impact on viewership, attendance, and awareness. But
Speaker 1: also there's no need to report on the injury as
Speaker 1: a sort of sky is falling situation for the WNBA,
Speaker 1: which some.
Speaker 2: Are wrote USA Today's C Brennan quote.
Speaker 1: I can personally confirm the pronounced change and interest in
Speaker 1: Fever games without Clark. A week ago, I bought four
Speaker 1: tickets on Stop up to take my sports playing nieces
Speaker 1: to the Fever Washington Mystics game Wednesday night in Baltimore.
Speaker 1: Tickets in the same row are now going for less
Speaker 1: than half of what I paid. I can only imagine
Speaker 1: what they will cost by game time. Perhaps they'll be
Speaker 1: giving them away. And yes, we are still going to
Speaker 1: the game.
Speaker 2: End quote.
Speaker 1: Brennan also reached out to the league several times for
Speaker 1: comment on Clark's injury and its impact. Writing quote, one
Speaker 1: would think that the league might acknowledge the moment, but
Speaker 1: so far no. Asked three times for a comment on
Speaker 1: Clark's injury and what it meant to the league, a
Speaker 1: WNBA spokesman never replied.
Speaker 2: End quote.
Speaker 1: All right, big Citrus convene, let's set the timer. I'm
Speaker 1: not going to go in actual minutes, so give me
Speaker 1: a minute. Kind of a missomer. I'm gonna go three
Speaker 1: minutes on this one. I think that's what we need.
Speaker 1: Setting the timer.
Speaker 2: Alex thoughts, Oh so many thoughts.
Speaker 5: I want to both simultaneously scream into avoid and do
Speaker 5: the longest deep sigh ever. Okay, I'm gonna start with
Speaker 5: the math. Take one. In Christine's column, she mentions that
Speaker 5: ticket prices have fallen more than three hundred percent in
Speaker 5: less than two days. Now, I know that percentage changed
Speaker 5: calculations are hard, but three hundred percent drop would mean
Speaker 5: that the WNBA would be paying people to go to
Speaker 5: the game. So if a ticket was one hundred dollars
Speaker 5: before and it drops three hundred percent, that means each
Speaker 5: person would get two hundred dollars for just showing up.
Speaker 4: That's not what's happening. So first, math lesson.
Speaker 5: Second, I'm so tired of hearing the argument that Caitlin
Speaker 5: Clark is lifting the league and shining a light on
Speaker 5: all these players that never had respect before by someone
Speaker 5: who continually ignores every other player in the league, and
Speaker 5: at the same time suggesting that, oh, maybe they're going
Speaker 5: to be giving tickets away for free. Those two things
Speaker 5: do not line up. They are arguing against each other. Okay,
Speaker 5: I'm gonna leave it right there for now.
Speaker 2: All right, Mesha hop In.
Speaker 6: So the first thing that really pisses me off here
Speaker 6: is because is that the Fever are playing my mystics
Speaker 6: this game that Christine's talking about, where tickets should be
Speaker 6: given away. Are the Fever against the Mystics in Baltimore
Speaker 6: for the first time in forever by my accounts, which
Speaker 6: is really cool as an opportunity to uplift women's sports
Speaker 6: generally speaking in the DMV area and to bring more
Speaker 6: people to rally around this team that has so much potential,
Speaker 6: so many young guns, so much exciting stuff still on
Speaker 6: the table for them this season, and it feels like
Speaker 6: spinning in their face just to say that they should
Speaker 6: be giving away tickets. That's insane to me, first and
Speaker 6: foremost second of all. At the time of recording this,
Speaker 6: the Fever have played four games. Four games. Caitlin Clark
Speaker 6: missing two weeks here is not going to ruin the WNBA.
Speaker 6: It's not going to ruin the Indiana Fever, and it's
Speaker 6: not going to make people turn the TV off and say,
Speaker 6: you know what, I don't care about the WNBA anymore.
Speaker 6: Matter of fact, it doesn't exist to me. I don't
Speaker 6: know it's that's not gonna happen. And I think she's
Speaker 6: blowing it way out of proportion. Anybody who is just
Speaker 6: needs to take a deep breath, wo Saw, calm the down.
Speaker 2: Everything is going to.
Speaker 1: Be Okay, I think for me, the thing that stands
Speaker 1: out the most is what is the intention of the writing. Yes,
Speaker 1: let's acknowledge the impact that Caitlyn Clark has had on attendance,
Speaker 1: on merchandise, on awareness, all of that.
Speaker 2: Nobody is saying otherwise.
Speaker 1: But your opportunity here is to write a column that says,
Speaker 1: with Caitlin Clark out for two weeks, how can w
Speaker 1: fans learn about the other players and storylines that will
Speaker 1: make them.
Speaker 2: Enjoy the game more? Exactly?
Speaker 1: If you want to tell us that this is a
Speaker 1: massive gap and opportunity for the league, then step into
Speaker 1: that gap and offer up something else that uplifts the
Speaker 1: rest of the players in the league instead of bemoaning
Speaker 1: something that can't be fixed because there isn't a solution. Well,
Speaker 1: you could do put the league on hold until Caitln
Speaker 1: feels better.
Speaker 2: Everybody you got to do.
Speaker 1: Everybody pause, nobody do anything until her booboo is better.
Speaker 5: It reminds me of how Christine Brennan's women's basketball coverage
Speaker 5: from last Summer's Olympics focused on how few members of
Speaker 5: the press were there. She didn't actually cover the basketball, right,
Speaker 5: It just always along her same agenda.
Speaker 2: And it's the same thing here. The timer's up.
Speaker 1: So I'm just going to give us one last thought,
Speaker 1: which is, again, it is okay to acknowledge all these things.
Speaker 1: And certainly there is a bias that we bring to
Speaker 1: this conversations because of previous interactions with both Christine Brennan
Speaker 1: and players in the w and stories that she's written about.
Speaker 2: So this isn't a takedown of her.
Speaker 1: It's an opportunity for us to recognize that when we
Speaker 1: want to say these things about this transcendent player, let's
Speaker 1: use these opportunities where people are going to click on
Speaker 1: that story and read about her absence, to instead tell
Speaker 1: a better story than the one where we're just complaining
Speaker 1: about her being injured, because that is a reality that
Speaker 1: we cannot fix and you are not making the league
Speaker 1: any stronger or any better by complaining about.
Speaker 2: It, and it's lazy, all right. I feel good about that.
Speaker 2: I think I'm really going to enjoy that segment.
Speaker 1: I really do need to vent a lot of times
Speaker 1: during these and I'm like, oh, I'm going to keep
Speaker 1: a journalistic but.
Speaker 2: We're going to vent from here on out.
Speaker 1: And I don't know if you started your clock and
Speaker 1: you were like, that wasn't exactly three minutes.
Speaker 3: Shh shh.
Speaker 2: We're just that was our first try. Okay, give us
Speaker 2: a break. We're not so good with the clock.
Speaker 1: All right, we got to take a quick break when
Speaker 1: we come back. All things softball with Jessica Mendoza joining.
Speaker 2: Us now, she's softball Royalty.
Speaker 1: She was a collegiate four time first team All American
Speaker 1: at Stanford and a two time Olympic medalist with Team
Speaker 1: USA gold in Athens and Silver and Beijing. She played
Speaker 1: her pro ball in the National Pro Fast Pitch League
Speaker 1: and was the twenty eleventh Player of the Year. A
Speaker 1: Women's College World Series analyst for ESPN and baseball analysts
Speaker 1: for ESPN and the Los Angeles Dodgers. She's also advising
Speaker 1: Athletes Unlimited for the inaugural season of the Athletes Unlimited
Speaker 1: Softball League aka the AUSL, launching next month. A past
Speaker 1: president of the Women's Sports Foundation, she wanted to be
Speaker 1: an orthopedic surgeon, pivoted to politics and educational reform, then
Speaker 1: made the Olympic team in softball and sports have never
Speaker 1: let her quit them. It's jess ben Doza.
Speaker 2: Hi, Jess, Oh.
Speaker 4: My gosh, that is the most unique intro I've ever
Speaker 4: had in my life. I love it. You kind of
Speaker 4: wrapped up everything about me like ten seconds.
Speaker 2: I try my best.
Speaker 1: I remember when you came on my old podcast that
Speaker 1: your bio was like a thousand miles long, and I
Speaker 1: was just like so impressed that everything you managed to
Speaker 1: accomplish at Stanford, while playing, while being in the Olympics,
Speaker 1: at everything else, and you just get more impressive. So
Speaker 1: we're gonna talk College World Series and a little AUSL
Speaker 1: but I'm really excited to get your insight on College
Speaker 1: Women's World Series, aka the Greatest Show on Dirt. The
Speaker 1: action kicks off twelve pm Eastern on Thursday, Florida, take
Speaker 1: it on Texas Live on ESPN, part of a quadruple header.
Speaker 1: So before we get to the matchups, I want you
Speaker 1: to set the stage. You cover this event every year.
Speaker 1: It's one of the most popular sports in all of television,
Speaker 1: all of college sports.
Speaker 2: Ratings growing popularity growing. What makes it so.
Speaker 4: Special the emotion and the passion, and you see that
Speaker 4: across sports in the postseason. But there's something about softball,
Speaker 4: you know, just being an outdoor sport in this like
Speaker 4: fast pace, like just absolutely emotionally like the way you know,
Speaker 4: any girl who played softball, even growing up, you had
Speaker 4: like the cheering and the loud and the just there's
Speaker 4: so much uniqueness to our game that even though we're
Speaker 4: compared with baseball, the pace and the emotional passion that
Speaker 4: comes out every time everyone's that a new fan comes in.
Speaker 4: That's probably the biggest thing they always remark on is like,
Speaker 4: oh my gosh, these girls had me in tears that
Speaker 4: they had me out of my seat. It's just so
Speaker 4: emotionally charged.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the chanting and just the vibes. The vibes are
Speaker 2: so good.
Speaker 1: Tell me about the seat in Oklahoma City ahead of
Speaker 1: the game starting on Thursday.
Speaker 4: Well, it's kind of nuts right now because we got
Speaker 4: the NBA happening right now literally in front of me.
Speaker 4: So I'm right across the street from the arena. The
Speaker 4: Timberwolves are on my floor, and so you know, like
Speaker 4: a Rods down the road, Like it's just NBA meets
Speaker 4: with so the Oklahoma who's the favorite here They're at
Speaker 4: the same hotel. So you just kind of have this
Speaker 4: and this has happened in the past as well, where
Speaker 4: the thunder are in either the finals or you know
Speaker 4: this far down and it's just a playoff atmosphere. But
Speaker 4: then you have you have the team. So I was
Speaker 4: at the stadium all day to day. You know, we're
Speaker 4: meeting with eight teams and you know, you teams that
Speaker 4: have never been here before in Old miss you have
Speaker 4: teams that haven't been here in a really long time.
Speaker 4: Like you niver see an organ in a new conference.
Speaker 4: So you get this like just little kid vibe, right,
Speaker 4: like the little girl in you comes out. We all
Speaker 4: kind of grew up watching our heroes in some capacity,
Speaker 4: and for a lot of these women, it was the
Speaker 4: women that were on this stage, the greatest show on dirt,
Speaker 4: and they have those memories and now they're just like
Speaker 4: are you kidding me? Like I get to be on
Speaker 4: this field that's so historic.
Speaker 1: Well, and as if there wasn't enough enthusiasm and excitement,
Speaker 1: which there is every year because it's always in Oklahoma City.
Speaker 2: Everybody knows it's going to be there.
Speaker 1: Everybody knows, you know, the scene is going to be incredible.
Speaker 1: But then to add into that the thunder and the
Speaker 1: playoff excitement around that team, Gosh, it must be absolutely crazy.
Speaker 1: There is this feeling I think when the event is
Speaker 1: in the same place pretty much every year, and you
Speaker 1: return and you have the feelings as soon as you
Speaker 1: land of the peak moments from the years before, of
Speaker 1: this bond with all the people that you share it with,
Speaker 1: and you have quite a bond with the fellow broadcasters
Speaker 1: and analysts that you work with. Tell us about the
Speaker 1: team that we'll be hearing from and what it means
Speaker 1: to get to come back home every year to Oklahoma
Speaker 1: City to work on this.
Speaker 4: Well, first of all, can I give a little shout out?
Speaker 4: We just found out we are the longest tenured broadcast
Speaker 4: team of any sport, in any genre, gender, whatever. Next
Speaker 4: year will be our twentieth year doing the Women's College
Speaker 4: World Series. Beth Mowens, who's our play by play, myself
Speaker 4: and Michelle Smith are the analyst. And Holly row as
Speaker 4: everyone knows from all the sports.
Speaker 2: That she does.
Speaker 4: But this is all of us together, our twentieth year
Speaker 4: this next year, so nineteen this year, longest tenured booth,
Speaker 4: and it really is like a family. I was just calling,
Speaker 4: let me go get my wife, because Beth is like
Speaker 4: my road wife, and like, I know what she likes
Speaker 4: between games. I know how much coffee she's gonna need Like,
Speaker 4: I mean, it's just unbelievable when you kind of live
Speaker 4: and breathe with these women for so many years. But
Speaker 4: also like I mean, we are at the fields twenty
Speaker 4: hours a day, like, you know, extra innings. Through it all,
Speaker 4: we've Beth Mowens has called the biggest moments of our sport.
Speaker 4: You know, she was calling games when I played, and
Speaker 4: I mean it's like, okay, let's bring it back right
Speaker 4: black and white television. So it's pretty cool that she's
Speaker 4: the voice of the sport. The fact that we've all
Speaker 4: been able to stay together and he's you know, Sarah,
Speaker 4: like pretty feels I possible, you know, within a sport. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Have you noticed the broadcast set up, the resources,
Speaker 1: the investment in it change over the years.
Speaker 4: Sarah, Oh my gosh. So when I first started, first
Speaker 4: I was with John Cropp, who, for those that don't
Speaker 4: know phil longtime Philadelphia Phillies player, MLB analysts for ESPN
Speaker 4: now those games for the Phillies. So it was him
Speaker 4: and I He's a big, huge softball fan, but we
Speaker 4: were literally they built us because they didn't have a
Speaker 4: press box at the time. They built us a hardboard
Speaker 4: box like legit made it, and they would paint it
Speaker 4: black so that it looked professional. So if you can
Speaker 4: imagine Oklahoma City end in May early June in a
Speaker 4: black literally a black box with no A, C, know nothing,
Speaker 4: and then they kind of like windows, and so the
Speaker 4: fans which is coming like pop their heads and be like, hey,
Speaker 4: what are you guys doing, like live on air, So
Speaker 4: you like put signs up like please don't put your
Speaker 4: head in the booth, like please don't talk to us.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, the animals.
Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, Sarah, and we would be like dripping
Speaker 4: swig like yeah, unbelieva. Of course you don't know, right,
Speaker 4: You're just like this is awesome, this is so cool.
Speaker 4: And now I mean state of the art stadium most
Speaker 4: likely going to host the twenty twenty eight Olympics as
Speaker 4: we know. So it is definitely the home for all
Speaker 4: of softball and the amount of money that the city
Speaker 4: of Oklahoma City is put into it, and obviously the
Speaker 4: sport in USA softball is profound.
Speaker 1: That reminds me of one of my only two occasions
Speaker 1: quote unquote calling softball but not legitimately, both relating to
Speaker 1: allege of their own and at the espn W summit
Speaker 1: one year, a bunch of alums from the movie. We're
Speaker 1: playing against a local team and Penny Marshall and I
Speaker 1: were in the makeshift booth that the local whatever Division
Speaker 1: III college had no AC and she was just churning
Speaker 1: through siga, just heater after heater directly in my face.
Speaker 1: Not long before she passed away, actually, but like telling
Speaker 1: me stories about working with Madonna and getting Rosie O'Donnell
Speaker 1: and who was the best at actually playing baseball for
Speaker 1: the movie.
Speaker 2: It's like an incredible memory.
Speaker 3: That I have.
Speaker 1: But it was eight thousand degrees and I inhaled about three.
Speaker 2: Packs that day.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that was me back then too, just thrown them down,
Speaker 4: you know, just smoke.
Speaker 2: Computers the whole game. All right, let's talk about the
Speaker 2: teams competing.
Speaker 1: The SEC is always a powerhouse conference for softball, but
Speaker 1: even more so this year.
Speaker 4: Right, Yeah, it's it's as we've seen with all sports,
Speaker 4: but with Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC, it's just
Speaker 4: changed the game completely. And you know, you got to
Speaker 4: think Texas and Oklahoma played each other in the championship
Speaker 4: the last two of the three years, so you know,
Speaker 4: those two teams come of the SEC. We now have
Speaker 4: five teams, which ties the record. I feel like that
Speaker 4: record's going to even eventually get broken. Our side of
Speaker 4: the bracket is all SEC. Yeah, but you know, at
Speaker 4: the same time, like the familiarity with each other almost
Speaker 4: hurts them because I'll tell you what, when Oklahoma plays
Speaker 4: anyone else that's outside of the conference, there's an intimidation factor.
Speaker 4: They haven't seen them. They understand the history, the dynasty,
Speaker 4: all the things, but when do you want to play
Speaker 4: them all season long? And it's like, Okay, we got this.
Speaker 4: I mean tomorrow Oklahoma plays Tennessee their first game. Tennessee
Speaker 4: be Oklahoma two out of three games, so they feel like, Okay,
Speaker 4: we can do this. Versus if you're playing Oregon or
Speaker 4: UCLA or Texas Tech. There's that intimidation factor of like,
Speaker 4: these are the big dogs and you see that with teams.
Speaker 4: So having all the teams from the same conference is
Speaker 4: exciting for the SEC. I think the teams here would
Speaker 4: love to see like somebody else too, Yeah, someone's familiar.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yes, you mentioned it.
Speaker 1: The SEC programs represent more than half of this year's bracket.
Speaker 1: Number two, Oklahoma, number three, Florida, number seven, Tennessee, number
Speaker 1: six Texas an unseated ole miss all advanced out of
Speaker 1: the Super Regionals to come to Oklahoma City, and then
Speaker 1: Big ten Newcomers number nine U Silly, number six organ
Speaker 1: plus the Big twelve's number twelve Texas Tech.
Speaker 2: So that's the lineup.
Speaker 1: We've got working with eight teams remaining, they enter a
Speaker 1: double elimination tournament.
Speaker 2: So can you explain exactly how that works in the
Speaker 2: College World Series?
Speaker 4: Yeah, so, I mean, you gotta lose twice. And what's cool, Sarah,
Speaker 4: what I love about it is when you lose, you
Speaker 4: actually switch the other side of the brackets. You have
Speaker 4: eight teams, but really two sets of brackets four and four,
Speaker 4: and you kind of stay with your bracket. But until
Speaker 4: you hit the loser's bracket, if you come back through
Speaker 4: to face to get to the championship, you'll actually face
Speaker 4: a different team that knocked you out, which ensures that
Speaker 4: you're gonna get the two best teams at the end. So,
Speaker 4: because seating, as you know, the NCAA is like way
Speaker 4: back when all that happened, you never want the two
Speaker 4: best teams to have to match up at the World
Speaker 4: Series and knock each other out. You want that to
Speaker 4: be the championship, so that helps ensure it. Now it
Speaker 4: does make like we have lots of quadruple headers, meeting
Speaker 4: four games in a day, including our kickoff day on Thursday,
Speaker 4: we have our elimination Sunday where teams are flying going
Speaker 4: home like you know, tears are happening before you know.
Speaker 4: You go from eight teams to four teams. That happens
Speaker 4: on Sunday. So it's a super unique way. But what's
Speaker 4: beautiful about it is if you lose a game, your
Speaker 4: season doesn't end. You have a chance, like I said,
Speaker 4: to face different teams that have lost also to make
Speaker 4: it back through to the championship series.
Speaker 2: Let's talk favorites.
Speaker 1: The Sooners are looking for their fifth straight NCAA softball title.
Speaker 2: Fifth that is insane.
Speaker 1: Tell me about this dynasty and this particular iteration.
Speaker 4: You know what's cool, Sarah. So when they won four
Speaker 4: in a row that had never been done. That was
Speaker 4: last year. It was the same senior class, right, so
Speaker 4: they were freshmen, just an unbelievable class that won it
Speaker 4: every single year. That's never happened before. And then they
Speaker 4: graduate all of them. Right, this team has two players
Speaker 4: two in their lineup from last year and by the way,
Speaker 4: their sophomore, so they were Frasci's on that championship team.
Speaker 4: It's a totally different team. Even their pitcher is a
Speaker 4: transfer from Louisiana that came over Sam Landry, and so
Speaker 4: you've got all these Freshee's, all these transfers, like just
Speaker 4: these new players, fourteen new players. In fact, they are
Speaker 4: playing with this like fun looseness that senior class last year, Sarah,
Speaker 4: they had fun at the end, but to be honest,
Speaker 4: they like hated it. They felt that pressure when you're
Speaker 4: that dominant, that expectations are so high. Oklahoma comes into
Speaker 4: this year, they're not even ranked number one, they weren't
Speaker 4: even seated number one, and they're just loving it. They're
Speaker 4: like great, no one even knows our names, Like because
Speaker 4: you are you watch Oklahoma, You're like, where's Tierry Jennings
Speaker 4: AND's where's all the players that I knew, Jada Coleman
Speaker 4: And they're not there. They graduated. So now it's this
Speaker 4: newbie group and they're like, we want to win our first.
Speaker 4: So it's not about for them winning the fifth in
Speaker 4: a row. It's like we want to win our first.
Speaker 2: For most of the team. Yeah, that's wild.
Speaker 1: So they entered the postseason, as you mentioned, as the
Speaker 1: number two seeded team despite winning four straight titles leading
Speaker 1: up to this. Who managed to steal number one from them?
Speaker 1: And tell us what happened to that team?
Speaker 4: Texas A and M got the number one seed, which
Speaker 4: was interesting because they were supposed to face off at
Speaker 4: the SEC tournament final. The game got rained out, so
Speaker 4: it was kind of like coming down into in the
Speaker 4: country like everything of course ESPN wants, and then it's
Speaker 4: like rain game canceled co champions So the selection committee
Speaker 4: gave the nod to tex ANM or someund strengths schedule
Speaker 4: and all those crazy rules for RPI and stuff, and
Speaker 4: so Oklahoma gets the two seed, but an M for
Speaker 4: the first time the history of the sport is the
Speaker 4: one seed doesn't make it out of their regionals. So
Speaker 4: the way softball, you go to a regional with four
Speaker 4: teams and then you go to super regionals with two teams.
Speaker 4: So a number one seed might have been knocked out
Speaker 4: in supers, but never in a regional. Liberty to fighting
Speaker 4: Dot Richardson's for U softball fans out there, totally upset them,
Speaker 4: not once but twice because again your favorite it was
Speaker 4: a double elimination, so you had to beat them twice.
Speaker 4: They did, like, I mean, just absolutely unbelievable what they
Speaker 4: were able to do.
Speaker 1: So Oklahoma's like, okay, ball, don't lie. We should have
Speaker 1: been the number one seed in the first place, but
Speaker 1: now we basically are because we're the top seed in
Speaker 1: the tournament and everyone expects us to win it.
Speaker 2: What team has the best shot to upset them?
Speaker 4: You know? I Okay, Carlin Pickens, if you've seen the viral.
Speaker 2: We've talked about you have.
Speaker 1: Yeah, both times breaking her own record with the pitches.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so we.
Speaker 4: Were doing her Super Regional game last when she broke
Speaker 4: the record again seventy nine point four miles an hour,
Speaker 4: which now it's like these things like the mile run,
Speaker 4: like all these like marks, right.
Speaker 2: Like you used to mean something, Jess.
Speaker 4: No, yeah, it used to be like, okay, can you
Speaker 4: ever throw seventy five? But if we get to eighty,
Speaker 4: like eighty is equivalent to one hundred and eleven miles
Speaker 4: an hour in Major League baseball when you talk about
Speaker 4: forty three feet in reaction time, So it's like, you know,
Speaker 4: mind blowing, and no one's near her, like Carlin Pickens
Speaker 4: is just unbelievable. So she has already beat Oklahoma twice
Speaker 4: this year, and so she has that ability without a doubt.
Speaker 4: Then you've got Nija Kennedy out of Texas Tech. Now
Speaker 4: they're not maybe as complete of a team. This is
Speaker 4: their first time in school history they've been to Oklahoma City,
Speaker 4: so we've never seen them on the stage. You know,
Speaker 4: I hate saying it. She led them to Stanford the
Speaker 4: last with Stanford the last two years. That's my alma mater.
Speaker 4: Now she's here taking Texas Tech. But Niga Kennedy's the
Speaker 4: best picture. So I know what Carlon pickenstroon in seventy nine,
Speaker 4: you like tune in and why Nija Kennedy like her
Speaker 4: rise ball change up and she is a beast in
Speaker 4: the circle. So those two Texas Tech and Tennessee have
Speaker 4: the ability to shut down Oklahoma's offense any given day.
Speaker 4: But being a West Coast girl, like I got to
Speaker 4: give a shout out to UCLA, Like if you talk
Speaker 4: about history, I know Oklahoma's got it recency bias, but
Speaker 4: UCLA has this is their thirty third World series. Like
Speaker 4: that's insane, It's mind blowing. And they have that history.
Speaker 4: They're here every year like they always surprise team. So
Speaker 4: that's another another team. I would say to look out UCLA.
Speaker 2: Shout out to our all of our life coaches.
Speaker 1: Suit Aquist, who is just like the OG, one of
Speaker 1: the greatest coaches of all time. And if you meet her,
Speaker 1: even for five minutes, you'll be like, tell me everything
Speaker 1: you know about life and help me. You talked about
Speaker 1: the potential for Texas Tech because of Nija Kennedy. What
Speaker 1: about Ole Miss in their debut only unranked team left standing.
Speaker 1: What does it mean for that program to reach this
Speaker 1: stage and what kind of shot do they have?
Speaker 4: Well, Jamie Traxel has do an amazing job. Their staff,
Speaker 4: their coaching staff has gotten them to really believe. I mean,
Speaker 4: that's a program in a conference that you kind of
Speaker 4: feel like you got no chance. They use that to
Speaker 4: their advantage. They understood like we've played all the best teams,
Speaker 4: like we've been able to compete, and they have and
Speaker 4: even watching them at the SEC Tournament and obviously going
Speaker 4: in to Arkansas and beating them, go shoot start from
Speaker 4: the beginning. They went to Tucson, they weren't see it.
Speaker 4: They went to Tucson upset Arizona and their history then
Speaker 4: to Arkansas. So those are always the fun teams, right,
Speaker 4: The dangerous ones are like yeah, like no one's talking
Speaker 4: about old miss right, like and they never have like
Speaker 4: this is not a historic program, but their coaching staff
Speaker 4: has that belief and they've got it going right now.
Speaker 4: And it's not because one or two players, Like they
Speaker 4: are literally playing free because they have zero pressure and
Speaker 4: they're enjoying the moment.
Speaker 2: That's awesome.
Speaker 1: Okay, Individually, give us a couple of people to keep
Speaker 1: an app for. You've mentioned a few, but just a
Speaker 1: couple of stars to watch for.
Speaker 4: Well, Jordan Woolery and Megan Grant. They are bash brothers,
Speaker 4: bomb sisters, whatever. They have all these nicknames because they
Speaker 4: hit right after each other. They were just I was
Speaker 4: just in interviews with them, and they are like Hilaria.
Speaker 4: They've known each other since they were in fifth grade,
Speaker 4: grew up in the Bay Area together, like that total
Speaker 4: example of like sisterhood, like your girls when you meet
Speaker 4: younger and then you end up going to the same
Speaker 4: school together. They finish each other since they've lived together,
Speaker 4: Like they're such a great tandem of hitters. They have
Speaker 4: broken the record at UCLI just talked about their history
Speaker 4: and they lead all of Division one in RBIs together
Speaker 4: and that's just such a fun They hit right after
Speaker 4: each other and they both play the corner positions. It's
Speaker 4: cool to see that bond. The way they'll communicate after
Speaker 4: a bat like hey, look, you'll see like one of
Speaker 4: them will get out, strikeout and go whisper to the
Speaker 4: other like this is what I saw. Like that to
Speaker 4: me is like, Sarah, you get this team sport at
Speaker 4: its perfection. Yeah, I'm pissed and like I want to
Speaker 4: go back to the dugout and chuck my helmet, but
Speaker 4: instead I'm gonna I got you, and I want to
Speaker 4: make sure that like we are helping each other. They
Speaker 4: do that in such a beautiful way. If you want
Speaker 4: to see a freshman, that is like she just went
Speaker 4: freshman the year. Okay, Taylor's shoemaker. She's a socaw girl
Speaker 4: playing for Florida. Unbelievable numbers. Her swing is so beautiful
Speaker 4: and I'm a lefty, so like watching my lefty swing
Speaker 4: and speaking of Florida, I got one more for you,
Speaker 4: Kendra Falby. I mean, let's be real. When you're watching
Speaker 4: sports center and you're looking at highlight reels. It's all
Speaker 4: about the outfielders. Kendra Falby. We call her Kendra Walby
Speaker 4: because she's literally robbed like twenty home runs this year.
Speaker 4: We even got her wingspan, her height jump because she
Speaker 4: does things we've never seen from an athlete before. So
Speaker 4: she will definitely be making plays in the beyond being
Speaker 4: Florida's lead off there.
Speaker 2: I love it.
Speaker 1: I'm so excited to look out for all those And
Speaker 1: last thing for the World Series. Is there any cool
Speaker 1: story or maybe two stories that are coming out. Someone
Speaker 1: coming back from injury, someone getting one final shot after
Speaker 1: coming up short every year, a coach that's heading out
Speaker 1: after this season, something that stands out to you.
Speaker 4: Gosh, there's a ton you know. I think Texas, who
Speaker 4: haven't talked a lot about there's some serious redemption. They
Speaker 4: got swept by Oklahoma this year, they lost to them
Speaker 4: in the championship last year. They've got a senior class
Speaker 4: led by Mia Scott, who's like a little sassy, like
Speaker 4: third in the lineup, like want the punchy in the face.
Speaker 4: She's another star by the way to look out for.
Speaker 4: And they're led by Taking Cavan in the circle So
Speaker 4: that's a team that has made it to the Championship
Speaker 4: over and over and their coach, Mike White, even going
Speaker 4: back to when he was at Oregon, there's been no
Speaker 4: coach that's ever made it to the World Series so
Speaker 4: many times and never won. So like there's a lot
Speaker 4: of like, just like they call it like fire right now,
Speaker 4: fuel for fire, because that's all they have in their mouth,
Speaker 4: the bad taste of losing last year, getting swept by
Speaker 4: Oklahoma this year, and you just kind of feel like
Speaker 4: they're going to meet up the fact that they both win.
Speaker 4: It'll be Saturday on ABC Entuck Eastern Texas versus Oklahoma,
Speaker 4: which is a rematch of the championship last year.
Speaker 2: Amazing. We will look for that.
Speaker 1: Before we let you go, I have to ask you
Speaker 1: about AUSL because the Athletes Unlimited Softball League is launching
Speaker 1: so very soon in my backyard in Chicago, technically Rosemont,
Speaker 1: but close enough. I will be one of the hosts
Speaker 1: for the opening night party on June sixth in downtown Chicago.
Speaker 2: And then I'll be there for the very first game
Speaker 2: on June seventh.
Speaker 1: What are you most excited about when it comes to
Speaker 1: this AUSL league and how it's different than previous iterations
Speaker 1: of pro softball.
Speaker 4: The fact that we've got everybody. I mean, we got
Speaker 4: Sarah Spain host, and I mean, what are.
Speaker 2: We talking about now, Like that is it?
Speaker 4: Like yeah, i mean like just let's be run. No,
Speaker 4: Like we've got freaking Kim Ang their commissioner, Like we've
Speaker 4: got Lisa Fernandez, cat aster Man, like every name that's
Speaker 4: never this is three decades. People don't know this, over
Speaker 4: three decades of professional softball, Sarah, and we've never had
Speaker 4: everybody come together the way that they are now. And
Speaker 4: it's backed by Athletes Unlimited, which isn't just for softball,
Speaker 4: like it's a for women's sports. There's this whole idea
Speaker 4: in seat of individual owners and like fairness and equality,
Speaker 4: like everybody's under the same umbrella. And it's finally this
Speaker 4: fresh new start. I'm so excited because there's some breaking
Speaker 4: news that's going to come out probably by the time
Speaker 4: this podcast comes out, that we'll talk about a partnership
Speaker 4: that's never existed that everyone's always asked, like when is
Speaker 4: this happening? Well, it's here, and that just further tells
Speaker 4: you that this is the right moment now for women's softball.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's so hard when you're a little early, or
Speaker 1: maybe when not everyone else is on board to be
Speaker 1: able to put in the kind of resources that are
Speaker 1: required to have a startup.
Speaker 2: Company, which is basically what a new league is.
Speaker 1: And so there's been these great efforts in the past,
Speaker 1: and there's been a lot of really good softball being played,
Speaker 1: but never quite breaking through. And you mentioned this at
Speaker 1: THEESPNW summit in a panel you hosted. You're sick of
Speaker 1: people asking you why isn't there professional softball and you're saying.
Speaker 2: There is, you just don't know about it.
Speaker 1: And this feels like the opportunity to really break through,
Speaker 1: like you mentioned, because of all the different people involved
Speaker 1: in that embargoed news that our listeners might have heard
Speaker 1: by now if they're listening to this, but we're not
Speaker 1: going to say it just in case. Last thing, you know,
Speaker 1: you mentioned that Oklahoma City set to host softball at
Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Olympics in twenty twenty eight. What's your
Speaker 1: sense of how players feel about that because obviously great facility,
Speaker 1: but also not a part of everything going on in
Speaker 1: LA and not a part of everybody else being in
Speaker 1: the Olympics spirit and the athlete village and everything else.
Speaker 4: I think it sucks. Yeah, And I love Oklahoma City,
Speaker 4: don't get me wrong. And I'm not trying to be
Speaker 4: offensive to what's here, but as an Olympian, as a
Speaker 4: Southern California native, like I mean, like there is something
Speaker 4: magical about being there. And the thing is is all
Speaker 4: these women have played in Oklahoma City, whether it wasn't
Speaker 4: the Women's College World Series or the numerous events that
Speaker 4: are hosted in Oklahoma City. Every international international team, like,
Speaker 4: we've played here a million times and it's a beautiful
Speaker 4: place and a dream to play. But it's not the Olympics.
Speaker 4: If the Olympics are in Los Angeles, so my heartbreaks
Speaker 4: because I want them to have that. I do. I
Speaker 4: have talked to Janet Evans, who's helping with LA twenty eight.
Speaker 4: They do want to do something special for these women
Speaker 4: at Dodger Stadium where the Olympics will be kicking off,
Speaker 4: whether it's an exhibition game or a moment to recognize them. Shoot,
Speaker 4: they're still like I hear all the talk about like
Speaker 4: someone's going to build a stadium. It's going to happen,
Speaker 4: so we'll see we're not here.
Speaker 2: You got time in eight Yeah, we got time.
Speaker 4: But yeah, if I'm going to be perfectly honest with you, Sarah,
Speaker 4: you know I am like I am pissed.
Speaker 1: I would be too, and I would be if I
Speaker 1: was one of those players. I want my Olympic experience
Speaker 1: to be truly, truly the Olympic experience if you are
Speaker 1: the perfect ambassador for this sport at every single level.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for making some time to chat
Speaker 2: with me.
Speaker 1: We're super excited to watch you cover this and super excited.
Speaker 2: For the launch of AUSL. So thanks for the time.
Speaker 4: Awesome. When I see in Chicago for ASL launch, I'm
Speaker 4: going to test you on who you thought was gonna win. Actually,
Speaker 4: I need to do that right now, who do you
Speaker 4: think is going to win?
Speaker 2: Okay?
Speaker 1: Putting here on the spot, Yeah, I mean I kind
Speaker 1: of like your idea of like Texas just having a
Speaker 1: mouthful of revenge.
Speaker 2: I like the idea of.
Speaker 1: Carlin Pickens, but I worry about if she shuts him down,
Speaker 1: you still need to get your offense to show up.
Speaker 2: So I feel like I don't know why.
Speaker 1: It's too easy to say It's too easy to say
Speaker 1: sooners again, So.
Speaker 2: I'm going to go Texas.
Speaker 4: Okay, all right, listeners, we're going to check back in
Speaker 4: because you guys will all be there paying attention to
Speaker 4: the AOSL launches, and we'll.
Speaker 1: Make your picks in your head right now, slices, and
Speaker 1: we'll see if any of us are right, and we'll
Speaker 1: reconvene at AUSL launch in Chicago and pat each other
Speaker 1: on the back for our best effort.
Speaker 4: Thank you, Jess, Thanks Sarah.
Speaker 1: Thanks again to Jess for taking the time. We got
Speaker 1: to take another quick break when we come back. What
Speaker 1: if the real middle school trauma was the words we
Speaker 1: misspelled along the way? Ps At first Alex misspelled, misspelled,
Speaker 1: So the answer is definitely yes.
Speaker 2: Spelling trauma is lasting trauma. Welcome back, slaces.
Speaker 1: Earlier this week, we asked you if you remember the
Speaker 1: word you went out on in your school spelling bee,
Speaker 1: and we loved reading your responses. Here, a couple Panda
Speaker 1: with a Cookie wrote on Blue Sky that they lost
Speaker 1: on the word cylinder in sixth grade cyl I N
Speaker 1: d er. They also recommended the documentary Spellbound and offered
Speaker 1: their own parting remarks, Good game scripts, good game, small children, spelling,
Speaker 1: long words, h Cylinder.
Speaker 2: Thanks Panda with the cookie, by the way, panded with
Speaker 2: the cookie.
Speaker 1: Also the one who told us about those hot dogs
Speaker 1: that you drilled.
Speaker 2: What was this called camp dogs? Oh god, would you
Speaker 2: drill potato dog? Potato tater drill, tatato, tater tato. Wait, wait,
Speaker 2: tat tater pigs, tater pigs. We're leaving all of that in.
Speaker 1: Okay, this next response, we're gonna keep anonymous, and I
Speaker 1: think you'll see why quote. I was good at spelling
Speaker 1: and had high expectations the first time my fourth grade
Speaker 1: class had a contest, so I could still remember the
Speaker 1: absurdity of the teacher who was running it, starting me
Speaker 1: off with an incomprehensible word that.
Speaker 2: Sounded like babboled.
Speaker 1: When I asked for it in a sentence, she said
Speaker 1: the baby bab old, which certainly didn't help. I thought
Speaker 1: maybe it was some obscure chimpanzee type animal that I'd
Speaker 1: never heard of, so I guessed b A B O
Speaker 1: L D, and of course got bounced. It turned out
Speaker 1: it was babbled, which I'm certain no other human being
Speaker 1: has ever pronounced that way, either before or since forty
Speaker 1: years later, and I'm not bitter about it at all,
Speaker 1: So please don't put on.
Speaker 2: The Internet that I was mad end quote. We won't
Speaker 2: say you're mad. Super Slice Hagaya Litzer Oops.
Speaker 1: By the way, the Script Spelling Bee concludes tonight with
Speaker 1: the final round. Tune in at eight pm Eastern on
Speaker 1: Ion to see which tiny child takes home the trophy
Speaker 1: and the rights to a killer fun fact they could
Speaker 1: brag about for the rest of their life. We love
Speaker 1: the ear list in slices, but we want you to
Speaker 1: get in the game every day too, So here's our
Speaker 1: good game play of the day. Watch the College World
Speaker 1: series games get going at twelve pm Eastern today, and
Speaker 1: we've linked to the tune in info in full schedule
Speaker 1: in our show notes. And we always love to hear
Speaker 1: from you, so hit us up on email good game
Speaker 1: at wondermedianetwork dot com or leave us a voicemail at
Speaker 1: eight seven two two four fifty seventy.
Speaker 2: Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review, y'all. It's easy.
Speaker 1: Just let certified slice Nicole Scomena show you how. This
Speaker 1: is an email she sent that truly warmed my heart
Speaker 1: from Nicole quote running into Sarah Spain in an elevator
Speaker 1: at the Valkyrie's first game. Rating ten out of ten
Speaker 1: Best elevator ride ever review. Trying to exit the Chase
Speaker 1: Center from the top floor after the Valkyries game, my
Speaker 1: dad and I jumped in an elevator to avoid the
Speaker 1: annoying stairwell. I heard a familiar voice and shouted Sarah's name,
Speaker 1: way louder than that for an elevator, and also something
Speaker 1: about how we were slices. I was so surprised, that's
Speaker 1: just what popped out. I've gotten my dad hooked on
Speaker 1: women's basketball, and like most dads, he really dug in.
Speaker 2: With Caitlin Clark a couple years ago.
Speaker 1: We listened a good game together in the car a lot,
Speaker 1: and he sends me photos from when he's listening alone
Speaker 1: to brag about what he learned from Sarah. That day,
Speaker 1: after the elevator ride, we shyly asked Sarah for a
Speaker 1: photo and she agreed, and to our surprise, instead of
Speaker 1: rushing off to meet her friends in the fancy club
Speaker 1: area she was trying to get into, she wanted to
Speaker 1: chat sports with us. How cool we were both buzzing
Speaker 1: more about our chat with Sarah than the slightly rough
Speaker 1: Valkyrie's first game. Nicole continues in her review quote had
Speaker 1: I been less in shock running into Sarah, I would
Speaker 1: have liked to express my gratitude to her for all
Speaker 1: she's done and continues to do to highlight and elevate
Speaker 1: women's sports. I grew up loving sports and played D
Speaker 1: three college softball. During the pandemic, I rediscovered my love
Speaker 1: for women's sports with the NWSL and WNBA getting real airtime.
Speaker 2: How wild.
Speaker 1: Since then, I've been an avid women's sports fan. I've
Speaker 1: been working in the wine industry as a winemaker and
Speaker 1: to figure out how to jump over into the women's
Speaker 1: sports world. I'm so inspired by the athletes and the
Speaker 1: causes they champion for and the positive domino effect women's
Speaker 1: sports has on the world. I'm also inspired by media
Speaker 1: groups like your team the share stories that connect listeners
Speaker 1: to these incredible athletes. I think that's such an important
Speaker 1: part of growing a strong women's sports fan base, and
Speaker 1: I really love your stars Stake, stats and stories concept.
Speaker 1: If you have any advice on how to crack into
Speaker 1: the women's sports job market, I'd be happy to hear.
Speaker 1: Thanks for all you do, Big Citrus, and thanks to
Speaker 1: Sarah for a memorable meetup. Thank you, Nicole, Oh my gosh,
Speaker 1: that was such a nice email slices. If any of
Speaker 1: you have wine and women's sports connections, email us. It
Speaker 1: is a tough business because everybody wants in now Nicole,
Speaker 1: but maybe you start by seeing if any women's athletes
Speaker 1: that love wine are interested doing a signature wine of
Speaker 1: their own, And once you've got relationship with some of
Speaker 1: those stars, maybe they'd be interested in working on other stuff.
Speaker 1: I know there's a lot of male athletes that work
Speaker 1: in the wine industry, so why not get some of
Speaker 1: our women's faves in the game as well.
Speaker 2: Give it a shot. Thanks for listening, y'all, See you tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Good game, Jessica, Good game listening to Good Game in
Speaker 1: the car with your dad? He you French open organizers?
Speaker 1: Who's at the Zimbisio sexist? Good Game with Sarah Spain
Speaker 1: is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep
Speaker 1: Blue Sports and Entertainment. You could find us on the
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie
Speaker 1: and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Speaker 1: Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutterer,
Speaker 1: Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer
Speaker 1: is Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain