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Speaker 1: Welcome to a good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're

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Speaker 1: calculating overnight shipping costs on a freezer with an ice

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Speaker 1: packed ACL. I don't need mind, Juju, I'm washed. Take

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Speaker 1: it please. It's Wednesday, March twenty sixth. Then on today's show,

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Speaker 1: we'll be talking to Hailey Salvia and a hockey writer

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Speaker 1: for The Athletic and a co host of the Athletic

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Speaker 1: Hockey Podcast, about why it's still anyone's game as the

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Speaker 1: PWHL nears the postseason, the secret behind Marie Filipulen and

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Speaker 1: Hillary Knight's successes, and her early predictions for expansion. Plus

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Speaker 1: we'll get into that Juju injury. We'll talk about the

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Speaker 1: rest of the women's hoop Sweet sixteen field, the US

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Speaker 1: women's national team gears up for an Olympic gold medal

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Speaker 1: game rematch and use slices and us some colorful language.

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Speaker 1: It's all coming up right after this. Welcome back, y'all.

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Speaker 1: Here's what you need to know today in college hoops.

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Speaker 1: Will catch you up on the late games from Monday

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Speaker 1: night and the biggest news by far, not just of Monday,

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Speaker 1: but the tournament. USC's Juju Watkins, sophomore sensation and probable

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Speaker 1: pick for Naismith Player of the Year suffered a knee

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Speaker 1: injury with four forty three left to play in the

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Speaker 1: first quarter of the Trojans matchup with number nine Mississippi State.

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Speaker 1: Watkins was carried off the court taken for testing, and

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Speaker 1: it's been reported that she tore her acl. She's out

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Speaker 1: for the remainder of the tournament and will undergo surgery

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Speaker 1: to repair it. It was so hard to watch her

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Speaker 1: go down, and we're sending so much love to her

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Speaker 1: and the rest of the Trojans team and community. This

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Speaker 1: no doubt changes the entire vibe of the tournament this year,

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Speaker 1: and we wish Juju a thorough recovery. After her injury.

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Speaker 1: Number one USC gathered themselves and took care of business

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Speaker 1: against Mississippi State, winning ninety six fifty nine to punch

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Speaker 1: a ticket to the Sweet sixteen. Kiki Eriefen led the

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Speaker 1: Trojans with a dominant thirty six points, the most ever

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Speaker 1: by a USC player in NCAA tournament game, and added

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Speaker 1: nine rebus and two assists as well. Us He moves

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Speaker 1: on to Phase number five Kansas State in the Sweet

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Speaker 1: sixteen up in Connecticut. Number two Yukon beat number ten

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Speaker 1: South Dakota State ninety one fifty seven in Paige Becker's

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Speaker 1: last home game at Yukon. The fifth year senior dropped

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Speaker 1: a blistering thirty four points in just twenty nine minutes

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Speaker 1: a game action, tying her career high for points. Almost

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Speaker 1: more impressive. In the postgame press conference, Beckers had head

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Speaker 1: coach Gino Orimo holding back tears as she got up

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Speaker 1: to leave. Gino joked with us on our show, telling

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Speaker 1: us she never listens to him, but it's so obvious

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Speaker 1: he knows what a special kid she is. It was

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Speaker 1: a really sweet moment watching him try to hold back

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Speaker 1: those tears. We'll link to the video in our show notes. Also,

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Speaker 1: while this might have been Becker's last home game in

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Speaker 1: a Yukon jersey, it wasn't azy fuds. The senior told

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Speaker 1: Friend of the show Alexa Philip Who and ESPN on

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Speaker 1: Tuesday that she will return to college next season and

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Speaker 1: for go entering the twenty twenty five WNBA draft. The

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Speaker 1: Huskies move on to play number three Oklahoma in the

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Speaker 1: Sweet sixteen, and number three North Carolina picked up a

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Speaker 1: fifty eight to forty sive and dub against number six

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Speaker 1: West Virginia. Behind twenty one points from their fifth year

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Speaker 1: senior alyssa Ustby, the tar Heels now advanced to the

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Speaker 1: Sweet sixteen for the first time since twenty twenty two,

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Speaker 1: and they'll face acc rival Duke for the first time

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Speaker 1: ever in the NCAA tournament. Those teams saw each other

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Speaker 1: twice during the regular season, each winning a game on

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Speaker 1: their home court. UNC versus Duke. No matter the sport,

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Speaker 1: you know you want to have your popcorn ready for

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Speaker 1: that one. We'll post a link to the full schedule

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Speaker 1: for the Sweet sixteen matchups in our show notes in

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Speaker 1: Pro Soccer News, The NWSL, Orlando Pride, GOTHAMFC, and the

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Speaker 1: league's players Association all released statements on Monday condemning the

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Speaker 1: use of hateful language toward Pride forward Barbara Banda during

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Speaker 1: Sunday's match at Gotham's Sports Illustrated Stadium. Per the NWSL's statement,

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Speaker 1: the league and Gotham FC are working together to investigate

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Speaker 1: the incident and dole out consequences as defined through the

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Speaker 1: NWSL's Fan Code of Conduct. Per Gotham's statement, stadium security

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Speaker 1: directly addressed the individual responsible for the language and monitored

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Speaker 1: the situation for the rest of the match. Also, club

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Speaker 1: leader reached out to the Orlando Pride on Monday to

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Speaker 1: apologize for the incident and reiterate its support of Banda.

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Speaker 1: This isn't the first time that Banda, a cisgender woman,

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Speaker 1: has been on the receiving end of abusive comments. In November,

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Speaker 1: after helping Orlando win the NWSL title and being named

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Speaker 1: World Footballer of the Year by the BBC, she received

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Speaker 1: transphobic attacks from author JK. Rowling, among others. The league

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Speaker 1: didn't issue a statement at that time, and in an

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Speaker 1: interview with NPR's All Things Considered earlier this month, Commissioner

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Speaker 1: Jessica Berman said the league learned from that and is

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Speaker 1: committed to doing more to support Banda and other players

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Speaker 1: moving forward. In international soccer news, the US women's national

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Speaker 1: team released its twenty four player roster for the team's

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Speaker 1: two April Olympic final rematches against the Brazilian national team.

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Speaker 1: Biggest takeaway from the roster, one third of Triple Espresso

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Speaker 1: is back Trinity Rodman, back in the fold after missing

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Speaker 1: the last four training camps resting injuries. She rejoins the

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Speaker 1: squad for the first time since the Olympic gold medal

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Speaker 1: game in August of twenty four. Also of note, Houston

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Speaker 1: dash defender Avery Patterson has earned and her first senior

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Speaker 1: US women's national team call up, and among the other

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Speaker 1: players called into the team goalkeepers Jane Campbell, Mandy McGlenn,

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Speaker 1: and Fallon Tullis Joyce, all vying to become Emma Hay's

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Speaker 1: new go to after the national team retirement of Alyssinare.

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Speaker 1: They'll be joined by one more keeper, training camp player,

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Speaker 1: Angelina Anderson of angel City FC. The US women's national

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Speaker 1: team faces Brazil on April fifth and eighth, just outside

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Speaker 1: of Los Angeles and San Jose, California, respectively. We got

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Speaker 1: to take a quick break. When we come back, we're

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Speaker 1: dropping the puck with Haley Salvian joining us now. She's

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Speaker 1: a staff writer for The Athletic covering women's hockey and

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Speaker 1: the NHL, and she's one of the hosts of the

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Speaker 1: Athletic Hockey Podcast. She has the cutest little pop bono,

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Speaker 1: and she likes to eat ribs on the ice. She's

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Speaker 1: a Canadian and frankly, we're jealous. It's Hailey Salvian. What's up? Haley?

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Speaker 2: Why what happened. What do you mean just you know,

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Speaker 2: we'll get to it. Thanks for having me.

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Speaker 1: I first want you to explain what exactly is up

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Speaker 1: with you and Julia Tosherry who was a co host

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Speaker 1: of Jackson Jill who we had on the show, and

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Speaker 1: the ribs. I was clearly creeping your instagram. There were

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Speaker 1: lots of comments about ribs on the ice and now

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Speaker 1: we need to know.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm so glad you brought this up.

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Speaker 2: Because we were covering the PWHL playoffs. It was the

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Speaker 2: first round Toronto versus Minnesota last year, and we go

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Speaker 2: into the media room and there's usually a media meal.

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Speaker 2: It's like five bucks, ten bucks, whatever you go when

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Speaker 2: you get your food before the game, and it was

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Speaker 2: barbecue ribs, and she and I both had this moment.

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Speaker 2: It was me, Julia and Christina Rutherford does an amazing

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Speaker 2: job at Sportsnet, and we all just kind of sat

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Speaker 2: there bibs on, eating the ribs, and Julie and I

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Speaker 2: had this moment of like, this is such a safe space,

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Speaker 2: Like if this was in the Leafs media meal room,

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Speaker 2: like if this was an NHL playoff game, Julie and

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Speaker 2: I were like we would have walked in seen the

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Speaker 2: barbecue ribs and like walked right out, like it's fine,

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Speaker 2: I'll get the press box popcorn for dinner or something.

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Speaker 2: But it was just like all women in there, bibs

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Speaker 2: on barbecue sauce, everyone on a bone. I feel so

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Speaker 2: safe eating these ribs right now that I don't even

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Speaker 2: care that there's sauce all over my credential.

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Speaker 1: It was.

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Speaker 3: It was a real bonding moment for us girls on

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Speaker 3: the screen.

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Speaker 1: I am just brief aside. I think we've all been here.

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Speaker 1: I went to a restaurant by myself in Miami when

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Speaker 1: I was there for a work trip, and I ordered

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Speaker 1: this side of corn that I expected to be like

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Speaker 1: a low tast style off the cob, and instead it

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Speaker 1: was like just a full cob. And I sat there

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Speaker 1: at a bar across from like a bunch of people

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Speaker 1: at a pretty prime like six thirty ish happy hour

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Speaker 1: happening spot, just like gnawing on this corn cob alone,

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Speaker 1: thinking like, there's got to be a better way this

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Speaker 1: is not.

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Speaker 3: Was it good at least?

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Speaker 1: Oh? I mean it was delicious. Great? Who cares? Then

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Speaker 1: you got this? Yeah?

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Speaker 2: True, I'm so used to eating alone on the road.

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Speaker 2: It's it's fine, everything's fine.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's corn is a weird one. Eating a

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Speaker 1: banana like you have to break it off in your hands.

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Speaker 1: You can't just deep throat a banana in public. Certainly

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Speaker 1: not Okay. So you're one of the few reporters that

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Speaker 1: write about the PWHL. That's why we're having you here

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Speaker 1: to impart all of your knowledge. What would you say

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Speaker 1: is the biggest challenge of being sort of relatively alone

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Speaker 1: on a beat.

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Speaker 3: Ooh, that's a good question.

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Speaker 2: I think one of the challenges that I have found

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Speaker 2: covering this is that and now, like journalistic integrity and

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Speaker 2: like making sure your sources are vetted and everything is

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Speaker 2: very very important to me, regardless of if I was

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Speaker 2: the only person or the tenth person, twentieth person. But

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Speaker 2: there is this sense of like, if the athletic is

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Speaker 2: chiming in on something, it's going to mean something.

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Speaker 3: So you're almost like relishing in.

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Speaker 2: The opportunity to drive conversation and push narratives that you

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Speaker 2: think are important. But then there's also like a responsibility

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Speaker 2: with that. So you have these moments of am I

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Speaker 2: making something too big of a deal? Is this the

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Speaker 2: right story to be doing? At the right time is

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Speaker 2: how is this going to be perceived? So like the

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Speaker 2: time of things and like the importance of posting things

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Speaker 2: like that's not lost on me, yea, because I've heard

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Speaker 2: that from folks of like if you're going to say

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Speaker 2: and this is a thing for me, like I have

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Speaker 2: the like I don't think of myself that way, Like

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Speaker 2: this has just been something that I've been told is

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Speaker 2: like if you're going to say it, or the athletics

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Speaker 2: going to say it, it's going to matter in a

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Speaker 2: different way. And that's like a weird thing for my

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Speaker 2: own self esteem to hear. I'm just like, no, that's crazy.

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Speaker 2: But that is something that I've had to internalize when

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Speaker 2: we're trying to decide like what stories to do and

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Speaker 2: how to approach certain things. And it's not so much

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Speaker 2: like the sourcing because I would always want to get

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Speaker 2: things correct, but there is like almost a responsibility there

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Speaker 2: coming from like one of the bigger mainstream media companies

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Speaker 2: weighing in on something.

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Speaker 1: We've talked about this on the show in the past.

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Speaker 1: It's not just are you following sort of journalistic principles

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Speaker 1: in terms of asking questions, getting answers and reporting what

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Speaker 1: was said, it's how does it operate within the larger

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Speaker 1: context and new of the space in which you're working,

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Speaker 1: and when you know that you're one of the few

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Speaker 1: larger brands and outlets covering something and that what you

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Speaker 1: do cover and present is going to have an outsized

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Speaker 1: impact on how people see a league, or a player

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Speaker 1: or a person Like it's important to think about that

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Speaker 1: whether or not that's an extra added pressure for you,

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Speaker 1: which it is, that's just sort of the reality of

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Speaker 1: the situation right now. How do you balance being fair

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Speaker 1: or even critical when it's necessary with a sort of

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Speaker 1: understandable desire to help grow the league's fan base and viewers.

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Speaker 1: You're covering something that you care about that you want

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Speaker 1: more people to care about, both for your business and

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Speaker 1: your job and getting paid, but also, you know, because

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Speaker 1: you'd like to see it do well. How do you

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Speaker 1: balance that desire with I also need to criticize things

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Speaker 1: when they aren't right.

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Speaker 2: One of the things that I think is so great,

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Speaker 2: at least when we're talking about like from a player

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Speaker 2: perspective or player performance, team performance. I've actually gotten feedback

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Speaker 2: from like coaches, players, gms like if you think I

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Speaker 2: made a mistake here, say it like we need to

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Speaker 2: get past the point of just like being like everything's great,

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Speaker 2: it's great, woohoo, we love this.

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Speaker 3: Like I've had a conversation with.

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Speaker 2: A GM after the draft which we had on CBC.

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Speaker 3: I do some TV work on the panel for CBC.

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Speaker 2: Sports, and they had said to me, like, if you

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Speaker 2: think I made a bad pick in the second round,

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Speaker 2: I want you to feel comfortable going on TV and

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Speaker 2: saying GM X made a mistake here. Now, I want

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Speaker 2: you to back it up. I want you to have

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Speaker 2: a reason for that. I don't want you just saying

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Speaker 2: like this GM stinks. Be smart with it. But if

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Speaker 2: you feel I did something wrong, say it because we're

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Speaker 2: not going to groan and we're not going to move

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Speaker 2: forward in the ways we need if everyone's just saying

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Speaker 2: like flowers and daisies and rainbows. And I think from

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Speaker 2: the league building perspective, you know, being able to be

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Speaker 2: like critical of what's happening in the league is going.

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Speaker 3: To be a really important piece of this.

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Speaker 2: Like it's you know, I always think of the NWSL

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Speaker 2: as such a great example when you know, Meg Linihan

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Speaker 2: and Katie Strang had their big explosive report on everything

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Speaker 2: that was happening in the NWSL for years in terms

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Speaker 2: of you know, just harassment and poor treatment of players

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Speaker 2: was you know, for so long women's soccer and women's

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Speaker 2: sport have felt like, well, we can't speak up because

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Speaker 2: we don't want to hurt the league.

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Speaker 3: We don't want to hurt the game. We're all trying

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Speaker 3: to grow it.

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Speaker 2: But I think everyone's kind of knows now that the

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Speaker 2: way to grow the league is not to just be

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Speaker 2: quiet on matters that need to be spoken on. So

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Speaker 2: that's a thing for me, Like, when something big like

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Speaker 2: that happens in the PWHL like that is going to

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Speaker 2: be on me to and other media members to like

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Speaker 2: accurately and fairly report on those instances, because the league's

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Speaker 2: not going to grow and get great if we're just

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Speaker 2: covering up any kind of misconduct.

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Speaker 1: I think, well, I'm just curious because you know, the

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Speaker 1: league's single owner format sort of might affect how teams

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Speaker 1: or gms or coaches interact with the media. There isn't

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Speaker 1: the same like rivalry with other clubs, and perhaps less

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Speaker 1: willingness to comment or react to controversy with other clubs

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Speaker 1: or stumbles by an opponent when you've all answered to

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Speaker 1: the same ownership, and I think in nascent women's sports

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Speaker 1: leagues there is more of a feel of a rising

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Speaker 1: tide lifts all boats, let's all support each other, which

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Speaker 1: is great. At the same time, do you find it

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Speaker 1: hard to get honest appraisals about opponents for things other

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Speaker 1: than what's on the ice because they're all beholden to

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Speaker 1: the same boss.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, certainly on the record.

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Speaker 2: Like I'm sure there's like gms who have their whispers

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Speaker 2: of things that they don't love or things that aren't happening.

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Speaker 2: I will say the one thing I heard from like

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Speaker 2: every team that I've been able to speak to, is

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Speaker 2: that like when Push came to Shove last year, there

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Speaker 2: was always a card on the table, like if issues

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Speaker 2: popped up, like the owner was putting the money down

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Speaker 2: to fix it or scale with it, which was so

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Speaker 2: great to hear because that's always been the issue and

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Speaker 2: women's like professional hockey is the resources and the pot

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Speaker 2: of money just was kind of non existent relative to

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Speaker 2: what we're seeing now. But I do think the single

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Speaker 2: entity ownership model is really interesting and it's it's I'm

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Speaker 2: curious to see how it's going to grow and change.

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Speaker 2: If they move away from that, what kind of issues

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Speaker 2: do start to crop up because we have things like

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Speaker 2: gms making trades or signing players, drafting players. You know,

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Speaker 2: the New York Sirens are last in the league.

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Speaker 3: Again.

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Speaker 2: They have two of the best players in the world

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Speaker 2: on their roster, certainly one of the best and the

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Speaker 2: number one pick in Sarah Fhilier, and their last in

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Speaker 2: the league again. But when you have a single entity owner,

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Speaker 2: like that's just going to be the owner deciding is

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Speaker 2: that what's best for the league to let a GM

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Speaker 2: go or let a coach go? Do we keep them

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Speaker 2: in house? It's not the New York owner saying, oh, right,

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Speaker 2: that's enough. We need to have in a different direction.

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Speaker 2: So I think those are things that are going to

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Speaker 2: be interesting in the long run, for sure. I think

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Speaker 2: in the early days it's been good because of that

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Speaker 2: single pot of money, like everyone just has the resources

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Speaker 2: to get started. They didn't have any kind of bureaucracy

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Speaker 2: with six different owners when they were trying to start

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Speaker 2: a league in six months of owner saying well, no

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Speaker 2: I want this or no I want that. That was

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Speaker 2: almost required to get this league started as quickly as possible.

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Speaker 2: But I think as the league grows and changes. That's

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Speaker 2: one of the big things that I'll be tracking in

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Speaker 2: the PWHL in the next phase is how that single

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Speaker 2: entity ownership model kind of grows or changes and impacts things.

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Speaker 1: I want to get to some of the teams, but

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Speaker 1: I want to ask quickly what your take is on

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Speaker 1: how the league in the media have handled a couple controversies.

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Speaker 1: There was, you know, disruption in the front office of

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Speaker 1: the Minnesota Frost right after they won, and I think

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Speaker 1: maybe more importantly, we haven't heard a lot about Frost

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Speaker 1: player Britta Curl's social media activity. Prior to being drafted.

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Speaker 1: She issued an apology for liking anti transposts COVID nineteen

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Speaker 1: vaccine conspiracy is a post sharing a not guilty verdict

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Speaker 1: for Kyle Rittenhouse. We haven't really talked about it much

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Speaker 1: since the apology. Do you think the league in the

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Speaker 1: media have handled that situation? Well.

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Speaker 2: I think this is one of the instances with Brita

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Speaker 2: Curl where the league itself is in this space where

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Speaker 2: they have obviously decided, like anyone can play in this league, right,

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Speaker 2: they didn't take a hard line and say Brita Curl

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Speaker 2: is not to be drafted because that's where the owner

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Speaker 2: would come in and right, Whereas in different leagues, maybe

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Speaker 2: you have an owner in one market saying nope, that

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Speaker 2: doesn't jive with what we want, whereas this is a

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Speaker 2: single entity owner. And obviously it was decided that she

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Speaker 2: was eligible and a team did draft her, and I

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Speaker 2: did speak to all teams. I didn't speak to all

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Speaker 2: six general managers, but I did speak to all team sources,

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Speaker 2: and it was my understanding she was not on any

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Speaker 2: teams do not draft list, So Brita Cral was open

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Speaker 2: and available to all these teams after that social media

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Speaker 2: activity was posted after she had the apology, and you know,

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Speaker 2: she's been allowed to play in the league, but she's

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Speaker 2: also been booed in every market she's played in. I

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Speaker 2: think there's almost been instances of fans watching her get

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Speaker 2: like big hits from opponents, like there are people who

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Speaker 2: are not fans of what Berta Crole like said, or

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Speaker 2: what she liked on social media and some of the

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Speaker 2: tweets that she did share herself. But this is something

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Speaker 2: where the league, you know, they have to balance this

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Speaker 2: like allowing everyone to play in the league with all

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Speaker 2: also understanding that they have players and fans who are

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Speaker 2: in staff members, who are part of the LGBTQ plus

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Speaker 2: community like they have. They just announced last week there

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Speaker 2: are pride celebrations. There are unity games across all six markets.

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Speaker 2: The Minnesota Frost are going to have a Pride game,

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Speaker 2: and how are Minnesota fans gonna respond to that? How

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Speaker 2: is the away team, the Toronto Sceptors, if they have

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Speaker 2: fans in the building, how are they going to respond

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Speaker 2: to that? So do I think that.

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Speaker 3: The league and media.

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Speaker 2: It's it's interesting you asked this question because these are

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Speaker 2: not even things that I've written about. So in that sense,

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Speaker 2: like Britta Curl hasn't faced that much scrutiny from the

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Speaker 2: league because she was drafted and there's birthday posts and

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Speaker 2: she's on the league's marketing and media members like me

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Speaker 2: haven't exactly jumped into this and said like, here's what's

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Speaker 2: happening with Brita Curl. So it's just a different, a

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Speaker 2: different world in women's hockey right now.

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Speaker 1: Well, we're seeing it happen across different spaces, and I

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Speaker 1: think it's indicative that it is not an easy answer,

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Speaker 1: whether that's Hannah Hidalgo and basketball, whether that's Corbin Albert

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Speaker 1: in soccer, whether that's Britta Curl in hockey. Like, when

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Speaker 1: you have someone existing in a space that is beyond

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Speaker 1: just sport and stands for inclusiveness and diversity and all

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Speaker 1: these things that are such so at the root and

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Speaker 1: center of women's sport, it makes it far more complicated

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Speaker 1: than on the men's side. It's not an easy answer

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Speaker 1: because you also, I would not agree with saying ban

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Speaker 1: them from the league either. I don't think that that's

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Speaker 1: I think that's a really slippery slope. We got to

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Speaker 1: take a quick break when we come back more with

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Speaker 1: Hailey Salvion. You know, I just moderated a panel with

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Speaker 1: a couple of PWHL execs out at the Wiser Conference,

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Speaker 1: and one of the things we talked about backstage as

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Speaker 1: we were talking about promoting the league and the players

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Speaker 1: was teams starting to form identities, finding authentic rivalries, establishing

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Speaker 1: some tradition and culture. Obviously, just the second year of

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Speaker 1: this very young league, so much of falling in love

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Speaker 1: with a league and team and players is understanding and

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Speaker 1: learning the lore. And there isn't much lore yet, but

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Speaker 1: I'd love to hear if there's any team culture or

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Speaker 1: tradition or style or attitude that has emerged in this

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Speaker 1: second season that really stands out. Not every team, but

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Speaker 1: like if there's something that you're like, this is what

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Speaker 1: we expect when we go to this place and it's awesome.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I would say one that does stand out is Minnesota.

401
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Speaker 2: Like that is that's like the state of hockey, and

402
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Speaker 2: they have a lot of local players on that team.

403
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Speaker 2: They're hard to play against. You know, Taylor Highs eleast deckline,

404
00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:36,119
Speaker 2: Kelly Panic. You have like these Minnesota legends playing for

405
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Speaker 2: that team and they have their own very unique identity.

406
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Speaker 2: A lot of US national team players. I think Toronto

407
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Speaker 2: stands out. They have a lot of Team Canada players.

408
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Speaker 2: There's six forwards I think from the Toronto Scepters on

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Speaker 2: the Team Canada Women's World roster, plus a defender and

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Speaker 2: a goalie. So eight players that are going to be

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Speaker 2: playing for Team candid Worlds or on the scepters. They're

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Speaker 2: head coach, their GM or the head coach and GM

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Speaker 2: of Canada. So Toronto is kind of like the Team

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Speaker 2: Canada team in curator.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and like.

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Speaker 2: You know, they almost have this perception of like if

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Speaker 2: you want to be on Team Canada, go sign in Toronto.

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Speaker 2: That's been something that is That's one of those criticisms

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Speaker 2: that has kind of popped up off the record from

420
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Speaker 2: some gms, like that's a thing that gms don't love

421
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Speaker 2: is like, how are we supposed to compete with that?

422
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Speaker 2: Everyone wants to be on the Olympic team, so everyone's

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Speaker 2: going to pick Toronto. I don't necessarily agree with that perception,

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Speaker 2: but I get it. I get why people feel that way.

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Speaker 2: So Toronto is like the Team Canada hub for sure,

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Speaker 2: and that's a really competitive team. They have a ton

427
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Speaker 2: of skill. Troy Ryan is a very very good coach.

428
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Speaker 2: That's a well coached, well put together team. Ottawa is

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Speaker 2: one of the interesting ones because I've heard I was

430
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Speaker 2: in Wisconsin doing a big story on the Badgers before

431
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Speaker 2: they won their national championship, and I hadn't really known

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Speaker 2: this until I went, but Mark Johnson, the legendary head

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Speaker 2: coach the Badgers, has been this mentor for Carla McLeod,

434
00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,440
Speaker 2: who's the head coach in Ottawa. So now I'm totally

435
00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,960
Speaker 2: seeing and understanding like the style and why they play

436
00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:11,560
Speaker 2: the way they do because Mark Johnson's whole thing is

437
00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,680
Speaker 2: like we recruit elite players, go be elite players. He'll

438
00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:19,720
Speaker 2: give them like some roadblocks or ways to play, and

439
00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:21,480
Speaker 2: then they just go and decide what they want to

440
00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:25,080
Speaker 2: do in the moment. And you definitely see that coming

441
00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:27,520
Speaker 2: through with Ottawa. They are definitely more of like a

442
00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:30,920
Speaker 2: free flowing, puck possession team, but Carla also has them

443
00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:36,280
Speaker 2: playing like very very physical, hard brand of hockey. One

444
00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:38,480
Speaker 2: of their players was in the first ever fight in

445
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,280
Speaker 2: the PWHL. She also, like you know, she's one of

446
00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:42,760
Speaker 2: the top scorers in the league and also one of

447
00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:45,800
Speaker 2: the top penalty minutes leaders in the league. So Ottawa's

448
00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:49,959
Speaker 2: definitely has like a very strong identity and brand. I

449
00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:54,320
Speaker 2: also think Ottawa has like almost like the Ottawa Senators

450
00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:54,920
Speaker 2: in the NHL.

451
00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:59,840
Speaker 3: They almost have a bit of the like Little Sister Sin.

452
00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,720
Speaker 2: Not to say that like they necessarily feel that way,

453
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,320
Speaker 2: but like they don't get a ton of national TV games.

454
00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:09,960
Speaker 2: They are the third best Canadian team in a six

455
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,679
Speaker 2: team league Montreal as Poulin. The De Scepters are like

456
00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:17,200
Speaker 2: Canada's team. You know, Darryl Watts, their star player, left

457
00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,920
Speaker 2: to go sign in Toronto. And so even though Ottawa

458
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:25,119
Speaker 2: had the best average attendance last season. The Charger almost

459
00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:29,800
Speaker 2: like this quote unquote forgotten team that has really strong

460
00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:32,720
Speaker 2: fan base. So that's one thing Ottawa's very interesting to me.

461
00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:35,239
Speaker 2: And then I would say this New York Sirens are

462
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,399
Speaker 2: just kind of like chaotic. I had mentioned that before.

463
00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:42,240
Speaker 2: They have Sarah Phillier, they have Alex Carpenter, Abby Rocks

464
00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:42,720
Speaker 2: on that team.

465
00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:44,960
Speaker 3: She just scored the first Michigan goal, and yet they're six.

466
00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:47,600
Speaker 3: So there's just like a lot of like chaos to me.

467
00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:50,560
Speaker 1: Okay, we like it. We like to have some of

468
00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:53,280
Speaker 1: these like stories to tell ourselves about the teams as

469
00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:57,080
Speaker 1: we're watching. It helps us kind of frame things. And

470
00:22:57,080 --> 00:22:59,960
Speaker 1: then that can always change. But let's talk about mantra.

471
00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:02,560
Speaker 1: You mentioned with Marie filiep Puhlan leading the way at

472
00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:04,359
Speaker 1: the top of the standings for most of the season,

473
00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:06,760
Speaker 1: what needs to happen or what needs to stay the

474
00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:08,520
Speaker 1: same for them to stay on top and win it all.

475
00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:12,080
Speaker 2: So I've actually started having more concerns about Montreal in

476
00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:14,560
Speaker 2: the last couple weeks than I have all season. They've

477
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,240
Speaker 2: seen their lead in the league standings get a little

478
00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,000
Speaker 2: bit smaller as Toronto's playing really well. They're doing their

479
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:22,879
Speaker 2: annual rise up the standings. They start very poor and

480
00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:25,960
Speaker 2: then they end up being unbelievable when it matters most

481
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:27,760
Speaker 2: except in the first round last year they ended up

482
00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:30,159
Speaker 2: losing to Minnesota, but in the regular season they end

483
00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,400
Speaker 2: up doing really well towards the end.

484
00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:34,760
Speaker 3: In Boston's been one of the hottest teams in the league.

485
00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:37,600
Speaker 2: Montreal, what I liked about them early in the season

486
00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:38,880
Speaker 2: is they had a.

487
00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:39,639
Speaker 3: Lot of depth.

488
00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,800
Speaker 2: Some of their new additions were scoring and adding offense

489
00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:45,280
Speaker 2: from the middle of the lineup, and now they're starting

490
00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:48,359
Speaker 2: to turn into the Mary Philip Puhlen and Renee Debien

491
00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:49,959
Speaker 2: show again, which is fine.

492
00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:52,320
Speaker 3: That's great. You have the best player in the world

493
00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:54,120
Speaker 3: playing some of.

494
00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:58,359
Speaker 2: Her best hockey still as I think she's thirty four

495
00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:00,600
Speaker 2: years old, forgive me if I for at the age

496
00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:01,240
Speaker 2: correctly there.

497
00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:02,960
Speaker 3: And then ann Rene de Bien, you have one of the.

498
00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:05,800
Speaker 2: Best goalies in the world who did get hurt two

499
00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,560
Speaker 2: weeks ago, which leaves a question mark there for their lineup.

500
00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:12,480
Speaker 2: But their offense has started to stagnate a little bit.

501
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:16,480
Speaker 2: If it's not Pulen or Laura Stacey or Jen Gardner

502
00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,440
Speaker 2: who's been there kind of frequent top line scoring there

503
00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:21,160
Speaker 2: hasn't been that much consistency there.

504
00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,879
Speaker 3: So I've actually started to get a little bit worried.

505
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:26,760
Speaker 2: About Montreal because we know that when the depth offense

506
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,879
Speaker 2: dries up in Montreal, things don't go super well. They

507
00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:31,920
Speaker 2: ended up losing in the first round of Boston last

508
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,720
Speaker 2: year because Poulin and Stacy Snake bitten. There's Snake Bitton,

509
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,120
Speaker 2: who's scoring nobody. They lost in the first round.

510
00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:41,639
Speaker 1: Let's talk about the Minnesota Frost that you mentioned. They

511
00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:44,119
Speaker 1: struggled during the regular season last year. They finished fourth

512
00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:45,919
Speaker 1: out of six teams, only to turn it on for

513
00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,200
Speaker 1: the postseason ended up going on to win the inaugural

514
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:51,440
Speaker 1: Walter Cup. Is the biggest challenge to Montreal the team

515
00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:54,880
Speaker 1: in second, the Toronto Scepters, or potentially another team that's

516
00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,760
Speaker 1: sort of lurking further down the table Frost style.

517
00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:01,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's interesting because I I wonder if the Minnesota

518
00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:03,320
Speaker 2: Frost are going through what they did last year.

519
00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:04,320
Speaker 3: They started really hot.

520
00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:07,240
Speaker 2: It took until like six, the sixth game of the

521
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:09,800
Speaker 2: season for them to lose in regulation, and it's been

522
00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:12,720
Speaker 2: quite up and down in the middle of the season

523
00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:13,280
Speaker 2: for them.

524
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:16,440
Speaker 3: This year, they were just on a very long road trip.

525
00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:18,240
Speaker 2: So I do wonder if now they're going to be

526
00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:20,639
Speaker 2: home at the Xcel Energy Center, are they going to

527
00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:24,560
Speaker 2: start piling wins together and get into the two three spot.

528
00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:26,440
Speaker 3: Again, Ottawa is.

529
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:28,840
Speaker 2: Only two points back of them, so maybe that like

530
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,320
Speaker 2: pesky team that people love to forget about, it's going

531
00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:34,760
Speaker 2: to make a run and kick the reigning champions out

532
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:37,560
Speaker 2: of the postseason. They have a game against New York

533
00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:42,400
Speaker 2: on Tuesday night tonight, so we'll see what happens there.

534
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:44,800
Speaker 2: Will Ottawa get into a playoff spot, will New York

535
00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:47,720
Speaker 2: get eliminated from the postseason. There's gonna be a lot

536
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:50,720
Speaker 2: going on this week. I think two of the teams

537
00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:54,159
Speaker 2: that I am watching other than Montreal is Toronto. They

538
00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:56,480
Speaker 2: are surging up the standings. They are healthy for the

539
00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:00,440
Speaker 2: first time this season. Their number one goalie, Christin Campbell,

540
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:02,160
Speaker 2: is starting to get her game back.

541
00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:03,919
Speaker 3: She was the Goalie of the Year last year, had

542
00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:06,199
Speaker 3: a terrible start to the season. Like I'm not going

543
00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:07,760
Speaker 3: to sugarcoat it. It was not great.

544
00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:12,240
Speaker 2: But Natalie Spooner, the MVP of last year's back. She's healthy.

545
00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:15,120
Speaker 2: She's starting to get her feet under her. Sarah Nurse,

546
00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:18,120
Speaker 2: who was on LTR like right when Spooner came back.

547
00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,200
Speaker 2: Is awful timing. They get Spooner back and Nurse goes

548
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:21,840
Speaker 2: on LTR.

549
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,840
Speaker 1: She's back LTIR long term injury reserve.

550
00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:27,040
Speaker 3: Yes, I apologize, yes, long term injured reserve.

551
00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:30,320
Speaker 2: So Sarah Nurse is back, Spooner's getting her feet under

552
00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:33,920
Speaker 2: her scepters are healthy. Kristen Campbell looks like the goalie

553
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,680
Speaker 2: of the year again, so they're a little bit scary.

554
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:40,040
Speaker 2: But the Boston Fleet, as I mentioned, are the hottest

555
00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,520
Speaker 2: team in the league to me right now. Hillary Knight

556
00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:46,680
Speaker 2: is Hillary Knight again. They have arguably the best goalie

557
00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:49,920
Speaker 2: in the league. I think Anne Renee Debien statistically speaking,

558
00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:53,600
Speaker 2: takes that number one spot. Her numbers are unbelievable. But

559
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:57,280
Speaker 2: Aaron Frankel is like the MVP for the Boston Fleet,

560
00:26:58,160 --> 00:26:59,960
Speaker 2: and she was like the reason they got into the

561
00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:03,360
Speaker 2: postseason into the finals last year. Boston and Toronto. I'm

562
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:06,920
Speaker 2: tracking more than Minnesota right now, and that surprises me, Sarah,

563
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:10,119
Speaker 2: because I thought Minnesota came into the season.

564
00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:12,440
Speaker 3: As the favorites to.

565
00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:14,399
Speaker 2: Win it again because they won it last year and

566
00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:17,720
Speaker 2: they got even better adding a player like Britta Curl.

567
00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:19,919
Speaker 3: She's offensive, she's a good two way player.

568
00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,760
Speaker 2: They get Claire Thompson, the Olympic record holder for points

569
00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:25,360
Speaker 2: by a defender in a single tournament.

570
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:26,639
Speaker 3: They got better.

571
00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:28,760
Speaker 2: So that's why what's happening in Minnesota is like a

572
00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:31,480
Speaker 2: little interesting, because I thought they'd be better.

573
00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:33,440
Speaker 3: Than they have been in recent weeks. But like I said,

574
00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:36,240
Speaker 3: maybe that's just because they've been on the road and tired, and.

575
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:40,439
Speaker 1: It sounds wide open. You're like, who could who challenge Montreal?

576
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:41,480
Speaker 1: Pretty much almost.

577
00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:43,440
Speaker 3: Everyone, everyone except for New York except for New York.

578
00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:47,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's fly through some of these. The beginning of

579
00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:49,359
Speaker 1: the month, there was sort of the final third of

580
00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:51,800
Speaker 1: the season, just starting when you did some award predictions,

581
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,520
Speaker 1: including your picks for the Billy ge and King MVP Award.

582
00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:56,919
Speaker 1: At the time you had Marie Feleep pull out of

583
00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:59,879
Speaker 1: the Victoire Kenda, Cooin Schofield of the Frost, and Alex

584
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,560
Speaker 1: Carpenter of the New York Sirens. Are those players still

585
00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:06,040
Speaker 1: leading the way her as someone emerged to take over

586
00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:07,439
Speaker 1: that one of those top three spots.

587
00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:11,000
Speaker 2: I'll still stick with Poolan for the winner, just because

588
00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:13,919
Speaker 2: as she goes, Montreal goes, and I don't know if

589
00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:17,040
Speaker 2: you can find anyone else who's like that in the league,

590
00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:19,520
Speaker 2: maybe other than Frankel in Boston, So I would actually

591
00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:22,760
Speaker 2: I would probably One of the reasons I kept Carpenter

592
00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:27,359
Speaker 2: as a finalist was how New York started playing poorly

593
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:30,479
Speaker 2: without her, but like they've still been playing poorly, so no,

594
00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:34,040
Speaker 2: but maybe they're still not playing great unfortunately, So I

595
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:35,600
Speaker 2: would probably give.

596
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:37,440
Speaker 3: Carpenter the boot.

597
00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:39,600
Speaker 2: One of the Toronto players that I said was an

598
00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:42,400
Speaker 2: honorable mention I believe was Daryl Watts and Hannah Miller

599
00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:45,440
Speaker 2: were not of Fast, Like there's some Toronto options that

600
00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:47,360
Speaker 2: should be in and around that.

601
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:48,440
Speaker 3: Hannah Miller and.

602
00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:50,840
Speaker 2: Daryl Watts, they're two of the players that made Team

603
00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:53,600
Speaker 2: Canada for Worlds. For the first time they've been a

604
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:55,680
Speaker 2: dynamic duo together.

605
00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:56,720
Speaker 3: I didn't have.

606
00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:58,840
Speaker 2: Miller as a finalist last time because she has a

607
00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:03,120
Speaker 2: ton of power play products, but Hower play counts too,

608
00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:06,360
Speaker 2: So I would probably put one of Miller or Watts

609
00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:08,800
Speaker 2: in that conversation, maybe even run out of Fast. She's

610
00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:11,560
Speaker 2: one of the best defenders in the world and I

611
00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:13,640
Speaker 2: think I had her for a Defender of the Year. Yeah,

612
00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:16,040
Speaker 2: I would stick with that, but she would probably get

613
00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:19,280
Speaker 2: some MVP looks too, because I think if she was missing,

614
00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:20,760
Speaker 2: I don't know how good Toronto would be.

615
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:22,840
Speaker 1: Should I be surprised? I have to see Hillary Knight

616
00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:25,520
Speaker 1: on that list you just mentioned. She's back doing Hillary

617
00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,480
Speaker 1: Night things, leading the league in points and she had

618
00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:31,040
Speaker 1: her first PWHL hat trick on March fifth.

619
00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:34,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, she should be in that conversation now, for sure.

620
00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:37,600
Speaker 2: I think she started like she was already playing better

621
00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,600
Speaker 2: when I did that story, But I still felt that

622
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:44,320
Speaker 2: Aaron Frankel was like the person for the Fleet. But

623
00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:46,640
Speaker 2: now when you look at how many one goal games

624
00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:50,120
Speaker 2: Boston's been in and one and their GM told me

625
00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:52,080
Speaker 2: this when I wrote a story about Hillary, It's just

626
00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:55,480
Speaker 2: like when you have somebody like Hillary Knight scoring the

627
00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:58,480
Speaker 2: way she is, that is the difference maker on so

628
00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:02,800
Speaker 2: many different nights for the Boston Fleet. I think she

629
00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:05,719
Speaker 2: would absolutely be a finalist.

630
00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:07,280
Speaker 3: For either MVP or Forward of the Year.

631
00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:09,920
Speaker 2: The way that she's playing right now, she's been It's

632
00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:12,560
Speaker 2: been nice to see her playing right right anyway.

633
00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:14,400
Speaker 1: I mean, for sure, we know last year that she

634
00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:16,640
Speaker 1: was injured. She wasn't specific, she said it was a

635
00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:20,200
Speaker 1: foot thing, but she played through it, you know, understandably

636
00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:22,440
Speaker 1: didn't want to miss the inaugural season of the p WHL.

637
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:24,479
Speaker 1: She's been one of the biggest names and greatest players

638
00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:26,479
Speaker 1: in hockey for such a long time. It felt right

639
00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:28,120
Speaker 1: to have her out there, even though she didn't look

640
00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:31,000
Speaker 1: quite right. She had six goals at eleven points all

641
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,360
Speaker 1: of last season. She's already at thirteen goals and twenty

642
00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:35,440
Speaker 1: six points this season with another month plus to go.

643
00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:38,360
Speaker 1: How different does she look? And does she look like

644
00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:41,320
Speaker 1: peek Hillary? Like we shouldn't even worry about her aging

645
00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:44,400
Speaker 1: because she's She's who she was before the injury, I.

646
00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:47,240
Speaker 2: Would say, and she even said this to me, like

647
00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:51,200
Speaker 2: she has not hit her peak on what she can

648
00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:53,800
Speaker 2: do as a pro hockey player yet. And that should

649
00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,680
Speaker 2: be so scary for anyone outside of Boston, because this

650
00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,360
Speaker 2: is Hillary Night coming in after not being on the

651
00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:02,880
Speaker 2: ice until August. This is Hillary Knight with a short

652
00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:06,480
Speaker 2: off season, like she's healthy, but she didn't really train

653
00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:10,600
Speaker 2: all summer, and that should be scary for you know,

654
00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:13,120
Speaker 2: any other team. That should be scary for Canada with

655
00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:15,240
Speaker 2: the Olympics coming up, Like, if Hillary Knight.

656
00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:17,560
Speaker 3: Stays healthy, she has a full off.

657
00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:18,920
Speaker 2: Season now, then we're going to see her in the

658
00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:22,280
Speaker 2: PWHL and the twenty twenty six Olympics at pure one

659
00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:25,960
Speaker 2: hundred percent, right, I think it's been As a Canadian, I'm.

660
00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:26,560
Speaker 3: A little frightened.

661
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:30,160
Speaker 2: We do have Mary Fopoolan, I'm all right, but Hillary

662
00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:33,080
Speaker 2: Knight and the biggest moments, like she's scary, especially when

663
00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,920
Speaker 2: she's one hundred percent, and I think it's been great

664
00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:39,040
Speaker 2: to see her. She's getting into her spots, she's skating

665
00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,360
Speaker 2: better this year, she's getting open. She has linemates who

666
00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:44,040
Speaker 2: can get her the puck in the slot, and we're

667
00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:47,280
Speaker 2: seeing that like quick release and the different ways she

668
00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:50,280
Speaker 2: can score. She's scoring on the rush, from the dots

669
00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,640
Speaker 2: on the doorstep. You know, she's always had this natural

670
00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:57,480
Speaker 2: ability to score goals, but she's always worked.

671
00:31:57,200 --> 00:31:57,840
Speaker 3: At that too.

672
00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:00,480
Speaker 2: I think that's one thing that doesn't that always comes

673
00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:02,920
Speaker 2: up when I talk to people about Poolan and Night

674
00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:06,080
Speaker 2: is however much you think they work at their craft,

675
00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:09,280
Speaker 2: it's more yea. And it sounds like a cliche when

676
00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:11,360
Speaker 2: you hear like, oh, they're always doing.

677
00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:11,960
Speaker 3: That extra rep.

678
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:13,960
Speaker 2: They are, and it's not really a cliche when it

679
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,680
Speaker 2: comes to them, because they're doing the work and that's

680
00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:20,880
Speaker 2: how they're in their mid thirties and still they're number

681
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:23,000
Speaker 2: one and two in goals in the PWHL right now.

682
00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:25,880
Speaker 1: Amazing and it mays been so great to see you

683
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:29,160
Speaker 1: mentioned Canada USA the Olympics. But before that, we're going

684
00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:30,600
Speaker 1: to get the World Championships, and I want to talk

685
00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:32,920
Speaker 1: about that in a minute, but first let's talk the

686
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:37,000
Speaker 1: aforementioned US Canada relations that that we touched on at

687
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:40,480
Speaker 1: the top of the show. Given the current political climate,

688
00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:43,040
Speaker 1: and we are sorry, by the way, do you have

689
00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:45,720
Speaker 1: a sense of whether the PWHL expects that the current

690
00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:49,200
Speaker 1: US administration will impact how it can do business, whether

691
00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:52,120
Speaker 1: that's in terms of expansion, whether that's in terms of

692
00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:55,800
Speaker 1: players who are playing in the US from Canada on

693
00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:58,560
Speaker 1: some sort of work visa, being concerned about going back

694
00:32:58,560 --> 00:32:59,040
Speaker 1: and forth.

695
00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:04,600
Speaker 2: I've asked the league about this, and they're kind of

696
00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:06,800
Speaker 2: in the same boat as everyone else, which is like

697
00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:09,360
Speaker 2: we're all kind of just reading and watching and trying

698
00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:11,960
Speaker 2: to see what's going to happen next and what's going on.

699
00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:15,240
Speaker 2: They didn't have any kind of official comment at the

700
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:18,000
Speaker 2: time that I asked, which was during Four Nations when

701
00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:21,960
Speaker 2: all that, you know, was really at its peak. The

702
00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:23,960
Speaker 2: Four Nations face off, I mean for the men's the

703
00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:27,800
Speaker 2: kind of NHL tournament. So I haven't gotten anything like

704
00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:31,880
Speaker 2: official from the league. In terms of expansion, I always

705
00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:33,600
Speaker 2: kind of assumed that they were going to go to

706
00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:37,000
Speaker 2: two US markets just because the US dollar, and you know,

707
00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:39,440
Speaker 2: because Stan Casten had said to me on the record

708
00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:41,600
Speaker 2: when I did a story looking ahead to year two,

709
00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,600
Speaker 2: until we get like a proper TV deal, we're not

710
00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:48,200
Speaker 2: going to really hit our next stride. And I think

711
00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:50,520
Speaker 2: when we talk about a big TV deal, we're usually

712
00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:53,560
Speaker 2: talking about a US TV deal. So how do you

713
00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:57,200
Speaker 2: get on ESPN, T and t NBC whatever That looks

714
00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:01,440
Speaker 2: like it's with big market team. So I did always

715
00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:03,719
Speaker 2: kind of assume that expansion was going to be two

716
00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:06,560
Speaker 2: US teams. We don't totally know where that's going to

717
00:34:06,600 --> 00:34:08,400
Speaker 2: be yet, but that's been where I've been trending. I

718
00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:11,879
Speaker 2: don't know if the political landscape has changed that it's

719
00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:16,520
Speaker 2: more just the dollar in TV markets, But in terms

720
00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:19,719
Speaker 2: of visas and such, I haven't heard anything from league

721
00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:21,600
Speaker 2: officials right now, but I do know that this is

722
00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:24,800
Speaker 2: something that the league has been tracking just like everyone else,

723
00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:25,719
Speaker 2: just like.

724
00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:29,560
Speaker 1: The rest of us, just watching everything. Burn I mentioned

725
00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:33,839
Speaker 1: the World Championships IHF Women's World Championships early April. Team

726
00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:37,120
Speaker 1: USA Team Canada rosters both recently announced. You wrote about

727
00:34:37,160 --> 00:34:39,960
Speaker 1: both of them. Expectation of late is for Canada to win.

728
00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:42,760
Speaker 1: They've won four of the last five major international tournaments,

729
00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:44,960
Speaker 1: including the Olympic Gold in twenty twenty two. Three state

730
00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:49,160
Speaker 1: rivalry series, but Team USA is always their biggest challenge.

731
00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:52,000
Speaker 1: They won this World Championships in twenty twenty three, and

732
00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:55,240
Speaker 1: dating back to nineteen ninety, every single World Championship final

733
00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:58,200
Speaker 1: but one has been Canada versus the US. This is

734
00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:01,840
Speaker 1: a true long standing rivalry. What is Canada's biggest area

735
00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:02,680
Speaker 1: of weakness?

736
00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:07,600
Speaker 2: Oh, right now, I would be concerned about their goaltending

737
00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:11,040
Speaker 2: Emerald smash Meyer, their typical number two goalie is on

738
00:35:11,239 --> 00:35:13,799
Speaker 2: long term injured reserve for the Ottawa Charge, so she's

739
00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:17,520
Speaker 2: not on this roster. And Renee de Bien, as I mentioned,

740
00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:21,080
Speaker 2: did leave a game hurt and there hasn't really been

741
00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:23,480
Speaker 2: any update, and all I've kind of heard is like

742
00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:26,680
Speaker 2: she should be Like the fact that she's on the

743
00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:30,120
Speaker 2: roster tells me that she should be okay for World Championships.

744
00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:32,840
Speaker 3: But if de Bien is not okay, for Worlds.

745
00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,120
Speaker 2: That's when I start to get concerned because then we're

746
00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:38,279
Speaker 2: looking at Kristen Campbell, who's typically the number three. She

747
00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:41,040
Speaker 2: has gotten her game back, but she's not really well

748
00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:44,760
Speaker 2: tested in a you know, gold medal game for Team Canada,

749
00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:48,799
Speaker 2: that's always been Debien. She's only ever lost one championship

750
00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:52,320
Speaker 2: game against the Americans as Canada's number one goalie.

751
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:54,759
Speaker 3: So if de Bien's not healthy, that is my.

752
00:35:54,719 --> 00:35:57,840
Speaker 2: Biggest fear, because then Canada also is bringing, you know,

753
00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:00,520
Speaker 2: a young twenty one year old Eve Gascon, who is

754
00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,600
Speaker 2: like potential goalie of the future. You bring her in,

755
00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:06,440
Speaker 2: maybe give her a game against a weaker opponent, or

756
00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:09,120
Speaker 2: just kind of insulate her and show her the rope

757
00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:11,319
Speaker 2: so that when she becomes the new number one, she's

758
00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:13,399
Speaker 2: been there behind Deben.

759
00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:13,640
Speaker 3: Et cetera.

760
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:16,359
Speaker 2: But like that goalie picture scares me a little bit

761
00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:19,319
Speaker 2: if Anne Renee Debien is hurt, because she's typically been

762
00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:21,080
Speaker 2: the one who takes down the Americans.

763
00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:22,879
Speaker 1: If the US are going to come out on top,

764
00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:23,919
Speaker 1: what do they have to do well?

765
00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:31,920
Speaker 2: Ooh, they need to find some like consistency against Canada.

766
00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:34,480
Speaker 2: I've found one of the big things about Team USA

767
00:36:34,719 --> 00:36:38,680
Speaker 2: is like everyone looks at their roster and quite frankly,

768
00:36:38,719 --> 00:36:41,760
Speaker 2: it is more exciting than Canada's. Canada's roster is usually

769
00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:44,359
Speaker 2: pretty much the same. You've got Poolin at the top.

770
00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:47,560
Speaker 2: You have the great third line with Blair Turnbull, Emily

771
00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,040
Speaker 2: Clark and Laura Stacey. They're good at four checking. You

772
00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:52,879
Speaker 2: have a grinded out fourth line. Your dpairs are tough

773
00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:58,520
Speaker 2: like Canada plays, you know, NHL Championship like grind.

774
00:36:58,239 --> 00:36:59,480
Speaker 3: It out good to a hockey.

775
00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:02,840
Speaker 2: Whereas the Americans have all these young stars. You have

776
00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:06,759
Speaker 2: Kirsten Simms, who was the complete stud at the championship

777
00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:07,480
Speaker 2: game right.

778
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:09,279
Speaker 1: And college championships yeah.

779
00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:12,720
Speaker 2: Yeah, for the University of Wisconsin, you have Leyla Edwards,

780
00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:15,760
Speaker 2: Caroline Harvey, Lacey d and Abby Murphy.

781
00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:17,680
Speaker 3: Like all these young stars from.

782
00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:21,640
Speaker 2: The NCAA who are so fun and exciting to watch

783
00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:26,200
Speaker 2: as individual players, but sometimes so Sometimes they can come

784
00:37:26,239 --> 00:37:29,560
Speaker 2: out and beat Team Canada and they dance around them.

785
00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:32,560
Speaker 2: They look way faster, way more fun, but like when

786
00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:34,719
Speaker 2: it matters, they haven't been able to get it done.

787
00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:38,759
Speaker 1: A machine ends up winning in the end without the

788
00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:41,279
Speaker 1: holes in it versus the splashy but a little bit

789
00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:43,919
Speaker 1: more erratic or less consistent. It's going to be fun

790
00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:47,080
Speaker 1: as always. That is always an incredible rivalry and we

791
00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:49,120
Speaker 1: look forward to that in early April. Do you think

792
00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:51,680
Speaker 1: the mood changes at all at PWTL practice or games

793
00:37:51,719 --> 00:37:55,200
Speaker 1: as the championships approach? Obviously we've talked to players about

794
00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:59,239
Speaker 1: how it's harder to hate their hated rivals when they

795
00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:02,239
Speaker 1: have teammates from that team now in the PWHL it

796
00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:04,600
Speaker 1: used to be so insulated, but now they're around them

797
00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:06,600
Speaker 1: all the time. Is there any chance it gets a

798
00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:09,759
Speaker 1: little bit tenser or people are tighter with what they

799
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:11,640
Speaker 1: share as we near the championships.

800
00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:13,880
Speaker 2: I feel like the players are good at almost just

801
00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:17,480
Speaker 2: compartmentalizing it, like until you pack your bags and go

802
00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:20,120
Speaker 2: and then you you're in the USA or Canada locker room.

803
00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:22,080
Speaker 2: Then it's like I don't mess with you anymore.

804
00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:25,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, now you're wearing the wrong shirt. Yeah, like

805
00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:26,480
Speaker 1: now you're the flip.

806
00:38:26,719 --> 00:38:29,160
Speaker 2: They're good at flipping the switch for sure. But then

807
00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:32,399
Speaker 2: when they go back, like I think the Olympics will

808
00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:35,600
Speaker 2: be different because I've talked to players before, because the

809
00:38:35,719 --> 00:38:37,799
Speaker 2: rivalry used to just be like there was so much

810
00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:40,080
Speaker 2: hatred they wouldn't even go in the elevator together because

811
00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:43,080
Speaker 2: they didn't know each other, right, But I almost wonder

812
00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:47,000
Speaker 2: if the way the rivalries changed is harder because in

813
00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:49,360
Speaker 2: twenty twenty six, you're gonna come back from the Olympics

814
00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:51,520
Speaker 2: and you're gonna like sit in the locker room next

815
00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:52,279
Speaker 2: to somebody.

816
00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:54,640
Speaker 3: Who just like achieved their dream and you didn't.

817
00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:56,959
Speaker 2: Like that is going to be where not that World

818
00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:00,279
Speaker 2: championships don't matter, because they do, but post Olympics is

819
00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:02,520
Speaker 2: going to be where I start to look at the teams.

820
00:39:02,560 --> 00:39:04,360
Speaker 2: You have a lot of Canada and US players and

821
00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:05,680
Speaker 2: be like, what's going to happen here?

822
00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:07,400
Speaker 3: That's going to be challenging.

823
00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:10,160
Speaker 1: The old elevator analogy feels like a good one for life.

824
00:39:10,239 --> 00:39:11,960
Speaker 1: Let's just put a whole bunch of people that are

825
00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:14,120
Speaker 1: really things up right now in an elevator and tell

826
00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:16,080
Speaker 1: them to get to know each other so we can

827
00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:20,560
Speaker 1: stop having these terrible, terrible interactions between our country and

828
00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:22,600
Speaker 1: the rest of the world. Okay, last question for you.

829
00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:25,359
Speaker 1: We just had Nicole Hosey on last week College Hockey Writer,

830
00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:28,360
Speaker 1: and she talked about the lack of centralization for the Olympics,

831
00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:30,680
Speaker 1: potentially to like some national players that are still in

832
00:39:30,719 --> 00:39:34,800
Speaker 1: college maybe declaring early. So do you think there is

833
00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:37,520
Speaker 1: a likely number one pick for the PWHL draft, And

834
00:39:37,560 --> 00:39:40,759
Speaker 1: do you think that any players with eligibility left might

835
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:43,520
Speaker 1: make a decision that will shake up who the number

836
00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:44,040
Speaker 1: one pick is.

837
00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:47,400
Speaker 2: I actually wonder if players will stay in college because

838
00:39:47,440 --> 00:39:51,040
Speaker 2: there won't be centralization just because they'll be in their

839
00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:54,759
Speaker 2: training facility earlier. Like, we don't know when the PWHL

840
00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:56,959
Speaker 2: season is going to start yet, but if you don't

841
00:39:56,960 --> 00:40:00,239
Speaker 2: get to market and start playing games until November, you're

842
00:40:00,239 --> 00:40:03,400
Speaker 2: already on college campus in August, right, So I almost

843
00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:05,320
Speaker 2: wonder if you're going to see the Lacey Edens and

844
00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:08,279
Speaker 2: Abby Murphy say like, well, I would rather just be

845
00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:12,400
Speaker 2: at Wisconsin or Minnesota for those several months before games.

846
00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:16,680
Speaker 3: That's going to be interesting to see. I think if Abby.

847
00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:20,120
Speaker 2: Murphy declares, she will be the first overall pick, unless

848
00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:22,320
Speaker 2: it's like a Canadian team with a bunch of Canadians

849
00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:25,120
Speaker 2: who are like, I hate her guts, Please don't because

850
00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:27,640
Speaker 2: Abby is the only player right now who brings that

851
00:40:27,719 --> 00:40:30,759
Speaker 2: old school hatred back. Players do not like playing against her.

852
00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:33,279
Speaker 2: Canadians hate her. But I do think a lot of

853
00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:36,080
Speaker 2: coaches and GMS would love to have her. So if

854
00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:38,600
Speaker 2: she declares, I think Murphy would go first. I almost

855
00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:40,959
Speaker 2: wonder if Abby Murphy's just waiting to see who gets

856
00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:43,560
Speaker 2: the first overall pick before she declares, because if she

857
00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:45,480
Speaker 2: doesn't like the location, she's like, I'm going to go

858
00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:48,800
Speaker 2: back to Minnesota. Yeah, that's just me assuming how Murphy's

859
00:40:48,800 --> 00:40:52,479
Speaker 2: going to handle this. If it's not Murphy, it's going

860
00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:55,239
Speaker 2: to be Casey O'Brien, the Patty Cosmier winner. That is

861
00:40:55,280 --> 00:40:57,359
Speaker 2: the player of the year for women's hockey. She had

862
00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:01,640
Speaker 2: a historic season for the Wisconsin bad Way all around center.

863
00:41:01,760 --> 00:41:04,000
Speaker 2: She could be a one see for a team who

864
00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:06,840
Speaker 2: doesn't have one, or an elite kind of two ced

865
00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:09,759
Speaker 2: tandem to have a really great top six. She can

866
00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:11,200
Speaker 2: score goals, great playmaker.

867
00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:14,040
Speaker 3: If Lacey Eden she's on.

868
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:16,879
Speaker 2: The Badgers as well, if she declares, I don't think

869
00:41:16,920 --> 00:41:19,040
Speaker 2: she would go first overall. But that is a player

870
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:21,920
Speaker 2: who will be an excellent pro. She's someone who probably

871
00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:25,280
Speaker 2: flies under the radar for Wisconsin because we're always talking

872
00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:29,880
Speaker 2: about Casey O'Brien, Caroline Harvey, Leila Edwards, Kirsten Simms. Those

873
00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:32,680
Speaker 2: are the top of the lineup stars. But Lacey Eden

874
00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:36,040
Speaker 2: is she power She can PK, she can powerplay, she

875
00:41:36,080 --> 00:41:39,880
Speaker 2: can score. Really great two way player who's going to

876
00:41:40,239 --> 00:41:43,360
Speaker 2: translate really well to a more physical pro game.

877
00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:44,720
Speaker 3: She's someone to watch.

878
00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:48,080
Speaker 2: She would be a great later first round pick if

879
00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:50,759
Speaker 2: she declares. But I think if it's not Abby Murphy,

880
00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:53,040
Speaker 2: it's Casey O'Brien. Unless someone really wants to defend her,

881
00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:57,200
Speaker 2: then maybe Haley Win. She led Clarkson in scoring last year.

882
00:41:57,239 --> 00:41:59,160
Speaker 2: But I don't think you should overthink it. Just take

883
00:41:59,200 --> 00:42:00,960
Speaker 2: Casey O'Brien all.

884
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:03,359
Speaker 1: Right, to decode for those who weren't keeping up. Their

885
00:42:03,440 --> 00:42:05,520
Speaker 1: one seed would be a top line center, so the

886
00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:07,400
Speaker 1: center that plays with your best line, and then a

887
00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:09,080
Speaker 1: two se would be the center for your second line.

888
00:42:09,120 --> 00:42:11,840
Speaker 1: And if it's really great, possibly one seed that's actually

889
00:42:11,840 --> 00:42:14,000
Speaker 1: playing in the second line. Then that just really strengthens

890
00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:16,320
Speaker 1: that second line of players that you're sending out. Okay,

891
00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:17,680
Speaker 1: we're gonna have to have you back because you could

892
00:42:17,680 --> 00:42:20,200
Speaker 1: tell us all the things and more things about hockey

893
00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:22,200
Speaker 1: that we don't know yet. But this was so great

894
00:42:22,239 --> 00:42:24,800
Speaker 1: and a really great refresher for us as we're getting

895
00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:27,280
Speaker 1: into the final month or so of the PWHL season.

896
00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:28,359
Speaker 1: So thanks so much. For the time.

897
00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:31,279
Speaker 2: Yeah, sorry for I ramble, but thanks for having me.

898
00:42:31,360 --> 00:42:31,919
Speaker 2: I loved it.

899
00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:36,200
Speaker 1: We love a good ramble about hockey. We have to

900
00:42:36,239 --> 00:42:39,040
Speaker 1: take another break when we return. The Yukon Huskies women's

901
00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:41,480
Speaker 1: basketball team makes a move that we could all learn

902
00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:52,239
Speaker 1: a little something from. Welcome back slices. It's time for

903
00:42:52,520 --> 00:43:00,960
Speaker 1: second Chances Week. One of the women's college basketball tournament

904
00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:03,880
Speaker 1: is in the books. How's your bracket looking. Here's some

905
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:07,239
Speaker 1: good news. DraftKings is giving everyone a second chance to

906
00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:10,439
Speaker 1: win some cash, because sometimes even when things look really

907
00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:13,520
Speaker 1: totally busted, there's still a glimmer of hope. And you

908
00:43:13,520 --> 00:43:15,600
Speaker 1: know who really needs a glimmer of hope. Not to

909
00:43:15,680 --> 00:43:20,320
Speaker 1: mention a second chance Me because my bracket is busted, Nah,

910
00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:26,040
Speaker 1: because my picks suck. Not exactly see what happened was

911
00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:29,440
Speaker 1: my mom asked me for help filling out her women's

912
00:43:29,440 --> 00:43:31,520
Speaker 1: bracket for work, and I told her that I hadn't

913
00:43:31,560 --> 00:43:33,799
Speaker 1: done mine yet, but I know quickly speed through and

914
00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:35,800
Speaker 1: send her screen grabs of my picks for the Elite

915
00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:38,319
Speaker 1: eight on, reserving the right to update and change my

916
00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:41,520
Speaker 1: picks before I lock my bracket in, and then, in

917
00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:46,400
Speaker 1: a flurry of activity around interviews, show recordings, just like life.

918
00:43:46,560 --> 00:43:50,120
Speaker 1: I forgot my brain, just like registered, having done it

919
00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:52,279
Speaker 1: after I sent the picks to my mom. So every

920
00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:54,080
Speaker 1: time I sat on the show, don't forget to get

921
00:43:54,120 --> 00:43:56,560
Speaker 1: your bracket in. It went in one ear and out

922
00:43:56,560 --> 00:44:00,680
Speaker 1: the other. Didn't register at all. You you dummy, Sarah,

923
00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:03,640
Speaker 1: get your picks in. So yeah, I'm not even in

924
00:44:03,719 --> 00:44:06,400
Speaker 1: my own bracket challenge, so don't go looking for me

925
00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:09,439
Speaker 1: in the leaderboard slices. I blew it. But the good

926
00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:12,720
Speaker 1: news is DraftKings is giving everyone a much needed second chance,

927
00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:15,279
Speaker 1: or in my case, kind of a first chance to

928
00:44:15,360 --> 00:44:17,440
Speaker 1: remedy things. And after seeing how some of the top

929
00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:20,040
Speaker 1: teams have played so far and with the Juju injury,

930
00:44:20,280 --> 00:44:22,760
Speaker 1: I see the tournament looking a little different going forward.

931
00:44:23,040 --> 00:44:25,360
Speaker 1: So let's look at just a couple matchups. In the

932
00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:29,640
Speaker 1: next round. Number two Yukon honestly been demolishing everything in

933
00:44:29,680 --> 00:44:32,319
Speaker 1: their path. They take on number three Oklahoma, and they

934
00:44:32,360 --> 00:44:35,440
Speaker 1: should cruise in that one in my opinion. Number one Ucla,

935
00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:37,720
Speaker 1: the story is the same as heading into the tournament

936
00:44:37,719 --> 00:44:40,520
Speaker 1: For me, who can handle Lauren Betts? And I don't

937
00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:42,920
Speaker 1: see an answer to that question. In number five Ole Miss,

938
00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:46,399
Speaker 1: Number four Maryland definitely gonna have a little buzz coming

939
00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:49,359
Speaker 1: off a double overtime thriller against Alabama. But I thought

940
00:44:49,360 --> 00:44:52,239
Speaker 1: they already looked tired in that game, and I think

941
00:44:52,239 --> 00:44:54,759
Speaker 1: they could struggle to sustain effort across four quarters against

942
00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:57,399
Speaker 1: a tough number one in South Carolina squad that's been

943
00:44:57,440 --> 00:45:00,160
Speaker 1: beaten up on the opposition. So I'm taking South Carolina.

944
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,680
Speaker 1: I think number two TCU will give number three Notre

945
00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:06,319
Speaker 1: Dame a run for its money. And while the late

946
00:45:06,360 --> 00:45:09,440
Speaker 1: season losses from the Irish have scared me, I just

947
00:45:09,600 --> 00:45:11,760
Speaker 1: I don't see the combo of Hanna Hidalgo and Olivia

948
00:45:11,760 --> 00:45:14,200
Speaker 1: Miles coming up short. So I've got Notre Dame in

949
00:45:14,239 --> 00:45:17,080
Speaker 1: a tight one on that one. Agree with me? See

950
00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:20,040
Speaker 1: it going differently? Head on over to DraftKings dot com

951
00:45:20,040 --> 00:45:23,320
Speaker 1: slash second Chance and fill out your second Chance bracket

952
00:45:23,360 --> 00:45:26,880
Speaker 1: for free. That's DraftKings dot Com slash second Chance. For

953
00:45:26,960 --> 00:45:30,040
Speaker 1: every entry into the second Chance bracket, DraftKings will donate

954
00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:32,800
Speaker 1: a dollar to the Women's Sports Foundation up to twenty

955
00:45:32,840 --> 00:45:37,600
Speaker 1: five thousand dollars. DraftKings dot com slash second Chance only

956
00:45:37,640 --> 00:45:42,759
Speaker 1: on DraftKings, the crown is yours. Okay, Moving on, and

957
00:45:42,840 --> 00:45:47,600
Speaker 1: I gotta say you, folks, you are hilarious. We asked

958
00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:50,320
Speaker 1: you to give us alternatives to the common phrase balls

959
00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:53,000
Speaker 1: to the wall, and I had a lot of faith

960
00:45:53,120 --> 00:45:56,160
Speaker 1: in tits that the turf as being untoppable, but Slices

961
00:45:56,800 --> 00:45:59,919
Speaker 1: you topped it. You did not disappoint so quick remind

962
00:46:00,680 --> 00:46:02,640
Speaker 1: so I suggested in a previous show that balls to

963
00:46:02,680 --> 00:46:05,400
Speaker 1: the wall might be a phrase reserve for men. And

964
00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:07,719
Speaker 1: though we have since been informed that it's actually about

965
00:46:07,719 --> 00:46:10,520
Speaker 1: an over text engine something about balls hitting the walls

966
00:46:10,520 --> 00:46:13,200
Speaker 1: of a cylinder, we still wanted to hear your female

967
00:46:13,239 --> 00:46:17,040
Speaker 1: and non binary versions of the phrase. And they're just

968
00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:21,080
Speaker 1: they're so good. So Slice Pamela started us off strong,

969
00:46:21,120 --> 00:46:25,120
Speaker 1: emailing gotta be either mound to the ground or foof

970
00:46:25,239 --> 00:46:28,920
Speaker 1: to the roof. Slaice Alyssa chimed in as well with

971
00:46:29,480 --> 00:46:33,359
Speaker 1: Although often associated with men, taint is a colloquial term

972
00:46:33,400 --> 00:46:35,320
Speaker 1: for the perineum, which is the area of skin and

973
00:46:35,400 --> 00:46:38,920
Speaker 1: muscle between the vulva and the anus. So taint to

974
00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:44,640
Speaker 1: the paint and for good measure, hood to the wood.

975
00:46:45,200 --> 00:46:49,080
Speaker 1: Slice Chris said, nips to the nets. And it's inclusive,

976
00:46:49,080 --> 00:46:51,839
Speaker 1: as most of us start with nips. I think most

977
00:46:51,880 --> 00:46:54,319
Speaker 1: of us finish with nips too, but I'm not going

978
00:46:54,360 --> 00:46:58,440
Speaker 1: to get into anyone's personal business. Uh. Slice Andrea said

979
00:46:58,719 --> 00:47:00,400
Speaker 1: this was a great get in the gay. I was

980
00:47:00,400 --> 00:47:02,440
Speaker 1: having so much fun with tits the turf, I decided

981
00:47:02,480 --> 00:47:05,480
Speaker 1: to involve my team for a fun brainstorm. As expected,

982
00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:09,240
Speaker 1: they did not disappoint the results. Kouci to the court,

983
00:47:09,840 --> 00:47:13,400
Speaker 1: Pussy to the pitch. We also asked ai and the

984
00:47:13,400 --> 00:47:17,120
Speaker 1: only one we liked was Fallopian full throttle. First all, Andrea,

985
00:47:17,280 --> 00:47:18,759
Speaker 1: I don't know where you work, but I want to

986
00:47:18,800 --> 00:47:21,840
Speaker 1: work there. If your fun team brainstorm at work is

987
00:47:21,880 --> 00:47:26,760
Speaker 1: helping us with this challenge, then there was sliced Dana. Dana,

988
00:47:26,800 --> 00:47:29,840
Speaker 1: you really took the cake with your list. Listen, I

989
00:47:29,840 --> 00:47:32,080
Speaker 1: gotta read this list in reverse order because it gets

990
00:47:32,440 --> 00:47:35,520
Speaker 1: progressively wilder and less PG if I do it in reverse.

991
00:47:35,600 --> 00:47:41,320
Speaker 1: So Queens to the greens, heels behind the wheels, dirt

992
00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:45,960
Speaker 1: in the skirt, all grit with skirt slits, pigtails on

993
00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:50,320
Speaker 1: the trails, ponytails to the rails, Cat to the mat,

994
00:47:50,960 --> 00:47:55,759
Speaker 1: pussy to the pavement, skirts to the courts, Labia to

995
00:47:55,880 --> 00:47:59,799
Speaker 1: the laminate, and Vulva to the velodrome.

996
00:48:01,520 --> 00:48:02,040
Speaker 3: I can't.

997
00:48:02,200 --> 00:48:05,160
Speaker 1: I can't with vulve to the velodrome. Honestly, we should

998
00:48:05,200 --> 00:48:06,440
Speaker 1: put you in the Good Game Hall of Fame for

999
00:48:06,480 --> 00:48:10,239
Speaker 1: these responses. Dana just absolutely chef's kiss. In fact, your

1000
00:48:10,239 --> 00:48:12,920
Speaker 1: list reminded me of one of my all time favorite

1001
00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:17,960
Speaker 1: SNL characters, Kate McKinnon's recurring character in the Alien Abduction sketches.

1002
00:48:18,640 --> 00:48:21,880
Speaker 1: And she's always like landing out of the spaceship ass

1003
00:48:21,960 --> 00:48:24,520
Speaker 1: up and has all sorts of different names for her undercarriage.

1004
00:48:25,440 --> 00:48:28,160
Speaker 1: And I googled the list to find some of them,

1005
00:48:28,600 --> 00:48:30,799
Speaker 1: and I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to share them.

1006
00:48:31,160 --> 00:48:36,520
Speaker 1: My Harry and my Scary Coot and Maprune Shoot Cooter

1007
00:48:36,600 --> 00:48:42,040
Speaker 1: and my Tutor Pleaser and my Cheeser please hold on

1008
00:48:42,120 --> 00:48:47,480
Speaker 1: my cheese hole Squeeze Master and my cheese Blaster Front

1009
00:48:47,640 --> 00:48:53,120
Speaker 1: and my grunt Beard and my weird Smile and my

1010
00:48:53,320 --> 00:48:57,160
Speaker 1: vile Stuffer and my puffer please hump It and my

1011
00:48:57,280 --> 00:49:02,120
Speaker 1: cheese trumpet fun Bun and my mud gun Lucky I'm

1012
00:49:02,120 --> 00:49:06,480
Speaker 1: a Yuckie East and my Beastie Jackpot and my black

1013
00:49:06,520 --> 00:49:11,360
Speaker 1: Spot Lady Pocket and my gravy Rocket Pink Pocket and

1014
00:49:11,520 --> 00:49:17,360
Speaker 1: my stink Rocket Hog Socket and my log rocket hog

1015
00:49:17,440 --> 00:49:22,719
Speaker 1: Taker and my log maker and my grassy Knoll and

1016
00:49:22,800 --> 00:49:29,759
Speaker 1: my gassy hole. I hope you guys were driving with

1017
00:49:29,840 --> 00:49:32,359
Speaker 1: your kids for that. It's too good. I'm sorry, it's

1018
00:49:32,360 --> 00:49:34,960
Speaker 1: too Kate mcannon, by the way, please come on the show.

1019
00:49:35,320 --> 00:49:37,680
Speaker 1: We all love you so much. Be our best friend. Please.

1020
00:49:38,360 --> 00:49:40,279
Speaker 1: And speaking of best friends, did you guys see that

1021
00:49:40,280 --> 00:49:43,480
Speaker 1: Amy Polar has a new podcast called Good Hang Hello.

1022
00:49:44,360 --> 00:49:47,560
Speaker 1: The universe is practically begging for a crossover episode Good

1023
00:49:47,560 --> 00:49:52,120
Speaker 1: hang In, Good Game, make it happen. People, And by people,

1024
00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:53,920
Speaker 1: I guess I mean, do any of you know Amy

1025
00:49:53,960 --> 00:49:58,799
Speaker 1: Pohlar in a sup Okay, okay, I digress. Thank you

1026
00:49:58,840 --> 00:50:00,719
Speaker 1: to everyone who sent a submission for that. Now we

1027
00:50:00,760 --> 00:50:02,840
Speaker 1: got our own little dictionary or at the Sourus or

1028
00:50:02,840 --> 00:50:06,279
Speaker 1: whatever of excellent options to choose from. I think I'm

1029
00:50:06,280 --> 00:50:09,600
Speaker 1: starting with Volva to the Velodrome. We always love that

1030
00:50:09,600 --> 00:50:11,440
Speaker 1: you're listening, but we love it more when you get

1031
00:50:11,440 --> 00:50:13,400
Speaker 1: in the game. So here's our good game play of

1032
00:50:13,400 --> 00:50:15,880
Speaker 1: the day. Follow Hayley on social media. We're going to

1033
00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:17,960
Speaker 1: link to her profiles in the show notes. Read all

1034
00:50:17,960 --> 00:50:19,799
Speaker 1: of her work. It's great stuff, and make sure you

1035
00:50:19,800 --> 00:50:22,920
Speaker 1: tune into the PWHL. The regular season's inching closer to

1036
00:50:22,960 --> 00:50:25,360
Speaker 1: its conclusion, so if you haven't seen or attended a

1037
00:50:25,400 --> 00:50:28,000
Speaker 1: game yet, get on it. We'll link to the league's

1038
00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:31,000
Speaker 1: full schedule in our show notes, and don't forget to subscribe.

1039
00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:34,920
Speaker 1: Rate and review, y'all, It's really easy. Watch Page Becker's

1040
00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:37,799
Speaker 1: and Yukon's women's basketball team holding it down for Jana

1041
00:50:37,960 --> 00:50:41,880
Speaker 1: l Alfi during Ramadan, rating five out of five high fives,

1042
00:50:41,920 --> 00:50:45,680
Speaker 1: butt slaps and fist bumps. Review. Beckers, who has opened

1043
00:50:45,680 --> 00:50:47,719
Speaker 1: about her belief in God and the Bible verses that

1044
00:50:47,800 --> 00:50:50,080
Speaker 1: drive her, got up on Sunday before dawn to cook

1045
00:50:50,120 --> 00:50:53,960
Speaker 1: breakfast for fellow Husky and practicing Muslim Jana l Alfi,

1046
00:50:54,080 --> 00:50:56,239
Speaker 1: so that she could break her fast for folks who

1047
00:50:56,239 --> 00:50:59,080
Speaker 1: aren't familiar. During Ramadan, Muslims abstained from food and drink

1048
00:50:59,120 --> 00:51:02,759
Speaker 1: during the daylight. So per The Connecticut Insider, Becker's has

1049
00:51:02,800 --> 00:51:04,799
Speaker 1: been waking up for her roommate on most mornings for

1050
00:51:04,840 --> 00:51:07,600
Speaker 1: the last few weeks since Robadin started on February twenty eighth,

1051
00:51:07,840 --> 00:51:11,160
Speaker 1: and Husky teammates Caroline Ducharme and ali 'sabelle have also

1052
00:51:11,200 --> 00:51:14,520
Speaker 1: attended El Alfie's early morning breakfast throughout the sacred celebration.

1053
00:51:14,920 --> 00:51:17,520
Speaker 1: Sophomore kk Arnold has already signed up to be el

1054
00:51:17,600 --> 00:51:21,520
Speaker 1: Alfie's morning mealmate next season. El Alfie told The Insider, quote,

1055
00:51:21,560 --> 00:51:23,600
Speaker 1: I feel like I'm blessed and grateful to be surrounded

1056
00:51:23,600 --> 00:51:27,120
Speaker 1: with this group. It's a really, really special group. She continued, quote.

1057
00:51:27,160 --> 00:51:28,440
Speaker 1: I think I wouldn't have done it or made it

1058
00:51:28,480 --> 00:51:31,840
Speaker 1: this far if it wasn't for my teammates. End quote. Now, slices,

1059
00:51:32,400 --> 00:51:33,920
Speaker 1: you might have figured out by now that I'm not

1060
00:51:34,000 --> 00:51:37,200
Speaker 1: really a religious person, but this, right here, this is

1061
00:51:37,280 --> 00:51:39,759
Speaker 1: yet another reminder that no matter what we believe with

1062
00:51:39,800 --> 00:51:42,800
Speaker 1: regard to faith, we're all human. We can all support

1063
00:51:42,840 --> 00:51:45,359
Speaker 1: each other, respect each other, and look out for each other.

1064
00:51:45,800 --> 00:51:47,880
Speaker 1: It's acts of kindness and letting the world around you

1065
00:51:47,920 --> 00:51:49,920
Speaker 1: know that you care. I can really make waves in

1066
00:51:49,960 --> 00:51:53,200
Speaker 1: this world. So good on ya, Huskies. In order Kainak

1067
00:51:53,239 --> 00:51:56,840
Speaker 1: would be rate and review us. Yeah, you knew what

1068
00:51:56,920 --> 00:52:00,560
Speaker 1: I was going to say. Thanks for list, Danielle, see tomorrow, Haley,

1069
00:52:00,800 --> 00:52:04,799
Speaker 1: good game, yukon Women's soups h you yet again, over

1070
00:52:04,880 --> 00:52:10,920
Speaker 1: and over and forever. Acl tears. Good Game with Sarah

1071
00:52:10,920 --> 00:52:13,920
Speaker 1: Spain is an iHeart Women's Sports Production in partnership with

1072
00:52:13,960 --> 00:52:16,440
Speaker 1: Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on

1073
00:52:16,480 --> 00:52:20,160
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1074
00:52:20,400 --> 00:52:23,640
Speaker 1: Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie

1075
00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:27,400
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 Rutter,

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Speaker 1: Britney Martinez, and Grace Lynch. Our associate producer is Lucy

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Speaker 1: Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain