May 19, 2025 • 39 mins
Welcome to one of the most wonderful weeks of the year, when the WNBA, NWSL and PWHL stars are all aligned and in season. It’s better than a solar eclipse! We give you the top headlines from those leagues, Sarah’s back to dish on her experience at the Golden State Valkyries’ first regular season game, and Big Citrus convenes to talk top headlines from the opening weekend of WNBA games and get ya fired up for the PWHL Finals.
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Read Frankie de la Cretaz’s piece on the NWSL’s Call Her Daddy partnership here
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Leave us a voicemail at 872-204-5070 or send us a note at goodgame@wondermedianetwork.com
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Follow Sarah on social! Bluesky: @sarahspain.com Instagram: @Spain2323
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Follow producer Misha Jones! Bluesky: @mishthejrnalist.bsky.social Instagram: @mishthejrnalist
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Follow producer Alex Azzi! Bluesky: @byalexazzi.bsky.social
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we've officially
entered basque soccery season, hawk, socket ball, sock baskiddy, whatever,
whatever you call it. It's the magical week long period
when the WNBA and WSL and PWHL are all in action.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
What a time to be alive.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
It's Monday, May nineteenth, and on today's show we'll be
getting into all of that action with Big Citrus joining
me to discuss everything from the WNBA's season opening weekend,
including my adventures at the Valkyrie debut to the PWHL
playoffs and the final two facing off in the Walter
Cup Finals, plus celebrating with banners and rings, an Italian sweep,
and some unanswered questions. It's all coming up right after
(00:41):
this happy Monday slices. Welcome back.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Here's what you need to know today.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Let's start with the PWHL where the Walter Cup Finals
are set with the Ottawa Charge preparing to take on
the defending champs, the Minnesota Frost. Ottawa clinched a spot
in the best of five finals with a two to
one win over Montreal on Friday, winning that semi final
series three to one. You remember earlier last week, the
Minnesota Frost upended the Toronto Scepters for a second straight year,
(01:13):
bouncing them and finding their way back to the finals.
Finals get underway with Game one on Tuesday night in Ottawa.
The Charge will host Games one and two at TD
Place before the series heads to Minnesota for Game three.
More on the PWHL a little later in the show
to the WNBA, where the twenty twenty five season tipped
off this weekend with a couple close games, a few blowouts,
and lots of exciting storylines.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Let's start with the game.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
I was at the Golden State Valkyries franchise opener on Friday,
which the Valks lost eighty four to sixty seven to
the Los Angeles Sparks. Yeah, they lost the game, but
I have to say the night was a success. So
shout out to President Jess Smith and the whole Valkyrie's team,
not just for the incredible hospitality, but the absolutely killer
opening night, the videos on the JumboTron, the sponsor activations,
(02:00):
the dance team that was everyone from ages ten to
fifty seven, the ties to Bay Area hoops of the
past e forty. It was a scene, and even though
they lost, I think it's clear that the fan base
are super excited to have women's hoops in the Bay
and that they're going to be patient, get excited about
the bright spots on the roster, and be ready for
the team to get better as the franchise grows. There
(02:23):
was one tough moment on Friday night, though. Sparks guard
Ray Burrell went down in the first quarter after an
awkward collision on a foul, and after the game it
was announced that she'll miss six to eight weeks with
a right leg injury. It was honestly super sad watching
her get carried off the court just minutes into a fresh,
exciting season when everyone was so pumped to be back
out there. So we're wishing Ray the best in her recovery.
(02:44):
Let's add east to New York, where the Liberty got
their season started in style, handing out rings and raising
last year's championship banner into the rafters at Barclays. Did
y'all see these rings? These rings are huge and beautiful,
and of course even Ellie got a ring, which we love.
This team was fresh off the franchise's first ever WNBA
(03:05):
title and proved they still got it. They defeated the
Las Vegas Aces ninety two seventy eight, with Brianna Stewart
recording twenty five points and Natasha Cloud putting on a
show in her Liberty debut, contributing twenty two points, nine assists,
three steals, and two blocks. Asia Wilson had thirty one
points in the loss, all while rocking her new signature
A one shoes.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Of course, let's head to Dallas.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Where Paige Becker's Welcome to the WNBA party was spoiled
by fellow Yukon grad Nofisa Collier, who scored thirty four
points to lead the Minnesota Links to a ninety nine
eighty four win. Beckers finished the night with ten points,
shooting three for ten from the field. Ari k Agunbawallee
led the way for the Wings with sixteen points, while
DJ Carrington looked strong in her Dallas debut, adding fifteen.
(03:49):
There was also allegedly a little bit of drama in
this game, as Tara McCown left the game before the
clock hit.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
All zeros with her team still in the huddle.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
She only played five minutes in that one, and if
social media accounts are to be believed, she did not
look happy when she was heading out.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
We'll keep you updated on that story.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
To the Midwest, where the Indiana Fever opened their season
with a ninety three fifty eight blowout win over My
Chicago Sky. Caitlyn Clark a triple double in the first
game of the season. The thirty five point win is
tied for the second largest Fever win in franchise history,
but lots of attention after the game was focused on
a chippy moment that happened between Caitlin and Angel Reese.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
We all love this rivalry.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
We are looking for this rivalry to grow, but sometimes
maybe we're getting a little too excited about what happens
between these two players. This wasn't that big of a deal.
Reese was going for a layup. Clark committed a hard
foul and then pushed her, causing her to fall. Reese
got quickly to her feet and yelled at Clark and
then Aleah Boston tried to keep the two players apart.
Clark's initial foul was upgraded to a flagrant one. It
(04:50):
was a good take fowl to prevent a wide open
bucket for Reese, but she had a little shove at
the end with her left hand, and that's what made
it quote unquote excessive, and it made it a good
call to make it a flagrant one. Boston and Reese
picked up offsetting technical fouls for the little RGI bargie afterward,
but after the game, both Clark and Reese were quick
to note it was just part of the game of basketball,
(05:10):
said Reese, quote, basketball play.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Ref's got it right. Move on.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Honestly, I think it's as simple as that. Things get
heated in the moment, they get sorted. Real competitors, keep
it pushing, keep it moving. I have already seen way
too many fans making a big deal out of this
and making it fit the narrative of whichever quote unquote
side they're on. We're not doing this this year. Okay,
We're not doing it. It was a hard foul, it
was a good call. We're all set. Meantime, on Sunday,
(05:37):
the WNBA announced that it was investigating some hateful comments
from a fan during that game. Now, the league hasn't
publicly said the context of the comments, but multiple media
outlets have reported that they were racist comments directed at
Angel Reese. In a statement, the league said, quote, the
WNBA strongly condemns racism, hate and discrimination in all forms.
They have no place in our league or in society.
(05:59):
We are aware of the allegations and are looking into
the matter. The Indiana Fever also issued a statement saying
the team was working with the league to investigate the
matter and was committed to providing a safe environment for
all players. Good to know both the league and teams
are responding immediately and with intention to this kind of thing.
We'll have tons more on WNBA opening weekend in segment
(06:19):
two of today's show when Alex and Meish join me.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
For a good old fashioned, big Citrus chat.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Moving on to the NWSL, the Utah Royals and Washington
Spirit competed in a classic NWSL chaos match on Saturday
at Audiefield in DC. The game opened with a league
record four goals in the first twenty two minutes, with
each team scoring a pair.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Utah then added a third.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
And hung on to a three to two lead for
most of the game until the very end of the
second half, when Spirit defender Casey Krueger found an equalizer
in the thirteenth minute of thirteen minutes of stoppage time.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
You can't do it any later.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
The game ended in a three to three draw, with
both teams picking up one point. More NWSL angels sit
DA defender Savvy King was discharged from the hospital on
Saturday after she collapsed in a game just over a
week earlier and underwent.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Subsequent heart surgery.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
On Saturday, as Angel City returned to competition for a
match against AFC, players from both teams took the field
wearing black shirts with King's initials and number SK three.
King posted an update to Instagram on Sunday, writing quote,
I'm still finding the words to express just how much
your love and support have meant to me over these.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Past few days.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
What I do know is that I wouldn't be getting
through this without my incredible family by my side, my
amazing teammates who have shown up for me and prayed
for me, the fans, the entire soccer community, and the
outstanding medical team here at ACFC who saved my life
and cared for me every step of the way. I
know God's got me, and I'm looking forward to recovering
and getting back out.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
On the field. End quote.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
We also have an update on how the NWSL plans
to address similar situations moving forward. We mentioned last week
that the NWSL Players Association issued a statement saying that
the game between Angel City and Utah should not have
been allowed to continue following King's collapse on the field.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
On Friday, the league issued its.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Own statement, saying it regretted that the game had been
allowed to continue and vowing that any future game involving
a similar situation would be abandoned. Speaking to reporters on Saturday,
League Commissioner Jessica Berman was asked about the incident, and
while she committed to ensuring the league was better prepared
moving forward, she offered very little insight on why the
match involving King was allowed to continue in the first place.
(08:25):
On Friday, she didn't provide an answer to a question
from the athletics to Maria Griffin about whether she was
awake at the time of the incident, which was after
eleven pm Eastern, nor did she have an answer to
whether the league had a replacement ambulance in place when
the game resumed. Now, listen, I don't expect a commissioner
to have the answer to every single thing or know
exactly what to do in every tricky situation, but she
does have to answer those questions to the best of
(08:46):
her ability, and it stood out that she didn't more NWSL.
Kansas City center back Kayla Sharples joined the NWSL's five
thousand club on Friday, playing her five thousandth minute in
a one to zero win over the Orlando Prize Sharp Bulls,
who joined the league in twenty nineteen, has played for
Kansas City for just under a year. She was traded
to the Current from BFC last August. Prior to joining Bay,
(09:08):
she was a member of the Chicago Stars Slash Red
Stars Slash Color Neutral Stars. To Tennis, where some cool
history was made at the Italian Open this weekend. Italy's
owned Jasmin Pallini won the singles tournament, defeating Coco Goff
in two sets on Saturday to become the first home
player to win an Italian Open singles title in forty years.
After the win, Paulini said, it didn't feel real. Quote
(09:30):
I came here as a kid to see this tournament,
but winning it and holding up this trophy wasn't even
in my dreams end quote. Then on Sunday, Paulini won
the doubles title two competing alongside partner Sarah Irani. That
final was a nail bier with Paulini and Irani needing
to mount comebacks after starting each.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Set with a four to zero deficit.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
With her second win of the tournament, Paulini became the
first player to win both the singles and doubles titles
at a WTA one thousand tournament since two thousand and nine. Also,
we had tons of NCAA SOPT action going on this weekend.
We'll have your update on that and tomorrow show. All right, y'all,
we got to take a quick break. When we come back.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Big Citrus jumps on to discuss the opening weekend of
the WNBA season. Welcome back, y'all.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Hope you had as much fun as we did watching
all of the WNBA action this weekend.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
It's kind of hard to.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Believe that it's already back, like it felt like a
long break before we got our WNBA hoops. But also
between Unrivaled and March Madness that everything else, it just
never stops.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
There's always some good hoops to be talking about.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
And I have to say my trip to the Bay
Area for the Valkyries opening night was so awesome. Not
only did I get there for the game, but there
was a dinner the night before a JP Morgan Chase
Dinner with Deep Blue, and it was in this beautiful
room in the Chase Center with views across the Bay
and some really awesome partners and women in investment and
(10:59):
lots of There was a panel with Jess Smith among others,
and a gorgeous dinner of course Bay Area, so it
was all real fancy with silver Oak and Toomey wines
and oysters and gorgeous soured oat bread and this amazing
female chef. I just love how the Bay does their
food and drink right because I'm.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Super into that stuff.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
So that was super fun and great to talk to
so many people that were really interested in the investment side.
And there was something I heard in the panel from
Jess that I thought was worth sharing. And I think
she's mentioned this potential on the show before, but it
really stood out to me the way she talked about
how they recognized it in.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
The Bay Area.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
There are so many basketball fans, but they are really
distinct fans who are looking for an experience that's different
from what they get from the Golden State Warriors.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
So ten thousand season ticket.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Holders for both the Warriors and the Valkyries, and there's
only ten percent crossover between the two. So only ten
percent of those ten thousand are folks who have season
tickets to both teams. That means that they're serving a
whole bunch of people that didn't.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Feel like they were served by the Warriors.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Maybe they still root for them, maybe they still want
to go, but especially with ticket prices the way they
are for the Warriors at this point, it is frankly
untenable to expect to go for anything less than five
hundred dollars. And that's even if you already have paid
for the right to have season tickets and everything else.
So for there to be an option for fans who
are in the Bay who want to catch them good
(12:22):
basketball and maybe fans who don't feel served by the
NBA or men's sports, that's really cool and I think
it's something we probably haven't talked about as much in
this is how much you are potentially reaching a fan
base that feels like they haven't been thought of. And
that was what was noticeable on opening night was it was,
of course similar in a lot of other ways to
(12:42):
a basketball game.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Right there was.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Intros with a really elaborate video, There was a merch
on the seats for everybody that was the intendance for
the very first game, but it also felt very specific
and special to women's basketball. For instance, they have this
opening drum, giant drum that someone hits to kind of
get the game going, and they had Anna Johnson, who
was from the San Francisco Pioneers, the very first professional
(13:07):
women's basketball team in the Bay Area, be the first
person to bang that drum. It felt very intentional, It
felt very specific for them to acknowledge the history of
women's basketball in the area. And then there were a
lot of Bay Area touches during the opening intros. It
was too short from the Bay blow the whistle, which
was pretty rad. During halftime, of course, E forty came
out and did a live performance, and it just really
(13:30):
felt like they tied in the elements of what makes
the Bay special with this brand new opportunity to touch
fans and as far as the basketball man, there's some
work to be done, let's just say that, but still
a good effort from the team, and it seems like
a fan base that's going to be really excited about
watching them develop.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Let's get to the basketball of this weekend, not.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Just that game, but all the other games that we
got to watch the first looks at players on new teams,
players who came back and reasserted themselves from day one.
So I want to bring in producer Alex and producer
Meiche for this.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
This is a big Citrus.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Chat about all the games that we got to see
this weekend. Let's get a couple of takeaways from each person. Alex,
Let's start with you, what's something that stood out to
from this weekend?
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Man, I think the number one thing that stood out
to me is this is Nafisa Collier's season and her
MVP race is truly already on, both in her performance
but also I think in the way that she is
treating the season. After that win against Dallas, she was like, yep,
forty three more games and explicitly said, we are here
(14:35):
to win a championship this season. And you know, it's
one thing to internally believe, hey, it's our here to
win a championship, and it's another thing to be gutsy
enough after game one to say we are.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Here to win a championship.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
And so I think her teammates are also very much
on the Nafisa Collier MVP train and are going to
do whatever it takes to make sure that happens.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, this is something I talked about during our previews
of the Links and said, listen and Fee was second
only to Asia Wilson last year, and Asia had the
greatest season in the history of women's basketball. That was
not a debate. She deserved that MVP last year, but
Fee was close. And then Fee comes up just short
in the finals, starts unrivaled, wins unrivaled MVP, wins unrivaled
(15:18):
one v one, has a postseason with the most points
ever in the history of the WNBA postseason, leads her
team in every single category, like she is putting up
a case for being the MVP. And if you're gonna
argue with me about Asia deserving it again, if she
has another season like that, she probably will deserve it again.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Will they give it to her again?
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Is my argument, because you saw back in the day
in the NBA the Jordan years, he should have won
the MVP every single year. They started to spread it around,
and so if they decided somebody else's turn, I think
it's the feasier.
Speaker 5 (15:52):
Yeah. I hate the fact that that's even a thing. Also, Yeah,
because that should have not anything to do with the decision,
but you know, inevitably it does.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Every year we're proven that it does.
Speaker 5 (16:04):
And Fee she is she to me, is paralleling Asia
because Asia is coming off and off season where all
these things are going right for her. She's in the spotlight,
she's on commercials. Fee you might not have seen her
in as many commercials, but just signed with Jordan Brand, right,
so she's got her own stuff popping off. And when
the thing I love about, when you get more publicity,
(16:25):
more exposure, it's time to put up her shut up, right,
And so the both of them are just really showing
the evidence as to why we need to be treating
in like stars.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
And by the way, the other person in the top
three odds for the MVP is Caitlin Clark. And I
know we're going to get to the fever, but starting
off your season with a triple double and becoming the
fastest player in WNB history to three triple doubles is
a pretty good way to say, excuse me. I've got
a lot of talent around me in another season under
my belt coming here, so I think you're gonna have
to be paying attention to me too. And I very
(16:55):
much agree with that. Mesh, what's one of the things
that stood out to you.
Speaker 5 (16:59):
I mean, let's stick with Indy, right. I think Caitlyn
Clark put on a masterclass of how to fill your
teammates out. I think she could have had fifteen assists
right at the end of that game had there not
been a couple blown bunnies, but ending that game with
twenty points, ten rebounds tennisists in the way that they
put her back in the game to make sure she
(17:20):
got that last rebound, I was like, yeah, Steph White, Yeah,
that's how you build the.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Did Steph put her back in the game or did
she ask to go in?
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Do you think, oh, she asked to go in, but
that still had to put her back in.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
She had to agree.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
And a lot of coaches might say, listen, man, we're
up by x amount. It's a long season, you're gonna
get yours. But I think it's knowing your personnel kyp
and Caitlyn is the kind of personnel that's going to
be pretty fiery if you don't put her back in.
And that's going to probably and hopefully be smart about
going back in, getting the board and then being okay
with coming back out.
Speaker 5 (17:54):
Yeah, and appreciate you that much more for caring about
what she wanted to do, and not just that, but
getting to want Bonner in that game so she could
secure the sole possession of third overall or third leading
scorer in WNBA history. Like those are little things that
just build culture, that build chemistry, that build connection within
a team. So Steph White, she's doing it right. From
(18:16):
the first weekend all, she's doing it right. And based
on the way they played on the court, Sarah, I'm
gonna go ahead and say it now. I'm gonna go
ahead and say it. They've got a championship caliber team.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Oh yeah, they have a.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
Championship I was reluctant to say it at first because again,
and we'll get to the aces in a second. And
how having all the pieces and all the tools in
your arsenal doesn't necessarily mean you know it's gonna come together.
It's already coming together. It's already looking beautiful.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Yeah, for for the first game with that new roster.
First of all, Natasha Howard, she gonna be real happy there.
She and they're gonna be really happy to have her
to want to bond her to your point, love getting
to see that milestone passed, but she just needs to
kind of find her space and her place there. I
think she's a vet who understands, like let me see,
(19:03):
I think Mitchell listen, Kelsy.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Mitchell's amazing.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
But she's gonna have to figure out when it's her
time to take the shot and when not. She got
a little bit she went a little bit of rogue
a couple times where it wasn't probably the right move
for her to take the shot or to make the move.
But I think we've talked about this all off season.
A lot of mouths to feed, and so it's gonna
be a matter of figuring out how to balance all
the different talented players that they have there. And to
your point about Caitlyn and the assists, Eliah Boston is
(19:29):
so effective points, blocks, defense, everything, but there are moments
where she just isn't quite ready for those passes from Caitlyn,
and I would love to see her develop her hands
to be able to get those feeds because Caitlyn set
her up a couple of times and it didn't work out.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
And it was it was the long distance throw. The
long distance passes. Those yes, I need those to connect.
I need those because there's so much fun to watch,
my goodness.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Well, before we move on from that, Meche, I'm gonna
build on your take with If the Fever win the
title this year, it is because of the off season
move that was signing to Wanna Honor. I think that
she is the glue and the veteran presence that that
team needed last year, especially with so many youngsters, and
it was fascinating. In the postgame press conference, both Caitlyn
(20:17):
and Aliyah were just so effusive in their praise of her,
Caitlyn saying that she has the strongest voice in our
locker room, which that's a big statement for somebody that
literally just came into this locker room a few weeks ago.
So I'm really curious to kind of see how her
role evolves over the course of the season, but to
know that she already has that trust from her teammates
is huge.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Yeah, And I think Caitlyn pointed out after the game,
when Holly Row was interviewing them both together, how much
she's already learned from Dowana. And it's not that Caitlyn
isn't willing to say those things, but when she says it, she.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Means it, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Like, Caitlyn is a very prideful player and she's very
certain of herself. So to talk about this player that
she's already learned so much from in a short time,
I think really says a lot. And to your point
about being the loudest voice in the lone that veteran
presence between her and Natasha Howard.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
It's going to going to make a huge difference.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
I'm going to stick in that game for my first takeaway,
and it's about pace for both teams in that game.
For the Fever, pace is going to be huge. And
also they need to pick their moments because there were
still a lot of turnovers, not just Caitlin but some
other players Lexi Hall and others trying to make these great,
spicy long distance passes and really push the ball.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
They'll just have to find the balance.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
It'll be worth it a lot of the time, even
if there are turnovers to push it like that. And
then there's times where they're going to have to be
willing to settle into a half court because they aren't
able to finish enough, and it does cause problems against
a more talented team on the other side. My Chicago
Sky are going to be more fun to watch. I
know they got the break speed off them, and it
wasn't super fun by the end. But what I saw
with having Courtney van Derslute out there, Kia Nurse, Ariel Atkins,
(21:52):
having these new players, it changed the dynamic of the
inside outside game. I still think there was stuff to
work on that I was surprised didn't look right in
this first game, particularly getting Angel and Camila Cardoso set
up on the block to do more damage. It felt
like Angel's points mostly came from drives. They really couldn't
get her to set up on the block, take a
(22:13):
post feed and make a move.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
And same with Kamila.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
It was very rare to see and usually then she
had to follow up for a rebound and get a
second chance. Camila just didn't quite look sharp enough yet,
and I'm hoping, I don't know, I have high expectations
for her, and I'm starting to wonder if maybe they're too.
Speaker 5 (22:31):
High mm spicy, I don't know. I think it's another
one of those things. It's the first game. Some of
these players are gonna have jitters like it's a but
in terms of not hitting the paint, and posting up.
That's something you can control. It don't matter if you
got jitners or not. You know, if you have a
mismatched in the post, you know, if you know you
have a seal opportunity down there. But as we know,
(22:52):
it takes two to tango, right, it takes two to tango.
You gotta have folks who can get you the ball.
You gotta have a team in the half court on
one accord with that mission. So I have I have
confidence in this group though, I really do. They've got
really strong pieces an angel. I mean watching that first quarter,
she came out like a blaze of fire.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Right she was.
Speaker 5 (23:11):
She was aggressive, rebound special, a rebounding. I remember one
play in particular, she attacked Natasha Howard directly in the
chest and put a put a bucket on her head.
Hit a three like So there's a lot to look
forward to as well. I think, you know, all these
teams won two games in it's not it's not yet
time to hit the panic button.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
But yeah, I think there'll be more fun. I just
want to see better finishes and a little bit more
intention on the offense. It didn't seem like they were
running stuff so much as like.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
If they got an open three, they let it fly.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Like coach Tyler Marsh said, they just didn't let it
sink very often when they.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Did let it fly. What else did you see?
Speaker 5 (23:49):
You know what I saw, Sarah. I saw my Mystics
go to it out, tue it out after starting oh
and twelve last season. But what I really saw is
that Britney Sykes. I can say this with my whole chest.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Now.
Speaker 5 (24:04):
She is a bona fide franchise player.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
She is the.
Speaker 5 (24:08):
Player that the Mystics need to continue to build around
because she has proven herself since coming over from the
Sparks in twenty twenty three that she cannot only defend
and lead on that end. She cannot only take care
of the ball and handle it, even though that's not
her primary position. She naturally wants to play off the basketball.
But she can do both those things, and she can
(24:28):
get it done. In the score and column, she averages
twelve points for her entire career, Sir, she had twenty
two points in that first game against Atlanta, twenty seven points.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
She said, you saw that game.
Speaker 5 (24:39):
I could do a little bit better against Connecticut on Sunday.
I mean, she is just evolving exponentially season overseason, and
I'm so excited to see what else she does. She
stresses me out.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
She stresses me out.
Speaker 5 (24:53):
Because she uses her body and she's all over the place.
She's putting her body on the line, and so that
is a little bit concerning. You want to make sure
she stays healthy, but I mean.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Slim into it. I'm happy for you.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
I doubted them, and I'm not gonna say I don't
still have doubts. Like you said, first couple of games
of the season, Remind me, Remind me who they are playing.
Speaker 5 (25:14):
Atlanta and Connecticut. They're not necessarily the best.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
I believe.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Again, I'm excited for you, and I hope it continues.
We'll just keep our expectations to yeah, certain minimum.
Speaker 5 (25:26):
But but even more than that, and just want to
sneak this in quickly. Five different players hit double figures
in that game, four in that Connecticut game. So that
just proves to me and the rookies. Right, you're your fan,
cit Tron Lucy Olsen. That was gonna be my next takeaway.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
I am excited that appears to be for a second
straight year that we are having some rooks that are
really going to make a difference right away. We spend
so much time, rightfully so, talking about how hard it
is to make a w roster, talking about how many
folks don't even make the cut and see any play time.
So to have a couple players last year in Angel
and Caitlin in particular, who broke records in their first season,
(26:08):
and then this year to have excitement around Paige Beckers,
who was fine in her first game, you know, nothing
to write home about but good solid effort. But Keiki
and Sonya Citron looking like they did in that very
first game, in that very first weekend, and already hearing
debates about which one of them might be trying to
take home Rookie of the Year awards this early on.
(26:28):
I know it's early, but did we talk about this
on Monday?
Speaker 5 (26:31):
You talked about this last Monday Sonia.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
From my fantasy team, because I'm like, I think she's
going to contribute right away, and of the same mind, yes,
and I just I think it's exciting to have that
next guard a player, to have that next generation not
just get on a roster, but start playing it and
play well right away.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
That was something I noticed, all right, Meish, what's the
last thing it took away from this weekend.
Speaker 5 (26:58):
The aces, Sarah, the aces, the aces. They simply need
more cards in the deck.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
I don't know how well played. You know, we try to.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
Get a little fancy with the lingo with the language.
If I'm gonna be on good game with Sarah's.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Face your best, bring your medal.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
But Asia Wilson had to go into that mode just
to keep that game respectable and granted, right, this is
against the Liberty team and New York Liberty team that
came out real strong, shot forty eight percent from the field.
They played amazing. I'm not gonna act like they weren't
a juggernaut in that game. But defensively, more than anything,
I was very surprised at all the breakdowns. There's a
(27:36):
lot of holes that are going to need to be
patched in their connectivity on that end of the ball.
You saw, if you watch that game, Chelsea Gray getting
really visibly irritated with that because there's a standard that
that franchise has set and it felt like everybody wasn't
on the same page there. Juel Lloyd only five points
in that game. That's gonna change, That's not going to
stay the same right. They talked a lot on the
(27:58):
broadcast about her and that mentality, recognizing that she is
a killer and that she has to be that in
the WNBA because she's She's Julouis. She already has a
reputation for herself. She has to bring that every She'll
get better, so she's yeah, she'll get better. I'm not
worried about that, but you know, it was just the
It was hard to watch.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
It was a little bit hard to watch. First game.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Tough opponent. We'll give them some time. And we know
the Aces took a little while to get going last year.
We attributed that mostly to Chelsea Gray not being healthy,
but maybe it is just a matter too of you
have a team that's won a handful of titles lately,
and so getting up for it, getting fired up, maybe
takes a little bit longer.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
That brings me, actually, though, to.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
My final takeaway, which has to do with a former
Aces player, Kelsey Plum. We're all talking Caitlin and Asia
and Fee, but Kelsey Plumb was like, oh, thank you.
I would like to be the dominant player on my team.
I would like room to grow, I would like to
prove myself. I would like to give myself a challenge.
(28:56):
I would like to go to the worst team in
the league and set a record for the most points
by a player in their Sparks debut and the most
points by a player in the first game of a
w season thirty seven. For Kelsey Plumb, she is a
problem and will continue to be a problem. I'm not
sure what to expect from this Sparks team. Cameron Brink
wasn't there yet. Obviously, the Ray Burrell injury hurts. It
(29:18):
took a little while for Deerica Hamby to heat up
on Friday night. She looked a little slow on the
early going, obviously, a lot of pieces to try to
put together. But when you've got Kelsey Plum leading the
way and she decides, let me get hot.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Because there was a.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
Moment that was really fun where Julie Van lu got
real hot three triples in a very short time. The
crowd's going crazy. She's hyping everyone up, screaming at the
camera like hey, Kelsey's like, well that's cute. Let me
go ahead and shut everyone up. Boot boop boop, just
training her own threes, looking mugging at everyone.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
I'm excited to see Kelsey just lead this team. It
feels like a natural move for her at this point.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
It's tough to leave a successful team like the Asist,
but to go there and be like, let me start
something fresh, and that's cool, It's very cool.
Speaker 5 (30:02):
I will say, I think cam Brink completely changes that
dynamic of that team. I think she opens up space
for KP, especially because cam Brink is a tall post
player who can stretch the floor and knock down the three.
So I think she completely changes the dynamic of their
offense when she's on the court when she gets back.
But I'll also say KP going for thirty seven is
(30:24):
not gonna be thirty seven every night, so I'm gonna
need other people to step up. Rakiya, I don't think
Rakia Jackson had the best night she could have had.
I think Odyssey sim still has plenty left in the tank.
A player who kind of had to prove herself yet
again last season, but has been solid in all the
years of her WNBA career. So there's a few things
I'm waiting to come together for them as well.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
As Ray was more quiet Asray Stevens was more quiet
than I expected her to be. Yeah, And like I said,
Dereka Hanby was slow. I also have identified in that
game my least favorite player in the WNBA, but I'm
not gonna say who she is.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
I don't want to be mean.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
This is a nice show, this is a friendly show.
But I just want to say there was somebody out
there in a valkyrie's jersey that is not ready for
prime time.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
She looked so nervous, so awkward.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
I told my husband, I'm like, this is the this
is the fastest I've disliked a player in the history
of the w I don't know why she hadn maayded
me so much, but I'm like, get her out of
there and sign one of the players that were super
bummed didn't make a roster because there's no way she
could be worse than that.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Again, I'm not gonna say any names. I don't want
to be a mean person.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
I'm like, looking through the roster right now, speculated.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
I felt bad having the thought, But every time she
went out there, I'm like.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
No, get her out of there.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
Oh now, I've given us clues. So she went out
multiple times.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
We're not gonna We're not gonna, all right, Alex, what
was your final takeaway?
Speaker 3 (31:46):
My final takeaway is not about the basketball. It is
about the league and how the WNBA has seemingly evolved
since last year. You know, at the end of last season,
I think one of the jokes that we made was
even during our slices, how the Welcome to the w
commercials when they started last season seemed super original, and
by the end of the season it seemed like the
only thing that the league had done to try to
(32:07):
welcome new fans. And it feels like the WNBA has
actually taken some strides. So that starts with last week
they announced this new plan, No Space for Hate, which
has everything from technological innovations that are helping scan player
social media, a new fan code of conduct, and then
(32:28):
I think we even saw it with the very quick
response to the alleged hateful comments that were made during
that Indiana Chicago game. There were a lot of times
last year where stuff like that was kind of in
the news and it was like.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Where's the WNBA.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
So the fact that they have listened to players saying hey,
this is a problem, Hey the league was not prepared
and taken that feels significant and.
Speaker 4 (32:50):
It makes me hopeful for what the rest of the
season will look.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Like, yeah, I totally agree, and I wish there wasn't
a need for it, but since there very clearly is,
I'm glad the league seems like they're they're addressing so
much we could say about this opening weekend. Lots of
really interesting storylines, and you could tell it was really cool.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
At the end of that Fever Sky game, it.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Was a blow out, and they were like, Okay, but
we get to see Haley Vanlists first minutes. Hey, we
get to see ju Wanna Bonner try to set the record.
We get to see Kaitlin going for triple double. So
we I think also as a fan base, the more
people know about the stories of the players, the more
exciting every game is. And so I'm excited for anybody
who showed up last year for the first time to
now get to build on the rivalries they learned about
(33:31):
last year, to know which players are coming back with
some revenge on the brain, and which ones are trying
to defend their title and all that other good stuff.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
All Right, we got to take a quick break.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
When we come back, it's time to talk PWHL finals.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
That's next. Welcome back, everybody, Let's do that hockey.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
As I mentioned, earlier finals for the Professional Women's Hockey
League the PWHL are set with the Ottawa Charge in
their first postseason appearance, taking on last year's Walter Cup champs,
the Minnesota Frost. The pair of teams were actually seated
third and fourth respectively heading into the playoffs, so they
upset the top seeds to.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Make it here.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
And you might remember that we mentioned that the number
one seed Montreal Victoire actually got to select their opponent
in the semi finals and they picked the three seed
Charge instead of the four seed Frost. So on Tuesday night,
there were seven thousand, two hundred and eighty two fans
in Ottawa chanting you picked us as Ottawa got the
win and moved within one win of going to the finals.
(34:34):
Of course, the series shifted to Montreal where the number
one seed got bounced, so Alex, let's start there. The
Charge finished off the Victoire, making them pay for their selection,
and we saw that bulletin board material pinterest board eaten
good shit working out well for the Outawa Charge.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
Well, I just want to point out that we don't
have very much data at this point in the PWHL, right,
only two seasons, but both seasons. It is the number
three and number four seeded teams that have made it
to the p WHL finals, and looking ahead, I'm really
excited for this final series and to see how these
two teams match up. They've played each other six times
(35:13):
in the regular season so far, Minnesota winning three, Ottawa
winning three. But they weren't super close games. There were
some real blowouts in there. I think Minnesota won one
five zero, Ottawa one another eight to three. So are
they going to be tighter now that they're playing each
other back to back and each team is at the
high point of their season.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
Hard to say, but super excited to see it.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
Yeah, And we talk about the Minnesota Frost making it back.
This was a team that struggled in the regular season
last year in the opening season of the PWHL, but
found their way, squeezed their way into the postseason, and
then won it all from the four spot. They're going
to try to do that again this year, and they
bounced the Toronto Scepters in the semi finals to make
it to their second straight postseason and go for a
(35:57):
defense of their title.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
Al This is a very.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
Authentic rivalry to me, even though we're only two seasons in.
If your team gets bounced from the postseason two seasons
in a row by the same team.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
You hate them.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
So I feel like, if I feel like you're a
Toronto Scepters fan, that's it. The Minnesota froster and are
like they're the sworn enemy.
Speaker 4 (36:16):
And you know, it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (36:17):
Last year Toronto was the number one seed and they
picked Minnesota the number four seed.
Speaker 4 (36:22):
I guess technically they just went.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
With the with what it would have been, but they
still got to pick. They could have changed it up
and gone with the three like we saw this year.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
Yeah, so yeah, maybe Minnesota should have been having a
you picked us chan at some point.
Speaker 4 (36:36):
Too fun, Too fun.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Best of five final series begins Tuesday and Autowa. We're
gonna have lots more p WHL conversation as we get
ready for that.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
If you haven't been watching, it's been real fun.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
The barns have been wild, the fans have gone crazy,
So get in before it's over, Get in and start watching.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
These finals start on Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
We always love to hear from y'all, so hit us
up on email, good game at Wonder Media Network or
leave us a voicemail At eight seven two two o
four fifty seventy. You can still send us your wild
and wacky thoughts about the upcoming w season, or you
want to send us some thoughts about.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
The PWHL finals. We love to hear those two and
don't forget to subscribe, rate and review, y'all. It's easy.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Watch the rollout of the NWSL times UNWELLFC partnership rating
dozens and dozens of deleted comments review. This weekend, at
the Angel City versus BFC game, the NWSL welcomed Alex
Cooper of Call Her Daddy and her UNWELLFC Hydration Drink
to PayPal Park in the Bay Area. It's the first
(37:35):
of several games schedule to host the UNWELLFC Experience, promising
quote Alex Cooper on the move during pre match taking
in the BFC spirit and atmosphere throughout PayPal Park, a
dedicated UNWELLFC table and FanFest with photo opportunities, brand activations,
and unwell Hydration sampling, meet and greet moments with Alex
for BAFC fans, Unwell merch for those who purchase tickets
(37:58):
through the special UNWELLFC link end quote. So I was
not there for this game. I had to fly back
to Chicago and unfortunately couldn't stick around for it.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
But based on the social media posts.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
I would say that fans were uninterested in and unenthused
about the Unwell partnership. On the Instagram posts about the activation,
several users mentioned that the admin was deleting comments and
if you pointed out that Cooper was wearing an LA
Dodgers hat at a women's sporting event in San Francisco,
so the fit seemed to miss the mark a little,
(38:30):
and more importantly, so did the activation. If you want
to read a good summation of why fans are rightfully
frustrated by the choice of Cooper for the league and
the idea of an unwell FC supporters group as opposed
to organic supporters groups of the team, you can read
the newsletter of friend of the show Frankie de la
Creta called out of your League.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
They wrote a piece for it about it. We'll link
to it in our show notes.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Again, this is a nice show, and I want to
commend the League on trying something new and different, but
it feels like not properly vetting the kind of partners
you want to bring into a space and immediately hearing
from your supporters that this is not what they want
is a very bad sign.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
Now it's your turn.
Speaker 1 (39:09):
Slices, rate and review, give us five stars, tell us
you love us, thanks for listening.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
See you tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
Good game, Valkyries, Good game, WNBA, so good to have
you back. You best soccer e season being so short,
we want more. Good Game with Sarah Spain is an
iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports
and Entertainment. You could find us on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by
(39:38):
Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones.
Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan,
and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rudder, Brittany Martinez,
Grace Lynch, and Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy
Jones and I'm your host Sarah Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we've officially
entered basque soccery season, hawk, socket ball, sock baskiddy, whatever,
whatever you call it. It's the magical week long period
when the WNBA and WSL and PWHL are all in action.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
What a time to be alive.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
It's Monday, May nineteenth, and on today's show we'll be
getting into all of that action with Big Citrus joining
me to discuss everything from the WNBA's season opening weekend,
including my adventures at the Valkyrie debut to the PWHL
playoffs and the final two facing off in the Walter
Cup Finals, plus celebrating with banners and rings, an Italian sweep,
and some unanswered questions. It's all coming up right after
(00:41):
this happy Monday slices. Welcome back.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Here's what you need to know today.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Let's start with the PWHL where the Walter Cup Finals
are set with the Ottawa Charge preparing to take on
the defending champs, the Minnesota Frost. Ottawa clinched a spot
in the best of five finals with a two to
one win over Montreal on Friday, winning that semi final
series three to one. You remember earlier last week, the
Minnesota Frost upended the Toronto Scepters for a second straight year,
(01:13):
bouncing them and finding their way back to the finals.
Finals get underway with Game one on Tuesday night in Ottawa.
The Charge will host Games one and two at TD
Place before the series heads to Minnesota for Game three.
More on the PWHL a little later in the show
to the WNBA, where the twenty twenty five season tipped
off this weekend with a couple close games, a few blowouts,
and lots of exciting storylines.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Let's start with the game.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
I was at the Golden State Valkyries franchise opener on Friday,
which the Valks lost eighty four to sixty seven to
the Los Angeles Sparks. Yeah, they lost the game, but
I have to say the night was a success. So
shout out to President Jess Smith and the whole Valkyrie's team,
not just for the incredible hospitality, but the absolutely killer
opening night, the videos on the JumboTron, the sponsor activations,
(02:00):
the dance team that was everyone from ages ten to
fifty seven, the ties to Bay Area hoops of the
past e forty. It was a scene, and even though
they lost, I think it's clear that the fan base
are super excited to have women's hoops in the Bay
and that they're going to be patient, get excited about
the bright spots on the roster, and be ready for
the team to get better as the franchise grows. There
(02:23):
was one tough moment on Friday night, though. Sparks guard
Ray Burrell went down in the first quarter after an
awkward collision on a foul, and after the game it
was announced that she'll miss six to eight weeks with
a right leg injury. It was honestly super sad watching
her get carried off the court just minutes into a fresh,
exciting season when everyone was so pumped to be back
out there. So we're wishing Ray the best in her recovery.
(02:44):
Let's add east to New York, where the Liberty got
their season started in style, handing out rings and raising
last year's championship banner into the rafters at Barclays. Did
y'all see these rings? These rings are huge and beautiful,
and of course even Ellie got a ring, which we love.
This team was fresh off the franchise's first ever WNBA
(03:05):
title and proved they still got it. They defeated the
Las Vegas Aces ninety two seventy eight, with Brianna Stewart
recording twenty five points and Natasha Cloud putting on a
show in her Liberty debut, contributing twenty two points, nine assists,
three steals, and two blocks. Asia Wilson had thirty one
points in the loss, all while rocking her new signature
A one shoes.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Of course, let's head to Dallas.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Where Paige Becker's Welcome to the WNBA party was spoiled
by fellow Yukon grad Nofisa Collier, who scored thirty four
points to lead the Minnesota Links to a ninety nine
eighty four win. Beckers finished the night with ten points,
shooting three for ten from the field. Ari k Agunbawallee
led the way for the Wings with sixteen points, while
DJ Carrington looked strong in her Dallas debut, adding fifteen.
(03:49):
There was also allegedly a little bit of drama in
this game, as Tara McCown left the game before the
clock hit.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
All zeros with her team still in the huddle.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
She only played five minutes in that one, and if
social media accounts are to be believed, she did not
look happy when she was heading out.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
We'll keep you updated on that story.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
To the Midwest, where the Indiana Fever opened their season
with a ninety three fifty eight blowout win over My
Chicago Sky. Caitlyn Clark a triple double in the first
game of the season. The thirty five point win is
tied for the second largest Fever win in franchise history,
but lots of attention after the game was focused on
a chippy moment that happened between Caitlin and Angel Reese.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
We all love this rivalry.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
We are looking for this rivalry to grow, but sometimes
maybe we're getting a little too excited about what happens
between these two players. This wasn't that big of a deal.
Reese was going for a layup. Clark committed a hard
foul and then pushed her, causing her to fall. Reese
got quickly to her feet and yelled at Clark and
then Aleah Boston tried to keep the two players apart.
Clark's initial foul was upgraded to a flagrant one. It
(04:50):
was a good take fowl to prevent a wide open
bucket for Reese, but she had a little shove at
the end with her left hand, and that's what made
it quote unquote excessive, and it made it a good
call to make it a flagrant one. Boston and Reese
picked up offsetting technical fouls for the little RGI bargie afterward,
but after the game, both Clark and Reese were quick
to note it was just part of the game of basketball,
(05:10):
said Reese, quote, basketball play.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Ref's got it right. Move on.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Honestly, I think it's as simple as that. Things get
heated in the moment, they get sorted. Real competitors, keep
it pushing, keep it moving. I have already seen way
too many fans making a big deal out of this
and making it fit the narrative of whichever quote unquote
side they're on. We're not doing this this year. Okay,
We're not doing it. It was a hard foul, it
was a good call. We're all set. Meantime, on Sunday,
(05:37):
the WNBA announced that it was investigating some hateful comments
from a fan during that game. Now, the league hasn't
publicly said the context of the comments, but multiple media
outlets have reported that they were racist comments directed at
Angel Reese. In a statement, the league said, quote, the
WNBA strongly condemns racism, hate and discrimination in all forms.
They have no place in our league or in society.
(05:59):
We are aware of the allegations and are looking into
the matter. The Indiana Fever also issued a statement saying
the team was working with the league to investigate the
matter and was committed to providing a safe environment for
all players. Good to know both the league and teams
are responding immediately and with intention to this kind of thing.
We'll have tons more on WNBA opening weekend in segment
(06:19):
two of today's show when Alex and Meish join me.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
For a good old fashioned, big Citrus chat.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Moving on to the NWSL, the Utah Royals and Washington
Spirit competed in a classic NWSL chaos match on Saturday
at Audiefield in DC. The game opened with a league
record four goals in the first twenty two minutes, with
each team scoring a pair.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Utah then added a third.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
And hung on to a three to two lead for
most of the game until the very end of the
second half, when Spirit defender Casey Krueger found an equalizer
in the thirteenth minute of thirteen minutes of stoppage time.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
You can't do it any later.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
The game ended in a three to three draw, with
both teams picking up one point. More NWSL angels sit
DA defender Savvy King was discharged from the hospital on
Saturday after she collapsed in a game just over a
week earlier and underwent.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Subsequent heart surgery.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
On Saturday, as Angel City returned to competition for a
match against AFC, players from both teams took the field
wearing black shirts with King's initials and number SK three.
King posted an update to Instagram on Sunday, writing quote,
I'm still finding the words to express just how much
your love and support have meant to me over these.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Past few days.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
What I do know is that I wouldn't be getting
through this without my incredible family by my side, my
amazing teammates who have shown up for me and prayed
for me, the fans, the entire soccer community, and the
outstanding medical team here at ACFC who saved my life
and cared for me every step of the way. I
know God's got me, and I'm looking forward to recovering
and getting back out.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
On the field. End quote.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
We also have an update on how the NWSL plans
to address similar situations moving forward. We mentioned last week
that the NWSL Players Association issued a statement saying that
the game between Angel City and Utah should not have
been allowed to continue following King's collapse on the field.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
On Friday, the league issued its.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Own statement, saying it regretted that the game had been
allowed to continue and vowing that any future game involving
a similar situation would be abandoned. Speaking to reporters on Saturday,
League Commissioner Jessica Berman was asked about the incident, and
while she committed to ensuring the league was better prepared
moving forward, she offered very little insight on why the
match involving King was allowed to continue in the first place.
(08:25):
On Friday, she didn't provide an answer to a question
from the athletics to Maria Griffin about whether she was
awake at the time of the incident, which was after
eleven pm Eastern, nor did she have an answer to
whether the league had a replacement ambulance in place when
the game resumed. Now, listen, I don't expect a commissioner
to have the answer to every single thing or know
exactly what to do in every tricky situation, but she
does have to answer those questions to the best of
(08:46):
her ability, and it stood out that she didn't more NWSL.
Kansas City center back Kayla Sharples joined the NWSL's five
thousand club on Friday, playing her five thousandth minute in
a one to zero win over the Orlando Prize Sharp Bulls,
who joined the league in twenty nineteen, has played for
Kansas City for just under a year. She was traded
to the Current from BFC last August. Prior to joining Bay,
(09:08):
she was a member of the Chicago Stars Slash Red
Stars Slash Color Neutral Stars. To Tennis, where some cool
history was made at the Italian Open this weekend. Italy's
owned Jasmin Pallini won the singles tournament, defeating Coco Goff
in two sets on Saturday to become the first home
player to win an Italian Open singles title in forty years.
After the win, Paulini said, it didn't feel real. Quote
(09:30):
I came here as a kid to see this tournament,
but winning it and holding up this trophy wasn't even
in my dreams end quote. Then on Sunday, Paulini won
the doubles title two competing alongside partner Sarah Irani. That
final was a nail bier with Paulini and Irani needing
to mount comebacks after starting each.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Set with a four to zero deficit.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
With her second win of the tournament, Paulini became the
first player to win both the singles and doubles titles
at a WTA one thousand tournament since two thousand and nine. Also,
we had tons of NCAA SOPT action going on this weekend.
We'll have your update on that and tomorrow show. All right, y'all,
we got to take a quick break. When we come back.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Big Citrus jumps on to discuss the opening weekend of
the WNBA season. Welcome back, y'all.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Hope you had as much fun as we did watching
all of the WNBA action this weekend.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
It's kind of hard to.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Believe that it's already back, like it felt like a
long break before we got our WNBA hoops. But also
between Unrivaled and March Madness that everything else, it just
never stops.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
There's always some good hoops to be talking about.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
And I have to say my trip to the Bay
Area for the Valkyries opening night was so awesome. Not
only did I get there for the game, but there
was a dinner the night before a JP Morgan Chase
Dinner with Deep Blue, and it was in this beautiful
room in the Chase Center with views across the Bay
and some really awesome partners and women in investment and
(10:59):
lots of There was a panel with Jess Smith among others,
and a gorgeous dinner of course Bay Area, so it
was all real fancy with silver Oak and Toomey wines
and oysters and gorgeous soured oat bread and this amazing
female chef. I just love how the Bay does their
food and drink right because I'm.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Super into that stuff.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
So that was super fun and great to talk to
so many people that were really interested in the investment side.
And there was something I heard in the panel from
Jess that I thought was worth sharing. And I think
she's mentioned this potential on the show before, but it
really stood out to me the way she talked about
how they recognized it in.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
The Bay Area.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
There are so many basketball fans, but they are really
distinct fans who are looking for an experience that's different
from what they get from the Golden State Warriors.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
So ten thousand season ticket.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Holders for both the Warriors and the Valkyries, and there's
only ten percent crossover between the two. So only ten
percent of those ten thousand are folks who have season
tickets to both teams. That means that they're serving a
whole bunch of people that didn't.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Feel like they were served by the Warriors.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Maybe they still root for them, maybe they still want
to go, but especially with ticket prices the way they
are for the Warriors at this point, it is frankly
untenable to expect to go for anything less than five
hundred dollars. And that's even if you already have paid
for the right to have season tickets and everything else.
So for there to be an option for fans who
are in the Bay who want to catch them good
(12:22):
basketball and maybe fans who don't feel served by the
NBA or men's sports, that's really cool and I think
it's something we probably haven't talked about as much in
this is how much you are potentially reaching a fan
base that feels like they haven't been thought of. And
that was what was noticeable on opening night was it was,
of course similar in a lot of other ways to
(12:42):
a basketball game.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Right there was.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Intros with a really elaborate video, There was a merch
on the seats for everybody that was the intendance for
the very first game, but it also felt very specific
and special to women's basketball. For instance, they have this
opening drum, giant drum that someone hits to kind of
get the game going, and they had Anna Johnson, who
was from the San Francisco Pioneers, the very first professional
(13:07):
women's basketball team in the Bay Area, be the first
person to bang that drum. It felt very intentional, It
felt very specific for them to acknowledge the history of
women's basketball in the area. And then there were a
lot of Bay Area touches during the opening intros. It
was too short from the Bay blow the whistle, which
was pretty rad. During halftime, of course, E forty came
out and did a live performance, and it just really
(13:30):
felt like they tied in the elements of what makes
the Bay special with this brand new opportunity to touch
fans and as far as the basketball man, there's some
work to be done, let's just say that, but still
a good effort from the team, and it seems like
a fan base that's going to be really excited about
watching them develop.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Let's get to the basketball of this weekend, not.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Just that game, but all the other games that we
got to watch the first looks at players on new teams,
players who came back and reasserted themselves from day one.
So I want to bring in producer Alex and producer
Meiche for this.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
This is a big Citrus.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Chat about all the games that we got to see
this weekend. Let's get a couple of takeaways from each person. Alex,
Let's start with you, what's something that stood out to
from this weekend?
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Man, I think the number one thing that stood out
to me is this is Nafisa Collier's season and her
MVP race is truly already on, both in her performance
but also I think in the way that she is
treating the season. After that win against Dallas, she was like, yep,
forty three more games and explicitly said, we are here
(14:35):
to win a championship this season. And you know, it's
one thing to internally believe, hey, it's our here to
win a championship, and it's another thing to be gutsy
enough after game one to say we are.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Here to win a championship.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
And so I think her teammates are also very much
on the Nafisa Collier MVP train and are going to
do whatever it takes to make sure that happens.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, this is something I talked about during our previews
of the Links and said, listen and Fee was second
only to Asia Wilson last year, and Asia had the
greatest season in the history of women's basketball. That was
not a debate. She deserved that MVP last year, but
Fee was close. And then Fee comes up just short
in the finals, starts unrivaled, wins unrivaled MVP, wins unrivaled
(15:18):
one v one, has a postseason with the most points
ever in the history of the WNBA postseason, leads her
team in every single category, like she is putting up
a case for being the MVP. And if you're gonna
argue with me about Asia deserving it again, if she
has another season like that, she probably will deserve it again.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Will they give it to her again?
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Is my argument, because you saw back in the day
in the NBA the Jordan years, he should have won
the MVP every single year. They started to spread it around,
and so if they decided somebody else's turn, I think
it's the feasier.
Speaker 5 (15:52):
Yeah. I hate the fact that that's even a thing. Also, Yeah,
because that should have not anything to do with the decision,
but you know, inevitably it does.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Every year we're proven that it does.
Speaker 5 (16:04):
And Fee she is she to me, is paralleling Asia
because Asia is coming off and off season where all
these things are going right for her. She's in the spotlight,
she's on commercials. Fee you might not have seen her
in as many commercials, but just signed with Jordan Brand, right,
so she's got her own stuff popping off. And when
the thing I love about, when you get more publicity,
(16:25):
more exposure, it's time to put up her shut up, right,
And so the both of them are just really showing
the evidence as to why we need to be treating
in like stars.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
And by the way, the other person in the top
three odds for the MVP is Caitlin Clark. And I
know we're going to get to the fever, but starting
off your season with a triple double and becoming the
fastest player in WNB history to three triple doubles is
a pretty good way to say, excuse me. I've got
a lot of talent around me in another season under
my belt coming here, so I think you're gonna have
to be paying attention to me too. And I very
(16:55):
much agree with that. Mesh, what's one of the things
that stood out to you.
Speaker 5 (16:59):
I mean, let's stick with Indy, right. I think Caitlyn
Clark put on a masterclass of how to fill your
teammates out. I think she could have had fifteen assists
right at the end of that game had there not
been a couple blown bunnies, but ending that game with
twenty points, ten rebounds tennisists in the way that they
put her back in the game to make sure she
(17:20):
got that last rebound, I was like, yeah, Steph White, Yeah,
that's how you build the.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Did Steph put her back in the game or did
she ask to go in?
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Do you think, oh, she asked to go in, but
that still had to put her back in.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
She had to agree.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
And a lot of coaches might say, listen, man, we're
up by x amount. It's a long season, you're gonna
get yours. But I think it's knowing your personnel kyp
and Caitlyn is the kind of personnel that's going to
be pretty fiery if you don't put her back in.
And that's going to probably and hopefully be smart about
going back in, getting the board and then being okay
with coming back out.
Speaker 5 (17:54):
Yeah, and appreciate you that much more for caring about
what she wanted to do, and not just that, but
getting to want Bonner in that game so she could
secure the sole possession of third overall or third leading
scorer in WNBA history. Like those are little things that
just build culture, that build chemistry, that build connection within
a team. So Steph White, she's doing it right. From
(18:16):
the first weekend all, she's doing it right. And based
on the way they played on the court, Sarah, I'm
gonna go ahead and say it now. I'm gonna go
ahead and say it. They've got a championship caliber team.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Oh yeah, they have a.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
Championship I was reluctant to say it at first because again,
and we'll get to the aces in a second. And
how having all the pieces and all the tools in
your arsenal doesn't necessarily mean you know it's gonna come together.
It's already coming together. It's already looking beautiful.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Yeah, for for the first game with that new roster.
First of all, Natasha Howard, she gonna be real happy there.
She and they're gonna be really happy to have her
to want to bond her to your point, love getting
to see that milestone passed, but she just needs to
kind of find her space and her place there. I
think she's a vet who understands, like let me see,
(19:03):
I think Mitchell listen, Kelsy.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Mitchell's amazing.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
But she's gonna have to figure out when it's her
time to take the shot and when not. She got
a little bit she went a little bit of rogue
a couple times where it wasn't probably the right move
for her to take the shot or to make the move.
But I think we've talked about this all off season.
A lot of mouths to feed, and so it's gonna
be a matter of figuring out how to balance all
the different talented players that they have there. And to
your point about Caitlyn and the assists, Eliah Boston is
(19:29):
so effective points, blocks, defense, everything, but there are moments
where she just isn't quite ready for those passes from Caitlyn,
and I would love to see her develop her hands
to be able to get those feeds because Caitlyn set
her up a couple of times and it didn't work out.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
And it was it was the long distance throw. The
long distance passes. Those yes, I need those to connect.
I need those because there's so much fun to watch,
my goodness.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Well, before we move on from that, Meche, I'm gonna
build on your take with If the Fever win the
title this year, it is because of the off season
move that was signing to Wanna Honor. I think that
she is the glue and the veteran presence that that
team needed last year, especially with so many youngsters, and
it was fascinating. In the postgame press conference, both Caitlyn
(20:17):
and Aliyah were just so effusive in their praise of her,
Caitlyn saying that she has the strongest voice in our
locker room, which that's a big statement for somebody that
literally just came into this locker room a few weeks ago.
So I'm really curious to kind of see how her
role evolves over the course of the season, but to
know that she already has that trust from her teammates
is huge.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Yeah, And I think Caitlyn pointed out after the game,
when Holly Row was interviewing them both together, how much
she's already learned from Dowana. And it's not that Caitlyn
isn't willing to say those things, but when she says it, she.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Means it, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Like, Caitlyn is a very prideful player and she's very
certain of herself. So to talk about this player that
she's already learned so much from in a short time,
I think really says a lot. And to your point
about being the loudest voice in the lone that veteran
presence between her and Natasha Howard.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
It's going to going to make a huge difference.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
I'm going to stick in that game for my first takeaway,
and it's about pace for both teams in that game.
For the Fever, pace is going to be huge. And
also they need to pick their moments because there were
still a lot of turnovers, not just Caitlin but some
other players Lexi Hall and others trying to make these great,
spicy long distance passes and really push the ball.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
They'll just have to find the balance.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
It'll be worth it a lot of the time, even
if there are turnovers to push it like that. And
then there's times where they're going to have to be
willing to settle into a half court because they aren't
able to finish enough, and it does cause problems against
a more talented team on the other side. My Chicago
Sky are going to be more fun to watch. I
know they got the break speed off them, and it
wasn't super fun by the end. But what I saw
with having Courtney van Derslute out there, Kia Nurse, Ariel Atkins,
(21:52):
having these new players, it changed the dynamic of the
inside outside game. I still think there was stuff to
work on that I was surprised didn't look right in
this first game, particularly getting Angel and Camila Cardoso set
up on the block to do more damage. It felt
like Angel's points mostly came from drives. They really couldn't
get her to set up on the block, take a
(22:13):
post feed and make a move.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
And same with Kamila.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
It was very rare to see and usually then she
had to follow up for a rebound and get a
second chance. Camila just didn't quite look sharp enough yet,
and I'm hoping, I don't know, I have high expectations
for her, and I'm starting to wonder if maybe they're too.
Speaker 5 (22:31):
High mm spicy, I don't know. I think it's another
one of those things. It's the first game. Some of
these players are gonna have jitters like it's a but
in terms of not hitting the paint, and posting up.
That's something you can control. It don't matter if you
got jitners or not. You know, if you have a
mismatched in the post, you know, if you know you
have a seal opportunity down there. But as we know,
(22:52):
it takes two to tango, right, it takes two to tango.
You gotta have folks who can get you the ball.
You gotta have a team in the half court on
one accord with that mission. So I have I have
confidence in this group though, I really do. They've got
really strong pieces an angel. I mean watching that first quarter,
she came out like a blaze of fire.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Right she was.
Speaker 5 (23:11):
She was aggressive, rebound special, a rebounding. I remember one
play in particular, she attacked Natasha Howard directly in the
chest and put a put a bucket on her head.
Hit a three like So there's a lot to look
forward to as well. I think, you know, all these
teams won two games in it's not it's not yet
time to hit the panic button.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
But yeah, I think there'll be more fun. I just
want to see better finishes and a little bit more
intention on the offense. It didn't seem like they were
running stuff so much as like.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
If they got an open three, they let it fly.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Like coach Tyler Marsh said, they just didn't let it
sink very often when they.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Did let it fly. What else did you see?
Speaker 5 (23:49):
You know what I saw, Sarah. I saw my Mystics
go to it out, tue it out after starting oh
and twelve last season. But what I really saw is
that Britney Sykes. I can say this with my whole chest.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Now.
Speaker 5 (24:04):
She is a bona fide franchise player.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
She is the.
Speaker 5 (24:08):
Player that the Mystics need to continue to build around
because she has proven herself since coming over from the
Sparks in twenty twenty three that she cannot only defend
and lead on that end. She cannot only take care
of the ball and handle it, even though that's not
her primary position. She naturally wants to play off the basketball.
But she can do both those things, and she can
(24:28):
get it done. In the score and column, she averages
twelve points for her entire career, Sir, she had twenty
two points in that first game against Atlanta, twenty seven points.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
She said, you saw that game.
Speaker 5 (24:39):
I could do a little bit better against Connecticut on Sunday.
I mean, she is just evolving exponentially season overseason, and
I'm so excited to see what else she does. She
stresses me out.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
She stresses me out.
Speaker 5 (24:53):
Because she uses her body and she's all over the place.
She's putting her body on the line, and so that
is a little bit concerning. You want to make sure
she stays healthy, but I mean.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Slim into it. I'm happy for you.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
I doubted them, and I'm not gonna say I don't
still have doubts. Like you said, first couple of games
of the season, Remind me, Remind me who they are playing.
Speaker 5 (25:14):
Atlanta and Connecticut. They're not necessarily the best.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
I believe.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Again, I'm excited for you, and I hope it continues.
We'll just keep our expectations to yeah, certain minimum.
Speaker 5 (25:26):
But but even more than that, and just want to
sneak this in quickly. Five different players hit double figures
in that game, four in that Connecticut game. So that
just proves to me and the rookies. Right, you're your fan,
cit Tron Lucy Olsen. That was gonna be my next takeaway.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
I am excited that appears to be for a second
straight year that we are having some rooks that are
really going to make a difference right away. We spend
so much time, rightfully so, talking about how hard it
is to make a w roster, talking about how many
folks don't even make the cut and see any play time.
So to have a couple players last year in Angel
and Caitlin in particular, who broke records in their first season,
(26:08):
and then this year to have excitement around Paige Beckers,
who was fine in her first game, you know, nothing
to write home about but good solid effort. But Keiki
and Sonya Citron looking like they did in that very
first game, in that very first weekend, and already hearing
debates about which one of them might be trying to
take home Rookie of the Year awards this early on.
(26:28):
I know it's early, but did we talk about this
on Monday?
Speaker 5 (26:31):
You talked about this last Monday Sonia.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
From my fantasy team, because I'm like, I think she's
going to contribute right away, and of the same mind, yes,
and I just I think it's exciting to have that
next guard a player, to have that next generation not
just get on a roster, but start playing it and
play well right away.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
That was something I noticed, all right, Meish, what's the
last thing it took away from this weekend.
Speaker 5 (26:58):
The aces, Sarah, the aces, the aces. They simply need
more cards in the deck.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
I don't know how well played. You know, we try to.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
Get a little fancy with the lingo with the language.
If I'm gonna be on good game with Sarah's.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Face your best, bring your medal.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
But Asia Wilson had to go into that mode just
to keep that game respectable and granted, right, this is
against the Liberty team and New York Liberty team that
came out real strong, shot forty eight percent from the field.
They played amazing. I'm not gonna act like they weren't
a juggernaut in that game. But defensively, more than anything,
I was very surprised at all the breakdowns. There's a
(27:36):
lot of holes that are going to need to be
patched in their connectivity on that end of the ball.
You saw, if you watch that game, Chelsea Gray getting
really visibly irritated with that because there's a standard that
that franchise has set and it felt like everybody wasn't
on the same page there. Juel Lloyd only five points
in that game. That's gonna change, That's not going to
stay the same right. They talked a lot on the
(27:58):
broadcast about her and that mentality, recognizing that she is
a killer and that she has to be that in
the WNBA because she's She's Julouis. She already has a
reputation for herself. She has to bring that every She'll
get better, so she's yeah, she'll get better. I'm not
worried about that, but you know, it was just the
It was hard to watch.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
It was a little bit hard to watch. First game.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Tough opponent. We'll give them some time. And we know
the Aces took a little while to get going last year.
We attributed that mostly to Chelsea Gray not being healthy,
but maybe it is just a matter too of you
have a team that's won a handful of titles lately,
and so getting up for it, getting fired up, maybe
takes a little bit longer.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
That brings me, actually, though, to.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
My final takeaway, which has to do with a former
Aces player, Kelsey Plum. We're all talking Caitlin and Asia
and Fee, but Kelsey Plumb was like, oh, thank you.
I would like to be the dominant player on my team.
I would like room to grow, I would like to
prove myself. I would like to give myself a challenge.
(28:56):
I would like to go to the worst team in
the league and set a record for the most points
by a player in their Sparks debut and the most
points by a player in the first game of a
w season thirty seven. For Kelsey Plumb, she is a
problem and will continue to be a problem. I'm not
sure what to expect from this Sparks team. Cameron Brink
wasn't there yet. Obviously, the Ray Burrell injury hurts. It
(29:18):
took a little while for Deerica Hamby to heat up
on Friday night. She looked a little slow on the
early going, obviously, a lot of pieces to try to
put together. But when you've got Kelsey Plum leading the
way and she decides, let me get hot.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Because there was a.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
Moment that was really fun where Julie Van lu got
real hot three triples in a very short time. The
crowd's going crazy. She's hyping everyone up, screaming at the
camera like hey, Kelsey's like, well that's cute. Let me
go ahead and shut everyone up. Boot boop boop, just
training her own threes, looking mugging at everyone.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
I'm excited to see Kelsey just lead this team. It
feels like a natural move for her at this point.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
It's tough to leave a successful team like the Asist,
but to go there and be like, let me start
something fresh, and that's cool, It's very cool.
Speaker 5 (30:02):
I will say, I think cam Brink completely changes that
dynamic of that team. I think she opens up space
for KP, especially because cam Brink is a tall post
player who can stretch the floor and knock down the three.
So I think she completely changes the dynamic of their
offense when she's on the court when she gets back.
But I'll also say KP going for thirty seven is
(30:24):
not gonna be thirty seven every night, so I'm gonna
need other people to step up. Rakiya, I don't think
Rakia Jackson had the best night she could have had.
I think Odyssey sim still has plenty left in the tank.
A player who kind of had to prove herself yet
again last season, but has been solid in all the
years of her WNBA career. So there's a few things
I'm waiting to come together for them as well.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
As Ray was more quiet Asray Stevens was more quiet
than I expected her to be. Yeah, And like I said,
Dereka Hanby was slow. I also have identified in that
game my least favorite player in the WNBA, but I'm
not gonna say who she is.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
I don't want to be mean.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
This is a nice show, this is a friendly show.
But I just want to say there was somebody out
there in a valkyrie's jersey that is not ready for
prime time.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
She looked so nervous, so awkward.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
I told my husband, I'm like, this is the this
is the fastest I've disliked a player in the history
of the w I don't know why she hadn maayded
me so much, but I'm like, get her out of
there and sign one of the players that were super
bummed didn't make a roster because there's no way she
could be worse than that.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Again, I'm not gonna say any names. I don't want
to be a mean person.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
I'm like, looking through the roster right now, speculated.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
I felt bad having the thought, But every time she
went out there, I'm like.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
No, get her out of there.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
Oh now, I've given us clues. So she went out
multiple times.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
We're not gonna We're not gonna, all right, Alex, what
was your final takeaway?
Speaker 3 (31:46):
My final takeaway is not about the basketball. It is
about the league and how the WNBA has seemingly evolved
since last year. You know, at the end of last season,
I think one of the jokes that we made was
even during our slices, how the Welcome to the w
commercials when they started last season seemed super original, and
by the end of the season it seemed like the
only thing that the league had done to try to
(32:07):
welcome new fans. And it feels like the WNBA has
actually taken some strides. So that starts with last week
they announced this new plan, No Space for Hate, which
has everything from technological innovations that are helping scan player
social media, a new fan code of conduct, and then
(32:28):
I think we even saw it with the very quick
response to the alleged hateful comments that were made during
that Indiana Chicago game. There were a lot of times
last year where stuff like that was kind of in
the news and it was like.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Where's the WNBA.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
So the fact that they have listened to players saying hey,
this is a problem, Hey the league was not prepared
and taken that feels significant and.
Speaker 4 (32:50):
It makes me hopeful for what the rest of the
season will look.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Like, yeah, I totally agree, and I wish there wasn't
a need for it, but since there very clearly is,
I'm glad the league seems like they're they're addressing so
much we could say about this opening weekend. Lots of
really interesting storylines, and you could tell it was really cool.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
At the end of that Fever Sky game, it.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Was a blow out, and they were like, Okay, but
we get to see Haley Vanlists first minutes. Hey, we
get to see ju Wanna Bonner try to set the record.
We get to see Kaitlin going for triple double. So
we I think also as a fan base, the more
people know about the stories of the players, the more
exciting every game is. And so I'm excited for anybody
who showed up last year for the first time to
now get to build on the rivalries they learned about
(33:31):
last year, to know which players are coming back with
some revenge on the brain, and which ones are trying
to defend their title and all that other good stuff.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
All Right, we got to take a quick break.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
When we come back, it's time to talk PWHL finals.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
That's next. Welcome back, everybody, Let's do that hockey.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
As I mentioned, earlier finals for the Professional Women's Hockey
League the PWHL are set with the Ottawa Charge in
their first postseason appearance, taking on last year's Walter Cup champs,
the Minnesota Frost. The pair of teams were actually seated
third and fourth respectively heading into the playoffs, so they
upset the top seeds to.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Make it here.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
And you might remember that we mentioned that the number
one seed Montreal Victoire actually got to select their opponent
in the semi finals and they picked the three seed
Charge instead of the four seed Frost. So on Tuesday night,
there were seven thousand, two hundred and eighty two fans
in Ottawa chanting you picked us as Ottawa got the
win and moved within one win of going to the finals.
(34:34):
Of course, the series shifted to Montreal where the number
one seed got bounced, so Alex, let's start there. The
Charge finished off the Victoire, making them pay for their selection,
and we saw that bulletin board material pinterest board eaten
good shit working out well for the Outawa Charge.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
Well, I just want to point out that we don't
have very much data at this point in the PWHL, right,
only two seasons, but both seasons. It is the number
three and number four seeded teams that have made it
to the p WHL finals, and looking ahead, I'm really
excited for this final series and to see how these
two teams match up. They've played each other six times
(35:13):
in the regular season so far, Minnesota winning three, Ottawa
winning three. But they weren't super close games. There were
some real blowouts in there. I think Minnesota won one
five zero, Ottawa one another eight to three. So are
they going to be tighter now that they're playing each
other back to back and each team is at the
high point of their season.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
Hard to say, but super excited to see it.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
Yeah, And we talk about the Minnesota Frost making it back.
This was a team that struggled in the regular season
last year in the opening season of the PWHL, but
found their way, squeezed their way into the postseason, and
then won it all from the four spot. They're going
to try to do that again this year, and they
bounced the Toronto Scepters in the semi finals to make
it to their second straight postseason and go for a
(35:57):
defense of their title.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
Al This is a very.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
Authentic rivalry to me, even though we're only two seasons in.
If your team gets bounced from the postseason two seasons
in a row by the same team.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
You hate them.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
So I feel like, if I feel like you're a
Toronto Scepters fan, that's it. The Minnesota froster and are
like they're the sworn enemy.
Speaker 4 (36:16):
And you know, it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (36:17):
Last year Toronto was the number one seed and they
picked Minnesota the number four seed.
Speaker 4 (36:22):
I guess technically they just went.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
With the with what it would have been, but they
still got to pick. They could have changed it up
and gone with the three like we saw this year.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
Yeah, so yeah, maybe Minnesota should have been having a
you picked us chan at some point.
Speaker 4 (36:36):
Too fun, Too fun.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Best of five final series begins Tuesday and Autowa. We're
gonna have lots more p WHL conversation as we get
ready for that.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
If you haven't been watching, it's been real fun.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
The barns have been wild, the fans have gone crazy,
So get in before it's over, Get in and start watching.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
These finals start on Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
We always love to hear from y'all, so hit us
up on email, good game at Wonder Media Network or
leave us a voicemail At eight seven two two o
four fifty seventy. You can still send us your wild
and wacky thoughts about the upcoming w season, or you
want to send us some thoughts about.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
The PWHL finals. We love to hear those two and
don't forget to subscribe, rate and review, y'all. It's easy.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Watch the rollout of the NWSL times UNWELLFC partnership rating
dozens and dozens of deleted comments review. This weekend, at
the Angel City versus BFC game, the NWSL welcomed Alex
Cooper of Call Her Daddy and her UNWELLFC Hydration Drink
to PayPal Park in the Bay Area. It's the first
(37:35):
of several games schedule to host the UNWELLFC Experience, promising
quote Alex Cooper on the move during pre match taking
in the BFC spirit and atmosphere throughout PayPal Park, a
dedicated UNWELLFC table and FanFest with photo opportunities, brand activations,
and unwell Hydration sampling, meet and greet moments with Alex
for BAFC fans, Unwell merch for those who purchase tickets
(37:58):
through the special UNWELLFC link end quote. So I was
not there for this game. I had to fly back
to Chicago and unfortunately couldn't stick around for it.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
But based on the social media posts.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
I would say that fans were uninterested in and unenthused
about the Unwell partnership. On the Instagram posts about the activation,
several users mentioned that the admin was deleting comments and
if you pointed out that Cooper was wearing an LA
Dodgers hat at a women's sporting event in San Francisco,
so the fit seemed to miss the mark a little,
(38:30):
and more importantly, so did the activation. If you want
to read a good summation of why fans are rightfully
frustrated by the choice of Cooper for the league and
the idea of an unwell FC supporters group as opposed
to organic supporters groups of the team, you can read
the newsletter of friend of the show Frankie de la
Creta called out of your League.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
They wrote a piece for it about it. We'll link
to it in our show notes.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Again, this is a nice show, and I want to
commend the League on trying something new and different, but
it feels like not properly vetting the kind of partners
you want to bring into a space and immediately hearing
from your supporters that this is not what they want
is a very bad sign.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
Now it's your turn.
Speaker 1 (39:09):
Slices, rate and review, give us five stars, tell us
you love us, thanks for listening.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
See you tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
Good game, Valkyries, Good game, WNBA, so good to have
you back. You best soccer e season being so short,
we want more. Good Game with Sarah Spain is an
iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports
and Entertainment. You could find us on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by
(39:38):
Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones.
Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan,
and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rudder, Brittany Martinez,
Grace Lynch, and Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy
Jones and I'm your host Sarah Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
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