March 20, 2026 • 47 mins
Women’s hockey reporter Nicole Haase joins Sarah to break down this weekend’s NCAA Frozen Four matchups, discuss the evolution of the Wisconsin-Ohio State rivalry, and share her assessment of how the Olympics impacted the college hockey season. Plus, more details emerge about the groundbreaking new WNBA CBA, finding a needle in a 64-team haystack, a cross-country legend looks to go out on top, and you don’t need to be a goldfish to forget these results.
-
The March Madness schedule is here
-
Enter the March Sliceness bracket challenge here before Friday, March 20th at 11:30 am ET
-
Read the Chicago Tribune’s reporting on the Chicago Stars here
-
The U.S. broadcast schedule for the Lake Placid World Cup Finals is here
-
Donate to Hear the Cheers here
-
Check out The Athletic’s reporting on the stock photos of MLB’s lockout here
-
You can now WATCH Sarah’s interviews! Subscribe to @iHeartWomensSports on YouTube and check out the Good Game playlist here
-
Leave us a voicemail at 872-204-5070 or send us a note at goodgame@wondermedianetwork.com
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 can't
stop watching all the social media content from WNBA players
reacting to the new CBA. We talk about millionaire mommies.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Baby.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
It's Friday, March twentieth, and on today's show, we'll get
you up to speed as a few more details emerge
about the groundbreaking new WNBACBA. Then we'll talk to women's
hockey reporter Nicole Hasey about all things women's college hockey.
She breaks down this weekend's frozen four matchups, talks the
evolution of the Wisconsin Ohio state rivalry, and gives her
assessment of how the Olympics impacted the college season. Plus
(00:33):
finding a needle in a sixty four team haystack, a
cross country legend looks to go out on top, and
you don't need to be a goldfish to forget these results.
It's all coming up right after this Welcome back slices.
Happy Friday. Here's what you need to know today. Let's
(00:57):
start with the WNBA and a few additional takeways that
we've learned about the new CBA in the last twenty
four or so hours. First, the term length on Wednesday
evening front of the show. Annie Costable of Front Office
Sports was the first to report that the new deal
will be for seven years, with an opt out after
year six. Meantime, ESPN's Alexa Philippo and Sham Sharania reported
that while the salary cap will start at seven million
(01:19):
dollars this year, it will increase to ten million by
the final season of the agreement, and per reporting from
the Athletic, more players will be eligible for Supermax deals
that will be worth one point four million dollars. All
of the players who qualified under the old rules are
still eligible, and third year rookies signing extensions with their
current team can replace their fourth year salary with the
Supermax if they've previously won MVP or earned all WNBA honors.
(01:44):
Also from the Athletics, starting in twenty twenty seven, players
can only be cored if they have six or fewer
years of service. Now, being coord means a player's team
retains their exclusive negotiating rights in this new CBA. That
means more players will be true unrestricted free agents earlier
in their careers. Finally, a little mayacopa from me, because
I realized in yesterday show I referred to the two
(02:05):
veteran players under contract heading into this season as the
two Lexis, but I actually met the two Browns, as
in Lexi Brown and Colonie Brown. When we spoke to
Alexa Philip, whom middan Wednesday, she wasn't sure if those
two players would have their salaries leveled up like the
rookies will, and I reached out to Lexi Brown to ask,
and she said she was told her salary, which was
supposed to be ninety eight thousand dollars in twenty twenty seven,
(02:25):
will get quote unquote leveled up, but that she's still
waiting for one hundred percent confirmation. That certainly seems like
the right thing to do, both for Lexi and Colonie's benefit,
but also for the competition of the league because those
old salaries would be such a tiny blip under the
new salary cap, Lexi and Colonie's teams would be able
to load up on more talent than the rest of
the league. Now, as of this recording, we're still waiting
(02:47):
on the term sheet, which will include additional details of
the deal and hopefully provide some more clarity on the
specifics of the revenue share to college hoops, where the
sixty fourteen bracket is locked in and the first round
of March Madness officially gets under today. There are sixteen
games today, beginning at eleven thirty am Eastern and continuing
till late tonight. The lineup includes one of the four
(03:07):
number one seeds, Texas taking on Missouri State that gave
tips off at four pm Eastern on ESPN, the other
three number one seeds Yukon, UCLA, and South Carolina. I'll
get underway tomorrow. We'll link to the full March Madness
schedule in the show notes, and if you're listening to
this early morning Friday, there's still time to get your
brackets in. Check the show notes for a link to
(03:27):
the March Slicness Show bracket. Sticking with March Madness for
a minute, friend of the Show Josh Bard reached out
to ask whether top coaches in the women's game disliked
the week plus break that their teams get between conference
tournaments and the NCAA tournament. You know, over on the
men's side, the break is just a couple of days.
We presume the discrepancy is to accommodate venue and television schedules. Anyway,
I found the question interesting, and we got a few
(03:49):
bites on the topic when we reached out to a
couple fronts the show, including Yukon coach Gino Oriema, who
said he'd prefer no break last week. He told us, quote,
ideally we'd be playing our conference turn this weekend. It
fits more in with the regular season for scheduling playing
last weekend, it's too long of a break in between games.
But logistically, I understand why we play when we play,
(04:10):
and if you have any lingering injuries, it does give
you more time to rest and reset. End quote. And
Michigan head coach Kim Rico Barnes saw the positives. Here's
what she said in a recent presser. Quote. It gives
us a chance to obviously say where do we need
to get better, what do we need to do better,
But also, hey, we had the best season in program history.
The world is not coming to an end because we
lost a game. We're getting ready for the NCAA tournament.
(04:32):
Let's regroup, let's reflect, and let's try to have some
really great practices. I think it also gives us a
chance to work on some areas that we need to
work on at the same time, not preparing for an opponent.
You spend the whole latter part of the season just
preparing for opponents. You really never get to work on yourself.
So it gave us a chance to do that and
then take some days off in between, which we don't
usually get to do with the schedule that we had
in February and March. It gave our players a chance
(04:54):
to be normal Michigan students for a couple days this
week as well. End quote. As for the Good Game, crew,
cpreciated the break because it made it way easier to
schedule some of the great college hoops guests that we've
had on in the last few days Yukon, Sarah Strong
and KK Arnold, Texas Is Rory Harmon, Vanderbilts coach Ralph
and michaelab Blakes. If you missed any of those, worth
going back to take a listen to college hockey where
(05:16):
it's frozen four time. The semi finals are today, with
number one seed Ohio State facing off against number five
Northeastern at four pm Eastern and streaming on ESPN Plus.
Then at seven thirty pm, Number two Wisconsin takes on
number three Penn State, aka the host of this year's
frozen four. The winners of those games will move on
to Sunday's championship game. Ohio State and Wisconsin have met
(05:37):
in the title game for three straight years, and the
answer the weekend favored to make it four straight. Plenty
more to say about all things college hockey later in
the show, with Nicole to the NWSL, where we've got
another eight games this weekend, beginning tonight with the Orlando
Pride hosting the Denver Summit at eight pm Eastern. We'll
see if Yasmin Ryan and Delaney Sheen acquired by the
Summit from Houston earlier this week, we'll be suiting up
(05:59):
in that one. There are three games on Saturday, including
a California battle between Angel City and BFC. Then on Sunday,
last year's Shield winners Kansas City take on last year's
worst ranked team, the Chicago Color Neutral Stars. But it's
a new year, folks, anything can happen. We'll just be
a goldfish and try to forget last weekend's four to
zho loss to Angel City. And it seems like the
(06:21):
Stars are trying to help people forget that too, because
while working on this portion of the script, producer Alex
discovered that while most teams do the very normal thing
of updating their online schedules with results from previous games,
the Stars do not. In fact, the Stars don't seem
to have an easily accessible results section anywhere on their website.
I guess that helps with the whole goldfish brain thing,
(06:43):
but it's a little weird to live in a world
where you can see your town's JV basketball results online
but not your local pro teams. Get it together, Chicago.
Moving on, Wait, there's more Chicago Stars news. Yeah, more
Chicago Stars news. The team shared a venue update this week.
This weekend's home opener will be played at Martin Stadium
on the Lakefront, and so the rest of the season's games. Previously,
(07:06):
the club announced it was seeking to play future home
games at Ryan Field, the currently under construction new venue
for Northwestern's football team, but on Wednesday, the club announced
it's halting that bid, at least for now. The move
comes after the village of will Met, which borders Ryan Field,
urged the city of Evanston to reject the Star's proposal
to play at the venue beginning in twenty twenty seven.
It's just the latest of many battles between local residents
(07:29):
and Northwestern sports or in this case, Northwestern adjacent sports.
In a statement, the Stars alluded to that pushback, saying, quote,
our goal has always been one of unity, galvanizing the
Evanston community and support of the club are athletes, and
the advancement of equity for women's sports. Based on the
overwhelming support we've received, we believe that this is what
Evanston residents seek as well, but have also heard a
(07:49):
call for more dialogue and understanding about who we are
and impact our presence will have on the community. End quote.
We'll link to a story from the Chicago Tribune that
has more details if you're interested more NWSL venue news.
Gotham is playing its home opener against North Carolina on
Saturday at the newly renamed Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison,
New Jersey. But looking further down the line, the Batties
(08:11):
will make a little history at a different venue this summer.
July's game between Gotham and Washington AKA, a rematch of
last year's NWSL championship, will be played at City Field
in Queens, marking the first women's sporting event at the
famed home of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. Tickets
for that go on sale next week, but if you
happen to be in Harrison this weekend, keep an eye
(08:32):
out for mister and Missus Met. They're going to help
kick off ring night for the defending champs. Sticking with
soccer for the Asian Cup where the field is set
for the final. Japan knocked out South Korea on Wednesday
four to one, and hosts Australia got past defending champs
China on Tuesday two to one with goals from national
team mainsdays Caitlin Ford and Sam Kerr. Japan and Australia
will now face off on Saturday at five am Eastern.
(08:56):
All four semi finalists Japan, Australia, China, and South Korea,
along Taiwan and North Korea who won play in games,
have now automatically qualified for the twenty twenty seven World Cup.
To the PWHL, where another busy weekend of hockey is
headlined by a Takeover Tour stop in Winnipeg on Sunday
featuring the Montreal Victoire and Ottawa Charge. Also for my
(09:16):
Chicago based slices, The Takeover Tour hits all state Arena
again next Wednesday, and I'll be out there with the
big group of about twenty people. So grab a ticket,
come say hey and hang out with us to cross
country skiing. We're us legend and friend of the show.
Jesse Diggins will compete in the final races of her
career this weekend, and she could go out with a
bang on top of the podium. Lake Placid, New York,
(09:37):
is hosting this weekend's World Cup finals, and Diggins currently
leads the race for the overall Crystal Globe, which is
awarded annually based on season long results. Diggins already won
the distance Crystal Globe last weekend in Norway, but the
season long title will come down to this final weekend.
Diggins is currently a massive three hundred and forty two
points ahead of her next closest competitor, and could clinch
(09:57):
the globe as early as today's ten klo race. No
matter how she fares in Lake Placid, Diggins will retire
as the most decorated American cross country skier of all time,
thanks to her four Olympic medals, seven World Championship medals,
and three, as of now, overall World Cup titles, and
her impact is even bigger due to her advocacy on
behalf of climate change and eating disorder awareness. Jesse Diggins
(10:20):
truly is one of one. We'll link to the full
broadcast schedule for this weekend's races in the show notes
so you can tune in to watch her compete to
the track and the World Athletics Indoor Championships that take
place this weekend in Poland, with a couple friends of
the show set to headline Team USA's roster. First up
Nicki Hilts, who won the fifteen hundred meter US Indoor
Championships a couple of weeks ago. They finished second in
(10:42):
the event at World's in twenty twenty four, but skipped
last year's championships to focus on the now defunct Grand
Slam Track rip. As usual, the fifteen hundred meter field
this year is deep, but you never want to count
out Hilts and their famous kick. Round one heats are
this afternoon at one twenty pm Eastern and the final
ist Sunday at two twenty Eastern. We'll also be watching
friend at the show, Anna Hall, the reigning Outdoor Worlds
(11:05):
have Tathlon champion. Despite being a seasoned pro, Hall is
making her world indoors debut this year and will be
competing in the five event Pentathlon on Sunday morning at
five Eastern. You can watch all the events on Peacock.
All right, one more thing, Slices. We told you last
week about the history of women's professional sports in Boston
and Denver. While slice amand Albert wrote us with some
(11:27):
extended history of women's tackle football in Boston. She wrote,
in part quote, the first team out of Boston in
the nineteen nineties was the New England Storm, with several
other teams in the New England area. The Storm then
split into two different teams, going into two different leagues,
the Base D eight Warriors and the Mass Mutiny. In
two thousand and eight, the Warriors and Mutiny came back
together to form the Boston Militia. The Militia won three
(11:49):
championships during their run. So Boston women's tackle football history
doesn't start with the Renegades, and I sure hope it
doesn't end with them either. End quote. We sure hope
it doesn't either, and thanks for sending me in that
extra info, Amanda. Mass Mutiny is an all timer of
a name for a team. We got to take a
quick break when we come back, We talk women's college
hockey and the butts of Heated Rivalry, with Nicole Hasey
(12:12):
stick Around, joining us for a second time on the show.
She's a women's hockey writer for The USCHO, co host
of the podcast podcast, and the editor in chief of
The Victory Press, an independent sports publication that covers women's
hockey among other sports. Since joining US last time, she
(12:33):
was a contestant on Jeopardy. But maybe even more impressive
and certainly more important, she recently won Heated Rivalry bar trivia.
It's a coal hockey heinda goal.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Hi, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Well, first we have to start with Heated Rivalry because
you posted a photo from trivia and I'm wondering what
the toughest question you got that you're pretty sure most
everyone else didn't get.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Oh, that's an interesting question. So I did like two
in one weekend, and one was super hard and one
was pretty easy. I think honestly the first one there,
nobody got any of the sports questions. They did a
real sport for you because they wanted to know, like
the original six NHLT I love that and things like that.
The name of the trophy. Nobody knew any of.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Those, okay, so you got to bring your your excellence
in actual sport and fictional sport. I noticed that there
was a picture round of naked butts and abs, and
I'm wondering if you went ten for ten on that.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Oh absolutely, like I would say ninety percent of them.
We didn't even have a question. And then there were
a couple. There was one that was Kip who was
obviously not naked on screen very long that we had
a quick discussion on. But it was honestly hilariously sort
of like technical. We're like, oh, I think that's the
plant in Scott's apartment.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
So it was amazing, Oh my gosh, so funny. I
like to quote the sign every time I have the chance,
because it cracked me up so bad. They said on
Jocular that Ilia Rosanov's ass is actually looking at you.
You're not looking at that ass, it is looking at you,
and I have to agree, Yeah, I'm okay with that.
I welcome it. Also Jeopardy tell us about that wasn't
(14:03):
everything you ever dreamed? It was?
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Yes, it all happened very fast. I took the very
first test like and within three months was three or
four months was taping the episodes, so there was sort
of no time to really think about it or overthink it,
so that was nice. And they do five episodes taping
in a day, and so you get to see all
(14:26):
the other episodes that go out in a week. And
I got the only sports category, so that is the
win for me.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Amazing.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
And then there was a JJ Watt reading a question
about Reggie White, so and I was against a guy
that won a bunch, so he was very quick on
the buzzer, but I still got in. I got several
of the sports questions. But particularly as a Wisconsin girl,
you know, they wouldn't let me come home if I
didn't get that.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Yeah, that's amazing. It's a life dream of mine. So
sometimes I'll have to actually apply myself and actually, you know,
try to get in. Okay, you're actually here to talk hockey,
not butts and Jeopardy as fun as that. And you
joined us last year right around this time, ahead of
the Frozen four. It was exceedingly helpful getting us ready
ahead of those contests. So we're going to do that again.
But before we get to what to expect from this week,
(15:09):
and I do want to back up just a little
bit and talk about the impact that the Olympics had
on this season of college hockey, because, unlike in years past,
this year the US and Canada did not centralize their
national teams because all those post grab players could get
in lots of competition in the PWHL. But that decision
did mean that college players also stayed in school instead
of taking Olympic red shirt seasons and going to centralization camps.
(15:30):
So how do you think that actually impacted those players
when it comes to their Olympic preparation.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
I actually think it was good for them in that
they were all very comfortable where they were right. They
had regiments. The players were talking about are at very
large universities, so they have nutrition plans and cafeterias and
sort of all of what they need from start to finish.
And I think particularly for ones that maybe had thought
about going pro in that year with an expansion, which
(15:57):
we now know has turned out great, but you didn't
know that going in, So I think for them it
was about like staying in this system that you know,
and you're comfortable when you know that you have all
the resources that you need. So from a player perspective,
I think that it was probably the best prep that
they could have in that situation because of the comfort
level if they were learning a new team where if
(16:18):
you know, things had happened however it went down with
a draft and the ped um, I think there would
have been sort of more questions and answers for them.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
For the absence of those Olympic players on the college
teams that didn't take a break because the PWHL paused,
but the college season didn't.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
No, and it was they were basically gone for well,
they were gone throughout the season to do some of
the camps and then they were gone essentially as the
season wound down, So like could not have been more
of a crucial.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Time for that.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
And then yeah, it was mostly that you saw a
lot of short rosters, like they only get to have
so many girls on the team, and if you're sending
five six, seven girls between because we're not just talking
North American players, but obviously like players that play in Finland, Sweden,
they like that, and so you're talking some short rosters
and then you're just talking players that don't normally get
(17:05):
you know, top line minutes suddenly be thrust to those roles,
you know, top power play all of that sort of stuff,
so it probably had a bigger impact on the team's
back home. And then a thing that in all of
sort of our talking about this in the last year,
sort of hypothesizing what would be an issue, it seems
like re entry or sort of everybody reacclimating was a
(17:26):
bigger concern or a bigger problem because you had this
team that sort of gelled while those players were gone
and took on new roles, and you named new captains
because in many places, the captain is the olympian that left. Yeah,
and then when the players came back, I think trying
to find that those roles again in the chemistry that
they had before the players left was really difficult.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
I think, a.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
You're asking players that really took on bigger roles to
take a step back again, and I think that's hard.
And then the players coming back, how did they fit
back in? And again we did that and they went
right into the playoffs, and so it just was a
high pressure situation. And yeah, it's been interesting. I think
it probably went about as good as it could have,
considering nobody knew what to expect. The teams that were
(18:13):
missing the most some of the teams that are here
this weekend, so.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
They powered through.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Yeah, you could make complaints, but ultimately it didn't change
their trajectory.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Yeah. To that point, Wisconsin had five Olympians, four of
them US, so at least four of them were playing together,
although not on the Wisconsin team, they were playing over
with Team USA. Ohio State had five, Penn State three,
and Northeastern had the one friend of the show, Alessia Beckler.
So we're excited to see Alessia coming up in the
Frozen four Okay final Olympic question for you, You were pretty
vocal on social media about the quality of the commentary
(18:44):
during the games. We were watching a lot of the
games in person, so we didn't get as much of
the TV experience as so many others did. What would
you say irked you most about what you heard?
Speaker 2 (18:55):
I am a staunch hardliner that I don't think we
should call when in defenseman. I just think it's a
really simple and easy change, and I get told like
the players don't mind, and I'm like, well, we could
go into a whole like hockey culture thing, and like particularly,
I think the same hockey culture bs that came out
from the men's team like this is a product of
(19:16):
that same things. There are many women who came through
the same process, and I do call them girls because
I could have mothered you know, most of them, and
so I forget I shouldn't call them girls. It's because
they're so delightfully young and I just keep getting older
and they stay college girls. But yeah, I just I
it's a hard line thing for me. You know, it's
(19:37):
the same they don't have to be linesmen, they can
be live persons. You know. There's just there's a lot
of very male centric terminology and Asian Moletsco particularly but
also Angela Rougieriro are just really hardcore about sticking with
the use of that word and it really really bugs
me and irks me. But also I just I think
that we should get actual play by play and insight
(19:59):
during a hockey game, which I know sounds groundbreaking apparently,
but there would just be long stretches. I mean, there's
even further complace about what they were talking about instead,
But just seriously, tell me about the game, like aging
knows the game. She could be telling people so much
stuff and we just get, you know, side conversations about
really dumb things. But fundamentally, the problem there is that
(20:19):
you're not helping people understand the game anymore. You're not
breaking down a play, and we've been getting the same
stuff since I mean, I've been covering women's college Howkins
since two thousand and six, and a lot of these
conversations haven't changed in those twenty years. So it's like goodness.
At some point you have to stop.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
You're saying that the audience doesn't know enough to elevate it,
but if you never try to elevate it, they won't
know more. And there's a certain respect for audience where
you can bring them along with you and make sure
you're doing your best to simplify it in a way
that they'll get. But also they'll get up to the
standard of what you're talking about if they're interested, and
they don't have a chance to if you don't try,
which can be frustrating for sure. Okay, So Frozen four
(20:57):
gets Underweagh this weekend. Penn Status host semi finals on Friday,
championship game on Sunday. So semi final number one. We
got number one Ohio State versus number five Northeastern, and
give us a little scouting report on each of those teams.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Sure, Ohio State obviously number one team going in. They
Wisconsin was the number one team for more than a
year in the polls, and when Ohio State beat Wisconsin
in the conference championship game they played in the WCCHA,
they became the number one team, so they took over
in the polls and the NPI, which is the math
that NCAA uses to rank the teams. Led by Joy Dunn,
(21:34):
obviously olympian, also Hill de Spenson, who is a Swedish Olympian.
She's probably going to be Brookie of the Year. She
was wha Rookie of the Year. She leads all rookies.
I think she's second in points despite having missed a
bunch of games because she was at the Olympics for rookies,
and she's seventh among all skaters as a rookie. Just
really having an amazing breakout season. Their goalie they have.
(21:57):
Ohio State has often played two goalies rode a season,
and this year Haley McLeod has taken the whole season
and so she set a bunch of records. So she's
been really good and interesting. But yeah, they are, you know,
they're a powerhouse. They have played for the last four
national championships. Wisconsin and Ohio State have won the last
several national championships, and Ohio State lost in heartbreak like
(22:22):
last year's national championship game is one of the best
hockey games I've ever watched in my life. And Ohio
State was winning until the final couple seconds, took a penalty,
gave up a penalty shot, and then lost in overtime.
And that's a team that prides itself like they are
able to motivate by having a little chip on their shoulder.
That would be the case anyway, and then they lost
(22:43):
in heartbreaking fashion, and so that has I'm back for
the things yeah all year long, right, And so beating
Wisconsin in that championship game and then taking the top
number one seed, I think it is definitely a motivating
factor for them. They had probably the team that adapted
the most to the Olympians being gone. It was kind
of didn't skip up eat And they're the team that
(23:05):
was the most short handed. They were skating looked like
four or five defenders and eight forwards. Just crazy numbers, uh,
And they are incredibly disciplined and their fitness is crazy.
So they were gonna be like that anyway. And then
like being so shorthanded, they play really aggressive for check.
They put a lot of pressure on they take away
time and space, and they're going to force you to
(23:27):
make mistakes. As for Northeastern, they obviously upset Minnesota last
week and which was a huge They went into Minneapolis
to get that win, scored four unanswered goals and ended
up being four two, but Minnesota scored twice on the
power play towards the end of the game, and Northeastern
went in there and just dominated. I thought it was
a really impressive showing for them. This is their fourth frozen.
(23:50):
Fourth they have an amazing goalie, Lisa Johnson, who is Swedish.
She's six foot tall, she's got a you know, one
point sixty one goals against the average, and just really good.
They have the Hockey East Rookie of the Year and
Player of the Year and strikers, a blockie, and just yeah,
they really were a team that came into this season
(24:11):
not not necessarily on the radar. They had kind of
down year last year and they just kind of took
care of business this year and so they're definitely on
a roll. And I think I'm just not sure what
we'll see from them, but I'm excited to see how
they match up.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Yeah, Striker is a blockie of Saskatchewan. Is definitely tournament
all name team like two good.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Absolutely and she has siblings with amazing there's like a
steal and yeah, the whole family has spectacular names. But
I think Striker won.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Oh, I need to look up the rest of the names.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Yeah, so we will not to be watching Alessia on Northeastern.
We'll also of course be watching Striker is a blockie
of Saskatchewan. Okay, semi final number two. We got number
two Wisconsin versus number three Penn State. Little scouting report
on those teams.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Sure, Penn State has Tessa Janicky. Penn State is hosting,
but this is a new site, Like they were named
as a host four years ago, and Penn State has
basically worked. They've hosted the tournament four years ago, were
not a top ranked team at the time, and basically
have done everything to make sure that they were in
this tournament when they were hosting it again. They play
(25:16):
in a somewhat less competitive conference. They've dominated that conference,
but their win to get to the Frozen Four was
their first ever NCAA win. So they've made the tournament
a few times but just hadn't gotten over that hurdle.
So this is just a huge step for them. Tessa
is all world, she's a finalist for the Pattyksmeiers Topitty
Final List, but she's also gotten a lot more help
(25:37):
over the years, and I think it's a conversation about
sort of like raising the level of play across the board, right,
So it's not just what she's done, and they did
plenty fine without her there. Grace Outwater, I think led
the league in points, and they have some really great
defenders Danika Maynard and Kendall Budsky. So it will be
for them about they don't play top ten teams in
(26:00):
their conference, whereas teams like Ohio State and Wisconsin are
playing each other, you know, and playing other ranked teams.
To Penn State just doesn't get to do that, and
so there will be an abrupt sort of jump for
them into this game. In the Wisconsin defending national champions,
as you mentioned, four gold medalists, and then you know,
a player we expected to be on Team USA was
(26:22):
Lacey Eden and then she did not get named to
the Olympic team, and she definitely took that personally and
really led the Badgers well.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
And the nation right scoring leader.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Exactly now leads the country within scoring with I think
it's seventy two points. But also they have Caroline Harvey,
you know, also a Patty Hast got three finalists averages
two points a game, is a defender, one of only
two players that out wages two points a game, Abby
Murphy being the other. But you know, also Christin Simms
is fifth in the country and scoring. Cassie Hall's tenth
in the country and scoring. Kelly Gorbatengo, who's a name
(26:55):
that nobody outside college hockey knows, is one of the
top goal scorers in the country. Like, there's just a
depth there that a few other teams can match. And
then they also have had Ava McNaughton, who was, you know,
the third string goalie for the Americans. So yeah, they're
you know, looking to go back to back. They that
team feels like they missed out going back to bed
(27:16):
because they lost one oo too Ohio State, and so
that's been their sort of drive oving this year. But
they're losing that's a major senior class. So this for
them is like the song you mentioned.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Kelly Gorbatanko had a hat trick in the Semis, which
was her second hat trick on the season, and you're right, like,
she's still not even top of the list for that
team of their weapons, but she's really fantastic. I wanted
to mention for Penn State. You mentioned how they are
getting like a home game even though it was technically
a neutral site. It's their first Frozen Four. Yeah, they
would be the fifth team to get to win it
at home. They're seventeen and one at home, so what
(27:48):
a great opportunity for a team to make their first
Frozen Four when it is the potential for a little
home ice bump. And I also wanted to talk about
their defense because you mentioned that they don't play as
many great teams, so this probably is, you know, a
contribut to this fact. But they allow the fewest goals
in the nation. Their goaltender has the most shutouts in
the nation, so they are, you know, potentially a team
(28:08):
that could really just shut it down defensively and try
to hang on and get get a rogue goal and
maybe surprise. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Absolutely, I don't think this is an easy game for
Wisconsin By any means. I do think that the depth
is going to be the factor of that. I think,
you know, if you see scoring from Wisconsin's third or
fourth line, that's that's trouble for Penn State. But I think,
you know, particularly top line to top line. Again, I
think the speed of the game will be something there,
and I think that you just it's very difficult to
(28:38):
prepare for that. It's something Quinnipiac said, which is who
Wisconsin bets to get to this point in their their quarterfinal,
just like you can't. You can't prepare for that. There's
no way to practice to get you used to it.
And so if you are used to time and space,
which is when you get to make the pretty plays
and the good passes and find your lanes and all
that sort of stuff, if you don't get any of that,
(28:59):
you have to you have to be able to rely
on your instincts and still play the type of game
you want. And so you know, Wisconsin's going to want
possession and Penn State and Tessa is one of the
best face off takers in the country, Like they're going
to try and keep the pup from them, and that's
going to be the key. If Penn State's going to
win this game.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
You mentioned Wisconsin has been killing it last few years,
Ohio State have been These have been the two teams
they've won the last six NCAA titles combined, Wisconsin four
from Ohio State two of them, and they've gone head
to head in the last three. You mentioned last year
it was Kristen Simms who got the penalty shot, raised
her hand for it and said, I want this shot.
I want to be the one with the pressure on,
(29:38):
and then also goes on to get the game winner
and overtime. It was a crazy game. What is it
about this rivalry if we do end up seeing those
two in the final again, what is it about those
two teams? And what would we want to watch for
Sunday in that matchup if it happens.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
What Ohio State did really well in the WHA championship
game two weeks ago, which you know, that's the great
thing about this is they play each other so much
like there's no secrets between these teams. The coaches like,
it just ends up kind of being a chess match
and it's who makes the right move when. But Ohio
State puts so much pressure on and so even though
that's a thing that Wisconsin does and they're used to.
(30:14):
They're a team that's used to being controlling the puck
and controlling the game, and so when you've got sort
of those two forces hitting each other, it's who adjusts.
In the end, it does not end up being pretty
hockey necessarily because neither of them is allowed to play
the game they want to play. So it's who handles,
you know, sort of the constant shippiness of like lifting
(30:35):
sticks and you know, fifty to fifty battles and bouncing
pucks and all that sort of stuff. And I just
thought Ohio State was so cool, calm and collected, and
they pushed Wisconsin off balance, and so I think that's
really the key is is sort of who handles the
spreat pressure and the spotlight. It's an interesting situation just
because Ohio State has all this pressure on themselves to
(30:56):
like make up for last year, but the Badgers have
that huge senior pass that they want to send out
on top, and so yeah, I think what you would
be looking for is who has possession and how Wisconsin
likes to be fast through the middle, particularly like they
want to move through that neutral zone so fast and
Ohio State was stepping to them and really stopping them
from moving with any speed or getting anything going. And
(31:17):
so that's sort of what you're looking for. If they're
doing that and Wisconsin's not adjusting, which they should be
able to do, and they didn't, and so like that's
kind of concerning, right, Like you knew this was coming.
So if you see that, I think that is in
Ohio State's favor. And if the Badgers are sort of
moving the puck around them, And the thing I always
(31:37):
like to say to people about women's hockey is like
it's sort of the purest form of hockey and that
like it's still physical, but you're not just blown up
a guy to get them off the puck in the
center ice, right, So like it's very finesse. It's a
very finesse game. Like they're passing, they're skating, you know,
right around people that make them look like they're seeing still.
So if Wisconsin is getting those passes in and really
like sort of weaving the puck around, then that that
(31:59):
means things are going well for them.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
We talked about Penn State hosting. It's the second time
they're getting this frozen four. Last time in twenty twenty two,
attendance wasn't great. Hopefully that'll be different now that Penn
State is in the mix. But do you have any
sense of why they got this uh hosting bid again?
Speaker 2 (32:15):
It is a great facility, you just like cannot deny. Like,
Pegula is a really great arena and it's a good
size for it. Just generally we don't get huge crowds
in women's hockey. The NCAA says that your building has
to hold life. It's either four thousand or forty five hundred,
and Ritter Arena in Minnesota is below that, but gets
(32:35):
like grandfathered in because there's just only so many places
and like you don't want to play in it, Like
the col Center at Madison has is like eighteen thousand.
You don't want to play in that, right, So there's
only a certain number of arenas that just fit the mold.
But yeah, the Pegula is a great arena. It's unfortunate
that it's so difficult to come to Penn State formost everybody, right,
like it's kind of in the middle of nowhere. But yeah,
(32:58):
I think it was a great and particularly in sort
of these non revenue sports, the NCAA prioritizes the student experience,
and I think the student experience was very good. The
facilities are great. They're not putting seven different buildings and
having to walk all over the place, Like there's enough
locker rooms. Everything they need is right there. And so yeah,
I wish that. You know, there's a lot of things.
(33:20):
I could have a whole episode just telling you about
what I think the Frozen forties on the women's side,
but yeah, I'm hoping. I just the attendance hasn't been great,
and you know, attendants wasn't great for their quarterfinal that
they hosted. Yeah, I just I wish they don't make
it easy to get to and then there's not associated
(33:40):
fan events, Like there's no fan fest, there's no clinics,
there's nothing like that, and so to like get your
family to come to stay college is difficult, and then
there's nothing here for you. So it does make it difficult.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Something to start working on in that space. Let's talk
quickly the Patty Casmier Memorial Award. It's given annually to
the top player in women's college hockey. It's going to
be awarded on Saturday. You did extensive interviews with a
bunch of players in the running for this, So you're
truly a Patty Kaz expert. Were you a voter this year?
I was yes, okay, great. So it's funny they say
finalists and then they narrow them down and label them
(34:14):
finalists again. But there were like ten finalists and now
there are three final finalists that are at Caroline Harvey
University of Wisconsin, Tessagiani Gia, Penn State, and Abbe Murphy
University of Minnesota. We talked about two of them that
will be in this Frozen Four. Abby Murphy's Minnesota got
upset by Northeastern, so she's done. We saw all of
them for Team USA. Tell us what stood out to
(34:34):
about them during the NCUBA season that maybe was different
than what we saw at the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
I mean, for me, Caroline Harvey is probably the best
defender in the world, so I guess you know that
probably tells you how I feel about this. But I
just I think there is KK changed the way that
people are going to recruit and what they're going to
expect from defenders in the women's game. Like just full on,
there are coaches in every rink right now looking for
(35:02):
the next KK. Just the skill set the wide variety
that you don't Everyone focuses on what she can do
on offense, but she's an incredible defender. You kind of
just don't see it because it's very sort of like
casual and easy. But she can push forward because she
can recover and because she'll chase somebody down. So for KK, yeah,
(35:22):
I think it's just both this sort of like overall,
and she's been one of the best players for several
years and every year she finds something else to add
to her game. But yeah, she's the anchor for Wisconsin
and she's you know, we listed several players that are
in the tops and scoring and yet she's still one
of their biggest offensive threats. And I think too, you
cannot underestimate how much so KK and Layla Edwards are
(35:45):
basically best friends. They live together, and Laylah switching to
defense for Team USA very much was helped by being
best friends Layla and KK. So I just think, like
she's just a she's a tactician of the game, she
sees it really well. She's a great team she's a
great captain. So sort of all those little bits that
are maybe not so obvious off you know, if you're
(36:06):
just watching the game. Abby Murphy is the engine and
was the engine at Minnesota for several years. She got
more support in the last couple of seasons, so she
wasn't having to do it on her own. But the
thing about Abby is she was Everybody knows she's gonna
get the puck. They know that she's what she's gonna do,
Like she's not. I mean, she's occasionally about to get
ridiculous moves, but like generally she's Her game hasn't changed
(36:29):
that much and you're still not stopping her. But I
think she just sort of elevated play with the Gophers
around her. And I think i'd say the same about
Tessa too. It's just for Tessa at Penn State. Penn
State wasn't a nationally raked program four years ago and
she came and it is not just the Tessa Janikee show.
So she has truly elevated the level of play of
(36:51):
everyone around her. And I think the intangible of what
it means to get, like what a player of that
caliber comes to a program that doesn't normally get top
caliber talent and hasn't And again, we're not that far
for removed from Penn State joining D one. They didn't
have a D one women's program not that long ago.
It's probably way longer than I remember it being, but
it's not that long. And so just what it means
(37:14):
to set a new standard for what is expected from
her teammates, from in the locker room, how you handle yourself,
you know, in every aspect of being a student athlete.
I think is the thing that Tessa has done. And
then also is just obviously spectacular on the ice. Yeah,
I think all three of them. There's a lot of
intangibles that make them spectacular players beyond and also they're
(37:37):
really skilled on the ice.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Right, you mentioned Tessa, like in the classroom everything else
we did talk about last year that the Patty cast
is supposed to take into account character and sportsmanship, who
you are other than just a hockey player. Abby Murphy
has developed a bit of a reputation for being a
dirty player, and not just talking about that filthy assist
that went viral a few months ago, talking about other things.
Do you think that's held her back and Patty cass consideration,
(38:00):
either this year or last.
Speaker 2 (38:02):
Yes, having been in some of some conversations, you know,
I've I did two years since the committee. I was
not on last year, but I was on the two
years before that, so and then this year. There are
coaches that that matters more to than others, and so
it kind of just depends on who's on the committee
and how much they take that into consideration. I mean,
(38:22):
Tessa also has a ton of penalty minutes, and honestly,
that isn't something anybody really talks about. So and you know,
KK has a has a streak in her too. She's
a shieldbiger, a retributive on somebody as well. With Abby, Yeah,
I think it's you love to hate her, right, you
want her on your team, you don't want to play
against her. And it's not about the antagonism. It's the
(38:47):
it's the more dirty play that people are really concerned about.
And I think it just depends on for the voters
whether that's something that concerns them or not. And also
I would say that people I think to just think
her numbers have gotten better like her. She clearly has
worked to not be doing like she doesn't have hundreds
of minutes this year.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
So I don't like, yeah, baby steps, Well, it sounds
like we know where your vote went for the Patty Caz.
Do you want to give us a feeling that you
have for who's going to come out on top this year.
I know we're not supposed to ask folks like you
for predictions, but you know, is there a gut feeling?
Speaker 2 (39:25):
The most consistent team has been Ohio State. I think
if Wisconsin plays at their best, it is a point flip.
It's like going into a gold medal game with US Canada.
But they have had plenty of slip ups, and the
team that is consistently no matter who is on the ice,
no matter what injuries anything like that, has come out
and sort of done their business and played their game
(39:48):
through and through his Ohio State. So I think that
it's probably their game to lose. But I can't imagine
that if it comes down to Wisconsin and Ohio State
that we don't see over time and we don't eat
some more craziness. I think that Wisconsin steps up to
the plate right like you're in that position. You have
those players. I don't think you see the slip ups
(40:09):
we've seen some of the times. But yeah, I think, yeah,
I'm gonna yell that by I'm gonna get yelled at
by a ton of Wisconsin people. But I think it's
probably now you said coin flip, I think it's probably
Ohio state.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
So you gave a little notch to Ohio State. But
fifty five, forty five or whatever, right, exactly, it's anyone's game.
We do love a coin flip, and we do love
some overtime. So here's hope and you're right. Thanks as always, Nicole,
appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (40:34):
Of course, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
Thanks again to Nicole forgetting us all set for the weekend.
We have to take another break when we return. It
feels like a lifetime ago, but it's really only been
a couple of years. Welcome Back Slices in honor of
Women's History Month every Friday. This month, we're doing a
special edition of Take It Back Our SEGM that looks
(41:00):
back at legendary games, athletes, or origin stories. In honor
of the WNBA's new CBA, I want to take it back,
but not too far back, just to twenty twenty when
the WNBA and its Players Association were finalizing the last landmark, groundbreaking,
transformational CBA. I went back to read the official press
(41:21):
release about that twenty twenty two CBA, and here are
some of the highlights. Quote a fifty three percent increase
in total cash compensation. Also quote, for the first time
in WNBA history, the average cash compensation for players will
exceed six figures, averaging nearly one hundred thirty thousand dollars
plus Quote premium economy class status for all players for
(41:43):
regular season air travel and no room is y' all.
Quote individual hotel room accommodations for every player now. At
the time of its signing, this deal felt momentous, game changing,
and yet here we are, just six years after that
twenty twenty deal, and some those same players who were
begging for solo rooms are overnight millionaires. Yesterday I dug
(42:05):
in on the revenue share issue. That's still got me
pissed off, frankly, and I'm not moving off my stance
that the women should be contractually guaranteed to share in
as much of their league's success as the men are.
But I probably didn't celebrate long enough or loud enough
about the good shit in this new CBA. Those big
salary wins had kind of been out there in the
reporting for a while, so I took for granted that
(42:26):
they'd finally be getting paid what they're worth. I wanted more, sorry,
problematically competitive person with a family full of lawyers checking in.
But as I was watching the stud buds talking about
players becoming the first millionaires in their families, as I
was cracking up about Ali Shagree getting told she doesn't
need to make tiktoks about her favorite snacks anymore because
she's got a bag, I remembered that I needed to
(42:48):
take a moment to really soak in the magnitude of
this new deal. Friend of the show, Lesiah Clarendon, who's
a new co host on the No Offseason podcast, said
in Thursday's episode that the twenty twenty CBA got players
dignity and this one got them livelihood. That's legit, And
as I play the scene forward, dozens of women, many
of them women of color, will leave the game with
(43:09):
the kind of money that they can use to change things,
become owners, start businesses, and more. We know the women
of the w are some of the baddest bitches on
the planet. Now they're getting paid like it, and that
money will get them more power, more access, more chances
to make change in the world. I guess I realize now.
Sometimes to really understand where you are, you got to
(43:30):
take it back to where you've been, even if that's
only twenty twenty. We love that you're listening slices, but
we want you to get in the game every day too,
So here's our good game play of the day, last
chance to get those brackets in. Also, if you want
to ensure you're a winner no matter what happens with
those bracket selections, you can select to donate to my
(43:51):
annual campaign here the Cheers, which aligned this year's fundraiser
with the NCAA tournament. My co founder, Eliza Peters, and
I started it thirteen years ago when she was in
middle school to help kids get hearing aids and audiology
equipment so they can stay in sports and activities because
on fun fact, insurance almost never covers the cost of
hearing aids, which can cost thousands of dollars. We'll link
(44:13):
to the website in the show notes if you want
to donate, and there are some pretty good prizes in
a raffle there that you're eligible to win when you give. Also,
keep doing your slice work because we're loving all the
personal and professional updates you're giving us. On the profession side,
Elizabeth L. Wrote in a shout out her workplace, writing
to us, quote, the Women's Employee Resource Group started a
women's NCAA bracket contest two years ago. The ERG runs
(44:36):
the pool and gives prizes for the top three finishers.
There is no men's bracket work pool, only women's basketball,
as it should be end quote. Now this made producer
Alex especially happy because longtime listeners will recall her story
about the time the Women's Employee Resource Group at her
company made a bracket competition for the men's tournament, but
not the women's, So she and a few equally peeved
(44:57):
coworkers made their own bracket challenge. As for the personal
news super Slice, Aaron Ross sent a note sharing the
incredible news that she was accepted into the women's sports
program at Simmons University, writing quote, I cannot wait to
start this fall. I'm going to be like fifty when
I graduate, but my girls are seeing this pivot, so
that's more motivation. End quote. Aaron, this is incredible and
(45:20):
yes to your daughters seeing their mom continuing to pursue
passions and the chance to work in a super rewarding field.
We just hope yours up to date on your homework
there as you are on your slice work here. We
always love to hear from you, so hit us up
on email, good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or leave
us a voicemail at eight seven two two oh four
fifty seventy, and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review.
(45:42):
It's easy watch news sites never having the need for
some very stylized WNBA lockout photos rating ten out of
ten unused sexy shots of a ball in chains review.
With the potential WNBA lockout looming, photographer James Black wanted
to make sure media outlets were prepared, so we shot
a series of stylized photos for news stories on the topic,
(46:03):
uploading about a dozen picks to Getty in October featuring
WNBA balls encircled by a padlock in chains. We're especially
obsessed with the one of a WNBA ball stuck MIDnet
with a lock blocking its path defectors my three to
nonth th Rahman, who's post on Blue Sky brought this
to our attention, wrote quote, the only downside of labor
piece is that we have no use for these beautiful images.
(46:23):
End quote too true. Apparently lockout photos are actually Black's
bread and butter. Back in twenty twenty two, he did
a series of photos with baseballs and bats under lock
and key for Major League Baseball's Lockout, and those beautiful
images did run. The Athletic actually did a feature on
Black's photos, which we'll link to in the show notes.
Now it's your turn, y'all, rate and review, Thanks for listening,
(46:45):
See you next week. Good game, Nicole, Good game, and
good luck tournament teams you. How is my bracket already busted?
The first round hasn't even started yet. Good Game with
Sarah Spain is an iheartwomen's sports production in partnership with
Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
(47:06):
Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzi
and Bianca Hillier. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutterer,
Lucy Jones, Britney Martinez and Gianna Palmer. Production assistants from
Avery Loftus and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we can't
stop watching all the social media content from WNBA players
reacting to the new CBA. We talk about millionaire mommies.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Baby.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
It's Friday, March twentieth, and on today's show, we'll get
you up to speed as a few more details emerge
about the groundbreaking new WNBACBA. Then we'll talk to women's
hockey reporter Nicole Hasey about all things women's college hockey.
She breaks down this weekend's frozen four matchups, talks the
evolution of the Wisconsin Ohio state rivalry, and gives her
assessment of how the Olympics impacted the college season. Plus
(00:33):
finding a needle in a sixty four team haystack, a
cross country legend looks to go out on top, and
you don't need to be a goldfish to forget these results.
It's all coming up right after this Welcome back slices.
Happy Friday. Here's what you need to know today. Let's
(00:57):
start with the WNBA and a few additional takeways that
we've learned about the new CBA in the last twenty
four or so hours. First, the term length on Wednesday
evening front of the show. Annie Costable of Front Office
Sports was the first to report that the new deal
will be for seven years, with an opt out after
year six. Meantime, ESPN's Alexa Philippo and Sham Sharania reported
that while the salary cap will start at seven million
(01:19):
dollars this year, it will increase to ten million by
the final season of the agreement, and per reporting from
the Athletic, more players will be eligible for Supermax deals
that will be worth one point four million dollars. All
of the players who qualified under the old rules are
still eligible, and third year rookies signing extensions with their
current team can replace their fourth year salary with the
Supermax if they've previously won MVP or earned all WNBA honors.
(01:44):
Also from the Athletics, starting in twenty twenty seven, players
can only be cored if they have six or fewer
years of service. Now, being coord means a player's team
retains their exclusive negotiating rights in this new CBA. That
means more players will be true unrestricted free agents earlier
in their careers. Finally, a little mayacopa from me, because
I realized in yesterday show I referred to the two
(02:05):
veteran players under contract heading into this season as the
two Lexis, but I actually met the two Browns, as
in Lexi Brown and Colonie Brown. When we spoke to
Alexa Philip, whom middan Wednesday, she wasn't sure if those
two players would have their salaries leveled up like the
rookies will, and I reached out to Lexi Brown to ask,
and she said she was told her salary, which was
supposed to be ninety eight thousand dollars in twenty twenty seven,
(02:25):
will get quote unquote leveled up, but that she's still
waiting for one hundred percent confirmation. That certainly seems like
the right thing to do, both for Lexi and Colonie's benefit,
but also for the competition of the league because those
old salaries would be such a tiny blip under the
new salary cap, Lexi and Colonie's teams would be able
to load up on more talent than the rest of
the league. Now, as of this recording, we're still waiting
(02:47):
on the term sheet, which will include additional details of
the deal and hopefully provide some more clarity on the
specifics of the revenue share to college hoops, where the
sixty fourteen bracket is locked in and the first round
of March Madness officially gets under today. There are sixteen
games today, beginning at eleven thirty am Eastern and continuing
till late tonight. The lineup includes one of the four
(03:07):
number one seeds, Texas taking on Missouri State that gave
tips off at four pm Eastern on ESPN, the other
three number one seeds Yukon, UCLA, and South Carolina. I'll
get underway tomorrow. We'll link to the full March Madness
schedule in the show notes, and if you're listening to
this early morning Friday, there's still time to get your
brackets in. Check the show notes for a link to
(03:27):
the March Slicness Show bracket. Sticking with March Madness for
a minute, friend of the Show Josh Bard reached out
to ask whether top coaches in the women's game disliked
the week plus break that their teams get between conference
tournaments and the NCAA tournament. You know, over on the
men's side, the break is just a couple of days.
We presume the discrepancy is to accommodate venue and television schedules. Anyway,
I found the question interesting, and we got a few
(03:49):
bites on the topic when we reached out to a
couple fronts the show, including Yukon coach Gino Oriema, who
said he'd prefer no break last week. He told us, quote,
ideally we'd be playing our conference turn this weekend. It
fits more in with the regular season for scheduling playing
last weekend, it's too long of a break in between games.
But logistically, I understand why we play when we play,
(04:10):
and if you have any lingering injuries, it does give
you more time to rest and reset. End quote. And
Michigan head coach Kim Rico Barnes saw the positives. Here's
what she said in a recent presser. Quote. It gives
us a chance to obviously say where do we need
to get better, what do we need to do better,
But also, hey, we had the best season in program history.
The world is not coming to an end because we
lost a game. We're getting ready for the NCAA tournament.
(04:32):
Let's regroup, let's reflect, and let's try to have some
really great practices. I think it also gives us a
chance to work on some areas that we need to
work on at the same time, not preparing for an opponent.
You spend the whole latter part of the season just
preparing for opponents. You really never get to work on yourself.
So it gave us a chance to do that and
then take some days off in between, which we don't
usually get to do with the schedule that we had
in February and March. It gave our players a chance
(04:54):
to be normal Michigan students for a couple days this
week as well. End quote. As for the Good Game, crew,
cpreciated the break because it made it way easier to
schedule some of the great college hoops guests that we've
had on in the last few days Yukon, Sarah Strong
and KK Arnold, Texas Is Rory Harmon, Vanderbilts coach Ralph
and michaelab Blakes. If you missed any of those, worth
going back to take a listen to college hockey where
(05:16):
it's frozen four time. The semi finals are today, with
number one seed Ohio State facing off against number five
Northeastern at four pm Eastern and streaming on ESPN Plus.
Then at seven thirty pm, Number two Wisconsin takes on
number three Penn State, aka the host of this year's
frozen four. The winners of those games will move on
to Sunday's championship game. Ohio State and Wisconsin have met
(05:37):
in the title game for three straight years, and the
answer the weekend favored to make it four straight. Plenty
more to say about all things college hockey later in
the show, with Nicole to the NWSL, where we've got
another eight games this weekend, beginning tonight with the Orlando
Pride hosting the Denver Summit at eight pm Eastern. We'll
see if Yasmin Ryan and Delaney Sheen acquired by the
Summit from Houston earlier this week, we'll be suiting up
(05:59):
in that one. There are three games on Saturday, including
a California battle between Angel City and BFC. Then on Sunday,
last year's Shield winners Kansas City take on last year's
worst ranked team, the Chicago Color Neutral Stars. But it's
a new year, folks, anything can happen. We'll just be
a goldfish and try to forget last weekend's four to
zho loss to Angel City. And it seems like the
(06:21):
Stars are trying to help people forget that too, because
while working on this portion of the script, producer Alex
discovered that while most teams do the very normal thing
of updating their online schedules with results from previous games,
the Stars do not. In fact, the Stars don't seem
to have an easily accessible results section anywhere on their website.
I guess that helps with the whole goldfish brain thing,
(06:43):
but it's a little weird to live in a world
where you can see your town's JV basketball results online
but not your local pro teams. Get it together, Chicago.
Moving on, Wait, there's more Chicago Stars news. Yeah, more
Chicago Stars news. The team shared a venue update this week.
This weekend's home opener will be played at Martin Stadium
on the Lakefront, and so the rest of the season's games. Previously,
(07:06):
the club announced it was seeking to play future home
games at Ryan Field, the currently under construction new venue
for Northwestern's football team, but on Wednesday, the club announced
it's halting that bid, at least for now. The move
comes after the village of will Met, which borders Ryan Field,
urged the city of Evanston to reject the Star's proposal
to play at the venue beginning in twenty twenty seven.
It's just the latest of many battles between local residents
(07:29):
and Northwestern sports or in this case, Northwestern adjacent sports.
In a statement, the Stars alluded to that pushback, saying, quote,
our goal has always been one of unity, galvanizing the
Evanston community and support of the club are athletes, and
the advancement of equity for women's sports. Based on the
overwhelming support we've received, we believe that this is what
Evanston residents seek as well, but have also heard a
(07:49):
call for more dialogue and understanding about who we are
and impact our presence will have on the community. End quote.
We'll link to a story from the Chicago Tribune that
has more details if you're interested more NWSL venue news.
Gotham is playing its home opener against North Carolina on
Saturday at the newly renamed Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison,
New Jersey. But looking further down the line, the Batties
(08:11):
will make a little history at a different venue this summer.
July's game between Gotham and Washington AKA, a rematch of
last year's NWSL championship, will be played at City Field
in Queens, marking the first women's sporting event at the
famed home of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. Tickets
for that go on sale next week, but if you
happen to be in Harrison this weekend, keep an eye
(08:32):
out for mister and Missus Met. They're going to help
kick off ring night for the defending champs. Sticking with
soccer for the Asian Cup where the field is set
for the final. Japan knocked out South Korea on Wednesday
four to one, and hosts Australia got past defending champs
China on Tuesday two to one with goals from national
team mainsdays Caitlin Ford and Sam Kerr. Japan and Australia
will now face off on Saturday at five am Eastern.
(08:56):
All four semi finalists Japan, Australia, China, and South Korea,
along Taiwan and North Korea who won play in games,
have now automatically qualified for the twenty twenty seven World Cup.
To the PWHL, where another busy weekend of hockey is
headlined by a Takeover Tour stop in Winnipeg on Sunday
featuring the Montreal Victoire and Ottawa Charge. Also for my
(09:16):
Chicago based slices, The Takeover Tour hits all state Arena
again next Wednesday, and I'll be out there with the
big group of about twenty people. So grab a ticket,
come say hey and hang out with us to cross
country skiing. We're us legend and friend of the show.
Jesse Diggins will compete in the final races of her
career this weekend, and she could go out with a
bang on top of the podium. Lake Placid, New York,
(09:37):
is hosting this weekend's World Cup finals, and Diggins currently
leads the race for the overall Crystal Globe, which is
awarded annually based on season long results. Diggins already won
the distance Crystal Globe last weekend in Norway, but the
season long title will come down to this final weekend.
Diggins is currently a massive three hundred and forty two
points ahead of her next closest competitor, and could clinch
(09:57):
the globe as early as today's ten klo race. No
matter how she fares in Lake Placid, Diggins will retire
as the most decorated American cross country skier of all time,
thanks to her four Olympic medals, seven World Championship medals,
and three, as of now, overall World Cup titles, and
her impact is even bigger due to her advocacy on
behalf of climate change and eating disorder awareness. Jesse Diggins
(10:20):
truly is one of one. We'll link to the full
broadcast schedule for this weekend's races in the show notes
so you can tune in to watch her compete to
the track and the World Athletics Indoor Championships that take
place this weekend in Poland, with a couple friends of
the show set to headline Team USA's roster. First up
Nicki Hilts, who won the fifteen hundred meter US Indoor
Championships a couple of weeks ago. They finished second in
(10:42):
the event at World's in twenty twenty four, but skipped
last year's championships to focus on the now defunct Grand
Slam Track rip. As usual, the fifteen hundred meter field
this year is deep, but you never want to count
out Hilts and their famous kick. Round one heats are
this afternoon at one twenty pm Eastern and the final
ist Sunday at two twenty Eastern. We'll also be watching
friend at the show, Anna Hall, the reigning Outdoor Worlds
(11:05):
have Tathlon champion. Despite being a seasoned pro, Hall is
making her world indoors debut this year and will be
competing in the five event Pentathlon on Sunday morning at
five Eastern. You can watch all the events on Peacock.
All right, one more thing, Slices. We told you last
week about the history of women's professional sports in Boston
and Denver. While slice amand Albert wrote us with some
(11:27):
extended history of women's tackle football in Boston. She wrote,
in part quote, the first team out of Boston in
the nineteen nineties was the New England Storm, with several
other teams in the New England area. The Storm then
split into two different teams, going into two different leagues,
the Base D eight Warriors and the Mass Mutiny. In
two thousand and eight, the Warriors and Mutiny came back
together to form the Boston Militia. The Militia won three
(11:49):
championships during their run. So Boston women's tackle football history
doesn't start with the Renegades, and I sure hope it
doesn't end with them either. End quote. We sure hope
it doesn't either, and thanks for sending me in that
extra info, Amanda. Mass Mutiny is an all timer of
a name for a team. We got to take a
quick break when we come back, We talk women's college
hockey and the butts of Heated Rivalry, with Nicole Hasey
(12:12):
stick Around, joining us for a second time on the show.
She's a women's hockey writer for The USCHO, co host
of the podcast podcast, and the editor in chief of
The Victory Press, an independent sports publication that covers women's
hockey among other sports. Since joining US last time, she
(12:33):
was a contestant on Jeopardy. But maybe even more impressive
and certainly more important, she recently won Heated Rivalry bar trivia.
It's a coal hockey heinda goal.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Hi, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Well, first we have to start with Heated Rivalry because
you posted a photo from trivia and I'm wondering what
the toughest question you got that you're pretty sure most
everyone else didn't get.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Oh, that's an interesting question. So I did like two
in one weekend, and one was super hard and one
was pretty easy. I think honestly the first one there,
nobody got any of the sports questions. They did a
real sport for you because they wanted to know, like
the original six NHLT I love that and things like that.
The name of the trophy. Nobody knew any of.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Those, okay, so you got to bring your your excellence
in actual sport and fictional sport. I noticed that there
was a picture round of naked butts and abs, and
I'm wondering if you went ten for ten on that.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Oh absolutely, like I would say ninety percent of them.
We didn't even have a question. And then there were
a couple. There was one that was Kip who was
obviously not naked on screen very long that we had
a quick discussion on. But it was honestly hilariously sort
of like technical. We're like, oh, I think that's the
plant in Scott's apartment.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
So it was amazing, Oh my gosh, so funny. I
like to quote the sign every time I have the chance,
because it cracked me up so bad. They said on
Jocular that Ilia Rosanov's ass is actually looking at you.
You're not looking at that ass, it is looking at you,
and I have to agree, Yeah, I'm okay with that.
I welcome it. Also Jeopardy tell us about that wasn't
(14:03):
everything you ever dreamed? It was?
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Yes, it all happened very fast. I took the very
first test like and within three months was three or
four months was taping the episodes, so there was sort
of no time to really think about it or overthink it,
so that was nice. And they do five episodes taping
in a day, and so you get to see all
(14:26):
the other episodes that go out in a week. And
I got the only sports category, so that is the
win for me.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Amazing.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
And then there was a JJ Watt reading a question
about Reggie White, so and I was against a guy
that won a bunch, so he was very quick on
the buzzer, but I still got in. I got several
of the sports questions. But particularly as a Wisconsin girl,
you know, they wouldn't let me come home if I
didn't get that.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Yeah, that's amazing. It's a life dream of mine. So
sometimes I'll have to actually apply myself and actually, you know,
try to get in. Okay, you're actually here to talk hockey,
not butts and Jeopardy as fun as that. And you
joined us last year right around this time, ahead of
the Frozen four. It was exceedingly helpful getting us ready
ahead of those contests. So we're going to do that again.
But before we get to what to expect from this week,
(15:09):
and I do want to back up just a little
bit and talk about the impact that the Olympics had
on this season of college hockey, because, unlike in years past,
this year the US and Canada did not centralize their
national teams because all those post grab players could get
in lots of competition in the PWHL. But that decision
did mean that college players also stayed in school instead
of taking Olympic red shirt seasons and going to centralization camps.
(15:30):
So how do you think that actually impacted those players
when it comes to their Olympic preparation.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
I actually think it was good for them in that
they were all very comfortable where they were right. They
had regiments. The players were talking about are at very
large universities, so they have nutrition plans and cafeterias and
sort of all of what they need from start to finish.
And I think particularly for ones that maybe had thought
about going pro in that year with an expansion, which
(15:57):
we now know has turned out great, but you didn't
know that going in, So I think for them it
was about like staying in this system that you know,
and you're comfortable when you know that you have all
the resources that you need. So from a player perspective,
I think that it was probably the best prep that
they could have in that situation because of the comfort
level if they were learning a new team where if
(16:18):
you know, things had happened however it went down with
a draft and the ped um, I think there would
have been sort of more questions and answers for them.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
For the absence of those Olympic players on the college
teams that didn't take a break because the PWHL paused,
but the college season didn't.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
No, and it was they were basically gone for well,
they were gone throughout the season to do some of
the camps and then they were gone essentially as the
season wound down, So like could not have been more
of a crucial.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Time for that.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
And then yeah, it was mostly that you saw a
lot of short rosters, like they only get to have
so many girls on the team, and if you're sending
five six, seven girls between because we're not just talking
North American players, but obviously like players that play in Finland, Sweden,
they like that, and so you're talking some short rosters
and then you're just talking players that don't normally get
(17:05):
you know, top line minutes suddenly be thrust to those roles,
you know, top power play all of that sort of stuff,
so it probably had a bigger impact on the team's
back home. And then a thing that in all of
sort of our talking about this in the last year,
sort of hypothesizing what would be an issue, it seems
like re entry or sort of everybody reacclimating was a
(17:26):
bigger concern or a bigger problem because you had this
team that sort of gelled while those players were gone
and took on new roles, and you named new captains
because in many places, the captain is the olympian that left. Yeah,
and then when the players came back, I think trying
to find that those roles again in the chemistry that
they had before the players left was really difficult.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
I think, a.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
You're asking players that really took on bigger roles to
take a step back again, and I think that's hard.
And then the players coming back, how did they fit
back in? And again we did that and they went
right into the playoffs, and so it just was a
high pressure situation. And yeah, it's been interesting. I think
it probably went about as good as it could have,
considering nobody knew what to expect. The teams that were
(18:13):
missing the most some of the teams that are here
this weekend, so.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
They powered through.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Yeah, you could make complaints, but ultimately it didn't change
their trajectory.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Yeah. To that point, Wisconsin had five Olympians, four of
them US, so at least four of them were playing together,
although not on the Wisconsin team, they were playing over
with Team USA. Ohio State had five, Penn State three,
and Northeastern had the one friend of the show, Alessia Beckler.
So we're excited to see Alessia coming up in the
Frozen four Okay final Olympic question for you, You were pretty
vocal on social media about the quality of the commentary
(18:44):
during the games. We were watching a lot of the
games in person, so we didn't get as much of
the TV experience as so many others did. What would
you say irked you most about what you heard?
Speaker 2 (18:55):
I am a staunch hardliner that I don't think we
should call when in defenseman. I just think it's a
really simple and easy change, and I get told like
the players don't mind, and I'm like, well, we could
go into a whole like hockey culture thing, and like particularly,
I think the same hockey culture bs that came out
from the men's team like this is a product of
(19:16):
that same things. There are many women who came through
the same process, and I do call them girls because
I could have mothered you know, most of them, and
so I forget I shouldn't call them girls. It's because
they're so delightfully young and I just keep getting older
and they stay college girls. But yeah, I just I
it's a hard line thing for me. You know, it's
(19:37):
the same they don't have to be linesmen, they can
be live persons. You know. There's just there's a lot
of very male centric terminology and Asian Moletsco particularly but
also Angela Rougieriro are just really hardcore about sticking with
the use of that word and it really really bugs
me and irks me. But also I just I think
that we should get actual play by play and insight
(19:59):
during a hockey game, which I know sounds groundbreaking apparently,
but there would just be long stretches. I mean, there's
even further complace about what they were talking about instead,
But just seriously, tell me about the game, like aging
knows the game. She could be telling people so much
stuff and we just get, you know, side conversations about
really dumb things. But fundamentally, the problem there is that
(20:19):
you're not helping people understand the game anymore. You're not
breaking down a play, and we've been getting the same
stuff since I mean, I've been covering women's college Howkins
since two thousand and six, and a lot of these
conversations haven't changed in those twenty years. So it's like goodness.
At some point you have to stop.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
You're saying that the audience doesn't know enough to elevate it,
but if you never try to elevate it, they won't
know more. And there's a certain respect for audience where
you can bring them along with you and make sure
you're doing your best to simplify it in a way
that they'll get. But also they'll get up to the
standard of what you're talking about if they're interested, and
they don't have a chance to if you don't try,
which can be frustrating for sure. Okay, So Frozen four
(20:57):
gets Underweagh this weekend. Penn Status host semi finals on Friday,
championship game on Sunday. So semi final number one. We
got number one Ohio State versus number five Northeastern, and
give us a little scouting report on each of those teams.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Sure, Ohio State obviously number one team going in. They
Wisconsin was the number one team for more than a
year in the polls, and when Ohio State beat Wisconsin
in the conference championship game they played in the WCCHA,
they became the number one team, so they took over
in the polls and the NPI, which is the math
that NCAA uses to rank the teams. Led by Joy Dunn,
(21:34):
obviously olympian, also Hill de Spenson, who is a Swedish Olympian.
She's probably going to be Brookie of the Year. She
was wha Rookie of the Year. She leads all rookies.
I think she's second in points despite having missed a
bunch of games because she was at the Olympics for rookies,
and she's seventh among all skaters as a rookie. Just
really having an amazing breakout season. Their goalie they have.
(21:57):
Ohio State has often played two goalies rode a season,
and this year Haley McLeod has taken the whole season
and so she set a bunch of records. So she's
been really good and interesting. But yeah, they are, you know,
they're a powerhouse. They have played for the last four
national championships. Wisconsin and Ohio State have won the last
several national championships, and Ohio State lost in heartbreak like
(22:22):
last year's national championship game is one of the best
hockey games I've ever watched in my life. And Ohio
State was winning until the final couple seconds, took a penalty,
gave up a penalty shot, and then lost in overtime.
And that's a team that prides itself like they are
able to motivate by having a little chip on their shoulder.
That would be the case anyway, and then they lost
(22:43):
in heartbreaking fashion, and so that has I'm back for
the things yeah all year long, right, And so beating
Wisconsin in that championship game and then taking the top
number one seed, I think it is definitely a motivating
factor for them. They had probably the team that adapted
the most to the Olympians being gone. It was kind
of didn't skip up eat And they're the team that
(23:05):
was the most short handed. They were skating looked like
four or five defenders and eight forwards. Just crazy numbers, uh,
And they are incredibly disciplined and their fitness is crazy.
So they were gonna be like that anyway. And then
like being so shorthanded, they play really aggressive for check.
They put a lot of pressure on they take away
time and space, and they're going to force you to
(23:27):
make mistakes. As for Northeastern, they obviously upset Minnesota last
week and which was a huge They went into Minneapolis
to get that win, scored four unanswered goals and ended
up being four two, but Minnesota scored twice on the
power play towards the end of the game, and Northeastern
went in there and just dominated. I thought it was
a really impressive showing for them. This is their fourth frozen.
(23:50):
Fourth they have an amazing goalie, Lisa Johnson, who is Swedish.
She's six foot tall, she's got a you know, one
point sixty one goals against the average, and just really good.
They have the Hockey East Rookie of the Year and
Player of the Year and strikers, a blockie, and just yeah,
they really were a team that came into this season
(24:11):
not not necessarily on the radar. They had kind of
down year last year and they just kind of took
care of business this year and so they're definitely on
a roll. And I think I'm just not sure what
we'll see from them, but I'm excited to see how
they match up.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Yeah, Striker is a blockie of Saskatchewan. Is definitely tournament
all name team like two good.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Absolutely and she has siblings with amazing there's like a
steal and yeah, the whole family has spectacular names. But
I think Striker won.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Oh, I need to look up the rest of the names.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Yeah, so we will not to be watching Alessia on Northeastern.
We'll also of course be watching Striker is a blockie
of Saskatchewan. Okay, semi final number two. We got number
two Wisconsin versus number three Penn State. Little scouting report
on those teams.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Sure, Penn State has Tessa Janicky. Penn State is hosting,
but this is a new site, Like they were named
as a host four years ago, and Penn State has
basically worked. They've hosted the tournament four years ago, were
not a top ranked team at the time, and basically
have done everything to make sure that they were in
this tournament when they were hosting it again. They play
(25:16):
in a somewhat less competitive conference. They've dominated that conference,
but their win to get to the Frozen Four was
their first ever NCAA win. So they've made the tournament
a few times but just hadn't gotten over that hurdle.
So this is just a huge step for them. Tessa
is all world, she's a finalist for the Pattyksmeiers Topitty
Final List, but she's also gotten a lot more help
(25:37):
over the years, and I think it's a conversation about
sort of like raising the level of play across the board, right,
So it's not just what she's done, and they did
plenty fine without her there. Grace Outwater, I think led
the league in points, and they have some really great
defenders Danika Maynard and Kendall Budsky. So it will be
for them about they don't play top ten teams in
(26:00):
their conference, whereas teams like Ohio State and Wisconsin are
playing each other, you know, and playing other ranked teams.
To Penn State just doesn't get to do that, and
so there will be an abrupt sort of jump for
them into this game. In the Wisconsin defending national champions,
as you mentioned, four gold medalists, and then you know,
a player we expected to be on Team USA was
(26:22):
Lacey Eden and then she did not get named to
the Olympic team, and she definitely took that personally and
really led the Badgers well.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
And the nation right scoring leader.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Exactly now leads the country within scoring with I think
it's seventy two points. But also they have Caroline Harvey,
you know, also a Patty Hast got three finalists averages
two points a game, is a defender, one of only
two players that out wages two points a game, Abby
Murphy being the other. But you know, also Christin Simms
is fifth in the country and scoring. Cassie Hall's tenth
in the country and scoring. Kelly Gorbatengo, who's a name
(26:55):
that nobody outside college hockey knows, is one of the
top goal scorers in the country. Like, there's just a
depth there that a few other teams can match. And
then they also have had Ava McNaughton, who was, you know,
the third string goalie for the Americans. So yeah, they're
you know, looking to go back to back. They that
team feels like they missed out going back to bed
(27:16):
because they lost one oo too Ohio State, and so
that's been their sort of drive oving this year. But
they're losing that's a major senior class. So this for
them is like the song you mentioned.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Kelly Gorbatanko had a hat trick in the Semis, which
was her second hat trick on the season, and you're right, like,
she's still not even top of the list for that
team of their weapons, but she's really fantastic. I wanted
to mention for Penn State. You mentioned how they are
getting like a home game even though it was technically
a neutral site. It's their first Frozen Four. Yeah, they
would be the fifth team to get to win it
at home. They're seventeen and one at home, so what
(27:48):
a great opportunity for a team to make their first
Frozen Four when it is the potential for a little
home ice bump. And I also wanted to talk about
their defense because you mentioned that they don't play as
many great teams, so this probably is, you know, a
contribut to this fact. But they allow the fewest goals
in the nation. Their goaltender has the most shutouts in
the nation, so they are, you know, potentially a team
(28:08):
that could really just shut it down defensively and try
to hang on and get get a rogue goal and
maybe surprise. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Absolutely, I don't think this is an easy game for
Wisconsin By any means. I do think that the depth
is going to be the factor of that. I think,
you know, if you see scoring from Wisconsin's third or
fourth line, that's that's trouble for Penn State. But I think,
you know, particularly top line to top line. Again, I
think the speed of the game will be something there,
and I think that you just it's very difficult to
(28:38):
prepare for that. It's something Quinnipiac said, which is who
Wisconsin bets to get to this point in their their quarterfinal,
just like you can't. You can't prepare for that. There's
no way to practice to get you used to it.
And so if you are used to time and space,
which is when you get to make the pretty plays
and the good passes and find your lanes and all
that sort of stuff, if you don't get any of that,
(28:59):
you have to you have to be able to rely
on your instincts and still play the type of game
you want. And so you know, Wisconsin's going to want
possession and Penn State and Tessa is one of the
best face off takers in the country, Like they're going
to try and keep the pup from them, and that's
going to be the key. If Penn State's going to
win this game.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
You mentioned Wisconsin has been killing it last few years,
Ohio State have been These have been the two teams
they've won the last six NCAA titles combined, Wisconsin four
from Ohio State two of them, and they've gone head
to head in the last three. You mentioned last year
it was Kristen Simms who got the penalty shot, raised
her hand for it and said, I want this shot.
I want to be the one with the pressure on,
(29:38):
and then also goes on to get the game winner
and overtime. It was a crazy game. What is it
about this rivalry if we do end up seeing those
two in the final again, what is it about those
two teams? And what would we want to watch for
Sunday in that matchup if it happens.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
What Ohio State did really well in the WHA championship
game two weeks ago, which you know, that's the great
thing about this is they play each other so much
like there's no secrets between these teams. The coaches like,
it just ends up kind of being a chess match
and it's who makes the right move when. But Ohio
State puts so much pressure on and so even though
that's a thing that Wisconsin does and they're used to.
(30:14):
They're a team that's used to being controlling the puck
and controlling the game, and so when you've got sort
of those two forces hitting each other, it's who adjusts.
In the end, it does not end up being pretty
hockey necessarily because neither of them is allowed to play
the game they want to play. So it's who handles,
you know, sort of the constant shippiness of like lifting
(30:35):
sticks and you know, fifty to fifty battles and bouncing
pucks and all that sort of stuff. And I just
thought Ohio State was so cool, calm and collected, and
they pushed Wisconsin off balance, and so I think that's
really the key is is sort of who handles the
spreat pressure and the spotlight. It's an interesting situation just
because Ohio State has all this pressure on themselves to
(30:56):
like make up for last year, but the Badgers have
that huge senior pass that they want to send out
on top, and so yeah, I think what you would
be looking for is who has possession and how Wisconsin
likes to be fast through the middle, particularly like they
want to move through that neutral zone so fast and
Ohio State was stepping to them and really stopping them
from moving with any speed or getting anything going. And
(31:17):
so that's sort of what you're looking for. If they're
doing that and Wisconsin's not adjusting, which they should be
able to do, and they didn't, and so like that's
kind of concerning, right, Like you knew this was coming.
So if you see that, I think that is in
Ohio State's favor. And if the Badgers are sort of
moving the puck around them, And the thing I always
(31:37):
like to say to people about women's hockey is like
it's sort of the purest form of hockey and that
like it's still physical, but you're not just blown up
a guy to get them off the puck in the
center ice, right, So like it's very finesse. It's a
very finesse game. Like they're passing, they're skating, you know,
right around people that make them look like they're seeing still.
So if Wisconsin is getting those passes in and really
like sort of weaving the puck around, then that that
(31:59):
means things are going well for them.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
We talked about Penn State hosting. It's the second time
they're getting this frozen four. Last time in twenty twenty two,
attendance wasn't great. Hopefully that'll be different now that Penn
State is in the mix. But do you have any
sense of why they got this uh hosting bid again?
Speaker 2 (32:15):
It is a great facility, you just like cannot deny. Like,
Pegula is a really great arena and it's a good
size for it. Just generally we don't get huge crowds
in women's hockey. The NCAA says that your building has
to hold life. It's either four thousand or forty five hundred,
and Ritter Arena in Minnesota is below that, but gets
(32:35):
like grandfathered in because there's just only so many places
and like you don't want to play in it, Like
the col Center at Madison has is like eighteen thousand.
You don't want to play in that, right, So there's
only a certain number of arenas that just fit the mold.
But yeah, the Pegula is a great arena. It's unfortunate
that it's so difficult to come to Penn State formost everybody, right,
like it's kind of in the middle of nowhere. But yeah,
(32:58):
I think it was a great and particularly in sort
of these non revenue sports, the NCAA prioritizes the student experience,
and I think the student experience was very good. The
facilities are great. They're not putting seven different buildings and
having to walk all over the place, Like there's enough
locker rooms. Everything they need is right there. And so yeah,
I wish that. You know, there's a lot of things.
(33:20):
I could have a whole episode just telling you about
what I think the Frozen forties on the women's side,
but yeah, I'm hoping. I just the attendance hasn't been great,
and you know, attendants wasn't great for their quarterfinal that
they hosted. Yeah, I just I wish they don't make
it easy to get to and then there's not associated
(33:40):
fan events, Like there's no fan fest, there's no clinics,
there's nothing like that, and so to like get your
family to come to stay college is difficult, and then
there's nothing here for you. So it does make it difficult.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Something to start working on in that space. Let's talk
quickly the Patty Casmier Memorial Award. It's given annually to
the top player in women's college hockey. It's going to
be awarded on Saturday. You did extensive interviews with a
bunch of players in the running for this, So you're
truly a Patty Kaz expert. Were you a voter this year?
I was yes, okay, great. So it's funny they say
finalists and then they narrow them down and label them
(34:14):
finalists again. But there were like ten finalists and now
there are three final finalists that are at Caroline Harvey
University of Wisconsin, Tessagiani Gia, Penn State, and Abbe Murphy
University of Minnesota. We talked about two of them that
will be in this Frozen Four. Abby Murphy's Minnesota got
upset by Northeastern, so she's done. We saw all of
them for Team USA. Tell us what stood out to
(34:34):
about them during the NCUBA season that maybe was different
than what we saw at the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
I mean, for me, Caroline Harvey is probably the best
defender in the world, so I guess you know that
probably tells you how I feel about this. But I
just I think there is KK changed the way that
people are going to recruit and what they're going to
expect from defenders in the women's game. Like just full on,
there are coaches in every rink right now looking for
(35:02):
the next KK. Just the skill set the wide variety
that you don't Everyone focuses on what she can do
on offense, but she's an incredible defender. You kind of
just don't see it because it's very sort of like
casual and easy. But she can push forward because she
can recover and because she'll chase somebody down. So for KK, yeah,
(35:22):
I think it's just both this sort of like overall,
and she's been one of the best players for several
years and every year she finds something else to add
to her game. But yeah, she's the anchor for Wisconsin
and she's you know, we listed several players that are
in the tops and scoring and yet she's still one
of their biggest offensive threats. And I think too, you
cannot underestimate how much so KK and Layla Edwards are
(35:45):
basically best friends. They live together, and Laylah switching to
defense for Team USA very much was helped by being
best friends Layla and KK. So I just think, like
she's just a she's a tactician of the game, she
sees it really well. She's a great team she's a
great captain. So sort of all those little bits that
are maybe not so obvious off you know, if you're
(36:06):
just watching the game. Abby Murphy is the engine and
was the engine at Minnesota for several years. She got
more support in the last couple of seasons, so she
wasn't having to do it on her own. But the
thing about Abby is she was Everybody knows she's gonna
get the puck. They know that she's what she's gonna do,
Like she's not. I mean, she's occasionally about to get
ridiculous moves, but like generally she's Her game hasn't changed
(36:29):
that much and you're still not stopping her. But I
think she just sort of elevated play with the Gophers
around her. And I think i'd say the same about
Tessa too. It's just for Tessa at Penn State. Penn
State wasn't a nationally raked program four years ago and
she came and it is not just the Tessa Janikee show.
So she has truly elevated the level of play of
(36:51):
everyone around her. And I think the intangible of what
it means to get, like what a player of that
caliber comes to a program that doesn't normally get top
caliber talent and hasn't And again, we're not that far
for removed from Penn State joining D one. They didn't
have a D one women's program not that long ago.
It's probably way longer than I remember it being, but
it's not that long. And so just what it means
(37:14):
to set a new standard for what is expected from
her teammates, from in the locker room, how you handle yourself,
you know, in every aspect of being a student athlete.
I think is the thing that Tessa has done. And
then also is just obviously spectacular on the ice. Yeah,
I think all three of them. There's a lot of
intangibles that make them spectacular players beyond and also they're
(37:37):
really skilled on the ice.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Right, you mentioned Tessa, like in the classroom everything else
we did talk about last year that the Patty cast
is supposed to take into account character and sportsmanship, who
you are other than just a hockey player. Abby Murphy
has developed a bit of a reputation for being a
dirty player, and not just talking about that filthy assist
that went viral a few months ago, talking about other things.
Do you think that's held her back and Patty cass consideration,
(38:00):
either this year or last.
Speaker 2 (38:02):
Yes, having been in some of some conversations, you know,
I've I did two years since the committee. I was
not on last year, but I was on the two
years before that, so and then this year. There are
coaches that that matters more to than others, and so
it kind of just depends on who's on the committee
and how much they take that into consideration. I mean,
(38:22):
Tessa also has a ton of penalty minutes, and honestly,
that isn't something anybody really talks about. So and you know,
KK has a has a streak in her too. She's
a shieldbiger, a retributive on somebody as well. With Abby, Yeah,
I think it's you love to hate her, right, you
want her on your team, you don't want to play
against her. And it's not about the antagonism. It's the
(38:47):
it's the more dirty play that people are really concerned about.
And I think it just depends on for the voters
whether that's something that concerns them or not. And also
I would say that people I think to just think
her numbers have gotten better like her. She clearly has
worked to not be doing like she doesn't have hundreds
of minutes this year.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
So I don't like, yeah, baby steps, Well, it sounds
like we know where your vote went for the Patty Caz.
Do you want to give us a feeling that you
have for who's going to come out on top this year.
I know we're not supposed to ask folks like you
for predictions, but you know, is there a gut feeling?
Speaker 2 (39:25):
The most consistent team has been Ohio State. I think
if Wisconsin plays at their best, it is a point flip.
It's like going into a gold medal game with US Canada.
But they have had plenty of slip ups, and the
team that is consistently no matter who is on the ice,
no matter what injuries anything like that, has come out
and sort of done their business and played their game
(39:48):
through and through his Ohio State. So I think that
it's probably their game to lose. But I can't imagine
that if it comes down to Wisconsin and Ohio State
that we don't see over time and we don't eat
some more craziness. I think that Wisconsin steps up to
the plate right like you're in that position. You have
those players. I don't think you see the slip ups
(40:09):
we've seen some of the times. But yeah, I think, yeah,
I'm gonna yell that by I'm gonna get yelled at
by a ton of Wisconsin people. But I think it's
probably now you said coin flip, I think it's probably
Ohio state.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
So you gave a little notch to Ohio State. But
fifty five, forty five or whatever, right, exactly, it's anyone's game.
We do love a coin flip, and we do love
some overtime. So here's hope and you're right. Thanks as always, Nicole,
appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (40:34):
Of course, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
Thanks again to Nicole forgetting us all set for the weekend.
We have to take another break when we return. It
feels like a lifetime ago, but it's really only been
a couple of years. Welcome Back Slices in honor of
Women's History Month every Friday. This month, we're doing a
special edition of Take It Back Our SEGM that looks
(41:00):
back at legendary games, athletes, or origin stories. In honor
of the WNBA's new CBA, I want to take it back,
but not too far back, just to twenty twenty when
the WNBA and its Players Association were finalizing the last landmark, groundbreaking,
transformational CBA. I went back to read the official press
(41:21):
release about that twenty twenty two CBA, and here are
some of the highlights. Quote a fifty three percent increase
in total cash compensation. Also quote, for the first time
in WNBA history, the average cash compensation for players will
exceed six figures, averaging nearly one hundred thirty thousand dollars
plus Quote premium economy class status for all players for
(41:43):
regular season air travel and no room is y' all.
Quote individual hotel room accommodations for every player now. At
the time of its signing, this deal felt momentous, game changing,
and yet here we are, just six years after that
twenty twenty deal, and some those same players who were
begging for solo rooms are overnight millionaires. Yesterday I dug
(42:05):
in on the revenue share issue. That's still got me
pissed off, frankly, and I'm not moving off my stance
that the women should be contractually guaranteed to share in
as much of their league's success as the men are.
But I probably didn't celebrate long enough or loud enough
about the good shit in this new CBA. Those big
salary wins had kind of been out there in the
reporting for a while, so I took for granted that
(42:26):
they'd finally be getting paid what they're worth. I wanted more, sorry,
problematically competitive person with a family full of lawyers checking in.
But as I was watching the stud buds talking about
players becoming the first millionaires in their families, as I
was cracking up about Ali Shagree getting told she doesn't
need to make tiktoks about her favorite snacks anymore because
she's got a bag, I remembered that I needed to
(42:48):
take a moment to really soak in the magnitude of
this new deal. Friend of the show, Lesiah Clarendon, who's
a new co host on the No Offseason podcast, said
in Thursday's episode that the twenty twenty CBA got players
dignity and this one got them livelihood. That's legit, And
as I play the scene forward, dozens of women, many
of them women of color, will leave the game with
(43:09):
the kind of money that they can use to change things,
become owners, start businesses, and more. We know the women
of the w are some of the baddest bitches on
the planet. Now they're getting paid like it, and that
money will get them more power, more access, more chances
to make change in the world. I guess I realize now.
Sometimes to really understand where you are, you got to
(43:30):
take it back to where you've been, even if that's
only twenty twenty. We love that you're listening slices, but
we want you to get in the game every day too,
So here's our good game play of the day, last
chance to get those brackets in. Also, if you want
to ensure you're a winner no matter what happens with
those bracket selections, you can select to donate to my
(43:51):
annual campaign here the Cheers, which aligned this year's fundraiser
with the NCAA tournament. My co founder, Eliza Peters, and
I started it thirteen years ago when she was in
middle school to help kids get hearing aids and audiology
equipment so they can stay in sports and activities because
on fun fact, insurance almost never covers the cost of
hearing aids, which can cost thousands of dollars. We'll link
(44:13):
to the website in the show notes if you want
to donate, and there are some pretty good prizes in
a raffle there that you're eligible to win when you give. Also,
keep doing your slice work because we're loving all the
personal and professional updates you're giving us. On the profession side,
Elizabeth L. Wrote in a shout out her workplace, writing
to us, quote, the Women's Employee Resource Group started a
women's NCAA bracket contest two years ago. The ERG runs
(44:36):
the pool and gives prizes for the top three finishers.
There is no men's bracket work pool, only women's basketball,
as it should be end quote. Now this made producer
Alex especially happy because longtime listeners will recall her story
about the time the Women's Employee Resource Group at her
company made a bracket competition for the men's tournament, but
not the women's, So she and a few equally peeved
(44:57):
coworkers made their own bracket challenge. As for the personal
news super Slice, Aaron Ross sent a note sharing the
incredible news that she was accepted into the women's sports
program at Simmons University, writing quote, I cannot wait to
start this fall. I'm going to be like fifty when
I graduate, but my girls are seeing this pivot, so
that's more motivation. End quote. Aaron, this is incredible and
(45:20):
yes to your daughters seeing their mom continuing to pursue
passions and the chance to work in a super rewarding field.
We just hope yours up to date on your homework
there as you are on your slice work here. We
always love to hear from you, so hit us up
on email, good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or leave
us a voicemail at eight seven two two oh four
fifty seventy, and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review.
(45:42):
It's easy watch news sites never having the need for
some very stylized WNBA lockout photos rating ten out of
ten unused sexy shots of a ball in chains review.
With the potential WNBA lockout looming, photographer James Black wanted
to make sure media outlets were prepared, so we shot
a series of stylized photos for news stories on the topic,
(46:03):
uploading about a dozen picks to Getty in October featuring
WNBA balls encircled by a padlock in chains. We're especially
obsessed with the one of a WNBA ball stuck MIDnet
with a lock blocking its path defectors my three to
nonth th Rahman, who's post on Blue Sky brought this
to our attention, wrote quote, the only downside of labor
piece is that we have no use for these beautiful images.
(46:23):
End quote too true. Apparently lockout photos are actually Black's
bread and butter. Back in twenty twenty two, he did
a series of photos with baseballs and bats under lock
and key for Major League Baseball's Lockout, and those beautiful
images did run. The Athletic actually did a feature on
Black's photos, which we'll link to in the show notes.
Now it's your turn, y'all, rate and review, Thanks for listening,
(46:45):
See you next week. Good game, Nicole, Good game, and
good luck tournament teams you. How is my bracket already busted?
The first round hasn't even started yet. Good Game with
Sarah Spain is an iheartwomen's sports production in partnership with
Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
(47:06):
Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzi
and Bianca Hillier. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutterer,
Lucy Jones, Britney Martinez and Gianna Palmer. Production assistants from
Avery Loftus and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Kingdom of Fraud
It’s the unlikeliest of criminal partnerships: a devout polygamist from an insular Utah sect joining forces with a shadowy Armenian tycoon from LA. The result - a billion dollar fraud conspiracy. In Kingdom of Fraud, investigative reporter Michele McPhee traces the origins of the extraordinary alliance between Jacob Kingston and Levon Termendzhyan. Together, the two men trigger the largest tax investigation in American history and weave around themselves a web of dirty cops, influential political relationships and transnational money laundering. All this is set against the backdrop of Jacob Kingston’s clan – The Order. A powerful and secretive polygamist organization in Salt Lake City. To whom Jacob is desperate to prove his worth. Kingdom of Fraud is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit https://novel.audio/. You can listen to new episodes of Kingdom of Fraud completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “iHeart True Crime+, and subscribe today!