November 3, 2025 • 40 mins
Sarah and producer Alex Azzi introduce you to Little Citrus (just a squeeze or two short of Big Citrus). They discuss the chaos that was NWSL Decision Day, reveal the postseason matchups now that the bracket has been set, and cross their fingers that what they think they saw wasn’t what they saw at all. Plus, the hope of a day-to-day prognosis, a powerful response to one player’s late-season cry for attention, and the road to the Final Four starts today.
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Watch Sarah Gorden and Angelina Anderson’s statement here
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The NCAA basketball schedule can be found here
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The list of Unrivaled players is here and the list of coaches is here
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Read Ben Pickman’s story for The Athletic about the WNBA CBA extension here
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Leave us a voicemail at 872-204-5070 or send us a note at goodgame@wondermedianetwork.com
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Follow Sarah on social! Bluesky: @sarahspain.com Instagram: @Spain2323
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Follow producer Alex Azzi! Bluesky: @byalexazzi.bsky.social Instagram: @AzziArtwork
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where the NWSL
regular season ends as college basketball season begins. A time
to plant, a time to reap, a time to laugh,
a time to weep, to everything turned you know how
the song goes. It's Monday, November third, and on today's show,
Producer Alex and I introduce you to Little Citrus just
a squeeze or too short of the original. We'll discuss
(00:24):
the chaos that was NWSL Decision Day, revealed the matchups
now that the postseason bracket has been set, and cross
our fingers that what we think we saw wasn't what
we saw at all. Plus the hope of a day
to day prognosis, a powerful response to one player's late
season cry for attention, and the road to the Final
four starts today. It's all coming up right after this.
(00:53):
Welcome Max Slices, Happy Monday. Here's what you need to
know today. Let's start with NWSL Decision Day. The final
playoff spot came down to Racing Louisville and the North
Carolina Courage, and Racing clinched it the club's first ever
postseason berth in five seasons thanks to a one nil
win over BAFC and Ela has recording her first ever
(01:16):
professional goal. Shout out to Slice missus has Ella's mom.
We might have forgotten Racing in our season preview, but
your daughter and her team made damn sure we wouldn't
forget them in our playoff preview. Also shout out to
Racing Louisville coach Bevannis, who is the first person to
qualify for the NWSL playoffs as both a player and coach.
She made it as a player with Seattle. She's also
(01:38):
the first American female coach to qualify for the NWSL
playoffs since Cindy Parlow Cone led the Portland Thorns in
twenty thirteen. Let that sink in it's been more than
ten years since an American woman coached a team to
the playoffs of the American Women's Soccer League. Yeah. Moving
on to the other matches. The Courage did their part
(01:59):
on Sunday with the win, but the Louisville victory ended
their playoff hopes. They needed a draw or a loss
from Racing to advance. Despite a rainy, soggy day, they
officially set a club attendance record with eleven one hundred
and seventy people watching as they defeated Gotham three to two.
It was also a North Carolina state record for best
attended women's pro sports event, so the fans who stuck
(02:20):
around despite the weather got a win, followed shortly by
the bad news that for just the third time in
franchise history, the Courage would be shut out of the postseason,
and that three to two final score was actually bad
news for both teams involved. Gotham's loss puts them in
eighth place in the playoff bracket behind Louisville, which means
they'll face the world beating Kansas City Current in the
(02:42):
opening round of the postseason. The Current ended their regular
season unbeaten at home with a two to one defeat
of the San Diego Wave on Sunday, extending their own
NWSL records with a twenty first victory and a sixty
fifth regular season point. The Washington Spirit were already guaranteed
the number two seat ahead a decision day, so there
one nil loss to the Utah Royals didn't affect their ranking.
(03:03):
They'll host Racing in the quarterfinals. Portland defeated the Houston
Dash two nil and slid into the number three spot.
They'll host number six San Diego, the Orlando Pride and
the Seattle Rain drew one to one. They'll meet again
in the opening round, with number four Orlando hosting number
five Seattle also decided on decision day. Tim Wushaweinga officially
(03:23):
clinched the Golden Boot, finishing the regular season with the
league high fifteen goals, but Chwenga accomplished the feat without
stepping foot on the field for Sunday's game. Remember, she
sustained an injury during Casey's game against the Houston Dashes
over two weeks ago, and ahead of Kansas City's two
one win on Sunday, coach Latko Adadofski provided an update
on Chiwenga, saying there is a chance she could return
(03:44):
for the postseason, noting that she's day to day. More
on WSL. Ahead of the weekend's games, angel City FC
captain Sarah Gordon and Vites captain Angelina Anderson addressed media
about the recent op ed from their teammate Elizabeth Eddie,
in which Eddie called for the WSL to adopt a
quote unquote clear standard for gender eligibility in the league.
She proposed all players must be born with ovaries or
(04:08):
that players submit to an sry gene test, effectively seeking
to ban trans and intersex players. Take a listen to
what they had to say, Beginning with Sarah Gordon.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Well, first off, i just want to say that going
into this, I'm a little bit nervous because I think
it's a big job to represent your team and speak
for your team and not just that speak for others
who this will be important to. We've all obviously seen
the article that was written in The New York Post
earlier this week, so I really want to start off
(04:39):
by saying that that article does not speak for this
team in this locker room. I've had a lot of
combos with my teammates in the past few days, and
they are hurt and they are harmed by the article,
and also they are disgusted by some of the things
that were said in the article, and it's really important
for me to say that. And we don't agree with
(05:01):
the things written for a plethora of reasons, but mostly
the undertones come across as transphobic and racist as well.
The article calls for genetic testing on certain players, and
it has a photo of an African player as a headline,
and that's very harmful and to me, it's inherently racist
because to single out this community based on them looking
(05:23):
or being different is absolutely a problem. And as a
mixed woman with a black family, I'm devastated by the
undertones of this article. And I feel very protective of
my teammates and this community who are also hurt by this.
And that includes staff and everyone who is a supporter
and a fan. And there are players in this league
(05:46):
and in this locker room that are directly harmed by
what was written in the article. So for that, I
just want to say, I am so so sorry for
anyone hurt by this or anyone harmed by this. And
please know that I do speak for the team when
I say we do support you. You don't have to
look like me, you don't have to look like and
or you don't have to look like somebody from Orange
(06:07):
County to be accepted and celebrated here. And it's really
important that you know that that is the true message
from this locker room, in the team.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
And here's an excerpt from Angeline Anderson's statement.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
For me personally, when I think of LA and I
think of Angel City, I think of a place that
was founded upon inclusivity and love for all people. That's
what our locker room is, That's what our staff is,
that's what our fan base is. Angel City is a
place for everyone. It always will be. That's how it
(06:40):
was from the beginning. That's how it always will be. Period.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Sarah Gordon has been one of the bravest and most
outspoken players in the NWSLF for a number of years,
so I wasn't surprised to see what an incredible job
she did speaking on this issue, and I also wasn't
surprised to hear say that she was a little bit
nervous and a little bit emotional about speaking on behalf
of her entire team, and that feeling of care for
the rest of the players on her team and in
(07:05):
the league seemed to be the thing that was most
missing from Elizabeth Eddy's decision to post about her thoughts
on the gender policy, not taking it to the league
or to fellow teammates or anything else, but rather to
post about it on social media, and then in The
New York Post op ed Sarah Gordon's statement that it
means a lot to speak for your teammates and your
team felt very intentional in that moment. I'm sure we'll
(07:27):
hear some more from those around soccer, and of course
we'll have to hear the league's response to their lack
of policy, something that seems to have put intersex trands
and players of color at increased risk, and something that
should be remedied, of course, not in the way that
Elizabeth Eddy wants it to be. Lots more to say
on the NWSL decision day and the playoff bracket later
(07:49):
in the show, including thoughts on some players who logged
their final and WSL minutes on Sunday to hoops. The
college basketball season gets underway today with over one hundred
and forty games on the schedule, including one matchup of
preseason top twenty teams, Number seven Duke taking on number
sixteen Baylor in Paris, France. Shout out to the journals
(08:10):
who drew that assignment. Bring me back some mackerel from
lad Day SIVU play. We'll also get our first chance
to see some preseason favorites that have a new look
this year thanks to the Transfer portal, like number two
South Carolina, now without the flashy Malaysia Full Wiley but
with new dynamic score to Nia Latson, We'll have to
wait a little longer to see UCLA sisters Lauren and
(08:30):
Sienna Bett's play together, though as freshman, Sienna will miss
the Bruins opener against San Diego State and Anaheim as
she continues to recover from a lower left leg injury
suffered in a scrimmage in mid October. You can check
out the show notes for the full opening day college
hoops schedule, and we've got a full NCAA College Hoops
preview coming your way tomorrow on the show More college
(08:50):
Hoops News. University of Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell announced
on Sunday that the program has dismissed Ruby Whitehorn from
the team following a second run in with the law.
Her the Associated Press, Whitehorn was reportedly stopped by Tennessee
campus police on October thirtieth and found to be in
possession of marijuana. She was charged with misdemeanor simple possession
slash casual exchange. This follows an incident several months ago
(09:13):
in which Whitehorn was arrested after the police said she'd
gotten into a physical altercation outside a woman's residence, kicking
in the door to said residence. Whitehorn pleaded guilty to
two misdemeanors of aggravated trespassing and aggravated burglary in September
in exchange for judicial diversion, and she was allowed to
return to the Lady voles following a suspension. In a
statement about Whitehorn's recent arrest and dismissal on Sunday, Caldwell said, quote,
(09:37):
it is my responsibility to protect the high standards of
this historic program. In light of recent events, Ruby has
been unable to reflect those standards, and I've made the
difficult decision to dismiss her from our team. I love
Ruby and will always be rooting for her, but my
priority is to uphold the respected reputation of the Lady
voles En. Whitehorn issued her own statement via Instagram on Sunday,
(09:57):
writing in part quote, as most of you, this has
not been my best year. I'm not usually one to
open up about my personal life or challenges, and that
is part of the reason I'm in this position today.
For the past couple of months, I have walked by
fear and not faith, fear of asking for help, for guidance,
fear of failure to my coaches and teammates. I appreciate
the support on and off the court. I have failed
(10:18):
to uphold the standards of the Lady Vowl legacy and
what it represents, and for that I apologize. End quote.
Whitehorn added that she will focus on healing and bettering
herself mentally. The number eight Lady Voles open their season
on Tuesday against the number nine North Carolina State Wolf
Peck to the WNBA and an update on collective Bargaining
agreement negotiations. Late last Thursday, the WNBA and the Players
(10:41):
Association announced a thirty day extension on their negotiations. As
a result, the current CBA is now set to expire
on November thirtieth. Ben Pickman of The Athletic reported that
the Players Association requested a condition that will allow it
to terminate the extension within forty eight hours notice, and
a source brief down the situation told him that the
league will also have the ability to terminate the extension
(11:02):
within that notice. We'll link to Ben's full story in
the show notes. More hoops. Dallas Wings guard Paige Beckers
is set to star in and executive produce an upcoming
drama film titled Jess and Pearl. It's based on an
original script by scandal writers I hear McGee per Deadline,
who had the exclusive on the story. The film will
follow two basketball phenoms whose friendship is put on the
(11:24):
line by rivalries and competition. Man first Angel reeson Idris
Elba joint. Now this we are so here for hoopers
on the big screen, and even more hoops this time
in Unrivaled. The three v three league has announced the
list of players who will compete as part of the
twenty twenty sixth season. In total, sixteen new players are
slated to play, including Kelsey Plum, Page Beckers, Kelsey Mitchell,
(11:48):
and one of the final three to sign on, Dominique Malonga.
You might recall that just last week Turkish club Venor
Bacche announced that Malonga had quote unilaterally terminated her professional
player contract with our club with that any just cause
end quote. Now per ESPN, Malanga doesn't need any special
type of clearance to join Unrivaled, but in order to
return to the WNBA next year, fender Bacha will need
(12:10):
to issue a letter of clearance. We'll keep you updated
on that dispute, and we'll link to the full list
of Unrivaled players in the show notes. It is worth
noting that while the three v three league returns most
of its star power, a few year one players, including
Angel Rees and Sabrini and Escu, did not sign on
for year two, some more unrivaled. The league also confirmed
its eight head coaches for the twenty twenty sixth season.
(12:32):
Fan favorites Nola Henry and Teresa Weatherspoon are among the
coaches returning after helping the league debut last January, while
Noel Quinn, who was fired by the Saddlestorm at the
end of the twenty twenty five w season, highlights the
list of new editions. She'll lead Breeze BC, one of
two new unrivaled clubs. We'll link to the full list
of coaches in the show notes. Slices hope you had
(12:55):
a great Halloween weekend and you've got lots of Twizzlers
and Snickers and absolutely no Whoppers in your bag. I
want to thank super Slice Doug Ratcliffe, who sent us
a video of his epic Halloween decorations. There is a
lot to love in that video, but I think that's
the first mermaid skeleton I've ever seen, so that was
the winner for me. Also, pops are always winners, so
shout out to super Slice Amanda Valo for sending us
(13:17):
her three doggos dressed as the Louver Thiefs too. Cu
Also props to the many of you I saw online
dressed as the Indiana Fever's Lexi Hall complete with two
black eyes. I feel like that was the most popular
women's sports costume of the year. Also shout out to
my girl Ty Duncan, who rocked an Asia Wilson costume
with a pink leg sleeve and all very well played.
(13:38):
My husband and I skip sports this year in favor
of complaining. We were the Hecklers from the muppet Statler
and Waldorf with a flip book of all the things
deserving our cheers this year, you know, ice, AI, data centers, Litterers,
fascism six seven, puppy mills, zero stars for all but
five stars to the Toronto Blue Jays Vladimir Guerrero Junior
(14:00):
because he walked into Saturday night's MLB World Series winner
take All Game seven wearing a game warn jersey from
none other than Captain Plutch herself. Peri Philip Pulen, the
Canadian hockey legend, was at the game. She was actually
wearing Glad's Jersey natch, but unfortunately her winning juju was
not enough to prevent Canadian heartbreak. The Dodgers won in
an epic extra innings outing to claim the trophy. Despite
(14:24):
the outcome, we still love that blad Junior channel the
energy of a legendary winner from the women's side. All
the same, also shout out to the Awful Announcing website,
who for a second straight year named Yours Truly to
their annual sports podcast power List. I love being able
to make sure that women's sports are represented on that list,
and I take very seriously the honor and responsibility of
(14:45):
doing this the only daily women's sports show, so I'm
really happy that we were recognized for it. We got
to take a quick break. When we come back from
Big to Little, we gather in the grove for the
first time in the post Misha era. All Right, slices,
(15:07):
welcome to the inaugural edition of Little Citrus. It's a
slightly smaller gathering of citri as we wait a replacement
for producer Meiche. Sunday was decision Day in the NWSL,
which means we've got a playoff bracket to talk about,
plus all the other loose ends of the regular season
to tie up. So get on it here, Alex. How
are you.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
I'm doing okay, I'm missing Niche. But we persevere.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
We do. We persevere quite a day of footy. How
did you watch it? Oh?
Speaker 4 (15:35):
So, the first game of the day, the one that
was on at three o'clock, by itself, was fantastic. I
was able to watch it, focus on it, you know,
very easy. And then, uh, the rest of the day
was just at our chaos with all of the games
at the exact same time, and I attempted to watch
using the NWSL plus app on my row Coo TV
(15:57):
to show the four boxes. Now, I'm a pretty tech
savvy person, but I could not figure out how to
get that tech to work on my rocod TV, so
then I had to pull it up on my laptop
at the same time while trying to finalize the script
of this show. That was like way too many screens
on one screen. So, uh, my brain mostly feels like
(16:17):
most right now. I don't think I'm yeah, I don't
think I took in as much of the soccer as
I would have liked to today.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
I appreciate your effort. The first game was actually tough
for me. Because my Chicago Bears of the NFL were
engaged in an absolutely insane back and forth battle. So
I was trying to watch that and the soccer, but
later I could not even figure out how to get
the multi screens up, so I basically just watched the
ESPN game and was grateful every time they cut in
(16:44):
and showed a highlight from one of the other games
going on. I was like, I am such a boomer.
I am meant to be focused on one screen and
then maybe like a phone or a computer. And to
your point, I was also working on the script for
the show, so it was like, I can't write a
script and watch two games, Like that's just too much
for me brain. But regardless of how we all watched it,
we all ended up in the same place, which is
(17:06):
a playoff bracket that is set and the way we
get there via this chaos. This decision day is pretty
unique to soccer, the leagues and the World Cup and
alex Why, as far as you know, did they decide
that this was the best way for these kinds of
seasons to end.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Well, I'm gonna do something pretty shocking right now, which
is talk about men's sports on this show. Or just
in general never happens. But at the nineteen eighty two
Men's World Cup, in that tournament, West Germany and Austria
played and had made an agreement ahead of time, essentially
to determine what the result was going to be, realizing
that if they got this specific result, they would both
(17:46):
advance and eliminate Algeria. And so that's one of the
reasons now if you watch the World Cup Men's or women's,
the final matches of each group both kick off at
the exact same time to try to prevent this type
of core nation between teams. And I think part of
it has to do with the fact that soccer, the
scores are generally lower, there are more ties, and also
(18:09):
the first tiebreaker in a lot of these leagues is
goal differential. It's not necessarily head to head, and so
that can allow for this fairness issue coming into play
if a team is trying to get a certain result
to happen. And so pretty much every league across the
world uses a similar format where things are kicking off
at the same time. And I've seen a couple of
(18:31):
fans be like, this is crazy, why is this happening?
And I do think it probably is a holdover from
other moments in women's sports where we're like, maybe spread
the games out a little bit more, you know, like
five wa makes sense all the time, it makes sense
for this one moment.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah, yeah, because what you end up having is every
single team really giving it. They're all because they don't
know whether or not it will matter, whereas if you
had a bunch of late games that you already knew
the result for. It's a very unsatisfying way for a
season to end, and you look in for twoar at
what we saw on this decision day, which was that
the Courage had a record number of fans in attendance,
(19:08):
believing that what they were watching was going to make
a difference. Ultimately, the victory didn't ensure that the Courage
made it to the postseason, but it allowed them to
have this raucous environment for that final game, which maybe
wouldn't have happened if their game had taken place at
night and Louisville had won earlier in the day, telling fans, hey,
don't show up on this soggy, rainy day because your
(19:28):
hopes are for nought. Let's talk about that, by the way,
because it's a little bit of a changing of the
guard in that battle for that playoff spot. The Courage
miss out for just the third time in nine seasons
they're usually a regular in the postseason. Louisville making their
way into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history,
you know, without really having a dog in the fight.
I have to say I was kind of excited for racing.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
Yeah, I was too. I mean, I think you look
at Bevan as you mentioned those stats about her and
the need to know, but she's also a player that
got to take advantage of like a player to coach
pipeline that the NWSL Players Association had fought for because
one of the issues that we've seen in this league
is that there are just so few former players that
are coaches, and so I think to see somebody with
(20:12):
her resume having success, I hope it provides a lot
of hope for other players in the league that are
thinking that they might want to get into coaching once
they're done playing.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Yeah, she seems to be universally respected and liked around
the league, and I think also this is a team
that when the season started, there were a lot of
hopes for what they might be able to do, so
it's nice to see them pull through, even though there's
also a lot of consternation about their style of play.
You'll hear a lot of folks around the league talk
(20:44):
about the physicality. Louisville is not afraid to make contact
en route to victories, which will be very interesting to
see come postseason time when the stakes are at their
very highest. On the other side of that Louisville team making,
it was that courage team winning but ultimately lose because
they didn't qualify. And on ESPN, if you were watching
that game like I was, you saw the channel go
(21:06):
from a quick postseason wrap up with Kelsey Riggs, Coff
and Ali Krieger straight to Sports Center and Alex You
immediately let me know that you were not a big
fan of this transition.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
No, it reminded me of what it was like watching
the WNBA a couple of years ago, because ESPN is
still pretty new to the NWSL, but they've had, you know,
the WNBA for years and years, and I remember I
used to be on autopilot where a WNBA game would end,
and I would just go to mute it because I
knew as soon as I heard the Sports Center intro
that like I didn't care anymore, and it took a
(21:36):
while to realize like, oh wait, they're actually talking about
the WNBA now, Yeah, And so it was just really disappointing.
And I hope this isn't an example of just like
piling on and being like ESPN do better, because we
know ESPN can do better, because we have seen it
with the WNBA. And they also ended up signing a
new agreement with the NWSL earlier this fall that next
(21:57):
year they're going to have the rights to all of
the Decision day games and so hopefully that will incentivize
them more given that they will be in charge of
all of the coverage of all of those games.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Yeah, I mean, I will say that for a long
time it was very frustrating. You could watch like a
double overtime March Madness Women's game and get to Sport
tenor and there'd be no mention of it to like
an hour in Now I did you know, hop on
to record with you. So I can't say for certain
that they didn't return to the NWSL and on a
big day of NFL World Series closing the night before
(22:28):
all that other stuff, there was a lot to get to.
So my hope is that perhaps they also were waiting
to put together some elements once the games all ended
at the exact same time and they knew what the
postseason bracket looked like. These are all very kind things
I'm saying that may or may not be a part
of the decision making, but I totally get the point
that you're trying to make. And I do think one
of the big next steps for women's sports is the
(22:50):
shoulder programming, the wrap around program, the pre and post game,
all the content like our show that allows people to
be excited about follow along, under stand the stories, and
care about the next game in the game after that,
And that's all gonna be a big part of continuing
to grow women's sports. So ESPN will play a big
role in that, and they have gotten better in recent years,
(23:10):
so here's hope in next year is the same. All right,
let's talk about this playoff bracket that we now have.
I like to say, you know, the table is set,
although I believe the table is for regular season and
the bracket is for the postseason. But I still like
the idea of at the end of the day having
a nice, beautiful playoff table that we've set and get
to sit down.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
And enjoy Thanksgiving dinner and WSL style exactly exactly which
one of the matchups is most exciting to you off
the top. So I feel like in a normal year,
I would not pick the number one versus the number
eight as the one I'm most excited for. In this case,
number take my answer, Eddie against number eight Gotham. Ooh,
(23:53):
I'm glad I got to go first, But who knows
if we're going to see how much showinga back Kansas
City next week. My guess is probably not based on
how things are going, but I guess we don't know.
And then Gotham, you know, they could have finished as
high as four, like they could have been hosting a
quarter final next weekend, but instead they have to go
(24:14):
to the best team in the league in play. So
I don't think Gotham is necessarily a true number eight team,
but definitely gonna be a tough matchup.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Yeah, I feel like Gotham is a team that all
season long, we've sort of been wondering when they were
going to really kick it into high gear, when they
were going to take advantage of all their talent. Now
they did have injuries that cause there to be a
lot of in and out in terms of the talent
that was available to them each and every game. But
they do make this more interesting than the usual one
eight because to your point, they've got a ton of players.
(24:45):
A Stare was not on the pitch today for them,
She's I believe, still sitting in the runner up spot
behind Tim Withhewinga for goals, had a tremendous season and
year and is someone that at any moment can show
up and make you pay. So I feel like that
will be much more interesting than your average one versus eight.
I also think when it comes to the current players,
(25:07):
not that they really need a boost of confidence after
the regular season they've had. We'll get to that later,
because holy shit, Kansas City this year was unbelievable. But
they do get a little boost in the fact that
one of their goals today was scored by Prince, who
is someone who's going to probably be someone they look
to to fill the gap if Temo isn't available. So
to have their line of forwards that played in this
(25:30):
game today be the ones that they're going to depend on,
probably in the opening round. They just get a little
boost seeing them be so successful in this final regular
season game.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
I'm also laughing at your description of Gotham being kind
of up and down. I'm like, sounds like the Las
Vegas a says, you know, and it worked out for them.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
And also, if you look at when Gotham won the
title two years ago, they were coming out of the
sixth seed, which at the time was the lowest seed
to make the postseason. So they have a history of
being able to come from the very bottom. Now we're here.
Started from the bottom. Now we're here, So look out
Kansas City. As all we have to say about that,
that's gonna be an interesting one. I also just love
(26:08):
the idea of Orlando and Seattle drawing in their final
game and then running it back in the first round
of the postseason. Neither really, I guess gave much away
to the other one today because there wasn't a definitive winner,
But that'll be a good one in Orlando is another
team that after winning it all last year, having so
much talent, I think expectations were higher. They started the
(26:31):
season looking like they were gonna be neck and neck
with the current. Then they dropped out entirely and there
was a question of whether they'd find their way back
in went on a run and now they end up
in a respectable number four seed. But other than the
Kansas City Current being world beaters, there is no sure
thing for me in this postseason, even the Washington Spirit
who had sealed up the number two seed, because with
(26:53):
Trinity rodbin in and out, with the ups and downs
of that team, I just don't know that there's and
racing now coming in hot being so excited about making
their first postseason head full esteem against that Washington team.
I think it's good. If I was a betting woman,
I would not bet on this. I would be very
concerned about making any of these picks. Definitively absolutely.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
I mean, I think that's one of the reasons that
we love the NWSL right, I agree, though definitely not
something I'm investing a lot of money into or pride either.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
One of the other things we mentioned earlier that got
decided was officially Temlshewinga the Golden Boot race. Astaire had
the lead for a while, but once time we heat
it up, it kind of felt like it was hers
to hang on to, and unfortunately we never really got
to see what she could do because of the injury.
Last year, she said an NWSL record with twenty goals
en route to her first Golden Boot. This year she
(27:49):
only gets to fifteen misses a couple games at the end,
and especially frustrating and annoying because she had made a
bet with her coach Flat Coo and Aovski. She said
that he had to dye his hair blue if she
got her first NWSL header and then proceeded to score
it the very next day, which had me thinking that
you could just at any point give Temwa a challenge
that she hadn't yet achieved, and she would immediately do it.
(28:11):
And I wanted to see a few more games where
she had the opportunity to be asked to do I
don't know, like a bicycle kick or backwards or like
scoring off a knee or whatever it might be. But hopefully,
fingers crossed, we might get to see her in the
postseason doing some more magic.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
I also just want to shout out Flat co Ananofsky
and the relationship that he clearly established with Temla and
lots of his players. You know, I think back to
two years ago when the US exited the Women's World
Cup early. For people that hadn't been paying attention to
him as head coach prior to that or his tenure
in the NWSL. I know he got a lot of hate,
and you know, it's it's easy to critique the head coach,
(28:49):
and I think in a lot of ways he might
not have been the right person to lead that team
to a World Cup title, but clearly coaching in the
NWSL is something that he excels at. And I've always
had a bit of a offspot for him, I think
in part because he once showed up to a press
conference with basically the equivalent of like a live Laugh
Love poster behind him in his kitchen. And he can't
(29:10):
hate somebody who shops at the goods, you know.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
No, you know what next up, I hang in their
cat poster.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
He clearly has so much respect for his players, and like,
I wish that that wasn't something that we had a
shout out, but it is. And so it's clear that
his players enjoy playing for him and appreciate the relationships
that they've been able to cultivate.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Speaking of that, actually I meant to earlier shout out
the interim head coach for the North Carolina Courage, Nathan
Thackeray because on the broadcast before that Courage game, they
showed him in the locker room hyping up his team
ahead of their final game and their last shot to
make the postseason, and he wrote them a poem and
he made them a video to go along with the
(29:52):
poem he wrote them, and it was extremely sweet, and
I got the feels for the relationship that he seems
to have created with that team since taking over, and
I just I love a poem. I used to write
poems for my track teammates ahead of big matches, mostly
talking shit about the other teams, but they were coming
from a place of love for my team, So shout
out to him for that. Also, speaking of things that
(30:15):
made me have the feels, there are ten players that
played their last regular season games in the NWSL on Sunday.
Some of them we've talked about a lot, like Kristin
Press and Ali Riley, and they're two of the players
that are on teams that did not make the postseasons.
So not only last regular season NWSL game, but last
NWSL game at all. Three Utah players that are not
(30:36):
advancing to la A North Carolina players, So a lot
of people that don't get to continue this journey in
the postseason. And we've said a lot about Kristin and
Ali in particular, but I thought it was interesting that
Kristin Press and Angel City were playing at Chicago for
the final game of the season. Both teams already eliminated,
(30:57):
but something kind of special there. Chicago is where Kristin's
started her NWSL career. She played there for three seasons.
She was beloved in Chicago, and it wasn't until later
that it was revealed that she was very unhappy that
she was part of the group that spoke out about
the toxic atmosphere in that club and with that coach.
So on the one hand, there's a real kind of
(31:19):
circular nature to her returning there to close things out,
but I also hope that it wasn't bittersweet for her
to go back to a place that she didn't feel
represented the kind of experience she should have as a
professional player. It was nice to see players that knew her,
players like Alyssanaier who had played with her, be there
(31:39):
in that moment to give her her flowers quite literally,
because they did so that part of it was sweet.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
I always think back to Megan Rappino and her talking
about how it isn't known when your last game is
going to be and to be able to go on
your terms and to know it's your last game, there's
something special about that, ideally without eating your achille in
the process.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
Yes, yes, I don't think that.
Speaker 4 (32:02):
Was necessarily on her Bingo card. But for players like
Kristin and Ali to see them kind of set a
date and to then see it through and to be
able to play, I think really means something.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Yeah, and I mentioned a listena Or was the one
who handed Kristin the flowers, And I mentioned that there
are ten players who played their last NWSL game on
Sunday as far as we know, because those are the
ten players who have told us that it was their
final NWSL regular season game. A Listenaer, as we mentioned
(32:34):
in a previous show, her contract expired as of this
last game of the regular season, and she said, just
like I always do, I'll close out the season, then
I'll make a decision. But Alex, you and I both
saw what we saw, which was players wearing a Listenaer
shirts to the game her color neutral Stars teammates, And
I don't know if that's just because they had all
(32:55):
recently gone to support her US women's national team celebration.
They already had the shirts. They felt like, let's get
one more run out of these, or if they know
something we don't know, And if that's the case, I
know it's not their fault. But I will forever be
mad at the Color Neutral Stars for her final season
being such a disappointing one and one in which we
didn't really get to appreciate her greatness. That's a bummer.
Speaker 4 (33:20):
Yeah, for sure, I was getting DT vibes right because
for a while with Diana Trossi, you weren't sure is
this it is? Is it? And then finally they did
the like if this is it video and we're like,
oh shit, it's it, Like we know it's the end.
And so part of me wants to be like, Okay,
if it really was it for Alyssa, they would have
(33:40):
made a bigger deal out of it. But also, you know,
I think it's just maybe one of those things where
it's like you got to wake up the next day
and see how you feel, like how hungry are you
still at this point in your career.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
So it's hard to believe, but a listenair is somehow
more DT than DT is when it comes to elaborate
celebrations and honorings. So I would not be surprised at
all if she didn't really tell anyone and they wore
those shirts just in case because she either hasn't made
up her mind or she hasn't told anyone. I think
I could see her very much not telling anyone anything
because she did not want a big to do made
(34:13):
about it. Yeah, but gosh, I actually don't even know
if I want her to come back, not knowing whether
next season will be another slog, or if I hope
that she comes back and gets the opportunity to play
in the cool stadium on the lake where hopefully more
fans will be in attendance, and maybe tell us give
us a hint that it's the end so we can
all show up in droves for her. That would be nice,
(34:36):
But I would like them to win some more games
for her if that's the case. Speaking of winning games,
before we can tie a bow on this regular season
and officially truly move on to the postseason, where anything
can happen. Any team can win, including Gotham. I want
to make sure we give Kansas City like proper recognition
for a regular season unlike any other. Now, as you,
(35:00):
Alex would always say, there might have been some records
at this season because there were more games and more
opportunities and all those other things. So we'll couch this
by saying, I love that.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
You are setting this up for me. Well, I like
literally searching, like most of NWSL games in his yay, yes,
right now, I know that's what's coming.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
Though, is like we always and rightfully so want to
provide the nuance in context for some of these numbers.
They Oh, they had the most opportunities for this. And
yet all that being said, let's still highlight some of
the regular season records that Kansas City sent this year,
and shout out to Jen Cooper, who, by the way,
I loved hearing her get that shout out on ESPN
for all the work she does for the league and
(35:35):
providing all the scenarios for decision Day and everything else.
But let's blow through a couple of these, Alex, some
that we already have talked about a lot. This team
was the fastest to fifty points. They got there in
twenty games, the fastest to clinch the NWSL shield. They
did it with five games left to play. Most points
in one season, which they got after Week twenty five
with sixty two, but then finished the season with sixty
(35:58):
five most wins in a season. They extended their own
record by getting their twenty first on Sunday. Ten road wins,
sixteen shutouts, and alex this one. The consecutive minutes without
conceding a goal eight hundred and seventy. It's a lot
of minutes that's out of control.
Speaker 4 (36:16):
Have to say, though, most of these would be records
and seasons that were a lot shorter too, and so
yet another reason why they deserve a ton of praise
for what they were able to put together because it's
really really special.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
And we do talk a lot about this team and
their scoring prowess because it's fun to watch goals and
talk about folks like Temwa, But the consecutive minutes of
shutout play is won, the nine straight clean sheets record,
the eight home clean sheets in one season record, that
speaks to the defense. So shout out to the defensive
(36:50):
side of the ball for Kansas City as well, because
both sides play their asses off and their keeper this
season and amounted to something we've really never seen before.
And I'm a little bump for them that it wasn't
last year when the championship was at CPKC Stadium. But
I think they'll take it whatever they can get it,
as long as they keep the ball rolling in the postseason,
(37:13):
all right, Alex A successful little citrus. I don't think
we introduced any new words to people though. We didn't
make any new shortcuts like socks or vibs. We didn't
say we were cited for anything. What was it, sized, sized,
se sised. We didn't say we were cised for any.
(37:33):
I mean we're already forgetting Misha's words, a little baby,
little baby Mesh and their little baby words. Okay, we
got to take another break when we come back. A
reminder to look for the helpers. Welcome back, slices. We
(37:54):
love that you're listening, but we want you to get
in the game every day too. So here's our good
game play of the day. Make a plan to get
to a college basketball game in person this season. We know,
we know some of you are lifelong season ticket holders,
so today's plays a freebie for you. Or obviously, if
you're a coach or a player, you got it covered.
But the rest of you US based folks, we could
(38:15):
basically guarantee that you wouldn't have to drive more than
an hour to see some really great hoops. I don't
know if you live at Alaska or something, but whatever,
there are three hundred and sixty two division ie programs
and more than thirteen hundred teams across all divisions, so
you really have no excuse get out there and watch
some hoops in person. Y'all. We always love to hear
from you, so hit us up on email good game
(38:35):
at wondermedianetwork dot com or leave us a voicemail at
eight seven two two four fifty seventy and don't forget
to subscribe or rate and review. It's easy. Watch a
Hooper who helps rating one of one big Heart review.
Audie Crooks, star hooper for the Iowa State Cyclones, has
launched a program called Knock and Dash via her Audi
(38:57):
Crooks Foundation. It's going to help folks in her costs
the county community affected by the freeze in SNAP benefits
now if you haven't heard, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
SNAP aids about forty two million people in the US,
and it was set to run out of funds on
Saturday without an intervention. Though A federal judge has ordered
the Trump administration to continue funding food stamps during the shutdown,
(39:19):
some beneficiaries might still see lapses in aid. Crook's foundation
website reads quote, with many families losing snap benefits, we
know things can get tough and nobody should have to
go without. Just fill out the short form below to
let us know how many people are in your household
and where you're located. We'll drop off a care package
right at your door, no questions, no judgment. It's all
about neighbors helping neighbors, one knock at a time. End quote.
(39:43):
We love as always to see female athletes and women's
sports step up in these moments. So more crooks who
help less, crooks who throw themselves attacky Great Gatsby themed
party at mar Lago while they're denying food to American
families in need. Now it's your turn, rate and review, y'all.
Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow. Good game Racing, Louisville,
(40:06):
Good games, Sarah Gordon and Angelina Anderson. You Orange and
Chief for hosting that aforementioned party while forty two million
Americans were losing their benefits. You give Oranges a bad name.
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
(40:26):
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
our producers are alex Azzie Grace Lynch, Taylor Williamson, and
Lucy Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rudder,
Britney Martinez and Gianna Palmer. Production assistants from Avery Loftus
(40:48):
and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where the NWSL
regular season ends as college basketball season begins. A time
to plant, a time to reap, a time to laugh,
a time to weep, to everything turned you know how
the song goes. It's Monday, November third, and on today's show,
Producer Alex and I introduce you to Little Citrus just
a squeeze or too short of the original. We'll discuss
(00:24):
the chaos that was NWSL Decision Day, revealed the matchups
now that the postseason bracket has been set, and cross
our fingers that what we think we saw wasn't what
we saw at all. Plus the hope of a day
to day prognosis, a powerful response to one player's late
season cry for attention, and the road to the Final
four starts today. It's all coming up right after this.
(00:53):
Welcome Max Slices, Happy Monday. Here's what you need to
know today. Let's start with NWSL Decision Day. The final
playoff spot came down to Racing Louisville and the North
Carolina Courage, and Racing clinched it the club's first ever
postseason berth in five seasons thanks to a one nil
win over BAFC and Ela has recording her first ever
(01:16):
professional goal. Shout out to Slice missus has Ella's mom.
We might have forgotten Racing in our season preview, but
your daughter and her team made damn sure we wouldn't
forget them in our playoff preview. Also shout out to
Racing Louisville coach Bevannis, who is the first person to
qualify for the NWSL playoffs as both a player and coach.
She made it as a player with Seattle. She's also
(01:38):
the first American female coach to qualify for the NWSL
playoffs since Cindy Parlow Cone led the Portland Thorns in
twenty thirteen. Let that sink in it's been more than
ten years since an American woman coached a team to
the playoffs of the American Women's Soccer League. Yeah. Moving
on to the other matches. The Courage did their part
(01:59):
on Sunday with the win, but the Louisville victory ended
their playoff hopes. They needed a draw or a loss
from Racing to advance. Despite a rainy, soggy day, they
officially set a club attendance record with eleven one hundred
and seventy people watching as they defeated Gotham three to two.
It was also a North Carolina state record for best
attended women's pro sports event, so the fans who stuck
(02:20):
around despite the weather got a win, followed shortly by
the bad news that for just the third time in
franchise history, the Courage would be shut out of the postseason,
and that three to two final score was actually bad
news for both teams involved. Gotham's loss puts them in
eighth place in the playoff bracket behind Louisville, which means
they'll face the world beating Kansas City Current in the
(02:42):
opening round of the postseason. The Current ended their regular
season unbeaten at home with a two to one defeat
of the San Diego Wave on Sunday, extending their own
NWSL records with a twenty first victory and a sixty
fifth regular season point. The Washington Spirit were already guaranteed
the number two seat ahead a decision day, so there
one nil loss to the Utah Royals didn't affect their ranking.
(03:03):
They'll host Racing in the quarterfinals. Portland defeated the Houston
Dash two nil and slid into the number three spot.
They'll host number six San Diego, the Orlando Pride and
the Seattle Rain drew one to one. They'll meet again
in the opening round, with number four Orlando hosting number
five Seattle also decided on decision day. Tim Wushaweinga officially
(03:23):
clinched the Golden Boot, finishing the regular season with the
league high fifteen goals, but Chwenga accomplished the feat without
stepping foot on the field for Sunday's game. Remember, she
sustained an injury during Casey's game against the Houston Dashes
over two weeks ago, and ahead of Kansas City's two
one win on Sunday, coach Latko Adadofski provided an update
on Chiwenga, saying there is a chance she could return
(03:44):
for the postseason, noting that she's day to day. More
on WSL. Ahead of the weekend's games, angel City FC
captain Sarah Gordon and Vites captain Angelina Anderson addressed media
about the recent op ed from their teammate Elizabeth Eddie,
in which Eddie called for the WSL to adopt a
quote unquote clear standard for gender eligibility in the league.
She proposed all players must be born with ovaries or
(04:08):
that players submit to an sry gene test, effectively seeking
to ban trans and intersex players. Take a listen to
what they had to say, Beginning with Sarah Gordon.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Well, first off, i just want to say that going
into this, I'm a little bit nervous because I think
it's a big job to represent your team and speak
for your team and not just that speak for others
who this will be important to. We've all obviously seen
the article that was written in The New York Post
earlier this week, so I really want to start off
(04:39):
by saying that that article does not speak for this
team in this locker room. I've had a lot of
combos with my teammates in the past few days, and
they are hurt and they are harmed by the article,
and also they are disgusted by some of the things
that were said in the article, and it's really important
for me to say that. And we don't agree with
(05:01):
the things written for a plethora of reasons, but mostly
the undertones come across as transphobic and racist as well.
The article calls for genetic testing on certain players, and
it has a photo of an African player as a headline,
and that's very harmful and to me, it's inherently racist
because to single out this community based on them looking
(05:23):
or being different is absolutely a problem. And as a
mixed woman with a black family, I'm devastated by the
undertones of this article. And I feel very protective of
my teammates and this community who are also hurt by this.
And that includes staff and everyone who is a supporter
and a fan. And there are players in this league
(05:46):
and in this locker room that are directly harmed by
what was written in the article. So for that, I
just want to say, I am so so sorry for
anyone hurt by this or anyone harmed by this. And
please know that I do speak for the team when
I say we do support you. You don't have to
look like me, you don't have to look like and
or you don't have to look like somebody from Orange
(06:07):
County to be accepted and celebrated here. And it's really
important that you know that that is the true message
from this locker room, in the team.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
And here's an excerpt from Angeline Anderson's statement.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
For me personally, when I think of LA and I
think of Angel City, I think of a place that
was founded upon inclusivity and love for all people. That's
what our locker room is, That's what our staff is,
that's what our fan base is. Angel City is a
place for everyone. It always will be. That's how it
(06:40):
was from the beginning. That's how it always will be. Period.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Sarah Gordon has been one of the bravest and most
outspoken players in the NWSLF for a number of years,
so I wasn't surprised to see what an incredible job
she did speaking on this issue, and I also wasn't
surprised to hear say that she was a little bit
nervous and a little bit emotional about speaking on behalf
of her entire team, and that feeling of care for
the rest of the players on her team and in
(07:05):
the league seemed to be the thing that was most
missing from Elizabeth Eddy's decision to post about her thoughts
on the gender policy, not taking it to the league
or to fellow teammates or anything else, but rather to
post about it on social media, and then in The
New York Post op ed Sarah Gordon's statement that it
means a lot to speak for your teammates and your
team felt very intentional in that moment. I'm sure we'll
(07:27):
hear some more from those around soccer, and of course
we'll have to hear the league's response to their lack
of policy, something that seems to have put intersex trands
and players of color at increased risk, and something that
should be remedied, of course, not in the way that
Elizabeth Eddy wants it to be. Lots more to say
on the NWSL decision day and the playoff bracket later
(07:49):
in the show, including thoughts on some players who logged
their final and WSL minutes on Sunday to hoops. The
college basketball season gets underway today with over one hundred
and forty games on the schedule, including one matchup of
preseason top twenty teams, Number seven Duke taking on number
sixteen Baylor in Paris, France. Shout out to the journals
(08:10):
who drew that assignment. Bring me back some mackerel from
lad Day SIVU play. We'll also get our first chance
to see some preseason favorites that have a new look
this year thanks to the Transfer portal, like number two
South Carolina, now without the flashy Malaysia Full Wiley but
with new dynamic score to Nia Latson, We'll have to
wait a little longer to see UCLA sisters Lauren and
(08:30):
Sienna Bett's play together, though as freshman, Sienna will miss
the Bruins opener against San Diego State and Anaheim as
she continues to recover from a lower left leg injury
suffered in a scrimmage in mid October. You can check
out the show notes for the full opening day college
hoops schedule, and we've got a full NCAA College Hoops
preview coming your way tomorrow on the show More college
(08:50):
Hoops News. University of Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell announced
on Sunday that the program has dismissed Ruby Whitehorn from
the team following a second run in with the law.
Her the Associated Press, Whitehorn was reportedly stopped by Tennessee
campus police on October thirtieth and found to be in
possession of marijuana. She was charged with misdemeanor simple possession
slash casual exchange. This follows an incident several months ago
(09:13):
in which Whitehorn was arrested after the police said she'd
gotten into a physical altercation outside a woman's residence, kicking
in the door to said residence. Whitehorn pleaded guilty to
two misdemeanors of aggravated trespassing and aggravated burglary in September
in exchange for judicial diversion, and she was allowed to
return to the Lady voles following a suspension. In a
statement about Whitehorn's recent arrest and dismissal on Sunday, Caldwell said, quote,
(09:37):
it is my responsibility to protect the high standards of
this historic program. In light of recent events, Ruby has
been unable to reflect those standards, and I've made the
difficult decision to dismiss her from our team. I love
Ruby and will always be rooting for her, but my
priority is to uphold the respected reputation of the Lady
voles En. Whitehorn issued her own statement via Instagram on Sunday,
(09:57):
writing in part quote, as most of you, this has
not been my best year. I'm not usually one to
open up about my personal life or challenges, and that
is part of the reason I'm in this position today.
For the past couple of months, I have walked by
fear and not faith, fear of asking for help, for guidance,
fear of failure to my coaches and teammates. I appreciate
the support on and off the court. I have failed
(10:18):
to uphold the standards of the Lady Vowl legacy and
what it represents, and for that I apologize. End quote.
Whitehorn added that she will focus on healing and bettering
herself mentally. The number eight Lady Voles open their season
on Tuesday against the number nine North Carolina State Wolf
Peck to the WNBA and an update on collective Bargaining
agreement negotiations. Late last Thursday, the WNBA and the Players
(10:41):
Association announced a thirty day extension on their negotiations. As
a result, the current CBA is now set to expire
on November thirtieth. Ben Pickman of The Athletic reported that
the Players Association requested a condition that will allow it
to terminate the extension within forty eight hours notice, and
a source brief down the situation told him that the
league will also have the ability to terminate the extension
(11:02):
within that notice. We'll link to Ben's full story in
the show notes. More hoops. Dallas Wings guard Paige Beckers
is set to star in and executive produce an upcoming
drama film titled Jess and Pearl. It's based on an
original script by scandal writers I hear McGee per Deadline,
who had the exclusive on the story. The film will
follow two basketball phenoms whose friendship is put on the
(11:24):
line by rivalries and competition. Man first Angel reeson Idris
Elba joint. Now this we are so here for hoopers
on the big screen, and even more hoops this time
in Unrivaled. The three v three league has announced the
list of players who will compete as part of the
twenty twenty sixth season. In total, sixteen new players are
slated to play, including Kelsey Plum, Page Beckers, Kelsey Mitchell,
(11:48):
and one of the final three to sign on, Dominique Malonga.
You might recall that just last week Turkish club Venor
Bacche announced that Malonga had quote unilaterally terminated her professional
player contract with our club with that any just cause
end quote. Now per ESPN, Malanga doesn't need any special
type of clearance to join Unrivaled, but in order to
return to the WNBA next year, fender Bacha will need
(12:10):
to issue a letter of clearance. We'll keep you updated
on that dispute, and we'll link to the full list
of Unrivaled players in the show notes. It is worth
noting that while the three v three league returns most
of its star power, a few year one players, including
Angel Rees and Sabrini and Escu, did not sign on
for year two, some more unrivaled. The league also confirmed
its eight head coaches for the twenty twenty sixth season.
(12:32):
Fan favorites Nola Henry and Teresa Weatherspoon are among the
coaches returning after helping the league debut last January, while
Noel Quinn, who was fired by the Saddlestorm at the
end of the twenty twenty five w season, highlights the
list of new editions. She'll lead Breeze BC, one of
two new unrivaled clubs. We'll link to the full list
of coaches in the show notes. Slices hope you had
(12:55):
a great Halloween weekend and you've got lots of Twizzlers
and Snickers and absolutely no Whoppers in your bag. I
want to thank super Slice Doug Ratcliffe, who sent us
a video of his epic Halloween decorations. There is a
lot to love in that video, but I think that's
the first mermaid skeleton I've ever seen, so that was
the winner for me. Also, pops are always winners, so
shout out to super Slice Amanda Valo for sending us
(13:17):
her three doggos dressed as the Louver Thiefs too. Cu
Also props to the many of you I saw online
dressed as the Indiana Fever's Lexi Hall complete with two
black eyes. I feel like that was the most popular
women's sports costume of the year. Also shout out to
my girl Ty Duncan, who rocked an Asia Wilson costume
with a pink leg sleeve and all very well played.
(13:38):
My husband and I skip sports this year in favor
of complaining. We were the Hecklers from the muppet Statler
and Waldorf with a flip book of all the things
deserving our cheers this year, you know, ice, AI, data centers, Litterers,
fascism six seven, puppy mills, zero stars for all but
five stars to the Toronto Blue Jays Vladimir Guerrero Junior
(14:00):
because he walked into Saturday night's MLB World Series winner
take All Game seven wearing a game warn jersey from
none other than Captain Plutch herself. Peri Philip Pulen, the
Canadian hockey legend, was at the game. She was actually
wearing Glad's Jersey natch, but unfortunately her winning juju was
not enough to prevent Canadian heartbreak. The Dodgers won in
an epic extra innings outing to claim the trophy. Despite
(14:24):
the outcome, we still love that blad Junior channel the
energy of a legendary winner from the women's side. All
the same, also shout out to the Awful Announcing website,
who for a second straight year named Yours Truly to
their annual sports podcast power List. I love being able
to make sure that women's sports are represented on that list,
and I take very seriously the honor and responsibility of
(14:45):
doing this the only daily women's sports show, so I'm
really happy that we were recognized for it. We got
to take a quick break. When we come back from
Big to Little, we gather in the grove for the
first time in the post Misha era. All Right, slices,
(15:07):
welcome to the inaugural edition of Little Citrus. It's a
slightly smaller gathering of citri as we wait a replacement
for producer Meiche. Sunday was decision Day in the NWSL,
which means we've got a playoff bracket to talk about,
plus all the other loose ends of the regular season
to tie up. So get on it here, Alex. How
are you.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
I'm doing okay, I'm missing Niche. But we persevere.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
We do. We persevere quite a day of footy. How
did you watch it? Oh?
Speaker 4 (15:35):
So, the first game of the day, the one that
was on at three o'clock, by itself, was fantastic. I
was able to watch it, focus on it, you know,
very easy. And then, uh, the rest of the day
was just at our chaos with all of the games
at the exact same time, and I attempted to watch
using the NWSL plus app on my row Coo TV
(15:57):
to show the four boxes. Now, I'm a pretty tech
savvy person, but I could not figure out how to
get that tech to work on my rocod TV, so
then I had to pull it up on my laptop
at the same time while trying to finalize the script
of this show. That was like way too many screens
on one screen. So, uh, my brain mostly feels like
(16:17):
most right now. I don't think I'm yeah, I don't
think I took in as much of the soccer as
I would have liked to today.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
I appreciate your effort. The first game was actually tough
for me. Because my Chicago Bears of the NFL were
engaged in an absolutely insane back and forth battle. So
I was trying to watch that and the soccer, but
later I could not even figure out how to get
the multi screens up, so I basically just watched the
ESPN game and was grateful every time they cut in
(16:44):
and showed a highlight from one of the other games
going on. I was like, I am such a boomer.
I am meant to be focused on one screen and
then maybe like a phone or a computer. And to
your point, I was also working on the script for
the show, so it was like, I can't write a
script and watch two games, Like that's just too much
for me brain. But regardless of how we all watched it,
we all ended up in the same place, which is
(17:06):
a playoff bracket that is set and the way we
get there via this chaos. This decision day is pretty
unique to soccer, the leagues and the World Cup and
alex Why, as far as you know, did they decide
that this was the best way for these kinds of
seasons to end.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Well, I'm gonna do something pretty shocking right now, which
is talk about men's sports on this show. Or just
in general never happens. But at the nineteen eighty two
Men's World Cup, in that tournament, West Germany and Austria
played and had made an agreement ahead of time, essentially
to determine what the result was going to be, realizing
that if they got this specific result, they would both
(17:46):
advance and eliminate Algeria. And so that's one of the
reasons now if you watch the World Cup Men's or women's,
the final matches of each group both kick off at
the exact same time to try to prevent this type
of core nation between teams. And I think part of
it has to do with the fact that soccer, the
scores are generally lower, there are more ties, and also
(18:09):
the first tiebreaker in a lot of these leagues is
goal differential. It's not necessarily head to head, and so
that can allow for this fairness issue coming into play
if a team is trying to get a certain result
to happen. And so pretty much every league across the
world uses a similar format where things are kicking off
at the same time. And I've seen a couple of
(18:31):
fans be like, this is crazy, why is this happening?
And I do think it probably is a holdover from
other moments in women's sports where we're like, maybe spread
the games out a little bit more, you know, like
five wa makes sense all the time, it makes sense
for this one moment.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah, yeah, because what you end up having is every
single team really giving it. They're all because they don't
know whether or not it will matter, whereas if you
had a bunch of late games that you already knew
the result for. It's a very unsatisfying way for a
season to end, and you look in for twoar at
what we saw on this decision day, which was that
the Courage had a record number of fans in attendance,
(19:08):
believing that what they were watching was going to make
a difference. Ultimately, the victory didn't ensure that the Courage
made it to the postseason, but it allowed them to
have this raucous environment for that final game, which maybe
wouldn't have happened if their game had taken place at
night and Louisville had won earlier in the day, telling fans, hey,
don't show up on this soggy, rainy day because your
(19:28):
hopes are for nought. Let's talk about that, by the way,
because it's a little bit of a changing of the
guard in that battle for that playoff spot. The Courage
miss out for just the third time in nine seasons
they're usually a regular in the postseason. Louisville making their
way into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history,
you know, without really having a dog in the fight.
I have to say I was kind of excited for racing.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
Yeah, I was too. I mean, I think you look
at Bevan as you mentioned those stats about her and
the need to know, but she's also a player that
got to take advantage of like a player to coach
pipeline that the NWSL Players Association had fought for because
one of the issues that we've seen in this league
is that there are just so few former players that
are coaches, and so I think to see somebody with
(20:12):
her resume having success, I hope it provides a lot
of hope for other players in the league that are
thinking that they might want to get into coaching once
they're done playing.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Yeah, she seems to be universally respected and liked around
the league, and I think also this is a team
that when the season started, there were a lot of
hopes for what they might be able to do, so
it's nice to see them pull through, even though there's
also a lot of consternation about their style of play.
You'll hear a lot of folks around the league talk
(20:44):
about the physicality. Louisville is not afraid to make contact
en route to victories, which will be very interesting to
see come postseason time when the stakes are at their
very highest. On the other side of that Louisville team making,
it was that courage team winning but ultimately lose because
they didn't qualify. And on ESPN, if you were watching
that game like I was, you saw the channel go
(21:06):
from a quick postseason wrap up with Kelsey Riggs, Coff
and Ali Krieger straight to Sports Center and Alex You
immediately let me know that you were not a big
fan of this transition.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
No, it reminded me of what it was like watching
the WNBA a couple of years ago, because ESPN is
still pretty new to the NWSL, but they've had, you know,
the WNBA for years and years, and I remember I
used to be on autopilot where a WNBA game would end,
and I would just go to mute it because I
knew as soon as I heard the Sports Center intro
that like I didn't care anymore, and it took a
(21:36):
while to realize like, oh wait, they're actually talking about
the WNBA now, Yeah, And so it was just really disappointing.
And I hope this isn't an example of just like
piling on and being like ESPN do better, because we
know ESPN can do better, because we have seen it
with the WNBA. And they also ended up signing a
new agreement with the NWSL earlier this fall that next
(21:57):
year they're going to have the rights to all of
the Decision day games and so hopefully that will incentivize
them more given that they will be in charge of
all of the coverage of all of those games.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Yeah, I mean, I will say that for a long
time it was very frustrating. You could watch like a
double overtime March Madness Women's game and get to Sport
tenor and there'd be no mention of it to like
an hour in Now I did you know, hop on
to record with you. So I can't say for certain
that they didn't return to the NWSL and on a
big day of NFL World Series closing the night before
(22:28):
all that other stuff, there was a lot to get to.
So my hope is that perhaps they also were waiting
to put together some elements once the games all ended
at the exact same time and they knew what the
postseason bracket looked like. These are all very kind things
I'm saying that may or may not be a part
of the decision making, but I totally get the point
that you're trying to make. And I do think one
of the big next steps for women's sports is the
(22:50):
shoulder programming, the wrap around program, the pre and post game,
all the content like our show that allows people to
be excited about follow along, under stand the stories, and
care about the next game in the game after that,
And that's all gonna be a big part of continuing
to grow women's sports. So ESPN will play a big
role in that, and they have gotten better in recent years,
(23:10):
so here's hope in next year is the same. All right,
let's talk about this playoff bracket that we now have.
I like to say, you know, the table is set,
although I believe the table is for regular season and
the bracket is for the postseason. But I still like
the idea of at the end of the day having
a nice, beautiful playoff table that we've set and get
to sit down.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
And enjoy Thanksgiving dinner and WSL style exactly exactly which
one of the matchups is most exciting to you off
the top. So I feel like in a normal year,
I would not pick the number one versus the number
eight as the one I'm most excited for. In this case,
number take my answer, Eddie against number eight Gotham. Ooh,
(23:53):
I'm glad I got to go first, But who knows
if we're going to see how much showinga back Kansas
City next week. My guess is probably not based on
how things are going, but I guess we don't know.
And then Gotham, you know, they could have finished as
high as four, like they could have been hosting a
quarter final next weekend, but instead they have to go
(24:14):
to the best team in the league in play. So
I don't think Gotham is necessarily a true number eight team,
but definitely gonna be a tough matchup.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Yeah, I feel like Gotham is a team that all
season long, we've sort of been wondering when they were
going to really kick it into high gear, when they
were going to take advantage of all their talent. Now
they did have injuries that cause there to be a
lot of in and out in terms of the talent
that was available to them each and every game. But
they do make this more interesting than the usual one
eight because to your point, they've got a ton of players.
(24:45):
A Stare was not on the pitch today for them,
She's I believe, still sitting in the runner up spot
behind Tim Withhewinga for goals, had a tremendous season and
year and is someone that at any moment can show
up and make you pay. So I feel like that
will be much more interesting than your average one versus eight.
I also think when it comes to the current players,
(25:07):
not that they really need a boost of confidence after
the regular season they've had. We'll get to that later,
because holy shit, Kansas City this year was unbelievable. But
they do get a little boost in the fact that
one of their goals today was scored by Prince, who
is someone who's going to probably be someone they look
to to fill the gap if Temo isn't available. So
to have their line of forwards that played in this
(25:30):
game today be the ones that they're going to depend on,
probably in the opening round. They just get a little
boost seeing them be so successful in this final regular
season game.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
I'm also laughing at your description of Gotham being kind
of up and down. I'm like, sounds like the Las
Vegas a says, you know, and it worked out for them.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
And also, if you look at when Gotham won the
title two years ago, they were coming out of the
sixth seed, which at the time was the lowest seed
to make the postseason. So they have a history of
being able to come from the very bottom. Now we're here.
Started from the bottom. Now we're here, So look out
Kansas City. As all we have to say about that,
that's gonna be an interesting one. I also just love
(26:08):
the idea of Orlando and Seattle drawing in their final
game and then running it back in the first round
of the postseason. Neither really, I guess gave much away
to the other one today because there wasn't a definitive winner,
But that'll be a good one in Orlando is another
team that after winning it all last year, having so
much talent, I think expectations were higher. They started the
(26:31):
season looking like they were gonna be neck and neck
with the current. Then they dropped out entirely and there
was a question of whether they'd find their way back
in went on a run and now they end up
in a respectable number four seed. But other than the
Kansas City Current being world beaters, there is no sure
thing for me in this postseason, even the Washington Spirit
who had sealed up the number two seed, because with
(26:53):
Trinity rodbin in and out, with the ups and downs
of that team, I just don't know that there's and
racing now coming in hot being so excited about making
their first postseason head full esteem against that Washington team.
I think it's good. If I was a betting woman,
I would not bet on this. I would be very
concerned about making any of these picks. Definitively absolutely.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
I mean, I think that's one of the reasons that
we love the NWSL right, I agree, though definitely not
something I'm investing a lot of money into or pride either.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
One of the other things we mentioned earlier that got
decided was officially Temlshewinga the Golden Boot race. Astaire had
the lead for a while, but once time we heat
it up, it kind of felt like it was hers
to hang on to, and unfortunately we never really got
to see what she could do because of the injury.
Last year, she said an NWSL record with twenty goals
en route to her first Golden Boot. This year she
(27:49):
only gets to fifteen misses a couple games at the end,
and especially frustrating and annoying because she had made a
bet with her coach Flat Coo and Aovski. She said
that he had to dye his hair blue if she
got her first NWSL header and then proceeded to score
it the very next day, which had me thinking that
you could just at any point give Temwa a challenge
that she hadn't yet achieved, and she would immediately do it.
(28:11):
And I wanted to see a few more games where
she had the opportunity to be asked to do I
don't know, like a bicycle kick or backwards or like
scoring off a knee or whatever it might be. But hopefully,
fingers crossed, we might get to see her in the
postseason doing some more magic.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
I also just want to shout out Flat co Ananofsky
and the relationship that he clearly established with Temla and
lots of his players. You know, I think back to
two years ago when the US exited the Women's World
Cup early. For people that hadn't been paying attention to
him as head coach prior to that or his tenure
in the NWSL. I know he got a lot of hate,
and you know, it's it's easy to critique the head coach,
(28:49):
and I think in a lot of ways he might
not have been the right person to lead that team
to a World Cup title, but clearly coaching in the
NWSL is something that he excels at. And I've always
had a bit of a offspot for him, I think
in part because he once showed up to a press
conference with basically the equivalent of like a live Laugh
Love poster behind him in his kitchen. And he can't
(29:10):
hate somebody who shops at the goods, you know.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
No, you know what next up, I hang in their
cat poster.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
He clearly has so much respect for his players, and like,
I wish that that wasn't something that we had a
shout out, but it is. And so it's clear that
his players enjoy playing for him and appreciate the relationships
that they've been able to cultivate.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Speaking of that, actually I meant to earlier shout out
the interim head coach for the North Carolina Courage, Nathan
Thackeray because on the broadcast before that Courage game, they
showed him in the locker room hyping up his team
ahead of their final game and their last shot to
make the postseason, and he wrote them a poem and
he made them a video to go along with the
(29:52):
poem he wrote them, and it was extremely sweet, and
I got the feels for the relationship that he seems
to have created with that team since taking over, and
I just I love a poem. I used to write
poems for my track teammates ahead of big matches, mostly
talking shit about the other teams, but they were coming
from a place of love for my team, So shout
out to him for that. Also, speaking of things that
(30:15):
made me have the feels, there are ten players that
played their last regular season games in the NWSL on Sunday.
Some of them we've talked about a lot, like Kristin
Press and Ali Riley, and they're two of the players
that are on teams that did not make the postseasons.
So not only last regular season NWSL game, but last
NWSL game at all. Three Utah players that are not
(30:36):
advancing to la A North Carolina players, So a lot
of people that don't get to continue this journey in
the postseason. And we've said a lot about Kristin and
Ali in particular, but I thought it was interesting that
Kristin Press and Angel City were playing at Chicago for
the final game of the season. Both teams already eliminated,
(30:57):
but something kind of special there. Chicago is where Kristin's
started her NWSL career. She played there for three seasons.
She was beloved in Chicago, and it wasn't until later
that it was revealed that she was very unhappy that
she was part of the group that spoke out about
the toxic atmosphere in that club and with that coach.
So on the one hand, there's a real kind of
(31:19):
circular nature to her returning there to close things out,
but I also hope that it wasn't bittersweet for her
to go back to a place that she didn't feel
represented the kind of experience she should have as a
professional player. It was nice to see players that knew her,
players like Alyssanaier who had played with her, be there
(31:39):
in that moment to give her her flowers quite literally,
because they did so that part of it was sweet.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
I always think back to Megan Rappino and her talking
about how it isn't known when your last game is
going to be and to be able to go on
your terms and to know it's your last game, there's
something special about that, ideally without eating your achille in
the process.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
Yes, yes, I don't think that.
Speaker 4 (32:02):
Was necessarily on her Bingo card. But for players like
Kristin and Ali to see them kind of set a
date and to then see it through and to be
able to play, I think really means something.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Yeah, and I mentioned a listena Or was the one
who handed Kristin the flowers, And I mentioned that there
are ten players who played their last NWSL game on
Sunday as far as we know, because those are the
ten players who have told us that it was their
final NWSL regular season game. A Listenaer, as we mentioned
(32:34):
in a previous show, her contract expired as of this
last game of the regular season, and she said, just
like I always do, I'll close out the season, then
I'll make a decision. But Alex, you and I both
saw what we saw, which was players wearing a Listenaer
shirts to the game her color neutral Stars teammates, And
I don't know if that's just because they had all
(32:55):
recently gone to support her US women's national team celebration.
They already had the shirts. They felt like, let's get
one more run out of these, or if they know
something we don't know, And if that's the case, I
know it's not their fault. But I will forever be
mad at the Color Neutral Stars for her final season
being such a disappointing one and one in which we
didn't really get to appreciate her greatness. That's a bummer.
Speaker 4 (33:20):
Yeah, for sure, I was getting DT vibes right because
for a while with Diana Trossi, you weren't sure is
this it is? Is it? And then finally they did
the like if this is it video and we're like,
oh shit, it's it, Like we know it's the end.
And so part of me wants to be like, Okay,
if it really was it for Alyssa, they would have
(33:40):
made a bigger deal out of it. But also, you know,
I think it's just maybe one of those things where
it's like you got to wake up the next day
and see how you feel, like how hungry are you
still at this point in your career.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
So it's hard to believe, but a listenair is somehow
more DT than DT is when it comes to elaborate
celebrations and honorings. So I would not be surprised at
all if she didn't really tell anyone and they wore
those shirts just in case because she either hasn't made
up her mind or she hasn't told anyone. I think
I could see her very much not telling anyone anything
because she did not want a big to do made
(34:13):
about it. Yeah, but gosh, I actually don't even know
if I want her to come back, not knowing whether
next season will be another slog, or if I hope
that she comes back and gets the opportunity to play
in the cool stadium on the lake where hopefully more
fans will be in attendance, and maybe tell us give
us a hint that it's the end so we can
all show up in droves for her. That would be nice,
(34:36):
But I would like them to win some more games
for her if that's the case. Speaking of winning games,
before we can tie a bow on this regular season
and officially truly move on to the postseason, where anything
can happen. Any team can win, including Gotham. I want
to make sure we give Kansas City like proper recognition
for a regular season unlike any other. Now, as you,
(35:00):
Alex would always say, there might have been some records
at this season because there were more games and more
opportunities and all those other things. So we'll couch this
by saying, I love that.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
You are setting this up for me. Well, I like
literally searching, like most of NWSL games in his yay, yes,
right now, I know that's what's coming.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
Though, is like we always and rightfully so want to
provide the nuance in context for some of these numbers.
They Oh, they had the most opportunities for this. And
yet all that being said, let's still highlight some of
the regular season records that Kansas City sent this year,
and shout out to Jen Cooper, who, by the way,
I loved hearing her get that shout out on ESPN
for all the work she does for the league and
(35:35):
providing all the scenarios for decision Day and everything else.
But let's blow through a couple of these, Alex, some
that we already have talked about a lot. This team
was the fastest to fifty points. They got there in
twenty games, the fastest to clinch the NWSL shield. They
did it with five games left to play. Most points
in one season, which they got after Week twenty five
with sixty two, but then finished the season with sixty
(35:58):
five most wins in a season. They extended their own
record by getting their twenty first on Sunday. Ten road wins,
sixteen shutouts, and alex this one. The consecutive minutes without
conceding a goal eight hundred and seventy. It's a lot
of minutes that's out of control.
Speaker 4 (36:16):
Have to say, though, most of these would be records
and seasons that were a lot shorter too, and so
yet another reason why they deserve a ton of praise
for what they were able to put together because it's
really really special.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
And we do talk a lot about this team and
their scoring prowess because it's fun to watch goals and
talk about folks like Temwa, But the consecutive minutes of
shutout play is won, the nine straight clean sheets record,
the eight home clean sheets in one season record, that
speaks to the defense. So shout out to the defensive
(36:50):
side of the ball for Kansas City as well, because
both sides play their asses off and their keeper this
season and amounted to something we've really never seen before.
And I'm a little bump for them that it wasn't
last year when the championship was at CPKC Stadium. But
I think they'll take it whatever they can get it,
as long as they keep the ball rolling in the postseason,
(37:13):
all right, Alex A successful little citrus. I don't think
we introduced any new words to people though. We didn't
make any new shortcuts like socks or vibs. We didn't
say we were cited for anything. What was it, sized, sized,
se sised. We didn't say we were cised for any.
(37:33):
I mean we're already forgetting Misha's words, a little baby,
little baby Mesh and their little baby words. Okay, we
got to take another break when we come back. A
reminder to look for the helpers. Welcome back, slices. We
(37:54):
love that you're listening, but we want you to get
in the game every day too. So here's our good
game play of the day. Make a plan to get
to a college basketball game in person this season. We know,
we know some of you are lifelong season ticket holders,
so today's plays a freebie for you. Or obviously, if
you're a coach or a player, you got it covered.
But the rest of you US based folks, we could
(38:15):
basically guarantee that you wouldn't have to drive more than
an hour to see some really great hoops. I don't
know if you live at Alaska or something, but whatever,
there are three hundred and sixty two division ie programs
and more than thirteen hundred teams across all divisions, so
you really have no excuse get out there and watch
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(38:35):
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Hooper who helps rating one of one big Heart review.
Audie Crooks, star hooper for the Iowa State Cyclones, has
launched a program called Knock and Dash via her Audi
(38:57):
Crooks Foundation. It's going to help folks in her costs
the county community affected by the freeze in SNAP benefits
now if you haven't heard, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
SNAP aids about forty two million people in the US,
and it was set to run out of funds on
Saturday without an intervention. Though A federal judge has ordered
the Trump administration to continue funding food stamps during the shutdown,
(39:19):
some beneficiaries might still see lapses in aid. Crook's foundation
website reads quote, with many families losing snap benefits, we
know things can get tough and nobody should have to
go without. Just fill out the short form below to
let us know how many people are in your household
and where you're located. We'll drop off a care package
right at your door, no questions, no judgment. It's all
about neighbors helping neighbors, one knock at a time. End quote.
(39:43):
We love as always to see female athletes and women's
sports step up in these moments. So more crooks who
help less, crooks who throw themselves attacky Great Gatsby themed
party at mar Lago while they're denying food to American
families in need. Now it's your turn, rate and review, y'all.
Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow. Good game Racing, Louisville,
(40:06):
Good games, Sarah Gordon and Angelina Anderson. You Orange and
Chief for hosting that aforementioned party while forty two million
Americans were losing their benefits. You give Oranges a bad name.
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
(40:26):
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
our producers are alex Azzie Grace Lynch, Taylor Williamson, and
Lucy Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rudder,
Britney Martinez and Gianna Palmer. Production assistants from Avery Loftus
(40:48):
and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
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