June 16, 2025 • 46 mins
Actors James Roday Rodriguez and Tom Everett Scott join Sarah to discuss the WNBA fantasy league that brought them together, the W players surprising them most this year, and how two degenerate fantasy football players brought their sickness to a WNBA league in the first place. Plus, an explanation rooted in tongue waggling, seeing double while breaking records, and a strong message of support from the City of Angels.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where there are
no kings except Abe Frohman, the sausage King of Chicago.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
But we do love our queens, looking.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
At you, BJK Simone, Asia Pino. It's Monday, June sixteenth,
and on today's show we'll be chatting with actors James
Rode Rodriguez and Tom Everett Scott about the WNBA Fantasy
League that brought us together, the w players surprising us
this season in ways both good and bad, and how
in the hell too degenerate NFL fantasy players brought their
(00:30):
sickness to a WNBA league in the first place, Plus
a very early attempt at what could be a long
standing record. Good things come in pairs, and a strong
message of support from the City of Angels. It's all
coming up right after this Welcome back slices. Hope you
had a great weekend. Here's what you need to know today.
(00:52):
Let's start with the WNBA, where Caitlin Clark is back
and the New York Liberty's unbeaten streak is over. It
was in top form in her return from a quad
injury on Saturday, recording thirty two points to lead the
Indiana Fever to a one oh two eighty eight victory
over the Liberty, handing the defending WNBA champs their first
loss of the season. Clark tied her career high for
(01:13):
three pointers with seven, and added nine assists and eight rebounds,
putting on a show with a handful of her signature
deep deep deep threes, including back to back to back
trays all in less than forty five seconds in the
first quarter. Prior to Clark's five game absence, she had
never missed a game in her WNBA or college career.
Guard Sophie Cunningham was also back in the lineup for
(01:35):
the Fever after missing time with an ankle injury.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
The only bad news for.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Indiana fans after that win is that with Clark and
Cunningham back, the team had to waive Airy McDonald, who
signed a hardship contract when the Fever's roster dipped below
ten players, and she impressed in her three games with
the team, maybe she'll pop up on another roster. Caitlin
Clark's big comeback came just after another highly anticipated return
to the court. Number one zero overall draft pick Page
(02:01):
Becker's back in the lineup with the Dallas Wings last Wednesday.
We haven't had a chance to mention it since then,
but I couldn't let it pass without giving her a
shout out because after missing four games for concussion protocol
and an illness, she did not miss a beat, hitting
her first six shots of the game and finishing thirteen
of nineteen from the field for thirty five points. Unfortunately,
(02:21):
the rest of the Wings combined to shoot thirty three
percent from the field and the Phoenix Mercury got the
win ninety three to eighty. Wings fans might have been
excited to see Page go off, but the Mercury wanted
a little more love for the dub posting quote when
we won the game.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
But we don't have a single.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Highlight in the two minute, twenty four second recap video
from the WNBA. So we put together some Mercury highlights
from last night's game in case you watched the other
video and didn't see a single one, because there wasn't
a single one end quote Spicy.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
And frankly, I can't blame them.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, the Sparks signed veteran guard Shape
Petty to a hardship contract on Saturday after losing Julia
Aliba on to EuroBasket and with Odyssey Simms out.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
For personal reasons.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
If you aren't familiar with Petty and her WNBA journey,
let's just say she's a case study in how hard
it is to earn and keep a roster spot in
this league. Originally drafted in twenty twelve, she didn't actually
make her w debut until twenty nineteen. We've linked to
an old thread and story from journalist Lindsay Gibbs in
the show notes, which will give you a taste of
Petty's work, ethic, and persistence in this league. Petty also
(03:25):
played in Athletes Unlimited Basketball in the offseason, where she
was named twenty twenty five Defensive Player of the Year.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Glad to see you back in the w SHA more WNBA.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
The Golden State Valkyries recorded their third straight win on Saturday,
defeating the Seattle Storm seventy six seventy. Kayla Thornton led
the Valks with twenty two points and twelve rebounds, while
Temmy fag Benley added sixteen points. The Valks also became
the first since the nineteen ninety eight and ninety nine
Washington Mystics to report attendance of eighteen thousand plus in
five home games in the same season, and they're the
(03:56):
very first to do so in their first five home games.
Stup for the WNBA's newest team a meeting with the
Dallas Wings on Tuesday. Ahead of that one, the Valks
announced that the team has re signed Caitlin Chen. Now
you may recall that Chen, who helped Yukon win the
NCAA title this year as a transfer student, was drafted
by the Valkyrise, but she was waived after two preseason games.
(04:17):
While on Sunday, Golden State announced that Chen is back.
We'll have to see how she fits into the team's
long term roster plans, but in the meantime, we're hoping
she gets to log at least a few minutes against
fellow Husky Page Beckers on Tuesday.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Which brings us back.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
To the Dallas Wings, who are also doing some roster tweaking.
They've acquired Lee Rue from the Seattle Storm in a trade.
In return, the Storm get two future draft picks. Lee,
who hails from China, had requested a trade from the
Storm in order to get more playing time. Speaking to
reporters last week, she said that she came to the
US to play basketball, so playing time is a priority.
(04:50):
More WNBA and a few more records and achievements to
shout out from this weekend. First, the Atlanta Dreams Ryan
Howard tied the WNBA record for most three pointers made
in a single game. Howard recorded thirty six total points,
including going nine for nineteen from three in Atlanta's eighty
eight to seventy win over Chicago on Friday. She joins
Jewel Lloyd, Kelsey Mitchell, and ari ke Gunbowale as the
(05:11):
only players to make nine threes in a single WNBA game.
Chicago's Angel Reese had her own big game in the
Sky's next outing, recording her first WNBA career triple double
on Sunday with eleven points, thirteen rebounds, and eleven assists
in Chicago's seventy eight sixty.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Six win over the Connecticut Sun.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Per across the timeline, Reese is the second youngest player
in WNBA history to record a double double, behind only
Caitlin Clark.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
More hoops news.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
This past Saturday with the twenty twenty five Women's Basketball
Hall of Fame Induction ceremony at the Tennessee Theater in Knoxville.
Four great players, Sylvia Fowls, Elena Beard, Cappy Pondexter, and
Sue Byrd were inducted, along with coaches Mark Campbell and
Lucille Cavalas, and former Georgia Tech women's basketball standout and
executive director of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Danielle Donahue.
(05:57):
The four players, Fowls, Beard, Pondexter, and Bird combined for
more than thirty All Star selections, eleven WNBA championships, and
countless Olympic and international titles. Said Byrd during her speech, quote,
I am filled with overwhelming pride.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
We all should.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
The game isn't just surviving, it's thriving. To witness this
generation of players stepping into their power, being unapologetic and
celebrated for their talent.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
That's the real dream come true. End quote.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
To the NWSL amid ongoing immigration raids in Los Angeles
and protests against those raids, Angel CITYFC made a statement
ahead of Saturday's game against the North Carolina Courage. The
club printed out ten thousand t shirts that read Immigrant
City Football Club on the front and Los Angeles Is
for Everyone Los Angeles s Paro Totos on the back
(06:43):
and placed them on seats for fans to wear. The
club also issued a statement which set in part quote
the fabric of this city is made of immigrants. Football
does not exist without immigrants. This club does not exist
without immigrants. End quote. ACFC went on to lose the
match two to one, with North care line is Brianna
Pinto scoring the game winner in stoppage time. Center back
(07:03):
Kaylee Kurtz also made some history in the win, becoming
the first NWSL player to record one hundred consecutive starts
with the same club. More NWSL, the league announced that
this year's NWSL Championship will be played at San Jose's PayPal.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Park, home of BAFC.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
The game is set for Saturday, November twenty second, and
tickets for the final will go on sale in August.
To Ncuba Track and Field, the national Championships concluded over
the weekend, with Georgia winning its first outdoor women's track
and field title in program history. The Bulldogs were led
by Olympic gold medallist Eliah Butler and d j A. Oakley,
who went one to two in the women's four hundred
(07:38):
meter meantime. One of our favorite headlines from track Nationals
came in the pole vault final, where Washington sophomore Hannah
Mall won the NCAA title and broke the collegiate record
by clearing four point seven to nine meters. But it
wasn't just anyone who set the record she broke. It
was her twin sister and fellow Husky, Amanda Mal, who
set the old mark while competing at last month's Big
Ten Championship. Amanda, who was undefare this season entering ncuble a's,
(08:01):
went on to finish third, while Rutgers Chloe Timberg finished second.
Sandwich between the Mal twins. Another record worth noting. Michigan's
Savannah Sutherland ended her collegiate career in style, winning the
four hundred meter hurdles national title in fifty two point
four to six seconds, breaking the previous NCAA record of
fifty two points seven to six set in twenty eighteen
by none other than the legendary Sydney McLaughlin. Lavroni to
(08:25):
softball and the AUSL where the Bandits are at the
top of the fourteen leader board following four straight wins,
one against the talents and three against the volts, but
the most exciting game of the weekend was Game one
of a double header between the Blaze and the Talents,
featuring an incredible comeback from the Blaze.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Here's how it went down.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
The Blaze trailed twelve to one in the fourth inning
twelve two one, but they pulled off an incredible eleven
run comeback, which may have been helped by a fifty
six minute rain delay midway through the fourth. And I know,
my fellow Chicago Cubs fans know the power of a
well timed rain delay see the twenty sixteen World Series. Anyway,
once the rain stopped, Bailey Klinger got things rolling with
(09:04):
the three run homer, with the Blaze ultimately tying things
up twelve twelve in the sixth, but it was the
Talents who went on to win the game, with infielder
Sydney Romero recording a two run home run in the
bottom of the seventh. Talents followed it up with a
seven to six winning Game two of the devilheader. So
while the Blaze took the l's, it's possible their eleven
run comeback will be in the AUSL record books for
(09:24):
a very long time. For comparison, the last time the
MLB saw eleven run comeback August two thousand and one
to tennis and some news we can get behind from
the Women's Tennis Association. The WTA announced last week that
players can now take time away for fertility related procedures
like egg and embryo freezing without impacting their world ranking.
(09:45):
Moving forward, eligible players who missed time for fertility procedures
will receive a protected ranking calculated using the twelve week
average of their WTA ranking from eight weeks prior to
the start of their miscompetition time. They're then eligible to
use that special ranking to interrupt three tournaments within ten
weeks of returning. While most doctors agree that low impact
exercises generally fine during IVF treatment, strenuous workouts are often
(10:08):
advised against due to the risk of ovarian torsions. That
means lead athletes often have to scale back while undergoing treatment.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
We got to take a quick break when we come back.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Just a couple of Hollywood stars playing WNBA Fantasy.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
It's Tom and.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
James next joining us now. He's an actor, director, and
screenwriter known for shows like psych and A Million Little Things,
currently directing ABC's high potential starring It's Always Sonny's Kaitlyn Olsen,
a Texas native, NYU grad, dog foster, animal lover and
(10:44):
environmental advocate. He's got a serious fantasy sports problem. And
this isn't actually a podcast, it's an intervention. It's James
Rode Rodriguez.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Hi, James, thank you so much for caring enough to
try to help me.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Also with us.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
He's an actor known for movies like That Thing You'd
Do an American Werewolf in Paris, Boiler Room, and La
La Land, and TV shows including Southland, Er Lawn, Order,
Will and Grace, Thirteen Reasons Why, and the Hilarious Underappreciated
I'm Sorry. He's currently in production playing Elwood's dad in Elle,
the Legally Blonde Prequeil series. A Massachusetts native and Syracuse grad,
He's a father who's blowing off his kids on Father's
(11:18):
Day to hang out with us instead.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
It's Tom Evert Scott, Hi, Tom.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Hey, Yeah, whatever, those kids, they don't need me anymore.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Grown fine, Thank you guys for joining the show.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
I'm so excited to chat.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Before I get to why you're here and why it
makes sense, I'd like to start with how you know
each other?
Speaker 5 (11:41):
James.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Do you remember how you two met.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Tom and I met because we were we both found
ourselves in the same dynasty league. Am I on the
right path here? Tom?
Speaker 5 (11:53):
Yeah? Right through Garrett, right.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Through Garrett Leerner, a wonderful screenwriter and fantasy football enthusiast,
asked me if I wanted to be my first dynasty league,
and it was sort of the one, the thing that
I hadn't done yet, and in some way I was like, well,
this is the gateway that I know. I don't have
a problem because I don't have a dynasty team yet.
But then I said yes to that, and Tom, sure enough,
(12:18):
is a part of that league and it's a little
bit of us versus them. I think the name of
the league is Hollywood Randos, That's right, And it's like
half people in our business and half people in the
fantasy football business. And I believe we have dominated. I
think we're going into.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
Like the Hollywood part.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah. We're crushing these guys.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
So you're beating the experts, the fantasy experts.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Yeah, we are impressive, and it feels good, feels good.
Tom and I also realized that we had met many
many years previously in Vancouver. What I was doing Yeah, well,
I was doing psych and he was working on a
show called Saved, and I don't know. It was just
warm feelings all the way around. Tom is one of
the all time good guys in our business. Everyone says,
(13:05):
so you don't get hands selected by Tom Hanks if
you don't have that Hanksyan vibe. So he's just was
just the easiest guy to warm up too. And now
I'm proud to say that we're not just in the
same dynasty league, we're pals.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
We are pals. We became pals.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Is it true, Tom, that you almost weren't hand selected
by Tom Hanks for that big break because you were
too Hanksyan and they worried you were too similar to him.
And it wasn't until his wife stepped in and said
worth it, give him the job.
Speaker 5 (13:36):
That's pretty much what happened.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
He told me that he was not necessarily gonna even
though he thought I was right. He thought I was
too much like him. And Rita watched my tape and said,
you should hire this guy. So I owe it all
to Rita.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Yeah, and I guess because it wouldn't have made sense
in the movie for you guys to be related. But
I mean, there is no better, I think compliment than
being told you're very Tom Hanksy. And I think that's
about us about as good as it gets.
Speaker 5 (14:00):
Yeah, I mean, come on, like, that's pretty good. That's
better than.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Most American icon legend everybody. It's like, it's like mister
He's like mister Rogers.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Basically he is.
Speaker 5 (14:11):
He played mister Rogers.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
He did, Yeah, yeah, of course he did.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah. Okay, James, you.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Mentioned that you were worried about your addiction, but the
fact that you weren't in a dynasty league made it
clear that you were fine. And then of course you
joined a dynasty league, confirming that you were never and
are still not fine. So first of all, can you
tell people what a dynasty league is? And then also
can you give us a look at your peak depravity?
How many leagues at once in how many different sports
(14:37):
is peak depraved?
Speaker 3 (14:40):
All right, I'll start with the easy one that I
feel less shame about, and that's just telling you what
a dynasty league is. A dynasty league is where you
do a startup draft, like a normal startup draft, like
you would for any draft redraft league. Our ours happens
to be a super flex which means you can you know,
you start two quarterbacks. But then what happens is that's
(15:02):
just your team forever, so.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
You become you're a real GM. James, I'm a.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Real GM, and so is Tom. And then each year,
come draft time, all you're really doing is effectively drafting
rookies from that season's draft. And then we also have
Every league is different, but in ours, any veterans that
are hanging out on the wire are also eligible for
our rookie draft, which you know, once you get into
(15:30):
the fourth and fifth rounds, you might see some journeyman
receivers or some third string quarterbacks coming off.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
The board someone the Bears killed.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Yeah, exactly, as.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
An opportunity elsewhere.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Okay, so that was the final step for you give
us like, what are we at now?
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Where we had a reasonable number and what was the
peak number?
Speaker 3 (15:50):
The peak number I think was two seasons ago because
it climbed up over fifteen, and that's when I said, no,
I have to get under fifteen. And then last year
I think I was at fourteen. So I did what
I said I was going to do because I'm I'm
a man of my word. I speak truth to power.
(16:10):
And now you know, every season is its own, you know, adventure.
I have a hard time saying no to anything charity related.
So that Jack's my my number up for sure. I've
got my home league, I've got my Dynasty League. I'm
a big friend of a guillotine. I love a guillotine.
(16:32):
What a fun format that is?
Speaker 1 (16:35):
What that is and I've never even heard of it.
You truly are a degenerate.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Tom and I are in the same guillotine, one of those.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
You get eighteen teams and then each week the lowest
scoring team gets cut until they she left and.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
There is a higher suicide league.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
But it's not it's your teams instead of the professional
teams losing.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
Yeah, and their entire roster goes under the waiver war.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Oh, It's like relegation in the Premier League, except for
instead of waiting till the end of the season, it's
just mid season you get Wow. Okay, So Tom, you're
also a degenerate.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Oh man, say fifteen is probably like right in the
same neighborhood for me. At one point I had to
cut some weight. Some of that it was too much.
I mean, I felt I just saw the look on
my wife's face when fall started rolling in and she'd be.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Like, oh, yeah, OK go, Well, now that we've established
that you're in every type of league for every type
of sport, let's talk about the league we're actually in.
We're in a WNBA auction style fantasy league called the
D League, and it's actually pretty simple. When you draft,
you just have to promise a certain amount of money
out of your total to get the players that you want,
(17:45):
and then you can get a bunch after that for free.
But it's my first season along with my teammate Tie,
and I roped in Friends of the Show comedian Aaron
Foley and ultra runner Klaan Connigan to form a team.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
As well, and we're trying to learn.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
But currently you guys are one in, which isn't a
surprise your professionals, James, When did the D League start?
And who are the other folks in it? Who am
I playing against? Are the actors?
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Are they friends or are they just fellow degenerates.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
We're all degenerates. We started four seasons ago. You are
playing with two guys, lovely gentlemen that I went to
high school with, who Tom also knows, named Ray and Ben.
Ben is our commissioner. We became big college fans because
we do a yearly trip to Vegas during March Madness,
(18:34):
and we were betting on women's games like crazy, and
we realized that we knew more players. And this is
not you know, you do the math and it don't
it's not a shock. But you get to know the
players in the women's game so much better because they
stick around for four years, and we were able to identify,
like all of these these ladies that we were fans of,
(18:55):
and then that sort of just took a natural segue
into forming a WNBA fantasy league, which on ESPN only
started like I think four or five years ago, so
I don't know if we got in year one, but
we might have. And I believe Ben took the first
season crown, the inaugural where we only had four teams.
(19:19):
Then we upped it to six and I have won
the last two and I'm currently going for number three,
which you have now been tagged into try and stop
me from doing.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
This is my first year in the league, OK, I'm
trying to figure this out. I'm right there with you, Sarah.
I don't I've never done football. Well, thank you, I
you know, I got I think I got lucky. I
think I made some crucial mistakes so far. I dropped
some starters and other people smartly grabbed them, and I
was like, oh, wait, don't you just rotate these players?
Speaker 3 (19:54):
But you know what, it's so tough in the first
month of the WNBA season because rotations aren't set. There's
always some players that start in Europe and then land
or leave the w and go to your and you
got to keep track of like who's going to be
around and who's not I drafted, you know that Valkyrie
number one pick, who's not even gonna play this season.
(20:16):
Like you have to sort of like catch up, and
it takes like a solid month, you know, to do that.
Speaker 5 (20:21):
So well.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
Also the thing that I'm having a hard time figuring
out And James, you've done Richard Street baseball too. Yeah,
I don't know if you've ever done any other like
daily but football you just do by the weekend you're playing.
But this is every day. You got to kind of
figure out who's who to start, who to play. That
really threw me for a loop, trying to fill out
(20:43):
my roster, like optimizing my robster each week.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
It's been hard. I am not very good at it. Sarah,
you've got a good team.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Yeah, I mean we're getting better. We got our first win.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
I had a button that said I could just automatically
optimize it where it would put the people who had
a game in every day, and then it like one
day I went to check and it had stopped. So
now I just like bump ahead every day and change
my roster a couple days in advance so that if
I forget to look, I'm at least playing all the
people playing. But to your point, our team Skyler's Old Pussy, which.
Speaker 5 (21:13):
I great name, really want everyone.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
To know the origin of because it's weird if they don't.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
So, just in case you haven't heard me mention it
on the show in a previous episode, it is because
Skyler Diggan Smith was caught on a hot BLI like
telling an opposing player that she felt young butter Pussy
was old because of having kids, and how could I
not name my team?
Speaker 5 (21:35):
Then?
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Okay, that's right, Yeah, but Tom you're and strong, thank you? Yes,
your team wrong and strong.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
You're sitting in.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Second at two in one and you did beat my
team in week one and James your team three p
defender a very subtle nod to the fact you're going
for your three p Thanks for rubbing it in currently
three and zero, Explain to us how you're kicking our
ass so that we can make adjustments, and.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Betsy Well, I put the b in subtle, Sarah, I
think you know that. Here's what it comes down. It
comes down to drafting a great core, and by cores,
I mean like four or five players where you allocate
your money in such a way that you know, if
you suffer injuries to other players, it's never going to
(22:22):
affect you that much because you basically have one hundred
and twenty points every time they all play a game.
And then outside of that, you know you're looking for
some upside. You're looking for someone who you know is
not flashy, not sexy. Perfect example. I've had her for
three years in a row. Now, Minnesota power forward Atlanta Smith.
(22:46):
She might crawl to double digit points, but she's second
in the league in blocks, She's one of the best
defensive players in the league. And she will get you,
you know, twenty to twenty five points a game very quietly,
but it's dependable. You want players like that. And then
the last key to it is. You have to have
at least one sort of slush spot on the end
(23:09):
of your bench that you're not attached to, so that
if you need to rotate a player in and out
because the person you're playing has seven more games on
the schedule.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Than you do, right you the part You.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
Got to have that player that you can, you know,
hit the bricks pretty much.
Speaker 5 (23:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Day, I'm struggling with that because every time I look
to do that, because I watched you make so many rotations,
and I'm like, oh, I'm just sticking with the people
I have. But everybody out there to pick up has
fewer points average than my players, and so I'm worried
if I do that, I'm just going to get rid
of someone who's consistently better.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Tom If you found a player that you were.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Like excited to see heading into this season, either a
rookie or someone you thought would be coming in hot,
or someone that would be good for your roster, and
immediately you were like, Okay, I don't know what I'm doing,
and or like someone that you added to your roster
and then now you're like, whoh, I had no idea
they were going to be performing this way.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
I mean kind of like last year when I was
watching THES it was my first like understanding of like
how great these players are and I and I didn't
really know that I was going to be in this
league at that point. So then when we came to
getting close to our auction draft, I was like, Okay,
I know some of those players. And then I looked
(24:18):
on YouTube and I found this great YouTube person called
Brooks Bench and she yeah, and she and her friend
they just were talking up drafting their WNBA fantasy teams
and they were listing their favorite players. And I just said,
if these guys know this much about women's basketball, I'm
just going to take their advice.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Smart.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
And so without really knowing these players, I had these
tiers and I knew how much I was going to
That's what I do in fantasy football when I draft,
I just have tiers of guys and it was great.
Speaker 5 (24:51):
It helped me get fords of women.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
If you will you buyers of women for your fantasy
deep cut women, James, I want you to explain how
you managed to steal Caitlyn Clark that.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
Was such a great trade and benefit.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
From her huge return to play without dropping a single
dollar on her in the auction draft and with the
person who traded her to like doing it at such
a late time that there was really no purpose by
the time he finally traded her.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Yeah, so dear Ray over bed on Caitlyn. He dropped
one hundred and twenty of his two hundred dollars on her,
thinking that he was driving up the price. We all
immediately were like, no, he had Caitlyn Clark and then
no money left to spend, and so he got off
(25:41):
to a really rough start. He wasn't just losing, like
he was getting destroyed because he only had Caitlyn and
then she got hurt and it was two weeks minimum,
and I pounced. I offered him something the day that
report came out and then been I and I think
(26:02):
he thought he was that this was strategy. Found an
article I think from Athlon Sports from.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Someone can't be trusted?
Speaker 3 (26:10):
Can trusted doctor that had nothing to do with the team.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
No, No, it's like a it's like probably like the
doctor from thirty Rock.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Yeah, and they were like, with this kind of injury,
we would expect her to be out for a lot
longer than two weeks, but we don't think that you know,
her career or is in jeopardy, and so it was
it sort of played right into my hands because I
was like, I'm not believing an article from Athlon, so
I know Caitlin Clark is probably like frothing at the
mouth to get back as soon as humanly possible, and
(26:41):
I actually got I actually got away with not having
to give up Alyssa Thomas, who I originally was going
to make part of that deal, but then it was like, ah, dude,
I don't know if she's going to be out for
a month, I'll give I'll give you Jackie and Gabby
And don't get me wrong, I love me some some
Gabby Williams and Jackie. He's had some huge games. You
(27:03):
weigh him out, and you know, a healthy Katelyn Clark,
she'd make that deal every day of the week.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Well she came back and dropped like sixty parts for you,
So it seemed like a decent movement.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
And I'm still going to lose, yeah, which is just
so crazy to lead.
Speaker 5 (27:18):
Yeah you are? You know you're not? This week? I am.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
He might take his first album.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Yeah, yeah, I'm taking the first.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Tom Alisha Gray, Kelsey Plum Sat So those those ladies
are holding things down for your squad. But Asia Wilson's
been your m v P as is expected. What is
the plan if Asia's absence drags on due to concussion?
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Brot a call? Are youre going to trade her to James?
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Like that?
Speaker 5 (27:38):
More on? Yeah? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (27:41):
What's the going rate for Asia Wilson?
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Is it Veronica Person and Atlanta Smith?
Speaker 4 (27:49):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (27:49):
Right?
Speaker 5 (27:50):
Oh yeah, you just talked her up right?
Speaker 3 (27:51):
Right?
Speaker 5 (27:52):
Good?
Speaker 4 (27:53):
Uh, just send me some doctor report and her concussion.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
I mean, do you want sports Keita this time? That
one's even worse than Avlon.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
I'm actually watching the Aces right now without Yeah, they're on,
She's not there. Should be okay, right.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Yeah, yeah, you'll be fine. You'll be fine. I think
should be fine.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Do you have any big bold predictions for the rest
of the season.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
James, Yes, I don't think that the Aces are gonna
turn it around and be a real factor. I mean,
they'll be a playoff team, but I don't think the
Jewel Lloyd for Kelsey Plumb plug and play experiment is
working out for them.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Which I'm surprised by. And maybe it's just gonna too
much of a Jewellloyd homer. But I'm a huge fan
of hers, and I know Kelsey is a dog and
Kelsey can make her own shot and go off. But
Jewel also was a player that, like I thought, was
just going to keep getting better. And I don't know
what the fit issue is or what Maybe it's just time,
but it's not looking great.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
It's not looking great. They got blown out by an
expansion team, and I don't think you can overstate that
that means something is seriously wrong in that locker room
or or somewhere. And you know, Becky didn't mince words.
And I feel like they're already at a point in
the season where you know that they have to they
(29:17):
have to figure out what's going on. Meanwhile, you know,
the Liberty and the Links look as good as ever,
and now that Caitlin's back, look out because fever here
they come. So I feel like I don't know how
bold it is, but you know, going into this season,
the Aces were right there, you know, in the discussion,
and I don't know that they're actually going to be
(29:38):
in the discussion.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
No, that's I think I agree with you, And my
preseason prediction for MVP Wasnafisa Collier, And I feel like
it's hard to pick anyone bit asia after a season
like last year. But you know how tendency in leagues
is like not to keep giving it to the same
person even though they deserve it. And I thought fee
was due and if the aces aren't really in the conversation,
that's going to help.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Fees costs a.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Little bit of time. Yeah, the fees fees outrageous as well.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Right now?
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Her efficiency? Uh, Tom, are you interested in trying to
steal away any of my players? Is there anything you
want to talk about right now?
Speaker 3 (30:15):
Or?
Speaker 5 (30:17):
Boy?
Speaker 4 (30:17):
Do I wait? So your did you who did you
bid on? Who did you bid the most money on?
In the auction?
Speaker 2 (30:22):
I'd have to go back and look a lot of
the players.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
My teammate and I were like willing to really spend
on everybody, like we thought overbid on We kind of
we didn't know what we were doing.
Speaker 5 (30:33):
I think you got the steal.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Oh my god, you got the steal of the draft.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
We under got joll Yeah, we got the steal of
John Quell for sure, but now she's been out, which
has been unfortunate for us. And then we got Collie
a Copper not knowing that she was going to get
that knee thing.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
So she's finally.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Back in, but we've had her on the i R
the whole time. Someone in the league, and I don't
know anyone but you two. Whoever it was, tried to
get me to make a trade for Courtney vander Slut
the day she got hurt. I think, hoping I wouldn't know,
and I'm like, this is my job, bro, oh and
that's and that's.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
My team, the Chicago Sky.
Speaker 5 (31:08):
So wow, I.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Sure hope that. I don't think it was you. Did
you have Courtney vander Slut?
Speaker 4 (31:15):
I did, but I wouldn't have tried it a hurt player.
I dropped her as soon as she got hurt.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Okay, maybe someone else picked her up and then tried
to trade her as if I didn't you Maybe maybe Sky.
Speaker 4 (31:30):
No, no, I think I was offering you some players
for Khaliah Copper.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
Is that who you have?
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Yeah, yeah, And I think it was maybe you sent
the trade before she got hurt.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
I wouldn't Yeah, I wouldn't have sent you a trade
for the player.
Speaker 5 (31:45):
I've been doing this too long. That's that's uh.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Also, you know you're an actor, so you know, sure
I believe you what you're saying right now, but look
at that face.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
Look at that sweetest and honestly.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
A liar, he's too sweet.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Well, I won't hold it against you, and lucky for you,
I literally just sent back a note that was like,
are you kidding me? Get out of here, and then
deleted it, so I will never know who it was
and if it was you, wasn't it wasn't.
Speaker 5 (32:13):
Me because I didn't get any and I didn't.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
Get like that okay response, But no, you know what,
I think that Clea Coopper coming back is good for
the Suns.
Speaker 5 (32:23):
That's my take. I think they're a strong team for sure.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
You mean you mean the Mercury.
Speaker 5 (32:29):
I mean the Mercury, Sorry that the Suns.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
Are, No, I mean I think it's also I think
it's also good for the Suns because talking about literally
anything other than sons is good for that ownership or
I guess sexual harassment or potentially sleeping with the player,
or potentially racist hiring practices. Just getting the Mercury to
be top of the news is exactly what that ownership needs.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Before I let you go, I want to ask you, James.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
You're directing the show high potential, what help you up
to is there another psych movie in the works? Is
there anything else you want to play and get us
to get into.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
I just got back from directing the two part premiere
of High Potential, which I'm guessing will drop maybe September.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
Ish nice, that's season two.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
It'll be season two. It was kind of a surprise
like runaway hit for ABC and UH, and I did
the finale, which was kind of a big cliffhanger episode.
So I was cool. I was lucky. I got to
go back and sort of, you know, finish what I started,
which you know rarely happens for you know, directing television.
(33:37):
So it was It was a lot of fun. They
threw a lot of They threw a lot of money
at this premiere because it's a hit show now. So
I had a lot of days. I had a lot
of toys. It was a lot of fun, and UH,
fans of the show, I think, UH should be stoked
to know that it's not going to drop off a cliff.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
I'm a I'm an old head who's still like DVRs
things to put them in front of my face to
remind me to watch them. So I have the whole
first season of that on my DVR, but I only
watched the first episode because now all I have time
to watch is sports basically, and my buddy Taran Killham
was in it.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Did you get to work with him on any of
the ones you directed?
Speaker 3 (34:15):
Many times? He's pretty much in every episode.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Okay, he's the best.
Speaker 5 (34:19):
Yeap.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
He plays Caitlin's well, she has two baby daddies. He's
the second baby daddy of the two younger children that
she has.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Okay, cool, Oh, so fun? All Right, I gotta, I gotta,
I keep saying this late. They gotta fake a coma
and watch that.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
People will leave me alone for a week night.
Speaker 5 (34:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
Tarin, by the way, is trying to steal Tom's thunder
as another one of the all time sweethearts. Yes, that
I've ever come across.
Speaker 5 (34:47):
In this.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
Tom, you were working on this incredible project.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
I'm so excited. I've seen clips.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
I'm a huge Reast Weatherspoon fan and I love Hello Sunshine,
and I've seen clips of her and the younger l
Woods just started coming out. How's it, Ben, tell us
something to get excited about for this show?
Speaker 4 (35:05):
El Oh, it's so wonderful and she's so great. Lexi
Minitri who at cast as the young al they did
this national search, and she is just like lovely and
smart and funny and perfect. She's doing this perfect version
of Reese's character.
Speaker 5 (35:21):
And still like.
Speaker 4 (35:21):
In these scenes that we're in together where we're also
just doing this other newer version of it. It's very funny,
much like the original movie. It's similar in tone, and
it looks beautiful. The costumes are immaculate, the sets, everything
is really.
Speaker 5 (35:36):
Really cool looking. But we're having a blast making it.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
It's gotta be a it's got to be a wild
thing to go from being like the little up and
coming heart throb in that kind of project to being
the dad of the young up and comer. Like I mean,
it's inevitable because we get older, but like it just
it's always weird and funny to me when I think
of about the fact that, like if I was cast now,
(36:01):
I would be cast I would be too old to
be cast as a mom. But I'm like, I can
never be a mom. I'm not mature enough for that,
biologically too mature, but you know what i mean, Like,
it's just weird to see the people that when I
was coming up were like the youngsters are now all
playing the parents of the youngsters.
Speaker 4 (36:19):
Yeah, saying to those young actors a lot, I think,
I say, like, you know, back in mind day, and
they're like.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
When I tried to get into this business, I literally
bought a DVD burner and then I had to take
a video camera out, send the footage to an editor,
put it on a DVD burn DVDs and mail them
in the mail to agents to see if they were
interested in my hosting reels.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
So YouTube kind of a nice thing.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Okay, James, Before I let you go, I have one
serious question for you, because we talked about this when
you were on my podcast, my old podcast, that in
twenty twenty you changed your name for your acting career.
You would start it out calling yourself James Rode, but
you wanted to reclaim and go buy your birth name
James Rode Rodriguez. And that process was based on long
talks with your dad, who's Mexican American, and a real
(37:09):
deep dive into your heritage and really wanting to connect
yourself to that history and have it be a part
of your career in a way that when you started out,
they said, wasn't a good idea?
Speaker 2 (37:18):
I know, you're in LA.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
I know things there suck right now, and the current
anti immigrant sentiment from the administration and the current approach
to people in LA that are not quote unquote American
is deeply upsetting. I wonder how it's affected you personally
and how you feel like it affects folks in the
business that are welcome when they're playing a character, but
perhaps not welcome when they're themselves.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
I think I think it's a really tricky time for
all the reasons that you've mentioned, But I also think
it's difficult to reconcile for a lot of us that
still have family that may either be undocumented or or
(38:02):
have been living in this country for forever and ever
and ever and maybe never got nationalized, or family that
you know is still in the country that you know
we originally came from, and whether it's affecting you personally.
It's impossible to not put on the lens of what if,
like what if that that, because it could easily you know,
(38:24):
I know that I have extended family, you know, with
spouses that are probably living in this country document and
and I can't imagine how terrifying it is because of
the way that these raids are being executed, and how
(38:47):
little just cause is going into any of it. And
at the same time it feels like more so maybe
than than in the past when we kind of went
through this the first time. There's a little bit of
like a wait and see approach in terms of how aggressively,
you know, we should use our platforms because we kind
(39:09):
of just want to wait and see if.
Speaker 2 (39:11):
It backfrom which is so hard.
Speaker 3 (39:14):
Epic epically and in the way that we hope that
it will. So it's like it's gone from like deaf
Con you know one, all the way to Deafcon five.
But then the approach is also feels it feels very,
very different, And this is a conversation that I know
is happening amongst a lot of people, not just in
our business but just period and just in terms of
(39:35):
like how loud to be, you know, do is enough
rope all that's required here so that it kind of
takes care of itself, because as Tom can attest as well,
we in the entertainment business oftentimes have to weigh like
how much good we do versus how much bad we
(39:57):
do by speaking up, because the backlash is sometimes even
bigger than you know, what you might be able to
accomplish by doing something because you're oftentimes preaching to a choir,
so it's it's wild times.
Speaker 1 (40:15):
Yeah, Sarah, Yeah, yeah, Just I remember like when that
when you came out and talked about your name and
your family. It was like a part of these conversations
we were having at the end of every article, it
was like, and here's a link to this to learn
more about this, and here's how you can support this,
and here's where you can give to this. And we're
not really doing that now the same way we were then,
partly because we're so shell shocked from how quickly and
(40:38):
terribly it's happening, and also because it happened already, so
we're like, oh this again, ship, Like, what do we
do this time?
Speaker 2 (40:43):
It's very complicated.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
I'm sorry to end this interview on something very.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
DeBie Downer.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
At the end, we just while on that note, congratulations
on about to be taking your first l of the
season in our league, and I hope it's one of bet.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
Thank you yes on that, James, thank you for joining.
Thank you both for joining this league. It's been so
fun and it's been so ultra competitive, and uh I
hope we can do it for years and years in
years and years to go.
Speaker 1 (41:18):
Yeah, because next year I'm gonna know what the I'm doing.
Speaker 5 (41:21):
Yeah, I'm saying that's what I'm saying. This is so fun.
Speaker 4 (41:25):
I really love it, right, two hundred dollars.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Yeah, Tom's learned nothing.
Speaker 2 (41:35):
That's what we've gotten. Tom's learned nothing. Thank you guys
both for hopping down this.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
With So I just like love the idea of these
like Hollywood bros.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Just like battling it out over Veronica Burton.
Speaker 3 (41:45):
So that's right.
Speaker 5 (41:47):
I got her love it so much the day.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
Well, thanks for the time.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
I'm sure your names will be invoked in future episodes,
especially if my team gets better.
Speaker 5 (41:55):
I'm going to hold you to that sounds good. Thanks Sarah.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
We got to take another break when we come back.
Buggy eyes and a wagon tongue make pickin a photo tough.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
I'll explain stick.
Speaker 1 (42:08):
Around Welcome Backslaces. Last week we had Howard megdel On
to talk about his new book, Becoming Caitlin Clark, and
we mentioned how funny it was that the photo on
the cover of his book looks just like the photo
on the cover of Christine Brennan's upcoming Caitlin Clark book. Well,
(42:30):
Howard's editor at Triumph Books, Clarissa Young, has chimed in
with an explanation that totally checks out. She forwarded me
an email she sent Howard after listening to our episode,
writing quote, just finish listening to the Sarah Spain interview
and realize I'd never shared any backstory on the cover design.
Maybe you'll find it funny I do. I look through
every single photo of Caitlin on the photo wires, going
(42:53):
back years, trying to find a possible candidate for the cover. First,
you rule out anything in the red Fever jerseys because
it's not the color people associate with her. A fun
fact is that Iowa and the Fever actually use the
same shade of yellow. Then, of course it makes the
most sense to have her shooting, so you want an
action shot. You look at the action shots and you
realize that Caitlin physically shows all her trademark intensity and
(43:15):
energy in a very consistent way, eyes bugging and tongue
wagging out comically to the side. Fine for editorial but
not exactly cover material. One way out of that is
to choose a photo for shooting a free throw, which
I ultimately did. Her face is much calmer, though her
laser focus is clear, yet the overall energy of the
image is lacking. Hence our close crop where you can
(43:37):
connect directly with her eye in the center of the cover.
Our eyes love looking at other eyes in design, and
we can often make use of that when composing covers.
It is my unwavering belief that Christine Brennan's designers went
through the exact same frustrating process. Clarissa continues, So that's
the inside baseball on the cover. It all comes down
to tongue wagging. Steph Cury presents similar issues with mouthguard wagging.
(43:59):
My colleagues had to deal with me randomly exclaiming about
her facial expressions as my search went deeper.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
And deeper into the archives. End quote.
Speaker 1 (44:07):
We love learning about processes like that, and actually, as
a result, when I was watching Caitlin's return on Saturday,
I noticed every eyebulge and tongue wag while she was playing.
Thanks Clarissa, We 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 sure
to submit your votes for WNBA All Start. You can
submit one ballot every day between now and June twenty eighth.
(44:29):
Each ballot conclude up to ten players, six front court
and four guards. We'll link to the voting page in
the show notes. Also, don't forget to send us your
favorite pride activations. Did a team or a league nail
it with their TFOs, tas, donations or social posts. We
want to see them. Send them to a good game
at wondermediaetwork dot com, or you can always leave us
a voicemail at eight seven two two o four fifty seventy.
(44:52):
And don't forget to subscribe, rate and review. It's real
easy watch taking a twenty four hour trip to Minnesota
to see our team side Aurora sc rating five out
of five goals and a five nothing win review. Andrea Yach,
founder of Aurora FC, was the best host ever for
my whirlwind trip to the Twin Cities. She introduced me
(45:12):
to great folks and set up radio and newspaper hits
so I could talk about good game and my book
and our slices, diving into ownership with the team, and
then the game was awesome. Rain couldn't stop the Aurora
from putting a beat down on the Chicago City Dutch
Lions five nothing, and because of the rain, I got
the perfectly Minnesota moment of hearing Prince's Purple Rain as
(45:33):
the skies opened up and the drizzle became a poor
no more than a minute after the final whistle. I
think they might be contractually obligated to play that song
every time it rains. There and the stadium, which is
part of the Vikings Complex, is fantastic. Makes for a
great game day experience, plus all the fan interactions, player celebrations,
sponsor activations. So good Aurora FC is doing it right
(45:56):
over there. I really recommend you go check it out
if you're nearby. Thanks again, and now it's your turn
rate and review. Thanks for listening, y'all. See you tomorrow.
Good game, Tom, Good game, James, You Tom James forking
over Selena Meyer like that watch beep, y'all. It's worth it.
Speaker 2 (46:13):
I promise one of the greatest shows of all time.
Speaker 1 (46:17):
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
could find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you Get Your Podcasts production by Wonder Media Network.
Our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rutterer.
(46:37):
Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and
Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones and I'm
Your Host Sarah Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where there are
no kings except Abe Frohman, the sausage King of Chicago.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
But we do love our queens, looking.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
At you, BJK Simone, Asia Pino. It's Monday, June sixteenth,
and on today's show we'll be chatting with actors James
Rode Rodriguez and Tom Everett Scott about the WNBA Fantasy
League that brought us together, the w players surprising us
this season in ways both good and bad, and how
in the hell too degenerate NFL fantasy players brought their
(00:30):
sickness to a WNBA league in the first place, Plus
a very early attempt at what could be a long
standing record. Good things come in pairs, and a strong
message of support from the City of Angels. It's all
coming up right after this Welcome back slices. Hope you
had a great weekend. Here's what you need to know today.
(00:52):
Let's start with the WNBA, where Caitlin Clark is back
and the New York Liberty's unbeaten streak is over. It
was in top form in her return from a quad
injury on Saturday, recording thirty two points to lead the
Indiana Fever to a one oh two eighty eight victory
over the Liberty, handing the defending WNBA champs their first
loss of the season. Clark tied her career high for
(01:13):
three pointers with seven, and added nine assists and eight rebounds,
putting on a show with a handful of her signature
deep deep deep threes, including back to back to back
trays all in less than forty five seconds in the
first quarter. Prior to Clark's five game absence, she had
never missed a game in her WNBA or college career.
Guard Sophie Cunningham was also back in the lineup for
(01:35):
the Fever after missing time with an ankle injury.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
The only bad news for.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Indiana fans after that win is that with Clark and
Cunningham back, the team had to waive Airy McDonald, who
signed a hardship contract when the Fever's roster dipped below
ten players, and she impressed in her three games with
the team, maybe she'll pop up on another roster. Caitlin
Clark's big comeback came just after another highly anticipated return
to the court. Number one zero overall draft pick Page
(02:01):
Becker's back in the lineup with the Dallas Wings last Wednesday.
We haven't had a chance to mention it since then,
but I couldn't let it pass without giving her a
shout out because after missing four games for concussion protocol
and an illness, she did not miss a beat, hitting
her first six shots of the game and finishing thirteen
of nineteen from the field for thirty five points. Unfortunately,
(02:21):
the rest of the Wings combined to shoot thirty three
percent from the field and the Phoenix Mercury got the
win ninety three to eighty. Wings fans might have been
excited to see Page go off, but the Mercury wanted
a little more love for the dub posting quote when
we won the game.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
But we don't have a single.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Highlight in the two minute, twenty four second recap video
from the WNBA. So we put together some Mercury highlights
from last night's game in case you watched the other
video and didn't see a single one, because there wasn't
a single one end quote Spicy.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
And frankly, I can't blame them.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, the Sparks signed veteran guard Shape
Petty to a hardship contract on Saturday after losing Julia
Aliba on to EuroBasket and with Odyssey Simms out.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
For personal reasons.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
If you aren't familiar with Petty and her WNBA journey,
let's just say she's a case study in how hard
it is to earn and keep a roster spot in
this league. Originally drafted in twenty twelve, she didn't actually
make her w debut until twenty nineteen. We've linked to
an old thread and story from journalist Lindsay Gibbs in
the show notes, which will give you a taste of
Petty's work, ethic, and persistence in this league. Petty also
(03:25):
played in Athletes Unlimited Basketball in the offseason, where she
was named twenty twenty five Defensive Player of the Year.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Glad to see you back in the w SHA more WNBA.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
The Golden State Valkyries recorded their third straight win on Saturday,
defeating the Seattle Storm seventy six seventy. Kayla Thornton led
the Valks with twenty two points and twelve rebounds, while
Temmy fag Benley added sixteen points. The Valks also became
the first since the nineteen ninety eight and ninety nine
Washington Mystics to report attendance of eighteen thousand plus in
five home games in the same season, and they're the
(03:56):
very first to do so in their first five home games.
Stup for the WNBA's newest team a meeting with the
Dallas Wings on Tuesday. Ahead of that one, the Valks
announced that the team has re signed Caitlin Chen. Now
you may recall that Chen, who helped Yukon win the
NCAA title this year as a transfer student, was drafted
by the Valkyrise, but she was waived after two preseason games.
(04:17):
While on Sunday, Golden State announced that Chen is back.
We'll have to see how she fits into the team's
long term roster plans, but in the meantime, we're hoping
she gets to log at least a few minutes against
fellow Husky Page Beckers on Tuesday.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Which brings us back.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
To the Dallas Wings, who are also doing some roster tweaking.
They've acquired Lee Rue from the Seattle Storm in a trade.
In return, the Storm get two future draft picks. Lee,
who hails from China, had requested a trade from the
Storm in order to get more playing time. Speaking to
reporters last week, she said that she came to the
US to play basketball, so playing time is a priority.
(04:50):
More WNBA and a few more records and achievements to
shout out from this weekend. First, the Atlanta Dreams Ryan
Howard tied the WNBA record for most three pointers made
in a single game. Howard recorded thirty six total points,
including going nine for nineteen from three in Atlanta's eighty
eight to seventy win over Chicago on Friday. She joins
Jewel Lloyd, Kelsey Mitchell, and ari ke Gunbowale as the
(05:11):
only players to make nine threes in a single WNBA game.
Chicago's Angel Reese had her own big game in the
Sky's next outing, recording her first WNBA career triple double
on Sunday with eleven points, thirteen rebounds, and eleven assists
in Chicago's seventy eight sixty.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Six win over the Connecticut Sun.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Per across the timeline, Reese is the second youngest player
in WNBA history to record a double double, behind only
Caitlin Clark.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
More hoops news.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
This past Saturday with the twenty twenty five Women's Basketball
Hall of Fame Induction ceremony at the Tennessee Theater in Knoxville.
Four great players, Sylvia Fowls, Elena Beard, Cappy Pondexter, and
Sue Byrd were inducted, along with coaches Mark Campbell and
Lucille Cavalas, and former Georgia Tech women's basketball standout and
executive director of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Danielle Donahue.
(05:57):
The four players, Fowls, Beard, Pondexter, and Bird combined for
more than thirty All Star selections, eleven WNBA championships, and
countless Olympic and international titles. Said Byrd during her speech, quote,
I am filled with overwhelming pride.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
We all should.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
The game isn't just surviving, it's thriving. To witness this
generation of players stepping into their power, being unapologetic and
celebrated for their talent.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
That's the real dream come true. End quote.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
To the NWSL amid ongoing immigration raids in Los Angeles
and protests against those raids, Angel CITYFC made a statement
ahead of Saturday's game against the North Carolina Courage. The
club printed out ten thousand t shirts that read Immigrant
City Football Club on the front and Los Angeles Is
for Everyone Los Angeles s Paro Totos on the back
(06:43):
and placed them on seats for fans to wear. The
club also issued a statement which set in part quote
the fabric of this city is made of immigrants. Football
does not exist without immigrants. This club does not exist
without immigrants. End quote. ACFC went on to lose the
match two to one, with North care line is Brianna
Pinto scoring the game winner in stoppage time. Center back
(07:03):
Kaylee Kurtz also made some history in the win, becoming
the first NWSL player to record one hundred consecutive starts
with the same club. More NWSL, the league announced that
this year's NWSL Championship will be played at San Jose's PayPal.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Park, home of BAFC.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
The game is set for Saturday, November twenty second, and
tickets for the final will go on sale in August.
To Ncuba Track and Field, the national Championships concluded over
the weekend, with Georgia winning its first outdoor women's track
and field title in program history. The Bulldogs were led
by Olympic gold medallist Eliah Butler and d j A. Oakley,
who went one to two in the women's four hundred
(07:38):
meter meantime. One of our favorite headlines from track Nationals
came in the pole vault final, where Washington sophomore Hannah
Mall won the NCAA title and broke the collegiate record
by clearing four point seven to nine meters. But it
wasn't just anyone who set the record she broke. It
was her twin sister and fellow Husky, Amanda Mal, who
set the old mark while competing at last month's Big
Ten Championship. Amanda, who was undefare this season entering ncuble a's,
(08:01):
went on to finish third, while Rutgers Chloe Timberg finished second.
Sandwich between the Mal twins. Another record worth noting. Michigan's
Savannah Sutherland ended her collegiate career in style, winning the
four hundred meter hurdles national title in fifty two point
four to six seconds, breaking the previous NCAA record of
fifty two points seven to six set in twenty eighteen
by none other than the legendary Sydney McLaughlin. Lavroni to
(08:25):
softball and the AUSL where the Bandits are at the
top of the fourteen leader board following four straight wins,
one against the talents and three against the volts, but
the most exciting game of the weekend was Game one
of a double header between the Blaze and the Talents,
featuring an incredible comeback from the Blaze.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Here's how it went down.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
The Blaze trailed twelve to one in the fourth inning
twelve two one, but they pulled off an incredible eleven
run comeback, which may have been helped by a fifty
six minute rain delay midway through the fourth. And I know,
my fellow Chicago Cubs fans know the power of a
well timed rain delay see the twenty sixteen World Series. Anyway,
once the rain stopped, Bailey Klinger got things rolling with
(09:04):
the three run homer, with the Blaze ultimately tying things
up twelve twelve in the sixth, but it was the
Talents who went on to win the game, with infielder
Sydney Romero recording a two run home run in the
bottom of the seventh. Talents followed it up with a
seven to six winning Game two of the devilheader. So
while the Blaze took the l's, it's possible their eleven
run comeback will be in the AUSL record books for
(09:24):
a very long time. For comparison, the last time the
MLB saw eleven run comeback August two thousand and one
to tennis and some news we can get behind from
the Women's Tennis Association. The WTA announced last week that
players can now take time away for fertility related procedures
like egg and embryo freezing without impacting their world ranking.
(09:45):
Moving forward, eligible players who missed time for fertility procedures
will receive a protected ranking calculated using the twelve week
average of their WTA ranking from eight weeks prior to
the start of their miscompetition time. They're then eligible to
use that special ranking to interrupt three tournaments within ten
weeks of returning. While most doctors agree that low impact
exercises generally fine during IVF treatment, strenuous workouts are often
(10:08):
advised against due to the risk of ovarian torsions. That
means lead athletes often have to scale back while undergoing treatment.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
We got to take a quick break when we come back.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Just a couple of Hollywood stars playing WNBA Fantasy.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
It's Tom and.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
James next joining us now. He's an actor, director, and
screenwriter known for shows like psych and A Million Little Things,
currently directing ABC's high potential starring It's Always Sonny's Kaitlyn Olsen,
a Texas native, NYU grad, dog foster, animal lover and
(10:44):
environmental advocate. He's got a serious fantasy sports problem. And
this isn't actually a podcast, it's an intervention. It's James
Rode Rodriguez.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Hi, James, thank you so much for caring enough to
try to help me.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Also with us.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
He's an actor known for movies like That Thing You'd
Do an American Werewolf in Paris, Boiler Room, and La
La Land, and TV shows including Southland, Er Lawn, Order,
Will and Grace, Thirteen Reasons Why, and the Hilarious Underappreciated
I'm Sorry. He's currently in production playing Elwood's dad in Elle,
the Legally Blonde Prequeil series. A Massachusetts native and Syracuse grad,
He's a father who's blowing off his kids on Father's
(11:18):
Day to hang out with us instead.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
It's Tom Evert Scott, Hi, Tom.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Hey, Yeah, whatever, those kids, they don't need me anymore.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Grown fine, Thank you guys for joining the show.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
I'm so excited to chat.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Before I get to why you're here and why it
makes sense, I'd like to start with how you know
each other?
Speaker 5 (11:41):
James.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Do you remember how you two met.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Tom and I met because we were we both found
ourselves in the same dynasty league. Am I on the
right path here? Tom?
Speaker 5 (11:53):
Yeah? Right through Garrett, right.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Through Garrett Leerner, a wonderful screenwriter and fantasy football enthusiast,
asked me if I wanted to be my first dynasty league,
and it was sort of the one, the thing that
I hadn't done yet, and in some way I was like, well,
this is the gateway that I know. I don't have
a problem because I don't have a dynasty team yet.
But then I said yes to that, and Tom, sure enough,
(12:18):
is a part of that league and it's a little
bit of us versus them. I think the name of
the league is Hollywood Randos, That's right, And it's like
half people in our business and half people in the
fantasy football business. And I believe we have dominated. I
think we're going into.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
Like the Hollywood part.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah. We're crushing these guys.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
So you're beating the experts, the fantasy experts.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Yeah, we are impressive, and it feels good, feels good.
Tom and I also realized that we had met many
many years previously in Vancouver. What I was doing Yeah, well,
I was doing psych and he was working on a
show called Saved, and I don't know. It was just
warm feelings all the way around. Tom is one of
the all time good guys in our business. Everyone says,
(13:05):
so you don't get hands selected by Tom Hanks if
you don't have that Hanksyan vibe. So he's just was
just the easiest guy to warm up too. And now
I'm proud to say that we're not just in the
same dynasty league, we're pals.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
We are pals. We became pals.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Is it true, Tom, that you almost weren't hand selected
by Tom Hanks for that big break because you were
too Hanksyan and they worried you were too similar to him.
And it wasn't until his wife stepped in and said
worth it, give him the job.
Speaker 5 (13:36):
That's pretty much what happened.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
He told me that he was not necessarily gonna even
though he thought I was right. He thought I was
too much like him. And Rita watched my tape and said,
you should hire this guy. So I owe it all
to Rita.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Yeah, and I guess because it wouldn't have made sense
in the movie for you guys to be related. But
I mean, there is no better, I think compliment than
being told you're very Tom Hanksy. And I think that's
about us about as good as it gets.
Speaker 5 (14:00):
Yeah, I mean, come on, like, that's pretty good. That's
better than.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Most American icon legend everybody. It's like, it's like mister
He's like mister Rogers.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Basically he is.
Speaker 5 (14:11):
He played mister Rogers.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
He did, Yeah, yeah, of course he did.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah. Okay, James, you.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Mentioned that you were worried about your addiction, but the
fact that you weren't in a dynasty league made it
clear that you were fine. And then of course you
joined a dynasty league, confirming that you were never and
are still not fine. So first of all, can you
tell people what a dynasty league is? And then also
can you give us a look at your peak depravity?
How many leagues at once in how many different sports
(14:37):
is peak depraved?
Speaker 3 (14:40):
All right, I'll start with the easy one that I
feel less shame about, and that's just telling you what
a dynasty league is. A dynasty league is where you
do a startup draft, like a normal startup draft, like
you would for any draft redraft league. Our ours happens
to be a super flex which means you can you know,
you start two quarterbacks. But then what happens is that's
(15:02):
just your team forever, so.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
You become you're a real GM. James, I'm a.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Real GM, and so is Tom. And then each year,
come draft time, all you're really doing is effectively drafting
rookies from that season's draft. And then we also have
Every league is different, but in ours, any veterans that
are hanging out on the wire are also eligible for
our rookie draft, which you know, once you get into
(15:30):
the fourth and fifth rounds, you might see some journeyman
receivers or some third string quarterbacks coming off.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
The board someone the Bears killed.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Yeah, exactly, as.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
An opportunity elsewhere.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Okay, so that was the final step for you give
us like, what are we at now?
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Where we had a reasonable number and what was the
peak number?
Speaker 3 (15:50):
The peak number I think was two seasons ago because
it climbed up over fifteen, and that's when I said, no,
I have to get under fifteen. And then last year
I think I was at fourteen. So I did what
I said I was going to do because I'm I'm
a man of my word. I speak truth to power.
(16:10):
And now you know, every season is its own, you know, adventure.
I have a hard time saying no to anything charity related.
So that Jack's my my number up for sure. I've
got my home league, I've got my Dynasty League. I'm
a big friend of a guillotine. I love a guillotine.
(16:32):
What a fun format that is?
Speaker 1 (16:35):
What that is and I've never even heard of it.
You truly are a degenerate.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Tom and I are in the same guillotine, one of those.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
You get eighteen teams and then each week the lowest
scoring team gets cut until they she left and.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
There is a higher suicide league.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
But it's not it's your teams instead of the professional
teams losing.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
Yeah, and their entire roster goes under the waiver war.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Oh, It's like relegation in the Premier League, except for
instead of waiting till the end of the season, it's
just mid season you get Wow. Okay, So Tom, you're
also a degenerate.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Oh man, say fifteen is probably like right in the
same neighborhood for me. At one point I had to
cut some weight. Some of that it was too much.
I mean, I felt I just saw the look on
my wife's face when fall started rolling in and she'd be.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Like, oh, yeah, OK go, Well, now that we've established
that you're in every type of league for every type
of sport, let's talk about the league we're actually in.
We're in a WNBA auction style fantasy league called the
D League, and it's actually pretty simple. When you draft,
you just have to promise a certain amount of money
out of your total to get the players that you want,
(17:45):
and then you can get a bunch after that for free.
But it's my first season along with my teammate Tie,
and I roped in Friends of the Show comedian Aaron
Foley and ultra runner Klaan Connigan to form a team.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
As well, and we're trying to learn.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
But currently you guys are one in, which isn't a
surprise your professionals, James, When did the D League start?
And who are the other folks in it? Who am
I playing against? Are the actors?
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Are they friends or are they just fellow degenerates.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
We're all degenerates. We started four seasons ago. You are
playing with two guys, lovely gentlemen that I went to
high school with, who Tom also knows, named Ray and Ben.
Ben is our commissioner. We became big college fans because
we do a yearly trip to Vegas during March Madness,
(18:34):
and we were betting on women's games like crazy, and
we realized that we knew more players. And this is
not you know, you do the math and it don't
it's not a shock. But you get to know the
players in the women's game so much better because they
stick around for four years, and we were able to identify,
like all of these these ladies that we were fans of,
(18:55):
and then that sort of just took a natural segue
into forming a WNBA fantasy league, which on ESPN only
started like I think four or five years ago, so
I don't know if we got in year one, but
we might have. And I believe Ben took the first
season crown, the inaugural where we only had four teams.
(19:19):
Then we upped it to six and I have won
the last two and I'm currently going for number three,
which you have now been tagged into try and stop
me from doing.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
This is my first year in the league, OK, I'm
trying to figure this out. I'm right there with you, Sarah.
I don't I've never done football. Well, thank you, I
you know, I got I think I got lucky. I
think I made some crucial mistakes so far. I dropped
some starters and other people smartly grabbed them, and I
was like, oh, wait, don't you just rotate these players?
Speaker 3 (19:54):
But you know what, it's so tough in the first
month of the WNBA season because rotations aren't set. There's
always some players that start in Europe and then land
or leave the w and go to your and you
got to keep track of like who's going to be
around and who's not I drafted, you know that Valkyrie
number one pick, who's not even gonna play this season.
(20:16):
Like you have to sort of like catch up, and
it takes like a solid month, you know, to do that.
Speaker 5 (20:21):
So well.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
Also the thing that I'm having a hard time figuring
out And James, you've done Richard Street baseball too. Yeah,
I don't know if you've ever done any other like
daily but football you just do by the weekend you're playing.
But this is every day. You got to kind of
figure out who's who to start, who to play. That
really threw me for a loop, trying to fill out
(20:43):
my roster, like optimizing my robster each week.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
It's been hard. I am not very good at it. Sarah,
you've got a good team.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Yeah, I mean we're getting better. We got our first win.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
I had a button that said I could just automatically
optimize it where it would put the people who had
a game in every day, and then it like one
day I went to check and it had stopped. So
now I just like bump ahead every day and change
my roster a couple days in advance so that if
I forget to look, I'm at least playing all the
people playing. But to your point, our team Skyler's Old Pussy, which.
Speaker 5 (21:13):
I great name, really want everyone.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
To know the origin of because it's weird if they don't.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
So, just in case you haven't heard me mention it
on the show in a previous episode, it is because
Skyler Diggan Smith was caught on a hot BLI like
telling an opposing player that she felt young butter Pussy
was old because of having kids, and how could I
not name my team?
Speaker 5 (21:35):
Then?
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Okay, that's right, Yeah, but Tom you're and strong, thank you? Yes,
your team wrong and strong.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
You're sitting in.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Second at two in one and you did beat my
team in week one and James your team three p
defender a very subtle nod to the fact you're going
for your three p Thanks for rubbing it in currently
three and zero, Explain to us how you're kicking our
ass so that we can make adjustments, and.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Betsy Well, I put the b in subtle, Sarah, I
think you know that. Here's what it comes down. It
comes down to drafting a great core, and by cores,
I mean like four or five players where you allocate
your money in such a way that you know, if
you suffer injuries to other players, it's never going to
(22:22):
affect you that much because you basically have one hundred
and twenty points every time they all play a game.
And then outside of that, you know you're looking for
some upside. You're looking for someone who you know is
not flashy, not sexy. Perfect example. I've had her for
three years in a row. Now, Minnesota power forward Atlanta Smith.
(22:46):
She might crawl to double digit points, but she's second
in the league in blocks, She's one of the best
defensive players in the league. And she will get you,
you know, twenty to twenty five points a game very quietly,
but it's dependable. You want players like that. And then
the last key to it is. You have to have
at least one sort of slush spot on the end
(23:09):
of your bench that you're not attached to, so that
if you need to rotate a player in and out
because the person you're playing has seven more games on
the schedule.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Than you do, right you the part You.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
Got to have that player that you can, you know,
hit the bricks pretty much.
Speaker 5 (23:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Day, I'm struggling with that because every time I look
to do that, because I watched you make so many rotations,
and I'm like, oh, I'm just sticking with the people
I have. But everybody out there to pick up has
fewer points average than my players, and so I'm worried
if I do that, I'm just going to get rid
of someone who's consistently better.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Tom If you found a player that you were.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Like excited to see heading into this season, either a
rookie or someone you thought would be coming in hot,
or someone that would be good for your roster, and
immediately you were like, Okay, I don't know what I'm doing,
and or like someone that you added to your roster
and then now you're like, whoh, I had no idea
they were going to be performing this way.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
I mean kind of like last year when I was
watching THES it was my first like understanding of like
how great these players are and I and I didn't
really know that I was going to be in this
league at that point. So then when we came to
getting close to our auction draft, I was like, Okay,
I know some of those players. And then I looked
(24:18):
on YouTube and I found this great YouTube person called
Brooks Bench and she yeah, and she and her friend
they just were talking up drafting their WNBA fantasy teams
and they were listing their favorite players. And I just said,
if these guys know this much about women's basketball, I'm
just going to take their advice.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Smart.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
And so without really knowing these players, I had these
tiers and I knew how much I was going to
That's what I do in fantasy football when I draft,
I just have tiers of guys and it was great.
Speaker 5 (24:51):
It helped me get fords of women.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
If you will you buyers of women for your fantasy
deep cut women, James, I want you to explain how
you managed to steal Caitlyn Clark that.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
Was such a great trade and benefit.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
From her huge return to play without dropping a single
dollar on her in the auction draft and with the
person who traded her to like doing it at such
a late time that there was really no purpose by
the time he finally traded her.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Yeah, so dear Ray over bed on Caitlyn. He dropped
one hundred and twenty of his two hundred dollars on her,
thinking that he was driving up the price. We all
immediately were like, no, he had Caitlyn Clark and then
no money left to spend, and so he got off
(25:41):
to a really rough start. He wasn't just losing, like
he was getting destroyed because he only had Caitlyn and
then she got hurt and it was two weeks minimum,
and I pounced. I offered him something the day that
report came out and then been I and I think
(26:02):
he thought he was that this was strategy. Found an
article I think from Athlon Sports from.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Someone can't be trusted?
Speaker 3 (26:10):
Can trusted doctor that had nothing to do with the team.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
No, No, it's like a it's like probably like the
doctor from thirty Rock.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Yeah, and they were like, with this kind of injury,
we would expect her to be out for a lot
longer than two weeks, but we don't think that you know,
her career or is in jeopardy, and so it was
it sort of played right into my hands because I
was like, I'm not believing an article from Athlon, so
I know Caitlin Clark is probably like frothing at the
mouth to get back as soon as humanly possible, and
(26:41):
I actually got I actually got away with not having
to give up Alyssa Thomas, who I originally was going
to make part of that deal, but then it was like, ah, dude,
I don't know if she's going to be out for
a month, I'll give I'll give you Jackie and Gabby
And don't get me wrong, I love me some some
Gabby Williams and Jackie. He's had some huge games. You
(27:03):
weigh him out, and you know, a healthy Katelyn Clark,
she'd make that deal every day of the week.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Well she came back and dropped like sixty parts for you,
So it seemed like a decent movement.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
And I'm still going to lose, yeah, which is just
so crazy to lead.
Speaker 5 (27:18):
Yeah you are? You know you're not? This week? I am.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
He might take his first album.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Yeah, yeah, I'm taking the first.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Tom Alisha Gray, Kelsey Plum Sat So those those ladies
are holding things down for your squad. But Asia Wilson's
been your m v P as is expected. What is
the plan if Asia's absence drags on due to concussion?
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Brot a call? Are youre going to trade her to James?
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Like that?
Speaker 5 (27:38):
More on? Yeah? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (27:41):
What's the going rate for Asia Wilson?
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Is it Veronica Person and Atlanta Smith?
Speaker 4 (27:49):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (27:49):
Right?
Speaker 5 (27:50):
Oh yeah, you just talked her up right?
Speaker 3 (27:51):
Right?
Speaker 5 (27:52):
Good?
Speaker 4 (27:53):
Uh, just send me some doctor report and her concussion.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
I mean, do you want sports Keita this time? That
one's even worse than Avlon.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
I'm actually watching the Aces right now without Yeah, they're on,
She's not there. Should be okay, right.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Yeah, yeah, you'll be fine. You'll be fine. I think
should be fine.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Do you have any big bold predictions for the rest
of the season.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
James, Yes, I don't think that the Aces are gonna
turn it around and be a real factor. I mean,
they'll be a playoff team, but I don't think the
Jewel Lloyd for Kelsey Plumb plug and play experiment is
working out for them.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Which I'm surprised by. And maybe it's just gonna too
much of a Jewellloyd homer. But I'm a huge fan
of hers, and I know Kelsey is a dog and
Kelsey can make her own shot and go off. But
Jewel also was a player that, like I thought, was
just going to keep getting better. And I don't know
what the fit issue is or what Maybe it's just time,
but it's not looking great.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
It's not looking great. They got blown out by an
expansion team, and I don't think you can overstate that
that means something is seriously wrong in that locker room
or or somewhere. And you know, Becky didn't mince words.
And I feel like they're already at a point in
the season where you know that they have to they
(29:17):
have to figure out what's going on. Meanwhile, you know,
the Liberty and the Links look as good as ever,
and now that Caitlin's back, look out because fever here
they come. So I feel like I don't know how
bold it is, but you know, going into this season,
the Aces were right there, you know, in the discussion,
and I don't know that they're actually going to be
(29:38):
in the discussion.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
No, that's I think I agree with you, And my
preseason prediction for MVP Wasnafisa Collier, And I feel like
it's hard to pick anyone bit asia after a season
like last year. But you know how tendency in leagues
is like not to keep giving it to the same
person even though they deserve it. And I thought fee
was due and if the aces aren't really in the conversation,
that's going to help.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Fees costs a.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Little bit of time. Yeah, the fees fees outrageous as well.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Right now?
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Her efficiency? Uh, Tom, are you interested in trying to
steal away any of my players? Is there anything you
want to talk about right now?
Speaker 3 (30:15):
Or?
Speaker 5 (30:17):
Boy?
Speaker 4 (30:17):
Do I wait? So your did you who did you
bid on? Who did you bid the most money on?
In the auction?
Speaker 2 (30:22):
I'd have to go back and look a lot of
the players.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
My teammate and I were like willing to really spend
on everybody, like we thought overbid on We kind of
we didn't know what we were doing.
Speaker 5 (30:33):
I think you got the steal.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Oh my god, you got the steal of the draft.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
We under got joll Yeah, we got the steal of
John Quell for sure, but now she's been out, which
has been unfortunate for us. And then we got Collie
a Copper not knowing that she was going to get
that knee thing.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
So she's finally.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Back in, but we've had her on the i R
the whole time. Someone in the league, and I don't
know anyone but you two. Whoever it was, tried to
get me to make a trade for Courtney vander Slut
the day she got hurt. I think, hoping I wouldn't know,
and I'm like, this is my job, bro, oh and
that's and that's.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
My team, the Chicago Sky.
Speaker 5 (31:08):
So wow, I.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Sure hope that. I don't think it was you. Did
you have Courtney vander Slut?
Speaker 4 (31:15):
I did, but I wouldn't have tried it a hurt player.
I dropped her as soon as she got hurt.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Okay, maybe someone else picked her up and then tried
to trade her as if I didn't you Maybe maybe Sky.
Speaker 4 (31:30):
No, no, I think I was offering you some players
for Khaliah Copper.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
Is that who you have?
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Yeah, yeah, And I think it was maybe you sent
the trade before she got hurt.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
I wouldn't Yeah, I wouldn't have sent you a trade
for the player.
Speaker 5 (31:45):
I've been doing this too long. That's that's uh.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Also, you know you're an actor, so you know, sure
I believe you what you're saying right now, but look
at that face.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
Look at that sweetest and honestly.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
A liar, he's too sweet.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Well, I won't hold it against you, and lucky for you,
I literally just sent back a note that was like,
are you kidding me? Get out of here, and then
deleted it, so I will never know who it was
and if it was you, wasn't it wasn't.
Speaker 5 (32:13):
Me because I didn't get any and I didn't.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
Get like that okay response, But no, you know what,
I think that Clea Coopper coming back is good for
the Suns.
Speaker 5 (32:23):
That's my take. I think they're a strong team for sure.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
You mean you mean the Mercury.
Speaker 5 (32:29):
I mean the Mercury, Sorry that the Suns.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
Are, No, I mean I think it's also I think
it's also good for the Suns because talking about literally
anything other than sons is good for that ownership or
I guess sexual harassment or potentially sleeping with the player,
or potentially racist hiring practices. Just getting the Mercury to
be top of the news is exactly what that ownership needs.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Before I let you go, I want to ask you, James.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
You're directing the show high potential, what help you up
to is there another psych movie in the works? Is
there anything else you want to play and get us
to get into.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
I just got back from directing the two part premiere
of High Potential, which I'm guessing will drop maybe September.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
Ish nice, that's season two.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
It'll be season two. It was kind of a surprise
like runaway hit for ABC and UH, and I did
the finale, which was kind of a big cliffhanger episode.
So I was cool. I was lucky. I got to
go back and sort of, you know, finish what I started,
which you know rarely happens for you know, directing television.
(33:37):
So it was It was a lot of fun. They
threw a lot of They threw a lot of money
at this premiere because it's a hit show now. So
I had a lot of days. I had a lot
of toys. It was a lot of fun, and UH,
fans of the show, I think, UH should be stoked
to know that it's not going to drop off a cliff.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
I'm a I'm an old head who's still like DVRs
things to put them in front of my face to
remind me to watch them. So I have the whole
first season of that on my DVR, but I only
watched the first episode because now all I have time
to watch is sports basically, and my buddy Taran Killham
was in it.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Did you get to work with him on any of
the ones you directed?
Speaker 3 (34:15):
Many times? He's pretty much in every episode.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Okay, he's the best.
Speaker 5 (34:19):
Yeap.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
He plays Caitlin's well, she has two baby daddies. He's
the second baby daddy of the two younger children that
she has.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Okay, cool, Oh, so fun? All Right, I gotta, I gotta,
I keep saying this late. They gotta fake a coma
and watch that.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
People will leave me alone for a week night.
Speaker 5 (34:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
Tarin, by the way, is trying to steal Tom's thunder
as another one of the all time sweethearts. Yes, that
I've ever come across.
Speaker 5 (34:47):
In this.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
Tom, you were working on this incredible project.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
I'm so excited. I've seen clips.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
I'm a huge Reast Weatherspoon fan and I love Hello Sunshine,
and I've seen clips of her and the younger l
Woods just started coming out. How's it, Ben, tell us
something to get excited about for this show?
Speaker 4 (35:05):
El Oh, it's so wonderful and she's so great. Lexi
Minitri who at cast as the young al they did
this national search, and she is just like lovely and
smart and funny and perfect. She's doing this perfect version
of Reese's character.
Speaker 5 (35:21):
And still like.
Speaker 4 (35:21):
In these scenes that we're in together where we're also
just doing this other newer version of it. It's very funny,
much like the original movie. It's similar in tone, and
it looks beautiful. The costumes are immaculate, the sets, everything
is really.
Speaker 5 (35:36):
Really cool looking. But we're having a blast making it.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
It's gotta be a it's got to be a wild
thing to go from being like the little up and
coming heart throb in that kind of project to being
the dad of the young up and comer. Like I mean,
it's inevitable because we get older, but like it just
it's always weird and funny to me when I think
of about the fact that, like if I was cast now,
(36:01):
I would be cast I would be too old to
be cast as a mom. But I'm like, I can
never be a mom. I'm not mature enough for that,
biologically too mature, but you know what i mean, Like,
it's just weird to see the people that when I
was coming up were like the youngsters are now all
playing the parents of the youngsters.
Speaker 4 (36:19):
Yeah, saying to those young actors a lot, I think,
I say, like, you know, back in mind day, and
they're like.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
When I tried to get into this business, I literally
bought a DVD burner and then I had to take
a video camera out, send the footage to an editor,
put it on a DVD burn DVDs and mail them
in the mail to agents to see if they were
interested in my hosting reels.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
So YouTube kind of a nice thing.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Okay, James, Before I let you go, I have one
serious question for you, because we talked about this when
you were on my podcast, my old podcast, that in
twenty twenty you changed your name for your acting career.
You would start it out calling yourself James Rode, but
you wanted to reclaim and go buy your birth name
James Rode Rodriguez. And that process was based on long
talks with your dad, who's Mexican American, and a real
(37:09):
deep dive into your heritage and really wanting to connect
yourself to that history and have it be a part
of your career in a way that when you started out,
they said, wasn't a good idea?
Speaker 2 (37:18):
I know, you're in LA.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
I know things there suck right now, and the current
anti immigrant sentiment from the administration and the current approach
to people in LA that are not quote unquote American
is deeply upsetting. I wonder how it's affected you personally
and how you feel like it affects folks in the
business that are welcome when they're playing a character, but
perhaps not welcome when they're themselves.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
I think I think it's a really tricky time for
all the reasons that you've mentioned, But I also think
it's difficult to reconcile for a lot of us that
still have family that may either be undocumented or or
(38:02):
have been living in this country for forever and ever
and ever and maybe never got nationalized, or family that
you know is still in the country that you know
we originally came from, and whether it's affecting you personally.
It's impossible to not put on the lens of what if,
like what if that that, because it could easily you know,
(38:24):
I know that I have extended family, you know, with
spouses that are probably living in this country document and
and I can't imagine how terrifying it is because of
the way that these raids are being executed, and how
(38:47):
little just cause is going into any of it. And
at the same time it feels like more so maybe
than than in the past when we kind of went
through this the first time. There's a little bit of
like a wait and see approach in terms of how aggressively,
you know, we should use our platforms because we kind
(39:09):
of just want to wait and see if.
Speaker 2 (39:11):
It backfrom which is so hard.
Speaker 3 (39:14):
Epic epically and in the way that we hope that
it will. So it's like it's gone from like deaf
Con you know one, all the way to Deafcon five.
But then the approach is also feels it feels very,
very different, And this is a conversation that I know
is happening amongst a lot of people, not just in
our business but just period and just in terms of
(39:35):
like how loud to be, you know, do is enough
rope all that's required here so that it kind of
takes care of itself, because as Tom can attest as well,
we in the entertainment business oftentimes have to weigh like
how much good we do versus how much bad we
(39:57):
do by speaking up, because the backlash is sometimes even
bigger than you know, what you might be able to
accomplish by doing something because you're oftentimes preaching to a choir,
so it's it's wild times.
Speaker 1 (40:15):
Yeah, Sarah, Yeah, yeah, Just I remember like when that
when you came out and talked about your name and
your family. It was like a part of these conversations
we were having at the end of every article, it
was like, and here's a link to this to learn
more about this, and here's how you can support this,
and here's where you can give to this. And we're
not really doing that now the same way we were then,
partly because we're so shell shocked from how quickly and
(40:38):
terribly it's happening, and also because it happened already, so
we're like, oh this again, ship, Like, what do we
do this time?
Speaker 2 (40:43):
It's very complicated.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
I'm sorry to end this interview on something very.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
DeBie Downer.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
At the end, we just while on that note, congratulations
on about to be taking your first l of the
season in our league, and I hope it's one of bet.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
Thank you yes on that, James, thank you for joining.
Thank you both for joining this league. It's been so
fun and it's been so ultra competitive, and uh I
hope we can do it for years and years in
years and years to go.
Speaker 1 (41:18):
Yeah, because next year I'm gonna know what the I'm doing.
Speaker 5 (41:21):
Yeah, I'm saying that's what I'm saying. This is so fun.
Speaker 4 (41:25):
I really love it, right, two hundred dollars.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Yeah, Tom's learned nothing.
Speaker 2 (41:35):
That's what we've gotten. Tom's learned nothing. Thank you guys
both for hopping down this.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
With So I just like love the idea of these
like Hollywood bros.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Just like battling it out over Veronica Burton.
Speaker 3 (41:45):
So that's right.
Speaker 5 (41:47):
I got her love it so much the day.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
Well, thanks for the time.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
I'm sure your names will be invoked in future episodes,
especially if my team gets better.
Speaker 5 (41:55):
I'm going to hold you to that sounds good. Thanks Sarah.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
We got to take another break when we come back.
Buggy eyes and a wagon tongue make pickin a photo tough.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
I'll explain stick.
Speaker 1 (42:08):
Around Welcome Backslaces. Last week we had Howard megdel On
to talk about his new book, Becoming Caitlin Clark, and
we mentioned how funny it was that the photo on
the cover of his book looks just like the photo
on the cover of Christine Brennan's upcoming Caitlin Clark book. Well,
(42:30):
Howard's editor at Triumph Books, Clarissa Young, has chimed in
with an explanation that totally checks out. She forwarded me
an email she sent Howard after listening to our episode,
writing quote, just finish listening to the Sarah Spain interview
and realize I'd never shared any backstory on the cover design.
Maybe you'll find it funny I do. I look through
every single photo of Caitlin on the photo wires, going
(42:53):
back years, trying to find a possible candidate for the cover. First,
you rule out anything in the red Fever jerseys because
it's not the color people associate with her. A fun
fact is that Iowa and the Fever actually use the
same shade of yellow. Then, of course it makes the
most sense to have her shooting, so you want an
action shot. You look at the action shots and you
realize that Caitlin physically shows all her trademark intensity and
(43:15):
energy in a very consistent way, eyes bugging and tongue
wagging out comically to the side. Fine for editorial but
not exactly cover material. One way out of that is
to choose a photo for shooting a free throw, which
I ultimately did. Her face is much calmer, though her
laser focus is clear, yet the overall energy of the
image is lacking. Hence our close crop where you can
(43:37):
connect directly with her eye in the center of the cover.
Our eyes love looking at other eyes in design, and
we can often make use of that when composing covers.
It is my unwavering belief that Christine Brennan's designers went
through the exact same frustrating process. Clarissa continues, So that's
the inside baseball on the cover. It all comes down
to tongue wagging. Steph Cury presents similar issues with mouthguard wagging.
(43:59):
My colleagues had to deal with me randomly exclaiming about
her facial expressions as my search went deeper.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
And deeper into the archives. End quote.
Speaker 1 (44:07):
We love learning about processes like that, and actually, as
a result, when I was watching Caitlin's return on Saturday,
I noticed every eyebulge and tongue wag while she was playing.
Thanks Clarissa, We 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 sure
to submit your votes for WNBA All Start. You can
submit one ballot every day between now and June twenty eighth.
(44:29):
Each ballot conclude up to ten players, six front court
and four guards. We'll link to the voting page in
the show notes. Also, don't forget to send us your
favorite pride activations. Did a team or a league nail
it with their TFOs, tas, donations or social posts. We
want to see them. Send them to a good game
at wondermediaetwork dot com, or you can always leave us
a voicemail at eight seven two two o four fifty seventy.
(44:52):
And don't forget to subscribe, rate and review. It's real
easy watch taking a twenty four hour trip to Minnesota
to see our team side Aurora sc rating five out
of five goals and a five nothing win review. Andrea Yach,
founder of Aurora FC, was the best host ever for
my whirlwind trip to the Twin Cities. She introduced me
(45:12):
to great folks and set up radio and newspaper hits
so I could talk about good game and my book
and our slices, diving into ownership with the team, and
then the game was awesome. Rain couldn't stop the Aurora
from putting a beat down on the Chicago City Dutch
Lions five nothing, and because of the rain, I got
the perfectly Minnesota moment of hearing Prince's Purple Rain as
(45:33):
the skies opened up and the drizzle became a poor
no more than a minute after the final whistle. I
think they might be contractually obligated to play that song
every time it rains. There and the stadium, which is
part of the Vikings Complex, is fantastic. Makes for a
great game day experience, plus all the fan interactions, player celebrations,
sponsor activations. So good Aurora FC is doing it right
(45:56):
over there. I really recommend you go check it out
if you're nearby. Thanks again, and now it's your turn
rate and review. Thanks for listening, y'all. See you tomorrow.
Good game, Tom, Good game, James, You Tom James forking
over Selena Meyer like that watch beep, y'all. It's worth it.
Speaker 2 (46:13):
I promise one of the greatest shows of all time.
Speaker 1 (46:17):
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
could find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you Get Your Podcasts production by Wonder Media Network.
Our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rutterer.
(46:37):
Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and
Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones and I'm
Your Host Sarah Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
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