July 18, 2024 • 35 mins
Back again, eh? We love to see it. In this episode, ESPN’s Rebecca Lobo joins the pod to talk hanging out with the cast of Girls5eva, NOT being the person who voted A’ja Wilson 4th place for MVP in 2023, and who she’d give the edge to if DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas played 1-on-1.
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Check out the SUPER CUTE follow up to the s*** talking column that brought Rebecca Lobo together with the love of her life here: https://vault.si.com/vault/2003/04/21/my-big-fat-sports-wedding
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Check out Simone Biles’ Netflix doc here: https://www.netflix.com/title/81700902
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What is your all-time favorite WNBA All-Star moment? What should “Good Game” listeners be called? We want to hear from you! You can leave us a voicemail at 872-204-5070 or send us an email goodgame@wondermedianetwork.com
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Follow Sarah on social! X: @SarahSpain Instagram: @Spain2323
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Follow producer Misha Jones! X: @mishthejrnalist Instagram: @mishthejrnalist TikTok: @mishthejrnalist
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hey, everybody, welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where
cam Brink just got a Flaunt cover. Asia Wilson got
a Marie Claire cover, and we want to know who's
putting us on the cover. On today's show, we're going
to talk with ESPN analyst, Olympic gold medalist a Hall
of Famer Rebecca Lobo about the WNBA season so far
and this weekend's All Star festivities. But first, here's what
(00:27):
you need to know today. Big news for the WNBA.
They're signing a new broadcast rights deal that'll be worth
an estimated two hundred million dollars a year. This first
reported by The Athletic. That's a huge increase from the
league's current deal, which is valued at just sixty million.
The league will reportedly enter new agreements with ESPN, Amazon,
(00:48):
and NBC, with the ability to sign with additional broadcast
partners to bring in even more revenue cash money. We
love this news. This is huge. Speaking of money, a
whole lot of it is going to the NWSL's Angel City.
The team announced on Wednesday that the club is being
sold to Disney CEO Bob Iiger and his wife will Obey.
(01:11):
Shouts to will Obey. I think original host of Inside
Stuff before Summer Sanders, or it might be a flip,
but either way, I watch that every day growing up.
So shout out to Inside Stuff and will Obey Bob
Iiger and will Obey new owners of Angel City. The
deal values the team at two hundred fifty million, which
will make angel City FC the world's highest valued women's
(01:32):
sports team, assuming the NWSLS signed off on the sale.
So many questions about that for all my Angel City
owner friends. Are we still getting orange slices from Glennon
Doyle and Jennifer Garner before games? All of those superstars
that are part owners. Are they still in the mix here?
Or are Bob and Willow taking over? Are they looking
for new owners that have like zero money compared to
the rest of their owners but just want to hang
out asking for a friend. Simone Biles Doc. Are you
(01:57):
guys watching it? Because Part one is out? Netflix doc
series on Simone Biles has dropped, and it details Simone's
decision to withdraw from the team competition at the Tokyo
Olympics due to the twisties. And if you never figured
out during that whole thing, what the twisties. Are they
get into it. You're gonna find out, and you're gonna
follow her journey back into the gym as well. Part
(02:18):
two of that series is going to be released in
the fall. And first of all, we'll watch Simone Biles
doing literally anything. And I couldn't be more excited that
her husband is now a Chicago Bear, so she will
be in Chicago and I can watch her just I
don't know, like eat a hot dog and watch the Bears.
But my favorite thing about Simone is is she's such
a tiny powerhouse. Like I did a cover story with
(02:39):
Simone for ESPN the magazine a couple of years ago,
and she is so small and so sweet and so cute.
But girl is a nightmare. Dressed like a daydream. She
has got the sparkles on her leotard. She is cute
as hell. And then she goes out there and she
pulls off stuff that like even the men can't do
in gymnastics, gets all the moves named after her, and
like this behind the scenes look of that dichotomy is
(03:02):
chef's kiss. So excited. You all know how it goes.
In La they get crazy, in Miami they get crazy,
and in Phoenix, they get crazy. Okay, I'm not trying
to spit. I'm just telling you it's going to be lit.
Because we learn that Pitbull is going to be performing
halftime of the WNBA All Star Game this Saturday in Phoenix.
I will be there. Shout out to my sister Katie,
(03:24):
who is obsessed with Pitbull. I mean, I dig it,
but not like she does, so I will be sending
her all sorts of.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Videos from that.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
The Chicago Sky announced yesterday that the team have acquired
Rachel Bannam, Mariah Jefferson, the twenty twenty five first round
draft pick, and the rights to swap twenty twenty six
first round pick from Connecticut in exchange for Marina Maybury
and the Sky's twenty twenty five second round draft pick. Okay,
first of all, shout out to my guy Josh Bard
who texted me and called this move going from the
(03:53):
sky to the sun Kearsian. Pretty sure he made up
that word, but yes, Icarus from the sky to the Sun.
I have thoughts on this, guys, the Sky or my squad.
Marina Maybury is a straight up dog, playmaker, leader, aggressive
both sides of the court. I'm just perplexed. It will
(04:13):
also be very interesting to see Marina pair up with
Dja Carrington. That could be quite icy. Go back and
look up some of their highlights. Then again, I was
super worried about Colia Copper and Sophie Cunningham becoming teammates,
and they seem to be buddy buddy, so you just
never know. I'm going to talk about this straight a
little bit more later. I want this all to settle.
But yeah, Marina, that's my dog. Sue Bird, who by
(04:38):
the way, will be on the show tomorrow, has won
everything there is to win in basketball, and now she's
up Barbie too. Mattel announced that the former Seattle Storm
point guard in five tin Olympic gold medals will be
part of their role model collection. Love this for Sue,
Love this for Barbie. Come on, Barbie, let's go cross
up some bitches. NWSL is currently on an Olympic break,
(05:02):
don't forget, but that doesn't mean that the players are.
Because a record fifty six NWSL players are gonna compete
at the upcoming Paris Olympics, which is more than any
other league in the whole world. Of the twelve Olympic
teams in the tournament. Eleven have at least one NWSL
player on their roster, Gotham FC and Orlando Prideley the way,
they've got seven players each competing at the Games. There's
(05:23):
also a couple of tournaments happening back home for non
Olympians two So if you miss the NWSL and you're
not get enough soccer from the Olympics, we'll tell you
all about those in an upcoming show. When we come back.
We're gonna be famous by the Father because forever's too short.
We're gonna chat with one of the best in the business.
She knows Little Stinker and all the New York Lonely Boys,
(05:46):
Rebecca Lobo up next. We're back and we're almost heading
out of town because this weekend is the twentieth WNBA
All Star Game. I will be there in Phoenix. And
if you're in the know about how many WNBA seasons
(06:06):
there have been, then you know that the math aint mathon.
We got twenty eight seasons and only twenty All Star games.
What's up with that? Well, when the league started, they
didn't have them, and then they skipped them for a
few years during the Olympic years, and then there was
of course the COVID year, no All Star Game in
the bubble, So we're just at twenty Now, why does
that matter? Well, besides those years missing out on all
(06:27):
the fun and the pageantry and the parties of the
game and the weekend itself, it does make it feel
like some of the best players ever might have had
like an off year or two. Diana Trozzi, for instance,
She's been in the league for twenty seasons but only
an eleven time All Star. Britney Griner for instance, She's
only been in the league for eleven seasons but ten
All Star noms. Neck Ogom Makay twelve seasons, nine All
(06:50):
Star appearances. So some of the older players like Diana,
who were around when All Star didn't exist or when
they skipped Olympic years, they kind of got boned worth knowing.
The good news is we do get a game this
year despite the Olympics. In fact, this weekend's going to
be a sort of tune up for Team USA. They're
going to take on Team WNBA in the game on Saturday.
We're going to keep an eye on injuries the next
(07:10):
couple of days because Brianna Stewart and if you said
Collier Britney Griner, Dina Trossi, a couple others have been
missing some of their WNBA games, so we'll see whether
they decide to take this opportunity to get some rest
instead of a tune up for the games. Hopefully we'll
see all the stars on Saturday, but worth noting that
some may need to get themselves healthy before Paris. Also
this weekend, keeping out Friday night, we've got the Skills
(07:33):
Challenge and the Three Point Contest, and then all day
Friday and Saturday in Phoenix the WNBA Live Fan Festival
at the Phoenix Convention Center. Lots of free swag, there,
lots of activities, players popping by, and it's really part
of this new look All Star weekend. If you have
not been to an All Star weekend for WNBA, or
maybe even when years ago, the thing that stood out
(07:53):
to me in recent years was how elevated the experience
has become. The parties, the activations, the sponsor involvement. And
I remember being in Chicago at the All Star Weekend
and just thinking, I wish that all the executives that
are at the top level of major TV networks, major websites,
major brands would start to include it in their trips.
They're taking these regular Johns to the super Bowl or
(08:15):
NBA All Star or f one, but if they included
the WNBA All Star weekend, they'd really get a feel
for just how rabid the fandom is, how much of
an intersection there is with culture and music and fashion,
and how big of an opportunity there is to invest
and cover and care about the w I mean, I
want them to update themselves on the data that's huge,
(08:36):
and thanks to Sports Innovation Lab in Wasserman and others,
we now have these like cold hard facts about fan
interest and watching habits, brand affinity, spending, all of that
stuff that's so important. But also these execs need to
have the experience. And I think going to for instance,
Sue Bird's Crown Royal party and walking through this beautiful
activation highlighting her career achievements, or going to a Jordan
(08:57):
Women's collective party at the Viceroy and Chicago and Young
Jeezy's performing and everyone's hype, Like the people making decisions
need to be there and see it to really understand.
So I hope they're in Phoenix this weekend, sweating their
fucking balls off with us and seeing the magic in person.
Speaking of balls, our next guest knows a thing or
(09:17):
two about them. Basketball's that is joining us now on
the show. Olympic gold medalist, NCAA champion and member of
the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naysmith Hall
of Fame. Now a reporter and color analyst for ESPN,
focusing on women's college basketball and the WNBA. She met
her husband after he shit talked the WNBA in a
(09:38):
column for SI, and she invited him to a game
to see how wrong he was. I guess you could
say it was love at first slight. It's Rebecca Lobo.
What's up? Rebecca?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
That? That could be my favorite introduction effort.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
It's like my favorite story. I am always telling people
that story. And then you saying at your Hall of
Fame speech that one of your kids men's basketball on TV,
and you're like, what, men play basketball too? Like that's
how you know you're raising her?
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Right?
Speaker 1 (10:06):
That's right?
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Yeah, yeah, yep.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
That daughter, she was like four at the time, is
now nineteen and about to enter her junior year at
college Unreal.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
By the way, just in case, I'm not encouraging men
to talk shit about women's sports and the hopes that
it will land you a Hall of Fame. Wife, I
think that's a rare occurrence. Let's stick with being supportive.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
But maybe it will.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Maybe maybe everybody likes to get nagged every once in
a while. I guess that's that's that's what you're showing us. Okay,
we have to talk about the most important thing first,
which is that you made a cameo on Girls five EVA.
And I'm completely obsessed with that show. My husband and
I are like quoting it NonStop. So tell me everything.
I need to know. What it was like hanging out
with Sarah Burrellis and Rinale's Goldsberry and Paulapel and Busy
(10:48):
Phillips and everybody else.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Well, it was awesome.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
So it came to me, I don't know, a year
and a half ago, and I got like an email
from my agent, would you be interested in doing a
cameo on this Girl's five have a show? Canvassing a
number of people And it was taped like right after
the final four And I was like, oh, you know,
I have to go away to Long Island for a
week or something. And my oldest daughter is like, are
you crazy? Of course you have to do this. She's like,
(11:13):
and bring me along with you. And so anyway I
got a chance to do it. Because of their their
COVID regulations. When we taped, I wasn't able to bring
my daughter. But we were at a castle on Long Island.
It's it's where they filmed part of one of the
Taylor Swift videos. You know exactly which one it was,
and it was awesome. I was there for maybe three days,
(11:35):
and there was a ton of downtime. So anybody who's
filmed stuff before knows that you film for you know,
twenty minutes, half hour, and then you might be hanging
out for a couple of hours. And in this castle,
there was this library that was sort of like the
green room, the hangout room.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
So sometimes i'd be in there and like one time,
Sarah Burrella's just went She's like, I'm going to get coffee.
Would you like me to get you some coffee?
Speaker 3 (11:57):
And then we just ended up having this long conversation
about coffee and life and and a variety of things,
and she could not have been more awesome. And then
another one of the moments, when I'm just hanging out
Rene Lee's Goldsberry, we start talking her son is a
high school basketball player. My son's a high school basketball player.
So anyway, we were just talking about that. These women,
(12:19):
Sarah could not have been more cool.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
They were absolutely I love to hear.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
It was a blast.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
And the thing is I hadn't seen the show before
I was asked to do it, so I was like
binge watching, so I knew what was going on. And
I'm sitting I'm watching with my husband like you did,
and we are dying because we were both huge thirty
rock fans.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
And it's so similar to that joint YEP.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
So funny, so funny, and like you know, just a
beautifully written. The actors are amazing. The singing and choreography
was cool. That was one of the other things in
the green room watching like the choreographer teaching the women
how to do certain things that they're going to do.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
And one of the scenes anyway, I'm trying it.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Awesome job. It was the Blank Space video. By the way,
for those who want another Easter egg that mansion that
they filmed, it was from Blank Space. And yeah, I
mean it's just the best show. The Easter eggs are
all over that show. You almost have to like watch
it multiple times to get every single joke in reference
to the nineties and everything else. Okay, I had to
ask you about that because I'm so obsessed and I'm
(13:22):
like literally evangelist for that show. I tell everyone all
the time to watch it. Let's talk great because we
have some like big news in the WNBA today the
media deal that just got announced. The Athletic was first
to report that the league agreed to two point two
billion in new rights deals. We're gonna get a lot
of details to come, but what's your first reaction?
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Awesome, awesome, long time coming. I think there.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
It's reported that it's averaging out to around two hundred
million a year, four times what the current deal is,
at least four times. I'm thrilled for the players because
you know, they'll opt out of the CBA this year,
they'll start negotiating, and I I am thrilled because hopefully
this means that there's going to be a huge spike
in in salaries. We've already seen them get the chartered
(14:07):
flights that they'd been hoping for for the last number
of years. And as you know, everything is driven by
the media rights deal. That's where all the money is
that's where the players are going to get the things
that they want to get. So I'm thrilled that, you know,
if was being reported is accurate, I'm thrilled for them.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
So cool. You know, we had a wild start to
this season, and we've settled down a bit, thankfully. We've
started really focusing on the basketball, which has actually been
really absolutely a little bit of most of us some
of us, yeah we have. Yeah, But before we can
move on, I do want to get your perspective from
the inside on how you handled the sort of hysteria
(14:46):
and unhinged start to this season, Like how much did
it factor how you called games? How much did it
affect the conversations you had with players, because even if
you wanted to ignore it, you could like accidentally step
into some sort of beef was going on, or like
say the wrong thing and have everyone think you were
taking quote a side, like it was almost impossible not
to pay attention just to make sure you didn't get
(15:07):
roped up in it. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I think actually a little bit separate from your question
is that when we started the season, we knew there
was going to be a ton more WNBA, ten more
people watching the WNBA, perhaps for the first time. So
when Ryan and I did that first game, Indiana's first game,
it was the first game of of the season, Indiana
at Connecticut. Anytime there was a different rule in the
WA than we have in college, we explained because we
(15:32):
knew that there was a bunch of new people watching
the game, that they're they're probably there for the first time,
So we understood that piece of it. It wasn't until
you got a few weeks in that like you felt
the other narrative. And when it really hit me was
Ryan and I called the Chicago game at Indiana, the
first game where Kennedy Carter had the foul against Caitlyn Clark,
(15:55):
and it felt like from that moment on, things really
blew up because I had kind of ignored the whole
silly narrative that, you know, the veterans are jealous of
Kate and the Lark, so they're beating her up. Because
I've been watching all the Indiana games, I'm like, no,
have people not been watching the w NBA for the last.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Two decades, Like this is how they defend and yeah,
and yes she was.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
She getting more defensive attention than any player in the
history of the league. Yes, she was, I can say
that with authority, But were they being dirty? And was that,
you know, that fueled by jealousy? I just thought it
was such a stupid narrative that and it didn't really
have teeth until all of a sudden you got the
Kennedy Carter hit and then things just boiled up into
(16:38):
sort of a fervor of ridiculousness.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
And it was super interesting to me. And it's something
that you.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Have to kind of be delicate about because we're thrilled
with all the new attention that the WNBA has, right,
We're thrilled with all the new fans that are watching.
I'm glad they're talking about the WNBA on CNN and
on some sort of more mainstream platforms.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
But then you're like, wait, but why don't you have
people want to actually know what they're talking about? What
are you talking about? So I do, and I do
feel like that's settled down a little bit.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
I do, however, feel like, especially when it comes to
Angel and Caitlin, there's this weird like you can.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Only be a supporter of one or the other. You
can only be team Caitlin or you can only be
team Angel. And I'm like I love watching them both there.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
It's weird the well, and especially in women's sports, I
have eleveny side pieces. Like in men's sports, I do
a much better job of like I hate anyone that's
not my team, and women's like I kind of want
them all to have a good game. It's a problem,
and that's especially the case with Caitlyn and Angel and.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
The interesting thing and of course a lot of this
is fueled by social media, which isn't the real world.
But I do feel like, you know, if I say
something positive about Caitlin, people half the people are going
to interpret it as something negative about Angel, which is ridiculous.
Like I just want to put information out there, like
look how great cheese been, Look how great Angel's been,
Like this is this is amazing, And even when you're
(18:06):
having the Rookie of the Year conversations and debates, like
you don't have to say what you know, this person
is not good at this, like like it's it's it's
a little bit crazy, but I guess that's what you
have in in men's sports, and so some of that
is good as long as we can stay out of
the kind of well, I think.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
It fuels a lot of takes. It fuels a lot
of takes, and that's one of the things that we've
been missing in women's sports, because you need information, and
people need to be informed enough to have a take,
even if it's poorly informed. They need to know enough
to care enough to have a take and get mad
and fight each other on the internet about it. So progress,
I guess.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Yeah, it's I was just on a conference call and
that the China Robinson was on, and she just kind
of brought up the point that you know a lot
of people have used have said negative things, you know
about these women in personal attacks, and it's like that
that's unnecessary, that's unnecessary.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Let's all have our opinions.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
You can like one or the other, but like to
take it to a place it doesn't belong. I think
that's what has kind of concerned people, especially early on.
I feel like we're in a place now.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
But I think I've been so impressed with the rookie class,
in part because of their ability to handle the unhinged
commentary Kitlyn Clark, Angelies, Kate Martin, Cameron Brink before her injury.
Not only were these like business women who were handling
the pressure so well and the eyeballs and playing very well,
making a great transition, but like being able to deal
with the unhinged people who are being not just critical
(19:30):
but mean and downright ugly to what do you attribute
the basketball side their ease in adjusting to the progame.
Is that nil and already sort of being business women?
Is it the skill level in the college game right now.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
In terms of their ability to kind of handle all
of the eyeballs. I think some of that's nil and
just social media anyway. You know, Angel Leaves has had
millions of followers on Instagram, you know, since she was
in college, so she's she's adept at handling that. Caitlyn
Clark the same. In terms of the basketball, I think
you just have such great players in the women's college
game now, in particular those two young women in the
(20:05):
programs are coming from Cameron Brink as well, and kind
of how they've handled themselves. You know, they know how
to be pros from the time they get to college.
They surround themselves with the right people, whether it's trainers
or advisors or whatever it is, so they're a lot
more prepared when they get to the WNBA for this.
And I think We're going to see this in the
next bunch of years too, because there's such an incredible
(20:27):
crop of talent in the college ranks. I mean, at
the top of that list coming out this coming year
most likely as pagebackers, and talk about a player who
knows how to handle theirselfs and all the ways we've
just talked about, and will also be a great player.
It's exciting to see sort of what's going to be
over the next couple of years, the infusion of even
more prepared talent into the league.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Agreed. Agreed, there's some really fun young stars. Speaking of stars,
can you even put into context what we're seeing from
Las Vegas Acas star Asia Wilson this season?
Speaker 2 (20:59):
I don't know that I can. The best context. The
best context is, you.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Know, my colleague Ryan Ruco said she's playing as well
as anyone has in the history of the game. And
I'm one hundred percent agree with that. And I'm the
type of person who, like, I really want to give
something a lot of thought before I say she's playing
better than anyone has in the history.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Of the league. But I'm getting closer and closer to that.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
When I was watching their game the other night, Vegas
against Chicago, and I'm just like, wow, Asia is not
only head and shoulders above anyone else on the floor
on this game, She's heading shoulders above everyone else in
the league right now. And it's what she's doing on
the offensive end and the defensive end. Certainly she's playing
as well as anyone in the history of this league.
Could she be playing better in this stretch than anyone
(21:45):
in the history of the league.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
She might be, she might high praise and right now,
I mean, she is definitely the leader for MVP and
Defensive Player of the Year. And I know at the
beginning of the season, Asia said flat out like she's
motivated by the fourth place vote that she got in
the MVP race last year. And I wonder after the
Olympic break, who do you even see that could make
(22:07):
a run at her and try to steal some votes.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
If Asia continues to play the way she is playing now,
no one. If she continues to play the way she's
playing now, it should be a unanimous m VP. By
the way, I was not the fourth place vote. There's
a like a little sub thread on Twitter that.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Oh to say it was me and they got you
got pointed out for that Oh, okay, I haven't.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
I haven't responded because it's such a stupid thing to say,
but whatever it was on me.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Do you think we should be shipping about that going forward?
To be too hard now because now there's so much
going on with like HATELN and Angel that if you
make the Rookie of the Year votes then it's like, yes.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
I think I think it might be insanity. I think
you might push some voters away.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
If it was transparent, I would be fine with it,
and maybe it would make people more accountable and and
you know, take very seriously the thought that they put
into their different awards. But I think it also might
maybe in a couple of years. Yeah, but yeah, right now, again,
if she comes back from the Olympics healthy and continues
to play the way she's been playing, she's untouch. She
(23:12):
could be the unanimous MVP. I don't know if we've
ever had a unianimous like everybody getting the number because
you vote for five. I don't know if we've ever
had a case where one player has gotten all the
number one votes.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
But if not, she could be that first.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
It'd be this year. We mentioned Caitlyn Clark and Angel
Reese and the fun little rivalry. We can all decide
for ourselves how much they really don't like each other
versus it just being basketball and regular competition. But they're
gonna be teammates this weekend in the All Star Game.
What do you expect? Keep it business like? Do you
think they'll surprise some folks with the little buddy cop
chummy dynamic, just to like shake things up? What do
(23:46):
you expect to see?
Speaker 3 (23:49):
I think it has been like a fun rivalry We've
never you know, we had the angel you know, you
can't see me, you know, after Caitlyn had done it
their junior years in college. But I don't feel like
we've seen anything extra since that moment. You know, when
they when they met in the regional final game, it
was just great basketball. And then you had a three
matchups so far in the w n b A and
(24:11):
you know, he had the one where Kennedy shoved her,
but the other two it's just been great basketball. Two
of the three games were decided by a single point.
So I think I think it's gonna be fun. I
think I think you'll see you know, maybe you'll see
some pick and roll, although that isn't a heavy part
of Angel's game. But Angel run the floor, Katelyn will
give her the ball find It'll be fun. Yeah, hopefully
(24:31):
there will be some of those like little banter moments. Yeah,
I think people would like to.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
See to them at once.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
You can't see us. I want to see that.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
To one of the Olympians.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
Love that.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
But but yeah, like they've they've always been really cool
when talking about one another.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Yeah, we also have a fun fiance versus fiance dynamic
in the game. We got d Wanna Bonner on Team
w NBA taking on Alyssa Thomas on Team USA. They're
usually teammates in the w NBA playing against each other. Okay,
picture this, It's Bonner versus Thomas, one on one. Who
is going harder? In your mind? Who wants and needs
that more?
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Well, I'll say this, like Alyssa Thomas is probably the
most physical defender in the w NBA. Like, she will
lay you out if she needs to, and bump you
and stuff. I would imagine she wouldn't do that toa
to Dowana, But I don't know if it was gonna
be like a you know, do Wanna is the more
gifted like offensive scorers?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
You know, she can hit, you know, drain from the outside.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Alyssa can't really but Alyssa, I don't know that that
would be you know what, that would be a smart
fun thing to do in the All Star Game, like
give it to one of them, probably do wanna and
clear out the other side of the floor Florida. Like,
I don't know how much of that kind of stuff
we're going to get from the Olympic team. I think
a lot for them. This is a real tune up,
a real game. But maybe we'll see some of those
(25:51):
fun moments, like in the past we've seen Britney Grinder
bring the ball down the floor and take a three,
that sort of thing. Maybe we'll see that more from
the w NBA All Stars.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Do you have an all time favorite WNBA All Star moment?
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Gosh, there have been some great ones.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
One of the all time incredible performances, but was by
Shony Shimmel, which was actually the All Star Game was
in Phoenix that year. I don't remember the exact year,
but she came out and she just had so much
flair to her game. But the last time in twenty
twenty one, when the Olympians played the All Stars and
a Rique went off and the All Stars won the game.
That was pretty cool too, because it's always more fun,
(26:28):
of course, when it's competitive and the teams are playing
really hard, and that game was a situation where that
was the case.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
A Rique is an interesting one to say when they're
competitive and it matters, because we've seen her speak out
about the Team USA roster and kind of saying she
pulled herself out of the process because she didn't think
it was fair or an honest process for whatever reason,
and she's gonna she's gonna want to go off in
this game. I could see a Rikue wanting to get MVP,
(26:55):
wanting to beat Team USA and prove some sort of points.
So that's a good one to bring up. We might
see that again, all right, So w n B a
second half. Mercury, Fever Sky and Dream are kind of
the teams that look like they'll be battling for the
seven and eight, those final playoff spots, which too Doc
making the cut.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
Mercury, Fever Sky and Dream the Mercury, I mean, once
they get everybody healthy, I mean they're just so talented
you would imagine that they would be in there. Atlanta
hasn't figured things out. They're really struggling. And even when
Ryan Howard returns, you know, I don't know that they're
gonna they're gonna be.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
In that mix.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Dallas, of course, is a mess right now. You know
they're you know, Si will return. She was a first
team All w NBA member last year, so she could
have a significant impact. Maddie secrets getting healthy as well.
I think that you will have Indiana and Chicago both
in the playoff. In the playoff picture, I forget who
the four are, the Washington Atlanta, below them Dallas and
(27:56):
then the fourth oh in l A. I think both
Chicago and Indiana will be part of the playoff picture
for sure, which would be incredible for just to continue
the ratings and you know, the fan attendance and all
those other things. I mean, people are gonna watch the
other teams.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
What we know that things are being fueled in a
lot of ways by those two teams.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
Last one, give me one big prediction for the second half.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
One big prediction for the second half of the season.
I predict that with a healthy Nafisa Collier, the Minnesota
Links will be challenging to will be challenging to get,
not only to the semi finals, but could make a
real run for that championship series.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
There is a real attempt for there to be a
top trio instead of duo, and the Links keeps being
in and out of that. So I'm excited to watch.
She was not the fourth place vote. Guys. Okay, enough
with that, Rebecca Lovo Hall of Famer al timer, thank
you so much for coming on. We got to take
a quick break. When we come back. The dunk heard
round Chicago. Oh hello again. It's time for the Good
(29:15):
Game Hall of Fame, the segment where we celebrate women's
sports lore and start telling the stories of women's sports history,
just like we do all the stuff the guys did.
Start carving the plaque, find a good place on the wall.
We've got our very first inductee to the Good Game
Hall of Fame, the Good Game Hall of Fame. First,
(29:36):
I want to set the scene for you. I want
you to think back to two thousand and nine. Producer
Mish was probably not born yet. It was two thousand
and nine. Boom boom, pow, hope and change. I'm gonna
let you finish. You remember in her first WNBA All
Star appearance, Sylvia Fowls then a member of the Chicago
Sky made a statement by dunking. Pretty cool, But thirteen years,
(30:02):
two WNBA titles and zero in game dunks later, Fowls,
then with the Minnesota Links, and already having announced that
she'd retire at the end of the season, dunked in
the All Star Game again in Chicago, back where she
used to play. You could damn near here. The crowd
go crazy all the way in Indiana. This is one
of my all time favorite sports moments to witness in person.
(30:25):
Dunking in your final All Star game after not dunking
in a game in thirteen years. The ovaries on this woman,
just zero fear of getting rejected by the rim in
her fourteenth season in the league. One foot out the door,
ready for a life of leisure, and she goes for it. Unreal.
Congrat Sylvia Fowls, You are forever in the Good Game
(30:46):
Hall of Fame, the Good Game Hall of Fame. All right, listeners,
we still need to come up with the name for you.
So far haven't gotten enough good responses. So at Sarah
Spain on Twitter, hit me up, what should we call you?
We love that you're listening, We love that you're here.
But we need to call you something and we want
you to get in the game every day too. So
(31:08):
here's our good game play at the day ahead of
this weekend's WNBA All Star Game. We want to hear
your favorite WNBA All Star moment. You just heard mine
that fouls dunk, But tell us yours. Hit us up
on email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com, or on
social at Sarah Spain on Twitter, or you can even
leave us a voicemail message eight seven two two o
(31:28):
four five seven. Oh, tell us your all time favorite
WNBA All Star moment. Mesh, you got one. You're a
WNBA head, it's your favorite All Star moment.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
I gotta say back in twenty eighteen, when Christy Tolliver
made the All Star Game, DMV product first and foremost
went to Maryland, broke some hearts, aid Duke in six
if you know you know, but yeah, she dropped twenty
three points in that All Star Game, and she is
my goat.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
So I was what tens in twenty eighteenety no baby,
noise play it.
Speaker 4 (32:06):
I was twenty one in twenty eighteen, and that was
just a beautiful moment for me because on the back
half of her career. To see her, you know, get
that light and make the most of it and shine
so bright.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
On that stage was so special to me. Love it, Alex,
you got one, Yeah, I do.
Speaker 5 (32:20):
Mine is a bit more recent. I'm gonna go to
twenty twenty two, and at that time, Brittany Griner was
still being wrongfully detained in Russia, and originally players were
being very tactful about not speaking up too much about it,
thinking that that would help Griner's case. But as the
summer kind of wore on, the strategy changed, and so
that year at All Star all the players came out
(32:42):
for the second half wearing number forty two Grinder jerseys,
and just seeing that level of support from the players
I think helped shift the conversation around Grinder's plight and
move it to a new level.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
Love it. Those are awesome. Send us yours see if
you can keep up with Mesh and Alex. We already
got some great answers to yesterday's question, which was which
athlete in women's sports you'd most want to see a
documentary about. Shout out to our very first emailer, the
first email ever received at Good Game at Wondermedia Network,
dot Com shout out Kevin Lane. His email found our
(33:14):
inbox just eighteen minutes after our episode dropped. Episode one
drops and eighteen minutes later Kevin Lane is in the inbox.
Shout out to Kevin his athlete of choice swin cash
excellent choice, excellent Kevin, Thank you for emailing. We'll get
to more of everybody's answers on tomorrow's show. Keep them coming.
And while we're telling you what to do, you've subscribed
(33:36):
to the Pottery right right, you hit the follow button,
you hit subscribe. Whatever it says on your screen, hit that,
and also rate and review, please, because you know writing
stuff is great. In fact, I just rated something in
my head yesterday. You know that feeling when like legends
in sports like Leslie Visser, Julie Foudi, Kat Austerman, Bonnie
(33:56):
Bernstein message you congratulations on the first episode your new podcast.
You guys get it. You've been there right, five out
of five rating for sure. I'd say the review for
that pumped, psyched, grateful, ready to get back and do
it again. Okay, so you get it. Give it a try, subscribe, rate, review,
It's easy. Thanks for listening. Come back tomorrow. Good Game,
(34:20):
Simone Biles, Good Game, Rebecca Lobo you tweeters accusing Rebecca
of being the fourth place voter. Good Game with Sarah
Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with
Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzi
(34:43):
and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Jenny Kaplan,
Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez and Grace Lynch. Production assistants from
Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain, Sat and
Can
Hey, everybody, welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where
cam Brink just got a Flaunt cover. Asia Wilson got
a Marie Claire cover, and we want to know who's
putting us on the cover. On today's show, we're going
to talk with ESPN analyst, Olympic gold medalist a Hall
of Famer Rebecca Lobo about the WNBA season so far
and this weekend's All Star festivities. But first, here's what
(00:27):
you need to know today. Big news for the WNBA.
They're signing a new broadcast rights deal that'll be worth
an estimated two hundred million dollars a year. This first
reported by The Athletic. That's a huge increase from the
league's current deal, which is valued at just sixty million.
The league will reportedly enter new agreements with ESPN, Amazon,
(00:48):
and NBC, with the ability to sign with additional broadcast
partners to bring in even more revenue cash money. We
love this news. This is huge. Speaking of money, a
whole lot of it is going to the NWSL's Angel City.
The team announced on Wednesday that the club is being
sold to Disney CEO Bob Iiger and his wife will Obey.
(01:11):
Shouts to will Obey. I think original host of Inside
Stuff before Summer Sanders, or it might be a flip,
but either way, I watch that every day growing up.
So shout out to Inside Stuff and will Obey Bob
Iiger and will Obey new owners of Angel City. The
deal values the team at two hundred fifty million, which
will make angel City FC the world's highest valued women's
(01:32):
sports team, assuming the NWSLS signed off on the sale.
So many questions about that for all my Angel City
owner friends. Are we still getting orange slices from Glennon
Doyle and Jennifer Garner before games? All of those superstars
that are part owners. Are they still in the mix here?
Or are Bob and Willow taking over? Are they looking
for new owners that have like zero money compared to
the rest of their owners but just want to hang
out asking for a friend. Simone Biles Doc. Are you
(01:57):
guys watching it? Because Part one is out? Netflix doc
series on Simone Biles has dropped, and it details Simone's
decision to withdraw from the team competition at the Tokyo
Olympics due to the twisties. And if you never figured
out during that whole thing, what the twisties. Are they
get into it. You're gonna find out, and you're gonna
follow her journey back into the gym as well. Part
(02:18):
two of that series is going to be released in
the fall. And first of all, we'll watch Simone Biles
doing literally anything. And I couldn't be more excited that
her husband is now a Chicago Bear, so she will
be in Chicago and I can watch her just I
don't know, like eat a hot dog and watch the Bears.
But my favorite thing about Simone is is she's such
a tiny powerhouse. Like I did a cover story with
(02:39):
Simone for ESPN the magazine a couple of years ago,
and she is so small and so sweet and so cute.
But girl is a nightmare. Dressed like a daydream. She
has got the sparkles on her leotard. She is cute
as hell. And then she goes out there and she
pulls off stuff that like even the men can't do
in gymnastics, gets all the moves named after her, and
like this behind the scenes look of that dichotomy is
(03:02):
chef's kiss. So excited. You all know how it goes.
In La they get crazy, in Miami they get crazy,
and in Phoenix, they get crazy. Okay, I'm not trying
to spit. I'm just telling you it's going to be lit.
Because we learn that Pitbull is going to be performing
halftime of the WNBA All Star Game this Saturday in Phoenix.
I will be there. Shout out to my sister Katie,
(03:24):
who is obsessed with Pitbull. I mean, I dig it,
but not like she does, so I will be sending
her all sorts of.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Videos from that.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
The Chicago Sky announced yesterday that the team have acquired
Rachel Bannam, Mariah Jefferson, the twenty twenty five first round
draft pick, and the rights to swap twenty twenty six
first round pick from Connecticut in exchange for Marina Maybury
and the Sky's twenty twenty five second round draft pick. Okay,
first of all, shout out to my guy Josh Bard
who texted me and called this move going from the
(03:53):
sky to the sun Kearsian. Pretty sure he made up
that word, but yes, Icarus from the sky to the Sun.
I have thoughts on this, guys, the Sky or my squad.
Marina Maybury is a straight up dog, playmaker, leader, aggressive
both sides of the court. I'm just perplexed. It will
(04:13):
also be very interesting to see Marina pair up with
Dja Carrington. That could be quite icy. Go back and
look up some of their highlights. Then again, I was
super worried about Colia Copper and Sophie Cunningham becoming teammates,
and they seem to be buddy buddy, so you just
never know. I'm going to talk about this straight a
little bit more later. I want this all to settle.
But yeah, Marina, that's my dog. Sue Bird, who by
(04:38):
the way, will be on the show tomorrow, has won
everything there is to win in basketball, and now she's
up Barbie too. Mattel announced that the former Seattle Storm
point guard in five tin Olympic gold medals will be
part of their role model collection. Love this for Sue,
Love this for Barbie. Come on, Barbie, let's go cross
up some bitches. NWSL is currently on an Olympic break,
(05:02):
don't forget, but that doesn't mean that the players are.
Because a record fifty six NWSL players are gonna compete
at the upcoming Paris Olympics, which is more than any
other league in the whole world. Of the twelve Olympic
teams in the tournament. Eleven have at least one NWSL
player on their roster, Gotham FC and Orlando Prideley the way,
they've got seven players each competing at the Games. There's
(05:23):
also a couple of tournaments happening back home for non
Olympians two So if you miss the NWSL and you're
not get enough soccer from the Olympics, we'll tell you
all about those in an upcoming show. When we come back.
We're gonna be famous by the Father because forever's too short.
We're gonna chat with one of the best in the business.
She knows Little Stinker and all the New York Lonely Boys,
(05:46):
Rebecca Lobo up next. We're back and we're almost heading
out of town because this weekend is the twentieth WNBA
All Star Game. I will be there in Phoenix. And
if you're in the know about how many WNBA seasons
(06:06):
there have been, then you know that the math aint mathon.
We got twenty eight seasons and only twenty All Star games.
What's up with that? Well, when the league started, they
didn't have them, and then they skipped them for a
few years during the Olympic years, and then there was
of course the COVID year, no All Star Game in
the bubble, So we're just at twenty Now, why does
that matter? Well, besides those years missing out on all
(06:27):
the fun and the pageantry and the parties of the
game and the weekend itself, it does make it feel
like some of the best players ever might have had
like an off year or two. Diana Trozzi, for instance,
She's been in the league for twenty seasons but only
an eleven time All Star. Britney Griner for instance, She's
only been in the league for eleven seasons but ten
All Star noms. Neck Ogom Makay twelve seasons, nine All
(06:50):
Star appearances. So some of the older players like Diana,
who were around when All Star didn't exist or when
they skipped Olympic years, they kind of got boned worth knowing.
The good news is we do get a game this
year despite the Olympics. In fact, this weekend's going to
be a sort of tune up for Team USA. They're
going to take on Team WNBA in the game on Saturday.
We're going to keep an eye on injuries the next
(07:10):
couple of days because Brianna Stewart and if you said
Collier Britney Griner, Dina Trossi, a couple others have been
missing some of their WNBA games, so we'll see whether
they decide to take this opportunity to get some rest
instead of a tune up for the games. Hopefully we'll
see all the stars on Saturday, but worth noting that
some may need to get themselves healthy before Paris. Also
this weekend, keeping out Friday night, we've got the Skills
(07:33):
Challenge and the Three Point Contest, and then all day
Friday and Saturday in Phoenix the WNBA Live Fan Festival
at the Phoenix Convention Center. Lots of free swag, there,
lots of activities, players popping by, and it's really part
of this new look All Star weekend. If you have
not been to an All Star weekend for WNBA, or
maybe even when years ago, the thing that stood out
(07:53):
to me in recent years was how elevated the experience
has become. The parties, the activations, the sponsor involvement. And
I remember being in Chicago at the All Star Weekend
and just thinking, I wish that all the executives that
are at the top level of major TV networks, major websites,
major brands would start to include it in their trips.
They're taking these regular Johns to the super Bowl or
(08:15):
NBA All Star or f one, but if they included
the WNBA All Star weekend, they'd really get a feel
for just how rabid the fandom is, how much of
an intersection there is with culture and music and fashion,
and how big of an opportunity there is to invest
and cover and care about the w I mean, I
want them to update themselves on the data that's huge,
(08:36):
and thanks to Sports Innovation Lab in Wasserman and others,
we now have these like cold hard facts about fan
interest and watching habits, brand affinity, spending, all of that
stuff that's so important. But also these execs need to
have the experience. And I think going to for instance,
Sue Bird's Crown Royal party and walking through this beautiful
activation highlighting her career achievements, or going to a Jordan
(08:57):
Women's collective party at the Viceroy and Chicago and Young
Jeezy's performing and everyone's hype, Like the people making decisions
need to be there and see it to really understand.
So I hope they're in Phoenix this weekend, sweating their
fucking balls off with us and seeing the magic in person.
Speaking of balls, our next guest knows a thing or
(09:17):
two about them. Basketball's that is joining us now on
the show. Olympic gold medalist, NCAA champion and member of
the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naysmith Hall
of Fame. Now a reporter and color analyst for ESPN,
focusing on women's college basketball and the WNBA. She met
her husband after he shit talked the WNBA in a
(09:38):
column for SI, and she invited him to a game
to see how wrong he was. I guess you could
say it was love at first slight. It's Rebecca Lobo.
What's up? Rebecca?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
That? That could be my favorite introduction effort.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
It's like my favorite story. I am always telling people
that story. And then you saying at your Hall of
Fame speech that one of your kids men's basketball on TV,
and you're like, what, men play basketball too? Like that's
how you know you're raising her?
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Right?
Speaker 1 (10:06):
That's right?
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Yeah, yeah, yep.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
That daughter, she was like four at the time, is
now nineteen and about to enter her junior year at
college Unreal.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
By the way, just in case, I'm not encouraging men
to talk shit about women's sports and the hopes that
it will land you a Hall of Fame. Wife, I
think that's a rare occurrence. Let's stick with being supportive.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
But maybe it will.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Maybe maybe everybody likes to get nagged every once in
a while. I guess that's that's that's what you're showing us. Okay,
we have to talk about the most important thing first,
which is that you made a cameo on Girls five EVA.
And I'm completely obsessed with that show. My husband and
I are like quoting it NonStop. So tell me everything.
I need to know. What it was like hanging out
with Sarah Burrellis and Rinale's Goldsberry and Paulapel and Busy
(10:48):
Phillips and everybody else.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Well, it was awesome.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
So it came to me, I don't know, a year
and a half ago, and I got like an email
from my agent, would you be interested in doing a
cameo on this Girl's five have a show? Canvassing a
number of people And it was taped like right after
the final four And I was like, oh, you know,
I have to go away to Long Island for a
week or something. And my oldest daughter is like, are
you crazy? Of course you have to do this. She's like,
(11:13):
and bring me along with you. And so anyway I
got a chance to do it. Because of their their
COVID regulations. When we taped, I wasn't able to bring
my daughter. But we were at a castle on Long Island.
It's it's where they filmed part of one of the
Taylor Swift videos. You know exactly which one it was,
and it was awesome. I was there for maybe three days,
(11:35):
and there was a ton of downtime. So anybody who's
filmed stuff before knows that you film for you know,
twenty minutes, half hour, and then you might be hanging
out for a couple of hours. And in this castle,
there was this library that was sort of like the
green room, the hangout room.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
So sometimes i'd be in there and like one time,
Sarah Burrella's just went She's like, I'm going to get coffee.
Would you like me to get you some coffee?
Speaker 3 (11:57):
And then we just ended up having this long conversation
about coffee and life and and a variety of things,
and she could not have been more awesome. And then
another one of the moments, when I'm just hanging out
Rene Lee's Goldsberry, we start talking her son is a
high school basketball player. My son's a high school basketball player.
So anyway, we were just talking about that. These women,
(12:19):
Sarah could not have been more cool.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
They were absolutely I love to hear.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
It was a blast.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
And the thing is I hadn't seen the show before
I was asked to do it, so I was like
binge watching, so I knew what was going on. And
I'm sitting I'm watching with my husband like you did,
and we are dying because we were both huge thirty
rock fans.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
And it's so similar to that joint YEP.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
So funny, so funny, and like you know, just a
beautifully written. The actors are amazing. The singing and choreography
was cool. That was one of the other things in
the green room watching like the choreographer teaching the women
how to do certain things that they're going to do.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
And one of the scenes anyway, I'm trying it.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Awesome job. It was the Blank Space video. By the way,
for those who want another Easter egg that mansion that
they filmed, it was from Blank Space. And yeah, I
mean it's just the best show. The Easter eggs are
all over that show. You almost have to like watch
it multiple times to get every single joke in reference
to the nineties and everything else. Okay, I had to
ask you about that because I'm so obsessed and I'm
(13:22):
like literally evangelist for that show. I tell everyone all
the time to watch it. Let's talk great because we
have some like big news in the WNBA today the
media deal that just got announced. The Athletic was first
to report that the league agreed to two point two
billion in new rights deals. We're gonna get a lot
of details to come, but what's your first reaction?
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Awesome, awesome, long time coming. I think there.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
It's reported that it's averaging out to around two hundred
million a year, four times what the current deal is,
at least four times. I'm thrilled for the players because
you know, they'll opt out of the CBA this year,
they'll start negotiating, and I I am thrilled because hopefully
this means that there's going to be a huge spike
in in salaries. We've already seen them get the chartered
(14:07):
flights that they'd been hoping for for the last number
of years. And as you know, everything is driven by
the media rights deal. That's where all the money is
that's where the players are going to get the things
that they want to get. So I'm thrilled that, you know,
if was being reported is accurate, I'm thrilled for them.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
So cool. You know, we had a wild start to
this season, and we've settled down a bit, thankfully. We've
started really focusing on the basketball, which has actually been
really absolutely a little bit of most of us some
of us, yeah we have. Yeah, But before we can
move on, I do want to get your perspective from
the inside on how you handled the sort of hysteria
(14:46):
and unhinged start to this season, Like how much did
it factor how you called games? How much did it
affect the conversations you had with players, because even if
you wanted to ignore it, you could like accidentally step
into some sort of beef was going on, or like
say the wrong thing and have everyone think you were
taking quote a side, like it was almost impossible not
to pay attention just to make sure you didn't get
(15:07):
roped up in it. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I think actually a little bit separate from your question
is that when we started the season, we knew there
was going to be a ton more WNBA, ten more
people watching the WNBA, perhaps for the first time. So
when Ryan and I did that first game, Indiana's first game,
it was the first game of of the season, Indiana
at Connecticut. Anytime there was a different rule in the
WA than we have in college, we explained because we
(15:32):
knew that there was a bunch of new people watching
the game, that they're they're probably there for the first time,
So we understood that piece of it. It wasn't until
you got a few weeks in that like you felt
the other narrative. And when it really hit me was
Ryan and I called the Chicago game at Indiana, the
first game where Kennedy Carter had the foul against Caitlyn Clark,
(15:55):
and it felt like from that moment on, things really
blew up because I had kind of ignored the whole
silly narrative that, you know, the veterans are jealous of
Kate and the Lark, so they're beating her up. Because
I've been watching all the Indiana games, I'm like, no,
have people not been watching the w NBA for the last.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Two decades, Like this is how they defend and yeah,
and yes she was.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
She getting more defensive attention than any player in the
history of the league. Yes, she was, I can say
that with authority, But were they being dirty? And was that,
you know, that fueled by jealousy? I just thought it
was such a stupid narrative that and it didn't really
have teeth until all of a sudden you got the
Kennedy Carter hit and then things just boiled up into
(16:38):
sort of a fervor of ridiculousness.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
And it was super interesting to me. And it's something
that you.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Have to kind of be delicate about because we're thrilled
with all the new attention that the WNBA has, right,
We're thrilled with all the new fans that are watching.
I'm glad they're talking about the WNBA on CNN and
on some sort of more mainstream platforms.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
But then you're like, wait, but why don't you have
people want to actually know what they're talking about? What
are you talking about? So I do, and I do
feel like that's settled down a little bit.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
I do, however, feel like, especially when it comes to
Angel and Caitlin, there's this weird like you can.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Only be a supporter of one or the other. You
can only be team Caitlin or you can only be
team Angel. And I'm like I love watching them both there.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
It's weird the well, and especially in women's sports, I
have eleveny side pieces. Like in men's sports, I do
a much better job of like I hate anyone that's
not my team, and women's like I kind of want
them all to have a good game. It's a problem,
and that's especially the case with Caitlyn and Angel and.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
The interesting thing and of course a lot of this
is fueled by social media, which isn't the real world.
But I do feel like, you know, if I say
something positive about Caitlin, people half the people are going
to interpret it as something negative about Angel, which is ridiculous.
Like I just want to put information out there, like
look how great cheese been, Look how great Angel's been,
Like this is this is amazing, And even when you're
(18:06):
having the Rookie of the Year conversations and debates, like
you don't have to say what you know, this person
is not good at this, like like it's it's it's
a little bit crazy, but I guess that's what you
have in in men's sports, and so some of that
is good as long as we can stay out of
the kind of well, I think.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
It fuels a lot of takes. It fuels a lot
of takes, and that's one of the things that we've
been missing in women's sports, because you need information, and
people need to be informed enough to have a take,
even if it's poorly informed. They need to know enough
to care enough to have a take and get mad
and fight each other on the internet about it. So progress,
I guess.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Yeah, it's I was just on a conference call and
that the China Robinson was on, and she just kind
of brought up the point that you know a lot
of people have used have said negative things, you know
about these women in personal attacks, and it's like that
that's unnecessary, that's unnecessary.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Let's all have our opinions.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
You can like one or the other, but like to
take it to a place it doesn't belong. I think
that's what has kind of concerned people, especially early on.
I feel like we're in a place now.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
But I think I've been so impressed with the rookie class,
in part because of their ability to handle the unhinged
commentary Kitlyn Clark, Angelies, Kate Martin, Cameron Brink before her injury.
Not only were these like business women who were handling
the pressure so well and the eyeballs and playing very well,
making a great transition, but like being able to deal
with the unhinged people who are being not just critical
(19:30):
but mean and downright ugly to what do you attribute
the basketball side their ease in adjusting to the progame.
Is that nil and already sort of being business women?
Is it the skill level in the college game right now.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
In terms of their ability to kind of handle all
of the eyeballs. I think some of that's nil and
just social media anyway. You know, Angel Leaves has had
millions of followers on Instagram, you know, since she was
in college, so she's she's adept at handling that. Caitlyn
Clark the same. In terms of the basketball, I think
you just have such great players in the women's college
game now, in particular those two young women in the
(20:05):
programs are coming from Cameron Brink as well, and kind
of how they've handled themselves. You know, they know how
to be pros from the time they get to college.
They surround themselves with the right people, whether it's trainers
or advisors or whatever it is, so they're a lot
more prepared when they get to the WNBA for this.
And I think We're going to see this in the
next bunch of years too, because there's such an incredible
(20:27):
crop of talent in the college ranks. I mean, at
the top of that list coming out this coming year
most likely as pagebackers, and talk about a player who
knows how to handle theirselfs and all the ways we've
just talked about, and will also be a great player.
It's exciting to see sort of what's going to be
over the next couple of years, the infusion of even
more prepared talent into the league.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Agreed. Agreed, there's some really fun young stars. Speaking of stars,
can you even put into context what we're seeing from
Las Vegas Acas star Asia Wilson this season?
Speaker 2 (20:59):
I don't know that I can. The best context. The
best context is, you.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Know, my colleague Ryan Ruco said she's playing as well
as anyone has in the history of the game. And
I'm one hundred percent agree with that. And I'm the
type of person who, like, I really want to give
something a lot of thought before I say she's playing
better than anyone has in the history.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Of the league. But I'm getting closer and closer to that.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
When I was watching their game the other night, Vegas
against Chicago, and I'm just like, wow, Asia is not
only head and shoulders above anyone else on the floor
on this game, She's heading shoulders above everyone else in
the league right now. And it's what she's doing on
the offensive end and the defensive end. Certainly she's playing
as well as anyone in the history of this league.
Could she be playing better in this stretch than anyone
(21:45):
in the history of the league.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
She might be, she might high praise and right now,
I mean, she is definitely the leader for MVP and
Defensive Player of the Year. And I know at the
beginning of the season, Asia said flat out like she's
motivated by the fourth place vote that she got in
the MVP race last year. And I wonder after the
Olympic break, who do you even see that could make
(22:07):
a run at her and try to steal some votes.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
If Asia continues to play the way she is playing now,
no one. If she continues to play the way she's
playing now, it should be a unanimous m VP. By
the way, I was not the fourth place vote. There's
a like a little sub thread on Twitter that.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Oh to say it was me and they got you
got pointed out for that Oh, okay, I haven't.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
I haven't responded because it's such a stupid thing to say,
but whatever it was on me.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Do you think we should be shipping about that going forward?
To be too hard now because now there's so much
going on with like HATELN and Angel that if you
make the Rookie of the Year votes then it's like, yes.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
I think I think it might be insanity. I think
you might push some voters away.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
If it was transparent, I would be fine with it,
and maybe it would make people more accountable and and
you know, take very seriously the thought that they put
into their different awards. But I think it also might
maybe in a couple of years. Yeah, but yeah, right now, again,
if she comes back from the Olympics healthy and continues
to play the way she's been playing, she's untouch. She
(23:12):
could be the unanimous MVP. I don't know if we've
ever had a unianimous like everybody getting the number because
you vote for five. I don't know if we've ever
had a case where one player has gotten all the
number one votes.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
But if not, she could be that first.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
It'd be this year. We mentioned Caitlyn Clark and Angel
Reese and the fun little rivalry. We can all decide
for ourselves how much they really don't like each other
versus it just being basketball and regular competition. But they're
gonna be teammates this weekend in the All Star Game.
What do you expect? Keep it business like? Do you
think they'll surprise some folks with the little buddy cop
chummy dynamic, just to like shake things up? What do
(23:46):
you expect to see?
Speaker 3 (23:49):
I think it has been like a fun rivalry We've
never you know, we had the angel you know, you
can't see me, you know, after Caitlyn had done it
their junior years in college. But I don't feel like
we've seen anything extra since that moment. You know, when
they when they met in the regional final game, it
was just great basketball. And then you had a three
matchups so far in the w n b A and
(24:11):
you know, he had the one where Kennedy shoved her,
but the other two it's just been great basketball. Two
of the three games were decided by a single point.
So I think I think it's gonna be fun. I
think I think you'll see you know, maybe you'll see
some pick and roll, although that isn't a heavy part
of Angel's game. But Angel run the floor, Katelyn will
give her the ball find It'll be fun. Yeah, hopefully
(24:31):
there will be some of those like little banter moments. Yeah,
I think people would like to.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
See to them at once.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
You can't see us. I want to see that.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
To one of the Olympians.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
Love that.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
But but yeah, like they've they've always been really cool
when talking about one another.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Yeah, we also have a fun fiance versus fiance dynamic
in the game. We got d Wanna Bonner on Team
w NBA taking on Alyssa Thomas on Team USA. They're
usually teammates in the w NBA playing against each other. Okay,
picture this, It's Bonner versus Thomas, one on one. Who
is going harder? In your mind? Who wants and needs
that more?
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Well, I'll say this, like Alyssa Thomas is probably the
most physical defender in the w NBA. Like, she will
lay you out if she needs to, and bump you
and stuff. I would imagine she wouldn't do that toa
to Dowana, But I don't know if it was gonna
be like a you know, do Wanna is the more
gifted like offensive scorers?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
You know, she can hit, you know, drain from the outside.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Alyssa can't really but Alyssa, I don't know that that
would be you know what, that would be a smart
fun thing to do in the All Star Game, like
give it to one of them, probably do wanna and
clear out the other side of the floor Florida. Like,
I don't know how much of that kind of stuff
we're going to get from the Olympic team. I think
a lot for them. This is a real tune up,
a real game. But maybe we'll see some of those
(25:51):
fun moments, like in the past we've seen Britney Grinder
bring the ball down the floor and take a three,
that sort of thing. Maybe we'll see that more from
the w NBA All Stars.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Do you have an all time favorite WNBA All Star moment?
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Gosh, there have been some great ones.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
One of the all time incredible performances, but was by
Shony Shimmel, which was actually the All Star Game was
in Phoenix that year. I don't remember the exact year,
but she came out and she just had so much
flair to her game. But the last time in twenty
twenty one, when the Olympians played the All Stars and
a Rique went off and the All Stars won the game.
That was pretty cool too, because it's always more fun,
(26:28):
of course, when it's competitive and the teams are playing
really hard, and that game was a situation where that
was the case.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
A Rique is an interesting one to say when they're
competitive and it matters, because we've seen her speak out
about the Team USA roster and kind of saying she
pulled herself out of the process because she didn't think
it was fair or an honest process for whatever reason,
and she's gonna she's gonna want to go off in
this game. I could see a Rikue wanting to get MVP,
(26:55):
wanting to beat Team USA and prove some sort of points.
So that's a good one to bring up. We might
see that again, all right, So w n B a
second half. Mercury, Fever Sky and Dream are kind of
the teams that look like they'll be battling for the
seven and eight, those final playoff spots, which too Doc
making the cut.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
Mercury, Fever Sky and Dream the Mercury, I mean, once
they get everybody healthy, I mean they're just so talented
you would imagine that they would be in there. Atlanta
hasn't figured things out. They're really struggling. And even when
Ryan Howard returns, you know, I don't know that they're
gonna they're gonna be.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
In that mix.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Dallas, of course, is a mess right now. You know
they're you know, Si will return. She was a first
team All w NBA member last year, so she could
have a significant impact. Maddie secrets getting healthy as well.
I think that you will have Indiana and Chicago both
in the playoff. In the playoff picture, I forget who
the four are, the Washington Atlanta, below them Dallas and
(27:56):
then the fourth oh in l A. I think both
Chicago and Indiana will be part of the playoff picture
for sure, which would be incredible for just to continue
the ratings and you know, the fan attendance and all
those other things. I mean, people are gonna watch the
other teams.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
What we know that things are being fueled in a
lot of ways by those two teams.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
Last one, give me one big prediction for the second half.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
One big prediction for the second half of the season.
I predict that with a healthy Nafisa Collier, the Minnesota
Links will be challenging to will be challenging to get,
not only to the semi finals, but could make a
real run for that championship series.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
There is a real attempt for there to be a
top trio instead of duo, and the Links keeps being
in and out of that. So I'm excited to watch.
She was not the fourth place vote. Guys. Okay, enough
with that, Rebecca Lovo Hall of Famer al timer, thank
you so much for coming on. We got to take
a quick break. When we come back. The dunk heard
round Chicago. Oh hello again. It's time for the Good
(29:15):
Game Hall of Fame, the segment where we celebrate women's
sports lore and start telling the stories of women's sports history,
just like we do all the stuff the guys did.
Start carving the plaque, find a good place on the wall.
We've got our very first inductee to the Good Game
Hall of Fame, the Good Game Hall of Fame. First,
(29:36):
I want to set the scene for you. I want
you to think back to two thousand and nine. Producer
Mish was probably not born yet. It was two thousand
and nine. Boom boom, pow, hope and change. I'm gonna
let you finish. You remember in her first WNBA All
Star appearance, Sylvia Fowls then a member of the Chicago
Sky made a statement by dunking. Pretty cool, But thirteen years,
(30:02):
two WNBA titles and zero in game dunks later, Fowls,
then with the Minnesota Links, and already having announced that
she'd retire at the end of the season, dunked in
the All Star Game again in Chicago, back where she
used to play. You could damn near here. The crowd
go crazy all the way in Indiana. This is one
of my all time favorite sports moments to witness in person.
(30:25):
Dunking in your final All Star game after not dunking
in a game in thirteen years. The ovaries on this woman,
just zero fear of getting rejected by the rim in
her fourteenth season in the league. One foot out the door,
ready for a life of leisure, and she goes for it. Unreal.
Congrat Sylvia Fowls, You are forever in the Good Game
(30:46):
Hall of Fame, the Good Game Hall of Fame. All right, listeners,
we still need to come up with the name for you.
So far haven't gotten enough good responses. So at Sarah
Spain on Twitter, hit me up, what should we call you?
We love that you're listening, We love that you're here.
But we need to call you something and we want
you to get in the game every day too. So
(31:08):
here's our good game play at the day ahead of
this weekend's WNBA All Star Game. We want to hear
your favorite WNBA All Star moment. You just heard mine
that fouls dunk, But tell us yours. Hit us up
on email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com, or on
social at Sarah Spain on Twitter, or you can even
leave us a voicemail message eight seven two two o
(31:28):
four five seven. Oh, tell us your all time favorite
WNBA All Star moment. Mesh, you got one. You're a
WNBA head, it's your favorite All Star moment.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
I gotta say back in twenty eighteen, when Christy Tolliver
made the All Star Game, DMV product first and foremost
went to Maryland, broke some hearts, aid Duke in six
if you know you know, but yeah, she dropped twenty
three points in that All Star Game, and she is
my goat.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
So I was what tens in twenty eighteenety no baby,
noise play it.
Speaker 4 (32:06):
I was twenty one in twenty eighteen, and that was
just a beautiful moment for me because on the back
half of her career. To see her, you know, get
that light and make the most of it and shine
so bright.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
On that stage was so special to me. Love it, Alex,
you got one, Yeah, I do.
Speaker 5 (32:20):
Mine is a bit more recent. I'm gonna go to
twenty twenty two, and at that time, Brittany Griner was
still being wrongfully detained in Russia, and originally players were
being very tactful about not speaking up too much about it,
thinking that that would help Griner's case. But as the
summer kind of wore on, the strategy changed, and so
that year at All Star all the players came out
(32:42):
for the second half wearing number forty two Grinder jerseys,
and just seeing that level of support from the players
I think helped shift the conversation around Grinder's plight and
move it to a new level.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
Love it. Those are awesome. Send us yours see if
you can keep up with Mesh and Alex. We already
got some great answers to yesterday's question, which was which
athlete in women's sports you'd most want to see a
documentary about. Shout out to our very first emailer, the
first email ever received at Good Game at Wondermedia Network,
dot Com shout out Kevin Lane. His email found our
(33:14):
inbox just eighteen minutes after our episode dropped. Episode one
drops and eighteen minutes later Kevin Lane is in the inbox.
Shout out to Kevin his athlete of choice swin cash
excellent choice, excellent Kevin, Thank you for emailing. We'll get
to more of everybody's answers on tomorrow's show. Keep them coming.
And while we're telling you what to do, you've subscribed
(33:36):
to the Pottery right right, you hit the follow button,
you hit subscribe. Whatever it says on your screen, hit that,
and also rate and review, please, because you know writing
stuff is great. In fact, I just rated something in
my head yesterday. You know that feeling when like legends
in sports like Leslie Visser, Julie Foudi, Kat Austerman, Bonnie
(33:56):
Bernstein message you congratulations on the first episode your new podcast.
You guys get it. You've been there right, five out
of five rating for sure. I'd say the review for
that pumped, psyched, grateful, ready to get back and do
it again. Okay, so you get it. Give it a try, subscribe, rate, review,
It's easy. Thanks for listening. Come back tomorrow. Good Game,
(34:20):
Simone Biles, Good Game, Rebecca Lobo you tweeters accusing Rebecca
of being the fourth place voter. Good Game with Sarah
Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with
Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzi
(34:43):
and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Jenny Kaplan,
Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez and Grace Lynch. Production assistants from
Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain, Sat and
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