July 2, 2025 • 34 mins
It’s a Big Citrus summer hang! Sarah, Alex, and Mish get together to discuss the storylines they’re watching in the WNBA, question the worth of exhibition games during the NWSL hiatus, and share their favorite summer sports traditions (badminton and archery, anyone?). Plus, what season is the citrus season?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're setting
a timer every ninety minutes to remind ourselves to reapply
our sunscreen. Over here at Big Citrus Enterprises, we're still
on summer break and living the good life. But that
doesn't mean we're leaving y'all contentless. So on today's show,
it's a Big Citrus summer hang where we're talking about
our favorite summer sports traditions. Storylines will be watching in
(00:21):
the WNBA, and a couple events going on while we're
out of office, lounging at the pool. It's all coming
up right after this Welcome back slices. I'm joined now
by producer Meshin, producer Alex. What's up Big Citrus Yo? Hello,
(00:42):
we consider summer peak big Citrus time. Yeah, we're right.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I feel like citrus is a winter fruit.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Is it? That's what I'm wondering. It feels like I'm
using it a lot now. But I feel like, you know,
in certain places, whether that's you know, Florida or otherwise,
that are year round nice. It can be really any
time of year.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Yeah, the citru I mean where I'm at, the oranges
have been juicy. The lemons and the limes have been flavorful.
We've been using a lot of them. A lot of
the summer stuff we like to cook has a lot
of citrus in it. So yeah, I think we're at
our best right.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Now, cutting a lot of wedges to put in drinks. Yeah,
just me, Yeah, baby, that's right. We're recording this on
June twenty fifth, just a couple of days ahead of
the start of our summer break and what will eventually
be the start of season two. We're very excited about
season two for the show, but we need a little
bit of rest. So if somehow, some way by the
(01:36):
time you're listening to this and this episode drops, I
don't know. Caitlin Clark was shockingly traded to the Connecticut
Sun in exchange for Blaze, the mascot or Wimbledon decided
to replace all the ball kids at this year's tournament
with rescue dogs. Please make it happen. Just know that
me and Mish and Alex haven't quite gotten there yet,
so our conversation is mostly going to be about what's
(01:58):
going on in sports while we're taking our break, and
one of those things is a couple weeks of WNBA
action before the All Star break. We're gonna come back
and get you all the stuff you need before All
Star weekend. But in the meantime, Misha, I gotta ask
what storylines you're gonna be keeping an eye on during
the break. I know you're gonna be taking your trips
to King's Dominion for roller coaster rides and everything else,
(02:19):
but I know you'll be watching W two.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Oh absolutely, I think you know where I'm gonna start.
Sarah Washington, miss Sticks, Like you said, we're recording this
on June twenty fifth. June twenty fourth is the day
they slayed the Giants. They took out the Minnesota Lynx,
the number one team at this time in the WNBA,
(02:41):
and my Sticks are kind of good on the low,
Like what's up with that? They're just not consistent, and
I think that's the part that's still kind of pinching
me in the ass. But I feel like I can
say that about all the teams this year that are
in spots five through thirteen. So it's not just a
Mystic specific thing, but there's just a lot of really
great basketball being played. I think Seattle, you know I'm
(03:03):
keeping eyes on them. After all of the waterworks and
shared sentiments between Nekka Guomakay and Skyler Diggins after Mekka
one Western Conference Player of the Week. It really put
me in my fields, but it also made me realize,
like this is one of those teams. They're trying to
figure some things out still, but they feel like they're
gonna continue to steadily get better and better and better
(03:25):
with the two of them driving the ship well.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
And Gabby Williams, Yes, has been unreal. If you are
not watching Gabby Williams and what she's been doing in Seattle,
you are missing out in one of the best stories
of the season so far.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Oh Man absolutely like talk about a player who could.
She makes it look effortless on the floor too. That's
the part that gets me. She's so fluid in her movement.
She's so athletic, but she can do so many different things.
She can attack the basket, she can hit a mid range.
Has been struggling with that three ball as of late,
but facilitating extremely, extremely well for that squad. So I'm
(03:58):
keeping my eyes on them for sure. And then the
Golden State Valkyries.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Yeah, be so th real fight Jess Smith is.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yes, they they've surprised a lot of people. But I'll
tell you what. They didn't surprise me.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
And you know why.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
When we first talked about this team, you remember what
I said, this is a team full of six players
of glue players and temmy fact. Ben actually echoed those
sentiments not too long ago in a postgame press conference, saying, like,
we're a bunch of role players. We know how to
do what we need to do individually for their group
to be successful.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
And we talked about a team of a lot of
European players and whether their style of play might be
different enough that it just takes some other teams off
their game for a little while before they could figure
it out.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Yeah, And I've just been so extremely impressed with that squad.
I hope they keep it up. Natalie Nicasse is pressing
all of the right buttons. She's finding a way to
give everybody, you know, whether it's somebody who gets signed
on a hardship contract and comes in for a second,
or you know, somebody who's on for the long run
of the season, Like she's given these players individual confidence
to go out there and be great in whatever it
(05:05):
is they're trying to do. So very very impressed with
the Valkyries.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
I hope we someday get the behind the scenes story
about what happened leading into the Valks first season, because
I just remember during free agency it was like crickets
over there and we're like, why are they not signing
any big players? Why don't any of the stars want
to go there? And I'm so curious now how much
of it was intentional of Natalie having a vision of
what she wanted versus were there players that she really
(05:33):
did want to sign and just weren't willing to maybe
sign a longer deal because they wanted to be a
free agent after one season, Like, I just want to
know the answers.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Right, That's what I was wondering. If they had any
conditions around joining the team whereby they wanted to have
people on longer deals where they were sure they could
use them to continue to build, that they could have
fans grow attached to members of the roster that they
knew would stick around, And if that was really difficult
at a time when most of the players in the
league don't want to be signed past this season, that
(06:02):
could be one explanation for why they struggled to get
those players. But yeah, I think It's a great point, Alex,
because we were watching from Afar, like both questioning what
they were doing on there and also questioning top players
for not wanting to go to a place with incredible resources,
great leadership, super ton of support from the men's side,
(06:22):
Like we thought it would be really cool to be
one of the first players in a valx Jersey, even
if they didn't win a ton right away, and they're
winning a lot more than some other teams that players
chose instead.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
I did just pull up the Valk's salary cap cheat
sheet courtesy or her hoop stats. And even without signing
those big name players though, they weren't able to get
anyone on a longer contract except for Carla Lay and
Kate Martin, both of whom are on contracts that they
signed as rookies. Everyone else is either an unrestricted or
restricted free agent next year, so still could be a
(06:54):
very different look team.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Yeah. I mean, that's just a guess from me that
they might want folks to sign longer term content to be,
you know, a part of this process for longer, but
they also might be thinking, we just need to put
out a team this first season. Once everybody sees the fans,
season ticket holders, the vibes at Balhalla. We're gonna get
some of those free agents to come start that new
(07:16):
part of their career post new CBA with us here,
and boy are those wins gonna help with that. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
And well, one thing that we did find out this week,
we know who's not going to be headed to Golden State.
It's not gonna be Subrinian Sq. I know there were
so many people before the draft, the expansion draft, and
things were like, is Sabrina going to return to the
Bay and become the franchise. It's not happening, she told.
I think it was the post. She told some publication
that she's she plans on spending the rest of her
(07:44):
WNBA career in New York. What's valid?
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Valid?
Speaker 3 (07:47):
They got a good thing going over there. But I'm
right there with you, Alex. I hope that one day
we do get a Golden State documentary so they can
tell us exactly all the ins and outs and everything
that happened behind the scenes. But I'm extremely, extremely impressed
with them.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
By the way, I love sab saying that for loyalty reasons,
but girl.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
What you're doing, I feel so must.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Leverage use your leverage to make them pay your ass.
I mean they think you might be going to the bay,
they're gonna have to up the amount that you're getting.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Maybe there's other things happening behind the scenes that we
don't know about in our preview too.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Alex, I'm sure you're gonna be watching the w in
between checking for the first ripe tomatoes of your harvest
in your garden this summer. So what are you gonna
be keeping an eye on?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Phoenix Mercury. I did not expect them to beeed third
in the standings as of this recording, and uh, I
just want to see if they can keep it going.
I think it's so funny though. I was thinking back
to our early season predictions and we're recording this on
the day that it was confirmed that Dowana Bonnor no
longer with Indiana. They waved her there's a chance she
(08:55):
could be heading to Phoenix, of course to join her
wife Alyssa. But I had this crazy prediction that if
the Fever won a title it would be because of
the off season signing that was Dowanna Bonner. Butcause early
on in the season it mightense they were saying, hey,
she's the glue in the locker room. Hey, her leadership
is invaluable. Clearly it did not work in the long
(09:18):
term or even the short term. So I'm super curious
to see if she ends up with that Mercury team, because,
as we've seen before, just because you get a star
player doesn't necessarily always mean that the results are going.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
To continue going up and up.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
But as for the Mercury, they've been really making it
work with a lot of pieces, and I think it
also speaks to how good of a player Alsa Thomas is.
Right like, she during her time at Connecticut was continually
somebody that should have been in the MVP conversation. Sometimes
she was, sometimes she wasn't, but it was just the respect.
She didn't always get it despite her very good play.
(09:52):
And I think she's showing, hey, it doesn't matter where
I am, I can still bring these same results.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Especially important with Colliacopper missing so many games to start
the season. This is a team that we were like,
oh no, they lost Danna Tarassi, They're gonna be without
Britney Griner. This is going to be a completely different look.
How is this gonna work? And between Alyssa Thomas and
of course to Sabi the Unicorn doing what she does.
They have outperformed my expectations a ton, and they were
(10:17):
for sure one of the teams I was keeping an
eye on two to your point, sitting up there in
third with Ka out for as long as she was
and with a completely new look roster trying to figure
things out has been so impressive.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Yeah, and then just thinking about adding Dewana Bonner.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Yeah, all of that, it's just.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Completely unfair, completely insane. But to your point out, you know,
at the beginning of the season, I don't know if
I was thinking that she was going to be the
reason they wanted championship per se, but I did think,
you know, she was gonna have a very particular kind
of impact on this squad, and I'm kind of sad
to see that it didn't work out that way. But
of course, you know, we never know what's actually happening
(10:56):
in the locker rooms behind the scenes. But I think
Indiana's made it decision about what path they're going to follow.
They're going to be behind Caitlin Clark, which is a
I think that's a pretty pretty good plan, pretty damn
good plan. And Dowana Bonner, I think also deserves to
in year sixteen, this far into her career, to be
somewhere that she feels really good about being. She feels
like she fits, she feels like she's able to contribute
(11:17):
the way she wants to contribute. So it's sad, but
I also feel like this is the best.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
For both parties. And if you look at the advanced
statistics around Lexi Hall, she is whop been. When she
is on the court, the team is playing significantly better.
I don't have the plus minus in front of me,
but her presence on the court changes the style of
play and that works better for them. Even though Dewanna
(11:42):
Bonner is an incredible player, and sometimes it's about fit,
it's about style, and I think they came into the
season expecting things to look different with Bonner out there,
and at least the silver lining is that they figured
out pretty quick it wasn't going to work. And instead
of her sitting on the bench all see and resenting
the decision to go there, and the team being fractured
(12:03):
because they know that they've got this all star sitting
there not being really used right, she's out. Hopefully she
finds a better spot. Although to your point earlier me.
If it ends up being the Mercury, the rest of
the league is going to be cursing the Fever for
not figuring out how to keep her on the roster.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
For sure. Well, in between literally laying down horizontally and
doing absolutely nothing for as long as possible during this break,
potentially getting up occasionally to pet my dogs, I will
be watching some w and one of the things I
will be watching is the Atlanta Dream you just mentioned, Alex.
The Phoenix Mercury are in third, and the Atlanta Dream,
(12:41):
a team that I did not expect to be ballin
with a new roster, brand new pieces to try to
fit together, is getting it done. And a lot of
that is Alisha Gray. Holy shit, is that girl on
one right now? It reminds me of the Gabby Williams.
If you are not watching Dream games as painful as
(13:02):
it is because of that court, I don't know what.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
I agree, I disagree.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I liked the idea of it, and then I tried
to watch a Sky Dream game where the Sky we're
wearing light blue with navy accents, and the Dream we're
wearing navy with light blue accents, and the court was
navy with blue accents, and I was like, I don't
know what's happening. What am I watching right now? So
other than the court, which is a nice idea but
(13:29):
sucks in practice, I'm really enjoying watching this team. And
you should be watching Ali Schagray and watching Britney Griner
on a new squad and finding your way Ryan Howard, whoa.
I mean? Also nice whenever you can play my Chicago Sky,
because you're probably gonna set some sort of three point
record because our perimeter defense is can trash. It's just
(13:49):
team after team plays the Sky and then comes out
of there with some new record for efficiency from beyond
the arc. But yeah, I've just been really surprised by
the Atlanta Dream. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
With Ali Chagre is current averaging the most points per
game she's averaged in her entire career, nineteen point seven
per game. She's the sixth leading scorer in the Wright.
Now you mentioned Ryan Howard, the twelfth leading scorer in
the Wright. Now it's seventeen point seven. Like that's a
two headed monster if I've ever seen one. And it's
just it's the confidence. I think we've watched both of
these players grow over the past few years, you know
(14:20):
what I mean, trying to figure out how to be
the top people on a team for a franchise, be
the leaders. And when you're younger it can be a
little bit harder to step into that role. But they're
really figuring it out, coming into their own and it's
a beautiful thing, man, It's a beautiful thing.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
The other one, I'm gonna be keeping an eye on
the Las Vegas Aces. Listen, y'all. You know I'm not
keeping an eye in the sky because it's painful, but
the fact that the Aces only have two more wins
than my sky at the time of this taping tells
you just how dire things are for a team that
should be much better than that.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Say, I'm gonna make a bold pretty By the time
people are listening to this, I think they're going to
be even in the stand ins.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
The sky and the Aces. Good Lord for that one.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
I'm full of bold predictions.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean you you were the one
who came up with the idea of ball dogs at Wimbledon,
which I'm here for. No, but I mean, this is
still a team with Jackie Young, Asia Wilson, Chelsea Gray,
Jewel Lloyd You should not have that much talent on
the court and be sitting at six wins. You should
(15:33):
not be able to misuse that much talent at this
point in the season. We should have started to figure
it out by now. Six and seven is just not acceptable.
And I know Becky Hammond comes with a tremendous resume.
I'm not blaming her, but also she's not blame less
in trying to figure out how to get these folks
(15:54):
together and get a game plan to get them out
of this hole.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
I'm stumped when it comes to this group because there
have also been moments where they've played their asses off right,
Like I think distinctly back to that last game they
played against the Indiana Fever, it looked like they were
starting to get their lives together a little bit. But
there's just something, some piece is missing, some connection is missing.
When you have one of the best the sisters, the
(16:20):
best point guards in the history of basketball, and you
have one of the most prolific scores in the history
of basketball and jewl Loyd, it doesn't make sense to
be why that's not clicking. And then you've got Asia Wilson,
who admittedly by her own account, has struggled a little
bit offensively. Aliah Boston gave her the work. I can't
lie to you. Aliah Boston gave her the work. The
other night she did.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
She did.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
I saw a social media post where it was like,
Aliah Boston belongs in the rage baiting Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Something she does. It was a good night for bigs.
Camilla Cardoza that same night really went off. Yah, yeah, yeah,
the bigs. The Bigs had a night of it. Yeah.
I mean, it's time to start questioning whether there's a
Deerica Hamby curse.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Occur.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
I'm just saying that ever since Deerica Hanby left and
said there was some bad things going on over there,
that team hasn't seen a title.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
It could be that, or it could be the back
to back curse, you know what I mean, because though
they had some success that that season, right after the
back to back, it's I don't know. It's hard, man.
It changes your psyche once you know you can do it.
It's like, are there more moments where you say, ah,
it doesn't matter as much, or ah, this little detail
isn't as important. You know.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
It's it's hard.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
It's hard to win a championship, and it's even harder to,
you know, have a successful season year in and year out.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
So I don't know.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
I also wonder if Kelsey Plumb is just sit in
LA thinking to herself every time she sees another L
pop up on the screen, like what's changed? Line is.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Well? I mean, needless to say, there's gonna be a
lot to watch in the w while we're gone, and
I will be watching Page Becker's highlights. I don't know
if I'm willing to commit to full Wings games, but
I'm gonna work with Shade because Page is looking good.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
It's kind of like when you get invited to a
JV game for someone that you really love and you're like, oh,
I really want to go support you, but also like.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
The ball is bad. Yeah, the ball is bad. They'll
figure it out, hopefully, because I need her to be
on a team that's thriving, because she looks damn good
and she is smooth with it right now, and so
it's fun to watch except for then, you know the
rest of the game that's happening around her. We got
to take a quick break when we come back. More
(18:43):
happenings while we're on hiatus. Stick around. We're also going
to be off for a couple other sporting events. We're
gonna be off for all of Wimbledon, which will be
fun to watch just as a fan and not try
to get into the show, because tennis is one of
(19:05):
the hardest things for us to put into the show
because of how often the games happen and when we record,
so we're always like, oh, they might be playing again
at five am in Europe or whatever before we get
back on the air. So it'll be fun just to
watch and to catch the games that we're interested in.
We're gonna miss a US women's national team friendly against
our neighbors to the north, Canada. I'm not sure who
(19:25):
to root for there. I mean, I will be rooting
for our team, but not our country. Does that make sense?
Speaker 3 (19:30):
It does, in fact, I understand.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
I'm right there with you, like the idea of our team.
I'm into our actual country. No, So I'll just root
for each individual US women's national team member and somehow
not the whole. Also, every time I go to Canada,
I have such a good time and I'm like, maybe
I should be Canadian. There's so really nice and fun.
(19:59):
We've all that plus we've got a lengthy break for
the NWSL that leads to a bunch of different sort
of summer exhibition matches, a couple quote unquote cups that
honestly feel tenuous. I don't know what they are. I
don't know what they're for. I don't know what happens
if you win or lose them. I think they're just
(20:20):
trying to keep these players active during what is a
very very long international break. And of course, Alex, the
question is always like, where's that fine line between staying
in shape and staying ready for when the season comes back,
versus overuse for a bunch of players that are playing
more soccer than ever.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
I feel like every time I get to this point
in the NWSL season, I look at some of the
programming that they put up in place of the NWSL
games and I just want to be like why. And
I maybe shouldn't admit this as somebody that's you know,
worked in this space for a while, but I sometimes
look at it and I'm like, what is this? Why
are they playing it? What's the stakes?
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Like?
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Uh, it's and it's hard to on that.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Info, right. I think for soccer too, it's like you'd
have to ask all these individual players who are not
on their national teams and not playing in these friendlies
and not playing in these cups, would you rather have
games every once in a while because training straight through
for a month plus y woof, And for them it
might actually be better and more interesting to play a
(21:22):
friendly against Brazil or some other country than it is
to literally just be in whatever city they're in for
a month and a half straight of going to practice
every day with no games on the horizon to look
forward to.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Yeah, for sure, we need to sign out our own
good game with Sarah Spain end up USL player survey
to get their thoughts on this, because I do want
to hear their thoughts and I think that probably their
input is the most important, and in the past, I
will say it hasn't necessarily felt like their voices are
being heard, even just when you consider the whole length
of the season and the fact that they conclude their
season in November, have December off, and then are literally
(21:56):
back at preseason very early on in the new year.
To me, I'm just like, that doesn't always feel like
a recipe for success when you then also couple it
with all of the injuries that we see, and so
finding that balance between players staying in shape, having competitive opportunities,
not having to just run sprints on the field with
their teammates at their home fields.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah, did you hear, Misha, just remembering what running a
sprint was?
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Like?
Speaker 3 (22:21):
No, thank you.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
I know. They skipped out of those whatever they could.
They were like, oh my arm, odd thing is broke.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Oh no, I did them. I was mad the whole time,
but I did them. I did them in soccer and
in basketball. Actually I did them in soccer when we
were playing in the heat outside. I still don't understand
why people decide to do that on purpose. I love
to watch, I love to watch, but yeah, the thought
of training for a month street running sprints and just
being outside in this swampy weather, don't We've talked about
(22:51):
the heat wave, y'all.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Mesh, you've never sound so washed before.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Oh. I'm leaning into it these days.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
I'm leaning And imagine how I feel.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
I've been playing in a field hockey league the last
couple of years, and I think I'm not gonna play
this year. I think I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Why no, no, no, please do it for me, Do
it for me as someone who literally this morning spent
like five minutes telling my trainer how sad I am
that I can't go out and compete in anything. We
were trying to list off things I am physically allowed
to do, and we ended on like golf and bowling,
like I can't even he won't even let me play pickleball.
(23:30):
And that's for like old people who can't walk. They're like,
everyone's playing pickleball. Now you can play, so you're one hundred.
Not you, though, Sarah, your shit's too fucked up, So like,
please play for me.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Well, Alex, you play in the league, and I'll play
pickup for the rest of the summer and we'll count
that as our win.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
For Sarah.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Yeah, I guess so. I just the problem with this
league is that it is an adult league, as in
eighteen plus, as in current college students are playing in it.
And last year my team was old, washed up people
playing against the current college students.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
It was you don't like getting your ass beat.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
It was just not fun. No, no, I really don't.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
So what I'm hearing is you need to recruit Alex.
What I'm hearing is there needs to be some strategy
behind your approach.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
I know, but you guys. In addition to not wanting
to play in the league, the league also has a
tournament where you play four games on a weekend in
the middle of.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
The day, and I'm like, sounds amazing. That's all I
want to do. That's all I want to do with
my weekend. I play sport all day, all weekend.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
I'm sorry, Sarah, you do a freaky Friday moment and.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Go, oh my god. I would trade bodies with a
young person who still got all working original parts, and
I would just play sports original.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
You said all my parts are original.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
I know, I'm out of the count.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
I would just play sports for forty eight trade hours
without taking a break. Oh the joy. So we'll be
missing or maybe not missing some of those soccer games. Plus,
the swimming World Championships are also going to get underway
before we get back for season two, and they're actually
worth keeping an eye on, even if you usually save
your lap watching for the Olympics. Alex, can you tell
(25:14):
us a little bit of why this is one of
the most anticipated World Championships in a while?
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (25:19):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
So big picture here is that I think sometimes when
you're a fan of a team in the WNBA or
and WSL, You're like, I get to see my favorite
athletes every week during the season, three times a week
during the season, and for swimming outside of the Olympics,
you really only get to see the best athletes in
the world go head to head twice during the World Championships,
which are in odd numbered years. It's this summer, and
(25:42):
then you're going to have to wait another two years
until the best in the world are back in the
pool together. And so summer Macintosh absolutely killed it at
Canadian trials a couple of weeks ago, three world records.
A lot of times also athletes are not peaking for
their national team trials, they are peaking for the World
champion So a lot of questions and excitement around what
(26:03):
she could continue to do and the records that could
continue to fall at the World Championships.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Summer.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Macintosh is still so young, She's eighteen years old, and
I think sometimes in a lot of sports, not just swimming,
there's this sense of like they're only going to continue
to get better and better and better. And as Katie
Ladeki has shown, she is still an incredible athlete, but
it has been hard for her to get back to
some of those times that she set at a similarly
young age. Katie, though, has been swimming some of the
fastest times that she has had in a very long time,
(26:31):
and so I'm really excited to see her back in
the pool competing at such a big event.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Yeah, I have to admit that even as an athlete myself,
I wasn't completely aware of the age ranges for women
and when they're at their peaks, and particularly for sports
like swimming, track and field, there are plateaus that occur
for a lot of women at certain ages, and the
current system is sort of set up along the lines
(26:56):
of peaks for men, which happened in their early twenties,
and for a lot lot of women, their peaks happen
very young, before puberty really hits and takes its toll
and some of the changes hormonally happen, and then later
in their late twenties is another peak for women. So
to your point, Summer Macadosh may be hitting it right
now at eighteen, and then might plateau for a while
(27:17):
and might never get back to what she's doing now.
Hopefully that's not the case, because what we've seen from
her so far has been truly unbelievable. And whenever you
have someone coming around kind of near the tail end
of a legendary figure like Katie Ladecci, who you think
will never be caught up to, will never see her
records touch, will never be you know, in the same
(27:38):
conversation with anyone else, and then this person starts to
show up at the tail end and you're like, ooh,
we might be in for something even more special or
a real challenge here. It's just so fun. So rarely
do I make time for swimming World Championships, but this
is one worth tuning into. So without NWSL, PWHL, volleyball,
there's a lot of sports on hiatus right now. We've
(27:59):
got our WNBA, We've got another couple of things to watch,
but we will have more time to play. So Alex
will be playing field hockey. I have made that assignment.
I'm not your boss, but I'm going to tell you
that you have to do it. Mesh, gotta keep playing
pick up.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
Yeah, yeah, I gotta find an outdoor court that's not
like straight up cement or straight up assphole. That's my
only thing.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
I need, Clay, what are we doing here? She's like,
I'm not good on the hardcourts anymore.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
No, because the way my back and my neck and
spine have been feeling, it's giving your you're doing a
little too much. It's it's too much impact. But maybe
that just means I need to move indoors and it's
hot to outside, so it's giving that anyways, Okay, And
they still run pick up inside the local La Fitness,
so I'm had to get in there with you.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Hey, what I want you to do? You know that
new w NBA initiative where they're painting a w NBA
three point line. Yeah, I want you to go rogue
neighborhood court, bring up the can of spray paint.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Yeah, yeah, make your own line and then start school.
And some people do you guys have any summer competition
traditions with friends or family that aren't part of the
leagues you're in.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Last year, I had a great one with a friend
whose father knows a lot about archery, and so to
celebrate the Olympics, I've got to try archery for the
first time, which was so fun, so fun, so fun.
I don't think that's happening again this summer. But sometimes
you get a good volleyball game together on the beach,
which we play with more than two players on each
(29:27):
side of the court because it's so hard.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Yeah, that's required if you're not a professional level player.
It's hard with four, it's hard with six. It's hard period.
Ever since Gina Davis was trying to get to the
Olympics and archery, that's been like a dream of mine
to just be like an old ass archer because I
was really good in summer camp. I haven't tried it
and I don't know thirty years, but I feel like
(29:50):
I still got it.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
You probably do. It's mind over matter.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Is that on the list of allowed activities?
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Maybe archery is my sport. I mean I completely jacked
up my arm, my shoulder and javelin. But give it
a shot. Means do you have a summer competition?
Speaker 3 (30:06):
Yeah, it's giving. I will be having a little drink
or drink and playing spades as much as possible. Yeah,
with friends, with family, with strangers. It don't matter. As
long as you don't renig be good.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Okay, do you take their money?
Speaker 3 (30:21):
No, I don't play for money because when you when
you introduce money for me, it gets to a different
level that I don't really want to tap back into
you know what I mean, I've left that version of
me in the past because I guess that person is
what you would call a red ass Sarah. That person
I would call that he is not a kind person.
(30:43):
Playing for money, no, So I'm just gonna keep it cool.
I'm gonna keep it cute, play for fun, play for
for for bragging rights. But spades is my go to.
And then what's the what's the game with the little
It's a little ball with like feathers on the back
of it and you hit it with a bad as
that's the one.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
That would be a shuttlecock.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Oh, I have so many badminton fun facts.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Why am I not surprised that Mesh couldn't remember a shuttlecock?
Not interested? Shuttle that cock on out of here, because
I ain't interested. Badminton's fun. That's what we used to
play a lot and my parents place in Michigan growing up,
we had a net. We kind of tried for volleyball,
and then we realized that we were racket people because
(31:25):
we all grew up playing tennis, so we became badminton folks.
We do have a croquet set up in Michigan that
is that is a sport I can still play. So
maybe I'll start just challenging. Maybe I'll get really good
at croquet, and then I'll wear the outfits from the
movie Heathers, which is well before your time. But I
could put on a cute little pleated skirt and just
(31:46):
roll some people in croquet. Who's Heather Heathers. There were
several Heathers in the movie. You'll have to go back
and watch it.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
I have a neighbor who has a I want to
say professional croquet court, but I actually don't know what
a professional croquet court is. But it is an ass
stroked her corquet field. And he has people over fairly regularly,
a couple times a week, and they all wear their
croquet whites.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
I'll be right over.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
I think he's a Trump supporter, so not so much.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Oh, flight canceled. All right, I'm excited to watch and
play whatever I'm still allowed to play. I'll be living
vicariously through both of you. We got to take a break, y'all.
When we come back. Holy guacamolely welcome back slices. Even
(32:37):
though we're out of office, we still love hearing from you,
so hit us up on email Good Game at wondermedianetwork
dot com or leave us a voicemail at eight seven
two two oh four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe,
rate and review. It's real easy watch having perfectly ripe
avocados but no lines, rating one out of one missed
opportunities review. Finding an avocado at a perfectly ripe stage
(33:00):
is basically a miracle. Not too hard, not too brown,
perfect for guak, you think, and then you're halfway through
chopping it up when you realize, wait, do I have
any limes? No? The answer is no, and so your
gualk becomes just avocado with cilantro, holopeno and onions, And
to be honest, it's still delicious. But everyone, especially some
(33:21):
min nosrat, knows you need salt, fat, heat, and acid.
So on that note, I'm going to get some limes
for the next batch. It's almost time for my Fourth
of July party. Good Game, Fourth of July, Good Game.
Fireworks also you know what you fireworks got a lot
of scared dogs in this house. Good Game with Sarah
Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with
(33:44):
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 Azzi
and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutter,
Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer
(34:05):
is Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're setting
a timer every ninety minutes to remind ourselves to reapply
our sunscreen. Over here at Big Citrus Enterprises, we're still
on summer break and living the good life. But that
doesn't mean we're leaving y'all contentless. So on today's show,
it's a Big Citrus summer hang where we're talking about
our favorite summer sports traditions. Storylines will be watching in
(00:21):
the WNBA, and a couple events going on while we're
out of office, lounging at the pool. It's all coming
up right after this Welcome back slices. I'm joined now
by producer Meshin, producer Alex. What's up Big Citrus Yo? Hello,
(00:42):
we consider summer peak big Citrus time. Yeah, we're right.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I feel like citrus is a winter fruit.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Is it? That's what I'm wondering. It feels like I'm
using it a lot now. But I feel like, you know,
in certain places, whether that's you know, Florida or otherwise,
that are year round nice. It can be really any
time of year.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Yeah, the citru I mean where I'm at, the oranges
have been juicy. The lemons and the limes have been flavorful.
We've been using a lot of them. A lot of
the summer stuff we like to cook has a lot
of citrus in it. So yeah, I think we're at
our best right.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Now, cutting a lot of wedges to put in drinks. Yeah,
just me, Yeah, baby, that's right. We're recording this on
June twenty fifth, just a couple of days ahead of
the start of our summer break and what will eventually
be the start of season two. We're very excited about
season two for the show, but we need a little
bit of rest. So if somehow, some way by the
(01:36):
time you're listening to this and this episode drops, I
don't know. Caitlin Clark was shockingly traded to the Connecticut
Sun in exchange for Blaze, the mascot or Wimbledon decided
to replace all the ball kids at this year's tournament
with rescue dogs. Please make it happen. Just know that
me and Mish and Alex haven't quite gotten there yet,
so our conversation is mostly going to be about what's
(01:58):
going on in sports while we're taking our break, and
one of those things is a couple weeks of WNBA
action before the All Star break. We're gonna come back
and get you all the stuff you need before All
Star weekend. But in the meantime, Misha, I gotta ask
what storylines you're gonna be keeping an eye on during
the break. I know you're gonna be taking your trips
to King's Dominion for roller coaster rides and everything else,
(02:19):
but I know you'll be watching W two.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Oh absolutely, I think you know where I'm gonna start.
Sarah Washington, miss Sticks, Like you said, we're recording this
on June twenty fifth. June twenty fourth is the day
they slayed the Giants. They took out the Minnesota Lynx,
the number one team at this time in the WNBA,
(02:41):
and my Sticks are kind of good on the low,
Like what's up with that? They're just not consistent, and
I think that's the part that's still kind of pinching
me in the ass. But I feel like I can
say that about all the teams this year that are
in spots five through thirteen. So it's not just a
Mystic specific thing, but there's just a lot of really
great basketball being played. I think Seattle, you know I'm
(03:03):
keeping eyes on them. After all of the waterworks and
shared sentiments between Nekka Guomakay and Skyler Diggins after Mekka
one Western Conference Player of the Week. It really put
me in my fields, but it also made me realize,
like this is one of those teams. They're trying to
figure some things out still, but they feel like they're
gonna continue to steadily get better and better and better
(03:25):
with the two of them driving the ship well.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
And Gabby Williams, Yes, has been unreal. If you are
not watching Gabby Williams and what she's been doing in Seattle,
you are missing out in one of the best stories
of the season so far.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Oh Man absolutely like talk about a player who could.
She makes it look effortless on the floor too. That's
the part that gets me. She's so fluid in her movement.
She's so athletic, but she can do so many different things.
She can attack the basket, she can hit a mid range.
Has been struggling with that three ball as of late,
but facilitating extremely, extremely well for that squad. So I'm
(03:58):
keeping my eyes on them for sure. And then the
Golden State Valkyries.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Yeah, be so th real fight Jess Smith is.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yes, they they've surprised a lot of people. But I'll
tell you what. They didn't surprise me.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
And you know why.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
When we first talked about this team, you remember what
I said, this is a team full of six players
of glue players and temmy fact. Ben actually echoed those
sentiments not too long ago in a postgame press conference, saying, like,
we're a bunch of role players. We know how to
do what we need to do individually for their group
to be successful.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
And we talked about a team of a lot of
European players and whether their style of play might be
different enough that it just takes some other teams off
their game for a little while before they could figure
it out.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Yeah, And I've just been so extremely impressed with that squad.
I hope they keep it up. Natalie Nicasse is pressing
all of the right buttons. She's finding a way to
give everybody, you know, whether it's somebody who gets signed
on a hardship contract and comes in for a second,
or you know, somebody who's on for the long run
of the season, Like she's given these players individual confidence
to go out there and be great in whatever it
(05:05):
is they're trying to do. So very very impressed with
the Valkyries.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
I hope we someday get the behind the scenes story
about what happened leading into the Valks first season, because
I just remember during free agency it was like crickets
over there and we're like, why are they not signing
any big players? Why don't any of the stars want
to go there? And I'm so curious now how much
of it was intentional of Natalie having a vision of
what she wanted versus were there players that she really
(05:33):
did want to sign and just weren't willing to maybe
sign a longer deal because they wanted to be a
free agent after one season, Like, I just want to
know the answers.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Right, That's what I was wondering. If they had any
conditions around joining the team whereby they wanted to have
people on longer deals where they were sure they could
use them to continue to build, that they could have
fans grow attached to members of the roster that they
knew would stick around, And if that was really difficult
at a time when most of the players in the
league don't want to be signed past this season, that
(06:02):
could be one explanation for why they struggled to get
those players. But yeah, I think It's a great point, Alex,
because we were watching from Afar, like both questioning what
they were doing on there and also questioning top players
for not wanting to go to a place with incredible resources,
great leadership, super ton of support from the men's side,
(06:22):
Like we thought it would be really cool to be
one of the first players in a valx Jersey, even
if they didn't win a ton right away, and they're
winning a lot more than some other teams that players
chose instead.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
I did just pull up the Valk's salary cap cheat
sheet courtesy or her hoop stats. And even without signing
those big name players though, they weren't able to get
anyone on a longer contract except for Carla Lay and
Kate Martin, both of whom are on contracts that they
signed as rookies. Everyone else is either an unrestricted or
restricted free agent next year, so still could be a
(06:54):
very different look team.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Yeah. I mean, that's just a guess from me that
they might want folks to sign longer term content to be,
you know, a part of this process for longer, but
they also might be thinking, we just need to put
out a team this first season. Once everybody sees the fans,
season ticket holders, the vibes at Balhalla. We're gonna get
some of those free agents to come start that new
(07:16):
part of their career post new CBA with us here,
and boy are those wins gonna help with that. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
And well, one thing that we did find out this week,
we know who's not going to be headed to Golden State.
It's not gonna be Subrinian Sq. I know there were
so many people before the draft, the expansion draft, and
things were like, is Sabrina going to return to the
Bay and become the franchise. It's not happening, she told.
I think it was the post. She told some publication
that she's she plans on spending the rest of her
(07:44):
WNBA career in New York. What's valid?
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Valid?
Speaker 3 (07:47):
They got a good thing going over there. But I'm
right there with you, Alex. I hope that one day
we do get a Golden State documentary so they can
tell us exactly all the ins and outs and everything
that happened behind the scenes. But I'm extremely, extremely impressed
with them.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
By the way, I love sab saying that for loyalty reasons,
but girl.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
What you're doing, I feel so must.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Leverage use your leverage to make them pay your ass.
I mean they think you might be going to the bay,
they're gonna have to up the amount that you're getting.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Maybe there's other things happening behind the scenes that we
don't know about in our preview too.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Alex, I'm sure you're gonna be watching the w in
between checking for the first ripe tomatoes of your harvest
in your garden this summer. So what are you gonna
be keeping an eye on?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Phoenix Mercury. I did not expect them to beeed third
in the standings as of this recording, and uh, I
just want to see if they can keep it going.
I think it's so funny though. I was thinking back
to our early season predictions and we're recording this on
the day that it was confirmed that Dowana Bonnor no
longer with Indiana. They waved her there's a chance she
(08:55):
could be heading to Phoenix, of course to join her
wife Alyssa. But I had this crazy prediction that if
the Fever won a title it would be because of
the off season signing that was Dowanna Bonner. Butcause early
on in the season it mightense they were saying, hey,
she's the glue in the locker room. Hey, her leadership
is invaluable. Clearly it did not work in the long
(09:18):
term or even the short term. So I'm super curious
to see if she ends up with that Mercury team, because,
as we've seen before, just because you get a star
player doesn't necessarily always mean that the results are going.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
To continue going up and up.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
But as for the Mercury, they've been really making it
work with a lot of pieces, and I think it
also speaks to how good of a player Alsa Thomas is.
Right like, she during her time at Connecticut was continually
somebody that should have been in the MVP conversation. Sometimes
she was, sometimes she wasn't, but it was just the respect.
She didn't always get it despite her very good play.
(09:52):
And I think she's showing, hey, it doesn't matter where
I am, I can still bring these same results.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Especially important with Colliacopper missing so many games to start
the season. This is a team that we were like,
oh no, they lost Danna Tarassi, They're gonna be without
Britney Griner. This is going to be a completely different look.
How is this gonna work? And between Alyssa Thomas and
of course to Sabi the Unicorn doing what she does.
They have outperformed my expectations a ton, and they were
(10:17):
for sure one of the teams I was keeping an
eye on two to your point, sitting up there in
third with Ka out for as long as she was
and with a completely new look roster trying to figure
things out has been so impressive.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Yeah, and then just thinking about adding Dewana Bonner.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Yeah, all of that, it's just.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Completely unfair, completely insane. But to your point out, you know,
at the beginning of the season, I don't know if
I was thinking that she was going to be the
reason they wanted championship per se, but I did think,
you know, she was gonna have a very particular kind
of impact on this squad, and I'm kind of sad
to see that it didn't work out that way. But
of course, you know, we never know what's actually happening
(10:56):
in the locker rooms behind the scenes. But I think
Indiana's made it decision about what path they're going to follow.
They're going to be behind Caitlin Clark, which is a
I think that's a pretty pretty good plan, pretty damn
good plan. And Dowana Bonner, I think also deserves to
in year sixteen, this far into her career, to be
somewhere that she feels really good about being. She feels
like she fits, she feels like she's able to contribute
(11:17):
the way she wants to contribute. So it's sad, but
I also feel like this is the best.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
For both parties. And if you look at the advanced
statistics around Lexi Hall, she is whop been. When she
is on the court, the team is playing significantly better.
I don't have the plus minus in front of me,
but her presence on the court changes the style of
play and that works better for them. Even though Dewanna
(11:42):
Bonner is an incredible player, and sometimes it's about fit,
it's about style, and I think they came into the
season expecting things to look different with Bonner out there,
and at least the silver lining is that they figured
out pretty quick it wasn't going to work. And instead
of her sitting on the bench all see and resenting
the decision to go there, and the team being fractured
(12:03):
because they know that they've got this all star sitting
there not being really used right, she's out. Hopefully she
finds a better spot. Although to your point earlier me.
If it ends up being the Mercury, the rest of
the league is going to be cursing the Fever for
not figuring out how to keep her on the roster.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
For sure. Well, in between literally laying down horizontally and
doing absolutely nothing for as long as possible during this break,
potentially getting up occasionally to pet my dogs, I will
be watching some w and one of the things I
will be watching is the Atlanta Dream you just mentioned, Alex.
The Phoenix Mercury are in third, and the Atlanta Dream,
(12:41):
a team that I did not expect to be ballin
with a new roster, brand new pieces to try to
fit together, is getting it done. And a lot of
that is Alisha Gray. Holy shit, is that girl on
one right now? It reminds me of the Gabby Williams.
If you are not watching Dream games as painful as
(13:02):
it is because of that court, I don't know what.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
I agree, I disagree.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I liked the idea of it, and then I tried
to watch a Sky Dream game where the Sky we're
wearing light blue with navy accents, and the Dream we're
wearing navy with light blue accents, and the court was
navy with blue accents, and I was like, I don't
know what's happening. What am I watching right now? So
other than the court, which is a nice idea but
(13:29):
sucks in practice, I'm really enjoying watching this team. And
you should be watching Ali Schagray and watching Britney Griner
on a new squad and finding your way Ryan Howard, whoa.
I mean? Also nice whenever you can play my Chicago Sky,
because you're probably gonna set some sort of three point
record because our perimeter defense is can trash. It's just
(13:49):
team after team plays the Sky and then comes out
of there with some new record for efficiency from beyond
the arc. But yeah, I've just been really surprised by
the Atlanta Dream. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
With Ali Chagre is current averaging the most points per
game she's averaged in her entire career, nineteen point seven
per game. She's the sixth leading scorer in the Wright.
Now you mentioned Ryan Howard, the twelfth leading scorer in
the Wright. Now it's seventeen point seven. Like that's a
two headed monster if I've ever seen one. And it's
just it's the confidence. I think we've watched both of
these players grow over the past few years, you know
(14:20):
what I mean, trying to figure out how to be
the top people on a team for a franchise, be
the leaders. And when you're younger it can be a
little bit harder to step into that role. But they're
really figuring it out, coming into their own and it's
a beautiful thing, man, It's a beautiful thing.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
The other one, I'm gonna be keeping an eye on
the Las Vegas Aces. Listen, y'all. You know I'm not
keeping an eye in the sky because it's painful, but
the fact that the Aces only have two more wins
than my sky at the time of this taping tells
you just how dire things are for a team that
should be much better than that.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Say, I'm gonna make a bold pretty By the time
people are listening to this, I think they're going to
be even in the stand ins.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
The sky and the Aces. Good Lord for that one.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
I'm full of bold predictions.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean you you were the one
who came up with the idea of ball dogs at Wimbledon,
which I'm here for. No, but I mean, this is
still a team with Jackie Young, Asia Wilson, Chelsea Gray,
Jewel Lloyd You should not have that much talent on
the court and be sitting at six wins. You should
(15:33):
not be able to misuse that much talent at this
point in the season. We should have started to figure
it out by now. Six and seven is just not acceptable.
And I know Becky Hammond comes with a tremendous resume.
I'm not blaming her, but also she's not blame less
in trying to figure out how to get these folks
(15:54):
together and get a game plan to get them out
of this hole.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
I'm stumped when it comes to this group because there
have also been moments where they've played their asses off right,
Like I think distinctly back to that last game they
played against the Indiana Fever, it looked like they were
starting to get their lives together a little bit. But
there's just something, some piece is missing, some connection is missing.
When you have one of the best the sisters, the
(16:20):
best point guards in the history of basketball, and you
have one of the most prolific scores in the history
of basketball and jewl Loyd, it doesn't make sense to
be why that's not clicking. And then you've got Asia Wilson,
who admittedly by her own account, has struggled a little
bit offensively. Aliah Boston gave her the work. I can't
lie to you. Aliah Boston gave her the work. The
other night she did.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
She did.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
I saw a social media post where it was like,
Aliah Boston belongs in the rage baiting Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Something she does. It was a good night for bigs.
Camilla Cardoza that same night really went off. Yah, yeah, yeah,
the bigs. The Bigs had a night of it. Yeah.
I mean, it's time to start questioning whether there's a
Deerica Hamby curse.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Occur.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
I'm just saying that ever since Deerica Hanby left and
said there was some bad things going on over there,
that team hasn't seen a title.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
It could be that, or it could be the back
to back curse, you know what I mean, because though
they had some success that that season, right after the
back to back, it's I don't know. It's hard, man.
It changes your psyche once you know you can do it.
It's like, are there more moments where you say, ah,
it doesn't matter as much, or ah, this little detail
isn't as important. You know.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
It's it's hard.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
It's hard to win a championship, and it's even harder to,
you know, have a successful season year in and year out.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
So I don't know.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
I also wonder if Kelsey Plumb is just sit in
LA thinking to herself every time she sees another L
pop up on the screen, like what's changed? Line is.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Well? I mean, needless to say, there's gonna be a
lot to watch in the w while we're gone, and
I will be watching Page Becker's highlights. I don't know
if I'm willing to commit to full Wings games, but
I'm gonna work with Shade because Page is looking good.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
It's kind of like when you get invited to a
JV game for someone that you really love and you're like, oh,
I really want to go support you, but also like.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
The ball is bad. Yeah, the ball is bad. They'll
figure it out, hopefully, because I need her to be
on a team that's thriving, because she looks damn good
and she is smooth with it right now, and so
it's fun to watch except for then, you know the
rest of the game that's happening around her. We got
to take a quick break when we come back. More
(18:43):
happenings while we're on hiatus. Stick around. We're also going
to be off for a couple other sporting events. We're
gonna be off for all of Wimbledon, which will be
fun to watch just as a fan and not try
to get into the show, because tennis is one of
(19:05):
the hardest things for us to put into the show
because of how often the games happen and when we record,
so we're always like, oh, they might be playing again
at five am in Europe or whatever before we get
back on the air. So it'll be fun just to
watch and to catch the games that we're interested in.
We're gonna miss a US women's national team friendly against
our neighbors to the north, Canada. I'm not sure who
(19:25):
to root for there. I mean, I will be rooting
for our team, but not our country. Does that make sense?
Speaker 3 (19:30):
It does, in fact, I understand.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
I'm right there with you, like the idea of our team.
I'm into our actual country. No, So I'll just root
for each individual US women's national team member and somehow
not the whole. Also, every time I go to Canada,
I have such a good time and I'm like, maybe
I should be Canadian. There's so really nice and fun.
(19:59):
We've all that plus we've got a lengthy break for
the NWSL that leads to a bunch of different sort
of summer exhibition matches, a couple quote unquote cups that
honestly feel tenuous. I don't know what they are. I
don't know what they're for. I don't know what happens
if you win or lose them. I think they're just
(20:20):
trying to keep these players active during what is a
very very long international break. And of course, Alex, the
question is always like, where's that fine line between staying
in shape and staying ready for when the season comes back,
versus overuse for a bunch of players that are playing
more soccer than ever.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
I feel like every time I get to this point
in the NWSL season, I look at some of the
programming that they put up in place of the NWSL
games and I just want to be like why. And
I maybe shouldn't admit this as somebody that's you know,
worked in this space for a while, but I sometimes
look at it and I'm like, what is this? Why
are they playing it? What's the stakes?
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Like?
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Uh, it's and it's hard to on that.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Info, right. I think for soccer too, it's like you'd
have to ask all these individual players who are not
on their national teams and not playing in these friendlies
and not playing in these cups, would you rather have
games every once in a while because training straight through
for a month plus y woof, And for them it
might actually be better and more interesting to play a
(21:22):
friendly against Brazil or some other country than it is
to literally just be in whatever city they're in for
a month and a half straight of going to practice
every day with no games on the horizon to look
forward to.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Yeah, for sure, we need to sign out our own
good game with Sarah Spain end up USL player survey
to get their thoughts on this, because I do want
to hear their thoughts and I think that probably their
input is the most important, and in the past, I
will say it hasn't necessarily felt like their voices are
being heard, even just when you consider the whole length
of the season and the fact that they conclude their
season in November, have December off, and then are literally
(21:56):
back at preseason very early on in the new year.
To me, I'm just like, that doesn't always feel like
a recipe for success when you then also couple it
with all of the injuries that we see, and so
finding that balance between players staying in shape, having competitive opportunities,
not having to just run sprints on the field with
their teammates at their home fields.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah, did you hear, Misha, just remembering what running a
sprint was?
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Like?
Speaker 3 (22:21):
No, thank you.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
I know. They skipped out of those whatever they could.
They were like, oh my arm, odd thing is broke.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Oh no, I did them. I was mad the whole time,
but I did them. I did them in soccer and
in basketball. Actually I did them in soccer when we
were playing in the heat outside. I still don't understand
why people decide to do that on purpose. I love
to watch, I love to watch, but yeah, the thought
of training for a month street running sprints and just
being outside in this swampy weather, don't We've talked about
(22:51):
the heat wave, y'all.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Mesh, you've never sound so washed before.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Oh. I'm leaning into it these days.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
I'm leaning And imagine how I feel.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
I've been playing in a field hockey league the last
couple of years, and I think I'm not gonna play
this year. I think I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Why no, no, no, please do it for me, Do
it for me as someone who literally this morning spent
like five minutes telling my trainer how sad I am
that I can't go out and compete in anything. We
were trying to list off things I am physically allowed
to do, and we ended on like golf and bowling,
like I can't even he won't even let me play pickleball.
(23:30):
And that's for like old people who can't walk. They're like,
everyone's playing pickleball. Now you can play, so you're one hundred.
Not you, though, Sarah, your shit's too fucked up, So like,
please play for me.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Well, Alex, you play in the league, and I'll play
pickup for the rest of the summer and we'll count
that as our win.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
For Sarah.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Yeah, I guess so. I just the problem with this
league is that it is an adult league, as in
eighteen plus, as in current college students are playing in it.
And last year my team was old, washed up people
playing against the current college students.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
It was you don't like getting your ass beat.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
It was just not fun. No, no, I really don't.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
So what I'm hearing is you need to recruit Alex.
What I'm hearing is there needs to be some strategy
behind your approach.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
I know, but you guys. In addition to not wanting
to play in the league, the league also has a
tournament where you play four games on a weekend in
the middle of.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
The day, and I'm like, sounds amazing. That's all I
want to do. That's all I want to do with
my weekend. I play sport all day, all weekend.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
I'm sorry, Sarah, you do a freaky Friday moment and.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Go, oh my god. I would trade bodies with a
young person who still got all working original parts, and
I would just play sports original.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
You said all my parts are original.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
I know, I'm out of the count.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
I would just play sports for forty eight trade hours
without taking a break. Oh the joy. So we'll be
missing or maybe not missing some of those soccer games. Plus,
the swimming World Championships are also going to get underway
before we get back for season two, and they're actually
worth keeping an eye on, even if you usually save
your lap watching for the Olympics. Alex, can you tell
(25:14):
us a little bit of why this is one of
the most anticipated World Championships in a while?
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (25:19):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
So big picture here is that I think sometimes when
you're a fan of a team in the WNBA or
and WSL, You're like, I get to see my favorite
athletes every week during the season, three times a week
during the season, and for swimming outside of the Olympics,
you really only get to see the best athletes in
the world go head to head twice during the World Championships,
which are in odd numbered years. It's this summer, and
(25:42):
then you're going to have to wait another two years
until the best in the world are back in the
pool together. And so summer Macintosh absolutely killed it at
Canadian trials a couple of weeks ago, three world records.
A lot of times also athletes are not peaking for
their national team trials, they are peaking for the World
champion So a lot of questions and excitement around what
(26:03):
she could continue to do and the records that could
continue to fall at the World Championships.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Summer.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Macintosh is still so young, She's eighteen years old, and
I think sometimes in a lot of sports, not just swimming,
there's this sense of like they're only going to continue
to get better and better and better. And as Katie
Ladeki has shown, she is still an incredible athlete, but
it has been hard for her to get back to
some of those times that she set at a similarly
young age. Katie, though, has been swimming some of the
fastest times that she has had in a very long time,
(26:31):
and so I'm really excited to see her back in
the pool competing at such a big event.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Yeah, I have to admit that even as an athlete myself,
I wasn't completely aware of the age ranges for women
and when they're at their peaks, and particularly for sports
like swimming, track and field, there are plateaus that occur
for a lot of women at certain ages, and the
current system is sort of set up along the lines
(26:56):
of peaks for men, which happened in their early twenties,
and for a lot lot of women, their peaks happen
very young, before puberty really hits and takes its toll
and some of the changes hormonally happen, and then later
in their late twenties is another peak for women. So
to your point, Summer Macadosh may be hitting it right
now at eighteen, and then might plateau for a while
(27:17):
and might never get back to what she's doing now.
Hopefully that's not the case, because what we've seen from
her so far has been truly unbelievable. And whenever you
have someone coming around kind of near the tail end
of a legendary figure like Katie Ladecci, who you think
will never be caught up to, will never see her
records touch, will never be you know, in the same
(27:38):
conversation with anyone else, and then this person starts to
show up at the tail end and you're like, ooh,
we might be in for something even more special or
a real challenge here. It's just so fun. So rarely
do I make time for swimming World Championships, but this
is one worth tuning into. So without NWSL, PWHL, volleyball,
there's a lot of sports on hiatus right now. We've
(27:59):
got our WNBA, We've got another couple of things to watch,
but we will have more time to play. So Alex
will be playing field hockey. I have made that assignment.
I'm not your boss, but I'm going to tell you
that you have to do it. Mesh, gotta keep playing
pick up.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
Yeah, yeah, I gotta find an outdoor court that's not
like straight up cement or straight up assphole. That's my
only thing.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
I need, Clay, what are we doing here? She's like,
I'm not good on the hardcourts anymore.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
No, because the way my back and my neck and
spine have been feeling, it's giving your you're doing a
little too much. It's it's too much impact. But maybe
that just means I need to move indoors and it's
hot to outside, so it's giving that anyways, Okay, And
they still run pick up inside the local La Fitness,
so I'm had to get in there with you.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Hey, what I want you to do? You know that
new w NBA initiative where they're painting a w NBA
three point line. Yeah, I want you to go rogue
neighborhood court, bring up the can of spray paint.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Yeah, yeah, make your own line and then start school.
And some people do you guys have any summer competition
traditions with friends or family that aren't part of the
leagues you're in.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Last year, I had a great one with a friend
whose father knows a lot about archery, and so to
celebrate the Olympics, I've got to try archery for the
first time, which was so fun, so fun, so fun.
I don't think that's happening again this summer. But sometimes
you get a good volleyball game together on the beach,
which we play with more than two players on each
(29:27):
side of the court because it's so hard.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Yeah, that's required if you're not a professional level player.
It's hard with four, it's hard with six. It's hard period.
Ever since Gina Davis was trying to get to the
Olympics and archery, that's been like a dream of mine
to just be like an old ass archer because I
was really good in summer camp. I haven't tried it
and I don't know thirty years, but I feel like
(29:50):
I still got it.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
You probably do. It's mind over matter.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Is that on the list of allowed activities?
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Maybe archery is my sport. I mean I completely jacked
up my arm, my shoulder and javelin. But give it
a shot. Means do you have a summer competition?
Speaker 3 (30:06):
Yeah, it's giving. I will be having a little drink
or drink and playing spades as much as possible. Yeah,
with friends, with family, with strangers. It don't matter. As
long as you don't renig be good.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Okay, do you take their money?
Speaker 3 (30:21):
No, I don't play for money because when you when
you introduce money for me, it gets to a different
level that I don't really want to tap back into
you know what I mean, I've left that version of
me in the past because I guess that person is
what you would call a red ass Sarah. That person
I would call that he is not a kind person.
(30:43):
Playing for money, no, So I'm just gonna keep it cool.
I'm gonna keep it cute, play for fun, play for
for for bragging rights. But spades is my go to.
And then what's the what's the game with the little
It's a little ball with like feathers on the back
of it and you hit it with a bad as
that's the one.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
That would be a shuttlecock.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Oh, I have so many badminton fun facts.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Why am I not surprised that Mesh couldn't remember a shuttlecock?
Not interested? Shuttle that cock on out of here, because
I ain't interested. Badminton's fun. That's what we used to
play a lot and my parents place in Michigan growing up,
we had a net. We kind of tried for volleyball,
and then we realized that we were racket people because
(31:25):
we all grew up playing tennis, so we became badminton folks.
We do have a croquet set up in Michigan that
is that is a sport I can still play. So
maybe I'll start just challenging. Maybe I'll get really good
at croquet, and then I'll wear the outfits from the
movie Heathers, which is well before your time. But I
could put on a cute little pleated skirt and just
(31:46):
roll some people in croquet. Who's Heather Heathers. There were
several Heathers in the movie. You'll have to go back
and watch it.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
I have a neighbor who has a I want to
say professional croquet court, but I actually don't know what
a professional croquet court is. But it is an ass
stroked her corquet field. And he has people over fairly regularly,
a couple times a week, and they all wear their
croquet whites.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
I'll be right over.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
I think he's a Trump supporter, so not so much.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Oh, flight canceled. All right, I'm excited to watch and
play whatever I'm still allowed to play. I'll be living
vicariously through both of you. We got to take a break, y'all.
When we come back. Holy guacamolely welcome back slices. Even
(32:37):
though we're out of office, we still love hearing from you,
so hit us up on email Good Game at wondermedianetwork
dot com or leave us a voicemail at eight seven
two two oh four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe,
rate and review. It's real easy watch having perfectly ripe
avocados but no lines, rating one out of one missed
opportunities review. Finding an avocado at a perfectly ripe stage
(33:00):
is basically a miracle. Not too hard, not too brown,
perfect for guak, you think, and then you're halfway through
chopping it up when you realize, wait, do I have
any limes? No? The answer is no, and so your
gualk becomes just avocado with cilantro, holopeno and onions, And
to be honest, it's still delicious. But everyone, especially some
(33:21):
min nosrat, knows you need salt, fat, heat, and acid.
So on that note, I'm going to get some limes
for the next batch. It's almost time for my Fourth
of July party. Good Game, Fourth of July, Good Game.
Fireworks also you know what you fireworks got a lot
of scared dogs in this house. Good Game with Sarah
Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with
(33:44):
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 Azzi
and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutter,
Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer
(34:05):
is Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
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