April 10, 2026 • 39 mins
Big Citrus gets together to celebrate basketball’s taint week -- the *little* stretch between the NCAA Final Four and the WNBA Draft. Sarah, Alex and Bianca discuss the ever-expanding college transfer portal class, the college teams and coaches stressing the most this offseason, which teams will draft which stars on Monday night, and of course, the pressure of picking out the perfect Draft day ‘fit. Plus, the USWNT enters its Japan era, another reminder that everyone watches women’s sports, and in record-making, timing is everything.
- The PWHL schedule can be found here
- The LOVB schedule can be found here
-
The Major League Volleyball schedule is here
-
You can now WATCH Sarah’s interviews! Subscribe to @iHeartWomensSports on YouTube and check out the Good Game playlist here
-
Leave us a voicemail at 872-204-5070 or send us a note at goodgame@wondermedianetwork.com
-
Follow Sarah on social! Bluesky: @sarahspain.com Instagram: @Spain2323
-
Follow producer Alex Azzi! Bluesky: @byalexazzi.bsky.social Instagram: @AzziArtwork
-
Follow producer Bianca Hillier! Bluesky: @biancahillier.bsky.social
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
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 WNBA roomors
have got a scouring players socials, trying to figure out
if posts are just life updates or free agency easter eggs.
We're looking at you and that blurry ass pick of
a New York exit side Colia Copper. It's Friday, April tenth,
and on today's show, Big Citrus is jumping on to
celebrate basketball's Taint Week.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
That's right, the little.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Space between the final four the WNBA Draft, and there's
so much to discuss from the ever expanding college transfer
portal class and the teams and coaches stress in the
most this offseason, to predictions about which teams will draft
our favorite stars on.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Monday, and of course the pressure of picking out the perfect.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Draft day fit. Plus the US women's national team enters.
It's Japan Era, another reminder that everyone watches women's sports
and in record making, timing is everything. It's all coming
up right after this. Welcome back to Happy Frya. Here's
(01:01):
what you need to know today. Let's start in the
WNBA where the news continues to come fast and furious.
Friend at the show and front office sports reporter Annie
Costable reported on Thursday afternoon that the Chicago Sky and
La Sparks are in discussions on a trade that would
send Aeriel Atkins, recently given a core offer from the
Sky to the Sparks.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
In exchange for Rakia Jackson.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Now, per the rules of the core designation, Atkins would
have to agree to any sign and trade and would
have to sign for less than the supermax. The team
coring a player is the only team that can offer
that full one point four million dollar max. But I
wouldn't be surprised if Atkins was willing to take a
little less to go elsewhere. Annie reported that while nothing
is finalized, the trade announcement is expected tomorrow. More pro hoops.
(01:48):
The Indiana Fever have unveiled a first look at their
new sports performance center, and it looks nice. The one
hundred eight thousand square foot three story facility will feature
practice courts, a recovery suite and event space, luxury locker room,
a full service kitchen, golf simulator, childcare space, is a podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Room, and more. Damn can we move in? Oh, it's
gonna cost about seventy eight million dollars. Yeah, we don't
got that kind of cash.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
The Fever say they want the facility to quote redefine
what a player first environment can be. It'll be located
in downtown Indian near Gainbridge Field House, the home of
the Fever and the mnba's Indiana Pacers. They're expected to
open it before the twenty twenty seven WNBA season.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Let's get to the ice in.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
The PWHL, where there are three games this Saturday with
playoff implications at stake. With just over two weeks left
in the regular season, three or four playoff spots have
already been locked up, with the Montreal Victoire, Boston Fleet,
and Minnesota Frost all mathematically qualified for the postseason. Meantime,
no team has officially been eliminated yet, with four games
(02:51):
left to play. For most teams, there's an eight point
spread between the fourth place Toronto Scepters and eighth place
Seattle torrent And you remember, a win is three point,
so needless to say, from here on out, every point counts.
This weekend's games also include one that could ultimately determine
which team earns the number one seed in the playoffs,
Number two Boston Fleet hosting the top ranked Montreal Victoire
(03:14):
at seven pm Eastern on Saturday, This game will mark
the Fleet's debut at the Boston Garden, home of the
NHL's Boston Bruins. Actually kind of a funny, little full
circle moment, as longtime Boston folks will recall that the
arena was previously known as the Fleet Center from its
opening in ninety five until it was renamed in.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Two thousand and five.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Now, the only bummer for Boston fans the fact that
this game wasn't played before last week's PWHL contest at
New York's Madison Square Garden because the Fleet have sold
out Boston Garden. That's more than seventeen eight hundred tickets,
and they likely would have broken the US Women's hockey
attendance record, except that MSG, which boasts a slightly higher
capacity of eighteen thousand and six, already broke that record
(03:55):
last week. This weekend also marks the first of eight
Pride Unity games in the league, one for each team
at home, and the Frost kick things off on Saturday,
hosting the New York Sirens. Among the Pride activations a
partnership with the queer women owned Canadian apparel brand Podulu
to launch the twenty twenty six Pride Collection and apparel
line anchored by the campaign taking the Rainbow Back, reinforcing
(04:17):
a core belief of the PWHL Pride is not seasonal,
it's foundational. You can grab your merch in arena during
the PWHL team's Pride Unity Games, and then it'll be
online at the PWHL Shop beginning Monday, April twenty seventh.
To soccer, where the US national team will play the
first of three friendlies against Japan Saturday at PayPal Park
(04:37):
in San Jose. That game gets underway at five thirty
pm Eastern with English language cover john TNT, True TV,
and HBO Max. The games against current number five in
the world, Japan should be a good test for Emma
Hazing Company, as the number two ranked US women's national
team preps for the CONCACAF W Championship later this year.
That'll be the team's first chance to qualify for the
twenty twenty seven Women's World Cup. Skip back to hoops
(05:00):
and college basketball. On Wednesday, it was confirmed that South
Carolina's Medina Ocott has been denied an extra year of
eligibility from the nc DOUBLEA now. Ocott hails from Kenya.
She came to the US in twenty twenty four and
played one season for Mississippi State before transferring to South
Carolina ahead of this season. While dealing with a multi
year process to get her visa approof to come to
the US, Ocott played two years for University in Kenya,
(05:23):
which the NCBLEA counted towards her years of college eligibility.
South Carolina asked the NCAA to give Ocott one additional year,
but the request was denied and she's now expected to
enter the WNBA draft. It's a big loss for Staley squad.
This season, Ocott ranked third in the country with twenty
two double doubles. She was sixteenth in rebounding average and
nineteenth in field goal percentage, and she leaves second all
(05:45):
time in the game COS program single season record books
in offensive rebounds and third in both total rebounds and
defensive rebounds. Now, speaking of eligibility, we're also keeping an
eye on a proposal to expand nc DOUBLEA eligibility to
five years, sources tell the eight and NCAA panel has
been scheduled to discuss a potential change to eligibility rules
that would incorporate age into the process. Per the AP quote,
(06:08):
the proposal would give athletes five years of eligibility, with
the clock starting at the earliest of two dates, either
when they turned nineteen or graduate high school. There would
be limited exceptions, but they would not involve injuries, which
has been a common reason for players to ask for
extra eligibility.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
End quote. More college hoops.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
The viewership numbers for the Final four are out, with
Nielsen data showing that this year's championship game was the
third most watched women's NCAA championship game on record. About
ten million viewers tuned in to watch UCLA defeat South
Carolina on Sunday, about sixteen percent more viewers than watch
last year's title game. Good numbers for what was ultimately
not a great weekend of basketball or title game in
(06:48):
terms of competitiveness. So here's hope when we get closer
games and even more eyeballs next year. Good news is
there were a lot of good games across March Madness
and per ESPN, it was also the second most watched
women's tournament over all to volleyball. A reminder that the
Love semi Finals get underway today in Louisville with friend
at the Show Molly McCage and Love Austin take it
on Love Atlanta at four pm Eastern, and Friend at
(07:10):
the Show Jordan Poulter and Love salt Lake facing off
against Love Houston at six thirty pm Eastern.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Both matches will be available to stream on Victory.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
The semi finals continue on Saturday with the second match
between Austin and Atlanta, while Salt Lake and Houston will
play their second match on Sunday. Now remember Love introduced
new playoff procedures this year in which each semi final
series features a best of two formats, so if the
team split the matches one to one, second match is
immediately followed by a golden set to fifteen points. Finally,
even morvibs because another professional league, MLV also has a
(07:42):
jam packed weekend. With one month left in the Major
Leaguevolleyball regular season, The Indian Night currently top the league standings,
followed by the Dallas Pulse and Omaha Supernovas.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Will link to the full match schedule in the show
notes slices.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Before we take a break, I wanted to quickly mention
that we heard from the folks at Tourney Town that
are beyond the baseline show. The live show with Sueberd
and Dinah Tarrassi set another record for the most attendees
in the history of the Beyond the Baseline shows. So
we broke our own record from last year. You know,
should I say I'm surprised, I'm not. All right, We're
(08:18):
gonna take a break when we come back hoops and
draft shit with big Citrus.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Welcome back slices.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
It's just been a few days since the UCLA Bruins
lifted the NCAA championship trophy in Phoenix, and the celebrations
continue for Corey Closet Company. There was a huge pep
rally with fans at Polly Pavilion. They did an appearance
on Jimmy Kimmel Live. They got halftime recognition on the
court at the Lakers game, and in case you missed it,
there's this great clip of Lauren Bett saying to our teammates.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Guys, guys, guys, guys. Lebron made eye contact with me.
It's really good.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
And then on Wednesday night, Bett and Charlie's Ledger Walker
and Gabriella Hakeas did their viral dance with the Clippers
cheerleaders on the court during their game. Y'all that is
that is too fun. But it can't be all party
in the back. We also got to talk about the
business upfront. So let's welcome in producers Alex and Bianka
to talk about basketball's mullet in Tate Week, mullet week,
(09:23):
whatever we're calling it.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
It's a busy, busy.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Time for the graduating players who are going for tournament
to draft, and for NCAA players who are entering the
portal and looking for a new home. So Alex Bianca,
let's get into it. Let's start with the college game.
Let's start with the transfer portal. And I want to
mention something that we didn't talk about last week. Just
before the women's final four tipped off, President Trump signed
an executive order that included calling for quote, clear, consistent
(09:47):
and fair eligibility limits, including a five year participation window
end quote. The executive order also said one transfer, with
one more available once an athlete gets a four year degree.
But attorneyment Win True follows College Sports Not told the
AP the order is likely to set up a situation
where the NCAA and schools are trying to figure out
whether they should follow a federal court order or an
(10:07):
executive order.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Winter told the AP quote.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Either way, we're likely going to see litigation challenging the
EO by athletes and third parties end quote. So it
will be worth keeping an eye on whether athletes or
schools panning mind to the limit that Trump is trying
to attempt to put on the number of transfers, or
if this means nothing because it's not really enforceable, like
what appears to be so much of current law when
it applies to NCAA sports, I don't know, like Title nine. Okay,
(10:33):
So with that in the back of our minds, we
have still seen more than a thousand women entered the
women's basketball transfer Portal on the very first day it
was open. So on three is keeping tabs on the entries.
As of this recording, it's actually up to thirteen hundred athletes.
You can always go check that to see the latest
names and kind of keep track if anyone's committed.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Ladies.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Some of the biggest names Audie Crooks from Iowa State,
Jordan Lee from Texas a really shocking one one of
the starters for their final four run.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Kumara Johnson from Virginia.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Maybe not as surprising now that we know that there's
the coaching change there.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
The entire Tennessee program.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
There is one player incoming freshman, Gabby Minus, who is
still technically planning on going to Tennessee, but some of
the other top recruits, like Olivia Edwards, number two in
the se Next one hundred class of twenty twenty six,
has requested release from her letter of intent to go there.
So yeah, we've got some big names, and then we've
got some programs like Tennessee and then Iowa State. In
(11:29):
addition to Crook's eight other players are leaving there. Stanford
six players in the portal.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Alex, what's your.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Biggest takeaway from what we've seen so far, just in
this first couple of days since March Madness ended.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
I have just a lot of questions about why athletes
are transferring, and especially the domino effect that I think
we sometimes see when a big name athlete says that
they're entering the transfer portal, and it almost feels a
little bit like fomo sometimes, where everyone else on the
team is like, well, if they're leaving, like I should
be looking around too. And so whenever you see these
(12:03):
schools that have seven, eight, nine, ten, thirteen, Pittsburgh has
thirteen players in the transfer portal. I'm always super curious,
like how much of that? If you had asked each
person independently if they wanted to transfer, they would have
said yes. But I actually ended up looking into this
NCAA survey. It's called the Goals Survey, and they do
(12:25):
it every couple of years, and they survey college athletes
on a variety of different topics, from how much sleep
they're getting. The answer is always not a lot. But
they started including information on the transfer portal, including asking
athletes to transfer what their top five reasons are and
so in women's sports, the number one reason cited by
forty seven percent is needed a change from a previous
(12:48):
coach or teammates. Second is thirty nine percent to improve
my mental health or well being.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
I think these.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Percentages are additive, so people can select multiple things. Thirty
four percent wanted to conte at a higher level, thirty
two percent wanted a better academic opportunity or preferred degree
or major, and twenty nine percent said playing time.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
This is for all sports, not just basketball.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
All sports, not just basketball, but all women's sports and
men's sports. Athletes actually have a different ranking order. Men
are more likely to say that they wanted to compete
at a higher level or wanted more playing time. And
so for me, when I saw a lot of these names,
you know, some of them make sense to me. But
sometimes when you just see people entering to enter the portal,
I kind of assumed, like, oh, they want more playing time,
(13:30):
But it seems like that's not always the case.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
I mean, I think Audie Crooks is would have been
a domino that I would expect to be the first
to leave Iowa State and then everyone else would follow
and say, well, if our superstars leaving, we're not going
to compete as much. But instead it was the opposite.
Eight players left before she declared. Or you look at
someone like Jordan Lee from Texas. That's a great program
that still has Madison Booker and younger players that and
(13:56):
a great coach like so that feels more like a
fit issue, right, you know, this is someone who was
a really big.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Part of what they did.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
She was a starter for the final four team, she
was the second leading scorer. She's now entering the portal
as the best two way player that's out there. So
you kind of have to wonder if there was more
of a fit issue for her or maybe if she
thinks that she can upgrade, but you know, that would
be based on her belief that Texas isn't going to
be of the same quality nexture without, for instance, Rory Harmon.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Which is fair, Alex.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
I'm so glad that you brought that data into this
because it really confirms validates the framing that I often
look at the Transfer Portal with is. I see it
as like this sociology of college troops or of the sport,
because it can be so interesting to peel back that
curtain and say, why is that one player, like you're saying, Sarah,
(14:49):
why is that player leaving such a you know, esteemed program?
Why is that other player staying when everybody else is leaving?
And just like we see outside of sports, the reason
why people leave jobs, or leave companies, or leave relationships
is a lot of the time, as that data points out, Alex,
it's not about primarily the gameplay or what's happening on the.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Course, so to speak.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
It's about the people who are surrounding the player and
everything that goes into making a team. And I want
to bring up that framing for our listeners because I
think that Transfer Portal news can either be so exciting
to you if you're deep in the sport this is
you know, women's basketball is what you live and breathe,
(15:34):
or it can I think, cause people to tune out
if they think, hey, you know, I'm just usually here
to watch the players on the court. I'll see them
next year, Like March Madness is over, I'll see them
next year. But if you start to look at it as, oh,
this is actually a really interesting peak behind the curtain
as to what's been going on in the locker rooms
or in practice sessions as I've been watching them over
(15:56):
the past season, I think that's a really interesting way
in I think if you can get enough reporting and
information or direct interviews with the players that gives you context,
it can be really meaningful and it can really help
open up sort of like what's been going on behind
the scenes.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
But I don't think it's that simple to say from
out the outside, right. There are so many factors that
include potentially parents saying you deserve more playing time, agents
or otherwise saying you're going to be better off here,
You're going to get better looks in terms of going pro,
or what the next.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Level looks like.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
You do have programs that are very successful and very esteemed,
but with a lot of graduates, folks might not think
that they're going to have the same success the next year,
and if it's their last season, they want to go
somewhere that can make a deep run. To Nia Latson,
there was no indication that Florida wasn't a good place
for her, but Florida had a cap and going to
South Carolina let her be in her first Sweet sixteen,
(16:52):
first lade eate, first final four, first championship game, right
and be in a different position heading into the draft.
So yes, and yes, it's hard to assume anything. Even
if a situation looks like, well, this one seems pretty
clear everyone's leaving because of X. We don't really know that,
Like we might find out later that someone was like
I really want to study animal science and they don't
have a good program, you know, whatever it is. But
(17:13):
so it's always worth sort of keeping an open mind.
But to your point about the sociology aspect of it, it
reminded me of this quote. There's two versions I've heard.
One is people don't quit jobs, they quit bosses.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
And the other version is people don't leave jobs, they
leave cultures. I mean, it's not the work, it's the
place I'm doing it. And that is worth looking at
when it comes to the college experience. And we've talked
about this a couple of times, and we've talked about
the transfer portal in general, but the amount that coaches
are able to move with sort of a it's not
(17:45):
an unlimited amount of time. We're all going to die,
but it is a much lengthier amount of time to
be coaches and have experiences than players who have this
very short window. And so I'm glad that they can
choose to play somewhere that feels right, that they enjoy,
that they get playing time. And as we've talked about,
there are transfers who go into the portal and do
(18:07):
not find a new home, and that stinks.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
The idea of the.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Grass is always greener, the idea of leaving adversity instead
of fighting through it and learning from it is and
what we've heard from so many former players and former
coaches from before the transfer portal time of the value
of four years in one place and winning with those
people you've been working alongside for that long. Maybe it's idyllic,
but to me that if you can do that, lucky
(18:33):
for you. But I don't blame people who also maybe
have a better opportunity elsewhere.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
And it's not a small number of people that don't
find another home. So again I went to the data,
thank you NCAA dot org, and the last year that
they have on record is twenty twenty four. Of all
of the athletes that entered the transfer portal for D
one women's basketball, seventy five percent transferred, five percent Withdrew,
meaning that they kind of stayed with their own team,
(19:00):
and then twenty percent are considered quote active, And so
that's for athletes that may be transferred to a non
NCAA school or left the sport.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Or floating in purgatory in the middle of the transfer portal,
which is a liminal space, and they haven't been heard
from since. I was going to say something, and neither
of you are going to get it. Gosh darn it,
where are you guys so young?
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Try to pick I get that one.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
Now.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
You finally watched cut again and she liked it. Everyone
Quantum Leap.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
It was like they got thrown into the quantum Leap
machine and they never made it to their next ascidion.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
It's a great show. If you did it, go it's
called Quantum Leap. Oh okay, just go watch it.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
This guy was, like you said, run a time machine
and he would just wake up and be in a
new body and have to fix something for the person
whose body he was in, like keep them from dying,
or repair something or save someone. And he would wake
up and he would have this like little guide that
would help tell him what his role was and how
he was supposed to change his person's life before he.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Quantum leaped somewhere else. Anyway, great show. Deep cut.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Before we move on from the transfer portal, I do
want to talk about something we've been hinting at year
after year for the last few years, which is the
impact that it has on the game and the viewers.
One of the best parts about the women's game is
watching these players and their stories over the years.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
It is something the men's game does not have. The
one and done's the players leaving the.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Michigan team that won the men's championship this year, I
believe had starting five of all transfers.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
I might be wrong.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
It might be four plus one that transferred two years ago,
but did whatever it was, it was a high percentage
of players that had just arrived and won a title,
sort of mercenaries, right. And there's something to be said
for a UCLA that brings in Charlie's Ledger Walker two
years ago.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
She has that redtrit year.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Because of the knee, and then she plays plus JOHNA. Neepkins,
and they have this huge role in helping them win.
People might take fault with that as well, but it
felt like you at least had this Lauren Betts who
had transferred and from Stanford a few years earlier, right,
a bunch of transfers over there, but you had a
through line of a couple of years to root for
and to see. And if we lose that entirely, if
(21:09):
the transfer portal becomes too many players too often on
too many top teams moving around, you're.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Sort of just to your point.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Bank going to have to be someone who says, I
guess I'll wait till the season starts, find.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Out who's where, and then watch the basketball.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
Yeah, And will people stick with a team as fans
or will they stick with a player in the college space,
I'm not sure.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
I think that it would vary a lot.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Yeah, depends on if it's your alma mater and you
have a personal connection, or if it's in your neighborhood
and you go watch the games, or if you're like
me where you just bounce around and by the time
the final four you're like, I would like for them, tomin,
but also I'd be happy for them, but that would
be really cool to see them, And then you sound.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Like a moron.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Yeah, it reminds me a little bit of the conversation
we were having in the Fall about the Phoenix Mercury,
where you're just basically rooting for laundry because everything else
has changed since their last time in the WNBA finals.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
I think what often also gets lost to me in
all of this is the fact that call me old school,
but like the student athlete of it all, the student
is getting lost. And I think you could say this
about so many Division one sports where it's like these
athletes are competing as if it's their full time job,
(22:24):
and I think there are a lot of evidence that
they are not getting necessarily the education that they deserve
or were promised, And so where does that leave them
when their college career comes to an end and we
know that the chances of playing pro are exceptionally low
in general. We've all seen those NCAA commercials of you know,
(22:45):
I'm going pro and something else. Well, what is that
something else? And are they being set up for success?
Because I think a lot of the times the answer
to that question is known.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
It bums me out.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Yeah, I mean, it's getting so much more complicated, And
it's something we also keep talking about, which is like,
how do we bring in the money, the interest that coverage,
the nil deals, the support, and also keep the purity.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
That we so enjoy about women's sports. And it is
trickier and trickier with each passing year, which brings us.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
To the WNBA, which is going to be experiencing a
whole new look in this twenty twenty six season with
the new CBA and the attention from everybody, and the
athletes that are moving from the college game and looking
to play in the WNBA have just been thrust into
this incredibly fast moving timeline. If you check out the
docuseries from last year, I got to go to a
fun premiere for it during the WNBA finals last year.
It's called the fastest six weeks in sports. It offers
(23:35):
this first person perspective and the film follows a couple
of players, including Georgia Amore and Sanaa Fagan, as they
got out of the tournament and into the draft and
then try to navigate the transition to basically like heading
to training camp and starting a season. So definitely worth
a watch if you want that first person view and
if we're looking at the players trying to make that transition.
Speaker 4 (23:53):
Now.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Like I said, the UCLA players are still partying, they're
still receiving their flowers, and there could be six of
them in this draft getting drafted. So Alex, you know,
between the new CBA, between the stakes getting that much
higher for athletes and for their agents, maybe even a
more stressful time than ever leading up to this draft
(24:14):
on Monday, I think it's a good thing that they've
probably got established relationships with their reps.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Unlike how it used to be.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Yeah, it used to be a thing before the NIL era,
there was no reason that an athlete would be allowed
to have an agent prior to finishing their collegiate eligibility,
and so it used to be a thing where athletes
would play in the championship game or their team would
be eliminated, and then they would have to find an
agent who's talking coaches and figuring out, you know, where
(24:41):
they might be getting signed in a couple of weeks,
and so I do think it's more stressful. I also
feel a little bit more optimistic. I know that we've
talked about this on the show before, but you know,
the odds have historically been pretty bad when it comes
to draftees making rosters. Over the years, only about fifty
percent of people who get drafted into the WNBA. That's
(25:03):
those thirty six athletes that hear their name on draft
night go on to even finish the season and team yeah. Yeah.
And so I think with the both expansion and then
also having some developmental spots, I'm really happy to see
that there's now an avenue for players that maybe aren't
WNBA ready right on day one still have an opportunity
(25:24):
to be paid to train, because that's been the thing too,
where you know, athlete might want to keep their name
in the mix, so they're having to go back to
their college gym and basically ask for somebody to let
them into the weight room for free so that they
can be ready if they get a phone call. So
I'm really curious to see how that changes the dynamic
and the success that we hopefully see from this draft class.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Five ten years down.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
The road, Yeah, we'll have those developmental players, will have
more rosters, and in the coming years even more expansion
teams to offer spots. We've also got leagues like the
Women's Premier Basketball Association we had Fatima a on talking
of it, and then the Upshot League Donna Ornder's New League.
These are going to be opportunities for players to play
who aren't quite at that WNBA level but want to
(26:08):
continue in a competitive space. And you know, all of
that is going to make for a better ecosystem to
support these women. That and having enough money to live,
hire a chef and do all the things that is
required to keep your body at the level edgit. All
these facilities that are going up that make it so
that they'll hopefully be healthier for longer. And then you know,
(26:30):
one of the interesting things too, that I was talking
to some agents about during Final four weekend in Phoenix
was the elevated expectation for Draft night itself. You know,
back in the day it was often at like the
ESPN campus in Bristol, you'd wear your horrifically outdated outfit. Now,
when we go back and look and you'd walk out
(26:51):
to the stage and shake a hand and go back
to your little roundtable, that looked like a wedding reception,
and that was mostly it. But now there's the Coach sponsorship,
with which means players are having conversations in advance of
the draft about whether they'll be one of the sponsored
dresses or fits from Coach. And they've got a draft
parties that they're all expected to have in New York City.
(27:12):
So these agents are trying to rent out spaces for
family and friends for after the draft. They're trying to
negotiate with Coach or other brands getting sent dresses.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
It's like they're going to the Oscars or something.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Right Like, it's it's a very different experience and that's
exciting and wonderful, and that's what these players deserve.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
But the stress and the timeline of it is what's
so crazy.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Yeah, I'd be more worried about getting an outfit for
Draft night than hearing my name because that just sounds
hellish to me to be like, oh, great, people are
going to judge me based on what I'm wearing no forever.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Yeah, yeah, So We've got all of this swirling right
while trying to figure out where you might potentially go,
and we saw March madness affect a lot of the
sort of mock drafts. Now, keep in mind that when
places like ESPN, for instance, which is one of the
ones I often go to make multiple mock drafts, they
are going to change it up, and not always because
(28:07):
something has very drastically changed, but because they want to
keep offering possible solutions. But I'm going off the latest
mock draft and I'll just give y'all a couple things
that stood out to me right now. They've got the Wings,
the Dallas Wings, who have number one taking Olivia Miles. Now,
Olivia Miles averaged nineteen points, nine point eight rebounds and
nine assists through the tournament.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
She had six triple doubles this season. She really did
a fine job of.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Making sure that the draft stock she had last year
when she was coming out of Notre Dame and had
the opportunity to declare still stayed high.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
But they offered up that easy.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
For a long time, Azy Foot out of Yukon had
been in the top spot and could still be there now.
An interesting wrinkle to me is that if you're avid
on the socials, there's not been a lot of asy
and page content of.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Late, right.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
I don't want to declare anything. I'm not in the
business of these youngsters. They're young women, and you know
they're best friends and have been for a very long time.
But when you're making a selection like that, in anticipating
the relationship of your two star players, which they would be,
that's something to consider. I'm not saying it's a reason
not to take easy if there is something going on there,
and I would like to think because of their long
(29:15):
friendship that they would be able to work through it.
But they're twenty something year old kids. We've all been
in relationships that have gone up and down. So I've
just been watching socials and been like, hmmm. Last year
around this time, we were all excited to see the
pinky touch on the draft carpet and you know what
I mean, and then the official it's happening.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
We all had suspected, many of us knew, but like
it was out, it was out. We're so excited for them.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
We're a couple days ahead of the draft, and I
don't think based on social media that's what we would
be seeing, and that is something to consider for the wings.
Speaker 4 (29:49):
Forget the outfit, forget the team you're going to going
back to myself at that age, that would by far
be the most stressful.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Yes, by far, even a message Yes, and you didn't
have entire Reddit threads and message boards talking about you
and your partners, thank god.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
I mean also, it's worth noting so they did end
up couring arik Agunbalwalle. They can still do a sign
and trade, she can go elsewhere. But page plus Arik
plus Azy is a whole lot of people in that
backcourt that are worth kind of like considering how they'd
all fit together. So number two with the Links, By
the way, if you're like, hold up, why do the
Minnesota Links have the number two pick?
Speaker 2 (30:29):
Because of the.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Fucking Chicago Sky, Because of the brilliant minds who continue
to run things over at the Chicago Sky.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
Mm hmmm, Sarah, we have to do a quick break
here to talk about the fantastic post following the Neca
balloon image out of Minnesota, somebody put up a hilarious,
I don't even know what to call it display of
what it would look like if the Chicago.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Sky I tried to take a hand drawn shitty poster
sign and a couple like deflated balloons that said welcome
back into the sky.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
Oh and if you see.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
Naka also commented in her own way, so go follow
her on Socialist's see what she had to say about
balloon gate if you will. But yeah, so the Links
have the second pick. Congratulations to the Links. Awa Fam
predicted to go there. Aha was also someone that they've
talked about at number one. I mean, there's just it's
going to be a really exciting night. I don't think
it is clear at all where all these folks are going,
(31:22):
because you could also have Lauren Betts here too, if
the Links decide to go Big Fam is a six
to four center out of Spain. She's only nineteen, but
she's playing out for Valencia in Spain and already has
that professional experience.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
So the Links could go Lauren Betts, they could go
Awa Fam.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
They could trade down, as I mentioned in a previous show,
maybe they trade down and the Mystics get number two.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
And take hometown girl Azy Fudd. That's something to keep
an eye.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
In the latest DESPN, The Storm with new coach Sonya Raman,
have they've got asy going to Seattle. Her draft stock
maybe dropped just a little bit because she didn't play
that well in the last three games of the tournament.
She had that career high thirty four eight three pointers
in her final game in Stores, but after that wasn't
quite as strong. So we'll see if that has an impact.
(32:07):
And then they've got the Mystics taking bets. Now, what's
fascinating about trying to predict this draft, y'all, is how
few players are technically on a roster right now. So
when you say something like, I don't know if the
Mystics want another big, they have several bigs.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
Do they?
Speaker 1 (32:22):
They might right now they definitely have Peaky Erie of
fin But do they have Shakira Austin? Do they have
Steph Dolson? Not technically, So depending on what they feel
like they're going to do with those existing players and
whether those free agents have plans to go elsewhere, they
might want to add Lauren Betts, who, by the way,
her stock, shot at least sixty percent from the field
(32:42):
in all six of her tournament games, average twenty one points,
nine point three rebounds, three point two assists, two point
eight blocks, was the most outstanding player, like she was
already in good position heading in and now.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
She made it even better.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
But I'm just curious how what we don't know about
what teams are doing with the rosters that they finished
with last year will very much impact what they're looking
for in this draft.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
Yeah. It reminds me a little bit where the conversation
every year with the WNBA Draft is it doesn't matter
how high you go, it matters if you go to
a team that's a good fit. And this gets back
to the point of are you even going to stick
on the roster.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Right, not just fit for where you'll thrive, but where
you will literally have a space to be on the roster. Yes,
you could be a great player and they could not
have room for you.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
And so it makes me think even this year, I
certainly don't have a good idea of like what that
looks like because we don't know what the rosters are.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:35):
Yeah, And I want people to remember what you just said,
Alex when Rory Harmon is not in the first round,
because I as much as it would be great to see,
you know, a five to six guard does not historically
go in the first round, And I don't think.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
She did enough. It has happened before. I looked it up.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
Five Pot three Tamika Johnson was a sixth overall pick
in two thousand and five.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
It has happened before.
Speaker 4 (33:59):
But second round could land Rory Harmon somewhere that really works, right.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
And we have seen players in the last couple of
years play their way out of the second round onto
a roster spot. We've seen players like Shay Petty who
are picked up on a roster mid season and play
a big role.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
And thankfully now with the.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
New CBA, someone like Shaye Petty won't be paid like
ten dollars in a snack every day in order to
stick on that roster really quickly. Just to round out
the top five of the ESPN draft, because specifically, and
with a bit of bias, I do want to mention
Chicago the number five pick, and right now they've got
fla je Johnson. Okay, this is just a fun thought experiment,
(34:38):
because not only you know, did she average nineteen points
a game shot over fifty two percent in the three
tournament games for LSU was one of the consistent pieces
for a team that couldn't find consistency in their tournament run.
But I'm thinking about the marketing move from Angel to Flage. Right,
you just gave up a millions and millions and millions
of followers athlete, And when you look at the number
(35:01):
of I mean truly millions of followers that she has
across all of her different spaces, she is a huge straw.
So you bring someone like Flage who's not just a
basketball player but a rapper, has a presence, has a
persona outside of the basketball side, and that's a good
move for a team like Chicago, in a city with
a great rap and hip hop history, with a culture
(35:21):
that would absolutely embrace Flage. But will you then have
the same problems of bringing in a player with an
expectation of how she should be living and be treated.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
Flage has been buying land for her family. Flage is
performing on stage at Like the SPI's.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
She's cutting singles with Lil Wayne and Public Enemy. She
got Game, which we talked about on the show, and
now she's going to go to the sky where she'll
be changing next to a sixty five year old pickleball
player after practice.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
In the locker room that they share. What an image.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
Yeah, I want to someone photoshop that's the good game
play of the day. Somebody photoshop Flasee and a sixty
five year old pickleball player just next to each other
in a locker room chatting about the weather. I mentioned
earlier in the show the potential for Rickia Jackson to
get traded to Chicago. We're talking about someone going from
the La market, who is, you know, fashionable and interested
(36:21):
in culture, like just get dropped into the Sky facilities.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Something to think about.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
I did, just for fun look up Chicago Sky followers
on Instagram versus Angel Reese followers, and she is ten
times the number of followers.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Easy, not surprising.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
Yeah, anyway, I guess all that's to say that I'm
dying for the tight shot on whoever gets drafted by
the Sky and what their face looks like, and also
just dying to watch everything on Monday. I'm so excited
for this draft. I think it's going to be just
anybody's guess how it goes down. So we'll be looking
forward to that all right, Before we could talk about
(37:00):
when we've gone too long, we got to take another break.
When we return charge the bar tab to Ottawa stick around.
Welcome back, Slics. We love that you're listening, but we
want you to get in the game every day too,
So here's our good game play of the day.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
I was serious, guys, so photoshop whizzz.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
We want to see that flage pickleball lady mock up
and please let's keep both ladies fully clothed.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
AI is far too advanced at this point to make
that request without qualifying it, so thank you.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
We always love to hear from you, so hit us
up on email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or
leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two oh
four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review.
It's easy watch taking pucks and geish it to the
next level. Rating one of one venue fee you didn't
have to pay review. We've seen a handful of proposals
(37:57):
at PWHL games, but one couple took their love of
hockey and each other to the next level by actually
having their wedding reception at a game Outawa. Charge fans
Allison and Danielle tied the not Wednesday afternoon and celebrated
with a reception at the Charge Torrent game that night.
Very smart Duo Wednesday Wedding way cheaper, and then you
(38:17):
skip the venue fee and the cost of an open bar.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Well done. Congrats to the happy couple.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
Here's hoping your love is more successful than the charge
where Wednesday night they lost five to three. Now it's
your turn, rate and review. Thanks for listening, See you
next week. Good game players prepin' for the draft, Good
game agents working on no sleep you the links picking second.
Goddamn Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iheartwomen's sports
(38:47):
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 Asi and Bianca Hillier. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.
Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Lucy Jones, Brittany Martinez and
Gianna Palmer. Production assistant from Avery Loftus and I'm your host,
(39:10):
Sarah Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where WNBA roomors
have got a scouring players socials, trying to figure out
if posts are just life updates or free agency easter eggs.
We're looking at you and that blurry ass pick of
a New York exit side Colia Copper. It's Friday, April tenth,
and on today's show, Big Citrus is jumping on to
celebrate basketball's Taint Week.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
That's right, the little.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Space between the final four the WNBA Draft, and there's
so much to discuss from the ever expanding college transfer
portal class and the teams and coaches stress in the
most this offseason, to predictions about which teams will draft
our favorite stars on.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Monday, and of course the pressure of picking out the perfect.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Draft day fit. Plus the US women's national team enters.
It's Japan Era, another reminder that everyone watches women's sports
and in record making, timing is everything. It's all coming
up right after this. Welcome back to Happy Frya. Here's
(01:01):
what you need to know today. Let's start in the
WNBA where the news continues to come fast and furious.
Friend at the show and front office sports reporter Annie
Costable reported on Thursday afternoon that the Chicago Sky and
La Sparks are in discussions on a trade that would
send Aeriel Atkins, recently given a core offer from the
Sky to the Sparks.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
In exchange for Rakia Jackson.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Now, per the rules of the core designation, Atkins would
have to agree to any sign and trade and would
have to sign for less than the supermax. The team
coring a player is the only team that can offer
that full one point four million dollar max. But I
wouldn't be surprised if Atkins was willing to take a
little less to go elsewhere. Annie reported that while nothing
is finalized, the trade announcement is expected tomorrow. More pro hoops.
(01:48):
The Indiana Fever have unveiled a first look at their
new sports performance center, and it looks nice. The one
hundred eight thousand square foot three story facility will feature
practice courts, a recovery suite and event space, luxury locker room,
a full service kitchen, golf simulator, childcare space, is a podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Room, and more. Damn can we move in? Oh, it's
gonna cost about seventy eight million dollars. Yeah, we don't
got that kind of cash.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
The Fever say they want the facility to quote redefine
what a player first environment can be. It'll be located
in downtown Indian near Gainbridge Field House, the home of
the Fever and the mnba's Indiana Pacers. They're expected to
open it before the twenty twenty seven WNBA season.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Let's get to the ice in.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
The PWHL, where there are three games this Saturday with
playoff implications at stake. With just over two weeks left
in the regular season, three or four playoff spots have
already been locked up, with the Montreal Victoire, Boston Fleet,
and Minnesota Frost all mathematically qualified for the postseason. Meantime,
no team has officially been eliminated yet, with four games
(02:51):
left to play. For most teams, there's an eight point
spread between the fourth place Toronto Scepters and eighth place
Seattle torrent And you remember, a win is three point,
so needless to say, from here on out, every point counts.
This weekend's games also include one that could ultimately determine
which team earns the number one seed in the playoffs,
Number two Boston Fleet hosting the top ranked Montreal Victoire
(03:14):
at seven pm Eastern on Saturday, This game will mark
the Fleet's debut at the Boston Garden, home of the
NHL's Boston Bruins. Actually kind of a funny, little full
circle moment, as longtime Boston folks will recall that the
arena was previously known as the Fleet Center from its
opening in ninety five until it was renamed in.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Two thousand and five.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Now, the only bummer for Boston fans the fact that
this game wasn't played before last week's PWHL contest at
New York's Madison Square Garden because the Fleet have sold
out Boston Garden. That's more than seventeen eight hundred tickets,
and they likely would have broken the US Women's hockey
attendance record, except that MSG, which boasts a slightly higher
capacity of eighteen thousand and six, already broke that record
(03:55):
last week. This weekend also marks the first of eight
Pride Unity games in the league, one for each team
at home, and the Frost kick things off on Saturday,
hosting the New York Sirens. Among the Pride activations a
partnership with the queer women owned Canadian apparel brand Podulu
to launch the twenty twenty six Pride Collection and apparel
line anchored by the campaign taking the Rainbow Back, reinforcing
(04:17):
a core belief of the PWHL Pride is not seasonal,
it's foundational. You can grab your merch in arena during
the PWHL team's Pride Unity Games, and then it'll be
online at the PWHL Shop beginning Monday, April twenty seventh.
To soccer, where the US national team will play the
first of three friendlies against Japan Saturday at PayPal Park
(04:37):
in San Jose. That game gets underway at five thirty
pm Eastern with English language cover john TNT, True TV,
and HBO Max. The games against current number five in
the world, Japan should be a good test for Emma
Hazing Company, as the number two ranked US women's national
team preps for the CONCACAF W Championship later this year.
That'll be the team's first chance to qualify for the
twenty twenty seven Women's World Cup. Skip back to hoops
(05:00):
and college basketball. On Wednesday, it was confirmed that South
Carolina's Medina Ocott has been denied an extra year of
eligibility from the nc DOUBLEA now. Ocott hails from Kenya.
She came to the US in twenty twenty four and
played one season for Mississippi State before transferring to South
Carolina ahead of this season. While dealing with a multi
year process to get her visa approof to come to
the US, Ocott played two years for University in Kenya,
(05:23):
which the NCBLEA counted towards her years of college eligibility.
South Carolina asked the NCAA to give Ocott one additional year,
but the request was denied and she's now expected to
enter the WNBA draft. It's a big loss for Staley squad.
This season, Ocott ranked third in the country with twenty
two double doubles. She was sixteenth in rebounding average and
nineteenth in field goal percentage, and she leaves second all
(05:45):
time in the game COS program single season record books
in offensive rebounds and third in both total rebounds and
defensive rebounds. Now, speaking of eligibility, we're also keeping an
eye on a proposal to expand nc DOUBLEA eligibility to
five years, sources tell the eight and NCAA panel has
been scheduled to discuss a potential change to eligibility rules
that would incorporate age into the process. Per the AP quote,
(06:08):
the proposal would give athletes five years of eligibility, with
the clock starting at the earliest of two dates, either
when they turned nineteen or graduate high school. There would
be limited exceptions, but they would not involve injuries, which
has been a common reason for players to ask for
extra eligibility.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
End quote. More college hoops.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
The viewership numbers for the Final four are out, with
Nielsen data showing that this year's championship game was the
third most watched women's NCAA championship game on record. About
ten million viewers tuned in to watch UCLA defeat South
Carolina on Sunday, about sixteen percent more viewers than watch
last year's title game. Good numbers for what was ultimately
not a great weekend of basketball or title game in
(06:48):
terms of competitiveness. So here's hope when we get closer
games and even more eyeballs next year. Good news is
there were a lot of good games across March Madness
and per ESPN, it was also the second most watched
women's tournament over all to volleyball. A reminder that the
Love semi Finals get underway today in Louisville with friend
at the Show Molly McCage and Love Austin take it
on Love Atlanta at four pm Eastern, and Friend at
(07:10):
the Show Jordan Poulter and Love salt Lake facing off
against Love Houston at six thirty pm Eastern.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Both matches will be available to stream on Victory.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
The semi finals continue on Saturday with the second match
between Austin and Atlanta, while Salt Lake and Houston will
play their second match on Sunday. Now remember Love introduced
new playoff procedures this year in which each semi final
series features a best of two formats, so if the
team split the matches one to one, second match is
immediately followed by a golden set to fifteen points. Finally,
even morvibs because another professional league, MLV also has a
(07:42):
jam packed weekend. With one month left in the Major
Leaguevolleyball regular season, The Indian Night currently top the league standings,
followed by the Dallas Pulse and Omaha Supernovas.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Will link to the full match schedule in the show
notes slices.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Before we take a break, I wanted to quickly mention
that we heard from the folks at Tourney Town that
are beyond the baseline show. The live show with Sueberd
and Dinah Tarrassi set another record for the most attendees
in the history of the Beyond the Baseline shows. So
we broke our own record from last year. You know,
should I say I'm surprised, I'm not. All right, We're
(08:18):
gonna take a break when we come back hoops and
draft shit with big Citrus.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Welcome back slices.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
It's just been a few days since the UCLA Bruins
lifted the NCAA championship trophy in Phoenix, and the celebrations
continue for Corey Closet Company. There was a huge pep
rally with fans at Polly Pavilion. They did an appearance
on Jimmy Kimmel Live. They got halftime recognition on the
court at the Lakers game, and in case you missed it,
there's this great clip of Lauren Bett saying to our teammates.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Guys, guys, guys, guys. Lebron made eye contact with me.
It's really good.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
And then on Wednesday night, Bett and Charlie's Ledger Walker
and Gabriella Hakeas did their viral dance with the Clippers
cheerleaders on the court during their game. Y'all that is
that is too fun. But it can't be all party
in the back. We also got to talk about the
business upfront. So let's welcome in producers Alex and Bianka
to talk about basketball's mullet in Tate Week, mullet week,
(09:23):
whatever we're calling it.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
It's a busy, busy.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Time for the graduating players who are going for tournament
to draft, and for NCAA players who are entering the
portal and looking for a new home. So Alex Bianca,
let's get into it. Let's start with the college game.
Let's start with the transfer portal. And I want to
mention something that we didn't talk about last week. Just
before the women's final four tipped off, President Trump signed
an executive order that included calling for quote, clear, consistent
(09:47):
and fair eligibility limits, including a five year participation window
end quote. The executive order also said one transfer, with
one more available once an athlete gets a four year degree.
But attorneyment Win True follows College Sports Not told the
AP the order is likely to set up a situation
where the NCAA and schools are trying to figure out
whether they should follow a federal court order or an
(10:07):
executive order.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Winter told the AP quote.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Either way, we're likely going to see litigation challenging the
EO by athletes and third parties end quote. So it
will be worth keeping an eye on whether athletes or
schools panning mind to the limit that Trump is trying
to attempt to put on the number of transfers, or
if this means nothing because it's not really enforceable, like
what appears to be so much of current law when
it applies to NCAA sports, I don't know, like Title nine. Okay,
(10:33):
So with that in the back of our minds, we
have still seen more than a thousand women entered the
women's basketball transfer Portal on the very first day it
was open. So on three is keeping tabs on the entries.
As of this recording, it's actually up to thirteen hundred athletes.
You can always go check that to see the latest
names and kind of keep track if anyone's committed.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Ladies.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Some of the biggest names Audie Crooks from Iowa State,
Jordan Lee from Texas a really shocking one one of
the starters for their final four run.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Kumara Johnson from Virginia.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Maybe not as surprising now that we know that there's
the coaching change there.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
The entire Tennessee program.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
There is one player incoming freshman, Gabby Minus, who is
still technically planning on going to Tennessee, but some of
the other top recruits, like Olivia Edwards, number two in
the se Next one hundred class of twenty twenty six,
has requested release from her letter of intent to go there.
So yeah, we've got some big names, and then we've
got some programs like Tennessee and then Iowa State. In
(11:29):
addition to Crook's eight other players are leaving there. Stanford
six players in the portal.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Alex, what's your.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Biggest takeaway from what we've seen so far, just in
this first couple of days since March Madness ended.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
I have just a lot of questions about why athletes
are transferring, and especially the domino effect that I think
we sometimes see when a big name athlete says that
they're entering the transfer portal, and it almost feels a
little bit like fomo sometimes, where everyone else on the
team is like, well, if they're leaving, like I should
be looking around too. And so whenever you see these
(12:03):
schools that have seven, eight, nine, ten, thirteen, Pittsburgh has
thirteen players in the transfer portal. I'm always super curious,
like how much of that? If you had asked each
person independently if they wanted to transfer, they would have
said yes. But I actually ended up looking into this
NCAA survey. It's called the Goals Survey, and they do
(12:25):
it every couple of years, and they survey college athletes
on a variety of different topics, from how much sleep
they're getting. The answer is always not a lot. But
they started including information on the transfer portal, including asking
athletes to transfer what their top five reasons are and
so in women's sports, the number one reason cited by
forty seven percent is needed a change from a previous
(12:48):
coach or teammates. Second is thirty nine percent to improve
my mental health or well being.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
I think these.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Percentages are additive, so people can select multiple things. Thirty
four percent wanted to conte at a higher level, thirty
two percent wanted a better academic opportunity or preferred degree
or major, and twenty nine percent said playing time.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
This is for all sports, not just basketball.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
All sports, not just basketball, but all women's sports and
men's sports. Athletes actually have a different ranking order. Men
are more likely to say that they wanted to compete
at a higher level or wanted more playing time. And
so for me, when I saw a lot of these names,
you know, some of them make sense to me. But
sometimes when you just see people entering to enter the portal,
I kind of assumed, like, oh, they want more playing time,
(13:30):
But it seems like that's not always the case.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
I mean, I think Audie Crooks is would have been
a domino that I would expect to be the first
to leave Iowa State and then everyone else would follow
and say, well, if our superstars leaving, we're not going
to compete as much. But instead it was the opposite.
Eight players left before she declared. Or you look at
someone like Jordan Lee from Texas. That's a great program
that still has Madison Booker and younger players that and
(13:56):
a great coach like so that feels more like a
fit issue, right, you know, this is someone who was
a really big.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Part of what they did.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
She was a starter for the final four team, she
was the second leading scorer. She's now entering the portal
as the best two way player that's out there. So
you kind of have to wonder if there was more
of a fit issue for her or maybe if she
thinks that she can upgrade, but you know, that would
be based on her belief that Texas isn't going to
be of the same quality nexture without, for instance, Rory Harmon.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Which is fair, Alex.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
I'm so glad that you brought that data into this
because it really confirms validates the framing that I often
look at the Transfer Portal with is. I see it
as like this sociology of college troops or of the sport,
because it can be so interesting to peel back that
curtain and say, why is that one player, like you're saying, Sarah,
(14:49):
why is that player leaving such a you know, esteemed program?
Why is that other player staying when everybody else is leaving?
And just like we see outside of sports, the reason
why people leave jobs, or leave companies, or leave relationships
is a lot of the time, as that data points out, Alex,
it's not about primarily the gameplay or what's happening on the.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Course, so to speak.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
It's about the people who are surrounding the player and
everything that goes into making a team. And I want
to bring up that framing for our listeners because I
think that Transfer Portal news can either be so exciting
to you if you're deep in the sport this is
you know, women's basketball is what you live and breathe,
(15:34):
or it can I think, cause people to tune out
if they think, hey, you know, I'm just usually here
to watch the players on the court. I'll see them
next year, Like March Madness is over, I'll see them
next year. But if you start to look at it as, oh,
this is actually a really interesting peak behind the curtain
as to what's been going on in the locker rooms
or in practice sessions as I've been watching them over
(15:56):
the past season, I think that's a really interesting way
in I think if you can get enough reporting and
information or direct interviews with the players that gives you context,
it can be really meaningful and it can really help
open up sort of like what's been going on behind
the scenes.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
But I don't think it's that simple to say from
out the outside, right. There are so many factors that
include potentially parents saying you deserve more playing time, agents
or otherwise saying you're going to be better off here,
You're going to get better looks in terms of going pro,
or what the next.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Level looks like.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
You do have programs that are very successful and very esteemed,
but with a lot of graduates, folks might not think
that they're going to have the same success the next year,
and if it's their last season, they want to go
somewhere that can make a deep run. To Nia Latson,
there was no indication that Florida wasn't a good place
for her, but Florida had a cap and going to
South Carolina let her be in her first Sweet sixteen,
(16:52):
first lade eate, first final four, first championship game, right
and be in a different position heading into the draft.
So yes, and yes, it's hard to assume anything. Even
if a situation looks like, well, this one seems pretty
clear everyone's leaving because of X. We don't really know that,
Like we might find out later that someone was like
I really want to study animal science and they don't
have a good program, you know, whatever it is. But
(17:13):
so it's always worth sort of keeping an open mind.
But to your point about the sociology aspect of it, it
reminded me of this quote. There's two versions I've heard.
One is people don't quit jobs, they quit bosses.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
And the other version is people don't leave jobs, they
leave cultures. I mean, it's not the work, it's the
place I'm doing it. And that is worth looking at
when it comes to the college experience. And we've talked
about this a couple of times, and we've talked about
the transfer portal in general, but the amount that coaches
are able to move with sort of a it's not
(17:45):
an unlimited amount of time. We're all going to die,
but it is a much lengthier amount of time to
be coaches and have experiences than players who have this
very short window. And so I'm glad that they can
choose to play somewhere that feels right, that they enjoy,
that they get playing time. And as we've talked about,
there are transfers who go into the portal and do
(18:07):
not find a new home, and that stinks.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
The idea of the.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Grass is always greener, the idea of leaving adversity instead
of fighting through it and learning from it is and
what we've heard from so many former players and former
coaches from before the transfer portal time of the value
of four years in one place and winning with those
people you've been working alongside for that long. Maybe it's idyllic,
but to me that if you can do that, lucky
(18:33):
for you. But I don't blame people who also maybe
have a better opportunity elsewhere.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
And it's not a small number of people that don't
find another home. So again I went to the data,
thank you NCAA dot org, and the last year that
they have on record is twenty twenty four. Of all
of the athletes that entered the transfer portal for D
one women's basketball, seventy five percent transferred, five percent Withdrew,
meaning that they kind of stayed with their own team,
(19:00):
and then twenty percent are considered quote active, And so
that's for athletes that may be transferred to a non
NCAA school or left the sport.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Or floating in purgatory in the middle of the transfer portal,
which is a liminal space, and they haven't been heard
from since. I was going to say something, and neither
of you are going to get it. Gosh darn it,
where are you guys so young?
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Try to pick I get that one.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
Now.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
You finally watched cut again and she liked it. Everyone
Quantum Leap.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
It was like they got thrown into the quantum Leap
machine and they never made it to their next ascidion.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
It's a great show. If you did it, go it's
called Quantum Leap. Oh okay, just go watch it.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
This guy was, like you said, run a time machine
and he would just wake up and be in a
new body and have to fix something for the person
whose body he was in, like keep them from dying,
or repair something or save someone. And he would wake
up and he would have this like little guide that
would help tell him what his role was and how
he was supposed to change his person's life before he.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Quantum leaped somewhere else. Anyway, great show. Deep cut.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Before we move on from the transfer portal, I do
want to talk about something we've been hinting at year
after year for the last few years, which is the
impact that it has on the game and the viewers.
One of the best parts about the women's game is
watching these players and their stories over the years.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
It is something the men's game does not have. The
one and done's the players leaving the.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Michigan team that won the men's championship this year, I
believe had starting five of all transfers.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
I might be wrong.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
It might be four plus one that transferred two years ago,
but did whatever it was, it was a high percentage
of players that had just arrived and won a title,
sort of mercenaries, right. And there's something to be said
for a UCLA that brings in Charlie's Ledger Walker two
years ago.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
She has that redtrit year.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Because of the knee, and then she plays plus JOHNA. Neepkins,
and they have this huge role in helping them win.
People might take fault with that as well, but it
felt like you at least had this Lauren Betts who
had transferred and from Stanford a few years earlier, right,
a bunch of transfers over there, but you had a
through line of a couple of years to root for
and to see. And if we lose that entirely, if
(21:09):
the transfer portal becomes too many players too often on
too many top teams moving around, you're.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Sort of just to your point.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Bank going to have to be someone who says, I
guess I'll wait till the season starts, find.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Out who's where, and then watch the basketball.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
Yeah, And will people stick with a team as fans
or will they stick with a player in the college space,
I'm not sure.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
I think that it would vary a lot.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Yeah, depends on if it's your alma mater and you
have a personal connection, or if it's in your neighborhood
and you go watch the games, or if you're like
me where you just bounce around and by the time
the final four you're like, I would like for them, tomin,
but also I'd be happy for them, but that would
be really cool to see them, And then you sound.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Like a moron.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Yeah, it reminds me a little bit of the conversation
we were having in the Fall about the Phoenix Mercury,
where you're just basically rooting for laundry because everything else
has changed since their last time in the WNBA finals.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
I think what often also gets lost to me in
all of this is the fact that call me old school,
but like the student athlete of it all, the student
is getting lost. And I think you could say this
about so many Division one sports where it's like these
athletes are competing as if it's their full time job,
(22:24):
and I think there are a lot of evidence that
they are not getting necessarily the education that they deserve
or were promised, And so where does that leave them
when their college career comes to an end and we
know that the chances of playing pro are exceptionally low
in general. We've all seen those NCAA commercials of you know,
(22:45):
I'm going pro and something else. Well, what is that
something else? And are they being set up for success?
Because I think a lot of the times the answer
to that question is known.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
It bums me out.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Yeah, I mean, it's getting so much more complicated, And
it's something we also keep talking about, which is like,
how do we bring in the money, the interest that coverage,
the nil deals, the support, and also keep the purity.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
That we so enjoy about women's sports. And it is
trickier and trickier with each passing year, which brings us.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
To the WNBA, which is going to be experiencing a
whole new look in this twenty twenty six season with
the new CBA and the attention from everybody, and the
athletes that are moving from the college game and looking
to play in the WNBA have just been thrust into
this incredibly fast moving timeline. If you check out the
docuseries from last year, I got to go to a
fun premiere for it during the WNBA finals last year.
It's called the fastest six weeks in sports. It offers
(23:35):
this first person perspective and the film follows a couple
of players, including Georgia Amore and Sanaa Fagan, as they
got out of the tournament and into the draft and
then try to navigate the transition to basically like heading
to training camp and starting a season. So definitely worth
a watch if you want that first person view and
if we're looking at the players trying to make that transition.
Speaker 4 (23:53):
Now.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Like I said, the UCLA players are still partying, they're
still receiving their flowers, and there could be six of
them in this draft getting drafted. So Alex, you know,
between the new CBA, between the stakes getting that much
higher for athletes and for their agents, maybe even a
more stressful time than ever leading up to this draft
(24:14):
on Monday, I think it's a good thing that they've
probably got established relationships with their reps.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Unlike how it used to be.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Yeah, it used to be a thing before the NIL era,
there was no reason that an athlete would be allowed
to have an agent prior to finishing their collegiate eligibility,
and so it used to be a thing where athletes
would play in the championship game or their team would
be eliminated, and then they would have to find an
agent who's talking coaches and figuring out, you know, where
(24:41):
they might be getting signed in a couple of weeks,
and so I do think it's more stressful. I also
feel a little bit more optimistic. I know that we've
talked about this on the show before, but you know,
the odds have historically been pretty bad when it comes
to draftees making rosters. Over the years, only about fifty
percent of people who get drafted into the WNBA. That's
(25:03):
those thirty six athletes that hear their name on draft
night go on to even finish the season and team yeah. Yeah.
And so I think with the both expansion and then
also having some developmental spots, I'm really happy to see
that there's now an avenue for players that maybe aren't
WNBA ready right on day one still have an opportunity
(25:24):
to be paid to train, because that's been the thing too,
where you know, athlete might want to keep their name
in the mix, so they're having to go back to
their college gym and basically ask for somebody to let
them into the weight room for free so that they
can be ready if they get a phone call. So
I'm really curious to see how that changes the dynamic
and the success that we hopefully see from this draft class.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Five ten years down.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
The road, Yeah, we'll have those developmental players, will have
more rosters, and in the coming years even more expansion
teams to offer spots. We've also got leagues like the
Women's Premier Basketball Association we had Fatima a on talking
of it, and then the Upshot League Donna Ornder's New League.
These are going to be opportunities for players to play
who aren't quite at that WNBA level but want to
(26:08):
continue in a competitive space. And you know, all of
that is going to make for a better ecosystem to
support these women. That and having enough money to live,
hire a chef and do all the things that is
required to keep your body at the level edgit. All
these facilities that are going up that make it so
that they'll hopefully be healthier for longer. And then you know,
(26:30):
one of the interesting things too, that I was talking
to some agents about during Final four weekend in Phoenix
was the elevated expectation for Draft night itself. You know,
back in the day it was often at like the
ESPN campus in Bristol, you'd wear your horrifically outdated outfit. Now,
when we go back and look and you'd walk out
(26:51):
to the stage and shake a hand and go back
to your little roundtable, that looked like a wedding reception,
and that was mostly it. But now there's the Coach sponsorship,
with which means players are having conversations in advance of
the draft about whether they'll be one of the sponsored
dresses or fits from Coach. And they've got a draft
parties that they're all expected to have in New York City.
(27:12):
So these agents are trying to rent out spaces for
family and friends for after the draft. They're trying to
negotiate with Coach or other brands getting sent dresses.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
It's like they're going to the Oscars or something.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Right Like, it's it's a very different experience and that's
exciting and wonderful, and that's what these players deserve.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
But the stress and the timeline of it is what's
so crazy.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Yeah, I'd be more worried about getting an outfit for
Draft night than hearing my name because that just sounds
hellish to me to be like, oh, great, people are
going to judge me based on what I'm wearing no forever.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Yeah, yeah, So We've got all of this swirling right
while trying to figure out where you might potentially go,
and we saw March madness affect a lot of the
sort of mock drafts. Now, keep in mind that when
places like ESPN, for instance, which is one of the
ones I often go to make multiple mock drafts, they
are going to change it up, and not always because
(28:07):
something has very drastically changed, but because they want to
keep offering possible solutions. But I'm going off the latest
mock draft and I'll just give y'all a couple things
that stood out to me right now. They've got the Wings,
the Dallas Wings, who have number one taking Olivia Miles. Now,
Olivia Miles averaged nineteen points, nine point eight rebounds and
nine assists through the tournament.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
She had six triple doubles this season. She really did
a fine job of.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Making sure that the draft stock she had last year
when she was coming out of Notre Dame and had
the opportunity to declare still stayed high.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
But they offered up that easy.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
For a long time, Azy Foot out of Yukon had
been in the top spot and could still be there now.
An interesting wrinkle to me is that if you're avid
on the socials, there's not been a lot of asy
and page content of.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Late, right.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
I don't want to declare anything. I'm not in the
business of these youngsters. They're young women, and you know
they're best friends and have been for a very long time.
But when you're making a selection like that, in anticipating
the relationship of your two star players, which they would be,
that's something to consider. I'm not saying it's a reason
not to take easy if there is something going on there,
and I would like to think because of their long
(29:15):
friendship that they would be able to work through it.
But they're twenty something year old kids. We've all been
in relationships that have gone up and down. So I've
just been watching socials and been like, hmmm. Last year
around this time, we were all excited to see the
pinky touch on the draft carpet and you know what
I mean, and then the official it's happening.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
We all had suspected, many of us knew, but like
it was out, it was out. We're so excited for them.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
We're a couple days ahead of the draft, and I
don't think based on social media that's what we would
be seeing, and that is something to consider for the wings.
Speaker 4 (29:49):
Forget the outfit, forget the team you're going to going
back to myself at that age, that would by far
be the most stressful.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Yes, by far, even a message Yes, and you didn't
have entire Reddit threads and message boards talking about you
and your partners, thank god.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
I mean also, it's worth noting so they did end
up couring arik Agunbalwalle. They can still do a sign
and trade, she can go elsewhere. But page plus Arik
plus Azy is a whole lot of people in that
backcourt that are worth kind of like considering how they'd
all fit together. So number two with the Links, By
the way, if you're like, hold up, why do the
Minnesota Links have the number two pick?
Speaker 2 (30:29):
Because of the.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Fucking Chicago Sky, Because of the brilliant minds who continue
to run things over at the Chicago Sky.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
Mm hmmm, Sarah, we have to do a quick break
here to talk about the fantastic post following the Neca
balloon image out of Minnesota, somebody put up a hilarious,
I don't even know what to call it display of
what it would look like if the Chicago.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Sky I tried to take a hand drawn shitty poster
sign and a couple like deflated balloons that said welcome
back into the sky.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
Oh and if you see.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
Naka also commented in her own way, so go follow
her on Socialist's see what she had to say about
balloon gate if you will. But yeah, so the Links
have the second pick. Congratulations to the Links. Awa Fam
predicted to go there. Aha was also someone that they've
talked about at number one. I mean, there's just it's
going to be a really exciting night. I don't think
it is clear at all where all these folks are going,
(31:22):
because you could also have Lauren Betts here too, if
the Links decide to go Big Fam is a six
to four center out of Spain. She's only nineteen, but
she's playing out for Valencia in Spain and already has
that professional experience.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
So the Links could go Lauren Betts, they could go
Awa Fam.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
They could trade down, as I mentioned in a previous show,
maybe they trade down and the Mystics get number two.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
And take hometown girl Azy Fudd. That's something to keep
an eye.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
In the latest DESPN, The Storm with new coach Sonya Raman,
have they've got asy going to Seattle. Her draft stock
maybe dropped just a little bit because she didn't play
that well in the last three games of the tournament.
She had that career high thirty four eight three pointers
in her final game in Stores, but after that wasn't
quite as strong. So we'll see if that has an impact.
(32:07):
And then they've got the Mystics taking bets. Now, what's
fascinating about trying to predict this draft, y'all, is how
few players are technically on a roster right now. So
when you say something like, I don't know if the
Mystics want another big, they have several bigs.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
Do they?
Speaker 1 (32:22):
They might right now they definitely have Peaky Erie of
fin But do they have Shakira Austin? Do they have
Steph Dolson? Not technically, So depending on what they feel
like they're going to do with those existing players and
whether those free agents have plans to go elsewhere, they
might want to add Lauren Betts, who, by the way,
her stock, shot at least sixty percent from the field
(32:42):
in all six of her tournament games, average twenty one points,
nine point three rebounds, three point two assists, two point
eight blocks, was the most outstanding player, like she was
already in good position heading in and now.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
She made it even better.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
But I'm just curious how what we don't know about
what teams are doing with the rosters that they finished
with last year will very much impact what they're looking
for in this draft.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
Yeah. It reminds me a little bit where the conversation
every year with the WNBA Draft is it doesn't matter
how high you go, it matters if you go to
a team that's a good fit. And this gets back
to the point of are you even going to stick
on the roster.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Right, not just fit for where you'll thrive, but where
you will literally have a space to be on the roster. Yes,
you could be a great player and they could not
have room for you.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
And so it makes me think even this year, I
certainly don't have a good idea of like what that
looks like because we don't know what the rosters are.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:35):
Yeah, And I want people to remember what you just said,
Alex when Rory Harmon is not in the first round,
because I as much as it would be great to see,
you know, a five to six guard does not historically
go in the first round, And I don't think.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
She did enough. It has happened before. I looked it up.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
Five Pot three Tamika Johnson was a sixth overall pick
in two thousand and five.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
It has happened before.
Speaker 4 (33:59):
But second round could land Rory Harmon somewhere that really works, right.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
And we have seen players in the last couple of
years play their way out of the second round onto
a roster spot. We've seen players like Shay Petty who
are picked up on a roster mid season and play
a big role.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
And thankfully now with the.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
New CBA, someone like Shaye Petty won't be paid like
ten dollars in a snack every day in order to
stick on that roster really quickly. Just to round out
the top five of the ESPN draft, because specifically, and
with a bit of bias, I do want to mention
Chicago the number five pick, and right now they've got
fla je Johnson. Okay, this is just a fun thought experiment,
(34:38):
because not only you know, did she average nineteen points
a game shot over fifty two percent in the three
tournament games for LSU was one of the consistent pieces
for a team that couldn't find consistency in their tournament run.
But I'm thinking about the marketing move from Angel to Flage. Right,
you just gave up a millions and millions and millions
of followers athlete, And when you look at the number
(35:01):
of I mean truly millions of followers that she has
across all of her different spaces, she is a huge straw.
So you bring someone like Flage who's not just a
basketball player but a rapper, has a presence, has a
persona outside of the basketball side, and that's a good
move for a team like Chicago, in a city with
a great rap and hip hop history, with a culture
(35:21):
that would absolutely embrace Flage. But will you then have
the same problems of bringing in a player with an
expectation of how she should be living and be treated.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
Flage has been buying land for her family. Flage is
performing on stage at Like the SPI's.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
She's cutting singles with Lil Wayne and Public Enemy. She
got Game, which we talked about on the show, and
now she's going to go to the sky where she'll
be changing next to a sixty five year old pickleball
player after practice.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
In the locker room that they share. What an image.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
Yeah, I want to someone photoshop that's the good game
play of the day. Somebody photoshop Flasee and a sixty
five year old pickleball player just next to each other
in a locker room chatting about the weather. I mentioned
earlier in the show the potential for Rickia Jackson to
get traded to Chicago. We're talking about someone going from
the La market, who is, you know, fashionable and interested
(36:21):
in culture, like just get dropped into the Sky facilities.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Something to think about.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
I did, just for fun look up Chicago Sky followers
on Instagram versus Angel Reese followers, and she is ten
times the number of followers.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Easy, not surprising.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
Yeah, anyway, I guess all that's to say that I'm
dying for the tight shot on whoever gets drafted by
the Sky and what their face looks like, and also
just dying to watch everything on Monday. I'm so excited
for this draft. I think it's going to be just
anybody's guess how it goes down. So we'll be looking
forward to that all right, Before we could talk about
(37:00):
when we've gone too long, we got to take another break.
When we return charge the bar tab to Ottawa stick around.
Welcome back, Slics. We love that you're listening, but we
want you to get in the game every day too,
So here's our good game play of the day.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
I was serious, guys, so photoshop whizzz.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
We want to see that flage pickleball lady mock up
and please let's keep both ladies fully clothed.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
AI is far too advanced at this point to make
that request without qualifying it, so thank you.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
We always love to hear from you, so hit us
up on email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or
leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two oh
four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review.
It's easy watch taking pucks and geish it to the
next level. Rating one of one venue fee you didn't
have to pay review. We've seen a handful of proposals
(37:57):
at PWHL games, but one couple took their love of
hockey and each other to the next level by actually
having their wedding reception at a game Outawa. Charge fans
Allison and Danielle tied the not Wednesday afternoon and celebrated
with a reception at the Charge Torrent game that night.
Very smart Duo Wednesday Wedding way cheaper, and then you
(38:17):
skip the venue fee and the cost of an open bar.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Well done. Congrats to the happy couple.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
Here's hoping your love is more successful than the charge
where Wednesday night they lost five to three. Now it's
your turn, rate and review. Thanks for listening, See you
next week. Good game players prepin' for the draft, Good
game agents working on no sleep you the links picking second.
Goddamn Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iheartwomen's sports
(38:47):
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 Asi and Bianca Hillier. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.
Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Lucy Jones, Brittany Martinez and
Gianna Palmer. Production assistant from Avery Loftus and I'm your host,
(39:10):
Sarah Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Kingdom of Fraud
It’s the unlikeliest of criminal partnerships: a devout polygamist from an insular Utah sect joining forces with a shadowy Armenian tycoon from LA. The result - a billion dollar fraud conspiracy. In Kingdom of Fraud, investigative reporter Michele McPhee traces the origins of the extraordinary alliance between Jacob Kingston and Levon Termendzhyan. Together, the two men trigger the largest tax investigation in American history and weave around themselves a web of dirty cops, influential political relationships and transnational money laundering. All this is set against the backdrop of Jacob Kingston’s clan – The Order. A powerful and secretive polygamist organization in Salt Lake City. To whom Jacob is desperate to prove his worth. Kingdom of Fraud is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit https://novel.audio/. You can listen to new episodes of Kingdom of Fraud completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “iHeart True Crime+, and subscribe today!