November 18, 2025 • 30 mins
The 2025 NWSL Championship is almost here.
Saturday’s match will pit the No. 8 seed Gotham FC against No. 2 Washington Spirit, aka, the only club team Trinity Rodman has ever played for. The Spirit took a major chance on Rodman in 2022, signing her to a four-year, $1.1M contract and making her the then–highest-paid player in the league. But the women’s soccer landscape has changed dramatically since then — and Rodman may be setting her sights overseas.
On today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Lauren Tuiskula and Steph Rotz explain who’s courting Rodman and how the NWSL’s salary cap is playing a major part in why American talent is heading to England’s Women’s Super League. The footy stops here.
Thanks to Fan Duel for supporting today’s podcast. From the rink to the court to the pitch, FanDuel is the home for women’s sports betting in Ontario. Download the FanDuel app or click here to get started.
Show notes:
More on The GIST:
☎️ Leave us a voicemail! Call us at 1-437-564-5579 or hold down on this link🎧 Subscribe: thegistsports.com/subscribepod
✉️ Email: pod@thegistsports.com
📷 Instagram: @thegistca @thegistusa
🐦 X: @thegistpod
Saturday’s match will pit the No. 8 seed Gotham FC against No. 2 Washington Spirit, aka, the only club team Trinity Rodman has ever played for. The Spirit took a major chance on Rodman in 2022, signing her to a four-year, $1.1M contract and making her the then–highest-paid player in the league. But the women’s soccer landscape has changed dramatically since then — and Rodman may be setting her sights overseas.
On today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Lauren Tuiskula and Steph Rotz explain who’s courting Rodman and how the NWSL’s salary cap is playing a major part in why American talent is heading to England’s Women’s Super League. The footy stops here.
Thanks to Fan Duel for supporting today’s podcast. From the rink to the court to the pitch, FanDuel is the home for women’s sports betting in Ontario. Download the FanDuel app or click here to get started.
Show notes:
More on The GIST:
☎️ Leave us a voicemail! Call us at 1-437-564-5579 or hold down on this link🎧 Subscribe: thegistsports.com/subscribepod
✉️ Email: pod@thegistsports.com
📷 Instagram: @thegistca @thegistusa
🐦 X: @thegistpod
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello, Hello jisters, Welcome or welcome back to another episode
of The Gist of It. Today is Tuesday, November eighteenth.
We're your co host. I'm Lauren Tuscala filling in for
Ellen today.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
And I'm Steph ratz Hi Steph Hyslarence.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
So good to see you.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Thanks for coming on the pod, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
It's always nice to chat with you. And today we
get to talk about the NWSL. I am still recovering
from this weekend's at NIBUSL semifinals, so number eight seed
Gotham FC and the number two Washington Spirit they are
through to Saturday's championship match. The semis were awesome. We
recap them in today's newsletter, so check that out if
you missed it, and we will have a full newsletter
(00:46):
and plenty of social content leading up to the championship
match on Saturday, So follow us on everything because today
we're going to zoom in on the Spirit, So we're
going to focus on the Spirit in their semi win.
Franchise star Trinity Rodman took the field in the final
minutes of play. She was recovering from an MCL injury,
so seeing her back on the pitch that was after
a long time away due to that injury.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
And there was an audible roar in what is dubbed
Rowdy Audie, as the Spirit's home stadium is called, when
Rodman subbed onto the pitch, Purple hair and all. And
that's obviously no surprise given that the US women's national
team star has called Washington home since being drafted in
the NWSL and back in twenty twenty one. So that
(01:27):
is what we're focusing on today. We're not being biased
in the particular matchup between Botham and the Spirit because
we're talking about Trendy Rodman today because recent reports indicate
that she may have had her final appearance at Audifield
as the twenty three year old as courting offers from
multiple clubs overseas, given she's a free agent at the
(01:48):
end of this NWSL season.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
That's right. On today's episode, we're going to explain why
Rodman could become the third high profile player to leave
the NWSL for the English Woman's Super League this year alone,
and we're also going to get into how the leak's
salary cap is impacting all of this.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
So much to discuss, so much to discuss, and I'm
so happy to do that today with you, Lauren, And
also I am so glad that you're here because we've
really been getting into the holiday spirit on the podcast,
and it's nice to have some fresh perspective where to
have a third opinion, if you will, because we're calling
our audible section to share the gifts or gift ideas
that are catching our eyes this season, and leaning on
(02:28):
the most recent edition of the Group Chat, which is
the edition of the newsletter that goes out on is
It Sunday?
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Every Sunday?
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Every Sunday. Okay, we're talking about decor and into your design,
two of my favorite things, two of my greatest battles
and accomplishments I feel in life because they're so so
satisfying when it works, so frustrating when it doesn't. AnyWho,
but Lauren, what's the best thing that you've ever put
up on your wall? What did you take from the
(02:58):
group Chat this week? What do you think about gift
giving and receiving when it comes to interior design?
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Yeah? I loved this week's group Chat. Shout out to
Katie ko Foster, who writes every single Group Chat is
just an incredible writer and does such a great job
with our lifestyle newsletter. Every single week I get to
edit her great work, and I just learned so much
every single time, and I'm still thinking about this week's edition.
We talked with an interior designer about how to make
your space sporty but not like a frat house, and
(03:24):
just to keep your fandom involved in it. And I
actually just moved in with my partner just over two
months ago now, and he has his office. He has
his little not his man cave, but like his office.
But we both like sports, so we want to blend
sports and keep it in our household. So we have
Red Sox stuff around. We have a baseball chair, so
I really this week's grip chat spoke to me.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Wait, ass, what do you mean by baseball chair? Is
it met as a chair?
Speaker 1 (03:50):
That's my picture, so it's it's an actual not actual baseball.
It's a baseball It's it's a kidty chair. It's for
a child. But his friend saught on Facebook marketplace, so
it's a it's it's for it's meant for a child.
It's quite small. I have to kind of crouch down
to say in it, but it kind of rotates. But
it's not a it's a it's a baseball.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Oh when you say baseball, you quite literally mean a baseball.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
A baseball. I'll send you a picture of it. Thanks,
thank you. Yes, so yes this week's group chat, I
want my house to be sporty. I love sports is
a big part of my personality and obviously what I
do for work. But I don't want it took like a
frat house. So this week's grip chat was fantastic for that.
And to that point, one of the tips from their
group chat was framing what you have. It seems obvious
(04:32):
that to put a frame around something, but just it
inspired me to want to do that with some pieces
that I have. And I'm a big runner. So I
saw some girls on TikTok framing their marathon bibs, but
putting the metal in it in a cute little shadow block.
Isn't that cute? So I got some on Amazon. I'm
inspired to do that. So I think just taking that
extra step, and whether you pay for someone professional to
(04:54):
frame it or do it yourself and kind of make
it a little DIY project. I think having frames and
taking pieces like that that are so special to you
just goes to extra mile. It makes your space look elevated.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And playing with size is really cool too when you're
framing something like if you have like a ticket stub,
even you could like have a tiny little ticket stub
with a giant frame and have the matting be a
really fun color that ties in different various parts of
your space. I think that's always really cute too when
you do play with format with the frames.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
We should have talked to you for the group chat.
That's a fantastic tip.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
And because I'm thinking of like the bit is it white?
Speaker 1 (05:32):
So they are different colors, so a lot of them
have a lot of white, but then like my New
York what has some blues and pinks, so it changes
depending on the race.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Wow, so many options, so many.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yeah, there's so.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Much that you can do with all the various paraphernalia
that you acquire, either as a runner, track star athlete
yourself or as someone who goes to.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Smart events.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Something that I did I thrifted a old women in
Sport sports book and in the centerfold where all of
these black and white photographs, and I did, unfortunately for
all the book lovers, You're gonna hate me. I did
rip it out a couple of the photos. One of
them was a black and white photo of Billy Jean
King back in the seventies, and I framed that so
(06:17):
I kind of cool, trimmed it nice and like cleaned
it up real nice and put that in a frame.
And then someone on my block was actually moving and
they put out a stack of old magazines and some
of them were Sports Illustrated from the nineteen seventies and
just full of gorgeous, gorgeous imagery, gorgeous photography. So I
(06:37):
framed a couple of that as well, so you can go,
you know, keep it on the cheap. You can head
to your value village, your thrift store, whatever you have
in your area, comb through the magazine and see if
they have anything old and charming that might speak to
you from a sports perspective. And you can also just
toss that.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
In a frame. I love that, And if we're talking gifts,
it would be such a cool gift idea. You can
go on the Sports Illustrated Archives and go take the
cover page someone's birthday or from the holidays, or their
favorite team. You can go find the cover and print
that out, or go find the original edition and frame
that so that's a fun gift idea.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
That's so cool. I didn't know you could do that.
I know you can do that with some art galleries.
There's some art online that you can print and down
and I didn't know that you could do that with
Sports Illustrated.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
That's so cool. I would love to receive that. Mom
and Dad, if you're listening, I would love to receive that.
So many great ideas.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Thank you so much, Lauren, and yeah, if you want
to dig more into this topic, go into your email
inbox and go to the group chat form this weekend.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Huge thank you to our pals at FanDuel for partnering
with us for today's episode. We are a mere days
away from Peter Chel Puck Drop, and I truly cannot
wait because with not one but two new expansion teams
ready to hit the ice, this season is poised to
be the absolute best one yet, and thanks to fandel
I can be a part of it in a new
and exciting way. The season is just about to get started,
(07:54):
but it's never too early to get in on the action.
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Download the FanDuel app today and make those gut instincts count.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
All Right, it's time to get into our one big
story for today, and that one big story is on
Trinity Rodman, and we're going to start with her history
with the Washington Spirit, which is her current team.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yes, so we're talking Toriny Rodman today. But yeah, let's
get into a little backstory and her origin story in
the league. Rodman was drafted to the Spirit in twenty
twenty one, and she was drafted straight out of high school.
She was just eighteen years old at the time, which
made her the youngest player to join the NWSL. Of course,
there have been others since in the year since, it
seems like the age just keeps getting lower and lower,
(08:49):
but at the time in twenty twenty one, she was
the youngest player to join and she made an immediate
impact in the league. So sometimes it takes players a
little bit of time to get their footing, but that
was not the case with Trinity. She won Rookie of
the Year and her team won the end of GOOSELT
Championship in her debut season.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Ugh wow wow, like truly, h you might be too
young for this, but do you know that song? Yo,
I'm a superstar.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I know that song. I'm only a little bit younger
than you.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Ste Everyone. My boyfriend keeps saying like we're unk now
because apparently that's what the kids say. So I'm really
just digesting that and taking that all in. Yeah. I
don't know if that's true or not.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Any who I've heard it.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Yeah, okay, okay, thank you. But yeah, that's exactly what's
playing in my head. When you talk about trending Rodman,
That's what I'm hearing. Because she even assisted the legendary
Kelly O'Hara on the championship winning.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Goal that year.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Like she is just superpower immediately from a young age, definitely.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
And I saw a tweet recently this is now we're
going to get into who she is now in her stardom,
but they're talking about her aura, and I feel like
she had it immediately. It didn't take right away, her presence.
You just wanted to watch her and your eyes followed
her on the field. So she just brings such aura
with her.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
And after her phenomenal rookie season, the Spirit went all
in on training Rodman, signing her to a four year,
one point one million contract in twenty twenty two and
again another at the time here. But at the time
this made Rodman the highest paid player in NWSL history, exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
And we also want to mention here that the Washington Spirit,
they are one of the most highly coveted franchises for
players to join the NWSL, So Rodman joined an incredible
franchise right off the jump. They're owned by owner Michelle Kang,
who also owns clubs overseas. She has heavily invested in
the growth of women's soccer worldwide and just investment in
the team and the facilities. And you can really see that.
(10:45):
You mentioned the rowdy atmosphere at Audifield stuff. It's because
she's really invested in this team and the fans are
showing out because of the support she's given into it.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Yeah, the commitments to women's soccer that she's providing in
North America and in Europe is exceptional. She's an exceptional
person to be playing for from that investment perspective. Last
Saturday semi final was sold out with more than nineteen
thousand fans in the arena, and the Spirit averaged the
third highest attendance in the league, with just over fifteen
(11:17):
thousand fans on average at its home games. This is
a fun spot to play.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Definitely, and there's so much buy in from the area too,
so fans in the DMV. They have all these clubs
to support. And the cool thing about Audifield as well
is it's actually in DC proper, so it's easy to
get there from public transit. We talk all the time
women's sports in particular, where Boston comes to mind. My Fleet,
the Boston Fleet, but they play a little bit outside
(11:43):
the city. It's a little bit of a hike to
get there, and that's not the case with Audifield. You
can get there by public transit and it's right in
city limits.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
The Boston Fleet being the PWHL team for US and
so not a soccer team, but I totally know and
feel what you're talking about. That's such a downer when
it's named city and it's not technically in that city.
So this is not the case for the Washington Spirit.
It is a very very accessible stadium for the city.
So we've just mentioned so many great things about this
(12:13):
particular team. So the question is why would Rodman want
to leave?
Speaker 1 (12:18):
That is the question and it's the one that's coming
up ahead of this championship game. She as we said,
she's been crushing it in the busl ever since her debut.
But if we fast forward to twenty twenty four, that
was really her breakout year on the global stage. She
was central to the US women's national team that leading
up to the Paris Olympics. So that's her breakout. We've
(12:39):
seen her, We saw her come out on the Nbuseel
stage and her debut, but twenty twenty four was the
year when it all really came together. She scored three
goals in that Olympics and was a crucial part of
Triple Espresso. That's the trio of Trinity Rodman, Mally Sponson
and Sofia Wilson. Those forwards, they scored all the goals
and they clinched the US womon's national team their first
gold met since twenty twelve. So that Olympics campaign in
(13:02):
twenty twenty four was her real introduction across on the
global stage.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Yeah, that's the year she made her impact on that
particular team and since the Olympics. Rondoman has unfortunately been
hampered by a lingering back injury, so much so that
she missed almost four months of the twenty twenty five
NWSL season to recover and receive new treatment for the
issue in Europe. And that is why we talked about
(13:26):
at the top. When she came onto the pitch, it
was to this roaring cheer because she was coming back
to play, which is huge. And when she's healthy on
the field, she excels. She's an outstanding goal scorer. She's
tricky as heck as a dribbler. She's so much fun
to watch, whether or not you're a huge soccer person
(13:48):
or not, Like you can just tell again she's got aura.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Yeah, just so much talent. And I feel like when
a player's stribbling down the sideline and wayne soccer, sometimes
it's a little bit stagnant with the player right, people
to complain it's boring, it's a nail nail game, it's boring.
But when she's dribbling down that sideline, that's when everyone
kind of leans forward and you never know what's going
to happen. You never what she's going to do on
the ball. So she's just so fun to watch. We're
talking about her stardom and big stars. They get paid
(14:16):
the big bucks, right, that's how it goes, That's how
sports go. But that is not always the case in
the NWSL.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, I think we can even zoom out a bit
on that one and say women's sports at large, but
we're talking. We're keeping it specific here. So Rodman will
be a free agent as soon as this season ends.
With her triple Espresso. Teammates Wanson and Wilson both out
this season as they recover from giving birth to their
first children. Rodman is the biggest star in the NWSL
(14:44):
at this moment. That is a huge piece of leverage,
and one would think that the league would be doing
all they can to keep her stateside, And that is
what we're hearing is the case. And it's very likely
that the NWSL and Commissioner Jessica Burma and are like
truly trying to make that happen when they say in
these interviews that they are making and happen, because it's
(15:06):
just like, why would you want to lose her?
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Right? But there's one thing standing in the way of
those efforts, and that is the nwosl's salary cap, so
really quickly. What a salary cap is, as the name
might indicate, it puts a cap on how much a
team can spend on players. So it makes it so
that you can't just willing nearly say one owner has
infinite dollars, they can't just put all of that into
(15:29):
the team. So it helps to create a level playing
field so that teams aren't going to outpit and one
team is paying five million dollars on other's playing a million,
just tries to keep that talent equal. Now, the NWSL
salary cap is on the rise, so this year each
team was capped at three point three million. Next year
that's going to increase to three point five million, and
then in the years ahead it's going to keep on
(15:51):
ticking up. By twenty thirty it's going to reach five
point one million. So it is increasing, but it's still
being imposed.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Whereas European teams like the English Women's Super League, they
don't have salary caps, and that is why we're talking
about this today. Salary caps are largely an American concept.
It turns out as such, one WSL team Chelsea has Snake,
two other and WSL and US women's national team young
(16:20):
stars this year alone, defender Naomi Germa who was previously
on San Diego Wave, and forward Alyssa Thompson who was
on Angel City FC.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
And I just want to jump in here. I have
to make everything about baseball every time on the podcasts.
But the salary cap is coming up in MLB as well,
So there's rumors that there's going to be a lockout.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I know.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
There's rumors the lockout could come because the owners commissioner
Rob Manfred, they want to impose a salary gap. But
of course the players they don't want that. They want
to get paid. But it's an issue of the talent
there where the Dodgers just keep on winning. It's these
teams the pulling the resource is the Dodgers are getting
all these talented players. And so that's happening at MLB.
(17:04):
Two salary caps are happening across all sports. But I
just want to make that MLB note that it's going
to be an issue in the years ahead there as well.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
And yeah, there's always fluctuation too. It's really hard to
feel bad for male athletes, but like like we what
we saw this year very clearly in the World Series,
they don't all make the same about Anyboddy. Some dudes
around a much lower contract than others. AnyWho, we're going
to pivot right back to soccer. But Rodman is reportedly
(17:33):
fielding multiple lucrative offers from European teams, including some in England,
and her agent has been in direct contact with the
commissioner of the NWSL about various solutions to keep her
here Stateside, but none have been able to come to
fruition quite yet. And you really can't blame her, right
(17:56):
like you obviously want to squeeze out as much money
from your playing career as possible. And she also did
mention in an interview that she did or does want
to play in Europe at some point before she retires,
so it doesn't necessarily mean she wants to do that
right now, but she did say that that is something
she wants to do as.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Well, definitely, and it is really top of mind. I
know it might seem like we're going to ge ahead
of ourselves because there is still that championship game to play,
but after her semi final win, she said, quote, once
we get this championship, then I can start making decisions
and figuring out what next year looks like for me
end quote. So it's top of mind. People are talking
about it, and they also are asking Commissioner Jessica Berman
(18:35):
about it. But she continues to defend the league's salary cap,
saying it helps to create the parity and competitiveness that
the NWSL is known for, and that's evidenced by the
championship matchup. Gotham was the number eight seed and yet
here they are in the championship game, So there is
that parody in the league. The other thing to note
here too is as much as it's important to get paid,
(18:56):
it's not always just about the salary too. So as
we said at the top, the Spirit have these top
flight facilities, and the NWSL is a competitive league, so
there's a chance for winning. There's a lot of other
factors that go into it. But again this today is
about the salary cap and the decision ahead.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Yeah, and Berman really talks about the sustainability when she's
being asked about this too, of the league is not
just thinking about the next one year, two years, three years,
and she even goes as far to say it's the
next hundred years of the league and really wanting to
make sure that this is a professional environment that is
fun and that fans feel like the game isn't predetermined
(19:32):
before it's even started, So really honing in on that
competitive aspect of it all. But with all that said,
changes to the salary cap are of course possible. Anything
can happen. According to the NWSL's twenty twenty four CBA,
the NWSL, in consultation with the player Association, may increase
the salary cap in any year or reduce or eliminate
(19:55):
the salary cap charge against the team salary cap for
certain roster class sifications.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
That's right, and this has happened before in soccer so
in twenty seven. In two thousand and seven, am List
did this for one David Beckham, where superstar player salary
exists outside of the salary cap. So there hasn't been
indication that's going to happen in the NWSL just yet.
It would require buy in from every single team owner
(20:22):
and commissioner Jessica Berman, but it's not unprecedented in.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Soccer m that's a good thing to mention there there
are examples, and of course one player doesn't make a league.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
It is a team sport.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
There are so many people on the pitch and there's
just so many talented football players in the NWSL beside
Trinity New Rodman, including that large portion of the US
women's national team pool.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
But Rodman is more than just.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
A great soccer player, she is a star, right, Like
you really do want to keep your star in the league.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Definitely. Soccer is such a global game that, like we're
seeing this exodus, we're seeing movement. We're seeing we're also
seeing play make the opposite decision. They're playing abroad and
they choose to come back to the States and play
in that WSL. So there's going to be a movement
both ways. It's going to be something really interesting to
watch and see how it all plays out as Trinity
at the center, so we'll see what happens. We'll be
(21:13):
covering the championship game and all of the follow up
from the salary cap as well.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Another big shout out to our friends at FanDuel for
supporting today's episode. As Lauren mentioned earlier, we are so
close to PWHL pop job. I can feel it in
my veins, and FanDuel is ready to make every moment
even more exciting. They're making it easy for women's hockey
fans like you and me to play spats. Their app
is easy to use and built with options specifically for
(21:38):
women's sports. If I were a betting women, and you
know that I am, I'd be placing a futures bet
on perhaps the Montreal Victoire to win the Walter Cup
as a Toronto Sceptors fan, and has pained me to
say that, but I do feel like this is the
year we're in, in an Olympic year, that their goalie
and Renee Debian who's the starter for Team Canada, Laura
(21:59):
State and Marie Filippe Plan who are also on Team Canada,
are really going to make it happen for both Team
Canada but also for their team. They're going to bring
that energy and that that Jinese quah back to the
Montreal Victoire this year and with FanDuel, the excitement of
women's hockey is literally in your hands, from this weekend's
opening puck drop all the way to the Walter Cup finals.
Download the Found Dual app today to get started. Okay,
(22:31):
final segment our personal training session. This is where we
would love to feature you on the podcast. We would
love to answer any sort of questions that you have
about the sports world at large or feature a hot
take that you want to have, or really just start
a conversation with you and your fellow gisters we would
like to facilitate.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
And to that point, if you would like to be
featured on a future episode, please call and leave us
a voicemail at one four three seven five six four
five five seven nine. We'll have that in the show notes.
If you missed it, you don't have to take out
the pen right now and write it down. That'll be
accessible in the show notes, or you can email us
at pod at the gisports dot com or message Steph
or Ellen on Instagram. So lots of ways to get
(23:11):
in touch, and today's personal training Sesshion is inspired by
someone that did get in touch. So I know, Steph,
you've got a DM to this point. Today the question
is are men okay?
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Just like such a great question, so many things, so
many ways that we could take this and expand on
this and run with this in our personal training sesshon
Ellen and I have been asking this question. I'm not
supposed to say Ellen and I right, I'm supposed to
say Ellen and me. I always don't know that I
don't know the grammatic rule with that'll the grammar rule.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
What is it? So the rule is if you would
say I, like you would say I ran with this, yeah,
then then you say Ellen and I, oh right, you were.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Right, okay, okay, thank you. I'm gonna use your voice
in my head every single time I needed to think
about that. So Ellen and I have really been running
with this question a lot lately. So on today's podcast,
we're going to call out a few men who have
made questionable choices recently, and then we're gonna also end
it with a few that we're standing. We're going to
(24:18):
say our men okay, and then here are some men
that we think are okay.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Do a little bit of both if we love balance
and yeah this whenever this could come up again, I
feel like this could be a fun recurring segment because
goats something that comes up on the pod quite often.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Yeah, if you would like to submit a our men
okay segment or question, please send it our way. We
would love to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Send it on over. We'll talk about the first one
of the men who are certainly not okay, And we're
going to start with the NFL, which is where we
tend to go. So over the weekend, Cincinnati Bengals wide
receiver Jamar Chase and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey.
They got into it during the game. Ramsey was ejected
for punching Chase, and he says he did it because
(25:01):
Chase spit on him.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Eh. Right, Can we stop with all of the spitting
in pro sports? Like? Chase has since been suspended by
the NFL for one game for allegedly spitting on Ramsey.
But it's why is this still happening?
Speaker 1 (25:18):
It's happening quite a bit. It actually kicked off the
NFL season as well. Back at the beginning of the season,
Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jailing Carter spit on Dallas Cowboys
quarterback Dak Prescott. Do you remember this? People were zooming you?
I do. Photo. Yeah, So it's coming up quite a
bit in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
That's like a perfect our. Menokay, why are we spitting
on other human beings?
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Question? Yeah, spit gate. We don't need more of this,
Please stop, please stop doing it.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
No.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
No, I get having to spit because you're in action,
like if you're on a run or something, sometimes you
gotta spit.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
But have do you spit it? In your marathons.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
I don't because I find it pretty gross and if
I'm surrounded by people, But I get why someone would
have to do it, but I choose not to.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
I've just unless I've been hit in the face and
I'm bleeding in the mouth, I've truly never spit. Yeah,
that's not into a sink before at like a dentist sink.
Like there's no situation in soccer, hockey, lacrosse where I've
had to spit.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
I guess when I'm running I'm thinking about races, it
tends to be men who are spitting, Like I don't
see a lot of women spitting.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
And why are you spitting?
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Can you tell us? Please explain? Yeah, maybe that's the submission.
Please write in and tell us why you're spitting so much.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I hate that about MLB. I'm like, sorry, I can
stop zooming. And like the camera always pans to a
man right as he's about to spit.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
I guess when I played softball, if I was chewing seeds,
like doing some flower seeds, I would spit the shells.
But that's a function, Like you can't eat the shells,
so of course you're going to spit them out. But
I think this is a different situation.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
This is a different situation. Let's perhaps leave on a
positive note. Let's talk about some green flag men, and
all the men competing on this up Dancing with the
Stars probably follow in this category.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Would you agree, yes, certainly, Yes, they are all green
flags all around.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Yes, we have Dylan Afron, Robert Erwin, Ezra Soza, and
they're just like green green flags, and by competing in
this competition, they are de facto athletes in my opinion,
no further questions.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Yeah, Asra Sosa. His partner is Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles.
So there's that sports right. Yes, so there's our sports
connection right there. And this one shout out to producer Alessandra.
I know she is all about Dancing with the Stars
every single season, but this season in particular, So shout
out to al for pulling this in. I usually I
grew up watching Dancing with the Stars, and I haven't
(27:43):
been as into it recently now that my boy Scott
Hoying from Pentatonic Scott eliminated. I also I am a little
bit out on this season, but it's super fun to
watch the finales coming up. So if you want to
see these men that are okay. Tune into the Dancing
with the Stars finale, especially for Jordan Chiles and her
partner as Rissosa.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
I feel like they're it's been a like a resurgence.
I know that it's been going on for many, many
a year, so to say a resurgence would be the
incorrect word. But Alona Mara being on Yes, I think
Alana yeah last season really brought me back to the show.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Same here. I think a lot of it was the
Alona effect, and I feel like the dances being on
TikTok as well have helped because you don't have to
watch the entire show, but you can see like a
highlight from it, so I think, but alonamr was the
real difference maker there.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
I know that we're talking about men that aren't okay,
but her quote from last season is my go to
when someone's talking to me and I am not okay.
When she mess up her dance and she goes, I've
been better carry in yes, Yes, and excellent quip.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Gosh.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
I love her so much. Somehow made this about women.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Any who, Thanks, that's how the show goes.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Thank you so much Lauren for being on today's episode.
We appreciate you being here and with that we will
we will be in your feeds on Thursday. In the meantime,
if you enjoyed today's episode, would love for you to rate, review,
and subscribe.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
This episode was edited by Savannahild and produced by Alesandra
Puccio and myself Lauren Tescala. Again, I am Laurence Tuscla.
Shout out to Laurence Tuscla.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
I'm I will chat with you get on Thursday.
Hello, Hello jisters, Welcome or welcome back to another episode
of The Gist of It. Today is Tuesday, November eighteenth.
We're your co host. I'm Lauren Tuscala filling in for
Ellen today.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
And I'm Steph ratz Hi Steph Hyslarence.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
So good to see you.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Thanks for coming on the pod, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
It's always nice to chat with you. And today we
get to talk about the NWSL. I am still recovering
from this weekend's at NIBUSL semifinals, so number eight seed
Gotham FC and the number two Washington Spirit they are
through to Saturday's championship match. The semis were awesome. We
recap them in today's newsletter, so check that out if
you missed it, and we will have a full newsletter
(00:46):
and plenty of social content leading up to the championship
match on Saturday, So follow us on everything because today
we're going to zoom in on the Spirit, So we're
going to focus on the Spirit in their semi win.
Franchise star Trinity Rodman took the field in the final
minutes of play. She was recovering from an MCL injury,
so seeing her back on the pitch that was after
a long time away due to that injury.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
And there was an audible roar in what is dubbed
Rowdy Audie, as the Spirit's home stadium is called, when
Rodman subbed onto the pitch, Purple hair and all. And
that's obviously no surprise given that the US women's national
team star has called Washington home since being drafted in
the NWSL and back in twenty twenty one. So that
(01:27):
is what we're focusing on today. We're not being biased
in the particular matchup between Botham and the Spirit because
we're talking about Trendy Rodman today because recent reports indicate
that she may have had her final appearance at Audifield
as the twenty three year old as courting offers from
multiple clubs overseas, given she's a free agent at the
(01:48):
end of this NWSL season.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
That's right. On today's episode, we're going to explain why
Rodman could become the third high profile player to leave
the NWSL for the English Woman's Super League this year alone,
and we're also going to get into how the leak's
salary cap is impacting all of this.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
So much to discuss, so much to discuss, and I'm
so happy to do that today with you, Lauren, And
also I am so glad that you're here because we've
really been getting into the holiday spirit on the podcast,
and it's nice to have some fresh perspective where to
have a third opinion, if you will, because we're calling
our audible section to share the gifts or gift ideas
that are catching our eyes this season, and leaning on
(02:28):
the most recent edition of the Group Chat, which is
the edition of the newsletter that goes out on is
It Sunday?
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Every Sunday?
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Every Sunday. Okay, we're talking about decor and into your design,
two of my favorite things, two of my greatest battles
and accomplishments I feel in life because they're so so
satisfying when it works, so frustrating when it doesn't. AnyWho,
but Lauren, what's the best thing that you've ever put
up on your wall? What did you take from the
(02:58):
group Chat this week? What do you think about gift
giving and receiving when it comes to interior design?
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Yeah? I loved this week's group Chat. Shout out to
Katie ko Foster, who writes every single Group Chat is
just an incredible writer and does such a great job
with our lifestyle newsletter. Every single week I get to
edit her great work, and I just learned so much
every single time, and I'm still thinking about this week's edition.
We talked with an interior designer about how to make
your space sporty but not like a frat house, and
(03:24):
just to keep your fandom involved in it. And I
actually just moved in with my partner just over two
months ago now, and he has his office. He has
his little not his man cave, but like his office.
But we both like sports, so we want to blend
sports and keep it in our household. So we have
Red Sox stuff around. We have a baseball chair, so
I really this week's grip chat spoke to me.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Wait, ass, what do you mean by baseball chair? Is
it met as a chair?
Speaker 1 (03:50):
That's my picture, so it's it's an actual not actual baseball.
It's a baseball It's it's a kidty chair. It's for
a child. But his friend saught on Facebook marketplace, so
it's a it's it's for it's meant for a child.
It's quite small. I have to kind of crouch down
to say in it, but it kind of rotates. But
it's not a it's a it's a baseball.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Oh when you say baseball, you quite literally mean a baseball.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
A baseball. I'll send you a picture of it. Thanks,
thank you. Yes, so yes this week's group chat, I
want my house to be sporty. I love sports is
a big part of my personality and obviously what I
do for work. But I don't want it took like a
frat house. So this week's grip chat was fantastic for that.
And to that point, one of the tips from their
group chat was framing what you have. It seems obvious
(04:32):
that to put a frame around something, but just it
inspired me to want to do that with some pieces
that I have. And I'm a big runner. So I
saw some girls on TikTok framing their marathon bibs, but
putting the metal in it in a cute little shadow block.
Isn't that cute? So I got some on Amazon. I'm
inspired to do that. So I think just taking that
extra step, and whether you pay for someone professional to
(04:54):
frame it or do it yourself and kind of make
it a little DIY project. I think having frames and
taking pieces like that that are so special to you
just goes to extra mile. It makes your space look elevated.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And playing with size is really cool too when you're
framing something like if you have like a ticket stub,
even you could like have a tiny little ticket stub
with a giant frame and have the matting be a
really fun color that ties in different various parts of
your space. I think that's always really cute too when
you do play with format with the frames.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
We should have talked to you for the group chat.
That's a fantastic tip.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
And because I'm thinking of like the bit is it white?
Speaker 1 (05:32):
So they are different colors, so a lot of them
have a lot of white, but then like my New
York what has some blues and pinks, so it changes
depending on the race.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Wow, so many options, so many.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yeah, there's so.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Much that you can do with all the various paraphernalia
that you acquire, either as a runner, track star athlete
yourself or as someone who goes to.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Smart events.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Something that I did I thrifted a old women in
Sport sports book and in the centerfold where all of
these black and white photographs, and I did, unfortunately for
all the book lovers, You're gonna hate me. I did
rip it out a couple of the photos. One of
them was a black and white photo of Billy Jean
King back in the seventies, and I framed that so
(06:17):
I kind of cool, trimmed it nice and like cleaned
it up real nice and put that in a frame.
And then someone on my block was actually moving and
they put out a stack of old magazines and some
of them were Sports Illustrated from the nineteen seventies and
just full of gorgeous, gorgeous imagery, gorgeous photography. So I
(06:37):
framed a couple of that as well, so you can go,
you know, keep it on the cheap. You can head
to your value village, your thrift store, whatever you have
in your area, comb through the magazine and see if
they have anything old and charming that might speak to
you from a sports perspective. And you can also just
toss that.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
In a frame. I love that, And if we're talking gifts,
it would be such a cool gift idea. You can
go on the Sports Illustrated Archives and go take the
cover page someone's birthday or from the holidays, or their
favorite team. You can go find the cover and print
that out, or go find the original edition and frame
that so that's a fun gift idea.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
That's so cool. I didn't know you could do that.
I know you can do that with some art galleries.
There's some art online that you can print and down
and I didn't know that you could do that with
Sports Illustrated.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
That's so cool. I would love to receive that. Mom
and Dad, if you're listening, I would love to receive that.
So many great ideas.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Thank you so much, Lauren, and yeah, if you want
to dig more into this topic, go into your email
inbox and go to the group chat form this weekend.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
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Speaker 2 (08:19):
All Right, it's time to get into our one big
story for today, and that one big story is on
Trinity Rodman, and we're going to start with her history
with the Washington Spirit, which is her current team.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yes, so we're talking Toriny Rodman today. But yeah, let's
get into a little backstory and her origin story in
the league. Rodman was drafted to the Spirit in twenty
twenty one, and she was drafted straight out of high school.
She was just eighteen years old at the time, which
made her the youngest player to join the NWSL. Of course,
there have been others since in the year since, it
seems like the age just keeps getting lower and lower,
(08:49):
but at the time in twenty twenty one, she was
the youngest player to join and she made an immediate
impact in the league. So sometimes it takes players a
little bit of time to get their footing, but that
was not the case with Trinity. She won Rookie of
the Year and her team won the end of GOOSELT
Championship in her debut season.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Ugh wow wow, like truly, h you might be too
young for this, but do you know that song? Yo,
I'm a superstar.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I know that song. I'm only a little bit younger
than you.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Ste Everyone. My boyfriend keeps saying like we're unk now
because apparently that's what the kids say. So I'm really
just digesting that and taking that all in. Yeah. I
don't know if that's true or not.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Any who I've heard it.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Yeah, okay, okay, thank you. But yeah, that's exactly what's
playing in my head. When you talk about trending Rodman,
That's what I'm hearing. Because she even assisted the legendary
Kelly O'Hara on the championship winning.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Goal that year.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Like she is just superpower immediately from a young age, definitely.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
And I saw a tweet recently this is now we're
going to get into who she is now in her stardom,
but they're talking about her aura, and I feel like
she had it immediately. It didn't take right away, her presence.
You just wanted to watch her and your eyes followed
her on the field. So she just brings such aura
with her.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
And after her phenomenal rookie season, the Spirit went all
in on training Rodman, signing her to a four year,
one point one million contract in twenty twenty two and
again another at the time here. But at the time
this made Rodman the highest paid player in NWSL history, exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
And we also want to mention here that the Washington Spirit,
they are one of the most highly coveted franchises for
players to join the NWSL, So Rodman joined an incredible
franchise right off the jump. They're owned by owner Michelle Kang,
who also owns clubs overseas. She has heavily invested in
the growth of women's soccer worldwide and just investment in
the team and the facilities. And you can really see that.
(10:45):
You mentioned the rowdy atmosphere at Audifield stuff. It's because
she's really invested in this team and the fans are
showing out because of the support she's given into it.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Yeah, the commitments to women's soccer that she's providing in
North America and in Europe is exceptional. She's an exceptional
person to be playing for from that investment perspective. Last
Saturday semi final was sold out with more than nineteen
thousand fans in the arena, and the Spirit averaged the
third highest attendance in the league, with just over fifteen
(11:17):
thousand fans on average at its home games. This is
a fun spot to play.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Definitely, and there's so much buy in from the area too,
so fans in the DMV. They have all these clubs
to support. And the cool thing about Audifield as well
is it's actually in DC proper, so it's easy to
get there from public transit. We talk all the time
women's sports in particular, where Boston comes to mind. My Fleet,
the Boston Fleet, but they play a little bit outside
(11:43):
the city. It's a little bit of a hike to
get there, and that's not the case with Audifield. You
can get there by public transit and it's right in
city limits.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
The Boston Fleet being the PWHL team for US and
so not a soccer team, but I totally know and
feel what you're talking about. That's such a downer when
it's named city and it's not technically in that city.
So this is not the case for the Washington Spirit.
It is a very very accessible stadium for the city.
So we've just mentioned so many great things about this
(12:13):
particular team. So the question is why would Rodman want
to leave?
Speaker 1 (12:18):
That is the question and it's the one that's coming
up ahead of this championship game. She as we said,
she's been crushing it in the busl ever since her debut.
But if we fast forward to twenty twenty four, that
was really her breakout year on the global stage. She
was central to the US women's national team that leading
up to the Paris Olympics. So that's her breakout. We've
(12:39):
seen her, We saw her come out on the Nbuseel
stage and her debut, but twenty twenty four was the
year when it all really came together. She scored three
goals in that Olympics and was a crucial part of
Triple Espresso. That's the trio of Trinity Rodman, Mally Sponson
and Sofia Wilson. Those forwards, they scored all the goals
and they clinched the US womon's national team their first
gold met since twenty twelve. So that Olympics campaign in
(13:02):
twenty twenty four was her real introduction across on the
global stage.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Yeah, that's the year she made her impact on that
particular team and since the Olympics. Rondoman has unfortunately been
hampered by a lingering back injury, so much so that
she missed almost four months of the twenty twenty five
NWSL season to recover and receive new treatment for the
issue in Europe. And that is why we talked about
(13:26):
at the top. When she came onto the pitch, it
was to this roaring cheer because she was coming back
to play, which is huge. And when she's healthy on
the field, she excels. She's an outstanding goal scorer. She's
tricky as heck as a dribbler. She's so much fun
to watch, whether or not you're a huge soccer person
(13:48):
or not, Like you can just tell again she's got aura.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Yeah, just so much talent. And I feel like when
a player's stribbling down the sideline and wayne soccer, sometimes
it's a little bit stagnant with the player right, people
to complain it's boring, it's a nail nail game, it's boring.
But when she's dribbling down that sideline, that's when everyone
kind of leans forward and you never know what's going
to happen. You never what she's going to do on
the ball. So she's just so fun to watch. We're
talking about her stardom and big stars. They get paid
(14:16):
the big bucks, right, that's how it goes, That's how
sports go. But that is not always the case in
the NWSL.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, I think we can even zoom out a bit
on that one and say women's sports at large, but
we're talking. We're keeping it specific here. So Rodman will
be a free agent as soon as this season ends.
With her triple Espresso. Teammates Wanson and Wilson both out
this season as they recover from giving birth to their
first children. Rodman is the biggest star in the NWSL
(14:44):
at this moment. That is a huge piece of leverage,
and one would think that the league would be doing
all they can to keep her stateside, And that is
what we're hearing is the case. And it's very likely
that the NWSL and Commissioner Jessica Burma and are like
truly trying to make that happen when they say in
these interviews that they are making and happen, because it's
(15:06):
just like, why would you want to lose her?
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Right? But there's one thing standing in the way of
those efforts, and that is the nwosl's salary cap, so
really quickly. What a salary cap is, as the name
might indicate, it puts a cap on how much a
team can spend on players. So it makes it so
that you can't just willing nearly say one owner has
infinite dollars, they can't just put all of that into
(15:29):
the team. So it helps to create a level playing
field so that teams aren't going to outpit and one
team is paying five million dollars on other's playing a million,
just tries to keep that talent equal. Now, the NWSL
salary cap is on the rise, so this year each
team was capped at three point three million. Next year
that's going to increase to three point five million, and
then in the years ahead it's going to keep on
(15:51):
ticking up. By twenty thirty it's going to reach five
point one million. So it is increasing, but it's still
being imposed.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Whereas European teams like the English Women's Super League, they
don't have salary caps, and that is why we're talking
about this today. Salary caps are largely an American concept.
It turns out as such, one WSL team Chelsea has Snake,
two other and WSL and US women's national team young
(16:20):
stars this year alone, defender Naomi Germa who was previously
on San Diego Wave, and forward Alyssa Thompson who was
on Angel City FC.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
And I just want to jump in here. I have
to make everything about baseball every time on the podcasts.
But the salary cap is coming up in MLB as well,
So there's rumors that there's going to be a lockout.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I know.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
There's rumors the lockout could come because the owners commissioner
Rob Manfred, they want to impose a salary gap. But
of course the players they don't want that. They want
to get paid. But it's an issue of the talent
there where the Dodgers just keep on winning. It's these
teams the pulling the resource is the Dodgers are getting
all these talented players. And so that's happening at MLB.
(17:04):
Two salary caps are happening across all sports. But I
just want to make that MLB note that it's going
to be an issue in the years ahead there as well.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
And yeah, there's always fluctuation too. It's really hard to
feel bad for male athletes, but like like we what
we saw this year very clearly in the World Series,
they don't all make the same about Anyboddy. Some dudes
around a much lower contract than others. AnyWho, we're going
to pivot right back to soccer. But Rodman is reportedly
(17:33):
fielding multiple lucrative offers from European teams, including some in England,
and her agent has been in direct contact with the
commissioner of the NWSL about various solutions to keep her
here Stateside, but none have been able to come to
fruition quite yet. And you really can't blame her, right
(17:56):
like you obviously want to squeeze out as much money
from your playing career as possible. And she also did
mention in an interview that she did or does want
to play in Europe at some point before she retires,
so it doesn't necessarily mean she wants to do that
right now, but she did say that that is something
she wants to do as.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Well, definitely, and it is really top of mind. I
know it might seem like we're going to ge ahead
of ourselves because there is still that championship game to play,
but after her semi final win, she said, quote, once
we get this championship, then I can start making decisions
and figuring out what next year looks like for me
end quote. So it's top of mind. People are talking
about it, and they also are asking Commissioner Jessica Berman
(18:35):
about it. But she continues to defend the league's salary cap,
saying it helps to create the parity and competitiveness that
the NWSL is known for, and that's evidenced by the
championship matchup. Gotham was the number eight seed and yet
here they are in the championship game, So there is
that parody in the league. The other thing to note
here too is as much as it's important to get paid,
(18:56):
it's not always just about the salary too. So as
we said at the top, the Spirit have these top
flight facilities, and the NWSL is a competitive league, so
there's a chance for winning. There's a lot of other
factors that go into it. But again this today is
about the salary cap and the decision ahead.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Yeah, and Berman really talks about the sustainability when she's
being asked about this too, of the league is not
just thinking about the next one year, two years, three years,
and she even goes as far to say it's the
next hundred years of the league and really wanting to
make sure that this is a professional environment that is
fun and that fans feel like the game isn't predetermined
(19:32):
before it's even started, So really honing in on that
competitive aspect of it all. But with all that said,
changes to the salary cap are of course possible. Anything
can happen. According to the NWSL's twenty twenty four CBA,
the NWSL, in consultation with the player Association, may increase
the salary cap in any year or reduce or eliminate
(19:55):
the salary cap charge against the team salary cap for
certain roster class sifications.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
That's right, and this has happened before in soccer so
in twenty seven. In two thousand and seven, am List
did this for one David Beckham, where superstar player salary
exists outside of the salary cap. So there hasn't been
indication that's going to happen in the NWSL just yet.
It would require buy in from every single team owner
(20:22):
and commissioner Jessica Berman, but it's not unprecedented in.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Soccer m that's a good thing to mention there there
are examples, and of course one player doesn't make a league.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
It is a team sport.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
There are so many people on the pitch and there's
just so many talented football players in the NWSL beside
Trinity New Rodman, including that large portion of the US
women's national team pool.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
But Rodman is more than just.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
A great soccer player, she is a star, right, Like
you really do want to keep your star in the league.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Definitely. Soccer is such a global game that, like we're
seeing this exodus, we're seeing movement. We're seeing we're also
seeing play make the opposite decision. They're playing abroad and
they choose to come back to the States and play
in that WSL. So there's going to be a movement
both ways. It's going to be something really interesting to
watch and see how it all plays out as Trinity
at the center, so we'll see what happens. We'll be
(21:13):
covering the championship game and all of the follow up
from the salary cap as well.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Another big shout out to our friends at FanDuel for
supporting today's episode. As Lauren mentioned earlier, we are so
close to PWHL pop job. I can feel it in
my veins, and FanDuel is ready to make every moment
even more exciting. They're making it easy for women's hockey
fans like you and me to play spats. Their app
is easy to use and built with options specifically for
(21:38):
women's sports. If I were a betting women, and you
know that I am, I'd be placing a futures bet
on perhaps the Montreal Victoire to win the Walter Cup
as a Toronto Sceptors fan, and has pained me to
say that, but I do feel like this is the
year we're in, in an Olympic year, that their goalie
and Renee Debian who's the starter for Team Canada, Laura
(21:59):
State and Marie Filippe Plan who are also on Team Canada,
are really going to make it happen for both Team
Canada but also for their team. They're going to bring
that energy and that that Jinese quah back to the
Montreal Victoire this year and with FanDuel, the excitement of
women's hockey is literally in your hands, from this weekend's
opening puck drop all the way to the Walter Cup finals.
Download the Found Dual app today to get started. Okay,
(22:31):
final segment our personal training session. This is where we
would love to feature you on the podcast. We would
love to answer any sort of questions that you have
about the sports world at large or feature a hot
take that you want to have, or really just start
a conversation with you and your fellow gisters we would
like to facilitate.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
And to that point, if you would like to be
featured on a future episode, please call and leave us
a voicemail at one four three seven five six four
five five seven nine. We'll have that in the show notes.
If you missed it, you don't have to take out
the pen right now and write it down. That'll be
accessible in the show notes, or you can email us
at pod at the gisports dot com or message Steph
or Ellen on Instagram. So lots of ways to get
(23:11):
in touch, and today's personal training Sesshion is inspired by
someone that did get in touch. So I know, Steph,
you've got a DM to this point. Today the question
is are men okay?
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Just like such a great question, so many things, so
many ways that we could take this and expand on
this and run with this in our personal training sesshon
Ellen and I have been asking this question. I'm not
supposed to say Ellen and I right, I'm supposed to
say Ellen and me. I always don't know that I
don't know the grammatic rule with that'll the grammar rule.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
What is it? So the rule is if you would
say I, like you would say I ran with this, yeah,
then then you say Ellen and I, oh right, you were.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Right, okay, okay, thank you. I'm gonna use your voice
in my head every single time I needed to think
about that. So Ellen and I have really been running
with this question a lot lately. So on today's podcast,
we're going to call out a few men who have
made questionable choices recently, and then we're gonna also end
it with a few that we're standing. We're going to
(24:18):
say our men okay, and then here are some men
that we think are okay.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Do a little bit of both if we love balance
and yeah this whenever this could come up again, I
feel like this could be a fun recurring segment because
goats something that comes up on the pod quite often.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Yeah, if you would like to submit a our men
okay segment or question, please send it our way. We
would love to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Send it on over. We'll talk about the first one
of the men who are certainly not okay, And we're
going to start with the NFL, which is where we
tend to go. So over the weekend, Cincinnati Bengals wide
receiver Jamar Chase and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey.
They got into it during the game. Ramsey was ejected
for punching Chase, and he says he did it because
(25:01):
Chase spit on him.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Eh. Right, Can we stop with all of the spitting
in pro sports? Like? Chase has since been suspended by
the NFL for one game for allegedly spitting on Ramsey.
But it's why is this still happening?
Speaker 1 (25:18):
It's happening quite a bit. It actually kicked off the
NFL season as well. Back at the beginning of the season,
Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jailing Carter spit on Dallas Cowboys
quarterback Dak Prescott. Do you remember this? People were zooming you?
I do. Photo. Yeah, So it's coming up quite a
bit in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
That's like a perfect our. Menokay, why are we spitting
on other human beings?
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Question? Yeah, spit gate. We don't need more of this,
Please stop, please stop doing it.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
No.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
No, I get having to spit because you're in action,
like if you're on a run or something, sometimes you
gotta spit.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
But have do you spit it? In your marathons.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
I don't because I find it pretty gross and if
I'm surrounded by people, But I get why someone would
have to do it, but I choose not to.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
I've just unless I've been hit in the face and
I'm bleeding in the mouth, I've truly never spit. Yeah,
that's not into a sink before at like a dentist sink.
Like there's no situation in soccer, hockey, lacrosse where I've
had to spit.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
I guess when I'm running I'm thinking about races, it
tends to be men who are spitting, Like I don't
see a lot of women spitting.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
And why are you spitting?
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Can you tell us? Please explain? Yeah, maybe that's the submission.
Please write in and tell us why you're spitting so much.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I hate that about MLB. I'm like, sorry, I can
stop zooming. And like the camera always pans to a
man right as he's about to spit.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
I guess when I played softball, if I was chewing seeds,
like doing some flower seeds, I would spit the shells.
But that's a function, Like you can't eat the shells,
so of course you're going to spit them out. But
I think this is a different situation.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
This is a different situation. Let's perhaps leave on a
positive note. Let's talk about some green flag men, and
all the men competing on this up Dancing with the
Stars probably follow in this category.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Would you agree, yes, certainly, Yes, they are all green
flags all around.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Yes, we have Dylan Afron, Robert Erwin, Ezra Soza, and
they're just like green green flags, and by competing in
this competition, they are de facto athletes in my opinion,
no further questions.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Yeah, Asra Sosa. His partner is Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles.
So there's that sports right. Yes, so there's our sports
connection right there. And this one shout out to producer Alessandra.
I know she is all about Dancing with the Stars
every single season, but this season in particular, So shout
out to al for pulling this in. I usually I
grew up watching Dancing with the Stars, and I haven't
(27:43):
been as into it recently now that my boy Scott
Hoying from Pentatonic Scott eliminated. I also I am a little
bit out on this season, but it's super fun to
watch the finales coming up. So if you want to
see these men that are okay. Tune into the Dancing
with the Stars finale, especially for Jordan Chiles and her
partner as Rissosa.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
I feel like they're it's been a like a resurgence.
I know that it's been going on for many, many
a year, so to say a resurgence would be the
incorrect word. But Alona Mara being on Yes, I think
Alana yeah last season really brought me back to the show.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Same here. I think a lot of it was the
Alona effect, and I feel like the dances being on
TikTok as well have helped because you don't have to
watch the entire show, but you can see like a
highlight from it, so I think, but alonamr was the
real difference maker there.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
I know that we're talking about men that aren't okay,
but her quote from last season is my go to
when someone's talking to me and I am not okay.
When she mess up her dance and she goes, I've
been better carry in yes, Yes, and excellent quip.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Gosh.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
I love her so much. Somehow made this about women.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Any who, Thanks, that's how the show goes.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Thank you so much Lauren for being on today's episode.
We appreciate you being here and with that we will
we will be in your feeds on Thursday. In the meantime,
if you enjoyed today's episode, would love for you to rate, review,
and subscribe.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
This episode was edited by Savannahild and produced by Alesandra
Puccio and myself Lauren Tescala. Again, I am Laurence Tuscla.
Shout out to Laurence Tuscla.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
I'm I will chat with you get on Thursday.
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