The Week of Angel Reese and a 6-Foot-10 Dildo Walks Into a WNBA Arena

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know personally sabrina how's it going uh better after hearing that intro happy to be here you i haven't i have i feel like i haven't had an opportunity to have you on for a while and it just felt overdue i know the listeners are always happy um when we collab we always get a few texts about it so i was like why not why am i getting in my own way where's sabrina at um sabrina i think that well we have a lot to get into in today's episode uh the wnba as always is simultaneously on fire while also um growing at rates that are giving us um you know just just a ton of joy there's a lot going on in the league right now but let's start with the fun stuff i want to start with the fun stuff i feel like everybody could use a little bit of a palate cleanser uh this week and then we can get into all of it but i thought i thought that uh the best place to to open today would be talking about the valkyries the golden state valkyries finally getting over the hump against the minnesota links against whom they were prior to winning yesterday's game in which they held minnesota to 66 points they were oh and nine against minnesota and they had one of the best defensive performances i've seen this season the signature win for their franchise they held olivia miles to single digits they held mefisa collier to single digits now we don't have a lot of data on that some of them playing together i am guessing that we won't see a lot of performances like that out of them so that will it is a i'm calling it um i'm pre-calling it as a historic defensive performance to hold both of those players to single digits um i just don't think you're going to see a lot of that they shut off the valve in a paint in a way that i just haven't seen against the minnesota links in a long time um olivia loves getting downhill loves getting to the rim one of the leaders in layups in the league same with natasha howard for the links to only get 20 points in the paint um as a team was i just thought stupendous for and me and he's like just a signature defensive performance for a team that has used this sort of like strength in numbers approach um there were definitely a few stars though defensively i feel like gabby williams on the help side with the deflections but then also just what veronica burton was able to do to olivia miles as well yeah i think i'm gonna have to think about whether it is the most significant win of their franchise's history because it's not an extensive list of wins but it also is like who would i consider this i i always come back to the game they beat the aces where they just like mauled them on national television sort of announcing themselves it's like hey we're not just a cute expansion team or we're actually a good team but i'm willing to have this enter the conversation because of the historic nature of the piece of collier and olivia miles scoring single digits as you said i don't think that's going to happen again or at least not for a very long time but yeah i think uh gotta also mention kia stokes with the room protection there and the second half in particular um just the comfort level that olivia miles had driving when janelle salon was the five versus when kia was the five like there was a definite distinction there and i thought their gap help just overall was incredible um you mentioned obviously gabby williams chetchy's analystini was also really good in that respect um maybe just because she was guarding maya caldwell for long stretches and had a little bit more freedom to hey like this isn't somebody i need to be guarding that closely all of the time um so getting into the lane like every time i saw olivia you know throwing like one of her jump passes or like in a crowd of people like chetchy was one of the people in the crowd so yeah i think uh strength in numbers definitely applies to the entire defensive performance but just a couple other names that i thought were worth highlighting because yeah that was uh stupendous is that a word you used already like just the defense performance was wild yeah you can use stupendous again i think yeah i think it holds exactly for what we're trying to do it can be it can be double stupendous yeah i think double stupendous yes i loved the uh mixed coverages too like the things that they were able to do to nefisa collier in the zone and then moving back and forth between that and the man um just an excellent natalie nikasi a game like somebody who i think has clearly like been game planning and wanting to beat the minnesota links for a long time finally able to do that um i think we're gonna have that press conference after the last minnesota game where she said like i have to be better so much of the accountability after that game was on her and not the players which i thought too much of it was on her frankly like i thought the players just didn't play well enough to execute what she was doing but to come out like this after that level of press conference i thought was pretty pretty impressive i think she did like a very smart coaching move there where she took accountability for not preparing the players to play with the edge required to play with minnesota so she was kind of putting it on them as far as like okay you guys didn't show up well what can i do to make sure you guys show up better next time as well um i think that this is like a fascinating team to think about when we think about awards because it's hard to find the defensive player of the year candidate on a team that has so many great defenders um kia stokes probably just doesn't play enough minutes right they definitely have some all defensive candidates veronica burton i think should just be getting like an honorable mention award for everything like she wasn't an all-star she probably won't be all wnba but she especially lately has been like one of the most taught like just one of the one of the best two-way guards in the league maybe more of an old school point guard too maybe more of a traditional point guard too so she doesn't necessarily put up the big stats that we get from like the olivias and the caitlins and whatnot um but someone that deserves a lot of credit because like i've been making like i've been i've been working on my all w nba team and the valkyries are the number two seed and i just keep looking at it i'm like i don't know how to not get a valkyrie on here i also don't know how to get a valkyrie on here have you been struggling with the same thing i think the answer is you just have three of them on all defense and that's where it's like what happens natalie nikasi coach of the year maybe you know i think all of those were running back yeah yeah yeah maybe we should look at like like an all coaching thing as well because i feel like sure he's probably going to win coach of the year as well which is totally then you got into like executive of your conversations too and like how much of cheryl's uh success with the links this year is coaching versus her being the executive like she brought in natasha howard she brought india coffee she obviously drafted olivia miles like all of those are exact conversations but she you know is the coach that emboldened all of them to be the best versions of themselves this year too so how do you separate that amount of credit um unfortunately we don't vote on executive the year so i wish i could just like pick one and then give the vote to the other but um that's for the actual wmb executives to vote on hey i trust them you know i don't i don't know that i don't know that cheryl reeve at this point in her career is necessarily even like looking out for those types of awards anymore anyways i just don't know about how much that's really on her radar um but i like that awards like tell the story of a season right and i don't want to like look back at the season and have like all of the awards that are on her radar and i don't want to have like all of these awards that don't involve the valkyries and not remember how good the valkyries were for an enormous swath of it so yeah i just wish i i could put on all of the awards and then i could have the exact story i wanted to tell you could game it the way that you wanted to well you know enough executives like you could you should just start trying to influence them yeah they're always trying to influence us so why not why not try to influence them back um Olivia Miles had one of the toughest games of her career, if not the worst performance of her career, the second worst performance of her career, only beat out by a 1-for-10 outing in June against the Golden State Valkyries. In this game, it was a 7.6 turnover performance. You mentioned some of the passes that she was jump passing on. Cheryl Reeve insinuated after the game that one of the things that Olivia can take away from this game is maybe making the easy pass. I thought that was something that just stuck out this time around for the Lynx. I thought their last game, they just did a good job of understanding that you're not going to get great shots against the Valkyries. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good when you're playing the Valkyries. This time around, I felt like the only gaps that they even had a shot at attacking were in transition. And that was a lot of Caleb McBride just trying to force it. But you're ultimately going to live with that if the ball is not in the face of Collier's hands. It's not in the face of Collier's hands. It'll be in Miles' hands. And when Caleb McBride has the ball, it's not her shooting open three-pointers. Right. I digress there. That gets into just sort of the way that the Valkyries were able to shut down the team as a whole. But I'm wondering, did you see a blueprint there for stopping? thing Olivia Miles because I do think that this is a team that has I think it's the only team that she's had two bad games against correct yeah I think she's had like one bad game against Portland um and then a couple like lesser games sprinkled but even those I wouldn't necessarily call bad games but these are the three that I really think about are um Portland just was really physical with her made it very difficult for her up until they sort of lost her discipline and just fouled her too much at the end of the game which happens with Portland um but Golden State like when you have Veronica Burton who you know point of attack like one of the tougher defenders to get around and then you have all of the gap help and they're incredible just on a string defense beyond that with a rim protector in the back like I just don't know that anybody else has that combination of one defensive talent two defensive discipline and then like the ability to just be super physical with that too um yeah the fact that it's happened twice now like uh it is and it's funny because like then the other game that they played against the Valkyries or the Lynx played against Valkyries I should say the Valkyries just went under on all the screens and allowed Olivia to take a bunch of threes and she sets the rookie three-point record so like it's been an evolving process for both of these teams over the course of the season um but yeah I think there really is something there just uh Olivia's got to be a little bit more a little less freelancy I would say you know so much of the the beauty of her game is in the improvisation and the ability to like read things on the fly and like you said you kind of make the good options as they present themselves like I there was even one possession where she sort of like gets into a crowd and like tries to swing the ball back out to the perimeter and Cheryl's just like mimicking like this on the bench like you got to just shoot that you got to just do that like please don't do all of these fancy Olivia passing things and again like she's a rookie it's uh it's a learning experience like nobody had defended her like that when she was in college I just didn't have the tactical ability to do that when she played at Notre Dame and TCU so um I do think that there's something there I I can't imagine that Olivia like won't figure it out because I I mean I don't want to say like all the links lost because they didn't have Courtney Williams but like you felt Courtney Williams's absence because she exists in all the spots the defenses don't try to take away right and they're just a little bit more conventional like which is a weird thing to say about a team that has Olivia miles as their point guard but when Courtney fills in like those mid-range gaps uh it just makes it that much harder to defend Minnesota because they have somebody who's doing something that you don't expect them to do uh and I thought that was like a really necessary thing that they just that little valve of like hey we need somebody to just go individually and get a bucket and that's what Courtney Williams does um so I think there are like ways that they can figure out how Olivia can be more disciplined how they can just like you know take exactly what's given to them as opposed to searching for the good to great shot that like all these coaches talk about um but I also think that like this is just a matchup where Olivia is not going to be as prolific as she has been against some other teams in the league and that's okay because it is the number one defense in the league yeah I mean I do think Courtney her ability to just punish you with the nail would have definitely helped against his own and also against some of the trapping action that they used against Olivia as well just to have that easy outlet and have her create off of that absolutely would have helped um I think that there was also just some missed shots you know like Olivia's tree was not working for her she also made some yeah yeah I mean she made some great passes early in the game where you know she read the zone and just flung it straight to the corner Maya Caldwell missed a wide open corner three and so did Kayla McBride so you're not you're just not gonna have all those things typically repeat themselves in a game where you also don't have Courtney Williams but I do think it's worth noting just the job that they are able to do on her because of her because of their athleticism because of Veronica Burton her combination of strength size length athleticism anticipation and discipline on the defensive end is just it makes it really difficult I think for Olivia to read the advantage like I I think that's a big part of her genius right it's her ability to suss out what she should be taking away from the defense and who exactly should be doing that like am I supposed to hit Natasha Howard here on a mismatch am I supposed to hit Nafisa Collier here and against the Valkyries it was a lot of okay well we're gonna post up fee but we're gonna make the entry pass incredibly difficult and okay we might not have deflected the entry pass this time but now we get it downloaded her and Veronica Burton or Gabby Williams just gets to steal like I think that they have a level of switchability almost one through five especially against this Minnesota team because they can match their athleticism and skill on the defensive end that makes it a little bit more tenable for the Valkyries to defend them as opposed to even like a team like the Washington Mystics or something that will just like pummel them in the front court you know what I mean like I just think that doesn't have that same size that punishes switches in a way that like Shakira or Kiki does exactly yeah exactly like there's a lot of skill players there's a lot of fluidity there's a lot of players that like really thrive against like the average mismatch in the league right like they thrive against like a like a typical like we get like a one four set up and Olivia can cook against you know your tip your average four the Valkyries just don't have any average Defenders honestly right right like it's just it's very difficult to solve I thought their congestion in the paint was just so important too because I think Olivia gets settled so often just with the basic pick and rolls with Natasha Howard and like getting the ball to her was so challenging like so much of Tasha's uh success in this game was like off of putbacks off of like second chances or just getting fouled and it wasn't like they get their bread and butter of like she gets a couple you know immediate dump-offs or immediate like dimes to Tasha Howard like that opens everything else out and that never happened to like create the you know chain reaction from there yeah yeah yeah exactly exactly I think that's a really good point yeah like they just weren't able to like yeah exactly I don't need to add to that um I'm curious what you make of this team's ceiling like they have zagged in a season where a lot of teams are just focused on offense like we're seeing offensive records get broken the Valkyries have really really leaned in on defense to the degree that even their offense is predicated on being able to set up their defense like they play slow they isolate a lot they have great floor balance in transition they only hold um the the links to three fast break points I think that's a huge story in this particular game but it's also the story of their season they are this best for the second best transition defense in the league this year um and they've decided to do this at a time when everybody else is deciding that you know with a new emphasis on freedom of movement and the explosion of skill in the league that we're going to be scoring a lot more do you think that that that helps them in in the postseason does it hurt them like what's your outlook on that well so often we see games tighten up in the postseason right they slow down a little bit um things that were called fouls in the regular season aren't necessarily whistled the same way in the postseason so it's almost like they're preparing all year for the way that games are going to get officiated come playoff time uh and I I kind of just think it was like their talent demanded this last year you know Natalie and I are going to be last year you know Natalie Nakase didn't have any one-on-one hyper creators like you see on a lot of other playoff teams and so they had to lean into this identity um and even when you bring in a Gabby Williams like she is a defensive star first and foremost and like the offense is a secondary factor there unless you're talking about French National Gabby Williams in which case it's very different um but yeah I think it's just this is the way they had to play last year and it almost became like their ethos you know like this is just what we're going to do um but I I don't think there's anything wrong with like like you said zagging when everybody else is leaning on the offense because it is harder to play Golden State because they're so different from everybody else in the WNBA right like it just it physically taxes you like the way that you have to if you're Olivia Miles like reading defense is just so much more challenging against Golden State that it is against other teams and I think it's smart during the regular season because you have to prepare for Golden State differently nobody's practicing in this league right so it's not as if you have the opportunity to prep for everything Golden State's going to do for you and then in the playoffs like I do think the style changes enough where Golden State is now like playing the way that playoff basketball is supposed to be played anyway versus like having to adjust when a lot of their freedom of movement stuff like just isn't going to come anymore so I think it is smart tactically even if it's not I mean I don't mean to like belittle or anything it's just it's not my favorite style to catch but it's undeniably effective yeah they also do this thing that like in the NBA's Oklahoma Thunder do that the Warriors used to do where they are just so physical on you with every single play that they set the tone for how the officiating in the game is going to go totally if refs called every foul that the Valkyries committed they would be calling fouls left and right you know and you might see these games in the playoffs where like a couple of Valkyries players get into early foul trouble because the refs really want to set the tone and like in that situation yeah that hurts them but by and large that strategy works really well in the postseason because it just I mean it just it just shrinks the Overton window of like what is actually a foul yeah and it's the kind of thing you can afford to try because you have so much playable depth right like you get to six seven eight nine in this roster and like it's okay if Kaitlyn Chen is playing a lot of guard minutes it's okay if Kyla Charles is like one of your wing defenders on Kayla McBride or somebody like they they have so much bankable depth beyond that starting five that somebody gets in foul trouble the identity doesn't meaningfully change like you're not risking a huge talent drop off from starting to reserves which most teams are just not built that way especially like in this expansion it's super impressive that golden state has managed to like have this much playable depth that's very true like everybody else is kind of top heavy and totally top heavy yeah yeah especially the contenders and golden state obviously their top is not as like scoring punch you know as much as the other teams like it's by design right because they have six or ten that can just come in and not change the level really that meaningfully they also have this x factor in janelle salon like teams like this nobody loves janelle salon as much as you do it's it's incredible day by day it's just over and over again look i just i just think she is like one of the most important pieces of this team because she does the thing that the rest of the team struggles with which is being able to get off any shot at any moment chechi's andalusini can also do that she did a great job of that against the minnesota lynx but i think as far as like i'm gonna call a timeout there's 15 seconds left in the game we need to slow down and we need to slow down and we need to slow down and also guarantee that we're going to get a shot off like janelle salon is going to grow into one of those players she already is one of those players she i think is making more guarded shots than anybody else in the league um she's she's the answer to their problems right and she's the one thing that makes me wonder okay yeah you have this style typically the other side of the game slowing down means that you need to just find players that can hit shots and there are nights like like yesterday was a night where like everybody's hitting shots and they have those nights right but they have nights like they had no playoffs last year too it looks like nobody wants as well janelle salon wants a ball and that can be very valuable she's the zag on the team that is i think it's a really impressive part of the culture that the valkyries have built that she comes in as a starter uh in her rookie season right like coming over from france on this expansion team first year in the w and you know she's the power forward from the minute she walks through the door and then this year natalie's like well we kind of need to change some things around because illy's you know not going to be available on her person available this season so we're going to need you to come off the bench and oh yeah you have to play center basically even though that's she's probably closer to a three four than she is like a four or five but uh that she has bought into that and had such an incredible season and still gotten to do all of the things that janelle salon loves to do you know just you said she makes more contested shots and everybody she takes more contested shots and everybody like it seemed she thrives and having the hand in her face versus which is great like she actually a lovely skill to have she actually makes sense from the eye test that that would be that kind of stat but yeah uh that the valorers have that culture where janelle salon is more effective this year than she was last year even though she's in a dramatically different role and having to come off the bench even though she is maybe their second or third best scorer on this team like is is a real testament to natalie and what they're building there yeah absolutely absolutely i mean and they don't they don't really like accelerate anybody's development which i've had some issues with i've definitely had some issues with where did you stay on the treadmill i think like she does not playing until she's in the condition to play on this for this defense like i think that's just ultimately like that's that's a bar that's a standard for them and look you know what like there have been moments where i've questioned it i've questioned wasting a first round pick on nothing absolutely um but they have a very strict sense of who they want to be and what kind of players fit that and they are in the number two seed and they have probably the strongest sense of identity of any team that isn't minnesota or las vegas and their identity is having asia willison right right and because they have all that because they have that identity like natalie can be so strict and how she enforces that like you see the other night against golden state where i'm sorry against minnesota where um kia stokes like just not cutting it at the start of the game within three minutes she subbed out and like here comes tip and janelle salon and then in the second half after like what was probably a pretty big talking to at halftime you know kia plays like 19 minutes in the second half right like things can evolve so like the the depth allows her to have a quick hook and like just really enforce that standard over and over again can we also have a moment for leticia and me here blocking olivia miles jumper that was pretty good that made it in my notes yeah definitely made it in my notes as well um all right switching gears here you are i'm typically in la i'm not in la right now but with you being in la you've had two opportunities to watch angel reese in the atlanta dream um angel reese is having one of the the bounce backs that that we've seen in a regular season um after missing the go-ahead layup against the indiana fever that sent that game to overtime and the dream eventually lost angel reese was very difficult on herself she said she had a really hard time sleeping that night um she obviously did not want to miss that layup and then she came out in the four games since she had the perfect nine for nine game against the sparks uh per jack maloney of the cbs sports the only way to get that layup is to get that layup and then she came out only players to have a perfect game with that exact stat line are neko gumike and tamika williams jeter um that's pretty good good company good company she had a career high scoring night versus phoenix and then last night against the uh against the sparks again she has a career high rebounding night 26 rebounds 41 missed la shots she grabs 26 of those rebounds she breaks a wn based single game record that was previously held but she's got a career high rebounding she is on an epic tear right now um what's it been like actually getting to see that in real life yeah i mean i feel like you didn't even mention the best game she had in this stretch which wasn't like the statistical anomaly of the perfect or the scoring high or the aces she just like beats the aces right with 21 and 10 and asia only um shoots 7 of 18 that night and has like a number of turnovers and a lot of those are angel getting into her so like i i quibble with some of the stats because like the sparks have allowed marina mabry to score 53 points against him this year they allowed the toronto tempo to put up 125 against them like of course they let angel reese put up 26 rebounds against him this is what the sparks enable and had 16 boards and cam had a good game sure sure and yet it is still the los angeles sparks so i'm not entirely surprised by the 41 missed shots leading to that but that aces game was really like so important because it is right after the indiana fever game it is against a team that had pretty soundly beaten atlanta the last time they played like an embarrassing kind of defeat and for them to go you know into vegas to handle the like the terms of that game so thoroughly uh i was very impressed by that and yes you want to close out the road trip on a good note but these are again teams in the sparks and the mercury that aren't exactly um the teams are gonna be seeing the postseason right so and a lot of the best players are you know kelsey plum didn't play in the phoenix game um ray burrell which i can't believe i'm putting in the same conversation as kelsey plum but like she is kind of the engine of the los angeles sparks office at this point she didn't play on monday either uh so yeah like there's there's context to be had there but uh angel is you know she's a great player and she's a great player and she's a great player and she's a great so much more fascinating to watch in person like i don't think i ever appreciate just how she gets to rebounds like as much as i do when i see it just 50 feet in front of me because there's there's just no way she should be getting to some of these things right like she says on the broadcast uh after the nbc game on monday night like anytime it goes up that's mine like that's my mindset and it feels like the ball just like believes that too like it needs to go to angel as well um but it's it's incredible just watching that that positional awareness like i it's like the last dance documentary where like you know dennis robin is like pointing at all the angles and like he knows exactly where it's going to go and like that's the physical manifestation of what angel reese is doing but like with all the other offensive talent and like the first game against the sparks she's throwing these ridiculous like whip around passes too because she's you know hunting triple double and chance up with eight assists and like there's a lot of cool things that she can do other than the rebounding but the rebounding obviously stands out um did you read the katie barnes article on so good the naz hillman quote where she's like sometimes i'm out on the perimeter and i see angel and they're like five people around her and i think oh she's just gonna get to rebound anyway like one very true to how the atlanta dream box out but two uh i don't want to hear that if i'm carl somesko i just don't that's a valid point yeah um watching her rebound it's like watching someone predict right where the ball is going to come off of a pool cue like it's it's like she sees a shot go up and she positions herself i don't even know how she does it because if in basketball if a shot's going to come off short then it's going to come off on the end that the shooter's at and if it's going to be long then it's going to come off almost exactly the opposite direction and her ability to be able to tell which one is going to be which is something that i've actually just like never witnessed before um seeing some of her box out seeing the early work and the positioning she does the second that she that a specific talent that i think because it's rebounding because it's sort of a thing that we look at as an afterthought i don't think that we like analyze it the same way we would the way that we look at like the form on a jump shot right but the specificity of the skill is is very similar and then you also just have to have the motor and the will to to just do the do the thing that naz hillman has repeatedly watched her do her ability to tip the ball back to herself as well when she's in a crowd with others she doesn't give volleyball a lot of credit for that but it definitely reminds me that she's a volleyball player as well um it's just it's a special thing to watch and and so is so is the playmaking too and so after the fever game like we i i had the mid-majors girls on who were amazing um and we talked about the game and just how finishing at the rim is like the one thing that's holding angel reese back from being a superstar type of player from consistently putting up the type of numbers that we've seen in the last four games she's shooting 75 in a restricted area um over this stretch um obviously look the shooting form like there are just sort of like some some things for her to like sort out in the off season there but i think one of the things with her too is that like i just think she gets like really hyped up for like big matchups as well so i think she like almost like it almost reminds me a little bit of like russell westbrook where like sometimes he would go into these big games and like he would be like so juiced up that he would just like miss layups that like he'd be the only person that would be able to even like get to the rim on a certain play but he's the only person that would once he was actually there not make the layup as well and it makes me it makes me honestly like prior to this stretch it made me a little nervous for atlanta in the playoffs was like she gave me she's gonna be so juiced that like we just see more of these types of performances after seeing her sort of like i almost like like learn how to like she's kind of like figuring out how to almost like to integrate that energy right now and she's heading into now the atlanta dream of clincher playoffs this is what she wanted this is why she went to atlanta she really really desperately has wanted to make the playoffs and she entered the wnba this is somebody who was very used to being in the title hunt when she was in college um i'm just really excited to watch her in the postseason now yeah it's i i should have hit on this earlier but you mentioned she sets the single game rebounding record against the sparks she also in that game sets the record for most rebounds in a season right and we're not yes yeah another six or seven to go for atlanta um she now owns the top three rebounding average seasons in wmb history which she's played three seasons so all of them are the top rebounding averages in wma history i realized that's not the end-all be-all like there's rebounding percentages and yada yada yada people miss more shots who she plays next to volume wise like you just you can't argue with that like she has averaged at least 12 rebounds a game every time she's played in a season time she steps onto the court like for a wmba game and uh that's that's just gonna be so important for her when she gets two postseason games because i i think about that indiana atlanta series last year that first round series and the the fever kind of bullied the dream inside and it's not the way you think of the fever playing this year right with kelsey mitchell on the heater that she is and kitlyn clark back but uh it was like a not flattering performance for the atlanta front court and to have angel in there just that energy that physicality like you said she's always been in championship contention when she was at lsu like her tournament performances were better than her regular season performances regularly and i i think going to the world cup is gonna be so helpful for her just to like get in that frame of mind of one and done again and like these games have massive stakes and to come back from that um i'm not worried about the energy so much i think atlanta needs that right like ryan howard is so demure and alicia gray like genuinely seems like the most fun person in the world to hang out with but like not the kind of rah-rah getting in the face of everybody like hyping them all up and i think i think angel's demeanor like is so important for what atlanta needs yeah she has just that competitive fire and yeah maybe it's like we overrate those things and it's like a good story to talk about like you just see them all together and it is like it matters like all this stuff like she literally like not literally like figuratively like pours into them um and i don't know it's it's something that i i hadn't seen atlanta in person obviously until these last week of the season so um it was fun just to watch them all together because not that you asked about this but like i think about the hiring of carl samasco and the hiring of lynn roberts uh like intertwined so much because of the body of work that they had in college and like the systems that they came in with and like there was a lot to compare about them when they got to the end of the season and what they did to their jobs and like the culture that carl and atlanta have built is just diametrically opposed to what is happening in los angeles over these last two years uh but i think angel is a big part of you know creating what that what that has been over the last few months i'm thinking about a lot of things oh man yeah i also i don't i don't think we overrate those things i think if anything now we underrate those things because we overrate everything and we overrate everything and we overrate everything that we can measure statistically and analytically and we underrate all of the intangibles because it's harder to prove them but this is still sports at the end of the day these things matter a great deal you have to like the people you play with like you have to want to play for them yeah you gotta have heart atlanta had everything going for them on paper last year too right but frankly they they they lacked a a courage they got they got punked a little they got punked they got punked yeah they absolutely got punked and if she does she's gonna she's gonna come out like she came out in the last four games as well like i just think that there is absolutely a mental side of all this stuff especially in the postseason where you know you go into a first round series for example right now it looks like it's going to be against the indiana fever which is going to be both tactically fascinating and be full of storylines it's going to be a series that if if it's the one that goes down has a lot of eyeballs on it there's going to be a lot of pressure i i can almost guarantee that non-basketball things are going to factor into it um to have someone on the floor with you that has perpetually been dealing with things like that um that has you know been in a lot of these one and one and done environments like you said that can understand even though she's look she's one of the youngest players on this team she has the most success she's one of the youngest players on this team she has the most success she's one of the with all of the factors mentally that that can be difficult for a professional athlete in women's basketball like i do think that matters a great deal especially like these these three game series you lose game one you're immediately going into a do or die game the pressure in these first round series is incredible like to be able to have a player like that that can bounce back from those is is is vital yeah i totally agree um i just can't wait to see it because she was so much fun because of things in chicago that was just never an option in the last two years just vague just vague stuff uh chicago also eliminated from postseason contention who could have seen that coming that's crazy when you think like an athlete setbacks don't stop you but mindset alone doesn't get you moving again that's where icy hot steps in ice works fast heat makes it last when the rest of the world settles because of a setback icy hot accelerates your comeback with fast acting powerful pain relief icy hot you're so back when the sun goes down the appetizers come out yeah you heard that right late night half price appetizers are here at applebee's saucy sweet and spicy boneless wings crispy cheesy mozzarella sticks creamy spinach and artichoke dip your favorite apps half price available every single day why should appetizers have curfews tap the banner to learn more dining only for a limited time at participating locations restrictions apply copyright 2026 applebee's restaurant llc this episode is brought to you by major league baseball there is nowhere left to go two teams one championship watch the world series yeah the world series presented by capital one on fox and fox one no time like october visit mlb.com slash postseason to learn more by the way while we're talking about um lsu and angel reese did you see so i think the answer is yes i did see okay so so okay all right so so last week the story a story came out from in new orleans uh beat writer and i'm gonna pull up the story right now uh one second um it was written by reed darcy for nola.com it's called kim mulkey outlines how she paired players from russia and ukraine on her new look lsu roster um and it is a story that it's i don't know i there is such a how the sausage was made curiosity for me on this story was this a story that kim mulkey volunteered did she want to in the press get ahead of the fact that she was a part of the story and she was a part of the story was recruiting a russian big named anna minieva i hope i'm pronouncing that right um on a team that also has kate coval who is not only ukrainian but has a father who is fighting in the war like did she want to get ahead of that was it something that the reporter um you know figured out could be a point of tension i would love to know the answer to all these questions but there were a couple of things in the story that were a source of absolute fascination to me the first is that the quotes are incredible reed really got some good stuff out of this he oh sometimes kim mulkey gives in a way that only kim mulkey could give right now there is a special kind of kumbaya conservatism that only she could represent and it is a level of disconnection from reality um that that is required sometimes to have the optimism of of of of the mindset that she has maybe not even optimism as much as um as self-interest that she then has to um cloak into maybe this is also the right thing to do maybe this is how everybody can come together right now kim mulkey you are not dolly parton r.i.p dolly parton um you might exist on a completely different spectrum to her even though you might have grown up in very similar ways um however so kim mulkey after recruiting this russian big has a conversation with kate cobalt which is in a car the only time you ever have a conversation in a car is when you're breaking up with somebody which is you know perhaps that foretold what was coming next she basically just said this is a quote i want you to understand i'm not here to ask you to change how you feel about russia i'm just here out of respect for your family and out of respect for you to to let you know because i know how personal it is for you know that what i'm i have to do in this business i cannot help i cannot make a decision to not recruit somebody that can help our program because of a conflict between two countries um the story then goes on and this is a kicker this is one of the most incredible kickers that i've ever read in my lifetime in the car mulkey said she thinks cobalt and minieva can be quote ambassadors for kinship amid international conflict maybe the two lsu post players could help end the war you never know mulkey recall telling cobalt and she just kind of smiled and said i doubt that kate cobalt has since left the program oh man oh this is uh this is much heavier for kate than i feel like we're conveying it is it is the the humor and the situation is the absurdity of kim mulkey's thought thought process and the fact that it was a story that ever came out obviously kate cobalt was going to have a problem with this very rightfully so yeah i i don't really know what to say here because everything i feel about kim mulkey and has has like been you know conveyed at some point or another like people know who kim mulkey is uh i have to make these decisions about recruiting a player oh my god uh all of these quotes from kim mulkey like we are reacting this way but like they're not surprising at all that they came out of kim mulkey's mouth like not in the slightest so it's been quite the i mean the will wade lane kiffin kim mulkey just the the triumvirate that nobody ever asked for working together uh but yeah i i feel for kate because you know she transferred from notre dame to lsu because her brother was there um to be a little bit closer to family i don't know what this means for her going forward if she is going to remain in college basketball um if this is just like the end of her and stability if she's going to take a year off here like what what happens to her schooling wise i i genuinely have no idea like this is not the time that players generally transfer you know it's not as if a lot of teams are you know it's not as if a lot of teams are you know it's not as if a lot of teams are you know carrying open roster spots or nil money for that matter so it's just it's a really unfortunate situation for kate to like have to walk away from her program at this point because again a very very serious circumstances that would make it deeply uncomfortable for her to be at lsu playing for this team and the way kim presents all of it is just so uniquely kim that i i don't even know what to say about it like it's just i i can't be surprised by this woman but also like i can't believe she gave that interview like that like that is incredible it is unique to anybody except for kim walke yeah right like i think i've had a running theory about kim walke that she doesn't actually have politics like we know her as somebody who is conservative somewhat mega aligned if not fully mega i don't know exactly where she falls on that line however um i don't know if she's going to be able to do that i don't know and and this look this is somebody who when britney griner was at baylor um you know basically told britney griner that she needed to stay in the closet and baylor was a christian conservative school that had active policies against homosexuality um she now she she recruited last year she recruited malaysia for wiley who is out and is also um dating a track star who recently transferred from south carolina to lsu just like she did and i think that kim mulkey's politics are one of convenience like i think that one quote where she says i can't not recruit somebody because of a conflict going on in two countries actually just gets to the core of who she is there is no religion or no politics that this woman has beyond wanting to win and that's like ultimately like that that's the shift we've seen from her right like we now live in an era where players are going to be out they aren't going to be willing to go into the closet it's also the nil era where there is more to be gained financially as well from expressing yourself she has fully leaned into all of those things in a way that makes me question what how much she ever cared about that in the first place or how much she cares about anything because she's not interested in the pursuit of her own self-interest yeah i think that's totally fair um yeah and i feel for kate coval yeah yeah that's i feel i really really feel for for kate coval who i think has just had like a tough go in in college basketball she transfers from notre dame in the year that everybody transfers from notre dame she also was like a really good freshman for them until she somehow ended up ended up on a bench um for a team that desperately could have used her size or rebounding her toughness um she never really found a rhythm in lsu either and at this point like you just you hope that she gets whatever she wants out of the situation like i really hope that we don't see her like walk away from basketball as a result of this but also like man like you have experiences like this where like i don't think people really ever like you understand how much like a college coach can mean to you as far as like like they become a person in your head they are like your voice of doubt they are your voice of belief to have someone like that like sit you down in a car and betray you like that and also go about it in a way that feels a little bit um it just feels blase right like it just feels like uh someone who isn't like understanding the enormity of the situation it's very minimizing to basically say well i have to recruit this player even though there's this conflict in this country that is like having a huge impact on on on your country on your family um that like you know every day you're like you're probably worried about your family and you're like you're probably worried about your family and you're probably worried about your father like i just think that there's like there's an utter lack of of awareness there um and empathy that would yeah and empathy that i think like you know like i i think be naturally you know scarring for for a player to like really even just like want to trust a college coach after that or any coach yeah like you said i just hope that um kate is able to find uh a good landing spot whatever that means for her whether that's in basketball whether that's time away from basketball or whatever that means for her whether that's in basketball or whether that's in basketball just i mean like school just started too right like i don't i don't know how that leaves her academically too which i realize we never really talked about with college athletes but um yeah just a really unfortunate situation that yes unfortunately like the writing was on the roll the minute this pair up happened so speaking of people who only seem to have politics of convenience uh enos canter enos canter uh becomes the fifth dildo to interrupt a wnba game most of them are seven inches tall this one was seven feet tall he gets into a uh back and forth with natasha cloud that now chicago sky owner michael alter has confirmed that he was the one who started it even though he somehow isn't it funny how he was in chicago and the next day he was booked on fox news in washington to to tell his side of the story which is on the way you know travel itinerary yeah yeah it's so interesting it's just i just find that so interesting like what a what a fascinating coincidence for everybody involved like and you know how it is sometimes you're booking shows for the guests i'm booking shows for the guests and you just get lucky like that like they're just having these moments of of serendipity and i guess that's that's what happened with fox news and enos canter um so just honestly like you know from one media member to another like really happy for the ingraham angle like one of my favorites um but he he you know it was kind of back and forth where like he says that he was just enjoying the game and natasha cloud started chirping on uh chirping at him ultimately he walked out to the court that is against wnba rules he gets ejected from the game he has now since been suspended he's he's banned from the win trust arena we will see if he gets banned from all wnba arenas that to me feels like a common sense move from the league as he is not concerned about women's sports at all he is not concerned about transgender athletes in sports at all he is concerned with his own self-interest with aligning himself with from you know from being basically like a concubine for the American military apparatus, I guess. Don't like this guy, obviously. But he is frustratingly somebody that we have had to think about more than we would like to think about. And I just would love if there was something instituting that he would never be in a WNBA arena again. The league has resources to confirm that he is not going to be eligible for the 2027 draft, nor will Royce White. But I do believe, I think we can go a step further. I can't believe that that was something that the league had to convey to us. Of course they did. Yeah, I don't really have much to say here. I mean, the thing is, Ennis Cantor used to be somewhat impressive as someone who stood on his principles. You know, and the amount of, I guess, fame and attention that garnered him has metastasized into something that is no longer principled at all. So here we are. That's what makes me genuinely sad about all of this. Like, I think that's like the enduring emotion that I have through all of this. Like, this is somebody who used to be a person. And we live. We live now in a economy and in a world and an algorithm that incentivizes self-debasement, basically. Like, it incentivizes. Like, the thing that makes me upset is it's not. He doesn't care about transgender participation in sports. He cares that people care about it. Like, he doesn't care about any of this. It's the same way that, like, these dildo-throwing crypto bros, like, they simultaneously mock the popularity of a league that they are leveraging for attention. They are sexually harassing women in their workplace. They are not doing it because they want to sexually harass. Although I imagine that's a fun side thing. For some of them, they are doing it because they are incentivized to do it because of a meme coin that could potentially get more money out of it. And they just don't care about the impact that it could have on anybody else. Like, for Ennis, this is all about attention. And he doesn't. It's not that. Like, it's a kind of cruelty that is just. It's the lack of intention. The lack of intentionality in the cruelty is, I think, what makes me the most upset about it. I mean, none of this is about protecting women in sports. And that is the entire guise that they are conducting this under. So, yeah, you cause, like, an altercation with a woman in her workplace. And that has nothing to do with protecting women in sports. So, yeah, I. Just the less we have to talk about these losers, like, I mean. Absolute losers. I tend to agree with you. I think the place where I struggle is that, like, loserdom has not actually decreased the influence that any of these people have, right? Like, your level of credibility and your level of influence, I think, have never been less related. Maybe always. That's true. But I think this is our modern version of it, right? Like, it's like you don't want to give it oxygen. And at the same time. Not giving it oxygen doesn't stop it from happening. Or even pointing out the hypocrisies doesn't stop it from happening. It just doesn't matter. Like, it's, like, a very. It's just one of the most nihilistic things that I think, like, we're watching right now. Like, seeing these people just, like, use the WNBA in ways that, like, also just display how much of their dignity they're willing. And their empathy and their humanity that they're willing to just, like, throw away without even. Without even understanding, like, what it's costing them personally. Far be it from them to, like, understand what it costs other people as well. Like, you're just. You're just, like. You're destroying yourself from the inside out without even realizing it. Just to add to that, my colleague Annie Costwell has a piece up on our site right now that says there is no league-wide ban for Ennis Cantor. So, right now, it is just Chicago Sky games. Just a common sense thing that you can do for a league. Look, like, there are so many things that, like, from a culture war perspective. The Chicago Sky don't play in any other buildings, right? Just the one. Oh, God, so true. Oh, my gosh. Him showing up at the United. Why? Like, why? Did she. Was there any context as to why they didn't ban him? I don't know. No? No. Just, uh. No league-wide ban. You can't. There are going to be so many times when the culture war is invaders for it in a way that you cannot control. Mm-hmm. You have to stop letting the own goals in. All right. One of the things I talked. And talked to you about before we recorded this podcast was that, given the everything of this all, I wanted us to bring some things that were giving us some joy. Some things happen in women's basketball that are genuinely just lighting us up and making us happy. Because I think the force of. Like, the other aspect of all this is that it's just an element meant to distract from the fact that women's basketball is on the rise and it's not going away. Right. It is continued on this exponential rise. There's actually much better investment than a meme coin, than that particular meme coin right now. And I think that's ultimately, like, kind of like the back and forth that I'm always having with myself about, like, how much attention you want to give these things. Because they do distract from all the stuff that makes the league awesome. So, without further ado, I would love to hear what is making you happy about the league right now. Number one, Cameron Brink looked awesome. Against the Atlanta Dream the other night. Yes. I don't know if listeners of your podcast know, but I am a long-suffering Sparks fan. And I have a lot personally, emotionally invested in the well-being of Cameron Brink. So, watching her do well brings me a lot of joy. And, you know, I just. I think that when the defense is clicking and she looked a little comfortable in the post, I'm tending to believe that she's no longer the five that I thought she was going to be. I think she's more of a four, maybe combo forward type. But that's a different conversation to have. I just like watching Cameron Brink do good things and when she can stay on the court. Multiple blocks on Angel Reese the other night. No slouch. So, yeah. Cameron Brink, that's number one thing bringing me joy right now. Love that. I love that she's also just getting an opportunity to figure out who she is on a basketball court, right? Like, yes, there's a. If you're running into positional limitations, that also means that you're running into some positional definitions as well. And I loved her post-game press conference. Oh, yeah. I loved her post-game press conference. And afterwards, too, where she was openly talking about how her first two years in the league have not gone the way that she wanted them to. However, she has been finding ways to just work through all of that. And she also mentioned. I loved how much she talked about NECA. NECA was also in the press conference and the amount of times that they had moments where they were. She was just really reflecting on how much NECA has meant to her as a steadying force throughout this season. And she was lamenting the fact that she's not going to be able to. Because NECA is retiring, she's not going to be able to. Yeah. She's not going to be able to have that figure in the locker room again, but that she does hope to see her. To have that resource going forward as well. That was cool. Yeah. What else? Do you want to give a second one or you want to go? Honestly, I think the NECA retirement tour and all of these bigs coming out and saying. These stories that we've never heard about, the ways that she's helped them, like Aaliyah Boston going to her and basically being like, yo, I need to get that mid-range jumper and that finishing. And NECA basically being like, yeah, cool. Working with her, giving her a few tips. Angel Reese has been very vocal about what NECA has meant to her. I think Kiki Iriofan as well. All these ways that she's been pouring into the new generation of bigs. I actually. For somebody who is constantly pouring into the league, whose legacy will be about how much she poured into the league, just hearing those stories has been really cool. I do feel like that one was jumping off of yours, though. The other one that I had was Nitisha Heideman's run club. Oh, man. So awesome. So good. So awesome. Just absolutely love this. Love Nitisha Heideman finding her voice in the WNBA as well. This outgrowth of the stud buds you have. Of course, Courtney Williams is the mabastic one that is going to say whatever she wants. And Nitisha Heideman is no slouch in that regard as well. But she is a little bit more of the sensitive one as well. Her getting the forehead kiss as well. Sometimes it's all you need. I just love. I love watching Nitisha Heideman grow into her personal brand. In Seattle. In Seattle, of all places, by the way. What a great community. Kudos to the stud buds for having the two longest active consecutive games played straight. Unfortunately, they were both broken within the last week or so. Yeah. But yeah, it stands to reason that people who are capable of having a 72-hour marathon live stream could also just keep playing basketball over and over again. That is stamina at its finest. So yeah, the T-Run Club has been great. She's also very funny on threads. Clapping back at people who are like, like, yeah, my shoulder hurts. That doesn't mean I can't run, girl. I got this. all right what's your next one um this is kind of related to the NECA thing but like NECA thrown out that she knows who she wants to be the next president of the WNBPA um she she had a very like pointed conversation with Angel at the end of Monday's game like had her in her like hands and like the gestures like just felt very meaningful Angel has mentioned that NECA has talked to her about joining the PA that she thinks that she has a really powerful voice to use for leadership um Angel says that it's going to take a little bit longer for her to get there but like she's not that much younger than NECA was when she took on this role so uh that's just you know something I have my eye on what what sort of leadership positions that Angel ends up taking in this this next era of the Players Association but the fact that NECA was like just putting it out there like I know who like I'm gonna ask to do this but like would not say at all uh I'm just fascinated by what's coming there but um yeah the the succession plan of NECA Kumake yeah I like that she has all of these thoughts still in her head um that's fun to think about uh but another thing that's bringing you joy I realize it's not WNBA specific but like the future is unrivaled stuff was happening recently um anytime KK Arnold is just like on my feed I'm really happy with it I love KK Arnold yeah yeah um NECA mentioned she wanted uh whoever she had in mind was somebody who is a good listener who's something who's communicate communicates well and listens to everybody in the league and is just like skilled at that as well I thought that was very interesting that's what I was like who's she talking about it's good uh good catch there good catch there um the new mascots oh they're great yeah I love the new mascots the the the Toronto tempo mascots are also just like one of them is rumored to be potentially non-binary oh no literally listed as a she day yeah so oh yeah okay great okay Dez yeah absolutely crushed it with the the copy you were accompanying their two mascots I don't know if you read the full press release but it's lovely uh just I didn't actually hobbies and where they come from and how they've come together and uh one of them like uh hails from Muskoka which is so funny because like Muskoka is the the town of the summer it is so the fact that Dez is also from Muskoka it's really funny the Hamptons of Canada um Dez oh yeah I can't remember Dez and Dot have completely different personalities but they're um one knows when to slow things down the other knows when to turn the energy all the way up the balance felt like a natural expression of Tempo and we can't wait for our fans to get to know them love that love that um the Portland fire also um unveiled their mascot as well dragon Rose Rose their glitter breathing dragon love the Rose as a Portland homage um I also think it's very clever that it's for a team name and the fire the dragon actually Breeze glitter um Rose to me is giving high fam lesbian that's that's what she looks exactly like the dragon that falls in love with um the Eddie Murphy donkey in the Shrek movies that's what she looks like do you think that was an inspiration uh I mean if it wasn't like had to have been subconscious at the very least um Rose put out a great performance tonight as well and I think the fire is there like reveal was really awesome too like having this like hole in the ground it felt a little too Valkyries coded to me like with the egg last year with Violet and I realized they brought a lot of people from the Valkyries to the fire and I think you could feel that energy in the unveiling of Rose um so I didn't I didn't love it as much as like the the story arc of Dez and Dot but you know I'm here for all of it mascots are great 15 mascots teams Atlanta still waiting on yours well there is a good call out there is a um there is a formula that is developing for the expansion teams right um and the Valkyries the Valkyries are sort of like the blueprint of that but then the blueprint prior to them was the Liberty and oh how many used to work for the Liberty she's now the GM of the Golden State Valkyries interesting little like executive brain trust that's developing here like Vanja goes from the Valkyries to we only see it in mascots exactly it's well it's it's a number it's it's mascots and it is like the ways in which they Market the team to the the local fan base and the fact that they have had sellouts and stuff and stuff too even with the Cleveland Sirens I believe that they've had like twelve thousand season season season ticket deposits I really enjoyed their um reveal for their team name and I and I think that they just have so much to play around with with the siren and and like you know the potential mermaid aspect of all of that um I just I feel like the wnba like I think there's this gap where and I think it's a gap that I'm always thinking about too it's just someone who's like trying to figure out the best way to cover this league there's always been this gap between like women's sports bodies and what women's sports fans actually want and I think that the Valkyries the Liberty the fire the tempo and now the sirens are starting to like lead the way on closing out what that gap is and you see it in a lot of different spaces like there's this great sports business Journal story about like merch just being Miss booming industry because it's starting to lean into what like women's sports fans want as opposed to like what like for so long it was like shirts jerseys honestly for so long they weren't even like fitted for right or or they would just be like pink in this way that was like but just felt like patronizing right um now you're seeing like there's this company there's like these companies that are like putting out really cool ties accessories things like that that like are really selling um like the logo shirts um the tempo the Valkyries have done a great job with their merch I feel like the sirens will as well there's so many I mean this is in like every aspect of like how you deliver something to a fan in a way that it um it would actually them and you've talked about it over and over again like how this like the you can't just make the wn you can't just build the wnba's growth off of like what the NBA is doing like it's not a men's sport it has different fans it just has different realities um and I feel like we're seeing we're seeing a league like layout a blueprint for what it's supposed to be and it is continuing to grow exponentially as a result which is just cool to see yeah I mean new facility this week in Portland always love to see that um the LA Sparks are having the topping out ceremony for their facility like on track to open in 2027 Dallas is opening in 2027 like thank goodness all these players won't have to practice in converted industrial spaces and Community Colleges and wherever it is the Chicago Sky practice uh or used to practice I suppose um yeah just uh I realize not everything has to look like the men's side but uh professionalization so it's good that obviously helps yeah um the the the Portland facility in particular too like just because they're all they also own the Florence I think the way in which that like ownership group is specifically able to cater to women um and like women professional athletes who just don't there has never been enough like research around what is actually you know required for them to be at their best like I they have they want to be at the forefront of that they just had this like Summit called the epicenter of sports like Summit they want to be the epicenter of sports I think that they have a really great shot I mean that's a pretty vague um big goal and you can like but I think I think I think it's a good like at least I got the name already no one else can take that exactly they do have the they they do have the name but I also think they have the vision and I'm starting starting to see it be executed I think it's really cool do you have any more joy um do you have any more um I'm just really excited for like high level basketball coming like every time I see two non-playoff teams meet up I'm like I'm done with this I'm okay moving on I'm checking in on tankathon but I'm not really watching those games that much anymore one thing I will say is making me really happy is that the standings look exactly exactly how almost exactly how they're perfect I want them to they're perfect I would like the Liberty to be swapped out with the Mystics I don't want a Mystics Valkyries um first round matchup because I think those are the two defensive teams and I want them to go up against offensive teams just to start I just don't have a chance against the aces so then again Melissa Smith is not available it's possible yeah so yeah also that was very much the opposite of joy happening that's true that is yeah sorry yes yeah is there I don't think there's an update on her yet no okay yeah that I mean obviously would be a huge blow to the aces um I get that I don't think the Mystics have a chance against the aces unless this is out but I just think I love the front court battle there and Valkyries Liberty look Marine versus Gabby two gays fan bases offense versus defense Ellie versus Violet like I'm just I'm just here for that Link's Wings works for me little Yukon yeah right yeah Olivia versus Paige easy out move on people dream fever like obviously I got yeah yeah yeah it's it's so close to exactly the way I want it to be yeah aces Liberty I just can't get enough of so I'm perfectly happy with the way that it is currently situated that's very valid especially well my issue is like i mean this is bringing me joy that leonie phoebus is back and she completely changes liberty but i feel like they're not gonna lose enough games for me to get the seating that i want like i feel like they're probably just gonna keep that 60 now maybe even sneak into the 50 they're only a half game back of of the indiana fever right now so that's tricky yeah we should i mean we could get aces fever in also would be excellent that would be amazing that would be an amazing series um sabrina thank you so much for making the time today i appreciate you thank you for hopping around the league and going through like the many many vibe shifts yeah oh my god so many vibes on this podcast i don't even know like where we got there in the middle or like where i am now going from lsu to fox news to all of this fox news and his canter is maybe a cia concubine um i feel like i should add one more thing that has brought me joy in watching this league just to close it out here because yeah there's a lot uh my yamamoto freaking love her she's so cute oh my god she plays so hard she's yelling at all of her teammates uh like they actually listen to her she's like three feet shorter than asia wilson the postgame interview that she did with nalissa and asia and chelsea and jackie just standing behind her and like making sure that everything was going okay it was perfect uh i love watching like tiny japanese guards and the fact that becky hammond has like actually turned her into a rotation player is so fun but yeah my yamamoto delightful she's a mini she's a mini becky hammond she's a mini becky she really is a smart player small becky's so small to begin with which is crazy also on that note japan is gonna be really fun to watch in fiba like they have they have some of the most like high skill players um that that you have in basketball uh kakuro tanaka i believe um she's a japanese caitlin card guys you heard it here not first um but maybe you also heard it here you've you're also hearing it here you're also hearing it here you're also hearing it here because it's true because it's true um sabrina thank you so much for hopping on the show is there anything you want to plug before i let you go uh just everything at the athletic um the no off season podcast comes out three times a week tuesdays thursdays and fridays we have lots of fun talking about women's hoops and uh if you want to manipulate wmb playoff seating we have a forecast like little tracker thing going up tomorrow on the site you can like pick games and see where your team's gonna land it's gonna be great oh that's fun okay okay i'm gonna waste hours and hours on that love that great um sabrina thank you so much for making the time i will talk to you soon and thank you to stefan anderson for producing as always and thank you all for listening and we'll see you later this week this episode is brought to you by whole foods market fall is here and whole foods market has everything you need for cozy meals seasonal treats and easy entertaining elevate your hearty dishes with tasty bone-in beef short ribs or new york strip steaks with no added growth hormones or antibiotics and as the fall evenings draw in why not get ahead of cold season with immunity shots herbal 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