Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we'll be blasting Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas and Kelly Clerkson's Underneath the Tree all month. We will not be
taking questions or receiving judgment at this time. It's Tuesday, December third, and on today's show, we'll be talking to forward for the Minnesota Frost and two time Olympic medalists with Team USA, Kelly Panic about her goals for the second season of the PWHL, why fans should root for the Frost being a member of the Quadruple Gold Club, and her new beer most excellently named Ben There won that. Plus WNBA schedule release VIDs, PWHL TV deals, and a
hoops legend gets Double Brud. It's all coming up right after this Welcome back slices. Here's what you need to know today WNBA news. On Monday, the league released its game schedule for the twenty twenty five regular season, which chips off on Friday May sixteenth and ends Thursday, September eleventh. Teams are going to play a high forty four games, and the fifth annual WNBA Commissioner's Cup will include a seventeen day period in June, when the league schedule will
consist entirely of Cup games. Opening night includes the Golden State Valkyries playing their first ever game as they host the Los Angeles Sparks. Also that night, the Wings and their number one draft pick will welcome the runners up in the finals, Minnesota Links to Dallas. We'll link to the full schedule in our show notes more w news.
The Minnesota Links added two big names to coach Cheryl Reeves staff, adding legendary Links player Lindsay Whalen as an assistant coach and former Washington Mystics head coach Eric Tebow as associate head coach. Earlier this offseason, associate head coach Katie Smith left for Ohio State and GM Claire Dewellius joined the new unrivaled league. In college Vibs Volleyball, damn it miche vibes is catchy. I can't resist. You're making
vibes happen anyway. NCAA volleyball tournament bracket was revealed during a selection show that aired on ESPN. Thirty one teams got automatic qualification and thirty three were selected as at larges by the Division one Women's Volleyball Committee ACC CO champion and number one overall. Pittsburgh Big Ten CO champion, Nebraska Big Ten CO Champion, Penn State, and Louisville second in the ACC earned the number one seeds. We'll link
to the full bracket in the show notes. Matches begin with the first and second rounds December fifth through seventh, and this year, for the first time, you can compete in an ESPN bracket challenge for d one women's volleyball, the ESPN Volleyball Championship Challenge. We'll link to the sites you can sign up and play your friends, your family, and US will be filling out a good Game bracket too.
To Soccer US women's national team news, the gals are back in action tomorrow, taking on the Netherlands US coming off a nil nil draw against England Saturday at Wembley and riding a nineteen game unbeaten streak. This will be
their twenty third and final game of the year. A little bit of a fun storyline here a seventeen year old Lily Johannes, who was born in the US but has lived in the Netherlands since the age of ten and plays for Dutch club i Ax recently committed her international future to the US, so it'll be fun to watch Johannes play the DEU. This will also be the final US national team game for one of the greatest
keepers of all time. A listenair We're Not Okay, We're really not okay kickoff two forty five pm Eastern Tuesday on TNT, True TV, Universe, Omax and Peacock in Footy and gayshit. Over the weekend, Rachel Day, former English national team footballer and former nw selstar now playing for Aston Villa and England's Women's Super League, announced that she got engaged to Aston Villa teammates Sarah, mailing congrats to the happy couple. Okay, Slices. The W schedules have arrived, and
so has the W as a league. This year's team schedule release bids are so legit. This is how we know that the W has caught up to the rest of professional sports. Yes, there are a couple duds in the mix, but the squads seriously stepped up their game, creativity, originality and so much shade. We love shit talking of women's sports. Love it to be funny, to be spicy, to stoke the rivalries. We are so here for it, and there were a couple particularly good ones Chicago Sky,
New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx VIDs. You definitely need to watch. The Sky basically roast their opponents using the suspect videos that are currently trending. The Liberty have Ellie taking a lie detector test and the Lynx video is a play on Spotify rapped VIDs and they take some serious shots at opponents. They recommend Sabrina Carpenters, please please please for the last place Wings, you know, like, don't
embarrass me mother. They also recommend that you might like Robbery by Juice World or Stolen by Chris Brown and Young Thug for the team that beat him for the title. The Liberty Damn also shout out Atlanta for the cookout vid and the Wings for the video with food critic Keith Lee. Those are pretty good too. All Right, we got to take a quick break. When we come back, we get Frosty with Kelly Panic. She and I chatted just before the start of the PWHL season this past weekend.
That interview is coming up next. She's a forward for the Minnesota frost of the PWHL, A Patty Casmier Award finalist in twenty seventeen while at University of Minnesota after scoring sixty two points in thirty nine games in winning the national championship for the second year in a row. A gold medalist in the twenty eighteen Olympics and silver medalist in the twenty twenty two Games, She's a three time world champion and a three time World champion runner up.
She once hit a hole in one, and she's got her own beer. It's Kelly Panic. What's up?
Kelly? Not a whole lot?
That introduction makes me feel like sound a lot more exciting than I think I might be on a day to day basis.
I mean, pressure's on, yeh on for you to be exciting. We're going to get to your beer because this is the news of the day and the name is so good. But let's start with hockey. Season one of the PWHL was such a success, record breaking attendance, unprecedented support from fans. What are you hoping to see from the league in season two?
I think just more of the same.
I think for so many people, from players to also like the people who are running the league, the owners, A lot of people in management that do a lot of the business stuff that we don't see as players on day to day basis. We all kind of know more what to expect. So Year one was great in so many ways. And I've I've heard some people talk about like, now it's going to be I think really about the hockey and continue.
To progress that forward.
And we've always known that the product that we can put on the ice is high quality and exciting for people to watch, and now it's just kind of continuing to build that.
Yeah, the cool thing about new leagues is there's such excitement when they arrive, which helps, and then you worry about maybe a sophomore slump or the novelty of it
all going away. But it's actually those extra years that give nostalgia, tradition, statistics, rivalries, Like there's so much in sport that gets added on as you add to something that's new, like the PWHL, So you really have the opportunity as some of the first players to create that early lore about teams and about rivalries and everything else.
Yeah, and exactly that with like brivalries specifically, so many of us know people on other teams. There's only six teams there's not that many players in the league yet, So for one, it's really hard to make rosters, and then for the second piece of it, once you're on the roster, like you're fighting to keep your spot, and then knowing other people on other teams, it's fun to have those different dynamics.
And I feel like it's this year as well. You're going to see more.
Of what type of team each team is, what style they play, and it's just going to keep fostering into that. And people know that, you know, when they played in Minnesota Frost, they play a certain team. I'm not going to give them all their secrets, but they know they kind of you know more what to expect playing each team. So it'll be fun to see how that continues to build.
You mentioned the players knowing each other. One of the best rivalries in all of sport is USA Canada Hockey and y'all are teammates. Now, how is that going back and forth between playing some of the international games, prepping for Olympics and World Championships with your home team, and then going and suiting up alongside those same people you just wanted to destroy.
Yeah, last year we added Sophie Jake's to our roster the first ever trade, so she had a little bit of international experience, and then this year with Claire Thompson, she's really like the first that I've played with that was like that's been on the national team and you know, she was at the twenty two Olympics and her Olympic experience was we had some similarities, but then obviously in that goal medal game, it was very different.
So yeah, the rivalry is still pretty heated.
I think that that the root of the rivalry which has always made it so great is the respect that's there, and I think ultimately both of our federations are trying to progress this game and push it not just in
our own countries but across the world as well. So that's at the root of it, which makes it really easy once we step on that ice as opponents to you know, get into that mindset, and then it makes it also really easy when your teammates to kind of put that other hat away and be working now on this goal together as teammates.
What are your personal goals for season two?
Personally?
I think I think a lot of people doubted our team going into last season. I think a lot of people doubted our team at the end of last season when we were on a I think it was five regular season games slump that made its way into seven losing games streak into the playoffs, and I think a lot of people might look at our team's like wins and our success and winning the Walter Cup is kind of.
A fluke in some ways. So I think we still have a lot to prove.
Because we can because I think I think we actually are that team that the norm was how good we were to start the season, and so I think for us it's just kind of going to we continue to build on that. And as far as goals, I think you just got to take it one step at a time.
Like I said, with only six teams in.
This league, the expectation is to make playoffs, and the expectation is to give ourselves a chance to win in the end as well.
A lot of fans were surprised to see after you did win the Cup the Frost parting ways with their GM. How does the team rally around last year's success but also figure out how to move forward with that turbulent offseason, because it's not a straight line from the team that got it done last year to this year.
Yeah, that was definitely I think the first, not the first, but one of those points that's like, this is pro sports, right, and that's something that's new to a lot of people. And with the coaching change at the beginning of the season, before even game one, and then with the GM change over the summer, that was the welcome to pro sports moments.
So I think for as much as was made out in the media, like our team has always kind of known what's been going on, and our team has always been close, and that's at the end of the day, Like, that's what matters, is that every team I've ever been on, the players are the ones that have to play. The players the ones that have to win the game. The coaches, the staff can only do so much. It's up to the players ultimately. And I think, like I said in
our locker room, we knew what the truth was. We know what the truth is, We know who we are as a team. We know how close knit our team was, and that's a huge reason why we were successful.
Okay, so we've got probably a bunch of PWHL newbs listening folks who want to get involved but don't have a rooting interest, yet maybe don't have a team near them. So sell us on the Minnesota Frost. Why should we cheer.
For your Minnesota Frost. Let's start with our goaltenders.
We have two great goaltenders and they have a ton of personality and like they're just really fun to cheer for. They're also like two of the best in the world in my opinion, some of the easiest to ever play in front of. And they have great pads. So if you like, you know styles, great past, we did, great helmet.
We love looking at pads and helmets and what the goalies picked.
They get to they get to show their you know, their uniqueness and their personalities in that way.
So that's fine.
And then I think they give us their names so we can follow that.
Nicole Hensley and Mattie Rooney.
Oh yeah, Maddy Rooney has sick pads.
Yeah, yeah, they both do. I mean they've both the purple.
They've done a good job with the purple and making it, making it their own.
And then we got to check that out.
Yeah through do our defense.
I just think we have such a well balanced roster that and even a moment like we have some superstars
and you know Taylor Harzy and grayce On Winkle. We have Kendall Coin Schofield, who's a future hot gamer in our sport, right, and then we have players like Mikaela Cava who stepped up huge in playoffs, who's been a pro in the past, league's least decline obviously on the back end, Claire Thompson, like I said, Sophie Jakes, we have all these players, and we also have again the people, like we're gonna work hard every game, right, We're not going to rely on just to kill and talent. Our
coach demands more from us out of that. But we're gonna play hopefully a mix of skill and physicality and hopefully have some fun doing and and uh, we're hoping to be a little bit maybe more consistent offensively this year, so hopefully that provides people to you know, jump on our side.
Purple Collar work Ethic, is that what we're going to go with, Sure, Purple ethic team.
Yeah, great, color Wave too great.
I mean, if you like Gatherid the Frost, that kind of just like fits into that.
So if you're a fan of.
That sponsorship waiting to happen right there, Yeah, it hasn't already.
Gator, it might be a league spotsor league partner. So yeah, it's good.
It's good there, and they've got Kelly Panic, who is a winner at every single level. You are a member of the quadruple Gold club, which is College, Olympic, World and p WHL, and so that is a perfect reason to name your new beer Ben there won that so good. This is so good, and the can is so sick. Ben there won that. Tell me about this partnership.
Yeah, it's something that actually started at the end of last season. There was a picture of me that went viral from like the press conference. I was going to get Lee and Kendall out of the past press conference, and I had two beer cans in my hands, and I was like, it's time to go celebrate, like the Verdon We're gonna be done doing this, Like we were waiting to have the moment we would bring the trophy and we're waiting for the entire team. I'm like, we got to go do that. So that's kind of how
it started. And my agent had actually he was like, are there any local like breweries that you're that you like, that you like going to that you'd want to maybe like try to make something happen with and so it kind of just spiraled from there, and Fulton was a great choice. One of my favorite beers this summer was their Lonely Shandy. It's there spin on a class, especially Sandy.
Yeah, and it's the.
Best one I've ever had, and I'm very confident in saying that. It kind of just stemmed from that. And then the marketing director is someone who used to work for the Wild for like ten years, so she had a lot of like she kind of knew what was going on too. And they're a great supporter of Minnesota sports, and obviously with the PWHL Minnesota team then now Minnesota Frost being the first winners of the waltzter Cup, they were super excited to get on board with whatever the
project looks like. And it's so happened that they were able to make it a beer come to life. And Ben there one that it's a great name. It's a little bit on the edge of cockiness for me, but we're gonna lie with it. And I think for me, like it's I play a team sport and all of the things on my resume that you've read off are things that are go back to the team that I'm a part of, a team that's no been able to win.
So I always like to say winners win, and something that I feel like as people hear me say a lot, and yeah, winning is fun and celebrating those ones with the beer in your hand is even better.
I was gonna say it's kind of a missed opportunity that there isn't already a beer that's like basically dedicated to being the celebration beer. It just feels like there should already be a brand name, big beer company that rolls out a specific one that's just for celebrations. Maybe it will be been there one that maybe this is just the start of something really big. I read in the press release that the first beer you had with your family when you turned twenty one was Fulton Beer.
We won't claim that that was the first beer you had ever. Hey, it's not just say the first legal beer that you had with your family was from this brewery.
Yeah. I don't know if it was the very first one, but it's definitely one that like with my dad, he's an IPA, a fan of I PAS, and I feel like that's kind of always played a role into the beer I like as well, and so like I very distinctly remember the Fulton Sweet Child Divine was one of my go to favorites from the beginning, and what a random thing for a girl in college to like. But it's just something too like with our old family, like it's very authentic to like what we do.
It just it is what it is, and proceeds go to the Mosaic Hockey Collective. Some of the proceeds. What is that?
Yeah, so the Mosaic Hockey Collective is there a group that me and Matty Grouney actually last year we donated some tickets too, and DIDs some meet and greets throughout the entire season. Their group basically provide hockey resources to players and communities that might not have the easiest access.
A lot of times it's people of color, and it's because of color that again might not have had that quintessential Minnesota story of I g I play hockey because my dad played hockey and my older brother played hockey or whatever it.
Is, so hopefully now moms and sisters too.
Yes, exactly.
So it's it's I think a great organization that just brings more people more diversity to the game of hockey and again just reinforcing that idea that hockey is a space that everyone is welcome and just because it traditionally hasn't maybe had the same look. Hopefully more and more people are represented in ear league as well.
Cool. I love that. And you're actually celebrating this beer with the launch party early December at the Women's Sports Bar, a bar of their own, which I haven't made it too yet, but I've heard a lot about if folks are near the Twin Cities on December eleventh, then they want to go. What can they expect?
A lot of beer and a great time. A bar of their own is a really fun place to be. Every time I've ever been in there, there's it's how it sounds right, it's women's sports bars. There's women's sports. You know, games playing, whether they're live or replays, and memorabilia on the wall. And I'm sure I'm trying to make sure some of my teammates are out there, so
hopefully you just have a great time celebrating. I got to another way to celebrate the beer, but also our team and everything that women's sports as a whole is doing now.
Yeah, and maybe maybe you can win tickets too to a frost against the charge from Ottawa coming into town end of December. So that's cool. You know, you're a Minnesota native, you went to college in Minnesota. Now you're a pro in Minnesota. Let's say you got to pack up tomorrow and live somewhere else where do you go?
Oh, is this like within the league or can I pick anywhere in the world?
Anywhere in the world.
Oh gosh, I it's hard.
I do like people like Minnesota is really it's getting kind of cold here now, And I have said I wouldn't move. I felt like I had to. I'm not like so tied to Minnesota that I have to stay here. But I love and this might be weird, but I love the summer being like the.
Reward after like a long winter.
Yeah, and I love the excuse of like the winter is my time to hibernate and like just like stop doing like social things and be like, well, no, I'm in season. And like I also like I'm tied and the sun goes down at like four holy cozy.
Yeah, I'm good in my home.
And then the summer is like, okay, let's have some fun, like like who wants to hang out like that kind of thing.
So it's hard to Mattice for El's. I mean here to live.
That's a good question. I'd be fun maybe to go out east somewhere. Was it actually just talking to hand a Brand today, checking in with her. So maybe out in Boston and see how that would be. But people, I feel like talk about Massachusetts and Boston the same way they would talk about Minnesota.
So yeah, I mean, you're picking another good hockey place. So yeah, I think it's fascinating. You know, I gave advice to young people in a column I wrote a couple of years ago, and people actually reached out and they were like, we listened to you, and I was like, holy shit, you moved because of my column. But I said, I think it's good for people to get away from where they're from at least once. And you can always come back, but get away and figure out who you
are when everybody there hasn't always known you. And so it's wonderful to be a loyal Minnesotan and to have never left and at every turn be repers ending your state. And I also think hopefully sometime in life you'll go somewhere very far away, and just make sure that you are who you want to be instead of whoeveryone are you thinks you are.
I like that advice. That's really good advice, and I will. I just need to find a better answer for you, is what I need to do.
You go there, you go. But also now, everyone who is a fan of the Frost, do not yell at me. I'm not to go anywhere yet. Just down.
I'm not going.
I can promise you that down the road. We've got that on tape on tape. It's a promise. Congratulations on all your success, good luck with the beer, good luck with the season, and thanks so much for giving us some time.
Yeah, thank you, this is fun.
Thanks again to Kelly for joining us. We got to take another break when we come back. Maple Baked YouTube and an all too relatable story from the Lobo family. Welcome back, Slices. We got an inquiry from one of y'all and wanted to provide some answers, so here's an excerpt of Slice. Shannon Patterson's email to us high Good game team. I'm super pissed at the PWHL for no longer streaming all of the games on maple Bacon YouTube
aka YouTube in Canada. As a Canadian fan who has hyped the league to pretty much everyone I know, I feel like the league is turning its back on some of its biggest supporters in order to cash in. I suspect the amount of cash the league breaks in through TV deals is important to its future, So I'm hoping that you can maybe get someone to tell it to me in short sentences so that I'm not pissed at them forever. Also, why is the hockey spread across Amazon, Prime,
CBC and TSN. That's now three streaming sources instead of just one that was universally available from a maple bacon slice. Okay, first, a maple bacon orange slice is a concept that someone should investigate. Not me, because I'm a vegetarian I don't eat bacon, but somebody. I think just the sound of it is very intriguing. Moving on, Shannon, I did reach out to senior VP of Business Ops at the pwhl Amy Sheer, who said that your assumptions regarding coverage in
Canada are spot on. No YouTube in Canada now because the league's new broadcast deals come with exclusive streaming rights. She said it was a tough decision to make, but the right one for the financial health of the league and their hopeing fans can understand. In the US, you can still watch the PWHL on YouTube and regional sports
networks like msg nesson and FanDuel. Amy said fans can find TV listings on the league website and team websites, and can follow them all on socials, where broadcast information is listed as well. Thanks to Amy for the info. Thanks to Shannon for the note. I guess part of being a women's sports fan is rooting for teams and leagues to make more money, even if it means paying
for streaming and paying more for tickets. In merch, a we love that you're listening, but we want you to get in the game every day too, So here's our good game play of the day. Pick a side, any side, a PWHL side that is could be based on the city, your favorite player, even their logo. In merch, I gotta go frost for my girl, Kendle Coinschofield, but maybe you Swifties favored the Toronto scepters and that TS logo. They even had light up bracelets for opening nights, so they're
certainly not shying away from the comparisons. If the players of the logo don't sway you and you don't have a local team, you could google PWHL Takeover Tour and maybe see if a team's coming to an arena near you. Coloraden's maybe the Victoire or the Frost are your squad? Still time to grab a jersey before they plan Denver on January twelfth, Saint Louis, folks, maybe pick a side, grab some gear for the charge versus the fleet before
they hit the Enterprise Center in March. Sports are always more fun with the rooting interest, So pick a squad and let's talk some shit. Also, speaking of talking shit, go fill out that NCAA volleyball bracket to take on our show. We always love to hear from you. Hit us up on email, good game at wondermedianetwork dot com, or leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two oh four fifty seventy, and don't forget to subscribe, Rate
and review. It's so easy. Watch Rebecca Lobo's daughter pulling an all nighter at college, rating five out of five relatable procrastination induced cram sesshes review Friend of the show and Basketball Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo took to Instagram to share a hilarious exchange with her college freshman daughter, who text her at midnight. Quote, what was the deal with the gold medal and starting the WNBA and stuff? I need it for an assignment. This assignment is due
tomorrow morning. Like if you could give me a brief summary end quote the gold medal had started the WNBA and stuff that line, it's wild, okay, So Rebecca writes back, do you know how to use Google? And her daughter responds, coming in hot with the bras quote, Bruh. Part of the assignment is that I need to talk to people. I need to be able to say that I talked to you about it. It's called an action step. It's not a research paper. Bruh. End quote six h's on
that last bra. By the way, Rebecca told me that she ended up sending her a long voice oute and that her daughter is actually a big women's sports fan. This was just one of those relatable last minute homework crams. We've all been there. Lucky for her, though, she's got a Hall of Fame mom to call on. Now it's your turn, Rate and review, Thanks for listening, See you tomorrow. Slices Good Game, Kelly, Good Game, Rebecca Lobo's daughter h
bruh uh. Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and
Lindsay Craterwell. Production assistants from Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain