Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're pre panicking about all the things that could happen in Game four of the WNBA Finals tonight. My heart rate is through the roof just thinking about it. On today's show, we'll be talking to Phoenix Mercury and college basketball play by play announcer Cindy Brunson about the wild finish to WNBA Finals Game three, and we'll get a grade on
the twenty twenty four season down in the Valley. Plus the NWSL season is getting down to the wire, and ooh boy, did I have a night out in New York with the folks of the Women's Sports Foundation. It's all coming up right after this welcome back slices. Here's what you need to know today in WNBA News. Tonight could be it. The New York Liberty have a two to one lead in the best of five series against the Minnesota Links after pulling off a stunner in Game three.
They've got a chance to win the franchise's first WNBA championship on Minnesota's home court. In case you mystic, which we're sure you didn't if you're listening to this show, but Sabrina Escue took the joy out of the gym on Wednesday night with a thirty foot game winner in the final seconds of Game three. Earlier in the day, it was announced that Unescu had been named the All WNBA Second Team. After the game, she was asked about what she considered a snub and had this to say, that.
Was just a great All WNBA Second Team performance.
It's just too good. Can she put together another All WNBA second Team performance tonight? Will Brianna Stewart drop another thirty piece? Howell and the FISA, Collier and Company respond. We'll talk about that and more with Cindy Brunson in
just a couple minutes. Speaking of those All WNBA teams, League MVP Asia Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces and Defensive Player of the Year and if you Sacalier of the Links were unanimously selected to the All WNBA First Team, joining them the Liberties Brianna Stewart, the Connecticut Sons Alissa Thomas, and the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark, who became the first rookie to make the first team team since Candice Parker in eight Always in mark a greatness when a player
is mentioned in the same breath as CP three Really cool stuff for Kaitlin Clark. We'll link to that full list of first and the second team players in our show notes and the w is back on the big screen or whatever screen you're watching streaming channels. On a Radical Act, a feature documentary about a big choice made by Atlanta dream co owner Renee Montgomery, is officially out
on Roku. The documentary explores Renee's journey through childhood in West Virginia, her time starring as a player at yukon the two WNBA championships she won as a member of the Minnesota Links, and her move to the Dreams front office. It was produced by Uninterrupted and P and G Studios and directed by Emmy Award winner Sandren or A Bona. Whenever you got some downtime, be sure to check it out.
We'll link to the trailer in our show notes, and if you're listening, Renee, we still want to get you on the show. In the NWSL, it's the second to last week of the regular season and the playoff picture is getting clearer. First, a crucial matchup between the number seven Portland Thorns and the number nine Racing Louisville FC Saturday, seven thirty pm Eastern on Ion. Portland needs a win or a draw to clinch a playoff spot, while Racing
Louisville is on the brink of elimination. Right after that, the number five North Carolina Courage hit the road to play number eight BAFC at ten pm Eastern, also on Ion. The Courage are already in the playoffs, while Bay could lock up a spot if things go their way. On Sunday, Number three Gotham FC hosts the top ranked Orlando Pride in a match that could move Gotham into second place with the right result. As always, we'll link to Alison
Gale's excellent playoff scenario breakdowns in our show notes. More NWSL sale news out of Southern California, The Levine Likeman Family Office has officially acquired the San Diego Wave Football Club from its last owner, Ron Burkele. Lauren Likeman will be the club's new NWSL governor, and Zachary Likeman Levine will serve as the new NWSL alternate governor. Lauren Likeman and Arthur Levine are the founders of Lavine Likeman Capital Partners,
a global private equity firm. Along with this acquisition, their family office is also added, investing partners from around the San Diego area to help bolster the club. In a statement, Lauren Likeman said of the move, quote, our commitment to the club will extend beyond the field as we pursue the construction of a new, state of the art training facility,
while also supporting local youth development and community programs. Our mission is to create an unparalleled experience for fans, players and staff, further cementing the Wave's position as the premier women's soccer club. End quote. The owners will have to hit the ground running this offseason with two pressing matters on the docket. Find a new head coach and address the allegations against team president Jill Ellis and complaints of
former staff regarding a toxic work environment. Interesting note, said Ellis in a statement about the team's sale. Quote, Arthur and Lauren have been great supporters of mine for many years. I have no doubt they will fit right in with the San Diego Wave community, and it is my pleasure to welcome them to the organization. End quote. Elsewhere in soccer news, the US women's national team has released its
October training camp roster. Fresh off leading team USA to a gold medal in the Paris Olympics, Head coach Emma Hates called up six uncapped players, meaning they haven't seen any playing time for the national team yet. Three of them are making a US women's national team roster for
the first time. Worth noting that the national team's collective bargaining agreement requires all Olympic players to be called up to camps ahead of victory tour games so long as they're available and uninjured, which means eighteen players who competed in Paris were automatically named to the squad. The team will host Iceland twice this month, first at Q two Stadium in Austin, Texas, on the twenty fourth, then again at Geotis Park in Nashville, Tennessee on the twenty seventh.
Both Mallory Swanson and Kelly O'Hara will be honored at the Nashville match. Swanson celebration for her one hundredth cap, which came during the Olympic gold medal game Loal O'Hara will get a well deserved retirement ceremony at halftime. The US women's national team will also play Argentina on October thirty at a Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky, where Rose LaVale will be honored for her one hundredth cap, which she reached back in June. We'll link to the
full training camp roster in our show notes. In college volleyball, the top four teams are at action tonight, beginning at six Eastern with number two Nebraska against Michigan State. The huskers only loss this season is to Southern Methodist University, and they're hoping to keep a thirteen game winning streak alive. Then at seven pm, number one ranked Pit takes on unranked Cal and number four Louisville plays wake Forest. At eight pm Eastern, Number three Penn State faces Ohio State.
There are a slew of other top twenty five teams in action tonight as well, so we'll link to the full schedule of games in our show notes. In college soccer, plenty of games to keep track of tonight as well, most notably an in state showdown between number three ranked Mississippi State and Ole Miss at eight pm Eastern. We'll link to that schedule in our show notes too. All right, ceisis some more volleyball news. But this has some implications
for the upcoming election. Two, we told you about the San Jose State volleyball team and how other schools have forfeited matches against them this season. The schools who have forfeited have not explicitly stated why, but the presence of a reported transgender athlete on the San Jose State team is believed to be behind the decisions. Last month, as JSU Coca captain Brooks Slusser joined a lawsuit seeking to overturn NCAA guidelines that allowed trans women to play under
certain conditions. When she joined that suit, Slusser outed one of her teammates as transgender. Now, according to reporting from Marissa and Jemmy at the San Francisco Chronicle, former President Donald Trump is using the situation as political fodder in his run for president. In a match last Thursday, the outed teammate spiked a ball that hit a San Diego State player and knocked her down for a moment, but
she popped right back up. Trump seemed to reference the play on Wednesday during a town hall on Fox News channels The Faulkner Focus. He said, quote, I saw the slam. It was a slam. I never saw a ball hit so hard hit the girl in the head. But other people, even in volleyball, they've been permanently. I mean they've been really hurt badly, women playing men. But you don't have to do the volleyball. We stop it. We stop it. We absolutely stop it. You can't have it. End quote.
This kind of exaggeration and fear mongering is common from those seeking to demonize transathletes, and usually involves a ignoring context. In this case, the player in question isn't the tallest or hardest hitting on our own team, and in volleyball, spikes and hard to return balls are not just common, they're sort of the point. San Diego State's director of athletic communications push back on Trump's remarks in a statement
on Wednesday, saying, quote this did not happen. The ball hit her in the shoulder, she was uninjured and did not miss a play end quote. He also added that the school has called for corrections from media outlets. A video from the San Francisco Chronicle proves that Trump's words are inaccurate. The ball not only hit the SDSU player in the arms, the result was actually a dig that
allowed the point to continue. We'll link to the video in our notes so you can watch for yourself, and again we'll keep you updated on this situation as the reporting continues. We've got to take a quick break. But first I want to remind y'all that we've got a survey we would love for you orange slices to fill out. Just visit the link in the episode notes or check my Twitter at Sarah Spain where I posted the link as well. It'll take two minutes of your time, promise,
and don't forget. One lucky participant will win a sports prize pack, So go fill it out. Okay when we come back, sab shot and the links on the Ropes with Cindy Brunson. Stay tuned. Joining us now the TV play by play voice for the Phoenix Murcury. You can hear calling Big Ten women's soups on Peacock Arizona Women's basketball play by play on ESPN Plus as they pivot
to the Big twelve. Former longtime sports center host on ESPN, principal play by play voice for Athletes Unlimited Basketball for the last three seasons, and a proud Washington State alum. We partied on a very hot Phoenix rooftop during the All Star weekend seeking out mister's hair Bedamned, it's Cindy Brunson. What's up, Cindy?
Oh, A happy slice reporting for duty here.
We love a certified slice. I'm good. I'm recovering from WNBA and pre panicking about WNBA. This series has not given us a moment to take a breath, and I don't want to be prisoner of the moment here. But if we get another classic, and especially if it goes to five? Am I wrong in saying this might be one of the best series of all time.
In the w OH I don't think that's an overstatement at all. I really do hope it goes to five. I know Courtney Williams was very adamant after Game two saying that the Links don't want to go back to New York. But I think all of us are hoping that that indeed happens, except for probably the Liberty. Yeah. No, I think they'd be happy didn't pack enough clothes to go beyond Game four that they want to wrap this up on Friday.
Okay, we got to start with Sabrina and Escut two Daggers. At the end of game three. Of course, the second one sealed the win. That thirty footer was insane. But I have to say the first three, just a couple moments before, might be the biggest energy suck I've ever heard in an arena. I've heard big shots that caused the groans and the screams and the ugh That was just silence, just everybody taking the big gasp at the same time. And then the second one that just knocked
everyone out. How big of a shot was that, not just for this series, but in the history of the Liberty.
It was pretty big. I would put it right behind t spoons half course shot to extend that series against the comments. Yeah, it was ginormous. But PAC twelve fans, former PAC twelve fans, and Oregon Duck fans know that that is what Sabrina does. She has been showing off the mama mentality forever. I mean, you remember she was one of the speakers at Kobe Bryant's funeral. She is built for this and we saw it all the time when she was at Oregon. That's why she walked away
with twenty seven triple doubles in college. She is just that person and hand to God, Sarah and I will fight people in the streets over this. If the pandemic hadn't taken over our lives and canceled the twenty twenty NCAA tournament, Oregon would have cut down the nets. They had three first round draft picks on that roster, led by Sabrina. That team was built to win a championship, and this is the chip that Sabrina has been chasing ever since COVID denied her in twenty twenty.
Yeah, that was heartbreaking. That was heartbreaking for Sabin for that team, and then you know the injuries early in her w season, and then you know the questions about whether she would translate her game. What we have seen from her this season, continuing to be an absolute killer from beyond the art, continuing to be an offensive threat, but defensively improving, being a point guard for a team when they needed one to step up in Courtney vander
Slut's absence. This is a different Sabrina. And this feels like if the Liberty go on to win this title, you know, Johnquell and Brianna Stewart and everybody else are playing their role, but it's the difference in Sabrina's game that might just be the thing that puts them over the top.
Oh, Sabrina is out in these streets proving she deserved to be first Team All WNBA, no doubt, because what did she do? She led the number one team in the league and she did it averaging fewer than three turnovers a night. She was efficient, She was effective and deserve to be on that first team.
I was going to ask you about that because after the game we played the crack about that was just a good second team All WNBA performance. Do you think she should have been the first teamer?
Based on wins and losses? What team was at the top of the table for the majority of the season, Her New York Liberty. That matters. Winning matters, especially in the WNBA.
Yeah, it's interesting obviously, Caitlin Clark a tremendous season and records talk and maybe not working with as much on a team that needs to pull itself out of the lower rung of the league. But certainly an argument there. And hey, I bet you if you asked Sabrina and the rest of the Liberty if they'd rather have her in this series with the chip on her shoulder for the last couple games and win it all or have her be first team. They would unanimously say, we'll take
the championship. But they've still got to win going forward, and the way this series has gone that is not a guarantee. We saw Brianna Stewart put up an effort that helped them get that game three thirty points in all unbelievable fourth quarter. Defensively, offensively, how do you even begin to try to stop Brianna Stewart, especially the way she's playing now where they're using her a lot bringing the ball up the floor.
Well, you don't stop her. You hope that you can absorb what she puts up and then limit those around her. I think that that is the game plan that Minnesota has tried to use in this series. What I think they didn't expect was how much of a defensive impact Stewie would end up having. She had seven steals a WNBA record in the game to win, and three of
those steals came in the fourth quarter. In Game three to take a two to one series lead, Stewie scored fourteen points in the third quarter to get her team level and then provided another eight when it was closing time in the fourth quarter to go along with half of her blocks on the night two. Stewie is etching her name on the MVP Finals trophy right now. All the Liberty have to do is help her secure that last win.
Yeah, the Links had the Liberty down early. It looked like home court was absolutely the home cooking that they needed. They were forcing turnovers, they were in a rhythm offensively. Courtney Williams looked fire. Was it just the injury and the foul trouble for Alanta Smith that turned the tight or did you see something else?
Alana Smith leaving the floor was devastating for Minnesota because it interrupted their defensive rotations. Minnesota has created so much havoc and for so many Liberty turnovers that they feast on their points off turnovers, averaging the double digits. In this series. It's gigantic. And with that little tick of an interruption in the rotation, that's how evenly matched these
teams are. It tilted toward the Liberty. It gave Sabrina a little more room to operate in space, and it gave New York its advantage coming into this series, and that is size. John Quell Jones had five points in the fourth quarter. She went on a little five oh scoring run of her own when she said, you know what, I listened to Stewie in that huddle when she said, we are not leaping losing this game and she produced.
We've been waiting for JJ to exact her force and she did it in that fourth quarter.
Well, and it's something we've talked about with these two teams. It has been incredible to watch Cheryl Reeve take this collection of players with only one Drew superstar in the FISA, Collier taking someone like Smith who was out of the league, thought she would stay out of the league and then got a call from James Wade, went to the Chicago Sky and then ended up on this link squad. The way shol Reef has put them together has been impressive.
But with somebody from that starting lineup, when one of their big players go out and they have to start making substitutions, it's a very different game for Minnesota. On the liberty side, when you go to the bench, you're like, oh, let's bring up you know, one of the greatest facilitators in the history of the game in forty Van Right, Let's swap out some of our superstars for other people
who would be absolutely starters on other teams. That depth for the Liberty is a killer, So that seems like something that will be really important for the Links in game four in order to keep the series alive and force in game five is to keep people out of foul trouble and be able to have their leaders lead.
First of all, if you're a New York Liberty player, you need to call out screens for Leona Phoebeish oh because girl is getting knock all.
I literally was going to ask you going down the line, who's the top person who needs to buy our dinner? A couple of them? Do? I think it might be John Quall who's gotten the most A.
Couple of dinners, for sure, But Foebish has got to stay on the floor and upright. The defensive switch to put Phoebish on McBride was brilliant because McBride struggled with that extra height. Again, the Liberty have the advantage being so tall. Feavish six 's four. All of a sudden, those sightlines that were working so well for McBride and
Carleton went away, and that was huge. And how about Niara sobely five steady minutes Rookie came in with some energy and some oof and it just reminded me of a conversation I had with head coach Kelly Graves at Oregon who always told me keep an eye on Niara. She is just a bigger version of the unicorn that we know, as her sister saw to goes. If she
can stay healthy, she is going to wreck everybody. And that I saw that on display, her effort, her energy, her fire, her want, the liberty needed that they needed to match what Courtley Williams brings to the floor, what Fee has brought to the floor. They needed to do that. You questioned their toughness muscle, you know, especially when they get up so big and lose those leads. So it was nice to see a young, young players in Foebish and Sodly bring that toughness for New York.
What can the Links do? What do the Links have to do? What do you see going right for the Links? In game four? To extend the series.
It's critical to know the health status of Smith. If Atlanta Smith is not healthy and can't contribute, that's devastating. But then you tap Maysha heinz Allen on the shoulder, remind her she's got a WNBA championship on her resume,
and to just channel it like we need you. You're our person now and you have got to listen to the leaders on the floor of where you need to be because she's disruptive and she is a sneaky good shooter like New York was leaving her open a lot in Game three, and if they do that in Game four, m aj can make them pay.
What do the Liberty need to do? What do you see happen in game four for the Liberty that helps them to win their very first title.
The Liberty need to re watch Game four in the loss against the Aces last year where they were this close to extending the series and let go of the rope. They cannot do that again because Minnesota is happy to force a Game five and we saw what happened in Game one. Home court may as well not be in play now. They may as well find an empty gym somewhere and do this because home court is not helping like we normally see it, especially with the role players.
That was stunning to me with Minnesota. The extra pieces that she brings off the bench in like a Natisha Heideman, just they were more effective in New York than they were in Minnesota. So if that trend continues for Minnesota, that could be problematic as well.
And we've seen it across all sports. If you have a chance to finish off a series and you allow the other team to tie things back up, there shouldn't be momentum either way. You're tied, but the momentum is all with the team that extended the series and did
not allow themselves to be eliminated. The Liberty do not want to find out what that looks like if the Links win Game four and force the Game five, And I have to be honest if I'm making a pick, This collapse of fifteen point lead in the first quarter feels different to me than when the Liberty did it at home for a couple reasons, mainly because it's deeper into the series. There's less of that mental weight of it.
It feels like by this point you should be able to not have the nerves get in the way, You should be able to finish off a game like the Links started out with. But also, the Liberty are a better, deeper team. I believe that. I believe if you're just talking who's a better team, Who should win this series. It should be the Liberty. And so if you have them on the ropes the way that they did and you let them back in to win, it doesn't feel
like Game one. It feels like to me the end of the series, the Liberty come out, and I think, if I have to have a hot take, I say, confidently win on Friday night.
Okay, confidently like they won in Game two.
Yeah. Yeah, that it doesn't come down to a final shot that they that they get out ahead. Maybe hold it.
I can see that. I know that the mathematics will tell you that the team that goes up to one wins the series eighty something percent of the time. So that's a good sign for New York. They got a control fee. The Visa Collier presents a lot of problems, so the defense has to continue to stay locked in on her and switching up the defenses on Courtney Williams also imperative because those two players in particular, brings so
much want to the table it's frightening. So I think more than skills that New York brings to the table, it's between the ears. They have got to believe that they can seal the deal on Friday.
Let's talk about the Phoenix Murcer whill we got you here.
You were better than a season ago.
Let's go there you go.
Would you call this season a six for a failure based on the pieces that they had a success?
I think for as top heavy as the roster is or was for the twenty twenty four season, it was a great success. The integration of the new pieces in Kalia Copper, who finished the season second team All WNBA, had nine thirty point games, one shy of the Phoenix Mercury record set by Diana Tarrossi and Natasha Cloud, making All defensive team in the WNBA, guarding positions one through five for Nate Tibbets all season long. Those two in
particular were amazing. Diana was fantastic, putting up numbers that she almost hit when she first came into this league twenty seasons ago. It's and then Britney Griner finally found her group. We saw flashes last season in our first season back after that wrongful detention. But I saw BG smile. I saw Beg hit the best three two point percentage on the team. She had a half for three point drives. Yeah,
so I just I saw Ney things. What I didn't see was a very deep bench, and that's where Phoenix got exposed against the top tier of the league and in the playoffs against Minnesota. And the thing that that Minnesota really showed me is that Phoenix is missing a four. We haven't had a great four since Candue to Decree and that championship that was won back in twenty fourteen and the team that set the world on fire in
twenty thirteen when BGI was just a rookie. You got to have a four in this league, a big four who can compete and score, because you see the fours on display in these finals and Steuwie and fee ISJ. Wilson got eliminated because they didn't have enough depth. But it's start. The full crumb is the four in this league.
I don't want to talk about Colia Copper. It makes miss that the Chicago Sky.
Okay, the Sky.
I mean, I'm happy for her, on I miss her.
They're a mess. If you're going to let go Weather, I'm listen, man, that's official dumpster fire status.
Listen.
Put that on a coach in her first season, her first one, I know, they messed around and almost made the playoffs.
Yeah, and why do you bring someone in in that situation and then not give it time. It just doesn't make any sense. Okay, let's stick with Phoenix because I've got plenty of time to mourn whatever the hell's going on with this guy. Do you think the roster for the for the Mercury is going to look similar or different next season?
I think it's going to look different because I don't think Diana Tarroossi's name is going to be on there for the first time since two thousand and four. I'm I'm putting that out there because I've been bracing myself, feels this eventuality.
What's happening. She hasn't said it, no.
But there's so many round numbers, right, twenty w NBA seasons, the exact number that Kobe played, and Kobe anointed DT the White Mamba, So there's that.
Well, and then my friends of hers, you know, after that final game, there was a big party, and I saw in the captions a hashtag if you know you know, And I'm thinking that feels like the insiders are being told this was a retirement party.
Yeah, and then I just go based on what I saw across the floor, from me. Penny Taylor had court side seats, and the last two seasons I hadn't seen Penny at the kids at very many games. This season, the second half of the season, they were at almost every single game, and that was the bell for me. I was like, Okay, Leo is sitting with her court side. Oh okay, here, we're taking in these moments. We're cataloging memories now. So that was the big signal for me.
Okay, So, no, DT, what are they adding? Who else makes sense to keep or get rid of? What else do you anticipate in terms of changes?
Then, well, it all depends on who they protect right for the Valkyries expansion draft and who else is available from other teams because of that expansion draft. I would love to see Melissa Smith a big four in Phoenix. Kelsey Mitchell is an unrestricted free agent, Satu Sabai is an unrestricted free agent, and Phoenix has all the bells and whistles right. They've got an owner who is ready to write checks, and they've got a brand new fifty
eight thousand square foot practice facility that is elite. So when it comes to creature comforts and how players should be treated, there's a handful of teams that can offer those to players and free agents, and Phoenix is one of them.
What are you given a grade for Nate Tibbitts in his first year as head coach.
I give him a bee. I thought he did a very good job of leaning on Christy Tolliver, his associate head coach, and learning the league quickly. I think he's a good ex'es and O's guy. I just don't think that he had the personnel to run what he wanted to do the thirty three these attempts. Again, he just didn't have that much three point shooting on his roster.
But I understand his vision of what he wants. Now it's up to matt Ishbia and the leadership to give him the pieces that he needs for that offense to function. It would be very akin to what we see from Minnesota and New York.
We're keeping a NYE a couple big picture of things in the w that includes the CBA conversations. That includes the potential for players to start looking ahead to that renegotiation and having it affect their deals. I know someone pointed out Stue mentioned she only plans on one year deals going forward. That's something that her old teammate Sue Byrd was the master of for her last few years
in the league. Can you see a whole bunch of players all saying, why would I sign more than a one year deal when we know that this potential reorg is coming down the pike and I might have a little more leverage to deal with? Might we have absolute insane free agency right ahead the twenty twenty sixth season.
Oh, I think so. I know if I was an unrestricted free agent and I had the opportunity to shot my skills to the highest bidder, but knew more money was on the table down the pike, you bet that is a good business decision. And I think it will make for electric team building because you got to get good and fast.
And now we'll have unrivaled where a bunch of players will get to play with folks that aren't on their w team, get a chemistry going, get relationships going. I mean that whole league is basically just Tampa City, USA.
Like I'm just going to rename Miami. You don't know Miami anymore. We're going to Tampa City.
Tampa City, USA. I don't even know how it's legal but I'm fired up for it. I'm also fired up for this Game four of the WNBA Finals. Cindy, thank you so much for getting us ready for it in a way that only you could. Your voice is been so important to this league and you continue to be a leader in the space, and we so appreciate all of your efforts and especially your efforts coming on our show today.
Oh, thanks so much. Appreciate you. A reminder, Athletes Unlimited will start season four. They're going to be in Nashville, so you'll have a five on five option against the three x three option four Unrivaled. And shout out to TNT for not only saying we're going to broadcast the Unrivaled games, we're going to be a partner in the league. That is ten toes down and it is so nice to see.
I mean, women's hoops fans are spoiled right now. We're going to get one of the most highly anticipated college seasons of all time, plus Nashville AU plus Unrivaled in January. It's almost too much. How can we be expect to have jobs even if our jobs are to watch basketball?
Oh well, that's the beauty of it, right Like, oh, it never ends, Like I was really happy that I didn't have time to take a vacation. Here you go, my WNBA season ended, and then it was like, okay, I got to get ready for ten and Big twelve and all right, here we go. So yeah, it's a nice problem to have, for sure.
Amazing, so spoiled. Thank you, Cindy, Thank you, Thanks so much to Cindy for chatting with us, such a pros pro. We got to take another break when we come back. How many powerful women's sports athletes can you fit into one room? Welcome back slices. I am still recovering from an incredible night at the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the
Women's Sports Foundation. Every year they throw an incredible galap but they really pulled out all the stops for this one and number fifty, including killer videos for each decade of the Foundation's existence, mixing political and current events footage with the top women's sports performances of the decades. I'm going to post clips from some of those to my Instagram at Spain two three two three so you can
check them out. So good. They even brought out a few of the women from each generation on stage, including basketball legends Cheryl Miller and Myers Drysdale, Swin Cash Marathon groundbreaker, Katherine Switzer, Paralympic legend, Tatiana McFadden, Pool Shark, the Black Widow aka Janette Lee, Knockout Queen Claressa, Shields hockey great, Kendall Coin, Schofield, and more fun side note, Claressa was in the bathroom talking to someone from the Women's Sports
Foundation complaining about the highlight videos not having enough of her knocking people out freaking hilarious. They were like, you were in plenty of the video. She was like, but I want to be knocking bitches out so good. Julie Foudy and Ari Chambers were incredible hosts for the evening and they took us in a Fax time machine through those generations of footage, including costume changes. And let me just tell you, Foudy can rock a seventies jumpsuit. That's
all I gotta say. I want to send a big thank you to CEO Dennette Layton. I want to congratulate friend of the show, current President of the Wind Sports Foundation, Scout Bassett. I want to say what's up to founder Billy Jean King for starting the whole thing fifty years ago. Honoree, Alana Klaus and everyone else for just a really powerful,
incredible evening. We'll have some more stories from the Galla next week, including sharing some powerful words from one of Wilma Rudolph's teammates from the nineteen sixty Olympics, eighty seven year old Lucinda Williams, and how she and Tobinheath wove a story about the thread that ties female athletes together.
It was really cool. But for now, I just want to give a shout out to friend of the show Monica McNutt, who probably, like right before we were at the gala together, signed a multi year contract extension with ESPN. We love to see it. So congrats to Monica. And here's a couple questions I asked her in honor of the Women's Sports Foundations big fiftieth anniversary.
What is your.
Favorite women's sports memory from the last fifty years?
Wow?
Fifty years? I think, oh man, that's so hard, okay for me, Definitely falling in love with the Williams sisters. I remember there being so formative and then I got us still go back to my origin story. Shout out to WNBA nineteen ninety seven, like the comments, these are leslies.
There's a weatherspore, we're back of love. Oh yeah, So for me, those are the things that come to top of mine.
Okay, if you had a team, I'm a professional team in the city where you're from?
Where are you from?
And what would the name be? Oh?
Okay, do I go the major city that I'm from or like the actual city city?
Either one?
All right, there's already professional teams in DC. So if I was gonna bring them straight all the way to my city of Suitland, Maryland, I don't know. I want them to be like the rough Riders or something. We're a basketball city. We're a basketball region for sure.
Okay.
Last one, any athlete past or current that you would.
Want to be teammates with?
Okay, so can I tell you I don't fangirl often we work in this whatever.
But Cheryl Miller is like, what athlete do you want to go? See? That played?
Before you got around to see what athlee do you want to be teammates with?
Like it's schel Miller, Show Miller, Shoel Miller.
And she was so cool today and I like introduced myself to her and was trying to be cool, but I really.
Wasn't at all.
But she's here and she'll be celebrated along with her teammates, and it's such a dope event.
It's always a great night, but fifty makes it extra special.
Thanks to Monica. Love those answers, and thanks again to the Women's Sports Foundation. More about that night coming on the show in a few days. We always love 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. I mean, I might as well ask you for money. Donate to the Women's Sports Foundation. They're doing a giant capital raise to continue the work they're doing. Go to
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Pick a team is what I'm saying. Decide where your loyalties lie and let it rip. Start talking shit. Buy the merch, buy the tickets, go to the games. Sports are more fun when you've got a team to follow us. So if you don't have one for one of those sports, do a little research and pick one. And please do us a favor and fill out our survey. We linked to it in our show notes. I'm gonna keep telling you please fill it out. It's super helpful to us.
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fifty eleven piles of street garbage review. Isn't it your job to get me where I need to go? Am I going uptown or downtown?
What do you mean?
You're going to decide whether to unlock your doors and let me in based on where I'm headed. We do not do this in civilized cities. We hail, we get in, we say where we're going, they take us there. That's the relationship that we've all agreed upon. Okay, I know you got shifts and you got to drop the cab off, YadA, YadA. Why is that my problem? I'm just more on out here on these streets who usually barely knows if I'm headed down or up down. You're the one who's supposed
to know where things are. That's the point.
I mean.
One time I was literally halfway to the airport in New York when a cabby pulled up next to another one. They talked, and then he passed me off like a joint to the other cab driver just got me right out of his car, suitcase and all, and had the other guy finish the ride to LaGuardia. It's a wild system you got here in New York, absolutely wild. All right, Now, it's your turn, rate and review. Thanks for listening, slices, see you next week. Good game, Cindy, good game, Women's
Sports Foundation, Thank you, Donald Trump. 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 Rutner,
Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and Lindsay Craterwell. Production assistants from Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain