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Said hi everyone, Welcome back to Rain Weekly. KII dunning here with Laura shot and spoiler alert, Laura just got a kitten, and I want to hear all about this kitten. What is the genesis of this kitten? Did it have to do with your lovely daughter. I'm assuming go through this and then obviously we'll get into rain but I think everyone needs to know about this kitten.
Yeah, don't. I don't obviously normally do the play by play, but I mean, I guess we can. With a kitten. A friend had a cat that had kittens, and Grayson was spending some time over there this summer, and of course, of course, naturally you would want a kitten. And it's adorable. His name's Cheo. He's been super mellow, and then in the last week he just wants to jump on everything,
like he tries to climb up me. Yeah, and he has his own space, he has his own room, so you know, you walk in there and if it's he feels like it's time to play. He's gonna go hard.
Speaking of Rain, as you all know, have clinched a playoff spot, but decision day still very important because we would love to be able to host a home playoff game that is huge, massive, amazing, would be awesome, but the road to get there is not the easiest road. Yeah, the team is visiting Orlando at Orlando. Laura, let's get some thoughts on facing Orlando at Orlando, because that's tricky.
That's a trick. Obviously, Orlando had a They've had a great run and then they had had injuries. I mean they had an injury to Marta and to Banda, and that set them back a little bit. I think that that put them back a little bit with some results more recently, but at least in the points. But you know, Marda maybe returning, maybe be at full speed here soon. I mean she has but obviously that's a big boost.
So Orlando though they obviously they're a good team. They're where they're at because they've earned it, and so I think it's it's you know, it's East cust travel, it's all those things. Orlando obviously had a year kind of reminiscent of Kansas City this year, last year. So they're now, they're not new to this, they know what this is, so they're gonna I think that game is gonna be a battle.
I'm looking at the standings. Orlando is one point above us in third place. I mean, that's like as much of an exciting decision taking matchup as you could possibly ask for. Yes, soccer gods, at least from an entertaining entertainment and storyline perspective, or on our side, I don't know, you know what, Actually I'm gonna I'm gonna take a different opinion here. I actually think that this is a great opportunity going into the postseason to go on the
road play one of the toughest teams. I mean, I don't know, it feels like a great way to roll into the postseason, especially if we get a good result. I mean even a draw is a good result there. Yeah, this is an opportunity. Challenges are opportunities. I think this is a really really cool opportunity.
It's a great opportunity. I mean going on the road. I mean, we saw saw the tithe the result with Gotham last time. The rain faced East coast travel, so they took that task very well, responded very well. You could see that getting that point on the road was huge given how the team and Laura Harvey framed it and responded to it. So those points are huge, But there's a lot on the line here. We know that the Rain would love a home game, may or may not get it because that is a very tough game.
And like you said, they're sitting three and four. But you know, just recently we were playing North Carolina and we were right next to them, and the standing is closer to the bottom of the table fighting to get in. So that's a great point. Again, the art the Rain art new to these scenarios, so they'll be ready.
It kind of feels like every single team down the stretch has kind of bit like this to be at studio. I mean, starting like you said, when we were playing North Carolina, we're playing Louisville, like all those teams that are now those are the two teams that are fighting to make get into the postseason still and we've really risen to the challenge. So congratulations and the Rain on that. Laura Harvey always sort of and she's told us this, She puts out her starting lineup based on the opponent.
So what do you think Laura Harvey is going to put out against Orlando And how do we match up against one of the top teams in NWUSL.
I mean, I think we match up extremely well. I don't know if she's got to change a whole lot from the last game. I mean, we'll see, We'll see where Heidem is at. Obviously there were a couple injuries. Meant to see where she's at if she plugs back in. But we know that Laura Harvey, like you said, she changes lineup week to week. We've seen that all year. I wouldn't doubt if there's going to be some changes. Obviously, those are two big names that have started a lot
of games and been very successful. They might be back in, but it'll be interesting to see what she does with like, for example, a Jess Fishlocke who has been coming off the bench and obviously doing it extremely well. Well. Yeah, almost like a sixth man kind of scenario or a twelfth man kind of scenario coming in totally and that brings a ton of energy. That's a really fun dynamic when you have that as a coach, where you know you can make substitutions and at a point in the
game sixty seventy minutes and you can get better. You can bring that energy, you can bring that excitement. So I think those are some things to watch for sure. We know who she may play in the back line when you're playing the five. There's really about six people that have been rotating in there, maybe seven, But those are the those are the things that I'm curious about to see really Heidema, where Menti's at. But we know,
you know, mclarenan stepping in has been doing wonderfully. We'll have to see where Mezz is at because she was going to go into camp and then didn't, so that's an interesting fold. But no matter what, we know that the rain are prepared for this. It's almost like they've
been training for this all season. If you look back, and you know, I know at times we were we've talked about, oh are they are they gonna, you know, end up with a starting lineup and get to a very regular eleven, and that never happened sitting in fourth, so it seems to have have paid off. In that rotation, you're gonna have people who are a little bit more fresh, so hopefully that all that all works out here in
the end. As we got into that second half of the year after we had the large international break, it was really interesting to see that. I'm and even when we played a team like Utah, who after the turn started to win some games and make a run in North Carolina, they had actually quite a significant number of people changing in the lineup. So I think what's unique about the rain is that it wasn't necessarily injuries or anything like that, or even trades that changed the lineup.
It was more people earning it and trading. Having a young team, and I think as a coach you're trying to figure out what what buttons to push when, how they respond, how they're how quickly they're going to come along at the professional level. And there's just been a ton of players this year that have stepped up, and then a ton of older players, veterans that have just hit landmarks. So it's been it's been quite the year. It's been a lot of fun to watch.
It really has uh and it's I don't want to say up and down. Hasn't been up and down, but it's definitely been unpredictable. I would say unpredicted. Yeah, lots are really really cool. Like you said, those milestones all coming this season, A bunch of retirements that are you know, coming hopefully though they have a bunch of more games to play. I'm actually scary. So I'm looking at these
game notes that are awesome pr afishinga o'riyan Perez puts together. Yeah, And I'm looking at the starting elevens from this season. I don't know if we have a single one that is exactly the same.
I I mean, are you thinking, are you looking back to back or are you looking just across the course of the year.
Oh, I'm looking across the across the course of the year. It's hard though, my brain is kind of but it's a lot of different ones.
Well, I mean just to catch you know, like I mean, Keey right now is looking live at twenty five. Yeah, it's a lot lineups, so it's it's a lot to process. I don't know about back to back. Maybe maybe once or twice we've we've had the same one. But yeah, I mean it speaks to the ability of players on this team to be prepared for a moment, and we've seen a number of players step in and nobody has looked out of place, nobody has looked like, oh they
have to catch up in some way. They've seemed very prepared, very professional, They've performed very well. So it gives a coach and it gives an organization a lot of flexibility and what they want to do with the opponents that they face.
I have to say too, I think it's a testament to the depth of talent and totally because we're not the only team that's this way.
Yeah, you know.
I look when we put together those starting lineup graphics on all of our local broadcasts, we always use the game notes and we try and predict what they're going to do just based on what their last lineup was, and it's never even close to being correct.
So many times we're in there as we get lucky.
Sometimes we get lucky and a coach is like, yeah, we're people knew one or whatever, but yeah, people knew.
Like when we go through rehearsal sometimes we don't have the lineups, and how quickly we know. We'll look at a lineup from either the previous game or we'll look at a lineup last time we face them, and it's often almost all the time I would say it's.
Different almost every time. It's different, which you know, it's annoying on our end. Slightly right, just a little bit more of a fire drill right before we go on air. Just a little bit more fire drill.
But you guys are so good. I don't envy that moment, but you guys are so good at it. It's like seamless for you guys.
Congratulations to Jordan Thompson who is my broadcast assistant who works on graphics with the Jordan operators, and then Ashley and Larry who have been all changing as our graphic operators. So good job, guys.
Those guys are awesome.
It's really really hard, but like I said, it is a testament to the depth of talent in the NWSL for sure. All right, let's go through the rest of the matchups that are coming up on decision day Casey versus San Diego, Utah playing Washington spirit Portland versus Houston, Chicago versus LA, and then the two games that I have starred because this is going to determine that final playoff team North Carolina playing Gotham and then Louisville playing Bay.
So those are gonna be the two to watch simply because either North Carolina or Louisville is going to make that last uh playoff is gonna have that last playoff spot. That's actually kind of exciting. I love when there's all these you know, other factors that you know you have to factor in and you can't prepare for because you're not gonna know until there it is. And you have to be adoptable and you have to adjust, and you have to you know, be willing to get gritty and
crazy in the playoffs. And this is my favorite time of year. I love postseason soccer. I know that is so anti European of me, I don't care. I love that we still adopt the American postseason. And I've convinced several people from across the Pond who have moved out here and have been you know, working at WSL and MLS, and they all, well, I'm not gonna say they all agree, but Steve zach Wanning agrees with me that the playoffs are great. So I will die on that hill. I
love postseason soccer. Yes, Kansas City won the Supporter Shield, but like Phoebe McLaren had said, a while back, that doesn't matter. When we celebrate winning the w CEL trophy right in front of you. So that's right.
I love seeing her get fired up. I mean, that's not.
So great, it's so great. And to like put that out in the press too, I love that. I love that so much. Yea, it brings out my WWE fandom a little bit.
Oh does it. I don't think I know this about you. I don't know about the WWE, but I have.
Some weird hobbies and interests. Okay, that's probably why I've migrated somehow to Seattle, aka like the nerd capital of the world. And I say that with love and it's a fellow nerd.
Oh, I got it. I got it.
I appreciate the specific Northwest for that so much, and the not too cool attitude about it, which is also awesome. We still have so much to talk about with the Rain, including a ton of players who had international duty, which is just another I keep saying the word testament. That's kind of my word of this show. A testament to the strength on the Rain, a testament to the work that Leslie almar is done to put this roster together. And you know, just the best women's soccer talent right
in your backyard, so stick with us. We'll have more on international duty and more playoff predictions. Achille Dunning and
Laura Shatt back with more Rain weekly. One thing I've noticed, just as you know an American sports fan who also you know now loves soccer, and soccer is my favorite sport that I enjoy watching and I obviously work in and I live, breathe, and do so much with it now a little theater kid from California now, is that soccer there's so much less transparency that I've noticed in terms of actually knowing what an injury is to a player,
how long they're going to be out. I know that there's reporting protocols, but when you look at the n you I feel like teams have to report it, yeah, and you have to know, Okay, they're gonna be gone
this amount of time. It's this very specific thing, and any cloak and dagger type of stuff that they try and do they never get away with, whereas soccer, and it's probably more of the international culture of sport versus the American culture sport, where American cultures we have to know everything about everything and you have eight media availabilities that you have to be available for and there's just so much more that's expected in terms of transparency and
information on the side. But in Europe, I mean, I I don't half the time they're not even able to attend trainings. Like that's a different thing. That's a totally different thing. So the whole you know, not really knowing injury stuff. It's it's different, it's very very different.
Yeah, I mean, I guess bigger picture for the NWSL, I'm curious as the players Association and just a little bit more time passes with some of the protocols, what happens with that. I mean, I'm sure at some point
it'll it'll change a little bit. I mean which way or how I can't predict, but I think that for a great reason, and there's been a lot of focus on player protection and player safety, and so I think that they want to get it right and it's better to err on the side of keeping the players safe and comfortable, uh than chance it. And I think that's just a snapshot in time, maybe a piece of where we're at. But I think that maybe it'll change somewhat in the future.
I think that that's a whole another interesting conversation just as a sports league grows, Yeah, what the expectations are then placed upon the personnel within that sports league. Yeah, it has to change. And what doesn't change and how fast that can change and how slow it has to you know, you can't. I just look at this from producing our first local broadcast this year, and this is absolutely nothing to do with anything from the team side.
They have been amazing to work with and incredible and this has just been a dream year for us in so many ways and really really cool. But I'm not going to push too hard to get too much too soon.
Yeah, you know, growth has to.
It has to be gradual, and then eventually you hit a point where it, you know, skyrockets. But right now, and this is the frustrating middle part for a lot of people. Sure, is this like right before the launch kind of you need to go gradual? Yeah, because then you'll stay up. You're not going to just go right down.
No, you need it, You need a base. And I mean I think you hit it on the head, Kiley. And that's a really important point that the league itself obviously had some changes in the last few years, very positive, great for growth. I mean we're already seeing that organizationally, though, there's a reason why a lot of players look at the Rain and want to come to the Rain, And a lot of that's cultural from the front office, from coach Harvey, from GM Leslie Gallimore. Uh, you know, they
they have certain values that they want to hereby. And I think that both of those individuals speaking about Leslie and and Laura certainly growth mindset, individuals that know that a short term payoff isn't always best long term and so whether it's player safety, or it's looking long term planning or those sorts of things. I think everybody is on board that it's it's a build, right, don't want to have one good year and then you know a slew of poor ones. You want to you want to
build something that has a solid foundation. And you know, the organization went through a lot of changes just over a year ago, right, so a lot of positive things, so many positive things. I want to echo what you said, I mean, what an awesome year I want to turn around from last year. I just think that there's a lot of positive things moving forward. You hear that from the players quite a bit, right. They want to always, you know, give these people compliments. It's not always the way.
It doesn't organizations, right, they're not always complimenting. They're not always complimenting their m and their staff and the players around them. There's a lot of dynamics that go on in a locker room, but you get that here and that's special. And I think the slow build in terms of having a great year but building upon it and having a solid foundation or or where we're at and what we're doing well.
And like I said, that middle sticky, annoying place where you don't you're working so hard but you're not seeing the results of it necessarily. But then all of a sudden, the results start coming and you're like, thank goodness, I went this slow. Thank goodness I was the tortoise and not the hair, because now I have this amazing foundation that's built.
Yeah, And I mean you can look take stepping back from it the last year, I mean the Seattle rain sitting and forth right now last year sitting in thirteenth and there's nothing really slow about that turnaround. No, But I think when we're talking about growth and we're talking about foundations, getting those things right sometimes take time. I just think it's great that this organization values those things
and sees them as important. And then on top of that, I think that you get players that feel valued and they feel safe, and you know, there's adversities in every season, whether they're injuries or other things, and when those things come up, if everybody has developed this trust, which again takes time to develop. Yeah, it takes time, and they're doing.
It amazing all right, Speaking of our amazing veterans, Jefs Fishlock playing her final game with Wales, not final game in soccer in general. She is not retiring WSL. No, it's been quoted as confirming that she is not retiring. We will still have just Fishlock with us. We can we can't lose Jeff Fishlock. No, ya, but on fire. She's been on absolute fire. She's having an absolute renaissance
of a season. Again. Congratulately are her and mass and congratulations her one hundred and sixty six cap with Whales and her final cap, which is a record of course for her. Uh. I was about to say, like, let's just talk about Jefs Fishlock, but so that is so massive, one hundred and sixty six caps. Yeah, and she is that Wales team.
Yep.
Men and women, men and women's the men's and the women's. It's Jeff Fishlock, Gareth Bale. They are whales.
She is whales.
She's true. It's incredible.
Well, you know, we're talking about building things and we're talking about foundations, and you know, Jeff Fishlock is obviously gonna be one of those people for Whales, for Whales soccer forever. I mean, nobody has done it like she's done it. There you can tell. I mean we talked a little bit about the celebration and the singing and the support during her final game and press conferences and those things, and you know, you can you can tell how much she means to that team and that country
and what she's done there. It's palpable, it's obvious, and you can tell the joy it brings her too, and how much pride she takes in it. So it just it brought me a lot of happiness seeing those things coming from from that game in her final match, because she deserves it all.
I could not have said it better myself, so I will not even try.
All right, all right.
Other great news, big, big, big, amazing exciting news. Lynn Biandolo Yes is having a baby, posting on Instagram. Yeah, four days ago to our little blessing. You are already so loved, You are already such a light in this world.
Great post.
Parents are already so embarrassing.
Love you more than you can imagine.
Mom, Mom, and dead. That is so cute.
It's so good. It's been a great job.
An sing. That's amazing, So congratulations to them. Absolutely unbelievable. That's amazing and yet again another testament to how strong women's bodies are. That we give birth to actual human beings. Our bodies build and create other human beings, and that is amazing.
I just I love that we're at a time where these things are are celebrated and you know, put out posts like that and everybody's so excited. And we've seen it with with other athletes in the league over the last few years. And you know, that wasn't that wasn't always celebrated the way it is now. And the fact that the athletes get to celebrate this, they don't have to hide it or wait or you know, any of those dynamics that just weren't as weren't as fun. And
you know, having children is an amazing thing. And seeing these tremendous athletes put these posts out and share it with the world that they're expecting or they're they're having children. I just it. Every time I see him, I'm just like, this is this is so fun. I love seeing every post that they put out. And congratulations to the bandolos. We're so excited to meet your little one when it's time.
All right, Okay, final topic, Okay, before we go, I saw the coolest thing on Instagram. It was so cool. Former rain keeper Fallon Tallest Joyce posted or was they did an article about this or something. She's also a marine biologist and deep sea diver, because of course she.
Is, because of course somebody on the rain is amazing.
Rain keeper who you know all of the records that Claudia Dickie is in the process of breakings, they're all fallons and she's a deep sea diver and marine biologist as well.
I was not aware of this. This is amazing news.
Like, are you kidding me? How do you have time? It's amazing.
I'm a little bit speechless right now. This is how do you have time? And how are you this smart?
That's what she got her a degree or like college degree is in marine biology.
I mean another another nature and animal lover I mean, this is this is just the way it is. I I think I need to stop being so surprised when everybody does such amazing things and has so many talents. I mean, it goes well beyond the field, which is another fun fact about this organization. And I think that this is also a product of the fact that people's people's gifts are celebrated here and yes, and so people can do multiple things and they can do them well.
And they're not seen as distractions, like they're not.
They don't have to be distractions.
They don't have to be distractions.
No, your family doesn't have to be a distraction, You're the fact that you're a marine biologist doesn't have to be a distraction.
Absolutely not.
They can be they can be lot of they can be celebrated, and frankly, I think definitely us and then the Rain fan base just of course they want to know that.
This is like when you're in elementary school and you have to, you know, draw yourself and be like what are you going to be when you grow up and you're six and you're like, I'm gonna be a professional soccer player and a marine biologist.
From the entire Rain roster did everything.
A teacher, just like, yeah, sure, honey, of course you will. You're totally gonna do that. And then she actually did it.
Yeah, of course you're going to be a professional soccer player and a marine biologist. Of course you are.
And then you know, the six seven year old girl from the nineties dream was to be a professional soccer player and either a marine biologist or like a palaeontologist.
You're not wrong.
That was all of our dreams.
And she did it, and she did it.
She's doing it, she's doing it, doing it, So I congratulations, Fallin. I'm going to be your newest Instagram follower because I need to see all of this. So cool and so cool that the rain are playing Orlando this weekend. Check it out. It's going to be a massive, massive game, and it, you know, decides whether we have a whole playoff game, which I know we all want. I know that we all want that. We want that so bad. And then the day after Sounders playoffs and yeah, so
really really, really good. It's always a good time to be a soccer fan in Seattle. Right now is the best time of the year to be there. All the sports, really sports, all the Seattle sports Krack and might catch up at some point.
Well, I mean, go get there together.
Check us out next week. We'll be back recapping an amazing, hopefully big win decision day against Orlando and previewing the playoffs even more so. Stick with us on ninety three point three KGr. We'll be back next week