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Power Two Podcast: Caitlin Clark is not Winning MVP this Season
17 Plays1 month ago
Happy Mother's Day from GDSN! In this episode, we spend Mother's Day previewing the WNBA. But before we get into that, it was a news heavy week in College Football, with rumors of a 16-team playoff and Trump creating a commission on college football led by Nick Saban.
For our Two Minute Drill, DJ previews all 13 teams. Can Caitlin Clark win the MVP award and lead the Indiana Fever to a championship in her second season, or will she be bested by Napheesa Collier or A'ja Wilson? With new faces in new places like Paige Bueckers in Dallas and Jewel Lloyd in Las Vegas, we're set for a great season unless there's a work stoppage due to CBA negotiations!
Follow the show on YouTube: @GetDefensiveSportsNetwork
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @GetDefensiveSportsNetwork
Connect with us on Twitter: Jordan: @JordanW330 and DJ: @dj_danaysia
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction & Excitement of Independence
00:00:10
Get Defensive Sports Network
What's good, everybody? Welcome in to... Is this? This isn't the first, but it's technically the first.
00:00:16
DJ
It is.
00:00:18
Get Defensive Sports Network
The first episode of the Power 2 Podcast solely and only on the Get Defensive Sports Network. As always, I'm your host, Jordan. here with my co-host, DJ.
00:00:28
DJ
um my gosh. hey welcome. I'm so excited.
00:00:33
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yes. We are an independent enterprise once again.
00:00:38
DJ
Period. Love that
Cookie Talk & Mother's Day Shoutout
00:00:40
DJ
for us. And you know, today we're going to talk about the power of a good chocolate chip cookie. I had the best chocolate chip cookie of my life this week.
00:00:48
Get Defensive Sports Network
Tell me about it.
00:00:48
DJ
This is a random thoughts. Sorry. But I went to, so our president is no longer our president at SMU. He has concluded his 30-year tenure at SMU, and we will be welcoming our new president in June. So we had, like, this farewell event for him, and they were serving the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had.
00:01:08
DJ
Like, crunchy outside, soft on the inside. Just a hair, like, you might it might be a little underbaked, but not in a bad way. Oh, so good.
00:01:19
Get Defensive Sports Network
Interesting. ah believe you because you bake.
00:01:23
DJ
Yes, I do. I do. Don't tell everybody what you just did. So anyway, yes, a good chocolate chip cookie.
00:01:27
Get Defensive Sports Network
Wow. Too late. you don't want You don't want support? you don't want support of your business?
00:01:34
DJ
um No, I'm gonna be honest.
00:01:37
Get Defensive Sports Network
Fair enough.
00:01:37
DJ
No, thank you all so much.
00:01:39
Get Defensive Sports Network
Fair enough.
00:01:40
DJ
I only make five requests. It is not like an open free for all situation.
00:01:47
Get Defensive Sports Network
Well, what can you do? I tried.
00:01:49
DJ
You did.
00:01:49
Get Defensive Sports Network
um Okay, well, so we are here.
00:01:49
DJ
Thank you.
00:01:53
Get Defensive Sports Network
As you're listening to this, it is not Mother's Day, but as we are recording, it is Mother's Day. So we must start with a shout out to all the mothers and all the soon to be mothers. And yeah, happy Mother's Day.
00:02:02
DJ
all the surrogate mothers and all of the step mothers and all of the mothers who are adoptive mothers, everybody who's a mother, happy Mother's Day.
00:02:13
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, oh man, I lost my joke.
00:02:16
DJ
Wow.
00:02:16
Get Defensive Sports Network
What is the, uh, because I can't remember, I can't remember the thing that stepdads do. I'm not the father who blank, I'm the father that stepped up. But I can't remember the blank, so then it messed up my joke.
00:02:25
DJ
I think it's, I'm not the father who left. I'm not the father who stepped out, I'm the father who stepped up or something like that, yeah.
00:02:31
Get Defensive Sports Network
Okay, maybe that's not the one I've seen.
00:02:32
DJ
Something like that.
00:02:33
Get Defensive Sports Network
Because I've seen one that's more catchy than that. But was going to say shout to the mothers who stepped in, not the ones stepped up, not stepped out. It doesn't matter, shout to all the mothers on Mother's Day.
00:02:41
DJ
It's shout out to you. Love you all. Love my mommy specifically. Happy Mother's Day, mommy.
00:02:50
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yes. So we are here and we have some news.
WNBA Mother's Day Focus
00:02:54
DJ
We do.
00:02:55
Get Defensive Sports Network
So we're going to go through the news very quickly, quicker than normal. And the reason why is this is a WNBA show today. And I don't know if you paid attention to this and I wasn't going to text you because in case you didn't, I want to say it on the show.
00:03:08
Get Defensive Sports Network
we are talking about the wbi on mother's day and there are mothers in the WNBA. You know where there are not mothers?
00:03:14
DJ
There are.
00:03:15
Get Defensive Sports Network
There are not mothers on the college football field. So today is not a college football episode. We have a couple pieces of news, but then we're going get to the mothers in the WNBA. So starting with the news, the first thing, which will be extra quick because There's going pass there's gonna be a million things that comes out of this. And also, i imagine that some people are tired of talking about
College Football Playoff Expansion Debate
00:03:37
Get Defensive Sports Network
this.
00:03:38
Get Defensive Sports Network
So as of recently, two days ago, also on your end, I'm not going anywhere because the other ones are longer.
00:03:38
DJ
yeah yeah
00:03:45
Get Defensive Sports Network
um As of two days ago, there was a report that the 16-team college football playoff bracket is gaining support in the Big Ten and the SEC. If you remember...
00:03:57
Get Defensive Sports Network
For a while, we were thinking 14. I am still pro 14 because if you do 14, you still have two teams that get a bye. If you do 16, you either stay with four byes or no one gets a bye, which I just think is really awkward.
00:04:06
DJ
Yes.
00:04:12
Get Defensive Sports Network
i also think 16 is a lot. like I'm not going to complain again when there's a sport of 130 teams. one match at 56 teams. like yes the one match fifty to sixteen is probably going to be a blowout ah just really don't care but i do think it's awkward where 14 you got the bot, but I think there may be going, and this is my adding, of course, when you say you think, talking about what you think.
00:04:35
Get Defensive Sports Network
I think they're going to 16 maybe to appease the other teams because there the other conferences, because they're still trying to do the automatic bids. And with the audit with the automatic bids, the way it worked with 14, there was only one at large.
00:04:44
DJ
Oh, yeah. yeah
00:04:50
Get Defensive Sports Network
So if there was a third, good ACC team or a third good Big 12 team or something like that, they most likely weren't going to get in because everyone probably assumed that that last at large would just go to like Notre Dame or something like that. And so they weren't really additional spots so the rumor is um and they have to agree on this eventually like i like they can't keep you know holding off but the rumor is that what is currently gaining steam is 16 team college football playoff bracket which would include four sec four big 10 two acc two big 12 one g5 and then three at large spots
00:05:31
Get Defensive Sports Network
with one at-large spot almost always guaranteed to Notre Dame if they are having a good year. And by a good year, above.
00:05:41
DJ
Correct. What a time to be alive. um i I just think 16 teams is entirely too many. i don't really have a whole lot of logic. I just think it's too many.
00:05:52
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah.
00:05:52
DJ
I would just rather it be 14. I think 12 was a good way of showing that like there's an appetite for more, but I don't think jumping from 12 to 16 is the way to do that.
00:05:54
Get Defensive Sports Network
I just,
00:06:03
DJ
Also, scheduling-wise, like it's already hard enough like with the scheduling. So to add sixteen to go up to 16, that's going to be a scheduling nightmare because you're going to be then running into the NFL season a little bit too much.
00:06:15
DJ
like I just don't feel like – I don't think we need that much more. ah just think if we're going to expand it, we should expand it 14.
00:06:22
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, I think the argument is that if you do six, so going from, so if my math is correctly, I don't think going 12, 14, or 16 adds an additional game.
00:06:35
DJ
I think it does because it's like a play-in type of vibe at that point.
00:06:35
Get Defensive Sports Network
Because if you, yeah, but that, but that's separate.
00:06:39
DJ
Because they were talking about that too, where it's like...
00:06:43
Get Defensive Sports Network
And that, and that game already happened, like that week already exists. The only thing with the play in is that more teams would be playing because that's that's the conference.
00:06:50
DJ
i mean, okay.
00:06:52
Get Defensive Sports Network
That's the conference championship week. So that week already exists in the calendar like they're not adding a week. And then if you go to 14, all you're doing is instead of 14 with buys, you have two teams with buys.
00:07:03
Get Defensive Sports Network
And if you go to 16, then no team has buys, but it's still the same number of rounds.
00:07:08
DJ
See, when I was speaking with um the executive director of CFP, he spoke about how when they go to 16 teams, it would cause a scheduling issue. I'm not exactly sure what the scheduling issue is.
00:07:20
DJ
I want to say it's like, even though it's still the same number of weeks, it will cause a scheduling issue with the NFL as far as like time.
00:07:25
Get Defensive Sports Network
Well, because there's more games.
00:07:27
DJ
Yeah. As far as like timing and stuff.
00:07:28
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah.
00:07:29
DJ
Yeah.
00:07:29
Get Defensive Sports Network
So, yeah, it doesn't add additional weeks.
SEC Conference Game Controversy
00:07:31
Get Defensive Sports Network
So it doesn't go longer into the NFL season, but it adds scheduling issues because you have to place more games.
00:07:32
DJ
Yeah.
00:07:37
DJ
Around.
00:07:37
Get Defensive Sports Network
And they already were having an issue, which is why the games were on like Wednesday, Thursday, and like weird things like that, because you have somewhere between two or four more games.
00:07:38
DJ
Yeah.
00:07:42
DJ
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:07:47
Get Defensive Sports Network
So it is still a scheduling issue, but it's not a week issue, like it's going longer into the season.
00:07:47
DJ
yeah
00:07:52
DJ
yeah
00:07:52
Get Defensive Sports Network
But to that point, as we've said before, before you do any of this, they need to adjust the college football ball calendar. and There are people talking about that. Hopefully that comes at the same time, but at bare minimum the college football calendar needs to be moved up one week, which is very doable.
00:08:09
Get Defensive Sports Network
They just haven't done it.
00:08:11
DJ
They just need to do um
00:08:14
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, and
00:08:17
DJ
That's it. I'm sorry. i thought i was going to say something. Never mind. Go ahead.
00:08:20
Get Defensive Sports Network
And so continuing sort of with this this through line, because three pieces of our news all sort of go together in one way or another. um ESPN is willing to pay up to $80 million dollars more for a ninth SEC football game.
00:08:33
Get Defensive Sports Network
Why does this relate to what we just talked about and why does this matter? All of the real conferences play nine conference games. The SEC is a fake conference because it doesn't. they did not want to go to nine because they're a fake conference and they were afraid that they would lose an additional game.
00:08:49
Get Defensive Sports Network
So they sort of wanted two or three things to happen to go to nine. One, they wanted automatic bid to the playoffs because they were so afraid that they wouldn't get into the playoffs if they had to play one more tough little game.
00:09:01
Get Defensive Sports Network
Two, they wanted ESPN to give them more money.
00:09:02
DJ
I am so tired.
00:09:05
Get Defensive Sports Network
And think that it. They wanted automatic bids because they wanted to make sure that they could into the playoffs and they wanted ESPN to give them more money because they were terrified if they had to play each other instead of their punching bad game in November that they wouldn't be successful.
00:09:22
DJ
So we just go act like we don't hear any sirens.
00:09:22
Get Defensive Sports Network
What do you want me to do about it? You know? So, yeah. you know
00:09:29
DJ
and just it's it was really loud sorry also it's just like we're just gonna keep it in here like that's not going on sorry go ahead
00:09:31
Get Defensive Sports Network
oh so
00:09:36
Get Defensive Sports Network
yeah So all of this sort of relates because if they get the automatic bids, then it will appease the scaredy cats who don't want to play a ninth conference game plus ESPN.
00:09:49
Get Defensive Sports Network
You keep rolling your eyes, but that literally is what it is.
00:09:52
DJ
I know it's just the way you're saying it
00:09:52
Get Defensive Sports Network
Half of them, because it's so childish, because the good teams don't care, like Alabama, Georgia, the SEC commissioner, all of those people are like fine.
00:09:56
DJ
it is
00:09:58
DJ
Oh, agree. Yeah.
00:10:01
Get Defensive Sports Network
And then everyone else is like, oh, no. But what happens if I lose an extra game? What happens if I don't go to a bowl game? i i need my I need my punching game against Western Divisional School, where it has a two and eleven record in November so I can feel good about myself.
00:10:09
DJ
It's the tone.
00:10:20
Get Defensive Sports Network
It's just so stupid. And and my thing is, I wouldn't care.
00:10:21
DJ
the
00:10:24
Get Defensive Sports Network
if they didn't also do the SEC dominance thing. like I'm sorry.
00:10:29
DJ
ah Yeah, yeah.
00:10:29
Get Defensive Sports Network
i get it. yeah right like I do not hit on the SEC that much because they are really good to do winning and all these other kind of things. But one of my biggest things with them is just like you can't talk about how great and how dominant you are and then in the same breath be afraid to play a ninth conference game because you want to play insert directional school for an easy win.
00:10:44
DJ
A nice game. Yeah.
00:10:49
Get Defensive Sports Network
like it's
00:10:50
DJ
Yeah, yeah.
00:10:50
Get Defensive Sports Network
Do you want to compete or not?
00:10:52
DJ
Be dominant. If you're going to be dominant, be dominant for real. So, yeah.
00:10:55
Get Defensive Sports Network
And prove it against the best.
00:10:55
DJ
Yeah.
00:10:56
Get Defensive Sports Network
Prove it against each other.
00:10:57
DJ
Yeah.
00:10:57
Get Defensive Sports Network
If you are the best, then play the best. Stop paying $2 million dollars so you can beat up on a team. In November, that's two and nine when you've played them.
00:11:07
DJ
Yeah. Yeah.
00:11:08
Get Defensive Sports Network
So...
00:11:08
DJ
I mean, I think that at the end of the day, the SEC is also about that bottom line. So they're probably going to go ahead and add it just to get that extra cash.
00:11:16
Get Defensive Sports Network
And honestly, their their point is, correct like, if you look at it as a business decision, their point is partially correct in that they, they the rumor was ESPN didn't want to pay.
00:11:26
Get Defensive Sports Network
And so they said, all right, well, let's hold out for the first year of Texas and Oklahoma so they can see how important these games are, and then they'll want to pay.
00:11:29
DJ
Yeah.
00:11:35
Get Defensive Sports Network
And as a business decision, that is what happened.
00:11:36
DJ
Yeah.
00:11:38
Get Defensive Sports Network
The thing is, they didn't make this decision for business. They made it because literally half of the league was crying about losing because they wanted the revenue from the bowl game and these other things.
00:11:51
Get Defensive Sports Network
And they were afraid of what would happen if they lost another game.
00:11:51
DJ
Yeah.
00:11:54
Get Defensive Sports Network
The money isn't because they need because this is going to be it's like three or four million dollars a year.
00:11:59
DJ
yeah
00:12:00
Get Defensive Sports Network
the it's it's like That doesn't make or break anyone the SEC. It's just that they're greedy and also, if one if for one of these departments, if they did miss a bowl game, that's a couple million dollars they wouldn't get. And so that's sort of what it is.
Notre Dame & Clemson Partnership
00:12:14
Get Defensive Sports Network
It wasn't like, oh, this is such a big business strategy. It was really to appease the Brokies.
00:12:21
Get Defensive Sports Network
all of the two all the other good teams were fine with it but it was like Mississippi State and South Carolina and Kentucky and Vanderbilts and those ones that are crying over $2 or $3 million dollars because they may have to play a real team in November instead so directional school.
00:12:27
DJ
Not the Brokeys.
00:12:38
Get Defensive Sports Network
Speaking of playing a real team, Notre Dame and Clemson it has agreed to scheduling partnership.
00:12:42
DJ
You're just running through all the news. I love this for you.
00:12:47
Get Defensive Sports Network
this again is done both for money and the playoff the acc is falling behind everyone one of the things that they decided to do, is there they've agreed to play the big brands more in hopes that it brings in more money, but then also to these two brands went on their own outside of the ACC to agree to a 12-year partnership, which they think is going to give them more money.
00:13:01
DJ
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:13:09
Get Defensive Sports Network
It's also going to give them better strength of schedule, which will help them get to the playoffs and more exposure so that when it's time for their deal to come up, either the ACC makes more money and gets more aligned with the Big Ten and the SEC, which is doubtful, or they reposition themselves to leave.
00:13:26
Get Defensive Sports Network
So all three of these pieces sort of go together because all of it has to do with money, of course, as is the big business of college football, but sort of more importantly, getting into the playoffs and furthering your brand and money.
00:13:41
DJ
Period. Period. And it's fun.
00:13:45
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, I mean, for me.
00:13:48
DJ
Yeah. um i
00:13:51
Get Defensive Sports Network
Well, honestly, I don't care about this because I could care less about Clemson. I am going to watch these games, but I don't really care about anything that Clemson does.
00:14:00
DJ
I'm always going to be here for the big brands playing each other because that's what we watch college football for. like
00:14:06
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, I just think there's a chance in like four years Clemson is trash.
00:14:07
DJ
Realistically.
00:14:11
Get Defensive Sports Network
And so this is just like eight years of blowouts. Like that's my sort of thing.
00:14:13
DJ
yeah yeah
00:14:15
Get Defensive Sports Network
Like Clemson's already sort of teetering on that. And I know they sort of like go back and forth. Like, of course, they did make the playoff last year, right? And so like if you believe that Clemson is going to recover from the last couple of years and be a good team again, then like this is great.
00:14:29
Get Defensive Sports Network
But there's just like a real distinct chance that in like four years Clemson is like
00:14:34
DJ
booty cheeks yeah yeah
00:14:35
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, and so it's just like Notre Dame is just smacking them for eight years straight, and this game doesn't matter for anything at all. Like, they're not getting extra money, they're not getting extra things because it's no longer a good, you know, brand game, right?
00:14:46
DJ
a marquee game. Yeah.
00:14:47
Get Defensive Sports Network
so
00:14:48
DJ
Yeah.
00:14:48
Get Defensive Sports Network
But, I mean, that's that's the risk you always run with these large contracts, so what can you do?
00:14:53
DJ
Yeah. At least trying. And I feel like that's the big thing is like, the dichotomy of the conversation on the side of the SEC, not wanting to add a ninth game because of whatever. Whereas on this side, they're like, no, let's, let's add it. Let's have this high competition level. Let's have this because they understand that it's good for the bottom line. It's good for their, it's good for the broadcast money. It's good for the viewership. It's good. Like, you know, okay, maybe, yeah, in four or five years, it'll be trash and they'll get smacked up or whatever the case is, but also at the same time, maybe not.
00:15:21
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, and it's crazy that this is the third conference, but they're not afraid of competition.
00:15:29
Get Defensive Sports Network
Interesting.
Trump's Sports Commission Rumor
00:15:30
Get Defensive Sports Network
Do you want to introduce our last piece of should I?
00:15:31
DJ
oh um I mean, you're already doing so well and I'm probably about to talk a lot. So just go The president of this here nation whose office I don't personally respect, but apparently Saquon Barkley does.
00:15:38
Get Defensive Sports Network
So the the last piece of news is that President, well, somebody's President Trump is
00:15:49
DJ
Go ahead.
00:15:51
Get Defensive Sports Network
He is ah rumored to create a landmark college sports commission. um It is supposed to be.
00:15:59
DJ
that's what he needs to be using his time on.
00:16:03
DJ
I'm sorry, go ahead.
00:16:04
Get Defensive Sports Network
Honestly, this may be better than what he's currently using his time on, because at least this hurts less people. Like should be, no But he's not spending his time on the things he should. He's just spending his time on things that are hurting people. So like, let him focus on entertainment. Like the Olympics are coming. If he's busy with that, maybe he'll leave the rest of us alone.
00:16:27
DJ
They're already threatening to deport people as soon as the Olympics are over. Go ahead with the commission. Because it's so bad.
00:16:33
Get Defensive Sports Network
He is rumored to be starting a presidential commission. Um... It's supposed to be headlined by Nick Saban and co-chaired by, oh, what is that guy's name?
00:16:46
DJ
Cody, whatever his name is. Cody somebody.
00:16:48
Get Defensive Sports Network
A billion dollar Texas Tech booster.
00:16:52
DJ
Yeah. Yeah.
00:16:53
Get Defensive Sports Network
It is supposed to be co-chaired by them and essentially it's supposed to be looking at the issues that plague college athletics, including NIO, unregulated booster the transfer portal,
00:17:10
Get Defensive Sports Network
college athlete employment status with the university's revenue sharing, Title IX, conference membership, and television contracts.
00:17:10
DJ
Revenue sharing.
NCAA Lawsuits & Antitrust Discussion
00:17:19
Get Defensive Sports Network
I don't think half of this gets looked at, but essentially the the brass tacks, as some people like to say, the point of this is the NCAA is terrified of being sued for everything.
00:17:32
DJ
Mm-hmm.
00:17:33
Get Defensive Sports Network
They have been sued for everything for literal years.
00:17:33
DJ
Mm-hmm.
00:17:36
Get Defensive Sports Network
That's how we're getting to revenue sharing and all of this big landmark, the house settlement that's happening right now. And so basically their hope, and they've been calling for this for a while, is that, okay, we acquiesced to these things.
00:17:48
Get Defensive Sports Network
We got this house settlement. We did this stuff. Now they want Congress or the president to give them an antitrust agreement, which basically means that they can't be sued for some of these things.
00:18:01
Get Defensive Sports Network
Because essentially, in layman's terms, as best I can because I'm not a lawyer and I try to stay away from some of this stuff. Part of the reason that they can be sued is because they're sitting on this borderline of one, being an a monopoly and two, being an employer.
00:18:17
Get Defensive Sports Network
And so because of that, there are certain rules that they can't enforce without people like
00:18:17
DJ
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:18:23
Get Defensive Sports Network
questioning it. And so you take away their power. If they get an antitrust exemption, that means they can um regulate certain things in this industry <unk>s without it being like against like workers' rights and like some of these sort of things.
00:18:38
DJ
and
00:18:39
Get Defensive Sports Network
So their hope is that because they acquiesced, they took away some of their power, there's NIL, there's some of, you know, some of these things that the government will step in regulate some pieces that they can't regulate, and then it becomes law.
00:18:53
Get Defensive Sports Network
And And gives them the ability to regulate certain things. And again, is this what the president should be focused on? No. But in general, there is sort of a need for something like this just for the fact that right now the NCAA literally can't defend anything.
00:19:13
DJ
They can't enforce anything.
00:19:14
Get Defensive Sports Network
They can't enforce anything that even makes sense.
00:19:15
DJ
Yeah. Yeah.
00:19:17
Get Defensive Sports Network
Like Diego Pavia, this is something that really doesn't matter. The NCAA has a rule that if you played at the FCS level, I believe it is, your it counts towards your
00:19:30
DJ
Eligibility.
00:19:31
Get Defensive Sports Network
eligibility.
00:19:31
DJ
Mm-hmm.
00:19:32
Get Defensive Sports Network
And there's a quarterback who played at a lower level. He wanted an additional year. He said, I'm going to sue you so that year doesn't count. Actually, it's NAIA, not FCS, NAIA.
00:19:45
Get Defensive Sports Network
If you play at, ah which is still a lower level, but it's a technically a different governing body, that if you play at that level, your years at that level count. So if you play two years there, you only get two years if you come to Division I.
00:19:56
Get Defensive Sports Network
And that guy's basically saying those years shouldn't count.
00:19:56
DJ
Right.
00:19:59
Get Defensive Sports Network
He put in a lawsuit, and they had to give him an extra year. Like, that is something that they should be able to enforce. You know what I mean? Like, there's a lot of things that they should, but, like, that kind of case right there
00:20:10
DJ
Eligibility, yeah.
Skepticism on Trump's Commission & Title IX Concerns
00:20:11
DJ
Like that should not be an issue.
00:20:11
Get Defensive Sports Network
They should be able to enforce that. Right. But like right now they can't of the threat of lawsuits. So that is the hope with this. Of course, with this government and this Congress and these people, they're probably going to overstep.
00:20:24
DJ
They're going to mess it up completely.
00:20:24
Get Defensive Sports Network
There's going to be some, especially because they're considering Title IX they're going to screw over women and trans athletes.
00:20:29
DJ
They are going to screw women completely.
00:20:31
Get Defensive Sports Network
Like, i am not going to say that this going to be a good thing, but the some of the bare minimum things they're hoping for do actually make sense because there does need to be some sort of governing body.
00:20:34
DJ
Nope.
00:20:43
Get Defensive Sports Network
And right now there's nothing.
00:20:43
DJ
Mm-hmm.
00:20:46
DJ
um they're going to completely mess this up in ways that is going to be absolutely catastrophic because that is what the Trump administration does. So I have no hope in this whatsoever, but I i appreciate the sentiment. I appreciate the recognition of the need for a governing body and governance because the NCAA is going to be wrapped up in lawsuits for the rest of its natural born life otherwise.
00:21:07
DJ
But if you think that I trust Donald Trump, some rich dude from Texas and Nick Saban to do anything that's going to be positive,
00:21:14
Get Defensive Sports Network
You're wrong.
00:21:15
DJ
Please leave me alone, especially with Title IX being a part of the conversation. Like, this just also just feels like it's just about to be a circus.
00:21:22
Get Defensive Sports Network
Not be.
00:21:23
DJ
It's, huh?
00:21:25
Get Defensive Sports Network
As you saying, which it should not be.
00:21:27
DJ
Yeah, like it just feels like it's just about to be a circus. They're going to find a way to make women less equal. They've been doing that all over the place. They're going to find a way to make trans athletes a point of conversation when they don't need to be. No tease. It's like less than 1% of NCAA athletes. So they're just going find a way to mess this up.
00:21:41
DJ
And that's what annoys me about the whole thing. But I appreciate the understanding of like realizing that. The NCAAs can only do so much, you know, um and there has to be some sort of um buffer or protection or whatever you want to say.
00:21:58
DJ
um
00:21:58
DJ
But.
00:21:58
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah.
00:22:00
Get Defensive Sports Network
And also, you know, it's kind of hard to be governed by 150 year old documents. Like some of this, like the NCAA wouldn't be facing this if they willingly changed and got with the times and they did not, which is where all of this sort of falls in.
00:22:09
DJ
Yeah.
00:22:13
DJ
Change with the times. Yeah. Yeah.
00:22:18
Get Defensive Sports Network
But there does legitimately need to be hey a review of governance in 2025 for how people live and are treated and the things that exist.
00:22:30
Get Defensive Sports Network
Like, know mean? Like when incident when they started, they could never envisioned $3 billion They didn't have TV.
00:22:35
DJ
Exactly.
00:22:37
Get Defensive Sports Network
So like you know like they were basically started so 40-year-olds weren't playing college sports.
00:22:37
DJ
Exactly.
00:22:43
Get Defensive Sports Network
like you know like it was
00:22:44
DJ
Yeah.
00:22:45
Get Defensive Sports Network
And so it's ah two things can be true in that certain very small pieces of this are necessary and make sense. And also the people involved are going to screw this up.
00:22:58
DJ
100%.
00:22:58
DJ
But hey, you know, they're trying, I guess, you know, but, um,
00:23:02
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah.
00:23:06
DJ
I forgot what i was about to say. I don't know. We'll we'll just see. but We'll just see there's There's so much that's changing with the NCAA as it is. From what I understand, they've been lobbying a lot for help from the federal government.
00:23:18
DJ
So, i mean, we're just we are just going to have to see.
00:23:20
Get Defensive Sports Network
yeah
00:23:23
Get Defensive Sports Network
Well, yeah, they they've been lobbying a lot and they weren't getting any help from the Democrats because the Democrats were like, hey, we have a ah government to run.
00:23:33
DJ
We're trying to protect human rights.
00:23:35
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, so they they got, yeah.
00:23:36
DJ
Sorry. gosh.
00:23:38
Get Defensive Sports Network
Regardless, let's talk about something that you care about.
WNBA Season Overview & Expansion Hopes
00:23:43
Get Defensive Sports Network
And I will switch the show over to you as you lead us through our WMBA. preview and breakdown on Mother's Day. We talking about the mothers.
00:23:53
DJ
Oh my goodness.
00:23:53
Get Defensive Sports Network
What are we talking about, DJ?
00:23:54
DJ
Okay, so we are doing a WNBA preview today. I'm super, super excited. The season starts officially in one week. So on May 16th, actually less than a week now, five days. um So on May 16th, the WNBA season officially tips off.
00:24:08
DJ
We are already in preseason currently, so we've already had a week's worth of preseason games. we have We're going to have a few more before this is all said and done. um But I thought it would be a little fun that since this is our two minute drill, the WNBA preview, I am going to do my best to preview each team in two minutes.
00:24:27
DJ
So this is to be really, really fun. But just to go over some overview of some changes that are coming to the WNBA, for the most part, the game is staying the same. There are no major rule changes as far as the actual play.
00:24:38
DJ
But there are now 44 regular season games, which is up from 30-something or whatever that they had last year. So they have 22 home games and 22 away games. And then now the finals series will go up from five games to seven games.
00:24:52
DJ
So realistically, we're going to be getting, what is that, 51 WNBA games this season? Very, very exciting if it goes all the way to seven games, which who knows if that's going to happen.
00:25:03
DJ
But after the series last year, um...
00:25:05
Get Defensive Sports Network
Well, it would be more than that, right? Because you you went you did 44 plus the finals. You didn't count the rounds in between that.
00:25:11
DJ
44 plus, what is it, like two two or three games that they have for the actual, yeah, it's not a lot for the postseason.
00:25:15
Get Defensive Sports Network
I don't know.
00:25:19
Get Defensive Sports Network
It's probably somewhere around 60. There's probably 60. there's probably sixth yeah
00:25:22
DJ
55, 60, somewhere around there. um And then, so that's one of the major um news for the WBA. And also, we have not one, not two, not three, but eight new head coaches this season. So um there's going to be a lot of systematic changes. There's been a lot of personnel changes from team to team.
00:25:41
DJ
um And then, of course, as many, many people know, and one of the hottest topics topics in the WNBA right now is the impending new CBA. So, of course, there's a lot of discussion about whether the players are actually even going to be playing this year, depending on how those negotiations are going to go.
00:25:56
DJ
I'm not going to get too deep into that, but that is something that is on the horizon um as the CBA, as the, excuse me, as the Players Association has opted out of that. So,
00:26:06
DJ
That's kind of like the overarching vibes for the WNBA right now. Lots and lots of changes. Obviously, they're doing their best to capitalize on the major popularity that they experienced last year. So a lot more nationally broadcast games, a lot more access to WNBA games locally, as well as, of course, they're having over 200 of their games being accessible via the WNBA League Pass, which I think is like 35 bucks.
00:26:29
DJ
um So really trying to make sure that it's accessible. Really trying to make sure that fans actually are able to see the games. Of course, the top three teams with the most nationally broadcasted games shock the Indiana Fever, which of course features Caitlin Clark, the New York Liberty, which is the reigning champs, and then the Las Vegas Aces, which of course, Asia Wilson is part of that.
00:26:48
DJ
Any thoughts on that? The fun WNBA news and things.
00:26:55
Get Defensive Sports Network
Not really. um i think i think the the going up to 44 is good. i think it's great that we're finally going to eventually going to have a basketball product that has a good season.
00:27:09
DJ
Yeah. Yeah.
00:27:10
Get Defensive Sports Network
That's not 80 games, but it's also not like 30.
00:27:13
DJ
yeah
00:27:14
Get Defensive Sports Network
As I've said before, and I understand piecemealing certain things so I'm hoping that with this new CBA and that they go back and they just because they've had so many um because they haven't announced the next round of teams because, you know, the rumor is that the Cleveland team is coming back.
00:27:36
Get Defensive Sports Network
They haven't announced the next round of teams.
00:27:36
DJ
yeah
00:27:37
Get Defensive Sports Network
I'm hoping that we sort of get this CBA, the two to four, hope it's four, the four teams, and then some a couple of more of these, like, rule changes with, like, the expansion of the playoffs and some of these sort of things so that we can have a couple of years where it's sort of stagnant.
00:27:54
Get Defensive Sports Network
So it's just, like, I kind of don't have any thoughts on it because it's it's still just another stepping stone.
00:27:54
DJ
yeah. Yeah.
00:27:58
Get Defensive Sports Network
like they're when they when they get to 18 20 teams i don't think they're going to end at 44 games so in a couple of years it's going to go up again and these sort of things so i it's nice to see that they're making progress the media deal is great like that like that hasn't started yet this year that starts next year um but the media deal is great it's i mean it's good it's good but it is also sort of like
00:28:04
DJ
oh yeah
00:28:12
DJ
yeah
00:28:23
Get Defensive Sports Network
I'm hoping that there's not a work stoppage and that they sort of have the foresight to say, let's stop doing this piecemeal. Let's stop doing one or two teams a year. Let's stop making one or two leagues. Like, I know you can't do everything at once. That'd be crazy. But now that you're in sort of a more stable spot, how much can we get to the the sort of final angle goal and that the fin line goal and twenty years you know like how much can we get to the end goal for the next decade right like what can we get to this tv contract runs for 11 years what can we get to to where maybe for that 11 years we can just let it grow and we're not constantly doing things so that's sort of my thought but i mean there has been progress it has been good progress it has been necessary progress and i mean i don't watch basketball you all know that but i do watch women's basketball and i am excited for the season because i will be watching this
00:28:48
DJ
Yeah, but the next phase. Yeah.
00:29:16
Get Defensive Sports Network
andba
00:29:16
DJ
Yes.
00:29:17
Get Defensive Sports Network
no they i seen they haven't seen me yet
00:29:18
DJ
we The NBA is actually getting very, very entertaining, though, I will say.
00:29:20
Get Defensive Sports Network
They missed the playoffs. They haven't seen me yet.
00:29:24
DJ
This, to me, is the best time of the year. This is like Christmas for me because I have my two favorite versions of basketball at the same time. i have men's playoff basketball, which is only men's basketball worth watching, in my opinion.
00:29:35
DJ
And I have the beginning of women's basketball. So I am thrilled. But... The other piece of news, obviously, the WNBA is expanding from 12 teams to 13 teams this year, but the playoff structure is still the same. It's going to be those top eight teams that make it into the playoffs.
00:29:48
DJ
As you guys know, the WNBA, or maybe not, the WNBA is agnostic as far as conferences are concerned. So multiple teams, more than four teams from each conference could come out. It's really it's based on merit, basically. It's based on what I looking for?
00:30:04
DJ
what What's the term I'm trying to record?
00:30:05
Get Defensive Sports Network
Standings. Like record and standing, yeah.
00:30:06
DJ
It's based on record. um So it's not the same as the m is the m NBA, where they're going to pick a certain number of teams from one conference and a certain number of teams from another, but there are conferences. So we're going to, we're going to start on the East side.
Team Strategies & Player Changes in WNBA
00:30:18
DJ
And my first two minutes I'm going to be using on the Atlanta dream. That is a team that has a new head coach. um And they brought in some pretty major players during the off season. So they brought in Brittany Griner and Brianna Jones. As but many of you probably know, Brittany Griner spent the entirety of her career up until now,
00:30:33
DJ
um on the Phoenix Mercury. She was drafted there. She spent 11 years there. She won some championships there with Diana Taurasi. I had a feeling that Diana Taurasi was going to retire as soon as BG signed the contract with the Dream because i was like, there is no way that lady is leaving if Diana is still playing. And I do believe Diana's retirement got announced like a week after that.
00:30:51
DJ
um But they're returning their backcourt. They've got Jordan Canada. They've got Alicia Gray. They've got Ryan Howard. All of them had great showings at Unrivaled. Unfortunately, Jordan has already suffered an injury during the presea during the first preseason game. It's a knee injury that will be reevaluated in two weeks. But she is supposed to be their court general, and she already missed about 20 games last year. So we're really hoping to get her back.
00:31:12
DJ
um And then, of course, they drafted Tejina Pow Pow, who was a sensation at South Carolina, led the league ah two years ago in three-point shootings, has shot over 40% multiple times. So that's going to be great to add to Alicia Gray, the reigning three-point contest winner, and Ryan Howard, who just set a record and unrivaled for most threes in a game at nine threes.
00:31:32
DJ
So they're really just trying to make it to the playoffs again um and get their first playoff win since 2018. I think with a Bree Jones and a BG, they've increased their size drastically.
00:31:44
DJ
um And now they've got an amazing front court, excuse me, back court to go with it. So, I mean, this guy has a limit for the Atlanta dream, in my opinion.
00:31:51
Get Defensive Sports Network
They got some shooters in Atlanta.
00:31:53
DJ
They got some shooters in Atlanta, period. Also, Tahina Pow Pow was incredibly popular. So they're already seeing a boost in ticket sales um just in general. And Atlanta typically is one of those teams that has that draws out the stars. it usually has a star studded sideline going on with, you know, the rappers and other people going to the Atlanta Dream games and really showing some love. So love that for them.
00:32:14
DJ
That was two minutes. OK, any thoughts on the Atlanta Dream?
00:32:19
Get Defensive Sports Network
Like if I give my thoughts, we're going to be here for two hours. I actually don't have any thoughts on the Atlanta Dream. Outside, Brian Howard is a sore, so I always sort of root for them. Yeah, kind of. I can't i can't ah can't root for too many teams. like It's like I'm passively rooting for Liberty cause i live in New york I'm absolutely rooting for the Sky because of Angel.
00:32:39
Get Defensive Sports Network
I'm waiting for a Cleveland team, so I can't root for everybody. like I love the Aces because of... Asia. So, like, I can only root for so many, but I do like Alicia Gray. I think she's dope. i'm big fan of Ryan Howard. She's a soror. So, for those of you who don't know, fraternity season is shorty. That's what I'm going to say about that.
00:32:57
Get Defensive Sports Network
But, yeah, so.
00:32:58
DJ
Period. Shout out to the Land and Dream. um Next, what?
00:33:01
Get Defensive Sports Network
And they got some shooters out there.
00:33:04
DJ
They got some shooters.
00:33:04
Get Defensive Sports Network
They're going to be tough.
00:33:05
DJ
They got some shooters. I mean, those, at this point, I'm really excited that it's not all on Ryan Howard to be that shooter, that she's surrounded with a little bit more in that regard. Because Tahina, I mean, Tahina Pow Pow. And the thing about her is she can shoot the three, but she can also get into the paint. So love to see that from her.
00:33:22
DJ
Now, next on the Eastern Conference, it is everybody's favorite team, the Chicago Sky. um as you guys know, hopefully, Angel Reese is on the Chicago Sky. um They, too, have a new head coach. He is part of the Becky Hammond coaching tree, which means that he is, in my opinion...
00:33:39
DJ
indirectly a part of the Greg Popovich coaching tree. So he is coming in. He is a brand new head coach. He has a full female assistant coaching ah team. And actually the previous head coach of the Atlanta dream is now the assistant coach on one of the assistant coaches on his team.
00:33:54
DJ
Of course, they are returning Angel Reese and Camila Cardoso. um They are expected to be one of the best front courts, excuse me. Yes, one of the best front courts that we will probably ever see in the women's game. I'm just going to be honest.
00:34:05
DJ
um And then, of course, there's been a lot of additions of veterans. They've got Kia Nurse. They've got Courtney Vandersloot They've got Ariel Atkins. They've got Beck Allent. um And so they really are trying to bring in not just a heavy veteran presence, but a heavy, strong guard presence.
00:34:19
DJ
Courtney Vandersloot course, was a part of that 2021 Chicago championship team. So Chicago is very, very happy to have her back. um And then as far as the draft goes, they drafted Haley Van Litt, who played at LSU with Angel Reese at one point. And then, of course,
00:34:32
DJ
had one of the best seasons of her life at TCU and has already come in and looks very, very comfortable at that guard position. Very, very comfortable as a one or two. um Great shooter, great facilitator, great shot making ability. So I am very excited to see her on this roster.
00:34:48
DJ
I've already watched both three. Maybe they've had three preseason games. um Courtney VanderSloot, Camilla and Angel, are just making me happy. And in just a way that I just can't even describe because the only thing that Angel and Camilla really needed was a good facilitator. That's all they really needed was a good distributor. And that is who Courtney is at her core.
00:35:09
DJ
um She did that in New York, just came off of a championship in New York um with some of the best bigs and forwards in the league and Stewie and JJ. So she gets to come here and really show these young guys young girls what can be done when they actually have good distribution. and um Tyler Marsh, the head coach, has been very, very – I'm not – I'm over my two minutes.
00:35:30
DJ
Tyler Marsh, the head coach, has been very, very open and honest about the fact that he's going to utilize Angel in a different way than she was used last year in that he wants her to be a point forward. So you're going to see a lot more of Angel bringing the ball up, being a distributor herself, popping up some jumpers, not really being on the block as much as maybe she was last year.
00:35:47
DJ
um And that's already being evident as well. the Angel Reese is a very, very good passer. her passing ability is very underrated. So I'm going to stop talking now. how How do we feel about Chicago?
00:35:59
Get Defensive Sports Network
I love Chicago. i just My only thing with Chicago is I just feel like they didn't get enough shooting.
00:36:08
DJ
Yeah.
00:36:08
Get Defensive Sports Network
like i feel like they're really sort of missing where some other teams have sort of like Atlanta has sort of stacked up on it. I think they're really missing that 3 and D element.
00:36:21
DJ
yeah
00:36:21
Get Defensive Sports Network
I think that they have too many players who need the ball in their hands because I mean, i guess if you – it all depends on how good the coach is, right? Because maybe you just don't give Camilla the ball so much.
00:36:32
Get Defensive Sports Network
as far It's very much like you give it to her and she puts it up. Like, she like you're not so much running it through her.
00:36:37
DJ
She's playing like a center.
00:36:37
Get Defensive Sports Network
if the Yeah, like, if you pull Angel out of the paint, but you want her to – I just feel like they have a lot of ball handlers and not enough people – sit there and pour the defense away and catch and shoot.
00:36:52
Get Defensive Sports Network
Like you said, HVL, Haley Van Lipp is a good shooter, but she's, in my opinion, ah much better on-the-ball shooter than off-the-ball. She's not so much a spot-up shooter, which is a very different skill.
00:37:04
DJ
Mm-hmm.
00:37:06
Get Defensive Sports Network
And so, um yeah, I think that they'll be good
00:37:10
DJ
I will say Kia Nurse and Ariel Atkins are, though. Kia Nurse is a very fantastic catch-and-shoot spot-up shooter. I think that's why they got her. um She didn't have as much of an impact in l L.A. as I feel like a lot of people expected her to.
00:37:25
DJ
um But that is her bag. It is three-point shooting, for sure, and Ariel Atkins as well.
00:37:31
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, so that's my thought. I sort of wish that they got like one more. But i think that they're going to be a tough out. And I think that they're going to firmly be fighting for the playoffs.
00:37:46
DJ
period. Moving on in the East. Now granted, is this the East? Yes, it is. It is. I'm sorry. I'm thinking of another team. So moving on to the East, the Connecticut Sun, another team shock that has a new head coach. um They have the coach of the year last year, Stephanie Wyatt. She has moved over to the Indiana fever.
00:38:02
DJ
um And now they have a new head coach. He was coaching overseas. I can't fully recall his name, but he basically comes from the overseas ah space. So The Connecticut Sun are an interesting case, right?
00:38:14
DJ
Because they were one of the best teams in the WNBA last year.
00:38:16
Get Defensive Sports Network
you
00:38:17
DJ
They started off on a 13-game winning streak, one of the best winning streaks in the WNBA. They have a culture of making it at least to the semifinals every single year. um They had the Engine AT. They had Bri Jones. They had Dijanae Carrington. They had DeWanna Bonner. I mean, they had a freaking squad.
00:38:34
DJ
And then they became one of the first teams in professional sports history to lose their entire starting lineup in free agency. So now we have this team where Marina Mabrey is the only core player left on the team.
00:38:47
DJ
They have some new additions. They've added Tina Charles, the legend Tina Charles, who came over from Atlanta. They added Diamond DeShields, Jacy Sheldon, and then they drafted Aneesah Morrow. Rayah Marshall and Saniya Rivers in this year's draft and honestly not mad at it i don't think they're making it to the semi-finals uh again but i do think that the squad that they have put together in free agency along with the draft picks is going to make for at least a pretty like scrappy chippy sort of team like they're going to be the type of team that like nobody wants to play They're going to be like, because Marina Mabrey between man Marina Mabrey Aneesah Morrow, and Saniya Rivers, and all of that energy, of there may be a fight. There may be something.
00:39:25
DJ
Like, that's going to be the team that you're like, bro. We got to play them again. Like, that's what I'm getting. um i But again, I don't think they're – they're definitely in a rebuild. I don't think this is a a playoff ah year for them. But it's going very interesting because this will be kind of Marina Mabry's first year as a real leader.
00:39:42
DJ
um Obviously, she played on the Sky last year in the last couple years, and she was kind of, you know, just a guard sort of like option. Same sort of vibes in Dallas where she was kind of like that number two behind Arike
00:39:53
DJ
Now she comes into the Connecticut Sun. She was a part of a system, but it was a championship winning system. So it was a little different. Whereas now she's going to be that that sort of like vet to kind of, you know, really rally the troops and be that leader. So that'll be an interesting new position for her.
00:40:09
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, I sort of view this one like the the sky last year, where it's sort of, they're probably not going to win, but they may punch you in the mouth.
00:40:14
DJ
Yeah.
00:40:18
Get Defensive Sports Network
Not not literally, but, you know, like if you look at the sky, like, yeah, so many of their games were close, right?
00:40:21
DJ
They'll be tough.
00:40:25
Get Defensive Sports Network
Because they were just a tough team, and and it's going to obviously different and for different reasons, but um i think they're also, if you like watching young players and you don't care to watch teams lose, I think they're probably going to be a fun to watch, which So now that
00:40:42
DJ
I don't think so either. Now, what I will say is they just had their first preseason games a couple years. days ago against the reigning champion New York reigning champions, New York Liberty, and they smacked them right on up.
00:40:52
DJ
So I wouldn't be too like, yeah, I wouldn't count them out too much. Now granted, obviously they played the Liberty without Stewie, but they still smacked them up. Um, that is a good sign is what I'm getting at.
00:41:06
DJ
um Moving on. Speaking of the, nope, nope. Moving on to the Indiana fever. um The most popular team in the WNBA. This is not a secret. They sell the most merch they have. They sell out all of their games, all that of this stuff because they have Caitlin Clark.
00:41:19
DJ
They now have another new head coach in Stephanie White, but this is not obviously her first time coaching in the WNBA like a few of these other new coaches. This is just her moving around, right? So she is back at the Indiana Fever. The last time the Indiana Fever played in the finals was when she was their head coach back in 2015, I believe.
00:41:36
DJ
So she's back here. She's back with this team trying to create a new system around Caitlin Clark. And my God, did they do some shit this offseason. So they have added Four vets in Sophie Cunningham, DeWanna Bonner, Syd Colson and Natasha Howard, all individuals who have won championships before. DeWanna Bonner, of course, being one of the longest tenured women in the WNBA at 15 seasons.
00:42:00
DJ
um And they don't have a lot of spots for new players, so they're probably going to be waiving most of their rookies, unfortunately. ah The South Carolina guard, Bree has already been waived from the fever because... They ain't got no roster spots. I mean, that's just that's just really what's going on over there.
00:42:14
DJ
um But a lot of people are hoping that she does end up getting picked up because she had a good preseason debut. It's just the fever structure right now. They don't have a lot of space. I think they only had one spot available. um But it's it's looking really good for them because Kaitlyn Clark, Aaliyah Boston, they were a really great pick and roll duo. Kelsey Mitchell, of course.
00:42:31
DJ
being one of the top five scorers in the league last year. So they were able to re-sign her. They brought Kaitlin, they've got Kaitlin Clark not having to be that leader as much anymore because I think that was the biggest issue is the Fever was the youngest team. Their longest tenured person on the team was Kelsey Mitchell. She's only been in the league for six years.
00:42:47
DJ
um And so they really were needing some leadership and some veteran presence. And I think that they definitely went out and got that. So um right now they're a favorite for being in the championship. I think that's absolutely insane.
00:43:00
DJ
Personally, i just think that's insane. um But will they make it to the playoffs? They should. They have too many people with experience not to. So.
00:43:09
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, I have no thoughts about Dirty Fever. I don't like watching them play. But that is OSU legend Kelsey Mitchell to you. And I am a big fan of Aaliyah Boston.
00:43:21
Get Defensive Sports Network
I am not nearly a fan of Aaliyah Boston and Kaitlyn Clark playing together. I don't think that their playing styles play well together. But again, it was one year. So new coach, new offseason, maybe that fits.
00:43:31
DJ
Yeah. Yeah.
00:43:34
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This has nothing to do with either of them individually. I just think, and if you've listened to me on on various podcasts for years, I've very heavily pushed against positionless basketball.
00:43:46
Get Defensive Sports Network
I was very anti-net and was very anti-clippers I do think as much as we like to pretend that it doesn't, you do need to build a team that sort of connects together.
00:43:57
DJ
yeah
00:43:57
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I'm not saying that they...
00:44:00
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I think some of the things that they've done do i don't know. i would i would i need to be convinced that Kaitlin Clark and Alia Boston can work. um
00:44:08
DJ
Yeah.
00:44:08
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I think that Kaitlin is too...
00:44:09
DJ
I need to be convinced of Caitlin Clark and Dewana Bonner.
00:44:12
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Also, also i think Kaitlin is too got ball dominant.
00:44:16
DJ
Ball dominant.
00:44:17
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to play with dominant bigs and Aaliyah Boston can be a dominant big. Like I know that she got overshadowed because of Caitlin, because of celebrity, but Aaliyah Boston also won rookie of the year.
00:44:29
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I think she was an all-star or close to an all-star her first year.
00:44:29
DJ
Yeah.
00:44:32
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She is a good player, but she needs the ball her hand.
00:44:33
DJ
I don't know.
00:44:37
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Caitlin Clark is also a good player, but she needs the ball in her hand. So, and i don't like watching Caitlin Clark play. play But it again, nothing about her. i don't she's She's too frantic for me.
00:44:50
Get Defensive Sports Network
um And it's just not pleasing to the eye to watch the like, like you know, like if you compare her
00:44:57
DJ
the The runaround vibe. Yeah, yeah.
00:44:59
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Yeah, like compare, and we're going to get this comparison a lot. I want to be clear, especially before the affiliate season starts. I'm not comparing who's better. i could care less. That conversation will come later. But if you compare how she plays to how Paige plays, or even Steph plays, right, when you want to talk about the shooter, the game is just, it's just smooth. It just sort of comes to them, like, right?
00:45:23
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And this is not good or bad because Caitlyn is good at what she does. I'm just saying it is not pleasing for me to watch, which sucks because LSU legend Kelsey Matilda on the team. But I don't know how much Fever games I'm going to watch.
00:45:37
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I do not like watching her play. It's too frantic. It's too sort of all over. the place for
00:45:42
DJ
i I have seen enough to be honest when it comes to caitlin clark to to to know that she's a good guard right she's a good guard she she's a good shooter she's a good distributor the biggest thing that i would want to see um from her i think at this point is to your point composure i just feel like she doesn't have it and which stuff doesn't go her way she wants to yell at refs and she wants to act all crazy and she wants to get mad she wants to get in people's faces and do all this other stuff and
00:45:54
Get Defensive Sports Network
yeah
00:46:12
DJ
People want to call that feistiness when it's coming from her, but then they want to call it something else when it's coming from players that are a different shade. So for me, I'm just more so like, if we're going to sit here and we're going to say that she's this amazing guard who's going to be able to win a championship in her second year, which by the way, has never happened.
00:46:28
DJ
um they're They're saying that she's a favorite for MVP and all this other stuff. I just think we need to calm down. Like, I just think we all just need to to take deep breaths of fresh air and drink some crisp cold water. Like she's going to...
00:46:38
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I can tell you for an absolute fact, MVP's not going happen.
00:46:41
DJ
No, not not now, never, not now.
00:46:41
Get Defensive Sports Network
Not. Never. Yeah. Also, this is this is not a question for today because would have to look it up, but when is the last time a guard won MVP?
00:46:44
DJ
but not now
00:46:53
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It's also just partially. It's just like how the W is. like It's very much run through the four.
00:46:59
DJ
It's four heavy. It's all about the four. It is. Period. It is. and And I would have to look up the last time a guard won MVP because I wouldn't be able to tell you.
00:47:05
Get Defensive Sports Network
Angel yeah Stewie that's what i said like that's something we can look at later so but like again yeah
00:47:08
DJ
um Yeah, I was like, I wouldn't be able to tell you. But it's been it's been a little minute since a guard has won MVP. But I will say when a guard wins MVP, they're usually a point guard, right?
00:47:18
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yeah
00:47:18
DJ
So... Can she? Yeah. Is she doing it this year? No. And the reason why I think that, though, is back to your original point. And that's just because the ball is just going to be in her hands less.
00:47:28
DJ
Like, the ball is just – she's probably not going to get as many assists. She's probably still going to get as many points as what she had last year because she's a great scorer.
00:47:34
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Yeah, of course.
00:47:35
DJ
But she's not going to have as much of that as what she had last year. And I also just think it's not really fair to expect as much of her – after just after just in year two.
00:47:46
DJ
I just don't think it's I personally like, as much as I don't always advocate for Caitlin Clark, I will advocate for her in this sense that I think people's expectations of her are entirely too high. as a second year player and we need to give her some grace and we need to be fair in the fact that she's only had one year of WNBA play.
00:47:56
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yes.
00:48:03
DJ
She only had two post-season games last year, I believe. um So we just have to give her some time. I mean, the girl doesn't know what winning feels like. So we have to give her some time. Sorry, but she doesn't.
00:48:15
DJ
um So, and, but that's good. Cause now she has all these individuals around her who do. And this will be a really good development year for her. I do still think the fever are making it to the post season though.
00:48:23
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yeah oh yeah yeah i think if you're a fever fan you should feel good about what they did in this off season
00:48:25
DJ
Like I have no doubt. Um,
00:48:32
DJ
Yeah, you should absolutely feel good about it. If you're a Fever fan and you come from nine-game winning season to a 13-game winning season to going 50% the year after that, you should be very happy as a Fever fan, um period.
00:48:43
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yeah
00:48:44
DJ
And you have one of the greatest WNBA in Stephanie White. So there should be a lot of success for that team. I just am hoping that it won't all get attributed to Kaitlyn because it probably won't be because of her.
00:48:58
DJ
It'll probably be in spite of her, actually. hate to say that, but... That's just – anyway, we've been on the fever for a while. So moving to the next team in the Eastern Conference because we are still the Eastern Conference.
00:49:10
DJ
The reigning champions, of the New York Liberty. um Of course, typically when you win a championship, you're not going to have a whole lot of offseason changes because why would you do that? You just won a championship. So they are retaining their coach, obviously. They still got Stewie. They still got JJ. They still got s Sabrina Ionescu.
00:49:25
DJ
All of them coming into this season healthy – Sabrina had a good ish season in on rival. She was sort of in and out because she had other, uh, engagements, but the times that she did play, uh, she played well. um
00:49:35
Get Defensive Sports Network
And for the record J.J. Jonquel Jones.
00:49:38
DJ
Jonquel Jones. I'm sorry. John Quill Jones, the reigning finals MVP. um They lost Courtney VanderSloot. Like I said, she's in Chicago, but they gained Natasha Cloud from the Phoenix Mercury. She's a great point guard, um WNBA all defensive team.
00:49:51
DJ
um So she's going to come in and make a difference early. Unfortunately, Betnaja Laney Hamilton is starting the season again injured. I believe it's a knee injury. um And so that's going to be a major loss for them. They also lost Kayla Thornton to the expansion draft for the Golden State Valkyries. So They have some spots that they're going to have to fill a little bit.
00:50:09
DJ
um Kennedy Burke, who is one of their forwards who didn't get as much time last year, has already kind of shown that she's probably going to be ah you know a next woman up sort of option. They have Jalen Sirrod in her second year. She's kind of that spark off the bench bench sort of vibes. And then, of course, they have Nayara Sabli, who is the sister to the unicorn, Satu Sabli. So I have no doubts that New York is going to have a successful year.
00:50:32
DJ
Are they repeating? um don't know. Because in my opinion, they really had no business winning that championship in the first place. So I don't know, man.
00:50:45
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don't know, but I'll be at some games.
00:50:45
DJ
Come on, Liberty fans. Not I don't know but I'll be at some games.
00:50:48
Get Defensive Sports Network
I
00:50:51
DJ
I'm crying. Okay. So Jordan will be ah at the games. Okay. So moving we on to the Washington Mystics. Another team with a new head coach. Take a shot every time I say that there's a team with a new head coach.
00:51:02
DJ
Okay.
00:51:02
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couldn't finish the show.
00:51:04
DJ
we um they're in a complete rebuild okay they had a 13 win season last season I believe or maybe 12 they did not have a great season last year but the thing about the Washington Mystics that I want to be very clear on is they also had a lot of games determined by single digits okay so they were losing games but they weren't getting smacked up they were not getting smacked up they were one to two possessions away from winning a lot of games so they're Their record is definitely not indicative of the talent that they possess.
00:51:32
DJ
um They're returning a few players. Obviously, Aaliyah Edwards. They're returning Brittany Sykes. She's going to be healthy this year. um They did lose Elena Deledon. She obviously ah announced her retirement this year, and they lost Ariel Atkins to Chicago. But they're in a rebuild. They had three first-round picks this season, um and they have their team has nine rookies on it.
00:51:52
DJ
So they're a young team. um Not much to expect from them as far as – success if you will like making it to the postseason and things like that but they're definitely a team to watch as far as development they've got Sonia Citron they've got Kiki Iria Finn they have Georgia Amor who unfortunately suffered an ACL injury so we won't be seeing her this year but Kiki Iria Finn and Sonia Citron already kind of making their cases as way too early rookie of the year prospects so very very excited to see how this Washington Mystics team really plays out. Brittany Sykes, of course, had a great season in Unrivaled, winning a championship with the Rose Basketball Club.
00:52:28
DJ
um I think having a 20-point game in the finals, if I'm not mistaken, in that final game. So she's playing with a lot more freedom. She's playing with a lot more energy. So I think the Washington of Mystics are definitely a team to watch, for sure. They'll be fun to watch. They may not win every game, but they'll be fun to watch.
00:52:44
Get Defensive Sports Network
I don't care about none of that outside the fact that Aaliyah Edwards is a pure hooper.
00:52:48
DJ
Oh, my God, the purest.
00:52:49
Get Defensive Sports Network
Pure hooper. And if if i'm if I'm lucky, I'm going to go to one of their games too because DC is not that far from me.
00:52:51
DJ
Yes.
00:52:56
Get Defensive Sports Network
If not this year, it's going to happen. and And I'm joking when I say that I don't care about any of that. I do, but like I just wanted to get off the fact that Aaliyah Edwards is a pure hooper. And if I remember correctly, she did win the 1v1, right?
00:53:07
DJ
No, she didn't win, but she was in the finals and Fee beat her.
00:53:12
DJ
Nafisa won the one-on-one.
00:53:13
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I'm pretty sure she
00:53:15
DJ
Nafisa won the one-on-one tournament, but...
00:53:15
Get Defensive Sports Network
I think Aaliyah Edwin won.
00:53:17
DJ
a li No, no, no. Nafisa Collier won the one-on-one, but Aaliyah was who she played against.
00:53:19
Get Defensive Sports Network
Oh, that you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right. Yeah, because she cheated. She cheated because it's her league, right?
00:53:24
DJ
Yes, yes, yes.
00:53:24
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You know, she had to she had to get the bag because it's her league. just kidding.
00:53:28
DJ
Yes, no, that is...
00:53:28
Get Defensive Sports Network
No, Fee was legit too.
00:53:29
DJ
Fee is...
00:53:31
Get Defensive Sports Network
but but aiah edwards is this
00:53:34
DJ
I can't deal. I can't deal.
00:53:36
Get Defensive Sports Network
Boy, she she is one of the purest of Hoopers. One thing you'll learn about me, and maybe you all don't know this because don't talk about basketball that much. I am very much like, I'm not a basketball purist. I think that's a dumb thing to say.
00:53:51
Get Defensive Sports Network
But I'm very much, I lean more towards like old school. I just like, just don't care about certain things. I care about, I don't know how to explain it.
00:54:03
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and i
00:54:03
DJ
I don't know what you're saying.
00:54:04
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There are some people, right, where it's just like, where the game is sort of like manufactured, where they can only do one thing and they sort of do it well.
00:54:12
DJ
oh
00:54:13
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I really sort of like, just like like, it doesn't matter where you put them, it doesn't matter what you're going to they're going to get a bucket right?
00:54:13
DJ
yeah.
00:54:20
DJ
Yeah, yeah.
00:54:20
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Like, some of the best bucket getters, like Carmelo Anthony. and is it That is a pure hoover.
00:54:24
DJ
Yeah.
00:54:26
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Like, that that is a bucket getter. It don't matter where you put him, he's getting a bucket.
00:54:28
DJ
Yes.
00:54:30
Get Defensive Sports Network
Like, I like players like, yeah, like, you know, like, like if, you know, for me to kind of sort of care about a player that's not like LeBron, because I'm from Ohio, and things like that, my favorite player is Dwyane Wade.
00:54:30
DJ
He's the hoopingest.
00:54:43
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Dwyane Wade was a bucket. Like, he was he was a pure hoover.
00:54:45
DJ
Yeah.
00:54:46
Get Defensive Sports Network
It didn't matter. He was going, he yeah so... That's what I like when it comes to basketball. Aaliyah Edwards is one of them. She can get it any way you want it.
00:54:54
DJ
She's...
00:54:55
Get Defensive Sports Network
Any way you want it, she'll give it to you.
00:54:55
DJ
She... If you did not know about Aaliyah Edwards, hopefully now you know. That's really how that goes. um Because...
00:55:02
Get Defensive Sports Network
And it's crazy that she did not win at UConn, dog.
00:55:06
DJ
it is. it is. But... And if you...
00:55:09
Get Defensive Sports Network
Aaliyah Edwards and Paige Beckert didn't get a championship is crazy.
00:55:12
DJ
I know. Well, because Paige wasn't healthy. So not fully.
00:55:16
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Yeah, I know. It's sad.
00:55:17
DJ
And the the rest of the team wasn't healthy.
00:55:17
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I know it.
00:55:19
DJ
i only had six players last year, child.
00:55:20
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah.
00:55:21
DJ
Anyways, let's we got to speed through the West, okay? The West is not doesn't have as much going on as the East does. But the West, starting with the Dallas Wings. Oh, my gosh. Speaking of Paige Beckers, don't you love a good segue? The Dallas Wings also, oh, my gosh, shock, have a new head coach. But they have the trifecta, right? So they have a new head coach. They have a new GM. And they got the number one pick. So if I would say the Dallas Wings are on the up and up at this point.
00:55:42
DJ
They desperately, desperately, desperately needed a point guard last year. And they obviously now have Paige Beckers, who is known to be a really, really great distributor, but also can call her own numbers. So that was just truly the perfect, the perfect slot in.
00:55:57
DJ
um And they also did a lot of movement in the off season as well. They went and they acquired Dejanae Carrington, Ty Harris, and Alyssa Smith and Myesha Hines-Allen. They, the four of them with Paige is a fucking squad. I'm sorry. Like Dejanae Carrington had a great season in Unrivaled.
00:56:12
DJ
Ayesha Hines-Allen was just on the you know finals team with the Lynx. um And then Nelissa Smith was on the Fever. And then Ty Harris was coming from the Connecticut Sun. um Great, great, great acquisitions. They also had some good picks in the in the draft, not just with Paige Beckers, but with Isaiah James and J.J. Quintero.
00:56:31
DJ
um so Now, they haven't obviously officially made the roster yet, but I wouldn't be surprised. Unfortunately, the Dallas Wings do have 15 players on the roster and they do have to cut three by Wednesday, I believe. So there will be some cuts. I think there already has been one, but we can only hope that the two players that I just mentioned are going to make the ah make the roster.
00:56:50
DJ
They've had a couple of preseason games. Let me tell you something. The Dallas Wings are no joke this year. They're making the playoffs. I'm i'm telling you guys right now, the Dallas Wings are making the playoffs because we finally get to see the Dallas Wings in a position where Arike does not have to be Mrs. Everything. She had some of the highest minutes per game, the highest usage rate of in the WNBA period last year.
00:57:13
DJ
um And that's just not fair to anybody. um she's put the She's put the wings on her back a few times. She led the league in steals last year. She was in the top three for scoring last year. She obviously had the amazing...
00:57:24
DJ
all-star game that she has. So no one's saying that Enrique's not good, but damn it, can we get the girl some help? Like, can we get the girl some help? She's never really been a point guard. She's always really more so been a two or a three. So love that she finally actually has ah play a team where the ball can be distributed in a way where she can just kind of play free, play off the ball, catch and shoot, do what she really does best.
00:57:44
DJ
um So I'm looking forward to the wings. They have some really, really great pace. They got some really, really great um chemistry already, even though they haven't been playing that long, long together. So I'm excited about the Dallas wings and I will be s some Dallas wings games, probably as early as next week, hopefully.
00:58:00
Get Defensive Sports Network
Jealous. um Yeah, I mean, Paige is a bucket, a pure bucket getter. Arike is a pure bucket getter. DJ, DJ N. Carrington is ah dog.
00:58:09
DJ
Defense, just defense.
00:58:11
Get Defensive Sports Network
Like, and like, you know, there's definitely some room to grow with her on offense, but she's definitely one of those players that can like, when she's on, can drop like 12 and three minutes and have two steals and and like, you know, so like she's a very good spark plug, but she's,
00:58:25
DJ
Oh yeah. yep.
00:58:30
Get Defensive Sports Network
At bare minimum, right? and but I think with for sports and basketball in general, you want to know what you're going get from someone from the bare minimum. And if DJ N. Carrington's having the worst game of her life, she's still going to be one of the best defenders on the floor.
00:58:45
Get Defensive Sports Network
So, like, yeah, I think they have a squad.
00:58:45
DJ
yep
00:58:47
Get Defensive Sports Network
They're going to be fun. And who knows what's going to happen this year, but a year, two, three years, like, they're going to be a team to watch for sure.
00:58:57
DJ
Speaking of teams to watch, the Golden State Valkyries, oh my goodness, our expansion team. Now, let's be very, very clear. They do not want to be referred to as an expansion team. They want to be referred to as a new team because they feel like the term expansion team has that connotation that they're not going to be good.
00:59:10
DJ
um and and
00:59:10
Get Defensive Sports Network
They're not going to be good. Their roster sucks. but
00:59:14
DJ
And they are at a point where they want to win a championship within the next five years.
00:59:16
Get Defensive Sports Network
she
00:59:19
DJ
They have very, very lofty goals.
00:59:21
Get Defensive Sports Network
Do they see their roster?
00:59:23
DJ
Yes. So, speaking of their roster...
00:59:24
Get Defensive Sports Network
Okay. You know what? You're right. They are going to win one in the next five years because they're going to get the number one pick and they're going to get the They're going to get Sarah Strong.
00:59:35
DJ
They're gonna get Sarah Strong in 2028.
00:59:35
Get Defensive Sports Network
They're going to get Sarah Strong in three years. And then two years after that, they're going to win a championship.
00:59:39
DJ
Oh my god, I'm crying.
00:59:42
Get Defensive Sports Network
That's what's going happen.
00:59:42
DJ
Oh my god, i can't breathe.
00:59:42
Get Defensive Sports Network
Paige is going to be a free agent. She's going to go with Sarah. And they go away.
00:59:45
DJ
I can't breathe. I can't breathe.
00:59:46
Get Defensive Sports Network
Five years is a good window for them. Because what are they talking about?
00:59:49
DJ
So...
00:59:49
Get Defensive Sports Network
Their roster sucks.
00:59:51
DJ
They have a very heavy...
00:59:51
Get Defensive Sports Network
I'm sorry. I haven't even been paying that much attention, and it sucks.
00:59:55
DJ
They have a very heavy international squad. And then those players that they do have that are domestic players, Monique Billings, Kayla Thornton, Veronica Burton, Tiffany ah Hayes, Kate Martin. Here's the problem or the challenge, I will say, with the Golden State Valkyries is that they have a lot of role players.
01:00:11
DJ
Okay. So they just took a whole bunch of role players and said, hey, you guys are now going to be the team. We're going to sell your jerseys. We're going to put you on the posters. Right. But nobody who got put on this team averaged more than 10 points a game last year.
01:00:21
DJ
So to your point, Who's going be the star? who's gonna because It would be kind of ridiculous to expect that at a tip. Tiffany Hayes, who is 35 years old, and this is her 13th season, and she actually retired last year, so or at the beginning of last year. So it's like, okay, that's a lot to ask of her. Kate Martin, this is only her second year in the W.
01:00:42
DJ
Can she be that emerging star? I'm not really sure. But what I will say is I did watch the preseason game with the Los Angeles Sparks and the Golden State Valkyries. And I will I would not sleep on them at all.
01:00:53
DJ
I will say that Monique Billings came out, had a great showing. Kayla Thornton had a great showing. Veronica Burton had a great showing. And honestly and truly, those three might be the might be poised to be this team's big three. I'm just saying now, granted, it's only been the preseason, but I will say i think all of these players are also hyper aware of the fact that they got to step it up.
01:01:14
DJ
So I don't know. We're just going to have to see. And at the very least, you're a brand new team. You have no history. You have nothing. So just come out and just compete and just, again, kind of back to the Connecticut Sun, just be the team that nobody wants to play.
01:01:26
Get Defensive Sports Network
i Somebody's gotta lose these games today. I was putting my money on who was gonna lose them.
01:01:34
DJ
But here's the thing. They their team like Monique Billings had a great season last season. She just didn't get any permanent contract. She was kind of jumping around from hardship contract to hardship contract. But whenever she played on whatever team she was on, she had great game. She's a great player. She just never really had that chance to kind of be that marquee franchise player. She has that chance now. Same thing with Kayla Thornton. Like she was on the Liberty. She contributed to them winning that championship.
01:01:57
DJ
Same thing with Kate Martin. She played with the Aces. That's probably the best team you could be a rookie on. You know what I mean? like So I don't know. like I don't think it's they're just going to be straight like booty cheeks, but it is going to be one of those things where none of these players have played together before.
01:02:10
DJ
there's you know There's going to be learning curves. a Naomi Nakase, is that the first name of the coach? I don't know. But the coach is, again, another individual from the Becky Hammond coaching tree.
01:02:17
Get Defensive Sports Network
I think, yeah.
01:02:19
DJ
This is her first season head coaching. So there's going to be a learning curve for sure. But i also am not going sit here and be like, they're going trash.
01:02:27
Get Defensive Sports Network
I will sit here and say that.
01:02:27
DJ
Boo!
01:02:29
Get Defensive Sports Network
I think, I think for me, this is textbook. we are building a team of role players for development. And then next year with the new CBA and when everyone is ah free agent because all the smart players signed a one-year contract, they're going to say, look at the role players we have.
01:02:43
DJ
Yeah. Yeah.
01:02:47
Get Defensive Sports Network
all we're We're just one piece away. But typically when you're one piece away, you're probably not going to be that good.
01:02:49
DJ
Mm-hmm.
01:02:52
Get Defensive Sports Network
So, like, I don't think it's, a like, if you're looking at a long-term strategy, I don't think it's awful, especially because, like, you can't get great players in the expansion draft.
01:03:03
Get Defensive Sports Network
right? And so I think what they're betting on is we get these players, some of them young, who who feel these sort of like, for lack of a better term, like every man sort of skill sets.
01:03:15
Get Defensive Sports Network
So you don't have like a huge hole.
01:03:15
DJ
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
01:03:18
Get Defensive Sports Network
So if the best player that wants to come is a point guard, you can fit them in. If the best player that wants to come is a four, you can fit them in. Like you don't have huge holes, but you don't have like a dominant thing where you can turn away any player.
01:03:30
Get Defensive Sports Network
So again, like, I don't think it's an awful sort of setup. I know that this is something that doesn't always, like, yeah I just, I think planning for next year, it just feels like they plan for next year.
01:03:43
Get Defensive Sports Network
And you also can't come out and say, well, we're planning for next year when everyone's going be a free agent.
01:03:48
DJ
Yeah, of course.
01:03:48
Get Defensive Sports Network
But I also don't think they're going to be good this year.
01:03:52
DJ
I think they'll be all right. i think I think they'll be all right. I don't think they're going to be amazing. i think But I also think they're going to find a way to surprise us because, again, there's certain players on that team that I just don't fully count out as like being okay with losing all the time. You know what i mean? But, of course, it's an expansion team. It's a new team.
01:04:08
DJ
Many, many things are going to happen within these next couple of years to really solidify them in the league of like where they really are. But of course, power ranking wise, they're at the bottom because nobody's seen them play. Nobody knows what they're
Las Vegas Aces Spotlight
01:04:17
DJ
going turn out to be. um Moving on to a team that we are pretty sure we know where they're headed. And that is the Las Vegas Aces. I'm just going to say this one thing.
01:04:27
DJ
Asia Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Jewel Lloyd.
01:04:31
Get Defensive Sports Network
Next team, Los Angeles Sparks, is that where we're going?
01:04:34
DJ
Yep. So we're moving on to the Los Angeles Sparks because let's just be for real.
01:04:36
Get Defensive Sports Network
Oh, I will just say
01:04:41
Get Defensive Sports Network
they didn't have the best year last year. So,
01:04:44
DJ
By their standards, though, because they still had a good year.
01:04:47
Get Defensive Sports Network
I know, but like, they didn't have the best year by their standards. And you have A'ja Wilson, who is not going to accept that. You have Becky Hammon who's not going accept that. And then you just named the upgrades.
01:04:58
Get Defensive Sports Network
Los Angeles Sparks, was that where you're going? Who are you talking about next?
01:05:00
DJ
Moving right along to the Los Angeles Sparks. Oh, my gosh. Look, another team with a new head coach. um So they're coming off of their first single-digit win in the history of the franchise, which is single-digit win season. Excuse me. They only won nine games last year. um That's ghetto.
01:05:14
DJ
So they went out and said, we're going to do one of the biggest trades in WNBA history, and we are going to get Kelsey Plum from the Los Angeles Ace. Los Angeles? Wow. From the Las Vegas Aces. Um, the biggest thing here is how Kelsey Plum is going to mesh in with the team that they currently have.
01:05:30
DJ
There has been a lot of additions and movements on the Sparks as well, but they are going to be returning Cam Brink, hopefully as early as June. From her ACL injury, Rekia Jackson obviously showed us exactly who she was in Unrivaled, a fantastic scorer at all levels, really, really feisty, can get in pain, does what she needs to do.
01:05:47
DJ
And then, of course,
Los Angeles Sparks Analysis
01:05:47
DJ
we also have other players who had great showings at Unrivaled, like Ray Burrell, Azaree Stevens, De'Arica Hamby. So I'm not too mad at this team at this point. Kelsey Plum and De'Arica Hamby, of course, have played together before. They already have that chemistry that exists there. And then they finally...
01:06:05
DJ
finally, Jesus, I have been waiting my whole entire life for a team to finally fucking sign Odyssey Sims. And they signed her. They had her on a hardship contract last year. And the fuel of the games that they actually won, she was on the roster at that time.
01:06:20
DJ
And then she moved over and was on a hardship contract in Dallas for a while. So I really felt like either Dallas or Los Angeles needed to sign her at this point. She made such an impact on both of those teams last year. So finally happy to see her actually signed and actually on the roster. She's a great distributor. She's a great scorer.
01:06:34
DJ
Really, really feisty. Love her. I think she's over 30 at this point. Like she's kind of been in and out of the WNBA for the last few years. So I'm glad that she finally has her permanent spot on a roster. And then they drafted ninth overall, Miss Sarah Ashley Barker, who, if you guys are unaware, she is the girl who scored 41 points in the game where it was Bama versus Maryland.
01:06:53
DJ
Bama did end up losing that game. but she scored 41 points. So we're just going to leave it at that. And she's already looking really good with this roster. So at the very least, the Sparks are going to win more than nine games.
01:07:08
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah. um i feel like Injuries are never good for anyone, but i think them dealing with all of the injuries that they had was really great for Rekia and some of the other young players.
01:07:21
DJ
Yeah. Yeah.
01:07:23
Get Defensive Sports Network
We'll see sort of how it all fits together, right? Again, not every team can win Someone has to take these losses. They may be a team that's sort of a year away, depending on when Cam comes back and sort of how some of the things fits, but i just the best thing that happened was Rekia getting to be the primary bar ball handler and then immediately going to unrivaled that's going to open up so much for them if they use it correctly where she was not like if things went how they wanted it last year they would have never unlocked that like she was not going to be that player because they they didn't know that she could do that and so I think that opens up a lot for them
01:07:53
DJ
They would have used her differently. Yeah. Well, I will say... I do think that there were choices made last year as far as ah personnel goes. Like Rekia was showing what she could do and then she wasn't playing or she wasn't starting and they weren't putting her in the game in certain points where she could have been effective. So I'm excited for the new for the coaching change in that particular context because I think this coach recognizes who Rekia is and they will use her in ah and a different way than she was used last year because a lot of people were irritated with the fact that they felt like
01:08:29
DJ
She's coming in, she's scoring, and then you're sitting her down. What did what and what kind of sense does that make? Especially ah considering at the time, the the the rest of the roster wasn't scoring. Like, Aaron McDonald might have gotten there every now and then and scored. You know, Kia Nurse, when she was having a good day, was scoring. But nobody was scoring, in my opinion, as well as Rekia was.
01:08:48
DJ
My biggest concern with the with the Sparks is that They lost size. So during that trade with Jewel Lloyd and Kelsey Plum, they also lost Lee Giroux, which is one of the only other six, seven players in the league. She is now going to be on the Seattle Storm.
01:09:02
DJ
So the only size they really have at this point is Azare and Cam. um So I do worry about that as far as like how they're unable to be able to compete because so many other teams are so big. I mean, we were just talking about Atlanta and how big they are.
01:09:15
DJ
So anyways, speaking of big, actually, this team
Minnesota Lynx Championship Contenders
01:09:18
DJ
is not big at all. Minnesota Lynx. They are, and my opinion, they are my favorite for the championship this year because they should have won last year.
01:09:29
DJ
sorry they should have last year um and so obviously they're returning the majority of their core they probably had the least amount of change in the offseason out of every team um and they have the mvp one of the mvp favorites in Napheesa Collier um and she has a chip on her shoulder for multiple reasons because she didn't get to the championship in her own damn league and on Unrivaled now and she didn't win the mvp and she didn't win the championship last year so To me, that's the perfect storm of a team that is ready to come in, smack some hoes up, and show y'all who they really are.
01:10:00
DJ
Cheryl Reeve talks about all the time how she feels like Minnesota gets left out of the conversation a lot of the times when you're talking about championship contention. And I agree with her. We are talking about the Indiana fucking fever contending for a championship over the Minnesota Lynx.
01:10:14
DJ
I need everybody to be as serious as possible. The Minnesota Lynx, where you have one of the best scorers in Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBuckets. They have Kayla
Phoenix Mercury Roster Overhaul
01:10:22
DJ
McBuckets. She was one of the best scorers in Unrivaled.
01:10:26
DJ
Like, them two together on the same team, then you got the mid-range master in Courtney VanderSloot and Courtney Williams, VanderSloot. I just don't see how they lose, personally.
01:10:37
DJ
I just don't see how they lose. And going to go out on the lemon seed.
01:10:40
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Asia Wilson.
01:10:42
DJ
Well, Asia Wilson. But I'm going to a limb and say that they will 100% be in a championship game. And I don't think they're playing the Liberty for their next championship either.
01:10:51
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, Asia Wilson.
01:10:51
DJ
I'm just saying. They will be playing the Aces.
01:10:56
DJ
Any thoughts about the Lynx?
01:10:59
Get Defensive Sports Network
said it all.
01:11:00
DJ
Period. Moving on to the Phoenix Mercury. My good God. This might be the team that has experienced the most change. Obviously, they had the legendary Diana Taurasi hang up her jersey and say that that last year was her last year.
01:11:13
DJ
And then they lost BG as well. So this is a whole new team, whole new vibe. um They are retaining their head coach from last year. And they brought in Satya Sabli, Alyssa Thomas, um ah and Kalani Brown and a couple other players as well. so And then, of course, they have Kalia Copper.
01:11:30
DJ
um And they, seems like this is going to be a good squad on paper. My only issue is that all the people who I just mentioned, except for Kalani Brown, are all incredibly ball dominant.
01:11:41
DJ
So I'm trying to figure out who is going to who the Central Stars going to be. like Who are they going to be running their offense through? Because realistically, you can run your offense through all of the people who I just mentioned. So that's going to be something that's really, really interesting. And a lot of people have already been criticizing their head coach for being a coach who does not believe in the mid-range.
01:11:59
DJ
And he believes in living and dying by the three, which I am, as my basketball philosophy is that is stupid. So whatever, that's what he wants to do. And all these people who I mentioned,
01:12:11
DJ
are not like three point masters. So I'm just trying to figure out where their office is going to come from just in general, but, um, they play, they're playing and they're here.
01:12:22
DJ
So we'll see.
01:12:24
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, this feels like the liberty of a couple years ago where it's going to take some time.
01:12:28
DJ
Yeah, yeah,
Seattle Storm New Era
01:12:29
DJ
for sure. um Moving on to the last team in the West, and that is the Seattle Storm. um they have officially They are officially moving into a new era of the Seattle Storm. They have lost their trio that won them the championships a couple years ago in Stewie, Sue Bird, and Jewel Lloyd.
01:12:49
DJ
um And so this is kind of their new era. there's an emerging stars gonna Those emerging stars really looking like Skylar Diggins. Diggins. Skylar Diggins. Okay. And Neko Goumike, Eze Magnumar, they get a full season with Gabby Williams.
01:13:04
DJ
As many of you, maybe many of you are unaware, Gabby Williams decided to opt out of the WNBA season last year to play for France because it was an Olympic year. And the WNBA has a, I can never think of the term, has it like a priority clause basically where
01:13:17
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah.
01:13:18
DJ
you If you play overseas, you have to report by a certain period in order to play. And so Gabby said, F y'all, I don't care. I'm going to go serve and represent my country. So now we get her back for a full season.
01:13:30
DJ
um They acquired Alicia Clark, who was a previous Sixth Woman of the Year coach. sixth woman of the year awardee she played on the aces when they won both of their championships and then of course they got probably one of the biggest names in the wmba draft besides page beckers in dominique malanga so the team looks really really good i'm excited about it i'm sure i'm missing some of the guards that they have um obviously uh they do not have um why can't i think of her name she came from yukon last year Why can't I think of her name? she she basic She tore her ACL overseas, so we don't have her. I don't know why can't think her name. i don't know. why Like, I know her name.
01:14:08
DJ
I don't know why I can't think of her name. But they lost her.
01:14:10
Get Defensive Sports Network
Guard.
01:14:11
DJ
Who?
01:14:12
Get Defensive Sports Network
The Guard.
01:14:13
DJ
Yes, she's from UConn.
01:14:14
Get Defensive Sports Network
Nika. Nika Mule.
01:14:16
DJ
Nika Mule. they lost They still don't have Nika Mule because she did tear her ACL like in her first or second game overseas, which was really unfortunate. And they had katie they have Katie Lou Samuelson, who had a great season on our arrival, but she also suffered an ACL injury during practice. So down with ACLs, y'all. Like, I have never heard of a good thing that ACL has done yet. But unfortunately, they are going to be kind of starting the season off a little handicapped.
01:14:39
DJ
um But we'll see. They're probably the biggest team in the league at this point because, again, like I said, they have Lee Uru and then now Dominique Molanga, Neku, Goumoke, and Nezi. So –
01:14:52
Get Defensive Sports Network
This is going to be a tough year.
WNBA Season Competitiveness & Challenges
01:14:53
Get Defensive Sports Network
a i mean, like, you know, it's it's funny because I said this last year about football, like someone has to lose the games and it became sort of like my mantra.
01:15:03
DJ
Yeah.
01:15:05
Get Defensive Sports Network
And I didn't expect that to carry over to this, but it is sort of true, right? Last year, you know, with football, there were so many top 10 games, top 10. five matchups, all of these things and something that we had never necessarily had before.
01:15:19
Get Defensive Sports Network
And so it's like, I mean, someone has to lose the game. Like we have so many one versus two matchups and things. And when you go through these teams, even if, even if some of them it's road, cut rose colored glasses or whatever, like, first of all, the WNBA is always competitive because there's five people on each roster. Right. So it's always,
01:15:37
DJ
ah yes oh
01:15:40
Get Defensive Sports Network
right? But also the way some of the talent was spread and some of these things, someone's going to lose. And in my opinion, the only team that is for sure probably going to lose is Connecticut.
01:15:51
Get Defensive Sports Network
We disagree on the Valkyrie. So it's just sort of like, you know, maybe, yeah, maybe Washington's not there yet.
01:15:55
DJ
they're gonna be losing too i just don't think they're gonna lose as much
01:15:58
Get Defensive Sports Network
Right. But, you know, even the teams that were sort of bad last year, like the fever and the sky got better, right? Dallas should be better. You still have New York, you have the Aces who got better. It's it's just somebody's going to lose. i don't know who it's going to be, but it should be a good season.
01:16:18
DJ
It'll be really, really fun. um Hopefully, part of the CBA or part of – hopefully, somebody in the damn front office of the WNBA is talking about roster extensions because we need more than 12 spots on these damn rosters. I'm so sorry.
01:16:31
DJ
You cannot convince me that that we don't need at least 14 or 15 spots on these rosters, at the very least because of injury, right? There were so many damn hardship contracts last year.
01:16:38
Get Defensive Sports Network
Uh-huh.
01:16:41
DJ
And if you guys don't know, hardship contracts are 10-day contracts that they signed with players that are – basically like adjacent to the W like you know athlete athletes unlimited players or players who've been in the W before things like that ah Odyssey Sims is somebody who I've mentioned Monique Billings those individuals who like they're good enough enough to play in the W but they may not have had those permanent contracts they'll sign them for 10 days because somebody is injured and and So at the very least, we should extend the rosters just because of that. I appreciate that the WNBA is expanding, you know, with teams, right? So coming into the next season, there's going to be the Toronto Tempo team, which they've already announced their name. And then there's going to be this nameless Portland team that they haven't told us any details about yet.
01:17:18
DJ
um Hopefully the Golden State Valkyries are a case study and, you know, a way to – expand because they sold 10,000 season tickets, which has never been done for any WNBA team. And there's a real appetite in that in the cities that I just mentioned for WNBA basketball. So I'm glad they're expanding in that way, but we really need to expand these rosters.
01:17:36
DJ
Like we really need to expand these rosters.
01:17:36
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, i think yeah I think it sort of comes full circle. That's one of the things that I was talking about where I sort of hope they make all these rule changes at once.
01:17:47
Get Defensive Sports Network
Bring in the four more teams or whatever, expand the rosters, get to a good number of games, right? I doubt it's going to be 44, right? Get to that final number of games, get to that final number playoff teams and sort of thing and sort of sit with it for a couple years. So that is definitely one of the things that needs to happen.
01:18:07
Get Defensive Sports Network
The thing that i also needs to happen that i don't think is going to happen for a while, just because i don't think it's a priority, is they need to lower the college age from four years to three.
01:18:17
DJ
Oh, yeah.
01:18:18
Get Defensive Sports Network
because But you can't do that until you expand the teams and the roster.
01:18:19
DJ
Yeah.
01:18:21
DJ
We ain't got no roster spots. Right.
01:18:23
Get Defensive Sports Network
there's ah there's ah There's a lot of things that that are sort of going on that that hopefully they adjust. But i mean, I think and you know we we did a a thorough preview.
01:18:35
Get Defensive Sports Network
think i think
01:18:36
DJ
Yes.
01:18:37
Get Defensive Sports Network
You know, we'll we'll have more next week because we can get to the players to watch and the top matchups and some some other sort of stuff next week as the season and begins. But do
WNBA Promotion Criticism by NBA
01:18:47
Get Defensive Sports Network
you have any sort of final W thoughts that you want to
01:18:55
DJ
I mean, pretty much, I mean, we're going to be talking about it throughout the season. I'm really excited. i'm I'm happy to be in a space where everybody else is as excited about the W as I am, because of course, been watching it for a while.
01:19:07
DJ
um But it's exciting to see everybody kind of juiced up over it and, you know, getting the attention that it deserves and the national, you know, broadcast things like that. The biggest issue that I'm going to continue to have and I will always scream about is the fact that, as I've mentioned, I am watching the MNBA currently, and I have not seen not one commercial about the WNBA season starting in five days.
01:19:34
DJ
And this is a league that owns that league. So you would think in order to help their bottom line, they will be promoting that league because it's growing and it has more viewership than they do.
01:19:44
Get Defensive Sports Network
That's what you get for thinking.
01:19:46
DJ
Not to crash out, but I'm just saying, like, A'ja just dropped a shoe.
01:19:46
Get Defensive Sports Network
um
01:19:49
DJ
You should be playing her commercial. ah Angel Reese just dropped a collection of a Reebok. You should be playing her commercials. You should be playing whatever commercial that Caitlin Clark is because I know she's in a couple of them. She's got a State Farm commercial. She's got a Gatorade commercial.
01:20:00
DJ
She's got all these other... You're telling me that y'all don't have the ability at all to promote your sister league. They're not even talking, they don't talk about it on the broadcast about, Hey, here's what's coming up. and And these games are going to be on yeah ESPN and ABC. Like, it's not like they're promoting games that you can't access.
01:20:16
DJ
The first few games of the WNBA are going to be on ESPN. And the finals for the, for the NBA is on ESPN or ABC or whatever. You know, they're all the same. You telling me that y'all don't have a two minute PA read for that.
01:20:31
DJ
and just i just don't I just don't understand it. Like, this is a basketball ecosystem, and it's supposed to be a positive feedback loop where you guys are both feeding off of one of each one another because there would be the expectation for the women's side to promote the NBA.
01:20:45
DJ
So i don't know what that's about. But anyways, that's that's my only thought is the WNBA needs to be promoted by the league that owns them.
01:20:57
Get Defensive Sports Network
That is a
Sue Bird's New Role & Personal Note
01:20:58
Get Defensive Sports Network
ah radical concept that you're throwing out there.
01:21:00
DJ
Oh, Jesus. Really, men shouldn't be owning women anyways, but let me stop.
01:21:03
Get Defensive Sports Network
Entry-level
01:21:04
DJ
Go ahead. I'm going to stop. I'm sorry.
01:21:06
Get Defensive Sports Network
marketing. Radical concepts that you're throwing there.
01:21:08
DJ
You know?
01:21:10
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, but I think i think it's going to be a good season.
01:21:11
DJ
ah You know?
01:21:13
Get Defensive Sports Network
The W is going to be fun. we will be talking about it for sure, I think, especially for the first month or so. We'll probably get into it a lot, and then we will have to balance it with our
01:21:31
Get Defensive Sports Network
with our preview content, which will be coming because time is a flat circle and we're already midway into May, which doesn't make any sense at all.
01:21:33
DJ
oh
01:21:40
DJ
Can we not be existential today?
01:21:42
Get Defensive Sports Network
so oh
01:21:43
DJ
That was existential as hell.
01:21:45
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, which's which doesn't make sense at all.
01:21:46
DJ
Oh my God. Oh.
01:21:49
Get Defensive Sports Network
But yeah, no, I think this is so, you know, we're going to wrap up the show as we always do with our two-minute warning. um I will go first because it is on sort of the basketball theme and also give you a break after that thorough preview.
01:22:05
Get Defensive Sports Network
So this is something that we didn't put in the news and shout out to us for getting to put it in the news because then I could use it as my two minute warning.
01:22:12
DJ
You're welcome.
01:22:12
Get Defensive Sports Network
The absolute legend, of course it was, the absolute legend Sue Bird has been named as the managing director of the U.S.
01:22:12
DJ
This was on purpose.
01:22:20
Get Defensive Sports Network
women's basketball team. She is filling the same role that Grant Hill
01:22:21
DJ
Period.
01:22:26
Get Defensive Sports Network
is feeling for the men's side, meaning that she is the final decision maker. um For those of you who don't know, because whatever, the men's side for x number of years has had a sort of managing director.
01:22:41
Get Defensive Sports Network
The women's was still like, committee. So, you know, X number of people would watch the games and would decide and they would they would invite people to the camps and so to stuff.
01:22:46
DJ
Coaches and other people. Yeah.
01:22:49
Get Defensive Sports Network
And it's not that they're entirely getting rid of that, but Sue Bird is going to have, you know, this sort of power she's going to probably, she's going to determine me who gets invites to camps.
01:23:00
Get Defensive Sports Network
She's going to determine who gets on the team. She's going to build this. And this is very important on the women's side because the women's side is going through but the men's side went through a couple of years ago and is very aggressively going to go into and that the stars are aging. And so you don't know how many more Olympics that they have.
01:23:22
Get Defensive Sports Network
So if you want to keep up the American dominance, which you do, because the only time to be proud to be an American is during the Olympics and the World cup
01:23:34
Get Defensive Sports Network
a way to mix your Kaitlins, your Pages, your Aliyah Bostons, your Arike, like these players who are under 30 who haven't gotten the time because you had your Suebirds and your Dianas and mix them in so that they're getting the experience, they're getting to play with these players and things like that.
01:24:00
Get Defensive Sports Network
And that is going to be a sort of a heavy lift because we're coming again at this time that we keep talking about where um you have this infusion of talent, but you're also balancing eras and things like that. And so I think that this is a great time for them to be doing that and for them to let someone who actually knows Basketball Peak And this is not a women's team because the women's team is super dominant. So it's not like they were picking negatively, but I just assume in most of these cases with the committees, they don't actually watch basketball.
01:24:30
Get Defensive Sports Network
Sue is a freaking legend. She's very smart. She has a good relationship with these players. She also has a good relationship with other players who she's going to lean on and on. She has a good relationship with Brent Hill.
01:24:41
Get Defensive Sports Network
She said that he essentially convinced her into taking the role. And so I just think that that is something that is... um exciting and And we'll see where that goes, especially as we get into this cycle of some of these star players retiring or just no longer wanting to do the Olympics and in this sort of infusion of talent.
01:25:05
DJ
Period. Love it. I did see that news and I was very, very excited. I feel like there's nobody better for that role other than Sue Bird. So I'm excited to see how that will play out. My two minute warning to get us out of here because we've been here for almost an hour and a half is that you guys should also be wishing me a happy Mother's Day because I too am a mother.
01:25:23
DJ
i have adopted a cat. Her name is Juanita. She is so cute. She's so sweet. Here she is.
01:25:30
DJ
My little baby. She is 17 years old. Okay. um And we love to see it. She, unfortunately, her previous owner passed away and they were looking for someone to rehome her with. So I took her in and I've had her for a week and I love her so much.
01:25:46
DJ
um And yes, I'm very excited in about my new journey into ownership of a pet. I have had a cat before, so this is not my first rodeo, but I'm very excited about having... a young spry old lady yes that was supposed to be a contradiction um but yeah happy mother's day to all of the pet parents out there
01:26:07
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, I'm glad you did that. i don't believe in pet parents. As always, thank you for listening.
01:26:12
DJ
first of all this is parenthood okay
01:26:13
Get Defensive Sports Network
Yeah, okay. Thank you all for listening to the show. Hopefully some of you followed us from our last home. Hopefully some of you are new.
01:26:25
Get Defensive Sports Network
Again, you can follow the show on and watch and see our beautiful faces on YouTube at Good Defense Sports Network. You can see us on Instagram at Get Defensive Sports Network. And we you can see us on TikTok at GDSports Network.
01:26:37
DJ
The TikTok.
01:26:39
Get Defensive Sports Network
We are going to be everywhere.
01:26:39
DJ
Period.
01:26:41
Get Defensive Sports Network
we We have much better access to social media and things like that now. And so you will see us. You will see our clips. You will see our faces. And we will catch you next week.