Power Plays Podcast

Coco Gauff's US Open triumph and a first-round WNBA Playoffs preview

• Lindsay Gibbs • Episode 9

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In this episode, host Lindsay Gibbs is joined by Jessie Breggren to talk about Minjee Lee’s win at the LPGA Kroger Queen City Championship, the North Carolina Courage’s win in the NWSL Challenge Cup, and the latest updates of what’s going on in the Spanish soccer federation.


Then (14:13), Lindsay has a reunion with two of her Burn It All Down co-hosts, Jessica Luther and Amira Rose Davis, to gush about Coco Gauff’s U.S. Open victory. All three of them are very, very excited – in one case, dangerously so.


Finally (36:48), the phenomenal Howard Megdal joins us to talk about the upcoming WNBA playoffs. We begin by discussing the first-round playoff format, highlighting the notable extension signings this week, and saying goodbye to the four non-playoff teams, the Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, Seattle Storm, and Phoenix Mercury. Finally, we go series-by-series to preview the first round of the playoffs: (1) Las Vegas Aces vs. (8) Chicago Sky; (2) New York Liberty vs. (7) Washington Mystics; (3) Connecticut Sun vs. (6) Minnesota Lynx; (4) Dallas Wings vs. (5) Atlanta Dream.


The IX: https://www.theixsports.com/

The Next: https://www.thenexthoops.com/


Subscribe to Power Plays: https://www.powerplays.news/subscribe


Speaker 1:

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to the Power Place podcast, your weekly stop for all the women's sports news. I'm Lindsay Gibbs, your host and the founder of the Power Place newsletter, which you can subscribe to at powerplacenews, and there's a link in the comments. I am joined today at the top of the show, by my assistant, jesse Bergen. Hi Jesse, hi Lindsay, how are you doing today? I'm doing really great because we have a really, really fantastic show for you this week.

Speaker 1:

Joining me to talk about the US Open and Coco Goswin is two of my or R, excuse me when you use correct grammar joining me are two of my Burn it All Down co-hosts. The co-host of the podcast it's on hiatus right now, but it was we did for five years together and that is Jessica Luther and Amir Rose Davis. So you're all going to want to listen to that reunion as we gush about Coco and the US Open. And then I've got another great friend of mine, howard Magdal, on to talk about the WNBA playoffs, which start on Wednesday. So it's just, it's a podcast full of my favorite people. So I'm doing great, awesome, and you were included in that, of course.

Speaker 2:

Jessica. You were a part of that, yeah it was a fun, fun big weekend in sports again.

Speaker 1:

Another big weekend in women's sports Just keep coming. So we're going to do the top of each show. If you're new here, we do a little recap of the biggest news of the week and the results. We'll just I'm going to save the US Open and the tennis talk and the WNBA talk to the interviews because we go plenty in depth on those. But I want to talk about a couple of sports that we're not having interviews focused on today.

Speaker 1:

One was, which is the LPGA, which had another thrilling week, this time at the Queen City Championships, where two-time major champion Menjee Lee, she lost a five-shot lead on the back nine, so that's not good, but ended up in a playoff with Charlie Hull and ended up winning in a playoff. So after you have like, after this big collapse, she ended up winning anyways, which I think is amazing to get it together for the playoffs. So congratulations to the Aussie Menjee Lee and also congratulations to she goes by Ronnie so Ronnie Yin from China, who won the women's PGA championship this year and she's only 20 years old, and she finished third in the Queen City Championship, which means she'll be the new number one when the rankings are released on Tuesday. She was outside of the top 100 at the start of this year, which is incredible, and she's only the second Chinese woman to ever be number one in the LPGA. So lots of big news happening there.

Speaker 1:

And then the other big thing that happened was the Challenge Cup in the NWSL. So last week we had a big preview for it at Courtney Stiff from CBS and Diaspora United on. Now we know what happened. We know that the North Carolina defeated the Kansas City Current and Racing Louisville defeated the OL Rain in the semifinals last Wednesday and then in the final the courage defeated Racing Louisville two to nothing, with goals by Caroline and Manaka. Matsukowo, I think is how you, matsukowo, I believe it. Manaka is how everyone, whatever, was just using that name, and Manaka was named MVP at 19. She's the youngest player to start the Challenge Cup and the youngest player to score in the Challenge Cup. If you have not seen a clip of her goal, have you seen this goal, jesse?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that was nuts. It's nuts. I couldn't believe that. I've never seen a like a. One touch perfect. You know, lob like that.

Speaker 1:

It was, yeah, it was like lobbed up and then she like a one touch, half volley. She got it while it was in the air and it went over the goalkeepers outstretched hands and it was just, it was stunning. So everyone go look that up if you haven't seen it. And then you also need to look up the trophy ceremony where she was named MVP and Lori Lindsay, who's a friend of mine, was out to interview, had interview with Manaka.

Speaker 1:

But Manaka doesn't speak much English. She's 19. She's only been with the courage for a month. She's a. She came over from Japan in July, so she's very new here and so she doesn't speak much English at all. So Neroomi, who is also a Japanese player, came up to translate for her and you know, lori asked you know, just basically, congratulations, how do you feel? And then Neroomi translated that and then Manaka just took the mic and said I feel so happy, it was just the most precious and endearing moment ever and I'm not making fun of people who don't speak English, I promise, but it was just. It was that endearing, it was just lovely. And she was like I don't need a translator for this, I feel so happy and the whole team was just hugging her. Denise O'Sullivan, who is very tiny, was lifting Manaka up in the air. The vibes, I have to say. So I, actually I went to the courage. I saw the courage on media day, so I was.

Speaker 1:

My plan was to go to this game and I went to media day and got to talk to some of the players and coaches and the commissioner and that was a great experience and I left there feeling like the vibes are really good in North Carolina right now, like they are just for coming. After all, they went through with Paul Riley and then with so many national team players leaving the team, with Dabinia leaving, they have just really rebuilt their culture there and it's based upon youth. It's they've got a lot of international players and Sean Nejas just has that team really, really in step and they play beautiful soccer so much passing. It's a style we don't usually see in the NWSL that much and it's it's much more passing based than kind of just transition and running based. Of course there's that too.

Speaker 1:

But the next day I drove it was supposed to be an hour and 10 minute drive to the game. It ended up taking me over two hours because I basically got caught in a monsoon and then the second I got in. While I was right I kept putting pull over to side of the road. It was raining so hard and when I pulled over I was checking the weather and carry, which is where they the mattress taking place, and it was saying like it was going to be sunny in the afternoon, like it was going to be fine. So I was like, okay, at least I'll deal with this because I'll get there and the game will start on time. I knew I was going to be a little bit late for the game by that point but I was like, you know, this will be fine, I get there and it's at 11 minutes and they are announcing that the game is suspended due to weather. And I looked at the weather and in that like 30 minutes I last looked at the weather, it had completely changed. It was now going to be raining for at least two more hours and not raining, thunderstorming for at least two more hours.

Speaker 1:

And I ended up just going back home because I had stuff to do that evening so I couldn't wait out. Like a whole two hour rain delay and then the full game, the full game basically and then go home. So I spent four hours driving in torrential downpour and saw zero soccer. That's such a bummer. It was really a bummer. But you know, I listened to some of the post match press stuff and the vibes, like I said, they're really good North Carolina right now. I think you have to watch out for them to possibly win the shield or at least do some damage in the playoffs. This year I think they've got a lot of scores.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's exciting. Well, it'd be fun to watch them going forward now and see if they can carry. This momentum will carry, carry on.

Speaker 1:

Agreed and it was just a reminder that, like cups do matter, you know, like I know, we can say they don't and people can prioritize different things, of course, but they matter, they're fun. It's a fun break in the middle of the season. All right, you want to update us on some other soccer news.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so there's been some action on the Spanish front, so I'm sure everyone's heard. But last week the Jorge Vilda the coach was fired. Finally they already they immediately announced the new coach is one of his assistants, a woman named Montse Tomé. I apologize if I butchered that. I don't. I never took Spanish. She's been an assistant coach for him for about five years, so it makes me a little nervous that they didn't do like an extensive search. They just immediately hired an assistant.

Speaker 1:

But she was one of the ones who threatened to resign if he didn't leave. So, that was good. I do fear, you know it's that thing where it's like you hire a woman to like, be the captain of like a failing ship, right, like a sinking ship, and so you can say you hired a woman and then say they didn't do a good enough job. I do so like, while I'm happy, like there's a woman that they're naming, I just feel nervous for her.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's a really tough position to be in. I don't know anything about her. You know her style. She clearly knows the players. I don't know what the players, how they feel about her or anything like that, so just it's. I mean, it's good news that he's gone, for sure. So, yes, we will watch, keep our eye out for see how she's doing. The other big news was that also last week, hermoso did file a formal criminal complaint against Ruby Alice for sexual assault.

Speaker 2:

So that'll be moving through their Spanish legal system, potential repercussions down the road for him there. And then, of course, the biggest news he did finally resign. Yesterday, sunday, he announced he was leaving the team.

Speaker 1:

Didn't he say something like that? He had finally talked to his daughters. Yeah, he made his daughters multiple times.

Speaker 2:

He made sure we all know he has daughters and he did his statement. I didn't read the whole statement, the clip, the portions I read. It was still being a very like a victim. I'm the victim here. I have to. I have to do this for the greater good type. You know bullshit.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, what a martyr you are, yeah so at least he is gone. But you forgot to tell people who he gave the announcement.

Speaker 2:

Oh, yeah, the announcement was made out of an interview with Pierce Morgan.

Speaker 1:

Of course, which really tells you all you need to know about how much he has learned.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so still continues to be very gross and not great, but he's gone. He's being charged with sexual assault, so that's big deal and a new coach, so we'll get any step down from his UA foot position as well, which? Is important.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah. Well, all it took was all it took for change to finally come to the Spanish Federation was for the president to kiss a player on national television, for the coach to stand up and applaud that president. When the president said that he wasn't going to resign, for 58 players to say they were never going to play for the Spanish team again until there was change made at the top Administration. For the president to be suspended by FIFA. It's all it took, and for about three weeks of international outrage.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. You know, easy yeah, no big deal. So it is. It is encouraging that stuff did happen. It's annoying and frustrating that it took all of that and and like a video of the incident in question, because we you know, tend not to believe women when they say these things.

Speaker 1:

So Tend not to All right. Well, thank you for that update, and we'll keep an eye on any further updates. Oh, and one more thing, because I don't talk about this in the interview, but we've been keeping you all updated on the WTA final saga as it continues. So two weeks ago, we thought it was going to be in Saudi Arabia. That was the our interview with John Worthyme. By last week, it looked like it was moving towards Prague, and now, though, it's been officially announced that it's going to be in Cancun.

Speaker 1:

So the WTA finalist will be in Cancun this year and you know I have thought about starting a GoFundMe but you know I'll probably resist the urge to do that. But it's going to be hard because I really think I should be there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think that seems important.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it seems super important. Actually, I would probably be pushing for it, but one of my friends is getting married on the day of the final, so you know, not in Cancun.

Speaker 2:

That would be a fun question.

Speaker 1:

No, he's getting married in DC.

Speaker 4:

So not nearly as exciting.

Speaker 1:

All right On to the show. Hello, hello, hello everyone. I am so excited to be joined for this segment on the US Open and Coco Goff by two of my favorite people and tennis fans in the world Jessica Luther and Amira Rose Davis. Hi, jess and Amira. Hello. I'm sure most of you know that these are two of my co-hosts on Burn it All Down, so we have many hours of podcasting together about tennis in our back pocket, but it's been a while. So I'm a little giddy at this reunion here. But I just have to start in Amira's dancing and posing. So that's good, we're feeling great. But I just have to start with. How are we feeling?

Speaker 1:

Coco Goff won the US Open. She won it two, six, six, three, six two over Irina Sabalenka A year ago. You two were there to see Serena's farewell match. So which is also behind Jess, that's what she's pointing at it's sometimes the narratives. Sometimes you have to force the narratives, sometimes they write themselves and then other times the narratives force you, like there's just, there's no way around. Just how beautiful this lined up. Amira, how did you feel watching that match?

Speaker 3:

Well, lindsay, I will tell you it was a series of emotions.

Speaker 1:

Were you very calm and collected, like you usually watch a comic collection.

Speaker 3:

But have you ever seen me not calm and collected watching a sporting match?

Speaker 1:

I'm picturing you literally hiding in a stairwell watching a Serena match at one point.

Speaker 3:

No, I was losing it. I mean, Jess were texting. I don't know if anything I texted Jessica was words. I was just like she'll figure out what I'm saying and I was pacing because I said to Jessica you know, you know, I believe I like influenced the matches, so I was worried about what my behavior was during the first set, when Coco was, you know, her foreign.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, what was the first set behavior?

Speaker 3:

I don't know what I was doing, but it wasn't working. I think I was like in transit.

Speaker 5:

I was watching for a while.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I like then I was, I had to run my kids around and I was like watching on my phone and I was very stressed out. And so when I got, I got home Right at the start of the third set and I said what do I do? It just said pace in capital letters, very seriously. So I just as she started like playing very well and winning, and I decided, like Jessica said pace and it's working. I cannot sit down. So I did not sit down.

Speaker 5:

You're welcome, Coco.

Speaker 3:

I did not sit down at all, like even. Wow you must have gotten a lot of steps. I was just pacing back and forth and then I started to get very into it and then I would say by the end I was just like a puddle. I had started crying when she was at four and at that point we were like two more games and then, when she finally got to five, I was like is this really?

Speaker 5:

happening Because she lost her sir, like she didn't hold.

Speaker 4:

And then she had to break right, broke for five and then serve for six.

Speaker 5:

Yeah that was when she got broken and I was like this is bad, jess, how are you? Oh, it was a mess. My kid had their 15th birthday party in the living room and Aaron and I were in the bedroom watching. And I went out at some point to you know, do a parent thing, and one of the kids was like how's the tennis? And I realized they could hear me screaming in the back of the house and I was like sorry, I can't do anything about it. I mean, that first set was really hard. I was like this, is it Like Sabalinka is just going to run away with this? She looked, I mean, sabalinka can like play tennis like this way she thinks that ball is just.

Speaker 5:

Oh, my God, it looks like it's going to rip through the wall Like it is slow and you know I don't always agree with Kristi Everett of all things, but she did have this point towards the end of the match that, like Sabalinka can place the ball Like she hits the hell out of it, and she can really place it. She's number one in the world.

Speaker 1:

She's not just a one-dimensional right, right, right, she's a champion.

Speaker 5:

And so that first set, I was definitely in that, like just she's going to win it, that's sad for Coco, or, you know, she's really good, that's fine.

Speaker 5:

And then when Coco figured out in the second set and when she broke her to take the lead, I was like, oh, we are in it. And then by the third, yeah, I was, I was screaming, I was trying to be quiet, I was trying to be aware of my surroundings, but like I had to keep jumping off the bed and like like running around the room, and then the dog was like what is happening? So, yeah, it was a lot and it was just a really amazing tennis match, which you don't always get in finals, especially with all the emotions and the nerves and the way people play. So we were lucky in one sense that we just got a phenomenal three-set match. But man, I just wanted it for her so much and the way she figured it out during the match was one of the great things about tennis is watching someone figure it out and execute. And Coco, oh, and I just love her, like.

Speaker 3:

I just she makes me so happy, Like every time right there was a ball that you were like, oh, this is where her defense it's amazing.

Speaker 1:

I mean I know she's like, I want to be an offensive player, but it's like. But your defense is offensive because it's so good, it is like offense, it's like it's so good.

Speaker 2:

I know it is.

Speaker 1:

It is like a strong, strong weapon.

Speaker 5:

This isn't like mentally it seemed to mess with Sabalinka, but like oh it did because she couldn't.

Speaker 1:

I mean she would hit five or six shots in a rally.

Speaker 4:

It should have been winners it should have been winners.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I would have lost my mind. And here's the thing is Sabalinka is one of my favorite players and I really, really, really like her and I have a hard time rooting against her, like in the semifinals. I found myself rooting for Sabalinka because I didn't want this semifinal curse. So, like, continue on her. I didn't want her to lose it. So I really like Madison Keys. But I found I was surprised. Like you know, sometimes you surprise yourself by who you're rooting for. Yeah, like that was me in the semis. So I was a little afraid that was going to come up in the final, because I had picked arena also to win the whole tournament beforehand. I guess I'm one of the haters that Coco was talking about.

Speaker 4:

We can get to that in a minute.

Speaker 1:

The way these athletes spin everything into haters is just one of the talents I will never understand. But you know, but I, but it was, it was. No, I mean it was. This was Coco's most, this was Coco's moment and you could just see it building. And after, I think there's a big rally in the second set where she saved what should have been like, you know, yeah, like five or six winners in a row, and then she got, she hit a winner of her own and then got the crowd all revved up and kept, you know, and I was like, oh, this is hers and this is just like Destiny. And then the press conference at that moment was the one that she just that. She knew that the trophy was going to be her. She just had to go after it, she's 19.

Speaker 3:

She's 19.

Speaker 3:

She played with this kind of spotlight since she was for 15 and she beat Venus.

Speaker 3:

And it's kind of way you talk about narratives, lindsay, this way that that game when she beat Venus and kind of announced herself and then had, you know, a four game, run into the tournament, right, like it was this announcement, but also it was just like kind of bowtide narrative about making her heir apparent right Out of all of these kinds of emergence of black women in tennis coming up after Serena and Venus, her like literally displacing Venus in that game made her narratively a great heir apparent to them.

Speaker 3:

And because she is so clear, this is a kind of tangential point. But she's so clear about lineage, she's so clear about the influence that Serena and Venus, but also other black women that she charts Sloan I loved her so to Sloan, naomi, how they have made space for her in this game and she's very clear about that. And so it was like a bowtide narrative to put that spotlight on her. But it also meant that she has been dealing with that spotlight and those expectations as she's grown over these last few years. And there's these points where I felt like you know, the weight of this is a lot, and it's the US Open like this is a lot, you know, and I just she's so calm like just wild.

Speaker 4:

Just like one of the things.

Speaker 5:

I wanted, like I wanted to make sure I said the thing that really got me about her in this match was she was so patient, so on. There were different times where I'd like yelled probably. I was like that was she just waited to hit the right shot in the rally or she waited for the ball to fall a certain way, like she was. So, like Amir says, the calm and the patience, but she was so smart with her tennis and you're like 19. Oh, do you remember yourself at 19.?

Speaker 1:

I mean talk about narratives like she won ugly right. Like she ended up winning ugly which is like the name of Brad Gilbert's book right and he like came in and helped her and like help talk about my thing.

Speaker 5:

Cannot believe that she can like handle the guy Gilbert clearly is working for her.

Speaker 1:

It's work, it's work, but like, yeah, I don't, and I don't want to give him credit, but I'm just saying, like that narrative, like she didn't, she wants to play, she wants to be the one doing the first strike, like area Sabalinka does, like she she's talked about how like she has to go against that and really lean into her defense and she didn't like having to do that in this final.

Speaker 1:

But she knew, like, the way I'm going to win is by forcing her to make errors. You know, the way I'm going to win is by is by hitting so many balls back that she has to go for the line and she's going to. I'm going to pull the player out of her and even though that's not how I want to play, even though that goes against my instincts, that's the best strategy. And God, how many of us can do that, can say this is what I want to do and what I think I should do, but is not what I'm going to do because it's not the best way to do like that like on a day to day basis with, like the tiniest things.

Speaker 3:

She also like there's all these times where, you know she, there's so many games where Sabalinka would go up 30 love. And this is when me and Jess had started being like okay, like this is when the tide is going to shift and within that game she would battle back and all of a sudden we're all tied up and it's due somewhere. Like oh, how this happened. Like I just felt like there was no give and like I kept waiting for Calamity to befall you know what I mean which you know that's a tennis thing, Watching people just fall apart Like they just hit a wall and they just crumbled and neither woman crumbled like credit to Sabalinka, even towards the end when it was pretty clear Like she was still out there playing.

Speaker 5:

I think.

Speaker 4:

I texted Amira.

Speaker 5:

I would have just rolled over, like towards the end of that match.

Speaker 1:

I would have just rolled over and you could see the emotions bubbling up on her and you could see how like frustrated she was. I have to give like because, like I said, I really love arena Sabalinka and like there you know how, like there's a lot of like non-tennis fans who watch the US Open right and like just watch it, like for things, and they have opinions on everybody and everything. You know, and there was a lot of people on my timeline saying that like Sabalinka was like not gracious and that she was like they didn't like her speech because she was trying to make jokes. And, as someone who makes jokes, when I'm feeling awkward, like the only thing I knew know how to do is to try and make bad jokes.

Speaker 5:

I was just like- Her joke about firing her entire staff.

Speaker 1:

Aaron and I were like let's just show it.

Speaker 3:

It's just so good of that. You went right what you said, lindsay, I think when she made that joke, jessica was like what is happening? And I was like I really empathize with the like awkward jokes in the middle of crying yeah, exactly, yeah, that is very-.

Speaker 5:

That's our language and like, oh yeah, like, probably like her eighth language. She was like yeah, I was like oh gosh.

Speaker 1:

And clearly her two jokes go to. Jokes were like I'm gonna fire my team and oh, the crowd, you should joke in about how the crowd wasn't cheering for her right, and like I get that they're not everyone's cup of tea, but like calling her ungracious and saying like she was being entitled and stuff. I was like okay, we gotta get people a little bit of grace, just like. Just like gotta get people a little bit of grace here.

Speaker 3:

I'd say things get a lot simpler once you like. Disengage with Twitter, because there are some truly wild takes. This US Open that like was just like not. There is this one. You know they had a great graphic. I don't know if you know, but like every American woman who won the US Open since the year 2000 has been a black woman. So Venus.

Speaker 1:

Venus, five million. Oh, and then someone was mad that Naomi wasn't included in that, even though the graphic clearly said American women, Somebody?

Speaker 3:

was like somebody posted an image of Naomi in front of like the scoreboard and they're like quick, what's that flag next to her name? Yeah, you know, and it was just like, but you know it wasn't even in good faith, because people explained it and the person in the pair. But there was like, and especially during the climate, protesters like that.

Speaker 1:

Can we talk about how Coco handled that? Yeah, she was perfect. And I will say I totally agree with what they're protesting. Sure, I wish it wasn't during my match.

Speaker 5:

That is what I thought she was going to say and everyone was like so mad on her behalf and I was like I feel like Coco is going to get this.

Speaker 3:

I believe in climate change. It's hot, is that?

Speaker 5:

how it was, but the anger that people had on her behalf.

Speaker 1:

Which it goes back to how we infantilize women athletes, sometimes right, like even if we're fans of them, right.

Speaker 5:

I mean, I get the historical worries that people have about, like black women in the sport and being disrespected and blah, blah, like that all makes so much sense to me, like I get the emotion, but at the same time it was like this is clearly more complicated than the just they weren't doing this to Coco. But yeah, she is so good in front of the media just in a way that is stunning for her age. For all of it, Just she is spectacular. It's so fun that she is the champion.

Speaker 3:

This is one of my favorite things about this, like rising generation of black American tennis stars and not even black American tennis stars, but their relationships with each other and the way and the ease they have about like literally just being themselves, and they are so aware of the space that they now can occupy where they don't have to walk on eggshells. And there's my I would say my two favorite things from it is this one quote when Coco was making fun of Francis's like shirt and which you know warranted Right she was like it's confetti, it looks like confetti. And then also talking about Ben's and when a reporter asked Francis about it, he was like she's on that light skin energy which was just like my favorite quote and then only matched by every black person watching this trying to figure out why Leon was in Coco's family box, and it was very clearly-.

Speaker 5:

Anyone ever figured out?

Speaker 3:

No, it's a mystery. Reddit has been on it and it's so like. The going idea is like maybe his kids play tennis with that. Like he likes tennis, I don't know.

Speaker 5:

Like why? Who Leon he's From Cool Runnings? He's an actor in Cool Runnings. He was, the like, main driver for the Cool Runnings.

Speaker 3:

So it was one of these cases that they were like I did not recognize him.

Speaker 1:

I didn't I missed this word.

Speaker 3:

Well, they were like this is clearly a case of black famous because they never, like mentioned him. But everybody like it was the funniest thing. It was like Joel a Dean Benton, like everybody on my timeline was like, why is Leon there? They're like, and somebody was like I wish there was a black reporter who could ask Coco, why is Leon in your box? And it was like a mystery running from, I would say, the semis on. And then after the finals everybody was like, so like, did we solve the mystery? Like, why is Leon there? And that was also one of my favorite things.

Speaker 3:

But I just like I don't know the energy coming from Coco and Francis and Ben and like I don't like Taylor Townsend's back and looking great, like I'm just thrilled. I'm thrilled and I know that when we left New York last year it was absolutely the end of an era in this kind of farewell to Serena, and it was when we were watching this year. I remember saying like I can't imagine, like we couldn't imagine at the start of this, how they were gonna fill that void or that space narratively, optically, like all of it. And yet I love this tournament. It brought me back to tennis and I have to say that's a testament, because the other slams this year. I was like, oh, what's happening?

Speaker 5:

Yeah, same. Actually I didn't really. I was in a connected.

Speaker 3:

And I felt like this kind of brought me back in.

Speaker 1:

So I watched every set, like every second of this tournament, almost like it was ridiculous how much I watched at this tournament. But it was a good one and I think, yeah, tennis is in great hands. What do we think is next for Coco?

Speaker 5:

Australia. I mean, it's interesting the way that the grants lambs line up so that you go from a hardcore to a hardcore. Everyone, please expect more climate protests. It's just gonna be 120 degrees Fahrenheit in Australia. But yeah, I, you know, Naomi did that when she won the US Open, went on to win the Australia.

Speaker 1:

Both times yeah.

Speaker 5:

Because of you you're on the same kind of court. So she and she really did come into her own on the hard court this summer.

Speaker 1:

So speaking of Naomi Naomi's back in Australia.

Speaker 3:

Naomi showed up at this tournament. This is radiant, glowing Radiant.

Speaker 1:

My friend Ben Rothenberg has a biography. Shout out to Ben, pre-order the Naomi Osaka biography. He's worked really hard on it but yes, and Naomi will be back. I just think women's tennis is just in such a good place.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I love the power of the head.

Speaker 1:

So Zabelinka made this semi-finals. She's the number one and she absolutely deserves to be world number one, Ega will come back. Ega will be of course Ega is so good. Rybakken is still there and around Alms is still gonna be fighting to get her.

Speaker 5:

We saw Maddie play like the best game of tennis she has ever played.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and I watched an hour and a half of. What's her name? Kastina? I can never say her name, Cass Katina.

Speaker 5:

Cass Katina yeah.

Speaker 3:

Of her vlog cause you know my other. When she promote her vlog she's like subscribe and I was like I will subscribe. I did too, and I have what her? I just shout out Her US Open vlog is an hour and a half. It's wonderful. There's great cameos. Jesse Pugler's dry humor come through.

Speaker 1:

Oh, jesse Pugler, we should have mentioned her. Yeah, of course.

Speaker 5:

And Cocoa and Jesse are number one in doubles, so like yes.

Speaker 3:

The number one in doubles, she's Cocoa's now number three. I mean like talk about a bright ass future, it's a bright ass now, like the world is hot, everything low fire, everything's going to shit, but Cocoa great, just women's tennis is, and women's tennis feels like it's.

Speaker 1:

For years. It felt exciting in a way of you didn't know who could win. It's like, literally, you might not know them. Do you want? To make it? Yes, literally, but right now I feel like it's like really big names competing for the big trophies and you don't know who's going to win, because they're all so good and that's an exciting way to feel.

Speaker 5:

And I'll just say that once again, the women's three sets are far superior to the men's five.

Speaker 1:

I just think that's Because that's second set.

Speaker 5:

Towards the end of that second set, you've got to come out the gate, you've got to come out the gate ready to win a match, or you've got to come back hard and fast, and I just once again watching Coco do that. The three sets are everything Brenda can't shout out to the brand. At some point she was watching some men's match and the entire text was these men's matches are too long.

Speaker 4:

That was just too long.

Speaker 5:

And I was like yep, these women.

Speaker 1:

And we have to see it on display in that final Yep. They don't tune into men's matches until the third set. Basically All right, jess and Amira, this has been a pleasure. I cannot think of a better way to have Gus over Coco's win than with you two. I love you very much. Where can people follow you? Do you have any plugs?

Speaker 5:

Don't be a mother. I don't know Jessica W Luther on the things kind of there All right.

Speaker 1:

All right, I'm just. It was a generous question.

Speaker 5:

That was a very nice thing to ask us. Please don't fight me, please don't fight me.

Speaker 3:

I didn't even tell you the worst part about my celebration. When Coco won, I was so excited that I shot my hands up and caught my hands in my fan, and so I was cheering like this. My finger started to swell it's not bad anymore, but it started to swell and I was like I'm ignoring, I'm ignoring and I was like cheering and crying.

Speaker 1:

So you injured yourself during the Coco Golf match.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I put a bag of frozen smoothie on my finger and I was holding it and running around the house screaming and crying and Samari and her friend were like. And Samari turned to her friend was like my mom gets very into sports.

Speaker 5:

I love that we have the same experience with our children during this event.

Speaker 1:

I love how you just got past this on your sports. Love onto your children.

Speaker 3:

Well, no, then I will well credit to Samari, because at two in the morning she sent me a Hamilton behind the scenes clip where somebody said what do you think about Coco Golf? And the Hamilton people said she's only 19, but her mind is older, which is a very specific group of people who will appreciate that. And so that was our crossover episode, because I really said that.

Speaker 1:

And with that we're out.

Speaker 3:

Don't you miss us.

Speaker 1:

Hello, hello, hello. Lindsey, back here with you with one of my other favorite people. This episode is full of my favorite people, as I've probably said a hundred times by now, but joining me now is Howard Magdal, the founder and editor of the Next and the Nine. Howard, thank you for making your Power Place podcast debut.

Speaker 4:

I am so excited to be here. I am also president of the Lindsey Gibbs fan club. I think it's important to note that.

Speaker 1:

I appreciate that and it makes me very uncomfortable. So, moving on very quickly, because we have a lot to talk about, because it is WNBA playoff time. Last week we had the seeds were finally set. So in last week's podcast, maggie and I talked through all the potentials for this week and I gotta admit there were a couple of surprises for me. The sparks we talked about the sparks maybe being out because of their. They had a tough schedule this week, but they did end up on the outside of the playoff looking in the sky got it instead. The links had about, by my count, a million opportunities to clinch the fifth seed. It never did. Is that more or less correct?

Speaker 4:

And I kept your math and, yes, you are correct.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so, because I knew they had a chance to clinch it before last week's podcast. And then somehow we went through a whole another week and here they are as the sixth seed, which means they face Connecticut instead of the Dallas wings, which this is not meant to be disrespectful to the Dallas wings, it's just the truth. That's a big difference. That's a big big difference. I would say, well, maybe we get into preview, maybe you have a hotter take than me about that.

Speaker 1:

Maybe you do. Oh, stay tuned. So here are our matchups. We have got the number one versus number eight matchup is the Las Vegas Aces versus the Chicago Sky. The two versus seven, which is the one I feel like we might talk about the most here is the New York Liberty versus the Washington Mystics, who lost that in that six seven battle to the dream. The dream actually moved all the way up to number five, which I definitely did not see coming. But anyways, three versus six, as we mentioned, sun versus links, four versus five, wings versus dream. The schedule will be sun versus links will kick off the playoffs, tip off the playoffs. I always say kick off, but you all know what I mean. Wednesday at 8 pm Eastern, followed by Aces versus Sky, wednesday at 10 pm Eastern, and then the Liberty versus Mystics will be Friday at 7 30 pm. Wings versus Dream will be Friday 9 30 pm. This is quite a.

Speaker 1:

The first round is pretty spread out and I'm sure it's for TV purposes, but it's a little weirdly spread out over a full week almost for three games. So Howard, first off. I got a couple of questions before we get into the actual previewing of the games. My first is one of the big contras, not con, I don't know. Points of contention is the way this first round is structured. So this is our second year in this playoff system configuration of having the first round be best of three, the semifinals and finals be best of five. Here it goes that the home team has the first two games and then the road team, the lower seed, gets game three. How do you feel about that configuration and is that fair or unfair to the home court advantage? People.

Speaker 4:

In my time covering the lead, there have been a number of different playoff configurations. I think this is the best one there's been. I understand the concerns. They're all trade-offs when you're trying to figure out what do you do to give the higher seed an advantage. To me, when this used to be a one and done game for the three and the four, after five through eight, or battling through these one game playoffs to the death, this seems more appropriate to me.

Speaker 4:

I know that the down side is if you lose one of your first two home games, you've got to play an elimination game on the road here in round one. But it also gives you the opportunity. You are the higher seed, you have the opportunity to take care of business, to win two games at home in a row and if you haven't, you face a little bit of a challenge, but you're still not knocked out of the playoff. So that balance feels in sync to me, even though, yeah, I guess in theory, having one one one would be fairer to the higher seed to give you an opportunity to win a winner. Take all game at home. The travel on that is so significant.

Speaker 1:

How many caveats to the charter schedule do you think there would be then? There would be approximately 100 asterisks.

Speaker 4:

And even if you had that everyone charter, you're still asking people to fly there and back and back. It's still a lot. So I don't think there's a perfect system that exists, but I do think this is the best system the WNBA has had playoff wise ever in terms of eliminating randomness, which is what I think you really want to do when that scenario.

Speaker 1:

Another thing I want to bring up is I just want us to take a moment and almost have a little bit time for the gosh I can't remember who they are the fever and the sparks and the storm and the mercury. Thank you. Any players from those teams you want to give a shout out to? And why should we start with Shook Sutton?

Speaker 4:

Well Shook Sutton always Sure, but you know, to me.

Speaker 4:

I see a lot of promising moments, especially out of LA and particularly out of Indiana. I think if you ask the coaches around this lead, indiana is one of the eight best teams now. They got off to a terrible start. We're able to overcome the math, but the Indiana fever. You add the fact that there's a lottery pick coming to that team and that is very significant. And in the same way, you look at LA. Well, la is in a great situation now.

Speaker 4:

Over the weekend we saw a number of the key guards sign extensions to stay in the home. So what does that mean? Well, now Jordan Canada jumps up the list. And Jordan Canada who is my most improved player this year, although that was a challenge, and there were quite a few. You know a lot of Smith and David Evans, and you know I still put Jordan Canada at the top of that list. Well, jordan is very happy there. Jordan is a California product and so LA is in a scenario where they can potentially keep Jordan and lottery pick. You know, see what you can do in free agency, even though it's more limited, but they're in a very good position to me going into 2024. And the storm and the mercury will also be going into 2024.

Speaker 1:

That is true, they will. Those are two teams that will be playing. Although the storm, the storm got the best news they could have possibly gotten this week. They were able to extend jewel Lloyd for two seasons, which is huge news and, I think, a credit to the ownership group there, because Jewel had made it very clear she was looking into see what ownership groups were doing. She there was pretty legitimate noise that she was going to possibly be looking at the sky. That's her hometown team. Her mother is courtside for every sky game. So there's a lot of reasons that you know that could have been a nice place to go. They got Dwayne Wade. I know Dwayne Wade was trying to recruit her a little bit I'm sure not in any tampering way, but but anyways, I think that's a big deal. I don't think we know it's a big deal that the storm.

Speaker 5:

The storm.

Speaker 1:

And they've still got Eze, Magda or it's just. What are they? What are they doing with that team? I'm not quite sure outside of that.

Speaker 4:

And again, you keep jewel Lloyd, whenever you have the opportunity, one of the stars in this game, and you're right, it is a huge endorsement for what they're doing. The question is can you add a lottery pick, which they'll get this year to, to what Eze brings to a jewel brains? Is that going to be enough? Can you build around them? Is there a pathway? People I talked to around the leader split this week. Some people say you know, yeah, I get why jewel Lloyd signed there. They're not as far away as you think.

Speaker 4:

I had some others who said you know, I'm really surprised that jewel made this decision before even testing the waters. And so you know, listen, time will tell ultimately about that choice. We certainly know that jewel is an iconic player of this generation, as is Gwen, an iconic presence on the sidelines from this generation. Shout out, mama Lloyd. But it will be fascinating to see how Seattle gets there. You never know. But to me the pathway to how LA gets there is pretty clear, and how Indiana gets there is extremely clear, although it would have been even clearer had Indiana, for instance, been able to get a jewel Lloyd or a Caliocopper you know, who resigned in Chicago. That was a very big deal for the sky.

Speaker 1:

The sky got a very big deal with Cleo Copper resigned. Liberty got a really big deal with Benizolani's extension, so definitely A bargain to boot, as it relates to Benizolani.

Speaker 4:

She signed for approximately $25,000 less depending on what year you talk about in this two year extension than she was making currently. A real endorsement of the idea that New York is going to be able to keep this team together which doesn't matter, just with the Mercury.

Speaker 1:

I just the Shug Sudden Story was one of my favorites of the year. The Mercury seemed to well. I guess they give a lot of players some opportunities to shine with all the injuries they've had and all the roster troubles they've had, but I'm really was excited to see she became the first Mercury player to ever get a triple double, which is just amazing. And she was the last pick in the 2021 draft, I believe. And she played a little bit for the Mystics there's no, it must have been 2020, because she played a little bit for the Mystics during the COVID year, during in the bubble, and then was basically out of the league for a couple of years and then came back.

Speaker 4:

So a fun story Again. Another Karen Aston product. Yeah, into a better than expected WNBA player. These things don't happen by accident in the same way that we had, you know, 20 years of. Oh, another C Vivian Stringer player was better than expected. You know, it just happened again and again and you can trace it back to roots and see there are some coaches who prepared their players for the pros. Karen Aston's one of them. She should have a power five job yesterday.

Speaker 1:

All right. Well we, I brought you here to preview the playoffs, so 13 minutes into our conversation, do you want to preview the playoffs? Let's talk. I'm just going to go in order. Seed wise, right, so let's talk. One V eight aces versus sky. Aces have a three and oh record against the sky. To me, the only way the sky have even a tiny chance of getting this as if their three guards play out of their minds and their that that is a possibility. The three players that play off of the playoffs and the three players that play off of the playoffs Lea copper, marina Maverick and Courtney Williams are three players who love the spotlight, who thrive in big games. I mean, we've seen playoff Courtney Williams before, we've seen playoff Lea copper before and I believe a playoff Marina Maverick exists.

Speaker 4:

If I've ever believed anything in my life, I believe that we know it from college. Yeah, we know what, based on the state.

Speaker 1:

But look, I love Elizabeth Williams. Alana Smith, if I had a vote, would have been my most improved player, just because of what I value. That's just totally a value call versus how you see the award. I don't think there's a wrong answer this year. But they're going to have their hands full in the post, so as much as they're going to be hanging on for dear life down there. So it's going to come down to these guards and Dana Evans off the bench. I don't think they're going to get a game. What are your thoughts on that? And if they do, it would be because that impressive guard trio shows up and the aces have one of these off shooting nights where they don't have their legs like they've had over the past couple weeks.

Speaker 4:

They have. And again it goes back to how energized are the Las Vegas aces right now? How much do they have left in the tank? Becky Hammond has made the decision once again to play with a short rotation all season. It didn't come back to bite them last year, I would argue, in part because their talent level was so much further ahead of the rest of the lead they were able to get away with it rather than that being a good plan. But there's been a doubling down on that and it's happened during the season, and there is a contender who was arguably as talented.

Speaker 4:

One through five, that's real close, but indisputably deeper. Six through eleven, and I think that is a problem. I don't expect it to be a problem here in round one. But to your point, listen, I'm old enough to have covered Christie Tull. We're hitting nine threes in Madison Square Garden to beat Liberty. I mean a team, I mean we both remember so like that was an example of why, geez, let's not have a one and done three posting at home. Could you have a scenario where that happens for one of the first two games in Vegas and suddenly we've got a winner take all at Win Trust Arena? Very possibly the Chicago sky have rallied late in a way that I listen. I think we both thought there was a good chance that LA was gonna overtake them, as LA got healthy. The problem is, la never really did get healthy.

Speaker 1:

No, their rotation got shorter and shorter. They were playing with seven towards the end of the season as well, and and they had a tougher, as Maggie and I talked about last week they did have the tougher schedule this week than the sky and I think they had a game, yeah just a brief detour like a shout out to anyone.

Speaker 4:

Anyone who has opportunity to hire Maggie Hendricks, hire Maggie Hendricks, please. That was our.

Speaker 1:

That was our rallying cry last week and I will refresh it again. Hire Maggie Hendricks.

Speaker 1:

Go back and listen to our preview last week of this week because it was. We were right on on everything. So hire Maggie Hendricks. You know not to toot our own horns, but let's do it.

Speaker 1:

Liberty vs Mystics they are tied two and two. One of the losses the Mystics had was in overtime, so you know really close. They beat the Liberty on Sunday in one of the coolest buzzer beaters. You'll see just a perfectly executed inbound lob pass to Britney Sykes who shot over Brianna Stewart, which is hard to do. Not many can pull that off and allow the Mystics to win by two. Mystics technically had nothing on the line in that game. There they were seven seed, no matter what. The Liberty technically were still in the battle for the number one seed. But anyways, what are your thoughts? Do you think that this is as blockbuster of a matchup as it seems on paper? Or are the Liberty, with all of their depth, with all of their star power, with it being playoff time, with them being in front of a sold-out crowd, are they just going to turn it up a notch and obliterate the Mystics?

Speaker 4:

obliterate the Mystics. No, I think that's hard to do. I think this Mystics team is built to, if healthy challenge. Now, this is the idea behind how Mike Tebow has built them. You know they've built for several years around the idea that, look, if you have a healthy Elena Deledon come playoff time, that gives you a puncher's chance to win it all. Yeah, I think that is a perfectly reasonable way to come into the playoffs now. Shakira Austin not being available is a huge, huge loss. I think we're having a different conversation if you can throw Shakira Austin at John Cole Jones and try and neutralize what JJ does in the paint as well. To be clear.

Speaker 1:

We don't know officially Shakira Austin is gonna play this week. She re-aggravated her hip injury and the Mystics, I know, you know they see her as a very, very long-term and important piece of their franchise and as much as they're gonna want to push the envelope for a playoff game, as much as I know she'll want to put push the envelope for the playoff game, all signs are that they are going to be careful and think long-term with her, as they should, especially when you've got a re-aggravation of an injury. Right like you don't want to come back too soon from that, but she hasn't been officially ruled out in that game. They are lucky that game is not until Friday night, so that gives them extra time to get her ready. So just we, at the time of recording this, we do not know Shakira Austin status, but I, I I will be surprised if we see her. I'll be honest.

Speaker 4:

I would as well. You certainly hope to see her back. You certainly hope more than that that she's healthy, because that's what really matters at the end of the day. But I think without having her to be able to bang inside, I think it's very difficult for the Mystics to keep up with what the Liberty can do. You know, the phrase I've used with the Liberty repeatedly is they've got this Noah's Ark roster, and what I mean is they've got two of everything, and the reason why that matters so much come playoff time is if player X is unavailable to do something or is ineffective in a given night, player Y is available there to do it. Exactly if Sabrina UNESCO is not hitting threes, courtney Vanersloot is around to hit threes, but Nigel Laney is not taking advantage of the fact that defenses have to overplay the four other starters in that line of Kayla Thornton's man would come off the bench and do that while defending multiple positions, the way Laney does as well.

Speaker 4:

It really blows my mind to look at the level of talent that they have. The idea the Marine Johannes is what. The fourth guard on this team is incredible as well, and so when you're talking about a short series, things can happen. The Mystics. Listen, elena goes out there and goes for 40 at Barclays and they steal a game would not surprise anyone. This is what Elena has been working so hard to get to Elena to get back to the playoffs, to be in a position and that chip right there for her. But we also have a lifetime of Brianna Stewart finding another level and elevating her teammates to another level in a way that, frankly, I don't think we've seen in this league since to make the catchings, and so, from that perspective, I think there's a non-zero chance that we see a game three at ESA, where the Mystics play. I still could see the Liberty come down and do that as well, but my goodness, would that be a fun one.

Speaker 1:

That would be fun and I will say the Mystics they don't have. This is that they're like the beelis Liberty almost in that they do have. They do have backups and that's how they've still we're still able to get in the playoffs, right, like Tiana Hawkins can do a good Elena Deladon impression at times, like my Asia Heinz Allen, gay John Qual Jones, a run for her physicality money on Sunday. Right, you do have these Mystics had 24 bench points against the Liberty on Sunday. They're gonna need that. Right, every single bench player came in. You've got Shatori Walker Kimbro can do a great Aero Lackens impression.

Speaker 1:

Right, like, like on defense I mean, it's not quite the level of the Liberty, right, but they do have these other players. They're gonna need all those bench points, although of course, sunday was a light. It was a bigger rotation because they weren't trying to play everyone too much. But you're gonna leave. Need mom coming off the bench and scoring three, three or four threes, because Marine Johannes is gonna do that. Right, you're gonna need to match player for player. But listen, it's, it's at the very least. It's legitimately intriguing for a first round series, for two versus seven.

Speaker 4:

It's a legitimately intriguing series it is incredibly intriguing and again to your point about this to be able to build depth in the WNBA while having star power. Given the realities of the tap, it's extraordinarily difficult, and that's again why you know to me Jonathan Cole was executive of the year for what he did in New York, but I, this young, up-and-coming GM in Washington, might I? Guess they bought the box, the box, I don't know yeah, whoever he is, I think she's got a real future in the league.

Speaker 1:

Yeah and we didn't mention Natasha Cloud's name, so I'm just gonna mention her name, natasha cloud, who did you see her wave to the crowd after the Britney Sykes shot.

Speaker 4:

I mean listen, if there's a more entertaining player to watch in this league than Natasha cloud, I'd be surprised. And it does worth. It is worth pointing out that she finds another level come play out. And we forgot to also mention Britney Sykes as well.

Speaker 1:

We mentioned her with the law, but they are too. I would say they're probably the best guard defensive guard duo in the league right now and that's in the liberty or close to it. But I think the mystics when defense.

Speaker 4:

I know, I think they do, and Britney Sykes is in the MIP conversation too and I will say you know, look, I've had the privilege of covering Britney Sykes and she was at Syracuse, you know, the pride of Newark, new Jersey. She is somebody who has elevated her game, I would argue, three different times since getting to the WNBA. And to do that with a history of two ACL tears in her career, it just it boggles the mind. She has.

Speaker 1:

She was brought in to be a basically a good role-player right, a starting role player, do you what I mean?

Speaker 4:

and she has dragged this mystics team into the playoffs she was better than that knew where people who said, geez, she's being paid like a featured player and she's just gonna be this solid, they're not it they're not even in the playoffs without her.

Speaker 1:

They're not even in the playoffs without her period all right, we have two other series.

Speaker 1:

Let's keep going. Sun vs Lynx, the one I'm the most kind of don't know what to say about. I don't think I really caught any of their games this season or that I can remember three versus it's three to one Sun. I think the obvious headline here is two MVP candidates, alyssa Thomas versus Nafisa Collier, although a fee is not not quite on the level as AT this year, but what? You seem to have interesting thoughts on this. What are your? What are your thoughts on Sun vs Lynx?

Speaker 4:

you know it's funny I there are people who don't routinely put fee in the top 10 in this lead in terms of as an overall player, and I think it doesn't make any sense. That's really in that top 10 group and I think, under different circumstances, would have been in the MVP conversation this year. Yeah, but yeah, no, listen what what Alyssa Thomas did she has a support group that agrees on Twitter.

Speaker 1:

I don't know if you've known this.

Speaker 4:

I spend almost no time on Twitter by that.

Speaker 1:

I mean, I mean her husband who likes to?

Speaker 4:

call anyone who has not included her in the top five but the point being fee is a clear number one option for a championship team. The thing to worry about with Minnesota, I think, comes back to I'm basically there's a couple of things.

Speaker 1:

One is that they figured out a way to run the offense around Lindsay Allen and then they lost Lindsay Allen, which is so sad because like to see a player six, seven years into their career all of a sudden find a spot right, find a starting spot that's solid. And I didn't see that, like I didn't see that coming her, like reemergence is season, and then to have it end like this you know another up-and-coming younger executive since when has she known more than me?

Speaker 4:

but they started all in six and it clearly figured out a way to be not just a playoff team but a dangerous playoff team and again go back to like. There are people who would say, oh, indiana's lottery team, they beat him by 15. What a terrible loss that is. Chris decides has that team playing extremely well? I don't think that's a bad loss. It does come back to do. We think Minnesota can come in and steal a game in Connecticut.

Speaker 4:

Well, if they can, you know this you go to the Target Center for a winter. Take all those Lynch fans are and I mean this in like a positive, respectful way like crazy as hell, like they're just gonna go like turn that building into an absolute place of beggin for a winter. Take all a day and the Sun. Do not want to be in that situation. You do not want to be in a situation where you got the home crowd behind you where potentially, feet can go out and win a game by herself. Diamond Miller, pride of Somerset in New Jersey, could possibly go out and do it and Taylor McBride, who is playing as well as she ever has in this league, you know, has somehow found a way and I believe it's your 10th year in the league to reach another level and she also got extended.

Speaker 1:

I didn't mention her when I was saying guards guys, senate. Yeah well, I own Minnesota said it was a breaking news conference, they they were having that's fair, I think.

Speaker 4:

That's reason why I think it was. You know, is she the second most important player on that team, arguably, arguably, and then you know, I know who's your second most important player on that list too, I mean it's diamond. Diamond is great, diamond is important. I'm just saying.

Speaker 1:

Arguably. That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 4:

I think it's arguable between those Part of the way that team operates on the day-in, day-out basis. Taylor is the reason, to my mind, or a reason why diamonds has had as easy an adjustment as she has, and I'll go to UMass has been a critical part of that and they'd be the first to tell you that. So I thought it was not at the level news-wise of like, if Prowl retired, that would have been like, oh my God, like we would have had a podcast at Lockdown with these basketball it would have been a whole thing. But no, I thought that was pretty important and you put Taylor and Fee in a scenario of a winter take-all game. I'm just saying Connecticut better take care of business.

Speaker 1:

Well, and I would say Minnesota is streaky. It's a very, very tricky shooter and that means that that's that sounds like a negative but it can mean a very big positive if they get going. You know you've got Rachel Bannum coming off the bench who once she starts hitting, there's no stopping it. You know you. I mean you've got some. If they find that gear, which I just think their fumbles this last week worry me a little bit, the fumbles of not being able to get that, that five seed don't do, worry me a bit. But I would pick the sun and two there.

Speaker 1:

But betting against the Cheryl Reeve team has definitely come back to bite me in the bottom before. So all right, the final one is our four, our surprising four versus five, matchup, the wings versus the dream, two of the younger teams in the league, kind of most exciting, yet erratic, I think, the way I would put it. We would put it the wings, surprisingly, I think, have like a three and oh, went record against the dream this season, which I was surprised to find out. What's our take on this one?

Speaker 4:

I am going to go a little bit different direction from where you were talking about, where you were saying you know, clearly there's this major step down after Connecticut, heading into Dallas, and I see it a little bit differently. I see Connecticut and Dallas as essentially three A and three B If you go back net rating, and by net rating, connecticut's a plus four point four on the season, dallas is a plus three point five on the season. They are neck and neck. Atlanta is actually a minus one point eight on the season. And while they, in the same way, atlanta and Minnesota are basically the two that have moved my needle the most over the last couple of weeks. Minnesota in that negative way, like you said, not being able to go and secure that five seed, and Atlanta, quite the opposite, being able to figure out some of their offensive limitations that really hurt the monologist and really put them in a position to have to win late and doing a great job of, let's say, writing the ship going into the playoffs. But Dallas, to me that's a team that beat Connecticut, that's a team that beat Las Vegas and that's a team that beat New York as well. Dallas has a ceiling where you come in and you say, geez, all it takes is one road win in any of these series and you can suddenly turn things around. If you're Dallas heading into the semifinals and that's not a given, because Atlanta is going to be tough and it's a real challenge and Dallas has some losses they shouldn't have had either you still have an opportunity if you're the Dallas wins when you get to those semifinals, to really make some noise.

Speaker 4:

But I think literature travels done an incredible job here in year one. I think LT will have them ready to play. I think you know Arike is going to be ready for the playoffs. Natasha Howard and this is not a coincidence had won a lot of WNBA playoff games everywhere. She's been Everywhere she's been, even when she was like a bench player for Tamika Caction's Indiana Fever back in the day. So there is a lot of talent there and that is a team. Quite frankly, you can bring Maddie Segerist off the bench and Maddie Segerist could bury three or four. Three.

Speaker 1:

The next columnist Maddie Segerist.

Speaker 4:

Yes, exactly, she's at the nine and we'll have that this week.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I'm sorry.

Speaker 4:

At the nine newsletter. Maddie will be talking this Wednesday about getting ready for the playoffs. On the diary she's been doing there all year but it is. It is a sign of the kind of depth you know. Greg Bibb gets a lot of grief from a lot of people over some of the the move he has, her conversations through the years, but it's hard to argue with the team that he's put together here as very dangerous. If Dallas ends up winning a series, it shouldn't shock anyone. They're the favorite. If Dallas ends up winning two series, it shouldn't shock anyone. Surprise yes, shock no.

Speaker 1:

I would, I would, I would agree with that. I think them being at home is so key for them. They've really built a really great fan base there. I don't know that. I love their. Their erraticness, I think, shows up much more on the road. But we also have to mention the name that I know a lot of people are going to vote for for most improve. So, too, sobly is also on that team and rumor has it she's pretty good.

Speaker 4:

She was on my own WNBA first. Yeah, wow, yeah, that's good. I think she has gotten to it.

Speaker 1:

I'm with you that I think she's that good and I'm not surprised she's that good, which is why she wouldn't have been my most improved pick. That's the problem, it's just.

Speaker 4:

she's just finally healthy for a second A couple of weeks ago. Or she had 40 points on 19 shots from the field. I mean, that's crazy. They should, they should come up with some sort of mythical animal that is unrepeated. You know I've been a really unique animal and use that as a nickname for her. I don't know what you would call it, unicorn.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that sounds about right. One of my favorite tweets of the year was when she had the bump coming out of her forehead and she said it's just the unicorns just inside me. Anyways, I I think I referred to, you know, a Rique Natasha Institute is the big three in the very first power plays newsletter about the WNBA this season and I think I stick by that and I don't think that's the three of them are going to be a problem in the playoffs and I don't think Atlanta is ready for it.

Speaker 4:

I think Atlanta little immature. Sorry to make the playoffs this year.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 4:

I will experience. I'm a big believer in what Tanisha right and Dan Pat over are building in Atlanta, but there's there's more work to do and I suspect I suspect they feel the same way.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely All right. Well, howard, how can people follow all of your work? Please just up just women's sports work for now, please. You know Howard also does baseball stuff, but we will. We will leave that for another podcast and women's baseball. We'll leave that for you.

Speaker 4:

But go to the next to stop calm and check out what we do. We're over over a hundred reported pieces every single month. We have a pipeline of incredible writers who have gone on to everywhere from the athletic to sports illustrated to the power place podcast. We also over at the nine T H E I X sports as entitled nine the nine sports dot com, we go across six different sports women's soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics. We're going to have incredible coverage there all week as well, and we just have it's up right now.

Speaker 4:

I just got to shout it out Michelle Smith, special to the nine to the story on girls fled football in California high schools. It was just incredible. She was there to take us inside the first day of it as a as a varsity sport. So those are the ways that I would go and do it. Make sure you follow both and if you can subscribe, the subscriptions mean everything because so many of you have stepped up to subscribe to the next to stop calm, I can send my reporters on the road here in the playoffs and we've got somebody for every team.

Speaker 1:

That's so incredible Congratulations. Thanks so much for listening to the power place podcast. See you all next week.