Chasing the W
Women’s basketball, rec-league energy, and real talk. Hosted by two hoop-obsessed friends who met in a PRIDE rec league, this podcast dives into everything happening in women’s sports — with women’s basketball at the center. We break down games, talk culture, share stories from the court, and celebrate the players and communities pushing the game forward. Come for the hoops, stay for the banter.
Chasing the W
Chasing Our Comeback
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On this week's episode, Amanda and Bonnie feel TERRIBLY for being away for so long but it's summer, baby -- and they're just girls.
The gang covers everything going on around the W, All-Star Weekend, Seafoam Spotlight and a very very cool Overtime with Bonnie.
Welcome back to another episode of Chasing the W. I'm Amanda.
BonnieI'm Bonnie. You guys, it's been a really fucking long time.
AmandaSorry, listeners. Honestly, it's not for lack of trying. We literally recorded an episode at the end of June, early July, and then the audio was all kinds of fucked up, and it was kind of my tattooed reason. Yeah.
BonnieDidn't want us to put it out.
AmandaIt was actually me. I was the problem. Bonnie sounded really crystal queer.
BonnieWe should say happy pride though.
AmandaYeah.
BonnieHappy belated. Happy, happy pride.
AmandaHappy uh happy birthday, Brenda.
BonnieHappy birthday, Brenda.
AmandaIt's almost Eliza's birthday. It's not her birthday yet though, so yeah. Happy birthday, Brenda.
BonnieIt's been a busy month.
AmandaYeah, I feel like we've been kind of all over the place. Physically. I've been all over the place. Mentally. Just everywhere. Where you been, Loca? What have you been up to?
BonnieI don't even know. I don't even know. I feel like, did I talk about how I went to Seattle? No, you were in Seattle. Went to Seattle, went to San Diego, went to North Carolina. Oh my god, that's right. You were there too. Jesus. You've been all over the country. Yeah. What about you?
AmandaYou've been places. I only Oh, that's true. I was like, I've only been to Atlanta. No, but I was in Virginia too. Yeah. I forgot. Virginia counts. Virginia does count. I've visited the South this summer. Yep. Below the Mason Dixon. Across the Mason Dixon. Yeah. It's crazy.
SPEAKER_06Crazy, crazy stuff.
AmandaAnd I started a new job. So there's that. Congrats. Thanks. Say it, listeners. I love capitalism. But yeah, that's what that's what we've been up to. Bonnie brought worms in the teeniest, tiniest little tupperware. It's so cute. Well, actually, it's not actually worms. It's butterflies. And butterflies. Oh, I guess there are some worms and some flowers. So we've got a lot of shapes, but don't worry, there are no octopi. We're anti-octopi. Yeah. Octophobic in this house.
BonnieI've had so many, but they're just staring at me. They're just so good. And I'm not even a gummy. Shout out to Albanese. They're not a sponsor yet. Not yet, but I mean, they're the best gummies. We literally eat them every time we buy them. I feel like people really love Haribo. Haribo? Haribo. Oh yeah.
AmandaBut I think Albanese is better. I haven't had haribo in a really long time, but I feel like the last time I had them, they were really stale. But I always think about they had this commercial where it was like a bunch of kids at a boardroom table. And they were like the ones in charge or something. And I was like, well, no wonder they're not successful. It's a bunch of fucking kids running that business.
BonnieSo yeah. You can't put the kids in charge.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
AmandaOkay, well, we have quite a bit to catch up on. And of course, it's been so long we can't possibly cover everything, but there are a lot of things that we need to get to today. So just a quick rundown.
BonnieIf we miss anything, oh yeah, listeners, leave it in the comments and we'll bring it up next time.
AmandaIt's true. I told I've been told that we've been starving the fans. So we're back. And we're not gonna take that big of a break again. Maybe. Probably not.
BonnieIt was just a one-time yeah.
AmandaIt was, you know, life was like summer break. Yeah. Okay. So today we're gonna cover around the W. We're gonna cover a bunch of different shit that's been happening. Then we're gonna do an all-star weekend recap, talk about our thoughts there. Not just about basketball. There was, in fact, some tea. There was a lot of drama this weekend, yeah. Actually, a lot of drama. Then we're gonna talk about honestly, probably my least favorite topic lately, the Liberty.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
AmandaAnd then we have a really cool overtime. So that will be really good.
BonnieReally, really good.
AmandaOkay, let's dive right in.
BonnieAround the W, what's been happening?
AmandaOkay, so around the W, lots going on. Lots, lots, lots, lots. We're not gonna go in chronological interpretation. Okay, so around the W. Yeah, that's too much.
SPEAKER_11I don't remember when things happen because I'm in the actual crazy. I'm chasing the screen so much.
BonnieI feel that way. The like parasocialness of everything is like it's getting a little too crazy.
SPEAKER_11Yeah, um, and we uh we have some like lighter ones we have to talk about. Let's talk about it and then have the time. So we are the armor within the post, and then it's her mama, and she didn't make it into the post and she didn't really went up and I was probably gonna show her pretty bad to create face.
AmandaShe went up and Yara's probably went down pretty bad. Whatever. When you look at her replay early and look back, we know that Yara has a history of back injuries and whatever. She went down who was the player, they tried to cut the girls that the cameras were in her face. She was caught on the mic who was Angel A. Irate. Which is I understand. She was trying to protect her place. Not great. She was caught on the mic why this is not Angel a protected. Obviously, the history of slavery in this country and racism is really not ideal, so not not really a good look to be calling a black woman a species.
BonnieCorrect. And I feel like there's two things to talk about. It's like the intent and the impact. Like the intent, and we can have Eliza speak to this because she's our resident Australian. Yeah. The intent was uh, you know, Sandy wasn't trying to be racist. A protected species is something they use uh in sports all the time in Australia. It's a it's like calling a player like a golden child or like favorite or something. But the impact is what it is, especially when you're over here in the United States and there's so much history. So you can't really separate the two.
AmandaYeah, definitely a cultural disconnect. And I'm not a white person apologist. I'm probably the least likely person to be an apologist for white people, but I do genuinely believe that that is not what she meant. And to your point, different cultures, different, different meanings for different things, and to to Sandy's uh it's not benefit, whatever. And it's not even in Sandy's defense, but whatever. She immediately apologized to her credit, maybe. Yeah, to her credit. Because she took accountability like immediately. She did, because that that's not what she meant, and I know that I know that some people are finding issue with people saying that about Sandy. I saw some discourse on Threads and on Twitter about how people didn't know that Sandy had so many defenders until this. But at the end of the day, like I don't know. I genuinely don't think that she meant it that way, but that doesn't take away from the fact that she said it and to your point the impact that it had um in that particular moment in this particular context. So I do I do feel for Sandy, but I also feel for Angel for being as young as she is and having to constantly deal with this kind of thing.
BonnieI feel like Angel's always getting hate from online trolls or fucking Caitlin Clark fans and like yeah, she's had to deal with a lot in the like she's only been in the league for what three years? Yeah, three years. And she's really carried herself beautifully. Yeah. But like she doesn't she doesn't deserve all that. I agree. And on that note, excuse me.
AmandaProducer. Eliza, do you want to say that? Do you want to share my Australian thoughts on Australian coach Sandy Rondello? Eliza?
SPEAKER_03Okay. It's me. Um no, I was just gonna basically say the same thing as Bonnie, to be honest, and we've already spoken about it. Um I definitely agree with intent and impact. I think I can speak on the intent part. The the term like protected species is used a lot in like Australian football and other Australian sports and comment like it's a very common phrase that commentators use whenever someone gets a favorable call or gets a few favorable calls, um, and it feels like they're not getting the same treatment as others, and they're like, oh well, they're a protected species, no one could could ever touch them. Um they'll never get like, you know, called for any kind of mishaps. Um so I feel like honestly, it's more akin to Caitlin Clark, because she feels like a protected species. So I feel like I like I'm I'm fine with the term, I guess, but I feel like it wasn't used in the correct way, anyways, because it was targeted at the wrong player.
AmandaYeah, like I feel like if she wasn't a black woman, yeah, we would not be having this conversation.
SPEAKER_03That is true, but even like that I just feel like she's not a protected species. I feel like Caitlin Clark is a protected species. Like regardless, like I feel like Angel gets pretty fair calls like left and right, and yeah, some others and unfair don't.
BonnieYeah, I agree. I also feel like I didn't watch this full game, but it must have taken like Sandy's a pretty level-headed coach. Like it must have taken, you know, a bunch of lead up from bad calls throughout the whole game for her to like go off like this. Like, I don't feel like she ever really blows up.
AmandaYeah, I mean, I would have to agree with that, and you know, you guys you heard it here first, the validity of the source is in the accent. Okay, that was a real accent.
BonnieSo can't fake an accent. You can't. Well, you could, but you probably wouldn't be very good at it. So anyways, Sandy got suspended for a game. She did. Do you feel like that was the right punishment?
AmandaI think it's crazy though. We're s I think they were trying to make an example out of out of Sandy, considering all the shit that Caitlin and Sophie Cunningham get away with.
BonnieBut like, make an example out of them because those fuckers are getting away with so much shit.
AmandaAnd that's exactly what I mean. And I guess honestly, from there, like we can go into our next around the W topic focused on Caitlin Clark's preferential treatment. So at this point it's old news, but everyone should at least be aware of the altercation or lack thereof between Alyssa Thomas and Caitlin Clark. The Mercury and Fever were essentially playing back-to-backs against each other. It's a lot of tension between those teams with Dewana Bonner previously playing for the fever. The TLDR is that those games are always physical, just given that context. And there was a kind of like a dog pile during one of the plays where what happened is that Alyssa Thomas ended up on top of Caitlin Clark, and then there were other players on top of Alyssa Thomas, and in trying to get up, Alyssa Thomas balled her fists to get up, which for context, she's had two torn labrums, and that's just how she has to get up because of the pain that shoots up her arm because she never got the surgery to correct the torn labrums, etc. etc. etc. But of course, the Caitlin Clark uh Confederacy and the Indiana Fever fans have turned it into honestly something that it's not, even during the game. No flagrant foul was called. No one even seemed appalled. Even Caitlin. No even regular foul was called. Yeah, even Caitlin, who is usually so fucking dramatic, like she just kept it pushing. Yeah. And so after the game, for some reason they reviewed it, they upgraded it to a flagrant to this.
BonnieThey reviewed it in slow motion. Like if they had played it in real speed, they wouldn't have noticed, I bet.
AmandaYeah. No, I mean, and that's the thing, they didn't, right? That's the whole point. They didn't notice it. And it just like kicked off this fire firestorm? Shitstorm? Fire, you know, whatever. One of those things. And all of a sudden, Congress is involved, and the fucking Republicans are worried about Caitlin Clark's safety instead of the safety of their constituents who don't have access to healthcare. So, like, you know, that's the hair there.
BonnieIt's making it like the whole Indiana team. I mean, we can keep going on about Caitlin Clark because like there's more. The fact that she's got seven tech files.
AmandaYeah. Seven technicals, one away from a one-game suspension.
BonnieI really hope that she gets it in the first two minutes of whatever next game she plays.
AmandaI'm gonna be honest, it's like it's crazy because when she got that seventh one, she was at pract the next practice and she was being interviewed by the media, and they asked her if there's anything that she's changing, like, to not get another tech to play better, and she was like, No. Like, she's so fucking arrogant. She's so arrogant, and she's not good. I hate her, she's not good.
BonnieI don't understand why, I don't know. It's like trying to understand no, it's sickness a straight Republican.
AmandaAnd we keep and we keep trying to, and not we, but the league, capitalism, the industry is trying to force feed her to us, and despite the fact that she is not even the third best player on her fucking team, for some reason, some way, somehow, she ended up on the cover of the 2K27 deluxe edition. And the caption was focused about her being dedicated to the work, despite us knowing for a fact that she has not worked on her game, she has not worked on changing her attitude. She literally needs to get in the gym. She's a fucking shrimp.
BonnieShe's a shrimp. So and she can't play defense, that's why everybody drives on her.
AmandaLike what like what message actually are we sending? Like question. It's it's fucked. It's just like, you know, it's it's what Eliza was just saying. She's a fucking protected species.
BonnieShe is. And I don't I it's so annoying that like the league keeps like making her the face. I swear to God, the commentators have to like say her name at least five times a quarter, and like even when she's not playing. Yeah, like I just don't get it. It's it's so bad. Where is the delusion happening? You know what I mean?
AmandaBut the crazy thing is, it's like I unfortunately am not surprised by the fact that you can't really debate this stuff with her fans or with fever fans because it's the same thing with Republicans. You can't it's like you see facts and they're like, that's not true. Right. Huh? Like, that makes no sense. It's just like we could literally pull her stats and compare them to at least four other people on her team, and they would still argue that she's the best player despite leading the league in turnovers.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
BonnieSo And that's why she probably didn't do the three-point contest because she's scared. Yeah. And more and more on that later. Yeah, more on that later, but just saying. Yeah.
AmandaShe sucks.
BonnieYeah, she does.
AmandaJust saying, just saying. Just saying. Okay. Kind of a lighter topic. Uh well, definitely a lighter topic. I was gonna go talk about Phoebe, but let's talk about Marina real quick. Because if Marina Mabrie has no fans, I'm dead, you're dead, Eliza's dead. We're all dead. Yeah. Brendy? Dead. Yeah, we would all be dead because she is. Man, she's just I'm honestly like this is an incredible story of character development.
BonnieAgreed.
AmandaBecause Brenda and I were not fans. We were not fans when she was uh still in Chicago.
BonnieI think maybe we weren't either. Yeah, we weren't until honestly, it was until Unrivaled.
AmandaNo, I literally was like, uh, she's kind of annoying. Uh she's kind of annoying. And then all of a sudden, I was just like, Yeah, I would kill somebody over her. Like, we can fight. Like, don't talk about my girl like that. It's crazy. Literally. So, why are we bringing her up? Because she tied the all-time uh scoring record in one game, 53 points, I believe. Bonnie, got checked me on that.
BonnieYeah, I want to see who she's tied with. I can't remember.
AmandaAsia. Oh, yeah. Definitely Asia's right. Maybe Cheryl swoops. I could be wrong. I feel like I made up Cheryl swoops.
BonnieHold on, hold on, hold on.
SPEAKER_02I'm holding.
BonnieUm you did. Liz Cambridge, but we don't have to talk about Liz. No, wait, wait, no, we're not gonna we're not gonna talk about her.
AmandaWe're gonna have to bring Eliza back in here. Yeah, that's Eliza's people. You can just cut that out. Actually, just so we're clear, Liz Ben Simmons, also Eliza's people.
BonnieI always forget that Ben Simmons is Australian.
AmandaIs he Australian? He is Australian. Yeah, he was That's Eliza's Peoples. That's her homie for real. That fucking loose.
BonnieNo, I'm not gonna I'm gonna stand up for her.
AmandaNo, don't. Her dad, her dad was a big Ben Simmons fan. But now he's not. Well he's a Philly fan. Yeah, now he's a Philly fan. LeBron James. We're not gonna talk about that here though, but just so you know.
unknownWill Smith?
AmandaUh Will Smith, Pink, Eve, uh Kevin Hart. Yes, we both claim it. We also have Quinta Brunson. Yeah.
BonnieThis is Will Smith slapped Chris Rock.
AmandaDo I think he did it?
BonnieNo, do you I saw it with my own eyes? That was fucking crazy. Listen, we're gonna talk about it, but I'm just saying. I you know, the audacity to get up from your seat, walk up on stage.
AmandaYou know what? I'm not gonna I'm not gonna question why he did it because Chris Rock was talking crazy.
BonnieHe did say something about Jane.
AmandaYeah, he was making jokes calling her G.I. Jane because she's fucking bald. God bless her though. Listen, I mean, I'm just saying, do I do I think he should have gotten up and smacked the shit out of him? No. Do I will I fault him for it? I won't. He did what he felt was right, and I'm not here to bring down a black man. Okay, I can't do it.
BonnieSo but what I will say, and Chris, you know what Chris said? The show must go on. He said, God damn.
AmandaOkay, but also we won't get into this. But I'm really, I'm really actually, you know what I will say? Do I agree with him slapping Chris Rock? No. Will I question it? Also, no. But also, why were you doing all that over Jada? Because Jada has been playing the shit out of you publicly. Has she? Yes. Like, you don't hold on. You don't remember Red Table Talk where she came to the table and it came out that she was fucking her son's best friend while being married to Will? What? August Alsina? The situation ship? No, I didn't hear I didn't I did not know this. I think that was before. No, no, no. Red Table Talk was before the slap. Listen, guys, we're not gonna get into it, but just just enjoy this. Oh my god, the entanglement. Bonnie, you don't remember the entanglement? This is what she said.
SPEAKER_09August Alcina. On Red Table Talk, she was just like, you know, August and I. We got into an entanglement. What the fuck did you mean?
AmandaLiterally those words, entanglement. No, it was actually absurd. It was the craziest shit I have ever heard. She's insane. She's actually insane.
BonnieApparently, they addressed Elcina's previous claim that Will had given him permission. Yeah. Explaining because they were separated amicably.
AmandaNo, like it's actually crazy. I cannot believe you're only just discovering this in the year of our lord 2026. We'll talk about this offline.
BonnieYeah. I need to catch it.
AmandaNo, it's actually crazy.
BonnieOh my god. But anyway, Marina cooked. Marina cooked.
AmandaAnd she could have and she could have beat that record, but they took her out the game. Sandy was being a hater.
BonnieNo, she wanted to come out the game, and Sandy was like, no, you have to stay in. And then they took her out with like a minute left.
AmandaThey should have gave her one more, just so she could have the title. They didn't want her to be great.
BonnieThey didn't. No, they did. They did. Just kidding. I'm just kidding. I'm feeling silly now. The sugar from the worms, you know. You have another worm. The thing is, Marina is really.
SPEAKER_05Bonnie said, shut the hell up.
BonnieMarina has like space to. Be herself and really fucking grow on Toronto Timpo.
AmandaI think I love all the Mabri's equally. I feel like they're my sisters.
BonnieAnd brothers. No. Well, you have to you said all the time. I don't want them all. I don't want him. There's two.
AmandaWhat's his name? Dan, David. I don't know. I just saw a mother. Respectfully. Okay. I just saw a post. So, okay, so Marina had that historic night. What else? Ryan and Roy. No, I don't think so. It's not gonna work for me. Sorry, boys. Sorry, boys. Goodbye. So and other news.
BonnieReturn.
AmandaNefisa Collier is back.
BonnieReturn of the And we're so fucked.
AmandaI mean, we were already fucked. We'll talk about it when we get to CFO. Yeah, we were already fucked, but just called. If the Lynx don't win everything this year, they suck.
BonnieOkay. I don't want them to win everything this year, though.
AmandaBut they have to. If it's not, I mean, the only for me is between. Well, I don't know. I was gonna say Vegas, but No, not Vegas. Dallas is why why you don't like Vegas? I like Vegas, but they've won three times. Would you be saying that if it was us who won three times? No.
BonnieWell, maybe. I don't know. We haven't. It's hard to tell because we haven't.
AmandaI think I think the Lynx are in the best. Valkers are second. I could see them winning. No, I'm I'm just just I'm discrediting other teams. I'm just saying like Aces are third. I'm just saying the Lynx have the best chance to win. And if they don't, then I'm gonna start asking some questions. Including, are y'all gonna blow it up? Because I think if they don't win this, they gotta blow it up.
BonnieI think if they don't win this, then they have to stop doing the electric slide. Oh my god.
AmandaLiterally, I I don't even think I don't even think it was Liberty at Lynx, but Brenda and I a couple weeks ago, we were sitting here on the couch watching the game, the Lynx won, and they started lining up to do that fucking electric slide. And the way I got I said, what's the remote? I have to change this. Can't watch it. It it brings me a lot of anger. I just it's so corny. It's so corny.
BonnieBut what the fuck else they got to do in Minnesota? You know who's from Minnesota? Prince. He is from Minnesota. They could do something with a Prince song. You don't know. I just like I don't like it.
AmandaThat's gotta stop. It's gotta stop. At her debut, though, Fee scored 22 points, I believe. Not bad. Oh, she had a double double. Her biggest fan from the couch, so she had a double double. What did you say? Her biggest fan. From the couch. Yeah, from the couch. Yeah. So, sure, yeah, whatever. She had a double double. And I was it you Bon who said maybe she'll have a slow start, or I hope she'll have a slow start. Someone said that, and then I was just like, why would you say that? Maybe it was Brit. You know that she's not gonna have no slow start. She's been working up. She'd probably been ready for a minute. They've just been holding her.
BonnieBut it's kind of scary to think about because she didn't play Unrivaled either, did she? No. She had she literally hasn't played since last fucking October or something. So she's been resting, she's been getting stronger, she's ready to come back full force. I know I'm scared of her. I'm scared of her.
AmandaYou know what? Her and Olivia Miles, that is a really good segue here because you know what? What? Let's just get Courtney Williams off the team.
SPEAKER_09Um Bonnie is a known Courtney Williams hater.
BonnieMe too. She gives me the ick more and more and more and more, but we'll talk about it later.
AmandaSo yeah, the rookie of the year race. I do think Olivia Miles is still a front runner. It like is actually unbelievable how good she is. I know. Like it's actually unbelievable. But Aisy has been showing some moments too. She has been an elite defender. Yeah. She's so fucking strong. I'm I'm actually scared of her. She's built. No, like she's been blocked, she's been blocking people with one hand. She's been blocking people without even looking at what she's blocking. Like, she's just everywhere. And she's like, she's trapping people in the corner by herself. Like, that's crazy. I just know that she's a fucking brick wall. I just know if she set a screen on me, bro. I'm bouncing. Yeah, I'm gonna be in New Jersey. No, it's crazy. She's so strong. So I don't know. Do you have do you have any thoughts?
BonnieYou think I I think it's gonna be Olivia Miles.
SPEAKER_09I think it should be, and I think if it's Azy, that's fucked.
BonnieI really like Aisy. I love her. I don't know that I love her after what she did to us.
SPEAKER_09What do you mean? She's just cooked every time she plays us, yeah.
BonnieYeah, I mean, it's annoying, but like I don't know. She's really good. I mean, they're both really good. I just feel like Olivia's Miles has been like amazing out of the gate. It's taken Aisy a little bit to like get more comfortable in the league. And I also think not all her fault, like Jose What's his face, has um, you know, like didn't start her for a while um or give her that many minutes at all. So I think she's definitely like earning her keep now, but Olivia Miles is just like kind of on another level.
AmandaNo, I agree. I am oh and you know, I am in fact a conspiracy theorist, and I'm about to start sounding crazy. I just want to preface that. Sometimes sometimes on NBA Twitter they talk about how, and even NFL Twitter, they talk about how there's a fucking script, and all of the sports leagues are you know scripted. If AZ wins rookie of the year over Olivia Mouse, I'm gonna I think it's scripted because I just I genuinely don't think that there's a comparison. Like, don't get me wrong, Azy's an incredible defender, an incredible three-point shooter, but like who do you think is writing the script, Kathy? Kathy, Kathy, Kathy can't even do the damn schedule. Kathy's not writing no fucking script. It's Adam Silver. Adam Silver is writing the fucking script. Stink stink. Okay, finally, finally, from around the W. We're gonna end on this note. But we're not, it's fine because we're not in the podcast on this note. But Sophie Cunningham is a fucking loser. Loser, home phobic, and I cannot believe that she's getting a player edition sneaker from Adidas, and and it's sold out already. But the joke is on her because she's been making all of these anti-trans comments saying that we need to protect women's sports, and she insists that she's like in the middle of the political spectrum, and she all she cares about is protecting women's sports, which is fucking rich. Because I don't understand how you can be against gender-affirming care when you literally had a lot of gender-affirming care so that she looks the way she does, because she is not naturally that I don't know, I wouldn't even call her good looking, but like I know she doesn't look like that naturally.
BonnieNo, I know. I saw a picture of her in college, scared, jump scare.
AmandaYeah.
BonnieAlso, she can't be saying that she is, you know, um, worried about keeping women and young women safe when she is like supporting the UFC and Connor McGregor, who is an actual rapist.
AmandaNo, it's actually it's actually pretty crazy. What's funny to me, maybe ironic, someone can go check me later if that's the correct usage of it. But like the colorway of the player edition looks like the trans flag.
BonnieI really don't even want to look it up. I haven't seen it. I don't want to give it up.
AmandaEverything I've learned has been against my will.
BonnieI don't want to give her a click.
AmandaNo, every everything I've learned has been against my will. Transparently. Yeah. But it does look, it's the colors of the trans flag. So what a joke.
BonnieIt's so crazy that we're giving a zero champ a player. Yeah, zero time champ. Yeah. Zero time. Zero time champ.
AmandaAnd even and she like averages like four points a game or something. Yeah, she's a fucking loser. Um, and also what interestingly, her she has this podcast, and her co-host, his name is Wes Something, he's come out and said that the Republicans have made Americans believe that this is a real problem where really there's only like six like trans asthma.
BonnieI know, it's like point zero two percent of the sports population.
AmandaWhich is crazy because like I feel like as as the two of us are co-hosting this podcast, I feel like if there was a place where we were disagreeing politically, like, I don't know how that's gonna work. We would break up, is that what you're saying? Well, we would never break up because we would never be in that predicament. But you know, I wonder what that's causing. Yeah. For them over there. I won't. What is Wes what is he from again? He's from Summer House, but he's also a piece of shit. Oh, yeah. I don't know. He cheated on his on his uh girl, or I don't know if he cheated, but he was dating Sierra Miller, who was also on Traders. Do you remember Sierra? Yes. He was dating her, she's also from Summerhouse. With the C, right? Yep. And he and he cheated on her, or he started dating her best friend, Amanda Batullah, or however the fuck you say her name. And it's just like really ugly, really ugly, men ain't shit. So he's not great either. Yeah, he's not great either, but he did come out and kind of disagree with what Sophie said.
BonnieSo there's Why are they like are they friends? I actually have no idea.
AmandaI actually have zero clue.
BonnieWhere is he from? Sorry, no, no, I just don't know. Cause you know what's I have in common with Sophie Cunningham? We both went to Missou. But you went to Missouri, yeah. Here's the thing. She's from she's from Columbia, Missouri, like the small town where the school is.
AmandaOh, so she never left. Yeah. Scary.
BonnieSo it's different.
AmandaYeah.
BonnieIt's different that way. Because that town That is different that way. Yeah. Because that town is like the only thing there is the school, like the college. It's very, very small. Um did you like Mizzou?
AmandaI did. Yeah. We should talk about that sometime. I don't even know you went there.
BonnieYeah. I took um oh, he's also from Columbia. Oh.
AmandaMissouri.
BonnieThat's maybe they're childhood friends. Yeah. Okay, that makes sense. Um, I took Eliza there and she was in Missoula for a weekend. And she was like, wow, this campus looks like the movies. Oh, really? Like that's really cool. Isn't that cute? That's really cool. Um, it was a cool, it was a fun school. Huh. But um, you know, like you know, hindsight 2020, maybe I would have done something different, you know, but but you did a good time.
AmandaYou had an idea, yeah. You had this time. That's really cool. Yeah, we'll talk about this other time. Okay. Okay, and so not to abruptly end around the W there, but we are gonna talk about All-Star Weekend next. Okay, so let's talk about All-Star Weekend. Lots, lots, lots, lots happening, including the return of the 72-hour stud stream. I wouldn't say that I was locked in like I was last year. I kind of had a feeling that it would have a different vibe, like even when I saw how they're or how they were promoting it, and how they did like this little teaser post with ATT where they both dyed their hair blue. Which, like, of course, a brand had to get their hands on it.
BonnieOf course. Of course, I feel like it should have been Bravo, not ATT. I mean, yeah, because the stream brought some drama. No, it was actually crazy. We need Andy Cohen to do a reunion of the All-Star Weekend.
AmandaWe really do. Part of me thinks that maybe it should be hosted by Teaspoon. Maybe Teaspoon should be. I like that. I just love her. I just like want more teaspoon. She's so wholesome. I know, she's the best. Okay, so let's talk about let's talk about some stuff that was shared on the Stud Bud stream. So I would say probably a hard launch for Jackie. Super hard launch and Dijonnay. They both appeared on stream. It seemed like the first night of All-Star Weekend, the entire fucking league was in the Stud Buds hotel room. Yeah. Which was insane. We also got an appearance from Mama Maybrie. She did a shot. Yeah. She did a shot with the Stud Buds.
SPEAKER_05They invited her to do a shot, and she surely did a shot. Wow. It was actually crazy. The Maybri's be crazy.
AmandaPaige was also on the stream. Azy was on the stream, just like messing around with Natisha. It was nice to see a little personality from her. I do think that she's still dorky and dweeby. She's still doing it. But it's cute. Yeah. But it's cute. Um, that was really fun. Then, of course, they were at the club. It seemed like they were a lot more aware about what they were showing on the stream. So, like, there were several instances where they were muting and then telling people when it was live again. So that people were. Well, they didn't tell JJ. They did not tell. Tell us what happened. What happened with JJ?
BonnieJJ was overheard. I don't think she was on camera, but she was definitely like we know her voice. Yeah. She's got a deep booming voice. Um, she was talking to somebody, was it Courtney? She said in 2019, we should have had the chip. And she was talking about her Connecticut team. And then she said in 2024, y'all deserved it more. Yeah. Talking about the Minnesota links.
SPEAKER_09Yeah.
BonnieAnd that's tough. Listeners, you know that's the year we won Liberty. That's tough. And I just feel like that got picked up. People on threads were going crazy. Did you see and then JJ had a press conference? Because she won MVP of the All-Star Game. Because she won MVP of the All-Star Game. Also, so random. I wasn't expecting that. I'm gonna be honest. Yeah, I sure. Whatever. Yeah. Um, she started crying and said it ruined her whole weekend. And you know what? If I were Sabrina or Brianna Stewart and I heard my teammate say that, I'd be so fucking pissed. I'd be like, what are you talking about? First of all. Second of all, you're supposed to always like have our backs. Like, why would you say that about our team? Third of all, you're not the one doing all the work, girl. Yeah. Stewie every puts the whole team on her back every single game. It's tough because JJ out here trying to be a point guard.
AmandaNo, I know. And honestly, what's fucking crazy, and I will get back to this comment, but I very specifically remember I was watching the fucking all-star game, and I just started yelling at Brenda. I was just like, I literally have never seen her do this in a pretty uniform. She literally did the prettiest post move, a spin, into a fucking lay. And I couldn't believe my eyes because I've literally never seen her do this ever. Because we never even see her in the paint. Because you know what she likes to do? She likes to sit at the top of the fucking key and wait for somebody else to rebound and give her the ball. And then she shoots a three. Which you know what? We're gonna get into that in a little bit in in C Fall Spotlight, but like whatever. I I I do think that this like kind of begs the question, though, like in regards to the Stud Bud stream, like, do we feel like we should have this kind of access to these personal moments? Because if the stream didn't exist, we wouldn't have heard this comment.
BonnieRight. I go back and forth because it obviously love to see behind the scenes content, like love to see them being themselves and their own personalities come through. But I just feel like in on a weekend when they're all like boozing it up so hard and like really letting their guards down, it's a little like TMI. You know what I mean?
AmandaWell, also JJ, I think, was in a weird place too. Apparently, she lost her aunt recently, and so she's yeah, grieving that. I just feel like I don't know. Even if whatever, let's say the stud blood stream did exist, she did get caught saying that. I do think that there is a real difference between fans who feel the need to share their every thought on the fucking internet, and then not just share their thought on the internet, but then also like tag her or like do things like I don't know, I just feel like or like go after her hard. Yeah, like the way you said like the whole parasocial of it, like low key, like we were kidding. Like, I think Bonnie and I are very clear on the fact that we do not know these players, we don't know them personally, but there are some people who really don't understand that they do not know them just because you may feel like you have all this access to them, like you don't know them for real, and so it's like weird, it's weird real people, yeah. It's just it's the same thing with like just cyberbullying in general. Like, yeah, you you could keep some of those thoughts in a draft, yeah. Like write them down in your journal, show them to your therapist, or like text your friends about them because I like aggressively text this the group text every time JJ pisses me off, but I'm not gonna get on the internet and be like, JJ, right, what are you doing?
BonnieRight, like let's be real, she would cook me. I think that's a really good thing that everyone should take to heart.
AmandaYeah, like just like a little reminder. Say everything out loud, keep it in the drafts, you know? Yeah, we get to get a journal. Get a journal, write in it every day. Yeah, get a cat, talk to your cat. Literally, it helps. It does help. Talk to my cat all the time. Yeah.
BonnieI mean, I feel like that wasn't the only dramatic thing that happened.
AmandaNo, we also had We had AZ winning the three-point competition.
BonnieWait, did you talk about Nelissa?
AmandaOh fuck, no. Sorry. I mean, like, okay, sorry, back to the Stud Bud stream. Back to the Stud Buds shoot. The Stud Buds were having a party. Yeah. And in their hotel room? No, it was like in a club, but it was like a Stud Bud sponsored party. And Dejanae is close with the Stud Buds. Yeah. She played in Minnesota with them last season. Nelyssa Smith apparently showed up with, I believe, Aliyah Nye, maybe, who's her teammate.
BonnieAnd Deja Kelly, I think.
AmandaI don't know if I don't know if the three of them were together. Okay. I just know Nelissa showed up and she got escorted out by security. I don't know what happened at this party, but I do remember waking up to a tweet that said, since motherfuckers want to be funny, I'ma be hilarious. Yes. Nelissa cheated with Alia Nye and Deja Kelly, plus plus plus many more. That is verbatim. I have that tweet in brain that I'm going to be. Yeah.
BonnieUm. Which is crazy.
AmandaWhich is crazy. And so, of course, the internet is like we gotta study Nelissa Smith's game. The fact that she pulled off three of them, and then people are starting to talk about it in like a basketball concert. They're like an elite ball handler, an elite defensive menace, an elite. They said she's a better GM than most around the league, which is fucking crazy. Better than Jonathan, Jonathan Cole. Definitely better than Jonathan Cole. We'll get to that later. More on that later. But yeah, so then I don't know if you saw this. Nelissa Smith went on live. I saw her wearing a red tie, and I had to score scroll past her. Then goes on a fucking live, and she's like, essentially, like, yeah, I cheated. Why are we bringing it up now? A year later. So she didn't even deny the allegations. And so then, of course, again, some people don't know how to leave their thoughts in the draft. And so, of course, there's a lot of discourse online about well, maybe Dijanay also cheated. They've broken up a bunch of times, and Jackie's clearly a rebound, and Dijanay wants Nalissa to be jealous, and da-da-da. And again, y'all don't know them.
BonnieLike, literally, just stop.
AmandaIt's giving, it's giving, like, just based on what we do know and what has been public about this relationship, it's giving that they definitely were very on and off. Yeah. And it's giving that they were toxic. Yeah. And so all I know is that's none of my business. Like, I'm not gonna comment on it publicly.
BonnieBut I do want to say, I guess DJ is not just gay for Nelyssa. And that's T.
AmandaBecause she was apparently also engaged to another basketball player even before Alyssa. I don't know why she would say that.
BonnieAnyway, Jackie's I love Jackie Young. Jackie's like a steady, you know, like a steady good person.
SPEAKER_02Okay, just one thing.
BonnieWhat would she do?
AmandaNo, one tweet. You just made me think of it. One tweet that I did think was really funny commenting on the drama was that Asia's about to stop doing the happy pride cake. She says she's about to make that locker room homophobic as fuck since they being so messy. They said she running a tight ship and it's about to be a homophobic ass locker room. No more cake for you. No more.
BonnieThat's it. Well, I felt like the whole weekend was like an episode of Queer Ultimatum.
AmandaOh my gosh. I can't talk about that show. Thank God we never got another season of that because that was probably some of the most stressful TV I have ever watched.
SPEAKER_05That shit was a mess. It was. My God.
AmandaI just man, and it's like you you watch these shows and you're just like, there's just no fucking way. I remember when Brenda and I were watching it, and we, of course, naturally put ourselves in that situation.
SPEAKER_05And I was just like, if we were together and I'm watching you across the room flirt with somebody else right in front of me, couldn't be me.
BonnieNo, it's crazy. So I just couldn't be on that show. No.
AmandaLike I would be sick to my stomach, fam. That's what they say in Toronto, I heard. But well, I will say the last thing I wanted to mention about, or two of the two of the things I wanted to mention about the All-Star weekend, was AZ won the three-point competition. Woohoo! Which I think is to be expected. There was some drama there though, where uh Bleacher Report and ESPN were reporting that Sabrina uh declined, Caitlin declined, and that Kayla McBride also declined. Sabrina, who is notably a quiet little girl, she commented on the post and said lies. Apparently, neither she nor Kayla McBride were invited. Who knows if Caitlin Clark was and who cares? Yeah, who cares? Because she's she is shooting like maybe like 30, maybe 20 something percent from three. So like she wouldn't even qualify. She did decline because she would not have made it. But then also AZ won, Sabrina's record is still intact. I believe she had 37 uh when she last competed. So she did. Shout out to Sabrina. And then I just wanted to point out that Caitlin Clark did still lead the All-Star game in turnovers. If she's anything, it's consistent.
BonnieAnd so when there people aren't even trying, she was still turning it off.
AmandaShe had five turnovers, which is crazy. If I have five turnovers, like you would get benched. Anyway, the last thing I want to mention about kind of All-Star Weekend as it relates to Caitlin Clark is I'm a little sick and tired of Nike trying to force feed this Caitlin Clark PR campaign where she needs to be likable because she has a signature sneaker, which we haven't talked about intentionally because she did not fucking deserve it. But this new sneaker drops in October. Honestly, I think it drops the day before my birthday, but that's hella, it's hella disrespectful. Yeah, why didn't you guys know that? Super disrespectful. But essentially, they're on this PR campaign where they're trying to force feed her to us because shocker, white folks in middle America do not have the money to spend on $140 sneakers. Who does? Black people who stand athletes. So they're putting her on this campaign to make her more likable to black folks. Things like gifting the stud buds with two pairs of Caitlin Clark sneakers. She also was spotted with Ellie. It was just like so forced. Ellie don't like you, girl. I just know it. Ellie don't like you.
BonnieWait, one more thing about Courtney Williams. She was like like hugging and like posing in with Caitlin Clark.
AmandaOh no, I mean it was like that last All-Star weekend, too. She's just up her ass. Which is, I'm like, gross. Yeah. Anyway, keep going. And so they they had her with Ellie. They also had her with fucking Barack Obama. They had her do the all-star pregame uh presser with Paige, who couldn't look more like she didn't want to fucking be there, sat next to her. That was the best photo I saw. Yeah, no, it was incredible. And then it's like you can tell that all of this is PR though, because on the studbudge stream, Teesh wasn't she wasn't an all-star, so she was sitting behind the bench, behind Caitlin Clark, and she jokingly said, Oh, here she goes, and Courtney Williams like shot a three-ball and missed, and Teesh jokingly said, It's the shoes. And the way Caitlin snapped her neck, turned around, and like says some nasty shit to her, I was just like, Oh, there she is. That's who we're looking for. So I don't know. I'm really hoping that her sneakers flop. I hope they and they're also fucking ugly.
BonnieI hope they disintegrate.
AmandaYeah, they're fucking ugly. So that's all the time we're spending on that.
BonnieWait, did you want to talk about the new skills challenge?
AmandaOh fuck, you're right.
BonnieBecause I didn't even know that was happening.
AmandaI knew it was happening right before it was happening. And that also happened on Brenda's birthday, and I think it was really fucking rude for them to introduce a new format on Brenda's birthday.
BonnieYeah, we were like, who are these people?
AmandaYeah.
BonnieSo essentially Nike athletes, I didn't know them, but like, I'm sorry, I didn't know you.
AmandaNo, so they brought in so they brought in high school athletes, WNBA legend, and then an active player in the WNBA, and then they were all shooting the ball from this different places on the court, and then each shot was valued at a certain number of points. I don't know. I thought it was kind of corny. What do we play? What are we playing? Fucking horse? Yeah, it was like, well, they didn't even really explain the rule.
BonnieLike did they have to make two and then they could move on? Or they just all had to shoot from the same spot. But then they all shot all the half-court shots, like a million of them.
AmandaAnd and Team Washington won, so yeah. Sure. Sure. I don't know. I didn't get it. I didn't like it, and I didn't care. Yep. I think that's it, right?
BonnieYeah, I mean, to be fair, like I'm it's fun to see high school athletes in vets compete, I guess. But I care more about the current players. Yeah.
AmandaWait, also wait, this is the real last thing. What? Why like so they did the all-star team intros like before the oh, you were at a party, weren't you? I didn't see it, yeah. Bro, they brought out like these random ass like breakdancers. Like people were like dancing on stage while they were introducing the coaches and the players, and I was just what the fuck is this? You got served? What the fuck is going on here? It was so weird. No, and then and then they only introduced two of the coaches, and then they never introduced the other team's coaches. I don't know. It was really good. Kathy, what are we doing, babe?
BonnieGet some get some real people. You know who they need to do, get to do the event.
AmandaI know. I know a couple of experiential girlies who could do a good job.
BonnieYeah.
AmandaImagination. Kathy did. Kathy did like they were like, she was asked the question, oh, like, what do you think is the most like underrated thing or misunderstood thing about being like the commissioner, blah, blah, blah. And she was like, We work, I work really hard. Like, there's so much strategizing that goes into it. And I said, Girl, don't even stop. Enough. Enough. Show us the proof, Kathy. Yeah. So I don't, I don't know, I don't know what Kathy got going on. Brenda, Brenda reminded me that Caitlin was also booed during her intro.
BonnieThat's crazy.
AmandaShe was booed. Paige got a louder cheer. Shakira got a loud cheer. Angel got a loud cheer. Gabby Williams also got a louder cheer.
BonnieOh, Gabby and Marine were so weird.
SPEAKER_05So cute. I was just like, they're so gay and cute. I love that they're out now. I know. I really love it.
SPEAKER_06They're so sweet.
AmandaMarie, Marie Johannes has really grown on me. I feel like we're seeing a little bit more of her personality, even though she's shy.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, she's so I just think she's so sweet. And she keeps fucking saying aggressivity.
SPEAKER_05She's so cute. I can't get enough of it. Every time she says aggressivity, I'm like, yes, yes, bitch. Yes. Aggressivity. Oh. Okay. Adorable.
AmandaWe we unfortunately have to get to our last segment that I really don't want to talk about, but we're going to talk about anyway. So next up we have the sea foam spotlight. Okay. Let's talk about sea foam spotlight begrudgingly. Yeah. Lots of problems. Lots of problems. We'll start on the positive, I guess. We'll start on the pause. We did right before All Star Break have an insane fourth quarter rally against the Sky. Let me repeat that for you. An insane fourth quarter rally against the Sky.
BonnieThe last 10 seconds of that game.
AmandaThe sky.
BonnieThe sky.
AmandaI just wanted to emphasize that. Poverty franchise. We were rallying against a poverty franchise. And I wouldn't even say we. Because I think that was all Sabrina Unescu.
BonnieShe scored like nine points in 20 seconds or something. Something insane.
AmandaShe just I knew I knew she was playing out of her fucking mind when she hit a fadeaway three in the corner. Literally like fell to the bench. That was the first, that was the first one that fell. And when she said that, I said, okay, there's still time. We just have to be perfect. Here we go. And then she was, in fact, perfect. Perfect. This wow. Re we we needed her. We really needed her.
BonnieAnd I'm glad she's back because it took her a little bit.
AmandaI just really hope that this all-star break doesn't fuck her up. But it was really incredible. We were down, I don't know, like eight points, and then all of a sudden she was shooting lights out from three. And this is kind of what we were talking about earlier. I say that this was all Sabrina because there were so many instances that game where I was watching John Quell guaranteed to piss me off, Jones, sitting at the top of the fucking key, waiting for someone to get the rebound so that she could get the ball again. Babe, you gotta be getting the rebounds. Yeah, you gotta get down there. You supposed to be down there because tell me why.
SPEAKER_05There was one play I specifically remember Pauline Nastier was in the paint trying to get an offensive rebound while JJ big ass was at the top of the key. And I was like, That's not how it should be.
AmandaNo, she was literally crouched down waiting for the ball so that she could shoot. And I said, I know you fucking lying. That's crazy. It was actually crazy. Stewie was also, I don't think, playing her best basketball. It was just all around a mess. We should not have been in that predicament at all. Their undrafted rookie had 31 points. Their undrafted rookie Sidney Taylor.
BonnieYeah. Yeah, she was undrafted. Undrafted lights out. Rookie.
Amanda31 points.
BonnieI didn't realize she was undrafted.
AmandaUndrafted. Nobody wanted her. Wow. Is that not crazy? Chicago is lucky to have her. Yeah. They are very lucky, but if I know them, they'll lose her. Of course. Because there was an instance where the game was still very much in contention. Sabrina had hit like three threes in a row. It was a tie game. And no, it wasn't a tie game. I think we were down three at that point. Sabrina was at the top of the key with the ball. She was trying to see what she was finna do. Azare gave her some space. She drove to the basket. You can see and hear Sidney Taylor saying, Don't foul. Don't foul. And what did Azare do? She fouled. She fouled. And that to me says a lot about leadership on that team because Azare is a million-dollar contract player now. And she is a vet.
unknownYeah.
AmandaAnd why is the underactor rookie telling you not to foul in a game this tight? Yeah, that's that's bad. We gotta use the noggin. Not a fouling situation. And then the Liberty tied the game. So I like I don't really know. I don't know. It's a it's a poppy franchise. Skylar Diggins didn't even travel with the team there. Natasha Cloud came back to New York and they played a tribute video, which I'm gonna be honest, I thought was a little unnecessary. She played for New York for one season. But they do it for everyone. Do they?
BonnieYeah.
AmandaThey don't really do that in the NBA where they like you play one season and all of a sudden they get a fucking tribute video.
BonnieBut you know she had got a lot of fans.
AmandaI just, you know, I'm really I'm in a place where I feel like we're being a little too soft.
BonnieThat's fair.
AmandaFrom a liberty perspective.
BonnieI think it's fair.
AmandaLike, even and I said this in the chat, I think we gotta start booing them. The next time Stewie airballs, I'm fucking booing. I'm not gonna boo.
BonnieI don't need her to hear it. No.
AmandaI want her to notice me booing her from section one.
BonnieShe's gonna kick you out.
AmandaWhy would she kick me out? I'm holding on to the case. Because you're booing. I'm making her better. Well, Marta tells her that she's lazy and doesn't play defense. Yeah, but that's her wife. That would make me even sicker.
SPEAKER_07What if we were playing a game and Brenda was watching, and after the game she told me, You're so fucking lazy you don't play defense, I would have to jump off the broken bridge.
AmandaBecause that's crazy. I guess it's different because Marta played basketball. Yeah. But it's like, you don't think I know that I'm fucking lazy and that I'm not playing defense? I gotta hear from my wife.
BonnieDo you think Zui knows?
AmandaYeah. But she's not the shittiest person on the team right now.
BonnieI mean she's the best black person on the team right now.
AmandaShe's yeah.
BonnieWho do you think is the shittiest?
AmandaWho do I think is the shittiest? Chris DeMarco.
BonnieYeah, we started this pot out with a lot of hope for him. This season started out. We were trying.
unknownI didn't have a lot of hope for him.
BonnieI think we were trying to give him grace. Yeah, we yeah. And be like, you know, let's see what happens. We like some of the stuff that he was doing with like the pressure defense and like running some plays. But the defense isn't even. He has lost the plot somewhere.
AmandaYeah, he lost in the sauce. Okay. He's lost in translation, but Naja hasn't played.
BonnieBut Naja hasn't played the all, which is insane.
AmandaMan, the fans refer to China for her at the games.
BonnieAgain, I heard it again this last game. Yeah. Um, they're putting Raquel Carrera in there. And Marine Fatouks.
AmandaI mean.
BonnieAnd none of those, neither of those players have any business being on the court.
AmandaWe got two different Martins on the court and no Betonizer. The math ain't mathing for me. I think we only got space for one Martin and one Betonija.
SPEAKER_02Agree.
AmandaAnd and and I don't even know why Rock Rock Alcavera is getting my head.
BonnieI don't even know why she's on the team.
AmandaI don't actually know either. Well I will say not an apology. Not an apology.
BonnieOkay. Sounds like it's gonna be an apology.
SPEAKER_08Rebecca Allen has turned it around a little bit.
BonnieOkay, yeah, she had a great game this last game.
AmandaI felt like oh my god, you know Australi Fuck. I was about to call it Australian Backyard again. Outback Steakhouse. I just saw a commercial literally yesterday. And now listen. No listen.
SPEAKER_05Because ever since Eliza shared that chant with me, I hear it everywhere. And there was a commercial for Australian Backyard.
BonnieAnd they said it.
SPEAKER_05No, it was a bunch of Americans at the table, and like the voiceover was like Aussie Aussie Aussie, and they were like, Oi, oi, oi, and then of course the lady did a fourth oi, and I was like, that's not how you do it.
BonnieOh my god. I've never eaten there and we'll never eat there.
AmandaThey got a really good honey wheat bread specifically.
BonnieWhat about the bloom and onion? Is that good?
AmandaI don't know. I never had that.
BonnieOkay. I thought everybody had that.
AmandaI don't know. I don't go there often.
BonnieOkay.
AmandaI just remember the bread.
BonnieThe honey wheat bread is I mean, I'm still not gonna try it.
AmandaNo, I mean, why would you go there? You got a real Australian backyard.
BonnieIt's true.
AmandaYeah, so anyway.
SPEAKER_07Uh yeah.
AmandaThe long and short is that we fucked. Yeah, I just like don't know who we are. We have no identity.
BonnieMm-mm.
AmandaSatu got another fucking injury. I was talking to the guy who sits behind us the other day, and he was like, they need Satu. And I got to a point where I was fed up. I turned around and said, We don't need Satu. She's always injured. We never needed Satu. She's always injured.
SPEAKER_09And he was like, Yeah, but when she's not, I said, but when, when, when?
BonnieWhen is she not injured?
AmandaIf is good. You know? So I don't. I don't know. It's really frustrating. And honestly, like going to these Liberty games now feels like such a chore. It feels like such a chore. Like the last game, I was damn near like, damn, we gotta go for real.
BonnieI know. It's it's hard when like a sports team uh fucks with your emotions so much, you know what I mean?
AmandaYeah, it's like really it's bad. Like I'm just not satisfied with the direction that we're going in. And I someone asked me if I thought we would make the playoffs, and to be honest, I don't know where we are. I would say no.
BonnieWe're seventh right now, so we're hanging on by a fucking thread.
SPEAKER_07It is ugly. It is so ugly. When do playoffs start? Like soonish, kind of.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
AmandaMaybe like end of August.
SPEAKER_02Oh.
AmandaOr no, early September.
SPEAKER_02September 27th.
AmandaOh, never mind. Late September.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
AmandaDo you remember? Wait, that's wrong, too, because it's the very first night.
SPEAKER_02Oh.
AmandaYeah. Never mind. Yeah, I don't know. But the way we're playing, unless we can really turn this shit around.
SPEAKER_08I don't think we're making the playoffs.
BonnieWhich is crazy, then that means they gotta fire Chris Smith DeMarkey.
AmandaI think so. And also, like even if we make the playoffs, I don't think it fucking matters, because we ain't winning shit. So they gotta fire him.
BonnieEither way, he's fired. He better start looking on LinkedIn.
AmandaAnd then they're and then they're about to have the audacity to raise the fucking prices again, and I'm gonna be stuck in the street. They better not stomach. They better not. They better not.
BonnieBecause they'll they're lucky that we're still coming.
AmandaWe just look lost, and honestly, like a lot of these games, it's just like I don't know. I just feel like there's just like a lack of defensive identity too. And which makes sense. We've talked about it before. With no Leo, with no Bet Nigel, who the fuck are we on defense? We're just Stewie.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
AmandaAlthough, although hold on. Sabrina did block Camilla Cardoso's shot during that last game. Sabrina said, fuck it, I guess I'll do it. Yeah. She said, I guess I'll fucking do it.
SPEAKER_07Man, shout out to her. Shout out to her.
AmandaI do I do love Sabrina, but I do need her to be consistent. Because she really hasn't. So I don't know. Lots of things need to change. I do have a feeling they're gonna treat Bet Nija because why is she suiting up at Benija?
BonnieI think Bat Nija at this point wants to be treated.
AmandaI'm so sick. I'm so sick about it. I'm so sick about it.
BonnieI can't take the I'm sick about it, but if I were her, I would be like, get me the fuck out of here, too. You know? Like I do. It's not her fault that Jonathan Kolb hired a clown and then these coaches are just not doing it right, and like she deserves to be in a on a team where they like play her and know what to do with her skills. And that's not us.
unknownYeah.
BonnieMaybe Sandy will take her in Toronto.
unknownOh my god.
BonnieThat'd be fun. Her and Marina Maybrie together. Wait, I don't know. I don't think we talked about Shoegate.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, so for some reason, some way, somehow. Some way, somehow, JJ ended up without a shoe during the game.
BonnieI still don't understand what happened.
SPEAKER_07And I think Benaja was on the bench, and so JJ ran down the court because there was a change of possession with only one shoe on. And so then B was like, let me get her her shoe.
SPEAKER_06For some reason she got up off the bench, picked up the shoe. And then threw the shoe down court, and I think Marina made three in the fucking bag. And the jersey and Marina said, Who the fuck threw that shoe?
SPEAKER_07And this was already after they had been butting heads on you. Yeah. But that makes sense. It's a Philly girl and a New Jersey girl.
BonnieAnd then Vanija got escorted out. She got thrown out the game. Because that was her second tip.
AmandaAnd you see her saying, you know, I didn't mean to hit her with it, but like I wasn't trying to hit her with it, but also JJ was nowhere to be found.
BonnieNowhere near.
SPEAKER_07No, like it's really crazy because why did B say, you know what? Let me help her. Let me throw this fucking shoe down the court.
AmandaAnd I believe in that moment she really thought she was doing what was best, but she was just like, I wasn't trying to hit her in the back with it, but I don't regret that it hit her though.
BonnieOh that's amazing.
SPEAKER_07But then Marina had jokes about it too, because Sabrina was promoting her sneaker. Yeah, that was funny. And then Marina commented, Can you throw me a pair? The girls, the girls. The girls are alright.
AmandaBecause if that was that's how you handle that, because if that was Caitlin Clark, oh yeah, for sure.
BonnieSeriously. And then there would have been another amendment in the Constitution written about it.
AmandaNo, it's absolutely disgusting. But you know what? Our Queen Marina Maverick would never be like that. She wouldn't do it. So yeah, I guess the TLDR on the liberty is that they're ass.
BonnieWe suck.
AmandaAnd they're really painful to watch, and I do think that it starts with the coaching. So For real?
SPEAKER_02You have any sue? That's um That's that on that.
BonnieThat's that on that.
AmandaOkay. And finally Finally.
BonnieOvertime. Overtime. Um today I just wanted to talk about Cheryl Reeve really quick. I've always been curious about her background just because, like, you know, she's been a coach for a while. She's coached the Lynx for a while, she's coached the USA basketball team before. Um, and she just got inducted to the Hall of Fame. This past weekend, she went down to Knoxville, got inducted to the Ba Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, um, along with Candace Parker, Elena Deladon, and ESPN's Doris Burke.
SPEAKER_05Doris Burke? Yeah. Doris Burke was. Inducted. Yeah. Shout out to her, bro. I love Doris Burke.
BonnieI don't even know. I didn't even know Doris Burke, but I'm glad you're having this reaction.
AmandaOh, she's like one of the only female commentators for NBA. She's fucking incredible. Yeah. Okay. She know her stuff. Sometimes she'd be on some hater shit and she get on my nerves.
BonnieYou know what? Maybe next overtime I'll do Doris Burke.
AmandaI think you should do Doris Burke. I fucking love her. Oh my god, we have to do Holly Rowe.
SPEAKER_00Sorry. Sorry. Back to Cheryl Ream.
unknownHolly World.
BonnieOkay, we've got the next lineup for um overtime already set up. Um so yeah, she was down there with Doris, getting inducted. And then the next day she had to turn around, fly right back, play um Dallas in a game. And that's, you know, the tension that she's working with. Hall of Fame ceremony one night, prepping for the Wings game the next morning.
SPEAKER_05Hey, I actually need today off because I have to go be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
BonnieSorry, assistant coaches, can you handle this? It's crazy. All BRB. Um so her career in brief uh started back in 2001 when she landed an assistant coaching job with the Charlotte Sting. Remember when that was a team? They should bring them back. I'm thinking they should.
AmandaI think I should call Michael Jordan and say, hey, can you like I think he actually sold a majority stake in the Hornets because they're fucking ass.
BonnieOkay, well then he should start up the Sting. Yeah. Um and guess how much he was making for that assistant coaching job? Five thousand dollars a year.
SPEAKER_05Bro the way I was about to say five dollars.
BonnieI mean, it's not far off.
SPEAKER_05Five thousand dollars a year is crazy.
BonnieYeah, in two thousand one, which doesn't feel that long ago.
SPEAKER_00Five thousand dollars a year. Well, I mean, I'm like inflation, a recession. Wasn't there a recession in 2001?
BonnieI don't know. There was one in 2008.
SPEAKER_00Oh, just kidding. Maybe it was 2008.
BonnieBut that was only seven years before. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01It doesn't seem maybe $5,000 was like $50,000. Yeah. That was like a long time ago. It's I guess it was 25 years.
BonnieAnyway, right. So that was her first coaching job. Um, and then she spent some time as an assistant coach with the Detroit Shock as well. And those two jobs were before she got the head coaching job with Minnesota Lynx in 2010. So she's been there ever since, this last 16 years. Um, she's now logged more regular seasons in Minnesota than the rest of the WNBA's head coaches have with their current teams combined.
SPEAKER_05That's crazy. But I'll tell you what, bro, the Minnesota Lynx organization, they know what the fuck they do.
BonnieI know. They're like a tight-knit group. They've got it, they've got it figured out.
SPEAKER_02They really do, huh? Yeah.
BonnieJealous. Um, so the resume itself is absurd. She's won four WNBA championships with the Lynx. Um, she's had 378 career wins, putting her one win behind Mike Tibolt for the most in WNBA history, and she actually passed him for the all-time combined regular season plus playoff wins record last fall. So, and then on the international stage, she's won an Olympic gold medal as head coach for Team USA in 2024 and the FIBA World Cup gold in 2022. And the other interesting thing, yeah, the other interesting thing about her is that she played in college, but not the pros, because the league didn't exist yet. But she was a four-year-old That's actually crazy.
AmandaRight? When you said that earlier, I didn't even think about the existence of the league.
BonnieYeah. She played, she was a four-year starter in the backcourt for LaSalle from 1984 to 88. Um, they won 89 games during her career. She still holds LaSalle's school record for most games started, which is 110, and ranks fourth in career assists assists. And then as a senior, she captained the team to a 25-5 record in the national ranking, earning first team All Mac honors. But the WNBA, like I said, didn't exist when she was playing because the league launched in 1997. What?
SPEAKER_05I just had to triple check that you said LaSalle, and I was just like, that's not LaSalle in Philly, is it?
BonnieIs it?
SPEAKER_05It is, it's LaSalle in Philly. Shout out to Cheryl!
BonnieCheryl went to school in Philly, uh, no, she's from New Jersey. Oh, she's from Jersey.
AmandaWell, it says That makes sense. Well, she was born, she was born in Omaha, but she went to high school in Washington Township, New Jersey, which is oh my god.
SPEAKER_05Cheryl Reeves, are you an Eagles fan? Go bird.
BonniePlease comment on the pot of you are.
SPEAKER_05She's from South Jersey, just like Marina.
BonnieI mean, I now that you say that, I feel like it fits her personality. I can see the Jersey girl in her.
SPEAKER_00Fuck. I can't believe I didn't just know immediately. I mean, because I haven't looked her in the eyes.
AmandaIf I like was face-to-face her, like I am with you right now, I'm not sure.
SPEAKER_00You would know? Yeah. She would give me a look and I'd be like, go birds. Yeah. I wow, that's that's crazy.
BonnieYeah.
SPEAKER_00She played at LaSalle. She played at LaSalle. And she played well at LaSalle. It's not staged. I swear to God. This is a real-time reaction.
BonnieOh my god. Um, yeah, so when she graduated in 1988, the W didn't exist. Remember that the league launched in 1997, nearly a decade after she graduated. So there was no like opportunity for her to play professional. So her path went straight into coaching instead. She got her start as an assistant at her alma mater, LaSalle. Oh my god. Then spent five years as an assistant at George Washington, then five years at Indiana State, and then she finally made the jump to the W uh coaching ranks. So basically, she had a solid college playing career, zero pro playing career, and then 25 plus years building one of the great coaching resumes in the sport instead.
SPEAKER_00I'm genuinely shook. I cannot but I because I usually know all of my girlies.
BonnieYeah.
SPEAKER_00I did not know that. Just add her.
BonnieAdd her to the club.
SPEAKER_00That's crazy. Wow. Cheryl is not familiar with your game.
BonnieSeriously? Um so yeah, this induction is a big deal because she's the only she's only the second W coach to ever be inducted, joining it's either Vaughn or Van Chancellor, who went into the Hall of Fame back in 2001. So yeah. The league has had dozens of head coaches, but there's only two that's been inducted. She must have been really good, or he. I don't even know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I don't even that's why I'm that's fine.
BonnieYeah. Huh. Um, so obviously she's humble about it because you know she's Cheryl. She's probably wearing that t-shirt that has a message on it. Um she's talking about being overwhelmed walking through the hall and seeing the history and the artifacts, especially given how much inspiration she drew from the women already enshrined there. Um she made a great closing line from her speech. She joked that sharing the hall with so many women's basketball greats makes me glad I never got a real job. But Cheryl, you did get a real job, girl. Yeah.
AmandaNo, that's tough. Also, just uh a tangent. Van Chancellor used to coach the Lady Tigers at LSU. Oh. Yeah. Oh. So he probably got inducted into the Hall of Fame, like, not just because of coaching in the W. I just we were talking about '97, 2001, that felt kind of rigged, but it never mind, never mind. It wasn't just based on his his W career.
BonnieI guess he's a good guy. Back to Cheryl. Back to Cheryl. Um, yeah, well, we're about to wrap up, Cheryl. But the big picture takeaway is that this is really a recognition of longevity and sustained excellence rather than one big moment. 26 years of coaching, a win record that may not be touched by any be touched by anyone anytime soon, and a track record of developing legendary talent. It's also a symbolic moment for how the W uh coaching ranks get recognized historically since since coaches have clearly been underrepresentative rel relative to players in the hall voting up until this point. So thank you for coming on that journey with me. Um, Cheryl, you're a real one.
AmandaShe was a real one. I really love overtime. I feel like I'm also learning. Bonnie's teaching me.
BonnieI try to make it something that we don't know yet. You know what I mean? No, I love it. Yeah. Cool. Thanks for the real-time feedback.
SPEAKER_05Oh my gosh, of course.
BonnieThank you guys so much for listening. Thank you. So sorry. Yeah. Long break. We didn't mean it, and it'll never happen again.
AmandaWe're just girls with some jobs. Yep. So and some life stuff. Yeah. And that's been another episode of Chasing the W.