A Record Breaking Week

Plenty of Records Broken in the W this week. As well as some former players were inducted in the HOF.

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Welcome to the Basketball Exchange where the game never stops and the conversation goes deeper than the box score. Welcome back. Thank you for joining. I am your host, Kay Morgan. Thank you for listening and supporting. And while we're at it, if you have not done so already, please hit the subscribe button. On whatever medium you are listening to this episode, hit the download button. Go back, check out some previous episodes. And thanks again for joining us. So let's get started. So four teams have officially been eliminated from the WNBA playoffs. That would be the Seattle Storm, the Connecticut Sun, the Los Angeles Sparks, and the Toronto Tempos. So those four teams are now in the Booker, Hidalgo, Watkins sweep states officially. Not, you know, accusing anybody of tanking, but I think the first three picks, I do believe it will be those ladies, not sure the order, can be mad. Can be mad at these teams getting in the sweepstakes. I think those players have an opportunity to have an immediate impact on a team. Um, and so there we have it. Four teams dreams have been shattered that have bigger, brighter aspirations. Um, of that group, I would say the Toronto Tempo are the team that I feel the worst for. Because at one point, Toronto was playing 500 basketball, and they were looking as if they were going to be able to be a team that could fight for one of the eight playoff spots. But an injury to Kiki Rice, followed by an injury to Brittany Sykes, really hampered them. And uh also messed my girl future Hall of Famer coach Sandy Bardello up. This is the first time in her illustrious career that she will not be making the playoffs as a head coach. So she had gone 13 consecutive seasons uh where her team has made the playoffs. So this year would definitely have been a great one, especially her coaching an expansion franchise. Obviously, we said in I believe our first or second episode of this podcast how the Golden State Valkyries did something last year that is really truly unheard of for a expansion franchise, and that's across the WNBA, but but also for most professional sports. Like expansion teams usually take years, if not decades, to be in position to compete. So the Valkyrie set a standard. I thought Toronto stood an outstanding opportunity to kind of follow suit, but unfortunately, too many injuries have you know caught up with them and not only injuries, but they're on an 11-game losing streak right now, currently, or actually, I believe 12 uh game losing streak. So man, I'm excited to see uh Kiki Rice. She is back, she's been looking really good. She's continues to build on uh the momentum of a really exciting rookie campaign. I expect for her to uh be on the first or second team for all rookie. Um, although she's missed some time, she's looked really good. Um, as I mentioned before, uh Brittany Spikes, uh Sykes is returning. So I definitely think Sykes and Maybury and Rice uh to go along with some of the front court players if they can stay healthy, have an opportunity moving forward to really, you know, create something special there in Toronto. But those teams are officially eliminated. Um, also um out for the season official as of two days ago. First pick of this year's draft, AZ FUD for the Dallas Wings. She is having a procedure on her knee, and she is officially out for the remainder of the scene of the season, which is a bummer for Wings fans. The Wings since the all-star break have faltered. Um, it's been very concerning to me uh to see them not be able to close out games. And just from what I've been hearing in terms of post-game commentary from not only the players but the coaches, seems like the coach has kind of lost the locker room. Um, you add to the fact that AZ's out for this season, it just makes you wonder if the wings can hold on for a playoff spot if they are a one-and-done playoff team. Now, let's get to the positive side of this, right? The wings have picked number one in the draft for the last two years. And that's not by way of some type of trade or something like that. That has been because they've had the worst record in the league. They've been awful. Um, so the fact that they are currently sitting eighth in the standings and looking at the number of games that they have ahead of the team that's in ninth, um, you know, makes you feel pretty positive about the opportunity, in spite of, you know, AZ being out for the season for them to solidify a playoff spot. But I don't believe that this team is really played up to the level when we look at the talent. And I think, you know, obviously some of that is performance. Hate to be the dead force here, but Elena Smith just has not had the season that I think any of us thought she would have coming over from Minnesota. She was expected to be a defensive stalwart of sorts and an integral piece to their front court to go along with Jess Shepherd, who also came over from Minnesota. And both these players were looked at to come in to add some value to a very young team and kind of help, you know, Orique in terms of that leadership that was missing from this team the last two years. Um, Rik being a vet, but someone who hasn't experienced a lot of winning seasons in Dallas, I thought it would be a great pair. Like her going up coming along with, you know, the Biggs coming over from Minnesota, you know, being under Coach Cheryl Reeves, having some deep playoff runs. I thought that pairing would prove to be extremely vital uh to this team. I did pick them to make the playoffs, and you know, it's just been a very disappointing year for Elena. Um and coach the head coach for this team, um I I've I've said on several occasions that I've been very concerned about this thought that college head coaches can just come to the WNBA and have success. And it remains to be seen, in my opinion, if that is something that makes a ton of sense. Um but all things being equal, I think it's it's been a much better year for the wings, lots of season left for them to solidify their playoff spot. Um, obviously, we have a break coming up here for FIBA. Uh Paige will be on that team, um, but everybody else will have an opportunity to have a break and hopefully you know refocus. So that's kind of the positive. The elephant in the room is, and this is something that has been questioned on more than one occasion. The elephant in the room is should AZ FUD have been the number one pick in the draft? Now, if you are a UConn fan or just a women's college basketball fan in general, you would absolutely say AZ FUD is an incredible talent, great player, someone that you definitely would want on your team, right? But with all of the injuries that AZ has had, um, including multiple knee injuries, right? Like going back to high school, you know, AZ has had ACL, MCL. Um, she tore her ACL in her right knee and her meniscus in college. So to hear that she's having surgery, uh, a procedure to kind of clean up something in her knee, to me is troubling. And that and that alone is enough to have any organization steer clear of wanting to draft her with the number one pick for a franchise that has been accustomed to losing for quite some time. And so this to me wouldn't be as much of a conversation. It certainly would be discussed and talked about, but it wouldn't be as much of a conversation if Olivia Miles was not having the season that she's having. Olivia Miles looks every bit of not only the rookie of the year, she looks every bit of the next WNBA superstar and the league MVP. And to have an opportunity to have taken her when she went to college at TCU, which is in Fort Worth, Texas, which is right up the road from Dallas, Texas, or Arlington, which is currently where the Wings play. Arlington's even closer to Fort Worth, right? But this team is relocating to downtown, to the American Airlines arena, where they will share a home with, of course, the Dallas Mavericks. And rightfully so, because the fan base is there, they're excited about Paige, they're excited about A-Z. Um, and so they've outgrown where they currently are, which is phenomenal, right? But boy, it would have been great to have drafted Olivia Miles, keep her in that area, have a generational talent in the building paired with Paige, paired with Jess Shepard, right? But I'll be honest with you to say, as much as I love Olivia Miles, this is no knock on her, this next statement. I don't know that Olivia will look the way she looks if she were in Dallas. And the reason that I say that is because Paige still has the ball uh in her hands a lot. Arique Abuma Wale has the ball in her hands a lot. Um, you know, Azy's more of a player that, you know, can play without the ball. They don't have her, you know, with the ball in her hand a lot. But I think that if you drafted Olivia, you would have had to move off of Arike potentially. And I think that Paige would have had to become more comfortable with having the ball a little bit less because Liv runs the show in Minnesota, and everybody there has bought in and everybody loves it. Caleb McBride's game has flourished once again. Um, Courtney Williams has no complaints. I mean, she absolutely prefers to play without the ball and has had an all-star type season as a result of it. So, bad news for Coach Jose Fernandez and company as it relates to AZ being out for the season. I think this is a conversation that we will have for the rest of time, right? To be honest, because this has happened in other leagues. Kevin Durant went a pick after Greg Odin. This is something we still talk about. Uh, people talk about the Michael Jordan draft and you know the couple players that went ahead of him. These are just things that are gonna naturally come up. But Olivia Miles having the season she's having, it doesn't bowl well for Dallas, um, you know, choosing AZ over her. So moving on from that, let's get to some some good news, right? Let's get to some exciting stuff. So, melancholy news. The great NECA Abuma Ke has announced that she is retiring from the WMBA after 15 seasons. NECA has had a story career. Um, I mean, we'd be here all day just really naming all of her um incredible uh accomplishments that she has made. Um, I would say one of the biggest impacts that NECA um has ever made really has been the last couple of years being Madam President, as everyone calls her, of the Players Association. And NECA just has so much class and grace. Uh, you hear so many of the young players as well as some of your, you know, tenured players speak about the impact that she's had on them personally, um, how she's been, you know, kind of like a mother, big sister slash figure for them, and just the amount of love and respect, you know, not only from her peers, but people in the media. So, congratulations to NECA. Uh, NECA, we're gonna miss you. Um, I'm gonna miss you as a Sparks fan. Thank you, thank you, thank you for 2016. That incredible rebound, that offensive rebound that saved our hides and got us over the schneid against the Minnesota Lynx. NECA, you're one of my favorite players. I love you, love you, love you. And I hope that you will have an opportunity to eventually be the commissioner of this league. I see other people lobbying for that. So it's not just a thought I've had in my head. Sometimes you think you're a little crazy over some of the things you think. But NECA's kind of addressed that. She sat down with Taylor Rooks to break the news that she was announcing her retirement. And um, good job by Taylor to ask her a question that, you know, like I said, I didn't know other people, you know, saw her in that way. But, you know, she came right out and said, Hey, what about you ever being lead commissioner? And NECA was honest to say that she didn't feel she was quite ready for that, that there was a level of experience that she felt she still was lacking in order to, you know, be in a position of that magnitude. And I think that that speaks volumes to what that job is and all of what comes with it, and her working alongside the league office to see all of what Kathy Ingelberg has to do and everything that she's responsible for, her admitting that says a lot. And I can appreciate the humility in within that answer, but it also just speaks to again what that job is. And if you have a former player that's the president of the players association saying, I'm not even quite ready for that, it begs the question like what all is needed or what all goes into making a great commissioner. And there's so much conversation about you know what Kathy should do, should she, you know, be re-upped, so to speak. Um, should she, you know, be relieved of her duties? And I'm kind of in a place where I'll be honest, I'm not a hundred percent sold on Kathy staying, but I'm also not a hundred percent ready to jump off the cliff to say that she should be relieved of her duties. Um Kathy has done far too much that has led to the success and the boom that we see in the W the last five years. Like we have to squarely place that on her shoulder. Her coming in from you know, Deloitte and being able to identify the problems immediately, you know, sticking to a plan to fix this league. One of the very first things that she did, um, I believe it was back in 2019, was say, hey, there needs to be an influx of money poured into this league. And I believe um it was about $75 million that that was poured into the W. And that is really where the ball began to roll. I mean, we have to kind of somewhat um throw out the 2020 season, sadly, because of COVID. So the the viewership and you know, all of that is just in the tanks, to be honest. Um, you know, they had a bubble similar to the NBA, and those ratings were low, and you can't imagine um, you know, that people were laser focused on sports when people were dying, and there was so much going on in the world. So sans 2020, the boom and the shift and the popularity for the WNBA starts in 2021. This is after the influx, this is you know, right when Kathy's coming in, and she's done the dang thing. Like, though when it comes to working the numbers, when it comes to accounting, economics, identifying the the best strategic partnerships for this league, what made sense? You know, one of the main things that she said she wanted to secure, like back, you know, six, seven years ago, was to renegotiate the media rights deal. That was an over a billion dollar deal, which is largely responsible for the increase in salary and so many other things. So I said all that to say there is a need to have the proper business mind that is connected and respected within her space and industry, that she can get on the phone with the who's who and that she can sell this lead and get people to understand what needs to be done. She has the cachet, she has the respect running um a huge accounting firm that is well respected. She was the first woman ever as CEO of Deloitte. I mean, her name commands respect in that space, in that industry, and it rings bells, and that matters. What Kathy lacks in empathy, in understanding, and compassion, it doesn't go without being noticed, nor do I think that it is small, but I think it can be coached. I think there is a happy medium, I think there is a way to be able to get her to bend and yield in areas where she has just been stone cold. And the W has to find a way, and this is the publicist in me, to get ahead of things. They're always running behind to clean up and fix, and that's not a position you want to be in. They need to figure out a way to get ahead of stories, they need to control their own narrative, they don't need to always be on defense, and they're always on defense, they're always having to explain something, clear something up, they're always having to um, and and they're so late, they're not even quick about the cleanup. Um, when something spills, the best, you know, run businesses have the janitor right there to clean up the spiel. Well, nobody can slip and fall and sue, or it's not a big deal. There's someone right there. The W doesn't do that. There's so many times they ignore a story and they act tone-deaf to social media and what's going on in the world, and things go viral, and every other platform is discussing what's going on in their league, and they've yet to release a statement. They've it's like they're oblivious to what's going on, and by the time they address everything, it's always the wrong thing that they say, and it's always too late. And they have to figure out a way to be better with that. But enough positive has been done, enough good has been done, in my opinion, to warrant Kathy having an opportunity to salvage her job. I think she has earned the right to be able to see some of the success while in office and not be home or, you know, somewhere else working for a different company, watching, you know, her baby quote unquote flourish and grow. I think she's earned the right. Um, I give her another four or five years. That's just me. But I also will not be totally surprised if they don't replace her. Replacing her to me is a more difficult task than what people are willing to admit because we've had a little bit of everything in terms of background, um, in terms of personality that has been over this league, whether it was commissioner, uh, which is what they currently call the position, previously was president. We've had a little bit of everybody. So it's gonna take some big individual to come in and fill her shoes. And uh I'm I'm okay either way. I love this league. I'm rocking with it, whether they keep it or whether they don't. I'm not gonna fall out and kick and scream if she isn't relieved of her duties because I do believe she's done enough to justify um keeping her job. I just think there has to be a conversation about building relationships that are real and authentic with the players. I think her coming from the world and the background. She comes from of accounting. I don't think that this was something she ever had to do. In order for her to be taken serious, in order for her to be looked at as someone that did her job well, I don't believe that, you know, having personal, interpersonal relationships was a part of how they graded her success. I believe that this is something that is unique to this role she's in now. And I think that that's part of her hesitation to address things, to communicate with her, you know, communications and PR team about what to say. I think that has to do with why she doesn't see the value in building relationships with uh Asia Wilson, a Caitlin Clark, a Nafista Callier, um, you know, your bigger names, your superstar players that are generational talents that are always breaking records and winning MVPs and defensive player of the year, and you see no value in actually having a relationship with these players. And every other person that has held your position has always had relationships with the top players. Yes, that has to be fixed. You can't continue business as usual and expect for this lead to be taken serious. You're gonna have to be on top of things. You need someone combing through socials to see what is the buzz, what are people talking about, and stay ahead of the fray. So this is kind of basic elementary level PR stuff here. This is not anything that I'm saying that anyone doesn't know or that has any sense about your public image wouldn't be able to comprehend. And and the W just continues to fail at that. So um, it'll be interesting to see kind of what happens from there, but we're off on a tangent. Um, congratulations once again to NECA Boomake on an incredible career. Looking forward to the last you know, handful of games here for her in the Sparks uniform. All right, some more history. Miss Kelsey Mitchell is officially in the history books. She stands alone at 21 straight games, so 20 points or more. Kelsey has been on an absolute tear. Um, it's been a great year for her. Lots of people sleep on Kelsey. I think Kelsey and Ray Burrell from the Los Angeles Sparks, in my opinion, are the two most underrated WNBA players. I'm not sure how people continuously overlook the incredible performances by both these players, but they're both phenomenal in their own right. And uh yeah, salute to Kelsey. She's she's been amazing, really, the last three, four years, but she's been on a tear with these 20-point uh games that that she's been delivering and just showing up big for the fever, who obviously are looking at championship rebust. They put it out there. This isn't me saying it, but that's what they put out there, that's what they're committed to, and she's been doing her part in terms of trying to deliver on another championship for the fever. So congrats to Kelsey. More history, more history. All right, dubs in the chat, aka Miss Angel Reese also makes history. Uh, she is the third player in the history of the WNBA with 20 points, at least 10 rebounds on 100% field goal percentage. So, congrats, congratulations to Miss Angel Reese. And because so many people give Angel a hard time for her field goal percentage, I just find this to be extremely rewarding as a fan of hers dating back to her collegiate career. Um, I love to see this. Angel has to get better around the basket um with her touch and uh be more efficient in that capacity. She definitely has to cut down on the turnovers. But listen, Angel is one of those people. She is going to outwork every single person. She is gonna do everything in her power to be absolutely recognizable. She is going to be impactful, even if she does not shoot the ball well. You will feel her presence, you will know she's out there. She will come up with a timely rebound, block, steal, defensive possession. She had my girl Asia Wilson in a blender the other night. A defensive player of the year performance. Angel is her, but good to see her be able to be efficient last night and included in those nine field goals that she made was two, three pointers. You know, she's really working on her game. Kudos to her. Glad to see that. Most importantly to her, dubs in the chat. The dream were able to get the win last night against the sparks. Incredible stuff there by Angel. All right, more celebratory news. The great goat herself, Diana Tarasi, had her jersey officially retired. The number three jersey. The number three is done. It's a wrap. Nobody ever will be able to grace the number three for the Phoenix Mercury. Congratulations to the GOAT. Oh, Billy GOAT DT. I think she's I think it's fair to say she's the GOAT. Asia has something to say about it, but for right now, it's DT. And she had a remarkable career. I'm talking about from college of Yukon, winning three of them things, coming to the W, winning three of them things. And then, of course, we already know about all the gold medals. She won six, six gold medals. I mean, she took a picture and she had all her gold medals, and she had all her rings, her championship rings, her uh championship rings from college, her championship rings from the W hands are full, neck is heavy, nothing but gold. Congratulations to Diana Tarasi. Next place for her, we already know. Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame. But great to be recognized by her organization. DT did something incredibly special. I always say this, and I love this. She graced one jersey, only play for one franchise, the Phoenix Mercury. When I think of Phoenix, and especially the Phoenix Mercury, Dionys Rossi is the first person I think of. The second person I think of is Brittany Griner. Now I know BG's currently playing for the Sun. She had that one year with the dream, but BG is gonna have her retired, her jersey retired as well, okay? BG helped win two of them things for the Mercury. She's an all-time great player for them, also. But those are the first two players that come to mind to me when you think of Mercury. So great stuff by DT. And what I loved about that, they did it so quick. She just retired. I love that they didn't wait. I mean, anything can happen, God knows. Tomorrow's not promised. I'm so happy as a Lakers fan, side note that they didn't delay Kobe Bryant's jersey being retired. The Lakers honored the late Kobe Bryant and have both number eight and 24 retired. And I believe it was two years after his retirement that they did that. Thank God, right? Thank God, because we lost Kobe back in 2020. And I'm just grateful. You know, obviously, the statue unveiling, he was not present for, and that was emotional. I'll be honest with you, my allergies were acting up that day. I didn't see the statue unveiling. But I love when organizations are timely. Hey, one of our all-time great players has retired. Let's not delay this thing. So having CDT be able to get her flowers and to see that. All right, more all-time greats being honored. Former MVP, Candace Parker, former MVP, Elena Deladon, were elected into Basketball Hall of Fame to go along with the incredible Shamikwa Holesclaw, one of the greatest women's college basketball players absolutely ever, ever, ever. She's on a short list, I think, of five people on the planet. Greatest women's college basketball career. Brianna Stewart's on that list. Um, I have to say Diana Tarasi's on that list. Those are three. Those are three people. Real conversation has to be had. But yes, congratulations to those ladies for making Basketball Hall of Fame. Candace Parker's speech went viral. Lots of incredible takeaways from her speech, Meek speech, um, Elena's speech. It was a pleasure to watch all three of those players. Um, to know me is to know Candace Parker is one of my favorite players ever. Her Cynthia Cooper, my two favorite players of all time. So I was, you know, just in it was just incredible to watch her play, not only from college, but coming to the Sparks and being able to deliver on a championship. She's on a short list of players that have played on multiple teams in the WNBA and won a championship on every team. Uh, some guy named LeBron has done that. I don't know if y'all heard of him, but yeah, Candace Parker went to Chicago and delivered on a championship there. Um, from Chicago, went to Las Vegas, won a championship there. She was injured, um, but still contributed, was a part of the team, big part of the team, actually, and won a chip uh for the Aces as well. So uh CP3 is the nickname. She got three of them things, two in college. Congratulations on a great career for all those ladies. Um, I was just happy as a Lady Vall fan to see all the former Lady Valls show up for both Candice and Meek. Um, all the Meeks were there. My girl, um Tamika Catchings also shortlist the players, one of my all-time favorite. I love Tamika Catchings. Top five for me ever in terms of just a fan of hers. I love Tamika Catching. She was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, two-way player. I think Cheryl Swoops would have something to say about that. I think Asia Wilson would have something to say about that. But yeah, you know, my bias is coming out. I am a Lady Ball fan, and I was very emotional. My allergies, once again, y'all. I guess I gotta start taking allergy pills, but my allergies once again were bothering me because I was thinking these are Pat's kids, man. The great, late great Pat Summit. Wish she could have been here to see her girls go in and they went in together. And again, all of Rocky Top came out, celebrated the lady. So good stuff there. Um, just a really, really good, good weekend. Um, and so we'll leave you with this. And this is something that you know, not nothing groundbreaking here. This has been discussed and talked about, but I have to be honest, I am really, really starting to buy into the fact that the Minnesota Lynx are the favorite and should be the favorite to win it all. And I know that Olivia Miles in the last game um against the Valkyries two nights ago now, tweaked her ankle. She came back, sat on the bench, never returned to the game. Looked painful. Not sure what that means, not sure if she'll miss any time, but I'm not overly concerned. No news has come out, which sometimes no news is good news, right? I'm really starting to come around to this. Now, once it became very clear to me that the Liberty were not going to win this year, they were my pick. I had the Liberty versus the Aces for the championship game, and I still believe that the Aces can get there. I'm starting to believe less and less that they actually can beat Minnesota in a seven-game series. So let me tell y'all kind of a little bit of my thinking there before I wrap up this episode. I know the regular season, the last two games, Minnesota has beat the Aces, and they look good doing it. But in my mind, the Aces still have the best player. Her name is Asia Wilson, and it's really hard for me to believe that anybody, including the great Minnesota Lynx, can beat the Aces four times out of seven. But because of the play of Jewel Lloyd, having a career just low points per game, field goal percentage. I mean, she's this has been, I think, Jewel's worst season. Last season was rough. This season has been worse. Um, Jewel has fallen off a cliff. I love Jewel Lloyd, but we can't mince words here. It's been a stinker of a year for her. Now, I give uh Chelsea Gray some grace. But Chelsea's not the same Chelsea, but Chelsea is aging. I think Chelsea's still extremely valuable for so many different reasons to this team. But this Chelsea Gray that we've seen in the regular season cannot be the playoff Chelsea Gray. If this is what we're getting from Chelsea Gray, the Aces are not winning anything. I have no gripes with Jackie. My gripe now becomes with the bench. This is not a very deep team. And in years past, that's been the case. They've been extremely top heavy, so they have all of these high, you know, value salaries, and so they're known to only have nine or ten players, period, because of the salary cap, right? But this bench feels extremely thin, minus Kennedy Carter. Now, far be it for me to question the thought process of the great Becky Hammond. She is a champion, she is one of the greatest coaches in this league. Far be it for me to question whether or not Kennedy Carter being waived should have been the move. But what I will say is if the Aces continue to play the way they play and they make it in the playoffs, and they do not win, and a big part of that is because Jewel Lloyd still plays poorly. Chelsea Gray doesn't play well, and they have very little, if any, type of contribution from their bench, this will come up. Kennedy Carter being cut will come up. Was whatever she was doing so detrimental that that 20 points per game that she was giving you could be missed. The arrogance of letting go a 20-point per game bench player that outplayed some of your starters, by the way, and not really replace her, didn't really replace her. It's not like they waived her and then they signed someone, and that person's averaging 14 a game off the bench. All right, it's not quite Kennedy, but hey, we're still winning. But with Jewel playing like dog crap, hey, Becky, I love you, and I'm riding with you, and I'm wanting to stand firm that the aces are the champs until somebody else decides. But let me tell you something. Olivia Miles don't care about none of this. Living Miles don't care nothing about no history. Living Miles, Nefisa Callier, she can taste it, she can smell that first championship. Cheryl Reeves, number five. That's all they're seeing. Cheryl sees the number five in her dream. Fee sees that first one. Liv sees history. You know who Liv is seeing when she closes her leads? Candace Parker. Because Candace Parker came in the league, won rookie of the year, an MVP. She didn't win a championship. That's who Liv is seeing. Liv is seeing Magic Johnson, who came in, won immediately for the Lakers. A championship. Those are the two people Liv is seeing. Cheryl Reeves is seeing the number five. She's trying to break away from the comets because right now they're tied with the comets for most championships all time. She's sick of being tied with them. So all she's seeing is five. Asis, wake up. I don't know what kind of talk, kumbaya or whatever needs to happen. It's getting real. It's getting real. And the liberty are no longer really a true threat, especially with Satu Sabali, you know, remaining a question mark if she can return due to some head injury stuff, which is very serious. We're wishing her the best, by the way. It's not the liberty. I don't even think it's the fever. I don't think it's the dream or the Valkyries. It's those doggone Minnesota Lynx. I know y'all hear their footsteps. I'm gonna leave it at that. I'm gonna leave it at that. Hope everybody gets it together. My team's out of it. We started off this podcast telling y'all the sparks have been eliminated. I don't have a dog in the fight. I'm totally unbiased now. No reason to fret about my commentary. I'm giving you my honest thoughts of what I see. Because my team has been irrelevant for the last decade. And one of our all-time great players is just announced she's retiring. So I'm hanging on by a thread. So for me, it doesn't matter if the Aces win or the Lynx win, neither are my team. I love both players, you know, multiple players rather, on both teams. So I just want to see a great finals. And who knows, that may not end up being the finals. But right now it's looking like it may be the finals.

SPEAKER_00 40:57

CD matters.