Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we've been saying 6-7 our whole lives.
As in 6-7 is the ideal height for my future husband.
And as with every trend that makes its way to old white ladies, 6-7 is now officially over.
You're welcome.
It's Monday, October 27th, and on today's show we'll be getting you ready for the start of college hoop season, which tips off a week from today.
We'll chat with Emily Adams of the Hartford Courant about the highlights of UConn's championship offseason the Huskies' chances of repeating and the teams most likely to challenge them.
Plus a skier creating new peaks, a race reaching new heights and a coach making WNBA history.
It's all coming up right after this.
This is an iHeart Podcast.
Hello, America's sweetheart Johnny Knoxville here.
I want to tell you about my new true crime podcast, Crimeless Hillbilly Heist from Smartless Media, Campside Media and Big Money Players.
It's a wild tale about a gang of high-functioning nitwits who somehow pulled off America's third largest cash heist.
Kind of like Robin Hood except for the part where he steals from the rich and gives to the poor.
I'm not that generous.
It's a damn near inspiring true story for anyone out there who's ever shot for the moon.
Then just totally muffed up the landing.
They stole $17 million and had not bought a ticket to help him escape.
So we're saying like, oh God, what do we do?
What do we do?
That was dumb.
People do not follow my example.
Listen to Crimeless Hillbilly Heist on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
I live below a cult leader and I fear I've angered her.
Wait a minute, Sophia.
How do you know she's a cult leader?
Well, Dakota, luckily it's I'm Not Afraid of a Scary Story Week on the OK Storytime podcast.
So we'll find out soon.
This person writes, Hold up!
A real life cult?
And what is a dirt ritual?
No clue. clue, Dakota.
Find out how it ends.
Listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, I'm Cal Penn and on my new podcast, Here We Go Again.
We'll take today's trends and headlines and ask why does history keep repeating itself?
Each week, I'm calling up my friends like Bill Nye, Lilly Singh, and Pete Buttigieg to talk about everything from the space race to movie remakes to psychedelics.
Put another way, are you high?
Look, the world can seem pretty scary right now.
But my goal here is for you to listen and feel a little better about the future.
Listen and subscribe to.
Here We Go Again with Cal Penn on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Chicago, a white woman's murder, a black man behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.
90 years of killing somebody I have never seen.
The Crying Wolf podcast is the story of a corrupt detective, two men bound by injustice and the quest for redemption.
No matter the price.
Listen to the Crying Wolf podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome back, Slices.
Here's what you need to know today.
Let's start with soccer and the U.S. women's national team's friendly series against Portugal.
After the US opened friendly number one with a 2-1 loss last Thursday, marking the team's first loss to Portugal in 12 contests all time, the Americans rebounded with a 3-1 win on Sunday in Connecticut.
Olivia Moultrie led the way with two goals in the first 10 minutes, including one just 45 seconds into the contest, with Sam Coffey adding another, for good measure, in the 82nd minute.
Ahead of the contest, the U.S.
Women's National Team also honored longtime goalkeeper Alyssa Nair, who announced her retirement from the international scene last year.
Nayer, who grew up in Connecticut, said she had more than 150 family and friends in attendance, including 12 Chicago Stars teammates.
While Nair hasn't yet announced plans to step away from the NWSL, she also hasn't yet announced plans to keep playing either.
Her current contract with Chicago runs to the end of this season and when asked about her future plans on Sunday, Nair said quote I'll make a decision at the end of the year end quote.
More soccer news.
U.S.
Women's National Team forward, Lynn Biandolo, announced on Saturday that she and her husband Marley, are expecting their first child.
In an Instagram video of Lynn and Marley cuddling with a onesie, Biandolo included the caption quote And your parents are already so embarrassing.
End quote.
U.S.
Coach Emma Hayes expressed her delight over Biandolo's news telling reporters at a press conference on Saturday.
Quote She is an old soul who will be Sorry.
She is an old soul who will be an incredible mom, and if she so chooses to continue playing her career, we will support that.
Whether she wants to compete to come back for a World Cup, you'd have to ask Lynn those questions."
As part of the same press conference, Hayes said US soccer is currently working to create a quote-unquote pre- and post-pregnancy protocol – for US.
Women's National Team players that will support players and help them return to soccer safely after baby.
To the NWSL and back to the Chicago Color Neutral Stars.
They've announced that they've re-signed defender Sam Staub to a multi-year contract extension that'll run through 2029.
Staub, who was drafted by the Washington Spirit in 2019, has been with the Stars since January of 2024, when she joined the team via trade.
That 2024 season was cut short when she sustained a season-ending Achilles tear in July of last year, but she managed to rehab quickly and has played the full 2025 season.
To alpine skiing.
You know winter is close when the athletes are back out on the slopes.
The World Cup season got underway over the weekend in Solden Austria, with a giant slalom race won by host nation skier Julia Scheib, with American Paula Molzen finishing second and Switzerland's Lara Gut-Barami placing third.
Meantime, American Michaela Schifrin, the winningest alpine skier of all time, finished fourth, marking her best finish in a giant slalom in 21 months.
And fourth felt pretty nice, considering her strained relationship with the giant slalom event of late.
You might remember, during a World Cup race in Vermont last November, Schifrin sustained a puncture, wound and an oblique injury when she crashed during a giant slalom race.
Schifrin returned to the slopes to close out last season and excelled in the slalom, which has always been her best event.
But she struggled in the giant slalom and said she was battling post-traumatic stress disorder when racing that event.
Following her fourth-place finish in Austria this past weekend.
Schifrin wrote on Instagram quote End quote.
Schifrin also recently announced she's launching a podcast called What's the Point with Michaela Schifrin, which will debut on October 29th.
And she's expanding her personal brand, including a new logo which features her initials MS, shaped like a mountain.
To the WNBA, where the New York Liberty have gained a few investors, including friend of the show, Robin Roberts.
But the team have also lost an assistant coach.
After one season with the Libs, Sonia Rahman is headed west after agreeing to a multi-year deal to become the new head coach of the Seattle Storm.
Raman is the first person of Indian descent to be a WNBA head coach.
She was also the first Indian American woman to be an MNBA assistant, spending four seasons as an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Speaking of the storm, French phenom Dominique Malanga, fresh off a WNBA all-rookie team season with Seattle, has withdrawn from her off-season contract with Turkish team Fenerbahce.
She signed a three-year deal with the club in March.
But in a social media post on October 20th, Fenerbahce announced that Malanga quote unilaterally terminated her professional player contract with our club without any just cause.
End quote.
Now, a few days earlier, Malanga had posted a TikTok detailing the surgery she'd undergone for a dislocated tendon in her wrist, estimating that she'd be in a cast for about six weeks and saying, quote maybe some of you were wondering why I wasn't in Turkey yet.
End quote.
Per a friend of the show, Annie Costable of Front Office Sports.
The Turkish team could try to deny Malanga's ability to play in the W next season, claiming that she violated the terms of her contract.
Writes Costable quote This would give Fenerbahce and Malanga about six months to rectify any potential dispute and clear her for a WNBA return.
End quote.
To cycling, where the course for the 2026 Tour de France FEM has been revealed.
And with nine stages and a record total distance of 1,175 kilometers.
It'll be the longest race in women's tour history.
It'll also feature a record elevation of 18,795 meters.
This, the fifth iteration of the modern women's race, will also get its own standalone time slot, beginning a full week after the end of the men's event.
Said race director Marion Rousse quote we no longer need men for the Tour de France Femme to exist.
There's no need to have the men's race as a platform to launch the women's race.
Now people are waiting to see us.
People have embraced us and we are fixed in the sporting landscape.
The new date, separate to the men, prove it, end quote.
To golf, Australia upset the US to win the LPGA's International Crown Team event on Sunday, with Aussies Minji Lee and Hannah Green winning their singles matches over Americans Angel Yin and Yulemi Ngo respectively.
Meantime.
The world team featuring the top-ranked athletes whose nation didn't qualify a team finished third overall, with England's Charlie Hull and New Zealand's Lydia Ko leading the way.
To the world of running.
Kenya's Ruth Chepengedich, world record holder in the women's marathon, has been banned for three years after she tested positive for a banned diuretic in March.
The Athletics Integrity Unit, aka the AIU, conducted an investigation following the positive test result and, And the takeaways we now have are honestly pretty wild.
Per the AIU.
The minimum reporting limit for the diuretic Chepengedich tested positive for is 20 nanograms per milliliter.
But the amount detected in her sample was 3,800 nanograms per milliliter.
In her initial interview back in April, Chepengedich couldn't provide an explanation for her positive test.
And then data from her mobile phone was copied for analysis.
And in July, when Chepengedich was shown evidence from her phone indicating quote end quote Chepengedich still didn't have an explanation for the positive test, but she maintained that she had never doped.
Later in July, in a written statement, the story changed.
Per the AIU report, Chepengedich said she had quote now recalled that she had taken ill two days before the positive test and she had taken her housemaid's medication as treatment without taking any steps to verify if it contained a prohibited substance.
End quote.
Included in the submission was a photo of the medication blister pack which clearly indicated the name of the banned substance.
The AIU concluded that her explanation was hardly credible.
We'll link to the full AIU release in the show notes.
As of now, Chepengedich's world record, which was set in October 2024, is still valid, given that it was ratified prior to her positive test.
As we talked about in a previous episode of the show featuring distance great Kara Goucher, some of these track and field doping stories are a little more complicated than they might seem at first glance, as many athletes aren't just looking to win for glory, but rather as a way out of poverty for themselves and their families.
Of course that doesn't give anyone a pass to cheat and certainly doesn't offer peace to clean athletes who are trying to win and set records the right way.
You can read more about Kenyon Runner specifically and doping and the nuances of the issue in a New York Times story from last year.
We'll link to that in the show notes.
All right, Slices, a couple quick shout-outs on this Monday.
First to Super Slices, Megan and Kristen out in San Luis Obispo for hosting me at Cal Poly on Friday and kicking off my weekend just right.
Thanks for spreading the gospel of good game and for those adorable orange slice balloons that greeted me on campus.
I also want to recognize the legendary Misty Copeland, who took her final bow for the American Ballet Theater last week at the company's Fall Gala.
Ballet may not be a sport, but Copeland is most definitely an athlete.
In 2015, she was the first Black woman promoted to principal dancer in the American Ballet Theater's 75-year history and her long list of endorsements, including an award-winning campaign for Under Armour best that of most pro athletes.
During a speech at the gala honoring Copeland, Oprah Winfrey said quote Misty didn't just perform ballet, she changed it.
She redefined who belongs, who gets to be seen, and who gets to lead. end quote.
Congrats on changing the game, Misty.
Also, you can check out Misty on Harper's Bazaar's first ever digital moving cover.
It's stunning.
We'll link to it in the show notes.
All right, we got to take a quick break.
When we come back, rings and repeats with Emily Adams.
In the new podcast Hell in Heaven, two young Americans move to the Costa Rican jungle to start over.
But one will end up dead.
The other tried for murder.
Not once.
People went wild.
Not twice.
Stunned. but three times.
John and Anne Bender are rich and attractive, and they're devoted to each other.
They create a nature reserve and build a spectacular circular home high on the top of a hill.
But little by little, their dream starts to crumble, and our couple retreat from reality.
They lose it.
They actually lose it.
They sort of went nuts.
Until one night, everything spins out of control.
Listen to Hell in Heaven on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The forces shaping the world's economies and financial markets can be hard to spot.
Even though they are such a powerful player in finance, you wouldn't really know that you are interacting with them.
And even harder to understand.
Donald Trump's trade war 20 is only accelerating the process of de-dollarization which, in a way, is jargon for people turning away from the dollar.
That is where the big take from Bloomberg podcast comes in to connect the dots.
How unusual is a deal like this?
Unprecedented.
Every weekday afternoon, we dive deep into one big global business story.
The biggest story of the reaction of the oil market to the conflict in the Middle East is one of what has not happened.
Katie, you told me that ETFs are your favorite thing.
They are.
Explain that.
Why is that the case?
And unpack what it means for you.
Our breakfast foods are consistent consumer staples, and so they sort of become outsized indicators of inflation.
Listen to The Big Take from Bloomberg News every weekday afternoon on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
I live below a cult leader and I fear I've angered her.
Well, wait a minute, Sophia.
How do you know she's a cult leader?
Well Dakota, luckily it's.
I'm Not Afraid of a Scary Story Week on the OK Storytime podcast, so you'll find out soon.
This person writes My neighbor has been blasting music every day and doing dirt rituals and now my ceiling is collapsing.
I try to report them, but things keep getting weirder.
I think they may be part of a cult.
Hold up, Sophia.
A real life cult?
And what is a dirt ritual?
No clue.
But, according to this person, contractors are tearing down the patio to find out what's going on with their ceiling, and her neighbors are not happy.
Well, she needs to report them ASAP.
She did!
And now they've been confronting her in really creepy ways all the time.
So do we find out if this person survives their neighborhood cult or not?
To hear the explosive finale.
Listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Crying Wolf podcast is the story of two men bound by injustice, of a city haunted by its secrets and the quest for redemption, no matter the price.
White, victim, female, pretty.
Black defendant.
Chicago.
A white woman's murder.
A black man behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.
I had 90 years for killing somebody I have never seen.
He says the police are his friends and then that's it.
They turn on him.
A corrupt detective.
How he was interrogated, the techniques.
That's crazy.
A snitch and a life stolen.
They got the wrong guy.
But on the inside, Lee Harris finds an ally in his celly Robert, who swears to tell the truth about what happened to Lee and free his friend.
And if you're with me, you're golden.
I'll take care of you.
I'm going to be with you.
You stuck with me for life.
Listen to The Crying Wolf Podcast starting on October 22nd on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Joining us for a return visit to the show.
She covers Yukon women's basketball and the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA for the Hartford Courant.
She's an Olympic nerd, a raging Philadelphian, a winner of the 2024 Rising Star Award given by the US.
Basketball Writers Association.
And she got to feed the giraffes at the Maryland Zoo once, but definitely not because her girlfriend is a zookeeper.
It was totally random and definitely unrelated.
It's Emily Adams.
Hi, Emily.
Hi, thank you for having me back.
I'm very jellyfish that you got to feed giraffes and that you're dating a zookeeper.
Both of those things seem very cool to me.
Um, yeah.
Now, last time you were on, we chatted mostly about your pro beat the Connecticut sun, but today you're here to talk all things Yukon and the start of the NCAA basketball season.
The Huskies are opening up the season as the preseason number one for the 13th time in program history, coming off their 12th NCAA championship.
Now, of course, they lost superstar Paige Beckers to the pros, but they're bringing back super senior AZ Fudd, sophomore sensation Sarah Strong.
And they're looking to defend their title.
So, before we get to this season, I kind of want to wrap up last year's season and their title, because the team recently got their rings.
So tell us about the bling.
Tell us about them getting that bling.
Yeah, we got to see the rings up close.
We didn't get to go to the ring ceremony, but we did get to see the rings up close today.
They're heavy.
That was my first takeaway.
They are like way bigger and heavier than I expected.
But it's really cool.
The seniors got to help design them.
So they've got lots of like fun little things on there.
They've got their little the power of friendship like mantra that they picked up.
I think they picked it up from, like, fans on social media, and it, like, became a thing.
They've got vibes written in the ring.
You know, the bottom of the ring which I was like is the most like current college age thing ever.
It's such a time capsule.
Like 30 years from now when they look at their regnitz's vibes, it's going to be like, yeah.
It cracks me up.
But yeah, it's and then they've got the it's cool.
It unscrews like the top comes off.
You can use it as a pendant.
It's got like a little chain ring.
And then there's a piece of the basketball inside that's like encased in something.
So they're really cool.
They did a really good job with them.
It was the first time I've ever seen a championship ring up close.
So yeah, I was very impressed.
The basketball from the title game?
Yes.
Yeah, the one they won with.
That's awesome.
Paige found her way back into the mix.
We also saw that Paige became a new member of the practice squad.
So tell us about that.
I just love them rolling out the shot of all the dudes that are on the practice team for UConn.
And then in the mix, we see Paige Beckers.
Yeah.
As soon as I saw that, my my first impression was just like what a relief for those poor boys, because they I mean she's sort of like infamously trash.
Talk them harder than like anybody.
Like it was they were on the receiving end of anything coming out of her mouth.
So you know, I think now it must.
It was like it must be a relief for them to to get to be on on the other side of things and I mean, I'm sure great for like the team to have her around.
And you know, they've got like their point guards are very young and like mostly inexperienced this year, so to just kind of have, like that, That presence back in the gym I'm sure is huge for all of them.
You mentioned the power of friendship.
I feel like there's probably some like multi meanings to that, including the power of like secrecy.
We were so impressed last year with the UConn team, not talking about not revealing the big secret of AZ and Paige together.
And now this year's team needs to unite around another major secretive.
So we're going to have to figure out what they're bonding over being able to like, protect and hold sacred for the team this year.
But it's so fun to see Paige back there.
And to sort of think about her passing the torch to AZ FUD.
What have you heard about AZ maturing and sort of taking over as leader of the team this year?
Yeah, it's interesting.
Like her kind of stepping into this leadership role has really been like one of the big sort of storylines of the offseason.
And It's going to be very different from like, the way that Paige was a leader, just sort of inevitably.
And that's something that Gino has talked about too is just that you know you can't.
You know the sort of leadership quality that Paige had, that sort of just like presence.
Leader of our team.
But I think for AZ, a lot of it is just like getting more comfortable with the vocal side of it.
And like not that she has to be, like she doesn't have to be vocal in the way that Paige was, to the extent that Paige was, but just sort of like being able to do that a little bit more, just like being comfortable with her checking teammates on things, being comfortable with expressing how she's feeling about how something's going, pulling them into a huddle in practice, and stuff like that.
And She's talked about it being a process for her.
It's very unnatural and uncomfortable.
She is so much quieter and introverted and really just prefers to lead by just sort of being the example and lead through her work.
But I think we're starting to see it.
They put an exhibition today, and you're starting to see it a little bit more.
You can tell, especially in-game, the confidence is definitely there for her right now.
So I think, as the season goes on, it's just going to kind of, you know, it'll get better and better the more experience she has having to do it, because this is really the first time that she's had to.
Yeah, I want to talk about the exhibition and what's expected of this season.
But before that I want to ask if there are any other questions.
Big sort of off-season, post-championship moments that stood out to you?
Because I was kind of watching and enjoying seeing the players be courtside at events, seeing AZ launch her podcast here on the iHeartWomen Sports Network.
I just saw a promo for...
Yukon cameos on Hell's Kitchen.
It seems like they were really like making the best out of the kind of excitement and enthusiasm around them, winning the title.
What stood out to you from this offseason?
Yeah, it was.
I mean, honestly, like a big one to me was the draft.
Like that was so soon after the championship.
So I feel like it kind of is like so far in the rear view now.
But they had the entire team there including like, Caden Samuels, who was on the team last year, had already announced she was Entering the portal.
She was there with them.
They had, you know, all the like super seniors and everything there and just like seeing them all kind of get to celebrate that together as kind of a like a last hurrah, especially like with, you know, Paige and Aubrey and Caitlin, then immediately like had to go start the rest of their lives.
Um, so I feel like that one is one that, that I always kind of just like think fondly about it.
Like that was sort of the last moment they were all together and kind of got to be a unit.
Um, and I honestly I think the podcast for AZ has been really cool to see, just because it's again like it's so uncomfortable for her, like even in media, like there's been this like running joke even with Gina over the years that like she's so in decisive and she doesn't, you know, she's like wants to like think about her answers for so long and so seeing her kind of like come into that and it's funny now to kind of you know, having been listening since she started doing it, like Hearing her get more comfortable with it and like noticeably just like much more confident, much more at ease with it.
It's been really like.
I think it's really kind of like a microcosm of like what she's going through on the court right now.
So that's been a cool one to see.
Yeah.
Fud around and find out for those of you who are not yet subscribed.
That's AZ's podcast here on the I Heart Women's Sports Network.
Okay.
Let's get to that exhibition.
You're talking to us right after the team's second exhibition game.
They won 105 to 39 against Southern Connecticut.
Not exactly a close one.
What are you seeing from the team that maybe surprises you?
Honestly, the biggest surprise to me so far has been how good they look.
I think this is true just sort of as a B-writer in general.
I think you're much more critical of the team that you cover than any other one.
Cause you're seeing it on such like an intimate level.
And I think like coaches talk about this too.
Like you're seeing like the bad stuff all the time.
Like you're seeing all of the bad stuff all the time.
You're talking about like what they need to work on, what they need to improve on.
And so I think like I was worried about what it was going to look like without Paige, just in terms of again the leadership having that kind of floor, general presence.
They have five newcomers, I would say, four of whom are going to play fairly significantly, two of whom are probably going to be comfortably in the rotation.
So it's just like a lot of pieces to put together.
But it's looked.
It's looked a lot more like not not necessarily seamless, but just a lot smoother than I expected it to.
Like Sarah Williams, who came in from Wisconsin, has looked awesome anytime we've seen her her play.
They played Boston College as well, and she was awesome in that game.
K.K.
Arnold looks really comfortable kind of running the show and stepping into that point guard role.
I thought like Kaylee Heckel, as a transfer in from USC, looked a lot better today than she did in the first exhibition.
So it's just cool kind of seeing them like start to step into those roles and seeing it now at this point, you know, it's obviously like it still kind of has its like ugly moments.
Yeah.
But yeah, I've just been really surprised just sort of how quickly they've been able to look like a contender again.
You mentioned a couple of the new faces on the team.
Anyone else we should look out for, whether it's transfers or freshmen?
Blanca Quiñones is probably the biggest sort of question mark in a positive way this season.
She's from Ecuador originally.
She's been playing professionally in Italy. since 2020, I believe.
So since she was, like, 15, 16.
And her thing is, you know, you see some of like the international player transition with her right.
She does, like, the international travel thing where, like, their role is slightly different.
And Gino keeps poking fun at, like, the amount of turnover she has and stuff.
But...
You can see with her what it can look like.
Like she just is so athletic.
She has such a good basketball sense.
He's talked about this.
She makes plays that just like a freshman doesn't make.
You can tell this is someone who has played a lot of basketball and like at a very high level already at 18 years old.
So I think once she's comfortable, once she's adjust to like the NCAA reffing and stuff like I think she is one who, like when we're in like february march april, is going to be a huge, huge difference maker.
Somebody who makes plays that freshmen shouldn't was sarah strong last year, pretty much all season long.
What are the expectations for her in her sophomore season?
I mean, I think they've kind of been set up.
You know, she's the youngest player on the AP All-American team to start.
She's the preseason Big East player of the year.
I think it's just, you know, you look at what Sarah did last year and you kind of don't understand.
I feel like I can't comprehend how it can be better.
Yeah.
Especially watching her live.
I don't know why, but there was something about seeing it live that you're like, how?
How is this a freshman doing this?
She's just different.
She's just special.
And I think it's been really interesting this year to hear, I mean, really everybody talk about like she's better.
Like, she has come back better.
You can see it physically, honestly.
Like, she looks like she's in better shape.
She looks again just on the floor like looks more comfortable, looks more confident, looks like she is sort of just more like willing to assert herself.
And she's also, she's playing more in her true position this year.
She's playing more of a 3-4.
Last year she was playing center a lot because you know UConn didn't have like their best lineup was a small lineup by a pretty comfortable margin um, and she obviously you know there were benefits to having her be undersized at center, because she's so athletic, she moves so well, she can do so many things and so you know, true post players had trouble guarding that.
But now we're getting to see her kind of get into her guard bag a little bit.
You know, like she's shooting from the outside a little bit more than she got to last year.
She's passing, you know, a little bit more than she got to last year.
So it's, yeah, I just, the ceiling is so astronomical. with her.
Do you think that's where we're going to see her?
Do they have more of a presence of bigs that you think they're going to go with that lineup more often where she's kind of a guard forward?
Yeah, it's I mean, Sarah Williams helps a huge amount with that.
She's a former Big Ten defensive player of the year is really like.
She is very much that like true post, like wants to get the ball in the paint, that sort of like.
You know, throw it to me offense.
Back them down.
Yeah, she's looked like a really consistent scorer, which is what they've really lacked in the post players, you know, with Ice Brady and Jenna Alfie last year.
You know, they're both like pretty good defenders, pretty like solid presences, but they just aren't Like.
They just never looked super confident scoring.
And so I think, having someone like that, who can you know?
You have that default button of OK.
Well, if we don't know what to do, just like throw it over the top to Sarah and hope she can get it in.
That opens Sarah up for just like a world of other opportunities.
We're going to have to go by last names with these two.
I can already tell for this season.
It's tough.
You're like, Sarah doing this is really going to help other Sarah doing this.
We already have a tough time with it.
And yeah, like Janna's coming off of she was coming off an Achilles tear last year.
So, you know, she's one where you kind of hope she takes a little bit of a leap this year.
Same thing with Ice now.
This is her last year was her like first season.
Full year off, like not having been injured, having like a healthy offseason and everything.
So you know those two as well, you kind of hope can take another step and be able to sort of add something alongside that.
I mean, you can run, you know you can run Ice.
As the four, Sarah Williams as the five, Sarah Strong as the three.
And that's a humongous lineup that's running.
So it's just cool.
It's cool.
They have a lot of pieces to play with this year, which has not been the case for a while.
Let's talk about the season opener versus Louisville.
This is for the Armed Forces Classic.
Why did it move from Germany to the U.S.
Naval Academy?
My understanding of international relations is limited at this point because whenever I open the news, I want to die.
So I haven't really been paying attention to international events when it relates to women's basketball.
So what's going on there?
Yeah, it's been kind of crazy.
The government shut down, and it didn't occur to me until about a week and a half ago that that was going to be something that would be an issue for the college basketball season.
Right.
But they were supposed to play in Germany on the Ramstein Air Base.
The air base is like a U.S. military base in Germany.
It... is, you know, effectively closed right now.
They're, you know, operating at like super reduced capacity.
They stopped communicating with ESPN who's the organizing the classic.
And so it.
You know, we kind of got down to this point where it was like okay, ESPN has to kind of ship all of their stuff out there and make a call.
They have to like, build a court on this airbase and everything, um.
And so they had to yeah they, you know, the government has not reopened.
There's sort of no indication that it's going to um.
So they, they had to, you know, figure it, figure something out on the fly.
So we're going to the Naval Academy now.
We found that out three, four days ago now.
No schnitzel for you.
But yeah, it's, you know, the Naval Academy is super beautiful.
Like, I love that campus.
So I'm excited to go down there.
But yeah, it's been a real weird couple of weeks.
I bet.
I bet for ESPN and everyone involved too.
I bet maybe Gino's happy.
He's like, let's just get rid of the jet lag, get rid of having to take them all.
Although there's something about team bonding that happens when you take those big trips together to other countries.
So maybe he'll create some of that same camaraderie through their travels to the naval base.
Speaking of Gino, he's still at it.
You know he was on with us last season, kind of ahead of the tournament, and he hinted to us that he both thought about and probably should have retired after Brianna Stewart graduated.
Four titles in a row like living the dream, but that he's still around.
How could he possibly not stick around with someone like Sarah Strong?
And it feels like there will always be another player that he gets excited about.
That keeps him going.
What do you think it is that motivates him to keep coming back and wanting more?
I don't know.
It's funny to hear him talk about it now.
He talked about it a little bit at Big East Media Day a couple days ago and was like I don't have an answer for this question anymore because I don't know.
I just think he...
He hasn't stopped feeling the itch.
And I think he's just kind of riding that until it goes away.
And it hasn't.
And so, you know, it's like they're still winning.
They're still able to recruit at a really high level.
He's been able to adjust to the new era super well.
Yeah.
You know, he's kept his whole staff together basically the whole time that he's been there.
You know, Chris Daly obviously has has been his right hand the entire 40 years.
But, like even right now, Jamel Elliott and Tanya Cardoza were both on his staff previously, have been back on his staff for several years.
Morgan Valley played at UConn, is now on staff.
It just is this little bubble of he's just kind of kept it that way for as long as he's been doing it.
And it's just kind of like...
You know, if he's I think it's just as long as he's still having fun with it.
It's like, why not?
You know, and he's able to stay relating to the players.
How do you think he does that?
It's like a non creepy version of the dazed and confused line of like I keep getting older and they stay the same age.
Like, how does he manage to keep, you know?
Finding a way to connect as generational changes happen.
Yeah, I say this a lot.
I think that really is one of the most impressive things about his whole tenure is that he has adjusted so smoothly, really it seems like, to this era.
I think one of the things that makes...
Him unique and him and CD kind of unique as a pair is.
They're really, really excellent at identifying the kids who fit with them.
Like, I think that is sort of an incredibly underrated skill.
You know they don't.
They very rarely have players transfer out.
You know they've never lost a starter or like a key contributor to the portal, ever.
So it's just... Elena Deledon was pre-transfer portal and very early in that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But it's, yeah, it's, you know, it's just like they know what works for them and they have this sense for identifying the kind of kids that are going to fit with their system, are going to, you know, get the UConn culture, are going to kind of buy into what they're doing.
And it just, it keeps working.
Yeah.
So it's yeah, I think, that sort of like not even talent evaluation, but like ability to like evaluate personalities and like figure out who fits together, who fits with them.
It's a really, really like impressive and like underrated skill to me.
Yeah.
Let's look at the rest of the NCAA.
I know your beat is UConn, but you're obviously looking around to the rest of the women's college basketball scene to see who might provide them with the biggest challenge as they look to try to repeat as champions.
So which teams very early in this stand out to you?
I mean, I think, you know, you always kind of have to go back to South Carolina.
I think you know South Carolina is one of those teams where and very much in the UConn vein now, I think where It kind of doesn't matter who's on the team.
You're just assuming they're going to be in the Final Four.
You know, I think they have a really good group this year.
Even, you know, losing Chloe Kitts was a really big... big blow for them to a I believe she has an ACL tear and so that was a real a real heartbreaker for them but you know Joyce Edwards I think is phenomenal she's I think she was number two to Sarah in their class They're kind of similar in some way.
I think she's a really cool player who has a really high ceiling.
They have some veterans back with.
Raven Johnson's veteran point guard brought in a couple of good transfers.
So I think they'll be up there again.
Yeah.
In that system.
Like you've seen what she can do as a scorer at a school that's not going to contend.
Seeing what Dawn might be able to do with her to make her a more well-rounded player.
That isn't just about putting the ball in the basket and playing within the system.
I'm really excited for her.
I think sometimes I can be a little cynical about the portal when it comes to just let me leave where I am and find a better situation.
The grass is always greener kind of thing.
But there's something to be said for a player like that that can just go off at any time anywhere, and seeing what happens when you put them with a really fantastic coach in a system that works.
That's going to be cool.
Yeah, and the other, you know, UCLA is another one you kind of expect to see back in the final four.
The bets.
I'm so excited.
Just I don't know if you've had a chance to see any of the interviews that they do together, but they are not.
Sister, sister, like, I can't wait.
We love each other so much.
There was like some real anger about, like you know, Lauren taking a spot at UCLA that was supposed to be, you know, her sister's school, and now they're together and they're and like I think it's going to be such a job for Corey Close in the best possible way to get the best out of them while also having to manage the realities of their unique relationship.
Like that's going to be such a cool story this year.
Yeah.
And I love I'm a huge fan of Lauren.
I'm really excited to kind of see what what this year looks like for her.
And then on UConn's schedule.
I think Tennessee is their biggest game of the year, which is really exciting.
Like the rivalry is very much feels like it's back.
I'm really high on Tennessee this year.
I like them a lot.
I obviously saw them beat UConn last year, so that colors things a little bit.
But yeah, I think, you know, the addition of Janiyah Barker is...
Awesome for them.
I think they have a really good core returning.
I saw Talasia Cooper, I think, is poised to have a really like breakout year with them.
I saw her a little bit when I was working at South Carolina when she was a freshman there.
And she's just so amazing. unique in her athleticism and the way that she plays.
So I think they're going to be a really, really fun game here in Hartford.
And hopefully it'll be the first top 10 matchup in the series likely, I think, hopefully in a while.
So yeah.
I think that's sort of the one that I think UConn has circled the most.
Yeah.
They won't tell you that.
Every game matters, whatever's next.
But we know they've got them secretly circled.
I'm just so excited for this season.
Last question for you, just for fun, so we have it on record in advance of months from now when we look back at this interview.
Who's your final four for this part of the season?
We haven't seen a single play happen, but who you got?
I haven't had to do this yet.
OK, well, I mean, so we'll we'll pencil in UConn in South Carolina.
I think those are the two.
And I'm going to put UCLA there as well.
I just I think they have a really unique combination of things that that are going to get them there.
The fourth one is really where that's the one that's the most up in the air to me.
You know, I think like a lot of people have Texas penciled.
I really like LSU this year.
I like that, you know, Flagey Johnson, Michaela Williams, Malaysia Fulwiley.
Trio.
I think I'll give them my fourth.
So we're not going to repeat Final Four.
We'll go UConn, South Carolina, UCLA, LSU.
I think that'll give us a fun group in Phoenix.
I love it.
I'm so excited.
You just got me so pumped for the season.
Thank you so much for the insight.
Thanks so much for the excellent reporting from behind the scenes.
We'll definitely be checking back in with you during the season for more good UConn intel.
Absolutely.
Thanks for having me.
Thanks again to Emily for hanging out with us.
We got to take another break.
When we return, it's a feminine nominon, the rise of a Midwest pageant princess.
Stick around.
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A female athlete topping the list of a state's admirable qualities.
Rating one of one bedazzled balls.
Review.
Last Friday we asked you to send us the best women's sports-related Halloween costumes.
You see, this year.
Keep sending those in, by the way.
And we got a great submission from Slice Janet Sully, who dressed as President Caitlin Clark, tailed by her personal Secret Service agent.
You remember the stud buds refer to Caitlyn as the president because they call her up when they need to get something done.
Well, Janet had the full fever uni on and her companion was rocking the white shirt, black tie, sunnies and earpiece perfectly.
We thought it was the best we'd seen, but now we're certain that no costume could compete with the getup.
Miss Indiana rocked at the Miss USA competition this past weekend.
Contestant Sydney Shrewsbury repped the Hoosier State for the state costume portion of the event by wearing a custom Caitlin Clark-inspired look, complete with a number 22 tube top and shorts, a sparkly basketball and a cape with basketball net details.
Forget the Indy 500, Reggie Miller, or that torch with the stars on their flag.
Caitlyn is the state symbol of Indiana now.
Now it's your turn.
Rate and review.
Thanks for listening.
See you tomorrow.
Good game, Emily.
Good game, Lynn Biandolo.
F*** you, far-flung impacts of the government shutdown.
Good Game with Sarah.
Spain is an iHeart Women's Sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.
You can find us on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Production by Wonder Media Network.
Our producers are Alex Azzi, Grace Lynch, Taylor Williamson, and Lucy Jones.
Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rutter.
Our editors are Emily Rutter, Brittany Martinez, and Gianna Palmer.
Production assistants from Avery Loftus.
And I'm your host, Sarah Spain.
This is an iHeart Podcast.
