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So I was never reserved. So I don't know how to relate to that. Can't relate. Can't relate. You know, you know, I had to put that out there. No. This is Queens of the Course. What's up, everybody? Welcome to another episode of Queens of the Course. An Odyssey original podcast produced in partnership with the WNBA. I'm your girl, Cheryl Swoops. And I'm Jordan Robinson.

is insane. Woo! Let's do it. First of all, I love the dew. Oh, thank you. Yes. You know I love the big hair. Oh, sorry y'all. Sorry y'all. It's just a big puff on top of my head because I need to wash my hair, Cheryl, but I don't want to. Ha!

so therefore you just put it up in a big you call it a puff but you know what everybody can't rock that and you are rocking it it's so big that it needs to be in two separate puffs it's like two ponytails because I don't have a hair tie big enough for just to put it in one puff

That's how much hair I have on this head. And I contemplate cutting it off every day. Thank you so much. I'm like so going out of order. But since you just talked about your hair, I'm going to say this like,

This has nothing to do with basketball, but I think it's interesting to have a conversation about stuff that's different. Like, you know, hair and nails and lashes. We need to have a whole episode about that because, you know, the lash thing is in basketball. I say this every time. There should be different stats for people who have lashes versus people who don't. Because if you're shooting...

45% from three with lashes. That's a superpower. That seems like it's extra, right? I agree. We should have a beauty episode. A beauty episode and our end of year awards. We're going to do like best lashes, best nails, best laid edges. I'm telling you, it's a thing. I love it. It's a thing.

All right. Last thing, y'all. I'm sorry. Cause y'all know, I say the baby of the WNBA, Jordan, my son turned 26 years old yesterday. Oh, crazy. Right? How does that feel? Are you asking me if I feel old? I didn't say that. I do, but I do.

about like I don't know it seems like only yesterday he was running around Toyota Center and every player in the W was carrying him and changing his diapers and all those great wonderful things and he is a fully grown man 26 doing his thing was co-MVP in Lebanon this year so just doing his thing I'm a proud mom and just want to say happy birthday kiddo I love you bunches

I love that. Wait, because we have the same name, did you name him after MJ? Is there... Well, you're Jordan, but I was going to say, is there any other Jordan?

No, you're Jordan. I did. No, I did. You did. Okay. And it's weird though, because a lot of people say, well, if you named him after Jordan, it should be Michael. I was like, no, because everybody he's Jordan, like air Jordan. Yeah. And Michael didn't sound right. Jordan did. So of course I did. Yeah. Great. My parents claim that that had something to do with it, but then they were like, oh, my dad was like, I was really in my...

diaspora phase it was the Jordan River and I was like okay yeah it was 94 it was after MJ let's be real parents but the Jordan River is even better than the Michael Jordan yeah I don't believe him I think it was MJ at least you're honest laughing

So I appreciate that. I do. Yes. Well, happy birthday. Thank you. Great, great birthday. And it's a celebration for parents too, when their kids have a birthday as well. So it should shout out to you. We're the ones that went through all the pain. All right. Let's get it. We got a lot to go through today per usual. Um,

We have some WNBA All-Star rosters to talk about. Phoenix Mercury parting ways with their head coach. And a bunch of thrilling games over the weekend. We had an overtime game.

I mean, Mystics, Liberty game that I want a full playoff series tomorrow. I can watch those teams battle all day long. That was so good. So good. Literally they battle. Yes. Like elite level basketball. I don't know. There's something there. There's something there. I want to know. I want the tea. Somebody out there got the tea. We need the tea. Pour me some tea, please.

We're going to talk about all that. But first, we wanted to try something new. So we are opening up some listener mail. We put a call out to all of you to send us your thoughts, feedback, questions. We have it all. It's been so fun to get these. Make sure that you guys submit yours. But we're going to go through a couple of them that we received. So first...

Liam, who says he only recently started watching the WNBA more consistently, he wrote in with this question about Nafisa Collier specifically. So we're just going to take a chunk of your question, Liam. But this is what he said.

I'm kind of salty when it comes to the coverage of Fi. There's something about her game that I just really enjoy. I find it crazy that she's not in the top 10 for the All-Star game. Why do you think that she's not a quote top player for a lot of people? I'm not sure that that's the correct way to put it, but I don't hear or see her talked about as much as other players. I listened to a really old podcast with her in Asia when they had

T with A and Fee. I love that podcast. Side note. But she said she thinks she might get overlooked because she's not as flashy as a lot of the other players, but she's very efficient. So Liam wants to know, why aren't we talking about Nafisa Collier kind of as a collective? I feel like we haven't talked about her on the podcast as much either this year, even though she's been balling.

I don't, we haven't talked about her as much as we've talked about some other players, but at least for myself, she has not gone unnoticed. I will start off by saying as a former player who had a child and came back to play, it's not the easiest thing to do.

And I'm saying that because what Nafisa Collier is doing this season for the Lynx and in the W overall is remarkable. I don't know if a lot of people truly understand that.

What your body goes through, what your mind goes through to be able to come back and not just compete, but come back and compete at such a high level and putting up the numbers she's putting up and her production like it's crazy. So this isn't a flower section, but I'm giving her flowers because I totally get it. I understand. So why don't people talk about her? Yeah.

I don't know. Liam is saying because Fee said she's not as flashy as a lot of other players. I don't necessarily know if I agree with that. And here's why I'm saying this, because I can think of players right now who...

aren't very flashy. I don't think AT is very flashy, right? So maybe that's the problem why people don't really talk about her as much. And it's really surprising to me though, because she went to UConn. Here's why I say that. Because typically UConn fans are all about their UConn Huskies, right? Like South Carolina fans,

when Aaliyah Boston does something great, South Carolina fans are all about Aaliyah Boston. I do think a lot of that starts with your college fan base. South Carolina is going to ride for Gamecocks all day long. It's very surprising to me that we don't really see that with feet. And it's like...

like it was when she was a rookie and she won rookie of the year and she a lot of people were talking about her in that you know I actually did a feature story on her for the ringer when I was working there and

So I started the story about how you aren't very outspoken. You kind of aren't that. I was kind of trying to describe her leadership style. And she was like, yeah, I lead by example. I kind of don't. I may not be the loudest in the room, but I'm going to show you what to do. And I'm going to do it well. And you look at her stats and she does that. She's averaging 21 points, almost eight rebounds.

50% from the field. She is very efficient, like Liam said. And yes, maybe she isn't super out there on social media or all of these things, but she's a solid player who's going to play in the WNBA for a very long time. When I talked to Cheryl Reeve, you know, during the final four, she's like, everything is revolving around Nafisa Collier. Anything that we do is revolving around fee. And she's that type of player. So, yeah.

The all-star numbers, not people talking about it as much. I wonder if you ask her, like, does it matter? Because she knows that she's going to have a long standing in this league. I don't know if it necessarily translates to people aren't talking about her, so therefore she's not good. That's not always the case. Well, it's not because I look at...

Like a Jewel Lloyd, right? Jewel Lloyd to me is flashy in a way. But people don't really talk a lot about Jewel Lloyd. Yeah. Right? And she's leading score. Like she's having a hell of a season. But here's when you're winning, when your team is winning, you get talked about. Good or bad. Good or bad. Yeah.

And I do think that makes a difference when you look at you look at Seattle, you look at Minnesota, you look at Indiana. Right. Indiana, I think, is being talked about a little bit more only because they're there. They're a fun team to watch. They have some really great young talent. They're exciting to watch. So I do think that's why people talk about them a little bit more. But you got to win.

And I'm not saying that's one player's fault. You have to win for people to talk about you. I think with Fi, I totally agree with you. As a rookie, I was like, okay, one, this kid's going to be really, really good. And people were talking about her. When you have a child and you're now a wife, you're a mom, your priorities change also. Personally, I don't.

I don't think Fee's worried about how much people are talking about her or not. And a lot of players use that as motivation, right? Like, oh, okay, they forgot about me. Let me remind you. Like, no doubt, I don't have a dog in the fight, don't get a vote. I do believe Fee will be a reserve, as she should. Yeah, I think so too. And when you think he had a question about her, you know, not being a starter, but...

You know, like we could have this conversation about a lot of players and I know we'll get into all stars later. Yeah. We're going to have that conversation. But you know, but when I, when I look at, at feed, not being a starter. And when I look at the front court starters, because that's where she would be. I'm like,

Who do you take off? Because if you put her on as a starter, you got to take somebody off and we can get into that later. Yeah. But I don't think she's forgotten about. Right. I just think you you start winning ballgames. Stuff changes. Exactly. The Minnesota sitting at four and nine right now. If they make a push, you know, after all star break, if they're making a.

crazy inclined towards the playoffs, we're going to be talking about her because she's going to be that main reason of why that's happening. No doubt. Okay. All right. Well, thanks so much for writing in Liam. That was a great alley-oop to talk about Nafisa Collier. I see what you did there. No one's talking about her. I'm going to make you guys talk about her.

Great question. Great question. Okay, so we have another question from Christy. She wrote in after noticing a few players on the WNBA transaction page, including Courtney Vandersloot, Brianna Stewart, and Nneka Gumbike, recently amended their contracts with, quote, time off bonuses. She wanted to know what that meant. And honestly, no.

We had to do a little research so that we could answer this question, Christy. And we're not going to spend too much time on it, but I think it's important just to know, especially if you're a new fan or wanting to look at contracts a little differently. And this is what some information that her hoops stats said. Here's the deal.

Time off bonuses are payments to encourage players to take time off during the WNBA offseason. The payment is limited to $50,000 for the first offseason of the contract and can only increase by 3% each year. Each player with a time off bonus has a clause in their contract specifying how many days a player can play professionally during the WNBA offseason. That can go from zero days to 90 days.

Now, time off bonuses do count against each team's overall salary cap. And you can go as deep of a dive as you want on her hoop stats. But essentially, Vander Sloot, Stewart, and Agubike just amended their current contract to include time off bonuses that will apply moving forward. So...

You learn something new every day. There is a part of something on some players' contracts that can go back giving you some extra cash so you can rest.

And this isn't something new. It goes back to the 2014 to 2021 CBA. It was also included in there, but I think we're just seeing it a little more often as Twitter and WNBA Twitter is trying to dig up some more details around contracts, but I thought it was interesting. Well, no, it is. It is. It is new. Didn't exist in 1997. Yeah. Oh, it is new. Yeah.

I have so many questions around what you just told us that you and I can discuss later. So here's my question. So first of all, does every player have this?

It doesn't seem like it, but it definitely varies in prices. You know, I think I saw like Alicia Gray has a 20,000 time off bonus, whereas maybe a Brianna Stewart has the 50,000. It definitely varies. Okay. Or some not at all. That was my first question. So if...

If they take their time off bonus, right? Let me read this. Make sure I'm getting it right from zero to 90 days. So is that saying, all right, I want to take my time off bonus this off season. So are you compensating me the $50,000 so I don't go play overseas? That's my understanding. Yes. That's like rest your body. Here's money to rest your body. But my question is,

The overseas bag can sometimes outweigh. Oh, that's not a question. Well, that's a statement fact. Yeah, it's true. The overseas bag can sometimes outweigh, but I guess it just softens the cushion of, okay, if I'm choosing to rest, I get nothing or I get $0.00.

I guess that's what you're kind of weighing. But you can still play overseas. Just you have to have the mandatory rest period that's in your contract. Which is anywhere from zero to 90 days, right? So you could just shorten the time you play overseas. You could still go get some of your bag overseas, come back home and still get the $50,000 as well. Right? Yep.

I mean, okay, I'm not a hater, but I am because I so wish we would have had that. I like it. So I had no idea what it was either. Yeah. So I'm glad, Christy, I'm so glad you sent this question in because...

Well, somebody did the research for us and it's like, that's interesting. That's good information to know. Great information. Shout out to our producer, Alex. She definitely did some digging on that. And I love learning new things. We talked about how much I'm a nerd before. Um,

I think that now when we see that in contract negotiations and when players are fighting for that, now you know what it means. Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yep. Boom. It's good to know. These were great listener emails.

Thank you so much. We have so many other ones, but these were just a little snippet of what we wanted to include this week. If you do have any other thoughts, questions, topics, want to throw something out, any other ideas, because clearly these are some great pitching ideas. You can email us at queensofthecourt at odyssey.com, but we still have more to talk about, including all

All-Star rosters, which is a little spicy, a little spicy there. We'll be right back. And now a word from our sponsors at Betterment.

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This episode is brought to you by Honda. When you test drive the all-new Prologue EV, there's a lot that can impress you about it. There's the class-leading passenger space, the clean, thoughtful design, and the intuitive technology. But out of everything, what you'll really love most is that it's a Honda. Visit Honda.com slash EV to see offers. Okay, welcome back to Queens of the Court.

It is almost all star weekend and the stars are aligned. No, that was cheesy. Okay. Boo. Tomato, tomato. Okay.

Get the lineup, the starters out there before we get into the full discussion. But for a second straight year, no surprise here. Asia Wilson, Brianna Stewart will serve as team captains after receiving the most fan votes for any all-star starter. But the front court starters...

is as follows. Asia Wilson, Brianna Stewart, Brittany Griner, Satu Sabali, Aaliyah Boston, Nneka Agumbake. Then for the guards, we got Jackie Young, Jewel Lloyd, Arike Agumbawale, and Chelsea Gray. All right.

Just a little refresher real quick. WNBA All-Star starters are determined by a combination of fan voting, 50%, media voting, 25%, and current player voting, which is 25%.

That ratio came up a lot when the full list was released on Twitter. But what kind of stuck out to you as I name off those starters? I feel like everyone is deserving and there's so many superstars in this league that a couple people could be tossed around. But what were your initial thoughts? I thought they got it right. But I want to say this, um,

We can sit here and have the argument all day about who should have been a starter, who got left off, who wasn't a starter. And again, back to what we said earlier, is Nafisa Collier deserving of being a starter? Absolutely she is. Is Alyssa Thomas deserving of being a starter who just set the triple-double record? If anybody's deserving, she is. A.T., come on the show. Love you. Okay. No, no doubt. Right? Right.

I mean, it's so hard to say put Ateon as a starter, put Nafis as a starter. And then I look at this list. Are you taking Asia off? No. No. Rihanna Stewart? No. BG? No. Satu's playing out of her mind. She deserves it? No. OG Nneka Agumake is holding it down for the Sparks. Very deserving. And I left Aaliyah for last because I know a lot of people have...

looked at her as a starter and they're like, what? And my thing is, are you whatting because she's a rookie? Right. I think absolutely. Yes. Yeah. Don't do that. That's the issue. Don't do that. She is a Leah Boston's balling. Yes. She should be a starter if I had a vote. So I'm going to put this out here at WNBA, whoever else former players need votes when it comes to voting for all stars. Okay. Just putting that out there.

I mean, I'm not going to argue. I'm not going to argue with the starters and the guards to me. Jackie Young has elevated her game to a whole different planet, a whole different planet. Jewel Lloyd, Arike, Chelsea Gray, like that's showtime. So I don't know. I'm just, I'm saying, I don't know. Like who, who are you going to take off and who are you replacing them with? I don't know.

That's a hard, that is such a hard question. Just going off of Leah Boston too. She was the first WNBA rookie since 2014 to be named as an all-star starter. And let me ask you this. I'm like actually curious. This is a genuine question. And as a former player,

What to you is the difference between starter and reserve? If you make the all-star team, when we look back on the record books, it's just going to say five-time all-star, two-time all-star. It's not going to say starter. It's not going to say reserve. Maybe if you get the MVP, it doesn't matter if you're a starter or reserve. Anybody can get the MVP. Right.

I agree with that. Is it a pride thing or what is it because the player's vote is a part of it? What to you is the difference between starter and reserve as a player? So I was never reserved, so I don't know how to relate to that. Can't relate. Can't relate. You know I had to put that out there. No. It is though. You know how we do. Um.

No, but it is a pride thing. And I think when you look at how current players have a say-so in that, right? Fan voting, current players. Yeah, it's a pride thing. Like, it's a good feeling to go to the All-Star game amongst your peers and you know how much they respect you. They respect your talent. They respect your game. And they feel like you're deserving of that starter spot.

But the overall picture, there have been players in all-star games who weren't starters, came off the bench, and walked away with the check and the MVP. So really, it's not that big to do. And most coaches in all-star games, they try to be fair with minutes, right? Just because you start doesn't mean you're going to play a gazillion minutes. And honestly, depending on who the coach is and if they have players on the team, they try to give their players a little bit more rest.

You know what I mean? Yeah, that's a good point. Well, it's like, I don't want my player potentially getting hurt. Yeah, that's true. So there's a lot that goes to it. But I want to go back to Aaliyah and say this because there was a lot of hate on Twitter when Aaliyah was announced as a starter. And Lindsay, help me pronounce her last name, D'Arcangelo. D'Arcangelo.

She posted about Aaliyah, kind of think it's funny people are questioning Aaliyah Boston's legitimacy as an all-star starter when she has the third best, let me repeat, third best player efficiency rating at 29.3 and the highest, the highest field goal percentage, 65% in the entire league. That's on nine plus attempts per game.

She said, I love this. She said, don't let the rookie tag. She said, she said blind you, but I said, fool you. Like I so appreciate her putting that out there because my thing is this, who, who are we? And I'm saying we in general as fans or whatever to say that,

because someone's a rookie or the other side, because someone is a vet that's been in the league for a while, neck of the neck, who are we to say that they don't deserve that spot? Because the way this season has gone so far, I don't really care what Indiana's record is. It's an all-star game. You want to put the most deserving, best players in the game

And the ones who the fans say and the players say and the media, these players have proven they should be starters. Aaliyah Boston is one of those players. No doubt about it. She is exactly where she's supposed to be. Mm-hmm.

And Shiloh to Lindsay's incredible writer, reporter in the women's basketball and WNBA space. She came with the numbers, the receipts that said, this is accurate. This is correct. But the other thing real quick, the last thing on Aaliyah Boston, because I do want to go through some of these fan rank, media rank, player rank, and how lopsided they are. When you look at Aaliyah Boston,

media or fan rank for media rank seven player rank six. The players think that she deserves to be an all-star. And honestly, that's all that matters. Random people on Twitter is saying she doesn't deserve it. The people who are going up against her night in and night out are

They are saying that she is an elite player and other, other people on this list have kind of had that. I think Alyssa Thomas, we, we've talked about her over and over and you mentioned it, how she set the WNBA record for triple doubles. She's,

Just on Sunday against Chicago, she had 14 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists. Fourth game this season with double-digit assists, by the way. Killing it. Her column, 10th fan rank, 4th media rank, but 7th in player rank. Nobody wants to go up against Alyssa Thomas. So if you're telling me...

Like the, the player rank is definitely important because they are on the court with these people. And then they're saying, okay, if I don't make it, cause it could be, you know, this is all the players in the league. So if I know I'm not an all-star, who do I want to see in the all-star game? Who as a fan of women's basketball, who do I want to watch because of what she does to me every week?

Alyssa Thomas is one of those players. So, Aliyah Boston is one of those players. And all these players that were on this list, I think that that is...

very, very important, the differences in the player rank roles specifically. But you know, we could sit here and talk about, you know, the breakdown because I'm looking across like even the guards and front court. And there are a couple that are really interesting to me in like BG,

So fan rank, she was third player rank. She was third, but media rank. She was six. Yeah. And I'm just kind of like, I don't, I don't understand it. I'm not media, but that one was, was really interesting to me.

But then when I go to the guards, because for the most part, a lot of them, fan, media, player, they're pretty close together. They're pretty similar. But when I go up to the guards, you talk about the four guards that are starters, Jackie Young, Jewel Lloyd, Arike, and Chelsea. Like fan rank, media rank, player rank, they're all one, two, or three. So you go down that list. Honestly, this kind of surprised me. Like Sabrina Ionescu.

Fan rank, she's 6. Media rank, she's 6. But player rank, like, she's 19. 1-9. I gasped. I was like, I thought it was a misprint. Did you mean 9? Yeah. No. Like, no, like 1-9. 1-9. And you know the other player who's in double digits? Player rank? Mm-hmm. DT. 14. 14.

14 player rank. Yeah. Here's my thing. Here's my thing. I think it's great that the fans have a say so in voting. I think they should. Right. I think media should. But as a former player and when I played, I appreciated fans voting. I appreciate media voting.

But to receive votes from my peers, my teammates, players I'm playing against night in and night out, like that's a whole different level of appreciation, right? And respect. Because these are the people you're going up against day in and day out. And for players to say she deserves it, she deserves it, she deserves it. Like, I don't know, maybe it's just me.

But that that means something totally different than fan votes and media vote. Yeah. What your peers think of you. And it's it's I always have this conversation around the NBA, too. And when I cover the NBA closely and we talked about all star voting and we talked about all star starters and recognition and.

For the NBA players, they had contract stipulations on if they became an all-star or not. Like, that was a huge... There's money on the line that fans are voting for. Like, that didn't really make sense to me all the time because it seemed like this is put on a very high pedestal, but you could...

You know, retrospectively, you could hire a bot that just goes in and clicks all day. And this is a contract stipulation. So sometimes that didn't always make sense to me. But you know what, Jordan? Go ahead. No, go ahead. No, I was just going to say that there seems like there is a little bit of a balance because there is a weighted score on it. But I think...

it's funny because if somebody who is a fit, a casual fan, maybe doesn't watch all the games, they would think Sabrina Unescu was one, one, one, one across the board. It's going to be all-star MVP. So I think that's why it really took me aback of like what everybody sees, what the players think are very, are two sides of the coin. Yep. And,

And now, you know, the starters kind of reflect more of what, like we've been talking about, who the players want to see in this all-star game. So that was just very interesting to me. But back to your point when you were talking about, does it really make that big a difference if you're a starter versus a reserve? Not from a standpoint of playing in the game, but...

there are also players, not every player. There are also players who have in their contracts, right? With their, with their brands, their bonuses, right? So some players it's, if you, if you are voted as an all-star starter, you get X amount of dollars. If you make the all-star team, you get X amount of dollars. So from that standpoint, that's where players are like, damn, listen, I'm trying to get my bag. Please let me be a starter. You know,

I get all of that. Got it. But at the end of the day, to me, I don't, I don't think, would I rather be a starter than a reserve? Yeah. Just because of pride, because of pride. Right. But at the end of the day, you're an all-star. Yeah. You know, you're an all-star and that, that speaks a lot. It does. I'm for one excited to see the rest of the, the 12 reserves will be selected by the head coaches and,

The All-Star Game, as a reminder, July 15th. I think it's going to be so fun. I can't wait. It's going to be airing on ABC, 5.30 p.m. Pacific, 8.30 Eastern Time. It'll be in Las Vegas. Viva Las Vegas. We'll be there. Viva!

space. Hope you'll be there. And I sometimes with the W we've talked about this. It's such a small sample size so far, but all of these players are balling out of control. Oh, yeah. And I think some sneakily my

my favorite part is when people feel like they got snubbed and then they just go on a a tear for the rest of the season to show you why they got snubbed a la chelsea gray getting final dvp last season so that's always fun too if you don't make the list they will show you every single day why they should have made the list so that's gonna be good it's gonna be good um

Not to switch gears so quickly, but you know something that's not good? Phoenix Mercury's coaching situation. Vanessa Nygaard is out as head coach after a 2-10 start to this season.

2023 WNBA season. She was hired by the Mercury in January 2022 and oversaw the team while Griner was detained in Russia all of last season. But the decision was announced after Phoenix's loss to Seattle 97-74 on Saturday night, the team's fifth straight loss. Do you agree with this? How do you feel? Um...

Let me start by saying I am never, ever, I've never, ever been a person who wants to see somebody lose their job or like, you know what I mean? But, but that's this profession, coaching sports. That's it. You got to win. At the end of the day, you got to win. If you don't win, then you'll be looking for a new job. I don't think all the blame lies with Vanessa though. I agree. That's,

I mean, that's kind of where I am with that. So Vanessa gets hired in January of 2022. And correct me if I'm wrong, Brittany gets detained in Russia in February, I believe. I believe so. Yeah. So Vanessa takes the job, not knowing any of that stuff.

going to happen right so you got diana you got britney you got skyler right you got some pieces you got brianna turner like you got pieces britney gets detained in february all hell breaks loose meaning oh my gosh like like the biggest piece to this team is no longer here

So not just from a standpoint of physically not here and how that changes your roster and your strategy and everything going into game, but mentally that affects everybody. Okay. You have Diana who is still playing, still doing her thing, but Diana is not the Diana of old.

Like she's not. That's just part of being an athlete. We get older. We can still play, but we can't do the things we used to be able to do. Right. But you're asking her to continue to be the Diana of old. And it's not what she can do. You got Skylar. There are issues with Skylar and the coach. And like, there's so much stuff going on with this team. I just don't want to put all the blame on Vanessa. But the last thing I'll say, then I'll let you come in.

But they made the playoffs last year without Diana and without Brittany. How? Yeah. Yeah. That's a great reminder. Because I think I even forgot. It's easy to forget about that when you start 2-10. Yeah. They made the playoffs last year without Brittany and Diana. And you're 2-10 this year with Brittany and Diana. And no Skylar. I don't know.

I agree with you. I think this is something in the Robinson household that me and my husband go back and forth all the time about the coaching carousel and how the coach is always the first one to go. Of course. The scapegoat, it's what happens. It seems like it's in their contract almost. If something goes down, you're going to go first. You're first. You already know.

So I agree with you. I don't think it's all on her. I think this roster has a lot of holes in it. Just regardless of who the coach is, just looking at who the Phoenix Mercury have BG and Diana Taurasi can't do this. And they've been injured these past couple of games as well. So it's really like a free for all of who, who is out there. And it's,

I almost feel like it's not fair to put it on Caddy Sissoko, who's a rookie, getting extra minutes and being like, you're the reason why we're 2-10. Not at all. I agree with you. It didn't seem like the Mercury fans were really huge fans of Vanessa Nygaard. No, from the beginning. From the beginning. I think Sandy Brondella was there for many, many years. And I think that was a tough...

act to follow. And it was a I think you said it perfectly.

Just a tumultuous time for the Mercury these past couple years. And she was at the heart, the eye of the storm that she was trying to navigate all of that. I will say that they have an interim head coach who was assistant Nikki blue. She's going to be the head coach for the remainder of the season. She played five seasons in the WNBA for the mystics and the Liberty, but it's, it's hard to,

Always say, okay, here's the roster. The roster is staying the same. We're going to change the coach. That part. Are they going to go 10 and two? I'm not sure. You never know. Jordan, listen. Are there great coaches in our game? In every sport. Absolutely. But what also made those coaches great, they had talent. Like,

Cheryl Reeve was able to do some incredible things in Minnesota when she had, I guess you could say a sympathy. She had Maya Moore, Rebecca Brunson, Sylvia Fowle. You know what I mean? She had a roster of

And she had talent. She had players she could work with. She also had players who wanted to play for her, who were motivated by her, who respected her. Like all of that goes into competing and winning and believing. So I'm only using that as an example because I don't, I don't care how great or good a coach is. If that coach doesn't have talent, if that coach doesn't have players to work with,

It's not going to change a whole lot. And this is no disrespect to their roster. But you have players on your team who are probably role players, right? Who should be coming off the bench, playing 10 minutes a game, seven minutes a game. But you're asking players to come in and do things that they can't do. Right. Diana needs some other pieces around her. Brittany needs other pieces around her.

And so that's why I'm like, I don't I don't want to put all the blame on Vanessa. But at the same time, you also knew with the exception of what happened to Brittany, you also knew what you were walking into. Right. It's so to your point, does changing the coach mean, oh, my goodness, all of a sudden now they go 10 and two? Probably not.

I don't know. Like it's, it's a, it's an ugly situation. It's a tough situation. And you know, I, I have saw so many tweets from different people like Diamond DeShields tweeted. Like it's, I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen over there. That is a great way to put a bow on that because it is, it's a big question mark. It is a huge question mark.

of what is going to... What's the rest of the season going to look like? I was also talking to my husband about this. They have a terrible season this year, but the next two drafts are incredible. This could turn around quickly if the pieces come together. It's not just going to be the savior head coach that's going to come in. And last thing I'll say is...

This was a tough hand to be dealt. If you're Vanessa Nygaard, I am curious if she does get another opportunity in the WNBA or even at a college to coach and she has a different hand of cards. Are the results the same? Are they different? I think that she deserves that another chance to be like, hey, this is what I can do as a coach when it is not all of this chaos and wildness surrounding me.

We'll see. I'm with you. I don't want anyone out of the job. I want everybody to get the bag. No, never, ever, ever. But here's the thing. Typically, it's the GM that's drafting players or that's telling the coach, here's who we need to bring in. I mean...

I just, so again, we talked about Twitter, right? Because I want to, I want to read this tweet if I can real quick from, I don't know, this Michelle Smith says Mercury GM, Jim Pittman said fans have high expectations. They should have high expectations of him as well. Who put together the Tinder box of personalities they handed to Nygaard last season, who gave a 41 year old legend struggling to stay healthy, a super max contract. Jim did. Yeah.

Jim did. Michelle Smith, incredible women's basketball writer, especially for the Pac-12. I think that's a fantastic point. I mean, there's a new ownership in town. For all we know, they could be starting over. They could be clearing house. And the Nets and I guard was just the first to go because usually head coaches are. We don't know. I think the players are also like, okay, we're just going to keep rolling with it. We also don't know.

I like the Mercury fan base. I'm going to a game. Oh my gosh. I do too. They have one of the best fan bases in the league. They've always had one of the best, but you know, it's also hard to watch a team Jordan when I've watched him play a couple of times this year and they just seem like

so like defeated, defeated, not right. No, not motivated, like just going through the motions kind of like, let's get this season over with. Yes. And it's hard to watch that. It's hard to be a part of that. So at some point, unfortunately, as a head coach, you are, you're usually the first to go. And yeah,

I don't know. We could have a conversation about this for a whole nother hour. You know, we should call, you know, we should call Cindy Brunson, who is an amazing play by play for the Mercury. And she can tell us all what's happening. Yeah. All what's happening over there. Okay. Well, we'll keep an eye on that. We'll see if they can bounce back. Nikki blue,

Has already been around the team. She's an assistant coach interim. I think this is a great opportunity for her to be in this role. So we'll see how that plays out. Before we kick to break, a mini flower segment for Henny. Destiny Henderson. Yeah. God signed by the Sparks.

Let me just say the Sparks had a little mini series with Dallas over the weekend and they came out to an O, which is huge for the Sparks because they have been struggling late in games. Henderson had 18 points on Friday's win. She put up nine on Sunday. Just, I mean, no pun intended, but a spark off the bench for them.

I just feel like she was just so joyful to be out there to play in the W again. She deserved that spot. She deserves to be signed for the rest of the season. Clearly the Sparks need her. She was signed to an emergency hardship contract on the 16th, but she shined this weekend. Shine bright like a hymny. I don't know what a hymny is. That's what he always says. Oh my God. I know, but you know, I was like shine bright like a diamond. I just wanted to put hymny in there. Right.

I don't know. Remix. I absolutely love her with this squad. Me too. A lot. Here's the hard thing, right? So she signed a hardship contract. So what does that mean? What does that mean? Because I'm going to say keep her. But if you keep her, that means you got to get rid of somebody, right? Yeah. Who is that somebody? I don't know. But if you want to win, Destiny Anderson can help you do that.

I love her intensity. I love watching her on the floor. I love her being confident in running the team and doing her thing. And defensively, she's going to get after you. You know, what I think is not that she didn't already, but when you have something or when you want something for so long and you finally get it,

It's like, oh, I achieved it. I got it. Right. Then you kind of sort of get a little comfortable. Then you lose that thing. Right. It's hurting. Yeah. She got weighed. And now you're getting a second opportunity.

And it's like, okay, let me prove my worth. Let me show you why this is where I need to be. This is why you need me. Like, it's so tough because I don't want to, again, I don't want to see another player get waived. But what I do know is Destiny Henderson belongs in the league. Yes. And she's proven to the Sparks that she is a great fit for them.

Especially that game on Friday. That game on Friday. I was like, okay, honey. So good. Just like electricity. And you said it too, the defense and offense. I think she works off of Jordan Canada really well. And, you know, the sparks are down. Leja Clareton, Lexi Brown has been sick.

sick with a non-COVID illness. So it is going to be a toss-up if one of those players return. But it's all about making the most of your moment. And that's what Destiny Henderson has reminded everybody that, oh yeah, I can hoop.

All the finishes around the – like, I can go on and on. And I'm so happy that the result was a reflection of that. Getting those two wins for the Sparks was huge. So I hope that they can see her more and more in the rotation. I hope Zia Cook is able to find her way in there as well because I don't – I want everyone to succeed, but the reality is minutes have to fluctuate for everybody. But, all right. Anything is possible. Anything is possible.

Did you say Henny? Henny thing is possible? Henny. Henny thing is possible. Henny thing is possible. Take a break, but when we come back, we have Tweet of the Week. Tweet of the Week. Tweet of the Week.

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That's BlueNile.com. Welcome back. It's time for Tweet of the Week. We're going to get a jingle so you don't have to suffer. Tweet of the Week. Tweet of the Week. Okay. If you didn't see the video, it's a head movement that goes with the flow of Tweet of the Week. Tweet of the Week. Tweet of the Week. So majestic. You're funny. Right. The Tweet of the Week...

Of course, involves Sidney Colson, which, I mean, we're going to have to rack up awards for this by the end of the season, and Sidney Colson might win it. But it starts with the past. Chelsea point God Gray in a game...

against the fever was dry. I'm going to try to describe this the best I can, but she's driving down on the left side of the court.

Asia Wilson is streaming towards the basket, middle of the court. You know, you're thinking Chelsea Gray, oh, she's going to stop set up. No. Behind the back, no look pass to an Asia Wilson that wasn't even in frame of the camera. No, but Asia was ready. She was ready. She knew it was coming. I mean, if Chelsea Gray is your teammate, you got to stay ready at all points.

I mean, I could watch that pass all day long. Chelsea's body was facing. Well, she was facing the other basket. Yes. When she made the pass. Right. Like, yeah, there you go. Oh, it was so stanky.

stanky pass and then the las vegas aces uh showed the clip of that but then a zoom in on sydney colson's face while she's on the bench just seemed like she saw heaven for the first time tears were brought to her eyes she was having an outer body experience

That she later said, she said, I do not remember doing this or being there. It was like she floated out of her body after she saw this past. But then she came back with this tweet. So Nicole said, I think I'm pregnant from that past last night at Chelsea Gray.

Then she said, I'm going to send Chelsea Gray and her wife some papers so y'all can step up and do what's right for my little basketball. Because it was Chelsea's fault. Oh, my God. Like, that is the funniest thing ever. But you know what? Like, but I feel her like that pass was funny.

One for the ages. I've been around the game forever. Played with some amazing players. Point guards in particular. Dawn Staley, Teresa Edwards, Sue Bird. That pass right there? I don't even know what to say. It gives me goosebumps. Girl. Like it was so right on time. But not everybody. First of all, not everybody can make that pass.

Second of all, not everybody, like it had to be the right player she was throwing it to. Oh, yeah. Like Asia's running and looking like, Chelsea, I know you're going to get it to me. I don't know how, but I know it's coming. Somehow, some way. And it was, the defense was so flabbergasted. They were just like, was that a pass? Was that a bullet? Was that a rocket ship that just went by me? They were like, she didn't just do that.

The point guard. And Cheryl, you were on ESPN this weekend. You saw the highlights. You said it was nasty. It was nasty. And then Chelsea Gray said, thanks, legend, for shouting me out.

So this was just a full story of a tweet of the week. I just respect good basketball. And, like, again, I could see that, watch that pass every day. It was so spot on. The timing was perfect. And what we didn't show, or if you didn't see it, after Chelsea made the pass, I was like, Asia, don't miss the layup. Oh, yeah.

I think we all would have been mad if she missed that layup. She made a new push-up immediately. Asia finishes and Chelsea's running back down court herself. She made this stanky face, shaking her head. That's one of those where you're making that face and shaking your head, but in your mind you're like, damn, I'm good. Yeah.

Like, I just did that. Yeah, I did. That was very bad. And we talked about All-Star so much. Chelsea Gray is an All-Star. She just oozes the Showtime, like, it's going to be that times 100 come July 15th. I can't wait. That was, like, during a game, a real game. Like a real game, not an All-Star game, a real game. Imagine All-Star. Oh, my goodness. It's going to be good. Okay.

Well, that was beautiful. If you haven't seen it, make sure to go on Twitter and watch that clip real quick before we get out of here. By the time you listen to this podcast, the Fever and the Aces would have played again. They play Monday night. But one game that I have circled on this week of action is New York at Las Vegas. Thursday, June 29th on Prime Video Live.

This is what we wanted. This is the super team versus super team. Uh-oh. Did I lose you, Cheryl? Well, we lost Cheryl. Her internet went out. We were so close to the end of the episode. But we talked about a lot. The fans' questions were incredible. All-star voting. How the breakdown is with all-star voting. I think that's going to be a conversation that we're going to continue to have.

That'll do it for this episode. We're going to be back next week to talk about the other hot topics and the incredible games that have been going on. Make sure to follow, rate, and review the show. It's available on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Please keep sending us your questions, feedback, listeners. We love hearing them. Thank you. Thank you. Our email address is queensofthecourtatodyssey.com. Plus, you can always find me and Cheryl Swoops on social media. I'm at HeyJordanR and she's at AirSwoops22.

Court is adjourned. It's not the same doing it solo.