Strong Women Warriors
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$45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Taxes and fees extra. Speeds lower above 40 gigabytes. See details. And I'm like, yeah, this is Brianna Stewart. She's the reigning MVP. Let me introduce you to her. This is Queens of the Court. Welcome to another episode of Queens of the Court, an Odyssey original podcast produced in partnership with the WNBA. I'm your girl, Cheryl Swoops.

And I'm Jordan Robinson. And court is in session. Here we go. Late night court session. Here we go. We're recording this on Monday. Night court. And we have...

I say this every week. We have so much to talk about because what a first week of WNBA action. And I know we're going to get to the game play in just a little bit, but there's also just been so much news flying at us left and right. And, um,

I wanted to start with the brand new, the shiny brand new team that the WNBA just got. The Golden State Valkyries. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. What was your initial reaction when you saw the branding, the colors, everything? Seriously, I was like, dang, sign me up. Valkyries, love.

Love the name. Love the color. Love the video. I loved the rollout. I loved everything about the announcement. It was like, got me all super hyped and excited about this season, but especially the Valkyries. I love that name. Love that name. It's good, right? Yeah. It's just like...

I don't know. It just has a little extra oomph to it. And I mean, I was I was excited when I saw it. I did see, you know, the Valkyrie Violet and it did remind me of my monarchs with the with the purple. I feel like that kind of cut was like, OK, the monarchs aren't coming back. The purple was up for grabs. So that was my initial thought.

But I love how they incorporated Kehlani, who is an avid women's basketball fan and from the Bay Area. They had a huge like block party outside of the arena. E 40 showed up. Kehlani performed. The rollout was like perfect. This is what every new WNBA team needs to take notes. There was a teaser video where Kehlani narrated.

It was just good. And then my brother currently lives in the Bay Area right now. And he, you know, he FaceTimed me yesterday and he was like, oh, we're pulling up for the Valkyries next year. And I was like, oh, I'm hype. I'm hype. Just of how he how hyped he was. And there was a viral video of a line wrapped around the building. Did you see that? All for getting that merch.

Well, getting merch, season tickets, like it wasn't even a game going on. I love the excitement. I love the energy. I love the enthusiasm. Like I like, and I like the purple, little purple being in there. It did. It reminded me of Sacramento also. Yeah. I'm excited about it.

It's really good. Already passed 10,000 season ticket deposits. Like the Bay Area is so ready. Also just the, they landed perfectly on the day of opening day of the WNBA season, even though it's not for a year. The excitement was already around this season and they just capitalized on it and said, okay, next year.

this time Golden State Valkyries will be in the mix perfect they did it right I mean I don't know I'm excited I'm so excited to see what the Valkyries have in store for us the Valkyries and if you don't know a Valkyrie is like a yeah it's like the V's yeah let's go a

Valkyrie is a woman warrior, if you don't know. So it kind of goes off the Warriors. But I also like, last note on this, that they didn't choose Golden State Warriors colors. And they kind of played off the Warriors slightly, but they're like their own thing. And it's kind of badass. Yeah. No, it is. It is all the way badass. I really like it. Okay. Excited about that. Well...

Some other things. Let's get to some other news. One, real quick, just because last episode was so heavy on the charter flights debacle. Talk about more opposite of a rollout. Valkyries rollout versus charter flight rollout. Going to be more opposite.

But the league has officially come out and said that all teams will be flying charter as of May 21st. So that is Tuesday. That is tomorrow. All teams should be rolling charter. There were some asterisks in there because there are some destinations that are just faster by charter buss.

But, yeah, that's it kind of wraps it up with the bow. We'll see how this week unfolds. Hopefully get some more hype videos from all the teams on their charter flights. Any more thoughts on the charter flights? OK, that's my thought.

All right. We'll wrap that up with a bow. Hey, this is something we have wanted for a really long time. It is finally here. Yes, it was a turbulent landing, but we got here and we now have charter flights for the entire league. So however we got here, we don't know, but we got here.

No, I'm like ecstatic for the players, but I'm like on to the next subject because it was a hot mess. Like it was just a hot mess. So I hope it all happens, comes to fruition tomorrow. Everyone's on charter and we can talk about something else. Great. So we'll see. That's how I feel.

I think that was a perfect transition to the next hot mess of a subject. The Aces had an incredible season last year, two years back to back. They also got their bling this week for Ring Night.

Real quick side note, let's talk about ring night real quick because the rings are blinging. They are shiny. There's also a lot of emotion going into ring night, right? Because you kind of have to wait a while to get your ring. So when you finally get it, what are those emotions like?

Well, the first thing is you're excited to see what it looks like, right? Like how many diamonds I got? How big is it? What does it look like? No doubt. No doubt. So there's the excitement. And honestly, it's like you're excited to get it and celebrate. And then it's like, all right, it's time to do it again. That's what it is. It's like, all right, let me look at it. Yep, I got it. That's my second one. All right, here you go. It's time to go to work.

because I need another one of these. That's really what it is. It's a lot of emotion going into it, but like immediate motivation as you're about to tip off on the next season to say, we know what it took to get this one. Now let's start it again tonight, like immediately. So that's cool. That's a cool way to think about it. And then if you're the opposing team, right, that's playing, in this case, the Aces,

It's also motivation for you to be like, I want this to be us next year. Right. I don't want to be the visiting team that's playing the reigning champions and watching them or at least hearing them getting their rings and celebrating. So it's it's great for the team who's celebrating, but it's also like the opposing team. It's also motivation for them because you you want to be that team next year.

That's a good way to think about it. I bet whoever your Houston Comets was playing when you guys received your fourth ring, they were probably so tired of y'all. They were like, okay, let's wrap it up. We got to come after these Comets. You know what's funny is I really can't remember. I want to say that we always...

started the next season off with like new york or somebody like the team that we just played oh you know what i mean that's totally wrong but maybe oh i don't know that's that's spicy like we didn't see are we about to get this ring in front of you yeah like the aces should have opened up with new york oh that's good i'm here for that spice though yeah that's a good time i'm petty like that

All right. Well, another great transition. Because we are petty right now. The WNBA has launched an investigation into the Las Vegas Aces because, you

you know we were all on social media congratulating them for getting a hundred thousand dollars um per player sponsorship from the city of las vegas but now it's it's getting a little murky if you haven't seen this video of the announcement we're gonna play it for you right now hey everybody i'm here with leaders around las vegas and members of our board at the lvcva

The Aces have been on a historic run, two-time world champions. We're here to do something historic with them too. So come on in, let's take a look. Today we want to do something that is new, something I don't think anybody's ever done before. And we want to recognize you individually. We want to put some money in your pockets.

So we've got an offer for you. We think it's a great offer for us. We think it's a great offer for us. We hope you think it's a great offer for you. But we would like to offer each of you individually a sponsorship for this year in the amount of $100,000. The offer is really simple.

We want you to just play. We want you to keep repping Las Vegas. And if you go to three-peat, that'll be icing on the cake. So, that's it. One other thing, I just want to let you guys know, we have talked to every one of your agents. Yeah, proud of you. Three. Vegas!

Okay. So we see that video and everyone's so happy and excited. And this is a never before thing done ever done before. Um,

Not so much. I mean, I was excited for them when I saw that video and was like, yeah, let's invest in these teams. Let's give them more money. Did you have that same thought? Of course. Listen, for everybody, but especially if you're a rookie, right? If you're Kate Martin, if you're Deja Fair, like...

i'm like yeah i was like good for them like good for vegas let's go keep investing keep investing and then no it got a little a little sour um that video went viral everybody was sharing it talking about it all the aces players were quote tweeting it saying thank you we're honored but the wmba um launched an investigation i think a lot of our

initial thoughts and I'll just speak for myself was like wait wait wait we're taught we want this we want investment we want more money to be flowing through these players pockets but I are

our producer Alex passed along this great article that kind of broke it down even more because I think Callie Law Freeman did an amazing job kind of, you know, talking about what it entailed and how it was a sponsorship, but the, where the lines get murky. And this is from Michael McCann for Sportico is because he said, all you have to do was play. And that part makes it seem like,

That is a salary booster and an endorsement. Usually, you know, falling in line with NIL deals is because you have to do something else for your name, image and likeness. You have to, you know, sponsor beats headphones and be in the commercial. And now we're going to give you money for that. But in the video, the Las Vegas city rep was like, I got to do is play. That's it.

that's where the lines kind of get a little murky in the sense that does this consider just a salary boost? And now are we going over cap space? And that's where the WNBA has to kind of put up a finger and say, hold up, we got to look more into this. So the video kind of hurt the cause. Yeah. Well, yeah.

So you're 100% correct, right? Anytime there, like you have a NIL deal or an endorsement, right? You're getting paid for a service per se, for something, an appearance, a commercial, an autograph, something. I get what you're saying. The part about where he says, all you got to do is play. I think it's very easy to get around that.

Right. It could be a simple, he'd come back and say, listen, I just need each one of you to make an appearance here, show up somewhere. And I'm paying you $100,000 for this appearance. But then he says, if you hear in the background, he says, and just so you know, I've spoken with each and every one of your agents. So as an agent, it is your job or responsibility, right? To make sure that

Everything is on the up and up for your clients. So my question is, even if it wasn't everybody's agent, did an agent not, you know, see something wrong with that? I'm like, man, let these girls get their back.

That's my initial thought too. Like, please, this is what we want. And again, of course, all of the Aces players were on Twitter immediately. This announcement of WNBA investigating was happening during their game. So they won a game and they were immediately saw all over social media that they were being investigated. Asia Wilson, you know, responded in a press conference basically saying like,

You know, you say invest, invest, invest, but not too much or not with the aces. They feel very targeted, I think. And they have felt targeted. They have felt targeted. They are doing new things. And I think whenever there is a franchise or a program kind of in uncharted waters,

There's going to be some antennas or some question marks raising just because we haven't seen this done before. I don't think they're going to have to take the money away. I think they're going to find a solution, but it's just the fact that it has never been done before, like the gentleman in the video said. And that's just kind of what happens when new things happen. Yeah, well, just send me a percentage of it.

Can we get a cut? Can we all listen? You mentioned Kate Martin. What a turnaround. She goes to the draft to be, you know, she's cheering on her friend, Caitlin Clark. She gets drafted by the reigning champions. She makes the team. Then she gets an extra hundred thousand dollars in her pocket. What? She's living the dream right now. Kate.

Listen, I know we're going to get into the games, but I'm just going to give her flowers right now because I think she's a great fit. And I think we talked about this. She's a great fit for this squad. And now she's getting a pocket, maybe, hopefully, possibly pocket of extra hundred grand.

I mean, she's on a great stretch right now. Shout out to Kate Martin. As Dawn Staley says, she's a G. She's a G. We're going to take a quick break and then let's get into these games. We'll be right back. And now a word from our sponsors at Betterment.

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Welcome back.

Cheryl swoops, let's talk some basketball. Let's do it. We have some regular season action first week in the books. A couple of standouts. Let's just go through the standings. Liberty have already played four games. They are four and oh, Connecticut three and oh, aces two and oh, links two and oh. Surprises so far. Is this a little bit how you thought for a lot of these teams? Yeah.

No, I think it's pretty much the way I thought it would be to start the season. Honestly, for the Mercury, for them to be one and one without BG, I think the Mercury for me, the one game I did watch them play, they might be better than I thought they would.

I agree with that. Seattle, I know Seattle, they're one in three. And a lot of people are probably like, well, this is the super team. Like, how are they one in three? The same way the Liberty struggle last year with that super team. Like it doesn't just happen overnight. And let's also remember Skylar Diggins Smith didn't play at all last year.

So Skylar is also getting back in the rhythm of game, game shape, game flow. It's so different when you're just working out, right? Just on your own or even playing pickup. It's now back to the W, back in regular season games. And so it's going to take Skylar some time herself to get back to the old Sky. And then it's a lot of brand new players.

So that doesn't just happen overnight. I do think Seattle will be okay. And I think Seattle will be at the top of the standings when it's all over with. I think so too. Another thing adding in there, you know, Nneka has an early injury. So that has her sideline for a couple games. And I think, you know, Jewel Lloyd, I see a little bit of the adjustment for her as well because last year it was so intense.

ball dominant, heavy, they are not scoring at all or barely if she doesn't drop 40 points. And I see some of that shot selection carrying over. And that's what's the adjustment period. Once they all figure out how to play together, she's going to realize she doesn't have to take all of those ridiculously hard shots, even though we know she can make them.

But I saw, you know, Jewel Lloyd is going to have to have back-to-back below 16 percentage shooting nights. Like that's not going to be a normal thing for Seattle. So that's... Yeah, she has help now, you know? She has help. Seattle Storm fans... A lot of that pressure is taken off of her. Take a deep breath. Yeah. Take a deep breath, Storm fans. You're going to be fine. Y'all right. Y'all right.

You're going to be fine. You're going to be fine. Back to the Mercury real quick. Kalia Copper had a 38 piece career high and the Mercury just completely have embraced this small ball without BG on the floor. And yeah,

you know, the dream head coach Tanisha, right? She talks about it. She was like, Yeah, they have four guards like we, we don't really know what to do with that. And they are just running and five out and it's working. It gave me a hard time to they really got much of a choice right now. But uh, listen, and that's it. But that's the thing. Like when you start looking at matchups, everybody's like, well, they're they're small.

So how are they going to match up with the bigs? The other side of that is, well, how are the bigs going to match up with our four guards? Because we're going to get out, we're going to run. And I'm just going to say shout out to DT because DT looks like, I don't know what fountain of youth she's drinking from, but just give me a little sip, just a sip.

I don't want a drink. I just need a sip. But Diana has looked really well. She looks really good. So good. Her wife, Penny Taylor, said it. She did not take an off day this season. And she is focused and has a renewed energy to come in. And I don't even know if it's proving anyone wrong. But I just think she's just reminding us that she is not retiring now or...

anytime soon. No, I think it's, you know, Diana has never been about, let me prove everybody wrong. She's been about, let me just go do what I do. And so I think for her right now, it's like, I hear all the noise. I hear all the y'all saying. Yep. Yeah.

Yeah. She's looked really good. And I would be remiss if I didn't do this. Shout out to Teaspoon for getting her first win as a Chicago Skyhead coach. Congrats, sis. So happy for you. Listen, this Chicago Sky team. I love them. When they get Izzy and Camilla back, go make some noise. They are going to cause some problems.

You hear me? I really like, I mean, on paper, I was really excited about the roster that Teaspoon is kind of getting to work with. But when you see it in action and you see the depth of

It's exciting. Angel Reese is just as exciting as we thought she would be. She tweeted and said, I promise y'all stay out of foul trouble. I'm still learning. So that's an adjustment that she's going to have to do. But the energy is there. I love this team. I do. I love this team. And they're Carter resurgence. Diamond to shield. Oh, they're fun to watch. I like it.

I like it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Another team I want to shout out to is, is Minnesota starting two and O after last year, starting O and six and still somehow making the playoffs. Like Nafisa Collier looks, she's a menace out there. And Alana Smith is fitting in really great with this Minnesota team. Just kind of playing off of,

fee a little bit, but also just really down to do the dirty work as well. So shout out to Minnesota for already starting better than last year. No doubt. But twofold. I love it. Let's see. I mean, we've given Vegas so much love. We've talked New York. The spark. What are your thoughts? Let's talk the sparks because

De'erica Hamby. Oh my goodness. She is coming for it all. And you can see it really from day one. First of all, she looks like she could run probably for like 48 hours straight and still not be tired. Like she is in such good shape.

And I want to kind of give a nod to her 3x3 play. You know, playing in 3x3, you have to be in incredible shape, but also be able to just transition super fast. You're on defense, you're on offense, you're grabbing a board. It's not full court, but it is nonstop running. And you can see that.

translating into already these few games that she's had. She already had a career high. She said she's coming for MVP votes. She wants to be an all-star. She wants to be the center of the Sparks team. And it's already showing. I really love what I'm seeing from her. And Cameron Brink has also had a great couple games. Yeah. You know, my heart...

is so happy for dearica just you know everything she's been through the last year or so and you know and she's a proud mom of two and having her babies alongside her for them to be able to see all the greatness that mom is doing right now like dearica him be so happy for her um yeah camp cambrick is another one like angel she's got a set of foul trouble

Right? But it is it's an adjustment. You got to get used to that. Um, I would, I would, I would really love to see Rekia Jackson get some more playing time. Yeah, I need to see that. I need that in my life. And at the three they have her at the floor right now. I think it's because Azare Stevens is sideline who is

They're big. So when Cameron Brink is in foul trouble, Rekia is the first off the bench and that makes her the four. Sorry. I need her at the three because she is able to create.

And her athleticism is off the charts. She's been really efficient. So I'm right there with you. Like a lot, a lot. Just let me get a little bit more. Kia, just a little bit more, please. Just a little bit more. Just a tad bit more.

And shout out to Kia Nurse too. Kia Nurse looks healthy. She looks... Yes, she sure does. She surely does. It made me think, when was the last time I've seen a healthy Kia Nurse? Like it made me just go back in the Rolodex in my mind. And she is also having like a throwback season to the Fountain of Youth with Kia Nurse. But she looks great. She looks awesome. It's nice. So still winless.

Still winless for the Sparks, but I like how they've been playing so far. It's nice when you're healthy, right? Makes a big difference when you're healthy. It really does. You can see the difference. Indiana Fever. Yeah, another winless team. We got to talk about it. 0-4 for the Indiana Fever. There's a lot. There's a lot here because...

There's some reactions and then there's some overreactions to the Indiana fever. Yeah, I think I'll just say from the first half of the very first game to seeing just this game that we watched tonight against Connecticut, they're learning.

They are, they're learning, they're figuring it out. Christy sides is also trying to figure out what her rotation is. I think Caitlin Clark is also lessening her turnovers because that was the blatant thing. I was like, you got to put a little more zip on those passes. They ain't going to get through. But I think they are, there is a learning curve, but I can see the light a little bit.

What are your thoughts on the fever? I agree with all of those things you just said. I think it's hard.

when, when you have a team like last year and, and we talked about this, I thought the fever last year, like we saw bright spots, right? There were games where they were right there. They just couldn't get over the hump. And we talked about, and I still believe this. We talked about last year. I feel like they still need a vet, like another, another vet or two. Right. I know they have Erica Wheeler. Um,

Who else do you consider a vet on their team? Kelsey Mitchell had a good game. She's coming back from injury. Yeah, you know, Kelsey Mitchell. But even Kelsey. Kelsey's younger to me. But anyway. And so I think everybody on this team is trying to figure out, one, what is my role? Yes. Two...

what do you need from me? Right. And you talk about the pressure that everybody, especially like the media put on, on Caitlin coming into the W the number one draft pick. She's going to Indiana. Like the excitement you talk about the pressure that it put that that was on her. That's pressure on everybody on this team. Oh yeah. Because they're, they're trying to figure out how, how to play with her.

Just like Christie is trying to figure out like what works for my team because it can't be about what works for one player. Right. It has to be what works for my team. So this team can win. I would love to see Lexi Hall get more burn. Like, I don't, I don't know. Lexi Hall's not playing. I like Grace Berger. I just, I don't know. Um,

They're trying to under construction like they're trying to figure it out in real time. Like we mentioned, they're already at four games. They are playing a very tight schedule where they are also playing some heavy hitters up front. And

There's been a lot of reactions and overreactions. And one of those, as we talk about Kaitlyn Clark, came from Jeff Teague, former NBA player. This is what he had to say about Kaitlyn on Club 520. The WNBA is playing this all wrong. I'm about to tell y'all. This shit's supposed to be, my dad even said to me today, it's supposed to be like WWE.

Y'all used to be supposed to play hard against her, but y'all supposed to let her kill. Because when she start having bad games and it don't look like it's supposed to look like what we just seen from college and how we so excited about her coming to the league and changing it. And she don't kill like that, it's going to bring it back down to reality. Like the great white hope ain't got that much hope. And you know what's funny? You know what I mean? Yeah.

To piggyback on that point, I've been seeing a lot of people giving her genuine respect. Like, you see Don Staley in a press conference saying, hey, shout out to her. She's holding it down for us. We need to push her more. I've been seeing a lot of hate, like, saying, yeah, yeah, go her. But it ain't like, oh, we want her to do good. It's like they want to build her up to fall. But it's crazy because that is not in the W's best interest. Nah, because you want the WNBA to really write a script

for Kaitlyn Clark. No, I'm not saying that. As a smart person, look, y'all have charter flights. She damn near about to get y'all charter flights. Because she's so famous, they can't. Mm-hmm.

she damn near get charter flights. All this stuff that they want and need, more money, all this, new teams getting added, all this, when she come, you got to protect that at all costs. So you want them to let her win? Not let her win, but the fact, the fact, it's like play the game, but play the game within the game. Like, y'all notice the cash cow right here. Like, everything is changing. If she having a good year, if she average 22, and people be like, hey, Kalen Clark really that deal.

The league just gonna get bigger, bigger, bigger. Give her four years to be that. And then, all right, now everybody lit. We up. New contracts, everything. Now let's dog her. Four years. Jesus. Okay, I realize that I did not watch that much of that clip. We're both just shaking our head.

And I'm also just like, why do I hear Jeff Teague's voice on our podcast? But where do we even start with their thoughts on Caitlin Clark, their opinion? You wanted to talk about this show. That's the first thing I want to say. What? I have so many questions.

You know what really gets me, though, is how now all of a sudden there are so many people who never watched a WNBA game before. So many people that just know so much about players, our game, the WNBA, what we need to do to be successful. We're good. We're good. We have been successful for a minute. Yes, it's...

It's just a deep sigh. There are so many positives with all of the eyes that the WNBA is getting, that Caitlin Clark is getting. My favorite thing is that all of these fever games that are nationally televised are

also introduces the opposing team and all of their talented players to these new fans who may have tuned in for Kaitlyn Clark. Um,

That's what I get excited about because, you know, the Liberty was lighting up the fever and I'm like, yeah, this is Brianna Stewart. She's the reigning MVP. Let me introduce you to her. She drops 31 points on the fever team. Let me introduce you. I can, I can tell you a few things or two, but the whole notion of what they're saying of you're wanting to, you want Caitlin Clark to lose.

Her opponents? Yes. Yes, they do. They want to win the game. They want her to lose. They want her team to lose because that is the whole premise of basketball. I don't know if you know that sport where one has to be a winner and one has to be a loser. I think there's so many teams that are saying,

we have our eyes on beating the aces. Like, this is great. Thank you for growing the league. But fever, we got to roll through you. Because we need to go and beat the aces so that we can win a championship. You're a bump in the road. You're a speed bump. Right? Sorry. But here's the other thing for me is it's not personal. It's not personal.

Every single player in this league is trying to win. Every single player in this league wants to be seen, wants to be heard, wants to be noticed. They're trying to get a better deal. They're trying to get endorsements. It's not about them personally wanting to do whatever it is everybody thinks people are trying to do to Caitlyn. It's not. To me, it just sounds so dumb.

To say, play the game within the game. So when his producer says, so you want them to let her win? No, I'm not saying that. But you just said that. That's what you're saying. That's kind of what you're saying. And that's absurd. That notion. And the thing is...

You know, we're having all these conversations surrounding Caitlin Clark. I think Caitlin Clark wouldn't want you to let her win. She is a competitor. She wants to be able to beat the best. She has to beat the best to be able to be considered the best. So she wants that competition.

Absolutely. And even just her, her, the adjustments that she has been making to the physicality and what she's been saying about the pace of the game, she wants to get better and be able to beat these best players in the league eventually. Yeah. Jordan, it's every single rookie, every single player that came internationally, even players who've been in the league, right from here, right?

Every year when the season starts, they've worked on something different on their game because they know what the competition is like.

And it's just like on the NBA side, NFL, any sport, anytime you go from being a collegiate athlete to being a professional athlete, there's going to be an adjustment period. It's not saying you're not going to be good. It's not saying you're not going to succeed. It's saying there's an adjustment. They're faster, quicker, stronger, more physical, smarter, more

They've been doing this as a pro longer than you have. So to me, the problem is these fans and media that said, Caitlyn is going to dominate. She's going to be the MVP this year. She's going to... They did this. Yeah. Yeah, unfortunately. And then you have people like Jeff Teague who...

I don't know, you saw a clip or you read something, you saw a highlight. I don't know what it was. But now you want to put it out there and tell us what we need to do for our league in order for this league to be successful. No, thank you. No, thanks.

Also, she got 20 in the opening night. She got 22 the next game. Like, she's getting her points. She's still able to prove that she can score. It's just about the adjustments that the Fever have to make on the offensive end. But I want to say, too, that...

The other side of this conversation, unfortunately, is like you mentioned, the rest of the Indiana Fever team. And I want to point out Aaliyah Boston, who reported, Holly Rowe reported that Aaliyah Boston had to delete Twitter off of her phone because of the negative mentions and comments and

hate straight up being kind of thrown her way as the Indiana Fever start this season. Oh, and for it's ridiculous. It is just taking the humanity completely out of everything. Same thing with Caitlin as well. These are humans first.

That is the whole basis of what I do my job on, that these players are humans first. And so to see that report and to also knowing that report and then their game tonight against Connecticut went down to the wire. Aaliyah Boston missed a potential game-tying layup. So you just automatically think,

gosh, we need to cover her for anyone else about to come for her in this aspect. And she looked like she was going to cry because she just feels that pressure. So stop it right now. Yeah. Well, I mean, like it or not, I will cover her.

Like, don't do it. Just stop. First of all, it's a game. It's a basketball game. It's not a matter of life or death. It's a matter of who wins and who loses. And she's a young lady who happened to be rookie of the year last year. So she's pretty good. And all of this hate and ugliness and bitterness and

It's coming from people who don't know the game, who that you're just tuning in. You've never watched the WNBA game. You've never watched the fever play. Like I feel so I saw that when she missed that layup.

I just looked at her face and it did. It looked like she wanted to cry. If I could have grabbed her through that screen and hugged her, I would have. I felt so bad for her. And now it's becoming mental. It's becoming a mental challenge for her. Because it's like, I know all these people are watching and they're saying all these ugly things. And if...

If we lose, it's going to be my fault. If we win, I'm not going to have anything to do with it. You know, the thing that I wanted to say to Aaliyah is just keep being Aaliyah. Keep doing what you're doing because you know you're good enough. You know what you're capable of doing. And we all do too. Those that care and those that matter, we got your back. Say that. What a great way to end it. I think all season long it's going to be this dance of

Yay, new fans. We're so happy you're here, but not you guys over there. Yeah, not really. Please keep watching so that you know what you're talking about. Yeah, I want to lift up. Dawn Staley tweeted after the game. She said, I'm still going to give the ball to Aaliyah Boston. Believe that. Believe that.

The Fever are going to be fine. They have the number one draft pick for a reason. That's also something that's being missed here. They are a young team. They're going to be fine. They're working it out. We're going to take a break because we need one. We'll be right back.

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That's BlueNile.com. Welcome back to Queens of the Court. Just wanted to wrap things up really quick. We got a listener question, a listener plea, if you would say.

and they said, can you and Cheryl please explain the new rule changes heading into this season? There's always change. There's always things that, you know, we got to spice it up a little bit. And one of those, first of all, I'm gladly to look into this because I was also confused at some of the rule changes. One of those being a replayed

timeout. Have you seen this, Cheryl? A reset timeout. See, I'm already confused. So a team has five team timeouts and then one reset timeout, which gets rid of the 20 second timeouts altogether. So you only get full timeouts and one reset timeout. A reset timeout, you don't huddle

You just get to advance the ball. But I feel like that has been an adjustment even for the broadcast, like the commercial music starts coming in and then they're like, oh, no, no, just kidding. It's a reset timeout and everyone like scrambles down on the other end of the court. So it's an adjustment for all of us.

And then also the new thing with the coaches challenge. So this is the second season with the coaches challenge. If the first one is successful, then the team is awarded a second coaches challenge, which I wish we could bring up the sound bite. That was my suggestion. Don't want to toot my own horn.

But that was my suggestion. If you get it right, you should be rewarded. You should. I've always felt that way. You should not lose your time out. If you're right. And you're seeing it used more, you know, in the first half, if they feel more confident being like, yeah, yeah, yeah, we're going to win this. So we'll challenge now because we know we're going to get it back. So it makes sense anyway.

Shout out to the listener who asked for that little refresher as we are heading into the season with new rules, new season, new year, new me. That's what the league said. But send us more questions, more stories, anything else you got. Send it to our listener email at queensofthecourtatodyssey.com.

This was fun per usual. We're in the thick of it now. The season has started. I'm excited. And it's only going to get better. Before we end, I can't believe I forgot this or we forgot this.

So shout out to Arike and her now fiance. Yes! Shout out! Shout out to Arike. She dropped 35 points and then proposed to her girlfriend. I mean, what a flex. I know. I think Imani McGee Stafford, she tweeted, man, drop 35 and

and get engaged. I want to be like you when I grow up on the same night. Yeah. Congratulations to both of you. Congratulations. Married life is the best life. You're going to have so much fun. And you know, we're talking about social media. Y'all know where to find us. I'm at shoops22 and she, her, Jordan. Jordan, I can't give you a long hey tonight. It's okay. I'll take what I get. She, her is at hey.

Yay, Jordan R. That's all I got for you today. Appreciate it. Queens of the Court is an Odyssey original created in partnership with the WNBA. The show is produced by Alex Ozzie. The executive producers are Maddie Sprung-Kaiser and Leah Reese-Dennis. Social media assistance from Isabella Apple. Music from T-Storm Battle. And as always, a special thanks to Lena Moss Glazer. And court is adjourned.

Night Court, out.