10 Burst results for "Candice Parker"
The Lead
"candice parker" Discussed on The Lead
"You guys know. That this is just the beginning. We just keep started. It was just a racket rock is a fact that kind of parade, really, that all W teams should aspire to. Well, then the already rich aces got even richer in the off season because in early February, the team announced it had signed two time WNBA champion and two time league MVP Candace Parker to their already stacked squad. So Sabrina, what does Parker give the aces now at age 37? What's funny is when you say that ace is brought in two time WNBA champion, you could also be referring to Alicia Clark, who joined the team during the off season. And yet, not even the biggest move that the ace is made because as you already mentioned, Candice Parker, she have far too long of a resume for me to relive, joined the aces to be their 5th starter, which is a silly enough proposition in and of itself that she is the 5th most important player in that lineup. But the fit, I think is gonna be pretty seamless. Vegas has a lot of scoring power and to add another ball handler who can lead the team in transition, another player who can play make in the half court and just set up her teammates because that's what Candice Parker loves to do. One of the best passes in the league, look at her head always up perfect pass. It's just gonna be a beautiful addition to allow. Kelsey plum to get more shots up to allow Asian Wilson to get more shots up. So getting the ball to them in better spots, you know, that's what Candace Parker has been doing the entirety of her career. She basically, you know, set the archetype for a playmaking forward in the WNBA. 15 hundred assists. And number 1500 comes here. And she did a ball handling clinic on the way to get that assist. And then defensively, I mean, we're talking about a former defensive player of the year, multiple all defense selection. Get that out of here. So Kansas Parker. Candace deleting. You know, she was great in Chicago last year and all star starter and I think she has plenty to give the aces what they need this year. It's an embarrassment of riches here in Las Vegas. All right, so the aces have an embarrassment of riches. And a WNBA championship. But just a few months after winning the title Sabrina, it was announced the league was investigating the aces over a couple of rather serious claims. Can you explain how this all started? Yeah, absolutely. So if you're looking at the Las Vegas aces roster, you might be a little surprised at how they've been able to accumulate such a deep collection of talents and it turns out that there are executives around the league who are feeling the same way. And yet this investigation was actually brought on by an entirely different situation, which was that of dear kahani's pregnancy. Your 2022 WNBA world champion loves fading. Dear candy actually announced that she was pregnant the day of the Las Vegas aces parade. It was this big monumental happy occasion. It no longer Maya's mama's Amaya and legends mom. Oh, not just happened. Okay, baby, we see you T Erica. But during free agency, dear candy was traded to the Los Angeles sparks and after she was traded, she released a statement saying that she had been fully manipulated and disrespected because of her pregnancy and that the aces questioned her commitment to the organization because she had gotten pregnant for a second time. For somebody who had kind of given so much to the organization and kind of sacrificed different parts throughout my career, it hurt her and to this day, it still hurts.
ESPN Daily
"candice parker" Discussed on ESPN Daily
"Won't. Wearing your seat belt could be the difference between making it home to your loved ones and not making it at all. Every day, when you get in your vehicle and decide whether to buckle up, remember that it's the single most effective way to protect your life in the event of a crash. Make it home safely to the people you care about. Don't risk it. Click it or ticket. Paid for by the nhtsa. Okay, vagina. A lot of storylines to get to, but let's start with something we've seen in the NBA for more than a decade, but now has become a thing in the WNBA, and it's super teams. This off season the New York liberty, they signed Brianna Stewart, former MVP, and maybe the biggest star in the league, the liberty also traded for John quill Jones and other MVP, they signed Courtney van der sloot, one of the best point guards in league history, and though yeah, they still have Sabrina UNESCO, the number one overall pick from 2020, who they just signed to a contract extension. And last year recorded the league's first 30 point triple double, on paper, how good can this team be? On paper, this team looks like a championship squad. Trump well Jones, nobody out there and nothing but net. Trying to break down Harrison steps around Harrison lays it up and at the buzzer. Stewart will fire and cadet. Breanna Stewart is locked in. But as far as how good they are today, Israel, I don't know. Looking at the pieces, the championship pedigree that has just shown up on this roster is incredible. You mentioned two former MVPs, adding that to Sabrina and even benign laney who's been an all star in this league and is a most improved player. Courtney van der sloot who just won a championship in Chicago. I mean, this is coming together as a roster that looks like one of the best we've had in league history. Final few seconds here of regulation. South Anderson. Corbyn is huge. But a lot of things have to fall in place for this to work, right? And so we know that it's going to take chemistry and trust. They have a great head coach in sandy Braun dello, so how she puts these pieces together on the offensive and defensive end is going to be important. She's won a championship. So again, bringing that pedigree, but the most important ingredient in my opinion for New York this year is just the hunger that that city has. They have never won a WNBA championship. The only franchise in league history that has not done so. And then some of those marquee stars that I just talked about have not won a championship yet. Despite being in MVP in this league, John quill did not win one in her time in Connecticut. Sabrina UNESCO never won that coveted NCAA championship in her time at Oregon. So I think she is really looking forward to hoisting the trophy for the first time in her career. And so I think that is really what's going to drive and separate this team and they have the pieces in the championship experience now to do that. Now I'm from South Florida, so I've seen a very high profile super team where there was a lot of pressure on them sort of work through some kicks, but still eventually succeed. So I'm wondering with the liberty in terms of player skill duplication in terms of any other things that you've seen from other super teams, what challenges do they face? Yeah, I mean, I think it's a combination of things. It's the pressure to win in your first season coming together, like everyone believes at this roster is ready to win a championship now. So how do you deal with that? There's also a level of sacrifice, as you know, is real bringing this number of in caliber of stars together everyone sharing and caring and playing together. But where I think this team really has an advantage is three of those players that you name Courtney van der sloot, Brianna Stewart, and Jean-Paul Jones, all played together in on a team in Russia and he Catherine Berg. And so these are three players that have been in those championship situations together and are coming in with some chemistry already. They were building a group chat as they were going through their free agency conversation. So these three players in particular were in touch about their goals for this organization and what they wanted to achieve and how they could do this. So to me, that kind of expedites what could be a championship season for the liberty, but I definitely think that chemistry piece is what's going to be most important. Let's go back to Brianna Stewart for a second. We mentioned the biggest signing of the off season. What is her move from the Seattle storm to the liberties say about player empowerment in the WNBA? Yeah, we're seeing more movement than ever in the WNBA since the signing of the new CBA in 2020 free agency periods have gone wild. Teams aren't able to core their marquee players as long as they used to be able to. There's more money available. There's just more movement in general with this CDA. So we are seeing some franchise faces on the move. And we've seen a lot of that in the last couple of years and now Brianna Stewart is adding that piece. And when it comes to player empowerment, you also have to talk about the fact that John Cole Jones requested a trade. This is not the first time that's happened in league history. We've seen it happen quite a few times, especially in the last decade, Sylvia fowles did so getting out of Chicago going to Minnesota where she won championships. Elena delle donne also requested to be moved out of Chicago, ended up winning a championship in Washington with the mystics. So that piece is also very interesting and players really taking control of that. But Brianna Stewart has had a lot of personal and professional reasons for her move. She won two championships in Seattle. She's from New York, Syracuse, New York, which I should say. She admits that it's closer to Canada than it is to Manhattan. But her wife, Marta is from Spain, and so she can easily get home from New York. There are a lot of different considerations like that. She's got a daughter, ruby now. Obviously, we'll be closer to her family, got another one on the way. But she's also talked a lot about using the media market in New York as a megaphone to bring more awareness to the challenges of the WNBA and to raise the league's platform as one of the best players. Obviously, she used charter flights as kind of a talking point throughout her free agency. But she's also now at an organization with an owner like Josiah who has been very vocal in his support of wanting to move the needle using his resources for some of the needs of WNBA players. And I think that has been very helpful as well. But I do want to say that I think the biggest influence in this movement, particular for the liberty, was looking over at Las Vegas and all the talent that they have and now adding Candace Parker, you have to have a very talented roster to beat them. And I think these players knew that. Well, the China, this to me is the best part of the story because you have a dueling super team and oh, they happen to be the defending champion Las Vegas ASUS. You know they're led by reigning MVP Asia Wilson. Here's Wilson. Last year's Finals MVP, Chelsea gray. Here comes the screen for Williams. Gray, 60 shoot. She wants this. She's charming. Chelsea gray. A master. And of course, Kelsey plum, one of the best scorers in the league. Ron's trying to do it herself. Finishes us the foul. Can you mention Candace Parker? They just so happened to add Candace Parker. And she got found. How does she make this team even more dangerous? Oh boy, I mean, Candace Parker, who is a two time champion, has been an MVP in this league. She's like no other player in the WNBA, 6 4.4 word who has won rookie of the year defensive play of the year and MVP. So she's in rare air. But even at the ripe age of 37, you know, her basketball mind is incredible. And yes, she is a stats sheet stuffer and impacts the game on the floor, but more than anything. I think this chapter of Candace's career is about leaving something for the next generation. And I'm excited to see what her mentorship of Asia Wilson and other young stars on this team will yield. And I also kind of feel like it's a bit of a selfish era for Candice Parker. But she did, you know, win a championship in LA and was the face of that franchise for many years. But then she went to Chicago and brought them their first ring, you know, that's home for Candace being from Naperville, Illinois. She now wanted to play for an organization that had top notch facilities and resources and she's doing that in Vegas and everything that Mark Davis has done and establishing that team. So I think she brings a lot. But there hasn't been a team that has repeated since the O one O two sparks. And so do the aces have the hunger that they did for their first title, to me that's what it's going to take. Can anyone else beat these teams with China or is everyone else basically playing for third? It's going to be a competitive season, Israel. I do think that these two teams will absolutely be at the top of the conversation come September when we're talking about WNBA playoffs and making a championship run. But there are two other teams that are very intriguing to me. One is the Washington mystics. Elena delle donne is healthy and has had the healthiest off season. That she has in a while after a few back surgeries and missing significant times. In most recent years, at any time, Elena delle donne is healthy. Our team is going to be vying for a championship and I'm excited about the new era for Eric Tebow. They've added Britney Sykes and Christy tolliver, Amanda zowe B, but this is also a core that won a championship together in 2019 when you talk about Natasha cloud and aerial Atkins. They have a very, very talented young rookie and Shakira Austin. So Washington will be in the conversation and there's another team that at least starts the season in this group for me. And that's the Connecticut sun. And some people may say, well, wait, didn't you just say they quell Jones? Well, yes, they did lose Jean-Paul Jones, and that's major. And Courtney Williams is also now in Chicago. But you still have just an incredible front court. One of the best in this league with Alyssa Thomas, Brianna Jones, dewanna bonner, you add to this roster, Tiffany Hayes, who was a tremendous talent coming from Atlanta who just brings another dimension of on one play domination on the offensive end. And they have a new head coach and Stephanie white, who was able to get the Indiana fever to the final as the head coach won a championship with the fever as an assistant coach. I just love her toughness and the pedigree that she brings to a team's identity, not that they didn't already have a lot of that. But I just believe that she could be the missing piece to help to bring Connecticut their first trophy. Okay, so there will be competition for those super teams, but this next question is almost a Rite of passage for a thriving league. Are those teams good or bad for the league? I believe super teams are good for the league. The conversation, if nothing else, has been just bringing a lot of excitement and anticipation as we look to kick off. And if you look at the NBA as a model, it was those years of Celtics versus Lakers. That's where a lot of the super fandom comes from. You know, super team seems to breed super fandoms for leagues. Rivals are something that just bring in the casual sports fan. And there could not be two better organizations right now in terms of what they present on court than Vegas and New York to kind of lead that charge. But I think it's great. You still have to win the games between the lines. You don't win games on paper, unfortunately. They'll be a very competitive season across the board and the WNBA, but I think the super team narrative is pretty cool. Well, a growing league also comes with controversy. I think I'm right about that. And this week we learned that the aces head coach Becky Hammond has been suspended for two games for, quote, violating league and team respect in the workplace policies. And the league has rescinded the ace's 2025 first round draft pick for violating league rules regarding impermissible player benefits. And this is all surrounding former aces forward D Erika hamby, who last year accused a team of bullying and intimidation after finding out she was pregnant. Can you put this in perspective for me, what level of scandal are we talking here? Well, there are no winners in this situation. The optics of this are really, really, really bad. The WNBA and his players have long been a league that has supported women on and off the court and specifically in this case, their role as mothers and parents. We saw that in the most recent CBA negotiations on how providing mothers with support and resources was a focal point. It was very important. And that is very different from what dear cause accusations were and what ultimately the league found fault in in Vegas. And what really stands out to me about this is that Vegas was on its way to becoming America's team. I mean, Mark Davis hired an all women leadership team, including giving Becky Hammond a $1 million contract. Their facilities are top notch, Asia Wilson is the face of the WNBA. They won their first championship, and now this. But Becky gets a two game to suspension and the team loses a first round draft pick, a team that's already loaded. The Players Association didn't feel like the punishment fit the crime. And that's understandable. But from what we know or have been told about this case, this is all we do know. They're still, it seems like a lot to be determined. And again, they're just no winners at all. You mentioned the PA not being happy with the punishment.
Winsidr WNBA Show
"candice parker" Discussed on Winsidr WNBA Show
"Make sure you do it because we have a lot of really cool content there. A lot of exclusive content for now. We give betting information betting tips that's not behind the paywall. That's free for everyone at all star. It will be going behind the paywall. So cash in on free money now. But yeah, it's great content and definitely worth the subscription. We're going to go through the power ranking in a moment and I'm going to end my rant with one more rant and then I'll let Rachel start talking. I want to remind the people that wind insider is an outlet. The goal of creating one cider was to put together a team of people dedicated and passionate about the W does the whole team agree on every take that we have as individuals. No, that's not the point. The point is to grow the game there should be disagreements debates and arguments in a respectful way. And our job is to grow the league by giving a platform for these hardworking individuals to not only get eyes on them and hopefully move on to bigger and better roles, but also to show the variety of pinions. In covering the W and obviously, like I said, in a respectful way and in the context of the women's basketball world. So let's go down this WNBA power ranking according to the insider staff. It's been pretty fun to do these things throughout the years because I think often power rankings can be kind of skewed by well national media. But let's dive in, Rachel. I'm going to run down the list. I'm going to throw the list in your face so that you can see it. It's in the chat. Oh, she's got it. Okay, never mind. Got it. And then let's see if we agree. There's some things I agree with some things I don't agree with. Well, and just so people know, this is actually a fun exercise. I know you asked me if I wanted to do this and then it just didn't happen. So I'm actually not a part of these power rankings. At least this one. So this is kind of the first time I've had a fresh set of eyes on it. So I am glad to give you my opinion. Rachel, giving the biggest cop out before no. So let's start with the obvious ones, right? Number one, number two. Las Vegas aces. We've talked about this until the season begins until someone dethrones the best. I don't see how, unless there's a huge roster movement. I don't see how you can remove them from being number one. They just won the championship. They added Candice Parker and Alicia Clark. And Caleb George. And removed some players who weren't providing the most in minutes or stats. So obviously Vegas, then New York, the other super team that was formed this off season arguably was completely formed this off season. Then we moved down. And I'm just, you know what? I'm just going to run down the whole list and then we can kind of just discuss where what we disagree with and so on. Washington, Connecticut, Phoenix, Atlanta, LA, Dallas, Minnesota, Chicago, Indiana, and Seattle. If there is one team, Rachel, that you think is in the right spot, either too high or too low, which do you think it is? Is the question that I think how can they be in the right spot if I think they're too high sorry, sorry, wrong spot, wrong spot. Just initial reactions, I think Minnesota is a little high. A little high, having them at 9, I think, is really generous right now. I think Dallas at 8 seems a little bit low, but I do think the news with diamond missing, you know, majority of the season that we kind of heard about yesterday. I guess makes me not as not hated as much. I think let's see. I think Indiana at 11 is solid. I mean, I think you could argue from a respect standpoint and a tradition standpoint in the last few years. Seattle should go above them. I think that's pretty harsh. Heaven Seattle at 12. Very much agree. No, but Rachel, Juul Lloyd, as the young up and comer. Like, here's my thing. I'm gonna get some flatter for this. I got some, I'm gonna get some flack for this, Rachel, answer me this, is there a single player on Indiana? All right, I'll put it this way. If you could draft from the Seattle or the Indiana roster, who's the first player you're picking? I don't know, it's hard for me not to not to really consider a list of Smith. Fair, but I feel like jewel Lloyd is the obvious choice as of now. All star established veteran mamba mentality, I agree. I mean, you look at dual Lloyd and yes, it's hard for me to put an Alyssa. Smith above her. That's for sure. I agree. And that's just why, in my opinion, if I think there's seeing Seattle at 12th, just rubs me the wrong way. I agree with Dallas being below below LA, honestly. Sorry, I agree with you on those two should flip. Because here's my thing. Call me crazy. I feel like there's the timing also matters, right? Because Rachel, I know we agreed, when diamond shields got traded to Dallas, we both had many questions of how is that going to work? So for me, seeing diamond out while I agree she's a good player, I still have questions of the fit. So it's not like this huge you're losing in all star WNBA champion. This is going to destroy the team. It's not like a huge knock in my mind. That would move them a place or two. That's just my opinion. Yeah, and I love what LA's doing. I think they had a good off season. I think, you know, the new regime there, Kurt Miller, like it's going to get better. I mean, good lord, it can't possibly get any worse. But, you know, to have him at 7, I would flip flop Dallas. I'd put Dallas in that 6, 7 category, debatable with Atlanta. I mean, still a lot to be seen from Atlanta. You know, it's promising. It looks really good, but I kind of put Atlanta in Dallas in that same spot because of different circumstances like right in the middle of the pack. I think LA should drop below Dallas at this point. What do you think about Minnesota and Chicago, especially considering now granted, I will say this, the numbers were tabulated well before I shouldn't say well before. Soon before the preseason game and I know it's a preseason game is only so much and also this was based on before some of these cuts happen, granted, I don't think any of the cuts, you know, move anybody on, you know what I mean? Like, I don't think who was it? Alexis Morris being cut by Connecticut, dropped them from three to fourth or and I'm just using her as an example. Or as we've seen the last few days, I will say, I mean, just to put it out there, I'm very surprised Chicago's final roster and the cutting of piano trailer. I mean, again, if we're just looking at pure rookies, that one was very surprising to me. There's a lot of question marks with Chicago just with it being such a brand new team. Sorry to cut you off. No, you're good. I don't know, yeah, I mean, I don't know. I guess I can see the logic of Minnesota kind of keeping a core together, being more consistent than a Chicago. I just think Chicago has more talent. So I would flip flop Minnesota and Chicago. But back to your point, no, I don't see any cut that's like complete game changer. The biggest news in my opinion is diamond missing time with Dallas. That's been the biggest blow that affects a team early on that we've seen. Fair, I would say the Isabel Harrison injury definitely impacts Chicago luckily happily. This has not been an off season of injury, right? We've had that historically. There's almost always, maybe I shouldn't have said that. I just feel like historically, at least over the last like 5 or so years. It's not just stewie. It's not just Alyssa Thomas. There's other people also that just like during the off season have gotten overseas injuries that have impacted whatever of the W the opening weekend, all of that. I think in general, the really interesting thing for me is kind of talking to different people in the W space, whether it's media, whether it's players, coaches, people in the know my dear friend, Rachel Gallagher. I think the interesting aspect for one of the interesting aspects is when you look at
The Her Hoop Stats Podcast
"candice parker" Discussed on The Her Hoop Stats Podcast
"Like, I told you I told you I was going to New York. And they won the title, so it's like they've all kind of things going on in their favor. Look, I went to New Orleans. Okay. I get it. I was just there. It was super fun. I had never been. I gotta have a, did you have a beignet? I did up. The beignets. Everything. The beignets are crawfish, the Po boys. You gotta do it. The food was amazing. But ma'am, you know, this is a lot. This is a lot, I guess, I guess those poll boys are really good with Haley, and anisa came because fresh. I don't know. We may have said the slasher about this team, but last year kind of lined up perfectly that this team is going to line up behind angel. This year, I don't know. I never say this because I'm not going to say this with the liberty. I'm not going to say that the aces. Because I think they're going to figure out offensive was. In college, there's only one basketball. And I think it's going to be pretty hard. But like, I can't be negative because they got the two best players in the transfer portal. I don't know what to do. Christie, tell me, tell me what to think. Hey, listen. If I'm Kim Moki, listen, she already said, and we talked about this on our last podcast. She said I'm not worried about the personalities of all these kids. I want ballers. So she's got these ballers. And I think now time will tell, right? You don't have to tell your story time. Well, that's what Candice Parker said, and when she wanted to title with Chicago, the WNBA, you don't have to tell your story time will time will tell. In terms of what this LSU team will look like, but I mean, a scary hours on paper. I mean, I'm looking at it like boom, boom, boom, wow, wow. It's a wow down the list. And then how do you match that? I mean, if you're anybody else, I don't care. Any other team in a country, how do you match the length the size, the speed, the ability to score on all three levels by multiple players? Right? And defend, right? I mean, the glass work that anisa morrow is going to bring to the table to go along with angel race who was a machine on the glass, come on. Who else is going to get a rebound? On the other team, I'm talking about, like, I mean, even with LSU and how are they going to vote for it? He said what? Haley's a really good rebounder too. I know. So she'll get the wrong ones. The other two will clean up in the paint. So who else is going? I think they're rebounding numbers are going to be astronomical. And we can look that up on her hoop sense. You know what I'm saying? Like when the season begins, I am intrigued to see what that's going to look like, but also the dynamic on the offensive end. What's that going to look like for LSU? I mean, what do you think that's going to look like with all of those pieces who do different things, obviously, but all bring a fiery aspect with their skill set with their respective skill set to the floor. He'll invent. I mean, she's going to bring fire to the floor. I mean, you have anissa Moro who is going to create contact inside and get herself to the line. What does she shoot the most free throws in the big east this year? This past season that department. I mean, she just creates these crevices where she's going to, she's going to create that contact and get to the line. So it's just for me, if I'm trying to defend a team like that or form a scout against a team like that, I mean, my head is spinning, trying to think, do you press them? No, what do you do in the quarter court? Do you man them? No. He said, maybe Preston? I don't know. It depends on personnel, but personally, if I'm pressing, I'm not trapping in it. I'm not getting into rotation in full court because that's going to be cash out on the other side. No thanks. I mean, if I'm pressing, I'm coaching against them if I'm pressing, I want to two and three quarter cord just contain or to slow down the clock a little bit, but I am not, you know, you're not going to get much money. Sending us into the full court rotation where we give up backside scores like no thanks. I'm intrigued to see how people are going to cover them too. So not just what they present on offense, but I'm intrigued to see what people are going to do defensively against this team who creates a full court issue. They create a full court issue with who they're bringing to the floor. No question. Well, so I think first and foremost, like this, this is kind of. It's not the same team, obviously, 'cause they added two all Americans. They're bringing in Hailey van lith for Alexis Morris and they're bringing a new tomorrow in for la deja Williams. Now, morrow and Williams very, very different players. I would say van lith and Morris kind of more similar to van leeuwen has just been more prolific. She scored a lot more she showed a lot more Billy's create her own shot and that they looked more like that just wants a little better. That's why she's an all American again. There you go. So I think the offense kind of works similarly in the way that like, hey, if they're hitting their three shots, good luck. You guys can pack that up, right? So you see someone like Jasmine Carson is not going to be there anymore. Start hitting those threes. Right. Just start packing it in. But I think you have to throw some junk defenses at them because obviously most teams aren't going to have the personnel to cover angel Reese one on one. No one's going to have the ability to cover this team one on one. Right. Get that out of the work. Yeah, let's just not say. That's what I said man a man like good luck. Containing them, especially in the paint. Unless you're unless you're really, those are really, really strong on your week's irritations and even then it's like, I'm okay, I'm okay trying this. Like, I think you do have to throw out some junk, you have to throw out some zone. You have to just mix it up. I think you do have to play some man, obviously when you get down and transition a lot. But I think, you know, I think there's a way because is Alice you're gonna run a particularly complicated offense probably not. That's not my best way. She wants to roll out the balls and let the hoop pursuit, which here, I think early on, it might be a little awkward, right? I think that's something that's like a common thought. It's gonna be a little awkward early on because they don't know how to share the ball. So if you don't have a necessarily like a stranger plan, they're gonna fall into just isoing. However, if the ISO, it's still pretty good. I don't know is the point of this entire answer is I don't know how you stop them. Maybe you try to pull out some sort of box and one or like a four.
Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney
"candice parker" Discussed on Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney
"The neighborhood around crosley dominated by warehouses and factories began to decline. Parking was an issue. And when the Dodgers and giants left New York in 1958, Powell crossley began to look at New York as a potential new home for his club. When asked if the reds would be playing in Cincinnati in 1958, crosley said, I can't answer. Adding, we are under no obligation to stay here. We talked about this last summer buster. Talk swirl of a new Cincinnati ballpark with various sites and funding plans discussed. Meanwhile, MLB owners agreed to a rule that allowed cities of greater than 2 million or more to host more than one club, provided their stadiums where more than 5 miles apart, which meant that the reds would have moved to Brooklyn's ebbets field until a new stadium could be constructed. The city of New York stepped up in July 1958, offering to build a 52,000 seat stadium in Queens for a national league club. This would eventually become Shea stadium by May 1960, the Yankees indicated that they'd be willing to share Yankee Stadium with an NL team on a permanent basis. In the end, however, crosley got what he wanted, but since the city of Cincinnati and Hamilton county agreed to fork over $2 million, the purchase property that would be converted into 2600 new parking spaces and the reds agreed to remain in Cincinnati for at least 5 more years. Howell passed away in March 1961, the reds won the national league pennant and the club was sold to a group fronted by Bill dewitt for $4 million 625,000, the national league decided to expand, giving birth to the New York mets in 1962, and Cincinnati kept its team and got a new ballpark in 1970, riverfront stadium. Crosley field's final game took place on June 24th, 1970. Johnny Bench and Lima Homer to defeat the San Francisco Giants, 5 to four of those closing out nearly 9 decades at the corner of Finley and western. The old park was used as a vehicle lot for two years before it was demolished in the summer of 1972. Today, the Phillips supply company is located atop Johnny where Johnny Bench hit homers and where the corrupt 1919 World Series took place. Go there and dream of Cincinnati's crossly field, the traditional site of baseball's opening day, it's this week's forgotten feel. So I'm thinking that the maybe the most famous mobile the first night game, right? Crosley field, but also Johnny vandenberg's no hitters. Going back to back, if you were to pick your favorite moment from the history of that ballpark, what would it be? Wow. I mean, it would have been pretty fascinating to be a couple of those games in the 1919 World Series buster, right? You've got World Series wins, but talk about baseball history. White socks are not playing well. What is the deal? Yeah, they really, exactly. You know? Can you imagine? But again, a story of a ballpark that's neighborhood started to decline in the 50s and 60s. We're going to keep going through this with these original ballparks with a couple of rare exceptions and crosley field was not spared. Exactly. All right, let's get to this week's quiz. All right, it's opening day. So here is this week's question. Which one of these people did not throw out a ceremonial first pitch on opening day in 2022? Was it a, Tom Hanks? Was it B ichiro Suzuki? Was it C, Russell Wilson? Or was it D Candace Parker? One of these people did not throw out an opening day first pitch last season. Tom Hanks, ichiro, Russell Wilson, or Candace Parker. Taylor, since you won last week, you have to answer first. I love that you're bringing the star power to the quiz here, Todd. I'm gonna go between Tom Hanks and Candace Parker. I will go Candace Parker. Sarah? I'm also going Candace Parker. Oh boy. You guys are putting me in a bad spot. But I have an opportunity to gain here. I'm gonna go Tom Hanks. Well, you are all incorrect. Tom Hanks threw out the first pitch in Cleveland last season. It's Candice Parker, Candace Parker did not throw out a first pitch last year. So Taylor and Sarah, congratulations. You have started the start of the regular season on fire here. All right, you know what? A race this version of the podcast just handed away, okay? We just ran out of time. It's opening day, and I got to get to work. All right. Happy opening day, everybody. You too, Todd. Do you hear that buster? I do. The symphony of spring right there, I went on a walk
ESPN Daily
"candice parker" Discussed on ESPN Daily
"It may not seem like much. And it's not going to change the game completely, but it's a start. And for somebody to go with literally one tweet. And spark that conversation to the point where they're really talking about a partial solution. That's a lot of power. That one reagent just wielded. After the break, the precedent in another sport. That might be a path forward. This episode is sponsored by State Farm. Buying insurance can be complicated, and you might have a lot of questions, like what if my policy doesn't cover that, or what if I need to make a claim in the middle of the night? Good news, State Farm is there for all your what ifs. You can reach them 24/7, talk through any questions with your agent, and you can even file a claim on the State Farm mobile app. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Caller go to State Farm dot com to get a quote today. What's the precedent that the WWE is going to lean on here as they try to envision a template and sports business in general for what they're going to try and do? Well, just look at Major League Soccer. Major League Soccer in 2020 they had a new collective bargaining. They had their players had been flying commercially for years, just like the WNBA. And when they signed the new labor contract in 2020, they went to charters. And that league is a little more developed. But if you look at the ratings, the WNBA says, hey, a lot of our ratings are better than the MLS ratings. Why is our broadcast right? And they have several of them. Why are they at this level where the MLS just got a 125 million from Apple? And this is a golden era for media rights deals around professional sports. I mean, you've seen just gigantic numbers. As employees of ESPN, we should be clear about this too that this is part of where we stare directly into the camera and break the fourth wall a little bit. Like the WNBA contractors with ESPN as it happens. It's with ESPN and they have a couple other licensing agreements as well. But generally speaking, ESPN has been the broadcast home of the WNBA. It's where the biggest games on our Internet. And it's been a very good broadcast partner for the league for a long time. So there's going to be an interesting situation coming up both for you as Chan but also other streaming services. How much does the Amazon get involved here? Amazon was, I think, the first streamer to invest in the new NBA. And their rights deals are not on the same order of magnitude as other as other leagues, especially the MLS, Major League Baseball, football, the NBA. Correct. But the WNBA, when you ask them about it, they say, well, look at our ratings. The ratings are pretty good. And so I think it's a bit of a chicken in the egg. Is it because it's on ESPN? It's the biggest platform and it's very time when you're not competing against the NBA or football. Can you sustain local ratings? Do all the teams have a local broadcast partner? That spends money to televise its games? It's a really interesting financial question of what those media rights are. We'll be answered over the next couple of years. And I think that brings us back to Reagan and the super teams that have been constructed in this off season. Right. I mean, this off season has seen the birth of two specific super teams, and it starts with the Las Vegas aces, who are last year's champs, and they have Asia Wilson, Chelsea gray, Kelsey plum, and now Candace Parker, and then the New York liberty are, yeah, stocked with the number one overall pick from a few years ago, Sabrina UNESCO, who is a star. They have Breonna Stewart, who we just discussed, and also they have, by the way, former MVP John called Jones and four time all star Courtney van der sloot, and so it is basically like if both conferences had their own version of, yeah, the KD staff clay, Golden State Warriors. Yeah, the ratings for those finals were gigantic. Okay. Whenever the calves would play the warriors, my name's laid all those years in a row. They did well. People were interested. People love heroes and villains. People love rivalries. Hannah's Parker, who was probably the biggest reason before Brianna Stewart ever leave a team that drafted her and she won a championship with when she went to the Chicago sky a couple years ago, oh, she just left the sky and joined the defending champion in Las Vegas. So now we get to talk about how is Candice Parker and Asia Wilson gonna play together. How are Chelsea gray, Candice Parker? Gonna play together now that you're reunited. What's it gonna be like when the sky plays the ace is like, these are great storylines. No, it feels like Vegas is seeing this inflection point and seizing it. They are spending in all sorts of ways it seems to be the number one team in this reimagined sport. I like how you put that. They are spending it all sorts of ways. Because a little while ago, Howard begged all broke a story about Las Vegas being investigated for possible circumvention of the salary cap. Now we saw this in the NCAA for years and years when people should be paid more or could be paid more by other outside interests. There are ways to pay them more off the books or create a ways to do that. The WNBA I can tell you is investigating the Las Vegas aces for possible circumvention of the salary cap and this issue came up because deer camby, who was traded to Los Angeles sparse while she was pregnant with a little upset about it, felt like promises were made and wrote that an Instagram post promises were made that have that she felt had now been gone back on. Not just because they traded her while she was pregnant, but because this idea promises were made and that's a classic phrase that one would use to hint at what happened to our wink weight, not a deal of how you were going to get me more money because you could only offer me this under the salary cap. And that is from what I understand and ongoing investigation to the point where, look, Mark Davis owns the Las Vegas Raiders. Owned the Las Vegas. They say another guy with one of those billions with a B guys. Okay? Plenty of money. Not in billion years, millionaires, very big difference. This is a really interesting story to follow over the next weeks and months because this super team in Las Vegas they already want a title and then they added Candice Barker. They want a title and then they added quite possibly the perfect player to play alongside Asia Wilson and Chelsea gray, who has already won a title with Chelsea gray. Oh, I would be mad to Ramona. I'd be so mad if I was another competitor in this league, of course. We don't just have two super to use. We have two super teams. Well, a lot of controversy are on them. It's a reason to watch. Yeah, it really is. The soup or team era and
ESPN Daily
"candice parker" Discussed on ESPN Daily
"Ramona shelburne, you cover both the NBA and the WNBA for us and for all of the trade deadline chaos of the NBA this month with Kevin Durant going to the suns and shaking up the league and all of that. he WN behave finds itself in right now, and it's off season. It actually kind of feels even more transformative. Well, the WNBA is at an inflection point. And it makes sense to 25 years in. And it's such a new league that there's a lot of things that we cover in the NBA and we sort of take for granted that they don't exist in other professional sports leagues, especially young professional sports leagues like the WNBA. So when the Los Angeles Lakers are flying to Portland on the second night of a back to back. They're not heading to LAX and catching the red eye or catching the 6 a.m. flight. Like the LA sparks might be, they're catching a private jet from a private terminal and landing without having to go through full security. In the WNBA, it has become increasingly hard on players when they have to fly commercially. So if the Las Vegas aces have a game one night and then another night they're playing in Indiana. And there's no good way to get from Vegas to Indiana. They got to get up in the morning and take that 6 a.m. with a connection in Denver and get to India somehow. And several times over the last few years, players have missed that connection or the game has been postponed or the team shows up and everybody's erect because they've had delays because like the rest of America, the airline system doesn't work right now. These are not headlines, storylines. Oh, I missed my connection. Therefore, I couldn't play it and I heard the game couldn't happen. It's not a thing we see in other professional sports typically speaking in America. And the reason we bring this up. Okay, is not because you should feel sorry for these professional athletes who have to travel commercially. It's because the league itself is at an inflection point where they want to up the quality of play in the league, which means getting the star players to play in as many games as possible in his best condition as possible. Now, why is that hard? Well, it's hard to be at your best when you've had a travel nightmare. It's also hard to be at your best when you've played past the year overseas in turkey or previously Russia or China. Because in those countries, they pay star basketball players 7 figures. A year. A 1 million 2 million, whenever the number is, that's where you make the most money. In the WNBA, a star player is capped at around 200 to $250,000 a year, depending on what the salary cap is that year. It's a massive disparity. A huge disparity. So in order to really make a living as a professional athlete and not just have the WNBA be a summer job, the WNBA and its owners have tried to start implementing a system called prioritization. And this is taking a thyroid Pablo over the next couple of years. Prioritization means if you are not back from your overseas commitments by the start of trading camp, and that's going to start next year, you can't play in the WNBA. This year, if you're not back from your overseas commitments by the start of the season, you can't play in the WNBA. It's a nice, lofty goal. However, you take your money out of people's pockets. No, roboto, what you're saying is that the WNBA is implementing a new rule system and philosophy that is trying to make it such that they are the world's number one women's basketball league. And that has implications for the women's basketball players who didn't have to see it that way before and honestly didn't want to for reasons of, yes, their own economic well-being. So this is where the news meets the theoretical problem that everyone has been trying to solve. In the WNBA, we're talking about taking 5 to ten times less or a star player to play as a summer job in the WNBA than we are overseas. Now, everyone would like that to flip. Everyone involved the players, the league, the team owners, the coaches everyone would love for the WNBA to pay its players as much as they make overseas. But economically, that is not a reality for the leak yet. And so how do you change a financial system that has not yet evolved? Into one that can pay the star players what they make overseas. Now, when we got to this point, this was an issue in the last collective bargaining agreement. It was something that was talked about theoretically. But then last year, Brady griner went to an airport in Russia. And playing overseas, especially in Russia, became very problematic because of what happened to Britney griner. If you're an American player, it is not safe to go play in Russia now. And to be clear, this was not just a place where Brittany griner used to go to monetize her talents. This is a place where lots of players went from America Diana taurasi, for instance, made the greatest player of all time, played years and years in Russia. Yeah, our friend super, Candace Parker, just about every great female woman's basketball player in the last 20 to 30 years has probably spent a couple of winters in Russia making 7 figures for one of the big teams over there. And so that's why this situation was pretty griner was not just about Britney griner. This was changing the landscape of economics for all women's basketball players. And I think that's where we bring in Brianna Stewart. Stewart flags it down. Three to shoot. Step back three is good. Real Stewart. Unanimous MVP for the 2020 WNBA finals, Brianna Stewart. Yes, hello, lady liberty, Brianna Stewart is headed to the New York liberty after 6 amazing seasons with the Seattle storm. The honor Stewart is probably the best free agent. The WNBA has ever had. The concept of free agency has really become a new one in the WNBA. It really has only been the last few years that there was true player movement in the WNBA they instituted a hard cap. There's a system where you can core a player, sort of like a franchise tag and the NFL. And the only other free agency of this magnitude who's ever changed teams was Candice Parker a few years ago when she left the Los Angeles sparks to play for her hometown Chicago sky. But Candice Parker was sort of towards the twilight of her career. She said her golden years. She's extended those golden years bar longer than anyone would have expected. Rihanna Stewart is in her prime. Rihanna Stewart is Kevin Durant, leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the 73 win Golden State Warriors. She is in her prime many years left to go in her career. She is a franchise altering star who in fact was being recruited by literally Kevin Durant. To come to the arena that he himself has to be alluded to earlier, would then proceed to vacate in a separate parallel storyline. It's so funny how these worlds have interacted over the past couple of weeks because obviously Kevin Durant became a big story, but he was legitimately recruiting. Brianna Stewart to the New York liberty, while he was a member of the Brooklyn Nets who play at Barkley center.
Winsidr WNBA Show
"candice parker" Discussed on Winsidr WNBA Show
"Anybody who has watched her play, I think, respects how hard she competes. I think they respect what she gets out of out of herself every single day. She has been right up there with tamika catchings in terms of the hardest workers that I've ever coached. And you can't, you know, you think about the example, you can't underestimate the example that that sets for a team. She played with this organization. She played with these players. And so they know how she approaches the game day in and day out. They know how she approaches the weight room. They know how she approaches her diet, you know, her fitness, her nutrition, all of those things. I mean, she's just the ultimate pro. And I also appreciated my work with Brie when I was coaching her in Indiana. You know, Brie comes in the league as a young player who's just always really fast and really athletic. And so helping her understand how to gear down, how to change speeds, how to play it like a 7 or 8 instead of a ten plus. How to read the game, how to become a better leader, a better communicator, and then how to trust your shot, right? Because Brie was always the best defender. She was always great in transition. And then there were times where she passed up shots because she tried to be the ultimate facilitator. And so I think when we were able to win the championship, not only did she do the outstanding job that she did when we changed her to guarding Simona Augustus. But she had some big shots for this team. Big three point shots, which statistically, if you looked at her, it was not the thing that she did. And her and arlena Larkin's playing off the elbow in 2012 and in 2015, they were just really hard to stop. And so I think when you think about Brie, when I think about Brie, I envision all of those things and I look at how she'd become a better communicator, a better teacher. Her collegiate coaching experience and really working with young players, learning how to get what you know as a player out and help others, again, like that conversation that we had earlier start to see it the way that you see it. So Brie was obviously somebody that I've always had in the back of my mind and every time that I've been thinking about a job I've called her and I'm just so thankful that it worked out this time. And I think she's going to be a great teacher for our young players. And I think she's going to be a great head coach in our League One day. Abby Elijah wants a player who I coached in Chicago. Brought to camp in Indiana, but I had long respected and admired what Abby did as a collegiate player as well. I mean, she played three years behind Courtney Paris, rarely saw the light of day on the floor. Yet just kept working, kept grinding. Stayed true to the process so that when Courtney Paris graduated, Abby Elijah won, took over. And she was ready. And that's a true testament I think to her character because lots of players don't want to sit for three years just to play the one, right? And she did that. And she was ready. She took advantage. Every time she was subbed in the game, even for us with the sky, same thing. It was like she didn't pout because she didn't get the minutes. And then when she did get the minutes, she took advantage of them. And I always had great respect for her because of that. She's a great human being. She's been a really great college coach. And, you know, like a lot of coaches that have coached in college, some of the stuff that's going on. It just kind of wears on them, and you know, we've had conversations over the years about her wanting to get back into the WNBA and wanting to coach in the WNBA. And we had run into each other quite a few times. And you know, she was just a young coach in my mind that I thought, you know, is ready to make that jump. I think it's important that we get former players back in into this league who want to be in this league because number one, they understand what the kids are kids. I say kids. They understand what these women are women are going through. They've been there, right? And we want to give back to this league that has given us so much. And so to have two former players that are ready and willing to do that was important for me. We are hired another assistant coach and it hasn't been announced yet, but it will be announced soon. In Austin Kelly, Austin worked with me at Vanderbilt for a while, but Austin was always around our Indiana fever teams. His wife is karima Christmas. And Austin was always our scout guy, right? Like he was our best scout guy. He was always Elena delle donne. He was always my amour. He was always Candice Parker, you know, Nico gumaca. Anybody that we needed him to be. And I worked closely with him because I had him run the scout team. And so we were often, you know, communicating, great basketball mind, great X's and O's sees things forward thinking the way that I do from a basketball standpoint. And as somebody that I just think is a great coach and is going to continue to be a great coach. In fact, you know, I think Austin, you know, you see somebody that I would have to say if he and I were doing end of game situations together or against each other. They probably be pretty similar actions that you would see. So we're very, very similar on that mine.
The Her Hoop Stats Podcast
"candice parker" Discussed on The Her Hoop Stats Podcast
"There to compete at the level that they would need to compete at to make this move. If you're telling me, hey, you know, we got Candice Parker. We lost Kourtney van der we kept Kourtney van der slew and got my last Candice Parker, but hey, we still feel like we can make a semifinal run at the very least and put ourselves in a position to get to the finals again. Then yeah, I would say, hey, you know, maybe it is worth those three first round picks because next year you're going to make the playoffs and it's not going to be a problem. Right. But now I'm like, I'm shaking. You're shaking a Chicago fan because now it's like, well, this team needs to really outperform what they've done. And Marina mabry has to turn into a star, and she's a great player. And I think she's a really, really good player, but she's not there yet. And Kelly copper is going to have to be a superstar. And it's not like clear copper can't get there. She's proven that she can play out that level. Can she drive the team as a superstar? And I think the other thing I went into this went into this for Chicago was, you know, they were really, I guessing really scared of losing clear copper in free agency next year. So her contracts up after this season. And so they would like to see her extend or at least be in a happy situation. She loves Marina mabry. She said that a million times. And she wanted her on the team, and they went and went her, got her, right? And so maybe, so yes, maybe to keep Kalia copper, they needed to do this. I just don't know if that was the right decision. For me, if I was in charge, I would have said, you know what? I'm looking at it. You know, if we can't sign maybe if she doesn't take our offer sheet, we'll look to trade copper and we'll hit the reset button. We'll try to get one of those great players coming out of the draft next year. And we'll see what happens. And we'll see how we'll see how the franchise goes, but now they're just, this has to work. This has to work, or they are, it's not just like, oh, this has to work or they're going to be screwed for the next two years. This could be like a this is a franchise altering potential movement. Yeah. Yeah. Did you change the entire look of your franchise for a long time? You can ask the ask the Brooklyn Nets, ask all those teams in the NBA trade and those draft picks and going all in for those stars. You guys see what's happened on the pike because I just think that's a crazy, crazy move for Chicago. Great, great move for Dallas for a player that they probably weren't going to resign anyways to get those picks. And franchise altering move on their side as well as they bring in those picks and diamond the shield. And now, I like this Dallas team, Christie. I don't know how you feel about it. No, I love, first of all, I love time to shield it. She's listening. But I love that. I love that she's going to be there. With a riquet of wallet, I think they're built the same way mentally. I think they're both extremists when it comes to competitive fire. And I'd love to see that. Especially for diamond to the playoffs last year, you know, obviously it was Phoenix having the year that they did last year with the emotion with the Britney griner situation. Do you see BG at the Super Bowl? I did. Aw, I love this. So happy for her. I'm so happy for BG. Oh, hey BT. I'm so happy for her. Yeah. But I think like you said, it's a really good move for them. They're continuing to strategize with their roster, but continuing to build too. But they'll be able to add some really nice pieces with those picks. But I just think when you said about Kalia copper and can she be that superstar and lead the team, I think she's poised to do that right now. I think, you know, she got MVP of the finals when they won, you know, a couple seasons ago. And I think from that, I mean, I think the confidence that she's played with. I mean, even prior to them winning that year, just the way she's been moving along in her career. And her competitive maturity, being on full display. I think she's ready for that challenge. And she doesn't have anyone to fall back on now. And not that she would want that, but I mean, there's no Candice Parker who's the one saying come over here and let me talk to you at a free throw. Like you're not going to have that kind of leadership. So can she be that for them? I think yes. But she hasn't had to do it because she's always had a salute or quickly a Parker to be able to corral everyone in. So now it's her opportunity to step into that space. So I want to see her do it. I know that she can do it, but she hasn't had to do it. If that makes sense. And quigley is taking the year off. So she's not even there either so I just think the opportunity is primed for her to step into that leadership role. The seas have parted, if you will, and this is, hey, this is your time to stretch yourself into being in that vocal leader. And you've seen it a little bit, but now, you know, she has, again, had to do it because she's had vets to the left and to the right of her. So now it's her turn. And I'm anxious to see how that looks and I'm sure she's going to do it masterfully well. I think she's going to be great at that. Yeah, no, I think she could totally be a leader. I just don't. I don't think in that way. Be the one to say, hey, come over here, I can tell you something. Oh, no doubt. I think she can lead this team absolutely really well. I just don't think, you know, you look at the other teams in kind of the conversation with them and it's just the talent level for Chicago's not there. And James wade's a great coach. And maybe there's some stuff that he can get more out of these players than. I'm sorry, he can get more out of these players than what we expect. But it's just tough to look at the other teams with the talent and say, okay, we have to make the playoffs this year first off. And we have to be really good in order to make this trade worth it.
The Her Hoop Stats Podcast
"candice parker" Discussed on The Her Hoop Stats Podcast
"With the perimeter defenders. You can definitely keep yourself in some games. Some of those really low score and grind it out games, but no one's winning a 5 game series. Let's be honest. No one's no one's beating either of those two teams three times. They did sweep the aces in the regular season series last year. I'm always wondering forget that. They are spending the wrong side of that every single time. But also, I mean, I think we might see our first healthy EVD season in a long time and landed on what played did the whole load management thing played out the season. Passing the reins to the air to the throne as far as coaching goes. I don't know if we'll see a drop off in production from the team, but I assume he's pretty close with Mike and what he did. So I think it's a safe assumption. But yeah, no, I mean, I'm looking into the mystics as well. And we've seen some other moves across the landscape of the WNBA, but Owen, I mean, it's probably your favorite team. The aces rep in Asia Wilson. Oh, and Owen told us in our group chat one time, quote, my heart is a big old ace. Which is one of my favorite quotes of all time. I think we all held our breath when you said, Owen said this in a group chat. I don't know. But Owen does, does Candace Parker, granted, she's what, 37, 36. She's 36. Okay. I mean, people say that she's getting up there in age, but like, you know, what game wanted that Connecticut series? She had one of the best statistical performances of all time. Even though it was a loss, I think she was let down by Chicago this last year, but so I'm afraid of her as a New York fan. I'm afraid of that starting 5 absolutely. They add Alicia Clark. I feel like they added somebody else on that bench as well. Are the aces going to retool it, bring another championship back to Las Vegas. We know there's some off circum circumventing the cap situation, but regardless of all the off season drama that's happening, just looking at what product they put on the court, how do you feel about their chances? I think the chances are great. I think that there's a handful of things to dive into here. One being that we haven't seen since the Lisa Leslie sparks a team go back to back into sleep. It's very difficult. And I think we all know. And this is not an indictment of their title in the least. Every team to win the title needs injury luck. Chicago 2021 had a team that was not healthy the whole regular season and that gelled in the playoffs. Everyone was healthy, boom, hit their stride, win the title. The aces last year had pretty remarkable health. They had four players who they could not afford to lose. And those four players played essentially every single game regular season and postseason in Asia Wilson. Kelsey, Jackie young, Chelsea gray. So you're more than likely not going to get that like ridiculously clean bill of health this year. Now, it's impossible speculating about injuries, blah, blah, blah, whatever. I think that Candice Parker on this team of Ford's Becky Hammond to be able to be a little more liberal in the regular season with resting her stars. I think something that got lost in the kind of the popular narrative last year was that Becky was running her starters into the grab. She didn't trust the bench. The young players Kirsten bell, Asia shepherd, the rookies hardly ever played. You know, none of these players even required Williams who was their only bench player who was like, quote unquote, reliable. That's the Kia stokes was reliable. But requa Williams a little more dynamic, whatever. Even required Williams was not healthy throughout the season, not really herself. So it was the starters and that was it. But when I give credit to Becky Hammond, I don't think people really realize this is Jackie young and Kelsey plum were among the league leaders in minutes. Chelsea gray and Asia Wilson actually were fairly like middle of the pack in terms of like major players and minutes. They were playing a lot of minutes, but she wasn't playing them 35, 36 minutes every game. And you saw those two players at their best ready to go fresh dynamic in the playoffs. And I think this organization understands that the playoffs is kind of what matters. A lot of these players have not playing overseas. They're hopefully going to be fresh entering this season. In terms of the on court fit, to me, the most exciting element you mentioned Candace Parker and is she going to show any signs of decline. And I think that we have seen decline in her athleticism over the years, obviously. But what she has lost in athleticism, she has made up for in a number of ways in terms of how she just treats the game like chess at this point. She is one of the most prolific rebounders this league has ever seen. And at this point, she's not out jumping the tallest players, you know, she's not like the strongest player on the floor, but her positioning is impeccable. Defensively, you know, she's not able maybe to hang on the perimeter like she was in her prime. She is still one of the best defenders in this league in her mid 30s because she knows exactly where to be. She knows what to do in certain pick and roll coverages against certain teams. She knows when to help, she knows when to stick to her assignment, et cetera. She just has really mastered the game. And her passing is going to make this team ridiculously it's crazy. And think about the matchup for a second because obviously we can't talk about either of these two teams without discussing the other one. Think about a playoff series in which you have John quill Jones and Briana Stewart going up against Candace Parker and Asia Wilson. What could be better than that? That's crazy. That's wild. The graphics that are going to be made by social media accounts are going to be fantastic. Well, this brings me to one other thing. Stop leaving Jackie young off your graphics. And congratulations. And be nice and lady. Jackie young, show some respect. Come on. I mean, I really haven't really, I haven't gotten myself to the point of thinking about the actual matchup and dissecting it. I do want to ask one of those basic gotcha questions