The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - ALLEY OOP BONUS EPISODE: Paige Will Take Care of the Dallas Wings & Protect Griner at All Costs | Alley Oop | Bonus Ep 21

Episode Date: September 10, 2025

Co-hosts Juju Gotti and Trysta Krick talk about the messiest teams in the WNBA. Is there any hope for the Dallas Wings? The Chicago Sky? The Mystics? The Connecticut Sun? And Brittney Griner proves all her naysayers wrong. Alley Oop is all things basketball, hoops, and hoopers. #wnba #wnbarumors #chicagosky #paigebueckers #washingtonmystics #basketballshorts #playoffs #wnbaplayoffs #connecticutsun Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to another show of the alley-oop. I'm joined by my big doubt, Trista Crick. We're here. We're everywhere. I need a ball. You got faith in every team in the WMBA. No, I don't, bro. Who do you not have faith in?

I don't got faith in the Dallas Wings. Hey, you're talking about? The Dallas wings. Look, they better get it together, too, because. I understand every time I turn on the TV, pages, page, every time I go like page doing page things, but at the same time, salute the Louisa Geisel soldier and them girls, they needed a roster turnover as well soon because it's a different day and age. You see Andrew frustrated after year one, after year two, I mean. So, I mean, Dallas, they got to get it together in

my opinion. Yeah, they're probably going to have, they're the largest odds to get the number one overall pick, though. And guess what? Chicago traded their first round pick next year to the Minnesota Links. Now Minnesota Links, uh, I believe it was for the rights to draft Haley Van Liff. Oh my God, bro. That's crazy. The rights to draft the player that is getting, do, did not play coaches decisions, aka D NPCD. Brough. And then they got, they, they, the Links got D.J. they out of the whole deal, the link's rolling, man. Rolling. I also don't have faith in Connecticut at all.

Like, I don't salute to the good folks in the Connecticut son organization. You got to know I love you. But at the same time, bro, it ain't looking good to me. They stringing together some good performances at the end of the year. I see it. But, man, I don't see them folk winning no damn championship behind salute to sis, Marina Mabry, and Olivia Nenna.

Nelson, Udota, like, come on, like, what are we talking about? I agree. I think those three teams are the biggest messes in all of the WMBA. I don't have faith in any of them, but I do have faith in Page. Because I think Paige is different than Angel, right? Like Paige, Paige would be the one to call her folks at, what is it, WME. So she calls her agents up and says, listen, I'm going to be preaching togetherness. like Mr. Mambun, the head coaches.

But here's what we're not going to do. Salute the Cocoa Clannis. Also, shout out to those people who said that Trista looks like, this girl looks like a younger version of that old hag that's on Camma's Mace. I am still that old hag on Camman Mace. I just have a hoodie on. That's a compliment. That's a beautiful compliment.

They're like, dang. It's a low-res camera. You can't see the wrinkles or the gray hairs. Anyway. Oh, my God. Anyway, I think Paige is going to try to clean it up behind the scene. She's like a, I think she's very good at having her public face not be tarnished by saying anything in the media. Angel is, Angel is one of those ones.

I respect the one of them ones. It's like, listen, I'm not dealing with this shit anymore. Right, right, right. You know who I lost Faith in a little bit and it kind of hurt me? Like my heart, how they ended the season. The Washington missed this, bro. Like they were in the mix They was right there in the thicker things

And they just put out turd after turd, man Sonia sits around my sister, I love you She don't show up She don't even wake up to the third quarter She's not going to shoot that bitch either Like she's not She's gonna pass it She's team first

The Kiki Everybody like I'm not saying it falls on Any of them individually But I would have thought They were going to put forth this playoff push That would have got them in there man two all-stars on the team man like bro and great rookie head coach season you feel me like

i don't look down on them but it's just sad of how they went out they just got beat by like 40-50 points down there then next night getting beat by a dog come on may y'all boys in the in the playoff hunt man wake up what you think about those sticks man yeah i'm looking at seeing what uh how they've been doing down the stretch the fever fever beat those girls by drubbing of here's the thing they have these quarters juju where they score like sub 10 points and you talk about a team that's rebuilding the mystics are a team that's that's very exciting and someone that you should feel optimistic about you've got kiki you got sonia you got georgia a more you got lucy olson you got madison scott you got alicia clark you got shakia

Austin you got should Sutton I mean come on now and and you're going to have a good draft pick moving forward who knows what you're going to get end up getting in the lottery so I think this is a team that all in all is going to be playing fast they're defensively starting to figure things out but I think it's just all the injuries you've had a trade in the middle of the year with brittany sykes who let's be honest was one of their best scores in the beginning of the season so it's just been a little bit of turmoil as they're trying to rebuild on the fly. Yeah, they're trying to make an airplane in the sky

and it's not working at all. Who do you think is going to take the ultimate, like, crown this year? Well, I think two things can be true. One, momentum is critical in a playoff setting. Whoever's the harvest, whoever's jelling the most, whoever's clicking on all cylinders,

and has figured it out offensively, defensively. They're the team that you could say, like, has the greatest chance. And a team that's already won it in the ACEs, So you have to say they've got the championship pedigree. They've won multiple titles already. They've got the best player in all of the WMBA and Asia Wilson. They've figured out their rotations.

Becky Hammond has sort of figured out life actor, her top assistance with Tyler Marsh and Natalie Nakase. She sort of figured out exactly how she wants to run the team. They're taking things seriously. The culture is jelling. 14 in a row is a lot. So you kind of have to give them slight edge just based on everything that they've done. Now, Minnesota has the championship pedigree, too, just not this roster in particular. Minnesota is one of the most storied franchises in all of the WMBA.

That's all they did when they had Maya Moore was win. You've got all the pieces. You add a Dijunate Carrington. Nefisa is back and she's healthy. And they're out for blood since they got absolutely f***ed last year in game five of the finals. So I think it's those two. I think for New York is really, really difficult to put things together. like you talk about putting a plane together in the air like the plane was together like they took

off they took off and the plane was there and then pieces jank well the left wing starts falling out and then then you got stewie the engine falls out and then the tip of the front of the plane falls out in sabrina and then you start trying to tape it back together so they not only like had the plane in the air now they're trying to put it back together in the air so i could see uh i could see New York, depending on how this all goes, getting into a dog fight with the Phoenix Mercury, who listen, they are not playing great on the road.

And if the Mercury have home court advantage, that's very, very tough. Right, bro. And the way they do it, I'd be forgetting that they don't got no real East versus West in the playoffs. It's eight. So if you happen to have the Mercury on your list,

I'm sorry, here's AT for you. Here's a mad and angry Satu Sabali, here's pissed off Kalea Copper. And so, ugh, damn, that's rough for the, yeah, we need to stay two, three, because I don't want to see the Phoenix Mercury

in the first round. Even though they're our little brother, because every time we played them this year, we spank them boys. Like, get them out of here. They don't mean anything to us. As a matter of fact, I wish we could play them the first round.

I talk myself into it. Atlanta dream, I wish we could play anybody. It don't matter who we play first round. We win in the first round. good luck go to state good luck indiana good luck whoever the hell going to end up in that first that third spot that seven spot bro i'm biased i can't not look through my glasses bro i feel like the alana dream can be anybody in the world i'm sorry they can beat anybody in the entire world that's it's just that's that's on that's on everything i know and everything i love if their name was the if their name was

be a lot. Like, if they were the Houston comments, would you be saying the same thing? Exactly, bro. We can beat Cheryl Spoofing them for real. Like, I ain't going to hold you. We'll beat Tina Thompson now. For this year, we'll beat them. We'll clean them up. I ain't going to lie to you.

Can we give our flowers really quick before we go to Brittany Griner, who everybody was throwing dirt on her name? Everybody was saying she was cash, cooked, washed. She was not. She wasn't washed. She was plenty nasty, plenty dirty. plenty ready to defend the rim.

She hasn't been washed yet, folks. Like, not at all. She hasn't. Right, right. And I think we should put her in a plastic bubble route until the playoffs. I mean, forget this last week, bro. We don't need her. This is where injuries happen.

This is where the good ones happen to. Brianna Jones, too. Let's let sis sit down these ass couple games. Well, but do you want the two-seed or do you want healthy players? Because you're not going to get the two-seed then. You might even get the four-seat. I think as long as we can beat Connecticut when we're taping this on Monday tonight

and then beat Connecticut again listen here's the thing now we have a longer game series for the first round for the first year ever and we got to discuss maybe then going to a game either in Atlanta or in Golden State to

go a little knit knit Nat patty wet give a little ball holla Golden State Valkries versus the Atlanta dream you just said the highest two of the highest tickets in the damn playoffs we might have hit phoenix i feel like a plane ticket and the ticket won't be as much as the ones here you've got connections call ryan up say hey ryan is not answering my goddamn come on ryan help us out look salute my sister i'm pretty

sure she good i've never said anything she said i'm good she's i've never said a thing mean about rind Howard. I know that for sure. One, because she's really fucking good. And two, have you seen Ryan Howard? Exactly. My doubt. Man, come on, man. She could probably take me underneath her armpit and pop my head off.

Exactly. Look, last thing before we get out of here, kind of two things right quick before we get out of here. Two things now. We went from one to two. Exactly. Because it's like, can we not talk about how Asia Wilson has taken over the MVP race? Or is that? She hasn't. She hasn't?

You don't think she has? The odds say that she has, but I think that's Fugazi. You think it's Fugazi? Okay. I mean, it's Fugazi. Look, I believe you. You're my sister. You connected.

You plug. Last thing before we get out of here, the WMBA playoffs start on NFL Sunday next week. Dumb. Look. This is what I'm saying, bro. We right here, the horses at the water. We have led the horse to. warder. I understand we're not

Friday night. Do it Friday. Something, bro. Monday. Tuesday. We have to understand that look, reality is reality. We won't folk to really love the W, but let's help them love the W. Don't make me choose between my football team

and watching my WMBA team today. Because me personally, you know what, I'm going to choose. I'm going to choose to watch both of them. Unless you're going to put it up against Spencer Rattler and the Saints, Come on, man. Just go neck and neck with them or, you know, people are watching those Atlanta Falcons now.

They want Michael Pennix. They want Bajon Robinson. They don't want to mess around with the multi-box on Sunday ticket. Come on, man. And then the small box with the Atlanta Dream on there on their table. Exactly. We got Red Zone to compete with. What are we doing?

Bro, what are we doing? At least, at bare minimum, start at Sunday night when you got a Sunday night football game. Something. Don't start at one. on Sunday. We're not helping these sisters get the eyeballs we won't.

We want sports fans to lock in with sports. Most sports fans been waiting for this football season to start for so long. Man, they can't wait

to watch the first five weeks until their team is completely sucking. Ain't nobody a team sucked just yet except the Panthers in the offense, but not that you know there.

But yeah, man, another great episode, man. My sister, I wouldn't be anything without you. And I also wouldn't be anything without these

wonderful, beautiful listeners and subscribers, man. Thank y'all so much for subscribing. I don't take now one view. I don't take now one subscriber for granted, man. Thank y'all for keeping us a part of your life. Tristan, anything you want to say on the way out.

If you like these episodes, just subscribe to the YouTube page, comment, give us some feedback, give us what you like, what you don't like, get into the conversation, tell Juju that he's just way too much of an LA Sparks

Apologist and a Chicago Sky Apologist and like we'll see you next week. It'll be freaking fun. Right. And if you hate me come to the YouTube to say that. If you hate the sound of my voice, please leave that comment on the YouTube. Come on man, lock in. Thank y'all for listening.

You diggers.