The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - GOOD FOLLOW - Oddball Host Charlotte Wilder & WNBA Analyst Ros Gold-Onwude Talk WNBA Playoffs + A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark & More

Episode Date: September 24, 2024

This week on Good Follow: Logan is joined by Charlotte Wilder and Ros Gold-Onwude to discuss A’ja Wilson setting the single-season scoring record and the WNBA returning to Portland. Then, they preview the WNBA playoffs. Finally, Logan shares her NWSL DraftKings picks of the week, and Katie shares this week’s Good Follow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Welcome to the pro life with LG Gram Pro. Experience the power of Pro. Get your LG Gram Pro today. Pro anytime, anywhere. Welcome to Good Follow, presented by DraftGames. I'm Logan Hackett, and as you can see, it's an exciting day with not just one, but two special guests. You know her from her show, Oddball, that covers all things basketball, Charlotte Wilder.

And of course, we've got the best WMB analysts in the biz, Roz Gold-Unwooday. Ladies, how are we doing today? What's going on? That's you, the best of the best. Yeah, I'm like, Roz, don't look around. We all know it's you. We all know it's you.

I'm so thrilled to be here with you both. Happy to have you. Me too. I'm so pumped. I've been on the show before, but I've never done anything with Charlotte before, and I'm a big time fan. And before we got on, I was hella a fan girling. Love her and I mean, I like your style. You go girl. Also a Logan fan too. Big Logan fan. Per.

Yeah. I'm not worthy. Oh my God. The legend herself. I know. Watch out. Maybe we'll have to do more. Who knows? Right. Maybe. Caesar. We got lots to talk about, so let's get right into it. Last weekend, Asia Wilson became the first player in WNBA history to score a thousand points in a season. With this, she all but locked up her third MVP award, which would mean Cheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Lauren Jackson all have the most ever. Where does this move her to on the all-time WNBA Goat List?

Roz. Oh, OK. So I'll start here. I think for me, it's become very clear this season. Asia is already in real time right now. We are watching one of the goats. And I think when we have goat conversations, we're often talking about players who have finished their career or at the end of their career or you're projecting into like what might or could be. No, no, no, no. We like it's very exciting for us as fans. We are watching a player who was already a goat and where she stacks up in the list of players who could be the greatest of all time or one of them. Now that is a

little bit harder for me because her body of work is not done. So the way that I that I would think about this when I'm having a conversation about goatness, whether it's men's or women's basketball, it often revolves around, OK, well, it's obviously a great player. But sometimes there are these like goat caliber players who haven't won a championship or these goat caliber players who are more like offensively spectacular like goat caliber players who haven't won a championship or these goat caliber players who are more like offensively spectacular or goat caliber players

who have made their name around defense. Or we also have a conversation about international impact on the game. Guess what? Asia has all of these things. She got chips, she got Olympic gold medals, she was the MVP of the whole thing in Paris, she got offense, defense, rebound.

She's rewriting all the record books on both sides of the ball. She's a defensive player here. She's an MVP. She's a finals MVP. She won all the awards. She's also won in college. She's won at every level.

She's a winner. She makes others better, which is often reserved for guards a lot of the time. No, but she like makes her teammates better in so many ways. And I think for me too, when you talk about a goat is how they make you feel. I mean, that's how I'd kind of think about Asia in her goatness. I mean, Roz, I couldn't agree more. I think the one thing that strikes me too, I mean, in addition to all the awards, two time award winners, I think that's the biggest thing that I've ever seen.

And I think that's the biggest thing that I've ever seen. And I think that's the biggest thing that I've ever seen. And I think that's the biggest thing that I've ever seen. And I think that's the biggest thing that I've ever seen. And I think that's the biggest thing that I've ever seen. And I think that's the biggest thing that I've ever seen. And I think that's the biggest thing that I've ever seen. And I. I think the one thing that strikes me too, I mean, in addition to all the awards, two-time MVP, two-time champ, like the fact,

like when you start, when you listed it out, I was just like, it's staggering, right? It is such a privilege to be watching her at this point in her career, which is still far from over. But another thing that I think strikes me so much is how vulnerable she is and her emotional intelligence. I mean, after she scored her thousandth point and her teammates, you know, welcomed into her, welcomed her into the locker and she was crying.

And she said, some days I don't want to be Asia Wilson, which is like, I mean, imagine the weight on her shoulders and for her to say that and then say, it's my teammates who keep me going, like you don't know how much you mean to me, it's such a generous thing to do in a moment of personal record breaking that it truly is, well-rounded, like doesn't cover it. We need a new word for what Asia is.

I think for me, there's it's it's not performative, right? It's so it's so genuine for Asia. The word that immediately came to my mind, her willingness to be vulnerable. And you hit that spot on to her willingness to be accountable. Her willingness. I love the word generous with her teammates and with her moments. And so, you know, you see that locker room and I think her personality permeates the mindset of this team and they she loves her team.

And it's very clear they love Asia back. And it's very clear the Aces love each other. And this may sound cliche, but I think that makes them incredibly dangerous because I fully believe wholeheartedly this team will do whatever it takes to sacrifice and do what it takes to just have each other's back. Whether that adds up and becomes a championship, I believe they want to help each other. And for that reason, you know, look, we were on them when they came out of the Olympic break and lost four of six games. They've just won eight of nine right now, and they've been willing to do the work it takes to improve and match the tenacity that Asia Wilson's bringing to the table. So it's actually that

team vulnerability started by Asia that makes the Aces very dangerous, in my opinion. And back to that locker room talk. I do love how she also pointed out Queen, who just joined the team. And she's like, I already love you. Like you are fitting in like all of us. Like, I love you just as much as I love other people. And I think that's such a huge part because coming in as somebody new, especially Queen being young, I mean, you're standing there

and you might not feel like you fit in, especially with an ace's team who seems so super close. So I absolutely love that part as well. But earlier this week, Asia also broke the single season rebound record that was previously set by Angel Reese just a couple of weeks ago. This is a huge accomplishment, but do we think she would have done it if Angel hadn't have gotten hurt? Well, no, I don't think so. I think she was the few games that Asia missed allowed her to get caught up on the total rebounds.

Even still, she's not catching up to Angel on rebounds average per game. But I think it's impressive for both of them. For a rookie to be at the tops of the league with rebounding categories really talks about her effort and tenacity. And for an MVP to do that also talks about the willingness to do the dirty work, to be blue collar and take whatever it takes to get her team over the top and to

consistently do that game after game after game. It's really impressive for both of them. Yeah. And to paraphrase our friend Kawhi Leonard, you know, board woman gets paid. Like, that's where that, you know gets paid. That's where you see the difference in the Aces and you see the difference in Angel. And I'm super excited for when she's back and healthy and what that Chicago team can do moving forward. It's just all of it is like,

I already can't wait for next season, even though this one already isn't over. And of course, with this season being the year of broken records, Asia wasn't the only one to set a scoring record last weekend. Caitlin Clark set the WNBA rookie scoring record with this bucket. Trying to frustrate Clark. Clark with three more. Right over the rookie. Now she's broken so many records this season that in the award campaign package sent out to voters, the fever could not list all of her accomplishments and instead included a QR code that sent voters to a website

with every single one of her accomplishments. So question for y'all, what's more impressive? What Caitlin's done on the court or what she's done off of it, like bringing in tons of new fans? I mean, I don't think you can separate them. You know, I really don't. I think that it's I think it's part of the whole Caitlin Clark experience is obviously she came in here with name recognition that we have not seen before. That was just off the charts.

I mean, I was I was trying to play basketball before, you know, I threw up my back again. We don't need to talk about that. But I was at, I was at like the park shooting around and there was like a nine year old boy shooting from way outside the arc. And he was like, I'm Caitlin Clark. And like, he wasn't making it, but that was before the season started.

And so to see that continue and translate to crowd size and translate, I mean, and for her to back it up with this style of play. I mean, a QR code in an MVP campaign is wild. Roz, have you ever seen anything like that? Not a QR code, but let me tell you, especially on the WNBA side, these awards pack season packages

from the teams are so creative. I've seen, the best one I've seen this season is from the teams are so creative. I've seen I've seen the best one I've seen this season is from the New York Liberty. They've given out juice actual juices for each of the players to campaign for their candidacy for the different awards. That definitely does not happen on the NBA side. Let me tell you right now. It's like a couple of an email with some stats and like maybe like a nice book by mail, but the side is so creative and awesome. And I love the juice, but anyway, let's get back to Caitlin.

So, so Caitlin, I think for me, what's most impressive, it's been the responses all season. Especially coming out of the second half of the season, just not only Caitlin, but the entire team and also how they've handled, not just Caitlin, the entire team, all of this attention stayed together and came back stronger out of the Olympic break. It's really hard to have so many voices

of expectation ahead of you. And I believe that Caitlin has met all of it and that her team, you know, rose to the occasion, especially Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston. I mean, this is a three-headed monster. And on top of that, they've got other players stepping up Lexi Hull in the second half of the season. I think Indy, just the response really stands out to me.

And let's stick with the fever for a minute. Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, and Kelsey Mitchell just the response really stands out to me. And let's stick with the fever for a minute. Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, and Kelsey Mitchell are getting a lot of attention as a three-headed monster. Some might consider this a crazy take, so let's debate the big threes right now. Is anyone doing it better than them? Better.

I said, I got a big three that I think is doing very well. I mean, there's a number of, there's a few big threes in the W that are strong. And that's a very formidable one you named in Indiana. And I definitely think, you know, give it a season. That might be the best big three, you know, but I'm going with the big three in New York. Okay. Sabrina Yonescu, Brianna Stewart, Stewie and John Quayle Jones, all three at different points of the season

have been MVP candidates. In fact, I think one of the things that, you know, hurt them is that they have three MVP candidates on the team. And but this you got to not give a nod to the New York Liberty who have the best record have been have been finished at the top of the standings this season. And all three of them play important parts on any given game and at any point of the season.

And they're so selfless. And I truly believe neither cares about how it gets done. The goal is on getting back to the finals, having a shot at this thing again, and winning a championship. But of those three, I will, I do wanna give a special shout out to Brianna Stewart, to Stewie.

She is what I call the steady drum beat of the New York Liberty. She does the loud things, she does the quiet things. She might have 30 points, but she also might have eight. If she's not getting her shot down, she'll go to the free throw line. She's been consistently pounding the glass for them. Her defense, her rebounding, her assist,

her playmaking, her efficiency. The only thing she hasn't really excelled at this season was her three point shooting efficiency. But I think that Brianna Stewart has gotten a little lost in some of the noise, but she just wears down on the other team over the course of a game, every single game for the Liberty this season. And with them being at the top of the standings,

I think we need a little bit more noise for Brianna Stewart this season. Although she didn't win MVP last year. True. I'm with you, Roz. I think she is one of my favorite players to watch because she is so gritty. She is so willing to do whatever it takes. And the whole Liberty team is obviously, and I think something that's so cool is when you have a team on a bit of a revenge tour, right? Like they had something to prove all season

after losing to the Aces last year and to see them play as a team. You know, they haven't fractured because of it. They have come together. They're number one in the standings. And I think sort of a clear favorite at this point. Although, well, we'll get there. We'll get there. Sorry, I spoke too soon. I spoke too soon. But to your point, the big three in New York, I feel like, you know, give the fever a little time.

Maybe they'll get there, but we got to pay respects to their current elders. Respect your elders. Super quickly, if you all could build an all time big three, who would you all have? Oh, an all time big three. OK. And everybody's in their prime, right? Yeah. I got mine. Go because I am not nearly as much of a historian on the league.

So I'm going to I'm going to beg out of this question for now. I'm not prepared to put my answer in stone. You go, Ross. OK. My my favorite peak prime prime Diana Taurasi. A lot of y'all are young and don't know how she would be watching people back in the day. Y'all are young and it shows and I feel bad for you.

So peak prime Diana Taurasi, my favorite Liberty player of all time. I'm from New York, y'all. I love Cappy Pondexter. I'm going with my girl. So she gonna run, she gonna run at Cappy and they have experience winning a chip together, but we also need some defense We're a little small, but we need some defense. I'm going with some Mika Catchings. So that's my big three

I'm going to Mika Catchings Diana Tarasi and because I have a personal love my favorite player all-time is Cappy Pondexter I gotta go with my girl. I love that. I need to, on the DT side of things, I agree, Roz. I think the youth today are not appreciating. This is, I'm gonna be an old woman. Like, yeah, I'm gonna stand on my lawn and yell at a cloud. Like we need to respect what Diana Taurasi has done and how tough she is. And I'm just, I'm I'm just I'm really glad.

I'm really glad you brought that up. Thank you. Respect, Diana. No, there's respect. But I it's crazy. Like I'm reading all these articles now, like, you know, she might call it. Maybe she doesn't know at the end of the season. And I'm like, is this how we're going to let D go out? It's like, what? It's you know, there's so much excitement around the league and a lot of new things

to be excited about. But boy, peak D was a killer killer. Incredible. Very exciting. Yeah. Well, there's still so much more to talk about, but we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, Charlotte Ross and I talk WNBA expansion, impactful players and preview the WNBA playoffs.

Welcome back to Good Follow. We continue our WMBA talk with some big news from earlier this week. The WNBA is officially returning to Portland as the 15th team in the league and they're set to begin play in 2026. How do we feel about the W returning to Portland? Charlotte, I heard you like expansion talk. This was what they said. This is- I really do. This is your- I really do because there's so much to be excited about. Like, are they gonna be the fire again? Are we gonna go back to the original name?

What are the uniforms gonna look like? What is the branding? Like, you know, when they announced the Valkyries, I was like, oh, you know, Googling anything I could define, like, what is the logo? What is it all gonna look like? And I think it's also just so exciting when teams go back to places that they have been. I mean, obviously on the NBA side, like the Sonics, it's sort of a foregone conclusion at this point that the Supersonics will go back to Seattle.

And just the idea of giving the fans who loved this team and who probably haven't, some of them have just been waiting. And it's like, you know, an old sea captain's wife like walking across the table, like waiting for the ship to come home and it comes home and like, what's more wonderful than that? Girl, the imagery is crazy. It's true. No, but I feel it, I feel it, I feel it. You know, okay, so it's just an exciting time for the W. I sometimes think about like what the lifestyle is like.

Like I was like, okay, team going to Oregon, you know, more coffee, I guess. But no, it's exciting. One thing that Kathy Engelbert has talked about is not just picking cities, it's also about great ownership teams or government teams and, you know, cities and areas that are vibrant and fertile for women's basketball. I don't know who has smashed a rollout more than the Golden State Valkyries. I mean, they've got 17000

ticket season ticket holder reservations. They got a new facility. I personally think they nailed the rollout, having the right day area voices. Kehlani was dope on that. Like I think I like the superhero ness of it. I like the purple color scheme, the purple and black. At first I wasn't sure what the name was or what it meant or even how to say it,

but I even liked the inventiveness of it and the fact that we got it, there's a little bit of lore we have to study there. So, you know, that was an opportunity, unlike what you mentioned, where there's teams who already have a history that they're rolling back in, but here's a team that had the opportunity

to create something fresh and new. And so that's exciting. And I think they'll crush it in Toronto as well. You know, that's a really good group up there. I'm so excited to have a team up here and just see like what it's all like, the branding and the colors. I feel like we still have a lot to develop. It's right on time for all of the excitement around the WNBA.

And, you know, I know the commissioner got a little flack or a lot of flack for how she handled some of her conversations around rivalries and racism in the league. But this is an example of one of the many progresses and growth and wins that Engelbert has been a part of leading out for the W. And this is right on time and well handled. So really exciting for the W and this is right on time and well handled. So really exciting for the W. It's also just exciting to see a sports league in general, capitalize on momentum and then as you said, handle it correctly. I feel like we don't always see that.

And so shout out to the W. Well now getting on to some playoff talk. We saw the Lynx and the Liberty battle it out one last time in the regular season last Sunday. The Liberty might be the favorites, but the Lynx have their number after handing the Liberty their only series loss of the year. In that game, did we learn anything more about the Lynx or the Liberty heading into the playoffs? Roz, correct me if you think this. I feel like we learn more about the Lynx because I think I think a loss for the Liberty at this point isn't really much, you know, like

sure drop a game there. They've clinched number one, correct? Like that's already. Yeah, they have the number one seed. It's done. Yeah. So so I'm less concerned about that. I think what it does say about the Lynx is like, this is a tough team. You know, they've won 12 of the 13 games since the Olympic break. Like we, you know, amazing. And I think coming into the season, you know, I was seeing a lot of people question, can they be tough on defense?

And yes, we've seen that. And so to me, it's more of a statement saying the links are back than necessarily there's anything to worry about with New York. Yeah, I think we learned about, I personally think there were more lessons learned about the Lynx and the Liberty here too, but there were lessons,

there was something we learned about both teams. So if you go back to the Commissioner's Cup, the Lynx beat the Liberty. And after that, Coach Reeve actually said, this not only lets the league know this is who we are, but it also lets our team know, you know, what we're capable of, what we can be. I think that was an early, an early checkpoint for the Lynx in the season

as far as how good are we? How good can we be? What can we aspire for? But now, you know, and then a week later, the Liberty played them and then the Liberty won, right? Okay, cool. So now we've had an Olympic break. It's months later. There's been time for both teams to grow and improve.

Both teams came to this head-to-head matchup and end season test. Everyone's healthy. Everyone absolutely understood what was at stake here. The Liberty had the chance to outright seize the number one seed right there in the overall playoffs. They'd get it later, but they could have seized it right there, controlling their own hands against a good team. And both teams were really aware of the series being tied. And I know, because I was on the call for the game, I called the game and I call it for the Liberty. And so I spoke with both sides.

And so what I learned about the Lynx is, I mean, I already knew they were good. I already knew it, but they just really solidified the fact that they're going to be very tough for anyone in the playoffs. Their formula to success, they defend, they're going knew they were good. I already knew it, but they just really solidified the fact that they're going to be very tough for anyone in the playoffs.

Their formula to success, they defend, they pass the ball very well, they shoot the three very well. And they're super deep, they're super veteran. Nefisa anchors what they're doing, but the entire team is really awesome. And they came out and hunched, just came out, bang, you know, led by 26 in the

game as much as 26 in Barclays. And I honestly have to say as someone who was right there and calling the game, I don't think it was for lack of effort from the Liberty. I don't. I believe, you know, respect must be given where it is. The links were really good, are really good. And it is very much an end season hello to the league that they're coming for the chip, not just to have a nice playoff run for the chip. And then they went on the very next game, they just beat Connecticut.

And this was a different type of game. It came down to end game execution. And they come up with this huge game winning shot to win it. Two big tests on the road at New York, bopped them at Connecticut winning shot to win it. Close game execution in the grit and grind of it. That's a nice way to head into the playoffs.

And what I'll say on the other side for the Liberty though, while it was not a great start for them, I loved how they finished a lot of fight. They closed that gap. Brianna Stewart. I've never all season seen her this fiery. She was yelling. I think she cussed. She was yelling at the refs, at her teammates, but not in like a nasty way, like an let's go type way. And I appreciated it. She was willing to do everything. 38 points, 18 rebounds. She put her nose in everything.

And I appreciated seeing that level, not only fight from Brianna Stewart, but the entire Liberty team. And I thought I learned something about their guts there because, you know, the links were on one, but the Liberty, they showed pride. Well, we're just days away from the WNBA playoffs, so let's get some quick predictions going.

I'm going to say a sentence, and y'all are going to rapid fire. Fill in the blank. Sound good? Yes. Mine's going to suck. Yeah, same. You go first, Roz. No, I'm just can I just I don't even want to rapid fire. Can I just tell you how I got this thing going? No, go ahead. Rapid fire me. Let's play the game. Let's rapid fire me.

All right. First one. This year's Dark Horse contender is? Nobody, I got all the higher seeds winning. Yeah, does the, did the storm at five count as a Dark Horse? Like what counts as a Dark Horse here? Wait a second, you got the storm beating the aces, my friend, speeches. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

But you're true, but you're true, though let me talk you out of this. Dark Horse to me is like, maybe they'll get farther than we think. No, Dark, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, And I agree, they are very spicy. And I made a whole case for why in other shows, but they're matched up against the Connecticut Sun, right? I believe so. Yes, the Connecticut Sun. So I do feel that that is not a great matchup for a young team.

Playoffs experience matters, playoffs physicality matters, playoffs defense matters. And I believe that that veteran group of the Connecticut Sun, plus the improvement of offensive talent and Dijonay Carrington, getting Bree Jones back and now having Marina Mayberry, that should get them over the hump. It would be very devastating if they lost to the Indiana Fever in the first round. So that was the only thing that could have helped me play your game, Logan, but I have to believe the Connecticut Sun can get it done. All right. We're going to keep things rapid.

Boo. Sorry. I like it. Logan's like thanks a lot. You suck. Eliminate her from the game. I do the same exact thing. I'm like, OK, here's my answer. But I need to explain a little bit. Oh, yeah. My playoff hot take is. I do the same exact thing. I'm like, okay, here's my answer, but I need to explain it a little bit. Oh yeah.

My playoff hot take is. Your turn, Charlotte. Okay. My playoff hot take, I think the Mercury might get farther than people think. I don't think that they'll be a real contender. It's the experience, Roz. It's that experience. It's DT, it's Brittany Griner, Natasha Cloud.

This is a group that has been there before and knows what it's like to be in the playoffs. So I don't see them getting super far, but I think they've gotten a lot of grief this year. Probably rightfully so, but I think they could still surprise us even this late in the game, as it were. I want to make sure that this is a safe space for all basketball opinions.

Yes. So I wholeheartedly agree that their experience and how decorated that roster is deserves that kind of respect, and at least to play Logan's nice game. But to go further than we expect means they'd have to beat the Minnesota Lynx. Yeah. You got to call it. Call it. Call it now. I do it. I love it. Well, I sort of want to, but I also think that I mean,

I'm so bad at the bracket ology of like any any. I'm like, I don't know how it is. Like, is it possible? Is it possible that we get Lynx Liberty? Is that what this comes down to? No, no, it's not. So the Liberty are looking to either see Atlanta, Mystics or Chicago, all three I believe they'll be.

Okay. So it'll be Minnesota Phoenix, I believe at this point. It's tough, it's tough. I understand your point. I don't think, I don't, see, this is why I'm not always great at my job because I'm like, here's my hot take. I'm gonna give you something.

And then I'm like, well, logically actually, no, I don't think the Mercury are gonna beat the Lynx, but like, wouldn't that be a fun take to have? Bro, claim it now, because if it happens, we can say, you said it. Okay, you know what? We'll clip it. You know what?

We'll clip it. I'm going to say, the Mercury are going to shock the world and they are going to take down the Minnesota links. And if that happens, clip this and put it all over the internet. Okay, very quickly for the last one. The team taking home the chip will be. I have the liberty of figuring this thing out and going all the way for the championship.

This is the moment they were built for. Yeah, same. You said it, Roz. Perfect. That was quick. That was rapid fire. You played the game. We really played this game well.

We really had a lot of fun playing the game you designed for us, Logan. We did it the right way. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right, before we go, Charlotte, the foundation of this show is that communities get built one good follow at a time.

Every week we do a good follow, which could be a person, page, brand, et cetera. So who would you like to shout out as your good follow? Ross. I think it's like very simple. I think since I became familiar with your work, since I started following you, you just deliver such brilliant insight

and it's such a fun mix of the way you approach the game with the humanity and the analysis is so deep, but also so accessible for people who might not be as knowledgeable already and just inviting. So if anyone is not following Roz already, fix that now. Everyone go follow Roz right now. That is so sweet.

I was not expecting that. Thank you. Yeah, I mean it. Well, Charlotte, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been amazing you having here on the show and just listening to you talk about WNBA. Coming up, Katie, Roz and I play a new game and we'll be right back.

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That's a no. But a banana? That's a no. But a banana? That's a yes. A nice tan? Sorry, nope. But a box fan? Happily yes. A day of sunshine?

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playoffs, rookie of the year debates, and retirement announcements. I mean, it's really creating some hectic energy. So today on Good Follow, we're going to calm you all down with some soothing and calming noises. We're playing a game we like to call ASMR sounds. And we quite literally love to hear it. Here's how it works. We'll hear sound played out and Katie Ross and myself will need to guess which sport it is from. Are you ready? Yes. Let's play the first sound.

That is so sound. Roscoe. Is it a sport sound? Yeah. That's the sound of a basketball bouncing on an outdoor court. Pardon me, how do you know that? So specific? Yeah. I think so.

I feel like I've heard it before. How about you? What do you think? Wait, do it again. Yeah, I was like, I need to hear it one more time. Oh, I think you're right. Like the hollowness of the bounce. I don't know, your gut was so fast. I'm gonna just believe you.

All I can hear is the clanking at the end. So maybe that's the... Maybe it's the... Well, what's the wrestling? Is woodworking a sport? Lumberjack? No. Yeah. Yeah. Outdoor woodworking.

Alright. Are we gonna go with basketball. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Updoor basketball or just basketball? I specifically think that is an outdoor basketball sound.

I might've heard a fence in the background. Maybe it bounced off a fence, but like that is the sound of a basketball on a court, outdoor court. Okay. So our final answer is basketball on an outdoor court. Let's see if we got that right. Oh? So, we...

What was the wrestling? What was the sound of wrestling? Yeah, what's that at the end? It's hitting a net, like the ball hitting the back of the net. Is the net metal? What is that? Oh, that's good. That's good. That's good. I haven't hit enough goals in my life, so I wouldn't really know. Yeah, I've never, never once, never once.

All right, so we got that wrong, but we're going to go on to the next one. Let's take a listen. I know the sound. That's the sound of a basketball bouncing on an outdoor court. No, I'm joking guys. That's definitely not a basketball. That an outdoor court. No, I'm joking guys. I was like, oh no. That's definitely not a basketball. That sounds like a tennis ball. Yeah, it sounds smaller. Oh.

It's giving smaller, a handball. I say tennis ball or racquetball bouncing. Bounce like when you fumble it and it's running across the court. I could get behind that. I too support that. Wreck it or tennis. Do we get points for just size of ball?

I'd like to guess it's a smaller ball. That's where I'm at. I'm trying to think. It sounds like... Rocket ball? Yeah, I was gonna say it sounds like an Indian rubber ball like the lacrosse ones. All right, so our final answer is racquetball. Let's see if we got that right. Oh no!

No, we said tennis, what do you mean? I totally said tennis ball. Can we get like half a point? Cause we had tennis ball. We'll get half a point. Half a point. All right, we have it on my sheet. It says that counts.

So we got that one right. Let's listen to number three. That is the sound of a basketball bouncing on an outdoor court. Yes. I don't know. It sounds like when you flush your clothes out, like that's the same type of... Oh, it might be when you shoot the crossbow,

like the whiff of it, but that'd be more of a whoosh. No, I think you're right. I think it's more of a whoosh. Let's hear the whoosh one more time. It also kind of sounds like something else going into a net. Yeah. I like the idea of getting a lacrosse catch. I like a softball catch into a mitt.

Yeah. I think the softball catch would be louder. Yes. What about baseball? Baseball? We're not going to give credit to either of those answers. Let's think about the pop. Okay, Kara, one more time. A ball going into a mitt. Let's yeah, let's go. I think, yeah, let's just do that. All right, so our final answer is baseball slash

softball. The ball going into the mitt. I want the action. Action. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Let's see what sport this is. Yay! Nice. Good call. That was really good. Oh, my gosh. How exciting, team. Great job. That's a soft throw. That's a soft throw. Whoever was throwing that ball needs to work out more. Okay.

Uh, uh, next one. Uh, so we got that right. Let's see what the next one is. That's a cartoon. That's a cartoon running into a mountain. Wait, wait, wait. Guys, the producers are telling me that that was just a soundbite of Katie playing softball. Why they trying to do you like that?

Let's go ahead and roll the actual next sound. Okay, is this a basketball bouncing in an indoor gym? Yes. That sounds like a hit. True. Like something being thrown against a wall, to be honest. Yeah. Like when you pull vault and land. I actually have a kickboxer kicking that, the thing.

Oh, the thing, the thing. Yeah. That's the sound that that sounds like to me. Yeah. Katie, do you like that? I do. I like that a lot. All right. So final answer is kickboxing. Let's see if we got that right.

Volleyball. Spike, what's wrong with us? We should have known that one. This is hard. I'm like, this is making me reconsider everything I've learned about... Like, I'm like, did I play these sports? Like, maybe it was all a fever dream. Okay. Alright, this was supposed to calm us down, but I'm not really feeling calm.

I don't know what that's about. Maybe it's not typical ASMR, but let's listen to the next one. Swimming. Ooh. Water. Sounds like a water gun. Bob sledding? Oh, ski.

Maybe it's ski. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I'm with you. And also something on ice moving fast. Yeah, we only we don't give sports. We give actions. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, we create the environment. Okay, so our final answer is skiing. We give sports, we give actions. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, we create the environment. Right. Okay, so our final answer is skiing. Let's see if we got it right. Yeah, let's go. So good, Kate. Let's go.

How exciting, how exciting. Go team. Let's take a listen to the last sound. Basketball! Yeah! Circle it back! Circle it back! Come on! I've guessed at every single question!

Final answer is basketball. Let's see if we got it right. That is undeniable. Undeniable. Let's go! So that's it for our game of SFR Sports Sounds. Coming up, I reveal my dropkings, Pick of the Week and Katie Shears, her latest good follow. Welcome back to Good Follow.

Before we get into our weekly picks, our partners at DraftKings have an offer that is perfect for any game day. Right now, new customers who bet $5 will instantly get $250 in bonus bets. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and sign up using promo code GOODFOLLOW. That's $250 in bonus bets to spend on parlays, live betting, or picking straight-up winners after betting just $5. If sports betting is not yet available in your state, you can still join in on all the fun with DraftKings Daily Fantasy and have the shot to win cash prizes. Again, download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now and use promo code GOODFOLLOW for $250 in bonus bets instantly after betting just $5, only at DraftKings Sportsbook. Okay, now it's time for this week's DraftKings Sportsbooks picks. I'm looking at tonight's

matchup between the Kansas City Current and the Washington Spirit. KC Current sits at plus 110 while the Washington Spirit are plus 195 on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Spirit recently became the second club to secure a spot in the 2024 End of Your Cell playoffs which is why I'm picking them to come out of this one with a win. They're coming into the game with high momentum and have only lost to KC Current twice in their matchup history. With that said, the current does have a powerhouse player that might be a problem for the Spirit. Before joining Kansas City in 2024, Temwa Chwingo was the world's leading scorer in

2023 for club and country. She won the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball while on the Malawi national team and this season she's been on top of the scoring charts in the end of yourself. By the looks of it, Temwa will continue to be a favourite to win the Golden Ball while on the Malawi National Team, and this season she's been on top of the scoring charts in the NWSL. By the looks of it, Temwa will continue to be a favourite to win the Golden Boot once again this year. And the Spirit are going to have to keep her away from the goal if they want to have a chance in this game. My other player to watch is Star Forward, Trindy Rodman.

The Washington Spirit Powerhouse was recently named a nominee for the 2024 Ballon d'Or Feminine. This is her second nomination in three years. Last weekend, Rodman became the youngest NWSL player to have 50 goal contributions in all competitions, and she's just 22 years old. Wait, speaking of Trinity, did you guys see her insane goal against Houston,

and then she did the night-night celebration? Ooh! Amazing, Watch this. It looks like Punta Gam's gone into that center back position because right now they're obviously quite low on numbers. Natalie Jacobs not being able to go. She's on the bench. You just cannot stop Trinity Rodman!

Night night! Oh, boy! Night night. Oh boy, that's taking night night to the next level. She didn't just say night night. She said I'm about to lay down, get a blanket, take a nap, go to sleep. Have you all seen the it's either like I think it was a vine and it's a little girl and she's in the sand. She goes, I take a nap right here. And she just like lies down.

That was the first thing I thought of. I am shocked that you remember Vine Logan. I am like. Right. I'm not that young. Who taught you about Vine? That was my favorite thing ever. Yeah, that was outstanding.

We're giving overall like official credit for Night Night. This is Stephen Curry's celebration that he created that everybody's following, right? I would. Trinity took it definitely to the next level by going actually Night Night. But yeah, Night Night is from Steph. Laying on the floor is quite wild, but I think you can do that in soccer because there's like enough time between goals. Could you imagine like a basketball player hitting the three and

then like laying on the floor in the game going on the other way? I would love that. I would love to see that. Well, as for other news, it broke last weekend that Naomi Osaka has split with her coach of four years, Wim Fisette. Together they won two Grand Slams. And Ross, you had multiple coaches throughout your basketball career. When did you know it was time to say goodbye to them? Well, I don't know that I've personally been able to say goodbye to a coach by my own doing because more I've either graduated out of a program or moved on to another team. But, but for an individual sport player like Naomi

in tennis, a lot of the times it could just be a shakeup. Like there could be mutual admiration, respect for what was accomplished between the coach and herself. And there just being a natural need for a new voice or new beginnings. There's very much respect on both sides between Coach Nguyen and Naomi, but I think Naomi's just aware she's 26. She's evolved. She's got an evolved body as a mother. This is a new version of herself.

She's evolved as a woman. And there's a window in sports. There's windows. And she's got an opportunity to hit that right here at age 26. And I think this is a sign of her saying, I'm still going for it. Yeah, I pretty much think the exact same thing,

especially in a sport like tennis. I mean, you see people switch coaches all the time and Naomi is kind of in a place where she needs to get to that next level and take that jump because she's been doing well so far. But I think this would be really big for her. And as a golfer, I mean, in an individual sport, you kind of reach a point where you're like, OK, I'm not progressing much.

Like you just need a little bit more to reach the next level. And you can definitely tell that with coaches. So I completely agree. But now moving on to softball, Katie's favorite sport, the legend that is Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso finally got a statue in her honor. Since her career, Oklahoma began back in 2000, she has won six national championships.

Katie, has this been a long time coming? Yes. Yes. And all I can think about when I was looking at that photo, which is also my, I was like, I wanted to sing the Oklahoma song from the musical Oklahoma. That was like the chorus running through my head. I'm like, Oklahoma, we're doing it.

First of all, I looked this up last night and it said, it was the first female statue ever for the history of the school. So in, in and of itself, yes, it's a long time coming. And then it's been 134 years, a hundred, it was started in 1890. And I was like, how, how did we, how? And then I looked up some sweet stats because I have known about her and I've been like, Oklahoma is the king queen.

I should say queen of softball. That's the that's where you go. And but her stats like her. She's won one thousand six hundred and seventy six games, lost four hundred and eleven and tied three over her entire career in nineteen ninety five. And she, I just, I think there, there was so much that she's done. And something that I'm consistently seeing with these women leaders and women coaches, if they also talk about how much impact they have outside of the field or outside of the field, I think that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's,

that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, I'm consistently seeing with these women leaders and women coaches, they also talk about how much impact they have outside of the field or outside of the court. And there was a lot of mention about how her athletes are also very, very smart and they are, there's 180 academic all conference awards, 20 theory of them are Academic All-Americans. I just think this is what we often see in women leaders, and it's not just the impact they make as a player, but as a human being, and I just am so pumped for her. I have a rapid-fire question for both of y'all. Say your answer, no explanation, nothing.

What other women legends like Patti Gassa, let's say Asia Wilson, Dawn Staley, deserve their own statue? Roz, go. Former Stanford Women's basketball coach, basketball legend, icon, hall of famer, Tara Van Der Veer. The foundation of the show is that communities get built one Good Follow at a time.

Each week, one of us will highlight a person, page or brand as the Good Follow of the week. communities get built one good follow at a time. Each week, one of us will highlight a person, page, or brand as the good follow of the week. Katie, you're up this week. Who is your good follow? We're sticking with the softball theme this week. It's at the Softball Project on Instagram, and it's owned and run by two-time All-American

SEC Player of the Year in University of Florida Hall of Famer Kelsey Bruder. Let's look at some of the drills that she puts her athletes through. First of all, great edit with that beat at the transition. Second of all, I love this page because I love playing softball and the drills are so important and it's so cute and it's so wholesome. And my bigger reason for loving this page is what the mission is underneath the softball project. And it kind of goes back to what I was saying earlier. You see it everywhere on her site. That's like, I'm trying to transform yourself image. I'm transferring you as a player. I'm transferring you as a

person. I'm going to ask yourself, I'm going to ask you about how you're practicing. I'm going to ask you about how are you as a teammate? How are your grades? Are you getting enough sleep? Are you doing enough work on your mental health? And I just love that she took everything as has hurt from her athletic background and is giving this to a new generation of softball players.

And it's also just so cute. And I'm going to use some of the drills to work on my own skills for my rec leagues. Now that we've sat and marinated in that and think about it, that's my good follow. We go follow at the softball project if you also want to get better at everything. We want to hear from our fans. Who is your good follow? Send us your nominations at Good Follow Show and tell us why your Good Follow should be featured.

Good Follow is brought to you by DraftKings and we will see you next time.