The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - GOOD FOLLOW - Women’s Sports + Snakes? The Team Talks Wnba, Softball, Climbing, $1M Winners and Snakes!

Episode Date: June 15, 2024

This week, Katie Sits down with Andraya Carter, one of ESPN’s “big three trio” covering women’s basketball and the WNBA, who shares her surprising career beginnings as a crown-molding salesperson before finding her way to the sideline. they also talk about nothing at length… oh. sorry. we mean Andraya’s pet snake, “nothing.” Megan sits down with three-time national champion climber, Sasha Digiulian, who has over 30 first female ascents around the world and, in case that’s not enough, is the reason we have rock climber emojis. They discuss Sasha's start at 6-years old, training everything down to (up to?) her fingertips, and lessons learned in the making of her new HBO MAX documentary “Here To Climb” releasing on June 18. Christian Polanco takes us behind-the-scenes with USWNT members and recent TST champions Ali Krieger and Joanna Lohma. and, Good Follow correspondent Logan Hackett talks with legendary softball player Cat Osterman about Athletes Unlimited’s new pro women’s softball league. of course, it wouldn’t be a show if we didn’t also introduce a new good follow - hoop york city founder and all-around badass, Alex Taylor.  Join us as we wish a happy Father's Day to all kinds of dads: bio dads, step dads, new dads, brothers who are dads, loving dads, challenging dads, dog and cat-lady dads, and even future dads who don't yet know they're about to be dads… HFD! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet our summer collection of grillable faves that come on sticks in spirals with bite-sized bursts of flavor and more. From pork belly bites full of barbecue flavor to skewer sensations that will keep the grill going for dessert. Make this your best summer yet with PC. Hi everyone, welcome to Good Follow. I'm Megan Reyes. I'm Katie Novotny. Katie, how are you? How's your week since I last saw you? I'm freaking fantastic. My week was good. Tell me about it. I did a binge watch Top Chef. Okay. And I played a pickup game of softball on Sunday. Did you do the chants that you taught me last week? I absolutely did.

I got, we did a little rally cap action. My team did lose spectacularly. So that was really exciting. I, since I last saw you did absolutely nothing. Amazing, amazing. I have watched about 20 hours worth of Grey's Anatomy in the last week. Okay, so you can do surgery.

I can do surgery. Great. I'm a third year resident. And for any of my employers that are watching, I totally worked to not do 20 hours of Grey's Anatomy. Can you look at this rash that I have on my side that just diagnosed me really quick? I'll diagnose you later. Fantastic. It's probably you later. Fantastic.

It's probably stress related. For sure it's stress related. Anyways, on today's show, we're talking WNBA with Andrea Carter, big deals around women's sports like big, big deals. And we sit down with Sasha DeJulian, the rock star of rock climbing and the best women climber. Logan talks to Kat Osterman

about Athletes Unlimited Softball League, and we'll hear more about TST with Christian, Ali Krieger, and Joanna Lohman. And then we'll end with our good follow nominee, Alex Taylor from Hoop York City. Hoop up? Is that what they say? I'm not sure.

I feel like they should. But maybe they need to. It just felt natural, you know? So we ended last week's show with the Chicago Red Stars on the brink of making history at Wrigley Field, and then they did. They ended up setting a new attendance record with 35,038 fans at the game. We have Miss Chicago herself here. How does this make you feel?

Oh, my city showing up. It makes me so happy. But do you know who had the record before this? Yeah, it was Seattle Reign. Megan Rapinoe's last and final home game before her retirement, 34,130 set in Seattle, but now Chicago has taken over. I'm so sorry, Rapinoe, but I'm not really that sorry.

This is fantastic news. And this isn't surprising to me at all. And I think we need to do more of this. I want to see Angel City play at Dodger Stadium. I want to see Bay FC at Oracle Park where the Giants play. Absolutely. You know, a ball kicked into McCovey Cove would be incredible. And Gotham should do what NYCFC does, play at Yankee Stadium. Yes. I want more. It's like when they play hockey games at baseball stadiums.

I love it so much. And I'm probably going to work on a petition to get my softball team on Sundays to play at Soldier Field. So I'll be working on that. Send the link around for the next couple of months, see if I can get like at least a thousand signatures. I'll sign it. Okay.

I'll settle for 10. Speaking of shattering records, the WNBA is going bonkers everywhere. They've had the highest attendance in 26 years and the most watched games ever on national TV. The WNBA app is up 613% year over year, which is a percentage I wasn't sure I could ever even say. League pass subscriptions have more than tripled

in the first two weeks of the season and more than half of all WNBA games were sellouts. The good guy. I know. Yeah. We need to go. Let's go. To a Sparks game.

Works for me. Let's be part of the sellout. Yeah, I want to sell out. That sounds great. But okay, a lot of basketball fans are pretty mad about, you've heard it, I've heard it. Caitlin Clark did not make the US Olympic basketball roster. But honestly, you shouldn't be because the roster is based on a ton of different factors. shouldn't be because the roster is based on a ton of different factors and the team that we do have is stacked. Listen, they're incredibly good and I won't get too much into the discourse. However, I don't know who you leave off in place for Caitlin Clark, who is an alternate, but I don't know who you would remove from the current roster. There's a lot of things I'm excited for. Brittany Greiner is back representing Team USA.

She's back. The Vegas Aces are a freaking cheat code because they have four people from their team, Kelsey, Jackie Young, Asia Wilson, Chelsea Gray on Team USA. And this is also Kelsey's first Olympics on like a full standard basketball game because she was on the three by three in 2020.

And then Diana Tarassi is playing like a full standard basketball game because she was on the three by three in 2020. And then Diana Tarassi is playing in her sixth Olympic Games. I was thinking about that. Since I was nine years old. I was like, how is she still so good? I would be in a rocking chair by then. Do you like my Diana Tarassi bun? I really do. It's a nice shout out. And I'm wearing orange.

It's really, it's very special. It's very special. Got a big Tarassi hat over here too. But basically we can tell you that Team USA is highly likely to be claiming their eighth straight gold. So look out, Perry. They're bringing back more than just bed bugs.

Did you say bed bugs? Yeah. We're gonna bring back more than bed bugs. Did you say bed bugs? Yeah, we're going to bring back more than bed bugs in the 2024 Olympics. Such a sick burn on Europe as a continent. I love it. Speaking, I love it. I'm so sorry. Speaking, let's, I mean, it's right there. Do you need a moment? No, it was perfect. Let's talk about the opposite of gold standard, the Washington Mystics. They finally won their first game of the season.

And yes, as a woman, I feel bad even saying that other women have lost, but they won 87 to 68 finally over the Atlanta dream this week. Brittany Sykes was incredible. Ariel Atkin scored 18 points. But do you know what else is trending in the Washington Mystics news? I do, but please tell Goodfall audience about it. I will tell. The Mystics bottomless brunch.

You heard that right. There is a bottomless brunch package that the Washington Mystics are selling. So on the topic of America and basketball, what is happening? On the topic of America and basketball, have you guys heard about the Washington Mystics and bottomless brunch? Pew, pew, pew!

Can we insert the sound effect there? The boozy bonanza brings us to our newest segment. What is happening? This one goes out to the Mystics marketing mad genius. And first I have to applaud them because at face value, they're truly giving the people what they want. A super fun and some might argue a little dangerous way to forget the Mystics have barely won a game.

Although as long as you keep doing this promo, I'm pretty sure no one's gonna be paying attention to their record. But really, what is happening? A bottomless brunch before a basketball game? I don't even know if anyone's gonna make it into the stadium. Sure, they have a hundred level tickets, which is sick, dude.

But my bet is that a good chunk of them are gonna lay down in that cozy brunch booth and be like, these aren't great seats. I think some of them might even wind up challenging the Lincoln Memorial to a little one on one and then get knocked down by 120 tons of marble and be all, that was a charge ref. And then the security guard will be like, ma'am, this is a statue. And then the smart brunchers will head home, pop on love and basketball and be all, damn girl, I didn't know Nike made dresses.

Go Mystics. For the ones who make it into the game, I'm going to need a jumbotron montage of every brunch professional saying, Britney Sykes is sober as they can. And maybe we challenged them to say it five times fast during the halftime show. So it ends up kind of sounding like Britney Sykes and Britney Sykes and that's how I'm hearing it.

And let me tell you, first quarters gonna be bumping. Second queue, bathroom lines will be unbearable. But by halftime, everyone's gonna be snoozing. We're gonna have to ask the players to keep it down because the brunches are hitting the REM cycle and it's really important that they see this whole thing through. And then everyone who skipped brunch

can just casually enjoy a very quiet, semi-private second half. You might even be able to hear the sweat beads drip onto the floors. One time, I went to Bottomless Brunch and then I went grocery shopping and wound up spending $250 on produce. There's something about bubbles that just makes me want to ruin my credit score. And I'm not the only one, like get them gassed up and those jerseys will sell, baby. Also, there is a part of me that thinks

that the person who came up with this isn't a marketing person at all, but just Marjorie Taylor Greene finding another excuse to get drunk and yell at black women. Or maybe she just wants to shout, the Gazpacho police are here, while Ariel Atkin shoots a free throw. Can we get a round of gazpacho for lunch?

I love a cold soup in the summer. I am a little worried about the staff at the entertainment sports arena who are now given the great responsibility of serving these sloshed B-ball fans. Like how many weird compliments have you gotten? Unwanted high fives? How many group picks have you been a part of

against your will? You got a few thousand new best friends every week. Blink twice if you need help. But more importantly, for the bottom line, how many brunch heads have you been able to upsell? An extra ranch water here, an extra chicken tendy there. Have you seen any tears? Who's mad at who?

Is Erika Kay pregnant and who is the father? Did Brianna and Jasmine break up or are they still together? Or are they on a break? I got to know. Keep your ears to the ground. IDMs are open. Coming up next, Andrea Carter joins to talk WNBA

and nothing. She literally talks about nothing and trust me, it will make sense. Meg talks with top women's climberber Sasha DeJulian about her upcoming documentary and how she gets her fingers so freaking strong. Stay tuned. Let's welcome in Andrea Carter, part of the big three trio on ESPN covering all things women basketball from this year's March Madness to all things WNBA.

I'm so excited to have you. Thank you for joining us. Thank you. I miss Elle and Sinead with me, so we'll have to bring them in next time, but it's really cool to be here. I'm so pumped to talk to you about everything, but I wanna start with all the rookies

that have joined this year. There's so many, they're all so talented. Who are you loving? Who's a standout? Wow. Honestly, everybody's been amazing. It's been really amazing to watch Aaliyah Edwards start to thrive in a bit of a new role. Obviously, we don't love to see injuries, but when opportunity presents itself, for

Aaliyah to have an opportunity is incredible. Obviously, the team is struggling. What Caitlyn's been able to do, remarkable. Angel Reese, Cam Brink, to me, the rookies that really stand out. Kate Money Martin with her opportunity on the Aces has been unbelievable. And then of course, my girl Rekia, because she's a Tennessee lady vol, I always just have a deep rooted place in my heart where I'm cheering for her and want her to do well on a personal level. But watching this rookie class, that group in particular, it's just been so fun. Their roles on their team, the way they click with their teammates, the success that they're having, the fun it looks like they're having, even in challenges that are presented to them.

They're handling everything with so much grace. They're having fun out there. They're all showing they were ready for this. I think that's the most special part for this rookie class because they transformed women's college basketball. Now, the question was like, well, what are they going to do at the pro level? They've showed they were ready for it. I think that's super cool.

The answer is a lot. They could do a lot. Yes, plenty. They could do plenty. We're seeing it. We're seeing it. And I think that's super cool. The answer is a lot. They could do a lot. And we're seeing it. And you, you played with some of them, right? Well, I played with the Kouka. Now I'm too old to play with this rookie class, but a lot of the players in the W I had an opportunity to play with,

whether I grew up playing either with them or against them in AAU basketball here in Atlanta, or played against them in college, played with them on team USA or against them in AAU basketball here in Atlanta or played against them in college, played with them on Team USA or against them in Team USA camp. So for me, competing there somewhere, they knocked me out of the NCAA tournament when I was at Tennessee. Shout out to Alyssa Thomas and Lexi Marrown when she played at Maryland and Bree Jones. I watched them and I'm like, yeah, that's still's still painful. Or still, Lloyd, Lloyd gave me buckets on top of buckets when she was at Notre Dame. So I watched her and she's a she's my friend, but there's still a little pain point there. But for me, the W like those are my those are my people. Those are my girls. Those are my friends.

And I want all of them to do well, like in any game that I'm covering or any game I'm talking about or any series, I want everyone to play their best. So after you got injured, tell us, tell us what happened. Take us on that journey. Yeah, it was definitely a journey. You know, I had a fifth year to play basically my senior year in high school. I had a torn ACL freshman year in college. I started as a freshman, which was an amazing honor at Tennessee. Had a solid stretch of games and then dislocated my shoulder in a game

against Miami. I had a shoulder injury in high school that I think came into play in this one. Oh no. Right. So then I have shoulder surgery. I missed my freshman year. Sophomore year comes. I'm playing really well. I take a hit. I I wanna say it was in practice and I was having trouble with my knee. We looked at it, they're like, hey, your meniscus is torn, but you can play this season if you want.

If it doesn't hurt too bad. And for me, I'm like, I'm not missing any more time. I missed my senior year of high school, I barely played. I missed my freshman year. I feel fine, I wanna play. And by the end of that year, my knee was just destroyed, which I would encourage players not to put their health first.

I obviously wasn't, I don't think anyone thought it was going to take as much damage as it did. And so then for the next few years- No, and you're young and you're like, I can push through everything. I want this. I feel great. Right. But for the next couple of years that I was on the team, it just got worse and it got

worse and the pain increased, the performance. I hung my hat on defense and energy and I was great and team, it just got worse and it got worse. And the pain increased, the performance. I hung my hat on defense and energy and I was great and I had an amazing time, but I knew I wasn't gonna have a great pro career. Like I just knew it and had a fifth year to play and I didn't take it. I was in so much pain. I was hurting all the time.

I was like, you know what? I'm gonna finish my master's degree and figure out life. And while finishing my master's, I was really lucky. I graduated with my bachelor's in three years. So my fourth year, I started my master's. So the fifth year, I would have... Oh, so you're just like also super friggin' smart. Well, summer classes, AP classes, you get ahead as an athlete.

You do it, man. You really want to get ahead. So while I was finishing my master's, not on the team anymore, it was a crazy awakening to what life was like not on the team. That was a hard year. I had a lot of people in my corner, Maria Taylor, Carolyn Peck, Lachina Robinson, just analysts that I connected to, right, while playing. Like, hey, you should see if Tennessee lets you be the analyst for their online games,

make extra money. I was dead broke. I was dirt broke. I was dirt broke. I was driving for Uber. I was driving for Lyft. I was working as a gratisist and I was doing all types of things. Tennessee let me be the analyst for their online games and things caught wind there. I mean, that was winter of 2016. I called my first game online, got on TV the next year, had a studio segment the next year. Every year it grew a little bit, but until I went full-time, it was amazing.

It was amazing. I tell people I had to have other jobs before I went full-time on TV. I never expected to go full-time on TV. My first real full-time job was selling crown molding. I don't even have crown molding in my loft, but I sold crown molding for a long time. Thank you. Yeah, thank you for calling. I won't say the company name.

Groudle. If you can sell crown molding, you can do anything. I can sell basketball. You can't, man. I'll tell you that much. I was a fitness coach for a few years at Orange Theory. I loved that job. And for a while I said, you know,

I'm a fitness coach that calls games on the side because that's what my life was. And now a while I said, you know, I'm a fitness coach that calls games on the side because that's what my life was. And now I'm a basketball analyst. And so it's been a journey. Obviously, this immediate time feels like it's exploded. But it started a long time ago, the foundation that was laid from all the players before that didn't have cameras in their face that didn't have social media that didn't have marketing teams that didn't have N in their face, that didn't have social media, that didn't have marketing teams, that didn't have NIL, all those things. They didn't have chartered flights

or nice hotels to stay in. Those women that didn't have those things, that sacrificed for the game and played hard and grew the game and made sure that W was an organization that could last. They gave their all. Obviously some teams fall through and that happens, but the league is here because of those women. And what we have now are players that have NIL opportunities. They have an incredible social media presence and they're good. They're talented. So we have this amazing level of talent, a league that has been put in place by all these women that have sacrificed. And we also have the media structure now to support the players and the talent that's there. If we had the media structure, but we didn't have the talent, it wouldn't work. If we had the talent,

but we didn't have the media structure, it wouldn't work as far as explosion goes. So now we have this media structure and this incredible amount of talent that are ready for it. and those two things meeting I think has caused this explosion but it's definitely taking the groundwork and the foundation laid from all the amazing women that helped get us here first. Like you got to think too one of my favorite parts is all of the women that we're seeing today, the rookie class, even the last few classes, when you ask them about their favorite players, they talk about WNBA players.

Back in the day when you asked young women who their favorite players were, they talked about NBA players. But now just- Mine was Michael, I have a photo of Michael Jordan on my wall. That's who I had. Yeah. You see what women are capable of when they watch other women achieve at high levels. Like watching Caitlin Clark talk about her favorite player was Maya Moore.

She saw Maya Moore achieve greatness and knew deeply that it was possible, right? She didn't hope it was possible because it was a guy. She knew it was possible because it was Maya. And so, you know, they say representation matters. That's what happens when you see women doing great things. Young women believe they can achieve those great things as well. And I think it's going to continue to build it. And now we have support from NBA players. You have support from NFL players. They're coming to watch the game because they see the products on the floor and you have the media structure to support that. And it's just continuing to build and to grow. And it's been, it's special. And shout out to, again,

the players that have laid the foundation and the players that are here today, all ready to meet the moment I think is really special. Right. It's, it like gives me chills. It really, like you gave me chills during that because it is a, it's like all the little girls, we're finally, we're seeing it. Um, so I feel like this leads into the next question perfectly. Liberty and Aces. Let's talk about them. They're having incredible seasons. Who do you think is going to win this weekend? Yeah, this one's tough. Obviously the Aces are struggling right now just in terms of

their depth in terms of people not being available. Kirsten Bell has been injured, Chelsea Gray hasn't played yet, Jackie Young has missed the last game and she hasn't been feeling very well the last couple of games and their depth is in question. But it's hard for me at times to count out the Aces if Jackie Young, Kelsey Plumb, and Asia Wilson are available because the way that those three play when they're together on the court and the way that all three of them can score 20 and sometimes if we're talking Asia, she could go off for 35 or 40. The way those three can just dominate a game and make everything

easy on everybody else. I'm still hesitant to bet against a healthy trio, that healthy trio. Meanwhile, the Liberty have looked great. I mean, Connecticut was undefeated. They come and play the Liberty. The Liberty hands them their first loss. Brandon Stewart, Sabrina Onescu, Jonquil Jones has gotten off to an incredible start to the season. Benay Jelani is simply a winner. She'll do whatever it takes. So it's hard for me right now. I think the Aces are at a point where they're struggling a little bit because of injuries and because of depth. But I just have to watch the game unfold, honestly.

We're going to close it out with our question we ask all of our guests. We always ask for a good follow nominee, which is someone who's making an impact in women's sports that you need to follow on social media in life, not in real life. Don't follow them in real life, please around that will lead to legal battles. But who should it be? Who should it be? Wow. This one's tough. Honestly, the first person that comes to my mind is Ari Chambers. She is, if you don't know Ari Chambers, I don't know if there's anyone that supports women's sports more than Ari. Like her all-encompassing knowledge, her vast reach, her ability to connect to others like that, and the way she has fun with it and the way she interacts with people and the way she puts them in the spotlight

and highlights what makes them great. It's truly special. Wait, I have one more question for you. Yeah, yeah. What's your pet snake's name? His name is nothing, like capital N, like, hey nothing, hey sweet boy. Like that, his name is nothing. It's from a book.

I don't know if you read, if you're a reader. I'm a big reader. I'm a big book. Oh, it's also a movie. But like when I was a kid, I read the book Perks of Being a Wallflower. It struck me very deeply in my like middle school, emo, the world is ending.

Everyone's like that just heavy emotional phase. And like, so I was like, yeah, the world is ending, everyone's like that, just heavy emotional phase. And like, simple plan. Yeah, you get it. Some 41, like we could keep going. I read the book, there's a character in the book, they're bullying him, they call him nothing and they're like, hate nothing. And I was like, I'm going to get a snake and name him nothing. And freshman year in college, I got a snake, I named him nothing.

If I ever get a second one, I want an orange one. I'm going to name him Zero from the book, Holes. So like, I'm very like, there's a trend here happening. I don't think he wants a sibling, but if I ever cross that bridge, it'll be an orange snake named Zero. So just hold me to that. Okay, I will.

And I will, we'll talk about books offline because it's going to take another 45 minutes. So thank you so much. You're the best. Please come back soon and we'll see you on the other side. Thanks. Dude, it was so cool getting to talk to her this week. I love a gal.

I love a gal who can hustle. She seems really cool. She's so cool. Also, she has a snake. She has a fricking pet snake. That's terrifying. I know, I loved it. I would be, even though this was like a remote interview,

I'd be terrified the whole time the snake was just gonna like come through the camera. Oh, I for sure was like, there's not a snake in my apartment, right? Okay, but I wanna talk about something as big as my love for books. And it's huge rookie news this week. Okay, but I want to talk about something as big as my love for books. And it's huge rookie news this week.

Alyssa Peely, Minnesota links forward is the newest Nike N7 athlete. N7 is Nike's ongoing initiative that supports Native American and indigenous communities towards equity on the court, which is so big. I really like that. I really like that Alyssa is using her platform to elevate her community as someone that likes to do that myself. And I really like to see athletes continue

to use the platforms they're given to just keep advancing the culture. That's what we like here at Good Follow. I like your big deal. Can I share my big deal? Please. Okay, my big deal is professional rock climber, Sasha DeJulian is releasing a documentary.

Earlier this week, I caught up with Sasha. Navigating adulting isn't always easy. You're not just working. You're working late. And dinner dates are all, what's your five-year plan? And you're thinking, paying off the bill for this fancy pants meal, probably. So when you need to break free from responsibility and experience something that feels more you,

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I am future. I wait in the world of Echo. Discover the extraordinary with Echo, the spectacular new show by Cirque du Soleil. Now playing under the big top at Toronto Lakeshore Boulevard West. The world is yours to create. Tickets at Cirque du Soleil dot com. Echo thanks its presenting partner Sun Life and its official partners Air Canada and MasterCard. This episode is brought to you by Secret.

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Find secret at your nearest Walmart or Shopper's Drug Mart today. We welcome Anne Clymer Sasha DeJulian, who has made a career of overcoming the odds. She has more than 31st female ascents in her name and is the most decorated and arguably the best female climber in the world. She is high on our good follow list. Welcome Sasha.

Thanks so much for having me, Meg. Sasha, let us know what got you into climbing in the first place. I started climbing when I was six years old. My brother had a birthday party at a climbing gym, and I just loved it. I loved being in control of my progression up the wall. And there was a gym employee working the birthday party who told my mom, your daughter's really good at this.

And I'm sure they tell it to all the kids at birthday parties. But it stuck with me because I was like, please, please, can we go back climbing? And so I joined the Junior Team program, which was essentially just like this ragtag group of kids that met in the DMV area where I grew up in the DC area Wednesdays and Saturdays.

And one Saturday morning when I was seven, about a year into it, I stumbled upon a competition. And that was like the catalyst that led me to understand that climbing was a sport beyond just a hobby. Can you share with us what your training regimen is like? Yeah, my training program really varies depending the season that I'm in, but I'm typically focused on doing about five days a week, I have cardio and cross training,

coupled with sport specific training, which includes lifting and gym work, which I like to call under the hood work, but also a lot of finger strengthening exercises and specific climbing exercises. I built a climbing gym at my house in my garage actually. It was a full like COVID construction project. And that's my main training center

where I have my team come up to. I live in Boulder, Colorado, so the amount of exercising that I can do outside is really vast as well. So, okay, yeah. What are finger strengthening exercises? I feel like that has to hurt when you're climbing. So the good thing is your body adapts to everything, right?

So I have really calloused fingers, but I will do exercises like hanging from what's called a hangboard, where it's say a 20 millimeter edge or five millimeter edge, depending on the exercise, and hang from it with what can be like an eighth of the top of my finger pad, and have say 80 to 100 pounds attached to me and be doing pull ups.

So that's one exercise I guess of the finger strength exercises that I'll do. This is fascinating. I like how you know people call like football a game of inches. This is a sport of literal millimeters. I have so much respect for everything that goes into the training. It is a sport of millimeters because everything, even the way that your body is positioned on the wall, makes a huge difference. And then it's also mental because the second that you think that you're going to fall, you're definitely falling. Well, you mentioned it, but tell us about your documentary, Here to Climb.

Yeah, Here to Climb really follows my life and my impact in climbing, but gets into the nitty gritty detail of going through a potentially career ending set of injuries and surgeries that I had to have to reconstruct my hips and my comeback both mentally and physically from that to climb one of the monumental challenging climbs in the world that's down in Mexico,

which is a 3000 foot climb called Logical Progression. And the film does a really great job of showcasing And the film does a really great job of showcasing the journey of the ups and downs of both women in sports and what we experience from pushback on social media to obstacles like an injury and also career building and how you can take your passion and turn it into your job and and that's really been a big part of my life and my journey in climbing. What did you learn most about yourself through

creating the documentary? So we filmed the documentary over the span of over four years, and it included some of my darkest hours of going through five surgeries because of my hip dysplasia, which I had what's called a double PAO reconstructive surgery. And in that process, I learned a lot about resiliency and overcoming obstacles. But through filming the documentary,

I was given this space to really step into my voice and find a lot of empowerment over owning my narrative and owning my story. And I've gone through a career of cutting against the grain and being a challenger to the boys club. That's very relatable and I can't wait to watch this on HBO Max. I'm very excited to follow along the journey. So Sasha, you are a board member of the Women's Sports Foundation who is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. Why is WSF important to you?

Women's Sports Foundation was founded by Billie Jean King, who is one of the true pioneers of women in sports and such an absolute pioneer and legend across every avenue of sport. And it's really exciting because now we're seeing more media coverage being given to women in sports. And I think that it's been a long time coming, but there's still a lot of work to go. And what Women's Sports Foundation's mission is,

is to create equity and inclusion and equality across sports for women and access. And as a woman coming from a world of sport where women are not treated the same as men and having my own experiences which I think the documentary does a really good job of outlining is that sense of empowering the future and empowering new girls and women of all ages to feel like they have a place in sports and in the outdoors. And that mission continues to be so important,

even as we see the successes of women in sports being broadcast to magnanimous amounts of people in today's media landscape. As you know, the name of this show is Good Follow. And we define a good follow as someone who's pushing forward culture and lifestyle and sport primarily women but it can be an ally or any advocate that is advancing women's sports. Who is your good follow? Well since we mentioned Women's Sports Foundation I would definitely say

support women in sports and follow Women's Sports Foundation but I love female quotient Sports Foundation, but I love female quotient. That's a great follow. That is a great one. It's very inspiring, and I have so many of the quotes saved. I do too. Like, I pin basically everything. Or screen grab it. And then, like, the female struggle is universal.

And then have them as your wallpapers and your reminders throughout the day. Yeah. I think that vulnerability goes a long way and that's what I set out to achieve with the documentary too is just give the world a window into my life as a professional female climber but also just a female athlete in general. And what I think that the female quotient relates with that about is like, when we see other people's struggles and when we see things that we relate with, then we feel like that is, we have a community and a sense of like normalizing what women go through in order to change it and in order to have voices that can really pave the way to elevate the experience,

I think is really important. I really appreciate vulnerability and I'm very appreciative that you're sharing your journey with us. I can't wait to watch Here to Climb on HBO Max on June 18th. Everybody make sure that you tune in and follow Sasha's journey. But thank you so much for joining us and sharing your time with us. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. Coming up next, our social correspondent, Logan Hackett, talks with legendary

softball player Kat Osterman about the new pro women's softball league. And we'll hear more about TST from Christian Polanco, Joanna Lohman, and Allie Krieger. We welcome in softball legend Kat Osterman, the inaugural athletes unlimited softball champion with 2,408 points. She started nine games and had six complete games and two shutouts. Kat is an Olympic gold and silver medalist, gold medalist at the 2006 and 2010 world championships, and a gold medalist at the 2006 and 2010 World Championships, and a gold medal winner at the PNM Games in 2003, 2007, and 2019. In her time in the National Pro

Fast Pitch, Austerling won championships in 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2014. She is a three-time championship series MVP, six-time All-MPF selection, 2011 Co-Picture of the Year, and Picture of the Year. And now she's signed on as an advisor for Athletes Unlimited who is launching a pro softball league in 2025. Kat, welcome to Good Follow. Thank you for having me. So glad to be here. That bio is so impressive.

You have me choked up. I mean, what is it like having such an amazing career like that? You know, I think when you're in it, you don it like having such an amazing career like that? You know, I think when you're in it, you don't really know what kind of career you're having. You're just playing and trying to keep going year to year to continue to be able to perform professionally and obviously give the fans what they come to watch. And so it's kind of different when you sit down a couple years after and you look at it and it's, you know, it's kind of different when you sit down a couple years after and you look at it. And it's, you know, it's equivalent of what some of the all stars in the Hall of Famers and MLB get.

So it's really cool to look back and just be able to see what you've accomplished. And I know I think when I retired, I said the one thing, you know, I always wanted to be known for was how hard I worked to perfect my craft and continue to stay atop my craft. And so I think, you know, the bio really is just a testament to how hard and how long I worked in order to, you know, to be able to keep slinging that ball and making it move and making sure my teams could stay in the game.

And we're coming off the heels of the Women's College World Series between your alma mater, Texas and Oklahoma, where it reached two million viewers, which is the most in history. Why do you think there's so much momentum for the sport of softball right now? Well, I think it's twofold. One, I think women's sports in general is growing and the fact that there are more opportunities for eyes to be on women's sports is allowing more fans to join the fan base.

I think to be honest, when Athletes Unlimited launched in 2020 due to COVID, and obviously people couldn't get out and go about, but we were on ESPN, it allowed people to be able to, even casual fans and even people that weren't softball fans were all of a sudden like, what's this? And they're watching and they're paying attention. I think we've been able to keep those fans because our game is so exciting. And then the other part is, and you can't deny is, you know, similar to women's basketball, you know, just a little bit ago is like, UConn had a dynasty, you know, they were able to

win four in a row, they were able to do big things. And anytime that happens, it starts to draw the eyes of just sports fans. And so you have to tip your hat that, oh, you, well, once some people don't like dynasties and they want to see the parody, it really does create headlines and it creates news and it creates people who want to see something you think is impossible happen.

So the two of those combined, I mean, we're just on so many more platforms where eyes can watch us year in and year out day after day throughout the year too. And that's been huge because I know growing up, I was lucky if I could find maybe 10 softball games on TV throughout the year. So now it's like you can watch 10 in a weekend. My goodness, I love that. And with Parish 2024 coming up and softball not in it, what are your thoughts on that? You know, it's unfortunate. I think it's such a such a dynamic

sport in the fact that you have so many different athletes that can play and be successful at it. You know, like, let's be honest, soccer, you have to like running to some degree or maybe not hate running to a certain degree in order to be good at it. But in our sport, I mean, you can be a big power hitter, you can be a you can be small, quick, slap or short game. You can be like myself who just wants to pitch and doesn't want to do any of the other stuff.

So it just allows so many different types of athletic girls to have success. And I think when you eliminate that out of the Olympics, it's just heartbreaking because one, that's like, depending on how many teams you invite, six to eight teams. So that's anywhere between 48, 62-ish girls, women that could be inspiring the next generation globally, and you're eliminating them off the platform. And so it's heartbreaking because I think our sport, one is more global than people give it credit for. And like I said too, it just allows girls to look and find somebody who looks like them, plays like them,

some sort to be able to truly have a role model. But on the bright side, it is coming back for LA 2028. It will be in the US. What are you most looking forward to with that? Well, I really hope that I'm there with my two daughters, cheering them on because my stepdaughter didn't get to go to Tokyo since it's COVID, and she's really bummed about that.

But I also think it'll be really cool for our athletes to be able to play the biggest stage here at home. You know, it is fun to be able to go travel the world and international competition, be in different places that you're not used to. But I think when you're talking about the one event, I just can't even imagine what it's going to be like for it to be here at home.

And in LA, California is where softball is probably the most popular, especially in the youth level. And so for that event to be there in LA, it's going to be huge. And I just, hopefully I get a ticket to get a seat and we're in there with our face painted and bells and whistles on. And although you've hung up the cleats, you're still a part of Athletes Unlimited, who just announced that they're launching the Athletes Unlimited Softball League in 2025. For those unfamiliar, can you tell us a little bit more about the structure? Yeah, so, one, I've always said, like, even from season one, as soon as I was done, I wanted to stay involved in Athletes Unlimited some way, somehow. I love what John and Jonathan have done.

They obviously took the innovative model first, which I think really just grabbed eyes. It grabbed eyes. It allowed them to maintain consistency. Obviously it's always in Chicago and just really start to garner a following first. And so our sport and softball really, it does have a dire need for a very consistent quality traditional league. You mentioned I played in the NP quality, traditional league. You mentioned I played in the NPF, that folded. They did, there is a WPF.

I don't really know the status of it at the moment. Various different teams. And I think a lot of people are trying to make it work. But the one thing pro softball, we've never had a lack of interest as far as people wanting teams, but we've had a lack of financial backing for where those teams can be quality and consistent all the way through. So obviously, John and Jonathan have proven they can do pro softball and pro women's sports at a consistent level, or I should say a high quality consistently. And so we are going to launch a I think we're going to start with four teams.

Year one will actually tour so it won't be a city based model like normal traditionally. So year one will go to five or six, I think we said six to eight different cities. I believe they said Wichita is going to be one of them where AUX is going right now. Chicago obviously that's kind of our home base for AU softball. And then I'm sure they'll find other cities within that kind of geographic area to figure out, where are we gonna be able to put a team

where we're gonna have interest, we're gonna have people come, make travel, not cross country all the time. But it'll be great because I think our athletes need a traditional league in the sense of only 60 can play in the championship, the championship season. And we have way more than 60 athletes

that should be playing professional softball. And so if we get this league, obviously four teams will probably keep it close to 60, but when we can get to six, eight, 10, however many teams John and Jonathan can envision having, that allows so many more girls the opportunity to go play a 30-game season, earn their way to the championship series if they perform well enough. And then, you know, my thought process too with it was, you know, with AU and the championship series,

if you're struggling in the first two weeks, usually you're not seeing the field for the next three because everyone's trying to win, right? So with a traditional model, it just, I think, allows people who struggle more opportunities because your team isn't going for points and extra bonuses and things like that. So you'll get an opportunity to work yourself out of a slump or if you're a pitcher, work your way back into a rotation. So the traditional model is needed. And I'm really excited that John and Jonathan have stepped up and it's needed for both athletes. And I do think there's some there we do have an older fan base in softball that is just dying still for the traditional model.

And with the rise of like all the other women's sports league, do you think there's anything that this league can take from, let's say WNBA or NWSL to implement that would just make it above and beyond? Well, I think I like obviously WNBA has the backing of the NBA and backing of NBA players. And so I think if there's any way and you know, I know we've been trying forever to get MLB to back it. And you know what, like I actually scratched my head and maybe it's not MLB, maybe it's the

minor league teams. Can we get minor league teams to back it? And if an MLB guy is down on an injury assignment, can you get him to the game and start to pull people in? I think if we can somewhere collab with other sports, and maybe it's women's sports. I mean, obviously Caitlin Clark's just over in Indiana. She can come up to Chicago. I'm sure it's not that far, but be able to just collaborate and pull. And they do that as well amongst themselves. And sometimes I get frustrated listening to all these podcasts that say that

they're women's sports podcasts or they have a newsletter that's women's sports. And I'm like, I'm never reading about softball. Like, can we get some softball going on here? So hopefully with that launch of that league, we can get just more year round news going and collaborations with other women's sports and or men's sports if that's what it takes. Because trust me, I know and they'll be guys watch softball. We when we do run into them, they can tell us like who is in the World Series. If they're older like us, they usually are like, oh, my God, I watched you play this game and that game. Literally everyone knows who you are.

You are so amazing, even at the World Series, everybody coming up to you. But with that said, college softball is so big and I feel like it's almost the gateway. So what would a league like this mean to not only players but fans as well if we're looking for something more? Well I think college softball has a huge fan base and usually it revolves around you know someone's loyalty to their school or their university. But what this allows is allows that fan to now follow that athlete into the professional realm. And I think with what Athletes Unlimited has already established as far as the partnerships with the SPN for airing games and streaming games, the marketing where people know what Athletes Unlimited is, now these fans will be able to follow because I know for the longest time we played and people would be like, there's a pro league. And I'm sitting here like I've played in it for eight years. Yes,

there's a pro league. And there it was in existence for like 10 before me. But now the athletes and limited has already made its name in the professional sports realm, especially obviously for female athletes. I think it'll allow those fans to start to be driven to watch this traditional model where they can see their athlete play every single day. It's so much fun, but we love introducing our fans to new game changers. So we want to ask who is your good follow? All right.

My good follow is actually not a soccer player, but she is with Athletes Unlimited. And I'm going to give her the shout out because for, I mean, for us, tall women that are like six foot or more, it is really hard to find clothes and she finds the best clothes for tall people. So I'm going to give my shout out to Molly McCage, who, AU Volleyball, also Texas Long Horn. So we'll throw that in. I might be a little biased towards Molly cheering for her every season.

But actually just recently she posted a pair of pants that she found at Gap. And she said something about, should I really try to be a tall clothes influencer? And I'm like, absolutely, yes, because we need to know where to find them. And I'm like, and I trust you to tell me if at 40, I'm not supposed to wear those clothes. Plus she just posts a lot of good stuff. I've mentioned a couple times, I have a stepdaughter who's actually playing volleyball, but she absolutely loves Molly. It's gotten to meet her a couple of times. Every time she's posting volleyball content I have eyes over here that are watching it. I just think she's a positive person. Obviously, if you're a tall girl and you need clothes, go follow her. But at the same time, amazing athlete, good content, just all around positive human.

Well, thank you so much for joining us. We are super excited to have you on this show. Good luck building Athletes Unlimited Softball League, and we look forward to seeing so much more traditional softball in 2025. Thank you so much for having me. Thanks Logan. It's good to see you. I didn't realize Kat had retired and then unretired so that she could be on the national team

for the 2020 Olympics. That's a really cool story. And speaking of national teams, in the soccer world, TST crowned its first women's champion and it's only right the US women's national team won and they are now a million dollars richer. TST wrapped on Monday with US legends Ali Krieger and Heather O'Reilly leading the US women to a 6-3 victory over NC Courage's 7 on 17. Our friend Christian Polanco joined the show last week to talk TST with us

and sat down with the stacked roster of athletes while in North Carolina. My first impressions, it's this tournament is very impressive in terms of the star power who comes out to play, the changes to the rules, I hate to say this as like a pure soccer lover, it is more exciting. Okay. Seven on seven, no offsides, the golden goal, the added time, I really think it adds some elements that is, you know, fans just absolutely eat it up. What's tougher, playing at TSD or playing in the Congressional soccer game against congressmen

and senators that you may not always agree with? I was playing for the Democratic side, just let that be known. The Congressional soccer match was still such a fun game. Of course, and it's not for the U.S. Soccer Foundation, a great organization. Yeah, a great organization. It's also fun to watch professionals who are high up in their job be really bad at soccer. You know what I'm saying? Like to see them trip over themselves. It's humbling.

It's humbling. Oh yeah, you're just a normal dude. Yeah, it's like the whole idea of sports bringing us together. To have the coaching staff that you have, just absolute legend. I mean, we saw Mia Hamm walking by, we saw Michelle Akers walking by. I mean just their existence being here, choosing to be here and you know they're not getting paid to be here. It's they're spending their time, their energy, their resources to show up for us, to show up for I would say the DNA,

the legacy of this team which is it's so steeped into our bones. And it's so special to be around this group of individuals dating back from 1985, the first iteration of the team, and to people who've just recently retired, people who could be on the team one day. There's nothing like it in the world. And so for me, the off-field moments of talking to Michelle Akers, Mia Hamm,

I just wanna come with a deep sense of gratitude of what they have given my generation of players, the path that they have blazed just by what they fought for. It's transformational and it's world-changing. Thank you, Christian and Joanna. The US Women's National Team had legendary coaches and players, which included Olympic medalist and World

Cup champion Ali Krieger, who also retired last season and NWSL champion. Here's more from Ali and Christian. This is a different type of game and you actually have to think so much more and then and just and not just do like habitual things because for me, I'm holding like an offside line and I'm like, wait, there's no offside. I gotta run all the way back to the corner like that's not habitual to me so it's like you got to just throw that out the window and it's a whole new game. The coaching staff obviously Carly Lloyd, Michelle Aker, Mia Hamm, Carlo Obavac like these legends. That influence of the 99ers on this team what's it like to

have that coaching staff be so influential, the people that were on that 99 team? You wanna bust your butt for them so bad just to like, you know, make them proud and make them happy, but it's so inspiring to just see them on the sideline and you just are hearing everything they're saying. They're just giving knowledge

and I'm just like taking everything in and I'm like, yep, yep, whatever you need, I'm gonna go apply it, everything's gonna be fine. yep, yep, whatever you need, I'm going to go apply it. Everything's going to be fine. But it's just really encouraging to have them on the sidelines, just to be a part of it, just to be here and to support us is really fun. The fact that there is a men's bracket and a women's bracket, both getting a million dollars, I think that is a testament to the hard work that you've also put in when it's,

you know, those disputes with U.S. Soccer. How does that make you feel just to even be participating in that and have the opportunity to win it? Yeah I think it's wonderful I think it's also what we deserve too you know just like our male counterparts I think we've like you just said we put in so much work we've fought so hard to get to where we are now you know and obviously the work will never be done we have to consistently do that every day in order to continue to continue to raise the standard and be where we're supposed to be.

And hopefully everyone else can kind of jump on the bandwagon of that and really continue to put their money where their mouth is. And if they want to support, if they want to invest, then now they're proving it. And so it's really exciting that also Ally jumped in to provide this for us and see the potential and the investment and what we can bring. And now the money matches that. How do you find recreational ways to connect with like-minded women,

play the sport you love, and still have this aspect of like, you know, community and you know, you're all actually friends. You're making these real connections. It's not just we show up and we ball and we leave and it's like, see you later. One, two, three, Cougar City! It wasn't something I planned to do, but an old friend of mine kind of called me out of the blue. They were like, I just started working at this luxury gym in the city,

and they have two regulation-sized basketball courts, and I'm so sick of seeing men on those courts. Would you be interested in, like, getting some women to come play? I'm a person who will always kick the door down if it's cracked open, so I got really excited about it. I wanted to have some sort of a mixer after so that the women that were playing could actually meet each other, and that community aspect was really important to me

just from the beginning. It's so hard to make friends as an adult, and all of my greatest connections when I was younger came through sports. So you really can't compare any kind of bond to the teammates that you played with. I got my partner to DJ during the game.

We got spectators to come. And it just became this really exciting event. By the end of it, people were just like, I love this. When is the next one? I would say the primary goal is, and always has been, always will be, to carve out space for women in the world to exist together without the male gaze,

without judgment, without all of the things I think that challenge us on a daily basis in the world itself. I was never good enough to go D1 and I'm more of a creative, so I definitely left my basketball talents in high school and as an adult to get back into it was just such a special opportunity. And since then I've met so many people

that I feel the same way. At the core of it, it's a group of friends. That's truly, truly special to me, to be able to see those connections being made. My background is in fashion design and I have always, always loved fashion and art and color and design. And I was not about to make and build something

that didn't have that be a part of it. And you know, I think that's what resonates with a lot of people as well, is that like, even if you don't play basketball, you can appreciate the visuals, you can appreciate the merch, you can appreciate the merch, you can, it allows you to be able to be a part of it without being a part of it.

I always loved having a souvenir for every event. It's led me to be able to consult for different brands and have capsule collections with different brands. and have capsule collections with different brands. I did a collaboration with a women's basketball community and a brand in Japan last year. I was able to go out there with five girls from New York City. I co-created merchandise with the brand that she ran.

And then she was inspired to create a women's basketball community of her own in Tokyo called Goddess Basketball Club. And to have inspired people that are not in New York City, like constantly blows my mind. Even if there were language barriers and even if there were, like, differences in culture and communication,

it was still this, like, ineffable thing that was in the room that you couldn't put your finger on. It was just so magical. And exactly what I imagined it to be. I think both of us, what both of us imagined it to be. Part of what makes us all so like-minded is that we all want to find those moments to give back. Girls clinics, basketball clinics, like just all of these different moments. It's always important to all of us. Brands need to continue and start to invest.

They really need to start putting their money where their mouth is. We need more of that. We need that to continue. You know, people call it the Caitlin Clark effect, and I absolutely appreciate and respect what she has done just by being herself. Everyone is really excited to tune in and see her and that's okay because it's just going to bring more eyes to the game. We need everybody to pay

attention. Men need to continue to invest their money, their time, their visibility. their money, their time, their visibility. They need to continue to sit courtside, walk through the tunnel wearing shirts that say everyone watches women's sports. It's what I want New York City to be. It's what I want to continue to be, to inspire them to stay in the game. I think I might hop a jet to New York this weekend.

And by that, I mean, fly spirit. Not the private? I don't have the cash flow yet. I don't have that ACEs money, you know? Well I am actually not traveling this weekend for once and I have decided to take a step back from my surgical residency, taking a little bit of a break from Grey's Anatomy, from the operating room, because-

You can take a break. You can take a break. There's a full slate of NWSL games happening, and I am so excited to see North Carolina Courage hosting Orlando Pride. The Pride are eight, four, and zero, which means they have not lost a game since the season started in March. And Barbara Banda has 8 goals and her 8 games with a pride, so watch out for her.

These picks are brought to you by DraftKings. Visit Sportsbook.DraftKings.com or find the DraftKings Sportsbook wherever you get your apps. Okay, that's going to do it for us on episode two. Before we go, I want to say happy Father's Day to my dad, who has been so supportive throughout my sports career, and my koya, which is my older brother, who has had such a huge influence on my love for sports.

So happy Father's Day to all kinds of dads, bio dads, step dads, new dads, brothers who are dads. I'd like to say happy Father's Day to my dad who raised me as his son. Shout out, it's why I can throw a football spiral. Thank you so much. Also why I'm very single. Bigger shout out to all the rest of the Father's Day dads,

the loving dads, the challenging dads, the dog or cat or snake dads, the future dads, you don't know they're gonna be dads. We might get that text. Surprise. Also wanna thank our producers, DraftKings Network, Meadowlark Media. Good Follow is brought to you by DraftKings.

And we wanna hear from you, our fans. Who's your Good Follow? Send us your nominations at Good Follow Show and tell us why your Good Follow should be featured. you you you