Ep. 204 | Ryan Clark’s ESPN Exit, WNBA All-Star Fumbles & LeBron Lands in Philly

Ryan Clark is out at ESPN, LeBron James is headed to Philadelphia, and WNBA All-Star Weekend delivered record attention alongside some very visible growing pains.

Jen and KB examine the controversial handling of Ryan Clark’s ESPN departure and what it reveals about corporate loyalty, workplace relationships and the network’s continued shift from traditional sports journalism toward personality-driven entertainment. They also discuss why success never makes an employee untouchable, particularly for Black professionals navigating powerful institutions.

Then, the Aunties break down WNBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago, from the orange carpet and player fashion to the three-point contest, questionable programming decisions and an All-Star Game that struggled to match the excitement surrounding the league. With players publicly disconnected from Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and another collective bargaining negotiation looming, has WNBA leadership lost the trust of its stars?

Finally, LeBron James is taking his talents to Philadelphia. The Aunties debate whether LeBron, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid can turn the 76ers into the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, why Embiid’s health remains the biggest variable and whether LeBron can finish his career with a fifth championship.

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🎙️ Hosts:
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📧 Email: Auntiestalksports@gmail.com

🎧 Executive Production by @daynerco

Two aunties. Two mics. All game.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Opti's Talk Sports.

SPEAKER_03 0:02

I'm KB. The courts of Indiana raise me, Detroit pays me, and I know ball both on and off the court, so don't underestimate me.

SPEAKER_00 0:11

And I'm Jen. Financial statements, I know how to read them. Fantasy sports, I know how to play them. Tough calls, I know how to make them.

SPEAKER_03 0:20

Whether you're heading home, headed to happy hour, or just getting ready for another weekend of sports.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

We got you covered with the biggest stories, the hottest takes, plenty of laughs, and just enough friendly debate.

SPEAKER_03 0:34

From Detroit to the national stage, if it's worth talking about, we're talking about it.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

So grab your favorite drink, pull up a chair, because this is your sports happy hour. Two aunties, two mics, all game. And the B stands for birthday. What's up? Let me just tell you, you got you got an old auntie out the house last weekend and it was so fun. It was so beautiful. Happy, happy, belated happy birthday to you. Milestone birthday. It was wonderful being able to celebrate you. And your sister made me cry with her toast. I was over there. Yeah, so the you so you know, for those that don't know, KB celebrated a milestone birthday. I'm not gonna say the milestone number unless you want to, because you know, I don't wanna get in trouble. But you celebrated your birthday on Friday. I was lucky enough to get an invitation to the party, and it was it was wonderful. It was beautiful. I enjoyed celebrating you. Yeah, so how are you feeling?

SPEAKER_03 1:43

Thank you, thank you. Really good. Uh, you know, I wasn't gonna have a celebration or a birthday party, and then I really at the last minute decided to, you know, to do something. Uh it really was last minute, like maybe two weeks before the actual party. But I figure that if I didn't actively celebrate, like I would be over in the corner someplace, like in the fetal position, just reflecting on life and everything. But so I'm really happy that I decided to have a party. At first I was really ambivalent, I wanted to take a trip, but that really didn't work out from a timing perspective. So I was really last minute with it. I I only think that I sent out invitations like maybe two or three weeks beforehand and called the vendors. My girl Natasha from First Impressions events always comes through. I only talked to Tasha like maybe twice, and she was able to execute that. But I'm proud of myself because I allowed people to share, like, you know, what was on their heart at first. Like I was really uncomfortable. I don't like being the center of attention. I don't like people focused on me. So I really made myself sit there, kind of through the discomfort. And so I really I walked away feeling really full, um, which is a good thing. I think I really needed that, but no, it was perfect. It was a perfect day. The weather, the ambiance, the food, the decorations. It was a great day. Thank y'all for coming.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

You're welcome. Welcome to the club. It gets greater later, as I told you that night. And you know, this is this is there's another switch that flips with each milestone birthday, and can't wait for you to flip that switch. You'll see. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:35

But yeah, my family probably been like, she and I already been flipping the switch. Yeah. Probably like, no more. No.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

Yeah. So, you know, as I was preparing to to to to come your way, I was like, Oh, are we gonna talk about sport? There was so much that happened last week, and you know, it's carrying over into this week. I was watching over the weekend, I was watching Brian Clark react to his layoff from ESPN. And it was just it a lot of what he said, it reminded me of when I was in corporate America and the things, some of the things I went through. But, you know, if people if, you know, to give some backstory, ASPN has merged with Disney and NFL Network, and and so they are, you know, pivoting, they're pretty much pivoting their business model. And they did they had some overlap in personality. So some very prominent names in the sports industry were laid off from ESPN at very weird. The timing was very weird for when they were laid off, you know. Um, you know, we'll talk about some of the other personalities that we'll get into that, but I wanted to focus first on Ryan Clark. Ryan Clark is a former NFL defensive back, and he has been at he had been at ESPN and ESPN personality for uh the last 11 years, and he was Emmy Award nominated or winning. I think he was Emmy Award winning personality. Ryan Clark really raised his his star really shown. He raised his profile during a game where the Bu Buffalo Bills were playing, and one of their players, Damar Hamlin, had a medical emergency on the on the field where his heart stopped. And Ryan Clark was the unheard personality at that time, and he was, you know, he really gave an excellent, you know, he was talking through the whole thing, and he that's where his personality really came out, and people really found out what he was like on camera. He talked for a long time about, you know, the situation that was happening, and he put a lot, made people feel comfortable. So people, you know, really came to love him after that. Now, he was a star player for the NFL for many years, but I'm talking about the unair personality. So he has translated that into a podcast called The Pivot, and that's pretty popular. He has a couple of co-hosts, uh, former NFL players. But his layoff was, you know, it it it was very controversial because he was in the middle of the show and they took a break, and during the break, he got a phone call and said, Hey, you know, we're we're gonna let you um let you go. He says he's fired. They're calling it layoffs, you know, there's the terminology is, you know, even controversial, right? But he didn't re- he didn't finish the show. So in the middle of the show, he gets the news, and then he does not finish the show. He's on, uh, was it ESPN or whatever? No, he was it was uh get up. It was a get up and so he didn't even finish the show. And so that was it was like, wow, how could they how could they let Ryan Clark go? You know, he's he's one of their stars, he's one of their biggest stars. You know, everybody's loving him. And so then he went on his podcast, his platform, and talked about it and said that, you know, he there were a lot of reasons, you know, there was there were people that didn't like him, but there were a lot of people that loved him.

SPEAKER_03 7:00

Yeah. Well, I think first and foremost, I completely missed the acquisition of the NFL network by ESPN. And so my my kind of overall issue is the fact that now you have the NFL having a stake in ESPN. So we think about journalism, the ability of journalists to be, I would say, impartial, right, or to really be investigative, right? To critique, you know, an entity, an organization. I think we've lost some of that, right? With with the acquisition of the NFL network by ESPN. And I think we know Ryan Clark is, you know, very opinionated, and that's why people love him. So I do think that the political environment made it easier to let certain journalists or news personalities go. I think it was very, very, I think it was in poor taste. I think it was poor timing. If you are an organization the size and the caliber of ESPN and you can't hold HR decisions in a confidence so that that information doesn't leak out right before you're ready, that's problematic. But we also know, right, ESPN has a long history of basically fumbling HR decisions and relationships with journalists. I won't go as far to say journalists of color because I don't know if this, if they've handled it poorly with other people, but I definitely think of the Jamel Hill situation and her departure and you know her her kind of partner in crime with Michael Smith and how their exit was poorly handled and poorly executed. And now we have another situation. We also know, right, Cam Newton, you know, was also let go, and and Carl Ravage, which you said he had been there for 30 years. So it wasn't, it's not just about Ryan Clark, but I think the way in which they did it showed a complete lack of respect for him as a professional and as an individual. And it seems like they also started to backtrack and say, Oh, well, we didn't pull him off of the air. And he's like, Well, I asked you, should I leave now? And you said, Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

ESPN has been moving toward more entertainment for a long time. So they are putting all their eggs in the baskets of Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee. And so it's more of it, they're moving more toward the you know, the hot take, controversial, loudmouth all the time, always going, like you gotta be on 10 to even watch it. That's what they've been moving toward for many years.

SPEAKER_03 9:53

Shock jock.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Shock jock, yes, exactly. It's the it's the that's the thing. There are a few reasons. So so they are about ratings. Yes, first take with Stephen A. Smith is the highest-rated show on ESPN, closely followed by Pat McAfee's show. But even if you combine the YouTube and all that, Pat Pat McAfee might be bigger. Pat was uh a former NFL player, he's very popular. He's on uh not only talk uh, he's on the Saturday shows for college football, he's and he's in the you know on in the pro sector. Another angle see, I like to talk about the business side of this, right? Most of the people that I know in my life have cut the cable cord, right? So they are watching sports on apps, they are watching sports on streaming apps and other and other platforms, and they're not watching it on cable. So ESPN is moving away from the the studio, like the sports desk type of thing. If you look at Pat McAfee's show, it's not a traditional sports desk. Whereas First Take is, but first take is is the highest rated program. But Pat McAfee is kind of it's a loose studio, right? And they are so they're moving more, they're moving away from the traditional sports uh programming. And so they and they're so case in point, I wanted to watch that documentary, Life in the W with AJ Wilson, Lafisa Collier, and Dwana Bonner.

SPEAKER_03 11:21

You can't find it, you can't find it.

SPEAKER_00 11:24

It was very difficult for me to find it because I didn't watch it when it came on ESPN and I didn't record it. So I was trying to find it on the app. It was very hard for me to find it. I had to search it. I wound up binge watching it because I found it. But it was hard for me to find it because I'm watching it on app. I have not cut my cable board yet. So they're moving there. So again, I'm a different kind of fan. I'm more of a traditional fan. I I I like Stephen A. Smith and and Pat McAfee, but I I don't like all the screaming all the time. I want to hear Yeah. So so Ryan Clark was a a a hot hot button for a lot of people. You know, in my in the intro to this show, I say I fa I play fantasy sports. They let go of Stephon Stefania Bell. Stefania Bell is a is was a is a licensed physical therapist. And on Saturday, on Saturday, on Sunday mornings, I watched faithfully, I watched Stefania Bell because she would tell you who was injured and if they were gonna play, what football players were injured and who was gonna play. And I that helped me set up my fantasy teams. I go, I'm gonna miss that. Who's gonna tell me that? Yes. Right, you know, so stuff like that that I'm missing. You know, where I have to go and find it somewhere else. Because Matthew Berry, who ran fantasy, uh, the fantasy focus on the show, he left and went to NBC and he's on the sideline reporting, you know. So so I have to get used to, you know, the sports platforms moving in a different direction, and they're moving to where the casual sports fan is taking them. The the the audience is younger. I'm I'm aging out of the of the demographic that's watching, you know, traditional sports. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:15

I I mean I had to stop and think like, how often do I watch ESPN? And I I don't. I mean, I think we're now in the clip era, as you said, right? You can go on social media, you can see the clips. Now I use the ESPN platform more so than I actually watch ESPN on T. Well, I don't watch ESPN shows. I had to stop and think about it for a minute. There was a time when I would watch First Take, but as I stated earlier, Stephen A. Smith has gotten on my nerves. And it is because of the yelling. But let's like, let's be clear, it's like like you said, they have placed a bet on Stephen A. Smith. His contract is like worth over a hundred million dollars. But I still go to the ESPN site to read the articles, to look at the box scores, uh, to look at the standings, right? In the conferences, but I'm not I'm not watching it as a a sports television show anymore. But when it comes to the regular clips, I usually get those clips, quite honestly, from Instagram. You know, I follow NBA, NFL, I follow individual players. And so if it's something that catches my eye or that's happening in sports, I'm more apt to go there and then go to ESPN. So I think your point, Jen, is uh is is accurate. They're trying to compete now in a world that is much more digital and more focused on the hot takes. But um, but I will just say, and this is this is not on, I guess, topic, but I have been seeing all of the sympathy that this firing has been getting Ryan Clark from the from the ladies on social media. So everybody's like, oh poor him, poor, poor Ryan. I didn't really know he was that cute. Like it, like I'm sure his wife is probably giving it to, you know, really like making jokes and cracking on him at home because ladies love Ryan Clark. And I don't know if they have always loved him, but they definitely love him more now. Like people are like, oh, the suits, and I'm gonna miss him in his suits, and he's so handsome and he posts his daily workout. Which let me say this I'm glad that I don't have a significant other that is posted on social media every day because I really believe that men know what they're doing. So him posting his little workout videos, dancing, you know what I mean, showing his muscles and his medium shirts. That's all on purpose. It's on purpose. So Ryan Clark, he we sorry, but we see you.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Yeah, I yeah, I didn't I don't so I was gonna talk about my opinion when he was when he when he was talking about Damar Hamlin, he was talking and talking and talking, and he would not shut up. And then he was talking some more, and he talks and talks and talks, and I was like, oh my gosh. I and then he got more popular and he talked and talked and talked. I then I was like, oh, I liked him better when he was a player. I didn't want to hear him talk anymore. He'll he takes he takes one thing and goes for an hour and talks about it. I'd probably do the same thing, I'm sorry, but but but he also started to read his own headline. And after that, and he when he became popular, he changed to me. And he wasn't the same person. And I it and I didn't care for him. I and I would only sparingly watch the pivot because of that. I watched it because they have great guests on there, right? But I stopped watching him because he just was talking and it was like word salad sometimes, and it was and I was like, uh-uh. Just and then he started to read his own headlines. And he kind of admitted it on the pivot the other day. He started feeling himself and he got into it with some people, and it became he became controversial, and they put the A word on him, aggressive, which I don't agree with that. I don't like that. I don't I really don't like that. I don't care who you are. I don't I don't like that they were saying they thought he might get aggressive or something. And I'll tell you the story.

SPEAKER_03 17:35

Yeah, that's the that's the nail in the coffin for a black man, and a black woman too, but definitely a black man.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

But I thought he did change, and and and not in a good way to me. Yeah, I just wanted him to. So you mean you think his his like ego, his when you say he changed, what do you mean?

SPEAKER_03 17:52

Like his ego got bigger, or he thought it was two kids or yeah, yeah, he might have been reading those headlines.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

Um, there was a a particular incident that happened with with Ryan Clark and Peter Schrager on the show that they were co-hosting. I think it was get up, it was get up, and that's where I got get up. It was like get up. And Peter Schrager is a is a journalist, not a former player, whereas Ryan Clark is a former player, and Peter Schrager gave his opinion on a on a subject, and Ryan Clark said, I'm gonna say this, you know, but that's the non-player in you talking right now. And Peter Schrager was like, Don't, you know, disrespect me like that, don't belittle me like that. And they they kind of went back and forth. And after, and when they went to commercial break, Peter Schrager was like, Yeah, this is great TV. I loved it. And Ryan Clark came like, Don't ever F and disrespect me like that again. You know, so he was he he was offended, whereas Peter Schrager should have been offended because he said, because you know, people tell me you didn't play, so you don't know anything about I could talk about it, though. So I'm Peter Schrager, and other people might be Ryan Clark. And and Peter Schrager wasn't, he was a he was like, Don't belittle me, but he liked that it was kind of he he liked the debate, you know, right? Yeah. And Ryan Clark turned out to be more offended than he was, and it became this big thing. But they said they squashed it. But Ryan Clark mentioned on the pivot, he said if he could have done anything, he would have would have established better relationships because it's all about relationships in that industry. Now, I don't know if his relationships could have saved him, but it might have. It might have. Yeah, it was easier for them to let him go because he's had some controversies. Controversies, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:34

Well, I I think I think this is an interesting topic, and it actually is far more far reaching than just sports, right? So now look at us. I mean, yes, we have professional experience, but now we got our mic, and we're talking about sports, and we're we're not professional journalists. So I think we are in the air of again, everybody can get a mic, they can tell, they can share their opinion, they can talk about it. There is a certain training and expertise and kind of ethical considerations when you are a journalist. But I would also say that's different when you're a player. So I do think that it is valid sometimes for players to say you are missing some of the nuance simply because you didn't play the game, or you may have a take about something. I was just listening to all the smoke, and they were talking about Draymond Green because they had Rich Paul on and all of the kind of you know critique that Draymond gets. And everybody was saying, but yeah, you have you know Popovich and other coaches to come out and say you don't win championships unless you have a Draymond Green. You don't win a championship unless you have a Ronard test. You need those guys in the room. But to the average journalist or to the average player, or I mean not player, but consumer, they they don't understand why you need a Draymond Green in the locker room, why you need a Ronard test in the locker room. So I think it's valid for players to say you have expertise as a journalist, but we also have expertise as professional players. And as consumers, we want to get the best of both worlds. But I don't think that that should, I don't think that should start beef, but I feel like it does so much in the ESPN world. You got Draymond going at Steven, right? You got this uh kerfuffle between Ryan Clark and and the other dude, but it's like everybody's perspective is needed. But uh I'm doing this podcast. Go ahead. I'm sorry. No, no, no. I remember you saying years ago that you did not like Ryan Clark, but I forgot about that until just now.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

I received, but I I don't want to watch him, and and and here's the thing I'm doing this podcast from a fan point of view. I'm just a fan, I don't pretend to know everything, and I don't need a place. A former player, a current player, you know, loudly pointing out on live on the air that I that I don't play, that I didn't play. That's the thing. You it's unit's unsaid. You know, it's you don't have to say it. And we all know that. You don't have to announce it. And if there was like a pregnant pause, that he, you know, if you look at the clip, if you look at, if you go watch the replay, he like, now I'm gonna say, and you know, he made like a big deal. Like he was getting ready to announce it. And he he did it, he embarrassed him. He embarrassed, he it Ryan Clark should have not, he was asked. He was like what he did. Yeah, a little bit of but but you know, uh Ryan Clark came to the defense of Angel Reese when Robert Griffin, RG3, was was hating and and you know, whatever he was doing, clowning, shucking and jiving. He came to her defense and he, you know, got with RG3, and you know, people didn't like that, you know. He also came out prematurely. Kyron Lacey was a uh wide receiver with LSU football, and he kind of caused an accident, a traffic accident. And the video, there was video, one angle of the video exonerated him, but then that didn't show the full story. But you know, Ryan Clark saw that clip, and then he went on there and dogged the the Baton Rouge Police Department saying that they, you know, made this boy because Kyron Lacey subsequently killed. He committed suicide, and uh because he he you know was gonna would go through all this. And Ryan Clark was like, This this young man died, and you know, he he killed himself, and you know, he didn't even do anything wrong. And then subsequent video came out that showed what really happened, and Ryan Clark was forced forced to apologize. So those things, those three incidents were what what was highlighted as to why he was fired and all. I don't really think any of I think those like kind of added to the scoreboard, but I don't think that they were a reason why. I think it goes back to what he said, the relationships that he had versus the ones he did not have at that network. And, you know, he was uh uh you know a casualty of of that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:18

Well, I mean, you know, let's just be transparent though, because NSPN in some ways has always been somewhat of a shit show, right? I mean, behind the scenes, yeah, right. You had uh, you know, inappropriate relationships between colleagues, superiors, right? I mean, so in a place like that, like you said, the relationships are the currency, not and relationships are important in business, but when you have all of that going on, right, relationships are even more important because some people are able to get away with certain things, other people are not. And so what I thought was the takeaway, right, and I think you know uh the aunties would agree with this is like he said, he was at the top of his game, he had won his Emmy, he felt like he was in his flow, right? And he said that there had been a couple of situations where he thought, I don't really know if they're feeling me. Maybe it's time for me to think about like you know, what's next for me. But he said he would be like, No, no, they couldn't, they couldn't let me go. You're always expendable, you are always expendable. And I think specifically for people of color, the more success that you attain in some ways, the more expendable you are, right? Because I think there becomes a narrative when for those of you who don't know, Jen and I worked together earlier in my career, and I will never forget this. When I was hired into that organization, the person who had been really instrumental in getting me there was upset because I was challenging him. And I never forget he told me that I was acting uppity ever since I got the job. When you when you transitioned from an intern to a full-time employee, you started acting uppity. And I was like, What? Uppity? And so I didn't know. Yeah, but people become highly sensitive to your success or your promotion, right? And they start to look for, I believe, kind of a reason, right, to let you go. And I think that happens more when you're successful, when you show that you can do the job, and when you can do the job at a high level and make it look easy. And that's just my my opinion. So uh it's good that he got the pivot. You know, there's not in corporate America anymore. He'll probably get picked up, you know, from another network or continue to, you know, build out the pivot, but I don't think you'll see the last of Ryan Clark on on on a network.

SPEAKER_00 27:02

No, no, no, no, no, no way, you won't. That's not the yeah, and there are other streaming platforms that are building out their sports, you know, platforms. So, no, we haven't seen the last of Ryan Clark. And I'm hoping we haven't seen the last of, you know, and then you know, you you know, you have Stefania Bell. Uh she's been pretty quiet. Cam Newton was also laid off, but he's like, you know, and that was that was just my training ground, you know, to get the internship, to get production experience. You know, he's got other things. Tom, Tom, what was it, Tom Pelicero? He was an insider, right? So breaking news would come through him for the NFL, you know, those are things that we're we're gonna miss because I get I get attached to some of the personalities, but you know, I maybe I have to pivot too. I don't like it, but there's a lot of things that are changing, and if I don't change with it, I'm not gonna be able to go watch Life in the W. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 28:01

So what's Life and the W. Because today I'm the ESPN app. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 28:07

You got I you know, I had to go search. I had to go search for it, and I found it. I I watched all six episodes. So once you watch it, we'll we'll have a discussion. It was it was uh it was very good. It was very good. Yeah, it was very good.

SPEAKER_03 28:21

So so wait a minute. So you have to pull up the app, pull, pull the show up source.

SPEAKER_00 28:27

Okay, and then you streamed it on your close app and go to No, I watched it on my tablet.

SPEAKER_03 28:33

On your phone, on your tablet. See, I don't want to, I still I like to watch TV on the TV. I don't watch it's a pretty big it's a pretty big tablet.

SPEAKER_00 28:42

It's like 11 or it's a little TV.

SPEAKER_03 28:45

Maybe maybe I'll watch it on on my laptop. But look, I will share one thing that Ryan Clark did that I was like, mm-mm. Mm-mm, mm-mm. Has did you see his RC rhinestone brooch?

SPEAKER_00 28:58

Did I? What'd your mother say? Did I? I couldn't miss it. Yeah, I didn't like the outfits. He remember he remember I said he changed. He started this I don't want to talk about him because I I do respect him, but I didn't his clothes changed, he changed.

SPEAKER_03 29:16

I mean, I'm all for I do think I, you know, I do like a man in nice clothes. So I'm not gonna, you know, to show a little bit of effort. So I'm not gonna, you know, I'm not gonna take that away from him. But the the rhinestone initial brooch was something that my grandmama would wear. So I was like, Ryan. That's where he got it from. He got it from me. He got it from his grandmama. We have gone a little bit more. Here you go, baby.

SPEAKER_00 29:44

Here's your initials and and rhinestone. Thank you, grandma. Yeah, he wore he wore the gift that his grandmama gave him. Yes, yes, he did.

SPEAKER_03 29:52

Like, why? I mean, it I think in general, right? Broaches had a season, right, where everybody, all the men was wearing broaches. And I mean, I think it can be it can be done nicely, but it's a fine line between stylish and grandmama and the grandmama brooch, even for women. So I think for for men, it's even it's even a more narrow line. But that brooch right there, and the fact that you can see it from the screen, right? That thing was big as hell.

SPEAKER_01 30:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:25

Because you can see the R. Look, you can see the Aura and the C.

SPEAKER_00 30:30

That's your boy. But yeah, you go and uh you go, I'm gonna send you the link so you can watch Life in the W, but you know Okay, yeah. Yeah, and you're you're I got a I got a different perspective on all the play, all three of those players. That's again, that's Natisa Collier, Asia Wilson, and Dwana Bonner.

SPEAKER_03 30:48

So but speaking of the WNBA, yes, and speaking of fashion, so one of the things I noticed about the show was how they the image of the women. So if you saw that clip, right, or that that uh the intro, the picture, the intro, yeah, and you didn't know who they were, you could you would think that they were supermodels, right? It was very fashion for the clothes, the hair, the makeup, you know, the inches. Um I thought that was again a very interesting or maybe strategic uh play to get more people to watch.

SPEAKER_00 31:30

Well, you know, uh the intros, the walk-ins to all the games and events is a big thing now, you know. Back in the day, you know, the the when I watched, I mean, I watch now, but I'm saying back in the day when the league first started, they they couldn't, you know, they they didn't have that, they had to wear certain attire, right? They had a dress code and all that. Now it's a fashion show. Every time the players walk into the game, and you know, it shows shows their personality. And, you know, it was All-Star Weekend this past weekend, and all the outfits, you know, the these players have stylists now. Every most of them have stylists.

SPEAKER_03 32:10

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:11

Is it uh Sidney Sid Coulson?

SPEAKER_03 32:14

I think Sid Coulson, yeah, her partner.

SPEAKER_00 32:16

Her her partner is her stylist. And she said, whatever she tells me to wear, I wear. I don't, you know, I just put it on. I don't ask you questions. But yeah, that it the this was a it was a great weekend. The all-star WNBA All-Star festivities were in Chicago. I I I'm going next year. So you tell Karaya. Yes, we are wherever they are. I'm going. You know, I would not, I would not have missed your festivities. I might have gone, but I'm going next year. Yeah. Xandr Perry said, y'all better get your coins together now. Start saving your coins because we all Auntie's Talk Sports is going to the WNBA All-Star Game, no matter where it is next year.

SPEAKER_03 32:58

So I wanted to leave on Saturday. But I told Keris, I was like, I can't leave my mama. She didn't come to visit me for my birthday. So I'm just gonna be like, sorry, mama going to Chicago. So yes, we are there. She would have gone with you. We are there. Yes, we are there next year.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

She would have gone. There were so many storylines for the whole weekend. I was exhausted trying to keep up. You know, I want to say, first of all, the the yesterday the actual all-star game set a record for attendance. You know, um, it was at the United the United Center, um, and they set an all-time league record for attendance. The league is more popular than it has ever been. And, you know, the the activations that they did last year when it was in Indiana, it was, you know, pretty big. Chicago set it off. It was it was great to see. I love, I did not like, you know, how they were surfs wagging. Leave that alone. Leave that that leave that alone. Don't be gentrified by surfs wag. Oh yeah, because it was the gentrified version. Yeah, somebody posted on social media. I do not like the gentrification of the surf swag, but no, I but there were so many storylines. Did I say surf swag? I'm sorry. I look, I'm an auntie. Look, I'm gentrifying it. I'm sorry. I'm all messing it up. The surf swag. Swag surf. Oh, I surf swag. Y'all might swag the surf. I'll surf swag because you know I I can't dance, but you know. But it is funny. So let's let's start with Friday night. You Friday night you have you had the orange carpet. And here again, remember we were talking about the ESPN app and how programming is going to the streaming apps. The orange carpet, they had like a small segment, a very short segment, on the WNBA app. There were so many different people with microphones on the orange carpet. Ryan Howard was on the orange carpet. Jordan Childs was Childs was on the Child was on the orange carpet. Sydney and and TP, her co-hosts, her podcast co-host, were on the orange carpet. Couldn't watch it. I wanted to watch it. I didn't know where to go to watch it. I watched it on the E I watched on the ESPN at where um was it Ari Chambers and I can't remember the other young lady's name. They were hosting, but it was really short and not very many people came to their camera. Everybody was over on the other orange carpet, which was over that way where they kept looking. It was not very organized or organized or televised. Maybe there was some other channel I was supposed to watch, but I was watching the WNBA app. I should have been able to see everything there. I didn't like that. Yeah. Because I was at home. If I had been there, that would have been different. But I was at home trying to watch it. I didn't like that. So that's that was Friday night. Or was that Thursday? Or was that Friday night? That was I'm sorry, that was Thursday. Because that was the arrivals. That was Thursday. Friday night was the shooting stars contest and the and the three-point shooting contest. Great, because you know, because the the shooting stars contest pairs an NBA WNBA legend with a current player and also uh an up-and-coming, like they had teenagers that were, you know, play, they probably play AAU in high school or maybe even college. And so that's a thing in the NBA too, but they did it for the WNBA. And you know, I'm a die hard Detroit Shock fan, and they had Deanna Tweety Nolan out there playing with uh Dallas. So if you don't know, when when the Detroit Shock left Detroit, they went to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and then they wound up. So the Dallas Wings team is actually the Detroit the Detroit Shock. Detroit Shock, yeah. So yeah. So she played with them, and I love seeing that. That that made my night. She didn't hit any shots, but that made my night. To see the legends, you know, this is the 30th year of the WNBA, and they are they're doing a good job. I won't say a great job, but they're doing a good job of showcasing the legends. Um, they're very particular about which legends they're showcasing, which I don't like that part, but they're doing a good job.

SPEAKER_03 37:26

I think some of it, some of it has been a little corny. Like I feel like the chain. I think in general, I don't see I thought it was a flask. No, it's a chain. It's a it's a 30. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 37:40

I I know it's a chain, but I thought I know it's a chain, but I thought it was a flask. I thought it was a flask at first. No, no, no. No, no, no, it's a chain, but it looked like a flask.

SPEAKER_03 37:51

I think the thing for me is like I I know that the WNBA is like a subsidiary of the NBA, but I want to see some unique creative ideas that are just for the W. I don't like taking things that have gone viral or are trends in men's sports and then just trying to replicate them in the W. I don't like that. So everybody knows, you know, we had, you know, in the NFL, and I think it was Miami at first, had the like interception chain, and then uh the Detroit Pistons last year became known for the Detroit bling, and so everybody was holding up chains and showing the chains during the Pistons home game, and so now the W got a 30-year anniversary chain, it just looks played by that point, and the chain was ugly. Yeah, so I mean, I just it's like they need some real creatives that are in the room to come up with signature things for the W versus just jacking what they see in men's sports. I don't like that. I don't like that at all.

SPEAKER_00 39:01

Yeah, I agree. That's why I was that's what I was referring to. It was so ugly, it looked like a flask. And it was just like, what is that? It's so stupid. But yeah, I I agree with that. They could have left that somewhere. Yeah. So that was so that was so. What did you think about the orange carpet? Uh you know, everybody comes with their unique styles and it it really showcases their personality. So, what what were you what did you think about that?

SPEAKER_03 39:28

So I think that to your point, more players are using stylists. Now, I first want to say I love that everybody's outfit reflected their personal style, but I do think that some of the looks could have been uh better executed. And I was having this conversation at home. I think everybody like I look forward to to award season when it comes to like movies because each of the red carpets has their own distinct personality. Like people know uh the SAG awards are different than the Oscar Award, and people dress accordingly. I found myself feeling like the orange carpet was a little bit schizophrenic. I didn't know if people were going to an after five event, a formal event, if they were going to basketball practice, or if they were going to watch movies with a boo. So that made me just as a person who loves fashion and who pays attention to red carpets, it left me feeling very uneasy and conflicted. Now, across that entire spectrum, I think you had some standout looks. Like I loved Stewie and her family. Those looks were you know very well coordinated. Uh coordinated, yeah, street wear for her, for her wife, and for their kids. I loved Olivia Miles, and I think Olivia Miles was an example of somebody who stayed true to their own kind of unique style, but elevated it a little bit. She had the suit with the pocket chain and the fro. The person who I thought I loved Paige, but I thought there uh I loved Asia's outfit. I thought she looked great. I wasn't a fan of AZ's FUD. And I think again, she's like an emerging WNBA darling. And I just felt like she could have made more of a statement on the orange carpet. She had on jeans, I think like a bralette and a little jacket. And so I think in that moment, again, she could have come out a little stronger. But I love orange. I didn't really like maybe it was just a bad interview. I think Jordan Childs was trying to ask. I don't I don't know if it was Ryan. She was trying to ask someone about their level of comfort with being an out player in the WNBA. And I don't know if she was uncomfortable with asking the question. I don't know, but she just kind of fumbled it. And again, this is an example of where a professional journalist is gonna know how to ask that question and ask that question in a way.

SPEAKER_00 42:11

You said what? Were they feeding her? Were they feeding her uh questions in her ear? Like, why didn't I even ask them that?

SPEAKER_03 42:18

I don't know. It just it just seemed crazy. It just seemed odd, but I do think that they could push the orange carpet as a pre-event because that's what it's become, right? Tunnel fits, interviews, people look forward to red carpets, and now you have the orange carpet, and so I think that that's a place where they could definitely lean in a little bit more. I was kind of looking on comments as well online, and I think this is another instance of where the W kind of, you know, they fumbled. So this entire situation with the three-point contest, them coming out saying that Sabrina, Inescu, and some other players actually declined the invitation, then to find, and then for them to come out to say that I was never asked. So there's some conspiracy theorists who believe that that was a strategy, right? To kind of turn the page on some of the former players and help position new players. And you know, now AZ FUD's family is launching a shooting academy, right? So online people are saying, oh, this was the overplay for the underplay, right? This was was strategic to position her, and her family already had this in the bag. So I don't know. I mean, she still would have had to have won, but it does seem a little bit curious that they launched the shooting academy like two days after she won. So did they know from the beginning that she was gonna be in the shooting, the three point shooting contest, and they already had the content to go? Like, how how how does that happen so fast? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:00

So the duh the commissioner is losing the the the league, the players. And and I'll just say this about the orange carpet, and then we can move to the actual game because I want to touch on that. The orange, there were a lot of players that didn't even show up to the orange carpet. It was not well attended. You had you had some, but but think about all the players in the WNBA that you know, and how many did you actually see? I don't even think I don't think Angel Reese was there. I didn't see her. Maybe she was, but but there again, I don't know because I couldn't even watch it. Yeah. There were a lot of fumbles during the weekend. But the biggest fumble is probably the game itself, the all-star game. It was it was boring. You have players that were starters and they played five minutes and then and then didn't play the rest of the game. The crowd is there to see the starters. I know we don't like talking about her, but I'm gonna I'm gonna say Paige, I'm not Paige, uh Caitlin Clark, Paige Becker's too, but Caitlin Clark came to play. And they had, you know, she she came out and they ran a play for her, and she shot from the logo three a lot of times. She she made some, she missed some. She came to put on a show for the fans. And they said, like, why are you going so hard? She said, because these fans paid a lot of money to get in here, and I want to give them a show. Nobody else, but there were a couple. So Paige Paige got the memo, she was playing. Marina Mabrie, she was playing, she was trying to be the MVP, but Jaquel Jones wound up being the MVP. She scored a lot of points. But the game was boring, they weren't playing defense, they weren't playing defense, and Asia Wilson blocked Angel's shot, not even playing defense. It was just so it was very pedestrian. Um so, as Kelsey Plum said, I think she might have even said it last year, you need to give an incentive for players to want to play and win the game. Because these last two years, especially, it's been boring and they they gotta do something. And you know, they boo Kathy Engelberg, the commissioner, every time she even tries to talk to where she's trying to get the get the she's trying to get the other, the sponsor, the person that sponsored the trophy to talk and push them in front of her because she's getting booed. Asia Wilson said, I don't have a relationship with Kathy Engelberg. I only see her when she gives me my awards. And she's seen her a lot because she gets a lot of awards. But when the face of the WB tells you that she does not have a relationship with the commissioner at all unless she's getting an award, that should tell you something. She has lost this league. We need a yeah, we need a we need a clicker.

SPEAKER_03 46:29

We need a clicker for how long till Kathy gets fired. We need to keep track.

SPEAKER_00 46:35

How long is it gonna take? She'll resign. You know, the the CBA is done, the collective bargaining agreement is done now. She she'll resign. She'll say, My job is done. Yeah, she'll resign. I don't see it.

SPEAKER_03 46:47

You know, I don't I get torn. I was just gonna say, I think I feel torn about people giving a hundred percent in the all-star games, you know what I mean. I don't know. I think it's the same issue in the in the NBA, right? Is that it's kind of a reprieve for them, it's a time of fun. You know, as we saw last year, they were definitely partying, drinking the whole nine. So it's like they're not, I don't think they're at their best, right? To go into the game and to compete at a high level. Now I think if you if they offered a financial incentive, then they probably would play. But I don't know. I I don't know if I want to come to the all-star game and see people play defense. That's just me.

SPEAKER_00 47:29

No, not not not not play defense, but but just act like you want to be. It was so so one one issue is the it w NBA scheduling. You know, India Leah Boston didn't want to play, you know, a lot because they have a game on. I was gonna talk about the scheduling last week. I want to touch on it real quick. Last, so last week, so there are 15 teams in the in the WNBA. Is it 15? I think it's 15, something like that. And two, there were, there were, so there were five, let's say between Sunday and and Thursday or Wednesday. There were at least three or four teams that had two games that week in one week, and then they had to go to the All-Star game. There were some teams that had no games played that week, and then they go to the scheduling, something needs to change with the scheduling. You know, and uh, you know, they Indiana played last week, so Aliyah Boston's playing last week, and then they wanted to play in the game, and then they wanted to play again on Tuesday. Yeah, that's a lot. So I get it. The scheduling needs to change, they're trying to rush all this stuff. Something needs to change. So it's a compressed. I just want to say that. Yeah, you know, I yeah, but once again, I'm trying to watch the stud buds. I I was falling asleep. I they did a 72-hour marathon filming. There was a bunch of you know, controversy and hot takes and you know, hard, hard launch relationships and all that, and where you just speculated, but then you found out it was true, and blah. So it had everything. It had everything. Um, I think the I think the weekend, the all-star weekends will get better and better, but they've got some work to do.

SPEAKER_03 49:06

Yeah, I think they need to, I think, I think they need, and it's hard, but I think they need a whole week off. Because I'm pretty sure it's almost close to a week now for the NBA. So you players are able to get a little R, right, for a few days, play the game, and then come back and rest, and then go back to their regular game.

SPEAKER_00 49:27

So remember when you were talking about um remember you were talking about Ryan Clark's video and how he was working out on the video? I might have watched LeBron James and his workout videos too many times to for someone to feel comfortable. No, that's I mean, and he was he was he was posting them, and then I had to rewind like I thought I missed something, and I watched it again, and then I watched it again, and I watched it from this angle and that. What did you miss? What did you miss? I missed an ab here and an ab there, but LeBron, you're looking good at 41. Okay, but but now let me know. This was his weekend.

SPEAKER_03 50:07

Now let me say this. While I do not respect and I don't like LeBron as a player, I will let people know that I can respect the craft and how well he takes care of his body. But I also think it's funny that you always talk about how much you like LeBron, but you hate the fact that you say that he always be acting like he's bow legged. That cracks me up every single time.

SPEAKER_00 50:34

He is not bow legged. He is not bow legged. He walks slew footed and tried to. I'm like, you're gonna break your leg trying to act like you bow legged. I know what bowl legged looks like, and it ain't that. I don't think he's really bow legged.

SPEAKER_03 50:48

That is so so it's over. I did a video the other day. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:54

I've been waiting on it. For those that didn't see the video or didn't hear the news, you've been living under a rock. LeBron James, LeBron James is signing a two-year $8 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. I did predict, you know, that within the next two years, because he signed a two-year deal with the player option, so he could opt out after next year, but I think he'll I I think he'll stay. I'm predicting that they that he'll win his fifth ring and retire on top. I think, you know, I know a lot of people say that the Knicks, you know, they they they return in their starting five. You can't count them out. I get it, but their bench is gonna look a lot different. The Knicks bench is gonna look a lot different because of free agency and salary cap. I wanted to, you know, touch on all the teams that LeBron was rumored to be going to. Um, you know, and and and then figure and then come back to Philly. He was rumored to go to Golden State, and they were talking about he was gonna, they were gonna get Anthony Davis, and and so they would team them up with Steph Curry and Draymond Green, and they would be a super team. And and also in the West, they were he was rumored to possibly go to Minnesota, where you've got Anthony Davis and and uh and LaMello. We just went there. But yeah, and you know that I don't think I don't think Minnesota was ever a true destination for him. But I don't think he wanted to stay in the in the Western Conference. Western Conference has always been for you know not always, but mo you know, very more competitive. And you know, it it's it's hard to come out of the West. Yes, more competitive, it's tough, it's tougher lead. So I always thought he was gonna go to an Eastern Conference team. He was rumored to go to Cleveland and Miami, and he so Miami, he he probably would have strongly considered it with Giannis and and Bam, but um, I don't think I think he was like, I've been there, done that. I don't want to, you know, I want you know something new. Cleveland, he the way that the organization and the fans treated him when he took his talents to Miami, he don't rock with them. Um that they were never gonna get him. So Philly was always like the okay, if they can, if they could do this, you know, if if they could put the right pieces together, he'll go there. And they, you know, after they got Jalen Brown earlier this month, it was just a no-brainer. It was that was, you know, the right decision. Uh, what did you think about or did you think about? Because I know you're not the biggest LeBron fan.

SPEAKER_03 53:21

I mean, I didn't really think about a final destination. I was just irritated with how long the process took. I I get so tired of the decisions. I've been tired of the decisions ever since he left Cleveland the first time, and it was like an after-school special. Um, when you talk about somebody like, you know, believing their press, somebody that is to me a diva dude, I think LeBron is the essence of that. So I just was like, get up, get over. And then this time you had Rich Paul with the whiteboard writing stuff up on the it's just, it just reeks of self-importance. And I mean, I get that he, you know, is to some the greatest player of all time, but just make the decision and move on. And then he was complaining about feeling rushed, and you know, Adam Silver was like, we're trying to hold off on making final scheduling decisions until we know where he's going to be. And it's like, it just, I think he just loves all the attention. And my concern more so is what is LeBron James going to do post-retirement? I think, you know, being in the limelight since a teenager, having all of the eyes on him, loving all of the attention. I think it's just gonna be hard for him to walk away from the game. I don't think that he is going to walk away easily. I wouldn't be surprised if he extends for three more years. I just I think it's gonna be very hard for him to walk away. I thought of Elijah, uh, our our prior intern who loves Philly Down.

SPEAKER_00 54:59

Resident Nephew.

SPEAKER_03 55:01

Right.

SPEAKER_00 55:01

Resident Nephew. I gave him a shout-out in the in the video, yes.

SPEAKER_03 55:05

Yes, and I know he's really happy, but I also think that in some ways this is, I don't want to say LeBron passing the charge, but I do think that this was LeBron stamping uh Jalen Brown as a player, right? I think it was him saying, I feel like Jalen Brown, JB, is a centerpiece of this franchise, and I'm gonna go rock with him. And I think that that was big of LeBron to do because Jalen Brown has taken a beat in the past couple of months. People saying that he's your seventh best guy on your team, you know, all of the kind of controversy about that young man. And so now he's like, let's go. What y'all got to say? And he is going to be on a revenge tour. Him now to me, Joel Embiid. I think he's right up there with Anthony Davis. He could be called Street Clothes number two. Street clothes. Street Clothes number two. So again, if it works and Joel Embiid can stay healthy, then okay. But otherwise, it's only so much ball that can go around between LeBron, Jalen Brown, and Tyrese Maxie. But it may be a train wreck, but it's gonna be a good train wreck to watch.

SPEAKER_00 56:24

Yeah, I don't think, you know, I don't think LeBron is looking to be the centerpiece. LeBron is very close to Tyrese Maxie. I think that was one reason that he went there. And also to, like you said, to to help Jalen Brown, you know. But the one of the headlines that I read, one of the first headlines I read, probably it might have been today, or they were like, Can LeBron James and Jalen Brown play together? Can they coexist? That was the same headline they had for Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum.

SPEAKER_02 56:56

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 56:56

Keep that headline already. Like, stop, stop doing that. LeBron's not trying to be Jason Tatum in this scenario. So stop. Like it's I think I think they'll be just fine. I cannot wait to see what happens. And you know, KCP, Catavius, Caldwell Pope, former pista. Yeah. He signed with them too. So that gives them another shooter. You know, they have a couple of other bench players, Anthony Simons and Dean Wade, that, you know, you don't need like a a a you know starter on on your bench. You just need some role players to come in and you know, give them some rest, give the starters some rest and make make a few plays. I think that they I think they uh they're the team to beat the east now. The only other team that I'm rocking with is the pistons, but I don't think that they have all the pieces that have what it takes.

SPEAKER_03 57:44

Yeah. I mean, I uh you just consider the matchups. I mean, the only the only way Philly maybe doesn't come out of the East if Joel M B gets hurt, right? Because I I think it's just difficult to match up, you know, if you are the Knicks, but I I think the other this is a little bit off topic, but you brought up up his name, so I'm gonna have to just say it. Ever since Jalen Brown has left or got traded from Boston, the person who becomes more and more of a Pab every day to me is Jason Tatum. And I'm sure people, I'm sure people saw the clip over the weekend. He was back home in St. Louis talking to a gym full of young people. And he was, I think, trying to encourage the young the young people in the room to be curious, to ask questions, to not feel as though they had to have all of the answers. But he said and was recorded saying, I don't want to be the smartest person in the room. I want to be in the room with people that are smarter than me. And of course, it went viral. And if people had any doubt that he did not want to play with Jason, I mean with Jalen Brown, that there was some dry hating, dry snitching, Pabness going on. To me, that was your proof. That was your proof. It's like, why would why would you say that if everything was cool? Jay uh Jason Tatum wanted the Celtics to be his team. He saw uh that Jalen Brown star was rising not only on the court but off the court in Boston for his philanthropy and for his activism. And he wanted them gone. He wanted him gone, and he got it, and now he's letting everybody know that he was okay with it. And to me, that's just that's just Pabness. His light skinnedness is showing.

SPEAKER_00 59:40

Yeah, I I I even worried about Boston and Jason Tatum, you know. We'll see what they do with without Jalen Brown, and they'll he's gonna miss it.

SPEAKER_03 59:52

So that's gonna be ugly, but I bet you, I bet you that the NBA is probably going to have Philly and Boston on Christmas Day. I bet you that's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:03

Yeah, yeah, yeah, probably. But yeah, you know, this this was not about money for for LeBron. And and I did mention in the video that the key to Philly winning is Joel and B being healthy, not just in the regular season, but in the playoffs. You know, I he's he's uh yes, he is street clothes, and every year there's some new injury. There's some new injury. I mean, I think he's injured every part of his body, and so that's the key. But yeah, if they can stay healthy, if he can stay healthy and they and they can gel and figure it out. So I'm I'm trusting the process. I've never been a Philly fan before. I'm a LeBron fan, and we go where LeBron goes. So, Philly, you got a new fan. But I'm always a Detroit Pistons fan. I just don't think that they've done enough to offseason. Get over the hump, get get over the hump that they were, yeah, that they needed to get over for last season from last season. So, but hey, shock me. I'm ready. You know, I'm a Pistons fan, so I can't wait.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:05

It's uh I saw a couple of memes. The one meme from uh the Olympics where LeBron was carrying the flag. He was on the boat. Did you see that last year? He was on the boat and he had the American flag and it said this is this is what LeBron fans do. After every decision, we follow him to the next team. Yeah, I think the only other thing that I was watching this week in sports, and I just wanted to give him a shout out because he plays for the Pacers, which was Tyrese Halliburton. Seeing him back on the court, you know, he had, of course, the injury, but then ended up getting COVID and shingles and was on medication and was very transparent about the physical changes of all of that, you know, on his body. He had gained a lot of weight. He said he couldn't see out of one eye because I think his eye had kind of like grown lazy. And so there were some clips of him working out dunking this past week. And so that that made me happy to just see him, you know, back in maybe not playing shape, but at least, you know, almost able to play. So uh looking forward to that, to seeing him back out on the court.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:20

I thought you were gonna say how he got married in a t-shirt. Yeah, got married at the at the courthouse in the court.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:30

Yeah, I saw that, and I was I know courthouse weddings are trending in the this moment, so I was a little confused. I know he and his fiancee have been together since college, maybe high school, but definitely college, when he was at Iowa State. I saw the pictures, and so I know sometimes when people are planning like a wedding out of the country, they get married so that their you know marriage license is certified. So I thought maybe that was it. So then I was like, well, if that was it, then why would you share the picture? Because, like you said, he was in sweats and a t-shirt.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:07

Yeah, well, you welcomed him back, and I would be remiss if I didn't welcome back Nefisa Collier, who had been out all year, and right before the the all-star break, she came back and went off. And uh it you'll see in the in the documentary, she was saying that she's gotten a lot more injuries since she had her baby. Her body has really changed, and she never was injured before. And she's had a lot more injuries since she had her. I heard think of I want to say she's gotta be at least two, three, I mean uh four three or four years old, her daughter. And they were talking about, you know, they'll probably do surrogacy to expand their family because of the toll. And she doesn't want to, she feels like she would have to retire. So, but welcome back, Nefista. She came back, yeah, like her old self. I'm looking forward to the second half of the WBA season as we as they usher into the NBA season.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:02

Yeah, no, we could do a whole episode about what, you know, about sports performance and women and hormones, and you know, I talked to my oldest about that as well, you know, because there's some research and findings that women are more prone to injury, especially around their cycles. And so there's when we talk about athletic performance and sports performance, there's an entire new field that we need more research, more investment in to really understand all the ways in which women body women's bodies respond. So yeah, I'm excited to watch it. I'm gonna go watch it tonight.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:42

A little compare notes because there were some storylines in there, and so we'll talk about it in one of the next episodes. But I wanted to give a shout out to our audience, and we've had some real good and really good engagement. We, you know, love the comments. Thank you for your comments and and and your likes and shares and subscribing to the channels and so and our platforms. Continue to we'll continue to have dialogue, you know. Sometimes it's a debate, sometimes it's a I agree with you, but I love both. So we love both. And so we really wanted to thank you guys for and and just let us know in you know in the comments uh what you want us to talk about. If you have questions, what you thought about this episode. Do you think that LeBron made the good a good decision? Going to Philly, will Philly win it all? Can Joel and B stay healthy? Let us know what you think about what we said in the episode. So like and subscribe on YouTube. Till next time, two Auntie, two mics, all game. Thanks again for spending some time with us. This has been another episode of Auntie's Talk Sports. If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share the show with your fellow sports fans. It really helps us grow our community. Have a question, a hot take, or a topic you'd like us to cover? We would love to hear from you. Email us at auntieStalksports at gmail.com or connect with us on social media at AuntieS TalkSports. Auntie's Talk Sports is a podcast hosted by Jennifer Bright and KB Gaston. Find us on socials at JBright713 and at KB Gaston. AuntieS Talk Sports is recorded in Detroit and produced by DanaCo at Danaer Co on Socials. Thanks again for listening. Until next time, two Aunties, two mics, all day.