Inside the Toronto Tempo's training camp and historic WNBA debut

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign [00:00:03] Speaker B: welcome to the Canadian basketball show your go to spot for the latest news stories and analysis on Canadian basketball. I'm your host Lee Ban Osmond. We're doing a mailbag episode next week answering your guys questions on everything Canadian basketball. Please send in some questions, shoot us a message on Instagram at the Canadian Basketball show. Email us at the Canadian basketball show gmail.com DM me@le bandstar1 on Twitter, Instagram as well. We'll make sure to get to your questions, leave a five star rating and review. If you're listening on Apple Spotify, stay tapped in because we got some good content coming this summer, especially this episode. Joining me in studio is someone you've definitely seen on your television screens. She was sideline reporter for the Toronto Raptors and is an Olympic broadcaster and producer for CBC Sports. She launched Canada's first and only national women's basketball show inside the wnba and she co hosts and produces the women's sports podcast Cinderella Stories. The one, the only, Savannah Hamilton. Welcome to the show. [00:01:08] Speaker A: Thanks man. [00:01:08] Speaker B: You like that? [00:01:09] Speaker A: I do like that. You nice to me on that one. I got you. [00:01:12] Speaker B: I got you. We've known each other for a while. [00:01:14] Speaker A: It's been a minute. [00:01:15] Speaker B: I got to make sure I got to give you a good intro. [00:01:17] Speaker A: I think I appreciate you, I really do. [00:01:19] Speaker B: I'm excited to have you on because you and I and a few others were at Tempo training camp draft process when they selected Kiki Rice, when they did the expansion draft as well, like a month into basically them getting started this season. And I kind of want to take people inside training camp and what that was like. And then the historic home opener which was to me one of the greatest moments I've been able to cover, I feel like in maybe basketball here in Canada. And for you, you've been doing this for a minute. You're not new to this. [00:01:57] Speaker A: Nah, we getting old now. So. [00:01:59] Speaker B: But for you, what was it like? I know you've been waiting for the W to come to Canada. [00:02:03] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:02:04] Speaker B: What was that like for you? And like, tell me just about seeing the W come to Canada. [00:02:08] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, wow. Like almost unfathomable. It was like surreal. And literally it was one of those moments because sometimes in our line of work, like you just get so caught up in your job because I know that it's literally our job to be the voice for the masses basically. And not just the voice, but almost be like the, like the, the, the gateway, the, the bridge. [00:02:35] Speaker B: The bridge between like the fans and. [00:02:37] Speaker A: Exactly. That's where we coaches and we are the amplifiers. We are the lens, we are the perspective. And so you have to take your job seriously. That you can't. You don't really have the luxury of being a fan, sitting back and just being, like. Just taking it all in, man. Just here for the vibes. Like, no. Like, you have to be like, I'm documenting things. You're documenting things. You. You have a job to do. I have a job to do. It's our job to eventually tell the masses what we make of it and also, like, our breakdown so it's more consumable as a product as a whole. That's our job. And so at one point during the game, though, I really, like, sat back and I told myself. I think it was, like, sometime in the third quarter, and I told myself, and the crowd was going crazy, and it was just, like, a good play that happened. I don't remember the particular one. And I'm just, like, looking around and I'm like, whoa. Like, I literally just felt like a wash over of me. I was like, whoa. [00:03:29] Speaker B: Had to pinch yourself. [00:03:30] Speaker A: Like, this is real. And I literally had, like, the goosebumps going up my. Up my. Up my arms and everything. And I was like, okay. That was probably the first moment for me in this entire process that it started to really sink in that Canada has its first ever WNBA team and it's in our backyard. [00:03:49] Speaker B: Yeah. For. For people that weren't there. How would you describe the atmosphere? Because to me, I don't know, I've been to Raptors games, but I was like, this crowd is different. [00:03:58] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. So I've been thinking about this a lot because I've been noticing some patterns here. But. Yeah. So first and foremost, a lot of people couldn't make it because the seating's so limited and the ticket prices were through the roo. [00:04:10] Speaker B: Yeah. Every media wanted to come out. [00:04:11] Speaker A: Every media. And there's mother's brother's dog wanted to come out. Okay. [00:04:14] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:04:15] Speaker A: Like, and everybody who couldn't get, like, I was having friends text me, be like, yo, Sab, you have a plug on my girl. I'm just trying to make sure that I get into the thing too. Okay. But, like, not like, they. And also I got, like, messages being like, I got FOMO. I bought tickets impulsively this morning. $600. Yeah. Like, people were not playing. And this is just for, like, you know, this is not courtside. This is, like, you know, upper one hundreds. But they're just. They just want to be there. They want to be A part of history. And so I think with that energy, like Toronto loves an event. Okay. Everybody shows up for a one time thing. And I honestly think that's going to be sustainable. That's a different conversation. But what I have noticed to your other point about it's a different vibe than the Raptors, I think it's because. And I've been thinking about this a lot for the first time in women's sports, and I'm not even saying this is just a Canadian thing. We are seeing the intersection of what true femininity in sports looks like. What does it look like in a court design? What does it look like in jerseys? What does it look like in a locker room design? What does it look like in the fans? We have Tampax as the lead sponsor across everywhere. And you know, a lot of people can be like, when they think about, like, oh, your period. It's a normal woman thing. A lot of those women on the court probably have their period. You know, I, you know, I, as a woman deal with that too. And it's a normalization of it. And so also when you're looking across the room, you know, I was also thinking about a couple of years ago, there was like the stat and I don't think it's true to this day. And I would even say, fact check this, but they used to say that men watch more women's sports than women watch women's sports. Yeah, right. [00:05:52] Speaker B: Man, I feel like that arena was 80% women, maybe 20% men. [00:05:56] Speaker A: Facts. I was like, oh, if that's the truth. Well, the women beat the men to the punch on this one because that. I saw every mother and daughter and auntie come out and I, I don't know, it was a. It was, yeah. One of those, like, girl power moments, obviously. Like, I believe in equity regardless. Like, I would love to see more men come out. And I honestly think there's just limited tickets. [00:06:16] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:06:17] Speaker A: And I think that if you're a mother, you're bringing your daughter to this. [00:06:19] Speaker B: Yeah. The girls were locked in and, and especially, like, what it meant. I've seen so many. Like, one mother I spoke to was like, this is my Mother's Day gift. I made sure, like, I have to be here with my daughter and like watch the first WNBA game in Canada, regular season game. At least, you know, for you. It was crazy too because, like, there was whispers like, Obama might pull up. Obama was in town. Mark Carney was going to pull up. [00:06:42] Speaker A: Like, crazy. [00:06:43] Speaker B: Security. From what I heard, like, security was too crazy. So you Know, Christine Sinclair was in the building. Legend. She had the craziest pop. Like, the way. The way people cheered for her. Like, Andre De Grasse was in the building, too, but Christine Sinclair, mat. Hey, I didn't. I watched soccer, but I didn't realize how, like, beloved she was in Canada. Yeah, that was crazy. What moment for you, like, during maybe that opening night, that historic night was like, wow, this is special because there was a lot of, like, yeah, Mabry hitting a three and that. The crowd going crazy. Like, yeah. And that was another moment. But, like, for you, what was like a wow, this is. [00:07:19] Speaker A: You know what? I will say this. It was the first play. Tip off, right off the jump. Cassan. Cassandra. [00:07:26] Speaker B: Yeah. Cassandra Prosper. [00:07:27] Speaker A: Yep. Yep. Montreal's very own. A Canadian. And this is not talked about enough. Cassandra Prosper hit the first basket layup, which is crazy. [00:07:36] Speaker B: The funny thing is I went to her. Her. Her mom and dad. I think it was around the. Around halftime. I. I went to them because I know them, because I did a story on O. [00:07:45] Speaker A: You're plugged into the woman's basketball scene. You've been plugged in. [00:07:48] Speaker B: And, like, she was supposed to be, like, the next best thing out of Canada, but I will say that she's dealt with injuries, and people are like, oh, why did she enter the draft? She's 21. She's probably one of the. Might be one of the youngest players in this draft class. And she elected to go early. She could have went back to Notre Dame. She could have done another year. But she went back early, and she was supposed to be the next best star to Canada, but the injuries, like I said, that's kind of hampered her. But a lot of teams that I spoke to, too, were like, yo, Cass Prosper, you got to watch out for in a few years, her development, if it goes right, she's going to be a player to watch out for. And then watching her right away, it took like, two, three seconds. Like, she just grabbed it right to the hole. Mabry had no chance to guard it, and she scored the first basket. And, like, Brittany Sykes scored the first official, like Temple. Like, Temple player to score. But she was the first ever. Like, the first ever basket. [00:08:40] Speaker A: Yep. [00:08:41] Speaker B: On a. In the Coca Cola Coliseum in a WMA game in Toronto. Man, that. That was special. [00:08:47] Speaker A: That was so special. [00:08:48] Speaker B: That's good that you mentioned that, because I was like, wow. [00:08:50] Speaker A: Yeah. No, and I think you and I were the only one, too, that caught that. [00:08:52] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:08:53] Speaker A: Because here's the thing also, that I'm finding as well, because, you know, because especially when I was entering the Raptors media scene, you know, I won't lie, there's a lot of gatekeeping, there's a lot of politics. There's a lot of. There's a whole separate like thing to itself. [00:09:07] Speaker B: A whole nother podcast. [00:09:07] Speaker A: It's a whole separate podcast. We want to get into that like just how, especially as a woman, how I felt like I kind of was. Got treated and so like they, they. It feels like it's a different mindset. It feels like you're lucky to be there versus. And that's men's sports in general. You're lucky to be there versus in, in the wnba. You're the expert. [00:09:28] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:09:29] Speaker A: And there's not many people who've been following the WNBA the way that some people have been plugged in. I would say that's myself for sure. And obviously you because I've read your work over the years of, of. I think you watched me play when I was at tmu, which is crazy. [00:09:41] Speaker B: I was there. I was watching. I used to cover Car amu. I've done a few stuff too. I remember going to like All Star Weekend for WNBA a few years back and like asking all the players like what would an expansion team. But you and Chelsea to me are like the work that you guys have done. [00:09:55] Speaker A: Thank you. [00:09:56] Speaker B: Shereen Ahmed too. [00:09:57] Speaker A: Thank you. [00:09:57] Speaker B: The work that you guys have done in terms of like I, I would say there's a lot of people that have helped bring the W200 to Canada. But on the media side, you guys deserve your flowers. So you know, like I, I feel like people should like, you know, like thank you. I don't think it's like, it's, it's a question though. That's. I feel like, you know what, people should, should know it. [00:10:16] Speaker A: You know the way that sometimes you feel like in this, in this industry. [00:10:20] Speaker B: Cuz I would be at every like Raptors, you know, me, availability. Anybody asking about women's basketball, it's you guys. [00:10:25] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:10:25] Speaker B: You guys are the ones bringing the, the topic up and yeah, that's why I wanted you on the podcast because I know like the work that you've done and talk about too. Your aunt. [00:10:35] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:10:36] Speaker B: Talk about that. Carol, one of the first Canadian to be drafted in the wnba. [00:10:42] Speaker A: Yeah. This is the, this is actually very much not. People know this. Nobody knows this. Like this is a very untapped untold story and she deserves a ton ton of flowers. Like people, you know when like people are like going to their Instagram like, this is my why. [00:10:54] Speaker B: Yeah, that. [00:10:55] Speaker A: She's my why. She's the. She's the reason why I decided to actually, like, commit myself to a career in basketball after I was done playing. Because of the impact that she has had on so many people's lives on basketball in Canada and just herself as a trailblazing woman. She was the only black athlete on the Canadian national team when she was playing. She left the house, her house, at 15 years old to play in the senior national team. She played all over Europe and she was an absolute star. Like, there's the stats. [00:11:24] Speaker B: Don't. [00:11:24] Speaker A: Don't take my word. Just look at the stats, like, averaging over 20 points a game. They called her the ice woman. [00:11:29] Speaker B: And yeah, she was a wavy. [00:11:31] Speaker A: Like, Steve Nash knows who she is. Jay Triano knows who she is. Leo Routens knows. Like, all these guys, they. They from that generation, they all know who she is because she was. She left that much of an impact. And unfortunately, she was one of those cases of the WNBA came too late, period. So she was selected by the Houston Comets. Did. And then. And then her. Her career in the WNBA was a little, like, murky. A little. Only because she was already retired. She basically came out of retirement to, like, be a part of the wnba. And then there's a couple teams that came calling for her. It wasn't just Houston. Houston. It's almost like the draft rights, you know, how, like, you could get selected by other teams and then other teams want to, like. Anyways, and back then it wasn't as, like, organized as it is now in terms of how structured. So anyways, she. She had a look by the LA Sparks. She had a look by Charlotte back when they had a team. But yeah, so she was one of the first Canadians involved in the wnba. And like, not a whole lot of people know that she was on the Canadian national team for a very long time too. So she was really cool. [00:12:32] Speaker B: That gotta hit you. Like, different. Like, I feel like watching it and then like, being like, wow. Like, my aunt was like, yeah, she was a pioneer in this. [00:12:40] Speaker A: I know. No, that's why I was like. I was like, I'll tell him something. Not getting emotional. We're not going to get emotional because, like, unfortunately. And a part of the reason why she actually retired from basketball too was because she wanted to have kids. And she was 39 years old when she passed away because she was trying for kids, like, and then cancer happened, basically. And so I kind of already felt, because I've known her as I didn't really know her as the glorious basketball player. I've always known her as my aunt, But I've heard all these stories coming from so many different people, too. It's not just my parents. Like, people would stop me. I remember I tweeted one time, like, oh, like, shout out to Carol Hamilton. I think it was her birthday. Like, I'll never forget you. Blah, blah, whatever. And then Michael Grange retweeted, like, oh, I didn't know that Savannah Hamilton came from basketball royalty. I'm like, so the people who know, they know. They know, but she doesn't. She definitely doesn't get enough flowers. She's in the Ontario basketball hall of Fame. But I think there's more to be amplified with her. Her reach and how much she actually did for this country in terms of women's basketball. [00:13:35] Speaker B: Yeah. Shout out to Carol. [00:13:36] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:13:37] Speaker B: Inspired you Big time. And just watching training camp, you got to watch it all. What was that like? Just seeing a team kind of go from nothing from an expansion draft. When was the expansion draft? That was like, maybe it was that end of March or early April on that time where they had us up in the CIBC building. [00:13:55] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:13:56] Speaker B: Which was kind of crazy. I wish I did a better show of, like, the way they. [00:13:58] Speaker A: They. [00:13:59] Speaker B: They selected players just the way. That was kind of like a. [00:14:02] Speaker A: It could have been an email. [00:14:03] Speaker B: Yeah. They just told us who the roster is. [00:14:05] Speaker A: They're like, all right. And now this is it. [00:14:07] Speaker B: Like, they got to do it, like, the way the. The NBA kind of does it in terms of, you know, but that'll come along. But watching that. And then the draft, they selected Kiki Rice, and then they get to training camp. What was your kind of, like, okay, expectations, and what was like, your seeing training camp for the first time? U of T. I like to say I think U of T is the best facility outside of, like, ovo. And a lot of people give, like, they're be building, like, $100 million practice facility. Shout out to Larry Tannenbaum. Tannenbaum, bro, if you got some money, you know, like, I'm here. Yeah, I'm here. I'm a holl at you when I see you. You know, funny thing is, I went to school with his. With his nephew, which is kind of to holla at him and be like, yo, where's the. You know, like, come on. It's crazy, you know, but Larry's putting a lot of investment whenever people talk about what he's doing for. For the tempo and for women's basketball here, it's kind of crazy, but what was your kind of first impressions of training camp? And yeah, because I want to get into. To your thoughts too. Just like, what are the real realistic, like, expectations for an expansion team? What are your expectations? But yeah, tell me first thought, how [00:15:15] Speaker A: much time we got? Okay, we're 15 minutes in this one. Can you ask me like 10 questions? So the first one being like, Larry Tannenbaum, like, he's a goat, in my opinion, because people always say, invest in women's sports, invest in women's sports, but nobody puts their money where their mouth is. And only as of more recently, people have been. And in Toronto, I think that the willpower has been there, but the logistics hasn't. And so Tannenbaum was kind of the one holding the keys, if you will. Like, or I guess maybe if this is like the, like all the rings. What's it called in the Avengers? [00:15:46] Speaker B: Oh, it's the Infinity Stones. [00:15:47] Speaker A: The Infinity Stones. He kind of held. He kind of got all the infinity Stones on. It's because it's more than just money. People don't realize that, like, to be an owner of a team, you got to make a compelling case to. To the commissioner as to why you are the right owner to a team. Because there's tons of money in the world. There's tons of money even in Canada. So it's not just about that. It's about can you be a owner that wants to see your team succeed or are you using as a tax write off? And so Larry Tannenbaum has a proven record, obviously with his time with mlse. He has the funds and he has, you know, just, I think, the bigger picture in mind. And, you know, I've. I've had the opportunity to speak to him briefly in some passing conversations, but I just get the sense overall that this is his legacy. This is. This is so personal for him. I think he knows exactly what he's doing and he wants this to be the Vince Carter effect for women's basketball in Canada. I think he knows exactly what he's doing. [00:16:41] Speaker B: That's a cool way to leave off your legacy. And like, you mentioned, like, Kathy Engelbert did like a roundtable with some media. [00:16:46] Speaker A: Yep. [00:16:47] Speaker B: I think the day. The same day as the thing. And we asked her, like, like, what are your thoughts on land? She's like, he's had like every checkpoint so far, like, in terms of investment, that kind of stuff. But yeah, what are your expectations? So my expectations, expansion team, because I'm like, kind of iffy. They came at the training camp? [00:17:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:17:03] Speaker B: Let's be real. They came at the training camp, and they talked about playoffs. They talked about being competitive right away, you know, And I was like, wow, this is bold. This is like, they want to be the Golden State Valkyrie. I'm like, yep, that's. That. That's amazing. But then I'm kind of like, I don't know if that will happen for you guys right off the gate. What are your expectations for this expansion team? Right off the gate. [00:17:25] Speaker A: Yeah. Wow. Okay. So it's funny because I've been hearing Sandy say, I don't think she wants people's hopes to get too high. [00:17:34] Speaker B: I think they dialed down. [00:17:35] Speaker A: They really dialed down. I'm like, yeah, I think they dialed down. Yeah. And I think that, like, listen, I love that energy. Like, if you're gonna do it, do the damn thing. Like, the fact that the Golden State Valkyries showed that it is possible to have a playoff berth, and not just a playoff berth, but a compelling one. I think the sky's the limit in terms of, like, yes, there's. Is it possible for a playoff birth? Put it this way. I wouldn't be surprised if they do better than we all expect. Like, the expectations on an expansion franchise are obviously very low. I think their debut game kind of gave you a glimpse behind the curtain of everything they need to work on. And it's a lot of stuff, but I will say this. It's very fixable stuff. This is not, like, hard concepts or, like, oh, they're undermanned, or like, this is more like, you got to tweak this. You can't play hero basketball here. You got to, like, move the ball. You move. Yeah, move the ball and hit your threes. [00:18:30] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:18:30] Speaker A: Like, and those. And they have enough shooters on the team, so I'm not. I think there's a lot of nerves in the first game, so I'm not really basing that off of that one small sample size. [00:18:39] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:18:40] Speaker A: Also, Washington, they played pretty well as well, but, yeah. So I would say my expectations is that. I don't know if I. I don't want to project them to get a playoff birth like the Valkyries did. I think that's, like, phenomenal. If they do, I wouldn't be surprised, but I think my expectation is that they might just fall just slightly out of it, but. But I would not be surprised if [00:19:00] Speaker B: they do squeeze into it 44 games on the season. What's. Is there a record that you have in mind that's like, hey, I'll be honest Yeah. I might sound harsh when I say this. [00:19:12] Speaker A: Say it. Say with your whole chest. [00:19:14] Speaker B: I think they win 12 games. [00:19:16] Speaker A: Okay. [00:19:16] Speaker B: 12 games. And so what's the record in total? That's like 12 and 32. [00:19:21] Speaker A: Okay. [00:19:21] Speaker B: Which I don't think is bad. [00:19:22] Speaker A: And you're basing off preseason. And I'm basing off. [00:19:24] Speaker B: Because I don't think they have the size. I think that's the biggest issue. [00:19:26] Speaker A: They definitely lack some size. [00:19:27] Speaker B: I think that's the biggest issue right now. And yeah, like. And one injury knock on wood away from, you know, it kind of going a bit off the. Off the. [00:19:39] Speaker A: But they, they actually got an interesting player that we really haven't seen that much in. Fasula. [00:19:44] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:44] Speaker A: She's a Greek player. [00:19:45] Speaker B: Yeah. But she's on developmental contract. [00:19:47] Speaker A: Which one injury away. She. That's a six foot five person, just ready to step right on in. [00:19:52] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm really impressed with the front office and kind of like they went. They got Maronda, which is also great. And I think for them, they kind of scouted. [00:20:01] Speaker A: Yes. [00:20:01] Speaker B: Not just in like the league. They were like, we're going to look at internationally some players that have not come to the woods and that might be some players that we need to watch out for. [00:20:11] Speaker A: Yeah. Maria Konde, she is the. So she was. They. Everyone's saying that she is the best player that has never played in the wnba. [00:20:18] Speaker B: Yep. [00:20:19] Speaker A: And. And they're all excited about her. I'm excited about her. And it's funny because. So my twin sister plays professional basketball in Europe. She's played all over. Like, she just finished her Romanian season. They just won. And so I've had the privilege of kind of being plugged in a little bit more to European basketball than maybe most people. But that's literally just vested interest. That said, one of my first questions to the gm, Monica, like, I. I asked her, I was like, okay, but are you going to be scouting in Europe? Because I know you played in Europe. And she looked at me and literally she smirked. She was like, yes. And then now seeing how everything has unfolded, I was like. And she did. And I think it's brilliant. If you're an expansion team, don't try to get necessarily every, like, get what you know, because. Right. It's convenient. It's right in front of your door. When the women's basketball game, especially, like we always say that, like the men's has grown into this international game that it is now. Women's has been international. In fact, it was weird. It is weird. And if you hear the players talking. They say it's weird that Canada never has its own professional women's basketball lead. Almost every single, like first world country in Europe for sure has a professional women's basketball. Even Mexico has a professional women's basketball team. I'm not even joking. Like, my sister was about to play in Chihuahua. I'm not even joking. And that's actually funny enough where I believe Kennedy Carter, or, sorry, Kennedy Carter, she played. So there's like, so the. So it was weird that Canada didn't have anything. Um, anyways. And so, yeah, like, they did a great job scouting all over the world for global talent. And a lot of. There's lots of gems under these rocks of like, if you want to compare it to like the countries and Euroleague is no joke. [00:22:11] Speaker B: Yeah. The Valkyries did that to the Valkyries. Like, I think most of the roster made up of was international talent the first year. So. [00:22:17] Speaker A: Yup. I just, I just find it funny. [00:22:19] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:22:20] Speaker A: But so, yeah, my expectations, to your point, you say 12 games, I say 12 games. 44. Yeah. It's a 44 game season. [00:22:28] Speaker B: Yeah. What was the Dallas Wings record last season? That's my question. [00:22:30] Speaker A: Okay, don't. First of all, I'll be honest. [00:22:32] Speaker B: Dallas Wings before Dallas, things were bad. I want to see this Portland Fire. I don't expect them to win much. Oh, I think they are tanking. [00:22:40] Speaker A: Yeah. Portland's not. [00:22:41] Speaker B: That's not the way I would go about a franchise. I appreciate the Temple front office being like, hey, we want to be competitive. [00:22:47] Speaker A: I don't know if they're intentionally tanking or not, but like, I, I don't blame. It's intentional. [00:22:51] Speaker B: I don't blame it. To be honest. The next few draft classes, I have [00:22:54] Speaker A: a couple questions about that franchise over there. [00:22:56] Speaker B: Ye. [00:22:56] Speaker A: I'm just mad that they took Bridget Carlton. Come on now. [00:22:59] Speaker B: Yeah. I heard they wanted her so bad. So did they. Yeah. So that's kind of. It's interesting in terms of like thinking about the strategies for, For. For what teams are going to be. Because they want to tank. Right. They want to like, look at the next two, three, maybe draft classes and say, hey, we're assuming that that's the talent. They could surprise us. Maybe. But just like the way they've dealt with things is kind of like, okay. [00:23:23] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:24] Speaker B: And especially rookie head coach. So it's not like Sandy's known for like, hey, I want to be competitive. [00:23:29] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:29] Speaker B: She wants to win. So. [00:23:30] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:31] Speaker B: What were your impressions of her just early on? [00:23:32] Speaker A: Oh, I love Sandy. I Love Sandy. Yeah. Like, the fact, Kate, the moment that it was announced that Sandy Brondello was going to be the coach of this team, I was like, I know that's right. Like, it was like a big exhale almost. It was like. And who else, like, you could. You know, I was thinking maybe Teaspoon. She's a. She's available. She was coaching Chicago. She didn't get a fair shake. And I think she's a great. And I've. I've had the privilege of interviewing Teaspoon in the NBA when she was with the Pelicans. And I will say she's a phenomenal human being. And the players love her. Players respect her deeply. And so I didn't think she had a fair shake at Chicago, so I was thinking, maybe it's Teaspoon. But then when I heard Sandy Brandello got it, and she's, you know, fresh off the Liberty. The Liberty. I don't know what they were thinking, letting Sandy go. Cause I'm like, this was your championship head coach. And. Okay, so what? She didn't have the same run she had the year before. There was a variety of injuries on the Liberty at that time. Like, that. The year that she didn't go as far to the championship run. So. And I'm sure there's tons of things that happen behind the closed doors and this and that. But, like, for me, I'm like, sure one man's. I don't say trash, but, like, is another person's treasure. And, like, literally, she would have been the sweepstakes, I think, in the coaching circles across the league. [00:24:47] Speaker B: She was with the Dallas Wings interview. [00:24:49] Speaker A: Everybody wanted her. [00:24:49] Speaker B: And it says a lot to me because it's like, hey, you want to come to Toronto? [00:24:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:53] Speaker B: Because that was my concern early on. Because, like, you heard this messaging. Maybe early on, when the Raptors were around, it was like, hey, yeah, I don't want to come to Canada. I don't want to go through customs. It's not taxes. Like, I want to ask you, do you think, like. Like, Toronto could become, like, a murky destination? [00:25:11] Speaker A: It already is. I think it already is because. Yeah, because listen, I was listening to the European players at that one practice. It was a Sunday at training camp that only, you know, me and Chelsea, I believe, were there, and maybe Richard was there. And I remember all the European players came out that day, and they were all like, I am happy to be playing in Toronto. In fact, one of one person almost said too much and was like, I prefer Canada. That. Anyway, I Won't outer but like it was kind of like clear and I think also in the state of the world and stuff like that and the fact that they drafted so heavily into Europe. European players are so used to traveling, they're so used to international basketball that it's not the same like motif or like stigma that maybe the NBA players especially back in 1995 they had towards Canada where there's a lot. There wasn't social media so you had no idea what it's like actually like here. And there wasn't really like any. You're less like in Canada it sounded like it was so far. Meanwhile we're like a 45 minute flight [00:26:14] Speaker B: from New York and so we get the same weather. Chicago, even though some of the players have complained about the weather. But notice I don't blame them though, [00:26:21] Speaker A: mainly the American players. I will say that. [00:26:23] Speaker B: But they're all, coincidentally, they've all heard about Toronto summers. They've all heard about Carabana. [00:26:27] Speaker A: Yeah. We're like just wait, just wait, just wait, just wait. [00:26:29] Speaker B: You're going to be outside this summer. Don't worry. It's the best time for the W. Streets are calling. The W in the summer is the best time. So it's like period. It's, it's going to be perfect for you guys. But yeah, that was kind of my concern. I was like. Because I did hear from some people that like hey, they did reach out to some players that they wanted. I don't know if it was an expansion Jeffrey agency and now it's kind of like ah, I don't want to come to Toronto. Maybe that was just like the first. [00:26:53] Speaker A: Maybe, maybe. And it was it because of Toronto was because of the expansion team because a lot of players are hesitant to come to an expansion team. [00:26:59] Speaker B: That's a good point. Yeah, that's a good point. Any players impress you so far? [00:27:04] Speaker A: Yes. [00:27:05] Speaker B: So that was like a standout to you. [00:27:07] Speaker A: I gotta say her name correctly. Laura. [00:27:10] Speaker B: Yep. Lithuania. [00:27:12] Speaker A: She's Lithuanian. [00:27:13] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:27:13] Speaker A: You skite? [00:27:14] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:27:15] Speaker A: Yeah, I believe is how I, I gotta double check on how I pronounce her name properly. But Laura, she has been phenomenal. Like she is the dark horse on this team and I'm telling you, learn her name, watch her games because she's a, she's such a sleeper pick. She's a rookie on this team because she's a European pick. She's six' four. She is being used by Sandy defensively in the paint covering all the bigs right now because she has that size. But she's a guard on offense and I don't think people are clocking it. Like she could bring up the ball. And I saw her in the first preseason game and I literally looked at coach and Laura was right there beside coach in the same press conference. And I looked at coach and I was like, the way that you're using Laura, like, is that intentional? Did you. Are you intentionally using her to bring up the ball or is that like a last minute desperation? Oh, we have no one else like Laura bring it up. And she's like, nope, that's intentional. And I was like. And I remember seeing. And this is what really got my attention with her because one, she has all these crazy hustle plays. Like I saw her in the opening game literally dive on the floor and then, then there was like a scramble situation where the ball from the floor got chucked up to one of the Mystics. Mystics shot the ball. It was a three point shot that clanked out because no one was hitting a three that game. Laura, all of a sudden I see her grabbing the three. I literally saw her from the floor almost at half court to grabbing the rebound below the rim. And I believe she outlet passed it. And then she ran down the rim and made a. Sorry. Ran on the court and made such a good like rim run play. And I was like, okay, watch out for her. But also in the previous game at home in the preseason, she did a fake dribble handoff. And I'm like, this woman is 6 foot 4. She did a fake dribble handoff, got wide open, drive to the rim, dished it. Then to her fellow big center, big player. I think it was, was it Temi maybe. And boom, open layup. And she actually could have taken the layup herself, but she fed her teammate. And I was like, I like her. [00:29:27] Speaker B: She has the heart I like. [00:29:29] Speaker A: She plays with so much. I'm telling you, she's. You just wait. She's a star. Yeah, you just wait. [00:29:34] Speaker B: Early impressions of Kiki Rice, ucla obviously coming off a national championship too. Still figuring things out, still adjusting to Toronto, the city. And yeah, it's kind of hard, you know, for a rookie. I don't know if she scored in the first game, but yeah, early impressions of Kiki Rice because she's getting a lot of praise from her teammates during camp, calling just how strong she is handling the physicality of the W early on. And yeah, it's a player that, you know, the, the, the Temple decided purposely, hey, we're not going to pick first in the Expansion draft because we think this is, I don't know, I don't want words in their mouth, but they kind of say like this is a six player draft in their eyes, kind of, you know. [00:30:14] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:30:15] Speaker B: So when Kiki Rice fell to them at six, they seemed ecstatic. They have a lot of expectations for her. Called her potential cornerstone player. What are your thoughts on her early on? And yeah, poise is kind of the word I would describe her just coming off a championship. Very savvy with the media too. [00:30:34] Speaker A: Oh yeah, she's good. She's well spoken. Her family is beyond educated. Like one of her, one of her family members literally worked in the Obama administration. Like, this is an intelligent woman that we're talking about. [00:30:47] Speaker B: Cousin is Alan Houston. [00:30:48] Speaker A: Yep, yep, yep. Very athletic family that she comes back from as well. Yeah, no, I think I'm impressed with her and her. Obviously her, her poise. I think you touched on that. But I think what I like to see is a little bit more assertiveness. I think. And I think that this is the rookie kind of coming out in her and I think she's maybe waiting to like kind of give feel this team and the chemistry is kind of like still evolving right now. Maybe like slotting exactly into her role, her spots. Like where does she fit with Slim? Where does she fit with Mabry? Like there's lots of these types of questions. I think she's a phenomenal player. I think she's. Her fitness level and her strength is already WNBA level, period. Like she's already there. I think that's what made her a 6 pick. Like I think that made her such a high draft pick and this was a very strong year. Let's not forget, like this was one of the strongest classes and next year's class is also going to be a very strong class too. So this year. So her being a 6 pick would have been maybe like even a 3rd or a 4th pick next year or a previous year, a regular draft year, if you will. But yeah, no, I think her. So her fitness is already at WNBA level. I think now it's the game of how, how do I fit, how do I assert myself and really make an impact on this team. And I don't think she should be. She should not be shy. I think she needs to just be. She sees her opportunities and yes, it's kicking out to your teammates to what, yada, yada, yada. But you see your opportunities, you go for it. [00:32:15] Speaker B: Yeah. Any favorite behind the scene moments that maybe fans didn't get to see. In training camp. Because I have one. [00:32:21] Speaker A: Yeah, go ahead. [00:32:21] Speaker B: I don't know if we can talk about it, though. I think they posted online, so I don't care. The beep test. [00:32:26] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. But they talked about it. [00:32:28] Speaker B: We were. I think me and you were the only people that were there that saw it. [00:32:31] Speaker A: Yeah. Facts. [00:32:31] Speaker B: Got to watch it that day of practice. And who was the final three? I believe the final three was. It might have been. It was Kiki. It was Slim, Brittany Sykes, and it was, I think Lexi. Lexi. Lexi. Might have been. It might have been those three. And I'm like, Brittany Sykes, 10 year going into the W. W. And you're that in shape. [00:32:52] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:32:53] Speaker B: I was like, God damn. [00:32:54] Speaker A: She was. She was also voted in some. Was it some player poll or something recently of the most athletic, like, athletes in the wnba? [00:33:02] Speaker B: Makes sense. [00:33:03] Speaker A: And it checked out. [00:33:04] Speaker B: Yeah. One of the best perimeter to players, I think also voted to. What was that like? Seeing that give you flashbacks? [00:33:10] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I. I just remember being told, like, you're not allowed to. To record it. And then I see it on social. I'm like, I thought we weren't allowed to record it. [00:33:16] Speaker B: I was like, what. [00:33:17] Speaker A: What is this? I can't break the story. [00:33:19] Speaker B: Yeah, true, true, true. No, but they. It was a funny moment just seeing that. What were your thoughts on the beep test in general? [00:33:24] Speaker A: Well, ptsd. [00:33:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:33:27] Speaker A: I was like. Cuz, like, so for those who don't know, like, Carly Clark, one of the assistant coaches on this team, was my head coach in tmu. [00:33:36] Speaker B: Like, oh, she made y' all do it, did she? Yeah. Did she say she lived off of that? [00:33:42] Speaker A: I think at least twice a year. I think there was three times a year. We had it in the beginning of the season, in the middle of the season, and at the end of the season. And it was like, oh, where's your end of season fitness? I'm like, we just finally, bro, we just literally came off of a silver national, like a championship game at nationals the following week. Beep test. [00:34:01] Speaker B: I need to grow. I need to go out for dinner. I need to get some chicken parm. You know, like, forget about the beach. [00:34:07] Speaker A: 1999 out. Out in the east. Because it was like a. I think it was a New Brunswick that we were at. Yeah, ubc. And then anyways, I'm like, bro. And now we got a beep jazz. [00:34:16] Speaker B: Nah. [00:34:16] Speaker A: So it was ptsd. And so also see her there. I was, like, looking at her, I was like, where's Carly? I know this is your idea, but it's probably Sandy's too. [00:34:26] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:34:27] Speaker A: Not like, I, I, it was really cool to see that, I guess. Like, and I also noticed, like, they started at a higher level than a typical beat test would, which. Fair enough. [00:34:37] Speaker B: Like, this would take five hours. [00:34:38] Speaker A: It would take a million years. Yeah. Literally. So I was pretty impressed by, you know, the fact that they just even ran that. I think it's a good. At the end of the day, it's, it's a measurement. It's a measurement. It's a tool. See where the fitness is at. I was impressed, obviously, by Sykes. She really held her own. [00:34:55] Speaker B: Feel like she could have gone for days. [00:34:56] Speaker A: She. I truly think she could have gone longer. [00:34:58] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:34:58] Speaker A: I think she was just like, I, I made my point. I'm the last one. So. [00:35:03] Speaker B: Yeah. Any favorite moments for you behind the scenes? Other than that. [00:35:07] Speaker A: Oh, man. I feel like they're just unfolding every single day, like, behind the scenes. There's been so many, actually, I think about. Because, like, even, like, it's like the little qualms that Sandy comes in with, like when she's like, having, like, just before we get into the practice scrum. I always try to like, record them just before we start because she'll be like, all right, guys. I like, let's rock and roll. Like, she like, says these little, like, personable, funny things. [00:35:32] Speaker B: A little French. [00:35:32] Speaker A: Yes, literally. Or she's like, she makes great eye contact with media too, I find. [00:35:36] Speaker B: I love. That's the thing. Well, I'll say this about Totempo. At least you can correct me if I'm wrong. 10 times better with media compared to the Raptors. It's not even Raptors players. Sometimes you wonder if they want to be there. That's the NBA game. [00:35:49] Speaker A: It's the NBA. It's not Raptors. It's the NBA. [00:35:51] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah, I with that. That's why it's so tough because these guys are in the NBA. These guys are what multi millionaires. Like, they don't feel like sometimes they're like, I don't know why I'm speaking to you. [00:36:00] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:36:01] Speaker B: But they, I don't think they realize, like, how important like media is. Media is to getting out the ward of what you're saying. Sharing a story that turns leads a lot of money for you. [00:36:12] Speaker A: If a tree fell in a forest and nobody was there to see it or to hear it, whatever, did it fall? [00:36:18] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:36:19] Speaker A: And that's the job of the media, is to witness the fall in a good way and so and to also articulate it to Everybody else that wasn't there or people who were there, but they can't comprehend or analyze it the way that, you know, it's our full time job too. And so, yeah, so people. But the WNBA is in a different boat than the NBA because obviously for years, this is the first year that we're ever seeing a million dollar athlete in the WNBA getting paid by the wnba, not by a Nike contract, not by Gatorade or something like that. We're seeing them get paid by the league, by the team, like million dollar contracts. And so I think that they know the power of media. I always say as well, you got to keep in mind. And I keep this in mind also when I'm. Whether I'm covering the NBA or whether I'm covering the wnba, NBA players, first of all, they're told that they're God's gift to basketball by the age of 12. Second of all, so they don't have to develop as a person. They don't got to develop a personality. They don't got to develop nothing. They're already like given things by the time that they could like literally put a ball into a hoop basically. And so that there's. That they don't even learn the fundamentals of how to play basketball. Half the time they're just athletic. Like you can. So many people, NBA coaches will agree with that. Literally. AAU basketball is like one of the worst things that have happened to like the men's game in the best, in the worst way. And one part it gives you a platform and the other half of it gives. It doesn't. It doesn't teach you the necessary skills and even life skills. Meanwhile, on the women's side, like the development of women's prep schools is a recent thing. If you look at the history of basketball, even in Canada, like when I was coming up through the system and I was, you know, getting recruited and stuff like that, we didn't have a prep school. There was no OSBA and all these fancy leagues. The fanciest thing we got was Jewel. Yeah, like we got Jewel and that was it. Or like, okay, cool. The best of the best can play in this thing called Jewel. And now Juul is not even. Some people would be like, Jewel is. It's up there, but it's not really like the pinnacle of everything. There's so many other things. Going to the states for prep school wasn't even an option. So now you have these women that have had out of necessity, had to go to school, like to NCAA, like D1 schools or to compete at their high school to get good grades because you literally had. They said, like, you have to get good grades because the schools are not just going to let you in. That's, that's what they do with the guys. They don't do that with girls. And like, oftentimes they'll also make the argument of like, well, the girls team isn't as profitable, so the girls team, like, they just don't care as much. So I feel like the women have had this like, like chip on their shoulder to constantly prove why we're worth watching, why they're. Why this is a valid product and a part of that is also articulating to the media why it's worth watching. And so I remember my, like, wnba like, kind of moment of this is not the same. Talking to WNBA players versus NBA players was when I was hosting the show Swish instead the WNBA on NBTV Canada. And I remember it was virtual one talking to T Cloud. And T Cloud gave us crazy time of day. And I was like, whoa, you are like Natasha Cloud. [00:39:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:39:27] Speaker A: Do you know who you are? Why are you talking? I mean, I'm just happy to have you. Like, you know, and like, I couldn't even imagine, like the NBA equivalent of that. Like, what's the NBA equivalent of T Cloud on. On. On a notoriety level. [00:39:40] Speaker B: That's a good question. [00:39:40] Speaker A: You know, like an all star. She's an all star. Literally a skills. Skills champion. Like, everything. So picture that on in the NBA side and like, you're not getting time a day. You're lucky to get 30 minutes. And so. And then I remember in Edmonton talking to like, Cameron Brinks, Skylar Diggins, Neca, like all these players and I. And they were like, hey, what's your name? [00:40:02] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:40:03] Speaker A: No way, yo. Yeah, this candidate is kind of dope. It's a little, it's a little cold outside, I'm not gonna lie. But like, but they're just talking to me like, girl, girl. [00:40:09] Speaker B: I was like, an NBA. [00:40:11] Speaker A: It's like, what do you want? It's like I literally compare some NBA players and this is just the truth to waking up your parents from a nap. That's what it feels like talking to an NBA player sometimes. [00:40:22] Speaker B: Yeah, they don't understand, like, sorry to bother you. Yeah, it's like you're literally inconveniencing their entire day. They even bothered to have a conversation. [00:40:30] Speaker A: I'm just trying to cover you on national television. [00:40:33] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm trying to do a good job. [00:40:34] Speaker A: Can you help me Tell. Tell me why you guys are on a winning streak right now. [00:40:37] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:40:38] Speaker A: Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. Yeah, yeah. Like, that's how it feels like, it's like versus and I. And you could also approach, obviously be like, dog, just tell me to talk to me, man. And they'll be like, I've literally had NBA players like, run away. They don't, like, they hate the media. [00:40:52] Speaker B: Westbrook is known for that. Westbrook. I've heard so many stories about Westbrook. They literally just take it off at times when people try to chat with him. Yeah, a lot of guys are just, you know, but the women, they know [00:41:02] Speaker A: that they need the media. Hence the 2.2 billion dollar ESPN contract. So that's where we at. [00:41:08] Speaker B: That's where we are. And I'm excited. Just like the coverage is, I think, been so far so great, you know. And what do you think it means when I think about women's basketball in Canada, like, you saw so many young girls at that game, and I'd seen so many that was like, hey, I'm gonna get my daughter into basketball. But now they're like, they have something like, where they can see. [00:41:28] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:41:28] Speaker B: Like in front of them. They don't have to go travel to the States. They have it right in their backyard where they can come to a game every week. They can come watch Marina Babri and then see like the pop when she hits the three and everybody goes crazy and be like, I want to have that feeling. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's one of those moments. So, yeah. What do you think it means for. For women's basketball in Canada? Just like the temple being here. [00:41:50] Speaker A: It means that I'm old. It means that you're old too, because it means that like the next generation, when we tell the kids, even if we talk to them right now, back in my day, there was no professional women's sports in Canada. Whoa, you're old. Women making millions of dollars in a team sport was unheard of. Meanwhile, by the time that they get to a teenager, the time that they get to their 20s, 30s, we're going to probably be seeing contracts in like the 10, 20 million dollar range for women on team sports. The way that it's trending right now, the fact that the Golden State Valkyries got a billion dollar valuation the other day, they just started last year, bro. Like crazy. Like, this is the trend that we're seeing with women's sports. And so, yeah, now, like, I think that the next generation is going to. Is going to not even realize they're going to take it for granted. They're not even going to realize that there was ever a time when there wasn't women's sports. And that is beautiful because to me, like, that is what equity. And like you said, inclusion, equity, whatever. But that's what true gender equality actually is. It's not, oh, we invited a woman because we wanted to check a box. It's. They were always here, obviously, like, it's so normal to have women in what we as a society deem as male roles or the trend on TikTok women in male fields. But the reality is that, like, yeah, like, that's gonna be so normal for them that they're not even gonna ever know what it was like to not, like, know even the magazines on. I know this is like your show, but, like, eventually I'm. I'm. I'm already going to picture that. There's going to be so many other WNBA and NBA and then on the wall, like, it's just so not normal. [00:43:35] Speaker B: We're getting rid of that Kobe one. He's not in the top five for me. Okay, that's another discussion for another day. But I want. I want a Kiki Rice magazine, you know? Okay, that'll be cool. [00:43:44] Speaker A: That's a hard pause there. [00:43:47] Speaker B: That's another conversation for another day. [00:43:49] Speaker A: No, no, no, that's probably. And I. Hey, I'm not saying that you're wrong, by the way. I'm not saying you're wrong. [00:43:53] Speaker B: I'm just like, we gotta update these, though. [00:43:56] Speaker A: We gotta. Okay, but it was still. But still. I'm just saying, like, the way that, like, men's sports is so indoctrinated into our society, it's. It's not even, like, your fault or nobody. It's not anybody's fault. It's like, this is just the way it's been. And because back then, like, the people who are making the rules were met, and now the people who are making the rules at the end of day, Hater lover, whatever. Kathy Engelbert's a woman who's representing a lot of women, you know, Hater lover is. She's not perfect. Far from that. We could. That's a separate conversation. But, like. And then all these women who are starting unrivaled, all these women who are in these executive positions at these big companies that could choose to sponsor women. Like, I'm having conversations with brands in Canada that are now, like, being led by women who are like, hey, we want to get involved with women's Sports. Do you have something like, do you know of anything that we can get. Attach ourselves to as a brand because we really want to champion women's sports. And just like, once again, like that normalization and people don't realize. And I think I was thinking about this too. I was like, I think people think that, like, giving women money in a brand deals is almost like taking away from men. When I'm like, you don't understand how, like, this consumer market works. I don't think so. Or like this capitalistic society works. There's plenty of money, tons of money, and everybody wants their investment back. And it's. I literally, last year had to host like, a women in sports marketing conference for all these businesses in Canada. And I was like, just like the host of the conveyor of like, the stats that like. And introducing. Introducing the presentations and stuff like that. And the amount of stats that came out of the positive reception to brands that associate themselves to. To women's sports is like, so incredibly high that it's literally a good investment. [00:45:39] Speaker B: So what are your thoughts on the media coverage? Just like, seeing, like, I remember talking with Temple PR and being like, hey, wow, this is. This is a lot of. They. They had so many requests, I think hundreds of requests for people trying to cover that. What was that like, seeing it just like the coverage itself and. Yeah. Where we're at right now, Are we in a good place? [00:46:01] Speaker A: I think we're in a pretty good place. Yeah. For sure. I mean, it tells. Tells me that, like, well, first and first and foremost, give the Temple PR some flowers. [00:46:10] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm like, I don't know how they dealt with. [00:46:12] Speaker A: Right. And maybe a glass of whiskey on top of that on the rocks because, like, they. They need it, like, the amount of requests that they were getting. And like, it's not like Portland, I think, in the sense where it's like, you know, Portland's a market and. But all the other teams have their own markets. Like, can't. This is Canada's only team. You're getting the nation of requests and [00:46:30] Speaker B: you're getting French requests. [00:46:31] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:46:32] Speaker B: Because they got Juliaman. [00:46:33] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:46:33] Speaker B: Like, you know, like, it's a lot of. It's a lot of requests, everybody. [00:46:36] Speaker A: So it's exciting to see obviously, on the. On like, our media side, because. And that's not my problem. Like, but, you know, for. For the fact that there is so much excitement to the media. And now I think what they're processing and what they're vetting through as well is not just like, who on the media side has, like, I don't say the rights to cover it, but, like, kind of like, who's the right voices to convey this to? So it's not just about, like, and. And who genuinely cares, like, who's gonna show up not just on game one, but on game 45. Or sorry, 45. That's it. 40, 42. You know, with the 44. I mean, 45 could be a playoff game, though, anyways. But who's gonna show up? Like, when you're not having a great matchup that night and like, it's. You gotta. They gotta vet through all that stuff and that's the process. [00:47:23] Speaker B: So, yeah. What are your hopes five years from now? Like, say where the Temple is at and kind of like, want to ask you what do you hope maybe other teams can take from maybe what the Temple's doing in their first year as an expansion? Like, what can the Raptors, what can the Leafs, who have been terrible. I don't know how they got lucky with the first round pick, but lucky, lucky franchise. But the Blue Jays, who have been, you know, slumming it up. But like, what can maybe these other organizations learn from the Temple? Hmm. [00:47:58] Speaker A: It's kind of hard to compare because they've been around for forever versus Tempo's kind of just starting something completely new and being a woman's sports franchise. Like I said, we're seeing the intersection of femininity with sports for the first time. Something sports is being traditionally so masculine, so it's kind of hard to compare exactly. I mean, I think that the Tempo have just really done a really great job of getting community involvement and not just like on like the level of like MLSE Launchpad and this and that. Like, I mean, like, even the way that they were acting and moving on [00:48:28] Speaker B: social, like, to the social media team. [00:48:30] Speaker A: So, yeah, literally, that's another person that deserves. I know exactly who she is. Like, trust me, she deserves a race. I don't know what they're paying her, but she deserves more because they've been on it. Like, they're responding to comments. Every single time I see something, I'm like, how are you? Why are you up? Like, literally. So I think they've done a great job on social reach and an impactful way. Maybe not like, obviously the followers, they're just growing is different, but, like, the. The engagement's really great. [00:48:59] Speaker B: Yeah. Last question I have for you before I let you go. Do you have a hot take for this season? I don't know if it's expectations. I kind of asked you about that. But do you have a hot take on like what this season will bring or what you're hoping to see that you think will happen around the Toronto tempo? [00:49:19] Speaker A: Definitely gonna get an All Star on our team. Yeah. [00:49:21] Speaker B: Who do you think it will be? Mabry kind of came out 5. [00:49:25] Speaker A: Not be surprised if Mabry is an All Star this year. [00:49:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:49:28] Speaker A: Slim could also be an All Star potentially. I see that. I mean she's already like, this is not like, I don't know how hot this is because like she was All Star last year. Exactly. [00:49:36] Speaker B: Placement player. But yeah, she was. She was. [00:49:37] Speaker A: She's already right there knocking on the door. People have not for she's getting votes from the rest of the league being the most athletic player. So I would say this. We'll have an All Star on our team. [00:49:44] Speaker B: My hot take, I think honestly I kind of agree with like Mabry might. I think Mabry might be an All Star. Just the way she came out and just the way she plays. Like she has so much fire. Yeah, it's different. It's like a different. When she hit that three. I've never been like, wow, this is like the way people stood up. And what I'll say this, I don't think the team will be that great this year. But I do believe the audience, the fans will show up no matter what. That's kind of my hot take where I'm like, I don't think they'll be that great this year. But I do think that the investment in this team will be shown by the fans and they'll prove to everybody why the W in Canada is going to be here forever. So that's kind of like what I see. Just like the crowd pop. The way people stood up. [00:50:34] Speaker A: Yep. [00:50:34] Speaker B: Like, no offense Raptors games. Like, there's a lot of corporate people nowadays. Right. Like, we see it like Temple was just like, like we said it, 80% women, 20% men. And it was like everybody was standing on their feet. [00:50:47] Speaker A: I was like, sell out game. [00:50:48] Speaker B: I was like, wow, this is. I've never been part of. I've never seen something like this. Even like the Raptors like playoff games. Like, it was cool, but I was like, like Herbie K had to like stand up and tell everybody. Like, this is how you cheer. As a fan, there wasn't any of that the Temple game. Like, everyone knew what was what. [00:51:04] Speaker A: People were making up chance and dances. You saw the little girl doing like the Egyptian dance and then like she's the ear flop thing. [00:51:12] Speaker B: Having the time of their life. [00:51:13] Speaker A: Right. [00:51:13] Speaker B: I think just. I think if they made it to the playoffs, I think this is probably one of the best fan bases in year one, which is kind of crazy to say. Kind of crazy to say. But, Savannah, can't thank you enough for. For joining the podcast. [00:51:25] Speaker A: Thanks for having me, man. [00:51:27] Speaker B: We'll talk more about the temple. [00:51:28] Speaker A: Sounds good. [00:51:29] Speaker B: And yeah, keep an eye on the season. Keep. See what they're doing. And yeah, it's been fun to cover training camp and yeah, follow the process. I'm kind of happy the questions are done. Like, what do you expect from home opener? What do you know? Like, historic night. You know, that was kind of a lot. I was like, finally. And I get it. We got to hit the. The quota. We got to hit the, you know, the engagements online. But I'm fine. We can just like, start basketball. I think Sandy, I think the rest of the crew were just all waiting for that kind of stuff and we were. [00:51:57] Speaker A: We all were. [00:51:58] Speaker B: Yeah. Excited for Caitlin Clark potentially to come in town. I think that's in August, I think. [00:52:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:52:02] Speaker B: Paige. And I'm excited for that. It's gonna. Ocean bank arena, man, I. I can't wait. And. And that's going to be like another, like what, 30, 000 people in that building. Like that's. [00:52:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:52:11] Speaker B: 19, 19, 19. [00:52:13] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:52:13] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm good numbers. I'm thinking we got. I'm thinking it's. I'm thinking this Roger Center Blue Jays. But yeah, it's going to be. It's going to be packed. So I'm excited for that. But yeah, Savannah, can't thank you enough. This has been the K basketball show. Your go to spot for latest news stories and analysis on Canadian basketball. The Savannah and we out.