So that's technically on the table and they were at least the Valkyries loss was a pretty gross loss.

It was disappointing to feel like it was uncharacteristic in a lot of the things that we saw.

Now, these were super tough opponents.

And that's what my...

I guess my main point, Andrew, that I'm going to come back to when it comes to this is that the Lynx, I think, have struggled against teams that are incredibly physical.

And Cheryl said that after the game where she said, yes, the officiating is not quite the same as it was day one with the freedom of movement.

And this is actually a good reminder that we hope clicks into these players about...

Do you think this is something that they're able to fix with the players on roster? Because toughness is always hard, right? That mentality is something that usually needs to get cultivated over a season.

Like, what has it been like? I guess just to put it bluntly, like knowing your voice is going to be accompanying Olivia miles rookie season, probably forever.

Yeah, that is something.

To be honest, it's not something I sit with a whole lot in that kind of explicit way of thinking about it.

Because you go into every game, how can I do this justice? How can I meet the moment? And that's the kind of pressure you go into every single game.

Because you don't know when someone's going to set a record, a WNBA record, and hit 10 threes.

But you have to be prepared with the energy of that moment, the context of that moment, to know...

How many people have come short of doing this in the past? How significant of a benchmark this is in WNBA history? So it's the same thing.

can I can go first I think they need to improve more so than on defense just the careless turnovers it's such easy points that you can even against like the aces live i think i think they had 13 turnovers and the aces only had four steals like that's just easy points that you can put in the point differential if you just clean up the you know inbound into the third row or live gets it on a break and throws it to kmac who isn't looking uh it's raining hen has another good good one layups omg please yeah yeah

think that's an integral part of sports um i love like for me this is like my spirit animal is on the team now after watching fee not trash talk for two years like how have you been enjoying that side of live because i'll be honest i didn't know it was like this when she was at tcu

I think I had a feeling.

I knew just from, you know, I say this, just how I kind of come in with a lot of familiarity from players.

I didn't call her specifically in college, but because I see so much of women's college basketball right up close, I thought this is a really competitive player, someone who cares a lot about winning.

But I think it's maybe even surprised me too, to be quite honest.

She is fiery.

And I think the first indication of it, Andrew, do you remember early on in the season when the Lynx had those first four games and they were all decided by single digits and very close games, couple losses.

And they've had like quarters where they don't have energy, but like every game they're rising to the challenge.

Mm-hmm.

It is so much more, um, fluid in the WNBA for Miles to kinda find those seams.

And of course then she has no fear of a pocket pass, of, you know, kinda keeping somebody on her back and, and really working through traffic and, and, you know, manipulating defenses in there.

So that's been an interesting thing and, and Coach Reeve said, uh, we had this conversation and I asked her, you know, "How translatable is passing from college to the WNBA?" And she said In a lot of parts, it, it really is, it's higher up on that scale because you're looking at vision, you're looking at IQ, and those instincts that you can really build off of.

So Miles certainly, you know, possesses that, and then has just gone off the charts.

But Lindsay Whalen and her impact there has been immeasurable.

They sit down all the time.

... remarkable for someone at her career point.

Mm-hmm.

Um, so by the time these players get to the WNBA, I've been watching them for four or more years at this point, and you feel like you have such a strong familiarity with a player and their game.

Olivia Miles, I was enamored with from the very beginning, and it is because there are those Chelsea Gray parallels with her vision, her flashy passing.

And then her junior season, or her last year at Notre Dame when she became a 40% three point shooter, said, I thought, "Okay, this is now looking like a complete player." Because before you thought, "Okay, that's a pretty significant knock on her.

She was hovering around 30%.

That's tough for a point guard.

How is that going to work out?" Um, but once she proved that she could hit that shot at that level, I thought, "Okay, this is for real.

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