Colin Cowherd Podcast - 49ers Smoke The Rams, Purdy Shines… Stafford Struggles, Sophie Cunningham Interview

0:00This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. Hey, this is Lava Earrington here from two pros in a cup of Joe. And the biggest moments in sports are streaming live on Fox one from MLB on Fox two big noon Saturdays to NFL on Fox and so much more. Fox one brings you the games, the rivalries and can't miss moments all season long. And it doesn't stop when the final whistle blows. Catch the highlights, expert analysis, interviews and the stories behind the biggest moments in sports watch live or on demand at home or on the go. Stream Fox sports on Fox one, download the app today. J lab makes personal technology that fits your real life on a flight in the gym grinding through work, blocking out everything that doesn't matter. Headphones, speakers, earbuds, work gear made for people who take their experience. Seriously, I use J lab every day.

1:01I take the train into work every morning, J lab's earbuds, perfect for the commute. I use the epic lab edition earbuds, which have incredible sound quality. If I'm flying on the train in the car, head to Amazon and use the code Colin Cowherd for 20% off any J lab products. That's Colin Cowherd on Amazon for 20% off. Feel alive with J lab. Here's the reality. Everybody has access to information. Now that's not the advantage anymore. The advantage is execution chat GPT work can connect to the tools where work happens. Understand your goals and help turn them into finished work. You can review you stay in control setting direction, reviewing the output, approving what moves forward bottom line more finished work. Get started at chat GPT dot com by selecting work mode available on plus and pro plans. Whether you're a homeowner creating your dream space or a pro managing multiple projects, discover a new way to shop at Ferguson home where great

2:03ideas become stunning spaces. Visit Ferguson home dot com to explore the best selection of bath, kitchen, and lighting products or book an appointment at one of our showrooms where you can experience products firsthand and get personalized expert support every step of the way. Bring your vision to Ferguson home where it all comes together. Shop top brands like cafe appliances or find your local showroom at Ferguson home dot com. Very excited to see that Bud Light is the title sponsor of the Colin Cowherd podcast is NFL season. This podcast presented by Bud Light, easy to drink, easy to enjoy. Time for today's pro move presented by factor. The Rams are going out and getting miles Garrett pro move. You got Stafford McVey good oline D line play. You don't sit around and hope your past rush gets better. Go get one of the most dominant defensive players in football. That's what good organizations do. They identify what they need. They prepare and they take care of the details. And that's what factor is all about. Chef prepared meals ready in minutes with options designed to support your goals like the

3:08shredded chicken taco bowl had that two days ago. Delicious, easy. No shopping, no meal prep one last thing I have to worry about during my busy week and starting Labor Day, I got five and a half months of busy weeks because whether you're building a football team or managing your own routine, consistency, matters. That's today's pro move presented by factor. All right, instant reaction plus a Sophie cutting-am interview, which I think you should stick around for. If so many thoughts on this, I mean, I guess the Niners come away out of this saying, you know, we got there a week early. Look at our energy. The Niners had tremendous energy on the defensive front, special teams, offensive energy. I mean, they're hitting tonight was intense. And I don't know if the, you know, I don't know if the Rams were jet lagged. I think it was a remember Sean McVeigh Rams coach struggles with two coaches Kyle

4:12Shanahan and Matt LaFlore. He has combined nine for 15 against the two guys he coached within Washington. Kyle Shanahan has always given McVeigh problems. Last year Shanahan with Mac Jones beat the Rams. And if you recall in that game, the Rams didn't have to face Bosa or Kittle. And they lost a Mac Jones. So Shanahan, who is a, you know, he is a great play designer and a great play caller. He and Sean Peyton. Now McVeigh is a great coach. He's the culture guy. He's the energy guy. Shanahan's the play designer and the play caller like Sean Peyton play designer play caller. And in a season opener when nobody's playing in the preseason, we saw it last year, the Patriots lost to the Raiders in week one. They came out flat and they didn't play it in Melbourne, Australia. I don't know. Here's what I know is that everybody's going to look at this game and go, well,

5:14the Niners did it right. They played with better energy. They got there a week early. By the way, the crowd loved the Niners and appreciated an American team coming over for a week and mingling with a fans. They were cheered wildly. Now, the Niners travel better than any NFL team in the 70s and 80s that Pittsburgh Steeder fans traveled better than anybody. But, you know, the world's changed and San Francisco, the Bay Area is one of the richest places in the world. Their fans have a lot of money. They're closer to Melbourne. And that stadium looked like it was in Santa Clara. It looked like it was 85% Niner fans. And apparently they got wildly cheered in pregame and the Rams got booed because they showed up late. And that's understandable. I don't think that had anything to do with the outcome. But the Niners fans travel, I've said this before. It's like in baseball, Yankee fans are everywhere. You can go when I was a kid growing up, watching the Mariners, the Kingville, number of Yankee fans everywhere. That's the Niners. And I don't think East Coast people

6:17really realize this East Coast fans don't realize it. Niner fans flood any road game, especially Denver West. They're everywhere. They take over your stadium. And there's, again, there's a lot of money in San Francisco and they like traveling. So not surprisingly, there were a lot more Niner fans. And I think the people of Australia in that beautiful stadium really appreciated it. But, um, Ashottomick Bay is when 66% of his games as a coach against La Fleur and Shanahan, he wins 37% of his games. So they had his number. And I, and I listen, if you look at the Niners, nobody questions the Niners talent, their frontline talent. It's old and brittle. I mean, Mike Evans will eventually get banged up, right? Right. George Kittle will eventually get banged up. But when you watch Bosa and Fred Warner and Greenlaw, they're, they are monsters. I mean, they are physically, the Niners hit so hard. That's the one

7:26thing that jumped out to me where it looked like it was an advantage. The juice and the, the hitting and the physicality of the Niners was just insane in this game. In fact, you forget this because both the Bosa gets hurt a lot. Remarkable player, Hall of Fame level player gets hurt a lot. The Niners defense when Bosa is healthy in 2019 was second. In 2021 was third. In 2022 was first. In 2023 was eighth. In 2024 was eighth. When Bosa is healthy, this is an elite defense. And they bring Greenlaw back and he and Warner were the physicality was jumped through the television. And the, the Rams are an interesting team. The one thing about the Rams, Brock Pretty gives you all sorts of versatility in terms of, you know, bootlegging and running. Drake may showed you a little bit of that last night. Sam Darnel can give you a little bit of that.

8:27Ideally, you'd like your quarterback to be more mobile than Goff or Stafford. I mean, you would. I mean, Brock Pretty, you like, you know, Brock Pretty's advantage over Mac Jones isn't necessarily just from the pocket. It's that he can move. And he ran very well. Again, had great energy, good play calling had the Rams fooled. I think the part about the Rams that was disappointing was their defensive front. And this is a division rivalry. It's Shanahan against McVeigh and the Niners have been hearing all off season. The Rams are the greatest team ever assembled and it pisses them off. And you're talking about a lot of prideful veterans. I mean, that San Francisco team has got a lot of dues and a lot of pride and that coaching staff has been here and how great the Rams are. And they wanted to jam it right up LAs. You know what they did. And I mean, it's interesting, though, when you look at the Rams, they're, they're a fascinating team. Whereas the Seahawks, you kind of feel like you get the same team every week. They can be reckless. They can have

9:30penalties. They're young, but Seattle's an amazing road team. They're an amazing home team. You kind of get the same Seahawks. They don't always play clean, but you know, they just win 15 of the last 16 games. The Rams last year were great team yet. They only scored 14 points against the Texans. They lost to the banged up Niners. They lost to the Panthers and they lost to Atlanta Falcons. I mean, the Rams are a little odd that sometimes, you know, they just, they just have these games that they're just uninspiring. Again, you don't get a lot of athletic juice at a Stafford out of the pocket. If you can kind of, you know, if you have an elite corner that can slow down Puka, Devonthe Adams didn't do much in this one. So I guess my big takeaway is the Niners looked to have more energy. They were more physical. I mean, the first drive of the game by San Francisco was artwork. It was just beautiful. They settled for a field goal. But I

10:32mean, it was they had the Niners. The Niners had the Rams guessing the entire drive. And I just don't think, I mean, it, it, listen, if you're a Niner fan or you're a, a Niners Stafford or a player, you, you will watch that film and say it tracks. We were here. We were arrested. We had the time zone figured out. And that's going to be used from this point forward. Everybody's going to point to that game, whether it's true or not and go, yeah, that's the difference. The other thing that is really clear. And again, you cross your fingers on his health. Mike Evans is, to me, is a Hall of Famer. I don't know what his numbers are off hand, but he's a Hall of Famer. You're not going to get 17 games out of him, but it was so obvious. He's brought Perdi's guy now. That was, he is, he is to Perdi. What Puka is to Matt Stafford. And Evans is such a tremendous red zone target because he's got such extreme catching, late than radius. And as good as like

11:35a Trent McDuffy is, Trent McDuffy's small corner. He's not a, he's not a big long corner. So this was all 49ers. Where Colin was wrong, I guess, maybe it's because I've never liked staying in a hotel for a week. Unless it's on my terms and it's a resort with my wife near a beach. But like work trips, you know, like I used to go when I first got into this business, you could go to the Super Bowl. You know, you fly out in the Sunday morning and you'd stay to the Super Bowl. And the longer I worked in the business, I'm like, can we leave like Wednesday? You know, do we have to, can I leave after the Friday show and watch it on TV? I don't love long business trips. I like going on vacation, but I don't like long business trips. And maybe that bias bleeds over to my show. I'm like flying. Do the work get out. But I don't think there's any question you couldn't watch that game. And you could not deny the fact that the Niners played with unbelievable physicality, unbelievable juice. I mean, to the very last series, they were, you know,

12:42they they looked like Seattle last night. Like they could have played another quarter. And the Rams just were flat. They were flat against Atlanta last year. They were flat. One of the Carolina games they weren't flat. This didn't play that well. But remember, Stafford has these games. I mean, against Houston, you know, Stafford has these games where he can get a little reckless. He doesn't feel real comfortable. He misses open throws. And the Niners defensive front was much, much more impressive than the Rams highly anticipated defensive front. I mean, Miles Garrett was a complete non factor. So I look at the numbers for Brock Purdy passer rating over 105, three touchdowns. His interception was early. Carnau Lake made a nice plan. Sometimes interceptions are just nice deceptive plays by defenders. Not every interception's a horrible throw.

13:43McCaffrey average seven and a half yards of carry. Mike Evans six catches. I mean, it's impressive. They didn't use Kiddell a lot. They didn't really have to. Got Fred Warner was all over the field. God, how good is he? Warner had 10 tackles. Green law had seven. Boy, those guys are something else. And I'm going to tell you, yeah, linebacker is one of those positions that you can be effective as a rookie. And there been a lot of great, I mean, Ray Lewis is a rookie was very effective. But when you watch Warner and green law, you just think about all the nine or practices they've been at. Think of all the Shanahan play calling and play design they faced. Man, when I watch green law and Warner, you are talking about two guys who are so instinctive. They they just sniff out plays. You can't I don't care how talented a rookie linebacker is. I mean, think about how many

14:49nine or practices Fred Warner has been at and Warner is a super smart guy anyway. But when I watch Fred Warner, you're talking about a guy that just that just sniffes the play out. Like he is he is planting his foot a third of a second after the ball is snapped. And again, they play the Rams regularly. You know, the Rams didn't bring a lot of tricks into this game. You know, they're going to go with Puka. You know, they love Kyron Williams. I thought Blake Korum looked pretty good. He didn't do much his rookie year and then he broke his hand on that Blake Korum look decent. He's got a burst. But you know, this is this is why the NFL is great. We talked about it this week. We said, there's going to be surprising outcomes in week one. I think we would have to admit. This was a surprising outcome. It's not it was a three point spread. If the Niners would have won, you know, 27 24 and nobody shocked again. Shana hands had great success against McFae. But the manner in which they hammered the lifeless Rams. I think that that that is one of our shocks.

15:55And now when you're the Niners, you got Miami and Arizona next. So you're feeling you're feeling pretty good about it. I mean, think about this and had Drake may not thrown that interception. The Niners would be in the first place and the C-OX and the Rams would be on one. So San Francisco. It's a very long season. You're concerned. If you're San Francisco is the Rams and the C-OX are young and are deep. They are built for a long season. Whether it gets cold San Francisco. It can be great on any given day. But man Trent Williams and Kiddell and McCaffrey and Warner and Greenlock. There is a lot of miles. They've already lost a defensive tackling Ricky Purse all for the season. There's a lot of miles. Mike Evans with some of those Niners. So you cross your fingers, keep them away from the substation. You hope they can remain healthy. But this was a this was a butt kicking tonight. Am I surprised by the

16:58outcome? Absolutely. These guys usually play close football games. To Shanahan's great coach. Sometimes he can get a little too glued to his play sheet. We've talked about this before where sometimes the Niners come out with a game plan. And if it doesn't work effectively early, he just stays tied to the play sheet. He can be a little, I don't know if the word is stubborn or rigid. He just loves his play sheet. That's his vibe. Whereas McVale tear stuff up at halftime and start over. That's I mean McVay changed his total offense like two years ago. And now he's got four and five tight ends on the roster. That's not Shanahan. He does what he does. His dad did what he did. And he can get tied to that play sheet. But it was humming tonight. They had the ramps guessing. They were more physical. Brock Pretty was Wigland throwing. Look great. Brock Pretty looked great tonight. And he you know, I know you think I all hate him. And I don't like Jalen Hurts and I don't like Baker Mayfield.

17:59They're all very good starting quarterbacks in the NFL. I thought tonight Brock played exceptional football. And again, Stafford got a full plane. Stafford. Here's the new environment. Brock Pretty's been there for a week. And there is something to be said about when you go on the road, it's almost like a retreat. When you go on the road with your brothers for that long, it's a bonding experience. That doesn't mean you get long all the time. But in athletics, chemistry, brotherhood, trust is really important. But I think more than anything, I was just blown away by the physicality and the juice the Niners had. It jumped off the television. I mean, you can't than I I prefer the Rams fly in fly out technique. Undeniable. The physical and energy advantage

19:05San Francisco had. That is without question was the most jarring part of tonight's streamcast on Netflix. And this is at 40% on polymarket. You can trade the Eagles minus seven and a half against the commanders. The Eagles have been very coordinator dependent. Since Nick Sarionne took over his head coach, I do not like where the commanders are at. They lost Laramie Townsendler left tackle. They don't have a lot of young athletic players. They're one of the older rosters. Their coaches on the hot seat. And I think Philadelphia with a new coordinator and a stacked roster. Remember, Philadelphia has been a better offense. The fewer targets. AJ Brown got. I know that runs counter to what you'd think. I think one of the real potential blowouts

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23:09Understand your goals and help turn them into finished work. You can review. You stay in control by setting direction and reviewing the output bottom line more finished work. Put chat GPT to work on your ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at chat GPT dot com by selecting work mode available on plus and pro plans. Hey, this is Leviaryington here from two pros and a couple Joe and the biggest moments and sports are streaming live on Fox one from MLB on Fox two big noon Saturdays to NFL on Fox and so much more Fox one brings you the games, the rivalries and can't miss moments all season long and it doesn't stop when the final whistle blows. Catch the highlights, expert analysis, interviews and the stories behind the biggest moments and sports watch live or on demand at home or on the go stream Fox sports on Fox one download the app today. Let me tell you

24:12about some of most people have never heard of and probably should have. It's called Berna and here's the part that got my attention. It's a real self defense option. It's legal in all 50 states. No permit. No background check. It ships right to your door. It did mine. It's not a gun. That's the point. It's a launcher fires around that stops a threat from up to 60 feet away and it's less lethal. That's way more distance than pepper spray and it gives you time and space to get to safety and you don't need extensive training or guesswork. Even if you've never held one, it's built to be simple and easy to use when it actually matters. Best part, they're made right here in America, Fort Wayne, Indiana, hand assembled. So if you've ever wanted a way to protect yourself and your family without the complications, this is it over 500 government agencies, police departments and private security firms use Berna Berna dot com slash herd. B-Y-R-N-A dot com slash herd. Berna, be ready. Whether you're a homeowner creating your dream space or a pro managing multiple projects,

25:16discover a new way to shop at Ferguson Home where great ideas become stunning spaces. Visit FergusonHome.com to explore the best selection of bath, kitchen and lighting products. Or book an appointment at one of our showrooms where you can experience products firsthand and get personalized expert support every step of the way. Bring your vision to Ferguson Home where it all comes together. Shop top brands like cafe appliances or find your local showroom at FergusonHome.com. All right, about three months ago, I called Logan Swame and Logan runs our content for the volume. And I was checking and I called Logan every week and just kind of update me on the gripes, positive, negative. And I asked him, hey, how Sophie and West doing on the podcast. And this was probably three months, maybe two and a half, maybe three and a half. And he said,

26:21I think Sophie wants to talk more basketball. She loves West. You guys are still close. But she wants to talk more basketball because the WNBA is getting really popular and she plays with the superstar in the league. And so when you guys, your podcast took a hiatus, there was a lot of speculation on the interweb about what it was. And I, as somebody who's founded the volume, I get a kick out of speculation. And so I just let things play out because actually it's good for our business when people are talking about the volume. And so what Sophie was doing was rebuilding her podcast, which is now called no hesitation. And her co-host is Drew Hamlin or shooting coach, very well known, very highly regarded. So when you were hearing Sophie, when you were hearing, oh, it's controversial. My reaction was, oh, God, this is funny. In fact,

27:28I had texted you. But what was your reaction to it? It's just dumb. Like it's just dumb. And like, I think, you know, before you're kind of have this platform and before you're kind of in the spotlight, you know, maybe I would have believed some of those stories or like would have got caught up in the gossip. And now that I'm on this side of it, I'm like, all these news outlets are just fake. They're all fraud. Nothing is real. And I think honestly, that is why I wanted to kind of, first of all, I thought of a, you know, this WNBA great business opportunity. Like there is no really good WNBA NBA podcast, really WNBA that strictly talk about basketball and like all the great things that it has in the WNBA. And so I was like, why are we not talking more like this? And so I loved West. I think we had a really fun time together. I know that he's off doing great things too. But, you know, he was going through some stuff. Then I was going through some stuff. Everything was very, you know, main media for both of us for a little bit. So I think a lot of people thought we were going at it.

28:29We've really weren't. We were just rebranding. He was going to do his own thing. The volume was going to take care of him. I wanted to go more basketball. And so when I first thought I was like, this is so goofy. And like we sent stuff back and forth. I mean, West, it were like these people are just dumb. So it was fun. I still love West to death. And I had a great time with him. Well, I mean, let's just say this was the NBA and Caitlin Clark came into the league. And I've compared her to Michael Jordan, where she literally changed the direction of the league. You would think it would make sense to talk about Michael Jordan then or Caitlin Clark. Now you play with the league superstar. You know what I you know, I've said she has a Jordan quality where she literally changes the ratings. She has a Steph Curry quality in that she shoots like we've never seen in her sport. She also has a Larry bird quality, which is she's kind of gets pissy. And she's physical and she's pissy. And there's a Midwest toughness to her. And I think you can rub people, including WNBA rivals the wrong way. I look at her and I think she's got

29:34Jordan's ascension Curry's game and Larry birds personality. Am I wrong? No, I don't think you I think that Larry bird honestly might have a little bit more sass in a little bit like more like Caitlin's just her own her own personality, like especially off the court. Like she is strictly basketball. She loves to sit on the couch. She loves to watch TV. She's very simple. I don't know Larry bird, but I doubt that I've been here's a little bit more fun off the court. I don't know if you know that. I don't know. I was kind of you know they called him the Hick from French lick. So I think he was basically all basketball too. I love it, but you know, I think it's been like it's been a blessing that she has been in our league. I think the talent has always been there in our league, but just like the the eyes and the platform and how she's transforming our game. Like we can be thankful for the people who came before us, but you can also witness greatness and say that she is great and she has done so so much for our sport right now. And I don't know why people are so reluctant to give her her flowers. And maybe

30:35it is that Midwest mentality that people don't like, but should I love it? I'm from Missouri. So I'm like, hey, bring it on, sister. So I'm a big fan. You know, I said this about Kathy Engelberg. I said I've worked in broadcasting for 40 years. I've been very lucky. I've had very, very good bosses, but not all my bosses have been great. And I said, and you were publicly critical of Kathy Engelberg. And my take was when the league wasn't making money. And it was growing, but slowly, kind of methodically, she was fine. And then literally in 15 to 18 months, the league exploded. It's getting, yeah, it's beating hockey. It's beating baseball. And now we need a new commissioner. And that's not that she's not capable. But it's just like, I mean, Kathy, it's the volume slowly grew. If the volume went from what it was the first week to Spotify in a month, we would be over our skis. And I think

31:36part of what Kathy struggled with the league is so popular, so big, so many eyes, it needs fresh management and fresh leadership. Is that I thought feels fair? I think it's very fair. And truly, I, you know, I hate to be critical because I know that job is so tough. And anyone who's in that position, it's, it's you're going to get loved and you're going to get hated. And so you need someone who has a backbone, who was bold, who was courageous, who was going to try to unify. I think the WNBA is such a spot where it's really easy to be diverse, but you need a leader who's going to come in here and give us a common goal in, in unite people. And I think the our biggest thing is players, I'll just say myself, I don't want to speak for other players, but I do know this is the conversations we've had is we want a commissioner who, first of all, wants to engage in our engage in our players. Like we need to have a conversation. I'm telling you, like, if we were in a room and she walked in, she wouldn't even say hi to us. She would just go do her own thing. It's like, this is a player's league. So how the relationship with your players being

32:38communication, like yes, you will like work for the owners, but at the same time, we're both trying to grow this league and make it bigger and better than ever. And so, you know, I think you're right. I think when she first came in the league, she was doing an okay job. She made some good business decisions for us. But once we exploded, I just don't think that she was ready for it. I don't know if anyone would have been ready for it. But I think our biggest thing is we want a commissioner who is going to fight for us, who's going to have a relationship with us, who is going to listen to us so we can work and work together. And I just don't think that we have that relationship whatsoever with Kathy. Well, I think I don't know how many people know this during COVID. Adam Silver was on the phone with LeBron James every other day. So Adam Silver has always leaned on his star players for guidance. Remember during COVID, there were players Dwight Howard, Kyrie Irving, that were saying shut it down. And Adam would listen. But he really listened to LeBron James. Exactly. And I think that and I don't think that's a,

33:40I don't think that is a, I don't think that's a weakness. Rob Manfred. Oh, I think Rob Manfred, the baseball commissioner really wants to raise the floor of salaries, not necessarily cap them at the high end as much as raise the floor. He wants players to make money. He just doesn't, he doesn't want one payroll to be 80 million and one to be 450 million. So I don't know. I Roger, I've seen Roger Gidele with players like they're close. Roger calls and talks to star players all the time. The um, it is, it is interesting. And I'm going to throw this at you. I'm asking, I mean, I'm close with my sister. Um, I have my, my daughter and two step daughters. I was closer to my mom than my dad. Although I, I love my dad, but I was closer to my mom. So I, I've always felt the volume. We have, we have a lot of women in management. And so I, I think I sort of get sometimes the sensibility of women, right? My wife's very strong, very opinionate.

34:43But this question is different. And if you're offended, you can virally smack me. But when you are kind of viewed a little bit, and I don't know any other term, a little bit is the leagues. Um, just say it. I don't care. Sex symbol. Is that fair? Hey, that is way better. I thought you're going to go somewhere completely different with this. So I'll take it. So, but my take is you lean into it a little bit like you're, you're an interesting contradiction. You're tough. You'll fight anybody. You'll talk to anybody. But you'll make sure coming into the arena. I look good. And I want you to know I look good. Tell me how you view that. Are you conflicted? Or is that, is that just like, hey, it's, I mean, Dennis Rodman was wearing a dress. It was good for everybody, right? Lately, me and the star. How do you, and I don't know if that's semi offensive, but how do you view that? It's not, it's not for me. Maybe some people take it. I don't. And I think

35:46for me, um, the reason why I really lean into that is, first of all, I have always been super girly since a little girl. I've always loved to dress up. I love dresses. I love high heels. I love all of that. And for some reason, our society, if you play basketball, you can't dress that way. You can't be girly. No one's ever said it, but it's like the kind of feel that you can't be both. Screw all that. Yes, you can. You can be girly and you can go out and take someone's ass. Like I love that combination. And I'm not just going to say that. I also think on the other side, you can go and dress a little more masculine and go out there and still kick ass. Like there's not one way to do it right. And so, for me, I just, I know my lane. I'm going to stay in my lane. But I also know that I have a lot of young girls who are girly who are raised like I was, who have aspirations to be where I'm at that. They're like, oh, well, can I, can I do both? Can I still be girly and get my nails done and have my hair done and dress up and, you know, kind of look real hot coming into a game and they go be sweaty and work hard. Yes, you can. And so I feel like

36:48that I am just showing that you can have both. And for girls who are wavering in their confidence, first of all, if you look good, you play good. Typically is how it goes. And so I also say when I first got into the league, like, ton of way, like we weren't dressing up. I was literally wearing kind of what I wore to bed. Like you were just rolling up and sweats and sweatshirts, like pajamas, like I don't know. But now that we have so many eyes on everything that we do, why would I not, you know, maximize my opportunity? Because if people are seeing how I dress, well, guess what? That's business. Now clothing brands are coming and sending me clothes and wanting to work with me. And so I have a very kind of business mindset at times. But at the end of the day, I also just like to be a girl and I like to dress up and I like to look a certain way. Yeah, by the way, I had a coworker, probably five years ago, a beautiful person. And they were getting makeup on. And we were talking about this. And I said,

37:49there is a reason Tom Brady wears beautiful suits and has his hairstyle and looks, it looks like a model when he's on the air. It's okay for both sexes to want to look good. You're a public figure. I'm in TV. I wear makeup. Otherwise, I'd be hideous to look at. I get my hair fixed. Right. So my take is people shouldn't be offended by that. You guys are brands. Yes. Okay. When they do serial commercials, that's not milk. They're trying to make that, you know what I mean? Like they're trying to make that look as white as possible. And you know, like putting glue in it. It's like guys. This is all about marketing and branding outside of just the strict basketball years ago. James Hardin, I forget what the team was. Maybe it was the rockets. They had a runway and the guys are kicking out. Who gives a shit? I think it's fun. No, exactly. And at the end of the day, you said it perfectly on my friends and family. That is like game days. And like when I have to be on TV or when I have to do photo shoots or stuff,

38:52for sponsors, that is the best that I will look. Otherwise, I literally damn near look homeless. And I barely wear makeup. I barely brush my hair. And so those are my days to have my shit together. And so I'm right there with you. But I do think it's fun. And I think the males like it. I think us females really like it. And so I think it's just the fun part of sport that you could just see kind of our style and what we like outside of the field. That's out of the court. And the fans love it. So why would we not do it? You've been in the league haven't a year, six years, seven years? Seven. Oh, God, I'm getting old. Yeah. Seven. But so I've said this on the air outside of baseball. You guys run sort of unopposed in the summer. And when I fly around and grab the clicker, I think your sport is very clicky. I think it's very sticky that I probably two dozen times during the summer landed on a WNBA game. And I've said this, the quality of play is so much better. The passing, the ball handling, it's more, it's more of a vertical sport than it was 10 years ago. Go to your first year and go to now. What part of the basketball to you is like

39:59significantly better. Because I still hate the officiating. But what part of the basketball to you is next level compared to even seven years ago? Yeah. The girls are just so athletic. Like you would have, I feel like the women's basketball, you've always had to have pretty much a very high IQ fundamental. Yes, you still have to be athletic and you're probably more athletic than your average. But the girls nowadays, and like I say this in like the most respect, this is like probably the highest compliment you can get. Like there are girls coming out of college who play like dudes. Like in that, like just the way they they move, the way they are quick with the ball, like their skill and me, you know, I'm like, oh, shit, I got to guard that. Like I just like stinger out of the three-poil line and then shoot my shot. Like someone else guard that. But you really see the athleticism really changing. People can dump. People are fast as hell and it's like a Libyan miles. She is like, oh my god. Like she's killing it and she literally plays like a dude and that is

41:00no disrespect. Like that is one of the highest compliments you can ever get. And so you just see more and more girls like that. So if he went when we hired you at the volume and my take was the league, the quality of play was good and getting better. But there is something to be said about being a provocateur. And many times the best players aren't. Rodman wasn't. But he knew what he was. When you pointed the finger and did that gesture, I thought it was hilarious. The amazing thing, it became like this massive meme. Did you ever just sit and go, I mean, I don't know if you had was that spontaneous? Yes, I am just I am just sassy and I don't give a flying F. I just I just just who I am. And so I've kind of mastered it and getting in people's heads.

42:02And I get it. I've had teammates who I played against that like we freaking hated you. But then one time on the same team, people like, oh, you're actually so cool and we love you. Like we love you as the team. I'm like, yeah, duh. Like I just who I am. And so when that happened, you know, I just got in the other girls head and she got mad that I was pointing a finger and she got like mad man. And so I was like, shouldn't have done that. Like once I saw I got you, I got you. And so then I just kept it there. And so it did go viral. It was like all over the world. Oh my god, for two weeks. Oh yeah. And I walk around now. And like when people asked for photos like last year was like, Hey, can you put me in a headlock? And now this year it's like, Hey, can you point at me? And I'm like, what am I doing? Stick with basketball. But it's part of the game. So who cares? If the fever offensively, you're the best team in the league. But if the fever play their very best brand of basketball, can they win the title? I think you have the fifth best record or fourth right now. I think we're fifth. Yeah. Is there what what is missing to be the first?

43:06I think consistency. And I think as a team, we know that when we are clicking, I don't think anyone can beat us. But are you going to are you going to get that version of us that night? And I also think defensively, we struggle. I think we're like 11 or 10th. And that is, that's not good whatsoever. And yes, we're able to outscore opponents. But play also a different ball game. It's a different type of beast. And you got to shore up on your defense. And I know in the W, the last I'm pretty sure like six teams who won it, they've all been top three or four, maybe sides one in defense and in the ratings of defense. And we're just not there. And so during this break, we're on a two week break, because people are playing in the the FIFA stuff going on. Yeah, FIFA. Yeah, FIFA. Yeah. Yeah. FIFA. Yeah. FIFA. Right. Yes. Clearly I'm not over there. But we're we're working on our defense and we're shorn up on that. And so I think if we can just get a little, a little bit better defensively, then yeah, I mean, I wouldn't want to play us in in the playoffs. And we have the experience. We definitely have

44:07all the offensive threats you could ask for. And so we're a dangerous team. But again, there's a lot of dangerous teams. So it's it's the little little details. You do understand, though, that getting booed and getting cat calls is actually great. Like outside of Jordan, most of the best players in my life and sports were hated in every arena except their own. So when you get like, I don't know, I like, I think Dremon Green lives for it. I think I, I mean, I've heard I've talked to pro athletes my whole life. They're like, I'd never say this publicly. I love winning on the road more than at home. It's the best. And they'll never say it because they don't want to tick off the fans. But yeah, my take is when you go into a rival arena and they give you shit, it must be unbelievable to walk out with a W. Oh, it's so fun. I think both sides, when we're here at Game Bridge, it's so much fun because our fans are awesome. That like, you know, you just feel leaving good and that you put on a good show for them.

45:08But there is something special about, especially this year going into a different arena. And like, everyone knows it. I get booed 24 seven. If I touch the ball, I get booed. Like it's just what it is. And the thing is, I fucking love that shit. I love it. Like bring it on. And I think people don't know that people don't know that I love that. And I thrive off of that. And so there is extra good feeling about everyone hating you. And then you guys walking out with the dub and like smiling and having fun and getting on the bus and going home, we're going to the next game. So it's a good feeling. No hesitation. Sophie Cunningham. We love her at the volume. And it's great to finally talk to you. Yes, it's been a minute. We need to do this more often. We love you. This podcast presented by Bud Light. Easy to drink. Easy to enjoy. Hey guys, J lab using it for years makes innovative personal technology. Ear buds, headphones, speakers, great for travel,

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