US Open Finals, College Volleyball, & Alex Morgan Retires |35| VIDEo

[Laughter] [Music] [Music] welcome to women sports weekly where women's sports happens every day but we talk about it once a week I'm Carolyn and I'm Danielle women's sports weekly is a podcast where we discuss the latest news explore interesting stories and share our love for women's sports follow us on Instagram YouTube and Tik Tok at women sports weekly pod follow us and rate US on Spotify and apple podcasts we are in video now on Spotify and YouTube which is very exciting you can view us on video if you like to see faces uh of the voices you're hearing should we wink at the camera sure oh no are you going to start dressing differently now that we are on video no I try to wear a women's sports t-shirt every time so I will not although last week is somehow the first time I did not wear a women's sports t-shirt and we were recording on video I don't know what I was doing how about you no I'm going to continue to look like I'm calling myself little Rat Girl Summer and that's that's what I'm going with wow I think you look good right now thank you and do you think that if people decide that they're going to watch us cuz we did this really for the Gen zers we know that us Millennials are not into watching video but I think gen Z is so we're putting the video out there just in case people want to watch do you think people are going to be surprised by our faces cuz sometimes you have an idea of what a person's face is going to look like due to their voice and then you see them and you're like oh my gosh that's not what I was expecting at all possibly unless they've been following us on Instagram and YouTube then they would already know but if they're new and just seeing us on video for the first time I think it's always surprising to see people in person after hearing their voices I just think of people's radio voices and then you see them and you're like whoa they've got a face for radio as they say I think we might have faces for radio you don't I might that is not true anyways you could tell we're a little self-conscious about being on videos be nice to us in the comments we are regular people and we're trying to give the people what they want you know and another exciting advancement here at the women's sports weekly headquarters is we are now on straa what is straa so you might have heard me talk about marathon training I like to run and straa is a social media for runners bikers Walkers and really any activity you basically post your exercise onto this feed and it's like an Instagram for workouts straa is very interesting because people really try to put their best effort there on straa like I know people who if they don't run their best they're not going to put it on Strava I also notice that when you run with me you make sure to put that you run with me in the comments so that all of your Strava followers know that the reason why you're running slow is because you're running with me that is not true Danielle that can you just admit that I post that I ran with you cuz I'm excited that I ran with you I you act like I'm Speedy Gonzalez over here you're a lot faster than I am I wouldn't say a lot but stra was a lot of fun we created a group on Strava please join us women sports weekly not only do you post your workouts but you can also just engage with other people on the platform and post similar to how you would with pictures on Instagram in a group or Facebook I feel like it's a mix of many different forms of social but especially if you're out there running or biking it's just a fun way to interact women sports weekly has a group on straa anyone can go and join that group it's public yep everyone can join us so I hope to see more people in there we also drop when new episodes are uploaded we really hope to see more followers on on straa our friend told us that we could create a group on straa our friend Amanda told us that she's in a potato group on straa so there's really something for everyone there is a potato group on straa where you can post potatoes you're eating while you're running not while you're running just after you're run okay if you're joining the potato group on Strava the least you could do is also join the women's sports weekly group on Strava and shout out to Amanda for giving us this great idea because I just wouldn't have thought of doing this we are very grateful for that and well we'll cover all our bases if there's more social media we should be part of let us know and we'll create a group there this week we celebrated an important date to our relationship we have been together for 9 years and I feel like we've said we've been together for 9 years leading up to this so people may be like well they've already been together 9 years but no September 5th is our dating anniversary we started dating all the way back in 2015 correct we were just tiny little babies I was 23 and you were 2 wow that's a long time ago and we've come a long way we have been dating since 2015 and then we got married we actually officially got married on our dating anniversary because we got married in Colorado we had our wedding in New Jersey but we got married in Colorado because in Colorado you don't need a witness we actually had Scout put her little paw on her dog Scout yes on our wedding certificate so we got married in a park just you and I and Scout 2 years ago but on dating anniversary our wedding date is in October where we had a big wedding back in New Jersey which we also celebrate so from now this September 5th time frame until October 15th we just have a month and a half of Celebration you know I love a good celebration and reason to do anything outside of our Norms on September 5th this past week we decide to do an at home date which was actually quite nice we ordered Sushi take out which there's a great spot around the corner from us a block away it's so nice and I still want Danielle to get it delivered oh my gosh I think we've talked about Palisade on the Pod before but if you're ever looking for a cheaper version of California wine country come to Colorado Wine Country cuz it is amazing our friend Meg shout out Meg loves to go there and she always brings us back goodies so we had a sparkling Rosé waiting for us and I was like we have to open it on our anniversary I hope our first sponsor on this podcast is restoration restoration if you're listening we want you to sponsor us because we love that Ros I agree this is free ads right now for restoration but anyways it was very nice we did it on the front porch on our little swing chair and it was a beautiful night yeah and last week you were saying that it was too hot out and this week it's changed and now there's pumpkins at our house so last week Danielle was saying she was like I can't even think about fall Decor this week There's pumpkins in our house we had pumpkin wine that we had to get from Trader Joe's oh would not recommend dump down the dra we were going to drink it when we were recording this podcast and I was like uh I don't think I can do it we got to celebrate our date night outside and it was really really nice we were watching tennis through the window cuz through our front window you can see our TV and it was just the best yeah for sure but the weather is finally changing at least in the morning it's a little cooler in Denver especially for running I've just been loving it excited for more cool temps to come all right let's get into our highlight reel for this week let's start with the US Open finals with Arena sabalenka who is ranked number two in the world versus Jessica Gula ranked number six from the USA last Saturday before we get into this match let's talk about how we got here and I would just like to say I get more and more in tennis every time I watch it this US Open was so fun to watch so Danielle always thought I was really hoyy toyy for watching tennis I do think it's a Ry pretty sport just like you think lacrosse is just a reminder but we were watching this finals and you were screaming shouting clapping the entire time yes it's very fun to watch so how we got here Jessica pugula beat number one in the world osant in straight sets in the quarterfinals she has been playing so incredibly well to beat the number one in the world was amazing for her amazing in general then she goes on and beats Carolina moova in the semi-finals after losing the first set so she's proving that she can drop a first set which is really hard to do in women's tennis cuz it's only best set of three and she comes back and she wins to advance to the finals this was her first Grand Slam singles final I don't know if Jess Pula listens to women's sports weekly but if she does she has made such tremendous change to her game and I'm like you deserve to be in the finals and I don't know if she knows that she is very good at keeping a straight face the entire time but the tennis that she played this entire US Open was so amazing and I hope she takes this with her and I know once we get into this match against Arena Sanka that it was a tough one for her but I'm like you deserve to be here and I hope she knows that it's what I said after the match this was her first Grand Slam final she's going to grow just by being in that situation maybe next time around she will believe she belongs there but I think it's hard when it's your first time there I feel like it goes two ways you just go cuz you have nothing to lose and you're not as tense as the person who's been there before or you get a little tense and she still played great but unfortunately was not the outcome she would have wanted okay so before we get into that let's talk about about how Arena sabalenka got there as a reminder Arena sabalenka lost to Coco golf in the final last year in the US Open and she admitted that the pro Coco crowd affected her performance she was a little bit more mental last year she is not the same player she was last year she came in she beat Emma Navaro from the USA to get to the finals and she was able to joke with the crowd she was like I I'll buy you drinks if you guys cheer for me and she was just so incredibly powerful in that match against Emma novaro who also went on a tear in this US Open but sabalenka looked so powerful both mentally and physically in her match against her I said to you before she took on the finals this past weekend I said I think sabalan is going to kill Jessica Pula and that is not what happened but the level of tennis that Arena sabalenka was playing I was like wo so then we get into the finals match this past Saturday and Tennis is so weird because the two people who are playing each other they walk out together they pretty much walk out like one after the other you warm up together and then before the match you have to take a picture with the person you're playing against it's very strange it definitely would get into my head but I guess you get so used to it that by that point they just know that's part of the game first set they're going back and forth but Arena sabalan ends up winning the first set 7 to five in this first set they both were a little bit mentally getting to themselves they both were having trouble with their racket they both slam their rackets at some point which I really loved because that is very relatable because all I want to do when I play tennis to slam my rackets but sabil Lanka comes on top 75 and it was a really great set of tennis back and forth just super fun to watch then we get into the second set and Jessica Pula is down three games to zero quickly I look down and I feel like I looked up and was three nothing I'm like okay it's over and she claws her way back she has a chance to win the second set to win it and push it to a third but she loses the game and allows sabalenka back in and sabalenka again they go back and forth but sabalenka takes the second set s to five just like the first and wins the match her box had tiger tattoos so we've talked about Arena sabalenka before she has this really cool tiger tattoo on her forearm her entire box had tiger tattoos on and her Fitness coach had a tiger tattoo on top of his bald head it looked pretty ridiculous I love tigers they're my favorite animal but wow that tattoo is a statement and I hope it's not permanent for his sake it's definitely not permanent but when I saw I was like wow she better win that match or else he's going to be walking around with a tiger tattoo on his head after this but it was really great Redemption for Sabal Lanka after losing last year to Coco golf she is one of my favorite players to watch and although I would have loved to see Jessica pugula from the USA win and win her first Grand Slam I think it was really cool for sabil Lanka to win as well yeah I think you secretly were hoping sabalan I wasn't because like I said if Jess Pula is is listening I want you to continue on this road and I was rooting for you I just really like some of the players and this is where I struggle with tennis because I get to know the players and then I really want them to win but again I really did want Jess Pula to win but I was happy it's okay Jesse I was rooting for you the whole time all right let's quickly get into this WNBA playoff watch that's happening right now very exciting last time we had our episode there were five teams who clinched out of eight spots now there is seven the New York Liberty Connecticut Sun Minnesota lyns Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm head all Clint this past week the Phoenix Mercury also clinched and the Indiana Fever have officially clinched spot in the playoffs did you know this was the Indiana fever's first time since 2016 it's really amazing it's insane if you ask me at the beginning of the season I would have said it would never happen I wouldn't have agreed with you I don't think but they're here what I would have said is if they get into the playoffs they're going to have to scratch and Claw their way to get in and they have a solid spot in the playoffs and if they end out this season well they're going to have a pretty good seed and the cool thing about the fever this year is of course you have Caitlyn Clark everyone knows that but with how good she's been playing now you get to see how much talent is on that team outside of her and I feel like everyone's been having their moments to shine on the fever and that's been really fun to follow that's a good point so there's one spot remaining for the playoffs the LA Sparks unfortunately cannot make the playoffs which leaves the Atlanta Dream Chicago Sky Dallas wings and Washington Mystic last week I said there's no way the Washington Mystics are making it but the mystics are on a roll and they had a really impressive win over the Mercury last Thursday they are on a little bit of a winning streak they have a real chance now to make the playoffs despite starting the season 0 and 12 I just don't see it happening I think my bets on Chicago it's going to be very interesting the regular season ends on September 19th Playoffs begin September 22nd we've got our eyes on this so soon another exciting thing is college volleyball is officially back I've been getting excited for college volleyball because the Olympics watching the Olympics volleyball really got me fired up cuz it was so fun to watch no surprise to most people Nebraska is up in the top five again this year to start off the season and just last year Nebraska hosted Omaha in an outdoor volleyball match at the football stadium do you remember seeing this on social media they hosted 92,3 people at this match in the football stadium which set a record for the largest crowd to watch a women's sporting event live in US history and this is also world history yes so that was just last year I don't know where you find 92,000 people in Nebraska well yeah I don't know but they came did everyone in Nebraska go to that I think Nebraska must have more people than you think and of course a lot of eyes are on Nebraska cuz they're always very good but they got up set this past week by SMU which is Southern Methodist University the last time Nebraska was swept by an unranked opponent and swept means they won three sets in a row cuz they play best of five yes was in 2014 and that was against Michigan 2014 that's when I was a senior in college that was a long time ago I also feel like these early matches early in the year are good lessons this was the first time for SMU program history that they beat a top five Team all of the sets were pretty close in score it was 2523 2521 and 2518 so Nebraska didn't go down easily but they did lose in three straight sets shout out to to some of the players in this match graduate students Nia shim and Maya tabron Who both had nine kills which was tied for the match high and shye nearly double doubled by adding 10 digs to her Nine Kills additionally grad transfer Natalie Foster she came from Witchita State finished with eight kills a kill is when you spike the ball and the other team can't get it sorry to our volleyball listeners I'm going to try to explain this in my layman's terms which is probably not the best and then a dig is when someone spikes the ball and they are able to almost kind of dig it out and the defense is able to play that ball up so to have 10 digs and Nine Kills that means you're playing both offense and defense and doing it very well yes and Senior Jameson wheeler finished with six kills and 13 team digs all around a lot of contribution from the team there at the time of recording SMU is now 4-2 on the season and Nebraska is 5-1 a lot of exciting matches coming up this week be on the lookout for college volleyball for our Deep dive today we need to talk about Alex Morgan oh the one and only so sad but also good for her Alex Morgan professional soccer player announced her retirement this past week she is the US Women's National team in San Diego wave Striker and she also announced on top of her retirement that she is pregnant with baby number two yes very exciting so let's go into what Alex Morgan has done for this game of soccer which is just incredible she has 224 caps for the US Women's National Team and 123 goals for them that is fifth all time she has won two World Cups in 2015 and 2019 has the Olympic gold in 2012 and bronze in 2021 she won an nwsl Championship with the Portland Thorns in 2013 and in 2022 just 2 years ago she won the nwsl Golden Boot for most goals scored in a season with her retirement I just realized we're getting old so old it's actually depressing because I remember when Alex Morgan first hit the field with her little pre wrap and we're like who is this girl she is so fast and she is moving down that field and she is scoring goals and now she is retiring they were showing highlights with her and Abby wack when's the last time Abby wack played it's just crazy to think about I know however I think that these players when we were growing up it was like Abby wack and Megan Rino Alex Morgan Sydney Laro these players are beginning to retire Sydney Laro is still playing but I think that impact that they are leaving for not only soccer players who are coming up but also every single person who plays in women's sports I think that's going to be the legacy of Alex Morgan and her peers absolutely she was talking about her daughter and her daughter was just saying when I grew up I want to be a soccer player and she was so emotional just saying it's not the fact that she's saying she wants to be a soccer player it's the fact that she can see that as a path for a career and for so long women or young girls couldn't see that and for her to have her daughter her young daughter saying that it was just an emotional moment for her in episode 24 we talked about women's national teams fighting for better treatment and we didn't mention the US Women's National Team because they've come such a long way but the US Women's National team had to do the same exact thing back in 2019 during that time when Alex Morgan was on the US Women's National Team the 28 players of that team filed a lawsuit against the US soccer Federation for institutionalized gender discrimination that must have been incredibly hard for these players to do to go against your own Federation the Federation that pays you the Federation that says whether or not you're going to be on the team that is very very risky yeah and they knew they had to do it because they have people all over the world who know who the US Women's National team is people I would say follow them way more than the men across the board and yet they have to fight or they've been on this fight for Equal Pay it's just things that men would not need to think about the lawsuit was filed under the Equal Pay Act and title 7even of the Civil Rights Act and focus on two areas equal pay and working conditions so they filed it in 2019 in 2020 the US soccer Federation comes out with a legal filing that was made public and this is what threw everyone into a tizzy cuz the filing said that the US Women's National team players do not perform equal work requiring equal skill and effort because the overall soccer playing ability required to compete at the senior Men's National Team level is influenced by the level of certain physical attributes such as speed and strength so they pretty much said that because the men were physically stronger and faster that the women should not be paid the same this is where I get upset because no matter what women are told that they don't deserve equal pay if they win the most if they bring more attention which the US Women's National team does it's like well you're not fast and strong enough and then on the flip side if they work just as hard if they do everything that the men's team does it's like well you don't bring in enough money it's a lose lose every single time this makes me think of the video and it's a great commercial where the AI shows these players doing all these amazing moves and it's men but then it shows that it was actually the women and then they show the replay of the real life moments and the highlights they were showing and yes men are stronger like they're built more but that doesn't mean they're more skilled that doesn't mean they should just make more money because they're stronger and faster that makes no sense yes it has something to do with the game if they were going up against each other but they're not and they're doing the same sport they're doing the exact same sport so it's just not a good argument and they're putting in the same level of effort and the same level of commitment and they're actually getting paid less so then on top of that they probably have to have a million side gigs in order to make the money that they need to make it's just crazy so that happened in 2020 and then there was just this back and forth for years the US Women's National team had to appeal parts of the decisions that were being made but finally in 2022 the US Women's National Team received a settlement of 24 million from the US soccer Federation a they had asked for 68 million but they still viewed this as a win the 24 million they should have gotten more but they were like okay it doesn't matter because most importantly in this settlement the US soccer Federation committed to providing an equal rate of pay moving forward to the women's and men's national teams in all friendlies and all tournaments which includes the World Cup that's amazing and how it should be exactly when Alex Morgan was asked if she would go into coaching she said she hadn't taken any certifications for coaching she really wasn't thinking that that where her impact could be but she did say that she would continue to invest in women's sports and she has always been true to that promise she is one of the co-founders of together I'm wearing their shirt that everyone watches women's sports te's they make those but together is actually a media company promoting women's voices in sport and culture one of my co-workers pinged me when the announcement was made and one of my responses backed her was I just hope she continues to invest in women's sports because people know who she is people really like her she has a voice and to use her platform is going to be really important moving forward yeah and she has pretty privilege right like men will listen to her because she's pretty which Alex Morgan has so many more things than that but for someone like her who's straight who's white to take her privilege and say actually I'm going to make you all invest in women's sports I think that's the most amazing thing you can do what I want to say about Alex Morgan is that she again is Paving the way for these upcoming athletes her Mark is even on this historic CBA collective bargaining agreement that was signed for the nwsl that team paved the way for this new CBA they paved the way for other national teams to advocate for themselves and I am so proud to even be born in this same time although I've had nothing to do with it but like our generation of these Millennials are change makers and she is one of those and I'm just happy I got to witness it yes so congratulations to Alex Morgan incredible career excited to see what you continue to do in the women's Sports World and congrats on baby number two too that's so exciting grow in your family and still being in a badass things we love to see yes looking ahead this week what do you have for us Carolyn I'm going to stay in the nwsl the Orlando Pride play the Casey current on Friday September 13th at 8 p.m. Friday the 13th oh I love Friday the 13th you know I love an odd number Friday's the fifth day of the week if you count Monday as the first day which I do because Sunday doesn't really count I love the number 13 so Friday 13th I love it at 8:00 p.m. eastern time the Casey current have been struggling since the Olympic break and the Orlando Pride have been unbeaten what are you looking forward to this week I'm looking forward to the WNBA the Washington Mystics vers the Chicago Sky who once again are fighting for that last remaining playoff spot they play Wednesday September 11th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on league pass and Kennedy Carter is back for the Chicago sky and the Washington Mystics are on a roll R so very interesting this playoff is heating up yes it should be a great game that's it for this week we will see you next week on women's sports weekly in the meantime watch women's sports rate and subscribe to the pod on Spotify apple and YouTube Share the podcast with your friends keep sending us topics you want us to cover on Instagram at women sports weekly pod and don't forget to join us on straa thanks for joining us this week and see you next week see you next Tuesday go go go go