Wrong Opinons

00:00:13
Speaker 1: Renee Stubs.

00:00:15
Speaker 2: Hey, Katelyn, Wow Wow wow wow. Do you actually exist in the podcast world of the Rene Stubs Center's podcast anymore.

00:00:24
Speaker 1: I have been lurking. I've been lurking on all of these French Connection episodes because they're so good, and also because you know that there's almost nothing I love more in tennis, and if there is one thing, it's the Olympics. That's a true fact, you know. I like the Olympics.

00:00:39
Speaker 2: Listen, I love the Olympics so much. I have been watching the Australian swimming trials of a morning because the finals are of a morning. The heats are at night, which aren't anywhere near as exciting, clearly because the heats kind of sort of matter but sort of don't. But the finals are amazing, to the point that this morning we had two swimmers in the women's two hundred meter freestyle break the world record that was held by one of them, Molly O'Callahan. O callahan and Ariana Titmas broke it and beat o callahan by about a millisecond. So it was just an amazing race. So it just got me so pumped for the two hundred freestyle. First of all, at the Olympics, which will include some great Americans and of course another a young Canadian. So I'm just like, swimming to me is like when you grow up in Australia, you don't have to understand something. Swimming is like hockey, like ice hockey right to Canadians. You're a Canadian, and so swimming is like our pastime. Like you get thrown. I got thrown in the pool when I was like two and said kick and Paul and good luck, like it's just in our bloodstream. And you know, swim as a superstars in Australia, whereas in the US, for example, unless your name is Katie Ladecci. And even Katie Ladecki probably wasn't known by a lot of people in this country. Like she could probably walk by one hundred people in New York and they'd be like, who's that, you know what I mean. So it's a shame that swimming doesn't get a lot more publicity because goddamn, it's a hard sport. So I am pumped already. I'm watching the Australian swim trials and actually speaking of the Olympics, as we've been talking about, and I've been talking a lot already is. I think July sixteenth is the start of the American trials to get into the American Olympic team, so it's going to be just fuck it. I love the Olympics, dude.

00:02:39
Speaker 1: I love it. You know, Joe Wilfred Sunger was carrying the Olympic torch today or yesterday, and wow his hometown and I believe he's from southern France. Cool to see the flame torch slowly making its way to Paris ahead of the Games. I love that it goes to all the corners of the country, goes through all the towns. Everyone can get excited about it. You know, there's no doubt in my mind that the IOC and the people who run the Olympics couldn't seem to be more corrupt and awful and the works. It doesn't keep me from loving the Olympics because it's truly the best of humanity.

00:03:20
Speaker 2: It's like FIFA. I mean, I don't know if it's a toss up between FIFA and the IOC of who's the most corrupt and and the worst.

00:03:33
Speaker 1: I don't know.

00:03:33
Speaker 2: That's a that's a race that would have been like today's race with Molly and Ariana, I would have.

00:03:38
Speaker 1: Been millimeters neck and millimeters milic.

00:03:43
Speaker 2: Fingertip. But having said that, we all love the World Cup and we all love.

00:03:48
Speaker 1: Sports, is the best. To me, what I love about the Olympics is that everybody has their sport that they like the most, or many sports that they like the most, which is you. But for me, what I like about the Olympics so much is it is everybody's time to everybody gets into it. You can get into multiple sports, you can only care about your one sport. You can care about just a random obscure sport that you only see every so often. Like I just love that it's for everyone. It's for everyone. Everyone has a way into the Olympics. And I dare you listeners to give me a reason that you don't like the Olympics, because I don't think you can. And even for people who don't like sports, watching the Olympic opening ceremonies and seeing all the outfits is the Olympics of fashion basic. I've already had multiple conversations with people about how some of these kit reveals for what fashion will be revealed during them or not with the or maybe overly revealed with the toga Togo's you know, flame throwing. Those guys are nude and covered in oil. Like, it's amazing. I love it. France's team will be wearing I believe BRIONI and if they're styled by Korean Routefeld, who used to be French Bergues editor in chief, Like, we need to step it up. Who's staling Americans. I'm not talking about the fashion brands. I'm just talking about who do we have a creative director on this? Like Ralph?

00:05:12
Speaker 2: Is it Ralph Lauren?

00:05:13
Speaker 1: Again?

00:05:13
Speaker 2: For the Americans, Well, there'll be a lot of red, white and blue.

00:05:17
Speaker 1: My friend, they just stepped out a yacht.

00:05:22
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:05:22
Speaker 1: Well it's kind of the bible American America gives.

00:05:24
Speaker 2: Us, I know. But anyway, we are both very excited about the Olympics coming up, and I for one, will be glued to the swimming. I'll be glued to watch some own biles make it comeback to in the Olympics at gymnastics. What a great story. They're just so many great stories. I can't get enough of it. It's like so depressing when it's over. It's kind of like the Grand Slans. I'm a little depressed. The French is over and but I'm getting very excited about Wimbledon. So you know, that's the way it is. We have a plethora of thoughts to just digest this year, and you know my love with the WNBA right now, so I'm just loving it all.

00:06:05
Speaker 1: No, it's amazing, I think. Now. What makes me so excited is that sports has truly, truly started to live up to its promise, not just not just people in America who love the NFL, not just Europeans who love football, not just this country who loves their thing. Like it seems like all of these sports have gone global, and all of these sports are sort of unifying, like is there a huge cricket following here in the US, especially like you know South Asian enclaves not so much? Like sure are people that into Badmanute and Asia?

00:06:38
Speaker 2: Have you seen the crowds out of the T twenty on Long Island? There's the T twenty Woke up is on here and it was packed the other day because Pakistan we're playing India and cool Bourban fans, so that was packed. And I had a friend that went great. Wasn't very well organized, but it was a great. It was great one. And as you can Maitlan is dealing with the ambulance outside of her apartment.

00:07:05
Speaker 1: Me.

00:07:05
Speaker 2: I am in a perfect quiet apartment building and she's sitting next to the window. Just let me all take it in the New York background.

00:07:15
Speaker 1: This is what's happening on the Lower East Side. Guys, we got to keep it real well. Listen, I don't want to make you do a French Open recap because you've been doing French Ship in show after show after show. The recaps have been amazing. Andy was amazing, Sam's been amazing, Juell Lloyd amazing tennis player. I mean, all the guests have been starllar. Starting of lids, we.

00:07:34
Speaker 2: Only get the sports athletes that are well known that have won gold medals at the Olympics, which both of them have, and they are obsessed with tennis, and both of them are obsessed with tennis and not bad. I got to say, I haven't seen Juel play, but apparently she's pretty good, and Lindsay's sending me videos and she's getting better and better all the time. And for somebody who just had knee replacement to get back on the court as quickly as she's done, I give her tons of credit. So both of them just obsessed with tennis. So we're going to keep doing that, but we thought we'd give you a little bit of the old Stubbs and the old Tomo again. That's right, that's what you would be in Australia. So Caitlin, Yeah, the French Open, it was awesome. One interesting fact about the US Open, the French Open is that no more NBC, no more Tennis Channel. It is now Warner Media. Therefore like T and T, so basically they lost the NBA, so they had shiploads of money to spend and they decided to spend it on tennis. What do we think about this?

00:08:35
Speaker 1: I hope they keep spending Well, yeah, I know.

00:08:38
Speaker 2: But what do you think about it going from Tennis Channel NBC to Warner You.

00:08:46
Speaker 1: Know, I've been very critical of Tennis Channel for a lot of years for a lot of reasons, and I actually think they're coverage generally has gone a lot better in the last couple of months, maybe the last year. They've increased their roster. I like what they're doing some of their channels. I think T two is a good offering. I like that show Second Serve. It's fun, it's vibrant, it can keeps it moving. It's a good sort of like second screen companion show. I am gonna miss hearing Mary Carillo on NBC. I hope to god she finds a job with this new regime because to me, nobody's better than Mary Carillo at calling big matches. No, I love you very much, you're great at tactics, but Mary Carilla is my north dark you know that, you know what, I'd be honest about it.

00:09:31
Speaker 2: You've just given you shit, man.

00:09:33
Speaker 1: Mary Carrilla is to me the best, and making the case for Mary to join this new team hopefully shouldn't be so hard because it's actually kind of the old team, so Discovery Warner as we know CNT as you said, but they also own HBO or what has become of HBO, which is called Max, and HBO has all of the old archives for Wimbledon and a ton of old archives for many, many many tennis entities, including like a lot of old World Team Tennis matches. So my hope is somehow we can revive a lot of this old archival material because the people at HBO slash Discovery slash Warner slash whatever conglomorate you want to call it care enough about tennis to buy this thing. Look in past, people who buy tennis don't necessarily care enough about it to make it good. I'm looking at you Amazon, I'm looking at you certainly, Tennis Channel. I have a lot of critiques of the ESPN broadcasts. You're not one of them. You're the best one, you and Darren. But like I do think that there are some people on the ESPN broadcast who need to go candidly and it's been a long time since they played a pro match and they don't do a lot of prep necessarily, and it's just it's it's I got to see it going. So honestly, I wouldn't mind if they all ended up on Warner. I think that would be a good outcome. Well, are in the same place, and there's a broadcast component, so it's not just on OTT.

00:11:00
Speaker 2: Well listen, I am an independent contractor, so anyone out there at want to be home me. I am available. I'm also fun and I take us very seriously, and I think that's the vibe of you know, when you think about the way that they covered the NBA, that's kind of perfect. That's right up my alley. I'm just saying, so we'll see who they decide to bring onto their you know, list of commentators and hosts and all that sort of stuff. But it's a ten year deal, so they will be there for a long time, and you know what, it's going to be fun. It'll be I mean, listen, I'm a little bit disappointed that the East ben didn't pick it up just so we would have all four Grand Slams. But hey, listen, new Blood French Open, it's a it'll be a different vibe. I'm excited for it, to be quite honest with you. So we'll see how it goes.

00:11:46
Speaker 1: I like when people throw their hat in the ring. I like when people get new blood. I like when people get excited about things. And I like when there's a disruptor, you know. I think one thing that's happened in tennis in every component of the sport, with the exception of some of this like infrastructure, is like more people are playing more recreational stuff, more people are buying tickets. You know, the AMX pre sales sold out of the US Open essentially, and nobody could buy tickets, which is both a good and a bad thing. But like you know, tennis is. Tennis is on fire in a way that it hasn't been really since like the heyday in the seventies and eighties, and we not use is to really optimize itself. And I think for me that the days in which you can get away with not doing that are numbered. And anybody who comes to the space new with a bunch of money and a lot of motivation, I will assume the best until I improve it otherwise. And so far, a new entrant buying a slam, let's give them the benefit of doubt. Assume they're going to spend enough to make it really good, and hopefully it will be, and it'll be either a kick in the ass for everybody else to do better, or competition that that'll that'll that'll drive the quality up, or either or both.

00:12:55
Speaker 2: Well, we know they're putting a lot of money into it. Ten years is a long time the final number. I can pull that up, but it's a lot. We know how popular tennis is because we went to try and play tennis today on the east side of the I know, and I ended up staying and waiting for a court. Can you imagine I'm standing there waiting for a fucking tennis court. But that was me on the East side of New York City today and I had to wait. Oh good hour I was there. Well, I got there at ten thirty, I think, yeah, I got no what time were we supposed to hit ten thirty? I went in tught around eleven thirty or something like that. So I waited an hour. But there were people behind me. There were four people in front of me. It was crazy. So don't tell me the tennis isn't popular. And by the way, New York City, just take a look at the tennis courts and how many people waiting to get on them. Where you stupid people keep building fucking pickleball courts in Central Park.

00:13:49
Speaker 1: I'm just saying, are they are they still.

00:13:52
Speaker 2: Didn't they put that pickleball thing back up in Central Parks.

00:13:57
Speaker 1: I just feel like this is like it's a ticking tab button, Like this is truly the n FT of sports. Like at this point, are we are we? Like are we at the point where everyone realizes that their apes are all stolen? Or we at the point where everyone's NFTs are worthless? Like I feel like we're rounding into between one and going to the other.

00:14:16
Speaker 2: No, remember the NFTs. Whatever happened to them?

00:14:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, you mean people came to me and talk to me about NFTs. Oh, I've got this NFT startup bracketally should do all these NFTs. You guys should make every cover into an NFT. I was like, look, I don't understand what this thing is. It's for doors, I can tell you that much. And hard pass. No thanks. Oh you're so stupid. You're gonna make miss all this money. It's like, look, I've already missed all this money on other stuff. I'm not trying to miss the money on this door key thing. Like you know what, Like I'll go down, I go down trying something cool. I'm not going down on this nonsense. And you guys putting all your apes and your avtars like oh that's right.

00:14:50
Speaker 2: Anyway, all right, well listen, I know how much you love the fact that you guess you take one another French open. But you know, here's the thing, Caitlin, Because I had a bit of an argument with the one or two people on Twitter as I do on a database.

00:15:05
Speaker 1: What am I telling you you caim somebody.

00:15:08
Speaker 2: Because you're going to agree with this person. This person was like, oh, I just I can't. It's eager. She's you know, just not appealing. She's not this, She's not that. I'll read you the exact tweet because I don't want to, you know, put words in somebody else's mouth, as people do with me all the time. But it's like, and I wrote back, and I was just like, why does she have to be entertaining? Why does she have to make you feel better about yourself? This is arguably one of the greatest players we've seen on a clay court ever. You know, she is up there now and when you show the numbers that she's doing what she's doing on the clay court, it's phenomenal. And I am I have said that I think she can win upwards of ten French opens. So I just I want to hear it from you because you're like on the side of this person. You're not really you're not really an eager fan. It's because of X, because of why, And I want to know why.

00:16:03
Speaker 1: Well, I think I think for me knowing you and knowing how smart you are, especially when it comes to the tactics of the game, understanding the mentality of the game, you know, there really is almost nobody else said rather including Mark Rollo, who was always a great color commentator, But as an analyst, I don't know that anybody is better than you and Darren at breaking down. Here's the mechanics, here's why this is bouncing up on her, Here's why the serve is, you know, trending left because she's opening your shoulder. Like, I learned so much listening to you guys, and I appreciate it and I think it's great. But what you just described to me, and what you're attempting to bait me into as a very good friend, is the difference of opinions. Yeah, that's fine, but why does it this person doesn't find her entertaining? Are you going to convince this person to find her entertaining by telling her or him all these great stats? Is that going to change how watching EGA makes feel emotionally? If somebody says, listen, Renee, I just really don't like chocolate ice cream, I really like vanilla, are you going to list off the properties of chocolate and why it's superior and expect them to change their taste? Buds? I will refer you to an article that our good friend Andrea wrote in her very very good substack finite Jest that comes out every Friday. You should subscribe to it.

00:17:24
Speaker 2: Did you raise brand of it?

00:17:26
Speaker 1: And I did? And what I liked about it was it was comparing and contrasting the way that even herself included IgA Zverev, Djokovic, others work the point. They work the point. It's work. Players that I like play the point. They have joy, creativity, Carlitos Odds for better or worse better, Uh yeah, the Francesca Scavones of the world, the Justine Hennahs, the Last Halloween Palloeeni right. And so for me it was a very useful breakdown and what is it that is appealing to me? And I like the play, I don't like the work. I know that there's so much work that goes into being able to play, as anyone who listened to Roger Fetter's excellent Dartmouth graduation speech. And so all I can say is, while I share this person's opinion, and I share your desire to defend this woman who is going to be all these things that you say she is. She is going to win all these grand slam She is going to be a beacon of perfect footwork and incredible RPMs. On the forehand, she has improved her serve, She's gotten ten miles more on it. I can sit here and look at all the stats and be really impressed, but I won't be moved because the truth is she's chocolate and I like vanilla. And that's it.

00:18:49
Speaker 2: Oh my god, that is the fucking most Switzerland way of saying what you have said to me.

00:18:56
Speaker 1: I just think I just don't like watching your plate tennis all that.

00:18:59
Speaker 2: This is, This is where I have a problem. This person said, that's my opinion. I heard you the first time, so do you Yes, I heard you the first time. But my issue in this circumstance is what I'm talking about, as this person says, I just can't with schon tech. She doesn't have Sabalanca's charisma and what let me finish, She doesn't have Sabalankas charisma or charm or remarking as exciting power hitting tennis. She obviously unnaturally gifted tennis player, which is again not correct. She is not naturally gifted. Okay, naturally gifted is Roger Federer. It's you know, Molima Resma, like you know, there's like naturally gifted is one thing that she's a little bit more of a manufactured player, right, So that was wrong. Naturally gifted tennis player, but she's so awkward and unappealing to me. Wish I wish I didn't feel this way.

00:19:56
Speaker 1: Roland Garris, So this person was looking for hug not getting yelled at.

00:20:02
Speaker 2: Yeap So I said, honestly, she is who she is. Who she is, an incredibly shy young woman who's a really good tennis player. Why do players have to entertain you with their smile or face or looks. Why can't people just appreciate the absolute enormous talent this young woman is, my god, that was my response. So my thing is saying, I'm just saying if this person is awkward and shy and all the things that she is, naturally that's who she is. There's a lot of people that would have said back thirty years ago that Stephie is boring and not appealing and not exciting and all the things that they're sort of describing egerciontek as and it's just not the case. And my thing is, you can't change somebody. You can't change if you're chocolate to be vanilla, and she is giving everything that she can do the sport as well as she can. And I'm not okay with people going on Twitter or on social media's and saying things like, you know, she's so awkward and unappealing to me. Like that to me is like, why can't you say, listen, I think she's great player, blah blah blah, all the things. I just wish, you know, she had a little bit more. I mean, actually nothing. I just wish people wouldn't fucking go on Twitter and say things about great tennis players about things that they can't change about themselves. Do you understand what I'm saying?

00:21:33
Speaker 1: No, I think you well, I think you just I think you just disagree with this person and you're looking for an intellectual aup but.

00:21:39
Speaker 2: You don't have you and I have this argument all the time about her.

00:21:42
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I don't think you understand where I'm coming from.

00:21:45
Speaker 2: No, you just want you want slashy, dashy, fun drop shots, a little bit of this and a little bit of that. But that doesn't make you contechill not win a tennis match doing that. So she has to be this person.

00:22:00
Speaker 1: I don't want her to change. I just don't need to be a fan of hers and neither does this person, and you trying to make them into the fan is the same as you're accusing this person of trying to make Maybe this person doesn't want you get to play differently. I don't want you to play differently. I just don't want to watch her play tenants.

00:22:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's fine.

00:22:21
Speaker 1: Here's the thing, here's the blessing I'll say about this My probably my favorite player of all time. My favorite player of all time was similarly awkward. She was similarly not glamorous. She was similarly definitely not a locker room favorite. Ego seems way more beloved than this one. Was also wore a hat and obscured her face. Also had some kind of strange interaction with other people on the tour, people who accused her of cheating probably honestly, credibly, And she was my favorite player on the tour. Would I like to hang out with her and have a beer? Absolutely not? But did I think her game was breathtaking and transcendent in such a way that.

00:22:57
Speaker 2: It, oh, my God, showed me.

00:23:00
Speaker 1: Possibilities of what the sports should be. You know who it is? Not? I Justine Hannah.

00:23:06
Speaker 2: Oh okay, no, but come on, you just see.

00:23:08
Speaker 1: The do you see the similarities.

00:23:11
Speaker 2: Because everyone always talked about, oh my god, her backhand, her one hand and back end, she's such a beautiful.

00:23:18
Speaker 1: But she didn't have charisma, she wasn't liked, she was awkward.

00:23:22
Speaker 2: She did like her game, you liked how she played correct.

00:23:27
Speaker 1: And so my point is that's why I don't like Ego, not because of all those other things. And I think maybe this person on the internet is kind of trying to say the same thing. I don't wish Ego played differently. I just wish different people want. Well, so I watched. That's why I didn't watch the women's final.

00:24:00
Speaker 2: All right, Well, I can honestly say, and you've heard me say this on many occasions. Have I not said that Jasmine Paulini is one of my favorite players to watch? Have I not said that on our pod?

00:24:11
Speaker 1: She's literally you can't you can't not say it on our party.

00:24:15
Speaker 2: My favorite player that I've like. I literally go up to her, you can ask her this question. I went up tour in Cincinnati a couple of years ago. Is when I was working with Sam and she I think Sam with Ei the hitting with her, or she was hitting before or something, And I said Jasmine just so you know, you're my favorite player, and she started laughing. I'm serious, you're my favorite player. So I'm so happy that she had such a great French Open. Carlos and Yannick semi was unbelievable. Yanik going to number one in the world very deserved. It's a twelve month rotation. A lot of people like, well, is he number one? Carlos beat him? Blah blah blah. That's what happens over twelve month period. Is also the Australian Open champion. So calm the farm everybody.

00:24:54
Speaker 1: Now.

00:24:54
Speaker 2: Carlos has two Grand Slams on the calendar, and that just proves you how much more consistent Yanick was on tour since this moment last year till now right that he wonted moments our. Karaz has been injured quite a bit, so that's another reason why Yanick's number one and Carlos is number two. But it'll be interesting see and they will be one and two at Wimbledon. So thankfully if they get through again, they will play each other in the final and not in the semifinals.

00:25:21
Speaker 1: Look, Alex Zurup is that in the mix.

00:25:23
Speaker 2: I'll be hard well, I was right on saying that he would choke in the final. I did say he was going to get to the final.

00:25:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, he played great tennis and then he choked it.

00:25:32
Speaker 2: Yeah he did. But I just I'm I'm here for Carlos, I'm here for Yanick. I'm here for them for the next ten years. And that's how I feel about it. Naomi Osaka, I did mention on Twitter, it's you folks that follow me on the EPs or whatever that hell you want to call it. I did. Maybe it was a little maybe I was a little excited about how well Naomi was playing at the French after she literally was one point away from taking out somebody that is virtually unbeatable at Roland Garross in Eager Chantec was the match of the tournament on the women's side, arguably, And I would say that I tweeted out immediately she's going to win the US Open. Now, I might be a little bit jumping the gun, but I'll tell you what, if she plays remotely like she did at the French and I feel like she's won a bunch of matches in the quarters on the grass that she's playing, I think she's a favorite or close to one of the favorites to win the US Open, thops totally.

00:26:36
Speaker 1: I think if she can come back and win a tough couple rounds and then come within one point of beating the eventual champion. The only real match that Ega had the entire tournament, and one that she was lucky to escape against Naomi on her least favorite surface. Second least favorite surface.

00:26:57
Speaker 2: I would say probably called grass. I don't think she says comp I see her playing on grass. Her movement looks a little bit with What impressed me the most about her, not only in fact she's hitting winners all over the shop and serving unbelievably well, which is what's gonna win our matches on hardcore, is the fact that she moved really well on the clay, Like I was impressed.

00:27:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, she looked fit, she was moving well, she grinded. I actually think that's like the best possible outcome, which is that she gets confidence, she has no pressure, she has a good natural court sort of season, gets herself back into sort of fighting and grinding shape, and gets hungry. She looked hungry out there, so hungry in her first grass match, the first in five years that she won yesterday against Lisa Marten's like she's now one too. She's into the third ground and where she served.

00:27:47
Speaker 2: In in her tugbash on it.

00:27:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, No, you're right, she's in Libema Open, she's in the Netherlands, like, yeah, great tennis is better with her in it. It's better with her competing and her being happy. And it looks like she's all those things, which I think a confidence boost coming out of the French with very little expectation is like kind of what the doctor ordered.

00:28:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, And like Andrea Pekovich said to me, and I think in her in her writings the other day, is that Janick Sinner didn't look happy coming off the court at the French and I know that Naomi Osaka was not happy leaving that court at the French Open as well, and that just fuels great champions fire. And those two are great champions. They're both Grand Slam champions, both being number one in the world. So it's going to be interesting to see how they respond and it'll be a lot of fun. Andy Murray looks like he's coming down the last mountain, my friend, and he lost to Jiron today on grass, but going into Wimbledon, it's going to have so much support behind him. I don't know just her thoughts on you know, Andy Rafa, all these guys just coming to the end of the creer.

00:29:01
Speaker 1: I don't think you're gonna like what I have to say.

00:29:03
Speaker 2: Oh I know what you're gonna say.

00:29:05
Speaker 1: I just it's time, Like let's keep it moving, Yeah, Andy, Andy probably should have been done like a year or two. Again, I'm not the kind of person who's like they need to retire when I say they need to retire, because I know and they don't. But just like I've seen that Andy Murray goodbye tour. I love Andy Murray. I want him to go spend time with his kids. It doesn't look like he is happy or his body more importantly is happy when he plays tennis, So like, what's going what's this? Fore? You know, it's like, do you not have anything going on at home? I know you do because you're cool and you have cool wife and you have cool kids. So like maybe one last chance at Wimbledon and then shut it down. I don't know, Like I just I'm ready to be done with all these guys.

00:29:40
Speaker 2: I just think he wants to be feel good on the tennis court and then be done, and I think Wimbledon will be the last we see of Andy Murray, the last we might see if Rafa, although I have to say, I mean we knew it was an absolute shite drawl when he had to play Zverev in the very first round of French Open. I mean, how bad a draw was that, considering severav ended up making the finals and really become very close to winning the tournament. I mean it sort of makes you think, should they have seeded Rafa? I don't know, but I'll tell you what. He looked really good. That's the best I've seen him play in clearly a long time. Even as much as he won leading into the French he didn't look that great. He was playing players that he should beat, no problem, but just the fact that he was up a break sir for the second set, up a break in the third. Ended up losing both of those sets, But I think that would have given him a ton of confidence. Especially with Zvera playing the way he was when he then making the finals. He's got to feel like, oh shit, what if I get back to rollingd Garrison at the Olympics, I might be able to do a little bit of damage, especially best of three sets.

00:30:39
Speaker 1: I want to pick that up. I think, get Peter. I'll be back in two minutes. I'm an I'm just getting him downstairs. I think for me with Rafa at the Olympics, this is only about winning a medal with curly Jos Alvarez. Yes, he looked good. He looked better than we thought he was going to. I still don't think had he played many of the other players, he would have even gotten a set. Like, yes, the level was better than we thought, but I don't think seating him was the right move. Like he's still last really bad. We didn't play really bad, really bad.

00:31:21
Speaker 2: Come on, losing really bad is six two six two sixty three. That's just why I served for the second set and was up.

00:31:30
Speaker 1: He was in the third, up a break in one of those sets.

00:31:33
Speaker 2: In both sets, Caitlin, he served for the set in the second set, and he played a horrific game, and then he lost a tide break, and then he lost upper break again in the third. So if he'd had more matches under his belt, would he have won that second set, no question?

00:31:52
Speaker 1: Or would his legs have fall enough?

00:31:54
Speaker 2: And that's very possible, which is why I brought up the part of that he's playing best to three at the Olympics, and yes, that another little thing that can help him get through a match.

00:32:05
Speaker 1: I actually don't think you should play singles at the Olympics. Here's what I think.

00:32:09
Speaker 2: He's one can play singles, I'm.

00:32:11
Speaker 1: Sure, but I don't think he should. If I were coach, if I were Uncle Tony, I would say, look, you already got a gold singles medal. That's cool. But here's what which does rough have a gold doubles medal too? Did he win with?

00:32:27
Speaker 2: Yeah? Gold in both. He's golden. He's a golden boy in every sense he's here.

00:32:33
Speaker 1: I think he should do. I think he should sit out doubles singles and play mixed doubles with a newly unretired Garbinia Magarutha.

00:32:41
Speaker 2: No, well that's not going to happen. But here's the thing that I am hearing, and this is other words of Jessica Bagoula, who was on our podcast. The French connection was that she was saying, apparently now that you can switch out your partners in mixed doubles, and I, yes, apparently that's a possible. A new rule is you clearly weren't listening to us when we were doing the podcast.

00:33:04
Speaker 1: No, I was listening to it, and I even was googling it as she spoke. But I still don't quite understand the implication of it. Is she saying that during the tournament, I play round one with Rage Brown, Sure, and then I don't. We don't do so well, but we advance round two. I'm with Ben Shelton. Ben. Yeah, but just for example, I remind this.

00:33:29
Speaker 2: I'll tell you why, because what they're saying is it's an incentive to have everyone play every event right. And then also if you are a little bit tired, for example, if you played singles and doubles and you're exhausted and you've got another mixed doubles and you're like, oh my god, I don't know if I Hey, don't worry. Francis didn't play doubles yesterday. He can play for you know, Austin Crychek or whoever the team's going to be this time. I don't mind it. I think it's a good idea. I think it makes it a little bit more team aspect.

00:33:54
Speaker 1: Is that in mixed and doubles.

00:33:57
Speaker 2: I just think in mixed and I'm here for it because that I mean for in all.

00:34:01
Speaker 1: Of the events. I actually think more, more team pride, the better. To your point, I think the emblinks is about representing your country. And if you know you're part of the gold winning metal winning squad in mixed doubles, even if you didn't play every single match, but you helped get clinch the you know whatever, if you if you want to match, you helped. So for me, I love it. I think more team stuff, I think more to me. And this is why I like John core coaching. This is why I don't like best of five typically, I just want although I've decided that this is a year that I just like, don't care about anything anymore. I'm not fighting pickaball and not fighting Saudi Arabia, I'm not fighting best of fight like I am. You can just let them just they can do whatever they want. But I do think that the idea of having a team competition where more people are incentivized to like get in and out and whatever results in the best tennis is what we should do. And if that means swapping somebody and or swapping rough in for the very end of the match so we can finish his career with carl If carly cho's Alcarez, that's cool and we should.

00:35:03
Speaker 2: Do playing bubbles together.

00:35:04
Speaker 1: Okay, so that's I love that. I'm so into it as well.

00:35:08
Speaker 2: I will be covering the Olympics, sadly not from Paris, but from Stamford, Connecticut, because that's.

00:35:13
Speaker 1: Where which is the Paris of Connecticut, Which.

00:35:15
Speaker 2: Is the Paris of Connecticut. But it isn't. It ain't Paris, Caitlin, I can tell you that. So again, Warner Media, I'd like to go back to the French next year, thank you very much. Anyone out there wants to deploy.

00:35:26
Speaker 1: Me, I think if this is if you're going to miss any year in Olympics coverage, I've heard Paris is a total shit.

00:35:33
Speaker 2: Che Yeah, it's it sounds like a bit of a disaster. But you know what, I've heard that a bunch of times about a lot of Olympics and the pulling it together at the last second.

00:35:41
Speaker 1: So hopefully, actually this is a this is a little bit of fan service. And forgive me for shilling in this manner, but a guy I used to work with in public radio mere moments ago send me a message saying, this is a long shot, but I have four tickets to the Paris Olympics ten yes, four first round evening set Roast twelve on the twenty eighth of July. Do I know anyone who wants them? I'm sure I do, but as a thank you for listening to the show, because somebody want to buy them. I don't know how what she's charging, but I'll facilitate the deal if you shoot me a note on the twitters, because that is where this gentleman is doing business. It's not gonna be I'm not going to Paris. I'm going to friends, but I'm standing far clearer of Pars. You're going to Cans. Can we talk about this a little bit. I want to get our audience a sense of what you and I have been doing when we're not on the show. For example, I'll start with me when I'm not. You know a gourmet home chef, incredible wife, mother, you know a cool dresser, et cetera. I have been busting my ass to make sure Racket comes back bigger and better. We just sent our twenty fourth issue to the printer. It is probably the finest issue we've ever printed. It is chock full of incredible stories. Caro Connor is writing about a twentieth anniversary of the movie Wimbledon, and she got a lot of the people in it, including our friend Mary Carolo, to talk about their roles. Murphy Jensen plays Ivan Dragomir, the main villain. The director talks about it. It's hilarious. We have a story about a woman who got into the dark arts, and I'll let you decipher what exactly that means about her fanship over Roger Federer and how much she didn't like one of Fred Fetter's rivals.

00:37:25
Speaker 2: Story is hilarious.

00:37:27
Speaker 1: That story is probably one of my favorite things we've ever published, ever, ever, Ever, it is bananas, and we had to change the woman's name so she does not get death threats. The whole thing was conceived, executed, and brought to you by a whole bunch of really thoughtful, amazing people, some of which are new to the Wreki universe, a lot of which are not. And we shot the cover story at west Side Tennis Club with Gucci by putting everyday players age twenty to ninety in the most glorious Gucci plos you can imagine, and photograph them like they were walking out at Center Court. So I'm really proud of it. I think it's amazing. It's coming out July one. You can get your copy now, and then soon after that, almost immediately, I'm going to be going right back into the studio with my idol, my mentor, David Granger of Esquire Fame, to help him guest edit issue number twenty five, which I'll tell you more about later. So that is a huge amount of what I've been doing lately. I'm very proud of it. It's at the printer now and you can get your copy. For those of you have subscribed to the magazine and wondered, hey, what happened to this magazine I subscribe to? Will I ever get another issue? The answer to my friend is yes, and it's coming to you. And I appreciate everyone's patience because it has been hopefully worth the wait. But yeah, that is what I've been up to. You've been up to all sorts of things, and you're headed to France next week. Tell people what is going on when you're not dropping all sorts of wisdom bombs on various platforms regarding.

00:38:47
Speaker 2: And nobody really wants to hear about machine ending is. But I'm going I think Fline next week, or we're going to be doing a lot of stuff for Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment and the Female Quotient as well, doing some panels and working with some brands and just you know, getting into the sphere of the world of sports and branding and et cetera. And then I was staying on for Wimbledon of course, to bring you the coverage of Wimbledon for ESPN. So yeah, and then we've got a little Shenanigan happening with iHeartRadio as well. Hopefully you're going to be hearing our sumptuous voices coming to you very soon on iHeartRadio. Of course, bringing Andrea Pekevich back into the fray as well when she decides to move get her ask back to New York. So it's gonna be a lot of fun, we hope and love our listeners. I know you guys have been patient. They've been asking for Caitlin a lot lately, actors. I don't know why, but anyway, she's here.

00:39:44
Speaker 1: I've read about my mum, I'm sure.

00:39:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, and so we are excited to get onto iHeartRadio and to bring that to you on a weekly basilist Yesso weekly.

00:39:55
Speaker 1: Weekly basis with copious guest stars. And also for anyone who has complained correct clear about our microphones. Sometimes we have them, sometimes we break them, sometimes we drop them, sometimes they don't work. We'll try to be recording a lot of it in the studio, which is amazing, and we are thankful to the our team for making that available, and we're joining an incredible plan up of shows. Some of what you've maybe heard a little bit about more you'll be hearing from soon as that launch is made. I believe it's all being announced and launched at can Actually is that ready for it?

00:40:24
Speaker 2: Is? It's going to be had with a lot of interesting women. It's a it's an audio, it's a basically a network for women's sports only on iHeart. So we're really thankful to iHeart for investing in women's sports because it's not it's not a moment, it's the moment right now with women's sports. So I'm excited. And that's the spain very different to Ryl Swoops myself, like a lot of really cool people are going to be involved, so we're excited.

00:40:46
Speaker 1: That's where I want to end it with you today because obviously people can listen to us disagree in any way, shape or form on any platform, and now that the quality of those disagreements will increase in terms of audio frequency and by very But I'm really impressed with you, and I think it's really cool, and I want you to speak a little bit as we part for today about what being part of this larger movement of women's sports, optimizing them, going to can to launch things, getting more brands involved. Like if you had to tell me over the course of your multi decade career being one of the most prominent athletes in the world, what is this moment like watching these people finally get their shit together and realizing, oh, hey, this is a product that has been under optimized for so long and now everybody's on the stick. Like what's that been like? Not as a fan, not as a friend of some of these athletes, but just like as a person who's been in this ecosystem for so long to finally see it get some of the support and shine it deserves.

00:41:50
Speaker 2: Well, I mean it's great. I mean, let's face it, this has been happening. It's probably how Billy Jane felt, you know, watching the WTA grow as much as it did back when she you know, signed a one dollar contractor start the WTA and with you know, some of phenomenal women. So I feel like, you know, look, I'm not shying my love of the WNBA and going and watching Liberty games here in New York. I just think women's basketball doesn't get enough publicity. It is now thanks to Caitlin Clark and bringing some light to the pro game, which is awesome. So I just you know, women's golf. I've been out watching the women's golf over the last couple of you know, last month. I'm obsessed with all sports, and particularly women's sports, and I'm glad that finally it's getting an audience that it deserves. So you know what bottom line is, I'm happy to be a part of it. I'm happy to you know, network through that and help as many people as I can. You know, That's something I've always loved to do. So I just think it's great. So I'm glad I'm involved with the Deep Blue and various different companies with Freemail, Quotient and Dblue Sports and Entertainment, and so it's just been a lot of fun. And of course now with iHeart and of course my gig with ESPN. I'm I'm just happy to work. I just love I love watching sports, I love talking about it. I'm enthusiastic about it all and I'm so happy to bring it to you guys, and happy to have Caitlin back today for a little We just decided to do one today, no reason, just to wrap up the French a little bit, sort of get everyone excited about Wimbledon before we leave. I want you quick tips. Who's going to win Wimbledon Men's and women's Caitlin.

00:43:24
Speaker 1: Amstaber and Carlico Zakarez.

00:43:29
Speaker 2: Okay, I think Carlos and I think Rebarkina. Those are my two.

00:43:36
Speaker 1: Picks for women defending.

00:43:40
Speaker 2: I've already said that. I think Naomio Saka is going to be a real threat at the US Open and Yannick Sinner is going to win the men's at the US Open. That's those my predictions, because some people are just got to put themselves out there and I do it, and I did it at the French and I'm going to do it again. And that's what I think.

00:43:58
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, Mark Hetevonresoz, the defender Wimbledon champ one two years ago. But I do think we'rebaking to Carlos is a good pick Naomio saka Sinner. Definitely. I feel like Cinner is the right call on the woman.

00:44:09
Speaker 2: I think it's a bookend for Sinner winsy Strain Open, wins the US Open, Carlos wins the two in between, and we have this new rivalry. Thank god for ten more years at least on the men's tour and the women's. Hey, it's deep, it's except on play.

00:44:26
Speaker 1: It's just, Oh, I'm gonna make something. I'm gonna say something totally random. You're ready, You're gonna hate it.

00:44:30
Speaker 2: Maria Sachary at Wimbledon or Okay, we'll see. She's got to get through the first round. That's what her issue is at the Grand slams Maria. I love her, so hopefully.

00:44:45
Speaker 1: I appreciate it. Good idea. Thank you fans or fans or paid actors for requesting my presence. It's nice to be nice wanted. But honestly, Renee and Sam have been doing such a good job with friendship connection. It's been fun to listen to lurking. Thanks everybody, Uh, hit us up, especially if you want some Wimbledon. Sorry, if you want some Olympics tickets. I know some, I know a guy, and we'll come back soon.

00:45:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll get back to real soon people. And as I said, Andrea and I are going to try and do a lot at Wimbledon as well. We'll be back with this French connection, and Caitlin and I will be here for you as well. But we appreciate you guys always listening to us. And for now, bye bye,