ALLEY OOP BONUS EPISODE: Paige Will Take Care of the Dallas Wings & Protect Griner at All Costs | Alley Oop | Bonus Ep 21

Summary

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The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

ALLEY OOP BONUS EPISODE: Paige Will Take Care of the Dallas Wings & Protect Griner at All Costs
Date: September 10, 2025
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz (with guests A and Trista Crick, “Big Dog”)

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Episode Overview

This Alley Oop bonus episode dives deep into the current WNBA landscape as the playoffs approach. The hosts analyze struggling teams, highlight key players, dissect playoff matchups, discuss MVP candidates, and critique the WNBA’s scheduling decisions. Humor and chemistry abound as Trista and A riff candidly and passionately about the league's messiest franchises, rising stars, and the ongoing tug-of-war for viewers against the NFL.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

State of the WNBA: Franchises in Flux

• Dallas Wings' Struggles

  • Both hosts express strong doubts about the Wings’ current roster and their future prospects.
    • “I don’t got faith in the Dallas Wings. Hey, you talking about the Dallas Wings? Look, they better get it together too... they need a roster turnover as well soon because it’s a different day and age.” (A, 00:21)
  • Despite the hype about Paige, more organizational change is needed.

• Big Trades and Draft Picks

  • Chicago Sky’s trade with Minnesota Lynx to draft Kaylee Van Lith is critiqued for questionable value.
    • “Oh my God, bro, that's crazy.” (A, 01:14)
  • Emphasis on teams gambling on unproven talent.

• Connecticut Sun

  • Despite respect for individuals, neither host believes the Sun are genuine contenders.
    • “I also don’t have faith in Connecticut at all... it ain’t looking good to me.” (A, 01:26)

• WNBA’s “Messiest” Teams

  • Trista sums up her lack of belief: “Those three teams are the biggest messes in all of the WNBA. I don’t have faith in any of them.” (B, 02:04)

Players Who Are “Different”

• Paige versus Angel
  • Paige is painted as a leader who handles business quietly, calling her people behind the scenes. Angel, by contrast, is “one of those ones” who calls things out publicly and has no patience for dysfunction.
    • “Paige would be the one to call her folks at… WME... I'm gonna be preaching togetherness like Mr. Man Bun the head coaches. But here's what we're not gonna do.” (B, 02:04)
    • “Angel’s one of those ones. I respect the one of them ones. It's like, listen, I’m not dealing with this anymore.” (B, 02:55)

Team Deep-Dive: Washington Mystics

• A Sudden Collapse

  • Disappointing finish to the season, attributed to chronic poor starts and a lack of scoring.
    • “They just put out turd after turd, man... She don’t even wake up to the third quarter...” (A, 03:12)
  • Highlighting the Mystics' roster talent and cause for optimism as they rebuild and await a good draft pick.

• Injuries and Midseason Turmoil

  • “It's all the injuries. You’ve had a trade in the middle of the year with Brittany Sykes, who, let’s be honest, was one of their best scorers in the beginning of the season...” (B, 04:17)

Playoff Landscape and Contenders

• Momentum, Depth, and Championship Pedigree

  • Las Vegas Aces touted as the favorites:
    • “They’ve got the best player in all the WNBA in Asia Wilson... they've figured out their rotations. And Becky Hammond has sort of figured out life after her top assistants... Fourteen in a row is a lot.” (B, 05:34)
  • Minnesota Lynx respected for their franchise history, but not this particular roster.
    • “Minnesota has the championship pedigree too, just not this roster in particular... Since they got absolutely [trashed] last year in Game 5 of the Finals.” (B, 06:26)
  • New York Liberty’s struggles likened to “a plane falling apart mid-air.”
    • “The plane was together. Like they took off. And then pieces John Quell... the wing starts falling out... the engine falls out...” (B, 06:51)

• Scary First-Round Opponents

  • The Phoenix Mercury are highlighted as a “tough out” in the playoffs, especially if they have home court.
    • “If the Mercury have home court advantage, that's very, very tough.” (B, 07:28)
  • “I wish we could play them the first round. I talked myself into it... I feel like the Atlanta Dream can beat anybody in the world.” (A, 08:20)

Fan Loyalty and Team Bias

• Atlanta Dream Hype
  • A is comically biased for Atlanta’s chances, displaying the fan energy often found in the W:
    • “I feel like the Atlanta Dream can beat anybody in the world. That’s just… on everything I know and everything I love.” (A, 08:20)
  • Playful banter around Dream's confidence against legends like Cheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson.

Brittney Griner’s Resurgence

• “Not Washed”

  • Hosts insist Griner is still elite defensively and deserves respect after critics wrote her off.
    • “Everybody was saying she was cashed, cooked, washed. She was not. Yeah, she was. She wasn’t washed. She was plenty nasty, plenty dirty, plenty ready to defend the rim.” (B, 09:09)

• Protecting Griner Before Playoffs

  • Suggestion to sit Griner until the postseason to avoid injury.
    • “I think we should put her in a plastic bubble wrap until the playoffs. I mean, forget this last week, bro. We don’t need her.” (A, 09:26)

Scheduling Gripes: WNBA vs. NFL

• Criticism of Playoff Schedule

  • Frustration that WNBA playoffs begin overlapping with NFL Sundays.
    • “Don’t make me choose between my football team and watching my WNBA team today... I’m gonna choose to watch both.” (A, 11:55)
    • “We got red zone to compete with. What are we doing, bro?” (B, 12:37)

• Calls for Smarter Planning

  • Advocating for the WNBA to schedule games Friday, Monday, or Tuesday to avoid direct NFL competition.

MVP Race

• Asia Wilson's Lead Debated
  • While odds hint at Asia Wilson pulling ahead for MVP, Trista calls it “fugazi.”
    • “Or is that she hasn’t?” (B, 11:17)
    • “The odds say that she has, but I think that’s fugazi.” (B, 11:22)
    • “I think it’s fugazi.” (B, 11:27)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Dallas Wings and Paige (00:21–02:04):
  “Every time I turn on the TV, Paige’s page. Every time I go like, page doing page things. But... them girls, they need a roster turnover as well soon because it’s a different day and age.” (A, 00:21)

• On Paige’s Leadership Style (02:04):
  “Paige would be the one to call her folks at WME... I’m gonna be preaching togetherness... But here’s what we’re not gonna do.” (B, 02:04)

• On Washington Mystics’ Collapse (03:12):
  “They just put out turd after turd, man... She don’t even wake up to the third quarter.” (A, 03:12)

• On Griner’s Value (09:09):
  “She wasn’t washed. She was plenty... ready to defend the rim. She hasn’t been washed, folks, like not at all.” (B, 09:09)

• On WNBA Playoff Scheduling (11:55–12:37):
  “Don’t make me choose between my football team and watching my WNBA team today... We got red zone to compete with. What are we doing, bro?” (B, 12:37)

• MVP Race & “Fugazi” Odds (11:22):
  “The odds say that she has, but I think that’s fugazi.” (B, 11:22)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:21–02:04: Dallas Wings’ woes & Paige’s leadership
• 03:12–05:24: Mystics’ collapse and injury woes
• 05:34–07:27: Playoff favorites: Aces, Lynx, Liberty
• 07:28–08:47: Playoff seeding fears and Atlanta Dream’s bravado
• 09:09–09:43: Griner’s comeback and the case for resting her
• 11:17–11:28: Asia Wilson’s MVP run debated as “fugazi”
• 11:41–12:40: WNBA scheduling vs. NFL and viewer experience

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Closing Remarks

The episode is a lively, insight-packed ride through WNBA hot takes, player praise, and scheduling rants—peppered with camaraderie and fan bias. The hosts’ love of women’s basketball jumps through the mic, punctuated by quotable zingers and earnest pleas for the league to step up for its fans and players alike.

To join the conversation, subscribe, comment, and bring the banter to YouTube.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to another show of the alley oop. I'm joined by my big dog, Trista Crick.

[B]

We're here. We're everywhere. I need a ball. You got faith in every. Every team in the wnba?

[A]

No, I don't, bro.

[B]

Yeah, who do you not have faith in?

[A]

I don't got faith in the Dallas Wings. Hey, you talking about the Dallas Wings? Look, they better get it together too, because I understand. Every time I turn on the tv, pages page. Every time I go like page doing page things. But at the same time, salute to Luisa Geisel, soldier. And them girls, they need a roster turnover as well soon because it's a different day and age. You see angel frustrated after year one, after year two. I mean, so I mean, Dallas, they got to get it together, in my opinion.

[B]

Yeah, they. They're probably going to have. They're the largest odds to get the number one overall pick, though. And guess what? Chicago traded their first round pick next year to the Minnesota Links. Now, Minnesota Links, I believe it was for the rights to draft Kaylee Van Lith.

[A]

Oh, my God, bro, that's crazy.

[B]

The rights to draft a player that is getting. Dude did not play. Coaches decision. AKA D, N P, C, D, bruh.

[A]

Then they got the Links, got DJ out of the whole deal. The links rolling, man. Like, rolling. I also don't have faith in Connecticut at all. Like, I salute to the good folks in the Connecticut son organization. You got to know I love you, but at the same time, bro, it ain't looking good to me. They stringing together some good performances at the end of the year. I see it, but, man, I don't see them folk winning no damn championship behind salute to sis Marina Mabry and Olivia Nelson Udoda. Like, come on. Like, what we. What are we talking about?

[B]

I agree. I think those three teams are the biggest messes in all of the wnba. I don't have faith in any of them, but I do have faith in Paige because I think Paige is different than Angel. Right? Like, Paige. Paige would be the one to call her folks at what is it? Wme. So she calls her agents up and says, listen, I'm. I'm gonna be preaching togetherness like. Like Mr. Man Bun the head coaches. But what. But here's what we're not gonna do.

[A]

Salute to Coco Clanis.

[B]

Also shout out to those people who said that Trista looks like this girl looks like a younger version of that old hag that's on camera. Mace, I am still that old hag on camera. I just have a hoodie on.

[A]

I think that's a compliment. That's a beautiful compliment. They're like, dang.

[B]

It's a low res camera. You can't see the wrinkles or the gray hairs Anyway.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

Anyway, I think Paige is going to try to clean it up behind the scenes. She's like a. I think she's very good at having her public face not be tarnished by saying anything in the media. Angel is angels. Angel's one of those. One of those ones. I respect the one of them ones. It's like, listen, I'm not dealing with this anymore.

[A]

Right, right, right. I was, you know, who I lost faith in a little bit. And it kind of hurt me, like, my heart. How they ended the season. The Washington Misties, bro. Like they were in the mix. They was right there in the thick of things and they just put out turd after turd, man. Sonia sits around my sister, I love you. She don't show up. She don't even wake up to the third quarter. She's not gonna shoot that either. Like, she's not. She gonna pass it. She team first. The Kiki, everybody. Like, I'm not saying it falls on any of them individually, but I would have thought they was going to put forth this playoff push that would have got them in there, man. Two all stars on the team, man, like, bro. And great rookie head coach season, you feel me? Like, I don't look down on them, but it's just sad how they went out. They just got beat by like 40, 50 points down there. Then next night getting beat by a dog. Come on, man. Y' all boys in the. In the playoff hunt, man. Wake up. What you think about them sticks, man?

[B]

Yeah, I'm looking at seeing what. How they've been doing down the stretch. The Fever. Fever beat those girls by drubbing of. Here's the thing. They have these quarters juju where they score like sub 10 points and you talk about a team that's rebuilding. The Mystics are a team that's. That's very exciting and. And someone that you should feel optimistic about. You've got Kiki, you got Sonya, you got Georgia Amore, you got Lucy Olsen, you got Madison Scott, you got Alicia Clark, you got Shakira Austin, you got Suge Sutton. I mean, come on now. And. And you're going to have a good draft pick moving forward. Who knows what you're going to get end up getting in the lottery. So I think this is a team that all in all is going to be playing fast. They're defensively starting to figure things out, but I think it's all the injuries. You've had a trade in the middle of the year with Brittany Sykes, who, let's be honest, was one of their best scorers in the beginning of the season. So it's just been a little bit of turmoil as they're trying to rebuild on the fly.

[A]

Yeah, they're trying to make an airplane in the sky, and it's not working at all. Who do you think is going to take the ultimate, like, crown this year?

[B]

Well, I think two things can be true. One, momentum is, is critical in a playoff setting. Whoever's the hobbies, whoever's gel, whoever's clicking on all cylinders and has figured it out offensively, defensively, they're the team that you could say, like, has the greatest chance and a team that's already won it in the Aces. So you, you have to say they got the championship pedigree. They've won multiple titles already. They've got the best player in all of the WNBA and Asia Wilson. They've figured out their rotations. And Becky Hammond has sort of figured out life after her top assistants with Tyler Marsh and Natalie Nakase. She sort of figured out exactly how she wants to run the team. They're taking things seriously. The culture is gelling. Fourteen in a row is a lot. So you kind of have to give them slight edge just based on everything that they've done Now. Minnesota has the championship pedigree too, just not this roster in particular. Minnesota is one of the most storied franchises in all of the wnba. That's all they did when they had Maya Moore was win. You've got all the pieces. You, you added Dijonay Carrington. Nafisa is back and she's healthy. And they're out for blood since they got absolutely last year in Game 5 of the Finals. So I think it's those two. I think for New York is really, really difficult to put things together. Like you talk about putting a plane together in the air. Like the plane was together. Like they took off. They took off and the plane was there. And then pieces John Quell. The left wing starts falling out. And then, then you got Stewie, the engine falls out. And then the tip of the front of the plane falls out in Sabrina. And then you start trying to tape it back together. So they not only like, had the plane in the air, now they're trying to put it back together in the air. So I could see. I could see New York. Depending on how this all goes Getting into a dog fight with the Phoenix Mercury.

[A]

Who?

[B]

Listen, listen. They are not playing great on the road. And if the Mercury have home court advantage, that's very, very tough.

[A]

Right, bro. And the way they do it, I be forgetting that they don't got no real east versus west in the playoffs. It's eight. So if you happen to have. Have the Mercury on your list, I'm sorry. Here's at for you. Here's a mad and angry Satu. Saile here's pissed off Kopper. And so. Damn, that's rough for the. Yeah, we need to stay 2, 3. Because I don't want to see the Phoenix Mercury in the first round even though they're our little brother. Because every time we played them this year, we spanked them boys like, get them out of here. They don't mean anything to us. As a matter of fact, I wish we could play them the first round. I talked myself into it. Atlanta Dream. I wish we could play anybody. It don't matter who we play first round, we win in the first round. Good luck, Golden State. Good luck, Indiana. Good luck whoever the hell gonna end up in that first, that third spot of that seventh spot, bro, I'm biased. I can't not look through my glasses, bruh. I feel like the Atlanta Dream can be anybody in the world. I'm sorry. They can be anybody in the entire world. That's. It's just. That's just. That's on. That's on everything I know and everything I love.

[B]

If their name was the. If their name was the law, like, if they were the. The Houston Comets, would you be saying the same thing?

[A]

Exactly, bro. We can beat Cheryl Spoon for real. Like, I ain't. I ain't gonna hold you. We'll beat Tina Thompson now for this year. We'll beat them. We'll clean them up. I ain't gonna lie to you.

[B]

Can we give our flowers really quick before we go to Brittney Griner, who everybody was throwing dirt on her name. Everybody was saying she was cashed, cooked, washed. She was not. Yeah, she was. She wasn't washed. She was plenty. Plenty nasty, plenty dirty, plenty ready to defend the rim. She hasn't been was, folks. Like, not at all.

[A]

She hasn't. Right, Right. And I think we should put her in a plastic bubble wrap until the playoffs. I mean, forget this last week, bro. We don't need her. This is where injuries happen. This is where the good ones happen, too. Brianna Jones, too. Let's let sis sit down these last couple games.

[B]

Well, but do you want the two seed or do you want healthy players? Because you're not going to get the two seed. Then you might even get the four seat.

[A]

Yeah, I think as long as we can beat Connecticut when we taping this on Monday tonight and then beat Connecticut again.

[B]

Listen, here's the thing. Now we have a longer game series for the first round for the first year ever. And we gotta. We gotta discuss maybe then go into a game either in Atlanta or in Golden State to. To go a little knit Nat Paddy whack, give a little bajala. Golden State Valkyries versus the Atlanta Dream.

[A]

You just said the highest. Two of the highest tickets in the damn playoffs. We might can hit Phoenix. I feel like a plane ticket. And the ticket won't be as much as the ones here.

[B]

Call Ryan up. Say hey.

[A]

Ryan is not answering my goddamn.

[B]

Come on, Ryan, help us out.

[A]

Look, salute my sister. I'm pretty sure she good.

[B]

I've never said anything. She said I'm good. She's. I've never said a thing mean about Rein Howard. I know that for sure. One, cuz she's really good. And two, have you seen Rein Howard?

[A]

Exactly my doubt, man. Come on.

[B]

She could probably. She could probably take me underneath her armpit and pop my head off.

[A]

Exactly. Look, last thing before we get out of here. Kind of two things right Quick. Before we get out of here, two things.

[B]

Now we went from one.

[A]

Exactly. Because it's like. Can we not talk about how Asia Wilson has taken over the MVP race?

[B]

Or is that she hasn't?

[A]

She hasn't. You don't think she has?

[B]

The odds say that she has, but I think that's fugazi.

[A]

You think it's fugazi? Okay.

[B]

I think it's fugazi.

[A]

Look, I believe you. You're my sister. You. You connected, you plugged. Last thing before we get out of here. The WNBA playoffs start on NFL Sunday next week.

[B]

Dumb.

[A]

Look, this is actually. That's what I'm saying, bro. We right here. We. The horse is at the water. We have led the horse to water. I understand we're not talking about these.

[B]

Do it Friday something, bro.

[A]

Monday, Tuesday. We have to understand that. Look, reality is real. We want folk to really love the W, but let's help them love the W. Don't make me choose between my football team and watching my WNBA team today. Because me personally, you know what I'm gonna choose? I'm gonna choose to watch both of them.

[B]

Unless you're. Unless you're gonna put it up against Spencer Rattler. And the Saints. Come on, man, go neck, neck and neck with them. Or you know people are watching those Atlanta Falcons now. They want Michael pennants, they want Bajan Robinson. They don't want to mess around with the multi box on Sunday ticket. Come on, small box with the Atlanta dream on there on their table.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

We got red zone to compete with. What are we doing, bro?

[A]

What are we doing? At least a bare minimum started Sunday night. When you got a Sunday night football game, something don't start at 1pm on Sunday. We not helping these sisters get the eyeballs. We want. We want sports fans to lock in with sports. Most sports fans been waiting for this football season to start for so long, man. They can't wait to watch these first five weeks until their team is completely sucking. Ain't nobody saying just yet except the Panthers and the Dolphins, but neither here nor there. But yeah, man, another great episode, man. My sister, I wouldn't be anything without you. And I also wouldn't be anything without these wonderful, beautiful listeners and subscribers, man. Thank y' all so much for subscribing. I don't take now one view. I don't take now one subscriber for granted, man. Thank y' all for keeping us a part of your life. Trust anything you want to say on the way out.

[B]

If you like these episodes, just subscribe to the YouTube page, comment, give us some feedback, give us what you like, what you don't like. Get into the conversation. Tell Juju that he's just way too much of an LA Sparks apologist and a Chicago sky apologist. And. And like, we'll see you next week. It'll be freaking fun, right?

[A]

And if you hate me, come. Come to the YouTube to say that. If you hate the sound of my voice, please leave that comment on the YouTube. Come on, man, lock in. Thank y' all for listening. You dig us.