Unsupervised with Syd & TP

Episode: The First Annual Unnecessary Awards 2025
Date: September 25, 2025
Hosts: Syd Colson & Theresa Plaisance (TP)
Podcast Network: Dear Media

Episode Overview

This riotously unfiltered episode marks the debut of "The First Annual Unsupervised Unnecessary Awards" — a tongue-in-cheek take on sports superlatives, team antics, and life both on and off the basketball court. Syd and TP, best friends and former WNBA teammates, bring their usual blend of inside jokes, honest opinions, and playful randomness to the table, riffing on everything from playoff basketball to Mary Kay hustles, TSA nightmares, and the pitfalls of “co-” awards. As always, the conversation careens off-topic in delightful ways, offering listeners a behind-the-curtain look at women’s pro hoops with warmth, sarcasm, and a touch of chaos.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Playoff Catch-Up & Friendship Hijinks

[01:44 – 04:51]

• Setting the Scene: Syd and TP catch up in Las Vegas as TP visits for the WNBA semifinals. They reflect on their underdog “Fever” playoff run and reminisce about their time with the Aces.
• Bingo Tales: The crew describes a wild night at bingo with teammates, including a dyslexia shout-out and a particularly vocal fellow player’s wife (“she was stressed, though”).
• Quote:

  “What's that? Nice to have you at the semifinals with us now.”
  — TP [02:03]

• Atmosphere: Las Vegas is painted as their "birthplace" (though Syd was born in New Orleans), with plenty of nostalgia and inside jokes.

2. "Hot Off the Bench" — Recognizing Coaches

[07:10 – 13:33]

• Congratulating Natalie Nakase:
  • Recap of Natalie Nakase’s journey from assistant coach with the Aces (2022–24) to Coach of the Year with the expansion Golden State Valkyries — winning 53 of 72 votes.
  • Laughing about her serious basketball focus and how their antics made her loosen up over the years.
  • Discussing how undervalued "role players" can thrive given the right context and coaching.
• Commissioner Flub:
  • The WNBA Commissioner hilariously mispronounces Nakase’s name during the award presentation, leading to jokes:

    “I don't know a Natalie Nikase at all.”
    — Sid [13:02]

3. Applauding Dominance: Asia Wilson’s Fourth MVP

[13:38 – 15:58]

• Celebrating Asia Wilson (Aces Forward):
  • Earning her unprecedented fourth MVP; debates about whether she could have won more in previous years.
  • A shout-out to Asia’s drive and the “Bam Adebayo factor” (her NBA boyfriend, 6'10”, for those who don’t know), giving her an edge in offseason training.
  • Quote:

    “The award just comes ducking through the door, walking in like, all right, Bam is in the building.”
    — Sid [15:17]

4. The First Annual Unnecessary Awards

[16:13 – 48:24, multiple interwoven segments]

Category 1: "Most Likely to Win the Mary Kay Pink Cadillac"

[18:07 – 20:21]

• The hosts brainstorm who in the WNBA would crush it in multi-level marketing—nomination: Isabel (Izzy) Harrison.

• “Congrats, Izzy. Wow. You now work, Mary Kay.”
  — TP [19:34]

Category 2: "Best Potential TSA Worker"

[21:27 – 27:55]

• After venting about flying commercial, TSA pat-downs, and travel woes, they decide Kalia "Ka" Copper would be the ultimate TSA agent due to her famously no-nonsense attitude and impeccable hair:

• “To be the best TSA worker you can be, you need to have the worst attitude.”
  — TP [27:14]

• “The wonderful thing about TSA workers is … their hair is going to be done. Done every time … but the attitude is going to be to the max.”
  — TP [26:42]

Category 3: "Coach Most Likely to Hit a Ref" (Three-Way Tie)

[30:04 – 37:11]

• Honorees: Cheryl Reeve, Becky Hammon, and Tyler Marsh
• • Each coach’s temperament is analyzed—Cheryl (the ticking time bomb); Becky (intense “mom” vibes); Tyler (the kindest, but almost snapped given a tough year).

• “Everybody, in a way, is a ticking time bomb. You just need the right set of things to happen for you to get to that point.”
  — TP [31:22]

The Spirit of the Awards

• No trophies, just verbal shoutouts and imaginary thumbs-ups.

• “Unsupervised, you don't actually get a physical something for it, but more like a thumbs up.”
  — Sid [16:39]

• “...our unnecessary awards, it's not a one time thing. We'll bring them back whenever we want. That's what y’all need to understand. It’s our show.”
  — TP [38:45]

5. Rant: “Co-” Defensive Player of the Year & Participation Trophies

[40:06 – 48:30]

• Soapbox Segment:
  • TP rails against the WNBA awarding Co-Defensive Player of the Year (presumably splitting between two Minnesota teammates) as symptom of “greatness fatigue.”
  • Advocates for giving individual awards to the clearly best performer rather than splitting honors to make everyone feel included.
  • Suggests DPOY should go to versatile, lockdown defenders—shouts to Gabby Williams and Natasha Cloud as overlooked guards.

• “Don't be tired of the fact that someone is playing out of their mind and being really dominant to then make sure we're just like, including everybody.”
  — TP [45:06]

• Philosophizes about the pitfalls of participation trophies and shares WNBA life lessons on contracts and career uncertainty.

6. Listener DMs, Art Critiques, and Chestplate Tangents

[49:11 – 55:10]

• “Go Down in the DM” Segment:
  • Listener sends in a colored-in page from Flagrant Magazine, including a drawing of Syd "with a beard" — leading to a comedic, candid tangent on body hair, bras, and physical quirks in women’s basketball.

  • “I'm a hairy person, so you know what? Actually, I probably would get a beard if I just stop doing the things I do to get rid of the hair.”
    — TP [51:04]

  • Moves into stories about confronting body image as athletes, the realities of gear and pay in early WNBA days, and the shared trauma of “Shark Week” (synced menstrual cycles on road trips).

7. Childhood Nostalgia & “Critical Thinking”

[55:10 – 58:53]

• Reminiscing about using actual dictionaries and encyclopedias, then lampooning how dictionary definitions often use the word being defined.

• “Stop using the word within the definition. That irritates the life out of me.”
  — Sid [57:05]

• Re-asserting a call for “critical thinking” rather than taking everything they say on face value.

8. Wrapping Up: Life, Death, and Family Shoutouts

[58:53 – End]

• Philosophical riff on enjoying the present and cherishing memories (“The older I'm getting, the closer I am to the end. Let me go back to the beginning.” — TP [58:46])
• Birthday wishes for Syd’s grandfather turning 96 (or “67,” depending on who you ask), humorous family asides.
• Ending call to listeners: DM your stories, engage, and “throw kindness around like confetti.”

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Asia Wilson's MVP run:

  “She’s still getting better, still hungry for more, still getting better.”
  — Sid [14:33]

• On the problem with co-awards:

  “If you have $100 and I have $10 and they’re like, we’re co dollars. I’m like, wait, not really. She has 100.”
  — Sid [44:57]

• On TSA agent energy:

  “For everybody who didn’t already hear—any jackets, electronics, shoes, they all need to go in the bin. Unless you’re stupid and you can’t comprehend this simple shit I’m saying right now. I don’t want to have to repeat this.”
  — TP [28:17]

• On participation trophies:

  “We never got an award for being the funniest on our teams. … That was a thankless job.”
  — TP & Sid [45:35]

• On mispronouncing Natalie Nakase’s name:

  “I don't know a Natalie Nikase at all.”
  — Sid [13:02]

Episode Flow & Tone

• The tone is off-the-cuff, sarcastic, supportive, and at times (hilariously) bordering on “unhinged,” but always grounded in genuine friendship and a love for the women’s game.
• Segments flow organically—often veering from serious basketball analysis into pop culture, personal anecdotes, and playful improvisational skits.
• The podcast remains accessible to new listeners while rewarding longtime fans with callbacks and recurring in-jokes.

Essential Segments by Timestamp

| Segment | Timestamps | |----------------------------------|-------------| | Playoff & Vegas catch-up | 01:44–06:29 | | “Hot Off the Bench” (coaching) | 07:10–13:33 | | MVP & WNBA awards discussion | 13:38–16:10 | | Unnecessary Awards categories | 18:07–39:07 | | Soapbox: Co-awards rant | 40:06–48:30 | | Listener DMs/chest tangents | 49:11–55:10 | | Nostalgia (dictionaries) | 55:10–58:53 | | Reflection and wrap-up | 58:53–end |

Final Word

If you like your sports podcasts with a side of chaos, wit, and behind-the-scenes reality, this episode is a can’t-miss. The “Unnecessary Awards” might not come with hardware, but you’ll walk away laughing and maybe even thinking a little deeper about life, basketball, and who you want patting you down at the airport.