Sloane Martin on K-Mac, Phee and the overall optimism for the Lynx!

Hey, it's Jen Hatmaker. Here's what I've learned in midlife. Joy isn't the reward you earn after all the work is done. Joy is the work. That's what this new series on For the Love is all about. The sacred yes. It's choosing delight, rest, and pleasure on purpose. Because saying yes to yourself, that's the thing that finally lets you fill your table with everybody else. Come find your sacred yes with me. Follow and listen to For the Love wherever you get your podcasts. Reeve likes to say is that you want to win every possession. McRide, four, three, and sole possession of fifth all time, a new market. Hailstone unlocked for one of the great shooters in WNBA. Caleb McBride, Western Conference Player of the Week, and that voice you heard, Sloan Martin, who does play-by-play for the links. She used to, of course, work here at WCCO Radio. Joining us now on the John Schuster, Coldwell Banker Hotline, is Sloan Martin, as they refer to you, Sloan. Sloanie. I hear that all the time here in the halls of CCO. It was great to see you yesterday at Alshocks going away. I loved the environment yesterday and catching up with so many folks. And I mean, I always say this, that CCO always has a special place in my heart. And nickname or not, always good feelings whenever I come back on. Oh, well, people have the greatest things to say about you. And I tell you what, what a job you've got here in Sloan, just to be able to do play-by-play for a team that's so much fun to watch. Tell us just a little bit about how, I mean, I sensed your optimism for this team as we continue on with this season. as they head into the playoffs, you're feeling pretty good. Absolutely. There have certainly been some hiccups, including just the other night when the links were up 29 points, and then the team we were playing the Portland Fire, we're able to narrow it within a single point late in the game, nearly the largest comeback victory in WNBA history, but this has still been the number one team by a good margin, the entire season. here in 2026. And, you know, it's funny. Obviously, I have a journal with thick background, a news reporter for 10 years. I always want to be forthright with our audience and listeners and fans. But I'm able to just be so effusive in praise about this scene because it is so genuine, the chemistry they play with. how well they get along, how they play for each other, care about each other. And that just really exudes on the court in the way they play in their connection. So it is beautiful basketball. It is women and players that you want to root for that are fun, engaging, intelligent, all of the above. Plus, they are incredible competitors. And that's what's led to a sensational season when they didn't have the MVP runner up the last two seasons for 27 games this year. Olivia Miles, the rookie playing. like an MVP candidate. So it has been off the charts fun, just a blast to watch this team and certainly championship expectations as we get closer and closer to the end of the regular season. Oh, big time. Fans are really, really optimistic and excited about what's ahead. Let's talk about first, in foremost, Kayla McBride, Western Conference Player of the Week. If I miss a game, sometimes the next day I just wait for the highlight reel from her. She is just, do you just, as a play-by-play, you must run out of adjectives to describe her.

That's a good point because she is, you heard in the clip there, one of the best shooters in WNBA history. She's now almost fourth all time in career three, passing another great and head coach of the Las Vegas Aces in Becky Hammond, who she used to play with when she came into the league. So a full circle moment coming up for Caleb McBride, who is having her best. season at age 34, which is not old, unfortunately, it's getting up there in the WNBA in professional sports, but in her 13th season playing the best basketball of her career, without Nefisa Collier, the kind of gravity that she attracts on the floor was... still able to put up these ridiculous numbers. And she is having an absolute blast out there playing for the Minnesota Link. She is the oldest child in her family. And Coach Reeve says that she kind of brings that same mentality, that kind of nurturing perspective to the Minnesota Link. So you see someone who has been such an important veteran for this team, who loves basketball dearly, who cares. so much about competing, who wants that first WNBA championship. So she is especially hungry. And it's just been so nice to see someone like her flourish in the way she has this season. Oh, it's fantastic to see. And you mentioned a Nefisa Collier. You know, she was out. It was so hard to not have her in this lineup. But yet, you know, the links were able to do fairly well. And it seems like she didn't miss a beat when she came back. No, she had to drop in when the rest of the league is in mid-season form and mid-season shape and conditioning, where she was basically the equivalent of coming out of training camp, and she really has not missed the beat. She is shooting incredibly efficiently, nearly 20 points per game this season. So it's the same kind of productive player, one of the best players on the planet. In the scope of women's basketball right now at the lengths, we're able to integrate back fairly seamlessly. I think like a lot of people would have assumed because the way she plays is so seamless. She's not someone who needs a ton of things run for her because she's such a high-kew cerebral kind of player. But you have to think about her journey, the resilience that she's displayed, where you have surgery. On one ankle, you go through the rehab process and start to look forward to recovery, but then have to press pause, get surgery on the other ankle, and restart that all over again. She said it was incredibly difficult and really strenuous to come back from mentally and physically. So it has been quite the comeback for Nefisa Collier, so I think Lynx fans are feeling. really, really proud to see the kind of performance that she's been putting up because of that. And you mentioned Olivia Miles as well, I mean, basically rookie of the year, but is there a shot? I mean, could she get MVP? I know there's other competition, but she sure has been an MVP for us. She certainly has been. She is a player who is worth the price of admission, a player who is revolutionizing the league.

In real time, as she's playing right now, it really is that dramatic of an impact that she is having, not just for the lengths, but for the entire league at this moment. And credit to Coach Reeve for just really loosening the reins for a player who has so much creativity, an incredible sense in IQ for the game of basketball. She is easily rookie of the year. The question is, could she be MVP, which is a rare feat to see a rookie win both, rookie of the year? And MVP, but when you look at, to me she has the strongest case. So that's not just me saying that truly objectively on paper, when you look at a player who is such a profound effect on the number one team, the team that has by a significant margin become the first team to clinch a playoff berth that has winning games by the largest margin of any team this season. You can just go down the list of statistics of how Minnesota has been. so strong throughout the WNBA this season, the impact she has had, winning games without Nefisa Collier, and her impact at the point guard position, her efficient shooting, the list goes on, the numbers that she has put up. It has been absolutely astronomical to see her take to the league, make that transition, make it look easy and so fun. It is certainly an MVP case, and it would be quite extraordinary to see if she was able to get enough votes to complete that feat. Talking to Sloan Martin, who does play-by-play for the links, you hear her. You know, Sloan, I was, when chatting with you yesterday at Al's going away, it's just fun to kind of get the behind-the-scenes. You do such a good job with play-by-play. You're so crystal clear. You bring that enthusiasm. How much preparation? Give us a sense, you know, do you prepare to say certain phrases? What goes into the play-by-play? Because you make it sound easy, and I know it's really, really challenging. I appreciate the kind words, Vanita. And it certainly has been something you have to train yourself to do. And to be quite honest, I really credit a lot of my experience as a reporter out in the field for, you know, being able to be adept at doing play by play. Because you study the context, you know, the narrative coming in, you come in with the information armed with what you might need to tell folks what's going on. But you still have to be incredibly reactive. You have to see. see what's happening in front of you and be able to tell folks and what is most newsworthy to know at this moment and talk off the cuff. So I credit all those. Times I've done live reports out in the field on WCCO Radio for really hammering that home to me and how to make that transition. But you're right that, this is something we're talking about, that Olivia Miles is a different kind of animal. I think you always want that emotion and that reaction to be as organic as possible. But...

Because she's doing jaw-dropping things night after night, because I'm doing so many games, you want to keep it fresh and exciting for each new milestone and each new incredible play that she has under her belt and make that continue to sound fresh and fun and exciting. There is a little bit of thought that goes into it. I treat every game I like to say like a test that I study for. And then... once you get to the playoffs or once it's the Big Ten tournament or once it's the Olympics. That is, you know, the bar exam. That's the final exam. Hi, I'm PJ Vote, and I want to tell you about my podcast search engine. We try to make sense of the world, one question at a time. No question too big, no question too small. We will even answer your questions if you send them in. Stuff like, what happens when a cemetery goes out of business? What should we do about teens using AI to do their homework? Who buys luggage at the airport luggage store? Follow and listen to Search Engine, in partnership with Odyssey, wherever you get your podcasts. for example. So for me, each game is like a test. And I do come armed, I would say. I put some thought in when it comes to Olivia Miles especially because she really challenges me to keep it fresh and to keep it fun and exciting. So I like that challenge to find different ways to describe what she's doing because it is so significant. We want to look back on this season and really take in. how important it was, how dramatically different her play is. And it's really cool to have a part of that. Oh, what's so fun to hear the backstory and all that. Well, they head to Vegas and we'll be listening to you. You just, let's keep it going, right? We want them hoisting up the championship trophy. Absolutely. Only a couple games left at the regular season. Sounds good. Thank you so much, Sloan, for getting up early for us. We appreciate it. And again, you have a lot of fans in this building. So keep doing what you're doing. Appreciate it, Anita. Thank you. Sloan Martin. It is 750. I had the time of my life last night. We'll talk about it next. I'm Susie Welch, the host of Becoming You, a podcast where I help you stop living by default and start living by design. Listen to Becoming You wherever you get your podcasts.