ESPN’s Holly Rowe Talks WNBA, Olympics, CFB & More | Full Interview | The Rich Eisen Show

Susie Schuster in for Rich eyes and when I book the show I get to invite people I really want to talk to and pick their brains and the best part of this was asking Holly row to come on with me I am so happy to see you Holly from ESPN great to see you friend how are you I love your best mom ever plaque I'm jealous well thank you so much um I am the best mom ever I know that you have a child too but I can perhaps get you one for Mother's Day it's believe it or not not the only one that they make so I will I love it I will in fact send you one Holly how are you I am so great I am just getting home from the WNBA All-Star game that was absolutely epic I can say it was maybe one of the best moments in WNBA history as far as the culmination of talent all the excitement all of the attention sold out Arena and the ratings were out of this world almost 4 million people at the peak viewership so it was really cool and then it was an incredible game with the All Stars versus Team USA and it was competitive and exciting Holly what I love about this is that the world is catching on to the WNBA obviously because of Angel Reese because of Caitlyn clerk you've been covering it since its Inception you understand this game may be better than anybody else so what has it been like having the world catch up to the talent and the excitement that you see all the time so were you ever that little kid and you were like hey over here I have something really cool that you can watch and nobody would come and see your cool thing it feels a little bit like that like we have been screaming from the mountain tops about how talented how deep how great the WNBA is and now there's because of some of these you know um kids that went through college and had the nil marketing I think people are forgetting both Caitlyn Clark and Angel Reese their games and their results were exciting but they've also been marketed in a way that no College athletes ever have been before major box brands getting behind them and marketing them while they're in college so those eyeballs have translated over to the WNBA Caitlyn Clark is must watch basketball right now period She Is So Exciting her passing and so it's been really fun because I think we're ushering in a lot of new fans and they're seeing that the product is phenomenal and um I'll give you one example so my little nephew he's 10 years old he's obsessed with Caitlyn Clark but now he's also obsessed with Kelsey Mitchell because she played with Caitlyn Clark on the Indiana Fever and so that you know what is the saying Rising Bo tide lifts all boats and I think that's what we're seeing in the W yeah it was very cool when Rich and I were overseas in in June um a cab driver asked us about Caitlyn Clark and now normally they'd want to talk about football the NBA what have you but uh in halting Italian this guy's asking me about Caitlyn Clark which I think was so exciting do you think that Team USA made a mistake not including her and Angel Reese to go overseas oh this is a hard question because at the outset when they made that decision I don't think it was a mistake you know Angel and Caitlyn were both coming off their college Seasons they had not participated in any of the camps people have to remember that there are training sessions and camps that lead up to the Olympics that Brianna Stewart and Asia Wilson and Brittney Grinder they're all participating in and because they were still in college Caitlyn and Angel did not have a chance to participate in any of those camps and start building that chemistry with Team USA so at the initial outset I did not think it was a mistake as I have watched Caitlyn Clark evolve in the WNBA her passing is gamechanging and and I think you know if that decision was being made today it could be it could have been different but you know it's hindsight is 2020 um Caitlyn's playing great I think she is one of the best passers in the WNBA right now as a rookie she just set the WNBA record with 19 assists in a game um but but their players on Team USA are phenomenal you know when you talk about the decision you have to ask well who would you have left off and and that's where the decision was very difficult yeah I mean I'm sure that ban Stewart would love to have that conversation with you the the question is though is should the team have evolved there seems to be and this is from the outside looking in so I want your take on this it seems to have so much there seems to be so much tension between the women that set the stage before and obviously you know Team USA has always rolled they've never lost in the Olympics but is there is there a perceived idea that there is tension between this younger class that's gotten so much more attention and the women that came before and set the stage for them I honestly have not seen that in person I know what social media likes to say and how social media likes to blow everything up but as I was watching Caitlyn Clark interact with Diana tazzi and and interact with Team USA when I saw Angel Ree and neuma you know high-fiving and interacting I don't see that tension I do think that social media exacerbates that so any little thing you know blows up but I think one thing people are forgetting this is competitive you know Caitlyn Clark is competing against these women and for some reason we expect women to be nice when they're being competitive and um Drake has a great song Susie called nice for what and that's what I want to shout to the world of it's supposed to be competitive there is supposed to be tension with Caitlyn and other teams in the WNBA so um you know Angel Reese has been very well accepted I think she's getting a lot of love from veterans and I do think that that is something that social media has exacerbated but I'm not seeing it in person um particularly at the All-Star game where everybody was really getting along great and it looked great I mean it looked like a serious NBA Allstar game environment where it just it just looked I've never actually wanted to to be at a game as much as I wanted to be at that one of course I was at visiting day in Maine which is exactly the same thing but you know Holly I just have loved seeing this develop and and the idea that women have to be so nice I like how chippy it is I like the fact these girls are standing there taking these fouls and going in hard um who's your most exciting player to watch if you had to leave Caitlyn aside well right now the most the thing I'm the most excited about that I really think got lost during the all-star weekend because everybody's talking about Caitlyn Clark and Angel Reese playing together for the first time and I think what got lost is that Brianna Stewart and Asia Wilson are playing together on Team USA you know these two are often pitted against each other because they are often the two finalists for MVP and so there's kind of this feeling of Asia and Stewie you know whose Camp are you in and what I thought was really essential during the all-star weekend and then in their game yesterday against uh Germany is that Brianna Stewart and Wilson are the two best players in the world period and they are on the same team and how fortunate we are that we get to watch them play basketball they have combined they've played two games now for Team USA and they have combined for 86 points and 36 rebounds that is great basketball and so to me the Asia Stewie Dynamic on Team USA is what I'm looking forward to for the Olympics they don't play again until July 29th when they open the games with the team Japan Japan that a lot of people in Team USA will tell you Japan has given them the most difficult game in the last few years so this is a game for people to watch but my eyes are squarely on Brianna Stewart and Asia Wilson the two best players in the world make no mistake and I'll be curious to see Britney Griner get up there and put on her uniform and wear the USA what will that be like uh as we watch her after what she went through her ordeal in Russia to come back and put on that uniform yeah I think it's going to be very emotional she did not play in their game yesterday against Germany Britney did not play but I think number one it's got to be a little terrifying and emotional for her to go overseas again you know she has not been to Europe since that ordeal in Russia where she was wrongfully detained and held in a prison camp for over a year or close to a year and I just read Britney's book coming home so I could really get some insight onto what she's feeling and it's a lot of different things you know she is embarrassed she does feel some shame because that was a mistake she made but she is very excited to represent Team USA she's proud to be an American she's so grateful to President Biden kamla Harris and others who helped fight for her release so I think it's going to be a really poignant moment when Britney is representing the USA in the open ceremony and in that first game against Japan because if you've ever met Britney Griner she is one of the most beloved figures in the WNBA she has the heart the size of America she is a Wonder wonderful person um she did make a mistake she's admitted to her mistake and apologized for it but I'm looking forward to her getting back on the national stage and showcasing what she can do for Team USA Holly roow joining us here on the Rich Eisen show Susie Schuster in for Rich um back to the WNBA because I can't stop talking about it what are you most excited for as the women come back and head into the stretch yeah it's going to be really wild and frenetic so the WNBA the gold medal game is on August 11th and the WNBA starts up again August 15 so all of these players now there are a lot of WNBA players that will be playing in the Olympics not just for Team USA but there were three W players on Germany last night satu and Niara saali Leon feish who plays for the Liberty Megan gusterson is playing for Spain like there are WNBA players sprinkled through all of these rosters Australia has a lot of WNBA players in eie magore who plays for Seattle so I think it's going to be really exciting for WNBA fans to watch the Olympics because there are so many W players who will be participating but then the season kicks off again on August 15th it's going to be wild and frenetic um I will have a game in LA on the 15th and so it's going to be like a really quick all right get back get ready and the second half of the season starts and then the playoffs will begin in October um and so it's going to be frenetic frenetic and exciting oh I mean I can't even tell you that we get back in town from getting our kids on the 15th that we're going to a game that night I mean because we went to the Caitlyn Clark game here in LA with our daughter Taylor who I told you is a 10-year-old Hooper and it was rich it will tell you it was the most electric night I've had in I still College Staple Center for so long it was I I can't wait to see you when you come in town for that one I'm going to have to make this happen let's talk college football before you go first of all I can't even tell who's who and where they're going I mean I'm so confused trying to figure out all of the different new conferences but if look at this new playoff schedule who do you think will be the four teams that are in it at the very end really right it's it's tough for me to tell right now because you know I'm just diving back into it myself but I think that Alabama is a really interesting team you know you you don't lose the greatest coach of all time in Nick Sabin and just turn the page like it's normal but I had a chance to cover kayin dor at Washington while they made that run to the National Championship last season and I'm just telling you this guy's a rock star and I absolutely love him and initially Alabama had a lot of kids hit the transfer portal when Nick sain retired but they have started to pick up some steam in recruiting so I'm really curious about Alabama I think that they are a team that can make some noise and then you know Georgia they have been recruiting so well under under Kirby Smart their quarterback returns and so as you look at who can be good I look at who has the most experience at quarterback and right now that's Georgia so I would say Georgia and Alabama are two of my favorites right now and then Notre Dame is a sneaky a third that I would put in that category because Riley Leonard who's the quarterback at Duke last year remember Duke got off to that great start they were undefeated I think they were six and0 or seven and0 until Riley Leonard got hurt and he is now transferred to Notre Dame so I'm really looking at Fighting Irish I get to cover their very first game uh Notre Dame at Texas A&M and that is going to be epic let me ask you this is it going to be a really long year for Rich for Michigan I mean how do we feel about the pickup from this and uh the followup will they beat Ohio State yeah it's okay so here's the thing I really believe in their new coach I love him Coach Brown is amazing I think he's going to do a great job there but that team lost a lot so Blake korm was the heart and soul of that team and anyone who watched the national championship he absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage ran the ball down Washington's throat and so to lose both JJ McCarthy the quarterback and the running back Blake corm is a big deal but then they lost some of their key guys on defense so Michigan's going to have to reload but I do think they've had a lot of excitement in recruiting and I I do believe in their new head coach a lot I he was their offensive coordinator last year called that great game and he's the one who really established that line of scrimmage and that Michigan has to be tough upfront they had the best line of scrimmage in the game last year their offensive line was the best line in the country in my opinion and so I I do think Michigan will have that physical front and make a lot of noise but you know you brought up a good point I do think Ohio state is a team to watch Ryan day they have fallen short against Michigan obviously in the last few years but I still think they're the most loaded team in the country right now so um you know those two teams actually can be playing for an opportunity to go to the playoffs come the end of the season and and one last thing Susie before we get off college football I'm so excited for the college football playoff to expand what that means is more fan bases more excitement and I think there's going to be a lot more eyes and a lot more excitement around college football this year because more people will be in included in December in that expanded playoff so I'm really excited this is the most excited I've been for college football in a long long time oh I mean you totally get it Holly I mean our house is paid for by the National Football League but I really loved covering college football there's nothing quite as exhilarating as walking onto a campus game day through the hordes of people and the drunk students and the families watching and then being there on the field with the with the bands I love it so I think you have the greatest job in the world I really do I'll give you one quick story so I was covering a game this was Oklahoma at Tennessee when Baker Mayfield was just starting out as the first starting quarterback at Oklahoma that game goes into overtime Baker Mayfield runs it in to win the game and his Legend is born he goes on to win the Heisman Trophy and that night I drove through the night um got on a flight in Atlantic went to the Denver Broncos opening season or opening game uh pton Mannings last year and I was looking around and I was like I'm I'm kind of bored right now like this atmosphere does not compare at all to what I experienced in Knoxville Tennessee last night so um the NFL is amazing I think the play is the most exciting thing but nothing can compare with the college football atmosphere no it's the greatest Holly great to see you I'm so glad that you answered my call and hope to get you back on here on the rich seen show very soon always love talking basketball with you thank you so much love it WNBA or bus catch the rich eyes and show every single day on the Roku Channel 1200 to3 Eastern for free