SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Talk about recharging. Now it's time for sports.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
SIMON: The U.S. Open serving upsets, college football, new conferences, new playoff formats. ESPN's Michele Steele joins us. Michele, thanks so much for being with us.
MICHELE STEELE: Sure, Scott.
SIMON: U.S. Open's underway in New York. A number of big names already gone - Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic - both out of the tournament, as is Naomi Osaka on the woman's side. New names, Botic van de Zandschulp - how was that? - And Karolina...
STEELE: Yeah, 10 out of 10.
SIMON: ...Karolina Muchova - could be a substantially different cast of characters this year, right?
STEELE: A little bit. This U.S. Open has turned out to be a little bit of a giant killer so far. And you know what? Djoker actually does have an excuse. He won gold at the Olympics about a month ago or so, and so...
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: ...He's a little bit drained. He actually cited his intense summer schedule.
SIMON: I'm drained from the Olympics, and that was just watching. But go ahead. Yeah.
STEELE: (Laughter) Same. But the fan favorite, American Frances Tiafoe, is still in it, as well as a bunch of other American names. So there's still a lot of interest in this U.S. Open if you're watching it in the States. 2023 U.S. Open women's champ, American Coco Gauff - still in it. And she faces fellow American Emma Navarro in the fourth round this weekend, Scott.
SIMON: Big WNBA game last night in Chicago. Indiana Fever defeated the Chicago Sky, and Caitlin Clark on fire.
STEELE: Oh, yeah. Oh, my goodness. These games have always gone down to the wire, but last night's, not so much - Caitlin Clark dropping a career-high 31 points as the Indiana Fever beat their rival, Sky, 100 to 81. Now, these games are always interesting because you've got Caitlin Clark on one side and Angel Reese...
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: ...On the other. And they're both in it for rookie of the year. But, boy, Caitlin Clark really, really stood out last night with that career-high game. I think it's hers to win it for rookie of the year. And stay tuned in the playoffs because the Indiana Fever moved into the 6 seed in the standings. And there was no question that, you know, maybe they'll get it to the postseason, but certainly not a championship.
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: Now, they look in sync.
SIMON: I got to ask you about these new conferences developing in college football as the season gets underway. Rutgers, UCLA, USC are all in one big...
STEELE: Oh, yes.
SIMON: ...Ten, which is now the 18 - Big 18, founded in Chicago as a Midwest conference. What are they go to do next? Put in the Sorbonne?
STEELE: Don't give them any ideas, Scott, because this game of musical chairs in college football, you almost need - you need a calculator and an abacus to figure out who is who and who is where. So this year in the Big 10, USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon are going to be playing schools like Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State. All of this comes down to money and TV deals.
And the Pac-12 is essentially no more, so the big-time football schools looked for the exits, and they found some havens - sanctuary, if you will - in the Big 10. And the Big 10 in the SEC, they rule the roost in college football right now. The SEC is getting Texas and Oklahoma this year.
SIMON: And the playoffs are going to be expanded to 900 games, right? Do I have that right?
STEELE: Yeah, yeah, approximately 900. No, the CFP is expanding from four to 12 teams starting this year. Fans are very happy with that, including me. And I can't wait to see an expanded playoff format.
SIMON: Let's end on a family-friendly note. "Hard Knocks," the HBO series currently following the Chicago Bears in training camp - you'll hear plenty of grunts and groans, but not something else that's part of football.
STEELE: No four-letter words, Scott. We don't know those words in Chicago. "Hard Knocks," of course, training camp...
SIMON: Bet your - whatever - that's a three-letter word...
STEELE: (Laughter).
SIMON: ...But go ahead, yes.
STEELE: "Hard Knocks" is a training camp reality show, of course. It airs every summer on HBO. And they do show a lot of salty language behind the scenes, but not this year, and that's because of Bears ownership, the McCaskeys. They had a...
SIMON: Yes.
STEELE: ...Big part in crafting how the team is portrayed. And I heard that players and coaches actually kept away from those four-letter words out of respect for the owners. And, you know, it's a reminder. Sports are made by adults, but they're not just for adults.
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: They're for kids too, big and small.
SIMON: And remember, they called the great Walter Payton Sweetness.
STEELE: Sweetness.
SIMON: Michele Steele of ESPN, thanks so much for being back with us. Talk to you soon.
STEELE: Of course.
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