I've been on more conference calls than I care to count during my time in the newspaper business. Normally they are little more the coach speak and offer little benefit other than perhaps a cure for insomnia.

However, when the principals are UConn's Geno Auriemma and Kim Mulkey, his coaching counterpart at Baylor, it is a different story. Auriemma is well known as one of the best quotes in all of sports but he may have a rival in Mulkey. There will be more from what she had to say about UConn as we get closer to Tuesday's game but among the highlights were:

Every team is trying to be UConn, an undefeated season, defending national champions, that is what they are all striving for.

As a former star guard, she loves Geno's philosophy that guards win titles but you need a presence inside to win it all.

"No one player is bigger than the program" was one of her responses to how her team is coping with the sudden departure of starting point guard Kelli Griffin and while her freshman point guard (Odyssey Sims) and UConn's rookie floor leader (Bria Hartley) may be special talents, there's no substitute for experience.

Auriemma said that games like the one against Baylor is "a game we play because it is what Connecticut does."

He laughed when asked whether his game plan for Baylor has needed to be altered since he heard about Griffin quitting and said "I don't have a game plan." UConn does open against Holy Cross on Sunday before playing Baylor.

He also said that the Baylor coaches figure to be more tired than the players since the UConn game will be Baylor's fourth game in five days.

Auriemma said that Brittney Griner did have a chance to come to the U.S. training camp and wasn't able to make it work out and that if it is something she wants to do, he doesn't see any reason why the selection committee (which he is not a part of) wouldn't have her on the player pool list heading into the 2012 Olympics.