First Things First - Jaylen Brown traded to 76ers, World Cup Big Board Power Rankings, Kyle Van Noy joins

Episode Date: July 2, 2026

(0:00) USA beats Bosnia-Herzegovina, Are the 76ers contenders with Jaylen Brown? (25:12) Kyle Van Noy joins (34:45) World Cup Big Board Power Rankings (41:26) Celtics trade Jaylen Brown to 76ers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The excitement of the FIFA World Cup is now streaming live on Fox One, the official English streaming platform to catch every unforgettable moment. Fox One brings the action straight to your screen so you never miss a goal. Download Fox One and experience the FIFA World Cup live. Welcome in to first things first overtime. We have a busy show for you today. What's next for the Celtics after trading Jalen Brown? Kevin O'Connor hops on in just a bit.

Then can the Ravens get over their playoff lows? in this new era in Baltimore. Now former Raven, but still current NFL, or Kyle Van Noid, joins us in studio. And finally, how high did the U.S. men's national team jump up Dax's power rankings after the big win over Bosnia? I'm Danny Parkins alongside our FTF soccer analyst,

Dax McCarty. You will update your big board a little bit later in the show. But first, if you wouldn't mind, sir, remind me. Who had 2-0 USA over Bosnia? Which one was it? I do believe it was this guy. right here. I don't want to gloat too much though. This is the old blind squirrel finding a...

Hey, some of my predictions in this World Cup. I've got to eat some humble pie, but that score prediction. Me and Brew. Me and my guy, Brew, got it right. What have you done for us lately? True, exactly. You're one for one. Well, the 4th of July fireworks came early for Team USA. Last night, topping Bosnia, 2-0. To advance to the round of 16.

Filar and Balgan got himself a goal and a red card, which we will get to momentarily. Tillman came out after with a stunner to put the USA up to one of the great goals in the history of U.S. soccer. Here's head coach Maricio Pochitino on the team's mindset after the red card and their fight to the finish. That was the moment to show to everyone to show ourselves that is not only empty words when we say that we are a family. And I think the team showed the qualities, the capacity to compete, to fight for each other. Yes, I think so proud, so proud about the players. They are the heroes. They are the principal actor, and they deserve all the credit.

Dax, a lot happened in a two-nothing match last night. What did the U.S. prove with that win? They met the moment. And at a time where U.S. soccer has never been under, U.S. men's soccer national team has never been under more pressure. The expectations have never been higher. They absolutely met the moment and played again another fantastic game, a different game than we saw them play in the group stage, where when that specific 11 had been on the field in the first two games. And obviously Pepey came in against Australia, but the majority of that group was on the field.

They completely dominated. They attacked with numbers. They finished well. They were efficient in front of goal. That wasn't the case in the first half against Bosnia. They were made to work for it. They had to be patient. They didn't show any panic.

They showed personality, they showed character, and in that first half, once they got the goal, there was absolutely zero doubt in my mind that they were going to go on and win that game. And like Pocetino describes, after the red card, I still wasn't worried. And the U.S. men's national team actually didn't even look like they were playing down a man, which is the best compliment I can give a team. They increased their lead. They increased their lead, but also they showed no fear. They kept attacking.

They didn't sit right on top of their goal, but they showed character. Because you have to defend in certain moments like that, but the biggest compliment I can give them is that when Bolligan went off the field, they still played for him and they still played for the crest, and they made sure that there was no doubt who was going to advance in that moment of adversity, which I wanted to see from them. I wanted to see when adversity struck, how would they react? They were perfect in every facet of the game. A clean sheet, which is nice. They had not done that very much in the last couple of years, frankly, for Team USA. We talked about if they had a margin for error against Bosnia, like what would happen? if things went wrong.

Sure. Well, things went wrong. Yeah. And they still won and showed that resolve. I completely agree. And then on the Tillman set piece specifically, that's freaking. Beautiful. And again, this is my own bias.

Sure. At no point when they were, like, lining up for it, and they're setting up the wall, and they're talking to the track. At no point did I really think, like, oh, this is going to go in. Yeah. And I, you just don't really see that in the history of U.S. soccer. That's the type of thing that you see top. top clubs, top countries be able to pull off.

That was one of the more stunning moments that I've had watching soccer as an American. Danny, but let's take it a step further. It's not just for U.S. soccer and U.S. men's soccer. That is one of the hardest skills in the world. There are very few players. If you watch his technique, the way he strikes the ball, the way he opens up his hip, and the way he kind of puts a little bit of top spin over it

as well as that spin that makes it go into that far corner, If you or I tried to do that, we dislocate our hip and tear our groin. But that is a technique that is so unique and so rare that a player is able to accomplish. Truly a stunning goal from Malik Tillman, by the way, a player who has been one of our best players full stop at this World Cup. He's been great. A player whose stock has not only risen, but risen to the top of the heap when it comes to not just the men's national team, but all players in the World Cup. He has been excellent. So obviously, let's talk Red Card.

It kind of hangs over everything. It hangs over the game, the win, the accomplishment. It almost hung over country road. Like, you know, the celebration after the game last night. So they'll take on Belgium, and it will be without Flo Balligan. We'll get into the specifics of that in a second. But do you feel like it was deserved? So this is a very nuanced answer, okay?

And I hope you bear with me. The quick, direct answer that I can give you is no. I do not feel like it was a red card. Okay, we are in agreement. But you have to go a little bit deeper than that. And we're seeing these pictures right now. The frames are slowed down. The freeze frame, it looks bad.

Because when you freeze anything, any coming together, where studs are involved and players come together and legs get tangled up, you can make it look like a red card offense. My first problem with this, there's a couple layers here. The referee sees this play. His view is not obstructed. He can see exactly what happens. and he determines that this is not even a foul.

Okay? We're not talking about he called a foul and gave a yellow card. We're not talking about that. He doesn't even determine that this is a foul. That's the first problem. The second problem is that VAR, when you slow things down, and we have seen four or five different occasions during this World Cup where a play happens and it's a tackle, some players involved,

and then you don't think anything of it in the moment, but then you see a replay and you see it slowed down, and you're like, okay. Yeah, that doesn't look great. But that does not mean it is a red card. And now one thing that I think is going out there, floating out there that I think needs to be said is that a lot of people are saying he didn't mean to do it. There was no intent there. That's not a part of this.

When it comes to judging red cards, intent does not matter. I hope people understand that because you cannot get inside a player's head. So the way I look at this, was it accidental? Yes. Was it malicious? No. Does it look really bad on freeze frame? It does.

But now we are letting the VAR go back and re-referefery a moment that the ref has full control of. And when the ref, when the VAR calls the referee over, there is 99% of the time only going to be one outcome. At a certain point, logic, common sense, and context have to come into play when we talk about big moments like this. Let the referee do his job and see the play and think, okay, is it endangering the safety of an opponent if I freeze this here? Bam, right there, and the guy looks like he's about to break his ankle? Yes, most people can agree that that looks like endangering the safety of the opponent. But use logic, unless we just want robots to referee all the games from here on out, the personal human element of the referee,

the subjective nature of what that looks like in real time has to factor into it. It's a yellow card at most. So here's Nick showed the letter of the law earlier this morning. And there's a lot of articles being written about it. And I guess my biggest issue with it, other than it just not seeming just in the moment, given that it didn't feel intentional. I know that's not part of it. There was no yellow card called on the field.

Okay, fine, they go to VAR. But if we actually show the VAR protocol and we read from it, it can check the footage in normal speed and or in slow motion, but in general, slow motion replays should only be used for facts. Position of the offensive player. Point of contact for physical offenses and handball. ball out of play. Normal speed should be used for the intensity of an offense or to decide if it was a handball offense. So that last part, normal speed should be used for the intensity of an offense.

Correct. It's not excessive force. But that isn't what happened, though. Because they were using slow motion in the review to ultimately issue the red card. And, oh, no big deal. It's just the best striker on Team USA out for the biggest game in the... tournament, and I will be honest. Again, I get nothing to do the audience except be honest.

I knew that when you got a red card, you were out for the game, and you were suspended for the next game. Yep. I knew that rule, obviously. I did not know that there was no review process after the fact. No appeal process. That doesn't make. It doesn't feel right.

Well, it doesn't feel right. I understand the argument of like it has to be black or white. or else there could be corruption that would come in from an appeal process and all that. But if they deem that VAR was applied incorrectly here, should there not still be some gray area between now and Monday for that to be rescinded? Like, am I? No question. Honestly, tell me if I'm crazy because I might be.

If VAR was applied incorrectly, there absolutely should be consideration. But is it crazy that I am holding out hope that Balligan will play Monday? Because if people are writing that they used VAR incorrectly and there are governing bodies over this whole thing, I know there is no appeal process, but is it completely crazy to say they should not have called that on the field because they used slow motion, therefore we are going to amend the suspension. Is that one percent possible? The problem is in the language, slow motion replay is also included at the top. Right, but not for the severity of the offense.

Sure. So I think we're getting into real nitty-gritty, like, weeds of what things mean. If I'm asking for a 1% chance, you're going to give 1%? I think you're probably looking at less than 1%, but I think you and Nick need to lead the crusade to get an appeal started. That would be good for us. So you're telling me there's a chance. I'm telling you there's a small chance.

All right. Okay. What about the chances against Belgium without Baligan? Because the first thing I did when I woke up this morning was I checked the odds. What are we looking like? Gambler and me. Of course. They're favored. Yeah.

They're still favored. That feels like host country advantage. Like if this was the World Cup in Qatar and its neutral field, not favored. Obviously, if it was around Belgium, it would not be. But it seems to me like they can still win. But if we just throw up what Baligan has meant to this team and anyone who's been watching knows what he's meant. But just look at the stats. Guy having three or more goals with no one else on the team having double digits.

He's so massive. No one else on the team has more than one goal. No one else on the team has more than seven shots. He has 11. It feels like such a massive drop-off that my confidence is shaken. Yeah, I'll admit. And I would say my confidence level going into this game without ball again, I am still cautiously optimistic.

Sure. And I am still confident that we get the job done against Belgium. because I look at the form of both of the teams. And Belgium beat us, by the way, back in March, five to two. And so, again, weird game, punsubs. That was a friendly. We were missing a big portion of our starting contingent right now. Our core players, Matt Fries, Chris Richards, Tyler Adams.

They all didn't play. Alex Freeman didn't start. The U.S. men's national team, the argument could be made, is playing some of the best soccer of their lives right now. They are playing at a very high level. The Belgian national team, they haven't looked good in this World Cup. Against Senegal, there was only one team on the field for 60 minutes, and then Senegal fell apart at the end, and Belgium came back,

and they ended up winning the game. Now, you have to respect the quality of their players, but their players, their golden generation, for lack of a better expression, they're ancient. They're in their golden years. They're in the twilight years, okay? We're younger, we're fitter, we're more mobile, and, quite frankly, I think that X-factor is the home field advantage,

which we have used fantastically well this entire tournament. I absolutely think the U.S. men's national team are favorites to win this game. And I'll be mildly disappointed if we don't win this game. I mean, it would be a huge disappointment, especially given the circumstances around Balligan. But you also have to respect the quality of Belgium that they still have. Well, we'll talk more about it over the course of the show tomorrow and Monday. Of course, Dax, thank you. I'll see you in the World Cup Corner later on.

To the NBA, huge news as Jalen Brown is now a 76er, the Celtics trading. Jalen Brown to Philadelphia in exchange for Paul George, a 28-1st, a 23rd. 31 first and second round picks in 28 and 30, and that's it. This comes after Jalen Brown was the front piece in a trade offer to Milwaukee for a guy named Giannis, and coming off the season where he finished sixth in MVP voting. An NBA awards voter and podcaster and writer for Yahoo Sports, Kevin O'Connor joins me now. KOC, thank you very much for the time. This is a shocking moment.

The NBA world seems to be reacting with somewhere between, confusion and bewilderment here. Are you as surprised as everyone else that Brad Stevens and the Celtics did not get more for Jalen Brown? Definitely a shocker. I mean, the fact is that Philadelphia was in a position with Paul George having two years on left on his contract over $50 million annually, where that might have been a salary dump to have to give up a first round pick to get off of Paul George and then to only have

to give up an additional first and two second round draft picks and get back a guy who just finished sixth in MVP voting, who 10 days prior. prior to the deal was right on the one yard line of being traded for Yon Ascena de Kupo. Yeah, it's absolutely shocking. And this does not feel like a Brad Stevens move after he has pretty much nailed every decision that he's made, both in the draft and in trades, every big major decision has been nailed by Brad Stevens. And then we get this.

So it just feels very unusual given where the Celtics were coming from, given the context of everything that just happened and a season that, Both Paul George just had playing 25 games and Jalen Brown having an excellent year. So if it feels strange, it probably is. Brad Stevens, I've mentioned it before I wrote a book on the NBA. You know about it. Pipeline to the Pros, how D3 Small College Nobody's Rows to Rule the NBA. Shameless plug.

I talked to countless coaches and executives for that book. Brad Stevens, chief among them. He was one of the signature interviews for the book. I've been doing this media thing for a long time. He's probably the single smartest person I've ever spoken to in sports. Like he left a job at Eli Lilly to go into basketball. If he had stayed at Eli Lilly, there's a good chance he would be running that company now. This guy is not dumb.

So I don't believe he just got fleeced for Jalen Brown. He didn't just like, well, I just have to get Paul George's bad contract. Right? Like something happened here that we do not know about. And my gut tells me that the bucks were never really considering acquiring Jalen Brown and that the rest of the league does not value Jalen Brown in the same way that the media valued Jalen Brown. KOC, this strikes me as one of the biggest disconnects between analytics and the eye test and the media that I have ever encountered in sports. you all voted this guy sixth for MVP.

He felt slighted by it, thought he should have been higher, thought he should have been a top five finisher, first team all NBA, and he was just traded for one of the worst contracts in the sport. The smart people seem to disagree with the media people on how good of a basketball player Jalen Brown is. Well, what did you just say there, Danny? You said he finished sixth in MVP voting, and he felt slighted by it. He did. So that speaks to the ego aspect that we're talking about here, these intangible qualities that we're talking about with Jalen Brown that are part of the equation. So like you have the analytics people,

analytics say Jalen Brown is overrated compared to the eye test with the broad numbers, right? But you also have the people who do use the eye test, the people test and say, well, this guy isn't as great as he thinks he is. And there's no putting him back into the Robin roll to Jason Tatum's Batman. And so Boston may have felt that way. Other teams may have felt that way.

Like we can't win with this guy as our best player if that's what he perceives himself to be. Philadelphia, they might not even feel that way. But they're just taking the risk, the gamble on a guy who just finished sixth an MVP voting. But I do think that element that you're hitting on is part of it here with Jalen Brown with so much focus on this analytics debate. Maybe it's actually just about the money, making $60 plus million dollars the next three years. and then another big deal after that, but also the money tied to the personality, the ego, the approach aspect with Jalen Brown that some teams just may have wanted nothing to do with.

But I mean, professional athlete with big ego. Oh my God. Like breaking news. Like Jalen Brown thinks highly of himself. Like Jalen Brown has a Twitch stream. Like I never got the impression that like Jalen Brown bad guy. Like far from like Jalen Brown, really hard worker.

Jailen Brown. really smart guy. Jalen Brown, huge overachiever. Like, I think Jalen Brown is one of the 10 best two-way players in the sport. Again, from my dumb eye test brain. Like, I just, I am so shocked by this, but I know that so many smart people in the league seem to disagree with me that I just think that we, there has to be something that has yet to be reported on this story. Because if nobody can make sense of it, and one of the smartest people in the

NBA sold off Jalen Brown for 30 cents on the dollar. I feel like there's some sort of active journalism that's going to happen in the next 48 to 72 hours that's going to illuminate this and we're going to be like, oh, okay, and it'll make a little bit more sense because they're just, there's too big of a disconnect right now. Well, I mean, there's a couple things. I mean, earlier today on my podcast, I reported how last summer in entering this past season, Boston had thought, hey, we're probably going to underachieve, maybe we'll sell high on Jalen Brown. So they thought about it. entering the year and then they were on a 50 plus one pace and they felt like Jason Tatum had a good chance to come back and he did so they decided to keep Jalen Brown decided to move forward but they

had thoughts about this a year ago at this time after Jason Tatum ruptured his Achilles so that's one aspect of it and I think the other aspect of it with Jalen Brown is there's been reporting about he never made a trade to man he never asked out well like he also did like Instagram post saying that he should be traded somewhere he's respected and the statement that he replaced he put out earlier today. He thanked the fans. He thanked the city of Boston. He did not thank the Celtics ownership, coaches, teammates, or anybody in the organization.

And so I think there is some type of animosity. Not at all. But there might have been some friction with the front office or even with Jason Tatum that has yet to be fully revealed to be reported on. And I think we're going to learn more there about why Boston took the deal that they did. Before we move on to the Sixers side, I got two things. Like the negative plus minus or the on-off numbers with Jalen Brown are just weird. And the fact that the Celtics are 36 and 6 win-loss record without Jalen Brown over the last three seasons. Also weird for a player that, again, I am convinced is very good at basketball.

Other point I'd like to make. About, well, we'll show you. Less than three weeks ago. I proposed some trades, some Jalen Brown trades. June 23rd, two weeks ago. This went to the Rockets. And I said there would be other draft picks thrown in coming to Boston. And it was Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith.

Celtics fans hated me. They're like, that's the worst trade I've ever seen. Let's throw up another trade. Let's just throw up another trade. I was like, well, what about Kauai Leonard and multiple first round picks? Celtics fans are like idiotic that we would take a guy who's six years older than Jalen Brown. as the Parkins, you don't know, ball. I had to mute a million conversations.

You were very mean to me, honestly. And let's throw up another word. I was like, what about if we try to like piece it together with like three young, interesting players from Atlanta and a couple of picks? Nikiel Alexander Walker, Kamengo Rishi, it's a pick. Celtic Stets are like, that's the dumbest idea I've ever heard in my entire life. And then eight days later, you get Paul George and a pick that they're like, it could be a first or a swap.

seconds. So I'm just saying, I'd like an apology from the self-exams, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Let's talk. That was me from my burner. I'm sorry, Danny. Oh, yeah, you're very mean. Online. Okay, let's talk Philly's side of this. All of a sudden, on paper, they are one of the more fascinating teams in the NBA. Joel and Bede, can he stay on the court, VJ Edgecombe, Tyrese, and Jalen Brown. and I guess in a now somewhat loaded Eastern Conference with Yonah staying in the East in Miami, with Kauai Leonard coming to Toronto,

with Boston still being, oh yeah, by the way, like basically the co-favorits right behind the Knicks in the East, do you look at Philadelphia as being a title contender with Jalen Brown? Yeah, they're a title contender. I think that's like the safe answer there with Philadelphia. Yes, they are. However, I do have my...

concerns about the overall roster, Danny, because they sign Ariel Hock Portie as their insurance for Joel Lombie, who inevitably is going to get hurt, inevitably going to miss time. This team has probably one of the worst benches of any projected playoff team in the entire Eastern Conference. And what have we seen the last three champions? The importance of depth, with Boston, Oklahoma City, and then this year, of course, with the New York Knicks winning with a very deep bench, winning some important games of Jose Alvaradoes of the world. And Philly has a very shallow bench. And then the hierarchy of this team,

you're getting a motivated Jalen Brown trying to prove everybody, not just Boston wrong, but everybody in the league, that I'm the best, I'm the best player here. I'm truly top six in MVP, actually better than that. And now you're putting him with Tyrese Maxine, and you're putting him with Vijay Edgum and Joe Al-Lambide. What does he take away from those guys when he is somebody who hasn't necessarily made his teammates better?

And so I do worry about the balance, those starters, even though on paper it definitely makes the Sixers better, undeniably, raises their ceiling, raises their floor, but I do have issues with the roster as a whole. Yeah, it's a very odd fit, but if you told me Joelle Embede was healthy, which I have, again, no expectation that he's going to be healthy for a full platform, but if you told me Joelle Embed was healthy, I would say absolutely they're a title contender. Just because it feels like Maxie is great but hasn't hit his ceiling, and Edgecombe clearly hasn't hit his ceiling and whatever version of, I mean, Jalen Brown said you're going to turn me into a monster

for doubting me when we thought he was going to get traded for Janus. He's got traded for Paul George. I tell you, whatever version of Jalen Brown, the monster we are going to get could be on infinity at this point. And the other thing, sometimes in the media we talk like, well, you can't trade within a division or you want to trade a guy out of conference. Boston just traded him to Philly. They're like, what is there?

their historical hated rival, I honestly think Jalen Brown might put up 70 points the first time that he sees the Celtics on the schedule. 70 and a win or a loss? That's the question. I don't think he will care. I honestly don't think he will care. But it'll be must-see TV in the east. KOC, good stuff, man. Thank you for always being available to us here at the OT. We appreciate you. Thank you. Coming up, is this the year that the Ravens get over their playoff was former Raven, Kyle Van Noyd,

joins us in studio next and the countdown clock is on christiano rinaldo and portugal taking on croatia seven eastern tonight on fox count down clock off and running christiano rinaldo and portugal as you see the fans getting pumped for the game we are about 90 minutes away portugal and croatia tonight seven eastern on fox welcome back to the o t two-time super bowl champion Kyle Van Noid joins me now in studio. Let's go to Baltimore, where Kyle spent the last three seasons as a Raven. Lamar took the field for offseason workouts under new head coach Jesse Minter. Mark Andrews telling CBS watching Lamar Jackson add new things to his repertoire is a, quote, scary sight.

It's been a busy offseason in Baltimore as we take a look at some of the notable offseason moves. Max Crosby was almost on that list. He was actually for a minute. A lot of hype, though, surrounding the Ravens. for them. Odds on favorites to win the North. Up there for the conference and the Super Bowl second best odds out of the AFC there. Kyle, we appreciate you joining us in studio. You've got you had an up close and personal look in Baltimore.

It's a new era after 18 years with John Harbaugh. Expectations for them this year? Expectations are high. I mean, they're at the highest of heights. You don't just make a change like that. You don't just move on for Harbaugh just because. Obviously, Mr. Bouchard, he felt like a change needed to be happened. He did that by going to get Jesse Mentor.

Jesse Mentor is from the tree of Mike McDonald. So they're trying to get back to that defensive prowess they've always had. They're trying to bring back the bullies of Baltimore. I think they can do that with that type of defense. I think when you have guys like Kyle Hamilton, Roquan Smith, Travis Jones, bringing a guy like Trey Hendrickson, who mentor said, is a closer, you're looking to get closer to that. They spent a lot of money. They have one of the highest paid teams on defense.

They're really, really paid very well over there, which is good as a player. But they got to see that transformation onto January and to February. It was so shocking because John Harbaugh, longest-tenured coach, right, in one spot, 18 years in Baltimore. You were just there for the last three. Jesse Minner, great credentials, had kind of overachieved. Most people thought with what he got out of that talent with the Chargers defense. But from your perspective of being there, did you feel like it had grown stale or they needed a new voice or anything like that? Because it was a pretty shocking moment when it happened.

Yeah, it was shocking. But when you go from 2023, if you look at the path, you go from the AFC championship, you know, expectations were winning a Super Bowl. Then you go to the divisional round. expectations were to win another Super Bowl it goes down, then you don't make the playoffs. Something needs to shake. And I think they eventually made the right move. The Giants saw that, got Harbaugh, paid him 100 mil, so he ended up making out just fine. But for the Ravens, we want to see that success in the playoffs. You know, that's something that when I was there we weren't able to do. Turnovers have been the main issue during that,

having turnovers and then not making enough. I think you bring in a tough nose coach like mentor with an O.C. Like Declan, who's from the Ben Johnson tree, so you're going to get a lot of passing, and then they're going to rely on the players that they already have. He's not coming in, and he's starting from scratch where he's doing a rebuild. No, he's coming in for the expectations to win right now. It's a young head coach to a young O.C. But Super Bowl or bust mentality for a first-time head coach?

which is not, that's not normal. No, it isn't normal. But there's teams that have done it. John Gruden did it back when he was with the Buccaneers. I see that same thing. You know, the foundation was already leveled. It's right there. They have guys like Derek Henry and Lamar Jackson, of course.

And then on the flip side, you have the defensive guys that you need. So you're coming in here, bringing that type of style that you have in your previous stops, like in Los Angeles. And you're bringing that over like they did. in with the Chicago Bears, bringing it in, bringing their own flavors, their own juice, and I'm excited for those guys to get that type of coaching. I want to ask you more about Lamar Jackson. Like, I've loved him as a talent since Louisville.

I distinctly remember a game against Clemson where him and Deshawn Watson were doing battle, and I was like, oh, this guy is just making – He's different. He's just different. And I was like, his athleticism, even if it was a weird system that he played in in college, I was like, he's just a better athlete than everybody. this is going to translate on some level. And that it's been way better than I even expected.

But obviously, he's fallen short. The playoff performances haven't been there. You mentioned the loss of the AFC Championship to the Chiefs, the game to Buffalo, a couple of years back. He's the all-time leading rusher for a quarterback. But last year, fewest rushing attempts in a season in his career, injured all year. We made a big deal out of it on the show.

Is he on the injury report? Is he practicing, you know, misses some games? But I guess my question is like, not about him as a talent, because that's undeniable. I have questioned whether or not he's going to age well into his 30s because of the athleticism as it wanes. Is his style of play sustainable? I believe it is because I truly, fully don't believe you've seen him run as fast as possible. That's how fast he is. It makes it look like he's out there doing slow.

but he's that fast. And I think he could sustain it for as long as he wants to and wants to put the work in. I think at the end of the day, you see what quarterbacks are winning the last game. And that is a pocket passer. Yes, Mahomes can move and Jalen Hertz ended up winning in the pocket. Matthew Stafford, winning in the pocket. Those are the most recent Sam Darnold winning it in the pocket. I know he had a defense, but still had to make some throws.

At the end of the day, you got to make those throws in the pocket. pocket and I believe Lamar Jackson can and with a OC like him and like Declan providing and what I want to also say is the O line the O line getting better than what they have been the O line leaning on Ronnie Stanley yes they have to replace Tyler Linderbaum but getting that to make him safe and feel like he can throw from the pocket where he's comfortable I think that's going to get the job done so you think he's long for for Baltimore I I think he is. Yeah.

I know that's going to be the big thing. It's like this year is going to be make it or break it for a lot of things. I really believe that just because you have the contract issue. You have a lot of things coming up, Roquan Smith, you know, guarantees Kyle Hamilton, another year older, different things like that. So this year is a big year and I'm excited because I think he knows that, understands that, and he's ready for the challenge. All right.

So we have a current NFL player. don't have your team yet for next year but a guy who's basically your exact age you are two months older than Aaron Donald I want to show you this video that is those are pretty heavy weights apparently

everyone's thinking he's coming back I don't know seems like he is in pretty good shape so he's your age you're still playing but he hasn't played ball in a couple of years but he's working out like that that looked like a man ready to make a come back to you? It does, honestly. It's a man that I believe could make a comeback if he wanted to. I think

he's that different when it comes to the type of player, the type of mindset he has. I also think he does a good job with the media, you know, getting talked about. So let me take advantage of a little bit of shine. You know, he's done a really good job since he's been done playing of staying in the media being talked about, as well as being in the community with the Rams. He does a lot of giving back to the community. He shows up to the games in Los Angeles. So if I'm him, I'm taking advantage. You want to talk to me? I'll show you what I'm doing. I'm working out looking good for the kids coaching. I'm staying ready. And I know that man could play some football if he wanted to. So, you know, defensive guy. They also got Miles Garrett. So I just, you know, paint a picture

of Miles Garrett and Aaron Donald. I'm operating on the same D-line. It's a lot of offensive coordinators that are begging Donald not to come back. I know that. And a lot of head coaches that would be scared if he came back. And I really think with those two on a football field, they might want to be, they might be one of the most dangerous pairs to ever play if they were able to suit up.

But, you know, Aaron Donald, he might like retirement life. He makes those workouts look good. He's making it look easy with the amount of weight he's pulling and pushing. That's for sure. He looks like he's at his prime. We will have you back tomorrow. We appreciate you coming out here. Do the USA, though, jump into the top five after last night's big win.

Dax McCarty updating the big board coming up next. And the countdown clock off and running. Cristiano Ronaldo getting ready, hour and 21 minutes away. Ronaldo, 41 years old, taking on 40-year-old Luca Madridg. Is it the final World Cup game for the loser tonight? It's all coming up on Fox. This episode is brought to you by Activia. You might already be eating yogurt, but not all yogurts are created equal.

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Portugal, Croatia tonight, 7 Eastern on Fox. Welcome back to the OT as we are in World Cup Corner. Spain just wrapped up a 3-0 victory over Austria. Two goals from Dax. Boyar Sabal. There it is. He wanted to put some spice on it. One from Poro to send them to the round of 16.

That plus the action throughout the week. Dax, it's time to update the World Cup Big Board, form, and it's fluid. Absolutely. Take it away, my friend. Form matters. Spain, top three, they're not moving. Ojar Sabal, what a performance today. You don't want to try it?

Listen, I know how to say Ojarzabal, but I'm not going to act like, you know. Netherlands, Germany, two traditional powers, knocked out. in the round of 32. We hardly knew you. See you later. You can't be on the board. You can't be on the board in my power rankings. If you're not in the tournament. If you are not in the tournament, see you later. By the way, England, they won the game, right? Yeah. I'm going to need you to hold on to them for a second. They could potentially be on the move. The Samba boys, Nick Wright's favorite team, Brazil moves up for a very good win against Japan. And now we get in to our Concaf Bros. Hold on to Columbia for me because All right. Concaf is moving right up. Mexico, haven't conceded a goal in this tournament. Their performance against Ecuador was the best performance I have seen out of the Mexican national team in years. They are going to be a massive test for this English national team, who doesn't look great, by the way.

I cannot wait for that game. It's going to be ridiculous. USA, USA. We're moving up. That was a great performance again against Bosnia. Europe, right there under Mexico. Look, Mexico hasn't conceded a goal in this tournament. U.S. men's national team rotated, all the things.

I get it. Columbia, they haven't played yet. Only Argentina and Colombia are the only teams that haven't played yet. You are moving down just by virtue of not having played, and the other teams around you are moving up. And now we get in to who comes back, Norway, wasn't thrilled with what you did in your last group stage game against France. I punished you accordingly.

Yes. You lost, and now, guess what? You had a big win against Ivory Coast. I wasn't thrilled with your performance. You come back in at number 10. Erling Holland against Gabrielle. in the round of 16, that's going to be a heavyweight fight. Morocco, huge movers.

I wasn't enamored with their group stage performance, even though they played okay. They were a little bit inconsistent. They got results. I love their performance against the Netherlands. They jump five spots into number five because I think that they would be the best team and favored to win all these games based on what I saw against the Netherlands. That means England after winning comes in at number eight.

Quite honestly, Danny, I was not thrilled with England's performance at all. I thought they were really poor, and they got saved by their star, Harry Kane, was two great goals. I think D.R. Congo deserves a lot of credit for how they played, but that is the updated big board. All right, bonus take. Mexico, England is going to be the match of the tournament. I agree. In terms of atmosphere at Esteka, that's going to be absolutely ridiculous. I won't fight you on that one. Okay. France was your pick. France is everyone's number one. My first question, I mean,

Spain is my pick. They haven't a lot of goal. Argentina has been amazing. How big of a gap is there between one and everybody else? Do you remember what we did when you asked me about the United States national team and about the gap between the top teams? Yeah, we debated if it was a river or a Great Lake or an ocean. We're looking at not a great lake, but a pretty big lake. Pretty big lake. Maybe Lake Tahoe. I don't know. Okay, yeah.

It's an expensive lake. France looks borderline unstoppable. The guys up top are the best attack, the most dynamic attack in the entire tournament. You have Killing Mbapé, who completely dominates. the World Cup. You have Michael Olise, who is the best playmaker in the World Cup. France, it looks like a big, big, big proposition for any team to beat them. All right. And then we've talked about this throughout the tournament with the big board about how it is form and result. Correct. England at 8, the U.S. would not be favored against England.

No, they would not be favorite. So how are you balancing? Are you punishing England more for form than result? It feels like that balance might be a little off. I was watching. I was watching the England game. And I'm thinking to myself, okay, what is it exactly that England does well? Do they look really solid defensively? No, they don't. I don't believe that they have a right back that is capable of stopping a dangerous winger. Do they defend well? Not really. They're midfield. It's not dynamic. It doesn't create chances. They have two similar profile players in the midfield. And when you were dominating possession, you need a player that's going to change the rhythm of the game. Jude Bellingham is not a creation.

Creative number 10, he is a guy who likes to crash the box, get on the end of service, and he has been very good for England, but they don't have a dynamic playmaker, and therefore they are over-reliant on Harry Kane. And when you have wingers who aren't really capable of going 1-V-1 and beating guys off the dribble, which we haven't seen consistently enough from Rashford, Saka, Madweke, and Anthony Gordon came in off the bench, got two assists to Harry Kane, but that was the first time in the entire tournament that he looked dangerous. They are over-reliant on Harry Kane,

and I don't think that they are going to go down to Azteca Mexico Stadium and win that game. You're picking Mexico. I'm not picking Mexico yet because I need to think about this. I just think that if Mexico, well, I have England going to the final, okay? So I need to be really careful. Then you're picking England. I'm undecided. I'm undecided right now.

I'm going to see how England, what kind of messaging we're getting out of England. I don't like the fact that they're already making altitude an excuse. I don't like that, okay? Well, listen, you said that you got Mexico above England. Based on form, you said you don't think England is going to Estheka winning, but you got England winning the whole tournament. Based on form, I absolutely think Mexico is the favorite to go win that game. So I think England might try to take that one to penalties,

kind of like the Netherlands did against Morocco. All right, it's a fluid big board, but that is Dax's big board. Coming up. Don't bottle it, England. What is next for the Celtics? My final thoughts on what I think is next in Boston. And the countdown clock is on. Ronaldo taking on Portugal, or excuse me, he is on Portugal, taking on Croatia tonight.

Seven Eastern on Fox. The countdown clock is on Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal taking on Croatia, just over one hour from now. Massive game in the knockout round tonight. Seven Eastern on Fox. Welcome back to the OT. Jalen Brown is now a 76er, which is shocking enough from the Philly side, given that it's VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxie and Joel Embed and now Jalen Brown. But the big shocker is that Boston went from thinking they were going to get Janus onto the coupo

to getting what many people thought was the worst contract in the NBA in Paul George, who is 35 years old coming off a year where he was suspended and coming off multiple years where he struggles to stay on the court. But what is most interesting to me about this is what we clearly do not know. Brad Stevens is not dumb. In fact, he is one of the best executives and an executive of the year in the NBA. If he had a hard time trading Jalen Brown, my guess is there were not any big offers out there for Jalen Brown. But don't forget that this year you get Jason Tatum playing the Jalen Brown minutes on a team that won 56 games,

and he added Mitchell Robinson, and he added Mike Conley. The odds makers still really like Boston. The odds makers think that Boston is one of the best teams, the whole sport and the second best team in the Eastern Conference behind the NBA champions. My running theory at this point is there was no offer out there for Jalen Brown. He got off of that contract. And I have serious doubts on whether or not Paul George will play a single game for the Boston Celtics. And this is part of just a retooling for Boston going forward.

And he'll take on a different contract for Paul George. And this was just about getting out of the Jalen Brown business. So Boston is still going to be very good, even if right now, I have to be honest, I am very, very confused because I still believe that Jalen Brown is one of the eight to ten best two-way players in the NBA. We're back tomorrow. Enjoy all the World Cup games. Coming up tonight, 7 Easter on Fox.