First Things First - Michigan beats UConn to win 2nd Title, Wemby concerns, Bills & Ravens new HCs, King of the Hill

Episode Date: April 7, 2026

(0:00) Michigan beats UConn, Any concern for Vitor Wembanyama’s ribs? (26:33) All 10 NFL teams with new HCs start workouts, Trust Bills or Ravens more? (40:03) LeBron James’ confidence, Can he still carry the Lakers? (46:38) King of the Hill (01:03:06) Will Giannis and the Bucks have a ‘nasty breakup’?  (01:16:58) Will Fernando Mendoza be a franchise QB?  (01:26:13) Top 10 Tuesday, What was the biggest reason Michigan won? (01:50:13) Will Fernando Mendoza see the field this season?  (01:58:01) Front Office (02:08:17) Ben Johnson ‘isn’t here to make friends’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Live from New York, it's the show that always was a little bit worried about the Yukon Huskies, despite being on them for decades. Shooting was an issue, and I'll get into why, but congratulations to Michigan and your Wolverines. I always was rocking with my Wolverines. Hold on. Honest question, you said you would know who the heart wanted. Who did the heart want? I wasn't really overly invested in either team, but honestly, I was slightly pulling for Danny Hurley. I feel like I would have been, but the tiebreaker was Wilde being in pain. I'm not really in pain. We overachieved. Well, I mean, barely.

You're a two seed, but really that was really. This is showing, though, that you never really. Really, you never, yeah. The fact that you are fine after losing a champion, you weren't like this after the Patriots. Right. Exactly. You weren't. You actually, you, that team overachieved.

That team was a two seed. Yeah. MVP at quarterback. One, you'd be going crazy. But it would be stealing it. It would be stealing a championship. Today, Wolverines are champions. How'd they do it?

And what does this mean for college basketball? Meanwhile, Wembe hurt. What's the proper level of concern coming from Chris Broussard over the Spurs? Supercharged Paul George run. And finally. Special April edition of King of the Hill. First April edition. The butterflies will be in full effect alongside Nick Wright and Chris Brassard.

I'm Kevin Wilde. Any surprises on the hill? I have. Yes. Listen, the bottom, a little bit of the hill, we took some journalistic liberties. Typic, well, we had kind of had a prohibition on team, players on tankers. We made an exception. It's also a guy who's probably not one of the 28 best, but I'm so impressed.

Definitely not. So impressed with what he's done with his team losing a superstar that I put him on there. You'll see. Oh, it was an interesting. Yeah, I like when it has a little. One guy was at the top of a little while ago, and now he's not even going. I mean, he goes from the top of the hill

and now he's not even mentioned. I mean, my goodness. We start in Indianapolis. Wolverines win their first title in 37 years. Cadeau named most outstanding player of the tournament. Here's Coach Dusty May on Michigan players sacrificing for each other. Take a listen.

When you bring a group this talented together and they decide from the beginning they're going to do it this way and they never waver and they never change. That's probably the most uncommon thing in athletics now and it's a tribute to their, to them, their character, but also those in their circles around them. Their coaches, their parents, their mentors, they allowed these guys to give themselves up for the group and it's never guaranteed, but for these guys to cut down the nets after all they sacrifice is pretty special.

Speaking of sacrifice, everybody scored over 12 points a game. Not everybody, five players. Michigan, Arizona, Indiana, 1970, UCLA, 1964 UCLA. Only Arizona did not win the title. So a very eglitarian scoring attack. What's the number one reason Michigan won? Well, I think their size was a huge factor.

Their size and their defense. Too tall. Which kind of went together. Now, I said yesterday, Illinois was big, but their size wasn't as good as Michigan's was. 7-3-6-9-69. That's their front line. I mean, Eric, most NBA teams don't have that type of front line.

And the 7-3 had like an official measurement on that. You think he's taller? Yeah. Really? He played like 7-4. He towered over Terris Reed. And I thought going in, Terrace Reed would be able to kind of nullify that size and have a great game.

Now, his numbers look okay, 13 points, 14 boards, I think, or reverse. but I thought he was not a factor. He was not able to be a factor at all. I thought Mara did a great job and just took him out of his game. Kadoe, who, you know, I talked to you about I really like him. I'm thinking Nick maybe he's like a nice backup point guard in the NBA. But he, you know, he played well, made some big plays. And when I said the size and the defense, look at this, 61 of their 69 points for Michigan came in the paint.

They only hit two threes. in the paint or at the free throw line. They outscored Yukon 61 to 34 in the paint. And then Yukon would have had to hit a ton of threes. They hit nine, I think. 61 to get more. 61 to 34 in the paint plus three throws.

Yeah, plus free throws. Paint and free throws. I'm sorry. And then they had six block shots. So they really intimidated them. But, and I was thinking this as the game was going on, Yukon kept it close. And so you're thinking, is Michigan going to panic?

Like you were saying, They've been blowing teams out. And with Hurley, could they pull some magic? There was one sequence. I wonder if you're pulling it. Well, it's probably it, right? Yes, of course. They could have cut it to four here with two minutes left.

They missed that. And then they come down and hit a three. Which, by the way, they had hit one. And only their second right. They had hit one three all game and then he makes the shot. And that kid is a freshman. Yep. So that was the game, right?

It was over once that happened. but they had, I don't think they would have won anyway. No, but who knows, maybe I would have finished. The second half played out how at the end of yesterday show, and again, I do not fancy myself a college basketball expert and I got, you know, I finished close to last in our bracket competition, so I'm not pat myself on the back. But this game played out how I said I thought it would, which was that Michigan had, I think I said Michigan up nine, like the whole second half.

And that's, they were never blowing them out, but they're. also after the 17-minute mark of the second half, with 70 minutes left in the second half, Yukon never had the ball with a chance to take the lead. No. You know what I mean? It was consistent, which is why that one sequence at the end that you're talking about is the one spot where it would have felt like a theft of a victory along the lines of the Duke victory, but at least the Duke victory, they were walking them down.

Yeah, this was as opposed to just, it was. They were out played the whole way. So listen, credit to Danny because he called it and he said it, for the reasons Brew outlined. They were the best team all year. Michigan, Arizona, and Duke were record-wise, kin-pom rating-wise, all those things had separated themselves from everyone else. And when you look, listen, Duke for the second straight year blew it in a huge spot.

And Michigan and Arizona played each other. And I thought, you know, I said I thought that was the title game. Now, this game was closer than that game. So that's probably unfair. But they were too big. They were too tough. And the fact that Michigan and May said it after the game loses the rebounding battle and makes two threes. And their best player was clearly hampered by the injury that we knew he had.

All of that. And they still controlled the game. And I don't want to say one easily, but one. Oddly, I think you can't say one easily. Pulling for Yukon, I texted Danny during the game. I was like, this is the largest five-point lead of all time. The fight, look, we cannot cut this lead down. I have a video of where I think the game turned.

We're in the lead for a while, so I was starting to feel good. This hook that turned into a four-point play, it was called a flagrant foul. So they made two free throws. All of a sudden, the Wolverines got the ball back. They hit another two. So we went from being, that's the last time we're up. It took a long time, too. There's a bit of a momentum killer.

So that's where I think the game changed. So when you say the game changed, you think without that Yukon was going to win? I felt like we could, we were scratching out of victory. The path was not outplay Michigan. It was just sort of like scratch and get in the mud and steal buckets and get a fast break here or there. So, but this is the issue that this Yukon team was not a powerhouse like Michigan was.

The last two Yukon teams that won the championship combined, spent 37 minutes trailing. Oh, yeah. This team spent 88 minutes trailing. Obviously, the Duke game, this game was down often. This is big, and I will zoom out, big picture. There was a point when Yukon just needed a bucket. Like, who can get us a bucket? Really, nobody.

And then on my social media feed that I follow Huskies in the NBA, Liam McNeely, who declared, it was freshman of the year in the Big East last year, declared for the draft. I'm like, man, this guy should really stay. But he was on, he played high school with Cooper Flagg and it feels like it was time for everybody to go. I think Derek Queen was on the team. Time for everybody to go to the NBA. So now he's in the G League.

And he's tearing up the G League. He's playing for the Hornets and making buckets. And I wonder, maybe this is super macro, if he didn't go, would Yukon would have won? Would it be better for him? And would it be better for like college basketball if you have a little bit of a continuity for a Yukon team where one of the storylines is Carabans been there for so long? That's fair. But I mean, listen, the best.

player or second best player on UCon Reed spent his first two years at Michigan. And so if he is that and so the so here's the other piece if we're going to talk the Yukon side of it just before we get to the bigger picture stuff. I believe

listen I have an affinity for Rick Petino but the results matter you know, just positively. I think Danny Hurley is the best active college basketball coach. I don't think it's even I don't think right now with Coach K having retired. It's, you know, a few years

ago now. Petino's got a strong argument. Petino has an argument for that he ranks higher than him historically, but the best just that he cooked him this year. Right. The best contemporary coach, okay, because fine. I think Hurley's got a great argument for him.

I also think he is at the moment closer to Jay Wright at Villanova. Oh my God. Look at what he's done. This is amazing Hall of Fame caliber than John Wooden.

No, John Wooden. No, but okay, John Wooden, Coach K, Adolf Rupp, Bob Knight, the guys... Really? You don't think he could become a coach Kee? No, I think that had they won, he would have been in that three

title tier, and I think that probably would have been too fast. I don't think he is. I think he is Billy Donovan at Florida got there, very, in short order got into the final four. They didn't have the history that Yukon did, won a couple titles. Jay Wright at Villanova, you know what I mean? And turned them into a powerhouse.

That's the same team. Say it again? Florida's just the same team. They just ran it back. The same with Yukon's back to back. When Yukon won it again, like when Yukon won back to back, it's a lot of the same guys. Well, they didn't have Castle. No, I'm not saying.

I mean, if you look, see, I disagree because Wright was similar. Like, those guys would stay three and four years at Villanova. So he had the same guys. the thing that's impressive with Hurley, first of all, two guys from his championship teams. Donovan Klingin, who's looking like, okay, he's going to be a nice, solid role player in the NBA, starting center maybe, he's at 12 and 11 this year,

and Stefan Castle, who's going to be a superstar, but was just a freshman there and played, he wasn't like some freshman of the year player. That's it. Nobody else he has, including this year, looks like they're going to make any type of noise in the NBA. But doesn't that feel like the modern college? college basketball?

Like, does Michigan have guys that you're like, man, that guy's going to be a star? No, no. They just got older. You're right. That is college basketball day. But I just think with NIL, with one and duns, with the portal, for him to run. And now he didn't run off three and four. That would have been a whole different thing.

And that's where the results come in. I agree. That's the point that I'm making. I mean, if he doesn't win another one for the next seven years, which is probably more likely than not. Yeah, that's fine. Then he's still a great coach. It just felt like being a game away from it's like hey the list of coaches with three it's Denny Crum Coach K, Wooden Rupp, Knight and Hurley.

Or does Crum only have two? Maybe the, but the, it's only a handful. I could have Bhram Abdul Dool-Dubel. No, I, but yeah, it was such a different. Yeah, yeah, Michigan win their second title in school history. Dusty May's second year, three seasons. Oh, Roy Williams, I left out. Since the team went eight and twenty four, the tail end of Juwan.

Howard's tenure. How will you remember this Michigan squad? We got into it a little bit just now, but they are, you know, I'll remember them like, somewhat like I remember this Indiana football team that just won the national championship. Now, I give Signetti more credit. I mean, they were the worst program in Division I, and in two years he won a championship. But this team, now obviously Michigan had a strong program. But two years ago, before Dusty May got there, they won eight games. Now two years later

they have a championship and the connection is not just Big Ten, not just quick run to the title, but the portal. I mean, that's how Signetti did it. And there's a talent to that that you have to be able to look at guys at other teams that

may not have fulfilled their potential or whatever. Like Elliot Cadot, he was almost run out of North Carolina and he comes comes here and he's the most outstanding player and winning the championship. So there's a talent there. But I just think their five starters

were all transfers. So they are representative and emblematic of the new modern NCAA basketball. So quickly, here's the top four scorers incoming transfers. Yaxwell, obviously UAB, Johnson was from Illinois,

Mar from UCLA, and Kadoa, as you mentioned at UNC. So listen. They had a great free agency this off season. This is where, as the show's grandfather, I am going to talk about how it was in the good old days.

Because here is, those players, this is a accomplishment that resonates for the rest of their lives, what Dusty May did. It feels like Michigan should have had more success at the top level of college basketball. You know what I mean?

The fact that they hadn't won since 89, and most people, if you say, right, they assume the Fab Five was the team that won, but they're not like that. So I'm taking nothing away from those young men and that coach. But I will not remember this Michigan team. It won't. And in the last decade, the only national champion that I vividly remember, the only national champion since Chris Jenkins at the buzzer-beater against

North Carolina that I vividly remember is Yukon's back-to-back because the back-to-back the second team felt so great and inevitable and just dominating people. Do I have a lot of memories about Florida's team last year? No.

Do I have any memories about Baylor's team? No. And that is the tax of the modern college basketball paradigm. We don't watch these teams grow together,

fail together, try again. There isn't the continuity of it. The NBA star power guys very often are popped early. You know what I mean? DeBance is gone early. Peterson's gone early. Boozer wasn't gone early.

And so it just it does feel like this is something that forget 40, like The halcyon days of college basketball were for my era. I'm going to say it. Yeah. Because you would see guys grow.

Like, oh, last year they came close this year. They're going to be great. So I'm not even talking about the 80s college basketball. I just mean something as simple as I'll use my school. Syracuse wins the title in 03 based on the power of a superstar freshman Carmelo and Anthony, who was never going to stay the rest of the way. And then Jerry McNamara is there for three more years. he's the head coach.

And Keem works there for a couple more years. And like you, those guys, you remember them in the title game. Their teammates, you see them, you know, get their heart ripped out by Vermont in the first round. You're like, oh, they had just won the title. That element of college basketball is gone. And what I was promised on the back end of it, Brew, was, yeah, Cinderella's are gone. The continuity's gone.

What you're going to get, though, is unbelievable basketball. I didn't get that either. I got a tournament full of blowouts. We had a few, but... Duke Yukon will show the graphic dust. Since the tournament began, the biggest blowouts in the Elite 8 or after, two of the last three years. So we are...

The Cinderella's are gone, and we're not... It's not like we're getting... Again, Duke Yukon was a memorable, unbelievable game. Yeah. But the other Elite 8 games and Final 4 games and National Championship game, We're not, it didn't feel like a heavyweight, you know, bout. So that's just a bummer to me. I think it goes beyond that.

I mean, obviously some people still watch a lot of college basketball. But the tournament is not big. This year you had some great freshmen, so you thought, oh, but they all were gone pretty early. The tournament is no longer big because I want to see this great player, that great player, these great teams meet each other. It's big because it's a one and done spectacle. Everybody's betting on it and everything. That's why it's big.

You people that don't even follow college basketball through the year are into the tournament because of just the format of it, period. You might not know any of the players, but the format of it and then you got some big names, a Duke, oh, a North Carolina. That's what makes it exciting. It's not like it used to be where you follow certain players for a few years and all that. It's just unfortunate, but it is what it is. One final graphic to shout out Michigan.

Winning the national title in football and basketball in a span of three years. Just Michigan, Florida, and Ohio State. So things are going well in the Arbor. Florida did it the same year. Yes, that's correct. Yeah, Florida, one of Florida's was. It's kind of cool for Michigan. I don't want to end it on a negative note.

No, and again, everything changes. And it's fine that everything changes. I just, I feel like college basketball, right. College football has a lot of the same changes, but what I have found is the games actually do feel more awesome. Like we're getting these sick matchups, and the level of play, I think, has increased, actually, because guys, like the best players at James Madison

and now going to bigger college. I think college basketball is in a transitional period where they're figuring out how to best handle the different. We saw the number one pick of the NFL do amazing stuff in the national championship game. Wherever Baines get, what's Bain is going to go top 10. He was doing great stuff. So you got some 23, 24 year olds, maybe a little older, who aren't good enough to be in the NBA, but they can be great in college. All right.

We're going to head to the NBA, head to Philadelphia, where the Spurs beat the sixers. But Wemby was injured when he had collided with Paul George in the second quarter, maybe exacerbated it. little bit later on in the quarter. He didn't play in the second half under 16 minutes total, but it does count to the wretched 65 game rule. Now, Shams reporting while we were talking in the block earlier,

that the Spurs are not worried about anything major. So that's good. So that kind of answers the questions, are you worried about when? I was. And we'll see, right? But if it's something

that will affect him, going into the playoffs, then they will not, you know, be the threat we thought in the Western Conference. It's simple as, like, he has to be basically 100%, you know, and playing his best for them to have a chance to beat a Denver and to beat an OKC. If he's not, they can't. And, I mean, obviously, we'll throw in the 65 game. You hope he can play one of these last three games for them.

He's got to play 20 minutes. Now, if it came down that he's just not ready, we don't want to put him out there and risk it. You sit him because the playoffs are more important. That it's, I'm not saying it's weak from the Spurs. I'm saying this rule, it just contains to get disaster. So that's the, so, but if he's out for the year, they're cooked. Yeah, yeah. So then I guess they were frauds.

I just did that to irritate wild. Bet on the Lakers. Let me say it is quickly if you don't mind. I think Nick long-term, and I get this injury was not related to him playing out on the perimeter and stuff, but he's played three years. The one year he's played 30 minutes or more, he got hurt only played 46 games. His first year he played 71, played 29 minutes a game. This year he's played most of the year.

You hear trainers and doctors talk ad nauseum about how even LeBron brought it up. Playing the day is so grueling because you got a guard. out to the three point line. You got to do a lot more moving on defense and offense is so spread out. The spurs who are with OKC, the best run organizations in the league. But their doctors have got to figure out,

okay, if this is really more grueling for everybody, how grueling is it for a 7-5 guy? Because he plays like a guard to a large degree. And Kent, do they have to bring him closer to the basket for most of the game, which wouldn't be bad strategic? strategically either, but he's out there, you know, playing on the perimeter like all the other players on the team, like Castle and Keldon Johnson and him.

And I just wonder, the calf strain earlier in the year, like, does he need to do they need to make him play closer to the basket so he's not out chasing and his joints and all? So in other words, my scoot takes not dead yet. No. No, I mean, they just got to figure it out. I don't know. Feel like the, like you were saying. This wasn't because of that.

No, but it also, I'm always anxious about injuries that when I see them look like nothing. And so certain, like, certainly the second. So this is a real collision, but it didn't look like. Yeah, and he's holding his shoulder, but they're calling it a rib. But that didn't, to me, look like something that we'd be talking about a guy, you know, being knocked out for. And certainly the reaggravation play. really looked like. Well, I think he was banged.

I think, because even that he's not moving, kind of, he's like letharity. Yeah, and so that, you know, my, just general simmering concern about giant athletes. And so that, that's going to exist with Wimby forever, and you just hope that it doesn't rear its head. As far as the 65 game thing goes, because it is, if he missed,

is their next game. It's on the board that by the time they play again, the spurs are locked into the two seed. You know what I mean? The Thunder's magic number is two, and the Thunder are 17 and a half point favorites tonight against the corpse of the Lakers, so it's about to be won. It, if the spurs are locked into the two seed, then obviously the smart thing for them to do in game 82 of this season is to not play even a slightly banged-up wimby, even maximum recovery. But the fact that, now, he's not going to win MVP either way, but he is going to win defensive player of the year. He is going to make his first all NBA team.

And the fact that the Spurs have to do as part of their math, man. Well, is defensive, we've spent so much time on MVP, defensive player of the year is out. All awards. That hasn't even crossed my mind. All awards. Chet's sitting there like, oh. No, it's just ridiculous. And so like, it's really frustrating.

And he is one of those guys who hasn't yet gotten his max deal. Oh, that's a great point. Supermax. He hasn't, yeah, he needs the DPOY to be eligible for it. So, or first team, all NBA, or all NBA. So it's just crazy. Like the Spurs, listen, if they're alive for the one seed, then they might bring him back at less than 100% on their own because, like, hey, it's worth it.

I don't know if they would or not. I think, but don't you think. But don't you think. They've shown they would be conservative, and they're not getting the one. They would need OKC to collapse down the stretch. But it is wild, KW, that this is. It might be one of the worst current rules in sports. It's flying up the charts.

Ten teams hit the field today. Next on FS1 on the Fox Sports Channel right here on Sirius XM. A lot of just parking lot shots there. Yeah. Podcast is rolling and check out our YouTube page where there's all sorts of original content featuring me in a Yankees uniform. It's just you. You know. It's a great.

You do. It's a great unit. Welcome back to first things first. Coach Manjini back in action along with 10 NFL teams. The rule, if you got a new coach, you can start the offseason a little bit early. That's good. Focus on two powerhouses, Ravens and Bills to start. Do we trust the bills or?

the Ravens more under their new leadership. Well, I know coach has got to agree with me now on this one, the Ravens. No, look, I'm looking at it this way. I think the bills are going to be great with Joe Brady offensively. I do, I think both teams will be contenders, but I have some question, I guess, I'll put it on the board about the bill's defense. Yeah. Because I think Sean McDermott was obviously a very good defensive coach.

and they had a ton of injuries, old players, and he always had them as like a top 10-ish defense. So I do question what the defense is going to look like. For the Ravens, I feel like just their defense has been, I know they came on last year, they came on the year before, but it's been a little, it hasn't been that typical Ravens defense we were used to. Mentor was there doing some of the glory years as, you know,

on the staff with the Ravens. He went to the Chargers, took him from 24th to first defensively as their coordinator a couple years ago. So I think defensively he's going to shore things up. Offensively, I just think they got Lamar Jackson and Derek Henry. They're going to be good. Lamar last year had a bad year for him. He still had a 103 pass rating with second in the league and touchdown percentage. Like he still put up numbers.

And we know he wasn't typical Lamar, but they're going to be fine, I think, offensively. and my biggest concern about them has been the lack of discipline, the not being mentally tough in big games, particularly in the playoffs. And I don't know that mentor can change that, but I'm hopeful. And maybe, you know, he will. So I feel like the Ravens have a little more, I guess, upside with the new leadership. And Lamar had those numbers without going to the all-season program.

So the sky's a limit now, or day two. I mean, it's the rocket ship at this point. So Buffalo should have an advantage because of the continuity offensively. And Brady kept 12 coaches from the previous staff. So that should give him the edge. He's not learning a new playbook. There's not going to be that adjustment for your best player. So that's a real positive for them.

But when you look at how this all took place and the decision in the locker room at the end of the season, that's right. The obvious impact and influence that ownership has on the organization and the questionable impact that they've had over other organizations that they've owned historically. So to me, that's a problem. And that's not going away. So as a new head coach, how is he going to navigate through all of that? Where with Baltimore, it's always been a personnel-driven organization.

And since the day one of the organization, I was there the first year. And that group, a lot of those people who are there when we transition from the Browns, the Ravens, are still there. And a new head coach coming in, it's a little bit of plug-in-play because things are taken care of it, and they're going to be able to just focus on coaching. He's going to be able to focus on coaching. He's been there before. That's a real advantage of well. And I think Steve Bishadhi is an excellent owner.

He demands accountability, and he meets with him weekly. but he's not the type of guy that's going to force them to do things because as Barber thinks it's a good idea or some guy he met at the golf club says, hey, you should try this, or the Madden rating says, you know, take this guy and not this guy. So I don't trust the bill's leadership at all.

I trust the quarterback intensely. So I... Is that include Brady? You don't trust Brady either? I don't know why I'm supposed to trust Joe Brady as an NFL head coach. He was a coordinator for Josh Allen. Every coordinator for Josh Allen since he's been Josh Allen, except for the guy who I was forget his name,

who lost his mind breaking stuff in the, Ken Dorsey. You know what I mean? There is a floor, and even Dorsey had success. Like there's a floor there. The only part you didn't mention about the hiring cycle was, and then they also like really let Josh have a hand in it, which I think is always a little tenuous.

And I trust the Ravens organizationally intently, intensely. You mentioned ownership. I think they have a great GM. Jesse Mentor made a, was a guy. A lot of people, I think, were going to hire, or wanted to potentially hire as a head coach, as opposed to the internal, you know, promotion for Joe Brady. The flip side is, the bills are coming up.

off a good season and the Ravens are not. Josh Allen had a really good regular season. I view Lamar's season not quite as possibly as Brutus. I get it was a little bit of. The numbers were his passer rating and efficiency

numbers were good. I felt week to week game to game. It was the worst season of his career. And so it's a I don't really trust the Bill's organization but I've never seen him be bad when Josh Allen's, you know, they are after his rookie season.

There's four sort of Mount Rushmore QBs in the AFC, if not the whole NFL. Mahomes, Burrow, Lamar, Josh. I saw Joe Burrow missed the playoffs often. Yeah. I saw Lamar miss the playoffs. I saw Patrick Mahomes miss the playoffs. We believe in due dates. Do we think that Josh Allen's just going to be in the playoffs exclusively for his whole

career? I just saw, and I know, like, I would not think Lamar would miss the playoffs. I would not think that Mahomes would miss the playoffs. And it just happened. So I would think that. And it's happened to a lot of the greats year and there. Unless you think it's Brady-S. And I know we've got the dolphins in the Jets, but.

No. So maybe those are easy dubs, but the Patriots are there. It's set up for. No, I could see, listen, what certainly the bills can't handle is Josh missing a even a small stretch of time. Like, Lamar, listen, Lamar. missed time last year and that is what the Ravens already were they had started the season poorly it seemed like it was always going to maybe be a bad year but Josh also does seem pretty indestructible

yeah Buffalo had a huge drought before McDermott got there and people criticize him as being micromanaging and maybe too much of a disciplinarian but you can go the other way pretty quickly too and who knows how Josh Allen's going to respond with all this sort of new authority that he has in the organization Also, less sleep. Congrats to Josh. He and his wife just had the baby. That's, I'm not, like, that is awesome and I'm very happy for them. I think that's a real thing that we always disregard when it comes to the court.

The human element. The human element of especially first-time father, like new parent. I think it hit Mahomes when he first had his, like, I think there is just a real element of that the amount of time, hours and energy of work it takes to be one of those quarterbacks combined with no matter what your job is the element of having an infant newborn in the house. Like I think that's a real thing. Your EQ though goes off the charts. Yeah, I would imagine. Take a look at all the teams with new coaches. 10 new coaches. We talked about bills and ravens, but also Browns, Cardinals, dolphins, falcons, giants, of course, Raiders, Ravens we just talked about. Mike McCarthy's

Back and the Titans with Robert Salas. So which new team, or excuse me, which team with a new coach is most likely to surprise the league? Twist good or bad. Oh, good or bad. Yeah. You want to go to the surprise? I love talking about. I twisted it up.

I, yeah. Well, these are higher. Yeah. So that's a positive thing. I'm going to go with Kevin Stefanski and and with the Atlanta Falcons. So they finished eight and nine. The whole division were, you know, the top three teams of the division were eight, nine. so they're not devoid of talent.

They were competitive in that division last year, even though they ended up missing the playoffs. Actually, I would say the flip side, they've got a lot of talent. And in terms of Tua coming into the mix, of all the guys that kind of transition to new places, I think Tua's got the best chance to actually impact an organization

of all these quarterbacks that have kind of shifted homes in the offseason. And I would say that, you know, two-time coach of the year, in Cleveland in that division is a significant accomplishment and shouldn't be taken lightly. So plus I've got Bill Callahan, you know, is one of my favorites. How could it go wrong? You know, I couldn't miss an opportunity there.

So when you add all those things in the mix, I think they have a real chance to win the division and surprise a lot of people. I do think the fancy is a good coach. The question is, does he have a quarterback? And he might, but does he? I think that's the question there. I'm going to go with the Giants. Look, even though I think it was time to move on from Harbaugh and Baltimore,

for the Giants, I think he's just what they need. He'll bring stability. He'll bring a winning culture, all of that. And they got talent. Do you think that would be a surprise, though, Brew? Oh, yeah, because in that, I mean, I think a lot, obviously people are looking at Philadelphia. Oh, but are you talking about them making the playoffs? I'm saying I think they will have a chance.

I think they'll be in the playoffs. That would be a surprise. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I mean, Philly, if Philly takes, which. could take a step back. Dallas will see. I mean, that division, I think the Giants are in play for that division. And then they're going to get, you know, we'll see how they strengthen.

The offensive line is pretty good. You know, we'll see if he, Dart, he's not Lamar Jackson. But, you know, there's some. He's a runner. He's athletic. There's some similarities there. He's got a receiver, too. It seems like that is there.

And he brought in some, like Isaiah Likely, you know, some of his guys. And he brings credibility. Like Harbaugh is obviously a very good NFL head coach. and brings stability and credibility to the organization. It is very interesting going to be, see how the Dexter Lawrence trade request lands, where, you know, who handles that? Does Shane or Harbaugh handle it and how do they handle it?

But, like, they're, I think they're projected win totals seven and a half. So, like, people are, eight and a half. Eight and a half would be wild. Check, no way. The clubs check for me real quick. I remember seeing it doing it on, doing it on my podcast, and I was seven and a half is the number. I'm taking over.

So that's what I'm saying. It seems like that's a trendy pick for the team. This is maybe going to sound like a, I don't want to say a contradiction, but it goes in the face of what I said in the last segment. Because I think most of these teams are going to do about how people expect. Like I don't think there's going to be a huge surprise.

But if one of these teams has a huge surprise and it's due to coaching change, I think it would be a negative surprise, and I think it would be the bills. I think that, again, I think Josh Allen gives you a floor, and I think the Patriots are in for a bit of regression to the schedule mean and a few things next year,

sorry, KW. Better team, but worst record. There you go. Yeah, tail is old as time. And so I think the bills, you can just almost pencil them in every year for at least 11 wins. But I do see a scenario,

where that defense, which I don't think has had a ton of talent the last few years, falls off a cliff. Agreed. If, you know, if Josh isn't awesome from the very beginning, new head coach and a new head coach who seems to be on a very different timeline than the GM. The GM's seat is warming, even though he's got a promotion. That head coach is like, this isn't year 10. This is year one of the Joe Brady year. Like, that I could.

But if they have a bad year. I would think Brady could be in trouble. Well, this starts his job. Quarterback picked you. I think it depends on if anybody's crying in the locker room. That's right. Quickly, before we go, last year, Vrable, Ben Johnson, sophomore QBs, overachieve. We know you're a dayball guy.

Robert Sala on his second team, Cam Ward. Any heartbeat for my Titans. New logo. It's faint. But that same thing would apply, though, to Jackson Dart probably more accurately. Sophomore quarterback would then establish their coach. Yeah. And Giants.

But I like dayball, though. The problem with the Titans is the lack of talent. It's going to be interesting to see how much of a leap that quarterback can take. And how much they miss Bill Callahan. Yeah. They didn't miss Bill. He got tricked last year. It got to be a lot.

Lakers host the Thunder tonight. That's going to be ugly. LeBron off of a 39-15. point performance in a loss to the maps. He reminded a court side fan that he still got it. Take a listen. Don't like him. You're about it.

Your reaction. The reaction. I mean, and if you couldn't see it, it was almost better viewed on your phone. He's laughing at the end when he says they put me on the shelf. But I mean, it is both things are true. I can still do it and they changed his role now he accepted it

and it's what they needed to do did they talk to him though that's the big question did he just decide this is the best way for me to play I don't know that JJ I don't know but I don't know that JJ Redick went to and said you know LeBron we need you to be the third

I think LeBron just deferred on his own maybe and so but it is I don't know if we have this graphic or not like it Brew was one of the only people on TV yesterday that made a point to say how good LeBron's game was in that. And I, listen, I thought it was an awesome game. I didn't realize how rare it was. 30.15 assists games in the NBA this year.

That's the list. LeBron and his first game back from, you know, exile. Me and put on the show. Yeah, Joker twice and Shay once. And so it just, which just speaks to, and again, they lost to the Mavs. It wasn't a good game for the team. But he can still, as an offensive engine, get to a level. A lot of guys in this league can't, even in the year 23 and at age 41.

And so my reaction was similar to yesterday's, which is I just keep thinking about teams next year where he could have that role and they would really compete. And so I'll let you go because there's one team that is moving to the top of my list. Oh, wow. He even showed a little handle that he doesn't often show. I don't know if you guys saw that in that game. He was a little nice with his handle. What was he doing, Bruce?

Show it again. Do it again? But no, he can't do this. Nobody does 30-15 regularly. But he can't do this regularly. And here's the deal. He knows it. Well, sure.

Because if he didn't know it, he wouldn't defer to Luca Donchich, Let alone Austin Reeves, let alone Luca Donge's. They would have to defer to him if he felt he was still kind of the same LeBron James. So I think he's joking, having fun. Now you can do it occasionally, obviously. But 82 games, he knows he's not that same guy. But I think he was having fun. I think he can do more than, you know, he was doing for the Lakers over the past month and a half.

But again, that's part of my. And Nick knows how much I love and respect Lucas game. But that's part of it is that you do, when somebody's that ball dominant, other guys have to back up and can't be. Love and respect. Well, I think respect more than love. Well, his ability. His ability.

He is, like I said, he's. And that's a Nick specific thing? No. The audience. The audience don't. Yeah, I don't think so. I mean, we're on. Nick knows I nicknamed him Luca Legend.

Yeah. You're the only one. And I do think, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, have, I mean, he's a phenomenal player. Do you like his style of play? But I think he should adjust it. I just don't think that's going to win championships.

And I think it takes away from your teammates. As his evidence, by LeBron James and Jalen Brunson. I'm just saying. But you're not saying it. But he's a phenomenal. No, he's a phenomenal. He's a lot of respect his talent and his spot as a

player. He doesn't necessarily like his style. I think that's the way to play. Can you win like that? best way. I think they can. I mean, you can win to a certain level, but nope, we haven't seen people win championship. Yeah, and I think Luke will be the first. I think Luca will

win a championship that way. I couldn't resist. Teams do you want LeBron to go to. Listen, I went and reread the McMinnem and Bond Tim's article from eight days ago. And I think it's really noteworthy how they

included in the details they gave on Denver. I love about his relationship with the owner, Josh Kronki, that I had forgotten, and then I realized it actually Saturday watching Spurs Nuggets. Jared Dudley is on that coaching staff. And as far as a team's ability to acquire LeBron and not ask him to play for the minimum,

to have the sign-in-trade situation, the fact that the nuggets are anticipating losing Peyton Watson, who is a perfect fit for the Lakers as far as defensive wing. You know what I mean? That if both teams feel like we're going to lose LeBron for nothing, lose Peyton Watson for nothing, trade with each other, both guys get paid. All of that where LeBron, I think, would be,

listen, Yokic is their offense, but it's weird because he's a center. I know people call him a point center, but he's not regularly. He touches it every possession, but he's not like bringing it up the court. And he moves it. He moves it. He moves it. He moves it. He's not dribbling.

And I just think that is, I don't think they could win a title in Golden State. I think New York, it would take a great LeBron season. And I don't know at age 24, age 42 and year 24, for great LeBron season. Do you think it would have to take a great, well, let's just say because they wouldn't be the favorites against a Western team. That's what I'm saying. What if they got out of the east? I just think it would be, let me put it like this. I think it would take a great LeBron James finals.

I think that they could get to the east. They could get to the finals without, it's a big ask. Denver to me is increasingly fascinating. I love this with all of my heart. It's also close to L.A. Oh, yeah. But I do think the geographic difference of, like, my house is in L.A., my business in L.A., New York to L.A.

It'd be interesting. I love that. Live from New York, it's a show it's done with the 65 game rule. And I don't think I'm going to stop talking about it. Totally done with it. Every day I say this, today, Adam should end that way. Make a unilateral. I don't.

It's very odd to me that he won't just do that. Well, he doubled down, remember a couple weeks ago. Maybe he's waiting to the end of the season. That's what I'm holding out hope. I don't think, I don't think, just be like, guys, sorry, transpluses. position error. That five is supposed to be a six, a two. It's a 62 game rule. Oh yeah. All the Cade, Luca, Wimby, all these guys are fine. I don't think they should eliminate it, period. And just the voters. I like that too.

Just the vote. Second hour first things for us today. More Janus drama. A new article by Shams outlines more frustrations between the bucks and Janus. Meanwhile, Mendoza in Vegas. Is he a no doubt franchise quarterback? Coach me and Jeannie is here to discuss. But right now it's time for the friendly. segment in all of sports, our first April edition of King of the Hill. And I heard you took some creative liberties with the Hill. I did. So again, we haven't done one in a couple weeks because last week we were off on Tuesday for soccer. This Tuesday, I was supposed to be off because remember, I was invited to watch that Master's Practice round at Augusta that we talked about.

However, in that or you were just randomly invited? No, a listener, a viewer, a listener invited me and I was going to go. However, Wilde has bullied me so much about missing a day here and there. I had to play cards here. Yeah. And so because of that, I thought it was going to be a charity event or something. No, it was the master's practice round. Go to the master's practice round. So, yeah, I mean, you know, bucket life, bucketless thing. That's, can I say that? It would be good for the show. No, but I'm here. I'm here. Going to the practice round is not on your bucket list. It's a small bucket. No. Drop in the bucket. You could die. It doesn't matter. But I went to the That's better for the show if you're here.

Exactly, doing King of the Hill. All right, let's show who fell off the Hill. Bam. The guy scored 100 points. 83. He was atop the Hill a few weeks ago. He was too high a few weeks ago. Now he's too low.

Wow. I don't think he ever made it to the top. No, I think he deserved to be. He was so close. No, he's on the fourth row. Fox has had some rough brunch time stuff. Nothing except mobile. We had to make room.

some sad additions to injured and eligible. Luca, Austin Reeves, and Cade all on injured and eligible. Hopefully, you know, we know Kate will be back. I'm so holding out hope. Luca comes back. Seems like Austin's the longest shot. Janice, Halliburton, A.D. Butler, Tyree, not coming back. But that does open up.

And by the way, you'll notice someone who was on that list for the last month. No longer. Steph Curry. Where will he be on the hill now that he's back? Bottom row of the head. Hill. Cat drops a bit. Paolo Chet and Denny Obdia, stay where they are.

Some new addition. It's time to start talking Hawks. Nickiel Alexander Walker. When you win, what of the Hawks won? 23 of 27, something insane. He's been falling. He's their second best player. He's been bowling and gets on there.

Dan is Jenkins. Wait, what? Dan is Jenkins. Listen. He love it. Bro. The pistons are staying afloat. They have found.

a second ball or a second initiator with Cade out. He's going to matter in the playoffs now. It feels like, oh, Cade maybe doesn't have to play coming off a collapse for. So hold on. You're saying if you lose your best player, you can still stay afloat. As long as you don't lose your best player

and another top three player. Yeah. I am saying. Is he totally healthy? Did they lose Cade and Jalen Duren? You find me any team will leave KW. It's so funny because I was going to when we got to something on here, I was going to apologize for what I said yesterday, but I take, I now, I take back my apology because I thought I saw yesterday's

started yesterday show off on a bad note, so I took a shot at KW for something said for Coopee walk-in video. However, I now retracting video is not on the record. Oh, it's not on the record. Oh, tell Gianna, her job doesn't matter. But now I take it all back. You find any team to leave their top two leading scores going into the playoffs and be fine. And I, I guess those 2019 warriors were frauds too. They lost the Raptors now, Katie and Steph, where they're, ever real condenders. Dan's Jenkins on the hill and Cooper Flagg. The team stinks. He's going to, he's scored 96 points in the last two games. I'm putting him on the hill. I think that's okay, right? This is fair. Flags are okay. Six throw.

So here's the deal. Ant was out. Then he came back. Didn't look like himself. He's out again. Now I'm reading things about runners knee. That can't be good. I don't like that. They're talking about it. It's like, oh, it's the same thing that was step was dealing with. Seth was out for more than a month. I don't like this at all. I don't like it at all. So do, yeah, there. Couple sixers.

Man, don't want the sixers get hot now. True. Tyrese Maxie, Joe L. M.B. Stefan Castle, brew? He might make one of your all-MBA teams. Well, with the way guys, becoming ineligible. Stefan Castle, he's their second best defender and arguably their second best best offense player, maybe third best offense player.

He leads him in assist. Yeah, and so he's a legitimate blue chipper, you know, coming out of college and he's living up to that. When he won rookie of the year, it was kind of like, down rookie class to find Castle won by default. He's more than that. Lamello ball? Let's go.

Shout out James Harden drops a bit. Top 15. Shout out the old guys. Steph came back, scored 29, almost hit the game winner. 26 a minute. Right, and looked awesome. We just talked about LeBron having being one of three. guys now this year with a 30 and 15. He had dropped because there wasn't the statistical,

even though they were winning, his numbers were not. And then the moment it's all on him again, he puts up those numbers. Granted in the loss, he moves up. Devin Booker, no fault of his own, drops just tiny bit. Brunton stays where he is. Jalen Johnson, he's got to be on all-in-BA. He's got to be. And I mean, the hawks are, while it's not time to talk about him, they're the five-seat. You got two hawks on here. Yeah. likes the hawk. I'm going to start talking about the hawks. No, top 10 it is. This is not just like a patronizing good job coming back Jason Tatum ranking. Jason Tatum over the last two weeks, 25, 12, and 8. The rebounds are crazy. 25 a game, 12 rebounds, eight assists,

while all of a sudden shooting 39% from three. Remember right when he came back that was the biggest problem. Tatum's been awesome. And again, he's not 100% Jason Tatum yet, but if they get that level of production in the playoffs, they can beat anybody. Jamal Murray, I think Brew this is the best season of his career. Yeah. And he's been... Not the best run, but the best season. Correct. The start to finish season of his career. He moves up. Donovan moves up just a bit. Jalen Duren stays where he is. Again, I think the because he would be in trouble if they lost Cade and Jailen Dore. Top six, Kauai, who if Luka doesn't win his appeal,

might end up being first team all-N-B-A, who certainly is going to be second-team all-N-B-A. Jalen Brown, you know, he missed a game, but since we did the Hill last, he's averaging 31 a game, which is not far off his, you know, season-long numbers. And KD, Rockets won six in a row, banged on Katie. You were like, you were in the locker room by,

telling all your teammates they suck. Maybe they had a meeting. Who knows what happened? Because this time. But Katie of all the super old guys in the league, Steph LeBron Durant, he has, you know, he's the lowest of those guys historically. He's also the youngest of them.

He's also having the best season of those three guys. Shout out Katie. Top three. No change. Shay and Wimby. I'm assuming. Wimby's obviously not injured and eligible. I'm assuming he's going to be fine.

Wimby, you know, his. is having the best prior to last night, offensive run of his career over the last, since he started, you know, really talking about how offense isn't, you know, it's more than points. He's like, I just probably scored more points. And still, I think one of the more underrated wimby things, the only thing we know about it is what a dominating rebounder he is.

Lately. Yeah, certainly as of late. Shea is Shay is Shay. And then back atop the hill, the best player in the league, I think it's pretty obvious he's best player in the league. the league. And I think he is reminding everybody there are big portions of NBA history where the math on, hey, who's going to win the title? Came down to who's the best player in the league. Joker's at least trying to make the argument. Don't forget about my team, which at this point

nobody is. They are finally back in the three spot for the first time in months, the Denver Nuggets and Niko Liyokic. Joker last night just quickly, 13 assists, five steals, two blocks. Go ahead. What? What? 20 ass stocks. Wow. 20 ass stocks.

He's high on ass dogs. He's just crushed. He leaves a league of assists. Yeah. He's going to be high on ass stocks. All right. Good one. The hill was interesting, Nick.

Thanks. I think Durant's too high. Okay. What's interesting about this NBA now? These old guys, LeBron, Steph, Durant, they still are basically putting up their same. Their career numbers. Right.

They don't, they're not in, yeah, and I think he could if he, but they're not really affecting winning like that. But they can still put up their season, their career numbers, if not better in some case. So it's kind of odd. But I'm moving Duranda. If Anthony Edwards is eligible, I'm, I would, I was thinking maybe he's,

wouldn't even be eligible. If he's eligible, I think he's at least fourth row. Fourth row or no lower than that. And I'd put him ahead of Durant for sure. I put Donovan Mitchell ahead of Durant. So I think Durant is definitely too high. And then little bonus take. I love what the kid is doing.

He's made himself some money. Don't do it. Oh, don't. It's nice. This is the, this is not charity. It's the best 28 guys in the league. No, no, it's not. And I'm sorry,

Dennis Jenkins is not one of the best. It's not best 208 guys in the league. What is it? It moves around. It's just a lot of fun. Let's just throw out a bunch of names. Where in where there's a bunch of grass and a crown? I want to give that guy a little love.

Otherwise, it doesn't move. I would put the other two guys from your sharp. Ronald Hornets, Brandon Miller, their leading score, and Khan Kinnipple ahead of Danis Jenkins. Well, he does make some good points. I mean, I'm just saying, what is the Hill? What is the Hill? It is a combination of the best players alive plus the best seasons, plus the most impactful last two weeks or weeks since we last did the Hill.

It's a little bit of that. USA Today. It's got hot. It has flames. And Danis Jenkins, all of us. sudden bursting onto the scene and keeping the pistons locked into that one seed, making other teams feel like, oh, man, when we play the pistons in the playoffs, when Cade goes and takes a rest, we're going to have to deal with somebody.

It's a cute story. It's a cute story. It's bottom row. And then as, listen, as far as Anthony Edwards goes, here's the problem. He just came back from his injury. And then he got, you know, we missed another game. but because of that, he's not injured and eligible. What's also true is Anthony Edwards since the last Hill two weeks ago

has played two games, and in those two games, has averaged 12 and a half points on 35% from the field because he's not himself. So listen, do I think Anthony Edwards is obviously a top 10 player in the league? Obviously. But do I think this current version of Anthony Edwards is better right now than Jalen Brunson or those guys ahead of him? I don't. just because he's not himself.

So I don't, that it is, I will admit, the aunt ranking in a snapshot of it. It's like, no, I don't think he's outside of the top 15. But he's not, he's not himself. They're in trouble. Oh, yeah. They're in trouble. One of the many teams that they,

period, because he. It's weird how the NBA's changed. It's almost like if your best player is not around, you could be in trouble, KW. You know what? Rockets. Okay. Six in a row.

Uh-huh. KD's playing great. Guess who else is playing great? Shingoon. Shingoon is back. You won the game? You know what? I was going to say, call me crazy.

I think he's better than Danis. He is. Call me crazy. Had this kind of ugly game winner, but it counts during their six-game win streak. You know, defense is E-May is really calling card. But their offense has gotten even better. It was 115 before this win streak. Right now, it's 128.

shooting 56 percent three point percentage it's nuts that's too much so that should come back down her so that's when Katie and Shingoon are together yes there yes when just well but still that's yeah it should be that and then Shingoon's highest field goal percentage since the start of March I usually I just do April so you're saying he's gearing up for the playoff he's getting a little bit closer to the basket he may doesn't want him shooting threes so he's getting some easy bucket so hopefully in the playoffs he can shine Maybe we're sleeping on the Rockets a little bit.

Maybe the Rockets pendulum needs to swing back to where it belongs, where we, does the team hate each other? Listen, all of a sudden, the Rockets went from the team everyone wants to play in the West to the team that is probably going to get to play the team the team everyone wants to play in the West, the Lakers. You're saying what I mean? Yep. Like the the Rockets went from the team. It's going to be Denver, Minnesota. That's what it looks like. and the Houston, L.A. 4-5.

And I think also if you're Denver, you're a little bummed. About Minnesota? Again, if it's healthy for sure, it's like, come on. Like, we moved all the way to the three, and now we're playing one of the only teams that's beating us in the playoffs. But, yeah, I mean, I do think the Rockets were the team everyone wanted, and now they are going to get the team everyone wants in the Lakers. So Shingoon is making a strong campaign.

to be on the final regular season Hill. Wow. Next week. And the final regular season. We're done with the Hill already? Regular season. The final regular season Hill brew is a look at the regular season in its total. That's a hole, yeah.

In its hole. It's not about- Shingoon has got to be on it, especially with all the injury exceptions. Guys, that's- I mean, Shangoon is nice. Does the Hill operate on the 65-game rule? It shouldn't. It will be very upset.

Thank goodness. The Hill does not operate on the 65-game rule. And in the final- regular season Hill, even if you are currently injured, you are eligible. Really? Well, yeah, so like Kate Cunningham will be on there. Luca will be on there for the final regular. No, no, no, you have to have played this year.

You're all NBA team plus. See, there you go. Since I don't have a vote, I have to do it in Hill for it. Yonis. It's exactly right. Might be done with the bucks. Believe it or not. That's next on first things first.

So Janus will be eligible. Where will he be on it? That article is. Oh, really? That's going to be interesting. Saturday night is baseball night in America on Fox. Red Sox, literally. Wow. Put a helmet on.

I hope you're getting Giants Orioles. No, you're getting Red Sox Cardinals and Roman Anthony has the Red Sox. Look, it's early. Is it the worst record in Red Sox history at 2 and 8? Yes. But it's getting laid out. Yes, literally. I can't believe it's like.

You know what? They were your world serious. We have great. We're supposed to have great pitching. We don't. Shams outlining months of frustration around Janus's future in a new article headlined inside the fractured relationship between Janus and the Bucks. Highlights.

Wolves Heat Warriors leading suitors didn't happen. Bucks weren't happy with any deal. Other teams were upset. Now we're in the midst of shutting Janus down and the controversy there, which we learned cost Janus a Nike bonus for not playing in enough games. The article ends where they source close to the team. team saying, quote, this is as toxic of a team situation as any in the league. Your reaction, bro.

It's just ridiculous. I mean, look, at this point, Janus, he's worried about the public response to him demanding a trade. Nobody, at this point, everybody would be like, yeah, you should demand a trade. So just come out. And it's best for the organization, too. The organization could come out and say, we have mutually agreed with Janus that it's time to trade him or he can come out and say, and it doesn't have

to be acrimonious. Say, look, I've loved my time here. I was grateful that I could bring a championship to the fans of Milwaukee. I love these fans. This has been home to me. It's just time to move on. My goodness. Like, this is ridiculous. And look,

I think the trade, and I've said this before, the trade is to Houston. Assuming they don't go on some deep run to the finals or whatever. trade is to Houston. If I could get Shingoon and Reed, Shepard and some picks for Yonis, man, I think that can grow into something pretty good in the Eastern Conference. And then if I'm Houston, I got a win now because of Kevin Durant.

I got Yonis. I still would have Jabari Smith. I'm in Thompson. Fred Van Vleet will be back next year. Like, that's a team that could contend in the West. I like that. It's simple. I'd love to see him go to Golden State.

I just don't know that that's possible. And I don't think Golden State would. Contempt for a championship. Really? Yeah, I mean... I guess you don't know if Steph will be healthy. Well, and because you're going to have to give up something for Janus. So it would be Stefan Janus against...

Jimmy Butler, I guess you have to throw... I mean, I don't know if you'd be trading Jimmy Butler or Draymond. I also think that Jimmy Butler at 36 coming off a bad knee. Like, you know, those... I'm already worried about that. to begin with. And so two takeaways.

One minor takeaway. About Janice's frustration about not playing down the stretch. It's millions of dollars from Nike and one of his brothers threw an alley-oop to the other one last night.

And he was, you know, I do think that there is that element of, man, I you know, this is if this is how my time in Milwaukee is ending, I'd like it to end on the court with my brothers. Like that, and they signed his, again, no disrespect to his brothers. His brothers are writing the Anadipu family wave there,

which is like that. There's a long history of that in the NBA. So that's fine. So I understand his frustration, financially and personally in that regard. But my other takeaway, is, I now no longer think Milwaukee is

going to care a ton about where he wants to go. I don't. Because of this odd as acrim? Yeah, it seems first of all, ever since Haslam bought into the box, it seems like there's, you know, not necessarily

a defined captain of the ship. That's a different article people can read from a couple months back. And I think that they it seems like the two sides at enough odds that it will truly be best deal available. Now, I think a team would only be willing to give Milwaukee the best deal if Janus was okay with going there because, right, because you only want to sign a trade for him.

he's going to sign the extension. But those are my takeaways. And the other takeaway is newly minted Hall of Fame or Doc Rivers is going to be a broadcaster again in short order. I'm not trying to be a jerk. Like, it seems like his time in Milwaukee was a disaster from. From day one. Adrian Griffin, they were actually,

what were they, 14 and 13 or something in 30? It was something. It was something great. They had a good record. They fired him and Doc's under 500. And you had one of the telling things about the article and then go was Doc gave some impassioned team speech that did not go over well.

And they write in the article according to six people in the room. I don't know how many people were in the room, but it would sound like about half of them. Then told people this ain't gonna, this does not. But he was saying like check my resume. Yeah. He's like, listen. Check my stat.

Yeah. I'm in the Hall of Fame and I do it. I did win. I'm one of the top 15 coaches ever. Yeah. I mean, he is. I'll throw this in too. Because I've even seen ex-players.

Ex-players criticize Janus for wanting to play. You understand what they're doing. They don't want to get you heard for the trade or, you know, get the best lottery pick. I'm not going to kill a guy who wants in this day and age where they had the, put in the 65 game. Oh, I agree with you. For low management, right? I'm not going to kill a guy for one to play because here's the thing.

Miss me with all that, oh, we're trying to get the best lottery pick or the game. We're out of it so we don't want to get him hurt. Are you giving refunds to your fans? Are you even making that an option? No. So then you send out your best, if your best player wants to play, unless you're giving the fans refunds. I told you what I think. He should put on his uniform.

and start warming up. And what is going to happen? Let's just tell me what's going to happen. I'm yonest. It would be interesting to see what doctor. I'm going to start, I'm going to start warming up on the court, and the fans are going to be there.

I'm going to sign autographs. And then when it's time for the starting five to go out, I will be standing on the court. But if they don't list you, I can't remember all the room, but they have to list you as an eligible to play. Yes. Well, then I'm going to be.

If they don't list you, then. Your security is going to pull Janus out. I would take it to the, like, let's see it play out. But I'm not going to do is sit there and street clothes and complain. And just be like, this is not fair. You're the most powerful person in the organization. Here's the thing, though, but he's clearly not. But he is.

The power is with the fans in the organization. So you can flip the leverage back on management by showing up in your uniforms. the guy with the union leader father. Look at Kato. He should do it. Otherwise, I just think it's unfair for everything he's given to the Milwaukee, to the

organization. The fact that his brothers are there, suit up, man. Suit up and check yourself into the game. Now you don't even have to take it. Let's start. Again, they'd have to put him on the active. Put me on the active list. But if they don't, if they don't, you still suit that? It's going to be embarrassing for you.

If I will be in a full sweat warming up and people are going crazy. Then I'm going to sit there. And what do you think people are going to be chair? We're a chant for Taco Fall in Bosn. You think you're going to chant for Janus? Do we have a little more time here or do we have to move on? Okay, just real quick.

If not Houston Brew, there's not a ton of teams that make a ton of sense and have good trades. Because we talked a year ago, San Antonio, maybe. But now San Antonio is like, no, we are not, we're keeping our assets, keeping our young players, keeping our flexibility. I remember right before the trade deadline when it looked like OKC all of a sudden was on shaky ground. Now, if OKC gets just clipped. Denver beats them. Right. And it'd have to probably be before the conference finals, which Denver probably wouldn't play them there.

But like if somehow OKC has a disastrous playoff run, maybe they're like, they're like, Why not? But if OKC and San Antonio are out, the Lakers don't have good assets, the Warriors I don't feel have good assets. Minnesota. Right, Minnesota and then like Cleveland's in this like second apron hell.

The Knicks traded their picks. Miami trades for them. They're just Milwaukee's South Beach. Right. Like the team won't be any good. Sixers. No, honestly, it's the teams that I, like I mentioned Atlanta. Atlanta,

Atlanta would work and Atlanta always would work, particularly depending on what that Pelican's pick turns into. But I don't know if that's where he wants to go. It's not as, and because of his age and now his injury history, there's not as many teams that are willing to give up everything. Denver has won nine games in a row, back-to-back games in overtime. Joker had 35, 14, 13. Five steals two blocks. Aaron Gordon hits a corner three to seal the win. Western Conference standings, a little bit of a shakeup.

Thunder spurs are one and two. Then Denver, then the Lakers, who could fall behind the rockets after they lose the thunder tonight? They couldn't fall behind tonight, but they could eventually fall. Got you. So should Spurs be worried about Denver? Yeah. I mean, that'll be a great series. I said after the game Sunday, I want to see seven of these.

I mean, Yolkits and Wimby going at it would be phenomenal. I would rather, even if the Lakers, let's say they survive round one and get healthy. I guess I can put it I can expand that if I'm the Spurs Denver's the last team I want to see they're not going to see okay see in the second round Denver's the last team I want to see in the second round I'd rather see the Lakers I'd rather see Minnesota or Houston yes any of them now I do think the Spurs could win that series I think it depends on how much as Wemby said we learned from this game he's young he's saying that but that's what it

would depend on because I think it it would be a hard fall series. I think it probably would go seven. Certainly six. I think it'd be tight. But that experience of the nuggets, I think, would be tough. And you brought up the stats and Yokic has put up huge numbers against Wimby. Wimby's put up big numbers too. He's 25, 15 boards and four blocks against the nuggets in his career. So I think it'd be a, it'd be a historic matchup. Some people would call it Godzilla versus Mothra. Some people are. It would be tough, though. It would be a great thing.

And I just add the wrinkle of my small concern, Wimby, 29 minutes a game, never played in the playoffs. 35 minutes a game, playoff intensity, oh yeah, and altitude for half the series. Yeah. Like that, that's so, if the nuggets are as presently constituted, meaning I don't even need Peyton Watson back. I think that you'd be great to have back. I don't want to sound disrespectful. But I'm saying I'm not even incorporating him coming back. But as long as the guys, they're starting five as of now,

as healthy as they are right now going into that series, I would pick the Nuggets. And I think that the, now the biggest winner of the nuggets getting to the three line, I believe actually is OKC. If OKC is like, okay, so we're, We're only going to have to beat one of Denver or San Antonio to get to the finals. And we're going to have, you know, it didn't. And it's so funny.

Denver also is probably like, and our big reward for getting to the three line is Minnesota, which is not a great reward for them. But I think Denver is now that Gordon is back and Gordon, I don't believe they have a top 10 defense with Aaron Gordon. But I think the defense is stable enough that the offense is just Joker's so good and Jamal Murray is playing so well. I would pick them over the babies. It's a little bit like Lakers Light storyline. What do you mean?

Great offense, okay defense might carry you. Yeah, that's correct. With an all-time great offensive player, obviously very different styles in Joker and Luca. Yeah, I believe that absolutely can. Gordon changes everything for them. And he's become like this great three-point shooter. That no-dip three just catch him just fire. No, he changes everything.

Mendoza working out in Vegas. Kirk Cousin's already there. How many games are we going to see? Is he a lock to be the leader's quarterback one? Nick's got the Raiders. Oh, my God. You know what, guys? I'm never making a bold prediction again.

I like the Raiders. Hey, UFL is back. This is week two, final game of week two, St. Louis, against the Dallas Renegades. My squad tonight, 80s, turn. Great here on FS1. Welcome back, Coach Van Jeannie. Welcome back football.

Raiders hosting expected number one Rick Fernando Mendoza today. Kurt Cousins already on the Raiders squad, reunited with Kubiak, who was QB coach and OC with the Vikings. So we're not sure who's going to be the week one starter. But are we sure that Fernando Mendoza will be the Raiders franchise quarterback, coach? Yeah, thinking about this, it just depends on how we're defining franchise quarterback. Are we looking at it sort of as that first tier where it's the Patrick Mahomes,

the Joe Burroughs, the Lamar, like that level of franchise quarterback, or then there's the next level? Ten-year starter, Trevor Lawrence Love. Well, yeah, and. Well, Trevor's in Indie. Nobody got a contract and they're happy. But that's exactly what I'm talking about. It's that other level of quarterback. You know, is DAC Press the DAC Prescott?

Trevor Lawrence. Would you be happy with Trevor Lawrence? Yeah. Thrilled. I don't know. I don't know if you'd be thrilled with it. You know, you get into that second contract with a guy. You think that he's going to give you a chance to lead you to a championship.

And we're going to have to see with Trevor Lawrence. but that's where I see him landing more so than that top tier of guy. And he, as a player comparison, he kind of reminds me of Chad Pennington. So I had Chad in New York, and Chad, the year that he was drafted, he was the first quarterback drafted in that class. Now, Brady was drafted a little bit later in that class. Chad was drafted as the first guy. He was 13-0 in college, a little bit different conference.

I get all that. But really good processor, really accurate passer, catchable ball, excellent leader, smart, all those things that you see in Mendoza. And he did give you a chance to compete for it. He just wasn't necessarily in that next tier of guys. So I think that he'll be, he could be there for a long time. He could make them very competitive. But I don't necessarily see him being in that elite category.

Pennington is an interesting comp that I think makes sense. He's bigger, though, than Pennington, right? He's two inches bigger than Chad is. Because, look, I'd be hesitant to say this about any quarterback coming out of college. Because we've just seen so many Bally Hood, Heisman winners, top picks. Generational talents. Right, right, not paying. I mean, Trevor Lawrence has come along.

Undefeated in high school. But he's not what we thought, at least to this point. A playoff game pretty early in a big contract. He's not what we thought he'd be. Top five MVP this year. But then Brock Purdy is a good quarterback. You know, so it's just so hard to predict. I do, though, think they're setting him up.

I think, like you said, you named all his qualities. I think he does have qualities that you like. And then I like the fact that he's going to go in there and be behind Kurt Cousins for at least half the season, if not most of the season or all of it. I like that. So I think they're putting him in a good position to be a franchise quarterback.

And if he's got the goods, I think they're setting him up well. You know, I like him. That's why I wanted you to. I think that winning is underrated in college. I like that Joe Burrow won at LSU. I like that he won with Indiana. JJ McCarthy won, and I didn't see him throw the ball. So that's that one frustration.

You know what I like? But he didn't win. You got to win a national championship? No, I put, I look, if the measurables were, The measles work, great. And if the pro day is, you know, all the pro days are the same. But if the measurables are good, that's one great thing. If the characters are great, like he's leadership and all of that is good, good.

And then if he actually wins, I like that. I don't. I mean, but that, so I, listen, winning at Indiana does matter to me. And winning the way he won in a big game. Right. And playing big and big. big games. I actually think, you know, Fernando Mendoza won some big games. I know that's like controversial opinion. But I, and I like his disposition. I think that and you guys know I like,

I don't like small quarterbacks. I like big quarterbacks. He's big kid. And unlike where the other difference in Chad is even at Marshall in college, Chad wasn't putting his body on the line quite as much. Tell me if you think I'm wrong. But he wasn't to me Mendoza, I don't know if he'll do it in the pros, but has a toughness of his running style that just shows a level of athleticism that is somewhat unique for the position, not all that unique. But you'd agree his level of athleticism in like the other guys that we talk about where he can really make a lot of plays with his feet. He can do enough to kind of escape, but he's really going to have to step up into the pocket and move around the pocket. No, I don't think he will have like plus

athleticism for athletic NFL quarterbacks. I agree with that. I also though, so because other winners in college are Bryce Young and Mac Jones, who were first round picks. And I like both those guys. I know you do, but I think. Measureables aren't there for Bryce. Measurables aren't there for Bryce. I don't know if they're quite. And I feel like the intangibles weren't quite there for Mac the way they are for this young man.

A little bit silly. And I don't know how beloved he's been. But that's, again, I'm trying to pick on your guy. I look at though quarterbacks. I think we make a mistake when we're projecting the quarterback. and look at them just within the class rather than in buckets of classes. Like prospects over the last five years of quarterback drafts.

And that's where my hesitation on Mendoza comes. And it's one of my honestly, one of my concerns about Cam Ward was, were these guys the best quarterback that came out this year? They're concerned. But if we take the last 10 first round quarterbacks, would they have been seventh and ninth?

You know, and so like that... We talk every year like there's a... Right, there's not always a great quarterback. And did we get overserved in excellent quarterbacks in the Caleb Drake class? Because I think Caleb's going to be excellent. Drake almost won MVP. Bow Nix, even if... Jaden, shoot, I left out Jaden.

And then my apologies. And Bo Nicks obviously has really won a lot and just played great in a playoff game. So if those guys were just... dropped in the quarterback classes after theirs. And then Cam Ward was the second quarterback taken in the 17th pick. And Mendoza was the second quarterback taken now, which probably would go to the jet to me the second pick anyway, would the expectations be a little different? Because we joke about Trevor, but teams don't think it when they take a quarterback number

one. But Trevor Lawrence has had an above-average number one overall pick start to a career. because it is really hard to get like the actual. Doesn't he have the same resume as Trevor Lawrence? Big. I don't think he was. Trevor and Trevor was far better throughout the entirety of his college career, even though his best year and Trevor's best year are similar.

And he was the Gatorade High School of America. The player of the year. I mean, I thought of all of Americans. I felt better watching Mendoza's tape. and I felt watching Cam Ward's tape last year. But to your point, it does depend on who you're working against in terms of the class of quarterbacks. So he benefits from that aspect of it.

And I do think there's some value. Now, Indiana had a good season before he'd gotten there, and so the foundation was laid. But the fact that he was able to come in and actually get them to the national championship, win the national championship, have the undefeated season, that does matter. And he essentially changed that,

franchise. Indiana was irrelevant for some long. The other thing that I like Kubiak and I don't think he's going anywhere. We saw him do great with Sam Darnal. We saw him do great with cousins, obviously, in Minnesota. The other number one picks, Cam Ward's coach, gone, so he's got a new regime.

Caleb's coach, gone, has a new regime. Why do you say you don't think Kubiak's going anywhere? I just, I would just be shocked if he got fired. You'd be shocked if guys get fired? I mean, are a lot of these guys A lot of guys, I mean, I'm not saying it'd be one and done, but I would take, I would say the odds are in the history is that the Raiders have a new head coach before the end of Mendoza's working. But do you think it's a Titans and Bears situation that he's walking into? I don't think so.

No, but I also thought, I thought Trevor was walking into it. I didn't think Urban Meyer was going to make 13 games. I mean, I mean, he's never coached in the NFL. Well, first things first overtime today. Michigan's dominance. Did it change the state of college basketball? We discussed. Meanwhile, Jeremiah Love is talking about going to Canton, not on a trip to, like, visit the museum, about being in all the faith.

He's talking about that? Yep, one person here absolutely loves it. And finally, it's top 10 Tuesday. A few editions of Top 10 Tuesday. This one will be great. Out of the 10 teams that are practicing today, Who is it who's the best, Danny, or who you most optimistic? Of the 10 teams that have a new head coach, who's going to have the best season?

So for this season, not the next five years, not the next 10 years. Not predictions week. Yeah, pencil. I have a confession of it. Because this, like you said, there were a few top teams. One of them that Dan ended up not doing was about like must be at sporting events. And the reason that's not happening is not because of the reason Danny thought.

Danny thought, that's too hard to understand. This is more topical. It was because I saw that he had in the top five a Friday afternoon game at Wrigley's field. And I was like, we can't put that on TV. I was like, you know what? I was like, you know what? He had that above the Wimbledon final in the Super Bowl.

Friday 120 Cubs game was better than game seven NBA finals. Didn't say that. And I said, okay. And I said, you know what? I never pull seniority, but I was like, blame it on one of the bosses or something. To be fair, Nick wanted to put like an eight hour final table at the World Series of poker. Friday 120, it was a religious experience. With sunglasses, so four in the morning.

Friday 120 Cubs games. I would like to do that. You would like to do it. And if you were in Chicago for a long weekend, you might do it. But if you were. But it would not. I'm okay going into the ground without doing. Well, that's a mistake.

I feel sorry for you. Let's all go. Show out there. Remember, you can bring your computers. Michigan are the champions. Parkins picks right again. Just on a heater. Danny grinded the tape, studied the analytics, and talked to people in the know.

And in the end, his professional analysis, spot on. Michigan, too tall. Danny Hurley was actually happy. It was just a close game. Take a listen. To be able to, you know, keep that team under 40% from the field, 38%. This team has destroyed everyone they faced in this tournament.

The growth, the way they played in March. I mean, you know, like to just the whole experience that this team has given, you know, the coaches, the fan base, you know, to play to the last, you know, to be one of the last two teams standing. Danny, what was the number one reason your Wolverines won? I mean, you can mock too tall all you want. Too tall was right.

Jumped off the screen. They were too tall. Yukon's like doing hook shots and working for their baskets and then Michigan. Layup. It's a lot easier. I got cut from the high school basketball team. My mom said height is might. I wasn't tall enough.

Height is might. Yeah. It made me feel better. You're pretty tall for a high school. And my high school was pretty good. But also, I mean, I think the trend that this continued is something that we should just pay attention to. as a show and like a sports community. We have a graphic here for it.

I think it's a trend that. Yeah, okay. That's right. Yeah, I just keep winning. That actually tricked me. Yeah, I just keep winning. You know, winning the playoffs when it matters, most NFL picks, and I got it right. Playoff record.

Yeah, playoff record is spectacular, finish strong, told you guys who was going to win the turn. That's a gnar near route. It's just something. The same tourney winner as me. We both had Houston. Yeah, but I'm not in a professional. rivalry with Brune anyway. So listen, I think Michigan was clearly the overwhelming team in

college basketball this year. They are, and we'll get into the bigger picture stuff, just like all transfers and, you know, a hot match, like they are where the sport is going. But when you watch them over the course of the year and any style of play, putting up 90 points in every game, everything went right for Yukon yesterday. Michigan shot poorly. Their best player was clearly hobbled and admitting at a halftime interview that he couldn't take advantage of players and that he was hurt. They out rebounded him.

They out rebounded. Everything was going Uganda's way, and they basically never led. So they are just an overwhelming team and a deserving champion won. Well, look, and to your point, just looking at Hurley's reaction, even

before the game, like when he said, you don't have to be the best team this season. to win. Like, when you look at a lot of his comments and then afterwards, it's like he knew they were the better team. Now, I'm sure he believed we can concoct something and we can win this game. But he knew, you know, going in and after the game.

But, yeah, the size was huge. They dominated them in the paint. They got to the frow line, you know. Made their free throws. Twice as much. Yeah, and made their free throws. And they blocked a ton of shots. Like, they were their size and.

defense was the difference in this game. And then they made the big plays. Now, Danny, I will say this, and I said it earlier, when that game, that game was still close. I mean, it was within striking distance. And while Michigan was clearly the better team, you were thinking maybe Hurley, look, this is how they win, this how they beat Duke.

And I thought maybe they had a shot. If Dusty, I think if we still have the video, but it was two minutes left. Down six. They got the steal. They're down six now. This should have. Now, again, they contest at the rim, so that's a good defensive play.

But had they hit that, they cut it to four. They don't. They come down Michigan and hit a three. And even if they just get a stop here. Yeah, then maybe you're in play. Now, again, I'm not saying they definitely will have won that if they hit that. But that's when it was definitely over after they didn't convert this and then Michigan hit the three. I'm really curious because I'm going to echo what these guys said.

I just think Michigan was better. And while I didn't get much about this tournament right at all, yesterday's game went about how I thought, which is Michigan controlled the second half. In college basketball, in a million ways, is very different than the NBA. And that in the NBA, an 11-point lead sometimes can feel like nothing. And in college basketball, a seven-point lead can feel like,

oh, I don't know what they're going to do. And part of that is just like the percentage of points score. Like when I was watching the Women's National Championship game, I said to, it was Easter Sunday, I said to my mom and daughter, I said, well, this game's over. And my mom said, they're only down, I think, 17. I was like, yeah, but down 17 when you only have 28 is like a huge number. And so like, it's just.

And every NBA team's got really good offensive players. Right, guys who can just easily score. And so I didn't feel, though, KW, that Yukon, like, if Yukon doesn't get blasted by St. Johns in the Big East title game, they're the final one seat. Like, this wasn't, I didn't, this wasn't like a wow. How did they get here to the, like, I understand they were a two, not a one, but I think going into that Sunday, the day, the weekend that the selection committee is on, they could have taken Florida, the one seat that floored in. ended up getting. They were, you know, an excellent team throughout the year, but Michigan, Arizona, and Duke had the three best seasons pretty clearly.

They were the three definitive one seeds. Duke, for its second straight year, kind of blew its tournament game, a game they controlled the game against Houston. They were up five with the ball with less than a minute left against Houston and lost. We know how they lost to Yukon in historic fashion. And so then Michigan, Arizona, it probably was unfair for, you know. us to call it the championship game because this game was closer than Michigan, Arizona. But it felt like those were the two best teams in the final four in the winner of that game was going to win the title.

Danny, let me show you a headline from the athletic. Michigan's greatness can't save March Madness from something that was much less than that. What does the tournament say about college basketball? It's a different sport. We're watching just something that is entirely different than it was even five years ago. ago and we have to adjust in real time our expectations for this sporting event. I did adjust them. You told me because there were no upsets, we'd get this epic elite eight and final four. I said we needed to. No, honestly, because that was syndrome. Is that what you

think? Yeah, no, we can check the tape. And by the way, like, on paper, we did. The games didn't deliver. No. But like, the advanced analytic, even more hardcore college basketball, basketball fans than I am said that Arizona, Michigan was like statistically the two best teams to ever meet in the final four. Now, Michigan happened to blow them out, and you could roll your eyes at the analytics, but that is what the numbers. Yeah, that's ridiculous. I understand, but that is what the numbers said about that. We got, I mean, no one thinks that. No, hold on. And it's not even, like, do you even think that? Hold on. Let me translate what I think the advanced analytics are saying, because what they are not saying is that Michigan or Arizona was as good as

the Georgetown teams of the 80s or you, an LV or Duke. What they're saying is their success against this year's college basketball field. You understand what I mean? Made them, the gap between them and the other teams in college basketball.

They were the highest teams to meet. Right. They were the most dominant within the season. But it didn't deliver. But right. No, no, it definitely didn't deliver. No question. So the ultimate, the Yukon Duke game was excellent because of the comeback and the shot. And then the other games at

end, they were between Titan programs. And this was a huge, I mean, Michigan going for a dominant season against Dan Hurley and Yukon going for a dynasty. That is a matchup that we would all take in a national championship game in terms of storylines going in. It's just, I think the sport needs to have a reckoning on what it wants to do. Like, is this going to work? Is it going to work with after the game last night when one shining moment is playing on

our television? they've got Michigan assistant coaches contacting kids in the transfer portal. Like, does that make sense fundamentally to the sport? Or do we need to figure out? And we're not going to do it here in a podcast topic or whatever. But like, do the players need to unionize, have a players union, and sign contracts with these schools that can maybe be more than a year so we can have some degree of continuity between the teams?

Because I don't know that this is sustainable. for what we all loved about the sport. Well, look, the only reason it's working, in my opinion, is the tournament, the format of the tournament. And I agree, the game's word didn't deliver. Last night's game, God bless Michigan, but it was just, it wasn't an exciting game, all right? But it's worked, the tournament works. The regular season, I don't, is not nearly as popular as it used to be. Yep.

But the tournament, just because of the format, everybody loves that. So, and look, these are. A lot of these teams are much older now, right? 23-year-olds, 24-year-olds, some 25-year-olds. They're guys that aren't good enough to be in the NBA, but they can go to Kyle. Like a lot of the, and I'm not trying to short any of these guys. If somebody's looking at some of these guys that were great in the tournament

and thinking they're going to go to the NBA and be great, they're mistaken. You have to gauge that they're playing against teenagers. and even sophomores who, if they were really great, would be in the NBA. So it's just, it's a minor league. And to your point, unionize all that. But it is, it's minor league basketball. So that, and that is where, and I feel passionately about this, college sports should not be a minor league professional sport.

They lose all of their charm and importance is the lack of word. I don't know what it's called. Just the history. Right, that makes it special. We are not interested in just the G League. That's not what college basketball. And so one of the reasons I firmly believe women's college basketball has gained momentum over the years is that is the place

we teams we grow with them oh I remember Caitlin and Angel had a thing a year ago now they have a thing again oh wait

Caitlin's back in the final four oh Haley Van Lith now she did transfer but I remember her she was with them like the Yukon women holy crap are they ever going to lose like UCLA are they going to get

over the hump and that is so I we went from a wildly unfair and I feel exploitive system where it's like if you sign autographs you're going to get in trouble to no rules or regulations whatsoever and neither to me is the correct one because it is I think imperative for the health of the sport that we get because the tournament is where it draws in all the casuals

that you develop an emotional attachment with a team in the tournament that then the next year you care about. That the next year you're like, oh, I want to see how that team is going to do. But that in this sport is gone now. And the only way that it would have offset it, it's like, yes, that's true. But man, the final two weeks of the tournament are the best amateur games you've ever seen in your life. And that's where I was giving you hard time.

It wasn't that. They were blowouts and Duke, Yukon was awesome. Everything else was, eh. Now, here's the thing, and I agree with you. Like, you use the perfect word, I think, charm. Like, everybody has their colleges they rooted for growing up or that they're connected to or whatever. But if you have essentially minor league players getting paid,

I'm paid now to play for the University of Michigan. You don't think that that could, those Michigan fans, those alums and all that, will still be, even though these aren't viewed as like real stupid. No, no, no, no. I think that's fine as long as it's multi-year, as long as we can get to know them. You know what I mean?

Like the, and again, I don't mean to bring up. There's a fairness. Like, if I'm a freshman and I'm dominating and I want to go to the league. Oh, I think they'll always be allowed to go pro. I think it's that you bounce from school to school. You know what I mean? I don't think anything. Sign.

Sign contracts, incentives for if you outperform it, you can make more money. It's complicated, but this system clearly isn't, it's not right. All right, time now for Top 10 Tuesday. If you've got a new coach, you get to start practice a little earlier. So here's Danny's top 10 teams with new head coaches, who's the best and who's the 10th best, which is the worst. The worst, yeah. And this is for this upcoming season, and it worked out because there are 10 teams with new head coaches. And number 10, I think was pretty simple, the Miami Dolphins.

And this is not, it has nothing to do with Jeff Halfley, who I think did a really nice job in Green Bay and might eventually do a very good job in Miami. It's just this is as close to a tank in the NFL as we've ever seen. The salary cap we can show it is just over 300 million and over half of their money is spent on players who are not on the roster. That's unprecedented by a lot. Correct. It is an NFL record for a team. They are not going to be able to be competitive. It's going to be very interesting to see how they judge Malik Willis this year. I now think this next grouping of teams kind of comes in.

There's like a four-team group, but this is how I put him in order. Coming to number nine, the Arizona Cardinals. I do like Michael Flore's profile, though. Brother of Matt LaFleur, Sean McVeigh's offensive coordinator, worked for Kyle Shanhan for a number of years. He's young, probably has cool plays. So I do. I like young guys with cool plays, but real tough division to break through. And coming into number eight, Tennessee Titans.

It's the opposite of that. Robert Sala, Brian Daibel, they know what they're doing. I love the John Franklin Myers edition with Jeffrey Simmons on the defensive line. That can be a real strength for them. We'll see what they do with the fourth overall pick. A division where you can ultimately make some headway. They only play the AFC North and the NFC East this year. Not a terribly difficult schedule on paper for the Titans.

Number seven, the Browns. I think their offseason plan is very simple. We hired Todd Munkin. We have three new offensive linemen. be a trade in a big extension, a couple of signings in free agency. They're going to try to run the ball and play defense. Higher floor, try to have some credibility in Cleveland. They also have two first round picks.

Then at number six, the Boomer Bust Raiders, new coach, new center, new receiver, three new players on defense. And then obviously a new number one pick at quarterback. Very tough division, but there's so much new there at positions that matter. Some upside for the Vegas Raiders. History though, working against them. That's the average number of wins for a first-time head coach and a number one overall pick. The only ones to make the playoffs in their first year, an outlier, Chuck Pagano and Andrew Luck.

The next three teams, I think, are pretty interchangeable. You could debate the order here, but I have the Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike McCarthy coming in at number five. Assuming Aaron Rogers is there, and obviously McCarthy is there, that presents a high floor. But how high or low is the ceiling? And I think that they are in... When you say high floor, I'm sorry to interrupt. Like, what do you think the floor is if Rogers is healthy? Seven wins?

Okay. Because they won, what, six or seven his last year? Yeah, I mean, they were, they made the playoffs last year, right? Oh, he meant his last year together in Green Bay. I think they were six, nine, and one for Rogers? No, that is absolutely true. But that relationship at that point, Freed. Matt LaFleur got a new version of Aaron Rogers.

He embraced more modern things that I assume he will bring over from his time in Dallas, but I do think competent coach, competent quarterback, old roster. I have them at number five. Cover number four, I'm a Jackson dart believer. He is a- Really? Yeah, he is boom or bust. He is a reckless football player, but he makes plays. Like, his high-end stuff, if he can harness it, is just screams elite playmaker to me. Wow. And I'm very interested in what, now they have competency at coach. And the problem for them, this. upcoming year and I know schedules change. Just look at the teams they play on the road outside of their division.

At Detroit, at the best defense in football, the Colts, and then probably the two best teams in the NFL last year in the Rams and Seahawks. Very tough road schedule this year for the Giants. You'd like to maybe get one of those at home where you can kind of sneak a win. Coming to number three, the Falcons. They have a lot of questions. James Pierce has a really serious legal situation. Obviously we'll see what that impact is, probably significant.

He was a huge piece of their pass rush. They play the Niners and the Chiefs as part of their third place schedule. That's very, very difficult. But Kevin Stofansky in a dome with weapons. What he did in Cleveland was pretty impressive. Now you give him Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijian Robinson. And you got two starting? I think it's a straight quarterback competition.

50-50 shot. I'd give the slight edge to Penn X. I got to get Kevin Spanski's PR guy. Everybody loves what Kevin Stee. I do think he's a good coach. I got a level. Like, wow. He made the playoffs with Penn. Baker Mayfield, yeah, Baker Mayfield's good.

Two-time coach of the year in Cleveland. Yeah, but that's my point, because the media votes on coach of the year, and I need his PR guy. I just don't, I don't get it. I do think he's good. I think he's better than what they've had, and it's definitely better talent than he's ever had on offense. Coming to number two, Bruce Ravens.

I love what Jesse Minter did with the talent for the Chargers on defense. You bring them even more talent in Baltimore, and the reason that I separated it out here between two and one, It's pretty simple. The Ravens won eight games and Buffalo 112. We had questions about both coaches. Joe Brady promoted internally. Jesse Manor from the outside.

But I do think that the floor for the Ravens is lower than it is for the bills who just never seem to fall below double-digit wins. Yeah, look, I get why you might put the bills ahead. I would switch the Ravens and the bills because I do, I think it's at least on the board that the bills have a decline defensively without McDermott there. I think the Ravens mentor, I think they're going to be very good defensively and offensively. I just think they're going to be really good because of their personnel.

So I would switch those. I think that those two are, we're going to compare them all year. They're on your S-Bob list for a reason. Before I go, look, KW. Were you going to say something? Everybody did something brand new, right? Jesse Minter came up from the Chargers and the Browns and the Ravens and the Giants and Mike McCarthy's back. Except the bills.

Well, because all the other teams. had disaster years. I mean, that would be... Bill's one of the reasons and a playoff game. Yeah, I know, but... Listen, I don't... It's almost like, it's a reason to be number one. I totally get it. But if it wasn't broke, I just don't... I mean, he's crying. There's tears in locker room. I mean, for real. Are they going to be different? Yes, but it's, I don't, they're not,

everything else is additive. Like, you can't tell me what is additive. To have Joe Brady. Listen, to be fair, I didn't love the hire. I agree with a lot of what you're saying. To be fair, we don't know that Jesse Minter's added to Bover John Harbaugh. That's a big swing. It's a big swing because the coach and the quarterback seemed to have falling out. When I gave Christina my headline, I didn't know Danny was going to take a gratuitous shot at me.

And he picked the national championship game. He also set up a bracket competition for the office. It settled today and our winner, Gianna, got no prize. It's coming to let. Well, it should have come today. Oh, it's gone. But go ahead and pop the bar, Christina, if you want. Hey!

Another win. I agree with the list. Yet another win. Wow, you'll pick a winner again. I agree. I sadly agree with the list. I think it's right. What a weak,

I tried to find a reason to argue. And then I thought, I think I might slot these in the exact same order. Wow. Because a lot of it's based on like talent of the roster combined with do you think so? Yeah. You're learning. I'm getting all these things right on the show. All of a sudden you're going to start taking these takes.

Coming up next. Jeremiah Love talking about Canton. I like that. I know. I love it. And as. Oh, well done. Sit the entire year.

That's next on first things first overtime. Welcome back to first things first. We have Coach Manjini and Willie Cologne out here. Let's go to Vegas. I love going to Vegas. The Raiders, I did it too much of my 20s. They got the number one pick in the draft. They had Fernando Mendoza in on their top 30 visit.

And yesterday, the same Raiders officially signed Kirk Cousins. So here is Kirk on why he chose the Raiders and how much he's looking forward to the upcoming season. Take a listen. I think it starts with the coaching staff. I was really excited about being able to work with coaches. I worked before in Clint Kubiak, Rick Denison, Andrew Janoko. I had some of my best years playing with them. Coaching is a big deal in this league, so getting around them excited me.

And I think it's a team that has a lot of young talent and that they're building something special, and I want to be a part of that. As always, Kurt Cousins saying all of the right things, do you think there is any chance Mendoza doesn't see the field this season? Well, listen, I think right now it comes down to his ability to process and look at and confident. I think I trust Clint Kubiak's decision making, but I think you bring Kirk Cousins in there because he, he raises the floor, right? He allows his team to be on time. He's stable. He's confident. And I think right now, you also, I think we don't talk

about enough because we're this time of year because of the draft, we talk about the physical attributes. But there's a part of this where you also have to protect the kid's mental state, meaning of his confidence, right? If you throw him out there because the fans want him or because there's a need to see him go and he's not there, you can set him back. So I think there's probably some point where you say, hey, in the middle of the season, because listen, I do see Kirk Cousins playing in October, in November, you know, and if things go bad, then you say, well, let's see what the kid got. But nevertheless, man, I think it's a fair bet.

We will see him at some point this season. Yeah, this is such an interesting situation because when Kirk Cousin got brought to Atlanta, he thought he was going to be the guy, and then they draft a quarterback high, and suddenly that dynamic. changes and there's a lot more controversy. Where here he's coming in understanding that he's a placeholder and he's part of his responsibility is to is to help nurture and bring Mendoza along. That being said, when you draft a quarterback number one overall at some point he's going to play during that season. And unless Kirk goes in and is just lights out and they're

doing extremely well, to me the first amount of turbulence they hit, there's going to be a lot of of clamoring to put me a good no go ahead this is a very this is a well i want to i want to say that about coach too that's a good point because i do think right now if if there is turbulence to your point i want to see how clink kubiak handles that turbulence because the media is going to be on like get them out there right and it's hard for a team that's really trying to buy hope with a young quarterback so this all this drives me crazy kirk cousins being in vegas can be additive for Fernando Mendoza

how to game plan, how to carry yourself as a professional, you know, be a player coach. I'm on board with all of that stuff. But like if Kirk Cousin starts 4-0 and has 300 yards in every game, you let him rot. But if Fernando, to me,

you play Fernando Mendoza when he is ready. Irregardless of wins and losses, performance, media pressure, Collins to talk radio. Like if, if Fernando, Mendoza is not ready and Kirk Cousins sprains his knee in week two, then don't play Fernando Mendoza. Play him when he is ready.

And if that is week one, great. If it's week five, great. If it's week 15, great. But he is the future. He is the number one pick. And I think, I saw it in Chicago, like, oh, we're going to sit Mitch Trubisky and we're going to play Mike Glennon. And then Mike Glennon led the league in turnovers after four weeks, and they caved to the pressure,

and they played Mitch Trubisky before he was ready. And it set him back. To me, Mendoza set Trubisky back. It said Trubisky back. Did it, though? Did it? Maybe it would have never worked. Maybe it would have never worked.

It doesn't look like he's ever really been ready. Now, look, he- They changed coaches after that. I don't even mean to make it. My point is, Mendoza's timeline should be his own. Well, let me say this. If he looks ready in training camp, I still wouldn't throw him up. See, and I would.

That's where I disliked. And I would. And look, everybody has different opinions as what you should do with that high pick. because we've seen plenty of examples where a guy goes number one overall and they play him right away. And the thought process says get him as much experience as possible. And then we've seen the other school thought where sit him as long as you can so he can get as much experience. So when he does get a chance to play, he's in the best position to be successful.

Now, you could get people to argue both those points. There are success stories for both, sure. And feel very strongly about why they have the position they have. So let's get into the voluntary program of this offseason. Some guys are attending, some guys are not. But 10 teams underway with new leadership, Lamar Jackson showed up for the Ravens workout. Josh Allen and DJ Moore made appearances for the bills. This offseason head coach Joe Brady got promoted after being the offensive coordinator.

Coach here, I will start with you. Do you think the Joe Brady Josh Allen pairing will pay off in Buffalo? Well, their pairing is going to be fine because it's already been fine. have a relationship and a big part of why he's the head coach of the bills right now is because of that existing relationship. So from an offensive perspective, yeah, that should work out the way it's been and should be successful and should actually give them a leg up over other head coaches. Now, whether Joe Brady as a head coach is going to work out, that remains to be seen.

And the difficulty being the offensive coordinator and the head coaches, so many other things are pulling at you that you can. can't always give the attention that you need to or that you used to to the job that you're also assigned in doing. Organizational, it's hard for me to imagine that things are great there just because of the way they handled the whole transition to Joe Brady, and that's a real concern for me. Yeah, I think there's a lot of pressure on Joe Brady to get this team over to hump, right? Like, to me, I think that Buffalo Bills are at this point where we can't judge them on a regular season because I do expect them to be 11 and 12 win team.

It's all about getting to January and getting to the Super Bowl. We've looked at this team year after year saying, oh, they have a Super Bowl roster, they have MVP quarterback, they have a good defense, they have all these things, now they have DJ Moore. Like, they've checked off a lot of boxes. If they don't win a Super Bowl with Joe Brady,

I mean, there's a legit concern like, man, they may never win one, right? Because there's so much momentum over the years about this team arriving, they've gotten so close, nevertheless they haven't finished the journey. And now it's on Joe because of the relationship with Josh Allendette. He's supposed to say, all right, I know what we need to do.

Let's get there. But I don't think that if they don't do it, man, I'm like, in the next two or three years, you may have to break this team up. Well, and to Willie's point, Joe Brady's starting at a different level of expectation. Right. Most of these other head coaches are starting at where they're expecting him to go deep into the playoffs or the Super Bowl. It's him and Jesse Minter in Baltimore, right? Those two guys are expected.

They're first time head coaches who are expected to win right away. But I think it's harder for Brady. 100%. Yep. For what the situation is in Baltimore. Really? Yeah. Okay.

Because with Baltimore, you know there's some, listen, you lose likely. There's questions about Maddabeekeway, who you paid a lot of money on the defensive side. You don't have a true number one receiving. Like, there's holes in Baltimore. Buffalo, there's no holes. Well, Super Bowl or bust? Good luck, Joe Brady. Good luck.

We are 16 days away from the 2026 NFL drafts. We want to bring you inside the OT War Room. Every day, we're talking about the biggest. storylines ahead of the draft. We have Super Bowl champion Eric Manjini, Super Bowl champion Willie Colon, and I'm still here. So we are talking today with Jeremiah Love, and really the concept of Jeremiah Love

and a running back being taken that high. Of course, the highly tied to prospect out of Notre Dame. A lot of people think he's the most talented player in the entire draft, regardless of position. Many believe he could go inside of the top five here in a couple of weeks. So not to anyone's surprise when asked at his pro day, he was very confident.

about his goals for his career in this upcoming season. Here's Jeremiah Love. I tell him that I want to be one of the best of all the time. I want to be a Hall of Famer. I want to be a pro bowler in my very first year. I want to win offensive rookie league. I tell them all these goals that I have, but obviously these are goals. Goals are goals, but you've got to have a process for how you want to achieve those things.

So I'll go every season and set out little goals like per week what I can do to make sure that I'm reaching the bigger goal that I have for myself. But I told all these teams, to this and it's a lot of big talk but I have a process and I have a plan for how I'm going to get there. It is big talk coach last running back. Coach doesn't like big talk. I know I know I know I know he does it which is why I'm going to start with him. I love the way he said little goals followed my big goals I want to go to the Hall of Fame I want to be all pretty big goals. I want to go to the Hall of Fame too one day I don't know which one what is a ceiling for Jeremiah I love as a rookie in terms of you know a team taking him in the top five and this upcoming season. Yeah that that's that's

interesting question because it's going to depend a little bit on not just his ability, but also the ability of his offensive line and the group that he goes to in terms of protection. That part of it is important, but then also what type of quarterback do you have? Does that quarterback actually generate some kind of threat where they've got to play split safety defense? You look at Ashton Genti last year, I thought his ceiling was going to be higher than what it was, but I didn't think it was necessarily as high as where he was drafted. and going through the course of season, I think he finished up with, what was it, 3.7 per carry. It's a pretty disappointing rookie season for a back that was drafted that high.

And I had concerns about him coming out because of his play against ranked opponents. So I went back and I just looked at the ranked opponents that Jeremiah loves his face. And the thing that's encouraging here is 12 games against ranked opponents, 12.8 rushes per game. I would like that to be higher. but the number there at 6.8, that's really encouraging. And the production is there. Which lends itself to think, okay, as he goes to the next level against much higher caliber defenses,

he's got a shot to be as effective as some of the other successful backs like that we've seen over time. Yeah, listen, I think he's the type of, and Coach Wright, he lands to a functional office line. He could be dilly. I think he's just super versatile. I think at the end of the day, he's one of those type of backs where, you know, if you're a defense, you prepare for him before you prepare for the quarterback. because he offers him so much. He expands the playbook. And when you watch him on tape, man, he has the home run speed. He can catch the ball, especially if you put him out,

emotion, him in space. There's so much he can do singly, single-handedly by himself, he excites you. I can see him being a pro bowler in his first year and having over 1,500 yards. If, to your coach's point, he gets to an offense that really has a good office line and a playbook that complements his skill set. So much of this is a situation. There hasn't been an offensive rookie of the year running back since Sequin Barkley in 2018. It hasn't been very common recently as the league goes more passing. But before, Sequin Barclay, Alvin Kamara, the year before, Todd Gurley, a couple of years before that.

So maybe not completely unrealistic for Jeremiah Love. But Willie, you've got the comp here, all right? You were drafted back in 2006. Went on to win that Super Bowl ring, of course, during your tenure, your career. I love comps. Yes. Don't be shy. When you look at Jeremiah Love, best case scenario, what are you seeing?

As you saying, I can feel the heat from coach. I feel the coach. Like, who was he going to say? Listen, I grew up and actually seen Marshall Falk play, and when you turn on a tape, he reminds me a lot of the great Hall of Fame of Marshall Falk. You talk right now with his ability right now to be elusive. Look at a spin move right here by the great Marshall Falk. Fines Daylight, gets home.

He has home run speed. So does Jeremiah love, man. Jeremiah Love at that size, 6 feet, 220 pounds, ran a 4-3. You see the home-run speed right there. Gets home. He can carry an offense. You talk about the footwork, get running behind his pass. being elusive.

Where Jeremiah Love can do the same thing. Look at him right here, if we get to at ASAP, they go Falk into the end zone. But look at Jeremiah Love, right. Get behind the office line, Farns Daylight, gets to the outside, up the numbers, gets his paths north, boom, out of there, can't catch him. The speed alone with the size

and everything he can do with the football hand is electric. Right here, when you turn on the tape, he has hands for days, man. Like the kid has legit hands very much like Marshall Falk. Marshall Falk scared a lot of people on the screen game. So does Jeremiah. Looked that one hand snag. This kid is legit, man.

Like, if you're a team right now who just needs somebody who can eat it, you know, put in work between the 20s, this is your guy. So I think he's going to have a hell of a year as rookie year. One of the greatest things about the first Super Bowl that we won is that they didn't run Marshall Fawkenoff. There you go. Or else they would have won that Super Bowl. That's an interesting comparison. Marshall may have been a little bit more elusive, you know, side to side than love is. the thing I really like about Love is if he gets that hole at that 4-3-6 speed,

that's not just combine speed. You see that actually translate onto the field. So once there's daylight, it's hard to catch him. So, Coach, you know in these war rooms, it's also like philosophical debates. It's debates about the player, but also about, is this player or this position worthy of this pick? So Jeremiah Love, he's a consensus, first rounder. Everybody understands that. But taking a running back in the top five, if you look at the history, go back to 2019,

These are the top running backs taken. You see Genti at 6th. Sometimes it doesn't go off the board to late first round because you get to control that fifth year option early in the second round. We've seen a lot of it. I will say this, even hearing the Marshall Falk Comp, I do not think it would be wise for a team in the top five

or most of the teams in the top 10 to use a pick on a running back. It is still a luxury position. Saquan Barrow. is an outlier and he was amazing for the Giants as a rookie, but he ended up winning when he went to a good situation in Philly. If you think about the best running backs who have been drafted in the last couple of years, you saw Bijan Robinson on that list. Bejohn Robinson, 1,400 plus rushing yards each the last two years. Falcons, eight wins each of those two years.

I would even argue that Jemir Gibbs, who's the second running back taken in the Bejohn Robinson class at 12, Would the Lions have been better off taking Jamir Gibbs and Jack Campbell, who they took at 12 and 18, or staying put and taking Jalen Carter? Like a premium player at a premium position. Running backs at the peak will get 20 million a year. Receivers are getting 35 million a year. Left tackles can get 30, 40 million a year. It is a pick that I could see benefiting the Chiefs because they are established.

I could even see myself talking into the Giants. We got our quarterback. We got our pass rusher. you know, we've got our wide receiver one. I think if the Titans take Jeremiah Love at four, that's a luxury. That's put in rims on a car that doesn't have an engine. Well, remember the Lions made a pretty significant transition organizationally, and Jemir was a big part of that.

He's been amazing. His rookie season, the average 5.2 yards, a carry, he had 10 touchdowns rushing. He had another 6.1 yards per reception. And he had pretty impressive production in his rookie season. And when you look at rookie running backs, it has been a little bit of a mixed bag. We can pull up the graphic of guys that were drafted in the top 10. So you go down, the most surprising on this list is McCaffrey at 3.7 yards of carry.

Zeke had a really good offensive line. Bejan, we see, Sequin we see. I understand what you're saying in terms of, is it worth it to take a guy that high? It can be if it changes the way the teams have to play against you. And that's what, again, the disappointing thing. about Gentie. Gentie didn't change any way that people had to play against the Raiders, but if you have a back that forces you to play eight in the box, that really helps a quarterback because it simplifies defense. But if Genti was in a better position, would he have changed

the way that people play against them? I'm not sure. Again, we go back to McCaffrey's numbers. Didn't have a great rookie season, but we see how dynamic he's a great player. And he changes the way teams play against him. So could Gentie follow that same progression? maybe, but that to me is you better have a conviction that that player is going to change the way teams play against you. Otherwise, it's not working. And I think he is. I think he's a generational type talent.

I do. And that's why if he's thrown out the generational type talent. He did the Marshall Fault call. And I also believe if you're the chiefs, though, you do take him, right? I agree. The chiefs take him. Because if you, listen, you have Kenneth Walker, but the downside of Kenneth Walker, he doesn't have hands, right?

He's a runnerback that is extremely explosive between the tackles. you're looking at Jerry, my love, that's probably one of the most versatile backs coming out of this draft. There's nothing he can't do in the football field.

And once again, he elevates your offense. You have Patrick Mahomes coming off of ACL. You need more production in the red zone. You need things on the office side where you can be more explosive,

get back to be in a light show like we like to talk about. He's a guy's a plug-and-play in an incident office once he puts his feet and cleats for you. And by the way, like, I don't think he will be there

for the chiefs at 9 because, and I think they signed Kenneth Walker with that intel that he's going. I just think Washington, New Orleans, Tennessee, the teams that he is most often mocked to. I don't know that those teams are ready to support Jeremiah Love and have him be productive on this rookie deal.

That's the debates that they're having inside the war room. We appreciate it. Tune in tomorrow. Day three, we're talking Ohio State's dominance. We can see which one of those guys are going to be in the first round. Which one might end up being busts. We'll be back tomorrow doing that. On the O.T.

Guys, it's going to come as no shock to you that I absolutely love this story. I'm a Chicago guy. I love rivalries. I love a little bit of trash talk. And Ben Johnson sat down with my guy, Herb Howard. Shout out to Herb. At the Biggs. Support independent local journals, by the way.

Ben was asked about how he feels regarding the criticism he faced as a rookie head coach last year. Very honest answer. Take a listen. I didn't come into this league or take this position to necessarily make friends. That's not the case. I love what I do. I love who I'm doing it with. That's the most important thing to me and everything I do is with them in mind.

Coach, I'm going to give you two options here. Do you like this or love this? I think it's a very healthy attitude then. Oh, really? Well, it's, look, you're going to get criticized no matter what you do. And the second you start listening to people's criticism and change the way you are and what you believe in, you're probably going to do the wrong thing for what you should be doing for your work. I just thought you's going to take the approach. Don't make it about you.

make it about the team type. I thought that he's going to be on brand. Well, I think he's making it about the team in the sense of he's saying, I don't care what anybody else says. I'm all about my guys. And if my guys are happy with it, then I'm happy with it. Also, that's how I took it. How soft is everybody else?

Oh, extremely soft. Oh, my God. He said F the Packers. And he didn't give a proper handshake to Matt LaFleur. It's sports. It's a rivalry. And the guys are in the locker from feet off that, by the way. Obviously.

They rally behind your coach. Obviously. Oh, won't someone please think of the children? Ben Johnson didn't handshake Matlifloffloor properly. Get out of here. Ridiculous.