The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 06/23/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: June 23, 2021

Colin tells you why he was so impressed with the Suns and the Clippers based on what he saw in game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. He explains why he hates how long video reviews take in NBA games but unfortunately they are necessary. He also believes Russell Wilson and the Seahawks are turning into Big Ben and the Steelers with one major difference. Plus, he talks to NBA veteran Cuttino Mobley to find out if the Suns have what it takes to win the title this year. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening to The Best of Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1, find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Wednesday. Got so many smart things to say today. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Iheart radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. That was amazing.

That was amazing. Chris Paul Kauai Leonard didn't play. And I got that quality. That was one of the best NBA games I have seen in five years. And Chris Paul and Kauai didn't play. What's better than sports? Oh, my God, that was incredible. I don't know if we deserve this.

It was an unbelievable ending. Even with the refs taking four score and 11 years to figure the end of it out. But you know, it's funny about it where I'll get into this later today, but the delays drive all of us a little crazy. But there's a reason they're doing it. Yes. It's the second quarter replay that wears me out. You know, a minute left in the NBA finals, essentially.

I'll sit there because, I mean, it was goosebumps. And that's Joy Taylor. And I want to start with this. These are obviously the best two teams in the NBA. This is the finals. And this has happened before. You ever watch the SEC? It's like, you know, Georgia takes on Alabama.

And you're like, there's like 28 NFL players on the field. field, you're like, that's the national championship. Nothing against the big 10 of the ACC, but that's the national championship. Years ago, Red Sox, Yankees, 2004 ALCS, clearly the best two teams. Red Sox beat the Yankees, go on and sweep the Cardinals. It's like those were the two best team. We've seen it when the Yankees Red Sox were with their best or the SEC, like it usually is, is loaded.

We saw it. I remember I covered a series where the Blazers played the Lakers, and that was the Shaq and Kobe Lakers, the famous. Alleyoop dunk and the Lakers went on to beat the Pacers. The Blazers would have beaten the Pacers. That was the NBA finals in the Western Conference. That's what you're watching. Folks, just think about what happened last night.

Both teams played nine guys legitimate minutes and 18 different players like contributed. The coaching. The two best coaches left are both in the West. Coaching sort of matters, right? Look at the quality of that game without Chris Paul. Kawhi Leonard. If you took Tray Young out of Atlanta, if you took Janus out of Milwaukee

tonight, what would that game look like like you were missing the two best players? Let's be honest about this. This is not a shot in anybody else, but when Michael Jordan retired, the West has been better than the East every year since. 75 to 80% of the good young players,

the Lukas, the Zions, the John's, the Jah Morant, the Bookers, they're West. I mean, the Knicks, for God's sake, were a four seed in the East. Washington made the playoffs in the east. Steph Curry's the MVP should have been, maybe wasn't. Number two, they can't get into the playoffs in the West. The all-NBA team has four out of five guys are from the West.

I mean, Atlanta does not have an all-star. They made the Eastern Conference finals. Okay, it's not a shot. Like, it's not a shot at the Big Ten to say that some years, the SEC, a lot of years. The two best teams are in the South. Not a shot at anybody. It's just the reality of it. It's not a shot when the Yankees and the Red Sox,

in a no salary cap sport have the best rosters. They're just the two best teams. Now, I still think, let's talk about the game. I still think this is a six-game series. These are really even teams. The difference is the sons get Chris Paul back. The Clippers probably don't get Kauai back. That's the series.

I'll take Phoenix. I don't think the Clippers can overcome this team. First of all, that crowd's insane. Phoenix plays with a college intensity. It feels March Madness with pro talent, with dogs. And they don't really have a hole. Like, you know, even the dynasty for the Warriors, bad bench, the dynasty for the heels, no size.

They were small. This team is athletic. They're twitchy. They're long. They've got leadership. They've got wings. They've got young players. They've got Jay Crowder.

I mean, it's one of those things where, and you know what it reminds me of? The only thing they're missing in Phoenix is big game experience. And that's a real thing. That's a real thing. They're a very young team. well, you're watching it. It does not appear to be a problem. You know what they remind me of.

And I'll just throw you a football example, because I'm from the Pacific Northwest. I want you to think about this for a second. Remember the Seahawk team, the first championship they won when they crushed Denver. Like the Phoenix Suns, they had no recent history of dominating. The year before, the Seahawks were six and five until the end of the year they got hot, made the playoffs, and then it got bounced.

They weren't great the year before. And then the next year, you're watching them and you're like, the hell? That's the fastest defense I've ever seen in my life. The hell am I watching? It doesn't make any... How did they go from good to the best team I've seen in a decade? Why? Because they had this great leader, Russell Wilson.

And then all their young players started peeking at the exact same moment and had the right coach and made it work. And your eyes were not lying to you. You were watching that see-alk. Now, we thought the dynasty would last longer. But for that year, and then the following year, even when they lost the Super Bowl to New England, there was a two-year period where Seattle, you're like, how did they get this good this fast? That makes no sense. Phoenix last year, at the end of the year, the bubble, you're like, ooh, ooh.

Then they had Chris Paul and you're like, okay, okay, I know, I know it's, but it's, come on, they're not going to win the championship. No, no, no. All their good young players are peaking at the exact. DeAndre Aiton has become a monster. Devin Booker now is a monster. McHale Bridges, then you add in these veteran players, you're not being fooled here.

This is not like lightning in a bomb. No, no, no. No, the Seahawks were faster than everybody defensively. They were so fast, Bill Belichick, in the Super Bowl, in which they beat him, I'd never forget this game plan. Belichick said, when you catch the ball against the Seahawks, either go down or go forward. Do not try to run outside.

they practice for two weeks. Because if you try to run outside, you won't get there, and Seattle will strip the ball from you. They're faster than us. We cannot run with them. Just take five yards at a time. Just take the five and six yard. Edelman, catch it, go down.

Just get first down. We're not as fast as them. And you have to just acknowledge now with Phoenix, their chemistry is perfect. They have the right coach. All their young players are peaking. They play with an intensity that is almost collegiate. These guys aren't that far out of playing college. They're all like under 24, 25 years old.

And they're deep, they're twitchy, they're long, they're athletic, they're confident. And now, now the Clippers are very good and very good at overcoming O2 deficits. And Paul George talked about that. If I know this team correctly, the fight we have, you know, going into game three in the fight that we have to believe that, you know, we're going to change the series. that's who we've been and that's who we are. And so I'm very confident in our group. And, you know, a fact of the matter is,

if they did what they were supposed to, they won their two games on their floor. We got to go home and protect our house. Good luck. I'll take the Sons, but I do think it goes at least six games. All right, something can drive me nuts. But my job is to not get too emotional. So what we saw at the end of the game last night,

a lot of replays, five replays last 90 seconds. And again, baseball has these constant pitching changes. It slows the game down. NBA games fly by, except for the last couple of minutes of close playoff games. I'm okay with it because they're doing it for a reason. And I want to make something very clear. Replay was created, not for the first quarter, not for the second, not for the third. Hell, it wasn't even created for the fourth.

It was created to get the call right with two minutes left and not screw a team out of a championship. That's why it was created. So this play drove me nuts. But I thought about it. Devin Booker, sideline, Patrick Beverly ball goes out of bounds. Now, 99% of the time in the season, they give it to the offensive team. Why do they do that? because when you drive on the freeway, it's 55 miles an hour, you're going 70 and nobody gets a ticket in rush hour.

Police, cities want to keep the traffic moving in rush hour, let people get home. We're all speeding. Nobody cares. But a school zone, it's only 35 miles an hour. They reduce it. And if you're three miles an hour over, it's a $500 ticket. Why? because that matters more.

Those are kids. 35 miles an hour. You're three over. It's a $500 ticket. Freeway, you're going 70. Moving it along. Let's get home. The NBA to keep the game fluid and moving and fast is going to give that to the

offensive player. Let's not change possessions. But they go to the replay with a minute left because we're not going to take a championship from a team. It's like the TSA. El Paso to Dallas, that TSA just moves right along. Vegas to L.A. I take the flight all the time.

Fly through TSA. You fly to London, Tel Aviv, Barcelona, fly abroad, 10-hour flight. You go through customs. That's different. You're going to be in line for 45 minutes to an hour. Those are big-boy flights. A lot of bad stuff can happen when you're in the air for 10 hours. TSA was truly created for flights abroad, long flights, to intellectual financial hubs.

Those are the ones. They really clamped down. School zones. Now the speed matters. Listen, that drives me nuts. And 99% of the time, yes, we give it to the offensive guy to keep the game going. But it would be kind of ridiculous, right? if you did the replay and it went off Booker and you said,

so what? So what? We're going to give it to Phoenix. Why did you create the replay? Well, somebody on my staff went to a Reddit board last night. I tried to stay away from those. It said the ball may have technically went off Booker, but that's not how the game is meant to be played.

No, no, technically, technically. This is why we created replay. So we get the technicalities right very late in games. And I know there's a lot of replays late. But NBA games, unlike baseball, unlike college football, NBA games fly by. But they ask you at the end, we're going to get this stuff right. Because there's shoe deals involved. There's contracts involved.

Coaches get fired when they lose these games. You get fired. Rick Carlisle's out of work lost to game seven. Probably not if he wins a game seven. When you're firing coaches, when you're getting shoe deals, when guys' contracts are getting extended based on winning these game sevens, and that's how the league works. We're going to get it right. And yeah, it drives me nuts.

But I'm in the business to observe, take a deep breath, and then deliver an unemotional response. That's what officials are asked to do. That's what replay people are asked to do. They're not fans. Take a deep breath. Get it right. We didn't create these replays for the first quarter.

Coaches get fired at the end of games, not in the first quarter. Get it right, they did. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraging. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you'll say it. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we picket here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because, a crack.

I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tript Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth?

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose

on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. So the end of the game last night, they did, you know, it's kind of a rarely used play. I remember years ago, Dwight Howard and Orlando did it over Tim Duncan and the Spurs. That's the one I remember. I don't remember the Tyson Chandler one, which happened a few years ago. That one doesn't stick in my mind.

The Dwight Howard Duncan one does. That was years ago. So DeAndre Aiton, on the out of bounds, people think, oh, that's goaltending. And we can show the play. just think about this is the easiest way to think about that play it's a live ball it's considered a pass not a shot so that's a live ball you can go over the rim for it that's the easiest way to explain it and it even is confusing to officials one fissile immediately said that's good yeah that rule books long and the other officials had to get together all right what exactly is this yeah

that's essentially a pass not a shot that's what it is it's a live ball so therefore you You can go inside the cylinder, and it happens so infrequently that it's confusing. Now, a lot of people are complaining. The last 90 seconds took 33 minutes of real time. And as I said earlier, it doesn't bother me. College football stops the clock after every first down. So the games take forever. And I love college football.

Games take four hours, sometimes four and a half. That bothers me. I don't have four and a half hours three times a day on Saturday to watch football. I don't have 13 hours to watch games. you know, baseball with a constant pitching changes in the fifth, six, seventh, eighth innings, it takes forever. Think about the NBA like, because the NBA is like soccer. The games fly by.

But then in the NBA, playoff games, last two minutes, it takes a long time. Think about it like this. You fly across the country, L.A. to New York. It's amazing, really, especially in the winter if you get a jet stream. You can fly L.A. to New York in like five hours and 15 minutes. It's remarkable. You fly across our country in five. hours and 20 minutes. It's frustrating when you sit in the tarmac for 15 when you land at JFK.

It takes you 17 minutes to get off the plane and then it takes you 45 minutes to wait for your luggage. It is frustrating. But would you rather drive and it takes three days but you can unload the trunk in 90 seconds? I'd rather fly and deal with the end of the flight and sitting on the plane because it's fairly remarkable how fast and how great aviation is. I'll deal with the crap at the end. I don't want to drive cross country, right? NBA games move very well. The ratings are great this year.

The games, it's like it just flies by the first half. You're like, first half, my wife, you know, she wanted to watch a movie last night. And I said, we're not to half yet. And she goes, oh, and I'm like, three minutes later, I'm like, boom, it's over. It's done for the games fly by. But they want to get stuff right at the end. And so they go to the replay. And I'm okay with that.

What bores me is going to sporting events, which can't figure out the first six innings or seven innings of slow play where college football still stopping the clock on first downs. NFL just keeps that puppy. NFL games, like NBA, fly by until you get to the end of the game and they've got to get it right. So it doesn't bother me. To get stuff right, I'll sit around and wait. I mean, it's not like they're not doing it for.

for reason. They don't do this in blow out regular season games, which there's a lot of those. They don't do them in blowout playoff games. You don't have the replays. This only happens in big games, mostly in the playoffs, when they're super tight, which is about 30% of the games. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben, host of the fifth hour with Ben Mallor, along with my trusty sidekick, David Descon, would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mather show,

a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture, if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry, in media, sports, and more every week, explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the Iheart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life. mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day But just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack So I'm starting to see that there's a through line

We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you finishing that sentence I don't think there's a more important year for black people Really? Yeah for me it's one of the most important years For black people in American history Listen to look back at it

On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts Or wherever you get your podcast Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. Chris Paul, I like the sons to win now.

And for the record, you know, I like the clippers when they were down 02 to the jazz. I said I'll still take the clippers. I like the jazz here. Kauai, I don't think's coming back. Chris Paul is. But it's interesting. You see this all the time. See it in business all the time.

Somebody leaves, CEO. And everybody's like, well, we'll be fine without her, without him. Remember Barry Switzer took over for Jimmy Johnson, 12 and 4, next year won a Super Bowl? We all good. Then it was 10 and 6, 6 and 10, and he was done. Jimmy Johnson had built such a strong foundation that you could flourish for a couple

years without it. Go ask the Pelicans, Thunder, Rockets, and Clippers how things went the next year when Chris Paul left. Don't kid yourself. Phoenix needs Chris Paul. Sign him to a contrary. I don't want to hear all this. Well, I go off to a 2-0 lead without Chris Paul.

Chris is not your number one scoring option. And because of that, and you have Devin Booker, there's a lot of nuance and little things that you don't detect right away. Don't kid yourself. The Pelicans, the Thunder, the Rockets, and the Clippers. We looked it up this morning. I won't go down and bore the radio audience, but the numbers don't lie. Teams aren't the same without Chris.

They're not. There's a lot of things Chris Paul does. They're nuanced. And he doesn't have to make basketball is so fast like hockey. You don't have to make a million decisions a day. Jeff Bezos always talks about this, the richest guy in America. And he always talks about as a CEO, Bezo says, you don't want a CEO making 50 decisions today. One or two big ones.

That a CEO should be looking three years down the road and building. I remember one time when I worked at the other place, I used to arrive at the exact same time as the guy that ran the company. His name was George Bodenheimer. And this always stuck with me. So his like town car would arrive at the same time as my little cruddy car did. And we were always walking into work together. And he was kind enough to give me like two minutes. He would always give Colin what's going on today.

And George was a man of the people. He knew everybody in the ESPN kitchen. He knew every janitor. He knew everybody. And I said, I asked him a question one time. And he goes, you know, that's tomorrow. He goes, Colin, I got a 10-year plan. You should come up to my office sometimes.

Here's what we're going to be in 10 years. 10 years? 10 days from now, I don't know what to give me on my show. He goes like, yeah, he goes, I got to figure out 10 years. Can't worry about 10 minutes, 10 days. And that always stuck with me. And that's what Jeff Bezos says. You can't give the CEO too much minutia.

one or two big decisions a day. He's got to be thinking, contemplating ahead, our obstacles. That's what Chris Paul does. Basketball is so fast. Phoenix can do 97% of this stuff without Chris Paul. But it's those one or two nightly decisions, just those big moments in the huddle late, out of bounds play, tap shit on the shoulder. Guard him.

Don't forget. That's where Chris Paul has value. So I know you're talking yourself into this morning. We do not need Chris Paul. We are winning without him. Be very careful. I've seen that my whole life. You can win briefly.

The energy, Phoenix is loud, but you need Chris Paul. So baseball signs guys the 10-year contracts. Chris Paul, you're going to sign a three. And by the third year, you're not going to love the contract. Deal with it. Okay. Deal with it. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Katino Mobley played over a decade in the NBA, joining us now live. Listen, I got to tell you something, Katino. I watched that game last night, and no Kauai and no Chris Paul, and I thought it was one of the best NBA games I've seen, I feel like those are the two best coaches left, those are the two best teams left. They played nine guys and all of them contributed.

I think we're watching the NBA finals, Ketino. That's what it feels like to me, your thoughts. No, you're right. First of all, how are you guys doing? Great. You brought up a great point about Chris Paul. And I think he's undervalued with a lot of teams. And I think he's undervalued because he gets hurt a lot.

This series is like an NBA final series to me. It's a lot more exciting. I don't, listen, I love the Tray Youngs of the world. I just don't believe in Milwaukee at the moment. No disrespect to Milwaukee. But Chris Paul to me is like that amazing parent, that amazing teacher, right? And especially during this COVID situation, you value teachers a lot more, especially parents that are a home trying to tutor their children.

Right. So, you know, Chris Paul, I don't think it's 90%. I think it's literally, they're learning. how to win. So when I went to the Clippers in 05-06, there was Elton Brandon getting 20 and 10 and Corey McGettie and those guys, they were almost there. But it's just something towards the end of games, two or three possessions where they're losing and you're losing 37, 40 games because of Bonehead plays. And what you do, Colleenjoy, is you psych yourself out not only in that game, but the next two or three games ahead. So what I think Chris Paul is doing for these guys

is helping them believe, even if it's a three-year, you know, crazy amount of money for a smaller guard. I think what he's doing is he's helping them learn how to win on a consistent basis. Even if you go, I lose two games in a row. Chris Paul comes in. He can reboot the team. And I think that's what the clippers are missing, where they have that point guard that can really get them under control.

Yeah. Emotionally, physically, right? Mentally, that's what Chris Paul, top top five point guard ever, to me that can do for a team. So his value is like unbelievable. He's kind of like the LeBron James of teams. When he goes on a team, the team's amazing. Yeah.

No, it's a great point. The teachers in the pandemic. Like we don't give teachers credit until we have a pandemic. And you go, oh, wow, teachers are incredibly valuable. It's interesting on the replays at the end of the game. We've been to argue about this this morning is, listen, the last two minutes take 30 minutes. And I think there should be replay, but used very infrequently. my rule has always been 30 seconds.

If you can't see it, then it's just human error. It's got to be an egregious mistake. But as a player, does it, you know, I mean, you go from having the momentum in the crowd to sitting around. How do you view replay? You know what? To me, when you had the guy on earlier, he made a great point. You know, I think they made that up when they were drinking heavy, some whiskey or cognac or something smoking cigars. I have no clue because, listen, guys, think about this.

When you do the replay and you see that the defender or someone did something prior to the incident, but yet you don't look at that part. You look at the incident itself. That's the weirdest thing to me. Like, okay, the reason why the ball went out of balance because of this, or the reason why this happened is because of that. But you don't look at that. You look at the moment, right?

The situation where the ball is going out of bounds and it went off on Devin Booker's hands. so there was a wrong call. How about the hand check or the grabbing or the whatever it is? My thing is it's like, if you see something before that, why not call that? So my logic opposed to what they look at on a replay to me is I just don't understand it. You know, I said, you know, it's funny. I was talking about the Phoenix Suns and I said, Cotino, they remind me of that Seahawk team a few years ago where the Seahawks and the Sons don't have a history of dominating.

And then you started watching the Seahawks, and they had this young guy, Russell Wilson. And all their young players peaked at the exact time. And they had this good coach, Pete Carroll, Monty Williams, right? Guy had been fired, but respected coach. And you have Russell Wilson and your Booker or something. And then all of a sudden you watch Seattle play and you're like, are they the fastest football team I've ever seen in my life? This doesn't make how they were good last year.

But all the young players harmonized at the exact same time. You'd listen to that crowd in Seattle and you're like, you can't beat them at home. You can't. And I watch Phoenix and I don't think it's lightning in a bottle. I think their young players are all peaking at the exact same time and the belief system now. I mean, D'Andre Aiton thinks he's the best big in the league. Did you ever plan a team?

that was young, maybe it was the Clippers, and all of a sudden you get into a stretch and players almost play above themselves. The belief system is so strong. You're willing yourself to wins. Yeah, and I gave you, the Clippers was an example of that, where myself and Sam Cassell came in, and, you know, the Corey McGettys, who's always a great score, and Elton Brands, who was a leader. I think he finished that year's second in MVP. I think what it did for them is helped and believe that we are good and we can win and that mistakes. Just like a kid, not calling these guys, kids, but it's just like anything, right? You have to, sometimes you have to fail.

While you're failing, you have that mentor, that Oracle, whoever it is that's literally helping guide you through this journey to say, okay, listen, it's okay, it's a moment. Don't make it a year, okay? Don't make it the whole game. It's just the first quarter. And I think that's what Chris Paul did for a lot of these guys. also too is Devin Booker's coming into his own. I've always, he's been my favorite two guard in the league since he came into the league,

his footwork and everything that he does. And then you have, he's just trying, he was trying to find himself. Where do I fit? And I think with Chris Paul coming in, getting easy buckets, and the great thing about Phoenix to me is that you have an amazing point guard and amazing too. When you have two guys that can control the ball at the end of games and can make free throws, that's a very dangerous team. Ben Simmons can't make free throws.

I mean, what are we do in Philadelphia with that situation, Katino? What do we do? Because it's very talented team. I don't think, listen, I like Ben Simmons. I got a little slack from his sister on Twitter where I made a comment about Ben a few years back and she said some stuff. Listen, I would love to help Ben. I'm left-handed.

I would love to help Ben. I don't know if Ben's left-handed or if he's left-handed or if he's left-handed. or if he's literally a right-handed person that's been playing left-handed this whole life. Now, what I've been hearing is that Ben's a little stubborn. He's been babyed his whole life and there's a lot of people out there that's on his team that can't really talk to him.

And it's a little bit of an arrogance to it. And I don't know if it's arrogance or embarrassment that he don't want to ask for help. But, you know, I think for Ben and I just don't think they mesh well together. Joel and B needs a point guard. You know the funny thing is, Colin. I think Ben would play better on the Atlanta Hawks

and put Trey Young on the Sixers and the team will be better because Lanna Hawks has a lot of shooters and dive into the rim guys, opposed to like Joe Ombi where he dominates the ball as he should because he's so good. But then Ben is more facilitator. I just don't see Ben with the Sixers

in Joel and B. Yeah, nor do I. By the way, it's, I don't think it'll be nearly as entertaining. Milwaukee looks too big and too physical and too smart

and too experience for Atlanta. I don't think it's a close series. Your thoughts? I don't know about that. I just, like I said before, when you have guards that are savvy, smart, and can change the momentum of games,

you can't count them out. I don't, Milwaukee doesn't have a true point card. So when things get rattled, there's a problem. And you saw that when Kyrie Irvin went down, even though he's not a true point guard, but you still, James, you know, he didn't shoot well, he came back late. But when you have guys that can control the game, Janus don't control the game. He's just, he's a freak of nature, but he doesn't control the game.

Trey Young controls the game like he did against the Knicks, like he gets against the Sixers. Regardless of if he's shooting bad, he went into the fourth quarter, what, five for 16, but he's still dishing out. He's still causing problems. And I think when you have a person like that, and these guys believe Trey Young, right? They'll die with Trey Young. A lot of these guys on that team,

that's when you have a trouble, you know, it's troubling for the defense. And, you know, he's not, listen, he's not going to shoot bad again. He's so shifty. He passes the ball well, and he makes you stretch the defense all the way out, which gives the opportunity to the rest of his team.

So I'm not, I'm not. I'm not a believer in Milwaukee. I'm sorry. No, no, I mean, listen, you're not the only one. All right. Cotino Mobley, who is always our best-dressed guest. Do you ever have a day that you just wear an old t-shirt or anything like that? I do.

I just took my t-shirt off to put this on. Okay, all right. Because you're always the best-dressed guy on the planet. Cotino Mobley, great seeing you, man. I appreciate you guys. Thanks so much. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays and noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard radio app.

Pro football focus coming out with the 50 best football players in the NFL. It's positionless. 50 best football players. Yesterday, Josh Allen, quarterback, Bill's 40, absurd. Today, Russell Wilson, 22, absurd. Whatevs? They're not counting the position. But I will say, you know, I'm from the northwest.

Russell Wilson, the Seahawks are in a little bit of a weird spot. They're becoming the Steelers West. Hall of Fame coach, Hall of Fame quarterback. seasons aren't ending good, sputtering. The Steelers' playoff story for the last decade's embarrassing. The Steelers in the last decade have lost, with Tomlin and Big Ben, lost to Tebow, lost to Bortles. Baker Mayfield just dropped 48 on their arse, annihilated by Brady, beaten by an old Peyton Manning. It's embarrassing.

Well, since the Seahawks' Super Bowl lost in New England seven years ago, they've got five losses. They can't beat the good teams in the playoff. Even their wins are ugly. They beat Minnesota 10 to 9 because, you know, Blair Walsh missed like a chip shot field goal. They beat Detroit. They beat 17-9 over Philly because Carson Wentz got hurt. So Seattle's got a little bit of a problem here. In Seattle and Pittsburgh are very similar.

You've got a defensive-minded head coach charismatic, Tomlin Pete Carroll, with Super Bowls. You've got quarterbacks, Russell, and Ben that won Super Bowls early in their career, and now are very expensive, limiting what teams can do. So I do think, I mean, when Seattle lost to Jared Gough playing on one thumb, it's like, that's a problem. So the Steelers have a 10-year closing the season problem. The Seahawks have a seven-year closing the season problem.

Now, the good news for Seattle fans, whereas Ben is not obsessed, his off-seasons are, you know, Bud Light, Family Time of the Kids, an occasional yoga class. People joke about that. Russell Wilson, I think, is the difference here is he is so driven, so willful, so aspirational that I don't think this will become what they are. I mean, that's what Pittsburgh is now.

Pittsburgh can't finish. Details aren't very good. Ben's audible system is, you know, simplistic. they don't put the time in the offseason. They try to play themselves into shape. And they can be good, but in the end, they just keep at the end of the year not delivering. Seattle is getting into that space,

but I think Russell will get them out of that. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Okay, something else to talk about. It's become bizarre. It is, baseball tends to be of all our sports, a little slow to change. It's very much steeped in history and lore.

and tradition. And, you know, people who, you know, are, you know, they come from these big families, going to the same camps, same churches, same neighborhood. You get, you get in that kind of tunnel of tradition. It's hard to break out. So baseball should probably have figured this out in the off season, not in the middle of a season, but that's sort of baseball and whatever. So they, they have a little bit of an issue in that baseballs are slick. In fact, I'm sure most of you know this, Some may not. Every baseball before it gets given to an umpire gets rubbed down with dirt. You know, that's what you have to do because you got to make it easier for a pitcher. Otherwise, they'll slip out of your hand.

And pitchers for years, they lick their fingers. They're trying to get grip on it, grip on it. Well, what has happened? They're using this thing, many believe, for the last couple years, called a tack, which is what weightlifters use. So what it does is use that tack on it and the spin rate increases. And it's like a Bugs Bunny curveball. nobody can hit the the the the averages dropped to 237 like literally nobody can hit and then baseball about

a month ago said okay we're going to start checking stuff and the averages went up because i do believe that very punitive punishment at least in athletics maybe not society right very punitive punishment with sports. We're taking away your money. We're taking away your season. There's peer pressure. Remember COVID in the NBA? None of the players that said positive.

And that was the fear. What are these young guys, girls? They were going to go out. Why? Because of the peer pressure to not screw up your team. We're all in this together. Don't screw it up. Lou Williams got crushed for getting chicken wings in Atlanta, right?

I mean, it literally hurt his brand. He got, you know, let's move him out of town. So I do think if you just said, all right, you get caught with the stuff, you're out. You think Garrett Cole wants to ruin the Yankee season? Max Scherer wants to ruin the Nat season. I do think there is a really cool thing about men's and women sports at the highest level. You don't want to screw your teammates. So I just think baseball has to come out and say, we're going to be harsh.

You get caught with this stuff. You're out. You're out for the year. whether we pay or not, you disappointed your team and guys would stop. But last night it was a circus. They're checking guys, stopping frisk guys. The guys are making fun of them. You got Joe Girardi is checking on Max Scherzer.

And Scherzer is, you know, one of the best pictures in the decade. He's now furious with it. And Joe Girardi is saying, well, and now they start challenging each other. They want to fight. I mean, Joe Gerard. Can you imagine Belichick or Phil Jackson challenging somebody to a fight? It was horrible. It was embarrassing.

It was an eyesore. So both of them talked about it afterwards. I've seen Max a long time since 2010. Obviously, he's going to be a Hall of Famer. But I've never seen him wipe his head like he was doing tonight, ever. Going like this, right? So it was suspicious for me. He did it about four or five times.

It was suspicious. I didn't mean to offend anyone. I just got to do what's right for our club. If everybody's on the same point in field, you've got to find a way to get over it. You know, everybody's dealing with this. So, you know, when you're on the mound, you can't make any excuses. You just got to go through it. I'd have to be an absolute fool to actually use something tonight when everybody's intent is out of, you know,

everybody's intent is so far high. They look for anything. So, you know, it is what is, whatever. Turn the page, move on. I mean, we all slow down when we see a cop on the side of the road. Max Scherzer was not going to be using it last night. That's no way. If you're using it now, you're a moron.

Max Scherzer's not a moron. It's the classic cops. You see the cop, everybody slows down. I never speed. Hello, officer. I never speak. Nobody's going to use this stuff now. Because I do believe it's as simple as just hand down strong punishment.

And we saw it with COVID. NBA guys are like, I'm not leaving. Lou Williams did. Got crushed for it. And then the Clippers didn't. play as well. Lou Williams gets blamed. You're not going to have these star pitchers. Garrett Cole. DeGrom's not going to implode a season for the Mets are finally good. You know, do I roll my eyes? Am I a little suspicious at some of these ERAs? Yeah, when people can't

foul the ball off. But, you know, it's also, it's bad optics to be frisking players. I'll give you an example. Years ago, United had a flight. Airlines overbook everybody. And years ago, United was dragging somebody off a plane. They'd overbooked. It was so bad for United. Now, this is the way airlines, this is why when you go in a plane, they're always asking, we'll give you two free tickets if you will not go on this. Every flight I'm on, they ask that, right?

Because airlines overbook. So you've got to have an understanding. If somebody really needs to be in the flight, they want to be on the flight. You can't drag them off. And so this is bad optics. The NFL catch rule. Why did they change it? Because the optics were horrible.

You'd see a guy catch it. And then you'd go to replay. And because the ball moved near his elbow, like an inch, you'd be like, that's not a catch. Remember Roger Goodell came in the show. And I'm like, Mr. Commissioner, these are catches. And he's like, I know. It looks terrible. We've got to change it.

This frisking thing is so embarrassing looking. Stop it. Do it. By the way, as they walk off the mound, grab them in the, dugout if you have to. Don't have them friskin right in the middle of a game. It looks to, and these guys, listen, cheaters know one to cheat. Right?

If these guys are cheating, they're not doing it this week and this month. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an Acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast. The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled

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