The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 06/30/2021 - HOUR 2 - Cowboys, NFL, Clippers-Suns

Episode Date: June 30, 2021

The Cowboys continue to make the same mistakesWhich NFL players run the leagueClippers-Suns game 6 previewGuest: Quentin Richardson Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Mike's subs, be a sub above. So Atlanta, Milwaukee, Janus is hurt. He did return to the bench last night, but no Trey Young. The Bucks could not pull it out. Had a dreadful first half. Clippers' sons tonight. biggest game in the Phoenix Sun's recent history last 11, 12 years, certainly, and the biggest game for everybody in the Sun's organization ever, except Jay Crowder,

who himself has been in the finals. So I thought Phoenix was tight in their last game at home. Will they be tight in this game? Because the Clippers have a lot of age, a lot of old dudes, a lot of veterans, a lot of guys who have been here before. And I thought the Clippers played very loose and very well. and now they come home. My guess is Phoenix is more aggressive than they were last game

where they were a little tight and a little tentative. So Joy Taylor is joining me, Joy Howard Things. I'm good. I guess I'm going to be Captain Obvious here. You might want to win this game tonight, sons. You don't want to go to a game seven with the clippers. It's just not what you want. Yeah, and they're good at that.

So it's interesting. Dak Prescott was talking yesterday. He had an interview in Dallas, and he was laying out the reasons. he thought they would be a more complimentary football team. And the quote he said was, this is going to be a very, very special year for us. We're very excited, put everything we've worked hard together.

All stages, all phases, going to be a very, very special year for us and the Cowboy fans. Now, just for the record, Dallas's over under is nine and a half, and the under is favored minus 125 to minus 105. five. So the sharps, as they call them in Vegas, think Dallas is going to win nine games, not 10. That is in the worst division in football. So let's just start there. But now, I've never had a problem talking about the Dallas Cowboys, even when they're not great, because they're a massive brand and they're usually entertaining from Jerry Jones down. They're entertaining. And we all know in the business we're in big brand sell, right? There's a reason guys like me talk football over hockey, just the reality of it. But we also have to be honest about it that Dallas, and it's their fault, has fundamentally eliminated themselves from the Super Bowl.

Because the one thing you can't do in any salary cap sport, they do a lot. They pay great money to good players. That is the killer. That is the championship pauper. That is the season ender in every. every salary cap sport. Great money to good players. Let me give an example.

Kansas City is a Super Bowl contender. Let's look at their six biggest contracts. Patrick Mahomes, A plus. Frank Clark, B. Joe Tuni, A. One of the best guards in football. Chris Jones, A. Travis Kelsey A plus.

Tyreek Hill A. Okay, five of six, A. Let's look at the Seattle Seahawks. They're in Super Bowl contention. Russell Wilson, biggest contract, A plus. Tyler Lockett, solid B, B, plus. Bobby Wagner A plus, Dwayne Brown A, Jamal Adams A, Gabe Jackson's a B, never made a Pro Bowl,

but he was a, he'll be a massive upgrade for them, so he's a good B. Four out of six are eight. Look at the Cowboys. Six biggest contracts. Dak Prescott, come a B plus. DeMarcus Lawrence, he's a B. Amari Cooper, good B plus. Tyron Smith was an A plus.

Now he's just a question mark. Zeke was an A plus. Now he's more a B to a B plus. He's declined every year. Zach Martin was an A plus. A minus B plus. A lot of questions. Getting older.

You cannot win Super Bowls in salary cap football world we live in paying great money to good players. In fact, even if I made DAC an A minus and I don't classify him as that, it still leaves you with

way too many questions and not enough answers and way too many B's and not enough A's. And so, I mean, there's a reason for the last like 26 years that at the end of seasons, we always have the same opinion on Dallas. Okay. That's kind of good. That's kind of entertaining, kind of fun. But they don't end well. This is, they did it to themselves.

This isn't bad luck. For whatever reasons, they tend to pay early. They're the opposite of the Patriots. The Patriots pay big money rarely, and they wait to the last second. Dallas tends to pay big money often, and they often pay it early. And that's the reality of it. So Dallas can be entertaining, but the Sharps in Vegas have them at nine and a half, and they're betting the under.

And that's in the worst division in football. So you just can't do that. You look at the Niners, you look at all the Super Bowl teams. They pay great money rarely to their. great players. Kansas City, Frank Clark's more of a B, but they needed him. Seattle paid money to Gabe Jackson, but they desperately needed him. It's not like the Cowboys needed another linebacker, right? So you put yourself in that spot. Quentin Richardson is a co-host of a podcast very popular with Darius Miles called Knuckleheads. He played in the NBA for 13 years, was a three-point champ,

a former director of player development for the Detroit Pistons for several years, so the guy knows His talent keeps his game and his name around basketball, and he is now joining us live. First of all, Quentin, it's great to have you on the show. Thanks for taking time. You're a busy dude. I appreciate it. Thanks. Thank you for having me.

Glad to be here. You bet. So let me talk about Atlanta. Atlanta is the one team in the playoffs. You know, they kind of surprise people, and people are like, whoa, whoa, whoa. But they are a young team, Nate McMillan took the job over. Well, they were 27 and 11 in the regular season when Nate took it over. and I know Nate.

I grew up in Seattle. I'm old enough to remember him at North Carolina State. He's a very good defensive coach. So I don't look at Atlanta as a crazy story. I look at him as, well, they opened with the Knicks who can't shoot. And then Philadelphia had leads and couldn't hold him. I don't think Atlanta, when you had context, is shocking. Do you, do you look at their roster as a former guy of player development and think,

how the heck are they here? No, I don't look and say, how are they here? I mean, I agree with you. Nate McMillan, And once he took over this team, he fully put his personality and put his impact on this team. And they became a much better defensive team. And the biggest impact I think he had was on Trey Young and the way that he taught him

how to get his other players involved and how he could get his shots off at any point in the game. And I think we saw a change in his shot attempt and just the type of shots he started to take. And he became a better player before it. I want to do a totally separate. I want to talk more Clippers' sons here because I do believe that's the finals. That looks like the final. We've seen this in baseball, Quentin,

where the Yankees and Red Sox years ago played in the American League Championship Series, and you're like, those are the two best teams. The World Series doesn't matter. They'll both win the World Series. Years ago, I covered the Blazers, Lakers, the Kobe Shack Lakers. They went seven games, Scotty Pip and Arvetus. And I felt that was the finals. Indiana, Rick Smiths.

I didn't think matched up with either team. So I look at the Sons and Clippers, Quentin, and I think that feels like the finals to me. I thought the sons were really tight. And in your current, and they're young, this is, Quentin, this is the biggest game for everybody on that roster except Jay Crowder. Have you ever been on a team that was really good, but really young? And they faced old dudes in a big game and they shrink. Because that's what it looked like happened to me for Phoenix.

To ask you a question, no, when I was on a young team, we were so young and just, I guess you would say, any experience, we didn't even know any better. We were running up and trying to get scrappy with everybody, but we weren't that good. We weren't in this scenario that Phoenix is in in a Western Conference final scenario with a chance to go to the championship. And I think, I think it's kind of imposing, but at the same time, I think even though Chris Paul has never been there, he's as good. good as it gets when it comes to guys who haven't been to the promised land and been to that championship with all of his experience and everything that he brings to the tape. I think his impact and he has to really put his imprint on this game and make this a career-type moment game for him to close this out because I really fear for them if we had to go to a game seven. Yeah. Let's talk

about the clippers. You know them well. You were drafted by the clippers out of DePaul in Chicago and you have a nice career with them. It's an interesting franchise. It's a weird franchise. There's some pressure on them, too. This is the biggest moment. You know, the next two games are the biggest clipper games in the history of the franchise,

and there's no Kauai Leonard. As a former NBA guy, do you trust Paul George in these spots? Is our criticism unfair to Paul? Do you trust him the next two nights or next two games? the criticism I believe is is a little bit unfair I mean I think when you when you're a superstar and you're in the position he's in he's he's he's being a max contract guy he's a superstar all-star in this league he's playing in Los Angeles California in one of the biggest markets I think

this is part this is part for the course some of the criticism that he gives but I do think the some of the stuff goes too far the the pandemic P or what I mean listen this is one of the most talented players in our game today. Top, whatever you want to call it. You know, that's a different opinions. But I mean, he's a superstar. He was an all-star this year. I mean, I don't think that he deserves some of the little jabs and stuff. I mean, if he doesn't play well, that's fine. We can report that he didn't play well, and that's the truth. And we can talk about that. But I will fall short of trying to call him names and do all of this other stuff that kind of goes on. I don't think he deserves that. And I do feel that, you know, this obviously are the biggest two games in the clip of

history in these next couple nights. And I absolutely trust him. Look what he's done since Kauai has went down. He's averaged 30 plus and he's been a, you know, an unquestioned leader of this team. So I mean, I absolutely trust PG. Everybody's saying Adam Silver made a mistake and he rushed the season back. Now, Adam Silver is saying, listen, we had a pandemic. If we didn't play 70 games, the owners would have too much power over the players and I didn't want to put my players in that situation. Because Adam Silver has to balance the players and the owner. The owners are his boss.

And so, like, to me, I was locked on last night on social media. Adam Silver's getting crushed. And my thing is, well, some of these injuries could be condensed, but Anthony Davis, Kyrie, those guys get hurt a lot. Like, can we blame? I mean, as a former player, would you have been upset with a very short off season? or would you have understood? Sometimes it's not perfect if you want to maintain some power

against the guys who own all the teams. I think it goes a little both ways. If I'm a player, you know, you have to understand. You have to understand you have to do a little bit of both. You absolutely would be upset at the shortened, you know, shorten time for you to recover or rehab and, you know, just to have your break from playing ball, you would be upset a little bit about that.

But when they bring in the business decisions that, that they had to be made for both sides, for the players, the owners, and everybody involved, for people like you and me to talk about the NBA. That part of it, I think, is the part that people are overlooking, that the players had to agree with the owners and Adam Silver on the season and on the structure of the season when it was starting all of that.

Otherwise, everyone would have lost out on money there. So I think that's the part that kind of gets thrown to the wayside that, hey, the players also had to agree with this. and to make sure that the money was going to be where it was going to be because if they didn't do it when it was going to when it had to be done it was going to be a significant hit to the money and i think all of the players agreed that it was the best thing to do was to move for it even though it was going to be some some injuries and stuff but i mean that come on the kai irvin injury landed on somebody's foot you can't change that i don't care if it was a compacted series of season or whatever the thing with yonis landed and hyper-extending his league that could happen in a regular season with 82 games and with all the rest in the world. Some of these injuries are going to happen. It's sports. It's basketball.

Now, I don't know as far as the, you know, the hardened, the growing or the AD, but like you said, these guys have suffered injuries throughout their careers. It's not like this was the first time. So it's just a, it's a tough thing to kind of, kind of really make a beat, be accurate about because you don't know. You know, Quentin, it's interesting. You eventually left the Clippers. And one of the places I've always defended players where,

when I got out of college, I could kind of select where I wanted to work. You guys get drafted by teams and you had a lousy owner and a dysfunctional, you were a great player for a dysfunctional team. In a way, you're kind of trapped. But you were in a big market

and people knew who you were and you eventually made a lot of money. Damian Lillard has a well-owned team, well-run team. But geographically, they can't get a second star. In a weird way, he's kind of trapped. So in different areas, you just had dysfunction. He didn't have dysfunction, but Dame's one of the great players in the league,

and he's sitting there thinking, man, I need more dudes. If you were Dame today, if you were his agent, you know he's going to have a big market, Quentin. He's like, everybody wants to him, except maybe the Warriors. What would you tell him as his agent? Be loyal, stay there, trust the process there, or move on and go with a start. You're his agent right now. What do you tell him? me knowing what I know and being a former player man as his agent or whoever his friend and his confidant

I would say do what you think is going to make you happy at the end of the day that's all that matters it doesn't I mean it doesn't matter what what his fans want him to do it doesn't matter what what anybody wants to do because at the end of the day I know as being a former player once whatever decision he makes if he if he chooses to leave if he chooses to go if he chooses to stay in Portland, whatever decision he makes, Damien Liller is the one who has to walk that walk. And for me being a player, I never wanted to make decisions based on what somebody else told me to do

because I knew that I had to live with it. I had to go to sleep at night when nobody else is there. I got to lay my head down on the pillow and live with that decision I made. So for me, I just tell Dane, whatever is in his heart, whatever he wants to do and whatever he knows and believes is going to make him happy, that's what he should do. regardless of what anybody else thinks. You know, Quentin, I have a saying, I tell my family all the time,

don't try to get happier than happy. There's no perfect life for anybody, right? I like that. I like that. Yeah, if you're happy, you won, right? And I'm looking at your career, Clippers, Nick, Suns, Heat Magic. Any of those spots where you were completely happy? Or in all of them, was there something that drove you nuts?

I would say I was happy in every scenario, but I would say absolutely if somebody forced me to, I could pick something that I didn't like. That's why I love that statement. You just said, I think that's absolutely true. Nothing is going to ever be perfect. But, you know, you would be surprised sometimes when you go looking on the other side of the fence and the grass is greener and it's really not. So, I mean, Dane, like you said, Dame has a great, great scenario. The only thing he hasn't been able to do is actually win, win, big as far as a team. situation and win a championship.

And that's not totally out of reach. I think they can do things to kind of retool there. But at the end of the day, like you say, I can't think the game is unhappy in life. He has a lot of great things to be happy about. I mean, he hasn't won the championship and he hasn't gone as deep as he want to go. But I mean, in life, he's extremely a huge winner from my perspective. By the way, Quentin, I want to go old school. The Clippers are well run now.

But when you played there, it was bad. I mean, it was bad. I mean, just let's be honest. Let's be real here. It was bad, right? It was dysfunctional. You got to give me at least one story because you were, you had the Lakers who, you know, like they take their team to Hawaii for training camp and they got the, and you were a clip.

Did you ever think to yourself, damn, man, this, there's got to be a, there's a moment that you knew. Can't we do anything right? I'll tell you maybe the first time because you got to put things in perspective. When we first get to the Clippers, Darius is 18, I'm 19, Kion's 19, Corey's 20, L.O.'s 20. It's like, we're the young kids, so we fresh out of college and everything. So, you know, I think, you know, Duke and Missouri had great facilities in college. But DePaul, you know, now they do. But when I was there, it wasn't that great.

So when I looked at it, it was like we were at Southwest Junior College. This is in South Central L.A. like this is proverbially like the hood. Now we're from the hood. We don't, you know, we're cool with it. But it was like, I think the first time we really, it really hit us was when we went on the road and we practiced in the Dallas Mavericks practice facility.

And we was looking around like, yo, like they got, they got locked. They got things like literally, like I tell no lies when I say, we couldn't take a shower at our practice facility at Southwest Junior College. It was like the old, like the super old 80, type movies where they got the big, big joint in the middle of the shower, and it's got the little spouse to go all the way around the circuit.

And none of the spouse worked. Some of them busted off, and it would just be like, literally, we would get out of practice from whatever, whether it's training camp practice, going hard. We would put towels over our seats. You know, you've got some decent cars now. We've got some, we're putting towels over our seats, driving home, and then taking showers when we get home. So we didn't realize that, so we went on the road and really got this practice

in somebody else's facility. We was like, this is crazy. Like this is crazy Like we really had And it was love though I mean you know That's what you couldn't tell us that we weren't You know we didn't know any better

So we would get out of practice And had to drive through the little juco campus And all the kids be like yo Hitting on the hood looking at you like What's up? What's up? And it's like this is what we was doing Every day at practice literally

That's a great story That is unbelievable My high school Actually all the all the little water shooters Worked at my high school They didn't work for Quentin No, they did not. Absolutely not. All right. He does a podcast, Knuckleheads, Players Tribune with Darius Miles, season six. You got some All-Stars coming on that. Who's coming on that podcast? Man, absolutely. We already kicked it off with Ray Allen. We've had Donovan Mitchell so far this season, L.J. Larry Johnson. And right now, we just dropped Jamal Madge Brown yesterday. But it's plenty more coming. We've got some good surprises in store.

Good stuff. Jamal's had a heck of a post-basketball career, too. Jamal's really a successful business man. We get all into that because people don't really know. He's somebody they haven't really talked a lot about. I'll tell you, that was fun, Quentin. I love Quentin Richardson stories. That was my favorite story on this show in a month. I appreciate you stopping by.

No problem. Any time. You bet. Isn't that crazy? They go to the Mavericks facility. It's unbelievable. People understand. When T.J. Hushman's auto.

went from the Bengals. Bengals to the Ravens. The Bengals used to just wash all the jock straps and put them in the middle of the floor. I mean, come on, man. It's ridiculous. They didn't have water outside. No, no.

You'd bring your own water to a profession. It's... Now, it's better now, but I'm not kidding you. Mard Schott, who used to own the Cincinnati Reds, brutal. She would fly the team into the city the day of the game to save on hotel rooms. So she'd get the Reds. And they were good. There were some good teams, right? She'd fly them in in the morning, two and a half hours, get off in Atlanta to play the Braves. I mean, the league finally had to step in. I believe the league stepped in and had a new rule that you have to arrive the night before for a game.

Yeah, I mean, the league would never allow that to happen now. This is what I always say about rich people. There's got to be regulations on Wall Street. They'll save every penny. There's a percentage of billionaires that will just save every penny and won't care about employees. Now, there's some great billionaires.

Very giving philanthropic. But, I mean, that's what the clippers were. That was funny. It's unbelievable. 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. 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 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. 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 iHeart radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Jek.

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 was 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, 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 for 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 podcasts. 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, 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.

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Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Saturday on FS1, get ready for some fireworks. As Fernando Tatis Jr. and the Padres take on Bryce Harper and the Phillies. Saturday at 3.30 Eastern on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. Good to have you in, by the way. Casper Sleep, 4th of July sale is here celebrating bed white and blue, 30% off bundles, mattresses and more.

Casper.com slash promo. go to their site and check out the details. Here's Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News. Sponsored by Mercedes-Bets, the best or nothing. Well, Luke is on his way to being a superstar in the NBA.

He's gotten a lot of praise in his short time in the league. But according to Brian Windhorst, Luca may not be a draw for other players. He said, I don't know how many people are going to be excited to play with Luca. I think Luca is maybe a difficult person. He's a great player, but when you watch the Mavericks play, he's barking at the coach, he's barking at his teammates, he's barking at the officials.

He's always barking about something. So with a guy who has options, I'll be interested to watch to see how that goes going forward. Well, he also controls the ball. There's a hardened to him a little bit, where to be as great as he is, he needs the ball. And that's why I've said, we're all looking at what the Mavericks need.

What they really need is somebody to spell Luca from dominating the ball and let him play off ball. You can't ask this guy to play 47 minutes having the ball. We always go James Harden. That game's not built for the playoffs. Didn't Luca look exhausted? And by the way, Luca's a kid. Usually when you're young, you get old and exhausted. So to me, what Dallas needs is six minutes of Luca, not with a ball.

ball in his hands, both halves. Because that's the thing with Hardin is you cannot, like the late Kobe Bryant told Hardin, you cannot play that way and then go 7-7-7 in the playoffs and play 24 games. You just can't. And so when Luca got worn down, everybody's like, well, is he in shape? And I'm like, he's in good enough NBA shape. That style, he needs somebody to take him off the ball for a big spot every half. And to your point about Hardin, he changed how he played this season with the Nets.

More distributor. It looked like it was working. Obviously, injuries are what inevitably derailed them. But that style of play, if they're all healthy next year, they're going to be a problem. So I get what Brian is saying here. I think I would disagree in that. I think if another competitor gets along with Luca personally, I mean, different people communicate differently. Right. Some people don't like to be yelled at. I'm one of those people. I'm not listening to you. If you're screaming at me, you have to talk. Like, use your words. I'm not into the yelling thing. Some people don't mind that. We've talked about this with Chris Paul. Not that Chris Paul is necessarily a yeller, but younger players tend to respond better to Chris Paul's guidance than older players. Older players don't want to hear his style of communication. So I know the temper, the Daunich temper thing was a conversation last year. It was a concern. Obviously, he's landed in trouble a couple times with the referees. But, the temper.

that's clearly his personality. So it's a matter of we know that he is capable of greatness. What are they going to put around him? And bringing players in is not just about, okay, we're recruiting this star. Like you have to find things that fit, especially when you have specific personalities. So making sure that your stars are on the same page and they can't actually play together and like get along to some degree. You don't have to necessarily be best friends off the court. But can you get along on the court? Can you communicate on the court is very important. So it will be interesting to see what the Mavericks do because they do need to bring someone else in. So Paul George has taken a lot of criticism for his playoff performances throughout his career.

He even said after game five on Monday that he believes he gets criticized more than other NBA stars. And Charles Barkley is not a fan of that narrative. These dudes, man. What? What do you mean? Every great player gets criticized. Yes. I don't hear that bull.

Crap. Every great player. I have gotten criticized because I didn't win. the championship. Michael Jordan, before he won the championship, yeah, he can't win. Shaq, Kobe, everybody's gotten criticized. This is false narrative. I hear these

jackasses on television talking about somebody gets scrutinized more than other people. Give me a freaking break. Paul George is a terrific player, but that goes with being a terrific player and these other guys talk about he gets treated unfairly. Give me a

freaking break. Expectations change how people perceive you. Now it's not Paul George's responsibility to live up to or live in any way for the perspective of what other people have of him. But he's very inconsistent.

He is great and he can be really bad in big moments. There's a reason why this narrative exists. I understand what he's saying. He does get a certain type of criticism. We talked about this would think right earlier. He does get teased a bit in a way

that other stars maybe don't, I mean, I don't even know if I can necessarily agree with that because, like, the internet is harsh to everybody. Yeah, mean, it's bad to presidents, it's bad to everybody. It's a very mean place. Like, and if you don't want to hear mean anonymous people be as mean as they feel

like they can be because they are anonymous, the internet's probably not the best place for you. You're going to need to limit that. But as far as, like, I mean, I don't want to elevate what we do to valuable criticism, but it is our face and our voice on the criticisms that we give of people. And I'm conscious of that personally. I assume anyone I'm talking about can be hearing what I'm saying live. So I

speak accordingly. You speak off of facts and numbers and what you see and what you've experienced. The internet doesn't do that. So like I'm not going to come on here and call him way off pee. That's not value in that for me. I'm not a huge nickname. I'm not into that stuff. Like a lot of people, like remember Trump president and he had a nickname for everybody. And until Sleepy Joe didn't land. and I remember reading a story why it's not working. Like people, it wasn't a good enough nickname. Like, I'm not a nickname guy. There are hosts that do that.

So I do think Nick Ride said earlier. I'm willing to criticize, guys. I, you know, I did say Westbrook. I will say I went Westbrook. But he does shoot a lot of bricks. I felt like that was justified. Russell Westbrook, I may have, I don't think I started it, but I said that multiple times. I don't regret it, but it is a little mean.

Yeah, I don't. I think that there is a limit to what the criticism should be. And of course, it's also like, is Paul George is expected to be the leader of the organization? Is he expected to be like that level of consistent every single night?

We talk about Chris Middleton. Like, it's not Chris Middleton's team. That's Yonis' team. Like, does Chris Middleton need to put forth some at least decent performances? He can't go out there and have five points, but do we expect him to have 38 every night? No. So I think the expectations change

depending on who you are, and maybe that's what's unfair to Paul. Maybe we shouldn't expect that of Paul George, and that's what's put him in this place. But Charles is right. Everyone gets criticized, and if you get criticized, it's because people are paying attention to what you're doing. They've got to watch your games to criticize you. Yes. So tight ends can often be overlooked as a part of football, even with the emergence of stars like George Kittl and Brankowski and Travis Kelsey over the years.

And Greg Olson is, he's tired of the disrespect. He said he thinks tight ends as a group are underpaid for everything that they're asked to do on the field. We have to do the same shit that $15 million left tackle has to do and run routes against the same guy, the $15 million wide receiver has to run routes against, and they're going to pay us seven. He's not lying. Yeah, I mean, the truth is tight ends deserved their little pay 15 years ago. What has happened to the position? It's become more used, more valuable, with better.

players. So when I grew up, like, Kellan Winslow was a complete outlier. The great for the Chargers. You're like, nobody played the position like that. There's like nine Winslow's now in the game. Like the position now has been elevated. It's like we said wide receivers. It used to be in the 70s, 80s, 90s, you needed a great running back. You did not need a great, you didn't have to have Jerry Rice to be really good. But now in the NFL, New England has the best coach and had Brady, but they were bad at wide receiver and got whacked early in the playoffs. I don't know though. I think the tight end position has been really valuable for a long time.

It's just been able to be marginalized because the higher end of the tight ends, you know, the Shannon Sharps, the Tony Gonzalez's, the Kellynne Winslow's were more of the outliers. And now it's become more of the norm for them to be a higher level talent. You can't be bad at Tide End anymore. Right. In the past, you could have a great all-time great. tight end like Shannon Sharp, like Tony, like Callant. And the rest of the league be, there would be a big margin between them and the rest of the league.

Now that's not the case. No. So I'm with him. They're being asked to do more. I mean, look at Kyle Pitts. They think he could be a receiver. Yeah. So like they are, the pay is going to eventually change because there's so much more value.

Travis Kelsey led the chiefs in catches. Like the tight end now is a, in fact, it's a very interesting tool because it's too big for a corner to cover and too fast for a lineback. So now the smart coaches, Andy Reid, Belichick, those guys have been in on that very quick. 10, 12 years ago, they started using that tight-in position more. Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News.

Oh, we got good stuff today. Suns Clippers tonight. Cannot wait. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Hey, what's up, everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LaVar Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game.

What is Up on Game, you ask? Along with my fellow Pro Bowler, T.J. Hushman Zada and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me, LaVar Arrington.

Hushmanzada and Plexicoke Burris on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast from. 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 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 IHeard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Jett. And I'm Alex English. 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 all 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. 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 podcasts.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way 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, 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 Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Pro football focus came out and they put out a top 10 quarterback list. I've been watching football since 1972.

That was the first year I watched football that I remember. Miami Dolphins beat Washington in the Super Bowl, George Allen against Don Chul, all that stuff. The way the NFL has always worked for quarterbacks, there's been five guys running the league, maybe one or two other guys worth mentioning,

everybody else is looking to upgrade, and they just don't want to tell you. So pro football focus came out with their top 10. And once again, in 2021, that's what it is. The top five guys Pro Football Focus has Mahomes, Brady, Rogers, Wilson, Josh Allen. Then they got DAC 6.

Kirk Cousins 8. Give me a break. Baker 9. Lamar Jackson. Nope. The top five, there's a couple other guys worse mentioning.

Lamar Jackson, DeShon Watson. Everybody else, if they could, would upgrade. It's been that way of a whole life. You go back to the 70s. I watched it. It was the first decade I watched football. Bradshaw's Stabler, Stauback, ran the league. Then Greasy was part of a great, he wasn't as dynamic, but part of a great team.

And then Fran Tarkin and ran around for years, those five guys, those Minnesota teams didn't win Super Bowls. They were in the conversation every year. The Purple People Eaters defensive line, Chuck Foreman, the running back, Ahmad Rashad, the wide receiver. They were in the discussion for a decade. The 70s, there were five guys. There were one or two other worst mentioning. Everybody else was looking for a better quarterback, then you go to the 80s. And the 80s, it was Montana, Fouts, a young Elway, a young Marino, and Joe Thaisman, like Greasy, was part of a great staff and a great team, wasn't asked to do as much, but those guys ran the league.

Fouts was part of the number one passing offense. Montana was winning in the Super Bowls. Elway and Marino were turning heads. Thysman, part of the greatest structure. And then you go to the 90s. It was the same thing. It was Aikman, Farr, Elway, Kelly, ran the league, and at the end, here came Steve Young to replace Montana.

He emerged as this crafty Russell Wilson, he left-handed runaround guy. But it was Aikman, Farve, and Elway, and Kelly felt like they were running the league. At that point now, Marino was too old and not as affected. And you go to the 2000, 2000 to 2010. It was Peyton and Tom in their prime, Drew Brees in his prime, Brett far leaving his prime and Kurt Warner was emerging. It wasn't Big Ben. They were winning with defense. Warner

was part of these wild offenses and he was emerging as a guy that ooh, he was bagging groceries. He was in like the arena league and Warner put up profound numbers. And you go 2000 to 2010. It was Brady

getting old but still winning. Russell Aaron Breeze getting old still winning and Peyton Manning. By the way, say what you want about old Peyton Manning. He just kept figuring out ways to win his division, win the AFC, and get to Super Bowls. And right now, what do you know? It's the same thing right now. You got an old Tom Brady clinging to it like an old Peyton.

He just knows how to win. And then you got your four other guys, your Mahomes, you're Josh Allen, you're Aaron Rogers, you're Russell Wilson. It's been like that my whole life. You got five guys running the league, two other worthy of discussing. but Lamar can't win those playoff games he should. Deshawn's not winning enough playoff games. Everybody else is looking to upgrade. Pro football focus has Kirk Cousins at 8.

They tried to upgrade from him. They tried to already. He's got Matt Ryan in there. They were going to draft a quarterback. Baker Mayfield, why isn't he getting a big contract? So that's the truth about this league. GMs don't want to know that. They don't want to tell you that.

GMs don't want to tell you that. Coaches don't want to tell you that. Right now San Francisco? you know, they went and upgraded. I mean, they got a guy to the Super Bowl. Their movie could be different reasons. You're too expensive. You're too difficult.

I mean, look at Aaron Rogers is great. They already got a guy. They're trying to get groomed. So this league has always been run by about, it's five quarterbacks. Two are interesting. Everybody else would take a phone call. Every single team would take a phone call. And sometimes those five guys that run it by the end of the decade,

like the teams are starting to take calls. They're not ready to move off them yet, but they're taking calls. I mean, Drew Breeze, they brought in James because they're like, he's getting old. So we got to have a plan. So, but there's always the people start ranking top 10, top 15, top 20 quarterbacks is, folks, 90% of the people are taking calls. If you got a call, they'll listen. It's just a reality of it.

We make too much. My guy's rated at eight. Kirk Cousins is rated 8. Minnesota already tried to move off him. I mean, Derek Carr and the Raiders, you think that's a death-tie part? I mean, you'd think that's lasting forever? Come on.

If they don't make the playoffs again, that thing's not going to work. So there you go. Spalllight comfort, save big in your water bill. Go to tanklessmaidsimple.com. Tankless made simple.com. Navian tankless water heaters. So tonight, Sons and the Clippers,

it is, what do we got? Game 6 tonight. So the Sons were tight, super tight in game 5 at home. They'd been a dominant playoff team and a dominant home playoff team fell big into a hole. And it felt like the entire night they were chasing the older veteran Clippers. The Clippers were in control of that game. The Sons would make runs. It was the Clippers' night. I think the key, I think what Monty Williams, Joy, is going to tell these guys is, first seven minutes are going to form the game. Yeah. You cannot fall into these holes and play catch-up all night.

So watch the first seven minutes of the Sun's Clippers tonight. It's going to be crazy intense because the Clippers are desperate, have to win, and the Sons do not want to go to a Game 7 even at home. The Suns should treat this like it's a Game 7. Yes. Don't even think about that there's another possible game. Won't that be crazy if the Clippers go 02 to the Mavs win it, 02 to the jazz win it and 02 to the Sons and win it.

That's got to be. I don't have it in front of me. It has to be historic. That's never happened. That's what I'm saying. They need to treat it like it's a game seven. Clippers aren't scared to play behind. All you have to do is win the next game.

Think about this. I think whoever wins game one in a series wins like 68 or 70% of the games, the Clippers have fallen behind 02 twice and have come back. So, I mean, this is really unique territory for the Clippers. At home tonight. Games won Phoenix favored by one. I like Phoenix Close, but I like Phoenix Close last game, and they came out tight. Hour three next.

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. 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 you here, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite. 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. 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 Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled of 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 IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 IHart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Human.