The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 12/22/2020 - HOUR 3 - Headlines

Episode Date: December 22, 2020

College football playoffTomorrows headlines todayGuests: Joel Klatt, Jason McIntyre 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. 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. 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 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 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. Thanks for listening to The 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 iHeart Radio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. streaming service called Discovery Plus starts next year, U.S. only. Exclusive originals and stuff like the Food Network. So usually the Clatster comes on on Wednesday and we argue, my feeling is I'm going to try to bridge this relationship and find common good and common things we agree in with Clat, because I don't want him to think I don't like him.

Now, as his mentor, it's always going to be a, a little argumentative here, but let's bring in the voice of college football at Fox Sports. So let's get some common ground here. I love it. Will we admit? I'm going to throw this out to you. Three of the four teams they got right,

and the fourth team's just going to get blasted by Alabama, so I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Am I wrong? No, I don't think that you're wrong. And, you know, I've said a few different times that I didn't think that there was a great choice before. You know, all these teams that are pretty flawed, we're arguing for this fourth spot as if they deserved it, you know. And, you know, I just, Notre Dame is going to go.

And I think that they've got a better singular win than Texas A&M. Yeah. You can argue over like, well, you know, they both lost bad to Clemson or to Alabama. Yeah, but Notre Dame at least beat Clemson. I don't care who was on the field. I saw that game with my eyes. It has to matter to some degree. So I think that they got the four teams right with what they were trying to do.

which is this whole notion of why we're just going to get the four best teams. I do think, though, Colin, that this year, maybe more so than others, and I think you agree with me on this, too. Like, it's more apparent the sham that the college football playoff is. Like, it really is just a beauty pageant. And it's so subjective that we knew back in late September who the four teams were going to be. As soon as the Big Ten announced, hey, we're going to come back and we're going to play. and we're going to try to play a season. You and I could have just been like, okay, let's just have the playoff now.

What are we going to seed them? Well, probably Alabama 1, probably Clemson 2 or vice versa. Then we're going to probably have Ohio State because they play less games. And then Notre Dame looks good. I mean, we knew what this was going to be. There was no access for anybody else. There was no avenue for this playoff for a team like Cincinnati or coastal or any other team for that matter.

Yeah, the difference is that doesn't bother me. You lay awake at night struggling to sleep with that. I have no problem at all because I'm not. I always watch beauty pageants as a kid, and I'm okay with it. And Joey Taylor was in beauty pageants, so I'm pro beauty pageant. And very successful at it. Yeah, yeah. All right, let's talk games.

Clemson, Ohio State. I'm going to throw this out to you. So Clemson beat him last year. Dabo's poking them in the ribs. Yeah. Ohio State's back end worries me. But Clemson could be looking ahead to Bama. I think this is a pretty close matchup, and I...

Clemson, Ohio State, I think it's close. Your thoughts? I picked Ohio State outright last year, but I thought it would be a good game, and that was an incredible game. I don't think Ohio State is nearly as good as they were a year ago. And I think Clemson might be as good or better than they were a year ago. So I'm leaning towards Clemson in this one. One thing has been very apparent for me covering Ohio State this year, and it's that defense is not nearly what it was, a year ago, in particular in the back end, in the secondary. And facing a team that have the weapons that Clemson has, and more specifically, the quarterback that they have. Remember, the reason they

beat Ohio State was because Trevor Lawrence decided to put a cape on his back and put an S on his chest and just flat beat them. And this structure of defense that Ohio State plays lends itself to a quarterback potentially getting loose. They're not great in coverage on the outside. They give up way too many big plays. And for those reasons, I think I'm leaning towards Clemson right now, but I will tell you. I think that Ohio State has the ability to line up and physically maybe pound the ball at Clemson. Remember, Notre Dame, even though those front seven players for Clemson weren't in the ballgame, Notre Dame hammered them in the first meeting with their run game, Colin. And I think as the year has gone on, we have started to see that Ohio State can do that running the football. I mean,

Trey Serman ran for 331 yards last week against Northwestern, who came into that ballgame as the fourth-ranked rushing defense in America. So I'm really interested to see how much ball control Ohio State can use to protect their own defense and keep Trevor Lawrence potentially off the field. Can Notre Dame hang with Alabama? Do they do anything well or disruptive in the other semifinal game? Well, I think that, listen, I like Notre Dame. You and I have been on the Notre Dame train all year. I think that's been the common ground for us. This is a good football team. Alabama is in a different realm, I believe, than this Notre Dame team. And the one area that I think you need to be strong

in order to compete with or potentially beat Alabama is that you've got to have an excellent quarterback and passing game. We've seen that with Ole Miss and their structure of offense with Lane Kiff and as their coordinator. We saw that in the SEC championship game with Florida and Kyle Trask putting up a lot of yards.

I'm still hesitant to say, hey, Ian Book and Notre Dame can do that. Right? Like they can just drop back and throw the football and gain that amount of yards against Alabama. I think that Alabama is too good for Notre Dame. Now, I think that Alabama could potentially have problems, even though I'll probably pick them in the championship game,

they could potentially have problems when they have to face either Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields. But I don't think Ian Book provides that type of concern that those elite players would in a championship game. All right, let's talk Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields. Jets would obviously take Trevor Lawrence 1. He's a rock star. He's an Andrew Luck, John Elway, level player. Justin Fields had to transfer out of college. He's good.

He's capable. I've seen him a couple times this year. Really struggle. What would concern you about Justin Fields? I know he's an athlete. I know he's got a nice arm. We all know Lawrence, I'm done talking about him. Justin Fields.

What concerns you about him going to New York? York going to the NFL? Well, the one concern I have is that he tends to hold the football in an inordinate amount of time. And that's partly due to the fact that he is so gifted as an athlete so that he feels like he can make a play regardless of what's going on around him. He can get stuck because of that, because of his ability to make plays in those situations, he can get stuck on the first read and the progression at times. This is very, you know, like NFL draft scouting. I don't think that this has a lot to do with the playoff. But Fields at times has pressed and wanted to create big plays this year and that's hurt them. It hurt them against Indiana with the pressure that the

Hoosiers were able to put on him. It hurt them against Northwestern. He banged up his thumb a little bit in that game against Northwestern and could not throw the ball efficiently. Part of the reason is because everything was sailing on him high, didn't have Chris Olivae out there. So I think that there are certainly some concerns. And as we get into the draft process, I think that this year, unfortunately for Fields in the back half of the year has been some games that are going to hurt his evaluation moving forward. And I think that there could be guys that start to creep up and get considered for that number two overall quarterback spot. A guy like Trask, a guy like Trey Lance out of North Dakota State, we'll see what the evaluation is like about Zach Wilson at BYU, maybe even Mack

Jones, by the way, at Alabama. He's going to get first round consideration. And because of the the struggles that Fields has had in the back half of the season, I think it will be called into question whether he's even going to be the number two quarterback taken in the draft. Joel Klatte. Okay. So finally, there's a difference between wanting something and knowing it's going to happen.

I think both you and I think the college football playoff will expand. I think we both kind of feel that for some COVID, some budget issues, whatever it is. Yeah. I have never been a believer. The argument I've always used on. expansion is college basketball now lets everybody in except my alma mater and we still argue for days about the team that didn't get in. So if you have a country club, it doesn't matter. The one guy that didn't get in complains louder than the people that did get in. So I don't think it solves anything

a college football playoff except budget stuff. Are you a fan of the college football playoff expansion? I am and this is a brand new phenomenon. I have come on your show and argued that it needed to needed to stay at four teams. I wasn't a huge fan of them creating a playoff in the first place. One of the things that college football used to have is this incredibly important regular season, and it had incentive structures and the ability to define yourself as a program with success that was outside of the national championship. See, as opposed to the, for college basketball, maybe some teams can say, hey, we've been to the tournament, so on and so forth. And I guess like different rungs within the tournament. You can kind of say this is the level of success we're having.

But in college football, we have stripped the ability of any program to define themselves or define success for themselves outside of the college football playoffs. So, Colin, what's happened is that college football and everything about it and everything that's important about it has been shoved up to the top. And I don't think that that's good for the help of the sport long term. You know, there's only six programs that have won a college football playoff game. And those six programs finished as the top six finishers in the 2021 recruiting rankings after last week's initial signing day. That's Alabama. That's Clemson. That's Ohio State. Oregon is in there. LSU and Georgia. And then the team that's right behind them in the recruiting rankings is Oklahoma.

They've been to the playoff three times. So what we're going to get is we're going to get this perpetuating cycle that the same teams are going to be right back in this elite playoff year after year. And nothing else matters. We're going to have players opt out, teams opt out. We need to expand the importance of college football for more teams. So for me, it's about more access. And by the way, I'm not arguing that the sixth best team is going to win the national championship or deserves a shot at the national championship. All I'm saying is that for the health of the sport, for teams outside of this very select few, we need to expand the opportunity, at least, to define success for those teams. And for that reason, to me, it's not a fix of go to six or go to eight, because it's not about arguing for those

teams. It's about expanding the incentive structure for the sport. So, Colin, I actually think we need to go to 14 or 16. I think bowl games should probably go away. And now we can at least have some semblance that we can define success for a greater number of teams. Yeah, you know, I will say this. Some of these bowl games are a bunch of nonsense. The more and more, outside of about four bowl games, there's nobody at the bowl games. So the consumer, the consumer is not interested whatsoever. All right, clatt. That wasn't bad. You know what? I always appreciate you put a few minutes of prep in before you come on our show. I could hear it today. The excellent

prep by you. You're terrific at what you do. You have a beautiful family. And happy holidays, my friend. We agreed on the lot today. Happy holiday. We really did. I'm thankful, by the way, that you allow me to come on your show. Talk college football. I love college football. I love

coming on your show. Joy, I love bantering with both of you guys. And I've got to tell you, there's not many host in America that would allow someone to come on, call him a weirdo and do all those things. So thank you. You're the best, man. You really are. And I appreciate you. Happy holidays to everybody out there. Right back at you, buddy. And I am sort of a weirdo. So I can own that completely. Joel Clatt, who's as good as anybody that's ever done what he does. He's just terrific. You know what Clat does? And nobody knows this. Well, I do. And I think maybe you do.

I'm not sure if he releases this. So after the game Saturday, Clat goes and does a top 20. It's a cheat sheet for all of us in the business. And he rates the top 20. It's It's like this one sheet, and if you get it, you know the whole sport. You could not watch the game. He's got every little bit of information, healthy. And he showed it to me like three years ago. And it's like, oh, my God, if you can't watch a game, it's so great. He is so into the details of this sport.

Add me to the email list, Joel. Yeah, no, it's phenomenal. And you get it like Sunday, just like that. He gets off that flight, boom, goes home, does it. Next morning you get it. All right. 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.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert 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 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 Jett. 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. 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 you 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 for 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 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 don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

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 iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Joy Taylor with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Really quickly, well, I do agree with you that the top three teams are going to end up, one of those teams are going to end up in the championship, right? For college football, I like the idea of expanding it once so everyone can stop arguing about it because it's exhausting. But also, it gives teams and fan bases hope. later into the season and hope makes the whole sport a little more interesting.

You know, like the tournament every year, we know that the top teams are going to be the ones in the championship. We know that. But just the idea that they might make it to the final four or the elite eight is exciting. And the other thing is I grew up with a bowl system. You can take about three of them outside of that. I love college football. I don't watch most of these bowls. Yeah, it's a compensation game. And we all know that. Yeah, we all know with the bowl system. When you got when you got weed eater company sponsoring bowl games and credit unions. Yeah, and they can still sponsor them, but just make them a part of the playoff.

Nobody under 80 is at a credit union. So, like, it's done. Okay, so let's just move on and do that. And I'm a college football fan, but some of these bulls, oh, they're great for the community. It's nothing against small towns, but it's the bull games now. A lot of them can still be sponsored. Just make them a part of the college football playoff, so it's more interesting.

So the Patriots are out of playoff contention, which means Cam Newton may only have two games left with the team. And after Sunday's loss, he took accountability for his performance this year and promised to be better in the future. In a post on Instagram, he said, I'll be the first to tell you this year's been unacceptable in more ways than one than the standard has been been set. And unfortunately, we, I did not live up to the standard. That was at all times or consistently enough. With that being said, the answers are in the locker room. And one thing I do know about this bunch is the locker room is filled with guys. We want to be part of the solution, including me. All things considered, you will not see any finger pointing or excuse making, but more

accountability being placed on the guys and me to get the job done. I think I speak for myself and others when I say challenge accepted. Well, I've been critical of Cam, but I'm going to say this. Patrick Mahomes would struggle with this offense. Patrick Mahomes would struggle. They have no deep threat. The receivers are all number threes. They have no tight end production.

So as great as Mahomes and Aaron Rogers are, this is not a playoff roster. It is not. There's a reason why Cam Noon, I mean, Tom Brady left. Yeah. And went to Tampa Bay, a place that is rich with offensive weapons. Okay. Tom Brady in his last nine games in New England was four and six, if you count the Tennessee game, right?

So what does that tell you, the greatest quarterback ever who now is putting big numbers up? Like, they don't have the players. And I'm critical, it can, but he's got nothing to work with here. He's nothing to work with. The COVID situation definitely derailed the season a bit because not only was he out, but when he came back, he wasn't 100%. I think overall Cam New England and New England made them extremely interesting. I always root for Cam, so I was all in on it.

It was a great story. And I think he showed, even though there are no weapons there, and it wasn't a great season, obviously, that he can adapt to a different system, which was a big question about Cam. When you look at the entirety of Cam's career, injuries played a massive role in it, as is sometimes they do. Some guys just don't have injuries and they have incredible careers and they don't have to worry about that. Cam has had to.

And part of that has been his style of play. But I think next year, one, I think Belichick has a plan for what they're going to do a quarterback. I don't think he's just leaving this the way the wind blows. Yeah. And I think Cam will end up on another team as a backup. And who knows how that ends up working out. So the Patriots former quarterback, Tom Brady.

It's a 14-time pro bowler in the AFC, but he will not be adding 15th in his first season. in the NFC. The Pro Bowl rosters were announced yesterday and he was not selected as one of the quarterbacks to represent his conference this year. The three quarterbacks from the NFC are Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson, and Kyler Murray. Now, this may seem like a snub, but I don't know how you argue against those three. Well, Aaron and Russell, absolutely. Kyler, when healthy, has felt pro bowl-ish. So if you take out his three unhealthy games, yeah, I mean, I don't have. I think Brady's my four. So I think... I just don't feel like it's a snub.

No, I think... No, it's not a snub. It's not a snub. That's fair to say. It's not a snub. He does rank second and passing yards. Rogers is third. Wilson is fourth and Kyler is seven. But I do believe Kyler is just more essential to his team's success. I think Matt Ryan in Tampa would be mostly the same.

I really do. In Tampa, yeah. In Tampa, yeah. I think Matt Ryan in Arizona, that's a bad football team. And that's nothing against Matt. I just think Kyler is so. He is the essence of the entire football team. Yeah, he is. How he plays is how they go.

Tom is also third in passing touchdowns. Wilson is second. Rogers is first and Kyler's fifth. So he does have some better, he's better in some statistical categories. But to look at it as a snub, I feel like it's dramatic. It's a little bit of exaggeration. He didn't make it have a better season. Finally, Kevin Durant will start his Nets career with

matchup against the Warriors tonight. The NBA is back. He said he's not anticipating any added emotion when he faces his former team. There's no more of importance because I'm playing against my old teammates and I just feel like the game of basketball is going to have me on that level anyway.

I try not to make myself bigger than a group, but I know what I add to a basketball club and I felt that way with the Warriors. So it wasn't about me going to the nets to try to prove to prove that I can make my own thing, whatever the hell that means. It's just that I'm coming here to play basketball and add to a group of great guys. I do feel like if it was Steph, Clay, and Draymond against him, it would feel kind of cool. Now it's Steph and Draymond and Clay is hurt, so I don't care.

I think Draymond might be out as well. Yeah, then it's, but I do think if it was just the Warriors with Andrew Wiggins instead of Kevin Durant and the Warriors won, it would be a little bit like, yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think the added emotion for KD tonight is. that he's finally back after being off for so long coming back from that injury. I'm excited. So the nets are playing tonight? Yes, Warriors Nets 7 p.m. Eastern and then Clippers Lakers tonight as well.

And the Christmas Day schedule is essentially all day along with an NFL game. I'm excited about that. Viking Saints. Yeah, no, I'm really looking forward to this NBA season, particularly watching the Nets. I agree with Nick Wright. I think this is going to be a season that Kevin Durant reminds everyone that he's really good. Really good and will establish himself as the second most player in the league again. I just, the defense makes me nervous, but I'm excited to watch something either way.

So am I. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. We've had a good day today. Kevin Clark, Nick Wright, Peter King, Joel Clatt, and Jason McIntyre's got his NBA predictions. Tomorrow's headlines today.

This will be funny. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. 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-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win. A win is a win. 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 pick a 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. 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. Tript 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. My gift giving tip, a rec tech grill, perfect for the family. RecTech with aQ.com. Master Chef indoors with an app on your phone.

RecTech. All right, Jason McIntyre is now joining us, usually on Friday. Now on Tuesday is the NBA season starts in earnest tonight. We call the tomorrow's headlines today. He's a former newspaper guy, so we predict what the headlines will be. And let's start with this one. Jason, tomorrow. tomorrow's headline today.

What is it for the championship Lakers this year? Very exciting out here in L.A. Will they be able to win another title? The headline will be. Braun and Brow go back to back. LeBron and Anthony Davis are going to win the title this year. We know that, Colin.

They are the heavy favorites, according to the gambling markets. But you talk to people in Los Angeles, and there's some concern. Because everybody in Hollywood knows that the sequel is usually crappier than the original version. But I don't see that happening here. The Lakers have made a smart move, right?

They were a defensive-minded team last year, right? Frank Vogel, great defensive coach. Third in the league in defense, first in blocks. It's a great defensive team last year, but what they do? They go right to Avery Bradley, Danny Green, Rondo, Dwight Howard, and they've pivoted to be an offensive team with Schroeder and Harold. And Colin, this is because LeBron, we know, is going to sit out a lot of games this year. He's 36 years old here in a week.

I know you're going to be celebrating his birthday. Such a fan. with Shruder, Harold, this kid Talon Horton Tucker, who I'm sure you've heard about, the Lakers are going to be able to survive without LeBron. They're going to win the title again, Colin. Don't disagree, by the way, and I think it's a good point. They're pivoting a little bit more to an offensive team than a defensive unit. Tomorrow's headlines today is the NBA season open tonight.

What are the headlines going to be for James Harden this year? Yeah, yeah, a lot of jokes about James Harden. Joy Taylor is going to love this one. The headline will be Riley caught between rock and a Hardin place. I'm telling you, I know talks have cooled over the last couple days about the rockets and the heat. And I've heard all the James Hardin jokes, James Larden. Okay, James Hardin can fit in anywhere except his pants, you know, because he's gained a couple pounds here. But Colin, this is a play against the Miami Heat.

I think they exceeded expectations last year, right? In the bubble. They're built for the bubble. There's going to be a little regression here. from someone around the league. Keep an eye on Jimmy Butler. He was exhausted in the NBA finals. You could visibly see that.

And, you know, there's a little concern about Tom Tibido players as they ease into their 30s. We saw Luel Dang fall off a cliff. Yo Kim Noah fall off a cliff in his 30s. Jimmy Butler spent a lot of hard years in Chicago. Are we going to see some regression? And Pat Riley loves a star.

We know they couldn't get Janus because he's staying in Milwaukee. We'll get to him shortly. But if there is Miami around the six or seven seed, I can see them making a play for James Harden and going all in to get back to the finals. I think it's a really, really interesting point. Tomorrow's headlines today. What's it going to be for Luca Donzich and the Mams this year?

Oh, yeah. Everybody loves Luca. The headline will be, it's beginning to Luke a lot like MVP season. He's good. Come on. Listen, Colin, the betting markets have him as the favorite. The favorite. He's 21 years old.

No Janus is the favorite. Luca, there's so much to love. about this kid. And I know I heard you guys talking about, oh, Kevin Durant's coming back. Like, listen, this is a guy who's coming off in Achilles in his 30s. Luca is the guy to watch. They put him on Christmas against LeBron for a reason. He's got next, as the kids say out there. I love this kid, Luca Donchis. He makes it look so easy. Yeah. And you know what I love, Colin, is the toughness. You remember that series against the clippers. Porzingis gets hurt again. Porzengis, by the way, we'll start the season out. And Luca was unfazed. He went toe to toe with

the clippers. They're roughing him up talking trash. All he did was hit a game winner in their eye. I love the toughness, the smarts of Luca Donchitz. He's your MVP this year. Yeah, points come easy for that kid. Transition down low, jumpers. He's going to be a top five, eight, ten score all time at about 15 years from now. Tomorrow's headlines today. What's it going to be for Janus in the Milwaukee box? Oh boy. All right. We spend all summer. What's Janus going to do? Is he going to stay? Is he going to go? The headline. will be, shouldn't have signed my big, fat Greek contract. And listen, I like Janus a lot.

Seems like a good guy. He's staying in Milwaukee. But Colin, there are contestants on The Bachelor who have a better chance at the ring than Janus does. Okay, he's not winning the title this year. I don't have them getting to the finals. Okay, when you're banking everything on your offseason, getting better by attaining Drew Holiday,

who's a nice player, right? He's a solid guy, great in the community. Colin, he's a one-time All-Star. Is he really putting you over the top when we saw the Nets get better? We've seen other teams in the East on the Rise, Philadelphia. I'm very bullish on.

I just don't love the vibe of the Bucks heading into the season. We know they're going to win a lot of games, right? Boodenholzer, great regular season coach. The last two post seasons, he's got coached into a body bag, okay, first against Toronto and then last year against the Miami Heat.

I don't like their prospects. Colin, somebody made a joke to me. There's only two things where a Supermax is mentioned. NBA contracts and prisons. Did Janus just sign into a prison in Milwaukee for the next five years? The good news is you can force your way out of NBA contracts, as we've seen. I don't love Milwaukee this season. All right.

Yeah. Well, I mean, Joy and I have said we're kind of tired of the promises. We'd like to see some results. So I actually agree with you on that. Tomorrow's headlines today for one of my favorite players in years, Zion. I love him. What's the headline? The headline for Zion Williamson will be the big guy makes it look big easy. Colin, it's funny. We talk about Luca Donchich. We talk about Kevin Durant.

Are we almost forgetting about Zion Williamson now? I know that sounds crazy. He was awful in the bubble, you know, showed up a little overweight, did not play well at either end. Colin, I know you don't watch NBA preseason. We talk about this. You refuse to do that. And I get it. but Zion Williamson quietly is playing more minutes in the preseason than he played in the NBA regular season. They said, enough of this learning curve, Zion, we've got to get you playing big minutes this year. He's 25 pounds lighter. I'm telling you right now, there's like no buzz around the Pelicans. Keep an eye on Zion.

I've got them getting to the playoffs in the West. Maybe the sixth seed will see the West is tough. But this kid, Zion Williamson, I think we see him with the ball a lot more. I like Zion Williamson a lot. It's a quiet vibe in the Pelicans this year. Right? It's like you haven't spent a lot of time on him. A lot of Kevin Durant, Janus, Luca, LeBron.

Talk about Zion, Colin. He's about to blow up. And also, they threw a bunch of players together last year. And so to be honest with it, you got to even Matt, even Aaron Rogers needs his second year with his new coach. I mean, everybody just threw the pelicans together, a rookie and Ingram and Lonzo. It's like, let's give him some time to bake. Okay. Jason McIntyre's got straight fire with Jason McIntyre, a podcast.

every day with IHeart Radio. It's great seeing you. Always love having you on the show. I don't know what you're doing. Happy holidays. Next four or five days, enjoy it with your fan, man. You too, buddy. So there you go.

Yeah, I'm excited for tonight. NBA stuff. I'm going to go a little skiing this week. A couple times, just a couple times. Not going to come back all beat up, but I'm just lucky. You know, this is such a weird year. So when is the Ohio State Climbs?

is it Saturday? It's January 1st. Yeah, January 1st, Friday. So Friday, oh my God. What time is it on? Anybody know what time it's on? I think it's one. Eastern.

Yeah. That's the second. The other game is early. Yeah. So 1 p.m. Eastern, Ohio State Clemson. 8. 8 Eastern. Oh, 8 Eastern.

I haven't. The other one's early. Oh, so I get a go. I get a Friday, hang out with my family. Oh, no, this is the next. Yeah, no, it's a New Year's Day Bowl. You're not working. New Year's Day?

I don't know if I do or not. Okay. It's hard to fall. I don't know when these games are all played. I figure out the day they're played. Yeah, Notre Dame Alabama is 1 p.m. Eastern. I'm sorry, 1 p.m. Pacific. Okay.

All right. I'll figure it out. I'll be there. I'll be there when the game's played and I'll watch and I'll talk about it the next day. Exactly. Remember when you were a kid and you had like a TV guide? Yeah, now we just have the Internet. That's it.

I don't go. You know what I do? I mean, I do this all the time. Because I've never been somebody. People ask me all the time. When's a game? I don't know. I wake up every morning.

Every morning, every morning, this is what I do. At some point, I'm done prepping for our show. I have breakfast. I go and I look up sports on TV tonight. I do that every day of the year. And so then I find out what games are being played tonight. This is a sad five months for you with those sports. Yeah, it was brutal.

But that's what I do every day, like what's on tonight? And then I watch it, and then the next day I talk about it. That's what we do here. That's what we do here. All right. Discovery Plus, all the shows you love, favorite brands, Food Network Discovery Channel, and exclusive originals to all coming next year, U.S. only. All right. Joy, have fun with Nick Wright tomorrow. Thank you. Have a good Christmas. Same to you. And John Goulet, are you going to Connecticut or hanging out?

You're going to Connecticut. All right. Brave the winner, my friend. For everybody, thanks so much for joining us. Please be safe. Enjoy your fam. In L.A., it's the herd. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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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

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