The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out -  Saban/Jimbo Fireworks, Derek Carr HOF’er? Mailbag

Episode Date: May 20, 2022

John gives his take on why Nick Saban went on the attack on Jimbo Fisher over NIL, if Derek Carr will have a case for the Hall of Fame when he retires, and answers listener questions in a Friday Middlekauff Mailbag.   Follow John and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 Cliver Show. This is a place for raw, unfills 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. The volume. The three-in-out podcast with me, John Middilcalf, is presented by Fandul's sportsbook. There's no better place to make every moment more than with Fanduel. Great odds and markets for baseball, the NBA, NHL, PGA, Tours, and so much more.

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on a beautiful Thursday, wherever you may be. Tiger Woods limping around. Played a lot earlier today. And there's some explosive arguments between some college football coaches. I saw a coward say something yesterday about Derek Carr being a Hall of Famer. It got me thinking that it was actually something I noticed during the Warriors game with Andrew Wiggins. And when it comes to quarterbacks, I think we saw some of that last year with Matt. Stafford when he got out of Detroit.

But have some thoughts there. Of course, I'm going to do some of the mailbag today, and then we'll do the mailbag for the weekend, like always. At John Middlecock is the Instagram slide in those DMs. Get your question answered. I have so many millions of DMs from dudes that I have to answer. Many of those will have to be manually over the next couple weeks. That'll be a project I'd probably attack next week.

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I guess we'll start with Jimbo and Sabin. And my, listen, on the context of what they're saying, my personal take now with NIL, the payment system for college athletes, I don't care anymore. I never really did. but I absolutely do not care. Guys complaining, some programs have more money than others, the rules not fair, I'm over it. Figure it out.

Like, I don't, I'm not diving deep into like the regulations. I hate the NCAA. I don't want the government to get involved with anything. Leave us all alone with everything. But definitely like, just figure it out. That's on the sport to ultimately corral some of this. It's clearly a little out of control. but listen, some programs are going to have more money than others, right?

USC has an unlimited amount of cash. And now that they have this huge advantage because they don't have to hide it anymore and they struggled at it for a long time, they're always getting popped, they have a huge advantage. And Lincoln Riley is taking full advantage of that. And one theory I had why Sabin was popping off a couple days ago is Jordan Addison, the star wide receiver who, as of recording this, just committed to USC, you know, took visits.

Texas and Alabama. And I wonder if when he took visits, and listen, in the history of college football, and I know about a prominent prominent player who's got drafted in the NFL who, you know, was being shopped. This was three or four years ago

and got a ton of money to go where he went. And this was well before anything was ever illegal. Like, listen, guys have been getting huge bags of cash forever. But you weren't going to give a guy $7 million in a bag of cash. You were giving them $75,000. You're giving them $145,000.

Well, now we're talking millions, and this becomes a little more difficult. The Texas schools, enormous advantage. A ton of money in Texas. It's called oil. And Texas and Texas A&M are taking full advantage of it. And some of these SEC schools are at a disadvantage. USC advantage. Cash, unlimited.

If New York had a college, they would dominate. You know, a lot of big cities in America do not have colleges. When you think about the biggest colleges in America, really, the SEC right now is running circles around everyone on the field. They're not in major cities. So it's going to change. Not the Texas A&M is, but the Texas oil money is no joke. And Jimbo has an unlimited amount of reserves. Now, is it a little disingenuous to act like Sabin was cheating years ago at Alabama?

Everyone was, Jimbo. You were the head coach at Florida State. You don't think you were handing out wads of cash. to get that team, I don't know, that won the national championship. Remember once upon a time, Steve Spurrier called you Free Shoes University? That was when Bowden was there. But, like, I don't, I've never cared about people cheating. Because I didn't consider it cheating.

I considered the NCAA scamming everyone. All those administrators in the NCAAs, I've always looked at them like losers. The athletic administration, in my experience, when I was around at Fresno State, I mean, if I, I wouldn't employ fucking any of them. I couldn't respect them any less. Now, I'm not saying that some ADs aren't high level, but I think there are a lot of people in quote unquote administration that are scamming everybody.

Like, when I was in the NFL, if you were a scout, you had brought value. If you were a contract negotiator, like everyone involved with the football team was bringing value. A lot of these people with these administrative titles, you know, in athletic departments and the NCAA, it's a joke. So I don't have that much faith that they're going to fix it. but ultimately it's great for college football.

The SEC right now is the biggest conference in America by a country mile. The only, you know, there's not really necessarily a close second. Ohio State is technically the most watch college football program in America when it comes to college football. But their overall conference, to me, is way behind the SEC. I mean, we see it with the amount of NFL players going there. And really beside Ohio State, like they ain't producing national champions. the SEC, three straight years, three different national champions. Now, obviously, Alabama has played a big role in that.

But I've said it for a long time. It's NFL light. The way they're covered, the interest, the fan base, the money that's flowing down there, they have separated themselves over this period of time. And it's fun. I enjoy it. Like, part of today was, I don't even care what they're arguing about because ultimately they're arguing about something that's not going to change overnight.

It's not really that big a deal. Like everyone's getting cash now. But I found a great drama. It makes that conference more interesting. And it already was the most interesting conference. So there's a reason that every NFL team is always represented at the SEC championship game. There is a reason that their games regionally.

I mean, think about this. I'm sitting here in Northern California. The best player over the last five years from my 20-mile radio, that produces a ton of Division I players, went to the University of Alabama. His name is Najee Harris. So there's a quarterback right up the road

playing at a rival school that used to play in Antioch. Naji went to Pittsburgh, or maybe this kid's at Pittsburgh. Naji went to Antioch. I might be screwing up my high schools. But that guy who is a big-time potential five-star quarterback, he's going to be a senior this fall, is more than likely going to go play in the SEC.

And I don't blame any. of them. You know why? Because when I watch it on television, it's cooler. It feels more important. Then when I watch the NFL draft, it's all their players. Now when I watch the NFL, the majority of the top players are from the conference. So it's just, this just breeze interest to the conference, regardless of them screaming at each other. I mean, it's the best coach in the country, have another guy who's a national champion who actually works for him named Jimbo, screaming in a southern draw. How mad he is at Nick Saban. How they'll never talk again. He's dead to him.

Like you just, that was type stuff. The NFL used to give us in like the Bill Parcell's day and Mike did get. You don't get that anymore because coaches, a lot like players, get in this kind of lane. And I don't blame them necessarily of not talking like the way I talk because it's not worth it for them. They don't want to constantly be in these fights. Saban, I don't necessarily was looking for a fight. I think Jimbo was right. Huge narcissist, egomaniac, used to getting everything he wants and chirped and finally got a guy because there wouldn't be

many in the country. Sabin could call it a lot of programs and they would not fight back. Jimbo Fisher has 100 mil in the bank. He's got 100 mil more coming. He's got 18 five stars on his team. He don't give a shit. He did not care and he attacked back and it was entertaining. And I enjoyed it. And think about this. It's May 19th and we're talking about the SEC. We're not talking about these other conferences. Now, USC did just land the guy and I do wonder if Nick Saban, you know, like I said, they wanted them and they couldn't afford them. And at least now, I've always talked like that. The media always refused like they pretended no one was getting paid. Everyone has been getting paid for a long period of time. Now it's just added huge numbers. And I do wonder, we'll see if the

numbers come back to Earth a little bit because how many guys in college football are worth a million dollars. Now, how many guys are actually making that much money? I don't know. We're only a year in. Feels like it's the Wild Wild West. It's actually a great time. If you're going to be a college football, player to do it, to be a college football right now. Because there's a chance in like five years, the going rate, you know, it's like 100 grand, right? 150 grand. Right now, some of these guys getting 500 grand, 700 grand, getting enormous deals. Half these guys are not going to live up to it. For every Caleb Williams, there's going to be a lot of flops. I mean, that kid at Clemson, DJ Ungolet, was the number one recruit, goes to Clemson, gets a Dr. Pepper commercial. He sucks.

He's terrible. Now, I don't know if Dr. Pepper necessarily cares, but some of these companies that are paying enormous freights of money for these hype guys are going to be like, that ain't worth it. You know, hell, we make fun of Baker Mayfield for being on all these commercials. And he's a starting quarterbacker was in the NFL. So I think, listen, it's never been a better time to be on the internet. Money's flowing. No regulation.

You know what's going to happen to my kids in business on the internet in 30 years? A ton of regulation everywhere. It ain't going to be a free-for-all. It ain't going to be what I got to enjoy or anyone listening to this who's part of the internet and some sort of commerce. and who knows, maybe if you're listening to this, your business over the years has been regulated somewhat on the internet.

Hell, I just saw a bipartisan bill being passed going after Google. So it's just the internet, you know, we've had a good time. And I haven't really been in it that long, but the people that have been in it 20 years, wild, wild west. And, you know, if you figure it out,

you've printed cash. If you're a top high school recruiter right now, you are getting obscene amount of money. I mean, some of these guys are making more money than guys, the NFL. I mean, there are a ton of four, fifth, sixth, seventh rounders in the NFL that make league minimum $800,000. Now, I don't know how many guys, again, that's what's hard to tell.

Like, how many guys are actually making a lot of money in college football? I'm talking a lot of money. Like, I'd argue if you're getting $250,000 as like a offensive tackle, and I don't even know if the offensive linemen are getting it, because it's not all public. So it's all these coaches bitching a moment. That's ultimately, I don't even care, but I just enjoy the entertainment. value of these guys screaming at each other. And it's why the SEC interest, this year will be the most popular year in the history of the SEC. And the following year will be even bigger.

Now, eventually it's going to stop or maybe another conference, you know, somewhat comes up to their level. But I think it's going to be difficult because the second biggest conference, one thing that they're always going to battle is their weather. Like, it's just so much nicer to go to these SEC schools. And it's not like one thing the Big Ten has are really good academics. If I'm a top college kid, like most of these guys don't care that much. Like, wow, you're Michigan. You're a great school.

Who gives a shit? I want to go to the NFL. I want to be a first-round draft pick. I'd rather go to LSU. I'd rather go to Alabama. I'd rather go to Texas A&M. Like Wisconsin, we got great academics. Well, can we make the playoffs?

And maybe it'll be easier as the playoff expands, but it's where we're at right now. Jimbo, Sabin, Fireworks. The playoffs are heating up, and you can make every game feel like game seven on Fan Dual Sport. book, an official partner of the NBA. Throughout the playoffs, all customers can place a no sweat, same game parlay each week.

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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, Clifford 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 Tickford. Talk Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot,

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 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 cracking the A. 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.

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Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Colin had a take yesterday where he said that Derek Carr is a Hall of Famer. And I disagree. Now, if his career ended right now, he would not be in the Hall of Fame. And I don't view him as a Hall of Famer. Now, just me personally, my views on the Hall of Fame are different than a lot of people. I think it should be such an elite club that damn good players never sniffing. that like

that fringe guys never get in. When I think the Hall of Fame it's the best of the best of the best. It's Peyton Manning. It's Brett Farrve. It's Lawrence Taylor.

It's Jerry Rice. It's Ronnie Lott. You know, it's the all-time greats of the all-time... It's Ed Reed. It's Ray Lewis. I mean, it's just, it's no doubt about it,

no-brainer. You don't even have to think twice. John Elway. You don't even, You don't spend one second thinking about it. Basically, every guy in my Hall of Fame would be like Hall of Fame would be first balladers.

If it takes you three, four years. That's not saying they're not really good players. It took John Lynch forever to get in the Hall of Fame. In my Hall of Fame, like, there would be a cutoff on guys like that. The safeties would only be like Ed Reed, Ronnie Lott. You know, obviously I'm missing some, but like the best of the best. And clearly that's not the case. So a lot of guys get in.

But I would not put Derek Carr in. But one thing that part of Collins' argument was he's played for one of the most dysfunctional franchises in the history of professional sports. And you could argue for a, in one of the most, they make money and they did, especially before they got to Vegas, mainly because they were in the NFL, not because they were well run. But, you know, for a franchise, something that's worth that much money, there probably aren't many businesses. because I would say the Raiders, if you just put them on the open market, would get, if it was a true open bidding, the NFL doesn't really work like that because they're kind of like, you know, they pick from their own members. It's like a country club, like they pick and choose who gets to come in.

So usually they give it to people that are already associated with it. Like David Tapper bought the Charlotte, I almost call them the Charlotte Bobcats, the, you know, the Panthers, Carolina Panthers, they play in Charlotte. But he was already a part-time owner. same with Jimmy Haslam. Like, that's usually how they do it. But if they did have open bidding, I think they'd get $5 billion. So most $5 billion companies, you say, are pretty well run.

Well, the Raiders are a fucking joke. And they have been for a long period of time. So Derek Carr, what I do agree, and I was thinking about this. Like, I have no business not being a successful person in life. I grew up. Both my parents had jobs. Both my parents were educated. Mom didn't quite finish college.

But she was a college. She went to college. my dad had several degrees all full-time jobs I grew up in an area that had good public schools I had just a good support system I went to college

I had support at every turn there was never a night in my life unless I got in major trouble or refused to eat because I was pissed off I didn't have food on my table like every advantage in life I had now I didn't grow up super wealthy or anything

but I didn't go to private schools but I grew up with support system from my family food education, you name it, even though I think education is a little overrated. But I do have multiple degrees that I never used. But the point is that I had zero excuse to fail.

And I remember getting to Fresno State, and we recruited guys that came from nothing. And that's just part of, you know, Division I athletics, especially in football or basketball probably, right? Guys that come from nothing. And I remember being around them and thinking like, God, this guy's a really high... I remember Ryan Matthews, who's one of the nicest guys ever.

who's now coaching football at his high school, I think, in Bakersfield where he grew up. And obviously he played in the NFL. This guy grew up in a car at periods and points in his life. And some of these people, what they overcome, like, that is much more impressive. Now, obviously, he had God-given talents to play football. But I'm just talking about the way he acted and treated people. And what he's doing now, his impact on society. Right?

Like, he had no business, just like a lot of people. And it's not just athletics. Google the majority of millionaires and billionaires in this country. They are self-made. And I know it's fun on social media to be like, oh, just all these rich losers just get hated money. Well, actually, that's not the way it works. That's actually not the way in this country it happens.

The majority of successful people, when it comes to money, come from nothing. And when I say come from nothing, like don't inherit the cash. Create a business. I mean, we're a country of entrepreneurs. We're a country of commerce. I mean, it's capitalism. It's great. I love it.

But my point is it's much more impressive Because part of it If I say, I give you two guys worth $100 million. One guy came from nothing And made the $100 million. The other guy took over a business His dad gave him and did it. We all know who we'd pick as the more impressive guy.

And it's no different with quarterbacks, right? Like Tom Brady Overcame a lot, right? Later round pick, didn't even get to start in college. He was not handed anything in life. But he did. get drafted by the greatest coach of all time and went to a team with a pretty high level owner and a stable defense. Like, it was a pretty ready-made situation. Peyton Manning went to a joke franchise

at the time of the Indianapolis Colts. And Peyton Manning, there was a small percentage of people, just like in society, that no matter what could overcome anything. I don't think, like, I've matured a lot in my, I always have a lot of respect. for young people that are really mature. Like, I hate thinking back of, not that I was a bad person. I mean, I treated people well, but just the way I thought about life

and I was selfish and just some of the ways, like I think back on like my early 20 self, and I don't like that guy. I don't have that much in common with that guy. Not my morals and my character stuff. That hasn't changed, but just the way I thought about things. I just, it makes me kind of cringe. And I just remember, and I still,

if you meet him now, young people that are just really focused, really high level, really mature. I have a ton of respect for that. And those people, I would argue, are outliers. Just like Peyton Manning, LeBron James, guys that you could just throw on a franchise in pro sports, immediately take them dominate. Those guys are outliers. Most guys need help.

Matt Stafford, we shit on forever. He's like, he's overrated, he just makes a bunch of money, he puts up a helpless stats. No, actually he was really good. He just happened to be playing for, I don't know, the, Detroit Lions, that you wouldn't wish upon your worst enemy to go there. He comes to the Rams, one year, pro ball, Super Bowl, the rest is history. Can you imagine, because I was thinking about this watching the Warriors game,

Andrew Wiggins, who was the number one pick in the NBA draft, whatever, eight, nine years ago, came out of Kansas, blue chip guy, goes to the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of the worst franchises, A-Rod owns it now, but before him, in all of professional sports. Consistent loser, place where players go to rot. Even Kevin Garnett, one of the greatest players in NBA history,

you'd argue underachieve for a large period of his career as a team did. Him individually was good, but his team was a joke because he played for that franchise. If Kevin Garnett had just gone to the Spurs, just a high-level franchise, I mean, who knows?

Maybe he's a top 10 player of all time. And Andrew Wiggins was a laughing stock, A joke. And then he went to the Golden State Warriors where they have champions all over the place who are high character, fantastic, fantastic, like ethos of the franchise,

fantastic just way they operate as a group, what they value, which is winning, and is excelled. He became a starter on what looks like to be a championship team. He does whatever it takes, and they absolutely love them. And no one can make fun

of them anymore. And the thing is, most people need help. Most people need someone to show them the way. I did. I needed my parents. Without my parents, there were other people along the way, but there is zero chance. I repeat, absolutely zero chance. I'm sitting here. Because without my parents, I never get to Andy Reed. I never get to Colin Coward. That does not happen. You know, most people, now, the athlete example can be a little off because Andrew Wiggins has got to God-given attributes. He's 6-7. He's an elite athlete that most people don't have.

But my point is there are a lot of Andrew Wiggins all over the country, who if they had the right infrastructure, they could thrive. Just like quarterbacks. Do you know how many quarterbacks who could have lasted as long as Derek Carr with the Raiders? Not many. Not many. Matt Safford's won because we saw him do it with the Detroit Lions.

But I'd even argue with the Raiders, and I had a front row seat for it when they were here. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Every single year they were talking about moving. Every single one. We're going to move. We're going to move. We're going to move.

At their firing coaches, as they don't have enough money, as they're getting sued by cheerleaders, as they're firing the president, as they're doing this, as they're doing that. Then they finally move. And then they bring in Gruden and then he gets caught an email standle. Their wide receiver kills someone. You know, it's just one thing after another. The franchise lose millions of dollars in a tax scandal. It's hard.

You'd be hard pressed. to find a more dysfunctional place that, you know, way before, way back in the day, before I was even born in like the 70s and 80s and like John Madden days, they thrived in dysfunction. And I think there were probably points in times in society where it was easier to be dysfunctional and operate as a public company or public job. It's harder now, I just feel like with the internet. It just exposes you more often. So to me, the other part that I hate about these Hall of Fame arguments is that, because I saw this last year with Matt Stafford. Matt Stafford still has five or six really good years left.

So if Matt Stafford goes on to win, let's say, another Super Bowl, and is multiple-time Super Bowls and then rattles off several Pro Bowls with the Rams, do you know what I'd say? That guy's a Hall of Fame player. It wasn't his fault that he played for Detroit for that long. Derek Carr now has, he's 31 years old, potentially seven, eight years left. What if he has a ton of success? What if Josh McDaniels, like Belichick, this second go-round, figures it out?

And they just become a really good, consistent franchise. Now, I probably would bet against that as long as Mark Davis owns the team. Because based on Mark Davis's ownership, everything crumbles. Now, potentially, if they get him out, get a new owner, who knows? But it is very, very hard to overcome certain things in life. In football, bad owners, bad franchises. Pretty consistently, it ruined your career or derails or slows down your career. It's pretty hard to overcome certain things like, you can't read or write.

Like, that would be pretty difficult. It just would, you know? I got yelled at every day to do my homework. Every single day, yelled at to do my homework. I hated homework. I still cringe thinking about homework to this day. I hated school. School bored me.

But if my parents wouldn't have forced me to take it seriously, I would never have been able to get my graduate assistant job coming out of college. Because of hell, I might never been in college to begin with. Again, hated school the whole time. But it's just who you have supporting you. And in football, owner, coach, GM, your teammates really matters. So to me, Derek, what he's overcome with the Raiders, I don't think he gets enough credit because he's such a polarizing quarterback.

You know, he really is. This notion, like, to me, Kyler's not overcoming much in Arizona. they've been a consistent winner before he showed up. I know they had a bad year when he showed up because they had the number one overall pick, but we saw it before with Bruce Arons and Carson Palmer. Every year they were winning. I've seen them win under Steve Kine.

I've never really seen the Raiders win. They never won without Derek. They were like 12 straight years of losing. And now they've only had two playoff seasons with them, but those are two more than the previous 12 years before he showed up. Look at Stafford. I mean, that plays all they do is loose. The two best players,

in the history of the franchise retired at 30 years old. Like that happened. Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson. Google it. Middlecoff mailbag. At John Middlecoff is the Instagram fire in those DMs. Okay, I tweeted yesterday. It's kind of wild that Steph is seven wins away

from having more rings four than LeBron's three and a half. So this guy, John, and I put it on my own. Instagram is responding. Love the pod, Middilkoff, but this is a rare bad take. I personally can't value the bubble championship less than a championship where Steph was playing second fiddle and he had two

of those. Even if the bubble helped the Lakers a lot, keep up the great work. Well, a lot of people are saying to my take of Steph, again, is somewhat tongue and cheek, but I don't take the bubble seriously at all. That's not a real NBA championship. Well, what about Steph's championships

with Kevin Durant? Well, what about LeBron's championships when he went to Miami to join Dwayne Wade, one of the greatest shooting guards of all time, and brought one of the best big men in the league with him, Chris Bosch. Remember that one? So if we're not going to count Kevin Durant's, how the fuck are we going to count Miami's? And I'm saying those are all equal.

I count the Miami's. I count the Kevin Durant's. Here's the other thing. Steph ain't never had to leave anywhere. And it's not like LeBron wasn't getting close in Cleveland. He chose to leave. The only championships LeBron has ever won, is when he's left places and forced those franchises to do things to help him out.

That's the only time he's ever won. I'm not diminishing him. He's one of the greatest players of all time. But the bubble championship is a joke. We all acknowledge that. Even Laker fans deep down. It doesn't mean you're not an all-time great franchise. But it's like a fake championship.

It's like pick up basketball in some little gym in Disney. What are we talking about? Doesn't count. No one thinks it counts. But this notion that like, about the Kevin Durant championship? What about the Miami championships? What about when he went to Cleveland and forced them to trade Andrew Wiggins for Kevin Love, who at the time was

some All-Star? Like, let's act like LeBron was winning championships with me and you. It's just a reality, you know? Steph did it organically. LeBron's an NBA mercenary. That's why he would never, ever pass Michael. I like what the Chargers did pre-draft. I think they were solid in the draft. Overall, they filled a lot of needs and have a better, more rounded team to support Herbert. But wasn't enough.

Is there an argument to be made for more passing game weapons? Thinking speed outside? Yeah, I mean, I think you can nitpick any roster. Like, there is no roster. Look at the Eagles. I'd argue the Eagles roster is pretty stacked. But the quarterback, we don't really like. What if I told you the Eagles had like Justin Herbert?

We'd be like, oh, they're going to win the Super Bowl. You know, the Chargers are like, well, we need a speed-wide receiver. I mean, your team is loaded if you're a Charger fan. The Chargers, to me, are... have zero, zero excuse to not beat 12 wins. And I'm not just saying that because, you know, I make fun of Brandon Staley for being somewhat fraudulent. I'm saying that simply because their roster's elite.

I mean, I think I could coach him 10 wins. Big fan of the pod. Next 10 years, who are you taking? Herbert, Burrell, or Josh Allen? I think the guy is Allen, but is there any concern given how heavily he relies on his run game? Alan can also stand in the pocket and sling it, of course, but you wonder how much that is opened up by the run threat versus some Herbert or Burrow

who stand in the pocket. Yeah, my first gut reaction would be Josh Allen. But that's the type of list like Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, or Josh Allen, you know, would you rather have Max Scherzer, Pedro Martinez, or Greg Maddox? You know, I just, obviously those guys are older and more accomplished. But you know what I mean. You know, I don't care. Give me any of them.

Now, I like a bigger arm guy. I am pro Joe Burrow. But to me, his arms closer to Tony Romo, but he's a better player. You know what I mean, though. I would go with Alan or Herbert. I would choose between those two. And my first inclination would be Josh Allen. So I would probably rank it, Josh Allen.

And listen, I'm not saying that Justin Herbert has done more than Joe Burrell. He hasn't. But my list would go, Josh Allen, Herbert, Burrell. Love the pod. big fan of the Washington football team but want to ask a question about the other NFL dumpster fire of the Brown. Do you know what's good about sports? You can't just have like elite friends.

You can't just have the Packers and the Steelers, you know, and the Rams. You need dumpster fires. You need good and you need bad. This is an entertainment product. You got to have a little bit of it all. Do you think the Goodell will push Deshawn on the commissioner's exempt list until all 22 cases are clear? It would motivate Deshawn to settle,

keep him away team from the media and navigating the legal landscape and placate some of the 32 owners. I steal from truckers, Haslam, has a fully guaranteed contract. He still would get paid and be around the team but can't play. There was a story, if you haven't seen it,

that came out last week. Deshawn's talking in these depositions. And one of the things he said is this is one of the girls who immediately cried. And she's claiming that he inappropriately touched her with his penis. Earmuffs kids.

That's why I used that. that with the P word. I didn't want to get too graphic, you know. And simply put, she was in tears. He didn't even disagree. He said that. She was crying. Now, listen, any human over 25 years old, if you're a man, you have made a girl cry. So just because a girl crying does not make you guilty. But it's hard when you read, he made her cry and not think, did he do something? You know, this is all made up and she's crying and he's acknowledging it. And then he texted her. I don't to screw up the exact verbatim of the text. But it was, my first thought was like, the more Deshawn's going to talk, the worse this

shit's going to look. And I don't see how Roger Goodell, this to me seems like a pretty easy one. Throw the book at him until he proves that he's innocent. Because why, for who, for what? Why are you supporting Deshaun Watson? Like, what has he done in this situation? You have had so many scenarios in the past where you weren't aggressive enough and you've gotten crushed.

To me, I suspended for the year. I've been saying this over and over. Like, Zeke Ellie got suspended for six guys. He didn't even do anything. So Deshawn Watson is like, these girls, something happened. He was, you know, no one's denying that they were all around each other. So, and things are happening, like, I'm uncomfortable reading it. The other thing with Deshawn Watson is like, listen, to each his own, I don't know the relationships everyone's in.

He had a girlfriend a lot of this time. Like, do any of us talk about, like, is this guy kind of a scumbag? kind of a dirt bowl? You know, like, and listen, some relations, you know, with the rich elites are open. But, so who knows? But I don't know. I just, is he just kind of a loser?

That's, he went from being this guy that I always talked about, like, Sean Watson, great guy. The way I talk about, like, Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes. And it's like, God, he kind of just makes me cringe. You had a girlfriend and you had to use all these massage therapists to hook up? Like, what are you doing, bro? not I just I don't know Browns look like

I don't even I'm just I would spend them for a long period of time that would be my move as a lefty I love watching a left hand to throw the football my favorite quarterback growing up was Michael Vick as a Giants fan and his mobility and athleticism was just a plus

for the reason I always hope Tua will be one of the better quarterbacks in the league even though he hasn't shown that he will be with If Tua doesn't perform well this season, will that be the end for the lefty quarterbacks in the league? There doesn't seem to be any lefties coming out of college, and I doubt if Tua loses his starting job to anyone will pick him up as a backup.

Now, if he lost starting job, he'd get picked up as a backup. There is a ton of pressure on Tua Tua by Lowa. Because if he does not play well this year, Tom Brady's going to be their quarterback next year. That would be my prediction. If Tua sucks, they miss the playoffs again. Tom Brady will be the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins. And in the following year, he'll be like a part-time owner.

Like that to me is how it's lining up. Now, if Tua is really good, they can make the playoffs, Tua throws 30 touchdowns, and he looks just like a good young player, then maybe just write it out. But if it doesn't, if Tua's struggling,

throwing a bunch of picks, turn it over, can't see with that little P-shooter arm underthrowing Cheetah, I would look for Tua to be a backup the following year. Huge fan from L.A. since 2018. Hope you're doing all right when if you read this.

Why the fuck do you hate Chris Palsam? much. I put laughing emoji, but serious question. Can you please explain? Someone DM me the other day, I think asking a similar question, and I said, you know, the best part about sports, it's not just rooting for people, it's rooting against people. That's what makes this all so fun. And people you hate in life, like usually, you know, it's a partnership gone bad, a relationship gone bad, a boss, right? It's just stuff that's just very angry. A lot of times in sports. Like when I was a kid, I hated Jack and Kobe. Why? They were kicking the king's ass. I hate Chris Paul because I hate the antics of the flopping. I despise it. I also think that the media

created this point god. He's not, he's not even close to being a top five point guard all the time. The best point guard over the last decade, by a mile, has been Steph Curry, who has beat the living shit out of him at every turn. It's no different than I hate James Harden. I think he's the most overrated player I've ever seen. And I like rooting against these guys. I don't have that like in football. You know, ultimately, I'm not rooting against Brandon Staley

or Cliff Kingsbury. I really don't care. But for whatever reason, and it may be just because I'm still, you know, I got this fan in me with the Warriors. I've grown to hate some of the people that they've kicked their ass. Not obviously Chris and James have never beat the people that the Warriors beat and people

are always making excuses for them. Those people crumble like a cookie when it matters. Chris Paul just had one of the worst game seven losses in the history of sports in the history of his nickname is the point God the coach that beat him Jason Kidd Chris Paul couldn't hold his jock as a player I don't know one GM in the history of pros

in the history of basketball who would if I get a 21 year old Jason kid or a 21 year old Chris Paul would choose Chris Paul not one so this notion that like I just think he's overhyped and overrated. And I blame the media. And there's no media that's quite the ball washers like the NBA media.

It's like they work for the players. So people like me love making fun of these guys. Because without me, I think everyone would just, you know, get on their knees and just revere these players that aren't even that good. The whole point of the sport is to win in the playoffs. These guys never win in the playoffs, ever, ever. Chris had one year last year with the Sons in a bad West, terrible West. Couldn't even win the championship.

Janice, great player. Domit, six games, champion. Glad Janice did, because I wouldn't have wanted Chris Paul to be a champion. Luckily, I don't have to worry about James Harden. I mean, he's terrible now. But it's fun to root against people. I had someone DM me, like, I love rooting against Tom Brady.

This whole point of sports. What are we doing? This is fun. I enjoy it. Part of watching the Warriors against the Mavericks, I got no issue with the Mavericks. I like Mark Cuban. I like Luca.

I appreciate their kind of team of nobodies. I got so much joy when you hate the other team. That's what sports were built on. That's how we built the businesses of all these leagues. Hatred. Hatred for your opponent. Not like actual, like you don't actually care. I'm sure if I hung out with Chris, probably be a nice guy.

Do you think the dynasties are improbable in the NFL going forward due to impatience around the quarterback position and the explosion of offensive talent making teams go more all in? more often. I think the Chiefs, we're going to see. I think the Chiefs have a chance to, you know, have a like 10, 12-year run. Can they win two, three Super Bowls,

you know, over a eight-year period? I think they would have the best opportunity. Like, you know, I do think if you have a good quarterback, not named Tom Brady, you sustain success. I mean, look at the Packers. They've been, you know, it's two, they played this playoff game in 2022. I know they lost, but basically from 2009 to

2022, beside a couple years, I mean, they're making the playoffs every year and having playoff games at Lambo all the time. So it's not a dynasty because they're not winning championships, but I think that is probably the new dynasty where you just make the playoffs all the time. Like the Packers, like the Chiefs, you know, I'm trying to think of a, you know, there aren't that many teams. Like the Ravens miss the playoffs sometimes. The Steelers miss the playoffs sometimes.

Seattle had a run where they made to the playoffs. I think like six out of seven years. That's probably the new quote-unquote dynasty. Can you make the playoffs eight out of nine years? What the chiefs are doing is pretty impressive, right? They've been to two Super Bowls. They've won one. They've basically been to the playoffs every year for the last decade,

except one once Andy got there. How many, maybe he's been there nine years? They made it eight. Maybe it's 10 and they've made it nine. Whatever the, obviously the Patriots, the Patriots are an outlier. with vertical horizontal prolification of city suburbs

catering to booming population smart DMR here why wouldn't the NFL advocate for let's say two expansion teams for each conference would love to hear your thoughts on this one I would say why would the other owners want to split the revenue

to me you would move teams that there's no reason to add teams there aren't that many good quarterbacks you dilute your product I'd say the NFL is in every major city. Is there a major city? They're not really in. So to me, that's not their problem.

Their business is not really based on cities. It's based on television and they're crushing it on TV. So they do not want to expand. If you were going to expand, you might as well move the jag somewhere and we'd have to figure out the other team. But yeah, I don't think you're in expansion mode. If I owned a team, I would. be anti-expansion.

Because it's cutting in, I get 132 of the revenue. Why when I want to get 136 of the revenue? Simple math equation. So I don't think that's on the table. With you as a big Fresnel State guy and understanding McDaniels is an offensive genius, what are your thoughts on the Raiders' offense this year? Renfro Adams and Waller.

Would also like to hear your thoughts on cars as a quarterback. God, I got something in my throat. I ate a lot of the, you ever eat those white popcorns in that black bag that you can get like, like a gas station, white, white cheddar. Oh my God. Those things melt in your mouth. I could eat.

I was actually at the story yesterday. I went in there to try to be healthy. Ended up getting just so many snacks. I got two big bags of that white cheddar popcorn. I went through a bag. Now, granted, it was, you know, Tiger teed off this morning, 6 a.m. My time. I was eating that stuff at 6 a.m.

I went through a bag in less than 24 hours. And I'm not talking the small bag. I'm talking the massive bag. And enjoyed every second of it. I think their team should be really good. I mean, Renfro is one of the better slot receivers in the league. Devante is the best wide receiver in the league, and Waller's a top three or four tight end.

He's just got to say healthy. He was banged up a lot last year. And like I said with Derek, I mean, Derek, to me, Derek's good. When he's on a good team, he can be somewhere between the eighth and 12th quarterback. And when you're that good, you can compete for a Super Bowl. I mean, Stafford is not a top five quarterback,

but he's five, six, seven, you know, an eight in that range. You put him on a really good team. you can win the Super Bowl. I would Stafford's obviously better than Derek, but Derek's probably in that next tier, but he's good enough to compete with a lot of guys who I see competing in the playoffs. But he needs a good coach,

a good offensive coordinator, which Josh is a good offensive coordinator, can he be a good head coach? Their offensive line sucks. Their offensive line is not good. They drafted Leatherwood last year in the first round, the dude from Alabama. He's not a very good player.

I mean, they couldn't play right tackle. They moved him to right. guard, he was even worse. So I, if they can't, Derek's not a guy that can overcome a bad offensive line. Most quarterbacks aren't, but like, Maholams can run around. Josh Allen can run around. That's not really Derek's game. You know, he's got to be a comfortable.

He's like a rhythm guy. So that, that to me is their number one question, the offensive line. They have the weapons. I mean, the running backs, obviously their wide receivers. I don't know why they traded Brian Edwards, the South Carolina wide receiver. I liked him, but clearly Josh McDaniels and Ziegler. did not, because I think who they traded him to. The Falcons.

That was a good trade by the Falcons. He's a decent little player. He's not little either. He's big. That's a good trade. I don't know why more teams weren't all over him. I don't know if there's something going on off the field, but I always like Brian Edwards. Yeah, so I'll get back to do more mailback this weekend.

Appreciate everyone listening. See you. 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, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast.

Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand, new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind 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. Eighty-4 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex

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. It 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.