The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 02/05/2019

Episode Date: February 5, 2019

Colin makes the argument for Tom Brady over Michael Jordan because of how much harder it is to win in the NFL.  He points out how hypocritical the media is when it comes to Bill Belichick and Sean McVay.  Plus, Peter King talks about the amazing adjustments the Patriots made in the Super Bowl and former Rams RB Eric Dickerson can't figure out why Todd Gurley didn't get the ball more against the Patriots.  Presented by Perky Jerky. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. you just understood.

That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to her. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to the Best of Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com Or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by search Watching herd.

This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go to Tuesday. This is the herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor and I ready to roll on a Tuesday. We still got a lot of football to talk about. You know, it's funny, I remember this every year. Monday you talk about the game.

And then I always feel like Tuesday, stories come out about the game and you get like an added dimension to the football game and stories are starting to pour out about the game and what happens. It's kind of fun. It's the best time of the year. It is the best time. Plus we got the Anthony Davis-Lebron thing. I want to talk about this.

I'm driving to work this morning. And here they come. Tom Brady Michael Jordan, who's the greatest of all time? Because Tom Brady's blown away, you know, the great ones. He's blown away Montana and Peyton Manning. Those guys are unbelievable. And Tom's blown past him. So now it's like, okay, the only thing left is Michael Jordan.

And, you know, it's a fun argument. But I just want to say this. There's a lot of arguments that you're never going to win. You're never going to win at the local bar. And you're never going to win the Tom Brady's greater than Michael Jordan at the bar argument. Because the Michael Jordan argument is easier. Six for six. Six finals.

Six wins. six MVP's nobody mentions he played for 15 years that's too complicated that's why people don't play golf 330 million Americans

three play golf why because it's hard it's a hard argument you're never going to win that Michael had to be like Mike brand the shoe culture you know he was the first corporate superstar in America that all the corporations jumped on

you're never going to win that argument but I can make argument for Brady I can make a argument for Brady I can make a make arguments for Brady. Think about this. Football is much less forgiving than basketball. Football is much more precise than basketball. If a quarterback in a Super Bowl makes two mistakes, one doesn't even have to be him. It can be a tip ball that's intercepted. You lose the game. In the NBA, you could have three atrocious games in the finals and still win. I this morning

went and looked up Michael Jordan's worst NBA final games. He had a nine for 26 clunker and a 11 for 28. Sonics, jazz, jazz, Lakers. It didn't matter. They had a better team. And you can have a terrible night shooting in the NBA. And he got tomorrow night, game two, game three, game four. Football is much more precise and much less forgiving.

Advantage Brady. Number two is Brady won with several different stars. There was the Dion Branch era. There was the Cory Dylan era. There is the Gronk era as he's deteriorated. Now it's the Edelman era. Brady's won with several Robbins. He's Batman.

He's had a lot of Robbins. Michael Jordan didn't do anything pre-pippin and anything post-pippin. Michael Jordan struggled to win playoff series. Forget titles. He struggled to win playoff series without Scotty Pippin. Even in college, he won a title with James Worthy. James Worthy left. two years in college.

He didn't win the next year without James Worthy. Okay, advantage Tom. Here's the third one. Tom, in a sport where even practice is hard. Football practice is hard. Basketball practice, I had it in high school. It's fun. You sweat.

There's a lot of drills that are fun. Football practice, and I love football, I hated football practice. It's hard. And yet Tom Brady has gone 18, 19 years. Never missed a beat. Emotionally, Michael Jordan quit twice. He quit. It's like, it's too much.

It's too emotionally draining. He quit twice. In a sport that's easier, that elevates the star, that worships the star, that back massages the star. He had his own dressing room with the bulls. Football, rain, sleet, practice, tackled, hurt, always 19 years, not a break. advantage Tom. I can make all those arguments for Tom. But I also know

that Michael's the first corporate superstar. And Michael was cooler. And cooler matters. And be like Mike and the Nike bubble. I can't win those arguments. And I also know that Michael Jordan has nostalgia on his side. Michael Jordan's like a piece of art. I swear to God, he gets better.

Michael's gotten better every year. When you close your eyes, close your eyes, If you're sitting at home, if you're driving and listening, do not close your eyes. But if you are at home, do me a favor, close your eyes. And I want you to just think of Michael Jordan. You don't even remember the Orlando Woolridge Jordan's a ball hog years. You don't remember Quentin Daly. You don't remember all the firings.

You don't remember the Washington Wizards jersey. You don't remember the broken leg. You don't remember the baseball. And that team, by the way, finished last. you don't remember any of it. Michael's art, he gets better every year. You don't even remember the bad times. But I will leave you with this.

If you want to make an argument, let me just leave you with this. Basketball is a sport built for dynasties. Football is not. In 13, just remember this, 13 NBA players have six rings. One NFL player does. Last name Brady. First name Tom.

There's my argument. All right. Let's segue to the NBA. The big story right now, it's obviously, it's early February. The big story is a trading deadline Thursday. And, you know, there's going to be guys moving around and stuff. But the big story is Anthony Davis a great. player has informed his team through his agent Rich Paul.

I don't want to play here anymore. I've given you guys like six and a half years. You've messed up trade, signed band contracts, had a bunch of coaches. I'm out. And I always support the mobile player. I mean, owners move their teams, GMs, coaches move. Why can't star players? And it's not like he didn't give him time.

He gave him six and a half years. The story I'm told last night from two sources I trust is that the Lakers want Anthony Davis now. They want to create inertia. They want to create chemistry. And frankly, there's a lot of tension in the building. LeBron didn't come here to waste another year of his life with Lance Stevenson,

Javelle McGee, and Lonzo Ball. That's not why LeBron came to the Lakers. There is intense pressure to get it done. And the Pelicans know this. And the Pelicans have leverage here. A, they know the Lakers need 80 now.

Secondly, I am told there is massive pressure on the Pelicans general manager, Del Demp's, from other league executives to not trade Davis to the Lakers now. If you're going to do it, do it at the end of the year. Nobody's going to do the Lakers any favor. The Lakers have been the rich, good-looking guy at the high school reunion. People are tired of him. They're the most glamorous franchise.

They've got all the titles. They've had all the free agents. and now they've got LeBron, who people already resent many in the NBA because he's kind of manipulating the league and moving guys around. There is massive pressure on Dell Demps to not make this move now. And the Pelicans have a little, you know, tension there because the Lakers just keep adding player and draft pick and player and draft. The Lakers are now up to eight players and swallowing a horrible contract, Solomon Hill. eight players between picks and players and a bad contract. I've never seen a trade in terms of overall people more lopsided.

I still think you always want the star over the other guys. But here's what's going to be interesting. The Lakers are acknowledging, I'm told, they're going to have to wildly overcompensate. They're going to have to give more picks than they want, potentially four first-round picks. They're going to have to give more players than they want, essentially all of their They're good young players. They're going to have to give an expiring contract or two. And they're also have to swallow a terrible, terrible contract with Solomon Hill.

But what the Lakers believe is this. When you live in New York, when you're the owner of the cowboys, Yankees, Lakers, there are these massive brands, Ohio State football, Notre Dame football, but let's just keep it to pro sports. At these big cowboy brands, Yankees, Lakers. Real Madrid, that kind of stuff, that great creates its own chemistry and inertia. And that if you get an A-Rod to the Yankees or if you get a AD with LeBron to the Lakers, you can't really overpay for it.

You'll get so many benefits, so much free publicity, so much marketing. Other guys will want to be in in this millennial NBA where stars want to join the cool team that wins titles, that you just overpay for it. There are some things, I don't love the idea of it, but when you have these unique American or global sports brands, and I would say Yankees and Lakers, cowboys are very rare. It's rarefied air. You just get the star and worry about everything else later. Jerry Jones said it a year ago talking about his stadium when he built his stadium.

And he said, you know what, man, there were cost overruns. But I look back at my life. I overpaid for my big successes every time. And when I tried to get a bargain, I ended up getting it and not being happy or missing out. And this was sort of the Steinbrenner philosophy with the Yankees. It's the Jerry Jones philosophy. And the Lakers now are having to kind of own the fact. They're giving away all their draft picks, all the mentoring, all the coaching, all the work, all the draft.

Everything. It just leaves and you get Anthony Davis and it will create a momentum and an inertia that for these big brands. pays off and people want to join the party. You know, Jason Whitlock was laughing about this yesterday. I mean, the Lakers now are up to, according to one report, giving away eight different pieces. Magic doesn't want to give up everything. I don't think Polinka, Jenny Butt, they just don't want to scrap everything for Anthony Davis. But that's what they're about to do because LeBron and Rich Paul are forcing them to.

Draft picks and everything else. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's bones will be thrown into this trade at some point. It's the reality of business with LeBron. When you get into business with LeBron, there's some carnage. It's also just temporary. You have to do what's going to make you successful in the next few years, not in the next 10 years or 20 years. You're not building a dynasty.

You're trying to get a championship. Exactly. So, you know, this is the LeBron business. Pat Riley's probably laughing his butt off right. now seeing what his buddy magic's going through. I told you so, Magic. You got to give up the future, give up picks to win now. And I think with these big global and domestic brands, there is a certain chemistry and

inertia and momentum that's created when you get the A-Rod, when you win a Super Bowl, when you get multiple stars, Shaq and Kobe, and it just kind of takes over the league and has a life of its own and you go for it. And you give up all your rental properties to buy that one big house and Beverly Hills. And, you know, it probably doesn't know what makes business sense, but you sit and watch it grow, and then everybody gets rich, and then you fight over it when dad dies. I don't know. But this is the very latest we have on this story. I'll give you more as it develops. And my gut feeling this morning is different than my gut feeling yesterday. My gut feeling

this morning is the Lakers do not get Anthony Davis by Thursday, which is going to raise another huge question, which I'll get to later in the show. I thought 24 hours ago it was going to happen. I don't think so today this morning, based on my source that said, Del Demps is facing intense pressure from around the league to not let the Lakers have AD. Now there is an anti-Laker bias in this league. There's no question about it. There has been for years.

People are tired of the Lakers getting all the attention, love glamour and players. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. I've said this for years. The media, they're human beings. Men, women, they have favorite teams, favorite politicians. They're imperfect. Just admit it. That's why we have a segment every week called Colin Wright, Colin wrong. I whiff. I tell you. I acknowledge it. I look in the mirror. That the media bias is not simply in what they say. It's in the stories they choose to cover. I've worked in newsrooms and said, why aren't we covering that? and the young producer maybe leaning left or right politically has a favorite team or a team they don't like. We just don't cover the story. It's interesting, isn't it? Think about last year. Malcolm Butler, a good, not spectacular corner, was benched for the Super Bowl.

He had a bad week of practice. In the two previous playoff games, he got absolutely torched by Blake Bortles and Marcus Mariotta. That sentence had never been uttered. And Belichick decided you relate to practice, you've been awful, I don't like the matchups, I'm benching you. And the media vultures circled Belichick. He's a dope, he's out of touch, this will never last. The dynasty is certainly over. This for the greatest coach of all time.

Malcolm Butler, in the two previous playoff games, was awful. Blake Bortles and Marcus Mariotta, when they threw and targeted. him had 146 quarterback ratings. Belichick, best coach in football, said, yeah, I don't not go play you. You had a bad week of practice. You're a mess. Vultures.

Teeth sharpened, eaten alive. Sean McVeigh, meanwhile, who has two playoff wins, one with an asterisk, did not play Todd Gurley much the last two weeks. McVeigh said he's healthy. Todd Gurley came out after the Super Bowl and said,

Now, I'm healthy. Where's the criticism? Where are the credits that Sean McVeigh has earned that Bill Belichick did not earn? McVey, who I like a lot, the Rams who are very fun to watch, but McVeigh had a stinker. And if Gurley is healthy and the Rams simply lied, how in the world would we treat the Patriots for that? Todd Gurley is a top 10 NFL player. When he had 18 plus touches, the Rams were 9 and 0. Super Bowl, barely part of the game plan.

So either McVeigh should get crushed for not giving him the ball, or the Rams and McVeigh should get torched for lying about it. Malcolm Butler was atrocious in the two previous weeks in the playoffs. Blake Bortals ate him up. Marcus Marietta ate him up. Had a bad week, late to a meeting. Belichick benched him. And it was shark week among the media.

It was vulture circling. So when you tell me the media doesn't have a bias, I look at this story and think, really? No bias ever. Bill Belichick is in arguably the best football coach ever. And I say that with Jimmy Johnson as a friend. I say that loving Bill Parcells. Belichick has separated from the profession.

We gave him not a single pass. McVeigh, two playoff wins, one with an asterisk. I mean, the story's moved on. The media's reaction to it is, Oki-dokey, have a good off-season. See you in Cancun, maybe. That's it? All right.

The bias is not just in the words you're right. but in the stories you cover. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. As I'm watching the Patriots Dynasty, it makes me think is that I can see somebody duplicating what the Warriors are doing because I can see a bunch of great stars getting together in another city.

It could be L.A. It could be New York. I can see the Warriors championships that dynasty being replicated. We've seen that a lot in the NBA. I'm not sure if New England can be. And I want to bring in Peter King via the Carroll Global Satellite Network. I mean, Peter, you've been covering this league for 30 years. I don't think we're going to see a 20-year dynasty.

I don't. I mean, you talk to Robert Kraft. You talk to Brady. Privately or not so privately, do they think you can duplicate this? It's not happening, Colin. It's never going to happen. I mean, it's amazing that, I mean, consider the truly great teams. of our lifetime, okay?

The truly great ones, okay? And that would be, depending on how old you are, the Green Bay Packers, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the San Francisco 49ers. There have been a lot of very good teams that might have won a couple of them, but I'm talking about the great teams, all right? All of those teams exist one less.

They won less, and they existed in a time before. for free agency and before a salary cap. Yeah. And what is amazing about this run is that, and I said it last year, when the Seth Wickersham story came out on ESPN, that everybody is saying, oh, my God, it's going to be the end of the Patriots. And who knows?

Maybe it would have been who, I don't know. But just think of this. The best owner coach quarterback triumvirate, I think of our life. time, you know, before this one, was Eddie DeBartolo, Bill Walsh, Joe Montana. Yeah, yeah. They lasted 10 years. They lasted 10 years. Well, assuming that Brady plays again, it's Kraft Belichick Wall, Kraft Belichick Brady,

and they're entering their 19th year. It's amazing. We're never going to see it again. Kraft told me at midnight on Sunday, you will never see this again. This is not an owner bragging about his team. This is the absolute truth. We're not seeing it again. You know, two things are happening that I think are an advantage to New England.

The league is getting younger and the league is more mobile. So the same guys, the same staff, the same online coach, the patriots are uniquely experienced and uniquely old and key spots coaching and playing. And as the league gets more mobile and hires younger players and young. or coaches and everybody's moving around and staffs are changing. You know, I look at Josh McDaniels in that relationship with Brady, and I think it's the most under-discussed relationship in the NFL. Go to this Sunday's game.

By the way, they put in eight plays, as you reported first, in Kansas City in a hotel dining room. And then in this one, I mean, did Josh McDaniels, to me, I could argue, won this game. Did he not? Well, you know, Colin, I was over at their party, 1.32 o'clock Monday morning at their hotel. And one of their guys told me, he says, you need to find out what happened with, you know, in the fourth quarter and how we changed everything on that deal. So I know Dwayne Allen, okay? He's the backup tight end to Gronk. And I knew him pretty well when he played in Indianapolis. So I asked everybody, where's Dwayne Allen? Where's

I finally find him. You know, I can barely hear him over Snoop Dog because there's this 90-deceble party going on. And I asked him, I asked him to tell me what exactly happened. He said, Josh McDaniels gathered us all on the sideline. And he said, essentially, that we're changing everything that we've done to this point. We haven't practiced this at all leading up to this game. We want to keep their standard. defense on the field.

We don't want them to go nickel. We want them to go base defense because we think we would have great matchups in our passing game running gronk against linebackers. Edelman maybe against a linebacker, a running back like Rex Burkhead against a linebacker. We're going to get these matchups. So they did it. Five plays, 69 yards, the only touchdown of the game. And to me, I agree with you totally.

the guy who's lost in all of this for the New England Patriots that they're incredibly lucky has not been picked off. And for the life of me, with some of the things we've seen coaches do over the years, for everybody to hate on McDaniels because he backed out of the Colts thing last year, and I get it. I get it. It was a bad thing to do.

But to now say, well, you're never going to coach again and maybe he'll never be a head coach. I don't know. But wow, what a job he's done both in Kansas City and in Atlanta in the championship game and the Super Bowl. Peter, I think we're giving McVeigh a little pass. Last year we ate Belichick alive because Malcolm Butler didn't play in the Super Bowl, but he had been eaten alive by Blake Bortles and Marcus Marieto in previous playoff games.

Bortles and Marioita had 146 combined quarterback rating when they threw at him 11 times. And then he had a bad week of practice. Then he was late to a meeting. And Belichick said, you're not playing well, you're out. He was ravaged. Todd Gurley didn't play. Gurley says I'm healthy. McVeigh says I'm healthy. They're 9 and 0 when he touched the ball 18 times. They're either lying about his health or McVe tortured it. Shouldn't we be more critical of McVey here?

Oh, I think so. And I think Sean McVe has some plays in this game that he would like to have back. But Colin, I'll tell you this. This is my problem even more so than that because honestly, you know, Todd Gurley had not been an impact player for the last two months. and whether there's something wrong with him or whether teams are playing them a different way, I can't tell you that. All I know is I would not have entered the Super Bowl saying, we're giving it to Gurley 28 times. I just wouldn't have done it. And C.J. Anderson, three of the last four games, has been a better back.

So I guess what I'm saying, I guess what I'm saying is I fault Sean McVey for something else for not being explosive, imaginative, a little crazy. That's what the Rams are with all the motions, all of the, all of sort of the crazy ideas on offense. There was none of that in this game. And maybe Belichick took it away. But all I'm saying is I'm more, I would be more angry as a Rams fan that they played a pretty board, they executed a pretty boring offensive game plan that wasn't the McVeigh kind of game plan.

and that's one of the big reasons why the only points they scored were on a miracle, but on almost a Hail Mary field goal in four quarters. That's amazing, really. I think it's going to be, and I know you don't pay a ton of attention to the draft, but the Patriots have 12 draft picks. The Colts have 9 and 100 million in cap space. I do believe there's a handful of teams. Kansas City has a loaded roster, a great quarterback, a great coach.

I think Philadelphia is my pick for the NFC. I think Howie Roseman, Doug Peterson, Lori and Wentz are all really gifted people. Is there a team, as we kind of wrap a ball in the season? Is there a team next year that if I said to you, Peter, they're going to surprise people or they're your team? I've said, I think the Colts are going to pop next year with the new players, the money, and the picks.

Do you have one? I love the Colts. I think that's a fantastic pick with a healthy quarterback. Beck, I really like the Ravens too, because it's a year of getting Lamar Jackson used to playing in a system that will combine what he does well and also combine some downfield throws, which they need to execute in that offense. But I do want to say one thing about the draft, Colin. Just think about this.

The New England Patriots will pick 32nd in the first round. Right. In the next 68 picks of a draft that all the guys early on, anyway, are saying it's the second and third rounds in going into the fourth where the strength of this draft is between pick 32 and pick 100, 68 picks. New England has six picks. They got more picks in the first three rounds than anybody. So with those picks, in my opinion, if the Patriots choose to, I think they could easily move up into the middle part of the round and get the quarterback who they think in 2021 or 22 will succeed Tom Brady.

Yeah. Now, could that be Kyler Murray? Daniel Jeremiah thinks so. And I think it's really smart to look out for Kyler Murray for this reason. Remember what the Patriots were doing three days before the draft last year? Josh McDaniels was with Baker Mayfield in Texas. I forget who reported that. It might have been Peter Schrager or somebody on draft night.

But that was reported on draft night. Never refuted by the Patriots. So obviously they have it in their head. Let's get a quarterback. And they've got all these picks. If they want to, they will be able to move up and get their long-term quarterback in this draft. Oh, great stuff, Peter King. He throws out a Baker-Mayfield Patriot Nugget.

Look at that. I can't let that go. That's great. Peter, NBCSports.com, thanks. It wasn't my nugget, though. It wasn't my nugget. I stole it from, I think, NFL Network on draft nights. So give them the credit.

Okay, I will. Thank you, Peter. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go

straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaders to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my. new podcast, Learn the Hardway

with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or 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 Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show,

I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue 42. A rep.

My mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. American Soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on the Army Stewart. I'm Tom Boke.

On our podcast, inside American soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team.

It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tabramos on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcast. Good comes bad with bad comes good. LeBron's obviously a great player.

last 10, 12 years, best player in the NBA, and he's won a bunch of titles. But the Lakers right now, when you do business with LeBron, you can ask Dan Gilbert, you can ask Magic Johnson privately, you can ask Pat Riley. You've got to sell a little bit of your soul. Pat Riley right now is laughing his ass off in Miami, looking at Magic Johnson, his buddy, saying, this is what I warned you about, because they had talked about it. When LeBron wants a play date with Anthony Davis, you have to sell your other kids. There's a little bit of that with LeBron.

Fifteenth year in the NBA, three titles and two franchises mostly wrecked when he left. He left Cleveland. They were a disaster. He left Miami with Pat Riley and Mickey Erison. D. Wade, like these are legends in the NBA, kind of a mess. He just left Cleveland. They're back to be in a mess. The offers the Lakers are having to make to even consider a deal for Anthony Davis.

The Pelicans want four first round and second round. picks to start with. Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Michael Beasley, Ray John Rondo, Land Stevenson, Lanzo ball, eight players, and they also have to swallow a horrible contract, Solomon Hill, who can't play but makes a bunch of money. You would think they were trading LeBron James. Right? What's Anthony Davis ever done? We know he's talented. And this is the theory. You have to make decisions. LeBron's about winning now. LeBron's window does not include a developing Lanzo ball.

need a star player. And I would say this. It's the duality of LeBron. You'll win when he's there, but you're going to be left with a mess on your hands. I would say increasingly, I was told by a league executive a couple of weeks ago that LeBron's getting harder to work with. His window's closing. He is more demanding. He doesn't have years to burn. He doesn't have practices to burn. And sometimes his guys can be exhausting. They want total loyalty and they don't give it in return. they think you're hustling them. They're fighting for every penny. And it can be exhausting.

And you've got to give away picks. And you've got to get away players. And LeBron wants to win now. And it's not easy. And LeBron was never easy because the best player in the world at any sports not perfectly easy, even Brady and Michael and they're not easy. Jeter wasn't perfectly easy despite what you read. But LeBron's become increasingly difficult.

And I also think LeBron, and this is fair to say, has a history of, for whatever reasons, he can struggle with authority figures. He struggled with coaches. He struggle with Spolstra. He struggles now with Luke Walton, despite what everybody says. He struggled with Riley, Mickey Erison, Dan Gilbert, you know, David Blatt. He can struggle a lot if you don't have his worldview. If you don't acquiesce to what he wants, then LeBron gets, you know, and the window's closing now.

He's not in year 8 with 10 years left. He's now in year 15. He just came off an injury. there's a lot going on here. And do I feel a little desperation, a little panic with the Lakers? Yes, because here's what I keep coming back to. LeBron, I mean, remember last year he had a terrible January, and then there was the rumor of a trade,

and then he went out that night and played great. He can be a little moody. I found it at the Super Bowl, LeBron was very, very happy on his Instagram, very happy on Twitter this weekend. Why? Because the reports were coming out that Anthony Davis and the Lakers, and the Lakers were getting real close. What happens Thursday if it doesn't happen?

And my sources tell me this morning, it's closer to not happening than happening. What does LeBron do for the next three months? Do you get, I'm out because of load management, LeBron, whatever that was. I'm just saying, Doug Gottlieb said on our show a year ago, and, you know, I like LeBron, and I like his camp, and I think they've been great for the league,

but you've got to look in the mirror sometimes. it's LeBron comes 15 years in this league, 16 years. We got three titles, and we got three different wrecked franchises when he leaves. Here's Doug Gottlieb. Look at the record for the calves when he left. Look at the record for the heat when he left. Part of it is that's who LeBron is. You try and create everything to be perfect for him, and when he leaves,

it's like the kid that comes over to your house. And every time he comes over to your house, right, somebody ends up being sick or the playrooms messed up. What happened? They're like, well, LeBron was here. This is what happens. LeBron's a lot of fun, and everybody has a good time. And then when he leaves, you know, everything is a mess. That's LeBron James. When he leaves, he leaves it a mess.

Other players, when they leave, they leave the situation better than it had been. And it's just not anti-Lebron, but remember, this is a tougher situation to begin with. When he went to Miami, they had a star, and they brought one along immediately, Wade and Bosch. When he went to Cleveland, they had a star, Kyrie. and they brought one along immediately, Kevin Love. LeBron's just looking for one guy that's even close to his level. Forget a second.

This is tougher. LeBron's out of his prime. I mean, this situation, I'm being told it's tense, and if it doesn't get done Thursday, it is going to be a very interesting second half of the Lakers. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Well, Mr. Ram, the Hall of Famer, Eric Dickerson, who guaranteed a Rams win.

I want to get to the serious thing, though. And I said this. When Belichick did not play Malcolm Butler, who had had two previously horrible playoff games against Bordals and Marriota benched him, we killed Belichick. McVeigh didn't play Gurley. My thing was, well, then Gurley better be hurt

because you give Todd Gurley the ball. You talked to Gurley before the Super Bowl. Is he, was he healthy? He said, 100%. That was his, where he talked. I talked him the night before. I sent him a text. He called me right after the text.

How you feeling? He said, Eric, I'm 100%. I'm going to say this. This reminds, you ever see the movie Face Off with John Travolter and Nicholas Cage? I never did. I'm going to take his face off. He was a different guy. This is almost like Jeff Fisher was Sean McVeigh.

I mean, it was like a switch. He coached like Jeff Fisher that day. The offense was like that. No adjustments. Man, I'm disappointed, man. I'm serious. The big thing in this football game, I got a call from Hall of Fame of Richard Dent.

I got a call from Hall of Fame of Ricky Jackson and my good friend Harvey Armstrong who played for the Eagles and played SMU together. All three of them said the same thing at first. Man, why don't y'all run the football? Man, is Gurley, say what you say? Is Gurley hurt? I said, I talked to him the night before.

He said, I said, I'm 100. I didn't send him a text. Go get that MVP. That was a perfect time to run the football. They didn't run CJ Anderson either. Man, look, CJ Anderson is a good player. He really is. but he's not Todd Gurley.

No, he's not. You play your best player. That's like taking Tom Brady out the game and putting somebody else in. You play your best player and you run him. If he ran the ball 20, 25 times and we lost, I'll say, you know what? I'm good with that. No, I mean, it's funny because if you had a run Gurley 20 times and you lost, I could walk to the podium and say, I felt in this moment I didn't want to put the burden on a third-year quarterback.

There you go. That's coaching. Exactly. My takeaway was, I thought golf would play fun. But my takeaway was, going into this game was, Gurley needs to be the guy to win. And in the first quarter, Eric, after two series, my takeaway was,

Gurley's not part of the game plan. Even though there was no score, I was like, oh, this is a huge edge for New England. Man, it was a perfect setup for us. I mean, all we need to do was run the football. And if I'm Belichick, I'm like, oh, y'all, I'm like, oh, good. No, I mean, Belichick's thinking, so you're going to have goff trying to beat us. Exactly.

You're going to put your faith in a young quarterback. Kid. Okay. And the play action? There ain't no play action. We ain't even worry about the play action. I mean, think about this. We didn't even get in the red zone.

The field goal we kick was a 53-yard field goal to score. Other than that, we wouldn't even score points. Eric, do you know there's a guy online, Warren Sharp, that does this? The Rams didn't even go to, like, double tight ends to create protection until the Brandon Cook's play. Oh, wow. I mean, they went the whole, I mean, it was like, it was just an incredibly odd game. It was really odd.

And it's funny you say that because I was driving over here this morning. I'm like, why didn't they go a lot of two tights? Because I can hear when we play, they say Rams come out and double tights. You know, that's a running set. That's to protect your quarterback if you have to and run the football. But basically Lawrence Taylor, if you played the Giants when they had Lawrence Taylor. Oh, you ran two tights. You ran two tights.

Joe Gibbs tells the story. He goes, we didn't run it. Everybody thinks I'm a genius. I just went to two tights because we had to block L.T. That's what you do with a great pass rush and the Patriots for, from the first series on Eric, had a tremendous pass rush. Yeah, they got to Jared Goff. And I got to say, Jared didn't play bad.

He didn't play great, but he didn't play, like, whoa, that was a horrible game. No, I just felt like they put too much pressure on a young quarterback and did not use our best player. I mean, it showed. I mean, you got to say, and sometimes, you know, I say these young coaches. And coaches in general, they get caught up and throwing the football. I'm going to show you how smart I am. I'm going to show you this trick play.

You're going to go like, wow, did you see that? My God, I was such a trick play. Instead of just, you know what, old-fashioned football, turn it and handed to him. It's always been the knock on Lane Kiff, and they call it vanity play calling. The young hot shot offensive coordinators get into vanity play calling, which is, look at this clever play. And look at this clever play. And by the way, we saw it. We saw it with Sean Payton in the game.

Against us. Against you. He got into vanity play calling. Sean, you got the ball down in the red zone. Run the ball. eat the clock, kick the field, go. These offensive coaches, listen, it's like anything else. It's almost biblical.

If you had a great voice, you'd sing all day. If you're an offensive genius, you want to show everybody you're an offensive genius. By the way, Gurley declined to talk to the media today at the Rams facility. I want to ask you this. The team that loses the Super Bowl, the team that loses in the championship round, they're not guaranteed to be back. Half the teams that lose the Super Bowl, half the teams that lose these championship series, they take a step back.

Are you worried about the emotional pushback? This is an old team in certain spots on the offensive line. Are you worried the Rams take a big step back? No, I'm not worried. I mean, look, first of all, you know, we have a lot of good pieces on that football team, a lot of good pieces. I'm sure we'll lose some pieces this year this next season coming up. But, and I'm still, first of all, I let everybody know I'll still have the utmost fate in Coach Sean McVeigh. The utmost fate.

Yeah, he had a bad day. And now all of us have them. Players have them, coaches have them. Eagles last year out coached. the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Right. Everybody has them. So, you know, it's no court. It's no worry there.

You know, I just feel like that football is a game of chance. You know, you've got to have injury-free. You've got to have the right players on the field. It's got to be amazing. You've got to think about this, Colin. This is three years the Rams have been back in L.A. Three years. And we're in the Super Bowl.

That's big. I mean, no matter we win, lose, a drop, we don't want to have been fantastic. But still, that is a big step for a coach that's, I'm being coached in the national football. football league for two years. You know, I said yesterday, Eric, that the way the NFL works, it first humbles you. Belichick fired in Cleveland. It humbles you, and then it allows you baby steps to a title. If McVeigh won it, it was almost like, okay, you're too young.

You have, this game, football has a way. It humbled Bill Parcells. It humbled Joe Gibbs. It humbled Troy Aikman. It's humbled the legends. It humbled Peyton Manning, who got to a Super Bowl and got humiliated. It just would have been too darn early. There's no such thing as too darn early, I don't think. You know, but you're right. It does humble you because sometimes you start feeling like, okay, I got this, you know. I can honestly say, my rookie season, I'm like, man, this ain't that hard after all.

I mean, after a couple of guys, I'm like, this is kind of easy. Then, you know, as time went on, like, man, let me shut up. This is hard. Dan Marino. Dan Marino. You get to a Super Bowl. You may never get back. Good stuff.

One more heard. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. All right, here's the breaking news. According to Woge, the Lakers are still glad to engage with the Pelicans on an Anthony Davis trade, but the Lakers have pulled out. They're no longer wanting to bid against themselves. The Lakers said the bids and the questions and the demands are outrageous.

The Lakers were not going to give the Pelicans. the six to eight draft picks they wanted for Anthony Davis. The Lakers had agreed to send their entire young core, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingraham, Josh Hart, Zubotch to the Pelicans, as well as KCP Contavius Caldwell Pope, who's an interesting player. But the Lakers said, we're out of this thing. We're not selling the farm for it. I agree with the Lakers here.

I understand those I get the argument to just go for it but remember with LeBron there's carnage Cleveland both times he left was a mess Miami first year and a half two years he left was a mess when you sell everything for LeBron there is carnage afterwards and the Lakers and I know this firsthand they don't want to give away everything

now they're willing to give away a ton but Brad Turner of the LA Times broke the initial story. The Lakers have pulled out. This is what I said mostly today. I believe last night they would get it done. And then this morning and late, late last night, I got a text from an executive in the league that says there is pressure on the pelicans to basically rob the Lakers.

And the Lakers to make the Lakers hurt. And I think the Lakers, I think the Lakers, Lakers made the right move here. I really do. LeBron this morning was asked about Anthony Davis at a shoot-around. Here's LeBron earlier today. I kind of tend not to play much fantasy basketball. That's just how

I've always been. It's something will occur with our team no matter if it's him or for somebody else throughout the trade deadline, we will approach them. Listen, I'm not flipping on this. I would not give all this stuff up to get Anthony Davis. It's outrageous. It's outrageous.

Now, I do get Yankees, Cowboys, Lakers, the inertia created when you bring the superstar in. I do get it. And it's hard to overpay. It generally pays off. But you have to at some point not bid against yourself. You have to have pride. You can't give away eight draft picks and seven players. That's just idiotic.

LeBron's, I got news for it. LeBron Anthony Davis are not going to win a championship. I'm not even sure. It's like LeBron and D. Wade. They're great, but they need other parts to win. Right. Just because you get Anthony Davis. you give all that up, you still need shooters around you.

It's not over. LeBron and D. Wade were never the perfect match. They were good buddies, but they were both. Neither was a great perimeter shooter. They were both great athletes. They were both drivers. They needed Badiéi A. There were a bunch of guys that contributed to those finals runs in those championships. Shooters. Ray Allen. Mike Miller. Badiyea. You needed shooters.

It's like your team, Anthony Davis and LeBron are not winning a championship. You've got to get shooters. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports

and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, guys, this is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to The Clippers Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode.

The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip. I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, inside American soccer, you'll get the real storylines, the biggest decisions, and the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.