The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 02/17/2020

Episode Date: February 17, 2020

 Colin says the All-Star game was a success Sunday night because of leBron and explains why. He doesn't believe the Tom Brady to Las Vegas rumors at all. NBA Champion Stephen Jackson talks about his recent interview with Kevin Durant and tells a great story about him and Tim Duncan lying to Gregg Popovich. Colin admits where he was right and wrong over the week in sports. Plus, Colin defends MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred for his punishment of the Astros  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Joy Taylor was at the All-Star Game in Chicago, is joining me one hour from now. where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. There's plenty of both. Joy, how are you this morning? I'm great. A lot warmer here in L.A. than in Chicago. Five degrees in Chicago? It was very cold, but it was beautiful. I loved Chicago. MBA did a great job with everything. I wasn't at the actual game. I was at Saturday nights festivities, but...

Which were fun, too. It was very fun. Good stuff. Chicago's a great American city. Just not in January and February. A little chilly. A little chilly. I want to start with this. I usually don't talk about All-Star Games. I've never done a segment after a Pro Bowl. I don't really talk about the All-Star game.

I don't talk about the hockey All-Star game. I really don't talk about the NBA All-Star game. But yesterday is significant, not just because it was really, really entertaining. But over the last 15 years, if LeBron James cares about something, then the players care about something. This is a star-driven league. In the NFL, the stars bail on the Pro Bowl. You know, let's face it, they play it before the Super Bowl, so many of the best players aren't available.

And the other available players, stars don't want to play in the game. So what is the symbolism? What is the signal in the National Football League to the players who aren't superstars? Well, superstars don't want to play in it? What do I care about? It's a vacation. But in the NBA, LeBron James decided this weekend, this game matters. And so it mattered.

It was not just about tweaking the rules, because if it was just about that, then why did Kauai Leonard come out in the first half? Guns blazing, I'm going to take home the MVP. If LeBron cares about something politically, the other stars care. LeBron James says, you need to own your own media platforms. Steph and KD followed. LeBron James says to the commissioner, we've got to have fewer back-to-back games. We'll give the fans a higher quality product.

the commissioner listens. LeBron's like, I'm not into load management outside of Kauai Leonard, who's a quirky personality, and many do defend his physicality, there is an issue with his knee. The players follow. Michael Jordan had remarkable influence among the fans, be like Mike, advertisers, Gatorade McDonald's, and the media. LeBron has remarkable influence among the players. if he cares about a political issue, all of them do.

If he cares about the scheduling, the commissioner does. If he cares about the All-Star game, that thing looked like a playoff game. You got a bunch of guys with titles and rings and $100 million net worth, and they're playing that fourth quarter like it's game five of a second round playoff series. That is influence. And LeBron can have his critics, and he's been to the finals, and he's lost a lot. It should be noted. Jerry West had been to like 9, 10, 11 finals before he won, and he's the damn logo. But LeBron James caring about the All-Star weekend, it's kind of a wide open weekend.

You got the NASCAR race, right, the Daytona 500. You got a new sport at the XFL. Eh, you kind of got the All-Star weekend. And LeBron has made a point. The game matters. I'm going to leave the dunk contest to the kids. The dunk contest is the home run derby. I'm going to leave that Saturday night to the kids.

But the game, the spectacle, the contest, Sunday night, prime time, this matters. And I thought, yesterday in a star-driven league, you saw another example of the star players in this league caring, taking charges, flopping, arguing with each other, arguing with the reps. And by the way, all you fans out there that don't like the NBA always find ways not to like it. And I always hear about where's the parody? I don't know. Did you watch Kauai LeBron and A.D. playing together in the fourth quarter? I'd watch that.

Really? How come Clemson and Alabama football fans don't complain when they get all the five-star athletes? You don't love parity then. Ohio State football fans cheer when they get more five-star athletes than everybody else in the Big Ten combined. I don't hear you cheering for parity then. I don't hear you NFL fans. The Saints keep winning their division. the Patriots keep winning their division.

I don't hear Patriots and St. fans complaining about parity. Green Bay will probably win their division for the next three with Aaron Rogers. I don't hear anybody in Green Bay complaining about parity. I don't want parity. We had it in the NBAs in the 70s. Nobody watched. My Sonics won.

Elvin Hayes won. Dr. Jay won. Portland won. And nobody watched. You know what they watched? All those stars lining up yesterday and caring and playing hard like it mattered. And that game is going to get a big fat rating because of it. I like stars.

Parodies overrated. And if LeBron cares about something, the stars, the league, and the commissioner do. I thought it was a great Sunday for the league. All right. Let me shift to this. Oh, brother. Here's a report. Tom Brady is going to get offered two years and $60 million by the Las Vegas Raiders.

Okay. So a lot of this stems from. a report that Tom Brady bought a house, a big what they call mansion in Las Vegas. You know what I'm done with as an esteemed 25-year member of the American media, one of the leading opinionists in the space? Here's what I'm over. Blank bought a house in blank. He's going to be the new blank.

Nick Saban bought a house in Austin, Texas. He's going to be the new coach of the Longhorns. We want, weat, weat, didn't buy it. John Gruden bought a house in Knoxville. He's going to be the new coach of the Tennessee Volunteers. How did that work out? Kauai, he bought a condo in Toronto. He's staying with the Raptors.

0-4-3. Tom Brady, I don't believe, bought a big mansion in Las Vegas. Prove it to me. Show me the mortgage title. I don't buy it. because I don't think Tom Brady is going to go to a rebuilding franchise and play in a division with Patrick Mahomes twice a year in those weapons. And by the way, it would be great for Mark Davis

because the brand of the Raiders, the net worth of the owner, like LeBron to the Cavaliers, would be elevated by $300 million. The Raiders need Brady way more than Brady needs the NFL's poorest owner. here's what I know about. Blank bought a house in blank city and he's moving there. I own a house in Utah. We're not moving this show there.

Nonsense. Show me the mortgage title. This doesn't make stylistic sense. It doesn't make brand sense. It doesn't make roster sense. And John Gruden, by the way, doesn't run an offense. You watched him for years on quarterback camp.

He doesn't run the offense that Tom Brady. does. Okay? The New England playbook does not have a play called Y2K Banana Split. Okay, that's what John Gruden has. That's not what Brady runs. None of this makes sense.

I don't buy into it for a second. Show me the mortgage title. I was in Vegas for the weekend. I looked at all the mansions I could. None were Brady's. And if a guy named Tom Brady bought a mansion in Vegas, maybe there's a dentist or an accountant or a lawyer or a magician or an executive. at a casino named Tom Brady.

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A chant with the Spurs. 14 years in the NBA. He's one of our fine NBA analysts, one of our absolute favorite. Stephen Jackson, joining us now brought to you by Mercedes-Benz. the best or nothing, just like Stephen Jackson, the best or nothing, folks. We don't go to B-listers. So first of all, I was saying this.

Like, the NBA is a star-driven league. In the NFL, the stars don't want to play in the Pro Bowl mostly. And so the symbolism is, who gives a rip, right? In the NBA, I watched Kauai early and LeBron late, and I'm like, the message is, LeBron cares and Kauai cares. So when I'm watching that game, I'm like, well, if I was a lesser All-Star and LeBron's going at it,

I'd be like Kyle Lowry's out there like it's game seven of the finals. I think it does matter when the stars care about this game, doesn't it? Yeah, and it matters. But, you know, having to win every quarter made them play like that from the beginning. And I think the new rules,

how they switch the game up, help the competition of the game. Winning every quarter, I would tell them somebody earlier. Coaches that teach their teams to win every quarter to win games, they come out and play harder from the beginning of the game. If you watch it, all the coaches that coach teams and their coach winning quarters.

A lot of coaches don't coach that. But the coaches that do, their teams come out and they always try to win that first quarter. I think the emphasis they put on winning quarters for the charities and stuff like that made them play at a high level from the beginning of the game.

And LeBron and Greek freak play like that from the jump. I mean, look at it. Watch the huddles. They're like totally into it. I think that's how game should be, though. All-Star game should be like that. Well, you were not a guy that could mail it in. You didn't have really a second gear.

You played harder you didn't play. Right. Greek freak is the same way. He has one speed. You know, nobody expected. Damian Lillard's pretty much like Damian competes. He competes, but Greek freak, before the game, he wasn't really into shaking hands,

before the game. It's an all-star game, but if you see his dunks at the beginning of the game, he would dunking those things pretty hard. Like, he was serious, and he was trying to win that game. I think that LeBronham had all the closures. All the closures on that team. So it was written for them to win. You know, it's kind of funny.

I'm watching at the end of the game, and you've got A, D, and LeBron and Kauai playing together and pretty seamlessly. And this is one of the things I've been here, hitting on for years. Nobody wants parody if they're winning. In college football, Alabama and Clemson get all the good players. Their fans don't want parity. Right. Kentucky basketball fans and Duke fans, they're like, yeah, we got all the five-star guys. They don't want any parity. But in the NBA, everybody's like, the league doesn't have parity. I was watching LeBron, and I'm watching Kawhi,

and I'm watching AD playing. I'm thinking, I'd watch that. That'd be scary. That'd be arguably the greatest basketball team ever. Isn't sort of, even down. down to AAU, Stephen, stars align. In AAU, all the best players from Atlanta go to the same AAU team, don't they? All the players, any AAU team, California, they get all the best players. And this is when I was in middle school.

So it's been like that. I think people that don't understand the goal of any game or any sport is to win. Whether if you're playing with great players, where if you're making a move like Katie and going to a great team, it's about winning. And that's what you work for. That's what you play for.

And if you've got to get on a team with guys that's great and make a all-stall-stop. our team for regular season teams, and so be it. Yeah, like Paul George is in Oklahoma City, spends a year with Westbrook. It's like, we're not a title team. Right. And so let's go win titles. When you were in the league, tell me the difference between playing in San Antonio

where you felt every night you could win and the team in which you drove to the arena knowing you had no chance to. Milwaukee, when I was in Milwaukee that short time, but I wouldn't say we didn't have a chance in Charlotte. I just knew we had to earn it. Like in San Antonio, it was a lot of nights where we would pull up into the arena, we knew we was going to win. You got Tim Duncan, we got David Robinson.

All we got to do is show up. And Charlotte, I knew we had to work. We had to prepare. We had to be the better team that night, and we knew we wasn't. You know what I mean? But we had to try to be that team a lot of nights, even in Golden State. We were a small team undersized, but we had to find ways to win it. And I like being in that position.

You know, I like being an underdog. And a lot of guys like that, but at the same time, it's about winning. and anybody that's putting their stuff in a position to win, I respect it. You made news last week. You're like a journalist. I never heard that. I'm a journalist now. Now, you had a big podcast.

You and Matt Barnes do a podcast. And you have Kevin Durant on, and he respects you guys, obviously. Shout out my boy, Matt. Yeah. And you and Matt do your podcast, and Kevin Durant comes on. And he acknowledged that that Draymond Green moment where Joy and I had said on the air, there's certain lines you can cross. And if you cross certain lines even with family members,

you're out of the will. Right. When he said that on your podcast, were you surprised he admitted it? No, I'm not. I'm not. I think everything that he went through is helping them come to grips with who he is. You know, you got caught with the burner.

Now you're comfortable with admitting that you still got it because you got caught with it. If you never want to got caught, you wouldn't be comfortable with me and you still use it. You know what I mean? I think all that was a blessing. him because if I was Kevin Durant, if I was in them shoes, there's no way that I wouldn't come from my official page. Like, I'm off the cuff anyway. But he, I think everything he's been through

with people belittling him and saying he shouldn't have a fake page and all. I think it's helping him come to grips with who he is and he's able to admit those things now. Now, I could make the, I've said before, Golden State, it's by Silicon Valley. Steve Kerr played in the league. Steph's pretty easy to play with as a star like Duncan was. Certain stars are hard to play with. Amen, Clay. Yeah. I still acknowledge that, okay, Draymond says something. It crosses a line.

You can't call me a B word at no time. You, Joy, nobody in the world. I would never do that. I'm not taking it from nobody. I get it. And I would give you the same respect and not do it to you as well. I would appreciate that, but you could be there's not much I could do about it. But could I not argue this with Kevin.

Okay. There's an old saying, don't jump over a $20 bill to get to a five. Right. Okay. Dramon Pisch. off, it's still a great fit for you. You're walking away from the best superstar teammate to Kyrie Irving, who we have to acknowledge can be a little difficult at times.

Steph's never shown one moment of being difficult. Right. He's flawed, not a great defender. Could I make the argument? Devil's advocate. Okay. Draymond crossed a line. Don't let Draymond affect your career.

You don't go to a lesser team. That's my problem with Durant. Like, I can be really upset with Stephen Jackson. Right. But you are not going to affect my career. I'm not leaving this town because you called me a word. I'm going to confront it. I may hate you, but I'm not leaving the spurs in Duncan's Prime.

That's where I look at Kevin. And I think, Kevin, you're letting Draymond control you. I don't like that. Well, I was in a situation with San Antonio. After we won a championship, I didn't get the contract that I knew I deserved. I left and went to the Hawks. Do you regret it? No.

You don't. I never regretted it because I went to the Hawks, was top 15 in scoring, and I got my contract in next year and ended up being on a good team. I would never belittle my own self, myself, for the Spurs organization. You know, I made all those shots in the playoffs.

I was the third leading score, but you want to give Genoble and another guy to money. I'm not going to take that. So with KD, he's going to make the same amount of money regardless of where he goes. And when he's going to, You just told me earlier it's about winning. You're going to win a way more there.

It is, but he can win there too because just think, Kyrie, he had one of the biggest shots ever in the finals. He still won the top five point guards in the league. You have DJ, a solid role player, one of the most athletic bigs in the league, and you have a great group of young guys around you. In the East, they can do some damage. He couldn't win with that team in the West.

He ain't getting through Milwaukee. I don't know. Kauai's not in the East no more. No, right. Covalin is not there no more. I just think Kevin Durant, I understand him being angry, but I hope he didn't flush some of his career down the toilet. He got three more rings in Golden State if he wanted him.

That's what we're doing. But you keep saying winnings everything. He can winning, he can, one thing about me. One thing about me, I won everywhere I've been. So it didn't matter what team. But where'd you win titles? I won one title in San Antonio. That's what's better than everything.

But I had a chance to win titles other places, too, that I went. But you didn't. We didn't. But winning, it was the attitude and the goal to win was the same place everywhere. So just because you on a certain organization or a certain team, your attitude for winning should not change. Just because I was with the Spurs and it was a winning organization, I went to Golden State, I went to Charlotte everywhere else, and I still helped them win. I got Charlotte to the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. So the winning attitude is in you.

That can't be taught. And you don't get that by going to organization. It has to be in you first. So let me, what do you make as a lot? Zion. I think he's fascinating, flawed. A lot of critics out there. Stephen, you drop 30 points at

19 years old. I don't want to hear the critics. What do you make of his game? What part of his game do you jumps out? I don't think people criticizing this game. I think it's everything that comes with it. Like, when you look at him, yeah, he's talented, he's athletic, but he's overweight still.

And 82 games, as as high as he jumped coming up and down at 82 games, he's not going to make an 82 games. He's not going to make an 82 game season. I know it's low management. I don't. Nobody plays 82 games. But every time he goes up for a dunk, everybody doesn't know how he's going to land. He's a big guy. I think he still has to work on his

body. I think he has to lose some weight. But as far as his talent and what he can be for his game. How would you defend him? Make him shoot right now. Make him shoot right now. I think he's backing people down and they let him get to his left hand. He's a left hand shooter. Make him go right. That's one thing about San Antonio. We're taking all

the stuff you like to do away. and make you add something to your game. That's New England Patriot football. They're not doing that in the NBA no more. They're letting guys go to their sweet spots, just take shots when they want to. You've got to make guys do things that they're not comfortable doing. And once they get to that point,

I think they'll see his game change a little. But he got to lose weight. I think he's a great player. He's going to be a great player in this league. He got to lose weight, though. Finally, Lakers Clippers. You know, you can go either way. I like the Clippers' architecture of their roster,

but the Lakers have five game. where they have like a five-game lead on the Clippers. So let's just talk in terms of a seven-game series, not a singular game where the Clippers can beat them. They play a seven-game series starting tomorrow. Who would you like and why? I like Lakers. I just never seen the dynamic of LeBron

and a player like Anthony Davis. I don't see them losing the seven-game series to nobody. LeBron is one of the smartest players. Clippers have a great defensive team. They are the better defensive team, but analytically, the Lakers are. I don't believe in analytics, but I just think the Lakers have too much experience, and LeBron has never played with a player like AD.

I don't think they get to that point and not win it. Are you surprised how good they've been this early, this quickly? No, I'm not. Good smart players play well together? Yeah, and they made it a point to get together early this summer and jail with the team. You know what I mean? And that's big. When everybody comes in early and wants to be on the same page and build that camaraderie early

and want to be a great team in preseason, it's showing early and regular season. They got together early. They put this together early. This is just not a regular season thing. They've been planning this, and that's why it's playing. It's working well for it.

How do you build camaraderie? It can't just be go to the gym two hours. And it can't be fake either. Commertery, it doesn't build just because you're on the same team. You got to want to be friends. You got to want to hang out with this guy. You got to care about the things he has going on off the court just as much as he cares about the things you have going on.

And that's how it was. With us to go in the state, I think when one person said they was going out to eat, I'm going to, we're all going. And that builds camaraderie. That's how the Spurs were. Great story. No, not go.

Spurs were, we build a team bond over paintball. Tim Duncan loved playing paintball, so we used to bring all the teammates out to play paintball. And I think the reason why men Tim became so cool, when we were playing paintball, he used to send me out to get the flag because I wasn't scared to get shot by the paintball. I ain't scared of a number of guard.

one hit me and I and I kind of kept running it didn't bust so I ran up to the top and my mask fogged up and I had to as I already grabbed the flag I slipped and I hit my face on the steps boom so blood is shooting everywhere my mask lit up because it was fogged I couldn't see so as I put my mask down to show I got the flag everybody's shooting me because they think I'm still in the game so what's blood just shooting there was so they think it's paint so Tim my after after we get through playing my lips swole and all he's thinking about is how I'm going to tell Pop that I got us out here playing paintball in training camp. So we make up a whole story. I fall or I do something and lie about it and pop fall for it so we get to continue to play paintball. But that's how the Spurs jail in the summertime.

They play paintball. I think that's great. It's cool. I love it. Yeah. No, I think the one I said last year, LeBron's first year in Los Angeles, he never felt like part of the guys. Part of it was He didn't like the roster. He didn't like all the young guys. Then you put Anthony Davis around him, Danny Green around him. You got to have something in common. And they're all like his age. They've all had his life experience.

Maybe they have kids. It really is true. Like last year you gave him a bunch of Lonzo balls. They're kids. Right. Nothing in common. They have nothing in common. And a lot of them don't appreciate the game the way he does too.

Yeah. Thanks for telling that story. No, no problem. You know, you're my guy. This is my favorite show. Storytime with Stephen A. Jackson. Pop's watching the show. Stephen A. I'm not a Stephen A. You said Stephen A. Jackson.

Just call me Stack. It's easier. Did I call you that, really? Yeah, you call me everybody else. Good seeing you, bye. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Every sport has a different culture. For instance, in football, you play hurt. You play hurt. It's not a discussion.

In baseball, you don't play hurt. there's another game tomorrow. It's twice as long as the NBA season. You don't risk a worse injury. Justin Mornow, the twins years ago, got a concussion. I mean, like he was done for the year, Aaron Rogers gets a concussion. He's fighting to get back on the field the next week.

It's not because Aaron's tougher than Justin. It's the reality of the culture of the sport. So Rob Manfred is the commissioner of Major League Baseball. The Astros got caught and are acknowledging they used a, you know, bang the garbage can, tweak the system to learn what pitches were coming. Banffred has not suspended Houston players. Now, the GM got fired by the owner. There is public scorn.

The GM got fired. The manager, a very good manager, got fired. Manfred is taking massive heat for this. He is now the world's worst commissioner. So was Roger Goodell two years ago with a cap drama. Oh, wait. So was Adam Silver a couple of months ago. with the NBA China drama.

Oh, wait, so is Gary Bettman during both two or three lockouts. You notice it's hard being a commissioner. I can't imagine being Adam Silver. I have to be in business with companies and countries that don't share our government sort of sensibility and they're worth billions of dollars those contracts. That China situation was tough. They've lost hundreds of millions of dollars.

It's a global league. You're dealing with players are coming from countries, different languages, different sensibilities, different cultures. What if you get a Russian player? Do you got to call Vladimir Putin and see if you can get it? I mean, it's hard. These are hard global jobs. And the job of a commissioner is to take crap because the owners don't want their names in the paper.

Okay, so your job as an owner is to deflect and to take heat. And Rob Manfred is earning his pay now. But let me ask you about this, because I do think the Houston Astros, obviously use some sort of system. We have no idea if Jose Al Tuve had a buzzer on him. So don't pretend we know. It seems like it. It's fishy, but there's no proof.

You can't tell me there's proof. It seems really fishy that he didn't want anybody to take his shirt off. But all the snarky media stuff and player stuff, you don't know, so I'm not going to kick a guy out of a sport or suspend him if I don't know. What I do know is the bang in the garbage can, banging this, making noise. Some players knew what pitches were coming. It's not right. This is a sport that had a steroid era.

Not a steroid issue, a steroid era. Scuffed baseballs, corked bats, black sock scandal in 1919, pine tar incidents. You have a term in baseball, foreign substance. This is not golf. This is the sport where Roger Clemens and Raphael Palmeiro point at Congress to deny stuff we later discover is true. If you give out of way the secrets, you're a rat.

You're a whistleblower. There is no clean baseball. There's never been a totally clean baseball. And that's not a criticism of baseball. It's just not golf. If you move a twig in golf, VJ Singh early in his career got caught doing something that players didn't appreciate. Within players, VJ Singh's always had a bad reputation. He's not forthright.

He's not totally honest. That'll stay with him forever. When Can Kim and Nitti, a player that I covered in San Diego, 20 years ago, came out and said there's steroids all over this sport. He was taken him. He was ripped when Konseko, Jose Konseko came out and said, half the sports taken steroids. He was ripped. He was crushed. But yet Clemens and Rafi were defended lying in front of Congress.

This is not a clean sport. It's a great sport. It's got great history. the people who love it absolutely. The Dodgers should be mad. But the Dodgers in that series against Houston batted 177 at home, 120 at home with runners in scoring position. Game 7, Cody Bellinger, had an error in the first inning that set the tom.

They blew that series. They couldn't hit. They couldn't hit at Dodgers Stadium. That wasn't about the bang in the garbage cans. The Dodgers blew that series. They weren't as good a team and they weren't as good a team. home. So now you're going to strip the Astros of a World Series. Rob Manfred pointed

this out. If you strip the Astros and I think they cheated. I think baseball's been cheating forever. And I still love watching the World Series. And I still love watching Yankees Red Sox. And I still go to Dodger Stadium. But I know it's not golf. You know, it's in NASCAR.

If you're not trying, if you're not cheating, you're not trying. They're constantly pushing the envelope. That's the sensibility. the culture of NASCAR. It's the sensibility of baseball. Here's Rob Manfred. First of all, it had never happened in baseball. And I'm a precedent guy. I'm not saying you always follow precedent, but I think you ought to start by looking back at the way things have been done. And you have to have a really good reason to depart from that precedent. Once you go down that road of changing what happens on the field. I just don't know how

you decide where you stop. If you vacate the Astros title, what do you do with the steroid era? You don't think steroids won a few World Series titles? Really? You don't think so? You don't think they change

the outcomes of series? Really? Never? You don't think that one closer who was an average starter named Eric Gagne and became the most unhittable closer ever wrapped up a few big playoff games here, there? And I'm not picking on him. All the big sluggers were on juice. Cattle steroids. You open up the door for this. You are open up a case of worms, not a can of worms.

Yeah, I think Houston did something that got their GM and their manager fired and should have. But there's a big gap between that and vacating a title. We may learn this week the Red Sox cheated the following year in 2018. That story could come out today or tomorrow. So do we vacate that title? what are you going to do? Baseball has to own its baggage. The NFL owns its baggage. The NFL's like, yeah, you know what? Players get some concussions here.

We've got to change the rules. Baseball wants it both ways. They want to call people rats and whistleblowers, but then they're outraged when somebody gets caught. The first guy that came out and acknowledged this got ripped by players. He said, yeah, those guys back there are banging on garbage cans. Nobody wanted to hear it. And now you're outraged.

I'm sorry. I wrote it down this morning. Pine tar incident, stealing signs, foreign substance, steroid era, scuff baseballs, cork bats. 75 years of greenies. What, you think you're the U.S. Open? You think you're the Masters? Please. 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. Last night, a blown call changed the 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 athlete 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 beaters 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 Slic Life 12 in 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?

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, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. 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 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, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot, flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a paramedipausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast,

How Hard Can It Be with the Anamanea Arriva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings.

night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and

unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura podcast network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Go, Colin right, Colin wrong. Where Colin was right? Well, I've said this for years. The NBA comes up with a good idea.

Baseball makes the most money on it, and the NFL generally gets it right. The NBA tweaked its All-Star rules. This is what they do. They tried a new ball. It failed. They had a dress code. People didn't like it. But the NBA's never been afraid just to go out there and throw something against the wall,

and they're not afraid to admit that didn't work, we're going to stop doing it. And they tweak the All-Star rules that made for a better game. Team Yonis wouldn't sublate. Kyle Lowry's taking charges. Guys are yelling at each other. LeBron was playing real defense. The NBA, I saw more people on Twitter this morning saying, hey, Pro Bowl, call the NBA and figure out how to make your game better.

This is what the NBA does really well. They roll the dice. They take chances. that new ball was a disaster. Remember when they came out with the sleeves for a couple years, that was dumb. But it's okay. The league survived. It's okay.

You can take chances. I like it. Where Colin was wrong. I'm not a dunk contest guy, but I got to admit, Derek Jones and Aaron Gordon was fun. The quality of athleticism today, all through basketball, starting at about 13 years old is amazing. You know, we had a guy jumping over an eight-foot man. I'm generally, I think these are kind of cheesy, by the way. I went to one a few years ago at the Staples Center.

They were jumping over Tias and it was all sorts of nonsense. But I thought this weekend it was a spectacle. And what Saturday night is is a spectacle and a showcase for what the NBA believes are the world's greatest athletes. And Aaron Gordon and Derek Jones can dunk. I mean, I think that's been established. They're pretty unique. Where Colin was right?

What a shocker, Russell Westbrook of all the guys in the All-Star game that shot more than once had the worst percentage. Two for 10, 0 for 4 on 3. He's calling. You're such a jerk with Russell Westbrook. No, I'm not. I'm just saying he can't shoot. It's a shooter's league. Nobody's denying Russell's an amazing talent. Nobody's

denying he's worth buying a ticket for. But Houston is worse with him this year. An O KC with Chris Paul, not nearly as athletic, has not missed a beat, and I could argue Chris Paul. I mean, it's been the story of the year in the NBA

for a team that's not great is Oklahoma City without Westbrook. Where Colin was raw. And this is where I got to give Chris Paul credit. I thought his career was over. I loved him coming out of Wake Forest, and I loved his first six or seven years in the NBA. Then he got prickly. He was hard to deal with.

He was hard to coach, and he got hurt a lot, and I said it's over. Chris Paul has missed only one game. He made an All-Star game. Last night, he had an All-Upe Dunk. Didn't know that was in him. He had the best plus minus on the night. I loved Chris Paul.

coming out, but I said a couple years ago, he's difficult, he's hurt, he doesn't appear to get along with coaches and players. Chris Paul, if the NBA had a comeback player of the year, he would win it. He has had a spectacular and, in my opinion, shocking season. Good for him. Where Colin was right? Zion Williamson, a lot of critics. Can't shoot a jumper. He's fat. I don't know. Best 10 games start in NBA history. Don't outthink the room. with talent. If you see somebody that has otherworldly talent or a body size or energy like he does, all I need to see after that is self-awareness and I know you're going to be a star. He literally gets me to a television set at night. Zion Williams, Williamson gets me to a TV set.

There's a lot of good players in this league and there's good teams I don't care about. Zion gets me to a TV set. Too many people outthought the room. He can't shoot a jumper. Who in God's name shoots a great jumper at 19 years old, you know, a year out of high school? Ray Allen didn't shoot threes like that until he was in the league for five or six years. I think the critics have gotten very quiet. He has the second most points per minute for any NBA rookie ever after only Wilk Chamberlain. We loved him at Duke. We said he'd be a star.

We said he'd be a star by the end of his first year and he's delivered. where Colin was wrong. Raiders are going to offer Tom Brady two years and 60 million, according to a report. I don't get John Gruden's utter dissatisfaction with Derek Carr. So Derek Carr completed 70% of his throws, and he had over 100 passer rating. This is with a rebuilding franchise.

I don't get it. I think Derek Carr is probably the 12th best quarterback in the league. Where are you going to get better? this is a rebuilding roster and they went to London and beat the bears and outside of Kansas City and Mahomes are very competitive he had a career high in yards and passer attempts yards per attempt Derek Carr had a very good year Derek Carr is a upper third quarterback there's a he reminds me a Tony Romo he's he's athletic he moves around he's got a nice arm people say he's not tough folks when you play in a bad team for years and get beat up

And when you had a big injury like he did, you're a little gun-shy. Tom Brady off his injury was gun-shy for about a year and a half. Derek Carr's a top 12 quarterback in the league. He can make all the throws. He's athletic, 70% completion rate, had career highs, passer rating over 100. I don't get it. You can get to the AFC championship with Derek Carr. I absolutely believe that.

You can get to a conference championship. championship with Derek Carr. I had no doubt in my mind if you could get a defense in Las Vegas slash Oakland that could stop anybody. Where Colin was right? Well, last week, the Chargers made it official. We're done with Philip Rivers. We said this about week five or six of the NFL season. It's over. There's, you can have flaws as a quarterback. You can't be these three things. Old, unathletic and mistake prone. Now, Brady's old and he's pretty unathletic, but he doesn't make a bunch of mistakes. Drew Breeze is old. no longer world-class athletic.

He doesn't throw a lot of picks. You can be young James Winston, and athletic can throw picks, and people will keep you around. But the chargers need new energy, they need new juice, and frankly, they got to sell tickets, and there's a fatigue to Philip River style, which is, you know, you'll win eight or nine games, but he'll throw huge picks in crisis.

It was time. We thought it was time, and they officially moved on. Where Colin was wrong. He was a number two pick a couple years ago. Duke Marvin Begley, and I loved him. I was wrong on that. Guys drafted below him are better, including Luca, who was the number three pick. Sacramento Kings only started 10 games there.

Only 75 games he's actually played in. He's not a bust. He can play and he's got some athletic ability. He's long and athletic and runs the court well. But in 2020, it'd be nice to occasionally hit a long jumper. He can't. The more I look at Marvin Begley, the more I whiffed on that one. Where Colin was right?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are a mess if LeBron James is not part of the franchise. They are reportedly, as Joy reported, John Bealon's going to get fired, little more than halfway through his first season. He was the coach at Michigan. He was a very good college coach. We said when he got hired, this is weird for a man of his age to be shifting into a completely different sort of ecosystem of basketball. Like he's a great college coach.

He's a perfect fit for college basketball. He was getting to lead eight and final fours and winning the big ten. He's a perfect college basketball coach. Weird fit, weird hire, we didn't get it. I mean, let's be honest about this franchise. Take out LeBron James last 20 years. The minute he leaves, it's a tire fire. Poorly run and in my opinion, poorly owned.

Where Colin was right? I defended Brad Stevens last year in Jason Tatum. I said they're not the problem. They were great the year before. Kyrie Irving arrived. They're no longer great. Have you seen what's happened? Jason Tatum now without Kyrie Irving is a legitimate All-Star.

He can carry this franchise. He has still got 10 great years, prime years ahead of him, and Brad Stevens now has this team as a number three seed. By the way, Brooklyn with Kyrie Irving has a losing record when he plays 8 and 12. They have a winning record when Kyrie Irving is out. Kyrie Irving was the problem. I'm not disputing his talent. I'm not disputing his ability to close.

But last year, the narrative was suddenly Brad Stevens can't deal with stars. Well, he's got four guys on this team now that can get you 20 a night. Gordon Hayward, Jalen Brown, Jason Tatum, Campbell Walker. In the NBA, if you can drop 20, Jason Tatum's an all-star.

He gets along with that star, and Jason Tatum's got a really great 10 years ahead of him. He gets along with him, fine. Kemble Walker seems to like him. He's been an all-star. Gordon Hayward is a good player. Jalen Brown's average in 20 a night. These are star players in the NBA and he gets along with all of them. He didn't get along with Kyrie Irving.

And now in Brooklyn, nobody else seems to. Colin right, Colin wrong on a Monday. 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 Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests. from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Cliver 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 of 42.

Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, 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 Bowker. 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.