The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 02/22/2019

Episode Date: February 22, 2019

Doug Gottlieb fills in for Colin and tells you why the NBA lowering it's age restriction from 19 to 18 is bad for the sport of basketball. He thinks Steelers GM Kevin Colbert went too far with his comments about Ben Roethlisberger being the leader of the team and calling his teammates "kids". Pluis, NBA Champion Matt Barnes joins the show and tells Doug if the Lakers are ready for a playoff push.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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.

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This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Welcome in. This is the herd, wherever you may be. However you may be making as part of your day. Thanks so much. I'm Doug Gottlieb, alongside the lovely, talented. Joy Taylor, welcome in to the herd. Colin is off for the day.

That's because he went on LeBron overload. LeBron taking a charge. James Harden fouling out. Scott Foster. That one, that's one of those games last night. We'll get to what it means and why if you watch the first half of LeBron, the Lakers and didn't watch the second half, you'd be amazed when you click on the TV and go away.

The Lakers came back and won that game, and LeBron actually looked great in it. But there was a little bit of Kings. Lakers, Game Six, Western Conference Finals to it. So, just kind of an amazing, amazing night. I want to start, though, with a story which continues to kind of ripple through the world of sports. Two nights ago, there was Duke versus North Carolina. And it was as hyped a regular season game as we feel like we've had in a long time in college basketball.

And there's a couple reasons to it. One, let's not bury the lead. We haven't seen a kid like Zion Williamson. Have we seen breakthrough college freshmen? Absolutely. But have we seen breakthrough college freshmen that are 6'5 pounds that jump the way that he jumps, plays as hard as the way he plays? Like, no, it feels like something a little bit different.

And then he's a ducy who you like. Like, that's a little bit different. You combine that with the fact they're taking on North Carolina. It's the best rivalry in the sport of college basketball. And, you know, traditionally they've had great ratings anyway. And then you factor in that ESPN smartly moved it to a later date than normally they play. It was the latest they'd ever played. It was the last day before the big boys came back to play.

And then you had former President Obama, whose court side, like you factor all these things in. And I don't know anyone who considers themselves a sports fan that didn't have something family or a date that wasn't at least watching, And just curiosity, 30 seconds in, he blows a tire. And it wasn't just that he ripped his shoe. I mean, the entire bottom of the shoe rips off. I mean, look like some LA gear he was wearing. And then the pundins start throwing things out and former players start ripping the NCAA. Zion limps off.

He misses the rest of the game with a sprain knee. And we collectively lose our mind. Yesterday, we found out that Zion Williamson just has a mild knee sprain, which is what it looked like. Thankfully, kids are going to be fine. They're going to play Syracuse this weekend. There's another side to that where Jim Beheim, the Hall of Fame head coach at Syracuse, after beating Louisville on the same night, mistakenly hit a guy and killed him in a car. Like, it just so much bad come from a night which could be so good in celebrating the sport.

And, you know, I was watching TNT last night. If you watch Fox Sports One, you know I got a chance to co-host first things first last four days. And I flew through Minneapolis and actually called a college basketball game on radio last night, Minnesota versus Michigan. I get to the airport, getting ready to fly home, and I watch Charles Barkley. And he kind of nailed it. Like, I want to get to, there's a proposal that's being made, which seems inevitable, which they're going to open back up the chance for kids to come straight out of high school and go to the NBA. I'll tell you what I think about that and why I think it's actually bad for the sport. I also think it will completely change how you'll ever think about the idea of compensating players for their name and likeness and anything above scholarship and cost of attendance once you get to college.

But Barclay nailed something in a way in which only he is able to do. Like, look, Chuck sometimes goes off on Divergent Pass. Sometimes it becomes a giggle fest of, you know, inside the NBA. they get at times Shaq kind of takes over and it's like a standoff of bravado and Shaq shows off his rings and he almost like dude if you guys want to unzip your pants and see who's more of a man like go do that off camera when you guys just talk you're really interesting but college basketball is supposed to be fun do do colleges make money off of the games that are broadcast yeah they do uh here's a news flash I don't know if you know this.

Colleges make money off of all of their students. Off the back of all their students, they do. And they don't pay taxes on it. And then they ask for more money from their alums based upon the success of their students who become alums, and then once you graduate, then they want some more money. That's just the way part of it is they're getting less and less money from the state, if they're a public institution.

Part of it is if they're a private institution. This is how they've got to continue to generate and grow their insurance. endowment. And part of it is just kind of the nature of how their business works. But we operate under this somehow it's sinister for colleges to make money off of basketball and football players. And by the way, the reality of it is they make a lot more money off football than they do off basketball, you know?

And the football money that is made is not actually made by the NCAA. The basketball money that's made by the NCAA is made off the NCAA tournament. And that's simply because everybody I know and everybody, you know, fills out a tournament bracket. That's where the real money is. The volume of sports, the logo across the front of the chest. Look, Zion Williamson played made for basketball events against Lamello Ball. That was, you know, no one could get into a gym in Las Vegas.

But it wasn't a happening on TV until he played for Duke and they played North Carolina. There's a power to that brand. There's value to that brand. But more than anything, I was blown away and kind of embarrassed for many of my brethren in the media and a lot of former players who has said that Zion Williamson should shut it down. Now, for the record, shutting it down does not mean if the kids hurt, he doesn't play. That's different. Shutting it down means healthy scratch. And we've seen shutting it down. That's what Kawhi Leonard was accused of doing last year. That's what Anthony Davis was basically accused of

doing before the All-Star Break when he hurt his shoulder. And the Pelicans are trying to figure out what to do with him. A healthy scratch to a kid who's 18 years old who tweaked his knee. Like, when did playing basketball become some dangerous endeavor like being a middle linebacker or running back or a wide receiver in football? Right? Like, do I want him to get hurt? No.

Do I think that he's injured? No. And if he's healthy, should he play? Yes. Why? Because you're a basketball player. You came to Duke to play basketball. If you wanted to simply be a professional, he could have, even before the proposed rule change,

he could have gone to the G League. He could have benefited off his name and likeness and had a shoe deal. He could have thrown down dunks, and we wouldn't have seen or watched all games. The level of competition or the level of talent is actually better in the G league than his college basketball. But it doesn't have the names across the front of the chest. Doesn't have the coaches, doesn't have the arenas, doesn't have the field, doesn't have the fun. Like, look, college basketball is fun. I've played it.

It's the best. It is exactly what you think it is. It's the best year to five or six. What was it, Chris Farley, seven years of your life. You're playing with a bunch of dudes who you live around, who you grow up around. It's your first chance to be away from home. You're playing for an old crotchety coach and trying to figure out how to kind of fit in, how to grow up. And then you win, you lose, you go out afterwards.

And whether you have a beer or you have a soda or you have a Gatorade or whatever, you're hanging out, playing video game. Like, it's exactly what you think it is. And just like youth sports is ruined by kids, we are trying to ruin college sports. Excuse me, youth sports is ruined for kids by adults. It's the same thing that's happening with college athletics. We are ruining it because we're getting away from the core of what's about. Here's Charles Barkley last night inside the NBA.

When did we get to the point where all people care about is money? Shaq played college for two years. Three. Kenny played for four. I played for three. Michael Jordan played for three. Tim Duncan played for four. David Robinson played for four.

Some of the greatest players ever. Wilk Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson play. When we get to the point where you got clowns on television saying, oh, don't play. That's what you do, Ernie. That's what we do. We play basketball. I mean, I don't ever want to see anybody get hurt.

This kid looked like he's going to be a fantastic player. But I get so mad when people act like money is the only thing that matters in the world. Like, oh, dude, you're going to go into NBA, don't play. I mean, that's ridiculous. It is ridiculous. It is like you're protect. I want to protect your asset in Zion Williamson because I want him to profit off it, but like not play basketball, not experience, arguably the greatest three weeks in all of sports.

Why would you wish that upon somebody? Either way, he's going to make a ridiculous amount of money. He's like, no, he's not. He had Norland's Noel toward his ACL, and he was still a top five pick. Joel Embed was a top five pick, and no one knew what he would be. Zion Williamson would be fine, and the likelihood of an additional injury, if he's fine, is slight at best. But we're not even talking about injury. We're talking, you got guys like Boogie Cousins who played in college basketball,

and the cut that's being used today is Boogie saying that college basketball is BS, and he wouldn't have him play, kind of buried in that cut. Is Boogie Cousins saying this? I love my experience in college. That was some of the best years in my life playing basketball. But with that being said, just how crooked the whole NCAA business is. I actually saw a poster over the day where it was, I think the highest ticket for that UNC Duke game was $25, $3,500. How much does Zion win for the season?

That's who they're coming to see. So how much does he get? Actually, who does it go to? How does it benefit any player on that team? But if they were to get $20 in the free meal, they're this bad kid. They get a bad rep, uncultural, or thugs, whatever the case may be. So it's bull-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b. Well, just, to be fair, and I actually have had dinner with Boogie Cousins,

and I like him a great deal, and he's a bright guy who's going through his own kind of process of evolution. He was a pain in the ass, and that's why he got run out of Sacramento. And that's why they were better when he got hurt in New Orleans, is he's gotten better and involved as a person. And no one has ever said a guy's a bad kid for getting $20 in a meal. By the way, the whole idea of anyone not eating in college is complete BS to anyone who's ever been a college athlete. No one, the hungry Huskies thing that Yukon lived on, is a joke. It's a lie.

And by the way, the NCAA is not crooked. Do I think they're always aligned with the goal of what's best in the mind of the student athlete? there's some conflicting alliances, but they actually show you exactly where all the money goes. He's talking about the secondary ticket market, which doesn't go to Duke basketball, doesn't go to Duke Athletics. It goes to the secondary ticket market. Just focus on the part that he said, best time my life. Because you're just playing bad, it's about the sport, because the sport is supposed to be fun. That's why sports were designed to work out, get a little aerobic activity.

Like that was the whole idea of basketball and Dr. James Naismith invented it as a PE coach for competition. And then to get a group of guys together, you live together, you eat together, you sleep together, you work out together, you win together, you lose together. And you start at the start of the year,

the end of the end of the year. And if you're fortunate enough, if you're lucky enough to win four games, you get to play in front of 75,000 people. And even the guys that have turned so bitter on the NCAA because that's what we do, we're bitter on any sort of organizing group, Congress, the NFL, maybe not the NBA,

because Adam Silver bows to their every whim. We get away from the idea that, like you're a basketball player. You got a chance to play basketball. Finish the season, have fun. And the ancillary benefit of having success in college, just like any student, is you get a kick-ass first job. And that's what's going to happen with Zion Williamson after just one year at Duke.

Start with what it's all about. And by the way, yesterday, there's a kick-as-a-law. an NBA proposal and it feels like it's inevitable that they're going to change the change the age requirement from 19 to 18. Let me just explain some to people that you've always been able to come out, go overseas or play in the G League if you want it. Now, you know, in a couple years, you'll be able to go straight from high school to the pros. There is 0.000001% chance that college will ever compensate players for their name and likeness, which isn't actually that valuable without the name

across the front of the chest, from that point forward. Why? Because if you want to be a professional, you're allowed to. You're allowed to remove yourself from school at any point in time, high school, college, and go to be a pro. And that's what the NCAA will say. That's not what we're about. We're about having fun. We're about giving people a chance at an education, putting people in a room full of other students that they would never have a chance to meet because of the

massive inequalities in education in our society. And it offers a wellspring of opportunities after you're done playing basketball, after you're done in college. But God bless Charles Barkley, man. All these people, especially guys that are former athletes, don't play, sit out, get ready for the NBA. Like, well, if you sit out, you're going to be working out.

And you could get hurt working out. You got a chance once in a lifetime to play for a national championship with arguably the greatest college coach in the history of the sport with a couple of their guys that you live around, that you eat around, that you sleep around. And because people say your paycheck might be slightly larger, if you don't play, you should do it. You tell me a problem that's been solved by money,

and I'll give you 15 problems that have been caused by money. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard 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 athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama,

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 Slicelife-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, Care 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, is 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 Fourth. And on my podcast, The Clifford 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, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clivert show on the. the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows, without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series

because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing.

That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the bar. Like, you go through a training camp with that Isaiah, you figure it out. real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the balls. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. Matt Barnes, he joins us in the herd. You got, you got caught for it. You got actually standing ovation for everybody here in the studio. When you watch LeBron last night, and it did the entire team, like, look, they were shooting some air balls in the first half. They just, they did not look sharp. But then he dialed it up and he figured it out and they played LeBron's stuck, give me the ball. Everybody space out. He's got his new toy and Reggie Bullock who's spacing out. They got kind of their new lineups there figuring out.

What was your takeaway from their win against the Rockets? It's not how you start, it's how you finish. You know, LeBron said he's in with an activation playoff mode or whatever he said. You know, I believe in LeBron. He's someone that's always been able to put a team on his back and do what he does. I think this year will be no different. You know, very uncharacteristic of him taking 23 shots. It's not normally his M.O. But he said, you know, hey, either we're going to do it or I'm going to do it. You know, I think obviously Kuzma, Ingram, some guys played good.

And they got a lot of work ahead of him. But, you know, it's hard to bet against him when the world is trying to doubt him. I know he's using that as motivation. And he just has to remind people every once in a while who he is and what he's about. You know, it's interesting. I was one of the people, one, I was told that they weren't offering up all of their prospects. Like all their young players. Like it was more pick a couple.

And they didn't want to part with Ingram and Kuzma and Lanzo. Like that wasn't. They were like, you can pick a couple and we'll talk about it. I think those guys are better than probably the national respect of them is. No question. But am I wrong? No, I was glad the trade didn't go down.

I thought the Lakers were giving up too much. Like I said, I don't know who was right, who was actually in the trade or not, but to give up all those pieces plus draft picks, I mean, you're never going to get, from a Pelican standpoint, you're never going to get another Anthony Davis. He's a generational type player. But I understand you're getting five young players with draft picks.

How do you not pull that trigger? But like I said, as a Laker fan still, I'm glad that trade didn't go down because they have a very young, talented team. You know, Ingram has always been a proven score, but I love Kuzma and what he brings, you know, his energy and his, the genie has the same as Wessel Restbook about not caring. He just goes out there and does it no matter what. He's a, he's a, he's a, he's a, he's a, he's a, he's a bucket. at her. Yeah. Are you familiar with the Godfather? Godfather, too. Yeah. You are? Yeah. Okay. Do you remember

Frank Pantangeli? Joy, do you remember Frank Pantangeli? Okay, so Frank Pantangeli is going to, he's in front of the grand jury, and he's going to out Michael Corleone as a mafia boss, right, as a head of a crime syndicate family. And then, and so he gets up there and all of a sudden he sees another guy, turns out to be his brother. And they start asking him questions, and it's some Sicilian thing. And he's, where he completely changes. And he goes from, instead of outing Michael Colione, he goes, Michael Colione, Michael, no, no, you guys got it all wrong. You guys got it, right?

That's what Anthony Davis felt like to me at the All-Star break. They were like, you don't like want to play for the cells? Like, no, something's, no, I'm okay. Right. All 2019, anybody but the Pelicans are about four. Somebody got to him, didn't they? I don't know if someone got to him or the standpoint that he just realized the negative energy that was around,

what Rich Paul was doing, what the media turned it into. So I think he was saying what he had to say. Just like LeBron says, you know, I'm sure he loves his teammates, but obviously the situation was trying to get AD, you know, but you have to say this is, AD is there for the rest of the season. LeBron has his teammates for the rest of the season. So you have to say what's, you know, what's supposed to be said.

And, you know, I think LeBron will still be able to motivate these guys and get them playing well enough to get in the playoffs. And, you know, if they face the Warriors, we already know what that is. But if they slip into the seven spots somehow, I think they can challenge people because I really like their team. I love what Lonzo brings when he gets back and he's healthy. And these guys clicking on all cylinders with a leader like the Bronn, I think they can shock someone if they get out of that eighth spot.

I do, I do too. I think you want, I don't think the Warriors want to play them, but I think if they get out of the eight spot, then they could maybe see the Warriors a little bit later. Later on, a dangerous, dangerous team. It does kind of feel like we know how this ends for the Kings. Right? Like, it does just like, if there was anyone else in chase of the Kings in the playoffs,

you'd be like, all right, kings got a shot. Then you see the Lakers, you're like, man. And, of course, Kings fans are forever upset over the officiating more game six than game seven, although I thought game five was pro kings. And then in game seven, page, it's famous series, Paige Stoachovic shot an airball at the end of regulation. They lose an overtime. You know, it's like one of these like, let me guess, James Bond is going to end up beating the bad guy and getting the girl. I know how this movie ends.

But Scott Foster was officiating that game last night. And after the game, James Harden laid into him a little bit. Chris Paul is like, hey, what do you want us to do? You played in the league. You were a guy that would get into it sometimes with officials, sometimes with other players. You could be an antagonizer. What's your opinion of Scott Foster?

Terrible. Terrible. You know, and it's a known thing. You know, I think I heard the stat this morning about the poll. I didn't even know about in 2016, but it's a known situation. And, you know, like we touched on the show previous, it may not be so much on the actual calls. Some here, you know, guys mess up.

up on calls, but it's his arrogance. It's the way he carries himself. It's the way he looks down upon people like he's better. And he acts like these people pay a bunch of money to come see him. It's not about him. A sign of a good ref is to know he's not there. Scott Foster is someone that takes everything personal. You can't talk to him. And it's truly, like I said, the numbers don't lie. You know, the games he refs and the teams that lose. And then, you know, I saw a story this morning about the number of calls he had with Donahey, you know, back before the Boston Miami series. So, you know, to me, if he was a part of that, who knows, but he's, he's a known bad ref or carries itself in a hard to manage way and it, and it's rubbing players the wrong way.

And I definitely think the NBA needs to take a look at it. Is there, are there guys that can maintain control of a series? Look, basketball is hard to fish you. No question. Okay. I mean, it's really, really hard. Because you don't want to call every foul, but you got to call the first foul because otherwise you get the other foul. Like, it's a hard deal to fish you. I have a lot of respect, but is there, are there enough other guys that are strong enough

willed to make the right call and yet respected enough by the league and respected enough by the players to make those hard calls? Yeah, I think there's a handful of refs out there that do a great job. Like you hit on refereeing is a tough situation, you know, 10 of the best athletes in the world, a high-paced game, it's hard to get everything right. So, you know, you're not expecting that. But with those refs that do make the tough calls or missed calls, you have to be able to talk to them, you know, especially superstars, but people, you know, of myself who played a long time,

I mean, you know, a veteran that speak for a team sometimes, you have to at least hear these guys out. And in the heat of the moment, you know, tempers are up, you know, emotions are up. But Scott Foster is someone who's always had a quick trigger on the T. And it just, the way he carries itself just disgust me. And these guys are completely right about, you know, what's warranted and the way he conducts himself on the court. Guys, we can't amount out anymore.

We can't draw an opinion out of him. This is really difficult. Matt Barnes joining us. I'm going to give it to you. Okay, so give me your. They can't find me, you know what I mean? Chris and James Hope might get fine today, but they can't find me. And I speak for a lot of the players when I say this about him.

Look, I have an immense amount of respect for you because you're a guy that continue to find ways to make it in the league. Right. So I didn't play in the league, but this is in no way a shot at the none in Duns, which is coming again or the one in Duns. I just take it from Steve Kerr. He wrote an article back when he was broadcasting. Hey, look, I've been a player. I've been a – now he's a coach. He was a general manager.

he felt like it's bad for the sport to have guys come straight at a high school because they have to learn how to play. They have to learn how to grow up, how to handle themselves. And college, it has its flaws, but you do grow up. You do learn to manage whatever budget you get based upon your scholarship check. You do have times which you have to go to work per se and go to practice. And then, you know, you got to balance your work-life balance. What's your opinion, though, of the rule if it's you can come straight at high school? Is that good for the actual sport?

I think it's a catch-22 from the standpoint of that's such a business now. So for every LeBron James and Zion Williams, you're willing to throw away a handful of guys that aren't ready that are going to be drafted. You know, the Corleone Youngs and guys like that who, you know, had a lot of hype and didn't pan out because they weren't ready. You know, there's a huge gap from a 17-year-old to even a 19-year-old, but even a 20-year-old, your maturity, your understanding of life,

your understanding of the game. So I see where you can water down the game. And a lot of these guys get a lot of bad advice. You know, there's, what, 250 kids in every draft in only 60 spots, and some kids are leaving situations and leaving school early. And so you get a lot of bad advice. But like I said, for someone like Zion Williams, it's no coincidence the day after he gets hurt that we're talking about should the eighth limit be lowered. But he's gotten better.

Like, college has helped his game. There's no question. He's learned how to play hard. He's gotten himself in better shape. Right. He's playing with better players in which the thing I like most about him is this is how, he's going to have to play early on in the NBA, where small ball five, starting power four, but not a guy you go to every time down the court.

I actually think this has really, really helped him. Every experience doesn't help everybody. But I think in Zion's case, could he have gone to the pros? Yeah, but he's improved his stock and improved his game. I completely agree. And I'm one who loves to see. I'm not even really watching college basketball as much, but when he plays, it's much watch TV. So it's definitely helped him.

And like I said, if he doesn't blow a shoe out in a non-contact injury, we're not even talking about this. No one's telling him if he continues to play away, he plays, well, maybe you shouldn't play in the NCAA tournament because you might get hurt. You know, the fact that he got hurt is the only reason why we're talking about this. But it's just a tough situation. You know, I heard what Chuck said last night on T&T about just going out there and playing. I completely agree with that. But it's such a business now. And the money that these kids are making or changing, you know, their lives, their families, lives and their friends' lives. So you really have to approach it from a standpoint of what's my best business decision and what is best for me.

I'm hoping if there's no structural damage and he gets an opinion not only from the Duke doctor but an outside doctor if he feels like you can come back and play come back and play. You know, you get college, one year of college, go out there and do what you do and then be, you know, you're risking a lot, but you're risking a lot when you work out. You're risking a lot when you play five and five and pick up.

You're risking a lot when you walk out of your house every day. You know, you're risking a lot, but at the end of the day, you have this one year of college if you're healthy enough to play. I'd like to see him play. I only got 30 seconds. I'm sorry to short change you. Kyrie really didn't like the fact that a private conversation him and KD in the hallway becomes public.

Your private life has become public before. Is it fair the way we're covering Kyrie and KD, considering they are free agents this upcoming off season? It's not fair from a standpoint of everything you say or they're seeing you doing is going to get blown. You don't know what these guys are talking about. They could be talking about anything, but I think we live in a world where there's 24-hour news cycles now,

so a story has to be made up. No one knows what they really said, but there's been 100 different allegations of what they said. So it's unfortunate, but it's the world we live in, and it's not going to change. So guys are just going to have to get used to it. Maybe start talking like baseball pitchers with your hand, but still they're going to make up what you say still.

So you just have to understand. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Mike Tomlin's one of Super Bowl. He's pretty good coach. I know they lost Ryan Chazier and I sat on Collins' couch. This is a year and a half ago and said, I thought there's Super Bowl went out the window when he suffered that devastating injury.

I thought it really changed their defense and changed kind of the culture of the place. He's a great leader, great player. He was everything you want in a middle lineback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He gets hurt. It was devastating. But you still thought, like, well, the Patriarch aren't that good. You look around and you're like, the Colts aren't that good.

The Ravens, I mean, they got to the playoffs, but Lamar Jackson can't really throw. And they spent the first half of the year trying to figure out, do we want Flacco? We won't want Flacco. The defense was outstanding, but their offense was nothing to be scared of. Yeah, the Kansas City Chiefs were unbelievably, unbelievable offensively, but no defense. And the Chargers are the Chargers. You don't have a ton of respect if you're the Steelers

who constantly make the playoffs and you think challenge. And you start to say yourself, like, we didn't make the playoffs this year. We had Antonio Brown. And, oh, yeah, by the way, the year before, we couldn't beat the Jacksonville Jaguars at home. And we had Levion Bell and Ben Rothesberger and Antonio Brown. Like, look, you can tell me there are other trios that are as good. And I may buy it. There are not trios that are better than those three. They're just not.

Antonio Brown is a top five web receiver as anybody in the NFL. Levyon Bell, when he was healthy, you're going back, and when he was engaged, and this is a year and a half ago, was as good as any running back in the NFL. And though Ben Rothsberger is not as good as he used to be, like, look, Ben Rossberger still Super Bowl quarterback, big body, can make the throws, can move, can extend the play. that trio is as good and yet they came up short and then the thing imploded this year and you're trying to figure out why

why would Antonio Brown go on these almost bipolar rants and posts in the same day two days ago he posts an IG live from a treadmill where he's got a dyed mustache and he's talking about it being about the money

hey if you got guaranteed money hit me up but it almost felt he almost felt unhinged to take a word from people talking about a different topic. There are just things he's calling out Ben. He's liking things on Instagram and point out Ben Rothsberger's illicit past. And you're like, man, then he's meeting with the owner. And you're like, wait a second, that's classy.

That's the way you should handle it. Why is this such a mess? I think we have our answer. I think we have our answer. Kevin Colbert is the general manager of the Pittsburgh's team. dealers. And he said a lot of things like this one. Ben is an unquestioned leader of this group. Unquestioned leader. Right. He's he's taking the, is it conch or conch? You know what I'm talking? He gives every Lord of the Flies, remember whoever, it's the conch, right? By the thing is spelled

conch, but it might be a conch. I'm not really sure. It's like from Lord of the Flies, it was signified who had the power of the group of boys. So he basically takes. the conch or conch. You can hit me up on Twitter ad godlieb show and correct my pronunciation if it's incorrect. And hand it to Ben Rothsburg and said, here, he's the Lord of the Flies. Okay. Like I said, he's the elder statesman Super Bowl winner. I can't question that. If our players were smart, they'd listen to him. It's a little much. He's got 52 kids under him. Wait, what? I think that once you win it, you've got 53 guys, you can say what it took. Right now, he's the only one.

he can call me out and that's fine. Wait, did he just call the other 52 guys on the active roster kids? He did. You know, listen, I would advise you not to call your wife or your girlfriend, honey, or babe. These are things that don't...

Well, unless you really mean it. Yeah, I mean, listen, you can, in passing, like, hey, babe, can you pass me the salt? Like, okay, hey, babe, you know, like that, it just, excuse me? There are things in which you say where you lack kind of a self-awareness. And between Levion Bell not understanding the market for running backs, Antonio Brown not having the self-awareness to realize like,

hey, you do realize that if you want a new contract, showing up for Week 17 against the Bengals would probably help you get a new contract, even if you force a trade to another team. And Ben Rothensberger and some of the things that he has said lack self-awareness. And look, I'll defend you. Ben Rothsburger on his radio show because we do take some of his opinion and we only cut it up into the things we think of as negative. For example, when he called out Antonio Brown for running the wrong route, he did say like, look, and I should have thrown it to juju. You go back

early in the year and there were quotes where Ben Rothsberger said, I need to play better. I need to get more engaged with these guys during the week. Like, he's willing to be self-deprecating and self-critical, which is great. And I don't even. even have a problem with Kevin Colbert, Kevin Colbert saying he's the leader because he's won a Super Bowl and because he's our quarterback. But when you call

52 other grown ass men, prideful men, kids, especially considering, look, I think Ben Rothsberger's story is mostly good. He was a knucklehead and an idiot earlier in his career. And I'm willing

to believe that like most of us as guys, you grow up, you mature, you have, a kid, you have a wife, and you're not that guy anymore. You know, and we're still guys. We still, every guy lives differently in terms of the proximity or how closely they are to pressing that self-destruct button, right? And his self-destruct button seems a little bit closer than some people's. But you got Kevin Colbert clearly lacks self-awareness.

Your job is to be the spokesperson. Your job is to say the right things. And when you say, hey, he's got 52 kids under him, that, to say that misses the mark, instead of putting out the fire, he stoked it. He stoked it. Did he not, do you? My missing something?

This has been my issue with the Steelers all season long, is to me, the Steelers have this reputation of toughness and grit and blue collar. The standard is the standard. The standard is championships, and it's all about winning, and up until this year, had the most Lombardies of any team in the league, and they're a Cornerstone franchise. And it's like, on the other hand, it's just all chaos and social media and big personalities and all this stuff going on. It doesn't match the original brand.

And I think that that's kind of what everyone's hanging on to is like the Steelers aren't the same Steelers that they used to be. It's not about the steel curtain and Troy Palomalu and the bus. and it's all an offensive team now. And Ryan Shazier was a big part of that. But to me, the culture breakdown with the Steelers came from the top. And clearly him calling everyone else on the roster except Ben Rothesberger, a kid, that trickles down.

It runs downhill. Obviously, Antonio Brown could have handled this differently given. Ben could have handled this differently. Levy on Bell could I handle this differently. But to me, the fact that they feel the, the. comfort to handle anything the way that they're handling it comes from Tomlin and comes from the front office. How about the fact that Kevin Colbert didn't say Mike Tomlin is the adult and everybody else?

I don't even like, I don't like the idea of calling somebody kids just because it's like, it's the meaning, it's disrespectful. Don't call somebody a boy. No. Don't call somebody a boy. Right? Don't sell it comes a kid. And it's just because Ben has two rings is what are you saying.

Like he's, he's the leader. He has two rings. He should be the one who's, if anyone's going to. task size anyone it should be him. Right. But if you say it that way, it comes across better than if you say, you got 52 kids and one adult, like you call somebody, like that's just going to stoke the flames. And I think this is a, it's a good look under the hood. To those of us, like, man, I get it. You got a pain the ass wide receiver. Lots of teams do. I get it. You got a running back that wants to be paid more. Lots of teams do. You got a quarterback who's probably not as good as some of the results, right? Like the first Super Bowl, you want to. get down to his lowest quarterback rating for any Super Bowl winning. But whatever, Ben Rossboro is a good quarterback. Is he the greatest of all time? Should he actually be a Hall of Famer? We could have that debate on one of the debate shows, and it'd be an interesting one. Well, I think he is a Hall of Famer, and I think he should be the leader of the team.

But to me, and if I look at any organization and success or failure of an organization, I don't look at the worst player on the team. I go straight to the top. What is the ownership done to make it a winning franchise and a winning organization and a winning atmosphere? What does the head coach do to create a culture where everyone feels supported and like their role is important, even if they are the lowest guy on the roster? Right. To me, there's just the fact that there was a report that Mike Tomlin said that Antonio Brown can do whatever he wants until he's not productive.

Huh? It's not that you feel that. It's that you say that. And that you feel that it's a problem as well. I mean, like, look, this is the reason that. And I think that Tomlin is going to. until he's not going to get a pass, but this is a chance for him to hit the reset button. I think it's just going to be really hard.

Look, if you read the entirety of the quote from Kevin Colbert, he said, once you've win it, you got 53 guys, you can say what it took. I totally respect because what I've seen too many times win games for us and come through in the situation. Talked about the Jacksonville game. He brought the team in. It was hot. It was nasty.

They weren't allowed to get water. It was immediate. Everybody over here right now in the speech he made, the challenge he made, he back. acted up because he played better than the second half. He didn't play well in the first half. And he said, quote, I'm the first one that needs to look in the mirror and the rest of you better too. So I absolutely have no problem with him. I do think that Ben Rossberger, again, if it's sold the right way, should be the unquestioned leader.

And Ben Rothsberger's own issues. Remember, he wasn't just women and Lake Tahoe. It was also the motorcycle and then getting suspended. and this was a different life ago. But I do think there should be, there can be a relatability with the younger generation of people. Like, look, dude, I was in your shoes. I was a knucklehead.

And here's how I went through the process of being more of a football player, more of a leader. But just sometimes you say one line and you lose us. 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 SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, 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 on humor. me with Robert Smygel and friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman

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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 Podcast, 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 crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come into it. 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 I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.