The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 02/25/2019

Episode Date: February 25, 2019

Colin says part of the reason for the Lakers struggles is that LeBron has not bought in and therefore the rest of the roster hasn't either.  He says that Odell Beckham Jr. is worth trading for but Antonio Brown isn't.  Plus, 3x MVP and World Series Champion Alex Rodriguez comes in studio to talk about Bryce Harper and what it was like sitting behind Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga at The Oscars.  Presented by Perky Jerky. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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.

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

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

This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to the Best of Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com

or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Monday. This is the herd. Wherever you may be, and however you may be listening, we're live in Los Angeles, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, one hour from now, not only one hour from now,

where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, good one today. Alex Rodriguez shows up. at the top of next hour. A-Rod. We got L'A-Machado, Bryce Harper, baseball. Did he? It's like the Oscars last night.

A-Rod in the house today. So Joy Taylor, of course, joining me. Good morning. Watch the little Oscars last night. I was thinking about this, Joy. In sports, it's really important that the star buys in. Tim Duncan always bought into Greg Popovich,

so much so he took pay cuts. And Tom Brady bought into New England so much so he took pay cuts. Buy-in. I mean, if Tim Duncan taking pay cuts. I mean, if Tom Brady's taking pay cuts, D. Wade for all of his big years in Miami, bought into Pat Riley. And Pat Riley would make trades and moves. When the star buys in, it changes everything because people know. LeBron, and this is why the Laker LeBron thing hasn't

worked so far, he's never bought in. Some of it's not his fault. This roster isn't guys he'd connect with. It's young guys he doesn't really respect yet. And then it's old knuckleheads and one-year contract guys, he doesn't relate to. LeBron bought into Cleveland for the first six years until he was worn down. He bought into Miami. He bought into Kevin Love and Kyrie for a couple years. He didn't buy into this team. He didn't have any close friends on it.

Miami felt like an absolute buy-in day one. Duncan, Brady, you got to buy in. And let's be brutally honest, we're 59 games into the season. There's no juice. There's no energy with the Lakers. It didn't even feel big. I'll be the first to admit. I thought this would feel big.

It's not about you predicted 43 wins. I predicted 48, some predicted 45. But we all predicted, well, this would feel big. Lakers plus LeBron. This has never felt big. There's no juice. There's no energy. I mean, LeBron looks around.

He's like, Brandon Ingram, has he hit a ceiling? Lonzo Ball heard again. Luke Walton? Couldn't win when I was gone. Defensively, zero, zero consistency all year. I mean, you can even hear when LeBron talks. You can tell. He's still trying to figure it out.

When the star doesn't buy in, you can feel it. It's palpable. And the players know it. Then the stories come out and the trade rumors come out where they're all basically furniture about to be moved. And they go from he didn't buy in to. He really doesn't like us. Here was LeBron after getting thrashed this weekend by the Pelicans who didn't even have AD.

How many know what I say? In the last few years, you know, everybody's so accustomed to us. The losses that I'm just not accustomed to it. I'm just accustomed to it. I would never get comfortable with losing. Losing game 1 in Houston and feels the same way as losing game 59. Well, it's for me. That's just how I'm built.

That's who I am. You know what this reminds me of a little bit, Aaron Rogers last year? Aaron Rogers, like LeBron, gets hurt, is not really playing at 100%. And there were all these stories about McCarthy and Aaron Rogers that Aaron no longer bought in. And the tame sensed it. And Green Bay got derailed after that injury. And they never, never really got momentum. It's the same thing.

LeBron had a little buzz early. Then LeBron got hurt, derailed. back, not 100%. He doesn't buy into Luke, doesn't buy into the young guys, doesn't buy into Lance. You can sense it. You can, Bill Plashky at the LA Times is at every Laker game.

And, you know, I brought him on my radio show a couple weeks ago, and he noticed it. You can ask anybody with that organization. It's like he's his own company, his own brand, his own element, he's his own planet. And he's orbiting around the Lakers, but he's not landed and connected with

the Lakers at all. And then yes, and they feel it. You know what the team leader is, is Rajan Rondo. He's their leader. They love him. The kids love him. You saw how much he celebrated when he came back and beat Boston with that shot. That was real. But he's mentoring them. He's helping them. He's leading them. What's LeBron doing? Putting up some good numbers and playing, but not as engaged and as invested as he should be in any of this. Yeah, I think it's really obvious. By the way, I don't think Anthony Davis, even if he comes to Los Angeles, solves this. Their biggest problem, which is they don't have enough shooters, and LeBron knows it. LeBron's not.

necessarily worked well with big guys. He didn't work great all the time with Chris Bosch. He didn't work great all the time with Kevin Love. He's great with Kyrie. He works with shooters. Anthony Davis, he doesn't solve that. Lakers are 28th and three-point shooting, 29th in free-th free-thro percentage. Anthony Davis doesn't solve those issues. He makes the Lakers better and more interesting, but it didn't solve their biggest issue. They're a lousy shooting team in a shooter's league. This year, though, it's never felt big. The way, West was already good, and then Houston, a good team added Kenneth Farid. They're better.

And then Portland was already good, and they added Rodney Hood and Enos Canter. They're better. And Oklahoma City just added Marquise Morris. Oh, they're better. Like, let's just admit it. I'm wrong on this. It's not the win total. I could still get to 48 what I predicted.

But it has never, ever, ever felt big. It's disappointing. Chris Mannix's first things first talked about. their biggest flaw. There are not enough guys in that locker room that have real equity in that team. LeBron knows he's a Laker for the next three, four years or whatever. How many other guys in that locker room can say that? And I think that matters.

I think when you have to dig deep in moments like this, how many of those guys think, I'm not going to be here that much longer anyway? I'm playing for myself anyway. Half the team is on one-year contracts. They're basically mercenaries out there. I think that's a major factor in this team kind of crumbling. over these last couple of weeks. I completely agree.

When the star doesn't physically and emotionally buy in Aaron Rogers this year in Green Bay, LeBron with the Lakers, everybody in the shop can sense it. Let's shift to this. Interesting comment, NFL. There's two great wide receivers in the NFL, Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham Jr. And they have been in trade rumors a lot in the last few. months. I would go out and get Odell Beckham Jr. I would not go out and get Antonio Brown. Story dropped this weekend that three teams have reached out to the Steelers, meaning 28, 29 teams,

28 teams have not reached out to the Steelers. And I think there's one big reason here. first of all, we all know that you can win Super Bowls without a superstar receiver. Seattle did it, New England just did it, Julio Jones didn't make the playoffs, Cowboys were better without Des Bryant, New England wins a Super Bowl with a slot receiver. So the value of super, even Randy Moss, who set records in New England, when the playoffs arrived, he was really never spectacular with New England. He had a couple of one-catch games on those super years. Weather gets colder, you know, windier, playing outdoors, January.

Big player receivers, to me, have always been more icing than cake, especially in the playoffs. But there's a reason that Antonio Brown's on the market and reportedly O'Dell Beckham is and why I'd pass on one and take the other. Because when you look at the Pittsburgh situation, and I think this is what's happening, people are like, dude, you're in the perfect spot. Big Ben is a deep ball thrower. Mike Tomlin, incredibly tolerant of players and egos and personalities.

The offensive line's good enough to allow the quarterback time to throw a deep ball. We've got a really good receiver on the other side, so they can't constantly double team you. and this is a winning organization. People around the league look at Antonio Brown and think, you know, it's the old thing about, why are you getting a divorce? You're married to the perfect person.

O'Dell Beckham's got arguments. Odell Beckham's with the Giants. Three coaches, four years. Quarterbacks are a shot fighter. They're about seven to eight guys minimum from winning a Super Bowl. They don't have a roster that's close to Philadelphia or close to Dallas in their own division.

I'm not sure it's as good as Washington. O'Dell Beckham has thrives statistically in chaos the last three or four years. Antonio Brown is complaining about what I perceive and many perceive as a virtually ideal situation. Again, I'll say it. Given the option, I'd take O'Dell Beckham Jr. in a heartbeat. In fact, my biggest concern with O'Dell has always been health. He's a little smaller. He broke an ankle, about a buck 92.

I worry over time, eight, nine years. Can he stay healthy? I think he's a better version of Deshawn Jackson as an athlete, though. Unbelievable. Antonio Brown, I don't worry about his health. I should love him. But if you can't work as a wide receiver in Pittsburgh, what? I am going to look at your situation.

I'm not saying it's perfect in Pittsburgh, but it is a lot better in Pittsburgh than about 80% of the teams in this league. There's a lot of dysfunction in the NFL. Odell Beckham is thriving mostly surrounded by utter chaos, a shot quarterback, a battle line, and a merry-go-round of coaches. Antonio Bren. Can you imagine Odell Beckham, Jr. in Pittsburgh? Can you imagine OBJ in Pittsburgh?

Oh, my God. Randy Moss, your records are raced. So I think what hurts him here, sometimes you see people leave companies and you're like, what are you doing? You see people leave marriages. What are you doing? Don't confuse OBJ and Antonio Brown. A B's great, pass.

OBJ, you think he's got issues, sign him any day, especially if I have a quarterback like Big Ben. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the I Hard Radio app. I had to bat a few people around on Twitter yesterday. I was bored for like an hour. And it's amazing to me when people fall for the same thing over and over and over and over. NFL, by and large, you've got to play hard every game. The regular season matters for your seating.

It's just one of the reasons the Patriots have a dynasty is they play a lot of home games in December and January in Foxborough. They're not nearly as good on the road. They won this year in Kansas City. generally that's a big part of their success. By the way, Alabama, you know, Alabama doesn't play any big road games anymore. You notice that out of conference in football. But in basketball, there's the regular season and there's the playoffs. And especially for the good teams and the star players, you're just trying to get through

the regular season, stay in shape, stay healthy, get the chemistry good. But it just doesn't matter. To the teams like Boston who have been getting to the Eastern Conference finals, have a rich history, it doesn't matter to LeBron, Golden State. I even think Houston this year, now they have Kenneth Fareed, they kind of know they're good, they sense they're going to be okay. Let me ask you, you really think, now I hear all these criticisms about Boston. They're just going to flop around like a dead fish in the playoffs.

No, they're not. They're going to win the East. At minimum, they're going to get to the Eastern Conference Finals, but put it down. Three best teams in the league are Golden State 1, Houston 2, Boston 3rd. You're falling forward again. Ooh, Denver, ooh, Toronto. So, ooh, Milwaukee. Kyrie Irving came out yesterday and said,

you're not beating us four times. We're all good. But Colin, what about the chemistry issues? Folks. The chemistry issues sort of disappear in the playoffs because everybody knows, okay, let's get over our little tiffs, urgency here. By the way, Cleveland last year, nothing but chemistry issues.

Playoffs start, sweep, sweep, sweep, seven games get to finals. They did lose to Golden State because, I don't know, they don't have nearly as good of players. But do you really buy into Milwaukee where they have one-star player, Janice, who's never won a first-round playoff series? But Milwaukee could not win a road playoff game last year. That's your team?

I mean, you think, I watched those games against Boston. They can't win road playoff games. You're going to go from that to what? NBA champs, Toronto. Got one-star player, Kauai Leonard. Kauai Leonard, it should be noted. To get Kauai Leonard, Toronto traded away their bench. They don't have the bench they had last year.

And I'm not saying the bench is everything, but it's something if you play the Celtics, so I don't buy in Toronto. What about Denver? Denver's got one player who leads them in points, rebounds, steals, and assists. By the way, I like Milwaukee. There's a lot to like about Milwaukee.

They'll win a playoff series. But is Milwaukee ever proven? Is Yannis ever proven they can go on the road and win a couple of games in the playoffs? And the East is better this year than last year. Boston's got seven guys that can play at a B or an A level. They're great at home. They've proven to me they can win on the road.

They have a great coach. They're good situationally. What about their chemistry? What about it? Golden State has chemistry issues last two years with Kevin Durant and Draymond. Disappears in the playoffs. I mean, disappears in the playoffs. LeBron last year, major difficulty, all sorts of chemistry issue,

disappears into the ether in the playoffs. Yes, I know the Bucks, Raptors, Pacers, all the... Boston's going to... end up in the Eastern Conference Finals and Boston, mark it down. And they may play Milwaukee, because I think Milwaukee's got a good coach and Janice, Chris Middleton. They got a couple of dudes. Milwaukee's a real team. I don't buy Toronto at all. I don't buy Indiana at all. I don't buy the nets at all. I don't buy the Pistons at all. I don't buy. Philadelphia, I like. I just, you haven't played together very long. Stop falling. Here's the way it works. If a team,

this is like Derek Roses, Bulls, or last year's Raptors. If you've never quite had playoff success, oh, you want to show us how good you are in the regular season. This is not the NFL. You don't get equal effort. This is not college basketball where you can have a good half and knock off Duke, knock off Kansas, knock off Kentucky. You've got to beat Brad Stevens four times.

The Celtics don't lose playoff games very often at home unless they play a guy named LeBron. They've also proven unlike Milwaukee, they can go on the road and sometimes be better than they are at home. They've got a star in Kyrie Irving. Jason Tatum at times looks like a star. They've got Gordon Hayward, Al Horford. These guys, Jalen Brown can play at B-plus levels. I've watched it. You've seen it in the playoffs. But people are always buying into the same thing. This is not football. It's not even hockey where if you don't go out and give it everything on every line, head on a swivel, you'll get your, you know-what kicked. Stars, take a deep breath. I just read a story this morning on

Golden State. They're just trying to find something. to interest them for the next 45 days until they get to April. But Toronto, come on, Denver, give me a break. Milwaukee, good, I'll give you that, good, good, and may end up in the Eastern Conference finals. I don't think they're beating Boston four times in two weeks. They're not beating Brad Stevens four times in two weeks. Yannis hasn't proven to me he can go on the road in the Eastern Conference playoffs and outperform

people. Basketball is about discomfort. Milwaukee right now, it's comfortable. Go to Boston on the road. Chris Middleton's hurt. Oh, oh, what? All the guys won't be healthy.

Chris Middleton's hurt. Chris Middleton, by the way, goes one for 11. How you do it now? Yeah. Power rankings once again. Golden State 1, Houston 2, Boston 3. John, do you archive that? Can we put that on tape? Is that been, are we recording that second? Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

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.

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This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clivert 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 guy walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Come up. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, Brett, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, man. is Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the I Heart Radio app,

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We do it every Monday at this time. can have opinions. Very few people admit when they are wrong. We have no problem doing that. We think that allows us to have stronger opinions. Colin right, Colin wrong. Here we go on a Monday. Where Colin was right. Said it from the beginning. Kyrie Irving's an amazing player. He is an all-time finisher, left for right hand. But I never thought he was the face of a franchise leader. I just think he's a remarkable player. And oh, by the way, last week, he melted down again when his name was mentioned in free agent discussions. Dude, if you're a leader, you're a leader. You're a leader. You're a If you're Steph Curry, you've got to get over name in the paper, name on the blog.

That's just part of the territory. Once again, he shows that he struggles being the face of a franchise. Now, Boston's 4-0, the last four games he hasn't played. Yeah. Or 0-4, excuse me, the last four he has played, 6-0 without him. So he's got to get that right. He's not getting the chemistry right. I do think over the next 20 games, they get it right.

But if you want to be a face of a franchise, you can't get worked up. over Twitter posts. I mean, that's got to be the least of your troubles. He's a great talent. I don't think he's the face of a franchise guy. Where Colin was wrong. I'll be the first to admit I said it to start the show. The Laker-Lebron thing, forget the wins and losses.

There's no juice to it. It doesn't feel like LeBron has fully committed. It's a roster full of young guys he doesn't trust and old guys he's not tight with. I just don't buy it right now. And again, I think they'll win 40-45 games. defensively, they're all over the map. His postgame comments are about them and they, not us and we. And the thing that's most remarkable to me, it just doesn't feel big.

I mean, when you say like Cowboys, Tom Brady, if Brady joined the Cowboys, that would feel big. You say LeBron and the Lakers, I thought, have 45 games, but it'll take over the NBA. It's mostly been a big disappointment. Where Colin was right? Last three games. Remember when I told you, Oklahoma City. was hot, they'd win 11 of 12 because

Westbrook had pulled back. Oh, the last three games, he's gone out of control Westbrook, shot more than 30 times last three games, they're one and two. And their only win is when he fouled out in overtime and they came back to win in double overtime against Utah.

Again, this is why I don't trust Oklahoma City in the playoffs because Russell Westbrook will not be able to manage Russell Westbrook. Last three games, he's gone out of

control Westbrook. 30 plus shots. And last couple of games, he's shooting 12 3-pointers. This team is at its best when he shoots 16 times and leaves the heavy lifting especially late in games

to Paul George. Where Colin was wrong. Kevin Durant to the Knicks, I just never bought into it. I just said that's just bored NBA rider. then trustable reporter Sam Amick came on the herd last week and said this. But doing it in that market, in that city, with that friendship he has with Jay-Z, I think that is what he's looking at.

His people have gone around the league and talked in pretty, you know, kind of alarming terms about the New York possibility. That's why we're talking about it so much. Okay. Well, then I buy into it. Not just because Sam said it, but the people who are talking are KD's reps aggressively. I was wrong. Where Colin was right.

Interesting Saturday night in the NBA, James Hardin didn't play, and the Rockets beat the Warriors, and Chris Ball had 17 assists, and the Rockets' ball movement was great. This is what happens with ISO ball. Players stand around and stare at James Hardin. The real success in Houston will be tied to Chris Paul.

Okay, ISO ball is stat patting. It's a side show. It doesn't win. Hardin didn't play Saturday night against the Warriors. And Houston's ball movement was the best. It's been in weeks. And Chris Paul controlled the temple. And I'll say it again.

They had Golden State beat last year. Chris Paul got hurt. And next day, not the same team. This team is not led by. Harden. It's led by Chris Paul and Saturday night again proved it. Where Colin was wrong. Looks like Zion Williamson of Duke is going to play. I'm not unhappy being wrong here, but I said after he got hurt, I felt it was a tipping point where social media, pressure, agents, shoe deals, he would sit it out the rest of the year. Big guy who's that fast and powerful,

looked like he was in pain. We live in a time now when you have young guys making $50, $100 million in shoe deals. You know, for most of my life, I would have said, go back and play. The world's changed. They're offering $100 million to Zion in about seven weeks. And I don't think if I was his mom or his dad. Well, I'd be his dad. I would probably say you may sit it out.

But it looks like he's going to play. It looks like he wants to play, which I think is great. But I didn't think there was a chance of it, so I was wrong on that. Where Colin was right? It is always going to be a quarterback over a wide receiver league. And last week, the Steelers general manager, Kevin Colbert, came out. And people didn't like the way he said it. But what he was saying was, my quarterback is my coach.

When he came out and said, you know, we've got a guy here, 52 kids under him. And again, people didn't like the wording of it. I get that. But what he was really saying was, my coach and my quarterback run my football team. not my wide receivers. That is always going to be this league. Colbert sees the quarterback as just simply an extension of Mike Tomlin. And that's what I've been saying for years.

Brady is just an extension of Belichick. Breeze is an extension of Sean Payton. And that's how GMs and owners in this league. That's how they see it. Like it or not. Where Colin was wrong. You know, I've said the only thing good on ice is vodka, not a huge hockey guy.

I don't like to bash it, but I'm not really into it. And I've said football's king. But last week, hockey saved football. Yes, the Carolina Hurricane's owner, Tom Dundon, with a $250 million commitment, allowed the American Alliance of Football to pay its bills. A hockey owner saved a football league. Basically, it was a, though the AAF wouldn't want to admit it, a little bit of a bailout. And we'll leave it at that. Yes, hockey jumped in to save domestic football.

Where Colin was right. Trent Brown left tackle, New England came out last week and said, it's fun with the Patriots. I like winning. And all they do is win here. Thank you. Sorry, Philadelphia Eagles and Lane Johnson. Football's not designed to always be fun.

Even practice in football's heart. Watching film is relentless and repetitive. This anti-patriot narrative that needs, Nobody's having any fun and nobody really truly wants to play. Do you want to play for the best coach? Do you want to play in the best system? Do you want to play for the best quarterback? New England is a lot of fun because football's too hard to lose.

And if you go to New England, it's the only place in the league. You're guaranteed, guaranteed to win your division, get it by, play a couple of home playoff games, and likely end up in a Super Bowl. where Colin was wrong. This hurts Mission Impossible Six did not win squat last night at the Oscars. In fact, I did not see Tom Cruise. It was not even nominated. It was not even mentioned all night.

This is like pretending citizen Kane was never made. Am I the only right-thinking American? Yes. That believes that Mission Impossible Six was absolutely snubbed. You are truly the only one. Well, you and Tom. although I think that Tom might even agree with me. Third best movie ever made.

Didn't get mentioned. All right. Kemp, that's the way you want to play. Yeah, yeah. Roma. Whatevs. Mission Impossible 6. Do yourself a favor.

I mean, it was just the twist at the end where Tom Cruise saves the world. Yeah. It came out of nowhere. It was just so unexpected. Nowhere. Godfather didn't exist. Citizen, Cain, Mission Impossible Six never made.

Outrageous. It is. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Hurd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. 22 years and a 14-time all-star and a three-time MVP, a World Series chant with the Yankees,

all were a decade there, become a great broadcaster, insightful, does his homework, and last night, Alex Rodriguez was like a kid. He went to his first Oscars last night. And it was, I imagine, fascinating. It was so much fun. Look at you. First of all, I thought once I got in the building,

they weren't going to kick me out. But I was wearing this white cocktail. As you see, there, there's the tuxedo. And all the big stars thought I was, you know, ordering and getting out hors d'oeuvres. Yeah. At one point, Bradley Cooper, I'm behind Cooper and Gaga. And Bradley turns around and says, hey, can you give me another vodka soda? What a night, though.

Cooper, Lady Gaga, performing. By the way, this is something in baseball. Baseball has analytics. I get them. I'm not anti-intellectual here, but I believe in analytics. Is that in the end, I want Cody Beliger and big games. I don't want this sport reduced in numbers. You were in a building last night.

Like, Stars Matter. By the way, the ratings did not dip without a host. The ratings were fine because Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga were performing. What did you make of the environment last night? Yeah, it felt big, and it felt like this is something that you needed to be at. It was special to have a ticket. I was like the Marlin Man. I was right there in the middle with his white jacket.

But here's what I noticed in all seriousness. I had a chance to spend a little time with Bob Eiger and his wife Willow Bay. And Bob is probably the most powerful man in the building. He's the most powerful person in the building. But the reason why in the past, billions of people around the way, world are watching is because of stars, right? It's because of Gaga and Bradley. And sports is no different. If you think about sports, you still need the big stars. This is, this is why I've said this about baseball. They can at times squish fun. Yeah. Like Bryce Harper, I will make the argument,

even with the pod race, Alex, that Mani Machado is not a $30 million player a year. He's about 18 because they're going to sell sweet at double the rate, $12 bucks of Heineken. Let's talk about the economics of baseball. This fear that a $30 million player is Barry's a franchise. Do you buy that? Oh, no, of course not. I mean, look, it's interesting.

I'm always going to take the side of the players because what we have to do with our players is we have to draft them, we have to develop them, and then we have to pay them. And that arc is called The American Dream. And that works in Hollywood. It works in baseball and sports. and it works in America.

You know, it's funny, people scream and shout when a player signs for $300 million, but when the Dodgers trade for north of $2 billion or the Marlins trade for north of a billion, nobody says anything. It's like big, big, bad America is supposed to make all the economics. But in a world, it should be more democratic. And if the industry's gone from a billion dollars to $10 billion, it's good for it to be spread around and for players to get paid in a big way and it's guaranteed. Mani Machado to the pod race.

It's like it. Now, some people say it doesn't run hard to first. I couldn't give a rip. He gives me 37 and 100, and he plays 155 games. How do you think it works, though? Because, by the way, you know this. That $300 million contract, baseball and golf have idle time. It's a mental game. Players have signed that, yourself included, and acknowledge, it's a lot of pressure. You're driving to the ballpark thinking, I've got to go four for tonight. Do you think it's too much for Machado, having to carry a young Padre team? No, first of all, I think he made an interesting decision, but for me, it's pretty easy. Someone offers you $300 million. You're going to deal with a lot, right? And San Diego and the weather's not bad either. But I like Eric Hosmer crossed the way, two Miami boys, both plus defenders. I like they have good pitching and they have the number one farm system in baseball. Yes, they do.

So all of that is great. There's this kind of rhetoric going around baseball that 10-year contracts is bad. I don't love them. I disagree. And here's why I disagree. You can't put them in a vacuum, right? I think the greatest contract maybe ever signed, maybe over the last 25 years, is Mike Trout, got a 10-year contract at probably 45 or 55 cents to the dollar, right? When you're 23, a 10-year contract, great.

When you're 33, is not so great. Bryce Harper, where does he work? I mean, you know, we've got some analytics defensive shifts. He's probably not going to be a 300 hitter, but I've said this. Bryce Harper gets me to a game. Yeah. Okay. Steph Curry, my son, bought Steph Curry's shoes.

there are, if I'm an owner, I want Bryce Harper over Manny Machado. If I'm a GM, it may be the opposite. Where does he fit to you? He fits anywhere where you want to win and sell tickets. I think Bryce Harper is more valuable today than he's ever been. Really? Because the popularity of players is going down. So when you're the one anomaly or one of two or three,

then you become LeBron James and there is no Steph Curry. But the game is doing so well economically. I'll give you an example. You look at the Yes Network, which it will start. by George Steinbren and the Yankees, right? The YS Network has 14 million people paying $7 a month. That's $98 million a month, right? Times 12, that's a little bit over a billion dollars.

If you cut the expenses in half, and you say the company's netting around $450 million, and you put a 20-time multiple on that, forget 20 times, about a 10-time multiple. You're talking about a $9 billion TV station. So if you can take that 14 million subscribed, and take that to 15 or 16, boy, a guy like Harper could be worth 50, if not $100 million per year. You know, it's funny.

Most of us embrace the NBA star. We put our arms around Kevin Durant. We fight for him. We don't fight for baseball players' money. Isn't that interesting? It's interesting. But what happened is when you introduce analytics into the game of baseball in a big way, and I like analytics. But I also like the human element.

And what happens is you're setting yourself up for an arbitration every year. And baseball is a game is a marathon, not a sprint. And it takes time to develop trust with your management, with your teammates, with the media, and with the fans. And what was great about baseball when you and I grew up is you had Edgar Martinez in Seattle for 15, 20 years. You had the Dodger infield, Dave Lopez, Lopes, and, you know, Rousel, Garvey. Like, those days are over. So if you're bringing analytics and you're taking the human element and the character, there's a world where you get enough hedges

you know like hedge fund guys are running teams now you get enough you get a large group to say I no offense to chanthole park chan hall park is greater than andy pettit and that may be true in numbers but if you ask someone in new york they'll say not in new york not in pinstripes and not in october so there's a place for analytics

but boy you have to be able to trust your eyes uh kiler murray chose football over baseball. Now, you were, you could have played football. You're, you kind of fall into the Dave Winfield thing. Both you guys made a decision at about 13 what sport you were going to. You could have gone in a bunch of pass and you could have been a pro athlete. You could have gone to the Miami Hurricanes and been a quarterback. You chose baseball. So Kyler Murray, even though not prototypical size of a quarterback, I do think he's a first round talent. The game's changed. It's more collegiate looking. He made a choice for football. You did baseball. Do you think he made the

right choice and why did you make yours? Yeah, I don't know enough about him as a player, especially in baseball, but for me, you know, I come from Dominican background. My father played baseball and I think that's where my superpower, you know, laid. My mother was a humongous advocate to say, enough with football. Dominicans are not quarterbacks. They're short stops. So go play shortstop. So your family empirically was behind the baseball move. They don't even know how to spell football. It just wasn't part of the culture. No. When, when, when, you, one of the things about the Yankees that's interesting, Yankees have a history of bringing in big stars,

but they also have a history of Scott Brocious and of David Wells and guys that are good players, but sort of rise in the moment. Do you worry at all about the Yankees? A lot of money, Aaron, Judge, John Carlos, Stan, it's a lot of Broadway. Do they have, like you called it, the humanity. Do they have the guy that sacrifices? Like when I look at the Yankees and I look at the Red Sox,

I think the Red Sox have a perfect combination of grinders and David Price and Mookiee Betts. Rising Star Star Grindr. Do the Yankees have that? You know, everything is about balance, right? And if I have Tom Brady, I can't bring in Damarino, right? If I have magic, I can't bring in Stockton. I need Kareem, right? And you need assets that complement each other.

Exactly. Do the Yankees have that? Well, I think what was interesting when you have Judge and they bring in Stanton is almost like the same player. Exactly. One is making over $300 million, even though the Yankees only inherited only, 260 million. You know, you have a guy like Aaron Judge who is just as good making half a million dollars, right? I mean, it's all about capital allocation and how do you deploy your capital and how do you use your resources. you know, it's just like building a house.

And if you have a 5,000 square foot house, you can't have 12 garages, right? And if you have, it's all about complimentary. And what the Yankees did so well for so long was having the complimentary players. That were comfortable with that. They could have you and Jeter and Bernie. But they had to have three starters. And I just, I watched the Red Sox last. And a closer.

Well, yeah, they have to have a number three starter and a closer. but when I watch the Yankees, the greatest Yankee teams that you were part of, they always had complimentary players. I thought Boston did a great job with that last year. And I just don't know if the Yankees have that. You know,

Dombrowski to me is the gold standard today. And he has 21 years between championships. Dave, DeVrooski. The GM. Yeah, the GM president now of the Red Sox. He has 21 years in between championships with the Marlins in 97 and last year with the Red Sox. What's interesting about Dembrowski, while he has all the big data and Boston Red Sox are big into big data.

He has one competitive advantage. He tells his manager in the World Series and the playoffs, do as you please trust your eyes. You have the numbers there as an asset, but not as a crutch. What I want you to do is go be unconventional. And that's why he has the freedom to get Nathan Avaldi and say, you're going to pitch the fifth, the seventh price. You bring in. It's such a competitive advantage versus the manager that he's going. if you have a straight jacket, Colin, and you can't manage

because you have to look at numbers at what guys up there are doing in the press box, and I have the total freedom to just free-fall and just go play hurry-up offense and go, Nathan, I'm going to pick my 25 guys, and I'm going to use them with full autonomy. You're dead, and I'm going to beat you. And that's what Alex Cora did last year. Props to Zimbroski. Bryce Harper, where's he land? USA today is reporting that Bryce Harper is expected to make his decision by the end of the week.

Where do you think he lands? Wave, if it's just a guess because I don't know, I think he's he's a great fit in Philly and he's a great fit in San Francisco. But I got like Bryce Harper at his age with his talent. The best baseball is still ahead of him. And I'm a big believer in Bryce. I'm very happy for Manny Machado. By the way, this was a big win for baseball.

Getting Manny Machado $300 million is a win for the Players Association. In any business, Colin, you need equality, not just in sports, but in life. And, you know, I don't want the players to get so discouraged and I never want them to get angry with Major League Baseball. I want them to work together. The pie's at $10 billion. Commissioner Rob Manford is laser-focused and get into $15 billion. Let's spread it around. Let the players make money. Let the umpires make money. It's healthy. Let the game. Let the game grow. By the way, do you miss just the guys? Do you miss the locker room? I miss the game every day. I mean, I wish I was at spring training right now in pinstripes, you know, hitting the middle of the lineup.

There is nothing better in my life that I've ever done besides having my two beautiful daughters than playing baseball and being a New York Yankee. It's great, isn't it? I miss it every day. It is great. Nothing against the new Yankee Stadium, but there is nothing against it. But I got to tell you, I went to the old one more than the new one. And the old one, the echoes were different.

You know, it's funny you say that. Last night I'm sitting there in this epic theater with the great. biggest stars in the world. And it's how I felt every time I walked into the old Yankee Stadium. It's the greatest place to be, the cathedral. It was great. You couldn't find a place to watch the game and eat. It was outdated. The new stadium, there's eight restaurants I can watch. By the way, so you're at the Oscars last night. Obviously, you see a bunch of stars. It was there one person there that you saw and you were like a little starstruck. Like, oh my God. Besides Bob Iger.

So the executive. You know what was great, heard, is one of the coolest performances I've ever seen. It doesn't say much because I'm not really kind of cool in this world of Hollywood. But, you know, we had Gaga sitting in front of us and Bradley Cooper. And Jennifer noticed that Bradley was a little nervous before we went up and just crushed it. And then they crushed it. And Jennifer leans over. And he has the ear and his right ear and leans over to the left ear and says,

just let the size of the song help you out. Go into the momentum. It would be like an avalanche out there. Just go have fun. And the minute that people heard the song, the place erupted. It was incredible. It was the highlight of the night. It was.

The highlight of the night. It was. Alex, it's great seeing you. Great seeing you, as always. 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. In 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.

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