The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 04/03/2019

Episode Date: April 3, 2019

Colin is back and thinks Russell Wilson is making a declaration with his contract demands that this is now his team.  He thinks says that Westbrook's 20-20-20 game is amazing but doesn't matter without some playoff success.  He applauds what baseball is doing because it is truly unique and explains why.  Plus, former NBA all-star and Bucks Analyst Marques Johnson comes in studio to tell Colin why the Bucks can win the title this season  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

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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. 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 SportsRodio.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. I'm back on a Wednesday. This is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, live in Los Angeles on IHeartRadio,

Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. It is great to be back. Joy Taylor is joining me on an absolute pack show. Nick Wright will be joining us later this hour. Joy, how are you? I'm great. Welcome back. It is great to be back.

Hope you had a nice few days without me. Want to thank Doug Gottlieb and everybody enjoying everybody and the staff for filling in. Hung out for a couple days. Don't get those rare vacations with my wife much. Had a lot of fun. A couple margaritas, some sunshine, little boat, fishing, all that stuff. And here we are. Let me just say, when you're single, a guy thinks he has power.

I can do what I want. I'm single. I can go out tonight. I can go to bed when I want. But you don't have any power. You're just a guy. Power is when you marry a strong woman like Tom Brady and Giselle. And she has a point of view.

And she's got a power brace and a base. And you become a power couple. J-Lo and A-Rod's a power couple. A-Rod's never been stronger. Tom Brady and Jazeel. Russell Wilson and Sierra are now a power couple. Guys tend to think they have power when they're single. Power is when you.

marry somebody, conjoined with somebody who also has a strong point of view, who holds you accountable, who tells you things you don't want to hear, who forces you in a daily basis to think about others, who whispers in your ear, you deserve better, demand more. Russell Wilson is demanding the Seattle Seahawks make him the highest paid player. He deserves every penny, by the way, and I think he will sign a mega deal. but this is the new Russell Wilson. The more Tom Brady spent with Giselle, Tom demanded more respect from Bill Belichick.

It is now Brady's team as much as Belichick's. It was all Belichick pre-Giselle. This is no longer Pete Carroll's team. This is no longer the Legion of Doom or Boom. This is Russell Wilson's franchise. Sierra is going to make sure it is. Russell, Sierra are a,

an American power couple. I stand by my story six weeks ago, told by an entertainment agent, they were going to be wanting to spend more time in New York, maybe playing football there, but spending more time there. She's got a real career. I think he'll sign a deal,

and Seattle knows they have to, and I would give up five first-round picks to get him. I think he's one of the most underrated players in league history. But this is now a two-person power couple. Agents don't love Seattle. It's geographically isolated. It's either if you're in L.A. way up there or in New York, it's an agent way out there. Every great mariner seemingly leaves.

The NBA left. It's geographically way up there. Russell Wilson, he's going to get it. He earned it. He deserves it. And he and C.R. are going to demand it. This is now our franchise. If we're going to stay here and be geographically isolated in not a mega entertainment,

and capital, we're going to be the highest paid quarterback couple in the league. By the way, he set a deadline. That's very off brand for him. He's always been a team guy, right? Every time he comes on the show. I love him. Comes on the show often. It's my favorite quarterback outside of Brady, maybe, of all time.

When he comes on the show, a lot of people say, well, he can have cliches. He doesn't on our show. He's very talkative. But generally, it's about the team. It's about us. It's about we. It's about, this is about him taking over the franchise. This is Russell Wilson's team.

By the way, deserved it. Last year, third in passer rating behind Breeze and Mahomes, 35 touchdown seven picks, which is absolutely remarkable, considering they still don't have a great offensive line. But guys think they tend to have their most power when they're single, and you've got none of it. You don't have any of it. You're just a dude, a million of you.

Power is joining up with somebody who also has a career and a point of view and is smart and is beautiful and is strong and challenges you and tells you repeatedly you deserve more than that boss is giving you and you deserve more than that team is giving you. Russell Wilson's always played nice. Those days are over.

It's his franchise. It's his city. He could do a Robinson Canoe. They're briefly in leave. But if you're going to make sure you're going to keep him and not go play at a mega, entertainment capital, replace Philip Rivers with the chargers, be in Los Angeles, go to New York and replace Eli Manning.

You got to make him the highest paid player in the league. Good for him. Deserves every penny of it. Let's shift gears to this. Actually, it was a touching moment last night. Russell Westbrook, not my favorite NBA player. Did 20, 20 points, 20 assists, 20 rebounds. Not very many players in the history of the league could do that.

Russell's one of them. And it was a tribute, he said after the game to Nipsey Hustle, who was sadly, brutally murdered Los Angeles native, well, Westbrook, friend, fan of his music and friends. And after the game, Westbrook doesn't talk a lot, doesn't get, let you inside his personality. He's pretty private guy, came out and said, this is for Nipsey. So that's cool.

And this is not the day to pick on Westbrook. An emotional night for him, 2020, 2020. Didn't love him waving off the coach doing his things. I think he's too into stats, kind of the anti-warier. but it was a nice night. But I will say this. I've never argued this is what he can do. Right?

We all know that, right? I know he's talented, and I know he can do the triple doubles. But rent is now due. And this team's been awful for two months. They have not won back-to-back more than one time since the All-Star break. There are 8 and 15 since the All-Star break. And Russell's shooting a lot now, like a lot.

And Paul George is kind of disappearing and Stephen Adams isn't getting numbers. Rent is due. The collections are coming. Last night was an emotional moment for Russell Westbrook, and he deserves appreciation for that. And he is an all-time unique player. I mean, if somebody 20 years from now said Russell Westbrook, I would be like triple-double, unique, relentless. I mean, those are all the words. But the NBA is a really long season. And the NBA media spends five months trying to find stories, and Westbrook is the best undercard

in the sport. He's a constant story with his relentlessness, his play, his triple doubles, his personality, his rigidity, all of it. He is the best undercard fighter. But the main event and the pay-per-view and the NBA is the post-season. That's when everybody watches. That's when the ratings quadruple. And he has not been good in the main event. He has not been good on pay-per-view. And rent is due. And collections are coming. And it is time. And there's only five. teams in the NBA with multiple all-stars. There's five. All those teams in the NBA, there's five. And there's going to be one that probably gets swept out of the first round. You've got a Hall of Famer and Russell. Paul George is an MVP candidate. Stephen Adams, a hell of a third player.

Grant can play. And they're going to get waxed right now. Eighth. They're struggling. It's not about Westbrook's ability to put up massively impressive unique numbers. That is not it. And I actually liked that he took off the body armor last night, let us in a little bit. It was a human being because he's often just been a human doing.

He gives us volume and stats. I like that. And we should acknowledge that. And I will acknowledge that. It's a real human moment. It's awesome. But we are now about 10 games out of the playoffs. And that is the main event. And that is pay-per-view.

And that's where the Warriors stand into that ring and blow everybody out and knock him out in the first, second, third round. And so that time is coming. And I think for Russell Westbrook, I'd like to see a little less on the numbers and a little more on Paul George. Because I've seen this movie before. Hangover 1, triple double MVP year.

Everybody watched it and was kind of blown away how great it was. And then Hangover 2, not as many people watched it, and I felt like it was repetitive. And I'm getting triple doubles. I don't care as much. This is becoming Hangover 3, which is nobody cares and it's repetitive and it seems like not to matter much. And to be honest, there are some nights with Westbrook, he's not even on the call sheet.

Like he's supposed to let Paul George do the speaking roles and stuff. That's going to be really important because Billy Donovan is never called into question. and the NBA is a league where they fire coaches unfairly and regularly, good coaches. This is the only league where the coach of the year winner is often fired within the year. And yet Billy Donovan is never even suggested to be in trouble. And he won't be after they get knocked out of the first round potentially again. Today they face the Warriors. And the reason is Westbrook's hard to play with.

He is relentless. and sometimes Relentless is really hard to play with. Great night, happy for him. I thought it was a very human touch with Nipsey Hustle. And not many people in the history of the world of basketball can do it 2020, 2020. I don't have the numbers in front of me. I imagine Wilt did it a bunch. You know, Wilt was different.

Wilt was... He's the only second player to go 2020 for a triple double in NBA history since Wilt in 1968. Yeah, I saw a little bit of Wilt. I'm old enough. I saw a little bit of Wilt. I didn't see great wilt. I saw old crazy headband wilt, who was harder to play with Laker Wilt.

Old, old, old Laker Wilt with Jerry West. But in the end, we all know what this sport's about, this long regular season that we're all kind of, let's get through it. And Westbrook's a headline on that undercard. But here comes the main event and here comes pay-per-view. And that will define this season. for all the great players.

Want 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. When you do this career long enough. 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, 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 Sliced 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 All 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. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets. meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee,

and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me?

Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout, Kate Martin and rising hockey star Lela Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that.

Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me.

And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world, Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports.

There are topics you get really tired of. There's one topic I will not do anymore. I'm just tired of it. And the topic is this. And I see other shows that other networks do it. And I just won't do it. If my staff says, hey, let's do this, what I'm like, I'm not going to do that topic.

That topic is, I put it in the topic cemetery down the road. The topic is, hey, and you'll always see the shows that do it. It'll have it on a bar at the bottom of the, hey, can this blank, really great team flip a switch for the playoffs? The answer is yes, always. They always can. Michael Jordan's Bulls got bored, and the Showtime Lakers got bored, and Shaq and Kobe got bored, and the Warriors get bored.

I won't do the topic. Yes, great dynasties in the NBA after a couple of championships get bored and they can all flip a switch. The Golden State Warriors, the last three times they've played pesky Denver, the number two seed in the West, they've beaten them by 14, 17, and 31.

It's a reminder that my dad had to do about twice a year. Remind me he was dad. And Denver, you are adorable. You are just adorable. You're like Toronto. Historically irrelevant. you have a really good coach, you have a deep roster, you play your butts off every night, and the regular season matters a ton.

And then every time you play Golden State, they just clobber you, and it's not competitive. And Golden State's the greatest offensive team in league history. I'm not saying the greatest team. I think Jordan's Bulls were probably, if you use some of the old rules and some of the new rules, I think Jordan's Bulls were just stronger and tougher physically and at their best, the 95 Jordan Bulls would beat this team. But this is the best offensive team I've ever seen. It's the greatest collection of offensive talent.

Last night, it was Boogie Cousins. Their fourth best offensive player dominating. They're filthy good. And they'll flip a switch. And the KD distraction, is he going to play here? Is absolutely no distraction. Nor was his technical last night. Their biggest obstacle is apathy.

It's boredom. Same with the Showtime Lakers. MJ's Bulls had a year. They lost to expansion Toronto once or twice. I will no longer do flip a switch topics. They're just tedious, dumb, and not thoughtful. They're in my topic cemetery. Last night is the classic example of, oh, hey, guys, Denver's in town.

Denver that thinks they're going to end up as the number one seed. All right, let's bring it. 15 minutes in, you're like, okay. Okay, Denver's an adorable story. But, and Denver will win a playoff series, just not against Golden State. So, yes, they can flip a switch. And they did, and they'll do it throughout the course of the season. But it should be noted several times this year, the Warriors went out and got beat by 30

when they didn't have anything to prove because basketball is about showing up. I had a coach tell me years ago. He goes, I could take an average roster. But if they played hard every night, you can win 42 games. you can win 40 you can go 500 on effort because the good teams they're not giving you great effort they're picking their spots the saturday tv game and he goes if you play them monday after the saturday tv game you get a team that just does not care and sometimes you can even pick them off the michael jordan bulls lost a lot of home games not a lot but notable home games after big

tv games the warriors did what the great teams do and they're great What's going on, everybody? John Middlecock with a three-and-out podcast. You like Colin's show. You'll like mine. I'm talking all football. Coming up on today's show, I'm talking Zion Williamson, yeah, of Duke, and how he relates to some NFL prospects. The Cleveland Browns introduced Odell Beckham. They're officially rock stars and what to look for and what matters in these private workouts. Again, John Middlecock and the three-and-out podcast. So Bryce Harper used to play for the Washington Nationals, the most underachieving team. in baseball. All sorts of talent can never win a big playoff series. And then Philadelphia said, now we're going to pay him more. And he goes now to rival Philadelphia, which I don't love these 12-year contracts. I love Bryce. I wouldn't give anybody a 12-year contract. And Bryce Harper last night went to D.C. to play against the team he used to play for. And he hit a ball so hard it has not landed. It's still rolling somewhere in the burbs of D.C. Here it is.

2-2. Swing and a drive. Deep right, center field. And that ball is gone into the second deck. And Bryce Harper in his return to Washington has crushed it. And he also flipped the bat, which will probably get him thrown at today because, of course, baseball. Major League Baseball's official Twitter account, though, last night did something that's interesting. It posted the bat flip. Hashtag, let the kids play. Folks, baseball is in a battle with its own players and its old, rigid coaches, and some of its own cranky old broadcasters.

They're doing a commercial for the last year, and what is absolutely stunning and remarkable, and I love the campaign is they're not targeting fans. Fans don't complain about batflips. just like fans never complained about Reggie Jackson or Mark Fidrich or Al Roboski or Mickey Rivers or Pete Rose. In the 50, 60s, 70s, 80s, and early 90s, you could have a personality. Now it gets you thrown at. Bryce Harper years ago in D.C. had to get into a fight with his own teammate because he was pleading with his pitchers on his staff. Don't throw it, guys, because they'll end up throwing at me. Here's the series of ads running in Major League Baseball right now.

They're brilliant, they're smart, but what's fascinating is they're not targeting consumers. They're in a battle against their old cranky players and managers. Play the tape on this. Play the sound on this. World Series and the next one. I'm going to hit 50 home runs this year. I'm going to hit 60. 71, 72, 72, 73, 74, 75.

I'm going to hit 80 home runs. Anything you want to say? Just let the kids play. personality, opinions, bat flips, old cranky people. That's why the NBA gets all this free publicity. They've got stars. By the way, everybody in baseball loves Mike Trout because he plays the game the right way. Mike Trout's played six games this year.

He's already five games out of first place. Bryce Harper's team's undefeated because Bryce Harper adds a swag, an energy juice to a clubhouse that Mike doesn't. Mike's just a great player and a great. kid. The Phillies of the four and O for the first time since 1915. There's nothing wrong playing the game the way Mike Trout does. And there's nothing wrong playing the game the way Manny Ramirez and Yassie O'Puyg and Bryce Harper play it. By the way, there's a lot of great NBA players. Alex English was great. Kiki Vandaway was great. They didn't have big personalities. But it was okay to be Charles Barkley. And it was, it was, it's okay to have big personality.

And it's okay like LeBron to move from team to team and Kevin Durant to be finicky. and it's okay. It's part of the soap opera of sports. In tennis, John McEnroe through rackets, Roger Federer's All-Class. It's okay. We can have both. Baseball is literally doing an ad campaign,

not to me or you, to fight off its own rigidity from its own players and its own cranky managers and some of their cranky broadcasters. Lighten the you-know-what-up, baseball. This is awesome. And this is, not only is Bryce Harper the face of baseball, he is the direction baseball should go. And Rob Manfred, tip of the cap, I love the campaign.

You don't have to play like Bryce. I'm not saying that. But you shouldn't have to be Mike Trout. Be both. I've been saying this for years and baseball has a perfect opportunity for it because they don't wear helmets. So you can brand your stars very easily. They have so many games. They travel the entire country.

I went to, have you ever been to the World Baseball Classic? No, but it's incredibly fun. It's the best baseball environment I've ever been in. And that's when you get like the Caribbean and Cuba. Italy, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, obviously USA. And the games are like a football game. I'd never seen anything like it. I was like, why aren't all the games like this?

This is so fun. Everyone is out of their seat the whole time, chanting. It's like being at a football game. And, Joy, baseball's a world game. Exactly. Asia gives us players. America. It's an international game.

It should be celebrated. Stars should be elevated. And the most important thing is what you just said. Everybody doesn't have to play the game the same way. It's almost, baseball has almost an elitist air about it when it's America's pastime. Like, why would you want everybody to be the same? In soccer is a global game. But soccer understands that if you're a global,

sport. Football's not. Football's domestic. Our college, it's not. But if you're a global sport and I'm baseball, that means I'm welcoming in players from Cuba. Have you ever thought that their style is different than ours? If you're a global sport like basketball, basketball is a global sport. So the German player and the Spanish player and Steve Nash, the Canadian player, and then the domestic player, they come from different cultures and different backgrounds.

And some are celebratory and some are less celebratory. That's fine. Germans are not known as big celebrators. You know what it feels like? It feels like they've forgotten that at the end of the day, this is entertainment. And it's almost like we are above the entertainment factor. We're really just a true sport. If you go to Europe, every single country within Europe has a different personality. Like Germans are known as savers, engineers, savers.

That's just, it's very intense. I've had family members live there. They're very, very intense. And then you get the Greek culture, which is fun. And then it's like a vacation. It's a different culture. It's a different sense of style and self. And it's okay.

Not every place has to be the same. And not every sport you can have different personalities. Let Bryce Harper flip his bat. I don't know. What happened about in the last 15 years, you couldn't have any personality. You couldn't have any flair. The unwritten rules. Unwritten rules.

There's too many rules. Forget the unwritten ones. I can't figure out. the written rules in all these sports. I don't want unwritten rules. I want fun and personality and I love the direction. It's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern

9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeard Radio apps. 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, 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 Sliced 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 on 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. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets. meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee,

and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me?

Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout, Kate Martin, and rising hockey star Lela Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that.

Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeke. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me.

And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world, Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports.

So it's very interesting. Mike McCarthy was fired by the Green Bay Packers. And there's a story out. There's a lot of interesting information. He's a really nice guy. He's an amazingly nice guy. The way the Packers fired him was incredibly cold. I won't get into that.

But he said in the story that he got 500 texts the day he was fired. And only 200 the day he won the Super Bowl from people within the NFL, which shows you what kind of guy he is. I've said this before. Everybody I know in football, he's like Andy Reid. You can't find anybody to badmouthed Andy Reid within the NFL. Goofy fans do. Nobody in the league does.

You can't find anybody to badmouth Mike McCarthy within the league. It's like a good guy and he's a smart guy and the stories are fascinating about him. But there's a quote here about, and it's a legitimate question. He was on a podcast and he's asked about dealing with Aaron Rogers and he speaks in code. And if you got a divorce with somebody but you still had mutual friends and you didn't want to badmouth that person, you would speak in code, right? You'd make it known how you felt, but you don't want to bury somebody. So talking about Aaron Rogers, he said, quote, He's challenging.

Very rewarding and fun. The difficulty in coaching a Hall of Famer is keeping that connection, the efficiency and the fluency with other players on the offense. You know, you got to remember, it's coordinating 11 men on every play. That, my friend, is code. That is code. Challenging the difficulty working with others. if I got a divorce

and she was high maintenance, let's say, and beautiful. And I came out, we had mutual friends, and I said, well, it was a challenging relationship, and there was some difficulty connecting. And let's be honest about a family. It's all about coordinating everybody's needs. That would be code for pain in the butt.

Greg Hosell basically said the exact same thing Mike McCarthy did, but he doesn't have to speak in code when he talks about Aaron Rogers. The reality is when you watch Aaron Rogers, and it takes nothing away from his performances over the years, but he's not truly a rhythm player, Colin. He's kind of an offbeat player, an off-rhythm player. He's more like a jazz beat. He's a second reaction player. And very often, there are throws that are there within the rhythm of the play and the timing of the play, and he doesn't make those throws. Now, he might move around and then make another throw, but there are times against really good defenses where that doesn't work.

It's tough to be consistent that way against higher-level defenses. And what has Aaron struggled with in his career against better teams and good defenses? Because as Mike McCarthy, a classy guy said, in code, he's challenging and the difficulty is connecting with other players. and the reality is it's coordinating 11 men on every play. For years and years, many of the American media members compared Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady, and I always said they have nothing in common. They have nothing in common. They're not even the same personality.

I mean, Aaron's fought with his family. They've called him out publicly. Brady's all about family. Aaron Rogers is Big Ben. Difficult. If Mike Tomlin ever got first, fired that this is what Mike Tomlin would say. He's challenging. And the difficulty with the Hall of Fame quarterback is connecting with other players on offense, Antonio Brown-Lavian Bell. It's coordinating 11 men

on every play. Aaron is Big Ben. And Mike McCarthy's too classy, but that is code. It's a backhanded compliment. Hall of Fame player, challenging. If I was divorced and said she was challenging and the was connecting and coordinating with the family. Everybody's name. Yeah, you just slip a beautiful and successful in there. You know, you got your quote. That's funny. Just slip a, anytime you're talking about somebody on backhand,

just put a beautiful and successful in there. Challenging, Hall of Fame. Beautiful, successful. That's funny. Other people. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. My next guest played for over a decade in the NBA.

Half of his career he was an all-star. I was a great college basketball player in the 70s with UCLA. I remember a kid growing up watching Marcus Johnson play. He is now a Milwaukee Bucks analyst, and I'm, of course, hated in Milwaukee because I don't believe they win the championship. And I don't think you go from very little playoffs to success to beating the Warriors. But I got to show you a piece of video of Marcus. This is him, I think, in his backyard.

Play the tape. All right, look, my birthday was a few days ago. I turned 63 years old. I didn't do my birthday done because I didn't know if I had a night. another one in me. Then I found out I made the the Knicksmith Hall of Fame as a finalist. Me and my boy sit to Squid Mark Creve. Finalist, Nate Smith's Hall of Fame. Got to get one

more in me. Here we go. Fear to deer. Fear the deer. 63-year-old dunk machine. Let's bring him on Marcus Johnson, Milwaukee Bucks analyst. Man alive. The hips are a little sore.

Yeah. So we're just watching that. Pull that thing up. Yes, sir. Let's start. The Bucks just retired your jersey. Congratulations on that. Thank you.

Big honor. You were the handsome. When I remember when I was a kid, you were the handsome UCLA guy. You symbolized UCLA basketball. You were cool. You were handsome. You were good. And you always beat my teams.

So then you go to the NBA and you play and you have a nice career. Now you're doing television work. Milwaukee's a fascinating team. Okay. Watch yourself now. Now here's why they're fascinating. Watch yourself, Colin. Now, there's two things.

There's one thing which leads me to believe they're not going to get to the finals, which is history, which is generally in the NBA, it's baby steps. Okay. Is that you go to the playoffs and you get bounced. Then you go and you win a playoff series or two. And then all of a sudden pop. All your players, Chris Middleton, Janus, they all develop this metal and this body armor. And it's like, okay, let's go.

So that tells me they're not going to win the championship. There's the other thing, though, that is unique. They've got the most double-digit wins. There you go. they're blowing people out. And if you go look at the history of the NBA, the other five teams that beat this many teams badly all won the championship. Right.

So which team are they? The one that you're a little worried about their lack of playoff resume or the one that's beaten the you know what out of people. Are they somewhere in between, Marcus? What are they? Well, and your point about double figure wins. I think we have 45, which is seventh most in NBA history. and every one of those other seven teams

went on to win an NBA championship. It's a real number. What it speaks to me, Conn, and look, I don't think that that's going to automatically transfer to championship medal and success necessarily, but it does speak to a team that has the ability, the unique

ability, to impose their will on opponents. And that's what the playoffs are all about. That's where this team fell short last year in game seven in Boston. Right. Against a Celtic team that was depleted. No, no Hayward, no Carrey Urban, obviously, But still, we'll have home court advantage.

I think one game to clinch that all throughout the playoffs. It falls somewhere in between, but more leaning toward, I think, success. Now, I'm with you. To me, Eastern Conference Success Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, getting into the NBA finals would be just a tremendous, tremendous step for this team at this stage of their development. So stage is the interesting work. Yeah, yeah. Because I tend to think championship teams, there was the Stephs and New York.

guy and the warriors were interesting. Right. Golden State was a little like Milwaukee. They popped a year faster than historically you're supposed to. Remember they, like one year they lost to the Clippers after like the second round. Next year, they were the best. Sure. So Golden State, like Milwaukee, popped before we thought they were great.

Right. Right. So here's my question. We know Janus is going to get his. Is Chris Middleton ready in a game six or seven on the road? A game six on the road. Yeah. Five on the road.

Is Chris Middleton ready to drop a 27-point game? Well, he did that last year against Boston. He was a guy that averaged, I think, 27 a game in that first playoff series against the Boston Celtics last year. Now, he's dealing with a minor kind of groin tenderness that has caused him to sit out a couple of games. I don't think it's anything that is going to cause him to miss any games come playoff time. But recently he's had a couple 30-point games, had a 39-point game in 33 minutes the other night. I mean, the coaching staff, Mike Boodenhoes, his staff, Colin, they've done a great job of minute management with these guys.

Chris Middleton, Janice, last year. They were two and seven in minutes played this year. I mean, they're not anywhere close to it. I think they just barely cracked the top 40. By the way, that's a thing. Yeah. By the way. That's a major thing.

It's a major thing in the NBA, which is get over this need to impress, like impress people in the regular season. Rest your players. So Milwaukee's doing a much better job of resting games. And they've rested their players and still have the best record. in the league. We're 58 and 20 right now, but with guys having played reduced minutes. Last year, I think we were the fifth ranked team in terms of starters and minutes played. This year, we're 16th. And you got the Rockets, you got the Warriors, you got the Thunder,

you got a bunch of teams, the Raptors that have all played their starters, a lot more minutes than we have. So this coaching staff has done a remarkable job of, you know, kind of the duality of purpose in terms of success, resting players, but still maintaining a high level of excellent in terms of winning basketball games. So you got to give the coaching staff a lot of credit for that too. Shaq said Janus is better than me. I don't think he is yet. But when you watch Janus, there's things we all see. His length is

absurd. It's just like, he may be the longest player on league history. He's a nice kid. What's something if I don't watch him every night, you do as a Bucks TV analyst, what separates him? What surprises you? How hard he works

and his will to win. And you hear that often. So a couple of stories. Last year, we played against, I think it was the Blazers. He struggled from the free throw line. I think we still won the game. So I'm walking to my car. It's a Milwaukee night. It's about minus two outside,

probably colder than that with the wind chill. And I see this tall frame, this skinny brother with an undershirt on and shorts in that cold weather, weaving his way in and out of the crowd headed toward the practice facility. And my first start is like, who is that fool?

Then I look closer. That's Janus. And Janus was going to work on his free throws at the practice facility because he struggled so much. The other thing is New Year's Day this year. I told Janice I reminded him of a story my first year on New Year's Day. He came up to me.

He's like, old school, I watch film of you. I'm going to get buckets like you got buckets. That's my New Year's resolution. So I reminded him of that, and I said this year, what was your New Year's resolution this year? And he said to be the best version of myself. And this is a 24 years old. That's a real smart name. Well, all I can think about is, like, I'm thinking like, how long is the club going to stay open?

How long is Fork Avenue going, you know. And he's thinking about being the best. And it's genuine. He's one of the most... Right. And that's the other thing that stands out. He's one of the most genuine people. It doesn't need a lot of attention.

It doesn't seek a lot of attention. And he's just a real dude that I just love being around. A couple NBA topics. Kevin, this is a fascinating thing to me. That in the history of sports, you can almost never find an example of a star player going from a well-run organization to a. poorly run organization and being happy, that we undervalue

the owner and the GM and the culture. Milwaukee right now is a really good culture, not just good players. Kevin Durant leaving the Warriors, if you want a third title, to the Knicks, makes absolutely no sense to me. I don't get it. I understand players want their own team. When you hear that story,

in your day, would a player have left the Lakers? By the way, in your day, the Bucks were great. The Lakers were well run. The Washington bullets at the time. The Sondon. Right. What do you make of Durant leaving Golden State after potentially a third title? What do you make of that? Well, I mean, you've got a Nick team, Nick organization that is trying to elevate kind of that perception of them and manage it.

So Steve Mills and the other people that are involved, I think it's too soon. The jury's still out in terms of where they are right now. I understand your point. Look, I went from the Bucks to the Clippers with Donald Sterling. And Don Nelson called me into his office and said, look at him, Jay. We do things differently here. I'm sitting here out here to the Clippers, and they do things on a whole other level

that you're not accustomed to. So you've done that. And he was absolutely right. Right. But with Kevin Durant and the Knicks, I understand your point, but let's give the Knicks, I think, some credit. I mean, David Fisdell,

who's the local guy here in L.A., played against my son when he was at Fremont High School. I love him in terms of his ability to relate to players and some of the comments about accountability and the things that he's demanding of players. I think there are destiny. that could be on the rise. It's too early for me to say right now that it's a bad organization. I know historically, you know, we could probably say that, but at this point in time,

I couldn't make that judgment. That's fair enough. LeBron James is not going to make the playoffs. I doubt he makes all NBA because he just hadn't played enough games this year. He had a very good year. I'm not denying that, although I thought he took the year off defensively. I mean, he was hurt for a big chunk. But I want you to, because in your day, who are the three biggest stars in the league in your day? Bird, magic, and... You could stop right there. I can't do it.

Need I say more? Okay. Bird, magic. Two guys I had to guard, like, all the time. Right. Yeah. So LeBron's to a point, I always say he's in the mogul stage. There's the showing off I'm really good.

There's the, I got to win my Grammys and I got with my titles to validate. Got to win an Oscar. And then Michael Jordan Kobe last few years, it's the mogul stage. I love basketball, but I'm going to take care of my legacy and my brand and my money. LeBron today. I saw Joanne Howard's name as a coach. Does that work to you if it does why? On the face of it, you say, Joanne Howard.

Now, where does that come from? But then when you kind of do a little bit deeper dive and you realize that he had eight years in the Miami Heat Organization under the headship of Pat Riley, which is pretty good guy to kind of be under the headship of, and Eric Spolstra, who was his coach. And you talk to some of these current heat

and read things about them, James Johnson, Dionne Waiters. They always talk about Wayne Ellington, this is Miami organization, and how they were able to squeeze the best out of them, starting first with conditions. So my point is that Juan is not some guy that is coming directly from the league last year into the coaches seat. He's served as an assistant coach for five years, eight total years under Spolstra under Riley. I think he's paid his dues, coupled with the fact, he's from Chicago. This is not some easy pushover dude that's going to take a lot of stuff and you can't cuss out in front of the team, not expect him to respond. I think if he needs to be confrontational, he will be confrontational,

but in a manner that doesn't totally upset the apple cart when it comes to LeBron James. Let's discuss, though. You saw Magic and Bird at the end. LeBron is at a point in his career where, listen, when you give a guy $500 million and you give him titles and legacy and TV shows, he's human. Okay? And I've said, LeBron's a little needier to me. And by the way, I'm needier now than I was in my 20s when I was fighting to get on the air.

that neediness, do you sense it a little bit that when you coach LeBron and when you're around LeBron, there's certain things he's just going to demand from you, which a young player wouldn't. Well, and that's why to me it's important to have someone that you go into a partnership when you're coaching LeBron as opposed to I'm going to be the disciplinarian and crack. That's not going to work. He's just, his stature in the league is just elevated to set up. And he knows a lot. And that's the other thing. He's just a treasure trove of knowledge and just wealth of information in terms of,

of how to win basketball game. So why wouldn't you listen to a guy like that? Why wouldn't you not bring him into the office and figure out what's going on in his mind? Don Nelson was so good at that. He would always ask us what we saw out on the floor. And if we could explain to him in the midst of a turnover that I was trying to make something positive happen.

He was good with that. And I think that's the kind of an approach you need with LeBron James, just to be able to communicate. Communication with these young guys and go back to Boodintholder and the bucks. That's the biggest key to getting the best. knowing which buttons to push, when to push them, and you only understand that by spending time,

quality time with these players and really getting to know them on a level so much outside of the basketball court. By the way, take all the Milwaukee bucks away. This Zion Williamson kid. He's 285. Just your summation of what he is. Well, the thing that impresses me the most,

yeah, the athleticism. He's been a YouTube, you know, social media sensation for about three years. I was going to say about three years now. So I've seen some of the craziness that he's done. But what impresses me the most, and we saw that during the NCAA tournament, Michigan State, that that great second half run that he had,

he has the ability to finish plays inside. It's one thing to be a great athlete, but what separates a great athlete from a great basketball player. Yonis does this. You've got to be able to finish and creative finishes. I mean, finger rolls, off the glass, floaters, whatever it takes, have that ability to finish once you get there. Sure, he can power through,

guys with the best of them. But his ability to finish is almost Barkley-esque. Charles Barkley was a guy at that size, that athleticism, but still could soften it up once he got around the rim. That's what's going to make Zion, I think, a tremendous score. He's not, it won't average 25, 27, whatever I think is rookie year, but in time, he'll be one of those guys that'll be one of the top five scores in league. I'll tell you something that's so sound crazy. You know what worries me? I saw what he did that shoe. Here's what worries me, ligaments, joints. Yeah, sure. He is so explosive. I saw Tiger Woods torque ruin his back. Right.

When you play at 285 with that power and torque, it sounds crazy, right? Marcos, I'm like, I worry about his ligaments. I worry about his joints. I'm right with you. We're on the same page when it comes to that. And so I go back to Charles Barkley, who came into the league 280, 285, but learned to pair it down to about, I think, 250, 260 after about four or five years. He was having some back issues for time.

Jack had. Yeah, yeah, learn to take some of that weight off. And it's funny, Dr. Jay, you talk about who were the great stars of my era. Dr. Jay, I left him off that list, but he would be that third guy that was that transformative player. But I came back one year, about my fourth year in the league. I was about 2.30, 2.35. And he's like, you put on weight. I was like, well, you know, I want to withstand the pounding.

He's like, no, in this game, you got to get lighter as you get older. You don't get heavier because it's just too much on the skeletal. And that's before we had all the advanced. How about that? Yeah, all the advanced, you know, doctors and team trainers and skill development people. but he understood that at that 30 years old, something that I had a hard time grasping at about 24, 25 years old. Did he blow by you a few times?

But funny story, but my rookie year, I got to know Doc. We played against each other in an All-Star game in Hawaii before my rookie season. So he would come pick me up at the hotel in Philadelphia. He'd take me the lunch on game days at bookbinders. And so we sit there and have lunch. He talked to me about basketball, about life. But he'd always, like, forced this extra piece of cheesecake on me. I eat a piece of cheesecake.

Oh, that was good. Yeah, bring Mark as another piece of cheesecake. And Doc, Doc, I've had enough. No, no, no, no. You love it here. Try some more. And then you go out and, like, just blow by me like a fatted turkey than that night. It took about a year to realize that I needed to back off the cheesecake at lunch when I was with Dr. Jay.

But I was just, you know, I was with Doc, you know. Doc offers your cheesecake. Well, I was a fan boy. And Doc was my guy. And so you offered you cheesecake. You eat cheesecake. So, God, what is great meeting you. Absolute pleasure to meet you.

Love to have you on again. Let's do it. Hopefully when the bucks are in the finals. And so we'll see. Let's make a date. We'll see you in June. And by the way, Milwaukee. There's like 15 minutes with your guy here.

Stop sending me hate tweets. Marcus Johnson, Buck's analyst. 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 headlines. 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 SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, street or 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 walks up to me. and he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

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