The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 04/08/2019

Episode Date: April 8, 2019

Colin thinks Antonio Brown continuing to take shots at the Steelers proves that Big Ben and the organization are better off without him.  FS1 NBA Analyst Chris Broussard explains why we have been robbed of Steph Curry for three seasons and is looking forward to getting him back.  Colin explains where he was right and wrong over the weekend.  Plus, as the NBA regular season comes to an end Colin hands out some awards including Least Improved Player and Best Loser.  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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That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to her. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

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This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. On Monday, here we go. This is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we are live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. One hour from now, exactly where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. I'm going to hand out my NBA regular season awards. They're a little offbeat.

They go a little contrarian to the usual NBA awards. Some good, some bad, some ugly. I'll be handing goes out. Joy Taylor's obviously with me here on Monday. How are you? I'm great. Good morning. Good morning to you.

And I'm only going to speak for guys. If you want to motivate a guy, call him out, doubt him, poke him in the ribs, tell him there's things he can't do. That's a way to motivate a guy. I'm going to only speak for guys since I'm a guy. I'm going to double down on this. The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to win their division next year and are going to have a great year. It's going to be the rebound year.

Because over the weekend, Antonio Brown used to be a stealer, went out again taking shots at the Steelers. Took shots at the receiver that won the MVP award that apparently freaked AB out, Juju Smith-Schuster. And Antonio Brown called him, you know, names. And then Juju Smith-Shooster came back and said, don't get your emotion on the internet. and Antonio Brown said emotion. Boy fumbled the whole postseason in the biggest game of the year. Everybody went blind and busy making guys famous.

Not enough reality these days. By the way, check the list. It was a whizzing match between, you know, a Hall of Fame level guy, Antonio Brown, and a very good young receiver, Juju Smith-Shooster for the Steelers. And what it heightened was this. The Steelers got rid of the right guy. Anytime you have a divorce,

the bitter person in the divorce that can't get over it, They always eventually unravel. They just unraveled. The person that gets over it first. By the way, Big Ben this week, do you hear what he's going to do? He announced he's going to quit doing his Monday radio show in Pittsburgh after games. I predicted when all this stuff happened, all these guys taking shots at Big Ben. I said, it's going to motivate him.

Steelers getting ripped. It's going to motivate him. Levian Bell taking shots. They won't let me be a human, not just a football player. Antonio Brown. It's all Big Ben, and they're still yapping, and the Steelers, Big Ben, says, you know what, I'm not going to do that radio show. I'm going to focus really this year on football.

And Mike Tomlin saying all the right things. Let me double down. All this noise, Steelers had to make choices. They got rid of the right people. I mean, you're in a new relationship, AB. You've got a new team and a new contract and all that money. It's disrespectful to go after the Steelers. Concentrating your own team.

your own teammates. What message are you sending to the Raiders? You're still all caught up in your emotions with Pittsburgh. And this to me feels like Big Ben is laughing this morning going, told you, told you it was crazy. Told he's ridiculous. Told you the money changed him. Never forget.

Former Steeler Ryan Clark, remember what he said about Antonio Brown. I knew already that they were going to. going to offer Antonio. And he's walking past and I turn to the strength coach and I say, when you give him money, you're going to create a monster. That day in practice, Antonio and I almost get into a fight because he's saying things to Coach Leboe. He's screaming at Coach Leboe, screaming at us defensively. Don't touch me. I'm the franchise. This and that because he already had that mindset. And now with success, with money, these things come. They always say about money. It makes you more of what you are. If you're a giving person,

you become more philanthropic. If you're a selfish person, money makes you more selfish. It's like alcohol. Alcohol basically makes you more of what you truly are. Money does the same thing. This morning, the Pittsburgh Steelers are all going. We told you. We told you.

And the Raiders are going, why is he talking about the Steelers? We're paying him all this money, new team, new offense, new focus, he'll be the man. I'll double down. Steelers win their division. They're going to be motivated by the Browns talking, Antonio talking, Lavian talking, and Big Ben cancels his Monday radio show, wants to focus more on football. I don't play fantasy football.

If I did, I would go big on Big Ben and big on Juju Smith-Huster this year. They're going to prove this is how guys operate. You want to get a guy focused, take shots at him, bad mouth him, doubt him. big year for the Steelers coming up at a great weekend for Pittsburgh. They chose the right guy to get out of the building. Let me shift to this. The Athletic is a subscription-based sports section. A bunch of good riders and stuff.

You pay a monthly fee and you get the athletic. Sam Amick works for them. He's a NBA guy. And, you know, they do polls and stuff all the time. Like NBA, I like polls. I like lists and polls. And you can do these anonymously so people can be brutally honest about stuff. You know, that's why you have anonial.

sources because people can be more honest if they don't put their name on stuff. So you do need some anonymous sources. Never forget, that's how Nixon got booted from the White House, got impeached. It was some anonymous sources. Okay. You need some anonymous sources. You don't want all of them. But polls are always great because, you know, players have buddies and friends.

They don't want a dog. But a poll will give you an honest response. And almost a third of the league was polled by the athletic NBA players. And they were asked a bunch of questions. This is the one that's really interesting because they can be honest now. This won't hurt their money. It won't hurt their locker room. It won't hurt their business.

It won't hurt friendships. They can be totally honest about this. Who's the best player of all time? 30% of the guys in the league answer. Now, you would think, you know, Michael, LeBron, I mean, the last seven, eight years, there have been a lot of support among NBA players for LeBron James in that debate. Fans tend to like MJ over LeBron. But players, a lot of players, you know, MJ was selfish, not much of a giver.

LeBron's been pretty much a giver. LeBron's has a bunch of buddies in the league. He's elevated players. And the numbers came out. 73% say Jordan's the best ever. LeBron got less than 12%. And Kobe was neck and neck with LeBron. The hell?

You got to be kidding me. We've not even talked about LeBron and Kobe. the last 10 years. It has been a given. This, once again, is LeBron the chosen one, the king, getting very self-reverential in the last year. I always felt LeBron's brand was a Wii brand. It's got his guys from high school. It's about elevating others. And in the last year, it's become a me brand. He's gone Hollywood, or at least too much Hollywood. L.A. Times calendar section. You know, he's coming out. Oh, the city loves him.

Cities talking about, no, city doesn't love him. Hollywood may. But the city, Staples Arena is not Hollywood. It's on Olympic Boulevard in L.A. It's a long way from Hollywood. So he did an interview LeBron did Friday. And this is kind of the new LeBron. He used to make a point, even though he was great, of elevating others and us and together.

And listen to this. Listen to the words he uses now. For me, personally, is a disappointment for myself because I hold myself to such a high standard. Being in the foxhole, like me being in a uniform, me being on the floor, I know I could command my guys more than that. I know what I can do for the franchise and what I can do for the team. So I'm basically trying to speed up my body to get back on the floor, but also my mind is kind of shot because I just want to be out there for my guys. I know what I bring to the game. I know my commitment to the game.

I've never cheated the game. and throughout my career is always giving back to me. I am guaranteeing my body. I'm guaranteeing my mind will be and always be in championship mindset. How many I's did we have there, 15, 20? I, me, me, I, me, I,

calendar section, my projects, me, I, no Lakers, part of those projects. Like LeBron has moved into Hollywood and in Hollywood they just love to have award shows about themselves. Hollywood is so fond of, of themselves. They love to cheer. They always get it more than the rest of us. They're so much smarter than us. I'm me, me, I, I, I, I, me. That doesn't even sound like LeBron five years ago.

That poll by NBA players, LeBron neck and neck with Kobe? I thought that argument had been won by LeBron. You notice who's gotten way more popular in the last year, Kobe Bryant, what people are telling you players are telling you is Kobe played, then did his stuff. LeBron's trying to do both at the same time. And this is part of that story last week where Brian Winhorse came out and said, sources told him that Space Jam 2, LeBron was having trouble getting players just to be in a movie and play pretend basketball with him. Kevin Durant, word is he'd rather play for the Knicks than the Lakers.

Kauai would rather play for the Clippers. than LeBron and the Lakers? Paul George would rather live in O KC and play with Westbrook. The Lakers? He's from Los Angeles. Folks, I haven't gone anti-Lebron. I trust my eyes. I trust my sources.

That interview Friday, I, I, I, I, I, me, me, me, me. LeBron was a wee guy. He's a me guy. It's a bad look. And that poll lets you know exactly how all that's landing to players in the league. There's been a tipping point. Best player of all time. LeBron's neck and neck with Kobe. I mean, I thought that thing would, that, that had been decided, right? We never argued that was, no, not LeBron was either best or second best. That poll was a referendum.

Guys have gotten a little tired of mogul, show, movie, me, I, it's off brand. It's not who he is. I mean, again, Tom Brady's brand's always been family football. Even in his documentary, he was always at home with his family talking football. LeBron's brand was, I'm taking my high school guys. I'm joining my friends, banana boat, us. It's not that way in L.A. It's gone heavy eye, heavy me, that poll and indicator of it. Really interesting.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triage, 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsClyce on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, learn the hard way with me, your host, and your favorite there. Care Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose. On my new podcast, Learn the 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.

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Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the Aihar Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle 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 WMBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't.

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 Don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. The ability to show 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 IHeart Women's Sports. I got picked up at the airport last night. Long story got in really, really late, couldn't park my car. And the guy that picked me up said,

I just had Chris Broussard a couple weeks ago. That is a good man. And I'm like, he certainly is. Let's bring on the good man, Chris Broussard, voice of the NBA on this network. I know that sounds real bougie like you and I use cars, but sometimes in our schedule we have to. Okay. It helps.

So I'm not even going to talk about the Westbrook. I'm shocked. I got to give you props. Let's hear it for me, John. I'm shocked that you didn't lead with that. I really am. I know it'll be the lead tomorrow. No, but I thought the one that really resonated with me

is that the players were asked about the greatest of all time. And LeBron and Kobe now are at the center of that. that ring equal, and it weren't like that two years ago. Yeah, I'll say this. Look, I'm glad, first of all, the players recognize Jordan as the greatest he is. And I've had LeBron ahead of Kobe forever. I thought everybody did. Well, in my experience is talking to former players over the last several years. Surprisingly, the majority of them have always picked Kobe over LeBron.

to me. He's a score. What they love about Kobe and why they have put him over LeBron, this is ex-players who face both, is that they always point to the killer instinct. Like, I get the impression that players didn't want to go against Kobe because they feared him. They knew he was going for the jugular. LeBron, they obviously have great respect for his ability and his skills, but it's not

the feeling like he's going to go out there to crush you, to rip out your heart. and I agree Kobe's got more of a killer instinct but I don't think his killer instinct outweighs the other things LeBron has over him but again many ex-players have told me they do think Kobe has

it over LeBron so I'm not that surprised that it's close but Kobe is gaining if LeBron has a year next year like this year this sounds crazy it could change but this sounds crazy is I enjoy just hates this topic but it's listen

we all do this. Even psychologists will sit down and said, you know, you're over dramatizing your childhood. Your mom wasn't that terrible to you. She was just, you know, blah, blah, blah. We all tend to exaggerate and create our own history. I've done it. I've done enough therapy. We do this with sports too.

We forget that Michael Jordan missed all sorts of game winning shots. We just remember he was six for six. And, you know, we make Michael, we forget that between James Worthy leaving at Carolina and his first NBA titles, there was eight years where he just shot a lot and didn't win a lot of big games. We forget that. Couldn't beat the Celtics, couldn't beat the Pistons. But if LeBron James, next year again struggles, and they don't assemble this great team, and for the second year in a row, it's not a playoff person. It's going to be a lot of people that say, yeah, he did it in the east. They went over to the West, and it was, you know that's

going to happen. Absolutely right. And I actually feel like, look, I think LeBron's going to come back with a great season next year, I think they make the playoffs for certain. I don't care if they don't add anybody and he got the same exact team. I think he leads them at least to the playoffs. However, if he, let's say, if he's going to miss the playoffs or go out in the first round for the next few years, for his legacy, it would actually be better if next year he's at 23 points, 7 rebound. You know, you begin to see the decline individually.

then people would just say, oh, he got old. He got old. But if he, next year, if he's still 27, 8, and 8, or 28, 8, 9 or something like that, and can't lead you to victories, that's when people will begin to say, well, he looks like he's just as good. His statistics are just as good, but he can't win. And to your point, they'll say, look, Kobe was in the West his whole career. He had to beat San Antonio just to get to the finals.

No, it will absolutely elevate Kobe Bryant. it will elevate Michael Jordan who went through the East. He had to go through really good teams in the East. Remember, Michael got to the finals, and none of those teams were ever great. The Suns, Sonic, the Pacers, Utah. Those teams never won any titles.

Well, Jordan was in the era where it was like one or two stars on a team. One or two, not really big threes. So the athletic, Sam, Amick, they did this poll where they pulled like 25, 30% of the league. and they talked about, I've got to get this. They talked who you'd start your team with. Now, you're a former guard. Yes.

And a slot receiver just won the MVP in a Super Bowl. We didn't have them 15 years ago, and they certainly weren't winning MVPs in the Super Bowl. That for a lot of reasons, some analytically, slot receivers, because teams don't want their quarterback doing seven-step drops and getting hit. So get rid of the ball fast. slot receivers are big.

The NBA, when I grew up, was a center league. It is now a guard wing league. Can't hand check. Right. So the players were asked, who would you start your franchise around? Not only do they put James Hardin in a tie for 10th. That's shocking. Which is dumb.

Not only did they put Steph Curry in sixth, which is just so... That's dumb. It's just disrespectful. They put Anthony Davis second. Now, time out. gets hurt regularly. One playoff series victory. Seven years in the league, not really a leader.

Again, gets hurt a lot. Doesn't control the ball and not a great three shooter. Like, am I nuts on this? No. Players are massively overvaluing Anthony Davis. And you see their overvaluing size in that list. They're clearly overvaluing Davis. He's a great player, but to start your team around, not necessarily.

Steph, this is why this list is why. Steph Curry is going to benefit when Kevin Durant leaves this season. Why? Because Steph Curry, before KD goes to Golden State, Steph Curry was, he had become the face of the league. LeBron took it back when they won that championship. Before a year and a half, Steph was the face of the league. And it would have been a great rivalry between not only the Warriors and the Cavs,

but LeBron and Steph to see who's the face of the NBA. But Steph was on pace. Tim Legler, our former colleague at the end of the game, old network and we have great respect for him, he was saying Steph could be a top three player of all time. Now, I think that was a little far, but he was on pace to be a top

10 player of all time. Maybe dare I even broached this, challenge Magic Johnson for the all-time, best point guard of all time? Much better score. Right, no question. And changed the game, as did Magic to some degree. But when

Kevin Durant goes to goal and state, all that changes. And when he leaves, if and when he leaves after this season, Steph Curry is going to show people again how great he is. People, anyone who thinks that the Golden State Warriors are going to fall off if KD leaves has another thing coming. Steph, Clay, and Drayman are going to be motivated. And I think we have been a bit robbed, Colin.

We've been robbed. That last season Steph had before KD got there, 30 points a game. Every week it was something. something crazy he was doing. We've been robbed, and we're going to get it back when KD leaves. So, bye, KD, go. Win your title, win your third title, and go to New York with Kyrie, even out the league,

and Steph's going to put on the show. It's amazing. Like, players, you play in the league, you got all these big guys ahead of Steph and Hardin. They control games. Hardin basically is the offense. I like Anthony, I've said this about Anthony Davis. If he joins LeBron, they'll be better. He gives you 24 and 12.

But late in games. He'll be playing off LeBron. LeBron will be the driving force, and Anthony will play off him. All right, right, calling wrong. I will say this. Joy and I have, and we like LeBron, we've been LeBron advocates. Right. Is it fair now to say interview Friday, I we, we, I, we, I, me, I, we, I me.

Are you feeling the same thing? Yeah, I was, I said that earlier in the year. I didn't really feel it so much from that interview. I didn't have a problem with the eye stuff in it. What I have a problem with is LeBron. And I'm with you guys. I'm a LeBron guy. But stop the open recruiting.

Stop it. Recruit on the low. We don't need to hear any more about how you're going to go out and who's going to join me in the car and who's going to join me in the bus. No, because there's no upside to that. Number one, what if nobody wants to jump in the car with you? then it looks like nobody wants to play with you number one and number two when you show up for training camp in late september or october it's already going to feel like a lost cause because this whole summer all we've been hearing is who's he gonna get who i got to go out and get somebody i'm gonna be recruiting and so that's number one number two

is not helping your guys what if you come back with the same exact team or you know for the most part the same core you have to build these guys up this is the anthony david thing all over again. No, you're right. He keeps talking about players to join me. How about the guys you got? Right. You just are kind of coming out of the Anthony Davis thing,

and everybody's kind of moved on from that. Don't do it again. You should be saying, look, like everybody else, if you don't win the championship, you've got to improve. So we're going to be trying to go out and get guys. But I like what we have. Brandon Ingram showed improvement. Kuzma, we know what he can do.

Lanzo is a great defender. Like, build them up. And it could be total BS. And on the low, you're making calls. You got all these guys' numbers. They respect you. You can call them and recruit quietly. But don't announce it to the world.

There's no upside at all, and there's plenty of downside to that. Chris Broussard, great seeing you, bud. Great seeing you. Great to be on. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Listen, Nick Sabin's one of the smartest coaches in football, NFL or college. He's very calculated. Nick just doesn't talk to talk.

We joke about this, Joy, all the time. He comes about four times a year, three times. He comes to a press conference, and he can't talk about something. And he'll just figure out a way to talk about it at the press conference, even if you don't ask a question about it. So this is something he's talking about now, and this has become a real thing for Nick over the last three to four months. He was barking at people at the Senior Bowl about players leaving early,

and this weekend, wrapping up spring practice, he went into Sabin-calculated mode. Now we have guys that have no draft grades, seventh round grades, free agent grades, fifth round grades, that are going out for the draft. And, you know, the person that loses and that is the player. Your third round draft pick, and we had one here last year, I'm not mentioning any names, goes and starts for his team, so he's making third round money, which is not that great. Be the first guy taking his position this year probably and make $15, $18 million more. So the agent makes out, the club makes out, now they got a guy that we're going to play for that kind of money for three more years.

The player, by the way, didn't like Nick saying that, but Nick is right. But Nick just didn't make this up, didn't just rant. Nick had this thought out. Here's a little story behind the story. The XFL starts in a year. The XFL does not have an age requirement. You can go after one year. year at Alabama and play for that pro league, second year or third year. Nick's already losing five,

six guys a year every year early. Nick is well aware that he is entering a tsunami, a cultural tsunami that college basketball coaches, Mike Shosheshefsky and John Calipari deal with. Nick's not going to be able to keep his guys because Nick has more guys ready to play in the NFL. Georgia will face a little bit of this. I've been told this by NFL. people. The SEC is going to get ravaged because it's got the most NFL bodies by the XFL. And in fact, Clemson's got a terrific wide receiver named Justin Ross. And he came out and he said, listen, if the XFL is offering that kind of money, paychecks, he goes, 18, 19 year old guys, we're going to take the money. He goes, that's going to be hard for an 18, 19 year old kid to turn down. By the way, Pac-12 doesn't have any freshmen good enough to go to the NFL or sophomores. They don't have many juniors good enough to go. Alabama's got a bunch. This is Nick Saban getting ahead of this, creating a narrative, warning the players, don't get used.

You can make a lot more money. And he's not wrong. You can make a lot more money staying in Alabama. And let me tell you something. Nick's been on this. My sources tell me Nick's been on this for like three months because he's heard once XFL came out and the stories about the XFLs, they'll take freshmen out of college. They'll take sophomores out of college.

Nick's going to be losing 12 kids a year, half his recruiting class. So he's getting ahead of this and creating a narrative. He's not that worried about guys not being rich enough. He's worried about the future of his program. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed the game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the question. everyone wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeartRadio 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. Trip 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, Keer Gaines,

as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, 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 our meaning, 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 Levant this plant 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. 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 Layla 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 on.

Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ledecki. 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, like, 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 IHeart Women's

Sports. We do it every Monday at this time. Colin right, Colin wrong. Here we go. Where Colin was right. I told you for years. Do not buy these claims by Aaron Rogers and Mike McCarthy. They're buddies.

And they get along great. And I said, it's not what the people I know are telling me. That's not what my intel is. My intel is they barely tolerate each other. And this article, this past week by Tyler Dunn at Bleacher Report, which was a tremendous article, worked on it for apparently over a month, exposed Aaron as really petty, like disappointing for as smart a guy as he is, and McCarthy had his issues. Listen, fans, you can believe whatever you want.

You can believe whatever you want. But Aaron Rogers used to mock the media and roll his eyes if we suggested that, you know, we're hearing a lot of things about you and McCarthy that aren't great. They were all exposed. I was completely validated this week, which is not why I'm in this business, but Packer fans put the pom-poms down, your grown men, put them down for a second. and acknowledge your golden child has his flaws. He's ridiculously petty.

And I think in the end that separates him from Brady, not the talent. Where Colin was wrong. Well, Duke and Michigan are not playing tonight. My two favorites to meet. In fact, I'm still shocked. Michigan got blown out. In fact, only one of the six teams I predicted had a chance to be in the final four. Only one made it, Virginia.

There were very few upsets early. It was a very unique tournament. There was almost no upsets in the first couple of days. And then at the end, the big dogs, a couple of them like Carolina got whacked and Michigan got whacked. And Virginia slid in to the national championship. Listen, this is the talent drain happening in college basketball. The big boys, the Caliparis and the Kansas and the Dukes, those one and done's, they're great players. But they're young.

And when you go to this tournament, something that I've noticed in recent years, experience matters. It's nice to have a couple juniors in your team. Texas Tech's got a bunch of upperclassmen. it really matters. Where Colin was right? Well, look at this. According to Bleacher reports, Matt Miller, Arizona Cardinals have not only received two trade offers for Josh Rosen,

but as we predicted, as we told you, they want to save face in the deal. This is what I've been told, and what we've told you is happening. Teams are offering them a second round pick, but Steve Kimes, the general manager. and he moved up last year to get Josh Rosen. And when a general manager moves up to get a player in a previous year, he does not want to settle for lesser picks the following year.

If Arizona had a new GM, and I'm not encouraging anything, the guy would make the deal in a second. Josh Rosen's absolutely getting a second round pick for Josh Rosen is a fair offer, and that's about right now what he's worth. By the way, Randy Moss went to the Patriots. I think they only gave up a fourth. So, I mean, Josh Rosen is worth. about a second round pick.

And Matt Miller is telling you what we've been telling you for the last week. Where Colin was wrong. Okay, I find this next story absolutely bonkers. I think it's a horrific move. I think Golden State's basketball heaven. The head coach and the GM are likable guys that are former players. Kevin Durant would surrender tens of millions of dollars to leave Golden State. But Rick Buecker said this last week on our show about Katie and the Warriors.

from everything I've heard, it's done. He's leaving. Yes, he's leaving. It's not a matter of not liking or appreciating what he has. But being there, I can tell you that Kevin Durant has never been fully embraced by the Warriors faithful. It's still Steph's team. It's still Steph, Clay, Draymond. KD, thanks for coming along and helping us win these last two.

It's a matter of where can I go? and I can show I can get this done. Like I can be the centerpiece. Where am I going to be unbelievably appreciated? Oh, Lord, that feels needy. But I mean, I trust Buker. I trust these sources.

I think it's nuts. I don't think there's a better place in the world. I think he's going to hoist another trophy this year and he's going to be the MVP again this year. And next year he could do it for a four straight time, which really, then you're going to get argument that he's better than LeBron, which maybe he's not, but you're certainly going to get arguments.

I don't see the answer to his validation leaving. I see it staying. I don't get it. As his agent, I'd say you're out of your gourd. You can make a fortune golden state more. But the tea leaves are telling you he's leaving. Holy Lord. Where Colin was right.

Oh, Mike Trout, 12-year deal with the Angels. And there are already four games out of first, and they're in last place. And by the way, he's first and everything in Bay. He's putting on a clinic. He's hitting 393, 5 jacks, best player in baseball. But one of the reasons I think these 12 and 13-year contracts are awful is because he's invisible. The second most popular team in Southern California, by the way, the Dodgers passed on Bryce Harper a long deal, passed on Manny Machado.

And the Dodgers are setting offensive records, rotating guys. paying one baseball player, $350 million, I don't care if it's Mike Trout. It's bad business. You're not going to be able to sign Setup Man. You're not going to be able to have an elite shortstop and second basement up the middle. You're not going to be able to have elite players hit in front of him or behind him. Trout's amazing.

But I said before, if I'm Mike Trout, you know, all right. Congrats. Who wants to play for 13 years and last place looking up at everybody? And again, I'm not denying Mike's great, and I understand the money, but the Dodgers passed on these long deals, and the Dodgers are smoking it. They're analytic people are like, nah, we're not interested. I think these long-term deals make the players rich. I don't think it makes the teams richer. I don't think it makes the teams more nimble and viable.

And the Angels and Trout are set in the records. But I mean, where's the team? Last place. And never going to be able to surround him of the kind of players that he deserves to be surrounded by. where Colin was wrong. The AAF, the American Alliance of Football folded before the first year ended. I always thought it would get gobbled up by the XFL eventually, but I did think it would last a year.

I was told last night in Vegas around a bunch of football people, they were out of money by week two. So there was a lot of half-truths and salesmanship in the kind of financing they actually had. Now, I think the XFL is going to work. It's got Vince McMahon. I can't talk about everything about it until May. It's got very good TV deals. XFL is going to have no age barriers,

so they're going to have a larger pool of players. And there is clearly an appetite for spring football. CBS, by the way, which had the AAF, they ordered more games. But this league tried to be a developmental league, and they should have just tried to get players and play games. They didn't have the money to develop anything. Just get players, play games, survive for two years. then you can become a developmental league, but they were spending way too much money on developing stuff

instead of just putting a product on TV and being entertaining, so they folded. Where Colin was right? Big Ben's canceling his Monday radio show in Pittsburgh. This is what I've predicted. Watch Big Ben with all the noise this year, coming to camp in his best shape, and is most focused. He's been doing this radio show forever on Mondays. But once or twice a year, he'll step on it and say something that doesn't play well because he's Big Ben. And he's like, yeah, I'm going to get off it.

Criticism is a great motivator for guys. And I said, I said this all during the noise. I said, the team's going to choose Big Ben over receivers and backs and watch him react with this hyper-uber focus. And he has announced he's going to get off his Monday show, which is not only a real thing, but it's symbolic. I'm all in on football. Say it again, I don't play fantasy football.

If I did, I draft Ben Macb. year. Where Colin was right? Chris Paul, fifth straight year. If he doesn't play tomorrow, his games played will go down again for the fifth straight year. Listen, I like Chris. I've been a Chris Paul fan forever. But when they sign him to a $160 million four-year extension, I said hard pass. Next three years, they owe him over 40. Chris plays hard. Chris doesn't take possessions off. He is a grinder. And his body, is wearing down. And this year it was hamstrings.

He missed the two biggest games last year of the year against the Warriors in the playoffs. And again, if he misses one of the last games, it'll be the fifth straight year, his number of games being played is going down. And I like him, and I'm a Chris Paul guy. But when players get hurt, especially intense guys, they don't get healthier

as they get older. Where Colin was wrong. According to Brian Winhorse, LeBron's struggling to get players, not to just play with him, to go in the movie Space Jam 2, to pretend to play basketball with him. I think in one year, LeBron's become more toxic that he and his people realize he's become heavy. A lot of great players, Derek Jeter, Tom, Brady, Peyton Manning were great. They weren't heavy.

LeBron's become heavy. This Lakers season has really changed the way I actually view LeBron from a wee guy to more of a me guy. He doesn't want to sit down for tough interview questions. He wants people they're going to fluff it up and, you know, he can direct traffic on everything. LeBron needs to sit down, get asked hard, intense questions about how he's changed

and answer them. And I always thought LeBron was the best recruiter in the NBA, but once Paul passed on him, Kauai's not interested, either's KD or Clay, and now the Space Jam story came out. There's a tipping point here in the last six months,

and I didn't see it coming a year ago. Where Colin was right, Virginia, Texas Tech played tonight, the lowest over under in 20 years. I always say, if you want big ratings, big brands, big names, Duke, Michigan, you know, Carolina. This thing's going to be a ratings disaster tonight. There's very little buzz. It'll be low scoring. I wouldn't be surprised if it's 52, 51, not a lot of highly skilled players.

A couple low-n NBA guys here. I got nothing against it. I'll watch it. I'll be, you know, I'm a sportscaster. That's what I do. I'll watch it. But for all of you rooting for the underdog, you always tell me, oh, I love the underdog. Underdog's where it's at.

Really? Underdog's where it's at. Watch the ratings tomorrow for this. There's no buzz for it. Where Colin was right? The Warriors, bored for the regular season again. Oh, what do you know? Last night played a playoff team.

To secure the number one seed, beat the playoff team 131 to 104, had a 42. third quarter. They've won five straight, seven of eight. All the drama with Kevin Durant disappeared as predicted. Stars voice their opinion in the regular season. Stars get quiet, head down, off social media, concentrate, late in the regular season and in the playoffs and all the drama with the Warriors, it has completely disappeared and they're totally dialed in and beat the Clippers by 25 last night. A really good team. Warriors are back, baby.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. People hand out awards all the time. I've told you this before. The NBA awards are kind of ridiculous. Like, they're not defined. Like, the MVP to me has always been like, well, what does that mean? Is it the best player?

if it's just that call of that. Is it the most valuable player, Westbrook won because he had triple doubles, but they couldn't get out of the first round. How valuable is it makes him talented, but how valuable is a triple double? LeBron has them all the time and teams lose. So I thought, let's create,

let's create easily definable, wrap your arms around it, no confusion awards that virtually nobody could argue. Are we ready to go? The Hurd's NBA regular season awards. Let's start with this. The Best Player Award.

Here's the current best player in the NBA. The winner is Kevin Durant. Okay. This was LeBron's award for about 12 years. I think he's the best player. He's now the best offensive player on any given night in the league. He and James Harden, he's a better defensive player

than LeBron. I think he's had a very good year, health-wise. There's been a little bit of this, you know, he, a little snippy here and there. But in the end, who in the NBA, game seven of a finals, who do you want to take the final shot? That to me is the best player in the NBA and Kevin Durant wins our best player in the NBA award. Now, NBA has a most improved player. We're offering a least improved player. Ben Simmons. You can't even argue it.

There's so much I love about his game. Six, ten and a half. Great ball handler. Strong. Finishes at the rim. Plays defense. Incredible vision. He cannot shoot.

He's shooting 21% outside of 10 feet. Okay, you can't... God gave you all these gifts, and I'm not overly religious. But when the man upstairs gives you gifts, you have a certain responsibility to yourself to work on them. Less dating famous people.

Work on your jumper. I mean, this is ridiculous. In 2019, you've got to be able to shoot or you become a guy late in games. Nobody has to guard. You can argue who's gotten better. Nobody has the talent that's just sat on it for an offseason like Ben Simmons. How about most overrated player? Yeah, I said it.

Kauai Leonard. Doesn't make teammates better. doesn't pass, doesn't communicate. Toronto's 17 and 5 when he doesn't play. They're statistically better when he doesn't play. He's missed 22 games and hasn't really had a major injury. I think he's a very, very good basketball player. But don't be putting him in the Kevin Durant class.

Don't be putting him in the Steph Gurre Janice class. He doesn't really communicate. If you want a franchise player, he's a very odd personality. And I understand a lot of it. He's been overlooked. but you can't miss 22 games. You can't like disappear last year from San Antonio. At some point, there's questions that have to be asked, and I'm asking him.

I think he's good, but I think we've anointed him to a level he just doesn't reach if you're considering everything. teammate, communicator, passer, healthy, ready to play, easy to figure out in your own locker room. Kauai Leonard, most overrated player. The best losers this year are the New York Knicks. Listen, the Philadelphia 76ers tanked for five years. They all haven't won Bupkus. The Knicks are tanking one year to get Zion. It's brilliant.

I mean, you've got to give the New York Knicks credit. They don't win much, but they know how to tank. They're going to have as good odds as anybody to get Zion Williamson, and they didn't have to tank for six years to do it. Now, they haven't been very good, but they've been actively trying to win, and they brokered a deal. They cleared up cap space. They can take two max players and get the number one pick.

That's how you do it. If you're going to tank, tank briefly. Yeah, do it properly. And they've been the best losers in the NBA. How about the worst winners? The Lakers. Why are you suddenly hot? We wanted you to win all year.

You couldn't. Now you've won six of nine. Last week you beat two playoff teams. What are you doing, Alex Caruso? Start being Alex Caruso. What the hell happened? Lakers, here's how it works. If you're bad, you want to lose in the last three weeks.

That's what you want to do. to increase your chances in the ping pong lottery. The Lakers are finally hot at the exact time you don't want to as a bad team be hot. NBA hands out executive of the year. We're handing out co-executives of the year, Del Demps and Magic Johnson. As my wife says, there are two ways to lead by being a great example or a horrible warning. They're both effective. These guys wrote a how not to make a trade guide.

Dell Demp's got petty, held a grudge, and blew up his own career, and Magic Johnson and his staff leaked everything to the papers blowing up his team's chemistry. Don't talk to the press. Don't sneak things to the internet. And certainly, Del Demp's don't get petty. The Lakers offered everything shy of the logo, and he was not interested for Anthony Davis, who's a great player but hasn't shown the ability to carry a franchise. guys, that was the biggest non-trade trade in league history. And for that, giving everybody an example of how not to make a deal, they win the co-executive of the year. All right, time for the sixth man of the year.

The NBA hands that out. We're giving ours to Kyrie Irving. Now, I know that feels strange because he starts, right? But they're 11 and 3 when he doesn't play. So he's about the sixth most important Celtic. And God knows I have no idea how that's even possible. How can somebody as good as Kyrie Irving stunt the Celtics offense? But he does.

They're significantly better from the efficiency standpoint and the winning standpoint when he doesn't play. So for being about the sixth most important Celtic in value, he wins our sixth man of the year. The NBA hands out a defensive player of the year. We're handing out one too, Kevin Durant. He's defensive about everything. And he locked up the award with this. Talk for a while. Why do you care?

Because you usually talk. I don't feel like talking the last couple days. Has anything to do with conversation about free agency? That's the conversation you're going to have. I have nothing to do with the Knicks. I don't know who traded Porzingis. They got nothing to do with me. I'm trying to play basketball.

Y'all come here every day. Ask me about free agency, I ask my teammates, my coaches, you rile up the fans about it. Let us play basketball. That's all I'm saying. And now when I don't want to talk to y'all, it's a problem with me.

Come on, man. You're talking. You're talking. So? Who are you? Why do I got to talk to you? How are you playing? How's a team playing in the last couple of weeks?

I'm done. You know you don't care about that. He gets very defensive. So we think he's... Defensive, not defensive. Well, you know, We think he's the defensive player of the year. He's the defensive player of the year.

He gets defensive about everything. And finally, the NBA has a comeback player of the year. We're handing out a please don't comeback player of the year to Carmelo Anthony. Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, Rockets basically paid him to stay away. Listen, it's over. He's going to make the Hall of Fame. He scored a bunch of points. He was an offensively gifted player.

But come on, man. It's not a chemistry guy. He doesn't work. Please don't come back. You had your career. It drove me crazy. You drove me nuts. I was never into it.

You know, you have a good business mind. He's pretty good on the business side, and he was a great offensive player. But all these teams trying to engineer a new Carmelo. Maybe he can come off the bench. Maybe he can give us just... He refuses to shoot a three. He's not in great shape. He doesn't want to play defense.

He doesn't want to come off the bench. He won't want to be part of a system. Please don't come back. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports. Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest

moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. On Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman 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 Cliver Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Clifford Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker, 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, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at?

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers 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 crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.