The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 05/13/2019

Episode Date: May 13, 2019

Colin breaks down the hot mess in the NBA called the Philadelphia 76ers and gives them two options. Stephen Curry is by far the least respected star in the league because he doesn't give off the tough guy persona like Russell Westbrook or James Harden. The Lakers are now openly trolling LeBron after hiring Frank Vogel, and another weekly recap in this riveting edition of “Where Colin was Right & Wrong!"  Presented by Perky Jerky. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to 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'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud.

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and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go. On a Monday, we are packed. This is the herd, wherever you may be in, however you may be listening. We're live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1.

One hour from now, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, plenty of both. Joy Taylor is joining me as always after a night. wild weekend. Joy, how are you? I'm great. That was a wild weekend. It was crazy. It was fun. This is such a fun time of the year. She's got great stories coming up in Herdline News today. There's so much news to get into the show. We'll try to address all of it today. Let me start with this. I've said before, I'm not in the credit business. MasterCard, Visa, and American Express are in the credit business. I'm in the honesty business. There are times when the loser is more interesting than the winner. Greg Norman once lost

of Masters. He was more interesting than the winner that year. This year, the losing horse at the Kentucky Derby was more interesting than the winning horse at the Kentucky Derby. So Toronto, just hold on a second. I want to start my show with the Sixers.

They're just a super talented dysfunctional, lovable hot mess. Egos, injuries, flaws, egos, that I mentioned, egos, personality, social media don't fit together. The Philadelphia is 76ers, and we predicted this.

This thing doesn't work. It just doesn't work. And I got to be honest, they're fascinating. Second best roster, at least starting five, I believe, in the NBA talent-wise. So Philadelphia, now you can go two ways, Philadelphia. I told you last week I'm trying to save your franchise. You can either, number one, keep the band together, fire the head coach. That's the answer, right?

You'd win it all if it wasn't for the head coach. Let's just fire the coach. That's always, in the NBA, that's always the solution. Just get rid of the coach. He's a bum. We'd be great without him so you can fire the coach. And by the way, you could stay the course and you can talk yourself into, well, Kyrie Irving's leaving Boston, so they'll be worse.

And Kauai Leonard may leave Toronto, so they'll be worse. And we'll just stay the course. And that's not going to work either. Because Joe L.M. Bid and Ben Simmons don't work. Good luck with Joe Elyne Bede's body. Jimmy Butler doesn't get along long term with anybody. Or you can do the second thing, which is make really tough choices. And that's generally, I tell my kids this all the time, that's generally the right answer in life.

Make tough choices. Make sure you make the right ones. Oklahoma City did not. Chose Westbrook over Hardin and KD. Make tough choices. Embed's body's not going to last. M. Bid and Simmons don't get along. Let somebody else overpay for Tobias Harris.

Make tough choices. But you better make the right ones. Because here's the facts. You could not win a second round playoff series in the East. And the East is weaker than the West. And you couldn't win it. And by the way, tip of the cap to Toronto. But Kauai Leonard is amazing.

And it was hot potato for the other four guys because nobody else seemed to want to take a shot. And it's just get the ball to Kauai. I don't want to. You take it. And you couldn't beat that team. And you couldn't beat that team that historically tends to Toronto shrink a little in the playoffs. That's fair, right?

So it's choice is time. Philly's last three possessions summed up their season. Man, there's a lot of talent. Man, those were bad possessions. Oh, those were bad possessions. And, you know, my theory on this, you keep Jimmy Butler, you keep Ben Simmons, you trade MB, don't trust the body, get shooters, don't overpay for Tobias Harris. You keep JJ Reddick.

You've shown an ability to find shooters, not through the draft, but, you know, Trades Free Agency. You did that a couple years ago, and that's what I would do. So I'm going to lay it out on the line. I know most of you would keep M.B because he's rewarding you now, and he is a great player. But I would say this, Philadelphia, if you want to know, if you want to know how to do it and make sure you win going forward, look across the street to the Philadelphia Eagles, they didn't do the popular thing.

They let go of Nick Foles. Nick Foles won a Super Bowl, the MVP, Nick Follinger. and you know what the Eagles said, bye-bye. Bye-bye. Carson Wentz still isn't healthy. They went with a guy that still hurt. And the guy that some teammates don't like, but he's more talented.

They went with Carson Wentz, the young guy who not everybody likes, sort of like Ben Simmons, right? Sort of like Ben Simmons. They didn't go with a popular choice, which was to keep likable Nick Foles who won a Super Bowl. They made tough choices. And the reason of Philadelphia Eagles once again this year will be one of the four five teams at the end of the year we think can win the Super Bowl. Maybe they do. Maybe they don't.

It's because they made tough choices, not popular choices, and they made the right choices. Oh, by the way, Toronto, I'm not dissing you. Congratulations. And one more time, let's show it to the nation, the only game seven buzzer beater ever. Here you go. It's off the Leonard, defended by Simmons. Is this the tagger? Congrats. Tip of the cap. Fred Van Bleet, next hour on the show. calling right, calling wrong 40 minutes from now. Let me shift gears to this. There wasn't any games on Saturday.

I almost wanted to watch the Rockets and the Warriors again. Sports has a lot of machismo. Be the man, take the shot. Remember we used to criticize LeBron? You didn't take the shot. Well, I was double team. There was an open guy. You got to take the shot.

It's the way man does it. Sports is a lot about that. Not just the NBA. Sports is a lot about that. God, be the man. Look like the man. act like the man, talk like the man, be the man. Steph Curry does not fit a lot of those machismo stereotypes.

He's slight. He doesn't really care about awards. He wears nerdy shoes. He recruited another star. He's slight. He doesn't look like we, doesn't look like Dr. Jay. It's not as strong as Michael. I was big and tough as Pippin and Akeem and Shaq

and didn't have the killer. instinct, right? And so he is the least respected star because he doesn't look like what we think a star should be, which is giving and not into awards and family guy, not alpha, and sometimes recruits other star players and can take a step back. And that just doesn't, how do we wrap our brains around that? Well, it's just like kids. There's a lot of different ways to be a parent, a lot of different ways to be a human. And Steph's a different way to be a superstar. And I absolutely love it. More NBA players, if he did a poll, respect Russell Westbrook, than Steph Curry.

Charles Barkley, himself a great player and a terrific broadcaster, went on the air after Kevin Durant went down. And I love Charles, but he said this. The Warriors ain't got no chance of winning without Kevin Durant.

This series? This series or any other series. He made them a dynasty. Let's don't sleep on that. People said, well, they won one. They did. They was terrific. And they won 772.

They lost that series. But that was like five years ago. People act like that was two years ago. They did not become a juggernaut until KD got there. Everybody who knows basketball, he's the guy who made them a dynasty. Okay, let's just say this. That wasn't a shot at the Warriors. It was a shot at Steph.

Because if Steph got hurt, would Charles say that about the KD. Clay Dray-D. Drayman Warriors? Anyone say that about that team? I don't think Charles even meant to do it. And I'm okay with Charles having big opinions and being wrong. I do both all the time. But we have more respect in this league for Hardin, who keeps disappearing in big spots, and Westbrook.

And I got to tell you something. It reminds me of Cam Newton. It's taken us a while to acknowledge, right? It's not that great. Because Cam Newton looks like what a star quarterback should look like. big rocket arm handsome perfect smile he fills the TV screen up Tom Brady's unathletic kind of gangly I see those pictures when he's vacationing a Costa Rica and he looks like a dentist and Tom Brady's been to eight Super Bowls and still all I hear is well he's kind of a system

quarterback he's I mean let's be honest he's Belichack it's no Tom Brady's a great quarterback cam's not but I guess maybe certain guys play and have the machismo and the alpha of what we think a star should look like. Do you realize in the history of the NBA? I'm not sure there's ever been another player ever in the history of the NBA. I'll say it again, the history of the NBA that could have zero points in the first half and 33 in the second. I mean, that's, folks, that doesn't make any sense. And one of the things I like, and I've always defended Stefan, is this, I like specialists. I'm not into your liberal arts degree. Are you an engineer? Are you an architect? What are, are you a doctor? What are you? Are you a school teacher?

Be a specialist. Have you noticed what's left in the NBA right now? Kauai Leonard's a specialist, the best two-way player. Janice, best player within five feet of the rim in the NBA. Steph, best ball handler, best shooter in the NBA. KD, best player. By the way, Portland, second best back court in the NBA. All the guys that are just guys, those teams are done.

Specialists. And by the way, let me add a third. best to Steph Curry. Is it possible? He's the best leader. I mean, after zero points in the first half, didn't play the victim, didn't blame the refs, James Harden, didn't blame the system, came out and scored 33 points. We've got to stop believing that everybody fits into one box, and I can be guilty of this. But ball handling, shooting, and leadership, Friday night, I can make an argument. I can make an argument, the best player in the world at all three of those was on display, Steph Curry. That was why I love sports.

Vegas said they had no chance to win. They won because of Steph Curry. Great stuff today. Absolutely packed. Colin right, calling wrong in about 40, 50 minutes. Whatever it is. I can't read the clock today. I have a bad back injury today.

So I am being neutralized by heavy doses of a leave. Joy, heavy doses. You got to cut back on the tennis. I'm done with it. I'm tired of it. You're just going to quit? I don't know. I barely started. I'm tired of feeling tired. I'll tell you that. Do you stretch beforehand?

Ah, stretching. God, you know, I'm tired of stretching more than tennis. Listen, I play tennis. I go home. Why do I have to stretch? Well, I think your body is telling you. I am tired of getting good advice. I am really tired of that. 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 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. SportsClyce brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live

them. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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,

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. 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 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 Ladeki. 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. You know, it's funny. I've said from the very beginning, Lakers hired Frank Vogel as their head coach yesterday. Not who I would have hired, but whatever. Lakers aren't doing a lot I would do. But it's interesting. I said Friday, there's a difference between concern and consumed.

I'm concerned what I eat. I'm not consumed by it. My favorite thing to eat is a hamburger. I'm not going to wake up every morning and trap myself into only eating things that are perfect on guidelines and regulations. And listen, at some point, I want to live. I like my hamburgers. It's the same thing with everything.

I was concerned about Y2K. I didn't literally build a bunker in my backyard. I understand the concern with the Lakers about just giving the franchise to LeBron because every place he leaves is a train wreck an hour later. or Cleveland twice in Miami. I get that, but I think they've been consumed by it. I swear to God, after they hired Frank Vogel, I was sitting there thinking, are they trolling LeBron?

I just want to hear me out on this. I think they're trolling LeBron, the Lakers are. They've become obsessed with not giving LeBron anything he wants. So who's one of the first people when LeBron came, they signed up? Lance Stevenson, who was his annoying nemesis. I mean, LeBron and Lance Stevenson don't work together at all. Lance can't shoot. LeBron's great with shooters.

LeBron loves kind of like high IQ, get it veterans. And Lance is goofy, talented but goofy. So they get him. Then Phil Jackson, according to a story, the Lakers relied heavily on hiring Frank Vogel because of Phil Jackson's recommendation. Well, didn't Phil Jackson call LeBron and his guys a posse? Then they hire Frank Vogel,

who I swear to God called Miami Flopper. And then, by the way, Rob Polinka gets a job in the Laker front office. That's Kobe's agent. LeBron and Kobe were never tight. Magic, who LeBron loved, quets. And now they just elevate Polenka, who again is Kobe's agent, who LeBron's never been tight with. And then, oh, by the way, the camper is, Ty Lou, the one guy LeBron wanted,

they offered him an insulting three-year contract. Are you in LeBron's camp or are you trying to aggravate him? Could you give him a solid here? Kobe's agent, Phil Jackson. Lance Stevenson, dissing Tileau. You do get he's your number one asset and your number one player. I mean, when Green Bay chose Aaron Rogers over Brett Farrve, did they basically go to Brett Farr's closest advisors for the next seven years

and make sure they hired people Brett liked over Aaron? No, the Packers at one point figured out we got to get a quarterback coach Aaron likes. We got to get, and eventually they moved off even a good head coach, Mike McCarthy, because it didn't work for Aaron Rogers. And you've got to make Aaron Rogers comfortable, not uncomfortable. Like at some point, you got to get shooters for LeBron. That's what he's always work well with. Now, basically, my guess is LeBron has to do the phone work, get on the phone and get

Kyrie Irving here because that would work. Anthony Davis, I don't think, would work. Kyrie Irving and LeBron, pretty interesting. I mean, there's a gap between concerned and consumed. It's like you're trolling him. It's like you're dissing him. If you're going to hire Frank Vogel, just hire Jason Kidd. At least LeBron, you know, respects the player.

They both have kind of the same record, no? 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. So here we go. We do it every Monday at this time. Colin right, Colin wrong, here we go. Where Colin was right?

I said all year about Denver. young teams that are talented bring it down. Denver, the number two seed could not win a second round series. Even though they had the best NBA home record, they lost three times in the postseason at home, don't get fooled by talented, hungry young teams. They tend to win 30 games on effort. And this team, once you get to the playoffs, everybody is playing hard. They were unbeatable at home. Portland beat them twice in Denver. So nice team, but we said they're too young, they're too green, they're too inexperienced to win multiple series in the playoffs. We got it right with Denver.

Where Colin was wrong. Friday night, Vegas had it. Houston minus eight. Vegas gave the dynasty no shot. That is the guttiest, scrappiest, craziest road win in the NBA I have seen in years. I'm rarely left speechless. I was. Steph Curry had no points at half.

Katie didn't play and Boogie didn't play. They had no bench, no size. And it was tied. Huh? Iggy had 5'3. Sean Livingston played his best game of the year. You know, that's the old cliche, the heart of a champion. I sat there at halftime and I just said I was texting buddies.

I'm like, no boogie, no KD and Steph is scoreless and it's tied? What's going on? What world? Maybe the earth is flat like Kyrie Irving said. I was wrong on that one. Where Colin was right? But Philadelphia, the process is a bunch of hooey. Jimmy Butler was your only reliable player, and he ain't part of the process.

You had to trade for him, and the GM that created the process doesn't work in the NBA anymore. He's a consultant in the NFL for a team that finished in third place in their own division last year. I got nothing against Sam Hinky. But here's what I know. The two guys from the process, M. Biedon Simmons, they don't work together. They just don't. And I think they're both really talented, but. But I just, I'm not into the nickname thing.

If you want to tank, just call it tanking. That's what you did. You tank for six years and whiffed on about five draft picks. Even Joel M. Beat after the game was done hearing about the process. I don't know, game seven. Losing the game that way. A lot of things go through your mind and it sucks. Where would you say the process is right now?

And you just played the most minutes you've ever played in regulation. and are you tired? I don't give a damn about the process. There you go. Either do I am over it. Where Colin was wrong. You know, I had thought, and I said this two years ago, I used to think of Hardin and Westbrook as kind of similar players,

Harden the Better Shooter, and I said, you know, James is totally separated from Westbrook, but there are a lot of similarities. They dominate December. They dominate January. They get all the headlines. But late in seasons, they just don't feel the same. They don't feel as reliable.

They fizzle out. I don't know. Is James Hardin in great shape? He's obviously an NBA player. He's in good shape. But in game five, he just disappeared. And Chris Paul was the better guard in game six. So, you know, there's these similarities with Westbrook.

I still like him more than Westbrook because it's a shooter's league. And I think he is a bizarrely uniquely talented score. But let's be honest. I'm getting a lot of the same narratives here. You got to get out of the same. second round. I mean, it's once the referees didn't give you all the flipping and flopping

and not, I want to hear that he had 35 points. When did he score the 35 points? Late in game five, he disappeared. Where Colin was right? I said Steph Curry is the least respected great player of my lifetime. And I said that before Friday night. In fact, I said it

Wednesday and Thursday. This is Steph's team. It's always been Steph's team. He is not underrated by people in the organization. He's underrated by players. He had 17 points with four and a half to go and ended up with 33. I know he doesn't fit everybody's stereotype of what the man is and what the alpha dog is, but that guy is now 30 and 4. The Warriors with Steph are 30 and 4 when Steph plays and KD doesn't. Again, KD may be the better, quote, player, but Steph's a better pure three-point shooter. He's a better ball handler, and frankly, he's a better leader.

Not that Katie's a terrible leader. But Steph Curry, as I said before game six, is the most underrated great player of my life. Maybe on the outside, but you can't tell me Steve Curran Bob Meyer don't understand the value of Steph Curry. Where Colin was wrong. I'm going to take a big fat goose egg on the Boston Celtics. About six months or wrong on that. I like the coach. I like the cast.

I like the closer. And, you know, I usually don't buy into some regular season drama. players figured out. I mean, LeBron's dramatic every January. They figured out. These guys didn't figure it out. Just didn't fit. Maybe it's Brad.

Maybe it's Kyrie. Eyes just wrong for months on this. I kept saying, Coach, cast, closer. I'm good. But it's not that they lost to Milwaukee. That series, after game one, wasn't that competitive.

It really wasn't. It was a lot of Milwaukee, bigger, stronger, deeper, deeper. better bench, a big fat zero sandwich for me on that one. Where Colin was right? Said for a year, small markets in sports always think the league is against them. And if they lose a game, it's because the league doesn't like us and the league is after us. And Gail Benson, bless her heart, the Saints owner is still yapping about the Saints loss

that everybody in the world is over and understood was just a bad call. But here she was at a commencement speech this weekend. Had this happened in another city, it is likely there would have been riots in the streets. As bitterly disappointed as our fans were, our response was the opposite. Rather than riot, our protests turned into another cause for parties. Boycott bowls sprang up throughout the city on Super Bowl Sunday. And our fans' displeasure with the obviously terrible no-call was expressed to the NFL by turning out at a historic rate, delivering the lowest Super Bowl rating in the country. Oh, first of all, can I address the riot thing?

Green Bay does not feel like a riot city to me. I'm trying to think of what kind of city would riot over a call like that? Nobody would. By the way, Los Angeles, we would. wouldn't have rioted. Most of the city didn't watch the game. Pittsburgh wouldn't. Nah, come on. It's time to move on. It was a bad call. Maybe, New England? I don't know. They've had so many wins. It's like, are they going to riot? This is exactly small markets wear me out. They think the world's against them. It was a bad call.

By the way, you had a chance to stop the Rams after that in an overtime. You couldn't. That's on you. Where Colin was raw. I was very cynical all year when LeBron people kept telling me via texts. Colin, LeBron is handed over the reins to the Lakers. He has no control. And I tell Rich Paul, come on, Rich. You can't sell me that. Apparently LeBron doesn't have any pull because Magic quit and didn't give him a phone call.

That's what LeBron said, and I believe him. And Frank Vogel's the head coach. And they gave Hamer the three-year deal. And Frank Vogel was probably about the fourth-fifth choice. I always felt like, listen, LeBron didn't come out here and not have any. saying it. But increasingly, it is absolutely definitively clear

that Kurt Rambuss and Phil Jackson have more power in that building than LeBron James. Kobe's agent has more power than LeBron James. I was cynical and I was wrong. Where Colin was wrong. Yeah, I have more wrongs than rights this week.

That Raptor thing, that was one. And Joy all year was she just loves Canada. Maybe that's it. I mean, Canada's a very nice place. It's very nice. Very nice people. I didn't buy into this show all year long. And I got to be honest, it's good for the city.

Kauai's absurd. I mean, let's be honest about Kauai Leonard. 35 points average. There were times it felt like he was single-handedly beating Philadelphia, and I don't think I'm hyperventilating here. End of the game is just like, stop me. It had a very much an MJ feel to it. Very much.

Stop me. And nobody could infatting it. Philadelphia. And I don't know the Raptors' chances against Milwaukee. That's a tough matchup for anybody. But Kauai Leonard and Toronto's in one fell swoop, they deserve it. Give me the buzzer beater one more time. Do we have that? Give them love one more time. It's off to Leonard, defended by Simmons. Is this the taker? I got to be honest. I know it's a weird comparison. We always talk LeBron and Michael. Kauai's got, if you never saw Michael play live,

Kauai and Leonard's got a lot of Michael Jordan, where it's just like, I'm coming down, I'm a forward, I shouldn't be a point guard, stop me. And that was a terrible shot. It was falling out of bounds of one leg. It was an impossible shot. Yeah, between the hand size, his improvisation in the air, his ability to play both ways,

his ability to hit shots clutch, his stone cold sort of personality. I know nobody's ever going to compare Kauai to MJ, but they're built the same. They are wiry, strong, six, six and a half guys, six seven guy for Kauai. That was great. 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 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, 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 Slicalife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 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. 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, 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. a good person. Join me,

Keir Gaines, as 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. 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 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. 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 feel on. 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, 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 IHart Women's Sports. Well, all year long, Joy Taylor told me, keep your eye in Toronto. Keep you're eye in Toronto and I said I don't trust them I've been burned by Toronto before well that's a big bowl wrong for me yesterday they got their way past an incredibly talented team in Philadelphia and we showed you the buzzer beater multiple times I want to bring on from wichita state in Rockford Illinois often overlooked but a two-time Missouri Valley conference player he's a perfect fit with the raptors Fred van bleat is joining us now Fred thanks for coming on the show. I got to ask you, we're going to show the game-winning shot again. We're going to spot shadow you. You had the perfect seat for it. Go back to high school. Have you ever been in a

buzzer, beat, or win before? Yeah, but you'd be surprised how many different crazy endings you get in AAU and high school basketball and stuff like that. But nothing of this magnitude, you know, game seven. You know, Kauai's pretty quiet guy. Hard for us in the media to get our arms around him. Is he more talkative? Is he different locker room on the team playing at practice? Yeah, he just would like to talk to you guys and, you know,

I guess that's understandable. But with us, he's pretty normal and he's definitely on the quieter side. You know, Fred, there's this narrative out there that, you know, everybody knows he's a free agent. Is that a weird situation? Do you talk to him about it? You'd obviously love him to stay. The city loves him. The team loves him.

How do you kind of reconcile all that? How do you, is it something you guys talked about this year that he could leave? Yeah, we talk to laugh and joke about it. And, you know, that's his business. At the end of the day, we just won his best. We reach our chances to win a title, and then he can do whatever he wants us. And we'd love to have him and we'd love to keep him. And he knows that in Toronto.

But, you know, we're just so focused on these playoffs. And then, you know, when the summertime comes, that's when Kauai needs to do what's best for him. People talk about the relationship between the Raptors and the city of Toronto feels different than other cities. Now, you've only played for the Raptors last three years, but if you could, explain what it feels like to you. Now, you were in a smaller town at Wichita State, similarly where the team was the town. Does it feel a little bit like that, Fred? Yeah, it's the same. Obviously, we have the Leafs here, and it's probably still a hockey town per se just because that's Canada sport.

but just to have the entire country behind you where people kind of identify with the team and feel like we're overlooked and the underdog role in a pretty good buzz right now and we're riding riding this momentum and trying to bring a championship home you know fred damian lillard's from weber state step curries from davidson clay thompson washington state you're from wichita state uh it's a kawai san diego state i think it's amazing how many guys in this league at the end of the season are from non-traditional, you know, Duke, Kansas powers. Could I say this, Fred, that there's a certain

chip on the shoulder when you do get overlooked, when nobody watched in college? Or is it just a crazy coincidence? The NBA now is being run by a lot of guys. We didn't watch in college a ton. Yeah, it's not a coincidence. I just think the number one thing other than that, you can't hide forever, and talent is not going to be overlooked forever. They can't hide forever either. So at the end of the day, the Cremont, there's so many schools that they're not going to get it right all the time.

And it's just your job as an individual to keep working and go to what you can play. You know, it'll be all right. I was saying with Kauai Leonard, it's interesting. I'm not saying he's MJ, but from his body, his intensity, his defense, his mid-range jumper, the ability with his hand-sized to palm it and improvise in the air, I see a little M.J. I see a little bit Fred of M. Is I the only person? Have you ever seen a little bit of that too?

Yeah, we're seeing that. I think that in Hawaii, and I'm sure he studies some of that along with Kobe and some of those guys. You see that framework there and just how dominating he is with his physicality and the steals. And he's, you know, establishing himself in his own right, you know, and I'm sure he's picked a little bit from each of those guys' games. Finally, I don't know if you've heard of Janus. He's a handful. Milwaukee is deep, they're big, they're long, they're well-coached. I know you guys had some struggles this year. What do you make of that series?

I think we've been pretty well tested in his playoffs. Orlando gave us a good shot, although we've had to show a lot of out of our toolbox and different ways to win. So I think we'll be pretty well prepared, and it's going to be a hell of a series. And, you know, the best team is going to come out of it. So we're just trying to lock in these next couple of days and come up with a game plan and go out there. and whoever plays the best is going to win, it sounds stupid, but sometimes it's just that simple.

Is it mandatory that you have to listen to Drake if you're a raptor? What if he wasn't your favorite guy? Thank you. Fred, good luck to you and the Raptors, man. I appreciate it. All right, thanks for having. There we go. Fred Van Fleet is part of the Raptors, which, listen, man, I didn't buy him all year. I've been burned by him, and Joy over here is just a big fan of dinosaurs.

I am a big fan of dinosaurs. Stegasaurus is my favorite. and then the Raptors, coincidentally. But they're just, everyone just forgot who Kauai is. And it's understandable because he was gone for a year. And he doesn't talk. With an intense injury, he doesn't talk. It seems like he was going, he was difficult because who can't work with the Spurs and

Greg Popovich and who wouldn't want to assist him like that. Kauai is just his own guy, but everyone forgot how great Kauai is. You know what I like about Kauai, too? He shoots mid-range jumpers. I'm not anti-analytics. But analytics weren't created to find. Barry Bonds. They were created over the course of 162 games. You go with all analytics are as averages. But when you get down to a series and everybody's evenly rested and it's the best coaches,

the best defense, the best schemes, the best players, the best closers, the best, I got nothing against analytics. I need guys that can get buckets. Well, LeBron, we're showing LeBron's tweet. LeBron said it best because analytics really should only be used to give you an advantage to help you prepare for your opponent. You can't play the game based off of analytics. You see what happens when you do that. One of the guys on the staff this morning had a great

line about this, and I got to give, Sammy had this. He said, analytics will qualify you for the playoffs. Stars will advance you. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. 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 SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. In every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to 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. Life is full of hurdles. So how do

you keep going. On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world, like, I can do anything. I can do anything. 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. McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman.

Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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, 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 podcast.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.