The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 05/20/2019

Episode Date: May 20, 2019

Colin stands strong with Stephen Curry believing he has changed the entire basketball world and might even be the best player on the Warriors. The New York Jets would be making a bad move by hiring Peyton Manning as the new football president, the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks are playing their hearts out just to receive second place in the Finals against the Warriors, Baker Mayfield needs to understand that being a starting quarterback comes with criticism and Colin explains the many chapters of Kevin Durant's career. Presented by Perky Jerky. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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 I Heart 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. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening to The Best of Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Monday. This is the herd.

Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we are live in Los Angeles on IHeartRadio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1 right here. One hour from now where Colin is right, where Colin is wrong. I'm just trying to rebound this week. A lot of wrongs last week. just trying to rebound, bailing a lot of water a week ago on that segment. Joy Taylor is joining me, fresh up another vacation weekend. You went to Miami.

It looks like you went to Miami. I got a little sun. It wasn't all vacation. Of course. I was hosting my brother's foundation event. Labor-intensive trip to Miami. Yes, it was both. It was great to see you.

Great to see you. Thanks. Good Monday. NBA is crazy. We've got a Peyton Manning story coming up. But let me start with this. Is that one of the things I've noticed in my kids, career, and I think Joy and I have talked about this before. We are now in the affirmation era,

not the information era. It used to be I could present you with data and stats and win an argument, and it doesn't work that way. People just liberals go to this channel, conservatives go to that channel. I can give you data. People just live in echo chambers. It's very frustrating. It's one of the reasons I don't take calls anymore. You could present me with a fact. I'd be going, oh, that's interesting. I'll change my mind. I can't change anybody's mind anymore. Nobody can change anybody's mind. and it wears me out. And Steph Curry is a great example of this. So Steph Curry, I just, 15 years ago, if 15 years ago, I would have said this.

So there's going to be this guy that comes into the NBA, right? He's going to essentially eliminate the center position. What is he a wizard, a sorcerer? No, he's just a player. What do you mean eliminates it? There'll be no more back to the baskets centers. Well, how? I'll get to that in a second.

He will change the math and geometry of the sport. I don't even understand what that means. What do you mean? Like a basket won't mean as much. Precisely. I'll get to that in a second. He will change college basketball and every gym in the country with every 13-year-old who now practices. And you'd be like, Game of Thrones, Sorcer, what is this?

His name is Steph Curry. he's eliminated the back to the basket center. He's made teams smaller as humans get bigger. He's changed the math of the sport. And oh, by the way, now, this is what basketball looks like at the college, high school, and AAU level. And I guarantee you by the beginning of next year, here's what you'll say. Yeah, it hardens better than Steph. Yeah, I'm more of a Westbrook guy.

Really? I love Michael Jordan. Did he change the math? I love Magic Johnson. Did he eliminate centers? And by the way, if you want to see this meteor called Steph Curry, information over affirmation, he's on TV again tonight without the best player on the team, right?

Are we sure KD's better than Steph? KD didn't eliminate centers. KD didn't change the math. KD didn't change gyms. Folks, we all know of the term called disruptors, like the most famous is. Uber's disrupted the taxi industry. For years and years, you know, you get off an airport or you go somewhere in New York or L.A. or any city in America, you get taxi, taxi, and then Uber is going to my phone.

And now the idea of getting a taxi for a lot of people's like, well, why? I can just do an Uber. They go, or I want to go. It's a cleaner car, blah, blah, blah. We also know that Netflix has done this, a television, been a disruptor. Amazon's done this for retail. We've talked about this before, right? They're disruptors.

Could I make the argument? And I'm not counting Jackie Robinson with social ramifications. I'm just talking the actual game. Steph's the greatest disruptor, certainly in basketball, in sports history. I mean, Tom Brady didn't change the way football's played. I mean, Mike Trout's good and stuff. So was Willie Mays and Mickey Mantley. He didn't change the way the game was played.

It is remarkable that Steph Curry, half of you would take hard. over him. Half of you would take Westbrook. Are we watching the same thing? Are we? Think about this. Dwight Howard. Now think about this. I can remember when Dwight Howard was 16 years old and I got a call from a guy named Brian Berger worked at Nike. He said there's this kid. There's this center. Oh my guy's going to change the game. Dwight Howard 10 years ago, that was the last time he made an All-Star game. And it was ironically the, or coincidentally, the first time Steph made an All-Star team. Dwight Howard was your classic back to the basket. 22 points, 15 rebound, shot blocker.

Remember his shoulders? It didn't look like anybody else. And he's the taxi. And Steph was the Uber. Now you look at Dwight Howard his last eight years. It's like four teams, four years. It's not that Dwight Howard shrunk. He got less skilled.

He was less talented. I mean, he had some surgeries, but he became the tax. and Steph was the Uber. Andre Aguadala was saying it yesterday. He said, Curry and Draymond Green, they're Brady and Gronk. They're Brady and Gronk.

It's sometimes difficult to wrap your brain around things that you've never seen before. It's very possible. The best presidential candidates, this little guy who's a mayor in South Bend, Indiana. What? He's not a governor. He's not in the military. He's not a titan.

He's not a mayor. South Bend. I got a standing ovation yesterday in a rival network, right? It's, I know it doesn't make any sense, but this little kid from Davidson who looks like one of your brother's friends in the neighborhood, like he's kind of slight and he's kind of small. It's the most relevant, the most game-altering revolutionary basketball player ever. I'm done hearing how everybody's better.

information over affirmation he's on TV again tonight watch and this is not a shot at charles barclay who i think is pretty talented but a week ago charles barclay's a smart guy remember and charles barclay's opinion a week ago i think was a mainstream opinion shared by almost everybody there wasn'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 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. By the way, I think that's

mostly what everybody thinks. Tonight, on display, again, the best ball handler, the best shooter, the most revolutionary player, a tremendous leader, virtually egos, I know it doesn't fit what you think the best player in the world should look like or the most important player, but Steph Curry's it. Let me shift gears to this. This is crazy, right?

Crazy fun. Peyton Manning, according to a story this morning, rumors flying that the New York Jets are pursuing Peyton Manning. All right. Let's establish a couple of things. Peyton Manning is great. Peyton Manning is smart. Peyton Manning could run a company.

And then let me establish this. I think it'd be a bad move. It's almost disrespectful now. People say this all the time. That guy is smart. She's really smart. Those people are smart. But are they experts?

Do we understand how hard it is to be an expert at one thing. Michael Jordan was great at one thing. He tried the second baseball. Then he tried a third being a front office executive. Look at Magic Johnson's career. Talk show, coach, president. If you can just be great at one thing,

good luck being great at two, because I almost don't think it's possible. I'm going to give you Chris Ballard's considered one of the best general managers, if not the best general manager in football. He's smart too. although he didn't play quarterback. He was an area scout.

An area scout. Not a glamorous position, by the way. There's probably six living next to your house right now. He was an area scout for a decade. And then was given the director of player personnel. And then he was given the director of pro scouting. Then he was another footballer. And then all these years later, oh, he's a big shot.

How about Les Sneed of the L.A. Rams? Less need grad assistant, pro scout, pro scout, director of playing. Eighteen years of grinding. Folks, John Elway went to Stanford. John Elway, like Peyton Manning, came from a football family. Go look up the Elway family's history. John Elway, one of the most cerebral quarterbacks of our time. You watching John Elway in Denver?

Back-to-back losing seasons? That doesn't happen in Denver. by the way, Magic Lakers, Michael Jordan, President Wizards, Phil Jackson, GM Nix, John Lynch, San Francisco, good, not special yet. It's almost like we're forgetting the rule. It's not about being smart. It's are you smart enough and are you an expert at something? It's really, really hard. Peyton Manning's brilliant.

But if you go look at the guys in this league, the Howie Roseman in Philadelphia, the Chris Ballards, the less snobes. needs. You start looking around these guys. They were grinding in the weeds in towns you hope your car doesn't break down in for 15 years before they got the job. These jobs are hard. Here's what this feels like to me. Is that Adam Gase and Peyton Manning are buddies. They're friends. They respect each other. The Jets are kind of falling apart. Gase runs the GM out. And it kind of feels like the owner of the Jets feels, listen, I'll pay him a bunch of money. I'll bring in Peyton Manning. And it it will feel like optically, you know what, they always had this plan going on. This is perfect.

This feels like a little bit like a little bit of a Hail Mary. And by the way, that's not disrespectful to Peyton Manning because he's one of the smartest guys. But this feels like Levy and Bell could be leaving. GM gets fired. Oh, my Lord, nobody gets along. Oh, Peyton Manning's in. It's all good. No, Peyton Manning's in and this was never the plan.

this is not an opinion anti-Paeton Manning. He could succeed at a million things. Do we understand how hard it is to scout and to scour the country and to find talent at, you know, Towson State? Half this league is undrafted. Does Peyton Manning want to go on scouting trips to Division 2 in rural Colorado to find the next great running back? I don't like the move.

I don't. And you would think, I like Peyton Manning, he's smart. But I think we're getting to the point now. It is not a celebrity position. It is a grinder position. And I think it's hard when you find people with two to $300 million of net worth. I think it's a tough ask. 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. 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 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. 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. 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 Abbot. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice 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. 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. So I sat and watched every second yesterday.

The Raptors, Milwaukee. It's my job. It's what we do. And my big conclusion, and I felt this by about the middle of the second quarter on, these teams aren't beating Golden State. Come on. Come on. Stop.

Love you, Drake. Love you, the people of Canada. Love Tim Hortons. It's Kauai Leonard and four guys terrified to shoot in a big spot. this isn't even the NBA finals. This is just the conference finals. You're at home. If you don't have confidence there,

I mean, Fred Van Vleet, the miss free throws, they are terrified. I mean, at some point, Kauai Leonard, who is even more amazing than the word amazing, just took the game over,

and it's remarkable a guy can dominate in small doses against other great players like that. Toronto's, they're not ready to win the NBA. finals. Come on now. And I'm watching this yesterday and I'm thinking, what do we know about Milwaukee? The East is weaker than the West. The Celtics couldn't get their act together all year long. And Toronto's a one-man team. What do we know about Milwaukee? Well, during the regular season, yeah, Denver was great during the regular season. They couldn't be beat at home during the regular season. Then Denver couldn't get out of the second round and lost three games at home in the

Mile High City. These are not, these teams are not beating the Warriors. Warriors are going to have rest. They're more experienced. You know, I was thinking about this. If the Warriors win tonight, and they're all beat up, not just Katie and Boogie, I mean, Andre Aguadala, he played 18 minutes less than he did on average his playoffs, so he's hurt. They get nine days off if they win in Portland tonight. Well, young teams like Milwaukee don't want nine days off.

They want to keep playing. Young teams have the energy. They overcome injuries. The Warriors have Steph Scott. a finger issue. Andre Iguodala had to go to the training room in the first half. KD isn't even practicing yet. Boogie is but isn't ready to play. In nine days, you're going to get a healthy Steph, a healthy Iggy, a healthy boogie, and we'll see on KD. I imagine he'll play. They're getting a huge, huge sabbatical here that plays clearly in favor of the better team,

the more rested team, the more experienced team, and then will be an equally. healthy team. It's nothing against Toronto. It's nothing against Milwaukee, but you cannot watch Toronto and tell me there are anything more than a one-man team. You can't tell me they're more than that. You can't. What do we know about Milwaukee? Well, during the regular

season, young teams that don't have a title play their butt off in the regular season. I think Milwaukee's better than Toronto. I think they'll win the next two games and win the series. They beat the Celtics. Celtics couldn't get their act together all year. Oh, they're dominating Toronto. And I just, I've seen enough of Toronto. This act is going to be, this is going to be so bad if they

get to the finals and I think they'd need an injury on the bucks to get there. But that's my takeaway. This, I think this warrior team without boogie and KD with a beat up Iggy, was Steph having a slightly dislocated finger, I think that version would beat Milwaukee and sweep Toronto. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Baker Mayfield came out of college, Oklahoma. Great program. And I said, listen, if I was GM, he's undraftable, although I think he'll get drafted

and I think he'll be fine. He's accurate. He's smart. He'll do fine. I don't want to deal with the nonsense. The grabbing, the throwing, you know, it's not my stuff. But I brought him on the show because if I criticize somebody, I'd take Westbrook on the show. I want you to come on, fire back

at me. And I did, and I've said this before, I think Baker's a good kid. I think he's a little immature in college. So was I, but I'm not a franchise quarterback, right? So I've always said, you know, franchise quarterbacks, I like boring guys. I like Andrew Luck. I like Russell. I mean, Tom Brady's married to a supermodel, and he's pretty much watching film all day.

And so Baker Mayfield last week went back and forth. And, you know, a lot of my stuff is tongue-in-cheek with Baker. I'm not here to, you know, I thought it was pretty obviously tongue-in-cheek. He took shots at me, called me irrational. Anyway, so he was on Cleveland Radio this morning And he was asked about me And I just want to put I just play the tape Let's just play the tape

It's on Cleveland Radio somewhere in the atmosphere Go ahead I don't know, I can't decide with him He's just a he's a character You know, you'll go on the show And he'll be nice to you in person And he'll bite his tongue and say something else the next week So I don't know

I think I'm done with him But I'm not going to make any promises You got to prove something to him though this year, don't you? Baker, how about the expectations? You know what I'm not I don't have to prove anything to him. To be honest with you, he doesn't really matter. His opinion doesn't matter either. Well, I mean, that's certainly literally true. My opinion doesn't matter, and nor should it, by the way. By the way, this relationship, Baker, is not hard to figure out. You're a very talented

quarterback. I'm a very opinionated generalist or opinion guy. And I didn't like your college junk. I still think you're a little noisy for me. But I do think you're talented. And I think you throw a better deep ball than I thought you would in the NFL. And I still believe you're going to have to overcome some dysfunction with that organization to get to your very best, which I think is higher than I thought. But I never thought you were a bust. I said that a million times. By the way, I talk about you, and much of the time, it's very positive.

But, yes, sometimes you put yourself out there, and Russell Wilson doesn't. And Jared Goff doesn't. And sometimes I feel like you're building a brand before you're building a brand. before you build a career, which is kind of, I guess, what athletes do today, which I don't love. Build a career, the brand will come, not build a brand while you're building your career. Mark Sanchez did a little bit of that, GQ magazine before he played. I'm not a big fan of that stuff. But I don't think we, I've always said, Baker's always welcome on the show, he can rip me, I'm okay with it, I like him.

But he puts himself out there. The downside to building a brand before you've built a career is this. I mean, if you had two Super Bowls, what am I going to say? But when you've had a third place finish and everybody in Cleveland's guarantee in a Super Bowl and you're building your brand, you put yourself out there. You put your chin out there. And sometimes, you know, I'll take a swing at it. But for the record, my opinion doesn't matter.

And that is true. Right? I mean, it doesn't matter. No, no one's opinion matters. The only opinion that should matter to anyone is your opinion of yourself. We're being literal here. So no, your opinion doesn't matter. my opinion doesn't matter. We're in the opinion business, so we give our opinions.

So literally what we get paid to do is give our opinions, and what Baker gets paid to do is play football. That is not insinuating. We don't have a... That doesn't mean we're not right. Yeah, almost always. 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. 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. 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 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 a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard.

Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast. For wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls,

we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, 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 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. 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 Hardway and listen now. You know, I tell my daughter this all the time is, you know, people only put the best parts of their life on Facebook. And I'm sure every parent listening tells their kids the same thing. That's not really life. Tom Hanks has had bad movies. So did James Dean. Marlon Brando had six utter bombs. Great bands had bad albums.

Facebook and social media wants you to believe that everybody eats every great meal and everybody's friends are gorgeous. And every sunset's perfect. I live in Los Angeles. I haven't seen the sun in four days. That's not the way life is. It's the same with NBA legends. Does everybody realize it's not linear? I'll take the greatest players of all time.

Magic Johnson. One year he was called Tragic Johnson because he whiffed in the finals. Michael Jordan's books got a couple ugly chapters. Couldn't win without Pippin. Quit for minor league baseball. gambling rumors. Punch Steve Kerr in the face. You write the book on LeBron James.

The decision wasn't great. He was afraid to post up J.J. Bray in the finals and they lost to a Dallas team without a second dominating player. Those are the best players in the league. Those are the best. So let's go to Kevin Durant's book. I've got to be honest. The worst chapter in Kevin Durant's book, I think we can officially say now is Warriors were good before him.

Warriors are good after him. That's the Ugly Truth, Chapter 10. Outside of that, the first nine chapters, rings titles, adulation, money, fame, amazing, good dude. You know, Tom, Hank's did Terminal. It's there on the resume. You can go to Google it. His worst chapter so far is, at Golden State one before him.

It looks like they could probably win without him. All right. the way, my favorite band of all times, the Eagles. They were great before Joe Walsh, and they were great with Joe Walsh. I don't think less of Joe Walsh. Like, it's okay. This is going to be the little slight ding on Kevin Durant's career. Because, by the way, there used to be another ding, Joy, which was,

I couldn't win in Oklahoma City, but now since he's left, we're all kind of like, well, Westbrook is kind of hard to play with. So I don't even think that's a chapter anymore. Some things take a few years to actually see clearly. I don't know why everyone forgot that Golden State was good. You realize they went seven games and was one Kyrie shot away from winning that championship. And remember this.

There is a, there's either a misunderstanding or people forget this. Why did Kevin Durant come to the Warriors? It wasn't because they needed him to win. No, remember what had happened. the Warriors had faced LeBron in back-to-back finals, and LeBron was better against the Warriors than any other team. In the two series, 33 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, shot 55%. Golden State could not stop LeBron.

LeBron and Matthew Delvedova, without Kyrie and Kevin Love, who got hurt, almost beat the Warriors. So Golden State's like, yeah, we can win without Kevin Durant. But we got to make LeBron play some defense on the other end. we got to get some size and length here. So Kevin Durant was never brought here to win a title. There was this thing called LeBron in his prime, and Golden State couldn't stop him.

And they wanted to force LeBron to play a little defense. LeBron not have an answer every time he came down the floor. He would never brought in here. You know, Kenny Smith, I thought, put it perfectly yesterday. They're a dynasty with Kevin Durant. but they're still a champion without him. Yeah. I think social media has created this belief system that there's no bumps in life.

I mean, years ago, there was this thing called Occupy Wall Street where a bunch of 20-year-olds, you know, camped out in Wall Street and said, we want money. And I was thinking, you're 24. Who had money at 24? None of the guys on Wall Street. They're all 58 with gray hair. The reality is life's full of bumps and full of turbulence. And, I mean, Warren Buffett's the best investment. of my life, 10 years ago, he bought newspapers. Not a great decision. Don't believe in Facebook.

That's not the way what the world works. People aren't all beautiful. Not every meal is picture perfect. Sometimes you have a corn dog for dinner because it's the only thing in the refrigerator and you don't feel like getting in your car and driving over to Ralph's. It's okay. It's, but I, you know, I think a lot of people think this is a ding on Kevin Durant. And I'm like, yeah, it's that little chapter. And I do believe now, I do believe it's a real chapter. which is Golden State won before him. And, I mean, if you go look at Steph and Dremont's numbers, since he left, this, I think, is not really disputable. When Steph has to be the centerpiece of the offense, oh, he is.

And he elevates his game. And when Dremon, when they need a more adult Dremon, not just quirky, tough guy Dremont, and when they really need him to be a valuable cog, he kind of shapes up and he is. So, you know, Dremont's an interesting piece. He's more of an accessory. When you have Steph, Clay, and Duran, Dremont's personality, he's this annoyance. He's poking everybody in the ribs.

But what's funny about Dremont, when Kevin Durant's gone, and you now need 17 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, and three blocks, it's amazing that Dremont goes, okay, I'll shift into the player I'm capable of, now they need me. So it's a little thing on Kevin Durant, but of all the legends bad chapters, it's the best bad chapter. 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 apps. Played almost a decade in the NFL.

His brother now is an outstanding Pro Bowl offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs. They co-authored a book called Eat My Schwartz. Mitch, this is Jeff. it is a pleasure to have you on today. Oh, you don't have to button that, Jackie. You're an offensive lineman for God's sake. I know it's unbuttoned. It's unbuntoned.

Yeah, it's more comfortable that way. So what do you make of Peyton Manning? Somebody told me today. Somebody text me during the show on this device and said, Peyton wants the job. Why? Why do you want the job? I don't get it.

He can do better, right? Or does he like Sam Darnold and think for 12 years? I got my guy. Or he doesn't have to do it at all and just live his retired life doing the 50-part ESPN series he's doing and just enjoy retirement. Maybe he loves Adam Gase. Maybe he's, you know, they're close. They've worked together before. And your point, maybe like Sam Darnal Tune, he feels this is the opportunity to get in.

I will have a lot of control if I come here because ownership wants me on obviously Payne Manning. But great players often don't make great general managers and often don't put in the work. We saw with Maddo Johnson today speaking about the Lakers and this function. he didn't put in the work to do it. Not all these guys want to put in the work. I personally, if I was many, I wouldn't take the job, but I guess with Gase and Darnold, there's some familiarity there.

I just wouldn't do it. Why would you want to do Payne Manning? Hire someone who is young and up and coming, who's been in the business, who's a great scouting director. We've seen that work with Chris Ballard. We've seen it work with a bunch of guys. Go ahead and do that.

Well, I think also, here's my concern. Because Sam Darnold's on a rookie contract, what the Jets need to do for the next two years because they're going to have to pay salmon two more years. They're going to have to nail the draft in the next two years. This is what Green Bay is done before they had to pay Aaron Rogers because you're going to have to get cheap labor. Well, Peyton may be very good at a lot of things, but do I really think he's great at finding slot receivers at Central Washington University? What you need now for the next two years is just a scouting expert because you're going to have to

pay Donald a fortune in two years. 100% agree. Manning was going to know quarterbacks, obviously, but they don't need a quarterback. They need him to find another left tackle eventually. They need him to find more weapons for Sam Darrell. They need to continue to find pass rushers. He has not done this before. Now you're going to throw him in here. I mean, maybe you hire a great scouting director, a guy could do pro and college personnel stuff. But why don't you go find a young

up-and-coming guy who's been doing it for a while and bring him in now? Maybe they're not enticed by this opportunity either. That's part of this as well. Maybe you don't want to play or be coach somewhere, work somewhere with an ownership that's kind of dysfunctional like this. Yeah, to me in the NFL, if you get the quarterback, I'd take a job. I think that's the one most attractive thing. If I, you know, Sam Donald, I can look at that and go, I can ride with him for a decade. If you don't have a quarterback, I don't care how smart you are. Andrew Luck succeeded even with a GM before Chris Ballard that was considered man overboard.

If you get the quarterback right, it takes care of everything. It does. But again, like I enjoy retired life. so much. I couldn't imagine working the hours that were needed to be a general manager. You have to watch that film. You have to go travel everywhere to colleges and watch these guys play.

You have to do the combine stuff. To me, it's so many hours for a guy who's just retired and he's doing, he's staying busy, right? He's doing the ESPN series. He's having appearances, whatnot. To me, does he want to go back to living that life of being in the office at 6 leaving at midnight every single

day? To me, it doesn't sound enticing. You have been a supporter of Odell Beckham Jr. I like him. I think he's a good kid. I don't think he was chaotic at LSU or his first year in New York. I think as the Giants got chaotic, he got chaotic. I was surprised at what I perceived to be an overreaction on Twitter last night toward me. What do you make of this?

He signs with Cleveland and their coach says last week, you know, I'd rather not have him here if he can't get his mind right. it's 65 days. I'm not even going to have an opinion on it. How did it land for you? Yeah, I don't quite understand this. I understand, and I think Odell's out in Los Angeles now, right? He's here working out.

I get it. It's beautiful weather. The use of the facilities are nice. He was at USC too. They're nice. I get you want to be here. But I'd be with your teammates. You're traded to a new team, brand new offense,

young quarterback. You've got to figure out how to work with all these pieces in place. Same with Levyon Bell. I think he should be there too in New York. Both these guys should be there working out with their guys. It gets voluntary. I get you don't want to get hurt, but learn the playbook with your guys.

How long does it take to learn a playbook? So, different for every position, obviously, but I've contended this for a while. I've actually asked Bruce Aaron's this. So he's backed me up on this on another program. It takes eight to ten weeks of the regular season for your offense to fully function properly. Because you have to see every look

against every play and different conditions of the game and different things. It takes eight to ten weeks to really get that offense going. What Sean McVeigh did is not normal. to come in right away, but that was because they were so bad the year before. It's going to take Freddie Kitchens now, who's not just an O.C. He's the head coach. He's got to manage the entire team.

He's got to manage situations differently now, being the head coach, not the O.C. It's going to take time for this offense to fully function. And with O'Dell not being there, it's not the biggest thing. He's a wide receiver. He's not a left tackle. He's not a quarterback. But the timing, you don't get that timing as much in camp anymore because you don't practice as often anymore.

So I think he's got to be there. The limited reps matter. and do the similar thing on Bell, not being in New York. They just page it, man. Show up and be with your teammates. So this is, I don't want to make too much of this. But it is interesting. I think Kyler Murray is going to be fascinating to watch in Arizona.

I do not believe he's Russell Wilson. I don't think he's that thick. I don't think he's that tall. I don't care what the combine number said. So a picture came out this weekend, a rookie class. And he is next to a receiver who's listed at 5-9. and he looks significantly shorter than the guy that's 5-9. Am I making too much of this to say if I'm Arizona right now, I'm a little worried?

Murray's the only player I've ever seen at the combine be taller than his listed weight. Remember, the Oklahoma Strength Coach came out and said he is 5-9 and 3-4th. I promise you that. And obviously he was 5-10. Look, it doesn't really matter, honestly, because if you're 5-10 or 5-9, it doesn't matter, my opinion. It's not being 6-1 or 5-10, right? But it's just a funny story to keep talking about,

remember, he refused to get heightened weight at his pro day in Oklahoma, right? I think he's probably back down to 190. Russell Wilson got to 205 from 220 in college. Remember, he lost weight and went back up. He had to gain 15 pounds. Yeah, because Russell wanted to lose weight to run a faster 40. Correct. His stature worries me a little bit, but I just, I'm not sold on Cliff Kingsbury

and the offense working in national football league. See, that's the bigger issue. Four wide receivers. We've seen all the reports. I get it. People want so badly for the NFL game to look like the college game, and it doesn't. The best offenses, the top five offenses last year were as pro-style as you get. There are some wrinkles, right?

The chiefs do some things a little bit from the college game, but their base offense is what Bill Walsh installed in the 1970s, right? That is what they do. New Orleans, Saints, New England's not the West Coast, but they have the same system, and they incorporate little wrinkles here and there. It does not work on a full scale for many reasons. One is because the depth of your team, you only dressed 46 guys, including the third quarterback sometimes. You can't rotate as much.

Guys get hurt on the edge. You just don't have the opportunities you do in college in the NFL. And this offense worries me. You're going to put your defense, we saw with Chip Kelly, when you have a bunch of three-and-outs, your defense on the field way too long, they're going to get gashed. And so I want to see what Kingsbury does, but I just don't buy four wide receivers,

even if one of them is a tied end as being a base offense that you can win consistently national football league. Jeff Schwartz joining us almost a decade in the NFL. Big Ben, we predicted on this show, watch him curry favor with his new teammates, is that he got married, had kids, and wasn't as great a teammate, right? Yes. And now suddenly, after the A-B situation in Levian, my prediction is you watch him go back to being, like a guy's guy.

Yeah. So video of him at his lakehouse and his receivers and his running backs. And my takeaway is Jeff, he's going to have a great year. I think he's going to have a great year even outside of this. It's the first time in his career, at least in a long time, let's say, where this entire team, including him, has been motivated and also been able to say no one thinks we're going to win. They have the underdog card for once in a long, long time.

And obviously, he heard the criticism. He heard what Levyon Bell said, what obviously. Antonio Brown said, and he's going out and trying to fix that. He's trying to be a better leader, be closer to his players. He's heard that, and it's good. It means he's listening to criticism about himself. But to me, I've said this since the odds came out. The Steelers to win the AFC North is stealing.

The plus money on that is unbelievable value over the Browns that are even money to win the South. They haven't been the playoffs since 2002. Now we're crowning them champs of the AFC North. So you like the Steelers to win the division? Yes. I love the value of the bet, too. like plus 200 plus 180.

It was at plus 250 at one point as well. They have a great offensive line of Hall of Fame quarterback. They still have weapons. They lost Antonio Brown, but they still have Juju, James Washington. They have James Connor.

Their defense, that Bush was a huge draft pick for them to add him. They can still rush the passer. Got to get better in the back end. The first time and forever, a veteran team with a great coach is motivated like this to show people

they can do without their star wide receiver, which we've seen teams win without star wide receivers. Do you, by the way, do you bet the NBA? Yes. That's what I noticed. It was good yesterday. I had a good day yesterday.

So you took, was it a big bet yesterday? No, I took the Raptors first quarter, first half, and Buck's third quarter. Oh, you're one of those gamblers. Yeah. It's sometimes not good, but yeah. You're all in on quarter betting, you, Doug. I think the NBA playoffs, quarter betting is almost better than game betting. Because I feel like it ebbs and flows.

Like you have a home team, the Raptors, down over. to going back home, they're going to play well in the first half. And then the better team at times takes over, like, I bet Portland first quarter of game three, which they won, and I bet the Warriors money line to win the game. Like Portland comes out, hot, and then the better team wins in the end.

You're very smart, Jeff Ford's. You're very, very smart. Good to see you, buddy. Yes, same here. Life is full of hurdles. So how do you keep going? On hurdle 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. 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,

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and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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