The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 06/16/2020

Episode Date: June 16, 2020

Colin defends Rob Manfred while giving his concerns for MLB. why he is laughing at the boycott crowd, and his thoughts on the Mike Gundy-Chuba Hubbard drama.Guests: Fox Sports host Chris Broussard and former Patriot/Raider Richard Seymour Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all?

You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Tuesday live in Los Angeles. This is The Herd. Wherever you may be, and however you may be listening, we are live in Los Angeles, I-Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio,

and right here with my crazy hair on FS1, Joy Taylor, who is rocking throughout, the virus. Better than ever. You know, how people respond in crisis is a testament to their strength. You're just flourishing in the crisis.

Thank you. It's just different. Thanks. Yeah, I'm just different. It's great to have you. Today I was off yesterday. This is sort of my Monday, and Joy knows. I'm all hyped up with coffee and ready to go.

So I'm going to take a very unpopular position for the next six, seven minutes. I'm going to defend Rob Manfred, the commissioner of baseball. We are going to have baseball. We're going to have baseball. A lot of this stuff is just public throwing stuff out there. What you don't like about Rob Manfred is, you know, I don't like the tension between the players and the owners.

Oh, that is such an adorable take for you 21-year-old bloggers. Google baseball history. We had a work stoppage in the 70s. in the 80s, in 1994, almost in 2002. Uncle Rob wasn't around then. You blaming him for that? There's a reason baseball hired Rob Manfred, who was a labor lawyer, because the billionaires and the millionaires have been fighting since I was a teenager.

Baseball's got a million issues, and Rob Manfred would love to change all of them, but he can't. For instance, college baseball. Baseball only offers 11.7 scholarships a year. College football, 85 players free ride. College basketball. 13 players free ride. Baseball, a handful of guys get a free ride.

It's partial scholarships. What does it mean? The best athletes are like, Baker Mayfield was a great baseball player. So was Kyler Murray. So was Johnny Mansell. Guess what they chose? Football. Free college.

Is that Rob Manfred's fault? Are rigid unions, Rob Manfred's fault? Well, I don't like what he said one day and I don't like what he said the other. You didn't like him before that. Stop the hypocrisy. You weren't a Manfred fan a week ago when he said we're getting baseball. You just want to complain about something. Baseball's had negotiation labor strife my entire life.

It's had labor strife forever. Rob Manfred would love to get rid of many things in baseball. He can't. It took him five years to get the replay solved. The reality with all these sports in America, let's take the five biggest sports in America. Everybody wants to blame the commissioner for your lack of popularity. But all five are exactly as popular as they would be regarding any commissioner.

You guys always complain about Gary Bettman. He doesn't promote the sport. Nobody I know played hockey as a kid. It's not our sport. It's not going to be that popular. The most popular sport in America is football, the NFL. It should be. Why?

It's got history. It's ours. We like stuff that's ours. We created football. It's ours. It's got history. It's got regulated violence. It fits perfectly on a TV screen.

We bet it. Betting's now legal in America. And also, and this is not a small thing, it may be the biggest thing. It has the most popular and streamlined minor league system. We all watch high school. football on Friday, and then college football on Saturday, and then the NFL on Sunday. And we know the guys as they enter the league. It's the most popular, even if you put Gary Bettman running the NFL, it would be the most

popular. What's the second most popular? Now, I'll just go with NBA. It may not be, but it's my second sport. It's got history, but not as good as the NFL. It was almost dead in the early 70s. It's our game. It's ours.

Now, it's a little bit international. The NFL is not. is good for global dollars, but it's minor league system, unlike football, now it's got a G-League, and some guys don't play in college, so it's not as good. But it is very fast, but it doesn't have the urgency of football, because it's got 82 regular season games. The NFL, you can't miss a Sunday. NBA, you can miss a month. So it should be number two. But it's got stars, and its stars are very accessible. I can tweet LeBron. I can talk to LeBron. run. Then three is baseball. Doesn't have as many stars. Equally or more international. Again,

great for the global dollars, but it has no minor league system. Unlike college basketball that's got a dying minor league system, college basketball, how many are you sit around and watch minor league baseball? Like nobody. The season is absurdly long, 162 games. For people that say the NBA is too long, double it. That's baseball. But it's got massive historical. relevance. And let's be honest, fall baseball's good. And it's also very popular in big cities. But again, with a phone, the pace of play is

hard. It's slow. It's long. And we're not as slow. We're a caffeinated society. Then let's go to number four. Hockey. Oh, it's not ours. No, it's not ours at all. We don't like that. The Olympics, we root for America. It's not our sport. Canada's better. Europe's better.

It doesn't have very marketable stars. It's got a long regular season like the NBA, not as long. But it's not very good on television. It's not very good on television. Now, it's fast, it's fun, it's got regulated violence, but all these leagues in America are controlled by television. It's not very appealing on television. And again, it's not ours.

And it is also, it's very international. Now let's go to number five, soccer. Soccer's super international. It's really not ours. It's got no one. history. It's the new kid on the block. We don't really bet soccer. At least I don't know anybody that bet soccer. And oh, by the way, there's a lot of upside to it. But at least hockey's got some history. I watched hockey in the 70s, Peter Puck. It's got no that. It's the most

international. And it's the one sport that it, not even ours. They call it, they call it football. They took our football from over there. Or maybe we took it from theirs. Either way, NFL, NBA, baseball, hockey, MLS. They're all in the order they should be in. Football's number one, because it is totally ours. It is totally domestic. It's got the most popular streamlined system. It's the best on TV, and we bet it the most.

It's been that way for 30 years regardless of the commissioner. You're all banging on Rob Manfred. There's a reason Major League Baseball's executive office is filled with labor lawyers. Because they're in a labor fight every 12 years of this league. And I know what you're saying. Rob Manfred, he just doesn't promote, doesn't have. There are great straits to baseball. It's history.

It's unbelievable in the postseason. It's big in major cities, New York, Boston, Philly, L.A., it's bad Chicago. It's great. San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, it's great. But a lot of things, he just banging his head up against the wall, like the last nine commissioners. Here's Rob Manfred. I'm not confident. I think there's real risk.

And as long as there's no dialogue, that real risk is going to continue. It's just a disaster for our game. Absolutely no question about it. It shouldn't be happening. And it's important that we find a way to get past it and get the game back on the field for the benefit of our fans. I think we'll have baseball. I think this job is brutal. Is it the toughest commissioner job?

I don't know. I think they're all really, really tough. I'd rather be the baseball commissioner than perhaps the hockey commissioner because I do have a ton of history. And there are certain cities in this country where baseball is so popular. St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, Atlanta. But it's really difficult. Baseball's a really hard sport. Even if you want change, it's different in football.

I mean, Roger Goodell wants change. Joy's brother was a Hall of Fame football player. He wants change. Roger Goodell can have it by the end of the weekend. NFL owners have been much more willing over time. You don't have the labor strife of baseball. Football, I think, is an easier sport to regulate. Not saying it's easy, easiest compared to baseball.

It's hard. It's international. It's billionaires. I don't even think a lot of these owners anymore in baseball. I'll be honest with you. I don't think they love baseball. They're like venture capitalist hedge fund guys. Even in the front office, baseball is a bunch of Ivy League guys.

Most never played baseball at any level. So I just think it's a difficult sport. I think the pace of play is a real problem. I'm a 50-year-old guy. I'm on my phone. I expect things urgently. I want this. I want DoorDash.

I want to order my dinner. I complain if it's not five. I'm Uber. If he's a minute late, I'm mad at my Uber driver. And baseball's been a sport with no club. It's pace of play is slow. We all know there should be about 100, 120 games. There's 160.

They'll never get to 120. It's billionaire stubbornly battling, millionaire stubbornly battling the commissioner. Take a deep breath. You didn't like Rob Manfred before he said we were going to have baseball, and you don't like him now. We'll all like him a lot more when this is resolved, and I believe it will be. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours in. Today, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. 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 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day But just so y'all know I mean at this point

Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack So I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you finishing that sentence And yes I don't think there's a more important year

For black people Really? Yeah For me it's one of the most important years For black people in American history Listen to look back at it 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? 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. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes,

A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office, Blue, 42. A rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Ms. Parker.

Listen to the Cliffer Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. So, you know, it's funny. The boycott crowd. God, they're boycotting everything. I've been doing this for 25 years. If you want to, I can't even count how many times yesterday people said, I'll never listen to you again. I'm still here. I don't listen to the boycott crowd.

I bust my butt. Joy and I come in, prep like hell, do the best job. we can. Some people say I will never listen again. I can't worry about those people. I got worry about the people who like me. That's who I worry about every day. The people who like me. Want to boycott me? Okay, I get it. There's a bunch of other shows. Not as good as this one, but good luck with that. So Roger Goodell is going to hear from the boycott crowd because he's like, Colin Kaepernick, I'm in. Let's go. Let's move. Here's our commission. Listen, if he wants to resume his career in the NFL, that obviously is going to take a team to make that decision.

But I welcome that, support the club making that decision, and encourage them to do that. If his efforts are not on the field, but in continuing to work in this space, we welcome to that table and to be able to help us and guide us and help us make better decisions about the kinds of things that need. to be done in communities? You know, it's funny, we live in such a divided country that the only thing that surprises me as a moderate, and I'm independent. I voted Obama, I voted Bush, I'm independent. Whoever I think in the moment's the best leader, I'll vote for. Okay, I care about the country, not my partisanship or some party. But the only thing that surprises me is neither side liberals or Republicans can figure out that you only own about 50% of the base. Like when Colin Kaepernick went to Nike, remember that thing? It was remarkable to watch

conservatives go, Nike is finished. I bought Nike stock that day. It was at around 80. It's in the hundreds now. By the way, I got this, facts and stuff. Nike had 48% positive opinion about the company before Kaepernick. 48% of people thought Nike positively. It's now up to 54 post-Caperna. The only thing that surprises me as a moderate is that liberals or conservatives don't understand how divided the country is. Even if people don't like Kaepernick, they're going to buy Nike just to spite conservatives who were bothered by it. Even if conservatives don't really like Fox News,

they say they will just to bother liberals. We're divided. You want to boycott? I mean, boycott guy now is boycotting NASCAR. All right. and is boycotting the NFL because the cap and the kneeling. He's boycotting baseball because everybody's greedy. And now he's going to boycott college football

because Mike Gundy can't wear a T-shirt. All right. Enjoy your angry, isolated life. Bye-bye. Because the rest of us are adults. We know that not everything goes perfectly. We don't have to agree with every political statement or movement to support people.

Maybe it's time for all these leagues to take a deep breath and develop new young audiences. increasingly women love sports in America. Let's go after that audience. Young people, teenagers like it. And maybe it's time to realize older, rigid, boycott person, it's inevitable.

We've got cultural changes in America and you may have to lose 10 to 12% of people who want to boycott everything. I swear to God, if you put Kaepernick on Wheaties, there's a percentage of America that would boycott breakfast. All right. but I'm over-boycott guy. Fine.

If you don't want to watch the Daytona 500, if you don't want to watch NFL football, you're telling me you're going to boycott Ohio State Michigan? I'm not. You're going to, you're going to, when Alabama plays Auburn, you're out. That's a you problem, because I'm watching. I'm watching the Iron Bowl. You're not going to watch, you're not going to watch USC Notre Dame.

I am. I'm not missing it. I'm not punishing myself. I don't have to agree with everybody. stands and everything? I've said it before. I'm socially left. I'm fiscally moderate. Sometimes don't always love unions. That would make me a conservative. Not all unions. Some I push back on. But the boycott crowd, I think it's time for all these leagues to go, all right, we've got about 10, 12 percent of people. They're just going to boycott us.

There's a thriving, young, female audience is love sports. It's growing, growing, growing, growing, put your arms around it. A bunch of teenagers out there. Yeah, they're looking at all sorts of techy stuff. Put your arms around them. Make sports easier. Accommodate them. But I'm not going to walk on eggshells.

Every time I do a rant, petrify to the boycott guy. I'm never going to listen to you again. I'm going to find the people who like me. I'm going to do my darnest to work hard so they keep coming back. But if you're going to, you're going to boycott NASCAR and the NFL and baseball and greed and O-A-N shirts. All right. okay, all right.

We got to find a new audience because I got to tell you, if you don't want to watch the NFL, if you're not going to watch Yankees, Red Sox in the fall, I'd give a year of my life a way to watch a Twins game. If you're not going to watch the MLS, if you're not going to watch college football, well, I'm not missing Ohio State in Michigan. I'm not missing Oklahoma and Texas.

I'm not missing the Iron Bowl. I'm not missing SC Notre Dame. Nope, I'm there. You got me. whether I agree with you or not on every opinion. 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. Chris Broussard is going to join me our Fox NBA guy via the Coward Global Satellite Network

brought to you by Mercedes-Benz the best or nothing. So I saw a tweet yesterday, Chris. No, I saw a tweet. So I'm going to read you this tweet. And this is Patrick Beverly. is a good feisty player. Good, good feisty player. He said, Hoopers say what you all want.

If King James said he's hooting, we hooping. Not personal, only business. So my takeaway is it wasn't a shot at LeBron. It was the acknowledgement that like MJ or Magic, the best player in the league with the most currency, he wants it, we're going. So I didn't take it as a shot to LeBron, did you? Yeah, I agree with you.

I think you really have to do some mental gymnastics. to make that a shot at LeBron. I guess if you read it in a sarcastic way, but I didn't see any indication of that. I was just on the phone with a player, a veteran player, who's got some say in the league, and he said, like, look,

that's Patrick Beverly. He tweets just like he plays. He's going to be straightforward, straight no chaser, right? And so here's the thing. This player told me as well, look, we know LeBron's the biggest voice in the league. if indeed LeBron took the position that Kyrie Irving has,

and this is not LeBron against Kyrie either. We can get into that later if you like. But if Brown were to come out and say, look, for whatever reason, I don't think we should play, players would certainly listen more to LeBron than Kyrie. Now, some are listening to Kyrie as it is, but obviously LeBron's voice holds more weight. But this player says something interesting

and knowing how much sway LeBron holds with Adam Silver, knowing that Maverick Carter is very close with Adam Silver and has been for years. This, I believe, is true. The player said he thinks that LeBron has even more sway with the league and Adam Silver than he does with the players. Yeah. So he said if LeBron were to come out and say we shouldn't play,

the league would kind of be like, well, what do we need to do, LeBron? Why are you feel this way? What do we need to take care of? You know, whereas some players obviously will listen to LeBron and others will be like, well, hold on. LeBron's got Nike money. He's got all the money from his off-the-court endorsements, investments, and obviously all these max contracts.

I'm not in his shoes. I have to listen to my own heart. So I think that was a good point by this player. Yeah, by the way, Michael Jordan, you could argue, was closer with David Stern and had more allies upstairs, David Falk, David Stern, Nike. argue Michael Jordan like LeBron was so powerful that there were some players that resented Michael. He had lots of rivals that represented him. But I think it speaks well, Magic Johnson, by the way.

I think the NBA is the only sport in America, in my opinion, where the best player is often closer to the league than other players because he is so valuable to the net worth of the league because he drives television ratings. Isn't that fair to support LeBron? Yes. It's interesting. You brought up Magic and Michael earlier in Magic's career, he was so close with Dr. Jerry Buss, the owner of the Lakers, some players resented it because they saw him so close with the owner and, you know, he just didn't really like it. Obviously, over time that changed. LeBron, I don't think players resent LeBron for the power he has because he's shown that he has the players' best interest at heart.

He's shown that, you know, he'll stand up for social justice issues. So they don't look at him as a guy that whether he's brown-nosed or sold out to get close, to get a seat at the table with the powers that be. They view LeBron as a guy who is so powerful in his own right that he just, you know, the powers that be listened to him and the players feel like he has their best interest at heart for the most part. And so I think they like the fact that LeBron can have that type of sway with the owners, especially in a situation like this where he would be speaking on behalf of the players. Now, maybe some resent it because in normal times this could give him a voice with the commissioner that others don't have.

But in a case like this where the players are unified and kind of, you know, this or a lockout or something like that, it's valuable to have a guy like LeBron. You know, Chris, it's interesting. So as you and I go about our daily business, we go to the store and whatever, and people will often come up to you or people on TV or joy, and they'll ask us sports questions, who do you like? And so I was just hanging out this weekend, and young fans, like 20, 20-year-old guys came up to me, and they said, like, and it got me thinking, like, who does the layoff help?

And I sat there and I thought, I got to be honest, old teams with veterans, we always know that veterans excel in the postseason. They get the whistle. they know how to manipulate refs. So who's old? Lakers are old and Clippers got some old guys. Celtics are still pretty young. Milwaukee's still pretty young.

Toronto is an old team. Denver's a young team. And I'm sitting there to think to myself, we may see Toronto emerge again. And I thought to myself, Toronto Laker Clippers, man, there's a lot of games and they're all rested.

And they're all healthy. So that's kind of my takeaway. this pandemic, this, we could have a league where you just, it's going to be, even Hardin in Westbrook. I'm sitting there thinking the knock on those two is they're exhausted by June. I think they, I think Houston could shock people. Your takeaway on my theory. No, I agree. I think with Hardin, as you said, in the playoffs, he's a little bit worn down and he doesn't play. It's a little overblown to say he doesn't play well, but obviously he has some struggles in big games. shouldn't be an issue this year because you're right. He'll have his legs under him. He's well

rested. I still don't think they can win it. But yeah, it should help hard in that respect. Where it hurts those guys, both of them are so ball dominant that they need time to learn how to play together. And yeah, of course, early in the season, it was still all hard and all the time. But once they went small ball, they became less hardened centric. And it was Russ having the ball in his hands just about as much as hardened. And it was, if you notice Hardin's numbers fell off. His shooting percentage, his three point percentage is scoring because he had to adjust to not having the ball all the time.

So that's where they could get hurt. With the Lakers, they obviously are in great position because they have the greatest leader in the league. And that will, you know, I know LeBron has had his guys on Zoom calls. He's been working out up at Sierra Canyon with some players. He's going to be in the greatest shape. He's probably got the best setup of anybody in the league. And so I think that will help the Lakers.

The question mark with them is, like, LeBron is 35. And most players will tell you as a veteran, it takes you a lot longer to get going in the season. I've had guys tell me it takes them the first 25 games of the season when they're later in their career to really get going. So will LeBron be a little bit hurt from the layoff just because of his age and maybe he's, rusty and it takes him a little longer to get going. The team that I do think it helps without question is the L.A. Clippers. Look, Colin, they were arguably the best team in the league already. They're the only team to beat the Lakers twice. And Kawhi was in and out of the lineup. He sat out once every week or so. Paul George missed 22 games. Patrick Beverly missed 16. Landry

sham it missed 17 or 18 something like that now all of those guys will be healthy presumably they'll be in the lineup just about every night certainly during the playoffs so their chemistry should be even better so i think the clippers are they're my favorite because i think they're going to be even better than they were in the regular season chris broussard's been very busy for us and all the shows here at the network that's all the stuff we need today it's great it's on point it's urgent Thank you so much. All right, Colin. See you.

Yeah, I don't have a problem with the Kyrie's and the Dwight Howard's having an opinion, but I do believe this is a star-driven league, and LeBron's the star. And I also have noticed something. Powerful people. Like, LeBron, have you noticed for the last week, hasn't said a lot. He's done some social media. That's because I think LeBron is working with Adam Silver. They're going to give Dwight Howard an opinion.

They're going to give Kyrie Irving an opinion. And let them have opinions. They have a right to it. But in the end, we're going to have an answer. NBA season. It's not ideal. I think it's really, really rough to go from the isolation of COVID to more isolation working out into a seven-week isolation bubble in Orlando. I don't think it's easy. I think my takeaway is all this stuff is fluid and maybe 10 days in. Players have days off. The NBA decides to let players and families connect a little bit. I just think it's really hard to

add. This has been a rough year. I mean, this has been an emotional roller coaster, the separation of families, the protesting, the death of Kobe Bryant. It's asking a lot. You know, I just read a story yesterday. I was reading it online where they were saying isolation is really unhealthy, that you will lose years of your life with isolation and anger and that the happiest people are spontaneous and the happiest people are surrounded by people. I don't think this is a good year for any of us to be isolated. I just think it's bad for all of us. And I don't care what players make. I hear this all the time. I make a bunch of money. Money doesn't help you in isolation. You're still by yourself. Maybe you could afford to buy a mannequin and talk to it. But you need people. You're

You need to be loved. You need to talk. You need to, I mean, good God, you can't even, even a therapist now. It's a Zoom therapist. I mean, you can't even go lay in a couch anymore. So I worry about the isolation, Kobe's death, the protest, the emotional state of the NBA and guys not seeing their families. I just don't think it's great. I think you work around it, and I hope Adam Silver kind of, and he's been prone to do this, just keeps watching the situation.

if they can get families in, players can leave for weekends. I think we all have to just be flexible. This 2020 is the year of flexibility. It's the year of listening. Okay. Coming up next, a football coach wore a t-shirt. A player didn't like it. We'll address that.

Big story yesterday. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. So Oklahoma State as a football coach, his name is Mike Gundy. He's never been my cup of tea, but that doesn't really matter. now does it. I'm more of a Lincoln Riley guy. I'm more of a Brian Kelly guy. Mike Gundy, a lot of ego. Yet this weekend was caught wearing an O-A-N t-shirt. That is a kind of a, it's a political network. It's right of Fox News, a lot of conspiracy theories. I've never seen it. I will not watch it. So that being said, you know my position on it. I do think he has a right to wear a t-shirt from

O-A-N. He did on a fishing trip. Somebody put it on a Facebook, and he got in big trouble. Chuba Hubbard's the best player Oklahoma State has. Saw the Facebook post on Twitter called his coach out. So this, by the way, is exactly what change feels like. It's uncomfortable. Powerful head coach, who's tone deaf,

powerless player who says, I don't have any power unless I go to social media. And he calls out his coach. They meet. They disagree. Maybe they argue, maybe they yell, maybe they don't, and then they have some sort of quasi-resolution at the end. I said from the very beginning, this is the year of listening. It's the year of change.

We have cultural changes. Be very careful demanding perfection with growth. Mike Gundy, I don't think he'll ever get it right. I truly believe there's lots of people at Oklahoma State that may agree with his politics, but would rather he leave. But he's got a massive contract. Oklahoma's economy like the rest of America is not great right now. That they have $40 million to just pay him off.

Probably, maybe not. Mike Gundy's not going to lose his job on this. Because for those who don't like Mike Gundy, if you sue him because he wore a T-shirt or fire him, he's going to make a lot more money in the lawsuit, I would guess. But this is the reality of it. Now, I didn't love Chuba Hubbard, the player coming out and going to social media. But the more I thought of it, I thought, well, social media is not for the powerful.

In my business, a lot of people, like there's a lot of people that are very, very popular and very, very wealthy, but they're not on social media. Social media is for people that don't have power. So they can create these movements. They don't have the money. have the position, they don't have the history, they don't, but they can align with a lot of other people on social media and wake people up. I mean, if you don't have power, how do you accumulate power? If you believe there's a system that is blocking you. Let's just say you don't have any power. What would you do? Well, you would find other people, you know, like protests and stuff that would

march with you, that would be in unison with you to elevate your standing. So that's what they're running back did. He said, I don't have me power here. I don't get paid. But if I go to social media and call them out, we're going to have a meeting. And so the more I thought of it, the more I thought, I don't love players calling out their coaches, but what else can they do? What else can that running back do? You tell me, what are his options? I mean, if I don't treat employees right here on my staff, well, my bosses will probably mostly support me and the advertisers would support me and the affiliates support me because for years I've given them ratings, well, what would their options be? For the powerless, the option is often social media.

It's why it's important to treat people right. So they don't have to go to social media and call you out. And the reality is growth is bumpy. Growth is not perfect. I don't think there's any value going back. And this guy said this 27 years ago. Do you want growth? Do you want listening? It's bumpy. And I think Mike Gundy will keep his job for the time being. I think the running back Chubba Hubbard got is it Chubba? I think it's Chuba Hubbard. He got his message out and hopefully Gundy understands if it's possible. His concerns going forward. But the idea the media wants to fire the coach, I think it's very difficult to fire somebody in America

because they wore a T-shirt didn't like. From a network you don't like, which I had heard of it but don't know much about it. So that's where we stand on that. And by the way, college football coaches are, I think I said this last week, are uniquely built to be tone deaf. Even an NFL head coach has a billionaire owner. College football coaches are the highest paid state employees. I mean, an athletic director makes half a million.

A football coach makes eight. The school president makes one and a half. The football coach makes eight. And by the way, the football coach has fans worshipping him and boosters behind him. A boosters get the president out, the AD out before the football coach. They're built to be tone deaf. Now, many of the coaches, Mike Sheshefsky's one, that despite all that power, he does have the ability to learn and listen. He's a curious guy.

I think Lincoln Riley is on a very good job with Black Lives Matter and the social changes we're going through. So hopefully Mike Gundy learned something. I think there's a lot of people at Oklahoma State that think he's just a bad walking PR mistake waiting to happen. But for the time, the running back got his voice heard, the coach, tone deaf. held accountable, and we move on. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies,

and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio 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, Keer Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we, are in possession of the thing, and we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts

Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue.

42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Richard Seymour joining us via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Love that him on. You know, Richard, for years, I was saying that you were the only patriot that Belichick moved off of, and they didn't have a replacement.

and they didn't for several years. It's interesting, you were at the very beginning of the Patriot Way. Did you sense as a young player? It was not always player-friendly, but it was going to be the new way of the NFL for 20 years of domination. Right. You know, I'll say for us, well, I just know personally for me coming in, I was on a veteran team, you know, very fortunate.

If I'm not mistaken, I think I was Coach Belichick's first, first round draft pick when he came in. And Coach Belichick's very smart just in terms of he wants to build a team from the inside out. And I think, you know, he always talked about it starts on the offensive and defensive lines. Now, he put a ton of pressure on the linebackers in terms of responsibilities. But up front, he wanted tough. physical, nasty, offensive and defensive alignment. So I was very fortunate

to go to such a great order of this organization. You know, Richard, you left and had success. You made more Pro Bowls. Were you surprised at all that Brady and Gronk left but specifically Tom? And it did feel like Tom

was kind of burned out. He'd done the Patriot way for a long time and I get it man. The weather's good down there. Go get a tan. Get on your jet skis. Bruce Ariens his cocktails at 530. Do you feel like there was a little burnout for Tom, and he just wanted something new and have a little more fun? Well, you know, like I said, I don't want to speak for Tom,

but I think at the end of the day, you know, he's earned the right. I thought they would figure it out, you know, just because of all that success that everyone's had and Tom's so beloved in that area. And, you know, even with Coach Belichie, and Tom, just the relationship that everybody had. I thought they would figure it out. But, you know, like I said, Tom's earned the right to explore.

He felt like he wanted to continue to play. And, you know, and in his right, you know, I mean, you look at all of the weapons that Tom has down in Tampa. I think he's going to put up numbers. But you also got to look at the division that he went in. I mean, I don't think they're just going to sweep that division. I think New Orleans, in my mind, probably still the favorite. But Tom kind of likes it that way.

He wants something to prove. And I think Drew and those guys, and even the Falcons here, I think it'll give him something to work towards. So we have a year with no OTAs. We'll probably have a shortened NFL preseason. Benefit goes to who? Veteran guys? Veterans, veterans, for sure. Veteran coaches, veteran teams that's been together.

I think those are the teams. I think it's going to go to the best coaches. The best coaches are going to shine the brightest in opportunities in times like this. It comes to teams that's been together defensively. I just think it's tough even if you have just a lot of talent, if you haven't played together, if you haven't been on the same page, and they could be pro-bow players, I just think football is totally different, you know, rather than it's just star-driven like basketball.

I think you have to have the teams, together for some time and also the coaching staff just being on the same page. And, you know, obviously we had that in New England, but, you know, it remained to be seeing what happens to see. What do you, nothing against Jared Stiddem, but my theory is if he was as good as everybody keeps telling me, they wouldn't have wanted Brady back. I mean, they were ready to move to Jimmy Garoppolo three years ago. And instead, you know, Belichick had to move him.

It's nothing against Jared Stidham, but they've watched him practice for a year to a year and a half and they still wanted Brady back. What are you hearing? What's your guess about Stidman Belichick, how it would work? Well, you know, every year is different in Coach Belichick's mind. You know, 100% he's going to come into the meeting rooms and say, you know what? Last year's last year, Super Bowl, the year before, Tom is not coming back through the door. So we have to make it work with the guys that we have here. And we have to create our own team right now in terms of what we want to be this season. So I think he's done a great job year and year out. And I think that's how you have continued success is leadership coming from the top,

preaching the same message to the team. All the coaches are on the same page. And I do, I will say, I mean, I don't know what Stidham's going to do, but, you know, he has an opportunity. opportunity and hopefully he takes advantage of it. Yeah, I mean, he has a strong arm. We've seen very little video. I'll watch the little bit of him in college. Okay, so let's get to two issues. First, the Drew Bree's issue. He's loved in his community. He's kind of tone deaf on Black Lives Matter. Players call him out. And then there appears to be some level of resolution. Do you think over the course of a season, you were a veteran high-end player? Drew's a veteran high-end Super Bowl winning

player. Will there be any lingering resentment in your opinion of Drew Brees in New Orleans? Well, I agree that he was tone deaf in terms of the comments because it was never

about the flag. But also at the same time, I think he's got with his teammates there, whether it's Michael Thomas, and you know, everybody coming together, I do think he's listened and he came out and, you know, anytime, you know, someone can make a mistake and they can say the wrong things and that sort of thing. But I do think he was sincere in terms of his apology.

And I think his teammates accepted it. So he stood. He didn't run from it. Even though as tone deaf as it was, I think he came out and he faced the music and he didn't try to run from it. So in my mind, as a veteran player, I'll just take that at his word and we'll move forward from there. But, you know, he does have some proving to do. And I think he'll do that. So the commissioner said Colin Kaepernick, sign him up.

I'm for it. Were you at all surprised that a player a couple of years ago, which many believe was blackballed by the league, the NFL has opened their arms up. Are you just surprised by that? I think at this point right now, it's going to be tough for him to come back. I do think he was blackballed out of the league and everybody was scared to touch him.

And I think he was before his time just in terms of his understanding and standing for what's right. And everybody wanted to kind of be away from him for, you know, and didn't want to touch him or just felt like he was bad for business. But, you know, he was a trendsetter, a trailblazer. And I think he's going to be looked at like, you know, some of the great set of game and, you know, stood for a cause.

So at the end of the day, we have a ton of respect for Colin. I think he's represented, you know, the National Football League and the way they want to be represented or the way they should be represented. And, you know, I think we need more guys like him throughout the league. By the way, let's talk football. Inactive for three and a half years. Richard, that is a long. Absolutely.

I mean, a long time. Michael Jordan missed 18 months and acknowledged his rust had rust. He wasn't the same player. Can Kaepernick play? You know what? That's the part that in my eyes is going to be the most difficult part. just because, you know, seeing defenses, seeing, you know, well, first of all, I think he has to get an opportunity. And if he gets an opportunity, I just think it's going to take some time, just like anybody.

I mean, just like a rookie coming in, I think you have to take your time with them and just start from the ground up. But we know he can do it. We know he's a talented player. But it's very difficult to take a year off, let alone four years off. So, but it has to be some type of resolution, and, you know, I hope he eventually gets an opportunity. By the way, Richard. If that's what he wants. Yeah.

I got to ask you about this poker tournament thing. So when did you, so you're some great, Joy and I were like. I wouldn't go that far. I wouldn't go that far. But you play poker a lot. Yeah, no, no, no. Yes. I enjoy poker.

I enjoy poker because in my eyes, poker is. especially tournament poker. You have to be disciplined just like football. Whatever happened in the last play, you have to move on from it. So a lot of the same qualities that it takes to be a Pro Bowl,

a Hall of Fame type player. If you want to be a really good poker player, you know, you have to have those same qualities. And, you know, it's very competitive. It keeps you going. You know, so I, like I said, I enjoyed it. I made a lot of great people doing it. So it didn't like football where I have to retire at 35.

Right. Were you... I can continue to play. You don't seem bitter about the fact that you were traded away from a dynasty four days before a season. It would be very understandable for you to harbor resentment. Did you initially? Well, initially, yes.

Initially I did, yes. But, you know, the way Al Davis told me, It was like, well, they didn't trade you away, Richard. We traded for you. So, you know, so it's all in, you know, how you look at it. And then, you know, for me, it was bigger than football. You know, like I said, my kids were in school at the time. And so it was just a lot of logistics and that sort of thing that needed to take place.

But when I got out to Oakland, you know, the team, it was a young team. very talented, but they just needed some guidance and direction. Like I said, I'm looking at Tommy Kelly. There's some of the great players that I played with, Namdi Awesomewa. You know, so there was a lot of great players that I played with, but, you know, they just, they needed some leadership. And, you know, hopefully I was able to provide that while I was there. So, you know, like I said, I enjoyed my time while I was out in Oakland.

And, you know, actually I have a few things in works with the Raiders. but I won't reveal that right now. All right. That's fair enough. You look great. So you've taken care of yourself. How old are you right now? Try to.

40. You look good. 40. 12 years in the NFL, you look good. And by the way, he was a Georgia bulldog. So you live north of Italy. You're still bulldog. You still go to the games at all?

Yeah, yeah. Bulldogs all day. I'm probably about 50 minutes from Athens. Yeah. So I get down. Yeah. You know what? My wife's a big, she loves to tailgate.

So we got an RV, we got the Big Ten. I have to see some pictures of our setup. So if you ever want to come down to a power school, we got y'all taken care of. Richard, great seeing you. Congrats on an amazing career. And we'll wait for your Raider News. Thank you so much. Absolutely.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the Internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. In every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down. the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to 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. 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 podcasts. On the Look Back at a podcast. In 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.

I'm Sam Jay And I'm Alex English Each episode We pick a year unpack what went down And try to make sense of how we survived it With our friends

Fellow comedians And favorite authors Like Mark Lamont Hill On the 80s It was a wild year I don't think There's a more important year for black people

Listen to look back at it On the IHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts Or wherever you get your podcasts Hey what's good y'all You're listening And learn the hard way With your favorite

Therapist and host care games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Hew. Amen.