The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd for Aug 26, 2020

Episode Date: August 26, 2020

-Colin defends Marcus Morris stepping on Luka Doncic-Russell Wilson will not end his career in Seattle-Smart veteran teams like the Lakers and Clippers are taking over in the NBA Playoffs-The Cowboys worry too much about glamour-Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers are not aging wellGuest: Nick Wright, FS1's First Things First 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. 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was 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 year. 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.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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. This is the best of the Heard. with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Here we go on a Wednesday. I think it's going to be the best show of the week. Live in Los Angeles, this is the hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening.

Great to have you in on a Wednesday. Nick Wright, Warren Moon, Rob Parker, Rick Buecker, and Joy Taylor is joining me. Quite a blowout last night with some controversies, a side of controversy. as well. Yeah. Who'd have thought there'd be so many storylines. That's such a terrible game.

I know, it was. So Marcus Morris of the Clippers was no accident stepped on Lucas' sprained ankle. Can't be that bad of an ankle. Guys dropping 35 a night. You know what cracks me up about the hypocrisy of America?

By the way, both political parties, both coasts, many countries. In America, we buy our children video games. of people getting killed randomly. And then we're shocked at the numbing of the coarseness and the violence in America. We turn on Netflix every night. Green lit by Hollywood.

Love their violence. And then Democrats argue, what is America's course? It's that president's fault. No, maybe it's all the violence you green light on your productions and the video games we buy for our kids. And then you can't believe why America is numb to violence. violence. We do this in sports, too. We romanticize the Knicks and the Pistons that tackled Michael Jordan. Very low-skilled. But we love romanticizing the Celtics that tackled Kurt Rambas. But you got your feelings hurt last night in Dallas because somebody

stepped on Lucas' ankle. You're going to watch a 30 for 30 couple years on that, and you brag to your friends how great it was. I'm supposed to get worked up over this. I'm supposed to get worked up. The Pistons tackled Michael Jordan for five years. The Knicks had nobody that could shoot. Their only way to beat Jordan was tackling him. The Pistons had Reggie Miller and a bunch of guys who couldn't get a free throw. And they tackled him. And they do 30 for 30s on it. And everybody watches and everybody talks about it. And that I'm worked up over. Can you give me one player in NBA history who had his career ended because somebody you know, kind of stepped on his hurt ankle.

It's called sports. It's when when Montrez-Herald talked trash to Luca, I didn't freak out. Your naivete is not my problem. That's how players talk. But Colin, if Luca would have said, yeah, we're a little more sensitive on the white guy talking to the black guy like that because, you know, the country's history. Crazy time. Don't tell on yourself.

guys YMCA college pro they talk trash that's your problem if you don't know it Luca wasn't bothered by it and by the way was Luca deeply bothered by last night he can't be that bothered he's averaged in 33 a night the reality is the ultimate compliment to Michael Jordan is that the Knicks and the Pacers and the pistons couldn't stop him so they had to try to tackle him do you think it's a a coincidence that the two tough guys currently available for the Clippers, Montrez, Harold, and Marcus Morris. Now, Patrick Beverly is the third, but he's out. These are the two tough guys. Do you think it's a coincidence they sent the two tough guys to the same player, Luca? It's the

greatest compliment in the world. This is why the Draymond Green went after LeBron, because Golden State's like, we can't stop him. We can't stop LeBron. They sent Draymond after him to Neiman and the you know what. The greatest compliment was Lambere had to tackle. tackle Lakers, and they had the tackle Michael. And the clippers have two tough guys. Now, they're not going to send Kauai Leonard after Luca. They need his points. But they send the two other guys, the toughest guys they got in the team, they send him after

Luca. You think it's a coincidence. It's after Luca. This is why Larry Bird got punched in the face by Dr. Jay, because the Sixers couldn't figure out Larry Bird. And the Celtics were now overtaking the older Sixers. I'm not bothered by this. I'm not bothered by trash talk.

Your naivete is not my problem. It's yours. This is, even in golf, intimidation wins. Intimidation is hitting the quarterback a second late. Yeah, the clippers will get fined. All they cared about, get into Lucas' head. That's all they cared about.

Hey, you have baseball managers that tell pitchers throw at him. All pay the fine. You know it, I know it. You know it and I know it. That's what they do. I want to get into somebody's head. get. Give me the list of guys in baseball who've been hit by a pitch, even in a noggin, careers over. Give me a list of NBA guy. Colin, are you saying, I'll make it real clear? Intimidation wins.

UFC, Tiger Woods in golf, NASCAR, bumping cars. You bump into a guy's car. You come around the next lap and the driver's out of the car, giving the guy that it's all about intimidation. That is the difference between the late Kobe Bryant and Rudy Gay. Kobe intimidated people. Got in your face. Talk trash. gay same size super talented some guys don't want to go there by the way luka was so distraught in unravel here's luca after the game after what was obviously a purposeful step on an ankle i have my own thoughts but you know i would i hope it wasn't intentional tell me what do you think i just hope it wasn't intentional but you know every every person

have their own thoughts. Just move off from me. He's just a wreck there. By the way, for years, I heard TV analysts brag about Bruce Bowen. Oh, I love the way Bruce Bowen plays. That is the way you play defense. You mean when he'd slide his foot under a shooter,

so the shooter would land on his foot and spread? Didn't all you television analysts tell me how great Bruce Bowen was? Don't you tell me how great those Knicks teams were that couldn't shoot? Or the pistons that had Reggie Miller and a bunch of guys that couldn't interfere? free throw. Aren't we glamorizing the Celtics? Larry Bird was the really talented guy. The rest of them were kind of gritty. Aren't we glamorizing all these teams? They're going to write books and do documentaries on the tough guys, not the nice guys. Luca's fine. It's an ultimate compliment. I didn't lose sleep and I didn't lose any sleep on the trash talk. By the way, when Montrez-Harrel and

Luca met after the trash talk. Luca was surprised that he came over. It was like, dude, it's basketball. I was 15 years old. What do you think it was like for Luca playing in Europe? When he was 14 years old and scoring on 29-year-olds, do you think all the European guys guarding him were like, we, we, cigarettes after the game.

We make love with our socks on in Paris. It's very fine. A 14-year-old just embarrassed me in front of me. my wife. This is all wonderful. Luca has been a target for eight years. European dudes who he embarrassed when he was 14

were going after him. This is why Lucas is a star. This is why Lucas is not going away. I said this the other day. This kid's going to end up one or two all-time scoring because they went after him and it didn't bother him. And they went after him in Europe when he was 15 and they're going after him in the NBA.

It's just part of the process. It MJ went through it. Braun went through it. When they can't figure out how to stop you, they go to the next tactic, which is talk trash, intimidate, step in an ankle, little rib there. And you know what? Luca is going to drop 33 in his next game because that is what you do when you can't stop somebody. You do that. Come on. Oh, let me shift to this. Very good day yesterday. One of the reasons I had an amazing day yesterday, we picked the Clippers to win big. We said, Paul George is going to play great and they're going to crush him.

But that's not why we had a great day. I had a great day because Russell Wilson apparently is going to play football into his 50s. Here it is. I just turned 31. Right in the beginning of my prime, I got so many more years left. I got at least 10 plus more years left in me. And so for me, I'm just getting started. That's the fun part for me.

I'm just getting started. And so I want to keep going. I'm going to keep challenging myself and continue to be better, better and better. better. And, you know, my goal is to play at least another 15 years. So that's my, that's my mission. That's my goal. Good day for me. Fifteen more years of my favorite NFL player. Two things are happening in all of sports. You know, let's talk football here. Players are getting better earlier, especially quarterbacks. Camps. They got 10,000 throws by the time they're 12 years old, 365-day commitment. The quarterback no longer plays this sport, that sport, this sport, that sport. They're into

football, they're into camps, they're in Elite 11, so they're getting better earlier. The second thing is they're lasting way longer. Personal trainers, personal chefs. Russell Wilson spends $1.5 million, has for years on his body. There's no losers on this. I mean, it's great for the fans. You get your star players like Mahalms for 15 years, not nine, not 10. It's great for the league because they don't have to keep looking for the next star. They get their stars for two decades, not one. It's great for general managers because if you do have to rebuild, it's always easier to rebuild with Lamar Jackson or Russell Wilson or Aaron Rogers. So the rebuilds don't take it.

A rebuild is like, we don't have a quarterback. That rebuild, you can miss on four quarterbacks. It's great for everybody. It's great for the league. It's great for fans. It's great for fantasy. There's no losers. And I do think Russell Wilson, LeBron year 17, Brady year 2021, I think he's got a lot of their habits and traits.

He's really smart. He takes care of his body. He gets the big picture. Brady's always stayed away from politics mostly. Not that he doesn't have opinions. He just wasn't good for his brand, which was very corporate. LeBron's into politics. For him, that's great for his brand in Hollywood.

Russell Wilson takes care of his body. He sees it as a long-term investment. But you know what I thought when I saw this? The first thing I thought when I saw this was, oh, so he's not ending his career in Seattle. because why did LeBron leave Cleveland? The calves were no longer good for his brand. Why did Brady leave New England? They couldn't get him the kind of players to elevate him as he aged.

And what's happening in Seattle once again this year? Battle line and insistence to run a 1988 offense. And Russell is the life preserver saving drive after drive and game after game. Seattle has never understood. It's never been Richard Sherman's team or Marshawn Lynch's or Pete Carroll's. It's been Russell.

And they'll get it like New England or the Cavs and it will be too late. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win. A win is a win. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at 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 it 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 is 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

There's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you 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 IHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts Or wherever you get your podcasts Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

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

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines,

as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. So Lakers are going to wrap things up. Clippers are going to wrap things up. You know, it's funny.

So the Blazers made the Lakers kind of uncomfortable for a couple days. And then yesterday, day before yesterday, Lakers knocked them out. And Orlando, the magic made Milwaukee uncomfortable for a couple days. And today they'll knock them out. And the Dallas Mavericks made the clippers uncomfortable for a few days. And last night, they basically knocked him out. The fans in the media always freak out. when a clear underdog, we know what these teams are.

Now, there's no big surprises. Chris Middleton's inconsistent. Dallas doesn't play defense. James Harden gets tired sometimes because he's so ball-centric, especially without Westbrook to help him out. We know what these teams are. They make people uncomfortable for a while. This is the Western Conference.

It happens all the time. Golden State was uncomfortable in the first round last year. Happens all the time. The bottom line is Dallas doesn't play any defense. You're not going to beat the Clippers four times in two weeks. and the Blazers are just too small and beat up. They don't have any forwards. They're not going to beat the Lakers four times in two weeks.

Now, the Jazz and Nuggets are different. Those are not title teams. They're very even. It could go either way. Rockets without Westbrook, OKC. That's very even. I'll take the rockets eventually because I think they have a higher ceiling and the best player score in the world right now.

But what you saw from the Clippers last night was when they play well, they have the highest ceiling of any team. shot 63% from the floor. They got into Lucca a little bit. The game was never really competitive. Multiple players scored. They didn't even have Patrick Beverly. Lou Williams didn't score a bunch. This is what they are. When they play great, which, okay, they overlooked Dallas, and the Lakers overlooked Portland, and Milwaukee overlooked Orlando. It happens. I love all these young stars. But who is now going to be left in the West? LeBron, A, D, and Kauai. Luca's just figuring this league out. Kauai's been there and done that. And the playoffs are

different. You know what last night was? The kids are at home. They're throwing a party. Last couple of weeks are having a good time. Beer pong party. Ow! Music is loud at home. Ow! Having a good time. Beer pong. You're drink and then dad walked in. All right, kids, time to go to bed, put the beer away. Kauai dropped a 17-footer, then a 19-footer, then an 18-footer, made two defensive stops and a 17-footer than Paul George, then Lou Williams,

and the game is over. The kids played beer pong and had some loud music for a couple days. Dad walked in and Dad, now this is the way it works in the playoffs. LeBron, A.D., James Hardin is going to get through this. Kauai and Paul George and Yonnas. and this is the way it works. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHard Radio app.

Marcus Morris, an intimidating guy tried to intimidate Luca. So did Montrez Harrell with Trash Talk. It's the ultimate compliment. It's the ultimate compliment. Nobody's career ends because you stepped on their hurt ankle. Nick Wright. Boy, this will be interesting. Mercedes Ben's the best or nothing. Apparently, my producers put on the board, he is furious.

So, yeah, I am. For the record. And disappointed. Well, whatever. So is my wife. So Marcus Morris literally came after you on Twitter last night because you called him what? What did you do? I said what is obvious, that it was intentional.

And you are taking where takes have never gone before, which is you are acknowledging seemingly that it was intentional, yet defending him. I was prepared for you to say it was an accident, which I don't buy, but that's what Marcus is trying to sell. Unfortunately for Marcus, and he tweet whatever he wants at me in the middle of the night, but I covered him when he was at Kansas, when Bill Self had to sit him down in the midst of a player of the year race because he was doing nonsense like this as an amateur player.

He's done nonsense like this at every stop along the way. He need Ben Simmons in the head last season. He boinked a guy on the head with a basketball this preseason. We know who he is. But you're saying you're fine with it because you're conflating it with trash talk or with a hard foul. This is none of the above. And Colin, you're saying no one's career has been ended by an ankle injury. Okay, maybe.

But the best player on Marcus's team. had his career in San Antonio inextricably changed because of an ankle injury. He is, Kauai in 2017, was having one of the greatest playoff runs we've ever seen. You've got Zaza put his foot underneath him. He never plays another game for the spurs in the playoffs. And the NBA changed the rules. Made that a flagrant foul. How can you defend this?

This is an intimidation. This is going after. an injured player's ankle after the play is over. Well, by the way, Patrick Mahomes is going to face that this year where people are going to go after him a little bit high. Why? Because they can't stop him. The ultimate compliment is, we can't stop Michael, we can't stop Byrd, we can't stop Mahomes.

This is why I've said this. In the NFL, get a quarterback, job two, protect him. Take guys nobody's heard up from Wisconsin that block for quarterbacks. And the reality is he stepped on his shoe. He'll get fined. But the trash talk, get in his head, step on his shoe, get in his head. This is what I've seen for 30 years, 40 years in the league. Well, then I'm just curious.

Then I'm just curious. Yeah. Like how, what is, what is your line? Because what another option is before game six, start Joe Kim Noah, who doesn't play for you and have him punch Luke in the face. Well, no, that, I don't, maybe you'll punch back and get thrown out. Now, that, maybe, maybe he'll just get a black eye. Well, I mean, it's, it's a line.

And we can argue about, it's fuzzy. Even when you drive on the road, the speed limits 55. You can go 62 and not get a ticket. We move the line all the time to expedite, to intimidate, I'm comfortable with it. Yeah. Yeah, I am. And that's fine. And maybe it makes me as soft millennial as you put it, I think that the line should be during the course of play, hard fouls, a little extra elbows,

leaning, all that stuff's totally in bounds. The sideline camera angle of this, the clippers make a shot. Marcus Morris, it takes a B-line to Luca, to Luca to what, pick him up 94 feet, and then you try to flat tire his bad ankle. I draw the line somewhere before that. You draw the line anything short of what happened in the movie, the program, evidently. And so that's fine. Or I'm sorry, not the program, the last Boy Scout.

That's your prerogative. assume it's your tough, you know, your tough upbringing in the Pacific Northwest. Yeah, it was. Very rough, very tough childhood in the Pacific Northwest. So now, you have to admit last night, the ceiling of the clippers, Lord. Very high. I mean, now, I mean, Lakers was nice, but we know, we know Coosma's not going to do that again. When I look at the Clippers, I think, oh, I could get this five or six times in a series. With the Lakers, I know that Coosma, KCP, Danny Green, Dwight Howard, Javale McGee are all going to play great in the same night because they don't do that during the season.

Didn't this feel like, oh, that's, you could duplicate that multiple times if you're the Clippers? Oh, listen, their ceiling has always been super high. The problem is they haven't shown a willingness to give the requisite effort consistently to reach that ceiling. And you might love the Clippers as a basketball team, but you'd hate them as an employee or a coworker because I know enough about you to know. Okay, you're a super high ceiling's great.

But what do you give me day in, day out? What can I rely on from you? And the clippers are not a reliable team. They're just flatly not. They were up 21 in the second quarter of game four, and they blew the whole thing off, they blew the game off almost. And game five, they're up 21 in the second quarter of game five, and they blew the Mavs out.

So are you fully confident you're going to get that level of effort in game six because I'm not like I either the clippers are are coming going and we heard doc say it so I agree with you it wasn't this was their biggest game of the year and they showed that when they all show up how dangerous they can be but we've had 75 games of clippers basketball this year and they've shown that few and far between at least to me compared to what you get from the lakers who are the actual favorite so I don't worry about the rockets I think it's a pretty even series without westbrook who gives a real energy late in games. I thought Hardin looked a little gassed a little bit in the last game,

but I think they'll win this game. But, you know, I'm going to ask you the question. I don't like asking questions. I know the answer, but I have a feeling I know what you're going to say, but I want to ask it anyway. If Houston does not get through this series, and Hardin did look tired the other night, can I make the argument that Hardin is the greatest score in 20 years in the league,

but he may not be a champion? level player based on his style and based on the current length of the season, that you can be great, but not a guy that necessarily is going to win titles. Because I watch him and I think that this is not going to win. This is not going to win championship. But he's going to score 38 a game. Is that a fair criticism? I think it's a reasonable criticism, even if I disagree with it. And here, if you can be in, if you can be the Vegas favorite to win the title, playing that style, you can win the title. And in 2018, up 3-2, they were the Vegas favorite.

If you can be up 15 in game seven of a conference finals against an all-time team without your second best player playing that style, you can win a title winning, playing that style. Now, they, they haven't. And so people will always be able to throw that out there. I think that's been more circumstantial, and I don't think they're going to win it this year, and he's getting older, not younger. But I think when it comes to the Rockets and when it comes to Harden, it's sometimes the old Bill James thing,

which is teams have a bad habit of blaming their best players when things go wrong. And I know in the NBA, we expect the best of the best to step up. But something very interesting is going to happen, Colin. and I'm very curious to see what the media does with this, which is Damien Lillard, whose team was below 500 this year, played the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs and lost in five. James Hardin, whose team wins 50-some games every year, is going to play the Lakers in the second round of the playoffs

and probably losing six or seven. And somehow this year is going to elevate Dame and denigrate Hardin. Dame's going to get more credit for his team almost getting to 500, squeaking into the playoffs and getting blasted off the floor than Hardin is for once again making it through the first round, once again averaging 30 plus a game, and then just not quite getting over the hump. Like if people want to say, listen, Hardin isn't LeBron,

he's not KD, one could argue he's not even Kauai. But other than that, those three guys, those are the only guys that we know. and I guess throw Stefan as well, that they can be the best player on a championship team in the entire league. And so I feel like if you're comparing Hardin to anybody else, he stacks up pretty favor. Now, I think it's a fair argument. Stylistically, we like Dame and Steph more than Hardin. Stylistically.

But Hardin right now is the more durable player and the better player. I think that's a very – I'm going to end it on that because that's a very good point. I mean, I really took you to the Woodshed for a couple topics. So I like you ending on a positive note because as your mentor, you know, I don't feel like bullying you on the show. Former. X mentor. You told America you try to kneecap me if I was coming for your job. Hey.

I thought it was coincidental. I got shipped out to New York. Turns out the old McAvelli and Coward was working behind the scenes. Always. Nick Wright, good seeing you, buddy. First things first. Congratulations on your new teammate. Show.

look and sound great. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. One of the things I really like about sports, it's getting smarter. I like that. It's preserving players,

rules, you know, the training smarter, the coaching smarter, analytics. Sports has gotten smarter. And the early adapters, the teams that get that, like the Warriors and the Patriots, that Kansas City, that get the analytics and don't get stubborn, win more.

Cubs won analytics. Red Sox won titles. They were early adapters. Now they're rebuilding, but for years. Yankees, after watching the Red Sox, they were not into analytics, then poured in 2018, made the biggest analytic department in Major League Baseball. San Francisco, Kyle Shanahan, very much into data. Yesterday on Earl Thomas, he said,

not interested. No pause, no hesitation, no filter. No, no, we're not interested. Jerry Jones denied they were not interested because Jerry wanted to make it known that it was his call and these reports out there. Jerry keep the story alive. Jerry created distraction in a year with a new coach

and no preseason when distractions could be mushroomed into much bigger issues. Jerry is not quite into the data thing and it's very funny. Maybe it's a Dallas thing. I read a story this morning. They call them $30,000 millionaires. Dallas is a city that kind of flaunts what it owns and flaunts.

That's kind of the reputation. It was a very interesting story. It's called Home Sweet Home of the $30,000 millionaire. And the mayor of Dallas was acknowledging, he said we're both rich and we're poor. We flaunt what we have. That's fine. But what's funny is sports is getting smarter and it's more data

and it's less vanity. And it's more analytics and it's less ego. And it's more about what the numbers say, not what your owner thinks. And I watched this story with Earl Thomas. And San Francisco just squelched it. San Francisco's really good. Super Bowl bubble. Earl Thomas came out.

They could probably use his safety. Didn't give it a, just get it out. No. Dallas, let's talk about it. And I really do think, this is why I've kind of sold my stock on the Dallas Cowboys, is that the first round of the draft, Dallas did not need a wide receiver. What did they do? Had multiple needs on their team.

Let's get a flashy wide receiver. It's about brand. It's about excitement. It's not about data. Data didn't tell you that was the best decision to make. They already had Michael Gallup. They had Randall Cobb. At the time, they have Mari Cooper.

They got a great old line. Offense wasn't their issue. They can't stop anybody. And their secondary loss, multiple players. And their defensive line has one really highly paid player that kind of get sacks, but not really, and they cross their fingers on Van der Esh and Jalen Smith's health. But increasingly, when I watch, and this is funny about this, and I've seen this for a long time in sports, we always fear the big markets and the big brands, because we think as sports

fans, it's unfair. New York's got all the advantages. The advantage to being the Colts and the Green Bay Packers and the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Kansas City. Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints and the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens and not being in these rich markets and these massive cities. The advantage to it is every employee knows you've got to save your pennies, you've got to work a little harder. Look in sports right now in America. The New York Giants, the New York Jets, the New York Knicks, the New York Mets a mess. Shouldn't they, Chicago's got a couple things going on, but, you know, bears, we keep waiting, bulls at Washington,

seventh biggest city in the country. The Washington football team's a mess. I mean, the wizards are a mess. Dallas, the Lakers, and the Yankees are the three biggest brands in American sports. Dallas and the Lakers late to analytics, more about ego and vanity. Where are the titles? Where are they? In fact, the last great title Dallas had was Mark Cuban,

an analytic guy and not flashy and showy, a billionaire that wears T-shirts and cheap tennis shoes to games. Mark Cuban is the opposite of Jerry. He's like T-shirts, lets his players be stars, low-key, very much into analytics, all into analytics. That's the last title in Dallas.

And I think what's happening in Spain, And by the way, the Yankees for years and years, a lot of vanity playing a hunch, overspending. And then they watched the rival Red Sox start picking up titles without their budget, didn't have close to the Yankee budget, and they were doing analytics. And then the Yankees in 2018 said, okay, enough of this. And pour their money back into it. That's why when you can get the combination of big market and analytics like the Dodgers, you have seven division titles in a row.

And the Dodgers haven't won a World Series, but they have passed on so many big contracts until Mookie Betts. They passed on a lot. So when you can get the big glamorous market, the Boston Red Sox, a big market. And they're into analytics. Chicago, Cubs, into analytics. Boston Patriots into analytics. San Francisco is the fourth biggest, you know, market in the country, San Francisco Bay Area, very much into analytics. That's when it's great.

When the big market that's got the advantages of free agents and money and power and prestige, they go into it. But it's amazing how often the big flashy brands are late to it. The Lakers were late to it. Dallas is late to it. Dallas is still playing too many vanity games and ego games. The Yankees were late to it initially. So Kyle Shanahan just squash Earl Thomas. Dallas is, you know, elevating that story. I mean, that's the difference to me.

That's the difference in organizations. It's the offseason. It's the nonsense. It's the daily radio shows for owners. Lord. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart Radio app.

Search Herd to live. in live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford

and at 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 Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it 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 all day, but just so you 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.

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 America. history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, 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 don't realize that we're We are in possession of the thing, and we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about 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. So I want to talk about age. So I thought, you know, Mission Impossible is an unbelievable series. Unbelievable. I've never met Tom Cruise, but it's unbelievable. Tom Cruise has aged well. He's almost 60.

And I'm watching him last night. I'll go through his trailer. He's doing a top gun trailer. The guy looks unbelievable. Does he have hair dye? The hell do I care? I don't know. Veneers on his teeth?

I don't know. Everybody's like, well, he's got a lot of money. A lot of people in Hollywood have money. They look like hell at 58. He takes care of himself, work out, eat right. Doesn't sit on Twitter yelling at people all day. Whatever it is, that guy has aged well. Not everybody in Hollywood with money age as well.

Seen Russell Crowe lately? Guy needs some produce. Okay. The point being is, this is why I don't like the bad love Mission Impossible this is why I don't like the Steelers this year I get a lot of feedback they're the only good team in the league I don't like I'm a little cool on Green Bay but I still think they win 9 10 games I think the Steelers are under 500 they have not aged well certain people in sports have Tom Brady Pete Carroll's got incredible

energy Herm Edwards he's almost 70 years old whatever it is the diet the work I think everybody works out the diet the workout the relationship You still love your wife. Whatever it is. Some guy's age well. Pittsburgh has an age well. Ben's an old 38. Mike Tomlin is a great press conference coach, but too often he gets emotional, not into

dad enough for my taste. I think they're too permissive sometime for some of their stars. They just feel loose. They're not disciplined enough for me. And they have an age well. When is their last playoff win? Do you know what it was? Four years ago, and they didn't score a touchdown in Kansas.

The last three playoff wins they've had, they've beaten Andy Dalton, Matt Moore, and Alex Smith. And they've lost to Tim Tebow and Blake Bortles. Blake Bortles at home. So it's just one of those things where I just don't buy. So I saw a Big Ben quote yesterday, and he's talking about his elbow, how it feels great. And Big Ben came out and said, I've had this pain for years. It's just been brutal. This is the first 13, 14. 14.

years, I've had a tear the whole time, and you're just now addressing it? Do you think Tom Brady would wait 13 years if you had soreness? You're just now addressing it? Like, I just, I don't even know why it is. I've always been sort of impressed by people that age well. It tells me they have good judgment. They make good decisions based on their relationships, their food, their workouts, whatever it is. They've got balance in their life. They're not angry all the time. But I just look at Pittsburgh, and I look at the NFL, and I look at Herm Edwards, and I look at Brady, and I just see some people that just age so well. Pittsburgh, they put on a few pounds.

They're combing their hair over. They're not. My wife always says, Colin, just stay current. Be current. Don't be the old guy on the air that's not current and complaining about Instagram. Get on Instagram. 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard 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. It was a wild year. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the Fourth. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.