The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd for Feb 18, 2020

Episode Date: February 18, 2020

Colin says Joe Burrow clearly doesn't want to go to the Bengals and defends him not wanting to entrust his career to a bad organization. He thinks baseball players need to calm down with their criticism of the Astros and the Commissioner. He debates with FS1 NBA Analyst Ric Bucher if you'd rather start your franchise right now with Zion Williamson or Ja Morant. Plus, he explains why Tom Brady isn't just looking for money in free agency. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hip since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip.

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by searching herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a loaded Tuesday. Man, we are packed today. This is the herd. Wherever you may be

and however, you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. We are packed today. I love, you know, at this time of the year, everybody complains, I hear everybody lamenting, there's nothing going on in sports. It is jammed. Last night, we almost had, we could have had a near fatal accident in NASCAR. Thank God. Ryan's okay. Ryan Newman. It was a riveting race down to the end. We got a baseball controversy. Joy Taylor is joining me. You get so many emotional things. We got the NBA's off for a

couple days. It's the only thing I don't like about LeBron. He made the All-Star break longer. Come on. Let's go. I need games. Well, I mean, there's still a few NBA stories out there. We're going to and talk a little NBA today. So let me start this. Can your career be over before it starts? I think it's possible with Joe Burrell. So as a dad, and every dad listening is going to either, they're going to laugh when I say this because they know it's true.

The truest answer is always the shortest from your kids. The more they start ad-libbing about what happened to the cookie, what happened to the food in the refrigerator, the more they start ad-libbing, they're making stuff up. The truest answer is, I didn't do it or I did do it. So whenever I see a politician or, a kid or a boss or a talk show host, you know, cornered a little bit. Give me the truth.

And they extend their answer and they use words over and over. It's like because they don't have an honest answer. So Joe Burrow is winning a bunch of awards, right? And he's at these awards, the Davey O'Brien Award. And they ask him about Cincinnati. And instead of just saying, can't wait to be drafted by the Bengals, I mean, he's a Ohio kid, right? He grew up watching the Bengals.

He was asked about the Bengals. And his answer, he uses the word process a lot. This is a long process, right? And they have their process that they have to go through. And so I'm just blessed to be in the position that I'm in. If they select me, they select me. He says, look, this is a long process. They have their process.

Later in the bite, he says, it's a long process. A lot of people say a lot of things. He also has a quote, I do have some leverage. Why would leverage matter if you're going to the Bengals? Listen, Joe Burroughs smart. His dad's a coach. His dad was smart. There's four organizations, maybe five, but mostly four, that are poorly run.

Washington, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Detroit. Matt Stafford's career has been affected. There is no question he would be better in a better organization. The Bengals don't have a playoff win since 1990 in Boomer Ossison. It was so long ago the team they beat the Houston Oilers doesn't exist. It is hard not to stumble into a playoff win, I don't know, in two decades. don't you just kind of stumble into it? You get a lucky break.

Your schedule works out. Your rival in the division has injuries. Cincinnati's poorly run. If Burrow signs, he is locked for seven years. It's over. It's over. Drew Breeze is rare. Drew Brees is one of the only quarterbacks in league history that got a reboot and turn his career around.

Steve Barkowski and Carson Palmer were both drafted by bad organizations. Steve Barkowski came out this week. I remember him. He played at Cal. He was the good-looking golden arm, played at Cal, went to lousy Atlanta. Atlanta at the time was lousy. It ruined his career. He said this week he goes, I spent more time in the hospital than I actually did. He should pull an Eli Manning, said Bartkowski.

I know what it's like to go to a bottom feeder. I spent more time at a hospital recuperating from injuries my first three years than I did throwing touchdowns. It was tough. Cincinnati's got a bad old line. They have an 84-year-old cheap owner who acts as a GM. They have the smallest scouts. department. I don't know if Zach Taylor can coach. I hope he can. I think he may be able to,

but I don't know. They didn't look brilliantly coached last year. And that division has got nothing but good defenses and Joe Burroughs going to get eaten alive. This is tough, man. This is a real decision. It's not like this in baseball. It's not like this in the NBA. If you get drafted as a quarterback in the NFL and they like you, you are trapped for seven years. They can franchise you. and transition tag you. You're trapped. It's a real decision. Carson Palmer played for the Bengals.

He came on speak for yourself about a month ago in Miami and said this. I mean, if you just look at the history of the organization, they've successfully been very unsuccessful throughout their entirety. So I took my stance with the organization back when I did for a reason, and I felt like it was time for me to move on. Yeah. By the way, Joe Burrow is. being coached now by Jordan Palmer, Carson Palmer's brother.

So this is very real. I have said this. Two is going to have a better career than Joe Burrow. Why? Because of where he lands. Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson are going to have better careers probably than Baker, Mayfield, and Sam Darnold because of where they land. You get trapped.

This is real stuff here. It's why I believe Joe Burrell has to push back as long as this ownership group is in place. It's a cheap franchise. It's dysfunctional. And if you look at the four or five teams that don't win playoff games in this league, they all have one thing in common. Bad owners. Washington, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, bad owners. Joe Burrell, this is serious. It's time to make a tough decision. I'll say it again. I think he should pull an Lway. I think he should pull an Eli. Okay. Recency bias is a very, very powerful. powerful thing. The latest thing that happens is always the worst. You go to social media. The world's

ending every 15 minutes. Justin Turner plays for the Dodgers. He's a very good baseball player. He's fun to watch. He's scrappy. He's likable. He's relatable. He doesn't like that his Dodgers, he felt, got cheated by the Astros and their sign stealing. We know now the Astros did steal signs to the degree we're not quite sure, but their GM lost a job, their manager lost a job, and they four valuable draft picks. We'll see if suspensions come sooner or later. But here was Justin Turner yesterday, ripping the Astros and lamenting the sport and the commissioner Rob Madren for not handing out stiffer penalties. Talking about precedent, talking about there's never been a precedent. It's because it's never happened before. It's the first time in the game, to my knowledge,

that this has happened. And he just set the precedent. He set a weak precedent. The reason every guy is in this room. The reason every guy is, you know, working out all offseason and showing up to camp early and putting in all the time and effort is specifically for that trophy, which, by the way, is called the commissioner's trophy. So for him to devalue it the way he did yesterday is just tells me how out of touch he is with the players in this game. And, you know, at this point, the only thing devaluing that trophy is that it says commissioner on it. All right, let's settle down. A. Major League Baseball is going to be fine. FIFA and the World Cup have been riddled, riddled with corruption. The Olympics and the IOC have been riddled with corruption.

They've never been more valuable. Ever. Bidding wars for Olympics. Bidding wars for the World Cup. Commercials are going for a million dollars for a 30-second spot. NBC makes a fortune on the Olympics. Fox does real good on the World Cup, and if both were on the open market,

there'd be bidders from almost every network. They're valuable content. Ratings will go up for baseball this year. We now have a second villain, the Yankees and the Astros. The Yankees outbid everybody for Garrett Cole. They're the evil empire. Now we have a second. Hollywood writes scripts like this.

There'll be spring training records for people wanting to watch the Astros get plunked. They're villains. We now have a second villain in the sport. Revenues, relevance. Baseball has never been this relevant a week out of spring training? I've never talked this much baseball. B, what about the kids? I saw a quote here by Justin Turner.

What about the kids? We're trying to inspire those kids to want to be baseball players. Yeah, I'm sure they'll all quit Little League over this. What about the kids? Don't worry about the kids. Adults can be schmucks. Kids are wonderful. I got kids, six of them.

They're great. I'm never disappointed in my kids. I'm disappointed in my neighbors, in adults. in people I've worked with. I'm disappointed in adults on Twitter every 15 minutes. I want to strangle somebody. I'm never disappointed in kids. Kids see images all the time. Do they become porn stars because they occasionally go to Porn Hub? No, they're kids. They figured out. They'll handle it. Kids are fine. They see horrible images all the time by adults. And they go, ooh, creepy adult. I don't want to do that. Kids are fine. Don't worry about the sport. And see, Major League Baseball

was to the steroid era. This is a recency bias. Everything that happens now is the worst. I'm an old guy. Let me give this context. For 15 years, baseball's best players and some other average ones were taking jobs. Guys who were AAA lifers suddenly became big leaguers and clean guys in the big leagues lost their careers. You don't think that's worse than that than this? It was 15 years of it. If you go back to 1994 through about 2010, the 15-year heart of the steroid era, you know who won? The Yankees won five titles. You wanted to play small ball? You couldn't.

You got squished. The Red Soxs were cheating. Two titles. The Texas Rangers, three, four, and five hitters were taking cattle steroids. They were winning MVP's every year. And they were to one World Series, except they couldn't get past the Red Sox and the Yankees who had more talented cheaters. And then steroids got cleaned out. You know what happened?

you could win small ball. The San Francisco Giants started winning situationally with small ball. You couldn't do that during the steroid era. The smartest people in baseball were getting trumped by cattle steroids. Now the Kansas City Royals in the last decade won with their bullpen. You can win situationally. You can win with small ball. You can say what you want about the Astros, but they won basically through the draft.

They just nailed about six draft picks. You couldn't do that with the steroid era. People lost jobs. Offensive records were smashed. Series were changed. Losers became winners. And in a sport with no salary cap, who benefited? Teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox and the Rangers that were massive payroll teams.

Because if he gave steroids to a 240 hitter, he hits 290. But if he gives steroids to a star who hits 308, he hits 350 and you can't get him out. I mean, the last time the Padres won was in the steroid era. It's not in the stealing signs era. They had Ken Kamenidi and Greg Vaughn. They won. The Padres won. It could take average teams and make them great.

It was affecting every stat, every game, every series, every number. Guys were hitting 58 jacks, 140 RBI, batting 340. You couldn't get him out. Guys were Superman. This is a team that did bad things. Basically, we've been stealing signs forever in baseball. They made it a little more industrial, should we say. and I don't like it.

And they lost draft picks. And they should have some suspensions. And Manfred should probably find more guys. But taken away, trophies? This is recency bias. The most recent controversy. The world's going to end. FIFA.

World Cup's never been stronger. IOC. Olympics have never made more money. The NBA, the ratings are down. So what? If the NBA was on the open market, this network and every network would bid on it. It's good entertaining content.

Take a deep breath. The kids are okay. Baseball's okay. And we got a second villain. I don't have to like everybody in sports. I don't like Floyd Mayweather, but I pay to watch him fight because I can separate art from artists.

Baseball's fine. Go back to your regularly scheduled lives. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. 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 content. 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier 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. incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the

thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, 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 iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clifford 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? Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rep, my mama wants you to wave at her. What?

Where's she at? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? This Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. our podcast point game is about defining the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series

because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get to fly. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball.

Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcasts. Yesterday it was cats and dogs living together with Rick Buecker, who's been covering the NBA since the early 90s, so I'm bringing Buehker back. Justin Timberlake brought sexy back.

I'm bringing Buechre back. Brought to you by Mercedes, the best or nothing. And by the way, Bukes always looks like a guy who drives one because he's always elegantly, sharply dressed. So how about this one? Interesting.

Sometimes you just put a little out there and the feeding friends leave. Yes. So the Lakers have Janus's brother somewhere in the organization. Not by accident. I've seen their practices. And Janus mentioned yesterday something about that. What did he say?

He said, essentially, he was asked, you know, what would it be like to play with your brothers? And he said, whether it's Milwaukee or L.A., it would be great. I know our mom would love us playing together. And of course, as soon as you say anything other than the place that you are, But the reading into it is way too much. If you look at all of the international players and Janus fits right into this, they don't have the American mindset. They are all. Look at all of them.

And I will throw it to you since you put me on the spot yesterday. Oh, I did. The burner. Name a single international player who has expressed dissatisfaction with where he is and has forced his way to another team. A great player. Maybe any player, but certainly a great player. You're not going to find it. Porzingis.

But he didn't. But he didn't. The relationship went sour. And he actually didn't get to go where he wanted to go. And I don't know that I would put him in the category of great international players. He's pretty darn good. But that's not bad. That's not bad.

You put me on the burner. I answer. Now, I would say this. It's almost like when you're an American and you travel international. Yeah. Most Americans are on their best behavior. It's not our country. Right. So when European athletes come over, sure, they are a little more, I would say they're respectful. You're respectful when you're out of the place you grew up in. Sure. You travel outside the country. You say, please and thank you more to be respectful to the Europeans or the Australians and European players come over here and they respect the NBA. If you were an American soccer player. I don't know, I mean, Christian Polisick is probably the closest that's come to that. But if, you. if an EPL team were to say, we want you, we're going to sign you, and we're going to build our team around you. Do you think that American player would ever go, yeah, you know, Liverpool, thanks, but I think I'd like to play for Johnson. That would never happen.

No, I think it's a really interesting point that European players, listen, when you grow up in our country and you're a star at A.A.U. You have a sense of ownership. Like, sure. Hey, I'm the guy, and I've been told that since 12. I'm going where I want to. I think that's a very good point by you. Yeah. So, I mean, you look at Dirk, you look at Powell Gasol, you look at Tim Duncan, Manu, Tony, go down the line of all the great international players who have made, who have been made cornerstones on NBA teams. They're grateful that an NBA team thinks that highly of them that they would build their team around them.

The idea that they need to go to play in L.A. or New York or Houston simply is not in their mindset the way it is with American players. Guy comes up to me yesterday. and I was at the gym crushing it, probably benching 500, I forget. And the guy says, hey, I got a solution to tanking. And I'm like, all right, his name was Michael. I said, throw it out there.

He went on to say what a fine broadcaster I was, but let's not get into that. He said, why don't you pick a date in the season and you don't have to disclose it to players? It's like an envelope thing. And you have a date. And whatever the standings are that date is, it could be game

29, that is the order of your draft. Now, you think it's crazy, but we know it gets established pretty early who's bad, who's not. This way, there's no benefit lasts 55 games to tank. But I thought about this driving in today after my fine conversation with Michael. The fear of tanking is nonsense. It's nonsense. This has always been a league where two things happen. One, the stars end up generally from doctors.

Jay in Philadelphia. They end up at places they want to be, and those are often more glamorous, urban, cool cities. That's just the way the leagues always worked, right? It's mostly the way Kareem ends up in Los Angeles, and Shaq ends up in Los Angeles. Players end up, the star players have leverage,

and they use it to get where they want, regardless of where they're drafted. Secondly, it's not like the Lakers and the Celtics generally have the number one pick. Zion does go to New Orleans, and Jaum Morant, does go to Memphis. And Marvin Bagley, though not playing well, did go to Sacramento. That bad front offices dictate the bottom in this league. It's not manipulating the lottery in the draft.

The bad GM stink. Cleveland once again stinks without LeBron. That's not about tanking. They keep getting picks. Right. Is that we worry too much about this. Who's going to get the number one pick? The league gives us two things. Bad GMs and stars and up where they want to be and we waste way too much time worrying about this stuff. Well, I agree because the difficulty is that when you tank, when you go deep, and this more so now than ever before, it's hard to get back up. It's hard once you get that bad. It creates a stain where inequality play, like not even the stars, just the veterans that are, that want to be in a good situation, look at it and go, why would I go there? It's bad basketball. It's,

going to make me look bad. I'm still trying to play and be relevant in this league. Why would I go there? And I agree with you 100%. The other part is, like, we worry about the tanking for particular players. Well, but there's no guarantee as what those players are going to be once they get to the NBA. Especially now because they're all 19 when they get into the league. Exactly. It's all on development anyway. So if you don't have a good team. Which rewards better franchises. Exactly. And so you look at the, I mean, look at Utah or Indiana or even Boston. None of them concertedly tanked. They weren't very good at one point, but they didn't try to just spiral to the bottom.

So which teams did you just give? Indiana, Utah and Boston. And by the way, which one now is the best? My opinion, Boston, why? Because they have the better front office and the better coach. Yes. And they, that decides where you, it's not this tanking stuff. Even Steph Curry with the Warriors and Clay Thompson are better because of the development.

All their players develop. Right. Yes. Well, and look, the Warriors also caught lightning and a bob. Yeah, they got some breaks. Everything came together. You got Steph at the right number because of his ankles. You got Draymond Green on the second round pick.

I mean, a lot of good things happened. And then you had a Mark Jackson and had a relationship with Andreo Godala. Nate Godala comes in. So, yeah, there can be some unique situations. That's actually, it's a very very. very interesting question about the Warriors moving forward because they captured and they've created a culture, but can you sustain it after five years? Can they sustain it? Oh, God, yes. San Antonio has. Well, I believe that they will, but that's something to be proved because

if you look at Golden States history, that traditionally is not what they've been. Well, in the recent history, it is. They're well run now. Yes, they are. The smart people. But they weren't. And we'll see, we'll see. I mean, if you look at their development, Steve Kerr and I have this conversation in Vegas during the national team practices last summer. You know, there is a price to be paid when you're drafting 30th every year.

And if you look at their roster, name a great young player that they've developed over the last five years. You know what? Andrew Wiggins is young. They'll develop him, he'll be better. I don't think you worry about that. I don't think the Yankees worry about player development. They can do one infielder every three or four years.

They're good. Okay. But still, name me. I'm putting you on the spot since he dodged me on the Porzingis one. Name me a young player that the Warriors have developed over the course of their last five years. I don't think it's hurt the franchise. I can't name one. So it shows that it's not valuable.

It doesn't matter. Lakers don't develop. Wait a minute. No, we just talked about how developing young players is part of the fabric of a franchise. But once they're developed, Clay and Steph and Dramon, then it's about winning titles. Now it's about adding a free agent piece. They did their developing. They're out of the development stage.

They're into the winning games next year, rebooting when everybody's healthy stage. But you still have to continue to develop young guys. And who's not to say that you got Steph, Clay, and Draymond, and that was just a unique threesome that fit together and did well? I'm not saying that they can't. I'm just saying that the Warriors history. Look, I've lived in the Bay Area.

I've seen that team for the last 25 years. They need to prove that they're capable. of getting back in the saddle and developing another steff, developing another clay, developing another Draymond. John Morant Zion, you're a GM today. Which do you take next 10 years? Colin, I'm so glad that I'm now regularly on your show because we need to have this on the record. I said it last summer already.

I would have built around John Moran. Oh, I would not have. He would have been my pick and he's still my pick. I feel as if to a certain extent I've already been. proven right. Oh, really? Have you seen the recent Zion games which get me to a television on a Tuesday night to watch New Orleans basketball? Okay, so now it's about

what's going to draw you to the... Have you not been watching Jha all year? I mean, talk about electric play. I watch him on, I watch YouTube highlights. I don't watch him. I rush to a TV to watch Zion. John Moran's talented, but it doesn't get me, I watch YouTube highlights. I go to a television to watch Zion. That is power.

You wouldn't. And I know I'm not alone. I know NBA guys are going to a TV to watch Zion because I see the ratings. But there's an intrigue in terms of what he's going to be. That is at least half of it. I like jaw. I do. Look, I like Jaya. I like Zion. I hope he succeeds.

I hope he stays healthy. But a big part of it is finding out who is he and what is he going to be. Oh, I know what Zion is. What is he? 24 points rolling out of bed because no Euro Center wants to take a charge. His body is so unique and explosive. He's 24 a night rolling out of bed.

He is going to be a massively productive player with a beautiful touch and watch him score 28 a game by year two. You are exactly right. He's going to be an uber productive player. Is he going to be a winning player? I think he's got unbelievable self-awareness. I think he's bright as heck. I saw it at Duke. He's a leader, not a follower.

Everybody said, don't go back. He goes, I love basketball. I'm going back. He's a leader, not a follower? I agree with all of that. This makes me sound like I don't like John Morant. I do. I just love Zion.

See, the problem that I have is everybody is falling over themselves about Zion being back, and they're ignoring what John Morant has done with a Memphis Grizzlies team. I mean, he's made them a playoff. He has made them a playoff team. What Zion is doing is complimenting, and I believe he's had a – he's created solidarity among that team. But is he the driving force of that team? I'm not ready to say that. John Morant is the driving force of the Memphis Christmas.

Look at the plus minus. I think Zion could have their. Brandon Ingram's their best player, but Jew Holiday is a better player. I'm not sure. You keep giving me numbers. That's like, hey, you know what my middle name is? Data. I'm not here just throwing rants out here.

It's Databoy. No, I get this. I get the numbers and the numbers are amazing. The way he fills a box score and how easily he fills it. That's all I care about. Put the ball in a basket. 31 points. What do I care about?

You just hear about what the numbers are at the end of the game on the scoreboard? All like, well, they're not good enough to win now. I mean, good God, what can he do? They don't have a bench. The Memphis Grizzlies were not supposed to be good enough to win now, and they are. And you know why? Because of that guy. Well, he's a point guard.

He handles a ball more. He's a nice distributor too. Good point. Another reason why I would have built around Jha rather than Zion. All right. It's a good argument, though. Very good. Very good stuff today, Bukes.

Two days in a row, I rarely do that. You deliver both days. You get another chance to come on the show. A lot of times I just eliminate guys, take them off. off the list. You're back, maybe even tomorrow. 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. The New England Brady thing, a lot of people are saying this. I know what a lot of you think

as the public. You think we're all just making crap up. You think he's going to go back to New England. And I do think that's about 70%. But I'm going to tell you that people in this business who are connected very close to Tom think he's gone. They think he's gone. Now, I have one great source on this who is close to Tom. Tom, it's not a money issue. He's scared he's going to get trapped. As we've talked about, Tom, the New England Patriots have to pay Tom in mid-March.

That way, it's less of a cap hit. So New England's probably going to make him an offer, whatever they make him, March 16th, 17th, 18th. Tom's concern is, I don't know what you're going to do. Do you have the free agents by then? What are you going to do in the draft? Because Tom knows New England doesn't spend money. They like to find value in everybody, even wide receivers. So today a mock draft came out from Mel Kuyper.

and it's fascinating because it's Tom Brady's worst nightmare. So Mel Kuiper has the Patriots first pick in the first round. Number 23, a receiver? No, a tight end? No. Giving Tom help? No. Jacob Eason, quarterback at Washington.

And by the way, that's exactly what they do. So Brady signs and gets his money and they draft his replacement. And then the Patriots don't have a second round pick. So by the time they draft at the end of the third round, the eight to ten best receivers are gone and the best tight ends gone. And Bill doesn't spend money on free agent wide receivers or tight ends. This is Brady's fear. Mel Kuyper's mock draft is what New England's going to do.

So Tom, this is why I think Tom cannot worry about money. He just has to get over the money. This is the least important facet for this. And I know it's respect, blah, blah, blah. Your net worth of fortune. What Tom needs is well. That's why I think I've done my Brady pie. I do think the Tennessee Titans are the best fit.

It gives Tom two things he doesn't currently have. Good weapons, star running back, and it gives him fun. Him and Vrable are boys. And I do think Tom at this point, as his wife said in the documentary, he wants to be respected. Vrable respects him. He'll be treated like a god in Nashville. And Nashville's a fun city. So I know the fans, I ran into fans a couple weeks ago.

I was skiing. and I ran into four guys in a bar, great guys from New Hampshire and Boston. They were Patriot guys. And they're like, you guys in the media. That's how they talk in New Hampshire. You guys in the media. He's signing with the Patriots.

And I'm like, I think he is. But don't go crazy on this. Jeff Darlington's an excellent NFL reporter. Darlington is very well connected in the Tom Brady circles. I've known Jeff for a long time. He's a real pro. He thinks it's less than 50-50. like Tom is trapped on it.

Tom, once you're Tom Brady or LeBron James, here's the one thing you won't stand for, being trapped. You're not going to tell LeBron. LeBron's life's not perfect. He may not get the perfect coach or the perfect bench or the perfect teammates. He's not going to feel trapped or he's going to bolt.

That's why I signed one-year contracts. Tom worked really hard to become a free agent. Okay, he worked really hard to do this. Have leverage, have free agency. He's going to listen to offers. So you're kidding yourself of you think he's not going to listen to offers. And this is the prime issue. Mel Kuyper's mock draft is Brady's fear. They don't have a second pick, and the first one, they're just going to pick my replacement.

And by the time the Patriots have a third pick, the eight to ten best receivers are gone, and the best tight ends are gone. And we know you don't spend money. Now, I think it's all solvable. I think this is all totally solvable with one move. I think the Patriots should go out and get Stefan Diggs. I think Tom Brady should say, you sign Stefan Diggs, Minnesota. I'm in. I won't even ask for the most money. Stefan Diggs is unhappy in Minnesota. Minnesota would love to have a second pick. They need to get a quarterback to replace Kurt Cousins in one year. They also have two good tight ends, a star running back, Adam Thielen. They have a very good defensive roster. They draft well. Minnesota, hey, New England, here's the, we'll give you our first round pick. You give us Stefan

Diggs. And I think it would solve everything. Tom would have a deep threat. Now Edelman could be your two. Mohamed Sunoo could be your three. Nikiel Herry could be your four. That's a pretty good receiving core. That solves a lot of issues. Stefan Diggs your one. Edelman's a great two to three. Mohamed Sanoon, Nikiel Harry, the young kid, gets a little better. That's four guys you can trust. Philip Dorset still can make an occasional play. They had the other, I forget, Jacoby Myers, the other, yeah, he's your fifth receiver, your fifth out. They got enough running backs. That's not the issue. So I think you could solve it all if Tom just said, you promised me, Stefon Diggs Minnesota. Minnesota's looking to move off him for the right pick. They are. He's

unhappy there. Look at his Instagram. Adam Thielan of the volleyball. Vikings every day is like, I love America. Stefan Diggs is pay me some money. Give me respect. Now, he's expensive. He's 14 million bucks, but he's a great player, and they are a loaded roster, and they are going to have to move him anyway, and I think now's the time. You've got a team that needs it. So I think the Brady stuff is real.

I think he's considering other options. I think Jeff Darlington knows. I think it's real stuff, and I think he could solve all of it, but we know this organization does not have a history of spending 14 million on wide receivers. They just don't. What's up, everybody. John Middlkoff, three and out podcast. That's me. That's the show. Go subscribe right now if you like football because that's what I talk. Football, football, and more football. Coming up on the show this week, we dive deep into the top three quarterbacks in the draft. Burrow, Tua, and Herbert. And also, would Tom Brady really go to the Raiders? We talk about it all. Again, three and out podcast, go subscribe right now. I've always been able to separate art from artists. my friends, some are liberals, some are Trump fans.

I can separate people from politics. Some people can. I think most people can. I have friends who like Trump. I have friends who hate Trump. I can separate people from their politics. I can separate art from artists. There are athletes who I don't like, but I will pay for a Floyd Mayweather fight, and I don't respect his history and misogyny and some domestic violence situations with women. But if he's fighting, Connor McGregor, I'll pay for it,

I don't have to like people. But my bigger problem with Floyd is increasingly, because his career is mostly over, he said yesterday, he goes, you know, nothing against LeBron James, who just got voted male athlete of the decade. He goes, but I'm really the male athlete of the decade. And Mayweather is not even in consideration, considering the last half of the last decade, he never fought a boxer. It was Connor McGregor.

So, yeah, Manny Pacquio was old. Connor McGregor, that's the last half decade for, you know, for, or, you know, Floyd Mayweather. But it got me thinking if I had to vote for male athlete of the decade, who would my choices be? And it is remarkable how good the options are. So LeBron James, Tom Brady's got three Super Bowls and two MVP. So LeBron's got to be, in my opinion, LeBron would win my athlete of the decade. LeBron James has had, you know, eight finals appearances. Tom Brady, again, if a little lean to the most parody-driven sport of my life,

and he has created a two-time dynasty. Novak Djokovic in tennis has 16 grand slams. And that's with Roger Federer as an opponent. That's with Rafi Nadal as an opponent. The Joker's the best tennis player I've ever seen when he's playing his best. He's been a little less consistent than Federer. Michael Phelps has nine gold medals. That's actually, I mean, Mayweather only had 10 fights in a decade.

Phelps had nine gold medals. And then I would say Usain Bolt had six gold medals. The world's fastest man is, let's be honest, probably the coolest thing you can ever be called as a dude. I mean, seriously, there's my friend Bob. He's the world's fastest man. Not a lot of toppers on that. But Mayweather doesn't only make not. make the top five, I wouldn't even consider him for the next five. Then I'd go Rafi Nadal,

who is, again, 13 grand slams in the last decade. Then I'd go to Steph Curry. He changed the way we play basketball fundamentally high school college to pro, multiple titles, unanimous MVP's. We've never had that before. Then I'd go Messi, who was five-time global soccer player of the year, followed by Ronaldo, who was four-time global soccer player of the year. And then I would have to give Mike Trout, who I think seven times in the last decade,

I think I could be, I think it seven times was first or second in the MVP voting. I'd put him 10 because he's had no playoff success. I'm at 10. I would still not even consider Floyd Mayweather. In fact, if it was just athlete of the decade, I

would put Connor McGregor and Serena both above him. Connor McGregor carried an entire sport. The UFC does not sell for $4 billion without Connor McGregor. It sells for about one. Connor McGregor changed viewing habits.

Forced people to watch UFC. People watch boxing forever with or without Floyd Mayweather. And Serena outside of Djokovic, I don't think there's anybody in the last 10 years in tennis that's even been close to dominating her sport. I would put Simone Biles above him also

for just doing athlete of the decade. Mayweather's not even close. He's basically, he cherry picks his opposition. He's kind of a money pursuing inactive, dot, dot, dot, undefeated boxer. I mean, there's no, there's no arguing his record and his influence on the sport. His historic, his historic legacy is intact. But for the decade, it's not even close. His last half of the last decade, he fought old Manny Pacquiao and a UFC guy.

He doesn't fight enough. You have to have the whole perspective of the decade. show up to work to get employee of the year. You got to kind of show up occasionally to work. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the I-Hard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way 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 iHeartRadio 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, 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, ref. My mom won't want you. you to wave at her. What?

Where's he at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defying the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the fly. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp

with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tom, Brady, there are varying reports today, and people that are not like sloppy blog guy, like real journalist, Jeff Darlington,

are like, it's under 50%. Brady may not come back. Brady, it's not really about money at this, point. It's about does New England, do they have the pieces? He doesn't want to go back and Muhammad Sinoos his go-to guy. He likes Muhammad Sanoom. He should be his four, not his one or his two. There's a story out today. Mock draft. Mel Kuiper has New England taking a quarterback with their first pick, which is very realistic. And they don't have a second pick. That is Brady's worst fear, which is I resign and you don't get me pieces that I need. We need a tight end. We don't

have any in the cupboard. We need a one receiver. Now, I think the solution is go get Stefan Diggs. He's unhappy in Minnesota. Trade a first round pick. Edelman becomes your two. Nikiel Harry's your three. Muhammad's the news. You're four.

Jacoby Myers is your five. You got your receivers. Find another, you know, reasonably priced tight end. Free agent market are in the draft. So today, if Tom leaves New England, we're going to play a game called Tominos. It will begin a series of AFC teams positioning themselves. Where will quarterbacks go? Let's play along.

So Brady is the biggest domino of the NFL offseason. How would Tom Brady signing with a specific team affect other quarterbacks in the market? It's time to play Tominoes. All right. Domino Onejoy. Brady signs with the Raiders. Okay, they are going to offer him 60 million for two years. Warm weather, quarterback friendly coach and a star running back and a top wide tight end.

So let's just say that happens. The stories now are that he's going to list, and he's going to get the biggest offer from the Raiders. So Domino number two, if that happened, I think Belichick goes and gets Derek Carr. He's the best quarterback in the roster. He's 28 years old, 101 passer rating, 70% completion rate.

He's very efficient. You know, the knock on him is that he's, you know, he's not a put the franchise on my back guy, but they've won multiple Super Bowls with Brady. And a story two years ago said that the Patriots don't think Tom is capable of carrying a bad franchise. Domino number three, I think Ryan Tannahill signs with the Titans. Listen, he had the highest pass rating last year in the NFL. And I think people are going to look at Brady if he did leave New England and say,

what we can't be as unstable at quarterback. I think Tom leaving New England gets Tannahill a nice contract. All right, Joe Burrow goes Domino 4 to the Bengals. Again, I just think they're going to draft him. They're a stubborn franchise. They're taking him, and Burrow doesn't have the leverage. Two, or at this point, the guts to say no to Ohio. All right, Domino 5, I think this is, we both believe this.

Two goes to the Miami Dolphins. He's a game-changing talent. They got three first-round picks. He's a tremendous leader. He's the kind of human being you can build around. Injuries, give me a 13 games a year. This is the pick I would make. Domino, 6, the Chargers.

Okay, Brady would now be in my division. I'm not passing on a quarterback. I got Mahomes in my division. I got now Brady, if he's the Raiders in my division, the Chargers, to me, are going to go get Justin Herbert, who is big, strong, mobile, and with their weapons, good enough. Domino 7, kind of predictable. Colts now feel like, all right,

Derek Carr's with New England. I got Tom Brady with Oakland. I think the Colts say we got to grow up at quarterback. This offensive line's young, and they're not going to be here forever. They get Philip Rivers. Now it gets interesting. Here are my two crazy dominoes.

Domino 8. Teddy Bridgewater to the Redskins. Okay, I want to hear me out. So Drew Brees, as you reported, is coming back. So they're not going to pay for both. Washington needs stability. Alex Smith is done playing.

That's what I'm told. He's not going to play. He's going to do front office stuff if he wants to. He adds stability. Also, Dwayne Haskins, you're not paying him anything. And there are questions about maturity. Who is the most mature quarterback on the market that you know comes in, learns the playbook, and guides the young guy?

Teddy Bridgewater. You can probably get them for $20 million. So you're only paying the quarterback position a reasonable fee. Okay? So you bring in Teddy to start and to teach Dwayne Askins, this is how it's done. And then Domino 9, Cam Newton to the Steelers. Wow. Now, my prediction is based on this.

Big Ben's health is still very much in the air. Who is the quarterback in the league that is big? active, sometimes struggles with accuracy, but is a big play receiver that does create a little drama that a franchise like Pittsburgh can handle. It's Cam Newton. And Carolina is going to reboot with their new owner. Keatley retires. Olson's gone. They move off Cam, and they win three games and get the number one or number two pick. I think they're rebooting in Carolina. Cam Newton to the Steelers makes too much sense. Very interesting. They can handle big personalities, they've done that before. He's the closest replica to Big Ben, a playmaking quarterback.

You don't have to pay him a fortune. I don't think the market's going to be huge for him because I think most teams that need a quarterback are going to get the maturity of Teddy or they're going to go draft one. We got five first round draft. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. 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 Podcast,

or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicel Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not White, 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, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast,

Clifford Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the Iheart radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Diana Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex?

Is it just me or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. so let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.