The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd for Jul 03, 2020

Episode Date: July 3, 2020

Doug Gottlieb filling in for ColinWashington Redskins possible name changeCam Newton is looking for respect not moneyLakers might be better but so is every other teamGuest: Former NFL scout John Middlekauff Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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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 herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. What up? Welcome in. This is the herd, wherever you may be. And however you may be making as part of your day, thanks so much. I am Doug Gottlie. Going in for Colin Cowherd.

Happy 3rd of July, 4th of July is tomorrow. Our nation's Independence Day. Hopefully you're celebrating with your family, your friends, You're grilling some meat from some unsuspecting farm animal. Or maybe you're doing the meatless burger thing. I've tried them. They're good. Nothing on with that.

Oh, what to talk about today. What to talk about today. We actually have a great show for you. My man John Middokoff will join us in an hour. Actually, in one hour, Anthony Davis is doing that thing that we all do in preparing for the NBA playoffs or for a big game. he is saying what applies for him only applies for him and not realizing that it actually applies for the entire league.

So Anthony Davis is right and he's completely wrong. That upcoming in one hour. Plus John Middokoff, 3 and Out podcast. Antonio Daniels will join us in 25 minutes. We'll get his thoughts on the NBA bubble and on the Pelicans, the new look, Zion, and what we can expect in those eight games. But let me start with what I thought we would begin with.

Like I actually, on my show, my producer's a young man named Ryan Music, and he just moved into his first house with the woman who should be his wife now. No, she did not change her mind. His wedding was pushed back because of COVID-19 in quarantine. So they had planned getting married, go to honeymoon, come back, new house. The house ready, moved in, had the in-laws over the first time. Problem is there is no wife just living in complete sin now, which is cool, which is cool, if that's the way you roll. Anyway, so I disturbed him during what should have been the inaugural dinner with the in-laws at his new home because I knew this story was brewing and I felt like it'd be the one to lead with and sometimes you lock out.

So there are continued calls now for the Washington Redskins to change their name. Now, I want to be completely candid and honest where I come from on this perspective and what I think is really, really important. One, I am against the Redskins changing their name. I have a logic behind it. I understand it. I understand why you think you're. You're supposed to be offended by the name. I respect people who believe they're offended by the name if they are, in fact, or whatever.

I think it's a mistake because we're doing that thing that we always do. But I also am willing to listen. Look, to me, this entire exercise is supposed to be about listening, not necessarily about agreeing. But in listening, we actually have to listen to both sides. right? That's the way this works. It's really important. But let me get to why it's become the story of the day. So FedEx and a couple other sponsors, of course, they play at FedEx Field, which, by the way, was a dated stadium from like the time it opened up.

But FedEx, which is one of their biggest sponsors, has reportedly asked the Redskins to change their name. Now, remember, there is a difference between asking and demanding. mom can I spend the night at Johnny's that's an ask I'm spending the night of Johnny's it's different that's a demand right in light of this is from the Washington Redskins in light of the recent events around our country and feedback from our community the Washington Redskins are announcing the team will undergo a thorough review of the team's name this review formalizes initial discussions the team has been having with the league in recent weeks Dane Snyder owner of the Washington Redskins stated this process allows the team to take into account

not only the proud tradition in history of the franchise, but also the input from the alumni, the organization sponsors, the National Football League, the local community proud to represent it on and off the field. Ron Rivera, head coached the Redskins, said this is an issue of personal importance to me, and I look forward to working closely with Dan Snyder to make sure that we continue the mission of honoring and supporting Native Americans and our military.

We believe this review can and will be conducted with the best interest of all in mind. Now, it's important to point out that Dan, Dan Snyder was the put it in caps, we're never changing our name. That's going back to 2013. I believe that unless, and frankly, even if, okay, you change the name to a Native American name, honorary name, it will be a mistake. Simply wiping out any Native American references from professional sports team does not actually change. history. It doesn't. Whether it was your forefathers or mine, and frankly, it wasn't mine. We had our own issues on the other side of the pond, right? The people that came here

ran the Native Americans off their land, fought for land which they deemed to be given to them by God, and of course the Native Americans who were here, who were called Indians, even No, it wasn't India, were chasing their land and their lives and villages were mostly destroyed. And I don't need to go into the ugly sword history of our country and how we treated the people who were here before us. But here's the thing. Okay. The redskins, and this is really important. Like, this is the problem with what the movements of taking down many of the years.

statues. Look, I'm not going to sit here and tell you I know why statues for Confederate soldiers were ever erected. I would like to think that we, at the time, some people took the good of some and said it outweighed the bad of some and decided that that person was worthy of a statue. It's my best guess. What I can tell you is, but I can't tell you is, but I can't. tell you is I've seen name suggestions. I've seen warriors suggested. Are you aware that warriors combined with a Native American mascot was deemed to be offensive for Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin? You aware of that? Yeah, warriors, which by my estimation, if you call a people, warriors, that seems to be kind of proud, kind of strong.

representative of a culture that wants to fight for what is rightfully theirs. But some deemed it to be offensive. And so the Marquette warriors are now the Marquette Golden Eagles. We have actually been in this process before. Stanford changed their name from the Indians to the Cardinal, Noes, Utah, from the running Indians to the Utes or running Uts. Chief Wahoo is no longer on the hat of the Cleveland Indians. and again, Native Americans are not actually Indians.

Florida State remains the Seminoles. And why? Because they have worked with the Seminole tribe and tried to have the appropriate mix of the history of the Seminole tribe with their football and sports teams. And by the way, when they stick the spear in the ground before each game, it's one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Right? And it's a tip of the cap to the Seminole Warriors. So let's examine the Washington Redskins. Why'd the nickname come to be? Why did the nickname come to be? Well, it was actually meant to honor all of the tribes. Because if you pick out one tribe, well, then do you get associated with the bad of that tribe? Or what do you do to their arch rival tribe?

Right? Like the Natchitank, and if I mispronounce it, I apologize, Indians. There were 300 members. in D.C., you could pick them out, but there were other tribes all around. And at the time, remember, this is in the 1920s and 30s, when they moved down from Boston to D.C. Redskins was not deemed to be an inappropriate or offensive nickname. And in truth, even today, if you call, no one calls anybody a Redskins, you can tell me that it's a slur, but it's not because a slur is a word that's used in common language.

This isn't, or even an uncommon language. It isn't. A redskin, the only use the word redskin has in the English vernacular is to describe the football team, which plays in Washington, right? And so we can determine that it means whatever we want it to mean. When you sing a song that says, hail to the Redskins, isn't that honoring the Redskins and what they represent? when the mascot of the Redskins is of a proud Native American warrior, how is that offensive?

So look, do I think that they'll change the nickname? Of course I do. Because that's what we do. Instead of actually saying like, all right, what's the actual meaning? What's the logic behind it? What was the thinking behind it? Does this do more to honor than it does to be a negative and a detractive? to Native Americans? The answer, I believe, is yes. Of course, there have been polls taken over the years

that Native American communities for a long time have actually been drawn to, and that's their favorite team, no matter where the location of the tribal lands are, that it's a very popular nickname. Now, that nickname has changed, the percentages have changed in terms of level of importance, and people have wanted to change the name more so in... on tribal lands now than before, I think a good portion of it is not just our evolution in thinking, but also that the Redskins haven't been good, right?

Like, not only could you deem it to be a little bit offensive, but you're like, and they suck, and nobody likes Dan Snyder, so, yeah, change the nickname. But if you truly honor a culture, like, I, I, it doesn't eliminate the negative history, with our country towards Native Americans, you're going to pick a nickname, which is going to essentially wipe any sort of

Native American imagery from the National Football League. There already are no Native... I'm not aware of any players of true Native American or 100% or even 50% Native American descent playing in the National Football League. Like, remember, you're wiping the good history as well as the bad history. just for the sake of protecting people from what's deemed to be hate speech,

which is not actually hate speech. No one calls another person a red skin. It's not even a term that's used. It's just not. And yes, language does evolve over time. And words that were not previously offensive are offensive now. Go back and watch movies from the 80s. You're like, man, that language would never survive today

because we're supposed to be evolving instead. And sometimes we're becoming more hesitant and more cautious of how we possibly could offend. Look, I'm Jewish, okay. I'm willing to understand that if somebody wanted to, if somebody was to have a team named the Jews, okay, not sure how that would go over, but why would it be a,

negative, okay, if the mascot was representative of strong, virile, protective of people, and a proud culture, right? The term Redskin means whatever you wanted to mean, or means whatever the team creates the meaning around it based upon their imagery. So I sit here today willing to listen and understanding that these are the times and when the sponsors pull the money, that's when things change. It's not will it happen? It probably does. It's is it actually the right move?

Does it actually does does what happens honor in any way Native American culture? And the likelihood is now. And think about it. whatever you think of Utah being the Indians or running Indians, now no one knows that Utah was the Indians are running in. There's no Native American link to their history of the land at all on that campus. The same at Stanford. The same at Marquette.

And when we wipe history, we wipe good as well as bad. And without actually looking and investigating, which I believe is actually what the Redskins are doing, by having a review process is having people come in and explain, look, I understand how it looks and may feel to some people like this is

some derogatory term, but the truth is that instead of picking out one individual tribe, you put them all together and this was the word that they chose at the time. It wasn't offensive then. It's not really offensive now unless you want you want Redskin to mean something

demeaning of Native Americans. You can have it mean that way, but it On the surface, it doesn't. And everything done around it is meant to honor the tradition and heritage of Native Americans. And if you eliminate it, you wipe the good heritage and history and proud tradition and hail to the Redskins from our memory. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. F-S-1 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 made. the highlight reel. 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. Sportslice 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 Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a 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 all day,

but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second. episode where we've discussed cracks. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your 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,

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Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliver 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 of 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app. or wherever you get your podcast.

Doug Adleven for Colin, this is the herd. Fox Sports Radio Radio app. Thanks so much for welcoming us in on a Friday. Colin back on Monday. Quick thought here on the Washington Redskins name controversy, right? Washington is named after George Washington. George Washington's family came over from England and became huge landowners.

And of course, who do they chase off the land, but Native Americans. And then, of course, George Washington had, I think, 83 slaves. Like, when does it end? We are at a different point in history. And I understand that in this case, you have a word which people can deem to be a slur and offensive. But we have to be very cautious of when it ends and we eliminate all history. We only look at the bad in people and things that they were, that they did. We're looking at yesterday through a lens of today.

And that's not fair. That's not right. That's not how it's supposed to be done, in my opinion. It doesn't mean that we want to immortalize people that were evil human beings. I'm agreeing there. But there has to be a reasonable sense of taking a breath and understanding the history of the moment of the time. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Cam Newton on his Instagram, it's not about the money.

about respect on his Instagram page. I was always told that in professional athletics, money did equate to respect, right? And he signed a deal that has a $550,000 minimum. And look, if it's the betting on yourself, and it wouldn't have happened if he didn't, one, think he could beat out Jared Stiddem and Brian Hoyer, right? if he didn't think that the Belichick, Josh McDaniel, seal of approval was important,

he wouldn't have done it and he wouldn't have taken less because of it. But I do wonder if he's been humbled, right? If he understands how close he still is and really was to the league starting without him in it. Like, that's a really hard one. And because we all act like being. Humbold is somehow a bad thing. Like at some point in time in our lives, we all need to be humbled. It's happened to me. You know, it happened to Colin. Happens to everybody. And you just take

back, you look like, you know what? I was, I kind of lost who I was a little bit there. Need to figure it back out. What do I want to be? How do I want to be remembered? Does Cam Newton want to be the one hit wonder? I won an MVP. I went to one Super Bowl. And then Carolina didn't want anything to do with me. You know, my former head coach took on the Redskins didn't want me, traded for my backup. The Buffalo Bills, who Sean McDermott was the defense coordinator when they went to the Super Bowl, Brandon Bean was, was, was the GM was there as well. He didn't want me.

You know? So, like, we, when I say the word humble, you're like, why does he need to be humble? Well, because that's a big portion of it. Learn to play for the team. Learn to figure out how you fit in. It's not about the money, it's about respect. I guess I'm wrong. I always thought, and athletes always said it wasn't,

the actual dollar amount wasn't important. It was the respect. That's why I wanted to be the highest paid guy. That's why I wanted the guaranteed contract, because you respect me. I'm not sure he's really evolved in this process. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific

on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. So Middoloff will join us in 15 minutes. We've got a lot to get to. Take you to D.C. next hour where the Washington Redskins are going to review, again, their nickname, and maybe change it from the Redskins. Let me start with this, though. Anthony Davis said this about the Lakers and their chances to win an NBA title in Orlando. Quote, obviously, we're missing a key piece in AB.

A.B. Not Antonio Brown. No, he does not. I'm sure he wants to play for the Lakers. He wants to play for everybody. right now the Seahogs. No, no, no, that's, it's Avery Bradley. Remember Avery Bradley opted out, staying home, not going.

Obviously, we're missing a K-P's and A-B, but I think our chances are the same. Our chances are higher just because we're all rested, we're all ready to go. If anything, our chances got higher, and it's going to be about who wants it more. Everybody kind of had a decompression of the season. Obviously, with the stuff going on, it's about what team wants it more and which team can stay healthy. God, I hate the which team wants it more thing, right? Because if it is which team wants it more, Avery Bradley's not there.

That kind of indicts it. But this is what we do this as fans. We do this as analysts. And now Anthony Davis is doing this as a player, which is we only look at it. And we do this as human beings, right? We only look at it from our perspective. Anthony Davis is like, man,

because I think what he's saying is LeBron's rested. Rested LeBron. Great. Rested, healthy Anthony Davis. Great. We're rested. Great. Pst.

Anthony. You know the Clippers got rested, too. Right? We do this before. Like, if you give Nick Saban two weeks to prepare for a big game, what if the other guy gets two weeks to prepare? Like, he's the other guy's like, you know, we were going to get ready for this game. But Nick Sabin's got two weeks.

So. we got no shot. Like that's not actually the way it works. Now, there are times in which, and Collins pointed this out, Nick Saban's schedule at Alabama, they have a week off before they play LSU or a week off, and the other team sometimes does not have the week off, and it's an unfailer level of preparation. Got it. In this case, everybody got the same time off. And unless Lou Williams chooses to opt out, which I don't say Lou Williams.

But unless Lou Williams opts out, they aren't better. You can't defineably tell me. Look, all you have to look at is Avery Bradley was struggling to shoot the ball during his time with the Lakers. During the month of February, he shot at a 48% clip from three. Far and away his best month as a Laker. Statistically, he played his best basketball. Do you know what else happened in the month of February? Wait for it.

The Lakers played their best basketball. So the guy whose success directly court, like LeBron was having a great year from the start of the year to the end of the year, the end of whatever you want to call it in February, in March. LeBron was playing great. Yeah, his free throws went up and down or whatever. He got some fatigue. I'm not disputing that LeBron healthy rest of the Bronn.

But the guy that most court, because if you remember, they wanted Darren Collison, who's like, nah, stay retired. And then they even reached out to Darren Collison, and then he sat next to Jeannie Bus at a game. You're like, these, he's coming. The Clippers wanted him and the Lakers won. He's from L.A.

Play to UCLA. He's solid. He led the league in three-point percentage. You can stay away from the basketball. He can really defend. And like, man, Darren Collison, love Derry. He's going to be a Laker. Why do they want Darren Cawson?

Because Avery Bradley wasn't playing like he was good enough. Right? And I was the first one to tell you that Alex Caruso was a game changer for the Lakers. just going back to the start of the season when he didn't, Caruso didn't take off the sweats in their first game, the first night in the season. And it was a mistake. It was a mistake. But you can't tell me that going from

Avery Bradley to some mix of Rondo Caruso and J.R. Smith in his stead to take up his minutes, makes the team better. That doesn't. But the bigger thing is, you are rested. You are healthy. These, you are, Anthony Davis is not wrong. but so are the clippers

and I could make the case that considering LeBron was healthy before the the stoppage and Kauai his health has been in question for the last couple of years it benefits Kauai more and also Paul George like

look he had dual shoulder surgeries and he was starting to come into his own and oh yeah by the way the clippers what had they lacked Like the big question about the clippers was health. They should be healthier. And cohesion. They're going to get an additional training camp and eight games.

And they're all hanging out together instead of being in LA when you got 12 players and 12 cabs, right? So I'm not saying that what Anthony Davis is saying is wrong. Who wants some more, I guess. Who stays healthy is incredibly important. Somebody's going to go down and we'll blame the coronavirus and we'll blame the shutdown and quarantine on the injury. no matter what, no matter what injury it is, it will be blamed on that. I can mark that down, mark my words. It may be to blame, or it may just be a guy got hurt.

It's possible. But the idea that your chances are better because you're rested, when everybody else is rested, doesn't actually feel like it fits with the truth because it's looked at from a myopic, perspective in which only our team matters and only what happens us, man. Do I think the Lakers are favorites? Yeah, you got LeBron.

And though it's not a perfect team, they were playing tremendous defense. They had good cohesion. Anthony Davis, LeBron fed Anthony Davis' ego and tried to build him up because he knows he's going to need Anthony Davis even now to carry the team on some nights when he's just not going to have it. Like, I do wonder that even though he's healthy, and if you saw the pictures that LeBron James and Lakers put out there on social media yesterday, like he always looks like he's in good shape, but dude looks, he looks amazing.

Keep in mind that while they're all healthy, they've all been working out. Like one of the worst kept secrets or the biggest lies. Now, there have been players. Jason Tatum said he didn't touch a basketball. I don't believe that. I don't believe it for a second. I don't believe for any one second. Jason, I'm like, well, I'm just not going to touch a basketball for three months.

Like, come on, man. Somebody else said that. Did you guys see this story earlier today? Yeah, a story earlier today where Chris Middleton said, this is the longest he's gone without touching a basketball. Like, really? I can't imagine anybody really doing that. Like, you don't live with your mom.

You can dribble the basketball in your house. I didn't touch a ball. I don't think that's actually true. And not touching a ball doesn't mean you're not in phenomenal shape. But who touched a ball, who worked out, who made their game better? Like, that's my big thing with Zion. Zion clearly has been working out. Did he work in his jump shot?

Because they've essentially had an entire offseason in terms of length of time to either improve your game or to not work on your game. And you can give me the, hey, first couple weeks I was in lockdown, couldn't leave the apartment. I believe you, especially if you're in a big city. But after that, guys were figuring out a way to get into a gym, to get some shots up, to start get back to working. Basketball players play basketball. That is what they do. It's the old LeBron James.

Keep the main thing, the main thing. So I understand what Anthony Davis is saying. I do think you could just tinker with words. Like, I think we were the best team before. And my only question was, would we be healthy? would be rested, would LeBron? I mean, really, let's be honest. It's about LeBron.

Would LeBron run out of gas? We have a little bit older team. Some of these guys, we have an injury. Would LeBron be able to sustain it? And now he's gotten a full off season of rest. And if you've seen pictures, he's in amazing physical condition. But he's not the only one. That same break that you got, that chance to catch your breath, that chance to get your body right?

Everybody's got that. The question becomes, who's taken most advantage of it? And if the Lakers don't. have Avery Bradley, and the Clippers have Lou Williams, and they were that close in terms of neck and neck, and you added J.R. Smith, who you could have added anyway, and probably would have

added anyway? If they don't have Dwight Howard, which is still a possibility, I don't see how anybody would honestly say, the Lakers are the favorites, simply because they had rest when the clippers benefit equally, if not more so, from the same amount of rest.

One of the two infuriating things that sports basketball, football, analysts both say he hit both of them. Whoever wants it more is going to win. Come on. Do you think when LeBron lost to the Mavericks, he didn't want it more?

Do you think the Warriors didn't want it more? Now, injuries, that's a smart point, because somebody's going to end up being dinged and lose a guy, and that will change this thing dramatically. The other part is the only looking at, hey, we got time off, we're going to be better. Everybody got time off.

Everybody got rest. Everybody got a chance to regroup. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying,

and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source. the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action 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 Slicelife. and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped 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 a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

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

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way 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,

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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 clivert taylor the fourth and on my podcast the clivert 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 rep my mama want you to wave at her what

Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Colin has the Herd Podcast Network. Pretty cool thing. Inside the Parker is Rob Parker's baseball pod. My basketball pot is called All Ball.

And the football pod is called Three and Out with John Middukoff. John Minnukov joins us now here in the herd. Redskins are going to review. their nickname. Like, maybe I'm the only guy. I just think, I actually don't think the Redskins is like some sort of offensive word because it's not actually used in the English language. And the logic behind it being the nickname, even going way back when, it's just the pool

all of that instead of, you know, one name for one tribe, it's like all the tribes just kind of represent the Native American warrior history, etc. What are your thoughts on the Redskins nickname as a whole? Yeah, I'm with you. I've never really thought about it that much. It doesn't bother me. You know, I've read studies that it doesn't even bother a lot of Native American people. But we know when the snowball starts, and let's be honest, the cancel mob has no power unless money gets involved.

And the moment money starts getting pulled, that's the only way to change anything. So I never thought they were going to change it just because he was pretty adamant that he was. wasn't going to do it, but it sure feels like the avalanche of the people with the cash are kind of coming after him, and he doesn't have a choice. One thing I've been thinking, I just saw Florio tweeted out that it could happen by the start of the season. Changing the name would not be easy, you know? Well, listen, all due respect, Florio is so woke that like, you know, every...

Well, 100%. It's not possible to do before the 2020 season, if you think about it, right? No. How would that be feasible? I think there has to be some realistic expectations to this. You also have to pick a name, which anyone that knows that's tried to start a brand or a business, like it's pretty difficult. You know, for every Nike and Apple, there are a lot of ones that failed, right? Just because the name doesn't work, and it's going to be pretty difficult, but it sure feels like it's going to happen.

Yeah, I guess I think part of the review, people think that it's a phony review. I think the review process kind of works out to where you call because FedEx didn't demand they asked. There's a big difference there, right? They didn't say, hey, we're going to pull our money if you didn't, if you don't change this thing, although some are reporting that people have said they'll pull their money. We'll see. It's the, you have a legit conversation go like, are you really going to pull your money over this thing? And if they say yes, then it probably gets changed.

If they don't, then it probably doesn't. But I'm with you. You know a lot of this stuff, too, is just for public. window dressing. Everyone's getting all this credit for yanking out of Facebook. We're in the middle of a pandemic and a recession. A lot of people are cutting advertising budgets. It's an easy get credit for look when you would have pulled the money no matter what.

Correct. So I think it's one of those like you're alluding to. When FedEx or Nike or whoever starts to stops cutting the checks, then wake me up. Because right now, tweeting something out, we don't agree. As we know, I don't understand why people on social media don't see this every single time stuff like this happens, it doesn't mean anything. A tweet doesn't mean anything unless you pull actual cash, that's the only way to impact anything. Well, I also, I think that part of this, which is really interesting to me, is, you know, you get calls.

It's like the calls for justice. What does justice actually look like, right? Justice is you go in a courtroom and whether it's, you know, 12 people on a jury or, you know, usually 12 people on jury or maybe just a judge. You hear both sides. You see the evidence. You make the closing argument. And then they decide what was right, what was wrong, was somebody violated in a civil suit or in a criminal suit, right? Like that's, and whatever the ruling is, that's justice.

That's what justice looks like. Justice does not look like, well, I think that this was wrong. And so we're going to make it happen on our own. That's not actually justice or that's vigilante justice, which is what no one actually should want. And it's the same thing with a review process. Like, could you change the name? Sure. Okay, but the idea of a review process is like, all right, let's take in whatever new information we have.

And let's take our old information and let's hash it out. Let's talk with the commissioner. Let's talk with our sponsors. Let's talk with our players. Let's talk with representatives from the Native American community. And let's figure it out. That's what it's supposed to look like. The idea of knee jerk, oh, you don't like this?

Oh, well, fine. We'll just change it. That's not actually the way it's supposed to work. I think the one thing we're learning. and we learn it more and more every day, and we've seen it now with social media for years. You can't make everybody happy. And I'm not talking about, there's a difference between right and wrong. Here's the perfect example.

Perfect example. One of the names that I've heard suggested by a lot of people that I really like are warriors, right? You can do warriors. You could have it be a tip of the cap to a Native American warriors, right? That sounds strong. That sounds powerful. Do you know that Marquette University changed their nickname from Warriors because somebody deemed it to be offensive to Native Americans?

When did they do that? I didn't know. 10 years ago, it wasn't long ago. They were the- What are they called that? What's the warped basketball team? Golden Eagles. Golden Eagles. So like, didn't Doc Rivers play there?

Played for the Warriors. So he played for the Warriors. Yes. What did DeWain Wade, Marquette Warriors? I think that was Golden Eagles. Might have been right at the cut. I think it was right at the cuss. So it was maybe more than 10 years ago, 15 years ago, whatever.

Well, that's what I get back to. 94, my bad, 94. 94. So almost 25 years. And people, here's the other thing. People still don't know, right? People still don't know. And I just, I'm fascinated by the whole thing.

John Middokoff joins us three now. It's the pod. Let's get to some football stuff. Cam Newton signs with the Patriots. I loved, and for people you should follow Middokoff on Twitter. He has these Twitter shows. and I love, I'm going to steal your line and use it to set you up. You said, this is, thank God, it's the most normal story we've had since quarantine.

But what was your reaction when Cam signs with the Patriots for, what, 550 grand guaranteed? I think it's just the ultimate Belichick move. You know, he just, he's just the ultimate bargain shopper because he's always so patient. He's never in a rush. Would he have done this deal? Now, he has contracts. you know, salary cap limitations. But he was never going to sign Cam Newton for $12 million, $15 million.

And, you know, the reports that they've been talking for months, Belichick would have signed him two months ago if he would have signed for $500,000. And I think Cam realized the more and more that he was never going to get any money or definitely get a chance to start like you would in New England. And Belichick doesn't make any promises. You still have to come in and earn, you know, your stripes. I don't think he understands that Cam is more physically gifted than these other two guys, but you're still going to have to do it.

And, you know, it's just perfect on brand with Bill Belichick. And like you said, it was nice to have a legit polarizing superstar player, sign with the, you know, the big bad wolf and Belichick after Tom Brady leaves. Like, this would have been a massive story non-Corona. And I think if it was non-corona, I still think there's a decent chance that this still happens because the influx of quarterback the last four or five years, young players, the, And you and I have talked about this, all the older players, like 10, 20 years ago, Rappersberger had been out of the league. Like the elbow injury probably ended his career.

Rivers would have been done. Yes. Brady, you know, almost 50. The dude, Breeze, this is crazy. Like, they are holding spots. Even Rogers. You know, he is, I think he's 36. He'll be 37 this season.

Like, that's old. Like, asked Steve Young what he felt like at 37 or Troy Aikman. And I think that the longevity now has kind of skewed. the spots. It's not like wide receiver or defensive lines. There's only one starting spot, right? And we're going to get to the spot maybe in a couple years where there are going to be some

good players that might have to be a backup for a couple years just given that there's only so many seats at the table. Well, we already have that. I mean, look, I don't think Nick Foles is great, but he did win a Super Bowl. He's a backup. James Winston's like a third string quarterback. Cam Newton.

Andy Dalton's a backup. And to let you guys in, and to let you guys in on a private conversation we had. I've talked about this a little bit on my show. Doug Gottliebent for Colin. This is the Hurd John Middlecough, 3 and now podcast. He's a former NFL scout. He knows a ton more about, he's forgotten more about football than I know.

But my way of describing it is the longevity we're seeing at the quarterback position is akin to what we saw in baseball during the steroid era. Because previous to the steroid era, when you got to your mid

30s, you were done. You couldn't catch up to the fastball, right? And so there's just like a natural progression of, you know, you're a young player and you become a star in your 20s and in your 30s. And then, you know, you slowly become you're like a pinch hitter if you want to hang around and then you kind of fade off into the sunset. And there were some outliers, some guys that could play into their late 30s, but generally not stars. Well, because they were on steroids, you had guys having the best year of their career, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds and you like, you name it in their late 30s. which, of course, is, you know, they not only stands up to father time,

but it held back so many players in the minors from getting their shot in the bigs. Well, I'm not saying we have steroids in football. I'm saying it's the longevity, the 35 to now 42 or so window, like, changes the normal progression. I think the rule changes are their steroids. Of course. You can't hit the quarterback. Can't hit him.

Like Brady gets hurt. You couldn't hit him from the. knee down and then you can't hit him in the head. Right. And they're getting some of these clips like that ended Steve Young's career. I mean, he got killed, you know, by Anius Williams. Like those, you never see those type hits on quarterbacks anymore. And in fairness, even defensive linemen, it feels like kind of no.

So they're careful around the guy when they get these free shots. And that's these guys used to be, I mean, it's crazy to sound like carted off the field. That's how most of their careers ended. Yes. Carted off the field, right? Could not walk off the field. on their own. The majority of star quarterbacks, we've seen Brett Farve,

even it wasn't that long ago laid their debt. It felt like for the Minnesota Vikings. Remember that second year after you had that career year? Yes. And it just, I can't remember a visual. Kurt Warner. People forget. Kurt Warner wanted to come back and his wife, Brenda, was like, are you crazy? Do you

remember what happened? The last game you played? You got hit so hard like your helmet was sideways. And if that hit was as vicious of a hit as you'll see probably in the last 20 years, right? That guy would have been suspended now. Yeah. You know, who I don't even think you're allowed to do that kind of cutback hit.

Remember Warren Sapp did it to the Packer offensive line? That's that lot. And it's, to me, it's the right thing to do because the health of the quarterbacks. But it's also made a log jam because so many teams run these spread offense. This is why stat probably in football more than any other sport, like obviously the steroid era. It's hard to compare, you know, Drew Breeze's numbers to like Troy Aikman in 92. No question. It's a complete.

It's a different sport. game, and I think we do it a lot, but it's not fair. You know who it's hurt? I'll tell you who I think it's hurt the most. I think it's hurt Brett Favre the most, the whole thing. Because when Brett Farr was playing, I've seen Colin do his top quarterbacks of all time list, right? No one talks about.

But yes, but now it's like Favreve somehow doesn't, like, dude, Brett Fav was arguably the best quarterback in the game his entire career. Like even when he went to New York and played for the Jets, people talk about how bad that was. They started, I think, nine and three, and then he tore his bicep on his throwing arm, and he shouldn't have kept the streak alive. Then he goes to Minnesota, and they go to the NFC championship game. He wasn't good in that NFC championship game, but he had an incredible year. He beat Packers in Green Bay with Aaron Rogers or whatever.

Like, I feel like that because his window was a much more normal window in terms of, you know, he started out and it was a tough start in Atlanta and traded to Green Bay. and it took him a while to get going. And then he was the best quarterback in the league for a period of time. But because Brady has done it longer, so much longer, Breeze had done it so much longer, Grant also in a dome, and all these guys will do it longer. It's going to minimize how dominant, how great he was during his. And guys are throwing a lot less interceptions than they, and some of it is the rule changes with wide receivers as well in terms of defensive

pass interference and how we look at the quarterback position. but I think Farrve probably suffers the most. Marty Mourtingwig told me, and he was part of the staff, like Andy Reed, John Gruden, Marucci, worked for Homegren, said those three years when he went three straight MVP's, and he's been in the NFL for like 30 years, best player he'd ever seen. And, I mean, he literally won three straight MVPs, went to a couple of Super Bowls, won the one. And, but now, think about that, like 95, 96, 97, feels like 50 years ago. Yes. Right. You know, he was basically like Tom Brady 07, you know, some of those Peyton.

Manning years, taking the league by storm. And like we talked about, the rules, you could kill the quarterback then. Like he was an underrated athlete, his arm. I mean, sometimes, like, when a clip goes viral of Brett Farv, like, backpedaling and slinging it, like, you know, 60 yards on a rope. It's just like, this is why we love Mahomes. And Farv was the original. It's why all the Farb guys, and it's why Andy ended up with Mahomes when everyone else

thought, oh, this guy, reckless, gunslinger. Yeah. And he saw it. And unless you were around, Brett Farv, which, you know, is one of the all-time outliers in the NFL, just the way he played with his success. It's why those guys are drawn to a certain type of player. And, I mean, it's really why Mahomes, I think, kind of exist. And Coach Reed kind of lets him be him. Yeah. They don't complain that much when he does his weird no-look passes. Just like

Holmgren used to want to kill for him. But they realized after a while, you just kind of got to let him, you just got to let him cook, right? You got to let him just let him do him because it's going to work more that's going to fail. John Minnokoff, our guest here in the herd, Doug Gottlieb filling in for Colin. Antonio Brown's working out with Russell Wilson. Like, he's so very transparent, right? Like, he badly, oh, Tom Brady, maybe new team? I'll work out with him.

Oh, Lamar Jackson maybe needs a wide receiver. I'll work out with him. But I think that outside of Seattle, the other team that would be smart to maybe sign him would be the Houston, Texans. Now, stick with me for a second, okay? One, you know, they traded away one of the more talented wide receivers. I don't know if Newt Hopkins is over the hill. I do know that his contract demands are a big reason why he's no longer there.

Antonio Brown would have to come in at some sort of minimum level deal. It would help, it would probably help their offense. It would also help them in the locker room. and I kind of think, honestly, like all of their players, like the big issue with whether it's Will Fuller or whether it's Brandon Cooks or even David Johnson, all these acquisitions, they all are injury risks. Antonio Brown is a risk, but you take him because he's a talent, much like most of the other players in their team, would Houston make sense for Antonio Brown? Yeah, I think from a schematic standpoint, he's, you know, they're depending on a lot of guys who get hurt a lot. You know, just I pulled up Bill O'Brien's resume. He was part, you know, he became the offensive coordinator a little later,

but he was an assistant coach, offensive assistant wide receiver coach, when Randy Moss, and then when they drafted Hernandez. So, I mean, he's seen something. Now, you would say his resume shows since he's been a head coach and even at Penn State, he shies away from some of that stuff. But at the end of the day, he wants to win. And for as much as Twitter crushes him, he makes a playoffs every year. To me, now it's about making a legit run.

And I think he saw last year against the Chiefs, like to win the AFC, more than likely you're going to score like 35, 40 points in the playoffs. And I, when I saw the clip of those two working out, I thought, you know, Pete Carroll, I bet he kind of wants that to happen. And maybe he finished talking with Russell, like, what do you think? Like, spend some time with them. Because you know Pete is as open-minded with anything when it comes to talented players. His history would show he'll do whatever it takes.

and for as crazy as Antonio is, and he had a 12-month stretch that I think we could put against any, you know, right? Hey, hey, how long was he with the Patriots? Do we have the actual music? Can you look up a start and end date? It was literally every... Probably eight days, 10?

No, no, no. I would say it's probably in the like 20 to 25 day he was on the Patriots. I'm going to go like somewhere between, like my over-under, is like 18 and I would take the over in terms of days actually on the roster. But there was literally a new story about him every single day. It was like a new league record. No one's ever done that. He showed up to Napa on a hot air balloon with fried feet and then immediately left.

And part of it we didn't even know was because of a helmet issue. And then they ultimately cut him before I think even the fourth preseason game. 11 days, by the way. 11 days. 11 days. And then the moment he was cut, he started tweeting about Robert Kraft's issues in Florida. So he's, it's very, very risky. But his talent isn't just good.

I mean, it's immense. He had one of the great six-year stretches in the history of the NFL. You could argue probably put the numbers up against any. He was elite. I got a couple other quick ones. We seem to have glossed over Ben Rathesberger, who wasn't great. Although he threw for, he kind of did the James Winston, in his last full year, you know, with the Antonio Brown thing,

where he threw for 5,000 yards, but he didn't actually have a great year. He's coming off of Tommy John surgery. Does anyone have any kind of clue what Ben Rothsberger, in his late 30s, off of surgery that football quarterbacks don't have? Do we have any sense for what he'll actually look like? See, I view him like one of those older pitchers that used to throw like 98. Now he's throwing like 99, or excuse me, like 90.

He just had Tommy John, the equivalent for football. He's in his late 30s. He's finished 16 games, I think, four times in the last decade. He just, to me, to depend on him, and listen, when he was at top of his game, he was a fantastic player. But when's the last time he's seen a player, a quarterback, throw the football and then grab his elbow like a pitcher? I don't think I've ever seen that in a game. And to me, his body's breaking down.

He's never been a grinder in terms of his body. And now I think this offseason you've seen. seen he tried really hard. It's like probably a little too late, you know. You know, there's just, there's a reason Brady and Breeze and Rogers, like they take their health and fitness pretty seriously. And it does, and you're just going to get hurt no matter what at quarterback sometimes. But he's a guy that's had some kind of innocuous injuries, right?

It doesn't always feel like he's body flammed and he breaks his shoulder. It's like he just threw a football, literally through a wheel route. And it was out for the season. It was over. Okay. You know, it's like, I don't expect much. Let me circle back to Cam, because. I do think the mistake that a lot of fans and some in the media make is they think of 2015 Cam as Cam.

He's had multiple, he had foot injury and an ankle injury since. He had two shoulder surgeries since. And what I was told by a front office guy was like, we weren't taking a look. We weren't thinking about him because we didn't like the way he threw a football after shoulder surgery last year. What does Cam Newton actually look like as a quarterback? in 2020. Yeah, I had a pro scouts tell me the same thing that thought that their concerns, and they needed a quarterback in their front office was a shoulder or shot.

They think his foot can get healthy and he's such a great athlete, that that was not their worries. It was his shoulder was shot. And I think that ultimately is why he signed for $500,000, essentially, right? Because even Belichick, I mean, that's hedging your bet a little bit because you'd argue, well, he still gave him $500,000. He might be, he might not be able to throw. I mean, anywhere near what he was capable before, he always threw hard.

It was erratic. But to me, by far, that is the biggest question mark. Can he consistently throw like he used to? Even when he was up and down, he was still a really good player. And I think there's a lot of people in the league that scouts, that had free agency meetings that kind of pounded the table that he could not. And they believe they bet against it. And that's part of, you know, the deal in player acquisition.

Sometimes you say the guy can't play and he's either got to prove you wrong. People said that about Drew Breeze once upon a time. Obviously not apples to apples, but for every guy that does come back, there are a lot of guys, you know, this guy's knee's never going to be right, and then it's not. So, you know, this is a big year for King.

Because if Cam shows he can throw and they play well and they make the playoffs, he'll resurrect his career really fast. No question. If he shows he can't or he doesn't make the club, it could very well be over. John Minnockoff, three now. the podcast. Minilkov, have yourself a safe

and happy 4th of July. Thanks so much for joining us. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest

moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headlines. 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert 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? retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

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

it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Keer Games.

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