The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd for Jul 23, 2020

Episode Date: July 23, 2020

Zion Williams has charisma and you can't teach that. The Mookie Betts' deal is great for the Dodgers. Cam shows he can do it "The Patriot Way", because Patriots will not change their culture for Cam Newton. LeBron James leading in assists this season is amazing and Kawhi Leonard will be top 5 all time if the Clippers win the title.Guest: HOF Pitcher John Smoltz Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast.

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor it?

It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that doesn't. does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The Best of Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1,

find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Heard. This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Thanks for listening to The Best of Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the

herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Thursday. About ready to go.

Baseball games today. This live in Los Angeles is The Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, IHeartRadio, Foxworth Radio, and FS1. I just had a buddy in Italy this morning, said, oh, I love the show. And I'm like, in Italy? Oh, yeah, yeah. Lists, everything you guys do.

It's amazing. It's amazing, you know, the global possibilities. The global reach. I just did an interview in Melbourne, Australia, last week. They were big fans of the show. I just can't even imagine that. I don't even know what's going on. I mean, we do a great list, I guess.

Did they have YouTube? I mean, I'm sounding completely ignorant here. YouTube is global, right? Everybody knows that, right? Yeah, I mean. But there are restrictions on what TV you can watch. We can't watch British TV. There are certain things that are stopped.

They can't just get free NFL games over there. There are things that are restrictions. I've never been to Australia. It's on my list. Maybe I'll hit them up and ask them. I don't know. They said they watch the first. show or maybe they listen.

You know? You can listen online. So does XM serious, does that reach the cars in Australia? That's how I sound so stupid. I don't know. You're asking me questions. I don't know the answer to either.

But it's just so funny, a buddy this morning text me in Italy. Oh, can't wait for the show. What does that mean? You're watching the show? I don't know. Maybe there's like an illegal stream. Oh, that would be him.

He's very illegal and streamy. So I want to start with this. You can develop a lot of things. A quarterback, you can develop an arm. one of the reasons I thought Zion was going to be a really good player when people said, we can't shoot. I said, time out, time out, time on. He's like 18 years old.

You can develop into a great shooter. Don't worry about that. Very few guys come into the NBA and they're great shooters. I mean, in baseball, you can develop a number two pitch and a number three pitch. You can develop almost anything as long as God gave you some genetic gifts, strength size, you know, athletic ability. Here's what you can't develop. charisma. You've got it or you don't, and I can see fakers every day. Some people just have charisma

and they have it, and Zion's got it. I like a lot of it. He has no current timetable to return to Orlando. He went home for a family emergency, and the NBA is freaking out, and they should be. Zion's the number two drawn this league right now, and I'm not joking. LeBron's one, Zion's two. He's the number two drawing this league. The NBA could have chosen any team to start the bubble. Westbrook and Harden. The Celtics. I mean, Janus.

They chose a rookie who played like 30 games. That's who they chose. He broke summer league records. They made an exemption for him in the rookie sophomore NBA All-Star game thing. They made an exemption for him. The league's got the research. He's the second biggest star in the league. I knew he could develop a jumper.

I never hold that against basketball players. They're kids. God, they went to class. Now you just spend all day in a gym. Ray Allen didn't break into the league that good of a shooter. He was an athletic kid who scored at the rim. He became the great Ray Allen the shooter. But Zion's charisma, smile, style, power, Duke, shoe controversy.

You can't teach it. You cannot develop it. You name the players in any professional sport in America that have become superstars and it's been developed in their late 20s, early 30s. There's none. Michael Jordan was selling shoes early. Tiger Woods was a star at 16 years old. LeBron was a star in high school. Bryce Harper, cover a Sports Illustrated.

By the way, winning doesn't make you a superstar. Tim Duncan put people to sleep. Shoe deals don't make you superstars. Spencer Dinwiddie has a shoe deal. So does John Wall. So does Lanzo Ball. It's It. Dr. J.

Magic. Michael. LeBron. Zion. Tiger. Mahalms. You don't develop. There's a million agents out there trying to make their clients bigger. But that charisma, the it,

thing, you can't develop it. You got it or you don't. Shoe deals don't make it. There are a lot of guys with shoe deals that aren't superstars. Winning does it? I'll give you an example. Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis, Zion went to Duke. He was out of the tournament real quick. Anthony Davis went to Kentucky, which is about as close to Duke as college basketball has. Unlike Zion, he went all the way through the tournament. And he won. And he had a nickname, Unibrow. And people were saying he's a best college player in a decade.

Nobody was saying Zion was the best college basketball player for a decade. And Anthony Davis goes to New Orleans, nothing. No TV ratings. Leagues not scheduling games for him. Shoe deals. Nothing. Even now, he's LeBron's Robin. That's Zion.

This is an American superstar. It's not going to be a shoe deal. It's not going to be his winning. That kid walks into a room. The smile, the look, the style, the power. He's not in the bubble. They don't know when he's in the bubble. And I got news for you.

They scheduled opening day with Zion, Christmas Day was Zion, and the bubble game was Zion. And he's not here. And they're freaking out. And I remember I had a conversation about five months ago with Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owner. And the NBA ratings were down. and I was emailing. Anybody in the world could email Mark Cuban, he emails you right back. I mean, you'd think for a guy that owns 100 companies, he'd be busy.

And I said, hey, Mark, it's Colin, blah, blah, blah. Well, he knew that because of my email address. And I said, I think the ratings are down. I think you're wrong on your reasoning. I think it's because all the stars are hurt. Like KD was hurt and Steph was hurt, and he goes, Colin. Do you know how few people in this league move a quarter of a rating point? He's like, I think it's one or two.

And for all the talent in the NBA, It doesn't have more than two players, maybe three with Steph, that literally change a television rating. And that's in a sport that is star-driven. Because not that many basketball players have charisma. Or showman. Michael was, Magic was, Dr. Jay was. That's about it.

The list is really short, and it's amazing that a 19-year-old who's played 30 games already has it. And once you have it, it's hard to lose it. All right. So I saw this baseball starting today. Baseball games going to break that stuff down, breaking down bullpins next hour. By the way, top of next hour, going to make a lot of you mad. And I feel so strongly about this. I'm quadrupling down on something.

I feel so strongly about it. And you're all going to be furious with me in 45 minutes from now. But I want to go to this. The Dodgers yesterday signed Mookie Betts. Mookie Betts is a great baseball player. played for the Boston Red Sox. People think Mike Trout's the best player, a monkey best player.

But when Mike Trout signed a deal with the Angels, I said, that's a bad deal. $450 million. The Angels don't drive the revenue for that. They're going to have to now not be able to spend on the big setup man. They won't be able to get a number three starter. They're going to have to lose in free agency to probably a really valuable middle infielder.

I didn't like the Mike Trout deal. But I thought Mike Trout to the Dodgers or the Yankees would have been a great deal. The reason this is a great deal, and the Dodgers don't spend a lot of money. You would think the Yankees throw bad contracts and big contracts at people forever. But the Dodgers don't. Manny Machado, passed. Bryce Harper contract. Pass. Zank Grinky. Passed. Clayton Kershaw is it. Mookie Betts is number two. But it's a great contract because the Dodgers lead major league baseball in attendance by a long shot. And if you've ever been to Dodgers Stadium, man, they have got it figured out the food, the drinks, the alcohol. It is a ATM, man. It is a bank. They have figured out

how to, when you walk through that gate, you're bringing out your credit card. And you don't feel ripped off and you don't feel it's a bad deal because it's 75 degrees. The stadium is beautiful. They always win the division. It's really a very charming experience. And it's like going to Dodger Games in Los Angeles is just part of living here. Five million people. They lead the, and their revenue on an annual basis. is $556 million. So what if you're paying Mookie Bet's $30 million a year?

So what? The Angels revenue is $200 million a year less than that, and they pay Mike Trout $5 million more a year than it's an issue. Like big contracts in baseball. The Dodgers have been throwing bad contracts and big contracts for people for 25 years.

They haven't had a losing season since 92. But when the red signed Joey Votto and the Mariners signed Robinson Canoe. And when the Padre signed Mani Machado. And when you start looking at those, those are bad contracts. Because they then limit what you can do. In baseball, you can't win a World Series with a bad bullpen. You can't win a World Series with a bad middle infield.

You'd almost always have to have a legitimate number two and three starter. Mookie bets to the Dodgers is a great contract. Garrett Cole to the Yankees. Those are great contracts. They're nightmare contracts for anybody else. completely limiting. In fact, with the Dodgers and the Yankees, the only question is from the ownership groups, do you feel like spending the money?

You got it. You know, buying a Lamborghini by a school teacher is horrible financial judgment. Buying a Lamborghini for a CEO of a hedge fund, you could justify it. You got $14 million coming in the year, $9 million bonuses. You can justify it. I'm not a Lambo guy. I think they're kind of cheesy, saw one on the row the other day. But, you know, whatever, you can justify it.

Most of Major League Baseball is closer to the school teacher budget than they are to the hedge fund budget. And when I look at the Mookie Bex deal, I'm like $350 million, $30 million a year, 12 years, Mookie Betts. Have you gone to a Dodger game? And they're just filing wallets into that stadium, $4.5 million a year. They've figured it out. They got nothing but money. It's part of the culture like the Yankees in New York, from the cable deal to the attendance.

to what they charge, to the parking. It makes complete, utter total sense. And the Dodgers have shown a reluctance to just hand over big money deals. There's a reason they did. This makes total sense for arguably the best player in baseball. And the season starts today, and Dodger fans are going to get a chance

to look at mooky bets a lot over the next four months. 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 apps. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me.

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

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. 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 guy, 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 with 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. So Cam Newton has arrived officially in Boston. Listen, New England's not going to change the culture for a quarterback that's been 500

the last four years. And they're not paying anything too. They're not going to change their culture. Why should they? They're the gold standard. Cam's not. Cam's a fantastically stylish and talented player, but they're not changing their culture for him.

And this is a big deal for Cam. This is not a big deal for Belichick. He's got the bust made. He's a Hall of Famer. He's the best coach ever. Nobody's ever, doesn't matter if he goes 0 and 16, has no effect on him. He doesn't care about Cam's MVP. He doesn't care about Cam's one Super Bowl.

He's been to nine. Belichick doesn't care. If you think at this point in his career, Belichick's going to be wildly flexible on his culture, he's just not going to be. I mean, I think Bill's always evolving, but there are limitations to people are, right? It's been established. Best football coach of all time. But this is a big deal for Cam. There was no market for Cam. And that's why he's basically playing for league minimum. There's no market for him. He's got five strikes against them if this doesn't work. Number one strike is he couldn't

win with Belichick. Number two is he's kind of become a 500 quarterback. Number three is, man, he's got two major surgeries in the last couple years. Number four is Ron Rivera took his backup, not interested in him. Sean McDermott. He would have been a great backup or a fit in with Josh Allen and Buffalo. Not interested in him. And then there's also, you know, number five is, you know, Cam comes with some calmness.

He's, you know, the style, the ego, there's a little bit of that that a lot of coaches historically are not into. Whatevs. But this is a big deal for Cam. Because he didn't have a market going into this. There are just so many great. great young quarterbacks in the NFL under 27 right now. And we got three more coming in the next draft.

Like, nobody's going to roll the dice. And the guy that couldn't work with Belichick, two major surgeries, 31 been hit a lot. They're just not. There's a surplus of unbelievably focused, driven, aspirational, talented. I mean, you got, we could have three in the AFC West. We could have three with Gough, Kyler Murray, and Jimmy Garoppel in the NFC. West. You could have six out of eight teams in the Western Division that have stars for the next 12 years. College is just a conveyor belt now of great young talent. Even guys that we, like Josh Allen,

ah, boss playoffs. Lamar Jackson, uh, project MVP. Patrick Mahomes, ah, Big 12, best quarterback ever. So this is a big deal for Cam. It's got to work. Got to open the market back up for him. It's got to be joyful. It's got to be winning. It's got to be positive. And he walked into Boston. and yesterday, and this is the Patriot Way. Pam, I'm so sorry to do this to you. You're live right now with Channel 7. I'm sorry. I know you didn't want to talk. Anything that you can say to Patriots Nation right now, again, you're live with Channel 7. No disrespect to nobody, but I'm extremely ecstatic. But I'm not talking. That's pretty much, you know. When can we expect you to say a few,

more words for us. Who knows? Excited to be here in Boston? Go past. Thank you. That is discipline. That is the Patriot way. This is a big deal for Cam. It's a big deal. Okay. New England,

they have the standard. Cam's got to reboot and reset his standard. It's got to prove to people. Those were injuries. I'm healthy. I'm good. I'm flexible. I'm nimble. I can work in this system. Superman? There have been 11 different actors that have played Superman. Nicholas Cage is going to be the 12th. Superman gets replaced all the time.

Lamar Jackson could be the next Superman. Patrick Mahom feels like the next Superman. Russell Wilson last several years feels kind of like Superman. I mean, Aaron Rogers was the goat. And now it looks like in Green Bay and he's healthy. Looks like they're going to become a power running team. And that's what Matt Lefleur, not a Hall of Fame coach. So it matters. This is important for Cam. and that is the Patriot Way. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. So like many of you, I like documentaries and I love sports documentaries. And it's a great way.

I mean, the MJ documentary was my favorite sports documentary of all time. But, you know, it encapsulizes in a short amount of time a legacy. And it's hard to, I mean, I watched every bit of Jordan. And I didn't discover a ton of new stuff, but it gave me the insight to the relationships and the struggles. and it made me appreciate Michael Jordan more. Although there wasn't a ton of new information. We all, you know, I'd watch the Jerry Krause nonsense and the Dennis Rodman silliness.

But it did give me an insight to really how much Michael struggled everything. And I've always thought the 1 30 for 30, ESPN does these documentaries, the one they've missed on. Because I've watched virtually every one. Some are great. Handful are great. Most are solid. A couple bored me to tears. But I've never figured out why nobody's ever done a documentary on Wilk Cheney.

Chamberlain. Willett Chamberlain is the greatest physical specimen in the history of the NBA. It's not even close. I'll give you a stat. Wilts the only guy in the same season to lead the NBA in points and rebounds, and he did it six times. Wilk Chamberlain one year decided in the 60s as a center. He was leading the NBA and everything. He's like, I'm going to lead the league in assists. This is the 60s. He's a center. He had 702 assists. He led the NBA. He led the NBA nine times as a physical specimen in minutes played. One year, he actually led the NBA in minutes played, and he averaged more minutes than games are long.

I'm not making that up. He played every minute of every game and then played overtime. His minute average was more than actual game time. There has never been anything like Wilk Chamberlain. Ever, there's nothing like him. Not Michael, not Russell, not Bird, not Matt. Nobody's close. Nothing close to him.

There's never been a 30 for 30 on him. And he was glamorous. And he was weird and he was flaky and he was amazing. No 30 for 30. What's going on? I don't understand it. You're doing stuff on guys who ride bicycles and do jumps. I don't get it.

I've seen 18 of them are boxing. No wilt 30 for 30. Andre the Giant. I see wrestlers. No wilt. The reason I bring this up is yesterday, Damien Lillard was talking. or a couple days ago.

And one of the things he said, it was a Dan Patrick show, he was talking about who he would give to the MVP. And Damien Lillard said, listen, they're both great. But like, in year 17, LeBron leads the league and assists. And I thought to myself, it's wilt. Is that we always compare LeBron to Michael Jordan because of the two best players ever, the goat. And I've said there is a Magic Johnson to LeBron where he makes everybody better.

Like Michael didn't make everybody better. Magic and LeBron make everybody better. The water boy, the assistant coach, the guy off the bench, everybody with magic was better. You played with magic. It was your best part of your career. But LeBron really is wilt. LeBron is wilt. He's the second greatest physical specimen ever.

LeBron did not have a single injury of note for 16 years and was leading the NBA in minutes. That's unheard of. It's just at this level of competition with the athletes today to not have injuries, For 16 years, makes no sense. And now in LeBron, in his 17th year with a new roster and a coach says, I'm going to change positions and be the best in the world at the thing we want our point guards to do. Ask yourself today, you're a general manager of an NBA team. Russell Westbrooks are going to be a first ballot hall of famer.

If I said LeBron or Westbrooks are point guard next two years, you'd take LeBron. And Westbrook's a first ballot Hall of Fame, first ballot Hall of Fame point guard. I mean, I may have my issues with him, but I'd vote him into the Hall of Fame. I wouldn't even, it's over. I'd vote him now today. If he quit today, I'd vote him in. This is amazing. LeBron has, what you're looking at here is, you know, there's going to be several chapters of the LeBron book.

He's great, the chosen one. One of them is, I always said the second chapter is physically, it makes no sense. He was the fastest and the strongest player simultaneously in the NBA for years. I mean, remember when he used to chase people down and get those blocks from behind? He was a power forward. That's what, you know, that's what, you know, he's the only player in my life, LeBron James. The only player in my life can guard the center can guard the point guard. I think one of the most amazing things LeBron James ever did, he got into a playoff series.

I think it was a second round playoff series against Chicago. Derek Rose was the MVP. And LeBron said, I'm going to guard him in the fourth quarter. And Derek Rose was therefore atrocious. Derek Rose literally evaporated. Michael Jordan struggled to guard little tiny quick Alan Iverson. LeBron's bigger than Michael, 35 pounds heavier, three inches taller, instead all guard small, explosive Derek Rose,

and completely shut him down. We've never had that. That's never existed in the history of the NBA. So, you know, here's some of the funny wilt stats. He's got the top four scoring averages of all time. Not Michael. Wilt's got all of them. He wants to average 50 and a half, 38,

44, and 37. Only NBA player to lead in points and rebounds in the same year. He did it six times. Here's the other one. Wilt had a hundred-point game. We know that. He had 5-70-point games. Wilt had 32, 60-point games.

Kobe's next. He had six. Folks, there was no three-pointer then. How? It doesn't make any sense. So when I look at LeBron, I see Wilt. And I think Damian Lillard really capsulizes what I thought, this is why I'd give LeBron the MVP. 17th year, if you're asking Janus to play point guard,

and he then leads the NBA and assists. LeBron's become a little bit of a victim of LeBron. And Jordan was like this too, is that you start watching Jordan's documentary, and it's like, you know, his bad games, he has 28. His flu game is a down game. Remember what Jerry Sloan said after the flu game? I didn't know he had the flu.

He was the best player on the floor. I didn't know he had the flu. I mean, we look at the flu game. We're like, you guys have flus all the time. Jordan was still best player easily on the floor. I always tell the story. I saw Michael Jordan in Portland, his last game in Portland. And Portland was pretty good.

They had Bonzie. Well, they had good players. He was the best player. I think he had like 35 best player on the floor. And Michael was just limping to the end. I mean, the career was over. And I was sitting the second row behind the basket with my friend Brian. and that women were still like fawning over him and talking to him out of bounds.

He played for a bad Wizards team. And every single young player on the floor at 25, 26 for Portland, Portland was a playoff team. Portland had good players. Michael was easily the best. Easily the best player that night. So, you know, people, people forget they, we kind of marginalized Michael's ending in Washington.

Team was bad. Michael could still get you 40. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. So I got into this yesterday is that we tend to like people to fit into the boxes. And if they don't, oh, whoa, it's remarkable that it's taken like six years of Russell Wilson being ridiculous until everybody now is acknowledging, oh God, he's ridiculous. He's the best or second best quarterback in

the league. Like now everybody's in on it. I've been saying this for years. I'm like, just because he looks different, plays different. I saw Steve Young, go through this entire thing. And Kauai Leonard is very unique. He doesn't talk. He's got no style. He's great. He's got no shoe deal. He literally chose the clippers

over the Lakers. He didn't get along with Popovich. They sent him to Canada. His laugh is weird. He's different. He's not like glamorous Michael Jordan or talkative verbal LeBron James. Or smile every time you saw him, Magic Johnson.

He's not like our stars. He's much closer. of John Stockton who hated the media. But as of this morning, so I am really in on this thing. So as of this morning, there are, he's starting to get into clubs that nobody else in the league is in. Now, the NBA has got, you know, 13 guys a team, 30 teams, thousands of players in its history. And I have said if Kauai Leonard in two and a half, three months is holding up a trophy, is holding up the championship trophy. He's a top 10 player in the league all time.

I'm going to say it today. He's a top five player. It's a top five player of all time. Here's why. You tell me it's championships. You tell me this is winning matters. Okay, winning matters. As of this morning, he's in this club.

This is a very elite club. In the history of the NBA, you've been a final, winner and MVP with two different teams. Karim, LeBron, and Kauai. Now, let's just talk about that for a second. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the greatest big man in the history of the league. He's the leading score in the history of the league. He created the shot that is without question, the most unstoppable shot, the skyhook,

in the history of the league. You couldn't block it. The second guy is LeBron James. First or second best player ever. The third is Kauai Leonard. So I would say this is a fairly important. elite club. Think about how many great players there are. Michael Jordan's not in that list. Magic Johnson's not in that list. Larry Bird, Jerry West, Tim, all the great players.

He wins this year. He's in that club. So here's another club. The super elite club where you've been a finals MVP and a defensive player of the year. Not a lot of guys in the NBA are great defenders. There's about five, six, seven guys every year in the league that are really good defenders. Michael Akeem and Kauai Leonard. So that's that club. So you dominate the finals. You're the best player in the biggest games. You're also the best defensive player in the year.

By the way, wasn't that always the thing with Jordan? You needed a stop. You needed a shot. That was Michael. But we're not done. Now we're going to go to the VIP Elite Goat Club where you've been the best player in the finals, MVP, a defensive player of the year.

And you've been an MVP in the All-Star game, which is the world's best basketball players, and you're the best one there. Michael and Kauai. Brough, how many more clubs you want? How many more clubs are you got to be in? You notice who's in these clubs? The 10, 12 best, all the guys he's in the clubs with,

Michael, Kareem, LeBron, Akeem. Those are all top 10, top 12 players. How many more clubs you want? Now, people get into this. Well, Nick Wright yesterday, it was very sad, yelled at me. He doesn't score enough points. Colin, the scoring day. Nick Wright yesterday.

Do you know where Kauai Leonard ranks in NBA history and points? I'll answer it for you. You don't because no one does because the rankings only go through 250. And he ain't in the top 250, Colin. I got three names for you. Wesley Matthews, Marvin Williams, and Jeff Teague. Those three all-time greats have all scored more points in their career than Kauai. So scoring now is the barometer.

Do you know the top 15 all-time scoring list in the NBA includes Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone, Dominique Wilkins, and Paul Pierce? So it's scoring now that matters. By the way, Mello is 17th. And nobody likes Mello. He's 17th. Think about that. There's about 15 guys a roster. Mellow's 17th all time.

So scoring is it? Elvin Hayes. I apologize to the Elvin Hays. Hayes fan club, but I don't think scoring's that big of a deal. I mean, you've got to be able to score. So what I'm saying is, and he's 29 years old, meaning he's on a path to surpass Michael and LeBron. If he wins this year, he's going to have a third title, third team, third finals MVP, all-star MVP, defensive player of the year. There's only one player in the history of the league that has more than three finals MVP. So there's only one, that's MJ. So he's going to have

three of those. If he wins this year, he's one of the five best players in league history. MJ, LeBron, Magic, Kareem, Kauai. Those are the five best players ever. If he wins the title and his MVP, look at the clubs he's in. He's in the clubs with all these guys and Akima Langea one. Well, well, he's scoring. It's never been, we don't talk about Carl Malone on this show. We don't talk about Dirk and Elvin Hayes and Moses Malone. We don't talk Dominique Wilkins. We bash mellow. It ain't a scoring league. That's not what you tell me matters. You've never said that matters. What matters is you're the best player on the best team and they go to you. Who in your opinion today, if I said who's the best, get a bucket, get a stop guy in the NBA.

And it's not LeBron. Now, Yonis may be to get a stop guy. And you could argue LeBron is to get a bucket guy. But I would argue the best get a stop and get a bucket guy in the league right now is Kauai Leonard. that was MJ. That's what you tell me matters. Get a bucket, get a stop. MJ. Folks, we're three months away. Top five.

What about Kobe? Kobe was never the get a stop guy in the NBA. Kobe didn't have all those clubs. Kobe's not in those clubs. And Kobe had the best coach. Think about this. If this cat wins with the Clippers, he'll have won finals MVP,

youngest ever with Popovich and his rigid system. Then he goes to Canada. Hell, Canada can't even win in hockey anymore. They haven't won a Stanley Cup since the early 90s. That's their sport. They can't even win in hockey. He goes to Canada and wins. And then he's going to go to the Clippers who have never gone to the conference finals and have been around forever.

And you don't think he's a top 10? I'd put him right after Kareem. Am I nuts? Am I crazy? You start joining all these clubs and I see who's in the club. You know, if you were in a club with Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett, I figure you're pretty rich because that's a club you're in.

And I'm not in it, and they're in it. So I'd say you're one of the richest people in the world. Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett are in a club. I'm going to guess it's a rich guy club. You give me a club with LeBron, Michael, Jordan. I see all these clubs in Kareem. That's a top five all-time club.

Rich is kind of an understatement there. Yeah. Beyond rich. That's the, that's the Uber wealthy. I thought we consensus decided that Hawaii was the best player in the league last year. He's two. Really close. I saw him against Yonis.

No, I think LeBron and. Well, LeBron was injured last year. Yeah, like last year. Yeah. With Katie, LeBron injured, winning the championship that Kauai was the best player in the league last year. I've been operating off of that. Yeah. What I just said, outrageous.

No, it's just outrageous because it feels like it's too fast. It's too fast. And Kauai doesn't fit. that box. Doesn't talk, not stylish, weird laugh. By the way, he's the only guy in the league now that lives on the mid-range jumper. His game isn't even- Oh, it's beautiful. It's unstoppable. We've said this before. Is the only guy in the NBA, two guys have ever looked like Michael, Kobe offensively and Kauai defensively and offensively. That's it. There's no other, nobody else when I look at Michael, Kauai gives me Michael's strength, Michael's dexterity,

Michael's defense. He's not his gift as Michael is offensive. Michael's hand size where he can like palm the ball and do things. Now he's not, I mean, Michael's better offensive player. That's not, let's not argue that. Right. But there's a lot of Michael in Kauai. There's a lot of Michael.

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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just a lot of it. Literally, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed, correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys?

This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The 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 walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clivert show on the, I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. John Smoltz, World Champ Hall of Famer, joining us from the MLV Network in New Jersey via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Baseball season starts today. All right, the Mookie Betts deal.

Dodgers actually don't, John, they don't just hand those things out. They had Machado, they wouldn't pay him. They had Bryce Harper. They got out of that. Zach Grakey, they let him go to Arizona. This is not an organization, despite their attendance and revenue that hands out big money. They did for Mookie. Why?

What does he bring? The others did not? Well, it brings stability, star power, and on and off the field. Look, he's a guy that has a rare combination that I said that baseball needs. They need the power guy that can run, that can play defense, that can steal bases. And that's what you're getting in Mookie Betts. I mean, he's a very connected, streaky offensive machine. And not to mention, his defense speaks for itself, too.

So he's truly the five weapon. They've gotten the other side of their town, the greatest player. in the world and Mike Trouts and how the Dodgers can boast they've got player 1A really. I mean, that's how good Mooky Betts can be. And I think the storyline is going to be year in and year out. Mookie Betts and Mike Trout talk in California. And don't be surprised that Mookie Betts doesn't win an MVP or two along the way during this contract. Now, what does this do for Aaron Judge?

Compare what Aaron Judge does. Now, again, really likable guy, big power. you know, he's Paul Bunyan-esque with that size. Is Aaron Judge in that kind of category of talent for the Yankees? He is. But the one thing that, you know, you get a little concerned, he's going to have to prove he can go through a full campaign without being, you know, injury prone.

That's the one knock on his size and stature in the game. He's one of my favorite players to watch play baseball. We don't see many players like him, built like him. And unfortunately, he's run into a few years of just some injuries that need to go away before he's going to get that. that monster, monster deal. You just can't even fathom the numbers he's going to put up in his ballpark because it's tailor-made.

I mean, there isn't a ballpark. He can't hit a ball out of any part of the ballpark. But I want to see him be healthy. I want to see him play a full year and see what he can do because his skills, although be it, you know, people ask me, who would you pick between Moogie Betts, right-fielder and Aaron Judge's right-fielder? And I said, honestly, it depends on which park they're playing in because if they're playing in Fenway, you know, Fenway, I'm taking

Mookie Betts because he's another center fielder that can cover that incredible right field oddity that they have. If they're playing in Yankee Stadium, I'm taking Aaron Judge. And that's really how close these guys are, but how different they are from their body type. And I just want to see them say healthy. So yesterday, I was watching some highlights. The Astros got three guys got thrown at, got hit by a pitch. And I think to myself, all right, we're going to

see some of this, right? We're going to see some of it. Were you ever comfortable, John? I mean, what they did is viewed by baseball as players as really egregious. Like next level, knew the pitch is coming. Would you, would you have thrown at somebody? If somebody would have asked you to throw, would you have needed to be asked to throw at an astro? Like, where would it land for you that they literally were cheating, knowing what John Smoltz was throwing? And that absolutely punctures your momentum, limits your numbers. Where do you land on this? Yeah, so I was a type of player that was very conscientious of throwing a ball and what damage I could do to somebody. And so unless my manager, which rarely happened, was telling me that I had to do something

for the protection of our players, which is really more of what my era was about, protecting your teammates when they got hit. I definitely wouldn't hit a guy because I couldn't get them out. And this scenario you're posing is certainly one that, you know, we anticipated in a full season what was going to happen to them from the backlash that they got. But I don't think, again, enough people know how to do it right. These pitches that we're seeing here can be easily described as it wasn't egregious. But anything that happens with the Astros is going to be looked upon as somebody did it on purpose because of the scenario that's set out. sent out. If pitchers know how to command the baseball, which I argue not a lot of them do, then you're going to get these mistakes that hit the Astros and right, right, right or wrong,

you're going to basically say they did it on purpose. From a standpoint of an organization going into a season, having done what they did, that would have to come for me from the manager and then you execute it and you're done. You don't keep doing it. Yeah. So what is the feeling in baseball? So it's always been, you know, in a long season, either the pitchers or the hitters, you can dominate April in May. And, you know, for veteran players, they need more time. Now, this is not a marathon. This is a sprint. We're starting in the heat of July.

So inside baseball, do you think pitchers or hitters have a slight or significant edge in the first part of this 60 game slate? Yeah, it's a great question that I've been really trying to ponder as far as, you know, what information. are we getting? It's hard to follow what these inter squads were like. All I know is if you're the Yankees or you're the nationals, you're tired of facing your own pitchers, which are pretty good. I think the hitters actually are going to have a little more advantage than typically that would happen in the start of the season. The pitchers would have an advantage. The weather you said is so important for hitters and the ball traveling. I mean, the ball's going to jump. And so pitchers typically are going to need a start or two to get accustomed to the up and down and just the adrenaline rush of pitching

in a game that counts. And so I'm going to give the hitters a slight advantage. I did not think this was going to be the case three months ago. I thought the hitters would be at a bigger disadvantage because what you're going to see early on is managers trying to figure out how to manage the first week of the season, meaning do they try to steal wins? Do they access every one of their bullpen guys? See, the limits that were put on baseball over 162 you don't think you could have now,

meaning relievers going three in a row, whereas a no-no in one. I don't think you can say that now. I'd have a reliever pitch three games in a row, knowing that the season's shorter. So many more components come into this with the strategy that can be employed to win a baseball game, especially from teams that typically didn't have a chance when the season started. In theory, over 162 is going to make this so exciting. And I would be very leery of the teams, like the Marlins, like the Royals, like the teams that we just kind of discarded into a rebuilding season.

know, there's only going to be a handful of teams that really don't have a chance in this 60 games, but everybody else sure does. Yeah, I saw an over under the other day, like Fox Bet, and I couldn't believe how many teams were between like 30 wins and 35. I mean, if you finish, you know, six games out, that's like significant this year. So I think it's going to be playoff baseball feeling very quickly. It is interesting with no players, no fans, excuse me. So as a pitcher, you're on the mound.

And, you know, you come out with your best stuff, but you get into these middle. innings and you're really scrapping. And I think to myself, God, if I was at home at Yankee Stadium and I've thrown, I got not much left in the tank, that juice of the Bronx could get me through a tough inning. That juice in Atlanta, that crowd.

Or am I wrong? In that you guys are on the mound, you totally tune out fans. They've never gotten you, you've never punched a guy out based on energy. Like I do think for a pitcher, I can't imagine being at home in front of 60,000 people.

at Yankee Stadium or 32,000 at Fenway, and that juice doesn't help you rear back and give you a little something, and that's all gone now. Absolutely. I think you're going to see personalities really come into play that affect the player and those confines you're talking about. For example, not to pick on players or use them in an adverse way, but a guy like Stroman for the Mets, an energy-type pitcher feeds off the crowd, feeds off the moment, he uses all of that, or a hitter like Tim Anderson who loves the flare and he had a fantastic year. Those guys are going to have to manufacture that because it's not going to be there for him.

And so the guys that are disciplined, a guy on the opposite spectrum, like Klobber, he's very emotionless on the mound. That's not going to bother him. He's not going to use that. He doesn't use that. So I'm intrigued to watch the players that are going to be so motivated internally that nothing else is going to take away from their discipline. Like the guy we're seeing right now in Clayton Kershaw, he doesn't need the crowd, but he feeds off the crowd too.

So you have this hand-in-hand kind of battle of how do I, here's the thing to look for. In the second or third week of the season, players on teams that were expected to win or maybe not fall five or six games out, what happens do players drift? Do they lose focus? because the environment of 60 games and no fans, these are the kind of things that are going to be a challenge for a lot of players who are trying to go into this with no experience. I know for me as a player, I had a hard time my first three years playing in front of 1,500,

maybe 2,000 at the county stadium. I heard vendors. I heard noises. I drifted. I thought of things on the mound. I should never have thought of. I learned how to put that away. But as a veteran, after 20 years, I would have learned in this environment,

challenge myself with little games, little goals that I had each game, to be able to stay locked in. I needed to challenge myself. That worked for me. Other guys might have a benefit from no fans with the pressure being off in a city where there's so much expected like Philadelphia. I think the Phillies might thrive, not because they don't have a good team, but because the pressure for them to have a good team with their fans,

They have the greatest fan base that is against the visitor, but can turn against the home player if he doesn't get it done. That's not going to be there. So maybe you guys have better years in cities like that. It's funny. I don't really, John, it's so funny that I grew up and the Braves were terrible. But they had really interesting players like Jeff Burroughs and Ralph Gar. I mean, they had good players. I forget your, I forget that your early years.

Because I think of John Smolton, I think of packed houses and World Series. You played on a crappy team or too early. You did. First three years. We were bad, terrible. Matter of fact, I remember going in my first, you know, when I just got there, I was trying to find out all the places to go. I went into a comedy shop to just kind of kick back,

and every joke was about the Atlanta Braves. And it was awful. It was funny at first, and then awful. It's like, you know, that's about us. And so, you know, you learn how to deal with those environments. Athletes are creatures of habits. This is a challenge because, the creature of habit has been thrown away. Rules that they have to buy, tie,

by, of course, uncomfortable places you're going to be that you're not used to be in. And then once you get in that, that between those white lines, there is a difference between the great ones that can focus with no fans there and the ones that can focus with 40, 50,000. And that is going to be a challenge. Good thing that they had these times and these inter squads to get used to it, because it would be very eerie if. they had to just jump into something that they've never done like. They've never done this before. A champ in 95, Hall of Famer, John Smoltz at the MLB Network in New Jersey.

Good seeing you, bud. Appreciate it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the 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 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year.

It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host's Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having him with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor.

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