The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd for Jun 04, 2020

Episode Date: June 4, 2020

Doug Gottlieb filling in for ColinDrew Brees lacks empathy and timingThere has to be a reason the NBA seems to want to play in the FallDoug's top 5 potential NBA Finals matchupsGuest: Jim Jackson, FOX Sports NBA Analyst Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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. 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 listening to the show. Thanks so much for making this part of your day live from Los Angeles. I'm Doug Gottlie, filling in for Colin Cowherd. He's lovely and talented Joy Taylor alongside. Good morning to you, Joy. Good morning, Doug. If only there were something to talk about. There's lots to talk about today. There is lots to talk about. Potentially, potentially we will hear

official word of an NBA season getting back underway. We're being told 22 teams will be headed to Disney World, but not like winning a Super Bowl. I get to go to Disney World. We'll get to what we like, what we don't like, and the true genius that should be at play that maybe we're all dismissing. We'll also get to baseball that may come back before or may not come back at all. It's all very, very confusing.

We have some COVID possible tests. We have COVID positive tests from my alma mater. The arch rival of my alma mater's head coach says it's it's irresponsible to bring players back. We'll get to that because remember, we still are under at least partial quarantine in much of the United States. COVID-19 still very much out there and we'll have a great, I think, or interesting discussion on it. We got, man, we got a bunch of things to get to. Let's start where I left off with my radio show, which you can hear on Fox Sports Radio from 3 to 60 Eastern 12 to 3 Pacific following this show, the herd on Fox Sports Radio, the IHeart Radio app. Thanks so much and welcome in here on a Thursday.

Drew Breeze up until today, and I still think for a while, is being lambasted over his answer to a question that was in an interview on Yahoo Finance. which again you start to of the people I feel for today good luck of your Yahoo finance finding a way to book an athlete right no thanks but but there's a reason why there was such a backlash for what he said now what we're going to do for you is play the answer that everyone's talking about combined with the question because it's very important to have full context of question to answer but maybe even more interesting or in terms of context is we're also going to play for you the Q&A immediately before that question. And then we'll have a discussion. We'll talk about some of the tweets, the relationship things that

he's going to have to go through, and the apology which Drew Breeze penned earlier today and put out on his Instagram page. All right. First, let's just give you, this is the answer. The question was asked about the potential for the kneeling protest to return to the National Football League this upcoming season in 2020 as a guy who is seen as a leader in the league, a 13-time pro-bowler, former Walter Payton Man of the Year award recipient. Here was Drew Breeze's answer, which of course set the Twitter world on fire. I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Let me just tell you what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States.

I envision my two grandfathers who fought for this country during World War II. So every time I stand with my hand over my heart looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that's what I think about. And in many cases, it brings me to tears, thinking about all that has been sacrificed, not just those in the military. military. But for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the 60s, and everyone and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point. And is everything right with our country right now? No, it's not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together. We can all do better. And then we are all part of the

solution. Drew, Drew Breese is more than just the guy with most passing yards in NFL history, most completions, most touchdown passes, the highest career passing percentage. Of course, the Super Bowl champion and a future Hall of Fame. And by the way, he signed a contract to become a broadcast with NBC whenever his career expires with the Northern Saints. More than that, as the former Walter Payton man of the year, a guy who just donated $5 million to COVID relief, like he is a staple of the NOLA community, right? Like, This guy has been solid. So I'm sure it struck many as at least surprising and alarming and disappointing that he,

he seemed to miss the one word which we all kind of need to have right now, which is empathy, right? That's really what felt like it was missing. And there's just the timing aspect to it. Because that was a stock answer. That's the answer. I was listening to Dan Patrick driving in on Fox Sports. radio and Dan said, look, that's the same answer he gave to me going back four years ago.

You asked me about a flag. I talk about my grandpas. And it's like a politician. You go to your kind of stock answer and you talk about unity. But you had to think, Drew, have you looked outside your window, right? Like, whether you want to call it a revolution or just protest for that are demanding change, somewhere in between the two, the entire world is starting to. check themselves and try and have empathy for people of color and the way in which they've been

treated not just by police, but frankly by society and try and make ourselves better, which may have been his answer in the end. But when you start out as defiant as I will never agree with someone who disrespects the flag, there are trigger words there, which sends alarm bells off to everyone. Joy, what was your immediate feeling the second that you heard that question and answer. Uh, hurt. I was hurt by what he said. Why?

Because I had a lot of respect for Drew Brees. And I have expectations of him because he's put himself in a position of leadership. And he is a very philanthropic person. So I expected him to be more aware of not only the environments that society is in right now, but the power that those words can have for people who are looking to latch on to anything that goes against what the movement is trying to do. Yeah, it was interesting because you felt like it kind of came out of left field. It did not feel, you know, whether or not he was trying to answer the question, it did not feel that it was, it fit with the time. Like, when I first saw it, I was like, well, was this from a couple years ago?

Was this from a couple months ago? When was this from? I was like, no, this is from today. Now, Drew has since apologized, a quote from his IG page, his Instagram page. I would like to apologize to my friends, teammates, and the city of New Orleans, the black community, the NFL community, and anyone I heard with my comments yesterday in speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain that I've caused. In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, solidarity, centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing now in our country. They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy. I thought he could have ended it right there.

He went on to kind of a statement of who he is. Now, let's be fair to Drew Brees. And maybe this is the part which is kind of odd, right? You factor in that Drew Brees, though he didn't kneel during the national anthem before the first game of the season back when it was Kaepernick and when Colin Kaepernick started the kneeling protest that spread around the National Football League. He did kneel with his teammates, locked arm in arm, right before the national anthem.

So if you think this one was out of the left field, this was the question right before he had the answer, which has gone viral. I think that we accomplish greater things as a community, as a society, and as a country when we do it together. And I think that we are all equipped with great talents, abilities, and strengths. and we can use that with each other and for each other. I think we can accomplish some amazing things. And obviously, these are trying times during our country, certainly coming out of this COVID crisis and then entering into another crisis

or really these two compounding with each other. I think we all recognize the changes that need to take place. And I do think it's about action versus just, you know, everybody's going to social media and kind of saying their piece. Obviously, there are riots and there are protests, and people are certainly out there showing their frustration as well. But I think at the end of the day, we need to find ways to work together to provide opportunities for one another to continue to move our country forward to a bigger and better place. That's the perfect answer that he could have had in addition to the flag question, right?

like the idea of working together and understanding that the protest, you know, while it's gotten people's attention, we need to find a way to keep evolving. Like I like to think of it as, and even think of myself, do you know that photo of the evolution of man? Now we're at the start. He's cromagnam. He's crow over. At the end, he's standing up. He's Homo erectus. He's standing up straight. We're all kind of in the middle there, right? Different levels of evolution, at least me personally. Like I look at how I view things. You know, when, you know, I had a ill-timed tweet going back to when Eric Garner was killed by a police officer in Staten Island when the first I Can't Breathe shirts came out, right? And I started to understand shortly thereafter from many of my African-American friends like, hey, dude, you got to understand what's going on out there and how you're perceived, but more than anything, how we are perceived, anytime we get pulled over or anything,

Anytime something goes down, people look at us like all of a sudden we're the ones who did something wrong. And maybe I didn't realize it at the time. And you start to evolve in your feelings. You start to understand how other people see the world. Now, I will point out, and this is really, really important. Look, Drew Breeze's biggest mistake in my opinion, my opinion, is that all of his answers up until that point were about working together.

And even the answer at the end was about unity and working together and being better. But the opening salvo to that answer, I will never agree with someone who, whatever it is. That's a, I'm not listening. That's a, doesn't really matter what you say. I'm not changing. I'm stuck in here. This is the, you can have your Jordan LeBron. Jordan's better than LeBron.

I'm not changing. You know, what if, what if LeBron goes and wins the next three NBA titles? Well, I'm not changing because I like Jordan better. It might work in a sports debate, but the true evolving man takes in new information and may move off of that stance. I think that in an effort to try and say, hey, we need to listen and work together. He started his answer by saying, I'm not really listening to anybody because this is how I feel about anybody who kneels before the flag because my grandpa's fought and protected our country. And that goes counter to what the whole idea of this thing is, which is, hey, we got some problems. We've got to start listening to one another.

I'm going to start working together on this. You've got to understand and see it a little bit from our perspective. You're never, I'm never going to feel what it's like to be African American, young African American male. I can't. It's not physically possible. I can try emotionally and compassionately connect some. And I'll admit I have a blind spot. I just, there's a gap in my understanding of racism because I grew up in a sports household,

which it just wasn't ever accepted, thought of. as anything that you could act like, you know, that just, whether it's language or how you got along with people, I had constantly had basketball players from all over the country, all over the world, staying at my house, you know, and whether they were white or black, it didn't matter. And so I admit that because, you know, you feel like you're around black people,

that you know what it's like, you don't. You don't. Here's the one thing I feel like people need to remember. Drew, obviously, whether he misspoke or got into his statement about the flag, however he felt. But what Drew was trying to get to was from his perspective, here's how he saw the flag and everybody sees it different. He didn't offer up that he was willing to listen to other people's view of the flag. But it has to work both ways. The same people who are saying you have to listen to us, have to listen to others.

You can't simply say, or you shouldn't, maybe can't, you shouldn't simply say, I need to be heard, but then being unwilling to listen. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. 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 people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, 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, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeart radio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. 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 Jette. 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 crack. 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. 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. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me.

He goes, hey, ref. Mom want you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Red. My mama want you to wave at her. What?

Where's she at? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. We do have some good news, right? Potentially. Potentially the NBA will return at the end of July. Like, man, look, I get it. I've said this for a couple months.

Like, look, getting these guys back up and going when they've been on quarantine. And we like to think of every NBA player live in Mike Connolly's life, right? Like you just have your own home gym and you're in shape and you're playing ball the whole time. But that's not the case depending on where you were quarantined and what your level of income is and, you know, who you have around. Even LeBron is great a shape as he's in. And I'm sure over the past couple weeks before they opened up the Lakers facility, he was sneaking away to some private gyms and some speak easy, let me begin. But that's

not the same. These are, by my estimation, the best overall athletes in the world. You can't just say, hey, we're playing on Sunday. Bring your knee braces, let's go. On the other hand, if you're going to have an and the proposed

eight game regular season schedule, those are basically exhibition games, but we're not calling them exhibition games. I get those. I understand the need for a, and it's like a, you can't go from zero to a hundred, right? You got to ramp up because playoff intensity, everyone's going to get hurt.

It's just, the games won't be great. Eight games is a really good number, right? You can slow roll getting into your starting lineup, you know, play a bunch of guys, games one and games two, games, you know, three through six. You play your starters big minutes and then you start to kind of wind it down. But you could do that, you would think, starting in July. Instead, they're going to start the end of July, and potentially the NBA, they're going to vote here in seven and a half minutes. The NBA is looking for an NBA finals, which could conclude as late as October 12th, just for perspective, understanding that they're not going to play likely back-to-back nights for the finals.

If that's Saturday night, that's Clemson, Florida State. OU, Texas is earlier in the day. Like, that's kind of college football time. Major League Baseball potentially. You know, it's October, Mr. October's Reggie Jackson's baseball. Like, what are they doing? We all sit around here as sports people and are like,

the NBA is a bunch of idiots taking on the NFL because the NFL will always win. But here's something that I've learned through, it's 2020, 18 years of doing television. This is a big one. I am not the smartest guy in the room. And it always blows me away.

when, whether it's an NBA finals, a Super Bowl, NCAA championship. Why is the game start so late? You get that from everybody. Men, women. What about the kids? Like, listen, we're on the second floor of the Fox Studio building. On the fifth floor, that's where the smart people are. There's one smart person in particular, Michael Mulville, and he has, I'm sure, other things he does.

And there are others at, and this is going to be an ESPN and a Turner event. There's people at ESPN, and their sole job is finding the correct TV window, which will generate the most eyes, which in turn will generate the most sponsorship dollars. So while to those of us sports MOOCs who are sitting here going, I don't understand why don't let's play. There's nothing else going on. It's summer basketball. Let's go. There are far smarter people than us that understand that even though it seems to be counterintuitive,

Why would you play sports at the same time as the NFL, as Major League Baseball, as college football? Why would you challenge, why would you rattle the cage of the biggest tiger in the cage? And the answer has to be, there's got to be some math to it that more people will watch in October than we'll watch at August. Is that fair joy? I mean, is that possible? I mean, I think logistics are playing a much more significant role in why they're doing, why they're starting and ending the way that they are. than necessarily the TV window at this point. Okay.

I can offer one other possible, maybe it's ancillary benefit, maybe it's a reason, I don't know, I'll offer this up. Is it possible that the thought is, by the time we get to August and September, we're probably going to have fans at college football games, probably going to have some fans at NFL games.

Like we're trending, we'll know a lot in two weeks. Because the social distancing kind of went out the window. during these protests. Like, everybody totally forgot. People wear masks, but the idea of social distancing completely went away. The cases will probably still rise,

but in terms of people that are actually sick, we'll know, I believe, within two weeks, based upon what we've been told, where this thing is going. And my guess, and this is maybe just a question or a thought, a hypothesis, which has not been proven, is it possible that the NBA is just playing the delay game knowing, hey, once we get into September,

we might be able to have the conference finals. And if not, the conference finals, the NBA finals in home arenas. No. I think they're going to just commit to whatever the plan is for the end of the season. It's going to be interesting because think about the NBA playoffs and how most people didn't watch up until it was Warriors Rockets and then Warriors Cavs or Warriors Raptors last year. I mean, do we think people are going to watch in an empty arena? in Orlando, Florida. You know, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, maybe.

But, you know, clippers in the playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies, are you going to watch that? I mean, I think that sports fans are going to watch whatever is on at this point. I don't think we're ever going to take for granted it's having live sports on again. But as far as if you are choosing between a big college football game or an NBA finals game or an NBA playoff game, I mean, that's what you have to do. but I don't think these decisions are necessarily being made with how we can get the most eyeballs. Because if that was the case, it would be, have been rushed back with any, all logistics there are not the window,

try and get back for right now. Yeah, I just, I just, I mean. This space right here, the month of June is the space and July that you would want to dominate. Yes. Well, June is not, it's not on the table, right? So you got to take June off the table. So July, you would think, but traditionally July, people go on vacation, especially now, people are going to be like, if I can travel, I'm out. because they've been sequestered in their homes for so long.

But I, you know, like, look, everyone's talking about the NFL and rightfully so NFL is king, college football. But do we realize what happens to the Yankees and the Dodgers are playing in the World Series? Like, nobody in New York has watched the NBA finals, no. And even in L.A., Lakers, yes, Clippers, I think they watch Dodgers ahead of Clippers.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Let's welcome in via the Hurd-Sept. satellite network, the one and only former NBA star, All-American in Ohio State, two-time Mr. Basketball in the state of Ohio. He's Jim Jackson. He joins us. JJ, let me start with the news of the moment, which is the NBA is going to be back. It's going to be the end of July, 22 teams headed to Orlando. Eventually they get to the playoffs and they'll decide a champion in October. What's your reaction to the plan? It's probably not going to be the perfect plan.

but it's the plan that fits the narrative of getting back. It's the reason why it took Adam Silver in the NBA and the Players Association months to try to figure out a scenario that makes sense from a health perspective, safety perspective, but also from an integrity perspective of the game and how to play it and how it should be done. I'm happy that the NBA is coming back, what format when they do it in regards to the

scheduling, I think, is going to be very important in how these teams, you know, play these eight games, how they match up. It's going to be interesting, too. It's going to be a different feel because it's in Orlando, not having the fans there. But again, you're not going to have the perfect scenario that everybody wants because the times that we're living in are not perfect. So it dictates something else. It dictates some kind of creativity in order to get this thing done and I think that's what Adam Silver and the Players Association has accomplished. Who does it help?

In regards. Like a team or? Yeah. Yeah. Who does it help? You know, like the Lakers were rolling. The Clippers hadn't played together a ton. Now they would be fully healthy. And I guess, I mean, nothing will make you more cohesive than a second training

camp and then eight kind of ramp-up games. I don't know. I look at and I think I think maybe the Clippers benefit from this more so than the Bucks or the Lakers in terms of championship teams, but is there something I'm missing a team that you think benefits from it? Well, no, I think, you know, it's, you think about it now, I'm playing on a neutral court. The Lakers happen to have the best role record in the lead.

Milwaukee also played well on the road. So now you kind of take the home court advantage out of it, but the teams that were able to go on the road and win, I think that's very important. If you'd even look at last year's playoffs, the disparity between the home losses and road wins, it wasn't that big of a difference. But on a neutral site, it may benefit a team like the Clippers now who also are coming back in healthy.

Again, part of their season, the mindset behind the season was to be at their best come playoff time, okay? To be healthy come playoff time. And now we're going to get a chance to see them through these remaining eight games, how that continuity, if they can get that, how that continuity will help them try to strive

to win a chance. championship. But I think going into it because of what we saw from the Lakers right at the end by beating the Clippers, by beating Milwaukee, that they are going to be the slight favorites to win, especially in the scenario that we're about to see with the NBA coming back. All right. I got to ask the question. We thought the Nets would wait and play next year, right? Kyrie's shoulder surgery and KD. But he was close to being ready to come back. And when this kicks off, it'd be 13 months from and change removed from tearing his Achilles tendon and having surgery, is it unreasonable to say,

why didn't Katie and Kyrie play? They get a training camp, they get eight games, they get the playoffs, and they'd have a chance to compete and win. What are your thoughts and the possibility of those two getting together and playing this year instead of waiting until January to ultimately play together? Well, I like the thought process from this, because you get a training camp. At least you get a chance to put those guys through the motions, through the repetitions, through the stress of the game somewhat in training camp. So from there, you can determine if they're able to go and play a full game. And that's where I think the benefit here,

if you're going to look at a guy coming back from injury, this gives you enough time to make that evaluation. Because one, you go through a tough stretch of training, but how does your body recover, which is the important part? Because when you're talking about playing these eight games, you're going to try to bunch it in there, and then the playoffs start and you're kind of bunching these games in there.

So how does your body recover? And now you don't have the time like you're doing the regular season to say, you know, I can take a couple games off and just rest and get back. So I think they can utilize that time in training camp if they're thinking about bringing these two young men back to see how their body responds to the stress

of being back on the court and then make their decision from there. Would anybody not consider the true NBA chance? Like, does it depend on who wins? You know, like, if the Lakers win, but is this a true champion? We consider this an equal champion to last year, in the previous year, in the previous year, et cetera. It's different. I mean, because, no, you're not going to, you know, be traveling across the country to play in the seven-game series.

You don't have the home court. You don't have the home fans. But it's still a championship. Now, think about this, though. is it more difficult to win it this way? Because you're not at home. Now, you don't have the travel, but this is a neutral site. This is not your home court.

So now it's a different mindset that you've got to carry into the playoffs because you don't add that added benefit of being at home. So it's different ways you look at. Listen, in 98, 99, when the Spurs won it, it was unconventional because it was times, Doug, we were playing three nights in a row. That had been done since, I don't know, maybe. 60-70, I don't know. That was a little bit different, but it's not an asterisk by it.

Now, again, the playoff scenarios were still the same. And even in 2011, 2012, when it was 66 games, again, the scenarios were the same. The season wasn't as long as the previous ones, but the ones you win it, I'll take that champion. If it's me, I'm taking that championship, you can say what you want about it. If I win it as a championship. All right. I want to ask you really quickly. Drew Brees.

He had his statement. We've played other things he said within the same interview. We've talked about his apology. What are your thoughts on Drew Brees, not just what he said yesterday, the apology and the likelihood that within the locker room, a place you were with, I think, 12 teams in the NBA, can he rebuild those relationships after how it went down yesterday?

First, the answer to can he rebuild, yes, he can, because a lot of those guys do respect Drew Brees. because of the man that he is. Now, I will say this, though, it's very hard because you find out a lot about people in difficult situations who you thought you knew. And that's what a lot of his teammates are finding out right now.

And it's going to take Drew Brees, I think a lot of love, support that he's going to have to give to his teammates to kind of win some of that respect back. Now, one thing he said, though, to me, this is the argument, and I think Joy was touching upon this, which is a very critical point, that people don't understand

when minorities talk about not feeling like they belong to the collective of the United States. Drew Brees said in there when he looks at the flag, he thinks about his grandfather, the sacrifices they've made in the military, the freedoms that are attributed to him. I'll say this. Doug, when you, during holiday time, when you think about Thanksgiving, what do you think about? Family, football? I don't know. I actually think about practices on Thanksgiving Day in college. I thought those are big bonding events.

But anyway, why? Because if you ask a Native American what they think about Thanksgiving, they may give you a totally different answer in regards to what it means or does it mean to them. When you ask a African American or maybe a minority, what the flag means to them, we're probably going to give you a little bit of different scenario because of the lineage, the history in which our culture has been through. And then Jewry's being in that locker room with minorities, with black men, he hears the conversations.

He understands the challenges. He knows what these men are going through. But yet and still, you take the stance, I think insensitive stance, and make that statement without really realize, or maybe he did realize, that you're going to affect and you're impacting the thoughts and processes of those guys that you call your brothers in the locker room. And that's what really bothered me. If he were to take off the part, and I know you can't,

but if you were to take off the part of, I will never agree with anyone who disrespects the flag. But he simply said what the flag means to him. Would that be okay? Right. Like I do understand that there's a disconnect there and a lack of empathy for everything that's going on in the streets. I get that.

I'm just like what you said was eloquent and accurate, what things mean to different people and different cultures is just different. But isn't that kind of part of the deal is I now only have to accept that it means something different to you, but you also have to accept that it means something different to me, doesn't it? Well, it does too. And again, I believe that Drew Brees has had this conversation and discussion before because of how he said it in this state. No question.

You know, he's had this. this conversation. He's had this argument. So you can tell. So that's where the insensitivity comes in because you're around these players all the time. And again, the back part of that statement was totally correct. You're right on that. Because he

made the valid points in that when he talked about what it meant and what the flag and everything else. That back part was perfect. But when he started it off, Doug, that right there was what, you know, kind of the match was struck right there. And it wasn't any coming

back from that after that. At some point, you and Tom Brady need to get together and give your secrets away on how both of you guys keep looking better and younger as you grow older. In the meantime, we bid you. Cigars, bro. It's not working for Jordan. Jordan's smoking cigars. He doesn't look good.

It might be a little bit too much with Jordan right there. There's a limit there. JJ, thanks so much. Come on. Anytime, brother. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in the IHeart radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending,

opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me. 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, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast.

Learn the Hardway. Open your free I Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. 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 Jett. 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 is big to me, not just. because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Then you're 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. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Brett, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at?

Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Today would have been game one of the NBA finals. Whether you're Clippers or Lakers, there's a pretty good sense that one of the L.A. teams would have been representing the West, and the bucks are the odds on favorite out of the East.

The good news is the NBA's owners have announced that they've ratified this proposal for 22 teams, to head to Orlando and ultimately decide a champion in October. The players have got a chance to vote on Friday. In the best for last, I'm going to give you the five finals matchups that I wish we could have seen normally, and now I hope we can see in Orlando. Good? We're ready for it? All right, let's go. Number five.

Number five, Brooklyn Nets with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving against the L.A. Clippers. KD versus Kauai. We only saw it for half of one game last year. Little Brother teams in two big cities, right? Nets, not the Knicks and the Clippers. Neither teams won an NBA title. Nets did win two ABA titles with Julius Irving.

Teams haven't even played yet this season. But the time off benefits the Clippers, the time off benefits the Nets. And I thought that Kauai was the best player in the league in the playoffs last year. and KD was best player in the league in the playoffs in two previous years. I would love to see that NBA finals. Number four. Bucks versus Clippers.

Hey, you still have the Clippers. They have the time off. Last year's MVP versus last year's finals MVP. And of course, we remember how the Bucks season ended last year. Kauai shut down Yannis when he became the primary defender. Went all four games, held Yonis to just 20 points per game on 43. and a half percent field goal shooting over the last four games. Bucks don't have a player in the roster that's won a title.

Bucks haven't won a title since 71. That was when Kareem was on the team. So it was Tiny Archibald. Bucks won both matchups this year, but Paul George did miss one game. Paul George healthy, Kauai Healthy, might be the two best teams in the league. All right. Number three. Nets.

Lakers. KD. versus LeBron. Kyrie versus LeBron, L.A. versus New York. Hmm? Hmm? Number two.

Number two. Lakers Celtics. First of all, if you watch the Lakers against the Celtics when Jason Tatum went off at Staples, it was on a Sunday before the shutdown. It was incredible. And when you think of the history of the NBA, you want to get people to watch, Lakers Celtics brings them back, whether it was the Laker Celtics with Kobe and Powell, taken on, you know, KG and Paul Pierce.

Did you know Paul Pierce grew up in L.A.? Or Wilton Bill Russell or Magic and Bird. Of course, there was the wheelchair game with Paul Pierce. What was that really hiding? Lakers Celtics would be incredible. Number one. Bucks Lakers. Because Kareem used to play for them.

I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Bucks Lakers. We saw a tale of two very different games. Yannis hit five threes, which he hadn't done before. And it hasn't done since, but did step up and play great when. it was in Milwaukee.

And then, of course, you have the Lakers who played great in the second matchup and kept the bucks at arm's distance. Two MVP, two top MVP candidates. They're also all-star captains the past two years. Teams split in the regular season, top two seeds in the NBA. If I could pick one NBA finals, I think most people would. This would probably be the one. Those are my top five NBA finals.

Joy Taylor, did I miss something? Are my rankings out of order got? No, that's strong. With the best teams in there. Surprise how much you love Brooklyn. Is that just contingent on if KD. was playing? If KD. was playing. Katie and Karee, but Katie especially.

Yeah. I mean, people have totally forgotten. They fired their coach. They have a new coach, which they didn't go out and hire a coach during the time off. I mean, I really like Brooklyn. I like Brooklyn. I think everyone is just out of sight, out of mind with KD, which could work in his advantage. It could very much work to his favor.

And that probably, especially with his dealings at the media and social media, like I don't think people understand the Nets are the Knicks are bigger, the Giants, the Jets, Rangers are bigger. Yankees, Mets, like the seventh biggest professional sports team. And they probably have the best shot of winning a title next year of any of the New York sports teams. I can't really break down my knowledge of the New Jersey Devils or the New York Rangers, forgive me, or the Islanders. Sorry, forget about the Islanders.

But yeah, I'm fascinated by the, I'm just more fascinated by the Nets. I don't know if, I think they should play if KD's cleared, he should definitely practice and probably play. And then you see, you don't have to play him in the playoffs, but I think at some point you're going to have to play him and

getting those games under his belt will build that confidence in the Achilles tendon. And oh yeah, by the way, while guys don't always come back the same from the Achilles tendon, the chance of re-injuring yourself, at least with the Achilles tendon is very slight now.

DeMarcus Cousins towards his ACL after tearing his Achilles tendon. But usually when they fix that thing and you get a year out of it, that thing is absolutely fine. It's the rest of the body kind of working all together. I'm excited. The NBA is back. It's just we got away two months before we see actual NBA basketball games.

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 SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. In every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports

and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guide. 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, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

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

and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 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? listening to learn the hard way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your

podcast. an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.