The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd for May 06, 2020

Episode Date: May 6, 2020

College Football is going to be played this season but not at every schoolThis Bulls documentary reminds Colin how much better the NBA is now without CentersSports need people like Dana WhiteAre we sure Big Ben is going to be great when he comes back?5 Things in sports you need to just accept. Don't @ me, broGuest: Urban Meyer, FOX College Football Analyst & 3x National Champion  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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this is clivert taylor the fourth and on my podcast the clivert show i'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff like being an internet famous referee we're in the middle of a game this linebacker this linebacker walks up to me he goes a 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 weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker.

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This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go. In a Wednesday, we're live in Los Angeles. This is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Urban Meyer today. Tom Tolbert, Nick Wright.

stopping by today. Bucky Brooks stopping by today. All sorts of interesting stuff. Somebody who's been very critical of me called me names and stuff. Use swear words. I will support in 15 minutes. Joy Taylor's joining me. She hopefully doesn't use swear words to describe me.

How are you, Joy? Who is talking about you, Colin? Well, that's called a tease in the business. Very good tease. I'll see how that goes. I saw you had some tequila last night. I had one margarita. I'm not a big tequila fan,

Cinco de Mayo celebration. And I had one, one and a half margaritas and some unbelievable chicken burritos, which were great. Very nice. And we had music going on all day. And then we watched the UFO special at night. It was great.

Sounds like a good day. It was. Let me start with this. Just because we're dealing with a pandemic does not mean states will not compete. They'll compete. We had states competing for masks and ventilators. They're going to compete for sports.

UFC is going to fight. They don't care what you think in California. They went to Florida. So Notre Dame's athletic director yesterday, he's got a lot of power. And he said, you know what? I'm not sure what's going to happen. But some conferences may go, some may not. Some teams within conferences may not.

some may go, but we're probably going to have a season. I can't say enough about the extent to which they're working closely together, spending time together, communicating with each other. And I think that's the most important thing. It gives us a chance to come up with an overarching policy and an ability to start together. Having said that, I think we all recognize that there is a significant chance that that may not be possible, that either because states or individual colleges and universities take different approaches, is you can't produce a season where all members are participating in Division I football in the same way.

Yes. The SEC, and I've stayed away from predictions, the SEC is going to have a college football season. Period. That's my one prediction. Joy has been here. I've said, only thing I know about this thing, social distancing does appear to work. I don't know anything else. But I'm going to make, and I've stayed away from guessing if leagues are going to start or not.

I think it's ridiculous when you've got people predicting in May the first week what's going to happen in the third week in September. As I said before, you watch a local weather forecast. If they go past four or five days, the accuracy falls off the table. They have radar. How do I know what's going to happen in September? Do we get medicines? Do we get a vaccine? They're fast-tracked.

I don't know. I don't even think epidemiologists agree on half of this stuff from what I read. but I'll make one prediction. The SEC, it matters more in the South. That's their slogan. They're going to have a season. I don't know about the PAC 12, but why should the SEC have to wait for the PAC 12?

Even within conferences like the Big Ten, Rutgers in New Jersey, they've been hit hard by the virus. Nebraska, not so much. Nebraska's like, we're all in. It's a recruiting advantage. I know. It's unseemly, right? Competition.

but we competed for business post 9-11, and you're going to compete during the virus for business. States will compete. Florida's opened up. Let's go. Southern governors, mostly conservative. Let's go. California, Pact 12, I don't even think he'd get much pushback.

I think southern states will pull away from the rest of the country in college football like they haven't already. They'll tell recruits, we play. We're going to play. And so, and am I comfortable with it? Listen, I, I can watch New York and be horrified by it, but I also live in a coastal city in California. 36,000 people, we've had one death. I don't know anybody that has it. I don't know anybody that knows anybody that has it.

So our life is different right now from the difficulty and the situation in other parts of the country. not everybody's living through this thing similarly. Utah and Wyoming are different than New York and New Jersey and Michigan. But when I hear this about college football, my takeaway on all this is it's going to be uneven. 130 college football programs. Some are big state schools. Some are private academies. Some are small schools.

Some love football. Some like Duke or basketball schools. 130 programs, I think 80 potentially could. play. 80. That's it. 80. And I'll watch every single game that's on TV. So during the virus, A, not everybody is suffering through it the same kind of intensity. They're just not. And the second thing is, states compete. God, they were competing for ventilators. And as gross and uncomfortable as that is, they're going to compete for football. You know it and I know it. They're going to compete on this stuff. And I'll get to the UFC more after the break. Let me segue to the last

dance. So I was rewatching something yesterday, and I've said I like Michael Jordan more now than ever. I like him more during the last dance. I think he's a man's man. He doesn't back down from anything. What he said he meant, he's very true to his word. He doesn't worry about social media preening or posturing or positioning or validation. I like it. Everybody else is worried about that? He's not. And Michael Jordan is one of the five best basketball players I've ever seen play. In order, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, and Larry Bird are the best basketball players I've ever seen. I do not count centers. Why would I count the least skilled position on the floor?

It's not about titles. I don't rank these guys based on titles. I'm just telling you what my eyes have seen. Michael's the best player. LeBron's are very close second, Magic a close third, Kobe fourth, and Larry Bird fifth. centers generally aren't great ball handlers. They're not great shooters. They're not great passers, although Arvito Sabonis and Bill Walton were.

And I am totally comfortable saying that basketball has moved away from centers, and I like it. Thankfully, it's moved away from centers. One of the things I like about the last dance, the least interesting people are centers. Basketball and no sport should be controlled. Rules should not help the least skilled people. Should football be dominated by offensive linemen? Should baseball be dominated by a DH? Should hockey be dominated by defensemen and fighters?

No. I think one of the smartest things the NFL ever did was go back and erase the no-catch rule because the most skilled football players in America often are wide receivers. And the NFL said, you know what? We want to make rules so wide receivers can score more touchdowns. And I think it was brilliant, and I think the game is much more enjoyable. The NBA did the same thing. Our most skilled people are ball handlers and shooters.

Let's take out the hand check. They took out the hand check 16 years ago. Eight of the last 16 years, guards have won the MVP. In that stretch, zero centers have won the MVP. Dirk Novitsky's not a center. Stop it. Kevin Durant lies about his height. He says he's shorter than he.

is. He doesn't want to be seen as a center. So I think leagues are really smart when they craft rules to elevate the most skilled and they craft rules to punish the least skilled. I think the NFL's done a brilliant job and the NBA has never been faster. There's never been more great shooters. There's never been more great ball handlers. There's never been more great passers. I love getting rid of the hand check. I didn't like the New York. Nick's and their mythology where three of the five guys couldn't shoot a jumper from here to the window. That's not good basketball.

One of the reasons I like the NBA and the NFL going forward, they figured it out. Create rules to elevate your most skilled athletes. In my life, a center's never been the best passer in the league, has never been the best shooter in the league, has never been the best ball handler in the league. and my five favorite players and last dance has cemented this all non-centers. I'm not saying you shouldn't be able to use a genetic gift

if you're seven foot two. I'm not saying it. But the new NBA, the messaging is, hey, big fella, you better learn to shoot or you'll be coming off the bench and use sparingly. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions,

the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo 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,

Kier Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible 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, Destin, Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or 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 hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts 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? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted. this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court,

licking his fingers while he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So the UFC is going to fight this weekend. And Dana White and I have had our disagreements through the years a couple years ago. I had some comments on him and he fired back and swore and stuff. But I made a point to go back to a couple of UFC fights in person and I walked up to him and said, listen, man, you know, you and I can disagree, but sports

need you. And one of the reasons I just saw Dana White at a boxing match in Vegas. He stopped by table. And Dana and I don't always agree, but I respect the hell out of him. And he's a maverick. And mavericks push back. And mavericks don't worry about Twitter. And mavericks are strong and they're alphas. And we need them. And the UFC is going to host a fight this week. I've always thought the UFC Disney marriage is very interesting because Disney is very corporate, very concerned about his image. Its stock price has tumbled. And they're very much a family brand and the Lion King. And I always thought Fox and UFC were a really good fit because Fox is the Simpsons, family guy, a little Deadpool.

You know, we're a little edgier at Fox, and I think UFC is a real classic Maverick brand. That's why I think the WWE works on Fox because the WWE and Vince McMahon, they don't care what you think, and they're coming back. And UFC doesn't care what you think. They're coming back. People often ask me, what do you think of barstool sports? And I'm like, well, thank God for them. I don't have to agree with all their content, but A, they do a.

a lot of good content and be, they're Mavericks. They push back. And this is why I think the NFL flourishes. Adam Silver's got a tiptoe around everything and the baseball's got a tiptoe around their unions. And the NFL's like, hey, we're going to survive the blowback from Twitter. We're going to hold free agency, home run. We're going to deal with the blowback on Twitter about the draft. Home run.

If you can deal with the initial blowback from social media and most corporations don't want to do that. Big corporations, they've got a lot to lose and they get very timid about this stuff. And I think there's a big space in America for WWE. NASCAR has always had a little rebel to it. The NFL is unique. It's big and corporate and has a little rebel to it. Not a ton, but enough to withstand the blowback on the draft. And so these kind of people, people that challenge the status quo are important. That's where you get innovation from. Leaders, not followers, from people willing to push the envelope and roll the dice. And so I disagree a lot with Dana White on things through the years, but I respect the hell out of him. And he said, California, all right. I mean, there's a

story out today. He's like, all right, we understand Disney. You had a bad week. We're going back in doing this thing. And I thank God that we have these mavericks in sports. Thank God, all of our governors don't act the same way. You know, to me, whether it's federalism, I like the opportunity to states to do their own thing and sports to do their own thing. And, you know, there used to be newspapers, TV, that was it. Now you've got this massive tyranny of the mob social media component. And it scares corporations. And everybody's petrified to get. ripped, and you need strong people like Dana White and Vince McMahon to say, hell with you. We'll just move it where we can do it.

We're going on with this thing. So I'll watch the fight this weekend. Justin Gage, he's a very good fighter. He's on the car this weekend, and he talked about fighting during this virus. He's going to bring a sense of normalcy to people, and I'm proud to be a part of it. You know, the opportunity to inspire. People need to be inspired right now. They need to not let themselves, you know, become depressed.

emotional because they can't control what's going on right now. You have to, we've got to write it through, and they need to be inspired in a way, and we can do that. Yeah, they're going for it. And I like living in a place where not everybody has to act the same and think the same, even during an ugly crisis. UFC, tip of the cap is I do think there are sports like golf, like tennis, like boxing, like UFC, like mask are where you have one component or two combatants fighting, no fans, one referee, they wear a mask. Let's not pretend basketball where you share a basketball and UFC are the same thing.

They're not. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. I have a phone, and on my phone are a lot of NFL contacts. And I think Joey and I both have contacts. I take a lot of pride in it. And I always think it's fun when I say something over and over and over. and then you see like a veteran reporter come out and unveil it, and it kind of, you know, it validates my sources,

which I know are right to begin with. But I've said this for years, and I've been saying it a lot recently, Big Ben is a super talented Hall of Fame level quarterback. He's not totally committed. I have real questions about this year for the Steelers. He got hurt. He's not a workout fiend.

And you'll get some occasional pushback. But Jay Glazer doesn't make stuff up and tends to lean toward pro players. opinions, not anti-player opinions. So he was in the athletic, Jay Glazer's mailbag this week. Somebody said, I feel like the Steelers are a sleeper team this year.

The offense suffered hard because of Ben's injuries, but assuming he's back, plus his fitness, he used to be very competitive. And Jay Glazer said, first of all, let's not put fitness in Ben Rothesberger. I love this.

So Glazer says, Don't put fitness and Ben Rothlisberger together. They're allergic to each other. There is no fitness in Ben Rothlisberger. His idea of a great off-season workout is a yoga session playing golf and drinking beer. Pow! This is what my sources have been saying for years, is that he's talented, but he's not really committed. There's three quarterbacks in this league that are next level committed.

Brady, Russell Wilson, and Drew Brees. is a 12-month commitment. Big Ben, it's a 16-game commitment. You see this all over pro sports. Some people, the late Tony Gwynn, he watched more film on how to hit than anybody in his sport for years. He was way ahead of the curve on that, and he lived for it. We've seen in the last dance how much film Rodman watched. But Rodman wasn't totally committed, his lifestyle, big drinker. You know, I mean, Rodman was, you know, depended on the moment the team in the day, where he was emotionally all in. Russell is, Breezes, Brady is. But one of the reasons I, you know, there's teams I am really into.

I think Baltimore is the best team in the league. And I'm not sure it's close right now. I think Baltimore is the best team in the league. I thought they were really good last year. I thought their free agency was great. They had cap space because they're not paying Lamar anything. I thought their draft was really, really good. They added depth, maybe one starter.

I think they're well-coached. Lamar Jackson's gotten better every year. He's obviously a workout freak, ironic, coincidental, whatever word you want, that he is a workout freak committed and Ben's not in the same division and they're big rivals. But I like Cleveland to make the playoffs, not Pittsburgh. Because I think Baker Mayfield kind of got crapped on last year and got embarrassed and humiliated. And I think Baker Mayfield, I also think Baker Mayfield looked fat last year. I thought he looked heavy.

I think Baker's got a great offseason. I think Baker Mayfield's going to be totally in. I think Baker Mayfield is going to play with his hair on fire. And he's got a real coach who's going to demand things from him. And they had a great draft and a nice free agency period. So this just sort of accentuates. I mean, think about this. When you get older, it takes longer to recover.

Like most of you, I could play basketball in college at the gym, rip an ankle up two days later on playing. I mean, I banged my toe the other day on my deck. I mean, I couldn't move for two days. My body just doesn't, you know, it's all that tequila and the margaritas. It doesn't heal as quickly. So Big Ben is 38, comes off an injury, and he's not in great shape. The reason guys can overcome injuries a couple years ago, Brady got hurt during the season and won the Super Bowl,

because Tom's in such amazing shape. He makes his body heal quickly, the way he eats, the way he trains, the way he's committed, the sleep, everything, plyometrics. So it's interesting because Jay is not a guy that likes to pound on athletes, but it's a funny line, and he's right. That's why I have my questions on the Steelers. Big Ben, not in great shape. You know, I mean, he just mentioned the other day he's been thrown with pain for years. Why?

Brady's old. He's not throwing with pain. I just don't know how committed Big Ben and how his body will respond. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week. within the IHeart radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. So I was sitting here this morning thinking I was reading a story.

A couple days ago, Joy and I talked about this, that half of the top 10 picks did not, teams didn't pick up their fifth year option. And I thought, you know, of course they didn't. It's a reality. And there are things in sports that one of the reasons I don't get mad, sports doesn't make me mad. And if you go to Twitter, it's just mad people all the time because you get mad based on expectations. You just have to be honest about stuff. I mean, if your parents

are five foot two and five foot three, you're not playing in the NBA. It's just not going to. It's just you're not going to be playing in the NBA. You can give me an outlier. It's just, just not going to happen. And so today, I thought I'd do a segment, the five truths in sports that I've been reminded of recently. And the segment's going to be called Don't at me, bro. Okay, don't at me, bro. I'm just being honest, I've been doing this 30 years.

I've seen it. Don't at me, bro. Are you ready to go? Here we go. Number one, the SEC's got better football players than everybody. Get over it. And so at the end of any college football season,

when I have to make a decision on a one-lost team and an undefeated Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12 ACC team, I'm going to almost always take the SEC team. They get better players out of high school, more first-round picks, more national titles. Look at their bowl records for the last 10 years. I don't even think it's the best coach sport. Sometimes I think Ed Orgeron won a national title. That's because LSU's got so many players.

The reality is Ohio State is the only cold weather program. in America that even looks like an SEC program. When you watch Ohio State play, their corners, their pass rushers, you're like, oh, that's a, that's a, that's a, that's an SEC football team. That doesn't mean that Pete Carroll's Trojans couldn't beat him or Davos, Sweeney's Clemson Tigers can't. But let's just be honest, in the footprint of the South, they've got far more great high school football players and the Urban Myers and Brian Kelly have to go south.

Those schools don't have to go north to get players. The SEC's better. They're going to be better this year, next year, and every year. Just own it. Don't at me, bro. Number two, 75% of the players that your team drafted are not even going to be on the roster in five years. This whole league is designed. Best quarterback, best coach equals chance for a Super Bowl.

And that everybody's going to lie about this, but 75% of the teams in the NFL have no chance to win the Super Bowl this year because you don't have a good enough coach and you don't have a good enough coach. you don't have a good enough quarterback. I mean, you can eliminate 75% of the league. I was looking at a stat this morning where they were talking about of the 120 players between 2011 and 2016 draft classes that had their options exercised and most don't.

40% of those players did not get a second deal with their original team. Your draft, this is why I don't give out draft grades. I give out off-season grades where I look at your coaching staff, your free agency, and your first two draft picks. I've had GMs who I respect tell me by the fourth round pick, you're crossing your fingers. You got no idea if they can play.

And these are professionals. Number three, most NBA star players don't want to live in the city they play. I'm sorry, Sacramento, I'm sorry Detroit, I'm sorry Milwaukee, I'm sorry Cleveland, and I'm sorry, Indianapolis. If you were young, rich, and famous, where would you want to live? You want to live in Los Angeles or Miami? I'm sorry. Every time there's a free agent opportunity, these fans out east on the eastern seaboard,

how many free agents want to play in Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Boston? If you don't engineer a trade, they never pick you because your weather's lousy and it's a winter league. The bottom line, October through March, it's cold everywhere. It's not in Phoenix, not in Los Angeles, not in Miami. Most NBA stars,

they're not going to say it to be jerks, they're nice kids. They don't want to plan the cities they're planning. It's a winter league. No thanks. Don't at me, bro. A number four, hockey's never going to be that popular in the United States. It's lousy on TV. We don't bet it. 99% of people have never played it.

It's Canada's sport. And let's be honest about it. It's expensive for young kids. So it eliminates a lot of people that just can't afford it. Plus, they've got morning skates, morning rink time. What dad wants to take their kids at 4.45 in the morning to hockey? A lot of dads can't. And a lot of people just can't afford it.

And we don't play it when we're kids. And we don't watch it as adults. It doesn't mean I don't go to L.A. King's games. But, I mean, the big foreign American sports are NFL, baseball, NBA, and college football. And I would say over the next five years, the MLS is going to be over hockey. I'm sorry. You want to talk puck? Go for it.

Don't at me, bro. It's never going to be that popular. It's Canada sport. And finally, my bosses will be mad. The United States men's national team is never going to win a World Cup. We're not. We can compete. We can be fun.

We couldn't make the last World Cup. And the way soccer works because of our economics, they're dying for us to be in the World Cup. They want us to be in the World Cup. They give us opportunities to be in the World Cup. We got an easy bracket. And we still couldn't make the World Cup. World Cup. It's U.S. soccer is political. It's dysfunctional. Just watch the games. It's like my

SEC argument. Christian Pulisic came out at 18. I watched half of one match. And I'm like, he's so much better than the rest of our players. We just don't have enough now. Now, in 25 years, maybe it's different, but our best athletes don't play it. We can compete. We can win matches. But to win a World Cup, to win match after match after over Chile and Brazil and Argentina, Argentina and England and Germany and Belgium and what? Winning a World Cup? I mean, I think if we had it on our soil and we were emotional and we were healthy and maybe we got a couple scheduling breaks where, you know, better teams, lost players,

you know, maybe we could get into a final eight or a final 16. But I love the World Cup. I watch the World Cup. I'm totally into the World Cup, much more than the Olympics. I don't think we're ever going to win it. As I've said before, I can know the ending and still like a movie. Titanic, I know the ending. I've seen it more than once.

I'm okay. The ending doesn't even have to be good. I watch usual suspects the other night. I know the ending. I still watched it. I don't have to have a happy ending. I can know the ending. I can know we're not going to win a World Cup.

And I still think we'll be competitive in some. It'll be fun. I watch it. I don't just watch it for Team USA. How's that? Don't at me, bro. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the hard way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Care 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, or are you a good person because you're afraid?

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Open your free, I Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway 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 walks up to me, he goes, Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. A rep. My mama want you to wave at her.

What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.

And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,

he has to really guard guys like Nasree. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night bases on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying.

He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball like, after you go through a training camp with that Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Right now, he is residing down in beautiful Sarasota, Florida. I got a lot of friends down in Sarasota and Naples. Those are beautiful, beautiful areas. Erman Myers, one of three coaches, to lead multiple schools to national championships. He's got three rings. Fox College football's analyst is joining us, Urban Meyer. So, you know, it was interesting.

The Notre Dame athletic director said, listen, we may have conferences that play and conferences that don't. I look at the Big Ten Urban and I think Rutgers is in Jersey. Maybe they can't play. Nebraska maybe looks at their infection rate and says, yeah, we're going to play. Could you see a conference literally like a Big Ten not having every school involved in a season? I actually could. You know, I don't, everyone hopes that doesn't happen, but you need college football.

And there's certain, you know, it's going to be a state by state. I'm real intrigued to hear how they move forward with this where, you know, say the SEC, obviously it's top to bottom, the strongest conference in America. And you take them that really have areas that have not been hammered by the virus and they want to go play football, boy, it would be hard to say don't play. You know, a matter of fact, I can't imagine that scenario. So it's going to be a state by state. It's going to be a team by team, conference by conference, I think, as this thing moves forward.

And I've actually listened to a few phone calls about that, and I would believe that there's a chance that would happen. By the way, if a Rutgers couldn't play, don't they share revenue anyway, like bowl revenue? So they would be assisted at some level, right? Oh, you'd have to imagine that would happen. And I have not heard that. And, you know, so I haven't even thought about that. But certainly that would wipe out a, you know, if you're not part of that revenue sharing and a Rutgers or really anybody that counts on those resources, not just for football, but for other sports, that could wipe out an athletic department.

So, yeah, I would imagine that would be part of it. Urban Meyer joining us. I've said recently Mel Kuiper came out and said Joe Burroughs a better prospect than Trevor Lawrence. and I said, boy, that's how it feels like a lot of recency bias to me, is that I, there's some things about Joe Burrow I love, but I do think he's been a little bit of a one-hit wonder. And is that a fair criticism where, you know, everything works for a season? You got a really good team, a really good offensive line.

You know, just kind of the schedule works or whatever. Do you think that's a fair concern about Joe Burrow that, you know, he was in college for a long time and he didn't even pop until the last year. second year at LSU. Yeah, Colin, I don't believe that's criticism. I think that's factual. You know, a one-hit wonder. I mean, that's better than a no-hit wonder.

I mean, he had arguably the best season in the history of college football. Yes, he was on a great team, but you can't, when you really study his film, the throws he made, that wasn't a bunch of wide-open guys now. He placed that ball. He scrambled. He kept plays alive. So, yeah, it was a one-hit wonder. a little bit later developing, but I don't look at that as concern. That's factual.

Trevor Lawrence has had a three-year, you know, his freshman, sophomore, and two-be his junior year, he's had, you know, if he puts together a year, that's not, that's a three-hit or three, you know, three years. So there is risk involved, and I would say this about Joe, if it wasn't what happened, it would be a major risk. But reality is, he had arguably the greatest season of history, in history a quarterback's ever had. And that overrules the fact that he only did it for one year. So there is a risk involved, and I didn't see Mel Kuyper's a list. But, you know, if Trevor Lawrence has a big, big time year, which, you know, I imagine he will,

that'd be hard not to say that he's right there with Joe Burrow or maybe even better. You know, we'll see what happens. Jared Stidham, according to a report this morning, New England's all in on Jarrett Stidham. If I recall, you recruited Jared Stidham. Did you not? We did. He's out of Stevensville, Texas, one of the best high school programs in America. We didn't get real far with him. I can't recall exactly what happened, but I remember watching this high school film, very high on him. You started off at Baylor and went to Auburn. You know, the one thing, as I said many times during the last couple weeks,

the common denominator of every great quarterback he's on a great team. you know, the great quarterbacks to go to bad teams also become bad quarterbacks. And I, it's hard for me at times to understand, you know, the media and often the fans, they just, they have a bad team, so it's a quarterback's fault. And you look around and it happened at Alex Smith, his first year, first few years in New England or at San Francisco.

So I think Jared Stim, he put him with Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniel, that system. I think, get ready for, you know, I can't say he's going to be the next Tom Brady, but get ready. I'm sure I'll have a good. He did it with Matt Castle. he did it obviously with Tom Brady and shoot the quarterback at the 49ers. Jimmy Garoppolo.

Yeah, Gras. They're going to make that quarterback a good player. So we talk about first round wide receivers over the last five years. There's been three times as many busts as hits. And so, you know, you look at the first round, and we know some of these guys are not going to work. The name that keeps coming up from my people is Isaiah Simmons. Arizona took him. And he's obviously a tremendous athlete.

But do you think he would be a hard guy to coach because he's Derwin James, but not that good of safety? He's Honey Badger, but is he that instinctive? What is Isaiah Simmons as a pro? Well, I stood on the field and watched him. I also was sat in some meetings as Ohio State got ready. to play him. He's the all-purpose guy. It matters. I think he's a great talent. I think how

they use him is going to be key. And everyone looks for, you know, I saw the Saints having the conversation about the Stevens and the hybrid player that can do multiple things for you. We would always look for that Percy Harvin or a

multiple position player that gives you great flexibility that he can go play an outside lineback or play safety. You know, who knows, could play a nickel. And I just think he's a great talent and how they use him is going to be key. You know, can he play every snap as a deep middle safety? That remains to be seen because it wants him to do that with him.

Yeah. You know, there's another guy in the first round. Damon Arnett, cornerback Ohio State. There was a report. A couple teams didn't have him on the board. Character issues. What do we know about those character issues? I know at all.

It was more maturity issues. we always felt like he went to St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the best high school programs in America. He had some of that, you know, stuff in him that we had to get out of them. And he had maturity issues. He's without doubt first round talent because he fits right in with those six or seven first round corners that came out of Ohio State. He was just behind mentally.

He was behind maturity-wise. I think the key to him was what kind of coach, position coach, not head coach, what kind of position coach, what kind of room do you put Damon in? If Damon's in, you know, you have a Malcolm Jenkins type player, you know, just a grown man and a bunch of people that, you know, a bunch of athletes and players in a real strong position coach, I think he's going to thrive. You put him in a situation where that's not the case.

There are concerns. I love Damon, but there are concerns. You know, September 3rd or 4th Labor Day weekends to start of college football, how many weeks, minimum, would you need to get your guys ready? I've actually had some conversations, and the number that keeps coming up is six weeks. You know, football, you have safety issues involved, and six weeks, which puts you around that July 16th number

that gives you a time to get a team ready, and that's the conditioning, that's the, you know, football is such a complex game, but the most important thing is the health and safety, you know, because, you know, a lot of these places, majority of them are going to, you know, deal with 80, 90-degree, Heat to get those kids used to running, they have to be on the move six weeks out as kind of a number that we've come up with. You know, it's interesting. I thought about this college football season being in the spring.

And I thought, you know who maybe wouldn't want a college football season in the spring is in Ohio State, a Notre Dame, SEC Clemson? Because you have the most pro NFL players. And I could see some kids saying, I'm not playing in February or months. March because if I get hurt, I can't get physically right for the combine. So what do you think about these suggestions of moving it to the spring? I think if I was Ohio State's coach and I got nine NFL guys, some guys may not want to play if the season goes to late March, right? I agree with you 100%.

If that happens, the majority of college football, I think, would be, you know, once you I just, it's hard to just visualize that, too, how that works. You have college basketball going on, and then you have frass turn around, you have spring. You have kids that have to declare for the draft. Kids are graduating early that would have to now be eligible to get into grad school. There's so many hoops to jump, but what you just said is not, that's not maybe. That's a fact. If you're a potential high draft pick, will you really go put on shoulder pads in a helmet and play college football in January or February?

I would say no. You know, Urban USC changed their defensive staff. It got younger, and they've had a very good last month in recruiting. Very good. After a couple of very weak recruiting years. And it's interesting. I've had some friends, and they're saying, well, what's going on down there? And I said they just got younger, and I don't know how good the coaches are, but they're

really good recruiters. And when you were selecting a staff, would you have guys that you thought were B coaches, but A recruiters and then mix that with some A coaches and maybe B recruiters. Is it a balance or did recruiting matter with every coach? I think when you're at schools where you can't pay or high, you know, pay the market value of an elite recruiter slash coach. But the Ohio states, the USC, the Texas, the, you know, the SEC, the Clemsons, you should be able to, you know, I would certainly, you know, when I was at Utah,

you just could not hire the, you know, the all-purpose coach. At Ohio State, I never, absolutely not. If you better be, it's very easy. Are you the best recruiter at your position in America? If not, then we've got to probably get this thing fixed. Wow. So we are all over that. But you're also paying them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

So I think, you know, I would be shocked at the upper 15 schools in America, say we would accept that because I don't know how. then you're probably not winning. You know, recruiting. Every conversation in college football starts with recruiting, and it ends with recruiting. Everything else inside is important, but the recruiting piece is that.

And then you can see who's going to continue winning. All you have to is watch who they're recruiting. Yeah. Good talking to you, Coach. Are your beaches open in Sarasota? Yeah, they're open now, and I know you spent time in Naples. Oh, I love it. I'll tell you what, man. I've never spent more than four days down here,

and this is really beautiful area. Yes, it is, coach. Especially when the beaches are open. Yes, it is. Urban Meyer, good talking to you, coach. Take care, Colin. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. 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 story. 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 guy, not quite unhumored me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between

songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're 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 life. He's a professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, guys? This is Clivert 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. 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, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the Iheart radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.