The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Cardinals, NFL draft, Russell Westbrook, and the NBA playoffs

Episode Date: April 23, 2019

With the NFL draft a few days away Colin discusses the Arizona Cardinals now being reported to draft QB Kyler Murray, and the latest rumor about the Oakland Raiders. Colin also explains why Oklahoma City Thunder G Russell Westbrook is a horrible warning and his picks for the NBA playoffs. Guests include Doug Gottlieb, Lincoln Riley, Sam Monson, and LaVar Arrington. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple 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. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Life is full of hurdles. So how do you keep going? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire, World. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything.

Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Thanks for listening to The HARD podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the Hurt at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching Hurd. Now let's get this podcast. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Ah, here we go to Tuesday. Draft is Thursday right around the corner. This is The Herd. Live in Los Angeles, wherever you may be in, however you may be listening. We're on IHAR Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma Football Head Coach, who coached Kyler Murray, who now appears to be going number one. We'll join us in one hour from now.

Joy Taylor's stopping in, as usual. How are you, Joy? I'm great. morning. Here we go. Pretty close to the draft. Very, very close to the draft. It's Thursday. And there are stories now, here's where we begin. There are stories now from reputable sources, people I trust, but it does appear Arizona's made a decision. And increasingly, it looks like the decision is to move off Josh Rosen and to draft Kyler Murray. Not what I would necessarily do, but I get what they're trying to do. They have a coach in Cliff Kingsbury. It appears Kyler

Murray is better for his system. You can certainly make the argument in that division with Jimmy G. Russell Wilson, Jared Gough. You're going to need some dynamic playmaker at the quarterback position. I get the argument. But Arizona last year, I don't think they're brilliantly run. I think they have the fourth best roster in the division. And I think Josh Rosen may be very lucky here and end up with a better football team and a better roster and an easier division going forward.

So Peter King is saying this morning he would be surprised. if the Cardinals didn't draft Kyler Murray with a top overall pick and Joel Klatte said this yesterday and I trust him on our show. Do you have any inside sources saying Arizona will take Kyler Murray? Yes.

Oh, so you're breaking news here. I'm not breaking news. I'm 90%. Again, I would be shocked if they're not going to take him. All right, there you go. Peter King, Joel Klatte, believe it strongly. Let me just say this. You got to get the quarterback.

position right. This is starting to feel like not only a game changer for Arizona, but such an opportunity for the New York Giants. A couple of years ago, there was this team on the West Coast called the San Francisco 49ers, and they'd hire this young offensive coach, Kyle Shanahan, no proven head coaching track record. They had a general manager, John Lynch, that we were all kind of unsure of if it would work. And they had some good players on the roster. But we just kind of thought, meh. All of a sudden they signed Jimmy G from New England and like, like instantly, you're like, okay, we got a real franchise here.

Okay. Now we got the coach. Now we got the quarterback. The GM seems to know what he's doing. And they already had some good piece. Just the Jimmy G signing took the Niners from like a mess. And the Niners again had an offensive coach unproven. A GM we weren't sure of.

They were unsure going forward on quarterback. And then Jimmy G came in. Here's the New York Giants. They have an offensive coach, Pat Schumer, with a great track record, but we're not sure of. They have some good players on that roster. We know that for sure. Like the Niners, they got some explosive players. They have a general manager, Dave Gettlement.

We're not really sure it's going to work. And they're unsure of their quarterback going forward. And here's Josh Rosen. He's the Jimmy G. And like Jimmy G, a beautiful thrower of the football, little bit with both of injury concerns. Jimmy G got hurt at New England a couple times. People were like,

Rosen and college got hurt a little bit, bummed down. Both Rosen and Jimmy G. Did not have enough starts to definitively say, we know they'll be blank. But boy, they looked apart. And for both Garapolo, all it took was a second round pick. And for the Giants, it appears all it's going to take is a second round pick. Giants, be the Niners, step up, make the obvious move.

If you're not going to draft Dwayne Haskins, which I would, I think we're overthinking the room on Dwayne Haskins, I'd draft him. If you're not, go get Josh Rosen. If you don't have the quarterback situation settled in this league, it hangs over the fans, the locker room, the players. I mean, Jacksonville had that one great year. But, I mean, you just, it never felt sealed in. the Niners were the Giants.

Smart offensive coach, a GM we weren't sure of, some interesting, captivating talented players on the roster, quarterback unsettled, and the Niners are like, let's seal this up. Let's just seal this. Let's get our guy, boom, Garoppolo. And the next day we're all like, all right, that's a real franchise. Giants, you have 12 draft picks, two high first round draft picks,

three of the top 37 draft picks. you have two major needs on the team. Pass rusher and a quarterback going forward. Step up. This seems so incredibly Garoppolo-ish to me. Josh Rosen, Garapolo, second round picks, good throwers of the football, little injury concern, pick up offenses real quick, make your move. All right, let's shift gears to this.

Oklahoma City and Russell Westbrook could be done by the end of the night. I think it'll be a close competitive game. One of the things my wife always says, in life you can be a great example or you can be a horrible warning. And both work as a parent. Kids see their mom and dad as great examples or maybe the family's a little chaotic and the kids look at it and go, I'm not going to be that. be a great example or a horrible warning, preferably a great example, but both work. Russell Westbrook has obviously, since the divorce from Kevin Durant, eroded. He's not the same player.

Durant has flourished. Westbrook has eroded. But Russell Westbrook is also a horrible warning. If you draft and build around a highly athletic point guard that's a below-average shooter, Derek Rose, John Wall, Westbrook, now three examples. you will not, you will not be a playoff contender. It is now a shooter's league. Less athletic point guards that can shoot,

Kyrie Irving has never lost a first round playoff series, Steph Curry and James Hardin are now growing and flourishing. Sports gives you great examples and horrible warnings. We now have three hyper-athletic point guys. guards that teams in the media fell in love with, Wall, Rose, and Westbrook. And it doesn't work. Super athletes. We now have three point guards that aren't as athletic.

Hardin Steph and Kyrie Irving. I think Kyrie is now something like, I don't know, 16 and 0 in the first round. Listen, this year, Westbrook shot 31% on jumpers. Hardin shot 40, Lillard shot 40, and Curry shot 44%. just pay attention just pay attention if you're a GM if you're executive you're a coach who has

GM powers if you fall for the highly athletic point guard who can't shoot then it's on you from time to time I'll speak to young broadcasters and young journalism students

and one of the messages I always say is just pay attention 20 years ago newspapers died don't go into newspapers 10 years ago magazines died get rid of that idea. And today, websites are dying. Don't go out and spend all your money on a website.

Think about a podcast, think about audio, think about TV, think about play-by-play, think about... Life will tell you which direction to go. Lose your ego, pay attention. Like, Westbrook is really actually a great warning going ahead. He'll give you highlights. He can give you some awards. he can sell tickets and merchandise. He's fun to watch.

I mean, I'll be watching that game tonight. I watch a lot of Westbrook. But if you want to win in the playoffs in an increasingly shooters-driven league, the answer is scale back a little bit on the athleticism. Don't pass on a guy in the draft because he's not quite athletic enough. Kyrie, Steph, James Hardin, because it's a shooters league. And you've got now multiple examples over and over. of what works and what doesn't.

Okay? This is be a great example or a horrible warning. My guest tonight is Portland wins the series simply because they've got more shot makers. They don't have the best athletic roster. They got the second best curry. Damien Lillard never gets talked about as an elite point guard. CJ McCollum, I think is a really good shooter, but not much else. Doesn't play any defense.

They got shot makers. That's what Portland has. The athletes, some size. That's Oklahoma City. The guys that can hit 16 footers and 21 footers, that's Portland. I think they'll win tonight. Coming up next, the Lakers are officially in Hail Mary category. According to one story.

By the way, some Hail Marys are completed. It's not like Hail Marys never work. The Lakers, I believe, are officially in Hail Mary mode. And I'll explain that coming up. Plus more NFL draft stuff. 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. 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 Slicelife Life 12 in the TikTok podcast. 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, 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, as we have real conversations about healing,

growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search Learn the Hard Way and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness.

So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies, I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history.

You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them?

On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout, Kate Martin, and rising hockey star, Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like.

you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeke. The ability to show gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. By the way, I've said it before. I would not trade Josh Rosen for Kyler Murray, but Kylo Murray's coach is joining us in an hour. The draft is kind of fascinating. So here's another Raider story that's come out. This is very interesting.

So according to Ian Rappaport, the Raiders may be planning, quote, a surprise pick with their fourth overall selection. Hey, everybody, we got a big surprise coming. I don't know, unless you're drafting like a baseball player, I don't know what you could do at this point. Maybe a quarterback. Well, technically, Kyler Murray is also a baseball player, although not currently playing. All right, I guess. But I think Arizona's got the number one pick and they're going to take him. Then Friday, the story came out.

that the scouts had all been sent home and nobody trusted them. I'm just going to give you an opinion here. It appears the Raiders are leaking stories to be the most talked about team on Thursday. Because Arizona right now, not a very good football team, is getting talked about a lot because of Kyler Murray. And a story came out this week. They were trying to sell some tickets. I don't know if that's true or not.

That's the story. Oakland is struggling to sell tickets. It's a lame duckier in Oakland. And it's one of the poorest ownership groups in the NFL. I think it's the poorest. They don't have great stadium revenue. It's a mess. I think they're trying to sell tickets.

And I think they're leaking stories right now to drum up interest. I think they want to sell them in Vegas. I think that's why they went out and spent for Antonio Brown. I don't think they thought Antonio Brown was a, didn't come without risk. But I think they thought it would sell tickets. Oakland's got to sell tickets. John Gruden had a quote last summer. His quote last summer was, I want to be the Patriots.

aren't the Patriots quiet? Aren't they covert? They don't pay wide receivers. They buy low and sell high. The Raiders are doing the opposite of the New England Patriots. And Gruden told you he wanted to do the New England Patriots. So his first move was very patriot-like. Let's get rid of Khalil Mack and get a bunch of picks.

That was his first move in Oakland. And you're like, it's a little patriot-like. Let's let Chandler Jones go and get pet. And then they let go of Amari Cooper and you're like, well, New England doesn't pay receivers. That's a little bit like the Patriots. So John Gruden talked and I listened. We want to be his quote last summer. We want to be the Patriots.

All right. Kaleel Mack for picks. Well, that's very Belichick. Belichick does not pay wide receivers. Amari Cooper gone picks. All right. And then suddenly in the last couple months, let's pay a fortune for a left tackle that may be the third best in our vision. Let's pay a fortune for wide receiver. Let's go and leak everything to the press.

They're trying to win Thursday night. That's what this is. They're trying to win Thursday night and sell tickets because they can't sell them in Oakland because the community, the community's ticked off. That's what it totally feels like to me. John Gruden's initial plan was exactly what he said it would be, very New England like, which is don't pay a fortune for any outside of your quarterback. And by the way, don't give your quarterback a bunch of love. Belichick doesn't give Brady a bunch of love. Gruden hasn't given Derek Carr a bunch of love.

He moved Amari. He moved Khalil. That was very New England. But in the last couple of months, it's the opposite of New England. And this is what my biggest fear with John is. He's turning into a TV personality. Because remember, if you think about Thursday's draft, and don't kid yourself, not all organizations in American sports are about winning games.

There's all sorts of organizations. The New York Giants would love to move off Eli, but they're afraid of what their older fan base will do. Kobe Bryant signed a massive contract last couple of years with the Lakers. Why? Because Time Warner Cable said, we're not giving you the money if your best player is DeAngelo Russell. Organizations make moves.

There's two different kind of sports organizations, the one that are all about winning titles, and then you get some owners, they want to make money. If they win titles, that'd be great. But we got to make money. The Raiders have literally shifted what they do in the last six months. And I think it's to sell tickets in Oakland. I think that's what they're doing now.

You get rid of Collie O'Mac and Amari Cooper and you bring in Antonio Brown, who's got all sorts of baggage, and this is more expensive at wide receiver? And outside of Arizona, the Raiders have three picks in the first round. So, I mean, they should be the second story. And I think they want to be the number one story and sell 4,000 season tickets. It's either in Vegas or Oakland. That's what I think they want to do. This is, why are these stories leaking?

You know, I have a theory on this. Stories get out when somebody wants them out. Why? Listen to this story. The Raiders may be planning, quote, a surprise pick. Is that New England-ish? No, that's trying to sell tickets-ish. Joy Taylor with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So the Lakers are clearly taking things slow as they look for their new head coach. Rob Polinka has reportedly had interviews with a couple of candidates with more to come this week. But as I've been saying for weeks now, it's really just Tailu that should have everyone's attention. And Wode had this to say about it on ESPN yesterday. Tailu remains a significant factor in this Lakers coaching search.

Having coached James and understanding how he was, wants to be coached, where you pick your spots with him, and the input he's going to have on a day-to-day basis is going to be a big part of having success. Why is everyone over-complicating this thing? What did you get LeBron James for, if not to put everything around LeBron that makes LeBron successful? I'm not saying Monty Williams isn't a viable option as a head coach, but he hasn't been a head coach before, and this is a win-now situation.

Tailu has a championship, and you can say, oh, they did it in the E. and, you know, LeBron James is really the coach of that team, but he's not. And they did beat the greatest regular season basketball team in the history of the NBA. Yeah. In game seven, held to 89 on their home court.

That wasn't all LeBron James. Yeah. And of course, you can say they had, Kyrie, they're going to get another piece with LeBron James or none of this is going to work anyway. Why is this so complicated? Yeah, I think Ty Lee was a solid Pire. I like Ty.

I think Ty's a good coach. I've always thought Ty's a little better than it's a group. I think sometimes when you're a former player, you know, Boondholzer's not, Nick Nurse. I think a lot of NBA analytic people love the, you know, analytic guy. Sometimes, you know, I mean, Tyloo can coach. Yes, he played. There's not a lot of great examples of guys who were Phil Jackson played.

I think Tylood would be a solid guy. I got nothing against Tylood. Matt Riley played, Phil Jackson played. Tyloo played. Of all the Lakers issues. Steve Kerr played. Yeah, Tai Loo's the least of my problem for the Lakers. I just don't feel like it needs to be that complicated.

He can clearly coach, and why is it all of a sudden a bad thing that he has a relationship with LeBron James? Shouldn't that be the number one thing that he has communication in relationship with LeBron James? That was the main problem with the last head coach they have. I don't get it. I feel like he's just overthinking that situation. So Yannis and the Bucks took care of business last night, sweeping the Pistons, and now their attention turns to the Celtics after a big win. Yana said he's looking to get some long-awaited payback after last season's game seven loss to Boston. Boston is waiting for you on the other side.

What excites you about that rematch? It's going to be excited. You know, we definitely owe them something from last year. We're going to play hard. And it's going to be fun games to watch. Oh, this is going to be a great. You know what we have, Joy? Milwaukee, Boston is essentially the Eastern Conference Finals.

And Houston Golden State is the Western Conference Finals. But because nobody cares about the regular season, you're getting him in the second round. Right. Those are great playoff series. This is an incredible second round. All around, it's an incredible second round. I think it's going to be better in the conference finals.

It could be with just more basketball, which makes it even better. I'm really excited for this series. Oh, so am I. I don't necessarily know that I'm just giving it to the Celtics. Oh, no, no, no. It's a six-seven game series. I think it's going to be great. I'm really excited to see Janice and Kyrie and there's stars all around.

This will be potentially the best. Even with LeBron, a lot of LeBron's series were LeBron against a roster. This feels like, to me, Milwaukee, Boston, the best Eastern Conference series in years. For sure. Both, and to me, these are the two best teams. I'll take Boston over Milwaukee. Boston won Milwaukee two in the east. Both have superstars, both have good coaches, both have depth, both have guys off a bench who can play.

It's a real series. I think we're getting a long series and a lot of good basketball. So finally, the Cardinals do not appear to be anywhere close to trading Josh Rosen. Rumors are swirling that they will draft Kyler Murray, but that doesn't necessarily mean they won't keep both on their roster. Peter Schrager reported on Good Morning Football that they are not necessarily against keeping both quarterbacks. They're looking for a premium pick, a first or second round. I can't, after all of this, I mean, we're finally here, right? It's draft week and we're going to find out what's going to happen.

after all this buildup and really the whole drafts conversation has been surrounding Kyla Murray and what the Cardinals are going to do. It's after all of this, they keep both quarterbacks. It's like, what are you doing? And they're frankly, they're the opposite quarterback. So if you got rid of Rosen and you went Kyler Murray, it wouldn't be the dumbest move in the world by like the sixth round to find kind of a young scrambling quarterback.

Like I always think Baltimore in RG3, like Lamar Jackson and RG3. That's perfect. It's totally perfect. But it not only does that make sense because they're going to run the same kind of offense, but RT3 is an older quarterback. Yes. It makes no sense to have two basically rookie quarterbacks, a rookie and a second-year quarterback who are completely different in every way on your roster.

I say it all the time. If you have more than one quarterback, you have no quarterback. You don't want to go into training camp for the quarterback battle. Well, you want Kyler to get every snap in camp. Of course. And you want Josh Rosen to get every snap in camp. So it makes no sense at all. Don't be greedy.

What did you say about Antonio Brown? Don't be greedy. There's busts in the draft every single year. And I'm certainly not saying Josh Rosen is a bus. But if you feel like he's not the right guy for your franchise, get a pick for him while the draft is coming up and make some moves. Yes. Steelers got a third and a fifth for a great player.

They got a zillion yards and paid him nothing until the end. It's like... Josh Rosen was running for his life behind a terrible offensive line in the system that didn't work for him. Good stuff. Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. You know, a lot of people think I get joy out of winning the Russell Westbrook argument.

And though it is fun to be right and not wrong, and I think I've been right on Westbrook. I also said last week I have sympathy for him. I've seen people and friends be in industries and the industry moves away from him. I don't think Russell Westbrook's a bad guy. I think he's a different cat. I think he's very alpha. He's very male. He's very rigid.

But I don't dislike Roeuf. Russell Westbrook. I don't like his game. I didn't like Derek Rose's game, but I liked his story. Westbrook is very prideful. He's a very prideful guy. And I mean, I think I'm going to say something. I think this is fair to say. He keeps an enemy's list. He keeps score. He has grudge. Is that fair to say? If he doesn't have grudges, he kind of does the Michael approach of creating something, some animosity there. He likes to have a chip on his shoulder. Yes, I would say Russell is one of those personalities. A lot of guys are like this. They keep score.

They keep a little list. They keep score. That's not a weakness. That's who he is. I don't see Steph Curry as that kind of personality. I think Westbrook's a little like that personality. There is no explanation for what has happened to Russell Westbrook's game. You do not go from 85% free throw shooting in an MVP to 65% two years later.

That makes no sense. He didn't have a broken wrist. You don't forget 10 years in the NBA how to shoot. Okay, what's happened to Russell Westbrook is mental. And I'm going to give you my theory on this. In the history of public sports divorces, this is the most lobsided ever. And Westbrook keeps score,

and he's smart enough to know he looks really bad right now. Shaq and Kobe got a divorce. Shaq won the early part of it. Kobe won the late part of it. Lakers in Miami. Shaq and Kobe both won titles. Farve and Green Bay, public ugly divorce.

Green Bay won a title, got their quarterback for the future. Farve had great success for the Vikings. This has been lopsided. Kevin Durant's risen to the best player in the league. He's won rings, a finals MVP, total contract flexibility,

and teams are begging him to leave Golden State. Westbrook will now have three first round exit. His shot is completely broken. He appears more volatile than ever. and they're 0 for 8 since KD left on the road in the playoffs. There is no other way to explain how the league MVP forgot how to shoot. Russell is an incredibly prideful guy. He is all alpha.

I mean, he has got a body armor that is just thick. I mean, he's like, basketball is my best friend, the basketball. I'm not going to listen to you. He can be a little bit of a grudge holder with a media. He's talking to Damien Lillard throughout the game. That's his personality. I'm not criticizing it. I'm just saying it's not ideal for me.

I wouldn't love that. It's not who I am. I wouldn't want my point guard to be that. But that's who he is. It's part of his story. It's part of his DNA. It's part of his fabric. It's part of its tapestry.

He keeps score. And the score on Durant and him is awful. And I think he knows it. Because there's simply. no other explanation for how somebody 10 years in the league can forget how to shoot. You know, so much of, you know, yesterday I was talking to somebody who's very well connected in the NBA on Westbrook, and they said, listen, he's a great athlete. But remember, he wasn't a highly coveted high school recruit, not like most stars.

In college, he had to kind of learn to play away. he wasn't embraced fully in college. In the NBA, he came in to a team that already had Durant, who was considered better. And then a lot of people thought a guy off the bench Hardin was better. Russell has overcome a lot. You go back to Russell's high school, you go to his AAU, you go to his college, you go to his NBA story. He's incredibly alpha, incredibly prideful. He keeps score.

He's got, you know, as my wife always says, he's balanced. he's got a chip on both shoulders. And I think when you keep scoring life, those guys struggle and divorces, guys who keep score, if they start losing the divorce. And it's such a mismatch. Shaq and Kobe both won titles.

Farvin Green Bay both had lots of success when they departed. This hasn't been close. And I think it's getting worse. And I think it's really tough on him. And I think Charles Barkley said something the other night. And it was sadly true. And I was watching the game with friends. And we were saying the same thing.

and Charles pointed it out. Even though he's only two for eight, when they were down six, eight points, he didn't panic. He finally made a shot. You know, a lot of times you can tell he is not trying to compete with Russell. Russell is trying to compete with him.

And I think that's just who Russell is. And I know a lot of people think, Colin, you love hammering him. No, I really don't. I've said this in recent years. He's one of the few players in the NBA had paid a watch. I mean, he's just all, you know, I call it the human tornado. I mean, he's just going a thousand miles an hour.

He's a little rigid for my taste. He's not real adaptable. I think he's tougher to coach. I think I've been on the right side of this for three years. But I think now I see something that's not pleasant. It's the deterioration, a guy that's lost his confidence. And shooting's all about confidence. You go talk to Kobe Bryant and Steph Curry.

Steph Curry had a bad night the other night. But a shooter can't lose his confidence. It's like in golf. A lot of guys have bad holes. David DeVall lost his confidence. Ian Baker-Finch lost his confidence. Phil Mickelson, it makes a lot of bad shots, never lose his confidence. And so I think what we're seeing here, it's not a time to stand on the grave of Russell Westbrook and pound, pound, pound.

There's part of me that feels bad for him. I think he's a broken player. Now, he may come out tonight and just light the world up. I mean, you know, my guess is tonight he takes 25 shots. His personality in these games, these elimination. games is he goes all in. It's who he is. He takes a bunch of shots. He's going to play so hard for 43 minutes tonight. And that's just who he is. And I don't think it'll turn out well because I think his shots broken. I think mentally he's struggling with some stuff. He's a scorekeeper and the

Durant thing is just a bad optic over and over. And he's reminded of every time he turns on the Warriors. But I don't think it's a time to pounce on him. What I'm seeing now is a bummer. We're seeing a great golfer, a great quarterback, a great player sort of deteriorate. And maybe he can turn it around for a night. Maybe they can turn it around in the series, but I just don't see it. I just don't see it happening. Doug Gottlieb is right around the corner. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma football coach, his quarterback, Kiner Murray, appears to be headed,

number one in the draft, which is Thursday. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed the 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 Slic Life 12 and 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, 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, Keer 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 Hardway and listen now.

Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history.

You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness. athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them

and the mindset that keeps them going from the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel like you don't feel like. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it.

An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeke. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile. that means the world to me, and that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard.

Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Mother's Days coming up. 1-800 flowers.com, 36 sorbet a piece. 1-800flowers.com, enter the code herd, H-E-R-D, 36 sorbet roses, pastel shades for 36 bucks. Good to have you.

Enjoy Taylor joining me. It's the herd. First of all, I've never, I've said this for years. If I ran a football team, if I didn't do this for a living and somebody said, okay, you retire in 10 years and you can just do something to have the most fun possible, it would be to be like an assistant general manager in the NFL.

That'd be as much fun as I could possibly have. So when I think about football, I tend to think of it in terms of an executive. I don't think of myself as a quarterback. I don't think of myself as a player. I think football, when I watch the draft, I can't wait for Thursday's draft. It's not a sexy draft. It's perfect. It's linemen.

It's tackles. It's tight ends. It's corners. I love the architecture of the national football league. For years, I love the draft. I get the convergence of two sports I love, college football and pro football and something else I like. Real estate. I like building.

I like watching the building of things. I've had a few homes in my life. So it just all this stuff comes together, building, architecture, real estate, NFL, college, and I love the draft. And I've said this for years and years. I would never spend big money on wide receivers. There's a lot of different reasons. First of all, they're often fragile. They get hurt.

Second of all, their productivity does not translate. to wins. The 16 biggest games O'Dell Beckham had, the Giants for 4 and 12. Number three is, they tend to be temperamental. And the reason is, is because they're generally the best athlete on the field. They're often the fastest guys on the football team. They're the best athletes on the football team. And because of that, they got a little more ego. That's okay. And the other thing is, they don't generally, especially deep threat wide receivers, mean that much in December and January when it gets cold and windy and hailstorms and snow. So I would never be. build around wide receivers.

I'd like to have good ones. But New England's the dynasty, and they've had Rannie Moss for an hour, and that's it. They've had a bunch of B&C wide receivers. Seattle got to a Super Bowl and won it, and their weak spot on the team was wide receiver. San Francisco, Baltimore. We've seen teams get to Super Bowls.

Baltimore's never had great receivers, and they've built an entire culture. By the way, Pittsburgh's had great receivers, tend to underachieve. So, O'Dell Bet, here's the story that came out. Dave Gettelman's the Giants, a general manager. he's been the general manager last couple of years, and he's made a lot of different moves. And he was quoted this weekend saying football is the ultimate team game.

There's more to it than just collecting talent. It's a cultural thing that's crucial. I agree with that. I've never been in a team that's gone to a Super Bowl that's had a culture problem. He, by the way, has been to seven Super Bowls as an organization, one in Carolina, six in New York. And a reporter said, did you have a culture problem with the Giants? He said, quote, not anymore. Well, that was perceived by Odell Beckham as a shot at Odell

Beckham. I didn't think it was necessarily a shot, but if Odell thinks that, whatever. Odell came out and said, ask any one of my teammates, a man is a person. Yes, I'm a canter to a place that's okay with losing because I want to win that bad. You're absolutely correct. So Odell fired back and didn't like it. Here's the thing. Who are the two players? I mean, Odell Beckham Jr. and Antonio Brown, they are doing a lot of talking in the offseason.

This is another reason that New England. doesn't go big on wide receivers. I think they've always had some concerns about wide receivers. So I would never build around him. This is one of my concerns. And we see it once again. Let's bring in Doug Gottliebue, standing by. I didn't even know he was going to be here for this segment.

He just showed up. Good to see you, Dougger. Okay, I got to start with a couple of different things. First of all, Milwaukee and Boston. I think it's as good in Eastern Conference series. With or without LeBron, I've seen in years. Vegas likes Milwaukee. I'll take Boston.

Where do you land? I'll take Boston as well. I think it's more of a matchup issue, right? Like Boston is built with hybrid wings that can defend Yannis and Tenacupo. And they're really built to take down to Janus, built to take down to Kevin Durant with the multiple wings that can switch off and try and keep him out of the lane and guard their style of offense. That said, they're not as good without Marcus Smart. And they weren't great offensively against the Indiana Pacers.

They were not. But I'm with you. I'm not with you in terms of this is the Eastern Conference. finals. I think the Raptors are legit and though we all have questions about the Philadelphia 76 years, there are four really, really good teams. No question. I think the Western Conference finals is the Rockets eventually versus the Golden State Warriors, but I don't think this is the Eastern Conference Finals. Kyrie's an interesting player, 16 and O in first round playoff games, highly coveted recruit, went to Duke, got hurt because he was Robin to the Batman LeBron and

because there's been other flashier point guards, Dee Rose and Westbrook and Steph Curry and Hard and he's never really been an MVP candidate. I can argue, along with Steph, he's the best playoff guy of these. I mean, in a weird, strange way, I almost get Kyrie is underrated. I totally agree. We do our top five, top 10 list. Nobody put Kyrie in there, yet when the game's on the line, you need a bucket. Who would you rather call?

Very few guys. And I actually think he has a greater weaponry of scoring skills than Steph does. Now, Steph, maybe, Steph obviously can hit you for, you know, three after. three after three, and it's more spectacular, but his ability to finish in traffic as well as hit the big shot, and he has hit the big shot in game seven. I'm with you. Look, he still

hasn't figured out the leadership thing. He hasn't figured out the media thing, but he does know, game on the line, go get a bucket. That's what you need. And to anyone who thinks, well, Boston was better without him last year, like, no, they're not. And he's shown why. He is, in fact, now.

Now, this is going to be fascinating to see how he handles it, how he measures himself. Can he, they got Gordon Hayward going in game four. Can they continue to get Gordon Hayward going because they need that type of jump shooting around him? And then end of the game, it does become Kyrie time. I could hammer Westbrook, but I said today, I feel like he's a little bit of

a broken player. And I think you can't go from 85% free throw to 65 unless you've had a wrist surgery. What do you make of what's happened to him? It's weird. He's had this all year. I disagree with you in terms of always drafting shooters, right? I don't think they

put the best shooters around him. Look what Portland added. Portland added Ennis Cantor, more shooting and scoring. They added Seth Curry, more shooting and scoring. Rodney Hood can shoot? Yeah, to create more space for Damien Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Of course, Damien's a great shooter who's becoming a better finisher. As for Russell

Westbrook, I don't think they put the best roster around him. It doesn't have the depth of shooting that other people have. But like, look, dude, he shot over 2,000 3s in his career and he's shooting below 30%. At what point in time do we know he's not a shooter and he hasn't it's not that he's not a good shooter

it's that he continues to take a volume of threes it's like dude you're open for a reason you keep taking these he is a little bit of a player from a foregone era where he's great in the mid-range he's not as good to finish her as people think but it's to continue I'm going to prove you

wrong prove you wrong prove you wrong it's his personality yeah and you said it right this is a weird divorce right where people think that he won he got the team he got the money. He's got the shoe. He's got the contract. He's got this. He's got the image. It's like, meanwhile, Kevin Durant won the last two finals MVP's and appears to be the best playing league. But to Kevin Durant's defense, he doesn't seem to be getting the overall respect outside of now you finally give an intuition and some others that maybe he deserves. This is a

weird thing, though. The free throw shooting is more of a sign of something going on upstairs because free throw shooting is, you know, almost 100% mental for a guy that has a good stroke. Okay, it looks like Peter King and Joel Clatt both saying they have sources. Arizona is going to take Kyler Murray. I do think you can make an argument for him. The Cliff Connection. Their O line is dreadful and old and unathletic. And I think if I was Josh Rosen, the worst thing in the world would not be to get

traded to New York, which has Nate Solder. They nailed the draft last year at Guard Hernandez from Texas El Paso, and they upgraded the other guard from Cleveland in a trade. If I was Josh Rosen, who has a history of being injured, and you told me you're now going to the Giants with SACON, I think if I was Josh Rosen, I'd be okay with it, would you? I think so as well. I think there or don't be surprised that the Redskins become players as well, right? Redskins, I know they went out and got Case Keenham, but he's not a long-term solution. And you've already paid the signing bonus.

So he comes relatively cheap in combination with whatever draft pick you have to give. But I'm with you. I don't believe anything in draft week. and every sign they have put out before draft week has been, we want Kyler Murray. But my question is, like, look, I get that Kyler Murray checks a lot of boxes. Yeah. But he is small.

Yeah, he does play from an offense, which, yes, they have Baker Mayfield. But there's plenty of other air raid quarterbacks who have not made it in the basketball. That's very true. He scored the lowest of any of these quarterbacks in the Wonderlich test. Whatever your value is on the Wonderlick, he scored the lowest. He's not a verbal guy. He's got a little Lonzo ball to him to his dad being a little LeVarball. Those are all fair.

There are plenty of factors that could, I wouldn't take him number one overall, but it does seem like a foregone conclusion, Arizona does. You know, the one thing I'll say about the NFL over the last couple of years, it used to be first round quarterbacks for about two decades where a 50-50 coin flip. There is so much college in the NFL now. The last 12 quarterbacks taken in the first round, 11 have worked. Paxton Lynch is the bust, and he's not mobile. I can kind of, I mean, I look at this and I think I'm coming in like, historically,

this isn't what I would take, but I look at the NFL and listen, man, I'm not into Mitch Trubesky at all. Like, he doesn't check a zillion boxes. He got to the playoffs. Like, you can make the... Did he? Well, he did. I mean... Yeah, look, here's the thing.

Kyla Marie is the opposite of... The whole Arizona thing is the opposite of everything we've been told, right? Don't bail on a quarterback after your first year, they do. Don't bail on a coach after his first year, they do. Don't hire a coach. Don't hire a coach that has no... coaching resume of success. They do.

Don't draft a quarterback who can't see over anything, right? He needs a booster seat to sit on the rides at Disneyland. Yet they do. Like, this is going, if the NFL has really changed, and we're told that it's changed, Kyler Murray is going to be the guy to officially usher the change in because you still have to throw from the pocket, you still have to make place on third down, you have to throw between the numbers, and we'll see if he's able to do it with a bunch of things that have never been done before.

Yeah, I always try to be willing to adapt. And I just, I start looking at some of these quarterbacks. I just didn't like him at all coming out. My scouting guys were lukewarm. And, you know, like, I didn't think Lamar could play in year one. And he made the playoffs. And I'm not in Trubisky. And he made the playoffs.

And I think you can make. Those guys played to a great defense and a great running game. Arizona has neither. All right. Doug Gottlieb, hour two. Lincoln Riley. We are packed. It's the herd in Los Angeles.

One more herd. The herd streams 24. More hours a day, seven days a week within 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. 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 SlicLife 12 and 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, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing,

growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back.

Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies, I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know.

Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness,

professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going from the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like. you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it.

An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Ah, hour two, we're live in L.A. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS1, Lincoln Riley, in about 12 minutes. He's the head football coach of Oklahoma, one of the really smart. Now that Urban Myers out of college football, he may be the smart offensive coach. in college football. Kyler Murray, his pick is going to go number one, reportedly,

according to Joel Platt and Peter King. I do think he's a dynamic first-round talent. I think he's got some question marks, but good Lord, folks, I think everybody's got question marks. I mean, outside of Andrew Luck, I don't remember a quarterback that didn't have question marks. John Elway, Andrew Luck, outside of that, they've all got question marks. Peyton Manning had question marks.

Joy Taylor is joining me. Hour two, how are you, Joy? Doing great. Let me start with a Laker topic. They are obviously not in the playoffs. There's a story out. The LA Times is all over this. Now the Lakers are not going to replace Magic Johnson.

Okay. But Magic will still be helping them recruit players. Okay. That's not how it works for other teams, but okay. Now it's up to Rob Polinka. Apparently he's going to get the job. Rob Polinka, who Arash Marcosi, a columnist for the LA Times said last week, multiple teams won't return his calls because he was an agent.

He offended people. He alienated people. And a lot of people won't take his calls. pick up. Here was Arash. There's no trust from people outside of this Jeannie Bus, Linda Circle. They don't think Rob knows what he's doing, and they don't trust Rob. Rob is not the guy that teams want to trade with.

You got to bring in a guy that if you get that phone call and you see that color ID, some teams aren't picking up a phone if it says Rob Polinka. Nobody realizes how big of a problem. Rob Polinka, I think, is for this team. Okay, so if that being, that's an L.A. Times columnist, reporter, feet on the ground foot soldier, a lot of information around the organization. It feels like to me, two things feel like they've happened with the Lakers.

They've become a mom-and-pop organization in an incredibly corporate, sophisticated analytical world in the NBA. The league is very sophisticated, and they feel mom-and-popish. They do not have an elite owner, an elite analytics department. They don't have a coach. They don't have an elite roster. I do not believe they have an elite front office. I'm not taking shots.

You compare them to Golden State. where do they win? Players, front office, analytics, owner, no, no, no, no, no. You can stack them up against Toronto. Where do they win? Owner, analytics, GM, players, no, no, no, no, no. Now, I think the Lakers have moved into Hail Mary category. Hail Marys are occasionally successful, so we're onside kicks. I think it really comes down to this. I think the next five years for the Los Angeles Lakers and their franchise going forward come down to one week. And that's as soon as the season ends. There's a dead week.

And then July 1st, it's free agents. And I think this is their Hail Mary. You trade everything to get Anthony Davis. I don't think he works necessarily that well with LeBron, but he's a hell of a player. So you trade everything to get Anthony Davis. He's represented by clutch sports. They'll probably help lean him into the Lakers. So you'll have LeBron and Anthony Davis.

And then you cross your fingers on Jimmy Butler. if Philadelphia loses to Toronto in the next round, and it's going to be a heck of a series. I get the people who like Toronto. I like Philly, but I get the Toronto. They play real good defense. They've got tremendous chemistry. They got a little more momentum here.

And then Jimmy Butler's unhappy. They decide he's a little disgruntled. Simmons doesn't like him. And they move him. Jimmy Butler loves L.A. He's made no secret of that. He likes L.A. That's your Hail Mary.

Trade everything. Just give the Pelicans more than everybody else will for Anthony Davis. Just say, here's Coosma, here's Ingram, here's Lonzo, here's P. Just, just boom. And then you have LeBron, Anthony Davis, and you cross your fingers on Jimmy Butler. By the way, I don't think this is like a 10% chance or a 20% chance. I think you're in the 50% category here.

I don't think this is crazy talk. I think Butler likes Los Angeles. I think his game actually works with LeBron. I think he'd stay in line with LeBron a little bit. I do. Anthony Davis isn't perfect with LeBron, but he's going to give you 24 and 10. 24 and 12. He's a good player. And he's a thoughtful player.

I mean, he's a guy who didn't need a lot of attention. You know, he didn't have a problem. LeBron getting love and Butler get in love. Anthony likes to play hoops. He likes to win games. He'll give you 2312. I think he's a good kid. I don't think he's a great leader.

I think sometimes he's a tad soft. Doesn't play with injuries much. But if Kevin Durant left Golden State and next year, I said, well, is one team's got Anthony Davis, LeBron, and Jimmy Butler? That sounds like it's pretty good. that's a pretty good team that's better than LeBron

Kyle Cusma Brandon Ingram Lanzel ball Josh Hart and a bunch of nothing so I kind of feel like right now if you're a Laker fan and ownership front office analytics roster and it really stack up but I don't think it's a crazy Hail Mary

this is a Hail Mary when you have two six seven wide receivers in the end zone and they have small corners it's not a terrible Hail Mary and I think that's where we're at right now Yeah, it's an Aaron Rogers Hail Mary. Better than average. Aaron's sowing it up there.

DeVonte Adams is tall. Jimmy Graham's up there. You got a shot. All right. So, O'Dell Beckham and Dave Gettlement had a little whizzing match over the weekend. Dave Gettlement said, we no longer have a culture problem. Odell Beckham fired back. I think they both should have just not said much.

I will say this about the New York Giants, though. very quietly, the New York Giants have accumulated 12 draft picks. Folks, that's double the league average. They got two first, two fourth, three-fifths, two-seventh, a second, a third, and a sixth. There are certain things in certain businesses you've got to get right. In the transportation business, got to be punctual. You can screw up a lot. Got to be punctual.

in the restaurant food industry, you got to get the service right. Just get the service right. In the hotel hospitality business, got to be clean. Nobody wants a dirty hotel. In the NFL general manager business, for God's sakes,

get the quarterback right. You can whiff on the secondary. You can whiff on kickers. You can whiff on pass rushers. I mean, folks, New England gets the head coach and the quarterback right. they've whiffed on wide receivers.

You can argue they're the worst drafting wide receiver team in the NFL in the last seven years, eight years. When I look at the New York Giants, I have two, please, either get Josh Rosen, just go get him. He's Garoppolo. Just go get him. Or draft Dwayne Haskins at six. Don't overthink the route. If you don't take him at six, he's not going to be available at 17. because Cincinnati's going to get him, Miami's going to get him.

Folks, we're overthinking the room on Dwayne Haskins. He's big. He's a good kid. He's coachable. He's strong. He's accurate. I watched him play eight games this year. Every time I watched him, he was better.

He got better every week. He's six three and a half. Now, he doesn't have great feet. But God, let's not make him into some guy in the PBA tour. He is athletic enough. And by the way, look around the league. A lot of guys that aren't winning. A lot of guys aren't Usain Bolt back there.

I think we're overthinking the room on this thing. I mean, he's a big, tall, accurate kid. I watched him at the end of the year against Washington and Michigan. Those are the two best defenses he played. It was really good. He hits the open guys. I mean, again, I don't think he's Andrew Luck as a prospect. I don't think he's, you know, maybe a, you know, maybe not Cam Newton dynamic.

But aren't we going a little nuts here? I mean, Kyler Murray, I think he's a first round prospect. And Kyler's tiny from a conference of the Big 12 that until recently kind of gave you a whiffs at quarterback. Urban Meyer talked about something that fans don't see, that one of the things about Dwayne Haskins, he's really good pre-snap at lining up the line. So that tells me the kid's alert. And this is what Urban said about him. There's great peasants to understand which way to flip the protection,

and that's going to be, I think that's one of the most overlooked things for quarterbacks. What's his football IQ? Because when you see him not get hit, you say, well, the offense line is great. Wait a minute. A lot of times they're flipping protections to make sure they're picking up the pressures. And that's what other than accuracy, that's drawing strength. Is he mature enough to be the face of a $5 billion franchise? Not yet.

He's close, though. He's only got one year under his belt, and I think the situation will be perfect. And there's a couple of them out there. He comes in, he learns for a year. At some point, he'll be the face of a franchise. Okay, okay. So Lance Zerline, his dad was a coach for years. He's a Houston-based scout.

I think he does a radio show. We brought him on the show before. He's a guy I like. I bring him on the show before the draft. It works for the NFL network, very smart guy. And, you know, I'm looking at his sheet of strengths and weaknesses, and I just love all these strengths. Groom for this moment since he was a kid.

That's almost always the story with a John Elway and Andrew Luxon and Peyton Manning's. Well-schooled, understanding of how to get himself protected. Seriously, is there anything more important than that? He's a full-field reader on an NFL level. That means he's not one of these college kids that's overwhelmed. Effortless throwing motion. Ball explodes out of his hands down field.

He alters his trajectory depending on coverage and space. That was something Kaepernick always struggled with. He threw a fastball only. This kid can go slider, curve, sturdy build. shake free of pocket traffic. I love all those things. Here's the knock on him. There haven't been a lot of successful quarterbacks

with so many few career starts. All right, don't love it. But he can sit a year in New York. The other thing, below average athlete. All right. Was Peyton Manning Olympic sprinter? Brady? Sluggish, heavy feet when he scrambles.

I agree. It can't be worse than Eli. It can't be worse than Eli. all the things I see that you don't like about Duane are stuff you can coach up. But the things I see as strengths if you don't do them. I mean, groomed for this moment since he was a kid, rare passing production, well-schooled, knows how to get himself protected, a full-feel reader. Like guys that come into this league and they don't read the full feel, they really struggle early.

I just think we're over. Giants, here's your moment. Either trade for Rosner or get Haskins. You're going to regret passing on this kid. I'm sorry. I'm not saying he's an A prospect. Is Matt Ryan in A prospect? He got to a Super Bowl.

I didn't think Matt Ryan was an A prospect. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma coach, is around the corner. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed the 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 beaders 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 Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

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

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free, our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth.

He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this went to a billion-dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, Just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history.

You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring

women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going from the WMBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ledecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone, someone have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the

entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do like I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. Well, our next guest has been an absolute home run hire by Oklahoma. Lincoln Riley's 24 and 4. And he really is built for today's football world, NFL or college. He is, my guys in the NFL, the executives and the scouts I talk to say, if you want to see

what's going to happen to football in the next 10 years, go watch Oklahoma practice and go watch Oklahoma play via the Coward Global Satellite Network. their head coach Lincoln Riley. All right, looks like I'm reading the stories this morning, Lincoln. And Kyler Murray is going to go number one. I'll throw concerns I've heard. I had a guy say to me, man, he's so talented at baseball. What if he bails on football after a couple of rough years?

Did you ever feel like there was a baseball thing hovering over his football thing at Oklahoma? No, he did a great job here of balancing them, number one. But he's a kid that once he decides what he's going to do, he's pretty locked into it. And he did not take this decision lightly. He and his family weighed all the options. He's very intentional, very thorough with his decision making, with this process. And he got to the point where he knew that football was his future. He knew deep down that's what he wanted to do.

And he is, I mean, he's played his last game of baseball. This guy's going to be an NFL quarterback and he's going to be a darn good one. If you said anything. Okay, Kyler, I want you to work on this in the NFL. Like, what are one or two things you think he does need to work on? Oh, there's still so much. I mean, that's the exciting thing about this guy. He's still, in some ways, a young player.

You know, he started for a season here. He played a little bit as a backup year before, played some at Texas A&M as a true freshman. But this guy's best ball is ahead of him. And so he's still improving at fundamentals. He's still improving at reading. defeating defenses. I thought he was really, really good from the pocket this year, which was one of our focus areas, because you knew teams were going to be so scared about letting him out of the pocket that it was going to provide some opportunities to really cut people up from inside

the pocket, and he did that. So, I mean, he's one of those guys. He's not hung up on the things he does well. He's going to continue to work at all those things. And the fun thing for this guy is the sky's the limit. I mean, he's got a lot of room to get better regardless of how, you know, how much he's been able to accomplish up to this point in his career. Lincoln, one of the things that surprised me about Baker Mayfield is I knew he was an accurate thrower of the football, and I knew he was a smart kid. I had a couple executives tell me on the whiteboard. He was amazing. But when he got to the NFL, he throws a better deep ball than I thought. And I've gone back and I've thought, why didn't I see that? And I thought, well, Oklahoma runs a very tight, efficient

offense. I didn't see him throw a ton of deep stuff. I saw him throw intermediates, and he was very accurate. And with Kyler Murray, I look at him, and I see some Baker where the ball comes off his hand fast. There's a velocity. Kyler, I mean, you can tell he's a baseball. I mean, that ball comes off his hand. Baker has surprised me with his arm strength. Does Kyler have Baker's arm strength downfield? Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, some of his best throws this year were on balls down the field. And I mean, he, you know, both those guys the last two years, their yards per completion has been, has been off the charts. And that's been a big reason why we've been able to be successful. So, you know, they've been able to beat people down the field. We've had some good guys

like Marquise Brown and other great players have been able to go get it. But, you know, Kyler can make every single throw. And I mean, there's been a lot of talk about these guys. They're high. That does that translate to the NFL. Part of the reason it does is because you're talking about two extremely gifted throwers. I mean, two guys that can make all the throws, different arm angles, different platforms. But there's, there's not going to be a throw that Kyler's asked to make that he's not going to be able to make. You know, I had another executive in the league say, they said, listen, everybody Lincoln Riley coaches is great. The East Carolina guys, the Oklahoma guys, there's a reputation in the league now. One of the people are saying, listen, Lincoln is the next

offensive genius guy and you're a humble guy and you don't want to buy into that stuff. But what about somebody that would say, come on, Lincoln, all your guys are good. Well, what does Kyler do? I mean, his numbers are like Bakers or like the guys at East Carolina. What about that criticism. Yeah, I just, I think it's unfair just because each year you've got to do it. I mean, nothing that happened at East Carolina helped Baker Mayfield, nothing that Baker did in the previous years accounted for anything that Kyler did this year. I mean, each year you've got to go prove it. And there's different challenges each year. People see your scheme. People see your players. They adapt as well. I mean, the people you're playing are good at what they do

too. And so that's awesome. Our guys have been able to maintain it. I mean, it's a credit to our staff. people we've been able to put around them. And listen, we've been lucky. We've had a nice run of some really, really special players. We're getting ready to see, you know, potentially three of them here drafted in the first round coming up. So, yeah, I mean, in football, a lot of things have to work well for it to look good. And we've been fortunate with it.

We've been able to do that. Lincoln, Riley, 24 and 4, Oklahoma head coach. This is a top five program, coach of the year, Big 12, 2018. And another great stack team. Jalen Hertz is the new quarterback now. So when you look at Kyler, 10 years ago, I wouldn't have looked at him the same way, but I watch now the league and I watch the NFL sometimes is starting to look like the Big 12 on a lot of Sundays. How often do NFL people, forget Kyler Murray, how often to NFL people call you about schematics in football now?

Did they do it five years ago? Do they do it now? I definitely didn't do it five years ago. It's definitely changed. you can tell the league is more open to what's happening at this level. And listen, it's not like they're coming here and we're sitting up on a board and they're just taking notes for 24 hours. I mean, the thing that it's been great for us is it's opened up dialogue

where we get a chance to learn from them. They get a chance to, you know, we get a chance to pick their brain, learn from each other. So there's obviously a lot of great minds in that league. I know we've benefited from it as well, but we've appreciated the openness. And I think it's helped us. I think it's helped our players. And I think it's a great thing for the game. Wow, how about this? Baker Mayfield, now, Kyler Murray.

Lincoln, you've done an amazing job. Your football team is so much fun to watch. Got a couple of very good offensive linemen that are going to get picked early as well. Continued success, rolling for the Sooners. All right, thanks so much, Colin. You bet. Yeah, that program's rolling. I tell you something, you know a good program?

Bud Wilkerson won, Barry Switzer one, Bob Stoops one, Lincoln Riley won. Okay. When you can just every 10 years put a new guy and they all win a bunch of games, And Kyler Murray, listen, my job sometimes in this space, I got to evolve like sports do. And 10 years ago, I look at Kyler Murray, I'm like, that's not going to work. But one of the things, I always thought I was pretty good at kind of figuring out quarterbacks at work. I got to evolve with it. And when I watched Lamar come in and Trebiski come in, and I thought those guys needed to just sit.

And all of a sudden, you get them the right offensive coach. And you get Trubisky, Matt Nagy, and you're like, that works. It's some smoke and mirrors. He's not a huge arm talent, but it kind of works. And I watched Lamar, and I'm like, oh, he's not ready. Oh, he won again and again and again. And I went to a game for the Chargers game. I'm sitting at that game.

And Lamar made like two great throws. And I'm like, you're not asking him to throw 30. You're asking him to throw 22. And they went and drafted two big tied ends, two big target. So, you know, I think with Kyler Murray, my takeaway is he's going to make somebody better. This is the world we live in. It's a lot of runaround stuff. But I'll say this about Kyler Murray.

You don't have to be a scout. Watch the tape when he throws the football. It pops. You know, that's just one of those things. I've seen guys, Brock Oswiler's 6-7, and the ball gets batted down to line his scrimmage constantly. Drew Breeze is 6 feet 1. It never does. You never see Drew Breeze ball batted down.

So I worry about his size, but when that ball comes out of his hand, it flies. It's like a baseball player playing quarterback out of his hand. That's the good news. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, the Phoenix sons fired their coach, Igor Kikoskov yesterday, after one whole season on the job.

That's quite an organization. Load reports that the sons are chasing Monty Williams, who's also a candidate for the Lakers job, as we spoke about earlier. I'm sorry, I misspoke earlier saying Monty Williams wasn't a head coach before. He was head coach for the Pelicans. So he is considered for the Lakers job and now apparently for the Phoenix job. but remember also the Sixers were rumored to be possibly making him their head coach as well. If I was Bonnie Williams, I would say far, far away from the Phoenix Suns. Devin Booker was drafted for the Suns four years ago.

This will be his fifth coach in the NBA. James Jones is now fully in charge of the team right now. They went 19 and 63 this year their worst finish in 50 years. Since Sarver has taken over the team, he has gone through eight head coaches. so that's also mostly full staffs and assistance as well if you're putting in perspective the amount of people that Sarver has gone through. It's probably time to hold up the mirror there, I'm going to say. They have a 14% chance at the number one pick in June's draft,

and it's also being reported that they might take John Morantz if they get the pick over Zion Williamson, which they do need a point guard. I will say this. It's really interesting. You bring this up, Joy, because I saw that story this weekend. we love Zion but I got to tell you Phoenix doesn't have a point guard and they've got size

isn't it more like doesn't it give you more hesitation the fact that they went through an entire season without a point guard than the idea that they were tanking for a point guard everybody in this league should take Zion first I think except Phoenix

I would agree with you there except for I have no reason to trust anything that the Phoenix sons have done I do, but if you look at their roster today, they've got size. They've got size. And they've got a scoring two guard. They, I mean, if I'm Phoenix, I know it's crazy on this. If I'm Phoenix and I love Zion, I think you have to take John Morant.

I think you do. I think you do, too, but unfortunately you take John Morant. You still got the same front of us, the same ownership situation that you've had for the past since 2004. But you got your quarterback figured out. And so that can, I mean, listen, John Moran is as good as we both think. And I got Devin Booker at a two. That back court is frightening.

They have Devin Booker. Like, you have to have some consistency. It can't always be the coach. It can't always be the front office. No, I mean, they're not. Consistent factor. Like, after a while, it's like, that's not the problem. Well, Jerry Colangelo bought that franchise for a nickel,

sold it for a fortune. Sarver bought it for a fortune. And now his impatient is trying to get the right coach because he spent $450 million for it, which at the time was a record number. So they've got some fundamental upstairs issues. Fundamental. So Trent Dilfer threw some high praise at Dwayne Haskins earlier this offseason comparing him to Tom Brady.

Haskins was asked about the comparison yesterday, and this was his response to SI Now. From the neck up, I feel like I'm a lot like Tom Brady, from how I study to how time I commit to get ready for the game, to how I read defenses, to our picker protections, and how operate with my guys. And that's just a great comparison for me because I want to be like Tom Brady. one of the best quarterbacks a lot of time, and not the best. And, you know, just to be able to be in the same sentence as him as Tom Brady-ish, is that pretty cool to me. I have a zero problem with this. I know everyone's going to freak out and be like, Dwayne Haskins compared himself to Tom Brady.

Who would you like him to compare himself to? You know who I would compare Dwayne Haskins to a little bit? Jared Gough. I'm fine with that, too. Yeah, I mean, you give him a pocket, he can make the throws. Jared doesn't have the world's, he's not a great athlete. He's not a bad athlete. Haskins reminds me a little of golf

and you know who golf reminds me of? A better Matt Ryan and you know who Matt Ryan reminds me of? A worst Tom Brady. So there's a lineage here. I also just think that there's nothing wrong with saying that you want to be like the best that's ever done it or that you model yourself after the best that you've ever done it.

And because you've been doing that, you feel like you have some qualities of the best that's ever done it. What are you going to undersell yourself? What's the point of that? And for that matter, he said he's like Tom Brady from the neck up. That means he studies hard.

Isn't that what you want to hear from your quarterback? Like, yeah, I don't think I'm like Tom Brady. You know, I'm more like Jake Cutler. It makes no sense. Finally, we talked about Odell a lot this morning. He wants to make one thing clear. He wants to win after one fan on Twitter labeled him a locker room cancer. Odell responded by saying,

ask any one of my teammates of who I was as a teammate and a man and a person, yes, I'm a cancer to a place that's okay with losing because I want to win bad. You're absolutely correct. This is actually a fun little twist on it. on an insult there. I think I'm with Odell, actually. I think Odell's clearly a passionate player.

Yeah. You don't have to like all of Odell's antics, but he obviously wants to win. And he's now in a situation where, ironically, you know, the Browns have been a losing organization for a long time. I really like what they've done

and what they've put together there. Listen, New England wanted Odell Beckham. Like, this is like the worst kept secret in the league. New England, which doesn't pay for receivers, poked and prodded a lot with Odell Beckham. I got kids. I got a boy and a girl. They're the opposite.

I mean, literally everything about them is the opposite. Their personalities, their temperament. Not every player is coached the same way. Do I think Odell can be a tad needy? Yeah, I do. But not everybody's Andrew Luck. Not everybody's Julio Jones. I don't like the idea that everybody needs to fit into this mold box thing.

It's impossible. You're not the same as anyone else in the world. So why do you expect anyone to fit that mold? Even with the Patriots, everyone always uses the Patriots as this standard for falling in line. gronk well by the way did you feel like gronk's personality if gronk wasn't on the patriots

would anyone ever say that gronk is a patriot like player no no there are fundamental things about being a patriot that don't matter what your personality and and belichick has told friends this he knows that some of the things he does in new england would never have worked in cleveland the reason belichick

can run it the way he runs it because of brady once you win you get authority belichick has told people over the years i couldn't have done this Cleveland. Like some of New England stuff, let's not buy too much mythology. When you win, Phil Jackson could make a lot of moves because of Kobe and Michael

Jordan. And that buys you. You're the Zen master now. You can say almost outlandish things that people buy into it because you have the resume to do it. If Phil Jackson would have reversed his career and started with the Knicks and had that mass and then gone to the Bulls, and he goes to Michael and goes, hey Michael, I want you

to shoot less. He'd be like, I saw you with a next year or disaster. Like the momentum in life matters a lot. The bottom line is build up. Yeah, build up. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly news.

By the way, this is a coming up next, Sam Monson, pro football focus, NFL analyst. I just love him. I can't wait for the draft. It's kind of a nerd draft. We're going to have a quarterback taken one. I think we're going to have a quarterback taken, my gut feeling in Dwayne Haskins. Giants don't take him. I mean, they passed on Darnold.

And I think Darnold's a better prospect than Dwayne Haskins. And they keep telling me they love Eli Manning. So I think they're going to pass on him. And we're going to see my guess is if Duane doesn't go to the Giants, and they don't want to have him. My guess is he's going to end up with Cincinnati at like 11, Miami, down there at 13. I got to say this, though. Milwaukee won last night.

They beat the Pistons. Detroit, for the record, is the worst playoff team I've seen in years in any conference. Wasn't much of a series. Boston now plays Milwaukee. It is a fantastic series. I think Milwaukee is better defensively. I think I'll take Boston. They have more successful playoff experience.

They have the best closure in the series in Kyrie. I think they have the best coach in the series. They don't have home court advantage. So if it goes to Milwaukee, I'm not shocked. Milwaukee's one of the teams that I think could beat Boston. In fact, I think Milwaukee's the only team that could beat Boston. Philadelphia didn't match up with them. I don't think Toronto could stop Kyrie.

I think Milwaukee is the one team that can. beat Boston, and they may, but I'll take Boston. I'll say this. Kyrie Irving is now a perfect 16 and O over the last four series sweeps between the Cavs and the Celtics. He does not lose in the first round. Kyrie Irving is shockingly, despite his movie and his commercials and his title and his fame, is kind of underrated. Here's a remarkable thing. His regular season shooting is 46%. Playoffs, it doesn't dip. His three-point shooting is 30. 5% in the regular season and 41 in the playoffs.

That is very rare. In the playoffs, you face better opponents, better rosters, better defenses, better teams, better analytics, and better coaches. He shoots better in the playoffs. That is incredibly rare. Almost everybody's numbers come down in the playoffs. And what's remarkable is he's never been in the MVP conversation. In fact, Isaiah Thomas, much less for Boston, was higher in the MVP conversation,

is that Kyrie does something that's actually very smart. He kind of saves it for the playoffs. He is a great closure. It's the best closure in my lifetime in the NBA at his size. Isaiah Thomas was pretty good too. Steph Curry is pretty good too. Kyrie's a remarkable player, but he really is one of these guys, and this is, oh, Derek Jeter had this ability.

He's the same player or better playoffs and regular season. It wasn't that Derek Jeter was way better in the playoffs, But if he hit 308 in the regular season, he hit 311 in the playoffs. Kyrie Irving is really, really special. And I'm going to take him over Milwaukee because there's going to be a possession or a moment. And I think he'll make that play. I think he's the best closer in basketball history at his size, 6-3-and-under. I think he's that good.

And that's going to be a great with or without LeBron in the East. That's as exciting an Eastern Conference playoff series as I remember in years. I can't wait for it. Sam Monson, pro football focus, smart dude coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying,

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

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you 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 Slic Life 12 and 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, Kear Gaines,

as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness.

So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies, I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history.

You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them?

On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like.

you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki. The ability to show gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. All right, this story just broke, Adam Schefters. Seattle Seahawks just signed Russell Wilson to a contract, so they need to get inexpensive fast. The Seahawks have traded their franchise defensive end, Frank Clark. Great player to the Kansas City Chiefs who are going to sign him to a big deal now. So Kansas City's in the win-now mode. They lost Justin Houston and D. Ford. Kansas City just signed Frank Clark a tremendous defensive end,

a very good, very, very high-end player, and they're going to hammer out a new contract for him. So we were all kind of wondering, Kansas City lost both their pass rushers. So now you got Chris Jones on the defensive line for Kansas City. Great player. And you got Frank Clark. Seattle got a first round pick this year

and a second round pick next year, which is what Seattle needs. So Seattle needs now draft picks. Because once you pay your quarterback 33 million, you've got to get some inexpensive labor. So Seattle's got the 21st pick and the 29th pick. And Sam Munson, B. The Coward Global Satellite Network is joining us. NFL analysts, pro football focus, something I absolutely depend on. So we're going into the draft.

A few basic questions. Is Kyler Murray, according to your grading, which I rely on, is he worth the number one pick? Yeah, I think Kyla Murray absolutely is worth the number one overall pick. In a vacuum and for Arizona, even though they have Josh Rosen already in the building. You know, a year ago we were saying that Baker Mayfield was head and shoulders, the best quarterback in this draft. We're saying the same thing this time with Kyla Murray. And Murray isn't quite Baker Mayfield, but he's closer to Baker than any other quarterback over the past two seasons.

If you put all of those QBs together in one draft, I think Kyla Murray would be the second guy there. So if you're the Cardinals, you absolutely have to take that chance to upgrade that much at the position, and if you're anybody else and you need a quarterback, you should be targeting Kyla Murray. If the Giants were sitting in a room and they were thinking about trading for Josh Rose and now at Arizona or drafting Duane Haskins, how do those two grade out at pro football focus? It's close. I think those two guys actually graded very similarly. If they were in the same draft, they'd be very tight together. It would be tough to split them. So it really comes down to what it's going to cost to acquire either one. If you have to take Dwayne Haskins in the top 10 of

this draft, it's starting to sound like Josh Rosen could be had for a second or even a third round draft pick. At that point, that kind of makes the decision for you. Yes, you've lost a year of Josh Rosen's contract, but you still have three and then that extra year as a first round pick, the option at the back end of it, but the cost to get him is going to be so much less, and enables you to spend those first round draft picks, really attack other positions that and make an impact in year one. And I don't know that you're getting demonstrably better or worse rather than at the quarterback position.

I think you make that trade for Josh Rosen and you use those first round picks elsewhere. A lot of people myself included have bailed on Eli the last three years. When you rank at pro football focus, when you grade quarterbacks, where does Eli rank today? I think he's a bottom third quarterback at this point. The past few seasons have all been pretty consistently. They've been in the mid-20s. There's obviously only 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL. You've got a guy that's consistently grading 25, 26.

It's time to start looking for an alternative option. I think the Giants have been in that situation for a couple of years, and now is no different. They're behind the eight ball in finding Eli Manning's successor. They desperately need to find one in this draft. Who is the best player in this draft? Take the quarterbacks out because they have more innate value. as a position. But if I said take quarterbacks out, who's the best football player in this draft on your grading scale? I think it's Nick Bosa. He's been an absolutely dominant force throughout

college. His freshman grade at PFF was higher than the best season at almost any other players put together in terms of edge rushers in this draft class. His brother, Joey, was a very similar player, graded extremely highly at PFF, translated really well to the NFL. I think we're going to see the same with Nick Bosa. He's as close as you can get in this draft to a complete can't miss prospect. It looks like to me a loaded defensive line draft. Is it overhyped or at pro football focus? Are these prospects grading highly? No, I think it really is the strength of this draft. We could see as many as half of that first round be filled with defensive linemen of some shape or some form or other, whether it's edge rushers, whether it's three technique interior pass rushers,

whether it's big nose tackles. There's something for everybody in this draft. I think it's absolutely loaded on the defensive line and definitely one of the best defensive line classes we've seen in years. Are there players? You didn't like Sam Darnel as much as I did. You like Baker and Kyler more than Sam Darnold. I didn't think Sam Darnel was particularly well coached at college. And I think he will be with Adam Gase.

Where did you ever have Darnold drafted or graded? I'm sorry. Yeah, he was our second ranked quarterback a year ago. So we had him behind Baker, but he was the next best guy ahead of Josh Rosen. I'm kind of with you. I think there was a lot to do with room to grow for Sam Darnel. I think we saw that even in his rookie season. First half of the year was a very low PFF grade.

Second half of the year, though, was a much stronger one right up there along with Baker. So I think he may end up being the second best quarterback in that draft class. Okay, so you got Bose as the best player, Kyler Murray, you like Baker, Rosen Haskins. You know, by and large, this is thought of as a pretty. spotty average. It feels like to me, I like Haskins more than everybody else. I get Kyler Murray, although his size does worry me a little. But if I said to you, if there was a third quarterback that you'd roll the dice on second or third round, who would it be? I think you look at Will Greer from West Virginia. He's the guy with the outstanding PFF grade compared with all those other

people, much higher grade than a Drew Locke has ever managed, much higher grade than a Daniel Jones has ever managed. His accuracy is up there with the best players in this draft. You know, there are some question marks the same thing with Baker and Kyle Murray in terms of the level of defense he faced and the kind of quirky offense that isn't quite NFL style. But I think what he has to work with in terms of that accuracy in terms of making those big time throws is right up there with the best players in this draft class. There are more question marks about him than there are with Kylea Murray or with Baker Mayfield a year ago. But he's the guy I'd be rolling the dice on. Okay. Right now get 25% off. Pro football. Football Focus subscriptions.

If you use the promo code, draft 19, they do tremendous work. I follow them a lot for offensive linemen grades and interior lineman grades because I can't figure that stuff out. They watch the tape over and over. So right now, pro football focus, subscription, draft 19 promo code and get a quarter of the price off. Sam, thanks for coming on the show again. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. You bet.

All good stuff. I had to get my Sam Darnold love in there. Like here, like, by the way, one of the things. people are saying about Dwayne Haskins, and Lance Zerline had this, they're saying, well-schooled. What does that mean? He had a good college coach. Like, never forget this. There are a lot of bad college coaches, like a lot of them.

Most of the guys in the NFL, 28 of the 32, they're pretty rock-solid guys, and there's always a couple of guys that are more coordinator than coach. College football, you've got 120 programs. There's eight great coaches, 12 really good ones. and a bunch of stuff. And so some of these players, Lincoln Riley's quarterbacks come out of Oklahoma very well-schooled. You can put them up in front of the whiteboard, boom, boom, boom.

I was told by an NFL executive that Sam Darnold went to a whiteboard, and essentially at USC, they played hero ball. Hey, Sam, make a play for us. He was not brilliantly coached. This is a real thing. It's a real thing in football. Some programs, there's always been a reputation,

in the NFL, Mark Rick's players, Georgia and Miami, aren't particularly well coached. And you get him to the NFL and they've got another level. There's always been a theory on Nick Sabin is Nick squeezes every bit of talent out of your player. So you get a Nick Sabin kid in the NFL and you're like, he's topped out. Now that doesn't mean he can't play. Like the Alabama guys can play. But Nick has squeezed every ounce of talent. What you draft is what you get.

Mark Rick had a reputation. He was a great recruiter, good program leader, but the kids had more high end. So when you, Dwayne Haskins, when people say, or Kyler Murray, the advantage is Urban Meyer and Lincoln Riley, those kids are good on the whiteboard. Also, you should have someone on your staff who is good at developing players. Just because you get a player that's a good prospect doesn't mean he needs to grow. Yeah. No question.

Yep. Lavaire Arrington last hour, two down, one to go. We are loaded today. Draft is Thursday. Can't wait. The herd. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart

Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Ah, here we go, hour three. We're live, baby in L.A. This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS1, Joy Taylor is joining me. We had a little breaking news, Joy, last hour. Oh, it looks like the Chiefs aren't out of it after all. Yeah, so this is one of these trades that benefits both teams. Kansas City has acquired Frank Clark from the Seahawks, which is a need. They got rid of D. Ford, went to the Niners. Justin Houston, an older veteran, smart defensive end.

Colts picked him up. They don't have a pass rusher. And you need a pass rusher. And so they went out and said, Seattle, we'll take Frank Clark from Seattle. So it's a win now move by the Chiefs. It's a position of need, and he's a heck of a football player. And Seattle, this is a really good move by Seattle. This is a great defensive line draft.

They need inexpensive players. And now they got a first round pick from the, Kansas City Chiefs. So once they signed Russell Wilson with that massive contract, Seattle needed draft picks. So this is what you do. When you sign Aaron Rogers to that big deal, you better start about a year before drafting defensive players because you're not going to be able to afford them. You're not going to be able to go get top free agents.

So I think Green Bay went out a couple years ago, knowing they were going to pay Aaron Rogers and said, let's start drafting defensive players, let's get mid-level defensive free agents. So I think Green Bay, last couple years, has done a really good. job. By the way, Green Bay's got two first rounders this year. They're going to have a very young, inexpensive defense in Green Bay. Therefore, you can afford to pay Aaron Rogers $33 million. My question last week was, with Seattle, now that you're paying Russell Wilson this, you only have four draft picks. Seattle's like, you know what? We need more draft picks. This is a great

defensive draft. So I love what Seattle just did. I love what Seattle did, and I love what Kansas City did. This is a win for both. Seattle now has two first rounders in a great defensive draft. And that means two starters on the defensive side. So they got Bobby Wagner they pay a fortune to and Russell Wilson. And now they got surround them with a more affordable guy. Seattle's got the 21st, 29th. Those are low-end first-round picks. So I like it for both.

I like what Seattle did. Seattle's got a bunch of picks next year, by the way. But this draft, they need defense and they've got them. That's a win-win. I love what the Chiefs did. I love what the Seahawks did. We're also on Sirius XM Channel 83. 15 minutes, LeVar Arrington will stop by his thoughts on the draft.

former great pro bowler LeVar Erington. Well, the NFL draft now, it's Tuesday. It's two days away. All the talks about Kyler Murray, Peter King said in his column yesterday, I'd be surprised, as will America, if the choice is anyone but Kyler Murray.

Joel Klatt said the same thing yesterday when I asked him about it. Do you have any inside sources saying Arizona will take Kyler Murray? Yes. Oh, so you're breaking news here. I'm not breaking news. I'm 90%. Again, I would be shocked if they're not going to take them. All right. There you go. Peter King, Joel Clatt, believe it strongly.

Let me just say this. You've got to get the quarterback position right. This is starting to feel like not only a game changer for Arizona, but such an opportunity for the New York Giants. A couple of years ago, there was this team on the West Coast called the San Francisco 49ers. and they'd hire this young offensive coach, Kyle Shanahan. No proven head coaching track record. They had a general manager, John Lynch, that we were all kind of unsure of if it would work. And they had some good players on the roster, but we just kind of thought, meh.

All of a sudden they signed Jimmy G from New England and like, instantly, you're like, okay, we got real franchise here. Okay, now we got the coach. Now we got the quarterback. The GM seems to know what he's doing, and they already had some good piece. Just the Jimmy G signing took the Niners from like a mess, and the Niners, again, had an offensive coach unproven, a GM we weren't sure of. They were unsure going forward on quarterback, and then Jimmy G came in, boom, here's the New York Giants.

They have an offensive coach, Pat Schumer, with a great track record, but we're not sure of. They have some good players on that roster. We know that for sure. Like the Niners, they got some explosive players. They have a general manager, Dave Gettleman, we're not really sure it's going to work, and they're unsure of their quarterback going forward. And here's Josh Rosen. He's the Jimmy G.

And like Jimmy G, a beautiful thrower of the football, little bit with both of injury concerns. Jimmy G got hurt at New England a couple times. People are like, eh, Rosen in college got hurt a little bit, bummed down. Both Rosen and Jimmy G did not have enough starts to definitively say, we know they'll be blank. But boy, they looked apart. And for both Garapolo, all it took was a second round pick,

and for the Giants, it appears all it's going to take is a second round pick. Giants, be the Niners, step up, make the obvious move. If you're not going to draft Dwayne Haskins, which I would, I think we're overthinking the room on Dwayne Haskins. I'd draft him. If you're not, go get Josh Rosen. If you don't have the quarterback situation settled in. in this league, it hangs over the fans, the locker room, the players.

I mean, Jacksonville had that one great year. But, I mean, it never felt sealed in. The Niners were the Giants. Smart offensive coach, a GM we weren't sure of, some interesting, captivating talented players on the roster, quarterback unsettled. And the Niners are like, let's seal this up. Let's just seal this. Let's get our guy.

Boom, Garoppolo. And the next day we're all like, all right, that's a real franchise. Giant, you have 12 draft picks. Two high first round draft picks. Three of the top 37 draft picks. You have two major needs on the team. Pass rusher and a quarterback going forward. Step up.

This seems so incredibly Garoppolo-ish to me. Josh Rosen, Garapolo, second round picks, good throwers of the football, little injury concern, pick up offenses real quick, make your move. All right, let's shift gears to this. Oklahoma City and Russell Westbrook could be done by the end of the night. I think it'll be a close competitive game. One of the things my wife always says, in life you can be a great example or you can be a horrible warning.

And both work as a parent. Kids see their mom and dad as great examples. Or maybe the family's a little chaotic and the kids look at it and go, I'm not going to be that. Be a great example or a horrible warning. Preferably a great example, but both work. Russell Westbrook has obviously since the divorce from Kevin Durant eroded. He's not the same player. Durant has flourished. Westbrook has eroded. But Russell Westbrook is also a horrible warning. If you draft and build around a highly athletic point guard that's a below average shooter, Derek Rose, John Wall, Westbrook, now three examples.

You will not, you will not be a playoff contender. It is now a shooter's league. Less athletic point guards that can shoot, Kyrie Irving has never lost a first round playoff series, Steph Curry and James Hardin are now growing and flourishing. sports gives you great examples and horrible warnings. We now have three hyper-athletic point guards that teams in the media fell in love with, Wall, Rose, and Westbrook, and it doesn't work.

Super athletes. We now have three point guards that aren't as athletic, Hardin Steff and Kyrie Irving. I think Kyrie is now something like, I don't know, 16 and 0 in the first. round. Listen, this year, Westbrook shot 31% on jumpers. Harden shot 40, Lillard shot 40, and Curry shot 44%. Just pay attention. Just pay attention. If you're a GM, if you're executive, you're a coach who has GM powers, if you fall for the highly athletic point guard who can't shoot, then it's on you. From time to time, I'll speak to young broadcast. and young journalism students.

And one of the messages I always say is, just pay attention. 20 years ago, newspapers died. Don't go into newspapers. Ten years ago, magazines died. Get rid of that idea. And today, websites are dying. Don't go out and spend all your money on a website. Think about a podcast, think about audio, think about TV, think about play-by-play, think

about... Life will tell you which direction to go. Lose your ego. Pay attention. Like Westbrook is really actually a great warning going ahead. He'll give you highlights. He can give you some awards. He can sell tickets and merchandise.

He's fun to watch. I mean, I'll be watching that game tonight. I watch a lot of Westbrook. But if you want to win in the playoffs in an increasingly shooters-driven league, the answer is scale back a little bit on the athleticism. don't pass on a guy in the draft because he's not quite athletic enough. Kyrie, Steph, James Hardin, because it's a shooter's league. And you've got now multiple examples over and over of what works and what doesn't.

Okay? This is be a great example or a horrible warning. My guest tonight is Portland wins the series simply because they've got more shot makers. They don't have the best athletic roster. They got the second best curry. Damian Lillard never gets talked about as an elite point guard. C.J. McCollum, I think, is a really good shooter, but not much else. Doesn't play any defense.

They got shot makers. That's what Portland has. Coming up next, LeVar Arrington, coming up, former NFL great pro bowler. You won't believe what he has in common with Tom Brady. That's around the corner draft courses Thursday. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Saturday, we've got a great double header for you on FS1.

First, the Indians take on Jose Altovae and the Astros. Then Christian Yellich leads the Brewers against Robinson Canoe and the Mets. It all starts at 4 Eastern on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. Three-time Pro Bowl or eight NFL seasons, now a coach. Both he and his wife, Lavaire Arrington, who I just told him, outside of a little gray in that beard, he looks like he could be drafted Thursday. He does not age. He was a dominant player at Penn State, Washington Redskins, New York.

Giants, how are you? Very well. How about you? I'm great. Good. It's a great defensive line draft. Last year was all quarterback talk. Yep.

You know, and this year, Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, I like both. Haskins a little more than everybody else. Kyler scares me a little bit size, but it's a defensive line draft. You coached an Under Armour game, and you coached a kid named Ed Oliver, who we never watched play because he played at Houston. Mm-hmm. Okay. But I thought, we didn't see him in college.

Sure. We saw Rishon Gary at Michigan. We saw both at Ohio State. This kid's an interesting prospect. What do you make of him? He's my guy in this draft. I like Bosa. I mean, when you look at his lineage and those different things, I like Gary.

I had those guys in Under Armour game just as much as even Kyler Murray, right? But Ed Oliver, he is Aaron Donald 2.0, man. And I'll tell you, his pad level, his movement, his ability to deliver a blow, his motor. I haven't seen anything like it since an Aaron Donald. Now he got into a fight. Or an Aaron Donald.

Yeah, he got into a fight with his coach. Disagreement. Is he coachable? He's coachable. He's coachable. He goes? No. See, and that's the thing about it.

You know, it's interesting. I was having a conversation about now versus when I was coming out. Right. If I get into a situation like Ed Oliver coming out in the draft, I am the worst thing. I'm a cancer. He's undraft. this and that and the other.

But technical, you know, advances are so great and so far ahead. Now, you can build your own narrative. You can endear yourself to your consumer and to the fan base. Ed Oliver, if he was really the guy that maybe some tried to portray him as coming out of that situation with his coach at Houston, I think there would have been more conversations about it. I think there would have been a lot of narrative. that would go along with what took place at that moment in time.

To be honest with you, I think the culpability there lied on the leadership versus the young man that was playing. And if that's the only question I had on him at that moment in time, I don't think that that's a large enough question to not be high on that. Yeah, he had an incident. It doesn't define him. Correct. I have no problem with guys having incidents.

I mean, we could have an incident right now, right here, and hug it out and be okay tomorrow. They might be okay. they might be best of friends. Like, I'm sorry, Ed. Like, I'm sorry, too. Coach, like, we had a moment. It was caught on camera.

Boom, boom, boom, move on. By the way, half the NFL is undrafted. Many of the great players, your T-Os, did not play at massive schools. I always love these guys that play. I love where you're going. We don't get caught up in guys play. If you go look at quarterbacks in this league, Miami of Ohio, NC State, Boston College.

How many Alabama guys start? How many U.S.C. guys start? Not many. So I like guys who get overlooked at the college level, end up at Houston, and are ticked off for three years. I think it's a huge advantage to Ed Oliver and players like that. That point that you make is so tremendous. I'm from Pittsburgh, all right? Now, I'm going to go to a different error, and things have changed very dramatically since being in Pittsburgh in this draft I'm telling you about.

But you were here. I was not here. A guy by the name of Mean Joe Green gets drafted to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The entire foundation and identity was built on this man's his ability to do what he did on the field. Could you tell me what college he went to? I can't. A college by the name of Northern Texas. And I think they were called the Green Mean Machine or something to that effect.

I think you're right. He goes number four in that draft, all right? 19, I want to say, 1969 he goes in that draft and totally changed the entire trajectory of Chuck Knowles, Pittsburgh Steelers. By the way, Terry Bradshaw, did not go to LSU. Where did he go? Like Louisiana Tech. Something like that, right? So you cannot, when you look at the draft, the most interesting aspect of the draft is the big names and the big schools, it's just all about.

about the consumer and what they want to see. You know, you think about the Haskins, you think about the Bosa, you think about the Garys. I named all Big Ten players there, right? I'm partial. But if you think about these big schools where these guys come from and you get the linemen from LSU and from Alabama and the SEC, and it really is consumer-driven. And I take a step back. As a high school coach, I look at how many.

players get the hype machine behind them and get these tremendously large scholarship offers and this school and that school and they have like upwards of 20 scholarship offers and then there's a guy over here that has none that's probably twice the player that this kid that has all of these scholarship offers that. He didn't go to a powerhouse high school football program. It's a possibility. Let's go back to when you were in this league. Now you were a dominant player, you were a dominant player at Penn State. But you end up going to the Redskins. Do you remember your first couple years? A draft

pick, a young guy on the team that came from nowhere and you were like, oh, he would have been great at Penn State. Did you ever play with one of those guys? A whole bunch. I mean, the homes couches are littered. There's probably a ton of guys helping you with

your wood at Home Depot or scanning you out somewhere at Wegmans, right? That was probably a better player than LaVar Arrington. Truth. true story. But the reality of it is, for someone like me, I had the opportunity to grow up with

Dwight White as a mentor. I had Jerome Bettis. We had the same barber. Shots out to Dave on Northside. I had the opportunity to learn that it's more about branding yourself and understanding how to define your identity as a person versus even being that player that people want you to be on the football field. Just think about this.

Think about in the last, this is why I love the draft. If I said to you 10 best players in the NFL over the last 10 years, Gronk went to a basketball school, literally basketball school, Tom Brady's six round, struggled to start at Michigan. I remember Tom Brady. He was in your draft. He was in my, listen to what you just said. He was in my draft.

You got picked eighth. That was the last my thing as it applies to my versus Tom Brady. Do you know how many, you remember all the quarter? The quarterback's got picked ahead of him? Yes. There are a few. One of them's now a goat farmer in Napa Valley, I swear to God. I swear to, there's six of them.

And a lot of them, by the way, big arm guys, big strong guys. And here came. You didn't even see Tom playing college in the Big Ten, did you? Well, actually, he beat us a few times. Really? But I wore him out in college. You know, Tom Brady was not ready for Levar Arrington in college. Right.

But that just tells you, and that goes to show you, even though I got the best of him head-to-head. They won the game. but statistically speaking, I did very well against Michigan. Very well. But that sometimes doesn't translate to what you're going to be once you go to the next level. Do you go back to your career with Washington? When you were with Washington, they were very, very well run. And then you went to the Giants.

Who was the coach there? Tom Coughlin. Okay, well. If you want to know what the Redskins, I mean, do we have enough time in this segment for me to name all of the coaches I had? I had more head coaches at one point than I did years in the league. So Joe Gibbs was gone? I had Joe. Well, I'm not that old.

But I had the second Joe Gibbs. Okay. So Joe was kind of like a reason why I left Washington. It just got to the point of where it just wasn't going to work in Washington. Yeah. But that was his second go-around. So when I was at the end and I went and left and went to the New York Giants, that was. So I had coming in.

I had North Turner. Then there was Terry Ribisky before the season was over in the room. Oh, you went those red skin years. Then I had Coach Spurrier. Oh, Lord. Then I had Coach Schottenheimer. Wait, wait, Coach Schottenheimer, then Coach Spurier. Coach Schottenheimer, then Coach Spurier.

So you're a great example of this. And Joy and I have talked about this in our careers. I always tell people there's a sea of money, chase good management. there's not a ton of great managers in my career. There's a lot of money out there and a lot of networks. You're a great example of Washington. Your experience was they couldn't get the management right. Well, it's culture, Colin.

And I think that you state it very, very well. If you cannot bring in people who can identify people who build positive and winning culture, you're destined to fail. And it doesn't matter how much talent you bring in. It doesn't matter how much money you. you pay people, you're going to come up short. And that was a 100% why I brought up Joe Green. You know, you think about building something, Chuck Nolan and the Rooney family.

You know, one of the stories that always sticks out to me is I heard a story about one of the Rooney gets there, he pulls up, one of the employees, he pulls up, they get out of the car, they're walking, they're talking to the building, walking to the building while they're talking to one another. Well, the story goes, wait, I'm talking to you. We're walking from the same place. which is the back of the parking lot. Why aren't you parked up front?

And Art Rooney responds to the young man and says, because we're all here to win together as a team. So if I get here early enough to get one of the closer parking spaces, that's where I'll park. If I get here at the time that we just got here at and everybody's already here working, I'll park where an open spot is. And apparently, we both have the same spots

at the back of, of the parking lot. To me, that's building culture. You're building winning culture. You're no better than me. I'm no better than you. If I wash the clothing that comes off of the field when they practice, if I mow the lawn,

if I'm cleaning the commodes, whatever it may be, you should never be so big that you remove yourself from the people that help you to win. And I think that that's why people come up short, especially in pro sports. Let's talk about Cleveland and the Raiders. There are more free agent signings now than that were 10 years ago. Cleveland went and spent big money on some guys.

The Raiders have spent a ton for a left tackle who I think is good, not great, and a wide receiver who's talented, but comes with a little baggage, Antonio Brown. When you're in a locker room, and I've always wondered about this, and a team goes out and spends money, and they bring in somebody, and you put three years in with a team, and you busted your butt, and then they go and say, we're going to pay this guy. He's going to cut.

More than you. See, I always It really, you know, that part of it shouldn't matter, right? You worry about what's going into your bank account, worry about what your performance is, and worry about how you can contribute to the team. But that's culturally speaking, right?

If you go to a organization where it is okay for you to feel that way about somebody coming in and making that type of dollar and you've been there, or you're in an organization where you know, the money is what drives the hierarchy at those places, you're destined to fail. So the reality of it is that you could go to a place like New England, make more money than the guy that's been there. But I'm certain of this, even though I don't know the New England locker room very well at all at this point. But I'm certain those guys are welcoming that guy with open arms and saying, let's go get another Super Bowl.

not can I get a meal tonight? Can you take me to this five-star restaurant over here? They've created the culture where they trust bill. And it's a trust, it's a trust environment. So even if it stems beyond the trust of just the coach, there is a collective culture that says this is what we want to achieve. This is the standard. And once you've established that, once that comes from on high to down low,

then that becomes that becomes gospel and once once you've established that you see what why is tom brady still able to have success in a young man's game why are they seem to be written off every single year but are always competing or winning a super bowl it is because of their way of approaching their business the organization of it i don't i think i think john gruden is is trying to figure that out i know mayaac he's a a fine man. I think they're trying to figure it out, but culture doesn't happen overnight. No, it does not. And I'll be honest with you. And until you're able to establish what that is, they're in a danger zone. McKenzie was a fine GM. See, I never had a problem with him. Very fine GM. But something was not correct. Something was turbulent about that organization and still may be to this day. Now, we'll find out. The beauty about this game is you get to see it. play out. So we're going to find out. If I'm a betting man,

if I were a betting man, which I'm not, but if I were, those two organizations that you just mentioned Cleveland and Oakland. They're not going to win. They're not going to win. O'Dell, he's O'Dell. You're going to win with

selling O'Dell jerseys. You're going to win with selling juice jerseys. Like, oh, they're back together. The LSU click. Great. They're not going to win. Sorry. You got a Heisman trophy winner throwing the football. They're not going to win.

Well, I picked Pittsburgh to win the division because of the Roonies, Tomlin, Ben, their O line. And people said, you're crazy. And I'm like, what am I going to bet on? 30 years of excellence or a red-hot team that brought in O'Dell. It's nothing against Cleveland. I tend to bet cultures over rosters. That's what I do in the NFL. It's a safe.

That's a safe decision. I'm going to bet I like the Rams next year. I like the Eagles. I like the Chiefs. I like the Colts. I like the Patriots. I like the Steelers. I'm taking cultures more than I am rosters.

I think those are good picks. I'm sitting here running them through my head right now, which you just shot off at me. And I think those are pretty good. Levar Arrington, don't be afraid to drop by the show if you want to promote something for your high school. Good dude. Good to see you again. Hey, Maranatha High School in Pasadena. Come check us out Friday night.

You look fantastic. I'm going to look for you to come see me on a Friday. It's great. It's good. Pasadena, it gets a little warm out there. It does. Good restaurants, though. Very nice.

Good high school football. Super good now. Lavar, good seeing you. Joined the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, so I am against fat shaming.

You're against what? I'm against fat shaming. Well, that's not nice. Yeah, you wouldn't want to do that. We talked about Ryan Fitzpatrick last week only because Ryan admitted that he was, in fact, out of shape. Yeah. So we weren't exactly. When we showed the picture of him, I said he's nonstop eating birthday cake,

which, you know, as a Dolphins fan, just, you know, thrills me. Well, Ezekiel Elliott surfaced in a not-so-flattering picture. Yeah. Then he's kind of hidden there. I hope we have the other picture as well. He's like, there we go, yeah. So it's not the best picture. Now, I did not overreact this picture in any way because he's wearing a loose t-shirt.

So I don't really see why this is an issue. Like, I mean, I guess he's, you know, he's at a... He's got a bunch of hair. I think half of it's his head. He doesn't look fat to me at all. It's weird. It's the internet overreacting. Anyway, he felt the need to clap back and let everyone know that he is in fact in shape.

So he posted a video on the scale. The weights on the scale stops at 230. That's what he should be. Which is two whole pounds over what he's listed on the team's official website. So he, um... Yeah, I don't. I'll be honestly, Joy. I just think it's the beard and the head makes him look huge.

I don't even get the point of overreesome. reacting to it, even if he was a little bit overweight, it's the offseason at his position. You fluctuate. What is the big deal? He's 23. Do you know how much weight I could lose in a week when I was 23? You go in the Dallas heat or camp in Thousand Oaks?

Those guys can lose seven pounds a day. He was also at the Dallas Stars game, throwing a little shade at the haters, him and him and Jack. I like him. I had Popcorn for dinner last night, actually. It's pretty good. So the Lakers are clearly making things slow as they look for their next head coach.

Rob Polinka has reportedly had interviews with a couple of candidates with more to come this week. But as I've been saying for weeks now, I believe Tyloo is the one for the job. And Woj had this to say about it on ESPN yesterday. Tylo remains a significant factor in his Lakers coaching search. Having coached James and understanding how he wants to be coached, where you pick your spots with him, and the input he's going to have on a day-to-day basis, is going to be a big part of having success. He's a good coach.

And this is at this point, there's, I mean, let's be honest. Look around the league right now. Tailu's a top 10 coach in the league. I think so. I think the hesitation with Tailu is actually the biggest strength that Tailu has. The conversation is that they don't want somebody, and I don't know who they is, I guess, free agents, or maybe the Lakers want to try and get away from this.

I don't know who they is specifically. But they don't want someone who is too close to LeBron James. Well, you brought LeBron James in towards the end of his career. He just had his first major injury in a basically down here all around for the franchise and for LeBron James. Why would you not bring someone in who has a championship who's had success, sustained success with LeBron James and other pieces, but you're going to need other pieces. So we're not talking about only LeBron James anyway, who beat the best regular season NBA team in history. What are you trying to figure out here? Why is it that him having a good relationship with LeBron James isn't negative?

Listen, I think the Lakers are at a point where the optics of, you know, LeBron running the franchise, listen, at this point, we don't think they have an elite front office or an elite roster. The strength of the team is clearly LeBron. That's not even a debate, right? Like, that's a fact. LeBron's the strength of the organization right now. Nobody disputes that.

Am I concerned about his injury? Yes. but I'm kind of the optic thing is what it is. If you give me ties, a top 10 coach, you give me LeBron, I got one of the two best players in the world. And then you just sell everything and get Anthony Davis. And I think that's where you are as a franchise. And I think if Kevin Durant leaves Golden State, then you're in the ball game.

I mean, at least someone would be running the franchise. It would be nice. I mean, ask Cleveland how that went for them. They have a championship. What have the Lakers done in the last five or six years? I mean, you're living off reputation at this point. Now, there are other options out there, obviously. we talked about Monty Williams, who's been a head coach before,

and now he's in the conversation with the Sixers, and he's in the conversation with the sons. But to me, you go with somebody who you at least, at the very least, don't have a wait time to get to know LeBron James. Just figure everything else out afterwards. Finally, Janus and the Bucks took care of business last night, sweeping the pistons, and now they're turning their attention to the Celtics. That series was embarrassingly lobsided.

I mean, Detroit. It's hard. It's hard, like Griffin's heard. Indiana got swept, but they played their butts. off. Houston is crushing Utah, but Utah's fighting back. Detroit didn't even offer a counterpunch. It wasn't the best first round.

It wasn't. But Yonis said he's looking to get some long-awaited payback after last season game seven lost to Boston. Boston is waiting for you on the other side. What excites you about that rematch? It's going to be excited. You know, we definitely owe them something from last year.

We're going to play hard. And it's going to be fun games to watch. Yeah, second round is going to be great. Yeah. I'm so excited for this matchout. Say what you want, but a lot of people haven't seen Janus. I mean, not to be on the nation.

This is the first time to really see Janus, one of the top three or four players in the league, that you'll, you know, I mean, the ratings for the regular season and the NBA aren't what they are for the playoffs. And this is a massive, to me, the winner of this wins the east. That's how I feel. Yeah, I, well, I still want to see what happens with the Raptors, how they go into the into the second round as well. But this is just going to be exciting to me also because Boston has everybody. You know, last year they didn't have Kyrie and Hayward. So everyone's ready to go. They're going to be well-rested.

So it's going to be a lot of good basketball. I think it goes seven. So it'll be fun. I can't wait. I just can't wait for that series. I enjoy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Ride news. Draft is Thursday. And so, you know, right before the draft, the staff said, why don't you just throw out a mock draft, top 10 picks. And so I will. Here's how I think the top 10 is going to work in the NFL draft Thursday. I'll give you my mock top 10 draft. I'm not going to go down in the weeds, third round, second round, that stuff.

But I'll give you what I believe is my mock draft. The top 10 picks coming up Thursday coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Casper's celebrating their fifth birthday. Go to casper.com code. Heard, 100 bucks toward the purchase of select mattresses. Additional fees could apply in Alaska and high terms and conditions apply. let's not waste any time. Everybody's doing mock draft. The draft is Thursday. I love this draft. I'm a nerd,

and it's a bunch of linemen. I love this draft. A bunch of good tight ends. And so let's do our mock draft. Top 10 picks in the NFL. The number one pick is in. With the first pick in the 2019 herd mock NFL draft, the Arizona Cardinals select Kyler Murray, quarterback, Oklahoma. Yeah, a little small for me, but he has a first round talent. I wouldn't do it. Not that I don't think he's good, but I think they have a quarterback, and I'd rather go get the best pass rusher in football and Nick Bosa. But Cliff Kingsbury actively recruited him to Texas A&M. He does fit best with Kingsbury's coaching style.

And if Cliff Kingsbury doesn't work in Arizona, you're going to get everybody fired. So, I mean, I think this comes down to you go to Cliff and say, what do you like? And Cliff Price probably goes, I like Josh Rosen, I love Kyler Murray, and that's who you take. The number two pick is in. With the second pick, the San Francisco 4th. 49ers select Nick Bosa, defensive end, Ohio State. 64-265, a grinder. His brother Joey Bosa has been a stud for the Chargers.

Listen, last year he had 12 and a half sacks, and he got hurt. I mean, he didn't even play the entire schedule. And also, San Francisco has drafted a lot of guys up front defensively. Solomon Thomas, not as good as they thought. Armstead, not as good as they thought. Niners had one player with double sacks in a season in the last six years. they got to get a pass rusher, especially in that division where you're chasing around Russell Wilson, Jared Goff, maybe Kyler Murray, they need a pass rusher.

Niners take Nick Fosa. Number three pick is in. With the third pick, the New York Jets select Quinn and Williams. Defensive tackle, Alabama. Listen, the Jets rush defense last year stinks. That's why they went and got C.J. Mosley from the Ravens at linebacker. If you add Quinn and Williams, my people tell me he's the best player in the draft. And I'm not saying that because I love Sam Darnal,

the Jets, but he is an unblockable one-on-one player. You can double him and push him out of the way because he's not huge. He's only 300 pounds. But he had eight sacks, 20 tackles for a loss at Alabama. He is the real deal. The Jets will put him next to Leonard Williams and solve their rushing defense problems. With the fourth pick, the Oakland Raiders select Josh Allen, outside linebacker, Kentucky. He had 17 sacks second most in college football. In the minute the Raiders gave up Kaleel Mack, guess what they needed? a pass rusher. So the bottom line, you know how many sacks the Raiders had last year? This is embarrassing. 13 worst in the NFL. He's a great fit Josh Allen to the Raiders. With the fifth pick,

the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Ed Oliver, defensive tackle, Houston. Tampa's defense stinks. Their best players seemingly the last several years are all on offense. They had the second worst total defense over the last three years. Bruce Ariens is going to elevate the offense. So go out and get a really talented kid who I'm told is moving up the draft board. Ed Oliver solidifies their defensive front. With the sixth pick, the New York Giants select Rishon Gary, defensive end, Michigan. Best defensive lineman, arguably in the Big Ten, all Big Ten last two years. Little bit of a shoulder concern, but he was the number one high school football player in the country.

Remember, the Giants traded defensive end Olivier Vernon to the Browns, So they need a big, relentless pass rusher. And the Giants, by the way, did not get to the quarterback last year. 30 sacks last year was among the worst in the NFL where Sean Gary shoulder issues, but a good pickup, I think, plus Dave Gettelman is obsessed with getting a pass rusher in the draft. With the seventh pick, the Jacksonville Jaguar, select Joanne Taylor, offensive tackle, Florida. There's actually three offensive tackles I love in this draft. They're going to take the kid they probably.

saw the most of at the University of Florida, Joanne Taylor. Big, strong. Last year, he allowed one sack all year, and that's in the SEC. So the SEC's always got the best defensive fronts, and he allowed one sack, and the Jaguars offensive line has, they've got some players. They haven't had a good offensive line in years. Now you've got Nick Foles, who is not overly athletic and mobile. You've got to solve your tackle position. They just did it. With the eighth pick, The Detroit Lions select Devin White, linebacker, LSU. SEC's best tackler last year. This guy's an automatic home run player in the NFL.

Matt Patricia coaches the Lions. What is Matt Patricia's history, defense and fronts? He'll be the playmaker for Detroit's defense, and he can really run. He's a linebacker who runs like a wide receiver. He runs a 4-4. LSU guy, Devin White. With the ninth pick, the Buffalo Bill select T.J. Hawkinson, Tight End, Iowa.

By the way, best blocking tight end in the NFL coming in from college in a long time. College tight ends don't block anymore because all the spread offenses. This kid's a beast. He'll help block for Josh Allen, the second year quarterback. They also, last year, they have bad tight end productivity and bad receiver productivity. This is a home run pick for the bills. A blocking tight end to elevate your running game, protect Josh Allen. He can also get downfield.

with a 10th pick that Denver Broncos select Andre Dillard, offensive tackle, Washington State. Again, this guy's a beast. He's won two or three great tackles. Mike Leach and Washington State don't run the ball. All they do is throw. So there's questions about his ability to run block, but he is a tremendous pass blocking offensive lineman. He was the highest graded offensive lineman, according to pro football focus, in pass blocking. And the Broncos lost three starting offensive linemen, two free agents. agency. With the 11th pick, the Cincinnati Bengals select Dwayne Haskins, quarterback, Ohio

State. I'm going to go with Haskins drops because of the Giants needs on defense and reluctance to move off Eli Fannie. I'm going to say the Ohio kid goes to the Bengals, and I love this move. Sit behind Andy Dalton for a year. He's an Ohio kid. They have a new coach in Cincinnati, offensive-minded Zach Taylor. He's going to get tired of Andy Dalton really quick. So I like Haskins more than everybody else does. I'd take him if I was a giant, if I'm not going to trade for Josh Rosen. He broke Drew Breeze's Big Ten record for most touchdown passes in a year with 50. I like the kid a lot.

And so I think he's going to go to the Bengals at 11. And it's perfect. He got Andy Dalton. Andy's a grown-up. He's mature. Duane can sit back there, learn the offense, figure it out from a real grownup. M-Drive is a supplement. You can use every day.

You should consider it if you're aging a bit, testosterone. dropping feel stronger. It adds clinically tested ingredients to elevate your natural tea levels. Refine your prime with MDrive. Visit MDrive for men.com. Today code heard. Get you 20% off any order. For Joy Taylor, Doug Gottlieb, Lincoln, Raleigh, Sam Munson, Lovar Arrington was great.

We'll see tomorrow. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves,

their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple 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. 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. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling. the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Life is full of hurdles. So how do you keep going? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them

and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human.