The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Bears Overperforming, Sam Darnold’s Turnaround, Favorite NFL Bets, World Series Is Must Watch TV

Episode Date: November 7, 2025

Colin’s joined by Danny Parkins, host of “First Things First” on FS1. They begin with the strong start for Danny’s Chicago Bears and why every Bears fan should be happy with the results 25 games into Caleb Williams career. (3:00) Colin highlights the importance of getting the quarterback right because the bottom 6-7 teams are completely unwatchable (8:00). They debate why international NBA stars like Jokic and SGA  in the NBA Finals don’t get as much traffic as stars like Ohntani in the World Series (17:00). They discuss the must-watch nature of the World Series and the  watchability of postseason vs. regular season baseball and debate whether Luka’s brand combined with the Lakers could buck the trend (19:30). Colin argues he’s been right for years that Joel Embiid was fool’s gold and despite his talent, he doesn’t mesh well within the construct of a team (29:30).  They talk about the great turnaround in Sam Darnold’s career  and discuss the huge whiffs by the Vikings and Browns letting Darnold and Baker Mayfield leave and thrive elsewhere (36:00). They look ahead to the upcoming NFL slate and which games they like from a betting perspective (41:30), and debate where the Packers coach stacks up against other coaches in the league (54:00).  Finally, they give their takeaways from Zohran Mamdani’s win in the NYC mayoral race and Danny is happy he doesn’t have to watch any more ugly  anti -Mamdani political ads. Colin argues that political parties, like NFL teams, are only good when they land their star (1:02:00). All lines provided by hardrock.bet (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She can win.

She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any service. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The volume. You know, every once in a while, something new comes along that just sort of makes sense.

McDonald's has rolled out the new Buffalo Ranch sauce. Yeah, that's good. mix of controlled chaos. Tangy Zhang of Buffalo, little kick edge, that fire, smooth, creamy, cool ranch, mild, wild, same time. Like that balance. Perfect. That's Patrick Holmes in a sauce. Confident, a little flashy, but never out of control. I'm a McCrispy guy. That's my go-to. Some people like the snack wrap. Some go to McChryspy strips. That's fine. We're all different players on the same team here, right? So when you dunk one of those in the Buffalo Ranch, game changer. Are you mild or wild? Because this sauce let you be both.

There's a new sauce in town, folks. Tangy, creamy Buffalo Ranch, available for a limited time at participating McDonald's while supplies last. Order now. All right, it's Danny Parkins joining me. We just talk about a bunch of stuff. I don't even know where I'm going.

Let's pivot now to the Bears. Sure. They got the coach and the quarterback. The defense stinks. We still don't like the owner. The front office, I doubt. I love the coach. The quarterback's super talented.

there's a lot they're not doing right. But like a political party, the Bears now lead the NFL in big plays. That's good for me. And isn't it? They're a flawed team from ownership down. But they got the two things it appears right. Absolutely. There's no question.

I mean, the one I always say, because it's a fun turn of phrase, is like, the Bengals were the bungles until they got Joe Burrow. You know, the chiefs didn't win a single game with a quarterback they drafted since Todd Blackledge, and then it was Patrick Mahomes. You know, so, like, it can change on a dime. And I find it to be amazing that the bears are fourth in rushing, fourth in yards, sixth in scoring, back in an explosive plays. And everyone's like, is Caleb good?

I'm like, and by the way, to be fair, to be fair, as someone who's watched every snap of every game closer than any team in the NFL, Like, they got, some of those numbers got fat against Dallas and Cincinnati, objectively true. And some of the explosive play stuff is running game based. And they've been much better running out of the buy, Washington, New Orleans, Baltimore, and then the game last week. But so it's not all because of Caleb. Caleb's not playing as well as Drake May. Caleb's not playing as well as Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes. But if you told me, 25 games.

into his career on his third play caller and second head coach that they would have, by the numbers, a top 10 offense and a winning record in year two, 100% of Bears fans would have signed up for it. That's what I always tell. Whenever my wife's, you know, getting a little concerned about our kids, I'm like, if I'd have told you 20 years ago when we met, none of them would be in jail, none would have a drug problem. We'd have a vacation home and a nice house, and our kids would still call us? Would you have signed up for it? Yes. Then don't worry about tomorrow. It's all good. Think about this. So my take is every NFL offense has a whole. Let me give an example. I'm going to give you the best offenses in the NFL two weeks ago, what you thought.

Green Bay today. They have no offensive identity. These are the better offenses. The Rams, Pookas always hurt, and Stafford has no more. mobility. Philadelphia depends on the game in the half. Denver, terrible offense for three quarters. Every single game. San Francisco, bad old line, totally Christian McCaffrey dependent. Indianapolis, does anybody like Daniel Jones? I just named the good offenses in the NFL. Right. Right. So the truth is, we pay so much attention to offense, Danny, and I'm guilty of this, we nitpick the bears. Big plays, run the ball, well coached.

Take it. No doubt. And I came into the year with optimism, but with zero percent like they're a contender or they're going to win the Super Bowl. So to me, this season has been, it's been a little bit of like heart attack inducing. I might say some things during these bear games

that if like anyone other than like Nick Wright was next to me, I'd be like, whoof, that might get me canceled. You know what I mean? Like, it's a stressful watch. But I have no illusions that this is a great team. Like the defense is flawed. The quarterback is young. It's a new system.

They've got, they've had serious left tackle questions. Their two best cornerbacks are hurt. We don't know if Jalen Johnson is coming back like this year. He'll come back eventually, obviously. Like, they're not going to win the Super Bowl. they probably won't make the playoffs, though they might. We'll see because weird things happen in the NFL. But again, like, do you have the coach and quarterback?

I can work with that. Yeah. Because they also, it's not just, like the, they got a lot of talent. I hear you talk about this all the time. Like, O'Donze is talented. Loveland is talented. Their right tackle darnel right looks like a stud for years. DeAndre Swift is an excellent top 12 back.

Yeah. Manung guy who has been great the last, you know, game and a half. since Swift has been hurt looks, looks good. They have pieces, they have talent, and they are clearly on the up and up. And Caleb, he gives them a ceiling that feels kind of limitless because of how crazy the physical talent is. Like, if Ben Johnson can actually get him to be 90% of what his talent suggests that he should be, the bears are going to be good for the next decade. Yeah.

You know, I said years ago I was on this, I think one of my favorite things in sports is trying to find a trend before it gets discussed nationally. I love doing that. Sometimes I hit, sometimes I miss. I don't care. It's not about being right. It's about just kind of trying to see around a corner and go, I think this is a problem. So I started this about five years ago. I said the downside to building a league to protect the quarterbacks and being totally quarterback central.

And I started this five years ago is if you don't. have a quarterback, you're unwatchable. And right now, seven of the teams in the NFL, seven of 32, you're getting into what? Is that 21, 22 percent? You're mathier than me. Jet, Saints, Browns, Titans, Raiders, Washington now that Jaden Daniels has hurt, Giants are no day at the beach, if they get beat this weekend by the Bears. Seven of 32 teams, it's becoming the NBA. Where your bottom six to seven are not only bad, they're bad to watch. And I, I never, so I think my downside of the NFL, because I do think it's by far and away the most embraceable, watchable, bedable, viewable league is, as the league becomes so quarterback dependent, if you don't have one, and even if you do and he's not protected by a good old line, you're in big trouble. There is a lot of bad football in that one o'clock window.

And we are increasingly seeing bad football in the Sunday night game and the Monday night game. Yeah, well, um. You never know when you're going to get a good slate and you never know when you're going to get a bad slate. Like, everyone in the world was down on Caleb and they were playing Joe Flacco and it was the game of the week. Like you meant the teams that you said that had the bad quarterbacks, like one of them was Washington. And yeah, it's because Jaden Daniels has hurt. But no Washington fan is like, we don't have our quarterback. Like we might have some questions because he's already had four injuries in his career.

But he was in the NFC championship game as a rookie. Like, it's not like commanders fans can't have reason to, like, buy the jersey of their quarterback. I can tell you that Giants fans are buying the hype on Jackson Dart. What the NFL does because it's it, there are 32 teams and there are not 32 Patrick Mahomes is. So it's so quarterback dependent. Like, there are not enough great ones for the job. That's true. But the NFL has done such an unbelievable job of selling hope and parody and worse to first.

And it's such an obsessed draft culture more than any other. league combined by far multiplied by a million that like two days ago was what a top five day for a Jets fan in the last decade because you've just convinced yourself okay we've got five first round picks in the next two years we'll find our quarterback now the odds say they'll find their next Zach Wilson but like it is still an exciting thing for a Jets fan so like on a week to week basis like sure is can you get a bad Monday night game? Hell, we're going to get the Cowboys in a primetime window. I think it's like five of the next seven weeks with Thanksgiving Sunday night football.

And they might end up being awful. We'll see. But in general, I just think NFL fans are so conditioned to, like, believe in hype and believe in hope that I don't think anyone really tunes out their team. So I thought it was, I thought one of the real interesting things, and this has been pretty well chronicled, that the best players in the NBA are now international. and international players, though gracious and gifted, more skilled than any we've ever had often, don't move the needle.

That, you know, a Yokic or a Wembe or an SGA, maybe remarkable players, but I don't know. We like our domestic guys. We like our MJs and our Cobeys and our LeBrons. We like personalities. Magico was smiled. Kareem didn't. Kareem was stoic. People didn't really like him.

Magic was all smiles. People loved him. Bird was feisty and blue collar, resonated. Dr. Jay was cool, resonated. International guys don't. Yet in baseball, a World Series got 27 million viewers in the United States with one city. Toronto's ratings don't count, and the two best players were Japanese. And I thought about this. How do you reconcile that?

So international players, I thought they didn't really move the needle. One American team was not, one city only. was involved in the ratings. NBA had two, and baseball virtually doubled it or got a significantly higher number. Now, some would argue that Manfred speeding up the game has helped the sport. Clearly, I think on the margins, 8 to 10%, not 40 to 50%, but it's made it much more consumable. You could argue the Dodgers are just the most interesting team since the Yankees with Jeter. I noticed that two years ago when the Dodgers went to Yankee Stadium for a series, the one to Oscar Hernandez crushed.

There were Dodger hats everywhere. It was unbelievable. How do you explain two best players are international, doesn't work in the NBA, works in baseball, or are we looking at a Warriors-like dynasty that is just fascinating to everybody in the country? Yeah, I think there's a few things.

Dodgers are a huge brand. It doesn't surprise me that Dodgers hats in New York. They used to be here. You know, I mean, seriously, it's an old man's game. and the Brooklyn Dodgers, like that's a thing that's passed down. So I think that that the Dodgers,

you know, Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, Red Sox, those are like the brands that seemingly everybody cares about to kind of transcend the sport. Then you add in Otani

and this Babe Ruth thing. You add in that live sports are crushing, right? Everything else is struggling. Everything. Yeah. Like, everything is struggling, live sports are crushing. And it was, I do think there is something too. That was just awesome sports.

Yeah. Like that series was great. Like the 18 inning game crossed over. You know, like that I think that really helped the series. It was like, wait, what happened? There was a game that went 18 innings and all. of the highlights and like that that was that felt like a football level event like a water cooler event that I don't know if people have water cooler is at their place of business anymore but like you

know what I mean like it was the type it was the type of thing that people my wife could not care less about baseball she the next day was like did you what time did you come to bed like like it like it like came into her orbit you know what I mean and so I think that that that game early in the series all of a sudden made people feel like, I can't miss anything else in this series because I missed, I missed that all-time thing. And then game six was awesome. And so it's set up for game seven to be this like much must watch thing. So I think it was a perfect storm of events. And I mean, listen, last year was Yankee, Yankees Dodgers. And this one beat it. Yes. That's a great story for baseball to be able.

No New York market, no other domestic market. I also think game six and seven were late inning fantastic. Correct. I mean, I love the fact that Dave Roberts pulled every weird lever and they all worked. Yeah. It was, man, baseball, the tension of baseball is so, listen, playoff hockey, the tension rises, game seven in any sport, NCAA tournament single elimination, right? And when elimination's on the line, the tension is high. I used to say, like, I love sports so much that like,

I'll watch anything if it's the highest stakes. World Series of Darth's bowling. Right. Like, if it's the highest stakes and the best of the best, but it's, but it's baseball. It's America's pastime. And you're like, this, you're going to give me great baseball in a game six and a game seven with a little David and Goliath field. Not that the, the Blue Jays, like looked like underdogs in the series. They arguably outplayed the Dodgers. But just it was like the big bad Dodgers, the dynasty, and then this team that was just mashing.

It was, I couldn't look away. It was compelling sports theater. Like I know they would never have it go up against the NFL. But like, I would have chosen game seven of that world series over an NFL game if confronted with the choice. And I am, I'm a 10 times bigger NFL fan than I am baseball fan. Oh, no. I watched multiple.

playoff games in October over football games. And I'm a football guy. There's no question. And I've said this before is there are just certain things that are like college basketball. That opening weekend is magical. But it's really hard to get me in November, you know, or the Maui invitational isn't moving me to a TV set.

It's the same in baseball. Regular season, it's a bit tedious. but baseball is one of those things for about six weeks. It's fascinating. And I do think there's a chess component. I like architecture. You're very good with math and betting. There's like an architecture and the build of the drama.

You know, it's almost like the two-minute drill in football happens in baseball for nine innings. You're getting these constant stakes on every batter. Yeah, I think my thing with baseball, boogshambi, great play-by-play guy, buddy of mine, does the, you know, because the World Series for ESPN Radio, but is now locally for the Cubs. So I got him to know him over the past few years. He said this thing and he likes to think about the game and rules and tinker with it. He's just smart guy, thoughtful guy. He said, you know, if we created baseball tomorrow, we wouldn't make it 162 games.

Like, it's just, it's an outdated thing. And so what's the math of it is that one of one six, is statistically meaningless. Right. But then when you take that sport and then you inject it into like game seven or best of five, and it's like, oh my God. Now it's fascinating. Now a baseball game feels like the NFC, like a divisional round game feels like the NFC championship game.

And so I think that juxtaposition of it goes from like meaningless to the most meaningful is why it's great. I want to ask you, though, about the, what you said about the international guys in the NBA, what do you think will happen, like say LeBron retires at the end of the year? Yeah. And then you have Luca on the Lakers. Yeah. Because you have, SGA, Oklahoma City, Janus, Milwaukee, Yokic, Denver. If you take international player, international superstar.

Yeah. With global brand, do you think he will be less impactful than an American star on the Lakers? Or will the Lakers brand plus his brilliance kind of overrule be an exception to your international question? It's a good question. I think the Lakers brand with Luka will be fascinating. I think NBA may become a little bit more regional and local. And that was baseball's problem until the Yankees and the Dodgers and the Cubs. The Cubs, a national team, kind of brought everybody back into the tent.

And then Rob Manfred, quick, you know, making rule changes to speed the game up, more base runners, defensive shift out. That brought more people back into the game. It's gone in stages, right? This dynasty just started two years ago. The rule changes, a lot of them started three and four years ago. So everything was percolating, percolating. Here come the Dodgers to dominate.

Bang, the numbers gigantic. So the baseball right now today, Danny, feels more national than it has in forever. The NBA has gone the other way. Without the dynasties, it's gone baseball's direction, where it feels a little bit more local. Luca and the Lakers could make that feel more national or a Knicks championship. But it's interesting, Boston, and this is why I say that, this is not a criticism of the NBA. It's gotten very local. And the example I would give is the Celtics championship.

That's the second biggest brand. It got a terrible number. the Celtics did with MVP level Jason Tatum from Duke. So the biggest college brand, the second biggest NBA brand, got a crap number. So what's happened to me is NBA's gotten more local and regional with the dismantling of the dynasties. Baseball in three or four years has gotten more national. They've switched spots. And the ultimate payout for that is in the championship where the NBA numbers dip and the baseball numbers surge.

Does that make sense? I think it's a totally reasonable theory. I think that because you're judging it based on like NBA finals ratings and World Series ratings. Yes, that's right. Yeah. And listen, that that, that, that, that, that, the math right now on that is undeniable. I also think that like any sport that plays that many games, it's in the buildup to it is going to be more local and regional because, again, I'll just use like my team as the example. Like if I'm a diehard Cubs fan and the game now is, you know, two hours and 40 minutes,

used to be three hours and 15 minutes, whatever. It's a large chunk of time. When I'm done watching the Cubs game, I'm not going to turn on Diamondbacks Mariners. Right. It's because one of 162 of that, I can't. Whereas football, because every game means so much and gambling and fantasy and it's like one day a week and all that. I can feel like I watch the whole league. You can't do that in basketball.

I mean, the games are all on, but it's impossible. Like, if I want to be a Bulls fan and be a diehard NBA fan, I mean, you're just, it's, you don't have enough hours in the day to, to consume all of it, unless you're like a single guy and you're 25 years old and you don't, you know what I mean? Like, it's just there's too, there's too much inventory to be a fan of that. everything all of the time. And so I feel like a lot of us, like, play catch up when the playoffs come around. Because, oh, the games are bigger, they matter more, and that's when it is.

Like, you know, Wembe Luka last night I paid attention to, obviously I watched we talk about on the show today. But a random regular NBA game and football season, like, I'll talk to you in February. Today's show is brought to you by our new presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet. This is that golden time of the year when it's not just pro football. NBA, college football, college hoops, hockey, all share the stage. There's always something to bet on. If you haven't tried your first bet on hard rock bet yet,

there's still time to get $150 in bonus bets if you win. All you have to do is place $5 bet. That's it. Five bucks. If it hits, you not only get your winnings, but $150 in extra bonus bets. And if you're looking for an edge before you lock in, check out the Hard Rock Bet stats hub. Trends, it's loaded with streaks, stats, to help guide your pick.

So numbers don't lie. neither does the data in there. The Hard Rock Bet App Sportsbook is the only legal sports book for whenever you're in Florida. It's also live in Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Colorado coming soon to more states. Plus Hard Rock Bet offers new promos every single day. So whenever you're listening, just open the app, check out what you've got any day of the week. Download the Hard Rock Bet app and make your first deposit. Payable and bonus bets, not a cash offer. Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida. Offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC. in all her states must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling

in Florida, call 1 888. Admit it. In Indiana, if you or somebody you know has a problem, wants help, call 1-800-9 with it. Gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. Football seasons here, and if you want to go to an NFL or college football game, game time is the place for you. The game time app, just gives you the advantage back to you, the fans. It's a hack for unlocking amazing tickets and experiences and a few taps. I love it. Easy to use.

The game time guarantee means you can trust. You'll get 100% authentic tickets on time and at the best price, 100%. So they even let you preview your seat on the app. That's special. Plus, fees roll is included. So what you see is what you pay every time. Take the guesswork out of buying professional football tickets with GameTime. Just download the GameTime app.

Create an account. If you use the code, Colin, C-O-L-I-E, 20 bucks off your first purchase. Terms apply again. Create an account, redeem code C-O-L-I-N, 20 bucks off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. Download the GameTime app today. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers.

And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we, how do we, actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys. I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it.

Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, for people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.

And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Slicel Life 12 in the TikTok podcast. network on TikTok.

The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jenchian win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French, me.

And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is. arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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. Trip 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 a friend? free because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that 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 our heart radio app search learn the hard way and listen now if you ever

thought like I've said before I'd love to be a general manager probably NFL over NBA yeah but if you ever thought and I don't I'm not delusional or misguided in my understanding that I haven't put the time in it to be good. I think there's probably five or six things in my life I could have succeeded at had I given the time I gave to media. You know, I would never have been a concert pianist or a shortstop for the, you know,

Orioles. But I could have done a lot of things, transferable skills, stockbroker, teacher, you know, sportscaster, that kind of stuff. But occasionally there'll be something and I feel like, I've been saying something for years and everybody's disagreed with me in the NBA and I'm right and I'll throw it to you. I never bought into Joel M.B. So I always had a belief that if you're hurt early, you're hurt often. I thought he was too socially engaged on social media.

I thought he was a weird fit whenever I would watch the Sixers, even on the Olympic team. He'd have the ball too often in the perimeter getting into the way of wing and guard play. and now the Sixers have basically abandoned Joel Embed in exchange for letting Tyrese Maxie, who I said three years ago was going to be an absolute A, and then they get Vijay Edgecombe from Baylor. It's a back court team, and they're fun to watch. They're wildly quick, very dynamic. And my take is, this Embedd thing was Fool's Gold four to five years ago, and even smart Darry bought into it. And I think to myself, did everybody kind of know it?

Was I on to something? That's just the Joe L.M.B. deterioration and some of it's physical. I feel like I can't believe everybody else didn't see this. Well, he did win MVP. Kind of a guilt trip. It was kind of a guilt. Okay, fine. Then he should have been second.

Like, you know, like, so Joel and B, like, so I was working in Kansas City, and Kansas City is a fascinating market because highest local ratings for a playoff team for baseball, I still think is the Royals in 2014. Like, they love sports. It's the only pro sport market. It's the only market in the country that's top 20 for college football, top five for college baseball. They're top five for World's Cup. They're top five for Olympic. like they just watch sports. It's all they do.

And so we would cover Kansas basketball because it was like the third pro team. It was like Chiefs, Royals, KU basketball. Lawrence was 40 minutes away from Kansas City, big time sports, single, go to a college town, watch a basketball game, go out to the bars, it was great. So that Andrew Wiggins, Joe L. Embed team, I covered.

And I remember seeing him at like practices and shootarounds. And I was like, this kid was so raw, but so, crazy gift. I mean, he had been basically a volleyball player two years before, and he just started picking up a basketball. So, like, where Joelle and B. got to, MVP of the NBA, from picking up a basketball for the first time when he was like 16 years old is a remarkable success story. Like, you know, like, it's just, it's a crazy thing. He's a wildly talented dude, but I think your point on the injury is the thing that they all over.

looked. Big guys, if they're hurt early, they stay hurt. Big guys are more likely to be, like, I think that he was a big personality. A lot of guys are big personalities. Caleb is on social media. LeBron is on social media. Like, I don't think that was a part of it, though I could understand why it turned you off at the time. But I wish that like, and this is stupid to say, but like, injuries are just cruel because it, we don't, it robs us of what it could have been. It robs us of Derek Rose. It robbed us of Grant Hill. It robbed us of Brandon Roy. And I really do think it robbed us of Joelle Embed because when he was good, he was unbelievable. But the question isn't his talent. It's fitting in to the construct of a team. So when they put him on the Olympic team, it's like everybody

worked except Embed. And in the East, when LeBron left the East, it was awful. He could not win, generally speaking, a second playoff series. I always said this about John Wall. I don't doubt his talent. At one point, he was the fastest player in the NBA. I don't think he played winning basketball, but I thought he played consumable basketball. It wasn't necessarily

great for the... Remember when he got hurt one year left and went like a 10-game winning streak? It's like, right. I saw him in college and I was like, I've never seen anyone that fast at the ball on his hands. It didn't look like any other player. It was crazy. But I always said with them, is when I watched him, his teammates didn't like playing with him.

Like some players, like Jordan may have pissed people off, but you could sense that his teammates loved when he dunked on people. I always thought Embed and Tobias Harris or Paul George or a Simmons or a Hardin didn't necessarily, they weren't happy when he scored. And I just, I guess my whole point on this is there are times. Like, I know a lot of people that thought Sam Darnold was good. and he would rebound from the Jets mess. I didn't know if he'd be this good,

but I said he's a poor man's Andrew Luck. I got killed for that for seven, six years, got killed for it. And I kept saying he is a poor man's Andrew Luck. Now he looks like Andrew Luck. He's not even poor. Maybe you should be a general manager in football and basketball. Yeah, that one is like, listen to me now, believe me later on, All-Star for Colin Cowhert.

I should also mention that I thought, Yao Ming would be a bust and Juan Dixon out of Maryland I thought would be a top 10 player ever. So we all we all have them. John Baldwin, the receiver out of Pitt. I was like, I mean, like I was like Calvin Johnson and Julio Jones. Like I don't know. Like which one is a better comp for this guy? Like it was unbelievable.

I think I maybe slightly overrated him beating Syracuse. It is, it is funny about personnel, though. I mean, Donald's an amazing story. We were talking about this in the show today. I said, you see all the time where a great actor, Tom Hanks, takes a bad movie, the terminal, and you're like, oh, Marlon Brando did that. You'd have, you know, on the waterfront, and he had six bombs. You see great restaurants, lose a chef.

They go from Michelin Star to just a really good restaurant. You never see terrible hot dog and a stick becomes Zagetrated. Like, that's not the way it works. There is no terrible to great for actors. You're either like straight to video. Lindsey Lohan doesn't become Meryl Streep. It doesn't work that way, except Sam Darnold. It's not that he was terrible, then he became pretty good,

because Baker won a playoff game, and in that year had a 96 passer rating. He was never terrible. Right. I mean, Daniel Jones got a second contract. Daniel Jones won a playoff game. Sam Darnold was terrible, but he also, like, what did he have, 40 starts, 35, 38 starts? It's like it wasn't like that large of a body of work.

He came into the league at 21. He was so young. Think about that. He came into the league. Yeah. Four years into the league he was younger than guys that were getting drafted. Right. Yeah.

And that's, I mean, that's like, like, I think Trevor Lawrence and Michael Pennex are the same age. Like right now. Like, it's just like a weird, it's like a weird thing to deal with. And so, yeah, like, to me, the most interesting part of this is, I mean, obviously, the Darnold story is incredible. And I think Seattle's the only team in the NFL right now, top five in offense and top five in defense. Like, we have to treat them as real. I did not believe in that Vikings team last year. I'm just not going to, I do believe in the Seahawks team. But I want to know what teams are going to do. Are the Colts not going to give up on Anthony

Richardson? Like obviously Daniel Jones is working. They just traded for Sauce Gardner. They're all in. They'll probably franchise tag Daniel Jones, I would imagine. But like, is, the lesson that these teams are going to take from Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield and Daniel Jones being like, we can't give up on guys. Like, we don't have to play them, but we cannot give up on talent. Like, if we truly believe that there is a franchise quarterback in here, it would be, it would haunt me if I'm a Browns fan to see Baker Mayfield doing this.

Or if I'm a Panther fan to see Baker Mayfield and Sam, and Sam Darnold doing this. I don't know how you go to sleep at night. Okay, so what do Baker and Sam have in common? Baker went to Cleveland and then Carolina, poorly run teams. And then McVeigh said, I like him. Yeah. Okay, Sam, Jets Carolina.

Then Kyle Shanahan's like, I like him. Is that it could be in venture capitalism, it can be on Wall Street, it can be in sports. The smart take from the low. less skilled and a less smart, is that the smartest people in the NFL, Daniel Jones, goes from the shipwreck known as the New York Giants, and Kevin O'Connell, in season, vulture, circles, I'll take him. And then from there, Shane Stuyken goes, no, I'll take him, is that there's a handful of super smart offensive guys. And they look at all these bad,

the smart people figure out who can play and who can't. And by the way, Kyle Shanahan looked at Jack Jones. Shocker. Belichick didn't get him. Jacksonville stumbled. Oh, what a shock. Shanahan's like, no, actually, it throws a really good ball. I think we'll take him. There's about eight guys in this league now, maybe 10, but eight, and they're really smart. They're with winning organizations, and this happens in every walk of life. They go to the bad organizations with worst GMs, bad scouts, lousy coaches, lousy coordinators, scouting directors that are suboptimal, and they just raid them. almost all of these reclamation projects started with bad franchises and get picked up by the smartest GMs in the league.

Yeah, but the bad franchises don't believe that they're bad. Like, you know, it's delusional. So you're right, but Sean McVeigh can't sign everybody. Kyle Shanahan can't sign everybody. Like at some, I just, I don't know what, I think Anthony Richardson's a decent example. And, listen, Shane Stuyken might just be an awesome coach. Like, won eight games and nine games with Gardner, Minshu, Anthony Richardson and has a shot at the one seed with Daniel Jones, right?

Like, Shane Stuyken might just be the next name that we need to include with Andy Reid and McVeigh and Shannon. He is. Right. That is certainly on the board. But then my guess is two years from now, Anthony Richardson is still a cult. They'll just be like, why give up on him? Like, we'll just, we'll keep him. We'll keep developing him.

We're going to, we drafted him forth overall. he can run like Lamar Jackson, but he's built like Cam Newton. Like he's got an arm like Herbert. Like we're going to just see if we can develop him between the years and slow the game down for him. So it'll just be interesting to me to see if teams, instead of like cutting guys loose,

be like, we'll just sit you for a little while. Like we're not going to let the Baker Mayfield story happen to us because it's just a painful thing for an organization to go through to like to see you, you drafted the right guy. So it's not, and then he's awesome elsewhere. So like the only, it's on you.

It's just got to be such a shameful feeling for those organizations. Do you have a bet of the weekend that you really like? I'll just throw it out there. I do think Baltimore. I'll pull up my tab right now. Go ahead. Yeah, I like Baltimore at Minnesota. First of all, Lamar Jackson is wicked versus the NFC.

Second, I don't really buy into the J.J. McCarthy stuff after the first scripted drives. Third, Baltimore is one of those teams that literally pre- Thanksgiving, several weeks before Thanksgiving, is in an absolutely must-win every game mode. And you can't sell urgency to every locker room. Players know. Baltimore players know they can't lose for a month. I like Baltimore, minus the points on the road, a road favorite. Four is a number that I've always bet. That means Vegas doesn't want to have a four-point favorite.

they like to be three or a seven. If they have to give somebody four to four and a half points, it generally tells you that's the better team. Yeah, I think that Baltimore should roll in that game. I thought the Vikings Lions game last week was weird. There's a blocked kick. They did a good job keeping the Lions offense on the sideline. Lions were a huge favorite in that game.

J.J. McCarthy had like 150 yards, but four touch. downs. I thought that was just like a very weird game. If you play that game 10 times, there's no way you get another one outcome like that. So I don't think the Vikings are great. And Lamar, when he starts and finishes the game, their third, their top three in everything. Their top three in yards. They're top three in points. They're top three and explode. Like Lamar has been like the outlier is if he has a bad game. Like he was awesome basically every game last year and he was awesome basically every game the year before. So the questions with Baltimore this year have been injuries.

That is it. It has been their injuries and their defense is getting healthier and Lamar is healthy. And it was interesting. It was like what's Lamar going to look like with Rust because he had been injured before, but it was at the end of the year. We had never seen him be injured in season and then come back. He like short-armed like one throw on the first drive. and by the second half, he was just like manipulating the pocket and looking off the safety and rolling right on two.

I was like, my God, like he was rusty for like 30 minutes. So I like the Baltimore pick. I like New England's getting points against Tampa, but I'll tell you, my favorite bet is a total. If I can sell you on a total. Sure, please. I have a couple totals that I think. Go ahead, because I have a total I like. All right.

Under 50 and a half in Washington, Detroit. No Jaden Daniels for Washington, multiple offensive line injuries in Detroit. Like the explosiveness of what the lions are trying to do just hasn't looked as consistent in a post-Benz Johnson world. Like it flashes and it has its moments. But if you're telling me that their best offensive linemen are hurt, questionable, not practicing, a couple guys might miss, and they've been inconsistent. and I just, their Lions defense as actually, like, they made it, they made it tough on Lamar for a stretch of time.

Like, they've, they've had moments where they've actually looked better with Hutchison being healthy and they were not nearly as injured as last year. I like the under in that game quite a bit. Finally. I also like that you bet totals now in your Blazing Five, by the way. Yeah. Nick and I don't do it on the show, but betting totals is a lot of fun. It's underrated. I like to make my total bets on Sunday night for the following week.

week to see if I can get some line value at close. Like, that's going to be a high scoring game. It's going to be a loop. It's like, if I close better to the number on my totals, I'm like, I'm seeing the NFL clearly. But sometimes I miss it by four points and it's embarrassing. I've thought about doing props, but I thought this year I would add an over under every week. I like it.

Just because the public's doing that. And then I think next year. And I also, I think it's a weird year. Like I, my play was always bet good quarterback. getting points. I was always an underdog. Always an underdog guy. Yeah, fade the public, right?

Fade the public is like a pretty classic, like first lesson of gambling once you start to take it seriously. Bet unders, fade the public, all that sort of stuff. I'm struggling to find a single underdog this week. I thought Steelers with both tackles out for the Chargers and the Steelers, it will be a home Steeler crowd. It'll be a 65-35-steader crowd. Yeah, the charges are used to that, though, but yeah. And my take was, well, T.J. Watt, Steeler Pass Rush, they don't have their tackles.

One of the backup tackles is hurt. I'm like, I think I'll probably just take the points there. But I look, I mean, you start to talk about underdogs I like. Arizona getting six and a half at Seattle, just because it's division rivalry. Seattle looked almost perfect. against Washington, and then I think, well, Arizona played over their skis against Dallas. I don't, I mean, I look, now, again, nineers plus three and a half at home. It would help a lot if they could elicit any pressure on Stafford. They don't. So, I mean, I look, Miami plus nine and a half off a great Buffalo performance actually

looked like the best dog on the board. So last year was like one of the all-time great favorites years. I had a real, like, crisis of confidence because it was also the greatest year I ever had picking games. I was like, am I just like a public square? Like you went sick. But I really do feel like, like, I would put three picks out on TV that were all favorites. Gambling Twitter would come at me. Oh, what a public.

What a, what a square. And then they would cover. And I was like, last year was a real have and have not year. Yeah. Like, there were a lot of really bad teams and a few. great teams. This is what I've said. The bottom now is not competitive.

Correct. And so I think that there is, because you don't see too big of NFL spreads, but just like, if you're telling me, find you an underdog that you want me to sell you on, I know there's a mystique to Lambo at night. But Philly is coming off of the buy. Yes. the game before they're by, best their offensive lines looked all year, Sequin had, you know, he looked like last year. He was fantastic and their offensive line was dominant.

Game before that was Jalen Hertz's best game of the year. Green Bay, there's something off. They don't have an identity. And the Tucker craft injury, I think, is significant because he's like their intermediate guy. And Jordan Love, listen, he's only got three interceptions this year. But he feels to me like he should have six or seven.

And he almost blew the end of that game where they got the last playoff with one second. And he just, I don't fully trust him. I don't. And his interceptions are bad. Like his interception against Cleveland lost him a game. Terrible. The interception against the Panthers where he threw it into triple coverage into the wind, indefensible.

The play on fourth down where they're like, well, Dobbs stepped out of the back of the end zone. He still rolled all the way left through it all the way back across the field. the guy dropped it. That should have been a 105-yard pick six the other way, just happened to drop it. So I don't fully trust Jordan Love. The running game isn't working. Philly's coming off a by. I do like Philly in that spot quite a bit. Hey, so we all make mistakes, but owning up to them is the right thing to do. So you know, degree cool rush deodorant, right? Well, last year they changed the formula and it did not go over well with their fans. So Degrees whole thing is it turns up the sweat and odor protection when you turn

up the effort. And good thing it does because Cool Rush fans really turned up the effort to bring the original formula back. One guy even started an online petition. End degree listened. They admitted they effed up. They're bringing back the original Cool Rush scent. They're bringing it back, and it's exactly how you remember it. Cool, crisp and fresh. It's back in Walmart, Target, and other stores now for under $4. There's a reason it's been the number one men's antiperspirant for the last decade. It's the same reason why people were not happy when it changed. So if you've never tried it, it might be a good time to see what the fuss is about. Head to your local Walmart, Target, and try the OG degree cool rush for yourself.

Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to our first people to do podcasts.

Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should. should call it. And, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.

This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or where, you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends.

on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 show. 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 SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know. no firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian went. I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface, because if she's serving, well,

good luck. Consider this your court-side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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 podcasts. Yeah, I think when teams struggle to find an identity, I worry about them. Like I've said that San Francisco is flawed and completely beat up. But offensively, it is Christian McCaffrey. The 39 times.

They know exactly what works, and they figure out ways to get on the ball. I have no idea what Green Bay's offense is. I know what the Rams like to do. They like to run with Kyron Williams. On play action, it's Pooker, Devonte Adams. So I think Green Bay is a, you know, it's one of those things with Matt LaFleur is that, oh, that's the cop. I was just telling a friend this today. Matt LaFleur reminds me of Lincoln Riley at USC.

I know they're both smart. They actually, more than the public thinks, prefer running the ball. They get very prickly, very quickly. They get very defensive, very quickly. I know they're good play designers and play callers. I don't know if they build the best culture. I question a little bit their ability to get men to rise and follow them over the hill. But I know they're smart.

I know they're good at their jobs. And I look at Lincoln Riley and I'm like, yeah, he's a really good coach. I always feel like I want more. You know what I mean? And I feel like with Matt, I'm like, yeah, he's smart. He's a really good coach. But it doesn't feel like Andy Reeder, Sean Payton or Harbar, Mike Vrable. You know what I'm saying?

Like it feels like there's, there's, I don't know what it is. It's a testosterone. It's an anger. There's something visceral missing for me. it sounds like you're putting him in like the Mike McDaniel category. No, no, he's better than that. He's more functional and more mainline than that. He's more mainstream.

Yeah, because like, LaFleur's got a lot of peltz on the wall. Like Aaron Rod, they drafted Jordan Love because they thought Aaron Rogers was done. And then he got two more MVPs out of Aaron Rogers. You know, they were in the NFC championship game. They played that weird NFC championship game. Yeah, that's the coaching. part I like. That part I like. That's the biggest part, though.

Okay. That's the biggest part. Like, I, we all love Dan Campbell. Mike Tomlin, they're great quotes. They're great leaders of men to your thing earlier. You could have done five or six different things. Like Dan Campbell probably could, like, lead a business and lead 40 employees to, like, hit their earnings numbers or whatever the case may be. Mike Tomlin, no doubt the same thing.

But the guy who can execute the game plan, Sunday night through Saturday to get you ready for that Sunday game at 1 o'clock. To me, that is still the most valuable piece of it. And I know people will say, no, you've got to just be a CEO type and a leader. I'll take the guy who's smarter than everybody else. Because to me, that leaves me with the Sean McVease and the Kyle Shanahan's, and you can have the Dan Campbell's and the Mike Tomlins, and I guess I'll see you in the Super Bowl.

Well, yeah, I don't think he's Mike McDaniel, but I don't think he's Sean Payton. he's clearly closer to Peyton than Mike McDaniel. But I do feel there's a gap between Andy Reed bumping Travis Kelsey on the sideline and Sean Peyton calling out Russell Wilson and Matt LaFleur. I think that that's true and I think that that's probably developed over time. And I don't know. Like LeFleur is probably, Jordan Love is so good that I think Matt LaFleur, like, and I again,

I just said that I have some questions about Jordan Love. But Jordan Love is way better than he is supposed to be. And I think that that is a large part due to Matt LaFlor. So if you can get the best out of late Aaron Rogers and convince that old dog new tricks, and you can have Jordan Love be a top 10, top 12 guy. You're a good coach. Okay. So this is my Lincoln Riley thing.

Jaden Miava played at UNLV. I was watching television on a Friday night once and Jaden Maiava played for UNLB. I think they played Boise State. And I'm like, God, that kid's test. But he's a reckless mess. But God, he's good. And then he goes to U.S.C. And I'm like, yeah, he's still really, really reckless.

I'm not sure, because he didn't start the year as the starter. Miller Moss, I think, was there, transferred, then he got it. This offseason, I watched Jaden Maiav. I'm like, is he a second round pick? So like LaFleur, his ability to, I mean, what Lincoln Riley's done to Jaden Maob over two years is unbelievable that he's, He was just this wild UNLV quarterback. I didn't even understand what he saw in him.

I'm like, well, he doesn't even look big enough. Didn't have a big arm. So like Lefleur and Lincoln Riley, I think this is the thing. This is something I've talked to executives about in the NFL. And they're like, we tend to fall in love with play designers and play callers. Yeah. But you have to be careful because really what they are is CEOs. And I think sometimes Lincoln and Matt, I don't feel like I get quite as much CEO.

as I want, but I get a tremendous play caller. And my wife always says this. She goes, you just give smart people the benefit of the doubt. There's more to life than smart. And I'm like, yeah, you're right. There is. But I do tend to err on the side of that guy's really bright. I trust him.

And I think with Lincoln and Matt, I'm always left arguing with myself. I mean, literally when you're describing what he did with Jordan Love, I'm like, that's what I saw with Jane Maia with Lincoln Riley. It's the same thing. Yeah. Yeah, listen. And I mean, Andy Reid in Philly, people hated him because he didn't run the ball enough. Now everybody passes first. And then in Kansas City, he's got a dynasty because he's got Mahomes. And it's like, hey, you should be a little bit more aggressive on fourth down. And then this year he has been. Like, Andy Reed is as a, he's more aggressive on fourth down this year than any year of his career. He's in his mid-60s. Like, these guys keep getting better. They keep adding to something. Like Andy Reed's resume. We've talked about this a little bit before in terms of like, does he have a shot at Belichick and greatest of all time and all that stuff? But like, if you look through his history and it's like Donovan McNabb, best season of his life is with Andy Reid.

Alex Smith, best season of his life. It's with Andy Reid. Jeff Garcia, best season of his life, Andy Reid. Kevin Cobb, best season of his life. Andy Reid. Patrick Mahomes. Alex Smith, don't remember if I mentioned him. It's like six, Mike Vic.

It's legitimately like six or seven different NFL. quarterbacks who have the best season of their career with that guy as their coach. Like, that to me is like, okay, then you're awesome. And that's what Kyle Shanahan is building, that resume. That's what McVeigh is building that resume. And while LaFleur doesn't have the number of guys yet, he's just much younger. Like, if you're two for two and, and this is a small sample, I will fully admit this, man, that one, that guy won games last year with Malik Willis.

When Jordan Love got hurt and Malik Willis went in, they won. Now, Malik Willis did not look like Joe Montana, but they won football games. I've seen Mike McDaniel's offense without Tua. It's literally unwatchable. And so I do hold LaFleur in pretty high esteem. I'm not saying he's a top four coach, but he's like very comfortably in my top 10. I did think about this. I mentioned this on the air today.

is that I always trust the American public. And I don't trust political pundits. I don't trust sports pundits. I trust the American public when they have a good gauge on what's inauthentic, what's authentic. And when Zohan Mandami won in New York, the capitalism center of North America, he won for two reasons. One, the previous politicians weren't providing something they promised. That always opens the door for the other side.

And the second thing, he had a very energized, focused, kind of a little bit of a disruptor if he was a business. He was a little bit of a disruptor. And there's a lot of young people who are unsatisfied with the rent and the cost of living. And like all of us are whether you do well or not well. But my take was on this is that the media wants you to believe. And maybe the left can be a bit more anxiety-filled and neurotic. that it's the Trumpism, it's never ending. How are we going to find the candidates?

And my take is the pendulum just swings back and forth. And Trump always had a high, unfavorable rating. Most presidents do. His is higher than people who win. And that it was bound to be eventually a good night for the blue. And I don't know if I agree with Zohan's policies. Most I don't. It's more of a moderate.

I don't. But my take is the political media engages in a lot of grievance and a lot of fear mongering. And the truth is the public is what I trust. If they feel one side's too authoritarian, they get uncomfortable. And they go even far enough left where Democrats are uncomfortable with the mayor of New York. So that's my opening take. Your thoughts.

Yeah, I think, you know, it's been interesting to be in New York for this whole process. Now, I'm in Westchester County. I'm in suburban New York, but commute into the city five days a week. And I'll just give you my kind of opening thoughts on it, I guess. I'm really glad this election is over because those political ads were some of the nastiest I've ever seen. It was wild. It was so critical. Listen, I'm probably, I'm definitely left of you.

I have some skepticism of whether or not some of these policies are going to work or have any chance of actually being enacted. I think that the, I think local New York politics tends to get overstated and overcovered nationally because it's the capital of the world and it's the capital of media, right? All the media corporations are based out here. So I think that it takes on outsized importance. I think Mamdani was a very impressive politician. Like he, yes. You could not get him off message. Like, are you going to take a call from Trump?

If he wants to talk about affordability for New York, where's the best place to get a pastrami sandwich? Well, I know my favorite spot, but the best one is the one that's affordable for New Yorkers. Like, he just, like, it was relentless. Like, it was just, I'm going to match the corporate tax rate in New Jersey. I'm going to tax millionaires another 2%. I'm going to freeze the rent. I'm going to give you free buses. I'm going to make New York affordable.

Like, those were the five things, and that's all he engaged with. But the, the, I know politics are nasty, and I know media is meant to divide us. But Colin, there were literally multiple different ads that showed the twin towers exploding. And then just being like, Mondani is going to be okay with this. Or do you want him in charge of it? And it was just like over pronunciation of a Muslim name, showing the Twin Towers burning, and trying to equate the two. Like it was so nasty that I honestly stopped even caring about the policies. And I was just like, I want him to win.

Like I just like, I want him to win because it just got, it got, it was so beyond the pale, the people that were against them that I just thought it was so out of bounds. and, like, frankly, uncomfortable. Watch it, like, you'd watch football games here, and then it would just be, like, Andrew Cuomo ads with the Twin Towers and, like, 9-11 imagery, basically, like, saying some version of this guy wouldn't be equipped to handle it to he was happy that it happened. Like, it was just so out of bounds that I'm just, like, really glad this election cycle is over

because I thought it was particularly nasty. Yeah, and I go back to my initial point is, that I trust the public's decision. Everybody young is tends to be idealistic. We all get a bit more moderate or conservative as we age. So it's not surprising that young New Yorkers went left. Listen, Bernie Sanders, I don't know if he classifies as a socialist. I don't think he does. He is a left of left Democrat, but he's one of the more popular people. I can argue had the Democrats not railroaded him, he would have been the candidate going up against Trump. I think that's kind of fact at this point.

Yeah, I think the 2016 Bernie probably should have been the candidate. Yeah. And the establishment took him over. And listen, you know, we've talked about this on air and off a little bit. Like, the Democrats are trying to figure out who the inspiring people are. and the people that have the clearest messaging are within the Democratic Party are like the Bernie AOC of the party. Yep.

And is that the most electable thing? No. Is it the most general thing? No. But at least they have a clear message. Yeah. I know that Bernie believes that it's embarrassing that health care is in a universal right for everybody. Like, and he just, that's his message. That's his message. And like, that's a pretty

popular stance with me. You know what I mean? So I tell my little bit at messaging. Like the progressive wing of the Democratic Party is better at messaging what matters to them than the establishment wing of the Democratic Party. Danny Parkins. These, these hours fly by, Colin. It's a highlight of my week. And mine too, buddy. Thanks, man. The volume. Hey, guys. It's us of the Jonas brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, 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 Smygle and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your performance. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the

moments that define Roland Garris. She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast on the I-Hart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping them. muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard 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.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.