The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Ian O’Connor on LIV vs. PGA, Giants Rebuild, 1st Place Mets/Yankees

Episode Date: June 23, 2022

First, Fake Questions, Real Answers (3:00), including if Colin regrets his pre-draft take questioning KD, why the NBA Draft doesn't resonate like the NFL Draft, what it would take to for the NFL to boot embattled Washington Owner Dan Snyder, if the outrage over the LIV Golf exodus is warranted, why fans deny reality, and if the “old media” should be threatened by the “new media” of current athletes.  Then, Ian O'Connor -- NY Post columnist and author of Belichick -- and Colin discuss the long-term impact of of top PGA golfers leaving for the Saudi LIV tour (19:00), if the Giants can turn things around under another new regime (26:00), if the 1st place Mets can win the World Series (30:00), and the pressure on the Yankees to win it all this year (38:00). Make sure you follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me.

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

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The volume. The Colin Coward podcast presented by Fandul Sportsbook, no better place to make every moment more than with Fandul. Basketball, football.

They have awesome new and existing user promotions. It's easy to use. It's safe and secure. You can get your winnings back in two hours. My favorite, the same game parlay's. You can bet five or ten bucks in one 150 bucks or more. If you are new, just download the Fandul Sportsbook app. Get started now.

Sign up promo code Colin so they know we and I sent you. The Colin Coward podcast presented by the Fandul Sportsbook. Hi, everybody. Welcome in Thursday morning podcast with Ian O'Connor. great columnist, New York Post, written many, many top-notch sports books, including Belichick, which you got to read if you care about the NFL, and the one on Mike Shoshowski, the rise and reign of Coach K. Talked about it a lot, had him on. I'm going to bring Ian O'Connor. He's an unofficial member of the staff. Probably half dozen to a dozen times a year. I love him.

Good friend. But first, fake questions, real answers, stuff I want to talk about. but don't necessarily want to wait for you to ask me. Dear Collins, you see yesterday, Kevin Durant brought up an old rant from you back in 2007 where you made fun of the fact that he couldn't bench 185 pounds. You said he was soft and wouldn't make it. Explain yourself. Well, yeah, you know, sometimes it is fun to be theatrical. The two players in the NBA that my scouts told me would be great and I didn't listen to him,

Yao Ming and Kevin Durant. I had Mike Dunley be telling me, Yao Ming's going to be a multiple-time All-Star. I'm like, he's 7-6. I've watched. How many guys have I watched that are 7-3 fall apart? That was wrong. He was a multiple-time All-Star.

Tom Penn, who was running the Blazers, told me, Durant's going to score 25 to 30 a game for over a decade. Eh, I said he's going to fall apart physically. I tend to be somebody that gets immersed, paralyzed sometimes by body types. Porzingeris, Kevin Durant, Brandon Ingram, all legs, slashes, hit the floor, get hurt a lot. I was wrong on KD. You know, I love him as a player.

I think it's fun that sometimes I'm absolutely overwhelmingly wrong. Of course, I was right on the Warriors and Sixth. Steph is the MVP. I told you Johnny Mansell would be a bust. So would Jamarcus Russell. James Winston was overdrafted. So was Baker Mayfield and Josh Rose. No reason to talk about those hits, though, is there.

No. Dear Colony, are you excited about tonight's NBA draft? Well, for about 20 minutes, the first six or seven picks, that's where a majority of the talent is. Years ago, they had seven rounds in the NBA draft. Now it's two, and you run out of players about 15 in. Listen, it's hard to sell anybody, myself included, on waiting for something great to happen. If I told you, hey, there's this movie you're going to love it. It comes out in four years.

You're going to forget about it. Hey, if you buy this car today, you got to drive it in three and a half years, be the best ride of your life. Most of you wouldn't buy it. The NBA draft doesn't give you any urgent satisfaction. Like a comedian, you tell a joke, you get a laugh. But that's not the way it works. It works that way in the NFL draft. Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson, immediately stars, impact can get involved in long playoff runs.

Jamar Chase help the Bengals and Joe Burrow get to the Super Bowl. There's a payoff immediately. But in the NBA, because players only spent a year in college, Jabari Smith from Auburn, he's absolutely going to be a nice NBA player. But he's going to go to a terrible team that won't make the playoffs for probably four to five years. So unless I get my NBA package and check out those awful Orlando Magic, I won't pay much attention. The payoff for even players that make it, like Janus, is year four. an all-star. Brandon Ingram. Year 4. He's an all-star level player. So even if Chet Holmbrun is a hit in the NBA,

he's 19, he's 7 feet and 190 pounds. I'm 6'2 and 190, and I'm viewed as thin. If you don't give people an immediate or urgent payoff, they wander. Dear Colin, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he doesn't have the power to get rid of Dan Snyder. What do you make of that? Well, a commissioner needs the support of other owners to get rid of an owner, like Adam Silver had collectively with Donald Sterling, who had, for a lot of reasons, zero allies among owners. Dan Snyder has a few allies. I think sometimes we forget there's about six great everything.

in the NFL. Right now there's about six great quarterbacks. You know him. I know I'm Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson, Mahomes, Josh Allen, Tom Brady, Matt Stafford. Oh, you can probably try to insert another one in there, but there's about six. There's about six great coaches in the NFL. I think Andy Reid is a great coach and Sean McVeigh and Kyle Shanahan. I think Sean McDermott, though Josh Allen certainly helps is a really good young football coach. Bill Belichick is a great coach. There's a couple others, but I think you get my point. There's also, in my opinion, maybe six to seven great general managers. It's the same with owners. Folks, jets, Texans, dolphins, lions, bears, Washington. These are bad owners. But there's about six,

great everything in this league. Just like 5% of the top realtors sell 80% to 90% of the homes. Don't think just because a group of people are rich, all of them are brilliant. Dan Snyder's awful, but he's got enough allies for now to remain an NFL owner.

Dear Colin, what do you make of Brooks Kepka joining the Live Golf Tour We're backed by blood money of Saudi Arabia. Well, Greg Norman retweeted one of my rants this week on FS1. So, yes, I feel a little validated. I've had four or five people, including employees at Fox, who love golf and worked in golf, reach out and say, they agree with me. That feels nice.

But everybody is morally flexible, right? Would you take $150 million if it was offered? I'm saying you would and you'd validate or rationalize the reasons why. Our government rationalizes business with Saudi Arabia. Because in a hostile territory in the world, they're good trading partners. And in that part of the world, we need them. So we rationalize our relationship. Do you know the number one voting group for Donald Trump,

who's had over 400 litigations in his career and multiple sexual harassment allegations. The number one voting group was evangelical Christians who rationalized voting for Donald Trump, a grifter, a con, the sleazyest president of all of our lives. That's the way we work. Hollywood is outraged how Elon Musk spends his money buying Twitter. How about you make it before you do? you lecture others on how to spend it. I, in my entire life, have watched people be morally flexible when people offer them opportunities and game-changing money. Could you turn down as we head into a

recession and your 401k and stock holdings plummet? Could you turn down $150 million for your family? I'm going to say no, you can't. Our government didn't even slap Saudi Arabia. Arabia on the wrist for 9-11 or murdering a Washington Post journalist. I'm going to be upset with Greg Norman. Dear Colin, why do you think fans have such a hard time admitting the truth even when data proves they're wrong? Well, usually it's because it makes him feel good. There was a recent study by Northwestern University.

that Americans spend $50 billion a year on multivitamins, and they don't work at all. And you know they don't work. Because all of our parents told us decades ago, multivitamins are just expensive pee. That's what my dad told me, and your dad probably told you. But they make us feel good. The commercials are interesting, and we want to be healthy, and we know we don't work out as much, they eat as well as we probably should. so the industry will overcome this study.

Dan Gilbert owns the Cavs. He's a brilliant businessman in the mortgage industry, one of the leaders. When LeBron left him, he wrote a letter. He said LeBron will regret it and we're going to be way better without him. And LeBron will never understand how loved he was in Cleveland and he'll never duplicate that success. LeBron went on to four straight finals and he won two of them. The Cavs became the worst team in the league, stockpiling more lottery picks. Dan Gilbert knew you couldn't replace LeBron James.

But it made him feel good to write that letter. I ran into an Oklahoma football fan a couple of days ago. He assured me Brent Venables was going to be better than Lincoln Riley, and I assured him that less than 50% of coordinators who get head coaching jobs, and that includes schools like USC, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ohio, State, Michigan, Florida, over 50% fail. And there's no chance that Lincoln Riley will fail because he won 11 games at Oklahoma, the Pact 12's even a worse conference, and USC easily has the best brand, the best quarterback, and the most recruiting momentum. But it made him feel good to believe

that, and that's okay. So you root for the Sooners. You root against LeBron and you take those multivitamins. They don't work, but I understand why people take them. Dear Colin, as a member of the old media, I can tell by your gray hair, what do you make of the new media led by Draymond Green? Well, I'm actually a fan of it. I believe when I started the volume, I didn't want to age quickly. I've always said I'll probably retire in a ski town or a college town. I don't want to go to Palm Springs, golf, play bridge, and get wrinkly. Surround yourself with young ideas and young people, and you stay younger, longer. I like athletes having an opinion.

I think it's funny when athletes spar on social media. Yes, Kevin Durant and Aaron Rogers are a little thin skin, but, hey, sometimes we're all thin-skinned. The reality with the new media is, very few athletes can pull it off. Draymond Green is fascinating, outspoken, informed, and fearless. Most athletes aren't. They have brands to protect, reputations, they don't want to tarnish. New doesn't mean everybody can accomplish it. I love Draymond Green, but he's one of one.

He's Charles Barkley. We're not going to see a thousand Draymond Greens across sports. He is a unique, outspoken personality, and I love that he's part of the volume. Dear Colin, the Yankees have the best record in baseball. The Mets are really good, too, and why won't you talk about them? Good question. And I will, right now, with New York Post columnist Ian O'Connor. This baseball season turned K's into cash.

Big hits into big wins with Fandul Sportsbook. Okay, right now, new customers. Step up to the plate. No sweat first bet. Up to $1,000. Here it is. Sign up. Place your first bet.

Fandle will give you. Listen to this. Up to $1,000 back in free bets. If you don't win. You get paid fast. It's safe and secure. Great promotions every day. No better place to bet America's pastime than on America's number one sportsbook.

Download the Fandul Sportsbook app. Always use the promo code Colin to get the deal. Get you started. It's called No Sweat. First bet, up to $1,000. 21 plus and present in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, and Louisiana. Permitted parishes only. Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia.

First online, real money wager only. Refund issued as non-withdrawable site credit that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook. Fandul.com. Gambling problem, 1-800 next step, or text next step to 5334-2-A-8-8-8-7-7-7-7. or visit ccpg.org slash chat, Connecticut, 1,800, Gambler, or visit Fandul.com slash RG in Colorado, Indiana, Indiana, 7, 770 stop in Louisiana, 1,800-2707-1-1-1-7-1-1-7-1-1-1-7-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skisks of a win. hits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Well, he's somebody I've admired, read, and respected for a long time. you know him as Ian O'Connor, of course, New York Post columnist. Two of my favorite sports books ever are Belichick and Coach K. The Rise and Rain of Mike Shoshchewski. But he also wrote another book, which I haven't read, but it's fitting with our first topic today. Arnie, Jack, Palmer and Nicholas, and Golf's greatest rivalry.

And the PGA was so pristine and so beloved, but the world has changed. lots of platforms, globalization, somebody eventually was going to throw a lot of money at golfers. This is what UFC did to boxing. They were a disruptor. Boxing was based on greed

and too many weight classes and promoters driving the sport. Can I not argue, if we get out of the blood money conversation for a second, is that the PGA is simply an organizational arm. these are not employees.

They're independent contractors. The PGA doesn't run the Masters. Rider Cup U.S. Open, PGA Championship, British Open. The stuff most people watch. And that this was bound to happen among globalization, Amazon, Apple, Saudi money. And that we don't like where the money's coming from. But the PGA, which is a charity, these are independent contractors, some sort of similar situation, the PGA was really vulnerable.

Greg Norman's been pushing back for 20 years. Tigers had disagreements. Mickelson's been complaining for a decade. That's where I find myself, Ian, if you get out of the blood money argument for a second, that PGA put themselves in a bad space. They've had grumbling golfers for 20 years. Well, Colin, even beyond 20 years, I remember when Greg Norman was threatening to start a tour back in the 90s and to compete against the PGA tour. And without question, when you look at Tiger Woods starting a tournament in his prime with no guaranteed money, starting a season on the PGA tour with no guaranteed money, nothing more than the 126 guy in the field, at some point, somebody was going to present a model where the stars were paid up front.

And it was inevitable. It happened. I actually agree with you 100%. The PGA Tour has put itself in position to be challenged like this. Now, nobody loves where the money is coming from. But at some point, that conversation will taper off. And it's going to be the NFL against the USFL. And I think, who knows who's going to win this one? Because I think the more named players that Live takes away from the PGA tour, that obviously hurts the depth of the PGA Tour fields. And in that sport, really the three players that matter most now are Rory McElroy, Jordan Speath, and Justin Thomas. They don't play every week. So you do need the Brooks Kepkas and the Bryson D. Shambos and Patrick Reed's to fill out fields for people to come and watch. Those players are now leaving.

And I think they'll continue to leave. And this is going to be a serious threat to the PGA tour. for a long term. Listen, you cover golf extensively. I just read Alan Shipnuck's book on Phil Mickelson, a wildly colorful character. We know about the gambling losses. But I've always felt Phil's his own sort of platform. He's his own business.

And I look at him like a Peyton Manning, who's eventually going to sell that Omaha production company probably do a network for hundreds of millions of dollars. You know, Phil's not as viable as a golfer. He would have gone into broadcasting or created his own media company. I think I'm less surprised about Phil Mickelson, who has very little runway left. I mean, were you shocked by him doing this? No. I wasn't shocked by it.

I disagree, certainly with his decision to do it. And as I wrote in a column a couple of weeks ago, Phil and Greg Norman sort of deserve each other. They've been full of, you know what, for a long time. And Nicholson is a great player. He's probably going to go down among the top 12, maybe 10 players of all time. And he knows he's not going to win anymore. He pulled that PGA championship last year out of a hat. And so his winning days are over. He owes obviously a lot in gambling losses. He's talked openly about that being a problem for him for years that he's tried to work on. So I'm not surprised that he did that. I think the bigger threat is a guy like, or even two guys, really, but

DeCambeau and Kepka. Those are the players that the PJ Tour have to worry about because they're in their prime. When DeCambeau was healthy, Colin, he arguably was the best player in the world. If he gets healthy again, and if Kepka gets healthy again, these are guys who can win majors. Now, will the majors allow them in? I think so. I think they should, as much as I'm opposed to taking the blood money, I wouldn't go as far as banning these players from major championships. And as you noted, the PGA Tour has no control over those championships. So there's a, you know, our football season is still about six weeks away before we kind of jump into it. And obviously baseball, both the Yankees and Mets who have spent freely are doing very well.

And I'll come back to baseball in a second, the New York scene. But, you know, for years and years, I've understood the Bears and the Lions and Washington and Houston weren't well run. I understood the Jets weren't well run. And Stephen Ross had chaos in his organization. The head scratcher for me has always been the Giants. I've always called him the accounting firm of the NFL. Even when they won, they were boring. Even in good years, nobody wanted to talk about him.

Almost as a rule, Ian, if you look at the bad teams in this league, Some have good quarterbacks. Some have good coaches. Some have interesting rosters. Cleveland, Jets, Houston, it's all ownership. It's shaky front offices. It's chaos upstairs. I always thought the Maras were well equipped to handle speed bumps. I look at them now, and maybe this is hyperbolic, I almost insert the giants into the circus category of the league. How are they perceived in New York? I think they were a bit of a joke under Dave Gettelman. How the Mara family, John Mara and the Tish has ever agreed to hand over their multi-billion

dollar franchise to him is beyond me. Joe Shane is a different story. I think there's a sense now that the Giants have a plan finally and a guy who can build a program in place. And really over the years, they've been helped great. by good general managers. George Young, Ernie O'Corsey, Jerry Reese, stabilized that franchise. And nobody was calling John Mara a bad owner in 2007 through 2011 when he won two Super Bowls. And really, in 2008, that was their best team. Kaufflin, Tom Kaufland told me later,

they would have won it all if Plaquesco Burris didn't accidentally shoot himself. So he was a good owner when he had a good head coach and a good quarterback. They didn't have that in recent years. And so he's been a bad. owner. And right now we'll find out if Brian Daibel is a good coach and if he can turn Daniel Jones into a good quarterback. He obviously has the athletic and physical tools to be that. But let's see, this is his final year to get that done. But the Giants, because of the tradition going back into the 50s and 60s and Sam Huff and Frank Gifford and they do hold a place in the market that the Jets really don't. And obviously, as you know, the Jets haven't been in the Super Bowl since man stepped on the moon.

It's a phrase I like to use quite a bit. And Joe Douglas has given them a bit of a chance here. He had a really, really good draft by all accounts. And it all comes down to whether or not Zach Wilson is the real thing or if they'll be searching for another quarterback in a year or two. So, but New York football, I have to say, it's been miserable in this market, Colin, when both teams are out of it by Halloween. And the Yankees and Mets are done. particularly the Yankees, then you turn to football, and they're done by Halloween. It's bleak. So I would welcome just one of those two franchises to become relevant again because it just

makes column writing in this market a whole lot more interesting. Well, football has by and large taken over virtually every market in the country, including Boston where the Patriots reign, sort of put, let's be honest, the Red Sox in the back seat of that sedan for many years. But New York's an exception. Steve Cohen goes from Wall Street and has bought Scher, Lindor, a great roster. Okay. It was already potentially good.

He pays for Buck Schoalter. They go get Max Scher. They had to Grom. They had some pieces in place. You can't do that in the NFL. Dave Tapper buys Carolina. They're still a mess. It just doesn't work that way.

But in baseball, if you look at the best teams right now, it's the biggest market in the South Atlanta, the two New York teams, the Dodgers, the biggest market in Canada, Toronto. It's Houston. It's major cities. The bottom of the sport is Kansas City, Cincinnati, Oakland. It's low payrolls. So you can buy your way into baseball. But here's what's interesting.

I find the Mets more fascinating than the Yankees. The Yankees story is great pitching and the long ball. But I went and watched three of the four Mets games against the Dodgers. And they're doing it without Scherzer and de Grom. It's power. It's defense. It's managing. I feel like New York is one of the last cities in the country where baseball is still king.

And judging by social media, I know the Yankees have the championships, but there's a special place. There's an underdog thing with the Mets from the outside that feels different than the Giants and the Jets. that there's a big chunk of the city that's into the Mets. And I look at the construct of their team. And I'm not some baseball expert. I think they're kind of built for the postseason. I really do. Your interpretation of what you're seeing with the Mets,

to be not fully staffed and to go out west and to really compete late innings, beat teams like the Dodgers, I watched those games. It was pretty impressive. I thought coming out of the weekend, they were the better team. Last year, the Mets were in first place for nearly three months. Louis Rojas was doing a really good job as a rookie manager, and I think he'll be good. He's young when he gets a second chance.

He's now with the Yankees. But the team unraveled after DeGrom went down, other injuries, and it got away. It's not going to unravel under Buck Showalter. He's seen too much. He's been a good manager in baseball for too long, and that's what I'm seeing. I'm seeing a Buck Showalter team. I talked to Glenn Sherlock, long time bench coach, been in the game forever. recently. And he said the only manager he's ever seen who runs every defensive meeting and drill,

he's like a Belichick, is Buck Showalter. In spring training during the season, Showalter is on top of every defensive drill and meeting. And the Mets catch the ball. They do things you haven't seen them do in the past. And they aggressively run the bases and put pressure on the defense to make a play. And I haven't seen the Mets do that in recent years. And there is a feeling in New York. And I remember even back to 86 when they won it all with that great team that New York became a Mets town. It can be a Mets town again. That is possible. I feel it can. And it was unanimous among Mets fans. My wife is a person who lived and died with the Mets or died and died with the Mets every night for for decades. So I usually watch about 130, 140 Mets games a year because of that. And it's just for the first time, they hired a manager that was received. unanimously as the right pick. And they have an owner for the first time who has a George Steinbrenner budget and stomach for the fight. They've wanted that for so long to have their own Steinbrenner.

He's more like George Steinbrenner than Hal Steinbrenner. So for the Mets to have that now, the manager that you believe in, an owner that you know will pay to correct mistakes and add to the roster to win instead of to win at all instead of maybe losing in the first round to go out and get Scherzer. Yeah, I think they can win it all. Right now, if the Mets and Yankees met in the World Series, Colin, I think it would be the same result as 2000. I think the Yankees win in five. But if you get Scherzer back, and DeGrom can stay healthy, which I'm still shaky on. I think Scherzer will be there in October. I just don't know about DeGrom. But if those two guys do stay healthy, wow, they certainly have a chance to win it all. You know, Steve Cohen,

again, a Wall Street guy that stepped in was a passionate Mets fan. There's been, to say, least some dubious ownership in New York, James Dolan, head of the class, Woody Johnson, Johnson family, not great. Cohen appears to be received. Now, some of it's just the success, but he seems to listen to the fans. Like he is, it feels like to me, he's actually a fan, just a really wealthy one. What's your interpretation of him? A really wealthy fan, no question, grew up loving the Mets. I think if you look at his business background and becoming a hedge fund zillionaire, I certainly didn't always treat people nicely in his business world. And I think that's been documented.

So I don't think he comes in as this knight in shining armor in one sentence. And another he is because Mets fans, honestly, all they care about is that they have someone who is as invested as they are in the final result and is willing to be to have the top payroll in baseball. and they just wanted an owner to compete with George Steinbrenner. And now they have one who would have done that if George were still with us and is willing, I think, probably to do more than House Steinbrenner. And that's what they care about. I think Cohen is a very interesting guy who, right, he acts and feels like a fan. It seems like when they lose, he feels it like a fan does.

Yes. And at times that can be a dangerous thing too. But the Mets fan wants that. They want an owner who cares as much as they do. I know they didn't feel that with Fred Wilpon. And now they get it with Steve Cohen. And it's a powerful asset to have as you try to win a championship for the first time since 86. And I know Mets fans are thrilled to have that on their side.

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, Superhuman, documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball. to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. You know, the Yankees are fascinating because I've, not that I'm cynical of Brian Cashman, but I don't think he was an early adapter to analytics. I never was a fan of the John Carlos Stanton acquisition because they had Aaron Judge for a much cheaper price. But now they're a deep ball threat every at bat. And, you know, it looks like it's working. Cashman has survived personal chaos in criticism. They have underachieved in a lot of years.

He spent big money on players that didn't work. You know, he talks but doesn't say a lot. He's like the jeter of front office guys. He doesn't say a lot. But yet he's survived in the toughest city in the country. Certainly the most intense baseball media coverage. How has he survived? Allies, friendships, and ownership?

Yeah, that's part of it. I'm going to disagree. I usually agree with almost everything you say. I'm going to disagree with the fact that he's the Derek Jeter of GM. I think he says a lot. On the record, he has said a lot over the years. He said last year, we suck. We stink to high heavens right now. He took ownership of that. He said things that a lot of GMs would never say for the record. He's told, he has said things even to me in my Jeter book. He talked about how he basically stared down Jeter and contract negotiations on the record. He told me that he had to go down when Jeter was not treating Arod the way a captain should. And he had to challenge him and confront him on that. He had a dinner with Jeter near the end of his career and told him, you better fix your defense or else. And so I think he has said a lot of things on the record. He's told Alex Rodriguez to shut up. So I think that's one area where I think he actually,

his candor has helped him. I think he has been a fighter and he has his flaws and he has made his mistakes. But to survive in this market running that team for a quarter century, I think the fact that he is willing to say things on the record about himself, his own performance about his team's performance has actually been something that has aided him over time and that the fan now listen yankee fans have been on him in recent years they haven't won it all since 2009 which feels like a biblical drought when it's the yankees but they're always knocking on the door they never have a disastrous season they always have winning seasons they're always there knocking on the postseason door if not in the problem is they're not winning in the postseason

so the pressure now is going to be intense as they look like a team team that is worthy of comparisons to the 98 Yankees who won 125 games, playoffs included, won 114 in the regular season. They face so much pressure that 98 team, particularly in the Cleveland series in the ALCS when they were down two to one. And they survived in a part because I think they won in 96 and they had that championship DNA and muscle memory, those core guys. This team is going to win 110 to 112 games.

And there's going to be a moment in the post-year. season when they're going to face it. And they don't have that championship DNA and muscle memory that the 98 guys had. So how are they going to respond to that? What's amazing, Colin, is they might win 110 plus games and only eliminate from their division the Baltimore Orioles. The three wildcards could be Tampa, Boston, right, and Toronto. And so Baltimore is actually not as bad this year as they've been. But if you look at it right now, conceivably, those could be the wildcard teams, it'd be hilarious if the Yankees did 110 and only knocked out the Orioles in the process. Finally, I saw that you gave a speech to the graduating class of Marist where you went to

school. Now, I didn't know you went to Marist. I was on that campus. It's on the Hudson, if I recall. It is. I remember driving by it with my wife, and it was a, it is Marist. And I said, we got to pull into this. This is unbelievable. By the way, for anybody, listening to me that has never been to West Point or Marist or along the Hudson. In the fall, it is the most beautiful place I've ever been to my life. It's absolutely stunningly, aesthetically perfect. So my favorite line ever from a commencement speech is, believe it or not, from John Bon Jovi, who once said to a class, outline your life in pencil, not pen.

Things will change. And I love that line. when making a commencement speech, and I'll never be asked to do this, nor should I be, who did you lean on for that? Obviously, your prose stands by itself, but what was the message you wanted to convey to young people? Well, first off, this is the one benefit to going to a small college. You can get picked for things like this. I fully realize. Where did you go to school, Colin? Eastern Washington University. Okay. How is it possible they haven't asked you to do a commencement address of this?

Well, again, I talk for a living on radio. It's not that highly esteemed. Well, I don't know about that. Anyway, so I just wanted to talk to the students. I didn't want to read a speech. I didn't read a speech. It was conversational. It was a one-way conversation, but I wanted them to feel like we were having a conversation.

And I just wanted to go back to when I was their age. I'm 57 now. So I tried to put myself back to when I was 20, 21. And I remember, honestly, I don't remember a single thing about the commencement address given to me in 1986. So I wanted to just try to have them remember one or two things. And that is that, and I said, there are plenty of people a lot more talented than I am in this industry. But I don't think too many people, there are some maybe who have worked harder than I have. And so I just talked about work ethic and just bringing it every day and attacking every day with enthusiasm.

And, listen, we're not Harvard. We're not Princeton. We're not Yale. But the Marist graduates I know are people who do bring it every day. So I just wanted them to hear that, to understand I was in their position. Also to realize that, hey, I fully recognize this thing is not about me. It's 100% about you. But just to try to talk to them as if I were their age. And that's all I was trying to share. Yeah, it's, you know, I've said this before is a lot of reporters become columnists and don't spend the time reporting. There's such a joy for me to read a book written by you because the extensive work, I'm fascinated by it, the time you put in. And I think New York demands that, the great columnist. This is why you're always employed. This is why you have so many projects. So as I let you go, what is your next project? I think my wife will divorce me if I start one right away here.

I am closing in on one and it'll be about LeBron James and it'll be unauthorized. And so I think he's lived in exceptional American life. And so I look forward to diving into that. And my understanding is he's probably not thrilled about that prospect. But I don't know. I think the people I've profiled in the past, and if you talk to them for the most part, would say I've been extremely fair.

And no one's lived the perfect life. But I think that at the end of the day, that's really more important. I mean, than anything, I remember you mentioned John Bon Jovi after the Super Bowl when the Patriots won their last Super Bowl. I saw him outside the New England locker room. And he looked at me and I looked at him and I shook his hand. And he said, hey, I just read your book on Bill. And you know, Bon Jovi's been one of Belichick's

best friends for almost, I don't know, 40 years. And he said, I just want you to know, I thought it was great. I thought you were really fair to Bill. And fairness, I said to him, that's more important to me than anything. It's just being fair to people. And so he said something to the effect of, did Bill say anything to you about it? I said, John, you've known Bill for 40 years. You really think He's going to say something to me about an unauthorized book. So I don't know if he thought you got to chuckle out of that or not. But anyway, so fairness to me is everything. And we'll continue to be as I go forward with this project and hopefully others.

Great seeing you, my man. Love talking to you. Hey, thank you, Colin. Make sure to check out the Dramon Green Show. I brought Dremon Green into the volume because one of the more entertaining voices in sports, unique perspective, understands behind the rope. Also chops up with guests like Gary Payton, Zach Levine, Tracy McGrady. Make sure download the Draymond Green Show wherever you get your podcast, only on the volume podcast network.

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 Mike. Mickey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

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

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. In 1979, that was a big moment for me.

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

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast.

Guaranteed human.