The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Prime Cuts: Arians Retirement with Mike Silver, Adam Carolla on Smith/Rock Oscars Slap, Final 4 with Aaron Torres

Episode Date: April 2, 2022

This is Prime Cuts! The best of The Colin Cowherd Podcast. First it's Colin's top takes of the week (3:00), including his thoughts on Bruce Arians' surprise retirement announcement, if Tom Brady's fingerprints on it, and why fans and media are overreacting to the Chiefs moving on from Tyreek Hill.Then, longtime NFL writer Mike Silver (19:00) gives his thoughts on the shocking Arians announcement, including if Arians was forced out , and how it played out differently than the power struggle between Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson in Seattle.Next, comedian - and host of The Adam Carolla Show - Adam Carolla (24:00) discusses Will Smith's viral slapping of Chris Rock at the Oscars, and why Adam's experience writing jokes at the Oscars makes him unsympathetic to Smith.Finally , College Hoop Insider - and host of The Aaron Torres Sports Podcast - Aaron Torres (31:00) explains why this year's tournament has been such a huge success (19:00), why Duke is so dangerous right now and why Kentucky is like the Dallas Cowboys of college hoop.Make sure to Subscribe and 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! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The volume. 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 IHard 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 I'm 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 Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered 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's podcast network on TikTok.

On the Look Back at it podcast. From 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 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. 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. The Deep Sea is closer than you think at Monterey Bay Aquarium. Into the Deep exploring our undiscovered ocean open Saturday, April 9th. This new exhibit will give you the experience of descending from the ocean surface through the dark abyss to the seafloor. and a rare look at the animals that thrive in the depths. Into the Deep feature species displayed for the first time anywhere.

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I used to host Planet Money. Now I'm starting a new show. It's called What's Your Problem? Every week on What's Your Problem, entrepreneurs and engineers describe the future they're going to build once they solve a few problems. I'm talking to people trying to figure out how to do things that no one on the planet knows how to do. from creating a drone delivery business to building a car that can truly drive itself. Listen to what's your problem on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Colin Coward Podcasts presented by Fandul Sportsbook. No better place to bet the action than on Fandual Sportsbook during the football season. There's a lot of reasons. It's America's number one sports book, incredibly easy to use, super safe, totally secure, super fast payouts. In as quick as two hours, you're not going to get that. anywhere. Also, same game parlay bets, live betting. It's the best. Hey, if you're new, just download the Fandul Sportsbook app. I did it in 15 seconds. Get started now. Sign up. Please use the promo code Colin so they know we sent you. Please use the promo code Colin, C-O-L-I-N. Fandul

Sportsbook app, sign up. This is Prime Cuts. The best of the Colin Coward podcast, crazy week, awesome guests. Mike Silver reacted to Bruce Ariens in Tampa moving upstairs. It's Tommy's team, comedian Adam Carolla thoughts on Will Smith's ridiculous Oscar slapping of Chris Rock. I talked Final Four with College Hoops Insider Aaron Torres and why it makes John Calapari look even worse with Duke's success. But first, my top takes of the week. Any time things seem sudden and strange, there is usually a coup involved. Bruce Ariens, who never showed any interest in the front office, although he had hinted at retirement, suddenly retires so quickly that the Buccaneers had to rush the staff and rush the players together to tell them, meaning it wasn't really planned, meaning Brady wanted him out. Listen, Tom retires and unretires.

Ariens, I'm good here. then suddenly I'm moving upstairs. Todd Bowles is in. It all is very strange and sudden. Come on now. I think most of you understand how the game works. This was never. Culturally, New England to Tampa was always a weird fit.

One is academic, cold weather. Boston, politics, sports, a power broker's town. One, Tampa, Ebor City, cocktails early, a goofy franchise. one obsessed quarterback, one dysfunctional franchise. Tom went there for more control and better weapons. He got the weapons. He got the Super Bowl. But what Tom never truly got, even in his Super Bowl winning season, was control.

And that Ariens is a seat of the pants. Go with your gut coach. When Ariens, and I like Bruce, but when he went to CBS to broadcast, the feeling was, he wasn't overly prepared. He was funny. People liked him. He is a seat of the pants guy. And Brady's not.

This was always a weird cultural fit. It was always a weird fit. Old school Bruce. Adapting, evolving, obsessed Tom. And it worked the first year. Folks, we saw this multiple times. I mean, Aryans called out Brady. Tom took one for the team.

You think Tom like that? Legends don't like to be called out. They can laugh. They can fall on the sword at the podium. They don't like that. So this has always been a very, very turbulent relationship. And of course it is. Of course it is.

You know, I always think Bruce Ariens was a perfect fit with Big Ben. Big Ben was not obsessed. Big Ben was a gunslinger. Big Ben is an over-the-top backyard football quarterback. Ariens and Big Ben, Big Ben, to me, like, that's a perfect relationship. You know what I think Tom's perfect relationship is? Kyle Shanahan.

Obsessed, maniacal. Consider the great scheming coach. Remember, as good as McVeigh is, McVeigh will acknowledge privately, Shanahan's the better scheme guy. Sean is the better culture builder, better in front of the room. And he has built that with the Rams.

So, you know, fit matters. This is why Aaron Rogers, for all his talent, has won Super Bowl. He doesn't always get along with players. He has struggled with coaches. He has struggled with executives. Aaron Rogers should have multiple Super Bowls. If you looked at his talent in Tom,

you'd say he's got seven Super Bowls. The other guy has one. Tom usually is a better fit, easier to get along with. Aaron's difficult. And so, you know, fit has always been undervalued in sports. Chemistry has always been undervalued. We talk about this often.

That, you know, if it was just about movie stars make movies, then why wouldn't Paramount or Sony or Disney? Just go hire five movie stars, make movies and everybody files into the theater. It doesn't work that way. It's plot. Its director works very well with casting director and producer and stars and complimentary pieces. So, you know, Brady and Arians was destined to have a great deal of tumult. It was destined to be turbulent. They got a Super Bowl out of it, but all these things happening so strangely and so suddenly they tell you, Tom wanted two things in Tampa.

He wanted better weapons and more control. And he got one and he didn't get the other. Now, Todd Bowles as the coach. I'm going to talk about that in a couple of minutes with Mike Silver. You know, Todd is the kind of coach that will let Brady take the offense. That's very much his personality. Todd's a great defensive coach. He's not power hungry. You know, he is not a formulaic coach where this is the way I do it, my way or the highway. It's not really Todd Bulls personality. He'll let Tom run the offense.

He'll run the defense. It will, you know, Bulls, when he was with the Jets, you know, he wasn't much at the podium. He's not much of a personality. He is not a self-promoter. He's just a really driven, humble, grateful, gracious guy who coaches the hell out of defense. You know, is he a great coach? He's a great coordinator. But I think he and Brady will align better than Bruce and Brady.

And I mean, Tom is obsessed. I still contend that, and we've had multiple reports to confirm this, including Tom Brady's dad. What did Tom Brady's dad say two, three weeks ago? Tom didn't want to retire. There were external forces was one of the external forces, the power grab. I mean, Tom Brady's dad said there were other things going on. He didn't name names. So, you know, Tom Brady's dad has to a fault, not for me, but for Tom, to have fault been honest.

He came out. Tom doesn't want to retire. So this is, it may be sudden and strange, but it's fairly predictable. And, I mean, Brady is too detailed and too planned. to suddenly retire and unretire. That is the most un-Bradie move ever. That is just not what he does. I mean, Aaron Rogers and drama, yeah, that's kind of predictable.

Brady, not having everything thought out, that's just not, that's so off-brand. So, listen, I think Bowles and Brady will be a better fit. Tom runs the offense. I'll have say and personnel when he can absolute control of the game plans, which you watch Tom versus Time. He wanted more control of the game plans. That's well documented. Now he's going to have it.

So, you know, a lot of times you go for a job and there's two or three things that you want and you get one or two of them early and then you have success. And then you get that one you didn't get the first year and your second. in her third year. And so once Brady won the Super Bowl, the owners probably went, all right, let's weigh the options here. Greatest football quarterback ever. Good coach, good guy. We still owe him money on the salary. We'll just move him upstairs. But that's what this is. Now, you're probably going to have agents and you're going to have people come out and say, oh, this is really their best of friends. Oh, stop. We're not idiots here. Sports fans, you follow

and I follow it. This is incredibly easy to spot what happened here. It's not like Bruce and Tom can't walk down the hallway. Ariens is still getting his money. They're still going to be in the same building. They're adults. They'll get along fine. This is better for the franchise. It's better for Tom. You know, Bruce Ariens has had a heck of an NFL career. Now he's just going to have a different office, probably on the second floor. NFL free agency isn't done. I am very interested to see where New York Giants corner, James Bradbury, lands. He's good and the chiefs are leading on him. Well, well, well. So Kansas City, which has 12 draft picks and a lot of cap space, loses Tyreek Hill. And what do you know? They're adding really

nice players. We always overreact to this stuff. About 33% of free agents hit are highly productive. That means almost 70% are not. Listen, Tyreek Hill is great, but he's going to go from Andy Reed and Patrick Mahomes to rookie head coach Mike McDaniel and Tua. Call me Zaney, I see a drop-off in production. The Chiefs went out and got Ju-Jew Smith Schuster. He was a good slop receiver with an old bad quarterback and a terrible old line. What's he going to be in Kansas City? The reality is, and we know this to be true, if just a bunch of great actors made great movies,

then you just as a studio, hire five or six A-list actors, regardless of the plot and put them on screen. But we know that some of the biggest busts in Hollywood history, the biggest flops, have been when you throw multiple A-list actors together. You know that fit matters because college preparatory counseling has become a huge business in the last two decades. What a good counselor will tell you,

even if you have the perfect student, great grades and ACT scores, that doesn't mean they fit at Harvard and Yale. It's all about the fit. So much of that is true in Hollywood, where you go to college, and free agency. Listen, you know this and I know this. You can look around the NBA.

LeBron is the rare player that works everywhere. NBA is a great example. Chris Paul works everywhere. But we've seen time and time again. Some guys just don't connect. Kyrie Irving, James Hardin, both are two ball dominant. The reality with Tyreek Hill, Kansas City has good chemistry, a great play designer,

and a world-class quarterback. Juju Smith-Schuster's numbers should increase. By the way, so should Marquis Valdez Scantling's number. Why? Because Aaron Rogers generally doesn't trust anybody but his favorite wide receiver or favorite tied end in big spots.

Patrick Mahomes much more willing to distribute to multiple ones. wide receivers. Take a deep breath. Kansas City is fine. Andy Reed's history tells you, in Philadelphia and Kansas City, it's not just about stars. Chemistry, he makes it work with great play designs. That's what free agency's always been about. Fandual sportsbook NBA same game parlay. What is it? Gives you a chance to turn a small bet into a 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.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok

Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at It podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. and we're still chasing it

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

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now.

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Go to square.com slash commerce to learn what's possible for your business. I'm Jacob Goldstein. I used to host a show called Planet Money. Now I'm starting a new show. It's called What's Your Problem? Every week on What's Your Problem? Entrepreneurs and Engineers describe the future they're going to build once they solve a few problems. How do you build a drone delivery business from scratch? Our customers, they want us to do this unbelievably reliably in the storms no matter what. hundreds of times a date. How do you turn a wild dream about a new kind of biology

into a $10 billion company? We didn't have a particular technology. We didn't have a way of making money. It was a great way to start a company. I highly recommend it. How do you sell millions of dollars worth of dog ramps for weener dogs in the middle of a pandemic? We're working with 400 influencers,

and the majority of them are actually not a person, but it's actually a dog. I can tell you right now, the dog ramp guy has some very interesting problems. Listen to what's your problem on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Longtime NFL writer, Mike Silver. Holy schnikies. So listen, Mike, this is not a difficult one to read the tea leaves. Like, these personalities were always different.

I said when Tom went to Tampa, the cultures are different. One, Boston. Sports, politics, obsessed, prep schools, intense, academic, lousy weather, workaholics, great history. The other, Ebor City, baby, cocktails early. You know, so I always thought, and I said this, I said, Tom will, it's the football's not the problem. It's the cultural gap that he's going to have to get used to like he's going to have to train this team to be obsessed. Remember the helicopter pictures at the high school. I'm like, okay, he's getting there.

He's getting there. But this feels like, and probably the term sounds too intense, a little bit of a power grab, older coach, obsessed quarterback. Tom went to Tampa for two things. Weapons and control. He got one right out of the shoot. He didn't get the other. And he wanted it.

Is that fair? Well, okay, listen. First of all, let's assess. Let's step back. They had two pretty good years together, right? They won a Super Bowl, went to Lambo, albeit fanless Lambo, but won in the cold at Lambo and then killed the Chiefs. And then this year, one of my favorite Brady games ever,

if not my favorite. And I wrote about this when he retired for a while. But, you know, he's down 273, and we all know about 283 and all the crazy things that had to happen there. But this was to be equally epic. And yeah, there was a coverage breakdown at the end. And Cooper Cut made a play and the Rams did win that game. But, you know, what he did in that last game was incredibly hard.

And maybe if they get that to overtime and win, you know, who knows what would happen. So two great years. And look, I don't want people to oversimplify and go, man, Tom Brady and Bruce Ariens. I mean, was it a perfect match? Of course not. But way better match than Tom Brady and Bill Belichick personality-wise. And that one lasted, what, 20 years? And obviously, they did incredible things together.

So I think if you gave Tom Brady truth theorem and said, would you rather play another year with Bill Belichick or Bruce Arias, he would laugh and be like, please, B.A. It's great. Yeah, I don't think it's, I think more just, you know, the control thing I don't think was an issue in terms of the offense. I think based on what Bruce Arieth told me that first year, he told Tom, let's run what you want. Let's put your stuff in. And he kind of stepped back a lot.

And they ran Brady's offense for better or worse and obviously for better in terms of. of the results. I just wonder, you know, if I think, you know, you could look to the Antonio Brown thing, for example, right? Bruce Arias had had it with Antonio Brown in that moment. And maybe a younger coach who is less my way or the highway would have massage that. I actually don't know. I'm kind of on VA's side on that one.

But, you know, maybe things like that, Tom Brady would think, hey, we could be a little less reactionary here. You know, B.A. grabbed his own guy. You know, there's some old school moments. But I honestly think it's an oversimplification to just go, well, Tom needed to get rid of Bruce Ariens. It's just, that's a terrible match. He's the host of the podcast, The Adam Carolla show. he was one of the first big podcasts in this industry. You know, from The Man Show, he has a book out.

His latest book is, Everything reminds me of something, advice answers, but no apologies. And with that we bring in the world-renowned Adam Carolla. So, Adam, I'm going to give you my take, my 90-second take on Will Smith, and then you slice it, dice it, do whatever you want with it. As a stand-up comedian, as somebody who's on stage, you tell me where I'm. wrong on this. So I'm agnostic, so I don't speak about religion, but there's a certain reality for the mobster who goes to repent his sins on Sunday, then shoots a guy in front of a steakhouse on Thursday night. He's not fooling God, right? Like, he's fooling himself. The Hollywood athlete,

or the athlete or the Hollywood actor, the leading man, they've all got side dishes, right? Multiple. When they come out, and I'm not speaking specifically to Will, but you know, leading men and athletes. There are no industries where men cheat more than those two. They use their power and the leverage to gain access to beautiful women. I saw a lot of takes from athletes, current, former, a lot of leading men types, big tough guys saying, hey, you've got to protect your woman. And I'm like, no, no.

Like the mobster who shoots the guy in front of a steakhouse, you're not fooling anybody but yourself. if you cared about the woman in your life, you wouldn't be fucking around all the time. This is about your ego, which you couldn't subjugate because your wife cheated on you. It's very public. And in this moment, you look small. This was not about your wife.

This was about your ego. Take away. Well, also there's a context, you know, you're going to be in show business. You're going to sit in the front seat of the Oscars. I've written for two Oscars. I've been there. You know, you, the process.

is you show up days before and they have the pictures of all the celebrities and where they're sitting. By the way, always in black and white. I always thought to myself, this is the Oscars. You can't afford a color ink cartridge, but they can't. It's black and white. And by the way, some of the older guys and some of the other guys, you have to look at it for a while before you can realize just who that is. But anyway, so there's a context, your front seat of the Oscars. And here comes. Chris Rock and it is his job to roast notable people that are sitting up front. So this essentially, it's like marrying a porn star, going to the set of the porn movie, and then freaking out because someone's your wife.

You knew the job was dangerous when you took it. There's a context. Chris Rock didn't show up to your home and start making fun of your wife. You sat in the very front seat of the Oscars. he's a comic, he's going to roast, that's your context. It shouldn't elicit that kind of response. Adam, I go to Hermosa Beach Comedy Store. I've gone down on sunset, West Sunset.

So I've had friends that are comedy writers. I've talked to Leno. When I was a kid, I wanted to be Johnny Carson like a lot of kids. I didn't want to be a sportscaster. I didn't even know what it meant. It just wasn't talented enough. So I went into sports, lower bar for that probably. So one of the things I've noticed about the great comedian,

they've got a set, but they play with the crowd. They interact with the crowd. I don't think somebody said it's not as scripted. It wasn't scripted. It was, you look at her, you have a line. By the way, G.I. Jane was sort of an empowered woman, right? She was like a powerful, successful woman. So in that instance, I think, Jesus, if you tell comedians, they can't ad lib in the biggest stage in the industry, the Oscars, what are we doing here?

Yeah, I disagree just because I've been behind the curtain there a couple of times. It probably wasn't ad-libbed. It could have been quickly thought of backstage or some previous point, but it probably wasn't ad-libbed in that you get writing assignments. It's like, here's going to be sitting here and this person is going to be there. And they'll go, give me a few jokes for this person. and give me a few jokes for that person. So probably wasn't off the cuff.

Regardless, whether it's off the cuff or not, you're on stage, you're telling the joke. There's no barrier between you and the audience and sort of taking the law into your own hands is not a good precedent. Speaking of the law, I literally just got done doing a podcast with attorney Mark Gergos. And as far as the law goes, if Chris, right? doesn't want to press charges and there was no damage done to him, then the law is going to leave it alone unless you have some prosecutor who's looking for a bunch of publicity who would like to take this on is really a grand stand type trial. What would you do?

If I was the prosecutor? No, if you were Chris Rock. Well, you're a bigger, stronger. You're a former boxer, I think, or something, right? Yeah. Well, first off. I'd be so surprised that I don't know what I would do. Like it's hard to fath them.

Chris's brain must have been whirling like a dervish, not only from the slap, but just from the bizarre context of the, of the whole thing. Right. I probably would have done what he did. I probably would have just sort of carried on. Now, what I was hoping for is that they would escort Will Smith out of the building. And then later on, when he won the Academy Award, Chris Rock would accept it on his behalf. You still do a lot of stand-up, right? Yes. You drive a lot of revenue in podcasting, that we all know.

I figured you drive a lot of revenue in your stand-up, which you're very active. Do you worry now this incentivizes some idiot for Miller Lights Inn to heckle you? I have little to no regard for my own personal safety. I've just always kind of been wired that way. It was never a thing for me. I've been in fights. I used to teach boxing. I just don't have a fear for my own personal safety. But, you know, Jeff Ross does.

And so he's going to have to think about it when he goes up on stage. I, I am wired from where I come from and work in construction and riding a motorcycle, getting in fights, you know, teaching boxing stuff like that. I just don't have that. Sure. Uh-oh. You know, what could happen. It doesn't mean it won't.

it certainly is kind of grease the skids for that behavior. And it won't be in the back of my head when I perform. Well, I think he does as good a job as anybody in the country in college basketball, Aaron Torres. I met him a few years ago. He came on my set when people were allowed to come on my set pre-COVID. Fox Sports Radio, host of the Aaron Torres podcast. He really knows his stuff, author of One in Fun, the book about the 2010 Kentucky Wildcat, Listen, this is now a cliche, but it's been a really great tournament.

We've had Aaron, like the St. Peter's story is obviously great. Miami shocked me. I don't really get them. I, you know, I'm five minutes from UCLA. I watch them all year long, and I'm like, they're just, I don't know what I get. Then I watch them in the tournament. Then the minute I fall in love with them, they get whacked by Carolina. So, I mean, my takeaway is we ended up with a lot of blue bloods.

I like that. But it's interesting. I don't feel we have a great team. I think we have four good teams. I think Duke feels like to me the most talented. But you do this. You love this. You watch all of these.

You're encyclopedic. Did this tournament have more upsets? Did it feel different? Or is it just the fact that it's been good TV, good announcers, good times mostly, right, you know, outside of a couple late games? It just feels this year has been. special. Well, Colin, I mean, I think the biggest thing with this tournament, we got to remember, this is the first time in three years that we've had a normal tournament. And, you know, as the, the Carolina game goes final, we realize we're getting this, this final four basically of a television,

you know, executives dream, right? As much as there can be, I went back and you think about it, 2020, the NCAA tournament's really the only major sporting event that really ended up being canceled. We figured out a way to play the NBA in a bubble, Major League Baseball in a bubble, the NFL with limited fans. Then last year, the 2021 tournament is planned in the middle of the pandemic. And so it was really the last major sporting event that felt like a COVID sporting event. Two weeks later, we're starting the NBA playoffs. We have full, full arenas. I mean, I remember turning into that first Knicks game against the Hawks, Madison Square Gardens rocking.

And so I think it's a lot of things. I think that the early rounds were awesome. They were fun. You know, you have the storylines that always carry the tournament. You have the familiar faces in Coach K. J. Wright, Bill Self later. And I just think fans in the stands, normal time schedule. Like you said, if you remember last year, we were playing games on like Monday,

Tuesday nights. It's just good to have it feeling a little bit normal again. After three full years, 2019 was the last time we had one of these normal ones. And even though we have Blue Bloods, let's talk about this. So I try to. I watch more Duke and Gonzaggart than anybody. else because I know Mark Few. I went to college up there. So I probably watch a half dozen games a year. I always watch Duke when they're on and they're on constantly. But let's talk about that.

So let's start with Duke. I think they're the most talented team. You know, they got a five-star point guard who is not as good as everybody thinks. And yet I watched them in the tournament and I'm like, oh, total gamer. It feels like he's busting out and becoming like a star. But when I watch them play, eyes tell me that, and this is, I think, endemic of college basketball, they're figuring out how to play together finally, but they feel like the most gifted team athletically, are they? Oh, there's zero doubt. And it's crazy because, you know, they just, I don't really ever remember anything quite like it where they have a couple really nice wins early in the year. You mentioned being a Gonzaga guy and knowing that program.

Well, they played in Vegas on Black Friday. I was there. Duke won. And you came out of that game saying Duke's the best team in the country because Gonzaga had just destroyed UCLA a few nights before. So that's all the way back into November. Then we have two and a half months where they basically hit cruise control in the ACC. And that was kind of the crazy thing about it to me coming into this tournament was I sat there and said, listen, by the way, I am not the guy that picked Duke.

So I'm not trying to take credit and pat myself on the back. but it was also kind of crazy to think about most talented team, legendary coach in a tournament where everybody has stuff to play for, they have the most to play for, you know, sending out Coach K in style. Yeah. And so I think not only have they figured it out, Colin, but what I notice is, and I'm sure you've noticed it too, they're figuring it out throughout the tournament, right? Like the Arkansas game felt easier than the Texas Tech game.

The Texas Tech game felt easier than the Michigan State game. And so what does that mean for next weekend? Orleans. I don't know, but they are the most talented team. That's why I thought they would give Arkansas trouble. Arkansas, what they're great at doing is taking away what you do best. When you've got five NBA players on the floor, you can do just about anything you want at any given time. And we saw that in the Saturday games. And I think you're spot on it. They're by far the most talented team. We'll see if they get these two final wins. But as you said, very much figuring it out here as we go along in this tournament. You know, it's interesting. I don't know why I

instinctively think this. Every time Duke has a great run, I know it must eat away at Calipari. Because I think, listen, he took a shot at Duke in their recruiting, their one-and-done stuff, saying, you know, they say, we'll take care of you for life. And he's like, you know, we don't sell that stuff. And my takeaway is it's recruiting. You do whatever you got to do. You just show the kid more love if that's the way Duke shows the love.

But I do think, because I think we understand Duke is. is a, you know, private, small, academically. You know, I understand athletes can take classes, but I think instinctively, I think, Kentucky should be better than Duke. Right? Like, Kentucky should be better than Duke. The revenue. The arena's bigger.

You know, they recruit in the South big. They are the name in the South. Or is that unfair? And that Duke, because they're so prestigious, should be the best team in college basketball. Well, Duke has the 30-year track record of the same guy in that seat. And now, you know, I mean, Coach Kay, you can say what you want about him, but what, five national championships that the other thing that Coach Kay did a great job

of selling probably about seven, eight years ago, all those Olympic gold medals. Oh, yeah, I coach Kobe. I coach LeBron. I coach Katie. You know, there's no, there's no high school player that there isn't a comp to in, you know, Coach K's Rolodex. So, you know, are they supposed to be better? I don't know.

What I would say is definitively, they're not supposed to be losing to St. Peters. And it's like you said, you know, seven years. So Final Four 2015, that's seven years. One year there's a COVID season. There's no tournament played. So really the last six tournaments. What I would say is this.

So actually, I think you'll like this, Colin. I don't know if you saw me say this the other day. But right now, to me, they are the Dallas Cowboys of college football, a college basketball. And it's because they win in the regular season. They win enough where you can't really like just clean house and start over. But they don't win the games that matter. And that's to me where I think Kentucky and Kentucky fans would say,

oh, you know, the Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl since blah, blah, blah. But I bring it up because where Kentucky is now is I don't think their fans are national championship or bust. If they got to an elite eight and they lost to, CLA or Baylor or they got to a final four and lost to Kansas or North Carolina. They'd be frustrated, but you can't lose to St. Peters. And it's like I said with the Cowboys, you can lose in the playoffs. You can't lose because DAC doesn't know when to spike the ball and when to go and you're

running up field. And that to me is where we are with Kentucky. I really don't believe that the fan base is, if we don't win a national title, fire everybody. That's not what it's about. But you can't lose to St. Peters as a 15 seed. And again, by the way, in a season where Duke is in a Final Four, Kansas is in a Final Four, all those schools that have all the advantages that you do, they're in the Final Four, Elite Eight. You're at home to St. Peter's beat you.

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