The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Drew Brees, NBA, MLB

Episode Date: June 4, 2020

Filling in for Colin, Doug Gottlieb discusses the Drew Brees backlash, why he feels the NBA is facing an uphill battle, and what the MLB players must realize. Guests include Chris Broussard, and Jim Jackson. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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What up? Welcome in. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening to the show. Thanks so much for making this part of your day, live from Los Angeles. I'm Doug Gottlie, filling in for Colin Cowherd. He's lovely and talented Joy Taylor alongside. Good morning to you, Joy. Good morning, Doug.

If only there was something to talk about. There's lots to talk about today. There is lots to talk about. Potentially, potentially, we will hear official word of an NBA season. getting back underway. We're being told 22 teams will be headed to Disney World. But not like winning a Super Bowl. I get to go to Disney World.

We'll get to what we like, what we don't like. And the true genius that should be at play that maybe we're all dismissing. We'll also get to baseball that may come back before or may not come back at all. It's all very, very confusing. We have some COVID possible tests. We have COVID positive tests from my alma mater. The arch rival of my alma mater's head coach says it's it's irresponsible to bring players back. We'll get to that because remember we still are under at least partial quarantine in much of the United States.

COVID-19 still very much out there and we'll have a great, I think, or interesting discussion on it. We got, man, we got a bunch of things to get to. Let's start where I left off with my radio show, which you can hear on five. Fox Sports Radio from 3 to 60 Eastern 12 to 3 Pacific following this show, the herd on Fox Sports Radio, the IHeart Radio app. Thanks so much and welcome in here on a Thursday. Drew Breeze up until today, and I still think for a while, is being lambasted over his answer to a question that was in an interview on Yahoo Finance,

which, again, you start to, of the people I feel for today, good luck of your Yahoo finance, finding a way to book an athlete, right? No thanks. But there's a reason why there was such a backlash for what he said. Now, what we're going to do for you is play the answer that everyone's talking about, combined with the question, because it's very important to have full context of question answer. But maybe even more interesting or in terms of context is we're also going to play for you

the Q&A immediately before that question. And then we'll have a discussion. We'll talk about some of the tweets, the relationship things that he's going to have to go through, and the apology which Drew Breeze penned earlier today and put out on his Instagram page. All right. First, let's just give you, this is the answer.

The question was asked about the potential for the kneeling protest to return to the National Football League this upcoming season in 2020 as a guy who is seen as a leader in the league, a 13-time pro bowler, former Walter Payton Man of the Year award recipient. Here was Drew Brees's answer, which of course set the Twitter world on fire. I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Let me just tell you what I see or what I feel. when the national anthem is played

and when I look at the flag of the United States, I envision my two grandfathers who fought for this country during World War II. So every time I stand with my hand over my heart, looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that's what I think about. And in many cases, it brings me to tears, thinking about all that has been sacrificed,

not just those in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the 60s. And everyone and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point. And is everything right with our country right now? No, it's not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart is it shows unity.

It shows that we are all in this together. We can all do better. And then we are all part of the solution. Drew, Drew Breese is more than just the guy with most passing yards in NFL history, most completions. most touchdown passes, the highest career passing percentage. Of course, the Super Bowl champion and a future Hall of Fame. And by the way, he signed a contract to become a broadcast with NBC. Whenever his career expires with the Northern Saints, more than that, as the former Walter

Peyton man of the year, a guy who just donated $5 million to COVID relief, like he is a staple of the NOLA community, right? Like, this guy has been solid. So I'm sure it struck many as at least surprising and a lot. alarming and disappointing that he seemed to miss the one word which we all kind of need to have right now, which is empathy, right? That's really what felt like it was missing. And there's just the timing aspect to it because that was a stock answer.

That's the answer. I was listening to Dan Patrick driving in on Fox Sports Radio. And Dan said, look, that's the same answer he gave to me going back four years ago. You asked me about flag. I talk about my grandpas. And it's like a politician. You go to your kind of stock answer and you talk about unity. But you had to think, Drew, have you looked outside your window?

Right? Like, whether you want to call it a revolution or just protest for that are demanding change, somewhere in between the two, the entire world is starting to check themselves and try and have empathy for people of color and the way in which they've been treated, not just by police, but frankly, by society and try and make ourselves better, which may have been his answer in the end. But when you start out as defiant as I will never agree with someone who disrespects the flag, there are trigger words there, which sends alarm bells off to everyone. Joy, what was your immediate feeling the second that you heard that question and answer?

Hurt. I was hurt by what he said. Why? Because I had a lot of respect for Drew Brees, and I have expectations of him because he's put himself in a position of leadership, and he is a very philanthropic person. So I expected him to be more aware of not only the environments that society is in right now, but the power that those words can have for people who are looking to latch on to anything that goes against what the movement is trying to do. Yeah, it was interesting because you felt like it kind of came out of left field.

It did not feel, you know, whether or not he was trying to answer the question, it did not feel that it was, it fit with the time. Like, when I first saw it, I was like, well, was this from a couple years ago? Was this from a couple months ago? When was this from? I was like, no, this is from today. Now, Drew has since apologized, quote, from his, his IG page, his Instagram page.

I would like to apologize to my friends, teammates, and the city of New Orleans, the black community, the NFL community, and anyone I hurt with my comments yesterday in speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain that I've caused. In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, solidarity, centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing now in our country. They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy. I thought he could have ended it right there. He went on to kind of a statement of who he is. Now, let's be fair to Drew Brees. And maybe this is the part which is kind of odd, right?

You factor in that Drew Brees, though he didn't kneel during the national anthem before the first game of the season back when it was Kaepernick and when Colin Kaepernick started the kneeling protest that spread around the national football league. He did kneel with his teammates, locked arm in arm right before the national anthem. So if you think this one was out of the left field, this was the question right before he had the answer, which has gone viral. I think that we accomplish greater things as a community,

as a society, and as a country when we do it together. And I think that we are all equipped with great talents, abilities, and strengths. And we can use that with each other and for each other. I think we can accomplish some amazing things. And obviously, these are trying times during our country, certainly coming out of this COVID crisis and then entering into another crisis or really these two compounding with each other. I think we all recognize the changes that need to take place. And I do think it's about action versus just, you know, everybody's going to social media and kind of saying their peace. obviously there are riots and there are protests and people are certainly out there showing

their frustration as well but I think at the end of the day we need to find ways to work together to provide opportunities for one another to continue to move our country forward to a bigger and better place like that's the perfect answer that he could have in addition to the flag question right like the idea of working together and understanding that the the protests, you know, while it's gotten people's attention, we need to find a way to keep evolving. Like, I like to think of it as, and even think of myself, do you know that photo of the evolution of man? You know, we're at the start. He's cromagnum. He's curle over. At the end, he's standing up. He's homo erectus. He's standing up straight. We're all kind of in the middle there, right? Different

levels of evolution, at least me personally. Like, I look at how I view things. You know, when, you know, I had a an ill-timed tweet going back to when Eric Garner was killed by a police officer in Staten Island when the first I Can't Breathe shirts came out, right? And I started to understand shortly thereafter from many of my African-American friends, like, hey, dude, you got to understand what's going on out there and how you're perceived, but more than anything, how we are perceived, anytime we get pulled over or anytime something goes down, people look at us like all of a sudden we're the ones who did something wrong. And maybe I didn't realize it at the time.

And you start to evolve in your feelings. You start to understand how other people see the world. Now, I will point out, and this is really, really important. Look, Drew Breeze's biggest mistake in my opinion, my opinion, is that all of his answers up until that point were about working together. And even the answer at the end was about unity and working together. and being better. But the opening salvo to that answer,

I will never agree with someone who, whatever it is, that's a, I'm not listening. Doesn't really matter what you say. I'm not changing. I'm stuck in here. This is the, you can have your Jordan LeBron.

Jordan's better than LeBron. I'm not changing. You know, what if LeBron goes and wins the next three NBA title? Well, I'm not changing because I like Jordan better. Like, it might work in a sports debate, but the true evolving man takes in new information and may move off of that stance. I think that in an effort to try and say, hey, we need to listen and work together,

he started his answer by saying, I'm not really listening to anybody because this is how I feel about anybody who kneels before the flag because my grandpa has fought and protected our country. And that goes counter to what the whole idea of this thing is, which is, hey, we got some problems. We've got to start listening to one another. I'm going to start working together on this. You've got to understand and see it a little bit from our perspective. You're never, I'm never going to feel what it's like to be African American, young African American male.

I can't. It's not physically possible. I can try emotionally, compassionately connect some. And I'll admit I have a blind spot. I just, there's a gap in my understanding of racism because I grew up in a sports household, which it just wasn't ever accepted, thought of as anything that you, you could act like, you know, that just, but whether it's language or how you got along with people,

I had constantly had basketball players from all over the country, all over the world, staying at my house, you know, and whether they were white or black, it didn't matter. And so I admit that because, you know, you feel like you're around black people, that you know what it's like, you don't.

You don't. Here's the one thing I feel like people need to remember. Drew, obviously, whether he misspoke or, or got into his statement about the flag, however he felt. But what Drew was trying to get to was from his perspective, here's how he saw the flag and everybody sees it different. He didn't offer up that he was willing to listen to other people's view of the flag. But it has to work both ways.

The same people who are saying you have to listen to us, have to listen to others. You can't simply say, or you shouldn't, maybe can't, you shouldn't simply say, I need to be heard, but then being unwilling to listen. All right, we'll get to more of this, get more of Joyce thoughts, some of your thoughts as well. You can tweet me at Gottlieb show. We will also get to the happy return of the NBA. And as much as many of us think,

boy, they are fighting the wrong battle trying to go up against playoff baseball and NFL in college football, there may be something that we don't know. Tell you what that is next in the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. 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 SportsSlic on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped. up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing, and we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person

while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about. I'm all healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap 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 it 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 was 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, 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 finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black.

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. What's up guys? This is Clifford Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, the Clivert show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42.

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Get limited edition, Father's Day gifts, gift sets plus 25% off site wide. ready to Tommyjohn.com code Heard, H-E-R-D. Along with Joy Taylor, I'm Doug Gottlie. This is the herd filling in for Colin Cowherd. I called Colin last night. I was like Drew Brees has this viral video. Very, very divisive. Thanks for taking those two days off.

I appreciate it. I appreciate the minefield. You leave behind. We do have some good news, right? Potentially, the NBA will return at the end July. You're like, man. Look, I get it. I've said this for a couple months. Like, look, getting these guys back up and going when they've been on quarantine. And we like to think of every NBA player live in Mike Connolly's life, right? Like, you just have your own home gym

and you're in shape and you're playing ball the whole time. But that's not the case, depending on where you were quarantined and what your level of income is and, you know, who you have around. Even LeBron is greatest shape as he's in. I'm sure over the past couple weeks before they opened up the Lakers facility. He was sneaking away to some private gyms and some speak-easy. Let me in. But that's not the same. These are, by my estimation, the best

overall athletes in the world. You can't just say, hey, we're playing on Sunday. Bring your knee braces. Let's go. On the other hand, if you're going to have an and the proposed eight-game regular season schedule, those are basically

exhibition games, but we're not calling them exhibition games. I get those. I understand the need for a, you can't go from zero to a hundred, right? You got to ramp up because playoff intensity, everyone's going to get hurt. It's just the games won't be great.

Eight games is a really good number, right? You can slow roll getting into your starting lineup, you know, play a bunch of guys, games one and games two, games, you know, three through six. You play your starters big minutes and then you start to kind of wind it down. but you could do that you would think starting in July. Instead, they're going to start the end of July and potentially the NBA. They're going to vote here in seven and a half minutes.

The NBA is looking for an NBA finals which could conclude as late as October 12th, just for perspective, understanding that they're not going to play likely back-to-back nights for the finals. If that's Saturday night, that's Clemson, Florida State. OU, Texas is earlier in the day. Like, that's kind of college football time. Major League Baseball potentially. You know, it's October.

Mr. October's Reggie Jackson's baseball. Like, what are they doing? We all sit around here as sports people and like, the NBA is a bunch of idiots taking on the NFL because the NFL will always win. But here's something that I've learned through, it's 2020, 18 years of doing television. This is a big one.

I am not the smartest guy in the room. and it always blows me away when, whether it's an NBA finals, a Super Bowl, NCAA, championship, why is the game start so late? You get that from everybody, men, women. What about the kids? Like, listen, we're on the second floor of the Fox Studio building. On the fifth floor, that's where the smart people are. There's one smart person in particular, Michael Mulville, and he has, I'm sure, other things he does.

and there are others at, and this is going to be an ESPN and a Turner event, there's people at ESPN and their sole job is finding the correct TV window which will generate the most eyes, which in turn will generate the most sponsorship dollars. So while to those of us sports MOOCs who are sitting here going, I don't understand why don't let's just play. There's nothing else going on. It's summer basketball. Let's go. there are far smarter people than us that understand that even though it seems to be counterintuitive, why would you play sports at the same time as the NFL, as Major League Baseball, as college football?

Why would you challenge, why would you rattle the cage of the biggest tiger in the cage? And the answer has to be, there's got to be some math to it, that more people will watch in October than we'll watch at August. Is that fair joy? I mean, is that possible? I mean, I think logistics are playing a much more significant role in why they're doing, why they're starting and ending the way that they are than necessarily the TV window at this point. Okay. I can offer one other possible, maybe it's ancillary benefit.

Maybe it's a reason. I don't know. I'll offer this up. Is it possible that the thought is by the time we get to August and September, we're probably going to have fans at college football games, probably going to have some fans at NFL games. Like we're trending. We'll know a lot in two weeks.

Because the social distancing kind of went out the window during these protests. Like everybody totally forgot. People wearing masks, but the idea of social distancing completely went away. The cases will probably still rise. But in terms of people that are actually sick, we'll know, I believe, within two weeks, based upon what we've been told, where this thing is going. and my guest, and this is maybe just a question or a thought, a hypothesis, which has not been proven, is it possible that the NBA is just playing the delay game knowing, hey, once we get into September,

we might be able to have the conference finals. And if not, the conference finals, the NBA finals in home arenas. No, I think they're going to just commit to whatever the plan is for the end of the season. It's going to be interesting because think about the NBA playoffs and how most people didn't watch up until it was, Warriors Rockets and then Warriors Cavs or Warriors Raptors last year. I mean, do we think people are going to watch in an empty arena in Orlando, Florida? You know, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, maybe, but, you know, Clippers in the playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies. Are you going to watch that?

I mean, I think that sports fans are going to watch whatever is on at this point. I don't think we're ever going to take for granted it's having live sports on again. But as far as if you are choosing between a big college football game or an NBA finals game or an NBA playoff game, I mean, that's what you have to do. But I don't think these decisions are necessarily being made with how we can get the most eyeballs. Because if that was the case, it would have been rushed back with all logistics not the window, try and get back for right now. Yeah, I just, I mean. This space right here, the month of June, is the space. July you would want to dominate.

Yes. Well, June is not, it's not on the table, right? You've got to take June off the table. So July, you would think, but traditionally July, people go on vacation, especially now, people are going to be like, if I can travel, I'm out because they've been sequestered in their homes for so long. But I, you know, like, look, it's everyone's talking about the NFL and rightfully so NFL is king, college football. But do we realize what happens to the Yankees and the Dodgers are playing in the World Series? Like, nobody in New York has watched the NBA finals, no. And even in LA. Lakers, yes. Clippers, I think they watch Dodgers

ahead of Clippers. Let's get to Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Heard Line News. Well, Bruce Ariens hasn't gotten on the field with Tom Brady yet, but he's already very impressed with his leadership, and he said Brady's fellow teammates are also taking notice. When he talks, they listen. Yeah. It's so different than a coach. Right.

You know, I think for us as, for us as coaches, there has to be a bond between the coach and those guys. And so that you give them ownership because you ask them questions, how do you want to do things? So they think they have a big hand in it. They send a message to the rest of the guys. They send your message to the rest of the guys. And with Tom, it's been fantastic. What a sophisticated interview. You know, a little jazz going on.

on corked. They're sipping some wine or whatever. That's a fancy setup. Was that Mike Pereira? That was Joe Madden. Oh, Joe Madden? Oh, Joe Madden. Oh, Joe Madden.

Oh, Joe Madden, Mike Pereira, won the doppelganger for the other a little bit. I don't know. But it was, it was, it was fancy. It was very gentlemanly. He's right. This is what Brady is really, really good at, amongst many other things. But he is really good at establishing a culture and taking the message. and the energy from the head coach

and passing it along to his teammates and leading by example. I mean, he's the reason why the Patriot Way worked for as long as it did. You can say everything you want about Belichick, and of course he does deserve a lot of credit, but Tom Brady is the one that made that engine go. If Tom Brady didn't buy into what Belichick wanted to do,

Tom Brady didn't take those pay cuts. If he didn't live that Patriot lifestyle, none of that would have worked. And now I think it's going to be very interesting. interesting to see what version of Brady we get on the field because Bruce Ariens is a completely different coach who's a completely different style. And also the city is different. I really think the city where the team is, the fan base and the environment affects the energy of the team. Like New England, Boston, it's a different vibe than Tampa Bay. Not to say that it's more

loose or that they aren't capable of playing fundamental football, but it's just a different vibe. It is a different vibe. It's also, and I believe everything Bruce Ariens is saying, but it's really hard to be the one guy. One guy changing a culture overnight is not an easy task. It just isn't. And for a team that has made the playoffs twice since they won the Super Bowl, right?

And they haven't won a playoff game since they won the Super Bowl. Asking one guy who all he knows is winning to, hey, sprinkle in some of your Magic Patriot Pixie does. And boom, especially in that division, which I think the Falcons, they seem to figure some stuff out late in the year. The Saints, obviously, the last 24 hours, notwithstanding, still look like a Super Bowl contender. Don't know about Carolina in terms of are they rebuilding, are they reloading what they're doing. But there is an assumption that immediately this is a 12-win team. I agree with you, a guy who plan for no risket, no biscuit, and yet he's dink and dunk underneath.

And in his mid-40s, how does that work? there's no real underneath wide receiver that he's used to. We do have good tight ends. But more than anything, can he more than implore his culture? Can because look, here's the way it works. In winning franchises, you get to halftime, you get to the fourth quarter, and you just expect to win. In losing franchises, even the fan base, as you point out,

they expect something to go wrong. And it's really hard to erase a decade of losing with one guy. No, I agree. That's what they expected to happen in Cleveland. and we saw how that went because the ownership made decisions that made it very hard for Baker, even if Baker was that guy to bring in some sort of culture and establish the energy of winning. What I will say with Tampa that is a little bit different, and I think we're all still getting adjusted to the idea that Tom Brady is going to play in Tampa this year.

It's still going to be a little shock to see that Tampa's really not that far off. Pro football focus has Tampa as the 15th ranked defense in the NFL in 2019. When you think of Tampa Bay, you don't really. think of their defense. Their defense must be horrible. Well, it's hard to be a great defense when your opponent's score 112 points off James's turnovers. That's significant.

It's almost impossible for your defense to do anything for you. So they're not that far off. They have some really talented pieces on the offensive side of the ball. It's just going to be a matter if they can get everything going because no one's reporting until training camp. And that's going to be a huge factor for all teams that have new quarterbacks or new systems. So last year, Odell decided to skip most of the offseason. program after being traded to Cleveland.

But this time around Brown's offensive coordinator, Alex Van Pelt, says Odell's been a great addition to the virtual program. He's all in. He's bought in. He's been there. And it's awesome. I've known of Odell, obviously.

Ben McAdoe had Odell in New York. And everything that Ben talked to me about him, I've seen, he's a worker. He loves football. He's smart as hell. He's just been a model guy in this offseason. I can't wait to get him in the building, get him on the field. You know, I bought in to the Brown's

hype last year. Thought they were going to be a playoff team. I was wrong. Should have known better. And I have this eerie feeling like I'm selling the brown stock a little too soon because they do feel a little different. This whole, we're not going to be loud and extra and tell you how good we are. I didn't know what extra meant until quarantine. You've never heard someone say extra to you?

No. Well, the Browns were extra last. year. Yes. No, no, no. I agree with you, but had you said, had you said that exact same sentence? I would have nodded, but really thought to myself, what the hell is she talking about?

Extra. I don't know what she was talking about. But we were watching, we were watching cheer. Have you seen the Netflix cheer? No, I haven't, but I've heard great things. There's some guys that are extra. And I said like this. Listen, you're a cheerleader.

You better be extra. Gotta be extra, right? Gotta be extra. But the rounds were doing way too much last year. And now they're doing the opposite. They're not talking. like we're going to talk with our play. That's really what the Brown's culture should have always been.

Because again, leaning back to what I was talking about with Tampa Bay and the energy in New England and Tampa Bay, like where you are and what the culture of your city and the fan base, it should reflect to that. Like when you have a good culture, you know what the fan base is. You know what the energy is there. Can I offer you a counter to that is this. Yes, but Cleveland has been the butt of jokes for a long time. time. They've been the, you know, in that division even, right? And I think, I actually think Baker's persona and attitude coming in, that was a big part of the drawing card was that's how

Cleveland sees itself as, you know, I'm a little small, I'm a little, I'm passed over. Nobody offers me a scholarship and I'm going to just show you, right? That's who Cleveland blue collar who it wants to be. My, I have two big questions about Cleveland. One, I liken this to, there's a pitcher named Sid Fernandez when I was a kid. Pitched for the Mets. And he was heavy. He was heavy. And one offseason, he lost like 50 pounds.

And he came back and he sucked. And it was like, why does he stink? He's like, he was better when he's fat. You know, is Baker better when he's Baker, right? When he's grabbing his crotch, when he's basically given the world two birds in the air. And the second part is this. I like Kevin Stefansky. He's solid.

He fits what you're talking about. Blue collar run the football. But you got two. dudes on each side who want the ball every time it snapped. Remember what happened with Stefan Diggs last year? Remember what happened with the Vikings? Like, they were tick. Throw the ball.

Are we just going to run it on first and second and then play action on third? How does that work out? Everybody's great in the offseason. There's no adversity. No adversity. What happens the first couple weeks of the season when you don't get the football? I do not disagree at all. So within that division, the Ravens had the best regular season record in 2019,

but they obviously got ousted in the playoffs earlier than expected. And former Ravens head coach Brian Billick thinks that the key to making a deeper playoff run this season is to create a more balanced offense. He said naturally everything is going to come back to Lamar Jackson throwing outside the numbers. That's where there was, if there was one, an Achilles heel. The other thing is the amount of runs versus the passes. They're not going to inhibit him from running. Lamar Jackson has been brilliant. That's the hallmark of what they were able to do.

You run as much as you need to run. I do think he does have a point, and I think the Ravens know that, because they've already talked about getting Lamar more efficient with throwing the ball down field, more accurate, and that keeps the defense honest. Obviously, everyone knows that Lamar is a threat to run, and if he gets going, he's going to get a huge gain and get out of bounds before you can get to him.

That's what he is great at, showing some video of it now. He's very elusive, he is great feat, but you don't necessarily fear him with, throwing the ball down the field yet. So that's what they're working on with him this offseason. So if they can become more dynamic offensively, not that Ma'amar isn't a great throw

of the ball. He is. He is capable of doing that. But if he can improve on that, if he can move up to top 10 in the league or top 12 in the league at throwing the ball down field, I mean, they're already scary. They'll be terrifying. I mean, look, if he can throw it, I mean, he's going to have to at some point, run it less.

To me, their schedule is pretty soft. But the first three games of the year. Browns who beat them last year. Browns in Baltimore. They go to Houston who will have extra time to repair because Houston plays the first game of the year. And then they get the Chiefs at their place, a Chiefs team, which really the final score was not indicative, dominated that game and limited Lamar. They get off to a reasonably good start at two and one start. They're going to be great. But there's the potential there to get off to a rough start and people have now have an entire season of tape on Greg Roman and on how Lamar Jackson is best used. The question is, can Lamar take

another step because he took a massive step from year one to year two, does he have that next step in him? Traditionally, when you try and make a guy who's not a great outside the numbers thrower and outside the numbers thrower, it doesn't work out all that well. But Lamar has surprised all of us with his level of improvement today. That's Joy Taylor with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurdline News. Is the NBA making a grave mistake challenging the NFL, college football, and major league baseball, potentially, coming back and finishing in October. We'll ask Chris Broussard.

He joins us next in The Hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of the HARD weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlic on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped. up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth.

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about. I'm all healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free I Heart Radio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap 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 Jek. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it 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 y'all know. I mean, at this point, 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. They're finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black. 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. What's up guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes,

A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the I-HartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Imagine picking up your smartphone, opening an app and controlling your grill remotely. Grill. For anyone, that's do what I did. Get the best. Get a rec tech grill. That's rectechgrills.com. R-E-C-T-C. with an S.com.

Nothing says grilling to me like Colin Coward. Nothing says grilling. I actually have had stakes at his house that were grilled. I did not see him at the grill, but I'm not going to say I didn't not see him at the grill. Fair enough. Okay, I don't want to indict, and we don't know. Let's welcome in Chris Broussard, who's covered the NBA

and all sports for a long time. You can hear him on the odd couple at 7 o'clock Eastern, 4 o'clock Pacific, along with Crazy Uncle Rob Parker nightly. And, of course, you see him on all of our TV shows on F&F, one. Chris, let's start with what we think is a pending announcement, and forgive me, I haven't received word that the votes are yet tallied, but there's an assumption that we're going to have an NBA regular season conclusion with eight more games, and then potentially some play-in games, and then NBA playoffs with seven-game series with 16 teams all in Orlando,

concluding in October. If that is, in fact, what the NBA decides to do, what's your reaction? I like it. I think they've done a great job, if indeed this is what happens, in a tough situation. You know, there was talk, the play in, for instance. There was talk about the seventh and the eighth seeds. Well, now it's just going to be potentially the eighth seed. I think that's fair. It would have been exciting, Doug.

I would have been kind of hyped up to see the Mavericks and the other, you know, teams for the seventh and eight seed playing to be in a play in. But it wouldn't have been fair to Dallas. They may even move above the seventh seed with the eight games, but they were 10 and a half games ahead of Portland, which is the ninth seed right now in the West. So it wouldn't have been fair to the Mavericks. It would have discounted what they'd done

over the first 65 or so games of the season. So in just having the playing with these eight teams, I think that's more fair. I think that, you know, they take away, they keep the A.C. with an advantage in that you'll have to be beaten twice by the ninth seed. or, you know, whatever team you're competing with in the play-in. I think that's good.

I think the eight games is necessary, the eight regular season games. I don't think you could jump right into the playoffs for a few reasons. One, I think it would increase the chances of injury if you go right into the playoffs. You need to play the eight games to let the guys get in some semblance of basketball shape. And two, these are the most important games of your season. you don't want teams. Look, the quality of play is going to be lower anyway. We know that, Doug.

But if you just throw them right into the playoffs, the quality of play for your most important games would be terrible. And now you give them a chance to develop some chemistry, get in some shape over these eight regular season games, and then come playoff time, I mean, there'll be at least a higher quality of play versus just throwing them in there after three or four months off. So I think all things considered they've done a good job with this.

Chris Broussard, brought to you by Mercedes-Benz the best or nothing. What about the idea of having the NBA finals up against the NFL college football and potentially a World Series? I don't know what the alternative is. I get where you're coming from. They have to compete. Nobody wants to compete against football. Baseball, you don't mind competing with until the baseball playoffs and World Series.

That's where they, you know, people are really into it. And so I get what you're saying, but what's the alternative? The only alternatives are you either shorten the preparation time, you know, whatever type of training camp they'll have and things like that, which is not wise because then players could get injured and some guys could get injured for the following season, which you don't want. Or you take away the eight games or shorten that. I don't think that's wise. I just spoke about why they need those regular season games. And then do you, if you go to three or five game playoff series in some of the rounds, which I don't like that either because I think you want to keep it.

You want to try to make it as legitimate as possible, as normal as possible, to avoid the asterisk in everybody's mind. We know there's going to be an asterisk for a little while because it's such a different type of setup. But if you shorten the playoff series too much, there could be an asterisk for a lot longer in people's mind. No, no, listen. They're not going to shorten the playoffs. They need that to decide a true champion, but also for the money and the TV.

But if you're going to have these eight games, start these eight games Fourth of July weekend. Like what, I don't, I understand. Don't you know, I mean, these guys have to get in shape, Doug. Do you think they've all been? Do you, I want your honest, honest thing. I think they've been running. I think they've been jogging.

I think they've been running. But that you know as well as anybody. That's not basketball. I understand. They need to play five on five. But like, let me check my calendar. It's June 4th. It's June 4th.

If they're all at their facilities next Monday, then they have essentially a month or close to a month to be ready to play those eight games. And then we all understand the only reason they're playing those eight games is to get in shape further for the playoffs. Like, what are we waiting for? I honestly, I don't understand. I do, I agree, it may take two months to get ready for the playoffs. but I'm not talking about the playoffs. I'm talking about those eight games

which you can space out and play your way into shape, which is what you'd be doing with training camp anyway. Like, do we have a two-month lead-up to the regular season anyway? I just, I don't believe. Guys, you know, guys usually start playing games,

you know, before training camps start. You know, they'll play their five-on-five. You know, guys play at UCLA and different parts of the country guys fly out and play. But I don't have a problem with it. I think, you know, obviously, him silver is trying to be cautious he was the first commissioner to stop playing and we've seen to have forgotten about the safety element from the pandemic but i think that's still something that's

very much on his mind um all right last thing drew drew breese he apologized today on instagram um we'll at the top of the hour we'll give continued context to it because several of his other answers were actually completely different from how he answered in regards the flag protests, but what's your reaction to what he had to say yesterday on Yahoo Finance? Well, I think part of the why is such a huge response among players and other athletes is it would be huge no matter who it is. But Drew Breeze is viewed as a man of high character. And if anybody was viewed as an ally of the African American community and fighting for justice, it's a guy like Drew Bree. So to hear him say what he said, which in another context,

is fine. But what he did was he went, this protest, if you will, from Colin Kaepernick was taken apart and misdirected because people tried to make it about the flag when it never was about the flag. In fact, Colin Kaepernick met, we all know, with Nate Boehier,

former Army Green Beret, and Boyer suggested kneeling out of a sign of respect for the flag and for those who the veterans. And so that's what Kaepernick was doing. Nealings never been viewed as a sign of disrespect in our culture. And so he was kneeling for the flag to show respect to the veterans and all in the military. And yet just showing that I disagree with what's going on in our country. And still people turned it and made it about something that it wasn't.

And so for, you know, the President Trump and Vice President Pence, they made it about that and totally took the attention away from what this was really all about. And so for Drew Breeze to kind of second that, that's what everybody is upset about. And I think rightly so, because it never was about the flag. Aaron Rogers got it right. Did his, I got 20 seconds for you. Did his apology hit the mark for you? I have not seen his apology. You know, I haven't seen it, so I can't comment yet on that. All right. We'll read at top of the We'll give you a chance. In the meantime, Chris, take a listen to The Odd Couple. Every afternoon, 4 o'clock West Coast time, 7 o'clock East Coast time. Chris Bursar, you see him on all of our shows, undisputed with Rob Parker on the odd couple. Chris, thanks so much for joining us.

Thanks, Doug. All right, coming up next. We'll get to that Drew Breeze audio. Can Drew Breeze recover from this? And what would that look like? We'll discuss next in the Herd. One more Herd? The Herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Hard Radio app. Search Herd to listen. in live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never. make the highlight reel. 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

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

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, 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 Hardway and listen now.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMA? 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 a 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 it 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 all day, but yeah, yeah, literally. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. 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. What's up, guys?

This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Clifford Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What up? Welcome in.

This is The Herr, wherever you may be. And however you may be making this part of your day, in for Colin Cowherd. I'm Doug Gottlieb. Bless you. Now do my COVID sneeze. What about that one? You're sitting here for like five minutes.

Then all of a sudden the light comes on. And here comes to sneeze like, no! Snuck up on you. No. You know, this actually relates to Drew Brie. I'll do so in a minute. I'm glad that you handled that properly, though. I did?

I would have had a very dramatic reaction if you just sneezed and didn't cover your sneeze. Appreciate that. Appreciate that. You are Joy Taylor alongside. Can I call you a germaphobe? Is that a negative term? Extremely clean. I'm not afraid of germs.

I just prefer. Germ conscious? I'm germ conscious, yes. I'm aware that they're germs and that they can make you sick. And yeah, so I like for stuff to be clean. okay like you go to a you travel a lot

I only know because I follow you on Instagram you travel a lot when you go to a hotel yes okay what do you I don't know if you use the TV but if you use the TV do you just turn it on do you wipe it down?

I try to wipe it down I generally don't use the TV because that kind of that requires me touching that remote yeah you're a general phone I hate to break it to you are but can I I can I offer you a solution which I have several I have two I usually have like disinfectant wipes

with me so anything I know I have to touch I'll just I'll give it a good you that you're that one yeah all right so nothing's really change in your life right you just no this is not other people are like see I told you all the time this is the problem no because I have a job where I can't I have to physically be here right like everybody have a job do they have to physically be there no I I guess it'd be yeah I need to be here in the seat functioning with energy so I can't get sick. Is that what you're doing? I can't get sick.

You know what I'm saying? Like I don't, and I don't like to miss work. I just don't get sick. I do the exact same thing. I don't really pay, like I don't like, like the microphone.

But I don't. I mean, I like, look, I have a health. I wash my hands when I use the restroom. I do why get out.

Every time I get off a flight, I wash my hands just because I feel gross. Right. What I say is I'm, I am preventative. I don't, I'm not afraid.

Yes. I'm just preventative. Okay. All right. Joy Taylor, germ conscious. Got it. So the whole world's talking about Drew Brees, and he's issued an apology. First, let me, I'm going to play for you in a second.

The answer to a question about kneeling before the flag, the potential for it returning to the NFL this year in a second. We also have an answer from the question right before, which may give you a sense of like, I read on social media, media, well, Drew Breeze, this is how he really feels, like, okay, well, if you play all the answers, if we use everything he's ever said, it seems to be he's a reasonable fella, right? And maybe that's why people have reacted the way they've reacted. Some of it is, and I don't want to say gotcha media, but you react to one line,

which seems to really, really miss in terms of timing and in terms of having empathy. Here's Drew Brees and the answer that went viral about national anthem protests potentially returning in 2020. I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Let me just tell you what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States. I envision my two grandfathers who fought for this country during World War II. So every time I stand with my hand over my heart, looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that's what I think about. And in many cases, it brings me to tears, thinking about all that has been sacrificed, not just those in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the 60s. And everyone and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point.

And is everything right with our country right now? No, it's not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together. We can all do better. And then we are all part of the solution. Can I ask you question, Joy.

When you look at the flag, when the flag is played, when the national anthem is played at a sporting event, you're there. What do you think? Well, I was actually thinking that when I was listening to Drew Brie's, talk about it. I am, I consider myself to be a proud American. I love living in America with all of its flaws. I think we have the greatest country in the world and that's an arrogant American statement because I'm an American. I was born and raised here. My family is mostly military. My sister serves now in the Air Force. My cousin is in the Army. And I'm proud to be an American. But because I'm an American, I also have the right to want America to be better and to be fair.

And because I'm an American, I above everyone else in the world, have the most right to criticize how we do things. So when I look at the flag, I think of our country and where I live and the pride that I have for it and how much more we have to do to be better. So really when I was listening to Drew talking,

his statement is just layered in entitlement. Like the way that he's speaking is like that, I'm inspired by the flag. And when I see the flag, this is I see unity. So therefore, if you feel or think anything else when you see the flag, you're disrespecting the flag. I don't, okay. I don't take it that way.

Now, look, I think we were in agreement. And you tell me if we're disagreeing. Okay. I think we'd agree that the first part, when he said I will disagree, I will never agree with anyone who, who,

disrespects the flag. Okay, that, that, because if you take that out, he's giving his own, when I look at the flag, here's what I think.

And I don't feel the, either one entitlement or the lack of ability to, for you to have your opinion. He's just saying what he thinks. Well, the thing is, you can't take that out because that's, that's what he said.

I, I, yes, but he says listen, he says his opening if I remember correctly, he says his opening south, let me tell you what I think

when I see the flag. And yes, he does get into that. Can I tell you what I think when I see the flag? I guess Doug Gottliebun for calling, this is the herd. So I'm almost brought to tears every time I hear the national anthem. And it's because

I have this thing in my memory. I have a very good memory, but I also have this thing in my memory where I remember like snapshots and time and places, right? And I played three seasons overseas. I've traveled. I haven't traveled as much overseas as I would like since having children, but I've traveled overseas a good amount. Obviously, good out of Mexico, whatever. But every time I return home, it's usually a JFK, sometimes LAX, every time you return home, you're in that, you know, they have

the like the glass kind of walk away that takes you right to customs. And you almost always walk by old glory. And you just think, God, this is the best, right? Like, so much better here. And I could tell you about amazing places. Like, the fish I had in Lithuania are incredible. The weather and the people and the culture in Israel is amazing. And I love the smells and the art of friends. But they ain't any place I'd rather live than right here. And I've lived other places. And I respect other places. But this is the best. And I think, lucky am I. Like, for 20 years, based upon an above average college basketball career and a very average professional playing career, I've been able to make a good living and provide for my children and provide

for myself in retirement because I like to talk about sports. Like that's pretty amazing. There's other kind of layers to it in terms of my family and, you know, coming off of, I got, you see Ellis Island when you come in and I think of my great grandparents, my boobie and my Zady coming in and the fear of the unknown and the bravery that they showed to just get on that boat to get here. Like I do think of all those things. But that's my personal perspective. Now, when I think of it, I think, man, we are.

We won the lottery in terms of where we live. But I think where he misses. And so my first thing is, I do think we need to learn to respect that other people see the exact same thing we see and think different. That's what I'm saying. Your experience when you hear the national anthem and you see the flag is different from my experience and is different from Jew's experience. So when he says he's not going to respect, he'll never respect anyone who disrespects the flag is disregarding anyone else's experience with the flag. But that's not the reason why people are upset.

The reason that people are upset is his protest is not about the flag. It has nothing to do with the flag. And because of the presentation that the flag and the national anthem has become at sporting events, there is a psychological association that has come with the flag and the national anthem with the military. When in fact, the national anthem has nothing to do with the military. It's the national anthem. You're not in the military. I'm not in the military.

We can still sing the national anthem. We can still stand for the national anthem because it's about country. There's a psychological association that when you hang a flag, you're supporting the military. And maybe you are, but that doesn't mean that I, because I don't have a flag up, I'm not supporting the military. It has nothing to do with the military or the flag. It's just a moment, his protest was in that moment because that is a presentation when everyone is watching. It's going to have the most impact because it's about awareness. That's why when you use a platform, a large platform, it's going to get the most eyeball.

for awareness. It's not about disrespecting the flag, and that's why people are upset, because this was years ago, and Drew's had to have had conversations about this. It's not about the flag. Listen, I do understand that it's not, it's about police brutality.

I get it. I've always disagreed with the idea that it's not disrespectful. It is. Now, it's intentionally disrespectful. We're showing disrespected. respect so that you pay attention to what we feel like is a major issue in our country, right? That's what it is. You're not listening, and the only way to get your attention is to

make a public display during a time in which you're supposed to be reverent and stand up and put your hand over your heart or hands behind your back and pay attention, right? Whether it, I don't tie it to the military. I don't. I do tie it to our country, and I respect anybody's right to protest. I do think that it's disrespectful, but I also think that it's intentionally disrespectful. And that may be kind of dancing around words to some people, but that's how I've always viewed it. Now, look, Kaepernick lost control. There was, they lost control of the narrative for no other reason then Kaepernick disappeared in terms of his, he has the ability to sit on that couch or any couch he wants in America and have every eyeball on him and, and say beyond a reasonable doubt, what is about, why it's important. Because right now, he doesn't have to take a victory lap, but he or somebody could be leading.

this movement could have been leading this movement for the last, what is it, four years since the original protest. And so that's why I think that whether it's Black Lives Matter or just simply the NFL players that chose to kneel lost kind of control of the narrative was there was no leader. There was no one talking. Well, and it also became politicized because our president decided to get involved. Agreed. Agreed. But again, like Capernicus had the ability to have a press conference or do interviews. There's been so many. Like, the reason that Malcolm Jenkins was crying,

aside from the sheer disappointments in Drew Brees, which I shared with him, is the frustration. So, like, you asked me at the beginning of show how I felt. It was hurt and frustrated because the conversation, whether it's been Kaepernick or anyone else, has been had at nauseam about what the purpose of the protest is. If you are very much like Drew Breeze, and I'm not saying you, I'm saying in general. If you're dug in on what you feel or think about Kaepernick's protests, then that's your decision.

But that doesn't change reality. Like you can scream every day that the sky is green, but I can look up and see that the sky is blue. So if you've decided that that's how you want to live your life, that's your decision. But that doesn't change what the purpose of it was. Like you can feel it's disrespectful. Drew Breeze can feel it's disrespectful. and then there can be an entire community of people that feels it's not disrespectful. It's a show of solidarity and awareness.

And those can be different. But in this situation, when Drew Brees is talking about that, he's redirecting the conversation. And that's another reason why people are so upset. Which is part of what we just had was a conversation over it, right? We're not even having a conversation about police brutality, which is what it's supposed to be about. But just having a conversation, which is ultimately the flaw of, of, of, Drew Breeze's statement yesterday, which was, I don't want to have a conversation. Basically saying, I don't want to have a conversation. He said he's dug in. Right. And that, and that is what

is missing. Coming up next, I want to play for you the other audio that is not played. To my knowledge, hasn't been played anywhere else. It's just a question that was asked right before this question was asked. Then we'll read his apology. And then we'll discuss whether or not this is recoverable for Drew Brees from a guy who was alter patent man of the year, all time, completely. completions, touchdowns, yada, yada, yada, surefire, first ballot hall of fame are going to be on NBC. But in the world of, the insular world of professional football, can he recover? We discuss next in the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard radio app.

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

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations.

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, 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 Hardway and listen now. 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's? 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 it 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 yeah, yeah, literally. But just so y'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 this tape. 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.

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Okay, so again, in the progression of events, Drew Brees interview with Yahoo Finance, I think that the beginning of it was the part that missed the most when he said, listen, I will never agree. with anyone who disrespects the flag. That was immediately met with criticism, including that of his superstar wide receiver, Michael Thomas. Let's be fair here.

This was Drew Breese's answer to a question asked immediately before the question about kneeling for the national anthem. I think that we accomplish greater things as a community, as a society, as a country, when we do it together. And I think that we are all equipped with great talents, abilities, and strengths. And we can use that with each other and for each other. I think we can accomplish some amazing things. And obviously, these are trying times during our country, certainly coming out of this COVID crisis and then entering into another crisis or really these two compounding with each other. I think we all recognize the changes that need to take place. and I do think it's about action versus just, you know, everybody's going to social media and kind of saying their peace.

Obviously, there are riots and there are protests and people are certainly out there showing their frustration as well. But I think at the end of the day, we need to find ways to work together to provide opportunities for one another to continue to move our country forward to a bigger and better place. And look, the whole impetus of the interview was because, he's actually an owner, a franchisee owner for Jimmy Johns, about how to continue to, you know, grow the entrepreneurship for, for minorities. And he had several answers that totally hit the mark in regards to how to how to move forward, how to grow together, unifying sort of for marks, which is, which is kind of amazing considering how his next answer was received. Drew Breez apologized

Rule Today on Instagram quote I would like to apologize to my friends, teammates in the city of New Orleans, the black community, the NFL community, and anyone I hurt with my comments yesterday and speaking to some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain that I've caused an attempt to talk about respect, unity, and solidarity centered around the American flag and the national anthem.

I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on issues we're facing right now in our country. They liked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy. He goes on and you can read it yourself. Michael Thomas, who's a star wide receiver who criticized him on social media yesterday on Twitter a couple moments ago. One of my brothers made a public statement yesterday I disagree with. He apologized and I accepted it because that's what we are taught to do as Christians.

Now back to the movement, hashtag George Floyd. Which, by the way, like, look, the whole idea of this is you're not hearing us, right? you're not hearing that this is a problem and that whether it's all real or some just perceived in how we feel that we are treated by police officers in particular, you're not hearing us. I will say that one of the, and Drew didn't help himself with the answer that he was most criticized for, but it does work both ways. Drew's statement of I will never agree with somebody who disrespects the flag is basically saying, don't talk me about the flag thing. I'm not moving. But if you're criticizing it, you also,

one, have to be willing to hear different perspectives, because I do think there's a substantial number of people that feel you're allowed to protest, but the flag is sacred. Whether you want to connect the military to it or not, that's up to you. But hearing somebody's own perspective is that's being heard. And so everybody has to, we live in a society where so many people feel like they're not heard, but in turn, they also don't listen. And so it becomes kind of this never-ending cycle of, I'm yelling at you, you're yelling at me, and neither of us are actually hearing, hearing each other, which begs the question, Michael Thomas kind of says we're good. Cam Jordan, who's looked like the best leader of all these days. Yesterday took to social media. I know Drew.

I haven't talked to Drew. I need to talk to Drew. And then all of a sudden now things seem okay. Malcolm Jenkins, who just came back to the Saints. Obviously, it was a heartfelt, Tiri, one tweet that had to be deleted. I guess my question to you is, Joy, do you think Drew Brees can win back to the locker room? I think it will take a lot of work, but when you know someone personally,

you tend to be more forgiving of them because you feel like you know their character. Are there going to be certain people who never forgive Jew Brees? Of course. I think the harder community to win back will be the community of New Orleans, the fans, and the NFL community of fans. That's what will be harder to win back.

What I feel about whether that they should accept his apology is different. They know him personally. If you have a friend who you know personally, you've spent a significant amount of time with and you feel like you know their character and they do something, what you feel is out of their character, they apologize, you're going to tend to lean to forgive them because you feel like you know them. Okay. So I guess here's the big kind of elephant in the room question, right? Does that one answer expose who Drew Brees really is and the man of the year stuff and all

the other answers and his relationships with teammates, his relationships with Gleason, you know, his relationship with community, that's all, for lack of a better word, BS. or is it just a tone-deaf answer that we can chalk up to, you know, not totally being correctly contextualized within the bigger interview, but also just lacking awareness of how it would be received and the apology being accepted? I mean, I think that's how he really feels. Because you and I are public figures, Drew Brees is a public figure.

He gets asked many questions throughout his decades of a career that he's had to, either avoid or soften his answer. And in this climate, with everything that's going on, and you're agreeing to do an interview. So it's not like someone snuck up on you or, you know, you're trying to say something and you misspoke. Like, you're doing an interview.

So you're aware that whatever you say is going to then be sent out into the world. I think that's how he really felt. And if you agree with him, then you're likely not. actually listening. And to your point, this is a time to listen, but it's also a time to understand that your opinion really just may not matter right now. And that's okay. In a few weeks, your opinion on something else might matter. But on this, it's just time to actually just listen. I actually really agree with you in terms of like everybody doesn't have to have an opinion,

but I will then ask the follow-up question is, okay, so why are we told by so many that if you remain silent, then you're complicit? Like, that doesn't seem fair. Well, there's a way to participate without giving your opinion. Like, I don't have an opinion about everything that happens in the world

because everything that happens in the world does not require my opinion, right? Like, it might not have anything to do with me or my opinion may be hurtful or not helpful, or I may, most importantly, be completely uneducated and ignorant on the subject. And that's why people are upset because Drew Brees doesn't have the excuse of being

uneducated or ignorant on the subject, being an NFL player, having been an NFL quarterback when the protests were going on. He just commented on the protest in the very previous answer. So that one, that one doesn't. So you can't, you can't plead ignorance. But this is maybe going, I'm not pleading ignorance. I'm just saying Drew can't. Like Drew cannot say he's unaware of the impact of anything that he says in this moment.

Doing an interview, being an NFL quarterback, having to do interviews before, being in a community of New Orleans that is a very unique community that's been through a lot. He lives in that community. He knows the environment. So when he says something like that, he has to know whatever his answer is, is going to have weight. No, no, no, I understand. You're focusing this on Drew Brees. and I may be unintentionally focusing it on myself, okay?

But the idea is this, right? Like, again, you're, you're, we have, you read enough social media, you listen to enough people on TV and on radio, they will say, you know, like, hey, if, you know, if this, if this doesn't, if you don't offer up support now, then you are complicit in what took place. And that's incredibly unfair, which by the way, I think one of the, again, this is the flaw. in all of us, all of us. But it is a flaw in any sort of movement, which is, look, he apologized? Do you want to parse a word here? Fine. Like, the dude fell on his sword and apologized.

And everything else he has done and said has been, you know, right on par with a guy who's shown true leadership and been involved in the community. I think what, this is basically the problem with the super far left is they want to tell you that, hey, if you, we're for every. everybody unless you don't agree with everything we say but this is that's not that's not fair that's not the way it works not everybody shares it's just like our conversation we had on the flag look i'm gonna tell you i think it's disrespectful to neal i understand why you're doing it i know and you know what you're doing it but i would i would never that's just not that's just not what i what i believe in and you're

allowed to believe that's how this thing works right you're allowed to believe we're allowed to have a conversation about it i may evolve on the topic i may not but i'll listen but you got to listen to me too and it feels like in an effort to be heard, it's either do it my way, agree completely with everything we say, or you're not for us, you're not with us, be gone with you. Yeah, but unfortunately, on this particular topic, there's only one side to be on. Like in life, there's a lot of gray area with stuff, right?

In general. We live in a divided country. And this particular topic, if you have a, if you have a, If you have a, if you're toting the line. Which topic? What the protests are about, everything that's happening. Well, obviously, what happened is what happened is George Floyd is terrible. Right.

Terrible. Right. But what I'm saying to you, the reason why there's such a reaction to what Drew Breeze is saying is because, like Malcolm Jenkins said, like LeBron said, like so many people have said, his words have power. Drew Breese isn't just some guy, some, you know, bought on. Twitter, he is a, he's a man who has power and influence. And when he says something that feels like you're towing the line, people who don't necessarily feel as strongly as you do about George Floyd are going to attach to that and allow that to grow. So it's a time where like solidarity is most necessary. So to say, you know, you have to do things our way or you have to participate in its left

or that. It's actually not a political issue at all. It's people can politicize it, of course, but it's a human issue. It's not left-right Democrat, Republican. It's not about doing things a certain way. You can support, you can show support, and you can listen and participate without giving your opinion. And that's what Drew Brees did. Yes. I mean, it's so multi-layered there in terms of there's only, but just again, the idea there's only one side. There's only one side of being appalled towards George Floyd's death? Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, why was he the guy still on the force with 18 complaints?

But, Doug, you say that. So you say that and you feel that? Yes. But my experience, I'm getting flooded with people who don't feel that strongly about it, or who don't feel that this is an issue at all, or who don't think that what Drew Brees said is an issue or that what I feel or what I'm experiencing or what Malcolm Jenkins is experiencing or LeBron or the black community is experiencing is even real. So while you may say that and you feel that and you feel something

when you see George Floyd die on camera and you see the protests and you understand the pain, everyone doesn't feel that way. It may be a thing that's not in your mind that there's any other side to be on, but there is another side. It's out there. Yeah, I think what I'm getting at is the problem is multi-layered in regards to, and I had a, a, conversation with a longtime friend of mine who's a police officer, African American police officer in Northern California last night and he's like, you know,

the idea, we demonize all police officers, which is incredibly unfair. We don't discuss the litany of societal issues that we have, including how many guns there are on the streets, which, and the lack of training,

you know, what you pay officers is, that's the pool which you're going to draw from. There's a lot of, different layers to it, which we can agree and disagree and have interesting discussions. And I don't believe, I just personally know, it doesn't always strictly come down to race, but I'm willing to have the discussion as to why do the numbers skew? Why does a particular race of people feel so disenfranchised, right? But I do think that's really important that people don't dig into their stance and say,

it's only one way, or even Drew Breed's apology, doesn't. get up to the level that it should. All right, more on this to come. Let's get to Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I think they wanted us to break here, so I'm only going to do two stories. Okay.

So Baker Mayfield made it clear he wants to his play to do the talking this season. We talked about this earlier. According to the Brown's offensive coordinator, Alex Van Pelt, Baker is really showing his commitment to improving the team. He has done everything I'd expect from him as a starting quarterback. And his work ethic is great. He jumps into other meetings that aren't required. He'll sit in the receiver meetings when they have them.

He'll sit in the running back meetings from time to time as well. So he's all in. He's doing it exactly how we'd expect him to do it. I like your point earlier. Like the reason I liked Baker was kind of all that bravado chip on the shoulder stuff. It may not necessarily go away. He may just be learning the game. Colin and I talked about this,

that, you know, as you mature and you're in a certain business, you start to learn the politics of it and how it moves and when you should get involved in stuff and when you should nod. And I think that might be playing a role in how Baker's handling it. Maybe he's just realized, you know, being tough with the media and, you know, making grand declarations about how the season is going to go is going to. It doesn't work.

And people will hold on to that. So that may be part of what's happening here. But I'm with you. I don't know. Listen, again, we'll have to all be convinced, and they'll get a great chance to convince us week one of the season. They play out at Baltimore.

Right. It was the best team in the AFC last year in the regular season. So we'll see. It's interesting. Aaron Rogers, though he has evolved, is still Aaron Rogers. What makes Aaron Rogers great? He has all the talent.

Checks all the boxes, right? But what really makes Aaron Rogers, Aaron Rogers is he got that chip on his shoulder. Right. I mean, now it's the Jordan Love thing. Utter disrespect, right? And I do wonder how Baker plays if you take away the armament of the confidence bordering on arrogance. And then I, but look, Alex Van Pelt was, by the way, that was that was Aaron Rogers guy that he got so fired up when he got fired by the, by the Green Bay Packers.

He's a former quarterback. Baker is in the best situation now. He's got a coach that most of us feel will be a solid head coach and deserves to be a head coach, as opposed to the last season, which was. you know, unexplainable. He has the talent around him. The division is still rough. Obviously, you still the Steelers and the Ravens, but you're right. Just get on the field and prove it.

So Derek Henry led the NFL in Carey's and rushing yards last season, but those numbers may go down by design this year. When asked how the team will handle Henry's workload, the Titans offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, said that they will have to see how the season evolves for him and that it's

probably better for the offense if more guys are touching the ball. I don't know about that. The Titans are a team to me that they're just always right there. And I feel like last season was their lightning in a bottle season. I've seen enough from Ryan Tannehill. I think he's a starting quarterback, but I don't think he's the guy. Fine.

And they hit him last year in the playoffs. Derek Henry is an unbelievable football player. He's incredible, dynamic. One of my favorite players to watch play. He's like a superhuman. I mean, he's so much bigger, stronger, faster. I mean, he's... I mean, the man that size should not be able to do what he does, but he can.

He's spectacular. Yes. So I don't understand how... Because they just don't want him to take a beating and shorten his... They need him to be superhero Derek Henry in the playoffs, not superhero week four. And, you know... Do they have enough other heroes to make that work? Like, I saw Peter King had the Houston Texans as the 22nd ranked team in the NFL.

like did something happen to Sean Watson I'm not aware of? I know they got rid of New Hopkins, but I like that Houston, on some level, what Houston is very dangerous with a lot of guys that get injured a lot like David Johnson, whereas the Titans are a one-trick pony, right? Hand the ball to Derek Henry. That's what they do.

I think they're very well coached, I think they're good on defense, but yeah, they're going to shorten the game and play through him. I think the wording there is very, we're going to feed him when he needs. to be fed, but we're not going to have them get beat up in, you know, week three and week six. There's a lot I like about the Titans. There's only one thing I love, and that's Derek Henry. And I don't think that's enough. Judge Joy Taylor with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. When not if this league returns to playing games, the players are in a no-win situation. Tell you who they are next in the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff

nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight reel. 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. SportsClyce brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsCise on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition, in the 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, be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're free?

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 Hardway. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it 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're just so you, y'all know. I mean, at this point, 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. So, you're 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. What's up, guys? This is Clifford Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, the Clifford Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clivert Show on the iTunes. heart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This weekend, it's a full slate of racing from Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Saturday, the truck starts us off at 1 Eastern on FS1, followed by the Xfinity series over on Fox. Then on Sunday, it's the Folds of Honor Quick Trip 500 live at 3 Eastern on Fox and the Fox Sports app. Doug Gottliebin for Colin, this is the herd. We've all been spending more quality time with the family, so invest in something great for them and you. Summer is here. Great times around the grill.

a rec-tech Wi-Fi grill is a game-changer. RecTechGrials.com. That's Rec, R-E-C-C-Grills with an S.com. Major League Baseball's owners have rejected the 114 game regular season schedule that the players proposed. And in kind of a clever way, they're like, the owners were at 82, the players went to 114, and the owners were like, what about 50?

Which, if you do the math, 114, is 32 more. than 82 and 50 just happens to be 32 less so ultimately you feel like they'll meet maybe in the middle maybe it'll be 50 I don't buy this whole owners we're not going to play I never bought the the boris we're not going to respond you shouldn't respond to the owner's last proposal here's what you need to know the players are screwed that's it I mean look in a different fashion then the common man who doesn't have a job or the guy who's first meaning you can't work, look for a job, not actually working, but thankfully his insurance is being paid.

Every sport has a different logic and reason behind how and why they're coming back and the fight for the money. And for baseball, it's more than just about this paycheck. The collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of next year. Traditionally, the Players Association has gotten over on the owners. The exception was the last CBA. that's now about to expire. And so look, the Players Association is not willing to give up anything,

not willing to give up an inch if they don't absolutely positively have to because Tony Clark, a former player in his own right, like, I can't set precedents that we're willing to have givebacks that we're going to bow down to your pressure and then negotiate in good faith. Like that's not going to work for us. Whereas the owners, they know they'll lose a ton of money either way. They know that the best thing to do is to play baseball. But either way, they probably win, more so if they play than if they don't play,

but they win because the players are going to have to accept that this is their only form of income. The owners, though they don't want to keep writing checks and keep losing money, they understand that this will only help them, not only in their CBA negotiations, but also upcoming contracts. I mean, it's, this, we operate in a world where, like, well, they should open their books. What are their books going to tell you? They made a bunch of money. Okay.

That was all collectively bargained upon. Right now, you're operating in a pandemic. You don't have sports. You don't have fans that are going to attend games in the near future. That may change. That may evolve. The state of Texas is allowing fans in limited instances to attend games. So the idea that the players are going to sit there and go, hey, you know, nothing's changed since we agreed to take a pay cut.

That's not accurate. And the owners have the willingness and have, frankly, the bank account to sit this one out if they don't have to. They can play ultimate hardball. Is it smart? No, but it works for them eventually in the future because they can realign the financial structure of Major League Baseball, as opposed to the players who, though many of them are much, much more wealthy than, because they have longer careers than NFL players, the same is true. They do need to get paid in order to, you know, to live.

And the rank and file players, which are the vast majority, aren't making the Bryce Harper contracts. They're just not. So, you know, what you have to start with the idea of the owners own and the owners lay down all that money. And many of the owners are collection of very well-to-do businessmen who didn't sign up to to simply write checks and lose money. And while you can say, well, the value of a franchise continues to go up,

one, good luck finding somebody who's going to buy a franchise right now. Two, you don't necessarily own a professional baseball team just to make money on the franchise fees. And three, it's a lot harder to sell something even outside of the pandemic than it was previously. Like since 2008, you actually have to have cash. You can't do the Frank McCourt thing and buy something on credit. Those days are gone.

So, you know, you look at it. how complicated it was to buy the Mets, that thing is still for sale. The value has plummeted greatly, but you have to want to sell in order for that to happen. I just, I look at baseball, and that doesn't mean that I hold my nose inside if I'm a major league baseball player, but on some level, that's kind of theoretically what I would do. You've got to get back on the field. You've got to get that credit year. You've got to get this train moving, especially considering basketball is not going to be played until the end of July. You could have the whole month of July to yourself.

But this particular situation, the risk lies with the players and not with the owners. Risk in terms of? Physical risk. They've all kind of signed off on the safety issues. It's not about anyone who says it's about safety. It's not. This is about, and this is now about money. Well, it is about money, but also they have a right to earn the money that they got contracts for.

Like this. Yes, but when you sign a contract, there's no fans in the stands. it completely changes the math. Everyone has to make adjustments, right? But the players have already agreed to take less salary, right? They've already taken a cut. So it is about money right now, but it's supposed to be about money. This is their jobs.

For us, it's content. For fans, it's the ability to watch the games, right? It's entertainment. But for the players, it's their job. So they should play hardball. No pun intended. Because that's what they need to do. This is their job.

But at some point in any hardball negotiation, you've got to be willing to make a deal. And they are going to make a deal. But for me, in this particular situation, when the owners, like you said, they enjoy the profits, they enjoy the gains. And it has been agreed on. It has been collectively bargained on. So I'm not saying that that should change and the players should get the gains. You guys made an agreement. That's fine.

But if you do as an owner enjoy those gains, you can't then divvy up. those losses amongst the players when things go badly. Like this is this is on the owners to figure this out. Yes, except that's not actually the way it works in business, right? We're in unprecedented times. Granted, right? The idea that if you don't, you're not contracted to get bonuses, they will hold it against you when the whole company loses money.

All right, coming up next. Do we accept Drew Brees's apology? We'll discuss upcoming next alongside Joey Taylor. I'm Doug Gottlie. Filling in for Colin. This is The Hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. What up? Welcome in. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be making this part of your day.

Thanks so much. Live from Los Angeles. I'm Doug Gottlie, filling in for Colin Cowherd, a lovely and talented. Joy Taylor alongside. Jim Jackson's going to join us in 15 minutes as the NBA is back. all but one team voted for the 22 team format. 22 teams will return to Orlando at the end of July and October. The NBA will crown a champion. It is a new world we live in. We'll discuss it upcoming in 15 minutes. Let's talk about the story that everyone continues to discuss.

Drew Brees is facing backlash for these comments that he made on Yahoo Finance. Now, full disclosure, we're going to also play for you some comments he made previous to the actual comment that everybody's reacted to and he's apologized for. He's made some comments about the potential of NFL players kneeling again during the playing of the national anthem. I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Let me just tell you what I see or what I feel when the national. national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States, I envision my two grandfathers who fought for this country during World War II. So every time I stand with my hand over my heart looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that's what I think about. And in many

cases, it brings me to tears, thinking about all that has been sacrificed, not just those in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the 60s. And every everyone and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point. And is everything right with our country right now? No, it's not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together.

We can all do better. And then we are all part of the solution. Drew, Drew Breese is more than just the guy with most passing yards in NFL history, most completions, most touch. down passes, the highest career passing percentage. Of course, a Super Bowl champion and a future Hall of Fame. And by the way, he signed a contract to become a broadcast with NBC. Whenever his career expires with the Northern Saints, more than that, as the former Walter Payton man of the year, a guy who just donated $5 million to COVID relief,

like he is a staple of the NOLA community, right? Like this guy has been solid. So I'm sure it struck many as at least surprising and alarming. and disappointing that he, he seemed to miss the one word which we all kind of need to have right now, which is empathy, right? That's really what felt like it was missing. And there's just the timing aspect to it.

Because that was, that was a stock answer. That's the answer. I was listening to Dan Patrick driving in on Fox Sports Radio. And Dan said, look, that's the same answer he gave to me going back four years ago. You asked me about flag. I talk about my grandpas. It's like a politician. You go to your kind of stock answer and you talk about unity.

But you had to think, Drew, have you looked outside your window? Right? Like, whether you want to call it a revolution or just protest for that are demanding change, somewhere in between the two, the entire world is starting to check themselves and try and have empathy for people of color and the way in which they've been treated, not just by police, but frankly, by society and try and make ourselves better, which may have been his answer in the end. But when you start out as defiant as I will never agree with someone who disrespects the flag,

there are trigger words there, which sends alarm bells off to everyone. Joy, what was your immediate feeling the second that you heard that question and answer? Hurt. I was hurt by what he said. Why? Because I had a lot of respect for Drew Brees, and I have expectations of him because he's put himself in a position of leadership, and he is a very philanthropic person. So I expected him to be more aware of not only the environments that society is in right now, but the power that those words can have for people who are looking to latch on to anything that goes against what, what the movement is trying to do. Yeah, it was, it was interesting because you felt like it kind of came out of left field.

It did not feel, you know, whether or not he was trying to answer the question, it did not feel that it was, it fit with the time. Like, when I first saw it, I was like, well, was this from a couple years ago? Was this from a couple months ago? When was this from? Like, no, this is from today. Now, Drew has since apologized, a quote from his, his IG page, his, his, his, his, Instagram page. I would like to apologize to my friends, teammates, and the city of New Orleans,

the black community, the NFL community, and anyone I hurt with my comments yesterday in speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain that I've caused. In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, solidarity, centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing now in our country. They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy. I thought he could have ended it right there. he went on to kind of a statement of who he is. Now, let's be fair to Drew Breeze. And maybe this is the part which is kind of odd, right?

You factor in that Drew Breeze, though he didn't kneel during the national anthem before the first game of the season, back when it was Kaepernick and when Colin Kaepernick started the kneeling protest that spread around the national football league, he did kneel with his teammates, locked arm in arm, right before the national anthem.

So if you think this, one was out of the left field, this was the question right before he had the answer which has gone viral. I think that we accomplish greater things as a community, as a society, as a country when we do it together. And I think that we are all equipped with great talents, abilities, and strengths. And we can use that with each other and for each other. I think we can accomplish some amazing things. And obviously, these are trying times during our country, certainly coming out of this COVID crisis and then entering into another crisis or really these two compounding with each other. I think we all recognize the changes that need to take place.

And I do think it's about action versus just, you know, everybody's going to social media and kind of saying their peace. Obviously, there are riots and there are protests and people are certainly out there showing their frustration as well. But I think at the end of the day, we need to find ways to work together to provide opportunities for one another to continue to move our country forward to a bigger and better place. Like that's the perfect answer that he could have had in addition to the flag question, right? Like the idea of working together and understanding that the protest, you know, while it's gotten people's attention, we need to find a way to keep evolving. Like I like to think of it as, and even think of myself,

do you know that photo of the evolution of man, nowhere at the start, he's cromagnum, he's curle over, and the end he's standing up, he's homo erectus, he's standing up straight. We're all kind of in the middle there, right? Different levels of evolution, at least me personally. Like, I look at how I view things. You know, when, you know, I had a ill-timed tweet going back to when Eric Garner was killed by a police officer in Staten Island.

when the first I Can't Breathe shirts came out, right? And I started to understand shortly thereafter from many of my African-American friends, like, hey, dude, you got to understand what's going on out there and how you're perceived, but more than anything, how we are perceived, anytime we get pulled over or anytime something goes down, people look at us like all of a sudden we're the ones who did something wrong. And maybe I didn't realize it at the time. And you start to evolve in your feelings. You start to understand how other people see the world.

Now, I will point out, and this is really, really important. Look, Drew Breeze's biggest mistake in my opinion, my opinion, is that all of his answers up until that point were about working together. And even the answer at the end was about unity and working together and being better. But the opening salvo to that answer, I will never agree with someone who, whatever it is. That's a, I'm not listening. Doesn't really matter what you say. I'm not changing. Stuck in here, this is the, you can have your Jordan LeBron.

Jordan's better than LeBron. I'm not changing. You know, what if LeBron goes and wins the next three NBA titles? Well, I'm not changing because I like Jordan better. Like, it might work in a sports debate, but the true evolving man takes in new information and may move off of that stance. I think that in an effort to try and say, hey, we need to listen and work together.

He started his answer by saying, I'm not really listening to anybody because this is how I feel about anybody who kneels before the flag because my grandpa's fought and protected our country. And that goes counter to what the whole idea of this thing is, which is, hey, we got some problems. We've got to start listening to one another.

Here's the one thing I feel like people need to remember. Drew, obviously, whether he misspoke, or got into his statement about the flag, however he felt. But what Drew was trying to get to was, from his perspective, here's how he saw the flag and everybody sees it different. He didn't offer up that he was willing to listen to other people's view of the flag. But it has to work both ways. The same people who are saying you have to listen to us, have to listen to others.

You can't simply say, or you shouldn't, maybe can't, you shouldn't simply say, I need to be heard, but then being unwilling to listen. I almost think the same applies really to Vic Fangio, you know, head coach of the Denver Broncos, who yesterday apologized for something he said the day before. The day before he said football is a meritocracy. And from my perspective, from my perspective, I don't see racism. And then, you know, he talks to coaches and players.

Again, I'm not sure that people are actually listening. Remember, Vic Fangio had been a coordinator in the league for 25 years before getting his first opportunity, right? And he didn't get it. He got his first opportunity because it's really, really difficult. And the NFL obviously has noticed this is not trending the way we want to trend. That's why they discussed they actually have a change to the Rooney Rule. And there was some talk of a different level of proposal, which there was a bonus given if you hired an African-American head coach, general manager or quarterback coach. So it's not like the NFL doesn't know that there are not a great enough depth of candidates.

But I would offer up like you ask Vic Fangio his personal experience and he says it hasn't existed in my world. I think football's meritocracy, even for somebody that it took him that long to get a head coaching job, I struggle to see why people can't afford him the ability to speak his mind from his perspective as long as he's open to learning and listening to. to your mind and your perspective. That's the whole idea of it. Well, Vic Fangio wasn't passed up on those opportunities because of the color of his skin. Right.

Right. So when he's saying that he doesn't experience racism or he doesn't see it, again, he may not see racism, but he can't speak for everyone. But we're in a divided space. So when he says that, people who are dug in that there is no racism or like, see, Vic Fangio said it, so it must not be racism. And that's why that's problematic.

He said in football. And I actually believe him to be more accurate than inaccurate in terms of... When he's talking about on the field, right? Like if you are the best player, you're going to earn the position regardless of what you look like, regardless of what school you went to. And that may be mostly overwhelmingly true. I don't believe that anything is all or everything. so that there may be mostly true.

We believe that, right? Like if you're the best player, they're going to play you. That's how that works. No, for the most part, that's how it goes, right? But systemic racism exists. Just because someone doesn't come out and call you a racial slur or says, you know, we don't like this group of people. It doesn't mean that there isn't systemic racism and things.

So if he doesn't see it, like he doesn't experience it, that may be his experience. But again, him saying that, if someone, wants to believe or is already dug in on believing that there is no racism in sports, they're going to latch on to that statement. And that's why it's problematic. Okay. And maybe he's looking at it from a more simplistic point of view in that, look, I've been in all these meetings and never, this was a discussion I got to on my show, which is, you know, Doug Williams said that the Bears wouldn't have selected Mitch Trubisky number two overall instead of Pat Mahomes

and Deshawn Watson had their skin colors been different. And I talked to the Bears about why they drafted Mitch Mitchell Trubisky and it was never about race. It just wasn't. It was about all the other boxes that they chose to check.

And that's when Deshawn Watson came out and tweeted that he never talked to the Bears even though there's video of him saying he talked to the Bears and the Bears actually came and were at his pro. day. Didn't go to dinner with him, but they all, they brought the whole brass down to watch and they mis-evaluate. You can

mis-evaluate a quarterback and it not be about the color of his skin. That is where the NFL has changed. You go back to when our parents were going up and, you know, the famous Warren Moon stories of people didn't believe that he could be an NFL caliber quarterback. Right. Now it's just, hey man, I just

need somebody who's going to win me games. I don't care if you're white or black or mixed race. I don't actually care. And I believe that's more true than untrue. Do I think that there's zero racism in sports? Probably not. Again, I'm not at all or nothing person. But I would think it's, again,

and he was asked his opinion from his experience, which is a lifetime in the NFL. I don't know why he has to apologize for his experience. Well, I don't think he's apologizing for his experience, but it's a tone-deaf statement, regardless of what's going on. And there is a lot going on, so you really can't say regardless. Like, everyone is aware of what's happening.

So it is tone deaf to say that. And just because something is your experience doesn't mean that it's everyone's experience. So if you're saying, I don't see that. I don't see that. In this climate that we're in with everything that's going on, you should say. But they're not going to be racist towards me. So it could very well exist, but I'm not going to experience that. So I can't speak for everyone.

So do I see racism? No. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. And those small qualify. buyers make a big difference when people are listening to what you're saying and wanting to say, oh, you know what, I agree with him and he's been in the, he's been in the NFL for 40 years. So he knows it's important. That's why what Drew Brees has said is important.

People want to, people are taking sides and they should take sides because that we are divided for a reason. I don't think, well, again, I think people have taken sides. I don't actually think you have to totally take a side on that one because what he said was football is special. because football is about merit. It's about what, like the whole fight's about. Just judge me based upon me, not about how I looked to you. How do I play? All right, coming up next, we'll get Jim Jackson's thoughts on all the issues of the day.

And the NBA being officially back. Is this a good plan? Will the league be the better because of it? Find out next in the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Father's day can be stressful, trying to find the perfect gift for dad. But right now, Tommy John is offering their best Father's Day deal ever. Get limited

edition. Father Day gift sets plus 25% off sitewide. Hurry to Tommyjohn.com. Code Hurd. Alongside Joy Taylor. We'll hear from her in a second with the news. I'm Doug Gottlieb. Let's welcome in via the Hurd satellite network. The one and only former NBA star, All-American in Ohio state, two-time Mr. Basketball in the state of Ohio. He's Jim Jackson. He joins us. JJ, let me start with the news of the moment, which is the NBA is going to be back. It's going to end of July, 22 teams headed to Orlando. Eventually they get to the playoffs and they'll decide a champion in October. What's your reaction to the plan?

It's probably not going to be the perfect plan, but it's the plan that fits the narrative of getting back. It's the reason why it took Adam Silver in the NBA and the Players Association, months to try to figure out a scenario that makes sense from a health perspective, safety perspective, but also from an integrity perspective of the game and how to play it and how it should be done. I'm happy that the NBA is coming back. What format when they do it in regards to the scheduling, I think, is going to be very important in how these teams play these eight games, how they match up. It's going to be interesting, too.

that's going to be a different feel because it's in Orlando, not having the fans there. But again, you're not going to have the perfect scenario that everybody wants because the times that we're living in are not perfect. So it dictates something else. It dictates some kind of creativity in order to get this thing done. And I think that's what Adam Silver and the Players Association has accomplished. Who does it help?

In regards. Like a team or? Yeah. Yeah. Who does it? Who does it help? You know, like the Lakers were rolling. The Clippers hadn't played together a ton.

Now they would be fully healthy. And I guess, I mean, nothing will make you more cohesive than a second training camp and then eight kind of ramp-up games. I don't know. I look at and I think, I think maybe the Clippers benefit from this more so than the Bucks or the Lakers in terms of championship teams. But is there something I'm missing a team that you think benefits from it? Well, no, I think, you know, it's, you think about it now playing on a neutral court.

The Lakers happen to have the best role record in the lead. Milwaukee also played well on the road. So now you kind of take the home court advantage out of it, but the teams that were able to go on the road and win, I think that's very important. If you'd even look at last year's playoffs, the disparity between the home losses and road wins, it wasn't that big of a difference.

But on a neutral site, it may benefit a team like the Clippers now who also are coming back in healthy again, part of their season, the mindset behind the season was to be at their best come playoff time, okay? To be healthy come playoff time. And now we're going to get a chance to see them through these remaining eight games, how that continuity, if they can get that, how that continuity will help them try to strive to win a championship. But I think going into it because of what we saw from the Lakers right at the end by beating the clippers,

by beating Milwaukee, that they are going to be the slight favorites to win, especially in the scenario. that we're about to see with the NBA coming back. All right, I got to ask the question. We thought the Nets would wait and play next year, right? Kyrie's shoulder surgery and KD. But he was close to being ready to come back. And when this kicks off, it'd be 13 months and change removed from tearing his Achilles tendon and having surgery. Is it unreasonable to say, why didn't KD and Kyrie play?

They get a training camp. They get eight games. They get the playoffs. and they'd have a chance to compete and win. What are your thoughts and the possibility of those two getting together and playing this year instead of waiting until January to ultimately play together? Well, I like the thought process from this because you get a training can. At least you get a chance to put those guys through the motions, through the repetitions,

through the stress of the game somewhat in training can. So from there, you can determine if they're able to go and play a full game. And that's where I think the benefit here, if you're going to look at a guy coming back from an injury, this gives you enough time to make that evaluation because one, you go through a tough stretch of training, but how does your body recover, which is the important part? Because when you're talking about playing these eight games,

you're going to try to bunch it in there, and then the playoffs start and you're kind of bunching these games in there. So how does your body recover? And now you don't have the time like you do in the regular season to say, you know, I can take a couple games off and just rest and get back. So I think they can utilize that time in training camp if they're thinking about bringing these two young men back

to see how their body responds to the stress of being back on the court and then make their decision from there. Would anybody not consider a true NBA champion? Like, does it depend on who wins? You know, like if the Lakers win, but is this a true champion? We consider this an equal champion to last year in the previous year and the previous year, et cetera. It's different.

I mean, because no, you're not going to, you know, be traveling across the country to play in the seven game series. You don't have the home court. You don't have the home fans. But it's still a championship. Now, think about this, though. Is it more difficult to win it this way? Because you're not at home. Now, you don't have the travel.

Right. But this is a neutral site. This is not your home court. So now it's a different mindset that you got to carry into the playoffs because you don't add that. benefit of being at home. So it's different ways you look at. Listen, in 98, 99, when the Spurs won it, it was unconventional because it were times, Doug, we were playing three nights in a row.

That had been done since the, I don't know, maybe 60, 70, I don't know. That was a little bit different, but it's not an asterisk by it. Now, again, the playoff scenarios were still the same. And even in 2011, 2012, when it was 66 games, again, the scenarios were the same. the season wasn't as long as the previous ones, but the ones you win it, I'll take that champion. If it's me, I'm taking that championship, you can say what you want about it.

If I win it as a championship. All right. I want to ask you really quickly. Drew Breeze, he had his statement. We've played other things he said within the same interview. We've talked about his apology. What are your thoughts on Drew Breeze, not just what he said yesterday, the apology,

and the likelihood that with, in the locker room, a place you were with, I think, 12 teams in the NBA. Can he rebuild those relationships after how it went down yesterday? First, the answer to can he rebuild, yes, he can, because a lot of those guys do respect Drew Brees because of the man that he is. Now, I will say this, though, it's very hard because you find out a lot about people in difficult situations who you thought you knew. And that's what a lot of his teammates are finding out right now.

And it's going to take Drew Brees, I think, a lot of, love, support that he's going to have to give to his teammates to kind of win some of that respect back. Now, one thing he said, though, to me, this is the argument, and I think Joy was touching upon this, which is a very critical point, that people don't understand when minorities talk about not feeling like they belong to the collective of the United States. Drew Brees said in there, when he looks at the flag, he thinks about his grandfather, the sacrifices they've made in the military, the freedoms that are attributed to him. I'll say this, Doug, when you, during holiday time, when you think about Thanksgiving, what do you think about? Family, football, I don't know. I actually think about practices on Thanksgiving Day in college.

I thought those are big bonding events. But anyway, why? And it is because if you ask a Native American what they think about Thanksgiving, they may give you a totally different answer in regards to what it means or does it mean to them. When you ask a African-American or maybe a minority, what the flag means to them, we're probably going to give you a little bit of different scenario because of the lineage, the history in which our culture has been through. And then Jewry's being in that locker room with minorities, with black men,

he hears the conversations. He understands the challenges. He knows what these men are going through. But yet and still, you take the stance, I think, sensitive stance and make that statement without really realize, or maybe he did realize, that you're going to affect and you're impacting the thoughts and processes of those guys that you call your brothers in the locker room. And that's what really bothered me. If he were to take off the part, and I know you can't, but if you were to take off the part

of, I will, what is that? I will, I will never agree with anyone who disrespects the flag. But he simply said what the flag means to him. wouldn't would would would would that be okay right like i i i do understand that there's a disconnect there and a lack of empathy for everything that's going on in the streets i i get that i'm just like what you said was eloquent and accurate what things mean to to to different people and different cultures is just different but isn't that kind of part of the deal is i not only have to accept that it means something different to you but you also have to accept that it means something different to me doesn't it well

It does, too. And again, I believe that Drew Breeze has had this conversation and discussion before because of how he said it in this statement. No question. You know, he's had this conversation. He's had this argument. So you can tell. So that's where the insensitivity comes in because you're around these players all the time. And again, the back part of that statement was totally correct.

You're right on that because he made the valid points in that when he talked about what it meant and what the flag and everything else. That back part was perfect. But when he started it off, Doug, that right there was what, you know, kind of, the match was struck right there. And it wasn't any coming back from that after that. At some point, you and Tom Brady need to get together and give your secrets away on how both of you guys

keep looking better and younger as you grow older. In the meantime, we bid you. Cigards, bro. It's not working for Jordan. Jordan's smoking cigars. He doesn't look good. It might be a little bit too much with Jordan right there. There's a limit there.

JJ, thanks so much. Come on. Anytime, brother. It's Jim Jackson, one of the all-time great dudes here at Fox Sports. Let's get you to Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Dak Prescott made a powerful statement this week,

supporting protesters, fighting racial injustice across the country. In a long Instagram post, he said he was disgruntled and unsettled. over the killing of George Floyd, Annie stated, I am with you in response to the people protesting. He also pledged a million dollars to help address systemic racism and improve training for police officers throughout the United States. He has been pretty involved with philanthropy throughout his NFL career. He also joins the Social Justice Reform as part of the NFL Players Coalition in 2018 to bridge the gap between communities and law enforcement. So really nice thing out of, Doc, a young player who's still playing on his, his rookie contract.

Now, obviously, he's going to get paid or play on a franchise tag this year. This year's franchise tag, right? I mean, if he signs it, yes, it'll be a franchise tag. Or he'll sign a long-term deal. He's making at least $30 million this year. Yes, but it's still a million dollars. And he's... No, no, I do.

You donate a million dollars. You have... Fourth-round rookie contract at this moment. You have my... Dak is an amazing case study, right? Like, here's the guy that even Mississippi State didn't offer a scholarship right away, eventually did. You know, he was more of a runner than the thrower early in his career than late in his career. He tried to be more of a dropback passer.

It wasn't great in his senior year. He had the DUI. But since coming, you know, and that's why he dropped a little bit in the draft. But since getting to Dallas, like, he's checked just about every box in terms of what you're supposed to do and how you handle yourself. You know, the big question is, like, just really on the field. Can you beat the good teams? That's it. That's the only thing missing because everything else, he's done and he continues to do with saying and doing the right thing off the field. I mean, I'm a huge Jack supporter. When it comes to his contract, which has kind of been the longest contract conversation, I can honestly remember in my career, I don't think I've ever talked about someone's contract as much.

In general, we don't really like to get into contract details. They're not really fun. and there's salary caps and all kinds of different things to get involved with. It is because of the Cowboys that we're discussing this this much. And he was so like massively underpaid because where he was drafted and the collective bargaining agreement stipulates you can't, there was until this year it couldn't be redone. Not like you can tear it up after the first year and go like, oh, hey, you'll achieve your country.

No, no. We wouldn't be having the conversation so intensely if he was a first round pick and had already made a significant amount of money. Do you think he's a top 10 quarterback, top 15 quarterback? He's definitely a top 15 quarterback. That I would agree. I think Dak, I mean, it's not I think. Dack does a lot of winning. But what I like most about Dak, other than his intangibles and everything that you just mentioned about checking all the boxes,

he is always available. And that is hugely valuable to me. I do not care how talented you are if you aren't on the field. You serve no purpose, like if you're not on the field. So I would take someone who may not be the highest level of talent who's always available if that is a big risk swing there. Like obviously you can't predict when someone's going to get injured. Tom Brady isn't injured. Everyone gets injured at one point.

But he is very durable and there's high value in that to me. So Luke Keekely decided to retire after eight years with the Panthers. But he might not be completely done with football. He is considering joining the Panthers staff as a pro scout. Matt Rule said it's great if it works out if he wants to do it. I certainly hope it works out. I like when players who, you know, you really associate with a franchise, stick with the franchise. It's kind of like a college sort of feel.

And I like the way that the Panthers are rebuilding. It seems like they have completely pressed restart on the franchise. And not that they were in this situation, like, say, the Browns or the Jags were in a complete rebuild. But I like what the Panthers have done. And that's like, I'm a Ham Newton fan, and I do think he's going to end up being a starter somewhere else. But I did feel like they had reached a point in the organization where it was like they want to go in a different direction. New owner, new coach. And Luke obviously had to retire prematurely because of concussions and his overall health.

That guy is a great football player. I think he'd be a good broadcaster as well, selfishly. Welcome to here anytime. But yeah, have more football guys around football. that would be, that'd be pretty cool. I don't know if the Panthers can manage, because, you know, like TV lifestyles a little bit better, but.

It's a little bit different than a scout, but I do think a guy who has played the position and that position, linebacker has evolved, maybe more so than anyone on the defensive side of the football, because it's so much more about your ability to be a hybrid player. He could be an incredible scout, as opposed to guys that hadn't played recently or hadn't played at all. So finally, Dana White has been working to get Fight Island ready to host international UFC fights amid travel restrictions caused by the pandemic.

And he's hoping we're less than a month away from seeing his plan come to fruition. Fight Island. He said he is aiming to have Fight Island host its first event on June 27th. So that's a couple weeks from now. I love this idea when it was in its original form. And we were not, they hadn't had actual. fights in Florida. Now it's kind of like it does feel

a little gimmicky. I'm still going to watch. I still think it's fun. But I don't know that it's necessarily necessary since you're already having fights in Florida. So this is a legit island? Yeah. Where's the island? That I'm not sure about. But it's

yeah, it's a fight island. Undisclosed location. Undisclosed location. Sounds to the serious. It's so. See, like they really want to make make it interesting. Go Enter the Dragon, Hans Islands. Totally.

Absolutely. And then if you lose, if you lose, they put you on, you have to swim back. You get to swim back like, whoa. If you've seen that movie, it's not really a place to go. Why don't they do it on Alcatraz? Why don't they do an Alcatraz? It would be awesome. Then you lose, you got swim back.

I don't know. But UFC 250 this Saturday. The main event is the women's featherweight title bout. Amanda Nunes and Felicia Spencer. Nunes is the current champ. I'm a big Nunes fan, so I'm going to be watching this weekend, but I'm excited about. Like the after photos, the before and after photos of the fighters after they've gone through a fight. You know, at first they look like normal.

And then the person that loses you, their nose is out here. Like, I'm sorry, I can't get enough. I think they're incredible. They're warriors, you know. I don't love it. I mean, I love boxing and I love UFC. But, yeah, I mean, the interview afterwards is fine. I don't need to, like, examine how, you know, giant your eyeball is and your ears cracked.

I'm good. Joy, Tadena, with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lye News. Today would be, would be in a normal schedule, day one of the NBA finals. You're like, really? Like, oh my goodness.

All right. So we got a great best for last for you regarding the NBA finals. Get to that next in the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Imagine picking up your smartphone, open an app and controlling your grill remotely. from anywhere. Do what I did. Get the best. Get a rec tech grill. That's rectechgrills.com.

R-E-C-E-C-Grills with-S.com. Doug Gottliebent been for calling. This is the herd. Today would have been game one of the NBA finals. Whether you're clippers or Lakers, there's a pretty good sense that one of the L.A. teams would have been representing the West. And the bucks are the odds-on favorite out of the east. The good news is the NBA's owners have announced

that they ratified this proposal for 22 teams to head to Orlando and ultimately decide a champion in October. The players have got a chance to vote on Friday. In the best for last, I'm going to give you the five finals matchups that I wish we could have seen normally, and now I hope we can see in Orlando. Good? We're ready for it? All right, let's go. Number five.

Brooklyn Nets with Kevin Durant and Carrie Irving. against the LA Clippers. KD versus Kauai. We only saw it for half of one game last year. Little Brother teams in two big cities, right? Nets, not the Knicks and the Clippers. Neither teams won an NBA title. Nets did win two ABA titles with Julius Irving.

Teams haven't even played yet this season. But the time off benefits the Clippers, the time off benefits the Nets. And I thought that Kauai was the best player in the league in the playoffs last year, and KD was best player in the league in the playoffs in two previous years. I would love to see that NBA finals. Number four.

Bucks versus Clippers. Hey, you still have the Clippers. They have the time off. Last year's MVP versus last year's finals MVP. And of course, we remember how the Bucks season ended last year. Kauai shut down Yannis when he became the primary defender. What all four games held Yonis to just 20 points per game on four. 43 and a half percent field goal shooting over the last four games.

Bucks don't have a player in the roster that's won a title. Bucks haven't won a title since 71. That was when Kareem was on the team. So it was Tiny Archibald. Bucks won both matchups this year, but Paul George did miss one game. Paul George, Healthy, Kauai, Healthy, might be the two best teams in the league. All right. Number three.

Nets. Lakers. KD. versus LeBron. Kyrie versus LeBron, L.A. versus New York. Number two. Number two.

Lakers Celtics. First of all, if you watch the Lakers against the Celtics when Jason Tatum went off at Staples, it was on a Sunday before the shutdown, it was incredible. And when you think of the history of the NBA, you want to get people to watch, Lakers Celtics brings them back, whether it was the Lakers Celtics with Kobe and Powell taking on, you know, KG and Paul Pierce. Did you know Paul Pierce grew up in L.A.? Or Wilton Bill Russell or Magic and Bird.

Of course, there was the wheelchair game with Paul Pierce. What was that really hiding? Lakers Celtics would be incredible. Number one. Bucks Lakers. Because Kareem used to play for them. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Bucks Lakers.

We saw a tale of two very different games. Yannis hit five threes, which he hadn't done before and hasn't done since. did step up and play great when it was in Milwaukee. And then, of course, you have the Lakers who played great in the second matchup and kept the bucks at arm's distance. Two MEP, two top MVP candidates. They're also All-Star captains the past two years.

Teams split in the regular season, top two seeds in the NBA. If I could pick one NBA finals, I think most people would. This would probably be the one. Those are my top five NBA finals. Joy Taylor, did I miss something, are my rankings out of order got? No, that's strong with the best teams in there. Surprise how much you love Brooklyn. Is that just contingent on if KD was playing?

If Kady was playing. Katie and Karee, but Katie especially. Yeah, like, I mean, people have totally forgotten. They fired their coach. They're like, oh, they have a new coach, which they didn't go out and hire a coach during the time off. I mean, I really like Brooklyn. I like Brooklyn. I think everyone is just out of sight, out of mind with KD.

which could work in his advantage. It could very much work to his favor. And that probably, especially with his dealings at the media and social media, like I don't think people understand the Nets are the Knicks are bigger, the Giants, the Jets, Rangers are bigger. Yankees, Mets, like the seventh biggest professional sports team. And they probably have the best shot of winning a title next year of any of the New York sports teams. I can't really break down my knowledge of the New York sports teams.

New Jersey Devils or the New York Rangers, forgive me, or the Islanders, sorry, forget about the Islanders. But yeah, I'm fascinated by the, I'm just more fascinating by the Nets. I don't know if, I think they should play, if KD's cleared, he should definitely practice and probably play. And then you see, you don't have to play him in the playoffs, but I think you're, at some point, you're going to have to play him. And getting those games under his belt will build that confidence in the Achilles tendon.

And, oh yeah, by the way, while guys don't always come. back the same from the Achilles tendon, the chance of re-injuring yourself, at least for the Achilles tendon is very slight now. DeMarcus cousins towards his ACL after tearing his Achilles tendon, but usually when they fix that thing and you get a year out of it, that thing is absolutely fine. It's the rest of the body kind of working all together. I'm excited. The NBA is back. It's just we got away two months before we see actual NBA basketball games. Yeah. I'm not going to complain. I'm very happy the NBA is back. Yes. Now, again, but I'm glad it's back.

happy to ratify, hasn't been ratified yet. We'll see Drew Brees has apologized. His teammates have all come out in social media and said, this is true leadership. We accept his apology. Just like that. That's kind of amazing, which I guess, by the way, is the way it's supposed to be. I understand that some people's feelings are still hurt, but part of that is the equity that Drew Brees built up in New Orleans and now he's cashed in. Part of it is, I think, the depth of his apology, the pace of his apology and probably the fact that he smartly reached out to players individually. It's really not that hard to go like, hey, my bad, I'm sorry. We've all said things that didn't come out right or even if it came out right.

You know, really what was missing was an empathy, feeling for what other people were feeling, especially in this particular time. Joy Taylor and I are back tomorrow in the herd. We'll have basketball back and will baseball. get along with it. I don't know. Find out tomorrow in the herd. 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

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