The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Another MISTAKE by the WNBA

Episode Date: July 9, 2025

Doug Gottlieb fills in for Colin Angel Reese on NBA2K cover over Caitlin Clark and why this was the wrong choice NBA reporter Anthony Slater about the hype surrounding Cooper Flagg’s debut at the Summer League when he faces off against Bronny James   #douggottliebshowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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Thanks for listening to The HARD podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRedio.com or stream us live every day on the IHart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. 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, I'm Doug Gottlieb in for Colin Cowherd. And for the next couple of hours, I want to talk sports with you. From Poway to Escondido to Otai Mesa. Welcome in. Good to be back on in L.A. on AM 570, the home peeps and all throughout the country on the I-Heart family of networks, as well as the I-Heart Radio app. Welcome, welcome it.

So in the, I was today years old that I learned, right? You learn lots of things. It's weird as you get older, right? Now I coach college kids. I'm a head coach of Wisconsin Green Bay. and it again I have a really good group of young men that want to learn want to get better at basketball we try and teach them about life a little bit and you know college is just in a weird sort of phase where so many schools because of COVID went online and then you factor in chat GPT and everything else how much are kids actually learning but the biggest difference between a kid and an adult

I think there's two or three things right like you know you're an adult when you'd never turn down a nap you'd never turn down a nap I mean ask Tui and and even Ryan who doesn't have kids have you go like hey man

two o'clock what if I give you like an hour to shut off your phone and take a nap there isn't an adult alive like yeah I'm down for that a kid you say hey take a nap you know after you get to like two years old you're done with naps adults well adults they will order vegetables or order salads you know or actually ask for them for dinner most kids like what why you have to make them eat vegetables make them eat legumes make them eat

fruit right that's the difference in adults and the other thing about adults as opposed the kids is, I don't know if you're like this when you do the whole, you know, you help your kid with their homework. But man, you get to a certain age and you're like, man, I kind of like learning. Maybe it was how we were taught. Maybe it was the teachers. Maybe it was our desire to do other things. But I remember being in school and I just could not wait for every day to be over.

As opposed to now, damn, I love learning things. I just do. Sunday I learned that a handball in soccer was not just simply the ball touching a non-goalkeeper's hand. Literally, Monday, I walked in and I was like, man, I didn't know that the ball could graze your hand,

and if it was in the natural motion of whatever you were doing as an athlete in soccer, it didn't mean it was a handball. I don't know. Did anybody know that? I'm sure, like, soccer guys, like, yeah, you don't. Hey, I played soccer growing up. I don't remember any of that stuff. I just remember the tunnel.

I remember Capri's son. I remember scoring goals. I, you know, I don't remember any of that. So I love learning. And I'll tell you something I learned today. Okay. There was a playwright in the 16 and 1700s, mostly 1700s. His name was William Congreve.

You're like, why are you telling me about a playwright? Because he's the one who authored up the phrase, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Have you ever heard that? If you haven't heard that one, I bet, he also said you must not kiss and tell. So kiss and tell and hell hath no worry,

hell hath no wrath like a scorned woman. We changed the words that, change the order of it. We, hell hath no furry like a woman scorned. that was William Congreve, who is a famous playwright in the 16 and 1700s. Born in 1670, died in 1729. Like, why are you starting out with that saying? Well, I'll tell you. I also learned that apparently there's not a true standalone version of it,

but a video game within a video game for EA Sports. So, EA Sports has 2K, or is it EA Sports? says 2K, you're familiar with 2K. Okay. So, apparently there's also a WNBA version of 2K. And I get it, right?

Like, what is 2K if you take away all the dunks and the made layups and the high percentage of made three point shots and you have WMBA? But there is no denying the WNBA's sudden rise in popularity.

and for those of us who are honest with ourselves, it's because of Caitlin Clark. And, you know, we can get into the reasons why. I love the people that fall on the race aspect of it when then you point out like, hey, Sabrina Inescu and Kelsey Plum were great women's college basketball players who came to the league and have been great WNBA players and they have not received any amount of the acclaim of a Caitlin Clark. there's a bunch of different factors mostly

likely the logo three's the hey we love Steph Curry and here's the closest version of it who happened to play at the same school for four years happened to take her team to two straight final fours happened looks like everybody else's little sister all of those

things she kind of nails but upon my quest to learn something every day I found out that there's an NBA 2K version focusing on the WNBA. But here's the kicker. The cover choice was Angel Reese. Was Angel Reese.

And it just continues this pattern of the WNBA doing everything in their power to, I don't know if it's diminished Caitlin Clark or to promote everybody other than Caitlin Clark. But whatever it is, we try and search for reasons, and I keep falling back on, hell hath no wrath, like a woman scorn, William Cornelius, in the late 1600s. They're like, wait a second, why are they scored? Caitlin Clark said nothing negative towards any of these women. She doesn't have to. The only logical conclusion as to why so many of these women have done everything in their power to marginalize

her rise to fame and what it's done for the entire sport of women's basketball is that you have women that feel like they've been scorned by media by mainstream fans for their entire

lives and it comes out as anger and resentment towards Caitlin Clark Does that make sense? There's something called the, have you ever heard the anger iceberg? If you go through therapy, people will tell you, you learn the anger iceberg. That people are angry and they get snappy with one of the other in like relationships.

And it's not about that one thing. It's about all this other thing, all the insecurities, all the mistrust, all the times of other relationships that have gone bad, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And it comes out as snappiness towards one another. and any relationship you have even in business. You pocket resentment towards somebody else getting a promotion, somebody else getting shine, you're not feeling like you're heard in a meeting, you having a bad interaction with somebody at a Christmas party or whatever.

For these women, okay, remember, I see it as most of us see it. I'm Doug Gottliebent for Colin. This is the herd. 25 years of the WNBA, I'm not as negative about their overall talent and skill as others are. It's a different sport. Our expectations are different.

We don't have the 100 years of history in the NBA. We just don't. If you take away the NBA with the dunks and the proficiency from three point line, you know, and the other part about NBA players is they, look like superheroes. Whereas many of these women, though for women, crazy athletic,

crazy talented, there just is no comparison when you watch one game to the other. It's like watching one in slow motion and one that plays below the rim and below the rim causes more of mislayups. And it's again, just a different, much less athletic game.

And for 25 years, we didn't pay attention to it in sports media and I've been a part of sports media for 25 years. we didn't pay attention to it because nobody did. The science to this is not that hard to figure out. Colin! This is me doing the Colin thing.

Colin, you only want to talk about Tom Brady and Pat Mahomes and Aaron Rogers and LeBron James. Yeah, because we're no different than Top 40 Radio, man. Play the hits. Our job is to talk about what most people care about. And we have 25 years of data that tells you most people don't care about the WNBA. And the only reason we're talking about it now is because Caitlin Clark has brought attention and people are in fact talking about the WNBA now. So now we're going to be attracted to talking more about it.

But when you're raised as a women's basketball player, you're raised to believe everybody's out to get you. Everybody's out to get you. Look, I don't know if you recall, but if you go back to the COVID-year NCAA tournament. They had women who were in San Antonio, and they had a little makeshift weight room, and it was like two dumbbells and a balance ball. And then they showed the men's weight room in Indianapolis, and it looked like a real weight room. And what happens is, you know, the NCAA apologized for it. It acts like this was discrediting all of women's basketball.

When reality is, one, it comes down to the planning committee. That's what they have to do. Two, the men's teams, I believe, all of them were there for like a month. So they had to prep for it. And they had the Big Ten tournament there. So this had all been kind of planned out. Whereas for San Antonio, it was just a one-stop shop, and they threw it together.

And anybody who's ever traveled knows that, like, it doesn't matter the hotel chain. You can be a Hyatt guy, right? Or a Bon Boy guy. And some hotels have a rinky-dink weight room and some hotels don't. It doesn't have anything to do with anything other than that particular hotel, that particular general manager,

and what they think they want to focus their resources on. But the point is that that case is no different than anything else. Why do women have? home sites during the NCAA tournament instead of the regional sites that the men have. Well, again, anyone who's realistic in business knows that the reason they went back to home sites is that's their only ability to draw people and to sell tickets. They've played in the big arenas. It hasn't worked by and large.

Trust me, if the NCAA felt like they could make more money doing it, they would do it. Because it's the only way in which they make money is the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments. but again, how you and I view it from a business perspective, which is very much in the neutral kind of corner, is, hey, they're doing it because it makes the most sense financially. How women view it is, oh, we're a secondary tournament.

We have to play in home sites. Right? So it doesn't matter necessarily what the reality of women's basketball was over the last 25 years, right, that you started from nothing and built it into something that was fairly sustainable. Again, those of us who lived it in real time, as I have, like my media career has mirrored essentially the length of the WNBA,

you went from being completely subsidized by the NBA, playing in these gargantuan arenas to, hey, let's dial this back, playing in smaller venues, be smarter, okay, save more money, fly commercial, space out the games, et cetera, et cetera. But how it's received is we've been treated like, crap for years and now you're trying to push this star who she might be another germy lynne insanity and we're not buying it so when i saw that quote today i just and then i saw that the two k version of nba two k had angel reese not kately clark on the cover right because again

whether or not you're buying or i'm buying a wnba two k game doesn't matter. Everything would be boosted up if you put Caitlin Clark on. It probably cost, you know, the gaming company more to put her on the cover. But the WNBA forcing us to take on Angel Reese as some sort of rival to Caitlin Clark, forcing it, forcing it, makes it feel icky. Whereas it's super easy here. Just put Caitlin Clark on everything.

it'll sell more. It'll be the rising tide that lifts all ships. But from the Olympic team last year to the players-only voting, where they voted her to the ninth best guard, to put an angel Reese on NBA 2K, to all the bitterness and pushback and the treatment of Caitlin Clark,

where they're clearly trying to punk her and bully her and her teammates into making her look bad. All of that stuff. leads most of us to go, why? Why would you do that? Why wouldn't you embrace the fact that people are paying attention to your sport? Covering it like it's one of the big three sports. Probably got more coverage than the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. And the only logical conclusion I can come to is,

hell hath no wrath like a woman scored. All the years of being made to feel like you're a secondary or tertiary product and probably even tertiary is not as strong as they were. Leads women to push back against anything seen as mainstream, media and fans. Oh, now you like us, but only for her. Well, to you too. Now, give me your thoughts, Twitter, Instagram, at Gottlieb's show. In the meantime, okay, we do have some NBA news.

Chet Holmgren re-ups for the max. Reups for the max. What does that mean for, the thunder and their ability to maintain the best record in the regular season and a postseason championship. Let's discuss it next. I'm Doug Gottlieb. This is The Hurt.

Be sure to catch live editions of The HARD weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, what's up, everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LaVar Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a podcast called Up! On Game. What is Up on Game, you ask? Along with my fellow Pro Bowler, T.J.

Hushmanzada and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up On Game with me, LaVar Arrington, T.J. Hushman Zada and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you.

you get your podcast from. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

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

And, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

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

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

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hart Radio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Stugatlyman for Colin. This is the Hurt. Fox Sports Radio, Iheart Radio app. Welcome in. So the big news in the NBA today, as we get ready for real NBA Summer League, which is Las Vegas.

Yes, again, it may sound disrespectful for the, I forget what the California, Golden State games are, is the one everyone hyper-focuses on is in Las Vegas. And we'll get to that upcoming in the show because the Lakers played. Yesterday, the Lakers are the signature nightcap in the Summer League opening night against the Dallas Mavericks. And, of course, the Dallas Mavericks have the number one overall pick, and the Lakers have Ronnie James. And it's, it'll be something.

But let's dig in with Anthony Slater. Of course, covers the league for the athletic. He joins us now in the herd. Anthony, let me ask you about Chet Holmgren. So announced today that Chet Holmgren agrees to terms on a max-compet. contract, on a max contract, to remain in Oklahoma City. And he's really only played like a season and a half. If you're an Oklahoma City fan or you're hopeful of a dynasty there,

what does this do for you? I mean, I think it's just checked the box that you knew was coming. And the one that's coming soon is going to be Jalen Williams, who has the same agent, Bill Dussie, which I'm sure, you know, helps in leveraging negotiations. but, you know, Jaylon is going to get his max. And his max, if he makes all NBA again, would actually be even higher than Chess. And, you know, we're talking about rookie maxes.

I know sometimes we just, everybody just says, Max, they're different, you know, percentages of the cap and this is, you know, the fresher one. But, you know, you're getting the next six years of Chet Holmgren's early prime into his prime. Sure, he's not your, you know, prototype number two. Certainly has a score. I think he's got higher upside there. But, I mean, he's a rim protected. being three-point shooter at seven feet tall.

To me, like, you know, that is a very valuable piece for a team that wants to win with defense first. And you saw it in the play, you know, we can kind of, at times, I certainly did, you know, their first playoff run together when they lost in the second round, even though they're the one seat. I kind of wondered if Jay Lee Williams and Chet Homer could be a legitimate number two, number three on a title team. Well, that question kind of was answered a month ago.

Yeah, I mean, I think the question for, for Chet is. two-fold. One, can he stay healthy? Yeah. That's the big thing. Can he stay healthy? And then at some point, can he regain confidence in his shooting? Yeah. Fair. I mean, yeah, it's a good question. But I think even the version of Chet you saw really impacts winning. You know, he's going to protect the rim at a high level.

There was times even in those finals. You know, I can remember in a couple of losses, certainly, you know, his shooting. You know, I think he went two and nine in the game one loss. and was really hard on himself. And I remember late in one of the games in Indiana, Miles Turner kind of wiped away a couple of his shots. And those flaws seemed to percolate a little bit. But also I can remember him, like, you know,

walling off the rim in important stretches of those finals. But, yes, if he, like, he has a next level to get to, that I think I would agree with you that his health will determine because he spent all last summer really kind of like grinding and getting his offense, I think, to a higher level. I think I went to their opening night. game in Denver and he like outplayed yokech. I think he had like 25, 14 and five blocks. And then about two weeks later, I'm at a game in Oklahoma City and Andrew Wiggins just plows through him and he

breaks his hip. And then he's bedridden for six weeks. He's out for, you know, 50 games, whatever he ended up missing last season. I think that really stunted his offensive growth. But, but yeah, I would agree that long term for him to like probably be worth that contract when we're in the middle years and, you know, you're talking 50 million or whatever it's going to be, you'd want I'm, you know, 18, 19 per game, maybe like a 38% at least three-point shooter and more of a supplementary score. Because the other part of this is they're about to get really expensive and some of that depth that's been around them is going to kind of melt away, right? Yeah, it will. But they're kind of, you mentioned Jaylon Williams.

What do you make of the fact he just shared that he received about 30 injections during the playoffs just to be able to get that right wrist? functional to play through the NBA finals? To me, it's impressive, right? And then it didn't come out. And, you know, he still played well. He had a 40-point game in the finals. Like, I don't think his shooting was to his standard the whole playoffs, but he had a really good playoffs in generally.

And, you know, knowing what he went through with the rich, that makes it more impressive to me. But I also think it's more of another example of, like, a lot of times we don't know what most of these guys are going through physically. I'd say, you know, 80% of the league by, you know, middle of the playoffs has sometime a bump or bruise that sounded like a more extreme version of one right a torn wrist but you know like the warriors for example had two like moses moody had to get wrist surgery after the year pojemsky had to get you know oblique surgery and you know something for

his thumb like you know and that's that's that's common across the league it feels like two players for team have to get some type of like postseason surgery right uh they announced anthony davis yesterday had to get like retina surgery yeah he had a detached retina like who knew like you had a Detach Fentany. You're just playing? Like, yeah. Now, the only guy that lets us know is LeBron, who came in with that wrist sleeve one time after losing in the finals, right?

Oh, yeah, by the way, I'm hurt the whole life. Speaking of LeBron, okay, how does the league and all of your sources feel about Rich Paul's statement, hey, LeBron wants to win championships when, you just picked up your own option to remain with L.A. And you essentially said we can't win a championship in L.A. No matter how they might backtrack in the future. How does the league feel about what Rich Paul said? It definitely like perked some ears up, you know,

because that's typically, you know, kind of the more subtle, passive-aggressive statements is often what has been hinted by, you know, Rich and LeBron over the years. You know, but there's, it's really, I mean, you're seeing it now. It's really difficult to, like, move big contracts in the current NBA and find, you know, teams that can, you know, absorb that type of deal under all these, like, weird new apron rules and all that. So I think it makes you, and it's definitely when you talk to people in the league,

there's more of questioning of if he will finish his career with the Lakers. but unless he really kind of tries to agitate his way out of town to a suitor that I'm not sure, you know, we can come up with one right now that, like, can kind of fit him in and has the motivation. Then I think he's just going to be on the Lakers next year. They're going to be pretty good. I mean, I would probably agree that I wouldn't consider them, you know, an inner circle top five type title contender, but they were the three seed last year. You know, maybe the eight and fit works, maybe Lucas in shape.

Like I could see them being somewhat of a, you know, fringe threat next year. so he's probably going to have to kind of at least somewhat happily try to play that out. One would think, but it's just odd, right? Like, if you wanted to, to me, one part it says is he doesn't think, they don't think he's a top 15 player anymore. Because if we all think that Luca is, and then people think LeBron is, well, that's, you're starting from a pretty good spot, you know? Yeah, Reed is like, you know, maybe edge in towards All-Star.

I don't know what you think about the 8th and fit, but it's at least more theoretical capabilities at the center spot. Here's what I think of the 8 and fit. This would be just kind of the basketball element to it. I don't know personality-wise what works and what doesn't work. I don't profess to know. The reason the Lakers can't win is because if those are your three best players, they're all minuses at the defensive end.

LeBron at this age doesn't move anymore. Rees has never been a particularly defender, though he does fight. and Luca is a non-defender, and maybe he gets in shape and fights a little bit more. You know, and in the NBA, you can maybe hide one guy, but outside of that, can't hide two.

And then, you know, they wanted rim protection, like DeAndre Hayden is not a rim protector. He's also not a lob threat, right? He's a roller to score to catch and finish. You know, so does it fit with Luca? Because he's a pick and roll option,

I guess. But a guy who's never played well in the playoffs isn't a rim protector. and once the ball on rolls is an offensive-minded score. Again, I understand that you're asking something of Polinka, like it's not like he had a blank slake and could pick anybody. I just don't know how all that group works together

to be anything special in the playoffs. Yeah, I mean, Luca has worked best in the past with the Derek Lively's of the world of Daniel Gaffers, and I would agree. I mean, Aiton's free throw rate is, like, ridiculously low for a guy. you know, at his size. I will say, like, he was a starting center and a productive center on a final team. Like, not that long ago.

Yeah. I mean, obviously, that was kind of Chris Paul operating in the pick and roll, where he doesn't necessarily as much need the lob threat. But, you know, he liked it. And I bet if, you know, you go look at the numbers, like, Ait and finish a lot more lobs than Phoenix than he did in Portland. Now, you know, to your point, I think you generally throw it to him and he wants to, like, you know, get the eight-footer and do the touch stuff,

and he's not super physical. But as you mentioned, they didn't have, you know, 39-year-old Al Horford wouldn't have been a lot of threat, you know, some of the other options out there on the free agent market. So I think part of what's going on right now is the Lakers are taking a somewhat patient approach. They're not, you know, using all their assets for a Mark Williams. It seems like they've pulled back from that a little bit, and that's what I think, you know, going back to your original question,

I think that's what you're feeling with the LeBron statement, that he's feeling a level of organizational, a philosophical shift to a patient, longer term Luca Donchich related approach because Luca's 26 and he's sitting there going like, I don't really have a long-term approach and he's using whatever tool he believes he has to maybe

try to leverage a little pressure of like, hey, let's try to win next season because next season might be the final season for him to win. Yeah, I don't, I agree with you. I don't think next he'll, it's not going to be his final season unless he gets a farewell tour. Maybe in

LA. again I agree with you maybe in L.A., but I don't think he's going to do the final season thing without a farewell tour. I just don't. Like announced preseason Kobe Bryant style celebrated in every arena. You're probably right. You're probably right. And look, I understand to people who don't like LeBron, they'd be like, dude. And he's a little bit much, but he's also the all-time leading score in NBA history, who's won four titles.

and four MVP's and is in any discussion of Mount Rushmore. Right, right. So it's like, yeah, I mean, if there's ever a guy who kind of deserves it, like, yeah, that's not that. And also, a lot of the people that might kind of scoff a little bit of LeBron would love Kobe, right? And you remember it? Like, what was that a 20-win-Laker team that he was just going around to every arena? They would do a pre-game celebration. They would present them with presents and do tribute videos for him.

And then the home team would beat the Lakers by 25 points. Yes, yes. that. And Kobe and the other part was like, look, I know Kobe God rest his soul is now, he's been thrust up to the Mount Rushmore, but there's a lot of things in his career he wasn't beloved for. There was a lot of nonsense early in his career. And by the end, you know, Kobe was a different guy and he evolved into somebody who was worthy of all of the praise, not just for the play, but also he'd become kind of this philosopher and been really thoughtful, and shown his true love for the sport.

But like, let's not kid ourselves. Like, there was a lot there with Kobe with I want to be traded, the breakup with Shaq and all that other stuff. So it was like he's, he no saint, right? So it's just interesting on how we look back with colored glasses because of Kobe's passing, but also because LeBron is so different from Kobe and playing essentially for Kobe's franchise.

Really, that's probably what's hurting him the most, has been the franchise hopping. Speaking of franchise hopping, what about Janice? Does he want to stay in Milwaukee or does he want to play somewhere else? Seems like at this temporary moment he has been, you know, a message to the Bucks and certainly to the league that his feet are where they are in Milwaukee. I'm not sure there's any type of guarantee how long that's going to be, but if you're the Bucks and you make the type of very win-now move

and mortgage the future type move that was the Damien Lillard-Wavenstress. to fit Miles Turner in. Like that's, you're doing that under the understanding. It would seem that Janus is at least in on the start of next season. And you're trying to maximize next season because suddenly, you know, Janus in August, September, ask out prior to the season. Like, what a disaster move that, you know, Lillard thing would look like because you got $22 million on the books for the next five years, dead caps.

So, you know, for now, it seems Janus will be in Milwaukee. but that does seem like it's a temporary thing that could become more permanent depending on how they look and how they play and how their future looks. Tomorrow night in Vegas, Cooper Flag and the Dallas Mavericks take on Brony James. Brony struggled last night,

but very few people pay attention to the Cali games. You've been around this thing for a while, right? You had the Zion hype, the Wembe hype, right? Wembe was pretty big. Where does this one rank in terms of the Vigley? Thomas and Mac Summer League for opening night hype. Well, I heard it's like the most expensive ticket ever there. It was like 2,500 court side or something like that.

It's not even just like, obviously, you know, Cooper Flag is a big name. Abraani is, but just the event itself has just exploded there. You know, you'll go to, you know, Day 3, you know, Pelicans Knicks with maybe one lottery pick on the floor, and it's like pretty packed. So it's just, I think it's just become such an impressive. event for the league in general. And typically you do on that first second night get, you know, the first overall pick, oftentimes going against the second overall pick, I think, just because of the Lakers

territory, which is, you know, Vegas in a sense, and Bronny's name, they matched up Cooper Flagg and Bronny. So it'll be cool. But at the same time, like, I remember Wemby walking into the arena and the buzz of it. I remember the Zion game for the earthquake in Vegas. and then that was the night Paul George and Kauai Leonard, like that bomb got dropped on the league and that they were going to the clippers

together. But I actually don't really remember much from Zion's game or Wimby's actual game. Andrew, enjoy the game. Let's talk again soon. Can't wait to read your work on Summer League and on all this other stuff going on. Andrew Slater, pick up his stuff, read his stuff

in the athletic. He's outstanding. Thanks for joining us in the hurt. All right, thanks for us. Anthony Slater. I'm sorry, Anthony. I'm one-arm paper hanging in it. Thanks so much, Anthony. Yep. Thanks, man.

It's Doug Gottliebent for Colin. This is The Herd on Fox Sports Radio. Okay, coming up next, we'll get to Heard Line news. Wait to hear what happened to the Dodgers last night. That's next. This is The Hurd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers.

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

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

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

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not. not only legal, but encouraged.

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Doug Al-Liebittling for Colin, this is The Herd, Fox Sports Radio, IHart Radio app, welcome in. Kirk Cousins is selling something. Tell you what I'm not buying. That's at the top of the hour. Before we get to that, though, let's get to Ryan Music with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

Hello, Ryan. Hello, Doug. Let's get things started with a little major league baseball. Man, Dodgers are going through it right now, down bad. Lost their fifth game in a row, falling to the Brewers 3-1. injuries mounting for the boys in blue on both sides and they've been outscored 41 to 8 during this current losing streak.

On the other side, however, for the Brewers, their young star pitcher, Jacob Mizorowski gave up a lead-off homer to Shohei Otani but was lights out after that, racking up 12 strikeouts and six innings. Yeah, 91 pitches, 68 strikes. And if you know anything about Ms. Zorowski, What's impressive is

We're talking about old quotes It's not how many times I get knocked down Just me by how many times I get up He hadn't given up a run And then they should have gotten out of an inning with the Mets In his last outing Gives up a grand slam Then a back-to-backjack five runs

And then starts this game And you're with the Dodgers He gets O2 count Hanks a curveball And Shohay deposit it like 430 feet. Oh, yeah. You know, like, look, lots of young guys, they just, they lose their confidence, lose their mind.

He did not. And he was special. As for the Dodgers, I do think that, like, look, the injuries are mounting. They're starting, they're going to get healthy in their pitching staff. And this is, you know, this is playoffs versus regular season, right? Because it's regular season, you got plenty of time to write the ship. And it's 1062 games, but make no mistake about it. Like, right now the Dodgers are not playing good ball.

after getting swept by the Astros, now they're in danger of or a day game getting swept by the Brewers. But again, like, it's all your snapshot. I know the White Sox stink. Royals and Rockies aren't great, but they were like 9 and 1

in their last 10 heading into, and they'd won like 13 out of 16 before they hit the skids with the Astros. Granted, these are two playoff teams and two teams you're going to have to go through to win a World Series. But I think it's more that's baseball. Ultimately, they'll be fine.

Yeah, I mean, look, to your point, when you try to take these things into a bigger picture, larger context of the entire baseball season, they're on a five-game losing streak, and they remain five games up in the division. So everything's going to be okay and la-la-lan. How about show Hey, Otani has more home runs before the break than any Dodger hitter ever? Yeah. ever. Crazy. As you and I painfully know,

the greatness of Otani for our beloved angels. And to see him go up the road, we're not surprised at the level of success that he's having, but, you know, it hurts. It hurts. All right, let's turn our attention to the National Football League. Is the price for Micah Parsons going up for the Cowboys? Well, you be the judge as ESPN has released its rankings for top.

edge rushers in the league according to league executives coaches and scouts here's how the top five rankings came in number one miles Garrett number two t. j watt number three micah parsons number four max crosbie and fifth was nick bosa obviously micah parsons awaiting his massive contract extension that he expects to receive from the dallas cowboys but no news just yet on that front, just that league execs, coaches, and scouts see Micah as the third best edge rusher in the league. And look, I understand that

everybody operates under this, like, well, Jerry's going to sign him too late or whatever. Believe it or not, Jerry Jones, actually, they're fine. Because the layman sits there and goes, hey, this is your five, five-year deal. He's a free agent. No, he's not. You franchise tag him.

he'll say, I don't want to be a franchise tag or I'm not going to play. And then ultimately you work out a deal or he plays into the franchise tag. So I think Marka Parsons is terrific. Obviously last year's defense when you moved to Zimmer wasn't nearly as good. I do think that he's one of those guys that like, I don't know if the podcast is a great idea because sometimes it voices opinions about things that it doesn't need out there. Again, here I am a head college coach having my own role. radio show and podcast as well.

I'm not trying to be hypocritical, but I... At least you have the awareness to call attention to it. I do at least have the awareness to know like, ooh, yeah, we're not going there today. We're not talking about that. That's not, we're not doing that. But this is, it's not, you know,

let's, he's going to be a cowboy. Sure. There's going to be a cowboy. Okay. So what we need to do to be smarter sports fans is don't act like he's going to go somewhere else because he wants to. because the way NFL contracts work, they can franchise them next year,

franchise them year after that, they can franchise a year after that in the other franchise tag and play him a gargantuan some of money. So he's not a free agent. Now, it'll hurt them against the cap. He's going to be a cowboy. It's a matter of when, not if, and I think we waste a lot of mental energy

thinking otherwise. Totally. I think when you zoom out, though, and look at the Cowboys, the biggest issue that whether it's Cowboy fans or just outsiders who look at the organization as a whole, is that you just paid Dak Prescott another record some amount of money. You paid CD Lamb, which again, I think out of all of these players, CD may be the highest end player or the most impactful overall. So I don't necessarily think there's an issue with paying Micah because he is also a very good

player, but each of these guys are going to be paid quote unquote top of market and you have no real postseason success to show for it. So it's not that paying these guys is bad in practice. It's just that you keep doubling and tripling down on paying top of market money for a collection core of players that hasn't actually produced a lot in January or February as opposed to perhaps trying to take a more creative approach and trading one of these guys early to see if you can get two very good players in place of one great player that's now going to take up a large portion of your salary cap. Well, this, it does, look, last year the Dallas Cowboys, if you have the football database

and their overall defensive ratings, okay, they had the fifth worst defense in the NFL. That's just one rating. In terms of yards per game, you know, points a game, there's some other stuff as well. Okay, and there's some advanced analytics. they were not very good defensively last year. So there is a... Remember when Mac was traded from Chicago to the Raiders, right? It was two first-round draft picks.

Other way around. But from the Raiders to the Bears, my bad. Okay? And the point is that could he be traded? Sure. Will he? I don't think so. All right. Coming up next in the herd, that's Ryan Music with the News. Kirk Cousins is buying. I'm not selling. I'm not buying. That's next.

Hey guys, it's us The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast?

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

We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud.

But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the Aihar Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.