The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Jon Gruden, Lamar Jackson, MLB

Episode Date: October 12, 2021

Jon Gruden has resigned as the head coach of the RaidersLamar Jackson was special last nightThe MLB playoffs have been very interesting so farGuest: Alex Rodriguez Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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radio ah here we go on a tuesday we are live in los angeles and this show is called the herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening i heart radio fox sports radio fs one alex rodriguez later this hour baseball playoffs this afternoon dodgers dodgers lost last night. Their season on the brink, one hour from now, the herd hierarchy, which is getting tougher and tougher. What do I do with those Dallas Cowboys? Top three team, perhaps, and Joy Taylor is joining me. A lot happening last night, really ugly and really amazing all in the same night in the NFL. Yes, that was an unbelievable performance by Lamar, and amazing to watch. It was, and I'll get to that in a second. John Gruden, as you know by now, has resigned as the

Raiders head football coach. He is, of course, the face of the franchise for slurs, not just disagreeing with people, seven years email chain, slurs targeting multiple groups. And it made me, I thought about this, I got about a 10-minute drive to work this morning. And I thought about how to frame this story because the NFL and the Raiders did the right thing. So years ago, my first job out of college was in Las Vegas. I've talked about this. And it was kind of fascinating.

I was a kid from small town America. And I would go to these sports books. My state didn't have them. And the Las Vegas Hilton sports book. And it was just so much fun. You'd go there and you watch football games and eat hot dogs all day. And they had a million screens. And I had one little black and white TV at home, right?

And they had a million screens. And it was 99.9% men. And yet last year. and this number is remarkable. The NFL study came out. There were 187 million NFL fans in America. That's like 55% of the country. But here's what's more amazing.

47% were women. They now officiate. They coach. They're in the front office. That sports book, women now not only bet football, I know because I just hired a young woman named Liv Moods, she has her own business. And she tells me what games depend. The world has changed. The NFL has been on a mission since that sports book I was in 30 years ago.

To broaden and widen the net. Gay Americans, women, African Americans, come on, and it's a great game. I say that all the time. I wish more people like football. 55% I want everybody to love it because I love talking it and watching it. I'm fascinated. I talk about it all the day. All day.

And John Gruden, over the course of seven years, and this is just what we see, targeted anything that didn't look just like him or football in 1974. And you can't have that. And if that bothers you that 47% of, NFL fans are women. Then the sport's going to have to move on without you. The NFL now has a commercial campaign. Football's for everyone.

And again, I'm not saying everybody's perfect. This was not a clumsy joke at a Christmas party. Or an inappropriate tweet. We've all had a bad tweet, right? Like, that's not what it was. John Gruden was a volcano, and out of it came hate lava. Not disagreeing with groups.

slurs, mean, angry at all groups that don't think and look like him. There's just no place for it. Well, nobody's perfect. Nobody's seeking perfection. We've all made mistakes. Resumes do matter. That's why I defended Drew Brees when he did something about two years ago and it bothered teammates. I said, that's not fair.

Drew's been a good person. Lots of charity. He's helped lots of players. But this was too much. I got a text last night, and I'll keep this as vague as I can, but it's somebody I infrequently talk to. They're a general counsel, an attorney, and they had to work years ago with John. They resigned.

It was too toxic. Folks, when you're the face of a franchise, I hear this. I went on to Twitter last night. Well, I cancel culture. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. John Gruden canceled himself. This was not about the culture. We can have disagreements.

I don't have to think like you and you don't have to think like me. But the NFL's targeting for 30 years, they don't want sportsbooks to be all guys. We want women. Gay Americans, black Americans, old, young. They want everybody. My sister does not like football. In fact, nobody in my family liked football.

I don't know why I love it. But Russell Wilson came out of the league a few years ago, right? My sister lives in rural Washington State, and she fell in love with Russell Wilson. Not just the game, the person, what he stands for. And now she'll text me every Sunday with green and blue hearts, and she's crazy. And it's like, my sister loves football now. That's the NFL's goal. And that seven years of ugly emails went against everything the NFL is trying to do.

All right. I want to talk about Lamar Jackson. And in our society today, you do get credit. I will say this. You do get credit for seeing something first. I saw this cool band. I saw Nirvana like five years before that. It is kind of cool.

You get credit for that. Or, dude, I found a restaurant. You've got to take your wife to this. Ten years later, you'll be like, remember when those guys introduced us to this restaurant, you do get credit for seeing things first. It's kind of fun to find the new restaurant or hear the new band. But you get far more points, in my opinion. You get far more points deducted if you think you see or find something first.

You're wrong and are stubborn and won't admit it. I admit. I had questions about Lamar Jackson. He was kind of skinny. He ran a little too much. He got hit really hard. He had a weird throwing motion. And the first year in the league wasn't terribly accurate.

But then there's this thing called games on television. And you watch. If you still don't get Lamar Jackson, you're just not paying attention now. You're trying to be right and not get it right. Folks, through the first five games, his stats are better today than they were in his MVP year. Congratulations for those who spotted it earlier. I didn't.

I had my doubts. I didn't, but by the way, I didn't think Josh Allen. I thought he had a huge bus potential. He was wild. He couldn't throw completions from eight yards out. I was wrong on Josh Allen. I said he had huge bus potential. Lamar Jackson, I didn't really get it.

And we have this society of men now that they cannot move off wrong. They somehow view it as a weakness. It's not a weakness. Being dumb's a weakness. Being wrong is not. Lamar Jackson's pretty good. He not only can get you to a Super Bowl. Hell, maybe he should be a favorite.

I'm watching him last night. He also buried in other falsehood, which, by the way, I for a long first two years, I'm like, he's not as good playing from behind. Well, that's done. Three of his last seven wins are coming from behind. So the best word I would use to describe Lamar,

Jackson is electric. And just think of your quarterback wherever they are. Describe your quarterback in one word. I got to tell you, electric is a really good word. Steady, efficient. And you know when in Super

Bowls with that. It's different. You know, I say that my wife and I, when we used to live in Connecticut, we would love lightning storms. We would go out, pour a glass of wine, and you'd get a lot of them in the summer because you get the hot air and the cool air of the mountains. And you get these lightning stores.

We sit out there for hours. And it's unpredictable. And it moves so fast. And you don't know how it's going to end. But we would just be in amazement. Sometimes watching Lamar Jackson, I feel like I'm watching a lightning storm. I'm not really sure how it's going to end. It's just improvising and zigzagging and going everywhere.

But it is absolutely electric. I cannot take my eyes off him. And John Harbaugh afterwards, by the way, he completed 83% of his throws last time. It was like an NFL record, John Harbaugh, who, saw it early, earlier than I did, had an opinion. That's one of the greatest performances I've ever seen. You know, and it wasn't easy. I mean, it wasn't like we came out just, you know, up and down the field.

We had to overcome and fight through some things. He was under pressure. He created plays with his feet. First of all, we've got Lamar Jackson, all right? And then next of all, we got a bunch of guys just like Lamar Jackson, with heart and spirit and soul and persistence and all the other things. One of the only things, and Joy is my witness, I did identify very early with Lamar Jackson. This one I identified, he cares so much.

He wants it so badly. Folks, I can't take indifference. Does Ben Simmons want to be great or not? In my career in broadcasting, the people over 30 years that have always succeeded, Joy is one of them. They want it so much. they love what they do they love coming to work they love doing Lamar was skinny then he came back from an off season and he wasn't skinny and his passing wasn't great and he came back it was better and he came back now and it's way better and what's interesting is he's missing an all pro left

tackle his first round wide receiver is not there I mean good God they had a cluster injury at running back he's using guys off the street at running back. I don't think we've hit on his potential. And John Harbaugh talked on it. It was kind of an ugly first half. It took him a while to get going. But, man, it was a lightning storm in the second half. You're never sure quite where it's going to end or how it's going to go.

I cannot take my eyes off him. Callais Campbell, another good player for the Ravens, called out the Lamar Doubters. Man, that's special. You know, I mean, he's just scratching the surface of how good he can be. You know what I mean? I think he's still, what, 24 years old? I mean, this is crazy what he's capable of doing. And, you know, I mean, I know he's notorious for what he can do with his legs.

You know, and I feel like he got a lot of disrespect, you know, or his arm talent. You know, I think people, a lot of people eating their words right now. 37 of 43, 442 yards, 10.3 average yards, and a quarterback rating of 140. By the way, Carson Wens didn't play bad. I mean, give you an example. Carson Wens wasn't terrible.

Carson Wins was pretty good and was completely overshadowed. And almost every night, the story would be, oh, Carson Wens, led the Colts. They led late. Carson Wentz. Hey, he's not a problem. He completely forgettable. That's what Lightning does. Everything else around it is forgettable.

Alex Rodriguez, hurt hierarchy. I don't know what to do with the Dallas Cowboys. You'll see. I don't know what to do with them. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care which I'll say it. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

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

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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 Jett. 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.

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Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

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hard way and listen now. Coming up next, it's Game 4 of the ALDS as Jose Altoube and the Astros look to punch their ticket to the next round while Tim Anderson and the White Sox try to force a game five. It all starts next right here on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. You know, I was thinking about this with Lamar Jackson, who's just setting all sorts of records last night. And you probably never want to. I've never been a director, obviously, in Hollywood. But you don't probably need to over-direct a great actor.

It'll land. They'll figure out a place for it to land. And, you know, indecision, we know coaching matters in the NFL, but it's not as important as the player. I mean, Bill Belichick now is like 8 and 12 or something, 9 and 12 since Brady left, with Cam a veteran and with a young guy. Andy Reid's, way better coach with Patrick Mahomes. Cliff Kingsbury couldn't win in college football. Gosh, now he's undefeated with Tyler Murray.

Like, we know the player, the star quarterback, not all players, but the star quarterback is more important than the star coach. Pete Carroll fired twice before Russell Wilson, watched the next five games without Russell. It's going to lose a lot of games with Gino Smith. Now, coaches are probably more important than some players and some position groups, but not great quarterbacks. Great quarterbacks are 70% of it. The coach is about 30% of it. Don't overcoach them.

Indecision is usually bad for quarterbacks, right? Like, you got to kind of have an idea what's going to happen pre-snap. And then you get Lamar Jackson is, he is so quick, not just fast. I mean, Daniel Jones is fast. A lot of guys can run. He's so quick and fast that he can change his mind multiple times during a play. I'm going to run. No, I'm not.

I'm past. No, I'm not. You can't overcommit to him or you'll get burned. Don't get overaggressive as a defender or you'll be humiliated. Is that Lamar is able to be indecisive and kind of make it up and ad lib. Because it generally ends up landing in the right spot. His quickness allows him to change his mind multiple times on a play, and he can buy time to reevaluate.

And I'll also say this. His accuracy is helped because you have to honor his running game to such a high degree that creates great space. I'm still, it's always remarkable how wide open so many. I mean, Brady's receivers are rarely open. Why? Because Tom never runs. You can drop an extra person into coverage.

With Lamar, you've got to spy on him. You can't over commit to him. You can't be too aggressive. You'll get humiliate. I mean, if a safety comes and misses on Lamar, he's off for 50 yards. So, you know, and also, our brains are sort of almost sometimes, I think, constructed. We see something and we get used to seeing it for years and years and years and years. So our brains are used to just accepting a certain way a quarterback should play.

And with Lamar, a lot of it is it's kind of deconstructing how. we look at quarterbacks. It's like Kyler gives you a little bit of this, but not as much as Lamar. It's a little like Steph Curry. For years and years, I was just so confounded. A lot of star players did not respect Steph Curry. And he wore pharmacist shoes, and he was skinny and kind of frail. And he was shooting shots that you would get yelled at or benched in high school college of the pros. And now Steph Curry is probably, as KD is finding out, the most egoless, selfless, greatest point guard after Magic Johnson all time. I mean, Magic's the only one you can even really compare to him. That's it.

I mean, because he scores at such a high rate. Magic could score, but did everything else really well. But like Steph Curry now is the second best person ever at the position. And it should be noted, both Magic and Steph don't look like your traditional point cards. Magic was a six, eight and a half point guard. That was the size of power forwards. And then Steph Curry doesn't look like your big, broad, strong, tall. He puts his glasses on, the pharmacy shoes, walks.

It just looks like a dude, right? And so I think sometimes you've got to recalibrate what we think great is. And when somebody is so unique, it is hard. You just can't quite figure out how it's working. Remember, players for years and years would take Westbrook over Steph Curry. And you're like, wait, one's a garden can't shoot. And one's a garden. He's the best shooter of all time.

I don't understand it. I think the data is obvious. Now, everybody gets it now. I mean, Steph could have been the MVP last year. But when you look at Lamar, it's like you can't win a Super Bowl running. Can't win a Super Bowl. Should he be favored to win the Super Bowl? Find me all the teams better than Baltimore.

Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, we have an update on the Kyrie situation. This morning, Brooklyn Nets GM, Sean Marks, released a statement on the latest with Kyrie Irving, saying, giving the evolving nature of the situation

after thorough deliberation, we have decided Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant. Kyria has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose. Currently, the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team,

and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability. It is imperative that we continue to build chemistry as a team and remain true to our long-established values of togetherness and sacrifice. Our championship goals of the season have not changed, and to achieve these goals, each member of our organization must pull in the same direction.

Well, you know, I agree. on this. I said this yesterday. I understand that players and stars have power in the NBA. I get it. Like I understand, you know, people say, well, nobody goes to watch a general manager. Well, nobody goes to a baseball game to watch a GM. Like, we all know players have power. And the NBA more so, because there's fewer players and one or two great ones just have huge. But this is a team sport. Okay. You have to, we found out from Brooklyn last year. Not only the stars not mean everything, but bench players become huge. Milwaukee was the best. Phoenix maybe had better individual stars top three.

And I just think it tears at the fabric of why you and I love sports. It's community, it's team, it's sacrificing. And I know Kyrie's great. But I think I like that the Philadelphia Sixers and the Nets have said, no, this is about us, not about you. It's about we, not about a me. And I think it's the right signal because I think Brooklyn has made a bunch of changes since Kyrie got there.

They got rid of the coats. They got rid of their bench. they got rid of their chemistry, and he has to sacrifice too. KD's sacrificed. Hardin's had to sacrifice. Hardin's becoming the big distributor. Right. Well, then you have to sacrifice too, Kyrie.

It can all be about you. Well, yes. And, you know, people are going to start yelling and hollering about freedom because they don't know what the definition of anything that they say is. But he's absolutely free to make this choice. That's right. They're not sending him off to vaccine jail. He is free to choose not to be vaccinated.

But if he chooses not to be vaccinated, with the current protocols, then he cannot participate fully. That's right. This is a team sport, as you just said, which means you're not available. We do a show. If one of us showed up half of the year,

we would not be contributing to the show. That's right. The company would say, thank you for your time. Perhaps we'll pay out your contract, but we're going to bring someone in who comes into work. What did we argue last year, Joy?

I think we both argued this. Our concern with Brooklyn, And you liked them more than me, but even you were concerned about the chemistry because they never play together. Well, how in the world are you going to create chemistry if every other day Joy wasn't at work or I wasn't at work? Yeah. Like part of why this show has worked is we're both we play sick, we play hurt, we're here almost every day. So you create chemistry. Well, in basketball, the idea that he won't be here for home games.

What? That's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. And some away games. It's so ridiculous. So he's under contract for $34.9 million this season. So each miss home game is going to cost him a little over $380,000 per game. So throughout the season, he would lose about $15 million if he continues to not be vaccinated to the rest of the season.

The first regular season game is next Tuesday against the bucks. And again, we know the local restrictions are where he plays and other places around the country. You don't have to agree with them. But the reality is this. He doesn't care that much about winning a championship, which is his prerogative. That's right. And everybody doesn't have the same goals. That's right.

But you can't tell me that you want to win a championship and you want to. want to not be vaccinated when you know what the current situation is. You made the choice. You're free to make it. But that's just the bottom line. So San Francisco quarterback Trey Lance suffered an injury Sunday that might cause him to miss time. Kyle Shanahan said yesterday that he has a knee sprain, Tray Lance, and might not be available

for the next game in two weeks against the Colts. The 49ers are on their by week this week. So they do have a little bit of a break there. He did say after Sunday's game at Jimmy Garoppolo, who's recovering from a calf injury when he's healthy, will start. but according to reports, there's been no setbacks on Garoppolo, and he looks to be on track after the buy. So Nate Sedfeld is a third-string quarterback for the Niners.

But once again, 49ers dealing with a rash of injuries. I mean, a quarterback, just, I mean, is any organization dealt with more injuries? I mean, it's just, I guess it's bad luck. Maybe it's the style of play. It's a very physical organization. They play a very physical brand of football. But you can't, you just, this is, like, one of the reasons Dallas is good this year, they're mostly healthy.

DeMarcus Lawrence is. out. But like the offensive line has mostly been healthy. Like it matters. No, I believe that especially this year being the first year with the extended season, there's going, whoever wins will likely be one of the healthier teams. Now look, that matters all the time, but when you have an extra game, it's going to be even more important. And when you look at the NFC West, obviously we know what's going on with the Seahawks, which is a disaster, but it's very quickly slimming down in what is a great division to the Cardinals and Rams. And it might come down to which team is. the healthiest out of those two because, you know,

Russell Wilson's out and now the 49ers are dealing with injuries again. So speaking of those Cowboys, they've won four straight games. They look very strong. And Amari Cooper said that his eyes are set on the prize at the end of the season. On a roll like this, it's just you start thinking about a Super Bowl. You know, I mean, that's just the reality of it. And you start to want it more and more and more, and more. the closer you get, you know, and you just start to worry about the little things more.

Now, people are going to kind of pick it apart. You know, listen, he's right. When you're good, the big stuff is good. Yes. So you start worrying about the details. But when you watch them play, you know, there's only one coach in the league that has not had a stinker game. Mike McCarthy. Green Bay's had one.

New Ink. Belichax had one. Cliff Kingsbury, they didn't play that well this week. Like Dallas has played well every week. even their loss, they outplayed Tampa. They outgain them and outplayed them. Dallas has not had a bad Sunday. Not one.

They haven't even had an off Sunday. They've been fantastic all five. It's just. Magic. I mean, but it's the Cowboys. Like, there is a bit of a, there's a little bit of anxiety for me in jumping all the way in. Now, I thought they were going to win the division. And I thought that they were going to be much improved from last year.

But again, like, I need to see it in the post season. because we've seen this from the Cowboys before. We've seen them do this. What can you do in the postseason? That is going to be my question for them because they clearly have the pieces that they need. I love DAC. Their offense is clearly incredible. They have one of the best receiving cores in the league.

And their defense is finally where it used to be to be competitive. They're currently favored by four, according to Fox Betts. They play the Patriots this week in Foxborough. They've never won against Belichick as a coach and haven't won a game in Boston since 1987. Well, that'll all come to an end. but I feel like it's going to end on Sunday. Yeah. Joy with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. Last year, I took great pride in going seven for seven with my AFC predictions. I was not as good in the NFC. And I think it's easier to predict the AFC because we all know quarterbacks are important. And there's like four or five quarterbacks in the AFC are just different. But it's interesting.

This morning, you can argue that all eight divisions, are led by the best quarterback or the quarterback playing the best. So Josh Allen leads the AFC East. Lamar Jackson, after last night, leads the AFC North. Ryan Tannihill easily right now playing the best in the AFC South. Now, Justin Herbert, we'll get back to that in a second, leads the AFC West. Dak leads the NFC East. Aaron Rogers leads the NFC North.

Tom Brady leads the NFC South. and right now Kyler Murray Russell Wilson's out Stafford hasn't played as well as Kyler Murray Kyler Murray leads so you could say the AFC West what about Mahomes and Herbert well if you just stack up the numbers remember Herbert is bigger and stronger and he's athletic too so I don't see the gap that everybody else does but I think at this point saying Mahomes is better than Herbert is fair I think I think Patrick Mahomes today is better than Justin Herbert I just don't see this gap that everybody else does but when you look at their numbers, Mahomes and Justin Herbert.

And we consider Mahomes to have the better overall roster. Folks, it's close. Slight edge Mahomes on completion. Mahomes, though, has twice as many interceptions. Herbert averaging more passing yards a game, passer rating, slight edge Mahomes.

So, and I think Mahomes is better now, but the gap is very small. So as the league has shifted to a league that benefits one or two key offensive positions, it is easier to make predictions on, by the way, Carson Wentz is not playing poorly, but Tannahill right now is playing the most consistently good football in the AFC South. So it really comes down to that.

That is why, you know, when we talk about Russell Wilson could be on the market, what is a Deshawn Watson worth, or a Russell Wilson worth, Nick Wright once threw it out there. He said, just give up your first round pick until that player's out of the league. you got to play for seven more years. Russell Wilson's not worth seven first round picks. You're sure? You've seen Pete Carroll NFL career without Russell Wilson, fired, fired, losing record.

Like, again, you can have a lot of second, third, fourth, and fifth round picks. 30% of first round picks are busts anyway. So when people start making these moves on first round quarterbacks, I'm going to give up four first rounders. All right. If he's established, like Deshaun or Russell Wilson, and I'll give a four or five first round.

What do I care? The league now is telling you they're worth, and the error thing is if you don't have the quarterback right, then you fire your coach and you've got new coordinators. It creates franchise dysfunction and chaos, which is the worst in the league. So best quarterbacks leading every division right now except the AFC West, and that's a close one.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. He's by Carmen, I'm Dan Byard. We have a brand new fantasy football podcast called I Want Your Flex. Twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday, we come up with new episodes to not only look back at what happened, what you need to do at that minute, and also look ahead of what's coming up in the fantasy football world. That's right, Dan. Every week we're going to scour the waiver wire to find the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup. It starts.

Fantasy football players' rankings to get you ready. to dominate the competition. Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Harmon and me, Dan Byer, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 Jett. 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, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

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

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

Baseball is going to follow us in 45 minutes. Astros White Sox. Astros right now are scoring runs. Very interesting. So Joey and I had talked about this. I took the Brewers at 9-1 to win the series. Alex Rodriguez is joining us and they can't score. There's a lot of different topics.

They're freaking out in Los Angeles because the wind blew all the home run balls back into play and the Dodgers are on the precipice of losing. So Alex Rodriguez, 22 years, 14-time All-Star World Series champion. Let's start with this. So let's talk about the game that's going to be right at 45 minutes from now. We're going to get the Astros and a lot of people don't like them in the White Sox. Now, one of the White Sox pitchers, Ryan Tepera, comes out and says, they're stealing signs.

They're stealing signs. What do you make of his claims? Well, first of all, I think you have to know your audience, right? They got Smoke Game 1 and 2. They played really well in Game 3. They had the blackout, great, great fans in Chicago. But you have to understand who your audience is. These guys are good.

And this is the fifth time they will be going to an ALCS. And don't forget, Colin, they have a little bit of the 1980s Out Davis Raiders. The Astros? Us against the world? Yes, yes. And just win, baby. These guys don't care. They enjoy being the villain.

Okay. So I want to talk about it's very interesting. So when the Yankees lost, you got to fire Aaron Boone. And my criticism is a casual observer of the sport is, well, timeout. You spent a fortune on John Carlos Stanton. You already had him. It was called Aaron Judge. So you duplicate your strength, but you don't do a lot of other things.

Well, run the bases, for instance. You're very home run dependent. And yet the race. who have no payroll, get about as far as the Yankees every year. So how is that possible? To me, I mean, you give me the answer. The raise and the Yankees are both disappointed on the ending.

One spends $200 million. One spends, what do they spend? 50? Yeah, 60, 60. But to me, the $60 million is more like 220. And I'll tell you why. They over index in four things. Speed, defense, baseball IQ,

and passion. This is the raise. This is the raise. Now, all four are either free or you can get it at the flea market, almost for free. Right. But ironically, these are the things that make you win games. The Yankees have gotten Stanton, they have Judge and Gallo.

All three, similar players, all three over six foot five, right? What they need is the Verdugo's, the Kike Hernandez, the Vasquez. They need baseball players and a diversified set of skills. But ironically, the things you need to win a world championship are the cheapest. You can buy them at the flea market and analytics has a blind spot. Humans have a blind spot. Alex Kora has figured out a way

to bring the hybrid and do it better than anyone. Let's talk about the Red Sox. So they lose the opener against Tampa. This was a big surprise. A lot of people, a lot of baseball people I rely on, thought the race could sweep the Red Sox. What happened? Even Boston diehards were a little surprised by the outcome. What happened and what's the story on Boston? Well, first of all, You talk about Massachusetts who has a great history of coaches going back to Red Arbac with the Celtics, Belichick, and now Alex Korah. If they win a world championship, they're going to have to build a statue next to Big Poppy. But if you think about this season, this was a team that a year ago was in the last place and they were not looking good. Then they go out and get swept in the first three games of the season against Baltimore.

And everyone goes, oh, here we go again. Then they get swept the week before the season ends against the Yankees. And then you go, they're done. Yeah. And then on game 161 on Saturday, they're down 5 to 1 against the Nationals. They bend, but they don't break. And Alex Cora, while he loves analytics, he understands at Clubhouse as well as anybody. But he understands how to get people, communicate, and get them to elevate.

And by the way, when you have a guy like Chris Sale, warming up in the ninth inning is because he's got everybody's buy-in from the 26 players, coaches, and the fan base. So the Dodgers top to bottom look like to me to be as talented, again, just talent from the Bueller's and the Kurshaws, then they add Max Scherzer, they add Trey Turner, Seeger, Justin Turner's, the heart and soul, the team. And you think to yourself, Mookie Betts. And then they have a series of injuries over the years. Max Muncie gets hurt late. You think they'll be fine, they'll overcome that. But what I'm noticing with the Dodgers, it's so, Feaster Famine at the plate that you get six runs or you don't get any. Bellinger, by the way, very similar kind of player. You get great knights or he disappears. It's almost an all-star team of great players. There's Hall of Famers on this roster.

And they're a game from being eliminated and most believe the Giants don't have the personnel. Have we undervalued San Francisco and simply overvalued the Dodgers performers? Well, for sure, we've all undervalued San Francisco. I mean, they are not good. They are great. And they've been great for six months. Nothing tells us that there was a sign of slowing down. When we thought they were going to slow down, they sped up.

So they have it all working up there. They have veteran players. They have very analytics driven, but they have veteran players that are old school, Buster, Crawford, right? They know how to win. That's one. Number two with the Dodgers. The Dodgers, there's two things. It is so difficult to repeat.

There's a reason why only a handful of teams I've ever done. done it over the last century. Why? It's just that the hangover is real. When you go to the offseason, you go into this offseason banquet, everyone's celebrating telling you how great you are. It's hard to go out and run the 40s and the 60s. By the way, you also play 25 more games. There's fatigue. Absolutely fatigue. And in a town like L.A. or New York, there's a lot of people say distractions. I call them attractions, right? There's a lot of attractions in L.A. Now, what I will say is the Dodgers are minus five. And what I mean by that is you have Kike being Big Poppy in Boston.

You have Peterson running three-run Homer last night. You have Bauer's situation. He's out. He's a big part of this team. And then you have Bellinger that's been hot and cold this year. And now you get Muncie. Is that just Muncie? It's Muncie plus four. And when you take five big characters

away from a 26-man roster, you got a different team. Yeah. Do you think they can overcome it? I don't know who's going because Scher goes. Who goes for the Dodgers now? Do you like their chances going forward? They're at Dodgers? stadium. The win last night was a huge factor. So I watched a lot of NFL bits and pieces of the Dodgers. This morning, I watched the highlights and I read what Dave Robert said. He had listened.

We had like two balls that were blown back in. The weather's cooled down a little bit today. The wind's not as brisk. Your thought going forward on the Dodgers. Yeah, last night, they should have won that game and they had the misfortune to play a home game that acted more like a road game. Because last night, Dodgers Stadium felt more like San Francisco Stadium. It was cold, windy. And that ball in the end, I mean, that ball, if it was summertime, was 15 rows up. Right. But I do think, look, these guys are champions.

They know how to win. I think if you're San Francisco, just step on their necks. If you're the Dodgers and you win today, I think they'll go win game five over there. So San Francisco should close today. Braves, Brewers, Brewers suddenly can't hit. I guess that was the Brewers issue all year. They had a good, they have a great closer. They had good starters, great Penn.

Milwaukee was an interesting long shot to bet on because they had matched up well with certain teams. Pitching in the playoffs is 75% of it, but now they can't hit. Does Atlanta wrap it up? Yeah. First of all, I think when teams come hot and cold, these teams are billed to do just that. You know, what won the game yesterday for the Red Sox, going back about little baseball, is Vasquez gets a little ground ball with eyes. Then you have a bunt. And Alex tells you don't bunt, Alex Cora, Bunt. Then you have an error, and you have a 300-foot pop-up that wins the game and takes into the ALCS. Everyone says, I don't want a bunt. Analytics, arch, angle, launch.

But when all the marbles are on the table, it's situational. Everybody goes back to old school fashion baseball. Now you want a bun. But guess what? Most teams are not prepped to bun. So in a weird way, they rather lose their way than win the old-fashioned way like Alex Cora did last night.

Well, you love sports. I mean, you were a great high school quarterback. You and I have talked about this. You're a sports fan. And this has always been my thing on analytics. Postseason basketball, baseball, and football, are situational. So in the postseason, let's take basketball. The last three teams that have won it have been the Bucks, the Raptors, and the Lakers. Two couldn't shoot threes, but they were all old physical

teams. And refs in the NBA, as you know, swallow the whistles in the postseason. What does that do? It benefits big old strong veteran players. They push the kids around. So the game changes. It's not a Tuesday in Denver in the regular season. So baseball, you shorten your staffs. You use certain base runners you wouldn't. You don't take chances you would. So in baseball, it becomes very situational. Can you lay down a bun? Can you pinch hit? Can you go first to third?

I mean, you could ask Scherzer to go pitch the seventh inning in game five. That's right. And so to your point, I will say this, I think baseball is having a little bit of a renaissance. There's a lack of activity which can turn off some young people. But there are, the game's never been more global. They're a ton of stars. The sport's done a good job to let guys celebrate a little more.

That's something Joy and I've been on. It's like, love it. It's this, you know, this is fun. Yeah. This is sports. Your takeaway on where the sport is today. Well, I could not agree with you more. Look, I think when you look at Rob Manfred, Petiti, Dan Halem, they've done a fantastic job, along with Tony Clark, the head of the Players Union. I love what they've done in the All-Star game. I love Homer and Derby. I love the 162. Every game starts at 3 p.m. So they're starting to be a little bit more progressive,

learning from the NBA, learning from NFL. But I do think the game I've followed it for 30-plus years. I've never seen a better group of young talents. Oh, it's amazing. From Tatis to Soto to Acuna. I mean, just go on and on. And by the way, we don't talk about the trouts anymore, right? Because they're 2830. But we're now talking about 21-year-old rock stars.

It is so fun to watch. This guy Tatis, he's like LeBron James. I mean, he is an international global star. And he's a guy that could have played safety in the NFL. He could have played point guard in basketball, but he chose to play baseball just like Aaron Judge. What do you do as a former Yankee a minute left? we both know Aaron. I really like Aaron. He's a USC fan. So we're close. So what do you do? They're leaning. They're going to retain him. What would you do with Aaron? I'll give him a three-year extension. Aaron Boone did a fantastic job. If anyone thinks that Aaron Boone has anything to do with the Yankees failures, they're wrong. I met with the front office and they said we had a walk-a-game. We had 30 people around the table making a lineup. What do you need 30 people, analytics people? What are you? Hedge fund? You're making a two-

billion dollar bed. You're making a lineup. You think Joe Torrey had 30 people around the and I'm not saying it was the Yankees, but it was a team like the Yankees is too much thinking. You know, you take half the IQ, you can throw it in the ocean. Go back to Manor Ramirez, just play baseball, seaball, hitball. You got to be able to compete. You got to be

athletic. You got to play defense. It's not softball. You don't put a right field and left field in a shortstop at second. Jeter was a shortstop. I played third. Cano Tixera. Everybody knew where they were. Every place. You go to work every day, you're here. Imagine if Monday you're here, Joey, you're here on Tuesday, Wednesday you're here.

That's what baseball is. No, no, no. You know your spot. Joey and I'd be fighting like cats and dogs. Like most teams are fighting. All right, Dodgers, thank you for the staff here. Dodgers haven't announced a starter tonight. So, TBD, to be announced. All right, TBA.

See you soon. Alex Rodriguez. Heard hierarchy next. 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-Heart 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 game. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast, Superhuman, documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. Space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep. That's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Cliford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.