The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Knicks make it a series, best additions to NFL teams

Episode Date: May 26, 2025

The Knicks taking game 3 and keeping the Eastern Conference Finals alive. Colin lays out the biggest changes to NFL teams, holding that it's a coaches and quarterbacks league and giving nods to the Titans and Bears.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. Is everyone lying to me about who they are? I felt such desperation. I felt it was what I had to do. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend, and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening to The Heard 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 Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to the Heard podcast. It is Memorial Day. Welcome in. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however, you may be watching or listening. Thank you to the families who are serving and have served. It can be a tough day for many military families today. You're in our thoughts. The liberties and freedoms we enjoy are due to you and your sacrifice and commitment to this country. And thank you for all joining us. A lot of choices on a Monday. J-Mack, the one-time.

team on this NBA slate that you've always been a fan of as the New York Knicks. And they were in a rough, rough spot at about 8.30 Central where I was last night, they were getting blown out. And then something magical happened. You must feel we got a series today. Yeah, Tom Tibido pressed the right buttons at the right time. And the Knicks are back in the series, coward. Let's go. All right, they were down 02. They were on the road. down 20 points. Their star was in foul trouble, Jalen Brutson. It was one of those,

what kind of man are you games? And Carl Anthony Towns, two things happened. Number one, Carl Anthony Towns said, I'll show you what kind of man I am. I'm going to single-handedly take over the fourth quarter. Listen, the dude, he has quarters like this. He averages 23 a game in his career. When he was in his prime, Carl Anthony Towns always ended up near the top.

of those GM surveys they do, who would you start a franchise with? He doesn't play any defense. He's a little quirky, but he can dominate games. I've been to three or four games where he was playing, and he was the best player on the floor at some point in all those games. And the second thing that happened, and this does not happen very often for the Pacers. They lost their way offensively. So Halliburton, end of the third quarter, beginning of the fourth.

So in the third, beginning of the fourth, about four and a half minutes, he was on the bench. In that time, a 15-point lead evaporated to four. And then he comes back in, and they just never quite felt the same. Again, Indiana, it's hard to get them off their offensive game. But even when the Knicks were down, four, three, two points, it felt like they were in control. So the Pacers are a rhythm team. and that they have the fastest pace in the league. And they got out of their rhythm.

And all of a sudden you had knee-smith and other guys McConnell trying to run the offense. It's like, bro, that's not it. This is Halliburton's offense. They lost their quarterback. They only shot 36% in the second half at home and shot 42%. That's the worst half of basketball for the Pacers. And just to give you in the playoffs, to give you another example, it flashed on the screen at one point in the first half,

They had 14 fast break points. They were running the Knicks out of the arena. In the second half, total two fast break points. Halliburton sits. They lose their rhythm. He comes back in, tries to kickstart it, and he never could. And what did we talk about last week? Whoever controls the tempo is going to win the games and or the series.

and the Knicks compressed it, slowed it down. And also, and this matters, the Knicks hit their last 15 free throws. I know that's not a glamorous headline, but remember, game one, the Knicks had control, and they were missing free throws. Open the door. This was the opposite. They were controlling tempo. In game one, they lost tempo, missed free throws.

Here late, they controlled tempo, hit free throws, and so they were a better. a road team than they were a home team. The road team has won every game in this series. So the Knicks slowed it down, hit the freebies, and I thought their defensive rotations were much better, especially when you had once Halliburton sat down for that stretch. And you see this in football all the time. You have momentum. You have a bad series. You have a fumble. There's a turnover. And you can never find the momentum again. It's hard. Momentum matters and especially matters in playoff games. So we have a bad series. have ourselves a series. The Knicks

Blue Game 1, it kind of felt like they stole game 3. Indiana felt like the better team in game 2. We've got a series, and here's Tibbs. And playoff basketball, I know you guys like roll your eyes when they say no lead

is safe, but no lead is safe. Because I think with the three-point shot, people make up ground quickly, pace the game, make up ground quickly. You see comebacks all the time. And if you let up just a little bit. That's what happens. So you just do not see the Pacers very often lose their way offensively.

But that four and five minute stretch where Halliburton left, and you just saw the lead shrink. He came back in. He sort of righted the ship. He hit a three. It felt a little better. But by that point, the Knicks had growing confidence. And it should also be noted, Cat did a lot of his damage with Jalen Brunson on the bench, which we'll get to after the commercial. Okay, so this is a story you may be wondering. I don't think it's going to make a big deal either way, but Aaron Rogers, according to Jeremy Fowler, there are people in the NFL, and Jeremy Fowler works at ESPN, very good reporter. He is saying there are people in the NFL, many that believe Aaron Rogers,

is waiting on Minnesota. I don't know that to be true, but I will say this. Aaron loves to make people think he's a mystery, and the media can't figure him out, and he does that because it invalidates us, and we're the one group of people he can't control. He's worshipped by football people. He's loved by teammates.

The one group he can't control us, and so he wants to invalidate us. And he's not J.D. Salinger. It's not that mysterious. The Steelers are a shaky fit, and Aaron knows it. He doesn't want to offend Mike Tomlin. It may be if he wants to play his best spot,

but they can't figure out offense. I've gone over this a million times. They're tone deaf to offense. They just, they, I think they're now making moves just to make moves. Let's just move off George Pickens and let's get a pick. And let's overspend for DK Metcalfe. And they're just making moves to make moves. So there are reports, and I don't care about his personal life.

that Aaron's personal life, he's going through some turbulence. You wish him well. I don't want to get into any speculation there. But I just think Aaron is too smart to think the Steelers are a good fit. The O line's been a wreck for years. The O coordinator position they've run through him. They lost Naji Harris, their left tackle. And by the way, it does matter.

He went from Green Bay, which has always had an offensive culture. They always get quarterback right. They always have offensive coaches. They always have good offensive lines. Green Bay does offense right, and they've been doing it right for 30 years. Pittsburgh does defense right, and the only two times they've done offense right, they had Terry Bradshaw and Big Ben, and in between that, they're not the same franchise. They win games, they don't win big games, and that's what Pittsburgh's going through right now.

They've been a bottom 10 total offense six years in a row, and that's hard to do when you look at the two New York franchises and Carolina and some bad offense in this league and the Bears. So the Vikings makes a ton of sense. great, brilliant, offensive head coach and play caller. They play indoors. He knows the division. They have Justin Jefferson.

They upgraded their offensive line in the offseason. There's also a story that's interesting. So Aaron was apparently on some podcast and said when asked about the Saints, because we don't know exactly what the Saints are doing. Is it going to be a Spencer Rattler? You know. And Aaron Rogers was quoted saying, yeah, I'm too old.

I don't want to live in Louis. Louisiana. Sorry. So what that means is where Aaron plays matters to Aaron. He is thinking about it. He doesn't want to live in New Orleans. So that's another reason. Indoors, knows the division, NFC. He moved over to a defensive culture, playing outdoors in the Northeast, with the jets, and it was a mess. Aaron doesn't want to do that again. And Jeff Pearlman came on last week. He wrote a book about Brent Farv and Aaron was all through the book and Farv didn't treat Aaron very well and I grew to kind of respect what Aaron had to go through. But he made a point about where Aaron's played and the fit is really crucial when you consider Aaron's personality. I just think over time, especially being in a small Midwestern town surrounded by the Midwestern quaintness of Green Bay, I think Iron Rogers really started to believe. I'm the smartest guy in the room.

I know everything. I am very intelligent. I know more than the coaches. I know more than my teammates. I know more than this fan base. And again, if you can contain that in Green Bay, Wisconsin, it's one thing. You're treated as a got. But once you go national, once you go to a different franchise,

it doesn't really play out that well. It certainly didn't in New York. Now, the culture in Pittsburgh is better than New York, but like the Jets, they can't get offense right. So whether the story is true or not. It makes a lot of sense. I've said this. I think he was waiting for Brock Purdy's contract to get signed. That eliminated the Niners. I think that was his first choice. His second choice was Minnesota. This is just a guess by me. But this story comes out, and this is what I felt

is Aaron's too smart to think, you know, Pittsburgh's going to work for me. I don't think they're a game better if he plays there. I don't. I think Pittsburgh now is in the space where they're just making moves to make moves. I don't know. D.K. Metcalf was overpaid. Pickens trade probably right once you acquire D.K. Metcalfe, but I didn't love the offseason for the Steelers. Jay Mack, there's a lot of things going on today. Colin Wright, Colin wrong in 50 minutes. There was a story over the weekend about Caitlin Clark's value to the WNBA. It is, I don't know if people understand this. Like what is happening? How, how popular she is.

It's insane. And I think it is time. I like the fact that this story was published, meaning WNBA coaches, players, executives can now read her relevance, which is not only is it transcended, it's transformational to the league. How was your weekend, by the way? My weekend was excellent. I ran into your friend LeBron yesterday at a volleyball tournament out here in L.A.

But if I could quickly go back to Aaron Rogers for a second, Does he totally want to be Brett Favre Jets? Then Vikings close out the career. Is that what he's wanting to do? Like copy Brett Fav? It is just so embarrassing and pathetic, but I don't want to bash Aaron Rogers. He went through some stuff last week.

I'm sure you saw with an ex-girlfriend kind of throwing him under the bus for not being a nice guy, which should surprise nobody. But just disappointing stuff, Aaron. Come on. Yeah, we wish Aaron the very best and the Steelers the very best. Coming up next, the information about how big Caitlin Clark is, It's sort of staggering. Matt Hasselbeck stops by.

I'm going to give you my list of the four newcomers in the NFL this year that will change outcomes. I think there's only four people in the NFL that moved and will change outcomes. It's the hurt. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? 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 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. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... 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 Letter 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself.

I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jen, she went. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me.

And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennar Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your courtside seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

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

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife. 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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. Welcome back on this Memorial Day. Matt Hasselbeck, calling right and wrong in 40 minutes. So a associate professor of finance at Indiana University broke down the economic scale of Caitlin Clark, who is just a phenomenon. So she generated last year 26 and a half percent as a rookie on a terrible team, 26 and a half percent of the economic activity in the league. Listen to some of these numbers.

Her stardom, not slowing down. The fever averaged more than the Pacers did per game. throughout the league if she played in your town attendance for the league rose 30 percent the valuation of the fever 90 million dollars for the fever before she arrived now 340 million that's four times four times valuation increase lebron didn't do that when he went back to cleveland he certainly didn't do it going to miami or the lakers mj didn't do that with Bulls. We're talking one player. She is Steve Jobs. She's taking an insolvent company and turning it into a powerhouse. So listen to this, WNBA merchandise exploded 500% increase. That's one player.

I mean, literally half the merchandise in the league, she's selling. So you better get comfortable with the fact that if she comes to your arena, ticket prices will jump 140%. She's She will be more popular than your entire roster. So, and my take is, ride the wave. Enjoy the fruits. Be grateful. You went commercial to private. Now, we can go back to Flying Spirit Airlines,

but nothing kills Team Spirit like Flying Spirit. So you've got to come to grips with it. She is not only transcendent, she is transformational. She has changed the league. And Hollywood has always understood this. The actors and the directors have always understood this. The bigger the stars,

the better the catering. Egg rolls for everybody. Chicken and beef options. So this is a whole different ballgame. We're talking about these numbers. She is mission, very possible. What you are seeing now is I don't think, I don't even think the PGA with Tiger exploded like this.

I mean, these numbers are insane. And, you know, I was talking to a group of people last night that aren't sports fans. And they, you know, they, They asked, like, how long will it last and what do you make of it? My take is, well, think about how deep the reservoir of men's basketball talent is in the world. I mean, you can go to Spain, Lithuania, you can go anywhere. You can go anywhere in the United States.

You can go to Portugal. There's talent everywhere in the world for men's basketball. And men's basketball has been ahead of women's basketball my entire life, is that we've never found a duplicate for Steph Curry. we never have nobody plays like him nobody looks like him nobody shoots like him in women's basketball and his greatest curry is he wasn't the best player in the league he was the most transformational people take shots now they wouldn't have considered but we've never found a duplicate in the men's game for step curry the gap between kaitland and anything resembling her is curry fourfold

So it's not going to end. This is at the beginning of it. The professor states that there's a chance she will have a billion-dollar economic impact for the WNBA this year. Again, ride the wave. People enter your life all the time and make it better. Thank them. J-MAC with the news. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line. news. All right, Colin, let's get started with a big story out here in L.A. Show Hey, Otani, big appearance over the weekend, throwing live batting practice for the first time since his left shoulder surgery. Otani only threw 22 pitches. There were five plate appearances to three batters. After the session, Otani said, I haven't thrown in a while, so it was nice to be able to feel like a pitcher. Obviously, when he has thrown, I mean, that guy's incredible. Now, I'm curious, Do you think this is a situation where the Dodgers are like, hey, we need Otani back?

I mean, they are only up one in the West over the Giants and the Padres are closing in. Listen, he's a great pitcher. So obviously he makes the team better when he pitches, and they've had a ton of pitching injuries. I think pitching injuries, if you look at Tommy John's surgeries, they've skyrocketed the last five to ten years. It's an industry issue, but the Dodgers, because they're such a big brand and talked about, like, everybody looks at the Dodgers and they can't stay healthy. there is no question that Otani, they want Otani available because I think part of the negotiations were he's going to pitch. If you add Otani, he would arguably be the ace of the staff.

And so, I mean, they have some good arms, but they've got guys who have been injured before, like last known who they got from Tampa. So I think you're going to notice his value in August, September, and October. That's when all this will matter the most. Totally agree. Let's get to the NBA worthy Timberwolves on Saturday night. But what a beat down on the thunder. Just absolutely ran him out of the building. 143 to 101. I mean, Colin, winning by 42 points?

I don't know how much of this you watched. The fourth quarter was unwatchable. But interesting note here, SGA, the MVP of the league, was sitting on the bench late in the game, wearing a microphone. The broadcast caught him talking about the loss. Take a listen. Turnovers early. More physical, early. And they made shots and we missed shots.

The dollar two at first. And then on top of this, they had a great night. We had a bad night. So it's like 40. But if we like take care of these, we can still lose because of this night. But it doesn't look like this. Well, you know what? I was talking to my friend Jason Timp last night at the volume.

We talked about this. Of all the teams remaining, I kind of feel like I get the same team with the Knicks Homer away, same team with the Pacers home. away, same team T-Wolves home and away. OkC, because of their youth, I don't feel like it's the same offense. Young players

on the road historically in the playoffs and rotational players, and they have the deepest bench, right? So, and so when you look at OKC and the numbers validate this, they're not the same offense away from home. They're the youngest team and the deepest team.

But those rotational guys, you know, we've talked about this. When you get to the playoffs, your stars shine wherever. Your rotational guys are always better at home. They're always more comfortable. They're often younger players or more limited players. So OKC, I feel there is a gap between Home A-KC and Road Thunder. Listen, Nas Reid goes home and can actually make shots.

I mean, I think he missed every three-pointer in OKC. I will say the one interesting angle here is, you know, I could understand you don't show up, you lose by 20. Colin, this was almost like a we're laying down. You know, we kind of give up. Remember, this happened against Memphis in game three. They were up 2-0, and Memphis goes up 30, but then John Morant got hurt and OKC came back. So I think you're on to something with this young team.

Obviously, tonight is the series. If OKC wins, it's over up 3-1. But if Minnesota wins, and I think they got a shot at home, right? Yeah, well, Thunder are 7 and 1 at home with a lot of blowouts. Yeah. We watched them play Denver. are three and three on the road. We saw Denver give them problems up in Denver. Now, some of that may be altitude. I think tonight's close. What is the spread? Three or four points. I think it's a

go either way game. It's going to be a must-watch fourth quarter. I know the audience is going to be upset. After missing on game one in both series, I have not bet or looked at a line since that I'm like, I don't get that. I don't understand how the Knicks lose these, how the Timberwolves are getting blown out. So I haven't looked at the line yet. I'm not betting it. But I do think this is another Anthony Edwards put the team on his back. He outscored OKC in the first quarter in game three. And that was kind of like a lights out moment. Colin, final story, this is adding to the Aaron Rogers from earlier. How about this one? There are reports saying that Falcons backup quarterback Kurt Cousins is on Pittsburgh's radar. The Falcons got Cousins last

year and of course then drafted Pennix. And Cousins is kind of like the odd man out there. It's going to be Pennix's team. The fact that this story is emerging on the same weekend as the Aaron Rogers, maybe not going to Pittsburgh thing. I think there's some smoke here for sure. I just don't know if Cousins is going to work outdoors in Pittsburgh. I don't think that's a good match at all. Listen, Tomlin appears to be safe. I think he signed an extension in the last year to Pittsburgh.

Listen, when you have Lamar Jackson and Burrow in your division, okay, those are two of the top five quarterbacks in the league. You have to find a franchise quarterback. You can't keep going out ham and egg at it with 10. Pickett and Will Howard. How do you get a franchise quarterback? You win five to six games and have a top eight pick. Pittsburgh in my lifetime has been great twice. Bradshaw is prime, Big Benin is prime. Outside of that, they don't win big games. They just do not, even with Tomlin or Bill Cowher or Chuck Noel. So to me, this is the stepback year. And I think if you can get into that six, seven,

You're still viable. Your defense will win games. You're not trying to lose, but you're limited. I would have no problem, Pittsburgh, just saying, listen, we're going to go with these young guys. Get, I mean, it'd be one thing if you didn't have Lamar Jackson 10 times in the next five years minimum. Burrow, 10 times the next five years minimum. Well, I like your idea of, hey, maybe a ham and agate with Mason Rudolph and Will Howard. Hey, why don't you add instead of five, six wins, go to three, four, and trade DJ Wat.

go get a bunch of picks and you're set up for and it's early what could be a great 2026 draft well i don't want to trade t j wott without getting a guarantee back the problem with i would trade t j wott if i could get the number one pick and it's arched manning there's no way no no nobody's doing that but i'm not i'm not what if you uh a potential contender somebody who wants to make the playoffs badly uh you know let's go jacksonville jacksville says they'll give up our first or any team you want i would consider moving Moving off of what? Would you not?

Listen, listen. Take quarterback out. You can move off virtually everybody except a great left tackle. Like, I'm not going to move off Miles Garrett. But take quarterbacks out. You don't want to move off a great left tackle that Hughes the insurance policy four-eater-star quarterback. But we've seen Belichick fired and Andy Reid fired.

You can move off legendary coaches. We've seen Montana play for the Chiefs. Brady play for the box. Like the idea that in getting older with a handful of injuries, T.J. Watt can't be on the market. Like, get over it. He's a great player who would have massive value on the market. Not saying you do it, you take calls for that. He's a great player.

He's had multiple injuries now. Keep an eye on Washington. They're going to, Washington could be a Super Bowl team. I don't know. You know, maybe they'll give up their first next year. But I would just bottom out. I like your idea. I know that's a tough sell to the fan base.

that's a proud fan base. They make the playoffs 500 every year. That's irrelevant. You want to be a contender. You got a bottom out. Jemak with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Heard Lye News. So it is a little bit instructive here that Carl Anthony Towns did his great work last night in the fourth quarter. You know, and Jalen Brunson was not on the floor for a lot of it. So now I think the Pacers are a better team. I think they get more consistently, easier looks on offense, and I think they're going to win the series. But the most interesting part in this series for the Knicks is that it's not complicated to see what they are and what they're not. It's right out. They're not pretty.

They don't shoot the three particularly well. and that Brunson and Cat often flourish when the others off the floor. Your turn. No, it's your turn. No, it's your turn, my turn, offense. Too often. And they're both poor defenders. So well-coached offensive teams pick on them.

So I would move off a talented, erratic cat, although I think he's talented. Because I don't think Brunson and Cat on the floor, people just go after him. and bad defenders. And I think it also, we know what they're not. We know what they need. They need KD. Who is a catch and shoot player, which is very valuable,

because you're going to get Kat's points. You're going to get 23 to 25 a game. Better defender. And he can play complimentary basketball with Jalen Brunson. Cat really doesn't. It's not like Kat's a bad guy. But if you have him on the floor and Brunson, Brunson's not big, he's not long,

he's not a great defender liability so brunson leaves and cats like okay now it's my turn and not surprisingly he's great because he's a gifted offensive player again he averages 23 in his career but katy is great without the ball in his hands katy is a plug and play catch and shoot player he is better defensively than carl anthony towns and i mean you know i mean think about this when carl anthony towns was in minnesota

before aunt arrived he was a number one scoring up So Carltony Towns has a market. He's going to average 22 points a game for somebody. But I do think the Knicks, what you're seeing in this series, it's a pretty simple, you could be a basketball casual. They can't shoot the three consistently. KD. They need a star who doesn't need the ball in his hands a lot.

KD. They need length if they keep Mitchell Robinson and move off Kat. They need length, KD. They need a willing defender. defender, KD. They need a high basketball IQ because Brunson, Mikhail Bridges, this is a smart basketball team and a pretty relentless coach. KD. It all fits. Listen, I go back when they were beating Boston and I'm like, I don't know if they need KD. But playoffs are layers. They're steps. Against Detroit, you're like, wow, why are the Knicks struggling with Detroit?

because Detroit muddies it up, and they had a hard time getting consistent baskets. And then you play Boston and your defense befuddles them, and Brunson is great. And so you forget about that. But then they play Indiana, and you're watching and you're going, yeah, they kind of need another shooter. And all these teams now with the multiple aprons, they're all going to be moving pieces. It is harder to move big pieces, but Kat's got to market. I don't think Key and Brunson and playoff basketball works. And if you're asking me everything they need, catch and shoot, plug and play, high IQ,

hit a three-pointer. If Cat leaves, they need length and a willing defender. Every box is checked with KD. And let's be honest about Kat. The dude has value. You can't tell me he doesn't. He is a, I mean, you saw yesterday, he is a, at times, an unstoppable offensive player who attacks downhill. Hill. And here's Cat after.

It's an opportunity to utilize all those hours and put into the gym. And the game wasn't looking great for me as well, but for all of us. And I just wanted to do whatever it takes to help put us in a position to win. Yeah, it's not a criticism. The guy's got to market. This is pro sports. Michael Jordan finished with the Wizards. You know, it's never pretty in the end. but Kat's not in his prime, but he has quarters like last night,

and they're fairly regular. And by the way, I was thinking about this, if Jason Tatum is out for the Celtics next year, and we don't even know what Cleveland is right now, right? Like, we're not sure what Cleveland is. We know Indiana is going to be good, but they're going to have a Miles Turner dilemma.

They're not going to be able to keep him because they're going to keep Pascal Seaccombe. You're going to keep Halliburton. You've got a bunch of other rotational guys you like. They're going to probably lose Miles Turner, so they're going to lose some of their length. And Miles Turner matters for big teams. If Yonis stays in Milwaukee, it matters.

So there's going to be a lot of movement, a lot of little pieces moving in New York. And I think this series has really, you can be a basketball casual. You know what they need. And I think Katie checks all of those boxes. Colin Wright, Colin wrong, 25 minutes from now. Coming up, the players who absolutely, there's four, maybe a coach, maybe a player that I think change outcomes in the NFL. This is all based

on the story that came out today regarding the most valuable new player for every team in the league. 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 it. 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 do we actually come up the 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 was... 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, 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen Chinchin win. I mean, she went down to three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me.

And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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 his story.

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 Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Friday night, it's a. playoff preview between two of the leagues best as the St. Louis Battlehawks take on Jordan

Taamu and the D.C. Defenders. Fox UFL Friday kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern. So I saw this morning a bleacher report had a story where they gave every NFL team's best slash most dangerous new addition to their football team. Some are obvious like Joey Bosa for the bills, obviously that he's going to make a difference. He's going to make some big plays. George Pickens to the Cowboys. I mean, they need another receiver. He may implode by week six, but whatever. I thought it was funny that Jackson Dart was listed as the Giants' most dangerous edition.

I'm not sure he's going to play. That shows you how bad the Giants are. I'm not sure Jackson Dart's going to play much next year. But to me, it's all about changing outcomes. You can say, oh, this guy will be, you don't know. There's four people. This is a head coach quarterback league. There's four people, and only four, in my opinion, that will change outcomes.

Number one is Cam Ward, Tennessee. They led the NFL last year in turnovers. They were so hard to watch offensively, where even games they outplayed teams. Tennessee was so bad at quarterback with Will Levis and Mason Rudolph that they lost games where they out-physicaled, out-schemed, and out-played teams. That's why Brian Callahan was often so frustrated with Will Levis. He knew he out-schemed and they out-tuffed and out-physicaled and out-played and out-called teams and lost. Cam Ward is accurate, moves, coachable.

I mean, Miami's had some good quarterbacks. He broke all the Miami records. He's a 67% completion percentage guy. I think he's a really special player. I thought he was easily the best quarterback in this class. And again, he's humble. he was a zero-star recruit. There's a history of this league when guys come in

without a lot of stars and without a lot of pats on the back, nobody's pandering to them. That's jet fuel. So I think Cam Ward changes outcomes. I think Tennessee is going to be a playoff team. I think number two is Mike Rable. He never had a star quarterback in the AFC, had a winning record, three playoff appearances,

ended up one year with Ryan Tannahill being a number one seed. And listen, New England has eight wins over the last two seasons. what he did in terms of shoring up the lines through the draft and through free agency, this is going to be a much more physical team. It will be in the footprint of his image. Drake May now goes to year two. And we know from watching Denver the last couple of years, when you go from a coach who's more of a coordinator, Gerard Mayo, Nat Hackett, to Sean Payton or Frable, you can argue

that's a six to a seven point difference. and if the Patriots had six points a game more last year, that had won nine or ten games. So I think he's going to change outcomes. I think Gino Smith, listen, we can say what we want about Gino Smith. The Raiders were a tire-fire offensively, and he ranked top five in the NFL in passing yards and completions. When you give Gino a run game,

when Walker was healthy for Seattle, Gino play action passing, big, strong, good arm, and accurate. Now, again, if you speed him up, like a second, Sam Darnold, he can be prone to mistakes and playing a little fast and frenetic. Gino Smith is going to make this a real offense, especially when you add Ashton Genty. They've already got Brock Bowers. I like their old line, Chip Kelly. Gino Smith will change losses to wins.

And number four, maybe I'm being a homer, but I think it's Ben Johnson. This team lost 10 of its last 11 games. It was a circus last year. And in the three years as coordinator of the Lions, we know that Dan Campbell's not a scheme guy. He's a culture guy. And we watched Detroit the last three years. And what did we all think? This offense is clever.

This offense is creative. That's not Campbell. Campbell's the barker. He's the volume. He's the gravitas. Ben's the brains of the operation. So just giving Caleb Williams upgrade O-Line a competent offensive coach with vision and an offensive sensibility from a defensive staff that fell apart. You're talking about a difference of winning and losing games.

So to me, put them up, these are the four people in the NFL and a head coach in a quarterback league. These are the four that will change outcomes. Cam Ward, Mike Vrable, Gino Smith, and Ben Johnson. Okay. So this happened, listen, there are certain, once people get over like 50 years old,

you start creeping up to 50 years old, and you know, psychologically, as people get older, they like less change. We all become sort of creatures of habit over time. And college football has an older average fan base than pro football or the NBA or soccer or UFC. One of the older fan bases, baseball's got an older fan base.

That's why they always, they're screaming about changes. And college football has a older fan base, okay? So they don't like a lot of these changes. But I read it this morning, the 12-teen college football playoff, they voted on this Thursday. The top four teams and the top four seeds will all get first-round buys. Last year, Notre Dame wasn't eligible for a, first round by. Now the vote has been changed. Notre Dame and they should be are eligible.

This was all settled Thursday afternoon. The five highest ranked conference champs will still be guaranteed spots in the 12-team field. It is much more, in my opinion, an NFL model. That's what ESPN and Fox wanted, and I'm okay with it because college football, and I love it, has always been like a great movie with a sloppy ending. For years, sports writers voted on the national championship, and then it was computers voting it. And now there's too much sentimentality. You've got to have Indiana and you've got to have SMU in. Not really.

No, we don't. Not really. They have no chance to win. And you've seen more of it recently. I've been on this now for about a month about USC is willing to play Notre Dame, but USC is like, it's going to be on our terms. And because they have a polarizing coach, Lincoln Riley, people are pushing back. Just think about what USC is.

has gone through in the last couple years. Their conference basically died. And so the only three teams that remained were the three biggest rivals, Cold Weather Washington, Cold Weather, Oregon, and rival UCLA, the three teams they've historically struggled with. Those are the only three that join them. The cupcakes are gone. No more Oregon State, Cal, Arizona, no more Washington State. Now, those are all gone. Huskies, ducks, and a team that's given them trouble, even in the lean years, the Bruins. Then they joined the Big Ten. Penn State, top ten team now. Michigan, I think this year, rebounds top ten program. Ohio State could be the best program now that Alabama slipped. And, you know, keep your eye on Nebraska, keep your eye on, you know, there's always

somebody surprising you in the Big Ten. Illinois this year will be good. So only their three toughest rivals survive the Pac-12. They join them in the conference now. that it's the biggest conference, and they're all cold weather. Penn State's cold weather. Michigan's cold weather. Why is it matter? Ohio State's cold weather. Washington cold weather.

Oregon cold weather. What's that matter? Even in the NFL, we've never had a dome dynasty. We've had New England, Green Bay, Kansas City, cooler temperature, San Francisco. Why? It's hard for dome and warm weather teams in January. Go ask the Chargers and Dan Fouts to go into Cincinnati in four degrees or four below and win. We don't have Dome dynasties.

We don't have warm weather dynasties. Marino is one of the best quarterbacks ever. There was no dynasty. He got the one Super Bowl. We don't have Dome and warm weather dynasties in this league. And so I think weather absolutely matters. Absolutely matters. And so go look at the Miami Dolphins with Tua.

You don't think weather matters? That's why the northern teams generally draft quarterbacks, Big Ben and Bradshaw and Fav and Aaron Rogers and Joe Flack. Brady, you want guys with big arms. And so USC's world now is Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State. And if we go to the playoff, we're facing three more bullies. We just don't want to squeeze a Notre Dame game into our November schedule. Another cold weather team every other year.

We'd rather have a home warm weather game. I get it. USC, I've been told from inside the building, wouldn't mind playing Notre Dame, but on their terms. Of course Notre Dame wants the game. Notre Dame needs the game because they're not in a conference. That's why Notre Dame just signed a 12-year deal with Clemson. It guarantees them a great game. They want to sign the same thing with USC.

Of course they want it because they don't have Oregon and Washington and their in-state rival UCLA, the city champion. And then Michigan and Ohio State and Penn State and Wisconsin. They don't have that on the schedule. So of course Notre Dame wants as an independent, a guaranteed 10-12-year contract. So my take is USC doesn't need it. USC probably quietly or not quietly doesn't want it. And if they do it, they're going to do it on their terms.

I totally support that. I've been told inside USC's building, they're willing to do it, but they're going to control it. Not the team, hey, if Notre Dame wants to play them every year, come join the Big Ten. Fine. But if you want to be austere and you're too good for a major conference, this is the downside. You lose leverage against USC. Here's Lincoln Riley talking about the changes in college football. There are some changes that we've all just got to accept because it's just part of it right now. Obviously, that continues to move and we'll see how it evolves. But I think any door that closes, well, there's also a new, really exciting door that's getting opened. And we've got to, I think we can. still love what was in the past, but let's don't miss that there's some pretty cool things happening

right in front of our face right now that we're kind of all in the forefront of. By the way, one of the reasons the NFL is king, a willingness to pivot. Just take a deep breath. It's going to be okay. College fans, on average, are older than NBA fans

or soccer fans or UFC fans or maybe WNBA fans, and they get all upset with tradition. Michigan used to play. Notre Dame every year. They don't. It survived. 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. 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 I-Heart Radio app, podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. Is everyone lying to me about who they are? I felt such desperation.

I felt it was what I had to do. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get. your podcasts. The story I've told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast Deeply Well with Debbie Brown. If you've been searching for a soft place to land

while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to Deeply Well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.