The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Kyrie's Maturation

Episode Date: May 27, 2024

Colin has seen enough, he's ready for a Mavericks-Celtics NBA final. He explains how Dallas has been able to handle Kyrie Irving and turned him into a team player. Plus, Lebron is destined to stay in LA.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 Cliver 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.

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or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Here we go on a Memorial Day live in Los Angeles. A thank you to the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives for the freedoms many of us, including my family, possess, for the families of those fallen heroes. God bless you, and you are in our thoughts today. And welcome to the Heard on a Monday Memorial Day, Tom Brady in one hour.

We thank you for choosing us. It's not official, but it's sort of official. The Celtics lead their series 3-0 over the young and hobbling Pacers. Your Mavericks, you have been on them all year. They just keep disposing of really good teams. They believe in themselves. And so I thought on this Memorial Day, let's talk about the final that's not official, but it sort of is. Sort of?

Yeah. So let's talk Celtics and Mab's final. Oh, forget, jinxes. That's what we're going to get. It's about as good as you can get in the NBA. The big brand Celtics with two stars, Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum. And because of Mark Cuban's ownership, Dirk and the title, the Mavs carry some gravitas and weight in this league.

And they've got the two best closers in the two best stars finishing games in Luca and Kyrie Irving. You have arguably the best player in the world, Luca on a heater, and you have arguably the best domestic player in Jason Tatum. You have the drama of the Celtics duo. When are Jalen Brown and Tatum finally going to deliver a trophy to this story franchise? And you have the Kyrie factor. He hated Boston.

They didn't like him. So four big factors. If you're not going to have a dynasty, LeBron, a Steph, or a KD, this is as good as the finals can get. And if Porzengis is healthy, I think. I kind of like Boston and seven, but I don't know that. I've been burying the Mavs all season. I didn't like him against OKC.

I didn't think they beat Minnesota. But Boston to the finals is probably the easiest sports prediction of the last year. They were 41 and 11 against the East, and then the Knicks fell apart, and Halliburton's hurt, and no Dame, no Janus, M.Bed wobbly. Listen, that was an easy one. Everybody in the world picked Boston in the finals. There was no reason to be a contrarian. Dallas to the finals?

Yeah, I missed that about six times. I said it last week. I think Boston and this group is too good not to win at least one title. They're weird, though. Odd historically, they're a 50-50 bet at home against the Eastern playoff teams. Huh? And I think Luca is too gifted and too great for him not to win at least one chance. championship. And this series

actually reminds me of one I covered about 24 years ago. The Blazers and the Lakers. So the Celtics are the Blazers. More quality B plus above players. A good staff gave the Lakers

problems. Many times in the series, you thought the Blazers, a Scotty Pippinus, a bonus, it could be Rashid Wallace, Damon Stottomier, They had really good players. They had the Lakers pinned in many games,

took the lead in many games. That's the Celtics. A deeper quality team of B-plus players. And then there's the Mavs, which reminded me a little bit of the Lakers. The two best closers. Shack and Kobe won the series in seven. The two best closers at the time on the planet.

One inside, one perimeter. That series went back and forth. Those were the two best teams. Both would have been beaten Indiana in the finals. One did the Lakers. Portland would have. But for a majority of that series, I was in Portland.

I thought Portland was better. And they were until that slam dunk from Kobe to Shaq. And then the closers, coffees for closers, closed it. And that's how I feel about this series. I've been betting against Kyrie and Luca now for a month. And they're both in a heater. And Kyrie was a big swing.

an aggressive wins in sports and offense wins in basketball I know I know defense wins championships yeah I'm going to take Mahomes fourth quarter I don't care what his defense looks like and it is really hard to bet against Luca and Kyrie because they are the two best closers in this series

and Barclay talked about it after as a guard a Michael or Kobe give me some other guys Timak Timak Steph Curry that's no such thing you can't you can't stop great one-on-one players because you can make them take tough shots but they're going to get the shot they won't

kare and luca are going to get the shot they won't yeah the degree of difficulty luka takes with about half a shot is remarkable and it feels like 65 percent go in so i think i like boston if poor zingas is healthy but i've been saying this against every team that faces dallas i thought okay c was going to beat them with their youth. Luca was all banged up. I thought Minnesota would probably win their size in six or seven. I even thought the clippers would give the Mavericks problems. Yes, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

Can't wait for it. Celtics will wrap up their series, I presume, tonight. Dallas will wrap up theirs in a couple of days. And I want to talk about Kyrie Irving. I've had my issues with Kyrie Irving, although when they made this deal on February 5th a couple years ago, I said at the time, you got to take a swing. Mark Cuban's taking a swing.

You got to get Lucas somebody or he'll leave town. Kyrie is actually fascinating. He is the dilemma, even the top GMs in the NBA face. When you have an all-time talent that can be moody and difficult on a regular basis, what do you do? He was a disaster in Boston, mostly a disaster in Brooklyn. before LeBron got to Cleveland, nobody liked him. And his first year was a tad turbulent in Dallas, but right now it's incredible.

And in the NFL, it's different. In the National Football League, your top stars usually get in line with the coach and the culture and the offense, defense, special team system. They get in line. But the NFL's not a star-driven league. It's not. It's a roster-driven, shield-driven, GM-coach-driven league with stars. NBA is a star-driven league like international soccer, and they're going to get what they want.

And most guys are good guys, but some guys are petulant and moody and difficult. And yet all world. And it's why even the best general managers like Pat Riley are going to take swings on a Jimmy Butler, a Kauai Leonard, a Kyrie Irving, a James Hardin. When you get these players that are just different, if that player's in the right frame of mind, you get trophies. You secure your job, your coach's job, your family's security, and that's why people take swings. I mean, I think it's been PJ, Washington, and Gafford have been very, very nice supplemental pieces. But no, Kyrie, and Dallas is already out of the playoffs. February 5th, 2003, we looked it up this morning.

I said when Dallas went after Kyrie, well, it's going to be good or bad. bad, but they're going to be a handful, and they're going to be knights that you can't stop them. And this is an offensive league over a defensive league. Do you realize in the playoffs, Kyrie leads the postseason and fourth quarter points? And that's playing with Luca. That's playing with the best scorer in the playoffs. So Luca needed a running mate. They got him one with a history of being difficult and moody and temperamental and his own guy.

But I've been watching this league forever. an aggressive wins in sports, and you got to take swings. And the Mavericks' best two closers in the world right now are playing in Dallas. Here's some thoughts. Unbelievable. That's why.

They call him some people. It's a four quarter, right? Just amazing. He scored, what, 33? Yeah, it's amazing, you know. He's born for this situation. He's born in for the flood situations. So we just give the ball to him. Going into game four is still zero-zero. And that's the type of motivation and mentality we have in that locker room.

It's not just me. We feel like the job isn't finished and we're going against one of the greatest teams in the world. You know, they still have the capability of beating us on any given night. Got to appreciate where we are, but at the same time, don't take it for granted and don't take the other team for granted because they're pretty sure they're going to watch this interview. They're going to study all our habits and see if we, you know, lay down a little bit and get comfortable. I don't want to get comfortable at all. I want to push forward even more so and have our best game game four. The best people in any business are in it to get the ring.

And Dallas looks like they're good enough to keep Boston from getting it even one more time. So J-Mack, they have been your team. I will say this for a 3-0 series, the T-Wol's Mavericks is a really fun watch. It doesn't feel that lopsided. Whereas Boston feels like significantly better than Indiana, Dallas feels better than Minnesota, but the games are tight. Dallas has too many bad half-court offensive possessions. And when you have Luca and Kyrie, you have very few of those.

So the right team is leading the series. But you can see Minnesota picking up a win. I doubt it. But Minnesota was built to beat Denver, as we've talked about. They're not built to beat Dallas. And there's also something about teams grow. Like Dallas, before the PJ Washington, Gafford moves, they weren't the same team. So they're a different team than they were early in the season.

So that's why when you went into the Minnesota-Dalice series, you could not take all their earlier matchups. We've seen that, you see it in college football now. Teams have an issue. Then there's the transfer portal. And you see it sometimes in the NFL where Houston's a laughing stock. Oh, wait, they get C.J. Stroud and a good coach. They're a playoff team.

So what's fun about sports, if you pay attention, are the trade deadlines, the draft. The NBA draft does not give you any immediate help like the NFL does, but the trade deadline gives you help. Dallas is out of the playoffs, even with Kyrie potentially, without this front line to match up against an OKC and a Minnesota. So the supplemental players, it's just give Dallas credit. Big swing on Kyrie, big swing at the deadline. Dallas tends to be, that's kind of the way to do it. Big swings in Big D.

And it's paid off. They went after Porzingis back in the day. They thought he would be the running mate for Luca. That kind of blew up. They had Brunson. They blew that one, right? They didn't want to offer him the money. And now the third pitch, and they hit it out of the park with Kyrie Irving.

But to your point, Minnesota has led in the final five minutes of all the first three games. No, it feels very, very close. But again, when these games are close late, one team's a brilliant offensive team. One team's based on defense, and you cross your fingers of cat is in the mood. Okay, but isn't your take that Jason Tatum has struggled in late game scenarios? Does that give you pause for the finals? There's no question. There is no question.

said it is Blazers Lakers. That series came down to a couple Kobe Shack plays. If you covered that series, Lakers trailed by double digits in most games. Phil Jackson acknowledged we don't have a game plan for Rashid Wallace. We really don't know what to do. It was just

back and forth, but in the end, Kobe and Shaq were the difference. One of the great series I've ever, it's probably the best series I've ever covered in terms of intensity and talent. So, I mean, I'll say this from an NBA perspective. Oh, yeah. You cannot do better. than Luca Kyrie and the Mavs against Brown, Tatum, the history.

Porzengis drew Holiday in the Celtics. That is as good. We've been very lucky. March Madness, NFL Super Bowls. We've been on a string here for a lot of years. Celtics Mavs feels right. It's just a tough one for rooting interests. I like Tatum a lot.

I love Luca Donge. It's like there's no one to dislike in the series. It's going to be great. It should be a fun one. Yeah, Colin Wright, Colin Wrong in 45 minutes, followed by Tom Brady. Success is more than a death. It's a path you take one step at a time. Success is hard.

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great vibe. All happening in only one place. This League Uncut. The new NBA podcast with me, Chris Haines. And me, Mark Stein. Join us as we team up to expound on everything

we're covering, hearing, and chasing. Listen to This League Uncut with Chris Haynes and Mark Stein. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get, your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me,

Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments

in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me

or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jette. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you 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. Then you're finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking. 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, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Well, Minnesota built to beat Denver and did. That's pretty clear. They're not beat, built to beat Dallas. All of the games, again, have been very, very close. But what's also clear is it's a really great cliche that defense wins championships. But in the NBA, there has never

been this much offensive talent. It is remarkable. Even Biggs can pull up, handle the ball, hit a three. I mean, the talent level is sensational. And the difference is Luke and Kyrie have been magical, and Aunt and Carl Anthony Towns for the T-Wolves have not. Carl Anthony Towns has always been a player I like. I've seen him live multiple times, seen him on TV for years, but he's inconsistent. You never know which one you're going to get a little Rashid Wallace, where on his best nights, he's unstoppable. but that happens sometimes not as much as you like, kind of infrequent. Ant is going to be the face of the league. I think he and Wemby by the end of next year, very possible.

But he's not quite ready for the moment. He was great against Phoenix. He was excellent against Denver. He looks a little gassed. He's hot and cold with his shooting. His game just isn't as refined, although he's got a higher ceiling, in my opinion, than a Jason Tatum. He's not quite there yet.

So Rudy Gobert may be the defensive player of the year, but I've never seen a defensive player of the year get targeted more than Rudy Gobert. So two things appear true with Minnesota. Ant is not quite there yet, and Carl Anthony Towns won't be there long. They have got to get Ant a more consistent, reliable number two. Today, right now, this matchup going forward,

I just don't think Minnesota's built to beat them. And again, defense wins championships. I hear that in football, but it's always Patrick Mahomes, even on Sundays he doesn't play well, winning playoff games and big games and Super Bowls and conference championships. And I look at, you know, I look at the matchups right now. The West is so much better than the East, and there are better teams defensively than Dallas, and there's that smooth symmetry with all the Denver offensive pieces, and OKC is younger and maybe even deeper.

But I get Luca and Kyrie. If you look at the field goal percentage, there's so much talent now globally in basketball. So Minnesota is the top-rated defensive team in the league. And yesterday, the Mavericks shot 56% from the field, 50% on threes, and 89% from the free throw line. Dallas can just shoot. And there's not a lot you can do to stop them. And Minnesota is just running out of solutions. and they're going to have to change things up,

and Draymond Green talked about it after. At some point, Chris Finch got to make an adjustment. You keep rolling the same guys out there with the same game plan, each game, and you're falling behind 3-0. So at what point are you going to make an adjustment, not worry about fillets? We can't worry about Kyle Anthony Towns fillers or Rudy Goldberg's feelings. They need Knives Reed out there.

They need Kyle Anderson out there. And the weight, you've got to figure that out. So Dallas is stars, veteran and offensively pretty dependable. Minnesota's two stars, Carl Anthony Town, too erratic, and Aunt probably too young, and that's why you have a 3-0 Mavericks series lead. J. Mack with the news. This is the Herdline News. Yeah, the trade Carl Anthony Towns deal is going to be real fun.

I don't think he's on the team next year, because remember, because of the contracts paying Gobert, they got to pay Aunt, they paid Kat, McDaniel's got paid. somebody's got to be moved. Yeah, and they're not moving, aunt. They probably, there's not much of a market for Gobert. So Carl Anthony Towns will absolutely have a market. He is very much to me, Rashid Wallace. I covered Rashid for years, and he would play Tim Duncan to a standstill.

He would have Kevin Garnett in town and out play him. And then he'd face some stiff and give you 19 points, four turnovers, he can get thrown out at the end of the second quarter with a technical. So Carl Anthony Towns has always been sort of erratic, and I think what you have to get, when Michael Jordan had Scott, Pippin the best Robin ever. You knew you were going to get defense, length, slashing, and effort. Scotty was hot and cold from the perimeter, but I kind of got the same guy every night.

And as he refined his game, you're going to get 29 a night and great energy and good defense going forward. He's not quite there yet. But Carl Anthony Towns is not the right Robin. He's not the right running mate. Mike Conley is a perfect setup guy, but he's not a running mate. Turns 37 in October. That's right. They got to go find a guy that can give you 23.

and 10 and defend every night. You know, an Anthony Davis-level player, that kind of player that doesn't need the ball, but delivers mostly the same effort every game. Kat had 23 and 12 in game 7 against Denver. He was awesome, but he's shooting 13% from 3 in this series. 13%. Like, I mean, come on, that's not going to cut it.

All right, let's get to the NFL. Aaron Rogers, Mr. Confidence, still has total faith in his team and his play, even though he's coming off in Achilles' injury. The jets are in win-now mode with Rogers returning. He believes in himself and his team's chances now more than ever. I'm always confident, you know me. I feel like if I'm on the field and doing what I'm capable of doing, number one, we always got a chance.

Number two, more than that, we're one of those, you know, half dozen to 10 teams that can actually win a championship this year. So that's what's exciting. Yeah, well, good luck. Good luck. I'm going to keep my eye on the Jets' offensive line. health, that will to me be a much bigger issue than anything else. If the O-line's healthy, upright, and performing, they're going to be a good team.

They'll battle Miami until week 16 or 17 or 18 for the playoffs. They're not going to beat Buffalo. Buffalo's got Josh Allen. Yeah, Miami. New England's last. Buffalo's first. Let's talk about Jets, Dolphins, battling for a wild card. Prediction?

Heard hierarchy. You'll do one before week one, right? Oh, I've got two left, I think. Okay. The Jets will crack the top 10 before week one. I don't know why you're laughing. What in the before they play a game? Yeah, there's always preseason issues with the team.

There's preseason injuries. And you're going to see the Jets look crisp and real sharp and deep. I'm just telling you, if they don't come in at 10, I'll be shocked. The only thing crazier than that is my son jumping out of a plane yesterday and landing safely. That's the only thing crazy. You're sending the video and not for the fate of art. That's not for me. Next up.

Joe Burrow, Glass Joe, has not faced any limitations during OTAs following his return from a right wrist injury. Bengals O.C. Dan Pitcher says they are being smart with how they use them right now, but confirms Burroughs not on any special pitch count during practice. I don't know, Colin. We're kind of not on the fence on Burrow, but it's one of those, this is a big season for him. Like, what Tua keeps getting injured? Like Burrow keeps getting hurt. Yeah, I mean, I'm not on the fence on him. I am on the concern list that if he gets another injury,

you have to draft another quarterback. Doesn't have to be a first round guy. But I think you now have to seriously, you know, there's always the thing about, because I never like to call people injury prone. You know, I mean, some guys like LeBron just get older. Some guys like Brady have one really bad injury in their entire career. Then there's guys like Eli Manning that never,

far, never seem to get hurt. But you are getting to a point with Burrow where, and such like Deshawn Watson's injuries were almost mysterious. Joe Burroughs aren't. We see him. It's every year. It's at the start of the seat. He hasn't had a good September yet in his career.

So if Cincinnati can just come out throwing some haymakers and win and not have to like catch up to Baltimore, I think they'll be fine. Because I think Burrow, his coach, his weapons are excellent. And that's what the league is now. So I don't know. They open with, oh gosh, they open with New England. So they'll start one to know, then they face Kansas. Kansas City, Washington, Carolina. So there's optimism here for like a three-in-one start.

They have yet to have a really, really jelling September with Burrow. Let's, they went to the Super Bowl already once with Burrough. Yeah, yeah. If I said next five years, will the Bengals be back in the Super Bowl? Knowing that Herbert has hardball, Mahomes is still breathing. Aaron Rogers probably has a year. Lamar is the former MVP. Josh Allen is still.

If Burrow is healthy, the answer is yes. If you give me five years, four he's healthy. They'll get back to a Super Bowl. That's how good he is. I still contend. Josh Allen's the most physically gifted quarterback in the world. Mahomes is the best. Burrow is built to beat Mahomes.

Alan, not necessarily just great. But Dan Marino may have not been built to beat Elway, but you could argue he's a better talent, armed talent. His teams are not. Right. So I think Burrow, the way he plays, very few mistakes, great and third and fourth down, unbelievable ability.

Homer Rowe to be great situationally. He's built to beat Mahom. whereas Alan is built to make great plays versus everybody. Yeah. I mean, we're still Lamar Jackson's in the division. CJ Stroud ascending. We have not seen the best of Trevor Lawrence. I'm just saying, wouldn't, I mean, you know, it happened to Marino, got to the Super Bowl.

I think the second year in the league never got back. Yeah. I'm not saying Burrow won't, but I don't know that I'd be betting on the Bengals to get. I don't think it's automatic. I don't even know what they're over-under is, like nine and a half, ten. Yeah, I mean, there's like seven teams are in that range. You know, like, it's not going to be easy. Final story is the Dallas Cowboys.

Boy, the playoff success has not been there in recent years. But other teams in and around Dallas are thriving. The Texas Rangers are the reigning World Series champs. Both the Mabs and the stars are in their conference finals right now. And Dax spoke about how that lights a fire for his team. It's not jealousy, but yeah, it fires you out. Yeah, 100%. I want it for him.

Trust me. I want it because it only, as I said, it only raises. and stakes and makes it tougher on me, and I'm for that. And so go win it. Go win it. Rangers did it. Other two go do it. Put more pressure on us. This is a funny stat that our team came up with here.

Look at this. Yikes. 28 years. Oh, man. I don't know. We talk about it. Will the Bengals get back to the Super Bowl? So the Maverick Stars and Rangers have all gotten to a conference finals.

The Cowboys haven't done it in 28 years. That's got to hurt Jerry. you know. Well, I think ownership has some saying that. But that's why I don't see them rebooting with a new quarterback and just punting on DACB. It's tough for me to see that, Colin. Yeah, I don't either. I'll have my annual tradition of calling the Cowboys pretty good.

I'll be right. They'll be pretty good. They're not a Super Bowl team. But pretty good is what they've been for most of the last 20 years, barring an injury to DAC or Tony Romo. It's like they've been a B. A solid B, not even a B plus. You know what they are? They're the Minnesota Vikings.

Respect the organization, well-run, good players, win some big games. Don't really consider them a Super Bowl threat. Minnesota Vikings. That's exactly. I mean, to me, Dak and Kirk Cousins are the same guy. One just has a star on their helmet. Their stats are even across the board. It's the craziest thing how even they are.

But I think the Minnesota Vikings are never in chaos, never great, always solid. They're solid plus. And the Cowboys are always solid plus. Make a few coaching changes. Always capable at quarterback. You can go to Dante Colpepper. You can go back to Fran Tarkington and Dante Culpepper and Kirk Cousins and Brett Farr briefly. Generally the Cowboys, which 8 men are at Danny White or a Roger Stoback or a Tony Romo or a Dach

Prescott or a Bledsoe. You know, both organizations always pretty capable to the most important positions. Star receiver here. Great pass rusher there. but there's a Green Bay in one division and there's a Philadelphia and a Giants in the other when the Giants were winning Super Bowl so that's how I feel about Dallas.

It's been so long since that epic run in the 90s. Like it still feels pretty recent. Does it not? No. I didn't know it was 28 years. It doesn't feel like it's been that long. Well, it's funny because the Yankees are good again, really, really good.

One of the few teams in baseball that can hit and pitch. But it's, you know, the Yankees had a down year and people freaked out. And I'm like, that was a, the first down year the Yankees have had. It felt like 20 years a down year. Dallas leaves you bitter if you're a cowboy fan virtually every year. And it's like, I mean, the Yankees at least have given you titles, you know, not that far ago. It does not. Like 14 years, I think, since they got to a World Series. But they generally get to the playoffs.

They've been beaten by better Houston teams or, but I mean, it's like Dallas isn't necessarily losing the great teams. Green Bay was done a great team last year. And they got housed at home. They're not losing to the equivalent of the Houston Astros where they're banging on garbage cans. They have these covert systems and world-class pitchers and bullpen. They lost to the Niners twice and neither of those teams won the Super Bowl, although both were... I mean, Green Bay last year, to come home in being a playoff game against Green Bay and get absolutely trounced. That game was over like eight minutes in. That's the frustrating parts.

One thing losing to an eventual Super Bowl chain, like Buffalo is losing. Baltimore is losing, but you're losing them a home's reading the Chiefs. I can live with that. Yeah. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News.

So I saw this story. LeBron James is essentially now a free agent, according to Rich Paul, his agent. He said on TNT, you know, he can go anywhere he wants. And this is the interesting thing. He's the Lakers' only elite playmaker, and he is still overwhelmingly their biggest. draw. Anthony Davis is great, not a big draw. Sorry, Austin Reeve fans. So the Lakers are totally trapped.

In my opinion, LeBron could go to Philadelphia and join Joel Ambide and Tyrese Maxie in the incredibly weak Eastern Conference and just assure himself a trip to the Eastern Conference finals at minimum. I actually think he could go play with Jalen Brunson and all those rotational shooters and players for the Knicks in again the very weak east and almost assure himself an eastern conference finals. But here's the thing. I know you think nobody wants to live in L.A. Well, sports stars do and celebrities do. And a lot of stars threatened to leave L.A.

Kobe did and some get traded like Shaq. But the weather, the vibe, Los Angeles is a city of hills and canyons. you could have Denzel Washington as a neighbor and never see him. And that's what LeBron James like. You can't duplicate Los Angeles anywhere. It is a nice, comfortable, breezy place to hide when you're a sports star. The Lakers don't have the wherewithal, the draft capital, or the players to move anybody to get a star pick. They're not moving Anthony Davis, and they're not moving LeBron James.

He's their only playmaker. he is still the face of the franchise. He's got his titles, his legacy, the bag, several rings. I don't think he's going anywhere. This is the game that Rich Paul and LeBron James have been playing for years. They're playing it again, and LeBron will get a max deal, and potentially his son drafted with what, the 55th pick. Colin Wright, Colin Wrong, top of next hour,

plus Tom Brady joins us about five minutes after the hour. But really nice news for one of those NFL teams that drafted a quarterback in the first round, and that's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. 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 which 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. Added Podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

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

conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Super Saturday on Fox. First, it's Philly's Mets from London, followed by the Belmont Stakes live from Saratoga,

and in primetime, it's Dodgers versus Yankees all on Fox and the Fox Sports app. You see that umpire that threw out Bryce Harper in like the first inning last week? Unfortunately, I missed that one. Yankees, Phillies Phillies, Phillies, Phillies are, honestly, I was thinking about it this weekend. The Cubs before they won a World Series were a transcendent brand. They were a brand beyond their region. We all wanted the lovable loser Cubs to win, but now they won.

It's not as special. I don't think baseball has more than one transcendent brand, and that's the Yankees. I don't think the Dodgers have national pool, regional. I don't think the Braves have national pool regional. Same with the Cubs. But I will tell you, Philadelphia from Bryce Harper to their ballpark, to the intensity of the fans, when I watch Philadelphia, I think Philadelphia, New York, even though it would be very northeast, would feel bigger than Los Angeles, New York.

And the Dodgers draw, and that's all good. But Bryce Harper gives them a different feel than other teams. Bryce Harper is one of, he's the biggest star in the sport. And the Dodgers have Otani and Mookie Betts, and I'm not denying that. But there is something gritty about Philadelphia sports that is almost contagious when you watch it. And there's a casualness to Los Angeles sports that, you know, the good-looking crowd, they arrive late, they leave early. Philadelphia bleeds for its teams. And that's not to say the Dodgers don't draw.

But when I watch Philadelphia in a postseason game, you can't turn it off. But doesn't Philly's Yankees have kind of a, I don't know, it feels like an SEC national championship game where only a certain pocket of the country cares about it. I think that's, I think it's true. But I think at this point, if you get the Yankees in, you'll take anybody. And I just think, get the Yankees in. This is one of these Yankee teams that can hit. I mean, that's starting pitching. They're hitting.

I mean, there's like four or five teams. Philadelphia, New York, Dodgers. Now, Ocuna's out for the Braves. That's bad news. He's a difference maker. So I was thinking of this. So we do this every year. Quarterbacks get drafted.

About half don't make it. A couple are busts. Maybe one hits big. C.J. Stroud was the big surprise. You know, he was the second pick. It wasn't that big of the surprise. Jared Goff was his comp. Jared Goff's been to a Super Bowl.

It wasn't like his comp was somebody that lasted a year. But I kept saying, as I saw Bo Nix beat Oregon as a freshman, he beat Justin Herbert. I remember that. It was down in the south. I remember that game. And then I watched them go to Oregon and I watched them live twice and won by a blowout over Utah, lost close to Washington. And my takeaway is, oh yeah, it's a first round quarterback. 61 college starts. Doesn't make any mistakes. You know, not a guy that's going to add lib a lot. A little like Drew. Breeze with more mobility. Breeze didn't throw a great deep ball, certainly end of his career.

Bow Nix doesn't have a shotgun over the top. That's not what he is. Accurate, insanely accurate, moves well. Smart, accurate, focus. Dad was a coach. Sean Payton says so far at OTAs, he's been pretty blown away. He's farther along than most would be. I mean, you know, we're talking about a players played 61 games.

he's extremely smart. He's picked it up very quickly. So here's the thing. With Russell Wilson, Sean Payton inherited a lot. A lot of brand, a lot of fame, a lot of salary cap hit, a little bit of cringe. With Bow Nix, you saw him play 61 times. Go look at the film. You know exactly what you get.

Two conferences, one the best, SEC, the other, probably the best the Pac-12's been in my life, about six deep. And he was really accurate and really coachable, amenable to anything you throw at him, moves well. And here's the thing. Sean Payton with Drew Breeze worked because they're both sort of old school. Sean Payton talks like an old school coach. He's not PC. It's not going to be politically correct.

He'll say some things. It'll get him in trouble. he's been in trouble. Drew Breeze similarly. Very old school. Accurate, no BS, old school. I think Bo Nix feels like that. Kind of an old school kid, family football, coachable, never distracted, totally focused, all his priorities line up. And, you know, I said this earlier, that football, our football stars, even our stars, our biggest stars, are Josh Allen, or Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes are biggest stars, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice. They all line up behind the logo and the team, and you don't get a lot of pushback. I don't necessarily think Russell Wilson pushed back, but he never feels like he joins everybody.

It's almost branding. There's just been too many players and coaches that have taken shots at Russell Wilson. You don't do that with somebody you feel like's right behind in the foxhole. You know, say what you want about Aaron Rogers. you don't see a lot of teammates taking shots at him. Players like him. The media may not. You know, the vaccine crowd gets very frustrated with Aaron.

Big media doesn't like him. Sometimes I think he's prickly and a little odd. Green Bay got tired of him. But you don't hear a lot of people take shots at Aaron on the team. And nobody inside a locker room cares what the media thinks anyway. So I think Bo Nix is not a cringy guy. He's a focused guy. He's not a distracted guy.

all they got to worry about is the plays, follow direction, let a rip, and I think it's going to work. Tom Brady is going to be joining us top of next hour. You know, I was saying this to start the show is when you get into these, there's this weird thing. Once sports gambling was legalized in America, and it started rolling out to states, and I don't even know how many states now it's legal, like 25, 30. It'll probably get to about 45. those will be four or five states, conservative states that pass on it. And I'm for pro gambling.

I think you have to be very careful with the prop betting, where, you know, especially in the NBA, baseball, watch out for your prop betting. That's where you could get into dicey situations. But I am totally for it. I've been for it forever. I lived in Vegas seven years. I knew guys that ran sports books. I trust those guys as much as I trust the guys with my money on Wall Street.

There are selfish people everywhere and distracted people. people everywhere, but by and large, it's an industry trying to get it right. The NBA was notified by Vegas about Tim Doneggey. But, you know, when I look at all this stuff and I look at where we're going in sports, I knew once sports gambling was legalized, you would get this amplification, this constant volume of it's rig. No, it's not. If it's rigged, then the New York Knicks wouldn't be bad for 25 years. Both L.A. teams would be out. You would not have Dallas against Minnesota and the Pacers and the conference finals. That's not the way it would work.

And Midwest-based Kansas City wouldn't dominate the league. And Buffalo and Baltimore wouldn't be as dominant. And Green Bay is good forever. You wouldn't have the New York team's tire fires. D.C. a tire fire for 10 years. The Chicago Bears a tire fire forever. That's not the way it would work. You wouldn't have the Saints and the Packers and the Colts almost always viable.

And the New York teams not. but so I just think whenever there's a final there's always this sense that oh yeah this is what the league wants I got to tell you if you look in hindsight now as to what the league would have wanted in the NBA they would have preferred a knicks Celtics eastern conference final but new york fell apart so small market indiana beat him in game seven in new york but boston and dallas Dallas Dallas is an interesting franchise. So I said this for years and years when Mark Cuban owned the Dallas Mavericks. If I was an NBA free agent, why isn't Dallas a hub? No state tax. Beautiful people. Right in the middle of the country. I never have a five hour flight anywhere. It's a winter league.

It's got reasonable winter weather, not a lot of snow. Gets chilly, frosty, not a lot of snow. Why wasn't Dallas a hub? I could never figure it out. Somebody once told me Mark Cuban was such a big star that sometimes agents worried about putting a star there to be overshadowed by Mark Cuban. Maybe it's a Dallas cowboy market. You know, Dallas is football. It's always going to be high school college and pro football. So why send your NBA stars there? But they do have between Dirk Novitsky and Luca, two of the great offensive Europeans of my lifetime.

It took them forever to get Dirk the right cast. And it was an odd cast to win a championship finally with Luca, who's a. a better player than Dirk. I think he's just more physically, more difficult to handle, bigger, stronger version of Dirk, a better player than Dirk, although Dirk's a first ballot guy. One of the things I appreciate about Dallas is they looked at their Dirk-Novitsky situation and said, we're not going to sit back here and be cautious. We're going to take huge swings.

And they did. They went and got a Nike guy to run their basketball, big swing. Kairie Irving off that mess in Brooklyn. big swing. And then at the trade deadline, gave up some picks, gave up some people, and they went and got a couple of front line guys. So I just appreciate what Dallas has done. I've never understand why more free agents don't go there. I mean, you've got the arena and beautiful hotels and residences you could live in right across the street, no state tax, middle of the country, great ownership, a lot of money, unbelievable fans. So I'm happy that Dallas is in it.

I think Dallas is one of those brands in sports, like Oregon football that's a little bigger than you think. Everybody knows Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Alabama, Texas. Oregon football, because of Phil Knight is a bigger brand than people think. And I think the Mavericks are. I think Mark Cuban made him relevant and discussed and Dirk and Luca. So I can't wait. I think I like Boston, but I could be talked out of it. Tom Brady, Colin Wright, wrong on a Memorial Day next.

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

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast,

Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human