The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Lakers, Woods, Diggs

Episode Date: April 6, 2022

The Lakers need to start overTiger Woods' return to The MastersBuffalo Bills, WR Stefon Diggs agree on four-year dealGuest: Nick Wright Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee 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. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 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. 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, 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 Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard,

but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard 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. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. 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 Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Here we go on a Wednesday, live in Los Angeles. It's the Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, Nick Wright before the end of the hour. Joy Taylor is joining me. We get ready for the Masters. We get ready for the NBA playoffs. NFL Free Agency has mostly wrapped, but not completely enjoy. Lakers done.

Season's over. Yeah, it's unfortunate. I feel bad for Lakers fans. It's been quite the season. I will say this. They still fill the place. A lot of basketball fans in L.A. Yeah, I mean, people obviously nationally wonder why we talk so much about the Lakers

and why we talk so much about the Cowboys and why we talk so much about Brady's. These are international brands. Yeah. Whatever you may think, wherever you are. Yeah. So congratulations of the Phoenix Suns for beating the Lakers, although this year it's not much of an accomplishment.

So the Lakers are going to fire Frank Vogel. That's the word. They're going to hire, try to hire Quinn Snyder. I don't think that's the problem. And I think we all know what I'm about to say. We all know this is true. The only way to solve a problem, a family problem, a business problem, a basketball problem. The only way to solve it is to first identify what the problem is.

So Anthony Davis says. it was a disappointing season, but I know, I know what the solution is. Here's a star player for the Lakers. This year we had more sign-line up than we had wins. Our goal was to win the championship. We had the pieces, but injuries. They got the way of that. And that was a difference in our season.

I think we, even though we lost games for all. of us was on the floor, me, Bron, Russ. I think we're three great players, but we would have, you know, figured it out. It'll be if we log more minutes together. Oh, that's adorable. That's, that's the problem. Just Russell Westbrook, me and LeBron have to play more together. We would have figured it out. Westbrook hasn't figured out how to shoot in 15 years. He's a guard.

That's like saying I can't sell my house. It must be the paint. Oh, boy. Injuries happen all over this league. They didn't derail the clippers. They're going to be in the playoffs. Didn't derail the nuggets they'll be in. Didn't derail the Warriors. Didn't derail Memphis.

God, they lost John Morant. Didn't derail Utah. In the East, the Bulls' major injuries. Lonzo Ball is out. Alex Caruso was out. They're going to make the playoffs. They didn't derail the nets. They're in a playing game.

Their guys wouldn't even get vaxed. They couldn't play home games. They're going to do. everybody got hurt everybody had major injuries to stars and they're all either in the playoffs or in the playing game a d's solution not to pick on ad is just more of what we did that'll be great yeah you guys played together 21 games you were 11 and 10 you were average together you're getting older lebrons in his 20th year and westbrook is shot the answer is not more of that you got to give me a break here The story this morning is, hey, we didn't make the playoffs.

No, it's worse than that. The Lakers in the second half of the season had a worse record than tanking Portland. Portland won 11 games after the All-Star break. Lakers 10. The Lakers are 17 games under 500. The Lakers are closer to last place in the NBA than the seventh spot in the West. Folks, no tweaking is going to fix this. There's no tweak on the market.

The answer is not more of this. Okay, the answer is not fire Frank Vogel and give Quinn Snyder the job. Is Quinn Snyder rolling through the West? No, why? Because he didn't have enough athletic wings. He's got an all-star guard and an all-star center. And he wins a playoff series every year. Maybe two.

That's what you can do with that roster. The answer is not firing Frank Vogel. And the answer is certainly not more. of what we've seen. The answer is, blow this puppy up. The solution isn't more of what we've been watching this year. Westbrook's shot. LeBron will be in his 20th year. They're both super expensive. AD's super expensive. And in the last decade, twice, he's played over 70 games. And you want more of that. The agents, the stars, they can't even identify what the problem is. And I don't have any great solution today because the NBA is paralyzed by, quote, competitive balance.

So it's not a league of hope. If you're bad and have bad contracts, you're bad for years and years and years. That's why the NFL continues to separate from the NBA. You can go from irrelevant to fantastic in about two drafts and two free agency periods. I mean, Jacksonville's been a tire fire for years. They just went and spent $200 million on free agents, got a new coach, have a promising quarterback. I kind of want to watch them play. It doesn't work that way in the NBA.

But the answer is not more of this. They play 21 games together. They're all really expensive. They won 11. They're worse in the second half than Portland. And Portland's, you know, competing but tanking. Oh, boy. Bill Orham from the athletic.

was on earlier this week. And the Lakers, because they are such a gigantic brand in a glamour sport, can usually faster than other franchises pivot. The question now is Bill asks, can they? I think LeBron and AD are going to be the centerpiece of this, at least for another year. The Russell Westbrook component is much more interesting. I do blame Russ the contract and the decision to trade for Russ

for basically everything that's happened. and all the pieces that basically had to fit around him. One thing we know about the Lakers is that their value system is give us cap space and we will bring in a superstar. And that worked for them once in 2018 when LeBron James decided to come to the Lakers. But you saw it year and year again at the end of Kobe Bryant's career, Stars didn't want to do that. And it will be very interesting to see if at the end of LeBron's career,

if the Lakers do preserve that cap space, if Stars are going to want to come play with LeBron at 39, 40, 41 years old. And that's an intriguing question. LeBron in his prime, absolutely. Ray Allen, Shane Badiye, Chris Bosch, Kevin Love, would give up big chunks of their identity to play with LeBron. In year 20, I think LeBron's more interested in elevating brawny than teammates. I think LeBron has his money, has his rings, has his legacy.

I think it's about family now. It's about family and business. He doesn't seem that. deeply bothered by losing. I mean, he wants to win. We know that. And for the record, I think all athletes, when they hit the mogul stage, Brady's the exception, winning's part of it. It's not everything. But I don't think in year 20 and 21 of LeBron, young stars are going to want to hand over some of their game for LeBron, who only plays really one way with the ball in his hands. I do not see a way out unless you blow it up. All right, the Masters, Tiger

Woods looks like he will play. Tiger Woods, for at least a 10-year period, is the greatest golfer the planet's ever had. Jack Nicholas, a more storied career in terms of majors. But there's athletes that are great,

and then there's athletes that are great and influential. Steph Curry's one of those. Steph's obviously great. But he literally changed high school, AAU, college, and pro basketball. It's a three-point game, mostly because this little kid from Davidson started shooting 32-footers and hitting them. And it became a math equation.

Tiger Woods, when I watch the Masters this weekend, U.S. opens my favorite tournament, Masters second, maybe Ryder Cup or the British Open 3rd, you will see Tiger's fingerprints all over these golfers. Rory McElroy, Brooks Kepka, Bryson DeShambo, Dustin Johnson. I like Dustin to win it 15 to 1. Big guys, long off the tee, athletic, alpha. That is Tiger's influence. For 12 years in America during his prime, all of us, especially golf addicts, gathered around the television and watched an athlete beat non-athletes.

Let's be honest. For almost my entire life, golfers had bad slacks, bellies, and undefined bodies. Look around the tour now. Kepka looks like a linebacker. Bryson DeShambos is a fullback. John Rom, 6-2. 215. Long off the tea.

Athletic. Chefs, nutritionists, ripped, jacked. All the things they told you not to do, don't swing out of your shoes. Guys are now going to the practice tea and swinging 130 miles an hour. Trying to get that club speed. Scotty Sheffler, these are big guys.

They look like athletes. And that ultimately is very rare. I always said Michael Jordan. actually had a negative influence. It used to be like guards could score, but they were distributors. But Stefan Marbury grew up and Iverson, all these guys grew up sort of watching Michael Jordan. They're like, I'm a score.

I contend the Westbrooks and the John Walls and these scoring guards, they were influenced by Michael Jordan. Forget the big guy. Forget the wings. Forget the shooters. I want the ball. I want to score. And the great distribution point guard, who are they?

It's an old guy. Chris Paul. Sometimes you have great influence. I like the new golf. A little more alpha, a little more athletic, long off the tee. That's Tiger's influence beyond dominating the sport and having the second most storied career of all time. It's been bumpy, a little bit of a roller coaster, good, really bad, never indifferent

to any of it. I'll take Dustin Johnson this weekend. Tiger now is a bit of a victim to himself. strength and power has a foothold in golf. Can't wait to watch. Nick Wright later this hour. Bobby Wagner's officially a ram. Baker Mayfield can't find a gig.

And I'll tell you something. There's a city in the northeast that is often ignored, often ignored, that is another example of they are now the best run football operation on the East Coast. And we have ignored them. The media has ignored them for most of my life. That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say

it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman. documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the 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. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed. That's correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Now 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. Good to have you in. One of the reasons, and you've really noticed this, one of the reasons that the NFL is really pulling away. from the NBA is a simple word, hope. In the NFL, you can be bad. And then like two drafts, you get a good coach, right, quarterback.

I mean, the Rams were terrible. And then they were in a Super Bowl. Whoa. And they didn't even love their quarterback. They loved their coach, didn't love their quarterback. That's a really powerful thing. I've always said that about presidents. Like leaders, like give everybody hope.

It doesn't mean you can solve the economy or keep the gas prices down. make everybody feel like they have a fighting chance, right? And the NBA is often a very progressive league, but here's where they're completely outdated as a league. They are paralyzed by competitive balance, and it exists nowhere. And that's fine. Think college football has it or tennis?

Golf was never more popular than when Tiger was winning every Sunday. Even in the NBA, the Lakers and Celtics have 34 titles. Clippers don't have any. Sacramento, Orlando, New Orleans, Charlotte. They don't have any. So, yeah, that competitive balance thing, Adam, Silver, yeah, it's not working. The Yankees have 27 titles in baseball. Hell, they don't even have a salary cap.

The Mariners have none. I should know I'm from the Pacific Northwest. The most popular soccer leagues in Europe, English Premier League, is dominated by Manchester United and Arsenal. La Liga is dominated by Barcelona and Real Madrid. Bundesliga is dominated

by Bayern Munich for 50 years and they're all flourishing and nobody's losing any sleep. One of the fastest growing sports in the world is F1 racing Netflix did a big documentary on it.

Two teams have won the last 12 championships and it's exploding in popularity. The NBA's worst dynasty was the 70s. Eight different teams won a championship. None were memorable. It's good for me. I'm from the Pacific Northwest. Blazers won. Sonics won. It was the disaster. The league was running out of money. And then dynasties happened. And Michael Jordan happened. And magic happened. And they're doing documentaries on winning time, not the Nick Anderson-Orlando Magic team that couldn't hit free throws and gagged. Who are we doing documentaries on?

Who are we connecting with? Jimmy Johnson, Troikman's Cowboys, not the Chan Galey bunch. The NFC East is awful. It feels like every year there's a different winner. You know who's dominating the AFC West? The Chiefs in the last five years. It's more interesting. Stop being paralyzed.

The NBA makes it impossible to make trades. You get a bad contract like Westbrook. You can't get rid of it. it. If you do, you have to inherit other contracts. NFL, bad contract, cut him out, start over. You have to allow general managers and owners and coaches to make mistakes in personnel, because we all do. Bill Belichick can't draft to save his life. Pete Carroll's a legend. They haven't had a good draft in Seattle in five, six, seven years. You have to allow hope, and the NBA does a lousy job. Lakers are trapped for years. They're not going to be able to get out of AD's deal. They can't

it out of Westbrooks. Maybe they can, maybe they can't, but they'll have to inherit bad contracts. The NFL is constantly selling you this. We're close. We're close. Rams moved from St. Louis to Los Angeles. They were playing in a college stadium. They hire Sean McVeigh. Magic. They didn't even love the quarterback part. The most important asset in the league. They didn't even love that. Got to a Super Bowl. So if competitive balance is the be all end of, you're outdated. NFL totally gets this. In fact, I would argue more than ever, teams are tanking,

and there's nothing the league can do about it. You can't tell a coach who to play and who not to play. The second thing is, is college basketball now is handing the NBA 19-year-olds who are clearly incapable of coming into pro basketball and altering history. It was different when Ewing or Duncan would come into the league. Whoever got Duncan,

was going to have an all-star. We all knew it. Same with Ewing. And that could change the course of history. Those days are long gone. You're getting a 19-year-old now. Even if you like Carl Anthony Towns, he's not changing the league. You can't change the standings.

Forget the history of the league. So more than ever, the NBA should get out of worrying about competitive bounce. You don't have any. The Lakers and the Celtics have 34 titles. Sacramento can't get out of its own way. Make it easier to trade. Hope is a powerful drug in sports. And it is why the NFL has to be very careful about making it a quarterback dominant league.

Because if you don't have one, you got no shot. In the last two years, I have looked at the NFL and thought, there's 10 teams that can't even consider the Super Bowl. That's bad. That's bad. College football is getting into that. That is bad. but like the Lakers didn't make the playoffs, they're done.

I mean, that thing, good luck. It shouldn't be when you're charging more per game than any other professional league in sports, the NBA. When you're charging that much, when I'm taking my kids to that game, you got to give me hope. Because you're not giving me a discount. I'm not getting value. I am being entertained, but you got to give me hope. That's got to be in the backseat of the car, too, not just my kids. Joy with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, the draft is approaching. It's not a strong quarterback draft. It's not a strong, a top star draft, which kind of actually gives me a little suspicion. Why?

I don't know. I feel like all these players are hearing how this isn't really a good draft. No, it's true. A lot of underdog mentality coming out of this draft. No, that's very true. When you told, yeah, you're part of a terrible draft. It's amazing. There's no attitude in this draft.

Right. There's no attitude. Everybody feels like they're getting dumped on. Yeah, right. Even the number one pick's going to be like, oh, well, I was doubted. I was part of that draft. It doesn't matter. Well, Kenny Pickett is a quarterback that is expected to be taken pretty high in the draft,

and he thinks he will be the top quarterback taken this year. I'm a mobile guy that came in a West Coast pro-style system. I started a program that was five and seven the first year I was in it. You know, we left as ACC champions, 11 and 2, so I know how to win. I know the process it takes to get there. It's never an easy thing, and I'll make that transition. I feel like faster in the NFL now because of that experience and I know how to go about my business as a pro, kind of being an older guy.

I think that's at the end of the day, that's what, you know, coming out of the position, it's like, can you win? Do you know how to handle all the things that it takes to be a quarterback? And I definitely, I definitely do. So I think, yeah, I am QB1. Well, the good news, Joy, he probably won't go in the top five, meaning there's a chance he goes to a reasonably stable franchise. Well, yes.

I mean, when it comes to quarterbacks, where you end up is a huge part of your, at least early success in the league. Now, we have seen some talents be able to rise above this functional organization or elevate a team that isn't that great. But at one point or another moves have to be made if they're going to end up having a long successful career. So you're right. Now, the Saints recently grabbed the second round pick so they could potentially jump ahead. head of the Panthers and draft picket. It's, it's an interesting draft when it comes with the quarterbacks because while everyone is looking for a franchise quarterback, this is a draft that is light on the high end quarterbacks. And the top of the drafts kind of has a lot of teams that

have either their franchise quarterback or a young quarterback that they have just recently drafted. Yeah, there's not a lot of space now. Right. So it's that there's really only two teams that we think are truly in the conversation at the top of the level of drafting a quarterback, which would be the Panthers and the Seahawks because they're the only ones that don't have starting quarterbacks right now. Throw Atlanta in there. Well, yes, but Atlanta did acquire Marcus Marios. They don't necessarily have to.

Right. The Seahawks don't have to and the Panthers don't have to, but we know that what Drew Locke is despite, you know, people caping up for him. The Seahawks will be interesting. If they did trade D.K. Matcalfe, you'd give your rookie quarterback a battle line. no star receiver and second tier backs. Like there's a real argument to be made that Seattle does one or two things well. One of them is, D.K. Matcalf and Tyler Lockett, I'd be careful about moving him.

Yeah, I don't wish that Seahawks situation on any young quarterback. That's bad. Now, strategically, I think if they went with Drew Locke this year, it could be one of those bridge years, but they're really kind of fake tanking. I just can't, I mean, I really can't believe that Pete Carroll's in a situation like that to begin with, but, you know, they are. So it'll be an interesting draft for that reason. I suspect we won't see a lot of movement, but the drafts that were like, there's going to be lots of trades. There usually aren't, and this one could surprise everybody. But it's between him and Malik Willis at the top of the draft when it comes to the quarterbacks, and it'll be interesting to see where they end up.

So the Packers have a huge void to fill with Devante Adams. They've yet to make any moves to fill that position. But former Packer, Leroy Butler, tweeted yesterday. He thinks the team might be making a move soon. He said, make no mistake about it. The Packers are exploring every option to replace 17. It might be someone who you would never guess that was available. Well, it's interesting because that does feel like the D.K. Metcalf situation.

But D.K. Metcalf has kind of been in the conversation. So never guessing that they would be available. Well, Debo Samuel just signed with the Niners. Stefan Diggs just signed. So fans are speculating he could be referring to DeAndre Hopkins or Michael Thomas. Oh, you know, I'm kind of cooling on Michael Thomas. DeAndre Hopkins is amazing. Yeah, I mean, I don't know why DeAndre Hopkins would leave.

Yeah, either do I. I like that offense. I like my offensive coach. I like living in Arizona more than Green Bay. I wouldn't want to move. Now there's Julio Jones. That ship has sailed. There's Odell.

There's Jarvis Landry. I would take Jarvis. I think Jarvis would do well with. Yeah, but he's a two. He's a really great two. He's Robert Woods. We have seen Aaron Rogers elevate receivers before. And Jarvis is good and consistent.

Let me ask you this. Is that true? So Jordy Nelson, people think Aaron elevated him. But there's an argument to be made. He was a good prospect and a good player. Greg Jennings was a great prospect and a good player. Donald Driver was a good prospect and a good player. Devante Adams, we know now.

I mean, does anybody think he's going to go to the Raiders and disappear? No. I'm not saying Aaron. doesn't connect with wide receivers. I don't know if he's like Brady, everybody that left Brady when disappeared. I don't think Devante Adams is going to disappear. I,

the tight end. Oh no, I think Devante Adams is a different class. Jared Cook left him. He did fine. Brady got, people leave Brady and they disappear. I don't know if that's the case with Aaron.

I think he's just really talented. Aaron's really talented. Does he elevate receivers? he ghosts them, that I know. Well, they do need to try and replace Devante Adams. I don't think there is a replacement for, now if they get at D'Ajah Hopkins, obviously, that's a different situation, but I don't believe that will happen.

I mean, Devante Adams is the best receiver in the league, so I don't think there is a replacement for him. And, of course, the relationship that he had with him is something different as well. The trust that he had with him is something you have to replace also. So, Jewel and Bede has been putting on a show the last few games. He finished with 45 points and 13 rebounds in the Sixers, 131-122 win over the Pacers. He shot 18 for 30 in the game, including a three-point shot at the buzzer to finish the first half. So he's averaging 30.4 points per game, which puts him ahead of

LeBron as the scoring leader, who is averaging 30.3. He is LeBron likely to sit out the rest of the season with the Lakers missing the play-in tournament. So we'll be interesting to see if LeBron plays for the rest of the season because that would be very obvious that's what he's playing for, which I don't think would be a very good look. But this is helping MBE's MVP argument, who I believe is the MVP. He currently has the second best odds on Foxbet at plus 225. Nicola Yokic still inexplicably to me has the best odds.

Yeah, I have a problem with Mbeater, Janice. Yokic has statistical edges, but I still contend that the best player on any given night is KD, and Yonis is the most valuable player because he's so great on both ends of the floor. And he's also always available. I think Embed has been the most consistent and has had to overcome the most this year. Yeah, it wouldn't bother me.

I think he's MVP. I think Nicolioch's team is not high enough in the Western Conference to be the MVP this year. Good stuff. Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lie News. I'm interested to hear from Nick Wright, who's got a new podcast called What's Right with Nick Wright. Let's bring him on.

Can you wrap a bow on this present that has been the Lakers? season. Wrap a bow on it, if you could, only the way Nick Wright could. It's the greatest failure in franchise history. It's one of the greatest failures in NBA history. Stat Mews had a tweet. I trust them on it. They started doing championship preseason odds in Vegas in 1985 since then every single team that was either the favorite or the second favorite to win the title has made the playoffs. The Lakers will be the first not to. Now, the Nets, if they end up falling out if they end up losing in the play and would be the other team to do it. But they haven't been a disaster. They've just been disappointing. And it's a failure at every level,

from the front office to the head coach to the players. And to me, Colin, there's two major takeaways about the two players that matter for the Lakers, LeBron and Anthony Davis. May I give them both to you? Sure, please. I think I can. Sure. No problem. LeBron, listen, LeBron this year is going to finish averaging 38 and 6, and I think it's pretty damn clear that we all have to acknowledge and admit he's no longer in his prime. His prime started in 06 and it ended with the championship. And the real signal he was no longer in his prime should have been last year's playoffs, where for the first time in a decade, he wasn't dominant in the postseason. And the answer was, well, his ankle's not right. But during his prime, somehow the ankle was always right.

Even when it wasn't right, he was okay. So he is still clearly one of the, at worst, seven best players in the sport, but he is no longer a walking finals. The other takeaway is this. I watched last night's game, Colin, and when I turn it on, I'm like, you know what, maybe a deal just throw the Lakers on his back, put up a 40 and 20, and keep this awful season alive for another day. And I realized shortly into the game, Colin,

that simply doesn't happen anymore. That's right. Anthony Davis scored more than 35 points in a game this year, zero times. That's not because of injury. His second to last year with New Orleans, he did it 17 times. His first year with the Lakers,

he did it 10 times, plus a couple in the postseason. AD did not have a single, great, truly great game all year. He's 29 years old. I've never seen something like it. At 27 years old, he wins the title, was great. That entire postseason, outplayed Yokic, had 34 and 32 in his first two career finals games.

Since then, he's scored more than 35 in a game four times. Total. I've never seen, and let me tell you one other thing. And I hate to put you on the spot like this, but I'm going to do it. it because I know you haven't looked it up. Give it a guess. What do you think AD shot from three this year? For context, Russ shot 29% from three. Can you guess what AD's three point percentage was? 27. 27% percent. Wow. On almost two again. And by the way, he doesn't want it. It was the worst in the league by a mile. Yeah. The worst in the league by a mile. He two years, he was 34% for four years

in a row, basically. I don't know what's happened. I've never seen something like it. Well, I think we all think that athletes peak 27 to 32, but the truth is he peaked two years ago. His body's falling apart. This often happens for Biggs. Porzingis probably peaked at 22 years old. It sometimes happens. Greg Oden may have peaked his last year of college. Sometimes for Biggs, they peak earlier. They fall apart sooner. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as we both watch winning time, is an absolute exception lasting 20 years. I think AD peaked two, three years ago. That's fair.

I understand that. I guess my only question would be, even if the body is betraying him, why when he's out there, has he not in the last couple years showed those, had the brilliant games? Even if the body is breaking down so he's not out there as often, it's unfathomable. to me that Anthony Davis in what should be his prime could play even though he's only played 40 games. He doesn't have a single 40-point game. There's 11 guys this year that scored more than 35 at least 10 times. And Anthony Davis didn't do it once all year. It's baffling. I can't figure this one out. What did you make of Magic and Kareem, but let's stay mostly with Magic,

the biggest sports star easily in this city. The biggest sports star in your city is probably Derek Jeter all time. You know, up there, obviously. Chicago, it's Jordan. Dallas, it's probably Stalback-Akeman. You know, every city has a guy. Miami, it's D. Wade or Marino. What did you make of Magic publicly hammering LeBron on the Westbrook-deauze deal?

Well, listen, the Magic like, magic's one of the four greatest players ever, in my opinion. and I have massive respect for him. He also, nobody likes hearing Magic Johnson's voice more than Magic Johnson does. And this is a little Monday morning quarterbacking. Listen, the questioning whether or not Russell Westbrook would work, that's fair, a lot of people did it, you did it, Skip did it, I did it to a lesser degree in real time.

The idea that any of us saw Demartor Rosen a career 44% 20 to a game guy being 28 a game on 50% nobody saw them. That is that it, that card's not fair. Yeah, it's true. Nobody, he looked like a slightly deteriorating player in San Antonio. And I did not hear anybody after the Bulls got to Rosen say, oh, look out for DeMardo Rosen to show up on some MVP ballots this year. Now, to his credit, he did it.

But this to me is the NBA version. You'll remember this, Colin, of Rich. Remember when Rich Gannon went to the Raiders and one league MVP? It's like, oh, where did this come from? Like, to Marta Rosen having this year at this point in his career, I didn't see coming. Now, what anyone could have seen coming, and a lot of people did, and I foolishly still picked the Lakers to win the title, even though I had questions about it, was that Russ wasn't going to be a great fit.

But I don't, I, I, I, the, the big. issue I have with LeBron being the one singled out for the Westbrook thing is, and we've talked to this before, the Lakers have shown they will ignore LeBron when they want to. Exhibit A is the fact that Ty Lou and Jason

Kit are not the head coach and Frank Vogel for at least the next 96 hours is. So you can't ignore LeBron on the head coach thing and then act like he forced your hand on the rust thing. Yes, he wanted it, yes, he pushed for it. But if you thought it was going to be a disaster, you

You'd have turned it, you'd have said no to it. So someone in that Lakers front office also liked the idea. Finally, I said yesterday, KD says his injury derailed the nets. And I'm like, I'm not sure they've ever been on the rails. You know, I mean, Charlie Sheen's career was derailed. Tigers was derailed. I don't sure, I mean, since he and KD arrived, they've won 54% of their games. What do you make of KD, your new buddy, by the way, on the social media stuff?

What do you make of Katie, Kyrie, where they're at right now? Well, I thought I had a different takeaway from Katie's comment, which was our season was derailed, which means Katie agrees with you and me and not with Vegas, which is that this next team can't win a title. Colin, you know, I always say, whether you're talking about marriages or seasons, once you go to the past tense, not a good sign.

Well, we had a good marriage. Well, you're still married. Like, what are you telling me? So, like, and when Katie starts saying our season was derailed, that to me is a sign that he knows, no matter how great he is. And he is unquestionably one of the three greatest players alive, that this team doesn't have the defense, the depth, or the coaching to scare anyone in the postseason. So I know Vegas thinks I'm crazy on that.

Vegas thinks they have the second best chance to win. the east. I know. I would be utterly shocked if they win one round. I think they'll get out of the play in and I think that will be it for them. And then I do wonder, Colin, and you've been on this for a long time from KD's perspective, but I do wonder if both Steph and KD sometimes think, you know, laying, staring at the ceiling, man, things were better when we played together. Because Steph, since they left, Steph missed the playoffs. then missed the playoffs again. By the way, Steph last year,

scoring champ missed the playoffs, still got first team all NBA. I wonder if LeBron's going to get that dispensation. But I digress. And then this year we'll see what happens with the Warriors. Since KD left Steph, he obviously missed year with an injury, lost in round two last year,

and this year they'll be lucky to get to round two. And so, yeah, I do think that there's probably a little wistfulness maybe on both of their behalf. Good to see you, my friend. We don't have time for this. I don't know if you heard Tyreek Hill left the Chiefs and Stefan Diggs re-signed with the bills. I wish we had time to get into it, but it's a troubling sign. No, listen, Colin, you've taught me paying wide receivers 30 million a year.

It's good business. I'm sure you love both those things. The Chiefs just, you know, frugal cap management building for the long term, but you've always liked those flashy wide receivers. You've never called them the icing on the cake. So I'm sure you love paying all these guys 30 million a year. It'll never bite anybody. Talk to you later.

Nick, right. By the way, what's right with Nick Wright, new podcast, Sons on it, great. See you, buddy. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben, host to the fifth hour with Ben Maller, along with my trusty sidekick, David Gascon, would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mather show, a cult hit overnights on FSR.

Why should you listen? Picture if you will a world. where we chat with captains of industry in media, sports and more every week explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather 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, 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. 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 Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 a little kill. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here,

unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but 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. Good to have you in. Things change faster than you think in all businesses. My business, your business, NFL business. In the last three years, the NFL, we've gone from thinking wide receivers, are they that valuable to, they're the most valuable thing except for quarterbacks? And all the good teams know it, all the smart front offices.

Buffalo just extended. Stefan digs his contract. You know, Bucks did the same to Chris Godwin. Rams went and got Alan Robinson. The Bengals drafted Jamar Chase, even though they had two good receivers over an offensive lineman and got to the Super Bowl. So the Bengals, the Rams, the Bucks, the Bills, the Chiefs. Well, what about Tyreek Hill? They've already reloaded.

They're going to be fine. Two franchises, though, are very principled. And at times, I would argue, kind of rigid, the Packers and the Patriots. One has the best coach. One, people think, has the best quarterback. And in three years since the league has changed, they have a combined two playoff wins. Two. In that same time, Kansas City has seven.

Rams five, bucks five, and they're going to keep adding to that total. New England will not win a playoff game this year. And Green Bay, with this wide receiving corps, will not win their division this year. In my opinion, will not win a playoff game. I doubt it very highly. but the bills really know what they're doing and so do the bucks and so of the chiefs and so to the rams these are very good front offices who's the GM of the patriots or do they have one now or is bill running it who's the owner of the packers oh they don't have one it's going to be very interesting

things change really fast in all of our lives like things take good relationship turn sour fast uh you know lakers win the championship now arguably biggest mess in the league. The Knicks were great last year. Now rebuilding hand. Like stuff happens fast, right? Wide receivers are really valuable. We have massive rule changes. You can't hit anybody, especially receivers and quarterbacks. We also have a cultural change. And that is, if you look at high school football recruiting, like in Los Angeles, for example, I'll just use LA because I follow high school football recruiting, but very closely in Los Angeles. If you go to the top 100 players in Los Angeles of the top 50, like 25 are receivers and quarterbacks.

That's where all the money's that. NFL's not paying running backs anymore. You don't get a second contract in most instances. Kids see that. They're paying edge rushers, wide receivers, and quarterbacks. And the kids are like, I'm not going to get hit every day at practice and not get paid. And so congratulations to the bills who have a great dominant number one receivers, The Patriots don't.

They have a bunch of twos and threes. And the Packers don't have anything. They have a four. But, you know, Patriots and the Packers, best coach and everybody's picked for the best quarterback, last three years as the world's changed, two playoff wins. And I think my takeaway is both of them have had a really bad, very bleak offseason. All right. Rick Bueger, some NBA stuff.

Little Baker news. Not going to go crazy. Couple minutes on Baker. Not going to go crazy. Fairety brand. My favorite shirts are back. My favorite pants are back. Go to Fartybrand.com. Code heard 20. 20% off. Hour to next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy.

Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day, and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me.

84's 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. It 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford 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 Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. 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. This is an IHeart podcast.

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