The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - LeBron James took the money

Episode Date: July 22, 2025

Colin discusses a report that LeBron James considered joining the Mavericks but chose to take the money with the Lakers and why his pursuit of Michael Jordan continues to impact his decisions Jerry Jones continues to be the reason the why Cowboys have not played in a Conference Championship game in 29 yearsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy. Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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 Acapella 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 ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on Clay is an art.

The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She can win. She's an outsider to win the French fame.

And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any service. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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. Thanks for listening to The Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.

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J-MAC, interesting story. The athletic kind of broke an interesting story. John Hollinger. where there were whispers in league circles that LeBron James, and we talked about it on this show, was looking at Dallas as a landing spot. We've talked about this.

Great front line, here comes Cooper Flag, better coach, and let's be honest. If he went to Dallas, he would be the centerpiece. Even though he's older, LeBron and Dallas, every time he goes to a new team for two years, it's like, wow. Whereas in L.A., it's like Lucas' team, and everybody knows it.

owners. It kind of feels like it's nothing against LeBron, but he's not the future. But this is interesting. This is really interesting. So the Athletic does report. We've been saying this now. I have been saying this for three to four weeks. Dallas is a better place to

go. I mean, I get Cooper Flagger Austin Reeves. I get A.D. or DeAndre Aiton. But LeBron wasn't willing, and this is what killed it, according to John Hollinger. He wasn't willing to 52 million on the table for a mid-level exemption.

So don't think about that. LeBron's a billionaire. He's a billionaire. And my take is with LeBron, Rich Paul told us it was all about winning. It's not anymore. I think Michael Jordan's still in his head. He knows in the basketball community with basketball fans,

he's never going to catch MJ. MJ is six for six. MJ is more memorable. MJ's got the logo, the brand, and sells more shoes. He's more romanticized. Michael Jordan, there are a dozen plays to this day that you close your eyes and think about and you can see Michael Jordan.

Do it unless you're driving. With LeBron, there's one. That chase down block against the Warriors. That's it. And so I think it LeBron at this point, he's never going to catch him. he's never going to catch him in net worth. MJ's net worth is $3.5 billion.

LeBron, even with the massive money he's paid, is $1 billion. That's why he wants to own a basketball team. I think he's chasing Michael. And here's the difference. Michael Jordan makes you feel something, and LeBron doesn't. MJ, and I mean, high-level salespeople will tell you, you want to trigger emotion in advertising. and consumers.

You want to make people feel something about a product. Michael has that. You wear his shoes, you feel cool. You like being on that side of the argument. So Michael's richer, more memorable, bigger brand, and he makes you feel something.

And LeBron doesn't. LeBron has kind of bounced around to the best basketball opportunity every chance he gets. He's been the great basketball opportunist. And I've never criticized. him for that. I understand it. His first stop

he got drafted to Cleveland. Seven years in they couldn't get him another All-Star. I was on the bandwagon. Get to Miami. But my take-y should probably should have stayed in Miami. In fact, I'd argue the only time LeBron has ever made his feel something was when he bent

back to his hometown. When he went back to Akron and he won in Cleveland. Remember that letter? I'm going back home. Made you feel something. Then he won in Cleveland. Made you feel something. But he's sort of been the great basketball opportunists. And he's got more points and more assists, and he's been to more finals, but he's never

made his feel anything. I said this the other day. Tiger Woods made you feel something. Scotty Sheffler's just great. That's the difference. Arnold Palmer was more beloved than Jack Nicholas. People loved Arnie. Why?

Made you feel a certain way. works in politics works in sports michael jordan still sells more shoes than lebron just to give you the influence of michael jordan he got derrick geter in his prime to wear his logo football jerseys all over this country the jordan logo and i i i i look at this lebron not taking for one time in his career giving up money mid-level exception to play with cooper flag. Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving,

Derek Lively, better coach. Now I'm not going to do it. In 2016, LeBron said it. Quote, my motivation is the ghost I'm chasing. He played in Chicago. Even with this,

I think Michael's still in his head. So, NFL camps are underway, including the Dallas Cowboys in Oxnard. They've had a pretty rough 29 years, haven't been to a single NFC Championship. So yesterday or the day before, Jerry Jones

was asked, I think, a very reasonable and appropriate question about remaining as general manager. Stepping away as general manager ever been even a momentary consideration for your grivey eggs. Yes.

Momentary. How long a moment? Now, we're getting down to it. Small fractions of seconds, I promise you that. As you know, you see it. I'm in senior bowls, combines, all of that. All of that melds into a real good feeling about where we are, so that I'm not sitting up there throwing darts about a player.

The downside to wealth is that it starts to make you feel you're great at everything. The Cowboys had a great draft in 2020. That's their last great one. The Eagles' last great draft was the last four. Their first two picks last year, home run, home run, position of need corner, they nail both. I think the minute you start thinking you can do two to three things exceptionally well, you get into trouble. Bill Belichick six years ago was the greatest coach in the world. But then he started taking over the draft and personnel.

And New England became the slowest team in the league offensively. He was toned deaf to offense as the league pivoted. And he got rushed out of town and couldn't get another job. Bill O'Brien, I think a good coach. Houston Texans made him GMN coach. Bad drafts, trades were worse. Remember they gave D-Hop away for like, you know, a bag of Doritos, like it was brutal.

And I think the way to do it's the way Brad Stevens did with a Celtics. Very, very good coach. But he's like, you know, this coaching thing is hard and a lot of travel, and I love basketball. I'm just going to move upstairs, be a GM, eventually a great one, and give it to the new guy. That's the way to do it. You're seeing it in college football.

The smart coaches, they don't want to be GM. They make their school hire one. Elon Musk, brilliant. dabbled in politics, Tesla stock still down 15%. It's hard to just do a bunch of stuff really well unless you're Shohei Otani. The Cowboys don't draft well. The Cowboys overpay for good players, and they're non-existent last couple of years in free agency. I said this a couple years ago.

How in the hell could they not pay $8 million for Derek Henry? And the Eagles with a stacked, often veteran expensive roster pay for Sequin Barclay. How is that possible? Philadelphia is paying their quarterback, a receiver, tight ends, three offensive linemen, everybody but Jalen Carter, linebackers, safeties, and they still have room.

Dallas is like, I don't know if we can afford, I'm not sure if we can afford $8 million to improve the worst running back room in the league, and they couldn't, and Baltimore could, another well-run team. So, but, you know, sometimes with Dallas, it feels like nobody's clapped in Dallas since Jason Garrett. I was looking this morning, NFC championship games most recent appearances. The Bears, Giants, Panthers, Cardinals, Falcons, Saints, bucks have all been to a conference championship game.

And the Cowboys haven't since 1995. And Jerry will never give up control. If you don't believe me, believe him. I gave every friggin' thing in my life and then exposed probably two or three times that to get to sit up here. And I dance with that devil, and I've danced with it a few other times along the way. So if you think a little bit of what you write is going to deter me from sitting up here doing what I want to do, you're wrong. It's just not going to do it because I've danced with the devil, the financial devil, and live to tell about it. that's the downside to wealth.

You convince yourself, you're great at everything. And, I mean, think about this, just in coaching. Forget personnel. They let Dan Quinn walk to retain Mike McCarthy. A year later, McCarthy walks off out of Dallas, and Quinn becomes the coach of the rival and the next superstar quarterback in the NFC. Coaching, free agency, drafting, developing the cap.

he's convinced he knows how to do all of it j mac i am so fired up i saw a quote today somebody recently got an extension a contract extension in the nfl i don't know i um you know you and i think are both really fascinated to watch j j mccarthy i but we just don't know it feels a little like jordan love in green bay where for two or three years we're like we're just not getting video everybody said it's great and then we saw him and it was wasn't great and then it was briefly great and then at the end of the last year it wasn't great again and you're like, I don't know what Jordan Love is. Well, I feel like in the same division, J.J. McCarthy, we saw him in college and then he got hurt and then we hear stuff and everybody

said it's great. But then there's other reports that are like, yeah, this thing may not work out. James J. McCarthy almost ended up on another team in his division. Yeah, that's coming up next. 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.

Hey, we're Kavino and Rich. Fox Sports Radio every day, 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern. But here's the thing. We never have enough time to get to everything we want to get to. And that's why we have a brand new podcast called Overpromised. You see, we're having so much fun in our two-hour show. We never get to everything. Honestly, because this guy is over-promising things we never have time for.

Yeah, you blubber lips. Blamey. Well, you know what? It's called Over-Promise. You should be good at it because you've been over-promising women for years. Well, it's a Kavino and Rich after show, and we want you to be a part of it. We're going to be talking sports, of course. But we're also going to talk life and relationships.

And if Rich and I are arguing about something or we didn't have enough time, it will continue on our after show called Overpromised. Well, if you don't get enough, Kavino & Rich, make sure you check out Overpromise, and also uncensored, by the way. So maybe we'll go at it even a little harder. It's going to be the best after show podcast of all time. There you go.

Overpromising. And remember, you could see it on YouTube, but definitely join us. Listen to Overpromised with Kavino and Rich on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news.

What's the news? Huge news. we created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.

But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this.

We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

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

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed the game. Morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies,

and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, We break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsClace on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down. on everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jen she won.

I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the Eye Heart

radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. So one of the things, if you're a sportscaster, live in Chicago, people talk cubs and bears, and I get this all the time, like, hey, what do you think the bears are going to do? And I keep saying the same thing. I like the roster mostly. Love the coach. Really think the quarterback is talented.

I think the family makes it hard sometimes to operate. It's one of the poor families, the oldest family that owns an NFL team. And I've said, I don't really know if Ryan Poles, who just got an extension is a great GM. And I think GMs increasingly, and the NBA and the NFL really matter. There's been just too many misses for my taste. But this bothered me this morning. So according to the athletic, which we lean on a lot, Ryan Poles apparently told people that he was very close to drafting J.J. McCarthy over Caleb Williams.

No mention of J.J. Daniels. Okay, so the two quarterbacks, everybody's unsure of from that class. Caleb Williams and J.J. McCarthy, he loved both. And it's weird because I said, I mean, we could go find it in our archive. It's somewhere out there. I said before the draft, I was not a fan of J.J. McCarthy. He never played from behind. I saw him late and close games.

I didn't think he was great. Can you play from behind? Can you play without a lead? Can you play without great protection? Can you play with the second best coach in a game? Jaden Daniels did his entire career at Arizona State and LSU. J.J. McCarthy never proved that at Michigan. He had a hardball.

That Michigan team that won the national titles, one of the best college football teams, top to bottom talent-wise in the last 10 years. So Jaden Daniels was more productive in college. He's a much better athlete. He threw two times as many touchdown passes and the same number of picks. In fact, J.J. McCarthy is the first round quarterback taken since Christian Ponder that never had a 3,000-yard passing season in college and no 500-yard

rushing seasons. But I also said that, and I said this before the draft, I said, Jaden Daniels is going to go to Washington number two. I was told that. We beat everybody on that by about two weeks. And I said he's going to be, he's going to look like Lamar Jackson. He'll be better in the pocket as a rookie than Lamar Jackson, but he won't be quite as electric as a runner. Check, check. I didn't think it was a hard I thought it was an easy one. But all you had to do was minimal homework to figure out he was much more NFL ready than J.J. McCarthy. And here's two stats. In fourth quarter in their college career, Jaden Daniels was unbelievable, arguably in a better conference.

65% completion percentage to 56 for J.J. McCarthy. Three times as many yards, three times as many total touchdowns. in the fourth quarter in his college career. Oh, by the way, that's what Jaden was as a rookie in the NFL, a great, bizarrely accomplished fourth quarterback. Okay, how about trailing in the fourth or overtime? That's the NFL. No blowout wins.

That's the NFL. Jaden Daniels was a significantly better quarterback trailing in college. Total touchdowns 19 to 3. Doubles him and everything. Just minimal homework. You knew he was a better athlete by watching, you didn't have to go scout him at the games. You knew he was better in terms of production. But if you just looked at the stuff that matters for a college quarterback, how are you when you trail?

Because, like, that's the NFL. John Elway and Brady trailed a lot. Dan Marino trailed a lot. Peyton Manning and Mahomes, many of his great early wins, he trailed a lot. Are you good trailing? Are you good late in games? Jaden Daniels was A-plus-plus and both. J.J. McCarthy was C to C minus in both.

So when I read that Ryan Poles love J.J. McCarthy and love Caleb. And there's no mention of Jaden Daniels. I didn't have a single source of the at least five GMs that I talked to that thought J.J. McCarthy was as good a prospect as J. A.N. Daniels. Not one. It was five for five Jaden Daniels. and his comp was an easy comp. He's not quite as twitchy as Lamar Jackson, the fastest quarterback in Link history,

but he's got about 75, 85% of that, but it'll be better than Lamar first couple of years from the pocket. It was an easy one. I knew it. Every J.M. I talked to knew it. In Chicago, like the two quarterbacks, we're still not sure they're any good. It worries me. It does.

Jay McLaughlin News. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Colin, let's start with Tom Brady. Yes, our colleague here at Fox, he published his newsletter yesterday. And in it, Brady said, I maybe didn't fully know it at the time, but I needed someone to look it up, who inspired me to be better and who gave me a target to aim for.

And Brady referred to Peyton Manning as his enemy, adding, now whenever I see him, all I can say is thank you. Pretty cool little newsletter there from Tom Brady, our colleague. league. You know, in the moment, you don't realize this stuff. Like right now, you open the show talking about, you know, I felt something for Michael Jordan. That's nostalgia, you know, from 30, 40 years ago. We're not feeling LeBron because none of us are present right now. Brady in the moment didn't realize what Manning was doing for him. And I think we're kind of missing in the moment just how amazing LeBron is right now for us here. Yeah, I mean, I think most great athletes because

they need inspiration, right? Because success, you know, success for really gifted people, it could be messy, it could be Brady. Success gets kind of repetitive. You need motivators. So I think Peyton Manning was more Ballyhooed out of college. He's from American football royalty, Eli Payton, and then Eli had beaten Tom Brady. So it's like, I think the Manning family as a whole was like a nemesis. You know, Eli beat him twice. Peyton beat him late in his career in New England, so I get it. Yeah, I'll never forget. My parents would tell me, you know, I would read the sports page every morning before going to school. My parents would be like, you've got to read other stuff. You've got to read the business and the news. I'm like, I don't care about that stuff.

I only care about sports. You know, at the time, I'm like, guys, you don't know what you're talking about. I wish I had done a little more of that, Colin, although it has kind of sort of served me well. Anyways, let's go to the Cincinnati Bengals and their owner. He has met with the media about this Trey Hendrickson contract situation. And the owner of the Bengals said it's been a long negotiation. Trey Hendrickson is a fine player. He's a good guy. We want him here. Dealing with him is sometimes not so easy and that's all right. He's got the right to argue his case. We know Hendrickson isn't at camp after he posted on his IG story down in Florida. Colin, you've been banging on the Bengals here for a little while now. And this is just more fuel to the fire.

Well, I will say this, and you know this to be true, is that Joe Burrow, last year, and we credit Joe Burrell for this, Joe Burrell last year, was consistently unhappy with a franchise, confronting his coach in the locker room, at press conferences. And I've said before is, I do feel like of all the great quarterbacks in the league, he's a little trash. is that he's got a very frugal ownership. They've got one of the smaller scouting departments. They're also in a division with arguably the best run football operation in the league, the Baltimore Ravens. Many people in this league may not say it publicly. They don't want pushback, but think the Ravens are the best run operation in the league.

Top to bottom, owner down. And so it kind of exacerbates or illuminates the Bengals cheapness. If the Bengals were in the AFC South with a dysfunction, Jags, you know what I mean, or the Colts that can't find the right quarterback, or the mostly dysfunctional Texans the last 20 years. I think we would think differently, but you put them in a division with the Ravens and the mostly well-run Steelers, and you look up, and it highlights that you can't get Joe Burrow the right stuff around.

I mean, just like, when's the last contract that wasn't a battle publicly? Do they have any easy ones? Well, their first round pick is not signed. they drafted him with the thought that he will replace Hendrickson, should he not return? And the guy's not signed. Like, it's just, it's embarrassing at this point. I know Bengals fans are really dug in and they're defending their owner, but we had T.J. Huswizana on here, who was just, he played for the Bengals

and talked about the cheapness of the owner. And here it is still an issue so many years later, Colin, I feel bad for Bengals fans. We can wrap up with Shohei Otani in Major League Baseball. took to the mound yesterday, gave up his first home run of the year, which put the twins up 1-0. Then Otani steps to the plate, and he hits his 35th home run of the season to give his team the lead back. Otani, how about this, Colin?

First player since 1979 to give up a home run and hit a home run in the same inning. 46 years. The guy just keeps doing really cool, unique things, and Dodgers get the dub against most. Minnesota. Yeah, they had lost 10 of their last 12. They have pitching injuries. Mookie Betts is going through a slump like he never has in his entire career. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News.

So I saw something this morning. The Athletic ranked the top 25. This is really interesting. Most valuable college football programs. And the top 10 was Texas. by a mile in terms of average football revenue per year and projected price of the program. So the Texas Longhorns program would be worth about $2.4 billion, and it drives $183 million. So for our radio audience, I'm not going to read all of these, but Georgia drives annually $147 million. You know, Notre Dame, $143 million. Michigan, 140 million of the top 10 programs. They put USC 8th.

Look at the average revenue. In L.A. County, half of Georgia, 71 million. Utah, Utah, Minnesota, and Iowa football drive more revenue than USC football in Los Angeles. And it gives you some sense. The California economy is the fifth biggest in the world. If L.A. County, where U.S.C. is located at, if L.A. County was a country, just L.A. County. Not Orange County, not Ventura County. L.A. County was a country. 19th biggest economy in the world.

And they drive less football revenue than Utah. And this goes to something that for years and years, people always worry about market size in sports, Fashion, Trump's market size. U.S. C's an incredibly distracted market. Even in the NFL, Packers' great franchise, the Chicago's, the Atlanta's, the two New York franchises. Mostly last 20 years, it's been a mess. Go to Nashville on a Saturday morning. I've been there.

I mean, go to the Gainesville on Wednesday. People are already parking and tailgaining. So, and what was, it's also, you know, there's an old saying in politics. It's an interesting saying. Democrats fall in love. Conservatives fall in line. They don't get distracted. They find their candidate and they defend them.

They get in line. Democrats, a guy has a great speech, they fall in love. They don't agree with everything. They fall out of love. Very emotional. And I've said this with college football. Got to be more like a Republican. Fall in line.

Don't worry about the rowing team. Don't worry about who else is. doing well. If you want to be a college football power, it's all football. You got to lean in. And USC is highly political and highly distracted and is very concerned about all the programs getting theirs. That doesn't drive revenue. Utah, Iowa, and Minnesota drive more football revenue than USC. And people are talking about their 2026 recruiting class. Those guys aren't even on campus yet.

You can buy high school players and tweak your ratings. Right now, the preseason all Big Ten teams came out this morning. The first team all Big Ten offense. Indiana guy, two Iowa guys. A Northwestern guy. No Trojans. The defense. Another Indiana guy and another Indiana guy and another Indiana guy and two Iowa guys and a Minnesota guy and an Illinois player.

No USC Trojans. California economy, fourth biggest in the world. New facility. When your donors and your boosters have a lot of agendas and a lot of egos and they're very distracted. That is the great thing about college football. New York, Chicago, and right now, L.A., don't have a power. Utah drives more revenue. Madison, Wisconsin, drives more revenue for their football program.

And it's just really interesting is that we keep waiting for this program to rebound. And Lincoln Riley's been there. Now, this will be year four? They don't have a single player. and I think Kamari Ramsey, the safety's a really good player. Elijah Page, left tackle,

really good player. Maybe they can vie for Big Ten honors. Year four, not a single player. Offense or defense, all Big Ten. Indiana's got four. Iowa's got four. No Trojans. So again, it's

this, always this fear about big market. Passion, Trump's, Passion trumps market size. Passion trumps money. By the way, Texas, they don't have a lot of national championships. Take out Vince Young. They don't have a lot of naties.

By the way, Texas, Austin, Texas, music scene, food scene, football, a little bit distracted. A lot of billionaire, big donors, pulling, pushing, grabbing agendas. Yeah, Clemson doesn't have a lot of those. Alabama doesn't have a lot of those. Georgia didn't have a lot of those. But that is really interesting. The 10 most valuable programs, look at how little the average revenue at USC is.

Isn't that crazy? By the way, they could have 300 million average revenue, but it's a very distracted environment and a very political environment. Rocket mortgage. Yeah, the home you've worked so hard to acquire. You get that. loan from Rocket Mortgage, learn how you can turn your home's equity into cash.

Maybe you have a college education to pay for, some upgrades, you want to buy a rental property? Rocket Mortgage LLC, go to Rocket Mortgage.com today, licensed in all 50 states. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts.

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

Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman, Help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel,

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

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

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action. with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis.

And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jenchian win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now.

And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. Saturday, it's baseball night in America, and it's showtime as Shohei Otani leads the Dodgers against the Red Sox, or the Guardians take on the Royals. Check local listings for the game in your area. Saturday. Seven Eastern on Fox.

So I think one of the, really, of all the positions in football, the hardest position to draft in the first round is wide. receiver statistically over the last 20 years. There's more busts. I have a theory on that that wide receiver is a, it's an ego position and it's hard to judge ego before somebody's in the building, even if you have sources. And so there are more first round wide receiver busts over the last 20 years than any position. And I've told GM friends this, I would almost never draft a wide receiver in the first round. Very few exceptions. Calvin Johnson was just,

Randy Moss just looked different. Because it's an ego position, and I'd rather they have to fight their way to impress people. Amarong St. Brown, fourth round, Pooka, a fifth round. Cooper Cup, third round. There's so many great receivers,

second, third, fourth, fifth round. I mean, Jennings, Joanne Jennings for the 49ers, is their only receiver that's overachieved. Wasn't he a six or a seventh round pick? So it's an ego position. There are certain positions I would always draft in the first round, offensive tackle, almost all, probably 28 of 35 of the great tackles of all time

have been drafted in the first round. The latest is Tristan Worf's, who will go down as an all-timer, Lane Johnson. It's just that just generally where you get, there's only so many people are 6, 7, 330 with great feet. But I always think it's interesting with quarterbacks. More and more quarterbacks, it's always been about a 50% hit rate in the first round. I think it's getting to be a little bit higher than that.

but when you bail on a guy, because quarterback is so valuable, I can see giving a running back another year or a pass rusher or a tied end, but if you're wrong at quarterback, shouldn't you just bail? Anthony Richardson's a great example. Now, he's only 23 years old and he only started one year at Florida, so he's very inexperienced. But it doesn't work at all. He has had a top 10 run game, a better than average O line, excellent offensive coach.

He's getting worse. Like it's, again, Josh Allen started slow, got really interesting, popped. You can't go backwards. So it's interesting. Arizona moved off Josh Rosen after one year. They were right. Pittsburgh moved off Kenny Pickett after two. They were right.

Niners moved off Trey Lance very early. They were right. Cleveland moved off Johnny. Mansell eight starts. They were right. Eagles signed Carson Wentz, then moved off him quickly. They were right. When you try to validate your draft pick, like the Jags with Blake Bortles or the Giants with Daniel Jones, that is when you get into trouble. You're lying to yourself, right? You're like trying to validate your pick. And I look at Anthony Richardson, and he went from 59% completion percentage. Then the NFL defensive coordinators got video on him. He's down to 47%.

That's the lowest of any quarterback in 25 years with 15 starts. Right? So call the lawyers, get the paperwork ready. It's divorce time. Like, I just don't think it works. I know he's young, but I just don't think it works. There was a game last year against Houston. He had his best throw as a pro.

It was 70 yards over the top. He stumbled. He was, and the kids got to, by all accounts, he's a nice guy. He got into pressure. You see it here. He stumbled out. And he let it go right on the money. But it's not that he misses on throws.

Same game against Houston. He misses short throws badly. Like, he's not remotely close. So it's one of those things where, you know, a movie can't just be about one great scene. You know, you've got to have, even in the middle, you can be slow for about 10 minutes, but you've got to make the story arcs connect. When you see that 70-yard throw, you could argue that Drew Breeze could. make that throw and Peyton Manning and Tom Brady aren't making that throw.

But they're consistent. And I think with Anthony Richardson, every other position in football, I am more than willing to give outside of maybe left tackle. A guy can play or he can't. I'll give you another year. But at quarterback, everybody's kind of tied to it. And I think you get into a situation right now in Indianapolis with Jonathan Taylor, Shane Steichen, good old line, weak division.

It's getting worse. I'm not even mentioning the incident last year when he took himself out of a game, which I've never seen anything like that in the history of the NFL for a quarterback. I don't even, I didn't even have a strong opinion. I'm like, yeah, that doesn't work. That's not going to engender yourself to your teammates. So I mean, the Colts ended the season last year. The offensive line was 12th.

They were given him protection. You've got a good run game. You've got a brilliant offensive guy who made Jalen, Hertz, an MVP-level quarterback who had Justin Herbert as a rookie, and he broke every rookie quarterback mark, and his kids going backwards. So I think at some point, you've got to ask yourself that question. I want to go back to the story that we started the show where LeBron James was not willing to take a mid-level exception, but John Hollinger said there were whispers around the league

that he should strongly consider, and he did, going to Dallas. Now, I've said before, I think Dallas is a much better situation going forward than the Lakers. Who's your best young player? For the Lakers, it's Austin Reeves. For the Mavericks, it's Cooper Flag. Not close. Who's your best big? DeAndre Aiton or Anthony Davis?

Better coach, Dallas. Better bench, Dallas. More size, Dallas. Not to mention, LeBron has played with Kyrie Irving and AD. And I said this. You can make a move to get LeBron in Dallas. you could give up three first round picks, which the Lakers would take. They may not be great first round picks.

They want draft capital. You can give them two different bigs, Gafford, PJ, Washington, throw in Clay Thompson, maybe a Max Christie. You got a real team. So, and I think it comes back, and it's funny with LeBron, Rich Paul keeps saying it's about winning. But to me, there's a reason Brady took pay cuts and Tim Duncan took pay cuts. They just wanted to win more. They told you by what they were taking.

willing, they wanted to win more. I think it's fascinating that LeBron's made almost as much as anybody in league history in, I don't begrudge him one second. But it's 2025. I mean, you could argue from business standpoint. It doesn't matter. LeBron was going to come to California. He was going to do all the Hollywood stuff.

It doesn't mean anything. I mean, Hollywood. Chevron's left, In-N-Out Burger's left. Tesla's left. Hollywood's left. Oracle's left. Business in Texas right now is. coming. It's just fine.

Because part of the reason he came to L.A., remember when he came to L.A., it was not a good roster. It was not a good organization. I mean, Jeannie Buss was one of the least wealthy owners. Kobe's last five years, it was the worst record in the NBA. Worse than Carolina.

Worse than Washington. So there was a lot of talk. He's going there for business. Well, what business? How many movies he in? I mean, they've got businesses all over, California, leaving. So I just think It's really interesting. There's an executive that came out in Hoops Wire is reporting.

One NBA exec said, why didn't he join Cleveland? He made a mistake. I'm not going to sit here and tell somebody not to, you know, take 50 million. But LeBron's a billionaire, man, said the NBA exec. I'll argue Cleveland and Dallas are championship teams with LeBron. And here's the other thing. Yes, you get Luca in Los Angeles. He's a great offensive player.

Let me repeat that. He's a great offensive player. There is a caveat with Luca. He'll never be committed to defense. He'll never be an elite defensive player or even very good. And he is much more ball-centric than anybody on Dallas, including Kyrie Irving. Luca needs the ball. He's not nearly as an effective player off ball.

He needs the ball and should have it at this point in LeBron's career. So I think it's really, it's just an interesting story. that John Hollinger, who somebody that is tied into the league said, there were whispers around the league about LeBron. He was looking at Dallas, and he decided against it. And the reasoning here is he would not take a mid-level exception. It's like, I mean, Michael Jordan was underpaid the first nine years of his career. He was making a really bad contract early.

So not to mention, Texas, no state tax. California is 13-3 if you care about that stuff. I mean, you know, LeBron, I'm sure, cares somewhat about it, but most billionaires do. LeBron has made $528 million in just NBA contracts. That's got to be tops, right? Is that tops all the time? Has to be tops.

I mean, if you add this year's contract, that has to be tops in NBA history. So the Dallas thing, it is tops, yeah. For a while, it was Kevin Garnad, then it was Kobe Bryant, now it's LeBron. So I don't know. Don't you, J. Mack think that is like the idea, and again, I'm not here to mess with the guy's money, but when you're the highest paid guy in the history of a sport, and you can

move to your hometown or an incredibly business-friendly state where you can play with Kyrie, A.D., a better coach, and the great domestic star. And here's the thing with LeBron. Whenever LeBron goes somewhere, even though Cooper Flagg is, we're all very excited. When LeBron moves to a team for the first two years, it doesn't matter if he's the best player or not. He's the most interesting part of the team.

Dwayne Wade may have the keys to the city. It was LeBron's team. I got to, listen, I don't want to be conspiracy theory, guys. So I did read the article this morning, I saw it. So then I just went back to it about three minutes ago, and the article's been wiped off the internet. Now, that could just be my

phone and my computer, but I wonder, I mean, Colin, the idea of LeBron going from 52 to a mid-level exception, kind of sort of lunacy. There's zero chance he was doing that, right? Why on earth would he take that much money less? I mean, Michael Jordan, remember at the end, demanded to be the highest paid player in the league. I'm sure you remember those days.

He was making like 30-something, which at the time was a lot. Yeah, Michael made $93 million playing. Yeah. LeBron's made almost $600 million. Again, it's $93 million in 1990 was, you know, a metric ton of money. But I Colin, you're not as competitive as me.

You know I do sports and I like try to stack my teams and win all these championships. Yeah, yeah, that's not me. Right now. Why would LeBron not want to play with A, friends, and be on a sack team? Why would you want to be on a bad team? Like the idea that, yeah, you got Cooper Flagg and my guy Kyrie and my guy AD? Man, can we link up?

How can I get over there? I'm sure that crossed his mind. But the reality is there was no chance that was ever happening, right? None. I don't know. I just, these new owners were the Lakers, they got their eye on resigning Luca. It's very odd. I mean, LeBron's made a lot of business decisions.

He is the ultimate NBA opportunist, and I will defend that to the ends of the earth. I have no problem with mobility. Cleveland couldn't get him good players. Miami got old really fast. he went to the Lakers. That was a business move because they weren't the best. They didn't have the best roster. They were many.

They were horrible. But I don't think L.A.'s paid him off. I mean, think about it. Where are all the movies? Well, wait a minute. He got to handpicked the coach and his sons on the team. How's that worked? I don't know.

They were third seat in the West. I mean, Bronny's in the NBA. That's exciting. Couldn't have done that in Cleveland? Couldn't do that in Dallas? Really? Nick Wright, Ryan Day, both next hour. Hey guys, it's us.

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

Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We get to ask other people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know. Tired and sick. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive.

I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerner Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now,

and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs' Tennis Podcast. on the Iheart radio app. Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.