The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - On to the Sweet 16

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

Colin looks at the first weekend of the NCAA men's basketball tournament and why no Cinderella teams advancing to the Sweet 16 is a good thing Thoughts on UCONN losing to Florida    Guest: Bruce PearlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart 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 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 ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart 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, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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 iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, it is a Monday. 16 teams left in college basketball, and yeah, I got 15 of them.

I don't know what happened to J-Max Bracket, but Captain Chalk is coming, baby. Oh, wow. Yeah, John Calipari did me wrong. Patino You know, that was the one I lost on Bill Simmons one hour from now There's a new Celtic series on HBO Max Which the staff's all into

I'm starting it this week It's supposed to be great Colin right, calling wrong So JMAX spends all year You know on this college basketball stuff I'm a casual But I've always believed in just The committee mostly gets it right

And well They've done pretty well they've done pretty well. So it's fascinating. The ratings are in for the first weekend. Viewership for the first day, all-time high. By the way, there are no have-nots. It's all power conference teams in the Sweet 16.

So remember the NIL. Everybody's terrified with the NIL. NIL is actually great for college basketball because it keeps some of the better players in college for another year, like a Zach Eadie. And then the big brands can cherry pick mid-major teams that nobody watches on television and get better faster. Everybody thought the NIL, couldn't help the little guy maybe. Now, made the rich richer.

Yes, America likes to watch Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State, Arizona, more than Drexel, Lipscomb, and Wolford. Who knew? But college basketball diehards through the years. And they love the sport. That's great. And it probably, it's a little bit like, hey, I bought the iPhone first, or I knew this band before you did, and I know more about college basketball.

Those days look like they're over. The mid-majors may have an NBA player. Kentucky goes and grabs him. Arizona goes and grabs him. And so the mid-majors, listen, the rest of us common people don't watch a lot of Missouri Valley basketball. I've never said to my wife, honey, let's go out. But a kidante, little Italian romantic dinner.

She turned to me and went, no, Holly, let's stay home and watch Murray State. Most people don't watch it. They watch the big brands. And eventually, all these upsets, they're ratings killers because you end up with McNeese State in the next game. So people say a lot of things. I love upsets. People do predictable things. They don't watch the next game after an upset.

So this is why, by the way, the movies that are flourishing in Hollywood, big stars, stay away from politics, action films. Why are the Oscars dying? Too much politics? They don't acknowledge Tom Cruise. And they talk about movies nobody watches. Stay on the big brands. This is not Copenhagen. People don't ride around on bikes all day. Have a second lunch. A siesta. We'll get to it tomorrow. We're busy. We're distracted. You got to give us familiar laundry. And so Duke gets a huge rating. I probably made a mistake in my bracket. My dark horse was number four, Arizona. I don't know how long they're going to last. Oregon missed a lot of free throws last night. But Duke elicits a feeling. Whatever that feeling is, outside of the NFL, baseball, hockey, basketball, college, or pro, WNBA.

Look at the WNBA ratings. Why Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese. Angel Reese is a part of that. Now, Caitlin's the bigger part, but there's a villain here. A push and a pull. It's bird and magic. It's coastal. And so to me, folks, we're distracted.

We've got to know the laundry. You got to give us big brands. You know, I mean, we're politics distract us. Movies, options, beaches, mountains, pro sports. Canada doesn't have our labyrinth of college options. They're watching their hockey. That's what they're watching. This weekend, the Dodgers Angels was on, and I'm sitting there watching it,

and by about the third inning, I'm like, wait a minute. This is back to me in an exhibition. game. Dodger Stadium looked kind of full in the lower section. I thought, this kind of a weird opening game against Interleague play. I don't really get it. And then I remembered some of the starters are playing. We got so many games on TV.

You got to give us the big stuff. Mid-majors, see ya, big brand stronger than ever. It's good for college basketball. All right. So the first round of the NFL draft, I think it's officially like a month away as of today or yesterday. And it's not a particularly strong draft. It's not a great quarterback draft.

But the last couple of years, there have been an abundance of Michigan Wolverines, speaking of big brands, in the first round. So this year, they got a tight end, a corner, and two defensive tackles could all go in the first round. And the Pittsburgh Steelers could use some of those players. But the Pittsburgh Steelers staff skipped the Michigan Pro Day. That's a big deal. They all skipped it. To stay home and interview Aaron. Rogers and try to talk him in to becoming a Steeler.

And he went and he interviewed and he left and there's no contract. And I'll say this. If you do not take quarterback seriously like Pete Carroll in Seattle, Gino's good enough. Not really with that roster. He's not. Sam Howell's good enough. Ron Rivera, not really. Mason Rudolph, good enough.

Not really. This is Pittsburgh's fault. And by the way, I really do wonder what Aaron's thinking because the Steelers' offensive line was bad, and then they lost their left tackle. And Najee Harris, who came out this weekend and said, yeah, Pittsburgh's offense, it's frustrating there's no identity. They also lead the league again in defensive spending. And they spend $150 million on D.K. Metcalfe, so they have two needy, combustible, wide receivers who sort of have the same game. Boles want the ball, and they have no quarterback.

So I'm sitting there and I'm thinking of myself over the weekend. There's a reason Aaron Rogers was waiting and waiting. He wanted Minnesota, excellent offensive coach, superstar wide receiver, who doesn't complain much, upgraded their offensive line very well in free agency. Aaron wanted to go to Minnesota, knew the division, closer to Malibu, closer to home. He wanted to go to Minnesota. And what he's doing, he's treating the Steelers like they need him. More than he needs them, and Aaron Rogers is right.

I looked it up this morning, even with California taxes, he's got a net worth probably at $300 million. First ballot hallfamer, 41-year-old guy with a lot of interests. I've said this before. Minnesota, I would have stuck around for. Giants was interesting because of the coach and left tackle and weapon. I think Pittsburgh is fools gold for a quarterback. Go ask Russell Wilson. It was a mess by the end of the year.

Go ask Mason Rudolph, old Big Ben, it's fools gold. The Steelers are 20,000. ninth in touchdown passes with a variety of quarterback since 2021. Think about this. That's fewer than the Patriots, the Raiders, and the Bears. I mean, come on now. We're getting into Carolina categories. So I think Aaron Rogers, if he signs anywhere, it will be Pittsburgh. But I think there's a reason people wait to take a job offer because they have questions. It could be my kids. It could be your kids. It could be you. It could be Aaron Rogers. He's sitting around.

He's like, they're offensive lines of mess, and they may have just lost their best offensive linemen, and their best running back. And I met with a coordinator. He's fine, not special. It's a defensive culture, tone-deft offense, and two wide receivers that are talented, but both want the ball, and both have proven to be combustible. So in this instance, I think Aaron's on the right side. I think he wanted to go to Minnesota.

He would consider San Francisco if the Brock Purdy thing didn't work. I think he wants to keep his options out there. I don't think that's necessarily a bad plan. But just to give you a sense, Pittsburgh kept all their staff home instead of going to the Michigan Wolverine Pro Day, and they have four first rounders, and they could certainly use some help.

So that's where we stand today. Jay Mack, Bill Simmons, in one hour, Colin right, Colin wrong. You know, people said there weren't a lot upsets that it was a boring tournament, but I will say this, that I thought, I mean, I guess Arkansas, beating St. John's is an upset, but Arkansas got off to a really bad start this year with Calipari.

It's a new coach, new staff, new players. They played very well at the end of the year, so it's not a huge upset. The SEC is so stacked that Arkansas, in the middle of the pack, is actually a team capable of getting to the elite eight. Yeah, they worry me, man. That's a pretty damn good team. I will say, I like your flex to start the show 15 and 16, sweet 16 teams. Well done. But, Colin, your take on the Transfer Portal, NIL, don't you think it's kind of killed Cinderella? I mean, if you're good at a small school, for one year, you're gone. The big guys are gobbling you up. There will not be another Steph Curry in college basketball. That's not happening.

The Davidson thing. Yeah. The FAU, those runs are done. That's right. As soon as you're good, your coach's game gobbled up. You can win a game, maybe get lucky in two. But I would argue, when I say Cinderella, it's a myth. it never existed.

Well, Villanova beat Georgetown. No, that's right in my wheelhouse. They were a tough matchup for Georgetown. Roli Massamino, who I covered in Vegas, told me. He goes, we were, we didn't want anything to do with St. John's. We didn't match up with him. We played them twice in the Big East, and they crushed us. But they had a couple of pros on that Villanova team.

Pink me. That's what I'm saying. That's considered the all-time Cinderella. Roli Massimino told me, when I hosted his coach's show in Vegas, he goes, we love Georgetown. They were physical. We had an NBA center in N. Pigny. We could slow it down.

I thought I could go toe to toe with John Thompson. We had no fear of Georgetown. St. John's crushed us. So that's considered, oh, the Villanova struck. Villanova had pros. Yeah, those are big East schools. I'm talking like a George Mason. Remember when they made the run to the final four?

That ain't happening. VCU. By the way, those things are not happening. Go ask a sports fan and name three players on George Mason. Yeah. So this idea that we watched for Cinderella, No, CBS and TNT, CBS isn't a great job to sell that mythology, but it's untrue. And what do we see all weekend?

The McNeese State team, they get one win in the tournament. And it was like, oh my gosh, McNeese State, their manager, all this stuff, and then it's gone and they're done. Remember? So last week, everybody, everybody was on UC San Diego beating Michigan. Oh, they were so close. So I watched Michigan the week before play, you know, Big Ten games. I'm like, Michigan's got like two seven footers. You see San Diego's not going to be able to,

just going to dump the ball low, dominate the glass. So there will still be upset, but there have never been as many. There was a shock as smart. Was it VCU team? Again, you get a hot coach, a hot team. They get kind of a friendly bracket. But this idea, that's why we watch. It's not.

That's not why we watch. We watch for the Michigan's and Dukes and Carolina. I mean, last night I'm watching Oregon. in Arizona. By the way, I watched the entire UConn Florida game. You know why? It's breaking. Because it had a bunch of NBA players and great coaches. And it was, by the way, I thought Yukon outplayed them, but then Florida dominates the last three minutes and makes all the big plays. But the reason Yukon and Florida was so good and the reason we love college football because Yukon, Florida looked a little bit like NBA basketball. Yeah. You had shot makers

and size and physicality. And so, again, there are just things we, people say, I'm going to work out. I'm going to lose 20 pounds. Maybe with Ozmpic, you will, but you've never lost it at the gym. People say a lot of things, but they do very predictable things, and we don't watch Missouri Valley Conference basketball, and we don't watch March Madness because of that.

We like dominant teams. Who's winning around sports? Boston Celtics, absolutely loaded. Philadelphia Eagles, stacked team, all like the great teams are dominating right now. You're not really seeing these major upsets in sports at all right now. All you can hope for, if you're

a bad franchise, the Indiana fever, is that you land Caitlin Clark. There you go, yeah. I mean, that's really it. Or if you're Oklahoma City in a small market, you get SGA. How about L.A. Dodgers? Spend the most money? Win the World Series greatest team. People get upset with it. This is wrong with sports. Yankees

Dodgers went through the roof ratings wise. So the more social platforms we have, the busier we get, the more distracted we get. I mean, I say this about streaming. I watch Netflix. You know, the first thing I go to, of the football season, the big dog.

It's nothing against Hulu. HBO Max will give them love today. I watch stuff on that. Apple TV? But even with streaming, I just go right to the big brands that I've known forever. That's where I go. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd

weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? we created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast?

Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up 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, 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 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. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated.

polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come

across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud, But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart 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 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. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. So the best game in the tournament that I have seen so far is Yukon felt like they were the better team for about 85% of it.

But you know what? Florida hit the big shots late. And that's, you're going to see that in the NBA playoffs. Nobody cares until the final three and a half minutes. You got to make the shots. Florida did. They're a really good team. But you knew the champs, the back-to-back champs, you know, to be the champ, you got to beat them.

You know it would be a tough out super physical team and could have won the game. But so Dan Hurley after walks off the floor and he's dog cussing the referees. He's rough on referees. He's rough during this season, much like Jim Calhoun. Rough, rough on referees. and he's just saying we got dog by the refs. But you know what? He's intense.

That's who he is. In pro sports, you have an owner. You have every player's a millionaire. Occasionally, you'll coach a billionaire. You have big city, aggressive media. They all keep you in check. But a dominant college basketball or football coach, he's the highest paid state employee.

Bob Knight, Nick Saban, Woody Hayes, Jim Calhoun, Dan Hurley. It's why I said when the Laker job became available, No, no, no, no, no. Don't take that job. You are a college coach. You're smart enough to be a head coach in the NBA. But your personality is built for college basketball. Steve Kerr, more conciliatory, Eric Spolstra, Ditto, Tye, Lou.

They're not screamers. You know, a couple of those guys have played in the NBA. So, you know, I mean, Steve Kerr was a fighter as a player, got into the legendary fight with Michael Jordan, the punch, but as a coach, he yells mostly at officials, not his players. And so I think college sports is very attractive to men who like control. You do not have that in pro sports. Okay? And billionaire owners now, they're all billionaires, are more impulsive than ever.

So good coaches get fired. I mean, Carson Wentz goes 27 and 7, touchdowns to picks in Indy, and the owner's like, yeah, we don't have a backup plan, get rid of him. What? That's pro sports. So Tom Tibido and New York coaches the Knicks. The knock on him is, you know, he practices very hard. And, you know, he plays his starters a lot of minutes. That is viewed in the NBA as not player friendly.

Just asking your starters to play a lot. So Dan Hurley is 13 and 1 in his last 14 tournament games. And here's the thing. His players love him. Some have stayed for an extra year. He doesn't really yell. held his players, not that I can tell, he yells at the refs. Calhoun yelled at everybody.

Hurley yells at the refs. He's good with the media mostly. He's great with his players. Oh, he probably drives the Yukon administration nuts. But it makes you uncomfortable. It makes the media really uncomfortable, but it doesn't appear to make his players uncomfortable because their recruiting classes are always excellent.

So that intensity, it's who he is. And the players are okay with it. And that's who matters most. And here's Hurley after the loss. You know, listen, ended in San Antonio, cutting the nets down again. It was going to end, you know, in a real, you know, emotional way. It's a lot of emotion, man.

We're a passionate program. The players play with it. I coach with it. And you've always drained when it's over. You know what? and here's my thing. He's authentic about it. Like, he's like, hey, listen, man, it's like in Hollywood. They have these directors.

You know, some of the, I think it was like Stanley Kubrick. I want 68 takes. And there were actors who were like, yeah, I'm not going to work for Stanley Kubra. I'm not going to do that. And then there are directors. Woody Allen may ad lib a little more. And you know that going in. So it's the actor's responsibility to accept it, do your homework, and know what you're

walking into. If you go play for Dan Hurley, practice is hard, coach is hard, it's intense, it's voluble. You have the choice as the athlete. It's up to you. Do your homework, vet the program. It doesn't seem to bother the players. I don't love the outburst. A couple years ago, people are banging on Tom Hizzo because he's yon at a player.

Players love Tom Hizzo. They go back for years, decades, tears. They love him. you know i mean tom brady barked at people on the sideline know what you're getting into i don't have to like bobby knight touched players bobby knight was on players hurley and the players he just barks at refs he barks at refs he's very intense i can live with it i have to love it you know i i i kind of like the steve cur approach but steve cur similarly i mean he's called out the NBA this year he's called out officiating this year. He's called out the media before, and I love Steve Kerr. But he's doing

on a pro-up, but you know what Steve doesn't do? Call out players much. It's very similar to Dan Hurley. Hurley's not on the players. When he's barking to a player, he's not screaming at him. He often looks past him. And I don't know if that's because somebody yelled at Hurley, but I think that's probably the case. But I'm going to defend him here is this is the program. When you watch Yukon, if I had to explain it in one word, I would say intense. I mean, when Nick Saban was at Alabama, that's how I would have described it. Yeah, Nick's intense. Nick is barking a lot at revs, at his coaches, at his players.

And so, you know, players have a choice. Every player today on social media knows the coaches that bark. They know what they're getting into at Yukon. And what they're getting into is currently the best college basketball program in the country. He's not grabbing players He's not throwing stuff at players I wouldn't defend him then J-Mac with the news

No No no no Turn on the news This is the Herdline News All right let's continue the tournament rolling Colin Maryland Colorado State was thrilling The best finish

In the tournament so far Take a listen with the Terps down one Eight seconds left To the freshman queen Who's driving Floats it Oh Maryland

on the right side of a buzzer-beater. How about that? The freshman went into the huddle before the final play and said, give me the M-Fing ball. By the way, like that's awesome. Why are people getting worked up?

That's not a traveling. And if it is, you're not going to call it there. People are, like, don't ruin the moment. When I watch that, I kind of bake it in. That's like a half step too much.

Nobody's going to call back. No, you're not called. I actually saw, this weekend was I watching O'KC and the Clippers? I was watching an NBA game this weekend. Somebody walked about four steps and they did it. It was Yonis. Was it the ball

handling with Yonis last week? You know, there's just certain things. First of all, Maryland is... They're a good story. Good story, good team, but we're way too heavy on the traveling angle on. How about the fun stat that this kid

queen, freshman from Baltimore? He played high school ball with Cooper Flagg. Can you imagine him and Cooper Flag on the same high school basketball team? That's ridiculous. So now Maryland goes up against Florida next, Colin. That's a tall order. Florida didn't look great at times against Yukon. Any early lean in that one?

Well, I think Florida's really good. I think, you know, it's funny. I have 15 of the 16 teams left. You're going to say that twice every hour. I went back and forth. The one scratch-off on my bracket is I took Oklahoma to beat Yukon. But when I was watching Yukon in their two games, I take is, man, they just ratchet.

They go from intense to hyper-intense in the tournament. So I actually think the way Yukon plays benefited Florida going forward. They will not play a team that physical or that well-coached. So, like, Florida comes out of that. And they're like, that may be the best coach team you play and the most physical team you play. So I think Florida is now going to start rolling people. They're in good shape.

Yeah, the kid Walter Clayton. I mean, he's special. Really good shot maker. Next story, Colin, staying with the tournament. John Calipari led the Razorbacks over Rick Petino and the St. John's folks is Saturday night. Now, what was a pretty good game, Calipari was informed that the transfer portal is opening today. He's got to worry about the Sweet 16. Here's Calipari's reaction.

When is it open the portal? When? This Monday? Welcome to my world. So Monday, we're really preparing for a game. And we're having individual meetings about, are you coming back? Are you, what do you? You know, if they put their name in the portal, they probably don't have an option to come back.

But, you know, I mean, it's, you care about the kids. At the end of the year, it's all about them, whatever they choose. You want to go pro? I want to come back. You want to go somewhere else. It's their choice. And I've always been that way, but it's getting harder to be that way. You know, first of all, I supported him for a long time at Kentucky.

It drove me nuts when he said my job is not to win in March. It's to make these kids great pros, to which I would say, can you imagine coaching Ohio State football and saying, it's not my job to win the Big Ten or to win bowl games. It's just to make kids pros. You'd be out of work. So I didn't buy, I thought that was a little bit of a grift. But I will say this, he may not finish as well as people like,

but he is a great program builder. and there is an art to it. Now, he's got a title. If he'd won a second at Kentucky, none of this would have stuck. He had many chances to win that second in Kentucky. And it wasn't just losing at Kentucky in the tournament. It was losing the first game to, like, real have nothing.

And he's always had stacked teams. John Wall, Booking Cousins like they have. He has a great eye for talent. His teams play great defense. Now, in that game, nobody could hit a shot. It wasn't that appealing. Like, nobody could shoot. But to his credit, John builds programs.

and like an Urban Meyer, you do not have to wait long. Six weeks and he'll land four elite players. So when you look at it, they started really, I watched them early in the season, and they got a bit of a mess. But by the end of the year, you're like, yeah, that team could win them. They're pretty good. They got to play Texas Tech next. You know I love Texas Tech.

That's a dark horse in the tournament. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They got a decent shot at the Final Four. I'm curious, do you think we'll see any players left in the tournament in the Sweet 16, enter the Transfer Portal and say, I'm out. I don't want to go to the Sweet 16. I'm not like playing. I'm going to end of the bench.

That would be surprising to me. But we saw kids, I think there was a Texas football player, remember, but ahead of the playoff left because he wanted to enter the portal. Like this is your window, right? You've got to enter now where all the spots are going to be gobbled up. Yeah, I mean, I think this tournament has been too many people complaining there's not upsets. The ratings are good. I mean, I did think, I'll tell you, one of my takeaways, Vegas,

Don't mess with Vegas. So many games ended right on the line. Five-point game with a five-point spread. I mean, Vegas is so good at this stuff. Decent, decent. Final story called to the NBA. I know we don't pay a lot of attention to it during March Madness. But LeBron returned Saturday night against the Bulls at home.

They missed seven straight games, and the Lakers, they got blasted by Chicago, gave up a buck-46, embarrassing stuff. LeBron wasn't in top form. He did have 17 points. First game back. Here he is talking about the loss. A little rusty. A little rusty, but I was happy to get back all day.

I'll just say day by day. I can't worry about what's going to happen in the future. But, I mean, I got through today. As a proud Chicago Bulls season ticket holder, I can tell you that's the best they've shot in maybe a decade. Josh Giddy looked like an all-N-B-A play. Almost had a quadruple double. Dude, if Cooper flag.

You like that. Let's start pushing. in that narrative. Well, listen, the NBA's got an interesting Boston team, New York team, Bay Area team, Los Angeles team. I'll argue all day long with Simmons. When Dallas is healthy next year, that is an excellent roster. When is that going to be? Like February? Well, next year. Just wait till next year. That team has the best center rotation in the game. They need another play initiator, but Dallas is good. If all that's missing is an interesting team in Chicago. Remember Zion Williamson landed in like New Orleans and everybody was disappointed.

I'm sorry, I'm not going to be thrilled if Cooper Flag goes to play in Charlotte with La Melville. I'm sorry Charlotte, but I want to see him in Chicago. Of course. I'm sorry, NBA fans. Like, I need Cooper Flag in a big market on TV a lot. There's a world where he's like an NBA savior, Colin. Okay, given the political climate, white star, he'll be the biggest white star that the NBA has had in decades. And again, like Steve Nash was Canadian, Yokic is not American.

this. The kid's doing multiple national commercials and he's got a personality. His game reminds me a little bit of Jason Tatum where he does everything well. I don't know. Bring the ball up. No, no, no. He does everything well. I don't know if Jason

Tatum is great at anything, but he's very good at everything. Cooper Flagg's got a lot of that, but I think more than anything, I mean, this is Zion. If Zion would have kept his weight under control and stayed healthy, Zion would be one of faces of the league. There's no, because his early numbers were insane. Flag is going, if he goes to Chicago, Duke, he's already got major advertisers.

Like, I'm rooting for it because we both like the NBA. The NBA kind of needs Cooper Flag to be a big flag bearer, if you will. I mean, again, I don't want to make it a white black thing, but there just aren't a lot of good white players in the league. I know Austin Reeves is great. A lot of Europeans, but, you know, I don't see it as a race thing. I see it as a domestic product thing. You don't see it as a race thing?

Are you not seeing all these race faders online? NBA's terrible. Why do you think they're saying that? I don't pay attention to that. I think we need more great domestic players who were stars in college. To me, I don't care about anything other. I need more Duke, Carolina guys who star then going to the NBA. And like Cooper Flagg averaging 18 is a rookie for Chicago.

That's what I want. That just, and I think, and I've talked about this before, I think the NBA, and I love Adam Silver, the load man. management drives me nuts and they marginalize college basketball and I'll never get it. Cooper flagg. People just forget how fascinating Zion was as a rookie. I was watching Pelican games and he was giving you like 24 and 10. Easily.

But his torque, the injuries, the weight. Now there is a world where the Philadelphia 76ers, Colin, get in the mix for that number one pick. You know they're cratering, they're tanking. Everybody's done. Embed, Maxie, Paul George, and Cooper Flag. That would be scary. Again, Philadelphia, not bad for the league. J. Mack with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herdline News. I picked Auburn to win it. I told Tom Izzo that right here. Remember last week? I said, Tom, I've got Auburn winning it. Bruce Pearl, their coaches around the corner.

Colin Wright, Colin Wrong. Bill Simmons has a new series with HBO Max. The staff's ahead of me on this. I've never first on anything. Okay, so it's not a shot. I'm never first on anything. I'm going to get to it this week. I got Tuesday and Wednesday night.

I'm going to get through it. But the staff loves it. We'll talk about that next. Live in L.A., it's The Hurd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Steve Kavino. And I'm Rich Davis. And together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio.

You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and, of course, the I-Heart Radio app. Why should you listen to Kavino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world? We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out.

We like to get you involved too. Take your phone calls, chop it up as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio. Maybe the most interactive show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino & Rich live on Fox Sports Radio and the IHeart Radio app from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast and, of course, on social media.

That's Covino and Rich. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide. range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember.

I think it was on a call about what we should call it. 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, 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 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 Streeterside. 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 Sports Slice. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slico Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth.

He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history.

You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Well, I picked Auburn to win the Natty last week, and I told Tom Izzo that, and I think I told Mark Few that. And one of the reasons is I like their coach. They got multiple guys that can score, and they have an elite shot maker so they can play from behind. I think there are certain teams in this tournament.

Michigan may be one. Michigan State may be one. They're very, very good teams. I'm not sure they're built to come from weight. back Bruce Pearl. It's already been 11 years at Auburn. He's built the power four-time codes of the year. So, you know, Calapari's joking about this NIL portal stuff. He was funny about that. He's like, the portal. Oh, it opens today. Four-year-five starters are from the portal. So it's obviously something you're comfortable with. You've been at smaller schools.

You know the talent. Is it one of those things? It drives you nuts. But you're not going to complain, or do you kind of lean into the portal and all challenges of it? Well, Colin, great to be with you. Look, you're going to adjust to the rule changes, and the portal and NIL are here. They're here to stay, and so you've got to find a way to navigate within the framework of that. For me, I don't mind the portal at all, and yet so much of my team are guys that have been there four and five years. That's been the foundation, and that's what our culture is.

but if you could add the right pieces at the right time, you can be competitive every year. For me, I typically don't like somebody else's mistakes. I really like guys in a portal that come from mid-major or Division 2 or junior college, guys that are humble and hungry and just want an opportunity to have, you know, worked at a little bit. Now they're ready to play at the high major level, and that's been the secret sauce for Auburn.

So I'd said this in January. I'd watched SEC basketball, and I sat on the air twice. I don't know if you guys are watching this, but the middle of that conference could be better than everybody else's top. So, you know, the NIL, I would argue that a lot of the SEC schools are not in big, rich markets,

but yet, when I watch SEC basketball, you're all stock with talent. Is that just the geographic footprint, the high school coaching, the money? Why is the SEC suddenly so deep? That's a great question. And you hit the nail on the head, Colin. everybody in the SEC is invested.

It just means more. And I said this at the beginning of the season as we were out there in recruiting and we were competing. What was going to make the SEC really special and really deep this year and really difficult to win is that the teams at the bottom of our league are investing very similarly to the teams in the middle and the top of the league. There's just not that much difference. And Colin, I think if you looked at, well, look at the national champion in football

and the teams that got there at the very end. they were the teams that were committed in the NIL area. When I mean committed, you know, $20 million rosters. If you look at this year's Sweet 16, I think you'll find very much, that is very much the case. I'm happy that the SEC has got seven teams in the Sweet 16, not that it needed to validate what we did during regular season, because what we did in the regular season was real. We earned the teams that we got, but I'm glad this many teams advanced that we don't, that way we don't have to put up with the argument that we were overrated.

You've come into this tournament I mean for years and years I thought of Auburn as a football school and I don't anymore I think of Bruce Pearl That's the first thing I think of with Aubrey I think of Charles Barkley and Bruce Pearl And you're that you've done that So it's interesting

We are still a We are still a football school But I also like to say that we're at everything school You know we won the National Championship in men's golf Our women's golf team with elite aid Our gymnastics team in ranks Softball's amazing And Hugh Freeze

Mark my words is going to get it done in football. You can make a lot of progress this year. So listen, I'm glad when you think of Auburn, you think of being Charles. That's a great, great compliment. I just hope that I'm worthy of your picking Auburn to win the whole thing.

You realize we've got to go through Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, and then all the other chalk that is still alive in the Sweet 16. You know, I said this earlier. I watched Florida Yukon. Boy, that was a game. and I said, I think Florida benefited from Yukon's physicality. I don't think they'll play a more physical team the rest of the way.

And I like Florida. They got really hot late. Everybody's got Florida winning. For somebody that knows them well, I watched them yesterday. I thought Yukon outplayed them for big chunks of that game. Were you shocked that Yukon gave them that much? Yeah, I was surprised. You know, not because Coach Curley can't put it.

together a game plan and beat anybody on any given Sunday. It's just that you're right. Yukon was able to match Florida's physicality. And Florida is the most physical team, I think, in the country with the deepest and the best guard play. I mean, Clayton is going to be the best guard on the floor almost every single night. He takes the floor, particularly on the offensive end. So yes, I was surprised that Florida struggled as much as they did with Yukon. But look, Yukon's a two-time national champion, and they played with great pride, and not many people were picking them. I still think right now Florida is playing the best of anybody in the country. I think Duke has demonstrated they played some great basketball.

But look, we just got to see who can stay hot and who can manage to navigate them one at a time. For Auburn, we've got these two seven-footers at Michigan that are both really skilled and really physical. and they're obviously really, really good. And Coach Mays, I mean, he's one of the best young coaches in college basketball. So look, we'll take it one game at a time. But we definitely feel like the SEC prepared us to make a run. You know, it's Junie Brooms obviously played great. You've got shot makers.

That gives you a chance to win a title. I said this earlier. I think Adam Silver is very good as a commissioner of the NBA. I think he's marginalized college basketball. They thought, you know what, just go to the first. the G League. We don't need college basketball. My take is that is a huge mistake. College basketball between the brands, March Madness. Also, I think the coaching's better in college basketball than the G League. I would argue NIL does you a favor, that you may be able to keep a kid one more

year. And I do feel like the NBA kind of like, nah, we don't need college basketball. I think the ratings prove it did. Did you always feel that, that you were kind of almost they were a rival. The NBA was almost a rival to college basketball. Yeah, I'm not going to ask that question, and I don't like to be criticized. I'm not critical, but my grandpa said if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it. But I don't know that the NCAA basketball world and the NBA basketball world at the highest levels have worked that well together, either as it relates to developing our game, exposure. In fact, I think in many ways we've been competing.

And I think now with the NIL, we are absolutely able to compete with the NBA. Kids are better off being in their teens and their 20s in college, continuing to develop and being able to be compensated for their value and their worth versus having to go into the G League and play on a team with a bunch of guys that don't want to be there. And, you know, and rust the development. Look, Colin, it's not how much you make, it's how long you can make it. So what I tell kids, look, you're going to get rich when you sign your first contract, but you're not going to get wealthy until you sign your second or third.

So the question is, when is it best for you to go into the league so that when it comes to your second and third contract, your body, your game, your maturity level is ready. I think the quality of NBA basketball will be better and better served if they would stop drafting so much on potential. Like there are some great freshmen this year that were on losing college teams. and drafted really high. And they're going to be great players, but they're not ready right now. So what are you going to do? Put them out there in the NBA where they're not going to play very good basketball

or stick them in a G-League as an 18, 19-year-old kid. I don't think right now that system's working. NIL gives those guys a chance to stay in college a little bit, get right, and get better, and they'll be better pros for it. Yeah, and I also think there's such value in the community of a college campus. There's a lot of diversity. You've got to go to classes you don't love. You don't always get your way, but it's a community.

College campuses are some of the great times in your life. He's Bruce Pearl Friday at Michigan. I like Auburn winning, but this is a good one. Michigan is NBA big. So, Bruce, I appreciate it. As always, thank you, and you built a powerhouse, and good luck to you. Thank you, Colin. We'll talk to you again soon.

All right, Bruce Pearl, 11 years at Auburn, four-time SEC coach of the year. See, his feeling is mine, which is the NBA kind of worked against you. I've said that if my kid was a college basketball player, I'd rather you take some classes, get coached hard in college, not go to the G League. Most of the coaching's hit and miss in the G League, the training staffs are hit and miss, there's no marketing. College players, I've talked to Mark Fuett-Gunzac. College players get treated great, and now they get paid great if they're excellent players. So, by the way, I know you're excited about this as a Jets fan. I don't know if this caught your attention.

James Winston signed a two-year deal with the Giants. I'm excited about that. So what does that mean? Does that mean that they're drafting a quarterback in the first round, regardless of who's there or second round? I mean, they'll have to take it. Yes, yes. So who's their head coach next year?

Because it's not Brian Dable. Well, there's no way he's surviving with James Winston and or a second round. Well, especially if you don't have your offensive line. right. And the Cowboys and the Eagles will have pretty good pass rushes. James throws a lot of errant balls. So it will be a turnover-plug season. When does Malik neighbors?

Have you checked his social media to see if he, what his thoughts on this acquisition? I mean, it's like, Aaron Rogers, maybe. Oh, no, we got James Winston. It's like, oh. Well, it's, Colin, we're going to a big steak dinner. We're going to Outback. You know, like that's what this feels like. Well, for a lot of people, that's wonderful.

Let me just say this. The New York Giants, in their franchise history, had never lost 13 games. They've now lost 13 games three times in eight years. And it's just a series of egregiously bad moves. I mean, Bill Simmons next hour, the reason the Celtics are good, Brad Stevens and Danny Yange are basketball savants. They made really good decisions on coaches, really good decisions on draft picks.

Danny made really good decisions when to move off-stars at the right time. They could have had Markell Fultz in the draft. that? They were like, no, we're going to trade back. Upstairs. Take this Jason Tatum guy. Upstairs is the difference. I mean, I love Andy reading Mahomes, but upstairs is the difference between eliminated early and eliminated

late. And the giants have been a mess upstairs for a lot of years. All right, calling right, calling wrong. Monday show, hour two next. Hey guys, it's us and 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 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. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance. I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud.

But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human.