The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - The Warriors got lucky

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

Colin is hesitant to celebrate the Warriors advancing to the playoffs after their win over the Grizzlies despite Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler combining for 75 points Thoughts on the Rams looking at Jaxson Dart The Nico Harrison press conference was a complete joke  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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We are live, and this is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. We have a lot today. There's continuing stories going on. One of the more fascinating, the first holdout in college football ever, Now that's playing out. Is that kid, that great quarterback talent, young kid, is he going to land at USC or UCLA?

A lot of rumors this morning on that. Jordan Schultz filmed in for J. Mack who's on vacation. So the Warriors won, got off to a huge lead. But if you were a warrior fan, they look tired and they look vulnerable. That was a depressing win for an old band about to go on tour. So let's start with that. Remember the trade deadline? And there was that rumor that Kevin Durant may be going back to the Warriors.

And KD squashed it. Steve Kerr, did he plant it? They need length. They need another score. Now, playoff Jimmy and Steph Curry were great, combined for 75 points. But when you watch them, they need another athlete. They need another wing. And this is where the Jonathan Kaminga story is so honest.

obvious, did not play him again last night. I mean, they're telling the league, we're moving off him. They're doing something, but you watched it last night. Like, Memphis was a jaw-marant turned ankle and an inbound play from beating the Warriors. So they had great energy in the first half. They had a great game plan, took a 20-point lead. But boy, do they have holes. They couldn't make any stops. They're just not long enough. And Jimmy Butler gave this team a vibe and an energy, but vibe has a ceiling. He brought this intensity to the regular season. And a lot of teams in the regular season, especially the second half, are tanking or resting

starters. But Golden State looks old. They look tired. They don't have a ton of scoring depth. And outside of Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry, who, thank God, hit back-to-back threes. That was the difference, probably in the game. They're not terribly dynamic. And so now it's interesting because they face Houston.

Houston is, they're exactly. what the Warriors aren't. Young, long, athletic, dynamic, and a great rebounding team. So they're going to blow out the Warriors in a couple of these games. The question is, can there be enough close games in the Houston Warriors series for Golden State to win? Because Golden State will be a much better team in close games. They'll manipulate the refs. They've got the better coach. Draymond, Butler, and Steph have been in so many huge playoff games. Close games, I'll take the Warriors. But they're going to get blown out a couple of times in this series. You know, an old band can go to the sphere in Vegas, can still make money in tour,

but an old NBA team, you can't hide behind the drums and the lyrics. They looked old. And I'll say this, the Jimmy Butler thing, the playoff Jimmy thing is real. He had a remarkable first half, played well throughout. But Golden State is favored against Houston, and I feel like they're going to be incredibly Butler and Curry reliant. They're not as deep, as long as athletic, as Houston. I think we got an upset on our hands coming because Golden State is favored. So Steve Kerr seemed somewhat satisfied. Here was his take on what we all watched last night.

I tried to downplay it a little bit before the game, but we desperately needed to win this game and get four days. Our guys have been basically playing knockout games for about three weeks. It took 83 games, but we're right where we want to be, which is back in the playoffs, and we've got a chance. But maybe most importantly, we get the time to rest and prepare because these guys need that. Yeah, the old band members need to head home for a few days, sleep in, sleep late. Again, if you look at the Warriors starting lineup, in the playing game last night, Steph and Jimmy gave you 75 points. Everybody else looks small, looked limited, and shot 6 for 19, and gave you 16 total points.

So Houston is the opposite of the Warriors. The Warriors are favored, and I think it's mostly based on playoffs. experience. But if there is a first round upset coming, it's going to be Houston beating this team. Houston is excellent in size and rebounding. The Warriors are not. And now that they've

apparently opted to not play Kaminga, I mean, you watch last night. Zach Edy was a problem. Like they just, I mean, and he didn't play well, and he's not a refined NBA player, but they didn't even want to challenge him at the rim. Zach Eadie. So here comes Houston, watch out.

All right. So this story is fascinating. So we talked about this. I've talked about this every day. It's the first holdout in college football. So there's a really talented quarterback, L.A. kid, Arch Manning and him, the kid, were the top two quarterbacks out of high school. He goes to Tennessee. And he makes $2.5 million redshirting. So there's a bidding war for these kids now, the great quarterbacks. Nico Iommaleva. And then he decides, obviously got advice, bad advice from somebody in his family, probably dad i would guess and i am uh i'm not going to practice i'm going to hold out i want four million and tennessee said uh yeah see you we're not going there so he's a talented kid

but not only did tennessee hold the line a lot of people are holding the line Tulane said no thanks belichick said no thanks Oregon has the money they've said no thanks so the rest of college football's holding the line as well. Now, for the next 10 days, the transfer portal is wide open, and he may land somewhere. But the overriding feeling I get from this story, because he's talented, is quarterback dad is a real thing, and it's the equivalent of pageant mom. Weird, helicopter, getting in the way of talented kids, living through your kids, bad advice. Quarterback dad has become pageant mom. Not a lot of self-awareness here. I mean, it's a metal man, not a middleman. And now, Marv Marev Marenevich, California, Todd Marenevich, his dad,

rest in peace, he was the beginning of the tsunami of where, and I've heard this for years from college coaches, like dads get in the way. You know, everybody's like, oh, you need a strong dad. Dads that were semi-athletic, but not as successful as they think they should have been, lived through their kids. Now the Nico family is saying this is not why he left, it wasn't bad advice. Why would Tennessee, there's a lot of grifting going on? Why would Tennessee just bail on him? Give me a break. You know what this is all about. It's about the cash. And so I think the NIL has been gas on a flame of parents who are very strong-willed and often turn into tangent mom. So I'm surprised he doesn't have more offers. I think he's really talented.

But Tennessee made a statement. Okay. And what's interesting is, and we know that money drives everything from politics to sports, but it looks like college football, a lot of college football's made a statement too. So, and I do think bailing on your team is a bad look. I don't think it would affect him. The interesting thing here, if he would have just stayed at Tennessee and had a good year, not even a great one, he's probably a first round quarterback. next year. And would have made money would have never been a problem the rest of his life. So the family is saying there's a lot of misinformation, but he was a starting quarterback for Tennessee, decided not to practice, and Tennessee said no thanks. You just don't do that for a kid this talented.

This kid's too talented to just bail on because, you know, he had an ice cream headache and missed to practice. He's too talented. So Joel Clatt came on the show yesterday and talks about what he thinks is going to happen to this really, really talented kid in a weird situation. I could see him back on the West Coast. I would think that he wants to be in the Big Ten, I would think, but I think he could wind up somewhere else. I think UNC is interesting, North Carolina. That's just to keep your eye on that. The LA schools make a lot of sense.

Now, I have heard that there has been a huge quiet. influx of UCLA money. That's all. So I'm not going to be shocked if he winds up at UCLA. I will be a little surprised at UCLA. It's public university. Everything gets reported. You know, USC has always had an advantage on UCLA.

It's private. They can pay their coaches whatever they want. It doesn't have to go through a board or regents. Nobody cares. If you want to pay an assistant, $2 million you can. At UCLA, historically, football, they don't pay their assistance very well because it's got to get approved. So unless somebody stepped up and said,

okay, USC could be pretty good this year. They're our rival. Let's go pay $3 million. But it's a fascinating tale because I'll argue all day long. The kid is talented. He's young. He's not refined yet. He is talented from L.A., goes to the SEC,

and Tennessee's like, we're not going to play this day. We're not going to play this game. We're not going to do this. And it's interesting to watch a lot of teams that need a quarterback right now in college don't appear to be interested and he's as talented as anybody out there. So stay tuned. Speaking of

quarterbacks, I got a second and a third NFL person telling me I'm wrong on Jackson Dart of Ole Miss, who I think is a slightly better version of Zach Wilson

from BYU went to the Jets and flamed out. I'll talk about that next. is giving every homeowner one home address. Rocket.com. It's a single, seamless home ownership platform to buy, sell, finance, refinance your home. Own the dream. Go to Rocket.com.

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, 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 Haysford. called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast?

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

Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going. down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say Hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas,

and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious

guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and no. 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.

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And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 and 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. Jenchen won.

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Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. There's a story out today. The Rams have spent expensive time on Ole Miss quarterback Jackson Dart because Stafford's getting old. I would be shocked if the Rams drafted him. I'll just tell you that. I would be surprised. Now, I think he's Zach Wilson to the Jets.

A little better version. I think he's more talented, but I think he's Zach Wilson. So it was easy for me to predict Zach Wilson wouldn't work to the Jets, defensive coach, bad O'Lond. wonky organization, impulsive ownership, that was an easy call. Jackson Dart, if he did go to the Rams and sat behind Matt Stafford for two years

with a guidance and composure and intelligence of Sean McBay, it could be a different outcome. I mean, let's be honest. Sam Darnold's the greatest example of this. Awful with the Jets, great with the Vikings. Baker Mayfield and Tampa. Oh, he's pretty good.

So Gino Smith, reborn in Seattle with a competent staff. Awful with the Jets. Oh, he can actually play a little in Seattle, made a Pro Bowl. So where you land, for young people in any industry, it can be broadcasting, it can be football, it can be law, it can be medicine. Your first mentor is a game changer, certainly was for me. So Jackson Dart to the Saints and Jackson Dart to the Rams, sitting for two years behind Stafford and with McBay, those are two potentially different outcomes.

And here's the thing, football's different. So where you land in basketball may affect how many trophies you win, right? Michael Jordan eventually got. Phil Jackson and they drafted Scotty Pippen. You do need a good GM and you need, you know, an owner that's going to pay for the right coach and get the right coach. But you can still get 28 points a night. Kevin Durant still getting 27 points a night shooting 53%. You can still get yours. You may not get trophies, but in football, bad O'Line, bad coordinator, bad outcome, bad results, maybe you get hurt. So the gap in football coaching in this country is gigantic. I don't think the gap in NBA coaching is huge. I think Kerr is obviously very very.

very good. Ty Lou. Tib's obviously a great defensive coach. But I mean, Joe Missoula had no head coaching experience, was a second row guy. They give it to him by the second year he's winning a title. I don't think the gap in NBA, it's a player-driven league. Football coaching is everything.

I mean, the Chargers went from the worst defense in the league to the best defense in the league because they got the right defensive coordinator. Same players. You don't see that in the NBA. You don't go for 28 wins to 58 wins because you hired a coach in the NBA. So, Jackson Dart, if he lands at the right place, I mean, look at what Sean Payton did to rookie

Bo Necks. Look what Matt Eberflus did to the more talented Caleb Williams. So if Jackson Dart goes to the Rams like this story says, it's possible, I don't believe that's true. And sits for two years with McVeigh's guidance, okay, all bets are off. That's a whole different outcome than going to the Saints, Derek Carr's hurt starting week one. That, in my opinion, would not end well. But I have three people now. One is made a steak dinner debt, but he really likes him. And I see Zach Wilson, same high school, same size, struggled when they played better competition in college and the game speeds up.

So there you go. This is one of the great parts about the draft is the quarterbacks taking a swing. I'm going to put it out there. I don't think Jackson Darts a first round quarterback, in my opinion. Goes to the Rams. I'll probably be wrong. Jordan with the news. No, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Colin, the NFL draft just over a week away, there's no real indication of where Shador Sanders will land, but there's one NFL coach who reportedly, quote, really likes Shador, despite his apparent slide down draft boards, Mike Tomlin.

Tom McShay reports that Tomlin is a big fan of the quarterback, and if he's still there at 21, he could very well end up a Steeler. Now, Shador spoke highly of his meeting with Tomlin, Tomlin and the Steelers and said that Tomlin resembles his dad, Dion. He rated his meeting with Pittsburgh a 10. I believe, Colin, that Shador Sanders is the ideal quarterback for the Steelers. For a couple reasons.

One, he's going to play on schedule. He's going to play on script. I think for Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith, they're looking for a quarterback who can come in and run their system. Now, this was really interesting to me. I talked to a current executive who said basically Shador Sanders throws a 20-yard. handoff. And he said, this is really important. Not a runner necessarily, but that doesn't mean he lacks mobility. He can still move. He can move. He can still manipulate the pocket. And because of that, because he's a good enough athlete, you throw in the accuracy. And I think you're looking at a really

good player. And you just talked about where he lands. Pittsburgh's where he should land. Yeah, so I have my issues with Pittsburgh, but where I don't think it's a great place for Aaron Rogers to go because it's the last stop for him. I do think if Shadour dropped to 21 and went to Pittsburgh, or they moved up a few spots, that's actually a good spot for him because their quarterback room has been so bad for several years, he'll be a breath of fresh air. He is a different level player than Kenny Pickett.

Or the current... Yeah, he's just a different level player. And what I think's happening now is because, like Caleb Williams, he was so high profile coming into the season, and everybody's picking him apart. The two things that are absolutely true. He is a bigger athlete than you think. If you watch him during the draft,

when you see him on stage, he is a big guy. Now, he's a legit 6-2-6-2-5. He is thick, big shoulders, big waist. He's a real athlete. And his arm isn't great, but I think it's better than people think. I think it's like Kyle McCord's arm at Syracuse.

He can squeeze it into two. tight windows. I don't, this is not a light armed guy. So, I mean, I remember Andrew Luck getting picked apart before the draft and you're like, he's almost a perfect. Is Stanford big strong, big arm? And people were saying, well, his arm is okay. Your arm is either fine or it's a problem, it's not a problem. So I think Pittsburgh is actually a good spot for him, because it is, I would say this about the organization and I have my issues. It is a patient organization, and it's a very good roster. So he'll be playing. You know, Colorado, he had the second best roster four out of five Saturdays.

Pittsburgh, to me, still has the top seven or eight roster in the league. Yeah, the other part, too, he never had great offensive line play, either Colorado or Jackson, and he defines his game. He knows what he is or what he isn't. He doesn't try to play outside of his weaknesses. I think he's going to be really good. And he can sit, potentially, or he can play. I like him a lot.

Eagles fans are known to be some of the most ruthless, unruly, the league and are riding high after coming off their big Super Bowl win over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Now, their recent title has been very hard on Cowboys Legend Emmett Smith, who's tired of their success. I'm sick of it. And I'm sick of it for two reasons. One, we have allowed others to come and nitpick at the start and make fun of the star.

And that's what happens when you give other people or the other organization. Now all of a sudden in the last 20 years they've won two silver, but they think they're the best thing on the dog on planet. Yeah.

And everywhere I go out, go burgers. I'm sick of here to go burgers. I'm always asking where you're going. You still got a long way to go to catch the ups. Yeah, he also said that he believes Dallas should be contending for an FC titles.

Yeah, not close. There is not a single thing currently today that the Cowboys do better than the Eagles. And I mean anything. Ownership. GM quarterback play, O and D line. There is not a single thing you can point to. Look at the running back room for Philly and the running back room worse than the league for the Cowboys.

They don't draft as well as Philly. They don't acquire as good as Philly. Philadelphia is better than the Dallas Cowboys. In every single capacity. Every single unit. There is not a unit on that roster that Philly's not better. Receiver O-line, tight end. corner now that the Eagles nailed two corners.

Is he and Mitchell? Safety, pass rush, D-line, Jalen Carter, coaching. No, I mean, I would have said McCarthy over Nick Seriani as a head coach. But when you go Brian Schottinheimer to Seriani, okay, now I got a guy with a ring and a guy that's more of a position coach. Dallas is worse than the Eagles in every single thing they do. Highest evaluation in the NFL since 2007, 10.7 billion. but that hasn't led to success. And it's ironic that Emmett Smith is saying this because we talked the other day.

Jerry said recently, I don't know why I can't handle Micah's negotiation like I did with Emmett. When I basically got Emmett to take the deal I wanted him to take. Different era. It's a different era, Colin. And that's exactly the issue plus the division. It's not just Philly now. It's Washington with Jaden Daniels.

And the Giants have won two Super Bowl since Dallas has won their last one. to the NBA. The Magic beat the Hawks last night in the East playing. Trey Young was awful. It was what Trey Young did late in the fourth quarter that made headlines. Clearly frustrated with how the game had gone. Trey got two texts for a hard pass to the ref and later kicking the ball away from the ref before being ejected. Here's Trey on this, well, special moment. Sometimes I take my frustration out on the rest, not just for me, it's for my teammates.

I see Dyson Daniels going. I mean, you may not be a household name yet. But he deserves the same around respect as some of these other guys. And if you see a foul, you should call the foul. And that's pretty much all it was for me. Yeah, but I thought that this was about as bad as a star performance in a national TV game as I've seen in a long time. It was embarrassing.

Everything was, he had a three-point shot that missed everything. Straight on. It hit the side of the backboard. My biggest issue with that comment isn't even that he was frustrated. I get it. But if he's supposed to be the leader of the franchise, and he's talking about I was frustrated for my teammates, well, you need to have the maturity to handle the situation,

and he didn't have it. Now, they're not out. They play the Bulls. You got loser of Bulls Heat tonight for the final playoff spot in the East. But I don't see them beating either one of those teams, and I don't see them doing anything. If he, Colin, three, four years ago when he beat the Knicks, we were talking about him like

you know this ascending player it feels like he's really flatlined and the organization has as well yeah and the east is middle and bottom of the east is weak Jordan with the news well that's the news and thanks for stopping by

the herd line news so there was something yesterday so obviously when the mavericks traded Luca it just it didn't sit well so Nico Harrison's the general manager he talked for the first time since that disastrous trade, that controversial trade, but he wouldn't allow cameras or

recording devices. So it was just a circus. So, I mean, if you're going to make the trade, man up, stand behind it, and deal with the outcomes. So that's the first thing. You can't hold a press conference two and a half months later, and nobody can record it. Weak. Week sauce. Secondly, Lucas scored 45 points the last time you faced the maps. So when Nico Harrison said yesterday, defense wins championships. You couldn't defend Luca. So, yeah, defense matters. I'm not saying it doesn't, but buckets

bring banners in this sport. So there's basically a rule in the NBA. And this is my entire life, this has been the rule. Especially in the NBA. Whoever gets the superstar wins the trade. Always. Back in the 70s, Lou Al Cinder was the best

player in the game. The Bucks won a title in 71. And by the mid-70s, Lou Alcindor went to the organization privately and said, I want out. So they made a trade. And it actually, now Kareem did not let it out to help the organization. And they got really good players.

The Bucks got a haul. And Kareem went on to win like five trophies with the Lakers. And the Bucks never did until Yonis. So it's a superstar driven sport. there's two or three things that always happen when you get the star. Other stars like to play with stars. So, you know, all of a sudden when LeBron and Wade and Bosch were together, Shane Badiere and Ray Allen, Ray Allen left the Celtics.

He's like, yeah, I'll play for that team. I'll get jumpers. I'll get looks. So that's the first thing. Luke is going to be, and LeBron are going to be very attractive to other players. And the other thing is stars historically, especially veteran stars, they get that whistle in the playoffs. and that's the reality.

So there was no way to win this trade. But what it really comes down to is everybody is, almost everybody is tradable. I mean, Michael Jordan and his prime wasn't, and LeBron in his prime wasn't. But think about this if it was an NFL trade. So all they got was one first round pick, a very good but older AD who's injury prone and Max Christie. My comp in the NFL is that would be like trading. Joe Burrow, Bengals quarterback. Now Joe Burrow like Luca has had some injuries.

Joe Burrow like Luca doesn't have a trophy. But it would be like trading Joe Burrow and getting one first round pick, a forgettable slot receiver, and a really good left tackle who's injury prone and passed his prime.

You'd be fired immediately. So the fact that Nico has kept his job has always led me to believe that ownership said you're going to take the hit, we're moving. it off him. So Mark Cuban sold the team lost his influence. Mark Cuban wouldn't have sold him in my opinion. And so

Nico's taking the hit for this. And I do think ownership, and I've said this before. When they did the new CBA, the really great young players can get a max contract of $75 million a year and $350 million. I mean, that's almost double

LeBron, what he's getting in his prime. Maybe it is double. It's one thing for a billionaire to pay a great athlete $35 million annually. When you're paying somebody 75 billion, even if you're a billionaire, you have to consider everything. And first of all, he wasn't in great shape. He's a bad defender. He barks to the rest constantly.

Not a willing defender again. And he had been hurting back-to-back camps. And he wasn't currently playing when they traded him. So I understood the conversation. But if you're going to trade Joe Burrow and your argument is, well, we don't have a trophy and he's increasingly hurt, you got to do better than a forgettable slot receiver and a left tackle past his prime and one first round pick. So, and add this, this may be worse than anything. Greg Popovich always had this. Remember

when Greg Popovich had Kawhi Leonard? And I thought it was a mistake, but he and Kawhi had his own medical opinions and the Spurs medical staff is like, why can he play? And Pop was done with it. Pop sent him to Toronto. Now, he won a title, but Pop's like, you don't trade anybody in conference. The fact that Nico not only traded rival Lakers, Luca, the biggest brand, everybody's rival in the West, and perhaps the league is the Lakers. I mean, when they go to L.A., you'll see beat L.A. signs all over the league. When they go out of L.A., you see beat L.A. signs all over the place. So it's the league's right. It's like the Yankees in baseball or the Dodgers. You're not trying to help them, right? So to trade in conference makes absolutely no sense. And yesterday was Mickey Mouse.

You know, two and a half months, you won't have any recording devices. It's like, bro, you just got to stand up and take it. Even if, and I contend the owners said, we're not paying him $75 billion, it'd be one thing if he's Aunt Edwards, and you're like, plays every night, getting better, healthy, plays defense, engage with teammates. You know, like, I would pay Aunt. I would also pay Luca, but I understood the concerns that trade him me. three first round picks, not the Lakers, and you've got to get another star in their prime,

especially one that's not injury prone. So that's where we are now. Diana Rusini, NFL Insider, top of the hour. I'm also going to have my four or five bold playoff predictions in the NBA. I think there's going to be an upset in the first round. Now, there's not a lot of them in the NBA playoffs because you're playing seven games, which I think is way too many. I think if you cut it down to three in the first round, five in the seventh,

at the conference finals and seven in the finals, it's more engaging. I mean, you see the ratings college basketball gets, men's college basketball, and the product's not very good. I mean, the college, March Madness Finals getting huge numbers, the product's not very good. If you have any offensive skill, you're off to the NBA in one year, or you're going to the G League. So college basketball is coaching and defense and inartistic and ugly and a lot of missed shots.

NBA product is much better, but there's not as much urgency, so you can miss games, it doesn't matter, you lose the opener. But I do think there's an upset in the offing. We'll do that top of the hour. Coming up next. Remember when Rory wouldn't talk to Bryson DeShambo? We found out the reason. Next.

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 Kavino 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. 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 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 Headwere 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. 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 SportsSlic 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.

Jen should 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 IHeart Women's Sports. With just two races left before the Indy 500, the Indy Car Series hits Barber for the Children's of Alabama Indie Grand Prix. The fastest racing on Earth continues live from Birmingham, May 4th on Fox. So remember when that story came out. So there are certain golfers who are very much connected to the fans. And then there are other golfers. You know, Tiger Woods in his prime was pretty laser-focused.

and you know some NBA players will chat with the fans some guys are very focused and are not into the fans Russell Westbrook's not really into the fans so uh bryson de shambo after the masters was asked about the winner who he played with on Sunday um Roy McElroy did you speak to him in there how's he doing

do you know no idea didn't talk to me once all day but he was just like eh just being focused I guess Well, we find out that many top golfers and athletes have sports psychologists on the payroll that Bob Rotella, the sports psychologist for Rory McElroy, told him, do not engage with Bryson DeShambo. It was an assignment. Do not engage. Do not speak to him at all. So as predicted, I said two days ago, I think it was by design. I think silence is intimidating. Mike Tyson wasn't real chatty with those black trunks, the hoodie, and silence walking into a ring. Silence is intimidating.

A chatty Uber driver is a distracted Uber driver. Bob, thanks for the story. You just flew past my gate. You sit on a plane with somebody for four hours and their chatty Sally. It's less impressive. It's always more impressive when somebody for four hours is looking at a screen getting work done. And it's like, oh, that's impressive. And I look at this, and I think Bryce and Nishambo came in.

It's a classic example, garden variety projection. You see this all the time. Dennis Rodman played the tough guy. T.O. played the tough guy. They were breaking down in tears all the time. It's a shield. And DeCambo sometimes, very braggy, very, a lot of hubris. I'm the guy, very showy.

And by the way, I like him much more now than I did two years ago when he was bragging about 17 egg omelets for breakfast and power shakes. I think he's got much more likable and relatable and the fans like him. And Rory, by the way, is not as engaging with the fans. Whatever, whatever works for you, you don't have to be engaged. There's ropes out there for a reason. But it's interesting now. We find out that his sports psychologist said, no, we're not going to engage in this stuff. Focus, silence. And I think to be honest with you, silence is intimidating. I think when people get chatty, My take so has been when people get real chatty, they're nervous. That's why when you sit next to people on a plane that they're chatty, they don't fly a lot.

Or they're nervous flyers. They've got anxiety. It's a stress relief. They want reassurance. They want to put themselves in a better mood. People that fly a lot don't chat a lot. They're usually busy. They're professionals.

They're adults. They're working. They put their head down and go to work. So it was a plan. It worked. And by the way, the guy that wanted to talk, Bryson DeShambo, he unraveled. His game was a mess all weekend. The difference was he putted really well up to Sunday.

But Bryson's game was an unravel. It unraveled multiple times. He had distance issues. He struggled with his irons. He couldn't keep his driver in the fairway. He putted great until Sunday when he said, you know, the greens were too fast. It's Augusta. They're always swift.

So it's just interesting. The projection on this is that Rory is stoic. Rory's not any fun. No, it was an assignment. Head down. It's going to be a rough day. There's a lot of pressure. Whereas when Deschambo unraveled, he just unraveled for the rest of the afternoon.

When Rory unraveled with a shot, he got his act back together because, in my opinion, he was more focused. So I'm watching, you know, it was really interesting. I'll have a bite in a second. Draymond Green talked about Jimmy Butler's performance. So Butler was great last night. And there's always been this, you know, playoff Jimmy. And it's true. Like, he is absolutely a different player.

But I'm watching Steph Curry last night, and they're very, very lucky. Steph Curry hit back-to-back threes late, and that's why they won. And the Memphis Grizzlies, who fired their coach not long ago, couldn't get the ball inbound on an inbound play. And that was basically the sealer. So Steph Curry, I'm thinking, you know, he's got a little Tom Cruise, where he's still filling the arenas. He's still filling the theaters, but I'm not sure how many Mission Impossibles are left. He's still hitting threes. He's still magnetic.

There's nobody like him in the entire. industry, but there are a lot of elements shrinking around him. And Draymond's older and Jimmy Butler's older. And this team, Cominga, is not a bust, but doesn't fit. And thank God for Jimmy Butler last night. But I think because Curry is so productive and so popular, it's like Cruz. Tom can get movies made. And he can fill, he can fill theaters and almost nobody outside of Christopher Nolan or a James Cameron, the director can. And so it's like you just keep making, you keep making these big

250 million dollar budget movies with Cruz because it still works in a dying industry. I mean, there are stories all over Hollywood. Business is leaving town. Hollywood's done. But Cruz is still relevant and dynamic in Phil's theaters. And I love Steph so much.

But this team, they need more players. Thank God for Jimmy Butler. Dremont talked about this after the game. game. Playoff Jimmy is a real thing. Yeah, he's different. Like, I, he's different. You can just see a whole different intensity level and focus.

And, you know, we've, I'm a basketball fan, you know, so I've watched it on TV for years. To see it up close and personal, like, it's a real thing. You know, sometimes you get an NBA and like, these guys come, get these nicknays, and you're like, man, stop it. Like, there's some other nicknades out there. They're not real. That one's real. And I'm happy here on our side. Yeah, I mean, I think you have to understand, even in football, regular season football is different than playoffs football, is different than conference championship and Super Bowl football.

We all know that. But in the NBA season, I mean, you're seeing right now the Dodgers can't hit in baseball, well, the season's 162 games. It's double the NBA. You can't ask Freddie Freeman to be locked in for six months. It's just not the way it works. You're traveling constantly. I get tired after one flight from Chicago to L.A. I'm down for a day.

I mean, Major League Baseball, you've got 20 road trips. You're playing in the sun, outdoors. You're an athlete. You're working out. These seasons are really long. And for the NBA, for teams like the Warriors, where the three best players are all their old guys, they look tired last night. But, you know, after Steph and Jimmy Butler, there's not a lot there offensively.

And those KD rumors were floating around for about a week until KB, Katie put a kibosh on it but um butler talked about being robin to steffs batman last night i think any team has a chance when i'm on a team but i know

that uh every team has a chance of steps on the team so um i get to play robin that's my batman and i think you're a little bit trapped with Steph Curry if you're the Warriors.

It's a little like Jeter in New York, where he's just too popular to move off him. Now, Brady, and the NFL's much crueler about that. Like, at some point, everybody moves. You know, Johnny Unitas eventually came out and played West. I mean, that's just the way the NFL is. Joe Montana got shipped out of San Francisco. But there are sports like basketball.

I don't know what you do with Steph Curry. Could you get a haul for him? You could get something for him. but Draymond's older and expensive, Butler's older and expensive, Steph's still great, older and expensive, and he's still productive, and they're going to make the playoffs, and they're favored to win a playoff series. But there's, I'm watching them last night, I'm like, this is, this is one of the last Mission Impossibles.

Like this may be, there may be one left. This may be it. This may be the last playoff series. If they beat Houston, and they're favored to, I think they're going to lose, but if they beat Houston, currently constructed, I don't know if they're capable of winning another playoff series

with this group. I just don't know if they are. And you see this all the time. The Clippers got really hot at the end of the regular season. I'd slow down on that. And I kind of fell for it with the Warriors because Jimmy Butler arrived.

It's a honeymoon period. They're playing with a ton of energy. That's what Butler brings. And they started rolling over bad teams. But somebody told me this years ago in the NBA, once you get to the last 30 days of the NBA season, half the league is tanking and half are resting starters for the playoffs.

So there's a lot of Ws there. If you're engaged and you're playing for seating, and there's always a, you know, Boston wasn't. Cleveland's not. But there could be teams out there like the Pacers or the Clippers. They're playing for seating. Remember how good the Lakers were when Luca and LeBron played together for about the first six, seven games, the energy they played with defensively.

And then LeBron, they go to Boston, they're getting beat, tweaks a growing, comes back. LeBron's playing at about 75%, 80% speed. They weren't as good defensively. They didn't communicate as well without LeBron. And you're like, okay, they're just waiting for the playoffs. So, I mean, they won that thing last night, but it took Jimmy Butler playing out of his mind and basically a John Morant twisted ankle and they couldn't get a ball in bounds,

which if they had their coach who they got rid of a month ago, they probably would have. So nobody can trust Memphis in this league. They're talented. I will say this. The Zach Eady thing is interesting to me because two years ago, nobody thought, Zach Eadie could play in the NBA. And people like Mark Few and Dan Hurley in college said if he can't play in the NBA, that's an NBA problem.

Zach Eadie is a problem. He's offensively, he's got a long way to go. But you could see in that game, Golden State didn't want to challenge him. They didn't want to go to the rim with him. So Zach Eadie can play. And I think his length is what Houston's going to offer the Warriors and they're going to struggle with it. If the games are close, that's where Golden's.

State, Golden State's got very good clutch analytic numbers. They're very good in close games. But Houston will blow out Golden State in more than one game in this series. They're too long, deep, athletic. They dominate the glass. They're going to get second and third opportunities. The Rockets manned out with a better point differential and lose the series. But if there are blowouts, and they also, the Rockets also defend the three brilliantly.

I think top two or three in the league, it's hard to get good looks against them. And again, you watched the Warriors last night, they are dependent down the stretch on Curry hitting threes. So Houston is going to win some games in this series, and there'll be nights when you're like, wow, Golden State is completely outmanned. The games are close. You're going to take the old team down the stretch. You're going to take Kerr, Draymond, Butler, Steph, close game. So I think it goes six or seven. I'm going to take Houston in the upset.

I like the worst. I actually thought it was good to be encouraging. last night from the Warriors. I watched that game, and I saw they had not one, but two elite closers. Dramon played that perfect role where he's setting screens, handouts for Steph. Catalyst. And I thought they defended enough. You mentioned Jha. That injury, yes, but they were so good and efficient offensively in the half court. That's what wins playoff games. I can't trust Houston to do that. Well, that's what the odds makers believe. Oddsmakers are with you. They can't trust Houston. And my take is there's not going to be as many close games in this series as people.

people think. That's why you dress the Rockets. I just think their size is going to be a huge issue. Hour two next. 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 and asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, 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 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 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. Rockroom 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.

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 Garrier. She's a good to win. She's an outsider to win the French name.

And she likes Clay. Listen, Lernerabakina 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 IHart Women's Sports. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Human.