The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - New Herd Hierarchy

Episode Date: April 30, 2024

Colin shares his first Herd Hierarchy ranking the top 10 teams after free agency and the draft. Nick Wright from First Things First joins the show to give his thoughts on Colin's Hierarchy and what Kevin Durant's legacy has become after another early postseason exitSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I put on 10. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard Podcast.

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Thanks for making us part of your day. Nick Wright's going to join us in five minutes. I already told you how I felt about LeBron James. Is that he's coming back. He's still a top six or seven player in the league. They've got to get a third guy. I don't want to keep blaming Darvin Ham. Eric Spolster's getting run out of the building.

By the way, Milwaukee fired Mike Boottenholzer. He was a bum, too. You know, you can keep firing coaches, but Frank Vogel, he was going to solve everything. Now they want to run him out of town. It's the NBA's history. You've got to always blame the coach. The Lakers outplayed Denver for big chunks of the series, and they don't have nearly as many top-end players as Denver. I think Darwin Ham is fine.

Don't always love his substitution patterns, but a lot of that is you never know night to night what you're getting from Rui and D.Lo. So if you don't know what you're getting, Malone knows every night what he gets from Yokich, Murray, Aaron, Gordon, Casey, and Porter. It's much easier. I mean, think about it like a family. If I kind of knew and I had consistent kids, it'd be easier to be a parent than if I had, you know, my son's knocking down bags of Skiddle. He's climbing on the walls. And my, you know, my daughter doesn't like school.

It may, you know, it's like it's easier to be guiding people, be a boss, be a coach when I have consistent performers. And outside of LeBron, nobody's consistent. I love AD. but offensively you don't quite know what you're getting. DeLo, Rui, it's very hard to coach inconsistence. That's what Nick Sabine always preached. You got to give me, even if you have a ceiling, I got to know what I'm getting.

I used to cover Rashid Wallace, terrific player. You didn't know night tonight what you were getting. When Sheed was on one, he would go toe-to-to-to-with Duncan. Go ask Tim Duncan. He hated playing Sheed. Kevin Garnett hated playing Sheed. But then if he wasn't playing those, He could disappear.

And so I think Darvinham's got a tough job. LeBron, you get the same thing every night. A.D., you get the same defense every night. Rui, Dilo, Reeves, you don't know what you're getting. The Laker bench is hot and cold. Then you throw in injuries all year.

You never quite know what you're getting with the Lakers. That is a hard team to coach. Do you think Boston has a great coach? Because he's running all over Spolstra. No, but I know what I get from Tatum and Brown and Derek White. and if poor Zingas is healthy.

I know what I'm getting every night with those guys. Drew Holiday. I know exactly what. It's much easier for me. I know what I'm getting from you. Couple references to your little shaggy JV team. I get hockey scores from Ryan. Dave books a couple of good guests,

and I'll knock out a rant or two. Every day I come in, it's the same basic show. That's much easier than if I had, you were out coming in with a hangover, and this guy here and back was working one day a week. This makes it an easy show for. I did turn to the bottle after the Lakers lost my first drink post Nashville. I'm not kidding. I needed a, I needed some alcohol after that.

Remember Nashville I went to? Hadn't had a drink since I came back because it was a boozy weekend. And last night, I just felt for the Lakers and I had an little drink afterward. Okay. Well, I don't think anybody needed to know that, your personal issues. But all right, Nick writes around the corner. Here we go. This is my herd hierarchy.

Okay, this is it right here. I got like one or two more, but now we got the draft, the free agent. see the coaches, here we go. Heard hierarchy, hierarchy. Time is now, let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college. Number 10. I'm going to put the chargers in there.

Listen, Herbert and Jim Harbaugh are great, but they lost a lot of offense. Austin Echler, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Gerald Everett. They lost, like, productive veteran dudes. Now, I like the kid they got out of Georgia, Joe Alt, good picks. They got Hayden Hurst. they went and got, you know, Gus Edwards. They did get some replacements, but I don't think they're going to be quite as lethal offensively,

but I love the coach, I love the quarterback, I love their tackles. Rishon Slater, Joe Alt, I have them at 10. Number nine. I may have them under. I'm going to take Houston 9. I may be wrong. They may be higher than this. I just love the way they're run.

I like their draft. I like their free agent signing. Stefan Diggs. Daniel Hunter. Joe Mixon. The last two years in personnel, they've done as well as anybody in this league. I love what they're doing. Everything about it. I like the way they're coached, their quarterback, their front office. I like everything they're doing. I'll put him at eight or nine, the Houston Texans. Number eight. Philadelphia. Listen, offensively, it's stacked.

With or without Kelsey. It's stacked. Receivers, tight end, Sequin Barclay. Jalen Hertz. They have new coordinators, so I just want to watch it. A couple years ago I loved their coordinators. Last year I didn't like their coordinators. Let's see where we land this year. Mitchell, the corner from Toledo, hopefully solves their secondary, which was a mess, but he alone can't solve them. I have them at eight.

Number seven. Listen, you can sell all your Buffalo bill stock, but their O-line and run game finally arrived last year. I'm not having Josh Allen out of my top 10. The other thing about the bills, I follow college football. I thought they had another excellent draft. And to Stefan Diggs, oh, they lost Gabe Davis. You never knew what you were getting with Gabe Davis.

And they went out and drafted Keon Coleman. And if we're going to give Kansas City credit for their star receiver in the draft, why can't I give Buffalo credit for theirs? I have the bills still hovering around the Super Bowl bubble at 7. Number six. The Niners, they get Hufunga back at safety. And they did address some secondary stuff. They had nine pro bowlers.

They all returned from last year. and they went and drafted two receivers. Ricky Pearsall, probably they're going to move off Debo Samuel. I said this. I felt last year they peaked. I thought that was the best of them. They've got older players. They are relying to carry the load.

Physical players. Debo, McCaffrey, Kittle, Trent Williams. They were mostly healthy last year. They got the I-Uke noise. I think they peaked last year, but I have the Niners at six. Number five. I love the Packers. I don't think they quite have the roster of Detroit,

I love them. Josh Jacobs, maybe the first or second best running back in the league. They allowed the third fewest sacks in the league. And I, this team drafts as well as anybody. Forget just the quarterbacks. They draft as well as anybody. Jordan Morgan's a stud at left tackle. I watched them at Arizona.

Stud. Edgaren Cooper, the linebacker. Excellent. Javon Bullard, the safety. Marshawn Lloyd, the USC running back. First four picks. I thought the Packers and the Buccaneers had the best first four picks. I have the Packers at five.

Number four. The Rams. I bought them last year. I thought they had an unbelievable first four picks. Four guys who will start. Coram won't start behind Kyron Williams, but he'll play a ton. All my executive buddies in this league scouts thought the Rams crushed it. And they crushed last year's draft.

They lost Aaron Donald, but they went and literally got the two players they targeted. Jared Verse is the guy along with, Brock. Bowers in the first round those are the two guys they wanted and I think this team if Matt Stafford is healthy I think they're going to be excellent number three the lions I think it's a stacked roster I think they're the Niners but with younger players I think they're the niners with a more talented quarterback they were number three in total offense number two in passing offense they can play from behind they can play with a lead they got the conference championship first time since 91 they added Marcus Davenport off the edge Carlton davis I've always liked him in Tampa the

corner and then they went out and got terry and arnold another corner so their big issue last year was like philadelphia a lot so like bad at corner getting torched they addressed both they improved their pass rush i like them number two ravens they were the best team for most of the regular season why don't i like them they went and got derrick henry they lose gus edwards and daubbins but they get derrick henry listen they had a disappointing postseason they rolled team flasher they rolled teams like Miami. They rolled teams in the regular season. So there's no reason I'm not going to like him.

Lamar's in his prime. The coaching staff is great. I had an NFL GM tell me this weekend that he thinks Baltimore is the best run team along with Kansas City and the Rams in the NFL. Baltimore at 2. Number one. Kansas City until somebody knocks him off. Travis Kelsey, Chris Jones signed extensions. Xavier Worthy.

I don't know how good he'll be. He worries me his size track guy. but if anybody's going to make it work, it'll be Kansas City. They added Hollywood Brown, so I think they go into the season. Rishi Rice, cross your fingers on that. But if he returns, I think their receiving court will be much more worthy of a claim that it was this last year. And listen, last year was the year to beat him. If you couldn't beat them last year with that offense, they're going to be better this year.

And so there's my herd hierarchy. I don't think any surprises. I have Cincinnati at number 11, just out of respect. for Joe Burrow, but I got to see it. And there's a lot of noise around Cincinnati. What I don't love, T. Higgins, the edge guy. So I don't know exactly what I'm getting. I do think I may have Houston a little bit low, J.MAC.

I also think Indianapolis and Jackson Miller close. What say you? The Rams are plus 3,500 to win the Super Bowl, far behind the Jets, Falcons, Dolphins, and yes, Chicago Bears. The L.A. Rams do not belong in your top 10. I'll accept the oversight. McVeigh, Stafford, Cup. Puka. Do you see what they did with the offensive line?

Who, smoking. Nick, right now, joining us live. I got to tell you something. I was this close to doing Baltimore 1, Kansas City, too. Yeah, well, I know you wanted to. That doesn't surprise me at all. But this is, this is the, you know, graphical version of you bending the knee. You finally admitting that the Chiefs, for here, time. in Memorial need to stay at number one. I agree with your smoke on the Rams. I disagree with J-Mack and with Vegas.

I think the Rams are, you know, a couple plays go different in that wild card game. It wouldn't have shocked me if the Rams didn't end up in the Super Bowl. So that Los Angeles team, I understand. But I must admit, Colin, to you and to the audience. For a long time, I thought, and I never told you this, I was like, Colin must be buddies with someone with the Chargers. because he loves them and he overrates them and all this stuff. But then they fired everybody, and you still love him and overrate them.

Everyone else on that list was good last year. They won five games, got rid of both of their receivers, and you're like, top ten. That I don't understand. Maybe it's the sea air, maybe they're practice facilities by your palatial estate. I don't know. I really like the herd hierarchy. Number 10 doesn't make sense. to me. I got to tell you. Yeah, probably. I am having dinner

with the Spanos in two weeks, so maybe that's it. See, okay, there you are. So maybe that's what it is. I got to figure something's going on with Colin and the Chargers. I'm not trying to air you out, but it doesn't make sense. They won five games. The Quentin Johnson is the number one receiver. It's a problem. All right. That's a good point. All right, so I was saying this, I was saying, listen, Denver's really good. And why Denver beats the Lakers is because none of their best four players, I would count KCP as maybe their fifth.

You know what you're getting with their players. None of them have disappearing games. Rui disappears. D. Lowe disappears. Even AD, I love him. His second half offense can disappear because he plays so hard defensively against bigger bodies. LeBron's the most consistent Laker. I almost know exactly what I'm getting.

AD's second, and his offense dries up late again fairly regularly. Sure. Yet this morning, it's Darvinham. And my take is they outplayed Denver and they're not close in the starting five and depth is overrated in the playoffs. Aren't we being, isn't this another point fingers at a LeBron coach argument? Okay, well, so all right, so let's dissect this. Because it's like, oh, point fingers at a LeBron coach. Well, what are the coaches that LeBron has pointed fingers at? David Blatt, they went to the finals. The best record in the East. Oh, my God, what does LeBron want? Well, he got fired and hasn't been back stateside since,

so I think the NBA world didn't think he was doing a great job. Frank Vogel, oh, you won a title. What more do you want from Frank Vogel? Frank Vogel who got fired by the Magic, fired by the Lakers, and here on the next, I would imagine, 48 hours might be fired by the Sons. And then there's Darwin who, objectively, Colin, did a poor job.

Now, your point that the Nuggets are better? If I am power ranking blame, before I would put Darwin Ham, I would certainly put the front office who just stood Pat, didn't make even a move in the margins. People laughed at me at the trade deadline when I was frustrated because I wasn't asking the Lakers to make a major move. But you look at a move that Dallas made, that I talked around at the time, adding Daniel Gafford, a backup center who gives them 20 good minutes a night. People are like, oh, is that going to make the difference? Well, I don't know. They just lost game two in game five on buzzer beaters where they had to play Jackson Hayes, real minutes in the playoffs.

So maybe it would have. And I think the problem people have with Darbinham is the lack of accountability. When he says, well, what do you want me to do when we don't have guys available and we have all these injuries? All four of your best players played 71, 76, 76, and 8. games this year. It was not, yes, the deep rotation was riddled with injuries. That is true. But the Lakers got a healthier season than you could have expected out of LeBron, the healthiest season of Anthony Davis's career, yet they were the seventh seed because they started 24 and 25,

which had to do with roster construction and the wrong starting lineup. And then in this series, Michael Malone says, well, we have adjustments to make, but we just don't have to. to make them. Every game of the series, the Lakers lead at halftime, and then once adjustments happen, they lose the third quarter. The Nuggets were the better team. The Nuggets were the rightful winner. But I don't think it's unfair to say that the Lakers were let down by coaching and by the roster construction. I think that part is true, even if this wasn't a championship level team. So it's very rare when you go into a playoff series, you could probably count them on one hand where one team has two stars, one team has one, and the team with one is really

controlling the series. So either Maxie and Embed are overrated or Brunson's underrated, but every game that's close in that series, I with utter confidence felt Denver would beat the Lakers and the Knicks will beat the Sixers. I feel like the Knicks are going to win all these close games. Is it coaching? Is it Embeddead? M. B's fascinating.

He can't win a second round playoff series in the East. I don't think there's a big guy that plays small more often than him. He's a non-factor on the boards late in games. What are we to make of Philadelphia of the process, Embedd, Simmons-Harden? Can we just blow it up and start over? It's not working. So it's so tough because every postseason with Embed, there has been a significant drop-off, but there also has been an injury-related explanation.

Well, I mean, twice he's had his orbital bone fractured. He's obviously dealt with a knee. This year he's dealing with a knee and Bell's palsy of all things. So you don't want to put it all the way on him the way you would James Harden, you know, who has had a lot of postseason legit meltdowns, not injury related. Listen, I also, I was at that game in Philly on Sunday. And Embed was clearly worn out by the end. But that is a little bit of a devil's bargain in this regard, Colin.

he was worn out because he didn't sit a single minute in the second half. He didn't sit a single minute in the second half because when he sat for two minutes in the second quarter, a 10-point lead became a three-point lead. They can't sustain without him. And so I think Embedd's playoff resume is fair to pick at. Listen, every MVP in league history except for Joelle Embeded has at least been to a conference finals and only two Steve Nash, Derek Rose, along with Embed, haven't been to an NBA final.

So that part's fair. The other side of it is this. What Jalen Brunson's doing is remarkable. Combined 85 points, 20 assists in back-to-back playoff games had never been done in NBA history by anyone. This guy's six feet nothing and just did it. And having a 47 and 10 in a game where your team scores 90, It is remarkable.

And I will be the first to admit. I liked him coming out of Dallas. I thought it was a smart signing by the Knicks, but I thought he was the third best player on a champion, the second best player on a good team, and the best player on a bad team. Instead, he's the best player on a team that might show up in the conference finals or further.

It is unbelievable what he's doing, and I certainly didn't see it coming. So maybe I was too hard on KD, but I said, you know, the NBA is a players league like international soccer. NFL's about the shield, the owner, the GM, the coach has great power. If Mahomes would say at any point, I'm leaving the Chiefs to play for the Jets because I really like this slot receiver, we would go out of your mind. KD left, the best run franchise and the best team in the last 20 years, arguably, to go to Brooklyn, and we said, well, you know, he's an artist. and since he left them, that was a mess.

Phoenix is a mess. And I'm sorry, Nick, it affects how I look at KD. It would affect if Mahomes went to the Jets, I would be like, yeah, he's got great talent, but he's a little kooky. What is Katie's legacy today? Okay. All right, so this is a layered question.

First, a lot of what you said is fair, but the front end, I just have to disagree with you on. In this regard, we can't compare KD. leaving the Warriors, to Mahomes leaving the Chiefs, unless we were in a context where for three years, the vast majority of football media, anytime Mahomes name came up, they said, fake rings, fraud, those don't count, those don't count, we don't like it, you ruin the league. I mean, and so we can't, and I know you weren't one of the people killing him for going to Golden State, but the majority of the media was. And so what Katie heard was, anything I do here

doesn't count. So I guess I have to leave. So to me, I don't blame him for leaving Golden State. Now, he obviously has made some poor choices in who he teams up with in Kyrie and Brooklyn, even though Kyrie is working now with Luca. And then in going to Phoenix, even though I would think, KD, the basketball mind, would understand that roster might not work. Those have been some poor choices. And now to get to your question, of course, the legacy is. impacted. The fact that Kevin Durant, and this is an unbelievable stat, Kevin Durant since 2018, since June of 2018 in the last six years, has played 11 minutes of playoff basketball after round two is insane. The fact that Kevin Durant since the

A foot on the line game has won five total playoff games is insane and unfathomable. The fact that Kevin Durant is going to go through this half decade of his career, not seeing a conference finals, when the first decade of his career, he lived in the conference and NBA finals, is bizarre. And when you put pin to paper, I did this the other day, if you are talking all of NBA history, Kevin Durant is far closer to 20 than to 10, which five years ago would have been unfathomable.

It would have been unfathomable that Kevin Durant was going to be a fringe top 20 all-time guy when it looked like he was going to be a fringe or inside the top 10. That did happen, and it's a damn shame as a basketball fan. Okay, so LeBron talked about his future. I don't think he's going anywhere. I think he's fantastic. I think he fits with AD. I think his business is here.

But here's LeBron last night talking about his future with the Lakers. Here we go. Any thought at all that this could have been your last game with the Lakers? I'm not going to answer that. LeBron is always strategic. So the idea is not sure. He's sure. What'd you make of it?

Well, yeah. I mean, I think he wants to exert leverage where he can. He has been kinder and gentler to the Lakers from a leverage standpoint than he ever was his second stint in Cleveland. In Cleveland, it was one-year deals and one-year deals, and you better move, you better move. The Lakers, he has given them real security, and I think he feels they haven't rewarded that as of the deadline this time as an example. And by the way, I can hear people yelling at their TVs across the country. Oh, my God, he made them trade for Westbrook. does he want? This idea that LeBron James had the power to force Rob Belinka's hand to make

a franchise altering trade, but didn't have the power to get Tailu hired when he wanted them, didn't have the power to get anything done at this deadline, didn't have the power to get them to trade for Kyrie last year. Yes, he wanted Russ on the team, but yes, Palinkas had plenty of instances where he told him no on other things. I think there are certain things LeBron wants. I, as a basketball fan, would love to see him have one. one final arc somewhere else. I think LeBron James bringing the New York Knicks to the NBA finals for the first time in a quarter century would be pretty great. I think he would fit, you know, in that Julius Randall spot quite well.

I also think four rings for four franchises would be unbelievable. All of that is doable. I don't think it's realistic. I don't think it's going to happen. I think, you know, Philly has a max salary cap spot. I think that makes sense. Cleveland is going to hit their head on a round two ceiling again. I think that would make sense.

They need a power forward. I don't think he's going to do any of that. I think he's going to sit back and see what they do this summer, see your next coaches, see them draft Ronnie at 55, and then sign a three-year max contract with a no trade clause. That's why I think he's going to do. But for my sleep schedule and my ability to watch LeBron James in person, just come out east, man.

I mean, the water's not warm, but it's nice. Like, come out east. title with the Knicks and by the way get all those Knicks fans that never like Jordan to begin with on your side in the goat debate that's like an electoral college thing it's like flipping Texas all of a sudden the math is different forever so it's just a thought just a thought that's actually funny what's interesting about Jalen Brunson who I think is just wonderful but you know when he played with Luca it's like hello I'm good

here would he and I think he's a great kid But would he want LeBron, who needs the ball in his hands, if I was Jalen Brunson, and he's a team guy, but he gets to control that whole offense. You don't with LeBron. Well, again, a year 22, age 40, LeBron, maybe you could. The problem, probably the biggest problem with my LeBron to the Knicks' pipe dream isn't about his family or his businesses or any of that. It probably has to do with the fact that Tom Tibuto would be like, Bron, it's February 8. You got 46 minutes in you, buddy.

I think I'm going to need you. I think I'm going to need you to go the whole game tonight. It's probably not the best idea. You had a two-hour practice in Milwaukee on an off day. Not great. Good seeing it. First things first after our show. Thanks, buddy. Yeah, it's actually interesting.

I mean, if you see you're, and I love Jalen Bronson. Everybody loves Jalen Brunson. But it's like he was in Dallas and he couldn't have the ball in his hands. And the minute he gets the ball in his hands, he rocks New York and he rocks the league. I could see him saying, hey, LeBron's not an off-ball guy. LeBron's a give me the ball guy. So that doesn't fit, but it would be glorious for the league. Did you see when AD went to one arm last night?

LeBron basically took every shot for like a five-minute stretch. He's like, I've got this. We're not going to lose. But Kevin Durant makes way more sense next to Brunson than LeBron does. Kevin Durant in New York is perfect. Yeah, no, his game work. He just, you can give KD the ball late in the shot clock, and he's probably better than anybody in the league late in the shot clock,

getting a quality shot and hitting it. That's really, because what the Sons don't have is a Brunson. They don't have a quarterback. They got wing guys. So you would get the classic traditional point guard who can also score. And then Duran doesn't have to lead in the huddle because we know he doesn't like to do. He's on record saying I just want to move. That KD to that's the move.

You give up Randall. And also, KD's getting beat up because of Brooklyn and Phoenix. and he's, I mean, KD listens to this stuff. He's getting crushed. Wouldn't it be great if he goes to New York for four years, ends his career? Go east where it's easier. Now, the question is the trade package, do you break up the Villanova Knicks? Because I'm telling you, Josh Hart, it's tough to part with a guy who gets like 17 rebounds at 6'5.

No, he's. Devinchenzo comes up big all the time. Obviously, you know. I'd move him, yeah. Randall, Bogdanovich, Mitchell Robinson, and five first round-pits. Well, what the son's need is a point guard. and the Knicks aren't giving them. No, no, no, no.

So the Knicks don't have... Well, they need a point guard. Timberwolves had a layoff line in that sense. Julius Randall would give you the toughness. There you go. But you've got to get a point guard. That team needs somebody... Booker average like seven assists a game, six and a half, seven?

He's not a point guard. I know. He's tough. When your business reaches a certain scale, challenges surface, learn more. Download netseweet.com slash herd. tailored solutions. They have a KPI checklist, absolutely free.

Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHard Radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying.

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

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down.

Georgia accusing Kelly of sleeping with a married man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise,

the drama, the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The draft is over, obviously.

A lot of people watch the draft. Five of the ten schools with the most draft picks, J-MAC. Big 10. So, PAC 10 teams or Big 10 teams, five of 10. So college football talent and college football consolidation, that draft was the pivot to it. So the PAC 12s disbanded. The ACC has been wobbly and shaky with bad TV ratings for years and the Big 12's unremarkable small rural markets. College football now is changing.

This year, you're going to have 12-team playoff. It was just the most watched college football season ever. And if you start looking at who was drafted, think about this. People don't realize this around the country, that Oregon, Washington, USC, UCLA, they only got $30 million a year from the PAC 12. That was their annual payout. Those schools now are going to get closer to, I mean, like USC is going to get into the 70 to 80 million, with a chance for it to grow 25% over the next five years.

So college football is going to become the SEC and the B, in the Big Ten in a 12-team playoff, they'll get eight of the teams. And Pac-12's done. The Big 12's unremarkable. The ACC's been wobbly for years. Wouldn't be shocked if Florida State jettisons the ACC. Maybe Clemson does two and goes to the SEC. But, you know, a lot of people cling to history.

I get it. You love the Sun Bowl. You love the Holiday Bowl. I get it. I get it. People love collecting men, adult men, collect baseball cards. I get it. It's not me, but I get it.

but college football, here's what happens in the world. Big, each small scale eats boutique. And it's over. The whole sport is going to change. And the draft was your first sign. All these Pack 12 schools are going to double or triple their revenue annually. USC has been held back by its conference for 10 years. They can't compete in the NIT or the NIL.

They can't compete with a Georgia or an Ohio state. So all that is changing. The draft was dominated. not by the SEC schools like usual. It was dominated by the Big Ten going forward, five of ten. Michigan, Washington, Oregon, Penn State, USC. My guess is eventually Notre Dame will move into the Big Ten and Florida State will move into the SEC.

That's kind of not that I know. I'm not some TV executive, but it would not shock me in five years. If Notre Dame, they academically fit the Big Ten's a high achieving. academic conference and Florida State is a football power and the ACC's falling apart. I mean, the ACC couldn't get Florida State into the college football playoff. They shouldn't have gone anyway, in my opinion, but they couldn't get them in. They couldn't use that power play. So there's your future right there, J-Mack.

I'm here for it. Executives are predicting the Big Ten ratings will be up this year, 15% off the most watched college football season ever. So you can complain about consolidation. But it's going to work. Go look at the Big Ten schedules and the SEC schedules this upcoming season. It's going to be better. It's going to be better than a lot of Sundays. I'm not joking.

Saturday is going to beat some Sundays. You know you have those NFL Sundays where it's like, there's some bad quarterback up quarterbacks playing. Saturdays will be better than Sundays, 30% of it. Some of these weekends are insane. Sorry. I was a Pac-12 guy. I'm over it.

Yeah. That's a bold statement. statements. Saturdays are going to beat Sundays? No, I'm not saying it. I'm not saying a majority. I still think the NFL is a superior product. But we've always sat around in college football and said a great college football game is as good as an NFL game in most cases. We had a scarcity of great college football games. Now you don't.

There's going to be Saturdays in college football where Oregon faces Ohio State, Michigan faces Washington, Penn State faces USC, back to back. Texas faces Bama. Oklahoma faces, you know, LSU. More big games. Yeah, that's what this consolidation is doing. More marquee games. Think of it as a movie studio. We got the Avengers times five.

We're just getting more big stars, marquee games. So do we have to work seven-day week sticks in the fall? Is that what it's happening? No, one of us doesn't take Saturdays off. I don't take Saturdays off. I mean, I can still coach my daughter's soccer team while watching. What matters more? Parenting or Saturday watching college football?

Great question. You got to get your priorities in order. Give the kids a bag of skittles. and get to a TV thing. Skittles. That's second Skittles reference today. What do you have against Starburst? Not bad either. Think identity theft won't happen to you.

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Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

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

And the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise.

the drama, the alliances, and the T, everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Linder, Power the Mets against the Rays, or Julio Rodriguez and the Mariners take on the Astros. It all begins at 7 Eastern on Fox.

Check for the game in your area. All right, J-Mac, without further ado, with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Remind me, I have a take on your face of the NBA thing and NFL. Go ahead. We'll talk about that final hour.

I've got some good stuff here, as there are now reports emerging. Shocker that Darvin Ham's future in L.A. is not good. And the latest, according to the athletic, says Ham is highly likely to be fired. Let's blame the coach. As all this is happening, Magic Johnson, one of the great all-time Lakers, has chimed in on Twitter. I don't know, you probably don't follow Magic. He usually is extremely vanilla and boring and lame, but says that load management costs the Lakers seating. and the Lakers couldn't beat the Nuggets in a seven-gain series

because Denver is mentally and physically tougher. Well, they're physically better. I don't know if they're tougher, but again, Michael Porter's your third or fourth best player. He would be the second most reliable offensive player for the Lakers. Taking shots at the Lakers' mental toughness is very out of character for Magic Johnson. You wonder, is he doing some bidding here for Jeannie Bus to get the train rolling

that Darwin Ham is done? So a week ago, it said Darvinham won't be fired. Now I'm told it's highly likely. It seems like he's toast. The only question is like, who is this? This is a tough way to phrase this. Is the Lakers job with LeBron next year an attractive?

Well, if you're unemployed it is. If you have a great, you know, Doc Rivers would take it. But I mean, you know, I mean like in his situation in Milwaukee or the Lakers, I'd take it. Or if I'm Frank Vogel, I'd take it. But, I mean, like Billy Donovan to me, over the last 20 years, dynasty in college, the fact that he gets Chicago

to a play-in game with a bunch of B&C guys, I think he's a great coach. By his Billy Donovan, I'm not sure if he wants to come out west. But again, what are you getting for a candidate? What am I getting for a candidate out here? The Lakers, again, do not...

Steve Bollmer's the rich owner in L.A. The rich owners in L.A. are Stan Cronkey and Steve Balmer and the Dodgers owners. It's not the Lakers owners. They're not going to pay a lot of money. Jeannie Bus is going to be paying multiple coaches at the same time. And then she... is the poorest owner in the league. You think she wants to pay, you know, this dead cap coach money

with the NFL owners talk about? It's weird. And again, this is not to denigrate LeBron teams, but if you are on a LeBron team and you're the number three guy, you're going to catch heat. You're going to catch blame. And you're the coach? You're going to catch some blame. That's what happens when you play with LeBron. Chris Bosch and Spogue even got heat in Miami. The coach. Kevin Love in Cleveland. Yeah. A ton of coaches in Cleveland. Like, this is just that it's part of the game. But you're also highly visible. You're in the most national TV games.

Like, it comes with the territory. Next up, let's talk about the OKC Thunder, who you keep trying to wedge into the national conversation. Here's your boy, Chet Holmgren, and great defense from Lute Dorton, SGA. Listen, this OKC team is good. They sweep the Pelicans last night and surpassed the 2011 Thunder.

That was the Harden KD Rust team as the youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series. they now await the Clippers and Mavs winner. Colin, here's a crazy set. OKC got 99.5% of their points from players who were 25 years or younger. Yeah. You guys all sold me on Sacramento last year, and I don't buy them.

This team I buy. I don't buy Deerrin Fox and Sabonis. Don't buy Deerrin Fox. No, I mean, you guys keep selling me on Light the Beam, and I don't buy Sacramento. I think they're a worst. I think they're a less talented version of Boston. This team I buy going forward. I think Holmgren and SGA are tremendous, unique players.

Okay. NBA finals appearances for the Thunder next five years, over under one and a half. Over. Over one and a half in the next five. They got draft picks galore. So what? They're going to move those and get a veteran star. And to disrupt the chemistry of all the young guys?

Let me ask you. Booker on the wing. Stop it. They're not getting Booker. No chance. LeBron loves Oklahoma City in the spring. I don't even know how to react to that. They got, dude, they got two stars, a ton of picks and great role players.

The MADS will beat them, right the floor with them, and you will be like... The Mavs are a lob-sided franchise. With a lot of ego. I don't see ego in Oklahoma City. I see grinders. Okay, you got OKC in the conference finals, don't you? I think they're really good. I did, I had...

I came into the playoffs. I said, I have no idea. I don't think they're ready yet. I'm watching them play. They're ready. You're aware the Pelicans did not have Zion Williamson, correct? Well, don't have them all the time. Can't make that as an excuse.

Final story is going to make our resident Bengals fan here very upset. So T. Higgins continues to seek a long-term deal or a trade. Noisy. You know, he's conceded he's going to probably play on the franchise tag, but he's unhappy. According to the Cincinnati Inquirer, the Bengals offers to Higgins never a the $20 million per year range and that the offer wasn't even close enough to get Higgins reps to discuss guaranteed money. They haven't negotiated it more than a year. Listen, this is a notoriously cheap franchise.

Oh, yeah. T. Higgins is one of the best number two receivers in the league, maybe the best. When Chase went down, look at Higgins' numbers. He carried them. Colin, this is bad business for the Bengals to be doing this. Low-balling at 20 million per year. I don't like it. It's good to be in the business where low-balling is 20 million a year. It's a pretty good salary for a number two receiver.

And then Higgins will be gone next year and he'll be number one or number two somewhere. Well, he's more of a two than a one, and I think you can draft a receiver and be fine. I don't have a problem. Jamar Chase, edge rusher, offensive coach, Joe Burrow. I don't have a problem with Cincinnati. I like T. Higgins, but they moved off Joe Mixon. I thought he was a great back. They moved off him.

I'm good with it. I'm okay moving off T. Higgins. I have a hard time paying two-star receivers. I'll pay Cooper Cup, but in two years I got to pay Pooka Nakuwa, then I can't pay Cooper Cup. There's too many receivers in college. There are positions I know I get trapped. Quarterback, left tackle, edge rusher. You get about two or three or four a draft.

You're like, wow. Receiver, I get 13, 18. This year, the second round and third round receivers this year, somebody got one. Yeah, Chargers, was it? Chargers got one in the fourth? cowing the Arizona kid. Who got him in the... Oh, I like that guy.

I think we talked about Arizona a bunch this year. They got some guys, and that receiver's good. How about this? T. Higgins plays on the franchise tag. Next year, Jets move off Aaron Rogers. They got a rookie quarterback. They're on the cheap. They can afford T. Higgins to the Jets with Garrett Wilson next year.

How about my bed? I forget where Cowan going. Brendan Rice is seventh round pick for the Chargers at wide receiver. If you can get Brendan Rice, Jerry's kid, the seventh round. I don't know how good he's going to be. He's going to make a roster. You're not getting a quarterback or a left tackle in the seventh round that can play Brendan Rice football. But it's Brock Purdy, but yes, you're right. My bad, 49ers got cowing in the fourth round.

There's... 49er. How many receivers do they draft? Pierceall early and then cowling. So, I mean, I'm just saying is last year, Puka Nakua in the fifth round, star. Okay, kind of. Cooper Cup, third round star. Tankdale, fourth round star. You keep saying that. How many other guys besides Puka, a wide. Remember on St. Brown's star fourth round. There are receivers everywhere. I'm not paying T. Higgins 20 large.

Okay, you'll lose him and the Bengals will go back to mediocrity, which is... You know who's going to pay for? 20 years. Kansas City. Buffalo. Interesting. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. No, it's just... There are some things I am willing to pay for. and there are just some things I've always said this about a grill you go to home depot for a grill there's like 7000 brands I'm not paying a fortune for a grill I'll look around I mean I like grilling I'm in California I can do it almost every night of the year but there's so many grills and I don't need all the tricks and the gadgets like yeah I'm not going to pay a fortune for a grill all right and they're you know I'm not a guy that pays a fortune for a car I would pay a fortune for a great vacation because our family rarely can sink up their schedules to get 10 days off together. So I'll pay a fortune for a schedule.

I'm going to pay, I'll pay the most I have to pay for a left tackle, a quarterback, and an edge rusher. Receiver, star receivers don't have a lot of Super Bowls. Hour three next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman helped make you funnier. This week, my guest,

SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say it. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

Indeed human.