The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - NFL, Lamar Jackson

Episode Date: August 12, 2022

Colin's thoughts on "disruptors" in sports Why the NFL owners support Roger Goodell Ravens QB Lamar Jackson wants a guaranteed contract   Guest: Stu HoldenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Alex Curry is joining us. I'm very excited. We're 100 days out from the World Cup. And, you know, when I was a kid, I went to England. My mom took the family to England. Okay. And Johann Croyfe was a big deal. This was a long time ago.

And Holland, great player. I don't know if it was a World Cup year, but there were, my family back there, all in on soccer. They gave me a board game soccer. And then I lived in the Pacific Northwest where I grew up with the Sounders. I'm no expert at soccer. But I love the World Cup, and I love the United States men's and women's national teams. So, it was just one of those things where I will, I can turn some things on and off.

Yeah. Right? Like, you ever go to a concert and you're not, you're somebody who, you're married to a musician. Yeah. And, but if I don't go to concerts all the time, maybe once a year. Okay. But when I go to a concert, I literally switch my mind to tonight. I'm going to do things that I wouldn't do the rest of the night or the rest of the year.

Okay. Like if you go to a weekend music festival, I'm going to be a little looser than I would be the rest of the year. Vacation, Colin. Yeah. And I kind of feel that was soccer. Like I am, I'll just flip a switch. I will be so into soccer for three weeks. And you can be a cynic and that's fine.

but Stu Holden in a couple of minutes. You know, I want to start this hour with this. I talked about this yesterday on the show, that if you, in the Live Golf Tour, any time in life that you are a disruptor, or you take a strong stance on something, a strong action, you have to be prepared for the reaction. So when the golfers from the PGA Tour join the Live Tour, I support that, and I still do. Our government has a relationship with Saudi Arabia, in my opinion, way too cozy. But it's a toxic region. We feel we need an ally in that region.

So there it is. We just signed a new deal with them that is nobody talks about, yet we're outraged with golfers. But I will also defend the PGA and traditionalists in golf with this. They have a right to react to defend their turf and their business to those who disrupted it. And so, and I tell people this all the time. When I left ESPN, and I had a great 10 year run, 10, 11 year run, great people, right? But when I told them I was going to go to Fox, their arrival, this is something I had planned for six months. What are they going to do?

They wouldn't let me, they still don't, let me bring ESPN people on Fox. Now, we have great people here, so I don't need to. But as I was building up my guest list for the first 18 months at Fox, it was difficult. But I had planned for it. I knew my strong move would get a strong reaction from their management. So they shut off anybody. It doesn't mean they're bad people. It's business.

I get it. But I was prepared for it. I was building up every day after work trying to build up our guest list. And thank God we had a lot of people here and still do that can talk and no sports. So strong reaction or action, get ready for a reaction. So one of the things the NFL has a huge advantage in the Deshawn Watson situation. is the NFL is saying, we're going to suspend you for a year and find you $20 million.

It's a strong action. That's like unprecedented. There's no pushback. There is no support group for creepy men. Army Hammer in Hollywood was a star. He now sells timeshares. Trevor Bauer, two years baseball out. Nobody cares.

The leverage here is all the NFL. Go Google how many times the NFLPA has sued the NFL in one. Let's start with zero. The weakest, by far, the weakest union in all of pro sports is the players union in the NFL. I mean, baseball umpires arguably have a stronger union than NFL players. NFL coaches have a better union, a better pension than NFL players. So the bottom line here is Roger Goodell, what's the pushback? The media is on Roger Goodell's side and anti-creepy men.

30 masseuses is creepy. And by the way, the other owners. they don't like Haslam because they guaranteed a contract. They rewarded creepy behavior. So NFL owners are on Roger Goodell. So Roger Goodell is in a rare situation. He can come in an incredibly harsh punitive sentence. The reaction is the NFLPA sues.

So what? Not going to win. So it is a rare. There is no value in Goodell going light on this. Go as harsh as possible. Protect your brand. this is now moved into not only bad behavior being rewarded, but Roger Goodell has to protect his league, its reputation, himself, his legacy, other owners.

What is the repercussion for coming in and even in some eyes over punishing? The media is 95% in Goodell's corner. Could be 100. I've yet to see anybody push back in the media, any reasonable person. So what you're seeing is Roger Goodell saying, we're going to take the strongest action possible. You bring your best reaction. And I think it's a 60 mile an hour fastball.

There's nothing Cleveland has. In fact, Cleveland yesterday. Did you see what happened yesterday? Six games we won't move yesterday to Sean Watson. Okay, eight and I'll give you $5 million. I'd go to 12 and offer $20 million. I think that's where you have to go to even get Goodell to pick the phone up. Why would he need to?

What's the repercussion? What's the pushback? Not a lot of it. All right. Now let's talk about something far more joyful. 100 days out, he's my friend, Fox Sports Soccer analyst, former United States men's team's middle fielder. Stu Holden is joining us.

I love when Stu Holden comes on. my show. All right. So I was saying that this is my concern. So I think this is the most skilled team we've ever had. It is the youngest United States men's national team. I think there's value to youth. They don't have any negative vibes from previous failures. You don't know what you don't know when you're young. You can be reckless, but also hyper-aggressive. You don't have legacies to protect. I mean, these guys, they're all like 21, 22, 23. Generationally, they all like the same music. They all use the same device. devices, this has the potential to be an incredibly close-knit team. So that's my positive.

Does that make sense? Yeah, absolutely. And it does. This team, you think about it. And if you go all the way back to the failure to qualify for the World Cup 2018, the lowest moment in U.S. soccer history from those ashes has come this group of players with almost that feeling of responsibility of, hey, we need to get this program back to where it buzz. We're starting from fresh. We're starting over. Absolutely. And forming their own. identity along the way. And then you think about within that, there was going to be players from those past failures, that Josie Altador, Michael Bradley's, that might have been a part of this

cycle. COVID came along. No games for a year for the national team. And all of a sudden, Greg Burhalter's got this dilemma of, what do I do here? Do I still have some of these 30, 32 year olds, or do I just roll the dice and trust this young group and let them figure it out? And that's what they did. Now, it wasn't perfect. They finished third in qualifying. They didn't win the whole group, but they go into the World Cup with expectations of getting out of this group and leaving their mark on this tournament. Now, again, soccer fans are very funny. Yes, we are. Funny is a nice word for us.

So I say this, I say this, for years and years, and I think it's a reasonable criticism, they felt ignored. Okay, so they kind of created their own cool-like vibe. And then when we would be casuals, come in and have opinions, they eat you alive on social, which I think is funny, and I'm here for it. But you made, we talked about this before you came on the air, there is a certain vibe among soccer fans that they're very reluctant for the rest of us to love this team for three weeks like they love it all year. Yes, we stand in the corner in the shadows and we desperately scream and yell,

hey, pay attention to us, look at us, and then all of a sudden the spotlight comes on us and we want to welcome people in. But then as soon as you talk about it and you don't know the specifics about a 433 and tactical formations and positional changes, We start screaming back at you and saying, you don't know it like we do. I always equate it, and I know Alex will know this very well, we saw the indie band before they made it big. And then as soon as it went big, well, we scream at you for not knowing the songs that they knew before,

and how good they were before they made it big. And that's who we are. We eat our own. We want to welcome you into the conversation. Colin, I think you do a wonderful job, even for having soccer as a big part of what you do in your show, and you're pretty open and admit the fact that you don't know the minutia of the game. That's okay, but we want people like you paying attention to us and loving the sport and the way in which we do. So soccer fans, come on, man.

No, when I see, when I watch this team aesthetically, I think, I think Burrhalter sees the skill level. He sees the speed. It's a quick team. It's a fast team. We're athletic. We're young, a bit naive. We're not as physical at times as I'd like. Defensively, I have questions.

We're a hands country. We've always been good in goal. This is the weakness of the team. I don't love them in goal. but I see that as a value proposition. We are aesthetically, what I see, way more skilled than any team in my life. So that's my naive opinion. Yes, no, and it's a correct opinion because this team and this nation,

the way in which we've invested in soccer, major league soccer, development academies, the amount of money that has gone into, it's taken time to see the benefits of that and the development of these young players. So Greg Burhalter, when he took over early on, boy, did we take some lumps? We played Mexico. We tried to play out of the back. And I remember the game was 2019 in Giant State. And we got hammered 3-0, just destroyed by our biggest rival. But he was calm. He saw the bigger plan, the bigger scope of what he was trying to do. And this team was skilled. It was young. It was aggressive. And we could play in that way. But we had to get through ways some of these lumps on the

way. I mean, our teams back in 2010, what I think was one of the better teams, we defended deep. We wanted to, we were hardworking. We didn't want to concede goals. This team's like, uh-uh. We are young. We are skilled. We can play aggressive and we can play in the faces of some of these big countries. And that's a big change for us. No, this is the thing that jumps out to me

is that I can tell what a coach thinks of his personnel by the game plan. And I do think the Clint Dempsey teams were, and I think he's the one old school guy this team could use a bit of a butt kicker. I don't think Weston McKinney. He's got a little bit of an edge to him, but he's not quite, I think we need a Draymond Green.

We need a bouncer in the bar, a tough guy. Because I think Pulisic is increasingly getting picked on, people see him as the Gretzky in hockey, and Gretzky needed an ally to defend him. So, but this team, when I watch this team and I watch how Burrhalter is hyper-aggressive, willing to concede on the back end, my takeaway is, oh, he trusts his talent. The stylistically how we play, soccer fans would get upset when we would play Brazil or a Chile

and we were conservative. And my takeaway was, we have to be. We could play with Italy, mostly a defensive-minded history. We couldn't go with, you know what I mean? So here's my question. Can we be aggressive against England, perhaps the deepest team they've had in two decades? So I watched Greg on your show a couple of weeks ago when he came by, and he talked about that game, the England game,

and saying, hey, that might be one game we have to play a little bit differently and play a little bit more conservatively and pragmatic. And I would be okay with that. But I also see it as a situation. England's going to come into this tournament. Their last window, they got beat by Hungary at home. They're not looking good. They're searching for answers.

They're undoubtedly the favorite in the U.S. group. Really deep. But I see that game in the World Cup on November 25th, Black Friday. I think a large portion of this country will be interested in watching that game. That's a game that the U.S. could surprise some people. And I would love to see if the U.S. beat Wales, which I think is the most important game, you have to win your first game in the group.

then you go into England. If you have a win or a point out of that first one, go at those guys. You know, let the young guys go. They're fearless. And I think they like to play that way with the handbrake off a little bit. But still with some smarts and some savvy

and understanding this is a World Cup, this is a tournament. So don't just blow it out and, you know, concede two or three goals early. But I want this young team to play aggressive because why? That's who they are. That's their identity.

And the best coaches get the best out of the players that they have and that's who those players are. In the NBA, it used to be you hate, you hated your rivals. MJ hated Isaiah. He hated the pistons. He hated bird. Generationally, they've all got the same agents. They all make money. They're not sharing a small pie. So NBA guys now, they're all boys. They all get along. That's okay. Here's my concern about this team. There is no older player. Now, Weston McKinney's got a chip. I wouldn't mind if it was bigger. I worry that they're all buddies. Again, same music, same likes. At 23 years old,

the generation I want, my generation, I battle my rivals. Are we too nice? Does this team have an edge? This team has an edge, but I would say this team does not have a outright leader. And Greg Burholter. Pulisic's the best player. Yes, he's the best player, but he's not the guy that is going to, in moments he has. I don't know if you remember the Panama game.

I know you're watching it in qualifying. He scored a hat trick. He was playing with that look in his eye that was nothing is going to stop me today. I don't know what they need to do. If we can harness that for him, he's unstoppable. But Greg Burrhalter has rotated who's the captain of each game. You've had Tyler Adams. You've had Policic.

You've had McKinney. And I think that's still trying to figure out, hey, who's my guy that everybody in a tough game? And I've been in these games as a player. And you're kind of looking around and you're looking for somebody to look you in the eye. The Draymond Green that say, hey, you know what? This game right now, it needs me to go and just smash somebody. It needs me to go and make a play. That was a Dempsey role.

That was a Dempsey role 100%. it was a Bocanegro. We had Tim Howard and goal, a guy that you knew would come up with a big save if you needed. I've yet to see that really emerge through qualifying.

And it speaks for the fact that the biggest questions about our team and our starting 11 going into the World Cup. Goalkeeper, Zach Stephan or Turner, I don't know.

Centerbacks, we're going to have questions Zimmerman plus who, I don't know. And Ford. We don't know who are center fords going to be at this point.

It's probably going to be Ferreira. But outside of that, I mean, your midfields is steel cast, you can write that right now who's going to start in the first game against Wales. But outside of that, I think we're still searching for some answers. Ferrer is an interesting player.

I feel like I know what I'm going to kind of get from. I don't like the situation at goal. I'd go Turner. Don't love it. But again, we've been so great at that for years and it didn't pay off. In the end, you've got to score goals. Nobody's shutting down England. They're going to score.

So my takeaway is we're not great at it. Can we be competent? I think the answer is yes. Walker Zimmerman in the back, long in the back. We'll be okay. But I think we're better up front. My question is, what does he need to be? Ferreira, what does he have to be?

Because I know what I get from Polisic. I don't know what I get from him. So I would say the question about Ferreira is an interesting one. Because you could say, who's the most important player to the U.S. having some success? I could name Polisic. I could name McKinney. I could name Tyler Adams. But Ferreira, and it doesn't just have to be goals with him.

This was a game. He actually scored four goals in a match against Grenada. but the job of the center forward in Greg Burrhalter's system, and this is why you have to trust Greg Burrhalter that he's doing the best that he thinks for the team with the personnel he's got. That position, oftentimes you drop a little bit deeper. You try to bring defenders with you to open up space in behind for Polisic, for Aronson, for Tim Wea.

So it doesn't always have to be about the goals in the system that we play. France won the World Cup in 2018. Do you know how many goals their striker, Olivier Jureux, scored in that tournament? Zero. Not a single goal from the number number. nine position. So I know we scream and yell and we think, hey, strikers have to score goals. They can do a lot if you have the pieces around that can produce. Our most talented players, as you know, are in the wide areas. We have depth beyond belief. We can rotate Geoerena and

Polisic and Aronson, all these guys. The number nine position, though, you have to be effective, either scoring goals or holding up the ball, linking up play. And that's why Ferreira is in the lineup, not because I think Greg thinks this guy's going to score six goals. Yeah, I don't think the team's complete yet. They can tweak it. up until like... Yeah, up until the very end. I'm 26 this time as well, the roster. Do you think...

I don't think it's done yet. No, I mean, September, we're going to find out. We got two games left. The last two games you're going to see the U.S. We have the game against Saudi Arabia, which will be their last game. And Japan and Saudi Arabia last two friendlies. And you're going to get a look.

I think you might see this guy Vasquez, who scored 14 goals in MLS. Strikers is a position. If you're red hot and you got that hot hand, you might work your way into the roster. Okay, it really is amazing. So you got Pulisixix 23, played Chelsea. You got McKinney's 23.

Vendez, Sergio Dess, 21, Tyler Adams, 23. You're trying to make me feel old, by the way? It really, but I'll throw this at you. And when we went to Brazil, the conditions were daunting. And I think there's an argument to be made, Qatar, it's going to be really warm. And I do think it benefits our youth. We're going to be young, fresher legs. My guess is we're kind of built for these conditions, or am I being too,

patriotic and dingoistic and optimistic. You're right. I mean, one of the interesting things you're going to see in Qatar is these air-controlled climate-controlled stadiums with these big fans that blow on the field. And it was amazing during the summer. It was 110 degrees out. They played a game inside the stadium. A player took a selfie with a thermometer, and it showed that the temperature on the field was 65 degrees. So it was about a 40-degree difference from outside to in. Actually, during the winter, the temperature is going to be about L.A. in the 70s. One of, I think, area where the United States can have a real edge is in sports science and the fact that we invest a lot of money in that. I went to the U.S. practice in Kansas City and they call them red hats or red shirts

because there was the staff around. There was more staff than players. And I'm talking physiotherapist, sports science, sports scientists and tracking data and the rest and recovery for these guys. This is going to be the first World Cup where teams do not have to travel outside of one single city. So you're going to go to a game. You're going to come back. You're going to go to a practice. You're going to go back. you'll be in the same hotel the entire time. So that means the U.S. is loading up with a game room. They're going to have all the stuff that these kids, these 20-year-olds want.

They have Xboxes and PlayStation and rest and recovery centers, hypothermic chambers. I mean, the U.S. is going to throw big money at that to ensure that they can maybe find an edge that other teams don't have when it comes to investment in that stuff. I think that's where we can find an edge. The World Cup for the uninitiated here is a little like two tournaments. You have group stage. So our group is England, arguably the best team.

I don't think they'll win it. It's England. They're going to expect to win it. But I don't think they will, but I think they're really talented. I think they can play with anybody. And then we have Iran and then Wales. Wales is viewed as the smallest. It's the weakest team.

They have one great player, right? So my feeling is the world cup becomes two tournaments. There's group stage. I feel like we're the second most talented team. I think we get out of the group stage. Realistic? Realistic, and that should be the baseline expectation. every single World Cup, and I would have said that before, but then we didn't qualify for the World Cup.

Right. So, you know, Greg Burrhalter, again, he was talking to you. He said, we view this as two tournaments. You get through the group stage, it's kind of a slog it out, and you find your way, you manage the three games. You're probably rotating lineups to get the best versus each team. Your first game is the most important. And then I think Greg, and I would agree, the last game against Iran is also a game you view, we need points out of that one. Yeah.

England, we go in and we try and run it up, and that's the team that we're going to finish first or second, and it will determine who we'd get in the second match, which would be us paired with the host group, which is Qatar, Ecuador, and then you have the Netherlands in there as well. And I think Netherlands is the team you would want to avoid out of those, and maybe you get Ecuador. Netherlands is, they're, I think they're back this year. They didn't qualify for the last World Cup. They were in the final in 2010.

Well, yeah, it should be noted. We all, we all get anxiety. Last World Cup, who didn't get Italy? didn't make it. Netherlands didn't make it. Think about Italy, how big soccer is. So, by the way, Germany's had downswings. Two straight world cups for them. Crazy.

So this is not, I really do feel like, if you're a soccer fan or me, a casual, as I would be called by you indie rockers, then I do believe this is exciting because I feel like there was the Kyle Rote Jr. stage of soccer where we couldn't compete. Guys didn't play internationally. Then there's the Stu Holden. Dempsey, Alexi Lollis. Some of our guys do play internationally, may not star, but they play. Now we're getting guys that go internationally and are viable scores.

Stars. Those are the three stages in my life. Now, I do not, I think the next World Cup is the one where, and this, I sound so patriotic here. I think we're about four years away, just an experience. But I think we get out of the group stage. I think we win a game out of the group stage. and I think we're really viable. That is my hope.

Again, how does it land for you? What will you see that will concern you? If you see something early and go, uh-oh, what would it be? So the game against England is a game where we're going to find out a lot about this team. Yes, the day after Thanksgiving. Yes, the day after Thanksgiving on probably the best lineup of sports television

sound like a company man now, but we're going to have the Cowboys Thursday. That's crazy. And then Ohio State, Michigan on the Saturday. So look, I think what I worry about with this team is that they are so young. They're fearless. They don't know what they don't know until they see it. And we're going to find out when those bright lights go on and you're on the World Cup and you're the big stage against a Welsh team that is competent.

They had a good run at the Euros, not the 2020 version, but the one before that in 2016. And I just, I hope, and I don't believe it is going to be this way. But I hope that I see that look in those eyes, the guys that we belong here. we're not happy to be here and be happy to be back at a World Cup and we're these young guys and we play at big clubs but we're not expected to go far. I think this team when you get to the knockout stages and you get rolling, you pick up some momentum, they have players that play against the best players in the world week and week out at Barcelona, at Chelsea, at Brousia Dortmund, etc. So we have talented players as a team collectively do they believe in themselves

and do they not make those little fine margin mistakes at the back or at the goalkeeping position where we might have a little bit of inexperience or guys that are. aren't playing regularly. That's the thing that concerns me a little bit. Is a team ever won the World Cup with poor goaltoning? Has anybody ever been bad in the net? And you don't have to be great. I'm trying to think here. France had Hugo Larisse, Germany had Manuel Neuer, 2010, Spain, Davide Hea, I believe it was, or Eker Casillas. I mean, too, no. So, no. I would say no. Yeah. I think it is our primary liability, although I think Turner's capable. That's how I feel. But the problem is he's at a

world-class club in Arsenal, but he might not be playing. And Alexi and I were debating this the other eight. He actually might benefit from the fact that he's not playing because Zach Stephan is playing and he's not playing well. So do you go with the guy who hasn't made mistakes, probably? I don't know, a lot to discuss, huh? It's exciting. Yeah, and all you soccer fans out there, you have to just embrace the fact that you,

you saw the indie band before I did. You've memorized, hey, I'm from Nirvana, grew up 30 miles out of my hometown. I knew of Nirvana before anybody else. I didn't hold it against people. Pearl Jam. I'm a Northwest guy with all the gruntry. I didn't hold it against people. It's so great seeing you.

This is an exciting time. 100 days. Crazy to think about it. One more thing. I have defended Greg Burholter a lot on the internet. Doesn't know us go well. Why do you think soccer fans are always, I have a psychology theory on it. It is much easier to blame our coach than our players.

If you blame players, it's we're not good enough. We're hopeless. If you blame a coach, it's all we have to do is fix the one guy and we're great. I, if I said to you, Burrhalter, what defines him? I think he's aggressive. I think he's a listener. I think by, you know, the John Brooks thing, he can make tough calls. How do you define him?

I would say he's authentic. And by that, I mean, he understands. He's an American coach that has played in a World Cup for the United States. So at the forefront of that, and arguably, well, actually, our most successful run in 2002. So he understands what the American player needs. And he's also a guy that's willing and able to adapt. Yes, he's a good adapter. Yes, and I think some coaches get so laser focused and the blinders are up about what they think needs to be successful.

And he has changed and evolved. He's let some of his core principles go a little bit. He's let the group find their way. And I think that's why he's been a good coach for this group because he's evaluated the best players that he's got. He's gotten the most out of them, which says a lot as a coach. He's been willing and able to adapt. And ultimately, look, there will always be this Euro bias of, hey, we need to go hire this guy because he's coached in the Premier League. And this guy's done this.

You know, no coach has ever won a World Cup that has not been from that nation. Wow. So, you know, you think about all the different coaches going in the past, and we could go and get Pop Guardiola. He would be the first coach from a foreign nation to lead a team to a World Cup. Great seeing you. Great to see you, man. How much fun.

Let's go find those indie bands. I got one of my Twitter account today, by the way, folks. If you go to my Twitter account today, I found the coolest indie guitar band Can you call it that, Ryan? It's my coolest thing I've ever had on Twitter. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart 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'll say. 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 big. 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person

while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Well, two lucky winners from Texas are splitting Big Poppy's $10,000 jackpot from last night's field of dreams game, and you still have a free chance to win another 10 grand tomorrow. So scan the QR code, download the Super 6 app, and enter your six baseball picks for a chance to win. Home security isn't a game. Trust Simply Safe Home Security. Advanced technology.

Get a free indoor camera. And 20% off if you go to Simply SaveCollin COLIN.com. Here's Alex Curry with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Colin DeShon Watson is set to make his Brown's debut tonight in their preseason open. at the Jaguars.

While he and the Browns wait on the NFL's appeal of his six-game suspension for violating the personal conduct policy, in a last-ditch effort to resolve the situation, the Associated Press reports that Watson, quote, would accept an eight-game suspension and is willing to pay a $5 million fine. The report doesn't indicate what the NFL's response will be. But the fact that says a lot about his mindset, that he would accept this punishment. Oh, yeah. I don't think there's yet to be a sincere apology or taking responsibility for his actions.

I don't think he under, it just doesn't feel like he understands a severity of this situation. Yeah. At all. The leverage is totally in the NFL's corner. There is no repercussion for the strongest punishment possible, which is a year minimum. And there's going to be no pushback outside of the NFLPA,

which doesn't have a history of beating the NFL. in in lawsuit. So there, Roger Goodell's got a lot of things to consider. How does this play with owners? How does it play with TV networks? How does it play with advertisers? How does it play morally? How does it play ethically? What is the precedent for other players who could, you know, there could be actions, bad behaviors going forward. This idea, for Cleveland, they just want their player on the field. They just see it through that tunnel. The NFL has got a lot of people to protect from branding to, by the way, paying respect to the victims. 50% of NFL fans are women.

Many are absolutely outraged. A lot of men are outrage. So there's a lot of value in whether you win or not. The value proposition for the NFL is strongest possible punishment, and there's really no repercussions for it. The media, other owners, are on Roger Goodell's side. Remember, the minute they guaranteed this contract, Lamar Jackson, I read a story now.

he wants a completely guaranteed contract. That was never even on the table. Mahomes didn't get fully guaranteed. Joe Montana, Brady, Manning. Lamar is now seeking a fully guaranteed contract. He may get it, probably gets it now. So among owners, nobody is in the Haslam's corner. No, everyone should be outraged by the situation, the story.

If you have a sister, if you have daughters, if you have a mother, I think this is a big loophole if the NFL allows him to step on the field tonight in an NFL uniform, have his highlights be played, have people glorify him being on the field and how good he is being. This is a unique situation and I believe something should be done before he takes the field. Tonight, hopefully it does. Moving on.

Yesterday, we found out that Tom Brady would be away from Buck's training camp for the next 10 days. And while we don't have details on why exactly he'll be out, we heard from Todd Bowles, GM, Jason, Lick, and Devin White on it yesterday. This is something we talked about before training camp started. We allotted this time because he wanted to get in and get chemistry with the guys and go through two weeks of training camp, knowing he wasn't going to play the first two games. Of course, we're going to let him do what he needs to do.

So he's focused as ever. He'll come back and even more focused and we're not, it's the least of our concerns. You know, he's a human. At the end of the day, you know, he got personal problems going on. But he's a guy that he's been doing this so long. He don't need to be here. But when he come back, he'll never miss a beat. And that's the only important thing, you know,

but more than football, you know, we're praying for whatever he got going on as a human being. And, you know, we hope everybody else do too. And, I mean, that's all we ask for him is for his well-being. You know, football comes second, you know, him being a human come first. Remember, they won a world championship in a pandemic with no preseason. Yeah. So Tom's going to be fine. Yeah.

Tom is always going to be okay with football. The thing that is not always promised is time. And family, as we know, is always first for Tom Brady, especially at this point in his career. The only thing I think that is concerning at this point is not having his presence there at training camp, especially with the injuries that they've endured and a lot of the wide receivers that are not going to be out on the field right now, losing his center. Besides that and not having everyone kind of live up to that Tom Brady effect when you have him in the room and you have him on the field,

that that's the concerning part. Other than that, Tom's going to be fine. He's always going to be fine. He is the greatest of all time in that position. And hopefully everything's okay. And hopefully it's not a medical emergency with his family. That's just at this point, you just hope it's okay. And he comes back in good spirits and happy.

And then you can move on. As you mentioned, maybe he even takes some time off in the middle of the season. It's Tom Brady. Why not? All right. Well, moving on, a lot of star quarterbacks are sitting out week one of preseason, including Tom Brady, Russell, Dack Prescott, Josh Allen.

But don't count Patrick Mahomes as one of them, as Andy Reid announced all four chiefs quarterbacks will start a quarter of tomorrow's preseason opener against the Bears and here's Mahomes on playing in the preseason. Yeah, I mean, I like to get in there and I like to get hit it like one time. So once you get hit one time, you kind of see what it is to get hit again as a quarterback.

I feel like after that, you're good to go. But it'll be good to get in there with the new group of receivers that we have, all the running backs, and kind of build, just kind of show how we do it in the game because obviously we're doing it here at practice, but to show how we do it in the game before that first game against Arizona, who's a great opponent, I think it would be good for us.

Yeah, if you want, it's really, you know, for years Brady played in the preseason. Yeah. Aaron doesn't want to, but I'm kind of, I kind of think it's useless. But if I do think there's a handful of players, like Daniel Jones last night, 13 plays, a field goal against the Patriot second team. I think upstairs, there's value you're seeing what he can't do. I also think if you're a borderline guy, like, like I don't think the Jets are going to be very good. But I think if Zach Wilson lights it up in the preseason and they don't win. games, that helps Zach Wilson's reputation. You can say, you know, maybe it's not Zach Wilson.

It's the people coaching Zach Wilson. I think you get wins wherever you can get him as a player. And if you need to show off a little in exhibition football games, wherever it is, those are wins. That stuff sticks in people's mind. Dak Prescott won a nation of fans off an exhibition game. I think it was in L.A. at the Coliseum against the Rams. He had a great first couple, first half for the Cowboys, and at that point, it had Matt Romo was still, I think, part of the organization. It had huge impact. Cowboy fans saw that as the next chapter off a preseason game. And I remember I was like, folks, it's preseason that doesn't matter. It did to people in Dallas.

It did to Jerry. It did to Stephen Jones. It did the Jason Garrett. It was the bright lights of L.A. So the idea there's no value in preseason, you can win a room off big preseason performance. And a lot of players need preseason. I don't know if Patrick Mahomes is one of them, but he's played in every preseason game

minus COVID 2020 when it was canceled. And there's no other way to get in game shape than actually playing a game. And he wants to get hit. All right. Alex for the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News.

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeard Radio app. Hey, I'm Doug Gottlieb. The podcast is called All Ball. We usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's more about the stories

about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talk to coaches. We talk to players. We tell you stories. You download it. You listen to it. I think you like it.

Listen to All Ball with Doug Gottlieb on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympic. 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. win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

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

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of a lot. crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games.

And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tript Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. For endless hot water that is easy on the environment, go tankless. At tankless made simple.com, it's Navian.

So I saw this this morning that Lamar Jackson contract situation, his mother, Felicia, is his agent, which is different. But he is asking for a fully guaranteed deal. This is what was never even really asked for before Deshaun Watson. So, and, you know, this is the new world, and I would pay Lamar Jackson, pretty much whatever the market bears. It is interesting. Let's say they didn't pay him and he went to the market. You'd have to go get Lamar Jackson. But it would be fascinating. He's a unique player who has to be kind of uniquely coached. That's okay. I think people forget how much he wins. So let's just forget Lamar Jackson. I'm just going to say there's a quarterback. He's a rookie.

His franchise is 20 and 20 in their previous four games. They start him in week 11 as a rookie. He goes six and one. He's the only difference in the team. He wins six of seven games. The next year that player is MVP. The next year he goes 11 and 5 wins a playoff game. He's 24.

And then last year he's leading the division is a number two seed in the Superior AFC gets hurt, and the season's over. Nobody's ever won this fast, this much. This is not baseball where we glamorize history. It is not the NBA where you can be a losing player, but Carmelo is still going to go in the Hall of Fame, Carmelo Anthony. In football, it is winning. That's why Philip Rivers, through fewer interceptions than Eli Manning,

had more passing touchdowns, more passing yards, but they didn't win enough big games. And so Eli is considered a Hall of Famer, and you suggest that with Philip Rivers, and people roll their eyes at you. Because that's what football's about. Football's about winning games. It's why I'm a fan of Garoppolo.

I'm a fan of Kyler Murray. I'm a fan of Lamar Jackson. Too often we're looking for the perfect quarterback. Does Lamar play better with a lead than behind? So does everybody, including Aaron Rogers. Yes. But I did think he took a big leap. He has six fourth quarter comebacks in his career.

He had two entering last year. So he clearly as a quarterback is getting better playing later from behind. I don't think he's just. Josh Allen. I don't think anybody in the world except Patrick Mahomes looks like Josh Allen. But if you just, if I just told you there was a quarterback that took over a franchise that was in the middle of a 20 and 20, 40 game schlogue, he stepped in at quarterback. Only difference goes six and one to MVP to 11 and 5 in a playoff win, to leading the division gets hurt. You'd be like, of course you're going to sign him. People want to put everybody in a box. And he's

just a different player. He's a unique player who has to be uniquely coordinated. He has more wins before 25 than any player ever. In fact, remember how good Big Ben and the Steelers were in his first few years? He's eight wins behind him. And the division was worse back then. Lamar's having to beat a Cincinnati team that's legit, a Baker-Mayfield Cleveland team that was pretty legit, and Pittsburgh. So the division is better now. So I don't, to me, baseball is about history. NBA can be about glamour. Football's just about winning. Kyler Murray wins. Lamar wins. Jimmy Garoppolo wins.

And you can give credit to the Ravens infrastructure, or Kyler Murray's got great receivers, or Jimmy G, it's the coach. Folks, somebody's got to pull the trigger. Kyle Shanahan's head coaching record in the NFL, he's won 30% of his games that Jimmy Garoppolo didn't start. Now think about that. Kyle Shanahan in that roster. 30% winner without Garoppel.

He's doing something. He's doing something right. So I just think sometimes different is hard for people to put their arms around, to wrap their brains around. And I do think, you know, Lamar is a very unique player that you, you know, you have to have kind of a unique coordinator. You're going to have to draft for him. But the idea, I've said this, if you watch the games,

maybe he's not as beautiful as Justin Herbert or a Joe Burrell. throwing the baller, Kyler Kyler Murray. I don't think it's as bad as everybody says. I think his delivery system is fine. I mean, he kind of flips it. Kyler Murray's got a perfect throwing motion. Justin Herbert could be the logo for the league. Patrick Mahomes

goes sideways mechanically every year for about a month and a half. I don't know. You win 75% of your games, I'm in. And remember, that's before 25. He's still a kid. We've seen him make multiple leaps. Couldn't win a playoff game. One a playoff game. Couldn't be good in the fourth, now good in the fourth trailing.

We've seen him make leaps. He's going to make another one this year. Hour three on a Friday coming up. It's the herd. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel,

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put it. on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild,

I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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, unfields, 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's podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast.

Guaranteed human.