The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Right & wrong, LeBron, Westbrook

Episode Date: March 7, 2022

Where Colin was right and wrongWhy LeBron James isn't talked about as being one of the best scorers Russell Westbrook has always been limitedGuest: Mark Schlereth Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Mike Silver Last Hour, NFL information guy. Joy Taylor is joining me. A lot of stuff out there. I find it kind of comical. You know, Joy, you and I are in the content business. Yes. So Aaron Rogers provides a lot of content.

People will say, Colin, why do you talk so much about Aaron Rogers? because other shows that don't know what they're doing talk about quarterbacks that are less interesting. We talk about Aaron Rogers because there's constant drama. That's why I talk about him all the time. We're all sitting there. You know it and I know it. The minute the story comes down,

somebody breaks the story on Aaron, it's going to flood. That's going to be the most downloaded thing, the most highest trending thing in America. And not like social media trending is to be all end all. But if Kirk Cousins, left. That's not going to be the, I'm going to talk about that for two minutes. This is, we talk about stuff that is to a greater audience, fascinating. And Aaron has been

unbelievable content for a year. Yes, which is why I think if he stays, it's not that interesting anymore. Yeah, I'm saying why. I'm, I, by the way, for my business, for Fox Sports, it's better that he stays in Green Bay. Yes. Because we have Packer games. It's not great that that division's unwatchable if he leaves because that means, I mean, think about this. When Brady retired and Breeze retired, the NFC South is bad. It's a bad television product. Right. So it's like, that's not good for us.

Well, I mean, I do think that Chicago is going to be much more interesting this year. Yes, so do I. Good? I don't know. Good, but they will be interesting. Yeah. But the other thing is the whole league isn't a holding pattern until he does anything. Nobody else can make any other moves.

That's right. Okay, no other trades, no other quarterback moves. So everyone's just waiting. Maybe he likes it that way. Here we go. Colin right, Colin wrong on a Monday. Here we go. Where Colin was right.

I said, be unvaxed at your peril. Owners are going to hold grudges. Jerry Jones. Yep, Cowboys are moving off Amari Cooper, who was unvaxed. Remember when he was unvaxed? And Dallas, Jerry Jones came out and said, quote, it's a wee thing when you walk into that cowboy locker room. This Amari COVID situation popped us.

By the way, Cole Beasley, they're moving him in Buffalo, Carson Wentz and Indianapolis unvaxed. The owner's ticked off. You have a right. Don't give me this cancel culture nonsense. You have a right to be unvaxed. But you don't own the business. And if you tick off the owner like Carson Wentz in Indianapolis and he's not happy with your play, that's just another reason for the person who runs a franchise or owns it to go, no, you popped us.

We're going to pop you. I said, you go ahead and do this. You have all your opinions. You don't get back. It's not a coincidence that Cole Beasley, Carson Wentz, and Amari Cooper, all very, very talented, all very talented. Probably going to be on different teams. Where Colin was wrong. I'm going to take up my third wrong on this, but the Russell Westbrook situation last week turned toxic.

And listen, I said before, I never trust them in the playoffs. I got a resume here. It doesn't work. But in terms of production, passion, and minutes. Yeah, I understood the trait. I had no idea it was going to be an anchor on the franchise. Reportedly now, Vogels become his last defender that everybody inside the Laker organization wants the bench Westbrook. And Vogel's like, I'm not their neck yet.

And it's interesting because Mello has embraced the bench thing. Mellos had a really good year. And I'm not a big Mello fan. Mello's been great. I'd keep Mello. Mello's been a nice fit. Quirky guys like Dwight Howard. The chemistry in this franchise was very good.

the last two years. Now it's a disaster. Saturday night, late in the game, Westbrook's turnovers were awful. So it's way worse than I thought. Where Colin was right? They said before the season, the next Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Denver Broncos. Story out, the Denver Broncos have made Aaron Rogers, their number one priority, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. He's their guy. We also believe that if he leaves Green Bay, the number one place would be Denver. We called this a year ago. We said, listen, this is Tampa before Tom. It's a little bit Rams before Stafford. There's just too much talent around here. And so we know this. It's a stacked roster, multiple wide receivers, three, four, five, fant, a great tight end,

a pro bowl level left tackle, multiple talented, productive running backs. The Broncos have made Aaron number one. where Colin was wrong. I said last week, I could not as a general manager signed Jimmy Garoppolo now that he's going to have surgery on his throwing shoulder and not throw for four months. Story out yesterday, the Saints could trade for him rather than re-signed James Winston. That surprises me.

Listen, I'm a defender of the guy. He's won 33 of his 47 stars. But he's averaged 188 yards throwing in his career in a passing era. as much as I like Jimmy and I like his sort of guyish alfish, you know, he's a dude's a dude. Man, between the 188 yards, you know, we all watch the playoff games. Like, we know what we have here. I'm surprised. As a general manager, that feels like a massive risk.

If I re-sign James Winston, what's the risk? He doesn't get hurt much. He's okay. He's productive. He turns the ball over too much. A little surprised that with not third. throwing, his injury history, and his kind of average statistical career, there's people lining up for him. Where Colin was right?

Listen, I don't want to bang on Kevin Durant. He crossed the 25,000 point threshold, and his team lost. I said this when they put the nets together. If you put that many stars together and expensive stars, you're going to get massive drama. Kyrie and Durant also have an injury history, and also, you'll have no bench. You can't afford it. When you have three expensive stars, you have no bench, and this is the problem. Durant remains unbelievable. Watch parts of this game. He's an unbelievable player. They've lost 17 to 20.

They've lost 4 straight. He's been back two games. He's been amazing. I never liked this move. It made no sense. If he was in Golden State right now, they would be favored to win the championship. And what's happening to Durant this week is classic.

He's back. He's amazing. And they can't win Eastern Conference regular season games. Where Colin was right? Been a big fan of Brian Kelly for years. Yeah, I know. He can be cringy with this fake Southern accent. And yeah, I know his viral videos are really weird.

He is a top three to four coach in college football. They are cleaning up and recruiting. And yesterday they got Jaden Daniels to transfer from Arizona State. Daniels had to overcome below average offensive coaching and a below average offensive roster. He is going to pop at LSU. And he's not their only good quarterback. But the fact that Brian Kelly's interested, Brian Kelly's got a really good eye for talent. And Jaden Daniels can play.

Don't give me, well, I mean, what did he do at Arizona State? What did anybody do at Arizona State? It's like the seventh best job in the PAC 12 conference. Brian Kelly is rolling at LSU and don't be shocked if they're in the national championship discussion, week eight next year in college football. Where Colin was wrong. All year long, I said it's a bad year for quarterbacks in the draft, but I think this kid, Kenny Pickett's the number one guy, and I thought he had a bad combine.

He just doesn't have a lot of pop in his arm. I didn't think he was great at the podium. I just didn't see any wow. And Malik Willis is big, strong, and that ball flies out of his hand, and we know he's a runner. It's nothing against Kenny Pickett. He's a guy. But I really thought he kind of separated from the class, and I was just kind of underwhelmed. I talked to a great GM in the league this weekend, a great GM in the league this weekend,

who I have a ton of respect for. and he said he views him as a mid-third-round pick, and he will be massively overdrafted. He will go in the first round because of the scarcity, but I got to be honest, I watched him, and I thought, nope, Malik Willis is the better quarterback. He's bigger, stronger. He may be raw. That's fine.

Josh Allen was raw. I'm okay with raw, but you got to give me some pop. I just didn't see it with him. Where Colin was right? Well, the report is Aaron Rogers is truly torn with Green Bay. listen, like him or not, I don't want to hear any of you Packer fans whining if he leaves. Now, I don't think he will, but I've been on this for how many years? He's just needy.

He's high maintenance. He manipulates constantly. The guy went on a 12-day cleanse. I haven't made up my mind yet. Yeah, you have. We know what it is. You're trying to manipulate the Packers to get more players, bigger contract. Now, in the end, I don't think he has the personality to be hated, and it's so easy right now.

the NFC North. I mean, they're going to walk to the playoffs this year, but this is exactly what we've been saying for years. This thing was going to play out. He's not going to come to a decision. He's going to just keep manipulating and moving it and moving it and trying to get exactly what he wants because, you know, it's kind of what he is.

Where Colin was right. Story out that Washington, the commanders, made a strong offer, the strongest offer to get Russell Wilson. Finally. Been on this for two years. I like their roster. I think all they're missing is a quarterback, and they've been messing around with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Taylor Heineke.

What are you doing? What are we doing here? Defensive coaches, Tendu Vic Fangio, Mike Zimmer, Ron Rivera. They're good coaches, but I don't think they sometimes understand the urgency of what's happening to the league. And it's encouraging because we've been saying for a year now, stop messing around. The roster's fine.

Go big at a quarterback. give up five first round picks, and reportedly they made a huge and the strongest offer to get Russell Wilson. Now Seattle, rightly so pushed back. Pete Carroll's 70. He has no interest in a rebuild, but I did like the move by Washington because I think they're the classic. They're not as good as Tampa or as Denver, but they got good players. They got a quarterback issue. They don't have a roster issue. They may have an owner issue. They got a quarterback issue. Washington's roster is good enough to win the division and win a playoff game. Just got to get the quarterback right.

All right. What did you do this weekend, Joy? I saw Instagram very hip pictures. Stuff is happening in your life. I was in Venice yesterday. It was nice. It was chilly. It's chilly right now. It is. Venice is fun. Venice is fun.

Venice is always an interesting time. They've got a lot of good shops. I don't like shopping, but a lot of shops, a lot of restaurants. Good vegan restaurant. I'm not a shopping person. No, not. I'm an online shopper. Yeah. I think most of America is.

Yeah. I'm definitely, I am a consumer. Yes, as you should be. You are absolutely right about Brian Kelly at LSU though. Great recruiter. Might have a tailor on his roster. Oh, that's right. He's got your cousin. My nephew.

Your nephew, Mason, yes. There you go. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Hard 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 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 IHard 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, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball. 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.

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Is that the track right there? There it is right there. By the way, the other thing we were talking about, was that you and I were talking about this about Aaron Rogers, is that the truth is we like new stories. Yes. And so like Stafford to the Rams was just more fun. Forget the Super Bowl.

It's fun. Let's watch it. Even golf to the Lions was kind of interesting. Like, how good is he? How much was it McVeigh? Like, it's a really fine line. I think mobility is really good for leagues, but you have to be careful about just going and getting stars because fans will show

you they like community. They like their quarterbacks. And so I think the NBA, and again, I'd be a hypocrite to criticize mobility because I've moved around and many of you have. But I do think sometimes the NBA mobility has. hasn't always been great for the league. It's been great for the individual, but the highest ratings in the NBA right now on local TV, and it's not even close as Golden State. Because Draymond, Steph, and Clay, that's their guys. Last year they were bad, but that's their

guys and communities like that. One of the lowest rated teams is Brooklyn with Durant, Kyrie, and Hardin. They just feel like they're, you know, they're just kind of moved in and hang out, getting day them for a while. And there's no, people like the marriage part of it. They like the, hey, even if your team's not great, the second highest local TV ratings in the NBA are Cleveland. Why? Because they've got all these young, exciting players, Mowgli and Darius Garland and Sexton's hurt, he'll be back. They're all really good. People like that. People are willing for their team. Milwaukee's ratings are big. It's the same guys. The way to do it to get ratings, really, you don't, you think it's all stars. But the Warriors had good numbers before Durant,

and they're good numbers after. Cleveland's numbers are fine. We're great with LeBron. They're without him is that people want to feel we and us and just going getting stars. So I'm four players moving around in the NFL, but I think having OBJ and Von Miller back, you're bringing the guys back. It works in the community. I don't know if I'd bring OBJ back. I would try to bring Von Miller back. There's just not many great pass rushers.

There's a lot of good receivers in this world. There's not a lot of von Miller's out there. He was surprisingly good. Mark Slare now joining us live. sports, NFL analyst. You know, speaking of that, it's interesting. The Vaughn Miller situation, you knew him in Denver very well. I ended up watching him and just kind of being blown away by it.

Like I was like, wow, he's got a lot in the tank. As somebody that covers the Broncos, were they surprised? Were you surprised how good he was? I really wasn't surprised how good he was. I mean, he was the focal point in Denver for years. And he was the one guy, obviously Bradley Chubb. The year that Bradley Chubb was healthy, his rookie year, Bradley Chubb had 12 and a half sacks.

I think Vaughn had 17 or something of that nature or 14 and a half. So it was a great dynamic duo, if you would. You know, I mean, ultimately, I knew that Vaughn Miller was healthy. Vaughn Miller was really, you know, really playing well. He just was double and triple team the whole time in Denver because he was the only focal point. Then all of a sudden you get on a team that has Leonard Floyd. You get on a team that has Aaron Donald. You get on a team that has, you know, some defensive stalwarts like a Ramsey.

and now you're no longer the focal point. You're one of the guys. And so, I mean, seven games, I think it was seven sacks in his last seven games. He was one man wrecking crew, and now all of a sudden he's going to be one of the hottest free agents out there. Yeah, good for him. By the way, Denver's the focal point for Aaron Rogers. I do not believe he leaves.

I think it's harder to win there. I think, you know, again, there's a story that he's torn. I think he's torn because he's got a lot of stuff he likes in Green Bay, but he looks at that Denver roster. And all these receivers and Fant and the backs. And he's like, that that's better than I've got here. In Denver on your show in the morning, is there a 50-50? Is it lean either way?

Where is Denver this morning on Aaron? I think there's a lot of people. I think there's a 50-50. There's a lot of people that would love like myself to see Aaron Rogers finished his career in Orange. They would love that. And there's a lot of people out there that are like, oh, the drama and all this, that and the other. I'd rather have a young quarterback like, you know, Kansas City was able to do,

Buffalo was able to do. You know, everybody looks at the success stories and they tend to not look at Tua in Miami or they tend to not look at, you know, Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold or, you know, the guys that don't have that kind of success. So, you know, there's a fascination with drafting somebody watching that guy develop and explode on the scene and knowing that you're going to have him for the next 15 years. I don't mind renting a, you know, a Hall of Famer and saying, hey, we'll win a Super Bowl that way too. So I think it's probably pretty split. But I will say this about Aaron Rogers.

You know, there's a lot of the drama queen talk or there's a lot of selfish talk. And I've heard people talk about, oh, you know, he's costing the Green Bay Packers. Man, he's played for 17 years. He's a four-time MVP, back-to-back MVP championships or back-to-back MVP awards. Like, you've earned the right to take your. time to make a decision. It is not Aaron Rogers' responsibility to manage the Green Bay Packers' cap. That's not his deal. And as far as selfishness is concerned, I think a lot of his decision has to do with Devante Adams, to sit there and say, well, he's selfish. To me, that's softer

than well-poop, that take, because I don't think he's selfish. I think a lot of this has to do with, I want to play with some of the guys that I want to play with. Sure. And this has been something that you guys haven't necessarily allowed. So it's not about money. It's about, it's about, are you going to honor that commitment as a franchise and say, take care of Devante and I'll be back. And I think that's really more than anything what he's waiting on. By the way, I don't think he's leaving. What do you think this morning? Yeah, I don't think he's leaving either.

I think that he's going to stay in Green Bay. I think he definitely, you know, likes to have, I mean, listen, there's not very often as a professional athlete when you have leverage. Yeah. And he's earned the right to have that leverage. It doesn't happen. It happens to a select handful of people. And so for me, as a former player, like when you have that leverage, when you have that hammer, swing that damn thing. Because I promise you, the majority of us never get it.

And we are dictated to. Now that you have that leverage, you, you hung out, you redid your contract to give you that opportunity to say, I don't want to play here anymore. And I don't have a problem with him, you know, kind of swinging that hammer, so to speak. But I do think he stays in Greenback. Yeah, I do too. So I got to ask you one question about the combine. I don't think it's a great year for elite players. I think there's a bunch of good football players. There was a defensive lineman for Georgia that ran. He was 340 pounds and he ran a 4-7. Everybody's just Jordan Davis. People are freaking out about it. What do you make of the combine as a former pro bowler, multiple Super Bowls? What do you make of it? It's a test of athleticism. And these guys leave college. They've lived. leave, they quit going to class. I mean, not all of them, but a lot of

them quit, you know, doing the school thing, and they go out and they train specifically for these athletic events. And I think it's foolish. You know, that will be his last 40 that he'll ever run. If it's that important, if the 40

is that important, why will it be the last 40 that any of these guys ever have to run? Once you make a team, and once you're playing the National Football League, you will never be asked to do the bench press test again. You will never be asked to do a vertical jump again. You'll never be asked to do a 40 again. Like if it is that much of an indicator, why aren't we running them every year?

Because it doesn't matter. It's, again, a test of athleticism. If you look at the best 40s in the history of the National Football League, like the majority of the guys you never even heard of. Right, right, you're right. They're running a fast 40 or doing 225 for a lot of reps. You know what that indicates? That indicates that, one, your track star or two, that you're really good at benching.

It doesn't mean anything when it comes to being able to play the game or not. I play with a guy named Tommy Nalen who probably should be a Hall of Fame or Tommy Nailen should be in the Hall of Fame. He was a great center. Weight room-wise, he wasn't anything to write home about. He was never a great waitroom guy, one of the strongest players on the field from a leverage standpoint that I've ever played with. Yeah. And so, like, it's not a, it's not a great indicator on athleticism. It's not a great indicator on whether you can play or not.

Yeah. By the way, I will say this. The Georgia guys are all impressive at the Combine. Like, you look at Georgia won the national title. You're like, they got a lot of guys that can run and a lot of guys that can lift. So congrats to Georgia, because they probably had the best, they had the best weekend in terms of a program. Mark Schlarith, great seeing you, buddy, as always. We will talk soon.

All right, Colin. Take care, buddy. Yeah, it is Georgia looked really good. There's a reason they won the national title. They have a bunch of good players. And they're going to get drafted in the first and second round. A lot of guys. Even the guys that people questioned last year, they had a corner, Stokes.

They went to Green Bay and everybody's like, Reach. And then about like seven, eight games in, you're like, no, he's really, really good. That guy's really, really good. So draft Georgia players. They'll do just fine for you. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Well, there's a report that the Cowboys are likely going to release Amari Cooper. He signed a five-year, $100 million contract with the Cowboys in 2020. Don't love it. Don't love it, Joy. There's a potential out this offseason with a $6 million dead cap hit. His $20 million salary for 2022 becomes guaranteed on March 20th. So if the Cowboys can't trade him, it's not really clear if they're going to cut him or just reduce his salary to keep him. It was reported on Friday that the Cowboys are close to finishing a deal with Michael Gavis.

Gallup, who is a free agent. That's interesting because he comes off a pretty ugly tear. He is good, but that's an interesting decision. That's why I think the Vax has something to do with it. Like, Amari, I can guarantee you next year, his production. Gallup off an ACL, I can't. Well, they have CD Lambs, Cedric Wilson, and Noah Brown under contracts. They're fine, yeah.

Cooper last season had 68 receptions for 165 yards and eight touchdowns. He did miss time for COVID. Eight TDs is a lot of TDs. which Jerry wasn't happy about. Yeah. Yes, but the issue is he's expensive. And this is what happens when you pay a lot of guys, a lot of money. You have to figure some things out.

A report just came out that the Cowboys are in the process of restructuring DAX contract, which we talked about forever, four-year $160 million that he signed last year. So they might convert a chunk of his $20 million guaranteeed salary into a signing bonus and push some cap dollars down. That's good. He has the eighth highest cap hit at $34.5 million entering this season. So they're trying to make everybody fit. I don't love moving off of Amari Cooper because I think you need a number one receiver. And he is.

And he is. And C.D. Lambs. And D. D. Lambs. And D. D. Lambs. talented. He had a catch against the Niners. One. I mean, having C.D. Lamb is very important. But you don't want to push a player that isn't something into a role that they are not only not going to excel at,

but it brings an added level of pressure. it's the Dallas Cowboys. You have to have a number one receiver. It just, this is what it is. Well, I mean, just look around the league. I mean, Arizona, DeAndre Hopkins doesn't come back. They were never the same offense. Forget Kyler's injury.

They were just never the same offense. Yeah. So I don't love it, but I'm not surprised that this is the story at all. So Aaron Rogers is reportedly torn between staying with the Packers and moving on. Okay. We just have to say this. It's been. We knew this was.

coming. We all knew that this conversation was coming. So Aaron Rogers obviously knew the situation was coming. Yes. Which is why I still believe Aaron knows exactly what he's going to do. Oh, I totally knew. He knows exactly what he's doing. I know that people can compartmentalize things. I mean, we work in contract to contract business as well. So we know when our contracts are coming up. Yeah. And compartmentalize. It's not like we sit around thinking about it all day. We know when it's coming. But we also know what we're going to do once that contract conversation comes up. Because this is our life. Nobody takes a 12 Day cleanse.

Nobody to get clarity in their life and come out of it and go, I don't have any idea what I'm doing. I sat around drinking tea for 12 days and vomiting. I've got no. You go to a cleanse, center you. Right, with intention of coming out the other side. With clarity, intention, be actionable. He comes out, I don't know, just ate strawberries and drank tea for a month.

I don't know what I'm doing. I don't buy any of that. Well, according to a source, Aaron Rogers has specific deals lined up with other teams and those teams have trade compensation lined up with the Packers. It's apparently been put in place with the permission of the Packers and they're all believed to be in the AFC, the Broncos, Titans, and the Steelers. Titans are interesting because they were very vocal that they weren't moving off of Ryan Tantahill. He's building a house there.

Aaron. Yes. Yeah. In Nashville. People like Nashville. A lot of people moving there. I mean, I think that would be a tremendous, I mean, that team, can you imagine that team with Aaron Rogers?

By the way, for the record. not good for Fox if Aaron leaves, but just to show you, I'm rooting for fascinating. I would like to see him move because I want another story, but it's not good for our, it's not good for us. I'm stuck with Jordan Love. Who ends up, maybe they, maybe they aren't stuck with Jordan Love. Maybe they do get another guy.

I mean, they're going to make a trade. Someone's going to end up there. Let me tell you something. If Aaron leaves and they go get Carson Wentz. Yeah. Boy, is that an indictment on your pick? God. Well, I mean, that pick has

way since sailed. The moment that pick was made, it was a bad decision, and it has proved to be a bad decision. It's aging terribly. Terribly. But the Packers and all of their moves and the rest of the league are contingent on what he does.

Now, according to ESPN, the Packers have made a significant long-term contract offer to Rogers that would alter the market. They're $26 million over the cap. Obviously, Patrick Mahomes currently is at the $45 million mark. So we're talking about the $5 million. million, which of course, Aaron denied being true. So we will see how this ends up all playing out. But this is what I believe is happening. I think he knows that he wants to stay in Green Bay.

Yeah. I think he's trying to figure out how to get Devante Adams paid and himself. Yeah. And the pause on all of this is he's just working out the deal with Green Bay. Yeah. I think you're right. Yeah. By the way. Because otherwise, why would this take so long? Think about this. So we're in the content business. You all know that, right? Think about the difference between staying in Green Bay. and going to Denver. If Aaron announces tomorrow he's staying in Green Bay, I cover it for a couple of segments. If Aaron goes to Denver, I cover it for six months. For the rest of the, for from now until Super Bowl next year, we're talking about that. So does Aaron understand the free publicity, his brand, his advertisers get with a move? Aaron resigning with Green Bay is not captivating.

I'm completely uninterested in the Packers. I'm the same one. You had a great team this year with the number one seat in the NFC and lost to San Francisco. Look how good for their brand, Stafford to the Rams, Brady to the Bucks. If Aaron chooses to leave, if I was his agent, I would be begging him to leave. I mean, like, who cares about short-term money? Your brand is worth $500 million. The people, I say this all the time.

One of the things where baseball just doesn't get it, this has been a big whiff by baseball. So last year, the year before, this show had over 300 million views on Facebook. NFL had 75 percent, NBA had 25 percent. Baseball had 0 percent. That's just one show. 300 million views you and I had on Facebook, right? According to the people who follow that stuff, I don't. I've never been to my own Facebook page, but that's what I hear.

The point being is, how much free advertising does the NFL and the NBA get that baseball doesn't get? Don't kid yourself. Everybody in every business wants free advertising. Of course. Every restaurant, every league. Aaron's brand, if he announces Denver, he is going to be the most talked about human in America's most popular domestic sport for six months. You don't think State Farm loves that?

You don't think he has all these, all these, Aaron can literally name his sponsors. It is, and that's not, that's important coming off that Vax thing where his own sponsors were on the fence about sticking around with him. So, I mean, from a selfish agent brand standpoint, him moving is, and I'll just throw a number out there, $100 million of free publicity for Aaron and all of his stuff. I mean, it's way closer to anarchy, which is, I adore. But I've seen the story in Green Bay. So it's not like I'm rooting against him going back to Green Bay.

If that's what he wants to do, it's great for the Packers. But it's not as compelling. I'm uninterested. I'm not interested in the story. What's interesting? I'm the same way. What's new? It's the same story.

I've seen this movie four and five times. And I know how it's going to end. A playoff loss. At home. Exactly. So I'm just not interested in it anymore. So the Russell Westbrook Lakers experiment has, um, it's not gone well. It's been highly scrutinized.

Yeah. And it's gotten pretty toxic. And it's kind of snowballing. According to Mark Stein, NBA insider, his personality might be another reason for some of the tension with the team. He said, josting with reporters in press conference is apparently not the loan source of pushback these days from under fire guard Russell Westbrook. There's been no shortage of defiance behind the scenes, I'm told, when coaches and teammates have tried to broach changes in roll or approach with the former MVP. Another league source described the idea of bringing him

back next season as impossible based on the current tension levels. Ramona Shelburne reported a few weeks ago that he didn't react well to constructive criticism and feedback during film sessions. Kendrick Perkins said that he refused the help of Phil Handy, the team's player development coach. It's gotten really bad. And overall, I mean, my opinion about the Lakers has been the same since day one. If Anthony Davis isn't healthy, what are we talking about? He's Anthony Davis. He's got to be healthy. He's got to be on the floor. If not, what are we talking about? But Russell Westbrook has become the son in this situation. And to me, it's really upsetting because Russell Westbrook is a great all-time player. He's been incredibly compelling to watch throughout

his career. No, he doesn't have a lot of success in the postseason. But the way that this is ending in Los Angeles is really affecting not only his legacy, but the Lakers and LeBron James in some way because we know that he was a catalyst for getting him here. So I was sent a piece of video about three weeks ago. May have been a month ago, but three weeks ago. It was somebody tied to the Lakers. And the video was showing how supportive Mello was on the bench watching his teammates and how unsupportive Westbrook was on the bench watching his teammates. And it was a somebody sent me a piece of video and said, this is the difference.

Like Mello is encouraging his young teammates and Westbrook's moody off to himself during timeouts. And I just took it. I didn't take much from it, but I'm like, that's kind of fascinating. But Mello and Westbrook are kind of the same thing. Hall of Famers asked to be role players.

Mello has sort of embraced it. And to me, I've never been a mellow fan. I'm like, he's been really terrific for that. He has, but mellow also was out of the league. So that's not been the case for Russell Westbury. Yeah, so he's still in that mellow four year ago thing. Right. He doesn't believe that he's that.

And it's not about lowering yourself or humbling yourself. I don't believe in any of that. But you have to understand and have self-awareness. Self-awareness is one of the most underrated traits you can have as a human. being aware of your situation which you bring, and especially in a team situation, like pillaging through and just trying to prove something that can't be proven anymore is affecting your legacy in a negative way.

That's what I always said about Johnny Mansell, like this money sign thing. I was like, you get what that makes you look like, right? Like idiots think that's cool. No GM in the league is going, I want to draft the quarterback doing a money sign. Like have some, Johnny Mansell was the classic. I don't think he's a dumb guy, but it was like, You do get that just the Patriots reportedly took him off their board.

You have to have self-awareness. You understand how stuff plays to the market. And at one point or another, when everyone's telling you the same thing, and I think you're like this as well. If I'm getting the same feedback from everyone in my life, I'm the one who's wrong. I can accept that. It might take me a little while to make the adjustment, whatever they're asking,

but I'm the one who's wrong. If everyone's telling you the same thing, you're not the one who's right in the situation, especially when they're people who are qualified to give you that feedback. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News.

Joy tells you you're wrong. You are wrong. Okay. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Mike Check. If you want exclusive insight from the biggest names in the sports game, what's good? This is national champion and former professional champion. Pro baller Chris Johnson. Let me tell you a little bit about my new series, KJ Live.

KJ Live is the only show featuring me going one-on-one with the brightest basketball minds on the planet to get the real. And when I say real, I mean that real. I got legendary Hall of Famers, elite coaches, and the top basketball insiders bringing you a unique perspective on all things hoops culture that you will not find anywhere else. So make your next move, your best move. And tap in with me on KJ. live wherever you get your podcast from. Good to see you. 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 IHard 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, Clifford 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, filtered 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot.

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Jek. 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 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all 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 podcasts. Good to be in.

I thought this was interesting. I used that word a lot. It was engaging. It's LeBron James. He has a show. It's called Shop or The Shop. And he's with Maverick Carter and Lamar Jackson. He hosts his show.

He's got a production company. and this is his big show. And he does it, I don't know how many times he does it once a month or once a week. And he brings some, he's brought like comedians on and stuff. And he was talking about, it kind of bothers him that even though he's a great, he's a great score, it kind of bothers him that nobody, when they mention great scores, mentions him. Here's LeBron. I love, like, getting my guys involved.

I've always been that way. I've always, like, the point of seeing my teammate. succeed off my past or having like I've always been that type of guy and to sit at the top of the food chain and the most points scored in the history of the game is like it's weird to me like they don't never they don't call me they don't ever call me they don't never call me when they talk about the best scores of all the time they never mention my name did you push you off yeah it pissed me off but it's like they don't ever bring my name into it here's the thing he's not wrong on this but there's a reason for I'll get to that in a second There's also a reality here. He's never going to have the rings of Michael. He's never going to be as popular as Michael. He's never going to have the apparel brand of Michael. Michael's been retired for like 25 years or something. His brand made like seven times what LeBron's did and he's an active player. He's never going to have the clutch scoring brand. It's just a reality of it. You've got to come to terms with it. Fair or not, there are just certain people that have space and they own it. But the reason we don't think of him that way, it's a compliment is because he does so many things well. It's very Jamie Fox. Jamie Fox is funny. He's a comedian. He's a singer. He's an actor. But nobody ever thinks he's the best singer or the funniest or the best actor. But he's probably the best accumulation of the compiler of all of them. Jamie Fox can do everything at an incredibly high level. But when you say best actors, nobody ever mentions Jamie Fox. Although he's been great in almost every role he's been in. But because he does so many things well, same with LeBron. LeBron does so many things well, it dilutes the scoring brand. When I think of Michael George, and Kobe and Kareem. I just think of the skyhook, the mid-range jumper. I think scoring. When I think of Bill Russell, I think of rebounding and defense. When I think of LeBron, and this is why

I've always thought Magic Johnson is the best comp. When I think of LeBron and Magic Johnson, I think of the same thing. LeBron's a more athletic version, but I think of ball in hand, side turn, right-handed dribble, setting up the offense. That's what I think of. That's what I think of Magic Johnson. Now, Magic could score, although not a great score. He could score. He once played center in an NBA finals against Philadelphia. Basically, Magic could give you anything you needed.

If you needed 28 points, he'd get it, 18 assists, he'd get it, defense, play center, play point guard. Magic could do anything. He was the best Swiss Army knife ever. There is no comp for Magic, by the way. In the history of the league, there is no comp. There is no 6-9 point guard that can score, defend, shoot. Everybody loves him. Simmons, we thought, had some of it in him.

No. And there's really no comp for LeBron. There's really no comp for him. A six, nine and a half power forward that basically is the best shooter, ball handler, not shooter, best ball handler, best distributor. So a lot of this is it's the Jamie Fox Dilemma. When you do a bunch of stuff really well, you're never top of mind. The brand gets diluted because Jamie Fox can do so much. I mean, Tom Hanks doesn't sing.

Tom Hanks is funny, but he couldn't do stuff. stand up. Like, Jamie does all of them. And LeBron does everything. And so we don't think of him. Literally, I think of LeBron. I close my eyes. I think of him, I think top of the circle, ball in his hand, ready to lead, ready to run

the offense. By the way, that's been great for most of his career. It's why Westbrook is such a bad fit because Westbrook needs the ball. Speaking of Westbrook, Mark Stein, as Joy noted, said that it's impossible that he returns next year. This is the one thing to always remember about Westbrook. Some athletes are naturals, and some players just work hard to become really good.

People forget that Westbrook, when he was at UCLA, was considered a defender. The game has never come easy for Westbrook. If you go back to the scouting report on Russell Westbrook, I did this morning, the college scouting report on Russell Westbrook, His ball handling skills are limited. He struggles when trying to do much more than attacking the rim.

He lacks the advanced dribbling skills needed to create his own shot. He was a guard. Kevin Durant should be a center. Is a better natural ball handler and shooter than a guard Russell Westbrook. We forget this about Westbrook. Is he being rigid? Or is this just what his game is? He's never been, he's never been Kobe, LeBron, the game is natural and easy and fluid.

It's always been hard for Westbrook. It's easy for people to say, like me, he's rigid. No, he's limited. At UCLA, they didn't want him shooting the ball in college. His scouting report, he can attack the rim, but he's not a very good dribbler and he's not a terribly gifted shooter. Like, I just think the game's always been hard for him. And as he ages, it's getting harder for him. Hour three, Mike Silver, good NFL stuff breaking.

It's The Hurt. 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 home.

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. 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.

was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard 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 J. 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 year. 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 I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the Fourth. 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, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and 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's podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.