The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Right & wrong, Watson, Belichick

Episode Date: June 6, 2022

Where Colin was right and wrong The NFL needs to hurry up and suspend Deshaun Watson Bill Belichick is making some strange decisions   Guest: Ethan StraussSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I put on 10. I was having trouble

stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere,

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My only complaint with the finals is I have to wait until Wednesday. Seriously, can we do a Tuesday? Like, what's wrong with playing Tuesday? Why are we, I understand why they do it. They just keep spreading it out and out and out. Yeah, there's more coverage. We talk about it more. You know what I watched this weekend a ton of?

What? Met's Dodgers series. Oh, yeah. That was a great baseball series. Those are really, really good baseball teams. Neither are as good as the Yankees right now. But the Mets went in there, lost the first two, and that game yesterday was as good a regular season baseball game

as I'd watched in a long time. I need to get out to a baseball game. It was beautiful yesterday. Oh, what a beautiful weekend. Yeah, it was nice. It was nice. My kids went to Universal. I miss Universal.

It really hasn't been very easy to go there over the past couple years. Right. My son said the Simpsons ride's unbelievable. He just thought it was a hoot. Was it his first time at Universal? Second time at Universal, but he just... I love the studio tour. I'm such a nerd. No, no, no. My kids, I used to work at a company owned by Disney, so my kids have done a lot of that stuff. And they absolutely love it. And I hope you had a great weekend. So I do it every Monday at this time. I'm right, wrong a lot. Here we go. Where Colin was right? I predicted the warriors.

would be rusty on game one, and you better watch out. We think pro athletes are always better with rest, but pro athletes are overwhelmingly creatures of comfort. The Titans and the Packers, off a by, number one seeds, both lost at home. And outside of Steph Curry, the Warriors' offense was a mess. Dremont was 2 for 12. Clay was off. Jordan Poole was irrelevant.

So we predicted, watch out Warriors, way too much rest, before game one of a finals. Where Colin was raw. You know, I always thought Bill Belichick was different. Many legends, especially football legends, age poorly. They fall in love with their system. And I thought, now, Belichick's different. Maybe not.

Story today, he's going to make Matt Patricia the offensive coordinator. Yeah, Matt Patricia is a defensive coach. So in an era when offense is now getting to Super Bowls and winning more playoff games, let's not only draft a quarterback with a lower ceiling, but let's put a defensive coordinator in terms of offense. For the record, last two years, the Patriots have had the number one rated defense over the two years.

They're 17 and 16. The world's changed. You've got to score points. This off a terrible, weird, odd draft of their last seven drafts, I think Mack Jones is their best player. this is starting to look like another old coach who's fallen in love with, he's fallen in love with his culture. You win with players.

You won with Brady. Tom's left. It's a 500 coach. Patricia, to the offensive coordinator. What are we doing here? What are we doing? Where Colin was right?

My Tray Lance concerns have always been, watch him throw. It doesn't look easy. It looks hard. Now, Philip Rivers was no artistic masterpiece as a thrower, but I was told, and I said this earlier, I think accuracy is what I'm being told, is a huge concern for the 49ers.

And Albert Breer came on last week and doubled down on what I had heard. I think they got a guy who was really raw coming out and was never going to play in year one. And part of it was, I just watch him. I don't think they felt like he was that natural a thrower of the football. so they had to rebuild them from the ground up. On top of that, he didn't play a lot at North Dakota State. And even when he did play, he didn't throw a lot.

So he hasn't seen a lot. I think if you had to play a game today, the Niners would probably have to run a variation of Kyle Shanahan's offense. So I don't think we'd be seeing quite the same offense that we saw with Jimmy Garoppel in the last few years. Not good news for the Niners. Where Colin was wrong. Well, I said after a great final game,

against the Dallas Mavericks. I said Clay Thompson's back, and he's not. He struggled for a lot of those games against Dallas. He's struggling again. The Celtics are running him off the three-point line. He's not finishing at the rim. He was one for eight on threes last night, and Steve Kerr kept him in in garbage time, and I think a lot of it is, it's just getting your confidence back. He had a lot of bad misses. He doesn't feel right on stuff he usually hits, free throw line stuff. It's just, This is going to put immense stress on Steph Curry the rest of the way. And that, to me, is the big concern with the warrior. Steph's fine.

But you got to give them a two. You got to give them a two. And I would be concerned if I'm the Warriors. Clay, as Jim Jackson just said, probably needs another offseason and a regular season to build the confidence back. Where Colin was right? I said when Marcus Smart scores, you're not going to beat the Celtics. Game one, Marcus Smart was excellent. They blew out the Warriors.

Game two, he struggled. They got blown out. You don't innately think Marcus Smart's the key. But because Jason Tatum loses confidence and Jalen Brown is going to have to go up against Draymond and that'll disrupt his offense, Marcus Smart is going to need to score. And in the games he scores in that 18 to 20, they're going to win the games. We saw it against Miami. We saw it against Milwaukee.

And we're already seeing it two games in this series. when Marcus delivers and gives you that defense, virtually impossible to beat Boston. Where Colin was wrong. I did think Baker Mayfield's market would be small, but I thought he had a market. He's got none. I keep throwing out places he's going to land, and nobody is close. And what's remarkable is that the Browns don't have a starting quarterback right now. And there's no market for him.

I still think the Saints is perfect. I don't trust James Winston, but multiple stories that the Carolina Panthers were not willing to pay any of his salary. The Saints don't want to pay his salary. The Seahawks don't want to pay his salary. I still contend he's a top 25 quarterback in the world. But his market is even smaller than I thought it was, and I thought it was tiny.

Where Colin was right. Once again, after that made-for-television golf event, Aaron Rogers, when all in on retirement talk, I have said, I do not feel he's going to last three years in Green Bay. I would not be shocked if he shut it down after another disappointing postseason. Aaron, when guys start to verbalize things, it's true. When Jason Tatum verbalizes his lack of confidence, you can see it. Aaron Rogers came out and said, I think about retirement all the time. This is why the front office for the Green Bay Packers, Mark Murphy acknowledged Aaron does not have a three-year contract with a team.

He's got three one-year deals. And listen, give Aaron credit for being authentic and honest about it. But when you start talking about retirement, it's generally around the corner. Where Colin was right? I said Friday live on the air. Rusty Harden, the attorney for Deshaun Watson, made one of the biggest verbal blunders I've ever seen. an attorney make with a high-profile client when he came out and basically said, you know, these claims against him, you know, they're not illegal.

What? Excuse me? What? No, don't say that. Take it seriously. Please. Not only did it Harden have to do a Mia Culpah. He had a statement over the weekend.

We now have a 24th victim who appears to have been empowered by Rusty Hardin's comments and irritated by it. Your job is an attorney. is to speak rarely but profoundly and protect your client because, you know, in many instances with a high profile client, anything you say about that client makes the news. I thought Rusty Harden did more damage to Deshaun Watson. In fact, my prediction was, and I'll put this out here, I think the NFL is going to shut him down for the year. And I don't think Jimmy Haslam's a popular owner.

because he's brought negative press to the league and because he gave Deshaun Watson a guaranteed deal. The owners hated that. It was all guaranteed. I think Roger Goodell can shut it down for the year. You know the Steelers, Bengals, and Ravens won't mind in division. And I don't think the other owners would mind as well. Colin Wright.

Colin wrong on a Monday. Joy will have more on that story in Herdline News. That is, I mean, I thought I was being. reasonable to say keep them out until Thanksgiving. I thought that was a reasonable take eight or nine games. This morning, I'd shut it down. It's ridiculous. At some point, my bosses were mad at me.

Like if I did something really inappropriate and they were mad at me, and my bosses came to me and I was flippant about it. Like I wasn't even self-aware about it. Like, that's a problem. It's another thing if you're like, I goofed, I'm bad. I got to own it. You would feel, you know, at some level, you'd be like, okay, at least he understands the problem. You listen to Deshaun Watson now and Rusty Harden.

They don't even get the problem. What is all this? It's not illegal? Folks, there's a lot of stuff that's not, quote, illegal that's wildly inappropriate, like 24 of these instances that we know of. So, and again, not everybody that is injured. or is a victim, we know this statistically. Like, there's probably 50.

Like, we all know this, right? Like, if 24 people in society file a lawsuit, a lot of people don't want to go public. They're very private people. Women historically are concerned about the pushback on media, press. A lot of people just don't want the cameras. They don't want it. So if you have 24, you probably have 50. If you go look at the history of this stuff,

women as victims overwhelmingly don't like to go public. Some do. Most don't. So I'm at a point now where we've had two more victims in the last couple of weeks. Think we have another six, seven come out? These owners have no interest in this story. If you're Goodell, I think Goodell in the next 48 hours, if I was Roger Goodell, I would just end it, shut it down. And I don't see any positives with this.

at this point. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeard 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 what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 Jette. 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 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. 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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Sunday, get ready for USFL doubleheaders, starting with the bandits and breakers at 4 Eastern on Fox. Then flip over to FS1 for Stars and Mallors at 730 Eastern. USFL football Sunday on Fox and FS1. Well, Ethan Strauss covered the Warriors for years. He wrote The Victory Machine, the making and unmaking of the Warriors dynasty. He hosts the Warriors in an NBA podcast, very smart and thoughtful House of Strauss.

You know, it seems to me I remember stories, Ethan. There was a story years ago about Draymond and Kerr yelling at each other and everybody could hear it behind closed doors. And that, you know, Draymond's a handful. but it does feel like to me that Kerr's really come to terms with his value. And not that maybe he didn't understand it early, but when you were covering this team, did you feel like there was much more push and pull with Draymond and Kerr that there is now? I just think that they're eternally kind of at odds,

but they also realize the value of one another and they make do with it. I mean, Steve gets annoyed with Draymond. That is without a question. but Steve is also very much acquainted with his value. He's the kind of player that Steve values. Steve, it's funny, it's funny, Colin. You would think that Steve would be all about offensive players. He is ruthless to them.

He is ruthless with players who are in the Steve Kerr-Mold of providing offense but no defense. The guy he values is the guy who could never really be, and that's Draymond Green. So there's always going to be that discord, but I saw recently that Draymond was complicated. implementing Steve Kerr, maybe it's a turnaround, maybe it's a moment in the relationship where, like an old married couple, you just accept what the other one is and you don't try to

argue, you don't try to make them into somebody they're not, and you just go forward. You know, Ethan, I suggested, I've suggested this to friends that are warrior fans, I've suggested it on the air, that what happens to dynasties, they fall in love with players, and you've got to fall in like with them. Now, Steph Curry can stay as long as he wants, as long as he's healthy. But I do look at Clay, and I think I've got multiple injuries. He's not the same player. Wiggins is expensive, and now he's younger.

And, you know, there's a lot of big salaries here and a lot of interesting young components. Jordan Poole, Cominga, we don't know Wiseman, Moody. What do you think the future of Clay is? Could you ever see them breaking up the Splash Brothers? That's the big question. That's the big question that hangs over everything because they did fall in love with Clay. They didn't fall in like with Clay. And yeah, Joe Lacob, the owner of the Warriors, he's a ruthless venture capitalist.

He's almost reptilian except there's a lot of ego to Joe Lacob. And Clay Thompson is the first big bet the Warriors made. Steph Curry predates Joe Lakers. That's why even though Joe knows enough to say that Steph is great, he's going to pivot to talking about everything else because he's the everything else. And the everything else started with Clay Thompson. So it's a tricky situation. I'm having memories to Clay's game six against Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016.

And what you see at the end of that game is Joe Lakeb on his knees doing the I'm not worthy worship of Clay. So I think there's a little bit of heart there. I think it would be so hard for them to pivot away from Clay. And there are two schools of thought. One school is that Clay is cooked and he's not that. guy anymore. The other school is that he is one off season away from being who he is. And that's why it's such a road fork for the Warriors. They have to choose one way or the other because right now it just seems like in these finals, maybe he'll give you one great game out of four, but consistently

he is not the Clay Thompson that we remember. You had your moments with Kevin Durant. And Kevin's one of those athletes like Aaron Rogers, that he's a little sensitive, but I appreciate in both instances, they're willing to talk about stuff and fire back at media because it's authentic. Most guys don't. Aaron will. I kind of like it. Kevin Durant will. I kind of like it. They can fire back at me. I think it's interesting. There's no way he's watching this and rooting for the Warriors, Ethan, to win this series. What do you think he thinks watching this? I mean, this is his central critique of us. This is what he hates about us. He has made this kind of criticism and it's a little bit, it's a little bit difficult to follow, but I follow it. He's mad at us

for making him want things he wouldn't otherwise want. When I say he, I mean everybody. This is the thing that makes him mad. He feels like because we're going to criticize him, because we're going to identify that they want without him, that he can't just root for the warriors like he would ordinarily want to root for the warriors. This was something that he would really stress. It's something that he would fixate on, that you make me want things I don't want to want. Well, I think that's probably happening. And well, like you're saying, Colin, I think he can't possibly want them to win. There's just no way. It goes against human instinct. That's not a criticism of him. That's just the human condition.

You know, and I'm going to ask you warrior-centric questions here because you cover the league, but you have a sense of this, is that you've watched so many Warriors playoff series before. The one thing that would worry me is that the Celtics' fours. best players are in their prime and the Warriors aren't. And part of me, I think they're going through a tough transition where they're just a little older than you'd like, but the young players aren't ready yet. And so that's kind of a remarkable thing is that they're not ideal. Clay's off an injury. You know, Draymond's staff have been banged up. It's not ideal. So if they win, it's, and then Clay next year probably is better. This could be scary for

the league because they're not supposed to win, but you've watched so many series through the years. Through eight quarters, do you like Golden State to win? How do you feel about this team that you virtually know every bounce of every dribble in the last decade? If I had to pick one team to win, it would be Golden State. I'm reminded of Dave Portnoy, the president of Barstool, Celtic Superfan. He did like a live stream, a video after the game too. And he said as crazy as it sounds that he felt even after the blowout that the Celtics are the better team. I thought that's not so crazy. I get it.

The Warriors got a favorable whistle in game two. And the Celtics have so many good guys. And Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown, they seem like they can get a three, a clean three point or whatever they want it. But you don't always win when you're the best team. I mean, I know that sounds crazy. Sometimes you're not ready to win, even if you're the best team as far as talent is concerned. in 2012 were the Thunder the best team against the Miami Heat?

I mean, certainly as far as talent goes, but they weren't ready. So I guess what I'm saying to you, Colin, is that I don't know if the Celtics are necessarily ready. They're complaining about Draymond. They're complaining about how they didn't call things against Draymond. And you know what? Draymond said, it's what you said earlier. It's the finals. The finals are different.

You would know that if you've been in the finals. Ask the Warriors about that in 2016. Ask the Warriors about what it was like. against the cabs. I mean, I was in those locker rooms. Steph Curry was scratched up. His jersey looked like it would fit shack because it was so stretched out from being grabbed off the ball. The refs swallowed the whistle. They don't want to determine it. Zach Zarber does not want to determine the NBA finals. And you have to understand that and you have to be able to adjust. I'm not sure the Celtics are used to it as talented as they are. No, I said this, Joy, as my witness

before this series. I said, what concerns me if I was the Celtics, I believe they could out, play the Warriors in the finals and lose in six. I really do. I don't know if it's the right time. I think it's really, really close for them. Finally, we, you know, the Jordan Poole, Steph's very unique that he can root for people that could eventually replace him. He probably has so much confidence he's not going to be replaced. But I look at Jordan Poole and I think to myself, he's still inconsistent. this could be his best value. And I watch Wiggins and he drives me crazy at times and I think, oh, boy, maybe they've gotten the most out of him. Somebody's going to be moved here.

Somebody's going to be moved. And as I watched Poole last night, I think, is he a replacement for Steph or is he a great 28th pick first round? Perfect time to move him. High profile in the finals. What do you think they do with Wiggins and Poole who are not foundational people? pieces, but they have value with all these big contracts. What do you think they do with those two? I think they should keep pool.

I like betting on hard work. Pool is a legendary hard worker. And with the talent and skill that he has, and we're seeing the flaws. Defensively, very flawed. Yeah. Attacked often in this postseason. But I think they'll want to keep him. I think Wiggins, it's a little bit trickier.

But I don't necessarily think they're all about flipping one of these. younger guys for a big fish. That's just not the mentality. That's not the venture capitalist mentality of a Joe Laca. He is loathed apart with these draft picks. He is so into the idea that a draft pick, you pay very little and you get a whole lot. He is so into that mentality. So to what you're saying, yeah, I think if a lot of people running this team, they would try to flip those assets. I just don't think that's how the Warriors operate. And it's a credit to Steph Curry and a credit to Draymond Green is in a lot of situations. The Super Bowl Superstarves with bellyache, they would get angry about this timeline situation.

But Steph has accepted it. No matter how he feels internally, he's accepted it externally. And hey, they're back in the finals. Yeah. Ethan Strauss, go to House of Strauss, his NBA podcast, highly thoughtful. Great seeing you again, bud. Fantastic, Colin, any time, man. You bet.

It's a really good point at the end. The owner of the team, the venture capitalist. He's not going to just throw money at you. He wants to draft and develop. You know, they're in a weird spot, the Warriors, because Coominga, I think Coomiga is going to be a tremendous player. Moody's really interesting. Jordan Poole's classic warriors, end of the first round, G League, they move him up. And then you have, so they're a little older than you'd like in this pool of a little younger than you'd like Wiseman.

And you're trying to, you're trying to kind of balance it in win a finals, whereas the Celtics are the opposite. They got their four. They're defensive big. their defensive guard, their star, they're really talented guy Jaylen Brown. They've got their four, and they can add little pieces to it, but therefore,

they're going to be in their prime for the next four years. They've got to win championships. The problem for Boston is, Chris Middleton's coming back for Milwaukee. And I think Philadelphia is going to move off hard and eventually, I think Maxie's becoming a star player. So they got Ambide, Maxie, and Tobias. They don't have to make big swings here.

And Miami's always competitive. So, like, there's a little bit of pressure on Boston. Like, okay, now you go home with home court advantage. I am fascinated to watch game three. So much fun. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd

weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast Inside the Parker for 22 minutes of pipe and hot

baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the I-Test, we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, so do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob

Parker on the IHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast. 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

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

Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations

with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space. For honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple 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-taped 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 a little kill? 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 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 crack.

I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you 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. Yes. 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,

this month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the middle health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp 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, as 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. Oh, good stuff today.

We got that dish out. That Deshawn Watson story is uglier by the second. I just read something else on it. Uglier by the second. Joy, Taylor, with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

Well, the warriors even, the warriors evened up the finals with the 107-88 win over the Celtics in game two. Steph Curry led Golden State with 29 points, 14 of them coming in the third quarter, which is really when they pulled away. And after the game, he spoke about why he needs to be aggressive. on offense in the series. I think this year, there's definitely need for me to be aggressive throughout the game to create, draw attention, get shots up, and you just continue to apply pressure. Obviously, these first two games, it's just gone well.

I don't know what it'll look like on the road and the rest of the series. It's just always about being confident with the ball in my hands and make plays. Now, obviously a lot of people are talking about Clay Thompson's lack of... Struggled, yeah. Yeah, you know, offense, 11 points, three rebounds. But the problem with Steph Curry offensively for the Celtics and for any team that's playing the Warriors is Steph is just as dangerous without the ball in his hands. So as soon as he passes it, he's on the go.

He's cutting through. He's able to catch and shoot. So he is such, he's dynamic offensively when he doesn't have the ball in his hands, which is what makes him an all-time great. but the Warriors I do think are going to need a significance contribution from Clay consistently through the rest of this series. You split them at home, that's fine. I think this is going to be a seven-game series regardless.

But when they go back to Boston, it is going to be a hot environment there in Boston. They're going to be as chippy as this game was, which I expected it to be, it's going to be escalated in these next few games because the Celtics don't want to let this series get out of control and they are 18. that is built on defense. Now, the interesting thing about this game last night was the Celtics were 40.5% from three in game two, 15 of 37. They were shooting the ball well from three in the first half. It just wasn't enough.

Right. So the Celtics are favored by three and a half against the Warriors in game three. I like Boston. I know. I like Boston in game three as well. Again, I think this is going to be a long series. I know everyone and myself included think that the Warriors have more experience and all. and all that, but I don't see this being a short series.

I just want to see Boston has been so sketchy at home. It's almost like this young team that hasn't won yet. Would rather play on the road. They don't have the pressure of playing at home. They're better on the road regularly. Not every game, but sometimes there is pressure playing in front. You know, when you're a kid playing Little League, I never liked when my parents went to my games because I was nervous.

And it's like the Warriors. There is something to that. Depending on your personality, too, you could like the animosity of being on the road as well. Well, Quinn Snyder resigned from the Utah Jazz after eight seasons as their head coach. Donovan Mitchell isn't happy about it. He reportedly is surprised and disappointed by Snyder's departure. He is unsettled and unnerved and wondering what this means for the future of the jazz franchise, although he does respect why Quinn Snyder is stepping down.

He agreed to a five-year max extension with the team in 2020, and Snyder was, considered to be a significant part of that decision. I do understand. First of all, I think this was, we kind of saw this writing on the wall with Quinn Snyder. This isn't a huge surprise. This is about a rumor two months ago. Yeah. Now, they made the playoffs the last six seasons.

The furthest they got was the Western Conference semis three times under Quinn Snyder. He's the second winningest coach in franchise history behind Jerry Sloan. So it appears he's going to take some time off, decompress. These jobs are very stressful. There's a lot going on. It's a lot of travel. So sometimes just taking a beat just for your mental and emotional health is a good thing. He is a great coach.

He is an intense guy. Look at him. He's going to get another job. I mean, seriously, he should just be an actor. Like, I'm watching the offer right now, the making of God. If you just threw him in, he looks like a guy that could make decisions for good or bad. He honestly. He has a very intense aesthetic.

Oh, my God. His aesthetic is incredible. lovely intense. But he has also a good coach. So I think he just probably needs some time. And like most, not most things, some things can be going well, but you're not able to get over the hump. We just saw this with Brad Stevens and the Celtics. Good at his job, not great, was replaced by Imae O'Doka. They're now in the finals. Yeah. It doesn't mean there was a failure. Just sometimes things either don't work or they've reached their breaking point on all sides. businesses need to be tweaked. Great businesses need to be tweaked constantly.

It doesn't mean that this was a failure. I mean, a lot of success there. Second winning his coach in franchise history. But part of the reason why he said he's leaving is he just, it kind of feels like no one's listening anymore. Like you've, Doc Rivers. People get tuned out after a while.

Doc Rivers has won a higher winning percentage than Eric Spolstra. And all Doc Rivers gets is crap. The NBA is hard. You got billionaire owners, players have intense power. you get about six I mean that's what Spolster is rare like I mean remember when Spolster and LeBron they didn't get along initially it's this is a

hard league it's intense I think we often label stuff failures and it's like no I don't look at this as a failure sometimes things just run their course all things come to an end he felt like he felt like he

has done everything he could do for them and now he's moving on now how all this is going to play out with the jazz and what kind of moves they're going to make. Is Mitchell going to ask to get out? Like that's really what we'll be watching throughout this offseason is what the jazz do in reaction to Quinn Snyder moving on. There's other options out there for head coaches for them,

but I think it's about internally what their stars want to do. That's going to be what determines the future of that franchise. So a 24th lawsuit has officially been filed against Deshaun Watson today. The newest lawsuit has similarities to the previous ones, but also mentions Watson's lawyer, Rusty Harden's recent comments about the allegations. Here is what Rusty Harden said last Friday. I don't know how many men are out there now that have had a massage that perhaps occasionally there was a happy ending. All right.

Maybe there's nobody in your listening audience that they ever happened to. I do want to point out, if it has happened, it's not a crime, okay? unless you are paying somebody extra or so to give you some type of sexual activity, it's not a crime. Doing something or saying something or being a way that makes you uncomfortable is not a crime. And so we've had two grand juries find that, and nobody seems to want to listen. It's probably the craziest thing I've ever heard a lawyer say in any high-profile case. This is such a sensitive case to start.

Talk less. We do know now, Deshawn has offered $100,000 to every, was it, every victim? Every plaintiff, yes. In every case, this isn't a class action suit, although they are represented by one lawyer. Each case is an individual case, so the lawyer isn't going to look for some lump sum that is going to be distributed. Each case has to be settled on its own, each of these civil cases. Of course, the Browns and pretty much the rest of the NFL moves forward after the criminal cases did not move forward. the barrier for moving forward

the criminal case is much higher when it comes to evidence than it is for a civil case, which is why they're moving forward with the civil cases. We could sit here and break down how stupid it is what Wesley Harden said for hours. Of course, we do know that prostitution is in fact illegal as a solicitation. So we don't need to get into that.

And making people uncomfortable is the entire point of why he is being sued and why these women came forward in the first place. Yes, it is. That's the point of the suit. also he is alleging that he reached out to these women for consensual sexual interactions but now he's saying that it was it was just for massages like Deshaun's saying one thing and your lawyer is saying something else so it's a complete mess it's a terrible look for the NFL awful I have not given my opinion about it publicly in its entirety because of how all

this is playing out it is of no surprise to me whatsoever that there are now more cases being added on to this we're at 24 now zero percent surprise about that. I wouldn't be surprised if there's more. But the NFL has taken delicate amounts of time with deciding what they're going to do about this. I don't think he plays for an entire year, which would also mean on the football side of things, he hasn't played football for two years, if that's what ends up happening, which I do believe at this point, I don't know how you don't suspend him for an entire year. Precedent is out the window. We're talking about 24 civil cases. 22 was a lot. We're now at 24,

And there could be more. And we know historically large percentages of women do not file because they don't want either the embarrassment. They feel humiliated. It's private. It's also very stressful. It's reliving the trauma of what's gone on. Like this is, you know, like it's three words. Shut it down.

Like I would just say, it's over and let you got you guys figured out. We'll come back to us in a year and we'll consider letting you back into the league. Well, the thing about it is they could give him, you know, eight games or whatever the precedent is for misconduct, violating the personal misconduct policy. But once these start to get settled or he loses some of them, which is entirely possible as well, then what does the suspension become? It's just this ongoing thing. And it's this dark cloud looming over the NFL and looming over the season because there's no answer for this. And as this continues to develop, it's getting worse and worse. And you're reading these accounts.

I'm not going to read it on air. If you want to go look it up, you can make your own choice. It's not going to trigger people. But when you're reading what these women are saying happens, I don't understand how the NFL hasn't put a stop to it. They don't have the barrier that courts have to get things under control. Well, I think now, yeah, that's why if you look at the times, the public has been highly critical of the NFL.

it's generally how they handle punishment. That's really been for them a difficult task. First of all, I think it's difficult for all corporations. But it's such a front-facing corporation. We watch their employees on television. So these matters are really what gets the NFL in trouble. How do they handle these bad actions from employees? And they whiff a lot.

And to me, they generally make a mistake kind of defending. the players too much and not acknowledging the victims enough. And that feels like exactly what we're doing again here. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. I mean, yeah.

Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. You know, I was saying this earlier to Ethan Strauss about, you know, two things are possible. Kevin Durant can be genuinely happy for Steph Curry, like, really like him. and also feel that if the Warriors lost, it would be a little, it'd feel a little bit better. Like two things can be happy at once.

But Draymond said something after the game, and I don't think it was a shot at Katie at all. I think it was just completely honest and accurate. And here's what Draymond said. Our offense is always a lot of stuff. It all starts with Steph, whether, you know, when Katie was here, our offense still started with Steph. And, you know, that's the way it's going to be. I think, you know, when you're playing against a team like that, have to get offers from other places and not just stuff.

And I think for the most part, we did a pretty good job with that. Only one player in this series of all these gifted players on the two best teams. Only one player in the entire series has been great both games. Not every second of it, but Steph led everybody in scoring the first game and was unbelievable last night. And it's the fact that with all these gifted players, his offensive game is so intuitive. It is so who he is. it is, you know, his dad was a very good offensive player.

His ball handling is A-plus. His shooting is legendary. His distribution is strong. He really doesn't. His confidence is insane. I can pick apart Tatum's confidence and his ball handling. I mean, Tatum is a turnover machine. Actually, in the playoffs, it's been a hole.

There's really nothing. And when you watch Steph Curry and you watch his game, if you shut down Tatum off his first move, he'll get rid of the ball. Steph will just back it up and come at you again. He'll back it up and come at you again. There's so much confidence. He really is playing at a completely different level. And I've always felt the dynasty starts with Steph's offense and Draymond's toughness.

But Steve Kerr himself, one of the great shooters of all time, talked about last night's performance. Steph was breathtaking in that quarter. Not just the shot making, but the defensive effort. go at him to try to wear him down because they know how important he is to us offensively. And it's pretty dramatic, the difference in Steph's strength and physicality and his body now than from, you know, eight years ago when I first got here. So you guys amazing. Yes, he is.

By the way, NFL note for about two minutes here. There's a story today, the Patriots Bill Belichick is going to name it. Matt Patricia as the offensive coordinator. He's a defensive coordinator. Patriots last two years have had the best defense in the NFL, and their record as the NFL pivots to offense is 17 and 16. This will sound crazy, but it's really not when you listen to what Robert Kraft has been saying for the last couple of years. He's disappointed, and Kraft was always closer to Brady than Belichick.

But if the Patriots this year came out and missed the playoffs again, and were again kind of 500. Is it time? He was 0 and 2 last year to Tua, and the dolphins are significantly better offensively. He was embarrassed by the bills in division. He's got two of his kids now on the staff, a defensive coordinator is becoming the offensive coordinator,

and as Belichick has had increasing power, their drafts are embarrassing. This year was a mess. I have general managers on my phone. that I trust and they were like, that's as weird a draft as we've ever seen. You know what they said about Pete Carroll's drafts about four years ago? Those are the weirdest drafts I've seen. They all ended up being bad drafts.

The Patriots draft poorly and Belichick controls it. Family members everywhere, defensive coordinators and offensive coordinator. I'm being kind here. They feel like they've lost their way. I'm sorry, but when you listen to Robert Kraft what he's saying, you forget how. great goes to dysfunctional all over sports. I mean, and you also forget how many great football coaches, how it ended poorly. I mean, Don Shula had a winning season, was suddenly gone.

Tom Landry got bad fast. But Matt Patricia, as your offensive coordinator, there's never been higher-end offensive guys in this league. It's the smartest the league's ever been on offense. And you're just going to move a defensive guy in there? Are you watching your offense? It is, boy, it's coming downhill fast. Hour three next. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10. 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing.

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