The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Rob Manfred

Episode Date: March 26, 2025

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred joined The Herd to chat about Opening Day, possible rule changes, potential salary cap, and Shohei Ohtani’s impact on the game March Madness is fine and the ratings prove itSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go, hour two. Rob Manfred Baseball's Commissioner is going to show up here in a couple of minute. Been the commissioner now for, it was about a decade. You know, it's interesting. They have had baseball's the only sport where the commissioner has to deal with purists.

I've said this before as a talk radio host. If you're going to bring on like somebody to talk baseball for 30 minutes, you will mention the past a lot. I mean, there may be a Kofax and a Frank Robinson and a Mickey Mantle, the great Yankee teams brought up. Nobody talks football and brings up Red Grange or Vince Lombardi. Nobody talks NBA much and brings up, you know, Bill Walton and the Blazers.

It's just different. Baseball cards, we collected them. There's been more great books written about baseball's past, and football and basketballs passed. And so it's steeped in lore and tradition. And because of that, when you are a commissioner of baseball, you deal with something no other commissioner deals with, which is the purists.

And so Rob Manfred's made, I was looking at today, I was thinking about the changes. Got rid of the defensive shift, universal DH, the pitch clock, larger bases, ghost runners, like that. He has made a lot of changes. And here's the thing. arguably they've all worked and some of them stupendously overnight. Like the pitch clock, they put that, I told a story years ago, I was flying back from the

East Coast to the West Coast and I was sitting next to the general manager of, I think it was the Richmond minor league team. Nice guy. We started talking baseball and I used to work for a minor league baseball team. And we were talking about the pitch clock, they were using it in the minor leagues. and I said, how do you think it'll play? These baseball big league guys can get stubborn. He said, not only, he goes,

he goes, it's shaving 20 minutes off minor league baseball. He goes, the GM said, I think it'll shave 30 minutes off major league baseball. You know, you got better pitchers, you know, more strikes, game will move faster. And it has. And the first year, ratings went up 10%. So did attendance. And then last year, it was the best year in postseason baseball in a long time. and sometimes leagues are also very lucky.

The NBA got very lucky that Jimmy Butler ended up with the Warriors and Luca went to the Lakers because they were in a 10-year slide in the ratings, and that's really helped. But what has helped baseball is though Tani going to the Dodgers from the Angels, Bryce Harper, Philly's the big story, and actually Louis Soto, staying in New York but going to the Mets, actually now makes him a polarizing player. Yankee, Juan Soto, excuse me. So a lot of things have worked. The Cubs just had a big off-season acquisition.

So there's a lot of things working for baseball that have not worked in previous years. It's fast. It's international. Otani's the biggest star in L.A. The second biggest star is Aaron Judge. He's in New York. And the third biggest star is Bryce Harper. And he is in Philadelphia.

If these guys were playing in Kansas City and Pittsburgh in Seattle, it wouldn't feel the same. So sometimes you just get lucky as a commissioner and lucky as a league. But a lot of what baseball's done, and I've said the last two years, I just watch more games, is they have instituted progressive measures to make it better. And it's working. And there was always a saying years ago that the NBA will think of it first, baseball will make the most money on it, and football will get it right in terms of changes. And but baseball, which has always been flushed with cash, has gotten it right.

And they've tried to, that's the advantage of the minor league system, right? Basketball, NBA doesn't own, there's no ownership. they don't have any leverage with college basketball. And NFL can't tell college football what to do. But baseball's got more influence with minor league baseball. So they can test stuff out at the single double or AAA level and see if it works or see if it doesn't work. Enlarge the bases, pitch, clock.

Now, the one thing I'll push back on, they're thinking of the ball and strike count, replay on that. I don't know if I love that. Everybody on the staff thinks it's quick, it works, I'll tell you about replay. I like it, but I think the minute you get replay, it gets extended. It's like when you introduce technology to society, it's not going backwards.

If you introduce something, we'll monetize it as a society. We'll capitalize on it, and it'll never go backwards. And so I think sometimes with technology and sports, once you introduce replay to a sport, it'll just get expanded. And I've always had a theory about the NFL when it comes to instant replay. You get two looks. That's it. No third. It shuts down. If you can't tell if the refs got it right after two looks, it's over.

We're not going to go microfilm with the library on nine looks. I'm not doing that. With that, Rob Manfred comes in. Currently in his third term is the Major League Baseball Commissioner, and his sport now is rolling. It is humming, baby, the Dodgers, the Yankees, the Mets, the Padres. You know, years ago I had you on, and we talked about some of the concerns with baseball. All these years later, you have solved.

many of the riddles. But I just said, being a baseball commissioner is different. Because there's been so many great books on baseball, and the history is much richer than the NFL or the NBA. We talk about Sandy, Cofax, and Manil, you do deal with baseball purists, and Goodell doesn't, he doesn't deal with a lot of football purists. Has it made these moves sometimes a little more difficult to make,

that you kind of have a battle with all of them? look our history and tradition is you know great it's good for the sport is part of our popularity but it does make change more difficult um i think the key for us has been to listen to our fans our current fans and make changes that's consonant you know consistent with what they're saying about the game yeah are you surprised um angels to the dodgers are you surprised are you surprised by the global impact and the merchandising impact and the ratings impact immediately with Shohei Otani. Yeah, I must admit I was a little surprised.

I mean, he's been a great player since he entered the league, but the shift from the Angels to the Dodgers has really been explosive. I mean, he had a great, great year last year that added to it, and I think the fact that the Dodgers won was really important. but it has exploded. I was just in Japan for the opener. The level of interest and excitement there, Colin, just absolutely unbelievable.

I said this. I pushed back yesterday, Jeff Passon, had a comment. He was on a podcast, and he said, listen, the sports humming, don't screw with it. He got a lot of people saying, oh, we can't compete. And I laugh because the Brewers and the Guardians

and Kansas City and Cleveland made the playoffs, and those are not high payroll teams. There is this narrative. The minute the Yankees and Dodgers make the World Series, everybody goes, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. This is way too much. And my take is you guys haven't had a repeat champion in forever. But you do have to fight that a little.

Do you not that, oh, here comes the Dodger Yankee Money Machine. You have to battle that, don't you? Yeah, there's no question, Colin, that there is a perception of, you know, competitive imbalance, if you'll let me use that phrase, that it's much tougher for our smaller market teams to compete. The disparity of resources available to the clubs is very significant. And, you know, fans feel it. It's obviously not hurting that much because you've had so many,

I mean, the Royals won a recent World Series, the Rangers, the Nationals won a recent World Series. The NBA has made changes through the years. They want to keep their stars in, markets. They don't want him bouncing around. And I push back to Adam Silver. I said, Adam, he was on the show a month ago. I said, trades are great. I get excited. I wanted to see Otani with a new team. I wanted to see Freddie Freeman with a new team. What is your take as a commissioner on player movement, even if they go to a stacked roster? Does it bother you

if you get sort of an all-star team in L.A.? No, look, I mean, I think it's important for every team, you know, consistent with their resources, to go out there. and try to put the best team they possibly can on the field for the benefit of their fans. You know, obviously, in terms of building a fan base, there's an advantage to continuity of players being in a market. You know, fans get attached to a particular player. That's one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is an offseason where players move around via trade or free agency creates a lot of excitement and can create hope in a market where it didn't exist before.

So people talk about parity, and I say baseball's fine with parity. Here's the lack of parity that I see, pitcher to hitter, is that the speed of pitches has gone up two miles an hour over 15 years. There are more 6-foot-6 guys throwing 99 miles an hour. And it's just the, I can remember. I tell the story all the time when I was a kid, fell in love with baseball in the 70s. If you threw 94-5 miles an hour, you were a flame thrower. Nolan Ryan was like a Martian, 100.

it. Everybody's throwing 98 now. The sport historically has moved the mound up and down, the Bob Gibson era. Should that be another change that, hey, the batters, even though you have more base runners, they're more stolen bases, the batters sometimes do feel

Rob overwhelmed. Would you consider a slight movement of the mound? Look, I think that the dominance of our pitching and, you know, nothing against great pitchers, we do have very, very dominant pitching right now. It's a combination of bigger, better athletes, throwing harder, frankly, moving pitchers in and out of the game more frequently. And it is a trend that we pay a lot of attention to because balls in play, base hits are kind of the

core of the action that's so important to fans. people um people um the hues and the cries of a salary cap uh make their way to the internet now you have a very strong players union so good good luck with a salary cap in baseball but um if if it got to a point where with deferred payments the big markets the guardians didn't make it and Detroit didn't make it and Milwaukee did and you got over the next five years you felt like wow commissioner it's a little out of balance salary cap is it even really really realistic in baseball. Well, let me say a couple things.

You know, you mentioned Detroit and Cleveland. They did a great job last year. I think that it's important for our smaller markets to do something more than qualified for the playoffs, right? There's a difference between getting into the first round and going deeper in the playoffs. So, you know, the fact that they got there doesn't really resolve the issue in my in my mind. Look, about salary caps, I'd say this.

You know, there are five major North American sports count in soccer. Four of them have a cap. We don't. We do hear a lot about it from fans, particularly in smaller markets. But the reality is we're, you know, two years away from the end of the basic agreement. we're just not in a position where we are talking about or have made decisions about what's ahead in the next round of bargaining. I think that a lot of water is going to go over the dam before we need to deal with that issue.

So I have been in favor of all the changes, especially the pitch clock and the defensive shift. I wanted more base runners. I wanted more doubles landing. I wanted more stolen bases, and it's all transpired. I will push back. So my theory on all replay is the minimum. minute you introduce it into any sport, it grows, and it slows the game down. And I think your game now is faster, more succinct, and I think it's a better sport to watch. So you

guys are doing something where you can challenge a couple of times a game, you can challenge strike calls. Here's my pushback, because I'm four changes. The strike zone is a living, breathing thing. The strike zone for Aaron Judge is big. For Otani, it's big. For Altuvei, it's small. For Mike Trout, it's small. So it's kind of a living, it's not like, it's not like, it's not like the first down marker, right? Like, here's what you've got to get. It moves. Is there an argument that you've done so much to speed the game up

that if you put it in, it's going to create length and time and restraints? And listen, the human factor's fine. We've made it this far with real umpires. Look, let's start with your last thought. All the conversation about the automated ball strike system, should not obscure the fact that our umpires do a phenomenal job calling balls and strikes. I would say this. The system adjusts to the differences that you're talking about in terms of size.

The strikes home that it calls is different for Aaron Judge than it is for Jose Al-Tube. And in terms of time, you know, during the spring training experiment, and this is one of the reasons we do experiments. Challenges add, you know, slightly more than 10 seconds to the game time. So it is a very fast system. The umpire gets to call in his year almost immediately. So, you know, we are cognizant of doing something that would slow the game down after we've worked so hard to speed it up.

You know, finally, Commissioner, Rob Manfred joining us for our radio audience, is that I always say that I appreciate analytics Moneyball is my all-time favorite movie I love Moneyball Miracle on ice with Herb Brooks is my second favorite but Moneyball I just watched Moneyball a month ago

I love it and I love analytics but I prefer analytics where you use analytics but in the big games I want Aaron Judge at the plate or show hey I just go get a hit go make a play

math doesn't make great television How do you weigh that when you think of things that analytics make us smarter, but I push back on Adam Silver, I said, your guys are shooting too many threes. It's really repetitive, sometimes hard to watch. How do you weigh in on analytics and TV and all those components? Yeah, look, I think that one of the big motivations for the set of rule changes that we did two years ago was we felt that analytics had changed the game in a way that was not positive in terms of the entertainment value of the sport. And I think it's incumbent upon the commissioner's office, our commissioner's office, to think about what's happening as a result of the application of analytics to the sport and be smart enough to come up with rule changes that prevent the analytics from robbing fans of the entertainment that's so important in sport.

I've got to ask you one more thing. The Golden at Bat. I love the idea. Again, I know the purists are not going to like it. I like it because to me, it gets a rock star in a big spot to the plate. And by the way, if I know a manager can bring up Bryce Harper again, and here's the bottom of a lineup, I'm going to watch television. I'm not going to go, okay, 7, 8, 9 hitters, it's over.

I get Bryce Harper or Otani or Aaron Judge. That one's going to be a hard push, Commissioner. That's not going to be easy. Do you believe how long will that fight be and will you experiment with it? Look, I answer a question in an interview about something that an idea that had been thrown out in an owner's meeting that, you know, had not got. a lot of attention. The answer I gave was about the Golden App Act Rule. I think people had jumped to the conclusion that somehow that rule changes right around the corner. If there's ever going to be serious conversation about the Golden Abback Rule, it's going to have to start with experimentation

at the minor league level, probably years of experimentation, because it is one of those rules, while it has the positives that you have identified, there are complications that would flow from this rule in terms of the play of the game. Things like, you know, I use the golden at bat to put Rob Manfred up. He makes it out, and then it's his natural place in the lineup that's next. Do we really want that happening? The player that you want to put at the plate is on base. You know, how does that substitution take?

place. You've got to think through all those things, and there are a lot of complications with it. I think the best thing to say about the Golden Night Bad Rule is you've got it right. It's a long way away, if ever, from being even concerned. Well, whether it's the games in Tokyo, the Field of Dreams, the Rickwood Field, all this stuff, there are more events ever than baseball. I thought the London Games, Philly's Mets was great. It got me to a television, and at some point, that's the name of the game. That's driving 30% of revenue is the TV rev.

So, Commissioner, I appreciate you stopping by, the sports in a great place. and congratulations on making moves that needed to be made. Thank you, Colin. And, you know, stay tuned for Bristol this year. It's going to be great. All right, thank you, Rob Manfred. Yeah, so the golden at bat is the reason I like it, and the reason I didn't like the defensive shift was,

I want stars on the TV more. If I get Bryce Harper in a big spot, if you go later innings and it's like six, seven, eight hitters, it kind of deflates it, like, unless you're a die-hard fan. If I know I can use another great batter, it's like, okay. Because that's what you always look up. When you're down to run late, where are we in the order? Well, if I can move the order once a game, that's the difference.

Like, that's a real thing. Because most teams outside of the Dodgers get to the six-hitter and you got no stick. You know, it's guys that can move. They're fielders, but they can't hit. Dodgers are a little bit of an outlier there. All right, Commissioner Rob Manfred. Yeah. I am for replay, but boy, I think.

sometimes in the NFL, college football can be brutal. Like, guys. March Madness can be brutal. When they slow it down, the final minute takes like 17 minutes. Oh, where's me out. And I also think the thing about replay is so much of sports is momentum. You know, the Michael Jordan against the Blazers. If you have a five-minute break, Michael's not hot.

Like, you are punishing players who have found their zone basketball players or football players. For instance, I'm banged up. I could use four minutes an offensive. of Lyman for a break. It is an advantage to a team trailing. It's an advantage to a road team where the crowd's going nuts, and there's a four-minute replay, and the crowd now settles down.

Instead of taking a timeout, it is an unnatural timeout. You want to get it right, obviously, but there's so many replays the players are bigger, faster, stronger than ever. Like, so much stuff is bang, bang. It's really tough. There's no right answers. And when people complain about it,

I am not somebody that bangs on a But when an ever a basketball fan says, we're not getting to the line. I say how many threes did you shoot? If you shoot 43-3s, you're not initiating contact. By the way, before Jimmy Butler, the Warriors didn't get to the free throw line because they relied on pods and stuff to shoot threes. Live in L.A., it's the herd. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.

But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this.

We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy. Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen she won. I mean, she went down at three to Rovachina, but I'm delighted.

She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now and I actually can win on any surface because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

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Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. I think J-Mack's going to have one of my favorite stories here, one of my favorite rants. With one of my favorite coaches, Tom Isso,

so let's not waste any time. J-Mack with the news. No. No, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Let's just right into it. Your boy, Tom Izzo, went off on the transfer portal, which opened Monday.

The Sweet 16 is this weekend. Here's Izzo not happy about it. I don't run players off. If you don't have spots, why are you doing that? So I can get somebody better. I can get a better girlfriend because the one I got isn't good enough. Kids got to do what they got to do. And they're really not doing what they got to do.

doing what their parents or their agents are telling them to do. Because they still got to go to practice, going to the same locker room, unless they leave the team. And I think that's insane. I think it's disgusting. But, you know, that's my own personal opinion. What he's basically saying is you're opening up the portal before the season's over, and I'm in the tournament. Calipari talked about this. I got a team.

I'm not going to spend one minute recruiting guys for my team. If you want to go to another program, that program may not be playing right now, and we're still alive. I totally agree with Calipari and Izzo. This is one of the tweaks they need to have for the transfer portal. At least like wait until next weekend or the following weekend. Right. The final four weekend makes some sense, right? There's only 14.

But I was like, listen, man, I'm, he said on this, he goes, I'm not even sleeping. Like right now, everything I have is about these players and giving them the greatest experience of their lives. Most will not play in the NBA. I'm not going to get on the phone and worry about some guy in Waukegan who wants to transfer from a division two program. I'm just not going to do it. There's obviously college basketball has some flaws

and they're going to be worked out. But, yeah, let's move on to the NBA column. Nix. My Knicks are the nice win last night over your Mavs NAD. Carl Anthony Towns and Josh Hart made history being the first Knicks teammates to record triple doubles in the same game. Now, this is seven, 17 times in NBA history.

Cat had 26, 12, and 11. Josh Hart, just a stat sheet stuffer, 16, 12, and 11. And our staff put together some notable occurrences of teammates with triple doubles. Russell Westbrook on this list several times. LeBron, obviously. Let me throw some. I'm going to throw something at you. So there is a – Janus is a better player than Kat.

No question. Yeah. Janice right now, is he a better player than Kevin Durant? And before you answer that. So what the Knicks need is more threes and more offense. If you went and gave up Kat, Kat is a more diverse offensive player than Janus. He's better with the line. He can shoot a jump.

He's got a mid-range. He's got a three. Yonis is a better athlete and a better player and a much better defender. But the idea that, because we've been thinking for years, Janus with Brunson, it doesn't solve the three issue. And so my take is Durant to the Knicks, keeping Kat. And because Durant's a decent Defender, decent. That to me

makes more sense. Yannis doesn't have a jumper. So you're still highly dependent from the perimeter on McHale Bridges and Jalen Brunson. So it's interesting. Now I do think there are teams, Boston, where Janus is perfect. They don't need, I mean, they'll have,

you know, they'll keep Tatum if they traded Jaden, Jalen Brown and Derek White. And Drew Holliday can hit a jumper and Pritchard can hit a jumper. But it's interesting. When you look at the Knicks, how do you solve it? I think Durant's perfect. He is.

He's a late in the shot clock, catch and shoot three artists. So we like Towns, obviously, as an offensive player. He will get picked on in the playoffs to the point that they make. Tibbs are probably going to put him on the bench in some pivotal spots. And you're going to be like, what are we doing? He can't guard anybody. Luca will literally point, give me cat, bring him over here. I mean, obviously, Lakers can't play the Knicks, but you know what I'm saying.

The great teams will just go right at him. Yonis doesn't really solve their issue. he'll make him better defensively at the rim but the Knicks have a scoring issue they can't keep up with Cleveland, Boston or OKC or probably the Lakers

that's why they're losing these games it's not effort they get worked on the defensive end and they need another score and to me Durant to the Knicks and also you don't have to give him a 5, 7 your deal can be

with Durant he's you know he's a kind of guy that would probably negotiate something that you know he's always looking for an exit as well. He is? Yeah. Kevin Durant. Final story, Colin, is interesting NFL theory here. So the Giants signed Russell Wilson and James Winston, but there are reports New York could still draft a quarterback. Russell Wilson's contract has 10.5 million guaranteed. James is only 4 million guaranteed. So James's cap hit would not be that significant if a guy

they like, go ahead and toss your Syracuse boy out here early second round. Hey, let's go grab Com McCord. Then you've got four quarterbacks in the room. Russ, James, who's the guy they like at the third string? DeVito, right? And then this quarterback, McCord, you can move off James. $4 million is not that significant, right? So we're not going to rule out the giant drafting a quarterback, right? Even though the quarterback room is crowded currently. You know, it's really interesting to me. Why not? Why did Russell sign? Why not do an Aaron Rogers and wait? Why do you sign before the draft? Fifty nine quarterbacks played last year. Isn't there a better, if I, I'm just thinking, what would I do if I was Russell or Aaron?

Why are you signing with a team that's bad, already has James Winston, and may draft a quarterback? Well, 10.5 million dollars guaranteed is not bad. He has made $250 million. Where's he getting? Listen, that life he lives, that lifestyle, I'm sure you see the IG of him and his wife. Like, you know, they're on private jets all the time. I think you've got to take what you can get. And maybe the Giants loved him.

Remember, he was their first interview before last year he ended up. going to Pittsburgh. If you have a hundred million in the bank and he's got more than that. On the interest alone, you're living on four or five million bucks a year. It's fair. You know. But sometimes you need to see the love.

And he hasn't gotten a lot of love lately. Seahawks kicked him to the curb. Broncos did. So the Steelers are like, you're our guy. Boom. And now the giants are like, hey, bro, you could start for us. He's taking that in a heartbeat. Is there another... I'll go back to it. Am I missing one? Well, it's just like, I'm... Kirk Cousins probably should have waited until after the draft for Atlanta, Aaron Rogers.

What if Pittsburgh drafts Jackson Dart? Nobody's going to watch old Aaron Rogers. They're going to want to watch. The Rodgers would beat out Dart, though, right? Well, let me just tell you. The most popular guy for an average football team is the backup quarterback. Nobody, if Jackson Dart plays in the preseason and starts throwing, because Jackson can sling it, all of a sudden, Aaron's not showing up to camp,

and he's kind of aloof, and he's not a Pittsburgh guy. A real quick two-game losing streak against Burrow and Lamar, People are going to want to see Jackson Dark. That's Kirk Cousins in Atlanta where they drafted Pettics. That's right. And Cousins is sick, and he started screwing up, well, we got panics on the bench. So my take, I'm Aaron. Just think about you.

I'm Aaron Rogers. Why? I want to, I mean, at this point, Aaron wants to control. Aaron's got minimum net worth $250. Now, he's lived in New York and L.A., so the taxes have eaten a lot of it, and he's got agents. But let's say it's $250 million. He's got real estate. He's got a, doesn't he have a hedge fund?

He's got it. He's fine. Don't you want control? You sign with Pittsburgh. They could draft Jackson because that roster does not have a lot of needs. They need a running back in the mid-round, a left tackle somewhere.

They're going to draft the quarterback. The Steelers are drafting a quarterback. Lends more credence to Rogers and San Francisco the longer this Brock Purdy thing drags out. Guys, last year of 59 quarterbacks played, the year before 66, what is the hurry to sign with the Steelers or Giants? Rogers to San Francisco.

I wonder the first of the first. Brock Pretty holdup. We keep hearing nuggets. Oh, he's going to get 60. He's going to get 50. Maybe he's not going to get 45. And there's no deal then. Is Rogers the holdup there?

I'm Aaron Rogers and I have his net worth. I am sitting in my Malibu house reading Greek mythology or Roman mythology. And I am sitting there thinking, why am I going to go to a team that three weeks later drafts Jalen Milrow and Jackson Dart, and if I struggle by Thanksgiving, they're benching me. I mean, Kirk Cousins, post-surgery, I mean, when you watched Aaron last year, he doesn't move like he used to. He is a pocket guy. Well, what has Pittsburgh struggled to define over the last seven years? A good, offensive, competent O-Line.

So I just, I'm just, it's almost protective. I would not sign with Pittsburgh. I don't get it. It's one of those things that sounds bigger than it is. The Steelers brand is still strong. Very big. Top five brand in the league. It sounds big.

It doesn't work. It's a weird fit, especially for an old quarterback that doesn't want to get hit. Is it like IBM with technology? Still a big brand name you know, but IBM's a way. No, no, no, it's way down, yeah. J-Mack for the news. Well, that's the news. Thanks for stopping by.

The Herd Lye News. Apparently the odds have changed for the NFL draft. Hmm. I'm telling you, man, these people that aren't going to draft, Shadoor Sanders. Good luck with that. 74% completion percentage in college. Running for your life.

I don't know. That's pretty good. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio. app. Hey, it's Steve Kavino. And I'm Rich Davis. And together we're Kavino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the IHeart Radio app. Why should you listen to Kovino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, what's going on in the world? We have a lot of fun talking about the stories

behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together. I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved, too. Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio.

Maybe the most interactive show on Planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino & Rich live on Fox Sports Radio on the IHeart Radio app from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich, wherever you get your podcast and, of course, on social media. That's Kavino and Rich. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news.

What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.

But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down?

Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas,

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

Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis,

and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jenchian went. I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay.

Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world. right now and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect.

We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swag. American businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world. He doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud.

But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Back with the UFL kickoff weekend starting Friday, as St. Louis takes on Houston at 8 p.m. Eastern. Then Saturday, it's San Antonio versus Arlington at 4th.

Eastern All on Fox. You know, we were just talking during the break. I took all talk during the tournament, so I got 15 to 16 teams left. I just don't have St. John's. The best national championship for ratings to me would be Duke against Michigan State. So you'd get the biggest brand and the most popular basketball conference. I don't buy into the madness is out of March madness, and the transfer portal has hurt mid-majors. So what?

We don't watch mid-majors. Nobody's watching the Missouri Valley Conference. TV is 30 to 50% of revenue for these sports. That's where a majority of people watch it. If TB is feeding you, if they're paying for the wedding, they get a say in the seating chart. And they like, that's why defended North Carolina getting in. That's, you know, if we're not talking a top five seed, if you're talking at the bottom of the barrel, all right, it's a coin flip, West Virginia, North Carolina. I'd put it in North Carolina.

It's a bigger brand. It's not like West Virginia had 28 wins and had a gauntlet and they flew through it. You put yourself in a position to be argued over. Put Carolina in, and they won their playing game. So Nick Wright talked about this yesterday about all these upsets that everybody says they love, but the ratings are truth serum, and once you get upsets, the ratings go down. Do you want an amazing, exciting first weekend and then a not-so-great second weekend, or a chalky first weekend, and then what should be,

an unreal second weekend. And that's what I feel we got. I understand that it's fun when there is a 15 seed or a 14 seed that makes some noise, but you kind of want that noise to crescendo with a great round two loss rather than them getting whacked in the sweet 16 by a great team. Think about it this way, a movie. There has never been a great movie with a bad ending. ever. There have been

average movies that you think are great because of a great ending. Usual suspects. Great ending. Great ending. It is a good movie. There's been good movies, castaways with a goofy ending, and nobody talks about castaways. We talk about usual suspects.

Having all these upsets early is a great movie with a lousy ending. This movie is going to be, it's okay. It takes a while to get into it like a Netflix show. You know, you're every Netflix show, first episode and a half is building characters. And then all of a sudden, by the middle of the second episode, wow, then third, fourth, fifth, great.

That's what this tournament is. It takes a while to get going. We don't have a lot of upsets. But middle and end is going to be fantastic. It's going to be Michigan State, Dukes, Arizona, Tennessee, Auburn, more NBA guys. It's better. So this idea that you want to start, oh, I just love the upsets. ratings indicate you don't you love you it's like in the moment you oh my god do you i can't believe

what i just want i've said for years the best thing that can happen is duke wins in overtime or duke wins by one you want duke winning but you want them threatened you want the up the 11 point underdog to literally take him to overtime that's great but then i get duke in the next i don't get mcneese state in the next game you don't want that the numbers are absolutely absolutely inarguably clear. And there's nothing against mid-majors, but mid-majors don't win March Madness. Now they're not going to win a second or third game, which they don't very often anyway, as we all know. So this idea that mid-majors are done, no, they're not.

They were never winning four games in this tournament with regularity anyway. You'd get one team every other year that would make a nice run, sometimes Elite 8, most of the time not. So what? I've said this about the NIL. Ohio State goes out and says, we've got three weaknesses. Let's go by a corner from Alabama, a right tackle from Missouri. It makes the bigger brand stronger. The problem, what you get in college football, like think about Harbaught Michigan.

So when he got to Michigan, they didn't have a transfer portal. It took him like six years to get Michigan to be like they can compete with anybody. It took Brian Kelly like six years. Those are great coaches. Six years to like, Okay, we can go toe to toe with Georgia. Now, you go to a big brand, year two, you can compete. Lincoln Riley won 11 games first year at USC.

That's not what you couldn't be. Pete Carroll's first year at USC, there were six and six. Got beaten a bowl game in Vegas. It took you years, even if you're a great coach to bill. I like sports when you can, the big brands, and they make mistakes like everybody to hire the wrong coach, they lose kids, they have injuries. when the big brands can get back to speed faster. Like right now, LSU feels broken. They go out NIL and they buy a quarterback out of high school.

Huge money. They won't be broken. So Michigan, by the way, last year, oh, we're not very good. They don't have a huge rebuild now. They go out and get the number one quarterback in the country. They go buy him for like $5 million. That's better for my eyes. That's better for television.

So I need to ask a little personal here, but you remember when your kids were in school, there was back to school night, right? Back to school night lines up with the Duke game on Thursday night. My wife can't do it. Colin, I could go and watch the game on my phone and act like a lunatic like I normally do or just blow it off. What's the call? You know, I'm loaded up on Duke in the tournament, so I can't miss the game, obviously. What's the move? Well, I try to always make my wife happy, so that's usually the move.

I don't want to create resentment in that dynamic. So whatever mom wants usually wins. So I don't ask for much. Okay, Fubo. I know I can watch it, but I'm not going to be listening to the teachers. I don't want anybody talking to me while I'm watching Duke. If they're in a close game late, you know, I'm going to be sweating bullets. Like, this is big.

Listen, the tournament is only a few weeks, Colin. That's it. I know. I know. We can't reschedule back to school night for like a Monday. I know. Yeah. Disappoint.

I know you care deeply. What is your back to school night in? It's middle school. That's all it is. And it's like, I've got to have on a text chain with some dads. They're like, what are we doing here? I was thinking of email and the principal. Like, listen.

I wouldn't do that. I'm going to be a no show guy. Sorry. But we were talking about all this March madness. But in the NBA, fans think, do the leagues privately know that the NBA is better if the Knicks face the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals over the Pacers. Of course they do. But leagues are not engineering it.

I've got news for you. Think about this. If the NFL was engineering outcomes, would the two most dysfunctional teams in pro football be the New York Giants and New York Jets? Would the Green Bay Packers in Buffalo and Baltimore be amazing in Kansas City? Right now in the NFL, all the small markets are dumb. And the big markets outside of the Rams and Eagles are kind of garbage.

I mean, so this idea, like the NBA is engineering stuff, Nico Harrison made a bad trade. Blame him, not the commissioner. So let me ask you, you know, we saw Nuggets Heat in the finals a few years ago, and like, listen, Yokic versus Butler, great. Ratings were awful. Awful. Nobody watched.

That's right. What if we get an OKC Cleveland finals? Is that appetizing to you? I know everybody loves SGA, the free throw merchant. I'll give you. I'll give an example. This is the nonsense that you get on Reddit boards. So the Celtics are a big brand, right?

Yeah. Do you know who shoots the second fewest free throws in the NBA? I think it's O'KC. The Boston's healthy. Oh, is it? Why would that be? Because they shoot the most threes. So if the NBA really wanted to engineer the Celtics in the finals,

do you think they'd be shooting the second fewest free throws in the league? By the way, the Warriors until Jimmy Butler got there, never got to the free throw line. because they lived on threes. So this idea, what's going to hurt Houston and OKC? Houston shooting, though it's better than it was early in the year, is hot and cold. And OKC is really young. And those players, I can tell you right now, OKC is going to lose in the playoffs. And they're going to lose for two reasons.

They're young and young players and role players do not perform consistently well on the road in the playoffs. and OKC's got a lot of them. Very deep team. The second thing is you do not get that James Harden SGA whistle as often in the postseason. So you're getting used to SGA. I watched them as at last not against Sacramento. I'm like, oh, they're getting the whistle.

You'll get it, but about 20% less. And so I can tell you right now, OKC's going to complain about officiating, and I'm here to tell you, go ask Carl Malone and James Hardin. You do not get the whistle. in the postseason. OK, see, fans are going to say,

they don't want us in the finals. They're not giving us the whistle. No, that's just how playoff basketball is. They didn't want Denver in the finals or San Antonio for a decade. But great is great. So it's, you know, you hear that it's like the baseball argument

about, you know, oh, the lack of parity. Baseball's got actually really good parity. Last year, I got the AFC division winners four for four. Why? Because if you don't have a good quarterback, you can't win your division in the AFC. So you want to, I don't know who's going to win the divisions in baseball. The Dodgers

will win theirs, but the diamondbacks are excellent. Great batting order. So I don't, I can't pick division winners in baseball. That's tough. Either could Tom Perducci. You can pick them in the NFL and get five right just based on quarterbacks. So what is parity? Hour three next. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts.

We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman helped make you.

You funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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.

Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garros.

She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennarabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now and actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.