The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Ryan Day joins The Herd

Episode Date: March 7, 2025

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day joined us to chat about their national championship win, the NFL Draft, and how he's adapting to this new age of College FootballSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right, welcome, and it's hour two, live in Los Angeles. It's the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. I tell you, this morning I got a call. I was asleep from some Boston radio station that wanted to talk about Jason Tateau. Like, yeah, I'm probably not going to do that at 4.30 in the morning.

I'm not going to do it at 4.30 in the afternoon, but I'm definitely not doing it at 4.30 a.m. Did you actually wake up and take the call? I heard my phone buzzing, which I should have had it, you know. Do not disturb a little bit. I don't, you know, I get up at 4.30 every morning anyway, so it wasn't that. A couple meatballs from Boston. Well, whatever. You don't need to call them meatballs.

Well, I mean, that's trained professionals. They're just blindly calling you on your phone at 4.30 in the morning. Well, yeah, it's not how I would produce a show, but, you know, to each their own. But, you know, the point being is we all, I, I've said this again. I think Jason Tatum's great. I think he's a Hall of Famer. But you're trying to put him into the LeBron's. Messe,

Rinaldo, Mbapé, a class, and that is so small. I mean, Derek Jeter's great. A-Rod was a superstar. But my mom, my late mom, didn't like sports. She knew who Ken Griffey was and A-Rod

was. She didn't know who Derek Jeter was. Way, that, that. A-Rod was a star. Jeff Gordon and NASCAR is a star. Tiger's a star. Scotty Shephler's just great. Scotty Shephler's humble. I'm unbelievable. Tiger Woods is an icon. Polarizing. I know, I can think of Tiger Woods closed my eyes. I can see the shirt he's wearing. I can see the goatee, the shirt. I know it's controversies. I know it's people get this. Sports fans get it confused. They think everybody's a superstar. Superstars are like, I mean, there's always fewer than you think.

Always fewer than you. Travis Kelsey because of Taylor Swift is closer to it than players that are better. than him. It's just, it's very rare. You've got to have multiple national commercials. You have to be sort of global. Does that mean you're not great? I want to talk about something quick here, though. And so the 49, Tim Kawakami has been covering the Niners for every right for the athletic. You've been one of the better Bay Area riders, national riders in the country for a long time. And he was talking about Debo and Iyuk, and he says the Niners with Iyuk have a little buyer's remorse now. they did not like the price that they paid for them i think it was let's go for it we're going for

the super pole from the football side and i think the negotiators never felt good about that number ever 30 million a year i'll just say the general theme here is four-niners top not being happy with those deals not being happy with a lot of deals not being happy with the money they've paid as john lynch talked about in nannapolis top three-four in the league for the last few years it's fine in i think you're in York's mind if you win a Super Bowl, so if you're at least getting there, and they went 6 and 11 last year. Here's my only criticism

before we get to Ryan Day. I understand NFL teams reaching on quarterbacks. That is not extravagant. Everybody needs one, and they're worth 10 points if you get it right. That's like reaching on a new home in a good school district. You want your kids to be safe.

You want them in a good school district. You reach on a home. That's not extravagant. Reaching on a receiver is more like dad, can't afford it, but buys a new motorcycle. That's a little risky. That's a little ego to me. I think too many GMs are playing fantasy football with wide receivers.

Now, do they matter? Yes, but in the professional football world, it is a coach quarterback league. So I think they have overspent on wide receivers, and I say that, knowing having worked with John Linsden covered him, I think he's a brilliant guy. With that, Ryan Day, the Ohio State Buckeyes, National Champs, favored next year as well as joining us live. You know, I was thinking about this this morning. I was thinking about this.

Years ago, Mike Shishchevsky, when they did the one and done, he didn't like it. And then I asked him about it. He goes, I didn't like it. And then three years in, I realized I was losing to all these one and done guys. So maybe it's time for me not to be stubborn. Your sport, Ryan, has become incredibly transient. I mean, just what it is. Was there a moment when it all came down the hill, transfer portal, NIL, was there a moment?

was there a moment where you said this is a I don't know if I like this is it we're going to just do high school guys or did you buy into it 10 minutes in I mean I you know there's still things going on that I throw my hands up right now

there's so many changes I think about you know the NIL the transfer portal the conference realignment with 18 teams so now you know in the big 10 we travel to the West Coast and you have the the playoff change like just just those

four things. Those are just four things that have all happened. Those are like major, major changes. So you just had to be comfortable, being uncomfortable in solving it and getting it because nobody cares. Like there's all kinds of things that happened, you know, in the last month or so that, you know, after our

game, we can get into later, but nobody cares about. Like what matters is putting your talent you know, a talent accusation on the field and putting together and putting a team together. So as much though as things have changed, to me, I felt with this team. It was about the kind of timeless principles of hard work and sacrifice and loyalty and resilience that separated us.

So I'm a friend of Chip Kelly and he, you know, he's told me about your friendship for years and years. And I said, I said, I predicted before the season. I said, Ohio State's going to lose at Opson. I've been to too many games there. You can't hear yourself think. I don't think anybody in the country is going to beat this Oregon team at Otson. You got close. I said, Ohio State's going to beat them. They're going to meet later, and Ohio State's got better personnel, and Ohio State's going to beat him. But one of the things I theorized, I said, Chip Kelly is a real advantage that you're not going to notice until the playoff. He knows how to stagger these games because college football now feels like pro football. You can lose late in the season. It's not a death now. It's about

staggering. It's about slowly unveiling. Take our audience into the value of Chip Kelly in that playoff that I can't see, you know, guys like me can't see, but inside your building, the additive value that Chip gave you that had a little NFL field to it. Well, yeah, well, I think, like you said, when you're talking about now 16 games in a long season with a playoff format at the end of the year, it starts off with even this time of year making decisions on how you want to proceed. Like, for instance, we decided to huddle on offense this year. We had never done that. Certainly Chip hadn't done that a lot. you know, with his background and tempo.

But that decision was a huge decision. And that, you know, we wanted to continue to evolve as the season went on. But then, you know, really have our best football for the end of the year. And I think having the NFL experience, you know, I would think a lot of teams would tell you, you know, in the NFL in September, you know, sort of the preseason, October, they're finding their identity. And then by the time they get to November and December, like now they're going to play for championships. and everything's on the line. And I wouldn't say that that's the way it is in college right now,

but it's trending towards that. And having somebody that's been in that position before, certainly with his experience in the NFL, it made a big difference. So you have two players, and I had said this. I had an NFL general manager tell me a month ago that if Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs were in this class, they'd probably be the second and third guys taken. They're unbelievable players.

And you guys have done a really good job, and I think this is really hard, especially now you're paying players, that you have these superstar players. and yet it felt like such a team. You felt like such a team. Your sideline, your body language. Is it harder when you have, you know, Ohio State's one of four programs, maybe three, that gets those guys?

When you have literally NFL players, they're just not eligible yet. You're paying them. You're not paying everybody big money. In the NFL, everybody's doing fine. In college, there's a little gap. Is that hard for you to massage as a coach? Well, I think it starts with the identification. There's a lot of NFL players that, you know, aren't at Ohio State, you know,

that maybe just aren't the right fit for who we are. And so we try to do, you know, a great job of identifying, you know, the right people that fit us. You know, there's a lot of great players out there. But what, you know, Ohio State's not for everybody. And, you know, we try to make sure that we bring in the right folks that fit our culture. Because, again, like you said, these guys are making money now. So it's now even more important to bring in the right fit.

And then what you say to them in the recruiting process, you better follow through with because they can literally walk out the door tomorrow if they wanted to. Yeah. So, you know, it's really forcing everybody to really, I think, follow through with what they talk about on the front end. But then these guys still want to be held accountable, you know, and coaching them hard and giving them life lessons and building trust within the building is very, very important. And I think, you know, our fan base and being in Columbus and what comes with that, you know, our guys understand that there's a big obligation when you come to Ohio State, what comes with it. So, you know, the fact that we were able to overcome some things this year and then prevail on the back end, certainly is going to, you know, carry over into the season.

You've got a bunch of guys that are going to be very good. I mean, you're really a factory now. You've become the best. You know, you guys have done a little bit Alabama did. So Saban was a defensive coach, and by the time he left, Alabama was known for wide receivers and quarterbacks. Ohio State, in my lifetime, was running backs, oh, linemen, linebackers, and now it's wide receiver you. And I've said this, I told Urban Meyer this once, I said, when you have receivers as good as Ohio State, you've got to feed them. And I said, I think it can hurt your run game and physicality.

How do you simultaneously build power football? It's easy for hardball with the Chargers now, by the way, because they don't have superstar receivers. Once you have four of them, is it hard for you as a coach? Okay. We want to be explosive, but we want a little 1985 Ohio State, too. Is that hard for you? Oh, I think it's a great conversation, Colin. I think it's a great point because when you're in the Big Ten,

like you've got to play smash mouth football, but then you also got to be able to go out to the Rose Bowl or down to the Cotton Bowl and play Texas in Oregon and attract me. And so that's the combination of things that we're constantly trying to make sure we balance out. And the only way you can do that is if you have unselfish guys. So like to have Trayvionn Henderson and Quinn Sean Jenkins together in the backfield together and let young players see that their unselfishness and willing to sacrifice being the guy or a number of carries

so that they could play really, really fast and really physical down the stretch made a big difference, I think. And the only way that that happens is if guys are unselfish. And to your point, you know, if you have selfish guys who just want the ball and don't understand how important it is to establish the run, it's not going to work. And vice versa. You know, if you have, you know, running backs who want a certain number of carries when the ball needs to get thrown out to some of our receivers, it isn't going to work.

So buying into the team is critical. You know, there's been a couple moments in my life when I had my first child that I literally was floating. Like I didn't feel like I'm like, what's happening to me? I got salty discharge. I'm crying, you know. And so we, we have had that too. We've all had personal moments. But I want you to pivot now to a professional moment because there is a difference between work and home, even though we love both.

Take me back to the moment you knew you were going to be national champion, who was the first person you thought of. Well, for me, it was my father. You know, and I didn't really make this public before, but since you asked me, I'm going to answer the question. You know, I lost my father on January 20th when I was nine years old, and I saw when the schedule came out that the national championship game was on the same day that I lost my father.

And so, you know, I just knew that he was with me that day, and that was the first guy that I thought of. Oh, that's a great story. We've said this before. You know you're at a good program when you get heat for losing occasionally to Jim Harbaugh, Georgia. Right now it's the best program. In my opinion, it's the best program in college football, NIL, transfer portal, coaching, destination, it's Ohio State. Do you ever, ever, just got to go for a walk in the park in Columbus, put a baseball cap on and not get noticed,

or do you sometimes feel like, man, this is a lot. This is a lot, coaching the Buckeyes in Ohio State. land for you? It is a lot. It is, but that's what you signed up for. And I remember when I, the first press conference, you know, I was there with, with, with Urban and a lot of people just kind of asked, you know, how do you follow up Coach Meyer, a legend? And what if you don't do this and what if you don't do that? And I just kind of had the mindset of what, what if we do? What, what I want an opportunity to be at a place where there's just such great tradition. And, you know, my wife that night were on the bed together.

I had three young kids knowing that we were probably the first, you know, family to go through this with young kids, you know, going through elementary school and now into junior high and high school. And she kind of cried and she said, this is the last time our family will be normal. And I didn't even understand at the time, but she did and she was right. But, you know, it's part of the job. It's part of the obligation. And I think after this game, so many people have come up to me across the country.

country when I've traveled in different places. And the first thing they say is thank you. Just thank you for what you did this year. And they tell the stories of where they've been across the country or who they were when they watched the run that we went on. And it just makes you realize that Ohio State football is bigger than any one of us and the obligation that we have. And it's just an honor to be the head coach at Ohio State.

I love all the, I appreciate you giving these stories to us because you don't have to and you're opening up and it means a lot. Finally, a big thank you from me. for playing Texas. So Ohio State, a lot of programs won't do this, and it drives me nuts. You guys, I remember when Pete Carroll, you schedule the Trojans in L.A.,

Ohio State played them at home, and a lot of coaches won't do this. And, you know, you have just made a point. Let's, you know, I don't mind the Youngstown State. I don't mind that, you know, in-state Ohio. But when you, when you, it's one thing to make a commitment. Three weeks before that game, are you going to be thinking? You know, we could have played Texas State at Arlington.

It would have been. I mean, that's a hell of an opening game. You're going to lose some sleep when that thing's two weeks out? Well, I think it's 173 days from today. So, yeah, to say I'm going to lose sleep, yeah, you're darn right, I'm going to lose sleep. I think a couple of things. I think one, it allows you, you know,

an opportunity to figure out where you're at early in the season. But I think it's important moving forward with the playoff system that like in the Big Ten and the SEC and as we start to work through this, that we do get automatic qualifiers and a certain amount of automatic qualifiers. If we don't, then you're never going to see these games scheduled to your point. That's right. That's right. Yeah. So I think that's critical if we want these games, which I think we should have these games. Yes. And we need to make sure that that happens because I think it's really, really good for college football. Oh, I mean, I think the loss at Oregon, My takeaway is that was going to easily be the harshest environment you would play in.

I didn't care what you did the rest of the year. I don't care if you're – that was – no, I'm not – I covered Oregon. That is as loud as any football stadium I've ever been in NFL or college. So in a way, you look at it at the time, and it stinks flying back to Columbus, but it paid dividends later. Your guys saw what real duress is like in Ohio State. You don't face a lot of that. You know, I mean, you know, it's just – it's just – I feel like the football gods, You should have won this year.

And I love the way you won. And I want to thank you for coming on, giving us a little insight into your life, and impossible not to root for, Ryan. Thank you so much. I appreciate it, Colin. Much respect, man. All right. Great football coach.

And I really believe this is, I think, if you count transfer portal, NIL, coaching, home environment, budget, focus. I think Ohio State, this moment is the best football program. America. Now, it's always like, you know, Bama, Georgia, Ohio State, you know, it ebbs and flows. It never lasts forever. But that is a tough job. That is a, you do not escape. I mean, you can, when you coach Ohio State, you can take your family on a trip to Florence, Italy, and there'll be Buckeyes over there, too. Appreciate that. So, J. Mack, you got your, you got a Jason Tatum tomorrow's headlines today.

You know, what's really unfair is I am just a journalist. And when you're a journalist and you're just laying out data and people are attacking you, you know, that's not, I got into this business. Who are these people? I'm not attacking you. No. Do you feel attacked? People in Worcester

are up in arms. How many people are listening to the show can point out Wooster on a map? I used to live by it. So I didn't. Of course. I lived in Connecticut. I'm in Boston six times a year, because of certain things. Worcester, like what, like a cultural crossroads, museums?

No, it's a tough guy town. People come up to you and they say, you like produce, how you like these apples? And they punch you right in the forehead. That's what Wooster's about. No messing around in Wooster. My kind of town, Colin, trust me. Hell yeah. 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? 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. We're starting a trend. 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 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,

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 essence. The 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. 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. 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 swaggering Armenian 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 Levan this went 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. You know, it's really interesting. In the trade deadline, the Lakers and the Warriors got really good and really fascinating. But, you know, there's this thing because the ratings for the NBA, outside of the NFL, everything in this country is cyclical in sports.

The WNBA, because of Caitlin Clark, is now really popular. And college football this year, Texas, Ohio State, big brands, playoff, popular. Baseball, Yankees, Dodgers, Mets. All of a sudden, the ratings are exploding, best in a decade. outside of the NFL, it matters. And right now in the NBA, when people say nobody likes the NBA, you know who likes it? The biggest city in the country, New York, the second biggest city, Los Angeles, the third biggest city, Chicago's got a lousy team,

and they lead the NBA in attendance for the four straight year, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, you know, where people live and stuff, like big cities really like the NBA. And right now, New York's energized, Chicago's bad and energized, L.A., San Francisco, Boston, You know, I mean, you go to New York right now. It's a big deal. It is a big deal. And I think what's happened is the NBA. When Michael Jordan retired, it's hard to explain to somebody in their 20s how big Michael Jordan was.

It was like, in my lifetime, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Pele, Messi. There's been like four or five, like, you mean, just like Oprah level. Like, everybody in the world knows who it is, right? You usually get that with, like, prime ministers and presidents. And the NBA outside of Michael lost 50% of its ratings. It's not because people didn't like the NBA. They didn't like who the NBA was telling everybody was the face of the league. And you've tried to make J.

Jah Morant in Tiny Memphis the face of the league. He wasn't mature enough. Zion in Tiny New Orleans. He's the face of the league. He wasn't mature enough. Yokic, he doesn't want to be in Denver and Minnesota. So the reality is LeBron and Steph are still the faces of the league. and that's why they get the highest ratings.

And now you've energized both of them with stars next to them. So it's outside of the NFL, every sport. I thought the college football got incredibly regional for about 10 years, Clemson, Georgia, Bama, and nobody, Denver West, they weren't watching the games. So that's why I was all for the Pac-12's best four teams going into the Big Ten and Texas, Oklahoma going into the SEC, so you get sort of an NFL vibe for it. I'll give you an example. Cleveland's a small market relative to like the NBA big markets.

We've cared about Cleveland two times in my life. The time Michael Jordan beat him on the Craig Elo shot and the time LeBron won a title. They're arguably the best team in the league right now. They're not going to move a number. That's just the reality of every sport in this country outside of the NFL, where if Jacksonville played in a Super Bowl, it'd still get over 100 million people to watch. It's like in England. Everybody's going to watch the English Premier League.

It doesn't matter who's playing. It's always going to be popular. The other sports like tennis can be really popular if you've got a superstar playing, and he hails from the UK. So, you know, it just, I don't buy anything's dead forever. I don't buy it's politics. The minute you get better players in and better stories, Americans love the journey and the story, it's back to me and interesting.

When you get Boston potentially in New York in the Eastern Conference finals, and if you got Lakers Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, are you kidding me? It would be really, really great for all of us, not just the NBA. Jay Mackle News. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News. All right, Colin, this first story is a little bit strange.

Eagles are riding high, right? Jalen Hertz is a superstar. Eagles win the Super Bowl. But now they're starting to move off players, and Darius Slay was released, right? in an attempt to save some salary cap space. Since the news of his release, Slay, aka Big Play Slay, made a recent podcast appearance

and kind of omitted a certain quarterback from the elite group. The elite goes to the top, oh, God. You know what I'm saying? That's how I do elites. And like elite for me in the quarterback world is Joe Barrow, Mahomes, damn, Lamar.

Yeah. And Josh Allen. Yeah, that's right. No, it's not. He forgot Jalen Hertz. Jalen Hertz is not in that group. He is certainly, Cohn. He went to the Super Bowl a couple years ago, nearly won it,

outplayed Mahomes, and then now beat down the Chiefs in Mahomes head-to-head. Dominated a Chief's defense that you love. How on Earth is he not there? What GM in the league if given the four guys on the screen and Jalen Hurts would take Hertz? Well, I'm not saying you take Hertz over them, but he's in that group. No, he's not. Them's fighting words here, Cowhert. I will defend Jailen.

I'm just telling you, man. He's, where's the flaw in his game? What's the problem? What's a weakness? He is not, as Greg Kossel tells you, the film says. He had 18 regular season touchdown passes. He is not a great pocket quarterback. Okay, so what's the, I mean, Sam Donald had 35.

Does that mean he's elite? No, it doesn't. The four guys that are elite are beyond just production. They can carry bad old lines, bad defense. Oh, really? Joe Burrow. Couldn't carry a bad team to the playoffs. Got to the Super Bowl with maybe the,

He's done since. Oh, boy. Uh-huh. He can carry. Listen, obviously Burroughs great. I'm not knocking him. Those four are superstars. I think Hertz has reached that groove.

I don't. So who would you have as five? It doesn't matter. Darius Slay said these are the elite guys in the league, and that's who I would put it. And Darius Lay just released. That doesn't mean he doesn't know the elite quarterback. Well, he's clearly upset that he got cut because Jalen Hertz got paid. Well, everybody would be.

On getting paid. I don't. Sout. If I got cut here, I'd be upset. It's okay to be upset. So the other part that's a little weird is this isn't the first guy on the team who's had some issues, shall we say, with Jalen Hertz. You know, A.J. Brown, remember? Jay, you know, I like this about Jalen Hertz.

Let me tell you something I like about Jalen Hurts. Okay, let's hear it. He doesn't care if you love him. That's a great point. You know who does? Jason Tateon. Not that you're going to say Jason Bacentire. No, I mean, Jalen Hurd.

Troy Aikman wasn't losing any sleep because he had to rip a wide receiver's head off. and yelled in OC. Troy Eggman didn't lose. Tom Brady never lost sleep ripping Josh McDaniels or yelling at receivers to get open. Peyton Manning's yelling at one of his best friends, Jeff Saturday.

That's what leadership looks like. Leadership looks different for everybody, Colin. You're the leader of this radio show, number one show in the country. You're not yelling at people and cursing it out. Oh, there have been days. I've never witnessed it in the two-plus years. That's because you show up late and you don't go to our meeting.

Stop it. I'm on the call. I can hear everything. You're not ripping anybody. leadership looks different to everyone. And just because Jalen Hertz is embarking at guys like Brady or Peyton doesn't mean he's not a superstar. I like quarterbacks who don't need to be everybody's best friend.

I'm totally cool with that. Leadership is doing uncomfortable things. If you want to be comfortable, that's the substitute teacher. Sometimes the teacher has to give you an F has to make you go to summer school. The substitute teacher never tells you to do. that? The teacher does. At this rate, we're never going to get Jalen Hertz or Jason Tatum on the sofa. He's not coming to the shelf. Not the way you're treating him.

Next story, Colin, is the Knicks lost last night. Oh, no, is it the Knicks? No, no, I'm sorry. It's the Raiders. The Raiders were a hunt for a new quarterback. They bounced Gardner Minshu and Aidan O'Connell's not the guy. They were all in on Stafford, but he ended up staying with the Rams. Diana Rusini says the Raiders are exploring veteran quarterback options, and they are willing to entertain the possibility of trading for a current starting quarterback. Now, one of the Raiders fans on staff sent me, there's a report

that Gino Smith could be the guy. Yeah, Pete likes him. Let me tell you something. Snyder would take that call. I would take that call. Pete likes him a lot. So. Gino Smith?

And it's funny because Pete does not like interceptions, and Gino, the last couple years, has and I mean because Gino's funny because he's got the traits he's big, he moves, he's a nice guy, he works hard, he's got a decent arm but he just makes, it's a lot of Darnold.

It just sometimes he lets go that ball and I'm like, nah, that's not going to do it. What's the look like for the Raiders if they actually call and trade for Gino Smith as opposed to go after Aaron Rogers? Well, Sam Darnold. Well, I think Darnold right now is the best of those three.

Yeah. I would put Aaron second, Gino, I don't disagree. All right, final story, Colin, is the NBA. This is the story I'm depressed about is this Jalen Brunson injury. He was magnificent last night. And then you watch him land here. It looks like

he lands on Austin Reeves as LeBron comes up for the Chasedown Block. Ankle turned badly. He did make his free throws and went right to the locker room. There's concern he could be out a week or two. But Chris Haynes is now reporting it's only an ankle sprain. No ligament damage. Nothing significant.

There are 20 games left in the season for the At this point, you need him healthy if you want to have any kind of run. Don't you just shut him down for a week or two? Say, hey, we're in the playoffs. As long as they don't face Boston or Cleveland in the first round, New York's good enough and deep enough to win a playoff series with him playing two games. They're looking at Pacers or maybe Bucks or possibly Pistons. Do you buy the Bucks?

I mean, not totally. They're good, but I don't know about them challenging Boston. I don't like them against Cleveland. Well, Cleveland's going to beat everybody they play except maybe. I just watched the Knicks last night. If you're the Knicks, you don't go into that series intimidated. If you've got a healthy Jalen Brunsson, Bridges. Say it again.

Nick's Cavs. Are you intimidated by anybody on that team? No, I think the Knicks can play. Listen, I've watched the Knicks play the Cavs and get handled, and I watched them twice against Boston, and the game was over in seven minutes. The Knicks, as currently constructed, do not match, up with the Cavs and Celtics. They do match up with, you know, the Lakers. I think they match up

with Minnesota and Denver. I think, and this is not a knock on the Knicks, I think the Cavs and the Celtics are a notch above the rest of the league. Well, if that series happens, Cavs Nix and everybody's healthy, I'll take Nix, you can have Cavs. Oh, boy. Who's guarding Dailon Dillon? It ain't Garland. He can't defend anyone. I, and I like Donald Mitchell. I don't know if he can handle the men's league I playing to be a defender. Like Brunson will cook them for 35 a night. They have Cleveland offensively has a lot of options. Yes, they do have five.

I mean, they can score 38 in the back court, the front court, they defend. And they're going to pick on Carl Anthony Towns. Over. They're going to just go right at Carl. Did you see Luca going at him last night? It was back and forth. Brunson's like, give me Luca, go at him, and then Luca's like, bring me Carl Anthony Towns. And it was just creating mismatches.

Towns, man, I don't know. You had a theory, didn't you, that the. Nick should go after Janus? Yeah, I think to get to the next level, I would move Carl Anthony Towns. If I had to move O.G. Five picks? Four, yeah. Whatever you want.

Just get some flexibility. If you're, you know, if you're Milwaukee, get flexibility, get picks. But I always felt Carl Anthony Towns was the move before the move. Jay Mackle the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurdline News. Ryan Day was good today.

Boy, he opened up his heart and gave us stories about. about his late father and stuff he didn't have to, and I really appreciate that. 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 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 Kavino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships. 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 Kavino and Rich live on Fox Sports Radio on the IHeart Radio app from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern two to four 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 Covino and Rich. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, 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. 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, 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with

the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardweight 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 Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Tomorrow on Fox Prime Time Hoops, it's a battle under the bright lights in L.A. As USC takes on UCLA in a cross-town rival showdown. coverage begins tomorrow at 70s, turn only on Fox. It's interesting. Jason Tatum, you know, he scored 35 again last night, and he was talking about the game against the Lakers tomorrow night. So Lakers Celtics will be the big national TV game. Boston's a better team, a deeper team, the better defensive team.

I don't care what the – I don't care what it says. They defend the wing. They defend the bucket. It's a really, really good team. Jewel is kind of banged up. But Tatum said he doesn't consider the Lakers Celtics to be a rival. Listen. You respect and understand the history and all the guys that wore the Lakers and Celtics uniform

and what it means to the game of basketball and the NBA. It's an honor to be a part of that for sure. From my time in the league, I wouldn't look at the Lakers as rivals. We only play them twice. You know, the teams that we played over and over again in the playoffs, Philly would be one of them and, you know, the other teams as well. I agree with them. I look at the Lakers, and I think their rival is Steph and the Warriors.

And I look at the Celtics, and I think their rival has been Philadelphia and now the Knicks. So it's weird. College sports has rivalries. Ohio State, Michigan, probably the best rivalry in the country. You know, obviously Duke, Carolina and basketball, massive rivalry. You have a lot of regionals, you know, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State. but I don't know why this is, but even in baseball right now. I mean, the Subway Series, I do think, you know, the Soto move ramps that up a little bit.

Pro sports is not really a rivalry thing to me. Maybe it's because there's so much mobility in it. You know, stars aren't facing off against stars for very long. It's interchangeable pieces. I mean, the reason I think the Lakers Warriors is so big because it's LeBron and Steph. if LeBron and Steph retired tomorrow, I wouldn't feel the same way. I feel like pro rivalries are often based on the player. College rivalries are based on the institution.

And, you know, pro athletes are moving all the time. So, I mean, before Jalen Brunson got to the Knicks and they got their act together, I didn't think the Knicks had a rival. I mean, it's now Boston is the king and Philadelphia and, you know, Cleveland now and New York, kind of trying to punch up at the king. but yeah, it's just pro sports isn't college football. There are absolute rivalries. I live in Los Angeles, you know, the city championship, USC, UCLA.

They don't even have to be good, and generally both aren't simultaneously good. It's a big deal. You can feel it. I went to Notre Dame USC this year. That felt big. Teams don't even have to be great. So, you know, Dion Dawkins last hour, you know, we were talking about this yesterday. It is funny.

All joking aside on Jason Tatum. He's obviously a great kid. But what is star power? And I do feel Steph Curry has a little bit of this. He's performative. You know, in our business, you see people. Yeah, he's doing the falling asleep thing. There is something, certain people have personality.

I mean, you see it in politics. Like Reagan, you know, put Reagan, not only to Reagan beat Mondale, but just their personalities. Reagan was a star. Jimmy Carter was a nice man. They were both president, right? Like one, historically, history will be kinder to Reagan than late Jimmy Carter. But there are some presidents that feel, I mean, Bill Clinton had this a little bit, their little rock star quality.

And, you know, and Tatum, I think sometimes Celtic fans think you're banging on Tatum. No, we're not. It's just there is an aura component to it. and I'm not doubting the great stuff, and I do think Tatum plays on every single NBA team in the league, and he fits everywhere. And I've said this. Steph Curry, because he needs the ball.

Luca because he needs the ball. LeBron, because he needs the ball. They don't necessarily feel like they fit everywhere. KD. fits everywhere. I think Tatum fits everywhere. Broussard yesterday talked about Jason. The argument against Tatum, you know, what a lot of people will say,

when they really get into the basketball, is that a lot of his moves are, you know, manufactured moves. They're the moves you learn when you work out with a trainer every day from the time you're a teenager. They're not instinctive like the older guys' moves used to be. Just make a move up because you need to do it. We talked about this this morning. I can't buy that as a criticism,

so what you're saying is Tatum's hard work should be punished. I could make an argument that Tom Brady, the best quarterback ever. His strength was repetition. It wasn't our mobility. Tom Brady's greatness was based on constant repetition of accuracy, hips, efficiency, throwing in cold weather. Jason Tatum, Michael Jordan, by the way, had three stock moves where he scored 75% of his points. You know, I've said this before. Jordan was electric, but 80% to 90% of what Michael Jordan did were mid-range jumpers off two to three moves. And about twice a game, Michael would give you something you'd never seen before.

90% of Mahomes is just curl routes, drag routes, Kelsey for 8. And then about twice a game, Mahomes does something, left-handed, sidearm, oh, I've never seen that before. So now, does Tatum give you those iconic moments, switching hands? No, but I think it's hard to criticize somebody because they're a workaholic and have, you know, manufactured or sort of predictable moves. I don't know. I've gone to see him play live three times. He's the first guy out there.

He is a worker. And I think he's fun to watch. And I think he's the best Celtic. I don't think there's any question. But this whole thing has been about, is he the face of the league? A, I don't think we need a face of the league. And I think there's only been three all time. There are certain things that people think there are a lot more of than there are, like, experts.

There are not that many experts in the world. And even experts make mistakes. sports fans tend to think everybody loves sports. I mean, Taylor Swift is 10 times more popular than Patrick Mahomes globally. Ten times. Bruce Springsteen in his prime. Ten times more popular than Derek Jeter. But for a sports fan, no, I mean, everybody knows Jeter.

No, they don't. Jeter wasn't flashy. Jeter wasn't electric. A lot of people don't watch baseball. A-Rod controversy, the look. The swag. Sometimes he'd get in trouble. Arod felt like a star. I've always said this.

Otani's a star. Mookiee Betz is amazing. But Mookie Betz, he's just excellent. If I say Mookiee Betz is not the face of baseball. It's not a knock. He's unbelievable. He does more things well than anybody I've ever seen, except maybe Otani. Otani feels bigger.

The presence, the aura. He's global. He's the face of baseball. Aaron Judge, by the way. John Carlos Stanton hits home runs too. Aaron Judge feels. closer to the face of baseball. Aaron's got the look, I mean,

the look, the humility, the pinstripes, it just, he feels. Aaron Judd isn't just big, he feels big. There's a lot of guys that can hit the ball a long way. Bryce Harper, I thought, when he came into the sport,

had a little bit of the face of the league thing. And the other one that jumps out is there have been, look at track and field. Look at how many amazing track and field stars there have been. Usain Bolt for a while felt like the face of track and field. There have been a lot of fast guys. But Carl Lewis, if you go way, way

back, Carl Lewis felt like the face of the Olympics. There was some controversy, I think. That was the Mary Lou Retton felt, oh, that's it. There have been gymnasts better than Mary Lou Retton. When I was a kid growing up, there was somebody named Olga Corbett. Right? There's been so many great tennis players.

right like but but but like john mackenrow is still a topic by the way jimmy conners was great yvonne lendell was great boris becker was great i mean i can go i can go on and on tennis players john mackenrow was a superstar and part of it was the inappropriate nature of his personality at times i mean so so there's a lot of great track and field soccer superstars are are i said uh did i say this earlier today if the nba at any time in my life has had two superstars and then about 15 stars.

So when I say, well, you're not LeBron. Like, I think LeBron and Steph are superstars. Is there a third? I'm serious. I don't think Yokic is a superstar. I think he's the best player in the game. I'd argue there are two superstars in the NBA right now. Superstars, global superstars.

We can argue about who's third, but it's Stefan LeBron. Everybody knows Stefan LeBron. My son doesn't like sports. He knows Steph. My sister doesn't like sports. She knows LeBron. They don't know who Yokic is. They don't know who Yokic is.

It's not a knock. It's just a reality of the world we live in. It's very broad world now. There's a million platforms to stand out so everybody knows you. You got to play a long time and you've got to have some flair and aura in that personality. Hey, guys, it's us and the Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin.

And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called. 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.

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 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. 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 Garris.

She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennar Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I 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, Heart 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.