The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - The Celtics are built right

Episode Date: June 14, 2024

The Celtics are set up for long term success  NBA reporter Ric Bucher joins the show in studio to preview a potential closeout game 4 of the NBA FinalsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Welcome back. Hour number two here in the herd. It's me, Jason McIntyre in for Colin Coward. He is back Monday, I'm told, but who knows? This guy's got such a baller schedule. I don't know. He may turn up in Kathmandu this weekend for all I know. I'm joined by Alex Curry. I don't know. I'm trying to use a Jason Bourne line there. Okay. Okay.

Yeah, so long. I love that I reminded you in the first hour. You're like, oh, what are you doing this weekend? I'm like, hey, J. Mack, it's Father's Day weekend. You're a dad, right? You don't matter. It's all about the moms. Mother's Day matters.

I mean, but it's a great Father's Day weekend for it. You got the NBA finals tonight, which, as you mentioned, you might just be checking on your phone. Who are you? I got a lot going on. I got a lot going on, Alex. I'm a man about town now, you know. No, I'm just kidding. Yeah.

I don't have any. If I told you my Friday night plans, you'd scoff. but nobody cares about those. What people do care about are these Boston Celtics dominating the NBA finals. Folks, listen, man, um, yeah,

I came, I came on here and picked the Mavs. It wasn't a confident pick. I said, be careful betting on the Mavs. I, I had the Mavs earlier in the playoffs. I didn't love them in the finals.

But what Boston has done, putting Dallas in a body bag, is, I think, kind of shape the NBA going forward for the next couple years. Similarly to how the 2015 Warriors, totally changed the game. And remember, people hate change.

People are so dismissive of it. When those 2015 Warriors hit the scene, the Splash Brothers, they had a couple first round, flame out, second round, I think, as well. And then they just tore through everybody. And I will never forget. This is one my disdain for Barclay,

sorry, Chuck, and Shaq, and that Inside the NBA show started. I know everybody loves it. It's a fine show. But in 2015, in those playoffs, they were like, Oh, these jump shooting soft kids, they're not all that. They're nothing special.

They can't handle. And Memphis went up 2-1, and then, of course, the Warriors just wiped them off the map in a heartbeat. But there was so much disdain for that Warriors team. I felt similarly, that's what we've been seeing with these Boston Celtics. People just aren't really respecting what they've done. And I know people don't want to hear it. I'm sorry.

Larry Bird Celtics in the 80s never did what these. Boston Celtics are doing. I mean, they're dominating in the postseason now 15 and 2. This is an incredible run. The regular season numbers, people forget. They won the East by 14 games. 14! I know. I know there were injuries in Janus and the dame was new and the Sixers imploded because Embed got hurt. Like, sure, we can make all these excuses. We can go on down the list. Hey, you know who else they made excuses for? The 2015 Warriors. In the finals against the Cavs, Kevin Love was out, busted shoulder, and Kyrie got hurt in game one. So it was basically the Warriors against LeBron and a bunch of dudes, and the Warriors win the series.

But it was like, well, they beat a bunch of beat up Cab's team. And I just, I look at the Celtics. I'm like, okay, sure. Donovan Mitchell was out, yeah. And Jaime Hockheads and Jimmy Butler and the Minnesota Miami series. And Halliburton, Mystic, I get it. That's fine. Dallas is healthy.

Dallas just took down Minnesota pretty easily. Well, I was just hearing 10 days ago was a Stan Van Gundy. This is the best backcourt in NBA history. They can't get to 100 points in the finals against the Celtics. These Boston Celtics are built different. And when I say that, I got a shot chart for you from game three in the finals that's just staggering. This is the new NBA. Folks, analytics have won.

I don't care what you think about numbers. You hate them. Analytics are overrated. The analytics have won. Look at Boston in game three. Look at this. Six mid-range shots. The mid-range shot officially dead. Boston and Joe Missoula have said, we're going to do it our way. We're going to shoot threes and stuff at the rim. Only in the paint or threes. And it works. Dallas can't stop it. And Dallas at the other end of the court cannot handle this Boston defense very switchable. I know you guys are resistant to change and the analytics have tuned people out and you got all these gibronies online. I can't watch the NBA. So many things. threes, the numbers don't lie. Boston is on the verge of a sweep.

The only two games they blew in the playoffs, one of them against Miami, Miami had an unbelievable, like they made like 24, three-pointers. And the other one, similar situation. Cleveland just got unbelievably hot from deep. Other than that, Boston has steamrolled the east. I'm talking steamrolled, and they're steamrolling the Mavs and the great Luca Dantja, too, for my money, best player in the league. I know our next guest here in a second is going to probably laugh at that.

And that's fine. I get it. Lucas had a rough series. He's got to do some maturing. But the way these Celtics are built is pretty impressive. And I will, I'll close with this. Cowher spent a lot of time this season. It's the European takeover.

International guys run the NBA. At the top, they've had a good run. Janice, Yokic, Luca. You look at the Celtics starting lineup. Four Americans and Al Horford. And then coming off the Bay. Bench Porzingis, who's been hurt for much of this run. Let's not declare the American way of basketball dead just yet.

And with that, I want to welcome in Fox Sports NBA analyst Rick Buecker. Rick's got a big smile on his face. Very excited to just, we have some good back and forth. During the pandemic, we did some videos for Fox Sports. Yes, we did. Went viral, arguing Damia Lillard. So Rick and I love some sparring, but I don't know, game four tonight. Do the Mavericks steal one?

Do you even care? Or are you onto the off-season? Of course I care. Because for some of the reasons that you've stated, like, where do we put this Boston Celtics team? And a sweep in the finals, when was the last time a Western Conference team was swept? I want to say it was Detroit.

I mean, we're going back prior to win. I've never covered an NBA finals where a Western Conference team was swept. That's a great point. So, again, but what does that mean? mean? Does that automatically anoint a team as being an all-time great, as you are suggesting? And I can't go there. Look, have we underestimated the Boston Celtics? Have we not given them their just due? I would say that that is fair. But I'm not going to look at the regular season

record or the margin of victory or the net rating or any of those things and say, this is an all-time great team. I would not be surprised if this is the one and only championship that this group wins. Because I think that they are, I think they're a really good team. I think they are a very well-built team.

But I also believe that they are taking advantage of a league that is in transition. That we've got the old guard of Steph Curry and LeBron James and some of the established great teams and players on their way out. and now we are looking for who's going to be the next great team. And we thought Denver was going to be dynastic. And I'm not discounting that Denver could get back into the mix and win another one.

But I think what we have right now is we're going to test the popularity of the NBA when there is parity. Because I believe that right now we have five, six, seven teams that could make a case that they are title contenders going into next season. So let me drill down a little on the Celtics greatness. And is it because the numbers say they're great and historically right. The eye test says something sort of otherwise. So is it more of an eye test not believing or is there something else? I would say that there's a combination. Number one, the Easter conference was not a good conference this year.

You had two teams that were outright tanking, right? I mean, the two worst teams in the league. and if you look at the difference between top teams, the Western Conference was loaded in terms of having more teams with winning records, more teams that won 50 games across the board. So Boston was the best team in the Eastern Conference. That's inflated the numbers.

But I still look at the way they're composed. Like, as of right now, if they don't have Drew Holiday, right? If they don't have Christopps Porzingis, even for just the two games, I'm not sure we're here looking at a potential sweep. So do they have that nucleus? Do they have that championship caliber nucleus? I'm sure there's some people out there that are immediately going to go,

well, Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum deserve to be in the category of the Kobe's and the shacks. Oh, no, no. Are people going there? Well, I would not be surprised if there's a sweep. Of course, the people are going to go there. Of course they're going to go there. And to me, it's like Drew Holiday, and they've been, they remind me of the 2004 Detroit Pistons when they beat the Great Lakers team in terms of they had a collection of really, really good players

whose pieces all fit and they were willing to share the load. And defensively, they were great in a multitude of ways. Who would, I don't even, was Rip Hamilton on that team? Rip Hamilton was on that team. Chayshon Prince was on that team. Chauncee Bill. Rashid Wallace, Ben Wallace, and Chauncey Billups. Chonsie Billups was the MVP.

I think Tatum and Brown are better than anybody on that team. I mean, Tatum's a three-time first-team all-NBA guy. Ah, okay, but how much better? My point is, my point is, my point is that they were, it was the sum of their parts that made them great. Like, is Jason Tatum an all-time great player? Do you put him in that category? We're still debating whether he's the best player on the team.

He's like 27, 28. I don't. So he's probably not going to win anything. He's going to have a phenomenal career. Is he going to win multiple chances? He might not even be finals MVP. I think he's probably Brown, right? It's right now.

The odds are that Brown's going to be MVP. This fits the narrative of the 2015 Warriors. See, I know. You know what? I'm so glad you brought that up. Okay, good, good, good. Because you never won finals of that, that was Andre Agu Doudala?

That was Andre Agu Dugadole. For his defense on LeBron. It was defense. LeBron still went off. And the one thing that, look, and I live in the Bay Area, so I've had to live with this. If they don't get Kevin Durant, they're not a dynasty. If they don't get Kevin Durant, they don't win back-to-back championships.

And three out of in four years. They don't do all that they did. So if you're comparing the Boston Celtics to that 2015 Golden State Warriors team, are they going to become dynastic without the insertion of a Kevin Durant-type play? player, can they as is, and keep in mind that the way the NBA salary cap is now structured. Yeah. It is so punitive. I mean, it's almost impossible unless you just, you want to give away your money.

It's impossible to keep a great team together. It's so, like the amount of tax that you pay, just keeping it together is extraordinary. And the Boston Celtics, if they want to keep this group together, they have a great team together. they're going to have to do that. They have them one more year for sure. And then Tatum's salary skyrockets. Yes. Drew Holliday's kind of getting in his mid-30s.

But he's essentially like Draymond Green-ish without the noise and cheap shots and punches and all that, right? I mean, he guard anybody. He's been... Drew Holiday has been indispensable. I mean, he's not going to win MVP, but man, if you had a most indispensable player, what Drew Holiday has done,

because, like, game three, Drew Holiday's not there to calm the waters to say, hey, don't worry, we're down by one. I got Kyrie Irving. I'll go and get Derek White an open three. Like, we're going to be okay, right? If you don't have that, I'm not sure we're looking at a 30 series. I would largely agree. One more thing on the side of thing.

That is stoves. Did you hear that? I agree. We agree sometimes. How often does that? We agree sometimes. Soak that in. Write it down. Right it down.

remember. Here's my thing. So we're watching a Celtics team that's switchable on the perimeter. Defensively, they're not doubling Luca. Luca keeps driving into the lane. He's like, shucks. I can't get over this length. PJ Washington's not opening.

They don't really have much. How many teams around the league are going to look at the way the Celtics are built, similarly to those warriors and be like, we need three-point shooting. We need wings. Remember, the warriors would go to the death lineup with Draymond at the five. And it was like, oh, my, and then they, you know, it was like jump to light speed with Kevin Durant. I just wonder, like, the guy I look at,

I kept talking about Carl Anthony Towns, do the Timberwolves move off him? I almost feel he's a Horford Porzingis type at the five, and a guy like Rudy Gobert has less value, and you saw his less value against the mass, do teams start to shape in the way Boston has? We want to play five out. Derek Lively, you were nice.

Didn't really work in the series. Yeah, there is something to that, for sure. And I think teams have been trying to do that. It's just Boston has perfected the art of what they've put together, and they've done it at a time where all these guys are in age, where you can kind of grow from it. So, yeah, having five attacking players on the floor, and honestly, it's, it is what the Warriors' death lineup was.

Multiple playmakers, multiple dribble drivers, multiple shooters. The Boston Celtics have just, have a new, iteration of that. So yeah, but everybody's looking, look, the Dallas Mavericks are looking for more 3 and D quality wing defenders and a stretch for in the guise of Christops Porzingis. Yeah. That's, it's what you have to have. And it's the one thing that they don't have, Maxie Kleber looks terrified to be on this stage. Yeah, I liked him. Look, this is what happens in the finals. It goes to your role players. Like you're, you're, Your stars basically X each other out.

And then it goes down to the 5, 6, 7 spots in your rotation. And who's going to win those battles? Who's going to make a contribution? Yeah. And the Boston Celtics guys have done that. All right, let's move to the Lakers. I think we're contractually obligated to talk Lakers every single time you're on the show. So Dan Hurley was on with Cowherd yesterday.

Here's what he had to say about the Lakers coaching search in his interview. We had some text messages. and, you know, he, you know, incredible, you know, message from him over the course of the weekend, just, you know, talking about basketball and some different things and, and let me know, you know, that if he was there in L.A., that I'd have his support. And just like, think about that, man, like that, that blew my mind. I'm a little distracted by the Batman thing on his desk. Anyway, so LeBron was texting with Danny Hurley over the weekend and dropped a if I'm with the Lakers. Yeah.

No, I'm not buying into that. I'm not buying into that. I've never bought into the idea that he's leaving L.A. I do think he will continue, and he's very good at this, maintaining his leverage by making you guess, by making you wonder. And look, if the Lakers don't find a way to acquire Brony James, then, yeah, Yeah, then that opens the door. But I have no reason. Bronny's already working out at the Lakers facility.

You saw that, yeah, yeah, yeah. What are we? And it was, the Lakers are intrigued by his athleticism. It was a workout. Come on, Rick. Don't be a hater. What are we trying to do? What are we really trying to do?

Are we trying to pretend that this is like, this is not about LeBron wants to play with his son, and we want the Lakers want LeBron to stay in a Lakers uniform? So we're going to acquire Brony. one way or the other? Like what is this? This idea that they're scouting him and like we've got to determine whether we want him or not.

Can we stop the foolishness? It is so, but I know, but we as media, when we try to do that with a straight face, we make ourselves look like jackasses. Like what are we doing? What are we doing? What are we doing? Hey, do you have to, you want to call anyone out? Go ahead.

We're blasting the culture wars. Let's name people. Anybody who a hit dog hollers. Anybody who respond to that, knows that they're the ones that I'm talking about. In reality, though, there is a scenario where, I don't know, Utah Jazz, boss is, whoever in the second round, we're just going to grab Ronnie James and mess with the Lakers. Lakers are kind of powerless unless they take him at 17, which will be foolish. They already blew their first round pick last year.

Huchefino did nothing. I mean, the guy they drafted after him, Hamehakis, I think, came right after Huchifino. Had like a really good season with Miami rotational guy. So you link that the Lakers are backed into drafting Ronnie? I don't know if they draft him or they just sign him as a free agent. Like he doesn't get drafted. I don't know how much it means to Brony or LeBron that he gets drafted. He's not going to be drafted in the first round.

No. It would be a second round pick. And second round pick now in the NBA draft is second day. I think there's almost more cachet if you were an undrafted player and they sign you. and then they can sign you to whatever they want. They're not restrained by the salary cap rules. So I, but all of this is really dependent on, like,

what is LeBron and Bronny won? What do they want this to look like? And that's really the only question that we have left here. Well, wait, we don't have the coach solved. Unless you think it's a formality, Redick is the guy? What's that? Is Reddick going to automatically get the job? It feels like he is by default.

This is, well, this is what, this is, this is how this is unfolded. So they were trying to put together, Reddick was at, was their target. And, but they wanted to put together a staff that would work with him. As it has been described to me, they like the way that JJ thinks, that he's an out-of-the-box thinker. And obviously his relationship with LeBron. But for the same reason, they're not sure that that's going to work. the head coach of the Lakers with this roster. So they want some guys on the bench that have done this before that can kind of help him

with the basics of being a head coach, an NBA head coach. They couldn't get those. From what I understand, they were having difficulty finding those guys or getting those guys to agree to come in, like a James Borago, come in and be an assistant coach for JJ. He could be the Cavs coach. Yeah, he's like, I don't, I'm not, and especially for the way that the way that the Lakers pay their assistance, which is not a whole lot. It wasn't very attractive.

So they were talking to a certain reporter who's very close to the Hurleys, asking, are we missing anybody? Like, is there somebody that we're not thinking of? And they were told, well, you know, Dan Hurley hasn't signed his deal with Yukon. And they were like, we didn't even know he was available. We didn't even think he was, that was possible. do you think he would consider? Well, I'll find out.

So that was the connection that was made. And Hurley's looking at it, thinking, well, okay, if you give me a generational-type deal, if I'm going to, the Lakers are capable, an NBA team is capable of paying me far more than, Yukon's limited. I mean, Yukon, if they're not going to, the deal that's on the table, the six years 48,

he's going to go above that. They're going to find, he's going to end up getting more as a result. He's going to get paid like Bill's self. He's going to get 10 a year. But that's really, that's almost beyond the resources of Yukon to do that. They're doing it because now they're compelled to, right? The Lakers, this is my issue. I'm not convinced that Dan Hurley would have worked in the NBA.

Look, you watch Tate, none of their players dribble the ball more than three times. Nobody stands for more than a second or two. I don't know how you get enough NBA. players to run his system. And in the NBA as a head coach, you don't come in with a system. You look at your personnel and go, what system do I run to fit this, right? Maybe Dan can do it, but he's never had to. So I don't know if he can't. And then there's the, like, how he treats referee. Like, there's a lot of adjustments to be made there. But if you're the Lakers and you decide Dan Hurley is the guy that we want, then you make a deal that he can't

refuse. So you think they should have gone to live? like 75 mil, 100 mil? Yes. Whatever it takes, but 70 million, he's going to get 60 million from Yukon. Why? I'm going to move across the country. I'm going to upset my wife who doesn't want to leave the East Coast. I'm going to have to put up with all of the cooks in the kitchen with the Lakers.

I'm probably not going to win. I'm going to put up with all of these things for an extra 10 million. I'm not doing that. Now, you give me 100 million? You give me $100 million. I can't refuse that. I have to take that deal. Nobody can refuse that.

Well, that's my point. So if you believe that Dan Hurley is the answer, then go get Dan Hurley. Nobody knows it he's the answer. Don't like, you think we can get him on the cheap? Like, what are we doing? You're the Lakers. Come on. You're the Los Angeles Lakers.

He would have been the sixth highest paid coach in the league. He hasn't coached one damn game at this pro level. You know what? The 11 mill or whatever he would have made is about at the average. everybody keeps putting it like he'd be six or top five top ten whatever it's about the when you take all of the salaries it's about average so i would say your best argument is the hey jj uh not like hurley you're our coach here's the staff we're going to give you like i don't love that idea no that well that was one of the reasons that's one of the reasons another reason not only are

you not paying me but you know what we're we're going to have a say in in terms of who's going to be on that that's not cool i don't like that's a dad's like okay i get to pick my coaches Like, I'm treated like royalty in Yukon. Like, the entire state is in love with me. Oh, Connecticut loves you. Wow. I can win. And here's the other part.

Like, his ability to get a shot at another NBA job is not hurt in any way. He's fine. By staying at Yukon. Somebody will come after him again, probably on the East Coast. Who knows? Knicks, Nets, somewhere that's more convenient. He's going to have that opportunity. You mentioned Hurley Whining.

I forgot about. about Luca's whining in game three. It disappointed me. I'm a big Luca guy. So Luca said yesterday, sometimes I don't show it the right way. At the end of the day, I really want to win. I got to do a better job showing it a different way. The floor is yours, Rick. So this is, I thought that Mavs would win.

Because Luca has won championships before, which I could not say about the Boston Celtics. They've been choke artists in the postseason. And Luca has demonstrated, since he was a teenager, I can win championships. Now, the difference is, and what I did not consider,

the EuroLeague is not as long, the playoffs are not as long, the athleticism, like he's never faced this kind of grind to win a championship. But, all that said, look at how Kyrie has dealt with the referees. Look at how Drew Holiday has dealt with the referees.

Look at how every other great player in this series has dealt with the referees. These are the best referees in the best referees in the NBA, and Luca is dismissive and challenging every single call and mocking them. Now, if you're looking for 50-50 calls, which I could make a case, both of the last two fouls could have gone the other way, and we would be having a conversation about, there goes Jalen Brown again, recklessly driving, losing the ball, like fouling, etc., etc. But these are 50-50 calls, and he's been hammering the referees all game long,

do you think you're going to get the benefit of the doubt? Like, be smarter about what you're facing. And he hasn't been that, and I'm sure he's going to learn that lesson. We've seen him in this playoffs. There was one game. I forget which one it was, where he was so nice to the referees. And you know what? He got a really good whistle.

I think it was a game after he got a technical member, and it was a big story. OKC maybe. Yes. He's patting them on the back. He's like, he's clapping when they, Got good calls. Like, look at my guy.

I'm going to try to defend a lot. I think there's a lot of stuff to crush it on. You said, look at how Kyrie and Drew Holiday have traded officials. They're in their 30s. They're veterans. Yeah. Lucas still a young guy. But that's not how we thought of him coming in here.

We've always talked about his game and his approach and his understanding of the game being wiser than his years, right? Yeah, he's only 25 years old. He's acted like a 20-year-old. in the series which has surprised me i think the reason and i give credit to the boston celtics they have made this game more difficult or difficult on him than he's

than anything that he's ever faced he's mentally and physically fatigue he cannot impact the game the way he's used to impacting it and that has him frustrated to a level where he's acting out i get all of it but if you're asking me why the mabs are where they are or whether he's blown this chance to win a championship, I would say, no, he's been exposed as not being an NBA championship

caliber player yet. He's got to get him better shape. He's got to play better D, and he's got to understand how you treat referees in order to get a good whistle. They're human nature. And you're talking about the best NBA, the best referees that the NBA has, and he's mocking them. What do you expect. You're not, like, chances are any 50-50 call is not going to go your way. And that's what he, that's the position he's putting in. So we'll wrap up with Caitlin Clark. I'm sorry. I know some people are out on the Caitlin Clark story, but it keeps getting more interesting. Yesterday, before a game in which you later played poorly in, the media is basically asking her to solve racism in this country with, hey, are you going to step up and help out the rest of the league? They're headhunting you, but can you kind of

defend them in these culture wars on social media? I thought Clark handled it great. I see you've got a grin. Go ahead, Rick. I just laugh. The reporter says, I know you just want to focus on basketball. And then asks the question that has nothing to do with basketball. Like the audacity of, I know you don't want to talk about this, but I'm going to ask you to talk about this.

Look, look, there's no way to treat her fairly. The only people that are treating her fairly are the WNBA players. Because you're coming in and everybody has said you are all that. And if I'm a WNBA player and everybody's saying you're going to take over this league, I've already been here. I've already been playing. Like, you're going to have to show me. And how she's being treated by WNBA players is no different than any great player coming into the league.

They all get tested. and particularly when they're a skilled player and they're not very strong, what are you going to do? You're going to be physical with them. That's just the nature of the game. It's not head hunting or any of that. So look, we can't treat her fairly

because we've never had a player that's had her popularity coming into the league. And so they're going to be missteps. They're figuring it out as they go. And... Like, LeBron didn't wait into social issues when he was 22. And Michael Jordan didn't.

Nor were we asking him. Yeah. But now we ask him all the time. And even that's not fair. Like, it's not. Anyways, Rick Bucher,

great stuff. It's the media's fault. Yeah, play the media. Not us. Yeah. The media. Those guys.

You mean that media. Yeah, you blame all of us. We're all guilty. Coming up next in the herd line news. Alex Curry has a wild story about Brady and Manning and a covert meetup from their playing days. That's next year on the herd. One more herd.

The herd streams 24-0. hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us

on the night-to-night bases on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball, like, After you go through a training camp with that, I said, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everyone, it's Ryder Strong and Will Ferdell from PodMeets World. And now the Pod Meets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, Traders, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show.

I'm just going to remind you. I have watched some survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Yeah. Just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion in the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay

to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of, ha, who. Ha, ha, who. Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune into Pod Meets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Most people out here think that taking care of one another is important. And most people would step up for a neighbor going through a tough time. Most people around here help out friends and family when they need it.

But the funny thing is, most of us won't look for help when we need it. Talk to someone if you're struggling with mental health. Because most people out here really care. Find more information at loveyourmindtay.org. That's loveyourmindtay.org. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council. Now everybody over here?

Oh, it's one of my other favorite places. The Twilight Gazebo. Sunset Gardens, Twilight Gazebo. What's next? Dead Man's Grove? Mom, could you please try to be a little bit positive about this? From Kenya Barris, the visionary creator of Blackish, comes Big Age, an audible original about finding your way in life's next chapter.

This audio comedy series follows a retired couple's reluctant relocation to Sunset Gardens, a Floridian senior community that is anything but relaxing. Starring Comedy Legends Jennifer Lewis, Cedric the Entertainer, and Nisi Nashvettes. Through its blend of outrageous comedy, Key Party Anyone, and Touching Revelations, Big Age explores what it means to grow old. without growing old at heart. Go to audible.com slash big age series to start listening today.

Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Kunky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Next Thursday, Major League Baseball will celebrate the Negro Leagues with a game at the legendary Rick Woodfield. Now, Tops created this collection of trading cards honoring legends like Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays. These are pretty awesome, and the full collection will be available next week on Tops.com And don't forget, the Giants take on the Cardinals from Rickwood Thursday on Fox. Did you ever collect cards, Alex, back in the day?

I wasn't a big card collector. I have a couple cards now. Like, I have a lot of baseball cards now just from when I started covering baseball and having a couple, like, big rookie cards, or they were giving them as giveaways. Like, the amount of baseball swag and memorabilia I have after over a decade and, like, covering the league is insane. But these are like, this is so cool. And then when you look on the screen behind us, just like how iconic Rick Woodfield is, the oldest stadium in the United States. Like it's just, it's, it's going to be a really cool, memorable moment. And the thing with all

of this, I don't know if you heard, but Major League Baseball added all the Negro League stats officially to Major League Baseball stats. So now they're combined. So this is just, it's a big deal this year everything Major League Baseball has done to do what they should have done decades ago. But this is going to be, this is going to be a special game. Baseball doing smart stuff with the cross-promotion with cards. I was a massive card collector. My brother and I, I mean, Alec, we were nerdy. Okay.

Do you have a big card right now? I don't have any recent cards at all, but we have a lot from the 80s, like the Ken Griffey Jr. upper deck. I honestly thought, like, that's going to pay for my college tuition. So we have like four of it. And we had those hard cases. similar to these, the Willie Mays and stuff here. Yeah.

Daryl Strawberry, Will Clark, who was like one of my favorite players. Yeah. We would go to card shows. My brother and I, we would get a table. Oh, so you were there. We were so nerdy. And, like, my friends were into this. And we would, like, I had, like, a Cow Ripkin card,

and I'll never forget this guy trying to negotiate a Cow Ripkin Jr. rookie card to, like, get a steal off me. I'm like, bro, I'm like 16. I don't, I'm not that hard up for $32. This is going to be worth a lot of money one day. it's somewhere in a safe. But I'll say this, my mother-in-law who watches, her brother has a massive card collection,

and it's in New Jersey, and I'm waiting for them to hand that down to daddy. Bring it on over. I love that so much. Two things, but I actually have a Tops baseball card from when I threw out the first pitch at Angel Stadium, had no idea until, like, fans started bringing it up to me to sign. I was like, where did you get this?

And how do I get my hands on one of these things? So I called Tops personally. I was like, can you like, can you hook a girl up? But I have, so one baseball card, not actually a baseball card, I have an NFL card that I'm not sure how valuable it is. And I'm curious, but it's like our one big card that we have. It's a Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelsey, Tyree Kill signed card. Oh. All three of them.

So I don't know. How did you get it signed? Oh, okay. Top secret. Yeah. Top secret. That's a secret. I'll never tell.

All right. Anyways, after the break, we'll go to Heardline News with Alex. 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, we're Kavino and Rich. Fox Sports Radio every day, 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern. But here's the thing. We never have enough time to get to everything we want to get to. And that's why we have a brand new podcast called Overpromised. You see, we're having so much fun in our two-hour show. We never get to everything. Honestly, because this guy is over-promising things we never. ever have time for. Yeah, you blubberlips.

Blame and me. Well, you know what? It's called Overpromise. You should be good at it because you've been over-promising women for years. Well, it's a Kavino and Rich After Show, and we want you to be a part of it. We're going to be talking sports, of course. We're also going to talk life and relationships. And if Rich and I are arguing about something or we didn't have enough time, it will

continue on our after show called Over-Promised. Well, if you don't get enough, Kavino and Rich, make sure you check out Over-Promise. And also, uncensored, by the way. So, maybe we'll go at it even a little harder. It's going to be the best After Show podcast of all time. There you go. Overpromising. And remember, you could see it on YouTube, but definitely join us.

Listen to Overpromised with Kavino and Rich on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows.

without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall.

And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. man, he running up the court, licking his fingers

why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, I said, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everyone, it's Ryder Strong,

and Will Ferdell from PodMeets World. And now the Pod Meets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show.

I'm just going to remind you. I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Yeah. Just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion of the 50th season.

From the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of Ha, who, ah, ha, ooh. Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune at a Pod Meets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Most people out here think that taking care of one another is important. And most people would step up for a neighbor going through a tough time. Most people around here help out friends and family when they need it. But the funny thing is, most of us won't look for help when we need it.

Talk to someone if you're struggling with mental health. Because most people out here really care. Find more information at loveyourmindtay.org. That's loveyourmindtay.org. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council. Now everybody over here? Oh, it's one of my other favorite places. The Twilight Gazebo.

Sunset Gardens, Twilight Gazebo. What's next? Dead Man's Grove? Mom, could you please try to be a little bit positive? about this. From Kenya Barris, the visionary creator of Blackish, comes Big Age, an audible original about finding your way in life's next chapter. This audio comedy series follows a retired couple's reluctant relocation to Sunset Gardens,

a Floridian senior community that is anything but relaxing. Starring Comedy Legends Jennifer Lewis, Cedric the Entertainer, and Nisi Nashvettes, through its blend of outrageous comedy, Key Party Anyone, and Touching Revelations. Big Age explores what it means to grow older without growing old at heart. Go to audible.com slash big age series to start listening today. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast.

I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd.

Let's go to Alex Curry with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, J-Mack, there's a lot going on in Boston. this week, but let's not talk about the Celtics. We're going to talk about Tom Brady and the Patriots retiring his number 12 jersey earlier this week after his long career in New England. Now, Peyton Manning was Brady's biggest rivalry during their careers, facing each other over 17 times, combining for nine Super Bowl and eight league MVP's.

And Manning was in attendance at the ceremony and revealed a fun story about the two. We actually got together one-off season in 2009 at the height of our careers. Tom's coming off at MVP season. I'm coming off an MVP season. We met in a small town in Tennessee. I said, Tom, let's get together. Let's kind of go real under the radar. Don't tell anybody we're coming in.

Tom flies in on Mr. Craft's plane, big news plane. I'm like, that is not what I said. I said, under the radar. That's against the salary cap, too, by the way. I get into that. So, but we play golf together, we lift your weights together, we threw routes together with these high school receivers. We took their phones away.

We said, if you tell anybody that Tom Brady and I are working out together and that we're friends, we're going to kill all of you. Can you imagine being one of those high school players or just a fly on the wall to see what these two legendary players in their prime, as they said, are hanging out and working out together during like the height of their rivalry. Like what are they talking about? Like are they, is it more of a respect thing? Can I learn from you? I want to observe you. Is it like we know there's so many mind games that you can play in sports like maybe if we're friendly,

then I can take you down on the field. Like there's so many different directions my mind goes when I hear a story like this. But it's so, it's so interesting. It's so interesting. And I love the fact that now that we're going to have Tom Brady on our Fox Sports Broadcast, we're going to get more behind the scenes inside stories like this. But we recently heard Patrick Mahomes on first things first when he was like, oh, when you're not playing, who are you watching? And he named he's watching Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, C.J. Stroud, all the top quarterbacks in his division. Could you ever imagine Mahomes like going out and having a day like this and doing a private training and a private throw?

session with one of his top rivals. Like it's just, there's so many questions that I have for either Peyton or Tom about this situation. It feels like the idea, fans like the idea of teams and players not liking each other because there's a rivalry on the field. In the NBA, that's a big thing. Oh, I love the NBA in the 80s and the teams hated each other. Hey, guys, newsflash, these guys like each other. They're combatants on the field, but they like hanging out off the field and Brady and Peyton getting together. together good stuff. I can't wait to catch passes

from Brady when he's in the studio here you know, we're hanging out. Dream big, Jay Mack. Dream big. Come on. I can run an out route with the best of them. Come on. Oh gosh. You're a little like what men's league is getting to your head a little bit maybe. Being able to compete with the professionals? Yes, yes.

Well, let's see. Brady goes to UCLA to work out. I can pop over there. Are you just going to like stock them and show up? No. No way. We're there. Hey man, we're colleagues. Like you want to throw them too fast. We'll just swap numbers. We're going to have a hidden camera following you J-Mac trying to sneak in on one of the sessions. Keep it low-key. No big deal. Don't need an

audience. What wasn't low-key was a ceremony. Did you see it? Jay-Z open for him. Little too much on the fog machine, whoever was controlling that. You couldn't see him for like the first 30 seconds of his performance. And then Tom delivered such a legendary speech, but like he's a goat. Would you

expect anything else from Tom Brady? It was something that you don't have to be special or the best. You just have to do what everyone else isn't going to do. You have to put in the effort. That is. I work hard, you're going to get the results. So, I like this story. That was a fun one. Okay, we're moving on to

Anthony Richardson, who enters his second season after his rookie year was cut short, appearing in just four games due to a shoulder injury. Now, Richardson has some soreness in his recovery, causing him to take a break from throwing at camp, but will apparently take part in a second mini-camp

with his teammates. Yeah, for sure. That's kind of like a mandatory second mini-camp for us, you know, just to get back in the group before training camp starts, you know, and just get ready for the season. Last year we did Florida, this year, kind of leaving it up the pit, you know, trying to be too stingy where I want to go. So it's been helping for the team.

No, it's a big deal coming off any sort of major injury, surgery, and he only played four games and even complete the fourth game last year. He put on some weight. He's about, I think it was 255 is what they said, which is good for a guy who likes to make contact. Hopefully he's not making as much contact with coming back from a shoulder injury. But it's positive. You know, he's putting in the extra effort to do a second mini-camp to make sure that the offense is working and they're getting the reps that they need before the start of the season. But what are your expectations for him this year?

Well, I expect to, I probably shouldn't say this on TV, draft Anthony Richardson in fantasy and then win my league again. He is a gold mine in fantasy football. So you're feeling good about it. Oh, I like that. I'm a huge fan. Okay. Now, I did see some, you know, we'll see how it works. You know, he's a young guy. He's got to, I know he's beefing up, but Alex, I don't want you running unless it's like in the red zone for touchdowns. You know, like in between the 20s, use your arm. You want to be playing when you're 33? Because Cam Newton, he's not. You got to win from the pocket. The rest will fall in line. I like Richardson as a fantasy sleeper quarterback. Do you do fantasy or no? Oh, yeah. Are you taking him as like your starter? No, yeah, as a starter, but later. I load up on wide receivers of running. Because they always get injured. And then if I can get Richardson like eighth, like eighth, like eightth round, seven-dryrd. Oh, you wait till the eighth?

Well, I mean, a lot of people take their quarterbacks early. I'm a Richardson late. I think Richardson is going to be a slam dunk, big-time stuff this year. Okay. Okay, Mr. Fantasy Man. All right, let's move on to the U.FL where the Birmingham Stallions will take on the San Antonio Brahmus for the inaugural UFL championship Sunday on Fox. Now, the Stallions won the U.S.FL title the last two seasons prior to the merger,

and will look to win a third street. title after finishing the season with the league's best record 10 and 1. But fun fact, that one loss came at the hands of the Brahma's in week 9. So a couple things here going for the Sallions who were looking to repeat. Their quarterback was the UFL MVP Adrian Martinez. Oh yeah. He's looking to bounce back after he was benched in the second half of the Sallions come back in route to get to this championship game. But their backup quarterback, Matt Corral, did a great job stepping up for him. So anytime you're looking to prove yourself, I feel like you always have some sort of a bounceback game.

But who are you taking here? Well, you know, this is the year of chalk. I put this on social media. All these people hated it. But essentially, all the favorites are winning championships this year. In college, women's college basketball, it was the South Carolina team, undefeated steamwold to the settle. Yukon men in college hoops. Michigan, national championship, big favorites.

Favorites cover win easily. I know the chiefs were slight underdogs, but they were, come on. It's a Kansas City Chiefs. They were not. I mean, they were slight dogs. They were, they were not favorite. They were not the favorites. It's the Kansas City Chiefs.

They're just the best team in football who you said earlier are not going to three-peed. And you're saying they're the best team in football. Now you're kind of going back on yourself. And then the other one is this Boston Celtics right now. Yeah. Heavy favorites, right? They were big favorites. They're steam one.

This is the year of chalk. So I will go stallions getting their third straight. inaugural UFL championship. I'm going to roll with the Sallions, too. You just go with me. I'm going to go with you there. Yeah. Yeah.

It's fun. That's good. Alex Curry with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lying News. So two hours in the books. Final hour will be the power hour.

We have a really good former NFL players. A guest. We have an NBA finals exam. It's weird. Finals are tonight. We barely talked about it. Have you said who you're taking? tonight? I'm not even betting tonight. You're not

betting tonight? Are you going to share it here? I don't think you've said it. So I did props. I'm hoping the Mavs can like at least steal one tonight, make it interesting, prolong it a bit. Tuesday, I believe. There's just too much time in between all of these games. I had MAPs first quarter, first half, full game, O for three. And then I clean sweep on props.

So I'm done. Player props are good. Final hour coming up next to you. 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. What's up fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to

he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to fupas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to how hard Can it be with Diana Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramers sending on the only store at the chip. I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Boca. On our podcast, inside American soccer, you'll get the real storylines, the biggest decisions, and the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals.

Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tabramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. On the Sino Show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon, Danny Trail, talk about addiction,

transformation and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to bench, featuring powerful conversations with the guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville and more. I'm an alcoholic. Without this truth, I'm going to die. Listen to the Cino's show on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.