The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - The NBA Finals

Episode Date: May 31, 2024

Rachel Nichols gives her thoughts on the upcoming NBA Finals Danny Parkins stops by to enlighten us all on the Bears future and how they are improving their offenseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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,

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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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan,

so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule. of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliver Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes,

creators and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Thanks for listening to The Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. To noon Pacific. 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 in, hour two to Friday. 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. Jay Mack, what do you got playing for the big weekend? You and I are going out Saturday night, night in the town.

Uh-oh. Uh-oh. I'm a little nervous now. I know you've been getting after it lately and your wife's out of town. So, uh... Getting after it? Uh, no, no. I know.

You know, I've been playing some pickleball lately. Oh, I love that. With the fam? It is fun. Oh, I love it. Oh, my goodness. Ann and I played against a couple not long ago. And we just had a ball.

It's not a workout like tennis, but it's a fun thing. You know, it's pretty easy, right? I don't need to run around and jam up on a hard court with tennis and be hobbling, wobbling. What's wrong with pickleball? Yeah. Men's league took a tough loss to Mosgolf last night, the seven-footer company. Yeah, I think most of America is watching another game, but that's okay. Well, our game was closer to that blowout.

Hey, this is interesting. I said this, and I think most people agree, that I think there are five or six positions in football that you need to be really good at or you're not a Super Bowl team. You don't have to be great at safety, linebacker, off-ball linebacker. You don't have to be great at guard, tied-end, although it helps to have a nice tight-end.

But PFF, I usually trust them, although they love Baker-Mayfield way more than I did. They came out with the top-10 rosters, and they have Kansas City at two. and they don't have Detroit in the top five. And I think I just totally disagree. You cannot be a top five roster and be bad at tackle. You just can't be.

And right now, Detroit, in my opinion, has the best set of tackles in the NFL, and the chiefs have the worst. And I think Goff is an A quarterback. He may not be A plus. But if you go to the key positions, Kansas City doesn't have a number one wide receiver. I'm sorry, a 165-pound guy out of Texas is not going to take the league over. I get a better left tackle with Detroit. I get a better right tackle with Detroit. I get a better star receiver, and I get a better edge rusher in Aidan Hutchison.

So I think Kansas City is doing it with a coach and a quarterback and a tight end that are all-time great. But those Super Bowls they're in, those have been close games, they've struggled, they've been outplayed, they've trailed, and Mahomes and Andy Reid pulled out with what they do. But I will say it again, I think the Lions, there's an argument. they have the second best roster in the NFL to the 49ers. The 49ers is a little longer in the tooth, more experienced, and obviously they have Christian McCaffrey. But Detroit is no joke.

Detroit went into Kansas City last year, first game of the year and beat him. And you remember that game? It was not a mirage. They just lined up with them and moved the ball. And that's the reality of Detroit. So it's not that I don't think Kansas City is really, really good. They're great at coach and quarterback and tied in and Chris Jones. but they lost Jerry Sneed, who's a top five or six, I think, athlete corner in the league.

And they're good at edge, not great at edge. They're bad at tackle. And I don't trust the wide receivers. Rishi Rice, bad off season. I don't know what they're going to do with that knucklehead. He had a bad off season. Bad judgment. So there you go.

All right. Rachel Nichols, from time to time, stops by. We always love it. It's a Friday off one of the more compelling playoff runs in recent memory with not the Celtics, but the Mavericks, Rachel Nichols on the show. It's great to see her covering the league since 93. Well, you've been in a lot of these series, and you've watched a lot. I think we can say without hesitation, the West is deeper and thicker and better than the East.

And I think it's fascinating that Dallas beat the old Clippers and the Young Thunder and the tall, powerful T-wolves. And here come to three-ball shooting Celtics. It is a little like March Madness where you're like, this team is better than a month ago. Oh, yeah. I mean, they've just gotten better. It's really since, I mean, it's a crazy date, but March 7th was the day that Jason Kidd both changed the starting lineup and had a real heart to hurt with his players. Lots of feelings came out, Jason told me. He said they didn't like it, but we had a little bit of a therapy session over why we got to play better defense.

And since March 7th, they had been the number one defense in the league. Before March 7th, they were 23rd. So the difference has been huge and the confidence they've gained with every round has been huge. And there's no question they had a much harder road to these NBA finals than the Celtics did. But they haven't played a team on that road as good as the Celtics. Yeah, or as deep offensively. So Boston is, I said this, they're the perfect 2024 pro team. They're rich, they're collaborative, they get along, they listen to their coach.

the skill level's insane six guys could give you 25 in a finals game including alhorford you'd be fine and they're not a they don't have a lot of dogs i think a u basketball all of these guys they don't kind of feel like an old pistons an old self they don't quite have i don't think a lot of teams do what's fascinating with dallas is luca is that guy and i think stars it just rubs off and I think Dallas plays with a chip. Do you sense it? Do you hear that? Absolutely. First of all, Luca was number two on my MVP ballot. I still think that. I think that he will be the best, most talented player in this series.

I'm not saying he's going to have the best numbers of anyone, but in terms of who would you take, if you had 10 guys on the floor, which one would be your number one draft pick? Luca Dachich would be your number one draft pick. He is just more of a fireball, offensive talent, and he's been playing very good defense. So I think he's still going to get his numbers. I think he's still going to do well in this series. I don't think anyone's going to stop him, but I do think they're going to pick him up full court a lot.

They're going to be looking to tire him out so that even if he still shoots on the offensive end, that he's not quite as stringent on defense because he's just going to be a little bit more exhausted. And the way that the Celtics can throw three all defensive player quality, I know only two of them actually made the team this year, but you could certainly argue Jalen Brown could have been. on one of those all-defense teams at them. They are better individual defenders than Luca has seen through these playoffs. So it will be an interesting matchup that way.

And then, of course, what Dallas has done on defense is pack the paint, right? And Derek lively, we're all just amazed by this kid. He's been incredible. Can't do that with Boston. They've both taken and made, not just taken, but made the most threes in the league this year. So Porzingis is a very good player. He does have an injury history. but I felt throughout the Eastern playoffs

that Boston felt like why play him? That's what it feels like, or is it a we can't play him? I think it's a little bit of both, right? I mean, I don't think they rushed him back. I think they couldn't play him at the beginning. I think if in Eastern Conference finals

that was a different matchup, if they really felt they got to like a game, you know, six or seven, there were reports he was ready to come back by game four or five, but by the time they got to game four, they didn't need him. So I think that they were overly cautious

as they should have been, because you don't need him to win that series, so why put him out there and risk it? And he is expected to play in the finals, and I think he'll make a very big difference. I mean, Brad Stevens won executive of the year this year for a very good reason. He got Drew Holliday and Chris Stap's Porziggis already added the nucleus of this team that was so strong already. And that's why sort of one through five, at least with those top five starters, they have a stronger complete starting five than Dallas. has, even though Dallas will have the best player on the floor. So it's a bummer for Mark Cuban, who got a title out of it. I thank God Mark got a title.

Have he just sold it now? I mean, I think he's still a minority owner is what I saw flash across the screen. Trust me, if the Mavericks win, Mark Cuban's getting a ring. And he's a lot more visible. You know, I met the new ownership. Mark actually introduced me to the new ownership in Dallas, and they're lovely, but they're not the same. I mean, he is out there.

He is out front. They are not interested in that. They like owning the team. going to tie into some other larger plans that both A and Mark have, but they are not interested in being on the sideline and being, you know, on TV and being the guy or anything like that.

And Mark still is, and God love him, he certainly deserves to be. He is sweat a lot with this team, you know, right along with the players. No, I've said for years, Dallas is an underrated NBA brand. I like, no state tax, right in the middle of the country, no five-hour flights.

But that's Mark, not the no-taxas. But I remember before he bought the team, guys didn't want to be there. It just felt like a cowboy town. Yeah, it was a losing proposition. They were awful for years. And yeah, the team wasn't good and the facilities weren't good. And the first thing he did was come in and completely change the players' locker room.

And it is the prototype for what we now see as a player's locker room, but none of them were like this. Wood paneling, the big comfy chairs, putting like a game system. I remember people criticizing and going, they're going to be soft. Too comfortable. You know what? It was a recruiting taxi. And it worked. Yeah.

It changed the perception. So it's interesting. The last two, I've spent a little more time in Boston recently. And so the last two times I've been in Logan Airport in Boston, I've had Celtic fans literally come up. And you can, it's palpable. You can feel the pressure. Yes. You know, you've got the Patriots dynasty, the Red Sox, the Bruins.

It's a winner's town. And Boston wins a lot, but not a lot of trophies. and people are like, we're good, right? Like, I think we're pretty good. And I'm like, yeah, you're excellent. But I do think it's almost, it's very difficult when you dominate the East. Were they 12 and 2 in the playoffs or something? And just all season.

I mean, it's literally the most offensively efficient team in history. It feels like, you know, you're a boxer. You get into a fight. And Dallas has got a Tyson quality where they'll knock you out. first round. Yeah. And I just, I don't know what you, I mean, you can practice hard, but has, has Boston been tested?

But even, I mean, there were 500 against the top Western teams. So I feel like, I know what Boston is, but I'm, I kind of feel like I want to watch the first two games of this series. Do you expect them? Like, I think Dallas is going to come out and be like, we've been in battles for six weeks. Yeah. Yeah.

But look, Dallas will have to play better than it has played the entire. playoffs. They will have to be, go up a level to really compete with the Celtics in these, in this series. I agree with the odds makers. I think the Celtics have an edge, but I also think it could be a long series and that if they get into a long series and it's game six or game seven, the pressure is all on Boston. That pressure you talk about is so important. And what I've been so impressed with is that Luca from the moment he walked into the league has never bowed to pressure. I mean, he is just a killer. And Kyrie has so much peace and confidence right now. It is, So fascinating is someone who's covered him his entire career.

I talk to him often. It is so fascinating to watch the stage that he is at now. He is going to walk in that arena, completely calm with everybody yelling and screaming. Remember, one fan threw a water bottle at him, you know, during his Brooklyn tenure. I think, honestly, it's not going to affect him, and it's only going to fire Luca up. Yeah, no, I think so. I could, I could, Kyrie knows that roster. Absolutely.

He knows those guys. And it's interesting. He talked a little bit about it last night. I've talked to him about this. You know, he really, when he got to Boston, his grandfather died pretty early in his Boston tenure. He was very close with his grandfather, and it really affected him. He's used the word dark place. He said, it sent me into a dark place, and I wasn't really able to handle then all the other emotions and things going on with the team.

And he said that, look, I didn't handle things as well as I should have with the younger players. Remember, there's a lot of locker room friction. And he said, I didn't have an outlet. I didn't have a way for that to come out. And I think, you know, all of us in life, if you just keep burying things and you keep it inside, it's going to come out in the wrong way. And that is part of what happened in Boston. And he has completely changed the way he processes off the court things.

He's talked about, he said, I unpack them in a healthy way now. And the change is so palpable in how he is matured. And he's the first one to talk about that. And Jason Kidd, of course, has had a big hand in just how comfortable he's made it for Kyrie and Dallas to be his best self. Yeah, if I was Boston, game one feels essential. So if you're, I've always said, the easiest two ways to win the championship are you're part of a dynasty and just have better players.

Or you're pretty close, but you're an underdog with no pressure. That's Dallas, right? Yeah, Dallas is like hot, pretty darn close. Sure. No pressure. If Luca lost, you'd be like, he's 25. It's his first finals. He'll get back.

But if you go into game four, and it's two one. Dallas and Tatum just comes off a stinker. What does the finals mean for Tatum? Look, it is a big deal because this team is as stacked as it's ever been in the 2J's Tatum Brown era, right? They've been given as much talent as they possibly can. And if they come out of this, still not getting it done, you really have to take a look at this team and how to make them better and it will probably involve moving some pieces

around. But I still think Jason Tatum will be. regarded is one of the better players in the league. And I think he's going to have a great summer with Team USA, and that's going to matter and affect people's perception of him. And Boston's not getting rid of either one of those guys. They just signed them both to huge max contracts. They've got, you know, $300 million of money tied up in them and all this stuff.

They will still be there in Boston, and it will just be a matter of moving those pieces around. Every year he doesn't win, though, every year that team doesn't win, it is more pressure. And there are more people saying, hey, you got to the Eastern Conference finals, six out of eight years. why couldn't you get it done? There's people saying, hey, you look tense at the end of big games. Even though the overall clutch numbers are good, you know, in the hottest, brightest spotlight. Sometime that pressure does seem to get to them.

All right. Finally, JJ Reddick is on a broadcast. The Lakers haven't named a coach. It feels like it's him, kind of, right? Yeah. I mean, look, if they give JJ the job, which is certainly what all signs point to at this point, and what I've heard and what multiple reporters have heard,

they're not going to announce it until after the finals. Out of respect for him, out of respect for the broadcast partner, ESPN, they're just not going to do that. So the longer this goes on without an announcement of someone else, the more likely it is that this is what they're waiting for and this is who they're waiting for. Now, by the way, Warriors interested in Darwin Ham. I'm happy for him. It looks like he'll get in their rotation.

I think, I told J-Mack, I don't, I'm supposed to, I'm in the opinion business and the prediction business. I want to watch game one. It does feel old school. You got the old school sort of Dallas chip on the shoulder, Alpha, Luca. I said this. Wouldn't surprise me the minute the finals that are over, he's got a smoke and a Belgian beer, and he's having a time of his life.

Did you see the clip of Michael Finley taking away Luca's beer post game? I was just like, what happened? And look, the Mavericks, Finley, first of all, he's a great guy. He is the VP of Basketball Operations there now. The Mavs have been on Luca for years to improve his diet. take back a little bit of the drinking during the season. You know, as Luca once said, how do you recover from an injury? He's like, I have my recovery beer, remember?

He said that. So it's been a sort of big picture issue. But let the man have his victory beer after that win, and they've got six days until the finals. Again, love Michael Finley. But I was like, just let him have the beer, man. People need their carbs after a big. He needs to replenish the carbs and the energy, for sure. Look, I think you're totally right because the serious.

could go one of two weeks. It's like a fight. I got to see the first round. I don't know what it's going to look like. Either the Celtics, who have this historically, offensively efficient and just this great defensive stack team are going to run over a Mavericks team that has been beaten up and battled and has gone through a really long run here with having to fight their way through everything.

And Linda, Luka is dealing with injuries, right? And there's an element of that that could happen where the Celtics just overpower them. There's equal chance, though, that this becomes a real deal. dog fight and the longer it goes, the better the Maverick's chances are of winning. Yeah, if I was Boston and I thought about a game plan, my takeaway would be make Luca work on the defensive end.

We're just going to move, maybe not Steph Curry level, keep Luke up moving. They're going to pressure him. That strategy is tire him out because you're not going to best him. He's no one's stopping him. But you can influence the way he plays. And we saw with

Kyrie in the Oklahoma City series, there are ways to shut him down too. So I just think that it's going to either go really in the Celtics favor or it's going to be a real dogfight. And the longer that goes, the more that gives the Maverick's advantage. Great seeing you, Rachel. Good to see you. Rachel Nichols.

When you travel to security concerns back home, Nagu, you're gone for nine days. Look up Simply Save Home Security. Sensors. Detect floods, fires, more. Cameras inside out, front yard back. Simplysafecollin.com. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Hard Radio app.

Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast'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 iHeart radio. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Cliverts Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or we're you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look

Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode, with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

They're finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Keer 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 or 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. Danny Parkin's going to be on Raider. He's a very, very talented Chicago radio host. Bears are on Hard Knocks, which is, I'm actually excited to watch this. Big brand that has struggled for years. Hopefully they pivot to offense this year.

So Danny Parkins, who is known Nick Wright and he grew up together. and very, very good friends. And Nick introduced me to Danny. And he's an incredibly talented young radio voice in Chicago. So we're going to bring him on the show today. But first, Jay Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Ramon Green. Who is, whoa. Draymond Green has piped up about the Celtics easy path to the finals. You know, they faced a lot of teams who have been injured. Draymond Green says, listen, it's hard to get to the finals. He's not having it.

Celtics makes it to the finals with only two losses, and everyone is saying that road isn't tough enough. Whether they get to this NBA finals and win or lose will not be because they haven't been battle tested, let me tell you that, okay? You don't get to the NBA finals, and at some point throughout the year you ain't been battle tested. Don't happen, won't happen. It ain't happening this time.

Congratulate them on their run, wherever you've placed in front of them. they blew down they let a couple games get away that I actually don't think they should have let get away nonetheless they're in the NBA finals with two loss yeah

they have played it's been the easiest road to the finals that I can remember a team going through I don't remember I mean Dame and and Bede and Jimmy Butler and the Knicks and they just I mean Halliburton

it's The East was bad and many of the best players got hurt. So it is indisputably an easier path. So you know the last team that I heard this about was the 2015 Warriors where they kept facing teams who had injured stars. And Kyrie got hurt, I think, in game one overtime or something. Game one of the finals, Kyrie gets hurt. And they were, it was like a depleted cast.

And everybody's like, well, these warriors got lucky. It was an easy run. Like, you know, I know I disagree. agree with Draymond frequently on the show. He's not wrong here. I will have to say, first good take I've heard out of him in a, uh, quite some time. I had to. All right, let's go to the NFL. Big change to the kickoff format this season. Now, Colin, this has got teens getting creative, okay? So the chiefs are considering using safety Justin Reed as a potential kickoff specialist because of the rule changes. I don't think it has to do anything with Harrison Butker's speech or

anything. Here's special teams coordinator Dave Taub on his logic. I like to have somebody that can go back, you know, is able to make a tackle. I mean, Bucker is able to make a tackle, but I really don't want him making tackles all year long. Justin can cover, I mean, he can kick, which he can do, and then he can go down there and make tackles. You know, he's an extra guy that they're probably not accounting for. You know, I mean, they know that that guy can go down to tackle, but a guy like Justin is a guy that they have to worry about. You have to get him blocked, and they have to give up blocking somebody else. Yeah, it's going to be interesting.

I've been reading up on teams and the smarter coaches playing around with this kickoff. And this is a classic example of I want to see it before I have a strong opinion on it. But I think they moved, they changed the catch rule like that. They changed the PAT. I like that. So NFL generally, you know, these leagues take swings on stuff. And my take is they're doing it for safety reasons. They're also doing it for heightened drama.

The kickoffs are all going into the end zone. It's a wasted play. Yeah. It's also the most dangerous play in football, right? Because everybody's running so fast right at each other. I'm indifferent. But I'm kind of like you. Dang, I hate that I'm agreeing with you today.

But I do want to see it. I don't really know what to expect. I've never seen it before. Well, it's like the pitch clock, they tried the pitch clock in minor league baseball for two years. I sat on a plane. I was flying east coast to west coast, sat in a plane with a general manager in the Richmond area. your area. And he said, no, it works.

He said it'll take off, he said it'll take off probably about 18 minutes a game. And the bigs, it took off about 25 minutes a game. Because there were more posturing and big league baseball than minor league baseball. But he said it works. Well, this, it's kind of like go.

So, you know, the NFL through the years has stolen stuff from Canadian football, the XFL. So they're not too high on their horse that they can't watch somebody else for why they'll take stuff from high school if it works so i i have always appreciated you know there's an old saying um NBA will think of it first major league baseball will make the most money on it and the NFL will get it right and that's generally their changes they get it right i've never

is that you're saying that i've i heard that years ago baseball will make the most money on it NBA's always been a creative league looking for new angles and the NFL will watch them both and the right thing to do. I kind of like that. Final story is to the UFL. St. Louis Battlehawks are pursuing home field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win tomorrow over the Brahma's.

The Battlehawks would secure home field and a rematch with San Antonio in the XFL Conference Championship with the UFL championship set to be played in St. Louis as well. Now, attendance has been very, very good in St. Louis, but in regard to ratings,

you've talked about this a little bit. Well, Fox Sports President of Insights and Analytics, Michael Mulva Hill tweeted out where the UFO ranks among other major spring sports based on average viewership. Take a look at that. NHR regular season, barely beating out the UFO.

UFL topping the EPL and the WNBA. Also, so I have been a believer in spring football for two reasons. One, let the NFL season end, don't compete against March madness, get out of that space. That's what Rocks

League did. Fox's League. didn't compete against March badness. You're not going to win on those weekends. Give everybody six, eight weeks off, then ramp it up, have sports betting a part of it, and it's going to work. Now, it didn't work because COVID blew up one of the leagues.

But I've said before, there's the quality of this league because we took this league, the one we had, and Rock took his. We merged them. This spring league is easily the highest quality in terms of personnel. You can watch these games.

This is really good football. It's not as good as maybe a Canadian football league or a top college team or the NFL. But you've got NFL dudes playing. This is somewhere around a good college football game in terms of talent. You've got real players here. I like it. Same? J-MAC with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. It is interesting. So we both agree that Yokits, Luca, and Yonis are the three best players in the league. We agree on that, right? Correct. Okay.

Let's just round out the top five. Okay. I'm going to call it the all-N-Ba team if you don't mind. All-N-A team. All-N-A first team this year. Oh, look at that. Jason Tatum was first team all-M-Bee. That's not.

What do you mean? He was one of the best five players in the league this year. It was Yonis, Tatum, Mbid, Luca, and SGA. Yeah, I'm not putting Embed over that. They put Mbid. Oh, no, I'm sorry, that was last year. Embeddied was over Yokic. Donovan Mitchell doesn't crack the top five.

Sabonis, Dame Lillard's kind of sliding a little bit. Okay, I asked me who I would take over Tatum to build a franchise. Donald Mitchell or Tatum? Tatum. Kawai or Tatum? Tatum. Devin Booker or Tatum? Easy Tatum.

Anthony Davis or Tatum? Ant. Not there yet. I say Anthony Davis. Not Ann Edwards. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, Anthony Davis. They're older. Tatum.

So you're starting to come around on Tatum, huh? No, no. As a top five guy. This has always been my opinion. Is that in terms of the question isn't who's better. The question is, who would you build around? Because then you need maturity, production, reliability. Tatum has to be a top five build around guy.

Has to. Okay. So I would take Luca over him, Yokic over him, and Janus over him. He is absolutely, he is absolutely in discussion for four. Now, I think Ant has a higher ceiling. SGA is a better pure score. Jalen Brunson. Tatum's a bigger athlete.

And like if you follow the whole small guard thing that everybody's pushing out there, I can take an SGA over Tatum. Now, Steph Curry, I take Steph Curry over Tatum in a big game. But if you're talking, who would I build a franchise around? I have to consider health, age, injury. production, reliability defense. So the best argument for Tatum is he is the number four guy in the league to build your franchise around.

That's a fair argument. He's not, you take everybody would take Yokic and Luca. And I think we forget Janus because he got hurt, but you'd take Janus. He's so dominant when he's healthy. A lot of people want to put Embed there. Oh, God, no. The injury, I just can't do it. No, done.

And again, the regular seat, everybody, oh, M.B. put up one of the best regular seasons. Are we sure? Are we sure anybody likes playing with Embed? Are we sure about it? I've watched so many people fly through. Hardened left, Philly. He got better in L.A.

I think at some point we need to start to diminish the regular season for the NBA. Like, OKC was amazing. And in the playoffs, it's a half-court game, and they get bounced. Minnesota's defense, the best in the league, Colin. They couldn't stop Luca or Kyrie at all in the series. Yeah. Like, it's regular season stuff. Well, the NBA.

It's just two different sports playoffs and regular season. That's okay. That's okay. I think the NBA is trying to increase the intensity of the regular season with the in-season tournament, which was really, I thought, fun. People just want to complain about everything. I mean, we have a presidential candidate that America's falling apart. It's not perfect, but everybody wants to complain about everything.

The in-season NBA tournament, the championship game got six and a half or five and a half billion people or some big number. Good audience. It was a huge audience. It got me to watch games I wouldn't want. much. So, but I think the Tatum argument, he has a lower ceiling to me than Ant. If you're asking me who I would build around going forward, I would go, Yokic, Luca, Janus, Ant, and probably Tatum's in the next group. Two more guys who, John Morant.

Oh, Tatum, not even close. Zion Williamson. Not even close. That's not even close. They're just two young guys who get their act together for a year. Tatum's a grown-up. No, I think I, and again, the interesting argument is aunt

and Tatum. So Tatum, Ant's got a higher ceiling. Tatum's got a higher floor. But I do think Ant has a little more of that let me take over the game alpha thing, which I tend to like which Luca has. Yokic has. The one guy that

we haven't mentioned yet, he's only played one season, is Wembe Nama. And obviously you're going to build around Wembenyama, the 7.5. I would take Wemby over. Tatum. So does that push Tatum out of the top five? That's a good good get by you. So I would take Yokic, Luca, Wemby, and Janus over Tatum. So I would consider Tatum for five, but I would probably take Ant because I over Tatum. Well, I think his next seven years are his best seven. I think I know

what I get with Tatum. And what I don't get in spots is the alpha I'm dying to see. Maybe I get it in finals. I'm pretty sure Tatum got to the finals a couple years ago as a 23, 24 year old. Shriveled up. he got there they led to one got there can aunt get out of the second round before we crown him it's getting a little much man it's just getting the man crush you have on anthony edwards it's like it's like uh nick with uh patrick mahomes i mean goodness is aunt coming on the show next week i'd love to have mon

always welcome i just i should call that the ant den the ant hill we just put that right that i like that save big in your water and energy bills with a navian tankless water heater 15-year warranty. Go to tankless maidsimple.com. Look up Navion. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,

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I don't care which I'll say it. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators,

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Well, he's a humble guy, but I think he's the best young sports talk show host in America. He works out of Chicago at the score of 670. Parkins and Spiegel show Danny Parkins, who I've had, got a new book out, Pipeline to the Pros released in April, which is a fascinating book about the connection between Division III basketball and the NBA. It made the New York Times bestseller list. He's friends with Nick Wright. Get Nick right.

Of course, the Twitter handle. So if he's friends with Nick, he's friends with me. It's good to see it, buddy. I want to talk about this. The Hard Knocks. And I said for years and years, hard knocks has been a hard pass. You know, it's just not that interesting. I'm fascinated with the Bears, and part of the reason I'm fascinated because I think

they're dysfunctional, and I think they don't even make sense. They have no 4,000 yard passing seasons. They've never had a great quarterback. You live in the belly of that. You are, you're listeners. So right now, do they believe, they've been heartbroken so many times, Danny. Do they think Caleb is going to pivot them into a Packer level, at least level of offensive football? This has to be it, Colin. I mean, they tried with Mitch Trubisky. They tried with Justin Fields. They tried with Rex Grossman.

They tried with Cade McNow. They tried with Jay Cutler. They've done every other version of this sort of thing. So if it can't be with the number one pick, which they've never done before at quarterback, one of the best quarterback prospects we've ever seen, entering a seven-win team. You know, the Bears, this wasn't their number one pick. Keenan Allen, DJ Moore, Roma Duns-A, D'Andre Swift, Cole Commet, an average to above average offensive line, which should be a good, if not great, Bears defense.

I mean, if this version of the Bears rebuild doesn't work, then I might actually start believing in curses. So the NFL did them a favor. They get Tennessee with a young quarterback, all new receivers, a new staff. So that's a really nice opener. They don't have to play the Packers until I think week 11. That's a bit of a break. But the thing you were, worry about defensive coach, little bit on the hot seat, you go one and three. What is the tarmac here? What's the runway for Eberfluse? Is two and three in trouble? Can they sputter a little in the first four to five games, Danny? They won't fire him that early. Ryan Poles went so hard, the Bears general manager, that Matt Eberfluse was the guy. And that was my biggest and really only

issue with how they handled the offseason. I felt like when you won the lottery in that Carolina Panthers trade to get the number one overall pick and get Caleb Williams, you're hard pressed to convince me that the best possible coach to develop this generational prospect is Matt Iberflus. I have a very hard time believing that. But the players like him, the defense improved, improved when he became the defensive play caller, pretty good culture guy. So I don't think that they would hit the eject button on him five or six games into the year when so many people were clamoring for it in the off season. But, But a funny way to bet this actually would be because he's a co-favor favorite with Jim Harbaugh right now for Coach of the Year.

I could see Matt Iberfluse winning Coach of the Year and I could see him getting fired. That's the range of outcomes. So what's the runway for Iber Fluse? Honestly, it is one year because if they sputter, if they are a seven-win team this year like they were last year, Caleb's here. Keenan Allen might not be. It will be looked at as a huge disappointment this season. so they would make a change at coach

well before they would make a change at quarterback again, obviously. So I think Matt Iber flus has one year to prove that he can be this guy before they would hire an offensive coach. I thought it was interesting that after they took Caleb, they had another pick. And I had projected that Iber Fluse

would pound the table as a defensive coach and say, you've got to get me somebody on the other side from Montez Sweat. Yeah. Because that's what coaches do. generally a coach makes more than the GM. McVeigh can pound the table or a Shanahan. Now, obviously, Iber Fluse doesn't have that gravitas.

But when they drafted another offensive player, it really was, to me, a sign the Bears had pivoted as a franchise. And polls, to his credit, has missed on a couple of receivers. Bealish Jones, Chase Claypool. Maybe I'm a little hyperbolic here, but I thought them saying, no, we're going to go with another offensive piece. It was almost signaling to Chicago

land. Like, now, it is a new day here. How did that play when they didn't go defense? Because that city loves defense. The city does love defense, but I think we've finally come to grips with what football is in 2024 and beyond, that you have to have a great

offense. I mean, I was on the air live when the pick was made, and I gave a big old fist pump. I was like, modern offensive football is finally coming to Chicago. And I've been waiting for it my entire life. And to Ryan pulls his credit, you mentioned a couple of the misses that he had. One of the things that's really stuck with me when he got hired, he said,

remember where I came from. And he was the director of personnel, college personnel in Kansas City. And so he was there when they drafted Patrick Mahomes. And he was there when they had the best offense of the league and they still used a first-round pick on Clyde Edwards-Aler. Now, that pick didn't work. But the point was you can never have too many offensive weapons to support your quarterback. So a lot of people thought they were going to take Turner or Murphy or Verse or someone like that to go opposite Montez Sweat. And make no mistake, that is the biggest hole on the team.

They are very thin and unproven on the defensive line opposite Montez Sweat. But they are invested in finally getting it right at the most important position in team sports, which is quarterback. And so Roamedo Dunezay at 9 was a no-brainer to support Caleb. and that's the biggest mission for the bears this year and beyond. Danny Parkins for our radio audience. If you're ever in Chicago, Parkinson and Spiegel, 670 the score, number one afternoon show. Finally, the only thing that could disrupt it, and this happens, is that when you're the Jets, or for years Washington, for years Detroit, and now Chicago, you don't have a lot of inertia,

you don't have a lot of winning momentum, and you go in a two-game losing streak, and it goes sideways and you're on hard knocks. And when I saw hard knocks, I thought, oh, this could be just the thing that screws it up. Because they are kind of young, Danny. It's kind of a young team, right? Do you worry about just that, the cameras? You know, it makes people be inauthentic. I'm not worried about it for Caleb.

That's for sure. I mean, this guy was built in a lab, it seems like, for the spotlight. And I always think that's so silly. like, all right, hard knocks averages 4.5 million viewers. In week two, they're going to play CJ Stroud and the Texans on Sunday night football in front of 20 plus million viewers. This team's playing on Thanksgiving in front of the whole country. They've got to be ready for the spotlight. It might, you know, George McCasky, the owner of the Bears, has said for years, he does not want to do Hard Knocks. And it's because he's a little weird. Like he rides a scooter

around a practice field. And the Bears have been dysfunctional. And it is a weird organization. historically. But for Caleb, for the players, I think they like the attention that it brings and what it can do for their brand and their Instagram following and all of that. So will Matt Iber Fluse's hits principle? Hustle, intensity, takeaways, smart situational football. Like, will that maybe come across a little weird on HBO? Yeah, maybe. But for the players, I think they're going to love it and embrace it. Danny Parkins at Danny Parkins on Twitter, pipeline of the pros released in April, if you're You're a basketball person.

It's a fascinating story and link D3 to the NBA. Very thick history there. Danny, as always, crush it on first things first today. Buddy, we'll talk soon. Thanks, Colin. You're the best. You bet. Danny Parkins, remember that name, really talented guy.

You know, it is. It just shows the power of history and tradition and culture is that for my entire life. Like my entire life, I started watching football. in the 70s, the Bears were always a defensive culture. It's what they've been. And it's powerful. And then they create the greatest defense ever in 1985. That's the best NFL defense ever.

You know, that and the Steelers in the 70s. And people, it just fed into it. And just for so long, it feels like they lean into defense and free agency in the draft. But I think you've looked over the last 10 to 12 years is there is a clear picture that the rules are limiting defensive coaches, the Tomlins and the Belichick's and the Pete Carrolls, and they're favoring offensive coaches. So if you're a defensive coach, you've got to get the quarterback and your offensive coordinator right. So D'Amico Ryan's hits on C.J. Stroud, they've got a terrific young coordinator and you can make it work. The problem being when that coordinator eventually

gets a head job, and they do, these sharp offensive coordinators get head jobs. Can you hit on another offensive coordinator. That's why McVeigh can keep losing offensive coordinators, but he runs the offensive show. Shanahan, Kevin O'Connell in Minnesota, you know, a Zach Taylor in Cincinnati. The offensive coaches lose that brainpower on their staff on the offensive side. They can replace it. They've also got offensive coaches tend to know and hang with offensive coaches. So they've got a litany, you know, an encyclopedia of guys they can lean on. So if Eva Fluse can survive, He better be ready to lose if Caleb pops, and I suspect he will with his personnel, you're going to potentially lose an offensive coordinator here in the next couple of years.

You've got to have another guy ready. So, I mean, go look at Buffalo and Sean McDermott. Excellent coach. He loses his coordinator to the New York Giants, and he's taken some swings, Ken Dorsey, and it's not panned out. So that's the advantage to the offensive coach. If you lose, everybody wants to hire the next hundred. shot offensive coordinator.

They're getting jobs, right? And so when you lose it and you're McBayer-Shanahan or Zach Taylor, it's okay, it's my offense. It's harder for defensive coaches. So that's why I tend to lean on, that's not to say a defensive guy can't do it. But he's got to have the quarterback right

and he's got to have the O.C. right, because that's the game now in 2024. I'm excited for the Bears. I really am. Really excited for it. Game one, Boston is favored by how many five and a half? Six and a half. Oh my gosh, that's disrespectful. It looks like it opened at six and now six and a half. Wow. So people bet the Celtics. For the record,

you and I yesterday, we both said, I mean, I said Mab's money line you're on the show. And we said, pound the Mabs early. They're going to come out off a bad night and play great. We're just out here, J&C consultant, just out here making people let us. Hour three next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite on humor, 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 encourage. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. It's a big moment for me. 84 is big to me.

I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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