The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Thoughts on the NBA Finals

Episode Date: June 4, 2024

Nick Wright of First Things First joins The Herd to discuss Clark vs. everyone, the upcoming NBA Finals, and Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud's recent career preference commentsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Welcome in, hour number two. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be. Listening, thanks for making us part of your day. The whole Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, Kennedy Carter stuff. Yesterday, the Chicago Trib editorial board called it virtually an assault. People just going crazy. Just a hard foul.

We're all going to be okay. The women all understand it. Caitlin Clark's like, yeah, I've been shoved, I shove, yeah, I get it. Yeah, like, it's I played. My brother's grown up. And then Angel Reese is like, yeah, if I have to be the villain in the growth of the WNBA, I'm for it. And then Kennedy Carter's like, it's all love. We didn't beat her up on the streets.

The women get it. We didn't beat her up in the streets. It's kind of funny. Okay, so the Angel Reese part about jumping off the bench when your teammate body checks somebody. like a dirty play. How is that cool? There's nothing cool and villainy about that. By the way. That's terrible sportsmanship. Listen, I'm just telling you, if that happened in the NBA and something, like when Draymond does his antics, nobody jumps up from the bed. Way to go, Draymond. Like, Steph Curry's

rolling his eyes and like, dude, I got to deal with this crap again. Go look at the videos. Like, I think we're being a little too soft on the ladies. I think Angel Reese is starting to make me laugh. There you go. I think she's starting. I love the fact if you take your 10 best movies all time you're you have a favorite character probably that you like and then the second character

in the movie that's more the most memorable is somebody you hated a villain yeah okay and and it there's a racial component with it I don't think there's any question about that it's America but the and that started back in college basketball but the fact that Angel Reese is like

bring it on I love it play the Angel Reese spite. And everybody's getting worked up over this. Like she's getting dragged for saying this, but she's right. She's being viewed as a villain. It's helping the growth. All movies need conflict in a villain.

She's embracing it. We've seen this multiple times in other sports. Here's Angel Reese. It all started from the national championship game. I've been dealing with this for two years now. And understanding, like, yeah, negative things have probably been said about me, but

honestly, I'll take that because look where women's basketball is. People are talking about women's basketball, but you never would think that we talk about women's basketball. People are pulling up to games. We got celebrities coming to games, sold out arenas, like, just because of one single game. And just looking at that, like, I'll take that role. I'll take the bad guy role, and I'll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates. And if I want to be that, and I know I'll go down in history. I'll look back in 20 years and be like, yeah, the reason why we're watching women's basketball is not just because of one person.

It's because of me, too, and I want you to realize that. By the way, I grew up. Say what you want. I grew up. Everybody loved Bjorn Borg. But you know who was feisty? John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors. You go look at the history of individual sports. The catalyst isn't always the dominant star. I mean, Federer, totally classy. Kind of interesting. Andre Agassiz. Everybody likes Sampras. It's a little boring. Here comes Andre Agassie. Images reality. He ticked everybody off. You go look when sports pop, there's usually a great star, Michael Jordan, and a villain, the Detroit Pistons.

You got to have the villain. By the way, the Warriors, if it was just KD. Clay and Steph hit in threes, it's not nearly as fun. They had to have somebody who's viewed as a villain, a bad guy, a bouncer that makes them more fascinating. Could Angel Reese be like a Charles Barkley from the 90s? Remember, I'm not a role model getting any dust up everywhere. What she's saying is completely accurate. What Angel Reese is saying is this all started a couple years ago in a basketball game, me and Caitlin started. And people badmouthed me.

That's completely correct. And she said, now I am linked to her, absolutely, and I am part of Caitlin's story. She is part of Caitlin's story. Now, Caitlin's the one driving the crowds. Her games get 17,000. Everybody else averages about 8,500. That's fine. But I'm saying is, it's, we all know that when you make the movie, Tom Cruise is on the marquee,

but the villain is what makes it work. Every mission impossible, there's a reason it's called impossible. Like, that's the villain part of it. Tom's the mission. That's the impossible. So my point, you need, this is part of the growth of this sport. It's wonderful. And you have a player that's like, it's very alpha.

It's very like, bring it on, I'll be the villain. I love it. I think it's fantastic. Okay. I'm all for it. If she thinks she's built for that, go for it. Well, so. Villains are tough.

Remember, Tiger Woods could have embraced the villain role after his incident, you know, in Orlando, blah, blah, blah. He wasn't built for that. Like, that's tough, man, when everyone hates you. And now you open your phone and all it is is a torrent, a diarrhea stream of negativity to you? Not everybody's built for that, and I hope she is. Because don't be careful what you ask for, Angel Reese. Just play basketball. By the way.

Let your stats speak for himself. Who is she a villain to, WNBA players? I bet she has quite a group of people on her side. They kind of like a Caitlin Clark getting brought down to Earth as a rookie. That brought that. She was just the rookie of the month with the best stats. Yeah, but he's foul here, check there. Two and one against Angel Reese in her career, whatever.

I don't know. I don't think she's a villain. I think she's part of a story and willing to embrace a little bit of a Drey Monroe. I like your contrarian take on this one. It's not a contrarian take. I think it is. I don't view it as a contrarian take. So here we do this.

Whenever we get a chance, I really don't see it as a contrarian take. I'm America's honesty broker. I'm just firing right down the middle in the fairway. You guys are all off in the weeds. Okay. So whenever we get a joke. A champion. I really am not.

This is not, I'm not trying to be obnoxious. I really believe this is, I said this last hour. Anytime a business grows fast, it could be a tech company. It's the WNBA. It's not pretty. It's messy. There's a reason. There's a star.

There's a villain. There's a protagonist. There's an antagonist. This is all part of an exploding business. And I'm here for it. Right? Life's not linear. A lot of turbulence on those flights.

So whenever we have a championship, We always like lists here are the top 10 players. In fact, I don't even want to do this yet. I want to go to Nick Wright. I don't want to get in the way of my own segment. Bring in Nick Wright. So everybody thinks I'm being an antagonist, and all I have said... I don't see how.

All I have said is Phil Knight, his opening manifesto at Nike. Number nine, and like, number one was, we are in the business of change. Number nine was, it won't be pretty. And my take is the WNBA is an exploding business. And I don't care if your tech or WNBA. The reason businesses explode, a star emerges, antagonist, protagonist, turbulence. This is all wonderful. There is a racial component.

This is America, of course. But my takeaway is that foul is just part of a story that's building into this, really, fascinating ascending business. Yeah, so this entire thing is so, to me, more, so there has been more discussion about the discussion than there has been discussion

about the basketball. Because we almost have two factions. You have a group of people who I think don't really see, don't watch how sports media typically covers these stories that think we are either being unfair to Caitlin or unfair to

Angel or unfair to Kennedy. And it's Like, well, we're kind of unfair at times to everybody, and now they're in the vortex of sports media. Then you have a group of people in sports media who I think feel like, hey, I didn't used to ever talk about the WMBA. Now that I am talking about the WMBA, you shouldn't criticize anything I say about the WMBA, because you should just be happy I'm talking about the WMBA, which that is incorrect as well. Yeah. So I don't think this is that complicated. I think you have a legitimate rivalry between Angel and Caitlin. And Angel is still, I think, upset about the fact that that national championship game, she won. And yet, and this is where race does come into factor, her overwhelmingly black team that beat the overwhelmingly white team, got painted as villains.

and then the next year, even though they were the defending champions, Caitlin Clark was the story. So I understand her bitterness about that. With that said, Caitlin Clark was not the story purely because she is some great white hope. She was the story because she was the best player in the sport last year breaking records, and she is a superstar. I think Angel Reese is a star. I think that Cameron Brink is a star.

I think that this rookie class has a lot of stars. and then you have Caitlin Clark who is a superstar. But that's all fine. And the hard foul is fine. And a little bit of rookie hazing is fine. And a little bit of, do you remember, Colin, when we found out the Cavs won the LeBron lottery and they went around and interviewed Darius, Miles, and Ricky Davis,

and those guys seemed legitimately hostile towards their soon-to-be teammate LeBron James. He said, well, I don't think some high schoolers are going to come. come in here and dominate. He can ride our wave. He can jump on our bandwagon because it's like this kid who hasn't done anything already has more money than me, already has more fame than me, has a Nike contract. There was real bitterness from his own teammates. Do I think Caitlin is dealing with some of that? Of course. Do I think there are other WMBA players that are like she has a $20 million shoe deal before Asia Wilson that don't like that? Of course. Do I think race plays a factor? Of course, because it's America and race plays a factor.

factor and everything. But I don't think this is that complicated, and I don't think Angel Reese has done anything wrong. She's been the second best rookie so far this year by any statistical metric. Yeah. Cameron Brink's been third, and Caitlin's been the best. And this is great for the sport. I just feel like everyone gets so worked up, and he's, everyone, it's there, I don't know if it's because it's women. I don't know if it's because the racial angle makes people uncomfortable. My goodness, this is a pretty straightforward sport. sports story. The hot shot rookie got hip checked by the teammate of her prime collegiate rival, collegiate rivaled and stood and applauded. Hot shot rookie's teammate didn't really have her back,

which kind of seems a little odd. We've seen this story before. It's not that controversial to me. I think it's awesome. Yeah. So do I? You and I lands the same. So I, no, now, J-Mack is getting on me because I'm projecting. I said, but it will be it. interesting. If the Celtics win, and Jalen Brown, who just won the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals, wins the MVP of the NBA Finals, and I said, the two players in this finals that I know we're going to play well, Luca and Jalen Brown, Kyrie, I'm not sure, Tatum a lot of pressure, I'm not sure. So what do you need to see from Tatum, where it's like definitive, he did it, or do you think there is?

is a, this matters a lot to Tatum, and could he do something where you would go without just being awful, which he won't be? How big is it for him? What do you project for him? So, listen, I mean, I think it's obviously huge because he can win his first championship. They've been banging on the door. You know, since Russell's Celtics, the teams that have made six conference finals in eight years are as follows.

Dr. J's Sixers, they finished it off with the championship. Magic and Karim's Lakers in that eight-year stretch they won four. Bird, Celtics, in that eight-year stretch, they won three. Michael's Bulls in that eight-year stretch, they won six. And then I feel like, oh, I'm sorry, Duncan's Spurs in that stretch, they won three. And then, of course, Steffs Warriors, in that eight-year stretch, they won four. And then the Celtics, who in this eight-year stretch, they've won zero. So I do think, and they're huge favorites, the Mabbs winning, oddly, shockingly would be the third.

biggest upset in the last 40 years in the NBA finals. I don't view it that way. That's how Vegas views it. So he obviously has a ton to gain from a team continuity and finally breaking through perspective. But I would be very surprised if Jason Tatum plays in either direction in a way that makes me feel drastically differently about him. People, there is a weird thing happening right now where people are saying, why is Jason Tatum disrespected? And I don't think he's disrespected. I think there are three players in the league that are hands down unequivocally better than him. Luca, Yokic, and Janus. Then there is the Embed factor, which is weird because Embed's better in the regular season, but has a tattered postseason resume. So he's a

question. And then there's S.G. and that group of guys that Tatum is in. I don't think it's disrespectful to properly rank him. And maybe Celtics fans will get mad at me, even if the Celtics win this title. I would be shocked if I come away from this saying Jason Tatum is better than Luca, Yokic, or Janus. I just don't think he is. And even if his team wins it, now listen, maybe he's going to average 38, 9, and 7,

and I'm going to feel differently. But I think Luke is far more likely to be a player who can do that. So C.J. Stroud came out. And he really, we got into this thing yesterday, that if we were redrafting every quarterback in the league, and you had to consider injuries, age, ascension, production, everything. And I think I took, I went Mahomes, he went Allen, I went Lamar, he went Herbert, and I took C.J. Stroud fifth.

and what was interesting yesterday he was asked on a podcast about Eli Manning or Aaron Rogers. And he said, oh, I would take Eli's career. And my takeaway is, oh, this is great. The kid cares about the right stuff. It's not about the fame. It's not about the money. It's not about the podcasting. It's not, it's just about trophies.

Because Eli Manning's career is fairly unspectacular if you take away beating Brady twice. And it does bring up an interesting. idea that if I say to you, better career, the sense is it's overwhelmingly Aaron. But I've always looked at football is not baseball. It's not romantic. It's not basketball. It's not stylistic. It's just trophies.

And I look at Eli's career and I'm like, yeah, I would take that career too. Healthy 16 years, New York, two trophies over Brady. Am I wrong? Well, it's a matter of taste, I suppose. It's not what I would choose. Now, if you want to say Eli over, you would take Eli's career over Dan Marino, because the gap between 2 and 0 is so significant, all at least listen to that. But to me, the difference between 2 and 1 is not enough to bridge the gap of,

Eli never won a playoff game other than those two years. He never sniffed an MVP, much less won multiple of them. He wasn't the best quarterback in his own family. For all those reasons, I would take errands. If you were asking me, Nick, like, would you rather win two Super Bowls and other than those two years be largely good, but never great? or win one Super Bowl and in, you know, a half dozen years be either the best second or third best quarterback in football, I personally would rather the latter than the former.

Now, fortunately, my guy gets to have all the Super Bowls, all the MVPs, all the records. So the right end, I would just take Mahomes' career, but that's just me. Now, that's a good take. That is a fair take. Maybe I'm too trophy obsessed. finally I'll circle back to I want to stay on football so I said this earlier if you're fair cd lamb is the closest thing to Justin Jefferson in the league their numbers are absolutely and they both played with very similar quarterbacks Kirk and Dax career numbers are virtually

the same and so you have to pay an elite pass rusher you cannot for a guy you drafted controversially in the first round and he has gotten better every year. He never gets hurt. He's absolutely the only comp for Justin Jefferson, statistically. You have to sign him. But could I not argue, what you don't have to do is re-signed deck. Quarterback coaching is better. The 2020 class was five quarterbacks and no misses.

The 2018 class gave us three stars. Is that if you take a first round pick, Micah and CD, and they're better than you thought. You can't move off that. If you draft and develop a star, you have to resign that star. Unless there is some... Yeah, go ahead. Okay, but if you're a fourth rounder, and there's a ceiling, and we've paid you,

I think emotionally, I could move off that. Packers moved off Aaron. Vikings moved off Kirk. Seattle moved off Russ. I emotionally, I can't pay all three of them. It's easier for me to move off a fourth that I feel elevated him with Zeke, O-line, offensive coaching. I can't move off a first-round pick who's better than I thought he would be. Well, and younger and you think more upside.

Granted, the huge argument here is positional value quarterback being here and everything else being here. But I don't think the Cowboys are giving DAC an extension this offseason because if they were going to, they would have already done it. The whole benefit of giving him an extension is it opens up cap space for you, but that cap, all the free agents are gone. Like whatever cap space you would have been able to use, you would have wanted it two months ago rather than right now. I think that the Cowboys are willing to take their medicine on Dak Prescott's contract this year and then evaluate in the offseason because I don't think America has yet acknowledged that because the Cowboys can't trade DAC, can't franchise tag DAC, he is going to be an unrestricted free and clear free agent. He is going to get something like $60 million a year and probably

three years fully guaranteed. Dax's next contract, whomever gives it to him, is going to be earth-shattering. And I think the Cowboys, understandably, wonder if putting what that will do to their cap situation

and the players they won't be able to maintain or the players they won't be able to go get with the quarterback of Dax caliber if that puts a ceiling on them. So I think, obviously, you re-sign Micah Parsons. He's one of the five best defensive players in the sport. Obviously, you re-signed CD Lamb.

He's one of the five best receivers in the sport. They are both in their early to mid-20s. You drafted them with first-round picks. They've exceeded expectations. I'm fine with the Cowboys rolling the dice on losing Dak Prescott a year from now. Rather than locking themselves, Colin, we have seen the most expensive quarterback in the league win a Super Bowl because he's Patrick Mahomes. We have seen the quarterbacks on rookie contracts win Super Bowls.

We've seen mid-level quarterbacks win Super Bowls. The one thing we've never seen is that good but not great quarterback on the massive contract that's right. Win a Super Bowl. We've never seen it. Joe Flackle won a Super Bowl and then got paid. Like those guys who are in that tier, they hadn't gotten paid yet. So I think it's reasonable what the Cowboys are doing, and I don't expect that.

don't expect DAC to get a contract this offseason. Nick Wright, as always. Right stuff. First things first after us. Good see anybody. There we go. See, did you notice that Nick and I on Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, Sympatica, right down the middle, in the fairway,

the meat of the story, right in the middle. Am I not down the fairway on this? You're overreacting a tad to Kennedy Carter's foul. You're like... Flavor Foul, let's get it correct. But the... But the league has a penalty for a flagrant foul. Why would they have a penalty?

Because it happens frequently. There's a reason there's a roughing the pass or penalty in the NFL, because it happens frequently. It would be another thing if a player grabbed a helmet and threw it at a player, what's the ruling on that? Let's go to the commissioner and wait a week because you don't see it happen. You don't see assault as the Chicago Trib editorial board. That's a bit much.

I never called it assault. I'll just say this. Colleen, you know I play a lot of basketball. I have never seen someone body check someone when the ball's not even in play. I've never seen that. I don't know what my reaction. Can I add this? Let me just add one last thing.

In the NFL, they protect their quarterbacks. You need your stars healthy. Caitlin Clark is the face of the WNBA. She has everything to that league right now. They cannot allow this kind of practice. When you watch this slowly, watch this again. First, I think Caitlin's acting a little bit, but watch the other part of it. Show it again.

Caitlin, by the way, Caitlin is, there's a little acting, but watch Carter try to grab her a little bit. No, from the other angle, you'll see it here in a second. Yeah, she pulls her. No, not this one. The front angle, she does kind of grab her as she sees. Also, she mouths a word to her that a former punter said on TV yesterday, if you look closely. This guy, Carter just basically says you, and then she decks her. Come on, man, that's not cool.

On no planet for playing sports and competitive in any nature, is that okay? I just, I don't understand. a flagrant foul. I know Nick doesn't play any pick up hoops anymore. He did. It's called a flagrant foul. It happened on a regular basis. That's why the league has the WNBA and the NBA has rules for it. There's

a reason law enforcement has certain laws for things that are inappropriate but regularly happen. When things, when leagues struggle with punishment, like what do we do? That's something that borders on highly inappropriate because a league didn't even know what to do. They don't

know what to do. They don't know. Fair. Okay. The league's got rules for. this. Run it by the wife. Send her the video and say, Ann, what do you make of this if she hasn't seen it? And your daughter, ask her. I'm just curious. My wife's feisty. She'd be all for... My wife is irate about this dirty. But also,

she owns a Caitlin Clark T-shirt now. Like, we went to the game out here when Caitlin Clark came to play. This is not Taylor Swift on stage. Somebody rushes her and knocks her into the pit. It's a basketball game. It's going on and stuff like this is... I defended Draymon with a punch.

Yeah, well, you work with the guy. Come on. Well, but Steve Kerr was not mad at the punch. He was mad. The video got out. Yeah, that's telling you. Internal, same team stuff. This is opposing teams. Listen, I do love this.

I'm thankful for the WNBA giving us this back and forth. I mean, this is fun. It's not as good as our quarterback draft yesterday, but this is fun. The NBA's ratings went up when they stopped blowing the whistle. What's the worst basketball game on the planet in the NBA every year? The All-Star game. It's embarrassing. The league's literally embarrassing.

embarrassed about the game. The league at the trade deadline said, stop blowing the whistle. And the game's got better. Why? Because of the physicality and the discussions and the, the angst surrounding it. This is basketball.

Rivalries, toughness. If you go, think about the two greatest NBA stories ever, in my opinion. There's the magic. Magic Johnson comes. I mean, they're doing books on it. They're doing HBO series on it.

It's they had a rival, the Celtics. And you either loved one and hated the other. The second is Michael Jordan, who had to get past the tackling pistons and the feisty Celtics. So our greatest, nobody talks about the Spurs. Who is their antagonist? That's harsh. So if you go look at the sports we love, I mean, what's the biggest rivalry in college sports? Michigan, Ohio State.

You love one, you hate the other. Angst, rivalries, inappropriate, hard fouls, strategy is what makes great. Otherwise, it's just Wisconsin playing Iowa. Well, Duke, North Carolina and basketball is heated. I guess you're right. There's a Caitlin Clark Angel rethink.

Someone just texted me during the show. They're playing again soon. And the WNBA needs to start hyping this game. The Pistons had what they call. called the Jordan rules. Yeah, famous book, Sam Smith. Yeah, great. I have it all my book.

Michael should be flattered by that. I say this in my space. It's a privilege to be criticized. It means you're relevant. It's a privilege to get criticized occasionally. So this is all, it's a privilege to be discussed. People care. People have feelings about the WNBA.

I literally know who got drafted this year. Cam Brink, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese. Brink, by the way. I won't be able to name three NBA guys who get drafted. It's all international players. Cameron Brink is very, very good at basketball. She's the one who went to Stanford. She's like six-four.

She's amazing. She had a three. I think the game we went to. She could shoot. This could end up being the draft that gave the NFL Elway and Dan Marino. This could be their draft. Ken O'Brien of the Jets was in there? Was he?

Probably number three pick, I forget. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds,

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so... Thank you for 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.

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I don't care what I'm 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.

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I'm actually saving a take. I think we might get to it here. Let's start with the wide receiver situation in Dallas. So Justin Jefferson got a four-year $140 million extension with the Vikings. I think I would, safe to say, you characterized it as a great deal. You love the deal for the Vikings, right? Justin Jefferson. Yeah, I think you have to pay him.

Okay. Well, C.D. Lamb is waiting for his deal in Dallas, Colin. Yeah. He didn't report to Cowboys' mandatory minicamp today. He also missed the team's voluntary OTAs. the fines are going to start accruing for CDLand. He's sitting here waiting for his deal. And I think you showed the numbers earlier.

His numbers rival Justin Jefferson. So he's going to get about $35 million a year. Yeah, no, there's no. His numbers are the only in the league that rivaled Justin's. So I don't know how to say this without, you might laugh. But there was a receiver drafted ahead of Lamb and Jefferson in 2020, who's making half of Justin Jefferson this year. And his name is Jerry Judy, who could end up being the steel of the offseason.

Cleveland has him at $17.5 million. He's overpaid. What? Jerry Judy is not dependable, too many drops. Oh, you mean with all those garbage quarterbacks he had in Denver? I don't buy it to Jerry Judy at all. CD Lamb gets better. Every year, he's never hurt and productive.

Judy's not productive, too many drops. I don't know if he gets along. I mean, like, it was a constant drama. I think he's totally... I would rather pay things. 35 million for C.D. Lamb than 17 for Jerry Judy. I know what I get with C.D. Land. Jerry Judy could end up being a massive steal. I think he will be. He's going to be the number two to Amari Cooper. You know what Jerry Jones says? Every time I look for a bargain, that's exactly

what I get. A bargain. There's a saying bargain basement. So you're saying you want to pay C.D. lamb 35 million? I'm a belief. Here's my belief that in the world we live in, there's great and irrelevant. Good is not good enough. Movies, tech, everything's fragmented. Great or get me somebody else? Good is not...

I'm not paying good a fortune. So, Brock Purdy's great. He got to the Super Bowl. He's not great. He's just good. So get me somebody else? He's good. I draft another quarterback in a couple years. I think there's a world. Now, the Cowboys did screw this up.

I went and see if they drafted a wide receiver and they did a kid in the sixth round, Ryan Flournoy, out of Southeast Missouri State. They've bricked in the draft by not getting other guys. because I'm going to be real. I would float to see what the market says for CD Lamb. Are you going to get a Hershal Walker-type deal for? No, because people are smarter today.

That deal in a moment and time was Jimmy Johnson manipulated and market that just didn't have an understanding of the draft and personnel. That's why Jimmy created a chart. He worked the system. That doesn't happen anymore. Okay, doesn't happen for skill position players. No. This is probably too incendiary for you, but I don't know.

I asked you during the commercial break. How many sacks does Micah Parsons have in the postseason? He's played in four games as one playoff sack. He's been irrelevant in four playoffs. Well, I would, I think you, you know, listen, if you're asking me, I'm the GM of the Cowboys, I drafted two guys, Micah and C.D. Lamb, they were my picks in the first round. They're better than I thought. I have to keep them.

That's the whole point of the draft. You draft stars, difference makers. Mic and Cedley Lam are. Jack, I got in the fourth. I gave him the best O line in the league, two offensive coaches, Amari Cooper, Zeke in his prime, and I can't get any playoff wins. I'm comfortable moving off good. Mike is great, CD's great.

I want great players. You look at the Kansas City Chiefs. Mahomes is great. Chris Jones is great. The center is great. And they moved off their school position guys. Humphreys is great. Chris Jones is great.

Travis Cous. they keep great. They move off all sorts of good. The Chiefs move off good. Well, Travis Kelsey don't make it 35 mil like CD Lam once. By the way. You cannot pay a quarterback 45, a receiver 35, and then Micah Parsons. So you have to make choices.

And I'm saying it would be very difficult for me if I ran a business that I went and got a first round pick. And he's better than I thought he would be. I never thought CDLand would be discovered. But is he? Okay, he's better individually. Is he helping them win playoff games, Colin? Well, well, either's DAC. So none of the three are.

We know Micah Parsons is. Well, but using that analogy, then you should just bail on everybody every year when you lose playoffs. I think you've got to bail on one or two of these guys. I'm saying I would be more comfortable bailing on DAC than CD or Micah, even though positionally that sounds crazy. But I think the quality of quarterback coaching is so much better than a decade ago,

and the quality and ability of her kids to play early in the NFL quarterback is so much better, I'm willing to do it. Packers moved off Aaron Rogers. They did just fine. Seahawks moved off Russ did just fine. Cleveland moved off number one pick Baker. They've been okay. Wait, Seattle is just fine?

Well, they got to the playoffs with Gina. Dallas is winning 11 games again to the playoffs every year. What does it mean? What's the value of that? Well, you're good. I'm pulling up the Cowboys starting quarterbacks for much of the last two decades. Before Romo and Dak. They've had two great quarterbacks ever.

Aikman and Stauback. Yeah, do you know what life? A bunch of good. A bunch of Danny White and Tony Romo. At this point, Dak has to be the third best quarterback in the history of the franchise. No. Tony Romo was better? Danny White was better?

Stop. I think Danny, Dak, and Tony are all in the same class. Okay. You're going through your theory. We'll move off of Dak. We don't want to pay him. Fine. We got CD Lamb.

We got this Ferrari in the garage. We got Michael Parsons. And then what are we going to do at quarterback? Do you remember the days of Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchison, John Kittna? Cowboys, they sold out all those games. They didn't win anything. What I'm not going to do in life is be fair-based and overpay for average to good. What I'm willing to do is roll the dice, trust my scouts, make deals in a market where I can get a veteran.

By the way, Kirk Cousins gets benched. Thanksgiving Penix plays. Kurt's like, get me out of here. All right, we'll take you for two years. There's always, this fear-based, what are we going to do without deck? What are you doing with him? Getting housed by the Packers at home in the playoffs? What are you doing with him?

You're winning 11 games and you're relevant? No, you peepee. Those cowboy games sell out regardless. You're surprised me with some of these takes. Oh, sweet man. I like it. I like it. All right, let's go to Aaron Rogers as he returns from the Achilles injury.

Look at him jumping up and down with a medicine ball. looks like a great work out there he's 40 inching closer to the end of his career let's see how he moves here let's see how he moves hold on all right that was fine let's not be too harsh it looks fine to me all the little spring in his

step bunion I guess is fixed he said on a recent Jets podcast he still believes he could perform at a high level and lead this team to the Super Bowl if I didn't think if we could win the Super Bowl and I could win MVP I wouldn't be playing and that's the order of goals

but if I didn't think I could play at the level and be the best player in the league and lead this team to Super Bowl, I wouldn't be playing. I don't want to hold on and be an afterthought and be a shell. Not that confident. A rare podcast where he talks about sports. Well, come on. I thought he would be talking about felony indictments or Fauci or Darkness retreats. Come on.

He's a fine athlete and he just wants an opinion. You know, he's not married and he doesn't have kids. So he doesn't have the responsibilities you and I maybe do to get called out. out at home. He's out there. He's got a lot of new tats on his left arm there. Oh, really? I didn't notice that. I like that. What is it? Like a... I don't know. It looks like a... It's interesting. It's like a Sagittarius sign or something? I don't even know what that leads. I was trying to be funny. Final story. Chris Tapp, Porziggis is expected to be ready for game one of the finals. How about that? Let me see. He has completed multiple scrimmages over the last few days

as he recovers from the calf injury. Look at that. Moving well? Got the stroke from deep. He has not played since April 29th. Oh, my gosh. But barring any setbacks, he will be on the floor Thursday night. Now, unclear if he's starting or not, we know if Al Horford starts. Luca will be going at him from the jump. And then maybe they go up Porzingis anyway. Test that calf out.

You know, I think Porzing is a big factor. Oh, I think he's, you just forget how good he was. He's... Is it 20, 22 points of game? Something like that? Like, he's... Hard match up, big that can block shot, slash, shoot from the corner. Percing is a real deal.

He's a good player. Really good player. But his history is also that he gets dinged up. How about this? Real quick, I looked at a wager, Drew Holiday 50 to 1 to win finals MVP. Any shot or no? It's not who I put my money on. This is a long shot.

Jaylon Brown. That's who I'm putting my money out. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. The hour next. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd.

days in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, gang, this is Jay Glazer, host of Unbreakable, a mental wealth podcast, and every week we will have on leaders from sports entertainment like Sean McVeigh, Lindsay Vaughn, Michael Phelps, David Spade, Guy Fiami, and also those who can help us in between the ears, anyone from a therapist to someone like Ed Milet or John Gord. We've all been through some sort of diversity to get to the top we've all used different tools. Listen to Unbreakable with Jay Glazer and Mental Wealth podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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.

see far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to bowl 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, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Football League playoffs are here. And we kick things off Saturday as Michigan battles Birmingham at 3 Eastern on ABC for the USFL conference crown.

on Sunday. San Antonio takes on St. Louis at 7 Eastern for the XFL Conference Championship. Did you see, just to give you some context, Christian McCaffrey, who's head and shoulders above the league, Kyle Shanahan's record in San Francisco is sub-500 when Christian McCaffrey doesn't play. Christian McCaffrey just got a deal for 19 million a year, which is about 55% of what Justin Jefferson makes, as a wide receiver. And there's no like connection between Justin Jefferson with and without and wins like you have with Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco. But it does just show you the situational reality in professional football.

The quarterbacks get paid, even average ones, more than great players. I mean, Christian McCaffrey is the best running back by a long shot in the league. He could be a starting receiver in this league. And he's going to get paid half of what Daniel Jones gets. I mean, if you start looking at what DAC could potentially get, he'd make it almost a third of what DAC would make. So that's the situation the Cowboys are in, is that C.D. Lamb is elite.

Micah Parsons elite. Dax's good, but, you know, you pay that position. My argument is the position, the free fall at quarterback when you move off somebody is not as great as it used to be. That if you have an offensive coach or you have very good coordinators and you trust your scouts. You can either get a Matt Stafford on the market. You can draft one.

Trades are always possible. I just don't think. I think the quarterbacks coming into the league are better and can play much sooner than ever before. Just go look at the 2018 draft and go look at the 2020 draft. Between those two drafts, you have eight star quarterbacks. Two drafts, eight quarterbacks. League average was about one to one and a half. quarterbacks a year.

2018, 2020, he got four star quarterbacks. Josh, Lamar, Herbert. I mean, even Jalen hurts. So the free fall when you move off a quarterback,

it just, it's not the same. It's a very mobile position, highly fluid, better coached, and much more talent, high school college level. I mean, right now, everybody's saying it's a bad quarterback draft next year in college.

About a week ago, I was just screwing around watching TV and looked it up. There's four guys I like. There's four quarterbacks next year. Cheneur Sanders is the most interesting because of his dad and because of his playing style and his talent. But there's like four guys. The kid out of Georgia is going to be fascinating. There's all sorts of quarterbacks in college. We think it's a bad draft and all of a sudden you look up and these guys put on eight pounds. They get better coaching. And all of a sudden the transfer portal, they get a star receiver and a left tackle. And that guy that was a third

rounder is a first rounder. We're up against it here. But Christian McKeown. McCaffrey at 19 million or Justin Jefferson at 35 million. That's a no-brainer, right? Well, I think McCaffrey is a complete game changer. Yeah, I would have Breast Hall at whatever his price is over Justin Jefferson. 35 mil for Jefferson is excessive. I know that's what the market says. But I do.

I have an offensive coach and I have a rookie quarterback in a incredibly deep offensive division. There's a lot of things to contextualize here. I think Justin Jefferson's deal makes sense. In some divisions, some coaches it may not. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

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

who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.