The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 3 - Victor Wembanyama

Episode Date: April 4, 2024

Chris Broussard from First Things First joins the show to explain why rookie Victor Wembanyama might make history by winning Defensive Player of the YearSee 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,

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A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford 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 Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

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Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. We're listening to Fox Sports Radio. So it's interesting. Brew has been talking about this, and I talked about it earlier today, is that this past week,

we had the most viewed women's basketball game of all time. You had to go back to Cheryl Miller in 83. She was virtually, you know, she like Caitlin Clark was iconic. Cheryl Miller would, I think she once scored 100 points in a high school game, just an incredible player. And Caitlin,

Clark has these amazing offensive qualities that it looks otherworldly. And Chris Broussard, Brew, is joining us live. And it was funny because, you know, there's been a lot of heat. And I think one of the reasons this game was so big LSU in Iowa is because they played last year. And it was a rematch. I mean, there's a reason, Brew, about 90% of the money in Hollywood is on remakes and, you know, in series. Right? Like, it's the Avengers.

People anticipate. And so I thought a lot of it was just, we know these girls, they're great, a little trash talk, and we get to watch them again. But Angel Reese kind of took the brunt of it, and what was your basic takeaway on a lot of the hate stuff she dealt with? Yeah, I mean, you've heard people say, well, hey, she's brought it on herself with all the trash talk and how she acts and things like that. But remember, this started when she talked trash to Caitlin Clark and people jumped on her about it. But Caitlin Clark had been talking just as much trash. Caitlin Clark has an attitude out there on the court as well, and nobody said anything about her. So Angel Reese is right about that.

I think there was some racism there, maybe some classism there. And so she's right about that. But also, Colin, the more popular the women's game gets, the more types of things like this are going to happen. Players who are more popular are also going to be more scrutinized. They're going to be criticized. they're going to have haters. LeBron Jane is the best player in the world right now or, you know, has been.

And he is the most criticized player in the NBA. And so that comes with it. So as the women's game grows, they are going to have to have thick skin because they're going to be haters out there. Yeah, I mean, boxing was at its biggest with the very polarizing Muhammad Ali. And then it got really popular again

with the polarizing Mike Tyson. UFC exploded with the very polarizing Connor McGregor is that if you look at the history of sports, you know, Michael Jordan was rare. Almost everybody outside of the... I was thinking that. Everybody like Michael, but except Pistons fans. You know, Celtics and Pistons fans don't like anybody.

But generally speaking, generally speaking, popularity, I mean, presidents. Nobody likes commissioners. Nobody likes presidents. It's funny because I look at Jordan as really beloved. Michael was the coolest player. I think Mahomes has a little bit of that. He's fun. He's got a flawed family.

He's quirky. You know, catch up with his steak. I do think Mahomes, this is my interpretation, is hard to dislike, but that mostly stars are polarizing. Am I wrong? What's your take on that? No, I think you're right. I mean, look at the guy before Mahomes, Tom Brady. Right?

You got those that love him. And granted, there were the scandals with spy game and things like that. Right. But you have those that love him and those that hate him. Mahomes isn't, I wouldn't say he's to the, Jordan, you're right. I mean, Jordan, it was strangely unique how essentially everyone loved him. Yeah. Except the fans of, you know, like you mentioned, the Pistons, maybe some Knicks fans.

But even a lot of Knicks fans still loved him. I think some of it may have been because his game was so graceful. I think it was the best-looking game we've ever seen in basketball. Mahomes obviously has that in football, that unique, graceful, good-looking game. And he's somewhat like Jordan in that he's generally beloved. But he's got more haters than Mike, but less than, I'd say fewer than a Tom Brady. So, yeah, in general, though, I think your point is well taken. You know, LeBron's, and one of the things I've said yesterday about LeBron,

there was this report by Shams that he's going to retire in a couple of years. probably that's the timetable. And I said, you can say what you want about him. He's talked about politics. He's talked about race. Jordan didn't. So therefore, he's more polarizing. It's the time we live in.

Whatever. But the one thing I always loved about LeBron is he took the right shots. He made the right basketball play. He loved the game and he treated the game with respect. It wasn't about him. It was about the best shot, the best moment. And it didn't always have to come through him. And he was criticized for years for that and I never bought into that.

But he also made a point yesterday on a podcast. with JJ Reddick, he said, you know, I can tell if a guy is going to make it in this league if he can take hard coaching and criticism from veterans and doesn't talk back and just like, bring it on, I want to get better. And I have said, Bru, and I could be wrong on this, that one of the things I like about college basketball and Tom Izzo and Coach K and European basketball, the academies, you play against older players, you get barked at by coaches, you learn to get coached hard. I do worry sometimes about, like, the G League and about guys like college football.

You get coached hard. Saban, hardball. Do you worry sometimes that our domestic play? AAU basketball is not about getting coached hard. It's about getting buckets. Right. Do you worry about that? Absolutely.

And I think we're seeing the results of that now. Look, it looks like Nicole Leokic is going to win the MVP again, right? Yeah. But if he, there was a moment, maybe a week or two ago, and then the last week, where it looked like Luca Donchich was really making that surge. Or if it wasn't Luca, it was going to be SGA, Shea, Shai Gilder's Alexander. All three of those guys are international. Yeah. We haven't had an American MVP says James Harden.

I think it was 2018. Yeah. And so it's not, you can't even just say, well, Janis and Yolkich and Embed are hogging them up because the next one's going to be an international guy as well. And here comes Wimby. So we've already hit the point where we are not producing the best players in the world anymore. We are not, we got to look at the way we're doing it. Let me quickly say this about LeBron and what he said about the young players because there's an interesting story.

And I won't say the player's name, but there was a highly touted player, great in high school, great in college, a top draft pick in the NBA. And right after he was drafted, he bumped into LeBron at a club, that offseason. And LeBron, you know, LeBron is great guy, nice to everybody. And LeBron was like, hey, man, you ready, you know, kind of playfully. And the dude was like, are you ready? Like, seriously, like, are you ready for me? Like, the attitude of I'm not about to listen to a veteran tell me, you know,

anything about what I need to learn to excel at the next level. And LeBron had that attitude. He went to Cleveland. He's like, it's Ricky Davis' team. As silly as that was, he was deferring to the veterans. And this player didn't do that with LeBron. And this player is not even in the league anymore. It didn't reach his potential.

So, yeah, I mean, I'm sure that that's a lot of what LeBron is saying. But, Colin, you are absolutely right. In America now, and AAU is a big part of it. because if you're a star player as a teenager, then your AAU coach can't jump on you for not defending. He can't jump on you for taking a bad shot or dominating the ball or not getting back on defense because if he does, you'll go play for somebody else.

And so as a 15-year-old kid, if you're great in America, now you're a celebrity already. You've probably got hundreds of thousands, if not millions of followers on Instagram. you might be making some money through NIL or something like that. And you are a celebrity. And you may think you've already made it. Whereas in Slovenia or somewhere in Europe,

if you're 15 years old and great, you are playing against grown men. They're beating you up in practice. You're not playing a lot in games. You're being humbled and just working hard on your game. And we are now seeing it. I don't want to say it's too late. but we do need to change the way we're doing things here so we can start, you know,

producing the type of players that they are around the world. Yeah, I mean, the Warriors Dynasty, Staff, Draymond, Clay, lots of college. Wiseman came in with all this talent. See ya. Didn't work. Cominga has been a slow bill. By the way, the Spurs, Man Who Oversees, Tony Parker in France, Tim Duncan, a lot of years, David Robbins.

Yeah. So, I mean, you start looking at the d. LeBron, he's an outlier, but D. Wade and Marquette, Shane Badiye, Ray Allen, when they went down there in Forbes, Georgia Tech, Chris Bosch. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. 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 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. 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 Bats, 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped 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 a 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 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed cracks. I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. 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. A lot of these guys are coached to be caught. You know, college football coaching is not about coddling. It's about developing. And I think our AAU system, again, I think it was well put by you. Sometimes it's just like, ooh, don't offend the 15-year-old, he'll bail. I'd want to ask you about Zach Edy. Because last year I watched him, and it was like, I don't think he moves well,

and I don't think he's a great finisher. And this year I watched him, and I'm like, oh, he's way better at the rim. And that guy works hard because he's like a better player now. Nick Nurse was on an hour ago. He's like, I had him. He competes. I think Zach Eady in this tournament, has moved up spots on the draft board.

I really think it's helped him. What's your thoughts on? What are you hearing? Yeah, I mean, it's helped. I mean, it depends. There are people in the league with different views on it. And you see that even in a lot of these mock drafts. Some people have him low lottery, low first round, some even in the second round.

Colin, he is having a tremendous run. This is an NCAA tournament run that we haven't seen. I mean, you look at the numbers. We haven't seen them since the 60s with Lou Al Cinder and Elvin Hayes and guys like that. But I don't think I think he will have an NBA career. Don't get me wrong. I think he should have an NBA career. I think he'll be drafted.

I think a team will give him a shot. And I think he will be able to get some spot minutes here and there. I don't think he in today's game, which is so spread out, I don't see him as a guy playing consistent minutes, like 35 minutes as a starter on an NBA team. A guy I'll point to Luca Garza at Iowa. He was 6-11, not 7-4, but dominated college basketball, you know, won the player to year awards, put up 24 points and nine rebounds a game, and now he was a second-round drive pick.

Now he's playing for Minnesota on the bench. Doesn't play much. But that is just the difference now between the college game. and the pro game, and you are seeing more bigs like Edie or somewhat close to Eadie in college, but I don't think that's going to translate to the next level. Well, I mean, go look in the NBA. Wemby is also close to 7 foot four and look at his game, and we'll show highlights of Wembe. I mean, that game is.

Shet Homegren. Oh, those guys, I've never seen anything like it. Could Wembe win? This has never happened. Could Wembe is a rookie win defensive player of the year? Draymond Green said on his podcast two days ago. He's like, I'm wrong. That's the best defensive player in the year.

You can't. There's no way to prepare for him. What do you make of Wemby? Yeah. Yeah, I'm a voter. And two weeks ago, I was like, I'm looking at Rudy Gobert, who could win his four straight. And the only thing, though, as I watched Wemby,

the only thing I could hold against him is the Spurs' defensive rating. Yeah. But it's not his fault. His defensive rating is second in the league to Rudy Gobert, individually. But here, check this out, Colin. Victor Wimbanyama has blocked five or more shots in 22 games this season. Rudy Gobert has done it three times this season.

So, and here's the thing. And what NBA people look for from Biggs are can you guard block to block right in the inside? Can you defensive rebound? And can you guard the screen and roll. Now, Gobert, even in Anthony Davis, they do two of those. Block to block, they rebound. They don't guard the screen and roll well, the pop man. Wimby actually does.

He can guard all three. That's why he is top 20, I believe, in the league or near there in steals. And so he guards at all three levels for a big, and then he blocks shots unlike somebody, anybody else in the league right now. So I'm leaning. I wasn't a week or two ago, but seeing him block nine shots against Denver and four on Yokic, I'm leaning wimby now. And I think Colin next year, I think he's going to have a great summer where he gets stronger.

He's going to be even more confident because now he knows, oh, I can dominate in this league. I think next year he is going to come back terrorizing the NBA. Well, and I also think, Brew, it brings up a great point. I've been bothered deeply by load management, and your point's an interesting one, that just the individual game, Wembe against Yokic, when the stars play and met, could change your vote. And that's why I think you have to give not only fans yourself, when people are voting for this stuff, I'm going to look at those games, Jason Tatum, is playing LeBron or playing Embed or Butler. So I think that's a great point.

If that's the game that decides it for you, to me that's very legitimate. Yokic is the best player. Wemby blocks four of his shots. If it's razor thin, why shouldn't that count? Right. Right. And, you know, Gobert is on the number one defense in the league, and he's the anchor. But they also have like three or four other very good defenders.

Anthony Edwards is a pit bull on the perimeter defensively. Carl Anthony Towns, Kyle Anderson, they got some good defenders. Wimby doesn't have that around them. So, yeah, I'm leaning Wimby. I didn't think I would, but he's going to be rookie to year, and he might get my defensive player to your vote. All right. That's good stuff.

Hey, Brew, first things first after our show, buddy, good seeing you. Thanks, Colin. See it. Yeah. That's one of the reasons, load management. If I'm a voter on these awards, I'm not going to go Yokic against. I want to see Yokich against. I want to see Yokic against Anthony Davis.

I want to see Yolkich against Rudy Gaubert. I want to see him against Yonis, and I want to see him against Wembe. Like, if you, if, and I'm thinking about voting Yokic, like, okay, I'm going to vote him MVP, third time. Okay, he's obviously great. And it's razor thin. I want to see him against the greats. Jason Tatum. By the way, when all those Celtics sat against the Bulls, you know who didn't?

Jason Tatum, Saturday night. If you want to get votes for these awards and the bonuses, you can. Got to play the big games against the big stars. Jordan with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Colin, we are starting in the Association.

The Sons beat the Cavs, 122 to 101 last night, thanks to 40 from D-Book, 32 from KD. Now, with the Sons win and Pell's loss, Colin, Phoenix now holds the sixth seed in the West. The NBA regular season ends 10 days from today. but it looks like the Suns might end up avoiding that dreaded play-in game. Now, here's my thing. Can Phoenix beat any one of those top three teams in the West? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I would take them over the Young Thunder, although it's close.

T-wolves, potentially. They're not beating Denver. I don't think they match up necessarily well. But I watched first half of that game and fell asleep at half. I was tired last night. But Phoenix is, I mean, let me say something, they'll go in a 10-0 run like that. And I love watching them play.

I had him, I thought Denver would be the number one seed and Phoenix would be the number two seed. They've been disappointing. There's been some injuries. But when you watch them play, and like last night was a prime example because I thought, okay, I'm going to watch two good teams play. Phoenix can separate really quickly. And they move the ball. KD still moves really well up the floor. I think their chemistry is pretty good when I watch them play.

So, listen, the league is better if Phoenix wins a playoff series. I mean, I'm sorry. This team, you got a lot of jumpers in it. It's a lot of fun. It's a great NBA city. So, yeah, I think take out Denver. I think they can play with anybody. Here's my pushback with Phoenix, not a top end point guard. And if Bradley Bill's giving you 17, 18, not good enough. If he's giving you 22, 23 and shooting 40 from 3, then they're good enough. Yeah, that's what they need. Now to the NFL. National champion quarterback, J.J. McCarthy figures to be one of the top picks in the upcoming draft. Before last season, McCarthy wasn't even being discussed as a first rounder. Now ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller says that he, quote, cannot see a world where McCarthy slides past the

Broncos at 12. Colin, I don't think we'll see McCarthy slide all the way to 12. I think he's got a legit shot to go top three, top five, especially if Arizona trades back out of four. Yeah, I don't think he's going to fall past the Broncos. There's just too many teams. I mean, there's too many teams. Raiders are 13, but most believe they'll move up. So if the Bears, I mean, think about the teams here in the top 12. That could draft a quarterback.

Bears, commanders, patriots, giants, Vikings, Broncos, and the Raiders are 13 and probably moved up. Falcons could draft a quarterback, but maybe they would wait because they just signed Kurt. Well, and also, it's very likely, Atlanta's going to get the Bears. best defensive player in the draft. If you can ever draft the best defensive player in the draft, do. I mean, if you go to the last 20 years,

that's usually a pretty good player. I know you love whoever goes to Minnesota. It could be Bowdo, Nick, whoever, you are in on that scenario. Yeah, that quarterback, Caleb, number one, whoever goes to the Vikings, number two. And Joe Namib could go to the New England

Patriots, and you would say, no. I don't think Caleb would succeed there. Okay. Rookie defensive coach, Bad Weather, their tough division, tough conference, no weapons. That is just Death Valley. Yeah. Sticking with the NFL draft, Jaden Daniels is coming off

a sensational Heisman-winning season. Actually, his number is calling me or Joe Burroughs. When he won it, Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports and the Athletic spoke with one college coach who said about Daniels upside. He said, outside of Patrick Mahomes, I haven't coached against someone like this. Colin, I'm actually hearing from multiple league sources

that the commanders at two are very high on Jane and Daniels in this draft. Well, I've been told everybody likes Jaden Daniels. Everybody thinks Caleb's great, and there's a lot of mixed reviews on J.J. McCarthy, Pennix, and Bonex, and even Drake May to some degree. Everybody I've talked to likes Jaden Daniels. Some love him. Nobody thinks can't play.

He moves a little like Lamar, 6'3 tall. Little Finn. wishes he was 15 pounds heavier. But McCarthy, you get division, Pennix you get division, Bo you get division, and Drake May's inconsistency absolutely scares people.

Caleb is understood as a star. Everybody also likes Jaden. Now, that doesn't mean they would take him in certain situations. Like New England, you can make an argument. We're just moving back and we're going to get six picks. Like, we don't have any players.

But you can't, I watched him at Arizona State and I watched them at LSU. a dozen times. I may have watched him more to Arizona State because Herm was coaching and I wanted to watch him. I remember saying this, I saw his first game. I saw him play as a freshman at LSU or AASU, and I think I had Herm on the air talk to him because my daughter went to Arizona State and I was like, God, that guy weighs 112 pounds, but Lord, is he good.

I remember as a freshman, he looked like he just needed to eat. He was so skinny, but he was good. and if I recall, I think he played, I'm not sure, I think he played as a true freshman. Yeah, he did. And he was really good. And I remember when he transferred LSU, I had said on social media or somewhere, I'm like, LSU, you're getting a really good player. And there was a ton of pushback. And I'm like, no, no, no, no.

He gets LSU's players. Like, Hermann defensive guys. Like LSU is a factory for O-Lineman backs, receivers, tight ends. And I'm like, LSU, and there was a lot of pushback on him. Dude is good. He was good his first game in college. Like noticeably, and the other thing I remember about him in college at Arizona State his freshman year is that he can read the field. Like, you know, you watch their head.

He wasn't a guy that dropped and threw. Dropped, looked over the field. That's the first thing I look for with quarterbacks, young guys, is watch their head. Can they read the field or they programmed to throw to a receiver? He reads the field, which has been my knock on Zach Wilson and Justin. fields. They're talented. I don't think they can read the field quickly. Jaden reads the field. He sees everything. So I'm rooting for him not to go to New England because I want to see it work. Yeah. Yeah. The reason I like Jen and Daniels is somewhat similar to what you said, except

Scouts have told me that going from ASU, going from Tempe to Baton Rouge, the progression he made wasn't in the arm talent. It was in the footwork and the way he was able to facilitate the football, not making the decision pre-snap. I know you said freshman year, you saw it, but he got a lot better with his decision-making at LSU. And I would point to the game, I think it was his first game in LSU, first big game. They played Ford State two years ago. It was a massive game, and he played really well. And I think since then, he's gone from being a fifth, six-rounder, fourth-rounder, to now a potential top three-pitch. Yeah, people should YouTube the Arizona State stuff. And he didn't have a lot of NFL support. They were rebuilding that program. He made plays. He made beautiful throws in

I love the connection to Antonio Pierce. I just don't know if the Raiders at 13 have enough to get up. And finally, Cohn, we got a little UFO action. Matt Corral's long touchdown to Dionne highlighted an impressive opening weekend for the Birmingham Stallions. They're 22 and 3, by the way, over the last three years. This performance was good enough to put them atop Fox Sports' own R.J. Young's, UFL power-ranking stallions, San Antonio, Memphis, a little Michigan action. Colin, you mentioned earlier that the reason the UFL might be special is because it's a shorter 8 to 10 game season.

Also, when you mix two leagues and what you will see in this league, instead of separating all the players, you'll bring one league together and probably two to three quarterbacks in this league will play in the NFL. That's really the bonus of this league is you're going to see running backs, corners, receivers, and quarterbacks that are NFL players. If you're a good old lineman or de lineman, you're in the league. Believe me, there's not many Jalen Carter's out there, right? Like, we can count. If I said, name a great defensive lineman, we'd all go. Reggie White, Aaron Donald, Fletcher Cox, there's not a ton of those. But wide receiver running back quarterback talent, there's a lot of it out there,

and you're going to see it when you watch. This is a fast league. There's speed everywhere. Speed kills. We know that. Jordan with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd Lod. I news. Wrap it up in LA next. The herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast inside the Parker for 22 minutes of pipe and hot baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport.

Whether you believe in analytics or the eye test, we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday. So do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcast. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're 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. 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 Jek. 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 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all 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. 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.

Well, J-MAC was introduced to our audience years and years ago, probably five years ago. I brought him on for something called Tomorrow's Headlines today because he'd worked in the newspaper business and created the blog business. And so JMAX's back Monday, and Jordan works for Bleacher Report. He's at NFL Insider, so he's in a headline business as well. So figuring you cover the NFL, I'm going to ask you a series of questions. We're borrowing this JMA just once. It is still yours. He's surfing.

He doesn't care. And so he'll be back next week. But we thought, because I'm off the air and you're off the air tomorrow, we're going to give you, let's start with it, tomorrow's headlines today. So what will the headline be for coach of the year in the NFL? All right, so a lot of shuffling in the NFL. Pete Carroll's out. Bill Belichick's out.

Arthur Smith. We can go through the list. You sold me this week, Colin. You sold me on someone that I didn't think I was going to be sold on. And I'm not expecting Justin Herbert to throw the ball 40 times a game. I'm not. I'm expecting it to be better. Hungry, hungry Harboss.

Jim, gobbles. All the marvels. You think they are good immediately. I do. And I actually didn't even think that much. So I didn't think that was the case yesterday. Then I started going back and forth and I realized something. I talked to a GM who told me, watch the chargers in the draft. Joe Ortiz comes from Baltimore. What do they do better than anybody? They trade back, acquire assets, and have great drafts over and over again. That's scouting background. And I think the fact that Justin Herbert's not going to be asked to throw the ball 40 times a game is a good thing.

They're going to lean on the running game. They're going to have to lean on the defense. all week. Pass rushers. I like the Chargers this year. All right. Tomorrow's headlines today. Offensive rookie of the year in the NFL. We got lots of really top-end talent coming in. Caleb Williams, Malik Neighbors, Marvin Harrison, Jr. You know what, Colin? Devonte Adams, he's really good. You know who else is really good? Rome O'Donzee.

Rome wasn't built in O'Doonsay. It was built on a Sunday. These headlines are unbelievable. And the reason I bring up Adams is because an NFL scout told me that's the comp for O'Doonese. Look at him at the line of scrimmage. Look at the way he releases. He uses the basketball background, the body control, except he's a little bigger, a little faster, measured almost 6-3, ran a 4-4-5. He's a freak. Tomorrow's headlines today.

How about the MVP? What say you? Okay. This is really, really tough for me because there's so many good candidates. You can go down the list. And I think Matt Stafford's going to get back in that conversation this year. But you know who else I really love, Colin? Another quarterback, a young quarterback.

Two's company, three's the Stroud, C.J. Ads, third initial. C.J. Stroud. MVP. Yeah, listen. Tank Dell, now Joe Nixon, now Stefan Diggs, excellent offensive coordinator, weird division. And I will say this. his ability to throw accurately on moving, standing,

left, right, he is just, you know, he and Jared Goff, if you give them two and a half, three seconds, they put the ball on your hands. Yeah. And I think the fact that they have,

you mentioned Del Collins, Mixing, Domingo Ryan is a big factor here as well for me. I was talking to Eric Armstead, who was with him in San Francisco. He said the way he empowers guys, young quarterbacks, that's a difference maker. saw it last year with C.J.

Stroud, we're going to see a big time improvement this year, next year for C. Tomorrow's headlines today, what team will have the biggest leap? All right. We talked about the Chargers. I can't do it. I can't go with them again. I think there's going to be a lot of movement this year in the NFL. Seller drower is moving up.

But you know what, Colin? Hot Brian Punch. Titans new juice. Worth the squeeze. I don't know if I believe it. So you like Brian Callahan. Yes. Now, Will Levis has to work.

Yeah. I don't love their O line. They probably draft Joe Alt. Yeah. Someone in that building told me that Will Levis carries himself with a certain swag of a marquee franchise quarterback. Then they go out and get Calvin Ridley. Now, there's a little quick side story here of how that happened. Jacksonville thought they were getting him back.

New England thought Jacksonville was getting him back. We know he wanted to stay in the South. At the final hour, Tennessee comes in after missing out on a couple of guys the day before, CJ Gardner Johnson. They weren't able to acquire them. They pivot. They go to the wider receiver, Calvin Ridley. And he's still thinking Jags, who offered, by the way, dollar for dollar, exactly what the Titans offered. Ran Carthon, the GM of the Titans, gets on a face time with Calvin Ridley. And he says, we're both from Florida. You're going to love the way we treat you inside this building. Halfway through the conversation, Ridley says, no, no more. I'm in.

That's the difference maker. And I think Brian Callahan benefits in a big way. Finally, tomorrow's headlines today. Watch the headlines for the team with the biggest free fall. Okay, this was tough for me, because I don't want to be negative, not negative Nancy. The Detroit Lions I thought about, I thought about them hard, but I can't go against Jared Gough. He's about to get extended. Tampa your expectations, Colin. Baker's sale passes away.

Baker passes sail away. Now, the reason I say that, because Atlanta's ready to take off. off in that division. Atlanta is going to be much improved. This is less so about Tampa to me, but they do have holes, and we're only one season away, one year away, Colin, from Baker-Mayfield having to beat out Kyle Trask. I know he had a really good year, but I'm not sold necessarily on him long-term there. I don't think they should have paid him the type of money they did. He's a good player, but I think that division is getting a lot better because of Atlanta, and I think as a result of that, I'm going to say that Tampa's going to take a step back. I mean, they won a

playoff game last year. That surprised a lot of people, including myself. Yeah, first of all, Atlanta, it's very possible. They can't beat Atlanta. They go 0 and 2 against Atlanta, which will score a lot of points with Kirk Cousins. It should also be noted that the Rams have 11 draft picks were good last year.

Green Bay and Detroit were good, and they're stacked and just getting older. Seekwanda the Eagles, I think, makes them more dangerous. I think when you start looking around the NFC, I felt for the last four to five years, AFC is completely different league than the NFC. I think they get much closer this year.

I think Caleb's going to work in Chicago. I think I think Sam Darnold's going to work. I think the Rams will be better. Seattle's got fresh blood as a coach. So I tend to think, and Atlanta will be significantly better. Did you have fun? Four days of doing this, you have fun. I had a blast.

It was an honor and pleasure. You were very gracious. Listen, I could have had more fun. be honest with you. So thank you. You know what? I mean, it's three hours. Talking sports.

Like, how can you be it? They give you free smoothies. Yeah, a lot of free smoothies. You get shirts. You get to work with Ryan. He's got nothing but hockey scores, but nonetheless, a good guy. Well, Jordan Schultz, Bleacher Report.

Thank you so much. Jay Mack is back Monday. We're both off Friday. We'll see you. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman, help make you funnier.

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