The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 3 - Which players might fall in the NFL draft?

Episode Date: March 8, 2024

Thoughts on who might be falling in the NFL draft Jason gives his NBA Oscar awards for the season   Guest: Chris "The Bear" FallicaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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So I love bringing this guy on anytime I host. Chris the Bear Felica, gambling expert, Fox Big Noon kickoff, host of the Bear Betts podcast with Jeff Schwartz. How are you, Chris? I'm doing well. It's a beautiful day here on the East Coast today. The gloomy, gray, rainy, chilly skies are gone, and we have to decide.

So I'm in a good mood. We're about eight, nine days away from selection Sunday. Yes. Go on to Vegas next week for the NHC handicapping championship. So I'm good to go. I'm ready to roll. Yeah, I remember last time he was on before the Natty, he gave us a Michigan prop, I believe, on Donovan Edwards. Just, it nailed.

So pay close attention here. Let's start with the NFL draft and betting. Let's start, obviously, with you and I are both Jets fans. I think the worst kept secret in the top 15 is the Jets are going offensive line. Would you agree? yeah I this when I when I when I say like if you search around some of some of these some of these sports books whether they're an offshore or some of the legal ones like slowly they're unrolling like to play team to take a position with their first pick and like I noticed this week the jets

place popped up minus 175 to take an offensive line like where the jets are picking like I mean I know about us a couple of people mentioned Brock Bowers maybe going to the jets but But the thing that Jets need is to sure up that offensive line. You and I watched far too many quarterbacks, take far too many hits last year. And if you have Aaron Rogers are 40 years old, coming off that Achilles injury behind the offensive line that they had last year, it's not going to go.

Well, they will have a pick of someone at 10, whether it's Olu, the kid from Oregon State. There are guys. Alt will probably be gone. But lay them. Like there will be a player there, 10 that ultimately will wind up being a jet. It feels like the only way that, minus 175 is not bad,

$175 to win $100. It's not like the, I mean, I can't see a scenario except maybe Roma Dunez say falling a little bit. The Jets do need a number two receiver. You know, Alan Lazzard, not great. I'm hearing some Cortland Sutton rumors. I don't know where that's coming from. But it definitely feels like line is the move.

Now, you did surprise me by telling me, as we were talking before the segment, what the chiefs would do in the first round, I was caught off guard. Tell, where would you bet the Chiefs are taking position-wise? The Chiefs won the Super Bowl this year, basically with the worst wide receiver play in the league. I don't think it's any secret that Patrick Gahombs would like another wide receiver to go out there with Rishi Rice. And if you're holding the last pick of the first round,

we know Patrick Gahombs has followed Xavier Worthy's offseason pretty closely, and then for Worthy to run what he ran at the combine. I've seen Chiefs to draft a wide. receiver anywhere from like even money to plus one 10 you and I were talking in break before and I guess the one thing that could potentially change this is if it's a cornerback type situation at the end of the first round or maybe a team wants to come up and take a quarterback for an extra year control maybe the chiefs drop back a couple of picks but it still wouldn't affect who their first

pick is going to be but I think if you're looking at a at a draft I was I was going through the list with a friend earlier in the week, and he said, like, there could be like seven wide receivers taken in the first round. When he said, seven, I was like, really? It seemed like a high number. Then you start going through the names, and I'm like, yeah, you know what, he might be right. So seven would be an interesting number, but I think the chiefs, whether it's worthy or another wide receiver, Keon Coleman or someone along the back end of the first round,

I think we'll wind up being very happy to have Patrick Ghalms throwing him balls for the next few years. So depending on where you look, quarterbacks in the first round, you could find four and a half, five and a half. The question starts to become, you know, we know, it looks like McCarthy's a lock. Obviously, Daniels, May, and Caleb are locks. What becomes of Knicks and Pennicks? And Bear, honestly, like, you and I watch a lot of college football. I think both, I think Pennicks should definitely be a first rounder. I don't know about Knicks.

but depending on who you read, both of them could be dropping out of the first round. Yeah, I don't see it. I think Michael Panics with what he did at the Combine. I think the interview process and how he's handled himself in an interview with teams. I think teams love him. I think there will ultimately be five.

We know how this goes. Teams in the back end of the first round, your playoff teams that don't necessarily need a player to instantly come in and help them. they're looking for picks, they're looking for depth of players. And teams are going to come up and want a quarterback later in that first round. So I would be surprised if Pennix or Knicks or Nicks or you hear the name of Spencer Rattler getting a lot of, a lot of public. Put yourself in the position of like the Giants, for example, where do you really want to use your pick, which is what, sixth, I think they were fifth in the draft?

And do you want to use a pick on a quarterback right there? or do you take Roma Dunzei or Balik neighbors or a wide receiver that you clearly need and then you pick at the top of the second round and then you can maybe sacrifice a future pick to move back up and take a quarterback and that way you get to with the so like the Giants are kind of an interesting team because it's hard to do like you give Daniel Jones that contract a couple of years ago and now two years later you basically say we're moving on from him that's tough but I guess if you realize you play up you have a bad hand you you you kind of get rid of it before you start compounding stakes.

Let me just float you this. I don't know if you watched the Diana Rusini stuff earlier, but if you listen closely, it doesn't sound like Baker is a 100% lock or even close to it to stay in Tampa. It sounds like money could be an issue. And if Tampa lets him go and they go the bridge quarterback route, it's clear they don't love Kyle Trask.

Just Tampa consider a quarterback at 26 late in the first round? Sure. Why wouldn't you? I mean, if you're clearly not sold on Kyle Truss being a guy, and even with Bigel, like, how many more years are you going to get at a Baker? If he can, and maybe last year was it complete? That surprises me, though, with Mike Evans deciding to stay. That kind of felt like a tell that if Evans was staying,

and he turned down more money from other teams, I heard, to stay in Tampa. That kind of felt like it was going to be a natural that Baker would be back. But that's interesting. But sure, a team like Tampa picking where they're picking, maybe you take a quarterback to kind of do the Jordan Love Aaron Rogers type deal where you don't necessarily have to play them right away. That's why a team is always going to find a reason to take a quarterback, to have that extra year of control, to try and groom someone to have. Because unless you have a Hall of Fame quarterback or quarterback on a rookie deal, it's really hard to succeed in the NFL just given how the economics of the league are. One more quarterback question. That's why if they post four and a half somewhere, I will be over four and a half for a good amount of Benjamin's.

That's for sure. One more quarterback thing. Where are you on the number two pick? It looks like Drake May's favored, but it's not the gap that it used to be over Daniels. I personally don't see Daniels at two, but we'll see what Washington wants to do. Is that something you'd avoid betting or you consider Kingsbury's thoughts, given he just had a running quarterback and Kyler Murray? I make the connection with Washington and Jaden Daniels just because of the Kingsbury and having a quarterback kind of who can run and see the field.

Like I even made a case with some people like we saw Jaden Daniels' odds this week drop considerably to be the number one pick of the draft going from like 1415 to 1 to 7 to 1. Yeah, his odds got cut dramatically. So maybe that means the yeah, yeah, it's silly Cs. and people are throwing things out there. It feels like Drake May is probably more of a, again, a year away from being a year away type guy in the NFL where I think Daniels, with his ability to run,

might be being able to fit in right away more opposed to that than May. It's interesting because I brought up that, like, I saw that link yesterday, that tweet yesterday about someone saying, know, the bears are this close to trading the pick and you're going to keep Fields. Like, really? Like, who's buying that? Who's believed, like, oh, the guy that we can't trade and nobody wants? Like, that's the guy we're going to extend and we're going to keep him and have him be a, like, I mean, there's a lot of ridiculousness out there. But anyone who is buying that the Bears are going to actually keep Justin Fields as their starting quarterback. I don't see that.

All right. One more before we get to March Madness. First non-quarterback taken. I see Marvin Harrison, huge favorite, right? Malik neighbors would be second. Yet for some reason, I keep seeing mock drafts with neighbors ahead of Harrison. Now, I don't know if this is guys trying to be, hey, look at me, look at me. I have neighbors over Harrison, but the odds here heavily favor Harrison. And, you know, Arizona, come on.

You got to go get Harrison, right? I would think so. And I've even heard people up here in the Northeast who are, in the Boston area, saying it might not be a given that Harrison gets past the Patriots. I mean, you look at the Patriots wide receivers that they have had. Like, like, who is the last wide receiver that the Patriots drafted that actually panned out to have a legitimate career? Like every wide receiver that they really had that was worth anything in the Belichic area era, rather, was someone that they traded for.

So, like, the Patriots taking Marvin Harrison, like, again, you take a great player there, and then you take a quarterback at the top of the second round, or maybe you go out and you sign Jacoby Preset as like a bridge guy. So I think Harrison will be the first wide receiver taken. I think a lot of people might be either looking at the, didn't go to the combine, didn't do any of that. He's going to have his own pro day. And you look at the struggles that maybe he had this year.

But yeah, I think you need to look at the quarterback play that Ohio State had, which was not up to par. And I think neighbors obviously shown a little bit more. having the Heisman trophy winner, throw him the ball. But yeah, if you're in the business, a laying $6, go for it. I do think, I do think Harrison will be going ahead. 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 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-taped 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 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. 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. All right, college basketball. I know it's not having a great season. I mean, Caitlin Clark has been a bigger story than anything in men's college hoops this year. But you and I love the tournament. Obviously love gambling on it.

It's weird at the top, Chris. Houston number one in the country, according to Ken Palm, Yukon number two. And you could make a lot of cases that someone outside of that is going to win the title. Remember last year, none of the top seeds even made the final four. Why don't we start with dark horses? Anybody jump out at you? Is there an Iowa state that peaks your interest?

Anyone from the Pact 12, Hintit, Arizona? Anyone jump out of you as a dark horse? Auburn is the team that I'm interested in. I know they only have the one quad one win against Alabama, and they struggled a little bit on the road, but no one's really playing road games in the NCAA tournament. It's all neutral site games. It's all unfamiliar backgrounds.

And with a player-like broom, their ability to get good high percentage two-point shots, their ability to defend. I think, like, if they're a four-seat, which is what Yukon was last year, when the Huskies won the national top, title. Like, if you're a number one seed like Houston, who's going to be short-handed on the bench, or a one-seed like Purdue, who might not be able to get off great shots. Like, you do

not want to see Auburn as the number four seed in your region. So, like, Auburn's a team that I have around 18 to 1, 20-to-1 that I bet. I do have Yukon and Houston both around 9, 9-50 or so. Those are my three big positions in terms of winning the NCAA tournament. If you're looking for someone, like a little bit off the radar to maybe reach the final four. I've seen a price of 19 to 1, or maybe when the bracket comes out a lot of times, you'll see just odds to make the Sweet 16. Gonzaga is a team that,

remember, we love college troops in the 90s when they were first, they were the double-digit seed, the low seed making a run, making a run to the Elite 8, making a run to the Sweet 16. That's kind of how they built their program. And then they didn't necessarily have that success

when they started getting one in two and three seasons tournament. They did make the final that one year, but a lot of times they were considered to be an underachiever. This team, I think people are treating them like they're an 11 and 17 in the West Coast conference right now. Like, you look at their skip, they lost two conference games, one on the road by a point, another one by two on their home court to get to St. Mary's, who they just went to Maraga and absolutely annihilated the gals.

They have a road win at Kentucky, and yet I see them being mobbed. around a 10 seed or so. If they're a 10 seed, I do not want to be the two seed in that region. And certainly a lot of these teams that are projected to be on that two line, kind of have some flaws and kind of have some warts that make them very vulnerable. So I'll be curious to see what the price is on Gonzaga to reach the sweet 16 when the bracket comes out, if indeed they do wind up falling on that 10 line. A couple of macro questions.

when you are betting and doing your filling out your brackets, how much do you lean on experience? Given an extra year due to COVID, I mean, you look at some of these rosters. Tennessee has like a 23-year-old. Some of these guys have 24, 25-year-olds. Do you factor that in a lot? Because last year in the tournament,

we saw a lot of teams kind of outside of the top three seeds with older guys making runs. And that's something that I do think you need to pay attention to. And I think if you think back to, it's kind of like the mid-majory theory in college basketball. All these, when the VCUs and the butlers, those teams were making Roger George Mason, like you had guys who had been together for three, four years

as starting groups, and they kind of knew each other's role. And maybe they weren't all 23, 24 years old, but they had a lot of basketball under them. So yeah, that is certainly something that I would pay attention to, certainly in this day, age where you have so many freshmen coming in and making an impact and maybe just being physically more mature might wind up paying off for these teams to have a longer run. Maybe the wear and tear of the season won't necessarily be as much compared to an 18 or

19-year-old freshman. All right. I'll just throw a couple teams at you to wrap up here and you tell me yes or no on do you like them or not. Tennessee and Dalton Connect. I like them, but I am worried that they are now the very tremendous. dark, not even dark horse. They're a very trendy team to go a long way in the tournament.

And I am a little bit jaded because I had the year Tennessee lost Michigan, I had them at like 40 to 1 to win the title. Last year, I had them, I guess, 30 to 1 to win the title. And they've burned me in the past. So I'm very hesitant to hop on board now with Tennessee, with a lot of weight on that train moving forward to the back the balls. Remember, Rick Barnes is not a guy. who has had a ton of tournament success.

He did have the one year in 2003 where they got to the final four, but had Durant and couldn't get to the second week. So he's another guy with a lot of scorotage who losing that game to Michigan that they shouldn't have a couple of years ago, blowing a double-digit lead last year at the guard in a game. It should have won. That worries me. I think those stories, the fact that they're going to get brought up again,

I think, it's going to weigh on Tennessee, I think, this year. And finally, Marquette, my guy, Tyler Kolek, love him. He's out this weekend, not great. Assuming he's 100% healthy, can Marquette make a run to the final four? I like this team a lot, but down the stretch, struggling without their star point card. Yeah, but I think the fact that they're going to get him back, that that will help. Watching that game the other night against UCon,

Yukon was in control that entire game. But even without Colette just refused to go away. they hit big shots. They made a run after this technical foul on Spencer. This is a team. Last year I wasn't necessarily sold on them. But I think Marquette was a team early this year. People were really high on them.

Had a little bit of a lull. And now I can see myself at a better price kind of when not a lot of people are on Marquette. I can see them making a deeper run now that I maybe would have before the year. I think once they get cold back, they're going to be good. Yeah. All right. Bear, great stuff as always. It's weird. We just did a college basketball segment.

No Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky. None of it. That's how weird of a year it's been. Anyways, great stuff, Bear. Talk to you soon, buddy. Okay, good, you're back. All right. Chris Falika, always plugged it on the gambling. Gotta love it. Let's go to Alex Curry with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Would you say March Madness, this is your biggest betting month of or playoff NFL? NFL? Well, you try to be. consistent. You don't want to just spend big. You said earlier, you said like I bet a lot on college basketball. I do this thing called the Calcutta where you have to bid on teams. Okay. And last year, you know, we had a five figure bid on Arizona and they get bouncing the first round. Now the year before, we had a significant play on Kansas and they won the title, so it was a great windfall. But I like college basketball. Yeah, we know. Okay. It'd be interesting

to see how you do this year. But let's talk some football because the Patriots are like to draft a quarterback with a third overall pick, leaving Mack Jones on the outside looking in. Although, past players don't know what the future looks like for Mack entering year four linebacker. Matthew Judon believes he can still succeed as a starter. When Mack was comfortable and he had a good system, he produced and he put up numbers. When you said we score, well, 45 to 7. Yeah. A good sleeve of air.

Yeah, Mac Jones led that team. And so we know he can do it. We know he can do it. He has to find his confidence, his stride, and get a rhythm under him. It's going to be difficult. It's his fourth OC in four years. Is he broken? Nah.

Nah. I think once you catch your strike, hit your rhythm, that's what they were talking about, Baker. Now we're talking about him being one of the first people off the board, first and second quarterbacks off the board and free agency. This will be a very interesting season for a max. Jones, right? No Bill Belichick. Right. No more excuses.

I mean, as you just heard, it's his fourth season. He's 18 and 24 overall, really hasn't had success since his rookie season. I mean, Patriots went four and 13 last season. Wasn't league worse. Panthers had that with the two and 15. But Patriots have the third overall pick. They have the third overall pick. And they have a new coach, new GM, When that usually happens, yes, they've been within the organization, usually you want your guy, right? You want your own guy. So the question is, is Mac, your franchise guy.

And if not, you have to get a quarterback with how talented this draft class is. I just hear Judon saying, well, Baker Mayfield, he got another chance. Bro, he was on like his third team. What were he talking about? Mack is still in New England. Again, I'm not going to name names, but like more than one, former Patriots, player who's connected in that locker room have said, hey, they don't like Mac. We know the fans are out on it.

The first interception, it's get Bailey Zappy in there or whoever the backup is. Bailey Zappy could be out of there. I'm not buying this. Sorry. I'm out on Mac. Like I said, new coach, new GM, third pick in the draft, you have to go and get a quarterback. I would agree. At least, you have to.

All right, we got five more days until the start of the 2024 league year. Teams have been cutting ties with a lot of veteran safeties. NFL teams have saved $103.25 million from cutting safety so far this season with guys like Justin Simmons, Kevin Byard, Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, and Jordan Poyer are among the big names looking for new homes. So this kind of feels similar to what we were kind of talking about last season with running backs. Not getting not getting what they want, maybe getting cut, not being as values. as they used to. But another thing with a lot of these guys, most of them are early 30s, mid-30s,

so age could also be something. Yeah, the interesting thing is a lot of teams are playing the too high safety. We don't want to give up the big place. Yeah. Patrick Mahomes, you will take the short stuff. You want to throw deep, you're going to throw picks like he did the Super Bowl.

Josh Allen, we'll let you beat us with the short stuff. We're not giving up the 80-yard touchdowns. So if you're just playing them high, kind of sort of, you, don't need to pay guys, you know, $15 million to play safety. So. But after safety's cornerback is a position where NFL teams have done the most cost-cutting, saving a total of $64.5 million.

That's scary. Yes. We're just punting on defense. Yeah, what are you going to do? Yeah, I guess try to beat you with our, try to outscore them. Maybe. All right, let's switch to the NBA where Anthony Edwards went off last night, dropping 44 points, including a game tying three in the final minutes,

but it was his high-flying game-saving block at the buzzer. that handed Minnesota the win over the Pacers. Now, the team also announced today that Carl Anthony Towns will undergo surgery for his torn meniscus, and he will be re-evaluated in a month with the potential to return just before the playoffs. But as you know, that is very wishful thinking because you have to get back into game shape. When you come back from an injury, yes, you might be cleared, but now you have to get back into game shape. Now, Timberwolves are currently first in the West right now. A half a game up on the Thunder, a game up from Denver.

They won their first game without cats. So the real question is, can Anthony Edwards carry the T-Wolves with cats out? Probably? By the way, that block. I mean... It was insane. It looks like he hit what... What's that?

Was it slam ball where you like bounce and jump super high? It looks like he's bouncing off something. Look at this bounce. It says, boom. Yeah. And then he's... He flew. He flew.

That's insane. And what scary is when he lands, it looks like he's coming down on his face. Yeah. Could have easily broke his wrist. Just an unbelievable play. That looks like you're playing a video game style blog. There were some fans in the crowd right there who had video of it. And just to hear the roar was like, oh my.

He is like a cult hero in Minnesota. I mean, I like this guy a lot. I just, some of the stuff, I think it was Rick Buecker who said it. Yes. He's kind of goofing off. He's doing stuff to do. in the game. He's so talented. He is. Imagine if he locked in.

Yeah, that's what Rick said. He's so talented that he's like, oh, let me see if I can like bank this three. Let me see if I can make this shot just because he's so good. All-Star Games Skills Competition or All-Star Weekend. He's like doing left-handed nonsense. And Wend binaama's like, what are you doing, man? Yeah.

He's a young guy. What is he? 24, like 25. I mean, it's kids, talent. I'm a big fan. Extremely talented. I like it. Fun. Yeah, fun to watch. Alex Curry with the new. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Lie News. All right, you guys are going to love this final segment. So the Oscars are this weekend. So naturally, the Wizards on the staff have come up with an NBA Academy Awards. NBA Academy. I've butchered that, but whatever. Anyways, we will do that last year. You're going to love it.

Stick around. Save big on your water and energy bills with the new Navi and tankless water heater. Navian tankless water heaters provide endless hot water. for spa-like comfort. Navian makes it easy to go tankless. Visit tankless made simple.com. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben. Host of the fifth hour with Ben Mallor.

It would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mallor show, a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture, if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry. sports and more every week, explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, 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.

Yep, that's me, Clipper 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 Podcast, 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 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 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. 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. I'm going to absolutely love this. Okay, so in today's best for last, we are handing out our NBA Academy Awards in honor of the Oscars this weekend. Alex will give me the category. I will reveal the winner. Alex, what's our first category? First up, the nominees for Best Actor are

LeBron for his work with the Lakers, Joker, SGA, Janice, and Luca. And the winner of Best Actor is LeBron James. I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen. He is the goat. Okay, LeBron, by the way, two players in the league averaging 25, 7, and 7. Joker

and LeBron and LeBron's like 50 years older than Joker all due respect SGA's had a great season Lucas my guy Best actor

it has to be LeBron James All right Next And the nominees for best screenplay are Chet

Wembe Jaime Brandon Miller Jaime Hakez getting in there I like it The best screenplay winner is

Victor Wembenyama I think there's a no-brainer, ladies and gentlemen. He should win rookie of the year. He leads the NBA in blocks. He's averaging 20, 10, and 3. Just think about that for a moment. A rookie from France averaging 2010 and 3. He's on pace to become the first player since Shaq to average 2010 and 3.

Ladies and gentlemen, Victor Wembe Diama, best screenplay winner. Living up to the hype. All right, the nominees for Best Picture are the Boston Sands. Celtics, the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Phoenix Suns. Okay. So this is probably the most difficult category, right? Okay. The Nuggets are the defending champs. The paper clips are coming. The Bucks have Yonis. But the winner of Best Picture is the Boston Celtics. Yes, the Boston Celtics. Right now, best team in the league. Yes, the Nuggets are 2-0 against them. Yes, the Nuggets beat them last night.

Body of work, ladies and gentlemen, we're not doing a two-game sample size. Celtics lead in almost every category that matters. Point differential, number one in the league, potentially could be the number one point differential team in the history of the sport. This is just a team that's on pace for the highest single-season net rating. They added Porzingis in Holiday, so I don't want to hear any nonsense.

Same old Celtics. No, Marcus Smart's gone. This is a new team. Best Picture Boston Celtics. All right. And the nominees for Best Director are Mark Dagnall with his work with the Thunders Chris Finch

Joe Mazula J.B. Bickerstaff Tailu. This was probably the second hardest category for me because, you know, listen, some of these guys, I mean, you know, no disrespect to Dagnol, but he could walk in here and deliver us a pizza. We wouldn't know who he is. Like, I'm sorry, I don't mean to be

harsh. This is reality. So the winner of the best director is Chris Finch and not just because he comes on this show. Finch obviously has an amazing scene. season with the Timberwolves, number one seat in the West, which is stacked beyond belief. Second best record in the NBA. Nobody, Alex, had that at the beginning of the season.

Nobody. So Chris Finch, big time shout out. Now, they got it in a little playoff series. Haven't done that in 19 straight seasons. Good luck, Finch. All right, and the nominees for Best Supporting Actor, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray. I liked me some D-Book.

He's dating Kendall Jenner again, apparently. Anthony Davis with great women. with the hot goss. I follow these people on Instagram. But the best supporting actor winner has to be Jamal Murray. That's no time all-star Jamal Murray, who hangs out with Colin Cowherd at UFC fights, apparently. I'm a huge Jamal Murray fan, the work ethic.

And I didn't give the Nuggets any honors and Nuggets fans, I don't want you to hate me. So Jamal Murray is the best supporting actor. All right. And finally, who will take home the honorary NBA Academy Award for Lifetime Achieve? Well, listen. It has to be.

Right? LeBron James, just taking home all the Oscars. LeBron with the lifetime achievement. Only player in the history of the sport, Alex. I don't know if you heard this with over 40,000 points. Yep. Like, if that's not a lifetime achievement, I don't know what is. He scored more points in his 21st season than all other players in their 21st season combined.

LeBron James, just give him all the hardware. Alex, we bow down to the great LeBron James. He's spectacular. It's going to be great. I'm excited for the Oscars. I'm also excited. Jimmy Kimmel is hosting. And we know he had a little beef with Aaron Rogers.

Oh, I hope he takes some shots at him. He's a comedian. Of course he will. So have you seen Barbie and Oppenheimer? Uh-huh. And which is better? They're different. I love them both.

Kudos to producer Kyle, who went and saw both of them in the same day. He did the Barbie Haimer or whatever it was called. I saw both of them. I love them both separately. Have you seen both of them? I saw Barbie. I watched it.

My daughter had a birthday barbohy. I have not seen Oppenheimer. I have not seen Oppenheimer. I have not seen Oppenheim. Like, watch it at home. The score is amazing. Just the music, the everything. Like it's so well done.

It's like three and a half hours, which is why it's okay to watch it home. You can pause it, have some snacks. Watch it over the course of like three days perhaps? No. No, no, no, no. I love watching movies and shows, so that's an easy one for me.

But it's great. Highly recommend. Yeah. Highly recommend. Do you have time before the Oscars? Oh, really? We're moving. So we got it. Dang.

Moving to Arizona. Sike, obviously. Oh, it's like, wait. But when I say we're moving, everybody's like, where are you going? I was like, oh, we're going to Arizona. And then it's like, silent. Is this show moving? It's like, I don't know.

Cowards clearly moving to Chicago or something. Anyways, watch the Oscars think about sports. Have a great weekend. Thank you, Alex. See you Monday. 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 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.

Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway 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 not to be played with.

And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to Learn the Hardway on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.