The Herd with Colin Cowherd - In Defense of Rob Manfred

Episode Date: June 16, 2020

On today's edition of The Herd, Colin comes to defense of Rob Manfred during the ongoing crisis with Major League Baseball, why you shouldn't listen to the boycott crowd still surrounding Colin Kaeper...nick & starting to form around Chuba Hubbard, and why Tua Tagovailoa is further along than you might think! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,
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Starting point is 00:00:39 Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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.
Starting point is 00:01:03 Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down,
Starting point is 00:01:20 and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all?
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Starting point is 00:02:19 Find your local station for the Hurt at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHartRadio app by searching Hurd. Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Tuesday, live in Los Angeles. This is The Hurd. Wherever you may be, and however you may be listening, we are live in Los Angeles. I-Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and right here with my crazy hair on FS1, Joy Taylor, who is rocking throughout the virus. better than ever.
Starting point is 00:03:02 You know, how people respond in crisis is a testament to their strength. You're just flourishing in the crisis. Thank you. It's just different. Thanks. Yeah, I'm just different. It's great to have you.
Starting point is 00:03:17 And today I was off yesterday. This is sort of my Monday, and joy knows I'm all hyped up with coffee and ready to go. So I'm going to take a very unpopular position for the next six, seven minutes. I'm going to defend Rob Manning. The commissioner of baseball. We are going to have baseball.
Starting point is 00:03:33 We're going to have baseball. A lot of this stuff's just, you know, public throwing stuff out there. What you don't like about Rob Manfred is, you know, I don't like the tension between the players and the owners. Oh, that is such an adorable take for you 21-year-old bloggers. Google baseball history. We had a work stoppage in the 70s. In the 80s. in 1994, almost in 2002.
Starting point is 00:04:02 Uncle Rob wasn't around then. You blaming him for that? There's a reason baseball hired Rob Manfred, who was a labor lawyer, because the billionaires and the millionaires have been fighting since I was a teenager. Baseball's got a million issues, and Rob Manfred would love to change all of them,
Starting point is 00:04:20 but he can't. For instance, college baseball only offers 11.7 scholarships a year. College football, 85 players, free ride, college basketball, 13 players,
Starting point is 00:04:35 free ride. Baseball, a handful of guys get a free ride. It's partial scholarships. What does it mean? The best athletes are like, Baker Mayfield was a great baseball player. So was Kyler Murray. So was Johnny Mansell.
Starting point is 00:04:48 Guess what they chose? Football. Free college. Is that Rob Manfred's fault? Are rigid unions, Rob Manfred's fault? Well, I don't like what he said one day, and I don't like what he said the other. You didn't like him before that. Stop the hypocrisy.
Starting point is 00:05:05 You weren't a Manfred fan a week ago when he said, we're getting baseball. You just want to complain about something. Baseball's had negotiation, labor strife my entire life. It's had labor strife forever. Rob Manfred would love to get rid of many things in baseball. He can't. It took him five years to... to get the replay solved.
Starting point is 00:05:27 The reality with all these sports in America, let's take the five biggest sports in America. Everybody wants to blame the commissioner for your lack of popularity. But all five are exactly as popular as they would be regarding any commissioner. You guys always complain about Gary Bettman. He doesn't promote the sport. Nobody I know played hockey as a kid. It's not our sport.
Starting point is 00:05:49 It's not going to be that popular. The most popular sport in America is football, the NFL. It should be. Why? It's got history. It's ours. We like stuff that's ours. We created football. It's ours. It's got history. It's got regulated violence. It fits perfectly on a TV screen. We bet it. Betting's now legal in America. And also, and this is not a small thing, it may be the biggest thing. It has the most popular and streamlined minor league system. We all watch high school football on Friday, and then college football on Saturday, and then the NFL. on Sunday. And we know the guys as they enter the league. It's the most popular. Even if you put Gary Bettman running the NFL, it would be the most popular. What's the second most popular? Now, I'll just go with NBA. It may not be, but it's my second sport. It's got history, but not as good as the NFL. It was almost dead in the early 70s. It's our game. It's ours.
Starting point is 00:06:47 Now, it's a little bit international. The NFL is not. International is good for global dollars, but it's minor league system, unlike football. Now it's got a G league and some guys don't play in college so it's not as good. But it is very fast, but it doesn't have the urgency of football because it's got 82 regular season games. The NFL, you can't miss a Sunday. NBA, you can miss a month. So it should be number two. But it's got stars and its stars are very accessible.
Starting point is 00:07:18 I can tweet LeBron. I can talk to LeBron. Then three is baseball. Doesn't have as many stars. Equally or more international. Again, great for the global dollars, but it has no minor league system. Unlike college basketball that's got a dying minor league system,
Starting point is 00:07:36 college basketball, how many of you sit around and watch minor league baseball? Like nobody. The season is absurdly long, 162 games. For people that say the NBA is too long, double it. That's baseball. But it's got massive historical relative.
Starting point is 00:07:51 events. And let's be honest, fall baseball's good. And it's also very popular in big cities. But again, with a phone, the pace of play is hard. It's slow. It's long. And we're not as slow. We're a caffeinated society. Then let's go to number four. Hockey. Oh, it's not ours. No, it's not ours at all. We don't like that. The Olympics. We root for America. It's not our sport. Canada's better. Europe's better. It doesn't have very marketable stars. It's got a long regular season like the NBA, not as long.
Starting point is 00:08:27 But it's not very good on television. It's not very good on television. Now, it's fast, it's fun, it's got regulated violence, but all these leagues in America are controlled by television. It's not very appealing on television. And again, it's not ours. And it is also, it's very international. Now let's go to number five, soccer. Soccer's super international. really not ours. It's got no history. It's the new kid on the block. We don't really bet soccer.
Starting point is 00:08:53 At least I don't know anybody that bet soccer. And oh, by the way, there's a lot of upside to it. But at least hockey's got some history. I watched hockey in the 70s, Peter Puck. It's got another that. It's the most international. And it's the one sport that it, not even ours. They call it football. They took our football from over there. Or maybe we took it from theirs. Either way, NFL, NBA, baseball, hockey, MLS, they're all in the order they should be in. Football's number one, because it is totally ours, it is totally domestic. It's got the most popular streamline system. It's the best on TV, and we bet it the most.
Starting point is 00:09:34 It's been that way for 30 years regardless of the commissioner. You're all banging on Rob Manfred. There's a reason Major League Baseball's Executive Office is filled with labor lawyers. Because they're in a labor fight every 12 years in this league. And I know what you're saying. Rob Manfred, he just doesn't promote,
Starting point is 00:09:54 doesn't have. There are great strengths to baseball. It's history. It's unbelievable in the postseason. It's big in major cities, New York, Boston, Philly, L.A. It's bad Chicago. It's great.
Starting point is 00:10:08 San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta. It's great. But a lot of things, he just, banging his head up against the wall like the last nine commissioners here's rob manfred i'm not confident i think there's real risk and um as long as there's no dialogue that real risk is going to continue it's just a disaster for our game um absolutely no question about it um it shouldn't be happening um and it's important that we find a way to get past it and get the game back on the field for the benefit of our fans i think we'll have baseball i
Starting point is 00:10:44 I think this job is brutal. Is it the toughest commissioner job? I don't know. I think they're all really, really tough. I'd rather be the baseball commissioner than perhaps the hockey commissioner because I do have a ton of history. And there are certain cities in this country where baseball is so popular, St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, Atlanta. But it's really difficult. Baseball's a really hard sport.
Starting point is 00:11:12 even if you want change. It's different in football. I mean, Roger Goodell wants change. Joy's brother was a Hall of Fame football player. He wants change. Roger Goodell can have it by the end of the weekend. NFL owners have been much more willing over time. You don't have the labor strife of baseball.
Starting point is 00:11:33 Football, I think, is an easier sport to regulate. Not saying it's easy, easiest compared to baseball. It's hard. It's international. It's billionaires. I don't even think a lot of these owners anymore in baseball, I'll be honest with you. I don't think they love baseball. They're like venture capitalist hedge fund guys.
Starting point is 00:11:52 Even in the front office, baseball is a bunch of Ivy League guys. Most never played baseball at any level. So I just think it's a difficult sport. I think the pace of play is a real problem. I'm a 50-year-old guy. I'm on my phone. I expect things urgently. I want this.
Starting point is 00:12:09 I want DoorDash. I want to order my dinner. I complain if it's not five. I'm Uber. If he's a minute late, I'm mad at my Uber driver. And baseball's been a sport with no clock. Its pace of play is slow. We all know there should be about 100, 10020 games.
Starting point is 00:12:23 There's 160. They'll never get to 120. It's billionaire stubbornly battling. Millionaire stubbornly battling the commissioner. Take a deep breath. You didn't like Rob Manfred before he said we were going to have baseball, and you don't like him now. We'll all like him a lot more when this is resolved, and I believe it will be.
Starting point is 00:12:47 All right. So Roger Goodell, I'm about ready to boycott the boycott crowd. I'll talk about that coming up next. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.
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Starting point is 00:13:44 with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the 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.
Starting point is 00:14:04 I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find him. find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. 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.
Starting point is 00:14:23 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 you 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. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.
Starting point is 00:14:46 Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversation. with so many incredible guests. I'm talking.
Starting point is 00:15:11 Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.
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Starting point is 00:16:01 I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her.
Starting point is 00:16:22 What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. We're apart these days. Geico wants to bring us together. 15% the Geico give back. Car motorcycle polities. Current new customers, full policy term.
Starting point is 00:16:48 Go to geico.com slash give back info and eligibility. Good to have you. So, you know, it's funny. The boycott crowd. God, they're boycott and everything. I've been doing this for 25 years. If you want to, I can't even count how many times yesterday people said, I'll never listen to you again. I'm still here. I don't listen to the boycott crowd.
Starting point is 00:17:10 I bust my butt, Joy and I come in, prep like hell, do the best job we can. Some people say we'll never listen again. I can't worry about those people. I got to worry about the people who like me. That's who I worry about every day. The people who like me. Want to boycott me? Okay, I get it.
Starting point is 00:17:26 There's a bunch of other shows. Not as good as this one, but good luck with that. So Roger Goodell is going to hear from the boycott crowd because he's like, Colin Kaepernick, I'm in, let's go, let's move. Here's our commission. Listen, if he wants to resume his career in the NFL, that obviously is going to take a team to make that decision. But I welcome that, support the club making that decision, and encourage them to do that. If his efforts are not on the field and continuing to work in this space, we welcome to that table and to be able to help us and guide us and help us make better decisions about the kinds of.
Starting point is 00:18:10 of things that need to be done in communities. You know, it's funny. We live in such a divided country that the only thing that surprises me is a moderate. And I'm independent. I voted Obama. I voted Bush. I'm independent.
Starting point is 00:18:24 Whoever I think in the moment's the best leader, I'll vote for. I care about the country, not my partisanship or some party. But the only thing that surprises me is neither side liberals or Republicans can figure out that you only own about 50% of the space. Like when Colin Kaepernick went to Nike, remember that thing? It was remarkable to watch conservatives go, Nike is finished!
Starting point is 00:18:50 I bought Nike stock that day. It was at around 80. It's in the hundreds now. By the way, I got this, facts and stuff. Nike had 48% positive opinion about the company before Kaepernick. 48% of people thought, Nike positively. It's now up to 54 post-Caperning. The only thing that surprises me as a moderate is that liberals or conservatives
Starting point is 00:19:16 don't understand how divided the country is. Even if people don't like Kaepernick, they're going to buy Nike just to spite conservatives who were bothered by it. Even if conservatives don't really like Fox News, they say they will just to bother liberals. We're divided. You want to boycott? I mean, boycott guy now is boycotting NASCAR.
Starting point is 00:19:39 all right. And is boycotting the NFL because a cap and the kneeling. He's boycotting baseball because everybody's greedy. And now he's going to boycott college football because Mike Gundy can't wear a t-shirt. All right. Enjoy your angry, isolated life. Bye-bye. Because the rest of us are adults.
Starting point is 00:19:56 We know that not everything goes perfectly. We don't have to agree with every political statement or movement to support people. Maybe it's time for all these leagues to take a deep breath and develop new, young audiences. Increasingly, women love sports in America. Let's go after that audience. Young people, teenagers like it. And maybe it's time to realize older, rigid, boycott person, it's inevitable. We've got cultural changes in America, and you may have to lose 10 to 12 percent of people who want to boycott everything. I swear to God, if you put Kaepernick on Wheaties, there's a percentage of America that would boycott breakfast.
Starting point is 00:20:39 All right, but I'm over boycott guy. Fine. If you don't want to watch the Daytona 500, if you don't want to watch NFL football, you're telling me you're going to boycott Ohio State Michigan? I'm not. You're going to, you're going to, when Alabama plays Auburn, you're out. That's a you problem because I'm watching.
Starting point is 00:20:59 I'm watching the Iron Bowl. You're not going to watch, you're not going to watch USC Notre Dame. I am. I'm not missing it. I'm not punishing myself. I don't have to agree with everybody's stance and everything. I've said it before. I'm socially left.
Starting point is 00:21:14 I'm fiscally moderate. Sometimes don't always love unions. That would make me a conservative. Not all unions, some I push back on. But the boycott crowd, I think it's time for all these leagues to go, all right, we've got about 10, 12 percent of people. They're just going to boycott us. There's a thriving, young, female audience is love sports.
Starting point is 00:21:34 It's growing, growing, growing, growing. Put your arms around it. A bunch of teenagers out there. Yeah, they're looking at all sorts of techy stuff. Put your arms around them. Make sports easier. Accommodate them. But I'm not going to walk on eggshells.
Starting point is 00:21:48 Every time I do a rant, petrified of the boycott guy, I'm never going to listen to you again. I'm going to find the people who like me. I'm going to do my darnest to work hard so they keep coming back. But if you're going to, you're going to boycott NASCAR and the NFL and baseball and greed and O-A-N shirts. All right. Okay. All right, we got to find a new audience. Because I got to tell you, if you don't want to watch the NFL,
Starting point is 00:22:13 if you're not going to watch Yankees, Red Sox in the fall, I'd give a year of my life a way to watch a Twins game. If you're not going to watch the MLS, if you're not going to watch college football, well, I'm not missing Ohio State in Michigan. I'm not missing Oklahoma and Texas. I'm not missing the Iron Bowl. I'm not missing SC Notre Dame.
Starting point is 00:22:32 Nope, I'm there. You got me. Whether I agree with you, or not on every opinion. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.
Starting point is 00:22:47 Well, good news for Niners fans. They have announced a contract extension with Coach Kyle Shanahan. They will reportedly agree to a new six-year deal that will keep him with the team through the 2025 season. Oh, you know what that means? Translation, Jimmy G going to be eating.
Starting point is 00:23:04 A lot of Ws for Jimmy G. All you Jimmy G haters, you got a lot of doubles. Well, I don't think Kyle Shan Am was on the hot seat, but this is good news for Jimmy G. Jimmy G is on the hot seat. Jimmy G is actually the hot seat, yes. San Francisco's nine win improvement from 2018 to 2019 was the largest win improvement from one season to the next in franchise history. He's 23 and 25 in three seasons, obviously 13 and 3 in last year's Super Bowl run.
Starting point is 00:23:32 This is great news for the Niners. And look, I mean, like I said, nobody expected Kyle Shanahan to be going anywhere. But lock him in so he can build for the future, make decisions. They've got everybody locked in. They got Jimmy G. locked in. They got John Lynch locked in. They got Kyle Shanahan. You know, they had about it.
Starting point is 00:23:47 It's funny, Joy. They had this about a four or five year thing where they had the Chip Kelly and the Jim Tom Sula. And it was just chaos. You just didn't know the next day. Now it's like half decade. We're all good. Five years, a long time in the NFL. This is where every NFL franchise wants to be.
Starting point is 00:24:02 Right. We got a GM we love, a coach. we love, a quarterback we love, and we got a really good young defensive front. Like the Niners are where I want to be as an NFL fan base. What an incredible division, though. Oh, my God. I mean, even if you just look at the coaches in the divisions, you got Shanahan McVeigh, Carol, and Kingsbury. Pretty much everyone is locked in. Kingsbury obviously very new, but that's a tough division.
Starting point is 00:24:25 It really is. Listen, sports isn't fair. Pack 12 is not as good as the SEC, and let's be honest. NFC West. If you say what you want, Arizona last year matched up very well with San Francisco. So the best team and the worst team in that division, Arizona, Kyler Murray gave San Francisco's defensive front problems, and they're going to be better this year.
Starting point is 00:24:46 And I mean, Russell Wilson's the oldest quarterback in that division, not old by any means. So they're going to be competitive for a really long time. So the Eagles will be without one of their key offensive linemen this year. Guard Brandon Brooks tore his left Achilles during a workout. yesterday and he will be out for the 2020 season. He's second best guard in the league to Quentin Nelson of Indianapolis. I think he may be that you can argue he's the second best guard in the league.
Starting point is 00:25:11 Pro football focus had him as the highest rated guard in 2019. This is his third injury in less than three years. He's now torn both Achilles tendon and was recovering from shoulder surgery this offseason. He tore his right Achilles in 2018 playoffs, returned for the start of the 2019 season and then dislocated his shoulder in the last regular season game. Look at his arms, Joy. Yeah, this is very bad news for the Eagles. He's a great, great NFL linemen.
Starting point is 00:25:37 It's a huge loss for them. Apparently, the injury happened at the Eagles facility. He was allowed to be there because he's rehabbing. He was a pro-bowler in the last three seasons, just really rough for Brandon Brooks. Hopefully he recovers quickly, but big loss for the Eagles this year. Yeah, they've drafted a couple of good offensive linemen, Dillard from Washington State,
Starting point is 00:25:54 and they drafted a guard a couple years ago. So they've actually, they've been pretty good at drafting the offensive line, so they've got some depth. but they don't have anybody like that good. Not on the interior line. You can't replace him. Finally, the WMBA has announced their plan to start the 2020 season. The regular season is scheduled to begin in Florida in late July.
Starting point is 00:26:12 Each team will play 22 games. It's down from the usual 34 and it will be followed by a traditional playoff format. Players will receive full pay and benefits for the season. And the league will also build on its commitment to social justice and support players working for meaningful change. Just like that. Leagues up and running. No drama. I was going to get back, get paid.
Starting point is 00:26:32 Women, no drama. What do you know? We've got it all figured out. No problems whatsoever. Well, you guys don't have our egos. And so women just get stuff done. Listen, we offer all the time to just let us take it over, you know. Listen, you're not wrong.
Starting point is 00:26:48 You guys don't have the, I mean, I'm a guy and I see all the stuff that I, all the ego stuff I have to go through every morning. You know, like, you guys just don't, you don't have to deal with all the nonsense. and the kind of empirical, you don't wake up in it. You guys build, you build coalitions. We tear stuff down, you build stuff. That's why I never buy into the Bernie Sanders, the revolution candidate.
Starting point is 00:27:11 Like, women don't want that. Women build communities, build coalitions, build fabric. You guys go to the bathroom together. You're always about helping one another. I'm not going to dispute anything you just said because it's completely factual. Yeah. There's a race for the cure.
Starting point is 00:27:24 You guys have a medical crisis. There's no race for the prostate. You're on your own as a guy. You guys are helping each other all the time. You're helping society. You're easing it. You're connecting people. I know, Colin.
Starting point is 00:27:36 We're the best. I'm really excited for this, though. I'm glad that the NBA NBA is going to be back, and it's going to have lots of eyeballs on it because we're all ready for sports. And, yeah, it's going to be a great platform for these ladies. I'm looking forward to it. Great. There you go.
Starting point is 00:27:51 That's a lot of nice things I just said. You're right about all the... No fight out of me. Enjoy it with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lye News. Chris Broussard is going to join me our Fox NBA guy via the Coward Global Satellite Network
Starting point is 00:28:08 brought to you by Mercedes-Benz the best or nothing. So I saw a tweet yesterday, Chris. No, I saw a tweet. So I'm going to read you this tweet. And this is Patrick Beverly. He's a good, feisty player. Good, good feisty player. He said, Hoopers say what you all want.
Starting point is 00:28:24 If King James said he's hooting, we hooping. Not personal. Only business. So my takeaway is it wasn't a shot at LeBron. It was the acknowledgement that like MJ or Magic, the best player in the league with the most currency, he wants it, we're going. So I didn't take it as a shot to LeBron, did you? Yeah, I agree with you. I think you really have to do some mental gymnastics to make that a shot at LeBron.
Starting point is 00:28:50 I guess if you read it in a sarcastic way, but I didn't see any indication of that. I was just on the phone with a player, a veteran player, who's got some say in the league. And he said, like, look, that's Patrick Beverly. He tweets just like he plays. He's going to be straight forward. Straight no chaser, right? And so here's the thing.
Starting point is 00:29:12 This player told me as well, look, we know LeBron's the biggest voice in the league. If indeed LeBron took the position that Kyrie Irving has, and this is not LeBron against Kyrie either. We can get into that later if you like. but if Brown were to come out and say, look, for whatever reason, I don't think we should play. Players would certainly listen more to LeBron than Kyrie. Now, some are listening to Kyrie as it is, but obviously LeBron's voice holds more weight.
Starting point is 00:29:39 But this player said something interesting and knowing how much sway LeBron holds with Adam Silver, knowing that Maverick Carter is very close with Adam Silver and has been for years, this I believe is true. The player said he thinks that LeBron's. Brian has even more sway with the league and Adam Silver than he does with the players. Yeah. So he said if LeBron were to come out and say we shouldn't play, the league would kind of be like, well, what do we need to do, LeBron?
Starting point is 00:30:08 Why are you feel this way? What do we need to take care of? You know, whereas some players obviously will listen to LeBron and others will be like, well, hold on. LeBron's got Nike money. He's got all the money from his off-the-court endorsements, investments, investments. and obviously all these max contracts, I'm not in his shoes.
Starting point is 00:30:29 I have to listen to my own heart. So I think that was a good point by this player. Yeah, by the way, Michael Jordan, you could argue was closer with David Stern and had more allies upstairs, David Falk, David Stern, Nike. I could argue Michael Jordan, like LeBron, was so powerful that there were some players that resented Michael.
Starting point is 00:30:52 He had lots of rivals that represented him. but I think it speaks well, Magic Johnson, by the way. I think the NBA is the only sport in America, in my opinion, where the best player is often closer to the league than other players because he is so valuable to the net worth of the league because he drives television ratings. Isn't that fair to support LeBron? Yes.
Starting point is 00:31:16 It's interesting. You brought up Magic and Michael earlier in Magic's career, he was so close with Dr. Jerry Buss, the owner of the Lakers, Some players resented it because they saw him so close with the owner and, you know, he just didn't really like it. Obviously, over time that changed. LeBron, I don't think players resent LeBron for the power he has because he's shown that he has the players' best interest at heart.
Starting point is 00:31:41 He's shown that, you know, he'll stand up for social justice issues. So they don't look at him as a guy that, whether he's brown-nosed or sold out to get close to get a seat at the table with the powers that B, they view LeBron as a guy who is so powerful in his own right that he just, you know, the powers that be listened to him and the players feel like he has their best interest at heart for the most part. And so I think they like the fact that LeBron can have that type of sway with the owners, especially in a situation like this where he would be speaking on behalf of the players.
Starting point is 00:32:19 Now, maybe some resent it because in normal times this could give him. a voice with the commissioner that others don't have. But in a case like this where the players are unified and kind of, you know, this or a lockout or something like that, it's valuable to have a guy like LeBron. You know, Chris, it's interesting. So as you and I go about our daily business, we go to the store and whatever. And people will often come up to you or people on TV or joy. And they'll ask us sports questions.
Starting point is 00:32:46 Who do you like? And so I was just hanging out this weekend. And young fans, like 20, 20-year-old guys came up to me and they said, like, like, it got me thinking like who does the layoff help? And I sat there and I thought, I got to be honest, old teams with veterans, we always know that veterans excel in the postseason. They get the whistle. They know how to manipulate refs. So who's old? Lakers are old and Clippers got some old guys. Celtics are still pretty young. Milwaukee's still pretty young. Toronto is an old team. Denver's a young team. And I'm sitting there to think to myself, we may see Toronto or
Starting point is 00:33:24 merge again. And I thought to myself, Toronto Laker Clippers, man, there's a lot of games, and they're all rested, and they're all healthy. So that's kind of my takeaway. Is this pandemic, this, this, we could have a league where you just, it's going to be, even hardened in Westbrook. I'm sitting there thinking, the knock on those two is they're exhausted by June. I think they, I think they, Houston could shock people. Your takeaway on my theory. No, I agree. I think with Hardin, as you said, in the playoffs, he's a little bit worn down and he doesn't play. It's a little overblown to say he doesn't play well, but obviously he has some struggles in big games.
Starting point is 00:34:07 That shouldn't be an issue this year because you're right. He'll have his legs under him. He's well rested. I still don't think they can win it. But yeah, it should help Harden in that respect. Where it hurts those guys, both of them are so ball dominant that they need time to learn how to play together. And yeah, of course, early in the season, it was still all hardened all the time. But once they went small ball, they became less Hardin-centric.
Starting point is 00:34:33 And it was Russ having the ball in his hands just about as much as Hardin. And if you notice Hardin's numbers fell off. His shooting percentage, his three-point percentage is scoring because he had to adjust to not having the ball all the time. So that's where they could get hurt. With the Lakers, they obviously are in great position because they have the greatest leader in the league. and that will, you know, I know LeBron has had his guys on Zoom calls.
Starting point is 00:34:59 He's been working out up at Sierra Canyon with some players. He's going to be in the greatest shape. He's probably got the best setup of anybody in the league. And so I think that will help the Lakers. The question mark with them is, hey, LeBron is 35. And most players will tell you as a veteran, it takes you a lot longer to get going in the season. I've had guys tell me it takes them the first 20.
Starting point is 00:35:24 25 games of the season when they're later in their career to really get going. So will LeBron be a little bit hurt from the layoff just because of his age and maybe he's rusty and it takes him a little longer to get going? The team that I do think it helps without question is the L.A. Clippers. Colin, they were arguably the best team in the league already. They're the only team to beat the Lakers twice. and Kawhi was in and out of the lineup. He sat out once every week or so.
Starting point is 00:35:57 Paul George missed 22 games. Patrick Beverly missed 16. Landry Shamett missed 17 or 18, something like that. Now all of those guys will be healthy, presumably. They'll be in the lineup just about every night, certainly during the playoffs. So their chemistry should be even better. So I think the clippers are, they're my favorite,
Starting point is 00:36:20 because I think they're going to be. be even better than they were in the regular season. Chris Broussard's been very busy for us and all the shows here at the network. That's all the stuff we need today. It's great. It's on point. It's urgent. Chris, thank you so much. All right, Colin. See you.
Starting point is 00:36:35 Yeah, I don't have a problem with the Kyrie's and the Dwight Howard's having an opinion, but I do believe this is a star-driven league and LeBron's the star. And I also have noticed something. Powerful people. Like, LeBron, have you noticed for the last week? Hasn't said a lot. He's done some social media.
Starting point is 00:36:52 That's because I think LeBron is working with Adam Silver. They're going to give Dwight Howard an opinion. They're going to give Kyrie Irving an opinion. And let them have opinions. They have a right to it. But in the end, we're going to have an NBA season. It's not ideal. I think it's really, really rough to go from the isolation of COVID
Starting point is 00:37:09 to more isolation working out into a seven-week isolation bubble in Orlando. I don't think it's easy. I think my takeaway is all this stuff is fluid and maybe 10 days in. Players have days off. The NBA decides to let players and families connect a little bit. I just think it's really hard to add. This has been a rough year. I mean, this has been an emotional roller coaster, the separation of families, the protesting, the death of Kobe Bryant.
Starting point is 00:37:42 It's asking a lot. You know, I just read a story yesterday. I was reading it online where they were saying, isolation is really unhealthy, that you will lose years of your life with isolation and anger, and that the happiest people are spontaneous and the happiest people are surrounded by people. I don't think this is a good year for any of us to be isolated. I just think it's bad for all of us. And I don't care what players make.
Starting point is 00:38:10 I hear this all the time, I make a bunch of money. Money doesn't help you in isolation. You're still by yourself. maybe you could afford to buy a mannequin and talk to it but you need people you need to be loved you need to talk you need to i mean good god you can't even even a therapist now it's a zoom therapist i mean you can't even go lay in a couch anymore so i i worry about the isolation coby's death the protest the emotional state of the NBA and guys not seeing their families i just don't think it's great i think you work around it and i hope adam silver kind of and he's he's been
Starting point is 00:38:47 prone to do this, just keeps watching the situation. If they can get families in, players can leave for weekends. I think we all have to just be flexible. This 2020 is the year of flexibility. It's the year of listening. Coming up next, a football coach wore a t-shirt. A player didn't like it. We'll address that. Big story yesterday. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHen Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise,
Starting point is 00:39:32 breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral, to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsClyce on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Starting point is 00:40:05 And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the 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 a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English.
Starting point is 00:40:26 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 you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. 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.
Starting point is 00:40:55 Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness,
Starting point is 00:41:17 month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.
Starting point is 00:41:52 Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.
Starting point is 00:42:11 What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clifford Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?
Starting point is 00:42:29 Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio. app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. It is great to have you in on a Tuesday today.
Starting point is 00:42:53 We have Richard Seymour, a great defensive lineman, was a patriot. I've said before, it's the one New England Patriot I thought Belichick let go of that they just could not replace for years. I think Tom Brady will be the second, though they didn't release him. He left. Seymour, you know, that dynasty was, you know, just kept going and going, going, despite the fact that New England let go of multiple players. When they let go of Seymour,
Starting point is 00:43:20 they couldn't replace them for years. You just don't replace great defensive linemen. There's not many of them. In fact, it feels like there's fewer and fewer than it were 10 years ago. So he'll be joining us next hour. Rob Parker, Steve Burline, Super Bowl, champ.
Starting point is 00:43:33 Good to have you. I want to thank Chris Broussard. So Oklahoma State as a football coach, his name is Mike Gundy. He's never been my cup of tea, but that doesn't really matter now, does it? I'm more of a Lincoln Riley guy. I'm more of a Brian Kelly guy.
Starting point is 00:43:47 Mike Gundy, a lot of ego. This weekend was caught wearing an O-A-N T-shirt. That is a kind of a, it's a political network. It's right of Fox News, a lot of conspiracy theories. I've never seen it. I will not watch it. So that being said, you know my position on it. I do think he has a right to wear a T-shirt from O-A-N.
Starting point is 00:44:11 He did on a fishing trip. somebody put it on a Facebook and he got in big trouble. Chuba Hubbard's the best player Oklahoma State has, saw the Facebook post on Twitter, called his coach out. So this, by the way, is exactly what change feels like. It's uncomfortable. Powerful head coach who's tone deaf, powerless player who says, I don't have any power unless I go to social media and he calls out his coach.
Starting point is 00:44:38 They meet, they disagree, maybe they argue, maybe they yell. maybe they don't, and then they have some sort of quasi-resolution at the end. I said from the very beginning, this is the year of listening. It's the year of change. We have cultural changes. Be very careful demanding perfection with growth. Mike Gundy, I don't think he'll ever get it right. I truly believe there's lots of people at Oklahoma State that may agree with his politics,
Starting point is 00:45:08 but would rather he leave. But he's got a massive conjecture. contract, Oklahoma's economy like the rest of America is not great right now, that they have $40 million to just pay them off? Probably, maybe not. Mike Gundy's not going to lose his job on this, because for those who don't like Mike Gundy, if you sue him because he wore a T-shirt or fire him, he's going to make a lot more money in the lawsuit, I would guess.
Starting point is 00:45:38 But this is the reality of it. Now, I didn't love Chuba Hubbard, the player coming out and going to social media, but the more I thought of it, I thought, well, social media is not for the powerful. In my business, a lot of people, like there's a lot of people that are very, very popular and very, very wealthy, but they're not on social media. Social media is for people that don't have power. So they can create these movements. They don't have the money.
Starting point is 00:46:06 They don't have the position. They don't have the history. They don't. But they can align with a lot of other people on the power. social media and wake people up. I mean, if you don't have power, how do you accumulate power? If you believe there's a system that is blocking you. Let's just say you don't have any power. What would you do? Well, you would find other people, you know, like protests and stuff that would march with you, that would be in unison with you to elevate your standing. So that's what
Starting point is 00:46:35 they're running back did. He said, I don't have any power here. I don't get paid. But if I go to social media and call them out, we're going to have a meeting. And so the more I thought of it, the more I thought, I don't love players calling out their coaches, but what else can they do? What else can that running back do? You tell me, what are his options? I mean, if I don't treat employees right here on my staff, well, my bosses will probably mostly support me and the advertisers would support me and the affiliates support me, because
Starting point is 00:47:05 for years I've given them ratings, well, then what would their options be? For the powerless, the option is often social media. It's why it's important to treat people right. So they don't have to go to social media and call you out. And the reality is growth is bumpy. Growth is not perfect. I don't think there's any value going back. And this guy said this 27 years ago.
Starting point is 00:47:24 Do you want growth? Do you want listening? It's bumpy. And I think Mike Gundy will keep his job for the time being. I think the running back Chubba Hubbard got, is it Chuba? I think it's Chuba Hubbard. Great player. He got his message out.
Starting point is 00:47:39 And hopefully, Gundy understands if it's possible, his concerns going forward. But the idea the media wants to fire the coach, I think it's very difficult to fire somebody in America because they wore a T-shirt didn't like. From a network you don't like, which I had heard of it, but don't know much about it. So that's where we stand on that. And by the way, college football coaches are, I think I said this last week, are uniquely built to be tone deaf.
Starting point is 00:48:05 even an NFL head coach has a billionaire owner. College football coaches are the highest paid state employees. I mean, an athletic director makes half a million. A football coach makes eight. The school president makes one and a half. The football coach makes eight. And by the way, the football coach has fans worshipping him and boosters behind him. A boosters get the president out, the AD out before the football coach.
Starting point is 00:48:31 They're built to be tone deaf. Now, many of the coaches, Mike Shishvsky's won. that despite all that power, he does have the ability to learn and listen. He's a curious guy. I think Lincoln Riley is in a very good job with Black Lives Matter and the social changes we're going through. So hopefully Mike Gundy learned something. I think there's a lot of people at Oklahoma State
Starting point is 00:48:51 that think he's just a bad walking PR mistake waiting to happen. But for the time, the running back got his voice heard, the coach, tone deaf, held accountable. And we move on, hour two. to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet
Starting point is 00:49:14 lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete
Starting point is 00:49:30 themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Starting point is 00:49:57 And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English.
Starting point is 00:50:19 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 you all, I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.
Starting point is 00:50:41 We also have AIDS on the table right now. 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 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.
Starting point is 00:51:02 Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite Therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough.
Starting point is 00:51:31 Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.
Starting point is 00:51:49 Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee.
Starting point is 00:52:12 We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. A rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What?
Starting point is 00:52:33 Hey, Miss Park. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Oh, here we go. It is a Tuesday. The first hour absolutely flew by. We're live in Los Angeles. This is The Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on IHart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1.
Starting point is 00:53:01 I had a day off yesterday. I had to get a bunch of stuff done. I mean, I was up running at 540, went for a jog, done at 340. It just found the cat. Cat had been gone lost in my house for a couple days and found it. It bounced around the neighborhood. I have a fatso kitty. It just doesn't like to be home alone and just left.
Starting point is 00:53:22 Runaway cat. Cats do exactly what they want at all times. Kind of like women. Women? Yeah. Well, we've earned that right. So all of a sudden, Fatso kitty, I got done with my run, 8 o'clock, who showed up on the door. I'm like, we need to have a talk.
Starting point is 00:53:41 Can't just leave the family. You can have a talk if you want to. That cat's going to do exactly what it wants the next time around. I know, just rolled over on its side like a big pot roast and one purred. It was like, feed me. All right, what else. Good to have you in. So we were talking about this last hour.
Starting point is 00:53:55 Roger Goodell came out. We have a sound of this. Roger Goodell came out and he said, listen, Colin Kaepernick can play. It's up to a team now. but here's our commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell. Listen, if he wants to resume his career in the NFL, that obviously is going to take a team to make that decision. But I welcome that, support the club making that decision, and encourage them to do that. If his efforts are not on the field and continuing to work in this space, we welcome to that table and to be able to help us and guide us.
Starting point is 00:54:31 help us make better decisions about the kinds of things that need to be done in communities. So we've had an interesting year in sports. We've had a year of unrest, a pandemic, we've had protests. And now for the NFL, the most powerful league in America, we have the reemergence of Colin Kaepernick's story and kneeling and protests. Dallas is a very conservative state. Less so now than 10 years ago, Austin, Texas is not conservative, quite the opposite. But it is, mostly a conservative state. Jerry Jones owns one of the, probably the most, it is the most popular public business in the state of Texas, and it's conservative. And when players kneeled, I was shocked to learn that Dallas, local Dallas TV ratings, a few years ago in the Kaepernick season, they went
Starting point is 00:55:19 down. And I remember being surprised. But this is the reality of our partisan nation. Jerry Jones has been very, very quiet over the last two weeks. Jerry Jones is never quiet. because Jerry Jones realizes there's going to be more kneeling and protesting, and it's perhaps not great in a conservative state for his business. That's just the reality of how this stuff works. And you know what it made me think of? The value of Dak Prescott. It made me think this morning, timing is everything.
Starting point is 00:55:54 And they've got about a month here to work on that DAC contract. Dak's more valuable today. because remember during that anthem controversy where Jerry Jones said, if you're a cowboy, you put your feet in that line and you put your hand and you stand for the national anthem. And Dak got a lot of pushback, but he defended Jerry.
Starting point is 00:56:16 Dak's good for business. I don't always think he's the best quarterback, but he wins. He won two division titles. He never gets hurt. It's pretty darn reliable. He's got a very good in-division record. And let's be honest.
Starting point is 00:56:29 You just got to win your division before you get to the playoffs. He's very good against Washington. He's very good against New York. He's been pretty good against Philadelphia. And the reality is, DAC is 99% focused on football. He's not somebody that's going to lose focus. He may join a protest, but he'll be there for practice
Starting point is 00:56:47 and he'll be there for the games, and he'll unify, not divide. And timing is everything with contracts. And this morning I woke up and I thought, Dak's good for Jerry's business. This is going to be a season. and it has been a year of uncertainty. Dak's pretty certain.
Starting point is 00:57:06 And DAC has been the Elka-Seltzer for the knots in Jerry's stomach in the last couple of weeks. What do you do? I'm a conservative state. How do we deal with protests? The commissioner now, 250 million 10 years for racial injustice.
Starting point is 00:57:23 The commissioner is saying Kaepernick's coming back. I'm not saying that Jerry is opposed to these. What I'm saying is he owns a public business. in one of our most conservative regions of the country. And it makes me think about DAC and how good DAC is for business. And there's people that call DAC a sellout. Well, I think Patrick Mahomes has Andy Reid's back. I don't think he's a sellout.
Starting point is 00:57:46 I think Patrick Mahomes knows Andy Reid's good for business. And he's good for Patrick Mahomes' business. And Jerry's good for DAC's business. Does Jerry realize how good DAC is for his business? He checks all the boxes, reliable, wins enough, supportive of Jerry and totally focused. All right, these are always, anytime we can talk Tua puts me in a good mood. So Tua is a great player out of Alabama. They haven't really been good with the quarterback stuff.
Starting point is 00:58:21 They've been good everywhere else, but they've never been great with the quarterback stuff. And there are those who question Tua, what's his health, how's he doing? I think he's very good. I think he's the first Alabama quarterback under Nick Saban who's really going to pop. So here's a report. Now, it is from the trainer of Tua, but he says he's doing miraculously well in his rehab. He's doing miraculously well. Now, I got to tell you, we talk about timing.
Starting point is 00:58:52 Tua has been very, very fortunate. He's been very fortunate. no OTAs. So all the rookies missed them. Wasn't just Tua? Everybody. Nobody got a head start on Tua. Secondly, this pandemic has given him three months to just rehab.
Starting point is 00:59:09 And because of the new NFL rule, the only people allowed in facilities now are players rehabbing. And this is something. First impressions, you know, you always want to make sure when you walk through that door in the first date, you want to look good, you want to smell right, you want to look good, don't want to trip. that's not great. First impressions are big.
Starting point is 00:59:30 What would have been the first impression without a pandemic? Two is at the facility among the world's best athletes. He's limping around. Can't even practice. Got wrapped up. The first image is
Starting point is 00:59:47 that dude's banged up. We're flying 100 miles an hour practice. That dude can't even practice. That guy can't sometimes he can't even watch practice. He's rehabbing. but instead, two is now with a handful of players rehabbing. They're all rehabbing. They're all limping a little.
Starting point is 01:00:05 And he's going to walk into those first weeks of practice in August, July and August, just like everybody else for the first time. And they're all going to go about four practices in. Whoa, he doesn't look like everybody else. He's faster. Timing's been everything for him. Think about college. We've always looked at this injury as a negative.
Starting point is 01:00:27 But if we're talking about long-term, not short-term, is it? So because of the injury, he was rated higher than Joe Burrow a year and a half ago. Because of the injury, he drops. What does he drop to? Historically a better organization, Miami. He drops to, in my opinion, a better coach. He drops to Miami, AFC East and easier division. Doesn't have to play Lamar Jackson twice a year.
Starting point is 01:00:55 Pittsburgh Steelers twice a year. believable Cleveland roster twice a year. It's more of a so-so quarterback division, not with two or three super talented quarterback, certainly one that could win the MVP, Lamar Jackson. Last time Big Ben played, he threw for almost 5,000 yards, great organization. So we've always looked at this injury as a negative,
Starting point is 01:01:13 and it's certainly an obstacle and something he's had to overcome. But I even look at the virus, and I think to myself, he kind of got a break. He didn't lose any time to Joe Burrough, he didn't lose any time to the other rookie quarterbacks. nobody can practice. He gets to go through his rehab and then when he's introduced to the majority
Starting point is 01:01:32 of his organization, he's 100% healthy. I think Tua's going to be magical. I think it's going to be about four practices and everybody in that building goes, wow. But, I mean, think about this. Miami, because of the injury, he dropped, didn't even have to give up
Starting point is 01:01:48 draft picks to get him in the draft. That's another advantage. The other advantage, he has Ryan, it's Patrick. I mean, could there be a better veteran quarterback? Harvard guy, been around forever, knows he's not a franchise guy, nice guy I'll help teach the tricks of the NFL. I just think it's all working out for Tua. I mean, listen, the injury's not great. You wouldn't have rooted for it. You wouldn't have picked it if he didn't have to. But in a weird way, you know, divine intervention, the seas are kind of opening up for them. Everything's kind of falling into place. And I think Miami's,
Starting point is 01:02:26 going to be a lot better than people think. I think Tua's going to start a lot sooner than people think. Richard Seymour. By the way, a great poker player. Richard Seymour can play. He finished, in fact, let me see this. He was in the 2019 World Series of poker main event.
Starting point is 01:02:44 I know. Well, you retire, you got time on your hands. I'll play little cards. That's serious. Yeah, that's like you can play. Richard Seymour, an all-time greats coming up. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, days a week within the IHeart radio app.
Starting point is 01:03:00 Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise,
Starting point is 01:03:17 breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to keep. hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to
Starting point is 01:03:43 the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slice Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tack 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.
Starting point is 01:04:09 I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day
Starting point is 01:04:28 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 finishing that sentence
Starting point is 01:04:39 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
Starting point is 01:04:53 Or wherever you get your podcast Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.
Starting point is 01:05:21 And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.
Starting point is 01:05:37 Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app,
Starting point is 01:05:53 Search learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes,
Starting point is 01:06:11 Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office, Blue, 42. A rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Starting point is 01:06:35 This weekend, NASCAR returns to Talladega. First on Saturday, it's Xfinity Series racing at 530 Eastern on FS1, then Sunday on Fox. Catch the Geico 500 at 3 Eastern. Both races are also on the Fox Sports app. Richard Seymour's got three rings, 12 NFL seasons, and 7 Pro Bowls. going to get a lot of Hall of Fame votes. I just discovered this morning. He also finished in the top 131
Starting point is 01:07:01 in the 2019 World Series of Poker main event. Guys got time on his hands. He's an earner. Richard Seymour joining us via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Love to add him on. You know, Richard, for years, I was saying that you were the only patriot
Starting point is 01:07:16 that Belichick moved off of and they didn't have a replacement. And they didn't for several years. It's interesting. You were at the very beginning of the Patriot way. Did you sense as a young player? It was not always player friendly, but it was going to be the new way of the NFL for 20 years of domination.
Starting point is 01:07:41 Right. You know, I'll say for us, well, I just know personally for me coming in, I was on a veteran team, you know, very fortunate. If I'm not mistaken, I think I was Coach Belichick's first, first round draft pick when he came in. And Coach Belichick's very smart just in terms of he wants to build the team from the inside out. And I think, you know, he always talked about it starts on the offensive and defensive lines. Now, he put a ton of pressure on the linebackers in terms of responsibilities.
Starting point is 01:08:16 But up front, he wanted tough, physical, nasty, offensive, and defensive line. And so I was very fortunate, you know, to go to such a great order of this organization. You know, Richard, you left and had success. You made more Pro Bowls. Were you surprised at all that Brady and Gronk left, but specifically Tom? And it did feel like Tom was kind of burned out. He'd done the Patriot Way for a long time. And I get it, man.
Starting point is 01:08:45 It's the weather's good down there. Go get a tan. Get on your jet skis. Bruce Ariens is cocktails at 530. Do you feel like there was a little burnout for Tom, and he just wanted something new and have a little more fun? Well, you know, like I said, I don't want to speak for Tom, but I think at the end of the day, you know, he's earned the right.
Starting point is 01:09:06 I thought they would figure it out, you know, just because of all that success that everyone's had and Tom's so beloved in that area. And, you know, even with Coach Belichick and Tom, just the relationship that everybody had. I thought they would figure it out. But, you know, like I said, Tom's earned the right to explore.
Starting point is 01:09:27 He felt like he wanted to continue to play. And, you know, and in his right, you know, I mean, you look at all of the weapons that Tom has down in Tampa. I think he's going to put up numbers. But you also got to look at the division that he went in. I mean, I don't think they're just going to sweep that division. I think New Orleans, in my mind, probably still the favorite. But Tom kind of likes it that way.
Starting point is 01:09:48 He wants something to prove, and I think Drew and those guys, and even the Falcons here, I think it'll give him something to work towards. So we have a year with no OTAs. We'll probably have a shortened NFL preseason. Benefit goes to who? Veteran guys? Veterans, veterans, for sure. Veteran coaches, veteran teams, teams that's been together.
Starting point is 01:10:14 I think those are the teams. I think it's going to go to the best coaches. The best coaches are going to shine the brightest in opportunities in times like this. It comes to teams that's been together defensively. I just think it's tough even if you have just a lot of talent, if you haven't played together, if you haven't been on the same page, and they can be pro-bow players, I just think football is totally different, rather than it's just star-driven like basketball.
Starting point is 01:10:45 I think you have to have the teams, together for some time and also the coaching staff just being on the same page. And, you know, obviously we had that in New England. But, you know, it remained to be seeing what happens this evening. What do you, nothing against Jared Stiddam, but my theory is if he was as good as everybody keeps telling me, they wouldn't have wanted Brady back. I mean, they were ready to move to Jimmy Garoppolo three years ago. And instead, you know, Belichick had to move him.
Starting point is 01:11:12 It's nothing against Jared Stidham, but they've watched him practice for a year to a year and a half and they still wanted Brady back. What are you hearing? What's your guess about Stidiman Belichick, how it would work? Well, you know, every year is different in Coach Belichick's mind. You know, 100% he's going to come into the meeting rooms and say, you know what? Last year's last year's Super Bowl the year before. Tom is not coming back through the door. So we have to make it work with the guys that we have here. And we have to create our own team right now in terms of what we want to be this season. So I think he's done a great job year and year out. And I think that's how you have continued success is leadership coming from the top, preaching the same
Starting point is 01:12:01 message to the team. All the coaches are on the same page. And I do, I will say, I mean, I don't know what Stidham's going to do, but, you know, he has an opportunity. and hopefully he takes advantage of it. Yeah, I mean, he has a strong arm. We've seen very little video. I'll watch the little bit of him in college. Okay, so let's get to two issues. First, the Drew Bree's issue.
Starting point is 01:12:24 He's loved in his community. He's kind of tone deaf on Black Lives Matter. Players call him out. And then there appears to be some level of resolution. Do you think over the course of a season, you were a veteran high-end player? Drew's a veteran high-end Super Bowl-winning player. Will there be any lingering resentment in your opinion of Drew Brees in New Orleans?
Starting point is 01:12:50 Well, I agree that he was tone deaf in terms of the comments because it was never about the flag. But also at the same time, I think he's got with his teammates there, whether it's Michael Thomas and everybody coming together. I do think he's listened and he came out and you know, anytime, you know, someone can make a mistake and they can say the wrong things and that sort of thing. But I do think he was sincere in terms of his apology. And I think his teammates accepted it.
Starting point is 01:13:28 So he stood. He didn't run from it. Even though as tone deaf as it was, I think he came out and he faced the music and he didn't try to run from it. So in my mind, as a veteran player, I'll just take that at his word and we'll move forward from there. But, you know, he does have some proving to do, and I think he'll do that. So the commissioner said Colin Kaepernick, sign him up. I'm for it. Were you at all surprised that a player a couple of years ago, which many believe was blackballed by the league, the NFL has opened their arms?
Starting point is 01:14:09 Are you just surprised by that? I think at this point right now, it's going to be tough for him to come back. I do think he was blackballed out of the league and everybody was scared to touch him. And I think he was before his time just in terms of his understanding and standing for what's right. And everybody wanted to kind of be away from him for, you know, and didn't want to. to touch him or just felt like he was bad for business. But, you know, he was a trendsetter, a trailblazer. And I think he's going to be looked at like, you know, some of the great set of game and, you know, stood for a cause. So at the end of the day, we have a ton of respect for Colin. I think he's
Starting point is 01:14:59 represented, you know, the National Football League and the way they want to be represented or the way they should be represented. And, you know, I think we need more guys like him. throughout the league. By the way, let's talk football. Inactive for three and a half years, Richard, that is a long. Absolutely. I mean, a long time. Michael Jordan missed 18 months and acknowledge his rust had rust. He wasn't the same player. Can Kaepernick play? You know what? That's the part that in my eyes is going to be the most difficult part, just because, you know, seeing defenses, seeing, you know, well, first of all, I think he has get an opportunity. And if he gets an opportunity, I just think it's going to take some time,
Starting point is 01:15:47 just like anybody. I mean, just like a rookie coming in, I think you have to take your time with them and just start from the ground up. But we know he can do it. We know he's a talented player. But it's very difficult to take a year off, let alone four years off. So, but it has to be some type of resolution. And, you know, I hope he eventually gets an opportunity. By the way, If that's what he wants. Yeah. I got to ask you about this poker tournament thing. So when did you, so you're some great, Joy and I were.
Starting point is 01:16:21 I wouldn't go that far. I wouldn't go that far. But you play poker a lot. Yeah, no, no, no. Yes, I enjoy poker. I enjoy poker because in my eyes, poker is, especially tournament poker. You have to be disciplined just like football. whatever happened
Starting point is 01:16:41 the last play, you have to move on from it. So a lot of the same qualities that it takes to be a Pro Bowl Hall of Fame type player. If you want to be a really good poker player, you have to have those same qualities. And, you know, it's very competitive. It keeps you
Starting point is 01:17:00 going. So like I said, I enjoyed it. I made a lot of great people doing it. So it didn't like football. where I have to retire at, you know, at 35. Right. Were you... I can continue to play.
Starting point is 01:17:14 You don't seem bitter about the fact that you were traded away from a dynasty four days before a season. It would be very understandable for you to harbor resentment. Did you initially? Well, initially, yes. Initially, I did, yes. But, you know, the way Al Davis told me, he was like, well, they didn't trade you away, Richard. We traded for you.
Starting point is 01:17:38 So, you know, so it's all in, you know, how you look at it. And then, you know, for me, it was bigger than football. You know, like I said, my kids were in school at the time. And so it was just a lot of logistics and that sort of thing that needed to take place. But when I got out to Oakland, you know, the team, it was a young team, very talented, but they just needed some guidance and direction. And like I said, I'm looking at Tommy Kelly. There's some of the great players that I played with, Namdi Awesome,
Starting point is 01:18:14 You know, so it was a lot of great players that I played with. But, you know, they just, they needed some leadership. And, you know, hopefully I was able to provide that while I was there. So, you know, like I said, I enjoyed my time while I was out in Oakland. And, you know, actually, I have a few things in works with the Raiders, but I won't reveal that right now. All right. That's fair enough.
Starting point is 01:18:37 You look great. So you've taken care of yourself. How old are you right now? Try to. 40. You look good. 40. 12 years in the NFL, you look good.
Starting point is 01:18:47 And by the way, he was a Georgia bulldog. So you live north of it. You're still bulldog. You still go to the games at all? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bulldogs all day. I'm probably about 50 minutes from Athens. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:18:59 So I get down. Yeah. And you know what? My wife's a big, she loves the tailgate. So we got an RV. We got the big 10. and I have to see some pictures of our setup. So if you ever want to come down to a power school,
Starting point is 01:19:12 we got y'all taken care of. Richard, great seeing you. Congrats on an amazing career. And we'll wait for your Raider News. Thank you so much. Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you so much.
Starting point is 01:19:22 Yeah. By the way, you know that fight we went to that Fury Wilder fight? Yes. He was at that one. He told me before the interview, he said, I saw you at the restaurant. He was going to come over and say hi, but you're with your family. I saw you at the fight, but you were getting moved through the crowd.
Starting point is 01:19:35 I was very boogie that night. I was really a big deal. I'll see him on Monday. I was a big deal that night. Patrick Mahomes sat on one side of me. James Dolan sat in the other side of me. And then, oh, Steve Harvey was behind me. We made eye contact.
Starting point is 01:19:52 Steve Harvey and Alex did you share like, how you doing? How are you doing? We're both big. There's two media greats. Well, one media great in me. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.
Starting point is 01:20:03 This is the herd line news. Well, some notable NBA players have voiced their concerns about the NBA restart plan and whether it's worth the risk to play. But Charles Barkley thinks it would be a huge mistake not to finish the season. I think it would be stupid, is not played for two reasons. Number one, if they don't play, they're going to be out of sight, out of mind for the rest of the year. There won't be no cameras following. And, you know, LeBron is probably the most famous athlete in the United States. He won't be visible anywhere.
Starting point is 01:20:32 So us out of sight, out of mind. And also, these guys got to realize this money going to come back, and they're going to lose billions of dollars that the players can use to go into their own community and do some great stuff. So it's not good on any front. I have no idea what Kyrie and the White are talking about, but it'll be a catastrophic mistake not to play. Well, the one thing he mentions,
Starting point is 01:20:56 billionaires always have an advantage over millionaires' negotiation. The cap could plummet. Like, don't. lose sight of the finances of the league here. Like, let's get some games in, you know, let's be honest. The league comes back. The ratings pop because people are just dying for it. And all of a sudden, it's like, it reminds the owners. This is a really important league and this is how popular. I don't like the idea of giving the billionaires even more leverage in the next negotiation. Players are very divided on this whole thing for multiple reasons. Obviously, what Dwight Howard
Starting point is 01:21:34 and Kyrie are talking about is legitimate and it needs to be considered, but also the entire setup is not ideal whatsoever. The bubble is just, it's isolation and you can't have visitors and some of the teams are going to be there for two or three months. Like it's very
Starting point is 01:21:50 it's crazy, really, the entire setup of it and trying to get the season in. Having the extra teams there, bringing back the 22 teams, it's a lot. Like there's a lot that's still being discussed and it's probably stressful and giving a lot of the players, to know that you just came out of three months of quarantine,
Starting point is 01:22:08 albeit with your family and in your home, but now you're about to go back into quarantine. While most of the world is opening back up, it's a very stressful situation. Obviously, we're dealing with, you know, the explosion of the protests and the movement, and that's what Kyrie and Dwight are talking about. Like, it could distract from that.
Starting point is 01:22:23 I disagree. I think it's the best platform and the biggest platform. And with sports coming back, you being able to be visible, as Charles is saying, there's no escape because people, are going to watch. I'm with you. I don't buy into this boycott guy nonsense. I think it's far less than 10-12%. I think it's
Starting point is 01:22:40 like 1% of people that will actually not watch sports. And to me, those people aren't actually sports fans. They're not. So you're going to watch sports when it comes back. I don't believe you. I just don't. So they're going to watch the NBA and then you can use that platform
Starting point is 01:22:56 to continue to talk about everything we're talking about now. I mean, just be honest about it. If Colin Kaepernick kneels in a park next to the stadium, he doesn't have the impact. So the platform of the league, absolutely. I mean, listen, when I talk on television, it gets retweeted or shared. I can yell in the parking lot all day long, and they just tell me to move along. There's a car behind me. The reality is these platforms for these players, these broadcast games, there's nothing that rivals. Even Twitter and
Starting point is 01:23:27 Instagram, it doesn't rival the amount of live impact you can have. And it's forced audience. It's not just sending messages out to people that follow you or follow sports. Everyone is going to watch sports when it comes back, whether you're a fringe sports fan or not. So the money thing is a whole other conversation, and it is a huge factor, obviously. But what Kyrie and Dwight are talking about is not concerning money. And I just think that playing will give all of these players the platform to reach an even bigger audience. So Raiders players are dealing with the extreme heat in Las Vegas, and they are, as they get ready to do their group workouts, And Tideon, Darren Waller thinks that the team will be able to use the heat to their advantage.
Starting point is 01:24:07 He said we can deal with extreme temperatures. We go right at it and we work, no excuses. I feel like that can pay dividends for us in the season, knowing that we can go into any kind of environment, hot or cold, and do our thing. Vegas temperatures peaked at 102 degrees last week. We know they're just going to go up. I mean, this is an obvious advantage to me. Like, we're now going to the cold, I don't know about that.
Starting point is 01:24:31 But Vegas does get cold in the winter. Everyone thinks Vegas is hot all year round. It's not. It gets very, very cold. Well, it's the desert. The desert gets cold in the winter, the wind. But when you think of Las Vegas, you don't think about how cold it gets. Now, it's not New England cold, but it does get very cold.
Starting point is 01:24:46 My son played in a flag football league on those fields. I'm not joking. I know exactly what that's at in Vegas. See, they're all finding different ways to work out. Yeah. But he does have a point about this. I mean, that's why Miami in the winter has a decided advantage over a lot of teams, who have not played in the sun and the heat and the humidity coming down from wherever they're playing that's colder and having to deal with it.
Starting point is 01:25:09 Vegas is going to have this advantage as well. I would pay money to watch that seven-on-seven drill. Yeah. Why don't we televise those? I'm dead serious. Yeah, me too. If FS1 televised the Raiders seven-on-seven passing drills with our shirts off in Vegas, I would watch. I'm not joking.
Starting point is 01:25:24 I would watch that. If you pulled your car, you just went and drove over Burger King and got out of a sandwich and you're driving, you're like, oh, it's Derek car. You wouldn't stop in park and eat your sandwich? Probably. Yes. Probably. But I'll watch it broadcast as well. So Ben Rathesberger has returned to the field after elbow surgery and gotten some work in with some of his teammates this off season.
Starting point is 01:25:43 And James Connor was one of those players to join him. And he said he looks ready to go. Man, he looks great. The ball was whistling. He's confident. I know he worked so hard to get back to where he's playing confident. So we're just excited for him. And that's our leader.
Starting point is 01:25:56 That's our guy. I just so thankful that we got our quarterback back. And, you know, he had Super Bowl rings. and that's what we all want to do. He's leading up by example, you know, organizing things. And so he's been awesome. I'm excited to get back out there and be back there with him. I don't know why I'm so pessimistic about the Steelers this year.
Starting point is 01:26:13 Let me just see it. I'm not going to make any great proclamations. Old, never been a grinder. Let me see it. I'll believe it. I think I'm with you. I just, I can't muster up the energy to get optimistic for the Steelers this year. Maybe it's because, and it's weird because last year, it just felt like a
Starting point is 01:26:29 last season, obviously. They've got Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges. And they still haven't brought in a solid backup. They're relying on the two of them if this, you know, situation with Ben Rothesberger doesn't work out. And he's not completely healthy like everyone is saying that he is. And I do think he's coming off of an injury. Like, it's good news that his teammates are saying he looks great. But again, similar to Tua, teammates are going to say he looks great.
Starting point is 01:26:51 Yeah. Tua's trainer is going to say that he's coming along miraculously. We'll see. Give me six games. Yeah, I'm with you. I need to see it. Yeah. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news.
Starting point is 01:27:04 Boy, last time Rob Parker is on, he got everybody worked up. He's around the corner. Coming up next. In Los Angeles, it's the herd. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.
Starting point is 01:27:20 Welcome back. He gets everybody worked up. He's part of the highest, fastest rated sports talk show in the country, The Odd Couple, Chris Broussard and Rob Parker. He's joining me via The Coward. Global Satellite Network, Rob Parker, Fox Sports contributor, an adjunct professor at USC's journalism program. Okay, I got everybody worked up because I said I'm tired of everybody blaming Rob Manfred.
Starting point is 01:27:40 We had a work stoppage in the 70s, the 80s, the mid-90s, and almost in 2002. Labor strife is part of baseball. It's not just Rob Manfred. What side do you want? Players or owners, Rob? Colin, I'm with the owners on this one. And you know what? I love the players union.
Starting point is 01:27:57 They have worked hard to get a lot of things. that the other players unions can't get. So I respect the work that they've done, the sacrifices that they've made. And Colin, you know me. I love baseball as much as anybody. In fact, when I die right here, you see these two things are going to be in my casket.
Starting point is 01:28:16 A Mets hat and my baseball rider's card. That is how much I love baseball. But when it comes to where we are right now, I have to blame the players from this standpoint. Where is your sacrifice? This is what I want to hear. Where is your sacrifice? 35 million people are out of jobs.
Starting point is 01:28:37 People are being furloughed, laid off. I just do not understand the whole notion that you think in a pandemic, you shouldn't be touched by it. And they say, well, you know, well, what about you and people at Fox? We've taken pay cuts. Everybody has taken pay cuts.
Starting point is 01:28:57 And to say that you should get the exact amount of money to play half a season as you would a regular season with no fans in the stands, no parking, no concessions, no stadium merchandise. How in the world could you sit there and think you deserve exactly the same amount of pay? I do not get it. I don't understand it. I'm not saying the owners are perfect, but in this situation, Colin, where we are, it makes no sense.
Starting point is 01:29:27 and there's got to be some sacrifice when everybody else has sacrificed in this country. It comes off as tone depth as being totally oblivion to what's going on out there to really believe you deserve your exact pay. Do you understand what's happening? I don't get it. Well, Patrick Beverly and the NBA gets it.
Starting point is 01:29:49 He sent out a tweet that say, Hooper Say all you want. If King James wants to hoop, we all hooping. Nothing personal business. I don't think he was taking a shot. shot at LeBron. I think he's just, I think that's the way the league operates. What's your thoughts? I think he's 100% right. And you know this. If LeBron James decided that he did not want to play in the Mickey Mouse championship down in Orlando, the NBA would have a hard time selling that
Starting point is 01:30:16 to people and getting people and sponsors and the network's interested if the biggest star decided he didn't want to play and he wouldn't be involved. So Patrick Beverly is right. And I'm not against the other players who have pushed back the Kyrie Irvin group and Dwight Howard and some of these other guys. I think they have a legitimate point on where they are and what their consciousness. Everybody is different. Everybody doesn't react to things the same way. So I do get their standpoint. But let's just be honest.
Starting point is 01:30:49 I mean, Adam Silver, when it comes to LeBron James, is no more than Pinocchio. And LeBron James is pulling the strings. We know that. By the way, I don't even know what O-A-N is. It's kind of a very Trumpy news network. Mike Gundy wore a T-shirt on a fishing trip. Somebody took a picture, and black players were not happy with it. I think Gundy's your classic college football coach in a small town.
Starting point is 01:31:15 He's got too much power, tone deaf. What did you make of the entire day yesterday, which ended with some level of resolution between the player and the coach? I think where we are right now, Colin, there's social consciousness that's going on. You're even seeing some top basketball recruits who are now going to historically black colleges and universities rather than your mainstream universities.
Starting point is 01:31:39 And when you start to find out information about who people are, what their real feelings are, I think that that's going to play and have an effect down the road as time goes on. And if you feel like maybe, you know, your coach says all the right things, he's in your living room with your mom and your dad, dad or your guardians or whatever, and it sounds good, but you know deep down this guy is maybe not
Starting point is 01:32:02 doesn't have your interest or your people's interest at hand. That might not be the right situation for you, even though he's at a major school and offering you a free ride or something or a scholarship. So I think that, you know, people are being exposed every day. And I think people of athletes are taking notes, you know, like the Jerry Jones not being, Jerry Jones has a radio show is so vocal, television interviews, but now all this happens in the country, and we haven't heard from Jerry Jones. I mean, that's, that's say something to you, shouldn't it? Yeah, it does make me think, I thought about this. I said Colin Kaepernick's reemergence on the scene, and I do think he'll get invited to a team or two. I wonder if Dax's not more valuable
Starting point is 01:32:48 than ever. Dak handed Jerry a life preserver the last time the kneeling hurt Jerry's business. I think of this and I think a DAC had Jerry's back on the anthem and I think he's never been more valuable because I think we're going to have a year of some unrest and some politics. Your thoughts? Yeah, this is a tough spot
Starting point is 01:33:08 and I think for Dak Prescott, who did side with the majority of the players in the original one, but as you know, he's spoken out, he's put out a statement, he's donated a million dollars for some police training, so he's been more vocal and been out there.
Starting point is 01:33:23 And I'm going to tell you, Colin. I don't know if he has the opportunity to not kneel when, like Jerry threatened his players last time and said anybody who would kneel wouldn't be wearing a Cowboys uniform. I just don't see that as being able to hold up to that this time around. You have Baker Mayfield talking about he's going to kneel and all kinds of players who have already committed to it. And you mean to tell me that Dak Prescott, given the temperature in this country, and where black people are and what we've been through black and brown people,
Starting point is 01:33:58 that he's not going to be a part of some sort of protest if his other teammates are. I think that's a slippery slope. I get what you're saying with Jerry, but I'm not so sure that Jerry's going to be able to say, well, I'll sign Dak. He had my back last time. I'm not so sure that Jerry knows for sure that Dak will have his back after, especially Colin, after he signs a new contract.
Starting point is 01:34:21 Yeah, no, it's a very, very good point. Kaepernick. I think he'll get invited somewhere. I'm not sure three and a half years off he can play. You think there's a spot for him? I really do. I just think that there's some team that could utilize this guy. You remember when he burst on the scene?
Starting point is 01:34:39 I know it's been a while. And Ron Jaworski proclaimed that he could be the greatest quarterback whoever played the game. You remember, it was unbelievable. Yeah. He's not an old guy, Colin. He's only 32. Tom Brady's about to start the season.
Starting point is 01:34:52 at 43. Colin Kaepernick, if you get them back in and get them back to working out or whatever, can still be a productive quarterback and could still play for somebody. I really believe that when you think of all the players, they've dug up or got out of retirement or off some couch to come play in the NFL and get a backup paycheck. So I think he can play for the NFL. Let's take a shot of, look at Rob Parker's jacket there. I don't know.
Starting point is 01:35:18 Look at that. You are always selling Rob Parker. That's the odd couple Fox Sports Radio. Very, it's almost like that. It's like you just stitched that thing on yesterday, didn't you? No, just about. You know, you could always go to my website, get rob.com, and there's some odd couple stuff. A couple of my books are up there, all that, Colin, you know?
Starting point is 01:35:39 What size are you? You like this jacket or do you don't like the color? Well, no, the colors are. It looks like. You don't like the odd couple. No, I love the odd couple. It looks like a Michigan football jacket, Rob. It's got that amazing.
Starting point is 01:35:52 Why you got to give it away? Does your website have a comb? I could use that. I'll tell you with all this pandemic. All right. Good seeing you, buddy. Always. Thanks so much.
Starting point is 01:36:02 All right, Rob Parker, co-host of the odd couple with Chris Broussard. Yeah, I remember when Kaepernick came out. First 18 months, I totally bought into it. I remember saying it. It's like 6-5 ran. I remember the first time I saw him in college. It was a Friday night, and I think Boise State was unbeaten.
Starting point is 01:36:17 And there was a discussion going on in college football. Could Boise State play for the national championship? And there was a Friday night game, you know, those rare Friday night games, and Kaepernick played for Nevada and just ran up and down the sidelines. I've never even heard of him. I know Nevada's coached by, I think, at the time, Chris Alt, who he created the pistol offense, actually, which some NFL teams borrowed briefly.
Starting point is 01:36:38 So first time I saw him in the first couple years in the league, I'm like, first of all, he had a huge arm, and he ran like crazy. Over time, he kind of throws only one pitch, the fastball. He didn't have a ton of touch. But, hey, listen, I bought into it. I totally. In fact, when Harbaugh left, I always thought that was the beginning of the downfall. He and Harbaugh connected.
Starting point is 01:36:55 Hour 3 coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise.
Starting point is 01:37:18 breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Starting point is 01:37:52 And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the 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.
Starting point is 01:38:13 Each episode, we pick you 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.
Starting point is 01:38:35 We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Then you're finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.
Starting point is 01:39:10 I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, We get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth.
Starting point is 01:39:34 Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, is we have. have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.
Starting point is 01:39:52 Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.
Starting point is 01:40:14 What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
Starting point is 01:40:36 Casper's the sleep company with outrageously comfortable products, not so outrageous products. Free returns, free contactless delivery. Go to casper.com for more information, terms, and conditions apply. Joy Taylor in about 10 minutes is going to have the most remarkable pictures since man landed on the moon for the first time. I mean, this is historic for us. I don't think that's an exaggeration. Yes, that's well put. I think these are, we both were tickled by these pictures.
Starting point is 01:41:07 So they're going to be coming up in 10 minutes. Let's go to Steve Berline, a Super Bowl champ, 17 years in the NFL. Been a broadcaster for a year, a pro bowler on that resume via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Notre Dameer. So, you know, we were talking about Tua this morning in that, in a weird way, the pandemic has been a little bit of a break because it's created this like no OTAs. So like Joe Burroughs not training. None of the rookie quarterbacks are training. He's had this 8, 10, 12 week window now to just rehab, do you think if he comes into camp and blows everybody away the reports are he's very good physically?
Starting point is 01:41:43 What happens, Steve, if he comes in and he just looks great? and Ryan Fitzpatrick's old, you know, what happens? Would you still sit him? I would sit him without a doubt, Colin. And I think there's so many reasons that you can build the case for that being the right choice. Number one, I always have felt that if you have the luxury of a veteran quarterback, like a Ryan Fitzpatrick, or obviously you'd like a guy with a little bit more of a proven record as a winner. But if you've got that veteran quarterback, I don't think that there's any reason to force the issue
Starting point is 01:42:15 and put the first round draft choice out there at the beginning of the year, unless you're in a situation like Joe Burrow is in Cincinnati, where they don't have another quarterback. And he's there obviously to play right away with Tua, the injury history, all the different things that you mentioned with this offseason being as unique as it has been, where these young quarterbacks are really not going to know what they're doing for at least the first half of the season. And you put a guy out there like Tua who's coming off the injury issues
Starting point is 01:42:44 that he's coming off of very, very significant injuries. And you put him out there when he really doesn't know what he's doing, that's a formula for another injury. And it's not going to be good. So I think the Dolphins plan on at least letting him sit for the first half of the year. And I think ideally, if they can get Ryan Fitzpaccar to play and keep him competitive, they would like to sit to it for the full season, kind of like what Patrick Mahomes did,
Starting point is 01:43:07 kind of like what Aaron Rogers was able to do for a couple of years because I always think that that pays off long term for a young, quarterback if they have a luxury of sitting for a year or two. Something to remember, too, Steve, is that offensive line play could be regressing terribly this year because it's the one unit that really needs time. And the dolphins are rebuilding their offensive line this year. So they've got a Austin Jackson. The more I think about this, this is going to be a bad O line year.
Starting point is 01:43:40 Unless you have a cowboy veteran line or Philadelphia just lost a veteran, But Miami's in a rebuild up front offensively. So you could make the argument, he could be just man overboard. This could be really ugly for Tua because he's just not going to have any protection. Yeah, you're right. I mean, all those factors, everything points to there's absolutely no reason to throw what you are hoping to be your franchise quarterback out there to the wolves in a situation where, as you say, a very, very suspect offensive line, a team that really, you know, is not loaded the skill positions. They've got some players, but they're not loaded by any stretch.
Starting point is 01:44:20 The expectation is not to win a Super Bowl this year. I think they drafted him with the mentality of saying, let's get this team better around him. So when he comes in after year one and he's healthy, he's got that confidence. He's settled in. He's all moved in to his new place wherever he's living, his new penthouse, wherever he's living,
Starting point is 01:44:40 and also knows the playbook a little bit better. He will have a chance to be successful, right out of the gate. And I think that's the best, the best formula for Tua overall and for the Dolphins. You know, I saw a picture of Cam Newton throwing the ball around with OBJ, and I had remarked earlier, you know, these days, whoever you can find a throw to, if it's a high school kid in a park, do it. Do you think there's a chance for a happy ending with Cam? I think there is for sure. I really believe that Cam has still got some good years in front of them. I know it's been a terrible couple of years. And I do believe that, you know, you know,
Starting point is 01:45:14 Cam has been humbled through all of this. I think that that was one of his issues aside from the injury issues he's fought the last couple of years. He had built up this persona. And this has been a true, I think, gut punch form, a wake up call, whatever you want to call it, where he realizes that he's got to commit fully to this and he's got to get his mind right as well as his body. I think he's going to come back highly motivated.
Starting point is 01:45:40 I don't think there's any question about his athletic ability. he still got the ability to be an extremely unique player, both in the pocket and outside of the pocket. But, you know, he's going to come back. And I think that whatever team ends up making the commitment or having the chance to bring him in is going to reap the benefit of that. And I really believe that a team like New England, the obvious one, I believe that Cam could adjust and could fit in the Bill Belichick system and have a chance to win and be the answer there right away, at least to reestablish. himself as a starting quarterback in the NFL because I think he can he can still be that guy. You know, I was just thinking about this. So Kyle Shanahan signed a new contract. He just signed a new one a couple years ago and they re-signed it. Obviously, Kyle Shanahan works. Same with
Starting point is 01:46:29 Andy Reid. Everybody's just better with him. Explain to my audience, you had, in the 17 years you played, you must have had 10 coordinators. Why is Kyle Shanahan or an Andy Reed? what makes a coordinator go from B to A plus? What is it? The communication, the schemes. I mean, I don't know how many coordinators you had, but you probably had one or two that elevated your play. What is it with Kyle?
Starting point is 01:46:59 What is it with Andy Reed? The IQ, the communication, tell me. So I had a ton of great offensive coordinators and some not so good as well, But some of the best guys that I worked with go back to North Turner, who I think is the has to be the strongest pedigree of anybody currently out there when you look at the history of what he's done. I worked with Jerry Rome with the Arizona Cardinals.
Starting point is 01:47:26 And that's a guy that never really got his respect. But I really love playing for him. Then I played for Mike Shanahan as well. And then still very, very close to Mike Shanahan. I got to know Kyle when he was very young. we can go down the list of all these different guys I played for. But the bottom line, I think what makes an offensive coordinator special is not only the ability to design and figure out how you want to attack a team in the pregame stuff,
Starting point is 01:47:53 but stuff that's going on during the course of the week, the prep, knowing how to figure it out a way that is going to catch that defense off guard, some tendencies that they're going to lock in on that you have to completely change to screw up all of their data that they've had on you and put together. other on you over the past several weeks. So you've got to have the game plan, number one, initially. And then secondly is the patience and the timing of when to call those big plays, how to set them up and then how to call them at exactly the right time.
Starting point is 01:48:23 And then I think the final factor is saving some of your ammunition, not spending it all too early in the game, but saving some of your ammunition for late in the game when you know you're going to need a play for a certain situation, not pulling that trigger too soon and calling it at the right time. So the great offensive coordinators not only have great minds and know how to set up a game plan, they also know how to call the plays, set them up,
Starting point is 01:48:48 and pull the trigger at the right time. Finally, the Dak Prescott situation's interesting. We got about a month left for Dallas to be able to sign him. You know, I saw the Kaepernick story kind of re-emerging and I thought, you know, Dak kind of threw Jerry a life preserver. The
Starting point is 01:49:04 last time the protest in America hurt TV ratings. And it hurt local ratings in Dallas. And Dak was there to stand during the anthem. And he got a lot of pushback. A lot of players didn't appreciate that from Dak. And I thought to myself, you know, we're going to have some protests in the league this year. Jerry Jones, that's a conservative state in Dallas. A lot of his fans, you know, boycott, they're going to be unhappy. I almost thought, in a weird
Starting point is 01:49:28 way, reemergence of the Kaepernick story actually makes me think, you know what, in a year of some things that are going to happen that we don't know the fallout, I always come. kind of know what I get from DAC. He may have a lower ceiling, but he is pretty consistent. And your thoughts on DAC, this entire process, which has seemingly lasted a year and a half on his contract, but we are now in the last month of the window. Yeah, it has lasted a long time.
Starting point is 01:49:56 We've been talking about it forever. And I do believe you're right about the life preserver theory, what has happened, you know, and how he did kind of, for lack of a better term, you know, take one the team in terms of standing up and respecting the owner's wishes. But it was a right call. That's what I think a quarterback is supposed to do. I think do what he believes is the right thing confidently and step into that and take the heat one way or the other for that decision.
Starting point is 01:50:26 He thought it was best for the Cowboys. That's what I believe should always motivate a quarterback, a leader in the team. What is best for the team? It's not about me personally. It's about what is best for the team. And I think Dak has proven that, but I do believe when you're talking about the contract, I think that he has not handled this well. He may end up coming out benefiting in the long term of the way this is all played out.
Starting point is 01:50:48 He may get the money to $40 million that supposedly he's asking for. But I believe in his situation, when you consider the body of work, I believe that the Cowboys made him more than one fair offer in that $30 million, $30 plus million range. I think for his body of work, the right thing to do would have been for him. him to sign a four or five-year deal at that number because that was the market rate at that time. And he hasn't proven himself to be worthy of being the highest paid quarterback in the NFL, in my opinion. I think that $30 to $35 million range, if they can get a deal worked out in that area,
Starting point is 01:51:25 that would be a win-win for both the Cowboys and Deck Prescott. And he's not going to have to worry about paying his bills for a few years. We all know that at $30, $35 million a year. Yeah, that pays a lot of bills. You can even buy a second car in Dallas for 30. Maybe a second car, yeah. Good seeing you, Steve. All right, Colin.
Starting point is 01:51:45 Any time, buddy. By the way, there is a story I want to get to. Ezekiel Elliott is one of the several cowboys, speaking of the Dallas Cowboys, and there's also Texans players to test positive for COVID. My takeaway on this is the states that were a little more cavalier in the last couple of months, a little more arrogant, this idea that the virus has left are now getting tagged a little. Now, the infection rates higher, the hospitalization rate, the surge, is not as dramatic because it's probably younger people going out bars and restaurants, beaches that are getting it,
Starting point is 01:52:23 and they tend to be 40, 45 percent asymptomatic. But we have something in this country that it feels like it's getting worse, that if you don't experience something, Black Lives Matter, COVID, then you don't have empathy for anybody else. The reality is we don't have a vaccine. There is encouraging news today that there is an over-the-counter steroid supplement
Starting point is 01:52:49 that could really reduce death regarding COVID-19, but we don't have a vaccine. Social distancing applies. I still wore a mask every time I have. have to go indoors. It's okay. Don't get cavalier. And the states that have been a little more cavalier, especially young people, are now getting tagged, cross your fingers that we don't have another hospital surge. Here's Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news.
Starting point is 01:53:21 Well, you just teased it, and it is finally here. We've been wondering what this was going to look like, and now we have our answer. Oh, my God. Nearly three months after Tom Brady is signed with the Bucks, we're finally getting a look at him in the Tampa Buccaneers uniform. These are the first official photos of Brady wearing his new uniforms and the Bucks' new uniforms as well. It's not a terrible look. Those are, this is Man on the Moon pictures.
Starting point is 01:53:51 This is unbelievable. To me, next to D.B. Cooper being alive, this is one of the great moments of my life. He's got a nice tan, by the way. He has clearly been out in that Florida sign. He's been on the jet ski with his kids. You know, I'm sure Patriots fans are cringing, looking at this. Boy, those are good looking at U-Utees. They do look good.
Starting point is 01:54:13 They do look good. That pewter is really nice. That is, you can just, right there, he's going, Godwin, seam pattern, Mike Evans, OJ. Look at that. That's wild. So natural. It's wild.
Starting point is 01:54:27 It's presidential there. It's very crazy. crazy to see. Look at those eyes. Those are 10-win eyes. Those are 10 and 6 eyes. I mean, could you picture it, though? Before you saw the pictures? Because I still couldn't picture it.
Starting point is 01:54:41 That picture right there looks great. God, I can't wait. To me, they're the most interesting team in the league this year. Not the best, but the most interesting. Definitely the most interesting. They are very interesting. The Browns are very interesting. I think the Panthers are very interesting. The dolphins.
Starting point is 01:54:57 Dolphins. Well, dolphins are interesting with two. They're not that interesting with Ryan Fitzpatrick. I think Cincinnati and Burroughs is interesting. Yes, Cincinnati is interesting. Because Burrell is going to play week one. So I'm fascinating to see. Yes, you're right. The Dolphins with Fitzpatrick is not.
Starting point is 01:55:11 They're not interesting at all. But I think too is going to start. So the Rams have a new offensive coordinator, but we'll still be playing in Sean McVeigh's system. And Jared Goff thinks they'll be at a huge advantage because they don't have to implement a new offense during this unconventional offseason. It'll be good that the whole league will have
Starting point is 01:55:29 to stick to some sort of a similar program. And so there won't be any disadvantage in that way. But I think we do have an advantage offensively with the same system, the same players and everything. Our defense is obviously going to have to get on the grass and learn their new system. But it's an advantage for us running into the season where you've got teams that are really trying to install both offense and defense virtually, which is damn near impossible. Well, they have great skill players.
Starting point is 01:55:52 They really do. They drafted another running back. But wide receiver, tight end quarterback. You know, it's funny. I looked at a stat the other day. Golf was one of the least sack players. As much as we banged on their own line, he had fairly good protection.
Starting point is 01:56:05 There's Josh Reynolds, the receiver. They have Robert Woods, Cooper Cop. I like the Rams offense and the pieces that they have. And they have incredible pieces on defense as well, but I wouldn't agree with him overall because they do have to install a new defense under a first-time NFL coordinator in Brandon Staley. So I don't think of the Rams are in the best.
Starting point is 01:56:28 position moving into this season. Well, the San Francisco's got better players. I'm sorry? San Francisco's got better players and Seattle's got a better quarterback. Well, yeah. I mean, that's the point. Like any team that is returning their coach and coordinators and quarterback is in a better position this year with everything that's going on.
Starting point is 01:56:47 So I see his point that even though they do have a new coordinator, they have the same system offensively, they might be in a good situation. Don't worry about your hair. You look great. Some have said that this year's NBA champions will have an asterisk next to their win because of the season's unusual circumstances. But Steve Kerr has the opposite opinion. He said the one thing I feel really strongly about is a championship under these conditions is going to count.
Starting point is 01:57:14 People are going to want to put an asterisk next to it. There's no asterisk in my mind. This is going to be a brutally, brutally difficult journey to try and win a title. Now, we're not going to have any fans, right? No fans. I don't believe that they're making any... I think they've got to ease up on that. Provisions for fans.
Starting point is 01:57:27 I think MLS is going to have no fans either. Well, I mean, considering the recent news out of Florida, that's probably the best choice right now. Now, obviously, this is still... Fans can't sit like a month and a half from now, so who knows what can happen in that time. A lot can happen in a month and a half. Everybody's telling me there's no fans.
Starting point is 01:57:47 I'm like, we're working 10 feet apart. You couldn't have an estate, an NBA facility of 18,000... I mean, you have to consider that people have to... be responsible and that's asking a lot from people these days. So, I mean, you know, it's, you can go public places, but, you know, you're encouraged to wear masks and that because it's optional, some people, most people are not doing it. Yeah, the mask thing, a lot of people are done with masks, especially the heat. You wore a mask and the heat outside. Yeah, it's rough. Like I, the other day, inside, just wear a mask. Not in your home, obviously, but like. The other day I wore a mask outside and I got
Starting point is 01:58:21 tired of it. I just took it off. Yeah, well, I mean, if you're not around people and you're outside, you don't need to wear a mask. I mean, it's for social distancing purposes when you're around some other people. The fans thing doesn't necessarily concern me. It's more of the logistics of how are these players going to be able to play at a high level in these extreme circumstances. Steve Kerr is right. The Astrid conversation is just, it doesn't matter at this point. An asterisk would be for if someone cheated or if one particular team had a decided advantage. over another team. Everyone is dealing with the same circumstances in this spot. Obviously, we're going to remember this year very uniquely,
Starting point is 01:58:58 but it's a championship either way. Okay. Are you done? Yes, Sam. That was fast. I just got overwhelmed with the Brady pictures. I thought you were in the joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. So Kyle Shanahan signed for a new contract, and we were talking this morning about our best for last. we said, you know, lists, everybody's doing lists now to fill space.
Starting point is 01:59:24 And I said, what are the best quarterback head coach combo? Because I really do think that's about 70% of the league now. Like unless you have a bad O line, quarterback head coach is good, you're good. And it's remarkable who I left out. It's not remarkable maybe to you, but as I did the list my top 10, it was amazing how many people I left out that I just have no idea if it works, or perhaps it's not nearly as good as we think. That's coming up.
Starting point is 01:59:53 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. Casper's a sleep company outrageously comfortable. Mattresses, not outrageous prices. Go to casper.com terms and conditions apply. So yesterday, as Joy has noted, Kyle Shanahan signed a six-year extension to be the head coach of the San Francisco. A lot of people fell in love with Sean McVey a few years ago, and I said, timeout. He's not the best offensive coach in his division.
Starting point is 02:00:26 I think it's Kyle Shanahan. I think Sean McVeigh is great, but I think Shanahan has a chance to be an all-timer. And so we thought today, if we looked at coach and quarterback, what is the best combo? Where does the coach elevate? Is there a symmetry? Do they work together, or is it just a great quarterback carrying a coach that doesn't get him? Here's our top 10. Here we go.
Starting point is 02:00:48 Number 10. I would say Kyler, Marie, and Cliff Kingsbury. Now, you're going to roll your eyes on this, but do you realize last year they went up eight and a half points a game together? They improved eight and a half points a game, and Kyler was the offensive rookie of the year. So clearly, Cliff Kingsbury worked. It also should be noted. They were a good team when the offensive line didn't unravel. In the seven games, they played where there were two or fewer sacks.
Starting point is 02:01:14 Arizona went five and two in the toughest division in football. So it worked. It's young, but it absolutely. work. They're at 10. Number nine. Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll. I think Russell Wilson's carrying this relationship. I will put it in the top 10 because in the last five years, Russell Wilson has led the NFL and
Starting point is 02:01:32 touchdown passes, but I don't think they've given him post-Marshan Lynch. Always the right support behind him, the right support in front of him. He's elevated tight ends. But the minute they traded Jimmy Graham and got rid of Max Unger, I thought it was disrespectful. The offensive line's never been the same. I think Russell has overwhelmingly carried this relationship, but they make a top 10 list. Number 8. I think Deshawn Watson and Bill O'Brien work together better than anybody will
Starting point is 02:02:00 give him credit for. In the last two years, when Deshawn's not been sacked or sacked one or fewer times, they're 10 and 0 together. They won a playoff game last year. Now, Bill O'Brien's got limitations. He thinks he's a general manager and a coach, but I think they actually work well together. I think Bill O'Brien's good offensive coach. I think he's patient. They've won playoff games together. They're 24 and 13 together. O'Brien's mistakes are that
Starting point is 02:02:28 he's not as good with personnel, but he's given Deshawn Watson world-class wide receivers. At least we'll see the Deshawn Hopkins move, how that works. But I think these guys actually work better together than people think. Number seven. Jared Goff and Sean McVey. In the last three years, they have won nine-plus games
Starting point is 02:02:47 in every year. Consistency is very hard in the NFL. By the way, in the last three years, they've averaged 29 points a game. That is third highest in the NFL. Most of the issues have become interior offensive line issues. And let's be honest, I'll give McVeigh credit here. He dealt with that Todd Gurley mess where they paid him too early and he didn't want to call him out, but Gurley was kind of, you know, not really connecting with the team. They couldn't depend on him. He had to work with a backup running back situation. So McVeigh stock has been sold.
Starting point is 02:03:28 I still think he's really, really good. And I think the Rams will be a nine-win team this year. Number six. Lamar and John Harbaugh. Now, they were first in rushing last year, and I give Harbaugh a lot of credit for putting his arms around Lamar, who's not being paid anything now. and accumulating talent. I don't think John's an elite offensive coach.
Starting point is 02:03:50 I think he's really an elite human who understands the gifts of Lamar Jackson. But I think this is a relationship that continues to grow. They've been disappointing in the last two years in the postseason. I still think they're kind of trying to figure out each other, but I put him at six. Number five. I don't get those who doubt Brady and Bruce Ariens. You know, listen, Ariens has won another. Super Bowl. Tom's got six. Ariens won a couple as an assistant. Bruce Ariens wins games,
Starting point is 02:04:21 and he makes quarterbacks better. He did it with a young Big Ben. He did it with a young Andrew Luck. And Tampa last year with James Winston. People, you got to remember, they were first in the NFL last year in passing with James Winston. Now, a lot of turnovers, but they had a mess at right tackle. They didn't have much of a running game. And James is turnover prone. So Tampa was first in the NFL last year in passing. Now they're going to get Tom's efficiency and Tom's experience. So I think this is a reputable, redeemable, and very productive duo. Number four.
Starting point is 02:04:56 Kyle Shanahan and Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo's way better than anybody wants to admit. Kyle Shanahan's record in San Francisco without Jimmy G. Not great. With him, it's 21 and 6. They were also second in the NFL last year in points per game. Now, the reason that's noteworthy is they lost. both tackles.
Starting point is 02:05:16 They had wide receivers banged up. They had to insert Emmanuel Sanders at wide receiver during the middle of the season. It did not go without bumps. They had a lot of injuries up front. Their Pro Bowl fullback got hurt. And yet here was Kyle. Here was Garoppolo in their first year together, being about the only team that you'd watch on TV and think could go toe to toe with a Kansas City or Baltimore.
Starting point is 02:05:41 Number three. Drew Brees and Sean Payton. It is not quite as dynamic as it was three years ago. It's the longest running combo in the NFL working together since 2006. They have been together so long. It's just unheard of in the NFL. Here's the other thing. They have been top 10 offense every year they've worked together,
Starting point is 02:06:03 including number one six times. Now, their offensive line is very good now. It was not nearly as good about four years ago. So that's really impressive. Six times number one offensive. in the NFL. Number two. I think Doug Peterson, it took me a while to get used to it,
Starting point is 02:06:19 but I think Carson Wentz and Doug Peterson, the reason I put him over Breeze and Sean Peyton is because I think Wentz at this point is a better quarterback. I think Doug Peterson has come off the Andy Reed tree and has really, really been good. He's nimble, he evolves. They've been 27 and 15 in the last 42 games. By the way, the Eagles have made the playoffs for three straight years.
Starting point is 02:06:39 That's the longest streak in the NFC. Wentz last four games last year throwing to deck chairs was absolutely remarkable. I thought Peterson and Wentz, even during the Super Bowl year, I thought the most impressive performance by either one of them was the last month of last season.
Starting point is 02:06:57 The schedule was not easy. They had injuries everywhere at wide receiver, offensive line secondary. I think Wentz and Peterson are undervalued. I think we all know Breeze and Peyton work. We all know Garoppolo and Shanahan. And I think Wenz and Peterson's best days are ahead. Number one.
Starting point is 02:07:16 Not real tough. Mahomes and Andy Reed. A plus offensive coach, a plus quarterback. Mahomes has 10 more touchdowns than the rest of the NFL over the last two years. And that's missing two games. I think Andy Reid's the best schemer in the NFL. He sent me something the other day on text. He showed me two plays he's going to use against the Broncos.
Starting point is 02:07:36 I didn't share him. It's just in the vault. Well, that's responsible of you. Yeah. So I think this is one of these rare marriages. When you get a great offensive mind and a great offensive player, it doesn't happen very often. It's just the perfect marriage.
Starting point is 02:07:52 It feels like Breeze and Peyton like eight years ago, where you just knew you're getting 29 points every Sunday. So they're at the top of my list, my top 10. Good to have you in today. I saw where Patrick Beverly had this tweet yesterday, or day before he said, Hooper say what you want if King James said he's hooping, we're all hooping, nothing personal. Listen, if you go look at the history of the NBA, of course LeBron James should have the most say.
Starting point is 02:08:24 And I don't think it's surprising. LeBron's actually been fairly quiet over the last week because I think LeBron is allowing Kyrie to have a voice. He's allowing Dwight Howard to have an opinion. he's allowing all the other players to have their opinions during as we see the protests going on LeBron's moving back and I think working behind the scenes with Adam Silver to ensure players are heard, players get opinions, but I do think Adam and LeBron have a special relationship very similar to Michael Jordan and David Stern. I think when you get as popular as Michael Magic,
Starting point is 02:09:06 bird or especially LeBron, you have so much value to the league's bottom line that you are asked to have a, and I think LeBron's accommodated silver, and I think LeBron's the perfect, perfect player for Silver, that he's for the players' voices and opinions, but LeBron wants basketball. We're getting it. It's the hurt. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting
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Starting point is 02:09:56 podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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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Starting point is 02:10:35 For 1979 That was a big moment for me 84 was big to me I'm Sam Jay And I'm Alex English Each episode We pick a year unpack what went down
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