The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Jets, Zion Williamson, Bubba Wallace, Tom Brady, 49ers

Episode Date: June 25, 2020

Colin talks about the ongoing drama between the Jets and Jamal Adams, why Zion Williamson will one day be the face of the NBA, why he's glad the FBI investigated the Bubba Wallace incident, why Tom Brady will most likely play well this season, and the one thing the 49ers do better than most teams. Guests include Nick Swisher, Chris Simms, John Smoltz, and Brandon Marshall. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Thursday. We are live in Los Angeles. This is The Heart. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio. We're on Fox Sports Radio.

We're right here on FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me. Nick Swisher stops by first hour. A human wall of energy. He's a walking Red Bull. He will be joining his first hour. Chris Sims next hour does not like Jimmy Garoppolo.

Brandon Marshall, the six-time Pro Bowl, NFL-wide receiver is going to be joining us. Thoughts on the Jets mess and Joy Taylor is here. Joy, how are you today? I'm good. I'm very excited for baseball. So am I. It's like a playoff. We're starting the playoffs for the first game.

So I saw this story this morning. Let's lead with this. It is kind of reaching perhaps a tipping point. Jamal Adams, top 10 player in the NFL, top 10 football player. He's that good. basically now going on social media, get me out, get me out. Now, Jets aren't reacting to it. So now he throws his coach under the bus.

He calls the New York Daily News, one of their reporters and says he's uncomfortable with the future of the Jets because of Adam Gase. And he clashes with stars. Now, at the end of last year, Gase benched him for a few plays. It was a game against Cleveland last year. I think it was early in the year and he benched him for a few plays. And Gase does have a history of trading, moving off, or battling some high profile players. But the answer for every NFL fan of a bad team or an underachieving franchise is always fire the coach. That's always the answer because you can't fire all the players.

So psychologically, it makes fans feel like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, we're just one guy away and we are Super Bowl champs. Of course, the problem when you do that is a organizational instability because most bad teams hire and fire too many coaches. The other bad thing is if you have a young quarterback, he's got to learn an entirely new system again. And of course, most great football coaches already have jobs. That's the way it works in America. Really talented people have people fighting over them, and they're usually already employed and making a lot of money.

Name me the current great football coach in America who's unemployed. Name me the great current football coach in America who the Jets could get. I mean, I'll throw a name out, Brian Kelly, Notre Dame. I'd look at offensive guy had multiple successes in college, but he's never coached pro. I know he's kind of had his agent dabbled around the NFL. But folks, Adam Gase has been an NFL coach. And when Ryan Tannahill started in Miami, Adam Gase had a winning record, 13 and 11. Do you realize Bill Parcell's career winning percentage in the NFL is about 55%?

Adam Gase was a 55% winning coach when Ryan Tannihill started. Now, Tanaug who got hurt a bunch and there's a bunch of different quarterbacks. Joy can attest as a dolphin fan, but he had a winning record. And then last year, his quarterback got mono. He's got a terrible roster. The GM they had to fire. And they had a seven and sixth record when Sam Darnold started. So when Sam Darnold or Ryan Tantahill with average rosters have started, he is three games

over 500, and he's coached, you know, about 30, 35 NFL games. Now, you say that's not great. Has he had great rosters? Has he had great GMs? Has he had great owners? Tell me who's out there. I'm waiting. Great people are usually employed.

And even college coaches now that make $7 and $8 million, the Dallas Cowboys got turned down by the Oklahoma Sooners. Lincoln Riley said, no. The Jets wanted Matt Rule. He wasn't even coaching at a college football power. He was coaching at Baylor. He's like, hard pass on New York. That's the world we live in.

Great anything. Podcasters, football coaches, lawyers have a lot of options. And what the fans of average to below average organizations never understand. good people don't want to work for you. They don't. I like Rex Ryan. I like Eric Mangini. I like Herm Edwards.

I like Adam Gase. They all have losing records. All losing career records with the Jets. Nobody wins there. The last coach to have a career winning record there was Al Groh. He spent one year nine and seven and left for college. And we were all like, I wonder why he did that. Maybe the answer is ownership, the Jets, front office.

It's the Jets. Roster, it's the Jets. So, first of all, Jamal Adams doesn't get along with Adam Gase. Here's my question. Does Sam Narnold? Yeah, that's all I care about. If Andy Reed and Patrick Mahomes,

they click, I can live with other disgruntled employees. If Lamar Jackson and John Harbaugh, Sympatico works, I can deal with an occasional disgruntled safety. Adam Gase wants more money. He yelled and screamed and the Jets went, whatever. And so the next step is throw the coach under the bus.

And I like Jamal Adams. But I don't hate Adam Gase and Sam Darnold likes it. Now, at the end of this year, if the Jets go anything below 8 and 8, all right, make a coaching change. But just know you will not get the best candidate on the market. You will not get the best candidate in New York. The Giants would get the better candidate. So, you know, the answer is always, it's like you're chasing your tail when you're the jets or the Browns and the Lions.

The answer is always fire this guy and hire a new coach. But all that does is turn off people with options who want stability for their wife, their two kids. They'll put it in a school in Michigan. They don't want to have to pull them out three years later. So I would be very reluctant to ever fire a coach. if he has a winning record with franchise quarterbacks. Gase had that in Miami with Tannahill, and last year, 7 and 6 with Sam Donald.

I segue to this. According to NBA Insiders, Zion Williamson is going to, quote, shock people when the NBA resumes. According to insiders, the 19-year-old Duke product, has kept himself in incredible shape. It was always amazing to me.

A lot of life is hard, right? There's a lot of things. But in sports, you can see stardom really easy. How many games did it take with Patrick Mahomes? About three, and we were all like, oh, he throws left and looks right, and, oh, that looks different than everybody else in the league. I mean, once Aaron Rogers took over the Packers,

his first year. They didn't have a great season, but it was obvious. It kind of looks like Dan Marino when he throws it, a little far of a little Dan Marino. I've always been amazed at the pushback on Zion Williamson. He didn't even debut this year until almost February. He's averaging 24 points a game, eight rebounds and shooting 59% from the floor. Remember all the critics when he was at Duke? Ah, his weight, he can't shoot. You know, he's not really a power.

forward and people said, maybe it was outrageous to think he would be a top 50 player in the NBA if he entered it. And I said this, top 50, of course he's a top 50 player. The question is, is he a top 20 basketball player in the world? So, by the way, hair looked a lot better then. If you look around the NBA today, who's the next star? It's Zion. James Hardin

doesn't want to be the face of the league. Russell Westbrook is bad with the press and too often unhinged and difficult. Kauai doesn't talk. And Janus is a wonderful kid and a great player. But like Tim Duncan, who is also both of those,

he doesn't feel like a face of the league. The best player is not always the face. Kareem was the best player for years, but he was kind of aloof and prickly. scored lots of points, but he was kind of flaky. Tim Duncan was wonderful, but never really embraced it. If you look at the faces of the league, Dr. Jay, Magic, Jordan, Shaq, LeBron, Kobe, you got to have four or five things.

You got to be kind of cool. You got to have charisma. You got to have a personality. Generally, a little power mixed with finesse. Folks, Zion is the face of the league. He got a million people to watch a high school game. He took Duke's always strong ratings, moved him up 35%. He set an NBA summer league television record.

This is it. John Morant may be a better player. He's not big. He doesn't look like he's a freight train coming downhill. You got to have the look, the smile, the style, the power, the form, the it. That's why he has been jammed into the playoffs. That is why they decided on the larger number of teams to come back.

One reason. Zion, the next face of the NBA. Coming up next, Bubba Watson investigation was absolutely not a waste of time. And if you hate Tom Brady, really bad news, both those coming up. Plus Nick Swisher in 15 minutes. 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. 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, 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. Sportslice brings you closer to 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 Slices 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. 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. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clivert 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? Time out. Quarterback on office, Blue, 42. A rep, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to The Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down.

Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a married man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives of Housewives show. I think it looks like to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise,

the drama, the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, Listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

One of the bigger stories this week, perhaps the biggest story is Bobba Wallace, the NASCAR driver. They had an investigation. There was a story that NASCAR released. There was a news found in a garage. They had it investigated by the FBI who had 14 of their agents investigated. It turned out that it was in the garage a year earlier or so. And there is some pushback now that it was an overreaction. and I knew it from the beginning, and there should have been an investigation, A, and B, thank God it wasn't true.

Folks, FBI, I stands for investigation. 24-7-365, they are investigating potential crimes and corruption around the clock. FBI, most do not discover systematic corruption. You still investigate. F stands for federal. A noose in a garage of the only full-time black NASCAR driver is a federal threat. If I told Fox, I got a stalker, I think. Would you investigate it?

Should they not? If they find out after six months, my wife's not sleeping at night, could you please investigate it? We investigated it and there's no. stalker. That would be the good news. I would be happy they investigated it. And I'd even be happier that they didn't find a stalker. Stop trying to win the argument in the moment. There should have been an investigation to federal issue and a federal threat. I for investigation. and the media is now all about winning the argument. Remember, the OJ trial.

I hear this all the time. You guys shouldn't have had opinions until the investigation was over. Oh, says the conservative guy who just five minutes ago rushed to the internet to opine on a conspiracy theory. It should be noted, we all watch the OJ trial. Wasn't that an investigation? Aren't that what trials are? It lasted for like two years, and we watched every day, and we had opinions on it every day. All of us, you, me, the media, of course they did, because we talk about investigations.

Kavanaugh for Supreme Court, the OJ trial. We talk about investigations while they happen. It becomes a cottage industry. It's a real business, and we do because you're interested in the investigations. NASCAR released a statement. NASCAR created an investigation. It was worthy, it was just, and thank God we discovered that bubble Wallace, this was not directed at him. But the idea there should be no investigation, nobody should have an opinion, and there's no interest, and it's not federal, and it's not frightening.

The great news is it wasn't what many thought. But congratulations, of course, you already knew that. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. The 49ers took a huge step up last season, reaching the Super Bowl after not having a winning season since 2013. And that's put a little target on the 49ers.

And Kyle Shanahan knows that other teams will be giving them a lot of attention in 2020. He said we can play a lot better and still not do what we did last time. That's why all of our guys have to take this challenge. I have to take advantage of this off season and still have to find a way to take a step ahead of other people because everyone is chasing us right now and it hasn't been that way. Well, I mean, yes and no, you did lose the Super Bowl.

So everyone's really chasing the Chiefs if we want to be, I don't mean, I want to be that guy, but they did. I understand what he's saying. I just think this particular season is going to be a complete, this particular season. Moving forward, the 49ers are set.

They are going to be great for years to come. Yeah. I believe that. this particular season and the way this is the way I feel about all of the leaks coming back, I think it's going to be almost impossible to predict how these seasons are going to go. Like our predictions, however off they are at the beginning of a regular season, now are like, don't hold us to it. We're all going to be talking about it.

More injuries, COVID. We're seeing PGA, COVID. Players get knocked out. Like this, the only thing I feel really certain about the NFL that if you've got a really good quarterback and a really good coach, And they've worked together for more than, say, two years. They're going to have a big advantage on new coach with new quarterback. Other than the exception would be Tom Brady. Yeah, that's about the one you think it'll work.

But it'll mostly be coaching quarterback are both A to A minus to B plus. And they've worked together for more than a couple of years. I think those teams are going to win their divisions. Or at least be playoff teams. I would also say that teams that teams that have really strong veterans in positions in the trenches, will also have a major advantage. So if you have a really young offensive line or you have a very new offensive line,

I think teams like that would be teams to pay attention to that might struggle. Because, again, the veterans are obviously have more wear and tear in their bodies, but they also know how to prepare in the offseason. And a lot of them have already gone through a lockout season. So they understand how to stay in shape to go into camp without having a coach there being in OTAs

or being at, you know, preseason training. So again, I totally understand what Kyle Shanahan is saying. They do have a target on them now, but I just think this year it's going to be a completely different season for everyone as far as predictions go. So Joe Burrow has been getting great reviews from the Bengals staff about the work he's been doing. He shows up for the Zoom meetings. It's remarkable. Their offseason program. And quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher is confident that even with the virtual offseason, Burrow won't struggle with the mental aspects of being an NFL quarterback. He said something to this extent hasn't happened.

before the failing there's value in that there's value in testing the physical limits seeing okay i'm going to fit this throw in here not the best idea or maybe i can fit this throw in there we're very fortunate to be working with joe and his skill set i don't anticipate a lot of mental feeling when it comes to joe yeah but what about the physical part when the steelers and the browns and the raven's pass rushes just overwhelm your offensive line that's the the mental stuff i'm sure he'll be fine he's dad was a coach he's played a lot of college football big power Yeah, I mean, I don't anticipate Joe Burrow being one of those guys that is throwing interceptions, which you're like, why, I mean, he's going to have those. Everyone does. But I don't think he's going to be overwhelmingly that guy. That's not how he plays. He's going to struggle this year. I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. I've submitted to that. I still think long term I'm going to be right about Joe Burrow. But just like I said, a few seconds ago, it's just going to be rough for rookies this year. And Joe Burrow went to a terrible team. That's why they had the number one overall pick. There's no arguing with that situation. He looks so much like Tony Romo to me.

Every time I see his feet, the way he throws, I think you're looking at Tony Romo. And Tony was a B-plus guy, and I always thought he was underrated. He reminds me, if you just put, he wears the same number. If you literally put a cowboy uniform on him, he looks and plays exactly like Tony Romo. Well, Tony had a really nice career, and he's having a great post-s football career as well.

Tony had some good skill people, like the Bengals, but didn't generally have the protection. That's why he got beat up. Tony Romo was running for his life. That was the knockout. Tony Romo never got the great offensive lines like deck. They were developing and drafting him. So Romo ended up, when you watch Burrell running around,

that was Tony's career. They had bad old lines for like four or five years with Tony Romo. But he was with the Cowboys, who are not a traditionally dysfunctional organization. Yeah, they go get in free agents. Right. So finally, there will be only 60 games in this year's short in MLB season. And Giants manager Gabe Kapler is repairing to how. have to play with more urgency in the regular season than ever before.

Strategically, we can play games like playoff games. And there's a number of reasons we can do that. But most importantly is because it's a sprint in the 60 game season. It is very, it's very likely that we're going to enter a September and a race. So each game this season is equal to 2.7 games in a normal 162 game season. I mean, after by after about five. six games in. I mean, maybe you open the season with two weeks.

From that point forward, it's basically playoff baseball. Which is so awesome. Playoff baseball, I mean. No sport changes more. From regular season to the playoffs, it just feels different in October. It's so much urgency. It's so much tension.

You feel like you're really watching a story unfold when you watch playoff baseball. Like when I watch college football, in October, it doesn't feel that much different in the college football in January. If I'm watching Penn State, Ohio State in October, it always has tension. Yeah, like I feel like, oh, God, the loser's out.

But in baseball, the kind of apathy in June until the urgency of October, it's a different sport entirely. It is, and that's basically what we're going to get for that whole season. Yeah, it's great. Joy Taylor with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. 12 years, most notably with the Yankees and the A's, a Fox Sports Baseball analyst. He's a walking Red Bull, all sorts of energy. Nick Swisher now joining us via the Coward Global Satellite. Brought you by Mercedes-Benz the best or nothing. So let me ask you, Nick, as a player,

now as a player, you had 162 games. You could get off to a bad April. Right. You could struggle in June. You could find yourself. Go to the park early in the cage. Now, you got none of that nonsense. You have to be,

none of it. You have to be ready to go game four. So would it change you and your preparation as a player? Yeah, well, I don't think you could prepare any more than you can for 60 games. I think the one thing we're really going to notice is the guys who have been working and the guys who haven't. I mean, obviously, there is a huge push on this season. So to be able to have the 60 game season, bro, I am stoked to get live sports back on television. The only thing I wish we could have done is I wish we could have been on TV about a month.

month or so ago, being the only sport on television, we could have gained so many fans. But at the end of the day, man, we got the deal done. Baseball is back. Cannot wait. So if I said to you, what part of baseball in this shortened season will matter more? Is it bullies? Is it starting? Is it infield? Is it power? What's going to matter the most? Yeah, I think the teams with the best starting pitching and bullpen, right? Just overall staffs, I think, are going to be the best. I think those are the things that are more stable than obviously the batting averages. So I think in general, teams like the returning champs, the Washington Nationals have a good shot, I think the Houston Astros have a good shot, New York Yankees,

but even like a team like the Mets or the Cincinnati Reds that have great pitching could get off to a hot start because if you end up starting the season two and 10, you might as well kiss your playoff chances goodbye. Yeah. So there's a bunch of new rules. I want you to have an opinion on all of them. Let's start with the universal DH. Your thoughts on that. Do you like it? I love it. I love it. I love everything about the offensive side of the game. I love it. I mean, let's be honest, I love pitchers just as much as anyone else. But we don't even see the pitcher coming up with the base is loaded and nobody out. That's not what we want to see. We want to see Nelson Cruz going pye y'all for third day. That's what we want to see these days. So at the end of the

day, I'm a big offensive guy. I think it's huge to be able to have the ability to add 35 to 45 to home runs to your team's total, another 100 to 120 RBIs if you have a great DH. And I think it opens up 15 new jobs, which I think is amazing in a competitive sport. Okay, let's talk about another one that actually surprised me that baseball went with it. You put a runner at second base at the start of extra innings because they don't want, they don't want 17 inning games. How does that land for you? Well, I think it's good.

I think for myself, I've been able to witness it at the minor league levels. So there's so much strategic play that can move into that, right? Runner on second base. Do you walk the next guy up, right? Do you bump the guy over to third? and then walk the next two guys to set up the double play. So I think there's so many different ways you can go about it. I definitely think this is something that Major League Baseball is thinking about big time in the future,

only to save players' arms, obviously trying to get you off the television by 10 o'clock. It's huge. And I think that this would do this. There's not a whole lot of games in the minor leagues that go 15, 16, 17, innings like they used to. So I think this is a good thing. I think it'll be nice. I think it obviously the excitement levels way up.

And at the end of the day, we get to put more players on the field. You know, it's interesting for the Astros. So, I mean, the Yankees will be good. The Dodgers will be good. There are certain teams we know. We think the A's, the twins could be good. And we kind of know Detroit, Seattle, Pittsburgh won't be great. The Rays are supposed to be good.

But let me ask you about Houston. So Houston gets, you know, the GM gets fired. The manager gets fired. There's massive punitive action for cheating. And but when they go on the road now, Yeah. How many fans are there? I mean, address that. This many, Colin. Yeah. This many. Exactly. This is a huge, huge bump for the Houston Astros. I mean, obviously for myself, they're still in my penalty box a little bit. I mean, obviously, you know, you know, getting caught in the sign stealing scandal, I think was one thing. Now for them not to pay the price for not being able to hear what it, what fans actually have to say. I think in general, man, it's a huge psychological boost for them.

at the end of the day, man, no one appreciates all that negative energy moving on you. And the Houston Astros, bro, definitely got a lot lifted off their shoulders by this season, for sure. Who do you like and why? What team should be favored and who do you like? Obviously, I'm a little biased, Colin. I always have been, bro. But this is the Yankees year.

This is the year, bro. Garrett Cole, number one, I know Severino's down. But at the end of the day, this sort of season helped the Yankees out so much. Aaron Judge is going to be healthy. Aaron Hicks is going to be healthy. John Carlos Stanton is going to be healthy. James Paxson's going to be healthy. All the guys that they anticipated being ready for regular season

will now be ready for the regular season. I think it's their time. It's been since 09. Aaron Boone knows his guys. They've been close. They've been knocking on the door. This is the year they push through. Now, it's interesting.

With 60 games in COVID, you're going to play your division. 40 of the 60 games is just your division. And then you've got like 20 games at a regional game. So like the Dodgers will never go. more east than Houston. So when you look at all the division and regional scheduling, is there a team or two that benefits from this?

I don't necessarily think there's going to be a team that actually benefits from all the travel. I just think guys are so excited to get back on the field and play. I've played in all the AL West, the AL Central, and the AL East, and the travel is way easier in the AL Central than any division for sure. So I think if you're talking about travel-wise, the AL-Central has the advantage. But this year is so different than any other year. we've ever had. I hope Major League

Baseball remembers what they're doing and rolling with the punches and doing what we can to get our game back on the field. Because all fans want is sports. That's all I want. Colin, I know that's all you want. And at the end of the day, man, it's nice to get this deal done. Get the boys back on the field. So let's just talk about 60 games.

I've never had a problem with the length of a baseball game. College football is 15 minutes longer today than 20 years ago and I still watch it. If a game's good, if a game's good, I don't care. I just don't care. If a game's got, if it's captivating. It's like a movie. I'll go three hours if it's a great movie, right? No doubt. But I do think the lack of urgency in 162 games hurts people like me. I'm married. I got a bunch

of kids. I got a demanding job. I don't have a lot of time for stuff that doesn't matter a lot. So is your hope that 60 games, if it's really good, the owners are like, you know, maybe we should go down to 120. Like, what do you think players think about that? That's what I'm saying. I think they need to look at what's happening right now. I think the excitement for baseball is so exciting right now. And I heard you guys just talking about it a minute ago. Let's be honest, playoff baseball is a lot better than regular season baseball. Just like I think in any other sport. And like Gabe Capler was saying, there is a sense of urgency to come out of the gates. Two and ten could be the end of your season. And then also, if you start the season 10 and two, that could mean you're making it to the playoffs for the

first time in 50 years. I think the expanded playoff teams is going to be amazing. There's a great opportunity to get a guy like Mike Trouten to the playoffs, which is going to be amazing. And also, too, I think the managing side. There's going to be a lot more moves made really early. I think analytics are going to play a big part, but I also think teams are really going to kind of get into their own groove. And that's why I think teams that have great starting pitching, starting pitching can carry you an entire season, and especially for 60 games. How would you kind of confront or reconcile the COVID-19. Some guys may not want to play. Baseball is more and more a global sport. This is a global pandemic. Would you be worried about it? Or would you just say like, listen, man, I'm young. I'm in shape.

Most of you guys, when you're 22 to 32 guys like you swish, right? You're bulletproof, man. That's how guys. I wish, bro. I wish. So how would you reconcile the COVID? It's there. I may get it. Your thoughts. Yeah, 100%. You know, I think you definitely need to pay attention. This is something not to mess around with. I think we're noticing in just the kind of little different areas that have had certain spikes over the last couple weeks. I think this is something that the players need to pay attention to. They need to stay healthy. They need to do their part because the last thing you want to do is put these guys in any jeopardy and all of a sudden take it home to their wife, their children, their grandparents. That's the last thing you want to do. So I think at the end of the day,

as exciting as it is to have sports back on television, I also want these guys to make sure they're safe as well. By the way, one of the dynamic players in baseball is Aaron Jen, judge. People may not realize this that the Yankees got Aaron Judge because of you. Hey, Cullen, I'm the gift that keeps on giving, bro. I leave but just keep giving. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, you actually, the Yankees got a comp draft pick, a compensatory pick when you left, and it became Aaron Judge. So congratulations. No doubt. He's like my big younger son, right? I love that. Well, I hope I love you. your energy. What have you been doing for the last four months?

Oh, man. You know what I've been doing? Just trying to stay busy. You know, I think at the end of the day, it's like, you know, you want to try and give back as much as you can. And for myself, man, that's all I'm trying to do. I'm doing a lot of amateur stuff now. Just teamed up with a company called Prospect Dugout. Check us out on Instagram, man. We're trying to do some great things, trying to put together some good experiences and do our best to try and help and give back to our communities. Nick Swisher, Fox Sports, one of my favorite people on the earth. Great seeing, I love you, Colin. Good to see you too, everybody.

All right. Nick Swisher. He is walking Red Bull, man. He is great. I just, I love talking baseball with him. He has remarkable energy. He does. He really does.

So we got baseball, 60 games, all in, fast, urgent. And I always say that. People think I don't like baseball. No, regular season baseball. I got a bunch of kids. I got a job. I got a wife. I can't give a Tuesday, Wednesday,

up to watch Twins games. Now, Yankees, fall, Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, you know, whoever they're playing. Cubs, everybody in the room gets it. Like everybody gets, but it is hard in baseball. It lacks urgency.

So I've been saying this for years. I don't love the NFL going to 18 games. Selfishly, it's better for my business. I'd cut it down to 14. I'd get rid of the preseason. College football. Let's have conferences only. One out of conference game. Conference schedule. Let's go. I don't need

to see Alabama-faced Citadel and Troy. I'm not interested. You get one out of conference game, boom. By September 10th, you are into your conference schedule. And baseball, it's a better sport with 100 games. Now, the owners will never give that up unless they get a higher person. I always thought from the players' perspective, I would give up a percentage of revenue if I didn't have to play as long. The reality is I would rather have lower risk of injury. I'd rather play 100 games than 162. And, you know,

Mike Trout would go from 35 million a year to 29. What does it matter? California takes half of it anyway. It's called taxes. So I like the idea of urgency, fewer games, fewer meetings, fewer practices, everything counts. I think that's the future of sports going forward. Coming up next, if you love Tom Brady, terrible news. That's coming up. Be sure 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 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 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 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 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. And for more, follow Timbo Slical 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex Inman. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. They're finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. 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. Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Portia accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting.

On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewise franchise. The drama, the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching. it, I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment.

To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. By the way, there is a picture now that has been published. It is out of the noose in the garage

of Bubba Wall It's a noose and it's not tiny. It's out. Sorry, conservatives. It's not pleasant. It's frightening. This is why Richard Petty's team went to NASCAR. Yeah, the picture's out now.

It's not a little tiny garage door pole thing. It doesn't look like that at all. I've been in two NASCAR pits in my life, garages. Covered the Daytona back-to-back years. Yeah. Yeah, that's the picture. You go ahead and go to your corner and tell me that's not a news. Yeah, go ahead. You just run to the internet and you've got to be kidding me. You don't think the only full-time black driver in NASCAR doesn't have a right to be sensitive to that.

You're out of your mind. You look foolish arguing that. You're out of your mind. That, I'm the only full-time black driver. So it's out now. Here's the picture. I wish it would have been presented two days ago, so the hoax crowd could have seen that. If you're arguing that's not a noose, and you're arguing that's on every garage door on NASCAR, again, I can't help you.

You've come with an agenda. I can't help you. But that picture is real. It is out. It is official. And it's frightening. Sorry, it is. It's frightening.

Well, if you hate Tom Brady, and I know, listen, we all acknowledge he's great. But it's football, right? You don't like any quarterback that always beats yours. I mean, poor Joy Taylor, her entire life is a series of Tom beating the Steelers in Miami. You can acknowledge his greatness. He's irritating. So PFF came out. Pro Football Focus.

They grade every player. This is what they do. They grade guards. And they came out with the best rosters in the NFL. And, you know, we would all guess. Well, the Ravens and the Niners and the Chiefs and the Saints. Well, those were obvious. The first four.

Look who's number five. Oh, it's a Buccaneers. And they didn't get that. that rating just because of Tom and Gronk, they have the fifth best roster in the NFL. And it's funny. So let's go back to 2012 when Peyton Manning chose the Broncos. Now, he had lots of suitors and lots of options, right? He was a free agent.

It was like college. He was being recruited. If you go back to the team he took. So Peyton Manning's a smart guy, has been in the league forever. What did Denver have? Ryan Clayty was an all-pro left tackle. So Peyton knew my butt's protected. They had Eric Decker and Demarius Thomas.

They had good weapons. So when he's looking at all these teams, they had good weapons, a good left tackle. They had great corners, Champ Bailey and Chris Harris. And they had Elmas Dumerville and Von Miller. So here is Peyton Manning looking at Denver. He's like, I got my weapons. And they actually ran the ball pretty well, not great. I've got my weapons.

I know I have great corners in a pass rush. And they got to the playoffs with Tim Tebow. like I'm the missing piece. It was not a rebuild in Denver. Well, then Tom Brady looks at Tampa. They have the best receiving duo in the league. Nobody denies that. Arguably the best tight end duo in the league.

The best young linebacking corps in the league with Devin White, Levanté Davis, and Shaq Barrett, who led the NFL last year with 19 and a half sacks. And they have good pass rushers. So again, he looks at that and thinks, James Winston threw for 33 touchdown. I'm the missing piece. So when you're Brady and you're Peyton Manning, it's not just about X's and O's.

These are highly sophisticated guys that have played in the NFL for, you know, a decade and a half, and they know what you have to enter. So Manning saw weapons, a Pro Bowl guy to protect his butt on the O line, corners and pass rushers. I'm going to be in games. I don't have to save the franchise. I'm the missing piece. Brady sees the same things.

I've got vertical perimeter weapons, interior tight-end weapons, good enough, sneaky good O-line. And on the defense, I got the best linebacking core, and they get to the quarterback, just like Denver and Manning. So Tom Brady's saying, the other quarterback will generally face more pass rush than I will, because Denver had a sneaky good O line. And actually, Tampa Bay now that they've solved right tackle, has a really sneaky good O line, especially center, left guard, left tackle. So I think the bad news for people is Denver was really good. There's a reason that Tebow got to the playoffs.

Just think about this with Tampa. I think Joe and I talked about this. The fact that a quarterback could throw 30 interceptions and a half dozen pick sixes in a division with the Saints, who you've got to play twice a year. And three weeks out before the end of the season, they were in a playoff picture. They were playing well.

So I think Brady takes a page from Peyton Manning's book and just says, I'm the missing piece. If a quarterback can throw 30 picks, and this team's a game under 500. So I don't think we quite understand that Tampa's got the best receiving duo in the NFL, arguably now the best tight end duo in the NFL. And along with Pittsburgh, I'd argue the most athletic young linebacking corps in the NFL, insert win games. I think it's pretty simple.

By the way, show the top 10 again. These are the 10 most, according to PFF, they grade every roster in the NFL. I would agree with the Ravens 1. Niners secondary is not great, so I would put the Saints 2, Niners 3, Kansas City, 4. And then I think there's some surprises here. Bucks 5. Cowboys have a bad secondary, but 6. I think what happens is the first four teams feel like you,

got more stars. I mean, Raven, Saints, Niners, Chiefs, you've got real superstars. By the way, Ravens are about the only team in the NFL to me that doesn't have a hole. The Saints do not have an athletic, nimble quarterback right now in Breeze. They don't have a, they don't throw the ball down the field. The Ravens, to me, are virtually the perfect team if Lamar takes one more step. That roster has no holes. But in a salary cap era, you know, the Saints quarterback is not overly dynamic. The 49ers secondary is not great.

The Chief's defense was good at the end of the year, not good early. Buccaneers had to figure out right tackle. Not a great running game. Cowboys secondary is bad. Bill's offensive line has been rebuilt. I don't think it's great, but it's been rebuilt. The Titans are not dynamic, throwing the ball down the field, to be honest. Philadelphia's wide receiving core looks talented,

but it needs some perimeter pop. It can be pretty stagnant. And I think the Steelers right now, running back isn't dynamic. Wide receiver, Juju Smith-Schuster, you cross your fingers on. He's not really a game breaker. He's a very good wide receiver. But the Ravens to me are the only team in the league. It's hard to argue.

I don't see the weakness. It was pass rush. Callais Campbell, weakness over. Coming up next, Chris Sims. and some thoughts on Jamal Adams being a San Francisco 49er. That, according to multiple reports, is heating up next. 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. 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. 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. answer. Sports Slice brings you closer to 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 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 Jette. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. 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. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. 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, hey, ref, my mom. I want you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, Brett. 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.

Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian, and recently I've become quite the helper myself.

And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One Ring is too scary.

Cream of chicken suit. Hey, cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrat, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrat as part of the Mike Coutura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ah, here we go.

It is a Thursday. We're live in Los Angeles. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FF1. wherever you may be and however you may be listening. It's the hurt. Good week of shows, good stuff yesterday. Carson Palmer yesterday. Go back and listen to our archive,

Emmanuel Acho yesterday. So good to finally get Carson Palmer on. He had so much insight on Tom Brady. He had such insight on if you're a bingo fan on Joe Burrow, dolphin fan on Tua, his insight sort of on the bingles, on moving to new teams for Tom Brady. I mean, he just had,

It was so smart. He just had a wealth of knowledge about Brady's move to Tampa Bay and what it's going to be like. And I've said this. Joy Taylor's joining us. It is very easy to ask an intense guy to chill out a little. That was Tom Coughlin with the Giants. He came to the Giants. His face was purple.

He wasn't winning. And the owners, the Mara family came down and said, Tom, the world's changing. Just lighten up a little bit. Be more congenial with your players. And he didn't. They won Super Bowls. It's very difficult to take flip-flop casual guys. and make him a grinder.

Grinders like to go to Nantucket and golf too. Grinders like to go to Hawaii. Pete Carroll's a grinder. He loves to go surfing in Hawaii. You know, Bill Belichick loves to golf and go to Nantucket. You can take grinder guy and lighten him up a little. But a lot of people just don't have will. They just don't have, you know, this kind of genuine want to succeed.

It's hard to take a chill guy and be intense. Brady is willful and driven and excellent. time and extra practice. He's even going against the NFLPA and getting all these guys to practice. You see the video on the helicopter. Tampa, I worked in Tampa. Tampa's always just been laid back. It's not like an academic hub.

It's not like a grind. It's not where grinders go. Cities become, I used to live in Portland. Cities, people move to cities because the city offers what people want. So like people that move to Hawaii don't want to run the world. They want to go to an island. They want good weather. They want to hide.

They want to chill. And they probably like pineapple. Okay, that's people that move to Hawaii because you know that's what Hawaii offers. If you move to New Orleans, you're social. You like food. You like fun. You like culture. You move to New Orleans.

So people move to a city that they feel embodies what they love. I used to live in Portland. There's not a lot of grinders. Portland is chill. Portland's laid back. Portland's a quality of life city. People used to always say, oh my God, you're a workaholic.

Then I moved near New York and everybody said, you're just a worker. In Portland, I was seen as like relentless and a workaholic. That's not the city. It's very late bathed. It's craft beer. It's hanging out in the summer. It's a lot of young people, sports apparel companies.

Nike and Adidas. It's very social. That's just, just what the city is. Boston is like an academic hub, a political hub, a sports hub. It is intense. and that feeds itself. The Celtics compete against the Bruins, compete against the Red Sox,

compete against the Patriots, to all be smarter than the other teams. You notice all three of those four were early adapters to analytics. The Red Sox were very early adapters. The Celtics were. I don't follow hockey enough to know the Bruins, but the New England Patriots have always been proactive to react it.

So it just feeds itself. It's very academic and very intense and winning matters and history matters and that all matters. Now you move to Tampa. It's Ebor City. It's cocktails early. It's get on your boat.

It's take Fridays off. And the organization has never had a great sense of urgency. It's not that they're not trying to win. But when you put in 50-hour weeks and you're like, I am a grinder. In New England they put in 70 hours and they still say, do your job. So to me, Tom is going to go, and there's just not going to be this automatic understanding is,

oh, of course we're staying the night in the facility. That is what we do. And by the way, James, I always felt a lot like Tampa. I never, James was always kind of fun, social, fun, little goofy, little, let's have a good time. That kind of fit. It was more of what Tampa was. What Tampa needs is urgency, is intensity. is a focus and a drive and stay the night in the facility.

And I think it's going to be very interesting to watch that. It's not about Tom completing passes. Good people, good coaches, good weapons. They're going to score points. But there's an intensity thing. I lived next to Boston for a decade. And I worked in Tampa for two and a half, three years, like two different continents.

They don't even feel the same. I can remember going to Tampa and walking into a pizza joint. And it was basically a gambling bookie joint. And I'm like, it was, the economy was strange. It was like an underground economy. And that's a pizza joint. No, it's a bookie place in back.

And I'm like, and then I remember living in New England. And I just remember about how laid back everybody was in Tampa. Very nice, but just like there's no rush to do anything. And then I remember living in 11 years right next to Boston and the history and its provincial and its protection. and it's protective and it's intense and it's demanding and you stay at the club and you work all day and it is so different. And I think that's what I'm interested to see, not Tom completing passes. That ain't going to be a problem.

But if Tom loses a game, he goes from intense to obsessive. Tom hasn't had a lot of three-game losing streaks. Doesn't have a lot of two-game losing streaks over the last 20 years. Tampa's been defined by losing streaks. So Tom's intense. What if he loses two straight? He's throwing stuff. Like people are going to lose jobs.

They're going to move people. They're going to trade people. It's a whole different ballgame because intense guy can always chill a little. He can have a margarita one day. Laid back guy, hard to turn him into a grinder. See this story. A Jamal Adams trade is reportedly picking up steam. Uh-oh.

According to Grant Kahn of Sports Illustrated, Jamal Adams of the Jets to the 49ers is picking up steam. So San Francisco over the last three years, would we all admit they've been hyper-aggressive? They went and gave Jimmy Garoppolo a ton of money at the time. I didn't know how good he was. Last year, mid-season, they go after Emmanuel Sanders and give up pitch. They pursued Tom Brady in the offseason.

They landed. Trent Williams shocked all of us, left tackle off season. They traded the very talented DeForest Buckner to Indianapolis offseason. Here they go again. Highly aggressive. By the way, Kansas City aggressively moved up to get Patrick Mahomes. Baltimore, Marcus Peters, Callais Campbell, Earl Thomas, Mark Ingram. They quickly traded a tight end.

They had drafted a year earlier. Baltimore, aggressive. The Saints, remember to get Marcus Davenport, the picks they gave up, they were aggressive to go get Teddy Bridgewater as a backup. Jamis Winston, they've been very aggressive with their quarterback position. So Baltimore, San Francisco, Seattle now. Story is out they want Antonio Brown. Aggressive.

Who's not aggressive? Think about this. Who do we think is a top team in the NFL? Green Bay Packers? Could have had Khalil Mack. I'm going to pass on that. Jared Cook, Aaron Rogers, just get me, Jared Cook. Keep him here.

Let him go. Brett Farve wanted Randy Moss so bad he could taste it, and they passed on him. So it's interesting. The NFC now, Philadelphia, hyper-aggressive. Seattle, hyper-aggressive. San Francisco, hyper-aggressive. In the AFC, it looks like Kansas City went and got Honey Badger. Remember that big trade?

they mate with D. Ford. Kansas City's aggressive. Baltimore's aggressive. New England's always been pretty aggressive, getting and letting go of guys, San Francisco, Seattle, who's not? Green Bay. Jamal Adams would be the best football player on the Green Bay Packers with Aaron Rogers,

Devonte Adams. So it's funny, who's aggressive and who's not aggressive? I just think in this day and age, we've said this about, are you aggressive analytically? Are you aggressive in free agency? Are you aggressive moving picks in the draft? Aggressive wins.

You know, this is what I've said about Dana White. Dana White doesn't always hit the right tones. I mean, he drops more F-bombs at press conferences than any CEO that's ever run a company. But he has literally created a new sport that didn't really exist 15 years ago. Like, he created a new sport. We've always been a baseball country, a football country, a boxing country, a tennis country. country, a golf country, a hockey country.

Dana White's like, I'm going to create a wildly new sport, popular sport. He did it off aggressive. He found an island. I'll hold my fights there. In California, I'll hold a fight. The governor literally went to the CEO of Disney and said, you can't. You can't do this. We got COVID.

All right. An hour later. Okay, I'm going to hold a fight in Florida. I'm going to go to Jacksonville. I'm going to go buy an island. I'm going to go to Dubai. aggressive wins, the Niners are aggressive.

Today, Jamal Adams, let's go. Here's a pick. Here's two. Let's go. These Super Bowl windows, Jimmy Garoppolo has been hurt before. These Super Bowl windows, you think they last forever. I mean, it was three years ago.

Aaron Rogers' best player in the world. Aaron Rogers right now, last two years, has declined. Like, this stuff ends fast in a sport where you can tackle people. Coming up next, Chris Sims doesn't like Jimmy Garofalo. I'll explain that. 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, 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 Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic 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. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about, crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the I Heartland. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. A rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives of Housewives show. I think it looks like to be interesting.

On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this.

At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, Listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. You know, it's interesting. You know, most of us who are over 40, we saw a lot of Phil Sims, and Phil Sims won Super Bowls. Then he became a great announcer for CBS.

And then there was his son, Chris Sims. And a lot of times quarterbacks have sons that become quarterbacks. And Chris had an interesting career. He has played for Mac Brown, John Gruden, Jeff Fisher, Josh McDaniels with the Patriots, young, older, offensive, defensive, progressive, conservative. And when he comes out with opinions on quarterbacks,

I listen. He is now joining me in Connecticut via the Coward Global Satellite Network. NFL analyst, co-hosts Pro Football Talk Live. All right, so you came out with your quarterback list, and these are always fun. We've been saying every day we take a list and talk about it. So let's look at Chris Sims' top 10 quarterbacks in the league. These are all graded.

So it goes Mahomes, Wilson, that's, I agree. Some disagreement, but Aaron Rogers, Deshawn, Lamar, Carson, Matt, Dach, Matt Stafford, and Cam Newton. Cam's higher than I would put him. Now let's go to 11 through 20. So 11 through 20 is Tannehill, Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins, Big Ben Brady, Breeze, Philip Rivers, Josh Allen, Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo. The first one that jumps out to me is 21 and 5 and 26 starts Jimmy Garoppolo. you have him as a lower third quarterback. So what does the tape tell you?

What don't you like with him? Right. It's a good question, first off. And he is the kind of guy, you know, has the type of talent to be a top 10 quarterback or right around, you know, that talk or right around that area of guys, certainly. I think the big thing is, first off,

you know, the stats could be a little bit misleading with Jimmy Garapolo. The game is served up on a silver platter for him in a very special way because Kyle Shanahan, I would argue, is the greatest, you know, play designer in the sport right now. It's either him or Sean Payton or Josh McDaniels. It's one of those three. But I think the thing that I look at more than anything is, you know, with him at times can be a little dicey with decision making, certainly. And then even, you know, some of the throwing at times is less than, hey, we all look at that last throw right against the chiefs, the deep post.

He's wide open. You know, he's not a great deep ball thrower. He's not a great outside the numbers, out, you know, comeback, deep out routes, those type of throws. That's not his forte either. So I think because of that, that's where I got him docked at. Now, he's a pretty good athlete, no doubt about that, got a quick release. It's not a big time arm.

But again, I'd like everybody also to take into account. It was his first year as a starter. He's going to get better. I know he's been around for a while and we've been talking about him, but I think this is a guy that's still kind of growing into himself and what he is as a quarterback. But, you know, I think the things that concern me a little bit are what we saw in the playoffs. You know, a team and a coach become a little gun-shy because they weren't quite sure where the ball was going to go.

Yeah, that's fair. I don't know if I always trust the decision or the accuracy of the throw, I guess, is the ultimate thing there that I would say. Well, I think you're really a point that I can't argue because I like Gropolo. more than you. But the point I can't argue, I watch the Niners take the ball out of his hands in the playoffs. And that's telling me they didn't trust him. And I can't argue that. Like Andy Reed trailing her a lead gives it to Mahomes. By the way, Seattle gives it to Russell. So that argument, I have no, I can't debunk that at all. Now, let's go to Aaron Rogers. For the first time,

you rank the top 40 quarterbacks every year. You have, moved him down. Now, see, you put Russell ahead of him. So do I. I have the last two to three years. So why are you moving down? You think he's the best quarterback that's ever played. You've now moved him down. What are you seeing?

Yeah, well, it's all about what they are right now in the 2020 season, just so everybody knows that. You know, I'm not looking about career accomplishments or anything like that. And yeah, I think this is the first year I'm going into a season since 2010 where I go, oh, Aaron Rogers isn't the best quarterback in football. You know, still an awesome arm, quick release, can make plays off schedule, can do things that a lot of quarterbacks in football still can't do. The reason he falls down to number three to me, one, you know, the first thing would be

Mahomes and Russell Wilson, I think can do more with less right now than Aaron Rogers can. You know, when the system doesn't deliver or the injuries or the skill guys aren't up to par, I do. I think Mahomes and Wilson can do more that way. You know, I think the other thing I'll say where I think Rogers has fallen off a little bit, do I see a slippage and skills to a degree? Yes, it's finite. I mean, we're talking about one of the most gifted guys ever, but I think a few miles per hour have fallen off his fastball. I don't think he's as fast and as quick to dance around and pull off that Rogers magic that we used to see him do so much.

So I think that's the client. And here would be my biggest thing that I would like to see Aaron Rogers change about his game. because I think he's got a lot of good years left in front of him. And I don't think his arm is ever going to really fall off. Like, it's never going to fall off a clip. He's always going to have a top five, top 10 arm, even if he played to be 50 years old. But I'd like to see him cut it loose a little bit more. And what I say, when I say that, Colin, is within the normal confines of the offense,

there's too many plays when I watch on film where I go, okay, five step drop. He took one hitch. The guy's open. Throw it. Let it lose. but he's a little careful with it. And then he holds it. And he looks for something else.

And, you know, because of the skills declining just a little bit, he can't always make the magic that he used to. Now, he was forced to play that way for a long, long time. So I think he's trying to break out of that. But I think with the getting older and age and what I saw in film last year, and remember the Matt LaFleur argument on the field early in the season? That's exactly what it was about. It was like, hey, there was a guy open.

you're Aaron Rogers, you can hit a fly on the wall. Cut it loose. Throw it. You can do it. And he's a little careful that way sometimes to not pull the trigger and that can lead to sacks or throwing the ball away too many times. And I just wish Rogers would cut her loose a little bit more in that fashion. It's a really good observation about the Matt Lafleur Aaron Rogers confrontation early. I also noticed in your top 10 people that I don't think are naturally gifted throwers.

I don't think DAC has a great arm. Deshawns. not a gifted thrower. It was my knock at a Clemson. But you have them ranked very high. Now, Cam's got a hose. That cam's issue is not that. But, you know, you have Dak and Deshawn higher than a lot of people would because they're not the classic tight spiral. I would say they're kind of B arms. But why do you have Deshawn as high as you do? Why do you have Dak that high? Well, I think Dak, I mean, first off with Deshawn, I think Deshawn's arm is better than you're giving it credit.

And I'm not trying to disrespect you on your own show or anything. But just having seen it in person, I don't think TV does it justice all the way with Deshaun Watson. I think because he can throw the ball with such ease and fluidity and smoothness that we think, oh, it's not moving at that fast of a pace. Now, where I'll totally agree with you, Colin, is, you know, there's some precision passing that Deshaun Watson needs to get better at. You know, he's not the greatest short game throw.

an intermediate passer all the time. For a guy is as smart and as talented, he is, he takes too many sacks and throws the ball away too much at times. But, you know, again, you know, that's an offense that's had a crap offense a line, really only one go-to wide receiver. And he can make chicken salad out of chicken, you know what, a whole lot. And I'm big on that. Plus, in that offense, it's not always quarterback friendly.

They push the ball down the field. Yeah. They expect him to make. 20 and 30 yard throws regularly. Yeah. And to me, when nothing's there, he's one of the best off-schedual players in football. So I put him there because I think he can play in any offense and he could carry just about any offense to fool you to think, hey, that team's pretty good.

And I would go, yeah, but they got number four. And he's great and he makes them look good. Prescott, I think you're spot on with a lot of what you said. It's not like a gifted special arm. But he is a good deep ball thrower. He does throw the ball pretty accurately. It's not like a whoa, wow, did you see that throw? And then, you know, you've got to take into account the way, look at that play right there.

The way he moves in the pocket and slides around, he's much better at doing those things than we want to give him credit for, plus the threat of him running, running off schedule and scrambling and bootlegs, but also the design runs they have for him, too. That's encompassing to what he brings to the offense. And I think because of that, yes, I think he's a top 10 quarterback in football. I might not wow you with sex appeal all the time, but he's big, he's tough, he has a good arm, he's a very good athlete. Size is a skill at the quarterback position because he's not affected by people around him in the pocket when people are grab at him or touching him. He still can throw 20-yard throws down to throw and not be affected by that.

So because of all those things, that's where I stand with Dak Prescott. Good arguments. Okay, so I made this argument. And you're perfect because you played in Tampa, and I worked in Tampa. And I said that Boston is an academic, political, and sports hub. The Celtics compete against the Red Sox, compete against the Bruins, compete against the Patriots. It just, it feeds itself. It's prep school, academic, politics.

It's intense. The weather's intense. The people are intense. The arguments are intense. Tampa's the opposite. Tampa's Ebor City. Let's go and have cocktails. Let's get on the sailboat.

let's take Friday off. And I said, it's easy, it's easy for intense people to lighten up and go golf. It's hard to ask laid back people to become Tom Coughlin intense. And I wonder with Tom and Tampa, if it will be off putting his intensity on a two game losing streak, his demands for a culture down there in football and lifestyle that is the opposite, the antithesis of Boston. Your thoughts? Well, I think you make a lot of great points, and I would agree with you and just about everything you said there. You know, my thing I would add to it is just to go, well, Tampa, that's exactly what you need. And that's why you, you know, I love the bucks, but that's why you've been irrelevant for a long time. Because you haven't had enough players or coaches or whatever it may be of that attitude and mindset that Tom Brady has.

I mean, again, listen, look at what he's doing right now down there. You're right. He's going to hold that whole organization to a standard. Hey, COVID-19, pandemic, whatever it is. Tom Brady's out there throwing footballs and leading guys out there on the practice field daily. And that's what I respect about him. I mean, there's just no BS in him. And yeah, are there going to be days where I think the coaches and the organization, they're like, man, this guy is, he's tough to work with.

He's demanding. He expects a lot out of us. Yes, that's right. But it's going to make them a better football team when all said and done. And also the other angle I really like that he brings down there. You know, you always hear that Bruce Ariens, aggressive passing game, right, Colin? No risk it, no biscuit, all of that. Well, I think Brady is going to bring a little bit of that New England short passing game along with it.

And now you've got the combination of Bruce Ariens and some of that Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels stuff. And I think it's going to make that offense even more dangerous. So that's why I like the marriage there. And I think Tom is really the perfect guy to kind of give that poker in the way. the butt to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization in general. Good stuff. Chris Sims, NFL analyst, NBC Sports, Pro Football Talk. You look great. Say hi to your dad. Thanks for coming on, buddy. You're the man. You look great too. I'll see you, big guy. My hair does it, but the rest is okay. My hair's an unmade bed of a man. I love talking to him.

Get your free credit scorecard today, even if you're not a Discover. Customer, learn more, Discover.com slash credit scorecard. Limitations apply. You know, he made really good arguments. he made a really, really interesting argument on Jimmy Garoppolo, is that the organization told you what they thought when they took the ball out of his hands in two playoff games. It's like, I can't argue that. I can't argue that. You get me against the wall on that one.

I have no comeback on. Well, Kyle Shanan took the ball out of his hand. Because Andy's not taking it out of Patrick Mahomes' hands, ever. He also very much agreed with your current assessment of Aaron Rogers. Yes, which is. Yeah, which is just go. Let it loose, babe. You got this great arm. Dan Marino to the last throw. Let her rip. You can't be beholden to petrified and paralyzed with interceptions.

That's my knock on, Aaron. He's almost like he's now protecting his pass already. It's like, Aaron, you are the guy that throws the ball through a keyhole in a door. Let it go. Joy Taylor, the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Zecchio Elliott is one of the more high-profile NFL players to have tested positive for COVID-19. He said he's feeling good now and he's on the road to recovery. And when it comes to this upcoming season, he thinks that the health of the players and their families is still something that the league needs to work on.

He said there's a lot of moving parts that have to be figured out. You've got to put the health of the players first. I got Corona and it really didn't affect me much, but a lot of people have kids. They may have kids with asthma. They may have newborn babies. Their parents or grandparents may live with them. I do hope we have a season, but it has to be right. I mean, we've obviously had a lot of conversations about how the baseball season is going to come back, what the NBA season is going to look like coming back, MLS.

But they're coming back right now, while we are very much still in what feels like the height of Corona. I know we haven't really discussed at all how the NFL season is going to look because it's a little further down the road. We got a couple months and every week there's new information about the virus. So this really has been not really a point in discussing how. what it's going to look like because everything has changed so much over the past couple months. But I think one of the things is going to be really crucial for the NFL season because there are so many more moving parts to an NFL team than any of these other leagues that we're talking about, just the facilities and the equipment managers and assistant equipment managers,

how many guys are on the team, how many coaches are on the sideline. I mean, like the web that each of these individuals that have to be there in order for an NFL season to happen just continues to. to spring off. There's so many people involved. It's going to be on a big responsibility. It's going to be on the players to be responsible. Now, again, this isn't a trust thing. Like, if you go to the grocery store, it can be a problem.

But, you know, we're all working through this together. It's going to just be a different world when it comes to the season. It's going to be a huge adjustment for everyone. Yeah. And how do we manage it? There's a certain responsibility with the media to not overreact. You're going to have a lot of COVID cases. I mean, we've got a spike right now in the country.

Nobody's quite sure what the spike is. Is it because state said go to bars? Was it the protests? We had more people together in spaces. I mean, nobody knows exactly why, but we've got a spike right now in America. So we're just, you know, from the very first week of this, you and I said this on the air, we're going to have to manage this. We manage mental health.

We just manage all medical situations. Well, we don't have an answer for it. We don't have an answer for most medicals. We have the flu. We have a flu shot. 90% of people could take it and won't take it because they don't like shots. And sometimes when you take the flu shot, it makes you briefly sick. So it's like we manage influenza every year.

We lose 35,000 people in America every year with that. I do also think there's going to be similar to what we're seeing with the NBA. There's going to be players that just are going to have a problem participating in the season. And the NFL is going to have to make some adjustments for them as well. Or, you know, if you do have someone that is vulnerable in your household, You might have to find a place for them to stay during the season. Like there's just going to be adjustments that a lot of people are going to have to make. And I'm sure the NFL has been on top of all of this as far as reopening the facilities and taking care of everyone and putting out really strict guidelines for how to do it.

So I'm sure they're already having conversations with players about, you know, how to manage all that. So baseball is returning July 24th and two of the league's most historic franchises are expected to do very well in the shorter 60 game season. According to Fox Bet, the Yankees are the favorites to win the World Series. this year at plus 350. The Dodgers are a close second at plus 375. The Astros, who we talked about earlier with Nick Swisher, plus 600. I think that would probably send baseball fans into a frenzy and the Braves plus 1100. Nationals plus 1,600. I mean, could you imagine if the Astros won? Oh, yeah. Well, I mean. Because they are getting a break. Like to Nick's point earlier, they're getting a huge break not having fans in the stands this year. I also have really good starting pitching and a guy like Verlander now comes in the most rested ever. So Verlander doesn't have to make 20 starts. He can make an 11.

No, they have a good team. But this year was going to be the year that like every year you went. Yeah, you had to deal with opposing fans. Everyone's together. We all had the bat. They were the pinata. We were going to take out our frustration on the Astros. And it's like, no, there'll be nobody in the games.

It's not going to happen. So Lamello Ball is one of the top prospects in this. year's NBA draft, he's likely going to be a top five pick. The Warriors have the worst record in the league and should be drafting early, which is just wild when you consider how we've been talking about the Warriors for the past five, six years. So now they're going to be the top of the NBA draft. But LeVar Ball doesn't think Golden State is the right fit for his son. But see, that's the part I don't like about the Golden State. They got, you know, Clay and the other guys. And now you want to put Mello in that mix to say you got to follow

these guys. Mello ain't no followers. It's just like, man, he don't need to do what they do. Let them do their thing. There's a reason you're looking at my son. He's talented and can play the game. It ain't that hard, but don't be like Mello got to wait his turn and wait two or three years to go by and talking about he got to learn

from the veterans. Ain't a pot day. Can he play or not? He can play. He can shoot. He absolutely can play. I think he's going to be a star. I actually don't disagree with Lavares when it comes to this. I don't think Golden State is a good

personality fit for Lamello. It's not that he wouldn't do great there. It's a great organization. But he's right. They have a ton of pieces and he's a very, he's coming as a young player, very unpolished. That's not the kind of basketball they play. Everybody always pushed back on Lovar,

bad dad, and I always said, be very, very careful about that. He had two kids that got a free ride to UCLA. UCLA is one of the great international universities. Lanzo and Lamello. Be very careful. about all the criticism of LeVar. Good kids, great basketball players,

nice business. It's pretty amazing now. Like, Lamello was just a myth two years ago. Oh, yeah. He could go number one. He absolutely good. He's going to be in the top five of the NBA job. I think he's top two.

I think it's guaranteed top two. I agree. I mean, I think he would do well at Golden State, but I do understand what Lava is saying. He's not, I mean, the other guys. They don't need his skill. They don't need Lamello, no. Yeah.

Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. Thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. Baseball's back. John Smolt, smart dude, right around the corner. We're apart these days.

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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, 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 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. 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 a little kill Well you can 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 To be clear

84 is big to me Not just because of crack I'm down to talk about crack on day But yeah yeah Literally But just so y'all know I mean at this point

Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you 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. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. 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. What? Come on out. Quarterback on office blue with 42.

Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told you. myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown

and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel. overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually need people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Major League Baseball has announced that the 2020 season will begin on Friday, July 24th, with MLB on Fox returning on July 25th with Fox Saturday baseball, and we could not be more excited about this. Great news to baseball fans across the country. Baseball is back, and of course America's home for baseball this summer. As always, it will be Fox and FS1. John Smoltz, Baseball Hall of Famer, only player in this sports history. 200-plus wins and over 150 saves, 22 years and 8 all.

Star appearances. He's joining us via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Let's start with this. You're a pitcher, and over the course of a season, you can work your way through things in 162 games. You don't really have time

to work your way through stuff. Would it change your prep as a pitcher coming in? Would it change your mindset coming in? It essentially feels like it's a 60-game playoff. How would it change you as a pitcher, John? Yeah, well, you know, the biggest thing is going to be from a veteran standpoint,

the guys who have experience, I really think, are going to be favored to figure it out quicker because when you have a sprint, no one has ever done this quite like this. When you have a sprint, you're going to have to rely on your years past and your ability to throw the ball where you want to. Now, having said that, the first two weeks are going to be more to chance for guys getting their feet wet and getting ready. But I think you're going to see some pitchers go a little bit. sooner than they would, maybe even in a four-man rotation every once in a while, once they get

past two weeks. So the guys that kept themselves in the best shape, the ones who have the least amount of work with their mechanics, that's the key. If you have simple mechanics, you're going to return like you didn't miss a beat. If you have complicated mechanics, you're going to struggle to throw strikes early. And I think that's going to be the case in the first couple of weeks. But I'm excited to watch this thing play out and see who in the time off dedicated themselves, to their mechanics and getting the feel back sooner than the guys who dedicated themselves to their body. I think if you dedicate yourself to your body, you're more amped up to be a little bit off of your mechanics because you spent your energy working out. Let me talk about the

Universal DH. You're a National League guy pitchers hit. You took pride in it. What do you make of the Universal DH? Believe it or not, I like it. All those years I pitched, I love the strategy of the National League. But I think it's time with rosters that you're trying to. to build a roster and have a fair competitive campaign, we need to play by the same rules. Either that or do, you know, get away with, do away with interleague play. So I'm completely fine with the DH. I really am. I've come to the other side on that standpoint. And then you're going to see the pitchers be able to stay in the games a little longer in the national league and get pinched hit for us. So I'm fine with it. I'm fine with actually

all the new rules. This is a year we should be trying anything we want to try to see what makes the game either move forward in a positive way or not. And I'm excited about seeing some of those things, those unintended consequences coming out of this shortened season that we're going to get to play. You know, it's interesting. There's always been an advantage playing in the middle of the country, like the National League Central, the American League Central, because you don't travel as much. And so, and then now seven of the 12 favorites to win the World Series are Eastern teams, national or American. And I'm thinking to myself, you kind of got hosed. If you're the Yankees or the Rays or the Phillies or the Mets.

I mean, Baltimore's not going to be a great team. To me, I look at the Cubs and I think, well, they always had an edge in travel. And now they get to play the American League Central, which feels like a whole bunch of nothing to me outside of maybe the Twins. So I think like the Cubs to me feel like geographically, they got a little bit of a break. That's my opinion. Anybody, do you get a break in this schedule? No, I agree with you.

I mean, when you're playing 40 games in your own division, that speaks. for itself, right? But those 20 games could real easily determine a playoff spot or a divisional winner. And I agree with you. The central isn't as loaded as the other divisions are in the American League. So it's a little bit more of an advantage for the central teams. But having said that, what you're going to find out. And what I think's going to happen is you're going to have a couple surprise teams that are going to be right there in the mix that have a great chance to make the playoffs. And their year is going to be made complete because they don't have to play 162 games. you will not be as exposed as a team of weaknesses at 60 games as you would over 162 games.

The example I would use in a golf game, you may get away with one round, not showing your weakness. Try to get around four rounds in a golf tournament and try to hide your weakness. And I think that's the same thing is going to be said here. I think you can hide some of your weaknesses that 162 games impossible to hide. So it's going to be very balanced. The great teams are going to be great. but the details that are going to take a team to the playoffs this time around may be more important. And that's why strategy and philosophy might change in this type of format than it would typically in 162.

So will starting pitching be bigger or the bullpen in a shortened season? I talked to Nick Swisher about this earlier. I mean, if I said to you, okay, these are the two or three things on a roster that are really going to matter. would you think starting pitching or the bullpen will be more crucial in an urgent season? I mean, the easy answer is the bullpen because that's the way it's been, but I'm going to say starting pitching because the bulk of the work that can be done now, you know, we've always tried to take innings off of starting pitching over 162 games. You don't have to do that now.

If you're in a healthy position and you get to the point, as I mentioned, with your mechanics, you can now go deeper and come back quicker because you're not going to make as many starts. So you're going to see the strategy that is employed, which I think is, interesting in itself. At the end of the year, we talk about managing load of innings and pitch limits, but nobody talks about it when it comes to the postseason. The guys are at the end of their tank and they're being used in relief. Then they start a game and they're used in relief. You can do that now in a way where you don't have to worry about the health risk. I've always marveled at the end of the year when guys are actually at the highest risk of injury, we use them

in unconventional roles. So now I think you can rely on a Washington staff, a national staff, but the big three can go. Scherzer can go maybe four times on the year on three days rest, and that will not be a big deal. And give them the strength they need and the balance they have in a short season to give them an ed. So I really think starting pitching is going to be a bigger key than most people anticipate. I thought as a kind of a baseball legend, you wouldn't like starting extra innings,

put a runner at second base. And I thought, you know, small, you're not going to like that. That's a little gimmicky, but you're okay with that one. I am. I'm okay with it because I've seen. seen the game now from a different set of lens as a broadcaster. And look, this is my, I got a couple premises. First of all, it kills a team.

If you go 18 innings and win, sometimes you lose. You're better off in certain situations to lose earlier than to go deeper and to kind of tap your staff. The other thing I don't like is selfishly, players get sent down after they bow their neck a little bit and pitch four extra innings that they're capable of pitching. They get sent down. Another guy comes up. Plus, the fact that this game, when you get to the extra innings really goes to hit

a ball out of the ballpark and strikeout. When extra innings take place, the reason it goes so long is everyone's trying to hit it 500 feet. So strikeouts and pop-ups and fly balls go way up, and that's why the strategy is, there really is no strategy. At least now, everyone plays by the same rules. It's no different than a field goal extra point going from 15, 20 yards to 40. Everyone has the same capabilities to make the extra point, but now you're going to utilize that strategy a little bit differently. And I think that's what you're going to see in the extra innings. Bringing in a reliever that can throw strikes, maybe having a guy that can get the runner over, because both teams are going to have a chance to score the run. It's going to be how they choose to do it.

You know, well, they walk the next batter and set up the double play. So strategy all of a sudden becomes part of it. After doing the World Baseball Classic, I realized that this was a better idea than what my traditional kind of conservative baseball historian was trying to lean on. So I'm good with it. Good stuff, buddy. John Smoltz, the Hall of Famer, good luck in his golf club down in Atlanta. Go hit four under for everybody today. Thanks, man. Thanks for having. All right. John Smoltz, Nick Swisher's today. We've got a real baseball season, Brandon Marshall last hour. It is interesting on that start a runner at second base and extra innings. What do you do? My gut feeling is you walk the first guy of the inning. I want a

ground ball be a double play. I mean, that would make sense to me, right? I don't care about the guy at first. If the guy at second scores, the guy at first is irrelevant. But I don't care about the guy at first. Bottom line is that guy at second, I want a ground ball to the left side, quick throw to 30s out. So, I mean, it's really, basically if you start with the guy at second, I think half the time you're starting with the guy at second and first, nobody

out. And you just, you go to a groundball pitcher. Cross your finger. It's going to completely change the strategy. Absolutely. Start your day with MDRIVE start. Seven, clinically tested ingredients. Great way to start your morning. Nutrition, protein, digestive enzymes, all good.

MDrive Start.com. Hour number three, we are flying by the six-time Pro Bowler, who's going to be a great broadcaster. Brandon Marshall will be joining us around the corner. In L.A., it's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHard Radio app. All been spending more quality time with family, so invest in something that should always include

your family grilling in the summer and into the fall, by the way, in California. Rec Tech Grills with an S.com, built by grillers, four grillers. You can turn it on, driving home on your phone, Wi-Fi capable, built like a tank. Rec Tech Grills with an S.com. For the record, the Cowboy Steelers Hall of Fame game has been canceled. The ceremony postponed and the game canceled. If you like sports, wear a mask. It's that simple.

Do you like sports? Outdoors, wear a mask. Wear it to Best Buy, wear it to the store. wear it if you're out in a restaurant until you go to your table. Wear a mask. It's not less manly. I was saying this. I like Joe Rogan.

Joe Rogan's like masks are, you know, stink. I totally disagree. I don't wear it at home. I don't wear it in my car. I don't wear it when I'm jogging. I just avoid people. I went for a four-mile jog yesterday and I avoided people. So I don't wear it all the time.

But I think whenever possible, try to wear a mask. If you like sports, I think that's the best way to do it. And I like sports. But the states that have gotten a little too cavalier, the states that didn't get hit initially in the warm weather, they got a little cocky, a little cavalier, they're getting clovered. The state to the north that really suffered through it,

they're not having, they're not facing the same thing because they really understand how crucial and how punitive this virus is. So please wear a mask, please, I'm asking, if you love sports. Brandon Marshall does. He played in the NFL for 13 years,

and he was every other year a pro bowler, and arguably more than that. And he is joining us now via the Coward Global Satellite Network. So I thought of you this morning because the New York Jets have a history. And this is the reality. I love Sam Darnold, but I'm just being honest here. There are organizations in this league that have been well run for most of my life. And there have been organizations, and it usually starts with owners that are not as well run.

And Jamal Adams was a winner in high school, and he's a winner in college, and he has a winning. personality. And it looks like he's saying, I want to play with a winner. Do you blame him? Or does he get some culpability here for being so outspoken to not want to be a jet? I think, I think Jamal wants his money. Let's be clear there. That's all it comes down to. Jamal wants to be paid. And you have to look at both sides. The jets don't have to move. You got to look at an impact player versus the most important player. Now, you talked about Sam Darnel. Who's better than Sam Darnel right now out there? No one. When it comes to who's on the market, what quarterbacks are coming out of college, there's no one. You have to prepare to pay this guy. You have Levy on bail,

and you have some other big ticket players out there on this team that they have to pay. So I see that this is not going to end well because you have a player in Jamal Adams who's a great person but he can be a distraction, he can be volatile. So the Jets has two options. You either pay him now or you have to trade him because now you're looking at the chemistry of your team. Every day, Jamal Adams walk in the locker room, he's going to be asked the question, how are you doing?

We're going to be looking at his face, his body language. He will be a distraction if you don't pay this guy. You know, it's interesting. So let's say I trade him. And okay, fine. But everybody in that locker room, Brandon, they know he's great. And the defense is not it now.

Now, Marcus May is a good number two safety. He's good. And they drafted a kid out of Cal. I think it's Austin Davis. So I think it's really, really going to be a special player. But every player knows in that locker room, Jamal Adams makes us way better. And Greg Williams uses him as a linebacker, a safety, a pass rusher.

So if you did trade him, are you sending a message to high-end players? Hey, yeah, we'll pay you when we feel like paying you. hurt the locker room? No, I mean, guys have short memories, man. We're used to this. We're used to the turnover. I just think, because I'm a jet. And, you know, I played for several teams,

and my favorite experiences playing for the Jets. I want them to keep this guy. You have to sacrifice to get to the next level. This division is primed for the Jets to take over and start running with. No more Tom Brady. Now the Patriots will be good. But let's keep this impact player. because this is a guy that can't change the game.

So you have to make that sacrifice and pay him now because it's one of those situations, man, where it's a lose-lose for the Jets, to be honest. Because if I'm a businessman, I am letting him play out this contract, right? Because I know that I can get him for the next two years, you know, and I don't have as much risk. But as far as like when it comes to winning and the culture and what you're talking about the locker room,

you want to keep this guy on this squad. You know, Brandon Marshall is joining a six-time Pro Bowl. It's interesting about players want to win games. I mean, I always feel like in the NFL, players want to, A, win games, and B, get paid. And a lot of guys understand early they won't get paid, but they want to win or get paid. And so you're Seattle, and you're a very good team. But San Francisco's in your division, and they have more good players. And Antonio Brown's name comes up.

And let's say you're on Seattle, and it's Russell Wilson's team. And you're thinking to yourself, we're good. I don't know if we're good as San Francisco. Would you roll the dice on Antonio Brown knowing Brandon? I mean, you were a guy that had an opinion, but I never viewed you as disruptive ever. Antonio, I didn't think you were disruptive. No, Antonio, to me, can be disruptive. Like, there's no, I always felt with you, you've got an opinion, we can sit down, we can find common ground.

I don't feel that with A.B. I don't feel you can. I'm not sure if Seattle should be. roll the dice. What do you think? Well, there's a lot to this. Let's let's break down. Antonio Brown as the player, as we're seeing, you look how volatile he can be. Look at the emotion. That's a positive and a negative. That's why he's great, okay? This is the perfect locker room, the perfect organization to be able to control that. Russell Wilson is a genius. He meets people where they're at. But here's the issue. This is a wide receiver that wants 180 targets a year.

This is a wide receiver. If he doesn't have 100 catches, he won't feel good about it. And think about the philosophy. Pete Carroll is a defensive guy. So he sees it through the defensive lens. So he wants to run it on first down. He wants to run it on second down. There's not a lot of balls to go around.

You have D.K. Metcalfe. You have the other side. Tyler Lockett, yeah. Tyler Lockett, who's a monster who's a man in his own right. And now you have Antonio Brown. and they're only throwing it, you know, three, four times a drive. It's not enough. So Pete Carroll, I want him to go get AB because it's the perfect culture,

but you have to see the game through the offensive lens if this is going to work. Change it up. Let Russell Wilson, you have one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game. Top three quarterback right now. Let this guy go win for you. This is the only team in our league right now that's not building everything around the best player on their team. So if this is going to work, Pete Carroll has to see the game through the offensive lens. I think that's, I think that's really smart. By the way, I had a powerful

agent tell me this about a month ago, your exact point. This is the only team that feels slightly reluctant to just give their team to their star quarterback, and I think you nailed it. So I look at, there's two or three teams. But, but calling, it's not a bad thing, though, right? Because that's Pete's philosophy. He truly believes I play good defense and I run a ball. But when you have a once in a lifetime quarterback, man, you can do so much more. Then you got A.B. sitting out there and you put them together and D.K. Matt, Catherine, Tyler Lockett. And then you also have O'S in the tight end. Think about that. And then you have Chris Carson a running back. This could be one of the greatest offices that this league has ever seen. Yeah. No, you know, I'm looking at this

morning there's a story out there that the Niners want Jamal Adams. And the Niners have been super aggressive. They signed Jimmy Garoppolo before anybody thought he was worth money. They went out and got Trent Williams. They trade to Forrest Bruckner. They go out and they want Jamal Adams. Hyperaggressive. Baltimore. Hyper aggressive. Mark Ingram. Marcus Peters. They draft a tight end. They trade him a year later. Hyper aggressive. Kansas City. D. Ford. Trade him. Honey Badger. Bring him in. there's a handful of teams in this league,

mostly the good ones that are really aggressive. They are, go for it, get the stars. And then I watch Green Bay. And I sit there and I think to myself, they don't have an owner. They let Martinez the linebacker go, Blugga the left tackle go. Jared Cook a couple years ago.

They could have had Khalil Mack. Brett Farve won at Randy Moss. And I look at all these aggressive teams in the NFL, these new GMs, they want to make deals, they want to get stars, they want to pay money. They're all aggressive, and there's the Packers. That's right. And I think to myself, and I really do, I think to myself this morning, Green Bay has got to change the way they do business because Aaron Roger made.

It's too late. It's too late. You think so? It's too late. Come on, man, they should have won two Super Bowls in the last five years. To me, Aaron Rogers is my favorite quarterback in the NFL. But you wasted this guy's career. You got one Super Bowl out of Aaron Rogers?

Are you kidding me? It's too late. It's too late. Wow. By the way, is this a room in your house? Oh, yes. This is my game room. My legends room.

So you have, you've collected all these uniforms through the year. There's a Calvin Johnson, Adam Vinutary, Mercedes-Louis, Troy Polamalu, Pierre Garsohn, Thomas. Edel Sherman, Patrick Peterson. At the top, we have Odell Beckham, Jr. We have Adrian Peterson, Larry Fitzgerald. I have some of the best of the best. No one's room or jersey collection competes with me. I was the first guy that did this back in 2007.

Then it became a thing where after every game, guys want to trade Jersey with you. You have a guy who doesn't even play, who didn't even touch the field come to. Can I trade jersey? No, bro, you can't trade jerse with me. You didn't even play. No.

Sorry, I'm a little passionate. I'm a little passionate about this jersey swat. thing that's been going on for the last seven years. No, I get it. You know, it's funny. You never played in a playoff game. And so I want to go back to Jamal Adams. So isn't Jamal Adams just saying this? I don't want to be Brandon Marshall an all-time great and never playing a playoff game. You can't keep telling me we're going to be great. Like, Jamal Adams, to me, is saying, I don't want to have, I don't want to be Calvin Johnson. I don't want to be Joe Thomas. Isn't that's all he's saying. No, no, no, he's saying, I want to be

clear here. He's saying I want my money because if you, you're going to be. You're saying, I want to go pay him as a top safety in the NFL, he will be happy because Jamal Adams is a loyal guy. He's passionate. He wants to rep this team. But he wants this team to stand up and say, you know what, we love you and we respect you for the for the superstar that you are. But here's the thing that I would say to Jamal Adams, right? We just lost him. He just had something to say too. There we go right there. Can you hear him? We just lost his audio. Tell him, love him. You tell him he was very, very good today and it just dropped out at the end.

That's okay. It was good. Let's get him on soon. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Heard Line News. Several anonymous NBA GMs have expressed that they are very worried about the restart plan in Orlando.

And a common thread for those concerns is how quickly the coronavirus is spreading in Florida. You were just talking about this before we got on with Brandon Marshall. One GM told the athletic he will participate with hesitation and is uncomfortable with the plan because of all the uncertainty. Another GM worries about looking back and asking if it was worth it, if too many people test positive, and the plan falls apart.

Here's the thing about the bubble. I have no idea how this is going to work. Does anybody? I think it sounds absolutely crazy and just completely far-fetched and borderline impossible. But we're going to try it because we don't have a choice. So say it again, how many GMs didn't like it? Several anonymous NBA GMs. Are just concerned with the plan.

I think they've done everything right. They're concerned. Well, there's a lot of concern now because obviously Florida is spiking. And that is a concern. I mean, it's very hot there now. So people that were not wearing masks before, I mean, it's summer in Florida. It's 100 degrees with 90% humidity. A couple days ago in L.A., I'm wearing a mask outside and I am sweating.

I mean, it's hard. You have to make decisions. Listen, please wear a mask if you're outside and if you're around people. I understand it's difficult, but we're trying to get through a pandemic. That said, there's a huge spike in Florida, which is where the bubble is. Now, the idea of the bubble is to protect all the players from this virus. But the NBA of all of the sports coming back is the most intimate sport. By far.

They're wearing the least amount of clothing or protective. They're wearing no gear, actually. there's no helmets, there's no face shield, it's not soccer where you're kind of far apart from each other. There's limited, you know, touching, no hands unless you're throwing the ball in, goalies wearing gloves. The NBA is a sport that is most susceptible to this situation, so they have to do it in a bubble.

I'm happy it's coming back. I know we have to push forward. I do have concerns as well. I don't know how it's all going to play out, but they're going to do the best they can to keep players safe and everyone's going to have to participate in those programs. Willie Colley Stein pulled out today from Dallas. That's what I just read.

Yeah, I don't judge any player for sitting out of the situation. So Vince Carter has officially called it a career. He signed a one-year deal with the Hawks last year. He was planning on it being his last in the league. And now he has confirmed he is retiring from professional basketball after 22 seasons. He and Dr. Jay are the two best dunkers in NBA history. Yes, I mean, we're showing the 2000 dunk contest just a moment ago. That's like going to be my standing memory of Vince Carter, and I think it is for a lot of people.

He was just one of those players. I mean, obviously longevity speaks for himself 22 years in the league is tremendous. But he just played when he was with Toronto with this unbelievable energy and excitement that was just so unique to him. He also, Jason Kidd did this. He developed into a nice three-point shooter. Like he realized, okay, I can't jump quite as high. I want to stay in this game. I love basketball.

I want to still get paid, and he developed a three-point shot. Jason Kidded that. He's a testament to longevity. He actually made a three-pointer on the final shot of his career, which was the 136, 131, overtime loss to the Knicks on March 11th right before the shutdown. Really?

A fitting end. I guess a fitting end would have been a monster dunk, but we all kind of felt like we saw his last shot. So, congrats on an amazing career. Vince was very fun to watch, and he will be a Hall of Famer. Finally, baseball players won't have a lot of time to prove they're worthy of taking home the MVP award this year. But in the American League, Fox Vet has current MVP Mike Trout as the heavy favorite to win his fourth award at plus 125. Aaron Judge is a distant second at plus 800.

And in the National League, Mookie Betts just edges out his Dodgers teammate, quote Cody Bellinger as the favorite at plus 550. The reigning NL MVP Bellinger comes in at plus 650. All of this is going to be very interesting. So Mookie Betts, it's a sprint, 60 games with the Dodger. Isn't he a free agent after this year or something? Boy, that's a, hey, dude, be great for 60 games. That's a weird season for Mookie Betts. I'm really just looking forward to what this is all going to look like.

And what kind of, it's, it is going to be interesting, like, what kind of shape everyone comes back in. Because baseball kind of has unique training, like I feel like a lot of players probably have, been around training facilities. But, you know, it's just, 60 games is just so different. How you pace yourself, how you pace your body. Like, when you're playing baseball for as long as these guys have, like, going from that long of a season to such a short season, like mentally, how do you prepare for it? John Smoltz, I thought, really nailed this.

You can, if I ran Microsoft for a week, it would not affect the stock price. If I ran it for a year, the company would tumble down. you can if I brought somebody on to fill in for me and they did one segment, everybody's probably got seven minutes of discussion. Now you've got to fill in for 12 segments, two days, mid-August, do a week. In 60 games, you could be a young team and you don't know what you don't know, and you go in a four-game winning streak. You have a couple decent pitchers, and you start convincing yourself,

we're pretty damn good. You could end up seeing some team here that's really not great that just doesn't get exposed until like game 50. you know, if you're young, you stay healthy, you play with a lot of energy. I mean, I saw the over-unders on Major League Baseball, all the over-unders. And Baltimore, Seattle, real bad, you know, Yankees, Braves, Dodgers good. Everybody's at like 31 to 25. Like the last week of the year, you're going to have like 24 teams in the playoff race.

And it's just going to be, you know, in baseball, usually by July 1st, you have a sense, a third of the league can't compete. And then by August 1st, it's like four teams with five with a chance to win the World Series. You could end up with 10 days left in the season. Orioles out, Mariners out, you know, who else is junkie? And everybody else is in. I mean, how we can assume it's going to be different too because of the urgency and scaling, you know, what that three-game losing streak means. Whereas if it was a normal baseball season, we're like, oh, three-game losing streak can bounce back from that.

Not anymore. They can't do that. Good stuff. Joy, with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stuff. The Herd Lye News. Coming up, Paul assign emojis to each of the new baseball rules that will be used this season.

There's some quirky ones. Start your day with MDrive. Start the world's best morning shake. Digestive enzymes. Six proteins. Seven nutrients. Clinically tested. Check out MDrive Start.

dot com. MDrive Start. Start.com. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app. Get your free credit scorecard today, even if you're not a Discover customer, learn more, Discover.com slash credit scorecard limitations.

Apply baseball's back. 60 game schedule announced this week. It will start July 23rd, July 24th, right in the middle of summer. In best for last, Joy is going to set me up with all the new rules baseball is going to adopt, and I'll give you an emoji for each one. Here we go. The Universal D.H. I'm going to go flex emoji.

More muscle, more power, more home runs. Listen, all you nerds out there that say you watch baseball for the strategy is nonsense. If you look at the most popular baseball players among writers, fans, it's never the guy that leads the league in sacrifice buntz. You know the old chicks dig the long ball? People like power hitters. Men like power, women like power. We like athletes. Bryce Harper, the hairs flying, the ball is 500 feet.

Aaron Judge, Alex Rodriguez, the look, the swag, the style, the power. Nobody wants to see pitchers hit. They batted last year 128. D.H. has batted 255 with power. Sports is better with bigger, stronger, dynamic athletes. That's why Zion so fascinating. We were just watching Long Gone Summer. That's what we...

Yes. And then we watched Michael Jordan, who was the... the ultimate powerful alpha male. Finesse doesn't sell in sports. We want power. The runner starting on second base in extra inning games. Shocked face emoji. Because it feels kind of sticky in baseball is, you know,

classic traditionalist. First of all, I was shocked by it. Because it's kind of a gamble. Now, it was debuted in the world baseball classic. That's that international baseball tournament. It's great. It's crazy. It's, they, players complain.

They don't want the extra start. but then they went to the Gulf Coast League and the Arizona League and all the minor leagues adopted it and frankly, I don't watch minor league baseball but I have friends that work at it and are like, people like it. The bottom line is so many baseball games are played Monday through Thursday

when we have, and by the way, Sunday. So if you play a Sunday through Thursday baseball game, people have to be at work tomorrow. They can't sit there for 14 innings. They want a conclusion to a game. Can you imagine going home and the football game? You know, we'll just pick it up tomorrow. We couldn't finish it.

This gets games to end faster. World Baseball Classic is the most fun I've ever had watching baseball. Shorten season to 60 games. Heart I emoji. This is what I've been complaining about for years. I don't care about the time of the games. Good games, good game. Good sports, good sports.

Bottom line is you've got to give me urgency. I'm married. I got kids. I got a career. I've got kids in college. I got kid in that school. I don't have time to watch 162 regular season games. I'm not going to watch every golf tournament.

I'm going to watch the U.S. Open. I'm going to watch the Masters. I'm going to watch the British Open. I'm going to watch the NFL. I'm going to watch Ohio State, Michigan, Auburn, Alabama. You got to give me urgency. Now, again, if you're retired or if you're a teenager and don't work, it's great. But if you're like me in your working years, when you got kids and you got stuff,

you got to make games matter. I'm just not turning the TV on to watch your relevant regular season stuff. Geographically aligned schedule, 40 games versus your division. other 20 games versus corresponding geographical division. Brain emoji. This is obvious. Let's just not have people go, I mean, listen, Europe is banning some American flights in. We're banning some flights out and in.

Just there's no reason. I don't think college football needs to play out of conference games. Let's just play in our region. Let's try to regionalize sports as much as we can. I mean, that's what the NBA is doing. It's sports in a bubble. And I think college football should eliminate out of conference games. Now, the NFL can't and baseball's not.

But to me, this is we're just going to limit traveling in and out of regions that we don't have to be in. Same playoff format. Shrug emoji. It's fine. I don't gain sleep, lose sleep. It is what it is. What do you get five playoff teams in each league, three division winners, two wild cards. It's fine.

I got no big, strong opinion on that. All right. No spitting or chewing sunflower seeds. Okay. Laughing emoji. You got to be kidding me. You're going to tell baseball players not to spit. That's like people that say this.

Don't touch your face during COVID. I do this by eight times the day. Yeah, you are a big face toucher. Look at this. Yeah, I know. You lick your fingers. When I do an interview, I do this. I'm pensive.

That's fascinating. My wife will be like, don't touch your face. And I'm like, I actively try to not touch my face. Well, you know what I do? I wash my hands ten times today. But you know what you should do? You should start wearing makeup. Because if you have makeup on, you don't touch your face.

I don't touch my I'm going to smear my makeup in the middle of the show So I should wear makeup all day That's your answer Don't you wear makeup for the show anyway? No, look at it Does it look like I got a lot of makeup on? That's fair

You're not really doing any blending contoursing I didn't even know Is that a thing? But I mean the sunflower sheets I guess I can understand But how are you going to keep people from spitting? Listen, I'm an adult I spit one today

But what's it? I mean I don't spit Where am I going to spit? I'm a bit. for a run yesterday, right in the middle of it. I spit. It's not gross. I just like, I was, I mean.

You can't tell me a baseball player. It's not going to spit. But if you're playing a game, you have to spit. That's how it goes. What does it matter if it goes in the grass? That's what my point is. The other day I'm listening on radio. Isn't that better than having like a spit cup?

A spatoon, I think they call that. First of all, it's a gulet. Guys dip in baseball, right? They put what they call a dip in. Yeah. Like Scholar or Copenhagen. Hagen. Can you have one of those in and not spit? No. Do you swallow it? No.

I mean, you could. I wouldn't recommend doing it in the first place. You're definitely not supposed to do that. So if guys dip, because a lot of guys do chaw, but not as many, I think more guys have a dip in. That's what they call it. A little like skull. Don't school guys. You cannot swallow dip spit. I don't know a lot about dipping, but I'm pretty sure that's not good for you. I used to work with a dip spit. Oh, excuse me. No, so you would, you would. Yeah, you have to spit You have to spit the dip The dip drool out

That's so gross You know, I chewed for a very brief time in my life No, yeah, yeah, yeah What, like big league chew? No, like Skoll, very brief It was a couple years out of college I just hung out. I felt like that gave you a look.

No, but I hung out with guys First of all, I worked for a baseball team. Yeah. And so I was around guys that did it and I had a lot of time around a baseball field doing stuff around the field and everybody did it and I was I just tried it I remember it used to give me a buzz and I didn't like that you know sometimes you drop stories on us and I'm like who is this calling like who who are you you said is that you think you're crazy you think that's crazy yeah you said something is to us the other oh yeah that

you won a class clown in your graduating class yeah class cut up I think it well yeah okay yes so you don't think I'm a cut up. No, no, that's not really like your style. You do, but that's not, you know, like that's like a Baker Mayfield Award. Yeah, I'm Baker Mayfield. Maybe that's why he bothers me because I'm seeing myself. Yeah, you see yourself as a youth. Troubled youth. Yeah, that's what's going on. Running from the law. I'd ever tell you my pizza story? No. It's the worst thing I ever did as a human. So I was in college at Eastern Washington University, and I got talked into this by a knucklehead. And one of my roommates, Domino's, pulled up and we were walking up. We were hungry because

it's college. You're always hungry. And we said, the back of the car is open. Let's just grab a pizza. So we grabbed a pizza from the back of the dominoes. I've apologized to this. I think I gave Domino's a check at one point. And we grabbed it and the Domino's guy saw

us and started chasing us and I'm running down the stairs at college running from a Domino's guy and the pizza flies out of the box into the bushes. I'm like, that was worth not at all. I mean, see, like, you are Baker Mayfield. What if they had tape of that? I am Baker Mayfield.

I figured it out now. A bandle. I'm running from the, I'm running from, he ran from cops. I run from Domino's. Right. Well, maybe the cops could have gotten involved. You did steal. Yeah, I got a, I stole, I was very little.

I was probably like four or five, I remember this. I stole like a toy or candy or something from a Kmart. And I walked out with it. And my older sister was like, where'd you get that? I was like, I just wanted it. She walked me right back in, made me give it to the, manager apologize. It was super embarrassing. It was a good lesson though.

I stole a penny toy from a store in Grayland, Washington as a kid. I remember this. It's my first memory of crying. So I was probably like four, five years old. I stole a penny little car. I got home

and my mom saw it and made me take it back. And I can remember my mom was furious and made me take it, drove five miles back. She made me take it and hand it to the lady. and I was bawling left and right. I can remember the color of the little car. It was gray with black wheel.

It was like a penny car. I can remember it, bawling. I remember the car was gray, and the lady was wearing a green, like a smock thing as she was working in it. It's kind of hardware. You know, in small towns, it's like a general store.

Did she yell you? My mom? No, the lady. No, the lady, I was bawling, and my mom was British. So, you know, Collins are British. British name. So my mother was, what do you say to the lady? How do you feel

about yourself? Are we going to do this again? This is not acceptable. And then she shipped me off to the royal family in England and that's the rest of the... No, I can, I mean, it had an impact... No, I remember it too. We were at Kmart, my sister Tiffany walked me back in. I was crying.

Oh, I bet you were pissed at Tiffany at the time. No, Tiffany's an angel. You're the best. I am absolutely the trouble. So that's why we work together. We're a couple of bandels. Yeah. But I don't hide from my troubled pass. I don't hide. I just forget it. I forget that I was a troubled youth. I've got so much baggage. I'm stealing pizza. I'm like Samsonite. I got baggage. I don't even know where it's in the house. Okay, I'm done talking. Brandon Marshall, John Smoltz, Chris Sims and Nick Swisher

today. Emmanuel Acho and Marshalliswiley are over there. Ready to go on speak for yourself. Baseball's back. By the way, the over under on wind totals. I was looking at this today. It's just amazing how many teams are right in the middle. So, The Marlins are 24. The Tigers are 21. Baltimore's 21. I don't know what happened to the Tigers. It used to be a great organization.

The Tigers are a mess. They are a bad baseball organization. Start your day with MDrive Start. Check it out. Protein, digestive enzymes, collagen, vitamins, all that stuff. MDrive Start.com. Six clinically tested ingredients. Nutrition, protein shake to start your day.

We'll see you tomorrow. Friday. It's the herd. Last night, a blown call changed the 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 through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories,

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

On The Look Back at it podcast. 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, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. 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? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing.

How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.