The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Joe Flacco, Lakers, LeBron James, and Antonio Brown

Episode Date: February 13, 2019

Colin explains why the Denver Broncos are better with QB Joe Flacco, the issues hurting the Los Angeles Lakers, and why the Pittsburgh Steelers shouldn't be worried about WR Antonio Brown. Guests include Chris Bosh, Bill Polian, and Chris Haynes. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the Hurt at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching Hurd. Now let's get to... You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. It is a Wednesday.

This is The Heard. Live in Los Angeles, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, Sirius XM Channel 83. Today we're on FS2. Flip over. It's good to have you in today. Joy Taylor is joining me. Joy, how are you this morning?

I'm great. Good morning. We have a little NFL news. Joy will hit on this more in about 30 minutes heard line news. A little story today in the NFL. Joe Flacco won a Super Bowl was an MVP sign of fat contract

never quite the same is going to the Denver Broncos who have Case Keenham that's never been John Elway's guy John L.Y I think is getting tired to drafting quarterbacks he hadn't been great at that he whiffed on Paxton Lynch

so John Elway said I'm going to hire an old defensive guy to be my head coach we can run the football very well Denver always runs the football well doesn't matter who the back is and we just got a veteran strong-armed quarterback this is what John Elway wants his team to be. And Elway hadn't had a lot of success in the draft drafting

quarterbacks. And so he's like, listen, I'm going to get a veteran quarterback who's had success against good teams, a winning playoff record, Super Bowl MVP, not the most accurate thrower today. He's got a little Cam Newton. I don't trust Flacco and Cam delivering the ball to tight windows, but a huge arm. And they're going to run the ball because Denver always does. That's what Denver does. And they're going to play their butts off defensively with Vic Fangio, a defensive guy, and it'll be kind of boring football. Fangio didn't have a big personality. Flacco didn't have a big personality.

It's just going to be Denver Bronco football. This is what Denver played for years and years and years in the Rocky Mountains, going back to Craig Morton. I mean, frankly, even going back to John Elway. They ran the ball. That's when they won Super Bowls. And they played defense, and that's where they're going to be. And they're going to be better.

How much better? I don't know, but they're better today. Denver Broncos are a better football team today. I think with Vic Fangio coaching and with Joe Flacco quarterbacking. And Baltimore's going to get, you know, they didn't have to give up anything to get him. I mean, they're going to give up. It says here, a mid-round pick. If you're better at quarterback and all you have to give up is a fourth round pick,

that's good. That's a good day for Denver. New coach, new quarterback, cannon arm, one on the road, winning playoff record, always went toe to toe with Brady and Foxborough. I mean, Flacco's not great, not top 12 guy, but you're going to give him a running game and a defense. You can win games with Joe Flacco. He's a much better armed talent than Case Keenham.

And by the way, the Ravens create clarity. Ravens are like, you know what? We're doing the Lamar Jackson thing. Let's not have Flacco hovering around us. And by the way, my gut feeling on this is Baltimore goes out and acquires Lavian Bell. If you asked me today where Lavian Bell is going to end up, my gut feeling, I don't have any sourcing on this. This is just my gut.

Lavian Bell's going to Baltimore. and Baltimore's all in. They're going to be a 65 to 60% run team. Play great defense. Veteran coach, Lamar Jackson, ask him to throw 18 to 22 times. He can make those throw. Not a great thrower, but can make them.

So I think Baltimore is going to go after Labian Bell, and they just said today, here's our future, it's Lamar Jackson. That's good for them. And then Denver's like, we're going to go defense, veteran big arm quarterback, run the ball. Good for them. And that's where I think we are today.

So I think Denver's better. I don't know if Baltimore is better. I know Baltimore created clarity in the locker room. It's Lamar Jackson's team. So Baltimore created that. That makes teams better usually. Here's what we are, even if you're limited. Detroit Pistons, we play defense.

Remember the bad boys? We don't shoot as well as everybody. We're not as artistic as everybody. But we do what we do well. That's usually in sports a good thing to do. So Baltimore's like, here's what we're going to do. We're going to play defense and run the football. Even our quarterback runs.

So I think it was good for both. teams. It's so crucial to designate your quarterback. College, you can do the flip-flop thing. You can't improve. I mean, for us, too. Like, thankfully, we don't have to go into the season talking about a quarterback controversy. If you have more than one quarterback, you have no quarterback. You know, the other thing I like about this, I got to be honest about this, here's what I like about this, is that I'm a fan of football. I just don't like teams that don't have a guy at quarterback. So Baltimore said Lamar Jackson. I think Lamar's fascinating to watch.

I've said this about Baker Mayfield. Baker's not one of the top ten quarterbacks. He's easily one of the top five most interesting to watch because of his personality. Baltimore now has a guy. And now Denver has a guy that I think they'll keep for years, two, three, four years. They got a guy. Football's better that way. You know, nothing's worse than when you have a guy like Ryan Tannahill and you know Miami didn't truly believe in him.

Right. You know they don't. You know Denver doesn't truly believe in Case Keenham. You know they don't. So I like teams to have a guy. I really believe John Elway believes this morning. We can win big games with it. We can go into Kansas City with a run game.

in a defense and a veteran coach, and we can beat Mahomes. It'd be close, but we can, you never felt that with Case Keenum. You don't feel like Denver really has a shot to get into a shootout. So it makes me happy for football. I think in general, that's better. We got clarity with the Ravens. We got a big strong-armed guy with Denver. It's good for the league.

It is a good thing. It is a good thing. And that's what happens when all these young quarterbacks come from college to the pro and can play. You move out guys. Joe Flacco, by the way, used to be, you got a Joe Flacco, 15 years, he never left. Now veteran quarterbacks are moving.

It's fun. And it's a rare thing for a quarterback of Joe Flacco's caliber, even if he hasn't been playing great to be on the market. Yes. All right, let me shift to this. I don't know if you watched last night. The Lakers allow the Atlanta Hawks. Hawks are 19 games under 500.

They almost scored 70 points on the Lakers in the first half. What? Wait a minute. I was reading the newspaper a couple days ago. That win over Boston was going to save the season. That's what all the NBA media guys told me. What? They proclaimed Rondo's shot against the Celtics.

Oh my God. It changes everything. Lakers in the championship round. Oh. Now they got beat by the crappy hawks and blown out by the Sixers. Folks, put the palm palms down. Report, not support, media members. Once every Laker was mentioned as trade bait, you poison the locker room.

They're not going to recover. And Luke Walton is toast. That's what we said. That's what I believe. And now three games in post trade deadline, this is what you have. The Lakers have eight days off and you're going to see a big push now to get rid of Luke Walton. LeBron and Luke Walton have no relationship.

Magic Johnson didn't hire him. I don't think he's a great coach. I don't think he's terrible. I think his substitution patterns border on random, at best, inconsistent, at worst, bizarre, and random. But I will just remind you, football is the coaching sport. Basketball is the player sport. Is Brad Stevens a good coach? Yes.

He's currently a fifth seed in the east. Is Greg Popovich a good coach? Yeah, seventh seed. Is Eric Spolstra a good coach? Yes, he is. Ninth seed. Is Rick Carlisle a good coach? Coaches think he's brilliant.

He's an 11th seed. Okay? This is a players league. You want to know, Dwayne Casey won coach of the year in the NBA. Do you know where he picked up his award at Applebee's across the street because they fired him? He couldn't get the award in the building. He was across the street having lunch because they kicked him out of the building.

That's Dwayne Casey coach of the year. So if you're asking me who the most talented teams in the NBA are, I was thinking about this this morning. If you said, what are the most talented rosters in the NBA? I'd say Golden State, number one. Let's not even argue about that. And then you can argue about stuff. I'd say Houston's second.

If Chris Paul's healthy and James Hardin and Clint Capella and Eric Gordon, I'd say Houston's the second best roster. Not quite as good as last year, but number two. Oklahoma City, I've got Westbrook. I got the MVP Paul George. I got Stephen Adams. And I would give them a narrow, narrow edge over Philadelphia because Jimmy Butler, Simmons and Embed, I'm not sure. I don't know about the chemistry.

I like the players. I put Philadelphia 4. Tobias Harris, that's a really good roster. I just don't think yet their chemistry is quite as good as a Houston. I'd put Boston 5. Toronto with Mark Gassal, I may be underselling him at 6. In Milwaukee, Middleton, Yannis, I put him at 7. Okay, that's the best seven rosters.

I don't have the Lakers 8. I think you can start arguing on the Lakers' behalf from eight to about 16, and I'm not so sure they're not closer to 16 than 9 or 8. And if LeBron twists his ankle, they are 16th. So congrats on fire in Luke Walton. That's not the issue. LeBron does create, this is not a criticism, it is a reality. If I yelled at my son for getting a D in math, that is not a criticism.

That is a reality if he gets it. LeBron does create an urgency and a stress, and at times an unreal. realistic expectation on a franchise that you have to win now and people have to leave and draft picks have to go to win now. That's the stress that LeBron creates. It's not a criticism. It's a reality. I've seen it multiple times.

But I will just say this. Did Luke Walton hurt LeBron's groin? Because they were the fourth seed before that. Did Luke Walton hurt? Lonzo Ball, who got hurt again? Oh, he didn't do those two. Did he leak all the stories that poised in the locker room? No, Luke Walton didn't do that either.

Okay, so never forget, pre-Lebron's injury, Lakers were the fourth seed in the West, the chemistry was getting better, there are only two and a half games out of the playoffs now, but go ahead, take a wrecking ball to it, blow up the coaching staff, go for it. That's not the answer. LeBron creates an expectation that puts stress on a franchise. Now, he is probably the first, second, third best basketball player I've seen, but that's a reality with LeBron. And so let's blow out Luke Walden.

It's not the problem. Let's trade a bunch of players and get AD. I'm not sure that's going to be great. I think it'd be good. I don't think it would be great. I've seen LeBron with Biggs before. So it looks like eight days off, lost to Atlanta, almost gave up 70 in the first half to a bad NBA team that I'm not even sure is trying to win.

I think they're on the Zion Williamson interest sweepstakes as well. But that's the world we live in. I never bought into that ridiculous notion that the win over the Celtics meant anything? I told you I last Friday off, I opened up the internet, and there were all these stories about, they can play with anybody. Save the season. Unbelievable, biblical proportions. We just wanted to feel good about the Lakers for a couple seconds. I guess. It's been a long first half of the season. It's rained so much this winter. People need sunshine, I guess. Yeah, we just, you know, we just wanted to smile a little bit. All right.

Coming up next, don't confuse a small opportunity for a big, Big problem. Steelers Antonio Brown is not a big problem. That's 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 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. on 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 Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me,

your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions. To talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them. keeps them going. From the WMBA standout, Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it.

An Olympic champs, Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeke. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard.

Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across.

When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, Just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Valentine's tomorrow, starting at 2999, go to 1800flowers.com. Beautiful bouquets. Order today, 1,800 Flowers.com. Enter the code heard. H-E-R-D. Valentine's is tomorrow. Joy Taylor is joining me. Chris Bosch in 10 minutes,

who made the All-Star game 11 straight times in 13 years. He's going to be a Hall of Famer. First ballot, second ballot. I don't know, but he's going to get there. He joined us in 10 minutes. Don't confuse. This is a good rule sometimes in parenting. I make this mistake sometimes.

Don't confuse an opportunity for a problem. Sometimes as a parent, I get upset. I see something and I want to lecture. And instead I think, this is an opportunity. This is a teaching moment. This is a teaching moment. People used to call my radio show when I take calls.

What am I going to tell my kids? And I always said, I don't know, they're your kids. You had them. That's your responsibility. It's a teaching moment. Whenever there was a controversy in sports, my kids are watching these games. What am I going to tell my kids?

I don't know. I don't even know their names. They're your kids. Okay? It's a teaching moment. don't confuse Antonio Brown wanting to be traded for a problem. It is an opportunity. This is a moment for an opportunity.

First of all, Pittsburgh standards are really high. The Cleveland Browns last year went 7, 8, and 1, and they're throwing a parade. The Steelers went 9, 6, and 1, and they're pissed because the standards are much higher. players, after five or six years, you got a ton out of Antonio Brown. Now at 31, flip him for a pick, opportunity. You bought low, six round, sell high. This is not a problem. Lavian Bell getting nothing for him, that I don't like.

That stings. But Antonio Brown, think about this way. Say it out loud. If I said to you, hey, this. There's this NFL team that found this player in the sixth round. They paid him nothing for like three years. Nothing. He ended up getting 11,000 yards and 74 touchdowns.

They paid him nothing. And if I had to pay him a little, now he's 31. Wide receivers post 30 generally start to fade. And we were able to then flip him and get a really good pick. Oh, but what do you do at receiving? Oh, we already got one. We do the receiver thing really well. Juju Smith-Schuster.

We do the receiver thing really well. Folks, here's what I know. Life, real estate, sports, Wall Street, buy low, sell high wins everywhere. You buy the property low, fix it up, sell it high. Sixth round, 11,000 yards, 74 TDs, sold all sorts of jerseys, and now you're going to flip him at 31 because you've got another receiver who you don't have to pay as much. that's a problem? That's an opportunity. All these wide receivers for the Steelers seem to leave.

Mike Wallace left, Plaxico left, Emmanuel Sanders left, Antonio Holmes left, Martavius Bryant left. They all leave and they all get replaced. When it comes to the Chicago Bears and linebackers, they do it right. When it comes to the Denver Broncos and running backs, they do it right. The Broncos have had 10 different running backs run for 1,000 yards. When it comes to the New England Patriots and offensive linemen, They just find them.

David Andrews and all-pro center, he didn't get drafted. Did you ever watch Shaq Mason in college? They take other people's bad offensive linemen, overrated guys, moving to left tackle, and they're great. And when it comes to the Steelers and wide receiver, they do that position really well. Like the Broncos do running back and the Bears do linebacker and the Patriots do offensive line. Maybe it's a coach. Maybe it's a scout. I don't know.

But, you know, Antonio Brown. leaving is not a dilemma. It'd be a dilemma for Cleveland. It'd be a dilemma for Jacksonville. It's not a dilemma for Pittsburgh. It's an opportunity. It's an opportunity. You got a receiver.

You got a quarterback. You got a good old line. You've got an emerging linebacking core. And you're going to flip him and get a really good pick, which you've proven you draft really, really well. Last year, once again, you appear to have had a really good draft. Don't confuse what you perceive as a massive roadblock to simply be parenting her football an opportunity.

Bill Pollyam, by the way, in 50 minutes. Chris Bosch around the corner. Here's Joy Taylor with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right. So last night, number two, Duke pulled off an incredible win against number 16 Louisville was the biggest comeback of Coach Kay's career. They trailed by 23 points with 10 minutes basically to go in the second half and rallied to win 71 to 69. Pros on that team. Basically. Zion Williams led the Blue Devils with 27 points and 12 rebounds in the win.

Cameretta scored 16 of his 22 points after halftime. So Duke won its eighth game in a row despite shooting a season low 37% from the field there now. 22 and 2 with their only losses to Gonzaga and Syracuse. I got to tell you, Zion Williamson's fun to watch. He's the, I don't remember a college basketball player I had this much fun watching. There's been some good ones. But Zion Williamson, to me, is probably the most fun I've had watching. in college. I've watched Duke play 10 times. I think he's the most exciting college basketball

player I have seen in a decade. I don't even remember the next guy that made me turn to a TV in college basketball. I don't, Patrick Ewing comes to mind. Seriously. He's just so, he's so dominating. I'm not saying he's LeBron. I'm just saying he reminds you of LeBron with his athleticism and his size. And just just watch this play of him bringing it line to line. It's, he just, he just, moves people. I think that's part of what's so exciting about him. It's just he's got a little Carl Malone, a little Blake Griffin, a little LeBron James. It's amazing to me. I heard somebody last week, I'm not going to name the person out of his gorge said he's not really built for the NBA. Time out. First of all, his body is transformative. He's got a great first step. He has a beautiful touch

around the rim. As long as he can shoot 75% free throws, he's a 25 a point game. He's a 25 a point game eventually in the NBA? I mean, he is, he is a big guy. So there are concerns about your weight and, you know, lower extremities, knees and whatnot when you are that size. And the league has gotten more about skill than athleticism and size, which I mean, we talk about all the time. You know, when you're talking about Russell Westbrook and it's, it matters, obviously, what your skill is because eventually your athleticism is going to diminish. But he's going to be the number one or number two pick. And, I mean, he's, he's going to be the number one or number two pick. And I mean, I think the top three picks are on the team right now of Cam Reddish,

they could. They could. Yeah, no, I think, I think, I mean, Duke's the best team in college basketball. I don't think it's terribly close. And the other thing with Duke is you notice now, Joy, they're playing well now because these guys all come in from AAU basketball and you jam them in. Calipari's dealt with this. And it takes you until February, until they know each other's first names. So whenever I, I'm always very careful to watch Kentucky, Duke, Duke, that have one and none players. I'm always really careful to watch. I don't watch them early.

Start watching them about early February because this is what Duke get. I watched Duke play two months ago. They weren't nearly this good. No, they felt strong at the beginning of the season, though. I feel like they came out rolling. Nobody really knows how to defend Zion. So everybody now has like coaches look and say,

okay, do this, do this, do that. But I think Duke is Michigan and Duke are my picks to get to the national championship. And Michigan's a coaching story. and Duke's a talent. There's a lot of good teams this year. The tournament's going to be fun. So, Joe Flacco has been traded to the Broncos. The Ravens proved that they

were going to be fully committed to Lamar Jackson in the future. So the Ravens have agreed in principle to trade Joe Flacco to the Broncos. And Shepter tweet this this morning, that the new Broncos head coach, Vic Fangio, did spend a season in Baltimore with Joe Flacco as the Ravens quarterback,

so he knows what he'll be getting. And former Broncos' exec Gary Kubiak was also a Flacco fan. He mentioned, and how much he liked the soon-to-be Broncos quarterback, so those were strong selling points for them. Now, trades can't be made official until the new year league starts. Right, right. New year starts on March 13th, but this is done.

And Ian Rappaport tweeted just now that the Broncos will shop quarterback Case Keenum, who's guaranteed $7 million in 2019. If they can't, it's either a massive pay cut or a release. Case Keenone to me is the best backup quarterback in the league. Yeah, he said he'd be a top backup. Yeah, I think there's guys. said this before. Nick Foles, Case Keenum, can win playoff games. That Jacobi Brissette. Like, there's three or four guys now in the NFL that I think are really high-end backups.

And that doesn't mean Case Keenum cannot win. He went 13 and 3 with Minnesota. He's not a stiff. I think Flack goes better as an arm talent. But Case Keenum is absolutely worth paying the money. Maybe to the Eagles? Not terrible. They're going to need a backup quarterback and a strong one. I think Jacksonville could use two. There's a lot of places that are going to be calling for Case Keenham because he is a strong backup quarterback. And this is a good thing. I'm glad that the Ravens are going all in on Lamar Jackson.

It's the worst when you go into a season with a quarterback controversy. All training camp you're discussing who's going to win the job. Nobody has any confidence in anyone. The alliances get for him. Just clear the air, make him your guy and move forward and just put all your chips on the table. So finally, Luke Walton's been on the hot seat this season. and the Lakers 117-113 lost to the Hawks last night, only heightened the criticism for him.

And now odds have been released on who will be the next Lakers head coach next season. Okay. With Jason Kidd as the early favorites. Mark Jackson is on the list, Frank Vogel, Kevin McHale, Tom Thibodeau. Luke Walton is still there, Phil Jackson, and LeVar Ball actually has some very long odds. Yeah, I'm not going to. That's, I'm not going there.

You don't feel like that's a good investment? Brown's winning the Super Bowl. I'm not going there. I feel like Tai Lu should be someone that's considered. By the way, my sources tell me that Ty Lou and LeBron are not as close as everybody thinks. Okay. Okay, so my sources tell me that had LeBron come back to Cleveland, Ty Lou wouldn't have necessarily been there. Do you think it's strange that Ty Lou is not on that list?

So when everybody defends LeBron and said he's not tough on coaches, I'm like, Well, he didn't, you know, not the easiest guy in coaches, because Tyloo, that was never as close as everybody proclaimed. That's why Tyloos not on this list. Well, what do you think of Jason Kidd? He's fine. I don't think Luke Walton, Jason Kidd. Why is Luke Walton significantly worse than Jason Kidd? I think they're both fine.

Well, at this point, if they're moving on from Luke Walton, to me, based off of the injuries that they've had this season and the fact that there were really no expectations this season, if they're moving on from him, it's a personality and chemistry thing. more than anything else. Because to me, they're even. Yeah. But Tom Tibido is supposed to be a great coach. I watch Minnesota. I don't see Tibido there at all. And Tibado is not an L.A. kind of coach. No.

Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. It's going to be a Hall of Famer, 13 years, 11-time All-Star, best high school player in Texas. Then he was a great college player. Then he was an all-star,

dominant player in Toronto. Then he went to Miami and won a bunch of rings. Good dude. Chris Bosch, joining us in the herd today. Great to see Krish, who now picks up a basketball only with his kids. Listen, you dealt with those blood clout issues that are serious, and the good news

is you already had established yourself as a Hall of Flame. This wasn't like year six, where you would have left dreams on the table. How did you reconcile all of it? You had basketball left, but dude, you'd given the game a ton and high school, college, pro, rings. You did a lot.

Yeah, looking back on it, yeah, I did do a lot and I'm very blessed to be able to have those opportunities and then deliver. But yeah, I mean, it didn't make it an easy decision. I still had to, you know, consult with my family. I had to be upfront and honest about myself. Just, you know, remembering that is hard the decision to make. And I wanted to play more basketball, as, you know, quite frankly, that's what I wanted to do. I've given my life to it.

And there were still things, you know, being selfish that I wanted to. accomplish in the league, you know. Yeah, but it should be noted, when you were nine years old, if somebody would have said you're going to be the best high school player in Texas, you're going to be a final four guy, you're going to be two rings. If they had a stack to- They did the final four. You didn't get to?

They went to the final four after I left, so they got better without me. People always joke about it. But you had a hell of a career and you're widely respected in the league. Let me ask you about this. And this is not a criticism of LeBron. But LeBron comes into a team And everybody's got this thing that Antonio Anthony Davis is going to come as all going to be good

And I keep saying this LeBron has always been good plan with shooters But I saw you I saw Kevin Love It is tougher with LeBron Yeah He doesn't want you hanging around the rim

Because he wants clarity He wants it open Right So hey Chris go stand over there Now good news is You're a great shooter Hey Kevin go stand over there Anthony Davis isn't you as a shooter.

I don't know, Chris, if that's a home run, is it? Well, I mean, it's a home run because Anthony Davis is Anthony Davis. He's pretty good. And I tell people this all the time. He was the first player that I knew I couldn't guard him. I don't know if he knew that. So I said, okay, let me get whatever I can out this league before this guy figures it out. He's a great player.

He's a phenomenal talent. With talent like that, you figure it out. And that's kind of always been, I guess, my philosophy and moving into things. You can worry about it later. Does he need shooters? Does he not need shooters? Does he need to change his game as he gets older? I don't know.

But he's pretty good and he's pretty good if they're on a team. They'll figure it out. Well, D. Wade and LeBron, if you look at their games, were never a perfect fit. Yeah. They were almost – LeBron was a bigger D. Wade, which is, I'm going to attack the basket. Right. They work to a large degree.

De Wade probably plays bigger than any six four guy ever. A hundred percent. And LeBron can be a point guard at six, nine and a half. So he can shrink if he wants to. So to your point, talents, talent. Could I offer this, though, that,

and this is the way it is, if I had a great singing voice, I'm the late Whitney Houston. Yeah. You're my singing coach. There are times I'm actually tougher to coach. 100%. Of course.

The more talent. LeBron is so gifted, the Swiss Army knife does everything well, that he is harder to coach. He was hard for Eric. He's hard for Luke. He was hard for Blatt. That there's a stress that LeBron creates on the coaching staff. What do you do if you have a biblical talent? Oh, I mean, that's if you can answer that, I think they'll give you a coaching job tomorrow. You know, that's just one of the things. I mean, Mike, Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neill. These were. were once in a generational talents, and what was the verdict on their coachability? Throughout a career, you know, they're always going to be, you know, rumblings that they're difficult. That's just, you know, what it takes to be a great player.

And being a great player, you have to push yourself. You've got to push people. And to be quite frank, nobody likes to be pushed all the time. You know what I mean? So if you're not agreeing with something and there's some sort of tension, It's going to be tension sometimes. You know what I mean?

That's just a part of team sports. I've said before, I think the Miami teams are the smartest teams in league history. Incredibly high functioning. Udonis Haslam, Badiere, Wade, you, LeBron, Ray Allen. It's the smartest team ever assembled. I don't think it's the most gifted. You didn't have a ton of size. No.

The bench was inconsistent. Mario Chalmers drove me crazy. But it's the highest functioning team cereally in my life. And I do believe that LeBron, works better with veterans because he's talented people don't want to be mentors. They want you to figure it out. So he loved you guys. Is it fair to say that Los Angeles, with some quirky one-year deals and kids,

it may not be a perfect DNA fit for him? Look, it's the first year. You know, even me looking at it, I knew that they weren't going to be a super really good team. They have a chance to be good. but looking at the makeup, the guys have to develop. They don't know that there's a whole other level to the NBA. When you bring a superstar into L.A. out of all places, I mean, it's going to be an atomic bomb that goes off,

and they haven't been able to really keep up with it. You can't. You know, they're pretty much learning their job on the fly. So with the young guys, there's going to be tremendous swings and ups and downs. You just have to learn about being consistent, and that's what it is about the NBA. And you have to deal with the spotlight. You know, you're in the limelight now.

This is what happens in the limelight. It's kind of whack when you find out. But it all comes down to the basketball court at the end of the day. So they have to do their job. Does Lonzo and LeBron fit to you? They need the ball. Yeah, I mean, but, you know, Alonzo is so unselfish. You know, he's, you can tell just getting out on the court hill.

He's like the classic point guard where if you pass to him, he just kicks it up. Up to court, I mean, you have to tell him to be a little bit more selfish. So I think he still has more surfaces of his game that he hasn't even thought of or exposed yet. When you played with LeBron, it was four years. You were a rock tour. You were you two in their prime. I mean, you were the stones. Is it emotionally daunting being on a LeBron team?

Is it different? Yeah, no, that's what I mean by that. It's different. It's a spotlight. And I think... When did you first notice it in Miami? The minute I signed. The day.

The day. Same day. And then remember the next day, the decision happened. And so then it just really went. And then the next day we had a nice parade. You know what I mean? I tell people, I tell it, like, we didn't... People didn't like it.

I was like, and I mean, it was awesome. Come on. They had smoke and pyrotechnics and everybody. It was 20,000 people with no basketball game. going on. It was like the playoffs. It was crazy, right? Yeah, I had a great time. Everybody there had a great time. You know, everybody on the outside looking in, not so much. But listen, Joey and I, Joyce spent time in Miami. I love Miami. And I can remember going to games there. And I've always felt sports is better with good stories. It was a fascinating

story. In fact, if you remember the first couple years, you guys were villains. Yeah. And then I think by, then I think kind of people joined in when you won and everybody saw the joy of LeBroner, like, it's kind of fun. Yeah. But the first year, you were a villain. Yeah. I mean, it's kind of like the Warriors, too. It's like, you know, when KD goes there,

but then you look at it, it's like, man, it looks fun. KD. Dishes to Steph. Like, oh, that was a great pass. It's right on the numbers. Steph makes it. They're just so unselfish, moving the ball. Eventually, when you see someone just out there expressing themselves

and having fun and playing a team sport, you can't help but be a part of it. way the Miami Heat are appropriately going to retire your jersey on March 26th. It's a home game against Atlanta. You know, we were talking about, you know, Miami is the aqua water, Pat Riley, D. Wade, then all of a sudden here comes Chris Bosch, Shane Batti, LeBron James, and it all came together. Tell me something about the NBA that fans listening, you know, I say this all the time, Chris, is that everybody wants to say, you guys, make a bunch of money. And I say, can you imagine if tomorrow my company traded me to the Bravo network?

Right. And I got to move my family. Right. Like, take my audience a little insight. I know everybody looks at NBA players as rich. But this league does wear you out. I watch LeBron sometimes and I can sense through body language. He's been doing this, Chris, for 16 years. For sure. Do you sense that where is LeBron do you think now is it somewhat business is it the mogul stage i mean yeah i mean i think we've been in the mogul stage for a while and and those are thoughts that the modern athlete now is thinking about you know and he's definitely one of the pioneers of that um you know after seeing michael jordan be a successful business person and uh and mike magic johnson amongst other NBA greats you know them moving on with their lives you know now we're

understanding the position that we're in. And you have to do both at the same time. You have to do that and try to deliver on the court. Because if you don't deliver on the court, the product is no good. That's right. You know what I mean? That's just how it is. So it's a delicate balance that you have to figure out.

But if you have opportunities to play in the NBA and use your platform for great things, then, you know, by all means to do it. I don't think it's all the way business, but business is definitely way more into it. Like you say, guys will get traded. Like Tyler Johnson, great friend of mine. You know, it is the business. He's on the road. You know, they're already on the West Coast trip.

He gets traded. My wife asked me, what does he do? Well, he has 48 hours to report to Phoenix. You know, point point. Colt Delta Airlines. Yeah, hit him. Get the, send my bags. Hopefully they packed everything and, you know, I'll get the rest of my stuff in the summer.

That's how it is. You don't miss that part of it? No, I don't miss it, man. I mean, it's road life, and that's one of the things that kind of helped me in my decision. My kids, you know, they, uh, everything is cool now because, you know, I'm able, you know, to work, but I come right back, you know, on those trips, man, they just, you know, especially being in Miami, you're going up during the cold weather and, you know, it's an Arctic blast going on, and it's five below. You got aqua water at home.

Yeah, you know what I mean? You get out the pool. And then, you know, next thing you know, you're freezing. So it's just a tough dynamic to handle when you're living on the road, man. You had a great career. You're a man with options. You could get into broadcasting. You could go into the front office.

You could do a lot of stuff. That's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to keep those things in mind as I build for the future. But, you know, I've got some things coming. You know, I definitely want to be involved with basketball. Continue, you know, to do media stuff. It's fun. I'm talking to you guys is fun, man.

I've worked at other places. This place is good. Yeah. I'm just telling you. I'm not going to get into particular names. Hey, man. You know, everybody's, LeBron is recruiting.

That's, that's, that might be, yeah. I'm tampering. Magic. Magic almost got in trouble for tampering. I'm tampering right now. I'm tampering with talent. It's like, of course, it's tamper. I tamper too.

We're trying to win a championship. We need players. Do you want to come? Come on, let's win a championship. That's the only way things get done. great seeing you man good to see you as well Chris Bosch back in a second of the herd be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific cold and flu season vixinex nasal spray couple of whiffs on that puppy uses directed 12 hours do not eat it

did that as a kid bad news by the way everybody's uh you know there's an old term in our business trapped in the moment you know people freak out about stuff and we overreact is what the media did when the lakers beat the celtics and you know it's sports sports create reactions to stuff. And, you know, I've said, I don't think I'm a hot take guy. I'm usually a wet blanket guy, not a hot take guy. I usually come out and say, can we grow up? This is not a big deal.

When the Lakers beat the Celtics, my reaction was, oh, God, grow up. It means nothing. They're going to get shelled by Philadelphia in two nights. They're not a great team. They have one great player. So everybody now is jumping into the Kyler Murray is going to go number one to Arizona, and they're going to trade Josh Rosen. I don't believe that's going to happen.

The owner said no. Yesterday the Arizona Cardinals came out and said no. They spent the number 10 pick in the first round. I don't think the GM is going to acknowledge, yeah, I whiffed on that. That's not the way it works. If they get a new GM, he'd be much more likely to move off his pick. But a GM doesn't make a pick. And then the next year say, yeah, my pick was no good.

That's not the way the game works. People that make picks, general managers, tend to be loyal to their picks. So it makes them look good. They're not going to do this. And the other thing about Kyler Murray is, first of all, generally short quarterbacks don't work. I know everybody watches Russell Wilson, but Seneca Wallace was small. He didn't work. And Troy Smith was small, and he didn't work.

And Johnny Mansell was small, and he didn't work. And Pat White was small, and he didn't work. Russell Wilson's an outlier, a tiny, and not even small, a tiny frame, tiny guy that runs around. The other thing is, all these Oklahoma quarterbacks are amazing because Lincoln, Riley's amazing. The last four quarterbacks that Lincoln Riley has had between East Carolina and Oklahoma, Dominique Davis, amazing numbers, Shane Cardin, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, they're all almost the same numbers. He makes all of them great. Baker Mayfield's the only one of those guys that to me is an elite thrower of the football. Kyler Murray is a good thrower of the

football. Baker Mayfield's an elite thrower of the football. Baker Mayfield's an elite thrower of the football. That's why you don't know where Shane Cardin and Dominique Davis are. So stop the Russell Wilson comparisons. Russell Wilson's a first ballot hall of famer. It's one of the greatest quarterback towns. I've never seen anything like Russell Wilson. Steve Young's the only thing I've ever seen in my life. Steve Young's it.

And he's a Hall of Famer. The only guy I've ever seen that is Russell Wilson, and I'm like, oh, he can run and throw equally well. Russell's it. I mean, Russell Wilson's made Tyler Lockett and Doug Baldwin. when like pro-bowl-level elite receivers. They're good players. They're not great players. When they team with Russell, they're great players.

He led the NFL on touchdown passes with the worst offensive line in the league two years ago. That's not Kyler Murray. So small guys generally don't work. Manzell didn't work. Michael Vick, for all the promise, was never as good as we thought he was going to be. Troy Smith didn't work. Pat White didn't work. Seneca Walls didn't work.

Well, what about Baker? Baker's a pocket elite thrower, which I told you before the draft. He wasn't my cup of tea. grabbing his junk nonsense, but he's an elite thrower. Kid throws a great football. In fact, he throws a better football in the pros that he did in college. I liked him in college. I think he throws it better in the NFL.

I don't think he's going to be a pro bowler, but I think he's an elite thrower of the football. So Arizona's in a brutally tough division. You've got McVeigh and the Rams. You got Garoppolo, Kyle Shanahan. I got Pete Carolyn Russell Wilson. You know what they need? They don't need Kyle or Murray.

They need draft picks. They need to trade the number one pick. can get four picks for it. They don't need Kyler Murray. Ask yourself, do you think in 10 years Kyler Murray is going to be running around wrecking this league? A little 5-8 guy running around. Really?

Really? Come on. Just. Arizona doesn't need that. What they need is a left tackle, a new center, a right guard, a pass, well, they got a pass rusher. Chandler Jones still, right? You know, they got a pass rusher. Slow down.

Sometimes things sound fun, but they're not realistic, and that is not realistic. Bill Pollyan, one of the smartest guys, Hall of Fame level executive is now running the American Alliance of Football. I'm going to talk to him coming up next hour. And why Michael Jordan is back on my good list. Michael Jordan is back on my good list. Hour two coming up. It's the herd.

One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours in. Today, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Hour 2 in L.A. Wet L.A. raining again. It's the herd.

Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio today. Fox Sports Radio, Sirius XM Channel 83 on the podcast later. FS2 today. We got knocked off FS1 on FS2 back on FS1 tomorrow. And then Friday I'm just doing a radio show on Radio. only that'll be fun. Joy Taylor is joining me. How are you? I'm doing great. How are you? One of the smartest football guys I've ever worked with Bill Pollyan.

Yes. Hall of Fame level executive. Hall of Fame, former Colt, Buffalo Bill, built the Colts under Peyton Manning, built the bills, Jim Kelly. One of the smartest guys I've ever met in football. Deerly miss him. Wonderful guy is a co-founder of A-AF, American Alliance of Football. And I've said before, I'm not sure if the league's going to work, but I think one of the two or both will work. My gut feeling is these new football leagues, and I feel strong about it. I would be an investor if I could. Told you this years ago about the UFC 15 years ago.

Could I invest? If I had the money, I would have. It sold for $4.5 billion. I told you seven, eight years ago, if I could invest in the MLS, I would have. It was $35 million then. It's $185 million now for an expansion fee. And I think I would invest in both these leagues. There's no anxiety from the NFL.

NFL, I think, wants both these leagues to succeed. And I'll say this about these leagues. Bottom line, here's why they're going to work. Because the NFL has been showing us time and time again, they go after other leagues. They go after baseball. They go after college basketball. You don't think the NFL would love to see a February, March, early April football league to get guys like me talking about the NBA less?

Hell, yeah. They move all their free agency, their draft, their combat. The NFL is in a battle with other leagues. They love that baseball won't shrink their. season. They love that baseball playoffs happen in October, right in the middle of football. So the NFL wants, they're in a battle with the NBA for eyeballs and Twitter clicks. And they would love to see one of these football leagues work. Plus, neither one of them, I think, have aspirations of replacing the NFL.

That's right. That's right. So it only complements it. Yeah. By the way, I thought this was interesting. So I believe I'm not into this whole Westbrook James Harden chasing stats, chasing plaques. chasing awards. I'm not into it. The only thing that matters in the NBA is winning titles. I don't give a rip about stats. I'm not into Westbrook. I think Hardin's better than Westbrook by a lot, but I'm not into him, you know, staying in blowout games to get records. Both Westbrook and Hardin

are chasing Wilts Chamberlain records, and I'll get to that in a second. But it's interesting because MJ was asked the other day about what's more impressive, what Westbrook's doing triple doubles or what Hardin's doing scoring 30 a game. Which is harder from a player's standpoint. six championships by all means. Winning. By the way, Westbrook has had teammates. Carmelo Anthony acknowledged.

Yeah, yeah, he's chasing rebounds. We're kind of goosing his rebound stats. Carmelo admitted it. And James Harden, his team is admitting it by keeping him in blowouts to hit a meaningless three. LeBron James, by the way, had a triple double last night. Here was LeBron James thought on his amazing triple double last night. At the end of the day, we lost the ball game.

I don't care what I did individually. I can care less if I'm not winning ball games. That's what I'm all about. So I can throw that game in the trash. Triple double, throw it in trash. Because LeBron's chasing something bigger. And you see this all the time. You see it in Hollywood.

You see it in tech. You see it in sports. You see it in the NBA. There are two paths you can take. In Hollywood, you can be the rock. Make money and be popular. That's disposable. Nobody's going to be talking about rampage,

Ice Graper, Tooth Fairy, eight minutes after they're released. But it makes Rock rich and popular. I like Rock. Everybody likes Rock. Leonardo DiCaprio would not star on the Tooth Fairy. He's in Revenant. He's in Wolfo Wall Street. He's in Departed. He's in Blood Diamond.

We quote those movies 30 years later. They have lasting influence. Those are two different paths. The Rock's going to get popular and make money. Leonardo DiCaprio will be quoted. Matters, not a disposable career. You see this in tech all the time. Apps, apps, apps make people rich.

They're mostly time wasters. Almost no app matters. It's right, they're time wasters. I mean, angry birds made somebody rich. Uber, FaceTime, Google Maps change the world. Which path do you want? Will Chamberlain holds all those stat records. It's more famous, 100 points,

Bill Russell, his career matters more. Do you know what the NBA Finals MVP Award is called? It's not called the Wilt Award. It's called the Bill Russell Award. Didn't score like Wilt, didn't rebound like Wilt, didn't have the assist, didn't have all the records. Disposable or long-lasting? Westbrook and Harden, it's not ironic, are chasing Wilt's records.

not Russell's. What do you want to be? Famous and popular? Or quoted, remembered, critically acclaimed, and I'm not a huge believer in critical acclaim, but in Hollywood movies, it matters. Oscars matter. They do.

So, you know, I look at a lot of this stuff with Hardin and Westbrook. And you can choose either. Hardin, keep me in the game. Blow out loss, win. want to get that record. LeBron James is chasing something greater than player of the month. Couldn't you argue, though, that we need both? Not really.

I mean, you don't want to just unplug sometimes and watch. Tooth Fairy? Never. You don't just need a light movie every once in a while? By the way, light movies, a hangovers hysterically funny. I'm not saying I don't like comedies. There's never been a point in my life. I thought, you know what I want? I want to spend $70.

on popcorn tickets and watch Tooth Fairy. If Revenant was the level of every movie, I'd go to the movies more. The problem is half the movies stink. Now I just stay home and wait for Vice to come out at home, and I'll watch it in my theater. Oh, we go to the movies a lot. But, I mean, I think that you need balance and everything. So you're for- You gotta have the Russell Westbrook's that get the stats and make it exciting during the regular season.

And then you appreciate the guys like MJ and LeBron who win the championship. in a different category. I just don't think everything can be the same. And it depends on what you're motivated by. But I think, in sports, it's about winning. I agree with this. You and I have gone back and forth on this a lot. I prefer championships.

MJ is the greatest to me. Well, not even championships. It's not just championship. You prefer team. You prefer we over me. Because sports is about a collaboration, a community, a unit. You're building together a momentum. Right.

I don't think basketball's better with Russell Westbrook shooting 28 times and shooting 40%. I think the Westbrook now, who's a distributor, still can't shoot. Oklahoma City's better. The game's better. It's a better example. Like I think Westbrook's game now is about winning. And he still can't shoot. His plus minus is the fourth best on his own team.

Right. But I mean, I think like even with Will and Bill Russell when you use those examples, when we look at, Wilts Chamberlain, we talk about his career in a fun way. You know, he's still someone who contributed to the game. He still put up incredible numbers. You just put Bill in a different category. The winning category. Listen, I like the rock.

The rock is fun. If James Hardin was, I would watch him play. Like, to your point, if Hardin was in town tonight, I'd go watch. Right. Like, I just think that there needs, there's always a, in sports is entertainment, right? There's always just to be a balance and everything. But I don't necessarily think that. I think the NBA media tends to fall in love with the less relevant stuff and not pay attention to the more relevant stuff.

There's too much fanboy. Yeah, we get distracted. I don't think we do as a show. I think our show is the wet blanket. We try to balance things out. But, of course, everyone gets excited and attracted to the new, fun, you know, interesting thing. And that tends to be, you know, we talk about the Patriots and the Warriors, like, winning gets boring. because it's consistent.

You know, I went yesterday, I got a physical. I went and got a physical yesterday. This is just about a minute of wasted time, but I have to tell you about this. So I go to get a physical, and you know, it's just not that much fun. They're poking and prodding and stuff and, you know, whatever. And then I get my blood test at the end.

And so I just close my fist and I turn away. I don't mind giving blood, given it three or four times a year. I don't want to watch it. And I'm sitting there talking to lay, blah, blah, blah. And then I turn over to the right. There's like six vials of blood over there. What am I?

A vampire? happening to me. She got you. Six miles. I'm exhausted today. I may not be able to do the third hour. Where does that blood going? I don't know that I've ever. Where is all that blood going? Well, you know, they got to send them to different places and labs and make sure that, you know, you're good. How many, how much do you need? That's what I don't understand. Don't they just use like one little drop on the thing? Yeah, if you put one drop in a slide, you literally know my levels of ribol-flavin. You know my, I mean, you know everything about me. Six vials of blood. It does seem excessive the amount of blood that they need for one little drop.

It seems like a lot. Yeah. We sound like scientists and doctors right now. Yeah. I think we picked the right profession. Bill Pollyan, super smart guy on the A.A.F. And by the way, I'm going to ask him about Antonio Brown. What do you do if a guy is an unbelievable monster talent, but he is 31 this year.

And there is some baggage. Bill Poldian's around the corner. 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

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Great to have you back in. One of the smartest guys I've ever worked with in my life. He would talk, I would listen. He was a six-time NFL executive of the year. Colt, Panther, Bill GM. I mean, he just built everywhere he went. He just built up football rosters. I won a Super Bowl, obviously, with the Colts.

And he's one of the co-founders of the American Alliance of Football, the AAF, which I watched this past weekend on CBS. And I said on the air, I think one or both of these new leagues are going to work. I think it's a new time. I think there's a lot of different reasons, from legalized sports gambling to these are not adversarial relationships with the NFL. I think there's a lot of football talent in America. And I frankly think you're going to have big marketing brands. CBS is going to be behind this league.

That's a big company. And again, I don't think the NFL, it's a spring football league. There's 33 sports networks. We're all looking for content, folks. We're all dying. The only thing that works on television anymore is live sports and some politics. So I think this stuff's going to work. Do they both work?

I don't know, but AAA got a yearhead start, and Bill Polion is joining me. First of all, Bill, I love talking to you. I love that you now are able to come on my show. What was the genesis, the beginning when you said to yourself, listen, I'm going to give this a run. I think this can work. What were the reasons behind your move into this? Well, as you know, Colin, I've been talking about this for some time

because I'm hearing from my friends in the NFL, we need a developmental league. We need a developmental league. We need a place to develop coaches and players and scouts and so on. We need a place to train minorities so they can get on the offensive side of the ball and become offensive coordinators and quarterback coaches and get on a career path that leads to a head coaching job. So that's been out there for a long, long time. And when I met with Charlie Ebersole and he laid the plan out for me,

you know, he said to me, you think this can work? I said, yes, it can't. None of it's going to be perfect right out of the box. But the idea is sound, the approach is sound. And then the key to the approach was that, A, we're not in competition with the NFL. In fact, we're trying to augment the NFL, and we're trying to reach football fans who really want to watch football and don't want to go dark after the Super Bowl. And secondly, we're going to run a league that is all football.

The slogan we've used, it's a mantra really that we're living by is real football for real football fans by real football. football people. We've got all NFL people doing this. We've got people with tons and tons of experience. We've got coaches who have NFL experience, extensive NFL experience. And so we're putting a game on the field that looks and feels and sounds like the NFL, minus, of course, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning and people like that. Let me ask you this though, Bill. Would the NFL, because I think this league will be elevated more quickly if the quarterback plays solid. One of the games I watched, I'm like, oh, these guys are slinging it around.

They're spinning it around. This is real football. So obviously, good quarterback plays more fun to watch. It looks like real football. Is there a possibility at some point you could go to the NFL and say, listen, you got a third quarterback. Why don't you let us play in our league? You can watch him.

It's like being on an, you know, it's certainly as good as your scout teams. What about the idea of using occasional third quarterbacks on NFL teams? Would they consider that, do you think? Well, we've talked about it in general. They can't consider it because it's tied up with the union and the CBA, because you can't send players down as you can in Major League, baseball, and in the D-League. Is that an objective? Of course it is.

Absolutely. Yeah. And there are many players, by the way, who did not sign futures contracts at the end of their year on the practice squad and chose to come and play with us, number one, because it pays a little bit better, and number two, because they'll be finished with us by the time it's time to go back to OTAs. Yeah. But back to the quarterback issue, absolutely we'd love to have that, and that's a goal,

but it's not achievable just yet. Meanwhile, we're developing our own guys who are throwing it around pretty well, that's for sure. No, there's no question. You know, it's funny about, you know, I was talking yesterday, I said, as a parent, Bill, my life and my, my parenting the same values and principles today that 100 years ago, love your kid, be there for them, don't worry about being cool, do your homework. I always tell my kids when you get home from school, go to bed early, get up early, little exercise,

little travel, blah, blah, blah, all the basic principles. But over time, that gets more complicated with social media, all these technologies. Well, the same thing in football, is that football, it was still Tom Brady and Jared Gough, who couldn't outrun a bar stool in the Super Bowl. And I'm seeing Mitch Trubisky running around and Lamar can run around and Kyler Murray's 5, 8 and a half. And part of me, Bill, is like, time out. Time out.

What am I supposed to make a Kyler Murray? Now, in your league, home run. But the NFL, these are billion-dollar franchises. What do I make? What is the standard? Five-eight and a half, 5-9. Is there a line you would not be comfortable if you ran an NFL team with a quarterback size?

Sure. Yeah. Anytime you're below six feet, it's worrisome. Anytime you're below nine and three quarters in hand size, it's worrisome. So that person has to be an exception. So you sit there and you say to yourself, okay, is this guy an exception? Does he have the arm strength? Does he have the athletic ability? Does he have the strength, the girth in his body to withstand the kinds of blows he's going to take in the NFL? all of that adds up to is he Drew Brees

you know is he the guy in Seattle that's the question that everyone asked because they're the exceptions Bill Parcells I'm sure told you and I know told me if you start building with exceptions you'll end up with a team full of exceptions

and he's exactly right but there are exceptions and as the game goes 53 and a third yards wide which is brand new. This is something that's new in this century, really, and almost since 2010, there's more room for smaller people. That's well put. The dimensions have changed, so the dimensions of quarterbacks and the need there has changed. One more NFL question. Antonio Brown, great talent. Bill, you're one of the people that taught me

that you had to look at age, you had to look at hand size, you had to look at the length of a tackle's arms compared to what guards aren't. Everything matters. And I look at the Pittsburgh Steelers, and people think Antonio Brown's a problem, and I see it as an opportunity, Bill. Six-round player ends up giving them 11,000 yards. He's now 31, flip him for a pick. Buy low, sell high. Got a ton out of him. Steelers drafted a position very well, Bill. They have for 20 years. They got Juju Smith-Schuster. I don't see it as a massive problem with Antonio Brown. You grafted him in the sixth. You got a ton of production. He's 31. move him. Do you as a GM, do you worry about the blowback that you lose a star? How will it work in the locker

room? How do you, give me both sides, the GM, losing a star and perhaps acquiring one that's hard to deal with? Well, I give you, one is such a great player, and he probably has, since he's absolutely elite, you know, a few more good seasons in him. That's number one. Number two, if you deal them, you deal them. And number three, what is the blowback? Well, the blowback is in the media, it's in the fans. But if you make a wise choice, then you'll be okay in the long run. In the short run, you'll have indigestion and a headache as the GM,

but in the long run, it'll prove to be successful if you've made the right choice. Did you ever struggle with moving a player? Did you ever worry about blowback ever in your three stops? No, not really. Right. Not your personality. It's not my personality. That's exactly right.

I want to go back, I want to go back to the AAF. So there's going to be another league in a year, the XFL. Is that competition? Is it friendly? How do you view that? Because I think one of these leagues is going to work. I think it's possible both work, frankly. I think the appetite's fairly insatiable in America for football.

But how are you going to look? Because you're not competing with the NFL, but do you see the XFL as one of you lives, one of you dies. How do you view a new league? Well, number one, we're in business. The XFL is talking. You know, there's no football players on the field. There are no football

players signed. So, there's nothing that we can look at and say this is the X or Y or Z. More importantly, the thing we have to do is get the best product we can

on the field, week to week, in the stadium on television and let the chips fall where they may. The best thing we can do to help our brand is to grow it as quickly and as aesthetically pleasing Lee as we can. That's the answer. And don't worry about, as Tony Junders used to say, do what we do. Don't worry about anybody else. And finally, Bill Pollyan joining us, former Colt Panther, Bill GM,

the AAF, the American Alliance of Football. what do you make of what you watched in that Super Bowl? What do you make of this dynasty? It doesn't even make sense, right? Bill, it just doesn't work that way. You don't have 20 years of greatness. What do you just make, if nobody ever, if a novice came up and said, Bill Polion, explain what we're seeing with the Patriots.

How do you explain it? Well, there's two parts to it. The first is getting there. And that, you know, you have to be a little bit lucky. you have to play in the division that's down, which they do. You know, you have to be in a situation where the ball bounces your way, which it has in the last two championship games. That's one thing.

Now, when you get there, if I picked one coach, and I've been around Coach Shula and Coach Levy and Coach Walsh and, you know, all of the great ones, if I had to pick one coach who had two weeks to prepare, it ain't close. It's Bill Belichick. by a wide margin. So when you get there, forget about it.

If he has two weeks to prepare, it's over, man. You better have four weeks to prepare. There is nobody better at dissecting an opponent's weaknesses, negating their strengths, disguising his weaknesses, and managing a game in a way

that puts you at a disadvantage. advantage than Bill Belichick. No one. No one in the game today and probably less than a handful in history. So that's your answer. Yeah, no, it really is amazing. It is fascinating. You know, he had a unique childhood experience. His dad was on the forefront of scouting, so he was around football. And his mom spoke seven languages, so there's an academic intensity to Bill's life.

And Sean McBay's got some of that as well. If you look at his childhood. He does, of course. Yes. So I think sometimes it's like the Malcolm Glass. well, 10,000-hour rule. You know, Wayne Gretzky was just better early and more committed early, and sometimes it's a break from the parenting to the environment.

But I agree with you. Belichick, I'm fascinated by his intellect, by how he sees the world. And you know the underrated part to that stuff, Bill? He's had the same running back coach, Dante Scarnacia, McDaniels. They're in a more mobile society where all these coaches are moving around. He's got about four guys he can lean on, and I think that's a big factor in all this. That is a huge factor.

That is a huge factor. That's exactly right. He can lose any number of guys on defense. The guys on offense that you mentioned, they're hard to replace. Bill Pollian, A-A-F, congrats, good luck. I think it's going to work, and we'll talk soon. Okay, buddy, thank you. Bill Pollyan, just a bunch of stuff there.

A lot of football stuff. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So, as we just mentioned, the Patriots beat the Rams in Super Bowl 53 to give Tom Brady his sixth ring. How many is it I lost count? How many is it?

Six. Any NFL player. The only reason it bothers me is because they're now tied with the Steelers, who had an incredibly disappointing season, as we know. But that hasn't stopped him from looking towards the future. Really? Really? The Patriots posted a picture of Brady from his Super Bowl parade where he puts up the six fingers to represent six. titles and then he commented on the photo with two emojis that hold up seven fingers.

This is the coolest sports picture. I'm not joking. If that was a, if that was, that's art. Tom Brady holding up six fingers. That is art. Seriously. Did Picasso do that? Matisse? I mean, that is, you know, the thing about it is I really, I, I stopped doubting Tom Brady. I picked the Rams to win the Super Bowl, but that's just more because I just wanted them to the Super Bowl. I stopped doubting Tom Brady after that Falcons comeback. And also just it's no life. It's no kind of life to just sit there and root against the Patriots. I've done it for many years. It's exhausting. It's really pointless. When it's over, they'll let us know. And then we can go about our day. They've become Apple. They occasionally have a bad product

than an hour later, stocks back up. Yeah. Every once in a while, they take away the headphone jack and you're like, why would you do that? Why would you do that? But there'll be right back on track. All right, so the Lakers lost to the Hawks, 117, 113 last night. And we'll enter the All-Star break under 500. They are currently 10th place in the West with two and a half games behind the Kings for the eighth and final playoff spot. And after the loss, LeBron was asked if he's worried about the Lakers missing the playoffs. Here was his response. So you either make it or don't make it.

That's when you worry about it. No, I don't know. That was a little glib for me. That was a little non-believable for me. Yeah. This is, well, this will be the latest into the season. LeBron has fallen below 500 since the Cavs finished 35 and 47 in his rookie year. Wow.

Where did you dig that one up from? They haven't been, well, that's been everywhere. Like this is basically the worst team that he's played with since, you know, as far as wins go. Just the crazy. Look at this video. This is bad for our radio audience. There's a lid on the basket. The Hawks are wearing blue uniforms.

The courts got red all over it and has Matt Yellow. That is honestly like an LSD head trip. There's a lot going on there. And a lot of missed baskets too. So there's only 25 games left in the season. And it's not looking real great for them in the Western Conference. He missed the playoffs his first two seasons in the league. And then he missed the Eastern Conference finals in 08 in 2010.

This is the Western Conference standings right now. I got to say, I did not think going into this year that there were any real expectations on LeBron as far as him making the finals or even making the Western conference finals. But I will say if they miss the playoffs. Oh, that's bad. Or if they get wiped in the first round of the playoffs. It's not good.

Here's the thing. He's played his entire career in the Eastern Conference. So the narrative is going to be, whether we like it or not, there's going to be. there's going to be some people saying, well, he did have all that success. And as soon as he came to the west, what happens? It's not going to be a lot of excuses in the situation. So even though there weren't a lot of expectations, that's not going to be a good look for him. So while he's saying he's not going to worry about it until it happens,

I'm pretty sure that is on the back burner. Finally, the Cardinals and new head coach Cliff Kingsbury have the first pick in the 2019 NFL draft. And Kyla Murray decided to pursue a career in the NFL. So it's been a lot of speculation that Kingsbury will. want to draft Murray and move on from Josh Rosen, who is the last year's first round pick for the Cardinals. However, on Tuesday, Kingsbury clarified that he is committed to their second year quarterback. Our feelings towards Josh haven't waned or changed or anything. I get, we have the first pick, and so there's going to be a million scenarios over the next three months they're

going to come up, but no, Josh is our guy. Well, first of all, he's implementing an offense. Would you want to do it again with Kyler Murray? It's hard enough to be a rookie head coach. How would you like to get the job. For three and a half months, you worry about one offense, and then the team goes out and drafts the other quarterback, you got to put another offense. It's hardened enough to be a rookie coach in that division. Right. And also, I just, I don't think that Kyler Murray is a number one overall draft pick. Yeah, I don't either. I mean, obviously they could make some trades and move down and maybe feel like he'll still be there. But you need a lot of pieces if you're the Cardinals. And Josh Rosen, to me, is not something to panic about. They had the 20, according to the NFL,

28th ranked offense and the 32nd ranked offense according to pro football focus. I mean, offensive line. Their offensive line was terrible. It was old unathletic. It is now become first or second worst O line in the league. Right. Like they had a terrible offensive line. That's very hard for a rookie quarterback to navigate.

So get some pieces, get some skill pieces around him, build your offense around him, and give him an opportunity. Everyone thought that Jared Gough was a bus. He just played in the Super Bowl. Good point. Maybe just give it, maybe just like one more year before we've moved. And by the way, Jared Goff had a defensive head coach. Then he got an offensive guy and looked way better.

Isn't that funny how it works? Isn't it funny how it works? And you're just like not panicked. You know, I just thought of something crazy. Why isn't Earl? Would Earl take the Laker job? How are you going to ask me that? What do you mean?

What do you mean? I don't know what Earl is going to do whatever Earl decides is best for his career. Is he going to take the UCLA job? I have no answers for anything. I'm not trying to put you on the spot. I just came popping me on my head. Oh, you're not putting me on the spot right now. Well, you put you put the list out with all the people replacing Luke earlier.

Well, the odds weren't on there. I didn't see Earl Watson's name on there. Hey, this is journalism on the show. It doesn't matter. We probe for the right answers. Well, this is not journalism. If your source is live on the set with you. If Earl gets a job and we don't break the story, it's not going to be a good day. If he gets a UCLA job, you're going to give him a stern talking to? No kidding. He gets the job and somebody else breaks it. That'd be no good. Joy with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. By the way, we're going to give you, Chris Haynes is totally connected to all this stuff. Lakers have eight days off. My gut feeling is Luke Walton's going to get whacked. I feel bad for him because I don't think he's the issue, but I think he's going to get whacked. So Chris Haynes is going to give us a real big-time, time-appropriate answer to that.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Pelotons, a game-changing bike, indoor cycling bike. Brings the energy alive classes to your home, up to 14 live rides a day. and more at Peloton bike at OnePeloton.com or visit your local showroom. It's one of my guys, senior NBA insider for Yahoo Sports, covered LeBron and the Cavs at the Cleveland Plain dealer, former Warrior reporter. He's all locked in. He's Chris Haynes and he is joining us today.

Chris, all right, now we get to the All-Star break, right? We got eight days off for the Lakers. That would be a perfect time, if so inclined, to move off Luke Walton. And there's a lot of rumors. Do you think Luke Walton is coaching the Lakers in eight days, Chris? I think he is. I think he is. I think if you look at what all is transpired over the last couple of weeks,

I don't think that you can place the blame primarily on Luke Walton. There's no secret about it that with the trade rumors that were going on, with the Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans, how everything just became so public, you just knew that it was going to take time for that locker room to heal from that. And so, you know, then you add the fact that LeBron James out for a different amount of time. And I just don't think with all those factors, I just don't think you can place the blame solely on Luke as a right now. So I do think that he will be given a chance to coach past his break.

You know, there's an interesting scenario building. Jason Tatum said he's open or there's a report that he's open to becoming the face of the Pelicans. Now, I don't think it's going to happen. I don't think they're going to let him go. Danny Aange wouldn't allow it. But Anthony Davis also said he didn't want to be a Celtic. And then Kyrie Irving hasn't committed to the franchise. What's going on in Boston?

This felt like the standard of how to read a build a franchise. Kyrie's heard again. A rumor that Tatum would leave. Anthony Davis, I was told last week by somebody I trust, Anthony Davis will not be a Celtic. He will not stay there. What's going on? What is happening to this perfect rebuild a year ago that it seems wobbly today?

Well, if you look at that roster, you look at what they accomplished last year, that was essentially a squad as the equivalent of a college team. Where there wasn't really a true star, everybody kind of bought in. And, you know, that's Brad Stevens. You know, he's one of the best college coaches we had during his 10 years. and he had a roster equipped to go in there and orchestrate his plan of attack. Now you add in Kyrie Irving, who was a superstar this league. You add in Gordon Hayward, who it was a star.

And now you're trying to blend personality. And that's where I think Brad Stevens has had the most problems this year, is that we know X knows he's up there with anybody in the league. But now he has to manage personalities. And that's the biggest obstacle that coaches have to face whenever they're coaching some of the higher echel of players in this league.

It's how to manage personalities. Now, he hasn't done well in that regard. And that's where he has to overcome. Soon or later, it's going to get to a point where you're going to have to challenge somebody's guys. You may have to get in the verbal confrontation with some of these guys. I don't think he's reached the point where he feels comfortable

enough to do that. But when you're dealing with guys like that on that roster right now, on top of the trade rumors being circulated to how fierce it was, that's just something that Brad hasn't had to face the NBA, and I think he's going through a learning curve. By the way, they're 8 and 2 without Kyrie Irving. They have a better winning percentage without Kyrie who's hurt again. They average five more points a game without him. They shoot better from the field without him. They average three and a half more assists without him. He's a great offensive player, but I I think to your point, you know, Stevens has run the Butler and the young Celtic offense. And when you get a star, you know, it's funny, Chris, a great rebounder or a great defender always make everybody better.

But a great scorer doesn't make every team better. I mean, Kevin Durant is a better player than Steph Curry. But the Warriors are much better without Kevin Durant than they are Steph. I just wonder if Kyrie Irving even fits with Brad Stephen Steyer. And I think that's something that I think we still have to monitor. I don't want to go out there right now and say, you know, he doesn't make them better. But look, obviously there's familiarity without him on the floor. They get right back to doing what they were doing last year.

I will say this. At the end of the game, the last two minutes of a game, you do want somebody who could just go and get a bucket. Yeah. And Kyrie's the best at that. But definitely right now, they're used to playing without Kyrie. And it's not such a big loss. But I don't know as a right now if they're a better overall team with him sideline. I still got some more time before we figure that up.

I think Paul George is my MVP. Yonis, probably two. Close race with Hardin. Who would you give it to today? Man, I'm feeling Paul George right now, Cullough. Like, what he's doing, like, I was there. in Vegas, man, when he had that catastrophic of injury, man.

And, you know, that was tough. To see him bounce back and bounce back in a way that he's playing at a all-time great level right now. I'm never I wouldn't, I wouldn't envision this at all, especially playing

along Russell Westbrook. I wouldn't envision him having this type of surgery. So he's right there. I don't know if he's number one. I probably got I probably still got James, probably number one. I think I move Paul George at number two right now, then I'm the honest, but I don't have a beef at all.

You've got him number one, hey, more power to you. He's playing at an all-al elite level, man. He's definitely in the race. Well, he's also a two-way player. Clay Thompson, Kauai Leonard, Paul George, there's a handful of guys that give it to you two ways. You know, I have about a minute left. I watched Body Language of LeBron last night.

Not great. Seemed almost disengaged at times. if I said to you, first seven, eight years in the league, it was 100% basketball, then by the end of Miami it was 80% basketball, 20% business. What do you think it is in L.A. today? What's the balance?

I still think the majority is basketball, college. I think they came in with the expectations of obviously that this was not going to be a year that they competed for a championship. Now, did they think that this is going to be a season that they

potentially might not make the playoffs no no this that that wasn't even a thought uh so what they're going through right now the bi language you could see everybody can see it man this is this is it's going to take some time you know there's some healing that needs to be done to that locker room yeah but uh yeah no but look lebron's a competitor um if he if he goes if this if this like the squad and we you know that we we know as a roster there's just not a clip to go far but if they don't make the playoffs. Man, I just predict that there will, I predict that there will be some awfully loud noise over in Lakeland over the off-season.

Like, there will have to be some changes made. There will, there will be some more immense pressure placed upon that franchise. So, you know, LeBron's focused on basketball, but, you know, not making the playoffs. You know, we think we've seen a lot from a LeBron James team as far as pressure and expectations, boy, if they don't make the playoffs, we, We ain't seen nothing yet. Senior NBA insider Yahoo Sports, Chris Haynes. Good talking to you.

Thanks, Colin. Take care of my guy. This Valentine's Day, ditch the chocolate and roses. Give the gift of comfort. Tommy John. Tommyjohn.com code heard 20% off your first order. Tommyjohn.com code H-E-R-D. God, that would be crazy.

LeBron doesn't make the playoffs. You put that graphic up. I just want to see it for our TV, and I'll say it on radio. where the Lakers are right now. Sacramento is really a fascinating team. I don't know if they have the legs at the end, but Deerrin Fox, Marvin Bagley, interesting, interesting team.

Really fun to watch. Not a lot of people are paying attention to them. Yeah, they play really fast. I do think LeBron will figure out a way to get into the postseason. That is my guest. Final hour is coming out. We've been loaded today.

Chris Bosch, Bill Paulde, and Chris Haynes. What a show so far. Hour three in wet and dreary Los Angeles. Please don't move here. It's the Hurt. Want more HARD? The HARD streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHard Radio app.

Search HARD to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Ah, this is the Hurt Hour 3, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. We're live in Los Angeles. IHart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, also on Sirius XM Channel 83. You know, it's so funny, Bryce Harper, that baseball thing, Bryce Harper is like,

hey, I'm not going to take any short-term deals. Baseball is the craziest sport. Whenever you can't get signed, it's collusion. Colin Kaepernick. Collusion. Bryce Harper. All these baseball guys. Collusion. No, nobody wants to sign a baseball player to attend your contract. That's not collusion. It's that baseball figured out. These are horrible contracts for the team.

And you're into it in four years and you're like, oh, my God, this is an awful deal. Well, it's slightly different situations. Well, yeah, but even Kaepernick is, yeah, I can't get signed. Yeah, that's because the world's media for a backup quarterback would involve. the team. Like, that's not what anybody wants from a backup. Like Tim Tebow, by the way, I told somebody this the other day. Tim Tebow won seven straight games in the NFL. Nobody wanted to touch him. It wasn't because Tim couldn't play in the NFL. Like Johnny Mansell can play. Nobody wants the backup to be a superstar. Like, nobody wants, like you should be Drew Stanton.

I can't even recognize you at a mall. You put a cap on. I can't recognize you. All these baseball guys are like, that's collusion. You don't want to pay. Oh, you don't want to pay money. When has baseball been shy about paying baseball players money? Baseball's overpaid a million guys. They rarely get a deal. No, baseball finally said, we don't want to pay eight, nine, ten year contract. Justin Burlander the other day was on the internet. He's like, I mean, just start with 10 years.

This is ridiculous. And I'm thinking, your wife's a model. Would you sign a model to a 10-year deal? Would you sign a coach to a 10-year deal? What business would sign anybody to a 10-year deal? Like, the answer is always if, I mean, yeah, outside of the Raiders, who would do that? But it's always the answer. If you won't sign me, it's, there's a reason.

It wasn't collusion against Tim Tebow. He was too popular and polarizing to be on your roster as a backup. You don't want the meet. Here's what you know about the NFL. They don't like noise. They don't like noise. Tebow literally won a playoff game. Could not get work.

Nobody would touch him. Johnny Mansell can still play. Nobody's interested. People want the backup to be like, you know, uh, uh, uh, the kid. I think the kid that really good backup is the kid. Nick Foles doesn't talk. Nick Foles won a Super Bowl. He doesn't talk.

Jacoby Versette, Indianapolis. Big, strong, can win you games. I've never heard him quoted. I've never heard him quoted. People don't even like their starting quarterback, Jimmy Garapolo, to be hanging out at a restaurant in Hollywood with an adult film star. It doesn't even matter that it was dinner. Like, teams freak out about all that stuff.

These baseball guys. Ay, yoy. It's like, it's not collusion. Robinson Canoe, 10-year contract, an hour and a half in, the Mariners are like, yeah, this was not good. Twins did like a huge deal with that, Mower, Joe Mower, an hour and a half into it. This is, we can't afford any players. Joey Votto, Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols.

Name one that worked. Name one. It's not collusion. Now, maybe Kaepernick, it will be proven to be collusion. Maybe it is. Maybe there's a string of emails that'll get the NFL in troll. I don't know. I don't have that insight. But I just, I hear it constantly.

It's collusion. and it's Tim Tebow couldn't get a job. Mansell can't. Bryce Harper. Bryce Harper said today, I'm not signing a deal. Yeah, I mean, Bryce Harper, yeah, he was offered a massive deal and he said no, which I thought was, it was like $300 million. And now he's, you know, he's complaining and he's, and I love Bryce Harper. But the answer is always, I, you got something against me. If you really look at the reasons why people who are talented don't sign, there's usually a reason. They're asking for too much is aloften it. They're unrealistic. They're unrealistic. They're getting a little older. Odell Beckham, by the way, was on the market. Was there collusion

against Odell Beckham in the NFL? He was on the market. There was no takers. Was that collusion? No. He proposed to a kicking net. He gets hurt a lot. He's really expensive and nobody's quite sure he's a great teammate. That's why Odell Beckham had no takers. I just saw a story today that Jay Glazer thinks O'Dell Beckham's going to get traded. Antonio Brown right now, great player. Why is he, well, is the league against Antonio Brown? No, there's a reason. And Antonio Brown is talented, but man, he is a lot of work. And he's getting to be 31 years old. Again, again, I'm not trying to bunch them all together.

But whenever I hear somebody can't get a job, everybody races to Twitter and social media and the world's against me. And it's this and it's that and it's this. There's almost always a reason you can't get work. I've been in this business for 30 years. Joy, probably 15. I don't want to age anybody, but 15 years in this business. Is that fair? Yeah, more like 10.

could I if I said to you if I said to you names super talented people that have struggled getting great jobs I can think of five or six that I've worked with in my career that I'm like oh they're really talented but they're a pain and the you know what and there are different pains some are inappropriate some are I actually found that super talented people more often than not are pains it's actually rare to find someone who is super talented who is also functional and reliable and professional. That's why I'm so fun to work with. So you get the joy of that.

But the point is, and this is not an anti-Capernaic or an anti-Brice Harper thing, there is generally always a reason. It did not help Kaepernick's cause that his girlfriend took a shot at an NFL owner and said something that was wildly explosive and he wore socks and that turned off people and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And Bryce Harper, dude, look at that. Look at baseball right now. Defensive shifts.

So baseball's got this thing going on right now where you're allowed to move defensive players like a softball league all over the field. What happened to Bryce Harper's average? That's why nobody wants to sign power hitters. Like the guy's hitting, what did Bryce Harper finish last year? Hitting like 230? 238?

I'm going to spend $300 million on $238. And now everybody in baseball, it's home runner. walks, so he's not going to be a base runner. He's going to strike out a lot. He's not a great defensive player. Defensive shifts have knocked down his average. My point is, you can complain about everything. You can complain about this quarterback, that quarterback, this guy,

that guy, that wide receiver, this baseball player. Mani Machado. Mani Machado is a great one. Mani Machado plays 160 games a year, 158. He gives you 37 rips and 109 RBI every year. Guy plays every game.

But he's not signed. Is that collusion? No, it's because he's kind of a pain. And you know what? He's not a real locker room guy. He doesn't like to run him. He'll say, I'm not a real hustle guy. That's not great. Right?

So a lot of people are turned off. They watch the Dodgers in the World Series. They see him not run out a ball to short. And everybody's like, ah, now I think Manny Machado, I'd pay whatever it costs for Manny Machado. 155 games a year, 40 knocks, 109 RBI. But there's a reason he's not signed. It's not Maple Leaf.

I mean, there's a reason behind it. I've worked on this business again, a lot of it. long time. There are a lot of talented people that do not get the jobs. And my dad used to always say this. Men manage money better than themselves. That's why prison and Wall Street are full of men. We manage money really well. We don't manage ourselves very well. And I mean, Bryce Harper got offered $300 million and turned it down. That's on Bryce Harper. Okay. That is pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered. That's on Bryce Harper. And I love him. Vegas kid. Met him, met him his dad. Great kid. Great story. Root and for him. Hope he's a Padre. That'd be.

I hope he's a Dodger. Hope I can go watch him. But there's always a reason for stuff. Good luck. You know, I don't know the history of collusion cases. Maybe there's a bunch of them, but I've heard that word used so many times in my life for sports, non-sports,

and I don't remember the person claiming it winning a lot of the cases. Well, I don't, I have no doubt just knowing how human beings communicate that GMs and front offices don't have relationships and don't look out for each other and don't necessarily consider that to be collusion. What do you mean? I mean, we all work in different businesses and we know people at different places. And, you know, if you want to find something out or what's going on over here or how's contracts working over there, like there's information, the world is run by uninformation.

Right. So if it has become a thing where 10-year contracts in Major League Baseball, which I think for the most part, everyone agrees are not ideal for teams. Yeah. Because, you know, people age and things happen. And those contracts are guaranteed and are massive. So maybe that is logical. But I don't necessarily doubt that there aren't communications in every sport,

just like there are in every business that don't somehow move and change the course of how things work. There's no question. By the way, most people in our business and in sports have the same six agents. Right. Information is traded on the phone constantly. It's a very valuable commodity. It doesn't mean it's an anthem, a chorus, or in unison. but you know in our business

you can throw out names and I can go bad guy. Good guy. Team player. Jerk. You can just tell me a name and I'll tell you because everybody's agent's the same agent and it's the same in football. But that's what I'm saying. So those kind of when you say the word collusion. Is that collusion or just? Is it like everybody getting in a room

together and there's a mallet like we have decided this is what it's going to be? No. I don't think it's that cut and dry. But I do think that there are conversations that happen amongst people of power that creates and steer the course of other people's careers and lives and leagues. Yeah. Well, the NFL is a funny league about that because the NFL, they just don't like noise.

So Seattle, Pete Carroll told you, I love noise. And he's like, yeah, I don't love it so much. And he traded it all out of town and they made the playoffs. Pittsburgh Steelers this year, noisiest team in the league. Pro bowlers everywhere. Lamar Jackson knocked him out of the playoffs. We don't love noise. The noise thing, NFL doesn't like noise. They don't like it. They don't. They don't, don't want Tim Tebow won six straight games and playoff games. You could win. It wasn't my quarterback.

You could win with Tim Tebow. And by the way, pack your stadium. Nobody was interested. Nobody was interested. So, you know, I just got off on a rant, a tangent. That's called a tangent right there. I just, whenever I hear, I guess it's just, it's my blowback as somebody who reads the business section, sometimes before the sports section.

I just hear words thrown out. all the time. It's collusion. And I'm like, boy, that's hard to prove. That is hard to prove for baseball guys, quarterbacks. That's, what is, like you said. I mean, he may not be wrong, but they also may be right that 10-year deals are not a good idea. Let me ask you this. Don't the Dodgers want to beat the Cubs, right, right? Don't the, don't the Yankees want to beat the Red Sox? So the bottom line is, if there's a player that can win games, I'm going to buy him. But good Lord, we have, we've seen the Dodger, or they, we've seen the Yankees go buy

Red Sox and the Red Sox want to buy Yankees. You'll do business all the time if you think, people look at Bryce Harper's contract and say, $300 million? Holy, with defensive shifts in baseball? No. If the potrays went out and spent that, you can just kiss off. They'll carry four pitchers into the season. Who will they afford?

there's a reason for everything. There's a reason for everything. I got to get, we got buy, sell or hold. I have a, you know, my staff did an amazing job today. They are, you know how like some people will say, I'm committed? Like to think about anybody watching right now or listening in your family. Let's say I have a family. I want you to go sixth cousin.

You know how some people say, I am committed. And you're like, well, how many hours a week do you work 48? And you're like, geez, I worked 50. and I'm guilty. What is commitment? Because I just read a story where Rob Polinka, the Lakers, compared Tom Brady and LeBron. And I'm like, I'm going to give you some information. Is LeBron committed as you think he is? That's coming up.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the I-Hard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed the 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 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way.

Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports. and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards.

If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeke. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their.

face light up and smile. That means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth.

He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levan this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history.

You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. For mattress, President's Day sale coming up, 10% off any purchase. Mattress at casper.com, terms and conditions apply. Additional fees may apply for Hawaii and Alaska. If you've not heard the news, Joe Flacco is now a member of the Denver Broncos.

Denver Broncos said Case Keenham, not as big, not as strong as Flacco. Their numbers are pretty similar. I like Flacco. I think Case Keenham's more accurate. I think Flacco feels more like the cold weather, John Elway, 6-5, big-arm guy that he likes. I mean, it's Denver. So October, November, December, possibly January, you're planning cold weather. You generally have to go through Foxborough.

You generally have to go through a pit. You're going to have to go through Kansas City now. That's what's going to happen in the AFC. You got New England and Foxborough, Kansas City, and Denver. You want a big strong guy, a running game in Denver, and Vic Fagio. So that's the move. I think Denver's better. Are they wildly better, marketedly better?

They're better. I think they're better team next year with Flacco, Vicangio, and they always figure out ways. They've had 10 different guys rush for 1,000 yards. Many of those on Mike Shanahan, some not. So I think they're better. And I think Baltimore said, you know what, we're going to go with the Lamar Jackson thing.

I think they're going to go out and get Labian Bell and really go all in on being a power running team, which I don't think is a bad idea at all. Levy and Bell, I think would be, first of all, great running back, great receiver as a running back. Lamar Jackson, dump off, Lamar Jackson. That's kind of interesting to me. So I think that, I think it all works out.

I think both teams won. I was telling Joy this earlier, nothing's worse than when an NFL franchise has a quarterback that don't believe in. Like Jacksonville. Nobody in that room believes in Blake Portals. Cincinnati. They're over Andy Dalton.

Like Denver, I think today is really happy. Denver's like, you know what? We can win big here. When you don't feel like you have the guy, you feel like you have to win in spite of him. Yeah, that's no fun. like he's just going to do what he does and you have to be better in every other area. That's why Jacksonville made it as far as they did when their defense was excelling.

But eventually you're going to come back to your level because he's not the guy. So I thought this was interesting. Rob Polenko was quoted this week. He does look like Rob Lowe. For a radio audience, you'll have to trust me. He said, you know, my hope is that we're on the outside in the playoffs with LeBron, but we get to the playoffs and with the skilled guys we've added, much like a Tom Brady, one of the all-time brates,

LeBron kind of takes the helm for his team and makes some noise, and he kind of compared the two. And they have some similarities. Their mogulness. But, you know, here's the thing. When LeBron came to Los Angeles, there were a lot of people that said, business move or basketball move. And I talked to people inside of LeBron's camp, and they were like, listen, it's basketball. If the basketball is no good, the business doesn't work, which I agree with. Maverick Carter told me that.

He said, of course it's basketball. But I'm just going to list the projects LeBron is involved in since he arrived in Los Angeles. And remember Tom Brady did a documentary, one. And while he was doing it, he was mostly at home with his family. Tom Brady, it's winning football family. And then when he goes to football, he gets back to his family. And when he was his family, he's doing football at home. So you guys have the list of projects. It's unbelievable, the list of projects since arriving in Los Angeles. million dollar miles space jam two best shot warriors of liberty city he's often the executive producer of these hoops brotherly love i am more obj madame c j walker lean on me the shop i've seen that

shut up and dribble what's my name mohammed ali friday the 13th house party more than an athlete student athlete top boy white dave and that's the last one maybe that one was so bad they just quit yeah friday the 13th by way he's executive producer on some. He's doing something for some of these, right? At least reading scripts. My takeaway is, I mean, I'm looking at it right now. This is just in the last eight months.

Tom Brady makes it very easy for his organization. He doesn't demand coaches. He doesn't demand teammates. He is absolutely, even to a pay cut, willing to commit to winning. LeBron's burdened by a lot of stuff. He wants max salary. He dabbles in politics. He's doing multiple projects.

He's creating a global brand. Brady doesn't care about it. The NBA is a more global sport than football. Football's a domestic sport. Tom Brady doesn't give a rip about Dusseldorf. He doesn't care. LeBron James does care about outside our borders abroad. And now this has made LeBron very powerful and very rich and very global.

and he'll resonate forever. But don't tell me he always makes it easy to win. LeBron wants Max money. Tom doesn't. LeBron wants the right coach. Tom doesn't argue. LeBron wants his guys. Brady takes what you give him and wins.

I don't think LeBron makes it as easy as Tom. Now, I said this yesterday. in a sport basketball where dynasties are commonplace. I believe LeBron's going to play for 20 years in the NBA is at 15, and he's going to have three titles. I think he's going to win none or one in Los Angeles. In a sport that really isn't known for 20-year dynasties, Brady's going for his seventh Super Bowl win.

Just win. It's harder to win in football. You get hurt. Careers end. Players' careers don't last long. Ray Allen could have played. Ray Allen, John Stockton, could have played longer. And they already played a decade and a half.

Football's hard. Dynasties are short. They're compact. Joe Montana, you get hurt. You can't keep players around you. Salary caps, coaches. Basketball's built. So LeBron is easily the best player in the last 10 years in the league.

And you'll be able to make an argument for 15 years he was the greatest player when it's all said and done. I think he's going to end up with three titles. Because some people think they're committed. Brady is fully absolutely from personnel to money, to commitment, to distractions, 100% committed.

LeBron says he's committed, but there's a lot of things where he makes it tough. He wants his coach, his players, his respect, his money. And so that's why, and maybe it's just the culture of basketball, which is more about the individual, NFL tends to be more about the team.

But I don't think LeBron makes it always real easy. Like if LeBron wanted to make it easy with a billion-dollar Nike contract, he would say, pay me $8 million a year. What do I care? I got a $600 million net worth. What do I give a rip? You know, I sold beats made $30 million. That makes up, I got a billion dollar.

If you're, what is committed, I guess is what I'm asking. Kirk Cousins is not committed to winning. Kirk Cousins is committed to building his bank account. because Kirk Cousins is not worth $28 million and he knows it. Kirk Cousins is not committed to winning. He's committed to getting rich. Kirk Cousins is smart. Kirk Cousins reads the paper.

Kirk Cousins know that if you make $28 million with his level of competency, you're not winning Super Bowls. So how committed are you? These are salary cap leagues. I don't care about baseball guy. Baseball guy can take whatever the owner will pay you. Whatever, you know, Real Madrid, whatever that guy will pay you that owns that team, they'll pay.

That's not the way it works in the NBA. It's not the way it works in the NFL. It's not the way it works in hockey. So if you're going to talk about commitment, commitment is also, am I willing as a guy worth 700 million? Brady is LeBronis. Are you committed, truly committed,

to getting rid of the vanity and the ego and all this respect and all that. Are you really totally committed? Because a lot of people say they're committed. I work 48 hours a week. That's not committed. That's CEOs in America. I just read this about a month ago.

Wake up on average at 4.30 in the morning. You complain about 6.45. You're not committed to running a Fortune 500 company. That's the commitment it takes. You can't be there for every birthday, every piano recital, every little league game. 4.30 in the morning. Up, let's go. Come on, 4.45 out of the house. Get to work.

So it's not that LeBron's not great. but I think Brady makes it a lot easier on his team. Less stress, less demands. He doesn't demand assistance, even the quarterback coach. You just hire who you hire. Coordinator, hire who you hire. We all know Belichick's great, but he never demands a running back coach, quarterback coach, O line coach. He doesn't demand that stuff.

He just stays out of that stuff. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So last night, number two, Duke pulled off an incredible win against number 16 Louisville. They trailed by 23 points with nine minutes and 54 seconds to go in the second half and rallied to a 71-69 win. Zion Williamson led the Blue Devils with 27 points and 12 rebounds.

Cam Reddish had 16 of his 22 points after halftime. We got much bigger he is. Yes. He is impressive. Here is Zion Williamson after the historic comeback. What were some of the things that Coach Kay was talking to? you about in the huddles to keep you believing. He said he don't coach losers.

When he coached winners. He said, go out there, play hard. He can coach us to a win. I like it. Just keep it simple. R.J. Barrett also had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. I think those three are going to end up being the first three picks in the NBA drafts. They are first in the ACC in 22 and two.

For his size, Joy, he's really quick. He is quick. I mean, now I will say, doesn't have much of a jumper. and that will matter, but he, look at his touch and his size and his quickness. Well, he'll need that in the NBA, for sure. I think he's, he's, he's impressive to watch and he's, he's fun, and his highlights are good. I think that the things that he needs to work on and translate into the NBA are all skill-related,

which, you know, if you, you can develop and work on. But look at that, though. Look at that. He's got a, boy, I'll tell you what, that's not just a big body. He's got control of that big body. He's going to get number one. I still like RJ Barrett, though. Really? You take him number one.

No one's going to pass on Zion Williamson. No one's going to do it. But I do think, I do think whoever gets R.J. Barrett is going to be very happy with their decision. Here's the thing. If you're an owner, you take Zion. Yes. He's going to be a merchandise. I mean, I don't remember a college player. In fact, if we did a trivia, I have no idea.

The last time I'm like, oh, college player, I got to watch Duke tonight. I'm not even watching Duke for Duke. I'm watching Duke for Zion. Well, I think there's your answer right there. He's gotten down to one name. I mean, when's the last time? All you have to say is Zion, and everyone knows who you're talking about. I mean, Andrew Wiggins was good at Kansas.

I didn't rush to my TV to watch Andrew Wiggins. He was good. I'm trying to think Anthony Davis was good at Kentucky. I didn't rush to my TV. Carmelo Anthony was really good. It's Syracuse. But again, and I live back, I don't think I rushed to my TV. This kid is must see television.

He is. So the Ravens are trading Joe Flacco to the Broncos. as we were just discussing a few minutes ago. That means Lamar Jackson is the future. So they have agreed in principle to trade him. Trades can't be made official until the new league year, which starts March 13th, obviously. But there's also now a report from Ian Rappaport

that the Broncos will shock Case Keenham, who's guaranteed $7 million in 2019. And if they can't, it's either a massive pay cut or they'll just release him. He would be a top backup in the league. And actually, if you look over the last three seasons, Joe Flacco and Case Keenham in 41 starts, Flacco has 50 touchdowns, the Case Keenom is 49, 34 interceptions, the case Keenom is 33.

Their completion rate is a percentage is exactly the same, 6.3.8%. And their quarterback rating is about the same as well. I think Keenom's... They're basically the same guy. The only difference is Joe Flacko has a Super Bowl and has shown that he can play at an elite level, and Case Keenom has not. Yeah, and I don't think... I think Case Keenom actually throws a little bit better ball, but I will say this.

Denver, November, December, January. You're going to have to go through Kansas City, December, January, Foxborough, and Pittsburgh. Case Keenham's a small quarterback who had his greatest success inside a dome. Okay, Flacco is built. He played in crappy Baltimore weather. His division was on the road in Sinty, on the road in Cleveland, on the road in Pittsburgh. And he may just have a chip on his shoulder since he just, you know, got traded to a new team for a younger guy who has a completely different style than he does. So who knows.

That's kind of how Joe Flack. Lacko is when he has pressure on him, he plays better. So we'll see what happens there. So finally, Antonio Brown has requested a trade from the Steelers after nine seasons with the team. Yesterday, he tweeted a goodbye to Pittsburgh fans and expressed his desire for a fresh start. Today, he followed up with another tweet saying, don't be tolerated, be celebrated. Oh, boy. So he's doubling down on that.

That's pretty good line, though. I like that. It is. He's leaving the little breadcums sort of how he feels is what's going on there. According to reports, the Steelers may have some problems getting a first round pick and return for him. A second round is what's wrong with a second round pick? plausible.

Well, he's arguably the number one wide receiver in the league. Second round picks last in this league for like seven years. By the way, you got 74 touchdowns out of him. Got a lot out of him. I don't think the Steelers are better without Antonio Brown. And they're not better without Levi and Bell. Now, Levi and Bell

hurts. You get nothing for him. I don't. I get that they have to move on from him. This relationship is not mendable. But to me, the issue is not Antonio Brown and the issue is not Levy on Bell and the issue is not Ben Rothersberger

blaming other people. The issue is the Steelers have lost their culture. Yeah. So yes, Antonio Brown may move on and Levi and Bell may move on and might have a talking to with Ben Rothesberger, but at the end of the day you still have the same problem that you had before and you still have the same problem now.

Whether they move on. You have to fix the culture there. Otherwise, you're just going to bring in a new guy and the cycle's just going to repeat itself. Isn't it funny though? like, if I would have told you 20 years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers would be the circus of the NFL. You'd be like, no, no, no, it's the Rooney family. This is all business. I mean, seriously, it, it would not believe it.

You would not. And 30 years ago, if you just said, so there's going to be this team Pittsburgh, think of crazy players, Facebook, you'd be like, well, first of all, you just said 30 years ago, what's Facebook? Right. But you would have never guessed they would be the crazy town of the league. the underachiever. They were always the overachiever. That's what I'm saying. This is, you move on from Antonio Brown and get a draftick, that's fine. Levy on Bell's not going to be there anymore, but you still left with the same issue that you have right now, which is what is the culture in Pittsburgh?

That needs to be fixed first. Some of it's Ben, some of it's Tomlin. There's a lot of blame to go around. Yeah. It's not all on Antonio Brown, although he's doing his thing. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The HARD LINE News. By the way, there was a story a couple days ago that Jason Tatum of the Celtics sounds open to becoming the face of the Pelicans, which is crazy. It doesn't make any sense. It would be a terrible move. Literally, he could look at Anthony Davis, who's great and saying, get me the hell out of here.

You have an example in life. Look at it. Don't do it. So I don't think Danny Ains would let him go. I think it's crazy for Jason Tatum. You know, I understand wanting to be the man, but Boston's going to pay him. And I absolutely believe Boston's going to pay him max. and Jason Tatum's going to be, you know, one or one A.

I think he's a great player, had a couple great moves recently on what was that Sixers game. We were watching highlights today. Here's why I think Jason Tatum becomes the man and they pay him. Because I think there is a continuing trend with the Celtics that you can no longer deny. They're not better with Kyrie Irving. Last night the Celtics beat the Sixers again. No Kyrie Irving. If you look at the numbers this year with and without Kyrie Irving,

the numbers don't lie. They score more, they shoot better, they pass more, and they win more percentage-wise, without Kyrie Irving. I'm not denying he's not a great player with two minutes to go and you need a shot. I'm not denying that. But in basketball, remember, a great rebound. Dennis Rodman made every team he was on better. You got to grab rebounds.

He was the world's best. A great defensive player. Joe Dumas on every team makes every team he's on better. A great score, Carmelo Anthony, does not make every team better. We have history of that. Scoring in the NBA today is great if it's a byproduct of you passing, their passing, ball movement, and spacing. Kyrie is not a distributor.

Kyrie, world is flat, little flaky. Karee gets hurt a lot. Kyrie's a below average defender. The numbers don't lie here. You go up and down with Kyrie Irving. Last year, they were better. They got to the Eastern Conference Finals without him. This year, they're better without him.

Again, a great rebounder and a great defender make every team better always. It's not true with great scores. The great example is Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant doesn't play Warriors. Don't miss a beat. Deft doesn't play. Warriors not the same team. KD's a better player, right?

KD's a more dominant player. Kobe Bryant could stop the ball at the end of his career. Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Westbrook. Westbrook's a great, offensive, productive, dynamic score. Doesn't necessarily make everybody better. In fact, they're in a winning streak because Westbrook's shooting and scoring less. So this idea, I don't buy that Jason Tatum is going to leave. this was a reporter Tim McMahon telling Brian Wynhorst this week that Jason Tatum would be okay

leaving Boston on Winhorse podcast. It's gossip, but the gossip is Jason Tatum wouldn't mind if he's shipped to New Orleans and has a chance to be at the face of a franchise somewhere because he's he's not going to get that opportunity in Boston, at least not in the immediate future. I don't, nothing against this reporter. They're going to max him. They're going to max him. Today, as a Celtic fan, if I told you, Kyrie walks at the end of the season,

if I told you Jason Tatum walks, you'd freak out. If I was a Celtic fan, you told me Jason Tatum, 12 months walks, I'm freaking out. You tell me Kyrie walks? Got a max deal available. I think there is now proof, data that's indisputable. He doesn't necessarily make this coach, this team, this roster better. he's a great offensive player. But sometimes you're sitting around watching all these great offensive players.

You stand around, ball movement stops. He's not a ball movement guy. Coming up next, the most impressive streak in the NBA, and nobody's talking about it. That's coming up in Best for Last. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. So it's pouring, I'm told, again. I really don't feel comfortable with us complaining about the weather here in California.

It's just, it's really outrageous. could be down to 58 degrees today. Get your free credit scorecard today, even if you're not a Discover customer, includes your FICA credit score. Learn more, Discover.com slash credit scorecard limitations apply. It's weird.

People, like I know most people don't care that are listening. It's the wettest, coldest winter in L.A. history. It rains nonstop here. Oh, no. The weather is terrible here. I just don't, I try to be mindful not to complain except for it to other people that are here in California, experiencing it with me.

Yeah, I don't want to complain to the country. mother and it's like 24 degrees and there's slush and it's gray outside. Where you used to live, Colin, it got eight inches of snow and then some sleet on top of it yesterday. Yeah. So maybe the rain's not so bad. So what you're saying is when I complain that water dripped on me from a palm tree at my house. Yes. It doesn't resonate.

I spoke to my mom yesterday and I did not mention the weather. I may have said like it's raining and she was like, oh. Yeah, my sister lives on the coast of Washington. Yeah, just no one has sympathy for us. not even rain. It's just there's waves just hitting you all day. All right, here we go. John Goulet, it's time to put me on the spot

for another edition of Pop Quiz. Pop Quiz, hot shot. Ready to play, pop quiz. Okay, Colin, first question. With Joe Flacco, the Broncos are now A, contenders in the AFC West, B, contenders for the Super Bowl,

or C, somehow even less interesting than they were last season. The correct answer is A, I think they're contenders in the AFC West. I agree with Joy. I don't think there's a huge gap. Case Keenham Flacco. But there is a, hey, outdoors, big guy, running game.

I think he's a 10 and 5 playoff quarterback. He went toe to toe with Brady in Brady's Prime more than once. So now I do, I think they're going to beat Kansas City next year? I do not. But they do feel a little more formidable. A little bit. they weren't, you know, a little more formidable, cold-weather quarterback flacko than they did with Case Keenan. All right. Second question.

Heisman winner, Kyler Murray, should be A, the number one pick in the draft, B, a first-round pick, or C, five inches taller. I think he's a first-round pick. I think in today's game, he's a NFL quarterback. Again, I said, I'm not making Baker-Mayfield my quarterback. I don't want the off-field nonsense. He's not ideal. I think the kid at Ohio State, I like a lot.

Dwayne Haskins, 6.3 and a half, 2.30. I like Dwayne Haskins a lot. By the way, Dwayne Haskins is not athletic. He can't run. He's a pocket dude. This kid can run around. But I'll just say again, these small quarterbacks, Seneca Wallace, Pat White, Johnny Mansell.

I know they're fun. And I do think there's times they can work. I can't build around it. Number one pick means a number one pick means this is the 12-year starter in the NFL. That's what that means. That doesn't mean you can play. If you told me today, yeah, Conner-Murray, 13 years from now is going to be running around. I don't believe that.

Dwayne Haskins? I believe that. Question number three. The most impressive NBA streak is A, Russell Westbrook's triple doubles. B, James Hardin's 30-point games, or C, both guys continue. to have zero shot at a title. I actually think C, the funny answers, I do think

the most compelling story is that these are January, February firework shows, and I do not think they work for ball-centric guards. I don't. I've seen Westbrook look tired at the end of years. LeBron's gone to his, you know, seven, eight straight finals. I've never seen LeBron in a final and thought, boy, he looks gassed. I thought Harden two years ago looked exhausted in the playoffs. then he got Chris Paul

passed a little more, appeared to have more energy last year, and then I think Russell Westbrook last two years has looked tired. Nobody's just reporting the story which seems obvious. These January-February, explosions by guards hurt you at the end of the season.

You are not quite equipped to go into a fourth playoff series, a third playoff series. Question number four. The NBA All-Star Game MVP will be, A, James Harden, B, Paul George, or C, anyone who actually manages to watch the whole game.

James Hardin, the All-Star game is made for James Hardin. First of all, they don't play a ton of defense in the regular season. The All-Star game is basically a skills competition with officials, so James Hardin will win going away. And it'll be funny. I'll probably score 50. All right, your final question. The coach of the Lakers should be. A, Luke Walton,

B, Mark Jackson. C, available to pick up LeBron's dry cleaning after 5 p.m. today. Come on. I think Mark Jackson would be fine, but I like Mark Jackson. I think Luke Walton is not the problem. I don't think Luke Walton, I think he has a randomness to a substitution pattern,

and I don't think he's, you know, I don't think he's Eric Spolstra. I think he's a young guy, so he's a young coach. but I don't think he injured LeBron's groin. I don't think he got Lonzo Ball hurt, and I don't think he had the rumors in the newspapers that created a poisonous locker room. So I don't think this is on Luke Walton.

I do. Eight days is a long time in a big city with a lot of media and a coach. They lost to an Atlanta team last night. That's 19 under 500, and they gave up almost 70 points in the first half. And Rondo was hurt. And Kuzman's been out a little bit too.

Yeah, it's not like Luke Walton's got breaks here. What team exactly can lose four starters? And LeBron for a month. Right. I mean, I'm not saying that there aren't some changes that Luke needs to make or any of that. Like, there's plenty of blame to go around to everyone. Who's working with that? And they were, by the way, Joy, as you know, they were fourth in the West before the injuries.

They were fourth. And we were all kind of going, oh, it was kind of interesting. going to go win 48 games. LeBron, he is always statistically better after the All-Star break. He's going to come out. They're going to rally together. They're going to make it to the playoffs because this can't happen. It's all going to be fine.

It's going to be Golden State, Houston, Oklahoma City. And then, you know, my gut feeling is kind of a Utah thing, little Renaissance in Utah. They'll coach their way up to about fourth. And then you're going to have a bunch of Sacramento's in there. Oh, I didn't leave Denver either. My bad. Denver will be third or fourth. It's not going to be easy.

No, no, no, no. By the way, they're going to have to play the Warriors of the Rockets in the first round, and they're going to lose. Nick Wright, Brian Scalibini tomorrow. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the Internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headlines. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. 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. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel,

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends 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 on how many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Life is full of hurdles. So how do you keep going?

On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports.

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