The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Kawhi Leonard, Joel Embiid, Lakers, Warriors-Rockets, and Baker Mayfield

Episode Date: May 6, 2019

Colin discusses why Toronto Raptors F Kawhi Leonard isn't valuable, the continuing issues with Philadelphia 76ers C Joel Embiid, the dysfunction of the Los Angeles Lakers, the game 3 missed call in the Warriors-Rockets series, and his response to Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield. Guests include Howard Beck, Nate Robinson, Matt Barnes, and Oliver Luck. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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or listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a great Monday. In Los Angeles, this is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Today we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, Channel 83 Sirius XM, not on FS1. Go over to FS2 if you want us. One hour from now, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, and Joy Taylor's joining me fresh off a weekend in Kansas City. Yes.

You got Chiefs Red on today. I do actually. That was coincidental. Good to have you in. Yeah, you had a crazy weekend also. Yeah, doing all sorts of stuff. Went to Vegas and a daughter showed up last night, unannounced, surprised dad to the house. So it's a great week coming up.

Tonight's an unbelievable NBA night. We have NBA playoffs tonight, Celtics, Milwaukee, Warriors in Houston. I want to start, though, with this. do not confuse talent with valuable. Do not even confuse production with valuable. Now, in most instances, if you're talented, you're valuable. And if you're productive, you're valuable. But not all the time.

A Lamborghini, if it was a person, would be very, very talented. but I couldn't even get my kids in the car grocery bags. You know, if it was a tight little Porsche, Lamborghini. Don't confuse the two. Kauai Leonard's talented and he's productive. Everybody's talking about him this morning being the second best player in the NBA to Kevin Durant. He's not that valuable. Toronto was 17 and 5 when he didn't play.

He doesn't communicate. He doesn't pass. He doesn't elevate others. LeBron James leaves a franchise and they disintegrate the next day. Pat Riley, Eric Spolstra, Miami. Awful, great, awful. Twice in Cleveland. Finals, finals.

Oh, we're awful. LeBron gets hurt with the Lakers. At the end of the year, they were the worst team in the league. They were losing to teams like Phoenix in New York that were tanking. LeBron's great, talented, productive, and bizarrely valuable. Kauai is just really talented. And damn, he's productive. How valuable is he?

Toronto made the playoffs last year. Toronto was the number one seed last year. Toronto last year in the regular season was 58 and 24. And then Kauai came and they were 59 and 23. And 17 and 5 when he didn't play this year. He's just talented. He reminds me of the running back Adrian Peterson. They have these weird, weird, unique similarities.

both their hands are a topic. Kauai's got abnormally large hands. Adrian Peterson has a legendarily almost violent handshake. They're both strong for their size. They're both awe-inspiring. And neither makes their team necessarily much better. Vikings got better when Adrian Peterson left.

And by the way, San Antonio, they're in the playoffs again. it should be noted both have one flaw. Adrian Peterson could never catch. Kawhi Leonard doesn't pass. The guy in these playoffs that's actually talented, productive, and valuable is the guy for Denver, the Joker, Jokic? Folks, he's a center. They run their offense through him.

Denver is the youngest playoff team in my life I think I've ever seen in the second round. He leads them in everything. He leads them in points, rebounds, a second. They give him the ball late, top of the key, down low. He has three times the assists of Kauai Leonard and double almost the rebounds. They're both very good players and points and field goal percentage. Jokic elevates every Denver Nugget. Denver should have no business being in the playoffs with this roster.

It's a bunch of guys. Is Denver historically relevant? This is a bunch of kids. they're going to be great if they can get one more player. Denver's going to be good for 10 years. They're all kids. Toronto's good always with Kauai without Kauai. People are confusing this. I don't think Kauai is a wildly valuable player because I think he's the NBA's silent assassin.

He comes to your job. Nobody really knows him. He doesn't talk with anybody. He hits his targets. He leaves and frankly would rather work alone and does his best. work alone. The assassin is simply that. Working by himself, in San Antonio, there used to be this criticism about him. They asked Greg Popovich once, what was the best advice you could give Kauai Leonard. Do you remember what he said? Popovich said that when I call a play for Kauai,

I'm actually calling a play for the Spurs. Kauai doesn't communicate. Of course he's not a great passer because passing's communicating on the floor. It's playing well with others. He doesn't. He just arrives, hits his targets, works alone, leaves the building. Anybody really know Kauai? No, he never talked. The silent assassin never talks either. It's against his job description. Better serve working alone.

I'm not denying Kauai is great. Toronto was great without him. They'll be fine with him. They didn't win a title without him, but they were good. They won't win the championship without him, but they're good. And the kid in Denver is, he doesn't have an NBA body. We don't know much about him. He didn't play college basketball here.

And Denver's not a historically relevant. It's a football city. You could argue it's a hockey city and a baseball city third. But that guy, if you take him out of Denver, Portland's winning these games, blowouts, four for four in the series is over. He may take this bunch of kids to the Western Conference finals. He's an incredible talent. And I'll say this about Adrian Peterson.

Adrian Peterson may have been just a better, harder runner than Ezekiel Elliott of the Cowboys. But Zeke, when he leaves the Cowboys for a three-game stretch, they can't get first downs. The Vikings were better without Adrian Peterson because Zeke can catch. Zeke can run. Zeke can block. Adrian Peterson left the Vikings. They got better. Zeke takes two weeks off.

The team can't function with the best offensive line in football. the Cowboys can't function without Zeke. Don't confuse talent and valuable. Ezekiel Elliott is both. Peterson was just talented. And that's what I think about Kauai Leonard. The kid in Denver is an unbelievable talent. And he makes everybody on the Nuggets better.

Let me shift to this. Philadelphia. Philadelphia fans are like all fans. When they're right, they rush to Twitter. When they're wrong, it's crickets. So Joel L. M. B. has wild swings. He's great. He's awful. He's amazing. He's hurt. He's healthy. He's not. And whenever he's great, Philadelphia meatballs, run to their Twitter accounts. Told you, man, face of the franchise. Of course, they didn't run to the thing yesterday because he was awful. But here's my takeaway on Joe L. Embed. If you're somebody at work, and we've all worked with somebody like this, that has a temper, that has outbursts, a little bit of a screamer and a yell. That's his reputation because he's shown it before. Now, he can be funny like Alec Baldwin,

but Alec Baldwin in an airport, even when he's smiling and handsome and funny and glib with TMZ, you know he's this close to popping. Same with Christian Bale. That's their reality, even in the times they're not yelling and strangling a TMZ reporter at the airport. Joe L.MB's reality, good or bad game is, he didn't play for two years because he was hurt.

and he needs six treatments a game because he's always hurt. And he's got a bad diet and he's always hurt. Did I mention he's always hurt? And he missed 14 in the last 24 games. Did I mention he gets hurt a lot? He's a liability to the franchise. I don't care that he played terrible yesterday. Just like I don't care that he played great the previous game.

Yesterday wasn't even his worst game in this series. He is a high-maintenance, noisy guy. I don't care what his games are. I don't rush to Twitter for validation when he's bad. I could have spent all day yesterday on M.B. I'm crushing him on Twitter. I didn't. I talked about Jokic and nobody cares.

M.B.D.'s reality, like the guy with a temper at work, is, doesn't mean he always has a temper. Doesn't mean he's always yelling at cameraman. Doesn't mean he's always picking fights with his bosses. But we all know it's right below the surface and so you walk on eggshells around him. It doesn't matter that M. Bede was terrible yesterday. or great the game before. If you build your franchise around him,

this is what you get. He's calling his coach in the morning. I may not play. He's hurt. He's sick. They want him to lose weight. He needs a nutritionist. He's just too damn noisy for me. So you go ahead and build this Sixer team around and beat him Butler. But I'll tell you,

I'll take Simmons, because Simmons may be quiet and he can't shoot. And right now he's flawed, but he's quiet. I don't get a lot of noise and social media. And talking and calling his coach at 3 in the morning. Yesterday, Charles Shack and Kenny after the game, they didn't want to hear about Joel M. B.

feeling under the weather. Did you watch that game? I watched that whole first half before we, and I watched the whole game before I came over here. He had nothing. Well, I've seen superstars that had great sick games. You know, this is the time. Maybe he was sick, maybe it wasn't.

This ain't the time to be sick. When you step on that court, during this time of the year, Kenny, this is where you make the thing. It's okay. No, they're okay. But the acknowledgement of the sickness is not time. Like you said, the greatest player we've ever seen in our generation. One of the best games when he was sick.

So either you're on the floor, because this is how we evaluate you as analysts and coaches and even players against you. If you're on the floor, what did you do? Don't rush to Twitter every time he drops 32 and looks great. And I'll promise you, I won't rush to Twitter when he's as awful as he was yesterday. And that wasn't even his worst game in this series. Embed is a fragile, inconsistent, wildly popular big man, even during his great stretches. Six treatments per day to get on the floor.

Ivy at six in the morning. 63% of games in Philly he's missed. An incredibly likable social star. But folks, bad back, bad die. Not always a great teammate. You can keep rushing to Twitter to confirm it. You want to build around that guy. You got choices in Philadelphia.

I'm going to take the quiet guy. I'm going to take the guy who's one of the greatest passing young players, Ben Simmons, I've ever seen. He's not refined. He's not a polished product. He's not as good as Embed now. But I don't get all the inconsistency. I don't get, and by the way, M.B. and Simmons can't play together.

So you're going to have to choose one at some point. but it's just this constant up, down, noise, back, diet, hurts. It's too much. Just because, by the way, here was the headline before this series, before the Sixers Raptors series. Here's the guy that everybody loves. Here's the guy that's 60% of games. Here's the guy that didn't play for his first two years.

Here was the headline. Embedd wants to play more, but knee tendonitis will last all playoffs. That's what it's going to be for the next eight years. So whether the guy, whether Alec Baldwin attacks the TMZ guy at the airport, we all know it's in him because he's done it a bunch. Just because he's not doing it now doesn't mean Alex wouldn't do it. It's who he is. He's got a temper. He pops.

I mean, we know who Ambid is. Why are we arguing about it? Coming up next. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. You know, I've been pretty rough on the, LeBron James over the last four or five months, I thought he had a really bad year in Los Angeles optically. Forget physically, optically. Oh my God. It is, it is a mess in Lakerland. That's coming up. Plus thoughts on Steph Curry, who's hurt and had a bad game. And now suddenly I'm supposed to believe he's a liability.

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rest. To order a beautiful and vibrant Mother's Day bouquet, starting at 2999, go to 1800flowers.com slash heard. Order today, save at 1,800flowers.com slash heard. It's great to have you back. You know, L.A. is a city that sells dreams, but don't forget most actors. They come from the Midwest, and they come from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois, and Missouri, and they're good kids, and their mom and dad were good-looking, so they got good DNA, and they get out here, and they end up bartending. And if it wasn't for a strong union sag, they couldn't pay their bills. They're renters, not homeowners. That's what the reality of Hollywood is. There's an occasional Guns-N-Roses and Tom Hanks story, but that's not the reality.

The reality is there's a lot of actors out here bartending, and they're good people and they work hard and they're handsome and they've got talent, but that's the reality of it. The Dodgers have figured that out in Los Angeles. The Dodgers keep saying no to big contracts. The Dodgers are built on their farm system. They're in a wildly glamorous city in Los Angeles, and they just go out and they have a bunch of guys named Seeger and Justin Turner

and a bunch of grinders, not a bunch of stars. They're about their farm system. analytics, they grow their own, and the Dodgers are going to win their division for the seventh straight year. The Lakers are built on dreams and fables, and we're going to steal the other people's best players, and we'll take their draft picks, and it's just a bunch of actors who get marginal work. The reality is the Lakers-Lebron story has become a fable. Remember the movie Aladdin, the magic lamp, and this genie that would grant you. you wishes, a magic carpet ride to the finals? You remember that. LeBron's been lured to the kingdom

with a genie. His wishes and dreams fulfilled TV shows, business moguls, fame, free agents coming to join you. You do realize Disney movies always have a happy ending. But the reality of Los Angeles is they sell that dream with a magic carpet ride and a genie, in this case, bus. But this magic quit the team and this genie doesn't have any answers. And the whole new world is the Cleveland Cavaliers West.

That's what the Lakers are. A bad roster, a bad team, chaotic front office. It's funny. I live in Los Angeles and there's a bunch of movie stars and there's a bunch of big names, but it's the baseball team, the Dodgers who just keep their head down, have a farm system, do their

analytics, say no to Machado, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout contracts, and dominate their division. And get to the NLCS and the World Series. And the Lakers are all in on that L.A. Dream, Aladdin, magic carpet, magic genie, just a bunch of BS. How do I know this? Did you hear LeBron James on its new show, The Shop, this weekend, talking about the magic situation? My right hand comes to me and say,

Magic just stepped down. And I'm like, man, get a . I got my face, you . I go check my phone, I look at it, it happened. Personally for me, I came here to be a part of the Lakers organization, having a conversation with Magic.

So it was just weird for him to just be like, I'm out of here and not even have no like, hey, Brian, kiss my . I'm gone. It's not, it wasn't even. net. LeBron's not happy. LeBron's disappointed because there's no there there. Go watch how the Dodgers do it. Farm system, build their own, not interested in big flashy contracts. Let's get our

kind of guys. Analytics. Lakers analytics. Nah. Second best NBA analytic department in town. A lot of chaos, a lot of dreams, a lot of the Aladdin, the magic genie, the wild magic carpet right. Lakers are a mess. Okay, I don't care how glamorous your city. Sports is hard work. That's all it is. The patriots are grinders. Alabama's grinders.

The Dodgers are grinders. You know who doesn't grind enough? The Giants. You know who does? Philadelphia. Like sports, I don't give a rip about I don't give a rip about all your glamour. Go look at who has dominated sports in my

lifetime in the last 20 years. Yukon women's basketball. Is that glamorous? San Antonio Spurs. New England Patriots, the hoodie. The Dodgers right now. I mean, it's for magic not even to give LeBron a call. If I'm a free agent, I'm like, time out.

They're not even communicating with LeBron. Talk about a turnoff. If I was Kauai, if I was KD, if I was Clay Thompson, you're not even giving a LeBron James a heads up? Isn't he the franchise? Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. So the Warriors are in the middle of another run at the NBA finals, but it's kind of hard not to look ahead to what's coming for the franchise in the off season. They have a couple of huge free agents in Kevin Durant and Clay Thompson, and ESPN's Woj says they are preparing for potentially huge changes. Even internally in Golden State, there's a sense of, Let's try to put aside what's coming in July, and we have a chance to do something very rare in sports to the three-peat. Let's try to keep our focus there, win the title, and then let July play out the way it's going to.

But I think the Warriors are bracing for possibly seismic change within that organization. They're bracing for change. Now, it's being said that if the Warriors offer Clay a five-year $190 million max contract, then he will re-sign up the organization. If it's anything less than that, he's going on the market. and they're going to give Kevin Durant whatever they want, and then he's going to whatever he wants, and then he's going to make his decision, which is essentially the position that they're in.

But they are preparing for a change either way. Yeah, I mean, listen, in a perfect world, you wouldn't have to give Clay a max. Now, I think he's incredibly valuable, but when you have, I'd give Kevin Durant whatever he wants, and I'd give Steph Curry whatever he wants. After that, I know, I love Clay. I think Clay's a top 15 player in the league.

I really like Clay, but you're going to have to give him that because the words out in the league among agents, if they don't give Clay a Max, he's out of here. Because Clay's whole thing is, hey, it's kind of the Russell Wilson deal. I'm letting everybody else star here. You're going to pay me. Like Russell Wilson put up with a lot of 12th man talking Pete Carroll,

but you're going to pay me if I'm going to be the fourth most important part of this franchise. So I think I still, Joy, I got to see it to believe it. I just got to see KD leave to New York to believe it. There's so many layers on this. I don't know. I think he's gone, but I definitely. think you have to give Clay the max. Clay is incredibly underrated as an essential part of their entire franchise's success.

And Clay will be good whether he's on the Warriors or not, unlike how we feel about Dremont Green going to another team. Like, Clay is incredibly valuable on both ends of the floor. So he's going to get the max. Sticking with KD, as the rumors continue, Vegas believes that he is headed to Madison Square Garden and Kyrie Irving could be joining him because despite the Knicks not making the playoffs since 2013 and fresh off a 17-win season, Vegas likes their championship odds. Only five squads are listed as bigger favorites for next year's championship.

But let me throw this little angle at you. So Milwaukee, Boston, and Philadelphia would still be favored over the Knicks with Kevin Durant and a lottery pick. Because Vegas is both, what Vegas is telling you, they think KD is... Well, Vegas is telling you they think that KD is going to York. So KD and a lottery pick. pick, which could be Zion, they still have them as the fourth best team in the East. So I'm supposed to believe Kyrie makes them NBA champs.

I mean, Kyrie is Kyrie. Yes. Kyrie is going to greatly increase those numbers. I mean, you don't think that Kyrie, Katie, and Zion Williamson are not in the Eastern Conference Finals? No. Really? Let me ask you. I'll give you an example.

I think this is so layered, Joy. I'll give an example. So let's say it would be too perfect for the Knicks to get number one. Let's say the Knicks get the second pick. It would be too perfect, right? I mean, it's about time. Can we just fix this already? But let's say they got the second pick.

Okay. And they got John Morant. Exactly. So Kevin Durant, they would beat, by the way. So they get John Morant. And Kevin Durant's in Golden State thinking, oh, I've played with John Morant. It's called Westbrook. Oh, no, by the way, John Morant's absolutely to your point.

Who you have to take. well then Kyrie's no longer a perfect fit because John Morant, unlike Kyrie's going to play 82 games, is a passer and a score and a good shooter. Like, I keep going back to this. Let's just say I don't get Zion and they get a two-pick. You have to take John Moran. Right. He's transformative talent.

Well, he doesn't work with Kyrie. And by the way, Kevin Durant's played with a John Morant. Well, I think that John Moran is different than Westbrook in some ways. And I also think that if you had an opportunity to get a Russell Westbrook at the beginning of his career, and along with Kevin Durant, and bring him up so that he's not the face of the franchise and not enable the type of things that Westbrook does that frustrate Kevin Durant. But when KD's watching it play out in all years the media says, oh, he's the next Westbrook. Is Katie like, I've done that?

I mean, it's possible. It's possible. But a lot of things have to play out, like you said, in order for that's happened. Finally, the Browns have quickly gone from the laughing stock of the NFL to a team that many believe is ready to make a deep playoff run. But their new head coach, Freddie Kitchens, took a moment over the weekend to remind everyone to simmer down a little bit. Oh, I've got to hear this. Last year is last year, and last year doesn't make no two teams are the same. I've said that numerous times.

You're not going to be the same. I don't care. You're not going to pick up where you left off. And we're not interested in revisiting last year at all. We were seven, eight, and one. We didn't do shit last year. All right, we didn't win anything. We were third in the division.

And I don't know where all this is coming from. Just because the Super Bowl is our goal doesn't mean that's what we're at right now. We're a team just like the other 31 teams. And we're focused on training camp, OTAs, mini camp, and getting better when those guys get back in the building. By the way, thank you. Like a grown-up. I mean, he's kind of, like he's saying we're not worried about last year, but also we didn't do anything last year. So it's kind of playing both sides there.

But I'm glad that he said that for everyone to just calm down. And it's good, especially coming from him, because while it's important, I think, to aim high, you also need to be humble about where you are and the fact that you've never, you have not even been on the field together as a unit. They're one in five last year against playoff teams. Like, let's stop. Like, Freddie Kitchens is saying what I am. You just like him because he's your coach.

This is what I keep saying. Last year's last year. Cleveland's never shown the ability to back up a good year with a good year. Pittsburgh, I trust. Andy Reed, they'll be good. You know, it's kind of whenever LeBron and Chris Bosch and Dwayne Wade teamed up in Miami and everyone remembers the big huge parade event they threw at AAA and they were talking about one, not two, not three, not four.

Now, obviously it's LeBron Wade and Bosch, so the expectations are clearly going to be championship. Right. But it was kind of like that moment also. Like, can you just wait? Just wait until you all get on the court together to start predicting and guaranteeing seven championships. Can you just wait until you get on the field together and see how all this works before you put those kind of expectations on yourself? Because this is an organization that's not used to having playoff and Super Bowl expectations. No. No, they are not.

It matters. It matters. That's why Pittsburgh doesn't get too high or low when Antonio Brown leads because it's Pittsburgh. They just don't finish in third. That's just not territory they're accustomed to. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Ly News. I have a unique fascination with Nate Robinson, not because he played in the NBA for 11 years, or is the only person to win three slam dunk contests, or that at 5'9 he won those slam dunk contests. No, I grew up as a Washington Husky fan. Come on out, Nate Robinson. And Nate Robinson started as a freshman at cornerback for the football team from Mount Rainier High. his dad is who I grew up idolizing Jacques Robinson, a great running back for Washington.

You started in football. I didn't care about Husky basketball. The only team I've ever passionately loved was Husky football, and you were on your way as an all-American freshman corner to being Dion that liked to tackle, and then you bailed on football and broke my heart. How do you respond to that? Well, first of all, I'm sorry I broke your heart.

Thank you. You can blame that my school who fired Coach Rick New Heisle. And then you went to Hoops. Yes, that's the real reason why I stopped playing because they fired my coach. And I went to Rainer Beach High School. Oh, my bad. The best high school in the country. Yes, by the way, it's a great high school.

It's got great sports. Your mom, dad, Jock Robinson. So it's interesting. People may not realize. I grew up with Nate Robinson, the football player, and you were badass. Thank you. You were a great. You were a freshman All-American, played in the Sun Bowl,

and then you left football, and we were all like, Nobody cares about Husky basketball. I have the Ney Robbins. We're best players of freshmen. Yeah, I have to put Husky basketball on the map. Yeah. So let's, I'm going to talk about, you disagree with me on Kauai, and I said before. Don't confuse.

Steve Nash won the MVP, and everybody said, come on, Steve Nash, and I always said, it's not that he gives you 22. It's that, you know how many guys he got paid in this league? He got, he got Joe Johnson a contract. He was spoon-feeding everybody, yeah. He just paid everybody. Kauai is great, but he doesn't. pass. They were 17 and

five this year, Nate, without him. San Antonio is a playoff team. Aren't there guys you've played with who are great, but are they making you better? I mean, honestly, Michael Jordan didn't pass the ball that much. He passed it to the room more than he did to his teammates, and he's the greatest player on the world.

But I, one person, I love Kauai. Why? His game is just, I mean, he's involved. He's not just a defensive guy. And that's how he started in the league as being a defensive guy. Now he's showing that he's added his offense, and He looks unstoppable. What a guy's around the league.

He doesn't talk much. He's quiet. Like, how does that land with players? I mean, he shows up to work every day. That's the only thing that matters. That's the only thing that should matter. He comes to work every day. He brings his A game.

He comes in, and he shows that he can win. He's a winner. He's a champion. MVP, finals MVP. I mean, come on, man. He reminds me a little bit of a guy. Do you remember Alex English? Yeah.

Denver Nuggets? Yeah. A bucket. A walking bucket. Get a bucket. He played for Denver. I think he's in the NBA, a front office. He's a smart dude.

Quiet, reserved. His game looked like Kauai. Alex English appeared to never sweat. Alex English showed up, gave you 27. I don't think he- And chill and just watched the rest of the game. Yeah, I mean, he just came in, gave you 27 left, didn't talk, no flash. Kauai's got that component.

You know, I want to talk about the Sixers. So they're unbelievably talented. But they got four guys, and I think all four guys, Nate, want a max. But M. Bede's hell scares me. Ben can't shoot. Tobias isn't a max guy. And I love Jimmy Butler, the athlete. But a lot of people say he can be tough on young players.

If I told you, you got to keep two. And I want everything considered. I struggle keeping M.B. Because big guys get hurt early, it scares me. Well, one, I'm going to keep Ben Simmons. He's young. and he's a point guard. And if I'm the sixers,

I don't need Ben Simmons to shoot no jumpers. I would tell him, just don't shoot. If you don't want to practice your jump shot and get it right, then don't shoot it all. Just go to the basket, pass. He's kind of like a Magic Johnson. Magic didn't shoot early. Exactly.

But he had to learn how to do it. And I'm not saying Magic Johnson had the best jump shot in the world. We all know that. He didn't have the best jump shot. But he got everybody involved, which that's what Ben Simmons does. And he does a great job at it. Yeah, I like.

Now, again, Ben's interesting, because, you know, Embed's this big popular personality, but Simmons is a unique player. I don't think Simmons and Ambid work, because when Embed's in the lane, and Embed, you don't want Ambide going outside because then he thinks he's a shooter, and he's gotten better, but he's not a shooter.

So, Embed's in the lane. Well, Embed's in the lane, so says the guy guarding him. Therefore, Ben only scores at the rim. So Ben just stands around in the half-court game. They're oil and water. They don't work together. I mean, they just, they still have to learn. how to work together.

They still have time. They're showing that right now by being taken the Raptors and I think it's going to go seven games. I mean, they, I think they play well together. It's just that Embed has to do a better job of

one preparing himself for games, eating better, taking care of his body. Everybody in the league's talking about that. I mean, it's just something, I know, I've been a part of the league. I've ate horrible food before I played and I just didn't feel like I'm supposed to

so you just have to, he has to change his diet. You did? Yeah, facts. You did? Yeah. You were a Taco Bell driving to the arena guy. No, no fast food, but I would eat like it could be lasagna, chicken nuggets, whatever. It just didn't matter. I just wanted to eat sometime before the game and I would just eat whatever. So I had to change the way I ate

over time because I can feel it takes a toll on your body over time. Yes. Nate Robbins and joining us 11 years in the NBA explain this to me. So Kevin Durant is, I think he wants to be known in the goat conversation, and I think he's great. I mean, he is a goat. He's great. Yeah.

He's on the best team maybe ever. He'll take less money to go to New York. He'll go from a really well-run, smart-owned team to the Knicks are kind of a mess. And the understanding is, hey, he wants to be the man. And my takeaway is, man, be very careful about leaving money on the table. and a great boss for a bad boss. Would you leave if you would potentially have your third MVP in the finals? I don't really get it.

The only way I leave for me, if I'm playing for the Sonics. So if the Sonics wanted me to come back to Seattle, that's the only time I'm going to. The hometown. My home town, that's the only place I'm going. But don't you think the quality of ownership matters? Take me to your career. You played for Celtics, Bulls, Knicks. what was the best time of your career the happiest you were winning what was the best two three year stretch

for me when i was in chicago i couldn't even lie when i was in chicago i honestly had an opportunity to showcase that i can play basketball and i wasn't just a dunker um just that whole stand of me playing under top timidot playing with carlos booser rib hamilton jimmy butler luau dang joe kim noah tis like all my guys, it was just, it was magical. Every time I put on that jersey, I just felt like I was unstoppable. Like, I was kind of like Michael Jordan, you know, in a sense of having that energy. So that was my, I think that was my, you know, my best year of playing because I actually got a chance to play. Do you, are you surprised by anything in the playoffs?

Are you surprised? And let me take a break. I'll come back on this because the Denver Nuggets have actually shocked me. Nate Robinson next in L.A. It's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast. network on TikTok. 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 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. 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's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose

on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learning a hard way and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle 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 on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki. The ability to show 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. Welcome back, Nate Robinson from the Pacific Northwest, 11 NBA seasons, only three-time dunking champion in the NBA. So we were talking about, of all the NBA teams, the only one that shocks me is Denver, because historically, you can't win with kids in this league, not in the playoffs. Right.

The playoffs are for grownups, 28-year-old dudes, men, and that's the way the league's worked since I was a kid. Denver's a bunch of kids and the Joker, Jokic.

And he didn't play college here, and he's got a bad body, and I'm watching that guy, and I'm not sure he's not the most valuable player in this league. What is Denver without him? It's a bunch of kids.

He's the best passing big man, Nate, I've seen since Arvita's a bonus. Yeah, Denver, Nugget. They're a great, they're an adult AUT. Like we, me and my boys, we tease in our little group chat. But they're like a real A U-T, they just go out and they hoop. They get it done.

And they're fun to watch, like, all of them. Gary Harris, just all the, you know, all of them guys. I'm just mad that they're not playing Isaiah Thomas. Like, you got a guy that can average 30 on your bitch. Yeah, but you can't build around Isaiah. It's not about building around them. You got to, like, you want to win? I want to win.

You want to win, put IT in. Let him go and get him. you, Portland has nothing. They have no answer for Isaiah Thomas coming off the bench, giving you 20 points. They don't have an answer for Joker. He don't. I mean, he's a walking triple double. He's like the big man Westbrook.

He's going to be averaging the triple double. One of these seasons, you guys heard it here, he's going to average triple double next year. Well, he got nine and a half assists on a young basketball team. So you would think as his team grows, some of those missed jumpers become assists because he's going to give you 23, 12 and a half rebounds. That's just what he's going to give you. I think he's the best player in the league because Denver's in that Rocky Mountain time zone.

They're not left coast. They're not right coast. They're not Midwest. Denver's just kind of a football city stuck in the mountains. The guy is, we don't watch a lot of Denver Nuggets. We don't talk about him. I think he's an incredible player. I love his game.

I love his game. I love watching him play. I used to when Wilson Channel was on the team, I mean, once in my FaceTime, Wilson Chandler. And I'm like, bro, where's the Joker at, bro? Like, Sean, bro, I told him, you're filthy. Keep balling. Yeah.

Like, you have it. So whatever that is, you know, stick to it. So I'm watching the shop this weekend, and LeBron James is talking about Magic, quit the team, and didn't give LeBron a heads up. And you could tell LeBron wasn't real happy with it. But was he supposed to? Well, I think I would call my best player and tell him,

if I felt I lured you, you were a very, if you lived in Seattle. So you felt like, yeah, okay, go ahead. And I lure you to L.A. You're in your hometown. Akron for LeBron, Seattle, for you. I lure you here with promises. And I'm going to resign. I think I'd give you a call.

Nate breaks my heart. I can't run this team. Madge you just quit. LeBron's sitting there in the shop like, could you, could you? I mean, it happens, man. You know, everybody has their own personal things that they go through and, you know, you just. You wouldn't be mad? No, not really.

It's a business. You got to understand, you know, what you're getting into off the rip. You know, you just like, I think that Alonzo Ball, his reaction was hilarious because he's like, oh, we're, okay, what we're doing tonight? It happens. You got to move forward. Now it's time for LeBron. You got to go, get ready for this next season coming up, figure out what pieces you're going to

add and come in and be ready to ball. Do you think it turns off free agents, though, that look at the Lakers as a mess? You played for a dysfunctional franchise for five years in New York. You guys didn't land the top free agents, not because of Nate Robinson. People didn't trust James Dolan. Yeah, that was a big one for us and not being able to

get a certain guy. But I think that we had enough. We just, you know, we just needed a solid coach to really guide us to help us, you know, win games and get to the postseason. We didn't, we didn't have that. You think free agents look at the Lakers now and want to play there? Who doesn't want to play in L.A.? If you love basketball, you want a hoop like that you, like you got to. Paul George? Paul George, but he's good where he's at right now. There's no reason, like, there's no reason to leave. Okay, see, when you have, why would I leave if I was Kauai? Why would I leave? Toronto is a wonderful town.

I like Toronto, but I mean, who knows? He might not leave. He might stay. We don't know. Do you think they land any of these top guys? I hope so. But do you really believe it? I hope so.

I mean, I'm available. I mean, I can still play and run up and down the court. So, I mean, you know, I mean, I'm not a superstar like the rest of these guys. But I definitely play. LeBron wants a star. You can't win in this league without a second star. Yeah, he just has to figure out what star he wants to go get. I think him and Kauai would be nasty.

That would be tough. And I don't think people want to see that. Like, they ain't ready for that. What about Jimmy Butler? Do you think he stays in Philadelphia or he moves? If I'm Jimmy, I would love to stay out there. I mean, I have a nice little fit. The chemistry's cool.

And they got young players. I would love to stay in Philly if I'm Jimmy Butler. When you're a free agent out there and you're looking around and there's obviously one dynasty in the league, then there's a bunch of good teams. Toronto's good. Milwaukee's good. Boston's good. Portland's good. There's a bunch of good in this league. There's one great. So you, what was your first year in the NBA? 0506. Okay. So you didn't get any of that. You didn't get any of the Bulls. What was the best single team you faced?

Probably the Pistons, Rip Halminson, Chaunty, Tashon, Big Ben. Okay. They won one championship. Yeah, but they were, but they were just a great team. Like they were, they know. how to play the game. They knew what they were looking for, every possession. That's tough to go against. What was the team you watched growing up as a kid? Sonics. Sonics? Your favorite great team, Sonics? Yeah, Sonics, GP, Shawn Camp. So you grew up with Sonics who were almost, almost great, almost got titles. You watched the Pistons win a title and played against him. What do you make of this current dynasty in Golden State? What do you like about them? What do you think their weaknesses?

The weaknesses is that they just take bad shots. If they take better shots, they take better shots, no, they're unstoppable. So some of the shots that you see, the L of I shots, sometimes Curry comes down, maybe Clay may take a quick one because he hasn't touched the ball in a while. I know how that is. But the better shots they take, I think

that helps them in the long run because they play good defense. Jermont does a great job. Another guy that can get you a walking triple double. But I feel like that's what's hurting them. It's just the bad shots. Yeah. Well, they got a lot of shooters. It is.

It's called the American Flag Football League. It's starting June 23rd NFL Network. Broadcasting 11 of your games. Are you going to watch is the question? Well, there's a lot of football out. I got a lot of stuff to watch. I can't make any promises. Well, you have to promise that.

You said you watch my pops. You said you watch me. You got to come watch me lock down the corner. You guys are out there. NFL Network. Hey, your boy. I'm a locked down corner. American flag football league.

Yes. Four elite pro teams, 128 amateur teams. Nate Robinson. We got to go. Colin right, Colin wrong next. Thanks, Nate. It's the Herb. Thanks for having me. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight reel. 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 Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. 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. 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 iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? 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 belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it.

An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. 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 Podcast. Podcasts for wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Ah, here we go, hour two in Los Angeles. This on a Monday is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, not on TV today, not FS1, we're on FS2.

We're on XM-Series Channel 83. Joy Taylor is joining me. me on a Monday, Matt Barnes, Howard Beck Bleacher Report, Senior NBA writer will join us today. Oliver Luck. The XFL is now official. It's a football league. I'll get into that this hour. That's a league where I could not say a bunch for the last two months. XFL is represented by my representation agency, CAA, by the company that employs me Fox, by the company that used to employ me, ESPN. They all made this come together. A lot of information. I had it kind of withhold for the last two months. I'm going to talk about the XFL.

It's a new league with a billionaire founder on the two biggest sports networks in America with legalized sports gambling and Oliver Lux, the CEO commissioner, one of the smartest guys in sports running it. It's going to work. It's going to work big. It is spring football. The schedule's out.

It feels and looks legitimate. And I'll talk about that later. But it's a Monday, Joy. And you know what that means. That means we get to talk about how right and wrong you've been. And I was a lot of both all this week. So let's do it right wrong. Where Colin was right. Okay. We can keep running to Twitter and saying how great Embed is, but Embed and Simmons don't work together. Outside of Golden State, Philadelphia has got the second most talent in the league.

Ambied and Simmons are oil and water. Simmons can't play with the dominant big because it clogs the lane and he's not a perimeter player. And Ambide is absolutely at his best on the low block. But with Simmons sometimes needing to score low. Mbid moves out, and that's not really a strain. They're never going to work together. Now, they do have moments. The Sixers will have these four-and-six-minute spurts, or they look like the world's best team.

They're like, the Warriors with some Globetrotters. I mean, they're so much fun to watch. But they are struggling. They lost home court again yesterday. M. Bid for the second time in this series was invisible. Simmons has been throughout the series. series at times invisible. They don't work together.

Win or lose this series, Simmons and Embed, oil and water. Where Colin was wrong. The shock of the playoffs isn't Kauai. He's always been good. The shock of the playoffs is the Denver Nuggets. Jokic has been a monster. They have one guy in their entire roster with playoffs experience, Paul Millsap. They have the youngest playoff team I can ever remember,

and now they have home court advantage. three games left, two in Denver against Portland, and they have shown unbelievable resilience in this series. Listen, we all knew the East is weaker than the West and Toronto would win a playoff series. We knew that's not a shock. We knew Milwaukee was going to win a playoff series or two. Denver blows me away.

You're not supposed to win in this league in the playoffs with one star and a bunch of kids. It doesn't work that way. They've been, to me, the shock of the playoffs. Where Colin was right? Monty Williams took the Phoenix Sun's job over the Lakers job last week. If you're the Lakers and that doesn't terrify you, I don't know what does. Sons have had six coaches in six years.

It's a poorly owned franchise. Folks, the Lakers are exactly what we've been telling you for six months. It is a circus. LeBron James has a TV show with Maverick Carter called The Shop. And here's an illustration. of how little communication happens at the top of the franchise. My right hand comes to me and say,

magic just stepped down. I'm like, man, get a bit out of my face. You b***. I go check my phone. I look at it. It happened. Personally, for me, I came here to be a part of the Lakers organization,

having a conversation with Magic. So it was just weird for him to just be like, I'm out of here. And not even have no, like, hey, Brian, Kiss my I'm gone. It's not

It wasn't even next. LeBron's not happy. He's the biggest star in the city on a sports team and they didn't text him. CEO, the owner, the GM, the president. They didn't get a text.

It is a rudderless ship. Where Colin was wrong. Jason Tatum's one of my favorite young NBA players. Smart, long, athletic, can shoot, can drive, put it on the deck. He's averaging less than 10 points a game in this series and shooting 35% against Milwaukee. Now, some of it is Milwaukee plays real defense.

You don't get any cheap points down low with Yonah standing there. But he has got to be more aggressive. I really like his game. I think he's a tremendous young player. And I would acknowledge that Kyrie is not always the easiest guy in the world to play with. But Jason Tatum has completely disappeared in this series. He is out of rhythm. He doesn't look confident.

And it's remarkably because last year, without Kyrie on the court, when it was kind of his and Al Horford's team in the playoffs, he rose as a rookie. He played his best basketball the year in the playoffs. Now in his second year, he has disappeared in this series. Where Colin was right? I said, I don't believe in conspiracy theories, but watch the Rockets and Warriors.

That no call on the James Harden charge that's the Saints Rams pass interference call. You've got to be kidding me. 41 seconds left when that thing starts. 41 seconds left when that thing starts. 40, what, 49? You're not calling that a charge. I'm watching that on television right now.

Come on now. Did that not feel like the NBA with three referees staring at it? Wanted a game five? I mean, that's Rams Saints right there. And you know how much heat the Rams Saints got? And I know the NFL is way more popular than the NBA, but that's what I said about this game. I thought it would come early.

It came late. There would be a call where we'd be going, oh, I get it. That's as bad a call in a big spot as I can remember in the NBA. That's what I worried about. I've defended the NBA for years. I'm not at a conspiracy theories. They butchered that moment. Where Colin was right?

We've been saying since the NFL season ended, two or three teams in the NFL are going to be pullback teams. Bear Saints Ravens. And last week, Vegas came out with their over-unders and agreed on all of them. Saints won 13 games last year. I predicted nine. Vegas is at 10. Chicago 12, I predict nine.

Vegas at nine. Baltimore at 10 last year. I predict seven. Vegas has them higher eight and a half. But in all three, especially the Bears, Vegas clearly sees what I saw late last year with Chicago, which is in the last month, of starts for Mitch Strabisky. He was incredibly pedestrian.

And I think Aaron Rogers and Green Bay's defense is better. I think Detroit's better. I think Minnesota has a little bounce back year. Vegas agrees on all three teams, all three-minute playoffs, Saints, Bears, Ravens, they're pulling back. Where Colin was wrong.

Chris Middleton, I said last week, he shouldn't be a two. You can't get to the finals with Chris Middleton as a two. He's not a good enough ball handler. He can shoot. Well, he's been great. 24 points.

He's shooting 63% from three against the Celtics, five and a half rebounds, 86% at the line. He's been great. Now, I still think Middleton on a championship team is a three. On some teams, maybe a four, but since I said he was not a number two star, he's been fantastic.

And because you have to double and spend so much time on Janus, it leaves Middleton open. And I thought going into this series, you know, Tatum would end up elevating like last year in the playoffs. He's vanished. And Middleton, who I think I thought would kind of shrink in the playoffs, has actually played his best basketball of the year. Where Colin was right. Everybody tells me instant replay is great. And my belief is too much instant replay adds confusion, delays, and doesn't make sports better.

It's sports version of micromanaging. So the favorite horse at the Kentucky Derby, wire-to-wire lead, they went to replay. We sat around for 15 minutes. It was an embarrassing, messy ending, and maximum security, because it drifted out of its lane on a turn. You know, it is a horse.

They kind of have their own way of doing things. And replay took away the wire-to-wire winner. I don't know, folks. I mean, I got nothing against horses. They're beautiful. But, you know, they have a piece of metal in their mouth, and Nick get whipped. They're not humans.

They may drift a little in a race, especially when the tracks amiss. And we go to replay in 144 Kentucky Derbys. That's the replay center. That looks like me at home on a Sunday watching NFL. And you upturned a Kentucky Derby? But Colin, Colin, if it was a horse race in Illinois, it's not. It's the Kentucky Derby. It's why you don't throw pass interference flags in the Super Bowl in a Hail Mary.

It's the Kentucky Derby. Derby, sports has always had situational officiating in muddy track. It's a horse. Drifted a little. This is where I don't like replay. This is where I don't like replay. If officials in NFL football can make a mistake, a horse can't drift a little? A little?

I don't know. You horse people probably hate me on this. You're experts, I'm not. But that was a disastrous ending to the greatest, what they call the greatest two minutes in sports. greatest three minutes in sports that was a mess I didn't like it at all where Colin was right

best high school quarterback in the country plays in California didn't even acknowledge USC and UCLA or the PAC 12 he's going to play at Clemson I said a couple of years ago I love college football there was a time it was my favorite sport

but when Clemson and Alabama can now come out west and take the top Western players it tells you the sports become lobsided and overly regional. I'm sorry, but you shouldn't have USC going to Florida and getting their best players and going to Ohio and getting their best players and going to Georgia and getting all their best players. College football has become too regional. This is nothing against Clemson. They're awesome. It's nothing against Alabama. But you have something going on right now.

College basketball, as good as Duke is, there's no guarantees. I can guarantee you the championship game next year. Alabama has nine first rounders projected in the draft, and Clemson, I think, is better. Best High School quarterback didn't acknowledge the West Coast. He's going to Clemson, which until Davosweeney wasn't even considered a national university. It was kind of a regional, you know, ACCC University. Collin right, Colin wrong, good to have you in. What was your takeaway in the Kentucky Derby, Joy? I'm so with you. I'm so with you. I was confused. I was completely We were eating lunch and I watched it. I'm like, oh, okay, the horse won.

Just go back to my chicken wings. And look up, I'm like, that's not the horse that won. And what happened? It drifted. I feel bad for the gamblers in that spot, too. It's a horse. I don't understand it. I really don't.

I didn't even know that was a thing. Did you know that was a thing? Well, I know it could be interference in horse racing. They put it back in 17th. Now, the horse racing purist will say, this is absolutely the way it should work. take away as, and I've been arguing this for years, sports is situational. I went to a boxing match Saturday night, Canello and Jacobs. In a boxing match, if you go to the 12th round

and the champion and the challenger are deadlocked, it's close. And a guy's in trouble, right? Like, let's say the champion's in trouble. You're going to let the challenger throw an extra punch or two because he has a chance to knock out the middleweight champion of the world, if that was the case. The reality of sports, is you don't call pass interference on a Hail Mary because it's a Hail Mary. This idea that sports is always letter to the law, that's what replay wants. Humans play it, humans coach it, humans officiate it. Right, but this is a horse.

And horses on a wet track drift? I don't know. It felt like to me it was an instant. You let it go. I know everybody says, hey, if that was another horse race, it's not. It's the Kentucky Derby. It's the Super Bowl of horse racing. Right.

So you don't do that in that spot. Yes. And I'm also with you on the replay center. Did you think that was odd looking? Yes, that looks like me. It looks like an edit room. Yeah. I don't know.

I mean, listen, all the horse racing officiados will come out of the woodwork on this. You're wrong. It just felt like, yeah, you just butcher the Kentucky Derby. Wow. Howard Beck's around the corner. Bleacher Report senior NBA writer. My thoughts on Steph Curry, I'll have some of those.

Woje on Durant. The XFL is now a real thing. We'll talk about that. Joy's got a herd line news after this too. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the

source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports 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 Slico Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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. Amishel And this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase. 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 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 going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Laila. 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 belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it.

An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. 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. The inaugural PBA playoffs keep rolling on FS1's knockdown Mondays. The round of 16 continues tonight at 9 Eastern on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. Good to have Yen Howard back. the Lakers during their three-peat, former New York Times NBA reporter for the Knicks, one of the really smart guys who covers the league now at the Bleacher Report, NBA senior writer there.

And Howard Beck is joining us. Howard, thanks for spending a few minutes with us today, and I heard. I appreciate it. Hey, Colin, how are you? I'm doing great. I want to start with the one that will get everybody the most upset. And I said this earlier. I'll throw you an analogy I used.

Adrian Peterson was a great running back. but Minnesota got better when he left. He couldn't catch. Zekeel Elliott's a great running back. If he takes a series off, the cowboys can't function. He can catch. He can run. He can block.

There's a difference between talented and valuable. Kauai Leonard is great. But the Raptors are 17 and 5 this year when he didn't play. He doesn't pass. He doesn't really communicate. He's the silent assassin of the NBA. He comes in, does his work, produce. works better alone than in groups, leaves,

and you're awestruck by his accuracy and his greatness. But I feel like the Joker for Denver elevates every teammate and himself. I watch Kauai and I'm like, I love his game, but is he making people better? Well, I mean, it depends on how we want to define it. Let's put it this way. If not for him, this series is already over. If they're still in a DeMar de Rosen-centric universe, the Raptors, they're probably done in this series,

and that's not really a knock on Demar de Rosen as much as it is a statement about how much more dominant and versatile Kauai Leonard is overall as a score. Now, we've seen this through the course of NBA history, Colin. There are some great scores who are not necessarily great playmakers, and some of them develop it over time. And actually, Kevin Durant, who, you know, it's Kauai and Kevin Durant, who are now, like, you know, buying for title of, you know,

best player this postseason, depending on which day and who just played recently. But Kevin Durant wasn't always a great assist guy. He's developed over the course of his career. Yes. And I think Kauai, that is a step he still needs to take. He's incredible. He can score almost from every place on the court.

He's got a great mid-range game that feels like a throwback to Jordan or Kobe. He's got the three-point range. He's powerful and can get to the rack. But I agree with you. There's more he could do as a playmaker. I don't think that necessarily means that his team's, not better off for having him or that he's limiting them in some way. I think it's more about the fact that they don't have anybody else who's necessarily a next level playmaker on that

team, and Kyle Lowry really varies from day to day. You know, so I said this last week, Howard. I find the Sixers to be my favorite team to watch, and some of it is because of their dysfunction. I don't think Simmons and Embed play together. I think there's an oil water component here where Simmons can't shoot, so he needs a clear lane. You don't want him beat outside where he thinks he's a shooter. You want him on the low block where he is almost impossible to defend. I look at these two and I think to myself, their sheer talent will get him to the playoffs and occasionally will win a playoff series.

But man, when I watch the Sixers, there are spurts when it's joyful and wonderful. But I just don't see these four, Tobias, M. Bid, Simmons, Butler. I don't think it works together. I think it'll always underachieve. Am I reaching? Are you seeing any of that? I think where you started on this one, Colin, is actually where I am. It's not about the four.

It's about the two. You know, Simmons and Embed, look, the buzz around the league has been for the last couple of years that these guys, I don't want to say they dislike each other, but there's not great chemistry there. They coexist. They're fine. But it's interesting that when we talk about the best combinations on this team and when we start, you know, really zoning in on what works in a given game.

We watch the great two-man game between Embed and Reddick or Butler and Embed. You rarely talk about Simmons and Embed other than that, well, that's the young core of this team. We don't really think of them as a great one-two punch. Right. And without them having acquired Tobias Harrison, Jimmy Butler, they're not where they are right now. There's a reason that that team went all in, traded almost every available asset they had to get those guys, even knowing that both would be free agent. because they knew they needed somebody else who could get their own shot,

create, and function well in combination with one of the two original guys and beating Simmons. And until and unless Simmons get that outside game, that jump shot down, there is a limitation to him. And all that said, they have such a great sheer amount of talent that I think the six are still have a shot to win this series and get to the conference finals or even get to the finals. I mean, I've gone back and forth on all four of these teams.

They all have the potential. Yeah. I find him so much fun to watch. So Steph struggled in his last game. I've always felt there's a difference, Howard Beck joining us, between reasons and excuses. You know, dog ate my homework's an excuse. Dislocated finger and I'm a shooter is a reason. I think Steph's hurt. He just doesn't look 100% to me.

What do you make of what we've seen so far? Yeah, I mean, look, it's the last game that's most glaring, right? And that was, you know, missing a layup and missing a dunk, blowing the dunk. That's more legs than finger, I would think. But the finger isn't helping, and it's certainly not helping on the shooting part of it. What I've seen from guys in the past in the playoffs, and this is different for everybody, and especially when you're such an elite shooter, maybe it's a little bit more of an adjustment. But guys will get hurt in the playoffs, whether it's a finger, whether it's something else, things will be off, and then they find a way to adjust and get their shot right, even though it's not ideal, right?

And so Curry may just need a couple of games to get used to how it feels right now with the finger taped up and just kind of, you know, reacclimate to his own game. But he also has Durant to lean on. And so I think it doesn't matter maybe quite as much as it would have been a prior postseason. Now, they still need him, obviously, at a high level. But Durant is playing at such an incredible level right now that if Curry wants to hang back and play Playmaker, which he's very capable of doing, there's still a lot of damage that team can do with Durant's scoring,

Clay Thompson's outside shooting, Curry contributing, maybe he's at 80% of what he would normally be. They've got the luxury of Kevin Durant. Yeah. I'm going to throw, I'm on to throw, I was talking to Joy Taylor on the show about this, and everybody's got Kevin Durant going to the Knicks. and I said, all right, so Kevin Durant did not have a great experience with Westbrook.

There is a certain stigma in his mind about Westbrook. Let's say the Knicks get the number two pick next Tuesday in the ping pong lottery. They don't get Zion. That would be too perfect for the world. That's just too perfect, right? So let's say the Knicks get the number two pick. I think they'd be making a catastrophic error not to draft John Morant, who I think has Westbrook's athletic ability, but is a better shooter and I think has better court vision.

then if you draft him Westbrook excuse me Durant's sitting there in San Francisco thinking well he's the one they say is Westbrook I've done Westbrook

I've done that Westbrook thing I'm not into that a ball-centric guard I think it's a fascinating quandary Howard that if the Knicks get the two I think they would be insane not to take John Morant

and I think that's a turn off to KD what's your takeaway on that I think it's a fascinating psychological analysis of it, that if he's too closely associated with Westbrook, then Jha all of a sudden becomes less attractive. I don't know. I think there's a more fundamental question here for Kevin Durant, Colin. And it's about this.

If he's leaving the Warriors, if he's leaving a team that will have gone to probably three straight finals, maybe one three straight championships, he's won two finals MVP, could win a third. If he's going to leave a great historic team to try something else, else. What is it that he wants? Does he want to be on another contender immediately? Because if he does, I don't know that the Knicks are the right choice there. I understand that people are talking about, well, it'll be him and Kyrie and they'll sign a couple of other guys. The Knicks have a team that

won 17 games. With, with, I know, I know, it's so that you say it out loud. It's striking every time. 17 games. They don't have a lot of talent, and the talent that they do have is young and unpolished, and you don't know where it's going. Mitchell Robinson, great rookie season. Is he going to be a great player, an all-star caliber player? That's yet to be determined. Kevin Knox had a horrific season, statistically, as a rookie. One of the worst we've seen in a while for a pick in the top 10.

There's a lot of doubts about Kevin Knox around the league. There's a lot of doubts about Dennis Smith Jr. around the league. And if you did draft John Morant, by the way, of course, you're now pushing Dennis Smith, Jr. to the side. He didn't really appreciate being pushed to the side in Dallas by Luca Donchich. So where is the rest of the tell you? Where's the surrounding cast? If you get Katie and Kyrie Irving, that's two max guys for your two max slots. By definition, I think the math is you now have no cap room.

So where are you getting a supporting cast? The Knicks don't have one. Now, it's not to say they couldn't build one on the fly, but it's going to take a lot, lot more than just signing Durant and another All-Star. And depending on what else happens in the East, look, if the Sixers keep their guys, the Sixers are still great. If the Bucks re-sign Middleton and Brogden and Lopez, they're still great. If the Raptors don't lose Kauai, they're still great.

The Celtics, maybe they lose Kerry, maybe they don't. They've still got a lot of talent. Are the Knicks leapfrogging all of those teams if those teams more or less stay who they are? I mean, it's a big, big climb. And so I think people are oversimplifying the idea that just getting Katie and another guy turns them into contenders. You and I totally agree with you. And I said this last week and people think I'm nuts. I'm like, folks, the East isn't the East six years ago.

All these teams are good and young. And Philadelphia, Boston, God, even Indiana is a, when inola Depot's healthy is a real team. And by the way, I think this has to be noted. KD and Kyrie, if they did both join the Knicks, they're over the regular season. Like those guys are postseason players now. they don't want to play 82. They want to play 64. And frankly, they both have rabbit ears.

They both bother by the media. So when they're not playing, they're getting beat up. Howard Beck, Bleacher Report, senior writer, former New York Times reporter covering the NICS LA Daily News during the Lakers 3Pete. It's great talking to you. I love that you took time for us this morning, Howard, and best wishes to you and Bleacher Report. You as well, Colin.

Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Yeah. I finally found one person. You know, Vegas came out with the over-underers. if Kevin Durant joins the Knicks. And they still have them below the Celtics, Philadelphia and Milwaukee.

And Vegas is baking in Durant and a lottery pick. I mean, I think Kevin Knox is something. But I'm watching. A lot of unknowns, sir. I'm watching these NBA playoffs. Philadelphia's got four players. They're in trouble. I mean, you know, Houston has got like four guys that can play.

They're probably in trouble. I mean, doesn't that make it even more? appealing's Kevin Durant. He wins the championship there. Nobody can say he didn't. But that's a big IF. That's a big if. That is a massive if. That's a meteor hitting the earth tomorrow. That feels like a zillion to one chance. I don't know. Joy with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. We're just discussing Steph Curry's shooting going a little cold in this series against Houston. He's been pretty much overshadowed by Kevin Durant this postseason. But

lost in Curry's colder than usual slump. He's still averaging 23 points on 50, 40, 90 shooting his postseason. And Jemond Green gave us this tidbit on Steph's mindset heading into tonight's game. I think Steph has a good balance of beating himself up and just moving on with life. The toughest thing is to miss shots and keep shooting.

You know, your confidence waiver, you start to think. Steph will miss four in a row and then he checked the fifth one, like from 35 feet. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it definitely works for him. As a competitor, I know he's pissed with himself, and I think that would bowl it well for us. Yeah, I don't really feel a deep concern for Steph Curry's shooting.

No, he had a really bad game. He's being held against the standard of what Steph Curry shoots. Didn't James Harden last year, the Rocket had an 0 for 27-3 slump? Threes are hard to hit. By the way, Hardin this year against Utah, had like a terrible half. Like shooters have slumps. This is not shack dunking.

And the only way to get out of a shooting slump is to keep shooting. And sometimes if you're Steph Curry or if you're James Harden, you're just going to live with them continuing to shoot. And he appears to have a dislocated finger. I know he had an ankle injury coming into the playoffs. He's a pretty slight build. I don't think he's, I think he, you know, and I've said this about three times about Steph through the years.

I think he's about 80% in the playoffs. And it's not the first time I've said that. Like by the end of the season, Steph beat up a little bit. He's not 100%. Right. And they're still going to be good. In Curry's 99 career playoff games, the Warriors are 44 and 5 when he has a game score of at least 20. And like I said, he's averaging 23.

So I feel like they're safe still. Nothing to be too overly concerned about. So big announcements. You've been talking about it all day. Fox and Disney have announced their formal agreement to air Vince McMahon's XFL in 2020 today. They made the announcement. Most of the games will be on broadcast television on ABC and Fox with the remainder of the games air. on FS1 and ESPN.

First game week one, Saturday, February 8th at 5 p.m. Eastern. So they have announced their full schedule. Listen, this is a story that I think you know this, that there was information around this league. We just couldn't talk about here. Right. Our company had asked us, listen, wait until this announcement comes up. This league's going to work.

The AAF, a week into its business, I later discovered this, called the XFL and said, would you buy us? The AAF had no money. One of the founders may spend time in the Greybar Hotel. This league is well-funded. There are 600 players who don't get drafted and you can pay them more.

The NFL negotiates what to pay those guys. There are all sorts of quarterbacks now in college football that can play football, but the NFL no longer keeps three quarterbacks per roster. They keep two, meaning, you've got 15 guys coming out of college football

quarterbacks every year that are capable of playing some level of pro football and they can't make the NFL because they only keep two quarterbacks. So you're going to get good quarterback play. The AAF was always viewed, although we didn't talk about it as a year-long league. You were never going to have two leagues work. This is the one that's founded by a billionaire

on the two biggest sports networks in North America. Well, you have to have the proper funding behind it. And when you talk about legit, logistics of a league. That's, I mean, the list of things that you have to take care of are, it's just astronomical, just from the administration side. Forget on the field stuff. Forget making sure there's enough towels and gatorade.

Like, there's an endless list of things that need to be done in order to run a league properly. And the first time around, someone's probably going to fail on it, and maybe the second time it takes a while to get these things off the ground. So proper funding. And then, you know, the biggest thing to me is always branding. And look at the branding that they have. behind them with Vince McMahon is a marketing genius. Fox, ESPN.

They have the right partners. They're going to be playing all in big stadiums. They have teams in Dallas, Houston, L.A., New York, St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa Bay, and D.C. So, like you said, it's going to work. I'm excited for it. Finally, we're on top of this hype video. We're like the hype video central detectives. Football Giants.

This is a new thing, by the way, these NFL teams now. And we've said this, Joy, last couple of years, NFL stealing. stuff from the NBA. They're seeing how good the NBA is at social media and the NFL's never been afraid to borrow stuff. Never forget, the NFL borrowed a lot from Vince McMahon's XFL years ago. The camera angles.

So the NFL's borrowing some NBA hype video stuff. Right. Trying to get on the social media, building up their stars. Well, Daniel Jones was the sixth overall pick in last month's draft. Got a little pushback on that so they decided to put a hype video out over the weekends. You saw

this on social media. Yes, I did. some clips of it now. I believe that the caption is he's dropping dimes. It's mostly a video of him throwing checkdown passes, which is fine. You know, he's just getting in the NFL groove.

But yeah, we are on top of the hype video. So all NFL teams, you have been warned. If there's anything interesting or suspicious in your hype video, we will find it. Joy, that's very cynical. He is in shorts. His drop-offs to fullbacks were exceptional. I am not overreacting to this type video at all.

You mentioned it being a peculiar as you compare it to someone like Patrick Mahomes videos. Who's throwing it 90 on a knee and you're like, holy hell. Right. Unfortunately for Daniel Jones, this is the territory that comes with being part of the New York football giants. Yes.

And, you know, the NFL and being a top 10 pick as a quarterback. So. That's funny. Enjoy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurdline news. Oh, well, well, well, guess who took another shot at me over the weekend. Baker, Baker, touchdown maker. We'll talk about that 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 IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down. the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral

moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. 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 Slico Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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. Amishel

And this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase. that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. 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 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 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 feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. 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,

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 IHart Women's Sports. Welcome back. Good to have you in. Let me read this spot. Discover Card alerts you if they find your social security number on some of the bad websites out there, free for card members. Sign up online discover.com slash free alerts limitations apply so everybody knows uh first of all i always think it's funny i do not get paid for clicks i have a guaranteed contract i imagine joy does too we don't get paid for clicks no it's kind of a cliche out there for people who don't get the business

click bait i get paid nothing for clicks in fact the only thing that count is clicks is twitter and it's the only thing i don't monetize i don't make a penny off twitter facebook yeah tv radio podcast nobody makes any money on clicks well it adds to your relevance i have a guarantee guaranteed contract. I'm relevant. I have been for years. I don't get paid on clicks. So a lot of you think I go after Baker Mayfield to get clicks. Folks, if I want to get clicks, I'd go after the Dallas Cowboys, Tom Brady, Drew Breeze, Peyton Manning. I'd go after beloved figures. I have mostly until the last six months been a huge fan of LeBron James, and I still think he's the second best player in the world, and I still love LeBron. And his guys, I just think

he had a bad optical year distracted in L.A. nobody talks about crappy teams to get clicks you don't have national fan bases nobody you know why people when i say something bad about the bills it's not to get clicks it's because you're crappy the same with the cleveland brown people in oh you just need clicks at a baker i don't get paid in clicks i have a guaranteed salary and if i was going to pick on anybody it wouldn't be a rookie quarterback baker mayfield's not going to change my life i'd pick on big ben okay you know the best quarterback in that division. So anyway, Baker Mayfield and I, he came on the show.

I was critical of him. Police videos and quarterbacks I'm not a big fan of. Grabbing your junk, I'm not a big fan of. But I did say he's talented. I wouldn't draft him, but he's talented. So Baker came on the show. He was great. I loved him on the show.

I liked him more on the show than I did before and after it. After it, he's now going after me. I said something last week on the show. I had kind of an opinion. I said, you know, John Dorsey got fired in Kansas City. Baker Mayfield had to walk on a couple times. Cleveland's been a laughing stock of the NFL. By the way, check, check, check, all three true.

I said, these guys actually work. The Cleveland thing works. Everybody, they all have a chip on their shoulder. Baker's got a chip in his shoulder. Dorsey's got a chip in his shoulder. Cleveland's got a chip on his shoulder. I thought it was complimentary. Baker Mayfield did not think it was complimentary.

He went and hurt my feelings on Twitter. His reaction was, you're a donkey man. And it hurt my feelings. So I fired back, obviously, in jest. I said, I wish you would listen before ruining my weekend. I worked very hard on this sad. Still hope we are friends, despite our differences. Good luck against Tennessee.

They're terrible. You guys win 50-0. Obviously, tongue-in-cheek. Baker took it seriously. Why would I listen to you instead of just reading the quote? That's exactly what you do when you go on the air. Skip all the details and important stuff. Then go for your rational opinion for clicks.

Baker, we don't get paid in clicks. By the way, Baker, you don't. get paid in clicks either. You get paid for doubles, just like I get paid for, you know, commerce. This relationship, nobody's benefiting from it, but it is fun for me. It is fun that an NFL franchise quarterback and I can go back and forth. I'm very tongue-on-cheek in this whole thing. This to me is just funny. I don't, I would like to believe that Baker doesn't take it as seriously either. Those look serious to me. I mean, I do think that he read that and probably rolled his eyes and showed a few people.

When you read my response to him, you get that it's tongue and cheek. Yes, you sound very much like Trump at 2 o'clock in the morning in that, although he is very serious and you are very much joking. But the caption, and this is why people should read, you know, the

article or watch the video instead of just reading the headline because you may find out that there's actually further information in not just what we can fit on Twitter. Yeah, there's no Because what you said overall was a compliment. It was a compliment when you hear it in its entirety.

You said you were going to say a nice thing. Having a chip on your shoulder, having that be a part of your personality is a good thing. It's a very motivating thing. And it works in the NFL for quarterbacks. Aaron's got one. Tom's got one. By the way, everyone fails. So if you don't have a chip on your shoulder, you're not going to be successful because you'll give up.

But I think a lot of people in Ohio, oh, he is so in your head. No, no, no, no. I'm not in Baker's head. He's not in my head, folks. This is all fun. The idea of Westbrook taking a shot at me on social media, good or bad, it doesn't change my world. I do think Baker Mayfield's police video grabbing his junk and he's a little too much for me,

but I think he's an accurate quarterback and I do, as I said in the piece, I think he works for Cleveland. I don't think Andrew Lux, Polish, Tom Brady's, Aaron Rogers, they just don't feel like Cleveland. Baker feels like Cleveland. He got a chip a mile away in his shoulder. So does John Dorsey. The franchise has been, you know,

it's been kind of the NFL's butt of jokes for the last 20 years. I don't think that's a shot by me. That's what it's been. So it was a compliment. And by the way, Freddie Kitchens, the coach, came out this weekend. And this is exactly what I've said from day one about this Cleveland team, which has a collection of some really interesting players,

but nothing else. Last year is that last year, and last year doesn't make no two teams. teams are the same. All right. I've said that numerous times. You're not going to be the same. I don't care. You're not going to pick up where you left off. And we're not interested in revisiting last year at all. We were seven, eight and one. We didn't do last year. All right. We didn't win anything. We were third in the division. And I don't know where all this is coming from. Just because the Super Bowl is our goal doesn't mean that's what we're at right now. We're a team just like the other 31 teams. And we're focused on training camp, OTAs, mini camp and getting better when those guys get back in the building. By the way, thank you. That's all I've said is that you were 1 in 5 against playoff teams. You have a second year quarterback.

It's a good division. The AFC's packed. I mean, Houston now is a legit quarterback. Andrew Luck, Tom Brady, Darnold can play. Baker, Big Ben, Lamar won games. Philip Rivers, Patrick Mahomes, Derek Carr. Like, you were 7-8-1. And by the way, that's not taking anything away from being 7-8-1,

which is an incredible improvement from where you were the year. before. And they do have some. So I said, I've picked him to win nine games. They've got an interesting collection of talent. But that's not what it's all about. There's a lot of teams with talent. Jacksonville has had a very interesting collection of talent for about four years. They've had one great year. So guys ditch your old worn out underwear. It's embarrassing. Go to Tommy John. They obsess over every detail, performance fabrics. I wear it. Have for years. Go to Tommyjohn.com now. put in the code please, H-E-R-D for 20% off your first order. 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-Hart Radio app. Oh, it's hour three. This is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Live in Los Angeles, I-Hart Radio, Fox Sports Radio. We're not on FS1 today. It's a bomber NASCAR. It knocked us off the air.

I don't like that. I don't like getting hit by a car, and I don't like getting bumped off the air by a car. Two things I don't like. We're on Sirius XM Channel 83 as well. Yeah, the Baker Mayfield stuff now is getting some pickup from media. I do think it's hilarious. People honestly think that Baker Mayfield's my enemy,

that I don't like him. Completely not true. I think he's a good kid. I'd welcome him to the couch anytime he wants to come. And then people think he's making my career. I'm not making his and he's not making mine. We're both doing very fine. Some wild exaggerations being thrown out there.

It's like the whole thing to me is just fun. And I like that Baker has the hutspot to come after me. I think it's great. And I like him. People like beef. It's fun to discuss it. Yes. You know, to pick sides.

Like when hip-hop guys go to have Twitter wars, like they'll get like social media wars in that space. And it's just- All beef is discussable. It's fun. Like you pick sides and then you see what happens. and what's somebody going to say. And, you know, it's all in fun.

Didn't have Drake have a big, not? Didn't, wouldn't it? Yeah, that got a little serious. Oh, it did? For a moment. But it's done now. It's good, no. We're all good.

I don't know all of them, but I remember that one. Coming up in 15 minutes, Matt Barnes, one of my favorite guests, NBA champ. And before the end of the show, Oliver Luck, the father of Andrew Luck, very successful guys, been an athletic director before. He runs the XFL. It's new, the XFL. as Joy and I have talked about, we've had to kind of suppress some of the information

we've both had over here over the last couple of months. I'll speak for myself on this. The AAF was out of money, seven days into its operation where we found out, couldn't talk about it. The XFL's got Vince McMahon, Fox, ESPN, billionaire founder, a lot of capital and the two biggest sports networks in North America.

It's going to work, and I'm excited for it, so Oliver Luck's coming up. Well, well, this is making people, unhappy. I get it. Kauai Leonard had another big game yesterday as the Raptors even things up with the Sixers, but let's pump the brakes on all the praise.

Do not confuse talent with valuable. Do not even confuse production with valuable. Now in most instances, if you're talented, you're valuable.

And if you're productive, you're valuable. But not the time. A Lamborghini, if it was a person, would be very, very talented. But I couldn't even get my kids in the car, grocery bags. You know, if it was a tight little Porsche Lamborghini. Don't confuse the two. Kawhi Leonard's talented and he's productive. Everybody's talking about him this morning being the second best player in the NBA to Kevin Durant. He's not that valuable. Toronto was 17 and 5 when he didn't play. He doesn't communicate. He doesn't pass. He doesn't pass. He doesn't elevate others.

LeBron James leaves a franchise and they disintegrate the next day. Pat Riley, Eric Spolstra, Miami. Awful, great, awful. Twice in Cleveland. Finals, finals. Oh, we're awful. LeBron gets

hurt with the Lakers. At the end of the year, they were the worst team in the league. They were losing to teams like Phoenix in New York that were tanking. LeBron's great, talented, productive and bizarrely valuable. Kauai is just really talented and damn he's productive. How valuable is he?

Toronto made the playoffs last year. Toronto was the number one seed last year. Toronto last year in the regular season was 58 and 24. And then Kauai came and they were 59 and 23 and 17 and 5 when he didn't play this year. He's just talented. He reminds me of the running back Adrian Peterson. They have these weird, weird, unique similarities. Both their hands are a topic.

Kauai's got abnormally large hands. Adrian Peterson has a legendarily almost violent handshake. They're both strong for their size. They're both awe-inspiring. And neither makes their team necessarily much better. Vikings got better when Adrian Peterson left. And by the way, San Antonio, they're in the playoffs again. It should be noted both have one flaw.

Adrian Peterson could never catch. Kauai Leonard doesn't pass. The guy in these playoffs that's actually talented, productive, and valuable is the guy for Denver, the Joker, Jokic? Folks, he's a center. They run their offense through him. Denver is the youngest playoff team in my life I think I've ever seen in the second round.

He leads them in everything. He leads them in points, rebounds, assists. They give him the ball late, top of the key, down low. He has three times the assists of Kauai Leonard and double almost the rebounds. They're both very good players

and points and field goal percentage. Jokic elevates every Denver nugget. Denver should have no business being in the playoffs. this roster. It's a bunch of guys. Is Denver historically relevant? This is a bunch of kids. They're just, they're going to be great if they can get one more player. Denver's going to be good for 10 years. They're all kids. Toronto's good always with Kauai without Kauai. People are confusing this. I don't think Kauai is a wildly valuable player because I think he's the NBA

silent assassin. He comes to your job. Nobody really needs. knows him. He doesn't talk with anybody. He hits his targets. He leaves and frankly, would rather work alone and does his best work alone. The assassin is simply that. Working by himself. In San Antonio, there used to be this criticism about him. They asked Greg Popovich once, what was the best advice you could give Kauai Leonard. Do you remember what he said? Popovich said that when I call a play for Kauai, I'm actually calling a play for the Spurs. Kauai doesn't communicate. Of course he's not a great passer.

Because passing's communicating on the floor. It's playing well with others. He doesn't. He just arrives, hits his targets, works alone, leaves the building. Anybody really know Kauai? No, he never talked. The silent assassin never talks either. It's against his job description.

Better serve working alone. I'm not denying Kauai is great. Toronto was great without him. They'll be fine with him. They didn't win a title without him, but they were good. They won't win the championship without him. but they're good. And the kid in Denver is,

he doesn't have an NBA body. We don't know much about him. He didn't play college basketball here. So we just, and Denver's not a historically relevant. It's a football city. You could argue it's a hockey city and a baseball city third. But that guy,

if you don't, if you take him out of Denver, Portland's winning these games, blowouts, four for four in the series is over. He may take this bunch of kids to the Western Conference. finals. He's an incredible talent. Let me shift to this. Philadelphia. Philadelphia fans are like all fans. When they're right, they rush to Twitter. When they're wrong, it's crickets.

So Joel L. M. B. has wild swings. He's great. He's awful. He's amazing. He's hurt. He's healthy. He's not. And whenever he's great, Philadelphia meatballs run to their Twitter accounts, told you, man, face to the franchise. Of course, they didn't run to the thing yesterday because he was awful. But here's my takeaway on Joel M. Bean. If you're somebody at work, and we've all work with somebody like this, that has a temper, that has outbursts, a little bit of a screamer and a yeller, that's his reputation, because he's shown it before. Now, he can be funny like Alec Baldwin, but Alec Baldwin in an airport, even when he's smiling and handsome and funny and glib with TMZ, you know he's this close to popping.

same with Christian Bale. That's their reality, even in the Times they're not yelling and strangling a TMZ reporter at the airport. Joe L.M.B.'s reality, good or bad game is, he didn't play for two years because he was hurt. And he needs six treatments a game because he's always hurt. And he's got a bad diet. And he's always hurt. Did I mention he's always hurt? And he missed 14 the last 24 games. Did I mention he gets hurt a lot? He's a liability to the franchise. I don't care that he played terrible yesterday. Just like I don't care that he played great the previous game. Yesterday wasn't even his worst game in this series. He is a high-maintenance, noisy guy. I don't care what his games are. I don't rush to Twitter for validation when he's bad.

I could have spent all day yesterday on M.B. Crushing him on Twitter. I didn't. I talked about Jokic and nobody cares. M.B.'s reality, like the guy with a temper at work, is doesn't mean he always has a temper doesn't mean he's always yelling at cameraman doesn't mean he's always picking fights with his bosses but we all know it's right below the surface and so you walk on eggshells around him it doesn't matter

that M. Bede was terrible yesterday or great the game before. If you build your franchise around him this is what you get he's calling his coach in the morning I may not play he's hurt he's sick they want him to lose weight he needs a nutritionist he's just too damn

noisy for me so you go ahead build this Sixer team around Embeddead and Butler. But I'll tell you, I'll take Simmons, because Simmons may be quiet and he can't shoot. And right now he's flawed, but he's quiet. I don't get a lot of noise and social media and talking and calling his coach at 3 in the morning. Yesterday, Charles Shaq and Kenny after the game, they didn't want to hear about

Joel Embed feeling under the weather. Did you watch that game? I watched that whole first half before we, and I watched the whole game before I came over here, he had nothing. Well, I've seen superstars that had great sick games. You know, this is the time, maybe maybe it wasn't. It's not the time

to be sick. When you step on that court during this time of the year, Kenny, this is where you make the thing. It's okay. No, they're okay. But the acknowledgement of the sickness is not time. Like you said, the greatest player we've ever seen in our generation. One of his best games when he was sick.

So, either you're on the floor, because this is how, we We evaluate you as analysts and coaches and even players against you. If you're on the floor, what did you do? Don't rush to Twitter every time he drops 32 and looks great. And I'll promise you, I won't rush to Twitter when he's as awful as he was yesterday. And that wasn't even his worst game in this series. Embed is a fragile, inconsistent, wildly popular big man, even during his great stretches, six treatments per day to get on

the floor, Ivy at 6 in the morning, 63% of games in Philly he's missed, an incredibly likable social star. But folks, bad back, bad diet, not always a great teammate. You can keep rushing to Twitter to confirm it. You want to build around that guy. You got choices in Philadelphia. I'm going to take the quiet guy. I'm going to take the guy who's one of the greatest passing young players, Ben Simmons, I've ever seen. He's not refined. He's not refined. find. He's not a polished product. He's not as good as M.B. Now, but I don't get all the inconsistency. I don't get, and by the way, M.B. and Simmons can't play together.

So you're going to have to choose one at some point. But it's just this constant up, down, noise, back, diet, hurts. It's too much. I mean, we know who MBEED is. Why are we arguing about it? Matt Barnes. Matt is joining us next. Plus, Oliver Luck on the XFL. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd, weekdays, and news. New Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the 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 high

violate reel. 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 SportsClyce on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

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Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, 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.

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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 on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it.

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It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts for wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. 14 years in the NBA, won a championship with the Warriors a couple years ago. Oh, I got to start. I think Golden State, when I watch these playoffs, Maddie, I see a lot of good teams. I think Portland's good.

I think Denver's good. I think Philly's good. I think Milwaukee's good. I think Golden State's great. And you played on this roster. Steph looks hurt to me. He doesn't look 100%. Now, I'm not making excuses.

as Joy pointed out earlier, his numbers are still great. In fact, I can make an argument. Hardens eroded more throughout the entire playoffs than Steph has. But Steph is a slight build. Was game three he's off or is game three, Steph's not right? I think he's off. And I think if you're banking on him continuing to play bad, I mean, that's not a safe bet. You know, like you said, his numbers aren't terrible.

He just had two rough games, you know, two tough games. But still averaging, what, almost 24 points a game and shooting 43 from the 3. from the three-point line. So, you know, they got KD playing at an all-time level, proven to the world that he's the number one player in the world. And it's buying Steph time, but I think Steph knows and the rest of the team knows, and I think he will. He'll step up.

You ever out of dislocated finger? Yeah, bad. It hurts. And I think it affects you. No question. Luckily, it's on his left hand, but this is something that's going to nag him throughout the playoffs because you really don't have time to rest. You know, they got a couple days off before game three,

but it's just something every time you catch the ball, every time you swipe for a ball. that's just going to, that initial, get that pain out of the way. But it's something he can play through. Like I said, I think more it's just two bad games than there's something wrong with them. I thought it was interesting. I think the fact that Golden State won the first two games and then took Houston to overtime, I would step out of that game if I was Steve Kerr.

And I would say, Steph played as bad as he can play. And when we lost on the road leading two O to Houston, like I would feel, I would be empowered if I was the Warriors. I think they're still good. I mean, you know, what Houston was supposed to, you know, you're supposed to take care of home and that's all they did. You know, Golden State took care of home. These are two very evenly matched teams, you know what I mean? You can say that, you know, at times Hardin hasn't played his best. You know, Steph hasn't played his best, but this is still one of the better series.

You know, Katie's on another level right now, another planet. But to me, Draymond has proven his worth right now. He has been an animal in these playoffs. He has had a great. Some guys, Jason Tatum, who I love, has disappeared. Draymond has stepped up. And Draymond drove me crazy all year. It's been great.

But he's a winner, you know what I mean? And that's what I mean. And that's what I say when I tell people, like, he's the heart and soul, not only the team, but the whole entire franchise. You lose, you take Draymond away from that team with the current build of it, and they don't do what they do. What is it about him? Because he drives me nuts.

He just, he holds everybody accountable. You know, he holds it. And you know, when you play with them and you know him, you know he's coming from a good place. Now, sometimes he may go too far, but you love and you respect him enough to understand where he's coming from because at the end of the day, all he wants to do is win. He's never really been a numbers guy, but he's still there. covering for everyone on defense. Now in the playoffs, he's knocking down his shots, making plays,

covering the whole floor. He talks. He holds Stephen accountable. He holds Steph, Katie. He holds everyone accountable, and he's just one of those leaders you need around. Matt Barnes, 15 years in the NBA. Could have played football, by the way, at the next level. Nate Robinson was on earlier.

It was another guy. Nate was a great college football player for a year before he went to basketball. So my unpopular stance today on the show where everybody hates me. I said to start the show is people do confuse talent with valuable. LeBron leaves teams and they just disintegrate. All of them. Lakers, he gets hurt.

We thought these guys were all good. He gets hurt. They lose to the Knicks tanking teams. Miami, Cleveland. Kauai leaves the spurs. They're still good. This year, Toronto's 17 and 5 when he doesn't play. I know he's great.

But, man, he doesn't pass. He's not a real communicator. He's just, to me, the guy you pay to come in, plays hard, gives you 26, plays his butt off. But is he valuable? Yeah. I don't really agree with that stance. To me, leaving, I mean, Tim left San Antonio and they were still good. Tony left San Antonio and they were so good.

Manu left. You know what I mean? So to me, that's more of a franchise that is just on point, kind of like the Patriotsry, you can plug guys in and they play and they do what they're supposed to do and they get to a certain level every year. But, you know, in Kauai's position, he's not a pass-first guy or really even. in a passer, but still guys and the leads have succeeded doing that, Michael, Kobe. To me, when healthy, Kauai is the top three player in the world, the best two-way player in the game. And we're always going to find something to talk about.

You know, to me, Kauai doesn't talk enough, but then B talks too much. You know what I mean? So you've got a give and take. But to me, from your superstar, you want to know what you're going to get every single night with them. And Kauai is averaging, what, 37 points a game, locking people up on defense. Best he's ever played. Right.

He's on another planet right now, too. And I think people forgot how good he was because he sat out that year. But playing against him for so many years in the Western Conference, he's top three in the world and hands down the number one two-way player in the game. You guys have fairly similar builds. What made my wife the other day we were talking about this, and I said, Kauai's got abnormally large hands. It allows him to leave his feet undecided.

Yeah. He can kind of leave his feet and decide in the air. Connie Hawkins had it. Michael Jordan had it. Wrong foot jumper, you know, quick dunker. either hand. To me, I was talking with, you know, a friend of mine, Jelani McCoy about this the other day. He's like a country strong, like, hay lifting bails of hay and... Paul Millsaps that. Yeah, and removing, you know, concrete slab lift. Like, he's just a different kind of strong. It's like

a Ron Artecest, not even weights. It's just he was born with it. You know, to me, to me, to say, he's a hell of a player. I think he's playing, you know, his butt off. Last game, everyone stepped up. You know, I think the reason why Toronto, to me, has a chance is because Siacom is their number two star now. It's not liar. So Lowry's a third or fourth option now. That's the key to the team. There's no question. Nothing against Kauai, but, you know, Joey and I laughed all year.

I'm like, I just can't buy Toronto. Because for the last four years, I just thought if Kyle Lowry's your two, you're not winning multiple series. Pascal's maybe the most improved player in the league. No question. The average in 23 a game, last game, you had an off game. But to me, now he's your number two option. And then it's a toss-up for your third option. Danny Green can get hard.

Mark Gossol can get hot. Kyle Lurie can give you 14 to 15 is what you need. And then, you know, eight or nine and six. and then you got, you know, Sergei Bach can give you 10 to 12 points. So they have a supporting cast now. And I think it's going to be a battle between them and Milwaukee in the Eastern Finals. So you don't like Boston going forward? I like Boston, but Jason Tatum has vanished.

You know, where are you? Okay, I like him, so I don't want to defend it. I love Jason Tatum. So I love it. I love Jason Tatum. But I will say this is that, and this is no knock, I love Kobe. Kobe, um, Kobe could be hard to, play with for certain players. Your game would align with

Kobe's. But Jason Tatum needs the ball a little. When Kyrie runs that offense, Tatum just observes it. I feel like he just doesn't work at times with Kyrie. And Kyrie does not engineer, maybe Kyrie doesn't trust him, but Kyrie doesn't look for Jason Taylor. Like, that's what I see. Yeah. I think it's going to be an interesting summer. To me, for Jason Tater, what, you know, how you go from good to greatest consistency. You know, he has great talent, but he's not consistent.

And that's why I think it's going to be an interesting summer for Boston. I mean, do they keep Kyrie and get Anthony Davis and trade Tatum away? Or I wouldn't be mad if Kyrie left because to me, this young core proven without Kyrie how talented they are. I think Jason Tatum has lost this year from a standpoint of he was, you know, called on to do everything last year and he did it. He was there two after Horford. Yeah, he did it.

He did it, you know, and with Hayward back and Kyrie back and like you said, the ball, Kyrie dominating the ball so much and not really looking for him as as the second option. I think Tatum just hasn't found his comfort zone throughout the season. And I know from playing so many years, confidence is everything. And he just doesn't have his confidence right now. So, I mean, if he can wake up, I think they have a chance against Milwaukee, but Milwaukee's playing really well.

And, you know, Brognan coming back, you know, in the next game or so. We'll see what happens. By the way, do you guys have that bite from the show called The Shop? So LeBron is on the shop. It's funny, Matt. Years ago, I worked at ESPN. They created something called the Longhorn Network. and everybody thought it was an advantage for Texas football

to have their own network. You later found out that Big 12 teams stole signals watching Texas because the cameras were always on Texas. So Mac Brown was the coach then, hated the Longhorn Network. Everybody thought it was an advantage. He's like, they can watch our signals and our hand signals.

So when LeBron does the shop, everybody thinks, ah, it elevates, it elevates. But LeBron goes on and says something this weekend on the shop that none of us would have known, if LeBron didn't say it, so I want to play this moment on the shop. My right hand comes to me and say,

magic just stepped down. And I'm like, man, get the shit out of my face. You b***ed. I go check my phone. I look at it. It happened. Personally, for me, I came here to be a part of the Lakers organization,

having a conversation with Magic. So it was just weird for him to just be like, I'm out of here. And not even have no, like, hey, Brian, kiss my I'm gone. It's not, it wasn't even that. What do you?

I mean, I didn't, that, should that be out there? If I'm a free agent, I'm like, what a mess. Speak the truth. You like the truth. Speak the truth. To me, management was a mess this year, and I think everyone finally sees that. But from a standpoint of, you know, we looked up to magic coming up, playing and then off the court what he's doing now.

And I think that was the point in career where LeBron was that. He'd accomplished a lot. you know, this next step was he still wanted to win, but he wanted, you know, set up post-career stuff and coming to LA. And I'm sure Magic was a big part of that. So for him to get him here, the train record of a year they had with the trade deadline debacle, his injury, you know, for him to get LeBron here for the ship to sink and then Magic just to jump off without saying anything to him, I understand what LeBron's coming from. But I also understand magic situation, you know, because we've continued to learn more and more about the blind emails and the backsteads. stabbing that happened with Rob. So I think Magic acted out of emotion. I think if he could have did it again,

he possibly would have called LeBron like, hey, you know, I'm about to drop this bombshell. I apologize. I would feel I owe LeBron that. LeBron, if anybody. LeBron, because he had such an integral part about getting LeBron there. But like I said, I understand Magic's, you know, point of view.

Magic has been the face of that franchise for how many years, even though he hasn't really played. You know, he's just, when you look at Magic, you think Lakers, you know what I mean? So for him to kind of be treated the way he was treated and backstabbed the way he was. and for him to pretty much for Jeannie and Rambus' wife to choose Rob over Magic, you know, magic was hurt.

So like I said, I think he acted out of emotion. If he could do it again, I'm sure he would call LeBron. But LeBron has every reason and every right in the world to really tell that people would happen. Because all we do is speculate. You know, like I said, I played for so long that you hear so many misconceptions and speculations about what happened. He's telling you what happened now, so you have to respect it. Good seeing you, bud. Good to be seen.

One 800 Flowers.com. Mother's Day right now, a dozen sorbet roses, extra half dozen free and a vase, 2999, 1-800 Flowers.com. Enter the code Heard. Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This

is the Herd Line News. So the Warriors are in the middle of another run at the NBA finals, but everyone's looking ahead to the off-season and they have a couple of free agents in Kevin Durant and Clay Thompson, and ESPN's Adrian Wojornowski, says that they are preparing for potentially

huge changes. even internally in Golden State, there's a sense of let's try to put aside what's coming in July. And we have a chance to do something very rare in sports to the three-peat. Let's try to keep our focus there, win the title, and then let July play out the way it's going to. But I think the Warriors are bracing for possibly seismic change within that organization. We'll see. Can't wait for July. July's become a very fun month for us.

July's a blast. It's one of the best after football. It's one of the best months of the year. are going to be incredible. Incredible. I don't know. I know that you think this is the wrong move for Katie.

Yeah. I don't know that it is. Personally, for Katie, I don't know that it's the wrong move. Because it seems like this matters to him that he wants to be known as someone who brought a championship to an organization by himself.

Go ask LeBron how that works. He did it in Cleveland. Yeah, with Kyrie. With Kyrie. But he's going to still need someone else with him. Oh, you've been. Yes, two people. Three.

Sticking with KD, the rumors continue. Vegas believes he's headed to Madison Square Garden, and Kyrie could be joining him. Despite the Knicks not making the playoffs since 2013 and their fresh off a 17-win season, Vegas likes their championship odds. Only five squads are listed as bigger favorites than the Knicks for next year. See, what I see is Milwaukee, Boston, and Philly are favored over the Knicks.

That's with KD and the lottery pick. And Kevin Knox and Emmanuel Moody A.N., Okay, well, let's say it was, let's say, all right, let's just, let's just play fantasy sports creator right now, right? So let's say it's Katie, Kyrie, and Zion in New York. Perfect world. There's still no bench. So you don't think that that squad can beat the Sixers? No. Katie.

They have no bench. So you've got to have three guys off. I mean, they can sign, they have almost $73 million in salary cap this summer. That's the most in the league. Well, they'll pay. They can sign two players to match. So they will, but they have a young core. Yeah, but their young core is not very good. The young core's terrible.

You've got to develop players. Any, any organization is going to sign. Look at the Lakers. They have a young core. And they're terrible. I mean, I wouldn't use the word terrible, but they're young. Like, they need to develop. You have to, just because your organization has the space to sign stars,

doesn't mean that the rest of the organization just gets neglected. You have to develop players. That's how it works. Does KD want to go into a developmental team? Doesn't he want to win? I mean, unless he stays with the Warriors, where is he going to go that's not going to have a development? I mean, at this point in my career,

I don't want to be with people developing their... I would say the Clippers are the only team that are in a situation like that. And I don't even think two of their guys. I don't think Lou Williams is developing. I think the Clippers actually have some guys. No, I'm saying the Clippers are the only organization that I can think of in this signing a max player pool that is sort of like the Warriors. and that they have a set situation.

They're not necessarily developing a young court. I don't think the clippers are out of this on KD. I don't. I think there's a Jerry West component here. Jerry West and KD, there's a mutual respect here. I don't think the clippers are out of it. I can't wait to see what happens with them because they're historically, you know, the stepson of the Lakers.

The clippers are very interesting. Because I think if they get Kauai, that puts them over the edge of a lot of teams in the West. No question. Finally, the Browns have quickly gone from the laughing stock of the NFL to a team that many believe is ready to make a deep playoff run. But their new coach, Freddy Kitchens, just took a moment. Yes. Remind everyone to settle down, just take a deep breath.

Oh, my, can I hear this, please? Yes. Oh, my Lord. Last year is that last year, and last year doesn't make no two teams are the same. All right? I've said that numerous times. You're not going to be the same. I don't care.

You're not going to pick up where you left off. And we're not interested in revisiting last year at all. We were 7, 8, and 1. We didn't do a shit last year. All right, we didn't win anything. We were third in the division. And I don't know where all this is coming from. Just because the Super Bowl is our goal doesn't mean that's what we are at right now.

We're a team just like the other 31 teams. And we're focused on training camp, OTAs, mini camp, and getting better when those guys get back in the building. This is my favorite thing that's come out of Cleveland since this whole Odell, Faker. A grown-up actually saying last year doesn't mean anything. I mean, it's just the truth. Like, I'm very excited about the Browns this year. I think you are, too.

And I thought Baker should have started from week one last year. They made an incredible jump from what they were before Baker got there. They have their quarterback of the future. They just signed Odell. Like, this is an exciting team. But, yes, everyone needs to calm down. Expectations change everything. A lot of pressure now.

The pressure, the scrutiny. You're now, by the way, nobody looks at Cleveland. people, you're a target now. You're not, strangely, you're not the underdog anymore. That's right. You just got Odell Beckham Jr. You have Baker Mayfield. You have this, you have all you've Jarvis Langeley, you have the pieces

in theory on paper to go very far. I don't even talking about their running backs. Ten times next year, a coach will be able to go up against the Browns and say, folks, we're the underdog against these guys. You don't have that underdog thing like last year. You're the favorite now in 10 of your games, 11,

maybe 12. changes things. And nobody's picking on Cleveland. Oh, God, there's low, that's the low self-esteem component to sports. If you've been a bad team forever, the fan base starts thinking nobody likes you. No, you've just been terrible and we're honest about it. Nobody's rooting against Cleveland. You've been bad. We're saying you're bad. We're saying we don't trust you. What happens when it becomes confusing with expectations.

Nobody's picking on you. This is what teams with expectations deal with every single year. Yes. Is the constant scrutiny picking apart everything that they do in every decision they make because there's expectations to come with it. That's why we talked about the Steelers almost every day of the season last year. They were expected to be good. It's a new world. New world.

Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. XFL, now on Fox, announced the day. And the CEO, Oliver Luck, dad of Andrew coming up. One more, Hurd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Heart radio app.

Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Well, today the XFL announced a multi-year agreement with Fox Sports to televise games starting next year. On our broadcast network, Fox FS1, it'll also be on ESPN, ESPN2. And I'm excited not only for this league. I really feel this league reminds me of the MLS 15 years ago. When I begged to be an owner, now I can't afford it. I want to bring in Oliver Luck, the commissioner and CEO, of course, the father of Andrew Luck, joining us via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Oliver, you did not need this job.

You played in the NFL. You're very successful guy. You've done a lot of things. What attracted you to this league? First of all, good afternoon, Colin. What attracted me to this league was my love of the game of football. Vince McMahon is committed to this league with his research. resources with his empire that he has built with WWE.

It's rare to have a true startup football league where I could sort of help mold this league and the opportunity to work for events to build another football league to kind of take that spring space and make this one work, I think was just a great challenge. And like many folks, I really enjoy a challenge. So that's really what attracted me. But ultimately, it was my love of the game. I think sometimes fans don't realize this. I bring this up constantly, half the NFL is undrafted.

There is an enormous pool of talent in America. Is your pool, which I think is probably somewhere between 6 and 700 players, basically the kids that don't get drafted but end up on NFL rosters? Is that your pool? I think that's part of our pool. I don't think most folks realize how hard it is not only to get drafted, but then if you're an undrafted free agent to make a 53-man roster. It's brutal.

The average career is relatively short. There's a lot of churn. And the average career is relatively short because it's obviously a very physical, a very rough game. And then you look at quarterbacks who might play 15 or 20 years. Look at Ben and Eli and Philip

and Tom Brady and Matt Ryan. So how hard it is to make a roster, particularly as a quarterback. So I think our market are those players who've spent a year, maybe two years in the NFL. They kind of get yo-yoed back between the practice squad

and the 53-man roster. They're great football players. They were college, all Americans. They were all conference players. They are 24, 25, 26 years old. They're professionals. I think that's our pool of players. We may supplement that with some younger college guys

who may not be eligible for the NFL because of the three-year-out-of-high-school rule. Of course, we're not subject to that. So we can be very delicate and smart and surgical in terms of how we approach some of those younger players. Dallas, Houston, L.A. New York. York, St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa, D.C. I imagine some NFL stadiums,

kind of a variety of venues. We have a variety of venues. We've got one college venue, the University of Houston Stadium. In Houston, of course, we've got big NFL buildings like MetLife and Tampa Bay, Raymond James. We've got a couple of smaller MLS buildings, Audi Field in Washington, D.C., where our D.C. team will play, and, of course, the Dignity Health, the former Stub Hub,

out in Carson, California. So it's a variety of buildings. buildings. The key thing is that we think we can create an atmosphere, a very pro-home team atmosphere in each of the venues. By the way, when the XFL came out the first time, there was this sense that it was the enemy of the NFL, although it should be noted the NFL stole all sorts of their little gimmicks. The NFL very brilliantly took the stuff they liked about it. I don't sense that the NFL sees you as an adversary. Is that fair? Well, I don't think the league does. We have very positive, you know, friendly relationships. I worked for the league for many years.

A number of my staff worked for the league for many years. You know, I love the NFL. I enjoyed playing in the league. I'm very proud that my son can play in the league. I'm a huge NFL fan. I'm at a game every Sunday afternoon. So I don't think there's any kind of, you know, competitiveness between us and the NFL.

Ultimately, we want to be a compliment to the National Football League and fill up the spring. a time when there is no football. So I think it's fairly easy to see that we've got a fairly friendly and productive relationship. I think a big part of this is you have a billionaire founder. You're not going to have capital issues. I think you're a strength of it. I also think now there's only one league.

I think it's organized. I think you have good broadcasting partners. Is there a rule, for instance, that will make the league look different than Sunday football currently? So our plan is to play an up-tempo, fast-paced game with lots of scoring. But we see that in college and we see that in the NFL occasionally as well. I think the one thing that will make fans take a second look is going to be our kickoff. I love the kickoff, but more importantly, I love the kickoff return, right?

That's what people really want to see. And the kickoff, as you know, is being slowly phased out of the game, both at the NFL and at major college with their fair catch rules. So we have a new kickoff. We think it's actually safer for the kickoff cover team. And we also think that it will almost guarantee a kickoff. return on every kickoff, and that's critical. So I think that's one thing that'll look a little bit different from us and what folks are normally seeing on Saturdays or Sundays in the fall.

Oliver Luck, XFL Commissioner and CEO. I've said this before. If I could invest in this league, I think it's here to stay. Legalized gambling is a big part of my life now. Adam Silver has said, oh, we're going to embrace it. I think it's almost the way, I mean, would you embrace, could I bet a game in the XFL? You certainly can. We'll have the bookmakers, obviously, you know, putting the odds of the games. We want to be fully transparent because that's the critical thing, right? It's keeping your integrity and only with full transparency can you have a league that's built on integrity. But certainly sports wagering is going to be a growing part of sort of fandom, if you will, and I think we want to be a part of that. By the way, I don't know if you've heard this before, but I really like the way your son plays football. I am an Andrew. I think you know this. You know, they open. They open. They open.

Open in Los Angeles this year. You are certainly welcome to come out to our fine city and attend the game with me if you'd like. I love your son. He's just a terrific kid. Well, I have heard that usually from my wife, but thank you very much, Colin. I appreciate it. Oliver, good luck to you, the XFL. I'm fired up for it.

Announced Day of partnership with Fox. Congrats to you, going forward, Oliver. Thank you. Appreciate it. You bet. Yeah, no, years ago, when I used to work at the other place, the UFC had a valuation of $200 million. I told them, buy it. They didn't. It sold for $4.5 billion. I tried to get into the MLS 10 years ago. It was $35 million of franchise. It's now $185. If I could invest in this league, I would.

I've always believed there's room for an eight team league. You have to get, you have to have a billionaire owns it. None of this fishy. You don't have enough money like the A.F. And you got to have good network television promoting it. They have the two biggest. And now we've got legalized gambling. Joy, I think it works. There's such an appetite for football and just sports. in general. I mean, live sports is at a premium right now. We talk about it all the time because it's the last thing that you can really, really have to watch is sports and politics. Everything else is on demand. So, yeah, I mean, if you had the right funding, of course it was going to work. I thought the AAF was going to work. I just needed the right funding. Yeah, we found out about 10

days after the AAF launched that they had all sorts of, it was kind of a smoke and mirrors capital situation. They didn't have a lot of financing. I mean, it's unfortunate because there's a lot of people and players that were invested in that in a lot of ways. of the things Oliver said, listen, the NFL doesn't carry three quarterbacks. They have two. So there's like 30 kids out there that can play at this level. You've got to get them and pay for them. And if XFL can say, we'll pay you more than an NFL team, will you for to be on a scout team, we'll pay you double what they will, and the way the game is being played now, it's friendlier for college kids coming to any level of pro football. You can't tell me we don't have 10 good

quarterbacks in college in this league. We do. It's just a matter of paying them. If you have the capital and you can pay them and quarterback play as good, you got yourself a real league here. And we've never had a time in my life where there is a symmetry between college and professional football. And he just made that point where

we're going to look a lot. We're going to be up-tempo football. It's the hurt. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline.

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