The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Lakers, Mike McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers, and Kevin Durant

Episode Date: April 4, 2019

Colin talks about the breaking story of the Los Angeles Lakers dysfunction, the story of former Green Bay Packers HC Mike McCarthy, and the rumor of Golden State Warriors F Kevin Durant leaving. Guests include Ric Bucher, Greg Jennings, Stephen Jackson, and Ryan Switzer. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Live in Los Angeles on IHeartRadio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me. Got a couple of big stories breaking today. Who's theunk is? Good morning. Man, man, a man. Good morning. craziness.

So we have two stories that are breaking. Let me start with one. One's NBA, one's NFL. Number one, people have been coming up to me for the last, I would say, four to five weeks. Why are you so anti-Lebron suddenly?

Why are you so anti-Laker suddenly? You thought this was going to work? Yep. And this is why I've been so anti-Lawr. Laker. Adrian Ward Janowski, the Woj, dropped a bomb this morning. Lakers are a mess. It's a power struggle. The organization right now is not aligned on any level. Jeannie Bus, Magic, Polinka, Luke Walton, LeBron, no connectivity, no plan going forward. Everybody's sort of aligned for themselves, looking to save their reputation and their job. This is what I've been hearing for the last

four to five weeks. This is why I've suddenly, quote, turned on LeBron, suddenly, quote, turned on the Lakers. This is what I've been told, Woge, who does this for a living, covers the NBA, confirms it. This is why I've said, I think the title runs for LeBron are over. I don't see hope going forward. It's a roster with no shooters. They had two good ones. Lou Williams, Brooke Lopez, they gave them both away. I don't think this is a place that agents are driving young stars. I don't think co-opening. Leonard and Clay Thompson and Kevin Durant, although not young, I don't think they want any

part of this mess. The Lakers have had the worst record in the NBA for the last six years. They're no longer a well-run organization. Jeannie Bus, second generation, right? The great dad passes away, hands into the kids, and the kids don't get along and it doesn't work, and I like Jeannie,

but she's not her father. Doesn't have that quite it quality that he had, turning the Lakers into the massive brand they were. Magic, by the way, is not a grinder. This is something I've been told that every summer he goes on a yacht for a month, over in Italy, for a month. Other NBA execs don't do that. He takes his friends, and that's fine, but that's not what NBA exec should be doing in August, leaving for four and five weeks with friends on yachts, and you know, you don't really,

and then Rob Polink is an agent, and he'd never been in a front office guy. And now Bob Myers in Golden State was an agent, but he was also an assistant GM after being an agent. Now he's a very good GM. This is officially a mess. And, you know, I'm not going to blame LeBron for this because LeBron wasn't here, then join this situation. It feels too big in celebrity to me. Not enough grinders in the room for me.

People doing things they've never done before. Magic tried to be a talk show host didn't work. Magic tried to be a head coach didn't work. Magic was a great player. This is another magic move away from his strength, which is playing basketball, which was remarkable. Now, he's had some business success. but there's, you know, if you've never done something before,

and then all of a sudden you're put into a big situation to do something at a high level, it's often a two and three and four and five year learning process. Well, LeBron James doesn't have two and three and four and five years to get this roster right. It's a mess. Kobe's in Rob Polinkazir. Magic's doing his own thing. You know, this is a 16 hour a day job. Magic's not going to put in 16 hours a day for this.

And I'm not just blaming magic. I will say this too. I've been told this by executive. And I talked to somebody close to LeBron James yesterday who got a little annoyed with me because I'm seen as now a turncoat. I'm anti-Lebron. And I said, LeBron's heavy. LeBron's heavy. Tom Brady's great.

He was never heavy. Derek Jeter was great. But Derek Jeter was never heavy. A-Rod was heavy in his prime. Brett Farb at the end was heavy in Green Bay. Tim Duncan was never heavy. LeBron's heavy. You got to get the right coach.

And he got to get the players that fit him. and he's got to like the coach and clutch sports and they're aligned with him. So you got to make sure you pay attention to clutch sports and you, not that you give them favoritism, but you better not tick them off. And there's just a lot of moving things. And LeBron is called the king and the chosen one. And it's very intimidating and people tend to walk on eggshells. That's not necessarily to blame LeBron.

It's his reality. It's not his fault. When you're called the chosen, when you're called the king, you walk into a room. It's like your boss walking into a party. Everybody gets a little tense, right? Everybody's walking up. Ooh, the boss showed up at the party. Put your drink down.

LeBron's got that effect on teams. Everybody's trying to please LeBron. Make LeBron happy. Make sure he's not mad. The chosen one, the king. So Woj came out. The story confirms what I've been hearing. They have no plan.

They have hope. Hope's not a plan. They hope they land Anthony Davis. That's not a plan. So when people come up to me and say, why'd you turn on him? I say because stories change and information changes. And what I always say, if your stockbroker came up to you and he said, listen,

there's some insider trading going on in this stock. We've been buying for five years. Let's sell all the stock. Would you sell the stock? Yes, you would because you got new information. If your pilot, you got in a plane and the pilot said to you, hey, listen, this storm has changed. We're going to go around the storm. It's going to take us another 30 minutes in the air, but we don't want to go through the lightning

storm. What do you want? You want to take the new radar readout or the old one? Okay? The bottom line is we got new information. This thing hasn't worked. Star Magic, star LeBron, star Luke, star Jeannie, star Kobe, star Polanka the agent. It's not working. It's not working at all. And there's no shooters on the horizon. It's not working. It is a mess. At this point, it's finger crossing. That's not a plan. That's hope. Hope's not a plan.

All right, second story that broke. And this just broke 10 minutes before the show. So it's the fastest I've ever read 14 pages of copy. Bleacher Report. It's titled, What Happened in Green Bay? The Aaron Rogers Mike McCarthy wreckage. 30% of this article is stuff we've talked about before. somewhere between 50 and 70, 75% of the article is stories and almost all of them make Mike McCarthy look really, really bad.

Yeah, Aaron Rogers looks like he could be a little challenging, but so what? He's a star quarterback. We've known that. Most of this, whoever was the source or sources, I imagine it's multiple, had it out for Mike McCarthy. They did not want to make Mike McCarthy get off Scott free in this. it feels like to me, and I'm not making any claims here, I have no idea who the sources are, but that Mike McCarthy has been sort of rallied around, hey, Mike, we love you. And this is like, now we're tired of that.

Mike McCarthy gets crushed in this story, getting massages, not showing up for meetings, insecure, not willing to keep coaches like the Van Pelt coach, Alex Van Pelt, who was Aaron's buddy. It looks like at one point, I mean, this sounds pretty harsh, but Aaron Rogers thinks Mike McCarthy is dumb. It looks like McCarthy didn't evolve. He got full of his own juice and full of himself.

And I don't think Mike McCarthy's dumb. He may not be smart enough to deal with Aaron Rogers. That's different. I think there's about five coaches in this league who would be really good with Aaron Rogers. Andy Reed, Sean Payton, Belichick, McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan. And there may not be many more that would be a perfect fit for Aaron. Aaron's really bright. He knows it.

He's all football. No nonsense. Intense. A little passive aggressive. But, you know, that happens. That's just my opinion. That's what I see. But I also can't go on the air and expect Aaron Rogers to be perfect.

I mean, Tom Brady's not a very great athlete. He's imperfect, too. Peyton Manning could be robotic and rigid. None of these guys are perfect. I'm not perfect. You're not. Aaron Rogers isn't. This article makes Mike McCarthy look really,

really bad. It makes him look like he got it full of himself. It talks about here. He would kind of brag. He was the quarterback guru. Belichick doesn't do that stuff. It compares him a couple times unfavorably to Belichick. This is a hit job on McCarthy.

Now, I don't know Mike well. I will say this. I think, Joy, you've heard me say this before. I never felt they were a perfect match. When I look at Pete Carolyn Russell Wilson, I see this handsome coach, almost 70, chewing his gum, going 100 miles an hour, big for the room. Pete Carroll's got, he's big, he's optimistic, he's got a lot of energy.

Then I see Russell Wilson, who's handsome and optimistic and positive. Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll feel like they fit. And then Tom Brady and Belichick, both incredibly aspirational and driven and kind of cunning and manipulative, they feel like they fit. And then there's Sean Payton, and then there are Drew Breeze and their intensity. And they're, you know, both a little intense. guys and they get after a guy and they and they fit.

And McCarthy looks like a Pittsburgh cab driver and Aaron Rogers looks like a model. And they never look like they fit. And when you read this article, it kind of comes off like these guys were destined to never get along. One guy's kind of a macho guy. And the article, fake Pittsburgh macho guy.

The other guy is super smart, super driven, wants to adapt, wants to evolve, went to Berkeley super smart. he's very intense, challenging to coach, and McCarthy was just over his head. He was just over his head. And once the talent left and your Greg Jennings left and some of the better players peeled off, McCarthy kind of felt like, hey, hey, this is about me, not the players. And in the end, Aaron Rogers was like, no, we need more good players.

So this is not a good look for McCarthy. McCarthy kind of got out of this relationship without getting clobbered. Aaron took a lot of hits. Aaron's difficult. Aaron's brittle. Aaron's getting hurt. This article is like, yeah, you're not getting out of town here without getting whacked. So this is not a good article for Mike McCarthy.

He gets clobbered in this thing. And it confirms a lot of the concerns that Aaron Rogers would have. Like McCarthy just didn't evolve and didn't adapt. Belichick or an Andy reader of Sean Payton. Fascinating article. Bleacher report. Some of it, we've known, some of it. One of the excerpts here,

I'll read it to you. One person who was then close to Rogers remembers he would regularly call to vent that McCarthy didn't have a clue what he was doing. That McCarthy was a buffoon, that he was constantly bailing. Mike has a low football IQ, and that used to bother Aaron, the source says.

He'd say Mike's got one of the lowest IQs, of not the lowest IQ of any coach he's ever had. That's pretty harsh. That's not nice. That's an intense quote. Yeah, that's intense. There's no coding there. Right.

That is not a backhanded compliment. Yeah, that's a front-handed slap in the forehead. So, it's interesting. But I will tell you this. I don't know how many sources this story had, but they were all lined up against McCarthy. Yeah, this is not a pro-McCarkey. article. And I had to breeze through it, but it was hard to find anything good about McCarthy.

It was, it was, it's an ugly article. So there you go. That's where we're at today. A woe bomb and that. Rick Buecker today, Stephen Jackson, Greg Jennings, we'll stop by to talk about this. Ryan Switzer with the Pittsburgh Steelers, wide receiver is going to stop by as well. Coming up next, we broke news yesterday in our show, and it's all over the place. And well, we'll revisit that and it's pretty remarkable and we'll change the face of the NBA. That's coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling

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On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because

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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 Ladeke. The ability to show a gold medal to someone

and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. at our level at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard.

Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. May not be able to get a new car with your tax refund. You get a new paint job, though. All new, great paint job coming to Maco. Today, get your dream paint job during tax season sales event, M-A-A-A-O. So it's gotten to a point where, you know, I'll have opinions, and then often my sources or the people I know, this probably happens to Joy,

will text me to tell me if I'm right or wrong on my stuff, right? And I think Kevin Durant leaving the Warriors would be a classic mistake. I don't think you ever leave. I say this on my show all the time to all young broadcasters. Chase good management, not money. There's a sea of money if you're talented. There's not a sea of great management. Chase good management.

I think Durant would be making a massive mistake leaving Golden State. It's basketball heaven. And all I hear from Kevin Durant, all I care about is, I want to play ball. It's the best place in the world to play ball. The coach used to play. The GM used to play. Clay Thompson barely talks. Steph Curry is the nicest star in the league.

It's basketball heaven. New arena next year. Super smart city. Durant likes tax. It's literally basketball heaven. If you're a cattle rancher and you live in Texas, you don't move to Alaska. If you're a surfer and you live in Los Angeles, you don't move to Omaha. Golden State's basketball heaven.

This is the perfect place. If you ask LeBron James this morning, you could go up to San Francisco and trade places with Kevin Durant. He'd do it in three seconds. It's the best place in the world to play basketball. I think he's making a massive mistake. But I will say this. I can't believe it. But there are just too many smart people now, too many connected people texting me, talking to me,

saying it's over. Yesterday on our show, Rick Buecker lives in the Bay Area, covers the Warriors, dropped this during our show. From everything I've heard, it's done. He's leaving. Yes, he's leaving. It's not a matter of not liking or appreciating what he has. But being there, I can tell you that Kevin Durant has never been fully embraced by the Warriors faithful. It's still Steph's team. It's still Steph, Clay, Draymond. KD, thanks for coming along and helping us win these last two. It's a matter of where can I go? And I can show I can get this done.

Like I can be the centerpiece. Where am I going to be unbelievably appreciated? That sounds incredibly needy to me. I'm going to show. We'll show who. Who are you going to show? Who are you trying to win approval of? I am going to show, if I said that on the show today,

is I'm going to sign a 10-year contract here because I'm going to show who. Who are you trying to show? Kevin Durant, don't believe words. Believe people's actions. I'm faithful. No, you weren't. Those are just words. That's an action.

You're out of here. Okay. His words are, I don't care. Just ball. I don't care about you. I don't listen to the fans. I don't listen to criticism. His actions, if he leaves, are I'm seeking approval.

I'm going to show. show you. Who's you? You're the best basketball player right now in the world. He is better than LeBron James. Right today this morning, he's a better player than LeBron. I'm not saying his resume. He's a better defensive player. He's a better

offensive player. He's healthier. I think he's playing the best basketball of his career and probably has three to four really high in years left. You make a list from Brett Farr, Packers, the make a list, Albert Poulthals, Cardinals to Angels, when you go to a list of players, regardless of their talent,

and regardless how they left, traded, free agency, when you go from a great organization to a shaky one, it never works. Saban, LSU to the Dolphins, didn't work. It doesn't. Spurrier, Florida, kingpin of the SEC, Redskins, disaster. Kevin would be doing everything he claims he doesn't care about.

He would be seeking approval. I'm telling you, I think he's going to do it now. I mean, Lee Jenkins came on our show about a year ago. About a year ago, he said, listen, KD's natural DNA is a wander. Durant's still a searcher. He's still somebody who seeks things out. When I think about LeBron and they've sort of traveled a bit of a similar course, where it took them a while to win that first

when they had to go somewhere where it was a little, it was more favorable, right? The odds were a little bit more favorable for them. They learned how to win somewhere. I think he's still the kind of person, just knowing him a little bit and the way he sort of seeks out different challenges. He could seek out something different at some point.

Oh, Lord. For the record, the goal for every star in this league is June 15th to be holding the MVP trophy as the confetti comes down from the ceiling. That's the goal for everybody. He will do it for the third straight time this year. Well, it's what my thoughts have been always on this, but Lee kind of just alluded to it there.

What's the difference between LeBron leaving Miami for Cleveland and Kevin Durant leaving Golden State for New York? Because there was a sense that he was going home. But it was, too, a disaster of an organization who had never had any. proof whatsoever of being able to put together a team. They had an opportunity to do it around him. But Ken Griffey to Cincinnati, home has a unique

pull. I understand that's the only difference, but that's literally the only difference. No, no, no. And I'm saying it's a huge difference. Homes different. Like I literally... But he also had success there. Like he brought a championship there. Oh, no. Yes, but again, the home thing's not a little thing. I literally left a major market in television to go to Portland because it was home. And my mom was getting older. I literally, I'm a career guy.

I literally went backwards in my career because I thought, I want to be closer to the family, mom's getting older, this feels like home. Home's powerful. Now again, if KD. grew up in Queens. Right, no, I understand that's not his home, but what I would, to me,

the situations are so parallel because even though New York is not home, it's still New York City and the New York Knicks, the most profitable NBA franchise in the battle, what many consider to be the basketball mecca. So maybe that's not his home.

But the impact of bringing a championship to New York City to me is the equivalent of Kevin Durant going home. San Francisco now, Silicon Valley is now bigger and richer than Wall Street. San Francisco is the new New York in America. It's where all the wealth is. The wealthiest people in America don't live in New York. They all live in San Francisco. But those are the one percenters.

I mean, what we talk about all the time, well, yeah, I mean, what you would consider all NBA players to be one percenters, but you still have to feel of the people. And we talk about it all the time with Lakers fans. What are Lakers fans? Are they really just the Hollywood elite sitting on the court side? Or are they everybody else in the arena? I think this is going to be a disaster.

I think it's going to be great for the league, by the way. If Zion, Kyrie and Kady end up in New York, it would be like the magic. It would be like the Miami Heat on steroids. It would be like Bosch, Wade, LeBron on steroids. Yes, because it's New York. Zion. Kyrie, New York.

Oh, boy. All right, Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So the Lakers have failed to make the playoffs in all six full seasons since the death of longtime owner, Dr. Jerry Buss. The franchise previously missed the playoffs just five times ever.

Despite signing LeBron this summer, Jeannie Buss conceded that the Lakers have lost their luster during a guest lecture at Chapman Universities. He said, we haven't lived up to the brand that my father created. He created a culture of winter. in success, the Lakers were always relevant and they were always in the conversation and I felt like the team had lost that

importance. Yes. I mean, it's very harsh but it's coming from her. Her. So, you know, you can take it for face value because this is not an anonymous source saying this or someone associated with the team is coming from. You know, they have made the classic mistake.

This happens to a lot of organizations. They have lived in the rear view mirror. Let's get Byron Scott. Let's get Magic Johnson. Raw Polenka's close with Kobe. They signed Kobe to that massive deal. The Lakers, and this happens when you have success for a long time, and then you start

to stumble a little, you tend to go back and think, hey, what worked before? I think they've been too willing to live through the rearview mirror. Instead of finding the next great coach, it's let's hire Byron Scott. And by the way, let's go after Dwight Howard. The game's changing. He's a center. I know, but we're the Lakers and we always have the league's best center. they've kind of not adapted.

By the way, they're not one of the leading analytic teams. They've gotten much better in the last two years. But I feel like they've done what a lot of businesses do when they have a great brand. They stumble. They go back to the future. And you should really be looking on the new cool thing. They go back to the past instead of headed to the future. Well, I also think while all that I agree with is true.

I think that they have put too much value in we need to be. stars and we need to be flashy and showtime. And it's like, that already exists within the city, within the culture of the air that you breathe in Los Angeles. That is inevitable. The Lakers are never going to be an irrelevant brands just based off of where they're located. We just talked about the NICS. Yeah. Very little success whatsoever in how long. Two decades. And we're still, they're still always in the discussion because they're the New York Knicks. You don't have to create extra energy. If you just do the winning, the stars will create themselves. So I think if they have to, and it seems like at least that they have some self-awareness

of the situation, just take everything back down to the foundation and build it up again. That's really what was supposed to happen when you take it down anyway. Clearly, whatever you built is not working. Just start over. Start over. Completely. Not saying to fire anybody or move anyone out and just saying everybody has to get back down to basics because what you built is not working. So Kyrie Irving, has been very vocal this season. And now after beating the heat, Kyrie talked to reporters

about how his relationship with Brad Stevens has grown. Our relationship has just grown. Tremendously, just in terms of our communication, what he likes and what I like, but ultimately what's best for our team and how to get the most out of guys. So, you know, it's made my job a lot easier.

You know, going to the sideline, knowing that we're on the same page. And, you know, that makes it easier to go out there and just play for it and really do my job by the way, playoffs start not this Saturday, next Saturday. Boston finding itself here, getting very excited for that Eastern Conference final. Celtics playing like a, you know, game five or six or seven on the road and winning it. Very excited for that.

You know, we've really been riding the wave with the Celtics this year. Yes. All of their emotional ups and downs. Yes. I wouldn't call it dysfunction at all. It's just the course of a season with a good team with players and personalities. Yeah. But this is comforting to hear if you're a Celtics fan

and comforting to see if you're a Celtics fan. I still think that they have the talent to make the finals. They're my pick before the season. I know very edgy. I really do think that the Raptors are being slept on, but you want to see this going into the playoffs. And Kyrie Irving and Brad Stevens, obviously there's a lot of discussion about if Kyrie is going to be there next year.

Brad Stevens' system doesn't seem to necessarily fit with Kyrie. There were portions of the season where they were winning without him and what have you. but I think that they have the talent that no matter what systematic issues they have, they'll overcome it in the big moments. I'm excited. I really like him. I predict them before the season, they get to the finals and beat the Warriors.

I still predict they'll get to the finals. Yeah, I'm not sure I am either. We need a couple ankle turns from Curry and Durant. I don't know about that. We need an injury for that to happen. So finally, the Cardinals are apparently still uncertain about their quarterback situation. According to Ian Rappaport, they remain open to numerous possibilities going forward, including who they'll draft with their first overall picks.

So they're wide open. He said on NFL Network, they could, in fact, keep both quarterbacks until they decide not to. They're not going to give Josh Rosen away. This guy is the guy they really, really like, so it's going to take a very, very good offer to trade Rosen. And they've gotten three offers and all for a second round pick, and they want a first round pick. And I don't think they're going to get it. I don't, unless it's an absolute desperation situation, I don't see how. how they get a number or a person pick for him.

And I don't even know why that matters. And I say it all the time, and I don't think this is a genius, it just seems very obvious to me because we've seen it time and time again. If you have more than one quarterback, you have no quarterback. I'm not great at math, but somehow that's how it works. Listen, if I got, if I ran the Cardinals and somebody gave me a second and a sixth, I'd take it. The problem is Steve Kime moved up to get him.

Did they move up to get him last year? So they gave stuff away. So this is where you see this in pro sports. An executive doesn't want to seem like he lost a move. And so if Steve Kime left tomorrow and a new GM came in, they take the second pick and go. Right. But Steve Kime's the one that gay picks a way to move up to get him so they don't want a year later to just get a second. This happens in the NFL all the time.

Right. Where if you draft a guy, you are much less willing to trade him because then it looks like you whiffed on the pick. And Kimes already, he's in trouble if they finish fourth this year. Right. but they are going to if they don't have a distinct decision at quarterback because that creates division in the locker room. You have loyalties immediately. Nobody feels like they're the guy.

Sometimes you just have to take the L. Stop taking the draft so seriously. There's busts in the draft every single year. Everyone does it. The patriots do it. The Cowboys do it. The Dolphins do it. The Steelers do it.

Everyone does it. It's really not that embarrassing. And it's not even a bust. You're going to get a pick back for him. A high pick. A second round pick is a respectable pick for Josh Rosen. I don't get a hang up I think this is Arizona

This is what I really believe Not wanting to just get a second Because it makes the GM Look like you kind of whiffed on Rosen Okay well sometimes you whiff Yeah and by the way And I don't even think that they did whiff I think they should keep Rosen

But if they want to go with Tyler Murray Get a pick and move on Yeah Joy with the news Well that's the news And thanks for stopping by The Hurd Lie News By the way

I'm going to, hold on. Let's bring on Yucre for one question that I'm going to hold him over. Rick Buehker was on yesterday, breaking news on our show. This guy is a newsbreaker. The wrecking ball of journalism. He's blowing stuff up. You know, I just said on the air, the KD thing, I've just, I've got too many people I trust. You're one of them that are telling me the exact same thing.

Is it the KD thing? You said it yesterday. It's over. It made big news. After a while, and I've always felt, I like sources. I go to dinners. I went to one last night. I try to stay connected.

But there are times when I can get tunnel vision and I look at Durant leaving and think this is insane. This is basketball heaven. But you would not have come on the air and said that if you didn't have it sourced multiple times. No. And look, I'm with you. I feel the same way. It's such a gamble to go from a perennial winner where you're a champion. Brilliantly run.

To New York where it's a mixed bag and they haven't had any success. And I look at how he feels about the media. and I think the media is overblown in New York and how tough they are, but nonetheless, they're there every day and they're coming after you, and KD hasn't done well with that. There's plenty of reasons for me to say, this doesn't seem like such a good idea, but when I have time throughout the entire season

and people from every avenue saying, no, it's happening. He's going and this is where he's going. It's hard to ignore that. No, I think it is. And for the record, the winner, of course, is the NBA, because between the ping pong ball lottery and Kevin Durant, the NBA has flourished for 20 years without New York.

It's like the NFL can work without the Cowboys, but when the Cowboys now have DAC and they win their division, the NFL's ratings are better. Like there are certain organizations. It's good that Notre Dame's good in college football. Sure. Kentucky and Duke matter in college basketball. The NBA's had a great 20-year run without the Knicks, and it's like it would just explode.

Yes, but they've always had at least one major city that's been in the mix. Right, Chicago, L.A. Yes. And I know a lot of people want to say, well, parity is the best thing for the NBA. No, it's not. No, it's not. It's great for the NFL. For the NBA, the numbers say that when you have a stalking horse,

when you have that championship team that everybody's going after, and you have dynamic stars, Cleveland, Cavaliers, Warriors. Everybody can complain about, oh, here we go. Warriors and Cavs again. The numbers were as good as they hadn't been as good as that since the Bulls and the Michael Jordan days. So the numbers say people who complain about it not being, they're not being parity are not looking at the big picture. Dynasty's almost always equal ratings. They almost always do. Okay, Rick, stick around.

Bleacher Report. By the way, Bleacher Report broke the Aaron Rogers story. That company you worked for is breaking stories today. I mean, just chopping it up. It's what we do. So more with Rick Buecker and on that Laker stuff and the LeBron stuff and the Wojbaum and all that stuff coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of The HARD weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the 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. SportsSlice 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 Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood,

pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the Hardway. Open your free Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. 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... 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 I-Heart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 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, Leila 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 Ladeki. 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. Welcome back. Rick, Buker, joining us. Big story yesterday, Buk at the end of our show, said Kevin Durant's pretty much a Dundeele leaving, echoing the sentiments of others. This is the big discussion in the league. So Jeannie Bus comes out yesterday and acknowledges. Yeah, we haven't lived up to it.

Woj, Adrian Ward Janowski comes out, and came out and said, basically, this thing's not working. Nobody's a line in the front office. I get a lot of people in Los Angeles that will come up to me and say, man, you've already turned on the Lakers. And I say, because I have new information, it's worse than you think. I don't see light at the end of the tunnel. Do you? No, not for what the expectations are the second that they got LeBron James. The expectation was, here we go, we're going to be a championship contender.

This season was big fat zero, sub-zero, because they didn't even get to the playoffs. They didn't even get to see their young players in that situation. And now they're stuck in a place where, look, the clock is ticking on LeBron James. I know people want to say he's got two, three years left. I believe, and most people around the league believe what we saw injury-wise this year and energy-wise that we're beginning to see the end. And so can they build a team around him fast enough to take advantage of what he has left? That's fast, speed, I don't see it.

And here's the thing. They were on a different track. You know, Joy was saying they should just, you know, realize you can't live off the past, start over, start from scratch. They kind of did that. They went and got Luke Walton. They had a bunch of young players. And here they go, and they're building. And everybody's kind of, okay, we're getting along.

and then, oh, LeBron wants to come. Well, let's move everything aside and let's make it happen. And now you have LeBron, but now you have to build a team around LeBron. It's a completely different script. Yes. And so you blew up the other one, and now you're starting with this one, but you're starting with one that I don't know that the timeline works. Or the pieces fit.

Well, they certainly don't. Listen, the two people that I think have a chance to end up here are Boogie Cousins and Anthony Davis and they don't work with LeBron. Anthony Davis is not a shooter. Therefore, he has to score low. Therefore, he's always in the paint. Therefore, he's doubled. Therefore, LeBron can't score at the rim.

No. I said it at the beginning of the year, and I didn't think it was going to happen. But ideally, if this was going to work, LeBron James needed to come in here and say, I'm not going to worry about offense. I'm not going to worry about passing Michael Jordan. I'm going to lead us to the defense. event because we've got Rajan Rondo, we've got Lonzo Ball, we've got Kyle Kuzma. I mean, if you looked at the talent that was here, it was all offensive.

It wasn't defensive. It was taking a page from Kobe Bryant with the national team when they had Carmelo and LeBron and all those guys and everybody was like, well, how are they going to do that? How's one ball going to satisfy LeBron and Kobe and all that? And Kobe said, I'll be at the defensive end. I'm going to set the tone there. And it opened up everything. And that's how they redeemed themselves from.

a national perspective. I never expected that LeBron was going to do that, but if this was going to have any chance of working, that's the only way that I could see at work. Because offensively, you know, the reality is everybody in the world is looking for shooters. The Lakers had two. Lou Williams, Brooke Lopez, gave them away. They're not getting them back. They also gave away Zubotch to the Clippers, which is a head scratcher. Every scout I've talked to doesn't get it. I don't mean to be harsh, but is it possible magic's a little over his head? He's never done this before. You can go from the very top. I mean, Jeannie is great as a businesswoman. She's great on the business side of things. Who is she going to turn to in this case to do,

to handle the basketball aspects of it? Magic has been involved in baseball. He's a great businessman outside of the NBA. But he doesn't have the connections. This really takes people that They're in the weeds and grinding out those gems that you find. Those hidden players that you can add to the equation, they just don't have the base of knowledge between magic and even Rob Polinka. It was a very, very good agent, but he was an agent. Yes, and an agent. And so the other part is you have to have relationships built.

You have to have a network. The reason that Greg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs pull all these guys from all over the place is because they have a worldwide global network of people that they can trust and count on and are going to give them a tip and a valuable tip on you need to go check this guy out. And they trust those.

And you can't build that infrastructure in a year. The Lakers are starting from scratch in so many ways. And in this market, this is where I understand the appeal. because with Luke and with the team sort of building and getting a little bit better, nobody was that excited about the Lakers. It was still, okay, but when are we going to be a championship team again? When are we going to play for another ring? Whether it's the cost, whether it's the stars, whether it's the Hollywood, whatever it is,

that is part of this market. And they're always going to be steering toward that. But I believe that there's no answer. than to do exactly what Joyce said. Take it down. Have some little patience, build it back up, and trust that you're going to have a new Lakers regime. I was talking to somebody yesterday in LeBron's circle and they were getting annoyed with me.

And I said, listen, and they acknowledged this was fair after I said it. I said, LeBron comes with a lot of weight. I said, Tom Brady, you get the coaches, you get the players, I don't have an agency. I'll just show up, grind and take my couple teammates to Costa Rica. LeBron's heavy. Derek Jeter wasn't heavy. Peyton Manning was heavy. Brett Farb at the end was heavy.

Brett was a lot of weight on the franchise. Tippy to a round, not offend him. Aaron was in the building. LeBron's gotten heavy. Not all his fault, but he's called the chosen one. And the king, and the king is not part of the court. The king's above the court. People walk on eggshells.

And I said this yesterday to somebody in LeBron's circle. I'm like, LeBron's just, there's a lot of girth and heaviness. And you're always trying to appeal to him. And you don't want to offend him. And I'm like, this organ, that works in Miami where it's so well run and they can handle it. You're throwing him into L.A. where this front office is not elite. Yeah. Well, you also had a Pat Riley who was able to put him in his place or talk to him equally.

You also had LeBron at a position where he needed something. He needed something from Miami. So Pat could say, look, you need a ring, and he dumped the rings on the table, I can show you how to get one of these. So LeBron was amenable to that. This is my biggest issue with LeBron James with the Lakers this year, is that I have not heard him once take any accountability for the disappointment that this season has become. Not one single element. It's always about the players. If this franchise, if you're not about winning and facing the music and all that,

then this franchise is not for you. And various elements. But it's never been, and this is not, I think he would admit, it's not been a great season for him. Optically, it's been a disaster. Energy hasn't been there. There's been a number of things. He's never once taken it upon himself to say, I need to be better.

I needed to do this. By the way, all these projects, not one Laker has ever been in any of them. Other stars on other teams. Just one Laker, you couldn't put Lanzer or Kuzma in a Sunday calendar section, L.A. Times. LeBron announces, I'm done for the year. He's on the front of the calendar section talking about business. That's not reaching down to your teammates. That's separating from your teammates.

We got to go. Rick Buecker, great stuff. Love having yawn. Bukes. Bleacher Report. That Bleacher Report had a good day today. We did. Hour 2 next to Heard.

One more Heard? The Heard streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeard radio app. Search Heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying.

And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. 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. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't really really. We don't really 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 Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. 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.

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. 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Ah, here we go, hour two in LA. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FF1, Joy Taylor is Joe. Taylor is Joe. Morning. Me, great stuff from Rick Buecker. 15 minutes.

We're going to have Greg Jennings on to talk about that Bleacher Report story on Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rogers. Mike McCarthy does not come off looking even remotely good in that article. Someone or someone's is being very, very petty this morning. I mean, it is just a hatchet job on Mike McGarthy. It is a hatchet job if it's accurate, though? Well, who determines what's accurate, right? So in this world we live in We have sources

And some people have one experience And some people have another experience And we kind of base our Assumptions about the Situation based off of how many people are talking Right And in one direction Like if it's overwhelmingly negative

Then we assume that the few people That are standing up from them Probably had a good experience But overwhelmingly it's not a great experience So that's how I view all these situations When someone is getting bashed Like, what is their actual resume? How did that translate to wins?

And, you know, he had some success there, so it couldn't have been all bad. And it wasn't all Aaron Rogers because we know there's two sides of the football. So I think someone is very upset with Mike McCarthy. That is for sure. So the story today, two big stories, I want to get to my – I'll get some other stories. I just want to say there's a huge story today. It's 15 pages long. It is a hatchet job on Mike McCarthy in the Aaron Rogers.

McCarthy relationship. Now, there's multiple sources. I think it's a very favorable article for Aaron Rogers. It makes Aaron look smart and adaptable and evolving and frustrated with a coach who was having massages and not telling people, skipping meetings, had a bit of an ego. Whenever I see a big story come out, my takeaway is, who gave you the story? I've been in this business long enough to know. This was either people on the Aaron side basically saying, Okay, enough of this stuff that we're doing all the bad. And I'm not saying Aaron leaked it, but I'm saying these are people in Aaron's circle on Aaron's side saying, come on, let's give us a break here. This guy was a dope.

Right. It's who gave you it and why. And it feels like to, this is what it feels like to me is that we're getting close to OTAs, right? And that the Green Bay Packers, Aaron hasn't even connected with his coach yet, right? His new coach. and that didn't look good yesterday. And, you know, there's a lot of negativity hovering around the Packers and Aaron and this new coach. And they, somebody in the organization or around Aaron's like, enough of this nonsense.

Let's spin this thing to Aaron's side because he's taking all the hits here. And Aaron's still the future of the franchise. And we need to support Aaron here. So my takeaway on this is people inside that Packer organization are sensing, hey, this is, is starting to be an avalanche against Aaron Rogers, we need to step up and support Aaron Rogers here. Because Mike McCarthy's gone. And so it's a hatchet job on McCarthy.

I'm not saying it's inaccurate, and I'm not saying Aaron has anything to do with this. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is the organization, there are multiple sources in here, defending Aaron's point of view. And I would argue it's a smart thing to do going into OTAs in a new season. You don't want Aaron going into a season thinking,

I got people in this building. They don't trust me. This is a bunch of sources in that building defending Aaron Rogers and clobbering Mike McCarthy. And for the record, I'll just throw this out there. Two days ago, there was a story that leaked. Remember we talked about this? Did I talk about it yesterday?

So it came out a couple days ago that the Packers, when they fired McCarthy, it was really, really cold. The Packers may have read that two days. days ago and said, enough of this crap and called up Bleacher Report and said, we'll give you everything. And for two hours, sat out there and crushed him to fire back at McCarthy. Because McCarthy came out yesterday. I talked about this and kind of took shots at Green Bay and Aaron Rogers.

Is it a coincidence that one day later, this story comes out? The timing's a little suspect. Yesterday, McCarthy takes some errands a challenge. You know, there was a connection. problem. Yeah, Mike McCarthy's first interview, since being fired, comes out and takes some coded shots at Aaron. The next day, a tsunami overwhelms McCarthy. So I think this was, oh, okay, I thought we were going to play nice here in the divorce. And then McCarthy came out and dropped a few codes on the Packers. The Packers said, enough of this crap. And they called

Bleacher Reporter, a bunch of people did. And they just unloaded on McCarthy. Because the article makes McCarthy look like a dope. And regardless. If he is, I don't know, but it makes him look like it. Right. Like whoever side you're on, if you want to play the middle to me, my takeaway from the whole situation is no matter what, this clearly had to end because it was not going well. It wasn't going well.

But I think initially they both wanted to take the high road. And then McCarthy came out and didn't interview as Cuffel L, weak, week, week, week, and the Packers said, oh, okay. we're going to drop a few stories about you doing massages. We knew you thought we didn't. You not evolving. You bragging about being the guy. Your fake tough guy stuff.

Because there are a couple of things in this article, which are he didn't find players. Like he would be a tough guy and stuff. But in the end, he ran a very loose locker room and players didn't respect him. There is too much information. You know what this reminds me of? Remember when Harbaugh and Trent Balke weren't getting along in San Francisco? And the owner. And an article came out in ESPN.

the magazine and destroyed Harbaugh. And the information was too private. It had to be within the building from the people who hated Harbaugh. So, you know, over the course of time, you figure out who hates Harbaugh in the building. This was a divorce. Both were going to play nice. McCarthy dropped an article yesterday and the Packers fired back. And in the end, the Packers should support Aaron Rogers because he's the future of the franchise.

So you better support Aaron Rogers. And for the record, I like what Green Bay did last year in the draft. I like what Green Bay did in Free Agency. If Green Bay has a solid draft, I think they're going to be okay. I think they're going to be okay. All right, let me shift to this. Sometimes something becomes what they call a cottage industry. It has become a cottage industry to criticize James Hardin's offense.

I mean, James Hardin is the best score in the NBA. He's averaged on like 36 points a game. He's having an unbelievable all-time season. We always liked that when Michael Jordan did that. We liked that when Kobe Bryant did that. But people have a problem with James Hardin in the way he plays, which cracks me up because it is a lot of ISO ball, but Michael Jordan did a lot of ISO ball.

And we love those guys. But everybody hates James Hardin. Last night, Don McLean, broadcaster for the Clippers, played at UCLA, NBA. Don't know, Don't know, Don, good broadcaster. Hear him often. Kind of, you know, criticize James Hardin and the Houston offense in his style. I just feel like Ralph this style. what Hardin does is manipulating the game somehow,

almost like cheating it somehow. And I don't really have a thought beyond that other than I'm watching something that isn't basketball. Like to me, basketball's player movement, ball movement, design plays, not just a guy walking it up and isolating every time. And that's why I brought up that point earlier that who else could do this? It's not like within the system he's getting all these numbers. The system is built for him.

Who else could do this? Nobody! That's why he's great. That's why he's great, because nobody else could do it. Michael Jordan could be a ball hog. Kobe Bryant could be ball-centric. Who else could do what Michael's doing? Nobody.

That's why he was Michael Jordan. Who else would do what Kobe could do? Only Michael Jordan. Listen, right now the world's best score, the best one-on-one player in the world is James Harden. And that's okay, because basketball's a lot of things. Basketball used to have centers. Back to the basket.

now basketball is mostly three-point shooting. It used to be whoever had the most rebounds won a series. Now it's whoever has the most touches and the better spacing. And basketball's a lot of things. But some of it is ISO basketball. There's about 12 guys in this league that can create their own shot. And James Hardin is the best in the world at doing it. He's the best one-on-one player in the world.

And listen, does he manipulate the game a little bit with that little stutter step thing? Yes, and Magic Palm the ball and Michael traveled a lot. and by the way, in baseball, Joe Madden created defensive shifts and it manipulates offense. And catchers in baseball frame pitches. That's manipulation.

And Tom Brady pre-snap can see what you're doing and right up to the last second, changes, plays, manipulating. Manipulating is part of sports. It's absolutely overwhelmingly. It's why coaches bark at refs to get the call five minutes later.

Sports is manipulating. Officials manipulate. They'll call fouls early in the game to set the tone for later in the game. They're manipulating the game. You see, by the way, when I used to be in Vegas and cover boxing, you would see Sugar Ray Leonard was the best ever. He would start the round, first 15 seconds with a flurry,

dance around, last 15 seconds, and with a flurry. Why? To manipulate the judges. To go, man, he won that round. He won 30 seconds of it. The beginning and the end. The last thing you saw. Movie directors manipulate.

They always want to have a solvable. ending so you walk out of the theater in a good mood, right? The hero wins, the villain dies. Yes, James Hardin has a little stutter step that looks like it's manipulating because referees do not want to call traveling every time. By the way, Jerry Sloan, Utah Jazz used to have a theory. Foul the hell out of everybody. But refs don't want to call it. So Utah was incredibly hansy and incredibly physical and fouled every possession. But referees didn't want to go into Salt Lake City and get attacked by the fans because they were calling 75 fouls. That's why those great jazz teams were average on the road and great at home.

Because on the road, refs would call the jazz for fouls because they didn't have the crowd to deal with. Sports is all about manipulation. James Hardin's not as fun to watch as Kobe. He's not as athletic or vertical as MJ. He's the world's best one-on-one basketball player. And he is part of a system. Mike D'Anne's system elevates guards. They all go to him and go get better.

Steve Nash was the MVP of the league. Chris Paul's better now. Jeremy Lynn mattered for like 15 minutes. So nothing against Al McLean. He does a great job, and I've listened to him for years. But yes, when he said who else can do what James Hardin can do, nobody. That's why he does it. That's why he's James Harden.

And he is great. And then we're getting to a point now. It's almost ridiculous. We're just finding ways to criticize him. He's not as likable or as fun to watch or as vertical as these other players. He is the best, I mean, he's the best one-on-one player in the last since Kobe. I mean, Kobe Bryant for about seven years in this league was, I mean, as good as, is. Kobe was, he could shoot a three, he could shoot a two, he could do left, he could do right.

We've got to slow down on the James Harden Hate. The guy's just a great player. He hops a little bit there, but Magic did this for 12 years. He palmed the ball for 12 years. And Michael, by the way, did a lot of back-to-the-basket stuff where Michael would take an extra step. Referees are not going to call superstars for their... LeBron, by the way, on a fast break early in his career, it took about six steps. I mean, he would just grab the ball and one dribble and you'd be like, I think he took four steps. Raffs aren't going to call traveling on the brawn. By the way, refs hate to call charging on Stars too.

Well, stars get the calls. We all know that. That's the way it works. There's gray area in all competition. If you want fair, like, fairs are for Ferris wheels and fried Oreos. I love that. That's my new fair. It's not reality.

It's not how it works. And if you're not trying to gain an advantage in competition, I mean, it's not that commercial where, like, the kid knocks the ball out of bounds and he tells the ref it's out on him. That's not real. That's not how you win championships. NASCAR is basically all manipulation of the car. You're trying to stay one step ahead of the regulators. By the way, golf, Tiger Woods used to, if you remember this, Tiger, I may not have this right.

Tiger would stick around to watch you putt because he knew his gallery would stick around to watch him. And his gallery made noise. So Tiger, like, Tiger would not like put out and leave. Tiger would stick around so his crowd stuck around and you had to deal with his crowd. And the cheering and the roaring went like Tiger always used his gallery size against who he was playing against. There's rules and there's cheating and there's breaking the rules. And then there's this fair competition. And then there's this gray area.

This manipulation area. That only the best care to go in. And they do it really well. Right. They manipulate. That's how it works. That's how sports works. And, yeah, there's no question.

Hardin's unorthodox. He's a little manipulative. He's kind of, the refs would like to call traveling. But once they do it once, then you've got to call it a bunch. And he created his own little thing. And he's great at it. Greg Jennings coming up next on the article that makes Mike McCarthy look awful. And it's out in Bleacher Report.

And the Packers clearly came to the aid of Mike McCarthy, of Aaron Rogers, excuse me. They clearly sources came to the support and aid of Aaron Rogers because this article is just one anvil after another on Mike McCarthy. 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 the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the 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 Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we

are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns, Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth

or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. 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 was He doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know.

is somebody coming after me. Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it.

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

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Montreal Canadiens battle the caps tonight. Discover Card Key matchup. They alert you if you find Social Security, number on any of the 1,000 risky websites. Go to Discover.com slash free alerts, limitations apply. All right, Greg Jennings, holy crow. Ten years in the NFL Pro Bowl or Super Bowl champ. That article on Bleacher Report this morning, it dropped

10 minutes before the show, so I had to speed read and read the whole thing, and my takeaway was, somebody was not happy with Mike McCarthy, and I don't know if it was one source or 20, but they clobbered McCarthy. My second takeaway is, these two got divorced, McCarthy and Aaron. Everybody played

nice until two days ago when McCarthy took some subtle shots at Aaron, and somebody in that Green Bay organization said, okay, you want to play that game? Because there were some things in this article about massages that were taking place, about just, one of the quotes was kind of mean. It was McCarthy's a buffoon, said somebody, Mike has a low football IQ. It used to bother Aaron. He'd say, Mike's got one of the lowest IQs, if not the lowest IQ, if any coach he's ever had. I mean, that is harsh. So let me start with this, Greg.

you've been outspoken a little bit of both. I mean, Aaron, you've said sometimes did things that bothered you. McCarthy sometimes wasn't, like, for instance, play calling. You didn't love McCarthy's play calling. No, I didn't. I wasn't always in love with it. Did it work at times? Yes, when we were clicking on all cylinders.

But it was an offense that if you were smart, which Aaron obviously is one of the smartest quarterbacks in all of football. It didn't challenge you. You grew stale in that offense because there was no creative and innovative formation variation. And let me be clear about this. A lot of that wasn't just solely Mike McCarthy. Some of it was because of the brilliance, if you will, of Aaron Rogers, where he didn't like a lot of group and cluster forms.

formations, bunches. Yeah, Green Bay doesn't run those. No, and a lot of it had to do with Aaron felt like, you know what, no less, keep everybody spread out, stationary so that my cadence can then show me what the defense is wanting and willing to go to and what they're trying to hold their disguises up. And so that's why the offense kind of looked the way that it did. It's not all McCarthy's simplicity. It's not all McCarthy.

It's a lot of it, it's one of those given tastes. It's like, okay, do I appease my quarterback or do I do what's best for the other guys that are supporting my quarterback? Okay, I'll throw a criticism of McCarthy in this, that he didn't evolve, that he had a little bit of an ego, that he liked to be called the quarterback guru, that some of this was, Mike could be a little fake tough guy where I'm a tough Pittsburgh guy, but in the end he didn't suspend guys, they didn't find guys. Are those criticisms fair? He got a little in love with himself after the Super Bowl. Is that fair? It's fair to a degree. And the reason why I say that is McCarthy was one of those coaches that he gave his players the benefit of the doubt.

Like, you police yourself. Like, I don't need to take your money. He would always say, I don't want to take your money. I don't want to suspend you. I'm not going to be petty. But you guys police yourself. And I think sometimes that ends up biting you when your number one guy is, is really going around saying things that are counterproductive to what you're trying to do.

He's not echoing what you're trying to get done in a positive manner. That one guy being Aaron Rogers. And again, I'm going to defend Aaron on this side. It wasn't just Aaron that was not going around echoing. It was the majority of the guys because you grew stale of Mike McCarthy and his offense in the way he went about things sometimes. You liked him as a person, as a coach. We thought he was a good coach,

but he wasn't the type of coach that was going to just flat out tell you exactly what he was feeling. No, not every time. No, he would do it sometimes. He would be selective, but that just wasn't what he was. One of the criticisms here of McCarthy in the article, Blige Bleacher Report, is that in the end, he just didn't work on the Aaron relationship.

and that he was kind of insecure with a Van Pelt relationship, and he should have kept him, but Mike was insecure about Van Pelt was closer to Aaron than Mike was. Let's talk about that. Did Mike McCarthy fail? Because I look at Belichick and Brady, and it's not like they're warm and fuzzy. Now, I mean, there's a lot of relationships. I mean, Mike Shanahan and John Elway worked, but, I mean, Shanahan and Elway can also argue. I don't think Tony Dungey and Peyton Manning hung out all the time.

but this article makes it sound like McCarthy failed at connecting with Aaron. Is that fair? That is fair. That is definitely fair. And I think a lot of it possibly has to do with they were on the same side of the ball. He's an offensive quarterback whisper, offensive guru, if you will. And you're dealing with a quarterback that can do it all. And likes to add to him.

Exactly. But when you look at teams that have had, had success. And we always look at the number one team that's had the most success. New England. New England Patriots. Bill Belichick, he's on the other side of the ball. But one thing about Bill Belichick, he's smart. I don't

have to have, I don't need to have the best relationship with Tom Brady in the building. Josh McDaniels has to have that relationship. His quarterback coach has to have that relationship with him. I don't, my relationship with Tom Brady doesn't have to be what everybody thinks it should be.

It's going to be a business relationship. I'm going to manage this team. I'm going to treat him like I treat everybody else. I'm going to let you have the nice fluffy yet spitfire, bickory relationship with him that true relationships have. And you're going to have to work through that. That's Josh McDaniel's job in New England. But Green Bay didn't have a John. No. They didn't have a Josh McDaniels. No. So it was McCarthy and Aaron, I'll throw this at you. I never felt that Aaron and Mike even looked like a couple. This weekend I was in Cabo and we met a couple and this lady comes up and she's a psychiatrist, right? And she looked at my wife and I, we walked into her house. She goes,

you guys looked like a couple. And I thought, oh, that's nice. I don't know if we are, but we look like a couple. Sometimes you'll see a couple. They look like a couple. McCarthy and Aaron never looked like they'd fit. One guy's like Pittsburgh. He looks like a retired cop. It's a bottom line. Aaron is a model. West Coast. Hip, cool. Date celebrities. Like, I never thought the personality, and I said it's on the air before. I'm like, they're winning, but it doesn't feel like a great. Sean Peyton Breeze feels like it works. Russell Wilson and Peter are like almost overly optimistic.

It feels like it connects. They're both youthful. Did these guys maybe they just were never built to get along? Well, the reason why it looks like it works with those guys like Sean Peyton and Drew Breeze is because they actually want the same thing. they actually want the same thing more than what they want for themselves. Interesting. That's the problem.

That was the problem in Green Bay. When you look at Aaron Rogers, you look at Mike McCarthy, they both want the credit. Yeah, do we want to win? We do want to win, but I want the credit when I win. And in reality, when you're dealing with a quarterback in a head coach relationship or an offense-coordinated relationship, you have to be able to accept the truths and you know the truth more than anybody else of yourself. And I think a lot of the problem in this article kind of said it right off the top.

Egos destroyed the Green Bay Packers. When you look at Mike McCarthy, if Aaron had input, he kind of bucked that input. He heard it, but he didn't really take to it or listen to it. He didn't want Aaron to have too much power. Exactly. And vice versa. If Mike said something that was meaningful, that had substance, now you got Aaron feeling like, well, if you're not going to really listen to me, I'm not going to really listen to you. And you sensed this. You felt some of this.

There's no sense it. I lived it. I lived it. For the record, there's a lot in this article. Are there still other things that have not come out? Is it even uglier than this? I think it's definitely uglier than this. I mean, there's things in this article that I had no. I mean, it blew me away. And that was... Like what? The whole missing meetings and for the massages and all of that, that...

Well, you weren't there, though, at that time. I wasn't there at that time. It makes it sound like that's the last couple years. Yeah. But so things like that, that's like, wow. Like, it blew me back. Like, my eyebrow hair stood up when I saw that. Like, yeah, you can't do that.

That's crazy stuff. So, do you buy my theory that... they got divorced, they were going to play nice, McCarthy did an interview, took some shots, and Green Bay in the last 48 hours said, okay, you're going to do that. We're not going to play nice, because it feels like this is a little bit of a response

to that McCarthy. I would buy the theory if I didn't know when the article was written. This article was already being configured two months ago. How do you know? Because I'm a part of the article. So when they called you

And they called and they wanted And again, I'm one of those guys That I'll take heat, I'll take the backlash But I'm going to put my name on everything that I say I don't like the anonymous quotes And I can't stand that I've never been a fan of it Just stand up being a man

Let me know who you are But this article was being written Prior to what Mike McCarthy ended up saying Just recently They've been working on this thing This has been in the works It just so happened. But by the way, you've taken some heat from Cheesehead Nation because you are outspoken.

I always find funny with Packer fans. Like Packer fans acknowledge they'll complain amongst themselves about Aaron and Brett. But if anybody else does it. You can't do it. Right, right. Like they'll go to their message board and they'll be like, you know, Aaron can be this and Brett could be this. But if you go out and say it, it's like you're not loyal to us. It's like you're just telling the truth.

If Packer fans can't handle it, that's a you problem. Yeah. And one thing I would say, and I love. I loved my time in Green Bay. I thought it was unbelievable. No one can ever take that away for me, fans or anyone. But when you've been in a relationship, when you've been in a family and you've actually lived it, no one can tell you what you know.

No, you can't tell me what I know to be true in fact. So what I share, could I share even more? Yes. But I choose to just share the parts that I think are important. for in that kind of shape why we see what we're seeing right now like before i ever said anything everything in green bay you kind of knew the relationship was all kind of helter-skelter they clashed but then i started saying things about the leadership and all of this and then other guys started saying stuff oh yeah the leadership is not there really when it comes to erin rogers

it starts to unfold and guys start to say more and you start to get a bigger picture on what this relationship and what this organization really looks like from the inside out. By the way, it's possible that Mike McCarthy knew this article was coming out and then did the podcast to get in front of it. That's, my friend, is the question. Because if it's been worked on for two months, Mike obviously got called to respond to it. And Mike's like, I'm not responding to this stuff. And they made sure he did a podcast to get out in front of it a little bit.

I could see that. I could see that. But again. It is what it is. It is what it is. Okay. Divorce is over. We got a new season.

Greg Jennings, good talking to you. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Drama. No kidding.

A lot of drama. Fun to talk about it. All right. So what if I told you that Seth Curry has been playing with bad eyesight this entire time? Yeah, I heard that story. What do you make of it? Gold State's going to win 12 championships in a row now. Yeah, I mean, it's just like.

If Kevin Durant stays. It's making it sound like... It's over for everyone. He couldn't see and now he's got contacts and he sees perfectly. I mean, it's a ridiculous story. That's what I keep coming back to. He's the greatest shooter in NBA history. So he got contacts or something?

Yeah, so he needed glasses. He's not going to be playing with the Rex Bex. He's going to get the contacts. But he learned this three weeks ago and he told the athletic, quote, it's like a whole new world opened up. Oh, come on. Which basically it should have just said it's over for you suckers. That sounds ridiculous.

It's a rap. Like he couldn't see the hoop. He's been throwing it up for, eight years. I mean, it's good thing. LeBron got LASIC in 2007 after playing for years without it and his shooting percentage run up. I will never get LASIC.

There's two places I'm not letting, you know, lasers go. One of them's there and the other ones you know where. I won't say never because obviously I wear glasses. So I'm with you. It definitely scares me. Oh, God, take a laser to your eye. What if it's like the guy's doing the laser and somebody comes in and bumps him's arm and the laser goes to my forehead and makes a little.

big slash in it. Earl has an incredible eye surgery story. What happened? He had to have surgery on his eyes and he was in a room. What happened? He got to stay in a room, a dark room for like three days or something. It's crazy. It's really intense.

And you're just going to move on to the next story? I mean, he will tell better than I can. But yeah, I mean, this is a thing. Like, she likes the surgery? My wife is pro-surgery. She would do a surgery every six weeks. She's very comfortable. My wife is very, like, my wife moved to Los Angeles, and she's like, well, everybody's getting surgery here.

Why can I get a little? Yeah, everyone gets surgery here. But I don't, for me, I just don't bounce back from surgeries like that. You get an ACL surgery. I've never had one. A disaster. I mean, nothing bad happened, but it just, the rehab is extensive and exhausting. And anything I get done at the dentist, I'm out for two weeks.

I do wear a hairpiece in the fall. I put on an autumnal hair piece. That's surgically attached. I don't know. This is just crazy to me. I mean, he's shooting... Can I just say of all the stories we've done? 48% right now. Yeah, I'm going to say this.

Of all the herd-line stories, and I'm not blaming anybody. This one is nonsense. Not because of you. You're reporting it. This story is just a story because the playoffs aren't here yet. I don't even believe it.

It's an insane story, but I know, I believe it. I just think it's just ridiculous. Like, he hasn't been able to see. Okay, if Tom Brady didn't have perfect vision, he can still see Edelman's open. He's not colorblind, right? You could still say, oh, there's a guy with a beard that's wide open, you throw to him.

It's not like Curry can't see the iron. So I'd never occurred to me if you were colorblind. It would be difficult to play a quarterback. He was. Benny Testabertie was. Was he? Yeah. Do a lot of picks.

Well, Steph Curry's about to make it rain even more. That's what we do know. So speaking of Tom Brady, no matter how many times he says he will, there are people that think he's not going to play until he's 45. And according to the Boston Sports Journal, there are people with in the Patriots who also don't believe it. New England reportedly has not ruled out the possibility that Brady will retire following the 2019 season. I don't buy it. You don't buy he's going to retire? I have a very close source to Bill Belichick.

Belichick is telling people, I'm being serious here, he thinks this Patriot team is going to be much better than last year's team. Twelve draft picks. Three of their top picks last year in the draft got hurt, have been excellent. Two were going to start, and they got injured. So they really have like 15 draft picks, and they've already got a couple in house. They know we're good. They have a starting linebacker, a left tackle, a corner they like, and a slot receiver. So this team is going to, now, Brady lost the Super Bowl joy, and he lost the Eagle Super Bowl and the Rams Super Bowl.

And then Grant retires, I think you could emotionally see him going, you know what, I'm done. But boy, when they won that Super Bowl, and it was, as they acknowledged, it was an uneven year, and they still won, I think Tom Fields wakes up this morning and thinks, thinks two years minimum. I think he was empowered. I think it's two more years. I think it's this year. Who knows who they win or not? And after next year.

So yeah, two years and he's going to retire, which is why I think that they should get Josh Rosen. Yeah, I don't disagree. And actually, I think at this point in his career, everything I went badly with Jimmy Garoppolo, as we know, I think it was too early in, which sounds ridiculous for as long as he's been playing, but it's been too early in Tom Brady's career for him to start grooming his replacement. I think at this point, he would be more comfortable with it.

I imagine. Finally, time to see who's going places sponsored by Toyota. Let's Go Places. So players across the AAF were left scrambling this week after the league suddenly suspended operations on Tuesday. But WWE Director of Talent Development, Paul Flair, may have a solution for those players. Flair is offering tryouts to any displaced AAAF players

to their upcoming trial this month. He announced it on Tuesday. And he also said that he's going to select two players to invite to the actual tryouts, and any players who don't get invited will still be considered for future tryouts. So it's not football, but we talked about Gronk, possibly making the transition to WWE. Obviously, the Rock, Dwayne Johnson was a former Miami hurricane, went pretty well for him, showing some shots of Gronk in WrestleMania right now. And obviously, a lot of these players may want to make the transition to the XFL as well.

So it's kind of a perfect connection there, all aligning the XFL, WWE, and all these players. It's a good option for them. Gras. It's so funny. That just looks painful. It does. Having gone to a WWE event and sat in the first row about a year ago.

Would you ever let them put you in the ring? Oh, God, no. God no. Do you a bit? Oh, no way. Not in a million years. Come on, they know how to do it so they're professional. They land you, you know?

No way. I can do that. What could I be called? What would be my... I don't know. I probably like the suit or something. I would be called the risk averse avenger or something. Listen, I don't want to be involved in any of the physicality of it,

but I'll just stand here in the ring and a battle royal. And just run around. It's just these guys are massive. Enjoy it with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. Stephen Jackson around the corner, you may not be able to get a new car with your tax return,

but you could get a new paint job at M-A-A-A-C-O. Maco, get one today. Dream Paint job. Tax season sales events, The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the 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 Slic Life 12 and the TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that'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, learn the hard way, and listen now.

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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

you get your podcast. 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. Saturday we've got a double header for you on FS1. First Mike Trow and the Angels face the Rangers at 4 Eastern, followed by Chris Bryant and the Cubs, picking on Christian Yellich and the Brewers, only on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. Ace Harper's hitting 500 for the Phillies and Manny Machado at his first homer yesterday,

down the left field line for the Padres. I got to get a Bryce Harper jersey. I have to. He's fresh. Number three, he wins. He wins. He's number three, two in Philly. He's a baller.

Finally found a guy with some common sense. First team. First team common sense, Stephen Jackson. So everybody tells me Kevin Durant's leaving Golden State to go to New York. And my takeaway is the goal of every NBA player is to be holding the MVP trophy after winning the championship. He's going to do it for a third straight time. And from that, he's going to go cross-country. the Knicks. And I'm like, that's a terrible

decision. You don't like it either. I don't like it either. I think that would be suicide. Going all the way to New York to help rebuild and start all over and try to build one of the most historic franchises and get them back

to winning the championship. That's a lot of energy. That's not easy as you think. Especially with Katie, he's not getting any younger either. You know, he's definitely one of the best closers, the deep best closer in the game right now. But I think you don't give up $60 million, first of all. You stay there and get every dime you can.

And I've had conversations with KD. And the only thing that I can tell you is he wants the bag. He wants the money. He's been taking pay cuts in the past. He needs to stay there and get the money. Here's the possibility to win two more championships and two more finals MVP. That'll be four championships, four finals MVP.

So you know him. Yeah, I know him real well. Real well. We hang out a lot. You hang out a lot. Yes. Okay. So when you hang out with him, and I have no problem with this, money matters.

Got no problem with that at all. It should. Money is the motivation. I got no problem with that. I can do this for 50 years. He can do his thing for 12. I got no problem. Does he like the Warriors?

Loves him. Okay, so why do I keep hearing that he doesn't feel he's been given the respect? Because it's all speculation. You haven't heard that from him? You haven't heard, like, we're sitting there talking about where he's going to be now. because certain people are saying that he's going here. We have no clue, right? So from me talking to him, all I can say is I know he wants the money.

Me personally, he should stay in Golden State. I wouldn't go to New York and have to do it all that over. People are already saying he's a snake for going to Golden State and leaving OKC. Like me personally, I respect the player that wants to win. You plan the game to win. You're going to make the money regardless. You're playing the game to win. You're in a great situation in Golden State.

leave. If it's not broke, don't fix it. So Woge comes out story today, Adrian Wardenowski, that the Lakers, Luke, LeBron, Polinka, Magic, Jeannie, whether it's a power struggle, his story is, it's a mess.

They don't have a plan. There's no unified, galvanized, central place they're going. This is not working out. They don't have the shooters. The story is pretty daunting if you're a Laker fan. This thing's just unresolved. traveling a bit. Do you think it's that

serious? Because I'll be honest with you, Stephen. This is a Shooter's League. They had Lou Williams and they had Brooke Lopez and they let them both go. And Brandon Ingram's not tradable now because of the blood situation he's dealing with the Chris Bosch injury. I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. I don't think

young players are lining up to play with LeBron. I don't. It don't look like it. What it looks like to me is you have Magic, Polinka, and LeBron on their own agendas. You know, I can see LeBron and I could see Magic 1-1-1 coach. I can see Polinko won't Johan Howard because they played in Michigan together.

I can see LeBron won't. I can see all of them on different agenda. And the way the season ended, you can see that they're not on the same page. And it could hurt free agency for them. But at this point, we've got to see what can happen because if they don't bring anybody in, we're going to be talking about the same thing come playoffs next season. It's possible. When you played in the NBA, you could see Steve Kerr used to always joke.

You can wear a knee brace but don't wear two because you're advertising, you can't guard anybody. Listen, when I watched LeBron this year, even pre-injury, I didn't think he had a ton of juice on the defensive end. Mike, is it just that hard for us to come to terms with Stephen? The best of him is done. He's now an older player with eight straight trips to the finals.

He's lost an edge. I wouldn't say the best of him is done. I would say after making eight straight finals, you need a summer off. you need a rest. You know, all the basketball, he's been playing and how dominant he's been the last eight years, but I don't think he's done.

It's a rough year. Obviously, like I said, when the teams lose and the greatest player in the league loses and not make the playoffs, everything is magnified. He had a young team that wasn't prepared for none of this, so that looked bad. The coach they have right now, nobody respected.

You know, none of the players all the way down to the last guy on the team, none of them respected, Luke. So it was a dumpster fire from the, from the beginning. but at the same time, they have a chance to fix it. But the question is, will they? Finally, James Hardin yesterday during the Clipper game, Don McLean, the announcer for the Clippers, came out and we could have the tape.

It wouldn't give us much time. Basically said it feels like Hardin's manipulating the game. This isn't basketball. It's one-on-one. To which I say, well, Michael Jordan was one-on-one. Kobe did one-on-one. What do you make of the constant criticism of Harden? His game is sticky.

It's manipulative. He's traveling. What do you make of it? Well, Kobe and Jordan, they were ISO guys in the Triangle offense. They always ISO out of the offense. And that offense, if you look at the triangle office, it is an ISO offense. This is the way the Rockets play. They're third in the West.

You can't criticize a guy that's been third in the West. Look at the injuries that. Chris Paul was out. Capella was out. They don't have Trevor Reza. But this team to still be at the top of the West. And they made moves in the season for chemistry. Right, exactly.

And I think Amar Shumper was the big pickup defensively wise. because they don't have Trevor Reza. But what he's been doing this season, as scoring-wise, they've been winning. At one point in the season, they wasn't even in the playoffs. They're on fire now. He's on fire. I mean, people want to talk a lot about this game,

but it's productive. They're winning. He might be an MVP again this year. This is just a style. Every team has their own style of play. This team has brought into the ISO ball. Now, come in playoff time, those guys that sit there and watch James,

they better be ready to knock down the shot. And that's the only negative part about it. He gets all the rhythm. During the game, he shoots all the shots. Then when it comes four quarter and they double him. And he has to kick it to a guy who's cold, can't he knock that shot down. Everybody can't make that shot in the first quarter and make it in the four quarter. Stephen Good seeing you.

Thanks for stopping by the show. Our three coming up live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Ah, here we go. We're live. We're in L.A. It's the herd, hour three.

Wherever you may be. However you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio on FS1. I got to go to the dentist today. Terrific. High hopes. I mean, to me, going to the dentist and getting no news is... I don't think... I'm having major work done today.

I think you're just looking at my mouth and then I can have a... I've been putting off going to the dentist for months now. My dentist is excellent. I know that they're going to tell me I need a root canal, and I'm just not going to accept that. I know it. What do you mean? You have a sore tooth?

Yeah, this one over here, just like stings, sugar and cold and heat. Oh, girl, you got to get that fixed. No. You're right. You're right molar. Yeah, as I go right here. Okay, you've got to get it fixed.

I don't want to. I know. I'm going to be out of work for a week, so. You know what? right before the playoffs start. By the way, I got a left one back here that finally it's been, you know, for three years it's not been great. I got off stake

because it wasn't, you know, stuff and stuck back and it chomping it hurt too much. Nothing worse than a tooth issue. No. I'd rather have a broken kneecap. I'd rather have my ears bleeding as I was talking on the show. You give me a toothache and I'm done. You know what? I think it's anything like with your face,

like anything above the neck that bothers you. That's why headaches are just impossible to navigate through because you're so focused on everything is right here. I think there is something to that. I can't deal with. Although I'm not rooting for a broken kneecap. It sounds incredibly painful.

I just got to go today, check it out. Best of luck. And like every time I go to the dentist, I brush like nine times yesterday. I'm like, listen, I brush. You always floss. Oh, yeah. I went last two days.

My wife's like, where are you at? I'm brushing my teeth again. And they're never fooled. They walk in. They're like, your teeth are red and swollen. You brush your teeth 13 times yesterday? I'm like, yeah, I tried to fool you. And he's like,

Brush your teeth three times a day. You're all good. Nice to have you in. Channel 83, Sirius XM, 15 minutes. Steeler's wide receiver, Ryan Switzer, joins us. Later and best for last. I'm going to give you a list of 10 great people who left a brilliantly run organization all through sports and went to a poorly run organization and will track how they did.

Now, everybody knows for years, I mean, you've watched this show, right? You know I'm a big supporter of LeBron and LeBron coming to L.A. But it looks like things have changed. People have been coming up to me for the last, I would say, four to five weeks. Why are you so anti-Lebron suddenly? Why are you so anti-Laker suddenly? You thought this was going to work. Yep.

And this is why I've been so anti-Laker. Adrian Ward Genowski, the Wojj, dropped a bomb this morning. Lakers are a mess. It's a power struggle. The organization right now is not aligned on any level. Jeannie Bus, Magic, Polinka, Luke Walton, LeBron, no connectivity, no plan going forward. Everybody sort of aligned for themselves, looking to save their reputation and their job. This is why I've said, I think the title runs for LeBron are over.

I don't see hope going forward. It's a roster with no shooters. They had two good ones. Lou Williams, Brooke Lopez, they gave them both away. I don't think this is a place that agents are driving young stars. I don't think Kauai Leonard and Clay Thompson and Kevin Durant, although not young. I don't think they want any part of this mess. The Lakers have had the worst record in the NBA for the last six years.

They're no longer a well-run organization. Jeannie Bus, second generation, right? The great dad passes away. hands it to the kids and the kids don't get along and it doesn't work. And I like Jeannie, but she's not her father. Doesn't have that quite it quality that he had, turning the Lakers into the massive brand they were. Magic, by the way, is not a grinder. This is something I've been told that every summer he goes on a yacht for a month, over in Italy for a month. Other NBA execs don't do that. He takes his friends.

And that's fine, but that's not what NBA exec should be doing in August. And then Rob Palink is an agent and he'd never been in a front office guy and this is officially a mess. And, you know, I'm not going to blame LeBron for this because LeBron wasn't here, then join this situation. It feels too big in celebrity to me, not enough grinders in the room for me, people doing things they've never done before. Magic tried to be a talk show host didn't work. Magic tried to be a head coach didn't work.

Magic was a great player. This is another magic move away from his strength, which is playing basketball, which was remarkable. Now, he's had some business success. but there's, you know, if you've never done something before, and then all of a sudden you're put into a big situation to do something at a high level, it's often a two and three and four and five year learning process. Well, LeBron James doesn't have two and three and four and five years to get this roster right.

It's a mess. Kobe's in Rob Polinkazir. Magic's doing his own thing. I will say this too. I've been told this by executives. And I talked to somebody close to LeBron James yesterday who got a little annoyed with me because I'm seen as now a turncoat. I'm anti-Lebron, and I said, LeBron's heavy.

LeBron's heavy. Tom Brady's great, and he was never heavy. Derek Jeter was great, but Derek Jeter was never heavy. Tim Duncan was never heavy. LeBron's heavy. You've got to get the right coach, and you've got to get the players that fit him, and he's got to like the coach, and clutch sports, and they're aligned with him, so you got to make sure you pay attention to clutch sports, and you,

not that you give them favoritism, but you better not tick them off. And there's just a lot of moving things. And LeBron is called the king and the chosen one. And it's very intimidating. And people tend to walk on eggshells. That's not necessarily to blame LeBron. It's his reality. It's not his fault.

When you're called the chosen, when you're called the king, you walk into a room. It's like your boss walking into a party. Everybody gets a little tense, right? Everybody's walking out. Ooh, the boss showed up at the party. Put your drink down. LeBron's got that effect on teams. Everybody's trying to please LeBron.

Make LeBron happy. Make sure he's not mad. The story confirms what I've been hearing. They have no plan. They have hope. Hope's not a plan. They hope they land Anthony Davis. That's not a plan.

So when people come up to me and say, why'd you turn on them? I say because stories change and information changes. And what I always say, if your stockbroker came up to you and he said, listen, there's some insider trading going on in this stock. We've been buying for five years. Let's sell all the stock. Would you sell the stock? Yes, you would, because you got new information.

Okay? The bottom line is we got new information. This thing hasn't worked. Star Magic, star LeBron, star Luke, star Jeannie, star Kobe, star Polanka the agent. It's not working. It's not working at all. And there's no shooters on the horizon. It's not working.

It is a mess. At this point, it's finger crossing. That's not a plan. That's hope. Hope's not a plan. Bleacher report. It's titled, What Happened in Green Bay? The Aaron Rogers Mike McCarthy wreckage.

30% of this article is stuff we've talked about before. Somewhere between 50 and 70, 75% of the article is stories, and almost all of them make Mike McCarthy look really, really bad. Yeah, Aaron Rogers looks like he could be a little challenging, but so what? He's a star quarterback. We've known that. Most of this, whoever was the source or sources, I imagine it's multiple, had it out for Mike McCarthy. They did not want to make Mike McCarthy get off Scott Free in this. It feels like to me, and I'm not making any claims here, I have no idea who the sources are,

but that Mike McCarthy has been sort of rallied around, hey, Mike, we love you. And this is like, now we're tired of that. Mike McCarthy gets crushed in this story, getting massages, not showing up, for meetings, insecure, not willing to keep coaches like the Van Pelt coach, Alex Van Pelt, who was Aaron's buddy. It looks like at one point, I mean, this sounds pretty harsh, but Aaron Rogers thinks Mike McCarthy is dumb. It looks like McCarthy didn't evolve.

He got full of his own juice and full of himself. And I don't think Mike McCarthy's dumb. He may not be smart enough to deal with Aaron Rogers. that's different. This article makes Mike McCarthy look really, really bad. It makes him look like he got it full of himself. It talks about here. He would kind of brag he was the quarterback guru. Belichick doesn't do that stuff. It compares him a couple times unfavorably to Belichick. This is a hit job on McCarthy. Now, I don't know Mike well. I will say this. I think, Joy, you've heard me say this before. I never felt they were a perfect match. When I look at Pete Carolyn Russell Wilson, I see

this handsome coach, almost 70, chewing his gum, going 100 miles an hour, big for the room. Pete Carroll's got, he's big, he's optimistic, he's got a lot of energy. Then I see Russell Wilson, who's handsome and optimistic and positive. Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll feel like they fit. And then Tom Brady and Belichick, both incredibly aspirational and driven and kind of cunning and manipulative, they feel like they fit. And then there's Sean Payton, and then there are Drew Brees and their intensity. and they're, you know, both a little intense guys,

and they get after a guy, and they, and they fit. And McCarthy looks like a Pittsburgh cab driver, and Aaron Rogers looks like a model. And they never look like they fit. And when you read this article, it kind of comes off like, these guys were destined to never get along. One guy's kind of a macho guy. And the article, fake Pittsburgh macho guy.

The other guy is super smart, super driven, wants to adapt, wants to evolve, went to Berkeley super smart, he's very intense, challenging to coach, and McCarthy was just over his head. He was just over his head. And once the talent left and your Greg Jennings left and some of the better players peeled off, McCarthy kind of felt like, hey, hey, this is about me, not the players. And in the end, Aaron Rogers was like, no, we need more good players. So this is not a good look for McCarthy.

McCarthy kind of got out of this relationship. without getting clobbered. Aaron took a lot of hits. Aaron's difficult. Aaron's brittle. Aaron's getting hurt. This article is like, yeah, you're not getting out of town here without getting whacked.

So this is not a good article for Mike McCarthy. He gets clobbered in this thing. And it confirms a lot of the concerns that Aaron Rogers would have. like McCarthy just didn't evolve and didn't adapt like Belichick or an Andy reader of Sean Payton. One of the excerpts here, I'll read it to you. One person who was then close to Rogers remembers he would regularly call to vent that McCarthy didn't have a clue what he was doing,

that McCarthy was a buffoon, that he was constantly bailing. Mike has a low football IQ, and that used to bother Aaron, the source says. He'd say Mike's got one of the lowest IQs, if not the lowest IQ of any coach he's ever had. That's pretty harsh. It's a long article. It may take you an hour to get through. It's about 15 pages, Bleacher Report. So it's real.

I'll tell you, we've had between the Steelers and the Packers. Remember last year at this time, it was New England. So last year, it was New England that was just all sorts of drama. And this year, it's the Packers and the Steelers. And some of this drama happens everywhere. But when you do have a Brady and a Belichick and a big Ben and then, Antonio Brown and a Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rogers, it's a little bit of a soap opera. If this stuff was happening in Jacksonville and nobody would care.

Or if it was happening in Tennessee, I don't think, you know, Buffalo, nobody would care. Some of this is because McCarthy and Aaron Rogers matter and Belichick and Brady matter and Big Ben. So in a weird way, it's a compliment that the reason the last two years we've had three massive NFL brands with all sorts of noise is because the people are fascinating. Aaron's a fascinating guy. I think I may pick the Packers to win their division. I've been thinking about this a lot. I want to watch this draft. I think they're sneaking up in there.

I think everybody's handed the Bears, the Division. And I read this article, and I sit there and I think, listen, this is going to bring everybody close together. This article is going to kind of put a fence around all the discord, and everybody's going to kind of jump in with Aaron, and Aaron and the young coach are going to take them. and this article kind of feels like it seals it. All right, the divorce is out, the divorce papers are out,

both people have taken shots at each other, and it kind of feels like closure to me. That's an optimistic way of looking at it. It's closure. It's like Green Bay this morning is like, hey, that guy, we got him out of town. This feels like closure. I mean, it only goes one of two ways from here

when you have a disastrous breakup like that in sports. They either rally around and move forward or allow it to continue. So you're right. It probably is a good thing that they... They backed Aaron up. I'm getting all sorts of good stuff here on my phone. I always know when the, it's like the bat phone, except for it's the Big J phone.

My God, I'm getting good stuff here. Right now, I'm not joking. I tell you all, all the time, don't send calling messages during the show. Can I read this? I mean, can you read it? Is it an appropriate read? Okay, how about this?

The McCarthy Rogers relationship. broke in the loss to Seattle. McCarthy took the ball out of Aaron's hands. Aaron never forgave him. And the source said, Anonymous. Oh, okay. You didn't want to cross-check that with anyone else?

This phone is worth $100 million. It's just nothing but sources. I'm so, it's so exciting this time of the year. It's your favorite thing. I don't know, I don't know what excites you. more getting a scoop on something or the NFL draft mock drafts. I love those. My wife sometimes will come over and go, what are you looking at?

And I'm so embarrassed. Like maybe guys would be embarrassed if they were looking at adult videos or something. I'm not. When my wife goes, what are you looking at? I'm embarrassed because I'm looking at the Colts 38th mock draft. And she'll say to me, she's like, yeah, but that's not what's going to happen. That's just predicting. And I'm like, that's why it's called a mock draft.

and she doesn't understand my love for mock drafts. She mocks my mock draft. I don't. That's why we had to go to Mexico for five days. I'm aligned with her on that. You don't get mock drafts? No, I understand mock drafts. I don't obsess over mock drafts.

She watches TV shows that are all mock. They're making stuff up. It's not true. I read mock drafts that aren't true. It's hype and predicting and I'll sit for hours and just go, Houston Texans, mock draft number 38. I have no life. Okay, we got Ryan Switzer, Pittsburgh Steeler-wide receiver.

Boy, talk about a lot of noise in that organization. Let's get to the bottom of that. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Welcome back. Ryan Switzer, you have played with a lot of NFL quarterback. So he got 100 catches with Mitch Tribeschi at Carolina. He's your best man in your wedding. And then you go to Dallas and Dak.

and then you were briefly with Derek Carr with the Raiders for a month, and now you're with the Steelers, their slot guy with Big Ben. By the way, slot receiver 20 years ago in the NFL, Ryan, did not exist as a position. And then Wes Welker, I think, sort of started a new industry. Now slot guys are making $30 and $40 million. Do you ever look at the West Welkers and think that's why I'm here? Yeah, a lot. You know, coming out of high school, I was a running back,

but I was always being compared to Wes, even though I hadn't played the receiver position. I knew that was kind of my path when I got to college. But all the camps, all the coaches, you know, I was getting recruited by Penn State, met with Bill O'Brien. And the whole meeting, it was, West was at, he had just left New England. So, West was, he was showing me all these West Welker clips. You were his Wes Welker. That's what he was telling me. So, yeah.

When you go to an organization now with Pittsburgh, Now, Big Ben's reputation, it's a little like Cam Newton. He throws the ball deep. Ben loves to go over the top. He's one of the great deep ball throwers. You're a slot guy. You're more Cole Beasley, Wes Welker, a Crowder now with the Jets. How do you think your relationship's going to grow?

Because Ben does, he's a gambler. Ben likes to throw the ball down the field. Can you make him be more of a slot guy? Well, I mean, I think if you look at not only, like you said, Ben is a gunslinger, right? he throws it, but I think not only what he does down the field, but, you know, how articulate he is in the short to medium passing game. I mean, there's a lot of things in the offense where, depending on, you know, defense, it predicates where the ball is going. So those deep throws, it just happened that, you know, the underneath stuff was kind of taken away, right? And so he

ended up taking the deep shots. But I think the more Ben and I learn about each other, and I think the the more I can understand the system and really master the system because you can't master it in a year. I think we'll both be better off for it. So you've had all these personalities. You've had DAC and Derek, Derek's faith-based. Dak, it's like a man's man. Trebisky's the athlete who can quarterback. He goes to Chicago.

Now he's a star. Ben's been a star for 15 years. All these quarterback personalities, are quarterbacks, do they share anything in common? because the guys you've played with are all different. I mean, you couldn't pick five guys that are more different. Do they have anything in common, the quarterbacks? Yeah, you're right. I mean, each one of those guys, their personalities are just on the opposite ends of the spectrum.

But I think, you know, if I could take one thing from each of those guys that they have, is they have a different level of drive and all of them, whether it be their willingness to reach perfection, whether it be their study habits, whether it be their physical habits. I mean, their drive, I mean, you've got to have a certain drive to play in the NFL regardless, but to play quarterback in the NFL is different. And those guys, each one of them have that characteristic. By the way, you can run. What do you run a 40 in?

I ran a 4-5 coming out of college at the Combine. Yeah, that's pretty fast. You look pretty quick. You know, Joy is from Pittsburgh, and we always say, Pittsburgh historically, has never been afraid of personalities, ever. Terry Bradshaw had a big personality. I mean, they had Mean Joe Green. You go back to the 70s. I'm an old guy.

It didn't matter. Pittsburgh's always embraced personalities. Ben's got one. Lavian's got one. Antonio Brown. Then in the last year, it's kind of gone a little bit too much, a lot of noise, and they move guys out. You know, Ben took some hits. Would you call Ben polarizing?

because sometimes I read stories. I'm like, oh, my God, it's a circus down there. Is he polarizing? Polarizing is... As in, I mean, is he outspoken? Does he, is he, will he go up to a receiver and bark at him? I haven't witnessed that. You know, I know that he took a lot of heat this year for the things that he was saying

about our young rook, James Washington. Right. But what a lot of people didn't see was the day after that, or maybe the same day, him and James spent. half an hour, just them to in the receiver room. I think if you talk to James Washington, he'd tell you how much that conversation meant to him and what it did for his confidence the rest of the year. But everyone else just saw the interview, right, or just saw him speaking, you know,

publicly about James' play. Ben's a star. He's an American football star. He's one of the 50 most, you know, known athletes in America. He goes by Big Ben. We don't even talk about Rothlisberger. One of the criticisms has been, sometimes with younger, players. He doesn't necessarily connect. He is a star. You're a young guy. You bounced around a couple

teams. You come in. Did you feel like initially, did Ben introduce himself? Do you guys click? I mean, what is your relationship? So even though I'm a young guy, like I kind of consider myself like a football historian. Like I followed the game forever. I know these iconic figures in the game. You kind of know him and you see him. Like the first time I met Des Bryant in Dallas. I was like, that's, that's Brian. Like, wow, playing with him. Same thing with Ben. Like, you know, the first time I was, I introduced myself to Ben.

I don't know if I was ever like that polite or that formal. Just, hey, I'm Ryan, so it's nice to meet you, handshake. And he was just like, yeah, I'm Ben. And, but for me it was, no, I mean, he, there was a story that came out. I was really in a bad place when I got to Pittsburgh, just with going through all the trades that I had been through moving back and forth across country. I really didn't know what to expect when I got there. And I remember the first preseason game.

I got there seven days before the season. I played in that preseason game. And they gave me a couple plays. I really didn't know anything about the offense. And I come back to the sidelines, and he was like, Ben was like, hey, man, come over here. And I was like, you talk to me? And next thing you know, I'm on the sideline with him.

And he's got the iPad, and he's talking about a route that I ran and what he would have liked to saw. and then just like, we'll get it fixed. And I'm like, dude doesn't know anything about me, doesn't know my history, doesn't know, and he's sitting here going over a fan with me, met me two days. So that's kind of, I did a lot for me.

That's your relationship with it. And that's my relationship. And I know, you know, as I watched, you know, James Harrison came on here and was talking, he made a really good point about everyone's relationship with people are different, you know, and my, Ben and mine's relationship is different than in my experience with Ben,

is different than what a lot of people have. And I just know, I can only tell you what he's done for me and the relationship that we have. I really can't speak for, you know, everyone else because everyone's different. Mike's a defensive coach. There's an old saying in football that the best relationships are when the coach is a defensive guy and the quarterback runs the offense. Belichick's a defensive guy, Brady runs it.

There's been, you know, multiple, now you can do it both ways. Bill Walsh was offense and so was Joe Montana. But Tomlin's a defense. defensive guy and Ben kind of runs the offense. Does Tomlin deal with the offense much? Does Mike come over to the meetings or does he kind of let Ben run the show over there? Yeah, Coach T, I think he's got so much confidence in Ben and his offensive staff and Coach Randy and the guys that we have.

And we have a lot of veteran leadership on the offense. Yeah, your old line. You know, with the O line and with Ben, we got a lot of young skill guys. But we really don't make the decisions. all we do is, you know, be in the right spot and catch the ball. So I think Coach Tomlin has a lot of trust and what we have going on on the offensive side of the ball. And he gives us a lot of freedom.

And, you know, it's kind of like a, hey, you guys good. Okay, cool. That's what our bosses are like here, Joy. They stick their head into our morning meeting and go, you guys good. And we say, yeah, and they let us do our stuff. I like that kind of management. By the way, you were in Dallas for DAC's second year, if I recall. Yeah.

Okay, so we'd come off a 13 and 3 year. then you go to Dallas with Dak. You know, it's funny about that. I don't think he has the best arm. You know, but the thing I love about Dak, there's a man-guy quality to him. And I feel like Dak's one of those guys that walks into a room

and you know he's the quarterback. He kind of looks like it. He feels like it. He says the right thing. Could you give me kind of the experience? You don't have to compare it to anything about just what you saw from Dak. Because when you saw me, he was a kid,

he's a puppy. He was like a year or two. What did you see that impressed you? Yeah, so Dack and I related well because he was still, like, although he was the starting quarterback for the Cowboys, you know, we were similar in age. You know, he was only a year in the league before me. Dak is one of the toughest dudes that I've ever, you know, had the pleasure of being around in terms of physical toughness, his mental toughness. It doesn't seem like a lot of things get to him. You know, he doesn't really open up much.

So you can't really tell if anything gets to him because he's just kind of even cute. You know, I saw some of the bruises and some of the stuff that he woke up with, you know, Monday, Tuesday mornings, and you're thinking, I don't know how this guy's going to play on Sunday, let alone he's ready for a full padded practice on Wednesday. So, you know, I think that's just kind of the spirit that he has. And I think he's great for that organization. I think he's the guy. Like, I think he is, you know, he's going to change the mentality around that place. I think he already has. And I think he's made-

He feels like a rock. Like some guys walk into a room and they're just tough. Yeah. They're just dudes. Yeah, that's a grinder. He's a lifter. Like, he's big on the weight room. Like, he's, you know, a lot of quarterbacks nowadays are not lifting, right?

Like, they're doing the bands and they're doing the QB stuff. But Dak is like, he's doing that stuff. But Dak's a weight room guy. Like, he's a- Dude. Yeah, he's a dude. He's in there pressing 1-20s on the bench. I mean, he's a guy.

Goulet. You use a little bit of that from you. I like that grinder. Now, I got to get to Trubisky because I've been critical at Trubisky, but he's the best man at your wedding, so I'm not going into that territory. So he only started for a year in college. Are you a little surprised? He was the number two pick and he's now got to the playoffs. Like, does any of this kind of surprise you? I mean, you're going to, a lot of people are going to call me crazy, but Mitch and I lived together for four years. So I got to see really the progression of Mitch. And I knew, you know, although things weren't happening for him at the moment, like it took him three years to get the job or to. You were getting a hundred catches there. He was your guy. Yeah, 100%. So no, to answer your question,

none of that surprises me. I think what he did his senior year, I think he was, he was kind of like the chosen one. He was the prototypical size, the arm strength, the speed, the athletic, I think everything he had and then the things that he did, the national television games, just kind of propelled him to that pick. But, you know, Mitch's, he's had two systems in two years. I think he's, you know, like I just told you, it's hard to master an offensive system in one year. Yeah, you've said that in the break. Like, you're still figuring out Pittsburgh. Right. And he's still figuring out Chicago and their offensive system. And I think, you know, Pro Bowl this year, you know, he let him down probably should have beat Philly.

against the tough Philadelphia defense, Mitch brought him down in a two-minute situation to kick the go-head field goal. So I think you're really just seeing, you know, Mitch has got a big ceiling, big ceiling. It's great to meet you. I love slot receivers because they appreciate the game. Like slot receiver, you know, slot receiver didn't exist 20 years ago. Maybe it did, but I don't remember any of it. Wes Welker was the first time I watched and I'm like, oh, that's a new position. I always say, it used to be for receivers.

fast was the key word, and now it's quick. Yeah. Like, can you get in and out? Because, by the way, nobody wants a quarterback hurt. Everything's three-step drop. And so in the end, Ben's one of the few guys that goes five and seven-stepers and sits back there and takes it. But slot receiver, the amount of money slot receivers make now, what's the guy that just made the big payday? Humphreys.

No, Humphreys just got 48. Yeah, 36 or something like that in Tennessee. He was great for Tampa Bay. Crowder just got paid. I think people are finally starting to see the value that this position has. I mean, the ability, like you said, to get in and out of cuts, the ability to, I mean, there's so much going on in that middle of the field that you have to be aware of in terms of blitzes, in terms of linebackers, safety, hot.

Julian Edelman was the best player on the field in the Super Bowl. He was literally unstoppable. No question. You couldn't stop him. It's great meeting you. Good luck to you. Pittsburgh Girl. Steelers are a lead topic on our show.

About 30 days every NFL season. Yeah, well, that's what Pittsburgh does. Produces personalities. Ryan Switzer. Good meeting you, bud. Thanks, man. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. You like sandwiches. You like sandwiches. I love sandwiches. There's a famous sandwich in Pittsburgh called Permanie. Oh, yeah, they put fries on it. Yeah, have you had it? No, it's supposed to be great.

It's just okay. It's okay. He didn't say that. He said it's great. It's a lot of it's too much. It's big. It's a lot. It is very heavy.

It's better for late at night after. He runs a 4-5. You can't be knocking down one of those before you. It's not great for athletes. No, that's not. I don't think that's their main demographic. But you can't ask for anything different on it. You got to get it how it's ordered.

So that's that's why it's heavy. All right, so the Lakers have failed to make the playoffs in all six full seasons since the passing of longtime owner, Dr. Jerry Buss. The franchise previously missed the playoffs five times ever. So despite signing LeBron this summer, Jeannie Boss, Jeannie Buss conceded that the Lakers have lost. their luster during a guest lecture at Chapman University. She said, we haven't lived up to the brand that my father created,

and he created a culture of winning and success. The Lakers were always relevant, and they were always in the conversation, and I felt like the team had lost that importance. It's fair coming from Jeannie. I like that she owns it. Yeah, she is owning it. Because, I mean, what else can you do at this point? You don't want to make excuses, and you don't want to pass blame.

I feel like Jeannie of everyone in that organization has always been the one to call out when things aren't going the Lakers way. She's operational, by the way. She's not on the basketball side. So the operational side for the Lakers, they're still selling out. That's not their problem. The Lakers brand on all of the business end of that. That part's good. Always been elite in first class.

We know that. That's taken care of. The basketball stuff. Well, people get it confused because Jeannie backs up Luke Walton and she talks about magic. and of course there's going to be some crossover there because they have to have crossover. It's a business at the end of the day. That's how all of this works.

It's the entertainment business. Yes, it's competition, but that's really what it is at the end of the day. So there's a reason why all these things coincide. She doesn't make those. I'm sure she has input on those decisions and that they're all trying to work together. But at the end of the day,

it's the basketball side that is making the basketball decisions and calling the shots. To me, the Lakers, are in the state that they're in because they don't have an identity right now, which is odd for the Lakers because when you think of the Lakers, you think of championships,

you think of winning, like she said, they're in the conversation with the best. And they've struggled the past couple years. Really, since Kobe retired, it's been a struggle to have an identity. They were the best brand in the league

and now they have no brand. They're LeBron and a bunch of stuff. A bunch of stuff. When you get LeBron James, you have to figure out how to put things around them. That's why I say, just, It needs to be a reboot. I know they reboot it after Kobe.

You have to reboot again because you're in a different state now. So Kyrie Irving has been very vocal this season. And now after reading the heat, Karii talked to reporters about how his relationship with Brad Stevens was grown. Our relationship is grown. It's tremendous just in terms of our communication, what he likes and what I like. But ultimately what's best for our team and how to get the most out of guys.

So, you know, this made my job a lot easier. You know, going to the sideline knowing that, you know, we're on the same page. And that makes it easier to go out there and just play free and really do my job of leading this team. By the way, I still take them in the East. I'm taking them. Milwaukee will be the second one. The Eastern isn't figured out.

The East hasn't figured quite out yet. Well, in the current standings, until the regular season ends, Boston will host Indiana and the best of seven in the first round. And the second round would be who? Toronto or Milwaukee. I'll take Boston. As dysfunctional as they've been, I'm taking them. They still have everything I want from a team.

Well, they lost four straight games earlier in March, and they've won four of their last five, including two straight over my heat. He's average 24, five, and seven, and 64 appearances this season. So they have the talent to make it happen. Obviously, we had questions about whether they were going to ever come together and get along. And, you know, it's postseason time. This is what Kyrie is always talking about. It's time to make it happen. I think they have the talent.

But the East is wide open. We don't take Milwaukee seriously. I take them kind of seriously. I don't take Toronto. seriously. What is it with you in Toronto? Canada is soft. What?

They're nice people. That is the words of Paul and Tauhard, not me. It's soft. Outside of a couple of hockey fights a year, it's soft. I just don't think they have the medal. I like Canada. Championship players. They have a finals MVP on that team. Then they go to Canada and they just, they want to...

I don't know. I think the baby dinosaurs are going to make it happen this year. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. Worst things than being soft. I mean, soft is not a compliment.

Canada is nice. Nice is a compliment. Soft is not. Yeah. If they were... You call the wrong person soft, then you will find out whether they're soft or not real quick. All right.

So I don't bind it to Toronto. We'll see. I could be wrong. It rarely happens, but it could be this year. We have a whole segment going to. We're calling was right. We're calling was wrong. Coming up, Michael Jordan has a warning for Kevin Durant.

That's next and best for last. 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. Good to have you in. It's time for best for last. We talked about this. Kevin Durant, according to Rick Bueger, he's going to the New York Knicks. It's all but done leaving the Warriors.

I think it's a tragic mistake because, as I've said many times in my life, I don't believe you should chase money, what you should follow and chase and pursue and seek is great management. And so I said, I'll give you 10 great athletes and they left for various reasons. Some were traded, some free agency, some chose to, some didn't. These are great organizations for these people. They were at very good organizations and chose or were moved to more dysfunctional, more chaotic, lesser organizations, and I'm top of ownership, general manager. So here we go.

This is in no order I'm just going to give him to you. Michael Jordan, Bulls to the Washington Wizards. Six titles in Chicago missed the playoffs in both seasons in Washington. MJ was still a very good player, the best on his team. And an elite player, a top 20 NBA player, no question. could not make the playoffs. Steve Spurrier, Gators to the Redskins, won a national title at Florida. He had built them.

They were the Alabama of their time. They weren't quite as good as Alabama, but they were a national championship contender at Florida. Four wide, one running back, sometimes no running backs. All the quarterbacks were getting drafted. He goes to Washington, a dysfunctional, ego-driven organization, 12 and 20 in two years as the Redskins. head coach. Nick Saban, LSU to Miami. Multiple national titles at LSU. Again, they were Alabama, pre-Alabama.

NFL players everywhere. They had built the program that was feared. You didn't want to play Alabama at night in Baton Rouge. You didn't want any part of LSU. He goes to Miami, 15 and 17 in two years, runs out of town. Randy Moss, Vikings to Raiders. Minnesota's always had a reputation. It's a well-run organization.

They don't have a lot of Super Bowls, but they're well-run. He goes from the Vikings where he'd become the most dangerous weapon in the NFL. He went six and 26 in two years in Oakland, despite all his talent. Brett Farr, Packers to the Jets. We all know Brett Farr was great, right? Nobody disputes that. He goes to the Jets. Again, Woody Johnson ownership, never very formidable.

second best in New York City. He starts eight and three, then goes one and four, misses the playoffs, led the NFL and picks with 22 interceptions. That was with a good offensive line. By the way, Albert Poulos, Cardinals, the Angels. Cardinals have been, for most of my life, considered a premier well-run organization. He won three MVPs and two World Series titles in St. Louis. Angels haven't won a playoff game with Albert Pooleholtz. A whole theory on this is do not go from great organizations to chaotic ones, regardless of your talent.

Kevin Garnett, Celtics and Nets, dominating four-year run in Boston, won a title in 2008 with the Celtics, won a single playoff series and at the time completely misguided and dysfunctional nets. Robinson Canoe, Yankees to Mariners. He won a World Series and five Silver Slugger Awards. in New York, was considered the best young second basement in Major League Baseball. Great Arm could run, athletic, had a little bit of power. Never made the playoffs in Seattle. He's already gone.

Phil Jackson, Lakers, the Knicks. Do I need to even talk about it? I mean, literally is the guru, the Zen master. The Knicks never won more than 32 games with Phil in the front office. Did Phil get dumber? Did Robinson Canoe get worse? Did Albert Poolehole suddenly couldn't play at all? And finally, Dwayne Wade, Miami to Chicago.

Three titles with a heat. One of the centerpieces of the NBA, Jimmy Butler, Rondo Wade in Chicago, disaster broke up after a year. Folks, be very careful about chasing money and fame. Good run organizations, well-run organizations, stay put. Third. 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, in every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. We perform. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office, Blue, 42. Dude. Hey, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's he at? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was partying. You just understood.

That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis coming to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love.

This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.