The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Lamar Jackson, Kenny Smith, LeBron James, Jim Harbaugh

Episode Date: July 9, 2020

Colin talks about Lamar Jackson being great but Patrick Mahomes being way ahead, Kenny Smith saying LeBron James isn't in his top 5, and Jim Harbaugh's comments on playing college football during this pandemic. Guests include Mark Schlereth, Antonio Gates, Rob Parker, and Michael Pittman Jr. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all?

You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The HARD podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1.

Find your local station for the Hurt at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Hurd. Fox Sports Radio. Ah, it is Thursday, and I had to ask. Last night was a little blurry. Live in Los Angeles, this is The Hurt, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Joy gave me her stylist, her barber. I don't know.

I'm just going to go with this. I'm starting to really like it. I like the way I look. I have a, I've got a little bit of a 90s rocker look to it, and I'm kind of getting comfortable with it. I mean, we're in unprecedented times, you know. We're all making sacrifices here. You had a wild night. Last night, I don't even know what happened.

I went to see my friend at his restaurant. We sat there for three hours, drinking wine, and went to smoke a cigar and talked about life. And, God, it was just a great night. Great night last night. You're just living your best life right now. I really am. I really have. I'm just house everywhere, leaving covered doors open.

I left half-drank cocktails on the counter. So what? Cat ran away from home. Who cares? That's Joy Taylor for those on radio. So I saw this headline today. I like picking on headlines. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson doesn't like Patrick Mahomes' comparisons.

After a record-breaking deal, they're unavoidable. No, no. They're completely avoidable. Lamar Jackson has been unbelievable playing with a lead and in regular seasons. He's been awful in the playoffs. Patrick Mahomes has been great at home on the road, warm weather, cold weather, leading, and trailing 24-0. Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson, this is the big separator. Circumstances don't matter.

Offensive lines don't matter. Home doesn't matter. Playoffs don't matter. Even Aaron Rogers, who I'm critical of. Mahomes, Aaron Rogers, and Russell Wilson, their playoff passer rating and their regular season passer ratings are slightly lower. obviously you're playing better coaches and better defenses, but it's pretty much the same quarterback. Lamar Jackson's 19 and 3 in the regular season,

mostly playing with the league, an MVP. In two postseason games, he completes 51% of his throws, his pass-a-rating 68, three touchdowns, three picks. Now, it is a small sample size. Could I just say, it's random? It could be. Could I say, he just had two bad games.

Absolutely. And nobody's disputing. You're not going to let Lamar Jackson walk. He's getting a contract. But there's a big gap between two and three. If he had a third playoff game and stunk, that's the difference between 46 million a year and 36 million a year. And that's really what separates to me,

Russell Wilson and Mahomes, from everybody in this league. Russell Wilson has a bad offense. offensive line, a deteriorating defense, the toughest division in football, a coach that's running a Jurassic offense. It doesn't really matter. He just wins. Every year he just wins.

Patrick Moehm's this year, he was injured. Patrick Mahomes this year, the defense early was bad. He just wins. He's faced Lamar twice. He's 2 and 0. But the real difference here is this. And again, I think Lamar Jackson is going to sign a massive deal. And I think he's fascinating.

He's going to be a top five quarterback in the league for a long, long time. Maybe closer to five than one, but whatever. That's great. But remember this. When Patrick Mahomes trailed 24 to nothing to Houston in the playoffs, be honest. You didn't think the game was over. I didn't think the game was over.

When he trailed the following week to Tennessee, 10-0, the Vegas betting lines didn't even change. Vegas was like, no, no, no. When he trailed San Francisco heading into the fourth quarter, Weren't we all thinking, oh, geez, oh, boy, San Francisco better put him away. Oh, my God. San Francisco better put him away. They didn't.

They missed Emmanuel Sanders. Oh, my God. Yet when Lamar Jackson trailed 14 to 6 at half to Tennessee, I remember thinking this doesn't look the same. And then when Tennessee came out and scored first in the third quarter, I thought, well, the game's over. That's not what Lamar's built to play from behind. That doesn't mean he's not worth $35 million. But the difference between the two guys in this league to me that I would just sign a 12-year contracts, circumstances are sort of irrelevant.

I mean, there's relevance. I mean, Russell Wilson lost his three top running backs at the end of the season. It was a running team. There's only so much you can do. And, you know, Patrick Mahomes was better at the end of the year, nine and own his last nine starts when the defense got better. I'm not saying they can't lose. Obviously, everybody needs assistance in this league. And it starts with protection, which Russell Wilson never had.

has. But there is a massive gap. If you look at regular season, home away, playing behind, playing with a lead. In fact, I would argue Patrick Mahomes is scarier trailing than he is leading. Because when you watch him leading, you think maybe Andy Reid will just run the ball and get the clock, don't get him hit. When Patrick Mahomes leads in a football game late, you're thinking Andy Reid's going to protect him. I don't need the best player in the world to get hit. That's when he's leading. When he's trailing with Mahomes and I know he has to throw, I'm like, oh, my God, boom, boom, boom, boom. That's scary.

Lamar's the opposite. When Lamar leads, I'm like game over because they're just going to run the clock. Lamar's impossible in one-on-one situations. He's going to keep getting first down games over. Lamar trailing, I'm like, okay, now you're taking components out of his game. I don't want to see him run the ball, keep the clock going, keep him in bounds. So the gap is still a mile wide on Patrick and Lamar. Now, it may shrink very quickly.

I do believe Lamar is going to get better and better and better. I've always thought year three is sort of the light goes on year. That's when Russell Wilson said, yeah, the light went on. I mean, Mahomes admitted last this March, he admitted. He said this. The quote was, you know, I didn't really figure out how to read a defense until halfway through this year. He said that. He went 9 and 0 after that.

And he's just acknowledging, I figured out how to read a defense. He hasn't become like, you know, like Russell Wilson now, where it's like it's beyond reading a defense. It's manipulating a defense. Patrick's not manipulating him yet. That's what Brady did late. That's what Russell did. So the comparisons are completely avoidable.

These are two different quarterbacks. It may shrink very soon. But my takeaway, we're just seeing the surface, the surface with Patrick's. Patrick Mahomes. So if you're going to catch up to him, good luck. All right. So this next comment was nonsense, but I have to comment on nonsense. So Kenny Smith, a nice guy's basketball player, very good. He's on a show everybody likes with Barclay and Ernie and a shack. And he was talking about, you know, LeBron, not top 10. I don't even want to get into that, but just play the bite from him. It's so much easier to score now that it makes it hard to judge guys' ability.

because it's so easy to score. Like, I was a good score. I wasn't even a great score. I averaged 17 points a game at my highest, I think 18. In that year, I probably would average 26, 25. He's great. But for me, this is in my opinion. It's not in the top five of all time.

Okay, I'm not even going to argue that. That's just not, that's nonsense. Let's go to this, though. It is so much easier to score. score for these players now. That's interesting. Interesting. So I went this morning and I looked at the top 20 highest individual scoring games in league history.

They should all be now, right? I mean, it's so easy to just drop 50. Only two are in the last 15 years. Kobe, he was good, and Devin Booker, who had a good night. Two of all the highest scoring games ever. Two are in the last 15 years, but it's so easy to score. By the way, Wilt scored at Will in the same.

60s, Kareem scored at Will in the 80s, and Michael Jordan scored at will in the 90s. Outside of James Harden now, outside of James Hardin, if a guy drops 40 regularly, whoa, he's hot. With Hardin, it's like he gets 36, 37. And even he struggles in the postseason. Folks, no reasonable person would deny that athletes today are taller, faster, more rested, private planes, better nutrition. better trainers.

It's now much more of a global sport. So you're getting the world's best. That means you're confusing easier to score with they make it look easier to score. That's the difference. LeBron makes it look easier. Dirk Novitsky, Anthony Davis. These players are so good now we think, oh, I mean, nobody plays defense out of your mind. Everybody's playing defense out of your mind.

Everybody's playing defense. You can't stop anybody. Steve Kerr's got my all-time favorite line on this. They're all right. They would all kill us. The game gets worse as time goes on it. Players are less talented than they used to be. The guys in the 50s would have destroyed everybody.

It's weird how human evolution is sort of like goes in reverse in sports. Players get weaker, smaller, less skilled. I can't explain it. Folks, it used to be in the NBA that if you were a center or a big and you scored a basket, you would run down on the defensive end and just wait for the big guy

to just drop right next to you. Now the big guy can dribble. The big guy can shoot a three. Janice and Anthony Davis and Joel M.B. now can shoot threes. So the big fella, I got to chase the senders around the court. I'm chasing guys around the court. I used to be able to be like, all right, big fella, come and lean on me.

That's how easy it was to defend centers. And only one guy had the sky hook. Everybody else was kind of offensively limited, right? There wasn't a lot of skill at center. Everybody can dribble. Everybody can pass. Denver's center is the best passer on the team. We're confusing that it's so easy to score.

No, everybody makes it look easy to score because it's a global game. Players are better, better coached. It used to be you flew commercial. Now, but think about this. I'm not joking when I say this. In the 70s, you could have gotten on a United Airlines flight, and Wilk was sitting next to you. Players played games, went home, had a few cocktails, got up at four, drove to the airport, run a 6 a.m. flight.

They'd fly into a city, take a nap and play. They were exhausted. They just mailed it in all the time. Players now are on private jets. There's fewer back-to-backs. They've got better nutrition. They're more rested. They have better trainers.

they are ready to play every night. I regularly watch games in the regular season, and I'm like, this is a playoff game. Guys are after it. It's not easier to score. Everybody just makes it look easy. The game is never, you don't have to like NBA basketball analytically now.

It's a lot of threes. I used to like the layering of basketball a little more. But if you don't think this is the most skilled league that it's ever been, you're not watching the game. It's like NFL quarterbacks. So much better than they were 15 years ago. So much better. It's Kenny Smith averaged about 18 points a game.

And that's about what Kenny Smith would average today. You know why? Because if Kenny Smith was only as good as Kenny Smith, his coach would be like, stop shooting. I got other guys who can shoot. My center. Guys who, by the way, here's my favorite stat. Look at this one. The average NBA team this year scored 111 points.

Okay, let's go to the 80s. Oh, wait. The average NBA team in 1985 scored 111 points. Okay, let's go to the 60s. The average NBA team scored 115 points. But it's so much easier to score. Will Chamberlain was going up against six, eight centers. I'm not joking.

The Celtics had a center named Dave Cowan's. He was good. He was 6'8. Ben Simmons is a guard. He's 6.10 and a half. Wilk Chamberlain never had to worry about a center going, bruh, give me the ball. Wham-wham-ma-ma-me-ma-me-me-me-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-hout-h.

You got to be kidding me. Have Wilt running it. Can you imagine Kareem Abdul-Jabard out having to run around the court chasing Anthony Davis? It'd be exhausting. Boy, we romanticized the past, don't we? We just, everything was better. The New York Knicks, we have romanticized a New York Knicks team that had eight guys that couldn't shoot a jumper.

That team had so little skill, even their guards weren't great shooters. NBA basketball, better players, more rested, better nutrition, better coaching, better scouting, better players, better passers, better ball handlers, better shooters, better by a mile. And those guys can all play defense

and are better and more nimble and quicker and can defend and have more tape and then scout you more. God, Lord, folks. You know, it's so funny, I was sitting there last night talking to my friend who's a restaurateur. And I said, you know, you've been doing this for, he did it in St. Louis and he did it in Orange County,

he does it in Los Angeles. He's had restaurants in Beverly Hills. And I said, what's the secret? Most restaurants don't make it, right? Like 75% of restaurants don't make it. And almost none make it for 20 years. And I'm like, how? And he said, we just got to stay current.

You can't have the same menu for 30 years. You can't see food the same way it did in the 70s and 80s. Sometimes to sports fans, I want to say, can we all stay more current? The stuff now is the best we've ever seen. Now, there are sports that aren't as good, like college basketball, for example. It's not as good today. Why?

Because kind of the culture's changed. If you're really good, you don't want to go to the NBA, you don't want to go to college basketball, or you go for a year. So it used to be that Patrick Ewing would come back as a sophomore. And he would come back as a junior. I mean, you had literally Georgetown, Houston, you had NBA guys coming back again and again and again. College basketball was better in the 70s and 80s. You just had NBA guys up and down. You had NBA guys not even starting on some really, really high-end college basketball teams.

I mean, they would be the first guy off the bench. And they would get tryouts in the NBA. That's not the sport. But outside of that, virtually everything is better today. The depth of the PGA tour is insane. There's 300 amazing golfers in America. People always say, oh, I mean, Bobby Jones and Jack Nicholas, they maybe had one or two rivals.

Outside of Tiger Woods, have you ever noticed, you can't really dominate the sport anymore. Every other year, it's, oh, Rory's the guy, now he's not. Brooks Kepka is the guy. Oh, now he's not. Jordan Speeth is the guy. Now he's not because there's so many great players out there. Everything's getting better. People don't want to see it.

People want to be rigid, but everything outside of college basketball is better today. NFL, college football, quarterback, NBA players, short stops, pitchers. You know, people used to brag about Babe Ruth. I used to laugh about Babe Ruth. He literally faced roofers and sandwich makers. I mean, Babe Ruth, there were eight teams. I mean, Babe Ruth, guys had, they were plumbers when the season ended. They weren't working out in the off-season.

They were fixing my pipes in my kitchen if I would have been alive. All right. I don't even know what I have next. Oh, Jim Harbaugh's talking. And the headline, as usual, is incorrect. but he makes an interesting point, and we'll talk about that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeard Radio app.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness 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 hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue. 42. Hey, Brett, my mama want you to weigh better.

What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm going to talk about Harbaugh in about 15 minutes. I guess just went so long on the open. I'll tell you something, when you're, you have this much hair on your head, it weighs on your brain. And sometimes I lose track of time because I've got so.

much hair. And as John Goulet said, my hair now, because it's such a long, it's just, you don't know what you're getting day to day, but I like the mystery of it. I like what my hair, you turn the show in and it's like, what does Colant's hair look like? And today, it's a mess. It looks different than yesterday. It looks like you did like some gel, some pomade or something and kind of... I just ruffled it up and didn't care. And you know what? That's who I am now. I'm, I said I'm Gary Busey without the personal issues. Right. That's what I look like. And then you never new scene to scene what you got with Gary Busey, except a little crazy. Right now, this is, this is crazy Uncle Colin. He got into the liquor cabinet. It's crazy Uncle Colin. Here's Joy

with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Sammy Watkins took a pay cut to stay with the chiefs in 2020. And even though he could have tried to get more money elsewhere, he decided winning was more important. I'm in the stage of my life now to where at first I was like, man, forget that I want to get paid big money again. And then I realize, like, how much money do I need? You know what I mean? My family's taking care of well. Do I want to go to a team and lose and get a thousand yards

or go to a team that's going to be sorry? Or do I want to come back with one of the best coaches, the best quarterbacks, best organization, the best team, the best wide-out group, arguably, and come and try to fight for another championship. Should I rather win another championship to go get another, whatever type of crazy extension or crazy country? By the way, that's very common for, I think, almost all people in America that make a lot of money. Right.

Like when you get to a point and there's a number and you hit it and you're like, now I want to be happy. I think you're, I think I, no, I don't want to speak for myself, but I would say in my business, there are numbers you hit the family, you got the 401k. And you're like, I just want to work with bosses that make me laugh and make me think. Because likely, well, I can't speak for all businesses, but certainly for our business, if you're coming up, you've probably worked in a few places that, make a question. That's right. How much you want to stay in this business. So when you get to a place where you have good management and you are comfortable and you are taking care of and all those things are provided for you that you can do your job well and be happy while making the amount of money that you live, the lifestyle that you want to live, yes, it gets to a point

when you have a certain amount of money where how much more money is going to change your lifestyle. So he was set to make $13.75 million in base salary with a team high $21 million cap hit before agreeing to a new deal. So he'll now make $7.75 million. So he'll now make $17.000. million in base salary and get up to $16 million with incentives. And by the way, the thing about Sammy, and I've always been, I've always thought he's a tad overpaid. He was pretty good in the playoffs. So he's a veteran guy who's been around.

He's seen all the, he knows every DB now in the league that he's faced. He knows every defense. These veteran cagey guys at the end, they want to win. They are really good. I mean, Edelman has his issues. Boy, he's good in the postseason. Julio Jones, you get him into the postseason. He's seen everything.

And there's extreme value to that because that's. That's how we evaluate your career. What were you really in the postseason? I mean, being a regular season quarterback is nice, but this is about winning, and this is what he's talking about. This is also really speaking to the culture that's been established in Kansas City, and that is what leads to championships. If you look at great organizations, you talk about it all the time, a owner, a GM, a coach, a quarterback. It doesn't start at the bottom. It starts at the top.

How are things run? Is it stable? Are you providing an environment that people want to be in? And the best kind of people. Paying a bunch of different people, like, I like that style too. Like it does work, but it's not for the long term. And you want to build something that's going to be great for generations. Like, there's great value in that.

Good people want to stay in good places. Right. So running back, Rahim Mostert had a breakout year with the 49ers and played a pivotal role in their Super Bowl run. But after failing to reach an agreement on a new deal, Mosterts agent said they have requested a trade from the team. He was looking to be paid as much as fellow running back, Tevin Coleman, which would give him an additional $2 million this year.

Tevin is making $4.55 million in 2020, and Rahim is set to make $2.57 million this year. Yeah, Shanahan's make running backs you've never heard of really good. And then suddenly everybody's like, that's a great running back. And it's like, no, this guy's played on five teams. He's a hard worker and he had a good stretch. But this is the Shanahan history. Not only Kyle his dad.

I mean, I went back this morning. The staff was funny. In Denver, Mike Shanahan, six years, six different leading rushers. Listen to this. And the names, it's interesting. At one point, we thought all these running backs were really special. Mike Anderson, Ruben Drones, Orlando Gary, Sylvan Young, Tatum Bell, Peyton Hillis. At one point, we're like, they're 1,000-yard rushers.

This is what the shit. This is what Belichick does to corners. Right. And this is what Nick Starrant. Saban does defensive backs. They get to the NFL and you're like, they're not a, it's kind of the defense. And this is what the Shanahan family does, the running backs. Some systems are just designed to highlight certain positions and they build them up.

And that's what the situation is. I mean, he had a huge game in the Tennessee championship against the Packers. 29 rushes for 220 yards and four touchdowns. It was unbelievable. But is that, like you said, going to work somewhere else? No, now, if you can get a team to bite on him and give you a third round pick for him, then that's. I mean, I think somebody would. Oh, I think Shanahan's reputation now is so cemented.

Everybody's very cautious about taking Kyle Shanahan running backs. You know, Rahim's reputation in that performance. Performance is in postseason. Oh, no, somebody would buy. The market's small, but somebody could bite on it. Yeah. So finally, the nets are very shorthanded heading into Orlando, but they have found some new reinforcements.

Brooklyn is reportedly signing Jamal Crawford. and is also moving towards a deal with Michael Beasley to join the team. Both veterans have been out of the league since 2019. Crawford was with the Sons, and Beasley played for the Lakers. I was surprised Crawford didn't get a Laker offer, but I know LeBron's played with J.R. Smith and likes his size. J.R. is big. He's a 6-6 guard and he's stout.

But Jamal Crawford, to me, can hit shots in playoff games. I mean, Jamal, you could just see the reaction from this news yesterday. He's incredibly respected. We had them on the show about two weeks ago. He's so great. He's great. He's great. And look, the Nets need them. The Nets, the Nets situation is kind of a mess. It's a disaster, yes. It's looking

sort of, I mean, look, they have no one. Like, they have a lot of people that are not going. And again, like, this is, this was never the year for the Nets anyway, so it's a little disappointing. We're not going to get the got all of their whole team that's available down there. But I'm looking forward to seeing Jamal and Michael down there.

Yeah, joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Yeah, I'll get to the Jim Harbaugh thing in a little bit. Just a little bit. Yeah, the Shanahan's are fascinating, though. And Mark Schlerth would know this,

is that Mike Shanahan, six years in Denver, had six different leading rushers, thousand-yard guys. Kyle Shanahan goes to Atlanta, and Devante Freeman pops. And Atlanta gives him a huge deal. And a year later, and they don't want Devante Freeman. So it's nothing against the player. Rahim Oster had a great playoff game. And he had really seven, eight last games were very good.

But this is just the reality of football. Andy Reed, I mean, Mahomes is great. Mahomes would not put up these numbers, even with Pete Carroll or a Tom Conflin. He just wouldn't. There are certain coaches that elevate certain positions in this league. And Andy Reid with quarterbacks, Belichick with defensive backs. I mean, I mean, he, Malcolm Butler got paid. Bill's like, Malcolm Butler made one great.

He's a good player. He's not great. And got paid, and Malcolm Butler's never really been Malcolm Butler again. And this is what the Shanahan family does. They just make running backs pop. And somebody will bite on it. Somebody will give you a third or fourth round pick. I would be very cautious.

Nothing against the player, but we have a precedent here. Mark Schlerath played in the NFL for 12 years and three Super Bowls, and he is joining us now via the Coward Global Satellite Network, sponsored by Mercedes Ben's the best or nothing. You know, it's interesting about the Mahomes deal. He's so good. I was like, yeah, of course you'd give him a 12-year deal. I'm not sure you'd give anybody else that.

Like when the contract came down, what was your initial reaction? He's worth every penny. Whatever you have to spend on Patrick Mahomes, he's worth every penny. I mean, think about you're going to get what, How many primetime games do the Kansas City Chiefs have? They're going to get five, six prime time games, right? They're probably going to get flexed into some Sunday night games, and then they're going to be the game of the week on CBS every Sunday.

I mean, that's the kind of value that Patrick Mahomes brings to you as an organization. So he's worth every penny. And, you know, for those who say, well, a 10-year contract, whatever, it's going to come along down the road at six years where they're going to renegotiate this thing or five years where they're going to renegotiate this thing. This won't be the last time he puts pin to paper. So it gives them flexibility early right now to continue to chase this window that they're in with all the talent that they have, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

I think it was a tremendous deal for the Kansas City Chiefs locking up Patrick Mahomes. And I love what Joy talked about with culture. You know, we always talk about culture. And there's a difference. The Kansas City Chiefs that created this culture of, you know, everybody wants to go there. Everybody wants to play there. I had that years here that I played in Denver with Mike Shanahan and John Elway. Guys wanted to come to Denver and take less money because they knew you had a chance to chase a championship, right?

And that's what the Kansas City Chiefs are creating right now, a destination spot where people want to go because the coach has developed a culture. You know you're going to have an opportunity to win. And Patrick Mahomes is this unicorn that's going to give you that opportunity. So they have created a destination spot in Kansas City. Now, the next quarterback, young guy in that 23-24 age that we're saying looks like he could be great as Lamar Jackson. Now he's 19 and 3 as a starter, so he is great and he won an MVP. I still, I've watched him in the postseason, and I said this earlier, the difference between Mahomes and Lamar is. When Mahomes trailed Houston 24-0, I thought, okay, just settle down.

It'll be fine. when when Lamar trailed 14 to 6 at half to the Titans and they scored first in the third quarter I thought game over so so I need to see Lamar playing without a lead that to me is the difference between these do your thoughts about is Lamar are there similarities dissimilar is he the next Mahomes yeah I think that I think that the difference for me Colin is that I always talk about the 70 30 rule when it comes to football 70% of the time you are on schedule, right, as an offense, you're on schedule. And on schedule is great. That's what you want to be. The 30% of the time that things break down because they do, like, both of these quarterbacks will be exceptional into 30%. But if you stay on schedule for an entirety of a game, Patrick Mahomes will eviscerate you

from the pocket. Lamar Jackson doesn't have that same ability from the pocket to win on a consistent basis. They are predicated on running the ball. Third down six is a running down a lot. They'll set up the play action. They'll get the one-on-one situations. From a long-term viability standpoint, and I talked to John Harbaugh about this, and the answer was, I don't know when I asked him the question, is this a long-term?

Is there viability to running this style of offense with that dynamic quarterback? I don't know. I don't know. we're willing to test it out. We're willing to go down that road. And ultimately, you look at Lamar Jackson, you can make an argument that he takes as many big shots as a pocket quarterback. But the problem is, when you're running around the places that those things come from and you're not afforded a protection of the pocket, I just don't know that there's long-term viability there. So I'm 100% with you.

When you're on schedule and you're running your office and you've got a 14-point lead, the Baltimore Ravens are a 10-point lead. A 10-point lead when you're in Baltimore feels like a 21-point lead because of the way they play complimentary football. So, like, if you have that going for you, they're unbeatable. They get behind by seven. They're in trouble. That's, you know, the difference between Mahomes and a Lamar Jackson, both great, both exceptional, but a big difference because I think Patrick Mahomes can still win you from a traditional standpoint in the pocket, eviscerate your defense, where I don't think Lamar, Jarn Jackson is there yet as a quarterback. So it's interesting. You know the Shanahan family really, really well.

And Mike's retired now, but he lives in Colorado, probably not that far from you. And so there's a running back for the Niners, Rahim Mostard, and he said, I want a new deal. And I say to myself, good luck. What is it about the Shanahan's and their offensive system that just creates 1,000-yard rushers? This is what they do. Dad did it. Sun did it? What is it? Right. Yeah. One, it's

the Shanahan's ability as a coach, and this is what sets Kyle apart, this is what sets Mike apart. Your ability to tell your players what we're going to do, why we're going to do it, and how it's going to have a positive effect on them, and to

get them into buying into that philosophy. Running the ball is about all 11 guys being committed to running the ball. And I'm talking about receivers and tight ends and fullbacks and everybody. And they get this complete and total buying. And then they create a system in which they'll run one or two plays, but to a defense,

it will look like an entirety of 11 or 12 different plays. So they'll have two guys that are shifting, that are in motion, that are doing something different. Nine other guys are doing the exact same thing. So it's the same exact play other than two. guys that are shifting different or motioning different or have a different assignment at the point of attack. But to the defense, it literally looks like 11 different things that they have to defend. And it puts them on their heels. And then they've got total buy-in from all 11 guys to execute that

because they know ultimately that's where they're going to get the big plays in the passing game off the play action stuff. So they get total and complete buy-in. And, you know, I just look at my days in Denver in 1999, Terrell Davis, Terresors ACL in game four, Olandis Gary comes in and has 1,200 yards rushing. And everybody says, well, system, system, system. Yeah, system is a big part of it. TD probably would have 1,500 yards that Orlando's got 1,200. The next year, Olandis gets her week one, and Mike Anderson comes in,

and it gets 1,400 yards. And I look at it and know, well, TD would add 18 or 1900 yards. But the bottom line is everybody committed to doing exactly that. you're going to have success. So, you know, for Mozart, who's an outstanding running back, like, are you going to have that same system? Or are you going to have the ability to go somewhere and actually fit into a system that is that good? And my answer to you would be no. Your production is coming from a lot of it's going to come from exactly what you guys are doing

and the commitment you have to running the football. I will tell you this, Colin, there's very few teams. The Raven's one of them. Seattle's one of them. obviously San Francisco is one of them that's actually committed to running the football. And for a running back, it's probably pretty important to go to a team

that's actually committed to running the football. And there's very few of them. So be careful what you wish for. About a minute and a half left. I think Drew Locke is the next young quarterback to pop in year two. You live in Denver, you do a morning show. Is it hyperbolic? What do people in Denver think about Drew Locke,

who I think is the next second year guy that we're going to go nine games in this year. year ago, oh my, we found ourselves a star quarterback. I think he's got that potential. I don't think it'll be this year. I think it'll be the following year because you have to look at the second year that he's played in five games, but he's in year two in the NFL. This will be his second coordinator in the NFL. He had four coordinators while he was at Missouri. So this will be his sixth coordinator in the last six years. So there's a difference in system. Learning that system, you're really

lying on a lot of young talent that you drafted, right? That's what you want with Jerry, Judy, and KJ Hamler and some of the young talent that you went out and drafted. That's, there's going to be an issue there. You've had no offseason. You've had no continuity. You've got a new offensive coordinator. There are some inherent issues that they have to work through on the offensive line. I just think in year two, it's going to be a tall task in the division that they play in where the Raiders, I think, have gotten better, where the charges have gotten better, where obviously Kansas City is the cream of the crop to expect your quarterback to lead you to a four and two record in that division. I think that's going to be a tall task, even a three and three record

that division. So I think it's the following year, 2021, where Drew Locke really explodes. But we've seen a lot of great things from Drew Locke from the standpoint of his pocket presence and his ability when things do break down to make a play down the field. Good senior 12 years, three rings. Mark Slareth in a beautiful study with lots of expensive wood. Lots of helmets over. Wait, helmets over here and stuff. Look at that. Awesome. Very nice. Impressive. Thank you, Mark.

You got it, buddy. Antonio Gates is going to make the Hall of Fame. Retired, Tide End, just retired. He's going to join us next hour. Coming up next, Jim Harbaugh talks. What he says matters. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. 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.

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Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find you. Find out on The Look Back at it podcast.

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Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clifford Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker whops up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

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Neither am I. You're not ready to give up. Either am I. Get more energy, feel, lean. check it out MDrive for Men.com. MDrive for men.com, Antonio Gates next hour. So, you know, it's funny. If you look at COVID, it's really, as a league or a commissioner,

do you have the stomach for the pushback if multiple players or executives or coaches get it? I talked to an NBA person yesterday, a front office person, and he said, I think we'll start our league, and I don't think we'll finish it. I don't, there's a lot of people that think the NBA doesn't have the stomach to deal with a blowback. It's a very Twitter-driven,

a very media-sensitive league. They're not going to have the stomach for it. So college football is fascinating because the sport, unlike the NBA, where everybody's sort of on the same page with the NBA. The league holistically views social issues the same, COVID the same. It's not that way in college football.

The Ivy League yesterday canceled sports. It's very academic leaning. The academics tolerate sports in the Ivy League. Mostly don't support them. But then you get into major Power 5 conferences, and there's even a gap there. I think college football in the fall is a 50-50 proposition. But I think in the South, it's an 80-20 proposition because it simply means more. And the South is willing to bulldoze through the bad press.

The South has always felt ignored or picked on by the coastal media. They don't give a rip. So I think the UFC, they've had fighters get it. They just bulldozed through it. NASCAR had a driver get it. They just bulldozed through it. Golf had golfers get it. Caddies get it.

They just bulldozed through it. I don't know if the PAC 12 and the Big Ten, which are very academic leaning, you've got a lot of elite schools, Michigan and your Northwesterns, and your Stanfords and your cows and your UCLA's, there'll be a lot of academic people. Again, tolerate sports, don't really support it.

It's different in the SEC. School presidents are all in on the football. They get the value of the branding. I know California kids that go to Alabama, like multiple. And they don't know it other than football, right? That's how you know Alabama. Jim Harbaugh was talking about COVID facing it and the road ahead. COVID is part of our society.

wasn't caused by football or caused by sports. And there's no expert view right now that I'm aware of or that are, you know, agreeing expert views that, you know, sports, you know, is going to make that that worse. It's part of our society. We're going to have to have to deal with it. I'm a 50-50 person right now in it. But on SEC, I'd say 75, 80 percent, it will happen because I just think they have the stomach. to bulldoge through the cases.

They're going to have them. Coaches are going to get it. And do you have the stomach to handle the negative press and the pushback? And I'm not sure if the big academic leaning institutions do. I'm just not sure. And you start getting a Michigan bailing and a cow bailing and a UCLA bailing. What are you going to do if you're a conference commissioner? You're going to just like have half the games.

But there's something else that happened with COVID. And I think it's strangely actually positive news, although it heard. hurts now. Stanford cut 11 varsity sports, citing the pandemic as a breaking point, you know, mostly sports that parents go to or friends go to, but they don't drive a lot of income. Now, this is obviously painful for the people at Stanford, and this is happening all over the country where they're cutting sports. And this allows scholarship opportunities for kids. I get that. But college sports need a massive reboot. Outside of football and a handful and I mean eight to 12 college basketball programs of note, these sports hemorrhage money.

It's a runaway freight train. It needs a total reboot. I'll give you an example. Let's take a random baseball program. College baseball. Michigan State. Michigan State's got 25 players. They have to feed them and house them and educate them.

And they have trainers and there's nutrition. And they go on the road and they fly planes. Michigan State Baseball, and I'm guessing it's not a big moneymaker. Last year, trailed, traveled to New Orleans. Fluid jet, 25 guys, feed them, house them, tutor them. They traveled to Iowa. They traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, to Arizona, to Indiana three times, to New Jersey, to South Carolina multiple times.

Losing money, hundreds of thousands on every single road trip. Everyone. That's one baseball team. And Michigan State, not picking on them, has 30 teams. And outside of football and men's basketball, none of them make money. I've always thought, considered privatized football, make it its own animal, have four to eight sports, men's and women, you're all good. But it needs a reboot. College athletes now are fake students.

College baseball players, college hockey players, volleyball players. You can't go to class. Zoom. They've been doing that for years. College sports needs a reboot. They're getting one. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day,

seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants 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. more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about. crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the Iron. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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 hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. A rep.

My mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's he at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Here we go, our two live in Los Angeles. This is The Hurd.

Wherever you may be, and however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS-Won. You know, it's interesting about people that fight work, wearing masks. So I wear a mask all the time, you know? And then even when I walk into a restaurant, like, or I go to a restaurant or wear a mask, and then when I'm at a table, I'll take the mask off. And then I'm, you know, outside. And I'm like five to six feet from people. And I think last night, well, if this person had it, then I would get it.

Because, like, food, it's very transmissible, right? And, like, I don't know anything about this. But at some point, unless you want to lose the entire. restaurant industry. I mean, if you're sitting five feet apart from somebody at a restaurant, you don't know. You can't eat without a mask on.

Some of these, unless you want to end the airlines industry, you have to take some risk. We can't just say no flights anywhere. That's how you move goods around the country. The bottom of all these planes is Delta United. They have things in the bottom of those planes. That's how

they get goods across the country. We're not doing trains anymore for that stuff. So it's Like, there's obviously a risk element. We're flying planes. There's obviously a risk element. We're opening restaurants. I mean, if you want to kill the restaurant industry and four million jobs, go for it. But I don't think that's smart.

So my point is there's an element of risk to this. Why shouldn't sports be part of the risk? I mean, you don't have to have restaurants. We could go to grocery stores and eat, but we do it because it's part of our lifestyle in America. Well, it's part of the economy. And part of the economy. And it's good for people to go out and socialize. It's a good part of American business.

It's also a good part of American society is that we commiserate and we talk and we chant and we lubricate and we, you know, it's a very healthy part of the American experience is, it is Paris. It is London. It's eating outdoors. It's cafes. That is, that's the world, right? And then travel, that's part of our existence. So we're taking risks. I'm looking around last night and I'm like, well, restaurants are people sitting next to each other.

I mean, you don't know who these people are. And they say, we're managing what's happened. So that's the thing. In sports, you just got to get comfortable with it. I think SEC football will. UFC has, NASCAR has. NBA people inside the bubble, they think it's not going to work. And I think it'll work.

It's just a matter of how much flexibility you're going to have with the reality that you're coming back to play basketball during a pandemic. Yeah. What is your space that you're willing to occupy there with how many people test positive? I mean, listen, we had protests in America, tens of millions of people. Some had masks, some didn't, screaming for hours next to each other. And we were like, this is good. We should be doing this. We decided as a country, it's like this movement matters.

Did it have risk? Yeah. I'm watching these pictures of people jammed and they're yelling and screaming. Well, I mean, unfortunately, this was not handled from the beginning in a way that we would. We would not be in the space that we are now had been handled properly in the beginning. So now we have to manage where we are while keeping in mind that we have an entire economy that we have to balance and not allow it to collapse. So there is an element of money and economy that we have to consider along with dealing with the pandemic and all the anxiety that comes with that. Yeah.

So it's like when I look at these leagues, I guess my whole point is airlines, restaurants, protesting. We understand this is part of the American fabric. and there are risks with this. But if you're 70-year-older, I'd avoid those places. I would not fly. I would not go to restaurants. If I had an underlying health issue, I would not fly. I would not go to restaurants.

And I know a lot of people over 50 that won't go to restaurants. But there is a culpability on the individual. If you have diabetes or underlying, then be very careful. But, you know, right now in America, we're pointing fingers at all these young people, 20 and 30, bad, bad, bad person. they're not at risk. They're healthy, many of them. And we have all sorts of things in America.

We're allowing people to do things at high risk. Planes are just incubators. You're sitting in a plane for four hours with recycled air. You're sitting next to people afoot. So don't tell me you can't do sports because of risk. We're doing all sorts of things. Well, it's just the same as the conversation we were having about Tom Brady working out with his teammates. If someone is doing something illegal, if they're holding concerts with thousands of people,

and that's not what's allowed to happen in that state. Like if the government has said, do not do this and you're doing it anyway, that's a different situation. But you can't be angry at people for doing what the government has allowed them to do, what the government has opened or deemed essential business or has a business that's allowed to be open. The issue is people aren't being responsible. Wear a mask. Be consider it when you can.

Yeah. And that's the point. But I do see some of these, the moralists. There says sports is not important enough. Are restaurants? I think they are. Well, it's not a matter of importance as far as. entertainment value.

There is an economic impact in reality of thousands and thousands of jobs. Tens of thousands. The sports industry employs thousands of people. Tens of thousands. And it changes the economy of companies that broadcast it, that host it, that advertise on it. So, I mean, there's no simple answers to this stuff. But there's an element of risk that you have to.

There is a culpability by the individual if you are diabetic or obese or over 70 have underlying. You have to be more responsible than a 24-year-old kid that's a professional athlete. It's just a different environment for that. So, you know, I guess there's a lot of finger pointing and you're bad and you're good. Just wear a mask, socially distant, be responsible. And, you know, you cross your fingers. We get through it. You know, Patrick Holmes is interesting. I was thinking about this this morning. He signed this massive contract, right? He really is the only current quarterback in the National Football League that doesn't have an obstacle. So you think, like Eric Rogers, what's his obstacle? Packers have no owner. His personality and attitude slash ego turns off

some teammates. There's some obstacles there. Green Bay doesn't get free agents. Russell Wilson, some would argue his size, which he overcomes. His head coach is almost antagonistic in terms of the offense. He is really hyper-optimistic. It does turn some guys off. They think it's a little corny. There's some obstacles. Tom Brady, athleticism. You can't roll the pocket out for Tom. There's obstacles. Drew Brees, doesn't have the arm strength anymore. Never had a huge arm, but there's limitations on the vertical routes you can run. His age. Lamar Jackson, his style of play, much better quarterback leading than trailing. There's a little bit, and his youth, there's a little bit of an

obstacle. What's amazing about Mahomes, he's got everything. He's got the size. He's got the arm. He's got the work ethic. He's got the coach. He's got the general manager. He's got the weapons. His dad was a pro athlete, so he's not going to go sideways on this stuff. He's got the maturity. I mean, it's even among the greats. There are obstacles everywhere. I just don't see one for him. I just don't see any obstacles at all. I mean, like Joe Burroughs, the number one pick in the draft, people acknowledge, doesn't have a great arm. Tua, who I think should be the number one quarterback. Size and a little bit of an injury concern.

Justin Herbert, who I think is going to excel in the NFL. People are like, he's a little stiff, big arm, but a little stiff, not great when the play unravels. You're looking at this is rarefied air. And the other thing is Mahomes is unique historically because most guys with a big arm, the gunslingers, they throw interceptions. They take big chances. He has, by the way, thrown 1,300 career pass attempts.

He's got 20 picks. So you get all the upside, the arm, the athleticism, the risk-taking, and you don't even get interceptions. Now, Aaron Rogers does not throw a lot of interceptions, but he tends to lead the NFL in throwaways, holds the ball a little long. I would say Aaron over the last two or three years has really scaled back on his risk-taking. You know, when homes, you get all of it. I get the size, the arm, the athleticism, the risk-taking, and all the efficiency. And my favorite quote was he said this. He goes, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said on HBO

that he couldn't truly read defenses until, quote, halfway through last year. I understood coverages, but how to be able to pick up little tendencies, defenses do like Brady and stuff. Like, I was just playing. By the way, halfway through the year until the end of the year, he went 9 and 0. So you are, I mean, even the smart quarterbacks in this, like the heady guys, Russell Wilson, Brady Breeze, like really heady. They all acknowledge early, the game's too fast.

It's like Russell Wilson said year three, the game slows down. This is going to be his third year starting. It's like, oh, yo, yoy. He's just now getting the tendencies down. So it's like when you start comparing people, and some of this is good fortune and good luck, Andy Reid's hitting the lottery. but I just don't. Everybody's always had something. Brady's not an athlete.

You know, Peyton, you know, not really, you can't move much. And Breeze doesn't have a big arm. And Russell Wilson's a little small. Everybody's got something you kind of ding them for. Like Patrick, I'm like, is that the perfect quarterback? I mean, even his dad was a pro athlete. Like, is that the perfect quarterback? Size, arm, athleticism, moxie, toughness, plays hurt.

Good God. Antonio Gates, one of the all-time great. It's going to be a Hall of Famer at Tide-in is going to be joining us coming up next. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app.

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

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

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

Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. 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, Keir Gaines, is we have. 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.

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, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. MLB on Fox returns on July 25th with Fox Saturday baseball, and we could not be more excited. Baseball is back. And, of course, America's home for baseball this summer.

As always, we'll be Fox. FS1. I saw actually some video yesterday. It was like Cubs were playing somebody or I don't know what it was. And the sound of a home run off the bat. It was so loud. It was just pop. And then they started playing music. It was fine with me. It's different. But it's different. I'm so desperate for sports. Antonio Gates is really an American story. He goes to play some football and basketball at Michigan State. Nick Sabin was the coach back then, by the way. And he ends up doing the football thing. And then he goes undrafted, ends up in the NFL. And from day one was one of the top tight ends in football. In fact, right now, he'll be a first ballot hall famer.

He has the most receiving touchdowns by a tight end in league history. He has the most catches for a charger ever, which is remarkable. They've had some unbelievable skill people in San Diego dating back to like the 70s and 60s. and Antonio Gates is joining us now via the Coward Global Satellite Network. So I have never been, first of all, Antonio, it's an absolute pleasure. I've never been a big fan of the NFL preseason.

I don't want to see my favorite players get hurt in games that don't count. I think college doesn't have it, and there are a bunch of kids. So the NFL's cutting down to two preseason games. Tell me, when you started playing in the NFL, did it have value? When you ended in the NFL,

did the preseason have value? me through how much it matters. Well, you know, when I first got to the national football league, I think it was, you know, you didn't have as much in the offseason. So the training camps were definitely valuable at that point. I can remember like it was yesterday going through the tour days, the true tour days. I think now that's the reason why you see a lot of injuries and, you know, just in terms of just guys being in condition and having that same,

those days to prepare every single day to get ready for the national football league in the season. So, you know, I really, I was fortunate enough to have this wide range where I started with the tour days to the point where, you know, training camps were, you know, felt like a walkthrough later in my career. And I think the guys now are bigger and stronger and faster. Therefore, you know, and then the money. Obviously, the money, you can't exclude the money part of it. I think the business aspect of it, I think that's why you see the shortness of the preseason. Yeah, players don't want to work hard and not get paid as much.

So when you first came into the NFL in 2003, now it's 2020, that's a long career. That's 16, 17 NFL seasons. The game feels different to me, but it feels better. It's more about skill. Go back to your first year until your laugh. Was the game different or were their basic principles that always remained the same? I think the physicality of the game eventually prevails over time, no matter what. I think what you see now is that, you know, you see every, when I got to the league, you know, tight ends were just, you know, blocking power, blocking counter, 260 pounds.

So what I brought to the table was pretty much unique other than a few guys, obviously, the Tony Gonzalez's of the world. You know, you got a few guys that did things in a passing game that was pretty unique. Now when I turn the television on and watch a game, I think every team has a tight end that can change the game. Every team has a tight end that can hurt you. And I think that's the transition now. You know, guys are 240. Those tweeners in college, those guys that were big receivers, they make the transition to become tight ends and become good tight ends in the National Football League. I think that trend had started when I first got to leave.

and now you can see when you turn it. Even with fantasy football, every single week, you know, it's a guy that plays a position, that tight-in position that can actually affect the game and beat you. And I think that's the transition that I've seen over time. Yeah, no, I mean, Antonio, let's be honest

about this, you, to a large degree, change the league. A lot of people look at Antonio Gates. By the way, you're a guy, a basketball guy that goes undrafted and becomes a Hall of Fame and people say, we've got to start looking at basketball players. By the way, you originally enrolled at Michigan State. Saban was the football coach. Isso was the basketball coach.

Now, give me the chronology of it. Like, Saban didn't want you to play hoops, right? Yeah, I mean, you know, you're talking about, I think a lot of people deal with this going from high school to college. You're talking about a guy. I was 17 years old when I graduated from high school, going to college, and I was on campus at 17, 18. basketball was all I knew. I mean, I had put so much work into the game of basketball and saving at the time,

you know, saying, you know, I was a tweeter in the game of basketball. I mean, it was as much more relevant to me now than it was at 17, 18. But I think from a child perspective, and you're talking about a teenage kid, you see a lot of this. When these guys go from high school and college,

and I got a son now, that's making that transition the next couple of years. What you're going to see is that, you know, when you promise a child something, a guy that's 17, 18, that means a lot to him. And I think that was something that was done to me in Michigan State. They said I can play both. They said I can do basketball and I can do football.

But obviously, Nick Saban thought I was a first round draft pick in the game of football. And little do I know he was, you know, I mean, what he had in store for me had, you know, held to be true. but I think for the most part, you know, when you're talking to a teenager, sometimes, you know, you're just a believer is the things that is in the future for you. And I think that's my, that was my story. I got there, you know, they didn't want me to do nothing with the basketball team.

Everything was football-oriented. And I was a two-sport athlete. So, you know what I mean? I couldn't understand at the time. I had just won a state championship, you know, in the state of Michigan in the game of basketball. So I was just like, you know what's going on, man? You know, I could have went to the University of Michigan if I was going to play football. So I think that whole story is just a great story for the most part.

It's good for kids to look at it and say, wow, I'm 6'4, 250 in the game of basketball. I'm one of many in the game of football. It changed a little bit for me. And I think that was my ultimate decision as I got older is that, you know, I had a better opportunity in the game of football. Yeah, by the way, you were originally enrolled at Michigan State. They went to Kent State, played basketball, and were very good. So when you go, Philip Rivers now is interesting. The game is changing.

Quarterbacks now, you want to move the pocket as much as you can. And I know Anthony Lynn, you know, Anthony Lynn would like to move the pocket a little more. Justin Herbert can move. Tyrod Taylor can move. Philip Rivers could not. So Philip Rivers goes to Indianapolis, which has a terrific offensive line. There's a feeling in football that Philip Rivers is kind of a shot fighter. it's over. Do you agree with that? How much left does Philip have in the tank in your opinion?

When you're talking about a guy that he's going to feel like 707 out there for him, just because what he can do from a mental standpoint. And obviously, you know, him is nothing that he hadn't seen at this point in his career. And I actually think the transition of going to Indie was a good transition for him because of the history. you know, I was like, you got Frank and you got the guys, the coordinators, the guys that's been with him in San Diego. And if he could protect him, you know what, scouts the limit of what that offense can do. And I had that pleasure to watch them last year. I knew they had a great defense. I know they had a good running game.

So you add a guy like Phillip to the passing game, a guy that can move that ball up and down the field. You know, I'm excited. I'm excited for them and I'm excited and see what they're going to do this year. By the way, would you be comfortable playing with the COVID stuff going around? JJ Watt said he's not sure yet. How would you feel on it, Antonio? You know, I think everybody have a mixed feeling at this point.

You know, just depends on the circumstances of how to affect your family, your kids, your loved ones. I think that's the most important part at this time right now. I've seen some guys even, you know, speak about it in the NBA in terms of, you know, certain underlying the conditions

that their wife have or their kids have. So I think that part would definitely have an effect on me. If I had someone that was a significant in my family that I can potentially affect, I think that is probably the determining factor for these athletes at this point. Yeah. By the way, Patrick Mahomes signed a gigantic contract. And one of the reasons I would pay him 10 years, there are certain guys. I would just, I think there's a maturity that I would trust if I give him a 10-year contract. You know, he's a grown-up. He's going to handle it. Not every Not every player could handle that.

Not every broadcaster I know I'd give a 10-year contract to. I don't know if they could handle it. But you've seen Mahomes play a few times. The first time you saw Patrick Mahomes, did you know instantly, Antonio? This is a superstar. Yeah, I mean, that was pretty avidable to a lot of people. I mean, you really don't really know how to prepare for a guy like that.

You don't know if you want to keep him in the pocket. You don't know if you want to. You don't know if you want to rush three and have a sense. spy because he can beat you in so many ways. It was one of those few guys that you see that's generation of players at the position, just because what he can do in so many awkward angles, he can still make so many throws. And like I said, when you prepare for him and I will watch our defense prepare for him, it was hard to duplicate what he can actually do on the game.

And he's an incredible talent. I love the fact that he loves to compete and obviously, you know, bringing the Super Bowl to Kansas City obviously that was a special mark for himself and his family. So he was always, you know, a generational talent from my point and my standpoint from being on the other side and competing against him. You know, it's funny. I've talked to Tony Gonzalez about that.

Tony rarely miss games. It's remarkable. Yeah, Tony. It's crazy. So to last 16 years in the NFL, like you did. And you were a guy that could block. You're not just a guy, you're nothing against Jimmy Graham, but that's not who you

are. You're a blocker. How do you think, is it genetics? Is it God giving you talent? How did you last so long? Is it passion? Guys just don't last 16 years blocking in this league. How did you do it? Oh, you know, obviously

you have to have luck along the way. You know, I don't want to take all the credit. You know, obviously the idea of I think the uncertainty that I had that majority of guys didn't have. What made me different is that I came in as a free agent. And then I flourished to the top of the position. Most of the time, guys come in and make that type of jump. They are probably drafted.

So they come in with more of a comfort level. I had to do everything firsthand. And, I mean, I hadn't played football since high school. So when I got to the National Football League, I was just, I was always afraid in a crazy kind of way, I was always afraid of getting released, which I think drove me consistently every year, because every year you're here, as I got older, you're here,

I'm getting older. You know, we're a draft of tight end. You know, I think Gates Air is over. So I think every single year I found something to kind of hang my hat on, and then I use that as motivation going into the following season. So I think that's why I was able to accumulate so many years back-to-back, together and I never really, you know, use my past as a, you know, as a stone to, you know, say, look, the charges I've done this last year, you know, I know you're going to resign me.

I've always came in with the same ideas that, you know what, this is a new coaching staff, this is a new organization, prove that you're worthy of playing this season at Tonya Gates, prove that you're worthy of starting in a national football, you know, national football league this year. So that was always my approach. And I think it came from, it stemmed from the foundation of when I was a rookie and I have to make the team as a free agent. Do you remember, this is going down memory lane, you may not remember. Do you remember when you were finally told your rookie year?

So you're a basketball player at Kent State. You haven't played football since high school. And you're going through camp. And some coach came up to you and said you made the team. Do you remember where you were, who it was? Yeah, I do. I do remember how it was. First of all, Martin Schottheimer, we are, first of all, the way it works is that, you know, when I was a rookie, you know, I got a lot of funny stories.

When I was a rookie, you know, we get calls. I'm a guy named John Letherwood. So we get calls to the hotel room and, you know, boom, and that phone rang and you answered. You know what I'm saying? It was time to bring your playbook. And, you know, I was worried as he got down to numbers, you know, it was like six. guys left. And I remember me being one in six or seven guys that was remaining. And I knew X amount of guys was on a practice team. And then X amount of guys made the active roster.

So I remember watching that guy get cut. And I was just thinking like, golly, I got to be next because that dude was good. You know what I'm saying? So, you know, all the thing is I was kind of struggling. You know, I was a rookie that I was struggling. I was running everything for the first time. So little did I know that the coaches can kind of see the potential in me, you know what I mean? Because I hadn't had the experience that majority of these guys had. I didn't have those bad habits that majority of these guys carry from college to the actual football league. So, you know, it was like credit. You know what I mean?

Everything I was, it was fresh for me. You know, sometimes it's better to have no credit than bad credit. And, you know, I was learning everything, you know, and boom, I look up and, you know, I'm one or six left. And, you know, I remember seeing a guy get cut. And I was thinking all these big names schools. It was a guy from Nebraska. It was a guy from TCU. And they were letting these guys go.

And I'm thinking, like, I mean, I got to be next. You know what I'm saying? Here I am a basketball guy with no experience, no college experience. Man, I was getting yelled at every single day. When I said getting yelled at, literally, you know, my coach was Tim Brewster at the time. I think he's at University of Florida now. So, but little did I know, that was the way when you think. think a guy had the potential and you think the guy can do some special things, that's how

you treat them and that's how you continue to push him to be great. And I think I used that foundation in my rookie year and I carried it throughout my 16 seasons. I love stories like that. I just love it. You're a Hall of Famer. You're one of the six or seven greatest players in league history at your position and you were scared every year. There was fear there every single year. And, you know, I watched that Michael Jordan documentary and I told my audience, like, Even for Michael Jordan, it was hard. He's fighting with coaches and teammates and general managers. Pro sports is hard, Antonio.

You're a great story. Absolutely. Yeah. You're a great story. And thanks for coming on our show today. Thank you. Thanks for having me. You bet.

I love that story. Kent State basketball. Never played since high school. Isn't that crazy? But he did say Nick Saban, he enrolled at Michigan State, and Nick Saban said, you're going to be a first round talent. You got to stick with football. You've got to get out of this basketball thing.

But he was such a great basketball player. He's like, I don't play basketball. Yeah, football players. I mean, football coaches do not. They don't like basketball. Basketball is the enemy. It is. Oh, I just love that stuff. Antonio Gates here is Joy Taylor with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I almost went to Kent State. You were a track star. I was recruited to Kent State. Now, Kent State, I don't know much about it. Midwest.

In Ohio. Michigan. Oh, it's Ohio. Yeah. Wayne State is Michigan. Wayne State's in Detroit, I think. And then Kent State's in, where in Ohio? Ohio?

Yeah, I'm assuming. I haven't been to Ohio in a long time. Last time I was in Ohio was Canton, actually, my brother. Why didn't you go? I didn't love Ohio. Yeah. It's cold. Well, I mean, I ended up going to a school in Pennsylvania, so it wasn't that much different.

Where'd you go to school in Pennsylvania? IUP. That's where I ended up running track. I UP. Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Oh, what? Yeah, it's just, you know, I've lived many lives. IUP.

Yep. What was the cheer? What was the name of the team? What is that? I don't even remember. I'm old. That's a long time ago. I'm just asking.

That was 2004? It's 2020. I should know that, though. The relationship between coach and quarterback is obviously crucial to finding success in the NFL. And Lamar Jackson explained one of the reasons why he thinks he and John Harbaugh worked together so well. He said we don't take any crap. We both don't take any crap. That's what I see in Coach Harbaugh.

and that's why I love him so much because every time we talk, there's something with him competing. He's always competing. I do think there is a, there's something a little bit romantic about these new, these new quarterbacks and their coaching pairs. It's really cool, right? Like they just kind of all fit.

Somehow weirdly, Kyler Murray, Cliff Kingsbury, they fit. Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reed. They're both like, they've got this, like, joy about them. They fit. Harbaugh, Lamar Jackson, totally works. You know what happens is Lamar is so talented. He's forcing an old football coach. This is like a valuable lesson in life.

Like Andy Reid, you give me the court. Andy Reid-O-Says, I just look at the guy and say, this is what he does and this is what he doesn't, and I'm going to build an offense for you. Right. It used to be football felt more like, I'm the coach, here's my system, implemented. And more and more with these incredible athletes,

it's, oh, my God, here's your skill set. I've never seen that done. I'm going to build around you. And I love it. I think that's what football is at its best is when you take the great athlete and figure out stuff that works for him. I just think that that's what anyone

who brings in high-level talent should do if you want success. What's the purpose of having this special unique talent if you're going to try and force them into a box that's not going to take advantage of what they're great at? That's exactly right. It just doesn't. It's never made any sense to me.

So Sean McVey is the NFL's youngest head coach at 34 years old and hopes being the league for a very long time. In an interview with Albert Breer, he was asked if he worries about burning out. And he admitted that is definitely a concern. That's something that I do need to be aware of because if you're not careful, I just know the way that I'm going at it. You're like realistically, this isn't the right way to do it, but you're such a grinder. And I think it's kind of being able to step back, being still like I keep saying is going to be a key thing. And I am confident that we'll be able to achieve a better balance will lead to more sustainability moving forward.

That's something I think about all the time. I didn't get really, I didn't really hit it till I was like 35. And I look at these people that like Sean McVeigh is 30 and he's a head coach. Would he want to coach for 40 years? Well, he did say that, you know, getting married and having kids will help him get better at balancing a work life. Yeah. You know, balance. He's getting married next year.

It does change things. It adds perspective. It makes you not want to just burn yourself out at work all the time. You're going to sacrifice. Well, I mean, I just think it makes you appreciate your job. You know, when you don't have a family and you pour yourself into your work, after a while, it's like, and you get a lot of success, which obviously he has. He's at the height of what his career will be. Obviously, he wants to win a Super Bowl, but he's the head coach of the L.A. Rams.

Like, that's a massive achievement. He's in charge. He has his contract. Like, he's reached that. Now, the next level is, obviously, to win Super Bowls. but you get all that and then it's like so this is all I do like I have the money

I have power I have the job like you want to have some sort of balance to your life which is what will bring which will make him appreciate that job even more is what I'm saying so like you know marriage is changes everything it does but it then makes you appreciate your job more yeah no kidding getting that car

go to work your job gets frustrating it makes you appreciate your family more and that's that's what the balance is I know you're throwing stuff around the house. Oh, I'd tell you something. This is... Peanut Butter, Joe. I don't have to sacrifice for anybody. Why just nap when I want to nap? It's an amazing

life I'm living right now. Why couldn't you nap when you want to nap? Well, you got to sacrifice. That's what marriage is all about sacrifice. Everything's a sacrifice. Now, all about me. It's a very fun life. I'm not compromising on naps. By the way, it's the IUP Krimson Hawks. I ran track. We're not really big into the like... Track, track's like, we don't have like names.

We're just track. Just go throw the jazz. Yeah, I didn't throw the javelin. I didn't throw the javelin. But Avery Bradley decided to opt out of the Orlando restart due to family health concerns. But even though he won't be with the team, he said the Lakers told him he will receive a championship ring if they win the title this year. Yeah. So he said he appreciates the gesture.

He's not sure if he'll accept the offer, but the physical possession of a ring doesn't motivate him. He says he plays basketball for the enjoyment of the game and to support his family. He obviously has a son that has some respiratory issues. so he opted not go to the bubble. A lot of guys are starting to show up at the bubble now. So they're saying goodbye to their families. Jason Tatum, there was a picture posted of him with his son. I think we have it.

And he's saying goodbye to his son. And they're going to be separated for at least two months because, do we not have the picture, guys? There we go. They're going to be separated for at least two months because the families can't come until at least the end of August. So the first round of the playoffs is when families can start coming into the bubble. They have to come down and then quarantine and be testing.

for a few days. And then once they're cleared to enter the bubble and out of quarantine, they can't leave the bubble at all or they can't come back. But yeah, I thought that was a sweet little picture. But this is what I'm talking about. Like this is a, this is a sacrifice that they're making to go into this quarantine situation and play their sport at the highest level that they can play right now in a very unique circumstances with no fans, no family interaction. I just have, I just have, I want to be optimistic on this stuff. I'm so pessimistic on the NBA. I think they're going to have a breakout and the league. And it's going to hurt the players because the owners are going to have all the leverage on the new CBA.

I just have a feeling they're not going to – it's a very player-run league. And if one or two players star players get it and they just say, I'm done, this thing could unravel fast in the NBA. The issue is, obviously, you want players to stay in the bubble and there's a high penalty if you do leave the bubble as a player. What is the penalty? You have to quarantine for two weeks. What is the penalty? You have to quarantine for two weeks if you leave the bubble. So you have to quarantine for two weeks.

If you miss any games during that time, you don't get paid for those games. So there is, it's like you really got to risk it if you're going to leave the bubble. All right. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. Quick break.

Rob Parker yells at me. That's coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. 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 SportsSlice 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 beaders to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answer. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

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

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. 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 iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show,

I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Needs no introduction. He's my friend Rob Parker, Fox Sports contributor. He's also inside the Parker on the Heard Podcast Network. the baseball stuff, a Hall of Fame voter, joining us via the Coward Global Satellite Network.

All right, the Mahomes contract. I hear you're not happy with the Patrick Mahomes contract. Why, Rob? You know what? It was more sizzling stake. When you see that number, you say $503 million. Wow, he hit the jackpot. But, Colin, when you dig deeper into it, you realize it's only like $160-some-odd million

dollars guaranteed up front. There's no out for him. are quarterbacks like Teddy Bridgewater and Ryan Tannahill will make more money than him over the next three or four years. And here's the bigger thing to take away. He was supposed to be the trendsetter to set the market. He was so good and the face of the NFL that he could have been the guy to say, I want a fully guaranteed contract.

I'm going to be that guy for the rest of the players in the NFL to look and say he won an MVP, He won a Super Bowl in his first two years as a starter. He had all the leverage and he gave it up for nothing. He took an also-ran contract. There are guys in Major League Baseball who are laughing to think that he's the face of the NFL and all the money. And guys are making way more than him, double him as far as guaranteed money. Sure, it looks good on paper,

but it's not a real $503 million. The difference between baseball and football, Mike Trout's going to get all 426. He'll get every nickel. There's no guarantee that Mahomes will get all his money. That's the big difference. Well, but what about a salary cap? You can get other good players.

It's about winning, not just filling your bank account. How much money do you need? What about that argument? I think that I hear that argument all the time, and I don't think it's real. Owners don't take a discount. I hear the salary cap. That's not Patrick Mahomes concerned. That's what they pay the people in the front office to figure out.

If that's the case in getting other players, then how in the world did Sammy Watkins have to take a pay cut to stay in Kansas City if he freed up money for them to sign good players? And the Tom Brady argument as well, the biggest knock is that they never went and got them any other players, but Tom Brady was taking pay cuts. And they didn't win all the time. The Patriots and Tom Brady went 10 years without winning a Super Bowl.

with supposedly Tom Brady making these concessions for his team. It doesn't automatically equate to winning. You should get what you should, what should be your fair market value, and let the team figure that other stuff out. I don't bank on anything that Kansas City is going to do, and you can't rely on anything in Kansas City other than some good barbecue when you're down there.

Other than that, I'm not buying into it. They went 50 years without winning, and now I just turned over the next 12 years of my life without an out. What happens if Andy Reid retires or the team is sold and some cheap skate owner comes in? You're screwed, Colin? No, you make some interesting points. All right, I got three minutes left. I got to ask you this.

Kenny Smith says, yeah, I love LeBron and everything, but it's so much easier to score now in the NBA. And to that, I say, players are bigger, stronger, faster, more rested, better nutrition, better trainers, better athletes. You've got to chase centers around the floor now because they can shoot seven footers. It's not that it's easier to score. It's that players make it look like it's easier to score because they're so skilled now.

What say you? I'm with Kenny Smith. Are you kidding? Colin, you can't even hand check or touch anybody. We watched the Michael Jordan documentary. Did you see what the pistons and the Knicks did to Michael Jordan when he went to? Those weren't flagrant fouls.

Those were regular fouls. There was no big deal. Now, are you kidding? You can't touch anybody. Everybody has a free path. People are given open looks much more. I think it's way easy to score. It doesn't mean that they're not good

and all the points you make are good. They are bigger. They are faster. They are stronger. But they don't have the same defense that they have to deal with that other great players. I think as Steph Curry played in the 90s,

it would be totally different the way he would be banged around. and pushed around, which doesn't happen now. These guys are skilled. They're great, but it is much easier to score. By the way, Jim Harbaugh says we didn't create COVID. We're not going to end it. We should play sports.

As long as the students are going to class, why can't we play football? Your thoughts as an adjunct professor at USC? Well, I'm going to be teaching this semester online and not in the classroom. And I don't know. I think Jim is doing a disservice to the players. Of course, they want to play their football players, but football is just not that important.

The difference between being in class, two chairs or three chairs away from your classmate, and being on top of another player tackling and sweat and saliva floating around and all the other stuff where you can get COVID, it just doesn't make any sense. And if the kids aren't in class in the classroom, right? and the football players are a part of the student body, they shouldn't be playing football. You see what they did at the Ivy League and some other conferences around watch.

They'll wind up canceling the sports because you can't guarantee the kids' safety. And it should be about safety. I understand we all love football. We all love sports. I'm dying for it to come back. But I want people to be healthy. Yeah.

By the way, how much you pay for that beautiful sports jacket? 5,000. wait a minute. No, wait a minute. I'm reading the tag wrong. $53. That's incredible. Rob is the most frugal human I've ever met. It is. 50. That's a beautiful sports jacket. $53. Hey, you know how I got the money to save to buy this is because I bring my own tea bags to the airport instead of paying $4 for a cup of tea. You do that, don't you? I do. I absolutely. Do you make your own coffee? I don't drink coffee.

I'm just a tea drinker. Is there anything? A minute left. Is there anything you spend money on? What about your car? You have a nice car? I have a very nice car. But I had a couple of used cars first, and I saved up and got a nice car.

But I'm willing to spend money on good stuff. I have a very nice watch that costs a lot of money. But for the most part, I'm cutting corners on all the other stuff. All right. I'm looking behind you. There's some pictures there. It looks like very expensive art. No, that's just a picture you took.

in Antarctica. No, you see that picture right there. Can you see the one from Egypt? Right there? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's from Egypt. Papyrus paper. I went to Egypt. How much it cost you? How much it cost you? Wonderful. Yeah. Well, back then in the 90s, it caused me about five grand to go. All right. There's Rob Parker. The most frugal man in American, we love him. Thank you so much, Rob Parker. You know, he's smart. The millionaire next door is the book. Buy it, read it, live it. It's the herd. Be sure to catch live live. 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.

Ah, hour three, we're live. It's L.A. This is The Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, IHart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Yeah, I was just reading this. We've had Antonio Gates, Rob Parker. I should have had Rob Parker on longer. Mark Schlereth. I'm going to put him on longer. You know, he made an interesting point with Patrick Mahomes. I don't agree with it, but his point is take all the money you can take and let the team figure out the rest. The problem with that is it is a salary cap league. You'd have to hit on so many draft picks.

And draft picks are, let's be honest. It's a guesswork. It's absolutely. Half the league is undrafted. It's absolute guesswork. I mean, it's good guesswork. They're good, I mean, especially first and second round picks, the hit rate's much higher than the fourth or fifth. but if you just say, I'm going to take all the money and you figure it out.

It's not saying you couldn't win, but you'd need a lot of veterans to take pay cuts to play with you. Kansas City maybe gets that, and you'd need Brett Beach to hit on every draft pick for two years. Because you have to get some free players. Yeah, he would have to find the Mahomes of every position for the next three years. The bigger point that Rob made that stuck with me is that he had the opportunity to set the market. But I don't know that that's necessarily his responsibility. to the rest of the league? Because that eventually hurts him with everything that you just said.

I guess here's where I defend Patrick Mahomes. I could talk for 10 minutes about this. Maybe I will. Here's where I'm going to defend Patrick Mahomes. Is that I think it takes a lot of foresight and maturity to look at the league and realize I can take every penny out of this. But I think I have a chance to be an all-time great. And I don't want to lose.

Jay Glazer always says this. The worst thing in the NFL is driving to practice or getting the games and knowing this is going to be a bad Sunday. Now, you're not going to get a ton of those. But don't we all think a little less of Aaron Rogers? I mean, Aaron Rogers gets a lot of crap for being the most talented quarterback Prima Holmes for a decade. A lot of crap. And it's not all Aaron Rogers' fault. Some of it is with his ego.

But in the end is Brady doesn't get any crap because Brady wins. And admit that that maybe doesn't matter to you, but we see from Kevin Durat and Aaron Rogers, players don't like to be ripped, even when they're superstars. And he does, Brady gets a lot of credit for taking pay cuts over the years. And it's just a better life to win than lose in the NFL. It's just a, so, and I think I always try to personalize it. What would I have done? So I didn't grow up with a ton of money, a child of divorce, you know, a little chaos financially. And I think to myself, I think I would want to win.

I just wouldn't want to be again, I'm not a big spender either I'm not a guy, I have one car, that's all I've ever had, I'm not really into cars and stuff, boats and stuff, I rent them. I think I'd do what Mahomes did. I think I would. I mean, I would too.

But it's also easy. You know, I had the same, I had a decent house, and Mahomes did too. But what if you grew up with abject poverty in life. And it would solve generations of your family.

I'd have to go, listen. Now, Russell Wilson grew up with some money, and so did Patrick, so did Steph Curry. A lot of pro athletes today. You know, I think I saw something the other day where half, or was 85% of NBA players had at least a Division I scholarship athlete in their family.

You know, you get the lineage of your family. You've had, you've grown up with a little money and cachet. But would I think of it differently if Patrick Rahomes grew up with nothing in his life or Andrew Luck grew up nothing in his life? Because Andrew Luck got heat. Never forget this. He got a lot of crap for that country. He was like Andrew Luck. And Andrew grew up with money. And so we, I mean. Well, I don't necessarily think how you grow up. You don't think it matters at all? Well, I know. I mean, everything plays a factor in how you make decisions, of course. But I think

that student athletes and athletes in general have a great. access to, I mean, not only athletes that have come before them that have had great success in business and managing their money and great examples of Magic Johnson and LeBron James of guys who have not come from anything and have created whole empires, not just for themselves, but for families and friends and created schools. So it's not, it's a different, it's a whole different society when it comes to how you manage your money. Like it's not, people don't want to go buy, you know, ridiculous, frivolous things.

Well, it makes more sense to go invest in other businesses and make your money. money lasts longer. Yeah, for Brady. And that's not, that's not seen as, like, it's not frowned upon it to do that. Now, Brady's wife's a supermodel. But the other thing with Brady, he saw how well the team was run. And so Brady's like, listen, I trust Belichick will find players. So it's easier, very easy for Brady to take pay cuts.

Two reasons. His wife is worth $500 million. That's something. Yes. The second thing is he watched for years and years how well the people. Patriots were coached, so that gives him trust on, I'll take a little less, I'd rather win games. Whereas Mahomes, Rob Parker brings up the point, they haven't done anything until Mahomes got there.

No, that's fair. It's a totally fair point, and his point is, I just take the money you figure it out. Don't tell me you know what you're doing because you didn't win anything before I got here. And as good as Andy Reid is, you could make that argument. So a lot of this, I give Mahomes a lot of credit on this. I think it takes a lot of foresight and a lot of maturity to say, I'm going to trust Brett, you and Andy and the Hunt family, you know what you're doing in a tough division, increasingly getting tougher. I'm going to trust you.

I don't think it's as easy as I maybe make it feel like obviously you just want to win more. I think it's, I think you said. There's a significant risk on both sides to commit for that long, especially in this sport where a lot can change very quickly. I mean, there's injuries. You lose certain positions. It changes the whole other side of the ball. I look at my own career. I haven't left a lot of money on the table.

I'd get as much as I can get. I wouldn't blame him if he took all the money. I see the value in doing what he did. But I also listen to how he talks about how he made his decision and how he came to his decision. And he took advice from people who have been in the business and have been around this business for a long time. They said take the security.

And, yeah, take the security and take being around other players who are going to help you be successful. Because at the end of the day, you're not going to play this sport forever. he's going to make money outside of football after he retires forever. So what are you going to do with this time as you have in the sport? Now, I'll give you an example. Let's talk Aaron Rogers for a second.

Aaron took a lot of money. But if I'm Aaron Rogers, let me defend Aaron Rogers on this. Okay, you've given me one good defense. One, we can't get free agents here. Hell with you. I want my money. I will defend Aaron Rogers to the end on this. Aaron Rogers, unlike Brady.

Brady gets a good defense every year. So Brady can go, I'll give up money. I trust my organization. Aaron Rogers, I totally support saying, I've been here nine years. You've given me one good defense. I don't trust your judgment. I trust me.

Show me the money. I'll make it work. So in Aaron's case, I think he has a right to it. In Brady's case, I think it's just much easier to be Brady than Aaron Rogers. That's my point. Yes, but I wouldn't have blamed Mahomes if he did. take all the money. And nobody would have come out of that saying he's being selfish or he's earned every penny

of it. And he will be great for years to come. So it's not like, that's what we were all expecting, really. By the way. To have a massive contract and not be 12 years. Hey, this is my thing with Russell Wilson. You take the damn money. They haven't given him a decent offensive line in five years.

And the defense is getting worse. All you have to do is go to PFF and look at the grades. Well, we also act like Brady always took pay cuts. He did not always pay cuts. That's right. He did later. Yes. So that gets sensationalized as well.

Like, he did get paid. I am generally a believer in salary cap sports. Do you want to win? Like, I'll give you an example with Mike Trout. Mike Trout, if he played for the Yankees, I think does equal wins. Because his salary is not punitive to the Yankees who make $450 million a year just on their local cable deal. So if I'm Mike Trout, I would have gone to the Yankees for that money. But if a Joey Votto or a Joe Mower or a Mike Trout take all the money like with the Angels twins,

they can't fortify the town around him. You're much better off. And I'm not taking anything away from Mike Trout. But Mike, does anybody think about this? These baseball guys, it's different where you play. If you take Garrett Cole should take every penny with the Yankees because they can still afford great short stops and clutch hitters and infield and center fielders. But when you're, and I'm not blaming Joey Votto. But if I was Joey Votto or Joe Mauer or Mike Trout, I'd say, I want the money.

But why stay in a marginally high revenue team? The revenue doesn't, you can't have a good bullpen and Mike Trout salary. So, like, baseball is totally different where there's no salary cap, but there's limitations on market size. Like Kansas City can't pay Mike Trout and have a bullpen. So, like, in baseball, if I was going to take, I guess it's this way. If I was in baseball and I was great. I would take the big money and I would go to a handful of operations like the Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs that have the revenue to give me good players. In the NFL and NBA, I would probably take some level of a pay cut because I don't want to get my brains beat in.

And I don't want to be LeBron James passing to a guy that clanks a 17-footer. I want help. And LeBron, Wade and Bosch all did take less money to play together. And there's absolute value. Plus, let's be honest, in the NBA, their shoe deals. Right. It's not changed their lifestyle whatsoever, the money that they left on the table. Can I talk about something else for five minutes here?

This is getting me worked up. The definition of a bad job is when your boss has unrealistic expectations or whoever's above you. I saw this story this morning. College football coaches with their jobs on the line this year. And they name a bunch of them. You know, Chip Kelly at UCLA and Will Mush Champ and Tom Herman, Clayhleton. and then they put Scott Frost in there at Nebraska. See, the problem with Nebraska is they see themselves.

The boss of Nebraska is the president, the AD, and the fans. They think Nebraska is an A job. It's a C job. I'm not even sure it's a C plus job. Scott Frost is a great coach. Nebraska, stay current, update. You're a seven-win program. Nebraska's got three things going.

world changes, right? We know that. Sports change, the world changes. Number one with Nebraska. They're in the wrong conference. So Nebraska used to be down with Oklahoma and Texas, and they recruited all these Texas kids. And mom and dad could, in Texas, would watch their sons play when they played Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and all those schools. Well, then Oklahoma and Nebraska got their feelings hurt and said, we're not getting enough love. Oklahoma and Texas get all the love. I don't like that. We're going to go to a big 10. and that killed their Texas recruiting. Because now Texas parents, and Nebraska lived on Texas recruiting because there's no players in Nebraska.

And California kids don't want to go to Nebraska. And Florida kids mostly don't want to go to Nebraska. So Texas was the place. But now the Texas parents don't get to watch their babies play six times a year. In the state where they can get in a car. They don't want to drive up to Nebraska against Purdue and Nebraska against Michigan and a fly up there. So it killed your recruiting. The second thing is warm weather schools have done.

much better in recruiting for 20 years. Why? Because it used to be there were like seven or eight big traditional northern powers, Washington, Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State. And those games were always on television. Well, if you wanted to play for the big boys and they get on television, you had to go up north. Now, there's 600 games on television. You just stay where your friends play. You can stay in the warm weather, the pretty girls.

I was going to play in Baton Rouge. I don't have to go to Penn State to get on TV or Notre Dame. That's the second thing. And the third thing that makes it a bad job. It's really an average job. It's not even, it's not terrible. It's just an average job is that the boss has unrealistic expectations. And the boss are the fans and the media and the, and the AD and the president.

This is a seven-win program. That's all Nebraska is. They don't have any players in the state. And they don't have like one booster that'll give them anything they, you know, Warren Buffett lives around the corner, but he's got other priorities. It's just not a great job. Scott Frost is a great coach. And I've said this before.

every college football program in 2020 has a number. A realistic number on how many games you should win based on where's your school at? How many players within a 100 mile drive of your campus? What kind of facilities? What is your history? Nebraska now is a 7.5 win program. It's not as good as Michigan in the Big Ten. It's not as good as Wisconsin.

It's not. It's not as good as Ohio State. I mean, those three are just done, done, done. It is Michigan State? although Michigan State's got more elite athletes in their state than Nebraska. It's just like when I read Scott Frost is on the hot seat, are you people, nobody smokes marijuana in Nebraska, so I'm not going to say are you high, but are you out of your gourd?

He's a great coach. It's just, it's no longer a great job. Stuff changes all the time. Stuff. I mean, sports is, think about this. From 1969 to 1997, Nebraska never lost more than three games in a season. from 2004 to last year, 16 straight years of at least four losses. And you've had five coaches.

It's not the coaches. You know, Bo Polini was good enough. Bo Polini could coach. You've had guys that can coach. And it's no shot at Nebraska. It's a nice, I've been there before. Great fan base. But, you know, people just got to come to terms with it.

Notre Dame fans are a little like this, but Notre Dame, you can hang certain things on Notre Dame. Notre Dame has a thing, academics. Wisconsin has a thing. They just develop unbelievable offensive linemen for the NFL. You know, you got to have a thing to hang it on if you have recruiting disadvantages. What's Nebraska's thing? They don't do quarterbacks.

Offensive line? Wisconsin, Ohio State, Notre Dame are better right now. They don't have a thing to hang their hat on. And when you're rural and you're cold and you're not glamorous, what's the thing? They don't only have a thing. They don't have their own TV. network, not a quarterback school. I'm not taking a shot at Nebraska.

It's a very nice place. Just add into the list of places you can't go anymore. Yeah, no, they have Clay Hilton, USC. Now, that is a place that should win 11 games. They have Tom Herman, Texas. They should win 10 games, 10, 11 games. There are jobs that, you know, Tom's got to win. Clay has got a win.

But Scott Frost wins seven and a half this year. Go ahead, fire him. Go ahead. You know, the only reason he took that job because he got to have a bunch of jobs, he went there. That's it. Otherwise, he wouldn't go there. All right.

Michael Pittman's around the corner. Rookie for the Indianapolis Colts, speaking of USC. He'll stop by, talk. He's now a Colt with Philip Rivers. What's he doing? Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHard Radio app.

One thing that hasn't changed this year is how much we depend on cars. Go to CarShield.com. Summer breakdowns happen, and they happen often. Go to carshield.com code herd to save 10%. I said it during the drive. draft. My sleeper in the draft, you know, I like the Indianapolis Colts because I love Chris Ballard. And I think it's a good organization. Their owners are a little impulsive, but it's well run. And I root for the Colts. I just, when I like people, the GMs and the coaches, it's easy for me to root for the team.

And they went. And my favorite player at USC last couple of years is a kid named Michael Pittman. And he walked onto the campus. His dad played in the NFL, so I'd heard of his dad. His dad was tough. And then he went to USC and he was just great as a freshman. Special teams block and punts. and I watched him, and I went to a few practices, and a couple times I'd be sitting next to an NFL scout at USC practice. And the scout would say, you know, what do you make? And I'd be like, you know, his body, he's not, you know, he looks like it'd be a rush end, and the scouts would be like,

no, that kid's going to play in the NFL. He's tough. He's Anquan Bolden, maybe with a little better speed, blah, blah, blah. Well, now the Colts, one of the teams I love, picked him in the second round. Pro Football Focus says of all the wide receivers picked, he has the most perfect situation. And Michael's now joining us, Michael Pittman Jr., via the Coward Global Satellite Network. He's joining us from his brother's bedroom.

How's it going? It's going great. Now, let's start with this. So you're doing Zoom meetings and all that stuff. Have you talked to Philip Rivers yet? Yes, yes. I have talked to Philip Rivers. Actually, I mean, let me close the door real quick.

I'm actually on the car right now. All right, no problem at all. Sorry about that. No, that's okay, but I apologize to my family. I'm a little excited because they see me pop up on TV. Yeah, so I have talked to Phillip Rivers. So we actually had a little three-day mini-camp deal, which actually was great. So I went out to Indy was there for four days total, and I got to practice and get there.

And I think that it was just great. Now, Philip Rivers actually, Michael, loves big receivers. Do you know that? Yes, I do know that. So he told you that. Yeah, well, he didn't say that specifically, but from what I've seen watching him grow up, like that's pretty much his thing right there.

Like he's always had that bigger guy. Yeah. So now you had the USC playbook and now you go to the Colts playbook. So describe to my audience, is the language different? Is it more sophisticated? What's the difference? College to Pro?

playbook? I would say from our air rate, it's way more sophisticated. From our other offense, which was a combo from Sark, T, and Coach Elton. It's somewhere along those same lines because there's so much that goes into it. But you just have to listen for certain play keys, and that tells you what your job is. Yeah. And explain to the audience what a play. play key is. Explain it to the average fan watching. Yeah, so let's say, so they call out protection, they call

out like the snap count, and then they call out a play, and you listen for your tag, so like, it'll be like I'm just going to make something up, like, be like, let's say like 80, green 50

a burrow X go. Be like something like that. And like I just made up a bunch of names and threw Joe Burroughs that's in there. No, I get it. So it's interesting. Your dad's a professional football player, and I think we talked about this before. Your dad

was tough. Your dad was a tough runner. Where, and we've been talking about Patrick Mahomes, his dad played baseball. I think it's a huge advantage when Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., dad play LeBron James kids, are going to have a huge advantage with LeBron, not just the DNA

stuff, but dad's been on the road, he knows the game. What is the one thing about your dad. One or two things you absolutely know have helped you to this point. Yeah. He almost has a crystal ball and he just, I don't know how, but he knows everything before it happens. So he kind of like, yeah, so he kind of just like, I say like, prepares me for it. And then it happens so I can move quickly. And then just watching him work knowing what it takes. So I feel like that gave me the biggest advantage above other players that don't have that.

Are you worried that we didn't have OTAs? Preseason could be, you know, they could cut it down to two games or no games. Are you a little concerned that this COVID situation could really limit? your reps? It's kind of good and bad. It's bad in the way that we won't get those reps. But I think that we'll have plenty of time. I mean, staying after getting those, like,

getting those extra reps is like really like going to count. But I think it helps in the way where us rookies, we get a break to rest our bodies versus, versus past classes where they didn't get that break and they kind of like burn out. Like I feel like we won't have that as much. You know, so you go in Pac-12 football and every guy you line up against, almost everyone in college, you're better then. Now you go to the NFL where you may get a nine-year cornerback veteran and he's watched

all your film and he looks at you and he's like, oh, what a kid. It's a baby. I'm going to work this guy like nothing. When you went to your three-day camp, just take me through the experience of facing men. These aren't college guys. Absolutely. So at first, I didn't know what to expect,

but after like the first, like, three or four plays, I felt like I could play. I mean, I felt like I felt like I was good. Like, I felt like I belong there. But there was one player, Xavier Rhodes. my first rep on him absolutely strapped me and like I was like whoa hold up so I had to keep on like so I had to go back to the drawing boards and come back the next day and I felt like I actually did decent so well Xavier's been around the block Michael yeah that guy is an animal yeah he's been around the boy tough guy he's been around a long time so So now listen, USC, they got this freshman quarterback, and he's, I can't believe, like he was like a no star guy. I didn't even see his film, Slovis, and he plays, and the guy's ridiculous.

And I'm thinking to myself, so a lot of people are saying he has a chance to win the Heisman this year, Kavon Slovis. So be honest, you didn't know much. He wasn't a big star recruit. When he got to USC and the first couple practices, he's not a huge guy. Were you like, who is this guy? That's exactly what all of us thought. Like, we were like, who is this kid that came from,

that came from Arizona to like try and take JT's spot? Like, like, we just didn't ever see it happening. But that's the great thing about football is it creates opportunities for people. And he did. And basically what he, did is he took his and he just made the most out of it. I mean, like the absolute most, because nobody ever thought that he was going to be the player that he is now. By the way, you're a big strong kid. Quentin Nelson is a guard for the Colts. He's the best guard in football.

You could make an argument. He is the best offensive lineman in football. So I'm not sure if he was at that camp. And if he was, did you see the strength? Did you see Quentin Nelson? So I didn't see him at the camp because it was a skill camp. But I've seen him before because Notre Dame, USC, and we always like, we always like game planned him. So I very well know what he is capable of. Yeah, he is really good. Okay, well, good luck to you. You're a great story.

I don't know your dad personally, but as you said, dad always knows. what's going to happen before it happens. And I'm sure he loves it. Dad's love hearing that, by the way. That's the best thing you could ever say about a dad that we know everything. Michael Pittman Jr. Colts, good talking you, buddy. Thank you. I appreciate you. All right. Can't wait to watch him play. You know, they got Jonathan Taylor, who is also

the Wisconsin running back, who we had on the show, who I loved. You loved their drafts. Oh, my God. I thought they got two guys at the top of the second round. You know, it's funny. I had a GM call me. A really good GM on the East Coast. He's like, we wanted both of those guys. The GMs were like, they got too great. Those rookies will, again, this is a tough year for rookies.

But those are Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman, walk in. Your team is better. I remember thinking when they took Michael, like, oh, man. This is Colin's dream. It is. You got Michael USC going to the cults that you love. It's like perfect. I think it is, I love well-run organizations.

I can never watch the show. Remember the show intervention? Yeah. where somebody's life unravels, I can't watch it. I can't watch Inefficiency, awkward. Like, it just, I can't get it. I just love, it doesn't matter.

Philadelphia's well run. I'm into it. Culture well run. I'm into it. Like, I just like well, New England. I'm fascinated by the architecture of the sport. Nothing's worse than watching a poorly coached football team. It's frustrating.

It drives me nuts. Well, it's interesting because it's impossible. to really evaluate what their potential is because they're being undermined by things that are outside of the player's control. I mean, Sam Darnold gets to the Jets. Their general manager, not this draft, the previous draft, was so bad that outside of the first pick, I was getting texts from scouting directors. They're like, this is the worst draft I've ever seen.

They were taking physical risks, mental risks, kind of guys that didn't play hard in college. And it was like, you're building a culture. You're just taking huge gambles. And the guys didn't, none of them, you know, panned out. So it's like, so it's like with Sam Darnall, I'm like, I watch him, but I feel so bad for him. I feel, I actually feel bad for Baker Mayfield. He's on his third coach. Yeah. I mean, if you, if they just simply don't have the players, then you can look at that from an objective standpoint of like, okay, they need more players. Like Miami, right? Just didn't have enough talent. Okay, but I loved watching them last year because they were well run. well-run and they're establishing a culture.

So if you just don't have the talent, you can evaluate that and discuss that and see the potential of that. But if the organization itself is completely dysfunctional, then not only they're not going to have the talent, but then whatever talent's there can't develop. Yeah, like, I thought Miami was a great watch last year. We talked about this when they were getting crushed. We're like, they're actually getting, they're playing hard. They're playing hard. They're in games. They change at halftime.

Like, you can see, you can lose football games and really be a fascinating team to watch. And then you can have all sorts of. talent and be a hot mess. And, you know, I just, bad football. I'm not one of these. I'll watch any football. Bad football wears me out. Joy with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Speaking of football, the other football, sports are officially back. I watched last night. I watched about 45 minutes of it, yep. So the MLS tournament kicked off last night with Orlando City and Inter Miami, facing off in the opener.

Man, that looked hot. I was like, ooh, they sweat. It is hot in Florida right now. But not going to be outside playing soccer there. But Miami got on the board first with a goal in the 47th minute. And then Orlando came back to tie in the 70th minute. And then got the 2 to 1 win with a goal from Nani in the stoppage time. They had a really scary moment.

Miami's Andre Reyes had to be taken to the hospital after a scary collision. Yeah. Caused some difficulty breathing. And he was released in the hospital last night. The team said he's doing well. He's in isolation pending COVID test because he had to leave the bubble. But play continued this morning with New York City FC in Philadelphia Union. Union 1-1-0.

And Dallas and Nashville, obviously, are not participating in the tournament. But we are excited to have some sports back. It was a nice fun watch last night. And I did not notice that there weren't fans there. It just didn't seem to affect it for me. Soccer, I don't care. Soccer is, I got golf, NASCAR soccer, UFC. I don't need fans.

Now, in person, different situation. Because obviously you are your season ticket holder. for LAFC. And in person, that is an incredible experience. But for the, for the viewer purposes on television, it doesn't bother me at all. It doesn't affect it at all. So you can catch the MLS. It's back tournament live on Fox and FS1.

First at 8 Eastern Atlanta, United FC battles the New York Red Bulls on Fox. Then FC Cincinnati takes on the Columbus crew at 1030 on FS1 on Saturday. So Derek Henry signed his first franchise tag with the Titans to play the 2020 season with the salary of just over. over 10 million. Two sides. I'm working on a long-term deal. But according to Terry McCormick of Titansinsider.com, no deal is on the verge of happening

before the deadline next week. You didn't even look like other running back. He's so big. This is kind of disappointing to me that they worked the deal out with Ryan Tannahill before Derek Henry. Like, Derek Henry deserve the deal. There's not a lot of kids.

Like, I understand it's the quarterback, but it's Ryan Tannahill. In this situation, Derek Henry is the reason why you were there. I feel like you owe him. Well, not even that. I think he is the culture. Right.

He's the face of that team and the culture of that team. Mike Rable and Derek Henry are tough guys. It's a tough guy culture. It's not a flashy culture. It's kind of the opposite of Kansas City, which is a lot of fireworks shows. You're not going to beat Mahomes. You're not going to out-firework show him.

So Tennessee really has to take care of their biggest, strongest, most physical players. That is what they are. And Derek Henry, to me, Zeke and Derek Henry really embody what the franchise is. I don't think of the Cowboys' Offense's DAC. I think it really is Zeke. When Zeke's running and getting 24 carries, that's Dallas's offense.

Yes. And then Dex throwing on play action. Exactly. And that's exactly what the Titans are and why they were successful last year. So anyway, Patrick Mahomes will have the next 12 years live up to the huge contract extension from the Sheets this week. And Randy Moss thinks Mahomes could do more than just prove he is worth the money. He thinks that he may end up being the greatest quarterback of all time. He said when you look at a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes and being able to extend the play,

we possibly could be looking at the greatest quarterback. quarterback of all time. No disrespect to Tom Brady. His Super Bowl ring speak volumes. But when you look at the position and how the position in the game is changing year after year, we could possibly be seeing the greatest quarterback that we've witnessed. If I told you Peyton Manning was super mobile, you'd be like, oh, he's got everything, the brain, the arm, and mobile. Even the great quarterbacks, there's a there's a thing they don't have. Brady's not an athlete. You can't move the pocket. He can't extend the play. Aaron Rogers. by the way, is not classically big.

He's about six, two. He went to a junior college. The biggest schools didn't pay attention. Everybody's got a little thing. Patrick's got everything. The brain, the maturity, the arm, the size, the mobility. It just doesn't work that way. There's almost, even for the greats of all time,

there's Peyton Manning, not much of an athlete. If you'd have made Peyton Manning athletic, that's Mahomes. Well, yeah, so if we're talking about just overall the athletes, the overall best quarterback, skill, everything that you just mentioned, yes. It's going to be difficult to convince anyone that Tom Brady isn't the greatest quarterback of all time because he went to nine Super Bowls and won six of them. Right.

Which is just incredible. But I do think this is a kid that wins three. I don't think he has to win as many because I think we all get he's just more talented. He's kind of, he may end up being like the LeBron MJ debate to Tom Brady. I would say. Where we know that LeBron is never, well, LeBron cannot at this point go six and O in the finals, but he's probably not going to win six championships, so he's not going to match Michael in that space or MVP's for other reasons.

But there's just going to be some people that just feel like LeBron is the greatest, and then people who believe MJ is the greatest. That may end up being the debate with Mahomes and Brady. Yeah, I don't think you're wrong about that at all. Joy of the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lie News.

So this thing happened on the internet. the staff here was, you know, they spend all day on the internet and there's a thing going out there. Explain the greatest sports moment you've ever seen and make it as boring as possible. And I saw it this morning. It's funny. And so, you know, whatever the greatest sports moment, like let's say, I'm not even going to make one up. Let's say, no, I can't make one up. That's how hard it is to do it. So the staff will explain as boring as they can, all-time great sports moments.

And I have to guess what they're talking about. That's coming up. Did you know right now, GEICO is offering an extra 15% credit and car motorcycle and RV policies? That's on top of what you already save. But you've got to join by October 7th. Go to Geico.com to learn more. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app.

Whether you're working from home, working on your fitness, jogging, whatever, Raycon's wireless earbuds, discreet, stylish, six hours of playtime, go to buyrakan.com slash herd for 15% off. All right, the latest social media trend is describe your favorite sports moment as boring as possible. And it's all over Twitter, right? So Joy is going to, as boring as possible, explain a great top 12 sports. moment and I have to guess the moment based on her incredibly boring description.

Okay. Are we ready to go here, everybody? Do we have boring music? Do we have boring music? Okay. Ohio man relocates to Florida for work. That's the decision. LeBron Go on.

Correct. All right. Substitute employee does special task. Okay. Hold on. Okay. There's a fill in doing something. Who is about?

Backup. Substitute employee does a special. Is it obvious? It must be obvious. It's really not very obvious, actually. Substitute employee. It's a team you like a lot. I don't know the answer. Philly special. That was kind of hard. Worker gets job done despite late snack the night before. Michael Jordan against the jazz. Blue game. Yes. I'm very.

proud of myself. I'm still not sure what happened. There's a lot of talk about it. Yeah, I mean, maybe maybe in like a decade or so. We had the guy on. Yeah. I know. I know. We did.

But it was kind of like. I don't know. It's like he went, he kind of went against what Tim Grover said. So. Yeah. I don't know. It's like the DB Cooper of sports. I think I know, but I'm not sure. Yeah. Cat wears jacket for first time in a while.

Tiger winning the Masters. Very good. Yeah. Cat. Very good. I feel like a cat wearing a jacket is not boring. That's actually kind of interesting. Yeah, that's kind of fun. I got to tell you something. That win, I got emotional.

Oh, I cried. That's one of my favorite sports moments of my life. It was great. I loved it. That was one of my, that's better. Of all Tigers wins, that's my favorite. It didn't have to happen that way. You know, that's a whole other conversation.

Relationships are hard. I mean, it's just none of our business. Butler denies guests from entering house. Oh, that's Malcolm Butler Interception Against the Tehawks. Yeah. Butler denies guests from entering house. These are very clever. That was a, I mean.

Oh, my God. Talk about the world changed on one. You know, I'll still argue this. It wasn't a terrible pass. It was a great defensive play. It was a better defensive play, yes. That it was an offensive play. But it wasn't a terrible.

And he was prepared for it. God. It wasn't an accident. You ever heard the story of that the way that Malcolm Butler says, I watched his right. foot. And the minute he dug it in, I knew what the play was. He was prepared the whole game, four hours. Boom, he's ready for it. Luck favors the prepared. Baby bears end long hibernation. Cubs win the World Series against the Indians, game seven. That was a great. That's the best

baseball game I've seen in 10 years. It was a fun moment, too. Cubs are one of those teams, like, even if you're not a Cubs fan, like you could appreciate that. Like a lot of losers are just losers. Everybody like the Cubs. Yeah, but they're not, that's not that organization. Yeah, they're fun. Yes. They played day games and drank a lot and watch the game from roofs. Yeah.

Little brother runs away and completes pass for first down. Little brother runs away and completes pass for first down. Eli David Tyree. Yep. Very good. That is one of my favorite all-time sports moments. It was a wonderful play. Should have been offensive.

It was very, that's one of the most important plays of my sports life, because it was unacceptable for the Patriots to have an undefeated season. And Eli Manning did the city of Miami a solid. I remember that in Phoenix. I got sick as hell when I came back from that Super Bowl. Welcome any time in Miami, Eli. Thank you for that.

Conspiracy theorists, unties game. Conspiracy. Conspiracy theorists unties game. conspiracy theory. Oh, Kyrie Irvin shot against the Warriors. Yep.

That's a biggest shot of his life, yeah. That was a great, great. It was the second biggest shot of LeBron's life. All right. All right. Ray Allen's first. Look at that, look at that still picture. Yeah, it's always, you know,

the steel pictures really capture the intensity and difficulty of those moments. Yeah. Like, it couldn't be better defense. and just a great shot. Flock of birds choke. What birds travel in a flock? Flock of birds choke. Hold on, hold on, hold on one.

Falcons lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl? Yep. Wow, I'm way better at this than I thought. You are. I thought I was going to struggle with this. You've only gotten one wrong so far, which is a Philly Special, which I thought was really difficult, actually.

Ball bounces four times. Robot shows emotion. Oh, Kauai Leonard Sixers. That was great. Another great still shot. Unbelievable shot by Kauai. That's the shot of the year. Yeah.

Defensive pass interference declined TD Giants. That's too obvious. I don't understand that. Defensive pass interference declined. Touchdown giants. I don't know. I don't understand that. O'Dell catch.

The O'Dell Catch. That was defensive pass interference? I actually didn't remember that either. I didn't know that. Yeah, that's how bad a defense it was. I remember Collinsworth and Al Michaels. All right. Last one.

Co-workers collide in awkward area. Hell if I know. Co-workers collide in awkward area. But fumble. That is funny. We'll see you tomorrow. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

And nobody's telling you. you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your On the Look Back at it podcast. In 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to Look Back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your Podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.

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