The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Nick Wright: Can OKC Become A Dynasty? Caitlin Clark’s “Supernova” Fame, Are The Chiefs “America’s Team”?

Episode Date: May 28, 2025

Colin is joined by Nick Wright, host of “First Things First”! They begin by discussing that hyperathletic stars rarely win titles and why that bodes better for SGA than Ant in the playoffs (4:00). Colin explains that NIL has fortified college hoops and infused the sport with overseas talent, and argues that OKC should use rather than trade their treasure trove of draft picks (11:00)… but Nick offers a word of caution about OKC becoming a dynasty (14:45).  They try to identify how many NBA players are more famous than Caitlin Clark, and it’s a short list…and Nick argues that die hard WNBA fans are confusing the popularity discussion with “best player” discussion… and Clark’s skill hasn’t lapped her popularity (24:00). Sticking with the fame discussion, they pivot to Baker Mayfield being far less popular and famous relative to the level of football he’s been playing (32:00). They discuss several “enigma” quarterbacks, where they can’t decide whether they’re great or not…including Jordan Love, CJ Stroud and Justin Herbert (35:00). They highlight several “what-if” moments in NFL history and wonder if Herbert will be able to shake off his terrible playoff performances in the future (46:00).  They dive into how best to parse individual success in team sports, and debate whether USC removing the Notre Dame game from their schedule is worth breaking their longstanding rivalry and tradition (58:30).  Finally, they debate whether the Chiefs have replaced the Cowboys to become “America’s Team” (1:18:00), and Nick explains his experience “parachuting” into the world of professional poker (1:30:00).  (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying. You just understood.

That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis'clock, he's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is, getting a new one put up in its place. I'm Akila Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 is about both of those things. As I was watching these statues come down, I was thinking about what it meant that I grew up in a majority black city in which there were more homages to enslavers than there were to enslave people. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The NBA playoffs are heating up, but if you want to catch the action in person, and I know you do and I do, go to game time. They make getting tickets faster and easier even for hard to get playoff tickets.

Prices on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets the tip off. So last minute deals, killer, all in prices, of views from your seat. lowest price is guaranteed. Game time is great. It takes the guesswork out of buying professional basketball playoff tickets. And you don't want to go there guessing. They have zone deals. You can save even more when you choose a section. Let game time choose the seats. And with game time ticket coverage, your price is covered with the most flexible customer service policy in the entire ticketing industry. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with game time. Download the game time app. Create an account. The code is Colin for 20 bucks off your first. purchase. Terms apply. Again, create the account, the redeem code C-O-L-I-N, 20 bucks off, download the GameTime app today. Last minute, tickets, lowest prices guaranteed. All right, Nick Wright, we get them about once every three or four weeks, and I always love it. So, you know, on television, I got about 12 minutes, and I can't, you know, extrapolate.

You know, I can't go into too much detail. But I was thinking about this today when I was taking the train home, which, yeah, I do now take the train home every day. Yeah, I do. Wow. Good for you, buddy. One of the people. Yeah, man of the people. It's what everyone's always said about you. So there's a knock on SGA, and I've said this. He's not a lot of fun to watch. But it's interesting. I went back to like George Miken. And if you go back, take LeBron, Michael, Jordan, and Kobe out. They are hyper athletic. They are among NBA players insane. And what I'm going to mention to you are the leaders of dynasties.

and the leaders of champions, George Mikan, Haveltschekuze, Moses Malone, Dumars Isaiah, Isaiah, Akeem, Bird McAil, Magic Karim, Duncan Tony Parker, Steph Draman, Yokich Murray, SGA, Dirk, Luca, separately, Katie Hardin, Bill Walton, Rick Berry, Wes Unselled, Gus Williams. You start going from the 60s on. It is remarkable how often the hyper-outher,

athletic player, the Sean Kemp, the Drexler, the Neek, doesn't win titles. We are fascinated with them, but it's the foundational player. It's the player that gives you 28 and plays on both ends. And so I think the league's history doesn't favor Ant. It favors SGA, who is a, I said this today. SGA averages 33 a night because he scores 33 a night. Ant average is 25. Andt because he scores 39 and then 19. And when there's a consistency with SGA for sure. And Duncan and Hevelcheck and Akeem. Now, again, LeBron Kobe, MJ, take them off the board.

But most of our great dynasties and teams have been about really great coaching. And at times kind of a boring, efficient. I mean, isn't Jason Tatum? Closer to SGA than Ant? Is he not? No, Tatum might be, but I'm going to push back here because you, I don't think intentionally, but you left out Bill Russell, who won 11, and while he wasn't flashy, was either the best or the second best athlete of his era. And when I say best or second, well, he was second best because Wilts Chamberlain was there. Now, he only won two.

you did not include Dr. Jay, who only won one in the NBA, but dominated in the ABA. And then, of course, there is the 10 between Michael and LeBron that are like, so, and it's, there's 10 right there. I think that aunt is being, so here's, here's, I think, an odd take. but I believe it to be true. I think to the audience, Ant and SGA feel like they're the same age, even though SGA is almost four years old. That's right.

Because it feels like they have both, they have both been on like fringe contender to wait, legitimate contender to wait real expectations, the same amount of time. So the fact that Ant 23 and SGA soon will be 27, we, like, people are shocked when they know, like, SGA, older than Luca. Like, that doesn't feel right because Luca was a prominent star immediately. So I think there is a little too much and maybe aunt skepticism right now because he hasn't now in back-to-back conference finals come through.

But he's, it was a testament to him that they got to these conference finals. and at 23, SGA wasn't anything close to an MVP candidate himself. You know what he is? He's Lamar Jackson, the first couple of years before Lamar, like Mahomes admitted in year three, okay, I'm good on the pre-snap stuff now. At one point, you're just being an athlete. Sure. And then Mahomes goes, yeah, middle of year three, it slowed down and I could see stuff before it happened. But it, and Mahomes is cognitively really quick.

And Russell Wilson admits and Brady admits. and that Ant is sort of the great young athlete quarterback. Now, Jaden Daniels is total outlier. It's like he's got it down now. But it's like, Ant's the quarterback like, man, wait until he's great pre-snap. Wait until I know what I'm doing. That's right. Wait until I actually know what I'm doing.

And so, no, and listen, Anne obviously also has some maturing to do, I think on and off the court. But he's 23. And I think Shea is, you know, kind of. wise beyond his youth, the way he talks and the way. So here is, I thought Shea was very clearly league's MVP this year. I, until the Lakers traded for Luca, I thought pretty clearly all year, Oklahoma City was the best team. Once the Lakers traded for Luca, I thought they could beat them. But I, the moment the Lakers got knocked out, I said, I thought Oklahoma City was going to win it.

And in my opinion, game four against the Timberles, they won the championship. Like, I think that, I think this NBA season, I'm still excited for it, but the deciding event has happened. I think the thunder are going to win the title. The SGA stuff that where people push back is, it feels like some of the flopping about and foul stuff is unnecessary. and it's just something guys have, we have seen other MVP's

Embed and most notably Harden do this stuff. Nobody ever likes that. Like that's not picking on SGA. That is, it's something people don't like. And people come back to me with, well, Nick, you love Luca. Luca does not flop.

Luca whines. Luca, if he gets a call, he's angry, he didn't get it sooner. If he doesn't get a call, he's furious. But he is trying to finish through. contact. Shea is being a little cagier. He almost never whines, but he doesn't need to because he's getting the calls. But listen, he is a great, great player, and they're going to win 84 games this year, maybe lose less than 20, and he's going to average north of 30 throughout. It's an all-time great season.

Yeah, and I think the other thing, I don't know if I told you this. I may have told Danny Parkins this. The advantage Oklahoma City has accumulating all these draft picks. So I've always been a believer in baseball and NBA, just give away draft picks. It's the opposite in football because you're getting a 24-year-old and you can get 50 to 60 percent that hit. And some hit immediately and they're grown men and their Jamar Chase and they're the second best receiver in the league within a year. And it's a hard cap and you need cheap players. Yeah. And so you get guys that come in and not only are good, Quentin Nelson, Guard Colts, was like, Oh, is he the second best guard at 24?

It doesn't work that way in baseball. Even Bryce Harper goes to the minors. So, you know, when I look at these draft picks, here's an advantage. I'd be very reticent, very reluctant if I was OKC to move off this group. Not only are they good. But what is happening with NIL, players like Zach Eady are like, you must stay another year. European players now.

Illinois is going to have five European. starters. The Spanish leagues that have most of the talent are thinking of shuddering. American colleges now, NIL, are buying the best European players. What does that mean? College basketball has been fortified over the last two years. The quality of Florida playing Houston, you're like, oh, there's seven NBA guys on these teams. The Yukon team two years ago, like, they had two guys make the all-NBA top two, three teams. Zach Edie, like, comes in. He's really dominant. We went through a 20-year stretch of college basketball where Doug McDermott won college player of the year and is the ninth best player on a good team's roster. Garza, you know,

it was a Luca Garza, Tyler Hansborough. We are now moving back because players are, first of all, not going to the G-League as often, staying in college and now they're poaching European players, those draft picks now, there can be a much higher percentage of them that hit and can play early. Well, so here's the other thing where they do. So if you dive into Oklahoma City's pick bounty and it is a ton of picks, when you look at it, none of them really project out to be top five picks. But it's going to be a lot of like they got the ninth, they got the 14th, they got the 17th.

all that stuff. Here's, and they already did this once with this guy, I don't know anything about, but his name is Toppich, who stayed in Europe. They drafted him a year or two ago, and he should come over next year. What they will be able to do is draft international guys who say, hey, you can draft me, but I'm not coming over for a couple years. And I think they will be totally fine with that because they don't have enough space on their roster right now. They don't need guys to come in and play immediately. And the point you're making is they can, instead of drafting the 19-year-old who people hope in four years is going to be really good, they might take more of the approach of,

we're going to draft the senior who can give us eight minutes a night in year one. And that's useful. And listen, Presti's done a great job drafting. Where I would caution everyone is... Of the last five NBA champions, four of them, the moment they were winning the championship, we were all pretty convinced they were going to win a bunch. And none of them have even made round three. The Lakers, when they won in the bubble, who's like, well, LeBron's still the best player in the world.

Anthony Davis has got to a next level. How are they? I guess the Lakers have gone. Denver, Boston. but that right so exactly Milwaukee the next year holy shit Janus put it all together they traded for holiday they're obviously

going to be dominant they haven't been back to round three golden state was different because Golden State we looked at it as the end of a run like they already had their championships certainly Denver we were like okay it's the Yoko Jira

all year people thought well Boston's the best team and now I can see it happening again with O'KKKeyer where people are going to be like, who's going to stop them? What is, what is remarkable is that OKC has gotten back to this point. Last night, or the game four, Shea, J. Dub, and Chet combined for 95 points, Colin. 94 was the high watermark for Katie, Russ, and Hardin together.

And, you know, that team was there, I think Katie was. better than Shea. But those guys their big three was super. Those guys now in the rear view mirror are really flawed. Like Hardin and Westbrook need the ball. Like Holmgren doesn't. It doesn't fit as well.

Yeah. No, these three guys fit together better. Those three guys are a higher talent. But if we like that team, when they were all 23 or younger, made the finals, one game one of those finals against LeBron heat. They were favorites going into the finals, big favorites after game one, and that franchise

has not been in the finals again since. It has not won another finals game. Now I think they're going to win the championship. I just, you know, I would pump the brakes on anyone saying this is, you know, that this is about to be the Oklahoma City era. I just feel like we feel in the moment right after an NBA team wins a title, we're always like, well, they're just going to keep winning titles, that's not what the last decade has been. Well, Holmgren could get hurt. At some point, Jalen Williams will want to get paid. You're not going to keep...

Well, that's the... The problem is the getting paid. The problem is Oklahoma City, which has never paid the luxury tax. They're about to have to pay Shea a million dollars a game. Like, that's what it's coming. And so that, but right now in the moment, it's an all... They won 68 games, and I don't think they're... I think the last adversity they're going to face for the season, they faced in game four and they came through. The NBA finals are almost here, and every play could be the one that changes everything.

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300 bucks in bonus bets if a $5 bet wins, only on Draft Kings. The crown is yours. problem, call 1-800 gambler. In New York, call 8778-8-Hopen-Y or text Hope & Why at 467369. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling called 888-789-77 or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boothill Casinoin Resort in Kansas, 21 and over, agent eligibility varies by jurisdiction, void in Ontario. Bet must win to receive reward. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.com slash audio. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news.

What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it.

And we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself.

I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen Chinchin win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerner Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now and I actually can win on any surface.

Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Now it's time for Power Players, brought to you by BMW,

the ultimate driving machine. I love mine. This week, it's SGA. Electric play is leading the thunder to a 3-1 lead over the T-Wolves in game four. He had 40 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds. He does everything. OKC is one win from its first final appearance in 13 years. So what is it that sets apart these power players from the rest? Bottom line, it's their attention to detail, innovative playing styles, relentless drive for performing at the highest level. The same goes for my BMW IX. Everything you love about the ultimate driving machine, electrified. This is something I thought about years and years ago. This may have been 15 years ago. Sports fans, I think, are more savvy today than ever. And a lot of it's just because of the explosion of social media and you can learn things just watching TikTok. I mean, I use the TikTok store every day. And by the way, it's never let me down. I buy power bars. I buy workout gear. It's never let me down. The TikTok store is completely undervalued. I think, that's amazing. Yeah, the first time I used it, I'm like, uh, sketchy, I'm probably getting robbed.

It's $24. It's fantastic. Everything I buy in the TikTok store is amazing. That's not an ad. I just, I bought power bars today. So, but I was thinking years ago, I did a topic where I said, this is when I would take calls. I was only doing a radio show.

I said, you guys don't understand. Madonna was in her prime. I said, is much more well known than Derek Jeter in his prime. It's not close. One's a global star. I got 30 calls in a row. No way. Derek, I'm like, Derek, the brand of the Yankees is bigger than Derek Cheater.

Like Derek Cheater's not the, if he played in Kansas City, he'd just be an all star. Sports fans, they struggle sometimes with, like, recognizing that nobody knows who Jalen Hertz is out of America unless you're a sports fan. Your sister who doesn't love sports doesn't know who Jalen Hertz is, even after the Super Bowl. She's heard of maybe the tush push, but that's about it. And I was thinking about this. How many NBA players, and I know Caitlin Clark is an athlete, but how much, she's like beyond that now.

She kind of transcends sports. She's like, it's racial, it's political, it's polarizing, it's, it's a lot of things. How many NBA players are more famous than Caitlin Clark? LeBron Steph, absolutely. Is Cade? Maybe Duran. That's what I put. I said, I wrote down.

KD, maybe. In one year, out of women's basketball for a horrible team when she arrived, outside of LeBron and Steph, she is the most well-known basketball player currently playing in the United States. Oh, yes. And I don't think that's close. Like, I think I might have said this to you last year that I thought the most famous basketball player under 30 was Caitlin Clark.

And it's like you said, I don't think it's particularly close. Like when the, she is demonstrably and inarguably more famous than all of this generation's NBA stars. She just is. LeBron is, I don't know, probably one of the 20 most famous people in the world. world. At a secondary level, there is Steph, and at a far different level, there is Durant. And the next basketball person, like active basketball person, is Caitlin Clark. Like the, it's, I don't even, I don't think that's a hot take. I don't think that's controversial. I think that's just obvious. And I think that it is awesome for the sport.

and I think that it is awesome for sports fans. And it is what I think some people need to be okay. Like this is apples and oranges, but not exactly. And this is not a fair comparison, but just the audience is smart. They'll figure it out. I think it's probable that Lanzo, I'm sorry, that Lamello ball is more famous than Tyrese Hallibald. Oh, he is.

No one with a brain thinks he's better than Tyrese Hall. But he is more famous. Now, you agree. So I think sometimes, like, diehard WMBA or women's basketball fans conflate the discussion about fame and popularity with a ranking of players quality. Now, Caitlin Clark is, to me, I mean, she was first team all WMBA last year. She has a legitimate argument that she's a top. top five player in the league, and before this injury, probably was going to make a real case

to win league MVP this year. But if someone's like, hey, I watch, I have WMBA League pass, I watch the whole league I have for years, I think she is currently the seventh best player in the league. I'd listen to him. Like, okay, maybe, like, you know, Brianna Stewart, Asia Wilson, like, whomever. But that's not the discussion. Right. Now, it is also important that your fame not lap your ability.

Again, not to like, I'm just thinking because we're talking women in sports, an example of that to me would be like, this would make me feel old, but on a corner coat. Right. Remember, so she was at a time the most famous women's tennis player, and I think she was during a lot of that time, not one of the 20 best. She, you know, her, she was more famous, far more famous than, she was successful. But it's quite often that your fame lags your ability, as I think happens

to Nikola Yogic, you know, as an example. And it is also often that your fame, you know, is a few steps ahead of your ability when it is a supernova moment is when your fame, when you are the most famous and you're the best. Like that happened, that was. LeBron. with the NBA, obviously Jordan, Kobe, you know, at least was close to the best, if not the best for a brief period. And it's what I is going to happen, I believe, with Caitlin Clark. Because I do think she will have a period where she is clearly the best player in the league. And again, it could happen sooner than later.

But it's, it is so great for the sport because it, she is someone that people, show up to the party because of her, and where I give the evolution of the WMBA and women's basketball credit is, I think people show up to the party, whether it was for the women's NCAA tournament or the WMBA, and they're like, oh, this party's pretty good.

I like it. There's a level of physicality in this sport that isn't necessarily in the NBA anymore. Oh, it's always been chippier because they're not vertical, so they're banging into each other. It's a very physical league. Exactly right. And so I think that if you have a good product and your biggest hurdle is getting people to sample the product, she's a godsend. There's no denying it. And again, there's obviously there's a lot of complicated components to it.

But just because something has complicated components doesn't mean every discussion about it has to be complicated. And you know, you can just be like, she is a supernova, fame, a level of fame with one-of-a-kind talent. And it is game-changing for the entire league. And also she had a rivalry with a star college player in college, so we have a visceral connection, which college basketball no longer gives you. It's what college football gives you all the time, where, you know, J.J. McCarthy, you're like, oh, I mean, you see all these buck eyes in Michigan Wolverines. when I think J.J. McCarthy, I think Michigan. I don't think pro football player. I want to go to Baker Mayfield. I thought you had an interesting, somebody once in the last year asked Baker Mayfield about me and blah, blah, blah, blah. And he said, well, we're frenemies. And I think Baker knows I like him and respect him. And he's always been nice to me. He said nice things publicly. You had to take the other day that he's actually, he was over discussed when he was in Cleveland. He's now underdiscust. And it's funny because I think Baker's better than DAC. He's better than Tua. He's better than Gino, he's better than Aaron, he's better than Russell, he's better than cousins. I think he and Darnold are very similar that they can be mistake prone, but they can plan it and they're

real players. He's been 40 touchdowns last year. He's been really good. Yeah, no, Baker is a prime example. You see this a lot in the NBA, where a guy comes in and just needs the mature, Aunt Edwards. In the NFL, generally, maturity's not the issue. It's you either have it or you don't. Baker was the rare, a lot of testosterone, a lot of confidence, and I felt like, can somebody turn the governor down just a little? He was Johnny Mansell, but more likable and with actual talent. He could really throw a football. But I think Baker is the rare NFL player and quarterback. You're like, one of the talents inarguable.

He's just got to turn the governor down. Cleveland was not built for Baker. you go to a great GM, a talented roster in Tampa, which is, by the way, below the radar. It's in the NFC South, which is a low-profile division. Baker now is absolutely under-discussed. He is a really good NFL quarterback. I don't think that's disputable. I think it's hard to make a top 10 and not include him.

And then when you add to the fact that he makes around 60% of what the other guys in that top 10 make. His value is massive. For a guy who dealt with injuries during in this time in Cleveland, he's incredibly durable. His teammates love him. And he now has back to back years of really high productivity. A playoff quarterback win the division. Again, 40 touchdowns last year. And so, yeah, I think that there what, because he's, was talked about so much when he wasn't yet that good. I think people

got, I don't know if numbs the right word, but they were just kind of got over him. And now that he is, I think, really good. People are just like, okay, yeah, that's Baker. Like, he's a, people I think boxed him in. He's a

good story. And that is true. But he's more than that at this point. At this point, like, do I, this is, you know, a third rail for some. Do I think he's better than Brock Bertie? So what? Would I rather have, like, and so you said Dak Prescott, I think that's close.

I think that there is, there are a lot of quarterbacks that, like, I'll give you a great example. Now this guy's young and we'll see, but he makes a lot of money. I think he's pretty clearly better than Jordan Love. and I think that Jordan Love is discussed like he is... I have to see about... It's interesting. So I was really not anti-Jordan Love,

but I said for two years, there is more footage of Bigfoot than Jordan Love. They're hiding him for a reason. Then he came out and he was kind of sensational. And I really bought into him. And then it's as if the league defensive coordinators got all this footage and they found holes. And at the end of last year, you're like,

oh, people have caught on to him. This is, now it would be a sophomore slump for anybody else, but he was like in his fourth year. And so I want to see him. So now it's like an NBA playoff series. Like you get worked, then you change things. And there's stages and coaching, you know, adaptations to a playoff series. Sure. Adjustment.

Yeah. So now I've seen Jordan shock the league. Now I've seen people react and he struggles. now I want to see his next hand with Matt LaFleur. That's why they drafted to meet a receiver in the first round because they're like, listen, he may need a little more help than we think here. So I'm not sure Baker's better. I think Jordan's got a hell of a whip and he's a really good athlete.

But he's one of the last quarterbacks in this league, Jordan Love. I'm not sure. I know who's bad. I know who's good. I know who's pretty good. Jordan Love is the last. I'm not really sure what he is in the league to me. I'm going to throw another guy that I'm not.

I think this guy's really good, but I'm going to put the not sure, and that's C.J. I think that I think C.J. is really good. It is, there are some, I think it is hard in the modern NFL to be really good if you hate running. You don't, you know what I mean? And now, like, I'm sure. CJ, especially because he's black quarterback, like, was probably felt pressure, like,

to prove to everyone. Like, I'm, I'm not, you know what I mean? I'm not a running back with the, that all's playing the position. I'm a true prototypical pocket passer. The problem with that is that position, it's not extinct, but it is on the, the just,

the Matt Stafford, Jared Gough, Joe Burrow style is, it's just a hard way to make a living. and it doesn't mean you have to be, you know, one read and then take off and run, but it's a nice pitch to have, particularly come the playoffs. And I thought CJ in the playoffs last year actually went to it a little more. And so that was a good sign. Yeah.

But I just want to see a little more from him. But yeah, I think in general, we usually know who these guys are. And then there are guys who, like, this is the thing that I would say, about guys like Darnold or Gino. I don't think Darnold's a weird one for you because you always saw this really good player. But I think people that said,

like, those guys were not good, potentially were correct. And then those guys through hard work and maturation and learning and getting older got good. Like I, you know what I? And so like the, I think that a guy, like Gino, I think Gino was probably, rightfully, of, you know, lower tier backup early. And then worked his ass off, got better, learned more, and became this player.

But, yeah, I think most of the quarterbacks we know, we know about who they are. The one, one, I'll throw another one at you, that to me is the most confusing or most intriguing. and that's Herbert. Because Herbert, there is no question how talented he is. But five years into your career, you need more than just he throws an amazing ball. And there's not a lot of quarterbacks who five years into their, who ended up being amazing, who five years into their career hadn't accomplished anything. And he's on that.

Yeah. No, he's first two head coaches, though. Dean Spanos until Harbaugh never paid money for a coach. So his first two coaches were a miss. So I do think he's a rare, circumstantially, I think he's a rare, I think the people in the league that I know all love him. He was also, and the Justin Herbert criticism is fair, he was mechanical. On film, people thought he was mechanical.

Tom Telesco, who drafted him, said, we thought he was mechanical. Then I went and watched him in person, and I saw him play the best Iowa, best Wisconsin defense of all time, and went, oh, okay, he's not that mechanical. Hey, so we all make mistakes, but owning up to them is the right thing to do. So, you know, Degree Cool Rush Deodorant, right? Well, last year they changed the formula, and it did not go over well with their fans.

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Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?

I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down. Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.

And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand, because I, competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jen, she went down to three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the

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Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full. year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. But he can be sort of a rhythm quarterback where when he gets out of rhythm, you know, I've said this about certain players are, like the Pacers are a rhythm offense. Haliburton leaves for four and a half minutes, they can't get the rhythm back. Like, it's like, oh, it just doesn't work. Herbert's a rhythm thrower.

Like he gets into a rhythm. And if you bang him or he gets sacked or a receiver drops it, he can get out of rhythm. A lot of quarterbacks aren't. They just pick it up. They go. So I think the criticism of Herbert are fair, but he's 6'5, a 4-2 biology major with a huge arm. I mean, he's super smart. He's super athletic.

He could run more. He did a little more under hardball. In college, he ran the hell out of the ball when they needed to. here would be kind of a concern I have that is really just a kernel of a belief I have about sports, which is particularly for the most scrutinized positions. So best player on an NBA team, quarterback on a football team. The randomness of your first couple times in a big spot casts the longest shadow imaginable over your career.

And so I'll use a basketball example, then a couple of football examples. The fact that Kobe, as a teenager, basically, was a champion. And that, listen, Kobe was unbelievable on the second two championships with Shaq. But that first championship with Shaq,

he was a role player, and it was peak Shaquille O'Neal. But before he can, is old enough to drink, he's a champion. No one is ever going to be able to be like, can you win a ring with Kobe Bryant? And that gave him, in my opinion, the freedom to be like, I'll take every fucking into game shot.

No one can ever say anything bad about me, right? And so it had a real impact. I do think, I think Tom Brady is one of the greatest athletes of all time, and obviously has the greatest resume of any quarterback ever. I also wonder if they simply hadn't, you know, I won't even do the talk rule game. If in that first Super Bowl.

Vinetary misses the free throws, yeah, or the kick. Yeah, misses the field goal or he makes one bad read or whatever it is, and they don't win there, then does he. he have like the freedom to be him in those moments moving forward. I think that I think, I think there is a chance that we are talking about Russell Wilson the way we talk about Terry Bradshaw if he doesn't throw the Malcolm Butler pick. Because I think if they would have won that Super Bowl and he really believes like I'm ordained by God to do this, that it then led to itself and go ahead.

No, no, no. And by losing that Super Bowl and throwing it. that pick, it eroded the chemistry in the locker room, and it was never the same off one play. And I think it eroded for him this feeling of this is meant to be. The flip side to those, to Brady or to Kobe, example is Peyton. So Peyton, early in his career, came up short in a couple big spots, and then it just, the weight got bigger and bigger. and he got that moniker,

even though he's as talented as any football player I've ever seen. So the reason I bring that up is, I worry that for Herbert, he is going to walk into his next playoff game with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He's going to be like, I've been here,

I basically played two real and one de facto playoff game. The de facto was the, Week 18, Chargers, Raiders, remember that, were like a tie. You both go to the playoffs. And the Raiders steal it at the end. We blew a four-score lead to the Jags, and I threw four picks in my other playoff game. And it just, it is so, it's so fleeting what that, you know, what those can be.

And so that is to me, like, a real. and something I'm excited to see moving, because you've seen how it's worn on Lamar, and you see the freedom Mahomes play. Mahom's like, nobody can ever call me anything but clutch, and he can play. Well, Lamar now is feeling the pressure. You can see Lamar in playoff games as tight. I think eventually the failures of the Chargers and the Spanos family to get the right coach got them to pay $15 million a year for Harbaugh, so he has his kingmaker.

And I also think it takes, this is something that people don't really understand this. I think men, at least in America, tend to worship other men. And we just forget that Michael Jordan for years didn't do shit without Pippin. And at the end, it was pathetic in Washington. But it's six for six, and he's the greatest ever. And he failed at baseball. And Michael got Phil Jackson and Scotty Pippen, and everything changed. He was just kind of a ball hog who couldn't get past Boston.

He couldn't get past Detroit. It didn't get along with a lot of teammates early in Chicago or late in Washington. And even when he was with the Bulls, he was hard in the documentary. Tom Cruise is a great example. So Tom Cruise goes in a high school play. And a year later, he's in the movies. And not long after that, he's in a risky business. And that really defines him.

I mean, Rayband sales exploded, you know, from the underwear scene in risky business. So Tom had absolute talent. But if you go back and look at Tom Cruise, who is as driven, willful, and obsessed about movies as anybody, it wasn't until his last five to six movies where he finally came to terms with, I'm just going to run a lot and do action movies, and they all hit. And his last five to six movies have been massive hits. He did Rock of Ages, eyes wide shut, Vanilla Sky, who some people really like, I've never seen it. He had lots of misses.

Marlon Brando had lots of misses. So think how long it took for finally, finally a Bradley Cooper to find the right director or Tom Cruise to find the right vehicle. He was always talented. But like Herbert, he needs his harbaw. And that's what I think we tend to forget is that Michael Jordan had Doug Collins and Stan Oldrick, but no Scotty Pippin. He couldn't win a playoff series. None of them. So you just need so much help.

And that's, you know, when anybody will ever ask me, you know, about, oh, gosh, how do you think you've done it for 30 years? And you've been doing this. And I say, I've had great help. I've had really good bosses. I've had a couple stinkers. But overwhelmingly, I've had really good support and really good agents and really good bosses. I would have been somewhat successful. But the point being is, if you find a great stockbroker or you, I mean, Obama, he has somewhere,

he's got a kingmaker behind him. You know, somebody behind him believed in him. And we just forget that in sports. And that Mahomes would have been successful. But Brett Veach and Andy Reid are a big part of it. Oh, yeah. Well, yeah. And that it's also one of the reasons that I find the, I find it really fun, but also frustrating at times when we trying to parse individual credit for team sports success is one of the most fun things about our business.

And it's also why a guy you and I see similarly, but is, you know, one of the more polarizing. if you will, quarterbacks is so interesting in Purdy. Because there is, it's so much of, all right, is it, are we, you know, like I argue with Wilds about it. Wilds basically, his take is that I believe when the Niners win, Shanahan won and when they lose Purdy lost. Like is, you know, that the Shanahan gets the credit and doesn't get the blame. and my actual take is that I think that there is, there are a lot of factors that have gone into why a quarterback who, everyone in the league, including the Niners, thought was not that good,

has had statistically one of the three or four greatest starts to a career in the history of the sport. I understand there are misses. I get it. I know Brady went $199. I understand all that. But when people with Purdy, people will say you would feel differently if he were the number one pick.

And my answer is, Of course, he'd be a better player. Because if you were the number, right. That's right. Because that's, that's, you wouldn't, the draft, it's not random. Like, if you were the number one pick,

he wouldn't be undersized. He would have a slightly stronger arm. He would, like, there's real things to him. Tony Romo was undrafted when Bill Parcells found him. So the first four to five years of Tony Romo's roster was great. They didn't pay him anything. He was free. The minute they started paying Tony Romo, the offensive line wasn't as good, and Tony Romo couldn't

win big games, even though Tony Romo is a really good B plus A minus quarterback. But Tony Romo was free. Kurt Warner early in his career, who I think's great, undervalued historically, came into the league, he was free. There's no question that Brock Purdy's lineup was. stacked. I mean, it's, it's, well, and listen, we don't, we've done the purty thing before. What is so frustrating to me about the purty thing is, and maybe this is why it's an argument I can't get over, is, and I, and I'm going to make this point, you know, till the end of my

career, as long as this is relevant. Four years, folks argued about Jimmy Garoppola. Is he just a winner? Is he underrated? You know, he's, you know, was, did he make Brady nervous because he was breathing down his neck? And then there were folks like me. He was like, ah, I actually think he's pretty mediocre. And they'd be like, no, that team was terrible. And then he got there. They went to an NFC championship game.

They went to a Super Bowl. And I kept saying, yeah, I really think 25 quarterbacks in the league, if you gave them the Defense the Niners had then, that head coach, those weapons, they would be incredibly successful. And it's like, well, that's a hypothetical we'll never know. And then they literally replaced him with the last pick of the draft, had the exact same level of success. And those same people instead of being like, shit, maybe you're right. They're like, that new guy, he's fucking awesome too. And I'm like, you got to be kidding me.

I'm like, they literally did it. They didn't replace it with a first round pick. They replaced them with the last pick of the draft. And guess what they did? They went to an NFC championship game like they did with Jimmy. They then went to a Super Bowl like they did it with Jimmy. They lost the Super Bowl to literally the same team in very similar fashion. And you're like, turns out they're both awesome.

And then I'm like, hey, by the way, how's Garapolo look down that he's gone? They're like, oh, well, you know, injuries, I guess. I'm like, or maybe he's stuck. Like, I think Purdy's obviously better than Gropolo. But like, Garoppolo was a, is a below average quarterback who looked quite good. I think Purdy's an average quarterback who looks great in the exact same system. And by the way, Jimmy Groplo never had Christian McCaffrey. And I just feel myself going crazy.

And then they paid him $53 million. So what do I know? So I want to, I've always thought it's interesting. I didn't grow up with a lot of tradition. I went to church. I went to Sunday school probably two or three times as a kid. My family was Protestant, but I'm agnostic. I've said that on the air a million times. I have no idea what's out there. Much like COVID, I'm not an epidemiologist, nor do I have any expertise in religion. I just don't know. So I did not grow up in a, I had divorces for my parents. I did not grow up in a traditional family like many of my list. So therefore, I understand people who really gravitate to tradition. It is kind of remarkable, though. 40% of America lives in the zip code they were born in.

That's almost half. That's pretty crazy. I'm now in a new city, Chicago. Like, I just have moved my whole life, and I'm giving me about two weeks, I'm totally comfortable. So I understand that I don't really care. I'm not a USC graduate, but I just think things change. And USC moved into a much better conference, and the only people that followed into the Big Ten were Oregon, Washington, and UCLA, their three biggest rival. So they lost all the bad teams in the Pac-12. They entered a much better conference with the three toughest teams to beat. And now we have a 12-team play out where they can play four other great teams at the end of the year. It is amazing what tradition does. It makes smart men. Beautiful women in sports make smart men dumb. It is remarkable to me that people are clinging to this game and do not.

not understand that Lincoln Riley is paid to get to the playoff, nothing more. He could beat UCLA 38 years in a row. If he never got to the playoff, he wouldn't last 38 years. He'd last three more. And that I'm confounded by people that don't see what USC is doing, which is basically, we want to get to the play. We don't want to play Michigan, Ohio, State, Oregon, Washington, Penn State. and then have a November game in South Bend, Indiana as a warm weather team. I've told you this before. There's never been a dome dynasty. Marino was not a dynasty.

Warm weather teams, when the playoffs are outdoors in January, are at a disadvantage. That's why the Patriots, the Ravens, the Eagles, the Chiefs, the Packers, the Seahawks, San Francisco, have felt kind of like dynasties. Dallas a little, but it's colder in Dallas in the winter than people think. So USC is like, hey, listen, we don't want five cold games. against five powers. Are you, now, you're not a huge college football fan. You've told me this. But is there ever anything like this that you're shocked, maybe it's the Brock Pretty

situation, you're shocked people are struggling with change. No. So, no, no, but I actually want to stay on this because I do have a question for you on it, because I've heard you talk about this. And this would be pushback. I don't even know if it's pushback. just my concern. My concern would be, you're right what Lincoln Riley's job is.

But this to me is like the first cousin of what my, we've talked about this. When we talk about baseball changing rules and the NBA potentially needing to change rules and about how the GM's job is to build a team under the current rules. The coach's job is to look at the current rules and construct the best strategy possible.

The commissioner's job is to make sure the product is as entertaining as possible and to make sure it gets the most eyeballs as possible. And my question would be, do you think holistically college football runs a risk the more it just markets itself as a minor

league NFL when is if people love football at the highest level, the NFL is the place to go. But there are a lot of people in this country way more so with the NFL and college football than there is with college basketball and the NBA where you ask them and they say, college football is my favorite. I watch the NFL. I love college football. And a lot of that is the tradition, the rival. the pageantry, the fucking cheerleaders and the Saturdays and all of it.

Do you not worry at all that because there is no commissioner of college football? Because everyone is just thinking what is best for me right now, that there isn't a risk for the sport as a whole that USC Notre Dame, even as a guy who doesn't care, like, I just not that I don't care about college football. it's like my seventh favorite thing in sports. I'm like, well, that going away would suck. Like, that's like, and I don't, like, that to me is something that I think can't be missed, which is whether it should matter or it doesn't, I don't think it's best for college football

to just be the NFL with younger people. It's not going to be. It's going to become college basketball with a different ball. that the best thing about it will be it's three and a half week tournament at the end. Is that that's what it'll be. It won't be a poor man's NFL. It'll be a Superman's college basketball.

It'll be a better version of what college basketball is where the regular season's fun and there's some rivalries, but it's about that 16 team playoff at the end. And it'll be four to five weeks. It'll be, you know, jet fuel. And, I mean, Texas, Georgia last year gets a monster number, not Texas, Oklahoma. And that Auburn, Alabama will always play. And by the way, Ohio State, Michigan will always play.

Michigan, Michigan State will play. But there will be a handful of rivalries that will possibly subside. And that that's just the cost of doing, of shifting the importance to December. December was always the holiday bowl, the citrus bowl. I always was bummed out. I went to Larry Jones when he was like the guy at Fox who like paid for bowls and negotiated deals. I'm like, let's get more bowls. He goes, they all lose money.

And I'm like, what a bummer. I wish we had like 10 bowls. And in the end, the bulls felt bigger than they were. They're independent films. They make the artists and the actors happy. But most are not reservoir dogs. Right? And so the bowl games, you know, made sponsors happy.

But they didn't sell out. And they didn't necessarily get a. rating. And so basically it's going to be a hyper version of March Madness. Eventually, it needs to build up the culture and build up, you know, like we have to get used to December being amazing. No. So I, so that's, I mean, that, so that that's a really smart kind of way to look at it, which the rich man's college basketball. But and again, maybe I, the way I like things doesn't mean it's the right way, but I have to tell you, if I were in charge of a sport, very far down the list of sports, then I'd be like, you know what we should emulate men's college basketball,

where for four months, people are not all that interested. And then it is, you do like, and this is, this is something that maybe the world's changing in that. Where it is, is it, is it, is it more valuable to have everyone's rapt attention for three weeks and be, you know, off the radar for 49 than to have a lot of people's pretty and good attention for 12 weeks, but to never be the zeitgeist. I don't know. Like maybe I've talked to our friend Maverick about this, which is, he's a belief that like, we are moving to where it's all a about events. That's right. He's like, I talked with him.

That's college football. It'll be an event. Right. An event. Like, where you can have people over and be like, we are why. He said, this is why he thought the NFL was so successful is they could make so many games feel like an event. That the, you know, the Jake Paul Mike Tyson thing. That was an event, a moment rather than inventory of a bunch of stuff. Maybe that's where we're headed. Maybe when everything is so fragmented, all of our attention, you need standalone.

Here's the things. If I had to say, here's eight things that are going to work going forward. The World Cup, the Olympics, depending on teams, the World Series, March Madness, the NFL, the college football playoff, and if you get really popular UFC fighters, big UFC events, those will all work. And then what's going to struggle is the Major League Baseball, the MLS, the NBA, and the NHL regular season. Fox has tried to inject the game in London, Mets Phillies, the Field of Dreams. Like that's...

The Rickwood Field, the Field of Dreams. That's cool. And again, not to sound like a company shell, the way Fox made... Oh, the Indy 500. The Indy 500. feel huge America responded 5 million people watched it last year

7 million people watched it right people were in and so that maybe that is the answer maybe it is turning things into events

that also I you know I pitched this 100 times I'll pitch it to you here it also is another reason and if anyone ever does this because I've been pitching it for a decade just make me some consultant

on the league I still believe there is a market for boxing. And I think that with all this Saudi money or whatever it is, if somebody, you would need a few billionaires, I've been talking of this for 10 years, to go to the top 16 fighters in every weight class and say, who is your promoter and your TV? who is your contract with why you know the reason that there's seven belts and this and you can't

fight we're buying them all out everyone out and here's the deal we are signing you to the league our league has very simple rules you fight four times a year it you have an official ranking the rank the ranking says if you are the eighth ranked fighter you fight the ninth ranked fighter on in, you know, we have monthly paper views. We have four weight classes. We have one belt per weight class. And every single pay per view, one of the belts is going to be on the line. Everyone's going to know every month there is a big event.

And guess what? Being the heavyweight champion of the world is going to mean something again. And everyone's going to know who it is because it's one person. because as much as successful as UFC has been, I still believe that there is a barrier to entry for UFC that does not exist for boxing, which is nobody ever has been like, yeah, I don't understand that sport with boxing.

It's very fucking simple. It's like, hey, they're going to punch each other and someone might get knocked out. And I like UFC. I don't think it's that hard to understand. But everyone has been like, oh, I don't get it. Like, how is it scoring? Like, what's it?

And so if somebody just took Dana White's UFC model and made it a boxing model. And the other free advice here is, hey, guys, people are worried about judge corruption. I don't know how much judges cost. But you know how to make sure there's not corruption. Instead of having three, have nine, and do the figure skating, scoring things. which is the highest and the lowest scores don't even count, and it's the seven scorecards done fixed. I think boxing could be a big event again as well.

Like, I think people are into it if they feel like it's on the level, and they know the people. You just have to know the people involved, but there's, it's too set. Yeah, listen, I've gone to more boxing than I have UFC, and I say that, having the last six years gone to at least three UFC fights per year. So when I was in Vegas, you lived in Vegas. You used to go every weekend. Right, right. So I love UFC. But I do think John Jones and Connor McGregor were dynamite. And when you take them out, it's looking for, there's some guys I like. There's five or six guys I'm really into. But it does. I mean, boxing has always been somewhat beholden.

Like basketball. It's a star-driven sport, like two, a, you know, a dynamic or enigmatic or controversial star. That's just part of footballs basically, it doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter. Everything else in this country, brands, market stars matter. Everything else, including the UFC, and Dana would probably tell you that the pay-per-views for Connor McGregor and John Jones were just different. And it has nothing to do with management. It's just there are these supernova North Star athletes in every sport but football that move a needle.

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Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast?

Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed. First people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it.

Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast. people could call in and say, hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 helped make you funnier. This week, my guest. SNL's Mikey Day and headwriter 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. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself.

I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs' tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening. at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchen won. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now,

and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you, let me ask you a football question.

It's a dumb, kind of more of a dumb sports TV thing, but I actually want to know what you think of it. Have the Chiefs become America's team? Or will that always be the Cowboys? No, no. In fact, the Cowboys were tied for third. in total audience, and that's because Fox puts them on games they probably shouldn't be, but because the biggest draws right now are the Chiefs and the Bills and the Ravens, and the Niners are also big and the Packers.

But I think after this year when Dallas wins five to six games, because I think they have the worst probably head coach in the league, arguably, good court. I think he was an average coordinator. I think he's more, I think. Yeah, I mean, certainly the most unproven and the odds. is higher. So my take is Dallas will be the fourth most watch team in the league after this year.

Now, Fox may, because of Fox promotion and marketing ability and production values, we may be able to prop up the Cowboys. Juicy. Yeah. I mean, Fox just does it. Fox gives you like, if you give Fox baseball, it just is better than other networks doing baseball. Fox is really good at Eric Shanks lived in a truck.

That's how he, your CEO, everybody has a specialty. Bodenheimer was sales. When I was at ESPN, ESPN could monetize anything, anything. Shanks grew up in a truck. So our production values are sensational. They always have been. I mean, I said this a couple years ago, the five to six hour live Super Bowls from opening moment the pregame show starts to the end, they're majestic. They're like, as good as American television gets for live five hours. hours. So I think Fox may prop the cowboys up, but if you put them on another network, they wouldn't, they wouldn't resonate as much. But they're not a, they're not a fun team. Dak is a boring player, a second lower body injury. He's not hyperathletic. He doesn't have a big arm. They have a couple of interesting receivers. They're not fun to watch. Philadelphia is fun to watch. Detroit's fun to watch. Buffalo, Kansas City. There's some teams in this league that I, I mean, like when the receivers are healthy, Houston's fun to watch.

when the receivers are healthy. Cincinnati's fun to watch. But, no, I think Kansas City is actually America's team. Absolutely. I don't think there's any question. And I would say, Buffalo, to me, feels like number two. Oh, listen, I think Buffalo is probably the team people,

the team neutral fans root for the most. Because I think people, they look at Buffalo, not as an underdog, but like, they got to get over at some point. And Josh Allen is so likable. And the chiefs have kind of become like villains, you know, to a degree, all that. But yeah, I just think, I think the team that is the biggest draw on the most interesting is the chiefs. And that the reason I even asked it is, it just speaks to the power of the NFL that the most popular or most interesting team in the biggest league in the country can be from Kansas City, Missouri.

You know what I mean? Like that it isn't, it doesn't have to be. Think about this. Here's the six biggest brands in the NFL arguably now. Kansas City, Buffalo, Baltimore, Green Bay. Yeah. San Francisco probably still Dallas, but still, it's not of the New York. It's not in L.A.

Even though the Rams are good. Yeah. All right. Can I tell you something else because you'll like it? I don't know if there's something else. No, please. I'm going to show you something. So look.

So look at this here. I don't even know if you'll be able to see it. I'm going to put it up. See if you can see what that is. Okay, that's an autograph. That is a Nick Wright, Nick Wright poker trading card. Okay, now back it up for the camera. Go to the other side.

Turn around. There we go. Look at that. So I, here's the craziest piece of this. I had to buy this on eBay because I, I, I, I, signed all these for this company, but I didn't get, like, they're, it's trading cards. So they all got sent out in sets. And the set they sent me didn't have my own card.

So I had to pay like 40 bucks. That's the going rate for a Nick Wright, uh, poker or leaf trading card. But the reason I brought it up is because, and I know you'll be excited about this for me, today is the first day of the World Series of poker. And a week from today, I fly to Vegas. to play in like four tournaments. So I'm going to be in Vegas. How much do you take?

Well, it's a wire. But it'll be, I mean, I'll tell you the tournaments I'm playing. So I'm playing in the $10,000 dealer's choice. So that's a tournament that it's one of the most prestigious. It's going to be a bunch of pros and me. The dealer's choice means, Colin, there's 22 different variations. there's old school five-card draw, there's seven-card stud,

there's games you've never heard of like, Budugi, Budusi, there's 22 different games could be played and every seven hands, a different player at the table, gets to say, okay, for the next seven hands, we're playing this.

And then you got to play it. So that is, you have to be able to like, you have to, A, know the rules and how to play every single one of the games, and B, you have to be able to pick up on, oh, wait, that person made a grievous mistake on that game. So I'm, we, everyone should call that game until that person's out here because they're

drawing dead at it. It's really like a fascinating way. So I'm going to play that. I'm going to play the $10,000 seven card stud. And then I'm going to play a $1,500 badugi tournament, which but doogie is you get four cards that to draw game. You need all four suits as low cards as possible. seems silly, it's awesome.

And then I'm going to play what is the silliest tournament in World Series of Poker History, which is the Potlim and Omaha double board bomb pot tournament. But none of that, those specifics are more interesting to real poker players. What is exciting for me is literally as we speak right now, there is a $25,000 10-team fantasy draft going on. with a win. I think it's winner take all

where it's a world series of poker fantasy draft. So it's like football players. So like Phil Helmuth, every team involved, 10 teams or people put up 25 grand. They sell pieces of it, whatever.

And then a guy like Phil Helmute, every team has $200 in salary to spend. And then they do an auction for the players. And however well you do in the tournaments, is, you know, how many points you get for your team. So like Phil Helm Youth will probably go for like a hundred bucks or whatever it is. And I think there's a chance, probably just on a lark, but that somebody pays $1 to draft me to be on their World Series of Poker Fantasy team

in case I bink one of these tournaments. So I have, I've been, while I've been talking to you, when you've seen me glance down at my phone, I've been trying to check and see if somebody did what is probably bad general manager. but spend a dollar to have my results at the World Series count for their fantasy team. So I know all of this is very complicated and confusing for people who aren't poker players, but for people who are poker players, this is maybe the single coolest thing about being me, is that because of my success, whatever that is in my professional life,

I've got to basically just parachute into part-time professional poker player and play with all of the best players in the world. And I love it so much. And the World Series starts today and I'll be out there in a week. So is there resentment in the industry because you've been able to parachute in? No, because anybody can because that's the great thing about poker. Every tournament's open entry. You just got to fork up the money.

You know what I mean? So like I. If I asked you and I want you, you can have hubris, confidence. If I said to you. Sure. Truly, publicly, where do you rank in the world? If I said to you, are you a top 30 poker player in the world? No, no, zero percent chance. Zero percent chance. No, no, nowhere close to that. But this is what's so interesting about poker. You want some of the most profitable poker players in the world, of which I am not even close to any of that, but are not. not top 1,000 players. They are just good players who only play with awful players. Poker's really

weird like that. So here is the part where these tournaments are a different story because anybody can buy it. It's the opposite of golf where your score is your score on the course. It doesn't matter who you play with. Correct. Correct. It's the exact opposite. Where I, where I am very lucky. You play against great players. Well, no, you don't want to. In these tournaments, I play against great players, and that's just fun to, like, test myself. But as far as, like, cash games or if, like, you're trying to make money, what you want is to get invited to the games with, like, the tech billionaires, the retired athletes. Who are terrible.

The influencers, whatever it is. Right. Right. And those games, I can get into a lot of those games. Now, a lot of those games that I've been invited to, I actually don't have, like, the bankroll form. Those games, people are bringing $5,000, $700,000 to them. But the actual best players in the world don't get invited to those games. They're like, why would we invite you? Like, why would we invite a great player to those games?

So I don't know. It's just what I love. I played poker since I was nine years old. I'm 40. And now, like, I, through what I do, I know all the best players in the world. I can pick their brain on stuff. And I, you know, in a week, I'm going to go to Vegas and see how I do in some of these tournaments. It's very exciting.

I know it's nerdy. It's so exciting. You never answer the question. How much will you wire to Vegas? How much money? Oh, total. Like, like 60. Oh, I thought it was going to be like a quarter million or something.

No, no, no. You've made a lot of money playing poker. I've made a lot. Yeah, I know. I've made a lot of, well, thank you. I shouldn't have said, yeah, I know. But no, because if I, no, the, those tournaments, that's why I told you. The two big tournaments are $10,000 to enter each.

So there's 20. There's two more $2,500 tournament. So there's 25. And then the rest, like cash games, stuff, whatever. But here's the other thing. That's very interesting about this poker. world, about gambling world. I, if I, by the way, if I wired a quarter of a million dollars to the, to, to,

to Vegas, I, I, I don't know how much money I would have to make a year for that not to annoy my wife that I wired a quarter of a million dollars somewhere, but it's a lot more than I currently make. And so, but I'll tell you a quick story that you'll love. So I. So I went, I was in Vegas for something. Whatever it was, this was like two months ago. I didn't even think I was going and then I went and it was a,

I was just there a Sunday to a Tuesday. And that's Sunday night, I walked by the aria, or I'm staying in the aria, but I walked by the poker room. And I see a guy I know and, oh, oh, and that UFC fighter who I don't like, Colby Covington. Yeah. talk shit about LeBron. They're playing in a private game in the high limit room in Aria.

And I walk by and say, you know, and say hello to the guy I know there, but he's getting ready to leave. And since, and I was just coming in and say hello. And, and he's like, oh, I'm leaving. He's like, do you want my seat? And I'm like, oh, no, like, I was just saying hi. I was like, I didn't, I didn't even know I was coming to Vegas until yesterday. it's Sunday. I was like, I have no money here. So thank you. The guy whose game it was, credit to this guy, and I'd say his name because I want to give him the compliment, but I don't want to say his name because I don't know if you'd want this out there. He just flicks me to $25,000 chips. And he's like, and is like, just text me. He's like, I'm going to text you. Give me your number. He was like, you're good for it. I know. We had, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we

never met. He just, I was, I knew his buddy who was in the game. He maybe knew me from the show and was just like, yeah, this guy's probably not going to stiff me on $50,000 and just tossed it to me so I can play in the game. So there is, and now luckily that night, I played for a few hours. I won like two grand. So I just gave him back, you know, those two chips and cashed out whatever it was. Um, but there is a real like almost, you know, just, hey, in my notes app, it says you owe me 70 grand, like, you know, like there's a lot of amongst the guys who play a lot, like just, hey, I'll spot you, you spot me, this, that, or the other. But I never, even in the games, I never, ever, ever play on credit.

Like that, I did that when I played was in college and didn't have any money. And it's the only time I've ever really, like, gotten myself in a, a really bad spot gambling where you play on credit you can gamble money you don't have um but it's just it was so funny just being out in Vegas the guy I literally shook hands with for the first time ever just tossed me to 25,000 other chips like okay well you're up at the end of the night I'm like you're very you're very mathy like to me playing poker feels like punishment it's like the movie papillon it's my prison I would just I wouldn't know what to do I just I can't sitting down.

It's so funny. When they invite me to games, my buddy Brent Hanks, who sets up all the TV games for poker go, almost every time he invites me, he says, he's like, and tell Coward,

we've got a seat for him too. I'm like, he's not playing. I was like, and I was like, I was like, I was telling you he's not playing. I was like,

I think Colin could pick it up, but it's not, it is not what interests him. It's what interests me. And I'm so excited. I'm so excited. I cannot wait. It's very cool when you can have a hobby and the hobby becomes lucrative.

And it's you are, you and I've talked about this privately before, but it is a revenue stream, which you can't count on, like most revenue streams. But it will be a lifetime revenue stream for you because you're good enough that you, on average, will win. And poker is not a game of chance like roulette or even sports betting. There are so many factors that mitigate. Oh, and it's very hard to be a profitable sports better. And the thing for me, though, is this, if I can just be a break-even poker player, I'll make money in poker because I now get to do a lot of cool poker broadcasting stuff. You know what I mean? Like calling events, like doing things.

And so, like, I can probably put myself in, like, this $10,000 dealer's, like, this $10,000, dealer's, choice tournament. What they, you know, in poker, they talk about EV, the expected value. I am minus EV in that. Like, I am entering of the 100 tournaments of the World Series of poker this summer, this $10,000 dealer's choice is probably one of the six hardest fields, meaning more professionals versus recreational players of any of them. And so that is from a financial perspective, that's one of the dumbest tournament.

I can enter. But I just want to play against the best in the world and see how I do. Sure. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I can, it to me is worth it to take that shot. And if I were to do well, it's just lifetime like bragging rights in that tournament. So I'm really excited. My only hobby is there's no way to make money. It's expensive. And it's, I love getting on a plane and going to Europe. I love it. It's my favorite, the happiest will be Thursday night. Well, yeah, and Thursday night, I'll be getting on a flight to go see my son who's taking a class over there and we'll go to Copenhagen and London and I'm in my heaven. Just going, you know, business class, eat, glass of wine, the whole thing picked up.

That's exciting. It's my favorite. It's my favorite thing. I've told my wife, she doesn't like travel as much as I do, but I've always said going, you know, mom, British, going to Europe, I've got, you know, there's just a lot of places in England. I know where to go. Is your son in London or in Copenhagen? No, he's in London, and I'm going to go meet him there, and then we're going to head off to Copenhagen. And we go, we try to go to Iceland a couple of years. Every couple of years, we try to go somewhere international. That to me is, and by the way, there's, you're just hemorrhage money.

Travel, international travel, if you want to do it right, is, it's no joke. But it's where I will agree with you, and then it's, it's, it's, it's, I've never felt like I wasted money on a good meal or a good vacation. Never. I've never felt like, that sucked. I should would have been better. Like where else? I don't know a better way to spend the money rather than to like see different parts of the world,

you know, experience different cultures or to eat great food. London is one of the places I've never been. Oh, my favorite city in the world. See, so tell me, before we go, because I know we got to go. I live in New York City. Right? How is London not just New York with way worse food? Well, because it doesn't smell like weed and urine everywhere you walk.

Okay. I mean, I probably does a little. I think it is, well, I mean, it's like Zurich and London are like, it's a moneyed crowd. it is incredible hotels, incredible service. I like to walk. I'm a walker. So for me, I bring tennis shoes, and I literally every morning get up. I'll go walk through the parks for two hours.

And then the cab system is amazing. You have to train for like four years to be a cabby. You have to know every street in London. So it's a four-year process. So it's like a tour guide. The cabbies are like a tour guide. So, you know, you give them 10 pounds and you go drive to drive to drive. I just, it works for me.

I've told my wife this, there's something about London when I land. I feel like I'm home. I don't even know what it is. Well, isn't it what it is your mom's from there? Yeah, and I've been there enough that, but it's really, it's, it just for whatever reason, I'm sure there's somebody that's listening that they go to Hawaii every year. They go to Greece and it feels the same. it's just as much fun as I can have. I love it.

Well, listen, my takeaway from this is tough beat for Fox, because four years from now, Coward's going to be like, Chicago was fun. What do you think about me doing the herd from London? Like, what's the difference, really? It's just later in the day. Nick Wright, as always, buddy, great talking. Great to see you. See you later, bye. The volume

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Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast?

Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

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 podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hungry. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow.

Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to you. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man.

Is everyone lying to me about who they are? I felt such desperation. I felt it was what I had to do. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.