The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Sixers, Raptors, Steph Curry, and the Lakers

Episode Date: May 13, 2019

After their game 7 loss to the Toronto Raptors, Colin explains the problems with the Philadelphia 76ers, what to expect from Raptors F Kawhi Leonard going forward, why Golden State Warriors G Steph Curry should get more respect, and why he feels the Los Angeles Lakers may be trolling F LeBron James. Guests include Chris Haynes, Chris Broussard, Fred VanVleet, and Stephen Jackson. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go. On a Monday, we are packed. This is the herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. One hour from now, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, plenty of both. Joy Taylor is joining me as always after another wild weekend. Joy, how are you? I'm great. That was a wild weekend. It was crazy. It was fun. This is such a fun time

of the year. She's got great stories coming up in Herdline News today. There's so much news to get into the show. We'll try to address all of it today. Let me start with this. I've said before, I'm not in the credit business. MasterCard, Visa, and American Express are in the credit business. I'm in the honesty business. There are times when the loser is more interesting than the winner. Greg Norman once lost a master's. He was more important. interesting than the winner that year. This year, the losing horse at the Kentucky Derby was more interesting than the winning horse at the Kentucky Derby.

So Toronto, just hold on a second. I want to start my show with the Sixers. They're just a super talented, dysfunctional, lovable hot mess. Egos, injuries, flaws, egos, that I mentioned, egos, personalities, social media, don't fit together. the Philadelphia is 76ers, and we predicted this, this thing doesn't work. It just doesn't work.

And I got to be honest, they're fascinating. Second best roster, at least starting five, I believe, in the NBA talent-wise. So Philadelphia, now you can go two ways, Philadelphia. I told you last week, I'm trying to save your franchise. You can either, number one, keep the band together, fire the head coach. That's the answer, right? You'd win it all if it wasn't for the head coach. So let's just fire the coach.

that's always in the NBA, that's always the solution. Just get rid of the coach. He's a bum. We'd be great without him so you can fire the coach. And by the way, you could stay the course and you can talk yourself into, well, Kyrie Irving's leaving Boston, so they'll be worse. And Kauai Leonard may leave Toronto, so they'll be worse. And we'll just stay the course.

And that's not going to work either. Because Joe L.M. Bid and Ben Simmons don't work. Good luck with Joe Elyne Bede's body. Jimmy Butler doesn't get along long term with anybody. Or you can do the second thing, which is make really tough choices. And that's generally, I tell my kids this all the time, that's generally the right answer in life. Make tough choices. Make sure you make the right ones.

Oklahoma City did not. Chose Westbrook over Hardin and KD. Make tough choices. Embed's body's not going to last. M. Bid and Simmons don't get along. Let somebody else overpay for Tobias Harris. Make tough choices. But you better make the right ones.

Because here's the facts. You could not win a second round playoff series in the East. And the East is weaker than the West. And you couldn't win it. And by the way, tip of the cap to Toronto. But Kauai Leonard is amazing. And it was hot potato for the other four guys because nobody else seemed to want to take a shot. And just get the ball to Kauai.

I don't want to. You take it. And you couldn't beat that team. And you couldn't beat that team that historically tends to Toronto shrink a little in the playoffs. That's fair, right? So it's choice is time. Philly's last three possessions summed up their season. Man, there's a lot of talent.

Man, those were bad possessions. Oh, those were bad possessions. And, you know, my theory on this, you keep Jimmy Butler, you keep Ben Simmons, you trade MB, don't trust the body, get shooters, don't overpay for Tobias Harris. You keep J.J. Reddick. You've shown an ability to find shooters,

not through the draft, but, you know, Trades Free Agency. You did that a couple years ago, and that's what I would do. So I'm going to lay it down the line. I know most of you would keep Embed because he's rewarding you now, and he is a great player. But I would say this, Philadelphia, if you want to know, if you want to know how to do it and make sure you win going forward, look across the street to the Philadelphia Eagles, they didn't do the popular thing.

They let go of Nick Foles. Nick Foles won a Super Bowl, the MVP, Nick Foll. and you know what the Eagles said. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Carson Wentz still isn't healthy. They went with a guy that still hurt. And the guy that some teammates don't like, but he's more talented.

They went with Carson Wentz, the young guy who not everybody likes, sort of like Ben Simmons, right? Sort of like Ben Simmons. They didn't go with a popular choice, which was to keep likable Nick Foles who won a Super Bowl. They made tough choices. And the reason of Philadelphia Eagles once again this year will be one of the four-fellons. five teams at the end of the year we think can win the Super Bowl. Maybe they do. Maybe they don't. It's because they made tough choices, not popular choices, and they made the right choices. Oh, by the way, Toronto, I'm not dissing you. Congratulations. And one more time, let's show it to the

nation. The only game seven buzzer beater ever. Here you go. It's off the Leonard, defended by Simmons. Is this the dagger? Congrats. Tip of the cap. Fred Van Vleet, next hour on the show. calling right, calling wrong 40 minutes from now. Let me shift gears to this. There wasn't any games on Saturday. I almost wanted to watch the Rockets and the Warriors again. Sports has a lot of machismo.

Be the man. Take the shot. Remember we used to criticize LeBron? You didn't take the shot. Well, I was double team. There was an open guy. You got to take the shot. It's the way man does it.

Sports is a lot about that. Not just the NBA. Sports is a lot about that. God, be the man. Look like the man. man, act like the man, talk like the man, be the man. Steph Curry does not fit a lot of those

machismo stereotypes. He's slight. He doesn't really care about awards. He wears nerdy shoes. He recruited another star. He's slight. He doesn't look like Dr. Jay. It's not as strong as Michael.

Not as big and tough as Pippin and Akeem and Shaq and doesn't have the killer. instinct, right? And so he is the least respected star because he doesn't look like what we think a star should be, which is giving and not into awards and family guy, not alpha, and sometimes recruits other star players and can take a step back. And that just doesn't, how do we wrap our brains around that? Well, it's just like kids. There's a lot of different ways to be a parent, a lot of different ways to be a human. And Steph's a different way to be a superstar. And I

absolutely love it. More NBA players, if he did a poll, respect Russell West. Brookton, Steph Curry. Charles Barkley, himself a great player and a terrific broadcaster, went on the air after Kevin Durant went down. And I love Charles, but he said this. The Warriors ain't got no chance of winning without Kevin Durant. This series? This series or any other series.

He made them a dynasty. Let's don't sleep on that. People said, well, they won one. They did. They was terrific. And they won 772. They lost that series. But that was like five years ago.

People act like that was two years ago. They did not become a juggernaut until KD got there. Everybody who knows basketball, he's the guy who made them a dynasty. Okay, let's just say this. That wasn't a shot at the Warriors. It was a shot at Steph. Because if Steph got hurt, would Charles say that about the KD. Clay Dray-D. Drayman Warriors?

Anyone say that about that team? I don't think Charles even meant to do it. And I'm okay with Charles having big opinions and being wrong. I do both all the time. But we have more respect in this league for Hardin, who keeps disappearing in big spots, and Westbrook. And I got to tell you something. It reminds me at Cam Newton.

It's taken us a while to acknowledge, right? It's not that great. Because Cam Newton looks like what a star quarterback should look like. big rocket arm handsome perfect smile he fills the TV screen up Tom Brady's unathletic kind of gangly I see those pictures when he's vacationing a Costa Rica and he looks like a dentist and Tom Brady's been to eight Super Bowls and still all I hear is well he's kind of a system quarterback he's I mean let's be honest he's Belichick it's no Tom Brady's a great quarterback cam's not but I guess maybe certain guys play and have the machismo and the alpha of what we

think a star should look like. Do you realize in the history of the NBA? I'm not sure there's ever been another player ever in the history of the NBA. I'll say it again, the history of the NBA that could have zero points in the first half and 33 in the second. I mean, that's, folks, it doesn't even make any sense. And one of the things I like, and I've always defended Stefan is this, I like specialists. I'm not into your liberal arts degree. Are you an engineer, are you an architect? What are, are you a doctor? What are you? Are you a school teacher? Be a specialist. Have you noticed what's left in the NBA right now?

Kauai Leonard's a specialist, the best two-way player. Janice, best player within five feet of the rim in the NBA. Steff, best ball handler, best shooter in the NBA. KD, best player. By the way, Portland, second best back court in the NBA. All the guys that are just guys, those teams are done. Specialists. And by the way, let me add a third.

best to Steph Curry. Is it possible? He's the best leader. I mean, after zero points in the first half, didn't play the victim, didn't blame the rest, James Harden, didn't blame the system, came out and scored 33 points. We've got to stop believing that everybody fits into one box, and I can be guilty of this. But ball handling, shooting, and leadership, Friday night, I can make an argument. I can make an argument, the best player in the world at all three of those was on display, Steph Curry. That was why I love sports. Vegas said they had no chance to win. They won because of Steph Curry.

Great stuff today. Absolutely packed. Colin right, calling wrong in about 40, 50 minutes. Whatever it is. I can't read the clock today. I have a bad back injury today, so I am being neutralized by heavy doses of a leave. heavy joy heavy doses you got to cut back on the tennis i'm done with it i'm tired of it you're just going to quit i don't know i barely started i'm tired of feeling tired i'll tell you that

do you do you stretch beforehand ah stretching god you know i'm tired of stretching more than tennis i listen i play tennis i go home why do i have to stretch well i think your body is telling you i am tired of getting good advice i am really tired of that uh Coming up next, I can be honest with you. Do the Lakers love LeBron? Or do they secretly hate LeBron? And I'm going to give you five examples, and you tell me because I can't figure it out. Joy Heardline News as well.

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

the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness.

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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. Trip 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. different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes,

coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going from the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Laila Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel like you don't feel like. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it.

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

Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. By the way, it would be interesting to see a study of who or a rating on who everybody was pulling for on Friday night, the dynasty or annoying Houston and their analytics love because I found Houston very hard to root for, even though I love their general manager. We'll get into that and give the Blazers some love and talk about analytics before the end of the hour and the most entertaining way we can do it. You know, it's funny.

I've said from the very beginning, Lakers hired Frank Vogel as their head coach yesterday, not who I would have hired, but whatever. Lakers aren't doing a lot I would do. But it's interesting. I said Friday, there's a difference between concern and consumed. I'm concerned what I eat. I'm not consumed by it. My favorite thing to eat is a hamburger.

I'm not going to wake up every morning and trap myself into only eating things that are perfect on guidelines and regulations. And listen, at some point, I want to live. I like my hamburgers. It's the same thing with everything. I was concerned about Y2K. I didn't literally build a bunker in my backyard. I understand the concern with the Lakers about just giving the franchise to LeBron

because every place he leaves is a train wreck an hour later, Cleveland twice in Miami. I get that, but I think they've been consumed by it. I swear to God, after they hired Frank Vogel, I was sitting there thinking, are they trolling LeBron? I just want to hear me out on this. I think they're trolling LeBron, the Lakers are. They've become obsessed with not giving LeBron anything he wants. So who's one of the first people when LeBron came, they signed up. Lance Stevenson, who was his annoying nemesis.

I mean, LeBron and Lance Stevenson don't work together at all. Lance can't shoot. LeBron's great with shooters. LeBron loves kind of like high IQ, get it, veterans. And Lance is goofy, talented but goofy. So they get him. Then Phil Jackson, according to a story, the Lakers relied. heavily on hiring Frank Vogel because of Phil Jackson's recommendation.

Well, didn't Phil Jackson call LeBron and his guys a posse? Then they hire Frank Vogel, who I swear to God called Miami Floppers. And then, by the way, Rob Polinka gets a job in the Laker front office. That's Kobe's agent. LeBron and Kobe were never tight. Magic, who LeBron loved, quits. And now they just elevate Polinka, who again is Kobe's agent, who LeBron's never been tight with.

And then, oh, by the way, the camper is, Ty Lou, the one guy LeBron wanted, they offered him an insulting three-year contract. Are you in LeBron's camp, or are you trying to aggravate him? Could you give him a solid here? Kobe's agent, Phil Jackson, Lance Stevenson, dissing Ty Lou. You do get he's your number one asset and your number one player. I mean, when Green Bay chose Aaron Rogers over Brett Favre, did they basically go to Brett Farr's closest advisors for the next seven years

and make sure they hired people Brett liked over Aaron. No, the Packers at one point figured out we got to get a quarterback coach Aaron likes. We got to get, and eventually they moved off even a good head coach, Mike McCarthy, because it didn't work for Aaron Rogers. And you've got to make Aaron Rogers comfortable, not uncomfortable. Like at some point, you got to get shooters for LeBron. That's what he's always worked well with. Now, basically, my guess is LeBron has to do the phone work, get on the phone and get on the phone

and get Kyrie Irving here because that would work. Anthony Davis, I don't think, would work. Kyrie Irving and LeBron? Pretty interesting. I mean, there's a gap between concerned and consumed. It's like you're trolling him. It's like you're dissing him. If you're going to hire Frank Vogel, just hire Jason Kidd.

At least LeBron respects the player. They both have kind of the same record, no? Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. This is the Herd Line News. So the Cleveland Cavaliers had a surprising announcement this morning. Wow. They hired John Beeline as their next head coach.

He spent the last 12 years at Michigan, turning them into one of college basketball's most successful programs. Yeah. Two runs the National Championship game in 2013 and 2018. And in Cleveland's, the first year without LeBron, they went 19 and 63. And obviously they're tied with the sons and the Knicks with 14% for the number one over. overall pick, which we'll find out about on Tuesday in the draft lottery, which is very exciting. Yes. So a big move for Cleveland.

I mean, when I first heard that, I was like, A, he feels like a college coach to me. Well, yes, this is his first venture into the NBA at age 66. He's supposed to be. Yeah, he would be considered a college coach. I mean, Brad Stevens was an up-and-coming coach and felt too big for Butler, so he could go either way. This is a shocker. First of all, he's a great in-game coach.

respected, but he's 66, never been an NBA coach. Dan Gilbert, I do believe, is from the state of Michigan, so he may have connections. I think he's also a big Michigan booster. Okay, all right. And so I can't criticize the move because I've got to see it work. Now, Brad Stevens, College to Pro has worked mostly. Jerry Tarkini and College to Pro did not work. It depends on the coach.

I don't know how it's going to work. I just know when I heard this, I was like, I thought he loved Michigan. I thought he was at Michigan forever. Well, this is a very dramatic move from Michigan, obviously. Yeah. It's kind of puts a halt on their program. They're going to have to make some big moves. But I like the move in that he is, he seems to be, he's never had any issues like culturally

with his programs. No, no. So if you want to bring someone in who's going to establish a culture with Cleveland's, this is a good move. He's probably going to retire after this because we don't imagine unless there's some wild level of success that Dan Gilbert would stick with him after this five-year contract. But what makes it interesting, at least. me is what if you get Zion?

I mean, he's going to have to learn how to coach in the NBA while possibly coaching one of the most prolific college players. This is interesting. This is interesting. This is interesting. Joy, because Zion actually, if you get Zion or John Morant, well, they already have Colin Sexton, so they wouldn't take John Morant. But what Dan Gilbert sold him on and Beeline probably believed is, hey, we're young.

This is going to be like a night. This is going to be a college team for three years. Now, at the end of it is they grow and become stars. But maybe Dan Gilbert said, listen, the way kids leave now, this is a bunch of sophomores and juniors in college for the next three years. By the way, Brad Stevens had great success for three or four years with college guys. May struggle with a veteran star. Well, they still do have some veterans on there.

So I don't know. I don't know how I feel about it as far as if they get Zion. If they don't get Zion, I think it's a good move. And like I said, we don't know how he's going to translate to the NBA. It's a completely different game. and he spent his entire career in college for the most part. So, I mean, he's going to have to learn how to track opposing players' tendencies, to manage egos on a completely different level.

Interacting with NBA players is completely different than college. But, you know, it's a dramatic move. It affects at least college basketball in a big way. So Toronto's big trade for Kauai seemed to be validated that one-year rental last night. His buzzer beater over to L.M.B. beat the Sixers 92 to 90 in epic style. had about 17 bounces, had everyone on the edge of their seat there for a second, and then it finally dropped. Perfect way to end, too, for that series, which could anybody figure out that series?

No. I mean, literally, there was- I honestly was dreading overtime. I'm usually very excited for extra basketball, and I was like, please someone just win this. Weird series. So, he became just the second player in the last 20 years to clinch a playoff series with the buzzer-beater. Damien Lillard did it in the first round against the Rockets in 2014, and then against the Thunder last month. It's working out for Kauai there in Toronto.

You're right, though. Nobody wanted to take a shot there. I mean, no one. Seacom wouldn't even look. He wouldn't even look at the rim. No, I mean, listen, Kauai is just terrific. This is the best he's ever played.

Yeah, there was a little hot potato on the perimeter late. It was almost kind of comical. Everybody's just, no, bro. It's yours. Take it. You're hot. It made you wonder why they wouldn't put Danny Green in

because he is not afraid of those big shots. No. But whatever they did, it worked out. Listen, is Toronto's a great city, period. It's a great city. And there's a lot of fear out there that if Kauai leaves, what does it mean for Canadian basketball? Every win, to me, is an advantage for the Raptors to keep him. Whether he does or not, you know, they lose this series.

It's an easy exit for him. It gets harder to leave Canada when you start winning series and are loved and you see how valuable you are to a franchise. He's a legend forever for that shot either way. Ever. Their fan base is so solid. I don't think that that wavers either way. Eventually, they're going to get another star there and embrace them. So I don't worry so much about that.

I don't think anyone knows. I don't think Kauai knows, to be honest with you. I don't even think Kauai has given it much thought. He's focusing on winning right now as he should. So they play Wednesday against the Bucks, which is going to be a great series. And finally, sticking with that game, just like that, the Sixers season is over. And Joelle M. Bede, who played through a laundry list of injuries, was overcome with emotion. He pretty much started crying seconds.

After the shot, he cried on the court. There's Marcusol comforting him. He cried into the tunnel. And he cried in the locker room, which, you know, people are going to give him some. I love that. I love players. It means something. You know what?

I don't let. I hate the crying shot. I hate when they've always, they immediately find the college kids in the tournament to start crying when their season's over and their, you know, and basketball career is over. They do it in the national championship game. Like, I don't, I don't want to watch. people cry in their failure in the biggest moment of their life.

I mean, it's a nice moment. Obviously, you see him there with his girlfriend and, you know, she's crying and he's crying and it's just But you know what? It's hard because we do give, we do give Joelle and Bede a hard time and this is a nice thing to see. He does really care because he, you know, he's playful

and, you know, kind of a jokester. You know what I saw a weekend long? The NBA is a big soap opera and a lot of egos, blah, blah. These players, they care. and when you're a fan, that's all you want. Right. You don't hate them because they make a lot of money as long as they care.

What kills fans and what drove me nuts when I was, quote, a fan is when I care more than you do. Like, I always thought Robinson Canoe was great for the Yankees. I was always like, I'm not sure. He gets his two hits. He makes his plays. That drives me nuts. Damien Lillard crying off the corridor, Embed, I am so into that. I really love it.

It's nice to see some emotion because as a fan you're disappointed too. And you want to feel, like you said, like the player care. And they do. Like they all care. They all care. They do for a living. Joy, with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. There are so many things going on. By the way, the ping pong ball lottery is tomorrow. I cannot wait. I literally, it's the greatest moment in the history outside of Forrest Gump playing. ping pong. It's the greatest moment for a ping pong ball in the history

of cinema or the world. Let's bring on Chris Haynes, because tomorrow we'll know where Zion Williamson is going. We will know Chris Haynes coming out. NBA analyst now, part of the team FS1, senior NBA guy for Yahoo sports. Let's

I want to go back to Friday. Let's go back to Friday. One of the great NBA road wins of my life. Vegas had him as an eight-point dog. I look at Houston now and windows close quickly. The Seahawks window, after that interception, it closed quick. You said I had to start paying Russell Wilson and other guys.

That Houston window this morning, Chris, is it closed? Look, it might be. It might just be. Look, I thought it was a foregone conclusion that we were going seven games. So did I. I thought it was a foregone. In fact, you know, I said before, but it was about nine minutes left in a moment. fourth quarter. The Rockers were up seven.

They were season control. I text KD. During that time, and I was like, hey, man, game seven is going to be crazy. He immediately hit me back. We're winning this game. Wow. We're winning this game. And you saw he posted his reaction after they won, after Clay hit a big shot down the stretch.

But look, if the Houston could not beat Golden State, they had two opportunities, two opportunities to do so without Kevin the rat. Or boogie. Or boogie. Steph, no points first half. First half. They're at home.

This is game six at home. A must win. So now they don't have any cap flexibility. And Chris Paul had a remarkable second half. And I love Chris. But let's be honest about it. He is not the same player as he was

three years ago. No, no doubt about that. And, you know, he's going to continue to get older. That's what happens in life. You know, we age. And that contract that he has, you know, more power to him, but it's going to cost Houston dearly. And then look, if we're talking about Houston's window, that's where I say that their future lies heavily. I'm talking about their championship aspiration, their future lies heavily on what KD ultimately decides to do this offseason. If KD stays, Golden State still has another three, possibly four-year window.

And if that's the case, I don't see Houston being up in that top echelon. We've got the Nuggets. You got other teams that's coming for them. Chris Haynes is joining us. I want to talk about Steph Curry. I started my show today saying this. Sports is machismo, and I get it because so many of our great athletes have been alpha and aggressive. And I get it.

Yeah. Like I get it. Steph doesn't fit into that nice, tidy window. He's kind of finesse, family guide, not big alpha, recruits others, not into awards. where's those awesome pharmaceutical shoes. He doesn't fit the stereotype of alpha, the killer. But I got to tell you something. He may not advertise it.

I'm not sure in the history of the NBA, anybody could go zero points to 33. I just sat there. Do you know he had 17 points? I may have the numbers wrong. He had 17 points with about eight minutes to go or seven minutes to go and finished with 33. Four and a half to go.

So in my ear, Sam said, 17 points with four and a half to go ends with 33. Have you in your life covering this league, you ever seen anything like that? I haven't. I didn't realize he had 33 until after the game. So when I watched the TV, the Pulse game. Yeah, it was phenomenal. It was something to behold.

Why don't players love him like they do Westbrook? Well, I'll say this, because we tend to gravitate towards the vicious, I'll call him, killer mentality. And with that killer mentality comes a certain look. There's a look, there's a nasty snarl that comes with it when you're in the zone. You see it with Colby. He's clenching his teeth. You see it with Westbrook. You know, Steph, if he tries a snarl, we'll say that's cute.

Oh, that's so cute. You know what I mean? It's like if he tried it, you wouldn't take it seriously. It's that baby. It's that demeanor, it's that wholesome look. But inside, he's a killer. He's a downright killer. He just expresses it differently.

Right. And people don't gravitate towards that. Or they take it for granted and think that they can take shots at him and do this. Look, Steph is that like, he reads what's going on. He reads what other players are saying. seen what he did with Chris Paul. My good guy, Marcus Thompson, laid that out, how Chris Paul kicked him out the gym.

And you see it after the game, we went to the locker room. It's like, kick me out the gym again. Kick me out. Steph is a killer. He's just a baby killer. That's it. But he's still a killer. That's it.

Okay. Before I get to the Sixers, you know, I spent a lot of time in Portland. So it's, emotionally, it was fun to watch Portland win. I got friends who were seasoned ticket holders. I'm watching them there sitting in the arena. It's the second. best scoring back court in the NBA to the greatest scoring back court in the history of the NBA, Stefan Clay. And it's funny because during the game, it's very interesting that LeBron noticed this.

LeBron's like, I'll put the tweet up. I don't want to hear about all these analytics. In the playoffs, it comes down to one or two possessions. I like guys who get me a bucket. And I've been saying this for a week or two weeks. Portland's just got a bunch of guys who get you a bucket. You know, Damien, C.J. Ennis can get, Ennis can get you a bucket. And as Kenner can get you a Jack Collins yesterday. Rodney Hood. Shout to Zach Collins. He was big.

Yeah. He'd gone to ag a kid. So what do you make of Portland? Do they, their back court matches up a little bit with Golden State. Do they have a shot? Golden State's got no size now. You know I love, you know I love the Portland Shcherblers. I love what I love what that team represents.

Damien Lucey McCollum, call them the way they carry that team. But they're going up against a monster, Colin. They're going up against a monster. Let me say, let me say it's to your analytics point. and LeBron brought this up. You know, we all know Houston heavily analytics approach. Only won't dunks layups threes.

Number one in the NBA on that. Okay. Now check this out, Colin. C.J. McCollum, he carried the Portland to that game seven win. How do they do it? A bunch of mid-range jumpers. Scott Bucket.

You take his mid-range jumpers out of the equation. Portland is on vacation right now. And so at the end of the day, I think people need to understand that, look, we value the analytics. Take it. Use it as a tool. But if you're going to take away a large part of a player's game, if his game is like CJ, he gets in his bag and he gets to his spots to hit those 20 footers,

if you take that away, then you're taking away a large aspect of the game and it can ultimately cost you because that's what saved Portland season. No, no question. Think about this. Analytics were not created in baseball to find Barry Bonds. We all knew he was great. They weren't created to find Robinson Canoe or Mike Trout or Bryce Harper. analytics moneyball was created to find the AAA guy that was overlooked you could bring to the

bigs he had a good on base percentage and you steal him and everybody else gives you these like serviceable guys that are AAA and money ball said no no no they're major league starters if you look at the analytics yeah but Oakland doesn't win because they don't have enough stars by the way Boston does analytics but also goes and spends money on stars when you get to the playoffs okay analytics golden States 17th in the league in analytics in terms of dunks, layups, threes. Houston's one. Because I got better stars. And so I'm not anti-analytics, but the analytics aren't built to find stars.

They're not built for the stars. They're built for long seasons, play out the averages, and you will win a lot of games. These games all come down to seven seconds and who's got the rock. Yeah, yeah. And like you said, stars, let the stars play their games. game, don't limit them. Like, you'd rather have a bucket than not get a bucket. Like, if I got to get a, if I got to get a five foot, ten foot jump shot, I want to take that than having missed the three. It's harder to get all baskets in the playoffs. It is. So any basket you can get, take the hoop.

Take it, take it, especially with the game is so high pace right now. Take the buckets. Okay, what are we doing in Philadelphia, Chris? They couldn't win a second round series. They're my favorite team outside of the Warriors and the NBA to watch. A lot of hot mess, a lot of ego, a lot of injury, a lot of M.B., a lot of Simmons, a lot of stuff. I love watching them play. It's choice is time, Chris. What do you do? Look, a couple of times during a stretch, the last two minutes of the game, they got two 24-second shot-clock violations, which is inexcusable.

And this is not, I'm not talking about a cast of players that can't get their shot. You know, it wasn't like it's like four role players, only one star. You got legitimately four stars out there, and you're getting 24 shot clock violates. Nobody wants to shoot. That is a problem. Like, think about that, Colin. We're not talking about the Phoenix Suns. We're not talking about the Memphis Grizzly.

We're talking about four legitimate all-star type players. And, by the way, the fifth JJ Redick is a boring shooter. And he's going to say exactly. So I found that inexcusable. And then, look, Philly has to, Brett Brown's jobs in jeopardy. That's well noted. But Philly has to really decide on if this Joel and B, Ben Simmons, parent, if this is what's going to work out.

Because, look, we all know the holes in Ben Simmons game. I didn't like the way he covered that last defensive coverage on Kauai. It seemed like he just bailed out, let Joel and B have it. Game is over, lights out. But Ben has to take a gigantic leap for next season in order to save the so-called process. Because if he doesn't, if Ben comes back the same player... The process is junk.

The process is junk, and you've got to scrap it. You have to scrap it immediately. All right. You're on your phone here. That's like some big stuff, right? I'm waiting. I'm waiting those stuff, Kyle. I'm trying to make sure I don't miss anything.

What's going on there? Is something big? Is something big? It could potentially be big. But, you know, this happens a lot, Colin. Okay. All right. Just stick around. I got a couple Laker things. Okay. All right. Chris Haynes. Insider, Yahoo Sports.

Colin Wright, Colin Wrong, top of the hour on a Monday. Broussard, Fred Van Fleet, Stephen Jackson. It's all coming, the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying.

And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports license. 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 SportsSlyce on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world,

he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? told Levan, you're ruining my life.

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

We get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person

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

but don't ever feel like you don't feel like you don't feel like you don't feel like. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs, Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeke. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything.

I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. All right, welcome back. It's great to have you in today. I got to read one spot here.

Is that okay, Chris? Go ahead. Great news. Quick way you could answer. Save money. Switch to Geico, 15 minutes. Save you 15% more on car insurance. Go to Geico.com. Chris doesn't have a car. He just flies everywhere. Chris Haynes. NBA Insider Yahoo Sports also now part of our FS1 NBA team. It's absolutely great to have you and Rick Bueker now joining our already great staff. So let's, I was saying the other day, is that Joy and I, you know, we thought Ty Lou, I was concerned about the optics of handing it over to LeBron, but I think they're trolling him now.

they bring in Lance Stevenson, Kobe's agent, Magic Quits, Phil Jackson hired the new coach. They pick Frank Vogel over the guy he was close to Jason Kidd. I kind of given up on the Lakers. I know the Rambuses. I like this whole thing feels like, could you give LeBron a solid? I mean, could you give him a hug?

It's like everything is like literally you're finding all his arched rivals. I mean, what do you make a Vogel? Look, this what we do, though, is that Vogel was at least their fourth-for-fifth option. Right. He was initially pegged to be an assistant on one of their primary candidates, Ty Lou Monty Williams.

The way they handled this search was just a debacle. It was an embarrassment. And look, I'm not trying to knock Frank Vogel or diminish anything. One thing about him, he's a great ex and those coach. He is. He instills discipline and structure. And so for a Laker, young Lakers team,

that's exactly what they need. It should be noted, Chris. those Pacers teams that gave Miami trouble, Roy Hibbert was a big cog. I mean, you can go back to those teams. The Pacers backcourt couldn't shoot, and Roy Hibbert, who was a marginal college player, gave them all sorts of problems,

a dynasty problems for back-to-back years. So don't tell me Vogel can't coach. It's just the way this worked out doesn't feel complimentary to the guy who is the franchise. And you gave the darn franchise over to Magic and Kobe. At this point, give more power to LeBron. And aside from feeling complimentary to LeBron, this process is not feeling complimentary to the Vogel. I mean, they got Jason Kidd, for God's sakes, right there behind them.

You know, so it's just a matter of time before we see another David Black, Tyron Loo's situation come over where if he's not performing up to par, then you got that guy Jason Kidd who we know has a relationship with LeBron James. Let me remind people of this if they don't know. When that team USA, when Kobe and LeBron played together, they brought Jason Kidd on that team. to kind of help men things with those two. So he has a great relationship with LeBron. Also, development, skill development. That's an area that the Lakers lack.

That's a problem they have with Luke Walton's staff. Look no further than what Jason Kier did for that guy Greek freak over there in Milwaukee. So this doesn't bowl well. This situation is an ugly situation for Vogel. If he succeeds, more power tool. But if he doesn't, the rightness on the wall. I want to go to James Harden. I don't want to overreact.

He's a great player. But that game Friday felt a little bit like a legacy game. And, you know, we were talking about this last week. It is amazing in life, you know, how fleeting success is. Nick Saban and Alabama says this is not a continuum. I lose a big game. We're rebuilding. Like you can't just say I'm successful.

It's a grind. Even for the greatest players in the world, it is a grind. Look at LeBron. player in the world to everybody's crushing him. So, you know, I'll put this up for our FS1 viewers. On the left is MVP's with titles. These are the faces of the league, Kareem, Michael, Durant, LeBron, Kobe, Magic, Bird, Duncan, Shaq.

MVP's without title, it's a lot of, yeah, buddy was difficult, didn't play well with others, wasn't very clutch. By the way, I like Steve Nash. I like Barclay. But James now is in that kind of awesome. group of six people on the face of the earth or seven, MVP without a title. I felt like that game hurt Hardin's legacy. And the reason it did, and yes, you were right.

The reason it did because, like we mentioned earlier, he could not get it done when Golden State's best player was out. That's going to stick out like a sore thumb. Then you go to Houston. And he didn't play poorly. He made some blunders down the stretch that. put them in a tough situation. But overall, he played okay.

But it's not about playing okay. It's about willing your team to win. There was no reason why this series shouldn't have been shifted to game seven. And it also matters, Chris, when you score matters. If Steph Curry had 33 in the first half and none in the second, we'd be like dog. No doubt. Stap pattern. No doubt.

It's in game five, James disappeared. And in game six, you know, people will point the 35 points. but he missed a bunch of free throws, and in the last four minutes, I want him to take every shot. And another reason why this is so glaring as well. Remember, the last three or four years, the Houston Rockers have been fixated on taking down the Warriors, trying to redesign their obsess.

Players coming out openly said, we want this team. So you add all of that, knowing how much they wanted this team, knowing what the general manager said, they're obsessed, and the things that he went after Andre Aguadala. try to take players away from them to try to weaken that core. And you lay an egg at home in game six, that's going to stand out. The only thing that's going to erase, not erase it, but kind of diminish that low point is getting the championship.

And like I said, if Katie stays in Golden State, that's not happening. You know, it's funny. Utah never won a title, but they lost to MJ, and MJ just made shots. I don't think less of Malone or Stockton because it was like, okay, you gave a great effort, you lost to the greatest team ever, and Michael hit shots. Like this is not just Steph hitting shots.

This is a bunch of miss free throws. You disappeared in game five, in game six. Chris Paul was the best back court player for Houston. When you score, how you score, what the score is all matters. Chris Haynes, he's on his phone, he's breaking stories. Discover alerts you if they find your social security number on any one of the thousand risky websites. Free for card members, sign up online,

Discover.com slash free alerts, limitations apply. Chris, it is great seeing you. Thank you, my guy. Colin Wright, Colin Wrong. Hour 2 next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

Ah, here we go, hour 2 on a Monday. This is the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, on FS 1. Joy Taylor is joining me for our number two on a Monday. Fred Van Bleet of the Raptors before the end of the hour, Chris Broussard, Stephen Jackson.

Joy, how are you? I'm good. Are we going to hear any Joy was right about the Raptors? You have loved the baby dinosaurs all year. I tried to tell you. Now, do you feel good about the Milwaukee series? I don't like the way that if they were playing the way, if the Raptors were playing the way that they played in the series before, then yes.

But watching everyone terrified of shooting the basketball, which is required for the winning, not so much. Yeah, I think Milwaukee feels like, listen, Milwaukee's good. You know, it's going to be an interesting series. I do think they'll have some rust on game one, Milwaukee. Yeah, listen, I found Toronto and Philadelphia the craziest series so far in the league. I couldn't figure out one game, two games, Philadelphia didn't show up. There was a game Toronto didn't show up. Yesterday, I thought Toronto, eight minutes in, had it wrapped.

And then 28 minutes in, I thought Toronto was in trouble. I couldn't figure the series out. So here we go. We do it every Monday at this time. Colin right, Colin wrong, here we go. Where Colin was right. I said all year about Denver. Young teams that are talented bring it down.

Denver, the number two seed, could not win a second round series. Even though they had the best NBA home record, they lost three times in the postseason at home. Don't get fooled by talented. hungry young teams. They tend to win 30 games on effort. And this team, once you get to the playoffs, everybody is playing hard. They were unbeatable at home. Portland beat them twice in Denver.

So nice team, but we said they're too young, they're too green, they're too inexperienced to win multiple series in the playoffs. We got it right with Denver. Where Colin was wrong. Friday night, Vegas had it. Houston minus eight. Vegas gave the dynasty no shot. That is the guttiest, scrappiest, craziest road win in the NBA I have seen in years.

I'm rarely left speechless. I was. Steph Curry had no points at half. Katie didn't play and Boogie didn't play. They had no bench, no size. And it was tied. Huh? Iggy had 5'3.

Sean Livingston played his best game of the year. You know, that's the old cliche, the heart of a champion. I sat there at halftime, and I just said, I was texting buddies. I'm like, no boogie, no KD, and Steph is scoreless, and it's tied? What's going on? What world? Maybe the earth is flat, like Kyrie Irving said. I was wrong on that one.

Where Colin was right? But Philadelphia, the process is a bunch of hooey. Jimmy Butler was your only reliable player, and he ain't part of the process. You had to trade for him. and the GM that created the process doesn't work in the NBA anymore. He's a consultant in the NFL for a team that finished in third place in their own division last year. I got nothing against Sam Hinky. But here's what I know.

The two guys from the process, M. Bied and Simmons, they don't work together. They just don't. And I think they're both really talented, but I just, I'm not into the nickname thing. If you want to tank, just call it tanking. That's what you did. You tank for six years and whiffed on about five draft picks. Even Joel M. Beat after the game was done here in about the nickname. process. I don't know, game seven. Losing the game that way. A lot of things go through your mind

and it sucks. Where would you say the process is right now? And you just played the most minutes you've ever played in regulation. Are you tired? I don't give a damn about the process. There you go. Either do I am over it. Where Colin was wrong. You know, I had thought and I said this two years ago, I used to think of Hardin and Westbrook as kind of similar players, Hardin the better shooter. And I said, you know, James is totally separated from Westbrook, but there are a lot of similarities.

They dominate December. They dominate January. They get all the headlines. But late in seasons, they just don't feel the same. They don't feel as reliable. They fizzle out. I don't know. Is James Hardin in great shape? He's obviously an NBA player. He's in good shape.

But in game five, he just disappeared. And Chris Paul was the better guard in game six. So, you know, there's these similarities with Westbrook. I still like him more than Westbrook because it's a shooters league and I think he is a bizarrely uniquely talented scorer. But let's be honest. I'm getting a lot of the same narratives here. You got to get out of the second round. I mean, it's once the referees didn't give you all the flipping and flopping and not, I want to hear that he had 35 points. When did he score the 35 points?

Late in game five, he disappeared. Where Colin was right? I said Steph Curry is the least respected great player of my lifetime. And I said that before Friday night. In fact, I said it Wednesday and Thursday. This is Steph's team. It's always been Steph's team. He is not underrated by people in the organization.

He's underrated by players. He had 17 points with four and a half to go. and ended up with 33. I know he doesn't fit everybody's stereotype of what the man is and what the alpha dog is, but that guy is now 30 and 4. The Warriors with Steph are 30 and 4 when Steph plays and KD doesn't. Again, KD may be the better, quote, player, but Steph's a better pure three-point shooter.

He's a better ball handler, and frankly, he's a better leader. Not that Katie's a terrible leader. But Steph Curry, as I said before game six, is the most underrated great player of my life. Maybe on the outside, but you can't tell me Steve Curran, Bob Meyer, don't understand the value of Steph Curry. Where Colin was wrong.

I'm going to take a big fat goose egg on the Boston Celtics. About six months or wrong on that. I like the coach. I like the cast. I like the closer. And, you know, I usually don't buy into some regular season drama. Players figured out. I mean, LeBron's dramatic every January.

Yeah, they figured out. these guys didn't figure it out. Just didn't fit. Maybe it's Brad, maybe it's Kyrie. I was just wrong for months on this. I kept saying Coach, cast, closer. I'm good. But it's not that they lost to

Milwaukee. That series after game one wasn't that competitive. It really wasn't. It was a lot of Milwaukee, bigger, stronger, deeper, better bench. Big Fat Zero sandwich for me on that one. Where Colin was

right? Said for a year, small markets in sports always think the league is against them. And if they lose a game, it's because the league doesn't like us and the league is after us. And Gail Benson, bless her heart, the Saints owner is still yapping about the Saints loss that everybody in the world is over and understood was just a bad call. But here she was at a commencement speech this weekend. Had this happened in another city, it is likely there would have been riots in the streets. As bitterly disappointed as our fans were, our response was the opposite. Rather than riot, our protests turned into another cause for parties.

Boycott bowls sprang up throughout the city on Super Bowl Sunday. And our fans' displeasure. with the obviously terrible no-call, was expressed to the NFL by turning out at a historic rate, delivering the lowest Super Bowl rating in the country. First of all, can I address the riot thing? Green Bay does not feel like a riot city to be. I'm trying to think of what kind of city would riot over a call like that? Nobody would.

By the way, Los Angeles wouldn't have rioted. No. Most of the city didn't watch the game. Pittsburgh wouldn't. Come on. It's time to move on. It was a bad call. Maybe, New England, I don't know. They've had so many wins. It's like, are they going to riot? This is exactly small markets wear me out. They think the world's against them.

It was a bad call. By the way, you had a chance to stop the Rams after that in an overtime. You couldn't. That's on you. Where Colin was raw. I was very cynical all year when LeBron's people kept telling me via texts. Colin, LeBron is handed over the reins to the Lakers. He has no control. And I tell Rich Paul, come on, Rich. You can't sell me that.

Apparently, LeBron doesn't have any pull because Magic quit and didn't give him a phone call. That's what LeBron said, and I believe him. And Frank Vogel's the head coach. And they gave Hamer the three-year deal. And Frank Vogel was probably about the fourth-fifth choice. I always felt like, listen, LeBron didn't come out here and not have any saying it. But increasingly, it is absolutely definitively clear that Kurt Rambos and Phil Jackson have more power in that building than LeBron James. Kobe's agent has more power than LeBron James.

I was cynical and I was wrong. Where Colin was wrong. Yeah, I have more wrongs than rights this week. That Raptor thing, that was a one. And Joy all year was, she just loves Canada. Maybe that's it. I mean, Canada's a very nice place. It's very nice.

It's very nice people. I didn't buy into this show all year long. And I got to be honest, it's good for the city. Kauai's absurd. I mean, let's be honest about Kauai Leonard. 35 points average. There were times it felt like he was single-handedly beating Philadelphia. And I don't think I'm hyperventilating here.

End of the game is just like, stop me. It had a very much an MJ feel to it. Very much. Stop me. And nobody. Nobody could in Philadelphia. And I don't know the Raptors' chances against Milwaukee. That's a tough matchup for anybody.

But Kauai Leonard and Toronto's in one fell swoop, they deserve it. Give me the buzzer beater one more time. Do we have that? Give them love one more time. It's off to Leonard. Defended by Simmons. Is this the dagger? I got to be honest.

I know it's a weird comparison. We always talk LeBron and Michael. Kauai's got, if you never saw Michael play live, Kauai Leonard's got a lot of Michael Jordan where it's just like, I'm coming down, I'm a forward,

I shouldn't be a point guard. Stop me. And that was a terrible shot. It was falling out of bounds of one leg. It was an impossible shot. Yeah. Between the hand size, his improvisation in the air,

his ability to play both ways, his ability to hit shots clutch, his stone cold sort of personality. I know nobody's ever going to compare Kauai to MJ, but they're built the same. They are wiry, strong, 6-6.5 guys, 6-7 guy for Kauai. That was great. All right, Chris Broussard is coming up next.

He'll be joining us. Fred Van Fleet of the Raptors joining us. We are loaded today. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHard 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 SportsLice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves,

their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial, calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. 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 Slicalife Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swag. American businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world. He doesn't look back.

Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life.

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. Life throws hurdles big and small.

The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going from the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain.

It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their. face light up and smile. That means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning.

It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Great to have you back in. By the way, the NBA is December player of the months in the West, the last five years. Harden, Westbrook, Harden, Westbrook Hardin. Don't win December. It doesn't mean anything.

With that via the Cower Global Satellite, Chris Broussard, FS1, our NBA guys. Let me start with that. Three and a half minutes to go, Steph had 17 points. He ends with 33. At the end of games five and six, Hardin is, you know, the numbers are. fine, but he disappeared in five, and Chris Paul was better in game six late. I thought this hurt Hardin's legacy, Dan Tony's legacy. Does the window close in Houston for you?

Let's start with that, Chris. You know, James Hardin, I just wanted to see if he showed up. I mean, I think they lost to a better team even without Kevin Durant. But I can't be too critical of Hardin because I do think he played well. I mean, like you said, the numbers 35 points a game, 45% shooting for the entire series. hit some big shots late, you know, in game six. They just lost. I think Mike Dantone, his legacy, I think, gets hurt because of this.

This is the Phoenix sons of Steve Nash. Mike Dantone, I've said it, two weaknesses, lack of attention to detail, non-confrontational. Those things hurt you when the gap between your teams is this big and every little thing matters. and that's what's hurt Dan Tony in the past, and that's what hurt him this weekend with the Rockets. But I don't want to say,

if you put a gun to my head and ask me, will James Harden win a title in Houston? I probably would say no. But I don't think it's because of any lack in his game. I think it's because right now they don't have the pieces. They need a front court player who can create some offense, so it's not all James Paul, Chris Paul, or James Harden, Chris Paul,

Austin Rivers or another guard. Like everything is created by guards in Houston. Eric Gordon being the other one. They need a front court player they can run pick and roll with Hardin who can do more than catch a lob at the rim and dunk it, a la Clint Capella. I project this, Colin. Darry needs to get on the phone and call Philadelphia

and offer Chris Paul for Ben Simmons. Wow. Oh, I'd like that. I don't know if they would do it. Philly would do it, but Ben Simmons could run the high pick and roll with Hardin. Even though he can't shoot, if you pass it to him in a pop, he can create a play for himself or another teammate. That's something they don't have.

If you look at the history of the NBA, teams that win championships have typically had a guard and a front court player who could create offense, either for themselves or their teammates. That's what Houston lacks. Let me talk about Steph. I said this last week and I'll say it again. I've never seen a player this revolutionary and this good who gets less respect. If you ask players, they like Westbrook over Steph.

Why is it we constantly invalidate? I could argue he's the best leader, the best shooter, and the best ball handler in the league. Why doesn't he get any love? Well, I think recently it's because I, look, I didn't kill Kevin Duran when he went to Golden State, but I do feel like, and it felt like, we as NBA nation, if you will, fans and everyone else, we've been robbed. We have been robbed of Steph Curry.

The MVP, Steph Curry, has gone into hibernation. Remember, he was the only unanimous MVP in NBA history. He averaged 30 points a game in 2016. Every other night he was doing something that made us lose our breath and fall out of our seat. And now that Steph only comes out every once in a while. Tim Legler, who we both worked with at our former network, I have great respect for his basketball knowledge. He said at that time in 2016, Steph Curry could end up being one of the top three players in NBA history. That's an overstatement.

I don't think you could get that high. But that just shows you how dynamic he was. haven't seen it because Durant has been there. Durant is a better player and it's taken away from the individual production of Stefan Clay. Yeah.

I'm watching these highlights. He's just remarkable. Okay, I think, listen. And can I say this? We should stop questioning his toughness. Thank you. His toughness never should have been questioned, but he played with a dislocated finger and still hit those

30-foot three-pointers. at the end of that game. So let's not question this toughness just because he looks all cute and cuddly. Okay. I think Oklahoma, I think Philadelphia could be Oklahoma City. I think they have tough choices to make. I don't think you should pay Tobias Harris what he wants. I think he's a B, not an A.

I think Embed's body scares me. I mean, I believe you've got to move some pieces here. What do you do with Philadelphia? They couldn't win a second round Eastern, conference playoff series against a team many see as a one-man team the Raptors? Yeah, I mean, they have some tough decisions. There's no question. Let me start with what I liked. I thought they showed more heart than I expected. Yeah. I liked the fact that Joe LNB was crying after the game, balling after the game. I liked his demeanor in the postgame press conference.

I could see the pain he was feeling. That's the type of pain, Colin, that ideally will make Make him change his diet, make him improve his work ethic, and make him drop about 20 to 30 pounds, which will help his knees. That's what the first thing that needs to happen. The second thing, I brought up Ben Simmons going to Houston. You know, who knows if that could happen. But if you keep Ben Simmons, I give him one year. You've got this offseason, Ben, to come back with the semblance of a jump shot. Because here's the problem.

If you watch that game six or seven, I'm sorry, you heard Greg Anthony, the broadcaster for T&T, constantly saying throughout the game, why isn't Embed in the post? They need to put Embed on the block. Put Embed inside. They couldn't do it because Ben Simmons was on the block, and he wasn't posting.

He was just down there because if you're going to have Simmons on the floor, that's the only place you can put him that the opponent will guard him. So that forced Joel Embed out playing like a guard. Joel Embed might as well have been six foot three yesterday on the offensive end. He was playing like a guard, and that hindered a huge advantage Philadelphia had yesterday. The only choice, though, was to take, put Embed in the block, take Simmons off the floor, and put Mike Scott down there so you get some floor spacing.

So that's the conundrum. So those are my two main things. And then I've got to figure out, man, is Jimmy Butler, look, he's a great player. Can I trust him if I pay him the max to be the man in my franchise? And that's, I wouldn't want to give him the max, but it might take that to fend off the Lakers or the Knicks or some other team out there. They signs him as a free agent. So that's their toughest decision to me. By the way, just announced that Kevin Durant's out for game one of the Western Conference finals.

Again, if I'm Portland, I don't know how I feel about that because Golden State has played so well without him, 30 and 4, without him and staff playing. It is unlikely Durant plays game two either, this by Ramona Shelburne. So you got your Kevin Durant issue. Again, I'm not sure how that lands. Speaking of landing, Fred Vogels, the coach of the Lakers. Frank Vogel, sorry. Look at I butcher that. That says a lot, though, that you thought it was Fred.

I'm sorry, that's his brother-friend. That says a lot about what he's done, right? Right. Somebody told me you like the move? Well, look, when I first heard it, I was stunned like everybody else because of the names out there, Jason Kidd, Lionel Highlands, Mike Woodson, Vogel would have been my fourth choice, okay? Yeah. And then I figured, what would have made more sense was to put Jason Kidd as the head coach. Vogel as an assistant.

Made some calls, talked to some people close to LeBron. I'm told LeBron has respect for Vogel and that it dates back to Miami versus Indiana. And LeBron understands that it was LeBron, DeWain Wade, Chris Bosch, and a good supporting cast against Paul George, Roy Hibbert, George Hill, and David West. That's not a great group. And yet that team took Miami to six games twice

and to seven games once. Yes. So LeBron has respect for Vogel's coaching ability. And, Colin, that's the key. If Vogel shows LeBron he's prepared, he's dotted his eyes and crossed his T's and has everything. That's how non-players get the respect of players. They show you, they know everything you need to know

to help you win as a team. And LeBron will buy in the Vogel, I'm told. And that's the key, Colin. Brian has to buy in. Portland is in the conference finals. Portland. You can't tell me a healthy LeBron James and whatever they have around him in L.A.

Can't compete with Portland. So if LeBron has the right attitude, buys into Vogel and Vogel knows what he's doing, then I think they could have a successful season. Before you go, do you have something to say about Kauai Leonard? Yeah. Is he in your top five yet? He's pretty good.

By the way, I said this. You come around, don't you? I said this. Nobody's going to compare him to Jordan, but I never thought Kobe played like Jordan. I thought Kobe was much more artistic, had better shooting range. They were different players. I watch Kauai, and he looks a lot like Jordan, the physical strength, the sinewy body, the hands, the improvisation, the mid-range jumper.

Kauai, more than Kobe, plays like MJ to me. Am I nuts? Well, I think stylistically, the grace in the air, the movements. Kobe was like Michael in that regard. Like, Michael's a lot more graceful than Kauai. But if you look at the spots on the floor, you mentioned the fade away that Kauai has and was hitting last night. The defensive ability, the strength, you know, going in the post even. Like, those are similar to Jordan.

So I'm not mad at that comparison. Although I think Michael was so much, his game was so much prettier just the way he moved like Kobe. But yeah, spots on the floor, effectiveness, style of play. There's a similarity there for sure. He's in my top five. How about that? Well, we'll sneak him into our top five now. Just putting right on.

He's going to look good in the Clippers uniform. Come on. Slow down there. Now, you know, look, here's what I was going through yesterday, Colin. in the second half, when it looked like the other raptors were afraid to shoot. And all they were doing was looking for Kauai. I was saying, see, this is a reason for him to leave. Nobody else wants the ball.

It's all him. And then when he hit that shot, I was like, that's the type of emotional moment. That's the type of bonding experience that could lead a guy to stay in Toronto. And then I thought, but you know what? it's the second round. For all that, the greatness that that shot had, the tears from the general manager or the president, Masai Ujiri, all of that,

if they go to Milwaukee and get beaten soundly in five or six, it's out the window. And I don't think it would do anything to keep him there. Chris, good talking to you, buddy. All right, man. Good talking to you. Chris Broussard, good stuff. We're scheduled to have Fred Van Blyte of the Raptors on.

I got to give him some. love. I like Canada. I went to Vancouver, BC last summer. I clearly like the country. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, winning a game 7 on the road is difficult, obviously. Feels a little

bit better when you have Damien Lillard. Yes. But last night it was C.J. McCollum. He had the game of his life, 37 points on 17 of 29 shooting. Mid-range. Yes, he did. That amazing chase down block on Jamal Murray. And now the Blazers move on to face the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals and in at least

game one of the Western Conference Finals. It will be without Kevin Durant. That's according to Ramona Shelburne. He's not being re-evaluated until Thursday, so it's unlikely he will play in game two either. Blazers actually hold a four-three lead over the Warriors in the regular season over the last two years, if that means anything to you.

Two great backcorts. Two great backcorts. Dame and CJ have a little bit of that, of a modern-day Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, feel to them. I say modern day because obviously they were known for defense, and there's not so much defense in today's game. Think about this, Joy.

Damien went to Weber State, CJ went to Lehigh, Clay went to Washington State, and Steph went to Davidson. I mean, for all the Duke, Kansas, Syracuse, the Western Conference Finals, and all those guys stayed for more than a year. So I was reading this on,

somebody had this yesterday on the Internet. I'm like, this is crazy. And that should tell you something about developing your game and being overreactive to players not popping in their first, one or two years. It takes time, especially for a backcourt player to develop into what you need to be in this league. You have to get strength.

You have to work on your skills. And especially when this has become the skill league that it is. It's going to be an exciting series. I don't think that it's going to be as easy as some people are expecting. Like just talking about Portland, if they don't play, if they play where everyone contributes, I mean, Dame didn't have a monster game yesterday. It was all CJ McCollum. Well, and also Chris Paul is a shadow of what he once was.

dames in his prime CJ's in his prime they got you know my thing about Portland is they got a bunch of guys to get buckets Rodney Hood can give you 14 can or can give you 16

if Zach Collins play he's young kid but he can give you buckets they just you know they're very well-rounded team yeah well coached they you know generally they're great

when dames hot but you know I mean this is a team that had to make a massive trade at the trading deadline because they lost Nurkich and I got to be honest I almost wonder if their canter is kind of Nurtkich.

You get kind of the same numbers. I don't know. Nerkitz was playing pretty unbelievable. But Cantor stepped in and been amazing as well. So it's going to be a fun series. So Kyrie and LeBron went through a pretty public teammate divorce less than two years ago. Obviously, Kyrie requested a trade from the Cavs. And now they could possibly be headed for a reunion, according to ESPN's Brian Winhorse.

Kyrie is growing more open to the possibility of signing with the Lakers in free agency. I would have said that this was impossible for many months. But as time passes here, I think the possibility of Kyrie and LeBron reuniting is, you know, that door, which was deadbolted, has now been undead bolted and is now cracked open. It might even be opening more by the day. And I say that not because I just think it's on Kyrie's radar. It's on Kyrie's board. He has had discussions with people about playing for the Lakers.

I got to be honest. I'm not enthusiastic about the. Lakers anymore. I know. I feel exact same way this morning. I'm like, it's just, there's just... They're just a team to me now. Yeah. It's unfortunate because LeBron is there. I feel the exact same way. But I have no

hope for the future of this franchise in the next three years with LeBron there. And that's no disrespect to Frank Vogel, but... I feel the same exact way. He's done... He might be a good ex-as-and-nose guy, and maybe LeBron does have some respect for him, but he's on a LeBron deal. You got Jason kid there sitting

waiting for the Blatt move to swoop in. I don't know why you wouldn't just hire Jason Kidd to begin with. It just feels like there was 20 people in the room and everyone got their opportunity to say something. And there just was no leader saying this is not what we need to do. There's no aggression. There's just no there there. I mean, maybe if Kyrie gets there, they're just better on paper.

But I have no hope or enthusiasm about them this year. Finally, last night's Game of Thrones featured a cameo. by Aaron Rogers. I heard that. It was a very exciting episode. I have mixed feelings about it. I haven't decided how I feel about what happened. Do the sorcerers or the sea wolves win?

Do the dragons or the wizard boys win? Well, spoiler alert, the dragons very much won. What about the werewolves? There were no werewolves last night. But anyway, Rogers could be spotted briefly as an archer in the Lannister Army, so he was up on the wall. That's funny. So you pretty much knew it was a wrap for him at that moment.

And then we can't show it actually. This is his costume. I love this. It was just for a few seconds, but I'll always be thankful to have been on a Penn Ultimate episode of Game of Thrones. That's great.

It was a crazy episode. And I didn't actually notice him because his cameo was so fast. But the scene, I remember the scene as soon as I saw it, because he kind of takes a turn. Spoiler, spoiler, spoiler, the dragon burns up the city. And Aaron makes a turn and he gets caught in the flames and he goes very dramatic.

I'm just going to reenact it for you. And then he burns up. Really? Yeah. How did the... He actually didn't run how he runs on the field either, so you could tell he was really acting. That's funny.

Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. Man, Canada hates me, hopefully. Fred Van Bleet, backcourt guy. Another small college program, Wichita State guy. I mean, I swear to God, the NBA is being taken over

by Weber State and Wichita State. He'll be joining us next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the I-Hard Radio app. Well, all year long, Joy Taylor told me, keep your eye in Toronto, keep your eye in Toronto. And I said, I don't trust them. I've been burned by Toronto before. Well, that's a big bowl of wrong for me.

Yesterday they got their way past an incredibly talented team in Philadelphia. and we showed you the buzzer-beater multiple times. I want to bring on from Wichita State and Rockford, Illinois, often overlooked, but a two-time Missouri Valley Conference player, he's a perfect fit with the Raptors. Fred Van Bleet is joining us now. Fred, thanks for coming on the show. I got to ask you, we're going to show the game-winning shot again. We're going to spot shadow you.

You had the perfect seat for it. Go back to high school. Have you ever been in a buzzer-beater win before? Yeah, but you'd be surprised how many different crazy endings you get in AAU and high school basketball and stuff like that. But nothing of this magnitude, you know, game seven, everything's on the line. You know, Kauai's pretty quiet guy, hard for us in the media to get our arms around him. Is he more talkative? Is he different locker room on the team playing at practice?

Yeah, he doesn't like to talk to you guys and, you know, that's understandable. But with us, he's pretty normal. and he's definitely on the quieter side, but he's still a normal dude to us. You know, Fred, there's this narrative out there that, you know, everybody knows he's a free agent. Is that a weird situation? Do you talk to him about it? You'd obviously love him to stay. The city loves him.

The team loves him. How do you kind of reconcile all that? Is it something you guys talked about this year that he could leave? Yeah, we talk about it. I mean, we're human. We talk about all this stuff, and we laugh and joke about it. And, you know, that's his business. At the end of the day, we just won his best for this year.

And hopefully, you know, we reach our chances to win a title, and then he can do whatever he wants after that. So that's really none of our business. And we love to have him and we love to keep him, and he knows that. And I think he's having a great time here in Toronto. But, you know, we're just so focused in on this series and these playoffs. And then, you know, when the summertime comes, that's when Kauai needs to do what's best for him.

People talk about the relationship between the Raptors and the city of Toronto feels different than other cities. Now, you've only played for the Raptors last three years, but if you could, explain what it feels like to you. Now, you were in a smaller town at Wichita State, similarly where the team was the town. Does it feel a little bit like that, Fred? Yeah, it's the same.

Obviously, we have the leaps here, and it's probably still a hockey town per se just because that's Canada sport. But just to have the entire country behind you, have the city of Toronto behind you, where people kind of identify. fight with the team and the underdog role and all of those things put together. And this time is a special time in the city.

You know, Fred, Damian Lillard's from Weber State, Steph Curry's from Davidson, Clay Thompson, Washington State, you're from Wichita State. It's a Kauai, San Diego State, I think. It's amazing how many guys in this league at the end of the season are from non-traditional, you know, Duke, Kansas Powers. Could I say this, Fred, that there's a certain chip on the shoulder when you do get overlooked, when nobody watched in college? Or is it just a crazy coincidence? The NBA now is being run by a lot of guys we didn't watch in college a ton.

Yeah, it's not a coincidence. I just think the number one thing out of that is, you know, you can write this million story. You can play. You can't play. You can't play who get the hype. They can't. At the end of the day, there's so many schools that they're not going to get it right all the time. and it's just your job as an individual to keep working and go to us.

But the NBA doesn't, if you can play, you know, you'll be all right. I was saying with Kauai Leonard, it's interesting. I'm not saying he's MJ, but from his body, his intensity, his defense, his mid-range jumper, the ability with his hand size to palm it and improvise in the air, there is a, I see a little MJ, I see a little bit Fred of MJ. Is I the only person, have you ever seen a little bit of the? that too? Yeah, we're seeing. I can deny that. I think that, you know, Michael Jordan's infant on the game is in a lot of some of that, along with Kobe and some of those guys, and just how dominating

he is with his physicality and the steel. He's, you know, establishing himself and his own right, the best players in the world. And I'm sure he's picked a little bit from each of those guys' games. Finally, I don't know if you've heard of Janus. He's a handful. Milwaukee is deep. they're big, they're long, they're well-coached. I know you guys had some struggles this year. What do you make of that series? Yeah, I think we've been pretty well tested in these playoffs. Orlando gave us a good shot, although it was four-one.

We've been tested. I think we'll be pretty well prepared, and it's going to be a hell of a series. The best team is going to come out of it. So we're just trying to lock in these next couple of days and come up with a game plan and go out there. And, you know, whoever plays the best is going to win. Sometimes it's just that simple. Is it mandatory that you have to listen to Drake,

if you're a raptor? What if he wasn't your favorite guy? That's not a thing. Fred, good luck to you and the Raptors, man. I appreciate it. All right, thanks for having. There we go. Fred Van Fleet is part of the Raptors, which, listen, man, I didn't buy him all year. I've been burned by him. And Joy over here is just a big fan of dinosaurs. I am a big fan of dinosaurs. Degasaurus is my favorite. And then the Raptors, coincidentally. But they're just, everyone just forgot who Kauai is. And it's understandable because he was gone for

year. And he doesn't talk. With an intense injury, he doesn't talk. It seems like he was difficult because who can't work with the Spurs and Greg Popovich and who wouldn't want assist him like that. Kauai is just his own guy, but everyone forgot how great Kauai is. You know what I like about Kauai, too? He shoots mid-range jumpers. I'm not anti-analytics. But analytics weren't created to find Barry Bonds. They were created over the course of 162 games. You go with all analytics are as averages. But when you get down to a series and everybody's evenly rested and it's the best coaches, the best defense, the best schemes, the best players, the best closers, the best,

I got nothing against analytics. I need guys who can get buckets. Well, LeBron, we're showing LeBron's tweet. The Bronn said it best because analytics really should only be used to give you an advantage to help you prepare for your opponent. You can't play the game based off of analytics. You see what happens when you do that? One of the guys on the staff this morning had a great line about this, and I got to give, Sammy had this. He said, hold on, I got to find this line. I have to give Sam credit.

Occasionally, I don't have all the brilliant lines on this show. What was it? No, I can't find it, Sam. I'm sorry about that. Oh, yeah. Analytics will qualify you for the playoffs. Stars will advance you. There you go, Sam.

Only good line he's ever had on the show. Might as well get it in there. It's true, though. It's really true. Over the course of a season, 162 baseball games, analytics, play the averages, get you in. You want to advance, then David Price for the Red Sox has to throw three hitters. That's the reality.

Clayton Kershaw can't have a bad seventh inning. I mean, that's the reality. You want to advance? Give me a mid-range jumper. It's the herd. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the I-Heart 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back.

Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this went to a billion-dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, Just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me?

Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them?

them. On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WMBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star, Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me.

And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. Podcasts for wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. Tiger Woods returns to Pebble Beach, the site of his most dominant major win, while Brooks Kepka is looking to make history as he attempts to capture his third straight championship. The U.S. Open begins June 13th on Fox, FS1, and the Fox Sports app. By the way, how much greater is that now that Tigers won the Masters? Now, I mean, seriously, now that Tigers won the Masters, you have to watch the U.S. Open. I mean, because he's had the Pebble Beach U.S. open, the one that he basically, wasn't that Rocco mediate?

They went to extra holes. And, oh, Lord. Stephen Jackson drafted in the second round. Nobody knew who Stephen Jackson was. You're like Fred Van Vleet and Damien Lillard and Steph Curry and all these small college guy. Isn't an amazing? Clay Thompson, Washington State, Kauai San Diego State, Damian Lillard, Weber State, Yonis, Greece. The whole league now is a bunch of guys.

who went to schools? I mean, what do you make of that? That just goes to show that you don't have to build a big school or have a big name to make it. You know, your grind, your devotion, your dedication to the sport, your dedication to get better, and your will to want to make it, that'll get you through. When you came into the NBA, did you know who went to Duke and Kansas and the big schools?

Absolutely not. You didn't care. No, because, you know, I was in, I grad, I played the McDonald's game with Kobe Bryant, Tim Thomas, Jim Thomas, Jermaine O'Neill, Mike Bibby, Richard Hamilton. That was my class. So I had stars in my class. You know what I mean?

And after the McDonald's game, when I played a McDonald's game with all those guys, and I led it and scoring, you know, I felt like I belonged. Sure. And that gave me the confidence. Let me talk about Steph Curry. It is fascinating to me that most of us believe Kevin Durant's the better player, but they're like 30 and 4 when Durant's out and it's just Steph's team. it tells me, you know, we just always say

KD's better. He's not a better ball handler. I don't know if he's a better leader. I mean, there is something to say about Steph. I know he's not the toughest guy or the Alphe, everybody thinks, but when you're 30 and four, if the star player left and your team led by you was 30 and four, I'd be like maybe the 30 and four guy is better than we think. Right.

What do you make of that? From a players look at it, Steph is a trendsetter. Steph is to the NBA what Alan Opperson was to the NBA. He's a trendsetter. Katie's both unicorns. Steph's a trendsetter and so is KD.

We've never seen a 6-11 guy so efficient like KD, shoot like KD, hand to the ball. We've never seen that. We've never seen the guy shoot like Steph Curry or make the shots he make. And they both change the game. So they're both special. And Steph can lead any team.

He won a championship without KD. So we have to give him his props for that. And he's still a two-time MVP. Do you think less of Harden after another series loss? Yeah, because, you know, I felt like he didn't have that killer instinct at the end of the game. That's my not. I said it on his press conference, I wanted to leave everything out there. James didn't leave everything out there.

And it was obvious all those threes, all those shots that go to the state kept hitting him. It kind of started knocking the win out of him. And he never was able to bounce back. And if you see it in the game, the shots he was missing, it's just not being in the game, not just being locked in, man. I just don't see them winning with playing this style of ball and not having nobody. else to help him. It is interesting. I said this. I always looked at Carmelo Anthony and I always question, is he in great shape? Like your body, D. Wade, LeBron. I'm like, oh, those guys, is it possible James just gets worn out? He has a different body type. You can't be that

ball-centric in December, January, February. And then me to ask you in May to go six and seven games. I mean, I just, it's not, he's not unraveling. He just sort of vanishes in key spots. Yeah, I mean, we got to realize he is human, so I'm pretty sure he gets tired. And a lot of those, and that's one thing I don't like about ISO ball. It works into a certain extent, especially in the playoffs, they lay on you, they lean on you, they bang you, and they take away the things you, the things you do often, things you do well, they take away from you a lot in the playoffs.

He saw a lot of different combinations on defense, and I think he just got war, that war down, warred on those shots, those big shots that the warriors kept making, that are not the win out you too. And I think he just kind of gave up at the end. You know, I said earlier, I'm not saying Kauai Leonard's Michael, but there are moments with his mid-range game that he just comes down, the big hands, the 6-7 body, stop me. I'm not saying he's Michael because Kobe is probably the closest thing to him. What do you make a Kauai's game? Well, if you're going to compare Kobe, you have to compare Kauai, too, because they have a lot of the same similarities. They're relentless.

They play on both ends of the ball. Kauai might be the best two-way player we've ever seen in a long time since Scottie Pippen. So he does a lot of things at MJ, the fadeaway shots, the willingness to know that you had a game seven and I have to go completely out. If I have to shoot 40 times to win, I will. That's Kobe. That's joy and that's the attitude they have. There's no time to lay back.

There's no time to leave regrets out there. Kauai went out there and gave everything he had from the fadeaways to it all. all MJ and Kobe. Let's say you're Kauai Leonard. Toronto loves you. It's a real team. It's pretty much a one-man team at times. Would you stay or go?

All things in, you're Kauai. Think about everything. Somebody threw this at me last week. Shoe deal. Make a lot of money in shoe deals in California. It's harder in Toronto. What do you make of that? What would you do?

Well, the bad part is you get taxed twice. If you play in Toronto, you get taxed here and in Canada, on your money. Right. That's the bad part off the rip. I don't want to pay two taxes, okay? That's the bad part. Second, I mean, it's all about comfort.

I mean, I wouldn't mind playing in Toronto if I'm on a winning team, if I'm in a situation where it's beneficial to me and we're winning. But at the same time, he has a lot of options like that. He can come to L.A. and still win and still make a lot of money. He can go to New York. He can go to, he has difference. He can go to Clippers and come and make a lot of money and possibly win. I think the shoe story's undersold.

He's with New Balance. By the way, New Balance in New York feels bigger than New Balance in Toronto. True. I agree with you on that. I definitely agree with you on that. But if he sells the new balances like Shannon Sharp had on this morning, he'll sell him. Shannon had on some nice ones this morning. I went, something that's funny, Portland lived and died yesterday on the mid-range shot.

Yes. And I get analytics. it qualifies you for the postseason. But once you get to the post season, I just want guys making shots. When you hear analytics and watch Portland, who just shot mid-range jumpers yesterday, as a player, do you like analytics?

I just want to know what pick analytics got drafted. What charge did analytics take? How many times analytics took an elbow to the eye to the mouth? How many walk-off buzzer beaters has analytics hit? None. So I don't really pay attention to that. I mean, the reason why he took so many mid-range shots, because they was giving him.

He was coming off the pick-and-roll that was going over the top of the pick-and-roll, and the big was sagging off. That's the shot you take. You take what the game gives you. You don't make it difficult, and that's what he did. Smart play. It's funny. In the regular season, I'm not saying guys don't play hard,

but after 82 games, you got in town late, you had a shoot around at 10, you go to bed, you wake up, you're groggy, you have a piece of fish, You go to the ballpark, you know, you go to the arena. Threes are easier in the regular season. You get to the postseason, and I'm facing Stephen Jackson for the seventh time in two weeks. I'm running you off that line. You can always get in this game, to get a great three seems easier in the regular season than the postseason. No question.

Whereas if I can get a two, M.B. can get a two all day. Anytime. And again, maybe there's an analytic that says I'm completely off my rocker. But I do think that there are certain analytics. All analytics are, Stephen, is an average. Averages, play the averages in a long regular season. But do you know Houston's number one in the NBA in the three-point or dunk analytic and Golden State 17th? Golden State doesn't shoot as many threes as we think.

And so part of me, like Friday night, part of me was rooting against Houston and all the flopping and all the analytics. I hate it, yeah. I found myself, I'm like, I like Daryl, but I was rooting for the champion. Who were you rooting for Friday? I'm a Golden State guy. I'm a Golden State guy. I'm a Golden State. All the teams I played for and had success with Golden State is the only team that

made me feel like family. Really? Yes, the only organization that showed me to appreciate for what I've done. What do you mean? How? They bring me back every year. They invite us to games. Anytime I want to come to games or anything to have something.

They do something for the We Believe team every year. They bring us back every year and show us they appreciate. the time there. You know, so their family to mean, I'm always I feel like I'm a part of their family. That's great. Yeah. You know, I was wrong on the Celtics this year.

Was there anything that shocked you? I whiffed on the Celtics. I thought they'd turn it around. It's a big fat bowl of Zippo for me. I was terrible. What was the story that surprised you this year? Well, what people are not saying is, if you know me, I was one of those guys.

I praised Brad Steve. Brad Stevens. Right. He had a bad year this year. And nobody's talking about that. He had a bad year. It wasn't just the players. When a team is not cooperating and everybody's not on the same page, it starts with the coach.

And I think he made a mistake if not playing Jalen Brown as much as he should. Jalen Brown set the bench a lot this year. Even when guys were hurt, he came in and played well. And when guys came back, he went right back to the bench. If you look at the Milwaukee series, the game won. Not only did Karee played well, but the main reason they won their game was because of Jalen Brown played well. They didn't play them as much the rest of the series, and that's why they didn't win that series. I think Brad Stevens, he's a great coach, and I love him.

He's definitely going to be a great coach for a long time, but I don't think he did a great job with substitutions this playoffs here. Yeah. What would you do if you ran the Sixers? If I ran the Sixers. And Beed and Simmons don't look like they work to me. This is what I do. Resigned Jimmy Butler,

re-signed Tobias Harris. This is what I tell everybody. I would trade Ben Simmons, sign and trade for DeAngelo Russell and one of those guards in Brooklyn. He was going to give up on Ben Simmons. Yeah, because when you have a coach, that he knows very well, they both from Australia, and he's not holding him accountable. As a basketball player, it sucks to see an NBA player

who's considered one of the top players in the league and he can't shoot. That's disrespectful to the game. And for the coaches not holding him accountable, not even attempting a shot, and you in the NBA, what is that saying to this kid that's in the gym four hours a day working on this jump shot? I don't have to shoot.

I still can make it. No, you have to shoot. Ben Simmons is being a, It's been comfortable with his game, and not getting better, it's not a good look on him. That's interesting. I like Ben Simmons. I like him, too, but not been able to shoot as a point guard, it really hurts your offense. Especially you got a big man that gets doubled a lot.

Yeah. Good to seeing you. Glad. Thanks. Always good to be here. Stephen Jackson. Enjoy with the news. No. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. So, a big announcement from the Cavs this morning. They've hired John B-lines to be their next head coach. Shocker. He was in Michigan for 12 years. and led them to two runs the national championship game in 2013, 2018, made them a powerhouse. And in Cleveland, at least this year without LeBron, they went 19 and 63. Now they are one of the three teams with the best chance landing the number one pick in the ping pong ball lottery tomorrow.

Are they? So it goes. Cavs, Knicks and Phoenix. Phoenix? Phoenix, yes. 14%. I think Knicks can, if the Knicks could drop to five, but it's like a really low number. This ping pong ball lottery has huge implications.

I have no problem saying I want New York to get one and Phoenix to get two. Because I want John Morant would make Phoenix immediately captivating with all their pieces. Right. And let's face it. NBA is better if New York's interesting and Zion's interesting and the Knicks would be more interesting. I have no problem saying that I want Zion in New York. Everyone wants Zion in New York. Nobody wants Zion to go to Phoenix.

And it's not on Monty Williams. Starver still owns the team. So I can't, I don't have any faith that anything has changed there because as long as he's still the owner of the team, there's no change in the dysfunction there. And I don't want to see Cleveland with Zion either. Yeah, I'm done. It's not about, it's enough with the cabs. Like, it's not about the Lakers. Do you have the odds in front of you?

I don't know. The Lakers do not have great odds, though. All right. I don't have it in front of me at all. 2%. I think it's 2%. To win the whole thing? Yes.

First of all, you know if the Knicks, who are tied for having the best chance to win, win, you and I should wear tinfoil hats Wednesday on the show because everybody will think it's a conspiracy. I want it to be a conspiracy. If there are conspiracy people out there that can make us happen, please do it for all of us. Folks, you watch the TV, I'm pointing the wrong way. That person over there.

Me, this one. You believe in conspiracies. I do, but I hope that this is a conspiracy and it actually does happen. I mean, it's just enough. Like, we need Zion there. Cleveland's, like, B-line's going to have a lot of adjusting from college, great college coach,

but it's going to be a big adjustment in his first year from that to the NBA. I don't know how it works out. And yeah, I just, I want to see Zanin in New York. All right, so Toronto's blockbuster trade for one-year rental of Kauai Leonard worked out pretty well. His buzzer beater over M-Bed beat the Sixers 92 to 90. We've been showing it all day.

I've been basking in my glorious rightness about it. Kauai became just the second player in the last 20 years to clinch a series with a buzzer beater. And he vindicated the Raptors. Remember, Vince Carter missed a buzzer-beater back in 2001 in Game 7 against the Sixers. Oh, God, I remember this. Right. Oh, yes, I remember that.

Doink. You don't think it's weird, Game of Thrones and the Raptors won on Sunday. So dinosaurs and sorcerers and wizards. All kind of came together yesterday for people that like that stuff. Game of Thrones is been winning. Yeah. Is there dinosaurs in Game of Thrones? There's no dinosaurs.

There's not. There's dragons, unless you believe that they have one point. Dragon dinosaur fairly similar. They're like neighbors. Aren't they kind of? They're like cousins. Finally, sticking with that game, just like that, the Sixers season is over.

I think we're done talking about the process. Joelle and Bede played through a laundry list of injuries and he was overcome with emotion after the game. He cried on the court. He cried in the tunnel with his girlfriend. He cried in the locker room. And he also should be crying about his teammates' performance in their last four games whenever he came out for a breather,

because in the last, in the last, last four games, this is the amount of time he's been out and how much they've been outscored by while he was on the bench. So basically with Embed off the floor, they were outscored by 84 points. That's not great. No. Either it was his back. Well, look, Embed

he does make you worry with the injuries. You can no longer question his commitment though. I always felt like he was legitimately sick. I also am always in a conundrum there because I feel like if you're going to be on the court, then you're on the court. And you're held to the same standard that you are when you're healthy,

as when you're sick if you're on the court. I didn't like the whole thing. Everybody was saying, like, Shaq went on the air and said, you can't be sick. Time out. People get sick. Like, that's just a part of life. And you can't, you know, everybody goes back,

oh, Michael Jordan. A lot of guys have had bad playoff games. Don't be shocked if a lot of them didn't announce it, but they were sick. You have a right to get sick. People get sick. You have a right to get sick. I think what they were more pointing to is if you're going to be sick,

you want to do your best to not be like, oh. Yeah, yeah. And weight everybody down with your, Lethargy. I mean, obviously he was very, very sick. But again, if you're on the court, you've got to play to the best of your abilities and you're held to the same standard that you're held to when you're not sick. And especially in the playoffs.

Now during the regular season, sure, take a few days off. But this is the playoffs. This is what you play for. So, but, you know, it's nice to see some emotion from guys. I know some people are going to crush them for, you know, crawling on the court or whatever. But, I mean, when you lose like that, it sticks with you. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The herd. By the way, here's a story. I just got to touch on this for a couple of minutes. So here's the story from Yahoo Sports. Phil Jackson and Kurt Rambas heavily involved in the hiring of Frank Vogel and Jason Kidd. How do I know that? Why is that out?

Why is that a story? Why is everything with the Lakers leak? Why does that have to be announced? Do you want that announced? Who's leaking all this stuff? I've said this. You see these tech companies in Silicon Valley. They'll create new products.

It'll take two years. Apple will be working on a new. phone. Nothing will leak. Two years, it's going to revolutionize tech. Everybody in the world in Silicon Valley would love to get the leak and leak it before it hits the market to hurt Apple. It doesn't leak. The Lakers, you can't go to the bathroom in that franchise. It's not in the LA Times an hour later. I don't have to be in this current White House to know there's chaos because there's a leak every other day. I don't have to be in a company to know if everything gets out constantly, there's chaos.

How do all these stories with the Lakers, everything makes the press? Frank Vogel gets the job. That's all I should know. It should not be out there that Phil and Kurt Rambas, really? That's the biggest sign. There's always a couple of signs. There's chaos in a company. Leaks in my lifetime, you go to White House.

The best White House's, not a lot of leaks. chaos in a White House, a lot of leaks. And I'm not talking just the current White House. My life, that's the... Nixon's White House. Leaks! You know, it's just... Why is that story out?

Signed Frank Vogel. That's it. I never see leaks from, you know, the Patriots 18 years. I don't see leaks. I don't see leaks. I don't see leaks at UConn Women's Basketball. I don't see... You know where I see leaks?

United States men's national team in soccer. Every 15... You know, every time it's... a big controversy. There's multiple leaks out of that. That means the air's not, it's not tight. It's not buttoned down. You lord. All right. Coming up next, Houston's gone. Many of you are happy because the rockets are one of the ten most annoying things we can ever recall in sports. That's coming up. 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, 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 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 Slicalif 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, He doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey.

I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know.

Is somebody coming? after me. Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them?

On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. from the WMBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't belong.

Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs, Gabby Thomas, and Katie Ladeki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. at our level at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything.

I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Don't skip meals anymore. I drink soil and complete meal in a bottle. Plant protein, essential nutrients.

Want 20 bucks, 20% off your first. First case, go to Soylent.com. Code Hurd 20. Code Hurd 20. Good to have you in. Chris Haynes, Chris Broussard, Fred Van Bleet of the Toronto Raptor, Stephen Jackson. It is amazing how many of the players all over the Raptors. Raptors are a bunch of small school guys. It's amazing how it works in the NBA. We're seeing all these Weaver State and Davidson guys. We've talked about this for years in the NFL where most of the great quarterbacks in the NFL went to Miami of Ohio, NC State. Sam Darnold's the only USC guy starting, and Bama didn't have a lot of starters, and Oklahoma's got Baker Mayfield. Most of the guys starting in the NFL at quarterback have a chip on their shoulder, a mile long. Cal, which is known for its rugby team more than its football team,

has Aaron Rogers and Jared Goff. Okay, it's the same in the NBA. A lot of these guys now, second, third round of the playoffs, are small school guys. They weren't five-star All-Americans. They're grinders. They've worked their butt off. and they've become stars through sheer work ethic and determination.

I love it. Well, we were talking about the Houston Rockets being annoying, and I found myself Friday, even though I like Chris Paul, love Darry, kind of rooting against Houston, their analytics, they're flopping, they're annoying, and rooting for the Warriors because I find their style of basketball more interesting. That's why I love watching the Sixers. And so we thought about 10 things in Best for Last today,

the 10 most annoying things in sports, And here we go. Number 10. Golfers who take forever to hit the ball. Sergio Garcia. J.B. Holmes. J.B. Holmes, by the way, took four minutes and 10 seconds to hit a shot once. Golf's already painfully slow.

Now you're making it slow down even more. Pace of play in golf like baseball. Let's go. I got to life the lead, cha-cha. Speed it up. Number nine. Batters who keeps steady. Stepping out of the box, No-Marcya-Para.

Even though he sits right next to me as a season ticket holder at the LAFC, the human rain delay. I don't get it. 162 games, put the gloves on, step up, let's go. We always blame the pitchers for the slow pace of play. Batters are no day at the beach either. Number eight. Excessive flopping in soccer, especially international soccer. I get flopping.

I get manipulation. but excessive flopping is acting. Let that be in Hollywood. That was great. Let that be in Hollywood. I think the MLS has less excessive flopping than other countries. And I don't need my sports to be all machismo. But if I want to watch a movie, I'll watch a movie.

Number seven. Floyd Mayweather's boxing style. Listen, I like my champs to be a little aggressive. He hasn't had a knockout since 1999. again, I don't need you to be Marvin Hagler and his prime or Mike Tyson, but it's all defense. And to his credit, he's smart. I mean, he manipulates the end of rounds, but at least Sugar Ray Leonard, who did the same thing, had some flair. He mastered the sweet science.

And science is boring. I would agree with that. Number six. Something I've never liked, icing NFL kickers. I think it's a drama killer. Now, there is research that says. statistical evidence that with long field goals, icing the kicker works. But I say this, A, it kills the drama.

And B, we're going to have a Super Bowl, massive controversy over this because a coach will go up, a ref won't hear him. It will be missed. I've never been a fan of this. It just looks like a problem, a nightmare of controversy waiting to happen. Number five. Week September college football schedules. college football, figure it out.

The NFL doesn't start to the week after Labor Day. You've got like a two-week window to get real momentum. And instead I got Alabama playing, you know, Chattanooga State and Clemson playing Citadel. Not good enough. There should be eight great games on Labor Day weekend. There should be eight more great games. But teams in college football, even teams that know they have no chance to play for the national championship, duck opponents to stack a W on their little pocket schedule,

and it drives me nuts. Number four. The NBA two-minute report with officials. All it does is make me more upset if I'm a fan. It's aggravating. Don't tell us your refs are incompetent late in games. First of all, the NBA is the hardest sport to officiate in the world. It's virtually a pass interference call every time down the floor.

They mostly do an excellent job. I thought most of these, I thought Friday in Houston was very, very well officiated. It's very hard. Don't amplify the few mistakes they make. Number three. Players complaining about the media. Here's a listen. Who are you? Why do I got to talk to you? We've noticed that you hadn't talked for a while. Why do you care? Y'all come here every day. Ask me about free agency. Asked my teammates, my coaches. You rile up the fans about it. Let us play basketball. I'm done. You know you don't care about that.

Listen, we're trying to give you more attention. More attention means more publicity. More publicity means more shoe deals. Number two. Number two. The media is also annoying. I'm sometimes annoying. I don't have anything else to say about that,

but there are times that I can be annoying. I still contend Baker Mayfield's got issues, but I can be annoying to Baker Mayfield. I, for one, have never been annoying. I have been annoying almost every segment of my life. Number one. Finally, the Houston Rockets. I found myself Friday rooting for the Warriors, the flopping, the complaining, the obsessive leaked memo to the NBA office, you know, demanding more free throws when they led the NBA in free throws.

You know, the flopping stuff. Chris Paul's become a different guy. I mean, come on. The Houston Rockets went into this playoff series believing they were going to win at the free throw line. and the NBA said, no, no, no, no, we're not going to have a series determined at the free throw stripe. We're not going to give you all these regular season calls. By the way, the NFL did the exact same thing at a Super Bowl two years ago when they decided, without announcing it to the Patriots or Eagles, all those borderline calls, their catches, not non-catches.

Leagues have a right to gain some territory back in officiating in the most watched series. And this series was more watched than the Western or Eastern Conference championships will be. be watched. Yeah, I got news for you. Toronto, Milwaukee is not going to get the number of this series. And the NBA said, we're not, this series will not be determined at the free throw line. And I don't care what was called in the regular season. Leagues don't have to announce what they're going to do with officiating. They have a right to change the territory in the playoffs. And I found Houston, threes, nothing else, no mid-range, too repetitive and tired to watch. good to have you in today.

You know, we had Fred Van Vleet on earlier. He's a raptor. He seemed to like me, despite my annoyance and my, it's, again, I went to Canada last summer, love the country, but let's like the Cincinnati Bengals. Don't be shocked if you make the playoffs, and I say you'll shrink because you've always shrink. Kirk Cousins. Kirk Cousins goes in big games and he shrinks, and so I think you shrink. It would be like the Bengals adding Aaron Rogers and you insisting that they were still the Bengals.

I still, you know, Aaron's had playoff struggles. Certain franchises in this country shrink. No, I agree. Toronto. I just feel like this year is an outlier year. I think if Kauai leaves, I'm back on that bandwagon with you.

Yeah. It was funny yesterday at the end of that Toronto game. Nobody wanted to shoot except Kauai. It was so strange. You take it. I got no interest in that thing. It's funny. I saw a story about Kairi. There are reports, and I'm not going to

go too far. on this because I don't have it validated, but that Kyrie could be possibly visiting an NBA star over the next day or the maybe I'm not going to say who where, but Kyrie Irving could be

We're just going to show pictures of an NBA star. I'm not saying it's that guy. I'm just saying there's reports out there and I trust all you NBA guys but trying to figure out what Kyrie likes, forget it. Trying to figure out what Katie likes. My money is on Kevin Durant will come back and play for the Warriors.

And I'm probably wrong on this. I think it's the best place for him. It's the smartest group of execs and players in the league. I think he's a thoughtful guy. And I think in the moment he'll realize it is a big mistake to leave. But I'm seeing stories on Karek. Good luck guessing where that guy lands. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. In every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves,

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On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world, like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the story. strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman.

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