The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Straight Fire - Colorado's Close Call, Still Angry at Aiyuk + NBC Sports fantasy football analyst Matthew Berry

Episode Date: August 30, 2024

On today's episode, Jason discusses Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes' uncomfortably close win over North Dakota State and why he still has a big problem with the way Brandon Aiyuk handled his contract negotiations with the San Francisco 49ers. Later, NBC Sports fantasy football analyst Matthew Berry swings by to discuss why a lengthy contract holdout wasn't enough to keep CeeDee Lamb from being his WR1, whether or not CJ Stroud can support 3 high-level receiving options in Houston, how much Kyren Williams' impending punt return duties could impact his status as the Los Angeles Rams' RB1, what makes auction and guillotine leagues so fun and much more! Follow Jason on Twitter and Instagram. Click here to subscribe, rate and review all of the latest Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre podcasts! #FSRSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. What is Upstreet Fire, fam? It's me, Jason McIntyre Street Fire. For Friday, August the 30th, folks. It is a glorious Friday. We have a, tremendous friggin podcast. I'm so fired up about it.

Although I do have to watch my language now that some buddies are listening with their kids as they drive around. And yeah, I've got to dow back some of the F bombs and curse words. I've got to keep it PG sometimes, ladies and gentlemen. But I'm so fired up about today's podcast. First, we have to talk about all the news that happened last night, Colorado, surviving North Dakota State. And Brandon Ayuk finally getting his deal done. But first, I've got to tell you about our guest. His name is Matthew Berry. You may be. familiar with his work. He is the foremost fantasy expert. He's been doing this forever. He's got his own shop. He was at ESPN. Matthew Barry is, he's great. And I know a lot of drafts for this weekend.

I have like four drafts in the next five days, I think. I'm very excited. And it's just, it's a great time. And you guys are going to love what Matthew Barry has to say, I disagree with him a little on C.D. Lamb. I don't think C.D. Lamb is a second best fantasy guy. I don't think he's the wide receiver one. But, you know, Barry's been doing this for a long time. So he, informs me what a guillotine league is. I've never done it, but it sounds cool. So I think you're going to like that. But let's quickly get started since we had the interview with Sean Keeler who went toe-to-to-toe with Dion Sanders. We must talk about Colorado's surviving North Dakota State, 31-26. I had back-to-school night for my kids, so I missed most of this

game, but I was tracking it on my phone. Yes, you can do that. I just, remember when Brad Powers came on, the college football gambler guy, and he's like, listen, under Colorado win. So I took it. Here's the interesting thing. Colorado did not look great at all. Got to survive. Okay. They rang up 504 yards of offense, 8.8 yards per play. Shadour Sanders had like 450 yards passing. Travis Hunter, three touchdowns. Like this is what you expect from Colorado, Colorado. But this was again, North Dakota State. And they could barely put them away. Now, they were up 11 with like four minutes left. North Dakota State scored. Went for two, didn't get it. Then they had like a Hail Mary at the end that was futile.

Here's just a small thing that I noticed. North Dakota State, yards per play, 6.5, they were gashing Colorado up and down the field. They had to settle for some field goals. That's not how you take down a team that's better than you in favor by nine and a half. Colorado did not sniff the cover. And they ran all over them. They passed all over them. They had 157 yards rushing.

they had 292 yards passing, 11.2 yards per attempt. If you watch this game and your takeaway was, hey, nice win, Colorado, you're missing the big picture. This is just, this Colorado team, I think they're going to lose to Nebraska. As soon as I see the line for that, I'll be on Nebraska.

I think Nebraska is going to be the side. I'm not a big believer in this team, and I'm not anti-Dion. I know some of you guys are feeling like, oh, Jason, you just hate Dion, blah, blah, blah. Anyways, Colorado didn't look great, but got the win, and that's really all that matters. Next up,

is Brandon Ayyuk. Now, this one is fascinating only because on the surface, you see the headline, and nobody reads anything really anymore, right? So you see, oh, Brandon Ayuk, four years, 120 mil, awesome. 76 million guaranteed.

Great. He's in camp. We're ready to go. Here's where it gets interesting. The 49ers are so pissed still at Iyuk that this is what Adam Schaefter said, and now this is coming directly from the Niners, right?

and they're upset with him and this was like what they put out on Thursday afternoon. This four-year $120 million extension for Brandon Ayuk has been on the table since August 12th. What? That's almost three weeks. Ayuk had been sitting on this deal refusing, refusing, and according to I read on sFgate.com

that some reporters said the reason IUC signed was because they basically said, hey, we're going to start finding you if you don't show up. And apparently, at that point, IUC said, hey, called his agent and said, let's do the deal. Now, that's from reporters. Now, IUC's agent pushed back and said, that's factually inaccurate, but the check still cashes. Okay. As if to say, wait a minute, the deal hasn't been on the table since, but he didn't disagree. He just said that's factually inaccurate, but the check still cashes.

As if to say like, hey, man, you know, this to me is not a good sign for Brandon Ayuk. Okay. He's a really good player. We know that. He's talented. I just, when it's been all about the money for six months and then the deal's been on the table for over two and a half weeks and you are like, what? Is it you don't want to practice?

like what's the deal? Why are you acting like this? And I get it. You want to be paid and I totally get that. You know, I'm not in a contract squabble with Fox, but, you know, my deal's up here within the year, less than a year. And it's like, we'll see how things go.

But like if I'm keeping it 100%, like, guys, like this is a Niners team that was on the cusp of the Super Bowl. And the biggest storyline all summer has been their unhappy wide receiver. it ain't the injuries, right? Trent Williams is now going to move to the forefront, to the front burner now that IUC's deal is done. But this to me is a sign. Iuk didn't want to practice.

And when they said, listen, so you guys know how the fines work. If you're not showing up and you're under contract, they can fine you, but most teams will just waive the fines, right? They'll just say, okay, you sign, we're good. It's all good. But I'm guessing that this deal's been on the table for two weeks

and the Niners said, you know what? Hey, we're going to start finding you. They can fine up to $50,000 a day. I'm guessing that they said, hey, we're going to find you and we're not taking these back. This is the deal. That's my guess it will then. Now it's not official. I'm sure nobody's going to confirm that.

But the Niners have clearly had enough. And they said, listen, we were willing to waive the fines, but this deal has been on the table. And I, you instantly was like, I ain't getting fined $50,000. Wave those fines. I'm going to sign the deal. Dude, you just got $76 million guaranteed. 76 million. I don't think a lot of people can comprehend what kind of money.

That's generational wealth. And I know somebody, some jackass is going to be like, well, Jay, it's in, it's in California with the high taxes. So 76 becomes, you know, 40. And I'm just going to look at you and kind of shake my head like, okay, he got $40 million. He got $40 million for signing the contract after taxes. And I'm sure the agent will take a little fine. Knock it down to $35 million.

Oh, no. 35 minutes. Like, I'm just, I'm stunned this. The brand and I think, I know it's settled and you guys can be excited and we're going to be excited when he scores, touchdowns, whatever. It's just not a great vibe when it was all, I want the money, I want the money, I want the money, I want to practice, I don't want to go to, you know, like, you could have signed this two weeks ago, got in camp and like, all right, guys, let's go.

This, he made it all about himself. I just don't love that. Anyways, let's get to our guest to help you with your fantasy drafts this weekend, Matthew Barry of NBC and. He owns a ton of fantasy businesses, totally crushing it. Enjoy the interview. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

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

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox SportsRadio.com.

And within the IHeart Radio app, search FSR to listen live. Jason likes to think he knows everything when it comes to sports. I know what sports fans want. But for everything he doesn't, he knows a guy who does. Let's just say, I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows another guy. All right, let's welcome in to Straight Fire, a guy you know, the most busy man in August in all of sports, because he is the fantasy OG, the fantasy guru. He's going to help you win his leagues. Matthew Barry, Matthew, has it going, my guy.

Jason always good to talk to you, brother. I'm good. I'm good. Busy but good, you know. Yeah, the most busy man in fantasy sports. And it's not because he has CD Lamb as the top wide receiver in fantasy football. That's not the sole reason. But I got to ask, really? C.D. Lamb, wide receiver won.

I'm a little surprised, Matt. Are you really? Why? Yeah. Why would you be surprised? I mean, yeah, I get it. They don't have a ton of other weapons. But he basically hasn't worked out, trained at all.

I know he's a young guy who cares. He should be fine. But if I'm a defense, I have one job, and that's to scheme CD Lamb out of the game. And after that, like, nobody else scares me on that offense. I let Brandon Cooks eat Zeke Elliott. I just load up against CD Lamb and say, dare to dare you can back to beat me. I don't know if he can with those weapons. Yeah, but what's different about that from last year?

I mean, that was the same case last year. And last year, he was like, you know, the best wide receiver in fantasy last year. It was unbelievable. It's a very good point. You know, they're going to move them all over the place. are going to put them in the slot. You know, they, you know, just incredible efficiency and, you know, just massive target share. I mean, like, you can, you can guard them and bracket them as much as you want.

They did that last year, and it just, it just didn't work out. So, yeah, I mean, I think that at the, to me, I think there's, there's, there's four main wide receivers. McCaffrey's number one, but then after that, there's, there's kind of four wide receivers. And if you want to throw them on Ross, St. Brown on that, I would, I'd be cool with it. but like, and I think you could, you could make a pro case or an anti-case for all of them. They're all sort of right there. Tyree Kill is awesome, right?

Tyree Kill's amazing, but he's also on the wrong side of 30. He's already a little bit banged up. And the dolphins are brutal in December and January when you're trying to fight for a fantasy championship. Like, you know, and Tua has been terrible. So they're bad and cold weather.

You know, then you talk about, you talk about Jamar Chase. We expect Jamar Chase out there in week one, right? but like there's still some contract issues he's been holding out everything that you would say everything that you would say about cd lamb you'd say about jemar chase except for the fact that uh jemar chase actually has more target competition uh with with with t higgins and then and then you think about jesus and you could argue like just the downgrade from cousins to sam

don't think it's that big of a deal but the fact is is obviously uh he's going to be playing with a new and lesser quarterback than he played last year and who he's played with the majority of his time in Minnesota. So you can sort of knock all those guys like a little bit and just, and I'm on Ross St. Brown, who had an amazing year last year. He was my rider die. He made me look smart. But he had scored 10 touchdowns last year.

Can he get back to double-ed-tied touchdowns or is he going to be more like a six-to-seven guy in terms of in the touchdowns? And then, you know, he's more of a high-end tier two versus a high-end versus a tier one wide receiver. I think he's a tier one wide receiver, but you can make the argument is my point. So there you go. Interesting. So I like the kind of the argument for Lamb. I'm not as high on the Cowboys. I don't think they're 12 18 this year, but I am right. Looking at the numbers of Lamb down the stretch. Holy targets, Batman, especially in the playoffs. I mean, 17 targets in that Detroit game.

I mean, he's ridiculous. Let's go to Drake London. I see him cracking at numbers with 16 overall for you? Yeah. Does this mean you're high on Kirk Cousins or are you just like Desmond Bitter's not even a starter, we know? Yeah, I mean, I mean, does Desmond River have a job in the NFL right now?

I mean, like, honest, like Kirk Cousins, in five of the six seasons that Kirk Cousins was starting quarterback for the Vikings, he supported a top 10 fantasy wide receiver. He's done that five of the last six years. And obviously a lot of that's Justin Jefferson.

There's some Adam Thielen in there. But Drake London, uh, there a couple of things about Drake London. So first off, yes, massive upgrade at quarterback, right? Going from like, whatever, Desmond Ritter and Taylor Heineke and Marcus Marriota to Kirk Cousins is just such a massive upgrade. But more importantly, it's also the play calling. Zach Robinson is the new offense coordinator.

Robinson, of course, from the McVeetree with the Rams. And when he was with the Rams, obviously the Rams, one of the teams the NFL that call that, you know, are very past heavy. They are one of the top five teams in the NFL in terms of wide receiver target share. you know, they, they throw a lot and they throw to their wide receivers a lot. And so you think about those two things. And the last thing that I think everyone sort of forgets about Drake London because it's just so it's been pedestrian in Atlanta. And I don't think it's his fault. I think it's, again, it was the coaching of Arthur Smith and the poor quarterback play.

But when Drake London was drafted, Jason, he went ahead of Garrett Wilson. He went ahead of Chris Oliv. He was the first wide receiver drafted. in that class. And it's not like anyone. All the people that, you know, that grind the tape, the, the Mel Kuyper's of the world, right? You know, all everyone that, that really does

this for a living. I mean, I said this too, but I'm you know, I'm not, I'm not a guy like, you know, Mel or, you know, or Daniel Jeremiah or Connor Rogers, who's on my show at NBC, the guys that, you know, grind every single game of every single college player, you know, for six months straight. Every single person said,

yeah, Drake London should be the number one wide receiver in this class. Like, no one was like, whoa, really, Drake London over Garrett Wilson and Chris Olive? Like, no one said that. So this is a guy that still has a first-round grade on it. Still has that talent. It just hasn't been unlocked. And now here comes a fantasy-friendly, offensive play caller and, you know, the best quarterback that he's played with in his career by a country mile. And interesting, you have Nico Collins right behind Drake London.

And I looked at that Texan team with Diggs and Tank Dell's going to be back, Dalton Shult. and now they got a good upgraded running back with Mixin. It's tough for me to decipher what you do with Nico Collins and the Texans wide receivers in general. I think they're all going to eat. I don't have a stat for this. Like, you know, as we talked about it off air, like I'm driving. So I don't have this exact stat off the top of my head. But I will just say, C.J. Stroud is him.

He's that dude, man. He is that effing dude. and I would just say that Nico Collins is last year I think was like kind of this, you know, amazing breakout for Nico Collins at a great year. The other thing that's that's really interesting. So I, you know, I'm the owner of a website called FantasyLife.com. You know, obviously I do all my stuff at NBC Sports, but I, you know, I also own this website, fantasy life.com.

And what I've done is I've hired all my favorite fantasy analysts, the guy that I, the guys that I read. and one of the guys that I hired, the guy named Dwayne McFarland, who's unbelievable. And Dwayne does this thing called the utilization report, where he does a deep dive on every snap, every route run, every target earned per route run. It gets real, real deep dive. He came from pro football focus.

He's really, really sharp. And so one of the things that he did this preseason, he did what it's called his preseason utilization report. And so what he's doing is he's looking at again, obviously you've got second and third teamers out there, but he's looking at, it's all small samples of it, but you're looking at like, okay, for the 10 plays that C.J. Strad was out there, what do the Texans offense look like?

You know, and like he does that with every team, and he does that throughout every, every game. So it's unbelievable. So check it out. It's 100% free. Go to FantasyLife.com. Just look for the preseason utilization report. But the reason I bring this up is because he looked at that. And Nico Collins, this preseason, with the first team offense,

with C.J. Strad out there was over 95% route participation. Now, what that means is that, every single time, C.J. Stroud dropped back to pass, and there were players running routes. 95% of the time, Nico Collins was running a route. Stefan Diggs was like in the 86% range and Tank Dell was in the 60% range. I think 65. Again, I don't have the numbers up the top of my head, but that's about where they were. And so my point is that 95% route participation is an unbelievable number.

That is like elite, elite, elite. And so if you buy it a C.J. Stroud, and I do, and you buy a Nico Collins talent, and I do, the fact that he's going to have a 95% crowd participation on one of the better offenses with one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL is pretty exciting to me. I'm a big believer in Nico Collins. And I will say, I think Stefan Diggs has a bounce back. I like all those guys that cost this year, including Tank Dell. There are going to be enough balls to go around, I believe, in Houston. Let me ask you quickly. I think the Patriots are probably the worst team in the league. And they just announced that Jacoby Brissette is going to be the starter over Drake May. I don't like the weapons.

I don't like the coach. I think the offensive line is abysmal. Is there anyone on the Patriots you draft? No. I love it. No. If you want to take a late flyer on J. Lynn Foke, I get it. If you're in a Dynasty League, if you're in a deep two quarterback league, I could see taking a flyer.

on Drake may because he'll be the starter at some point and there's some upside there with his legs but honestly no this is a this is a team devoid of fantasy talent I don't like remandre stevenson it cost he's the he's the most obvious fantasy option on the on the Patriots but part of my concern is over the last two years 45% of remandre stevenson's fantasy points have come from the passing or from from his role in the passing game like you know like He was a big part of the reception. And the fact is, is that the Patriots this year signed Antonio Gibson, who's as good if not a better pass catcher to the backfield than Remandre Stevenson.

So if they're going to use, remember, it's a new coaching staff there, new offense. So if they're going to use Remondry Stevenson as a first and second time back and not really use him in the passing game, or even if his passing game usage is, you know, half of what it was before, that's a huge hit given the fact that, again, 45% of his fantasy. points the last two years have come from receptions, have come from passing game work. And this is a team that's not going to be in scoring position that often. They're not going to,

he's not going to have a lot of touchdown equity, Remandre Stevens. And so just in terms of where he's going at cost, I have no shares of Remandre Stevens in this year. Another piece of news that came through this week, Sean McVeigh lets it slip or maybe designed to come out. Kyron Williams is going to return puns. Kyron Williams was a monster down the stretch at running back for the Rams. They go out and draft Blake Corum.

Do you still, do you have a radical adjustment to where you had Kyron Williams say last week? No, I mean, look, no, I don't because I think it's a little bit much ado about nothing. Like, in terms of punt returning, what you want is you want somebody with sure hands. Kyron Williams returned punts last year, by the way. He didn't do it all the time. But, you know, there were a handful of games where Kyron Williams returned punts last year. And if you're telling me that instead of 22 carries a game, which is what he was like getting something like last year, instead of that maybe he gets 17 to 18 because they need to save him for six or seven snaps on punt returns.

All right, whatever. I think the fact that Lake Quorum is there allows McVeigh the luxury to do something like this, where he's just like, okay, well, I'll be able to give him a series off here, a series off there. But no, he's still going to get massive workload on one of the better offenses in football. And, you know, McVeigh has ever since he got to L.A. and become a head coach, Todd Gurley, back in the day, obviously, you know, Cam Acres and then Kairn last year. Like, he's been sort of a one running back guy. He doesn't really go to a committee.

When he finds a guy he likes and trusts, he kind of just goes with that guy. And that's certainly the case with Kairn Williams. Last year we saw Zay Flowers pop as a young fellow. Everybody likes Malik neighbors. Is there any other rookie wide receiver really on your radar? I'm looking on your list. I don't really see any guys high. Is Xavier Worthy?

in KAC, but they just signed Juju, who I don't think it's going to overlap. Juju's more of an underneath guy. But Xavier Worthy, would you say he's going to have possibly a nice season? I like Xavier Worthy. I think there's a lot of great rookies, obviously. I mean, look, the obvious name is Marvin Harrison, Jr. Yes. And then you mentioned Malik Neighbors.

Malik Neighbors, I think is going to have a monster year. So those guys. But, yeah, I mean, I think there's a bunch of interesting names as rookie wide receivers. This is an unbelievable rookie wide receiver class. So you already mentioned. Xavier worthy. I think he's really interesting with the Chargers lad, McConkey, who's going to be the slot guy.

I think McConkey is very interesting. Brian Thomas Jr., again, going back to the preseason utilization report on FantasyLife.com that I mentioned, Brian Thomas Jr. is playing 100% of the snaps with the starters and Trevor Lawrence. Wow. He's going to be, BTJ and Gabe Davis are going to be the outside.

Christian Kirk is going to be the slot. Ingram's the tight-in. That's going to be the Jaguars offense, you know, this season. And again, the Jaguars are past first offense. Doug Peterson, former quarterback, former Andy Reid disciple, he is going to be a past first guy.

I like Trevor Lawrence to have a bounce back this year. So I think Brian Thomas Jr. is really interesting. This one's a deep cut, Jason, but look, I don't know when it's going to happen. But I'm telling you,

at some point this year, Luke McCaffrey's going to be a thing. Well, I'm a Washington fan. Well, I'm not only, I'm a Washington fan, but also, by the way, what Luke McCaffrey does well is what Jaden Daniels does well in terms of, in terms of, you know, going deep, winning balls, you know, winning some contested balls. He's also good as a slot guy.

Like, I'm telling you, Luke McCaffrey, he's a converted quarterback, but they really like him in Washington. It's going to take him a little while to get up to speed, but I'm just, this is, I said this, I'll say, I'll tell you this much. And you go back, you watch the tape. In the first preseason week last year, I made a whole big deal of this on my show on fantasy football happy hour, which is, my podcast I do for NBC Sports. And I said, I don't know what it's going to happen this year, guys, but at some point this year, Tank Dell is going to be a thing. You know, and people were like, really, Tank Dell, he's small, he's whatever.

You know, he's a late round pick. I said, I'm telling you, at some point this year, tank Dell is going to be a thing. And sure enough, obviously, last year, Tankdale was a thing. I'm just telling you, at some point this year, Luke McCaffrey is going to be a thing. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment.

And the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

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

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

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox SportsRadio.com. And within the IHard Radio app, search FSR to listen live. I'm going to ask you about an auction league in a sec, but I did get invited to a guillotine league.

And I was like, I don't know what that is. That's awesome. The guy explained it to me. And I was like, listen, I got too much shit, you know, with gambling and fantasy. I'm sorry, I can't get up to speed on this. But it seems like, it seems like, Like when I start looking at up. I did, but maybe I should revisit because you're hot on 15 leagues.

Is it they're fun? No, it's unbelievably fun. I will tell you why you should do it because I know you, Jason. You and I have been friends for a long, long time. You're a guy that likes action. You're a guy that likes, you like that, you like that, you like action. You like feeling that intensity. So here's what a guillotine league is.

And this is for all your listeners that don't know either. You have a league like normal, right? You, everyone does a draft like normal. here's the twist. You don't play head to head. You just start a lineup like normal, but you're not playing head to head. You're just sort of starting your lineup.

At the end of the week, the team with the lowest score in the league gets cut forever. They're out of the league. Their season's over, they're done. And obviously, you just keep doing that until only one team remains. Here's the other twist. All the players on the, team that got chopped, go back into the free agent pool.

So now, I mean, you think about, like, think about your typical fantasy league. Every team has stars on it. Every team has players that you would want to roster. And so every single week, instead of, like, sifting through, like, you know, some slot receiver that got five targets and hoping maybe he pops a little bit more or some backup running back that you're going to stash, hoping the guy in front of him gets injured, every week you're bidding on starters. Every week you're, like, it'll be week six, and you're like, oh, Hatchew my home

Holmes and Chris McCaffrey on the waiver wire. Like, it's insane. The other thing that's really fun about it is just, you know, you can start a league whenever. If you're like, oh, that sounds fun, I'd love to do it. But whatever, if the season starts in less than a week, I don't have time to get my guys together. It doesn't matter because because you don't play head to head, you can start a league whenever you want in the season. You just need to have one more team in the league than weeks left in the season.

So if there's a four weeks left in the season, you can start a five person. That sounds fun. You know what I mean? Like, so yeah, just do it whenever. And like, I'm telling you, it's an intense sweat like you've never had. Like, you sit there and you're like, whatever, you're, you know, it's week five. And then you had one guy on a buy. Another guy leaves the game early due to a hamstring.

One of your stars just underperforms. And then you find yourself, you're like, oh, my God. Like, if Josh Jacobs doesn't score, touchdown on a Monday night, I'm dead. Like, it's a sweat like you've never had before. when you're with every single week your seasons on the line and it's one of those things that you're like ah all i got to do is just not finish last it's easier than you think but it isn't i mean again like you've ever done a survivor pool work survivor that's what yeah yeah so you ever have to do it's similar to that where you're like oh i'll have to do is pick one NFL team to win that's easy and then you

get into and you're like oh you start thinking about it and going back and forth and you know your mind plays tricks at the end anyway it's intense and really really fun i've played it for the last three years and everyone that I've ever introduced it to, anyone that have ever introduced the league to or the idea of the league plays it and it's just like the rest, fantasy is dead to me. This is the only way to play fantasy. Oh, geez. Like it's so, it's so fun and addicting and intense. I might have to, now you got me wanted to fire one up.

Real quick on an auction league. So I jatineleagues.com. There's a site that you does. Geoteneleagues.com. Okay. I've been in the league an auction for three years I have not won yet

which makes me upset because I usually like to every three years I feel like I'm good enough to win a fantasy title but the auction leagues kind of have me all mixed up what's your best strategy for an auction league?

I have some really good strategies here so a couple of things first off I think that one thing that gets really missed a lot in auction league strategy is budget and budget maintenance right because values come out all the time.

So what's your, in your auction league, what's your budget? I think it's 200. Yeah. 200. Okay. So here's what I would do. I want you to take this. This is a very simple exercise, but it's important.

On your, take out a piece of paper and write down all the positions you need to fill. So, you know, if it's quarterback, two running backs, call it two wide receivers, a flex, a tight end, six bench, whatever it is, right? Maybe you play two flexes. I don't know. Is it a super flex league? whatever it is, right? You write that down. And then using your budget of $200, I want you to write just kind of by each position, a number that you'd want to spend on that position. Like, you're like, okay, you know what? I want to spend $40 on my RV1. I'm making up numbers here. I'm going to spend $50 on my RB1. I'm going to spend $35 on my RB2. I really want an elite tight in this year. So I'm going to go $30 on tight in one. I'm going to go cheap at quarterback. So I'll put, you know, 15 bucks at my quarterback position.

I want, you know, I'll get some lower tier guys at wide receivers to 25 bucks eat, you know, whatever. I'm making it up, right? Yeah. But you sort of budgeted out that way and I want, you know, $5 a bench spot or whatever. And so that way you can just sort of see, okay, here's how I want to distribute my budget. Okay. Now then you do two other things. First off, obviously you need auction values.

And I'll give another plug. But honestly, at fantasy life.com, all the guys, we do projections and we have a, we have a, tool that's amazing, all you have to do is plug in all your settings. You know, like, it's a 200 cap. It's PPR, but it's tight and premium and blah, blah, blah, blah. And it will spit out auction values for you. Okay. So you do that.

But wherever you get your auction values, okay, you've got it. And then you're going through the auction. And let's say I'm making it up, but let's say you decide you want 50 bucks on RB1. And I say it's a check out, right? Okay, Breeze Hall comes out. And maybe Breeze Hall is like one of the first guys that comes out. and people are a little scared and they're holding their money and all of a sudden you're like, you're able to get Breece Hall for like $44.

Again, I'm making stuff up here. Okay. So you're great. So you're right in Breece Hall and you just scratch out that 50 and you put 44 and now you know that you've got six extra dollars to play with. Maybe add $6 to running back too. Maybe you know, maybe you're like, I went cheap on quarterback, but you know what? Now I've got six. Now I'm going to go up a tier at quarterback and I'm going to add six bucks to my quarterback budget.

Whatever it is. or conversely. You really want Breeze Hall. You get into a bidding war. Turns out you end up acquiring for like $55. All right. So now you're like, okay, now I've got to,

where am I losing $5 from? You look at your sheet. And just during the auction, it's a very easy way to sort of visualize your budget management as all the prices come out. The other thing that I like to do in an auction, so that's just a very simple way, but I think that will help you construct a good team.

And too often in auctions, people pay too much or pay too little and they find itself at the end of an auction either either you know missing out on a bunch of good bargains because they've spent too much money or they find themselves with way too much money at the end and they're they're you know all a sudden they're spending $35 on Devon Singletary and you're like you know what's what I'm right had both of those oh right so that that's just a very simple exercise that I think will also help you visualize how you want to uh how you want to construct your roster given the budget constraints. And then the other thing that I like to do, I think too often in auction formats,

what people are like, Breece Hall is an obvious name, but let's just use that for example. People are like, oh, I really like Breeze Hall. So you know what I'm going to do? I'm not going to, I'm not going to, I'm not going to mention Breece Hall. I'm not going to, I really want, you know, I'll give you somebody else, like Trey McBride. I love Trey McBride this year. I do. I'm not going to hold off on Trey McBride. I'm not going to, I'm not going to throw them out this year because I'm going to save my money to get Trey McBride. And then what happens is, is that, so you wait three, four, five rounds and all of a sudden, Don Kincaid, Mark Andrews, Sam LaPorteur, they all go, and maybe each, they each go for a buck or two less, and then whatever,

you've waited on it, and then let's say you've called it, again, I'm making up a number, $35 for Tray McBride this year. Okay, you throw out Tray McBride. Well, it turns out three other people have been waiting on Tray McBride, and suddenly it gets crazy, and there's some insane, and all of a sudden now it's up to like $48, and you're like, I can't pay $48, for Trey McBride because my sheet here says 35 based on my scoring. And now you're completely screwed because like you bypassed all these other elite tight ends and now you don't have Trey McBride and now you've got $35 that you don't know what to do with because that's what you'd budgeted and there's no other tight in on your sheet worth $20.

So I'm a big believer in and now all of a sudden you've got to pivot, right? Not fun. So what I like to do is if there's a player or a couple of players that I want, I throw them out immediately. Like if I'm like, like again, because I want to know two things. First off, it's not like Trey McBride is a sleeper. Like we're not talking about a buck at the end kind of guys. Like, you could get Luke McCaffrey for a buck at the end if you want it. I'm talking about, I'm talking about whatever, the priest hall is the world. It's not a secret. And so I would rather, if I'm going into an auction saying I really want freeze hall and I really want them for $50,

I'd rather throw them as soon as I get a chance to nominate a player. Because two things, one of two things happens either i get him for 50 dollars or less and i'm like okay great i'm on plan or he goes for way more money than i i want to spend and now i can pivot and now i know i want to know if i need to pivot my plan or if i'm on track right and so way too often in an auction what happens is is that players just um they wait they try to hold on to stuff and then there's one guy left that has, you know, whatever. Well, why are you bidding on Tray McBride? You have Dolcancay.

Yeah, man, but I've got all this money and I don't know what to suspend it on. And you're just like, you're just like, all right, well, so you're finishing eight, but you just heft my team. And like, so I just, I'm a big believer in just throwing up the guy you want versus throwing out, not a lot of people. Yeah, and other people like, I'm just going to throw up somebody I don't want to try to get money off the table. And I just, I don't know.

I just, that's not a strategy that I think ultimately works in the long term because every player is going to come out. And if you have players that you want, you want to know whether you're in or out on them earlier rather than later. So you have more time to adjust as the draft goes on. All right. Matthew Berry, fantasy legend, whether it's players, leagues, he's the guy. Obviously, go to all of his websites, what fantasy, say all your websites, the best stuff.

Yeah, yeah. Fantasylife.com, unbelievable. And then obviously all my stuff that I do at RotoRourle.com, my podcast, fantasy football, Happy hour Sunday mornings during the NFL season, fantasy football pregame 11 till kickoff on East Coast time on the NFL on NBC YouTube channel and Peacock. And of course, you can catch me on Sunday nights just before the game on football night in America before the Sunday football game on NBC sports. The guy works hard. Thanks a lot, Matthew. I know you're busy. Have a great football season and go win a couple leagues, will you? I'm going to try, Jason. Thanks, man.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. On Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

A win is a win. Yep, that's me, Cliford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it.

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