The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - Big Ten completes the takeover, Knicks fans need to cool it

Episode Date: April 10, 2026

In this hour of The Herd, Colin wants everyone to take notice of how the Big Ten conference is raking in the money and winning championships along the way. Also, Colin urges New York Knick fans to stop blaming Tom Thibodeau and the former coaching staff for the Knicks' inadequacies last season. Finally, Colin believes he knows the reasons why tanking concerns continue to be an issue in the NBA. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

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

Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. Is everyone lying to me about who they are? I felt such desperation. I felt it was what I had to do. Listen to deep cover the family man on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts. or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Fox Sports Radio. It is Friday.

My guy John Middellcop. last day here this week. He's been great. It is live in Chicago, The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. Marcus Freeman's joining us in one hour, the Notre Dame coach, the two best running backs in this draft are both Notre Dame guys, and one of them is spectacular, and the other one's going to be a playmaker as well in this league, and had a fun week. Of course, the draft now less than two weeks away. So I was thinking about something this morning, about how it is remarkable in my life. You know, I got gray hair a few years ago,

really gray. And one of the things I think about a lot, I've been in the business 35 years, is how everything changes. And you're either going to be there for it. You can complain about it. It's like Rick Patino talked about the NIL, adapt or die.

And I saw this morning, the Big Ten earned $69.5 million just from the basketball tournament because they got nine teams in from the Big Ten and they appeared in 29 games. And the NCAA pays conferences and pays you based on number of teams that get in and number of games you advance. So I put it on the board. Big Ten right now is on fire and getting bigger and stronger. The SEC is holding steady but regressed a little. Big 12's holding on. they got great college basketball and the ACC, Notre Dame, Miami are crushing. And I do think it's sustainable.

And I was thinking about this. There used to be a conference called the Southwest Conference. It was big. Arkansas was in it. Texas, I think, was in it. It died. Greed and cheating. It didn't die because of the NIL.

I grew up in the West Coast. The PAC 8 became the PAC 10, became the PAC 12. It died. it wasn't because of the NIL. Back-to-back, lousy commissioners who thought tennis mattered as much as football. And really bad TV deals. Army Navy dominated in the 50s.

Culture and the world changed. Big East basketball, when I was in high school and college, it felt like it was almost the NBA. It's not the same. Has nothing to do with the NIL. Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, all bailed on the Big 12. Are we going to blame the transfer portal for that? It is easy to blame the NIL and the transfer portal. But college sports, and the reason is because in college sports, everybody is

protected their own, you know what. It's very self-serving. It's why you don't have a commissioner. Nobody could agree on one, right? Everybody's out for themselves. I grew up in the West Coast. the PAC 10 outside of Oregon and Washington, the stadiums were often empty. Teams were making $35 million a year in their TV deal. They were making $75 in the Big 10 and 80 or close to it in the SEC. USC, I had a discussion with a USC athletic director seven years ago, complaining about the conference. How do we not make more than Oregon State?

I work in TV and radio. Radio, oh, it's not the same as it used to be. Well, IHeart has pivoted smartly to on-demand, to podcasting, a television. Cables not as big. Well, Fox created 2B. The Fox 1 app is on fire. I mean, the company's just buying, buying, spending, buying. Look at our stock price.

Incredibly healthy. Change is coming. Everybody wants to blame the NIL. I got news for you. I saw that number this morning with the Big Ten. those are big markets, they're strong getting stronger. And for 20 years, the SEC, which is still very viable, used to have a slogan. It just means more.

Well, the slogan today in college football is, it just costs more and the Big Ten just makes more. You can point fingers, it's not going anywhere. Because there are key indicators. You ever heard that saying before on the stock. market key indicators. Let me give you four in college sports that are on fire. Revenues, ratings, passion, and quality. Those are key indicators. Up, up, up, up. When I'm watching the Big Ten make $70 million just on men's and women's basketball tournaments, you think the Big Ten people want new referendums and massive change, they are doubling down on this. And by the way,

Notre Dame's still crushing. Miami's better now than they've been in years. USC thinks they have their best football team since Pete Carroll. Lane Kiffin now at LSU. Ohio State's always going to be Ohio State. You keep telling me it's not sustainable. Dusty May of the Michigan Wolverines, the national champions, says, you know, we're in big cities.

We got a lot of money. Our boosters are passionate. We're not going. The Big Ten's not going anywhere. I think the Big Ten is positioned to do this type of thing every year. You look at how much sports and athletics mean on Big Ten campuses and the resources available. Everyone in the Big Ten is, you know, the West Coast schools,

everyone has the ability to generate revenue for their players, significant revenue for their players. And so there's no reason why the Big Ten doesn't do what we've been able to do in football. Southwest Conference, Army Navy, dominance. Pac-12 died. Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, bailed on the Big 12. I'm watching all these things over the course of my life. And my takeaway is some of these were, most of these were, almost all of these were pre-Y2K. I mean, come on. I mean, I'm a Pac-12 guy. We couldn't keep up. Too many pro sports. Weather's good. A lot more hikers, walkers, skiers out west. Just didn't want to watch Stanford

football live. Okay, so I don't know what Tom Thibodeau, Tibbs did to people in New York. But every time they go on a three-game winning streak or they win a game, they bring out the knives for Tibbs. I saw this headline. The Knicks in a close game beat the Celtics last night. The headline is Mike Brown proves the Knicks made the right choice. Moving on from Tom Tibido. No. Okay, so an April home win over the Celtics who didn't have Jalen Brown, that really is the defining moment of the season. Am I wrong here? Didn't Tibbs get the Knicks into the Eastern Conference finals last year? But beating the Jalen Brownless Celtics, the Knicks trail with two minutes left, came back to win the game. That's the deciding factor. Listen, Tibbs isn't perfect. A little more offense.

creativity, offensive, ingenuity. I would have been preferred it. But didn't he win a playoff series in three straight years? You have to go back to like Jeff Van Gundy. I mean, you've got to go back to Jeff Van Gundy for that to happen. The Knicks are viable now. They're fun to watch. Let's stop making Tibbs who is not perfect.

Let's not bring out the knives for Tibbs because you beat the Celtics without Jalen Brown in April in a game Boston probably doesn't care much about. Here's some facts about the Knicks that Mike Brown and Tibbs can't solve. Bench scoring awful. Can't defend the three. Don't generate free throws. And your two best players, Brunson and Kat, you can pick and roll to death late in games. Tibbs couldn't solve it.

Mike Brown can't solve it. By the way, this year, the Knicks are 0 and 5 against O KC and Detroit, and Detroit's hammered them. So last night feels big for the next thing. them. They beat like a good team that is missing their MVP candidate. Okay. I think the Knicks are fun. I think the Knicks are good. I think in the playoffs, they're going to need better bench scoring. McHale Bridges for the record, way better with Tibbs than he is with Mike Brown, not blaming Mike Brown, but if you're going to blame Tibbs who got to the Eastern Conference finals, every time they go

in a winning streak or beat a team without an MVP candidate, I think that's fair. So, oh, gee, better, McHale Bridge is worse. I'm just spitting facts here. That's all we do. So blaming Tibbs to me is like firing your financial planner when you waste money. You have a spending issue.

I'm firing my broker. I'm firing my financial. You got no bench. It's a lopsided roster. You can't defend the three. You don't generate free throws. So the next roster has holes. neither coach can solve them.

It's why they're not a championship team. Jalen Brunson after the win over Boston last night. This had a playoff feel to it. The building obviously sounded loud. This is another game just like in Atlanta. Is this what you're looking for to prepare for the playoffs? Yeah, playing good teams, continuing to get better.

So trying to find ways to win. I think we're doing a good job as sticking together. And no matter what happens throughout the game, and we keep finding away. Okay, so stuff gets out when people want it out. Whenever you see a leak in a White House, you see a leak at a company, it's because somebody wants it out. And the betting odds on the NFL draft on who's going to go number two have shifted.

Now, this is good news for the Jets, in my opinion, with the number two pick. David Bailey is now the favorite to go to the Jets. But why did the odds change? I've got thoughts on that on a Friday from Chicago coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Fox Sports Radio is taking over YouTube. And you can be a part of it. Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio. Hit that subscribe.

button and smash that notification bell and catch all the videos from your favorite shows two pros and a cup of jump dan patrick colin cowhert stew gotts and company live cavino and rich the odd couple with rob parker and kelvin wisconsin the jason smith show with mike harman and the ben maller show fox sports radio on youtube subscribe hit that thumbs up icon and comment away hey it's us the jonas brothers and guess what we have some big news what's the news news news we created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

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

one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it. down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say,

Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

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

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand, because I think, competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down

everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian went. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court-side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full. year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Marcus Freeman, top of the hour, 45 minutes. So David Bailey, who would be my number two pick,

he's a best pure, just edge rusher, defined, he's gotten significantly better this year from last year. The odds have suddenly changed. He is now. moved ahead of Arvel Reese, who has a higher ceiling, but Reese does not necessarily have a defined position yet. So what happened? Well, people talk, people gossip. Two days ago, three well-known insiders, McShea, Albert Breer, Peter Schrager, all mentioned a couple days ago, I'm hearing David Bailey to the Jets. Hmm, why would that be?

I have a theory. I don't think the Jets head coach is going to survive the season. And my theory, I've said this for years. I always look for disgruntled employees or desperate employees. They talk. People in that Jets building, when the coaching staff gets run out of the building, they want to retain their jobs. Whenever I see a leak or all of a sudden I see a line move or multiple insiders have

same opinion. Folks, people are loyal to their families. And the NFL pays a lot, good pensions, you know, along with the English Premier League, it's the best sports league in the world. And what are people looking for if somebody's going to get blown out? Alliances and support. That's what they are. So, I mean, that's why when the Patriots for 20 years, it was completely covert. There were no leaks. The coach was great. The owner was great. The quarterback was great. They were winning. Kansas City Chiefs don't have a lot of leaks. They're winning. I mean, the Seattle Seahawks, John Snyder, you don't hear any leaks.

Things get out when people want them out. And so to me, it's not just that insiders all collectively said, I'm hearing David Bailey. It's now the odds are moving. And you've seen this before. I can remember years ago, Reggie Bush was considered a consensus number one. And then a couple of days before the draft, you were hearing Mario Williams. But what? Who got drafted number one?

It was the rumor. Mario Williams, right? So when you hear stuff, I believe it. Because I think this stuff all comes. I mean, everybody talks about the gambling markets and the poly markets. We got people in the White House talking. You know, what are the odds? We go into war.

Suddenly they just shifted. Boom, war. I mean, that's the way it works. People gossip. People are protecting themselves. So when I hear the David Bailey rumors, my take is it's probably true. Somebody in the building. You know, people are always looking to Curry favor.

The NFL jobs, they're not a lot of them. The pension's great. I mean, you get a little bit of an offseason. It's, it's, now, I would take Bailey over Arvell Reese because I think the Jets need six good players, not one potential superstar player. Arville Reese has this great ceiling. Dame Brugler of the Athletic released his comprehensive draft report

and talked about the comp between Bailey, who I like, and Reese. I think it's fair to say it's close. I mean, yeah, you can't ignore what Bailey did this year. I wouldn't say that he's necessarily the most complete defensive end where I'm going to put that quote unquote safe label on him. But if you want a guy that can just scream off the edge and going to put pressure on the quarterback, Bailey can absolutely do that. But in my opinion, Arvel Reese is the best player in this draft.

And he may be right. He's not the only person that thinks that. John Middlecough with the news. No, no, no, no. on the news. This is the herd line news. Okay, Colin, your guy LeBron James, he led the short-handed

Lakers against the Warriors, he put up 26 points, 11 assists. After the game, LeBron talked about how he was going to go back to his old ways. Obviously, the Lakers would need that if they are missing Luca and Austin Reeves headed in the playoffs. LeBron talked about how

him and Steph haven't even matched up this season. We don't know what, like I say, what the future and we don't know when if we get the opportunity to play against each other, you know, or how many more times you get to play against each other. So it's always a pleasure and it's always an honor just to be, you know, in his presence to be on the floor with him when we have in the past. Yeah, no, LeBron can still beat everybody off the dribble and finish at the rim.

He hasn't had a great jump shooting year, but it's not just that they lost Luca and Austin Reeves. It's just the old LeBron was so dominant on the defensive end as well. he's now one of the slower players and he's not beating people down the court but the idea in the half court game LeBron can still beat everybody off the dribble and when his jump shot

if LeBron scored 32 in a playoff game because his jump shot got hot wouldn't shock me at all. We don't know exactly who they're going to play obviously things could change depending on what happens with Denver, you know, the Lakers play tonight at the suns but regardless of the matchup

does LeBron have enough at 41 years old to carry them to one with this roster, with this roster to one series victory. I don't, but look at the numbers. The guy's averaging 28 and 13. I mean, it's just insane. I mean, Kareem played for 20 years, but I watched Michael Jordan. Live twice with the Washington Wizards.

I saw two games, and Michael was not nearly as vertical. LeBron's going 28 and 13. Now, the difference is it is hard to take these late regular season numbers. you've got to take him with a grain of salt because we got nine teams, do 11 teams tanking. So, and the Warriors right now are not a good basketball team. But I still think what he can, I think LeBron in the half court can still get a bucket. And probably only about six, seven guys in the league, I take over him in the half court. You know, when the NBA signed that big television deal over the last couple years,

LeBron Curry, were all the prime times, the second half post football. They never suited up in the game together. That's pretty crazy. Kind of speaks to, you know, the current situation. To the NFL, where Collins Bears are coming off their first playoff win since 2010, beat the Packers a couple times. Yeah. But Caleb Williams is getting a head start on Jellin with his teammates.

He hosted pre-O-THA workouts at USC with Loveland, Roma Dunzei, Luther Burton. Obviously, you know, the report, if you lose DJ Moore, him and Loveland had it, but Burden, there's going to be a lot of pressure on him to step up. What are your expectations for this offensive unit, Colin, in 2026? Well, right now today, because I think it's impossible. It's so hard to repeat. I would take Rams Bears. I would take Rams Bears in the NFC championship.

And I think Seattle is really close. I think Detroit's going to be better. I think Detroit's going to have a bounce back year. I think Green Bay is going to be good. Michael Parsons is back. You know, John, there was a short. stretch, I think we both admitted this, when the AFC hit on a lot of great quarterbacks.

They hit on Burrow and Allen and Lamar and Mahalms, and the AFC was a notch better than the NFC. The quality of rosters right now in the NFC, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Ram, Seattle, the better rosters today are now in the NFC.

You can argue the better quarterbacks are in the AFC, but I feel, like I felt the two best teams in the league last year, kind of by a stretch, where both Seattle and the Rams. And if the kid from Arizona that went to the Lions, I think if he hits and I think he's going to, I think Detroit's going to be, it's going to go back and look like the team that won like 13 games a couple years ago. So the gap has not only closed, the best four or five rosters, to

me, especially if Lamar gets that big money and they've got to move off players in Baltimore, the best rosters feel like they're all, top five or six are all in the NFC. I also think it speaks. You know, the AFC kind of has the older veteran grizzled coaches, the Andy Reeves, the Sean Payton's, the Harbaugh, you know, I guess John's gone now, Jim. The NFC, the Ben Johnson, Sean McVeigh, Mike McDonald, Kyle Shanahan's the old guy at like 45. So they have this innovative young coaching group. They're all mainly offensive guys.

So I'm with you on the Bears. I would hesitate to feel comfortable with AFC championship unless you, or NFC Championship, Unless you told me Caleb makes a big jump from a completion percentage standpoint. Fair. Because they want a lot of games on Miracle plays from him, which he can do. But can he go from 58 to more like 63, 64 hitting some of those layups? Then they would be, they could be a wagon. By the way, guys, grab me the Bears schedule.

I'll talk about it next second. I'm interested. They did. They won a lot. So did Denver, by the way. Denver and Chicago won a lot of games late. I haven't looked at the Bears schedule yet. I don't have the order of it.

That's till, that's in April, I think. think. But yeah, I think Seattle Rams Bears and potentially, because I don't think the Philadelphia situation, they're good, but I got questions everywhere. I think Detroit's the team that I'm keeping my eye on. The bills, Colin, they're kicking off a post-Shahn McDermott era and OTA started up on Tuesday. Signs of the change are visible throughout the facility. Joe Brady has changed up. He got a new mantra. Put the ball down. We know, coach. We know, coaches love those statements and posts them all over the walls. According to Dionne Dawkins, their left tackle, there's a new vibe and energy that is definitely different.

This is, it's not apples to apples because Mike Brown was not on the Knicks staff, but when you fire Tibbs from the Knicks, you've been good and you were just in the conference. That's right. The bar is really high for Joe Brady. Now, he's already been there and he's already proven his unit, the offense, has kind of carried the team. The question with this team, ironically, of fire and Sean McDermott, was the defense and he's a defensive guy. Joe Brady can't really fix that, though he brought in, you know, Rex Ryan's long time safety,

Jim Leonard. Yeah. Really, really smart. And probably the Big Ten guy, got in Wisconsin. Yeah. It's going to be on him because we know, I mean, if Josh is healthy,

I mean, heck, he had a bad playoff game and they were still putting up points, you know, in Denver. Well, listen, Tibbs and Sean McDermott's a good comp, because Tibbs was getting them and winning playoff series. The difference between a defensive coach, and they're wound pretty tight, and an offensive coach that are very creative.

We've seen this. Mike Tomlin, great coach, felt a little outdated at the end. Pete Carroll, defensive coat, outdated. Sean McDermott, very good coach. You didn't trust them in big spots offensively late. I've said this before. Offensive coaches age better. And I think a lot of it is because to be a great offensive coach like Sean Payton and Andy Reid,

you have to be an innovator and a creator where a defensive coach is blow stuff up. You know, fast. Yeah. And I, so my takeaway of the many advantages that an offensive coach in Buffalo over a defensive coach, there's just a different sensibility in the room.

You just have, there's a certain language. I mean, Brady would, he wouldn't do it publicly, but he would do it privately about Belichick. Belichick is a really smart guy. But there's a reason. and Brady was calling three times a day on the offseason, Josh McDaniels. There is a different language to offensive coaches. And I think, so I really believe Buffalo's offense will be better.

Do they lose a little on the defensive side? It just depends on if their draft picks this year and last year hit. You know, from Joe Brady's, I watched his opening press conference. I talked to him briefly when I was at the Combine. He's kind of sold me. I think he's really impressive guy. You know, he's kind of, honestly, he feels. feels much more like a guy that would be a star currently in college football, kind of young and hip,

like a Dan Lanning type. But he's been an NFL guy, which, you know, Sean Payton, he gave reverence. You know, this can be difficult when you fire a coach who was clearly well liked in the locker room. I think it's an easy transition because he kind of said Sean McDermott's the reason I'm here. It's not like he comes in acting like everything this guy did was a failure. So I'm buying a lot of j... As we sit here today, they're my pick to be in the Super Bowl for the AFC. Where do you go?

I don't disagree. I got to watch September, but I don't disagree. John Middlough with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. Listen, it is something that people are trying to figure out how to change it. I told you this week, there's a couple of reasons I think the NBA's tanking issue has become an epidemic.

One of them is, this is a great draft. You've got three guys who could be transformative players, another 10. who could come into your team and average 18 points a game. College basketball, even the young guys are playing against older guys. They are more refined

and cleaner prospects. But PJ Carlissimo said, fining owners, you think you can just find your way to get out of this. Ramon Green said the other day, remember, like, just find the owners.

And listen, money does talk. No question. But PJ Carlissel, a mo talked about the tanking problem why do teams tank i talked to owners like i was saying like you know what is it worth it they're saying you can't find us enough money to not make it worthwhile to get a guy like cooper flag that's generational now it's one thing if you're a pretty good team you know and you can't get yourself to that and you have a good roster that's going to be there when you're nowhere near competitive and you've got a chance to get somebody like him

find me all you want. It's worth it. So NBA owners are billionaires to begin with. When the NBA signed a new TV deal of 77 billion over 11 years, well, all those billionaires got a guaranteed 11-year windfall. So when you find Ryan Smith $500,000, it is a parking ticket for you or I. And I'll give you an example of a very, very wealthy owner, Steve Ballmer. So Steve Ballmer's net worth is $150 billion.

A lot of it in the stock market. He is the single biggest shareholder of Microsoft, which has like the fourth biggest market cap of any company in the world. So just think about this. In 2024, Steve Balmer made a billion dollars, a billion just on dividends, basically just being alive and remaining in the market. a bill he made therefore 2.7 million dollars a day in dividends that's not clipper revenue basketball arena revenue he probably owns 60 other companies who knows he made almost three

million a day on dividends basically just breathing being alive and staying in the market so i'm dead I'm dead serious when I say this. Steve Bulmer could be fined $500,000 probably for a couple of weeks straight until he may get a call from one of his accountants. I mean, I remember the Otani scandal. And everybody was like, well, I mean, how did he not notice the money?

He has 23 revenue streams. He's in a country. He doesn't speak the primary language regularly. He's got handlers everywhere. When you get to be Balmer, Otani, you got managers, tax accountant, attorneys. You got 13 people in the pipeline. So again, I think there's two reasons for the tanking issue.

Number one is this draft is sensational. You go look at when we get all worked up on tanking. It's because the draft is great. And because college basketball now, players are staying longer. They're older. They're stealing the top European players. You got to nip this in the bud. because the drafts last year and this year going forward are just going to get better and better.

But when people talk about, well, you can fine your way to it, remember who Adam Silver's boss is, the owners. So even though I do believe if you had $20 and $30 million fines to the owners, they'd be like, I can't do this. The problem is, if I'm your boss, how big of a fine can you levy? before I create alliances with other owners and say, yeah, let's get this guy out of here. So, you know, I think going forward, the drafts are going to be better and better and better and older. And so I don't know what the fix is, but when you have a $77 billion, $11-year deal, you just made rich guys richer. I mean, you know, I'm making $2.5 million a day.

on dividends and I can get Wemby. In fact, Brian Winhorst said this. Brian Winhorst said, I had an executive tell me the number one pick is worth $100 million that if you gave the opportunity to buy that pick, teams would pay $100 million for it. So keep that in mind when the jazz owner got fined $500 grand. You know? A BYU kid going to the jazz. I mean, that is, that just screams merch,

windfall, and wins. 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. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news.

We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend.

But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down?

Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, for people could call in and say, hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis.

And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs' tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jen, she won. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me.

And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis Podcast on the IHeart Radio Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Fox, UFL Friday, features two of the league's newcomers as the Orlando Storm and Louisville Kings look to light it up in prime time. Pro football in the spring is ramping up tonight at 8 Eastern on Fox. Okay, my staff got me the Bears schedule. It's really interesting. You and I were saying, John, that the Bears won a lot of games.

the Bears won a lot of games where they were outplayed for a half or three quarters. We talked about it during the year. Bow Nix and Caleb Williams, young quarterbacks, were shockingly good in the last couple of drives of games. Bo Nix was awful for some games in the first three quarters and then had an unbelievable last two drives. So it just, I think people are forgetting how good the Bears were last year. They won their division.

They won 11 games. Okay. And they got to the playoffs. and that Rams played virtually perfect football. I don't think they had a penalty or a turnover. Rams played really, really well. It was the Bears' best defensive performance. It feels like in the season.

Yeah. Okay. When you look at their schedule, it just shows you how hard in this league it is, how hard to predict overall seasons. It's not hard to predict what teams can make the playoff. I can get more than half on that. Just go to quarterbacks and coaches.

But if you look at the bear's schedule, I'm going to give them six wins out of the game. division. Tampa, the Jets, and the Saints at home. I'll give them those three wins. I'm going to give them, although they may be close, three road wins, Falcons, Carolina, though they could be tough, and Miami. And then I'm going to say they're just going to split in their division. Win one, lose one, Detroit, Green Bay, and Minnesota. That's only nine wins. So, you know, you look at the bears and you think they'll be better, it's very possible they could go to Carolina.

I mean, the Rams almost lost to Carolina twice last year. This league is so, it's why there's this sense that, well, Caleb Williams will be better and they'll get back. And this is to your point. I think the bear is going to keep growing. But if you go look at their, I mean, think about these games they have. These are home games. Philadelphia, Patriots, Jaguars.

Those are tough games. and then they go on the road, Seattle and Buffalo. So you just keep, you know, the better you are, the tougher schedule you face. It's the opposite of college football where the better you are, the better transfer portal and better recruiting class you have. So the NFL does an amazing job. You really have to improve to improve your record because I'm giving them six out of conference wins and I'm giving them at least a split in division. I'm only at nine.

they did go two and four last year in the division you know it's it's not like those 11 wins they dominated the vision that's the thing that they had teams that were quote unquote down uh the lions I mean the the lions beat them twice now the last game of the season it was kind of a weird spot but remember early on in the season when it kind of got started rocky the lion the lions killed them so I mean look at this I could argue the toughest places to play in the league or Buffalo, Seattle, Minnesota's hard to play, Green Bay. Their road games next year are Lions, Green Bay, Minnesota, Buffalo, Seattle. Those are rough.

And depending on the, for the record, depending on the time. What if you're playing Buffalo first week of December? That's way different than September. Yeah, I mean, clearly, I mean, last year, look at the impact the draft had for them. Now, granted, they picked high, right? They had the 10th overall pick. Luther Burton was, you know, a relatively early second round pick. you start winning a little bit, those picks move back.

So now your second round pick is much later, it's hard to get the equivalent on defense to Luther Burden. That's right. But Kobe Bryant, really, really good player for Seattle, they signed. They're going to need him to be a high-level player. But, you know, defense, and I've always thought this, and I think most people would tend to agree. Offense, I can take Kyle Shanahan or Ben Johnson or McVeigh,

and we can take an average player in win games at different positions, right? on defense it's a little bit of a combination of both. Spags for those couple years when the defense is really good with Kansas City, Chris Jones is a Hall of Famer. McDuffie just got $100 million. They got some high-end. Carl Off just got a huge contract extension. You kind of need the Jimmy's and the Joe's and the X's and the O's.

Dennis Allen's a good coach, but I think if we just look at their defensive roster right now, is that, that's the one thing the Rams have. Their defensive roster is good, Seattle too. Yeah, I think the Bears are one of those teams, and this happens occasionally where you could literally take every one of your draft picks they probably have to draft another tackle

because of an injury but outside of that the bears could say how many draft picks we're going all defense and you see that from time to time when I mean when Ben got there he went and basically went offense with his draft this is going to go Ryan Poles will go heavy defense

but it does illustrate just how competitive this league is you look at their schedule that Caroline on the road Seattle, Buffalo, Green Bay, Detroit, Minnesota. Those are, I mean, even Atlanta with Kevin Stefansky now, you don't know how good Atlanta is going to be. We played the Sean Payton sound earlier this week,

and he says, I hate, there's no such thing as carryover year to year. Because every team, unlike basketball, you know, if you have a team that's relatively under contract, your top eight, your top eight. The next top eight didn't change. In football, minimum, you're getting 20% turnover, sometimes a little bit higher. Look at the Bears.

Offseason start. no one's fault, their center retires. Yeah. So it's like, I mean, that's Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson, now they pivoted, like they make a trade immediately, but that's going to be a downgrade. Yeah, that's pretty important, Colin. And that's football for you.

Yep. Oh, so it's interesting. Greg CoSell came on yesterday. I'll get to that in a second. Like Ty Simpson a lot more than I thought. So there is a, I just saw this story this morning. Ty Simpson is among 16s, the Alabama quarterback, among 16 players who will attend the draft in Pittsburgh.

Isn't that interesting? Pittsburgh needs a quarterback, and generally if they're inviting you to the draft, that means the NFL thinks Ty Simpson's going to go in the first round. And I do too. Here's a list of teams that need a quarterback now should either draft a quarterback or consider it in the next two years. And then this list will expand. So obviously the Raiders are going to draft Fernando Mendoza at number one.

But teams that need a quarterback in the draft, you can argue now or next year, Browns, Cardinals, Jets, Raiders, Steelers, have some real urgency. Panthers, Rams, Vikings may not have the urgency, but they should certainly consider it. So if you take the Raiders out of these eight, you got seven teams, all of them with a first round pick. Now, I'm not going to count the Colts because they gave up their first round pick for Sauce Garden. So I'm not going to count them. They signed Daniel Jones to a very team-friendly two-year deal. Not exactly a huge vote of confidence.

Otherwise, I would have the Colts in here. So let history be your guide. Last year, I thought Jackson Dart was a high second-round guy, and the Giants moved up to get him. They loved him, and he was actually really good. When he was out of the blue 10, he was good. So here was Greg Coasell yesterday, very positive on Ty Simpson. Do we no longer celebrate quarterbacks who play the game the right way as opposed to just looking at physical traits?

They throw the ball to the right receiver at the right time with the right kind of throw. Has that been lost a little bit? Now, I will say, I think one thing that plays into Ty Simpson's favor is that next year, and you don't know how it's going to end up, It's the Arch Manning draft. I mean, the Big Ten alone's got like seven NFL quarterbacks. Now, they may be first round, second, fourth, whatever. Next year, it looks like we're going to have minimum a half a dozen guys in the first 40 picks. Okay, that's first round top of the second.

So you're going to have some bidding wars next year. I could see the Steelers going, well, we're not really sure with Aaron. Let's get this kid in the building. he can compete with Will Howard. And Will probably wins the starting job. But it's not a tank. It's a, hey, do we find our quarterback? I could see Pittsburgh absolutely just taking him.

So instead of a bidding war in next year's draft, Ty Simpson could fall to you if you're the Jets at 16. He could just be available. I could see that. And Greg Kosell also brought this up. Playing under Kalin Nabour with those NFL level receivers at Bama also helps Ty Simpson. I'm certainly not comparing Simpson to, you know,

Ty to Tom Brady or Drew B's, and I don't want people to think I am. But, you know, at some point being able to play the right way, play the position the right way from the pocket, that's a high-level trait. And what you saw on tape with Simpson at Alabama is because their offense had a lot of NFL route concepts in it. Yeah, so three things are working in Ty Simpson's favor. Alabama's coach, Kalin DeBoar,

and their offensive coordinator run some NFL stuff. So you can see the transition. Number two is he moves pretty well. Maybe not quite like a Daniel Jones or a bow knicks, but he moves pretty well. That matters. He's not a stiff.

The other thing is he had no run game. So there's an argument that it was a first time in a long time that Alabama could not run the football. So this is not a kid, unlike Fernando Mendoza, who could throw on third and two. He was throwing third and eight in the SEC a lot.

They just did not ever run game. So I think he's going to get drafted. I think he moves pretty well. He's not a great athlete, but he's a good athlete. And you can watch. I mean, folks, trust your eyes. When you watch him snap off some throws, he can make NFL throws. He's an NFL quarterback.

No doubt about that. I don't think he moves as well as Jackson Dart. But I will say Jackson Dart surprised me. I thought he was, I thought he was a high second round pick. But before Jackson Dart got picked, what did I keep saying? What an advantage to play for Lane Kiffin for years? Well, another really smart offensive coach in college football is Kaelin-Dibor. You know, you get a Sark, you get Elaine Kiffin, you get a Kalin-de-Bore in college for a couple years, head coach or coordinator.

That is a big step up, big advantage. Just keep your eye on the Steelers. Our two next. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano.

It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was planning. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog.

You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. Is everyone lying to me about who they are?

I felt such desperation. I felt it was what I had to do. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.