The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - Chauncey Billups & Terry Rozier Arrested by FBI in Gambling Probe, Wembanyama's BIG Night & Nick Saban blames NIL for CFB Coaching Firings

Episode Date: October 23, 2025

BREAKING NEWS: Blazers HC Chauncey Billiups, and Heat G Terry Rozier arrested by FBI in illegal gambling probe Thoughts on Victor Wembanyama' huge game last night against the Mavericks The Dodgers are trying to become the first team to repeat as champions in 25 years. If they do, it will be good for baseball Colin talks about Nick Saban blamming NIL for HC firingsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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We are live on a day many of us, most of us woke up, rushed to the Internet, and saw a story that was a combination of James Bond meets casino, meets uncut, gems meets rounders meets reality. First, the Louvre heist in Paris this weekend, and now a gambling sting with the FBI and the NBA. It's the roaring 20s, apparently. Welcome into the herd in Chicago. Is Capone still here?

Whoa. What is happening? If you have not heard, NBA current and active NBA coach, Chauncey Billups, for MVP in a finals, has been arrested. So is Damon Jones and Terry Rozier. So first of all, I used to work in Vegas for seven years. I saw a lot of bad actors. The mob was still in Vegas.

So I don't get real precious on this stuff. For years and years, I mean, you can go back to Henry Hill, Boston College in the 70s, people go into prison over this stuff. You can go back to the Romans and the chariots. Gambling in sports has been intertwined forever. And the mafia is often part of it. Tim Donaghy, the NBA investigation, Shohay Otani, the interpreter.

I always look at stories like this as a good thing. I want to protect our sports. I want to protect the sanctity of these sports. So when stories like this come out, and they're uncovered and discovered, and there's indictments, and these are all accusations, but it's a four-year process by the FBI,

about $7 million victims lost, hours and hours of videotape, and I've been reading this stuff for the last 45 minutes to an hour, and these are accusations. I'll try to simplify it as much as I can and give you my take on it. So,

Damon Jones, Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billets. So it's all illegal gambling. It's 11 states, spanned across 11 states, 30 individuals arrested, 13 of them are mafia members. La Cosa Nostra, that's the Italian mafia.

So these are two separate incidents. So the NBA one is six defendants. Damon Jones, Terry Rozier, basically they leverage their connections to place prop bets. For instance, Terry Rozier, in a game in March two years ago, feigned an injury,

so he would be pulled out of a game and all the unders on the prop bets would hit. And a guy who's made over $100 million, apparently won a couple hundred thousand dollars for doing it from real bad actors. Not sure why you'd do that. Maybe he was in huge debt. But there are two separate indictments. The poker fraud has been going on forever in basements all across the world. So the poker fraud stuff, I mean, let me just read some of this. the technology was hidden cameras special contact lenses glasses

glasses that could read mark cards x-ray poker tables that could read cards face down there were people off-site from the decks that were getting information feeding it back to people who were playing in the game in those games there were some NBA players like Damon Jones is mentioned in this accusation these arrests and again it the poker stuff and that's been happening forever it's happening this morning and it's happening this morning and it's happening tonight all over the country, all over the globe. That stuff, it's casino meets rounders. It's intense.

I don't play poker. I have friends who do. You know, they joke about stuff like this. The NBA stuff is the stuff we all worry about primarily, right? That's the stuff we worry about. Tim Donagy, Henry Hill, Boston College. There was that ASU investigation. Vegas often tells the leagues.

Vegas doesn't want cheaters. Vegas, their margins are thin. Sports betters are smarter than ever. I mean, last week or the week before, Joe Fan crushed the books. So you fans are smarter than ever. Vegas doesn't want to see this stuff. Vegas wants to get this stuff out. So, and I lived in Vegas for seven years,

and sports gambling and the mafia have been around forever. There were accusations forever around Tark, none of it ever proven. I don't believe any of it. But players were in casinos and there was bad actions. everywhere and he was always terribly aware of it and and preached to his players stay out of those casinos and i covered a program that had that stuff hovering over them for years and years and years and i didn't believe any of it none of it just just it was just oh as part of the fabric and casinos and gambling and bad guys and basketball coaches it so my takeaway on all this

stuff is this is serious business the poker stuff happening forever uh the NBA stuff they just sign these massive contracts. This is an awful day for Adam Silver. It's just an awful day for Adam Silver. And the people I know in sports, they tell athletes don't do it. They tell them to stay away. I've always worried more about officials than athletes. My first job was covering a basketball team in Vegas. And I'm telling you, UNLV was so aware of it, so concerned about it, so frightened about it, preach to the athletes constantly. And good for them. They 99.9.9% of the time, except for one person that got involved. It's a hot tub.

I remember waking up in Vegas one year. Spokesman Review. The AD was Dennis Friendfrock, and there was Richard the Fixer Perry was in a hot tub with a couple of players, blew up the program. This stuff's been going on forever, ever. So my takeaway on this, I don't want to get precious on it. I would love to get Cash Patel on the show today. Here, there was a press conference for 45 minutes this morning, and here's Cash Patel. Today we are here in New York to announce a historic arrest across a wide-sweeping criminal enterprise that envelops both the NBA and La Casinosstra.

But as you now know, individuals such as Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones, and Terry Rozier were taken into custody today, former current NBA players and coaches. What you don't know is that this is an individual. an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that span the course of years. The FBI led a coordinated takedown across 11 states to arrest over 30 individuals today responsible for this case, which is very much ongoing. So the one thing I read, there was some video that surfaced last year on the internet, and like all of you, I'm on my phone sometimes with Terry Rozier and really ugly turnovers. The FBI says that Roseir told the defendants that he was going to leave a game March two years ago.

The defendants then placed a couple hundred thousand dollars in wagers on under on prop bets. He feigns an injury. They take him out. It hits. It says there were tens of thousands of dollars in profits. Again, I want these stories uncovered. I want to protect the sanctity of our sports. I don't get precious.

I'm not naive. I know what goes on. My first job was covering a Vegas team where Richard the Fixer Perry in a hot tub showed up one day in the review journal. You can look it up online. I woke up, read it, and thought, oh, my world's imploded. So I just think chariot races, the Romans, gambling, mafia, uncut gems. It's live in living color, and here we are today with it. Once again in my life, I feel like this is about the 15th time, something like that.

The Donagie stuff was unbelievable when it happened. And Donagie for years and years said, I didn't change outcomes. I just wanted to hit the over. I just called fouls, like validating it, rationalizing it. So we'll keep you posted. Now, before this story, last night when I went to bed, it was a normal story. Well, abnormal. The second best player in the league, and maybe the first in about three months, is Wembe.

40 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks, no turnovers, 70% from the field. What is he? 21? Right now, I think he's the second, starting last night, the second most dominating player the league. Luca can't change a game defensively, either can SGA. Yokic isn't much of a defender, but he is so great offensively,

he basically carried Denver to a title. When he's off the floor, they're a non-playoff team. When he's on the floor, they can win the title. It's the only player in the league, maybe outside of Yonis, that could do that. I think there are five great players in the NBA, and they're all international right now. Yokic, Wembe, Luca,

Janus, and SGA. But what I watched last night, I kind of felt watching it is, and those are clearly the five best players, they're all international. And the NBA is going to an interesting thing. No more dynasties. Adam Silver doesn't want dynasties, so they have these aprons, so it's so punitive to owners to stack rosters. And the second thing is, all the best players are international. And keep your eye on Elbrun, Elbron Shengun of Houston, whose 23 made an All-Star game at 22 and is ascending fast. he is notably clearly and inarguably better than Kevin Durant right now today.

NBA May Market Durant, Shangoon's the better player and like improving every 30 games. So it's a fascinating time in the NBA. I love watching Yokic. I know a lot of people think it's boring. I covered Arvita Sabonis in Portland. I thought he was the best passer on the team, the best shooter on the team. And I didn't even see him. He was in Lithuania for his prime.

I didn't even get the best of him. And I thought he was an unbelievable basketball player. Yokic is notably better than Sabonis, and Sabonis was on that Blazor team that made the finals, or almost made the finals, got beat the Lakers in seven with Kobe and Shaq, and I thought Sabonis was the most skilled player, way past his prime. So I think last night it's just, we're watching the kid. The kid had 40 points in 30 minutes. 30 minutes.

40 points. All those rebounds, 70% from the field. So I think at some point, maybe before the All-Star, break. Wemby will be the second best player in this league. I mean, he's putting up, he's going to get to 50 points in 30 minutes here pretty quick. Those are Wilt numbers. Except

Wilt couldn't hoist and hit threes and didn't have a crossover dribble. So last night, and by the way, Spurs have a great starting five. Maybe they are the next dynasty. But watching him last night, I'm just thinking, wow.

He's not Yokage today, but could be soon and here's wambi after much more in control of myself the mine i'm not worried about because i saw i saw what it's like to be confronted with uh you know potentially losing a lot whether it's your career or your health you know so i'm i'm not taking this for granted anymore but the body it's uh it's i'm having more fun now that i'm not struggling to move as much, you know, and I know I'm still need to get better, and I'm still going to get better.

Yeah, yeah. He's had to put on 25 pounds of muscle. He is just, I mean, you're watching last night, I sat there with my wife and I said, see that guy in the bright shoes? He's going to be the best player in the NBA, either by the end of tonight

or the end of the season. That was unbelievable. And it's not like Dallas is a small team. Dallas's front lines, the deepest in the league. 40 points, 30 minutes. Dallas has 6-11, 7-foot guys. As Jay Billis said, he made them look like sixth graders.

But that is the second biggest story with the NBA today. All right, bring in J-MAC. You know, it's just, it's interesting, Jay-Mack, because my first job out of college was covering UNLV, and I loved it. And I had a hot and cold relationship with the late great Jerry Tarkinan. But I woke up one morning. It was a Sunday morning,

and the local paper had a notorious game fixer, just in a hot tub with a couple of the players, and it was never the same program. And they preached for years to keep players out of casinos. And you and LV did a really good job at the time. Tark really tried. But it's Vegas. And the mafia was there.

So I feel like I've lived in this kind of weird world forever. And I read this story this morning. When I read the poker stuff, I don't play poker, it did read like rounders. James Bond meets casino, meets rounders, meets uncut gems. The NBA stuff, what was your first reaction to it? I don't know. I got to choose my words carefully.

You know, it's obviously a big story. I don't know, the FBI and the NBA met with Terry Rozier multiple times in 2023. He was cleared by the NBA. I guess maybe the FBI found some new folks willing to say some stuff. So we got to see what happens there. The poker stuff to me is fascinating. Those poker games, I'm sure you've played in some poker games. I'm not a poker player.

What's interesting. You've never played in a poker game? No, no. I mean, I've played poker, but not in big poker games. I've played, you know, I'm on a flight with somebody, my wife. I'm like that. But I mean, I'm more willing to do backgammon or solitaire. But when you read, when you read the poker stuff in this accusation, it's unbelievable.

It is, it is, there's a, it is really, you know, that scene in a casino oceans 11. Oh, that sounds fascinating. Yeah, I mean, we had the Louvre heist. We have this. It's like, folks, don't get precious. I mean, in my career, I've had literally media people text me. I'm very disappointed. You don't take this stuff as serious.

And I'm like, oh, grow up. Stop being precious. Chariots, Romans, betting, mafia. It's been happening forever. Yeah. And gambling's legal. Supreme Court said, yep, you can gamble in America. We were way behind Europe.

So don't get precious. Yeah. And there's warning labels. read warning labels all the time if I have a gambling sponsor. But I will say when I woke up this morning and saw Chauncey Billups name, I would not have guessed Chauncey Billups. He was always more of the smarter, headier, more professional guys. These are just allegations.

That's right. The Billups playing in a poker game. Not a big deal, you know? Let's see the other stuff that comes out. You know, Chauncey Bullops made over $100 million in his career. He's an NBA head coach. I'll just leave it at that. Like, I'm playing in a poker game.

Okay, I get it. But, like, being a part of it? Like, I need to wait and see. Just remember with the Otani interpreter. Everybody rushed to judgment. Oh, Otani's gambling. And it was like, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. No, we didn't.

We did not. Well, of course not. I'm going to give these guys a benefit of the doubt. We'll see the evidence. And then, if you want to come in off the top rope, go for it. But I got to wait and see. Yeah. No, that's reasonable.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast Inside the Parker for 22 minutes of pipe and hot baseball talk, featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the I-Test, we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, so do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the IHartRadio app

or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, news? Huge 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. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember.

I think it was on a couple of questions. call about what we should call it. We were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this.

We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, Hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

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

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it

down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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. Jenchian win. I mean, she went down to 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. So the NBA has made this statement announcement this morning. There's two current NBA people involved in this FBI arrest. Blazers head coach in Portland, Chauncey Billups, good player,

and Terry Rozier, who's currently, I think he was nursing an injury, a Miami Heat player. So both of them have been placed on immediate leave by the NBA. These are accusations by the FBI, two separate,

you know, indictments. One is massive. It's poker. The other involves six people on some prop bets, the NBA. And we'll just keep you,

posted on on what we what we know world series starts friday and i thought about this this morning i spent eight years living in california now i go there uh often but i live in chicago and one of the things i've i've told people before i love living in california uh there's there's a very large anti-california anything resentment in america a lot of the conservative media bangs on them a lot And for good reason, there's envy. It's the largest economy in the country by a mile. It's got the best, most moderate weather. You got mountain ranges, the Pacific Ocean, deserts farming.

It's amazing. And Californians, frankly, do not care what you think. If the 50 states were a family, California would be the rich, good-looking kid driving a convertible that owns a tech company. They're easy to hate. California is the quarterback and the valedictorian. Like, I get it. And here's my take on the Dodgers. I didn't hear all this whining and complaining when the New York Yankees,

when the New York Yankees owned the Hot Stove League and bought all the best players. Because there's a sense that New Yorkers earn their money. Wall Street, grinding, hours, toughness. And maybe that's right. But I didn't hear all this animosity about money. And the cool thing about the Dodgers, there's no ego. Otani's a great guy. Freddie Freeman, Yoshi, Dave Roberts, the manager, the front office,

Mookie Betts, Max Muncie, no ego. I mean, they're just the nicest group of guys. They all get along. The stars, there's no toxicity, there's no resentment. It's all the talent, none of the ego. So if you hate the Dodgers, my take is you kind of, you hate yourself. You know, it's an envy thing. The Yankees you could hate, Steinbrenner was obnoxious,

and Billy Martin was poking in the ribs, and there was the narcissism of Reggie Jackson. And then the Mattingly teams weren't any good, but he was likable. And then he went to the other teams, they were feisty and they... But the truth is the Dodgers, like if you want to hate the Astros, they cheated, I get it.

Or if you don't like Hollywood and their politics and they're not relatable, I get it. Or the Kardashians jamming their wealth in your face. You don't like that? I totally get it. But let me be your therapist. You don't hate the Dodgers. You want to be the Dodgers.

Smart, ahead of the curve. Use your money wisely. classy, successful. You don't hate them, you want to be them. They're a shining example in Major League Baseball of what's possible if you spend money and spend it wisely. They've led baseball in attendance

every year since 2013. Buy a lot. In a stadium that's gorgeous, but older, and not easy to get in and out of. Here's Dave Roberts poking everybody else in the ribs after they swept the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL.C.

This is a one team, one dream operation. And I'll tell you before this season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball. Let's get four more wins and really ruined baseball. Let's go. Hi, he's on our show later today. From the manager to the front office, the ownership group, they're not hateable. I'm sorry. It's like hating, I mean, it's, it's like hating Easter.

It's a you problem. No egos at all on this team. J-MAC with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Colin, let's start with Patrick Mahomes, who's having a rebound season. He was not very good last year as the Chiefs got super lucky in one-score games.

11-0 lost in the Super Bowl badly. This year, they're only four and three, but, Kansas City has scored on 52% of their offensive possessions, which is the best mark since his first year as a starter. The offense has improved dramatically. It's interesting, Colin, I'm trying to pinpoint why this is happening. Mahomes said last season he was over-analyzing things. This year he wants to simplify and play fast.

It looks to me, just the eye test, that he's not throwing the ball as deep downfield often. He's taking what the defense is giving him. and he's hitting his layups, right? Yeah, and I also think if you look at Worthy and you look at Hollywood Brown, J. Mack, and you look at Rishi Rice, they're a very good yard after the catch guys.

Juju Smith-Schuster isn't the burner. I think also Mahomes is a really bright guy and he identifies a lot of our guys. You see this in Detroit with Gibbs or an Amaran St. Brown. Like sometimes a receiver has plotting veteran receivers and then sometimes he's got what Mahomes does, which is twitchy smaller guys who make people miss in space. So why throw it deep?

Go high percentage underneath. This was when the Niners in Brock Purdy had Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, and Debo, Samuel. Like why throw it deep? Get those guys the ball and let them break tackle. So I think Kansas City's got a little Niner feel about three years ago. These twitchy guys underneath, they'll get the yards after the catch. So, okay, all that makes sense, I get it, but a lot of it starts with the offensive line.

Remember, in the Super Bowl, they could not block the Eagles, right? Interesting thing, have you followed this Josh Simmons saga, Colin? A little bit. Okay, so it's a little mysterious, the kid out of Ohio State, right? He fell in the draft because of the injury, and he played well in the preseason, and he's played well this season. Yes. And then he's like taken a little bit, I don't know if it's a leave of absence,

or he's just not there, and nobody's talking about it. but we haven't seen the offensive line struggle because they're playing the Raiders who stink, okay? Washington, a little tougher. Buffalo, a little tougher. So we'll see in the coming weeks if that offensive line can hold up because, Colin, you know it's easy to make

the dink and dunk passes when the offensive line's blocking. In the Super Bowl, there was no time for that. Jalen Carter was in his face. Yeah, and I don't think there are a lot of great O lines. Detroit, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Denver. There's not a lot of great O lines.

The Bears, by the way, on the interior. now. Guard, center guard, I think it's become really, really elite. But the truth is, most teams, I mean, Brady used to beat you getting rid of the ball quickly. When he had a great deep threat, he didn't win Super Bowl. So I've never been a big believer in the deep ball. And the other reason I don't believe in it is, because the playoffs are January and late December, and it's hard to throw the ball deep in windy, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Buffalo weather. So I don't know what we're doing with gambling on the show, but we haven't talked this game. It's up to 12 and a half Monday.

Stay away. College number. I don't know. Listen, they just smashed the Raiders. 31-0 was not competitive. And now we got Marcus Marriota in there. Can Washington hang? They couldn't stop Dallas at all. What makes you think they're going to stop KC? I don't, I don't wager on college numbers. It's too big for me.

That's probably smart. Let's move on to Lamar Jackson, Colin. Speaking of mysteries, we don't know if he's going to play this week. John Harbaugh's being very coy. the Ravens obviously need him. The Cooper Rush experience has been awful. Here's John Harbaugh on Lamar's status for Sunday. It's hard to put a number on. I think it's just part of the process right now.

I really don't have any shareable injury intelligence for you guys at this point. What do you think of that? Gamsmanship, what are we doing here? Lamar's plan. You feel confident, but the line hasn't gone down. If it all of a sudden goes to three and a half today, maybe he's out. But I think he plays, is this a blazing five for you? Lamar shows up to practice.

Maybe it is. Lamar shows up to practice on Tuesday. He's playing. Oh, it was Wednesday yesterday. Wednesday. Yeah. Interesting. You're considering it for headlines, but I'm not considering the Bears.

For me, this is Ravens are passed. And it sounds like they're going to be very healthy off the buy. Okay. You've said enough by just nodding. All right. Now, Colin, this one caught me off. Card. Final story. A.J. Brown had a phenomenal game against the Vikings, and all of a sudden, he's got a hamstring injury? Miss practice yesterday? What? I thought the Eagles were going to be

my biggest play of the week against the Giants. I love them in a revenge spot here, but no A.J. Brown kind of changes things. We saw the giant secondary get lit up like a Christmas tree in the fourth quarter. Could not stop Bo Knicks. Your guy, I like the Eagles here, but this A.J. Brown injury, kind of mysterious. Can the league get healthy? What's going on here? I know. I think the league's always bad. I also think much like the Dodgers pitching staff

where Snell and Glassnow were eventually going to be healthy just in time for the playoffs. I think when you get when you're as deep as they are and you're at home against the team, you feel good about why risk it. I like in a 17 game schedule,

there's no question that NFL teams now, if it's a go-eater way decision. I think we've seen this about a half dozen times this year. It's a go either way decision on game day and the player doesn't play. I grew up with a 14 game NFL schedule. Then I went to 16. Now it's 17. Rumor is in two years it's 18. I think like a baseball or a basketball, if a guys go either way and you got a winning record, sit in. It's not like they don't have offensive weapons. Well, my only thing is, Colin, I don't want to go overboard here, but the Dallas Cowboys Broncos game is fascinating, right?

If Dallas wins that and the Eagles somehow slip up against the Giants, I think we could start talking about the NFC East being a Cowboys Eagles deal. I think it's closer than people are talking about. Now, that's how good Dallas has been. Do you not think Dallas has a shot? I think Washington's out. The schedule's too hard. I don't think you can win a division with that bad of defense,

but I do think everybody's smushed closer because of a bit of a coaching crisis and O-line injury crisis in Philly. I think I thought of it is, Eagles way up here, Giants way down there, and between the Giants' offense and the Cowboys' offense and the regression of Washington's offense,

it's all mushed together. How about the, oh, she's an opener. Dallas nearly beat Philly if Des Bryant doesn't drop a million balls. So I think the Eagles, I know you want to play it safe, hey, let's sit, AJ Brown. I think they kind of need him this week.

You cannot mess around this Giants team, Colin. They're frisky with your boy, Jackson Dart. MAK with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. And we'll keep you updated on the Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billop story, the FBI,

which is what we all woke up to this morning. So I was thinking about this. The Ben Johnson Bears, the Caleb William, Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears, are really interesting. And we're all kind of watching it. Whether it hits or fails, I think it's going to hit.

But it is interesting. Ben Johnson, when he was in Detroit, was with Jared Goff. And this morning, we went and looked at Ben Johnson's first six games with Caleb Williams and his first six games with Jared Goff. And you know what you see? Identical numbers. Caleb just wins more.

So two things, three things are very clear. There's clearly progress with Caleb Williams and the Bears' offense this year to last. And it also proves most of you weren't watching. watching Jared Goff in the 2022 Lions. By the way, that Lions team, they had Amaran St. Brown, O-Line, PFF had it top 10. They had Penae Soule.

They had two good running backs, including D'Andre Swift, Jamal Williams. It was a good team. They had a lot of good players, and they weren't very good. And nobody was watching that team. And everybody's watching this team. The only time you watched that Lions team,

last game of the year, when they went to Lambo and beat Aaron Rodgers, and not Green Bay out of the playoffs. And that was Aaron's last game as a Packer. That's when you first watched them. The difference is the Bears, we've been watching it since June. That's when we've been watching this Bears team. So I think, and here's the thing is that Caleb Williams was under a microscope.

His first started Oklahoma. I think he replaced Spencer Rattler. I mean, it was like, oh, first start Oklahoma, then at USC, then last year, then this year. Jared Goff, you didn't watch him in Detroit until that game in Green Bay. And so here are facts about Caleb Williams and the Bears and Ben Johnson through six games. These are facts. Looked it up this morning. He is taking far fewer sacks.

That was my number one concern, not yards, not touchdowns. He's taken fewer sacks. He has a higher passer rating. And the Bears lead the NFL in big plays per game. It is working. It is absolutely working. It's a little rough. the operational side of it's a little clunky about twice a game,

but Greg Olson came on this show earlier and said, it's fine right now. Franchises fail young quarterbacks, more than young quarterbacks fail franchises. And I think you're seeing it with what Kevin O'Connell is doing with some of these rebirth of Sam Darnold, who now continued it in Seattle. And, you know, you're seeing what goes on with so many of these quarterbacks

that were left for dead. Fit is such an important part of all this. and then you factor in just how young Caleb is and how fresh he is in his NFL career. I think there's been great growth. Absolutely. We're just watching this, and we didn't watch the Lions

until the following year when we all went, oh, yeah, like most of us were watching Stafford of the Rams way more than golf to the Lions until that Packer game. And then the following year, they came out, and you're like, is Detroit good? What?

Differences, we're just watching every snap Caleb takes. Less sacks, higher passer rating, lead the NFL in big plays. It can be a little clunky, but it's good. There's no question. I'll say this. It's going to work. It's just how unrealistic are the critics. This week, Ravens, that is a test, and I believe Lamar will play.

Coming up next, you make big money. People want big results. I'll talk about that next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new?

Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to 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 do we actually come up? 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. We were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes.

I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, Hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source. the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaders to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, Follow Timbo Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 should win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French, 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 app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. The NBA story, Chauncey Billups is involved in the poker. part of the indictment. Terry Roseer in the basketball part. The poker indictment includes x-ray machines built into tables

to read face-down cards, contact lenses and glasses that read premark cards, secret cameras and card trays. This is high-tech stuff. And remember, legalization of gambling didn't create this.

It exposes it. It didn't create it. It's been going on forever. So I'm for finding all the bad actors and keeping our sports, some sanctity in our sports and some purity to it. But legalized gambling. You're going to get all the Puritans rushing to tell you, see, this is what happens when you legalize gambling. Yeah, what about the Boston College 1970 scandal? Tim Doneggey, it didn't create this stuff.

It's exposing it. Transparency is not a flaw. This is a credit. We want this stuff. I saw this morning. Nick Saban, apparently, this weekend, was defending James Franklin. And he went out and he said, it's unfair what they're doing to Billy Napier, and it's unfair what they're doing to James Franklin. I wouldn't have fired James Franklin either because he won 13 games last year.

But in any business, the more, the bigger that business gets, including college football, the more pressure. and the more pressure to win quickly. And everybody keeps telling me, well, the players are making big money now. That's made it harder. Well, the coaches are also making $9, $10, $11 million a year, win more games faster. I wouldn't have fired James Franklin, but he did go 4 and 21 against top 10 teams. And a 1 in 15 against top 5 teams.

You got to win more of those games. Billy Napier, it was time. Billy Napier lost to South Florida. If you're at the University of Florida, you can't lose to directional schools in Florida. He was also a guy, had a worse record out. He's in year four than Dan Mullen who got whacked. So again, I hear about, oh, the players making money.

Do you know what the average player in college football makes? Less than $10,000. The coaches are making that by lunch on Monday. Okay, coaches are making $10 million and $11 million. beat good teams. If you coach Penn State, you can't go four and 21 against top 10 teams. You got to be closer to 500. I'm not saying you have to do a Sabin or a Pete Carroll at LSU.

You can't go four and 21. Can't go one in 15 against top 10 teams. So the bigger the money, the bigger the expectations. More is more. You get more money. Players get more money. There's more pressure. You've got to win more games.

More is more. And with that Chris Sims, joining us former texas longhorn quarterback eight years in the nfl i mean i look at texas and sark i think he's safe i think he's a great coach but you know that school arch has struggled do you think sarks feeling heat at texas well he's feeling heat because of the expectations i mean they were the number one team in the country they spent a lot of money on n i l to to to emphasize that and of course they have a quarterback that everybody thought was going to be the number one pick in the trap right so he's feeling the heat just because, hey, that's a major program and it's the biggest thing in the city of

Austin. And it's almost like an NFL team as far as the attention it gets from a big city. But I don't think he has to worry about like feeling the heat as far as job security. That I don't think. No, not at all. Okay. USC four years in, offense is snazy and fun. Defense isn't physical consistently. Can't win road games in the Big Ten. Do you think there should be heat on Lincoln Riley today? Oh, 100%. I never really understood that marriage there. Lincoln Riley does not seem like a Southern Cal Los Angeles type of guy. I do believe that helps in a college football setting a little bit. So yeah, I don't. And then, of course, to your point, I mean, yes, it's fun. Well, great passing yards. But what's that mean? It doesn't mean anything. They're not capable of playing. Like you said, Big 10 football. Defense is a little bit better this year, but certainly nothing special. Right. And then, you know, yet I've seen nothing or no inkling so far to go, ooh, watch out.

They got a ton of talent coming up the pipes here. I know the recruiting class next year is supposed to be pretty good, but come on, it's USC. You know, Colin, forever. If there was 10 good players in the state of California, you were like, well, the top nine are going to USC. If there was 15 on the West Coast, you were like, well, 13 of them are going to the USC. That's not happening. So that would concern me. Ohio State, I've watched every game, almost every game they've played.

and my takeaway is that defense is too good for 99% of college offenses. I don't know what they'll do to Indiana. It's just too fast. The windows you're allowed to throw in against them are NFL windows. They're tiny little windows. What do you see? I see that. I think Ohio State's the best team in college football.

I don't really think it's close, all right, because of what you said, the talent, right? Matt Patricia has brought that defense to a different stratosphere with some NFL concepts and things where I think a lot of college football is like, whoa, what the hell is this coverage? I don't know what to do. I think that's part of Texas's problem. I think that this defense put out a few ways of how to defend that offense and people have copied that a little bit. But yes, between that and common, here's the other aspect. We know the offense is awesome, the quarterback, the receivers, the running back, all of that. Their running game is legit. They haven't even had to be creative in a game yet. They're literally like, we're going to run here.

And then they run here. They're like, Jeremiah's here. He's going to be open. and we're going to throw it to him. So I don't think they've even had to dive deep into the playbook as far as creativity to this point yet. Finally, you know quarterback. Who is the best college quarterback you've seen? Now, this past week against SC, Carr didn't play well. Who have you seen?

Is it a Nussmeyer, a Dante Moore? Is it Mendoza? Who do you like? Yeah, there's a lot of good ones out there. Mendoza certainly catches my eye. Dante Moore, to me, looks like, you know, I don't know if it's ready for him to come out this year, but he certainly has top 10 type of talent to me in the draft.

Same with Fernando Mendoza, Jaden Mayaoba of USC's really talented. The best quarterback, though, I've seen this year is Ty Simpson of Alabama. When I talk about big throws, pushing the ball down the field, throwing the ball into tight windows, all that, I'm going to give him the belt right now. But there is a lot of good college football players. I like Nussmeyer, Colin, but he has not looked the same as last year. and I've heard, and I know he's kind of battling through some injuries.

I think he's got a little oblique issue there altogether, but for my money right now, it'd be Ty Simpson. Yep, Kalin DeBoer did it with Michael Pennix after those injuries. Right. There's no question. The coach always helps with a quarterback. It could be Bo Nix or Sean Payton, Kailen DeBore, and Ty Simpson. Chris Sims on a rush day for us because of a little story that broke between the FBI and the NBA.

Chris is always great seeing you. Good seeing you, buddy. Have a good one. Enjoy the weekend. All right, man. All right. Saw his dad a couple of weeks ago on the show, Chris Sims today. Thoughts on Cooper Flagg.

Greg CoSell on a Thursday. This is not your typical Thursday in the herd. We led with something we hope not to lead with ever again. Not a great day for Adam Silver in the NBA. Don't accusations. Don't know what to make. Poker, NBA problems. Greg CoSleman.

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

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players,

and the moments that define Roland Garris. She's an outsider to win the French name. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennar Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear.

Listen to Sports Slice on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you're you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.