The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR-1-Clippers, LeBron James, OBJ, Big 10

Episode Date: September 16, 2020

This was supposed to be the Clippers year and they completely collapsedThe road to the championship is wide open for LeBron JamesIt's not working for Odell Beckham Jr. in ClevelandThe Big 10 is coming back the right wayGuest: Nick Wright Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey,

or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on an interesting Wednesday, live in Los Angeles, still a Lakers town. This is The Heard, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. Fox Sports Radio right here on FS1. Oh, boy. Clippers.

I'm not a huge. fan of the word choke. Greg Norman at the Masters felt like a choke. That was a choke. That was a choke. Can't lead 3-1, a big, big leads and wither away. Joy Taylor's joining me. Well, the Miami Heat won, you're happy.

Oh, I'm having a great morning. But I will not front. I also pick the Clippers to win the championship, so you're my partner. Can't leave you hanging out to dry. I'll take this walk of shame with you. that was something to watch. Okay, so this is the first time watching the NBA in my life, 40 years, where the young teams went to the playoffs and rise.

Miami's young, Boston's young, Denver's young. Hell, Dallas played great. A Phoenix didn't make the playoffs. They were great. And the old teams, Milwaukee was awful and Houston was awful. And the Clippers have older stars. awful. Only LeBron and the Lakers as an old team are playing well, and that's probably the power of LeBron and his greatness and leadership. Now, do I think for the next 40 years that old teams will

get to the playoffs, the veterans, and they'll shrink, and the young teams will just flourish? No, no, no, no, no. Do I think the bubble is part of kind of, is help younger players? Yeah, there's no crowds. Young players shrink in the playoffs with the toxicity of crowds. And the old players are married. They got kids. It's getting in their head. That's some of it. But let's not worry about that. Why did the Clippers lose? Okay.

Kauai's overrated. Well, I saw him be the second youngest guy to ever win a MVP in the finals. He beat LeBron, Wade, and Bosch. I don't think he's overrated. I think he's great. Well, Clippers, no good. They were overrated. Well, they were 12 and 1 pre-bubble when they were healthy,

and they gave LeBron an AD and LeBron some problems. Let's make the complicated simple. All of our lives are shaped by our choices. We can blame our parents. We can blame the president. We can blame our neighbor. We can blame our brother-in-law. Guys can blame their wives.

Our lives are overwhelmingly shaped by our choices. Kauai had three choices after winning in Toronto. And I want you to just think about these. Number one, stay in Toronto. Great general manager, great head coach, very good roster, two emerging stars, Van Bleet, Pascal Seyakum, there would be no pressure. They won a title. There's no pressure.

It's in the east, which is easier than the West. Again, the structure, the fans, the GM, the coach, the veterans, emerging stars, no pressure. You already want a title. He could have chosen that. He did not. His second choice was, let's go to the Lakers, massive brand, join LeBron. Anthony Davis was already there. There's no brand pressure.

They've got they got banners all over the place. It's the biggest game in town. LeBron would be the star. A.D. would be the two. And you could be, as you usually are, quiet, covert, nonverbal win titles. And do your load management. Nobody would care. He did not choose that.

Our life is based on choices. He chose the clippers that have a history of losing. basically rent the arena seemingly from the team that owns it, it feels like, even though the Lakers don't, go to a coach who has struggled in the postseason many times, Doc Rivers, and with a teammate Paul George who has a history of shrinking, and a franchise, the Clippers, who have a history of shrinking. That was the choice. And it should be noted, San Antonio, Kauai wasn't responsible for building chemistry because they had it before he got there,

Manu, Tony, Tim. Toronto, he wasn't responsible for building chemistry. They'd been number one seed the previous year. They had good chemistry. But in Los Angeles with the clippers, Kauai was to a large degree because they had to give up some pieces to get Paul and Kauai. He was responsible for building this chemistry. He's not a real talker.

He's not real communicative. He's not real verbal. And isn't in the end of it all a chemistry issue? I watched last night. Bad shots. The clippers didn't have a lot of good open looks. when they did they didn't hit them. Denver was fast and fluid and oh they just got great open looks layups and dunks and open looks. It's like a young team they'd been playing together for a while

and they were confident and the clippers looked kind of static and they were tight and they weren't loose and they weren't getting open shots and when they did they weren't hitting them. Maybe it's just as simple as this. Kauai had three choices and he chose the wrong one. a franchise in the Clippers that historically shrinks, a teammate in Paul George that historically shrinks, an I am a Doc Rivers fan. He's the Joe Tori of the NBA. He's great with veteran players.

Wasn't a good series for him. It was not a good series. He had bad second halves and bad fourth quarters. It was not a great series for Doc. And it happens. It happens. Maybe it's just that simple. I don't think Kauai is overrated.

I don't think the Clippers lack talent. I do not believe young teams will now, from this point going forward, dominate the playoffs, and the veteran all-stars will all shrink. Is there a bubble component to some of this story of young teams flourishing? Sure. This is about choices. By the way, Kyrie left LeBron. Brough, how to work out.

Paul George stayed in OKC. Could have chosen LeBron. How'd that work out? Ty Lou could have coached the Lakers, wanted more money, chose the Clippers. How'd that work out? sometimes it's as simple as this. Stay with LeBron or choose LeBron. It'll all work out.

He'll take all the pressure. He'll take the big shots. He'll take the media criticism. LeBron just take it all, put it on their shoulders. Come on and join us. It's funny to think now, right? When I say this this morning, it sounds so easy. LeBron and A.D. were already there.

We saw what Kevin Durant did. just go join those guys. And he chose the Clippers. Then he chose Paul George. And that's what it looks like. Here's Paul George after the game. I think internally, we've always felt this is not a championship or bus year for us. You know, we can only get better the longer we stay together and the more we're around each other.

The more chemistry for this group, the better. I think that's really the tail of the tape of the season. We just didn't have enough time together. I kind of think it was championship bust. And if it wasn't, because Lou Williams said later he thought it was, and Doc Rivers thought it was, and Kauai thought he was, and Steve Ballmer thought it was, and the front office who I text off and thought it was,

maybe this is part of the communication issues. Paul George may not be around. Like if you thought this was a, we got a lot of runway on the tarmac, Remember this. This is a Laker town. It is a Dodger town. It is a USC football town. It's becoming an L.A. Ram town.

This is a fight. Steve Balmer just bought a bunch of land for a zillion dollars to build his own arena because he's trying to separate and create his own brand. So it's one thing to lose. It's another to potentially watch the Lakers win a title. that hurts. I mean, if the Lakers were already out and the Clippers lose and you're like, well, okay, Denver Nuggets, the bubble, they win a championship.

That's not what's going to happen. It's very possible now. The biggest roadblock for the Lakers is gone. The Lakers win the championship. That's not going to play well in the building. Paul George may not be long if he's a, We got a lot of runway here. We didn't look at it as a one year.

A lot of people in that building, they were already online looking at championship rings. Let me segue to this. Speaking of LeBron James, Nick Wright in 15 minutes will be obnoxious. If you want to turn, go ahead. I'm sure it'll be, you know, whatever. If you want to deal, watch that kind of nondon, whatever.

Nick Wright will be joining us in 15 minutes and it's going to be bad for me. The sea is now opening up for LeBron. It's now LeBron James, with all sorts of finals and championship experience, we'll be taking on Denver, just took the binky out of their mouth, Miami in Boston. By the way, the old Lakers just got six days rest. Oh, by the way, the Clippers, a roster built to beat LeBron, four-wing defenders, gone.

LeBron's career is actually, when you're honest about it, has been a series of obstacles he's had to overcome. Let's talk about him. He gets drafted by Cleveland. They're awful. Everything's bad. Cleveland stinks. You like to get drafted by great organizations. You know, the Celtics or, you know, Packers.

No. Number two, he walks right into a blizzard called the Big Three in Boston. Not great. Then he ends up facing the Warriors' Dinwidson. That's another obstacle. Oh, by the way, star teammates getting hurt. Bosch was often hobbled. Dee Wade in Miami.

Kyrie and Kevin Love get hurt. He has to go to a finals with Matthew Delavadova. And then he's had to deal with flakes. J.R. Smith forgot how to keep score of a game. And Kyrie Irving just bailed because he's Kyrie Irving and the world is flat, according to him. But now it's different. 17 years.

And the sea is opening. Now it's young teams. The clippers are out of the way. They got a break. Denver's a bunch of babies. Now Denver's going to understand what the big difference between, you know, the second round and the Western Conference Finals. There's a lot of difference.

That's the difference between the Sun Bowl and the Rose Bowl. That's a big difference. Second round, who was in it last year? Who knows? Who remembers? We remember conference finals. We remember finals. And through all those roadblocks with LeBron, the flake.

guys don't know the score, the injuries, Kyrie Kevin Love, the big three, the bad ownership, all those roadblocks. Nine finals, three titles. And for the first time ever, well-rested LeBron, who, by the way, got hurt last year, didn't play a ton, COVID this year. Think about this. COVID was actually a break for LeBron's legs. Janus, the Eastern Rim Protector.

LeBron can struggle with that. Out. Kauai and the Clippers built to stop LeBron. Out. Anthony Davis, who has a history of being injured, is finally healthy. D. Wade and Bosch who never got hurt before LeBron were all banged up. Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, they got hurt. Now it's like Anthony Davis is Mr. Brittle.

He's not hurt. The sea is opening up for LeBron. opponents, health, none of it in his way. It's going to be painful. You know, I'm, I'm, I had the clippers, but I, you know it's good if LeBron wins for me, right? Like, you know I'm, I'm on that side. So that's where we are this morning. Nick Wright, you know, some people win graciously.

Nick's not one of them. He will be joining us. Joel Clatt, top of next hour, Big Ten's going to play football as we told you last week. It's coming. It's here. They'll play on October 24th. Joel Clat in an hour. Coming up next, Cleveland, trade OBJ, do it now.

It's the best for everybody. Rumors, he's on the trade market. Move him now. I'll tell you why. 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

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

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

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

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

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple, podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tript Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

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

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast,

learn the hard way. Open your free. iHeartRadio app search learn the hard way and listen now all right great to have you in there are rumors and reports now that obj for the cleveland browns is on the market we've been saying this now i've been saying this since early last year it's better for baker it's better for obj it's better for cleveland this feels like a forced relationship it's not working he's been there 17 games and in 17 games he had 23 yards it marked the fourth time in 17 games odel beckham Five years ago, best receiver in football, fourth time he had yardage in the 20s.

Six times in 17 games. He's had three catches or fewer. This guy five years ago was the best wide receiver. We were talking about Randy Moss. Like it's not working. I've said this before. Relationships can't be this hard. Amari Cooper and Dak Prescott the minute he arrived worked.

Randy Moss and Brady, the minute he arrived at work. I mean, good God. Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins 15 catches the minute he arrived. Emmanuel Sanders and Garoppolo last year. It worked instantly. It can't be this hard. Rip the Band-Aid off. That's what Arizona did with Josh Rosen.

It's what Baltimore did with Earl Thomas. Just rip the Band-Aid off. Take the heat for a day. Rip it off. Listen, the grass isn't always greener. Eli and OBJ, he averaged almost seven catches a game in 93 yards. That's big production. Baker he's average in four and a half catches and 60 yards.

That's mediocre. And OBJ is not a mediocre player. The issue here is Baker Mayfield is not as good as everybody thinks. And OBJ can be at times a little needy. That's okay. I was in my 20s. Baker's just not as good as he thinks. Baker is not good enough to be obsessed with getting one guy the ball.

OBJ is better with a better quarterback and a better organization where he feels loved, he feels stability, he doesn't feel chaos, he's not good in that spot. The more chaos New York had, the worse he got. When he got there initially with Kaufflin, there was no chaos. And he was great, but he's a kid that doesn't work good in chaos. But you just, you know, when you got a problem, the first step in solving it is admitting you got a problem. You got to admit you got a problem. He can't solve it. Cleveland's got to be like 17 games, three catches, 23 yards, Odell Beckham. It ain't. working. There's a lot of teams that need a receiver. Baltimore could probably use them. San Francisco

right now is a mess at wide receiver. Green Bay, maybe not their style, but they could use another guy. Wouldn't you think different Green Bay today if they had Odell Beckham? I would. Seattle. There's plenty of takers out there, and there's teams with the good God, the New York Jets, if you want to go back to New York. There's plenty of spots for OBJ. But you got to just acknowledge, it's not supposed to be that hard. I say this all the time. If you're in a marriage nine years, and you still have to go to therapy once a month, it shouldn't be that much work. You should be able to sit in the couch, watch a TV show,

eat pizza, laugh, and feel great together. You can't be on a, you can't get along only when you're in Paris on a vacation. You got to be able to sit in the couch and laugh on a Tuesday when it's rainy outside and there's crappy television on. You sit there a pour glass of wine talking. It works. This thing ain't working. It's just not working.

So there's all sorts of rumors out there. And by the way, OBJ, I say this to all pro athletes. Antonio Brown wanted out. OBJ wanted out. The grass ain't greener. Pittsburgh was a good spot. Giants was a good spot. Listen, it's one thing if you're Kevin Durant and can choose where you go. But if you're not a free agent and you're demanding to be traded, you can end up in Cleveland. You can end up, you know, with Oakland. Antonio Brown and OBJ, I understand guys wanting out, but if you're not a free agent, you're not going to dictate where you go. And the grass in pro sports is not always green. Even Kauai, when you're not. had a choice may have chosen the wrong place. Joy with the news.

No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. The heat is on, Colin. Wow. Haley, you know what? They're a little bit, they're a little bit the Denver of the East. One star player and a bunch of emerging young players. They're pretty good. It's wonderful. They continued their stellar postseason run. The big game one win over the Celtics, I was stressed out the entire time. I think it was going to be a really long series. I think they're very even. Yes.

So the highlight of the night came with just seconds remaining in overtime. We're showing it right now. Huge block by Bam Adebio. Big boy stuff right there. Bam Anabio had the block of his life denying Jason Tatum with what would have been the game tying dunk. Block of the season in the NBA. It's pretty remarkable.

Well, that Kawai dunk was pretty memorable just because it was like one finger with his claw. But this is, I mean, that's just unbelievable clutch player. right there. Yeah, it's a dunk of the season if he doesn't get it. Instead, it's the block of the season. Right, right. One muscle the wrong way, and that highlight goes a very different way for the rest of Bam's life. The heat held on to win 117, 114 in overtime. Jimmy Butler at 20 points, five rebounds,

five assists, BAM 18, 6, 9, and 2 blocks. And Goran had a team high at 29 points. Jason Tatum had an incredible game, 30 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and three steals. NBA's got about 9, 10, 11, young players, Jamal Murray, Jason Tatum. This league, I don't remember a time where I think there's a dozen young players who could all be stars. There's so much young talent in America right now.

It feels like we're seeing not the changing of the garden, sort of in the way that we felt last year in the NFL with the quarterbacks. But yes, the young developing players have an incredible amount of talent and star potential. And like the quarterbacks in the NFL, the young quarterbacks, they're better earlier than ever. Yes, absolutely. It's a fun game. Obviously, I enjoyed it. Boston fans, probably not.

so much, but I do think this will be a long series. Great watch yesterday. So Michael Thomas is dealing with an injury worse than originally expected. He suffered a high ankle sprain on Sunday, but he believed he would be able to play through it. However, now the Saints are expecting their star receiver to miss several weeks. They reportedly thought about putting him on IR, which would sideline him for at least three weeks, but Thomas is opposed to the idea.

The next three weeks, they are at the Raiders, then they have the Packers at home, and they're at the Lions. Is it me? I thought lineman may suffer with injuries, the big uglies. A lot of wide receiver. San Francisco's whole wide receiving course hurt. A lot of wide receiver Mike Evans is hurt. Now we've got it.

Well, I mean. I don't know. I don't have to look. I don't want to speak out of hand and not do any research on it if there are more injuries early. But, I mean, we talked about all the injuries yesterday around the league. There's a lot of injuries. Yeah.

And a lot of star receivers are banged up. Yeah. So he had three receptions on. targets for 17 yards. He set the single season reception record in 2019 with 149 and led the league in receiving yards with 1,725. And he's only missed one game in his career due to injury. He's a very durable player. So this is tough for them, but they do have some other pieces on the offensive side. So hopefully they can get him healthy and back soon. Finally, the Cowboys did not start the season the way they hoped week one lost to the Rams. But Mike McCarthy expects his

team to be able to turn things around quickly. I think overall, just to give an overall assessment of our football team, frankly, we look like a football team that played its first game last night in some areas. And in other areas, I thought we did a lot of really good things. So we have a grading index that we put a lot of time into. And so we're closer than you may think we are. But at the end of the day, you know, our honeymoon is over. It's time to win games, and, you know, that's our focus.

Grading index. What's that nonsense analytical talk? Grading index. He's trying to sound like he's hip and cool and analytical. That's dude, that's not what you are. We know it. Well, you know, you got to adapt, right? We like people that are flexible.

All right. They have the Falcons next week. Then they're at the Seahawks and the Browns and Giants. I do want to remind everyone, though, because it kind of feels like the cowboys are being lumped into the category because we have some expectations of them as we do every single year. They do have a new coach. They are in that group of teams. It's totally fair. That has a new coach this year. But if they're o' and two is Seattle coming up, Joy. Oh, no, it's not good. It's not good. But this is the NFL. That's right. We were talking about

this Thursday night game for the Browns is everything. If you lose to Burrow, you're in big trouble. You've got to trade people. There's two division games down and that's, and you're losing to Joe Burrow and the Bengals. So, yeah, the urgency starts right away. But I do think We need to remember because we talked about this a lot, teams that are coming into this particular season with new coaches or new quarterbacks and new coordinators. They're just going to be up against it a little bit. It doesn't feel that way because the rest of the Cowboys organization is still intact. They do have a new head coach. Joy Taylor, good stuff with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. You know, there's a point in my life I thought I was a mentor for Nick Wright. It was a respectful relationship. Then it took an ugly turn about a year ago. and he has so much fun mocking me. It is sometimes,

now it's sometimes it's testy. But I've got to be honest, he has called this all year. He, all year, Nick Wright doubted the Clippers. And he kept saying, chemistry is bad,

load management, nonsense. Brought to you by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. You cannot wipe the smile off Nick Wright's face. I mean, look at him. I mean,

Ridiculous. Let me fix my hair. How's it going? Hey, I'm not doing great. Most days I have, I wake up and there's rainbows and birds. Today, it's a big stink ball. But you know what? So let's just start with this.

Colin. What? Before we even start, can I make you feel better? Okay. Let me make you feel better. Everyone thinks I'm going to come on here and I'm going to hammer you. Here's the deal. You were obviously wrong about the Lakers Nugget series.

but so was every single prognosticator in America. You were also wrong about the Clippers Nugget series, I should say, about the Clippers winning the title, but so was about 40 to 50% of the prognosticators in America. You're just in a bad spot because the only person who had the Clippers dead right all year you got to talk to every week. Every week I tried to tell you.

I warned you. There were all the warning signs. It docs history. Kauai being wildly overrated by folks that want to say you could be top five all time. Way off P, acting like he's been a great playoff performer in anything other than a Gatorade commercial. All of it. I tried to warn you, my friend, but now go ahead. You can have your show back.

Well, let's do this. Let's start with this. You know, I started my show saying we all make choices in life. He could have stayed in Toronto with the best GM coach combo in the league. He could have gone to LeBron and AD. is it as simple as he chose Paul George in a losing franchise? He made a bad decision. Is it that simple?

Well, that didn't help, but I would say the choice that Kauai really should have made would have been to play better. That's the first choice I would make. Hey, Kauai, don't be awful in the second half of these games. You disrespect the regular season in total all year long, so you are ramping up for the postseason. And in the first round, while your offensive numbers were great, a 21-year-old Slovenian kid was giving you buckets all day long. And then in round two, and I don't know if we can show it, I don't know if I can use some of my graphics on your show.

It's kind of rude. But Kauai Leonard's first half versus second half is abysmal in this series. That's 30% shooting. And, oh, wait, there's more. How about just the fourth quarters? for the clutch closer who can win another finals MVP. Show me his fourth quarters if we could. Oh, that's horrifying.

Three of the seven games in this series, Kauai with zero fourth quarter points. Last night, zero fourth quarter points. One second half field goal. So, yeah, option one, go to L.A. with LeBron, win titles. Sure. Option two, stay in Toronto, a team they got just as far as the clippers this year in the postseason.

and didn't suffer the embarrassment being blown out in their game seven round two loss. That would have been a good one. Option three, go to the Clippers and not make them trade everything for Paul George so you can actually get a rim protector. Option four is the one he did, but option four was never going to end in a title. I told you that. But it could have ended at least in the team's first conference finals appearance if he wasn't awful in the second half of these games.

And I just missed it. you and the real upper tier of broadcasters in America must be on a text chain that I'm not included in yet. Maybe I never will be because evidently there was an embargo on Kauai Leonard criticism. Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Mike Green last night. Love them all. Were they aware Kauai was one of 11? Should have let the audience know.

I don't know. The fact that he melted down in the fourth quarters of these games seems relevant for a guy I was told is the closest thing we've seen to Jordan since Kobe. But listen, what do I know? I'm just the guy that called this all year. So who knows? Who knows? Okay. So how about this? For years and years, the Red Sox had as much talent as the Yankees, but there was just, they just couldn't get past it. Until you win it, it's hard. Is some of this, this sort of institutional, they've always been the shrinking franchise and they don't get far enough. Is it fair to say, and I hate this word, the clippers frankly choked. Is that fair? Oh, they, oh, the second part's

definitely fair. I don't know if we can put the juju of the organization on them, but this is arguably the single biggest gag job in NBA history. So we know the three-one comebacks of the contemporary ones that you think of teams that could win the title who blew up. a 3-1 lead. At least when KD did it with the Thunder, they were playing an all-time Warriors team. At least when the Warriors did it to LeBron, they were playing the greatest player of all time. They're playing a team who has zero on the roster finals appearances. Only one guy has made a conference finals. That's Paul Millsap, a coach who got fired in Sacramento, a 22-year-old kid in Jamal Murray, Nicole Yokic who's got a...

lower vertical leap than Joy Taylor. And listen, he was great. But to blow that lead and then after the game, say, oh, it was chemistry, you were up 15 in game five and gagged. You were up 19 in the second half of game six and gagged. And these front runners, these front runners that all year long, if they got punched back, they were like, ah, why try when you can just wait for tomorrow? We're up seven in the second half last night.

The Nuggets go on an 8-0 run, and everyone, including your patron saying to basketball, Kauai Leonard, said, this moment's too much for me. And I want to say one more thing on Kauai because obviously he was unbelievable last year in the postseason. But what we are seeing is this was the first playoff run in his career, where if his team underachieved, he was going to get skewered. The exact scenario LeBron's been living in for 15 years. years. And guess what happened? Yeah. The weight of expectations held him down. Obviously, it crushed way off P the whole time, but he's not in the conversation for best players alive.

Kauai shouldn't have been anyway, but certainly now that's a wrap. It's LeBron, KD, when he gets healthy, and we'll see what happens with Yannis. But that's, that story is now over for one Kauai Leonard for the time being. Well, Kauai also didn't have to create chemistry in San Antonio. and old team had it when he arrived. He didn't have to create it in Toronto. The old team had it when he arrived. He was asked in L.A. to create chemistry, and he's fairly nonverbal. You do bring up Paul George.

This sounds hyperbolic, perhaps. But I now have multiple histories of Westbrook and Paul George and Hardin. You're not going to trade Hardin. But would you consider going the Paul George thing, we know what it is, why just go through this again? Kauai's got an opt-out year coming up fairly quick. Do you move off Paul George? Do you move off him? Well, I think what might be more likely is they move off the coach.

Everyone loves Doc Rivers as a man. He is a great leader and I think he's a great person. But he has authored some really, really awful playoff performances with favorite teams. Yeah, that's fair. And his playoff resume when he doesn't have Kevin Garnett with him is a really, really tough one. Six times he's been up three, one or three. and lost a series. The problem for trading Paul George is this.

He also has that opt-out. So how much value does Paul George have for a team that feels like they're only going to get him for one year? Like, if you called up OKC and we're like, hey, can we have those six first-round picks, SGA and Gallinari for Paul George? Can we just undo that? They would laugh you off the phone. Like, I don't know what Paul George trade is available out there.

And listen, the clippers are going to have the same issue. next year they had this year. It is an odd roster. That's the thing America refused to acknowledge partially because of your endless propaganda. They had a bunch of DHS. Patrick Beverly, who is a tremendous defensive player and stinks on offense. Lou Williams and Montres Herald, who are tremendous offensive players and stink on defense. They have no rim protection, and they have a coach who all of a sudden it's game seven, early second half, and he's so anxious. It's like, uh, Reggie Jackson, go in the game, even though you haven't played in five days. So that's who they're going to have next year. They might lose Marcus Morris. They might

lose Montres-Harrell. They're going to try to run it back. I don't think it's good enough, and it clearly wasn't good enough this year. Yeah, they also don't have a true point guard. It feels like most of the time on the floor, and you see that does matter engineering stuff. Okay, finally, a couple minutes here. LeBron's had to overcome Dan Gilbert, the big three, a dynasty, Flaky J.R. and Kyrie injuries going into a final. Am I nuts? The sea is finally opening up for him. AD's healthy. He's rested because of COVID. He got time off. Kauai's gone. Janus is gone. Is he finally catching a break in the postseason? Well, so here's the deal. Your point's well taken. Listen, LeBron, under normal NBA circumstances, has five or

six rings already. The last four NBA finals he's lost have come to teams with four or five Hall of Fame players on them. Like it's just been, what he's been up against is somewhat unprecedented, plus the Delavadova year, plus the year after Kyrie when he had no help aside from injured Kevin Love. That's all well taken. I do think, of course, the Bucks not living up to their potential, potentially helps them. And the Clippers doing exactly. exactly what I thought they would potentially helps them. Should be noted that in 2020, like this calendar year, they beat the bucks before the restart,

before the season paused, and they beat the clippers both times they played them. But we knew this was going to happen, right? The revisionist history of, oh, look at the easy path LeBron had, as if folks weren't, not that I'm going to name names Colin Coward, picking Portland to beat them. And as if when Houston was up 1-0, they weren't saying, you know, Harden, Westbrook, three-pointers, big team,

doesn't shoot well for the Lakers, that could be tough. And so now the narrative will flip because for most people, their basketball analysis starts and ends with how can I discredit LeBron James. So I don't know if you, and I'll leave you on this, Colin, you can do those Google trends searches where it's like how often is something searched for. The word asterisk was a big subject of conversation right when the restart was getting going. Then when it looked like LeBron might lose, no one disgusted at all. Get ready for Asteris to come back into play here in the next few days.

People are like, well, does it really count? I mean, if Miami's on the other side of the bracket, is this a real title? The thing is this, he was always going to win the title. This team was always the best team. They showed it throughout the regular season, and they've shown it throughout the postseason. I think the nuggets are going to be an interesting matchup. The Lakers will clearly beat them. and if the heat might beat the Celtics,

but I hope the Celtics win. Because LeBron, the one thing he's never done is sweep a team in the finals and he'd do that to Boston. So you're right, ring number four on deck. That was happening anyway. He just got there a little differently than a lot of people expected.

Remember when I was your mentor? Remember those days? It was a respectful relationship. Yeah. You used to have better takes. All right, buddy. What do you want from it? You're a fan.

See ya. See you. Joy, see you as well. Bye, Nick. By the way, I can touch the net and I'm 5'2, so no more disrespect to my vertigo. All right, all right, all right.

Nick Wright. Nick Wright, ladies and gentlemen, Nick Wright. I'm going to take a break. Big 10 football's back. That makes me happy. It's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m.

Pacific. 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, Superhuman, documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble

stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey, from basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

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They said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little camp? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Now you're finishing that sentence.

Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of

my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

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One of the things I've always felt my job, whether I'm right or wrong, is to add perspective. That's what we work on for two hours, trying to offer perspective. Unfortunately, many in the media use a different P word, often panic. The Big Ten's going to play football, and there's all sorts of panic from members of the media. instead of offering perspective. It's going to probably be bumpy for all of college football because the players are on campuses. There's a lot of different ways to face COVID as a league.

UFC rented an island. Hockey and the NBA went into a bubble. Baseball and the NFL are in a highly regulated non-bubble. They've all worked. This is a story about the Big Ten that spent weeks and months trying to get their medical protocols right. And this morning, they think they've got it right. Not perfect, not flawless, but the most right. We've seen it can be bumpy.

Three Big 12 games were canceled last week. Virginia, Virginia Tech was postponed. This is going to be bumpy. You're on a college campus. but the media should spend less time instilling panic and more offering perspective. Here's mine. The Big 10, excuse me, wanted to get it right, not be first or be right. They now get their testing on Friday.

They get the results 15 minutes later. They feel the most comfortable they have felt yet with it. The losers in the battle against COVID in sports are the peasant. panic drivers. There's a lot of different ways to go at it. Rent an island. Go into a bubble, a highly regulated non-bubble. Some of this in college football is about resources.

I called two athletic directors two months ago. One from a major school and one from a small school. And the small school athletic director told me, we don't have $6 million a year to make this work. The big school athletic director told me it'll be rough, but we do have $6 million to get through a football season. A lot of the times with COVID, and we're seeing this all throughout America, more affluent Americans, they have a second home, it's not multi-generational living, they've got more space. Resources help a lot in this. And for the major college football powers, I think it's much easier than it is for some of the smaller, lower budget schools in major conferences.

And that's why I think it's going to be a little bit bumpy here. But I'm not going to throw panic out. I don't think this is, you know, the worst day in the history of the Big Ten. I think Jerry Sandesky topped it by a mile. My takeaway is I'm not sure how it looks. Joy and I have said this from the beginning. We felt all, even the bubbles have worked, but they're hard on players. I watched videos yesterday of little boys seeing their dad for the first time in months and they both break down.

This is hard. It's hard for teachers. It's hard for college students. It's hard for parents. It's hard for schools. It's hard for leagues. It's hard for universities. This is hard.

2020 is a pain in the arse. This is hard. A lot of people are comfortable in habits. Now you can't have them. So it's just, this is difficult. But my job is to offer perspective. The Big Ten didn't want to be first. It's a very academic leaning conference.

There's a lot of academics and presidents that push back. and push back and push back. But the parents and the coaches and the players, they were willing to play. Go out there, potentially play other teams who have a player with COVID. That was their choice. And I'm for, I feel this way in America. If you want to send your kids to school, do it.

If you don't, don't. If you want to send your college kid to college, do. If you don't, don't. There are choices. We all make with this. But, you know, my feeling this morning, the Big Ten didn't want to be first. They wanted to get it as close to right as they can, and they feel this morning we're as close to right as we can.

By the way, if we end up with Bama, Oklahoma, Clemson and Ohio State, New Year's Day, who the hell cares how we got here? If that's what it looks like in January, and I'm not saying it's going to. There's going to be bumps and obstacles and cancellations. If that's what it looks like on New Year's Day, then you all took different paths to get there, and it was bumpy for all of you, it'll feel somewhat normal. and isn't that what we're all seeking? Hour two, Joel Clatt next.

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. friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me.

84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHart podcast.

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