The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR 1-Justin Fields, NBA playoffs, Joe Kelly, testing

Episode Date: August 13, 2020

Colin explains why he thinks OSU QB Justin Fields should leave, his thoughts on the NBA playoffs, why he feels Dodgers P Joe Kelly is right about the Astros and why we need to relax about some athletes testing positive for Covid-19.Guest: Chris Broussard 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.

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From 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor.

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Find your local station for the Hurt at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHart Radio app by searching Hurd. Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a pack Thursday. We are in Los Angeles, and we are live. This is The Hurt, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on Fox Sports Radio and right here on FS-1. On an absolutely jam day, the NBA playoffs now are all set.

Portland's going to get in. They're the best team not in that we'll get in. And Joy Taylor is joining me. We got a lot of stuff today. This is really a glorious Thursday. You know, starting about a week ago, we had real shows. No more making stuff up. It feels

it feels like we're in this weird limbo space, doesn't it? Like life is very strange right now. Things are like open and stuff is happening, but it's not, we're not really 100% there yet. It's a very weird space to be in. Yeah, whether you're a political talk show host or a sports talk show host, this is going to be a wild fall.

Yes. It's going to be a wild fall. I want to talk about loyalty. I hear that all the time. Where is the loyalty? I've said this several times on my show. loyal to one thing, the truth, because I can control it. I can control my values, my standards, and my ethics, and I can control what comes out of my mouth. I love my sponsors, but I can't

control them. What if the company gets sold and they can no longer support our show? I love them, but I can't control them. I love my bosses. What if one of them got a better job or one got fired? I love my affiliates, my radio affiliates, but what if they have to bump my show because is there's a popular local show. I'm loyal to the truth, which is essentially I'm loyal to me because I can control me. The Big Ten football season will not happen. Potentially it will happen in the spring, although it's not the spring. It'll be January, February, and March.

They have a quarterback named Justin Fields. He's really good. And he does not need to play spring football to be drafted in the top five. 41 touchdowns, three picks. He doesn't need to beat Purdue to get drafted. If you're the Colts of the Patriots, you've got a pick in the top 5, 6, 7, you're taking him because Trevor Lawrence is taken. The only reason Justin Fields would remain and play is out of loyalty.

Loyalty. The coach Ryan Day, good young coach, would love to get January, February games on the schedule now because he'd like him to play before the draft. I don't know if I'd play. And I'm not disloyal, but I'm loyal to me. Let me give you the argument why he shouldn't play. The one is obvious. He could get hurt.

Duh. The second one, January, February, and early March in Big Ten territory is awful weather. His stats. There are no Toledo's now on the state. schedule. It'll be conference games only. His stats will not be as good. Now, I don't think if he has a you know, 30 touchdown seven picks and his stats come down, he's going to drop significantly in the draft, but it may cost him a spot or two, and that's money. He's not going to go up in the draft. And number three is, the Buckeyes are an NFL factory. What if three or four of their players opt out

and say, Wyatt Davis is the best guard in college football. What if he says, what's the point of playing against Rutgers in Maryland? They just want to go and get ready for the draft. What about the receiver, Chris Olivay? He's great. What if he says, why take the chance of a crossing route getting hurt, playing in lousy weather, I'm just going to go to Scottsdale and work out at an agent training area?

Three obvious reasons. Hurt. The season would be in lousy weather. weather, so it's not going to be sunny and there's no Toledo and there's no 600-yard passing game. And number three, the Buckeyes have all sorts of NFL personnel. What if two or three guys on both sides opt out? You're not going to have as good a team.

And by the way, you're not playing for a national championship and isn't that why Justin Fields went to Ohio State? He didn't go there for the weather. He initially signed with Georgia and then he went to Ohio State. Two college football juggernauts that always every year, almost every year of a chance to win a national title. He doesn't need to play. I mean, the NBA's number one pick is going to be a kid named James Wiseman. He played three games at Memphis, and then he bowed out. He'll go number one. Talent's talent. Colin, Justin Fields, he needs to start another year. Kyler Murray only started for

one full year. He went number one, and he's a baseball guy. Mitch Trubisky, who's not nearly the prospect of Justin Fields only started for one year at Carolina, 13 starts. Justin Field has 14. And Justin Fields is a way better prospect. 6-3, 225, ran for 10 touchdowns, big arm. I mean, he's the, if it wasn't for Trevor Lawrence, he's the number one pick in the draft. There's three quarterbacks next year in the draft.

He's going to be one of them. So the idea that you go back because of loyalty, loyalty to who? Ohio State. You didn't even go there initially out of high school. You went to Georgia. What about loyalty to your talent and your body and your career and your family and loyalty to generational life altering money as the number one, two or three pick?

I hear this loyalty factor all the time from college students. They go to their message boards. Oh, you have no loyalty. You don't care about us. No, you don't care about Justin Fields. Justin Fields has rights, too. And by the way, January, February and March is the time where quarterbacks go and work out with Jordan Palmer at his camp. They go down to Arizona and Florida.

That is a crucial time that you get physically ready for the combine of the draft. Really? You think beating Maryland's going to be a difference? The kid threw for 41 touchdowns and had three picks last year. He's a top five pick. And he is a great problem. I don't think he's as good as the kid at Clemson. He may not be as good as the kid at North Dakota State, but he's really good.

Look at him. Big arm. He is the current NFL. That's what NFL quarterbacks look like. And let me just throw this out there. Fans would be bad at Ohio State, but the dudes in that locker room. Here's the downside to being a Buckeye fan today. Ohio State's got 50 NFL guys in that locker room.

Some will get drafted this year. Some will get drafted next year. Some will get drafted the next year. And some are now freshmen. They got 45-50 dudes in that locker room are going to play in the NFL. Maybe a little higher or a little low, but it's around there. You don't think they get it?

Why did they go to Ohio State? You don't go to Ohio State to beat Purdue. You go to Ohio State to win national championships. That's why you go to Alabama. You don't go there for the hot football weather when it's 98 degrees in Tuscaloosa. You go to Alabama because you win a national championship. That's why you go to Clemson in a small town

without much to do beyond football. Let's be honest about it. If you went for reasons beyond football, everybody would just go play at Florida. Or Austin, Texas. There's a lot of good college towns. A lot of good party college towns. You go there to win national championships. Justin Fields can't.

So I totally understand, although Buckeye message board guys won't, I totally understood. Today Justin Field said, I'm out. I came here to win titles. We can't. I'm not playing in February against Purdue. I'm sure that'll land well in Buckeye land. Okay. So the playoffs are set in the NBA, not officially, but they are,

and they're really good. The Western matchups are crazy good. I'm going to just suggest to you that Portland will end up being in the playoffs. Really good team. I think they'll beat the Lakers. I really do. So Portland plays the Lakers, OKC, Houston, Denver, Utah, Clippers, Dallas first round, Milwaukee, Orlando.

The West. is loaded. The Eastern stuff. I mean, those are great, those are great playoff matchups. And those are fantastic for, that's the best first round I've ever seen. That's as good as a first round matchup is going to get. Even though Dallas won't beat the Clippers, Dallas will score 115 tonight. The Eastern lineup's pretty good, but it feels like I kind of know that Boston's going to win. I kind of know that Milwaukee's going to win. You know, I think Toronto's going to hammer the nets. And 76ers are limping into that series against the Celtics. I'd probably take Miami over Indiana.

But I don't think there is a path tougher for Lakers than the one they're going to get. They're going to get Portland, then they're probably going to get Houston, then they're going to get the Clippers. It is a three-point shooting league. Do you want to know the three top teams in the bubble in three-point shooting? Houston, Portland Clippers are going to get all three. If they got a break in Oklahoma City, young, feisty, and good, upset Houston. Houston. It wouldn't be that big of a break because Westbrook is hurt, not at 100%, and they got

three guards, Oklahoma City's all guards, that can play and shoot. Dennis Schrooter, CP3, and Slay, Gilgis, Alexander. So if that's the break that you get Oklahoma City, playing with house money, maybe you have the coach of the year, has some size in the front court and a bunch of dudes that run around young, energized, and can shoot. It is now officially a hot take as they call it, to say the Lakers are going to win the championship, that you could not have a tougher path. I like the Lakers. I really do. But seating matters, path matters, schedule matters. I think the Buffalo bills are really good. But if you told me over the next 10 years they're going to get to the Super Bowl, I'm going to have to suggest to you that Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes

probably not going to let that happen because you may have to beat both. I don't think that's going to happen for Buffalo as much as Josh Allen's got talent. It matters who you play. I think this is as tough a draw as the Lakers could get. And when Avery Bradley opted out, and when Rondo was injured, we came on the air that day, Joy and I, and we said, this is not insignificant. This is a real story.

Avery Bradley is their best defensive guard. They have nobody to guard these guys. Nobody to guard Dave. Harden. Potentially Chris Paul. They don't have anybody. to guard these guys. So, not, not great

if you're a Laker fan. All right. Coming up next, I have a new, at least for the time being, a new favorite athlete in America. I'll explain that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific

on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the 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. A win is a win. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

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

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

I'm Sam Jett. 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 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 Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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. 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.

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Search learn the hard way and listen now. Good to have you in. The Houston Astros won a World Series a few years ago against the Dodgers. And the Dodgers are still bitter, but they have a reason to because Houston, you know, cheated in stuff. They knew what pitches were coming. They were banging on drums and banging on garage cans. And they had this whole system worked out that eventually got their GM and their manager fired. But players did not get fired.

They had immunity. They were rats. And they got immunity. And Joe Kelly is now a Dodger. and it just drives him nuts. The snitches and the rats over for Houston. It should be noted now. Houston is 8 and 10 so far.

It's amazing when you don't know when the pitches are coming and what kind of pitch is it. You're not as good. Jose Al-Tuvres is hitting under 190. And the Astros were first in baseball and hitting last year another 15th. It's just amazing when you don't know exactly what the pitch is that's coming. It's crazy how that works.

Must be a nutty coincidence. evidence. And Joe Kelly is now a Dodger pitcher, and he got into a scrap a while back about a week or so, maybe two weeks ago against the Astros. He threw it him over their head a couple of times. Love him for that. And he went on a podcast this week and he's still banging on the Astros. The people that took the fall for what happened is nonsense. Yes, everyone's involved. But the way that thing was ran over there was not from coaching staff. It was ran with coaching staff. Yes, don't get me wrong. But they're not the head boss in charge of that thing. It's a players. So now the players get the immunity and all they do is go snitch like a little and they don't have to get fine. They don't have to lose games. He's not wrong by the way. Now, I've said this before. I'm not a big snitch person, but I would be more likely to snitch as a mobster than I would be a baseball player because if you snitch in the mob and you call the feds, at least you can go hide. You can move to a boring town. The food's not as good. There's no juice to your life. But as a mobster, I could rat on guys to the feds, and a lot of guys have,

and they just move to a city. I'd call the feds and say, listen, get me a nice place in Malibu, looking at the water, I'll sell everybody out. And I don't see myself as a snitch. In baseball, I would not rap. Because in baseball, if you rat, people just throw at your head for years. In fact, you could end up on the team that your former team hates. and people would throw at you and you could be in the sport for 15 years. You're ratting the mom like that picture of me. You're gone. You're disappear.

You go live in Arkansas or something like that. But in baseball, you can't. And that's why the Astros are getting exactly what they deserve. They never considered while they cheated the repercussions. Here they are. The ball is hard and guys throw at 98. and they can throw it at you in sometimes a little high and endangered spots. Here's more from Joe Kelly.

When you take someone's livelihood to save your own ass, that's what I don't like. Cheating, they cheated. Everyone knows are cheaters. They know they're cheaters. It's over. That's been they're done with. But now they mess it up by going and ruin other people's lives. So they f*** it up twice. When you taint someone's name to save your own name, I think that that is one of the worst things you could probably be. do. It just really freaking bugs me. Like, I think I'll be irritated forever. He is not wrong. Joe Kelly of the Dodgers.

Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Cam Newton is expected to be the Patriots started this season. That's what we think, right? It's what we think. But Belichick is apparently not just going to hand him the job. He was reportedly third in line to take quarterback reps in practice this week. Brian Hoyer was first.

and Jared Stidham was second. So Cam was third. Is he sending a message? No, I think he's just doing what Belichick does. Like, he has a system and he has a way about things. And you've got to earn your way to the top. Joy, that's all I think he's doing. I would do pay-per-view to watch this.

Yeah. I don't understand. Listen, all you network executives, when you're done with your four-hour martini lunches, put Patriots, Dolphins practice. I want to watch Cam. I want to watch Tula. Why are you not televising this?

While we're soliciting for practices, I'd also like to watch the Bengals practice, which was not a sentence I ever thought I would say in my life. Weak arm Joe Burroughs, skipping balls to players. I don't know. I want to watch this. I would watch this over everything but the NBA finals. I want to watch Cam.

I want to watch Belichick. I want to watch their practice. Well, I don't know that they want everyone watching their practices. That's probably part of it. But maybe when they start like intersquots scrimmage. Listen, I mean, the Patriots tape everybody. else. Yeah, that's true.

Exactly. This is payback. We should be able to watch your practices. I'm not going to look too much into that. I think that that's just how they're doing things out of respect. So George Kittle will be saying in San Francisco for the foreseeable future. He reportedly agreed to a five-year $75 million contract extension with the 49ers. With an average of $15 million a year, this deal will make him the highest paid tit in the NFL.

By far, Hunter Henry is the second highest paid. He's in the franchise tag for $10. $1.6 million. And Austin Hooper signed a four-year $42 million at $10.5 million per year. So it's about $5 million more per year for George Kittle. Let me tell you something. He's underpaid. I think we've reached a time in the NFL where the tight end is as valuable as the wide receiver. Well, you remember we had Greg Olson on a couple weeks ago. And he was talking about his podcast where he interviews tight ends. And he mentioned this that Kittle is the one who has to set the market for tight ends. Because you're right. tight ends. A great tight ends like Kittle, like Gronk and his prime. By the way, who was in the Super Bowl? Two teams, two of the best, the two best tight ends in football were both in the Super Bowl. Kelsey, a great tight ends is kind of more valuable than a high-level receiver.

They do more on the field. Well, the other thing they do is they block. Right. And the other thing is the most important NFL games are in December, January. Bad weather. That often takes the vertical essence of football out until you get to a Super Bowl in a dome or a warm weather. They're wildly important. How big was Gronk two years ago?

How big, yeah. Gronk, Rams, Chiefs. Everyone could talk about how he was just a shell of himself, and he was the difference maker in that Super Bowl. So, yeah, I mean, it's good that Kittle, obviously, he deserves this, but this may become more of a trend. Like, he had to set the market for a high-level tight ends, and I honestly feel like you could really make a strong argument

that they're more valuable than your top-level receivers. With a lot of offenses, abs, especially with the young. quarterback joy. They always say the tight ends. They don't do the volume because the position is different, obviously, but they're still extremely valuable. So finally, only one playoff spot is still up for grabs in the NBA. So most of the teams have their first rounds matchups sets. But the clippers are locked into the second seat in the West and Kauai doesn't think that seating is that important this year. Right now, it doesn't seem like seas matter. I mean, just like tonight, we played Amber.

So it's really not traveling there and are pushing through. that altitude that, you know, they're used to planning to at home. You know, also fans, you know, but, you know, the little things like that, you know, those are pretty much, you know, the difficulties of pro games in the playoffs. It's not wrong. No, you're not wrong. I mean, it doesn't really. It's about, you know what it's about joining Monday?

Being healthy and who do you play? Yeah, exactly. So the West, obviously, the Lakers, it's, we still have to find. find out who they're going to play. Although we're assuming it's going to be the Blazers. The Clippers are going to play the Mavericks. That'll be a fun series. Yes.

All offense against defense. Nuggets are going to play the jazz. That would be a great series. I think Denver will win it handily. It would be great if Bogdanovich didn't get hurt. I think it would be a great series. Thunder and Rockets. Rockets will win, but Thunders.

House money, man. They're young, nothing to lose. Westbrook against the Thunder. Westbrook's hurt a little, though, isn't he? Harding against Thunder. He does. Yeah, he has a hamstring quad injury, yes. But they're managing it.

The Bucks are going to play the Magic. Raptors against the Nets, Celtics 76ers, and my heat are going to play the Pacers. So most of the first round matchups are sets. But he's right, though, especially, you know, when you're talking about the nuggets, like if you were playing them in the playoffs, the altitude, the travel, the fans.

Like, it's just the environment that, you know, home court advantage is what you're playing for. You and I've talked about this. the quality of intensity and energy in the bubble's been great, nobody's traveling. Right. The teams play like college basketball intensity. Like every game, you and I've said this. I feel like Portland's in the playoffs.

Every one of their games feels like a playoff game. I wonder how the strategy will change coaching-wise because there is no travel also. And you're not accounting for players. Players starters more. Yeah. Because it's like what you said. It's a matter of being healthy and what the matchup is. But normally you're also coaching for different factors.

And you go to certain places, like you just said, like if you account for the altitude, certain fan bases are a little more hostile than others. Like, it's interesting. It might change some of the strategy for coaching as well. Yeah, Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Herd Lye News. Summer and sports are here. Do It Yourself projects. Go to Lowe's.com. I made myself a bar cart. Go to my Twitter account. You can see it. It's awesome.

Lose.com. Do-it-yourself products, projects at home this summer. Via Mercedes-Benz the best or nothing. Chris Broussard joins me, our Fox NBA analyst, former New York Times sports runner. All right, the Lakers Path. Lord, without Avery Bradley and Rondo,

their guard short, it's going to be blazers, rockets, potentially OKC, the Clippers. I said, Chris, it's almost a hot take to say the Lakers would get to the finals. I just don't. I think paths matter. schedules matter. I don't, it's just too hard of a path to me.

So you don't see them getting to the conference finals. That's where I have them bother me now because the Clippers are a better team. But I have them getting to the conference finals. Look, let's assume they meet Portland. By the way, I'm hoping to see Portland and Phoenix in the play in. Devin Booker against Damian Lillard,

the two best guys in the bubble thus far. I would love it. Okay, but let's say it's Portland. Portland is cute. Dame Lillard is phenomenal, but they'll go six. Maybe they push it to seven, but they will not beat the Lakers. And then, Colin, remember, look, this Russell Westbrook injury, we don't know yet how long it's going to keep him out.

I don't think he would be out in the second round, but if he can't play most of the first round, or if he's hampered badly in the first round, O KC could beat Houston. Oh, yeah. They beat them twice out of three times. times this year. They've got the perimeter, you know, Dennis Schrooter, who was my pick for six man of the year. You got Chris Paul, obviously, and Shea Gilgis, Alexander, who's at a great season.

They can match up with the small ball, and then they've got an advantage with Stephen Adams as a big man over Houston. So don't be surprised if the Lakers somehow met OKC, which would be easy for them in the second round. Houston would give them problems, but I don't think they'd beat. the Lakers. So, Colin, I think the Clippers have a tougher, tougher road. Dallas is very good. They've been the best offensive teams analytically that we've seen historically ever. But I, look, I think they'll take the Clippers five. I don't think they

have enough yet for the Clippers. And then Denver. Denver is a tough team. Kids. And so, yeah, they got depth galore. They will have some of the same issues as the Clippers, though, that they've got so many players who have been out, Will Bart and Gary Harris, starters, who have been out that they've got to work back in, and then they've got to cut their rotation, just like the clippers do. So look, while I say that Dallas and Denver are very good teams, and I think that's a tougher role to hold than what the Lakers have, I firmly expect Lakers Clippers in the Western Conference Finers. What's wrong with Milwaukee? Are they an automatic to the Eastern Conference Finals or the NBA Finals? They've been my pick,

and I make my official, you know, playoff picks right before they start. I am really leaning toward going with the Raptors now. And I like Boston, too, but I think Toronto, they're so tough. They've got the depth and versatility. They don't rely on just one guy, even though Pascal Seaccom is their star, they're well-coached. Milwaukee, I think, a few things. One, down the stretch, and let me throw this out there, three and four in the bubble, but four and eight in their last 12 games.

I know that's going way back into March. But still, they were showing cracks before the lockdown even began. I think there's a couple issues. One, at the end of games, as great as Janice is, and he was my MVP vote, and he will win it, and he deserves it. But at the end of games, teams can box in the paint. And if you keep him from getting to the rim, they pretty much have to rely on somebody else.

to beat you. Yep. Like he's not a great jump shooter. We all know that. So now is Chris Middleton? Can you count on him to beat you, win it for you if you're the bucks? Right. How are the role players going to react?

And here's the second thing. Now they are the hunted. They are the favorites. It is a lot different playing with expectations than it is when you're the young upstart that nobody expects a lot from or you haven't yet separated yourselves from the pack. Now that they are the hunted, how's Kyle Corver going to respond? Eric Bledsoe, Brooke Lopez, guys who are veterans but are role players.

Now it could go one of two ways, Colin. What do we always hear about role players? They play better at home. Why is that? Because they feed off the home crowd. Now there's no home crowd. So some role players won't have that boost and play better. Others will because they don't have the away crowd working against the,

So it's going to be interesting to see what role players step up. But I am concerned about Milwaukee and beginning to lean toward Toronto. By the way, the Houston Chronicle just reported that Westbrook is going to miss the first few playoff games and possibly longer. So here's, you throw Westbrook and a new coaching staff beyond Dan Tony. You put hardened together. And then you got COVID. They're back a few.

And now you have separation. That is not good for Houston. So as Chris said, how long is he out? According to the Houston Chronicle, a first few playoff games and possibly longer. God, Houston can't get a break with injuries. Chris Paul, they can't get a break. By the way, Zion.

Now, I'm a quality guy over a quantity guy. And if you told me Zion's going to give me 53 games a year, 57 a year, I'd be like, I get 65 from Kauai. Shaq only gave me 65 a lot of years. Zion to you, first season over. How do you view it? Colin, I am concerned. I am madly concerned about Zion Williamson.

Because for you to be off for four months and then come back and you can't make it through a week of practices, and I know it was just cramps, but still, you couldn't make it through. and then you can't play eight seating games, and the five that you do play, you're on minutes restriction, and there's no injury. It's just he's out of shape, basically. He's overweight, if it will.

I think that somebody in the New Orleans organization has got to have the guts to sit down with Zion and say, look, we got a lot of work to do. You can be tremendous. We see that. score a point a minute. You're doing at a rate nobody but Will Chamberlain's done basically. But we've

got to be able to keep you on the floor. I think he needs to lose weight. I keep saying it. I know I'm not a doctor, but we, what do we wait? He hasn't been able to play three months straight of high level basketball in his life.

People keep saying we've never seen anything like Zion, so we don't have a comparison to measure by what we do see is that he can't stay on the floor. He cannot stay on the floor. That's fair. And I mean, come on.

I'm scared. He's 20 years old and he's low managing. So I think this is a huge offseason for him. I think he does need to drop 25 pounds. I think Charles Barkley's the best comp. And Barclay said it. He said, Moses Malone told me I was fat and lazy.

Now, can Lanzo Ball say that to Zion? Can Brandon Ingram? I don't think so. Can David Griffin know? Can Alvin Gentry? Somebody's got to say it. Well, those HR departments are busy if you're just telling people they're fat and lazy. That's a heck of a workplace. Okay. I love Dave.

That was a different day, right? That was a different day. It was. So Dame is amazing. So I said yesterday, he's still got five years left of his prime. And I think a lot of Dame, the problem he has, he went to a high school. He wasn't controversial. He goes to Weber State.

He goes to Portland, which is geographically remote. they've never even had an all-star game. They don't have a hotel big enough. And he doesn't talk a lot. He lets his game do the talking. And, you know, it's a really good franchise. But, you know, Iverson, Georgetown, controversy, unique style. But I put their numbers up next to each other.

And that's with Dame having four more prime years. And I'm like, they look the same to me. They're look. And people are like, you're out of your mind. Why is it there? Are you about to go there? I'm not saying he's there. Yeah, but I'm saying, Chris, it's not that far off in three years.

This kid offensively is the best shooter right now outside of stuff in the entire sport. All right. I think there's a lot to unpack there. Number one, and I was talking with a scout in the league about this just yesterday. Damien Lillard and some of these other, C.J. McCollum, Damian Lillard was never, you know, given the superstar treatment growing up, right? You said it. He went to Weber State.

He stayed there three years, I believe. And so he can handle the criticism when a coach tells him do this. He doesn't have that ego where he can't hear, you know, the criticism or can't be coached. A lot of this generation's players who grew up as AAU superstars, who went to, as you said, the huge schools, they can't take the criticism. I had a scout tell me, he sat down with players and said, he said they've said they've said, said, what do I need to work on? And he said, well, you need to lose some weight. And they've cut him off. They won't talk with him. You don't have to worry about things like that with guys like

Dame Lillard who didn't get that superstar treatment. So that's one thing I love about it. Now, as far as Alan Iverson, you really want to say he's better. I'm saying, in three years, I'm looking at those numbers, Dame's got three to four great years of prime shooting left. Dame is great. There's no doubt about it. Let's see if he continues. But remember, Alan Iverson won what? An MVP.

He's MVP. He led the league in scoring several years. He's the best pound for pound score inch for inch we've ever seen. There's no doubt about that. And he got a team to the finals. They lost in five games. He did have a great coach in Larry Brown. But they were the one team that got a game from the Lakers that year.

Nobody else even beat them. including Tim Duncan Spurs. So I will not go there just yet. But here's the other thing. Dame now has reached that level, Colin, where now we're looking at, okay, are you going to win? Even if you don't win a championship, will you get close?

Every year you need to be close. And so I think he's reaching that superstar level, but slowdown on, and are you saying he's the best six-footish player ever, Iverson and then Dave Let me guess Isaiah Thomas I like Isaiah Thomas

I don't think he shot like this And I liked him I liked him a lot Nobody at that time shot like this But Isaiah is the only person alive That can say I beat Jordan, Bird and Magic in their prime They all had top 50 teammates

Isaiah didn't have one top 50 teammates No I get it I like Isaiah You're trying to marginalize me That I don't like Isaiah Thomas I love Isaiah Thomas All right. He's the best small player ever.

All right. If you don't count Steph as a small guy. Yeah, I don't. All right. Good seeing you, buddy. All right, my man. Coming up next, studies indicate that you, the consumer, the audience, trust the media less than you've ever trusted them.

And you're right, because what bothers you is what bothers me. And I'll discuss that. It's about COVID, the testing, the end. NFL, that's coming up. 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's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert 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, competition. 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 I Heart Reef

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

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survive. 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, 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, so.

Thank you 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. 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 Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase. that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Good to have you in. NFL's positive test rate for players, coaches, personnel, secretaries, salespeople. They've tested 110,000 different tests. That's how many tests they've had, 110,000. The positive rate, the positivity rate, 0.46, not even half of 1%.

During the baseball season, when it initially started, the baseball media went bonkers, freaked out, oh my God, the world's ending, when the Miami Marlins, generally a suboptimal franchise, had multiple players test for COVID. Yeah, they're young. They made mistakes, frankly, almost age-appropriate. My wife says that all the time.

when our kids make mistakes she said are they age appropriate when my son was like four years old he thought it was funny if you were sitting on the couch he'd walk around and come up and lick you on the face he was four he didn't do it at seven if he did it at nine 12 really inappropriate at four it's age appropriate these are major league baseball players they've had 13,000 tests point one have tested positive they're good looking they're alpha males they're millionaires They're in cities for four days. They're tired of watching reruns on Netflix like all of us. They made mistakes.

We have a saying in America when guys like me make mistakes. Four words, you should know better. Because I've lived a full life. I've made lots of mistakes. Teenagers, young athletes, millionaires in their 20s, they're not perfect. The NFL media hopefully takes a deep breath. We're going to have all sorts of positive tests. All sorts of...

We may have a team like Tampa that gets seven tests in one week. Oh, my Lord, got to play backups. Take a deep breath. They're young men. They make mistakes. They're rich. They're alphas. A lot of testosterone.

They like to go out and have a good time. And somebody over the course of four and a half months is going to make a really big mistake. I am blown away. Hockey players, basketball players, soccer players, UFC fighters. how few mistakes there have been. They shouldn't know better. They're human first and they're kids. And I don't want to sound like an old guy, but at 24, I think, I probably pulled a fire extinguisher once because I thought it was funny.

You do dumb stuff. And I wasn't even rich and handsome. The reality is a friend of mine, Brian once said this about the media. And the media, according to studies, trust is shrinking rapidly in the media. and I don't believe in fake news. I don't. I've worked in this business for 30 years. People are not making stuff up.

But what the media is is what my friend Brian said about a year ago. He goes, they're so emotional. You're supposed to be like judges. You're supposed to go in, observe, have opinions, and not be unhinged. He said, I go to Twitter and I see these reporters. They're like maniacs. You're reporters, not supporters. NFL media,

Take a deep breath. Players are getting tested every day. Watch hard knocks. Andrew Whitworth came on yesterday. Even off days, he has to drive in and get tested. They're not going to get it at the facility. Because if they get tested, the chances of them give, if it's positive, they're out. So many of them may get this at home.

And they will. Just like the Marlins or the St. Louis Cardinals. But the baseball media was embarrassing. cancel the season. This is an outrage. What are we going to do? Quarantine them? Just like if somebody here got it. Is quarantine them? You know, you can get COVID. We're learning stuff about it constantly. The first three weeks, remember this? Don't touch anything. You'll get it from a surface. So I walked around like this all the time. Until about a month later, people said, yeah, the surface thing's probably not going to happen. I'm still not convinced you can get it

outside in the sun. If you can, why are beach communities all over California not overwhelmed by it? People are out there at the beach. They're jogging. They're not all wearing masks. But we have sun, salt in the air, a lot of breeze, wind. Take a deep breath. Take the emotion out of it media. The NFL positivity rate is low. All the baseball's positivity rate is next to nothing. The NFL's not promising you. Nobody's going to Catch it? There's no promises here. Nobody's telling me we're going to go through an NFL season and not have it. Nobody in baseball. No reasonable person thought in baseball there wasn't going to be an outbreak with a team. It was just what team? By the way, the Yankees are really good. No outbreak. Dodgers really good. Braves really good. Twins really good. A's really good. A's really good. A's really good. A's really good. A's really good. A lot of good teams in baseball. Cubs? No outbreaks with those teams. What a shock. It's the Marlins. You know, you'd think every decade they'd break out. a nine-game winning streak. So just take a deep breath.

Like one of the things about the media is this constant overly hyperventilating, overly emotional. The end is near. We're going to get through this. It's not our first pandemic. It won't be our last pandemic. Take a deep breath. Do solid reporting.

People are going to test positive in the NFL. It's going to happen. They're kids. They're young 24-year-old people. My wife, you know, she said that years ago when I would get mad with the kids. He said it's age appropriate. They're seven. They go do dumb stuff. It's like athletes are 24. They're rich. Alphas, handsome, testosterone. They're not perfect. You go on the road for four days in Miami. Stuff happens. I'm an adult. Stuff happens. Don't even remember all of it.

Brady Quinn is coming up. Plus, we'll go inside the NBA. Bubble hour or two coming up 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 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hart Radio app. or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.

I'm Sam Jay. 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 mean, 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere,

but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast.

Guaranteed human.