The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - Kyler Murray looks good in purple, Lebron has to learn to play third to Luka and Reeves

Episode Date: March 13, 2026

Former Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray signs with the Vikings and Colin loves the fit, but it also might spell the end for JJ McCarthy - and a lesson in not getting caught up in "winning guy." Lebron has to adjust to new life with the Lakers as the team belongs to Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves now. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is just another data point to the best scorers in the NBA don't need to be the most athletic freaks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's the herd wherever you may be in, however you may be listening or watching. Busy week, free agency, world baseball, classic NBA. March Madness Selection Sunday is coming up. John Middlkoff sitting in for Jason McIntyre today from the volume. So John, I'm going to start today with a Kyler Murray topic because you live in Arizona. You've seen a lot of Kyler Murray. I used to live in L.A., so I watched a lot of NFC West. So Kyler Murray has signed a one-year deal with a great Kevin O'Connell, great coach, great offensive coach.

This is where Sam Darnold's career was reborn. They sign him for a year. and what does that mean for J.J. McCarthy. I think we all know. J.J. McCarthy, and I'm not saying it's easy to figure out first round, second round quarterbacks. I know it's hard, but J.J. McCarthy is a cautionary tale for every general manager in the NFL. Beware of two things. The game manager at the college level and beware of when the number one trait for a college quarterback is,

he's a winner. That's what they said about Tebow. That doesn't mean anything. Okay. These game managing college quarterbacks usually come from Alabama or Ohio State, Georgia, these football factories

where they can turn and hand it off, throw 23 times a game. J.J. McCarthy, he came from the best Michigan team probably ever. 13 guys were drafted, stacked roster. And he only threw for 22 touchdowns. Joe Burrell played on a stacked

roster at LSU. He threw for 60. If you're going to play in a roster like that, you don't have to carry the team, but I better see like 45 touchdowns, 55 touchdowns. Every quarterback in J.J. McCarthy's class, everyone, Bo Nicks, Jaden Daniels, Michael Panix, Drake May, Caleb Williams, every other first round quarterback, every other one, USC, Oregon, North Carolina, LSU, some good programs. They had to throw for over 300 yards a game. J.J. McCarthy threw for under 200 yards a game. That's the first warning sign. And the second, and I, you know, Pat in the back time, I said he is the one quarterback coming in this first round draft class. I don't think it's going to work. The other thing was, first of all, he didn't have any great wow traits. Caleb Williams, wow, horsepower. Bow, Knicks, toughness, durability, athletic ability, Jaden Daniels, kind of a Lamar Jackson type player, Drake May, big size, big arm, panics, good arm.

J.J. McCarthy's a winner. A winner is how you should describe a poker player or a lawyer. If you tell me a lawyer, the guy's a winner, it's kind of all I need to know. Poker player. Guy's a winner. Sit down at the table. That's Phil Helmuth.

That's all I need to know. We don't talk about any other athlete and say he's a winner. We don't draft cornerbacks, left tackle. guards running backs and say, well, you know, production was so-so, but he is a winner. Doesn't mean anything. Same with college basketball players. Nobody's drafting Darren Peterson number one because he's a winner.

They're looking at his talent and his traits. So I just, I don't buy the he's a winner thing. Now you could say, well, Fernando Mendoza, Colin. Yeah, he won because he's a killer, because he's great late, because he beat Miami, almost single-handedly in the fourth quarter. He did the same with Penn State on the road. That's different. He was asked to carry a good roster.

That J.J. McCarthy, Michigan roster, wasn't a good roster. It's the best Michigan roster ever. 13 guys drafted. That's an Ohio State, Bama, Georgia, LSU level roster. And did he carry it? Yeah, at times he did. He did against Miami late. He did against, you know, Oregon fourth quarter.

So there's a difference. And, you know, you can say what you want about Connor Murray. Again, he and Sam Darnold have been the two quarterbacks that I have always liked more than the market because they have wow traits. His elusiveness, A plus, wow. His deep ball, excellent. And for the record, since he was drafted, Kyler Murray among active quarterbacks, top 10 in touchdown passes. So he's actually productive with experience and elusive and a great deep ball. He's going to win this job.

But it's a cautionary tale. Be very careful about he's a winner or. game manager at college. It just doesn't translate to Sunday football. Okay, so Luke had 51 last night and the Lakers beat the Bulls, but that wasn't the story. And this is a real story, and it's actually asking a lot of LeBron James. So we talked a lot before the season. I said, this is going to be the strangest year in LeBron James life. Every offense, even last year, with heavy Luca and Luca off an injury, LeBron needed the ball in his hands for the offense to be effective. I said this year is going to be different.

The difference between in-shaped skinny Luca, still in his prime and LeBron, the gap's going to be huge. And LeBron's going to have to learn for the first time in his career to play off the ball all the time. Now he's having a bad shooting year off the ball because his, let's be honest, his jump shot has always been streaky and inconsistent. But what really happened this year that makes it even tougher for LeBron is that Austin Reeves has popped. And now LeBron should probably have the ball as a third offensive option on the Lakers. So to ask a guy that was face of the NBA for 20 years, hey, we not only need you to be off the ball with Luca, but Austin Reeves as well. It is a big ask. I don't think Michael Jordan would have done that. I don't think most all-time players are going to do that.

And the fact that LeBron's always been about winning, and he has, and I've defended him early when he used to not take the big shot like MJ or Kobe, and I'd say he's a winning player. He makes the right basketball play. So this is a big ask. And LeBron's entire career was the opposite. He had to ask Dwayne Wade, you're the two. He had to go to Chris Bosch.

Hey, get out of the paint, go in the corner. He had to tell Kyrie Irving, bro, I'm going to carry the ball. you have to play off ball. So everybody has sacrificed for LeBron and should have his entire career. Even Luke a little bit last year, but this LeBron's different. His usage rate, lowest of his career, by a wide margin.

You know, field goals taken per game, lowest of his career, wide margin. So this is what we talked about all preseason. This is going to be a weird year for LeBron. Face the league. to not only the second option, but net rating tells you the third option. He's going to have to set screens.

He's going to have to rebound a little more. He's going to have to do the dirty work. And, you know, this year, when LeBron shoots more than 20 times, Lakers are 0 and 3. When he shoots under 20 times, they're 27 and 15. The numbers don't lie.

But I do think it's a big ask. I don't think MJ would have done it. I don't think a lot of stars that can still play at LeBron's level individually would do it. But LeBron's always been a winning player. I just think he deserves credit for committing to this kind of basketball when he could score 24 a night for half the teams in the league or more. And here was J.J. Reddick after the win.

LeBron and I, we talked. We had a great conversation over the last couple days. I think, again, he wants to do everything possible to help this team. team win. And he understands the importance of making sure Luca and AR can be at their best. And

you know, that's incredible of him. The team is most important. Everybody's successful when we win. So, yeah, it is some sacrifice. I know what I'm capable of still doing as an individual, but what's important for this team, I'm able to adapt to what's

important for this team. And that's the only thing that matters. And the win is the only thing matters. It was interesting. I was reading an article yesterday, and they were talking about LeBron. I've never seen this before with any LeBron article. J.J. Redick was talking about, I'm going to need him to set some screens. I've never seen screens in LeBron in the same sentence before. Not that he's not capable of doing it, but I'm defending LeBron here.

This is a big ask. At some point on a show, I'm going to be the third voice. And I don't know if I'll be as good as LeBron. I don't know if I'll pass it. But LeBron deserves credit. Lakers playing well. And Austin Reeves has blossomed, by the way, with Luca. And I think everybody sees it.

And fortunately, right now, LeBron sees it. Okay, there's a couple of things. First of all, the Kyler Murray situation, what's happening in the NFL is, and boy, you're seeing it. I said this yesterday. I think Kyler Murray is going to be our Sam Donald. I don't think he's going to be that good. I don't think he's going to go to a Super Bowl.

I don't think he's going to win 14 games with Minnesota, but I think he's going to be really successful. But the other thing is over the last several years, I have taken two teams every year, and I'm on a four-year heater, eight for eight. I want to go 10 for 10. So last year, I took Seattle and New England. Seattle was my already pretty good,

going to be much better than everybody thinks team, got to a Super Bowl. And then I always picked my double your win total at minimum team. That was New England. So last year was pretty good. I have officially picked my two NFL teams on a four-year streak. I have picked them as of this morning, and I'll give you that next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,

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Stugats and Company and God bless football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it. Do it today. And you can check all of those out on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news?

Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special.

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

Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, Hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title

for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

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This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself.

I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Genschen win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface, because if she's serving, well, good luck.

Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So Minnesota won nine games last year, and they were offensively, they were kind of a mess. They had the fourth fewest touchdown passes in the sport. So they're over-under going into this year.

according to draft kings is eight and a half. So they won nine games last year, and they led the NFL and giveaways. They were one of the worst third down offenses and a bottom five total offense. And so it's official. The New York Giants, I take two teams every year. The New York Giants are my double your win total team hiring John Harbaugh. Last year, my double your win total team was New England with Vrable and all. all that money in a free agency.

And we got pretty fortunate. They made the Super Bowl. I didn't think they would make the Super Bowl, but I thought they would be an automatic double-year-win total team. Last year, and then every year I pick a team that I think is already pretty good, but is going to go into next year and be much better than everybody thinks. I'm going to do that with Minnesota. So they're over-unders, eight and a half.

I think they have a chance to be an 11-win team. And you think it's crazy, but their defense last year, with Brian Flores, I think it's exceptional. I think their offensive line was banged up. It's very good. So this goes back to Kyler Murray, like Sam Darnold, bad organization. You keep asking who's the next Sam. I think it's Kyler with Kevin O'Connell.

Great weapons, legit left tackle, tight ends a star. There's no reason why a guy with a better owner and a better coach and a better old line and supporting cast, can't take a team that won nine last year and was a mess offensively in an offensive league. Here's Albert Breer this week on Kyle fitting in with the Vikings. And I think if you're Kyle and Murray, you look at that situation, the opportunity to work with Kevin O'Connell,

an offensive line that they've invested in, Jordan Jefferson, or Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hawkinson. I mean, you start to add up the pieces that you've got in Minnesota, and even though they didn't play very well last year, a lot of those same elements that put Sam Darnold in position to resurrect his career would still be there for Kyler and Murray. Yep. So there we go.

Giants, double your win total, Vikings, my Seahawks of next year, and John Middilcoff, former NFL Scout, volume three and out podcast with the news. No, no, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Colin, let's start with the World Baseball Class. And it got a little dicey for us, but we've advanced. And tonight on Fox at 8 p.m. Eastern, we take on Canada. Well, the last time, Colin, Team USA took on Canada, it went pretty well for us. And one of those Olympic stars called in and gave a little pep talk for the baseball team.

Here's Mark DeRosa. Jack Hughes sent the boys a nice little fire-up little message that I put out on on their group chat. And I know there's talks of some hockey jerseys being sent in tomorrow for the guys to wear during BP. Yeah, this thing's actually been a big hit. And I think what it feels like,

you know, when you get buy-in from pro athletes on international competitions, it's just an easy sell. You wrap great stars in these infrequent events and you wrap the flag around it. And this has gotten incredible relevance and numbers more than it's ever. You know, Fox put it front and center,

and it started back in 2006. It was good, but in a crowded network at ESPN, it kind of got buried. Nobody's fault. They just have, you know, they just had a lot of games. So this thing has been undervalued for years. We said it when it started. This is one of the smarter pickups by Fox,

and it has been a home run event. Yeah, it does feel like our two biggest American stars, Harper and Judge, are all in. They feel like the hockey guys like Jack. Hughes. This is not going to be easy. We're the betting favorites right now, but if we take care of Canada, I think we will, then we probably got the Dominican and then potentially the Japanese. I mean, this is, we're going to have to earn this. And the thing in these world baseball classic, Colin, none of these pitchers are going seven or eight years. So you got to mix and match

that you need the guys to hit. Yeah, no question. I have to hit your way to this championship. Okay. I know this is a favorite topic of yours. The USC Trojans, Colin. Yeah, Yeah. Mackay Lemon. He had a pro day. And your guy, Les Need flies under the radar in the offseason. Doesn't attend the Combine.

Doesn't usually attend pro days. But this being in his backyard, he attended. And he said this about Lemon. He is a guy who makes watching football fun. The Rams, while they traded one of their first round picks, remember, they got the 13th overall pick. Yeah. Pooka Nakua's contract is lingering.

Lemon, the Rams, could. Did you see that happening, Colin? Yeah, okay. So, you know, Ohio State's been a football factory. And Marvin Harrison's son got all the publicity. But JSN in a Mecca, Abuka, route runners have become better NFL receivers. So McCoy Lemon reminds me of that. Jacoby Lane played for USC this year.

A couple years ago, Deuce Robinson did it tight end. They are massive athletes, huge hands. Mackay Lemon is just more productive. And I'm not saying he's not. he's not the prospect of JSN or a Mecca-A-A-Buka. But in that line, it's route running. It's quicker than you think. It's great.

If you throw the ball in the air and he gets his hand on it, he's got strong hands, highly productive. We have a little bit of a trend in the NFL now because so many people play zone, as you know, is Puka Nakua a burner? No. But in his zone, he's usually very good, catching the ball, strong hands, good after contact.

Lemon, that is what Lemon is. He is a modern receiver. He is a quarterback's friend. You don't have to worry about ego. You don't have to worry about running the wrong route. He's not going to beat many people down the field. But he's as good a USC wide receiver they've had probably since Kishon Johnson, honestly. I agree.

He's a really good player. My question is for the Rams. How often are, I mean, they never have first round picks, let alone draft this high, the opportunity to potentially get a lineman. Last time they drafted relatively high, they took Jerry. adverse. That worked out pretty well. Yeah. But I do say this. If they take Lemon with the 13th overall pick, does that signal, you know, Puka Nakua, what are we talking, 140, 150 million dollars guaranteed? Could that be big picture? Maybe Puka's not long for the team, which sounds crazy because he's such a great player. But he gets dinged up. Yeah. And his style, not like Jefferson,

not like some of these players, he is a very physical player, right? Yep. So can that sustain over a 10-year career, historically, it can be very hit or miss. Another one of your favorite teams, Colin, the Chicago Bears. Yeah. They were obviously a smashing success under Ben Johnson. And they just signed receiver Khalif Raymond, who comes from the Lions and knows Ben Johnson well. Here's what he had to say about his former offensive coordinator, a new head coach.

And I never forget the first day, he had everybody saying, and everyone, you know, it's good, better, better, best. you're not used to doing like chants and stuff like that and then we started winning and then he started doing it here and everybody's winning so I'm like well we better be good better best then so no it's uh it's a testament to who he is man he's not taking a shirt off because he wants a look man he's taking a shirt off probably because he probably slipped three hours that week and they to go put all the work in to go win the game so um it's a testament to who he is and uh I'm proud of him uh for the record I do like the lion's new offensive coordinator

who they got from Arizona. But I will say this at the top of the hour because all the coaching hires are done and all the relevant free agent signings are done, I'm going to give you my top 10 teams. Now, the draft may tweak the order. I mean, Raiders are obviously better with Fernando Mendoza than without,

but they're not a top 10 team. The draft won't change my order much unless somebody really knocks it out of the park. And most of the teams at the top, the Cleveland's, the Jets. they're not going to make the top 10, but I'll have my top 10 post-free agency. And I will say that bears feel like to me,

they may not have the Rams roster, but they are missing one thing, a rush end. Outside of that, a corner maybe in the draft, a rush end, I think Chicago looks really good. Well,

I'm all in like you on Ben Johnson. If you tell me that Caleb Williams just has a slight improvement with accuracy, it becomes a more consistent player, I think this team could be the number one seed, Colin. Obviously, they got a huge home field advantage. Here's the other thing. Now they got the bills pick for DJ Moore.

Yeah. They could take one of those seconds and move up into the first round and get aggressive. And listen, we think Max Crosby's coming back, but we know these things are fluid. Ryan Poles has already said, we were sniffing around, we were having dialogue. I would never count them out. I would say they are still going to monitor that situation. Don't you feel leading up to the draft with the Max Crosby? Oh, yeah, absolutely.

And again, they have a first and two twos. So they're going to solve their corner issue. Late first round, they probably get a corner. There's two or three really good corners late. Bears probably get one of them there. They solve their corner issue. My guess is they go rush end next. They don't have an offensive need.

Now they got Bradbury from the Patriots at center. They really don't need to draft anybody offensively. It's one of the more complete offenses, along with the Rams in the sport, Eagles. So they have to lean defense. this point forward and I think their first three picks will probably all be defensive picks. It's amazing when you nail the coach how bright the future is, Colin, in the NFL. I mean, this isn't a complicated strategy. It's not. John Middlough with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. So last night, OKC, the defending champs beats Boston. and SGA eclipses Wilk Chamberlain for the NBA's longest 20-point streak. So listen, everybody loves beating up on SGA. There are a lot of different ways to score.

I've used this stat forever. The leading score in the NBA in the 80s was not Michael Jordan. It was Alex English, who reminds me, honestly, a little of SGA. Couldn't jump over a folded newspaper. I don't remember any dunks, not highly vertical. There's a lot of guy.

Kiki Van DeWay scored a lot of points. He wasn't jumping over people. So SGA is smooth, fluid, efficient, crazy consistent. Now, everybody calls him a free throw merchant. He had no free throws in the fourth quarter last night. He had eight total in the game. And Jalen Brown had 14. So 11 people in the NBA had more free throws last night than SGA,

including Josh. Minow. Whoever that is. Okay. So he's averaging 32 and gets eight made free throws on the 32 points. That's not outrageous to me. And there's been players like this in the NBA. Carl Malone drew a lot of fouls.

Michael Jordan, James Hardin, drew a lot of fouls. I think when I look at SGA, you know who I think of? Tim Duncan and Tom Brady like bizarre efficiency crazy consistency no drama to their personality they win a lot more than their peers Duncan Brady SGA

it's not highly dynamic it's not dramatic I mean Luca and aunt are far more fun to watch but they'll have three for 12 nights from three point land they're they're more inconsistent shooting the ball. SGA's, he's the train that's always on time. So again, Sean Camp, Dominique Wilkins,

Charles Barkley, way more fun to watch. Those three guys combined, no titles. And I mean, this whole thing about he's a free throw merchant, the league is not privately rigging it so that their smallest market kind of bland superstar runs the league. He is a really smart player who manipulates defenders and gets to the line. Last night, though, fourth quarter didn't shoot a free throw, and they still won. He leads the NBA in clutch scoring. But he is driving people. And I've said this about the NBA for years.

Among players, players love Russell Westbrook. A lot of players were always cool on Steph Curry because Russell Westbrook had the hops and the vertical and he was forceful and he was just incredible. Like he's a basketball player, Russell Westbrook and his prime. Other basketball players like, oh, dude, you go watch this guy. This guy's got crazy hops. And in the NBA, that matters. Like style matters.

SGA is way more Carl Malone. And guys like that get criticized because it's not as much fun to watch. Sean Kemp, beloved. Was he a winning player? Clyde Drexler, beloved. They don't want to really practice or practice. play defense. So I mean, listen, in the fourth quarter, SGA shot nearly 90 percent, didn't have a free throw and they beat an excellent team. I'm on team SGA. Here's Jalen Brown, apparently still taking

shots on SGA and all the free throw attempts. I don't foul bait. I'm not looking to, you know, flop or anything like that, but it's almost like you got to. It's almost like this is a couple plays in the fourth quarter. What I feel like I drove strong, went up strong. And I didn't get the benefited it out, but maybe if I were to flop, maybe I was able to sell that call and those decide games. We commend players for, you know, playing the game the right way, but, you know, we give the benefit to those who, you know, who necessarily are trying to manipulate the game into their advantage. I just don't think it's basketball. Well, it is basketball, and I would argue most great players, what do you consider manipulation?

So, I mean, Charles Barkley was great at using his big butt to get angles and positioning. Dennis Rodman's an all-time great manipulator of body leverage, shoulders, butt. I mean, Rodman was one of the smartest manipulators of body and angles. He used to let their stories about Rodman used to sit and watch the Bulls practice, even if he wasn't practicing that day, to just watch where the missed shots came off the rim from Jordan and Pippin. And that is manipulation. There are guys, coaches do this.

They manipulate college basketball coaches, manipulate officials. They bark, they bark, they bark, and they get that late game call. So I think basketball is manipulation. It's trying to get a defense that you can manipulate to one side of the floor, swinging around, skip it around, and get better looking jumpers. So I mean, SGA's game isn't the most dynamic. It's a Duncan Brady feel to it. Like it's just crazy efficient, crazy consistency.

Here's SGA on passing Wiltz record. We've won throughout the streak, most importantly. And then I just had so much fun playing basketball in the last like a year and a half. Probably because I've done a lot of winning. But just like the group of guys that always make losing lighthearted and winning super fun. And when you stay in the right mind frame, when you stay together, when you're connected as a unit, and just have fun throughout the whole process, you get the best out of things. And then that's what this group is. Yeah, he's not the first player to get pushback on his style. James

Harden did for years. In fact, the NBA stepped in. NBA is not stepped in here. They don't feel it's the manipulation or the skirting of rules like they did with James Harden. So for the record, I'm as big a Magic Johnson fan as anybody. Magic Johnson palm the ball his entire career. The refs just kind of step back. You can go look at the YouTube Magic Johnson highlights, and you're like, I don't know, it feels like he's getting an extra step.

That's, you know, his game is his game. I'm going to defend him to the end. I think he's a credit to the sport. It's just not overly dynamic. There's been a lot of guys in this league that have scored a lot of points that aren't necessarily fun to watch. Kiki Vandoah is not something anybody. emulated. Alex English, tons of points.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it.

Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, Jonas, and offered it up as a potential. title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an

a a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversy. and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know

firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen Chinchin win. I mean, she went down in three to Rovachina, but I'm delighted. is an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface.

Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

we're not trading Max Cross. We know we did. We got him back. We're not going to trade him. And I got no problem with it at all. It really does. But I'll tell you, when Fernando Mendoza, with now Max Crosby, joins this team in late April. This is why it's the League of Hope. The Raiders, in terms of point differential since 2003, that's almost 25 years. the Raiders, by a long shot, have the worst point differential in the league. Cleveland, second, Jets, third. It's a bad franchise for two decades. I think they're going to turn it around.

I think there's a chance the Raiders are really interesting next year, and you can't do that in baseball or the NBA. The Houston Astros had to lose 100 games, three years in a row, to build up a great team. Even with Wembe going to the Spurs, the best prospect since, probably LeBron, back-to-back losing seasons. Cooper flagged Mavericks. They're worse than last year.

He's an unbelievable player. It took the Rockets. I mean, post-Cobie, it took the Lakers, what, six years to make the playoffs. It took the Rockets post-hardened, five years to make the playoffs. It does not work that way in the NFL. Pathetic to playoffs very quickly. So there's a lot of instant gratification. I think the fans are the winners.

And it's all about if you can get the right, quarterback, Caleb Williams, Bo Nicks, Fernando Mendoza, and you can put him often with a really good offensive coach. I mean, when the NBA was less restrictive to owners and GMs, you could do this. LeBron went back from Miami to Cleveland. They traded for Kevin Love, and they dominated the East for like half a decade. The NBA used to allow you to go from pathetic to playoffs. Adam Silver is terrified of dynasty, so they've shut all that down. And I think it's a problem. I think one of the great gifts of the NFL is, like outside of the Jets,

where you just don't think the head coach is capable, like to take them off, even in Cleveland right now. I don't agree with this, but even in Cleveland, they're thinking, we got a shot. I mean, Joe Burrow can't make the playoffs. So, you know, in the NFL players, players have limited power, trades are easy, college football is a great farm system. We had Johnny Mansell on yesterday, and he sees in Fernando Mendoza what the Raiders see in Fernando Mendoza.

I think he's going to continue to get better. I think he throws, as I was watching him at the national championship game, throws a really good ball, has a lot of zip on his passes, reads coverage very well. He obviously had some good help at the receiver point and the team that they had last year at Indiana. The situation he's going into is going to call for a lot of patience. Brock Bowers, you know, Gentie, rebuild

some of the offensive line, get a defense, you keep Max Crosby, like, have some patience with it, and I feel like this kid is going to be very good. He more than impressed me being around him at the Heisman. And they're still in touch. So, Kyler Murray, for the record,

I'm going to let you listen to him in a second here. He looks good in purple. It has been suggested to me that purple is a fast color. He looks good in purple. I've got to be honest. He grew up a, I mean, he grew up a Vikings fan.

So, um, I think this is going to work. I think it's going to be, I think it's going to be like Darnold to Seattle where you're like, good team. Oh, this is the juice we needed at quarterback.

So what's funny is what Darnold did, what Baker did and what Kyler's going to do, you used to not get second chances. Tim Couch was a number one pick of the Cleveland Browns. It didn't work. He never played for another team. Akely Smith was the number three pick. He failed.

He never got another chance for another team. It doesn't work that way. Mack Jones, Daniel Jones, Darnold, Baker, Kyler Murray, Jared Goff. Why? Well, what do all those reclamation guys, including Kyler Murray to Minnesota? What do they have in common?

Kyle Shanahan, Clint Kubiak, Liam Cohen, what do they have in common? Ben Johnson for Jared Goff. There are so many more smart, young offensive coaches. We always say we have a quarterback problem in the NFL. No, we had a coaching problem. You had general managers in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s that were risk-averse that didn't want to make trades and help quarterbacks were struggling. And frankly, a lot of coaches in the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s, coached not to lose. It was more conservative coaching, very risk adverse GMs.

Now, if a quarterback struggled somewhere, you bring Sam Narnold to Minnesota, you give them an offensive coach, you can easily make trades in this league. So Kyler Murray was impressive yesterday at the press conference in Minnesota. I'm telling you, this is going to work. Here was Kyler. Never in a million years I think that this was going to come around full circle

not even the thought of my head but the opportunity presented itself again just watching from afar what KOC's been able to do with quarterbacks the offense the guys in place here be flow in the defense I think that it's a great fit and like I said I'm thankful thankful the opportunity

and I can't wait to get to work Okay three quarterback acquisitions and they all have one thing in common that I love this offseason. Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders, Tyler Murray to the Vikings, and Malik Willis to the Dolphins. What do they have in common? They're cheap.

Fernando Mendoza rookie contract. Malik Willis, 22 large a year, and Tyler Murray's contract will be 54th highest paid quarterback in the league. He's free. So who ended up in the Super Bowl? Darnold, team-friendly contract, was going to be Bo Nix. Instead, it's Drake May,

rookie contracts. Most improved teams, Chicago Bears, quarterback rookie contract. So I think Malik Willis is going to mostly work in Miami, although they've still got that dead cap to a contract hanging over their heads. I think Kyler's going to work here. And I think Fernando Mendoza is going to work in Vegas. I know just crazy to think Vegas could have a good football team. But I absolutely believe it. Top of the hour, I'm going to do my post-coaching, post-free agency, top team. 10. I'll just tell you right now, free agency is not just about what you gain, it's what you lose. I don't have Baltimore in my top 10, and I think they're an incredibly well-run franchise. I think that Tyler Lindemam loss at Center for the Ravens, and specifically for Lamar Jackson, is not good.

They lost their tight end to the Giants. They lost their second best running back to the Chargers of all these teams adding pieces. And I said yesterday, I like what the Rams have added, the bears have added. There's some real cowboys have added in the last six months. There's some really nice pieces picked up. New England, Buffalo getting Bradley Chubb and DJ Moore. I like both those pickups. Baltimore loses the second best center, a valuable speedback,

kind of a change up to Derek Henry. They lose the tight end. Again, they don't have a dominant number one. And Zay Flowers is a solid one, a great two or a low-end one. Baltimore is well-run. Do not like what has happened between losing Harbaugh, the tight end, the running back, the center. Don't love what's happened to the Ravens over the last several months. John Middilkoff, who worked in this league with Andy Reed for a long time.

Where are you on Kansas City? A team you usually defend, but like the Ravens, I think they were forced to get Walker running back. I don't know if they loved it. I think they were forced to get Kenneth Walker. I do think they're going to lean in more to the running game this year, right? They have a pretty good chance at pick nine to take an offensive lineman. They would have two young stud offensive linemen. Then last year, Simmons, now if they get a right tackle at nine, they got a good interior

offensive line. What if the way to extend Mahomes career? Because last year, the last couple of years, they got very Mahomes dependent. Well, now he tore his ACL. You take the pressure off him, lean into Kenneth Walker. Maybe draft another running back somewhere in the middle. rounds. And, you know, one thing Andy's done very well over the course of his career is pivot, change his offense, two things. One thing he's never really done is just hammer the run game.

He involves the running back a lot in the passing game. And Kenneth Walker can do that. Yeah. I do wonder if they try to become like a top six or seven rushing attempt team in the league. Listen, they got a lot of moving parts on defense, lost a bunch of DBs. That's why you pay five, six million dollars for spags. So they have an excellent coaching staff. They're going to be motivated. We'll see, you know, how much Kelsey has left. That, to me, is a pretty big, they're paying $12 million. Last year, he was not good, you know, for his Hall of Fame standards. But, yeah, I mean, I think that division, I mean, I think the Chargers have a chance to be, I mean, a powerhouse next year. To me, they would be as we sit here right now as the pick

to win that division and potentially be the number one scene in the AFC. No, I feel the same way. So it's, it's, you know, we talk about this all the time that windows close very quickly. That Seahawk window felt like it was going to be seven years and it was they lost that second Super Bowl and it was never the same. And like you look at the Seahawks. I mean, this is one of the great things about the NFL. One, you can go from bad to good really quickly. But you, when you think you're really good and are going to great, go ask the Eagles, go ask the chiefs. Stuff closes really fast. When you've got to sign that quarterback to a big deal, all of a sudden you get a right tackle that retires. You know, even Mahomes has been blown out

twice in Super Bowls when they can't get past protection. So you can build quickly, you fall quickly in this league. That's why I think John Schneider, Kenneth Walker, Kobe Bryant, you know, I think he learned his lesson a decade ago. And you got to be very careful with how you allocate your funds. And I'm

with you. It's tough. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. people to do podcasts.

We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mike. 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. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman.

Multi-million dollar house. For our reason, Lamborghini's, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless.

And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs' tennis podcast for no nonsense breakdown. of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments set to find Roland Garris. Jench who wins. She's an outsider to win the French name.

And she likes Clay. Listen, Leonard Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. 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're 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.

Thank you.