The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - LeBron should stick with the Lakers, the Dodgers have passed the Yankees, the next coach for UNC

Episode Date: March 25, 2026

Colin tells us why LeBron James should stick around and stay with the Lakers next season and explains why the Dodgers have overtaken the Yankees as the biggest brand in baseball. Plus Colin makes the case for Billy Donovan to replace Hubert Davis at UNCSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This week on Crimless, Rory and I welcome a very special guest. When I did podcasts, I wear my sleep mask. I like where this is going. So if you guys will indulge me. That's right, the incredibly talented and hilarious Will Ferrell on an episode dedicated to crimes committed by people named Will Ferrell.

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Nick Swisher, Yankees open up the season tonight. Nick's going to bring his energy. We like Knicks on the show. Pooka Nakuwa. trouble, Rams, don't like that nonsense. North Carolina, maybe the best job in college basketball is now open. And it's getting very interesting. So I spent some time this morning.

We had Rachel Nichols on. I'll play that in a few minutes. There is a growing sentiment that LeBron doesn't want to play in Cleveland. And he doesn't want to go to San Francisco. and his family wants him to stay here. And LeBron wants to stay in Los Angeles, and he wants to be a Laker. And he's got his agent, Rich Paul, delivering salvos and texts, the talk show hosts and writers to get us off that message that they're better without

LeBron. Well, actually, LeBron deserves a lot of credit here because LeBron has changed this game. He's not the same player. He's still great individually in spurts. This happened about three years ago. but he's not going to give you 40 minutes tonight, not as good back to back. He's just aging, you know? And it's a very uncomfortable space for LeBron and his group to be in because they've had

absolute control until now. Even last year, it was not in shape, Luca. It was coming off an injury in chubby Luca. But now Austin Reeves has developed into a legitimate number two. Luca could be the MVP, and LeBron's got to go rock. Robert Downey Jr. Right? You got to go leading man to,

hey, we got a supporting actor position here with Oppenheimer. Go win best supporting actor. And I remember years ago, LeBron sent a tweet out to Kevin Love. A little passive aggressive stuff. Remember that? Where he said, hey, man, stop trying to find a way out.

Just fit in. Be part of something special. Just my thoughts. Well, that's what LeBron James has to do. And again, he's never been asked to be, he's never ever been asked to be a supporting actor. 20 some years in the league, he was not only leading man. It was number one at the box office for two decades. And now it's like, bro, we look at all the numbers.

They're all career lows. And now Austin Reeves is a legit too. And I've always been kind of waffling on Austin Reeves. Luca could be MVP. LeBron's the third option. And I know LeBron doesn't want to go back to Cleveland. And I know that

because I'm watching his agent fight for him through media channels. And that's coming from LeBron. His family likes L.A. Listen, L.A. is built for famous people. He can go into a restaurant and be the second, third, most famous person. I mean, I bumped into

Kim Kardashian, Twy at LA restaurants, and they weren't even bougie restaurants. You can go to dinner, Brad Pitts two tables over it. You can hide in L.A. A lot of gates, a lot of enclaves, a lot of topography, hide in the hills. Can't do that in tiny Cleveland. Remember last time

there were all that talk when Miami he moved off Miami, went to Cleveland. Remember that in Akron? And the video came out immediately. People started forming lines, cars in line around his house in Akron. doesn't want that anymore. He wants to stay in Los Angeles, and his net worth, I checked this morning, is $1.4, $1.5 billion, he needs to take a massive pay cut. And that is the only way it's going to work.

And that's not really he and his party's vibe. Rachel Nichols on LeBron's future, he's the new role player in town. And they're winning. It's not a coincidence. He doesn't have the ball on his hands. He's setting screens. he's moving off ball. He has decided I'm going to be best supporting actor. And, you know, Robert Downey's now 60, right? Like, everything changes. Here's Rachel Nichols from yesterday.

Interesting thoughts. Certainly a month ago, it looked like there was no way he was coming back. Now that he's accepted this different role, it is more of a question. People are more uncertain because the question first is money. Because if he's not willing to take a significant pay cut, the discussion's over, right? we're talking about like 50 million down to 15 million a year. So if he's not willing to do that, we're not talking anymore. If he is willing to do that, then you've got to have a real brass tax conversation about wool.

It's one thing for the last month of the regular season and the playoffs for LeBron to be, I'm all for the team and I'll dive on the floor for loose balls and I'm happy with my usage rate going way down. It's another thing to sign on for that for what could be your last entire season. That is a real. hard choice. Pay cut and you are a season long number three. LeBron's always made the right shot and made the smart decisions, but those are two big asks.

All right, Major League Baseball opens tonight. Yankees, San Francisco on Netflix. And I'm reading an Ian O'Connor story. If he's writing it, it's great, about what the Yankees. have become. And at the end of the column, Ian writes, here's something that speaks to the essence of where the Yankees stand today. They're no longer the Yankees. The Dodgers have replaced them as baseball's premier franchise and big game hunters. And that's absolutely true. The Dodgers owners are richer and the Dodgers front office is the best, maybe by a gap in Major League Baseball.

The Yankees have become a business that is so big, nobody's willing to take a huge risk. The brand is so big, they're winning, right? There's so much money, and this happens a lot in business, they don't want to rock the boat. Brian Cashman, 28th year GM, Randy Levine Club president. It's like self-preservation, investing in bonds. We've got enough. I mean, this offseason, the Yankees are still too home run reliant. Did they address it?

They're still not very good athletically, defensively. Did they address it? No, but they got a number four starter, Ryan Weathers. Meanwhile, the Dodgers, who are much better than the Yankees, went and got the best closer in baseball, and Kyle Tucker, another power bat. And I always think of baseball always is similar to, like, big banking. like it's the same big brands, the same big banks.

There's Citigroup and Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo and, you know, just the, you know, the Goldman Sachs crowd, right? And they take turns being the big dog. They don't go away. Well, Lehman Brothers did, but by and large it's the same banks, Bank of America over and over and over. And then each of them, they'll have a run for four or five years where they're number one based on acquisitions. and, you know, asset allocation and aggressiveness with their management. And that's where the Dodgers beat the Yankees.

Aggressiveness and management, better assets, acquiring assets, taking big swings. The Yankees have moved into, we're going to put our money in bonds, and the Dodgers are investing in emerging markets and new tech companies. And that's what it feels like to me. The Dodgers go big, even after getting to the World Series. And the Yankees, who by the way, have still have massive, massive revenue

in an annual basis. Second in baseball attendance, ticket prices through the roof, the Yes Network, still viable. They make a ton of money, but they have sort of moved into bonds. And the Dodgers, nope. Emerging markets.

And that, of course, puts pressure on Aaron Boone, the manager, who takes all the heat because he's front facing, not the guys upstairs, and it puts a lot of heat on Aaron Judge, who had that brutal air in what, the fifth inning a couple World Series ago? He can feel the pressure. Albert Pujols talking about the pressure Aaron Judge faces starting tonight. He's a great player, and I know that probably people are frustrated a lot of the time that he hasn't come through.

I was in that situation, too. It's just part of baseball. And sooner or later, it's going to click. So I think, you know, he's still one of the best in the game. I will take it in my team. And if I'm building a team, I'd be that first guy that I pick, you know, to having in my team. Be the second for me, Otani, number one. But the point is, is that baseball doesn't have a salary cap.

So in the NBA, you are limited what you can do as an owner. I mean, you can't trade players. You can't trade for Janus unless you have matching salaries. In the NFL, it's a hard cap. In baseball, you have no salary cap. You can defer contracts. It allows you to be super creative with your money in baseball. And the Dodgers continue to be willing to take big risks.

And it just doesn't feel like the Yankees are. All right, Jay Mack, I'll be parked in front of a TV watch, the Yankee San Francisco Giants. North Carolina, we got college basketball starting Friday. Michigan State is Owen Dan Hurley. North Carolina, there's an argument. If you look at their facilities, their money, their history, there's an argument.

It's the number one college basketball program. And right now they don't have a coach. And you know, with the transfer portal, Caleb Wilson's going pro, NIL, you have to get on it fast. Like you have to get on this fast. Really? You think this is one of the number one job

in the country? I'm surprised at that. First of all, you could say Kansas, but a lot of people think that, you know, North Carolina, it's a beautiful part of the country. It's, you know, most of these top programs, you know, I mean, Stores, Connecticut, you know, I've been

there. Like, like, a lot of college jobs, you're in the middle of nowhere. Stillwater, Oklahoma, you know, Tuscaloosa. I mean, this is, Chapel Hill is one of the nicest, isn't that, you know, the triangle they call in there? Yep, yep. It's the tech triangle, the research triangle.

It's one of the best places, best college campuses in America. Money's not an issue. I mean, Bill Belichick. You see what they're paying him and his staff? So I think you can have, Kentucky to me, has always been dysfunctional. Even when Calipari's there, it's always a little dysfunctional. Arizona's a great job as well. They got a lot of money.

I hit up. You know, I spent a summer in Greensboro, North Carolina, which is near Chapel Hill. Every weekend we were in Chapel Hill, because that's where the good bars are. So I made some good contacts there. And I'll just say, I think this search is going to be more interesting than people think. Oh, I do too. I don't think they're just going to be able to go out and be like, oh, Dan Hurley, come on down. I think they need to readjust expectations.

Obviously, you're a really good job. You don't need to leave Arizona or Yukon. You don't need to leave those jobs. You've got all your recruiting connections. I think they're going to consider Billy Donovan with the Bulls. Yeah. Oh, okay. I mean, if you think that's a great hire,

I mean, Billy Dodd, what's he done with the Bulls in the NBA? How's that gone? Well, obviously you wanted Florida, you know, 15 years ago. I'm a season ticket holder for the Bulls. It's a lot deeper than that. Nobody is winning in Chicago. For a lot of reasons, ownership is number one. That goes well beyond, well, they don't win in Chicago.

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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, 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.

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So, yeah, it's a short list of best college basketball jobs in the country. You know, Arizona, Duke, Carolina. dysfunctional Kentucky UCon Mint, it's a short list Syracuse will be back with Jerry McNamara Hill, they'll be back but they're, you know, Michigan State's very, very good

Carolina's job is open and you got to go fast. So there's a lot of people out there. Billy Donovan, you got to remember, a 60-year-old with money, Billy Donovan's a competitive guy, a workout guy, his body is 50, he's 60, looks good, totally competitive.

guy, I would take him for the job. He built a powerhouse at Florida when they were absolutely known as a football school. He went back-to-back Natties, six-time SEC regular season champ, four SEC tournament wins. He built an absolute powerhouse. He built Duke South. He is a great coach. But the NBA life, let's keep it 100 here, five-star Rich Carlton's, luxury living, team jets, it's no rinky dink small towns.

It is big boy living. It is luxury living. There's no parents, no boosters, no NCAA. None of the nonsense. I always say, go ask Kirk Herb Street, who does college games and pro games. The standard of hotels, the quality of everything in the NFL, it's just better. Pro sports is different. And everybody's saying, oh, Todd Golden, he's got some DM issues.

And, again, Florida is a good place to coach. There's no necessarily, no major reason. They just won a natty. why is Todd Golden going to leave? Billy Donovan is here's the issue for Billy Donovan is that he's a hyper, hyper

aggressive guy. He's super competitive. But the Bulls and it's not his fault. I'm sorry. They haven't won a playoff game. They don't have a playoff win for 11 years. And they sell out the arena. Bulls have led the NBA in attendance.

last five years could be 15 to last 17. I'm a season ticket holder, 25,000 jammed every home game. And the owners, the Rinesdorf, they're never going to sell the team. It's way, way too profitable. You'd be nuts to sell the Chicago Bulls. And it's not really, to be honest,

a serious organization. They've got some good young talent, but they have no identity. I mean, there's no real direction with the Chicago Bulls. And Billy Donovan is hyper. competitive. And I mean, I think he's the selection. A lot of these college guys, the guy at Arizona, you're not going to leave Florida and Arizona or Yukon for Carolina. Carolina may be a better job,

but by inches, not by feet. And so I think Donovan, don't worry about age. I mean, look at the guy. He looks like, you know what I mean? He is an intense, competitive, workout guy. He barked at officials on a directionless franchise. And what's interesting, what's really interesting, is that college basketball, because now it's more administrative, Donovan doesn't have to go back, beating the streets at high school games

and AAU tournaments. Those days are over. That's why Bella checks in college football. It's administrative. Get guys to write checks. So it's much more like the NBA, and what's happening in college basketball, it's fascinating.

Old guys are crushing. Isos crushing. Calapari's crushing. Petino's. crushing. Rick Barnes is crushing. It's the old guys because you don't have to have like crazy 41 year old energy. It's administrative. It's check writing. And meanwhile in the NBA, a lot of the best teams have young coaches because you have to relate to rich younger players. So it's really, it's strange what's happened in basketball culturally. Old guys are crushing in

college. Young coaches are crushing. Steve Kerr and Eric Spolstra, they're not crushing. You know, like the young guys are doing well. Jeff Goodman on Donovan this morning, on a show this morning about Billy Donovan, potentially to Carolina. You know, the Bulls stink. We know that. He's got a lucrative contract with the Bulls right now. Rinesdorf has been very loyal to him. I think in turn he will be loyal to Rinesdorf. But, however, there are a ton of people in Billy Donovan's circle right now that have told Billy Donovan, get the hell out of there. Go to Carolina and have a chance to win the whole thing again and change your legacy a little bit.

When he was at Florida, now you view Florida as a great basketball school. He made it Kentucky. They were winning the regular season. They were winning the tournament. he was a dominant coach. And he was a younger guy. He was a great recruiter. He had amazing energy.

Before Yukon, you know, and Hurley arrived, they were the last kind of dynasty in college basketball. He had NBA guys everywhere. So, I mean, I go to Bulls games. I always feel bad for Billy Donovan. I almost like, this dude has seven more years of coaching somewhere. You know, but do I think part of him thinks, man, it's the NBA. NBA is a good life. 25,000, no parents, no boosters, no NCAA nonsense, no school presidents.

Reinsdorf likes him. I think that's a big part of it. And travel, folks, pro travel is different than college travel. It's just a whole, even at the nicest school, it's a whole different ballgame. You know, it's caviar omelets in the NBA circuit. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. It's funny to hear you say the NBA is kind of a good life compared to college, but you're not wrong. I know it's a lot of NBA travel, but that college game is wild, Colin. But let's start in the NBA. Big, big story continuing to get ugly in Milwaukee. Janice versus the Bucks. The latest is that the Players Association is rebuking the Bucks, put out a statement implying the team is tanking and damaging the NBA's integrity. Colin, I'm floored.

I have an analogy for you, but I'm just curious. Your initial thoughts, like endings are often ugly, and this one is really on the verge of getting nasty. Yeah, and, you know, I was told this 20 years ago, move quickly with this stuff. It always ends poorly. I mean, even, I mean, when LeBron surprised everybody and went to Cleveland, people were like, well, that didn't end poorly.

Well, Miami wasn't happy. you know, Carmelo leaving Denver to the Knicks. Knicks never won because they had to give up so much to get him and Dwight Howard leaving Orlando. It's never easy, so if you can sniff it. You know, Lou Al Cinder back in 71 won a title with the bucks. He had told the front office a year earlier trade me to L.A. I won't tell anybody.

And they got a haul. They got as good a haul Milwaukee in the early 70s as any team's ever gotten for a player. Draft picks and like All-Star-level guys. And they still never won again until Yannis arrived. So I think this is one of those where they should have moved him. I've been on this for three years. Should have moved him three years ago.

Once there's smoke, there's fire, where there's rumors. You know, it's the old saying in pro football, once you talk retirement, you're retired. You're not working as hard. You know, Aaron Rogers has talked retirement three, four years ago. He kind of disappears in the offseason. You start talking about it. You're thinking about it. You start making little marginal moves toward it.

And I think this has been on everybody's mind in Milwaukee. hockey for three years. Yeah, I totally agree. Colin, you know communication is the foundation of every relationship. And I'm of the belief that something went down with LeBron, Reddick, and Lakers' new ownership, because LeBron looks like a new person, new player out there. Something went down that we're not aware of. Hell, in our relationships, you're married, I'm married, I got the kids. If me and the wife don't communicate about what we're having for dinner, dinner will slip through the cracks. And then we end up with pizza and I'm ticked off because I'm like, I don't want Chick-fil-A and pizza. They're like, you have to communicate.

The Bucks have done nothing with Yannis. They knew this was coming a year ago when they made that dumb move to get Miles Turner. I don't know that they consulted Yannis on that. The communication between the Bucks and Yannis is like, no. And I don't see how they salvage this. And Janus's game, he didn't want to look like the bad guy. You know, he was like afraid of that. Well, international players tend to be more loyal.

Yeah. You know, they feel a little bit like visitors. They're going to be loyal to their team. Luca did not want to be traded. He did not. Luca was devastated. Even being traded to the Lakers with LeBron, Luca was devastated.

So this is one of those things. The Bucks have to take the initiative. You can't, the international players, and they're loyal. They don't want to be traded. They don't want to tick people off. This is, I think the Bucs have to make the moves on this. Yeah, they're doing a terrible job.

Let's move to the NFL. Colin, like nothing surprises me with Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. But this, I mean, my eyes. popped out of my head. So there is now a report that even though Max Crosby's staying with the Raiders, the Cowboys tried so hard to land him. They made three different offers to the Raiders. Reminder, the Cowboys traded Micah Parsons. They didn't want to pay him. So a year later, or less than a year, maybe eight months, they tried to get Max Crosby. Here are the reported offers. The Cowboys said, we'll give you the 20th pick and Ossa Ugudwanza. I butchered his name.

D-LIN. 12th pick and the third, third round pick, 12th overall pick and a second. And the Raiders said, no, we want two first. Colin, Jerry Jones had Micah Parsons. Now he realized, oh, we need an edge rusher. You can't make this stuff up at this point, Colin. Come on. Well, they got Roshan Gary, who's not Max Crosby. No. Yeah, I'm surprised Dallas offered.

that. I mean, I think it's a great edge rusher draft and Dallas has prized, you know, they have an opportunity to get one of the good edge rushers and their defensive tackles are excellent. So I'm a little surprised by the story. Sometimes I feel like Jerry's kind of making it up based on a whim or a discussion. You know, I kind of feel like he's kind of making it up. There's not a lot of long range planning. Yeah. It's more, how do I feel now? Well, who's the last? guy I talked to, that's what it feels like to me. And by the way, do you think Max Crosby would have thrilled, would have been thrilled to go to Dallas? Because he wanted a contender. And last I checked, Dallas is not anything close

to a contender. Now, you could argue Baltimore didn't make the playoffs, but they have Lamar Jackson. They're in the playoffs every year, practically. Would he have been thrilled to go to Dallas? Well, it's a huge brand. And Max is a likable guy, relatable guy. I think it would have been great for him, actually. I think he would have done really well there. Interesting. All right. Let's go to baseball, Colin. Final. story. Shohei Otani and the Dodgers wrapped up spring training last night against the Angels. Otani pitched and struck out 11, did give up three earned runs

over four innings in his second pitching start of the preseason. Here's Dave Roberts on Otani's final start. I was up in James. You know, the intensity was there, focus was there, and the execution, all that's so a lot of punchouts tonight. Really efficient. Not fishing, but just kind of good rhythm and fishing. So I thought it was another good one for him and would be ready to go.

Yeah, they're going to be good. So he's won the NL MVP twice in a row. Yeah. Is there a world where Otani wins the Sai Young? I mean, I can't wrap my brain around that. He could he win the Sanyung this year. It's interesting, though. He didn't hit in the postseason.

So, you know, baseball's got a randomness to it. You know, it's hard. He didn't hit much in the postseason, and they still won. That's what, if you look right now adding Kyle Tucker, the big issue that Dodgers had was their bullpen. So shoring up their bullpen makes them a prohibitive favorite. That was the, they blew 26 saves last year. I mean, at the time I was living in L.A. And the Dodgers are always on in your car.

They're on TV. They were bad at the end of games in the regular season. They solved it. I mean, remember, they went to a game seven. and Toronto, Toronto really outplayed them for most of the World Series, I thought. They had a remarkable late innings, you know, rally game seven. They were insane. All the right levers were pulled by Dave Roberts.

But if Otani didn't hit very well in the postseason, their bullpen was shaky until, you know, the postseason. And I don't think those two things are going to happen again, so they should be a prohibitive favor. I would totally agree. Yep. Jay Mack with the news well that's the news and thanks for stopping by the herd lie news

Darren Williams played in the NBA for a long time and he was he was talking about people were asking him about on a podcast about LeBron and Kobe and who do you want to take the final shot

one of the questions he asked and here was his response both of them's work I think was was crazy. Like, they both work hard. They both, it's just different, man. Kobe just had that mentality

where he's just on his own, locked in, doing his thing. LeBron's more silly, you know, keeping things light. I play with both of them. So, yeah, if I got to get a ball to somebody

to get a bucket, I'm going, I'm going cold. I always, I'll defend LeBron here. LeBron's a better player historically than Kobe. He is.

Kobe's great. You can, argue Michael Jordan and LeBron. You can't argue LeBron and Kobe. LeBron's the better career, you know, across the board. LeBron has this weird reputation that he wasn't clutch, but my argument's always been

his clutch looks different. It comes in many forms. A great pass to Chris Bosch or Ray Allen in Miami. Closing with the left hand, beating a guy off the dribble, a chase down block in the finals against the Warriors. His clutch

looks like a lot of different things. Kobe's clutch was Kobe taking the shot. That's how he affected the outcomes of games. Kobe was shooting. And, I mean, listen, it was a problem. Phil Jackson called him a selfish player. Mike Sheshefsky in the Olympics. The story is pretty legendary.

He had to set him aside. And it's like, dude, you're not playing with the Lakers. You're playing with the world's best players. You've got to pass. You're taking bad shots. Kobe took a lot of bad shots. He was selfish. But Kobe kind of sold that Mamba mentality, that alpha,

self-reliance, and that is very attractive to young people. It's very attractive to sports fans, is do it yourself, don't depend on others. And the truth is when Michael Jordan started trusting others is when Michael started winning titles. And that's always been the secret sauce of LeBron is that he could take the final shot, but LeBron's always taken the best basketball play. And if you go to Kobe's career statistically, he's actually not. a great clutch shooter.

You know, the Lakers this year are a great clutch team because LeBron, not just LeBron often takes the shot or gets it to Austin and Luca. So, and this is where it's not a shot at Kobe. It's more of a support of LeBron. LeBron's a tremendous clutch player. I don't love him at the free throw line late. I'd much prefer Steph or MJ Durant at the free throw line, but a lot of bigger guys aren't great free throw shooters.

But LeBron's always had this weird rep that he's not a clutch player, and it just, his clutch looks different. He's not always going to take the shot. And he also, I always think kind of LeBron rolls his eyes at the critics who talk about everybody else's mentality and killer instinct. And I think LeBron looks at that and goes, bro, yeah, been to nine finals. fine. So just this is not a shot at anybody, but it is defending LeBron. LeBron's a great clutch player. I love the ball in LeBron's hands with a minute left.

In his prime for 15 years, I loved him defending the ball or with the ball with 40 seconds left. Todd McShay around the corner, Nick Swisher, too. Is it possible? Ty Simpson is the best quarterback. 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, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to our...

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. 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, 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 Podcast. or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

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

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

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay.

Jenchian win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerner 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 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. Nick Swisher, Major League Baseball, top of the hour, Yankees, San Francisco Giants on Netflix. All right. So one of the guys at the other place, one of their popular, personality said, Ty Simpson, film says he is better than Fernando Mendoz.

So listen, I'm not a former scout, although frankly, probably pretty good at it. Anywho, Todd McShay at the ringer, been doing this stuff since 1998 evaluating prospects. Hey, I never bailed on San Diego. I love the, I love the frankly and the pause. I knew exactly where you were going. Okay. Listen, Ty Stimson's got us pro day. I've said before when I watched him play, he's got a good arm.

He moves better than Fernando. He's a pro. If he gets drafted late first round, he's a hell of a lot better than Kenny Pickett. Like, I'm not saying, I think he is a franchise quarterback. I didn't like J.J. McCarthy. He's better than that. I was not a fan of Pickett. He's better than that.

I'm not. He's a, he's, I think he's more in the class of Jackson Dart, where get the right coach, he can spin it. You tell me, what is the gap, you do this for a living? You do, what is the gap, Mendoza, the bigger athlete, and Simpson? How big is the gap to you? Here's the hard part, Colin. Like, November 1st, Ty Simpson was the guy, and maybe he was late October.

We're around that range. Ty Simpson's tape was better. It just was. And here's what you have for Ty Simpson, if you're having this. discussion, right? It's transferable. It's NFL stuff. You know, Ryan Grubbs there, and they're doing the pre-snap motion,

deciphering what the coverage is. He's on schedule. Everything's clockwork, the decision-making, it's precise. And it's not precise in the scheme with the RPO heavy offense and two-by-two receiver sets and a one-cornerback read. If the corner goes this way, I go here. If the corner goes that way, I go there. And that's what you get a lot of with Mendoza.

and Mendoza, like, the moments were spectacular. The fourth quarter, Iowa, Oregon, Penn State, the late drives when the game was on the line, absolutely spectacular, right? And Simpson didn't really have that as much. But you watch the other three quarters and like all of those games that I just talked about, there was a bad interception. There was a pick six. You'd think against Oregon. There was a bad pick against Iowa. there was a bad pick against Penn State.

And so, and the rest of the game was just, nah, you know, you watch the Ohio State tape for Mendoza and you say, oh my gosh. And yeah, you can say six points through three quarters. And I heard the other guy from the other network say that the other day. But that tape was awesome, man. It started with Caden Curry knocking his ass to the ground and him bouncing back a couple of plays later. And Caden Curry tried to get him again in his own end zone. No one talks about that player's helmet hits the ground.

and never affected, throwing on the move against pressure, tight windows. He was awesome in that game. If you give me that Mendoza and tells me that's what I'm going to get, he's clearly the best quarterback in the draft. But it wasn't what we saw all season long. Now, back to Simpson. I know he has the mind. I know he's got a dad who's been a coach, a head coach in college football for 20 years.

He grew up with a football in his hand. He's been around ball. and you see it in his play. And so for every negative, you talk about the 15 starts, and that's a big deal for me, man. But he grew up around ball. He went up against Alabama's defense for four years. He's in a pro system.

All of those things counter that. But here's the jumping off point that I struggle with. You got Mendoza that just everything screams what it takes to be in the NFL. Six, four and a half, 236 at the combine, 35 starts. Then you got Ty Simpson, whose tape is better and more relatable to NFL coaches, right? But 6-1, 211, 211 pounds, injured, you know, battled injuries during the year as the hits started to pile up. And granted, you can excuse that with 126-ranking attack, pass protection broke down. Number one wide receiver, Ryan Williams just disappears late in the season.

So, but he still got injured. He didn't last the whole season and 15 starts. So if I had to take a quarterback number one overall, I am taking Mendoza because it looks like, and the experience is that of what quarterbacks in the league, everyone in the league is 30 plus starts that you would consider a good starter, except for the two guys who are superhuman, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. So you get fewer than 20 starts, and that list is littered with first round quarterbacks who were drafted and were busts in the league. It's a tough call, but when Orlovsky says it, I understand. And I was texting with Dan Dern when he was watching the tape.

And I've texted with people in the league who think that Simpson's better. But the majority in the league think that Mendoza is better. And I think where you get in trouble is you overlook. If you're a purist, Colin, and you are a quarterback aficionado, it is, it's like Beethoven, right? It's like Picasso watching Ty Simpson. But then as a GM, you have to sit back and say, what has worked, what has not worked? And there's a risk evaluation has to go on with Mendoza versus Simpson. And that tilts Mendoza.

All right. One other question, because the two things I want to talk to you about. So a few years ago, the Cardinals drafted Isaiah Simmons from Clemson. And it's the old man without a country. He didn't really have a classic position. And so he came in and they could never quite make it work, although it was a super athlete. I would take, if I was the Jets, I would take David Bailey. Plug and play.

Know what he is. Ceilings lower. Arvel Reese, it's a lot of, well, what if it could be? And I'm like, okay, I don't think the Jets, I don't trust the Jets to figure out the Rubik's cube of a really talented guy. If it was the Rams, take him, they'd figure it out. If it's the Eagles, they'd figured out. So Rvel Reese, I think, is going to go two to the Jets.

Should I be worried if I'm a Jets fan? It's not defined yet what he actually is going to be as a pro. It's interesting. I talked to an executive, high-ranking executive in the league when I was at the Cobbine, and he's with a team that is drafting in the top five. And he's like, here's the challenge, man. We've got probably three of the best players in this draft are at positions that we just don't want to draft, but they're the best players.

And you kind of grow up in this business thinking, don't pass up on Hall of Famers. don't pass up on guys that you know are just going to be great players. But it's Jeremiah Love at running back. It's Caleb Downs at safety. It's Sonny Stiles at off-ball linebacker, right? Then you get to the edges. And here's what he was saying. And I agree with this.

He's like, we got David Bailey, who's by far the best most proven pass rusher. You can't play the run. He can't play the run in the NFL right now. So what are we getting a designated pass rusher? Then you got Arvall Reese. he's a cyborg. You know, he's like, but you better have a plan. Because if you, if now, if it doesn't work out at edge, he's an off ball linebacker who, by the way, he's okay in coverage, but he's not Sunny Stiles.

So if you're going to get stuck with an off ball linebacker in the top five, take Sunny Stiles because he can be that overhang. He can match up. He actually rushes the passer pretty well when he was turned loose. So that's the debate going on. And I look at Stiles and then you look at Reese and Stiles is the off ball. linebacker. He's the former safety. He's the cover guy. Reese is smaller, you know, but he's explosive. He's long. He's fast. So it is a projection. And the thing that we wrapped up our conversation with, and I completely agree with this, is you better be lockstep with your defensive

coordinator if you're drafting Rvel Reese. You better have a very clear plan of how you're going to utilize him. And Matt Patricia was brilliant with that at Ohio State. Matt Patricia's, Patricia's considered one of the smartest guys out there and also one of the best teachers out there. And so they were able to get a lot out of Arvel Reese, but what we saw is not what you're expecting from a top three pick. You need growth as an edge rusher. And you're hoping that it's going to be a Micah Parsons type growth. I think people forget he was an offball lineback when he came in his rookie. There were some injuries and then they moved him to edge and he became what we all know Micah Parsons to be. That's what you're betting on. But it is a bet, Colin.

Yep. Yeah. And I don't like, I don't trust the Jets as poker players. I just don't. It's not an organization. Okay, Todd McShay, hope they're treating you well. If not, give me a call. You do great work, buddy. Say hi to Bill and all the guys doing. I appreciate you, brother. I always have. I'll talk to you soon. Todd McShay. Yeah, Michael Parsons, people forget this about Michael Parsons. They tried him at linebacker. Wasn't good enough in coverage. He's, you know, Mike is more of a, the term used in the NFL Let's see ball get ball. Like, see it, chase it, go. I can remember Hassan Reddick came in. In Arizona for a couple of years, couldn't figure out what to do with them. And they're finally like, dude, just rush the passer. You're great at it.

So with Arvel Reese, is he going to be great in coverage? No, Seils is better there. But he could end up being just a wildly explosive pass rusher. Cyborg is what he said. And I think that's possible. But I just don't trust the jets to unleash the potential. So again, if he was getting drafted by Baltimore, Philadelphia, I'd say take it. 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. Nice. We invented a podcast?

Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We get to ask other 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. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive.

I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She's an outsider to win the French win. 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 Stub's tennis podcast on the Iheart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season, and I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hiring you.

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

Therapy is fantastic. But once again, it does not have a monopoly on healing. That's why I create the resources and that's why I create the community because I really just want you to have more access. On the podcast, cultivating her space, Dr. Dom and Terry Lulmex create a space where black women can show up fully and be heard. It's tough because we're suppressing our emotions and so many of us are like high achieving individuals. Listen to cultivating her space on the IHeart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.