The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - NBA Draft tomorrow

Episode Date: June 21, 2023

Colin looks at the Spurs likely taking generational prospect Victor Wembanyama number 1 overall The NFL has been the most disappointing since 2000 which will surprise you given their popularity Looking at the Giants since Eli Manning's retirement and why they need to retain star RB Saquon BarkleySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Oh, lots going on. It is a Wednesday live in Los Angeles. It's the hurt. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, I should button my shirt. Thanks for making us part of your day. There we go. Kevin Clark of the ringer stops by in one hour. So the NBA draft, you really like this, is tomorrow night.

You're a big fan of this. You really, really into this. Now, I'll watch the first five or six picks. There's some guys that I think are interesting. Then I'll keep the TV on. But I don't attack it like I do the NFL draft because the NFL draft, because the NFL draft, there's great players fifth, sixth, seventh round. I always feel NBA draft.

There's about four impactful players over the course of a draft that will, like, an impact in the playoffs like like Wiggins did last year with the Warriors or Gordon this year. So we're both going to admit Victor Wenbanyama's number one, right? Yes, that's obvious. Yes, yes. That's obvious. So I was thinking about that. He threw out like the first pitch, Mariners, Yankees game.

And to thank God he's not playing baseball. It was very, very, very ugly. He is in a very, very, very rare class. How rare? I went back to 1979. And in my opinion, Victor Wembeyanama will be the 10th, not only consensus number one, but no red flags. Yes, he's thin. That's what they said about Anthony Davis.

Anthony Davis didn't have any red flags. Wasn't much of a talker, but people liked him. But he was thin. Yeah, guys 6.11 and up are thin at 19 years old. A.D. Dwight Howard, LeBron, Duncan, Shack, David Robinson, Ewing, Akeem, and Magic, 1979. No red flags. Ten players, 44 years. And I'm not talking just consensus number one.

When John Wall came out, he couldn't shoot. He's a guard, and he was out of control. Which, by the way, in his NBA career, a lot of turnovers, a lot of points, never really elevated teammates, couldn't shoot. He was a consensus one. So was Ben Simmons, but Ben couldn't make the tournament. He was aloof. People didn't necessarily like him. He couldn't shoot.

Both were great prospects, but I'm talking no red flags. Being thin for a big guy is not a red flag. Anthony Davis had a smaller than you, you know, waste for a big guy, but he put on weight pretty quickly. Ten for ten, what do they have in common? They're all big men. Centers, forwards, and magic. Magic's the biggest point guard for about, you know, until recently ever,

six, eight and a half. he was a historically huge point guard. When in doubt in the draft, go size. Denver just won the championship. We know Yokic is great. What was your takeaway? Man, they're big. The Bucks a couple years ago.

Damn, they're big. That Raptors team, Underdog beat the Warriors. Big, long. Laker team in the bubble. Big. Length, big. Pollo Bancaro. number one picking last year's draft.

You see him play for Orlando 610, 250. That kid is scoring points. He's just, he's just bullying over people. So my guess is, if I was some NBA GM, Victor Webb Mniam is your number one. But I would probably take Brandon Miller over Scoot Henderson. Knowing Scoot Henderson will sell more tickets, more athletic, more fun, more electrifying. But Brandon Miller's long, he's skilled, got a big, frame. He runs the court really well. He's a big man. I've seen small dynamic guys my whole life.

Even the ones I love Steph Curry. He got hurt early? He's hurt now. John Morant, banged up, hurt. Derek Rose, John Wall, Markell Fultz. So when you watch the NBA playoffs, the takeaway isn't always who as the best player. Yokic was, but that's not who necessarily wins. It's not the most stars. Brooklyn had those a couple years ago. It's not. not. It is, I know we all love small ball, but by and large in this league, Steph Curry's an exception who led his team to multiple titles. When were the Warriors at their best? When they got Kevin Durant, 6-11. Go size. The only 10 since 1979, not only consensus number ones, didn't really have any red flags at all. If you're a

guard and can't shoot, that's a red flag. If you're a ball handler out of control turnovers, that's a red flag and can't shoot. Or you're aloof. People don't like you. Can't shoot. Those are issues. Victor Weniamas, one of the ten. So I saw something this morning.

Not much can rock my world at 4.45 in the morning. But I saw this this morning. Now, for our radio audience, this is hard to describe. But for our TV audience, I'm going to put it up. I saw this on the interweb this morning. It's four rows, eight across. since 2000, 23 years, the most playoff wins in the NFL. So for our radio audience, the first row is New England almost has double everybody else, 30, Brady Belichick.

But after that, it's recognizable, well-run organizations. Philadelphia is 16, Ravens 16, Steelers 15, Packers 14. You know, then all of a sudden you can see the Colts. A lot of that's Peyton Manning, the Chiefs at 12. That's Patrick Mahomes. You know, then you get to the second group, and there's, you know, there's some really good giants with Eli Manning, Niners in that. The bottom row is who you'd expect. Raiders, lions, Cleveland, Jags, Washington with one.

But look where the Cowboys are. Four, that's with Tony Romo and Dak, B-plus quarterbacks. That's as the richest franchise in the league. that's with over the last five or six years, the weaker conference. Four playoff wins in 23 years. That's half of the Carolina Panthers. That's too fewer than the Jets who've been terrible for over a decade. That's a win less than Arizona,

who players will tell you the worst run league in the team in the front league. In fact, forget 2000. You have to go back another four years before that to find Dallas's fifth playoff win. So it's five. In like 27 years, Blake Bortles, Blake Bortle since 2000 has the same number of playoff wins as DAC. In life, you are what your priorities. are. You want to be the best parent? Probably what you are. I want to be the richest guy.

Probably making a good living. But the Cowboys priority, branding, money, marketing, business, Jerry, dollars. And they have made a fortune. Their practice facilities are remarkable. Jerry's world is remarkable. His yacht is unbelievable. New England leads this chart. What were the sayings in New England during the dynasty? Do your job no days off. That was their priority. Winning.

No luxury. Wasn't about branding. Wasn't about marketing. Brady didn't do a commercial of note for 10 years. Do your job. No days off. I know. It's that whole toxic willfulness that people talk about.

It works. So I say this every year with the Dallas Cowboys, and I'll say it again. That'll be pretty good. Six or seven really good players, maybe one star. That's what they've been for the last 25 years. Six or seven pretty good players, one star. Now it's Micah. Micah is their big star.

But not a legitimate Super Bowl contender. There are three guarantees in the last 25. years of my life. Death taxes and the Cowboys being overvalued. Four playoff wins. Put that chart up again. Isn't that unbelievable? They are in the class. They're not slightly above it. They're in the class of what we view as the worst run franchise in the league for the last 20 years. The Texans, the Raiders, Washington, Cleveland, and Detroit. It's in the same group, Arizona. Until Burrow, Cincinnati. They're in the same class. That's what they are. With Romo and Dack, with the best funding, with the biggest brand, and a state with no income tax, highly attractive to free agents.

Middle of the country, big brand on Fox. Four playoff wins, 23 years. Got to go back four more years to get the fifth. Jay Mack and you think I'm hard on the New York Jets. Your Jets have two more wins. Yeah, I probably should be sending Mark Sanchez a text right. now, he alone has four playoff wins as a Jets quarterback. And all we're on the road. I remember all of them fondly. Listen, this is staggering. And if you look at that list, three of the top four teams are in the AFC. So it's tough to even make an argument that while the NFC's been loaded, Dallas has struggled in the postseason. No. Well, they've been pretty bad, pretty rotten. Here it is. Yeah. So Patriots, Raven, Steelers. Yeah. And whether or not we all love the coach or whatever, those we view as well-run franchises.

I would say there's eight per row. The Hunt family, you know, Paul Allen, Packers, Roonies, Ravens, Bob Kraft, Jed York. Most of those in the front row we look at, it's some, not all of them have had great quarterbacks, Philadelphia. Some have had great quarterbacks and no owner, Green Bay. Some are more known for defense than offense. Steelers. But I mean, what you see in that front row is generally well-run operations.

That's one constant. From the top down. Owner matters. You know, and if I could take a dig at a team I don't like, is it the Miami Dolphins with one playoff win this century? The Miami Dolphins. With that owner, Stephen Ross, who gets in trouble, they have never been able to rebound from losing Dan Marino.

They just haven't. Yeah. And the other thing about Miami's, interesting is a lot of times they're like close to 500. They've rarely been awful, but they've had so many coaching moves and so much chaos. And if you look at the bottom, the one thing you'd say about Stephen Ross, he's not been a great owner. Has not. Now, Miami's supposed to be this free agent destination, sunny, the tax benefits. They've landed some good players. Really? One playoff win this century? I know. So it's, it is interesting, right? I love it. That's a great,

Great little chart you pulled that. I saw that at 5 in the morning. Got all worked out. I thought you would open up bashing Kevin Durant for his comments, but I'm assuming you'll save it for later. Kevin Durant's fine. I love Kevin Durant. He's my guy, but Jesus.

Jimmy. Come on now. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

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

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

podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot,

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your part. Podcast. Probably good news for the New York Giants, although they don't have a choice. Saquan Barkley, their star running back, and the Giants are now resuming talks for a long-term contract because the Giants have to sign him. If you take out Seq Juan Barclay from the Giants, they only have one other, what I would call elite skill player in an offensive league, Darren Waller, tight end, and he's rarely available. He's misfifference.

14 games in two years. He's really talented, but you get him about every other week. So Saquan Barkley has in 2023 with almost no running back has leverage. That's what happens when you overpay for an average quarterback. They have to have him. So you have to go back to a young Zique in Dallas where you had a running back, Jerry signed him two years early, that the team felt like we've got to sign him to elevate our young quarterback.

New York sports has mostly been disappointing, ugly, underachieving, and a disaster for the last 10 to 12 years. The Yankees and the Mets are following suit this year, both disappointing. Brooklyn Nets went and got three stars imploded. And a big reason why is poor ownership and poor management. And there's another reason. We know that when stars and superstars leave organization, coach or quarterback, basketball star, Chaos follows. Brady leaves New England. They're a 500 team. They went from the reigning dynasty for 20 years to a 500 team. May finish fourth this year. Tim Duncan left the Spurs. They got the number one pick tomorrow. Jim Harbaugh left the Niners. They were a mess the following year. But you never think about this with the New York Giants. Eli Manning. So we had a 16-year career, but I would say 12 were prime years. Year two, he was 11 and 5, and year 13.

He was 11 and 5. So for 12 years, Eli Manning was fantastic. Six playoff appearances. At that time, the NFC was better. He was in a very good division. And beat Brady and Belichick, head-to-head twice. Throws to David Tyree and Mario Manningham. Sub-optimal wide receiving targets, tight-end targets.

Those were his big completions. If you take the Giants out of Eli Manning's prime until today, 31, 66 and 1, they're awful. It's the second worst team in the NFL. Last 25 years, one player, one player in his prime for 12 years has held this team together. Otherwise, they're a mess. Second worst team in the league. Ten coaches, last 10, two really good. cross your fingers, Brian Daibald.

We know with Harbaugh, he's a star, we know with Brady and with Duncan. I don't think people understand how good Eli Manning was. I mean, Plaxico was his one great wide receiver, briefly. Mario Manningham, David Tyree. Had a very good coach. I like Tom Coughlin a lot. But this management with the Giants, the GM's, Gettlement was a mess, Jerry Reese was hit and miss. but take out the prime of a great player.

What are they? They're awful. That's why they have to sign, say, Gwan Barclay, because they have so overpaid for a C quarterback. Maybe C plus if you count the Vikings games. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

Let's start with Sean Payton and the Broncos. Big, big offseason for the team. and according to safety, Kareem Jackson, Peyton is doing things that Jackson hasn't seen in his 13-year NFL career, saying it's no disrespect to any of my other coaches. Peyton's attention to detail and the way he's teaching everybody, the younger guys might not understand it now. I know later on they will appreciate it.

Some of the things that he's doing now, I have an experience. Well, that's what happens when you have a great coach. Same with Andy Reid. Players say stuff like that. Oh, we didn't do these details. Oh, we didn't do that. I mean, I like Vic Fangio, he's a coordinator. Nathaniel Hackett is probably a position coach.

Sean Payton's a legend. The gap in any business between legend and a position coach, a coordinator, it's a massive gap in this league. I mean, there was always a gap, J-Mack. There was always a gap in this league between the best coaches and the average coaches. But then you throw in the cultural shift now where the league is basically said, for safety priorities, you can't do this, this, this, this defensively. So now the gap between the elite offensive coaches, McVeigh, Reed, Peyton, Shanahan. I think Mike McDaniel's going to become one.

Zach Taylor may be that guy. But, I mean, like, really high on offensive coaches and average defensive coaches, it is a mile. I mean, the last three years, look at the teams in the final four. Offensive coach, offensive coach. last year, Super Bowl, offensive coach, offensive coach. Also, Peyton had a year off to really recalibrate,

maybe look at some new ways to attack offensively. And when he was in here for all fall, like he would talk about stuff that he's seeing in the league right now, and you're just like, man, you could see the wheels turning in his head. I would not be surprised if Denver just looks like incredible out of the gate. I saw a story yesterday. You don't know what to trust on the bird app, but it was like Josh Jacobs and the Raiders not getting along.

Denver's name came up. And I thought, what bank are they using? Aren't they out of money? I mean, they've got some good young players. They haven't paid yet, but they went and got the Raiders backup quarterback to weaken the Raiders if Garoppolo got hurt, right? So now there's rumors Denver likes Josh Jacobs, who's a horse. He's a great running back.

I don't know how they'd afford him, but I saw it on the Internet last night. And I thought when we were sitting here for 20 weeks with Sean Payton, he's going a million. I went to dinner with him one time. He's going a million miles an hour above the shoulders. He's thinking about stuff. He taught me more than any guest I've ever had, and I'm not sure there's a second place. That was another meal where I did not get extended the invite. But anyways, you mentioned Josh Jacobs complaining about the Raiders.

Didn't DeVante Adams just complain about them a couple weeks ago? What a disaster that is. All right, let's move on to the NBA. NBA offseason is heating up. Now, listen, this LeBron story, I was not aware of it, but according to Bill Ryder of CBS Sports, The duo of LeBron and AD may be wearing thin, and there's a power struggle between Rob, Palinka, and LeBron. Here's Bill Ryder.

I've heard he's over Anthony Davis. He's frustrated with the guy. He doesn't believe in his toughness for obvious reasons. So I'm extremely curious if the Lakers, I don't think they will, but do anything really bold. There's a bit of a power struggle or a political struggle going on between LeBron and Polinka. LeBron obviously wants what he wants, but I think Plink has got some political capital now with Jeannie Buss from that organization. And frankly, with all of us who thought he was just an idiot, he's not as it related to me to GM. So I don't think Plink is just going to bow down to what LeBron wants, especially moving on from Anthony Davis.

But I do think that LeBron's over AD, and I think there's a, you know, not zero percent chance and something like that could happen. By the way, when I suggested this late in the year, people reached out to me. people reached out to me in the higher echelon of LeBron's camp. Where did you hear that? All I'm saying is LeBron watched Yokuch and AD, and AD showed up every other game offensively. Supposed to be in his prime. And Yokic averaged a triple double against him? Yokch ate him alive.

Now, AD not only couldn't stop him, but AD's offense. I mean, LeBron in his prime never got dominated in a series. So AD in that series was dominated by Yokic. Let's do what we do. Let's spin this forward. LeBron upset with AD, goes to Polinka. He can't just go up to Palinca and say, what are we doing? It's LeBron.

He's got to have a game plan. Please tell me it does not involve Kyrie Irving. And there's something else out there that you can get for Anthony Davis. I think LeBron likes Anthony Davis. Because I think LeBron mostly gets along with every teammate. He's just a very fun. LeBron has an ego, but I think LeBron mostly elevates teammates. I've never met a guy in the league that said they hated playing with LeBron.

I've talked to six or seven guys. Everybody likes LeBron. He's fine. I mean, I would hope they didn't hate playing with LeBron. He made them champions because he's one of the best players of the history of the world. Well, it's just same thing. But be that as it may, nobody, I mean, there were players that did not like Michael Jordan. Orlando Woolridge didn't like him. Yeah, but back then, Jordan wasn't winning anything. He was just putting up padding stats. So I don't think LeBron and A.D. are at odds. But I think LeBron's a really smart basketball player, watches Yokic and his prime dominate him, understands that AD gives you offense about every other game, and he can't win a championship that way.

LeBron goes to Polinka. Damia Lillard is going to ask out here pretty soon. Miami wants him. Milwaukee Bucks might want him. Can we get Damia Liller for Anthony Davis? Would you consider that? The Portland Trailblazers? What is the – who is the player, I have.

said mid-season to keep your eye on, it's re-percolating. Paul George. I think it works. So Clippers, Paul George, okay. I could get into that. Paul George's to Portland, right? Yeah, so the Clippers last year were the second oldest team. Portland was the fourth youngest, and Portland has three first-round picks. The Clippers are moving into a new building in a year. You're going to try to sell that season ticket holders to Kauai Leonard and Paul George, or Scoot Henderson. Or the kid you like in Portland, Simons.

Simons, I mean, Shaden Sharp is a better. Okay. But my takeaway is the Clippers are old and they've got to get young and they're going into a new building and they've got to have a young start. Can you imagine going into the new building with Paul George and Kauai and neither's available to play on opening night? So I keep your eye and what does Dame need? He needs a wing. Keep your eye on the, it's rumors are happening with Paul George.

There's a story this morning that the Clippers are thinking about breaking him up. If I'm Portland. Give up the number three pick. I get Paul George. I give you... Wait, so Portland keeps Dame? Portland keeps Dame. Dame says I want to stay.

Dame, Paul George, you've got some size. You give up the number three pick and one of your young players. We need to work on getting LeBron a little bit better. I want to see LeBron make another deep playoff front. I want to help the Warriors and the Lakers. I don't want to help the Clippers. They're not fun to watch.

Final story. Now, Colin, we could do an hour on this, okay? Yesterday, we talked about Kevin Durant being, you know, trigger-happy on Twitter and always just firing back. You know, I've gotten in a bunch of DM scraps with him on Instagram. Well, yesterday, KD decided to respond to some fan who talked about James Hardin's influence on the NBA. KD responded, fact. And one of the most influential in the history of the game. It's insane.

Nobody sees it. Kevin Durant then added, Kyrie and Russ too inspired a whole generation. They don't get enough credit for it, though. Now, this obviously comes on the heels of Carl Anthony Towns. Remember last week? He's like, oh, I'm influential. When I'm done, people are going to be like, he taught us a lot and he was influential, which is total bunk.

But Kevin Durant's trying to sell this idea that Kyrie Irving, James Hardin and Russell Westbrook, three of the most selfish players in the NBA. Inspired. Are inspiring. Go ahead. The floor is yours. I ranted on this about my podcast.

I probably went too hard at KD. They're talented. They're not. inspirational. Like my mom was inspirational, right? Her story coming from England, her troubles as a child, that's inspirational. I think the word's wrong. People can be talented. I've never, who is Kyrie inspiring? Well, and that's where we go into problems. He's inspiring because he was cool. He did viral videos. He did Uncle Drew. He's got the elite layup package. He's got a bunch of guys in Brooklyn who showed up at an arena and were chanting whatever nonsense.

Like, he's got a crew. People are behind Kyrie. They like his whole, you know, the way he writes on social media, like Cam Newton, whatever that gibberish is. Like, a lot of people defend Kyrie and love him. But, Colin, I think of Kyrie Irving. I think of selfish. He's not a women player.

He's erratic. He's a talented erratic player. He pushes back against the establishment saying, I'm going AWOL. Sorry, my sister's having a birthday. Middle of the season. I'm out. Well, a GM told me this years ago. Everybody thinks the NBA is about getting a star.

No, it's not. It's about getting the right star. And the right star is a lot about personality, not just talent. Like, you know, Jason Tatum is the right kind of player. Works hard, both ends. Jason's a really hardworking kid. He gets better every year. You know, Jalen Brown in Boston, same thing.

He gets better every year. Those are the right kind of stars. Be that a champion, you know, ring or not, those are the right kind of stars. Kyrie's a star, but I don't think he elevates teammates. I think he's selfish. I think he plays when he wants. I think he's hard to play with. So you can get both.

I mean, Kyrie's got a ring and Tatum doesn't. Who would you build around? Not even close. I'd build around Jason Tatum, not Kyrie Irving. I say the word inspiring. Don't you think leader? Leaders inspire. Is James Harden a leader?

No, he's talented. Is Kyrie Irving a leader? No, he's talented. Is Russell Westbrook a leader? Very productive and talented. He's been on like six teams and six years for a reason. I know. He's not a leader.

And that's... These three guys are leading an entire generation of young basketball players to only care about dribbling, sidestep threes, flashy highlight real stuff, not leading teams and being winning players. I believe that we do a disservice to basketball a little bit in the media that we talk about the erratic players. We talk about jaw, we talk about Zion. But if you look at the NBA and you're totally honest, the best players in the league, Steph, Yokic, Yonis, LeBron are stable. um coachable um adaptable i don't think they get as much press because they're not as uh inflammatory uh

they're not on instagram i think 90 percent of the stars in the league i would love to build around devon booker jamal murray i mean the list goes on and on you want to go and play with them but i think you know and we do a bit of a disservice that's why i don't like talking about kairie irving and i and i try not to talk about westbrook in big segments i think we do a disservice i think we do a disservice i think they're outliers where they're dynamic but flawed. They can be rigid. I think when I think of Kyrie, the word I think of is erratic.

They're going to the Hall of Fame. We got that. We know they put up big points and they're talented. We get all that. But inspiring is a whole different ball of wax or whatever the saying is. I really like KD. I really do. I also have come to terms in my life that sometimes I just see the world differently.

Like I've had people who are smart and successful. and they voted for Donald Trump. And I'm like, we see the world differently, but they weren't dummies. Like, not everybody, you know, so I think, I just come to terms. I see the world of basketball different than KD. He plays it. He's in it. He's a bit of a wanderer.

I would have never in one minute decided, I mean, to leave Steph for Kyrie. That would be like leaving Mahomes for, you know, whoever's erratic in the, And Baker Mayfield. You'd be like, no, now Baker's not as good as Kyrie as a comp. But, I mean, I think just, I've come to terms with Aaron Rogers and Kevin Garnett,

Kevin Durant, just see the world differently than I do. So what, let's guess here. Why is Kevin Durant saying something like this? Why would he put this out there? Because he's friends and he wants to defend his guys. And I think, you know,

he knows it's being read. That's a lot of it. He knows it's being read. It's disappointing. Oh, it's all right. It's Durant. J. Mack with the news. Well,

That's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Live News. So really bad news. On my next opinion for JMAQ. Kevin Clark, ring her next hour. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. What do you get when you combine a three-time manager of the year

at a three-time national sports writer of the year? It's the Book of Joe podcast. Hey, this is Tom Verducci from Fox Sports, MLB Network, and Sports Illustrated. And I'm Joe Madden, and we're going to be around to talk a little bit about managerial decisions, playoff games, and what may have occurred in the dugout, maybe in the 1980s. I can't wait for this, Joe. We're going to dive into what goes on in the dugout and behind the scenes in Major League Baseball. Cars, whined, whatever else we want to talk about. Listen to the Booker Joe podcast on the Iheart radio app, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits. the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars family. and so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Saturday, it's baseball night and America on Fox. The Astros and the Dodgers. have history. Now, the two perennial title contenders collide again as Jose Altuve leads Houston against Mukibet's in L.A. Where the twins take on the Tigers, it all begins at 7 Eastern on Fox. Sometimes we have, we romanticize history. I was thinking about this the other day. I read a story. I think it was in the Atlantic. And the story was about how our brains work. So people tend to react in the present tense. Today, tomorrow yesterday, the present tense, to negativity. But the way our mind works, we tend to remember positive things. I've said this before. I grew up in the Pacific

Northwest. The town I grew up in, it rained all the time. It's one of the wettest places in the continental United States. I don't remember in my childhood a rainy day. I remember driving my bikes in the summer, my little motorbike over the sand dunes, playing with my dog corkey in the sand dunes. I remember hanging out at the docks in Westport, Washington. I remember playing basketball with my friend, Jack Jones at his house. I don't remember a single rainy day because that's the way our brains work. It's why women can have six, seven kids. They don't remember pain. You don't remember struggles. You tend to remember good times. but in the moment you feed off negativity.

That's why a lot of times you follow negative people on the internet or you're attracted, you can't stop reading your mentions. That's the way our brains work. And so people look at Matt Stafford coming to the Rams and winning a Super Bowl and they forget how tough and turbulent it was in the middle of the season. If they don't go out and get Vaughn Miller and OBJ, they don't get and win the Super Bowl. It got choppy in the middle of the season with Matt Stafford and McVeigh and Whitworth and Cooper Cup and Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald. They were stacked.

They don't get to the Super Bowl without Vaughn Miller and OBJ. Those guys were really important. People forget Tom Brady. Team was seven and five. They got a huge break. They got a buy late in the season and then face two teams with interim coaches, Detroit, Atlanta. They faced the weakest teams on their schedule. They got healthy and they got high.

against horrible teams and then got a little bit of a break in scheduling in the playoffs. And so I saw Jordan Whitehead was in Tampa with Tom and now he's a jet with Aaron Rogers. And he said, it's the same thing feels the exact same way. It's like, oh, it's not. First of all, Tom Cherry picked a stacked roster. Aaron was traded to the jets. But think about it. Brady went to a roster that was stacked with productive wide receivers, productive tight ends,

loaded front seven. Offensive line was ranked seventh by PFF. It just had a hole at right tackle and they drafted Tristan Wurfs. O line, receiver, tied end front seven, loaded. Oh yeah, he went to a Super Bowl winning offensive coach. He cherry picked a weak division. His only threat was an old Drew Breeze and a weaker conference. Aaron was traded to a team with very young receivers.

They don't have a great tied end. The O-line's not close to elite. It's an unproven defensive head coach in a stacked division and a significantly tougher conference. Brady picked, patiently picked a stack roster, then brought Gronk with him, right? He picked a stack roster and cherry picked three to four guys. Aaron traded to a roster with questions.

question marks, no recent momentum, and offensively, you're crossing your fingers at left tackle. Despite all that with Aaron Rogers, despite Matt Stafford going to a team with a Hall of Famer Corner, Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Donald, Cooper Cup, Andrew Whitworth, a brilliant young coach. They needed to go get Von Miller and OBJ stars to really get them out of the bumps and the turbulence of mid-season. And despite that with Brady, they were seven and five, 12 games in, stacked roster. My point is, it's not the same. Aaron was traded to a team with a really good defense, but lots of question marks, and it

should be noted. And J. Mack would admit this. If you have a great offense, it will be great next year, and next year and next year. There's dependability with a great offensive coach, a great quarterback, a good old line, weapons. Defense is weird in the NFL. A lot of it depends on the quality of quarterbacks you faced.

So you will see regularly in the NFL a defense be rated number three in the league and then become rated 14. Number four in the league and it's 17 because you face better quarterbacks. I mean, the sport now is tilted toward the offense. You can only do so much. So again, if the Jets have to face

Mike McDaniel and Tua twice, okay, it's different. Mac Jones with an offense. Offensive coordinator, Juju Smith-Schuster, maybe DeAndre Hopkins twice, that's a different team. So my takeaway is our brains go back to Tom Brady and Matt Stafford. Oh, I just remember holding the trophy. Those were bumpy rides. Brady needed a by-late and an incredibly fortuitous schedule.

And Matt Stafford surrounded by studs everywhere and a proven offensive coach. he had Vaughn Miller. Don't you remember when Vaughn Miller came to the Rams? I thought he was done. I was like, he shot. He was fantastic. Von Miller was unbelievable. In fact, he was so good, he got a massive contract with Buffalo. And then OBJ, everybody was like, oh, he's a distraction in Cleveland. Remember how surprised we were, how good he was by week two? He immediately had an impact to the Rams. You couldn't double Cooper Cup. So it's like, this. This idea that Aaron, who was Stafford said, I want to go to

L.A. Brady said, I want to go to Tampa. The Jets said, you're going to New York. I'm just saying, our memories, oh, it's all holding trophies. Brady and Stafford needed breaks and help with

much, much better. That Rams team had, think about how good that Rams team won the Super Bowl is. Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, Cooper Cup, OBJ, Vaughn Miller, Andrew Whitworth, those are Hall of Fame level players. Now, OBJ won't because he's missed too many games. The rest of those guys are going to make the Hall of Fame.

It's saying it's not the same. Memory only remembers the good stuff. Those were bumpy, bumpy rides and they got breaks. Now, the Jets may get a break at the trading deadline and find somebody. I think the one thing I'll say this year that you're going to see is because next year's NFL draft has two superstar level quarterbacks. like two A-plus-plus guys. If teams start out one and seven, you can go shopping.

You may be able to go to an Arizona or a Raiders and just go shopping and take good players. Would not be surprised. So that's the advantage for the teams at the top. Because I think the Jets schedule, here's another thing. Brady got very lucky with his stacked roster because their schedule was incredibly weak late. The best quarterback he faced, I think he faced Mahomes, Rogers, but he got an old Drew Brees. Aaron's schedule in a highly intense, urgent, loud media market is brutal to start. Like, hard.

So if they go three and three, the wolves are out, there's a lot of criticism. How does he react to that? He can be kind of rabbit ears from time to time. So I just think there's a lot of potential bumps for Aaron. I do think they'll be good. And I do think at the trade deadline with a couple of teams looking at Caleb Williams and may just go south fast, there's going to be an ability to pick-up players at the trading deadline on, you know, Arizona's got five or six interesting players.

Raiders have four or five interesting players. They can be available? Yeah. Can I ask, you said Brady went to a stacked roster in Tampa. Okay, they missed the playoffs. James was like the pick-six machine. Okay, so they had Evans and Godwin. But if memory serves, they added Fournet because Brady went there. I think Antonio Brown because Brady went there. Gront came out of retirement, right? So, like, they went there to play with Brady. Yeah.

Rogers goes to New York and kind of drags Alan Lazzard. Who's a number three receiver? I mean, Antonio Brown was a month. He was like the number three or four guy when he went to the table. That's because they had great players. I mean, think about their weapons. Think about the first year. Weapons.

I won't even count the running backs. It was Cameron Brate was the third. Gromk was O.J. Howard. O.J. Howard was, yeah. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Scottie Miller, Antonio Brown. I won't count Tyler Johnson. That's a lot of players.

And remember, that offensive line, Ali Marpet, great, Ryan Jensen, great. Donovan Smith, Passable, left tackle. And then they drafted Tristan Wirthes, who was a home run at rape. He may have been the second best right tackle in the league by the end of the rookie year. I think he allowed like no sacks. Yeah, it was an insane number.

So they went out. They had a real issue on their own line. They hit a home run with it. But your point is great. So Tampa struggled. They were, I think, 7 and 5 going into the by week. It was choppy. The famous Brady and Bruce Ariens, golf, whatever it was, then they sorted things out.

Stafford was struggling. I'll never forget sitting in a bar watching the pick sixes and an awful game against off the Titans. Remember that? It got really choppy. So they both were, I think 7 and 5. And then they excelled. If the jet starts slow, let's not say it's over.

It's a failure. Let's just let everybody know they might start slow. The schedule is tough. but they will be much, much, much better in November, December, right? I think that's very fair. I think they'll be choppy early. But all I'm saying is this stuff is more turbulent than we think it is. That's Stafford, and those Brady years, that stuff was choppy.

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 Dave. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me.

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

It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me.

Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.