The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - People are overreacting

Episode Date: April 3, 2023

Anthony Davis is finally being the player the Lakers need him to be Colin defends LSU head coach Kim Mulkey from criticisms after she won another National Championship Thoughts on taunting during the Women's National Championship game   Guest: Albert BreerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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And however, you may be listening or watching. Thanks for making us part of your day. J. Mack is off this week. Ryan's going to be filling in with the updates. We are ready to go. Lincoln Riley stops by at USC today. Some NFL stuff. Women's College basketball, which I'll get.

to in a second a spectacular last couple of days of women's college basketball and some polarizing figures which always makes sports better. I do want to start with this though. I never think I'm unfair. Sometimes I'm harsh. I'm very opinionated, but I've been really hard on Anthony Davis. I love when he came to the Lakers. But by and large, you never know what you're going to get. He's hurt too much. Charles Barkley nicknamed him street clothes because he's just never available. But we've got to be fair. When he's great, he deserves to be told and you deserve to be told he's great. He has become great. So the Lakers won again. Anthony Davis has emerged as the star everybody was hoping he would be. He is tough. He played Friday through pain in the fourth quarter. He went

down hurt earlier. He's been consistently dominant. He's been an on-the-floor leader. He's been playing big minutes. His reputation was always well-deserved even before he came to Los Angeles. He wasn't tough. He was kind of soft. He would play himself into shape. He wasn't totally committed. He was a great number two. You got talent but zero leadership. But, but at least in the last couple of weeks, and I've always said he's a top seven-eight player in the league, he has been consistently, not only great, but consistently available, consistently intense. And in year 20, this is what LeBron needed after they won in the bubble. LeBron can dish out the 11 assists.

Anthony Davis is going to be the guy who drops 40. That's what LeBron was hoping would have happened after the Lakers won in Orlando in the bubble. But he came in out of shape. He didn't work out in the offseason. He got banged up, as I've said many times, your body will treat you as you age like you treat your body. If you were a smoker and you never exercised and you ate poorly, you're going to look like the bottom of a barge by the time you're 61 years old. Take care of yourself. And AD's been one of those guys with great tools, significant talent, got John Caliperi's only title at Kentucky.

Overwhelming physical presence on both ends of the floor. but you never know what you're going to get. And now LeBron only playing about 25 minutes in the last four or five games. That's what he can deliver. If you put LeBron with the 10 best players in the sport right now and AD is one of them, on a lot of nights, LeBron's going to be the two. He's still a graceful two. He still has occasional jet fuel.

He can rise and be the best player in moments, but you're not getting it for a very long time. So I've said this before. AD has become actually a trouble spot for LeBron. LeBron has to play at this point in his career with somebody that is available. That's why LeBron and Coie Leonard would not be a good match. LeBron has to play with somebody who's out there 76 nights a year. So AD is a problem matchup, and I don't think AD has the ability to stay healthy for three and four playoffs series. But right now, he has been magnificent.

So LeBron, excellent defense, a healthy Anthony Davis, and Austin Reeves undrafted, highly productive. Gives you 17, 18 points, a lot of assists, rebounds can pass, looks like a team that could win multiple playoff series. And here is the coach, Darwin Ham after yesterday's win. We always said we want to get stronger as the season gets longer and be playing our best basketball at the right time. Well, the time is definitely right. And everybody's in a good, good rhythm. And, you know, starting with him first and foremost. He understands wholeheartedly what we need him to do.

And he's coming out and trying to do that. For the record, LeBron, like Magic Johnson, has always been completely comfortable with somebody else taking up the scoring slack. I've said the most remarkable number about LeBron James was he averaged about 27, 28 points. a game as a junior in high school and then as a senior, only average one point more. He could average 50. That's not his game. LeBron's O has been much more magic than Michael. It's not about points. It's about winning and elevating others. So this is actually what LeBron wanted several years ago. It took a while. Cross your fingers on health. But right now, defensively, the way they're playing,

if they play Denver in the first round, I'd give the Lakers a very strong chance to win. just took a while. So the women's national championship game, I don't know what the rating is, but it's going to be gigantic. And for the last couple of weeks, the ratings have been gigantic. Kim Mulkey is the coach of LSU.

And many people think she's obnoxious, and I would admit she does dress like a disco ball. But my entire life, I have watched communities and the media, fans support male coaches who are schmucks, who bully, who are outspoken. Bobby Knight not only said horrible things, he did horrible things.

Saw what he did with Patrick Reed. He once dumped a police officer in a trash can, throwing chairs across the court, and you defended him the entire time. The comment he made to Connie Chung, you sat there and said, well, I know what he was trying to say. I still don't, and it was grotesque.

Throwing chairs, doing bad things, bullying other coaches. Read some books about Bobby Knight. Not the greatest guy in the world. But yet communities supported him until he didn't win a lot. My entire life, I have watched male coaches be obnoxious, scream, debase athletes. And you know what I always hear? Ah, but his players love him. Well, her players love Kim Mulkey when she get in a book deal or four.

Yes, she can be a little over the top. Yes, she's anti-Vax. You still put your arms around Aaron Rogers. So is he, frankly. So are a lot of people in America. A lot of people had skepticism about the vaccine. Some of it perhaps warranted. People didn't love her opinion or the way she handled Brittany Griner.

Brittany Griner was polarizing. There were a lot of different opinions on Brittany Greider. Yes, she can be wrong and opinionated, but we've always been okay with male coaches as long as they win. And not only does she win, she wins like nobody else ever. She won a title as a player and as an assistant and as a head coach. I don't have to love her. Belichick and Popovich, I think now feel outdated, but even in their prime, I thought they were difficult, over the top, and often blubes.

Belichick doesn't have to treat the media like that. Popovich doesn't either. They do and they still have people worshipping them. And my entire life I've seen this. Bad guys. I've seen male athletes do horrible things. You never let go. I've seen male coaches do horrible things, say horrible things. I don't have to agree with Kim Mulkie, but she's authentic. She believes what she says, even if I think she's wrong, she's strong, her players love her. Remember, that's always the out, right? No matter what you said about Bobby Knight, no matter what you say about any male coach, he can be high school, AAU college, but his players love him.

And he makes his players better, and he wins. Kim Mulkey, check, check, check. I'm waiting for big appearances on network shows and book deals now, because that's what we've done forever. Listen, she's, you know, polarizing. In college sports, power of personality is a huge thing. Remember, in professional sports, a coach picks you out of a draft. But in college sports, the players pick the coach.

Her outfits, her opinions, and lots of parts of America, people along. with them. LSU's always been a sports power. They're good at college baseball, college football, Dale Brown, and now Kim Mulkey. But my entire existence as a sportscaster has been defending men who not only say bad things, but do bad things. So we're going to defend Kim Mulkey on some of that stuff. We disagree with too, right? That's only fair, right? Here's the winning coach. LSU was the better team after. With about a minute and 30 to go, I couldn't hold it. Got very emotional. That's really not like me until that final buzzer goes off, but I knew we were going to hold on and win this game and I don't know if it's the mere fact

that we are doing this in my second year back home. I don't know if it was the fact that I am home. I don't know if it was looking across there at my daughter. daughter and my grandchildren. I don't know if it was looking across at Ellis. I don't know what it was, but I lost it. I got to be honest, in the history of college sports, I don't like most of the winning coaches. I don't.

I think they're bullies. The yelling and the screaming. I've never once in my life got better when somebody screamed at me. Not once. I don't think players generally do, although I understand occasional volume. but I do see a double standard a lot. You can go back to the 70s in Bobby Knight every decade. There's multiple male coaches who just say and do bad things,

and that community always has their back. I don't agree with mostly what Kim Mulkey says. She wouldn't be a hang for me, not somebody I'd chill with. Respect the hell out of the coaching job she does. The better team one, the deeper team one. The better coach team won yesterday, LSU. So, you know, we've spent, a lot of people are getting tired of the Lamar Jackson situation. We got a lot of stuff to talk about today.

Lincoln Riley's on the show. But so I thought, how can I crystallize it so that it makes sense for people who think Lamar Jackson is kind of getting railroaded here and should have a contract? It was really interesting. We batted around some things this morning as a staff. And one thing really jumped out to me. and it's not arguable, and it's very clear, and it's why a lot of people are holding off.

I'll tell you that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart 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 document.

recommended it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do? little Kim. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah, literally. But just so you y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS. on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome back. So there's a lot of divergent opinions on Lamar Jackson and what to do. The big question now is what are the calls? Colts going to do. The first two picks in the draft, they're going to take college quarterbacks. Arizona is a third pick. Colts probably stay at four, and many people would subscribe to a pretty simple theory. Why not pay for a star NFL quarterback that wins about 70, 75 percent of his starts, or the third best quarterback at best in this draft? So I don't think Will Levis or Anthony Richardson is good enough to move up for. I do think Bryce Young is.

So let's compare, because it seems simple, right, you take Lamar over a college quarterback in a very average college quarterback draft. But a lot of this is what Lamar Jackson is demanding, right? It's not about the college quarterback. It's, hey, we just don't want to get locked into a contract. So Lamar Jackson reportedly has turned down three years and $133 million fully guaranteed. So on average, that's $44 million a year. That's slightly more than Josh Allen.

So they've both been in the NFL for five years. Let's just put them out there. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, how are they comparable as quarterbacks? And it's not, frankly, very, very close on the stuff that matters. When you talk about total touchdown passes, Josh Allen, look at the numbers, has 30% more. 30% more touchdown passes. Total touchdowns running and throwing. He's got 30, 35% more, Josh.

Starts, 25% more. Josh Allen. Playoff wins, 75% more. It's not particularly close. Now, because Lamar is signing after Josh Allen, I don't have a problem with him making slightly more if he's a better quarterback or an equal quarterback. But at this point, they're not equal. And you can say, well, Lamar doesn't have great receivers.

Well, Lamar has had a better offensive line and better tight ends since entering the league than Josh Allen. Josh has a star receiver the last couple of years in Stefan Diggs. But after that, you trust Gabriel Davis? He vanishes. So don't tell me about the great old line Josh Allen's head. Bad. The run game.

Non-existent. Tight-in. Good Doss and Knox. Not great. Receivers. Stefan Diggs is amazing. Who's the two? Depends on the week.

So it's not like he's had a ton to work with. And by the way, Josh Allen arguably plays in worse weather with a defensive coach. 30% more of that, 30% more of this, way more available, and this can't be underscored. None of these contracts are about August and September. They're about December and January. Do you lead your team to a playoffs? Right? That's what it's about.

The last two years in December and January, Josh Allen has been available in 11 of 11 games. He's won nine straight and put up massive numbers. In that same time period, Lamar Jackson has started and finished one of 12 games. Momentum is a real thing. They both run. They're both productive. But neither has had the Kansas City Chiefs Arsenal or coaching offensively. Neither's had that.

Neither's had the offensive production and talent of the San Francisco 49ers in Brock Purdy and Jimmy Garrow. Both have dealt with us a bunch of average. Lamar's had the better tight ends, the better offensive line. Josh Allen has Stefan Diggs. Not a good old line. Not a great run game. Good, not a superstar tight end. So when you compare the two, I wouldn't have a problem if Lamar, because he signs after,

got a, you know, a reasonable contract. But if you want more and more guaranteed than Josh Allen and you're 30% less and the stuff that matters to me. Availability. Do you deliver in December and January? Total touchdowns. Total touchdown pass. I know we love running around.

You've got to pass from the pocket to win Super Bowls. I think that's a little context and a little clarity. I like Lamar Jackson. And obviously, he's a safer bet than a Will Levis or an Anthony Richardson. That goes without saying. But the question isn't about that. It's how long do you want to lock your. quarterback up when he's not available in the most pivotal times of a football season.

Here's Ryan with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. We'll start with the NFL here, Colin. Go to another quarterback in the AFC. That would be Patriots quarterback Mack Jones. You've been critical of Bill Belichick and how he's handled things with Mac Jones. Obviously, they had a disastrous offensive season under

Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. Well, Mack Jones reportedly sought help from outside the organization of the Patriots at the end of last season to try and get things right with the offense. Now months after this season has ended, apparently Bill Belichick is still bothered by that decision. According to Tom Curran, disloyalty in Bill's mind is almost worse than poor play, and Belichick is, quote, really pissed about it. So Bill Belichick still holding a grudge against Mack Jones,

even though he put him in a bad situation and could be. not have success. So Bill demands total loyalty to Bill, but Bill's not loyal to players. So you ask for something, you have to give it back. Bill Belichick has moved off great players. Chandler Jones was a great player. If you look at Bill Belichick's history, it was, what Bill is doing, it's he is asking people for things he doesn't deliver. So he wants absolute transparency, yet he's covert. He wants absolute loyalty, but he's not loyal. He is bothered if you make him look bad, but Bill often. Butler, Super Bowl, won't let him play. Right. So be very careful when you're a leader, if you start asking employees to deliver things that you're not willing to do. That was the ultimate

hypocrite of Bobby Knight who always talked about playing under control, who yet had no self-control. Yeah, you've said this about Aaron Rogers. He wants total, transparency, open lines of communication, and then the Packers are like, well, we tried calling you and we couldn't get a hold of you. So it would be helpful if you returned the favor. Yeah, I've had Packer players in the last three months, a Packer player currently on the roster who likes Aaron. Tell me, yeah, he's not transparent about anything during game week or during the offseason or during the season. So don't ask for it. So this is a classic. Loyalty matters to Bill, yet he has very little to players.

And the other thing that's odd about this is all this is saying is how much Mac Jones actually cares. He could have mailed it in and been like, look at this joke of a coaching staff I got. We're just going to move on to next season. But he's looking at every angle, turning over every stone to try and improve at this situation that Belichick is the one who put them in this terrible spot.

We'll go to a former actual New England coach. That's Josh McDaniels. He's now with the Las Vegas Raiders. and the Raiders are reportedly a team to keep your eye on in the quarterback market coming up in this year's draft. According to Jeremy Fowler, some teams are watching the Raiders to potentially move up from the seventh pick to draft Anthony Richardson. Seattle is currently, Seattle's a spot that could be a trade partner at number five. Vegas is also hosting Kentucky quarterback Will Levis at their facility today, according to Ian Rappaport. Yeah, well, they're both physical specimens, right?

Whereas C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young throw the ball. accurately and to the right team. Anthony and Will Levis are seen as these physical freaks. I mean, Levis is like a bodybuilder. Anthony Richardson's like Cam Newton, but faster. I haven't gone into this yet, but the physical freak quarterback

to me has always been a little overplayed. I still think this is a sit-in-a-pocket, throw-accurate passes, why Bryce Young should be the best quarterback. But, I mean, the Raiders, Do they have enough draft? The one thing the Raiders have that I'll give them credit for, in the key areas, outside of corner,

in most key areas in this sport today, they do have, strangely, all the boxes. Max Crosby, great edge rusher. Devonte Adams, star receiver. Josh Jacobs, power clock eating running back.

A quarterback that's won playoff games, an offensive coach, a very good left tackle. So the Raiders are the opposite of the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have a good roster but haven't hit on four or five key positions. The Raiders have hit on four or five key positions but don't have necessarily a very good roster. So outside of getting a really good corner in the draft, the Raiders are probably a team that says, if we can get a quarterback in a corner, that may be what they need.

They missed on a lot of picks with Mayok and Grood. A lot. but they have also, you've got to be fair here. They have hit some home runs later in the draft. Max Crosby, Hunter Rentfro, these are great, great gets. So the Raiders are an odd team. They've got the right places right, and a lot of the rest roster is a mess. But I could see them just saying to themselves,

all right, let's get the quarterback for the future, doesn't have to play this year, and get a corner. Right. And you'd kind of have the boxes checked. Yeah, I mean, obviously they have Jimmy G. now who's familiar with his time with Josh McDaniels. It'll be interesting to see, you know, where they end up going because Anthony Richardson would be way different than anything that we would fit into the mold of like a New England style Josh McDaniels quarterback, but perhaps they're looking

at their division and they're like, look, we've got to go up against Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, these guys are big swing. Otherworldly. So we've got to try and hit something that's just like this unicorn of a quarterback. And maybe that can be the thing that helps put us in close competition with those teams year in then you're out. Obviously, same with Russell Wilson, Sean Payton, if they can turn things around. Everybody thinks the Colts are going to go up in the draft or draft Lamar. Are the Colts thinking, because they did this before the Suck for Luck campaign, are the Colts thinking, we don't love any of these quarterbacks. Let's let the Raiders come up to four and get their guy,

because the Raiders may like both the physical attributes of both Richardson and Levice, and the Colts say, hey, we're in the AFC. We can get bad really fast. And the Colts move down, get more picks, solve their left tackle, get another receiver, and then next year get one of the two great quarterbacks. I don't think that's crazy. In the NFC, you could be bad and win five games. In the AFC, now, with the emergence of Jacksonville, and I do think Houston, if they land Bryce Young, could win a lot of games, actually, six, seven games in that division, or eight.

I could see Indie Ursa just saying, bottom line is, okay, well, it'll be bad for one more year. they're not going to fire Shane Steichen. He's a rookie coach. I can see Shane Steichen saying, if you're giving me the option of Will Levis or Caleb Williams, I'll win three games this year. If I was a coach, I'd rather have the better quarterback. This is not Shane Steichen in year four or five.

Like, Sala now going into year three. Kind of needs to win. Shane Steikin's a really bright offensive guy, zero pressure to win in year one. I can see him totally signing off on that. Yeah. Look, if you get the support of the owner to take a a down year and then start rebuilding it from there.

Might as well. Instead of this carousel of quarterbacks that they've been running through since Andrew Luck. We'll finish up with this, Colin. San Diego State completed a 14-point second half comeback against Florida Atlantic in the Final Four. The fifth biggest comeback in Final Four history.

Aztecs got the win with a buzzer beating jumper as time expired. Such a great play. Let's take a listen to it. Westwood One Radio Call up that game winning shot by Lamont Butler. Six seconds to go. Five seconds. Butler to the right wing with three seconds. Butler in the corner with one second.

Poise the jumper. As you just heard there, obviously they are heading on to the final national championship tonight against Yukon. Foxbet has Yukon favored by seven and a half. Yeah, I like Yukon big. I do feel, I felt this, when Iowa expends so much energy to upset South Carolina, then you're asking him a day or two later to rise to the level against LSU. It's hard to sustain that over multiple games.

Can't. And so I thought yesterday LSU would win. And again, you're asking San Diego State off the biggest win in program history to come back and beat his superior team. I think Yukon wins handily tonight. Yeah, Yukon's been cruising through. They've looked so good. And yeah, it's going to be tough for San Diego State to follow up that comeback. Good stuff.

Ryan with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. So it's one of the things that has been interesting to me, and if you've listened to me for a long time, you know that I'm, I always say you drive the bus. What you watch, I'll talk about, right? It's the omelet over the egg theory. I don't make the omelet.

The omelet gets delivered. I talk about the omelet. I'm not here to make your team popular. You get popular and I'll talk about you. Women's basketball is not something I've talked about a lot in my career. It got really popular. The ratings in March for this, Iowa team had been sensational. the ratings yesterday.

I haven't seen them. They'll be gigantic. But there's a lot of things I want to throw out here. Women's basketball ratings have been on a several year, several year growth spurt. As the NBA has been declining, college basketball, regular season has been declining. Women's basketball ratings have been increasing. The final four viewership this year is up 66%. Now, a lot of that is Caitlin Clark.

she's kind of a female Steph Curry. She's the catalyst for these ratings. But I would say this, and I've said this before, in the last 25 years, no sport has improved more than women's basketball. Why? The same reason the United States women's national soccer team dominated their sport and has for decades, because America encouraged women to play soccer. and many other countries did not.

We got a 30-year head start on much of the globe. Now it's much more competitive. But 25, 30 years ago, even though it was the wrong side to be on, people weren't telling women to be athletes as often as they should have been. Now it's really cool. It's always been cool. I've always like women who are jocks. But now everybody gets how beneficial it is to them.

community and sports in general. So the quality of women's basketball over the last 25 years, go look at a woman's basketball game 25 years ago on YouTube. It doesn't look like today. The women are faster and twitchier. They're more athletic. They shoot better. They've got great moves.

I mean, it's a really good watch. Now, obviously, Caitlin Clark has been the catalyst for this explosion of ratings over the last couple of weeks and month. but once you turn it on, America's not going to be fooled. They like drama, they like stars, and this gave you a lot of it. But I've felt this, and I've said it multiple times, is that no sport. College men's basketball, conversely, is worse. Why?

Because the talent now leaves after a year. 25, 30 years ago in men's college basketball, this is hard to imagine, guys like Patrick Ewing would come back for their junior year. The good teams had three or four pros and not borderline pros. The Big Dog programs had three or four great pro players. Go look at teams that didn't win in men's basketball 25, 30 years ago. St. John's had Mark Jackson, Bill Wennington, Chris Mullen, Willie Glass, like really good players.

I think Walter Berry was on one of those teams. They didn't win. Houston had Akeem and Clyde Drexler, Larry Mashu. I think Rob Young, if I'm right. They didn't win. The NBA guys everywhere. Now college basketball, if you get a really good NBA player, he is out. Man, it's the classic apartment complex.

Everybody's there as little time as possible and move to the better location, right? And so women's college basketball has grown in quality over the last 25 years, like no sport in my life. Not all sports are the same. Boxing, not as many talented young people go into boxing. Not as many great men's college basketball players stay in college basketball for years. But part of the resurgence and this growth of women's basketball, it's just more fun to watch. It's just more athletic. It's twitchier.

I mean, the quality and the speed of yesterday's game, it doesn't even look like 30 years ago. People encouraged women get into this sports thing. It's awesome. And now that everybody is the beneficiary. These ratings are not just yesterday. This has been happening for five or six years where you are slowly seeing this thing grow. I think yesterday it's finally getting everybody's attention. And you had the perfect catalyst, kind of a Steph Curry sort of player and Caitlin Clark.

But I'm watching that game yesterday. It is feisty and it's trash talking and it's complaining about officials and it's obnoxious coaching and its long three-point jumpers, it's quality television and quality athletes. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast inside the Parker for 22 minutes of pipe and hot baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the eye test, we've got all the bases covered.

episodes drop every Thursday, so do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the IHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay and I'm Alex English Each episode we pick it here unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill Waxing all about crack in the 80s To be clear 84 is big to me not just because of crack I'm down to talk about crack all day

But just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack so I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you for finishing that. sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the

IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So tomorrow, at the start of the second hour, I generally don't do mock drafts. I may do one a year, but I'm going to do top 10, 12 picks in tomorrow's show mock draft. It will not be on my prediction of what teams are going to do. I have often told you, if I didn't do this for a living, my dream job has always been to be an NFL general manager or write a screenplay. So that neither one's going to happen. But I'm telling you what I would do if I was the GM for the 10 teams with the top 10 picks. And I think it's clear as day. I think it makes sense. I doubt I'll even get half of them right because you know there's a domino theory if one team moves up it changes the whole

order but what i would do if i was a general manager i'll do that tomorrow second hour top of next hour for us calling right Colin wrong we do it every monday that'll be coming up now Albert breer Monday morning quarterback joining us live so as we talk about this there are rumors about the raiders moving up to get anthony richards and i just made the point that they're a very strange team. They're the opposite of the Colts, where they actually, the four or five key positions, weapon, edge rush, left tackle, you know, outside of corner, they really check all the box, offensive coach, quarterback who's won playoff games. They need a corner and probably their quarterback for the future. I get the Raiders moving up, right? Like, I get this. And by the way, most of their

stars are young. Colton Miller's pretty young. Max Crosby's young. Josh Jacobs is fairly young. Devante Adams still has four or five peak years to go. What do you make about the Raider rumors moving up? I think the Raiders are going into a very open mind. And I think this is going to boil down to how Josh McDaniel sees the quarterbacks. And I think I've used this comparison. I've probably worn it out with you, Colin. But it's Alex Smith and Kansas City is the way they saw Derek Carr last year. It's the way they see Jimmy Garoppel this year. And so until they have a quarterback of the future, they're going to take a hard look at every quarterback in the draft.

And one thing that adds to that this year is they happen to be in the top 10. So there's a good chance one of these guys falls right into their lap. And if they really fall in love with them, they could move up for them. So that's why they went through all the paces with C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young and Will Lewis and Anthony Richardson too. And the nice thing about the spot that they're in is that they're going to have a chance if they want to give the young quarterback a developmental year because they've got a starting quarterback that they like and that they know really well in Jimmy Garoppolo. So if you're in the

camp that Anthony Richardson needs a year or two to sit and learn, well, then Vegas would be one of those spots that's ideal for him because there'd be no push to get him out there on the field because they have Jimmy. And, you know, again, that's another area where you can bring that Alex Smith in Kansas City comparison and that having Alex Smith allowed the chiefs to sit Patrick Mahomes for a year as well. I got to ask you about Aaron Rogers. I know the audience is sort of numb to it, but you could argue who has leverage now. The Packers would like to get a draft pick for this draft. The Jets would also like Aaron to get in camp, the playbook, kind of get the momentum going, merchandise sales, everything. What is your best guess on Aaron drafts three weeks out now?

What's your best guess? I think, you know, it could happen tomorrow. It could happen the day of the draft. You know, I think they're close enough now. I think they're in striking distance. and look, sometimes it takes deadlines for these things to get done. But, you know, we've gotten past the point where the feelings were still raw. And I think that it probably took a good week for everybody to move past, you know, Aaron Rogers' comments on McAfee. And, you know, I think the Packers have moved a little bit. The Jets have moved a little bit.

And I think relationships are really, really important here. The two head coaches here, Robert Sala and Matt LaFleur, are legitimately best friends. The two general managers, Brian Gutakunz and Joe Douglas, spent years together on the road. And the two guys in charge, Woody Johnson and New York and Mark Murphy in Green Bay, were both a part of the Brett Favre deal 15 years ago. So you've got a lot of relationships here. I know that they made some progress at the league meeting.

It's going to take sign off from every level of each organization. So you have to go through the process there. But I think this absolutely gets done before the draft. I think it could get done before the Jets and Packers open their off-season programs two weeks from today. So I think the negotiation right now is in a good place. And I do think because of the relationships there, that there's been good progress towards getting something done. And I think at any point between now and the draft it could happen. Listen, the big topic on Lamar is the Colts now, right? Like that would be the challenger. And I can see Robert Ursay, because they

had that suck for luck campaign, I could see Ursay saying, if we can't get Bryce Young, who we already commented on, none of these guys are game changers. let's just wait, wait, wait, let a Raiders or somebody else move up. We still have to get a left tackle, a corner, another weapon. There's parts of their roster I do like. I can see Indy saying in the AFC, if you look ahead, you've got to have a difference maker. We don't think Will Levis is a difference maker.

Let's get Caleb Williams or Drake May. Do you think it's possible that Indy actually doesn't get Lamar nor a quarterback and moves back to get a boatload of picks? There are a lot of moving parts here. One thing I can tell you definitively is what happened when the Bears called them. And they were one of the four teams that the Bears were dealing with, you know, ahead of making that trade with the Panthers to move down from one to nine. And really the response to Indianapolis gave the Bears was we're not really there yet on any of the

quarterbacks. And if they weren't there yet on the quarterbacks then, that tells you they weren't sold on one being worth the first overall pick. And if one's not worth the first overall pick, you know, maybe they're a little if you on one's worth the fourth overall pick. Now, they're going to work all those guys out this week. All four of them have workout schedule with the Colts. They'll probably bring at least a couple of them into their building on 30 visits. So, like, they're going to see, but I still think there needs to be some convincing on the part of those quarterbacks that they're of that level for Chris

Bauer to take a plunge on one of them. And it could happen, but it also might not. And if it doesn't happen, well, then, you know, you will pass the draft. And now, if you're talking about signing Lamar Jackson an offer sheet. It's not the fourth overall pick anymore. It's first round picks in 2024 and 2025. So you could wind up with Will Anderson, let's say, and Lamar Jackson and give up picks that maybe you think are going to be in the 20s down the line. The risk there, of course, is that the Ravens just match your offer sheet and now you're without a quarterback. But look, like I think, you know, if you look at Chris Ballard's history, he's been very methodical about this. He hasn't overreached on a quarterback outside of maybe the Carson Wentz thing since losing Andrew Luck in such

stunning fashion. And I think it would be his instinct not to overreach on a quarterback now. The one caveat being that pressure from ownership could wind up forcing something. We'll see if that happens. Okay, we got about 45 seconds left. I want to ask you about C.J. Stroud. You went to Ohio State. You know the Buckeyes. You watch every second. If I said you, I know what he's good at. Is there anything, any apprehension for you is somebody who watched every snap of C.J. Stroud? I said, Albert, did you trust him in big games? Did he have the alpha? Yeah.

What is the not? Because I heard that early that he wasn't a big alpha early at Ohio State. He certainly developed that. What's your, is there a criticism about him? Yeah. The weird thing is like, there was. There very much has been criticism of him. Like, does he turn down runs?

You know, in their zone read game, does he turn down runs? Is he creative enough? Is he good off schedule? Now, all of those were legitimate questions going into the national. semifinal. And then against Georgia, he answered all of them. Like, it was a different player against Georgia. And if you look at, you know, his body of work over two years, you had C.J. Straub pre-Georgia, and then C.J. Stroud in the Georgia game. Yeah. So I think the challenge here for teams is they look at it and they say, that guy in the Georgia game has superstar potential.

But was that a flash? Or is that what he's really becoming now? Was he protecting himself earlier in the year? I mean, there are all kinds of questions that stem from that. But I think in that Georgia game, you saw the high-end potential of C.J. Stroud and who he can be. He's a really good kid. And now, you know, I think for teams that the question is going to be is what you saw on New Year's Eve, is that sustainable. Is that who C.J. Stroud is in the process of becoming. And if that's who he's in the process of becoming, then he's absolutely worth the first or second pick. Monday morning quarterback, Albert, very good seeing you man on Monday. I appreciate it. All right. Thanks, Colin.

A guy that I lean on for a lot of draft prospectus is Lance Zerline. He's a Houston radio host. Dad was in the NFL. His comp for C.J. Stroud is Jared Goff, which is, by the way, beautiful thrower, accurate thrower, not going to give you a lot off schedule. I think that's very reasonable. I like Jared Goff. I really do.

Much more than my staff. I like Jared Goff. But that's his comp. Hour two. Colin right, calling wrong next on a Monday. 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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. 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 Hardway on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.