The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - The Grizzlies without Ja Morant

Episode Date: April 20, 2023

Colin reacts to the Grizzlies taking game 2 over the Lakers without their star Ja Morant and why there's an interesting trend developing for Memphis when Morant doesn't play the value Draymond Green provides the Warriors after his head coach criticizes the decision to suspend Green for Game 3 against the Kings Thoughts on Tua Tagovailoa's recent comments about his careerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered 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 IHard 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. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is 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.

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. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. Now let's get this party started. listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Here we go. It is a Thursday, and there is a lot to talk about. One week away from the NFL draft. Live in L.A., it's the herd. Wherever you may be. However, you may be watching or listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Joel Clad in one hour.

Clat and I are going to do half the first round. We're going to do mock draft because I'm odd. I get the odd picks. He gets the even picks. And we're going to go, one through 16 NFL drafts all our sourcing all our insight all our information all our guessing j-mac we talked about this on the show yesterday called the zigzag theory you know Memphis desperate is going to play out of their minds hair on fire they did Lakers pulled back

weren't as efficient they already got home court advantage back and then you got an even series a disappointing effort from the lake show I'm more excited for the mock draft uh later in the show I submit my final one to Fox Sports tomorrow morning. It'll go up Monday. Some gambling tidbits in there, if you will. But how about tonight, Cowherd? Biggest night of the playoffs so far. Lakers are not as important as Warriors Kings.

Yeah. So let's start with the Lakers lost, though. All five Memphis starters scored in double figures. Why? They weren't sitting around staring at JAA. Talent and value are two different things. If you look at the last two seasons, including the playoffs, the Grizzly statistically, with John without him, they win a little more, they're much better defensively, their net rating is double.

They're a better team without him. I'm sorry. Sorry, fan boys. They are. That's why Atlanta's thinking of trade in Trey Young. When you let 19-year-olds come into a sport, they're not emotionally ready and they're not great basketball players. They're great shooters or great scores. But John Morant's a highlight phenom.

He's absolutely athletic. He's a blast to watch. It's not a great basketball player overall. He's a great scorer. This is not a small sample size. It's 50 games. And they're better defensively. They're better offensively slightly.

They move the ball better. Listen, when Tim Duncan or Michael Jordan or Bird or Magic or LeBron or Steph, when they leave a team, the team collapses. as big and as successful as Apple was. Steve Jobs left, they almost went insolvent. They had plenty of good engineers, designers around the building. He comes back. They flourish. You know, Steph Curry didn't walk into this league ready to carry a team. He needed a running mate. He needed to get stronger. He needed to the right coaching. He needed to mature. Steph wasn't a great basketball player year two in this league.

John Morant's not a great basketball player. He's a highlight. He leaves. They're better. 50 game sample size. Last year he left, they were better. Last night, they were better. The best quarter the Lakers have had in this series was the third quarter in game one. Jah was on the floor. The best quarter of the Grizzlies have had was the first quarter last night. Jah wasn't.

And did you notice Tyos Jones? LeBron James noticed this. Tyos Jones has led the NBA and assist to turnover ratio five straight years. He's the backup. So you get fewer turnovers. You get more assists. you get better defense, you get more passing. LeBron saw it.

He knew what he was up for. Just as a dangerous team with ties is starting. You know, so they don't miss a beating. We knew that. You know, it didn't matter of Jaws in the game. If Joss starting, dangerous. If Ty is starting, dangerous. So it didn't change our approach.

I know that's hard for people to get, wrap their brains around. Because you watch it, Trey Young, or you watch John Morant. But you know who else watches them when they first come into the league? GMs and scouts. And everybody in the first year to year and a half is like, wow. And then you start through film picking apart their game and seeing what they can't do. And there's a lot of things Jod doesn't do particularly well. Drivels too much, sometimes flashy, doesn't play defense. I can like Trey Young and Jha Morant, like them both. But there is a difference. between value and talent.

He's talented. He is not statistically that valuable. Maybe to merchandise and ticket sales, but the numbers don't lie through two years. Last night, they look great. They passed. They moved. It's not a shot at John Moran.

It's a reality check for the fanboys and the people who vote on awards that confuse value and talent. So I saw this yesterday. We talked about this yesterday at some length, but it's worth discussing. So according to Woge, the warrior's reaction to Draymond Green's suspension, they weren't mad at Draymond.

They're livid that the league suspended him. They understood the technical. Sabonis got one. Dremon got one. They're not mad at Dremon. They're mad at the league. By the way, when Dramon punched Poole, Kerr said it. He was mad the video got out.

Okay, they know what he brings. They don't have four titles without him. You and I have much more access today than the Michael Jordan era. But if the video ever surfaced of Michael Jordan punching Steve Kerr, you would have lined up to defend him. Michael's a winner. Michael's relentless. Steve Kerr's got to understand his role. That's what you would have said.

How do I know you would have said that? Because that's what you said when Bobby Knight choked a player Patrick Reed in video surfaced. Because Bobby Knight won. Patrick Reed, it wasn't really a choke. I had a co-host that literally argued. It depends on the angle of the video. No, it's a choke. You can't touch somebody's

son. And they lined up to defend him because he won. Bulls fans love when Rodman was annoying the Lakers or the Pistons or the Celtics. Everybody in New York adored Charles Oakley, though he couldn't score, couldn't shoot. Everybody loves the obnoxious attorney when he

defending your case. In the end, for all the access people have today, and we have a lot, we probably have only 10 to 15 percent of the access the warriors do. They know what he's like at practice, in meetings, on team planes, on the road, galvanizing people. Said this yesterday, great offensive teams can get very complacent because it's so easy. Great defensive teams don't. They know it's hard work, toughness, but great offensive teams are so skilled. Go back to that Kobe Shaq team after they won the first title. I mean, it was just one of those. They couldn't wait to get to the playoffs.

The regular season was tedious. And so Steve Kerr, once again, they know what he provides. You don't have to like it, but I've watched my entire career. Everybody in Dallas hates T.O. Oh, wait, he's a cowboy. We love T.O. Everybody in Detroit loved Lambere, Rodman, the tough guys, Maurice Lucas in Portland. So I don't want to hear about this is outrageous.

I could make an argument that Sacramento Smartly has found their version of Draymond. Now, he hasn't kicked anybody in the groin, but Sabonis is tough. He's theatrical. He's annoying. One of the first signs you're respected in this league when they call you annoying. He's writhing in pain. He's theatrical. He uses the ball, the warrior.

are claiming now as a weapon to bang on guys, he's all elbows. Again, he hadn't kicked anybody in the groin, but he's becoming a little bit like all championship teams have, kind of an annoying big guy who cleans the glass and takes the tough assignments and gets into the other team's head. Here's Steve Kerr on Draymond's suspension. He's the ultimate competitor, and everybody knows he's going to occasionally, you know, tip over the edge and his emotions get the best of him, and that's part of it. Dremont is incredibly competitive and passionate and fiery, and he's helped us win four championships.

I've said it many times we don't have a single championship here without Dremont Green, and that's the truth. Winning is messy. if you want to be honest about it. There's a edginess to it. There's a tension. And certainly he's crossed that line, but he's been punished for it. Dremont's not perfect.

But I haven't met anybody that's perfect. But all in, he's been a big part of a lot of winning. Inside the building, Steph's one and Dremont's two. He's the tough guy for a finesse shooting, highly skilled team. Colin, you just defend him because, no, I defend him because great teams, Dylan Brooks and Memphis, they've found their guy. They're not winning yet, but there is value in this. The game's gotten more finesse. It's more about shooting. Nobody bangs away. Everybody pulls up for threes. You need a tough guy. You need an edge. Draymond provides it. All right,

J. Max, so tonight we get Sun's Clips. We get Warriors Dynasty on the line. You believe if they lose, they're going to start moving parts. Well, I don't know about moving instantly. I'm more curious about the chess match in this game. Like Steve Kerr has to, you know, throw the kitchen sink here at the Kings. He's got to unload every piece of weaponry he has in his arsenal. I don't know if that's starting Cuminga, if it's starting Gary Payton. You said maybe Devenchenzo.

What's going on with Jordan Poole? Now they're saying that Poole is kind of banged up. He has an ankle. And it's starting to sound like excuse making. I don't love that, Colin. What's the line again, Sacramento? Five and a half. Kings are dogs.

Big dogs after winning the fourth quarter of both games. I know. I think I'd take Sacramento to keep it close. I think the kings are looking like the baby warriors. I think they have a lot of elements. They look a lot like Golden State. The flashy point guard, the understated number two, number three guy,

the tough, resilient rebounding, theatrical guy. You remember last year when the media ripped the kings for trading Tyrese Halliburton? for Sabonis. Do you remember that? You should do a turn back the clock on that. Everybody in the media loves Halliburton. He's a good player. Stats guy, advanced numbers. Subonis has been perfect in the pick. I think he led the league in double doubles and picking rolls with Foxes. Mark Few, Gonzaga's coach told me years ago, we were talking about him and he said, Colin, that is the best rebounder I've ever seen in college basketball. He's like, he is absolutely relentless. He's going to be a great

pro. That's why I said about a month ago, I said, why is he keep bouncing around? This is his third team. I mean, the guys, every championship team needs a player like Sabonis, every single one. I mean, he's like Dylan Brooks with way more skill. How about he's like Draymond with less of a mouth? He's doing kind of the undercover dirty stuff. Not dirty, I'm sorry. But I like his mouth. He's a good podcaster.

Okay. But I mean, he is, he is, I think he's a little theatrical. His dad played. He understands the league. I mean, I think Sabonis is very cagey. Are Draymond's podcast going to go? down when he's playing in Charlotte next year? You don't think that. Come on. You're just taking shots 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 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 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. I'm Sam Jett. 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 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. You're now entering the no bull zone sponsored by credible great rates, none of the bull. You know, whenever I talk to people inside the NFL executives that work for teams, and they have to move off a player because, you know,

a lot of times it's like he's had a few injuries. They always say, love the guy, just don't love his future with us. We seem to be okay if that's a running back. Nobody loses any sleep, right? Love the guy, but, you know, physically we don't love the future. That's where Miami is on Tua, the quarterback. They love the guy. And they picked up his fifth-year option.

But yesterday he acknowledged he sat down with his family after the recent string of concussions and considered retirement. I think I considered it, you know, for a time having sat down with my family, having sat down with my wife and having those kind of conversations. But really it would be hard for me to walk away from. from this game. Of course it would be. Athletes often have to be protected from themselves, and the dolphins are a little trapped here. Let's be honest,

he led the NFL and passer rating when he is healthy. They've never replaced Dan Marino, so with him and Mike McDaniel's weapons, it's pretty tasty looking. With Belichick, Aaron Roger, Soon, and Josh Allen, you've got to have somebody who can sling it, but one more concussion, and it's probably over. That is the one injure.

the media will relentlessly attack you as a franchise if you do not get a player off the field for long stretches. Again, the Dolphins picked up a fifth-year option, but we never seem to lose sleep over a running back. Austin Echler, Rams don't want to pick up the option. They don't want to sign him long term. He's great. He's a great player, but he's a running back, and we understand it. But with concussions, we have to consider the same thing for quarterbacks. Miami does not have a first round pick. Tampering, they relinquished it. But they do have a second round pick, and I would pick a quarterback. Plan B has to start immediately. It's time for an adult conversation. We do it with every other player in every other sport. We have to do it with a smaller quarterback.

Love is a guy, but don't this morning love his future. Max Duggan, TCU, probably available with the 50 first pick. hey, Tom Brady was the goat, and they picked Garoppolo in the second round, and Tom Brady still had Super Bowls in him. It's part of playing football. And quarterbacks, let's be honest, you know, Brady didn't want Garapolo in the building. They got rid of him, right? Like we tend to kind of pander and pamper quarterbacks a little bit. If you got the guy, then nobody's going to challenge him.

But it's different, right? The smaller quarterback gets tagged a few times. He has concussions. We're all concerned about CTE. Those stories are real. That research is real. I think if you're the dolphins, you love the guy. You don't necessarily love his future.

They've picked up his option. He'll be financially set for life. But plan B has to start in this draft immediately. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Jump to the NBA where the Milwaukee Bucks

made an interesting move yesterday. Surely after watching The Herd, they decided Janus is not going to play with his little back injury, something we talked about. And then they went out and bang 25 three-pointers. I watched the first half. They had a huge second quarter. I mean, it was laughable. They led by 36 in the third.

And they end up beating the breaks off of the Miami Heat, 138 for the bucks in a game were the most without their leading score from the regular season. in postseason history. Well, they're a very good defensive team because Drew Holliday and Brooke Lopez are great defenders, so they can still be a high-end defensive team. So you take Tyler Hero out and you still have two elite NBA defenders. It's hard to get points. And, you know, and again, now you could say, well, Colin, how come Milwaukee was good without job?

They're under 500 without Janus. We know they're not as good a team without Janus. But in a one-game setting against a team struggling to score points, This team is built on culture and defense more than offense. It's an old team that plays real defense. It's an old school basketball team. And this is a bad matchup for Miami. And your guy, Joe Ingle's came off the bench.

He couldn't miss from three. Pat Conaton, Notre Dame's finest. He had a big night. Oh, yeah, these guys, it was a great performance from the bucks. Again, that series doesn't have a lot of juice. And I'm a Jimmy Butler guy. I like Bam and Obio. Yeah.

It's just, it's a tough watch. Bam on Abou to me is a B player. Like I think he's the third best player in a championship team. I don't think he can be your second. They were their second when they got to the finals against the Lakers. That was the bubble where all the old teams eroded outside of the Lakers. Heat culture. Yeah, heat culture.

They needed another guy. And that guy could be, you know. It's supposed to be Tyler Hero, but he's looking like a six there. He should be the first guy off a bench in a championship team. Jimmy Butler can be a one or a two, probably a two in a championship team. Bam should be a three. they need an elite score. They've got to go get an elite score, whoever it is.

My favorite is when you, I mean, you're basically calling a lot of guys, too. And what you're looking at is 30 teams in the league. And I said yesterday there's probably not 15 ones. I don't know if there's 10. Like ones in the league. You can be, you're their alpha on a championship winning team. There's not many of them. I mean, there really isn't.

You think there's a ton. Steph's a one, obviously. If you get to the conference finals and you're the one on that team, does that show you can be a one? Yeah, Janus, obviously. Jimmy Butler, conference finals. Yeah, no, I mean, it's a fair argument that Jimmy Butler is a one. He's a different one. It's an effort defensive 20 points, not 27 points.

So you're right. Jimmy Butler's a one. Okay, Trey Young got to a conference finals. Okay, Luca Donchitz got to a conference finals? Yeah, Luca is a one, but I'm losing interest on a month basis. The classic case is Devin Book, who... He's a two. He's a two.

I would agree. He was really good. Then they get Chris Paul. He's a very good, too. Anthony Davis is a one in talent. sometimes has been a two and effort, leadership, and availability. Well, he was a one in New Orleans, remember? And they didn't do much.

Second round. Yeah. So, I mean, I feel like he's a one talent, but sort of a two, everything else. But he's also had a 20-game stretch where he's been remarkable. There's probably seven or eight-ones in the league. And that's the problem. And most have flaws. Luca won't play defense.

And Bede struggles with health. There's, Steph's getting old. You know, I think we'll talk about it next hour, but the Nuggets have an interesting situation. Who's the one on that team? Oh, I didn't go there. All right, next up, Sacramento Kings Head Coach, Mike Brown, named NBA Coach of the Year. How about this one? Received all 100 first place votes, making him the first unanimous selection for the award.

That is incredible. In his first season with the team, Brown led Sacramento of 4834 record, up from just 30 wins last season. Their first playoff birth since 06. If memory serves, Steph Curry is the only unanimous MVP in league history. Now, Mike Brown, the only unanimous NBA coach of the year. You know what? Pretty damn good job. Mike Brown is a great example.

He fired twice, was way over his head early in Cleveland, and people kind of bailed on him. Work hard. It's masonry. Lay one brick after another. Be a good person. Mike has had not a linear experience. It's not Eric Spolstra.

To the moon. Nope. Mike's gotten whacked a couple of times. His first thing with LeBron didn't work. He was not ready for the job. That's a lot of people. That's you and me. That's a lot of players.

It's a lot of people. But a lot of people believe if they fail at 28 years old or 32, it's over. It's like, no, it's not. Just work hard. Keep laying bricks. You'll get breaks. Mike's done a great job that just keep getting better and better as a coach. And he's really done a great job.

We like to pat ourselves on the back on this show. I also like to admit failure. I thought the Kings matchup with the Warriors was awful for the Kings. I was wrong because of Mike Brown. His knowledge of the Warriors and the way he's attacking them and defending them has been awful for Golden State. Brown knows everything they've got. He knows all their ins and outs.

And you could say that they know Brown too, but I don't think they really understand what the Kings are about with Brown. This is really unexpected stuff. I'm bracing for the worst tonight for the Warriors. I think they got a lot of baby warriors. When the Warriors first started, they had a defensive coach. They had a- Mark Jackson?

Yeah. They had Draymond, who came from a good college program with a great coach, Sabonis, good college program, great coach that were tough theatrical, physical enforcers. Both had an understated star, Harrison Barnes, Clay Thompson. You had a point guard who was great, late, slowly developed, maybe better than people thought. Kind of came in all offense, learned through Mark Jackson and Mike Brown to be a defender at times, or at least give the effort. There's a lot of intellectual capacity, intellectual brainpower

inside the King's front office, former Darryl Morey guys, and the Warriors. I think they feel like the baby warriors. I really do. By the way, both Andre Aguadala, great defender off the bench. The King's got a guy, one of the first guys, Davian Mitchell off the bench, great defensive player. Also great nickname, off night. When he guards you, you're having an off night.

One of the great nicknames in this sport. By the way, that King's Warriors. I know it's Thursday and maybe you run out of steam later in the week. It's one of your best ones so far this week, Howard. Nicely done. All right. Final story, you're not going to like this. The Patriots hosted QB Will Levis for an official pre-draft visit on Wednesday. Oh boy.

Comes one day after O.C. Bill O'Brien said he's giving Matt Jones a fresh start. New England has the 14th pick in the draft. You love Mac Jones, and Bill Belichick is just playing with his head, bringing in Will Levis for an official visit. like it. Remember Russell Wilson? Why don't you like it? You have a quarterback. Bill Belichick. Like, listen, we know a lot about football. Bill Belichick must see something in Will Levin's. He's been such a great

offensive skill drafter. It's been brilliant. This is totally different. He saw something in Brady. Huh? No, he passed on Brady five times. He did, and then he took him. And almost cut him. Almost cut him. Didn't cut him. I read the books. Didn't cut him, though. By the way, Russell Wilson, the reason Pete Carroll and John Snyder, that went sideways, they went and watched

Josh Allen workout. It ticked off Russell Wilson in his camp. You mean Russell Wilson, the guy who won a Super Bowl, went to another Super Bowl. Yeah. Okay. Mack Jones, he hasn't done squat to prove them that they should not look at Will Levis. Okay, let me ask you. Let me ask Lenore. Let's make this

personal. What if Fox, and you found out about it, interviewed, even though you're doing a great job, interviewed somebody for your role? I got a multi-year contract. I'm good, baby. It's all good. I'm not worried about it. Just like Mac Jones has his rookie deal. You wouldn't be bothered.

I don't get bothered by that stuff. Man, I got bigger fish to fry out there, coward. Come on. I think I'm worried. I mean, listen. I know. We're not supposed to talk about the show, but like, our show's kicking some major buttling.

All right, whatever. That's whatever. Jay Mac for the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. So here's a story, and it makes a ton of sense. Per League sources.

The Niners are talking to the Minnesota Vikings about Trey Lance. Tray Lance is the kid. They gave a bunch of picks up, moved up in the draft, and it's just never worked out. It's just been a bad series of events, a confluence of events and bad timing. This one makes sense for five reasons. Number one, Trey Lance from Minnesota. Played high school football there. Parents still there.

He'll be comfortable. Number two, Trey Lance gives the Vikings something Kirk Cousins doesn't, some power and some mobility. He's an athlete. Number three, the Vikings have an offensive head coach. So you're not giving him to a conservative defensive coach, which could hurt his development. You're giving him to a guy, a former NFL quarterback, that should help. Number four, Kirk Cousins under contract, certainly capable. There's absolutely no hurry.

He can learn the offense. You don't have to rush him. And number five is, Trey Lance, like a lot of young people, needs a fresh start. He needs to go underground. The Bay Area media is large, and it's an attack dog media. It's the nastiest media on the West Coast. West Coast has nice media. East Coast is feisty.

San Francisco media is aggressive. It's got a deep bench. It's feisty. It's highly opinionated. Talk radio's big there. It's hard to be a quarterback, especially a franchise that has had Joe Montana, Steve Young, you know, won a lot of football games. And so I think, you know, it's a lower profile franchise, Minnesota, not even the most popular franchise,

probably the third most popular franchise in their division historically behind Green Bay and Chicago. So I think this one makes a ton of sense. I don't know what Trey Lance is worth. Probably, you know, a fourth round pick, a third round pick. The Niners have done an unbelievable job getting talent in later rounds. They've done a really, really good job on that. and oh, I got to give you this. This story is amazing.

Are we ready for this California, New York thing in the back? I thought this was amazing this morning. Now, don't quit your teeth. So we were talking. California has four NBA teams, four that have reached the playoffs, Clippers, Lakers, Sacramento, and the Warriors. And that's pretty amazing, right? Four teams.

That's why, if you look at the playoffs tonight, you're going to have the Clippers' sons playing. I think at about the same time the Warriors Kings are because, you know, you got all these California teams involved. And, you know, when I grew up as a kid in rural Washington State, my favorite bait, we didn't have a baseball team. I like the Cincinnati Reds. I love the Yankees.

Reggie Jackson, those Yankee teams. And, you know, you had one game a week, NBC game of the week, and you get the playoffs in baseball. And I always kind of thought of, you know, New York and L.A. as the epicenter. the Cubs were bad, the Bears were bad. It was pre-Michael Jordan. Nobody cared. Nobody cared about Chicago. Three biggest cities in America, you know, New York, L.A., Chicago. Chicago was bad at everything.

You know, the Yankees were gigantic. They were everything. The Knicks in the early 70s were good. They were talked about. And then you had like California teams for a kid from the Pacific Northwest. They had, you know, they had a lot of success. California has pulled away from New York in terms of sports. I was looking at this thing with four NBA teams from California reaching the playoffs.

So we said, let's go back to 2000. Let's go back 23 years to 2000, even number. Look at all the championships California has. Angels, Dodgers, Ducks, L.A.F.C. Rams have won. San Jose Earthquakes 2, Galaxy 5, San Francisco Giants 3, L.A. Kings 2, Lakers 6, Sparks at WNBA 3, USC2, Warriors 4. 32 championships. That's crazy, right?

That's crazy. Let's go to New York. Now, when did Mello win his championship? Was it like 98, 99? That's the only college one I could think of in New York State. So the Giants have two, the New York Football Club, and the Yankees have two. Five to 32. That's amazing, right?

Because you think, well, it's New York. Now, I know as an East Coast guy, but my theory on this, I have threefold. First of all, players have more power in the last 20 years. I need to see some numbers on how many professional sports teams California has versus new... I mean, it's not dead even. Is it? California's 32 to 5. Significant. I was born in New York, so I will cape up for the New York. Mets, Yankees. We have another baseball. We have a couple baseball teams.

I'm not saying we don't have more. 32 to 5. This kind of feels like a Jordan versus LeBron debate where Jordan has more rings, but LeBron's been way better. Mello won in 2003, 6. I'll give you one more. We left that off. Mello 1 in 2003, 6. So 32 to 6? Okay.

Can I throw three things at you? Yes. Number one, in the last 20 to 25 years, players have much more power in mobility, right? California's got better weather. it matters. We have a beach. Players like, you know, Matt Stafford chose here.

Paul George, you know, a lot of guys choose here. Detroit or California. Come on. Well, I'm just saying, Michigan's beautiful. So, weather. Secondly, better owners. Better owners, hire better GMs, hire better coaches.

James Dolan, Brooklyn ownership. I mean, look at what the Giants just did to overpay for Daniel Jones. Woody Johnson with the Jets. Okay. So, so, and the Willpons were, not great.

George Steinbrenner is great. His son's not so much. So you have, first of all, you have better weather. Players have more choices, and that's a big part of it. Secondly,

we have better owners on average. Not saying they're all perfect, but better owners hire better people. And then I think the third thing is the economy in California is very, let's be honest. Down here, it's Hollywood,

TV movies, and Northern California, it's tech. Young athletes love tech. Not Wall Street. law firms. This is not a knock on New York, but a lot of their money is hierarchy in history and Wall Street and law firms. And money out here is entrepreneurial. It's techie. It's movies. It's Netflix. It's the West Coast economy is more entrepreneurial and younger in Silicon Valley.

That's highly attractive to agents getting their athletes out here to get them production companies, to get them on Netflix, to get them specials, to get them at HBO, to get their movies made. I mean, I know we have more teams, but 32 to 6. I'm going to point out there's a report yesterday. Some consultancy firm said New York is the wealthiest city. It has the most millionaires of any city. And you get taxed a lot to lose some of that. That's true.

The good thing is that California taxes aren't bad. I'm just saying, but you get a lot with it. I get the beach. I get the sun, 340 days a year. I love New York City. My daughter's like, I want to go to NYU. It's fine. I'll try to buy a place to go there.

and I won't be there in the winter. I'm sorry. It's awful. I had to carry groceries from the grocery store. It's snow. I did not love the winter in New York City. Fall and spring or in the last 20 years, would you deny this?

Athletes have more power. They make the choices. We in California have better owners. We have the best NBA owner. The Dodgers ownership is unbelievable. I mean, the Rams, Stan Cronkies, right now, dead cat, he doesn't care. Now, Kevin Durant did go first.

From Warriors to Brooklyn, and it was a disaster. Yeah, now he came back west. He came back west. It was an absolute disaster. So when you leave us, be very careful. No, I mean, it's one of those things where it's just, I think what's happened over the last 20 years is market size doesn't matter as much. It matters some. It doesn't matter as much.

But when people have a choice, agents love pushing their players to California because they get production deals. They're in front of agents. LeBron's never been distracted. He always keeps the thing to thing. LeBron's first year in L.A., he was completely distracted. And it's the only time I've ever really, LeBron stopped following me on social. I literally for a year was like, dude,

keep the thing the thing, concentrate on basketball. He was meeting all over town. He didn't like the young player. And then after about a year, LeBron got back to be in LeBron. But it's like, it's a thing, right? All four NBA teams in California make the playoffs, I mean, the Knicks have games done.

They'll always be limited. The Knicks and Nets are both into playoffs as well. But they're not. They're not. Well, the Nets are on their way out. Maybe they put up a fight tonight. Nicks. I can't believe my guys didn't remember Syracuse.

That's a bad job by them. Bad job. Well, I worked at ESPN, half the building Syracuse. Yes, that's right. It's just something. I don't think I'm being inaccurate, maybe. How many? Super Bowls for the Buffalo Bills.

I missed that. How many they have? Well, I would say. this, that the state of New York has had opportunities, like the Buffalo Bills, didn't they miss four of them? Was it three or four? That was in the 90s, though. Yeah, you're right. But I mean, it's like they've been close a lot. There's a lot of knocking on the door. But I, how much does that matter? I think it matters a lot. Getting to the finals in the NBA is very hard. Getting to the Super Bowl. That's difficult. Well, I mean, look at how great the Celtics are.

They have one title in, what, 35 years? And that's a great organization. They have won so many trades. Danny Ains manipulated so many teams. They got one championship. You've got to win like 23 games. It's tough in the playoffs to win a title. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. This is Steve Kavino and Rich. And together we are Kavino and Rich.

Kavino and Rich. Thanks, buddy. That's right. Kavino and Rich, Fox Sports Radio's newest hit show. Heard weekdays from 5 to 7 Eastern 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app. Every Covino and Rich show is available as a podcast. Just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast and subscribe. I'm such a rocking dude.

The show features our unique take on sports, injected with some fun, humor, and relatability. Listen to Covino and Rich five days a week on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Covino and Rich, give me a hell, yeah. 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. 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we picket here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because, of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you 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 The 2020-23 U.SFL season continues Saturday as the Memphis showboats take on the Birmingham and stallions at 7pm. Eastern on Fox. Then on Sunday, it's the Michigan Panthers versus the Philadelphia stars also at 7 Eastern on FS1.

USFL does really nice numbers. Year number two. Now they've got more places to play. So you can put games back to back to back to back to back. Northern City, Cupple, Canton, Ohio's got it. Michigan's got it. I think Birmingham, Memphis now has it. So you can do like an NFL back to back to back games on TV. It's funny about the draft. Everybody does these mock drafts. And the one I do is if I was GM, who would I pick? So at the top of next hour, we do this once a year. We think it's

funny. I love doing it. We take half of the first round, the first 16 picks, and Joel Clatt and I go back on our mock draft. And one of the reasons mock drafts, you know, Peter Schrager at this company, he does every pick. And the reason it's very difficult is it's like being in traffic. If somebody cuts in front of you, then it changes the direction of where you're going. You don't know what somebody's going to do. Take Seattle. Seattle's got the number five pick.

If, let's say, Bryce Young goes to Carolina, but Houston goes Jalen Carter and Arizona goes Will Anderson, the Seahawks may be prioritizing Jalen Carter or Will Anderson, but now they're looking at C.J. Stroud as a backup, and they didn't think he was going to be available. So a team like Seattle, because my gut feeling today, my gut feeling today is Carolina, Indianapolis is going to take a quarterback, which is not a revelation. I think they're getting more and more comfortable with Will Levis because they went and hired Shane Steichen. Shane Steichen is this brilliant offensive guy that had Justin Herbert early in his career, and Justin Herbert popped as a rookie. Then he makes Jalen Hurts the MVP.

So Herbert was considered mechanical, not after Shane Steichen. And Jalen Hertz was considered a work in progress, not after Shane Steichen. So if I'm Chris Ballard and I'm the GM and I hire a coach, a lot of people, a lot of people would have taken Tua over Justin Herbert. I can remember Joey and I being on the show watching the Rose Bowl. What you guys don't like about Justin Herbert? We don't get it. but a lot of people didn't. GMs I've talked to have admitted to me

I would have taken Tua over Justin Herbert. They've admitted that to me in the last couple years with Herbert being such a physical, impressive player, right? So I think Seattle's interesting at 5 because if Indy, I mean, if you're Seattle with a defensive coach, you need a rush end, you need a defensive tackle, you need another corner.

What have C.J. Strouds available at 5? I wouldn't take him at one or two, but at five, or do you, if you're Seattle, do you say, okay, now we'll take phone calls because we don't love CJ's draft? What if Seattle only loves one quarterback in this draft? What if they're like, we really, really like Bryce Young? Or they say, let's just say they say, we'll lev us. And Pete's like, I love his arm. I'm good at taking flawed players.

Will Levis. And the Colts take him. And then Seattle's like, we don't like Richardson. Bryce is gone. We're not into Stroud. Seattle then at five can say, we've got two first, two seconds, two four. We're going to move down again. So keep your eye on Seattle because a lot of people are saying, oh, don't draft Jalen Carter. If I'm Houston, I have no problem them taking Jalen Carter. I think Jalen Carter is the best college football player I saw for Georgia. I know he's got character issues, but he's not a quarterback, so I'm not losing sleep on that. Let me ask you about two. Do you think someone trades up for C.J. Stroud? since the Texans apparently don't want him. I heard a rumor that his agent is also reppping Deshawn Watson and the Texans, what, like nothing to do with that guy because of how the Watson thing panned out?

I don't know how credible it is, but do you think anyone's trading up to two to get C.J. Stroud? You and I agree. He's not a better prospect than Justin Fields was coming out. So what are we doing here? Well, think of how much Bryce Young garnered, a first two seconds and a star receiver. So if you could move up late,

for a second and a first. I mean, again, if I'm Houston and I only have to go down to like seven, and you can get me a player, a second round pick. No, with the questions, who wants to move up to get CJ Stroud? Like, is there a market to move up for Stroud? Knowing in the last, like, five or six years, a lot of the quarterbacks people moved up for? Yeah.

With the exception of Patrick Mahomes, it's been bad. No, you're right. I think this is a year, this coming year, The good teams are going to be really good and the bad are going to be really bad because I think there's at least a half a dozen GMs that are looking at Caleb Williams and Drake May and are thinking, I can keep my job for a year. Hey, I think Houston is thinking of themselves, hey, in the AFC, we're not going to win a bunch of games with who we have, but let's set a culture, get our defense right.

We'll lose a bunch of close games because we don't have the quarterback. Win four or five games. Remember, not everybody top of the draft needs a quarterback. You don't have to be the worst team in the league to get one. If you're a five-win team and the other teams in front of you have their guy. So I think those two quarterbacks next year would both go number. I know they would. They would go number one and number two this year.

Caleb would be the number one pick this year. Drake May would be the number two pick in this year's draft. No doubt about it. No argument. Every executive I've talked to. And I think a lot of GMs, Tampa, Atlanta, they know it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite on. Humor 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 and Friends on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at a podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. 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. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled of 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 Podcast,

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.