The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - The Jets will be on Hard Knocks

Episode Date: July 12, 2023

Thoughts on the Jets being selected as one of the teams on Hard Knocks A bold prediction about where the NBA will be in 4 years The Angels should trade both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in order to rebuild into a competitive team once againSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRedio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, it is a Wednesday, and there is breaking news. Although we saw it coming live in Los Angeles, it's the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening.

Thanks for Megan House, part of your day. A lot of times in our business, we can see the story coming. You can see it coming. Today is one of those days. It's official. Jets didn't know. want it, but they're on hard knocks. HBO, choosing the New York Jets.

J. Mack, thoughts on that? I'm nervous. The first six-week schedule is brutal. Now they get the hard-knacks cameras following the team around. Don't love it, Colin. I'll just say don't love it for the Jets. Anybody notice? HBO for years has had hard knocks.

Netflix now has a new series, docu-series quarterbacks. So as Netflix announces theirs, Hard Knocks wants to, HBO wants to up them. And you know what they're looking for in this series in Hard Knocks. They want to be more interesting than Netflix. They're looking for juice and gossip and rumors and inflammation. So the ABCDs of this move. A, Jets are the most interesting team now because of Rogers.

B, Aaron sort of likes to control narratives, won't be able. able to here. He can be prickly. C. The Jets did not want this. How do I know? Here's head coach Robert Sala in June discussing it. I haven't gotten word or anything like that. I know there's several

teams that would love for Hard Knocks to be in their building. We're just not one of them. And D, teams that are on it don't have a great track record of winning. The last 14 teams on Hard Knocks, Have one playoff win.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence. Yeah. It is, though, just another drip, drip, drip, drip that would concern me. First of all, it's a very young offensive team. Aging, prickly quarterback who doesn't want to get hit and the weakness of the team is the offensive line. A defensive coach with a losing record on the hot seat, an impulsive owner, the division's never been better, the conference, the AFC's never been better. The Jets have the longest NFL playoff drought,

so there's no real recent momentum or history on their side. And the New York media is probably a tad overrated, but they can certainly amplify turbulence. It's great for the NFL. It's great for us. It's great for this show. I don't think it's great for the New York Jets, not the end of the world.

But I will say this. The downside to being a quarterback with an opinion on vaccines and opinions on media and wanting his own voice, being viewed as polarizing and building his brand. That's why the Jets got it. That's exactly why the Jets got it. Mr. Bon Vivant, Darkness Retreat, pushing back on the Packers. Robert Sala didn't want it.

You get Aaron Rogers, this is what you get. That's the downside to being Mr. Personality, Mr. Vaccine. I didn't matter if he, I don't disagree with everything Aaron Rogers has said about politics or vaccines. But when you become Mr. Polarizing, you're noisy in the offseason. You want to tell us where you go in the off season. Condescendingly, snarkly, sort of take jabs at lots of people. This is what HBO wants. And now with Netflix in the game, can't wait to watch that Netflix series,

you know they're looking for juice and heaters and gossip. You know they are. Quinn and Williams, possible holdout. Star running back off an injury. What if it's not right? Owner's going to want his face in this series. He'll probably be around the facility and downstairs more than usual. Sala's going to try to hide, but he can't because he's a good-looking guy.

They'll want him on there too. A couple of good-looking guys. Let's get him on. Let's get some hot sauce on this thing. Here comes Netflix. We're HBO. fighting for our lives in the streaming world. One playoff win last 14 teams.

I'm almost certain it's a coincidence. So Kenny Smith doing summer league stuff, and he was talking about Wemby. You know a guy's going to be good when he's got a nickname, hasn't even played a game in any sport. Wembe hasn't played an NBA game. And Kenny Smith said this about the emerging ascending star. I'm going a little further.

In year four, he'll be the MVP of the league. Oh, watch out now. Nah, I can't go that for it. Four years. He will know the league. There will be no LeBron James. There will be no Stuff Curry. There will be no Kevin Durant at their heights.

Hmm. So here's my prediction in four years. In fact, we're seeing it now. Our domestic players from our systems, G-League, college, wherever, will be the most popular and sell the most shoes. European players will dominate our league and win the titles. This last draft is a prime example. Wembe is mature and layered and will make an immediate impact on the defensive end

and probably will be very good offensively too. Scoot Henderson will be more dynamic, more talked about many nights, but he can't shoot. Because the European basketball system, I know it hurts, is better than our. They value development. We value popularity and rushing you to the NBA. In Europe, their system is we. In America, our system is me. We're looking for likes.

Our guys will get richer. Nike will love them. Their guys will win. Europe's best players, best young players are now the world's best young players. Their guys are now the world's best young players. Their guys will have titles. Our guys will have clout.

And that's the way it's going to work. If you ask me today, pick four players under 30. You'd build your franchise around. Four for four Europeans. Luca, Janice, Yokic, and Wembe. Four, four, four. Those would be the guys under 30 I'd build around. I'm not saying I don't like Jason Tatum.

I'm not saying Tray Young doesn't have talent. I'm not saying that. Those would be the four guys under 30 I would build around today. The European system asks their young players to play against men at an earlier age. Beats them up,

toughens them up, layers them up. So they come in more mature, hardened, and ready to roll. It used to be that when Europeans came to the states, they were often soft or developmental players. Now

Luca walks in game one, 21, 8, and 6. By year two, he may be the best peer score in the league. Wemby will walk in year one and be a disruptor day one defensively. Year two, he'll add 27 a game. That's the reality of it. 15 years ago, we got their guys who were developmental. Now they come in and score and defend immediately.

No more of that stuff. I used to think they were too soft in Europe. Now I think our players are too distracted. That's what IG does. That's what it does. Our players now increasingly, Zion, John Morant, great players distracted. Their players, more mature, more skilled, have played against older players, not about popular. It's about getting good, skilled, and titles.

So I think Kenny Smith is right on. I'm not sure if it'll take four years. It'll probably take at least three. But again, if I had to build around four guys in the NBA today, under 30, I don't think I'm wrong. you can argue for Tatum, I would take Wembe, Yokic, Luca, and Yonis. And I think even Jemak agrees with that. Nick Wright yesterday on the outlook, his only concern about Victor Wembenyama. He will instantly be a top flight defensive player.

And I think offensively it will be a lot of what we saw this weekend, meaning a night where he looks out of his death. gets pushed around. The tricky thing will be this. He does not yet have a good jump shot. He has a good looking jump shot, but he does not have a good jump shot. Until he develops that, his easiest buckets are going to be coming at the basket. My concern with Wimby is the same it's been for the last three months, which is a decade into his career, he could be a one-time league MVP, a one-time champion and already a Hall of Famer, and people will be like, well, that was disappointing. Kenny Smith, MVP in four years. Yokic should have just won his third straight. Instead, it was MB, another player, foreign born. I'm all for it. I think it's great. I love

the skilled players. They come in, they're ready to play, they're ready to work hard, the head is down, they don't really care about shoe deals. I mean, all those kids probably care a little bit, but they don't feel distracted. I think our players are dynamic and fun. I love watching them play. I can't wait to watch Scoot. But if you're asking me today, who's going to win the next six titles, I'll take a Luca team, a Wembe team, a Yonis team, a Yonis team, to win a majority, if not all of them. The Luca thing they got to figure out.

But he is a remarkable all-time offensive talent. All right, Jay Mack. So, you know HBO wants some sizzle in this Hard Knock show. Wait, can I go back to your top four guys to build around? I just want to make sure the audience saw

what I did, right? Sports, we do it well. We do a lot of top five lists, Colin. You see how he made this list four and excluded Jason Tatum? I felt like it was on purpose. Like Tatum should be in that group. Now, I would agree he's not better to build around in those four. But why didn't

why don't you just do five and add Tatum? I wanted to simplify it for the audience. I thought four was an, you know, Mount Rushmore's got four. That's a great point. Yeah. Also, all those guys, I believe, are what, six, Lucas, what, six, eight, six nine? Well, it's a, they're all large. No small guards there to build around.

Well, that's okay. I mean, it has been historically outside of Steph Curry, maybe Isaiah Thomas, championships go through bigger players. Jordan was six, six. Well, again, wings and bigs. He was also one of the more vertical players. above the rim. So, you know, I mean, that's not, but I don't think that's inaccurate.

No, I would say Jason Tatum could certainly be a five. I'm not saying our domestic players aren't fun, but I feel like they're a bit distracted. These guys come in. They just don't care about anything other than getting good, getting fast, and winning. I think in the macro sense, there's something to international player playing overseas against mature grown men and are the American basketball players, you know, falling behind a little bit. Yeah, I think our culture, our basketball culture, as Steve Kerr has acknowledged, is highly flawed. It's about popularity.

It's about getting people conjoined with them. I mean, it's all about shoes. And it's about, I mean, seriously, Zion, his first year, all we cared about was an exploding shoe and his dunks on the internet. International players were talking about Yokic being the best passing center of all time. And by the way, this stuff is cyclical. It can ebb and flow. But I do feel like the European system toughens them up. They used to be known as kind of softer players.

Now they come in hardened, focused. I mean, distraction is bad in sports. I don't care if it's golf. I don't care what it is. There's enough pressure on all these kids. Distractions are bad. Their players are not distracted. They win.

And often, Yokic, I'm going back home. I'll see you guys in three and a half months. Wembe Niaman, his first summer league game, his pocket passing. Passing was great. You look at the Brandon Miller highlights from last night. Oh, he scored 26 points. It's almost all-iso basketball one-on-one, like going to the basket, drawing. It's just a different brand than these international players have.

Yeah. And the league can certainly handle both. Certainly. But I think you're seeing, you are seeing a sea change in the NBA. I'm here for it. First of all, I complained for six, seven years, I kept saying this. Can we do something besides shoot threes? like I was tired of 53s.

I like Biggs. I grew up with Walton. I grew up with Wilt, Kareem, Lanier. Like, I like Biggs. I like that element to the game. I like block shots. I love that stuff. Now, Yokic is a different player, but when I covered Sabonis,

he and Shaq, those were fascinating battles. I don't want a league of, Bob Costas talked about this. Do we want a league of just coming down and jacking up threes? No, it's not as aesthetically. I think threes are fun. But I also think a big size, rim protection, you know, I think that stuff's great too. Well, we're looking at the analytics in baseball. How many times did they mention exit velocity during the All-Star game?

That was kind of starting to me. Now in the NBA, it's a math equation. Can you make threes? Can you make layups? Or dunks. Or dunks. Yeah. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,

FS1, and the I-Hard 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 what y'all saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper 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-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 Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a 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 you know. I mean, at this point, 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. If an intruder threatens your home, check out SimpleSafe's new 24-7 LiveGuard Protection. Agents can speak, deter them through the camera. Go to Simplysafcollan.com. There's no safe like SimplySafe. So the All-Star game last night, Seattle was predictably stunning and beautiful.

The National League finally had a little bit of a team. People complained about uniforms. I do prefer the home team unies always have. Be that as it may. the story for the All-Star game and the All-Star weekend is, what in the world should the angels do about Shohei Otani? He is the best player in baseball. He's the most talented baseball player ever.

It's not worth arguing. He's an ace on the mound. He runs as well as anybody, and he hits for power. He is everything. He leads in most power stats. Would have started in the All-Star game. He didn't have a tiny blister. The bottom line, though, is the angels have him and are not relevant

and haven't had a 500 season with him, and at the end of this year, somebody else can buy him for 700 million. The Angels believe they've got a shot to keep him because they kept Mike Trout despite not winning much. But Shohei Otani is globally relevant. Mike Trout's barely relevant in Southern California. Baseball seamheads know him, but in Los Angeles, nobody sees him. He's down in OC. Great player, though, great kid. And so the Angels in my lifetime have only been relevant.

when they win. They're not winning with Shohei Otani or Mike Trout and Mike Trout. So Alex Rodriguez sees it the way I do. Move them. I think this needs a serious, serious situation and a bold move. I think the Angels can win a world championship in five years if they do this. First, you trade Otani. Then you trade Trout.

and you try to get five or six players, load up with first rounders, and the next thing that you have to do is bring in a guy like Theo Epstein, give him ownership, and let him run the shop. So the angels are desperately seeking relevance. I'm not sure if they're desperately seeking wins because they don't win much, but they're seeking relevance. It's why they change their name. It's why they make a lot of decisions based on business, not necessarily winning.

So in basketball, you can be relevant and not win. Mello, Dame, Luca. You can be culturally relevant. You can be what they call a star. You can have a personality, a shoe line. You don't have to win to be relevant in the NBA. A lot of my great players in my lifetime have not been big winners. As great as Wilts Chamberlain was, new documentary out about him.

He wasn't a big winner. He was just interesting. But Bryce Harper, baseball is different. Bryce Harper, as big a star as baseball had for about six, seven years, losing teams when he's on him, nobody talks about him. So the angels are trying to be relevant. Well, they're not with Mike Trout and Shoah Otani. And they're not because they're not winning.

And the only way to break through for the angels, you got the Dodgers 45 minutes up north. You got the Padres increasingly interesting and star studded. And an hour and a half down south, you're stuck in the middle. and you're not relevant with Otani or Trout. That's because you thought it was hard years ago. It's harder now. And so the only way to be relevant and the only time in my life the angels have been relevant has not been when they've had stars.

They've had stars all the time. It's when they've been winning the year they won the World Series title, like 20 years ago. They were relevant. So you've got to rip the Band-Aid off, and it hurts when you rip the Band-Aid off. But this is an organization that wants to be relevant. Dodgers North, Padres, Distracted Market,

beach, mountains, they want to be relevant. They're not. With Otani, with Trout, they're not relevant. But they would be if they got six picks and four players and within three years had a star-studded team. Stars in Los Angeles are just part of it. There's stars everywhere. You can go out to lunch.

I did yesterday. I saw a star. winning is what makes it work. USC's always had good football players. Last year they won. People showed up. It's not just about stars in Los Angeles. Kauai, Paul Georgia stars.

Are you winning? That's why LeBron is popular still here. Bubble championship, Western Conference Finals. You got to win in a city with stars everywhere. We do this all the time. We'll list how many stars there are in Los Angeles. I mean, you get down to Aaron Donald. and he's probably the 14th most popular.

He's the best defensive linemen in 15 years, maybe the best ever. There's stars everywhere. Movie stars, TV stars, sports stars, YouTube stars. That's not going to get relevance here. You got to win. You got to win, and the only way for the Angels to win is to move their two best players, get six, seven players, seven, eight draft picks, whatever you get. Then, like 20 years ago with a title, you'll be relevant,

which is really what the Angels want to be. J-Mac with the news No No Turn on the news This is the herd line news You're going to love this first topic Colin

So Kyrie Irving has had his fair share of critics Right? Yes Whether it's for his antics off the court Some of his extracurricular activity Shall we say But despite all the noise

The Mavs they really are locked in With Kyrie Irving He got a three-year deal From Mark Cuban Who recently spoke up and defended Kyrie Irving. Here we go. All right.

We traded for him because we wanted to be a long-term piece. You know, I think Kyrie's just misunderstood. You know, everybody sees all the noise and everything around him. But when you actually talk to him, I like him. You know, he's just, he's open, he's smart. You know, he's always looking to learn things. And to me, you know, he's an interesting guy that's just misunderstood. He's also distracted.

Misunderstood. Should we drill down on that? What does that mean? That's what Elon Musk says he is. Oh, right. Well, there's a lot, you know, I don't think it's that hard to understand people. So when I hear people say they're misunderstood, it is not very hard to understand people. You could talk to somebody for five, six minutes. You get a sense of their, of their hygiene, their personality, their eye contact, their confidence. It's not that hard. I size you up pretty

quick. You size me up pretty quick. Your wife, you knew very quickly, this could be the one. I said, eight minutes in, I'm like, I'm going to marry you in. I like, I'm going to marry you. I like, I can. The bottom line is it's not that hard to understand people, even complex people. So whenever I hear, you know, this guy is misunderstood, or maybe he's difficult, or maybe he's erratic. I think a perfect synonym is difficult. I was Googling around for misunderstood superstars. Guys like Russell Westbrook. Well, I don't think he's misunderstood at all. Many stories, Russell Westbrook, the misunderstood superstar. No, I don't think, I don't think Russell Westbrook, I think he works his butt off, he plays hard. I think there's part of it. I think there's

parts of his game that are limited. He can't, not a good shooter. I think there's a reason Kevin Durant left him. Well, yeah, but I don't think Westbrook's misunderstood. I think, I know exactly what I get with Russell Westbrook. Play his butt off, productive big minutes, passionate, can sometimes play a bit in a tunnel, which I don't love, but I never, he's totally intense, sometimes almost too much, but I never feel Russell Westbrook. I know exactly what he is. I just wish he could shoot. Well, tunnel is the same thing Kyrie has. He has tunnel vision. I got the ball. I'm going to Take you one-on-one.

It's going to be an athletic, incredible finish. It's going to look cool, and everybody's going to put it on it. Yeah, but that's just part of him. That's the on-court thing. There's the Brooklyn stuff, not available. Well, I look this up. Are you ready? 2019 to 203, they didn't even make the playoffs.

He played in a total of 22 playoff games because he's hurt all the time. Every postseason. Jimmy Butler played in 22 playoff games this year, durable. Like, Kyrie Irving just always falls apart. This Mark Cuban defense of him, man. I know you got to say that because you gave him the 126. How many ask yourself, how many pro athletes in America do you really feel are misunderstood? I think it's an easy out when somebody's erratic to say they're misunderstood.

Is Aaron Rogers misunderstood? No, I know exactly what Aaron is. Single, older, richer. As you get, you know, as you get old, rich and single, you become a bit more self-centered. He can be a tad prickly, likes to kind of control the narrative, had difficulty with parents, some relationships, never been a great foxhole guy, but super talented. I don't feel he's misunderstood at all. Is Kyrie Irving a foxhole guy?

No. I don't think he's misunderstood. It's about Kyrie. He's not a team guy. He's a Kyrie guy. Brad Stevens, smartest guy. It's his fault. Kevin Durant, I'm not available.

LeBron James winning. I'm out. That's not misunderstood. That's erratic. And that's, if I saw him now, I would say to his face, I like, I think you're talented. I think you can be erratic. I don't think, misunderstood is so easy to use when somebody's difficult. It's a cop out, yeah.

It's a, Jay Cutler was misunderstood. No, he was difficult, moody, and hard to get along with. He was never misunderstood. You know, if we put together a wish list of guys I'd love to see on that couch where I'll answer anything. Kyrie Irving is definitely top five, because I've got a lot of questions for that guy. And he's very dodgy with the media, and he probably would dodge a lot of them. By the way, he just signed a new sneaker deal with a Chinese company.

And Kyrie Irving has been Mr. Human Rights for a long time. And I was just reading up about that company. Let's just say Kyrie would have to answer some questions for me. I'm sure the media won't ask him and he'll duck them. But I don't know, Mark Cuban, good luck. He's got an employee. He's got to protect him. So misunderstood is a coverall for somebody who's erratic.

In Hollywood, when somebody's erratic. You know, he's just a misunderstood actor. No, he's difficult. It's just an easy label, and I understand Mark has to protect him. But I don't, I, these players we view is difficult. I don't think Russell Westbrook's misunderstood. He plays his butt off every night. Two teams I root for heavily.

Luca Donchich's Mavs, Steph Curry's Warriors. It's going to be a tough, tough sell for me this year with those two teams. Next up, LeBron James, heading into year 21 in the NBA, still playing at a very high level. He's taking care of his body throughout his career. his agent, Rich Paul, was recently asked if he thinks LeBron could play into his 40s. And here's Rich Paul's response. He's one guy that I'm not going to say no about. I think it's important to understand what really motivates him.

I know it. Obviously, I've been around him for so long. I can tell you what his day probably looks like without even talking to him. And as long as his mind is there, as long as he's still excited about playing the game, and he's in addition to the health, absolutely. But then you saw how he ended the season and him making the comment, having a lot to think about. And then two weeks later, he's texting me

because he's motivated to get back out there. We got another Tom Brady here, playing forever? Well, it's different. Basketball demands a lot more from you in terms of nightly cardio, and it's hard. You're playing three or four games a week. There's national travel. Football you play once a week.

As you get older, you don't even have to wear the pads. And I'm not saying it's easier to age in football, but man, basketball. You know, it's funny. I was talking to a friend this weekend about this. You know, we always look at football players and they're beat up, and that's usually interior linemen. I see old receivers, corners. They look great.

Football players that don't play on the interior lines look great years later. basketball players all look beat up at 45. Their backs are bad, the plane flights. Basketball and hockey guys, dude, you were on a plane every other night. If I fly just from Salt Lake City to L.A., let's say I get up in the morning in L.A., get a little workout in, fly that afternoon, go to Salt Lake and do some stuff, some business, or whatever, I'll be, I'll sleep like a baby. I'm tired.

Yeah. That's an hour 15 flight. These NBA hockey guys are on planes, three, four, five hours after burning seven, eight thousand calories. The league wears you out. For LeBron to have as few injuries as he's had is absolutely genetically. And some of it's that and some of it is he has been so obsessed about his body. Maybe it's remarkable about him skipping some road trips and just staying home. I don't, you know.

So I did look at his numbers against the nuggets, okay? I know he's old. in the sweep he averaged 27 10 and 9 yeah he's not there's no problem he's not really slowing down well no no no the three point shooting was spotty 0 for 10 to start the series and then and picked it up in the final two games he's great in spots that's the difference he can't give you night after night of 42 minutes but he'll give you at least once in a series the old lebron

and at least once a night for a five minute spurt the old lebron yeah he can still he can still go zero to 50 boom He just can't give it to you over and over. But in every game in that Nugget series, there was a four or five minute moment. You're like, okay, it's the old LeBron. Yeah. And then he'll give you about once a series, one of these, okay, tonight I got to play 40, and you're like, how the heck did he do that?

He just can't do it over and over. Yeah, they're built this year for LeBron to take some time off and still be very, very good. All right, final story was the MLB All-Star game. The AL streak is over. Over. The first time since 2012, the NL won the MLB All-Star game. Yeah. They were down 2-1 in the bottom, on top of the 8th, when Rocky's.

catcher Elias Diaz had a go-ahead two-run Dinger to take a three-to-two lead. The AL had a chance to steal it back in the bottom of the ninth, the two men on base, but Craig Kimball was able to lock out the save. Yeah. A nice little three-two victory, good game. It was. How about that beautiful stadium, those amazing fans there early? This is not L.A. and Seattle, they show up early. Yeah. That is actually, that is a beautiful stadium. And it's a great summer weather. People, if you've never gone to Seattle or Portland this time of the year of the summer, it's like 85 degrees, no humidity, stays light forever. Seattle looked predictably stunning last night.

There is something awesome about going to a baseball game in the summer with the backdrop. Oh, and the ferry system? You see the ferry system over to Bainbridge, Vashon Island. It was just a spectacle. It was so beautiful on TV. Props to the Fox production crew. Everything was beautiful. Yeah.

Good stuff. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben. Host of The Fifth Hour with Ben Mallor. It would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour?

I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mallor show, a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture if you will a world. where we chat with captains of industry in media, sports and more every week explore some amazing facts about human nature and more.

Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, 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, Clipper 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. 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 J. 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's 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 podcasts. Saturday, it's baseball night in America on Fox.

Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman lead the Dodgers against Pete Alonzo in the Mets. All the White Sox take on the red-hot phrase. starts Saturday at 7 Eastern on Fox. Check for the game in your area. Good luck to the Mets in the second half. So of all the topics I ever do, there is one that separates my youngest viewers and listeners from my older viewers and listeners. There's this one topic, and the young people always line up on one side, and I mean young is 35 and younger. and the older people often married kids businesses older perspective been around a while line up on the other

and here's the topic whenever there's a young quarterback coming into the NFL with a lot of personality noisy cocky i'm like it's not going to work i said it with baker i said it with james i said it with johnny mansell i had my issues with cam i'm like you got to put out fires not start them the young people always defend. Have some fun old guy. Come on old head. And I'm right every time. Older audience that I have on radio or TV is like, yeah, you're right. Why would that be? Because older people have had kids and they've watched kids, their kids, others kids. If you're starting fires and not putting them out, it won't end well. That's why very early in Dak Prescott's career, I said, I don't really see the talent, but that kid's grown up.

Like he's got intangibles. He's got a vanity-driven owner. It's the biggest franchise in America. He's got Zeke doing silly stuff. And Des Bryant's got all sorts of turbulence. And Dak just handled it. Dak's not the most talented guy. Total grown-up.

A plus-plus-plus leader. Great intangibles. Decent talent. So quarterbacks are not making $45 million a year just a complete pass. and the young people that watch and listen to my show think that's all it is. They think that's all it is. You got Patrick Mahalm dealing with pressure.

He's got a distracting brother. They've rebuilt the O line. They've rebuilt the D line. Every year, Mahalms' EQ, along with his IQ, are through the roof. He's a soothing, calming presence. Dak Prescott, soothing, calming presence. Trevor Lawrence, even with the Urban Meyer stuff, will be okay. A soothing, calming presence.

You ain't making that lettuce because you can throw nine-yard curls or drag routes. You got to have a grown-up. So to this point in his career, you've got to put out fires. Can't start him. I said that about Baker Mayfield. He would take a little ember at practice, go to the dais press conference, call to medical staff. Now you've got a forest fire. And all you under 35 couldn't see the Oklahoma ego, you couldn't see it.

You clung to the, I'm right. No, you're not. It's not going to work. Jalen hurts. Disruptions. So, So, Josh Allen's fascinating.

So far in his career, it's been great. He needed a big receiver that got him one. He's got a stable coach, excellent owner, sharp GM. Media is not hounding. him. Great story. Small town kid. Everybody rooting for him. Now we're going to see if he's Mahomes. Now it's going to get difficult. Stefan Diggs, really good. But with Kirk Cousins in about year three or four, he got noisy. Not a bad guy. Just got noisy. Now he's noisy. Now the team is clearly building up tight end, O line, running back depth. So Jay Cutler was

too ambivalent. I didn't like it. Cam Newton too much into Cam. Aaron can be prickly. Leadership wins these Super Bowls too. Brady invited Crazy A.B. into his house. Dak Prescott, always a soothing presence for the Cowboys. To this point, Josh Allen's talented. This is going to be the test. Because it would be very easy with Mahomes' brother, rebuild O'Line, all the pressure, all the money, 30 indoors. be very easy for him to unravel and get in his head. But you can tell Mahomes has a good mom and dad. You can tell he's got a high EQ, a high IQ.

He can handle all of it. It's not easy. Adam Silver talks about it all the time. My players are miserable. Mahomes never looks miserable. And he's got all sorts of distractions. Dax got all sorts of distractions. He's winning 10 plus games a year.

So I think there's a lot. This is a very interesting year for Josh Houn. Because a lot of guys in this league, they're just talented. Now it's the neck now because you're going to get real turbulence. Can he land the plane? Because it's going to get really bumpy. And the organization, I mean, you saw camp. You saw the theatrics last year.

It's not going away. We talked about it yesterday. Once the receiver quarterback thing goes a little south, hard to get it north. Can't unsour milk. It doesn't work that way. So I'm excited for it. So I, you know, I saw this, this Bryce Young. And if I recall, J-Mack is not as high.

high on Bryce Young as I am. He's the quarterback from Alabama that is now going to start for Carolina. So I think Carolina is going to be a wildcard team. They're my what are you talking about team? Everybody's got to take a big swing. Carolina is my big swing. I like their defense. I love their coaching staff. I think they've got some interesting receivers, mostly two and threes. But they ran the ball okay last year. I think Bryce Young's good. But here's the thing. Because Alabama and Nick Saban is really about 90% NFL franchise already. Their weight training, their nutrition, their coaching, their film study. Nick's been to the NFL, knows the NFL.

Alabama, they squeeze all the talent out of the players. So when you get an Alabama player, you kind of know the ceiling. You kind of know what they have. You kind of know what you're going to get. If you go to Mack Jones and Tua, the first thing we saw, we kind of saw what they were. Now, obviously, Tua is better now with an offensive coach that loves him or likes him than a defensive coach, Brian Flores, who didn't like him. But if you go to rookie Mac Jones, 10 and 7, go look at Mack Jones rookie years, rookie year, 67% completion, passer rating low 90s, 10 and 7, that's what he is. If you go to Tua's first year, you think it was bad. No, it wasn't. 2 to 1 touchdown, interstations.

reception ratio, passer rating high 80s, 64% completion percentage, one, two games for every loss. Now, the passer rating will go up because he's got an offensive coach, not a defensive coach. But I think you saw with both rookie year, it's kind of what they are. Lower ceiling, not great off script, can move in the pocket, accurate throwers, some leadership abilities. And I think that's what you're going to see with Bryce Young. He's not going to add 40 pounds, not going to develop a rocket arm. he's never going to be super twitchy and wildly athletic, though he moves pretty well.

I think you're going to see year one kind of what he is. Now, I think Mack Jones with better receivers, his passer rating would go up. Tua with an offensive coach, Jalen Waddle, and Tyreek Hill. His passer rating goes up. But I thought very early you saw exactly what Tua was, and very early rookie year you saw what Mack was. Because I think Alabama's program is so good that it squeezes the talent from the players.

They don't leave a lot. They don't leave a lot of juice left. You get all of it. Now, some players just developed. Quinnon Williams was a great college lineman. Took him a few years. Now he's a great defensive lineman. But there was a reason he was a first round pick to the Jets.

Like, I'm not saying guys can't get better, but at quarterback to a Mac and Bryce, I think you're going to see in the first 10 games, kind of what they are. Here's defensive tackle, Grady Jarrett, for the Panthers on Bryce Young's size. I don't know either, you know, because I'm a quote-unquote smaller defensive tackle, you know what I'm saying? So I think the man was drafted number one for a reason, you know, and I think we all going to find out, I mean, a while over time. And so you got to give him as, you know, just due credit to, you know, prove it otherwise. So it is what it is. Got to prepare for him.

Falcons, not Panthers. So, by the way, he's a great player undersized, but a great defensive tackle. So a lot of people, you know, they don't know about. Bryce Young, but there is a reason that Carolina and Frank Reich, who has a history of being very good with quarterbacks, there's a reason they gave up DJ Moore and all those picks to go to number one, because they looked at the film and they felt watching that film, they knew what they had. I still have questions about C.J. Stroud. People had questions about Justin Herbert. Tua, Mac Jones, Bryce Young, I kind of know what we're going to get. And I think it's going to be

about a 65% completion percentage. He's going to go 8 and 9 or 9 and 8. Some of that depending on what's around him. He'll be a product of what's around him. He's not going to be a superpower and steer something that doesn't have a lot of talent. It is accurate and talented as Tua is. He's a lot better with an offensive coach and better weapons. There you go.

Dionne Dawkins in studio, Buffalo Bills, is going to be joining us. They're the team. A lot of people are worried. agreed about the bill, so we're going to bring somebody on front and center to talk about him. I played pickup hoops with him at the Super Bowl a few years ago in Miami. He is a large individual, yes. Well, he could tap dance with those feet, though. He really moves quickly.

Yep. All the great tackles can do that despite their size or with their size. All right, hour two on a Wednesday. Next. 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 podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say it. Yep, that's me. I'm from Cliford 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 IHeard 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. 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. This is an IHeart podcast Guaranteed human