The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - The Spurs do their own thing

Episode Date: July 11, 2023

Colin looks at the Spurs shutting down star rookie Victor Wembanyama for the remainder of Summer League He explains why winning won't have an impact on Shohei Ohtani's legacy as one of the best players all time if he chooses to stay with the Angels and miss the playoffs The connection between quarterbacks and wide receivers Thoughts on the Northwestern football scandalSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, it's a Tuesday, all-star game tonight in the Pacific Northwest in Seattle. It's the hurt, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us on a Tuesday, part of your day. J-MAC, a lot of things going on. You know, people sometimes say you guys don't talk a ton of baseball, and we do when it's urgent. There's an Otani topic to talk about.

Yesterday we had Derek Jeter on the show. Postseason baseball, obviously a lot of urgency and stars. Little Braves thought today is they're easily the best team at the All-Star break. Wow. But sometimes when two or three things happen, you know, within a 48-hour period, right, it's not a coincidence. Right? Would you agree with that? Totally agree.

Something's happening. Something's up. So here we go. In like a 48, 72 hour period, Greg Popovich signed a gigantic contract with the Spurs, and they suddenly pull Wembe out of the Summer League. Why? Because by signing Popovich to a long deal,

highly lucrative, making sure everybody knows about it, they are telling Nike agents, the NBA, casuals, diehards, media, we do not care what you think about Wembe. It's going to be a slow, methodical build, minute restrictions, game restrictions. We don't care about the rookie of the year. We do not care.

He will be methodically developed. We are the franchise that created load management and waiting until you get a load of this. They built a $500 million campus. It's called the Human Performance Campus. Wembe and his dad have been there. They built this to get the most out of athletes. Keep them strong. Keep them developed.

Keep them around for as long as they can. Now, Greg Popovich can be really stubborn. I don't think he embraces some of the young players. It's a new world. They're more empowered. He doesn't like the three-point shot. But I agree with him. And I have said from the beginning, when you get 18, 19-year-olds, and they're 7-2, 7-3, it's Wembe, it's Jet Hongren.

You cannot play them 82 games. They're playing in, you know, a French league or you play one game a week. Your travel isn't extensive. Now it's national travel. It's 82 games. There's pre-season. They're going to pull them off the floor, a lot. And it's going to anger the NBA, a lot.

And they don't care. saw that picture about two weeks ago, Duncan and David Robinson and Manu Jolo Joply and Sean Elliott Spurs Legends. That was also a signal to the NBA. We're doing it our way. We're surrounding him with our culture and our guys. Those are all very coachable players. That Kauai Leonard situation, they just changed the way they thought.

They had an old school approach. David Robinson and Duncan and man who were old school, coachable, coach him hard. They understood the culture. Kauai to them was difficult. Wouldn't talk to the medical staff. It was always fuzzy and nebulous, and they didn't like it. And their takeaway is we dipped, but we got our next guy, and he is very old school. His dad is old school, and we're going to protect him.

And they've got this $500 million campus, and they don't care years ago, 2012, at one point, pop sat Tim Duncan. And on the DNP, when asked for the reason, they officially put down old. just to poke the ribs of the NBA. They used to sit players for big Sunday afternoon NBA games. It drove David Stern the late David Stern crazy. But they don't care. They don't care what Nike thinks. They don't care what the agents think.

And they're protecting Pop. They're giving him a big contract because he's had several losing seasons in a row. It's just like Bill Belichick, you start having, regardless of how big a legend you are, you start having bad season. After bad season, after bad season, you get older. some people like me and others and the media can start yelling out at Todd's doesn't embrace the three can't get along with players owners hear all this stuff so this is and I totally agree with what the Spurs are doing here protect him play him 55 games try to play him as many at home as you

can to reward your local fans keep him off some road trips put weight on him I do not believe wemby should be playing 70 games I don't think I don't know if he should be playing 65 games but it is not a coincidence that Popovich signs a massive contract. They make sure the world knows. They pull them out of the summer league. They're going to control this thing. They're not going to let agents control it or shoe companies control it or the league to control it, nor should they. The spurs are really good at this.

They've done it before over and over and again. And they're the best team in the league, arguably, with international players. The dad, Wembe are all in. They'll be developed and protected. and Rick Buecker, by the way, watched him at the Summer League. And, you know, Rick and I went to dinner last night. We watched him at the Summer League. I think Rick and I felt the same way after watching him.

He's better than I thought he was going to be. Boom! I could not be more impressed. He showed me everything I needed to see in game one. He didn't make shots. His floor vision is way better than I. I mean, I haven't seen him play. Like, you can play through him,

and I'm not worried about his. physicality at all because unlike Chet Holmgren, while he is skinny, he's also very willowy. He's very flexible. He takes hits. He goes down. He bounces right back up. He's going to be fantastic. All right. Let's shift gears all-star game. Shohay Otani is the best player in baseball currently. And he'd be starting in this all-star game, but he's got a blister. It's not a big man, but it's a blister. And the big question about Otani, and it's a major one, is do the angels just trade him knowing they will not be able to compete financially? Now, Orange County has a lot of money, but the stadium is outdated. I've been there

a dozen times. It's fine. I don't really care. Dodgers Stadium is more legendary, but Angel Stadium is not a big revenue driver, and they just can't compete. They don't have the TV deals of the Yankees. They don't have the revenue of the Dodgers or the Braves or the Astros. They make good money, but Otani's going to be the richest player ever because he's literally, you know, Aaron Judge plus an ace, plus Moogie Beck's speed. I mean, you can pay him $700 million, and he could fetch that. And baseball makes a lot of money. There's a huge inventory of games.

The owners never open up their books. There's a reason for it. Those owners are making a fortune. Even the A's owner could complain he's making money. But the angels are now one in nine in their last 10. Otani's the best player of the world, and he's basically. buried. Once again, six years with Otani, they've never finished above 500. Forget the World Series. Forget the playoffs. They've never finished above 500.

And the angels are thinking, because this happened with Mike Trout about three years ago, they got Mike Trout to stay in Anaheim. He liked living in Orange County. He's not a publicity hound. He likes to be hidden. You're semi-hidden. The weather is perfect. He was a New Jersey kid or an East Coast kid. He loved the weather. He didn't have to be a big star. The media is friendly down in Orange County. The Angels are their team.

It's not the big bustling, high demand, high scrutiny Dodgers where even Clayton Kershaw can be criticized. So they got trout to bite on it. And they're thinking of themselves, maybe Otani will bite on it. But there is a quote in recent days where Otani has said, losing sucks with Trout. And this is the difference. Major League Baseball is not the NFL. It is not the NBA. There is no Michael Jordan-Lebron debate in Major League Baseball. It's about individual stats. It's why I know as a non-baseball diehard that Hank Aaron has like 755 home runs. Why do I know that?

I don't know how many touchdown passes Brady has. I don't know how many points Michael Jordan finish with. The NBA is about rings and titles. The NFL's about Super Bowls. It's the way it works in sports. In golf, it was Tiger Chase and Jack. It was defining him. He'll never be Jack. He's not Jack.

In tennis, grand slams, Fedder, over Sampras, over Nadal, over. But baseball's different. Ted Williams, no World Series titles. Nobody cares. Tony Gwyn, no World Series titles. Nobody cares. cares. Ted Williams

consider the better baseball player than Derek Jeter. Derek Jeter's got five rings. Ted Williams, none. But the greatest hitter of all time is considered Ted Williams. Baseball's about individual stats. Mike Trout has him. He's a legend. O'Tonnie, wherever he plays, will have him. We're not going to hold him accountable

for his team because we understand how baseball works. You need great pitching. You need a great infield. You need a bullpen. You need some power, but not too much power. You need speed to take the extra base. We know baseball is heavily layered and one great player can't win. We know that if Jeter was a Pittsburgh pirate, he wouldn't have any rings. He was a Yankee, very crucial, but that's a big component to his five rings. The closer, the great player, the right manager, hitting in front of him, hitting behind him. You know, Scott Brocious, Paul O'Neill, Jorge Posada, Bernie

Williams, part of a collective. We don't think any one player basketball, it's like Michael six for six, Russell 11 rings, Magic 9 Finals. It's different. Baseball's about the individual. So what's the pressure on Otani? Now, I, it would drive me crazy to get on a plane year after year after year knowing I'm going to lose a series. It would just get really old. But baseball is different. And we do not hold baseball stars to the same pressurize title or bust, title or bad reputation. Also in California, you're closer to the baseball. Pacific Rim. The weather in the summer is dreadful in many places. It's perfect in Orange County. It's not a pressurized market. So there is no manning in Brady debate in baseball or M.J. O. LeBron.

And Mike Trout's like, I'll sign up. Yeah, maybe I can get more in the market, but nobody's going to bother me. I don't want 15 guys around the batting cage for the Yankees and the Mets. I don't want the pressure of other places. Even Los Angeles, the Dodgers, all they do is win. There is pressure on Dave Roberts. There is pressure on Clayton Kershaw. Mookie Betts has to deliver. They got rid of Cody Bellinger. They're getting ready to get Otani. It's about winning. A lot of pressure. There's not in Anaheim. It's not the way it works. So I think now the Nats let Bryce Harper go and didn't get anything. I thought it was a mistake. Juan Soto, they learned from that and said, okay, we're going to go get six guys. That's protecting the franchise. I think you would be laughed out of the NFL or NBA as general manager.

if you had the best player in the world he walked and he didn't get anything. That's just outrageous to me. Can you imagine if Otani leaves and they get nothing? So you didn't win with him and you didn't get anything for him. You'd never get a job again in any other sport. But baseball is quirky. There is no clock. There's their own pace.

It took them forever to figure out basic speed of the game. It's just a different sport. It makes a fortune. It's about individual stats. We don't hold it against you. If you don't win, Ted Williams doesn't win, Tony Gwyn doesn't win. We don't hold it against you. Right?

We don't consider Derek Jeter, who's amazing. He's not considered the best shortstop of all time, even though he has five rings. He's certainly top ten. But defensively, we look at Ozzy and offensively, there was Ripkin had all that power. It's just the way the sport works. So I can't imagine as a general manager not winning with him and getting nothing for him. I got to get one of those. If I won three or four world series, or let's just say I got two.

the World Series and I was really, really good with Otani. And I fought like hell at the very end and I lost him out. I got something for it. I rewarded my fans, my owner, the organization. We were sold out. But to never be 500 and get nothing for him, I'd be devastating. So to me, I'd move him. I would move him.

And also, you know, Mike Trout is a very, very quiet kid. you know, Otani is a global star. And, you know, you're seeing Otani start talking about, yeah, I don't like the losing part at all. Different backgrounds. Otani's has much more buzz around him. There's much more juice to his game. Let's be honest. He's more important.

He pitches, hits with power. He can run. I just think Major League Baseball would be better served if he moves and is in the postseason. I say this all the time. Damian Lillard owes him. He owes himself May and June on TV. Otani owes himself to be on baseball TV in October. He's that great.

He's an absolute legend. He's a little Mickey Mantle. He's a little Mookiee Betts. He's a little Aaron Judge. He's a little of everything. But Ichero was happy in Seattle. Mike Trout, happy in Anaheim. I get it.

I've seen it my entire life as a sports fan. Some guys just want to stay put. They don't want New York. They're not interested in New York. They want to make their money. They want to be around their family. They want good weather. They don't want the scrutiny.

I mean, you see what happens to the Mets. You bring all these guys in. It's pressurized. They can't hit. What happens when you get tight as a baseball player? You can't hit. You can still pitch. You can be nervous on the mound and still throw 98 and have a cutter.

But generally, in golf, you get the yips if you're nervous. In baseball, you can't hit when A-Rod was in his head. So a lot of these guys, they just want their. own space, they want to live in their own world, I would move him. I just, he's such a remarkable player. I could not live with myself if I got nothing. The Nats did this with Bryce Harper and then they learn from it and then they get the next star, they move him and get six players. So at least that's what the staff told me. I didn't, I didn't count all the players. The staff said they got six guys. So that's where we are today. It is, I am rooting for Seattle to get perfect weather.

tonight. Of course, it's my hometown, right? Well, hometown. It's two hours from my hometown. So I want it to be the greatest all-star game of all-time. The greatest of all-time? That's all-time. What is the greatest one? The one that ended in a tie? No, that was the one that was a mess. Yes, I was joking. Well, there was, didn't Ripkin's final all-star game was a big deal? Jeter had a home run. I think in C, did he have a home run? Where do you rank All-Star game versus the NFL game that celebrates Pro Bowl? Pro Bowl. and then the NBA All-Star game. I think they're all awful except tonight.

I think the baseball all-star game is the only one I watch. The rest of them are awful. I mean, I just, I don't know what it is. There's just something about it. Like I've said this before, I don't watch hockey a lot, but I think the best sports movie I've ever seen after Moneyball, the best sports movies I've ever seen is a baseball movie and a hockey movie. Baseball lends itself to books and literature and storytelling.

In October. Yes, it just, that's what it lends itself. Football is, there's not a lot of good football. movies. Longest yard wasn't bad, but it's a lot of nonsense. Too early in the show to get into movies. Can I just give you one amazing stat about it? You mentioned Ted Williams, and I just decided, let me look up Ted Williams. You know, one of the greatest hitters in the history of the sport. His entire career in the playoffs, he had 25 at bats. That's it. 1946, and he had five hits. He had 200 in the postseason. Ted Williams. It has,

that's, it doesn't ding his legacy at all. How? That's mind-boggling to me. Because baseball's about the baseball cards and memorizing stats and history. It doesn't matter what you do in the postseason. Barry Bonds when he was with the Pirates. I remember he had a postseason that was really bad, and it was like we still thought he was the most talented baseball player of his generation. It just doesn't matter. And that's okay.

Every sport's different. In the NBA, I always think it's funny that Bill Russell has 11 titles, Jordan 6, and we never include Russell in the greatest of all time. Because in basketball, flare and aesthetics and optics matter. It does. And Michael was great looking and Michael had flare and hang time and unique abilities. Russell was kind of a defensive player. So in basketball, how you win, Yokic is the best player in the league hands down. He'll never be the most popular. We'll never put him at the top as the best basketball player ever. Will he move sneakers, Yokic? No, at all. And by the way, he's arguably has the greatest diverse skill set of anybody in league history. He's an elite passer, shooter. I mean, he shoots threes, twos, pass.

I mean, he's literally good. He can handle the ball. He's much more layer than Shaq. But we're considered Shaq to be greater because the power and there is an aesthetic reality to the NBA, the Dr. J's, the Iversons, there's a cultural significance. And I'm okay with it. Everything's different. Basketball's got that.

Football couldn't give a rip. Football's about winning. And then baseball is about individual stats. in history. That's why there's so many great books and movies about baseball. So, you know, Otani, Mike Trout is one of the top 20 baseball players of all time. Nobody cares that he's never one of a playoff series. Nobody cares. But in football, it would be absolutely held, it's absolutely held against Dan Marino that he doesn't ever ring. It's absolutely, that's why Elway goes ahead of Marino, even though I think Marino threw a prettier role. But Marino

was the fourth quarter guy. Marino had the Super Bowl appearances. You know, just the way sports are. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, 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 Jay and I'm Alex English Each episode we pick it here unpack what went down And try to make sense of how we survived it

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill Waxing all about crack in the 80s To be clear, 84 is big to me Not just because of crack I'm down to talk about crack on day But just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode

where we've discussed crack So I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you for finishing that. sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the I-Heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Problems at Northwestern Football.

Talk about that before the end of the hour. Joe Burrow was talking about his star receiver, Jamar Chase recently. I read this morning that he said, you won't be a great team if your best players aren't close. And that is why it's really, really important when you are drafting a quarterback to get the right personality. You want a Jalen Hertz. You want a guy that can be, you know, a leader, a worker. He's in the room a lot.

He relates to players. It matters. Brady Edelman Gronk, Mahomes, Kelsey, Montana Rice, all close. Ten total Super Bowls. Aaron Rogers, Jordy Nelson. Closest relationship he ever had, Super Bowl. By the way, Peyton Manning, Dallas Clark, Matt Stafford immediately connected at a high level with Cooper Cup, Super Bowls. By the way, Big Ben in his last seven, eight years, was not close to young receivers.

They struggled. Josh Allen, Stefan Diggs, we've got warning signs. Aaron Rogers, last year, wasn't pretty, didn't really connect with young receivers. Baker Mayfield, OBJ, never tight. Dad releases, OBJ's dad releases a video. Whether you like it or not, it said something. They never recovered. It never, Baker never really recovered there.

So with Stefan Diggs, Josh Allen and Kirk Cousins, he is battled. And I've said this before. Cincinnati is unique. Kansas City is unique. New England felt unique. They were all guys in the offseason they'd hang. They'd go to the Kentucky Derby. They'd go to Vegas.

They go to big events. They like each other. It matters. Companies are better. That's why they have company retreats and company picnics and company lunches. Companies hang out at water parks and golf courses so people can get along. It's a better environment. So Stefan Diggs is still in his prime, has tremendous value. But I think you notice that during the off season, they're becoming in Buffalo. Look at the architecture. They went and got the best tied in in the draft. They now have two very good tight ends. They got a running back. They drafted another watch. receiver that Josh Allen has already publicly said nice things about.

So what does it mean? They're going to be less reliance on Stefan Diggs, who blew up with Kirk Cousins as well. It should be noted that once a relationship between a quarterback and a receiver goes south, I was thinking about it this morning, Baker and OBJ, T.O. and McNabb, Dez and Dack, you can't unsour the milk. You've got to throw the milk out. And you're not getting rid of quarterbacks. So in most cases, the wide receiver leaves.

As great as Jamar Chase is or Travis Kelsey is, if they were a problem, they'd be gone. So Tyreek Hill, you know, had some off-field stuff. Tyreek Hill wanted the ball more. Saw himself as the centerpiece of the offense. Kansas City moved on and won a Super Bowl without him. So I do think it's going to be very interesting. Does Buffalo have to take a step back, watch the bills this year, run the ball with more consistency, target the tight ends with more consistency, try to become less reliant on Stefan Diggs.

But I was trying to think this morning with the guys, once you have a relationship, quarterback receiver and it goes a little south, it's hard to get it north. It just, it is hard. Milk goes sour. It never unsowers. I don't know what it is. I just couldn't think of one off the top of my head. I sat for five minutes and I couldn't think of a single one where they went sideways

and then they reel it back in and they were great friends. Generally doesn't work that way. Jay Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So, my buddy had some friends over for the UFC fight on Saturday. So good.

One of them was a huge bills fan. Like, he went, you know, he does the tailgating with Bill's fans, jumping off tables and all that. And I said, hey, you know, I don't mean to bag on the bills this much, but I see problems. He's like, yeah, I kind of do too. And he's a diehard Bill's fans. They know what this dig stuff. It's regardless of what they'll tell you on social media, the real bills fans knows something is afoot. And it is looking dicey.

Well, the good news for Buffalo, they've got the right quarterback. They went this offseason and went and again pursued young, talented offensive players. The other thing is college football, probably more than any single position, furnishes the NFL with a lot of talented young receivers. So it's not like if you lose a receiver. I mean, Cincinnati's got three good ones. Kansas City, Tyree Kill goes. They go and find him. There is a surplus.

In the NFL, there's a surplus of one position. Wide receivers. Teams, and I talked to general managers about this, no team has three great corners. The Jets have two. It's virtually impossible. There's not enough good corners. There's almost, no, sauce Gardner is so rare.

Walks in, shut down corner. Patrick Sertan. There's about four elite corners in the league. Eight great ones. The Bengals have two-star receivers. It's much easier to get a receiver than a corner. I don't want to go too off topic, but the reality is a lot of these wide receivers are from Florida. That's where, like, the hub of the great high school talent is. And I just wonder how desirable is playing in Buffalo if you grew up in the Deep South and warm weather or year-round. Like, I don't know. That's something I have to look into.

I've always felt that if you play in Green Bay in Buffalo, they're unbelievable communities, great fans. No question. But, you know, players will say, I'm sacrificing playing there. Sometimes you have to overpay a little, and Green Bay is very reluctant to overpay. So I do think in an outdoor sport, played in the fall and winter, guys like warmth. Guys want to play in warmer weather. You know, I mean, that's, I don't think. Human nature, you know. Well, yeah, and then also, guys like to play closer to home. I totally understand that. But I mean, the Minnesota Timberwolves, by the way. You know, again, that's a winter league. Is that a free agent destination? Boston's got a great brand.

Is that a free agent destination? Phoenix? Guys want to play in Phoenix. It's amazing. October to May, weather's really good in Phoenix. I don't want to be there in August, but I do think there is something about being a smaller market like Buffalo and Green Bay. There's some advantages to it.

You know, you don't get as many players in trouble. You know, there's not a ton to do. It's all about football. The downside is it's not usually the first choice for a lot of star athletes. All right, let's go to the NBA. where Zion Williamson, you know, he's been criticized for not always being in great shape, weight issues during his career so far. Well, he recently talked about his problems with Gilbert Arenas on his podcast.

There are times when I would say that, man, that's hard. It's hard, man. Like, 20, 22. Got a lot of money. All the money in the world, man. It is hard, but I'm at that point now where because of certain things, I'm putting back like the wisdom around me, a bunch of, like, I don't want to say older because they take offense to it. And I'm just putting people around me with wisdom, put me on game to certain things, and just go from there.

Not terribly personally disciplined when it comes to stuff. Like, I mean, I just think at some, I always worry about this. Indifference, like Ben Simmons. Like, you can't solve indifference. If you're passionate and flawed, I can deal with you. I can work with you. If you're indifferent, it's over. It doesn't matter if it's in any business.

If you kind of like this business, but you could work two days a week and be happy, I can't solve that. Well, maybe you're not doing the right aspect of this business. You got into it for a reason. Maybe the love isn't in that particular area, and maybe you need to try this other area of the business. But like, not everybody loves their job. Some people who are even good at their job.

I've asked Tony Gonzalez about this, the Hall of Fame tied in. They said, what percentage of players love football? He said 3%. Oh, that's love. Well, okay. Let's say it's low. 10, 20, 30. The bottom line is football's hard.

Basketball's long. Not every guy in the NBA loves the game the way Steph Curry does. They don't. A lot of guys, by the way, they're told how great they are. They get to the NBA, and they're the ninth guy in the team, and they just fall out of love, or they get injured. They don't like the rehab. They dominated, Zion dominated it with power. Now they're asking him to have a mid-range game and a floater and play differently, and he's like, I don't want to do that.

You bring up a good point. You know, John Morant and Zion have something in common. They have not surrounded themselves with the best people. They've surrounded themselves with yes men. Who are going to tell them, oh, yeah, you're the greatest. Ja, you can do whatever you want. Who cares what they say about a gun? Instagram, go for.

Like, Zion Williams are pretty clearly admitting that he doesn't have the right people around him. He's like, I need to get some old people around me, you know? And the ones with wisdom, like they've been there. And, you know, like Zion even look kind of beefy in that video. Yeah. I mean, I don't know, man. I don't have a lot of optimism. And it's tough to tell Zion Williamson, who's making, what, $20 million a year.

Hey, can you put down that third piece of crumb roulette and maybe lay off? And let's go to bed a little earlier and not, like, go out to slash the cash? Like, that's tough. It is. And we've seen players eat their way out of the league. We've seen players, like, mentally Simmons, Markell Fultz, couldn't shoot. Like, this stuff's hard. You know, I was in Vegas this weekend for a UFC fight, and I was staying at a hotel that had like five NBA.

teams. I saw all these guys saw the Pacers, the Wizards. And the thing that always struck me is how old the coaches are and how young the players are. It's a lot of babysitting. The basketball players, international domestic, are like 19 years old in the summer league. They're 20. They're 21. They're kids. And so if they don't surround themselves with the right influences, it's harder. You don't have to worry about that as much in football because they come into the NFL at 23. They've been coached hard. You know, it's a different environment. You could be harder on the, like Nick Sabin is a great example. He's what, 70?

He's going to start. And he's coaching teenagers. And he's barking at him. And guess what? Obviously some kids fall out of line. But like, he'll get rid of them. Exactly. Or they'll, you know, go to the NFL and nuke themselves.

But I think you've got to, you got to have a coach who's hard on him, you know? I think that's hard in the NBA. I think there's a, I think, you know, in baseball, you go to a minor league system. In soccer, it usually takes years. It's very difficult in the NBA. The coaches are all 55. The players are all 18. And the players are making more than the coaches.

Well, and some of them are, but I think it's hard. I think you have to be more patient and more understanding, and you just have to build in, got to build in, some kids are not going to love the game. Some kids are not going to be disciplined. Get them out of there. Get a spot for someone who does love the game. Well, but Zion's very talented,

and you've paid them a lot of money. But, I mean, it's like, if you build a company, not everybody's going to love it as much as the boss loves it. At the big lead, I'm hiring guys to write for the site. I'd meet them. Within like two or three weeks, you could tell who loves it. Who's jumping on stories left and right, who's active and outgoing. Oh, yeah, I'm going to interview this guy.

I'm going to do this. This guy loves it. He loves it. And then there's other guys just going through the motions, doing the bare minimum. And you know what? After a year, all right, guy, I gave you a chance. See you. That would be great.

But that's not the way the CBA operates. And once you have a player, you've got to, he's got to stick around. And then he gets your reputation. Then you can't move him. It would be much easier. You're paying a guy 32,000. You're paying a guy in the NBA millions. At the volume, you're paying guys more than 32,000.

This is back in the day. We have one-year contracts, and if they don't like it or we don't, we move on, we don't bury anybody, but it's a one-year deal. NBA's got guaranteed multi-year million-dollar deals. It's much harder in the NBA. So you've got to try to drill down and find out what on earth this guy's really about. What do they love? That's how their scouting department in front office, right?

That's why I always defend GMs when they ask uncomfortable questions. Do you love the game? What's your family background? Was your dad hard on you? Do you really care? Like, I'm going to invest millions in a number. 19 year old. I'm going to ask those questions. Are I going to have a roster full of guys that don't give a

run? I was listening to a podcast about interviews and one of the toughest questions for people was, what's your relationship like with your mom and your dad? How often do you talk to them? You could tell a lot about a person what their connection is with their family. Oh, well, I don't really talk to my parents that much

and I don't have a good relationship with my sibling. You know, you start saying that stuff, I don't mean to come off harsh. That's kind of a red flag. Like, why? What's going on? It is a red flag. You've got to do that with these 18, 19-year-olds to find out if you want them in the building. Yeah. I think Zion, let's move on.

It's troubling, yeah. Damien Lillard, he wants out of Portland, obviously. Listen, the GM, Joe Cronin. He's saying a lot, Colin. I don't know. You take this in. Here's what he said about the trade request and finding the best deal moving forward.

I don't feel that I did everything because I wasn't able to get done what we had hoped to get done. I mean, the effort being there, which it was, one thing, but actually following through and getting the result is a whole other. And to that extent, I do feel like I failed Dame. Dame's obviously a very important person and player to us, that, you know, what the rest of his career looks like matters to us, and we care about that.

And at the same time, we have to do what's best for us, and we're going to be patient. We're going to do what's best for our team, and we're going to see, you know, how this lands. And if it takes months. It takes months. By the way, the Blazers have not the most experienced front office. There are people in the NBA I've talked to that, you know, they think Miami is very experienced at pulling off these sort of deals. And they believe that Miami will get the better of the deal from a less experienced front office in Portland.

It'll get worked a little bit. I just think if I was the GM of Portland, I wouldn't talk much. I mean, I'm not hearing Pat Riley talk at all. I wouldn't talk much, and I think this is a little inexperience showing. You don't have to, you know, just say we hope it. I would talk less. I would be much less willing to get in front of a microphone if I was a GM of the Blazers. I just looked him up.

Great point. He's been with the Blazers for 17 seasons, okay? He's been there for Dame's entire career. Yeah. He's probably been seeing him in the building at the facility for over a decade. He's got like a relationship with him. That's going to make it tough for him to trade him. He should have seen this, Colin.

Well, he hasn't been the GM for 17. No, no, not the GM for 17 years, with the organization, right? But you're in the building, you're around the players, like, he should have seen this by, like, the All-Star Break. Hey, we don't look good. Well, I thought the Blazers made a mistake as an organization years ago, and we said it 20 times on the air. They had a duplicate player in C.J. McCollum, who I liked a lot. Yeah. He was Dame, didn't defend much, offensive leaning.

They didn't break him up. It was small market thinking. It was everybody likes them. I would have moved. I said that's 20 times. I would have moved CJ in his prime, gotten a good wing, one more game. So Blazers put themselves in this situation. Small markets tend to get super loyal.

It's the only game in town. They don't want to offend anybody, and it's like big markets move off people. I mean, there's a story today. The Lakers are like, no, we're not going to give AD an extension. And he's their best player on most nights. Why? It's just different here. Fans are more willing to move off players.

They understand the mobility aspect of big cities. Final story. This one's fun. Justin Jefferson, obviously one of the best young receivers in the NFL. So he was asked to list his top five quarterbacks in the league right now, Colin. Okay? Justin Jefferson said his top five was Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rogers, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hertz, and Josh Allen. Anyone missing from Justin Jefferson's top five quarterbacks in the league?

That's not fair. Not fair. He's being honest. Justin Jefferson, those are five of the best quarterbacks. You think he's supposed to put Kirk Couss? You can't throw your guy a bone here? I mean, he's throwing you the football. I think he had him at six.

Yeah, that was the move. So somebody asked Colin, hey, who are the five best guys you've ever worked with? And you leave me off the list. Well, I've only worked with four, so you'd have to be at least. No, I'm talking in your whole career. I'm talking dating back to ESPN at Portland and Tampa. Like, listen, I know. Bob Costas, I haven't worked with, but I like him more.

Is that to puncture our relationship? Bob Costas would not. None of those guys are Bob Costas. Maybe Patrick LaHum. I looked it up. Kirk Cousins, one and three in the playoffs. Five TV's one pick. I can't crush a player for being honest.

I can't Justin Jefferson. I like his list. I think his list is excellent. His list is pretty good. It's pretty good list. But you don't think Kirk Cousins is like, bro, Aaron Rogers? Better than me right now? Roger's coming off a bad year.

Come on. You can't. You don't think he's got any right to be a little peeve? I think Kirk Cousins has a sense of humor and self-awareness. And then be like, yeah, those guys are really, really good. they've won Super Bowls or been to Super Bowls. I'm trying to teach my kids, sometimes you've got to lie. I think there's a time you've got to lie.

That's great. You tell your children to lie. Sometimes you've got to lie to say the right thing. Dad, that outfit does not look good on you. I want the truth. I want the truth. Sometimes you've got to lie and like this is the time to lie. All right.

Well, that's quite a message for children. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lie News. Be sure to catch live edition. of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben. Host to 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 when 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 Mallor on the eye heart,

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 what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, 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 Clivert 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 J.

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, thing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all 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. Add it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

It's the best All-Star game of any sport, in my opinion. Oh, the wonderful, the incredible Shohei Otani. They're in awe. Oh, my goodness. Eddie got him. Oh, what a game. Oh, go ahead, Julio. I know he wants to go to that all-star game, baby.

Tonight, Betts Otani and baseball's biggest headliners. Take center stage in Seattle for the Midsummer Classic. It's the 2020 All-Star Game. Coverage begins tonight at 7 Eastern on Fox. He was viewed as a good college football coach. Pat Fitzgerald, he is no longer coaching Northwestern. He has retained the services of a high-profile attorney. He's got a lot of years left on his contract,

but Northwestern fired him yesterday. They're off a dreadful season. He's a former player there. I always thought he was respected, met him a couple times, liked him. always thought he did a really good job as a coach. But they've got a hazing scandal and multiple players, former and current spoke up. A student newspaper broke the story, tip of the cap to them. Hazing in 2023 seems like meathead stuff.

I'm not a fan of it. I've never gotten better being terrorized or humiliated by people. I don't get it. I never have. But I could spend all day saying that. Pat Fitzgerald, though, claims he just didn't know. Nick Sabin would. maybe that's why he wins more.

As a head coach, you are required to know what 18 and 19 and 20 year olds do on your campus because the parents have entrusted you to know. Those kids are overwhelmingly out of state, not just out of area code. I don't know everything about my staff. They're 40 and 50 year old people with families. But if my staff was 17, 18, 19 had traveled across the country, a big sales pitch by me, You can trust your kids with me. I better know about some semi-marginal kind of sort of or extreme abuse, harassment, or hazing.

It happened in the facility, a new facility, a really, really nice facility that Pat Fitzgerald is mostly in all day. I don't know what happened. You and I are going to disagree on this if you think hazing is cool. Have you ever been motivated by being terrorized, scared? Now, I know. I know it's football. football is for real men. But I got news for you.

A lot of guys play football and they don't like it. That's why like 11 guys spoke up. All right? But it is your responsibility to know. Remember Rick Patino? I don't know anything about the brothel down the street. You got 13 guys on scholarship. Seven coaches.

Every coach basically has a player. If you count training staff, you don't know. Young people talk. They're bad at keeping. in secrets. They're all over social media. They're talking. Other people are talking. Come on. Every time a coach gets in trouble, it's feigning ignorance. I had no idea. It's part of the deal to have an idea. That's why you make $7, $8, $9 million to create the culture and avoid these sort of situations. It is a reasonable expectation, reasonable to know if there's hazing.

that's reasonable. That's not, that's not draconian. That's not overwhelming. That's, that's a reasonable expectation that you would know of a decade-long hazing situation. It's the hurt. 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. or Street or 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. 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 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

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