The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - Thoughts on Aaron Rodgers

Episode Date: March 1, 2023

Thoughts on Aaron Rodgers' recent comments The skill that makes Kevin Durant so special Why Russell Wilson struggled last seasonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild 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. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd.

Now let's get this party started. You're listening. to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go. So much content. Where do I start live in Los Angeles? It's the herd wherever you may be. And however you may be listening.

Thanks for making us part of your day. J. Mack. KD. debuts tonight for the Phoenix Suns. That thing's going to work. Game one. It's going to work instantly. Just like Kyrie and Dallas and Russell Westboro. with the clippers.

Those are different cats. I'll get to that in five minutes. Are you excited? It's March. The calendar says March. I'm excited because of two or three things. One, this is the final stretch for the NBA. Notice how well the Warriors played last night?

Oh, yeah. Here goes KD and the Sons. This is a good time of the year. Love it. Let me start with this. Aaron Rogers went on a podcast with a philosopher. Don't giggle. Nothing wrong with philosophers.

And on the podcast, he talked about giving the Green Bay Packers a heads up on what he's going to do. And as it often is with Aaron Rogers, it was thoughtful. He said, listen, he was on this Aubrey Marcus podcast. He's a philosopher, I'm told. He said there's a finality to the decision. I'm not taking it lightly. I don't want to drag anybody around. I'm answering questions because I got asked about it.

I'm talking about it because it's important to me. If you don't like it, you think it's drama, you think I'm a diva or whatever, tune it out. That's fine. But this is my life. It's important to me. I'll make a decision soon enough, and we'll go down that road. I'll be really excited about that. So there's two ways you can kind of look at this if you're a Packer fan.

Number one is it's March 1st. The season ended February 12th. It's no big deal. The Packers don't have any cap space anyway in free agency, which starts in two weeks. Even if Aaron left, they don't have a lot of cap space. And it's not like Green Bay is ever a big player in free agency. And for God's sakes, Jordan loves in the building. If Aaron leaves, they got the guy in the building.

The season just ended a couple of weeks ago. It ain't that big of a deal. In Green Bay, free agency, it's an eye roll. It's not like people are lining up to go there and they don't have much cap space with or without Aaron. You could look at the second way. Season ended January 8th. You're taking retreats. You just spent four days in darkness.

Come out with an answer. I mean, what did you do in there? I get that one too. Be a grown-up, make a decision. But my take is, on a macro level, is big corporations, including this one, the NFL, the Packers, they like control, they don't like questions, they don't like not having their plans finalized. They like certainties. They like cost certainties.

They like guarantees. and the truth is in America in 2023, movies, music, and sports. Some of these superstars, they got more leverage, they got multiple suitors, and they're going to work on their clock, and you've got to get over it. And this is exactly how Aaron Rogers acted two and three years ago. This isn't a radical change of personality. You gave him an extension knowing this is who he is. That's on the Packers.

You made a decision a year ago to give him the bag, knowing his personality. Aaron's not a radical. I mean, what did Maya Angelou say? People act a certain way. You know, they show you who they are, believe him. Aaron is arguably the most authentic, honest, and upfront professional athlete we have. Doesn't mean I always agree with him.

But he lets his, he puts his cards on the table. He'll tell you what he thinks about the media, about vaccines, about conspiracy theories. He'll tell you what he thinks about the package. He's got a quote in this podcast. He talks about Matt LaFleur. So I've always kind of had a theory on this is that if you're honest with me, I can deal with anything after that. Just be up front. Don't be passive aggressive. Just be upfront about it. So Aaron's basically telling you, I'm just being authentic. I'm just being honest. I'm just being up front. This stuff means a lot. You know who I am. You gave me an extension. I'll give you an answer soon enough. And I'm okay with it. I really am. I do think at some point when you go on a retreat, like I said this earlier, if I was on the I don't know if I want to stay married or not. And I told my wife, I'm going to go to Vegas with the boys for four days. I'll get closer to an answer when I get back. Probably not what she wants to hear.

But big agencies, big governments, big companies, big corporations, big groups with power want answers. And with stars in America today making what they make, multiple platforms, multiple revenue streams, multiple suitors, Aaron Rogers has more control than Green Bay does. And they knew it. And they gave them an extension anyway last year. it's on them, it's not on him. And they're not a big free agent player anyway. And hell, Jordan loves in the building.

If Aaron walks, he's in the building. You got the replacement. You don't have to go out and get car, Garapolo. He's in the building. All right. So this is something. Speaking of big personalities, I like Kevin Durant a lot.

You know that. And one of the reasons I think Kevin Durant's going to be really successful with the Phoenix Suns is he's a baller. he's not a strident personality. He's kind of chill. He's a plug-and-play guy. You can put Kevin Durant with anybody. He worked with Draymond. He worked with Steph.

He got Westbrook to a finals. Actually, before he got hurt this year, he and Ben C work with Ben Simmons. Nobody can work with Ben Simmons, except Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant works on Olympic teams. He works on the West Coast, the Midwest, the East Coast, young players, old players. It doesn't matter. Kevin Durant's a baller. He doesn't need the ball in his hands all the time.

He's not a strident personality. But it was very interesting. Both the Mavericks with Kyrie Irving and the Clippers, a good team, Dallas. They brought in at the trade deadline, Kyrie Irving, big personality, strong opinions, and a certain defined style. And they're one in four. And the Clippers, a pretty good basketball team, I think they're the one team that matches up very, very well with Golden State.

The Warriors getting hotter now. Westbrook, big strident style, defined style, very rigid. It doesn't make them bad guys, but the Clippers lost again last night. They're 0 and 3 with Westbrook. And so the bigger the personality, the more strident the game, the more defined the style, maybe bringing them in at the trading deadline is too much for the Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks to handle. Kyrie and Westbrook are like adding a really strong spice to a meal and you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what is that?

That's going to take some getting used to. They are strong. They'll tell you what they think. Their style is this and not that. Neither plays a lick of defense. They both need the ball. They both want their points. Head down.

This is what I am. That's not Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant, you can add him to any day. He worked with Ben Simmons. They were a two seed before he got hurt. He worked with Steph. He worked with Draymond. He worked with everybody.

He was the only thing that worked in Brooklyn, the only thing. So he's going to hit it out of the park with the sun starting tonight. He'll have big points. He'll dominate and they'll roll. And I think they're going to get, my guess is they're getting to the Western Conference finals. But Westbrook has struggled with James Harden. Hell, he struggled with LeBron. Nobody struggles with LeBron.

Everybody works. Bosch worked. Badiye worked. Ray Allen worked. D. Wade worked. Kyrie Irving work. Kevin Love worked. J.R. Smith worked.

Anthony Davis worked. KCP worked. Westbrook didn't work. Westbrook didn't work for LeBron. And so at the trading deadline in basketball, maybe it's simply asking too much to bring in a very ball-centric, defined personality at the break. It'd be different if you bring him in pre-seasoning. season. You kind of work through your issues, guys kind of hang out, you know what you have, and you slowly work them in. But to just bring in Westbrook and Kyrie and say, jam them in,

that strong spice at the deadline, because the Mavericks are good and the clippers are really good, and they're both one and seven combined with these two guys. So, and by the way, Westbrook struggled with Hardin. He struggled with Mello and Paul George. It goes back, Sam Presti runs Oklahoma City, highly respected, one of the smartest guys in basketball. And I don't have all the inner workings of it, but I still contend, as the league was becoming a shooter's league, Kevin Durant felt like the team was pro Westbrook and not pro Kevin. And in the end, I would have made it, and Sam is brilliant, but I would have made it abundantly

clear years in advance, it's Durant's team. Westbrook, take it or leave it. Kevin felt like they made a choice and it was too often Westbrook. He went time and time again reportedly and said, listen, the guy has the ball in his hands. I get the ball too late in the shot clock. Can we make it work? He's kind of got a rigid style. So it's the one mistake.

Presti's done a really good job there, but it's the one situation in his career. How can you let Kevin Durant walk out the door and not curry favor with him every second of the day? So it's just interesting. The Clippers are now 0 and 3 with Westbrook. Situational, end of the game last night, made a play that was regrettable. Not sure why you'd have him in late. And the Mavericks are now one and four with Kyrie Irving. Katie, meanwhile, starts tonight, and he is going to crush for Phoenix.

Plug and play guy. All right. We got a lot of stuff. Very excited. J-Mack, you know, there's just opportunities to love so much in life and sports. And the next month is going to be so great. Unless you're a Clippers fan and you watch Ty Lou shove Westbrook into the starting lineup. Tyloo is supposed to be a great coach column.

What on earth is he doing? And here's the other thing. It's not a surprise that with nonverbal Kauai and passive Paul George that Westbrook fills the void, fills the vacuum, right? There's a space for a big, strong personality. You insert Westbrook in and he takes control because Kauai is nonverbal. And Paul's a great player. But a little passive. Like he always feels like a two.

even though he's got one talent. So you put Westbrook in and he's like, I'll take over. Of course he will. That's his personality. That's his style. That's who he is. So he shouldn't have some awareness and realize like, hey, man, you're joining a team that's a contender, sit back a little bit, pass the ball around. That's not what he is.

And that, he eats their own. That's not what he is. 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, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment.

And the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok, Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at It podcast. I'm Sam 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 all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, I'm trying to think why I'm in such a good mood today is I did mushrooms last

night on a pizza. It was on a pizza. I did a mushroom pizza and it just, you know, something about the way it's making me feel this morning is just fantastic. So Sean Payton, my friend, by the way, my friend Sean Payton, who used to visit me every week for 30 minutes and give me all sorts of insights and then my friend left me. There's some sadness. But now I can root for him for the Denver Broncos, and I think he's going to do very well. We've both talked about this. This is the easiest team in the league to bet they're going to double their win total. Denver's going to be much better.

How much better with Herbert in the division and, you know, Mahomes and Andy Reed, but they're going to be much better. And so, Sean Payton, the Russell Wilson office thing got a lot of play. He had his own office, second floor, a lot of leaks, a lot of shrapnel on this thing. out and people didn't like it. So Sean Payton recently talked about it, and here he is. It was a tough year. And so someone said it last night. I forget what I was watching. You know, they have success last night. I don't think the upstairs meeting room matters to anybody. I don't think it matters because I didn't see any articles from any of you, you know, prior to week one or week two, and that was happening. But that's what happens when you lose.

Then everything gets looked at closely and including the coaching. By the way, I disagree a little. The number one rule in sports, all sports, all levels. If you're winning, don't derail the train. Okay? Keep it to yourself. Nobody cares about your problems. Nobody cares about your ego, your paycheck.

If you're winning, don't derail it. Hard to win. Hard to win all levels. Hard to win for the Warriors. Hard to win now for Alabama football. It's hard to win. Don't derail it. Now, once you lose,

stuff leaks. But I believe this to be true. I've worked at a lot of different companies. Even when the companies are crushing, employees are grumbling privately about something. There's no perfect company. There's no always happy employee, right? So I think one of the things,

Russell Wilson's personality did not change. He's the same guy. I've known Russell for a long time. It's the same exact guy. What changed is the win loss record. And so I don't think, I mean, you're seeing it now. it's easy to pile on Russell Wilson. And it is surprising to me how much joy people in Seattle and Denver immediately took in piling

on Russell Wilson. I've always liked him. He's a very religious guy. He's a very optimistic guy. There's a T-Bow quality to him. It's always sunny. Let's ride. It doesn't bother me.

What bothered me about T-Bow was, he wasn't very good. If you can play, you can play. your religion, your optimism, some think it's corny or inauthentic. What do I care? If you're a good dad, good husband, good player, I don't care what church you go to. I really don't. But I think it's interesting. Aaron Rogers, Kyler Murray, and Russell Wilson.

Nobody said a word about Kyler Murray's work ethic for two years. He saved the franchise. He got better first year to second, second year to third. Nobody said anything. And then he gets banged up, doesn't play, and now everything leaks. So you know that Kyler Murray and his lack of attention to detail was an issue in the building when they were winning. But nobody talked about it. So I don't think they're perfect companies.

I think there's always unhappy employees, even when you win. But the rule in sports has always been the same. Don't derail the train when you're winning because winning is hard and the margins in pro sports are thin. As far as the office goes, Belichick couldn't stand. when Brady had Alex Guerrero in the building, remember that, the trainer? And he was the goat, and they were winning. Belichick didn't like it. Coaches like control.

Sabin does, Belichick does. Sean Payton does. Never forget Sean Payton's answer initially when asked about Russell Wilson's office. Russell Wilson had a personal coach, Jake Hughes, in the building with access, who wasn't on the staff. Yeah, I'm not too familiar with that. How do you feel about players having their own people off the staff in the building, access to players?

Yeah, that's foreign to me. That's not going to take place here. I mean, I'm unfamiliar with it, but our staff will be here. Our players will be here, and that'll be it. By the way, Aaron has a little pushback from management in Green Bay. They want control and they want answers. And Russell, maybe have a little pushback in Denver. They want you to be with the rest of the guys.

You don't get your own office in Kyler Murray in Arizona. You're not studying as much as you want as we want, so we're going to make it public. Again, we're moving into a new time. It's not a bad time, but sports, music, and movies now. These guys have power, and you got to hand them bennies that you don't give to other players, and that's the reality of it. And nobody's completely happy with Russell, Aaron, or Kyler. But when you win, they're still grumbling, but you don't let it out.

Don't derail it. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Speaking of derailing things, that eagle's short-yardage sneak, remember how dominant it was last season? We totally disagree on this. I love it.

I think it's within the rules. GM Howie Rosvin was asked about whether or not it's going to be curtailed at the combine this week, and here's what he had to say. All I know is everything we're doing is legal, and it works. And just because people do something that's really good doesn't mean it should be outlawed. Yeah, you know who else has a history of bending the rules? Mr. Belichick in New England, always finding these small areas to operate in that really ticks off opposing coaches. I remember a playoff game against the Ravens where he had that tackle eligible. And Hardball's like, wait, that's illegal.

And they're like, no, it's within the rules. So I got no problem with it. I think it's legal, but these are television networks paying the league. And what the league, you have to be able to see around corners. You have to be able to see trouble and go, okay, it's legal now. but we got to get in front of this because it's a copycat league. And what you don't want is every team in the league now, and they will. Everybody's got an off-season.

The entire league now will do this seven times a game, and it's rugby. And so it's not good television. Also, when things are automatic, they're bad for TV. By the way, the PAT got too automatic. The research showed after a touchdown, people left their TVs and switched the channel. So they said, we're going to make the PAT harder. It wasn't illegal, the shorter PAT. AT. It was boring and automatic. This is indefensible and automatic, so it's boring. So what the NFL

will probably do is, you know, you can implement whatever you want. You can't push a running back anymore. You can still do this, but no more pushing. And by the way, the defensive shift in baseball, which I hate and I've always hated, it's gone. It wasn't the illegal too. It was, I think it was Joe Madden in Tampa. Was he the one that first used? I think, I don't know who. I think the raise. And Joe Madden's always been a kind of, you know, you know, unique kind of a unique personality and he's like, hey, this stuff works. And then, and they were a small market team and a low budget team. So it's not illegal. But leagues have to protect what they think is the television quality. They don't like

automatics. Automatics are bad for sports. You know, you know what's good for sports. Fourth down and let's go for it. Let's let's go for it. And it also, I think there's a element of strategy, Colin. If it's second and seven, hey, we don't need to, we don't need to do too much year. Let's make a safe play, get close, set up third and two. We get the fourth and one. Safe play. More offense? Strategy? Come on. You got to love it. Now people say, well, Tom Brady did the quarterback sneak because Tom Brady was six five and on fourth and one, he, he individually, the star would get the first down. He didn't have four fullbacks pushing him from behind. So I just think the league looks at it. I think what they're going to do is you can do whatever you want, but you can't

By the way, the NFL allowed this a couple years ago. I'm not a huge fan of it. I see it in college, too, where you can push people. I don't love it. Like if you have your own inertia and you create your own momentum, fine. USC beat Oregon State, basically. It should be noted as a USC homer because Caleb Williams went for it on a fourth, didn't get it, and the team just pushed it back.

What about the Bush push, Reggie Bush? The Notre Dame USC game. Come on. You don't remember that. saw that video. That was one of the greatest college football games I ever saw. It's the greatest, and I don't recall that play. Let me just remind you real quick. I was on my one-year anniversary date with my current wife, and, you know, I had to go to the bathroom to watch the end of that game on my phone. That's how, like, clutch it was. I was, like, leaving the date to go watch the end of this game.

I had money on it. How did your wife deal with that? She didn't know. I mean, I was just, like, you know, pretending like I was sick or whatever. It's fine. 20 years in the relationship at this point. All right, next up, the Chicago Bears. Big decision to make with the first overall pick. They could trade fields. They could keep him. They could draft a quarterback. GM Ryan Poles said the team will do their diligence on this draft class as

quarterbacks. Coach Matt Iberfluse added his evaluation of fields yesterday at the Combine. We're just in the process of evaluation of everything right now. So, you know, Justin had a really good year last year. We're excited where his progress is. and just like everybody else, he's working to improve his game as we are as a football team. For the first year in the system, I think he's on the right track, and again, he's just got to make small improvements and adjustments to his game.

And he's obviously a tremendous athlete and can do a lot of different things. But, you know, if we call a design run, sure, you can run it there. But, you know, third down and, you know, situations like that, critical situations in the red zone, certainly do it there. But when it's first and second down, you know, early in the game, let's just take what the defense gives you and then move on. Yeah, and let's not pander here. His quarterback rating two years in is 79.

It's not great and he struggled with accuracy. So it's not tweaking. He's got to become a better passer. Well, the counter is he's had in the last three years, he's had basically three different offenses, right? The college one, and then the rookie year with the Bears, and then the new group came in and they got a new offense. This is fair, but that's also the NFL.

You lose coordinators. Jalen Hertz, by the way, just lost a great coordinator. Deal with it. It's the NFL. Justin Herbert's on his second coach and I think his third coordinator or second No, he's on his third coordinator. He's still great. Justin Herbert had the worst

O-line in the league. The worst. 32nd PFF. A coach that got fired set an NFL record for touchdowns by a rookie. Whoa, I'm over excuses. Don't tell me Chicago's O-lines as bad as the Giants. It's not.

PFF ranks the Giants 32nd and the Bears 14th. Cole comeets a good player. Mooney can play. Claypool can play, serviceable running backs. The Giants have less talent than the bears offensively and won a playoff game. And I don't like Daniel Jones. You know that. And I think Justin's got way more talent, innate talent. But let's stop.

You know, it's just a couple tweets here. Right now it's not working. It's hard to lose 10 straight games in the NFL. It's hard. You don't think it's in this league, Houston took the chiefs to, not only did Houston take the chiefs to overtime, the Colts beat them. The margins in this league are inches. Bears beat the Patriots in Foxborough by like 20.

Remember that? Nice win for Justin Fields. I'm not anti-Justin Fields, but it's not like, you know, just figure out first down. There's a lot of things I've got to work on here. Okay. Final story. Nicole Yokic, who I don't know, you don't talk about him enough on this show,

Colin. Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, you're not into them. Listen, Yokich recorded his 100th career triple double last thing. 14, 11, and 10, and the Nuggets win over the lowly Rockets. Yokic is the sixth player in NBA history to hit that milestone after the game. Head coach Mike Malone talked about what makes the Joker special. I think all of us in Denver, and I challenge myself to do this, to never take him for granted, to never take his greatness for, like, because I grew up in this business, in this league, and this game,

and, you know, things can change quickly. So I make sure I appreciate everything he does. And for him to be mentioned with all these historical, accomplishments. Just remind you that we are so blessed to have a guy like Nicola, who is as talented as he is, who accomplishes all these things on the court. But the most important and impressive thing about Nicola is with that, so humble. I mean, it's never about, like, I just gave him the ball, and I think he's embarrassed by that. He doesn't want it to be about him. And that's what makes him a special person. For the record, he is amazing. There are

athletes that are great that are not as newsworthy. Kevin Durant's more interesting. He's a more interesting player. LeBron's journey, Michael Jordan had style, charisma, talent, conflict. Jordan was the literally checked every box. Great looking, great player, conflict, adversaries. I mean, it was just Jordan was perfect. Not every great athlete is newsworthy. Yannis is not that newsworthy. He's just great because there's no controversy around him. He's the nicest guy in the world. he's never going to leave Milwaukee. So he's not that newsworthy. He's just great.

Do you remember when Russell Westbrook averaged a triple double for the season? Yeah, it was all ridiculous. It was talked about on TV shows every day. Yolkitch, 611, Doey European guy, is now averaging a triple double for the season and ain't nobody talking about it. Why is that coming? Well, he's a better overall team player than Westbrook.

But Westbrook's style, Westbrook had played with Durant. Durant bailed on him, broken heart. I always said that MVP for Westbrook was a better. story than a reality. It was a great story. You didn't even deserve that MVP. They were sixth in the West. No.

Listen. Come on. Yokic is a really good. You know, it's a great example. He's going to be the first player in NBA since Larry Bird to win three straight MVP's. I'm not denying it. But Larry Bird was newsworthy.

Why? Because he had the Celtics and the Lakers. He was part of a dynasty. There are, again, the example. There's a bunch of billionaires in America. Let's say there's 100 billionaires. Elon Musk is more newsworthy than 99 of them. He's just more newsworthy.

because of Tesla, because of Twitter. So we talk about, I don't, but we talk about Elon Musk way more than the guy that owns the waste management company that's worth $5 billion. Donald Trump, I don't even think he is a billionaire, but Trump became very newsworthy. So what we choose to talk about isn't that we're saying they're not fantastic, but he's not controversial. You get the same game every night. Denver's done nothing in the playoffs.

They don't have a heated rival. What do you want me to say about it? So, and that's the interesting angle here is the guys you mentioned, Musk, Trump, Westbrook. They all love the flair and style and talking, he does. Social media. He doesn't do that. I was reading a story on wealth managers, and the quote was, the submerged whale doesn't get harpooned. If you don't put your, stick your neck out and come out there and they're talking stuff and on social media, nobody's taking shots at you.

By the way. Yoke at you. Underwater, doing his thing. Number one seat in the West. I kind of like his style right now, man. Even in the mafia, Goddy was too public. John Gotti got taken down. He was too public.

Used to drive the people inside the family crazy. Look at that. A mafia reference from you. Well, it's just... In your bag early on a Wednesday. I'm not defending the media, but there are people that are fascinating. I think Kevin Durant's a fascinating personality. I think Draymond Green is interesting.

Barclays talked about... All the guys you say are fascinating are big, mouthy dudes. Well, I'm not mouthy. Stop running his mouth. They've got strong opinions. They're unique personalities. That's okay. That's why I'll continue to go after them.

Especially Mr. Barkley. People were unhappy. I called him a liar yesterday. Well, a liar is strong. It's a fact. He's a liar anyways. Lying is, that's a hard word. That's a, that's a, that's an inflammatory word.

What's it called? Gaslighting. You could say he's, you could say Charles was being a bit deceptive. I don't think Charles lies. He was being a little deceptive. You're so kind to chuck. Slightly. Slightly.

I would tell Charles if he came on. Charles, I remember you going to Phoenix. I'll have the receipts right here when he's sitting in the chair. Charles, here's your quote. December 1992. You're quoted in the LA Times as saying blah, blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah. All right, Jay Mack with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. You know, I don't want to be obnoxious. But, man, something happened last night. And it was, if I wouldn't have just had shrooms, on my pizza and chicken parm. I would have celebrated it all night last night.

Something very good happened. I'll talk about that. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. This is Steve Kavino and Rich. And together we are Kavino and Rich. Kavino and Rich. Thanks, buddy. That's right.

Kavino and Rich, Fox Sports Radio's newest hit show. Heard weekdays from 5 to 7 Eastern 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I-Heart Radio app. Every Covino and Rich shows available as a podcast. Just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast and subscribe. I'm such a rocking dude. The show features our unique take on sports, injected with some fun, humor, and

relatability. Listen to Covino and Rich five days a week on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Covino and Rich, give me a hell, yeah. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque, others say it's

unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to

Superhuman on the 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. Clever Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam Jek. 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 there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now

so Thank you 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 podcast Sunday, the NASCAR Cup series rolls into Vegas, where every driver will lay it all in the line and gopher broke in a battle for early season checkered flag. The engines fire Sunday at 3 Eastern on Fox and the Fox Sports app. I don't mean to be obnoxious, but the NBA playoffs are a different sport than the regular season.

We discussed this yesterday. that in the regular season, the Knicks play the Celtics on Monday night. They have two different mindsets. It's the last game of a road trip for Boston. They rest Jalen Brown. First quarter, Nick's hair on fire. They'd won five in a row.

They're at home. They're trying to get a better seed. Boston isn't losing a lot of sleep on seeding in the east. And so, you know, the Knicks win and everybody's like, oh, game meant very, very little to Boston. But in the playoffs, that's different. Everybody's got the same passion, the same equally rested roster. So it's a whole different ballgame.

And for years and years, I've watched people cover this sport, and they fall for the Derek Rose Bulls who had never won anything. So the seating became huge. Folks, seating doesn't matter to championship level teams. It just doesn't matter. They'll win on the road. They'll win at home. The Warriors went to Boston and won when they had to win.

that's what you do if you're great. Boston wasn't great. They were good. Okay, Warriors are great. They won the final. They go on the road. They win the most important game in the series. So the Warriors won last night.

They played like crap early, but they're the best third quarter basketball team on the planet have been for most of the last eight, nine years. Came out with a huge third quarter, came from 23 down to win. And have you noticed now as they rest players, get players healthy, give them some time off. They've won three straight. Clay Thompson's having his best year and half a decade. Steph is returning soon. And a little reminder, they're starting five on it's Steph, Clay, Wiggins, Green, and K. Von Looney, number one in the NBA per 100 possessions. And so what they've done, they've figured out their bench, which was a real struggle early in the year. Jamichael Green,

a veteran player, comes off the bench, can add size, Dante DiVincenzo, add some shooting in leadership, Jordan Poole adds some scoring and Jonathan Cominga adds athleticism. So now they've got the rotation and the bench figured out the last five NBA champs. One of them was the number one seed. It just doesn't matter. It doesn't mean you want to go on the road a lot, but it means in the end get your team healthy. Good baseball teams. Houston will do this.

The Dodgers will do this. The Braves will do this. You arrest some starters. You get them ready for the big final run. You get them ready for the postseason. In the playoffs, the head. coach matters a lot. That's why I think Miami will upset somebody in the east. The head coach matters a lot. Steve Kerr's as good a coach as we have, especially situationally. Defense matters

more. The Warriors haven't played good regular season defense. Why? They come off an extended playoff run. They're older. They're tired. But they've figured their bench out. They've got some scoring, some length, some size, comminga, athleticism, leadership. And we're not even talking Gary Payton the second. He'll be ready in a month. He's a terrific lockdown defender. Here's Steve Kerr on last night to come from behind when. It just feels like we're coming together. You know, it feels like there's some chemistry, some energy that's forming.

We've been battling all season and without staff and wigs for so much of the season. And, you know, these guys have done a great job of just keeping our heads above water. And look at the West. Now, whereas in the East, you have the battle-tested, Celtics in the playoffs and the battle tested bucks. Those are very worthy championship level teams, right? In the West, it's a who's who of what have you ever done? Denver, Memphis, Sacramento.

What are you? Clippers? Teams have done nothing. They've never proven anything. You think the regular season seating matters for the Warriors? All those guys have been in big games, Looney and Draymond and Wiggins and Staff and Clay. Here they come. I'm feeling good about it.

Hold on, Colin. You look at this list right here. And currently, the Warriors are slated for a four or five matchup with the Phoenix Suns. Now, if memory serves, yesterday you had Booker and Kevin Durant as a very dangerous duo. Yeah. You don't think the Warriors would love to avoid them and maybe rather play the Kings or the Grizzlies? I think they dominated the Grizzlies last year in the playoffs. Kings haven't been in the playoffs.

Do you think in the next 20 games, the standings in the West are going to stay the same? But I think the Warriors strategically should try to avoid Kevin Durant and Phoenix in the first round. Or get rid of the biggest threat right away. Go right at him. Well, all I'm saying is I think Katie and the Sun are going to be excellent. But if they face the Warriors in a series, I'm taking Golden State. Gosh, that would be good for the game. These guys haven't played a game yet.

I know they'll be good. But when you watch the playoffs last year, now the Warriors were much better last year. and last year it may have been the year to get them because Clay Thompson was coming off the injury. But, you know, Steph now, they're not going to rush him back. Clay Thompson's having the back court for the Warriors is substantially better this year. Because Devenzo's been a great addition. Great. Jordan Poole now is more consistent.

Clay's having his best year and half a decade. And now Steph going to be rested heading into the final run. So their back court is better. Their issue has been, okay, Wiseman doesn't work. he can score, but he doesn't really fit. I mean, when you watch Wiseman play with him, it didn't work. So they have Jamichael, you know, Green, who's a veteran guy, and bounced around the league, Jvon Looney, Kvon Looney.

So they got some size. Their issue sometimes is a size issue. They can give up cheap stuff underneath. But now the wing position, they're starting to play Cumminga, who I love, Kerr likes him, doesn't necessarily trust him. But now I've got Wiggins. Now I've got Cominga giving me 15 minutes a night. What are more Cumminga or Pool Off the Bench?

Those two guys are so freaking exciting. Well, like Cominga had a dunk last night. Oh. It was through, it was insane. So they're different players. Pool, when Steph hit, Pool's a score. He's a score. And by the way, who has a back court that has Curry, Clay, and Pool?

You got three guys that could drop 36. Three. Nobody in the league has that. But you generally don't win championships through their guards. It's more of a wing league. And so Andrew Wiggins, the concern is Wiggins got paid. He's kind of passive. He's got his ring. Does he care? I think when you're a championship team, one of the hardest things to do is convince guys after a long playoff run.

Urgency. It's hard. It's very hard. This is a long, long season. And so remember, Popovich when he had Duncan, never cared about the seed. He wanted his team healthy. He wanted it all synced up. Six, seven games left in the regular season. Let's get some chemistry. The NBA is unique. You can flip a. switch. He was a load management guy too, right? Popovich. I think he started load management. Did not love it. Yeah. All right. So, speaking of the Bay Area,

John Lynch, who I covered for years in Tampa and he used to work at this network, great guys. The GM now has built a powerhouse. They have Trey Lance, who they don't know if he can play. Brock Purdy won't be ready, maybe for September. And so he said, we may be looking for a quarterback. I think we're all product of our experiences. We've learned, you know, was in some meetings today where the leagues discussing potential solutions for, you know,

third quarterbacks such that we never have that kind of. But the reality is it's very few and far between where those instances happen. So, you know, we'll see. And yeah, we may have to look into the quarterback market in addition to Brock and Trey to insulate. ourselves from whatever may happen. Now, Garoppolo is not the answer. They've all said that. They're moving off Garoppolo.

So you have Brock Purdy who may not be ready with a Super Bowl roster and Trey Lance who may not be good. We don't know. So keep your eyes on Tom Brady. I'm not joking. Mike Silver, who's very connected, covers, he's a reporter, covers the Niners, has said it's almost too obvious. Tom's got nothing to do for a year.

It's a Super Bowl roster. Pretty may not be ready. And you're not sure if Trey can play and Garoppolo's gone. Who else would you bring in? Remember, when I had Brady on, when he announced his retirement, it was brought to my attention when I asked the question about, was he 100% sure that this was his answer? The future is very hard to predict for all of us.

I mean, nothing's really guaranteed. But I think you just take it day by day. I'm super excited. I really am. I think there's a lot of great things ahead. And I think you need to create space for those things too. And, you know, when one thing ends, naturally other opportunities present themselves. And, you know, I don't try to make predictions.

And sometimes I'm really good with certainty. And I think in this case, I'm good with a little bit of uncertainty, even though I have some great opportunities in my professional life ahead. He didn't give me the answer. that was brought to my attention is that he could have just said it's over he said right there the opportunities San Francisco Mike Silver who I trust is still in play it's a it's like KD to the sons you got all the pieces here step in and just drive it complete passes get in and out of trouble at the line of scrimmage so go Ropolo's gone.

So with that roster, Kyle Shanahan, are you going to go with a seventh round quarterback and a guy you're not sure can play? Or the greatest quarterback of all time. In an NFC, that as we've noted, Philadelphia is losing some free agents. San Francisco's bringing the guys back. They're bringing everybody back. You're rolling your eyes on this. It makes way too much sense to me.

I thought he was just looking at private schools in Miami last month. I'm not saying he's, I thought it was an authentic retirement, but after that interview, it was brought to my attention by multiple people. They're like, go back and listen to that answer. And you just listen to it again. It's not definitive. It's kind of fuzzy. It's kind of nebulous. Isn't it?

Kind of? I guess you're right. The window is open. It's the best roster in the league, arguably. I don't even think it's arguable. It is the best roster in the league. It's got a hall of memory. Jets are close.

Oh, good. No, they're not. All right, hour two, around the corner. I know you're sick of the Warriors, but here they come. 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, 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'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with Ashton, 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here, 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.

It 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. Guaranteed human.