The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - Thoughts on US winning the gold over Canada, Celtics beat the Lakers, Tony Granato

Episode Date: February 23, 2026

Colin Cowherd celebrates the thrilling US win over Canada in the men’s hockey gold medal match at the Winter Olympics. Colin explains why international competition is the great unifier in our country during time where we are increasingly divided.  His thoughts on the Celtics easily defeating the Lakers and what sets both teams far apart. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Sorry our neighbors to the north. It's the way it had to be. We're live at Chicago. It's the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Listening or watching, you know, every 46 years, nothing galvanizes America, our divided country, quite like our Olympic hockey team. And you could say, well, it's patriotism, but you know what? Cross-country skiing has patriotism, too.

There is something about our American guys that gets people to line up yesterday, 445. in the morning out west at bars. Maybe it's because we're rarely favorites. It's ingrained in the Canadian culture, Swedish culture, Latvian culture. So we're always underdogs, and that gives us the chip on the shoulder,

Americans love. Or maybe and probably it's because you can see how much it matters to our players. This isn't the 80 team. They're paid professionals. They're rich. And do you realize in the last C.B. about five years ago, these guys fought for the right to play in the Olympics.

No, they fought for it. It wasn't just a demand. It was a stipulation or they wouldn't sign the CBA. Our professional hockey players and Canada's two, the last CBA fought to play in international events to grow the game. Other sports could probably pay a little attention to that. hockey's rugged individualism has always been a strength. It's tough guys. Guys always willing to defend a teammate and fight.

Relentless dudes who love playing with one another. That's always been a strength. It's the best of us. No pandering, all grit, no selfish play allowed. Players are missing teeth, taking sticks to the face, hammering each other into the boards, and yet they are lining up and, signing up to play for their country, not just us, but the Canadians.

What made it even sweeter yesterday is we were mostly outplayed. We've got to be totally honest. The second period, we were under attack. It was an onslaught by the Canadians outplaying us, out shooting us. They had a five-on-three for 90 seconds. It felt a lot longer than that. But we survived allowing only one goal as they tied it. And how did we do it?

The best player on the ice was Connor Hellebock. In goal, absolutely epic. It had a Jim Craig 1980 feel. This team was far more talented. And he's a very talented goalie, whether or not you'd heard of him. But it was epic and we needed him.

The Canadians had 42 shots on goal. We had 28, and it felt like a majority of theirs, came in the second period. And by the time it got to overtime, to some degree it felt like we had survived. We probably, as they go to three on three, we probably were going to win this thing if we could survive the first three periods. And that's what happened. Jack Hughes, one of the two brother tandems on Team USA, scored the winning goal and got us

the gold. Were we the better team? Well, we had the better goalie. were we the better team? Well, we were in overtime. Were we the better team? Well, throughout the tournament, we were a more resourceful team, slipping by both Sweden and Canada in overtime.

Will this grow the NHL? Doesn't hurt, I have no idea, but it does continue to grow, the respect you have to have for coaches and players from the junior levels to the college levels all the way up in our hockey community. They fought to play in the Olympics. Not just our guys, but the Canadians as well.

In a game which could have gone either way, and probably for a long period felt like it would not go ours, it's one of the brothers with a winning goal, and here we are again, 46 years later, with the Olympic gold. And here is Jack Hughes, who was just perfect afterwards. This is all about our country. right now. I love the USA. I love my teammates. It's unbelievable. The USA Hockey Brotherhood

is so strong. And we have so much support from next players. I'm so proud to be Americans today. Unbelievable game by Halibuck. He was our best player tonight by a mile. Unbelievable game. Unreal game by our team. That's just a balsy, gutsy win. That's American hockey right there. That's a great Canadian team. But we're USA. We're so proud to be Americans. Tonight was for the country. Spot on. Could not have delivered a greater message. Way to go, Team USA.

Tony Granado, a former head coach, years ago, will be joining us later this hour. So the Celtics go to Los Angeles. Jalen Brown had 32 points. He's had a great year without Jason Tatum, and they beat Los Angeles. But what it really was,

the Celtics have been missing their star all year Jason Tatum. And yet they've never lost their identity. they're actually, and Tatum's a very, very good defender, they're actually statistically a better defensive team without him. That's not that they don't miss him because they're not as good offensively, but it shows you what matters with Boston. It's the difference between a team and a collection of players.

They're well-coached, they're collaborative, they're intense. Again, they're not as good offensively without Tatum, but why are they so good on the road again and so good defensively? it's because every Celtic, regardless of athletic limitations, is giving you everything on both ends. They have people like Sam Houser in the starting lineup that unless you're a diehard Celtic fan or NBA fan, you're not really aware of his resume. But last night's another great example, is that they go on the road, unfriendly territory, everybody, every Celtic, both ends, is giving you everything.

Totally engaged, winning everything. every 50-50 ball. And the Lakers, as soon as Luca doesn't get a call, he's barking to the officials, as the Celtics scoot down the floor and score on the other end. One is a series of individuals who feel a little entitled. If you think I'm wrong, the Lakers Big Three has played together 12 times this year. And yet against the four teams likely to make the playoffs, their 0 and 4 losing by an average of 18 points.

The Celtics play very well against good teams because they don't lose their identity despite moving off Porzingis or Drew Holliday or Jason Tatum is hurt. It doesn't change their effort. It doesn't change their defense. It slightly changes their offense. Jalen Brown now takes a bigger role. He's arguably their best player even when Tatum was around. But that's the difference.

The Lakers are entitled. It's a collection of individuals. At least LeBron James can appreciate Jalen Brown after he scored 32 in the Lakers. The whole championship team pretty much is kind of revamped. And he uses that motivation to keep them afloat. They're playing great basketball. And it's because of him and the rest of those guys,

he's taking that next step. Our relationship has been pretty respectful. No, besides this he said about Brownie yet. Summer League, but other than that, other than that, you know, we've been, we've been all right. This whole MVP thing is, I don't understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well. Like, nobody gave them a shot to start the season. And he's, having, what, 30?

Yeah, just under. Yeah, just under 30? Yeah, it's a popularity contest sometimes, I tell you. For the record of the 22 Laker losses, and this is instructive 19 by double digits. When the going gets tough for the Celtics, they band together. When the going gets tough for the Lakers, you can see by the results, they fold or complain about the officials. This is part of the reality of Luca. You do what your star does.

He's not much of a defensive player and complains a lot and folds easily when there's turbulence. And you saw it again yesterday. All right, Jay Mack, the vaunted team you hate so much, the Celtics came into town. I will say this about hockey. You know, I mean, listen, it's Canada's culture. It's interesting, though. Canada has not won a Stanley Cup final since the early 90s. It was 93, it was the Montreal Canadiens.

And now we beat them in hockey, Olympic hockey, men's and women. So it's not, I mean, along with the tariffs, It has been a very bad six months for our neighbors to the north, so we should probably not poke them in the ribs. Probably they need comforting over this time. But it is pretty remarkable that they were slight underdogs in this. And in both in 1980, now we were huge underdogs to the Russians, but we also beat the Czechoslovakians badly in 1980 with college guys.

But Jim Craig and his remarkable story was so valuable. And now you go, and the best player on the ice again for us was the guy in the net. The only reason we won that thing was the guy in the net because it was an onslaught in the second period. And also the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays in the World Series. It has been a rough. It's a rough. We are on a heater between the Dodgers, Team USA, and the tariffs. I almost feel guilty about what happened.

The tariffs, you know, Supreme Court's chiming in. Let's leave that out of it. But SGA, also the best Canadian basketball player. He's down for OKC. You know, he's probably going to win the MVP if he comes back. But you're right. A tough go here for our awesome neighbors to the north. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

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I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, for people could call in and say, hey Jonas, and then I wrote down in my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself.

I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs' tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jen she went. I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay.

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When your team has the gold medal in hockey, doesn't it feel good? Tony Granato later this hour, former head coach of Team USA. So it's an interesting time. We talk about this a lot in football that, you know, these windows with a hard cap, they last very briefly. And, you know, let's be honest about football. Big, large men who run fast and bench press Delaware tackle each other. So the windows close very quickly because guys get hurt. So JSN, there's an argument, he's the best receiver in football right now.

JSN of the Seahawks, he is now eligible for a contract extension, and he'll talk about that in a second. But, you know, this is the downside to winning the Super Bowl. Everybody wants to get paid, and most want to get paid a lot, and they want to get paid early, and he certainly is worthy of it. So that's why you have to take advantage of these windows that open. So this year and next year, the Seahawks are stacked. but it should be noted Sam Darnold's cap hit goes from 13 million this year to 38 million next year at triples. And that's still reasonable when you look at the quality of play from Darnold.

But Kenneth Walker, probably not a Seahawk next year. And Kenneth Walker was Seattle's MVP in the Super Bowl and huge through the playoffs. He has a history of getting banged up. He was healthy and productive through the playoffs. So the Kansas City Chiefs, they seize the moment and they seize the window. The Ravens didn't. The Seahawks did. The Lions and the Bills, who we thought were Super Bowl worthy teams, now they're suddenly over the cap.

And they're going to have to move off some really good players. So I think the Baltimore Ravens window, they didn't hit it. It'll be harder now. Lamar is getting a new contract. Joe Burrow, making real money, cheap ownership, not a great front office. His windows closed. The 49ers, to me, Brock Purdy now, go look at his cap hit. They've missed on too many draft picks.

I think their Super Bowl window is closed. So there's two teams in the league that are on the clock, the Bears and the Broncos, excellent quarterbacks, both on the rookie contracts, excellent, clever offensive coaches, well, well above average rosters. They got about two years ahead, because then Bo Nix and Caleb Williams are going to get paid. So again, Seattle's roster this year and next. is going to be really good and well above most teams in the league not named Philadelphia and the Rams. But Darnold, Darnold's contract cap hit triples from this year to next.

And Kenneth Walker's probably going to be gone. So JSN is one of three or four positions and players you absolutely have to keep. And here he is talking about a contract extension. I'm really not too pressed right now to get it done. I know my time is coming, and when we get it done, it's going to be a great deal. I believe I deserve to be the highest pay in my position, and just what I give to the game in the community. You know, I give it my all. I would play this game for free.

I love this game so much, but you don't have to. No, and he won't. J-Mack with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Check in on those Pittsburgh Steelers to start the morning, Colin. Obviously, the guy got a new head coach and Mike McCarthy. And now for, I think, what is this, the third straight summer?

We're playing the waiting game for Aaron Rogers. No word if he's in a darkness retreat currently. But Mike McCarthy does have an update on what's coming out with Aaron Rogers. It just really always points back to healthy communication. And there's definitely has been that. And so, you know, we'll see what the future holds. You know, we're definitely preparing for both scenarios. Has he told you that he's at least interested in doing this?

He's going through his normal off-season routine. You know, he's been doing some skiing of late, which I didn't realize he was under that. Yeah, did you ever notice everybody kind of walks on eggshells? Aaron's doing what Aaron does. whatever. Listen, at this point, if you're in business with Aaron, you just got to deal with it. Get over it. He's up front about it. He's like, I'm going to escape for a couple months. And you know what? At this point in Aaron's career, A, he's earned it. And B, if you're involved with him, figure it out. He's told you what he. It's like marrying the rock star and surprised he stays out late.

You married the rock star. You're in a relationship with a guy who's not giving you 12 months of connectivity. I remember reading the story about Jimmy Garoppolo. The Niners got frustrated because the offseason hit and Garoppolo disappeared. And like for three weeks, they couldn't get a hold of Jimmy Garoppolo. Well, with Aaron Rogers, because of the level of his play, some of that's also part of who he is. So this is where I'll defend Aaron. He's always been authentic about it, especially in the last five years. I escape in the off season.

You're not going to be able to get a hold of me. I'm going to Costa Rica. I'm going overseas. Last year, two years ago with the Jets, it was Egypt. He's up front about it. Like, it's your problem in management if you don't know it going in. I'm so glad the Jets cut ties with this guy. Geez, can you imagine being held hostage by a mediocre quarterback in his 40s who has zero mobility?

And go look at that final game against the Texans. You know, his last pass in the NFL currently was a pick six? Well, I'm sure he doesn't want to go out like that. I just, I cannot believe the Steelers are doing this to themselves. Like Mike McCarthy, bro, you are a veteran coach. They have Will Howard in tow. Will Howard's in tow. camp, right? Will Howard's their guy. They drafted him. So they've got a quarterback. And it's not,

as we've said, it's not the worst year to play Will Howard as a Steeler quarterback. So I will say this. You can say what you want about Aaron Rogers, but the Jets offense got worse when Aaron left and the Steelers offense got better when Aaron arrived. You don't have to love it. It wasn't wildly dynamic. Fewer penalties, fewer turnovers, through to the right people. The Steeler offense got the minute Aaron walked in the door. And what did that get them? What did that get them, Colin? They got smarter, okay? Playoffs. They got to the playoffs and lost.

They got smashed. Still no playoff wins. And now their coach, Mike Tomlin's gone. I can tell you, I can find 18 teams that would have died to have made the playoffs. Yeah. And bounce in the first round? I don't know that that's worth it, man. I'd rather have a high draft pick.

All right, let's move on to the Philadelphia Eagles. Another team that, you know, obviously there's been a tough off season start so far. They've dumped their OC, Kevin Petullo. and brought in Sean Mannion. Speaking to NFL network, Saquan Barkley talked about his experience with Mannion's offense so far. For me, it's just about, you know,

it's refreshing. You get something new, you get to learn something new. You know, I got to meet them. I didn't really, you didn't really talk about X's and O's and kind of just really, you know, kept it just introduction and got to meet a lot of the new guys on offense. But as a competitor, you love it. You love the challenge of putting yourself in a new system

and, you know, doing the things that you do really well. and also things that you need to prove on and that they're going to challenge us to do. Well, we'll see if Sean Mannion's offense works. He's young. I'm not going to hold it against him because he's young. Because a lot of times these young guys come in. Jesse Minter at one point was young and great. Mike McDonald's Young and Sean McVeigh's young and Mannion may be a great coach. I have no idea. I mean, listen, you played in the game. You're in your early 30s. People are more experienced now at 23 and 33 than they were in my generation. So to me, they were such a mess offensively last year. Is it realistic to think that a young offensive coordinator is going to connect with a lot of young pro athletes and upgrade the offense?

That doesn't sound unrealistic to me. You don't know what Sean Mannion's offense is. But listen, to get hired by the Eagles at some point you had to blow somebody away in the interview process. And I imagine one of the people was Howie Roseman and I trust his judgment. Now, they've whiffed on some and hit on others, but I think it'll be fine. Yeah, I mean, it's tough to talk about the Eagles. We don't know. Nobody has any clue what his offense is going to look like.

Is Hertz going to be under center? Shotgun. Does he like multiple tight ends? Like, we have no idea. Plus, the A.J. Brown stuff looming. So I don't know. I'll remain optimistic because I like Jalen Hertz. I know you're a hater, but that's fine.

It's okay. Not everybody likes everybody. Final story, Colin, college basketball. What a game on Saturday. I don't know if you were able to catch Michigan, Duke. Phenomenal game. I had Michigan. They ended up losing poor shot selection,

but the star was Cameron Boozer. I mean, I was texting with someone on the staff who's not a big fan of Boozer, clearly, but the guy looked amazing when it mattered most, Colin. Down the stretch, big-time three-pointer, unbelievable passing. Here's the three that he hit late. Big-time shot there.

Listen, man, I know March Madness is not everybody's cup of tea. I'm just telling you, these two teams are amazing. this game was incredible. My guy Lenderbord, 23 years old, was awesome. I've heard the criticisms of Cameron Boozer, and people say it, you know, he's kind of steak and potatoes. There's not a lot of flash. All I know when I watch him, his feet and his hands for his size have a little Chris Weber feel to me. Oh, I like that.

Again, I'm not, I don't know, dude, he is a big with good handles and good. Feet, and NBA scouts know a lot more than I do, but he is quick. Yeah. He gets up quick. He's long. Good feet. I don't know. I look at him and I think if he's the third or fourth pick in the draft, this is a,

we look at this player here. People are saying one. He's got great hands. I don't know. I think he's a really good player. So I see like a little Swiss Army knife who does everything really well. He's not Cooper Flagg. Let's be real.

He is not Cooper Flagg or anymore to close to that. Totally. I see like a Shane Batti, a really good defender, like you said, moves his feet, great hands. He's more skilled offensively. Probably, and that's why I like your Weber comparison a little better. But this kid was special, and here's my thing. I don't walk away from that thinking Duke was the better team. I don't know if that's too hot of a take.

Michigan just settled for a bunch of bad, dumb three-pointers when they shouldn't have. Attack the rim. But ultimately, I mean, Illinois is better than UCLA, and they went on a road to L.A. and lost. I mean, it's, you know, college basketball at this point, because you have an influx of so many new players, you know, they're just kind of jelling now and growing into each other now. So I don't, I mean, do I think UCLA is better than, I think Michigan's better than Duke, but I think Duke's one of the three or four teams that can win the national championship. I don't think everybody loves underdogs in March Madness. Stay away from them. This sport right now is so top-heavy.

There's like four really, really special teams, and maybe another three to four teams after that. But, I mean, to me, there's about six to eight teams max that could play for the national. It feels like, to me, the best programs are stacked, and then there's a major fall-off. At least that's what it looks like when I've watched this year. And Michigan plays Illinois this week.

Illinois is excellent. That was a tough loss. UCLA is one of the eight teams that can win it. Oh, for sure. And then tonight, Houston, Kansas, both coming off losses. I know you know the Kansas situation with Darren Peterson. That's fascinating. Listen, college basketball is on a heater.

Love it. Yeah. And it has been for several years. Since that Yukon National Championship team, the sport, players are staying longer. They're taking European kids and paying for them and bringing it over. College basketball feels like it's 30 to 50% better this year than five years ago. Definitely. The teams have more NBA players, more length, more euros.

the quality is shot through the roof in the last five years. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. So, you know, we talked last week. Last week's one of the slower weeks of the year in sports. Colin right, calling wrong top of the hour, by the way.

And so now everybody's back to playing in the NBA and March Madness around the corner. And now free agency and the NFL is coming up. But it's interesting because last week we talked a lot about the NBA and, you know, that Adam Silver wants parity. And I would argue what baseball has right now, which is a very strong top of the sport. It's what college basketball has. Last year's March Madness ratings, fantastic. Last year's NBA ratings, not fantastic. Baseball ratings, fantastic.

In a more distracted nation, I'm not for parity. baseball, Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Cubs, Astros, Braves, Phillies, big brands, really good. Well, the NBA is the opposite. Small Market, Oklahoma City is one of seven teams in the last, what, seven years with titles. OKC may break that trend and become the dynasty, but I thought that about Denver a couple years ago. But it's interesting. Yesterday, they're missing four of their best players. SGA didn't play.

Williams didn't play, Alex Caruso didn't play, A.J. Mitchell didn't play. They still beat the favorite in the East Cleveland. And we talked about the Seahawks and their GM. The Seahawks and OKC have better GMs than your organizations do. And Sam Presti for OKC, he leaned in. He about four years ago figured out where the NBA was going. and the Knicks are giving up five picks for McAill Bridges, who I like, and the Lakers don't have enough draft capital, and you watch these teams like the Phoenix Suns who are cobbling together older players, and then you have OKC, which has been hoarding draft picks for years,

and now what you have is an army of talent. They're missing four of their five best players, and they go out, and they can beat Cleveland. And I tell this to Lake Hurst, fans, go watch this roster. This roster, by the way, their bench scoring in Oklahoma City is eighth in the league. Lakers Knicks near the bottom. It's eighth in the league, which is remarkable because their bench is actually now playing

as starters, so their bench is third string guys. And it's still top eight in the league in scoring. So Oklahoma City, they may be boring. It's small market. Nobody wants to watch. Nobody wants to talk about it. But, I mean, if you start looking, the Seattle Seahawks in Oklahoma City. Now, Seattle's window is going to close quickly.

OKC's is not. They have a boatload of draft picks. They have cost control with their stars. And they are insanely deep. And by hoarding all these draft picks, they can miss four starters. It doesn't matter. Probably as good a defensive team with what you're a little. allowed to do. Cleveland was complaining yesterday as they fell behind because, I mean, everybody

just says it. They're so deep. They can play so physical. Referees don't want to call every foul. And if they get people in foul trouble, even with multiple injuries, they're deep enough. It doesn't matter. So they are going nowhere, Oklahoma City. Tony Grunado is around the corner. Team USA prevails. Listen, they went to overtime to beat Sweden and Canada. Could have lost both. part of it's just the resourcefulness of this team. And we'll talk about that next. We are live in Chicago. It's the herd.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast?

Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. First people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it.

Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast. We could call in and say, hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, 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. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay.

Jenchen went. I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your courtside seat to the French Open.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Well, we thought the perfect guest today. We put our heads together and we said, let's see, Tony Granato has been a head coach of USA men's hockey.

He's been an assistant coach. He's been a player. That was back Calgary. He's coached professionals and then the non-professionals. And then I said this to start the show today. What's great about hockey, both Canadian and American players, NHL players, they fought in their CBA to demand the right to play international events. And when you turn the television on for the last two weeks, it just flies through the TV.

Canada, Sweden, USA, Latvia, it didn't matter who you watch. These NHL guys, they fought in their CBA. They wanted to be in the Olympics. They know it grows the game. and I wish other sports in America cared as much. Baseball should pay attention to this. And Tony Granato, former coach of the Colorado Avalanche, is now joining us. First of all, is it E?

I would imagine hockey players, there's a rugged individualism that you can't help but love hockey players. They're getting hit in the face with sticks. They're missing teeth. You know, it's just the best of us. They're tough guys. They're collaborative. They're great teammates. was it ever hard for you as a player, an assistant, or a head coach to get buy-in, or is it just an automatic?

I love the way you're bragging our sport up, by the way. You've got that passion and energy. I feel like playing a hockey game right now. I'm going to put my gear on and jump on. I'm right next to an ice sheet right now. I might go out and skate right now because of your enthusiasm for our game. You know what? In general, the hockey player, and I'll give you one example.

You know the name Chris Chelyos, being a Black Hawk fan now. Yeah, Chicago. Well, Tully used to carry his bag in the car. And if he drove by a hockey rink and he wasn't sure what to do, he'd just pop in the rink, unzip his bag and go out on the ice and skate. And this was while he was playing in the NHL. So the passion and love that we have for our sport. And I think just, you know, when you're out there and you learn what hockey's all about, you grow up in hockey, for us, there's nothing better. So I think that enthusiasm and what you talked about, you know, and the lead about the play. players demanding in the CBA that if they had opportunities to play in Olympics and internationally, that they should be able to do that. And because of that, I think like you said, it shows the enthusiasm and their appreciation for having an opportunity to play for your country shows. And the competition, when they play against their former, not their former, their current teammates, there's lots of head-to-head competition in this Olympics where you're going against your line mate or your defense department. Right. And there was no, you know, there was no let up

I'll take it easy on you. They were running over each other very similar to the way the Four Nations, Canada, U.S. preview of the Olympics showed last year. That carried over into this year, and I'm glad you brought that up because it was a great game. Obviously, as an American, I'm so proud that we were able to win. But overall, it was just a tremendous tournament that really showed our sport off. You know, one of the things that really struck me yesterday was our resourcefulness. us. Like I said, once we went to overtime, I thought, okay, well, we survived. I thought Canada

outplayed us, especially in the second period, that when you, when you're building, you know, they've always said this that you can't just get in the NBA for the Olympics, just the 12 best scores. You've got to get defenders and rebounders and glue guys. When you're building this team USA, and this is not the 1980 team. These are great players. These are really elite skilled players. The brother, tannums are both great. But when you are building the roster and building the team, is it sometimes you take a less skilled player because he can be a bit more collaborative? He's a better teammate. Is it a hard roster to construct? Oh, it's extremely difficult. But on the other end, and if you listen to Billy Garron, right up to the last second,

And he goes, my decisions were hard. And the reason they were hard is because I got to cut a lot of players that deserve to be on this Olympic team. But I'm going to put together a roster that I feel gives us the best chance to win. And so I was critical of it in my own thinking. I never said it publicly. But when the roster was constructed, I thought there'd be a couple different players on that thing. Cole Cawfield's my coach Cole, one of my favorite players in the world. And I think he's one of the best players in the world.

and I thought he should be on that team. But listening to Billy and then watching as that team progressed and looking at some of the little intricacies kind of of how and what was asked of those players, those players at the bottom end of the lineup that killed penalties that didn't play much five on five, that weren't a big impact offensively. They went 15 for 15 on the PK. So they didn't give up the power play goal. So if you're going to beat Canada, how are you going to beat them?

You're going to have to kill a five on three, which they had to. and you're going to have to find ways to win games by winning on the specialty team side of things. So it was constructed the right way because they won and because Billy Garen and Mike Sullivan and all the other people that made the decisions to put this roster together felt that the chemistry and what they created at the Four Nations didn't need a lot of adjusting. They made a couple tweaks here and there, but pretty much they went with the base of what they had there. They added Quinn Hughes to the back end who was injured.

and you know what? They gave Hella Book the net and said, hey, go save the, go make the big saves for us, and he did. So, I mean, it's a tremendous story from the standpoint of it didn't start, you know, a few weeks ago when they were trying to construct a team. This started way, way long time ago as they got ready for Four Nations, watched and kind of learn from what they went through at that tournament and came into this tournament and did things right. Tony Grinado joining us for the radio audience, a former head coach, assistant coach, and a player in these Olympics. So it's interesting. In the NFL, they've always struggled with what in the hell to do with overtime. And in baseball, they're like during the regular season, let's put a guy at second base. And in soccer, they go crazy when you go to penalty kicks. And so in hockey, okay, let's do three on three.

And John Cooper's like, I don't love it. But my takeaway has always been in any sport. you play regulation and by the time you get to an overtime session in any sport you can have fatigue you can have more injuries I want my overtimes to be fast

so three on three is very good television skill gets I mean it's really jet fuel to the more skilled players John Cooper's like well it's not hockey and you could say he's a sore loser but I mean I think this is something talked about by traditionalists

are you a fan of three on three As a consumer, I think it's fast. I think you can't take your eyes off it. You get more opportunities. Do you like it? I love three on three. I love three and three when you win. I don't like three and three when you lose.

So I understand Coop's point of the fact that, hey, Stanley Cups, we don't go three at three. In the playoffs, we don't go three on three. We play five on five. And if we have to play three or four overtime periods, that's what hockey players are. They stay as long as they can until that job is done. And so, but from an Olympic thing and from a spectator thing and from what the fans have asked of us, you know, it's their game. Let's not kid ourselves. We play the game, but really the people that pay to come see us and everything else, they're the ones, it's their game.

So their appreciation for three on three, the excitement that three on three brings to the game, the opportunity for the skill guys to really show their skill, makes it special. So that was the rules that the Olympics have. you can agree with them or not that three on three was the right way to do it. But all as I know, I was on the losing end of a four on four when I coached in 2018, when we lost the checks to go to the semis. And we were in a quarterfinal thing. We had a four on four. We got through the 10 minutes and then we actually went to a shootout.

So we lost in a shootout at the Olympics. And those were the rules. We knew going in and we knew what we were going to face. And unfortunately, we didn't win the shootout. Had we won it, you know, it would have been a different story. but so I respect Coop's opinion but I also you know appreciate too what the three on three brought to the fans listen um Connor Hellebuck was amazing um you know Jim Craig having just watched the documentary um on the 1980 the boys of 1980 the miracle her Brooks uh Jim Craig was obviously the flag draped over

him Sports Illustrated um and that felt like he was I mean that was the those those Russians were just stacked. We felt like we were surviving line to line. Whereas here with Canada, I thought, you know, they were a slight favorite, but I, you know, we stack up very well with them. But what do we know? I mean, he's been a good goalie in the NHL for a long time. Were you surprised at Conner's elevated play or you've watched him for years? You know, you're on the NHL network. You see all these guys. Were you shocked by his performance or is he one of those guys that never quite got the credit he deserved? And finally, he's on this stage and we're seeing what he's been doing for years because that happens a lot with the

Olympics. Yeah, Colin, you know what? He was so close to win in last year at the Four Nations. I lost in overtime. But he's been an NHL league goaltender. He's won the Vesna. He's been top goaltender. This year his numbers were down a little bit. But he has been regarded for the last few years as one of the best. And, you know, with what he learned last year from the Four nations and what he did to get ready for this tournament and how he performed, you've got to take your hats off and say he is one of the best goalies that we have right now in the NHL. So you mentioned Jim Craig. We've been fortunate for USA.

And it takes great goaltenders to win. It does. If you look at Stanley Cup teams, you look at the rosters, your goaltenders, he's your most important player on the ice, right? So the U.S. has been fortunate. 1980, we had Jim Craig. In 1996, when we were able to win the World Cup there, Mike Richter was our staple back there. He was between the pipes and made the big safe source.

And this situation, Connor Hellebuck was. So, yes, goaltender is your most important position. And when your goalie is able to play as well as he does, it gives your team the confidence and swagger. So, yes, Canada might have outplayed the U.S. at different parts of the game yesterday. but the U.S., you know, with what they have done the past few years, that's a flip-a-coin game when these two teams meet now. It used to not be like that. We used to have to take a miracle to win a game.

But the USA hockey has got to feel, you know, with yesterday's victory, that, you know what, we can finally say we're as good as. We don't have to say we're better. We're as good as Canada. And be proud of it. We don't have to tiptoe around it anymore and say it's Canada's game. and, you know, we just play it. You know, we're good and we're darn good.

And the guys yesterday went out on the ice. They made everybody that ever played for the USA hockey program along the way, very, very proud. And it's a, it was a great moment for all of us to kind of, I don't want to say brag, because it's not really the style of what, you know, we've been taught for the game, but I think we can be really proud and,

and smile about what happened yesterday. Yeah. I mean, it was physical from the outset. It was what you knew. It was funny. It was the over under. It was five and a half. And I had a friend in Florida. I said, take the under. I said, this thing's going to be intense.

There's no way we're getting a wild four three shootout. No way. Tony Granado, an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for what you do and joining us today. I appreciate that, Colin. Thanks. It's always a pleasure to get to watch your show and be part of it. Thank you so much. Tony Grinado, who has a rich history,

The Colorado Avalanche played assistant coach, head coach. It was just fantastic sports. And there is just something about hockey players. You know, we talk about all the time. I always think the culture of football in America is better than the culture of basketball. Too often the culture of basketball is AAU and G League and you get yours. It's a lot of me stuff. Hockey's like football.

It's a lot of we stuff. You're playing for one another. and it just comes flying through the TV, like it hits you like a drink, a strong drink. It just flushes through the television to watch these guys celebrate their teammate success. And by the way, great job by NBC and Tariko

and the pregame and the broadcast and Kenny Albert and all the guys. The whole thing was just class act top shelf. Way to go. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick.

And guess what? We created our own podcast called. Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions.

Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob. Bodenk 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. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless, and at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. Jenchie won. She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennar

Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're

cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio

app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Simbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.