The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - Victor Wembanyama in the same category as Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Mendoza is a franchise QB

Episode Date: April 2, 2026

Colin Cowherd places Victor Wembanyama in the same category as Shohei Ohtani – athletes who’s greatness is transcending their sport. Colin explains why Wembanyama is on a path to all-time greatness despite being just 22 years old. He discusses Fernando Mendoza’s pro day performance and why it’s clear he has both tangibles and the intangibles to be a franchise QB in the NFL.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Well, we've said this about Shohei Otani before. He makes other great Dodgers look one-dimensional. You can take all-stars like Aaron Judge. you're like, well, that is a hell of a player. Yeah, but he doesn't pitch. He's not an all-star on the mountain. That's what, not just greatness. That's where you have like disruptors.

And Michael Jordan was great. LeBron is great. Larry Bird was great. Magic was great. Wemby last night did it again, 41 points in 18 rebounds. But that's not the story. He did it in 29 minutes. It's the third game this season for Wemby.

40 plus points, 10 plus rebounds. In 30 minutes or less, the spurs are the only offense using a microwave and a cooking contest. You're still preheating your oven. The meal's finished. With eight minutes and 30 seconds left in the second quarter, he was at 21 and 12. That's an all-star night.

I mean, it doesn't believe, even early LeBron would play 44 minutes. year three LeBron, who was the best we thought we'd ever seen in 43 minutes, he'd be at 31.7 rebounds. Wemby plays 29 minutes this year. 25.11 rebounds. Three assists three blocks. This is crazy. I mean, Michael Jordan, if he played against Wembe, would have his tongue out, but that's because his jaw would be on the floor. Michael Jordan was amazing.

LeBron's amazing. They didn't change the calculus of the sport. That's what Steph Curry did with three point shots. Forget the fact that Wemby is 26 and 1 in his last 27 games or has four blocks and that leads too. It's the plus 433 when he's on the floor. Those are all time historic numbers. The ability, and now in the playoffs, he's going to play far more numbers. So if you don't vote him MVP, you're going to look kind of silly when he's scoring 50 in the playoffs and 24 rebounds.

because he's playing 40 minutes. They are measuring him now. I mean, this is Beethoven. Where the masses were just trying to conceptualize what in the hell are we experiencing. And when people talk about Wembe, they always say things like,

I've never seen him in person. It's like he's a walking talking UAP. Nobody knows what to make of it. How, where, what I'm, I mean, I honestly, watching him, the best defensive player in the league for years was Draymond Green. There are points Draymond can't do anything. The only other player in the league that Draymond acknowledges, I can't do much, is Yokic. Here's a stat for you.

Only 15 other players in league history have had at least two career games with 40 points, 15 rebounds, and a couple three-pointers. he's done it twice in the last three games. And again, he's doing it in like 28 minutes. I can't overstate what's happening. It's just unbelievable that you can be this dominant this quickly. I mean, you can take great players. Kareem all time. Kareem was playing an entire game to put up these numbers.

And Kareem could never hit a three-pointer. This guy's doing it in 28 minutes. minutes. It takes LeBron for numbers like this to play 46 in his prime. Steve Kerr on last night's 41, 18, and 29 minute performance. I just think he's got unbelievable confidence now. You know, he just looks like he knows exactly what to do at both ends all the time, whereas I thought his, you know, first couple of years, he looked young at times. He doesn't look young anymore.

more. He just looks like he knows exactly what he's doing. Obviously dominated the glass. I thought Draymond did a really good job on him defensively and then there's plays where you can't do anything about it. There's several lobs where it looked like

a Nerf hoop, you know, just catching it and dropping it right in. Steve Kerr said, hey, I thought Draymond did a really good job. Draymond had four fouls in the first half. you can't defend him.

You cannot defend him. You know, I watched this documentary about two months ago by Dan Farrow. It was called Age of Disclosure, and it was about UAPs and UFOs. And, you know, they talk about at one point, there's like a three-minute section of it that is just fascinating. They're like, well, how can they go underwater? And they explain the force field around them, and it leans forward. And that's why there's no jet propulsion. And I'm watching this.

And all these physicists talk about it. and I'm like, oh, that explains the stuff. Because you see the tic-tacks from the Pentagon, New York Times a few years ago, and you're like, well, there's no propulsion, and they're going zero to 8,000 miles an hour. And you watch the age of disclosure and you get physicists saying, okay, here's how it works. I feel like with Wembe to some degree, if you've never seen him play, and you watch him have a full game with eight, 30 left in the second quarter and you'd never seen him play.

You'd have to ask a physicist. Well, I mean, how is he getting the best defensive? I mean, like, what is he doing that nobody else can do? Like, well, I mean, there was great offensive players. I mean, Michael wasn't fouling everybody out in the second quarter. I mean, I don't understand who he's doing it in 27 minutes. It's just, it's insane. I mean, this is Otani.

Where you look at Freddie Freeman and you're like, that's a Hall of Famer. Yeah, is he one-dimensional compared to Otani? So Fernando Mendoza had his pro day yesterday. It's going to be the number one pick raters. And he was literally perfect, but it's not completing passes. I saw Lewis Riddick and a couple others on the internet talked about this. He literally announced the routes his receivers would be running before because he wanted to make sure that all his receivers,

were showing to the NFL scouts, they know how to run the route tree. And I'm going to, he literally told everybody, this is what we're going to do on this play because he was so self-aware and wanted to ensure that he didn't get all the love,

that people there saw how great as wide receivers were. Folks, you were looking at Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning was big, smart, self-aware, and understood the NFL game. Leadership is, not cool. It's not cool. Leadership is hard.

First in the building, first out. Probably shouldn't drink alcohol during the season. Absolutely no parties. I'm sorry, that's leadership. That's leadership. Watching more tape than anybody in the building. Cam Newton was a huge talent, but I always felt Cam was kind of concerned about how cool it looked, like in the Super Bowl when the ball was on the ground and Cam wouldn't

dive to get it. Leadership is always about one thing. Winning. Cam Newton liked to win. But when that ball's on the ground, it's like, bro, what are you doing? Don't worry about what you look like. A lot of people want to be quarterback. They love being quarterback.

But do you love being quarterback because it's about winning and doing everything it takes to be a winner, which is giving teammates credibility, which is telling scouts, this is the routes we're going to be. I want you to watch this guy in the route we're going to be running. No, bro, they came for you. And there's been a lot of quarterbacks. Tyler Murray, you know, I could add the list. You know, Jay Cutler was a guy. Like, dude, stop being cool. Stop worry about being cool. Are you about winning? Not about what the image

of quarterback is, but what the reality of it is. And sometimes the reality of it is cringy. I love Sam Darnold. Sam Darnold was 20 in New York City. Small town kid in California. He was not ready for New York. And I love Sam. And Sam's a mature guy. But Sam would, acknowledged to you. I wasn't ready for it. I was 20 years old. It was the big city. It was New York. And there are significant sacrifices you have to make as a quarterback. And there's just certain guys that come into this league. I have said before, the hat on backwards thing. I could care less if you're a wide receiver, a safety, a mic linebacker, a guard, a tied in. I don't care. I do not care. But if you're a quarterback on Wednesday and you're representing a franchise and

behind you as the bank sponsor, turn that puppy around. you don't want to look like a guy that's been paid to move my couch. Okay, look like a franchise quarterback. You're going to be the highest paid guy on the team. And a lot of people are saying this guy is a little cringy and he's not cool. And he's a little, he's Peyton Manning. He's exactly what I want. Here's Lance Zerline, NFL.com.

What you see is what you get with Fernando Mendoza. There's no real heirs. I hear people talk about it. He's kind of corny. He's this or that. I like guys who throw touchdowns and don't throw interceptions. and who throw with accuracy and who are 6 foot 5, 236 plus pounds, that's just me. So you can keep your corny this, that, and you can keep your cool quarterbacks.

I'll keep guys who throw touchdowns and don't give it away in the red zone. It was 39 touchdowns, no interceptions in the red zone over the last two years. I mean, and that's, and one of those years was a cow. That's pretty impressive. You know what? I've never bought ever in my life a jersey of a pro athlete. And you'll, I've never once in my life. I'm going to buy a Mendoza jersey.

In fact, I'm going to buy a 20 of them and try to get one autographed. I'm going to have them all over my house. And when my wife comes up and says, that's not cool, I'm going to say, hey, it's what leadership's about. I'm going to have one in the kitchen. I'm going to have one in my podcast room and the bathroom. I'm going to have Mendoza jerseys all over my house. I know it's not cool. I know it's cringy.

I'm telling you right now, all these NFL scouts, they keep telling me the things they don't like. this kid, I know it's the Raiders and they have no culture. The second they draft him, the Raiders have a culture. I don't care who the coach is. I don't care who the GM is. I don't care who the owner is. The second he enters the building, you have a culture. That is a franchise quarterback.

Between Wembe and Fernando Mendoza, I may buy two jersey. I've never once in my life bought a jersey from an athlete. I'm getting close, Jay Mack. I know you got about 30 of them all Lake her jersey. The last one I got was Austin Reeves. But yeah, I do love a good jersey. I'm with you on Mendoza.

Do you remember how, I don't remember who came on the show and said it, but I never forget what he said. You want your quarterback to be an alpha. When a group of guys are hanging out together, who's driving? I got the keys. I got this. That's your quarterback. I forget who said that analogy, but that was funny and I remembered it.

And that's who you want to be your quarterback, the alpha, the get the leader of the crew. I don't know that Mendoza's the guy who's going to be driving, but he definitely has all the qualities I want in a leader, as you articulated just now. I'm a big Mendoza guy. Yeah, and he did look at the pro day. You can see that dude is, he's jacked up. I mean, he's a big human being. And the Raiders offensive line last year was a mess. So I think they've upgraded the interior all line of Colton Miller's healthy. You know, they've got a ton of picks. They got four fourth round picks and two fives and two sixes. They need to get that

offensive line fixed. I've always said in the NFL, the first two things you got to do after you get the coach. Got to get the quarterback. And then the insurance policy for your number one asset is your offensive line. Don't worry about weapons. Don't worry about edge rushers. Don't worry about corners. Get the quarterback. Protect the quarterback.

That's what the Colts with Andrew Luck never figured out. It's what Sean Payton with Bo Nix went and got a right tackle. Sean Payton got him weapons, a right tackle, started rolling the pocket out. That's what Caleb Williams first year in Detroit. Iber Fluse and the guys didn't get it. Ben Johnson, first thing in. Guard, Guard, elite. You get the star.

it's not about getting a weapons. You have to buy an insurance policy when you buy a house. When you draft a quarterback, your insurance policy is that O line in front. So I can't wait for the Raiders draft. We got a lot of stuff today. The other thing is, there's a story on Puka Nakua,

which we had talked about last week. Stuff was going to come out. Also, some people are dogging Wembe because he wants the MVP. It's so refreshing. I love that he wants the MVP. next. It's The Hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of the HARD weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports

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Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicel Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. You're now an entering the no bull zone sponsored by credible great rates, none of the bull. Aunt Edward said, I'm not interested in being face of the league. John Morant not mature enough. Jason Tatum, as I'd said years ago, doesn't have the aura. Wembe wants to be the face of the league and wants to be MVP. and I find his honesty completely and utterly refreshing.

Every actor in Hollywood during award system wants to win and is deeply insecure if one of their same age rivals wins instead. I don't think Timothy Shalomey was rooting for Michael B. Jordan. Now, Leonardo DiCaprio may be because he's more accomplished. But when you're young and ascending and building your brand and your resume, yet matters and should. And I want my athletes to care. Just be honest about it.

You know in Hollywood during the Oscars and they put four or five faces on the screen and everybody tries to act happy when they don't win. Congratulations, rival actor. Wemby's like, no, I want to win badly. And I love that. Now, after he wins his eighth, maybe the ninth won't matter. But right now, it does. And here he is.

I do care deeply about it. And I think that all the grades, you know, that are in the Hall of Fame or that are in our mind the best of all time, they have fought and grabbed everything they could grab early on in their career, you know. And if I want to make my spot among the grades, I got to try to not miss any occasion I have to put my name up there. Yeah, I mean, one of the reasons LeBron gets knocked that he's not MJ, he got swept on a floor. finals, his first one. You really build your career much earlier than you think. If LeBron would have carried them to a win over the Spurs, instead of being swept,

wouldn't it feel different today? Just a little different? I mean, Jordan, six for six, Magic Johnson got to 30% more finals. But Jordan won all of them. Like, it all matters. The MVP's matter when you're young and you're growing and you're building. this brand and resume. So I love that Fernando Mendoza

is willing to be a little odd and cringy. I love that. And I love that Wemby deeply cares about winning the MVP. That's the jersey I'm going to buy. You buy the cool guy. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Uh, did you see what the Boston Celtics did? last night, Colin. They dropped 53 points in the first quarter en route to a blowout win of the Miami Heat. I mean, hell, Luca dropped 60 on the heat recently. And Jalen Brown went for 43 last night. Jason Tatum had a 25-point triple double. Joe Missoula, my coach of the year in the NBA, here's what he said about the Celtics execution. Well, they got out to a good start, P.A. Squads. I already executed pretty well. And the, you know,

There's times when you skewed well, and it was a good shot to the shot. It just kind of happened. So usually when you're in moments, it's like that and you start to kill it and you take war shots. We didn't do that. You know, we kept fighting for good luck and the next best look. I found that kind of kept them in there. I'm going on. Celtics now looks like four games back in the east.

I don't think they can catch the pistons for one. But they're not. But they're not. They're not. Yeah, Boston is not a team that's going to need home court advantage to get to the finals. When you have a veteran group of players, and they're two stars or veterans, they can win on the road. I think there are teams that are young, like Detroit. I think home court would matter for Detroit.

If Kate Cunningham comes back, they're young, they don't have a history of a lot of playoff series wins with this group. I do think, like I think the Lakers on the road with Luca, and LeBron and Austin Reeves, you know, and Rui, those guys have been around forever. The Lakers don't need home court advantage to win a series. I think San Antonio,

by the way, as much as I love Wemby, they are so young, you know, I think San Antonio could go on the road and unravel a little bit because they're, you know,

they're just a bunch of kids. Yeah. So I just don't think Boston, um, I, Boston feels like to me, so clear cut, the best team in the East.

They're strong right now. So I'm looking at their, potential matchup. They'll face the winner of the play-in. 7-8. So it would be Raptors or Hornets. Oh, yeah. Listen, Celtics against Lamello Ball. That would be good television. No, it'd be fun. The Hornets have done a 180 in the last year. I mean, that concanipal has been unbelievable for them.

Not to make it about my Knicks. I don't want to face the Celtics in the second round. I think Nick should sit there guys and avoid Boston. And play in the 4-5, I'd rather face Detroit. Who are you more scared of in a playoff series? Detroit or Boston? Well, Detroit, without Cade Cunningham. No, no, Cade's going to be back. We don't know when, but he's going to be back.

So factor him in. I don't think the Knicks necessarily match up with either the Celtics or the Pistons. The Pistons have pushed them around. They're a much more physical team. And I think the Knicks are, you know, if you really look at the Knicks, they're not a real physical team. I don't think they are. I think you can push them around. I think they're pretty.

And I think you can bully them a little bit in the half-quarter. defense. And I think the Pistons and the Celtics both match up very well with the NICs. Now, to be clear, Knicks did beat both of them last year in the playoffs, Pistons, then Celtics. But you're right. They got swept by Detroit this year in the regular season. And frankly, at the moment, Boston just looks better than New York. Next up, let's go to the Lakers. Colin, one of the biggest NBA games of the season is tonight. Lakers at Thunder. I saw the line was eight and a half last night. I was like, oh, I'm not touching that. It's now nine and a half. So no receipts.

for the Lakers, but guess who's giving the Lakers some respect? Sweet Lou Williams, remember the awesome six-man played for the Clippers, among other teams? He thinks the Lakers are actually title contenders. Here we go. When you have a veteran team like that, they move at their own pace. And we set an expectation level for the Lakers outside of their locker room. They just stay steady. You know, they just stay steady.

They believed in what they had. And they just had to find an identity, find a style of play that works for them. and that's going to put them in the best position possible, and I think they found it. Like, listen, we're not going to be a defensive-minded team, but we have to be solid on the defensive end to give ourselves an opportunity to win basketball games. Yeah, I mean, I think I like what he,

I think Luz-Rudy nailed it when he said, they play at their own pace. That's always been what you say about Yokic. You can't speed him up, you can't slow him down. I think the Lakers have so many good ball handlers and so many play initiators that they kind of, they play at their own pace. They're not a fast team,

so they're better in the half-court offense. They can run the break, but it's not really what they do. They're not really hyper-athletic. But listen, I think what's so fun about this year's Lakers team, they are so good offensively and so mediocre defensively that the games are going to be fascinating. I mean, they really are. They're going to be a really interesting,

because the league has moved, like the NFL, NBA's moved more of an offensive league. So you wonder, does defense matters? And then you watch Wembe, and you're like, yeah, defense is still really, really big. Defense matters if you're great defensively. But the Nuggets were 15th, 16th in the league when they won the title. They were not a great defensive team. So can the Lakers

be situationally long, Marcus Smart on the floor? Can they be occasionally in big fourth quarter, three to go, you need a stop. They're not, the Knicks and the Lakers will never be great teams with this personnel. You'd have to make a trade. But that doesn't mean you can't, cat can't block a shot.

That doesn't mean you can't make plays. I totally agree with all that. Now, the Lakers and Luca are putting out an MVP campaign. I think they're sick of this media, loving SGA nonsense. Look at this. Numbers don't lie. Colin, I'm just telling you right now the reality. I love Wembe as an MVP candidate.

Luca has all the numbers. Okay, all of them when you stack him up next to SGA. I mean, it is unbelievable how good he's been and he's getting no respect. Some of these Laker bloggers, I know you can have disdain for them. I'm just telling you, they're looking into it. There is a clear Laker bias. The last 15 years when it comes to awards,

Coach of the Year, Sixth Man, Most Approved, Lakers are getting no love. I mean, it's a little crazy. I don't want to send you over the edge here. Listen, to win awards, your team has to be good. How many really good Laker teams have there been? Go to the last four years of Lake Kobe Bryant.

I mean, LeBron came to the Lakers and saved the franchise. They were a disaster. Why does the team have to be good? These are individual awards. MVP, most valuable. In the NFL, who is the MVP? How many last place players have ever won the MVP?

Well, not last, but I mean, if you're third or fourth, who cares? If your team is really good and you're amazing, you're the most valuable player. I don't know. This SGA stuff, I, listen, I'm rooting Lakers. Tomorrow, I think you're probably going to have fun with it. It should be a good game today. I will be texting. If the Lakers win this, I'll be.

The last five Laker games they won, I was busy that night, but tonight I have availability to watch. Final story is called to the NFL, piggybacking off your Mendoza take at the top. I mean, we've been on this for weeks. The Raiders are going to sign Kurt Cousins to mentor Mendoza. Reports indicate Cousins will make 20 mil and guaranteed money, which is a little insane if you ask me. Cousins is excited to wear the silver and black he put out on social media.

The autumn wind. Everybody's excited. Now, this is the only time they lose me. Kubiak is saying, it sounds like he wants Kurt Cousins to start. And I think this is going to be a fun off-season discussion. Yeah. I totally disagree. Can I give two teams?

I don't give credit too much, a lot of credit. Please. The Atlanta Falcons and the Raiders. Okay. Kirk Cousins is literally the perfect veteran quarterback to team with Fernando Mendoza. He's literally personality, commitment. decency, just a great guy. And Tua is the perfect backup for Michael Penix. Because left-hander, not terribly athletic. I mean, I've said this for years. If Lamar Jackson's your quarterback,

then your backup better be able to move. The Ravens have that. If your quarterback is Jared Doff, you probably don't want to have Kyler Murray as your backup, right? Because it's stylistically it's different. It's a different concept offensively. Kurt Cousins and Mendoza, I don't care who starts in the first month. That's exactly who I would

take. I'm telling you, the last 15 years, the Raiders have never made more sense in like a seven-week stretch between free agency, Mendoza, and the... I cannot wait to watch the Raiders' draft. I can be

convinced of some stuff. I can come. I'm a big man enough that I'll come off positions when I think I'm wrong. This Mendoza won, I need him out there week one, Colin. He is your franchise. You're moving in a totally different direction, new regime, new head coach. I need to hit the ground running with Mendoza. I just, I cannot envision Kirk Cousin starting week one. Like, why? So Mendoza can watch and hold a clipboard and, oh, this is what the NFL is like. Come on. There's a reason they call him internships. You know, sometimes a young sparky needs to sit and watch the mentor, the professional, get it done. Sparky.

Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. Listen, I know it has been over the last year or two, hard to defend the front office, sometimes with the Buffalo Bills, Brandon B. I'm going to defend him here. So Mike Sando, who does a great job for the other place, great reporter, talked to NFL executives anonymously and unfiltered on the Buffalo bills. Those executives did not like the DJ Moore move.

In fact, quote, DJ Moore was going to get cut. They gave up a second round pick to get him. They gave up a second round pick and 40 million guarantees. What is going on? DJ Moore has two years of regression, said another exec. He's a non-traditional receiver. He wins with size and yards after the cash. Don't they need somebody they can win down the field?

Okay. This drives me crazy. I should not be able to know this, and execs and agents and GMs don't. When you play in cold, windy locations like Buffalo, and I don't care that they have a new stadium and it'll cut down the wind. It's going to be cold and wet and windy in Buffalo. I want catch and run guys, multiple. I'm not interested in over-the-top guys,

and I'll give you an example. Randy Moss, Tom Brady, who by the way, never won Super Bowls. But Wes Welker, Gronk, Edelman, catch and run guys, oh, got a trophy room.

Randy Moss with Brady in the 2007 regular season, 93 yards a game, 23 touchdowns. In that same year in the playoffs, you know January, it's cold. In three games, he averaged 31 yards,

and had one TV. Yeah, and that postseason in 2007, that big Randy Moss year, against the Jags in 37 degrees, one catch, against the chargers, 23 degrees, one catch. Against the Giants indoors in Arizona, Randy went back to Randy, five catches, 65 yards, and a touchdown. Weather matters for deep threats.

Tyreek Hill. So essentially, the great Randy Moss, with the greatest quarterback ever, and Randy may be the greatest. wide receiver talent ever. Essentially, a third of his stats, catches yards touchdowns in January. He had about a third of what he did during the regular season. Go look at Tyreek Hill in his career. Two least productive months in the career of Tyreek Hill. Oh, that's interesting. With Mahomes and Tua, December and January. Well, it's funny. What could it be? In the AFC, Baltimore,

now Vrabel in New England, Denver, Borough, go look at all the good teams in the AFC. They're all playing outdoors in cold weather. Well, the bills have a new stadium. It's still going to be nine degrees and really cold. And wind is somehow going to get in there a little. So for northern football teams, I mean, go look at the AFC, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Baltimore, New England. It's all cold weather outdoor stuff.

And so DJ Moore is not a beat everybody down the field guy. He's a catch and run underneath guy. And you could say, well, the bills already have one. The guy from Boise State, you can't have two. I actually like the way the bill's offense is built, run game and tight ends. I think that's actually, I think Brandon Bean's right. I think that if you are a general manager of a Buffalo franchise, you should be a tight end run team and your receiver should be catch and run guys,

not beat you down the field guys. Because Buffalo's to the point with Josh Allen. It's not about October 18th. It's about January 7th, January 15th. I am amazed that anybody would bang it. And you could say two years of regression. Okay, so let's look at the two years of regression for DJ Moore. Two years ago, they were the most dysfunctional franchise in the league.

they had a parking lot attendant as a head coach by the end of the year. You think that played to it? And then last year, well, they went and drafted Luther Burton, and Colston Loveland became a star in the league. He didn't regress because he couldn't play. His numbers went down because they have a new coach, a new offense, which really caught fire like mid-October, late October, and they had so many darn weapons.

They have two running backs I like, two tight ends I like. Luther Borden got fire, Colston Loveland. DJ Moore isn't regressing. Two years ago, I mean, the bears were just literally names out of a hat. Put the headset on. You're the coordinator. Of course his numbers went down. Randy Moth, when he went to the Raiders, where'd he go?

He went to Brady. Numbers went up. Funny how it works. You got to contextualize some of this stuff, right? You can't just, you know, go talk to Mike Sandel and throw these haymakers at Buffalo. I think DJ. Joe Brady, the new coach, who, by the way, worked with DJ more down in Carolina. They were great together.

Here's Joe Brady. Kaleel's been a focal point of our offense, right? And having a guy like DJ that it's going to help both of them. Giving a guy like DJ on the outside that you can kind of work, okay, where's the rotation going to be, how they're going to handle it? That's where it was important to get a skill set like DJ. A guy that can stretch, they can win the one-on-ones, can get the ball in his hands, went on a slant round.

There's nothing better as a coach than we only have to throw. of all two yards and they go 80 and it makes this look really good. And a guy like DJ does that just like Khalil. You go ask any of the Chicago Bear players. You go ask him about DJ Moore. DJ Moore can ball. DJ Moore's a really, the guy never misses starts. He's played in cold weather Chicago, been hurt, been banged up, never misses starts.

100% baller. I don't buy the regression stuff. You got to contextualize it. Two years ago, they were a circus. The bears were, it was a mess. And then last year, new coach, new system, Luther Burden takes off, Loveland takes off. You got Cole Comet, you got Roma Dundze.

You got two big, you got a seventh round running back out of Rutger who's getting carries. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast?

Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did 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.

Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... 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, where people 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 Smygel and friends,

me and hilarious guests from Bob. 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. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen, Kingdom on Earth. He felt destined. for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant, this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely

different worlds, just how long can their emigms? Empire survive. The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 SportsSlice 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 athlete 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 SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The Crown continues live from Las Vegas tonight as Stanford takes on West Virginia, followed by Rutgers v. Creighton.

It all starts at 7.30 Eastern right here on FS1. As I have said, there was a lot of pushback. with the NIL. And I kind of rolled my eyes at the fearmongers who said, well, the rich will only get richer. Yeah, pre-NIL, it was basically Bama and Georgia and Ohio State or Clemson in every national championship. It was already happening. And this year, the Indiana Hoosiers went 16 and no, proving my point.

It would broaden things out. We'd have new powers. Texas Tech, Indiana, Miami reemerged after 20 years of swimming around. in nonsense. There is no interest. There is no social, even in socialistic countries, there's a top and a bottom. Like get over this like silly juvenile idealism that Purdue should be just as good as Georgia in football. It's probably not going to happen.

It may have a booster stand up, but it's probably not going to happen. So Ian Eagle was on with Ryan Rosillo. He's calling these games. And he had his doubt. about NIL, but he no longer does. When we figured out that the transfer portal was going to basically be free agency, because that's what it is. It's free agency in college basketball. I didn't know if the tournament would lose a little bit of its luster because people weren't seeing teams develop. It's proven

to me that people love rooting for their school, and they love rooting for the name on the front of the jersey. And the name of the back of the jersey is important, but in terms of priorities, they just love their squad. And what the NIL has done is made their squad at Arizona and Michigan and Illinois even better. The one thing that you cannot argue, it's not arguable, is that the quality of college basketball, the number of NBA players on teams has doubled or tripled. Arizona plays Michigan this weekend. There's going to be like eight NBA guys. I'm sorry, I like better basketball players. I mean, you ever watch basketball NBA like in the 60s, even with the Celtics? You ever watched how bad it was? Like college basketball, when Duke was meeting Butler in the

final and teams are shooting 31%. I mean, Virginia was winning tournament games scoring 44 points, 48 points. That's not good basketball. Stop bragging about how great the defense was. People couldn't hit open jumpers because you had maybe two teams and one or two NBA guys and they were 18. The fact that you can get Yaxel Lennonberg for Michigan, who would have in the old days gone pro last year, comes back, that's an NBA dude. That's a starting NBA player playing in college. Arizona's got about four of them. And you know what? You can't be precious or idealistic. You know what the NIL is to me? It's the ABS system in baseball. That overwhelmingly it's good, but it's not perfect.

NIL, we need more regulation. It's a little bit, you know, it's like baseball, no salary cap. You know, I'd like to have some floor or some middle, you know, just like the portal. Even the NFL has limitations on free agency. Like, you got to wrap your arms around it. But 99% of the things that the NIL does are great. It's the same with the ABS system in baseball. 99 out of 100 pitches they nail.

There is a little bit of a concern. for balls that sink, like a sinker ball pitcher, the system will catch the ball at the beginning of the plate, and it'll be a strike or vice versa, but it'll sink out of it. And in the rule book, that should be a ball if you're just a strike at the start of the plate, but not to the mid. Right?

So the ABS system, quickly sinking balls can be a little bit of a quirk to the system. It's not perfect. but there is no perfect. It's way better than before when you got umpires butchering 26 strike calls in a series or a game like

last Saturday Red Sox Reds. That you can't tolerate in Major League Baseball. If it occasionally misses a 92 mile an hour sinker, I can live with that. And here's the other benefit to the NIL on a very personal level with these young players. So Matt Hasselbeck comes on our show

during the football season. Second hour, top of the second hour. He's been going to years to the NFL Combine talking with young athletes about financial literacy. And he told us, I think it was off the air, for years and years he would go, these kids didn't know anything. They're all raising their hands.

Agents, managers, taxes, seps, they don't know. They didn't know anything. And you'd hear these stories about pro athletes going broke all the time. They did documentaries on it. Matt has told us in the last two years, these kids now, they know agents, tax rates, where to live, what to avoid, managers, fees.

They've got financial literacy. And listen, 50-year-old people do dumb stuff with money. So, of course, 19-year-olds do. But at least now they're getting some broad education. I mean, at these top basketball programs, for the bench players, they're getting 250. I mean, think about in college. I lived on top ramen and pudding in college. The bench players at the top schools are making $250,000.

Enough to not get you in too much trouble, but enough to be a dopey 19 year old and blow it on stupid stuff. Now, the top guys are getting a million or more. But it's, and when you go to the NBA, I always say this, you know, with my wife. I'm always like, I'd rather my kids have a little money when I'm alive. So if I tend to pass on something, they're not clueless. I'd rather be there and be instructive, you know, enjoy it while I'm around, not just give them a big tank load or a small tank load later and they don't know what to do with it.

So the NIL is like, is a little like a parent giving you just enough money to get in a little trouble and do something stupid, but not in big trouble. And it's giving you great financial literacy. And I think it's going to, all these stories about athletes going broke are slowly disappearing. It's just enough. Hasselbeck tells us kids now have so much more financial literacy. So that's kind of the unintended benefit of the paying is, isn't college about educating kids? And haven't we all complained in our lives that why don't you have a class on real estate?

They should be teaching that in high school. Financial literacy should be a class. It shouldn't be economics 101. It's like what to do when you get $290,000 at 17 years old. that's the courses we should be teaching in high school because there's thousands and tens of thousands of high schoolers now getting paid with NIL. All right.

JMAQ. Yeah, it's this. You're all worked up. You're all worked up on a Thursday, huh? I'm telling you, the ABS system in the NIL, we have to be careful not to expect perfect. Our tax system has loopholes. It gets, I mean, we've amended our Constitution.

Stop being precious about perfect. It's just like in politics. You give to get. You've got to be conciliatory. I want this. Well, then you've got to accept that, and the bill will pass. That's our entire political system. You give a little to get a lot.

And NIL and ABS aren't perfect, but the ABS system is, it's like another, it's an, it's a, it's a entertainment addition to a sport. It's like a niche added entertainment division in the baseball industry. Our number two coming up, Steph Curry's dad, I'll curry on the show today. 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 get to ask other 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 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 podcast. 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman.

Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.