The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - CFB national championship tiers, Ohio State vs Texas matchup, the most annoying player, Albert Breer

Episode Date: August 28, 2025

Jason unveils his tiers of college football national championship contenders ahead of the monster matchup between Ohio State and Texas. NFL insider Albert Breer joins the show to tell Jason why Bears head coach Ben Johnson has been so tough on their young quarterback Caleb Williams Thoughts on Aaron Rodgers being voting the most annoying player See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Or stream us live every day on the IHart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. We're back. Hour number two here on The Hurd. It's me, Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd. It's joined by Rachel Nichols. We have Albert Greer coming up. Albert Breer, just a fountain of information.

The guy's amazing. And listen, I know it's football season for college and NFL. But you know I love me some NBA. And Rachel loves the NBA, too. We have a fun, spicy NBA. topic for later in the hours. Just a few minutes. NFL fans, don't worry.

And given how people seem to feel about this guy, Rachel, I think they're going to like our take on it. A lot of conversation going out about that. Yes, yes, yes. It'll be fun. But that's later in the hour. Then Greg Jennings, my guy. Greg Jennings, bodybuilder slash former NFL wide receiver.

He's going to be in the final hour. Greg Jennings is like Arnold. Honestly, he is so jacked right now. The guy's a machine. All right, so earlier this week we did my Super Bowl tiers, and the 49ers in the top tier really ticked everyone off, understandable. Chiefs Rydne Tier 3. So I was like, why don't we do it for college football?

Sure, staff is like, yeah, on board, got it. Here we go, college football national championship tiers. Let's start with the group we're calling the head of the class. By the way, head of the class. Shout out to my brother. We would watch that show in the 90s all the time. Robin Givens. Yes, Robin Given.

Thank you, Rachel. All right, head of the class. Top college football contenders should be no surprise that Clemsonson is up there. If you listen to Bruce Feldman when he was on this week, they're stacked. They have one of the best defensive lines in the country. They have 16 starters back Clemsonson's in there. Ohio State defending champs have the best player in the country, Jeremiah Smith, Caleb Downs, an elite defender.

Penn State returns Drew Aller and eventually, James Franklin's going to win a big game. Am I right? Is that going to happen now? Alabama surprised some people. Someone in the morning meeting was I Alabama? Jay, you sure? Folks. Alabama from the notes,

five-star quarterback Ty Simpson has been waiting on the bench for a few years to take over for Jalen Millrow. Does that not sound like Arts Manning or what? This is a really good team and I'm a buyer and Kalin DeBoer. I didn't know that Belichick. Rachel had that earlier. Belichick was going to Washington

before he got to UNC. Guess who was at Washington? Kaelin DeWore, smart as hell. I like Alabama to make the playoff and content for the Natty. All right, let's go to the next group called the Honor Roll, something I was on, I think, in seventh grade and not much more after that. The Honor Roll, obviously, Georgia Bulldogs are going to be there. However, they are replacing 15 starters.

So I do think there's a pullback. I know they don't replace, they reload, don't worry with five stars. They're in the mix. I don't see them winning it, but they'll be in the mix. Notre Dame, I like a lot. There's a buy on Marcus Freeman. I think he's an elite coach, and I think the NFL comes calling very, very soon. I love their ground game.

Quarterback is a question, but my guy, I have a couple Notre Dame insiders who are very plugged in. They like the quarterback a lot. Oregon Ducks is a bit of a mystery. This is, again, is a buy-on-a-coach, Dan Lannning. He's going to have them competitive. I've got to be honest. I even heard a damn thing about Oregon since Ohio State smoked them 740 or whatever it is in that Rose Bowl. Do you remember that game?

That was unbelievable what Ohio State did to them, but Oregon, Dan Lannock, they'll be fine. And then the Texas Longhorns, Hook them, Archmanning, and company. I think they lose this weekend and then go on a bit of a heater against bad team. So Texas is in the mix on the honor roll. And finally, we have waitlisted. I was waitlisted at one university when I applied. I got into eight. I was waitlisted at the other.

And the waitlist here is LSU with MAP. Nussmeyer at quarterback. We'll see what they're made of in the opener against Clemson. The U, the team of my youth, yes, I owned a Miami starter jacket. I'm not going to lie, it was so fire when I was in seventh grade. But I like the U. I just don't love Carson Beck a lot, like the coaching staff, and I think Notre Dame gets him this weekend.

My guy's Sellers, the quarterback at South Carolina, I think they're going to be spicy. He's the guy I would watch coming out of nowhere to, like, go number one. Maybe he carries the gamecocks to the playoff. And finally, my dark horse, that Texas, Texas Tech, Red Raiders. I was in Vegas last week. I bet some teams in college football.

Texas Tech to make the playoff was one of my long-shot bets. I love what they did in the portal. There's your college football tiers from your boy. All right, let's bring in our guest, Albert Breer, Mr. Monday morning quarterback. As is always obligatory, I have to ask him about Ohio State right out of the gate. Breer, are you disappointed? I didn't have the Buckeyes winning at all already. Oh, who'd you have?

So I was looking at my phone. Oh, you weren't even paying attention. What are you texting people? I should have been paying attention. That's on me. No, no, no. I had Ohio State. I saw you had them in the top tier, though.

I was paying attention for that. No, thank you. Okay. So I think they're going to be very good, but I do think Penn State probably gets them this year. Clemsonsons loaded, and Alabama is a team, I bet to win the Natty. Or you bet Alabama? Yeah.

All right. We'll see. We'll see. What? Like, I, I think Ohio State's one of those teams. where I think it will be a lot better in November than we are in September. It's, I mean, 14 guys drafted. More than that made NFL rosters.

It's a lot to replace. There's a question, of course, a quarterback. I think the game on Saturday is going to be a rock fight. I think both teams have excellent, excellent defenses that from what I've heard are way ahead of the offenses right now. But, yeah, I mean, like the way that things are set up now, where, you know, you can have some bumps early and still survived to make the playoff. I think they'll be in good shape going into December.

Now, there's a rumor on a message board that you will be at the game this weekend. And I also saw you'll probably be in the locker room, maybe doing the coin toss or something like that because you're a royalty. I won't be in the locker room, but I will be in the stadium. I do have access for that. I guess that's a big issue this week, right? Like, I'll be okay. I'll be in the stadium. So, yeah, yeah, no, it's, I'm excited to get out there, man.

It'll be my two sons' first game there with two, which is going to be pretty cool. Yeah, all right, final college football. Got to ask about Archmanning. I keep asking every guest this week. Do we know if he's good? I mean, enough with the UTSA highlights, okay? Can we wait to see him live bullets against a good team with a smart defense? Yeah, you know, it's interesting, actually, Jay Mack, I asked around about him.

You know, going back to, you know, like May, when you started to see him popping up as the number one overall pick. in mock drafts. And with all due respect to him, I can't remember that ever happening before, where you had a guy who has two college stars being projected in the next year's draft to that level. So, you know, I, the guys who were on the ground who do the school calls and have been in Austin.

You know, it would all say like the physical tools are there. He's a great kid. You know, he's been raised right. So there are a lot of like great pieces to put together there. But I mean, I think the leap that everybody's making here is they assume that he's got all the stuff that Peyton and Eli had. And so they're making that leap where they say he's Peyton and Eli plus athleticism. And I don't know that's really respectful to how difficult it is to see the game,

to think the game the way that Peyton and Eli did. And that doesn't mean that Arch won't get there, but there's a process in getting there. You know, part of it is playing against better competition, which will happen on Saturday for them. part of it is, you know, when teams get six, seven, eight games of game tape on you, you know, figuring out what you do well, what you don't do well, and now they're able to game plan more specifically.

Can you counter punch? You know, there's still a lot that we have left to find out about Arch Manning. And I think he'd agree with this. Like, as far as I've never talked to him before, but as far as what I know about the kid, I think he'd agree that there's still a lot left unknown about what he's going to be as a quarterback. And unfortunately, you know, the way all this stuff works today,

we're never going to give a kid like that the opportunity to just let that happen naturally, but you kind of wish that it could. Yeah, no shot of that. All right, let's shift our focus to the NFL. Listen, I don't love talking about the Cowboys. They stink, right? They're the longest drought in a conference championship game in the NFC by a mile. And now you've got Michael Parsons showing up at the airport.

I'm going to get a second opinion on my back. his brother is tweeting out, this is going 12 rounds. I mean, at what point does this turn from circus to kind of like some Shakespearean act where it's really just sad and depressing? Yeah, I mean, I would say that like a lot of this is kind of, you know, what Jerry's invited over the last few years and the way he's handled a lot of these contract negotiations. The pacing of it actually isn't much different than the negotiation with Zach Martin two years ago

with the negotiation with C.D. Lamb and D. Prescott last year, where, you know, offers were made very early in the off season. And then there was, you know, basically radio silence. Team goes to California for camp. There's not much movement. And then at the very end, there's a push to get a deal done. Now, we'll see what happens and what results from that final push to get the deal done. You know, but I'd say there are, you know, a couple of key differences between this one and those. You know, one, certainly. is the public rancor that this sort of taken place over the course of the last three or four months where a lot of this stuff has gotten out there and become kind of nasty in the public forum, whether it's between Jerry and the agent, David Moologeta, whether it's

between Micah and the team itself. Obviously, there's the stuff at the stadium that last preseason game with the nachos and lying on the training table. So this one's gotten more public, publicly nasty than than those before it.

The other difference is just kind of how these guys are seen in the locker room, you know, and I would say, you know, DAC and CD and Zach Martin were all beloved figures in the locker room. And I don't know that it's quite that way with Micah. Now, it doesn't have to be. He's a great player.

You know, he's a motivated player. You know, and I think that if you pay him, he's going to be worth every penny. But that does add a different twist to the tenor negotiations. And so, So I could see them getting a deal done in the next week. I could also see this, you know, turning into something that drags into the season where, you know, all of a sudden, Michael Parsons' back is acting up or his ankle is acting up.

And you just kind of have this like weird sideways sort of season from one of your very best players, which, of course, can put the rest of the team in a tough spot too. Yeah, at what point, I mean, Micah probably has a little more ammo to empty the clip. I mean, he could simply go on his own podcast and go off and shift the attention from Jerry. He could control the narrative. Jerry can meet the media as much as he wants. I mean, I know he's a billionaire and he's the owner. I think Micah has the leverage here. Let me get on the screen, Albert.

We looked at the 2021 draft, all the best players in the first round. And Jamar Chase signed. Devante Smith, extension. All these guys got their deal. early. Hell, the Devanta Smith deal was done 17 months ago. Okay? There's one guy on the list who doesn't have a deal. Doesn't this even further ammo? Like, Jerry doesn't know what the hell he's doing? But again, like, this is sort of the way that they've handled it. Like, and I think that's part of it is he does know what he's doing. You know what I mean? Like, and I think there's a piece of it, like,

for a lot of these owners, is keeping the money in your own pocket for as long as you can. And that could be an element here. It's control over workforce, which is something Jerry's talked about in the public forum and in the private forum, too, of the ownership meetings. Wait, wait, hold on. He's been sort of one of the leaders of the PAC when it comes to that stuff and making sure that everybody knows who's in charge. Oh. You know, and then I think there's also the entertainment aspect to it, you know, and I, a couple years ago, I would have told you you were crazy for saying these things. And I thought people were kind of off base when they did say it. But the more has happened this way and the less aggressive that they've gotten about doing deals

in the months of June and July, the more I thought, like, maybe there is, you know, a side benefit that he sees in this whole thing, that they're going to be in the A block in a lot of, you know, a lot of shows like this one, you know, like that they're going to be the most important thing over the summer. I mean, will we really be talking about the Cowboys? right now if it weren't for this? No. J. Mack? No. I mean, it's sort of, I don't know.

I mean, maybe because the coaching changed, but they didn't, I mean, I'll do respect to Brian Schott andheimer, this wasn't like a headline grabbing higher. You know, Dax's coming back for another year. I just, I don't know that there's anything that will capture the imagination of the public that's going on there right now. And so if you want to be a real conspiracy theorist about this, you could look at it and say, Jerry's going to get a deal done his way early. Or you're going to have to wait until late.

And the headlines may be part of the benefit for Jerry when it comes to all that. Okay. So, Albert, you're a smart guy. You've been in radio TV, writing. You cover the league forever. Do you want to win headlines and be in the A block in July and August? Or do you want to be in playoff games that matter in January and get into the game in February? Well, you know what my answer is.

Well, exactly. And that's the only reason I'm pushing back. Now, you said an interesting phrase. I almost didn't like it where you said control over players. So are other any owners speaking in that tone like that vibe? Hey, we got to let them know who's in charge. Or is that just a jury? They all think that.

I mean, like most of them think that way. I get that. I mean, do you under the truth of it? Most of them think that way. I mean, that's why there are so many rules in the CBA that pertain to this sort of stuff. You know, like whether it's franchise tags, it's strengthening the rules over holding out. I mean, guys have to pay 50,000 a day for days they miss in training camp, you know? And that's why players have had to get more creative in doing things like Holden.

So, like, if you don't think your owner has that in the back of his head and how he can maintain control over his workforce, like, you are either, you know, rooting for one of the teams of a rare guy like that. or you have your head in the clouds about the way these guys operate. It's just reality of it. You know what I mean? So I think Jerry's a little bit more forceful about it. And Jerry's probably one of the more vocal guys inside the meeting room,

but it exists everywhere. And it's all over the CBA. You know, there's so many different things in the CBA that the point to it, even the length of it, you know what I mean? Like doing a 10-year deal where you have the opt-outs, like, what is that? That's control over workforce. So, I mean, I know that's sort of a corporate term for it, but it's exactly what it is.

Yeah, I mean, Jerry can go to the table and say, we have you for the next three years. You can't do anything come play. And honestly, I'm at the point, Breyer, you know, I'm not rich or wealthy. If I were a rich guy and I sided with Micah Parsons, I'd say, hey, Micah, I got you. I'll float some of your lifestyle. I don't want you going to play.

Get your contract. You deserve it. You've earned it. Just like everybody else in your draft class. Go, screw listening to him. I mean, again, maybe that's a little aggressive on my part. But I mean, but that's the thing is like, so. What Jerry's told him is like, we have you for the next three years.

Well, why do they have them for the next three years? Because the number of the next three years because they have the last year of his contract, franchise tag one, franchise tag two. And so those are mechanisms of control, you know? And I mean, there are teams that are more aggressive so they don't have to use those mechanisms of control because they don't want it to come to that point with their players. You know, in a lot of cases, you have a good relationship with your player. and you just don't want it to come to that.

You may believe that you should have control over your workforce, but the Eagles are a great example of it, like where you mentioned Devante Smith, like things never came even close to coming to a head with him because he did him so early. You know, A.J. Brown, they revised his contract. They gave him, you know, a big bump when he had outplayed the contract he initially signed.

So there are definitely, There are definitely ways to avoid it. There are definitely teams that don't want to exert it. Jerry's just never been afraid to exert these sorts of mechanisms. And again, like that whole thing, like I have you for the next three years, even though you're only under contract for the next year, is, of course, you know, a pretty clear way of explaining to your player. Like, even after your contract expires, I still have you. Because of the rules that we put in place. I don't like that. I mean, maybe, the WNBA players should talk to the NFL guys and be like, hey, hey, oh, you guys, this is the playbook, this is what we're going to do. But the other thing, looking at that, Ray Sean Slater, got a new contract, July 27th. Two weeks later, torn Patella out for the year. He doesn't have to worry about anything, Albert. He got, he got his money. Hey, don't rush back. We're good. You got your contract. We're happy. Like, I'm seeing that. I mean, Caleb McGarry's another one. That's not his high profile, but he got hurt in Atlanta, I think, a few

days after his contract. There are tons of examples of it for sure. And that's, that's part of the leverage that owners have is fear that something like this is going to happen. Yeah. So if I'm Micah, hey man, I just saw what happened to McGarry, what happened us later? I'm sorry. I don't want to go out there. My back has heard. I mean, honestly, if you're Dak Prescott and you probably know him as well as anybody who covers teams, at some point, he has to think, hey, man, I got paid. I don't care. We're not winning the Super Bowl. We're not sniffing it. I mean, I think the Eagles have a better chance to repeat than Dallas does even getting to the playoffs and i think dac is probably fine with that hey i'm wealthy i've got generational

wealth i got my girl i got my kid i'm fine i don't care at some point you just have to not care because if the owner doesn't seem to care why should the quarterback i'm just going to go play and make money and that's it yeah i mean i see what you're saying i mean but there's also like you only have so many years to to to maximize your time in the field you know how you're going to be remembered and all that different stuff and i think you know dac's not really why that way where it's like okay like well like my owner is as all in as i am so i'm not going to put as much into it like i just i have a hard time envisioning ever ever seeing anything that anything like that happening with that particular guy like dac prescott's not that way um but i i would agree that like

it doesn't always send the best message to your locker room when you're doing these sorts of things you know um i mean i i i think in a lot of ways these contract negotiations send messages to the locker room. And I think, you know, for example, like Terry McLaren in Washington, I think one of the tricky things about that one is, and was over the course of the last few months, was like, I mean, if you're in a negotiation with somebody who isn't all that well liked or well respected in the locker room and there's a dispute, well, I think guys kind of, you know, just look the other way on it. But if it's a guy like a McLaren, like, there are going to be guys in the locker room that they're going to look at it and say, like, you messed with that guy. And now that they've

paid him, they can point and say, you know what, we took care of him. Like it was, it got a little messy, but in the end, we were, we were able to find a solution and he's happy and we're happy, and that's the kind of guy that we pay. So, you know, I think more often than, more often than people realize, players keep score by contract. Players keep score by money. And so, you know, they're paying attention to the way that you handle these sorts of negotiations because They know if one of the biggest stars in the team can be treated a certain way. Well, then they're certainly not going to be exempt from it. All right.

Let's move off the Cowboys. I know management will love that. I do have to ask, I'm taking some heat in Chicago, Albert. Okay? Yeah. They're upset with me. Kyle Long is taking jabs at me. Like, this Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson stuff, again, I'm listening to the quotes,

and I'm looking at the actions of Ben Johnson. And I'm just telling you, from my point of view, something's going on there. It doesn't feel like it's off to a good start. They've had like four or five months together. And the messaging from Ben, now maybe this is his personality. I don't know his upbringing.

I don't know his background. It just doesn't seem positive. And then they signed Bejan to a random out of nowhere. This guy came out of nowhere. And they just signed him to a deal. I'm like, what is happening? So maybe talk Bears fans off the ledge or side with me, either one.

I think he's being, I think Ben's being intentionally tough on, on Caleb. Like, I think that's really the long and short of it. And this has Ben being himself and this is the way he coaches. And, you know, as far as I can tell, like Caleb's been on board with it. And it produced some really ugly days early in training camp. Like, it did not look good.

But if you talk to Ben about it, what he would tell you is we were going through a process where we wanted to feed him through a fire hose and give him as much as we possibly could, overload him with information, overload him with scheme, and then come back and narrow down what he's doing and figure out what he does well and what he doesn't do well, throw the stuff that he doesn't do well out, and build an offense around his strengths. And so I think, like, you juxtapose the early days in camp against the second preseason game, and you see a guy who was playing much faster, you see a guy who's playing much more confidently because they had figured out exactly what he does best.

They'd honed in on that. And then they really sort of fine-tuned some of the stuff as far as how fast he's playing, how quick the ball is getting out all of that. I know it didn't look quite the same against Kansas City. It wasn't quite as sharp against Kansas City in the last

preseason game. But I think this has gone according to plan. And we'll have to see what it looks like when the regular season starts. But I think people who've been around Ben would remind you, like they had days like this with Jared Goff in training camp in Detroit. And nobody made as big a deal out of it because golf was already a proven commodity.

We already had an idea of what Goff is. We'll see if it works with the younger guy. Huh. That's positive and upbeat. And I like it. I appreciate it. I do have to ask, Caleb kind of had the run of the show last year. He could do whatever he wanted.

He was watching film by himself reportedly. Well, guess what, the year prior at USC, he was also just doing his own thing. A lot of backyard football. right so two years of just hey freelance make a play go go get us some points how tough is it going to be to go from that into follow my lead drop read react quickly like it's probably at least a year with ben before we see anything close to what he wants right well it's a mentality change you know i mean you're you're trying to coach a playing style out of somebody and that's not an easy thing to do um you know i think beyond just that like in college like he's a

he was asked in a lot of cases to be the best player on the field and i think you saw that reflected in the way that he played it was a lot of big play hunting a lot of passing up the the easy stuff and what they're trying to teach him to do is play the game and and and and and a more between the lines sort of ways instead of constantly coloring outside the line lines, you can run and scramble to create throws in the NFL. You can't do it all the time. And I think of Mahomes because I'm doing a story on Pat. Pat and I talked about this, you know, earlier in the month is like if you look at his numbers, Mahomes' numbers, he averaged over 10 carries a game when he was at Texas Tech. That number for his NFL career is under four per

game. And that's a very intentional thing. That for Mahomes is going from having to be the best player on the field on almost every play to I've got good teammates around me. I can trust them. I can get the ball on their hands. And then when I need to be Superman, I can always put the cape on. That's what they're trying to get Caleb to do in Chicago is there are going to be certain plays where we just want to have your hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel and just run the offense. And we know that we we know that you're capable of the bigger stuff when we need it, but it can't be all the time. And I think there were points last year we saw what happens

when he's trying to be that guy all the time. And they're trying to dial that back and say, just play quarterback four times out of five. And then that fifth time, you can go and show everybody exactly what you're capable of. Your analogy for Caleb got me thinking of the great movie old school, where Will Ferrell used to be a party animal, then he's really resigned to the birds and his wife's like,

We don't want to see old Frank the tank. And then he just comes out and he's beer bonging or funneling, whatever the kids call it. Anyways, Albert Breer, Monday morning quarterback. Great stuff, as always. Hey, good luck to your Buckeyes this weekend. I load it up. I could use a new car. So let's go, Buckeyes.

Oh, you got money on them? Yeah, a couple bucks. I like it. I like it. Say a lot of Rachel for me, too. It's been a while. Yeah, yeah. We'll do.

All right, Albert. Thank you. All right. Great stuff from Albert Breyer. All right. Coming up next, Rachel tells us who fans think is the most annoying player in the NFL. I'm going to guess it's a cowboy, but that's just a guess. That's next.

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 Steve Covino. And I'm Rich Davis. And together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, and of course the I Heart Radio app. Why should you listen to Covino and Rich?

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We have some big news. What's the news, name? 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. We're the first people to do podcasts.

Pretty, yeah, pretty well. 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. Well, 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 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 Smigel 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 Headwere 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. 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. Genshin won. I mean, she went down to three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina 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 court side 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games.

And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions

bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person join me Keer games is we have real conversations about healing growth fathers pressure and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Phenomenal stuff from Albert Breer. The guy's good.

He really is. And when he goes on his camp tours, he comes to my town to cover a team and always texting me as, oh, let's get a bite. He's a really nice guy. Let's go to Rachel Nichols with the news. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Jason fans have voted Aaron Rogers the most annoying football player in the NFL. Yes, that's from a poll conducted by the Action Network. Rogers received a whopping 24% of the total vote. They also broke it down by fan base, and the numbers there were even more stark. 21 of the NFL's 32 fan bases rate Rogers as the most annoying, including the fan base in Green Bay, the fan base in Pittsburgh, where he currently plays,

and the fan base of the New York Jets, of which you are a card-carrying member. So for you, is Aaron Rogers the most annoying player in the NFL? You know, let me hear the rest. Were there any runner-ups or anything? Yes, so we have here you can see on the screen. Travis Kelsey, Patrick Mahomes. Now, by the way, with them, I feel like the reasons are different. This is my opinion, you tell me yours.

I think the reasons with Travis particularly and Patrick kind of by proxy is that there's a lot of football fans were obviously sick of the Taylor Swift angle or the whatever angle. Aaron, in my opinion, it seems to be more of how he has handled himself. Travis, by the way, his jersey sales since he got engaged, up 200%. Wow. So not every fan is annoyed with him. But apparently every fan is annoyed with Aaron Rogers. Let's be real with some of these polls.

I mean, Action Network probably talked to, I'm 5,000 people. They didn't talk to 5 million. But I don't totally disagree with Aaron Rogers being the most. annoying. I can't even, I'm scrambling to think of a second. I mean, Odell Beckham isn't even in the league. Was he in the league last year? I mean, how was he on the list? But yeah, Aaron Rogers, I wonder, I would love to hear his thoughts on that. You think the Pittsburgh media will ask him? I wonder if Pat McAfee will ask him. Oh, that's right. Hey, you were voted a most annoying player in the league. Your thoughts? Aaron? Oh, it's an honor. I'm going to go back into a

When you go into a darkness retreat, he kind of alienate like 75. People had not heard of a darkness. I had not before he said he was doing. I was like, what the hell is a darkness retreat? Yeah. I mean, maybe he'll turn up at Burning Man. Have you been to Burning Man, by the way? I am very proud to say, not only have I never been to Burning Man, I haven't looked at

anything from Burning Man. I just feel like dirt on my hands just hearing you talk about Burning Man. Yeah, I told my buddies, I would, some guys went a couple of years. ago. I was like, I'll, I'll helicopter in for a night, but there's no way I'm staying in the desert. Helicopter. I could see Aaron Rogers just going to Burning Man and living it up, because he's that kind of guy. You know that

Peanuts character, Pigpen? Yes. That's what I think of when I think of Burning Man. Yes. There we go. Let's talk a little Malik Neighbors. He had an incredible rookie year, but that toe injury limited his offseason work. He has a back issue that kept him sideline for a month of training camp. Now, neighbors said that despite being banged up,

quote, when it's game time and those lights are on, my body is going to turn it on. So do you think JMAG that his numbers are going to, I mean, his numbers were amazing. Yeah. Look, last season, he missed two games, right?

And his quarterback, Daniel Jones, was released in the middle of the season. And yet, look at this. Most receptions, he ranked second ever in NFL history. Do you feel like he can top it this year? Oh, top that? Well, he's got a better quarterback. He probably has a better backup.

I mean, he was catching passes from that guy, Davido. Right? Who's now... That guy, DeVito. DeVito's on the Patriots. Yeah, he got picked up by the Patriots. So I rode neighbors to a fantasy championship last year in my Big Money League. It was amazing. And I didn't even know he's in like jeopardy of, is he going to miss time? This is not good. No, he's okay. He said it's a minor back injury. That was his quote. Is there such thing? You know what I like to say. There is no such thing as a minor back injury. But, you know, he has been a gamer. Even when he's been hurt, he was hurt a lot, not just

he missed two games, but he was hurt and sort of practices and missed a bunch of practices last year, and he showed up at game time. That's not great. I mean, who's their second skill position player? Tyrone Tracy, the running back? I mean. That's not good. And they got a brutal schedule early.

If neighbors has to miss any time, this team is cooked. I mean, we already think they are. Oh, boy, that's not good. Get healthy, Malik. Go moths him, guys. You're going to look at this. Oh, no, we showed that already, the full screen. All right, let's look at the bills.

Quarterback situation is in a little bit better shape, right? Josh Allen winning the MVP last year. So clearly, he's doing a ton of things right, but he recently said he knows the style of play has to, quote, evolve. In specific, he said he needs to be taking fewer hits. He said, quote, just being smarter, sliding, getting out of bounds, throwing ball away a little bit quicker, and not taking those extra one or two hits a game that start adding up.

So, J-Mack, his sack totals have actually been going down each of the last three seasons. And he said it's been making him feel better in the off season. He's already the MVP, though. I mean, do you think all of this, is this really where he needs to, quote, evolve? Do you think it's going to make a difference if he's taking less hits? It's interesting. So a buddy of mine, a hardcore gambler, was making money by he would bet under totals for rushing for Josh Allen early in the season because Buffalo made it pretty clear, we don't need you running in September, October.

Yeah. Big games, November, December, January, save it for then. so he would run more late in the season. He's their best option. I just wonder if he's saying, you know what, I'm just going to save my running until the playoffs now at this point. We got nothing to prove. We're going to be at one, two, or three seed.

Let's just sit. Because in January, when he tucks and runs, just like Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson, it's an unstoppable play. The defense, like, if you're in man and you've got your back turned to the quarterback, you're in trouble. And if you're in zone, he's going to pick you apart.

So, I mean, I like this attitude. Dude, Alan just has to, he's just got to beat the Chiefs in the playoffs. That's it. That's the last thing him and Lamar have left to do. That's what it feels like. I mean, this is all great. It's always nice to try to fine-tuned and improve your game, you know, in all the different ways. But his running is so much of his strength, right?

So there's going to be hitsy to. I mean, that's just how it works. Look at Lamar's at the top of the list of guys taking those kinds of hits. So that's how it is. It's just you got to bear down in the playoffs. I don't know if they track slides, but I feel like Jalen Hurts slides way more. Yes. than Josh Allen, who's like 6'5 and can absorb hits from linebackers.

So, yeah, good luck to Josh Allen this year. Rachel with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. All right, listen, this next topic, so there's an NBA team that really is catering to their superstar. But they have a second superstar, and they're not really showing him the love. This is becoming an issue.

That's next. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHard radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news.

We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas, we invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a... 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 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. 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, 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, 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 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. Genschen win.

I mean, she went. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina 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 court side 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. Football's back, baby.

College football, Fox College Football Friday. Under the lights, prime time. This week, it's an SEC Big 12 showdown as Auburn takes on bailo tomorrow night, 80th, 8 Eastern on 5. All right, this is a fun topic. Obviously, it's NFL season, it's football season, and NBA is on the shelf to like October when they start the season last week of October. But I saw this yesterday on IG.

Luca Donchich is playing in Eurobasket, which is huge this summer. Yokic is playing all the stars internationally are playing. This is the place where Yannes slapped one of his teammates in Greece upside the head. And Luca Donchich was photographed with two people you may recognize, and that would be Jeannie Bus and Rob Polinka. You see that? They traveled to Europe for Eurobasket to see Luca, their guy. you guys obviously are on Instagram

I'm sure every single person listening to the show is and you've seen LeBron not get invited to that Luca dinner not get any love no contract extension and I haven't seen any photos with Jeannie and LeBron

he's playing basketball with his kids in the driveway he's playing a lot of golf with his guys Maverick Carter and company and I have to wonder you guys know I'm a LeBron guy through and through I've been saying it for years. LeBron, when he won the championship with the Lakers, became the goat past Michael Jordan.

I'm sure Rachel and others disagree. It's fine. It's a subjective discussion. I think LeBron's the goat. I also think right now he has to be stewing beyond belief of what's going down with the Lakers. I want to remind you guys, the Lakers were the third seed in the West last year.

And that's trading AD mid-season. Reportedly they did not run it by LeBron beforehand. They bring on Luca. He's hurt. Mrs. Time. They're still third. LeBron's second team all NBA. And he can't get an extension. He can't get any love. And they're sucking up to Luca Donchich. Now, Rachel, you've been around the NBA for a long time. You know LeBron in his camp. And we agree, this is not the worst thing in the world. This is kind of standard operating procedure. If you're a GM, a big wheeler on a team, you go to Eurobasket to your star. Yokic. Obviously, the nuggets are going to be well represented. But I just have to wonder when LeBron is sitting there on the 17th and his golf cart scrolled. There with Luca in Europe and I can't get a hangout. I can't get anything?

Can I get a call? And I just want it. I'm not ready to like feel bad for LeBron, but I'm just curious what's going through his head. Well, what do you want? Jeannie Bess to invite him over for like a knitting party? Yeah, something. A book club. What do you want to happen here?

What is your preference? I want LeBron to get the love. You want him to get the love. I want LeBron to get the love. Let's break this down. Yeah. Okay. Eurobasket.

As you noted, all the Nuggets brass went to go see Yokic at Europe basket, right? This is happening all over the NBA. Chauncey Billups showed up in Poland to watch Denny Obvidat. Like, I mean, you do not have to be a

Lucas Dantzich level player for your team to come over. It's just become what you do if you're an NBA team. So that, this photo to me is absolutely nothing. Nothing, Berger. By the way, this whole idea that LeBron is jealous of Luca, it's just not true.

Yeah. Okay? LeBron really likes Luca Dantuch. Luca has always shown LeBron great deference. Luca has been very clear. He modeled his entire game after LeBron James. The two of them get along just fine. And in fact, when LeBron's agent, Rich Paul, put out that statement in the middle of the summer

that got everybody all crazy where he said, oh, LeBron has to take care of his future, even though the Lakers are taking care of their future and all that stuff. Rich Paul actually called Luca Donchish's people before he even called the Lakers to say, hey, this has nothing to do with you. So that's the degree to which the LeBron camp is okay with the Luca camp. Everything's fine there. Where the issue comes in, and you mentioned it, is the contract extension. That's what all of this is about. That's what the coming welcome home had on social media and the this in Cleveland and I'm at the practice court of the Clippers and I'm here in my old, you know,

how it's an Akron and all of that, that is a reaction to the fact that the Lakers have decided. They do not want to extend his contract past this season. Understandable. And their reasoning is we have a player now who is a generational superstar, not yet a LeBron-level superstar, by the way, but nobody is yet, right? There's no one else in the NBA who is a LeBron level yet. Luca is one of the next best things. You could get there.

Right? So they have Luca Donchich, who has 50. 15 years younger than LeBron, and they have to worry about his next three or four years. So first worry about that was, will he resign with us? Because he could have left this summer. So that dinner that you're talking about that LeBron, quote, wasn't invited to. He wasn't invited because that was a recruiting dinner for Luca Douncich. That was, Rob Plankha brought a binder to that interview to discuss, I mean, to that dinner.

He brought a binder to dinner. And the whole point was, here's what we plan to do. here's how we want to use you, all of that kind of stuff. That's what that dinner was the back. Do you think at that dinner, Luca at any point said, I don't see a lot of LeBron here. What's the game plan for the greatest player in NBA history? I do not think he did that.

I think that LeBron James doesn't understand why. For the first time in his career, he has to play out the final year of his contract. He doesn't understand why he's an all-MBA-level player and he's being left hanging. And by the way, he has a real point there. But the Lakers have a point that they need to keep their cash. cap sheet clear past next year to find a younger, big-time major star to pair with Luca

for the foreseeable future as opposed to giving $50 million to a then-42 world. It all makes sense on both sides. No one's wrong here. It's just, it's like it's complicated. If that makes sense, because remember, the Lakers needed LeBron. What they did with Kobe at the end, they were a disaster. LeBron pulled them out of the wilderness, brought him a title. And now they're not really showing him the love. No knitting. No knitting, Jason. They didn't invite him to knit. Final hour, the drama in Dallas.

Of course, it continues. 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 our... 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. 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 podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, 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 Sports Slice 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 SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHart podcast.

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