The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - Eric Mangini Joins The Herd & Colin's Blazin' 5

Episode Date: October 31, 2025

Colin gives us his Blazin' 5 for Week 9 in the NFL. Also, FOX Sports NFL analyst Eric Mangini joins the show to discuss Chiefs-Bills on Sunday afternoon, Caleb Williams' progress in Chicago, and much more! Also, Colin wonders if the Dodgers can bounce back in Toronto to force a Game 7 in the World Series.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

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 ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The story I've told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast Deeply Well with Debbie Brown. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to Deeply Well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives,

helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to help from Hippocrite Wednesdays on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific.

Find your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to The Heard Podcast. go. Hour number two and a Friday, Blazing Five. It's got its own contrail right now. It is red hot. Four and one, four and one, four and one. I have been banned in Las Vegas. They won't let me off the plane. I'm so hot. Welcome in. It's Halloween. J. Mack going as Austin Rivers, Reeves, Austin, I mean, he's only carrying the Lakers right now without Luke. gun lebron you know j mac a little j much with the gun show but whatever you know what i'm talking about i haven't worked out all week come on sorry that's a lie five that's a lot um listen i last week i did

something i never do with my picks yeah i said i'm taking all favorites i don't like favorites this week once again i'm doing something you shouldn't do taking road favorites they tell you don't do that. I don't love the numbers. I like the numbers more this week than last week. I just end up doing well last week. So the last couple of weeks, it's a lot of favorites. But it's been working. I'm going to do it again, and here we go. That's a hot one. Let's blaze it up. It's Collins blazing fire. 49ers at Giants. I like the Niners minus two and a half at the Giants without Scataboo. Listen, the Giants, they're not playing clean football, and the Niners have the number two passing offense, and the Giants pass defense stinks.

The Niners are two and oh after a loss, and I like taking well-coached teams after they play poorly. The Niners last week, not buttoned up. They're in a bad move. No Malik neighbors, no Cam Scataboo for the five losses by the Giants this year. Defense isn't very good. have been by 12 plus points, too many penalties. They give up big plays, and I think Mac Jones can burn you. I like the Niners to win and cover the spread 28, 23.

Bears at Bengals. I think it's a good matchup for Chicago. I'll take the road favorite minus two and a half since week four. Well, the Bears are four and one, and the Bengals are one in five. So there's that. Bears didn't get turnover advantages last week, but they generally do, and their offense does lead the NFL in big plays, and the Bengals defense this year is awful.

They're last in everything but third down defense, and they're next to last with that. They're one in five without Burrough. They don't run the ball particularly well, and Joe Flacco's banged up. The Bears are not a great team, but they can be very good when they get a good matchup, like the Dallas defense or the Bengals defense.

I think Chicago wins and cover. the spread. Final score 3327. Chiefs said builds. I like the over 52 and a half points. The over. Weather's going to be fine. Third ranked offensive line, Buffalo and the fourth ranked offensive line, Kansas City. So both quarterbacks will have time to throw. Five straight games for Kansas City scoring 28 or more, and their receiving tight end core is stacked. Number one, total. offense in the last month. The bills averaging six yards a play, second best in the NFL. Josh Allen, when he plays the Chiefs, he'll run it a bit more. But if you look at the games

between Mahomes and Josh Allen, the defenses struggle to make stops. I think it's a classic Buffalo, Kansas City matchup. I think Kansas City's going to win. Take the over 52 and a half points. Seahawks at Commanders. I'm going to take the commanders plus three and a half at home. Listen, Jaden Daniels hamstring and Larammy Tunzel hamstring, both could return. Second best red zone offense in the NFL only behind the Eagles. So if they can move the ball, they can get touchdowns. They also run the ball effectively, and I like that. The Seahawks are getting sloppy and a bit reckless for me. I love Sam Darnold, but he's, but he's gotten back to some bad habits. Right now, the Seahawk offense in the last couple of games

is sputtering. No Kevin O'Connell in the building. Commanders win it. Take the points. I like Washington 28 to 27. Cowboys. Cardinals Cowboys. I'm going to take Dallas minus two and a half. They're just a very good home team. One of five teams that hasn't lost at home. Number one, scoring offense in the league. And at home, strangely, they don't give the ball away. Only one giveaway in Dallas all year. I just like what they do at home. Dak having a really good season.

Protections better than I thought. So is the run game. The Cardinals, that defense is banged up and getting worse. Allowed 27 plus points in back-to-back games. Again, this is really, I'm taking Dak at home over a better team. Who knows who's quarterback. for Arizona, but I think they're regressing. Dallas still believes in that building. They can make the playoffs and maybe they can swallow the points. Dallas wins and covers 28 to 24. So again,

I'm taking favorites. I'm not prone to do that plus the over on the bills and the chiefs. With that, we bring in Eric Mangini. Jets, Browns. So here's the word. Chris Greer's been let go in Miami as the GM. They're going to keep Mike McDaniel. I believe interim coaches get you in trouble because they come in. They win a couple games. The fan base in the media want the interim coach, and that's not the best case.

So I would keep the coach to the end. I'm going to throw something at you, and I want your reaction. Okay. The franchise has to move off to him, in my opinion. I mean, it's a cold weather conference. I mean, it's all the good teams have cold weather. He can't do it. So college football has changed.

They have free agency. The college coaches now with the NIL and the portal, they're like NFL coaches. They have the pay players. They have negotiate salaries. They have free agency. I would call Lane Kiffin. And I would say, Lane, you've seen of these eight quarterbacks that everybody likes, you recruited them, you've coached against them, you've watched tape against them.

You had Jackson Dart. You know the conference. is it crazy to say the coach selects the GM and that Lane may be a great fit here? Yeah, I think Lane could definitely be a really good fit in the NFL.

I don't know if that's what he wants to do. So it was he and Sarkesian, right, at the Raiders, as co-offensive coordinators at one point. And I could see both of those guys moving back into the NFL. And look,

he's had so much success in college football and he's really good at that. And I think it'd be good and pro football as well. It just depends on whether he wants to make that transition. But I would imagine considering his lineage and his experience NFL at some point he's going to want to get back into the league. So, you know, when you look at the bills and the chiefs, I said earlier, generally December and January football, you know this, Brady and Belichick Super Bowls. With the exception of the Rams game, they're all one possession games. Win, lose, they're all one possession.

The difference between Mahomes and Allen is Andy Reed, outside of maybe Bill Walsh, is the best offensive coach ever, and he wins those little situational moments. I think McDermott's a very good coach. I think Andy's a legend. To me, the difference is they both went to small markets. They didn't win a lot in college. They're both insanely talented. Both franchises won playoff games before they got there.

They were well run. to me the difference is Andy Reid. It's not Mahomes and Allen. It's kind of Andy Reed in these big spots. Your thoughts on that. Yeah, the coaching situation that Patrick went into was about as good as you could possibly get because you not only had Andy Reid,

but you had Spagnolo on the other side, and I know it wasn't great early defensively, but that stability from a coaching perspective has been really good. I do think, though, there is an element of who is better in the bigger moments, And for years, where you had Brady and Manning, and how many Super Bowls would Peyton have won if Tom Brady hadn't been around? And it wasn't, you know, there was an element of coaching there as well, and I believe that especially really early in Tom's career.

But there is also an element of Peyton was around when the greatest player of all time was around. And now Patrick Mahomes is arguably the next, the air to the, the heir to that throne. And unfortunately for Josh Allen, he's around when the greatest player, potentially of all time, is around. So we've had a lot of discussions on Caleb Williams, and I said, listen, here's the things I like. He's coachable because I watch him on the first drive as execution's excellent. He's not rigid or stubborn. He'll take the coaching.

Secondly, he has developed a nice relationship with Roma Dunzee. You can feel it. They trust each other. Third is, he's got an arm. He's got the tools. I do think operationally it's not good enough, and I don't know if he's ever going to be 68% completion guy. Where are you now?

I think they're a team that's good, not great, so I like their matchup. I think when they face the Dallas defense or the Bengals defense, they're more comfortable. I don't think they're a good enough offense to face a lot of discomfort. They can handle, you know, a little less of a pass rush. Where are you on Caleb, Ben Johnson, and the Bears right now? Yeah, I'm a lot like you, Colin, as I see the good things that Caleb does week in and week out,

and then you get frustrated with the inconsistency of playing. And you want to see more development as a quarterback, as a leader, as someone who can run the offense effectively without getting the penalties that just kill you. And it's interesting, last year when they were right before the Washington game or leading up to the Washington game, They were four and two, and then they had that terrible, terrible loss. And Caleb had three games in a row where he's below 80 in a quarterback rating. Here we are a year later. They have the terrible loss of the Ravens, and he's in a three-game stretch of below 80 quarterback rating.

A year he moved with a totally different head coach, a different team, different situation. So I'm disappointed that that's where we are a year later, and I'd like to see the jump happen quicker. I do think we have to go through this entire season, and I'm optimistic that he's going to get significantly better by the end of the season and take some jumps here maybe over the next four weeks and then the four weeks following. So I said it's not that A.J. Brown's a bad guy, but if you look at the Eagles, their most famous play is the Tush Push. It's ugly, it's inartistic, it's a collective, and then he's standing over on the sideline.

like they're not built they're not built around a j brown now most teams aren't built i mean the bingles are built largely on burrow and james chase but i think a j brown is a good guy i think it's a weird fit were you ever in a locker room it could be the patriots the jets or the browns where you loved a player but he wasn't necessarily a fit or great for the room and i mean des bryant when he was in Dallas, like Dak was better not having the kind of babysit a superstar receiver. What do you do if you're Philly? Last week, no AJ Brown's the best their offense has looked in like since in a year. Yeah, look, it's a really tough situation. With AJ Brown, he's a great player, but there's a reason that Tennessee moved on from him. And we see great receivers all

the time where they get traded. And with AJ, he wasn't happy after they won the Super Bowl. He was reading the book during the playoffs last year. Now he started expressing his dissatisfaction publicly much earlier this year. And Bill Parcells used to say that sometimes, you know, guys are a little bit like a bucket with a hole in it. No matter how much water you put in it, it's always going to be empty. And as much as you try to fix a relationship, and as much as you try to make things right, it just doesn't matter how much you pour into it. You can't fill it up and you can't make them happy. So what ends up happening typically in situations like this is the Eagles get to the point where they move on from AJ Brown and then AJ goes somewhere and maybe has one or two years there,

maybe as a different perspective on things and last longer, but just seems like this is, this is one of those situations where the bucket has a whole. Okay, you're going to show some video here. I said this, sometimes I trust my eyes. When you watch Drake May, he's got a learned to slide. He's not good at that. But when the ball comes out, it's got a little heat on it. It comes out tight. I think he throws a very nice deep ball. Some of it is, my eyes don't lie. He just looks the part. Tell me your thoughts on Drake May. Yeah, you know, I looked at him very similar to Sam Darnold coming out of college because the amount of touchdowns to interceptions. And him getting together with Josh McDaniels, I think couldn't have been

a better situation. And we see now how Sam Darnold's progressed. This is years down the line, but we're seeing all the potential that he had. And with Drake May, this has happened a lot, a lot quicker. And I'm going to show you a tape, Colin, that you're going to love. And if you're a New England Patriots fan, you're going to love this tape as well, because it shows his development from a quarterback perspective, and it shows his potential physically. So in this situation, it's early in the game. They're sending Hunter Henry in motion to give him a man's own answer. What is it? Manor zone. And then they're going to throw or they're going to fake that they're throwing a wide receiver screen to Stefan Diggs. Obviously their biggest target. And then Henry and Mack Hollins,

they're going to go up and they're going to try to bluff the defenders, get those defenders to bite on the wide receiver stream to Stefan Diggs. And then ideally, Hunter Henry now is going to run a middle read. Mac Hollins is going to go ahead and he's going to run a fade route, and they get two-on-one on the safety. So it's a little bit of a gadget play that's on the front side of this route, and then on the back side of the route with Tashon Booty, he's going to run a slant go. He's the isolation route. He's the second option on this, but they want to hit the home run with the gadget play on the front side. What New Orleans is doing is they're in straight man-to-man coverage across the board, which means they have one player deep that's going to be the safety. Usually he's in a post-safety column, but they're going to slide him over to the three-receiver side where Diggs and Henry are,

and they're bringing a fifth guy off the edge because they want to set the edge on Drake May. They want to make sure that he doesn't have a scramble lane because he's hurt so many people with that. So as he comes back, he's going to sell the wide receiver stream to Diggs, and he does a good job of it. But what he's really doing is he's looking downfield to see whether he's got what he wants from the coverage, have the defensive backs bid up, has the safety bid up, and he doesn't have that. so now he's got to look backside to Booty. And you can see at this point, booty is far from open.

He's locked down in man coverage. New Orleans has a good rush. This is what I really like about Drake May. So it's not there. He doesn't panic. He keeps his eyes downfield. Look at how he finds the opening over here to his left. The scene, again, there's no panic.

Eyes are downfield. He moves into that little crease and then take a look at this. This is very Josh Allen-esque. He's almost like a jump up. pass. He's on one foot, but you're going to see he comes actually off the ground and it's effortless. Booty's nowhere near wide open. This is tight man-to-man coverage, and you're going to see from this other angle how well this ball is thrown. So there he looks, slides into the crease, and look how he drops this into the pocket off of his back foot. So it's, if you need a reason to be

excited, it's that. He took a look at what the coverage was, the coverage wasn't there. He's got patience. He's got poise. And then he effortlessly throws the ball 25 yards down the field and in the bucket. It's a lot to be happy about. Yeah, no. Some stuff just looks right very early. I said this when Justin Herbert was a rookie with Shane Steak and the coordinator,

I'm like, I don't know if he wins playoff games. That's what a franchise quarterback looks like. Drake May, to me, is the East Coast, Justin Herbert. I don't know what he does in January. That wins 10 plus games a year if he's standing upright. He's too good, not too. Yeah, it's so good to see the development, too. That's what I was most worried about,

is where we're going to get to the same situation where we've got 15 touchdowns and 11 picks, and he's making poor decisions. But in that situation, good processing, good field in the pocket, good looking down the field, a lot to be happy about. Eric Mangini on a Friday, great senior coach. Great senior. Congratulations on all those honors.

honors, Colin. So well-deserved. Thank you. That's very kind of you to say. I certainly appreciate that. It was, though, we got to bet a little late last night. It was a neat night being inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. And thank you to all the well-wishers and the people that have supported me through the years. IHeart Radio is obviously Premier Radio networks have been unbelievable. And we're again last night. So Urban Myers stopping by next hour. Folks, Delane Kiffin stuff to me is whether you like him or not, Lanes got a presence. Lanes got some alpha. That's what Miami's missing.

I mean, they've got to get the O-line right. They've got to get the GM right. More than anything. In the AFC, New England, Baltimore. Look at all these teams that are good in the AFC. You've got to get a big guy who can sling it and cruddy weather. I know you're playing the sun. Nothing is decided in the September in the NFL.

Nothing is decided. Everything is decided after Thanksgiving. 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, is Covino and Ridd from Fox Sports Radio? Now, in addition to hearing us live weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, we're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for the show. Yep, that's right. You can now watch Covino and Rich Live on YouTube every day. got to do, search Covino and Rich

FSR on YouTube. Again, go to YouTube, search Covino and Rich FSR. Check us out on YouTube, subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon, and comment away. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, 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 a first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a train. but this one's extra special.

So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down?

Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, 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 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. Keith Giamonka seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad, but secretly he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea?

It seemed very crazy, but I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out. Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong and what that might look like? No, I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? that is not the look of an innocent man. This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier. than it is. Getting a new one put up in its place. As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering the Civil War. To get to school, I had to go down Robert Lee Boulevard. Get to the grocery store. I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway. If you're an historian and you leave out half of what the history is, you're not doing your job.

I'm Akila Hughes, and Rebel Spirit season two goes deep on both of those things. The fights, the politics, the people who won, and my personal campaign to add something to the Kentucky State House. that's actually worth the wall space. We are more than our bodies. We contain essence. We contain spirit. How do you represent that? They are just fueling a fire that is really catching.

You'll see what I mean. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. First part about the Ravens' dominating win last night is I wish when you put those Thursday night games on and they're probably the best bet of the weekend. and I can't put it in Blazing 5. So Baltimore felt like a, I mean, you can just watch what's happening with Miami.

I'll say it again. Lane Kiffin's the choice, I think, for Miami. I've talked to now two general managers about it this morning. Remember, when Lane Kiffin went to Raiders, Al Davis forced him to draft Jamarcus Russell. I talked to Lane about this 10 years ago. He didn't want to draft him. Nobody can win with Jamarcus Russell. Don't blame the coach.

Shane Steichen last year, it's so amazing. How good Shane Steichen is. again. It's like he forgot football last year. Well, look at the quarterback play. Like Kevin O'Connell. Everybody bangs on the coaches. If you don't have the right quarterback, everybody looks incompetent.

You got to get the quarterback right in Miami and you need a little bit of alpha. But you don't want to give up too much innovation. Mike McDaniels, smart, a lot of innovation. Kiffin would give you the innovation, more alpha. College football coaches now. They're CEOs.

They used to just be recruiters. They got a salary cap. Now they got to pay players. Now they got to negotiate contracts. College guys, Jim Harbaugh, was basically a pro coach at Michigan. That's what Lane Kiffin is at Ole Miss. Jay Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Be nice if Lane got to pick his quarterback, and he had the choice of a guy like Lamar Jackson, who was phenomenal last night, Colin. My goodness, we haven't talked about it enough. four tutties in the roll to victory over hapless Miami, error-prone Miami. Here's the interesting thing.

Baltimore now minus 180 to win the AFC North, meaning you got to lay 180 bucks to win 100. If you had done this a few weeks ago when we told you to, you might be a rich man. I'm not saying it's a lock, but we all know the Steelers are a fool's gold, the brown stink. I love watching Lamar Jackson play. Let me ask. So he didn't look as, it's his first game back. He didn't look as fast and fleet of foot and elusive, right? Would you agree?

Yeah, I think he's probably at 90%. He's got to, you know, I mean, my take is quarterback's first game back from injury. In the NFL, there's a brotherhood. You want to play when you're hurt. You don't in baseball. You don't in basketball. So I don't think Lamar Jackson's 100% healthy. He's probably 90%.

And so my take on it, he's not going to run as effectively. He's not going to run as much. He's not going to look quite as fast. He's fine. But in the NFL, a lot of times, quarterbacks especially, will play hurt because they know the beating their old linemen take and running backs take and tight ends take. So quarterbacks tend to want to get on the field and be part of the room, be part of the brotherhood. So I don't think, I think Brock Purdy is going to come back. He's not going to be 100% healthy.

I don't think Lamar was last night. Upcoming five games for the Ravens. Here are the quarterbacks they will face at J.J. McCarthy. at Dylan Gabriel versus Justin Fields versus Jake Browning versus Aaron Rogers. That smells like 5 and O.

Maybe they slip up in Cleveland, which does play tough defense at home. They do. But 4 and 1, 5 and 0, just ravens are coming, folks. Let's stay in the AFC North, go to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I can't wait for them to fall off

so we can stop talking about these guys. They're just not a good football team. They're to the point that Cam Hayward, One of their defensive leaders is calling out the team for having a pathetic defense. Here he is ahead of the matchup against the Colts. I just think we all just got to get better. I challenge everybody. I challenge myself, first and foremost, you know, that's always the way I've been raised.

You can't look at anybody else. You've got to look at yourself. And, you know, the way to get this bad taste hour, is just play better football. Yeah, I don't understand the line here, so I stayed away. I think the Colts are 10 points better. I think the good teams have pulled away from the Steelers. Both Green Bay and Seattle in Pittsburgh,

completely pulled away in the second half. I think the Colts will pull away in the second half. I don't understand the line, and when I don't understand stuff, I avoid it. But I think, like Green Bay, you have a very efficient offense that over the course of 12 possessions, and that Pittsburgh hit and miss defense,

I like the Colts here. Yeah, I'll try to help some people understand it. I'm going to save all my juice on this one for headlines next hour. That's called a tease in the industry, Mr. Cowherd. I'll try to help the folks understand. Final story, let's go to Wembe, Colin. He was in action last night. He's becoming must-see TV.

I'm not ready to call him the best player in the league, but he's pretty damn close. How about this line, Colin? 28, 18, 6 assists, 5 blocks. The spurs are 5 and 0. They covered the spread again last night. I'm telling you, they've been a good bet so far this season. This dude is awesome.

Remember the early criticisms? I remember when he was coming in, and they were calling him the best prospect ever, including LeBron. And people are, and I think he is, because he can do things defensively. LeBron can't. He just has genetic size advantages. So, but the knock was he'll get pushed around.

my people. I'm watching the video. Where are the pushers? Well, Bam out of bio dunked on him, but who cares? It's one dunk. And Wemby talked about it. He's like, I'll challenge anything. I love that attitude.

I'm just saying, I know everybody thinks the Thunder of the best team in the league, fine. They're also undefeated. They're very good. I think it's worth putting a couple bucks on the San Antonio Spurs to win the title. I'm dead serious, Colin. I know they're young. They got the rookie point guard that they drafted.

They got the young kid castle. They don't even have Deer and Fox back. yet. He's not even playing for them. He's like an All-Star level player. This is a really strong team. And I don't know if you how close are you going to watch them. I'll be shocked if they're not top four in the West. Wemby in the middle has altered so many shots. People don't want to drive the lane on them. Also, their starting five is really good. Yvonne Castle is a great play. I don't know about their bench, but the starting five for the Spurs is Western Conference final worthy. You just cross your fingers on Wemby's health.

Could you call him a modern shack? He's as Don. but he's just different because he can hit three. I think European bigs, Alpern-Shangoon, Yokic Wembe. They're as skilled as our number twos, our off-guards are. That's the difference. European players are more skilled

at a much earlier level than our domestic players. You watch Shangoon, like dude's got handles. He has a beautiful touch. He can pass. I covered Arvita Simonas in Portland. Like he was the best passer on that Trailblazer team.

Our beat his subonis the center was. So our guys have been brute force like shack, you know, or our bigs have, you know, I will say Bill Walton was ahead of his time. He had sort of a European feel where he could shoot. He had touch. He could pass. Bill Walton was like three decades, four decades before his time. But largely these international bigs, they are in, they are so skilled.

And it just separates them from other eras. So the baseball unicorn plays his final games of the season this weekend, Otani, and the basketball unicorn ushered in. How about this? Remember last year when Wemby was taking all these threes? Yeah. And I'm like, folks, he's 7.5. Get him closer to the basket. Stop with the math equations.

Wemby this year taking twice as many shots from 10 feet and in. Some of you analytic nerds, some of you GMs, some of you GMs. out there with your math equations. 7-4. Get him close to the basket. We watch playoff basketball. In all these teams that shoot threes, they have these streaky

halves where they're off. The Celtics will have these halves, and you're like they're unwatchable. You can get a bucket with this between Castle, between Wemby. You can get a two. It feels like about 60% of the time with the spurs, and there's nothing anybody can do about it.

J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Oklahoma City was like, oh, the world's our oyster. We're going to win all these games. Good luck. Good luck with Wemby.

I mean, the good news for OKC, they've got Chet Holmgren, so they've got some size as well. But Wemby's just different. And I remember that, oh, watch out. Our guys, domestic guys, they'll push them around. dude he may Hey it's us the Jonas brothers and guess what

we have some big news what's the news news 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 wide range of podcasts

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 And Oh 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 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. Keith Giamonka seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad,

but secretly, he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy, but I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out. Did you allow yourself to think about how it could, go wrong on what that might look like. No, I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success.

Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever, because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover, The Family Man, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is. Getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is. Getting a new one put up in its place. As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering the civil war. To get to school, I had to go down Robert Lee Boulevard. Get to the grocery store. I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway.

If you're an historian and you leave out half of what the history is, you're not doing your job. I'm Akila Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 goes deep on both of those things. The fights, the politics, the people who won, and my personal campaign to add something to the Kentucky State House that's actually worth the wall space. We are more than our bodies. We contain essence. We contain spirit. How do you represent that?

They are just fueling a fire that is really catching. You'll see what I mean. Listen to Rebel Spirit season two on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hakes, 611 guys look small. He really does. His length is just insane. Dodger's season on the brink. Upset on the horizon and the NFL, both next.

Be sure to catch live editions of The HARD weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Play the Fox Super 6. NFL challenge. Download the Fox Sports app and enter for a free shot to win your share of $10,000. One of the questions is which QB will have the most passing yards this week? Stafford against the Saints, Jordan Love against the Panthers, Gough against the Vikings, or Trevor Lawrence against the Raiders. This is a little tricky, Colin, who you got? Matthew Stafford against the Saints, Pooka Naku is back. Can I throw this out to you? Wait, hold on. What if Stafford's, what if they're up 20 to nothing in the second quarter?

and they just shut him down. They don't do that. McVeigh doesn't do that. I'll tell you what's weird. Do you have Packers, Panthers in your picks? I do. I have a weird feeling. Yeah, yep, yep, yep.

I looked at the numbers on this game. I came an inch on picking the Panthers in this game. That's a bit of a, I like saving the good stuff. It's a trap spot. So they had the Aaron Rogers game last week. Yep, total trap spot. next week. So it's easy to just be like, oh, hey, here come

the Panthers and the red rifle. He may start. It's unclear. Bryceville, Young is practicing. We'll see. If it's young, they got a shot. Go ahead. Go ahead. If you go to Lambo, just don't get all worked up. Go ahead. Hey, come on. Put your money

where your mouth is, big guy. Come on. Take the 13. Go ahead. Now, I was very close to taking them. I think it's a trap spot for Green Bay. I think it ends up being like 28, 23. Green Bay wins. It's very competitive. I'm just going to say that right now. So the Dodgers season is on the break. Now, I said this, that's good for baseball. You don't want Katie and Warriors where it feels unfair. The Dodgers are the only team in baseball, where if they lose the World Series, it's a failed season. Now, you could say the Yankees, but the minute the Yankees lost last year to the Dodgers, what was the first thing everybody said? Dodgers have much better players. Dodgers are a much better roster. Dodgers top to bottom. are the only time the Yankees competed when Garrett Cole pitched. They looked like an average team compared to the Dodgers.

I think a lot of the Dodgers struggles in this series are pressure. Last year, the World Series, the pressure was on the Yankees and the Dodgers. This year, it's all on L.A., and I think you can see it at the plate. They're getting non-competitive at bats. They're getting a lot of really bad at bats. Mookies flailing. Muncie doesn't look right. So I think baseball, like golf, is one of those sports.

A lot of downtime, it gets into your head. You can get in a real slumps, even for great players. So I think the perfect, the magic elixir to solve that is Yoshi. So, again, a lot of these Asian players come over, and they don't listen to American media. They don't care. They come over, they've got a guru, they do their own thing. They are, from that perspective in the media, they're removed from it. and this kid, wire to wire, has been an ace.

All of his 30 starts. He is perfect mechanics, totally focused, unique personality. That is what you need in Toronto. You need a guy that is completely laser focus, is absolutely unaffected. He was an ace in Japan. He's an ace in Los Angeles. I don't know if they could win this series. I don't know if the Dodgers could.

They can even it up with Yoshi. because he's kind of the perfect personality, great mechanics, totally focused, unaffected. Dave Roberts talked about him last night. I think, you know, he's pitched in huge ball games in Japan. He's pitched in the WBC. And, you know, players that have the weight of a country on their shoulders, that's pressure. And so I just feel that part of his DNA is, to just perform at a high level in big spots and control his heartbeat and just continue to make pitches.

I've said this. There are advantages to your best player being an international player. Like I've always thought the international basketball players come in more mature. You know, their families are overseas. So when they come to America, these international players like a Wembe or a Yokic and a majority of their family is overseas. and their friends and their history and the culture they really feel embedded in, they just come over here to play basketball. They're not distracted at all. I think there's a huge advantage for a lot of international basketball players.

And there is a great number of great Southeast Asia baseball players, and they come in, and they're not affected by our media, they're not listening to talk radio, or they're not, you know, they don't, they really come in, totally focused, Yoshi is such a unique, personality. He's just unaffected by everything. He was an ace in Japan. He's an ace here. And there are, you know, and I've said this before, when I go overseas or when you go overseas, it is different. I'm a visitor. I act differently. I tip differently. I'm probably more generous with my time. I probably illustrate more patience. You know, I change a little bit. A little bit of a

chameleon when I, I don't know, I just, I just think I do. So a lot of these athletes that are international athletes, they come over here, and they have a very unique focus. And I think sometimes it is hard, you know, like, like I've heard this from athletes. They don't want to play in their hometown. I remember talking to Damon Stodomier once when he came back to Portland. And he says, you know, in Toronto, he played for the Raptors. He's like, I can go hide. If I can't hide in Portland, I've got all my family and relatives and friends here. And so he said, you know, it creates different challenges. So I like the Dodgers. in this spot tonight, but so far, the Jays have done a much better job of making the Dodgers

uncomfortable, and the Dodgers stars aren't hitting. And so Toronto's playing with a ton of confidence. They're playing downhill, house money tonight. They're the underdogs in the series. There's not a lot of pressure, especially tonight. So I'll take Dodgers tonight, but in the game seven, be hard to bet against the Blue Jays. So I was saying earlier, I think the Chicago Bears have been fascinating with Caleb. So when these young quarterbacks come into the NFL, you can see some that are immediately

don't work. You know, Marcus Russell when he came into the league, like that doesn't work. You know, Zach Wilson, it's like, I don't think that's going to work. And then there are those that immediately you're like, oh, that works. Like Jaden Daniels last year, Joe Burrow. I mean, I think Cam Newton's first year, you're like, you're going to win some games with Cam Newton. And then you get into these relationships where it's like,

Caleb Williams, where you're like, okay, all new coaching staff, second year, something's good. It's hard. Here's where I think Caleb Williams is at. I don't think he is at the place where he can handle a ton of discomfort. I think when he faces the Cowboys defense or this weekend, the Bengals defense, he's got more comfort, an extra beat to throw, an extra beat to make a decision. he can be highly effective. He probably needs another 15 starts to get to the point where he could face

the Chief's defense and be comfortable. Now, some guys never get comfortable. Justin Fields has never gotten comfortable against the lead defenses. But Justin Fields will give you these starts against bad defenses. You're like, oh, whoa, whoa. But he's never been able to pivot to the quarterback that can do it against great defenses.

So I think Caleb is in that you give him the Cowboys or the Bank I like the Bears this weekend, and it's going to look different. Last week, Ravens are healthy on the road. You don't get the time, a little more pressure, a little better safety play, and it unravels. Eric Mangini earlier on what he's seen from the Ben Johnson-Kaleb Williams relationship. It's interesting. Last year, when they were right before the Washington game, or leading up to the Washington game,

they were four and two, and then they had that terrible, terrible loss. Caleb had three games in a row where he's below 80 in a quarterback rating. Here we are a year later. They have the terrible loss of the Ravens, and he's in a three-game stretch of below-80 quarterback rating. A year he moved with a totally different head coach, a different team, different situation. So I'm disappointed that that's where we are a year later. Yeah, a lot of guys, you know, instantly not going to work,

and there's a very small handful of guys. you know that's going to work. The majority of young quarterbacks, it's the other 75%. You see stuff, but is it ever going to sink up? Like I think officially, Bo Nix works, Jaden Daniels works, Drake May works. I think Caleb Williams and panics are in the, you know, I need another 10 starts. But the good news for Caleb, he's got Ben Johnson. Michael Pennix has a defensive coach, and I think that stuff matters.

So as we look at the NFL schedule this weekend, I like, I like the Bears against Dallas. I like the Bears again. I think Caleb will have time, just an extra beat. We showed you yesterday. The quickest release time in the NFL is Patrick Malms at 2.6 seconds. The slowest is Caleb at 3.1. It's just a beat. It's just a 1,000.

That's it. It's just an extra beat, an extra step for the receiver to get open. So the games I'm really interested to watch. I want to see if J.J. McCarthy plays at Detroit. I want to see what it looks like. Everybody loves Detroit. I'm staying away. Everybody loves Green Bay.

I'm staying away. A couple weeks ago we had this where the Chargers were going to the Giants. And the Bills were playing the Saints, and everybody loaded up on the big favorites. I like small favorites this weekend. and one of the small favorites I like, I like the Niners, and I like the Bears, both as slight road favorites. Okay, big update here from NFL reporters. Bryce Young, his ankle is fine, no injury designation.

He will start in Lambo against the Packers. Now, I haven't shifted over to the line to see if it's moved, but that does something for you. I see you grinning over there, almost like you're giddy to jump on the Bryce Young bandwagon. Also, Brock Bowers is now healthy for the Raiders. Keep your eye on the Raiders upsetting the Jags and keep your eye on the Carolina Panthers,

making it very uncomfortable for three and a half quarters against the Packer. I don't hate that except for the fact that I'll talk about it next hour. I just, the last time the Packers had success, remember they win the first two games over the Lions and Washington, and everybody crowned them. Oh, they're going to be in the Super Bowl. and then they just started sputtering. They couldn't cover the spread.

They're not putting teams away. They don't have that knockout punch. And I wonder, after that big win on Sunday night football over Tomlin, you know, are they going to go back to being the old Packers? Or did they unlock something? Because in the second half, Colin, they killed Pittsburgh. I guarantee you. I think it was like 28-0 run or something.

If you asked Matt Lefleur privately, I think he's terrified of this game. He knows. He knows huge favorite at home. Coaches hate this spot. He'd rather go to Carolina and play because the players would get more dialed in. This is a top, keep your eye. Packer Nation.

Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob 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. The story I've told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection.

This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you. to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Joey Dardano.

And on my new podcast, hope from a hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant,

recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite Wednesdays on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.