The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - Is there hope for the Lakers?

Episode Date: March 30, 2023

There might be hope for the Lakers The Mavericks need to build like they did around Dirk Nowitzki   Guest: Chris MannixSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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.

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Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

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84 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for Black. people listen to look back at it on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts thanks for listening to the herd podcast be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to three eastern nine to noon pacific on fox sports radio and fs one 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 herd now let's get this party started you're listening to fox sports radio live in Los Angeles hour two, it's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening.

IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. I always can tell when I do a show what's going to be big on digital. That Will Levis topic. Just watch everybody pick it up. Oh, you know it's going to be. Everybody's like, cowards bang it. Whenever you bang on a college quarterback, you have a strong opinion on them. And we both defended Will Levis.

I hate, I'm being told by people in the NFL. They don't like it. My first takeaway was, I don't like all the Jack pictures. I was told during he was either a combine or a pro day. A coach I know said, do not like the tight shirt stuff. That's not what you should be showing off. We already have questions about your ego, self-awareness. Get out of that space.

So it's just, it's, and by the way, like I said, with Seattle, Seattle could take a quarterback, right? And Will Levis could be there. You could take Jalen Carter and say, well, Jalen Carter's got character. He's a defensive lineman. You're not judging any other player the way you judge a quarterback. I would have never cared about Baker Mayfield's ego if he played weak side linebacker.

I want some. I want a little reckless as a pass rusher. I want defensive guys blow crap up. I don't need to be a perfect human. Quarterback is judgment, self-awareness, reading the room, reading a defense. Worries me. I think what we should do really is you and I should take bathroom selfies like Levis and then do the suns out, guns out, and all that fun stuff.

and posted online. That would be good. A little riff on Will Levis? That's not going to ever happen. And would not like that? No, I would not like that. Every time I see a guy do that, I'm like embarrassed for him. Oh, so I guess I should hold off on posting lines. I've never looked at a guy doing that and thought, there's a Titan of Commerce. So I saw this story.

The Jets now have the longest playoff drought in the four major leagues. In all the four major sports, the Jets have. have the longest drought. And I think they believe adding Aaron Rogers will solve that. But with or without Aaron Rogers, if you told me that Tua played 85% of the dolphin snaps, I would tell you today, with Aaron Rogers, the Jets won't make the playoffs. Why? Because Tua started 13 games last year. In the games in which he started, 105-5-passer rating led the entire NFL. Weapons, accuracy. If two a plays, 15, 16 games, Jets aren't making the playoffs because they're not close right now to Buffalo. They're not over the course of a season. Also, I was having this discussion with somebody in the league.

Just so happened yesterday. It's sort of ironic. And they were talking about, we got into discussions about, you know, Kyler Murray's lack of film study. and this person who was very connected to Aaron and many others said accurately because our stuff lined up. He said, you know, the dirty little secret of the NFL quarterbacks, the dirty little secret is they're not all film junkies. Brady was a film junkie. Russell Wilson is known as a film junkie. Breeze and Peyton Manning, film junkies. Big Ben, Kyler Murray, Aaron Rogers. kind of rely on their talent.

And what does that mean? It means when you throw new things at them, new teammates, new offense, new city, new coach, it takes them a little longer to adjust. Peyton Manning, a film junkie, first year in Denver, was amazing. Tom Brady, a film junkie, first year in Tampa about week 12, solve the issues in season. Aaron Rogers, first year. in Green Bay with Hackett. Took a while.

A little choppy. Passer rating was lower. So it is interesting. There's this sense that Aaron goes to the Jets. His history is, and I can give you six players we talked about yesterday. There's some that are young and current. I don't want to bang on him. But the dirty little secret of the NFL's quarterbacks, and I'm talking star quarterbacks,

a lot of the backups and the grinders and the average quarterbacks are film junkies. not all star quarterbacks in this league are. Big Ben was not. We know Kyler Murray, not. I've been told Aaron's not. In fact, Zach Gelb, a reporter, came out earlier this week on a separate topic and said, Aaron and Matt Lafleur game plan meetings to give Rogers more say. Sometimes Roger would show up to the meetings,

and sometimes Aaron Rogers would not show up to the meeting and not give Matt LaFluor a heads up. I've been told for years. That's kind of how Aaron rolls. He's a little moody. Sometimes he's into it. Sometimes he just relies on Aaron Rogers. So that's why I don't think in year one, Peyton Manning Denver year one, master the system.

He's a film junkie. It's all he does. That's why I kept defending Russell Wilson in Denver. He's a film junkie. It had to be a hackett issue. I know Russell was all in. He has that reputation. He had his own office in Denver.

He sits. He's glued to film. All right. Now, this is interesting. I've known Chris Mannix for a long time covering the NBA. He covers the entire NBA, but he grew up in Boston and all of us. You know, you grow up with a team. It's your team for years and years before you get into the business. You tend to have a greater understanding of it and appreciation for it. Chris Mannix grew up near Boston, so we know he knows the Celtics in and out. Not that he doesn't know the Lakers, but he's about ready to tell you something, and I can't even believe he's going there.

Chris Mannix now, senior writer, Sports Illustrated, at the volume as well, NBA writer on the show. So, I saw your take. And I was, like, anybody can say Lakers are good. But when I saw you say it, I thought, okay, Chris, Chris really, really absolutely believes it. This is not some take. Is it an Austin Reeves thing? Because you didn't feel this three months ago. I didn't hear this three months ago.

what has transitioned you into a Lakers win the West guy? So I've been kind of feeling this for a few weeks now, somewhere between when the Lakers beat the Warriors for the third straight time. They went to New Orleans, beat up on the Pelicans. I was going to write this back then, but then they lose to Houston in kind of a clunker, get beat by the Mavericks at the buzzer a week or so ago. But, you know, they beat Oklahoma City.

They just win last night against Chicago. and I'm looking at this team, and I'm seeing a complete group. I'm seeing Anthony Davis play like an MVP. I'm seeing LeBron James back in the mix and looking pretty good last night, that's for sure. Austin Reeves has taken off over these last three weeks. But most importantly, three months ago, they didn't have a functional roster. They had Russell Westbrook on it.

They had a bunch of non-shooters. They made the changes they need to make to put the right pieces around LeBron and AD. And I think this team is going to take off. Now, some of it is a combination. The Lakers, I think, are better than people are giving them credit for, and the top of the Western Conference is a lot worse. But I think this Lakers team is going to win the West. I believe it.

Malik Beasley now is in a little bit of a funk. They need him to hit threes. Rui has always been a bit inconsistent. That's why he bounces from one team to the other. The Austin Reeves piece is fascinating. So we were talking about this earlier. He's a winning player. He's very aggressive.

He gets to the line. line. He can score. Terrific vision. Excellent passer. He's a willing defender. Do you think the Lakers are a little shocked at how good, how quickly he's become? Yes, because if you go back to the middle of last season, I think it was January, when Austin Reeves couldn't make a shot. And I think back then the Lakers were really starting to get down in Austin Reeves, not really believe as much in him. but he put in the work this offseason. He improved his body. He improved his shot.

He is now a reliable three-point shooter. And you see DeAngelo Russell after the game last night, just unprompted say there's almost nothing Austin Reeves can't do offensively. I had to watch that a couple of times to make sure he wasn't being hyperbolic or saying something tongue-in-cheek. But he really believes that Austin Reeves is developing into a complete player. He's averaging 16 per game in the starting lineup. He's averaging 18 per game since the All-Star break.

This is not a small sample size anymore. When he first came out, I said, is it Jeremy Lynn? Energy rested. You know, you get to this point in the season. Some guys are worn out. And you just get this energy. Nobody knows his game. And then about four weeks later, it shrinks.

He feels like there's more depth to it. I think there's more depth to it. And partly, look, we looked at Jeremy Lynn and wondered, was he a star? Like, could Jeremy Lynn be a franchise player for the Knicks? Good point. No one's believing Austin Reeves is going to be. anything more than a third or fourth option. But can he be a reliable third or fourth option?

Absolutely. He can defend. He's athletic. He's shooting the ball. Put him in that lineup with LeBron and AD, and he is going to be the perfect complimentary player. I'm telling you, you go into the postseason, you say like, all right, first round matchup, Lakers Nuggets.

That's tough. But the Nuggets since the second half have the 18th best defense in the NBA. Memphis is a mess right now. We'll see what happens with them. I think that Brandon Clark injury is really going to hurt them. Sacramento is just happy to be there. Like this is a, they just got their win last night.

Really the biggest threat to the Lakers getting out of the West are the teams on the bottom half of the bracket. Like the Clippers, if they can get it together. The Suns look pretty good last night, and Durant's only going to get better. I don't think it's a,

I really don't think it's a stretch to say the Lakers can and will win that first round series against a top three team. Yeah. And from there, anything could happen. Yeah, I do believe they could beat a,

uh, uh, a, uh, sack or a Denver in a, in a series. My question, becomes, okay, now we have to play another seven game series. That's where Golden State's guard depth or the Clippers wing depth, I think becomes a factor. But you're talking about a Clippers

team that we don't know the future of Paul George. It sounds like he's going to at least miss the first round of the playoffs. Nobody has any idea when Andrew Wiggins is going to come back. The Warriors aren't winning anything without Andrew Wiggins. So those teams have some big question marks as well. So listen, I made this argument. Don't conflate great score with great player. The great players in this game. It could be it could be Havelcichick Russell, Kareem West. Kobe was a 12-time all defense. Magic Johnson, point scoring leadership. I've also grown up in my life. World B. Free could score. He wasn't a great player. I think Kyrie's become that. So his distribution, he doesn't elevate players.

He averages about five assists a game for the ball usage. It's not great. Terrible defender. Not good in the room. I said he's a pickup basketball player. You play with him for an hour, he gets you a bucket, you go your separate ways. The longer you're with him, historically, Boston, Brooklyn, Cleveland before LeBron, he wears people out. And I understood and appreciated the big swing by Dallas. Take swings. But I'm going to argue that he's not a great player. He's a phenomenal offensive piece. But I'm looking at stuff now, and I'm thinking he's hard to play with with. And I question, Chris, Porzingis, Brunson. Is Luca easy to play with? No, he's not easy to play with. And if you ask general managers about the perfect piece that it can

play opposite Luca Donchich, it's hard to get a clear response because nobody's really sure what that player is. Luca is such a high usage rate player. Really, you need to build a team, frankly, the way the Mavericks built their team around Dirk Novitsky, where you have some really good complimentary players. You've got a whole bunch of shooters that can stand in the corner and get open and make shots when Luca finds them. So Luca is a, yeah, I think he is a challenging player to put the right pieces around. I'm loathe to criticize Kyrie for what's happening in Dallas, only because whenever I talk to people down there, I consistently hear he's been a good teammate, he's been a good leader in the locker room. All the things you wanted Kyrie Irving to be,

he has been with Dallas. The problem with that team right now is that they are just horribly put together. They have two guys who are great offensive players, but brutally bad defensive players. They have no backline of defense. There was this big buzz for the last few weeks about Maxi Kleber coming back.

Maxi Kleber is going to solve some of those defensive issues. No, Maxi Kleber is a good defensive player. He is not a rim protector. So when you have two guys that get blown by, every single time when they play defense. And Luca doesn't even try some of those times. When you have guys that play that level of defense and nobody behind them

and no Doreen Phine Smith like wing protector, you are going to give up a boatload of points. And no matter how good, Luca and Kyrie are offensively, you're not going to be able to overcome that defensively. This problem in Dallas is entirely about roster construction, about mistakes that team has made over the last couple of years putting a functional group together. I brought somebody in from Nike who had a relationship with players but wasn't known as a roster constructor.

Yeah. And so therefore today we question roster construction. I don't know why teams try to outsmart themselves. Like, let's bring in the former agent. Let's bring in the guy from Nike. Like, great, it worked with Bob Myers, great executive, was an agent, came to Golden State. But I always wonder, I say this all the time, why doesn't a team with an open front office vacancy, go to Sam Presti in Oklahoma City and say,

here is a blank check. How much will it take for you to come fix our mess? Yeah. Like, why don't they do that? Nobody does that. Because he's good at that. He is the best GM, I think, in all of basketball. And everybody just kind of assumes he's going to die in Oklahoma City.

Nobody ever goes to him and says, you know, fix my team. They always try to bring in this guy, the relationship guy, the agent, all this stuff. How about you bring in the executive with a track record of success? How do we try things conventionally and do it that way? Conventional, yes. So I, of course, have to ask you about the Celtics. So I have said this all year. I really do believe Chris Middleton's regressed, Drew Holiday, Crowder, Lopez having a good year, Joe Ingalls.

They've added elements. Middleton's always been to me, a very good B plus, not an A, injured this year coming into it. So it gave Boston an opening, and I think they know that. They've gone out to find pieces. So, but here's my, there are elements. In the NFL, it's different. In the NFL, if you have a great coach and a great quarterback, you're going to win a lot of games. You're going to have bad linebackers, bad this.

In the NBA, there's also elements. You generally have to have two elite scores, rim protection. I want a coach who's been around the block and doesn't get worked. We all like Boston. I watch them in late game situations, and I got to tell you, there's sometimes Jalen Brown feels like he's the man. because he's just more aggressive and assertive than Tatum. I don't like all their substitution patterns. Am I being a West Coast guy looking at the Celtics and only seeing flaws?

I am worried about them in close games. I think that's fair. In a way they've had this kind of Benjamin Button-like experience where last year they started off terrible and then took off in the second half of the season. This year they started off great and have stumbled in the second half of the season. season. Why? Look, I think they had the benefit of continuity of chemistry early on. They really just hit the ground running from where they left off in the playoffs last year. They experienced virtually no adversity until we got to the midway point of the season. The concerns about

coaching, I think are legitimate. I think Joe Missoula, who have known for years, is one of the smartest basketball people I have ever met. But until you are in it, you don't know what it feels like. Until you're in the thick of it. And you're going up against the Kerr, a Budenholzer who's been around forever. Budenholzer, Doc Rivers, Eric Spolster, maybe in the first round. Like, you're facing masterclass basketball coaches. And look, the Celtics last year, they went to back-to-back game sevens. They didn't breeze through the Eastern Conference last year. They went to game seven against Milwaukee, and they went to game seven against Miami and almost lost both those series. So, You're going to need someone at an elite level.

And Joe, to this point, because of those substitution patterns, whatnot, has not proven that. But Rob Williams scares me. That's injury history, Colin. This guy needs to play through pain. He did it last year. I contend, and I said this last year, through three games in the finals. I'm like, if Robert plays, they're beating the Warriors. I think they're, I mean, because you get no freebies.

You take away Looney's offense. You get nothing around the, the Warriors get nothing around the basket with Williams. And I don't think you can beat Milwaukee without Robert Williams. I don't know. They know they can't beat Milwaukee. That's why at the trade deadline, the Celtics were so invested in getting Jacob Pertil out of San Antonio, even willing to give up a first-round draft pick to do it because they knew that if Rob Williams goes down, the combination of Al Horford, Mike

Biscala, and whoever else is part of that rotation, Luke Cornet, is not going to get it done. So they are just pins and needles hoping that Robert Williams' knee and its overall health holds up. So that's one of the bigger roster personnel problems. The other one is Grant Williams. Grant Williams has regressed this year. Why? You know, you talk to different people. Some think maybe it's the contract.

He's up, he didn't come to terms on a deal with the Celtics last summer. That was, he was extension. Got in his head a little bit. Maybe now it's getting his head a little bit. He was a big time three-point shooter early on, got hot, but has really regressed. Look at the playoffs last year. The Celtics don't win game seven against Milwaukee

without Grant Williams. He made, I want, seven threes in that game was dynamic for Boston. Play great defense against Janice, played great defense against Bamadabio and others in the playoffs. If he is not the Grant Williams of old, this team's in trouble. So the Celtics, I think as much as any of those top four teams are going into the playoffs with real questions. Finally, I am a sucker for Kevin Durant.

I said before, it bothered me when he left the Warriors for Brooklyn. I said that'd be like my home's going, I got a buddy that's going to play with the Jets. I'm going to go play with the Jets. Like, no, no, no, do not do that. But in basketball, we tend to understand that we're tougher on our quarterbacks than our NBA stars, mobility, shoe, market size. We kind of give him a pass. I hated it. So when he went to Phoenix, I'm a sucker.

I'm like, I love this because I do believe functional coach. They got the bad owner out. Functional coach, highly competitive, smart guy. Devin Booker to me is a really good guy because he's chill, not real needy. You know what I mean? He's not, I think you can work with him. A lot of guys can work with him. So I think Phoenix, I think their bench is fine.

I see cynicism in your eyes. I can sense cynicism. J-Max cynical on it. What is it that you don't like about Phoenix? It's not that I don't like what Phoenix has done. it's that it's really hard to develop the chemistry needed to win a championship when you make a deal of that substance in February. Like I think this team needs a full training camp,

one off-season signing in order to get to that level. I'm concerned, more concerned than you apparently, about the bench that they have in their rotation. Two former starters on the bench? We've got guys that can get a bucket. Who are we talking about? Warren and who's the other guy? PJ Warren was a started like five and a half years ago.

Like that, he's been injured for forever for like the last three years. Kind of starter. Like Josh Akogi is fine. It's kind of an interesting piece. This is like, you like the guy that loves the buyout signings and all those guys. You know,

Terrence Ross is fine. Tori Craig. He's started in Orlando. Like, what are we doing? What are we talking about here? It's in the NBA. It's in the NBA.

I'm equally concerned. though about Chris Paul. Because... Yeah, now that worries me. It was a small sample size, right? Only three games with Durant before he went out with an injury. But I watched that Dallas game. And the Mavericks, even though they're not a good defensive team,

are really smart defensive team. They've got good, smart coaches there in Dallas. And their defensive philosophy was to load up on Devin Booker, load up on Kevin Durant, defend DeAndre 8 and just leave Chris Paul with nobody within 20 feet of him. And he wasn't able to make shots in that game or wasn't able to make shots in those few games, I think, that Durant played in.

he's shooting, I think, one of the lowest field goal percentages of his career. It just doesn't look like, it looks like this is the year that he kind of slipped off that clip. Hasn't fallen off the cliff. But it's kind of slipped off the cliff. So his ability to make shots, I think, is going to be what you watch for with the other side. See, I consider starting for Orlando starting. You got to stop. Tori, I'm getting like, do you want a Tori Craig jersey here?

Who else they got that bench? Are you a Jack Land, was a Jack Landale? you're fan of him. Listen, I'm just pro player. I'm an optimist. This is optimistic uncle. Somebody said to me about guys that signed via buyouts. Like, there's a reason they get bought out.

There's a reason they're available. Like, they're not going to be saviors. That's fair enough. For the volume, for Sports Illustrated, a lot of information. Pushback as always. Chris Maddox. Grace Deenia. You go.

One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand. man, whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

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

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network

on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense

of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at It podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now, so... Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people. in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. All right. Charlotte Flair, the Queen will join us top of the hour. Have you ever met Charlotte Flair? No, I've never met Rick Flair either, but I'm a fan. Jumps through the television. Woo! Just fantastic performer.

She'll be at over the weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Got WrestleMania. I'm going Saturday with my first. friend. And yes, I'm fascinated by the production of the event. It's a fascinating, the construct of WWE, WrestleMania. Now, some of you guys out there, you're all into who wins the matches. That's fine. But watching the production of it live is fascinating. As somebody, we're in TV production. We see stuff behind the scenes. It is, the first time I saw it, I was blown away by the ability to create stuff, disassemble stuff in the choreography

of WrestleMania. And the fans are crazy. Like everybody's into this soap opera. The fans are in more than any sport in the world. The fans are part of it. The signage, they lean into the villains. It is a, if you're a business person and you deal in any media. Any platform.

Go to it and watch the genius of it. Is it day or night on Saturday? I'm getting picked up at my house. 2.30. You get there early. Wow. Get a cocktail in. Yeah, I'd be interested, but Matt Liner just invited me to a final four party with an open bar.

So I don't know if I'll be able to make WrestleMania. You go with me to WrestleMania. It is an open bar. Drinks on you? Yes. Jay Mack with the news. Oh, boy. Turn on the news.

They have to change my plans now. I am playing hoops in the morning Saturday. I know you care greatly. Yes, yes. All right, let's start with the New England Patriots. Earlier this year, Pat's insider, Tom E. Curran talked about the disconnect between Robert Kraft and Belichick. Saw it. In regard to the team's urgency and approach his soft season, now he's throwing more fuel on the fire.

Speaking to what he's noticed in their public interactions. Yeah. I see. Wary. And it's interesting because I watched them last week at the Devon McCordy retirement ceremony sitting next to each other and there was an embrace at the beginning. But when they get a microphone in front of them, they are putting their agendas out there in very specific ways.

I mean, the non-committal verbiage around Mac when you know that Robert is laying at your feet blame for Mac failing last year is probably the biggest wishbone in all of this. so I think they're wary of each other and they're kind of peeing on their territory he made Thomas bright guy hopefully I have time later in the show there's a couple of different instances how they are talking publicly about Mac Jones is stark yeah so you're on the craft side right and yes Bob is questioning Mac Jones yeah once again Belichick publicly

won't elevate Mac as if he's worried about the ego. Kraft, a nurturing father, is once again talking about how much he loved. Remember, Brady was always closer to Kraft

than Belichick was. So once again, the owner is just heaping praise, not ridiculous, not hyperbolic, on the young guy. Belichick won't even name him the source. starter. Maybe he's not that good, and

Belichick knows it. Is Kraft in the locker room? Is Krafted every practice? Sorry, I'm signing with Belichick on this one. You can side with Kraft and back your guy Mack Jones, who was he wasn't even great as a rookie. I know they won some games that got to the playoffs. If you look at the stats

and the defense as they faced. By the way, guys in the back before the end of the show, get Mac Jones's rookie staff. Yeah, game log. Go look at who they play. What's a disaster teams? Give me total numbers. TD interception, completion, passer rating, wins losses.

They played a bad schedule because the year before the Patriots stunk, right? And when you stink, you don't have to play a tough schedule. Bad schedule in the AFC. Yeah, it's played a weaklings in the AFC. There are no bad schedules in the SEC. Two years ago, the jets were terrible. The dolphins were bad.

Come on. All right, next up. 92.5 passer rating for a rookie. The bad passer rating, wow. Whoopty, dan. Saying they had a weak schedule, that's like 10 and made the playoffs rookie with a defensive culture. And what happened the next year?

They gave a defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator job. I don't know, seems rash and weird. Let's go on to Lamar Jackson, who's been all over social media recently, defending himself to fans and the media regarding his contract situation. One of the major criticisms has been his injuries. Ah, yes, but Lamar sent off a series of tweets arguing he could have played, Colin. Now, prime time. Dionne Sanders is chiming in with advice for Lamar. Stop explaining yourself to fools and allow fools to be fools. A brother trying that strong

believes in himself and willing to stand up for what he believes will always be misunderstood and judged by fools of all ethnicities. Love you, my brother, and I believe in you. Yes, I do believe the value of Prime's tweet here is, don't. Use Twitter as a therapist. Get out of that space. It's a memo to media people and athletes. Go get a therapist to work on your hostility. Don't use Twitter as a therapist. Lamar now has got anger and resentment and he's using social media and he doesn't have anything to prove to anybody. He works hard. He's excellent. He wins 75% of his games. He's got value. Social media. Don't use it as a couch. Okay, read a book about Sigmund Freud or go get to therapy. Yeah, Lamar is sitting down with a Sigmund Freud book. I said it yesterday. In an absence of information, people make stuff up.

How has nobody gone to Lamar Jackson or John Harbaugh and said, why didn't Lamar play late in the season? Could he have played? Like, nobody's asked these questions. We just don't know the answers. And now Lamar's saying, well, I could have played. I might not have been 100%, but I could have played. Well, that changes everything.

Does it not? How has nobody in front of John Harbaugh said, John, why didn't Lamar play week 16, 17, 15? Why wasn't he playing? He was supposed to be healthy. Shefter said he was coming back. Why didn't he play? What happened?

Nobody's asking questions. We're getting no answer, so we don't know. No, you have speculated, I think, fairly, that it was a contract thing. And if it is, that worries me greatly. That was a bit of a Kyler-Murie thing. But doesn't it also have you less worried about these injuries? He missed so many games. Maybe he'd spent that many games he was just sitting out because of the contract situation.

Well, I don't worry about his health now. I worried about his health then. I worry about him doing an NBA thing, which is I'm pain free, but, you know, I'm going to take the NFL, you play hurt. Always. Everybody's playing hurt. Everybody's. Baker Mayfield played hurt with that shoulder. How'd that work out for him? There's a difference between hurt and injured. Baker played injured. Okay. Hurt. Yeah, and the medical staff said to Baker, don't play.

He was playing to get the contract. Dumb. Hurt is different. I mean, Patrick Mahom, Super Bowl. Hurt. Jalen Hurt, Super Bowl. Hurt. So Lamar Jackson goes out on not 100% PCL but wants to get his team to the playoffs.

He gets hurt, shreds it. Now his ACL's torn up. Is he getting paid? Hell no. I'm fine with him sitting out, Colin. And Honey Badger, you know, the social media expert, Honey Badger, Tyron Matthew, went on and said, you know, go look at the two injuries that Lamar suffered. Both were in the pocket.

It's not like he was running around his style of play that Arthur Blank is hyping up. Again, I would say, he got hurt on sacks in the pocket. Yeah, nobody cares. He was hurt. Nobody cares how you're hurt. If you miss 10 of 22 games, you're hurt. I don't, that would let my kids coming home. I got into my second wreck.

It was, I don't want to hear it. I've never been in a car wreck, driving a car for 40 years. You're in a second wrecking a car. week. I don't care whose fault it is. Don't get in wrecks. I don't give her. I got kids. And I mean, listen, don't, don't show me how the sausage is made. I don't care. Don't get in wrecks. You get one a lifetime. If you're in two, three, four, it's on you. I've never been in a wreck. I don't drive fast. Right? Same with injuries. Tom Brady got injured once. Michael Jordan. There's a way. Eli Manning. Far.

I don't care. Don't get hurt. Mahomes is available on Sunday. Josh Allen's available. You know who's not? Kyler Murray. Lamar Jacks, I don't got it. Herbert is available. Eli Manning.

You've got to be available. By the way, people paying on Russell Wilson. He's always been available outside of like a three-game stretch. He's always available. All right, Minnesota Timberwolves and your guy, Chris Finch. They've been playing great recently. Oh. One, four straight heading into last night.

But they fell to the sun. 100 and this is probably the most fascinating story of the day. Yeah. No disrespect to the other great stuff and guess. But here's what Rudy Gobert had to say about the officiating after they lost. It's BS. B.S. It's really not fair.

Every night I try to always give the benefit of the doubt, but it's hard for me to think officials are not trying to help the sons win tonight. It's hard for me to think they didn't try to help the Warriors win the other. night when they were down like 30 or whatever. Or the Sacramento Kings the other night. It's just so obvious. As a basketball player that's been in this league for so long, it's disrespectful and it sucks to be honest.

I can see the sons and the Warriors because of stars. Since when has the league been pro-Sacroman? Yeah, like the league's going, yeah, we want more Sacramento. So last week, do you remember when Monty Williams was angry about the Lakers getting a million foul calls? So last night? The Timberwolves took a whopping 12 foul shots. The Phoenix Suns?

27. Devin Booker took 15 foul shots. That's more than the entire Timberwolves team. Rudy Gobert has a point. What's his name? The Sun's coach chirped about it last week, and now they're getting calls. We're not conspiracy theory on, like, the league is rigged. Thank God.

Rudy Gober has some decent points. The whistles can be very frustrated. Okay, so I will say this because I've heard this from people in the league. league. They think officiating over the last couple of years has gotten less consistent. Now, it's not an individual thing, but there is a feeling in the league that it's gotten a little inconsistent night to night. Now, I still think the best teams win. I think we're going to end up with Milwaukee and Boston and the Eastern Conference Finals and some version of like Kevin Durant and the Suns against the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. Or maybe

Maybe it's Denver. It could be. So I don't think in a sport where you have a seven-game series, like one call won't define it. In the NFL, you worry about like one call changes everything. But I tend to be if there's a bad ump or a bad official, there's a reason you play seven games. The best team will win. Listen, as someone who got screwed over the weekend in college basketball with some really abysmal calls, keeping Creighting out of the final four.

I'm just going to say, Colin, you've seen this back of the day. Phil Jackson would do this. He would work the refs. Pat Riley, the great coaches know. You've got to butter out the reps. I'm just telling you right now, whoever faces the Lakers is going to talk before the series to let the refs know,

hey man, Anthony Davis, if he's playing bully ball and get him whatever he wants and getting the foul line 15 times, we're not winning. They will serve no to some of these teams. This is a real thing in the playoffs. Yes. By the way, Phil Jackson was a genius. I'm not opposed to psychological warfare. Yeah. I'm not opposed to that.

I'm a big part of that. I'm an opponent of that. Give me more psychological warfare. I'm the same way. But that doesn't mean it's rigged. I told you the minute the Supreme Court ruled in favor of sports gambling, my concern wasn't that people couldn't handle it. It was that people will start claiming everything's rigged. I have seen an explosion of that. Folks, if you're going to rig an NBA game, it's not going to be a self-examination.

game. It's not going to be a playoff game. And I don't buy, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, so I don't buy any of it. I just don't buy them. I think it's mediocre people use conspiracies to validate their mediocrity. They lose, and instead of looking in the mirror

and blaming themselves, it's blame mom, blame my dad, blame the president, blame my boss. It's constant victimhood. So instead of saying you pick the wrong team, you're a victim. It's the ref. It's the league. It's LeBron. It's instead of going, Yeah, I probably picked the wrong team.

We've worked with people who like to blame everyone else except themselves. Let me just add one quick thing. So this week, one of the bigger trending viral things was that there was a women's college basketball game over the weekend that had a better rating than any NBA game this season. Now, that didn't totally surprise me. It was an elimination game. There was two very popular players in that game. NBA has rabbit ears. Adam Silver does.

And you know more than anything. He would love Kevin Durant and the Warriors and the Lakers to advance deep into the playoffs. I'm not saying Adam Silver is going to rig it. They don't want to see Memphis, Denver in the conference finals. But I think there's something there where the star players are going to be getting some star calls. Don't be upset when Kevin Durant's 20 free throws in a pivotal game. Now you're sounding like the Memphis scores. Daryl the Degenerate who has money on the...

No, no. I have no futures on... I mean, I'll have to look, but Colin, you're... You know star players get the star calls. Well, and it's up to you to be a star. I am a star. Want to be treated like a star? Work hard and become a star. Is John Moran a star? Is Nicola Yolkich a star?

Or Kevin Durant, Def Curry and LeBron? I mean, again, that's classic victim. LeBron gets the calls because he's great. You do a better job to be great. And then you'll get the calls. Be better. But who does the league want in the conference finals? Memphis, Denver or Warrior sons?

Tell me, just answer that question. Come on. By the way, Milwaukee's going to win it all. And they ain't rooting for Milwaukee. I can tell you that. Not rooting for small market Milwaukee. I think they would be rooting for Boston. Yeah, it ain't going to matter because Milwaukee's going to win it.

Sure? J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Law News. Groundbreaking runs in the family. Safety. Innovation runs in the family. The 2023 Mercedes-B-B-Family, 8 new models.

Check it out, MBUSA.com. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hi, this is Jay Glazer, and you may know me for the world of football or fighting or even shows like HBO's ballers. What you don't know is for my entire life, I have lived in something I refer to as the gray, depression, anxiety. So now I'm coming out with a new podcast, Unbreakable, a mental health podcast with Jay Glazer,

where each week, while we talk about mental health, I hope to describe it. Give it words. Listen to Unbreakable with Jay Glazer on the, iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Cliverts Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need.

to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

It's opening day for baseball, and that can only mean one thing. You now have a chance to win $10,000 for free playing Fox Bed Super 6. download the Super Six app on your phone and enter your six baseball predictions for a chance to win big. Well, the Mets are trying to buy a World Series. We'll see. I have to mute all the Mets fans during baseball because they get worked up over a game in May. By the way, great news today in America. Chick-fil-A is bailing on their side salad. The biggest story of the day in the country. I never understand these plays. I go to call it's called Burger King, not Salad King. Nobody goes to Burger King for a salad. Get rid of it. And don't worry about the do-gooters on the internet. and the trans fat burger king in and out can't even figure out their french fries i go to these

when i go to chick filet what are you going to get chicken oh yeah they do chicken side say all these fast food places they only do that because of all the critics and they're worried about it if you're going to one of those places for a salad you don't know what you're i eat salads all the time i love i have them at work all the time i don't go to burger king or chick filet for a salad yeah i think that's the first time trans fats have been mentioned on the herd in the history of the show. That's incredible. It's not that I'm rooting for trans fats, and I do think they go overboard on this stuff. But you know who goes a lot of times to Chick-fil-A, a guy that's busting his butt all day in a construction site? He's burned about 800 calories. He's on a hot roof and he wants two chicken sandwiches. He doesn't want a salad and he shouldn't feel guilty for it.

Don't forget the waffle fries. Those are the best fries out there may be side of McDonald's. I don't know, one of those two. We're not, don't try to be everything to everybody. Fox, we do a lot of football. We give you the World Series. We do the World Cup. We got big, heavy. We don't have any NBA. We're not doing the final.

We do what we do. We do politics and we do big games and some opinion. That's what we do. We're not trying to do everything for everybody. So Chick-fil-A, biggest news in America in the last five minutes, Chick-fil-A is bailing on their side salad. If you want to go back 15 minutes, Aaron Judge has already homered for the Yankees. to start the season on opening.

I'm not pro-trans fat. It's not I'm saying. But it's, you know, obviously there's stuff that's just not healthy. And I'd say probably skip the milkshakes at fast food places. I mean, McDonald's even has a big, I mean, McDonald's and milkshakes, look it up. It's a legendary grift. There's a reason the milkshake machines at McDonald's are always broken because they really don't want to make them, but they want to offer them.

But most of the time the milkshake machine is broken because it takes too much time for their servers. So it's the great grift in fast food. McDonald's has them, but they're never available. Side salads. Fast food rant. Love 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot,

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to bowl your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th.

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

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.