The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR-2-Lakers-Blazers, John Thompson

Episode Date: August 31, 2020

The Blazers had no chance against the LakersRemembering John ThompsonGuest: Albert Breer Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee 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.

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 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 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 Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes,

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For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. 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. 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 Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. What up? Welcome in. This is The Hurd, wherever you may be in.

However you may be making it as part of your day, thanks so much. I'm Doug Gottlie. Filling in for Colin Cowherd. Trying to being the fun back to sports. Better when sports is fun? Fun? Huh? Albert Breer joins the show coming next. How the Jags go from a fourth quarter lead against the Patriots on the road in the

AFC championship game, too? let's hit reset right it's like David Caldwell walked by the Xbox and when no it would try to do when no one was looking turn it off,

turning on whoa what happened there what happened anybody a little brother I'm a little brother remember the old Nintendo like the first Nintendo you got and you'd be playing

Blades of Steel and then your brother was up like seven to one you're like boop oh what happened somebody hit reset how'd that happen come on

Dudeo is dominating you in Super Technable. All right. So Albert Breer in 15 minutes. Rich Ornberger next hour. We got a good best for the last. I like our best for last one as well. So the Lakers on Saturday night dispatched of the Portland Trailblazers.

In the, I don't hate to say I told you so, I did in fact tell you so. The NBA's playoffs don't always come down to who wants it more, right? like, oh, God. If I hear it, if you're a paid broadcast, it goes like, you know, it just comes down to who wants it more. Or it's a maker missed league.

It's a maker miss league. That's profound. Profound. Colin, help me out, Goulet, did he pick the, I thought he picked the Blazers. There's like video of him picking the Blazers to win the series. But I believe there was also a segment in which he picked the Lakers to beat the Blazers. He picked the Blazers. and then after watching the Blazers against the Grizzlies in that playing game

said the Blazers are too tired on taking the Lakers. It must have been a text from me. Look, what happens, the NBA playoffs are basically decided by these factors, right? Injuries and how many different playoff series have been decided because a guy gets hurt in the middle of them or before them? Injuries, matchups, and on some level, conditioning. You know,

Yokic at sea level obviously doesn't seem to be laboring as much as he does when he's above sea level, but there have been times in the past when Yokic in the playoffs looks like he's just dead on his feet. And the Portland Trailblazers is a team that had to win I think we had six of their eight games

in order to get in the playing game. They won the playing game. I told you the two reasons that I thought they would lose in four or five to the Lakers was very simple. One, they're out of gas. And two, they didn't have,

they're not built to match up with LeBron. They're not built to match up with Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis had 43 on 18 shots. By the way, those are crazy numbers. 43 on 18 shots. And LeBron, Hoam, had 36 on 19 shots, four, 10 assists, 10 rebounds. And they get just enough scoring from the rest of the team

to score 131 points. The reason they beat Portland is they were out of gas, and it's a bad matchup for Portland. Just a bad matchup. Portland didn't have anybody who could match up with Anthony Davis, nobody who can match up with LeBron. And guess what? The Houston Rockets, I mean, the Houston Rockets,

who have three games of two, who suddenly now have Russell Westbrook back? Same thing. Same thing. No, the Houston Rockets to this point, now if they get Russell Westbrook back, they're not injured. and maybe they're in good shape,

although the Lakers, they got an extra couple days off because of the protests, and now they're going to have an extra couple days off because Houston has one more game. So in terms of conditioning, that's a win for. Matchups, that's a win for. Injuries, relatively even, especially now with Rondo essentially coming back,

doesn't matter how much he'll play or whatever. It's just adding another body that they can throw out there. I don't hate to say I told you so. I love to say I told you so. There are a lot of people, and I've made mistakes in evaluating games and series in the past, but this one was pretty obvious because they had played many times in the regular season. The Lakers averaged 127 a game.

And so, yeah, you give Portland a shooter's chance. Hey, if they have a game where they make everything, the Lakers miss everything, they can win. That's what happened in game one. Portland didn't play particularly well, hung around, hung around, hit a couple shots late. Lakers could make shots, they steal game one. But the rest of the series, that's why you have a seven-game series.

So the better team ends up moving on. In this case, the better team is clearly the Lakers. Not just because they're a one-seed, but because the matchup really favored them. The matchup, the conditioning, the injuries are now a wash as you get ready for the Houston Rockets. The Rockets are not built to guard somebody like Anthony Davis and not really built to guard somebody like LeBron James.

The only place that changes is once you get to the Clippers who are built with Kauai, with Paul George, those two guys to match up with LeBron. So I find it to be, I find it to be fascinating how many people took that bait, hook, line, sinker, and didn't realize go through the teams that Portland played against in order to get into the bubble. I mean, get into the playoffs from the bubble.

I'd go through them I mean the Grizzlies they had to beat and they barely survive but the Grizzlies are super young right they didn't have Jaron Jackson the Nets are playing a bunch of dudes half of them were in the G league they played the Mavericks

and I think Lucas sat that game you know the 76ers didn't have Ben Simmons I mean kind of go through the go through all the teams they played and especially the last three that they needed to beat in order to get into the playoffs. 76ers, no Simmons. Mavericks, I believe the Mavericks didn't play all their dudes, right?

Luca played like 25 minutes in that game. And the Nets, of course, had, you know, without four starters. The same people that told you the Lakers were going to lose or the same people that told you, Mello is awesome. The whole league missed on him. Did you hear that? Have you heard that? I can't believe the whole league missed them. No, they didn't. Basketball, last time I checked, there's 94 feet in the court.

You don't get to not count. I've yet to find a rule that says like, hey, we're not going to count those other 47 feet. We're just going to play half court offense only. This is not women's six-on-six basketball. Do you guys know there used to be high schools in the country that would play six on six girls basketball? Yeah, there's three on offense all times, three on defense all times. And you get the ball, you get a rebound. Can you imagine being an all-time defense how bad that would suck?

Oh, she's a great defender that she never gets to shoot the ball. Like you literally could average zero points a game and play the entire game. Doesn't work that way. Same people that told you Mello is awesome of the same people that predicted the Lakers would lose. and neither happened. Yet, Mellekon's score. No one's ever said he couldn't. He's just not efficient in scoring.

There's some similarities there to Leonard Four Nett, right? Guys from a foregone era, we're posting up in mid-range no longer truly needed. And if you're going to be a below-average defender, you better be your team's best player and he is not. And between his defense and Lillard's defense and McCullum's defense, and Nirkich's defense, they just got crushed.

They're a terrible defensive team combined with a bad matchup, combined with the fact that they had no juice in the tank, and the Lakers dominated them. Now, fast forward to the Houston Rockets who are a game away from playing them. Houston a good defensive team? I know they've played some good defense in the bubble. Are they a good defensive team? No.

Is this a good matchup for Houston? No. Are they going to be arrested? No. outside of that Mrs. Lincoln has the show. We do this thing. We're like, man, I kind of like the Rockets, playing small ball, shooting a bunch of threes.

You guys see Game 5? Is it game 4 against the Thunder when they missed all those threes? He shot 58 threes. And they couldn't get to the free throw line? Yeah, of course. Why? Because of the Houston Rockets. This is who they are.

They're fully committed to who they are. They know who they are. And we also know how this ends up. They'll get a game. There'll be a game in which they make 25 of 50. They will. You know, PJ Tucker will bury some from the corner. They'll be super physical.

LeBron won't kind of be into it. There are nights in which he looks like his body's kind of fighting him. Kuzma will be Kuzma just jacking up bad shots, driving with his head down to the rim. of those things. They'll get a game. But NBA series are decided based upon injuries and health. Lakers are healthy.

Conditioning. Rockets should be gassed. And most importantly, matchups. There's a bad matchup for the rock. Just it. Coming up next, Albert Breer will be our guest. How the Jags go from one quarter away from representing the AFC in the Super Bowl to, I mean, just completely cleaning house.

I'll ask him next. Want 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 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 where you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 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. 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 kill. 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 talking about crack on day, but just so you 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 age.

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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth?

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

Doug Allie been for calling this is the herd, wherever you may be, however you may be making this part of your day. Got some thoughts for you on. John Thompson, late great Georgetown coach. I'll share them with you upcoming in moments. I think we have our best for last. We have, right? I love lists. I do love lists.

And I think we have a really good list on our best for last. The news of the weekend, the NFL, I think in terms of actual game play is Derwin James has a terror to say. meniscus. There was a scrimmage at SoFi Stadium. That's a new stadium in L.A. It's going to host the Rams and the Chargers. Right now, no fans.

But Derwin James, who many people thought had a chance to be defensive player of the year. He's a first team All-Pro as a rookie is going to be out for an undetermined amount of time for the Chargers. Albert Breer joins us from the MMQB. I know the Chargers aren't front and center of most football fans' minds a week and a

half out from the season. But for somebody like you who knows this league, who talks to everybody in this league, how big an injury is that? Dehusen, Doug, you know, it's a shame, too. And, you know, when he fell in the draft a couple years ago, you know, you continually got the question, you know, what's wrong with them? And why did so many teams pass them? This is why.

He was excellent as a freshman at Florida State, had devastating injury. His sophomore year came back his junior year wasn't quite the same. And there were teams were, you know, his style of play and insurability and whether or not

the injury issues would resurface. So, I mean, you know, he's another worldly talent. Like, but,

you know, a huge part of the reason why, oh, teams were less comfortable taking him in the top 15 picks was because of this.

And it's a huge blow for the charges. You know, there's just, they're, if you, if you look at their frontline talent and the guys

that they have, you know, from Joey Bosa, to Melvin-Engram, to Denzel Harriman to, you know, on the back end, the defense, Casey Hayward, and Joe and James, then on offense, Hunter, Henry, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, like Austin. They got dudes.

They've got a ton of dudes. But this is been a problem for them, right? Like, if you want to go back and look, look, like, it's over the last three or four years, for one reason or another, they consistently get hit with the injury bug. And so, really unfortunate. like I said, you feel awful for the kid because he has a chance to be a really special player. But there's also the acknowledgement there that's sort of what you, those are the dice you roll when you drafted him where you drafted him.

And, you know, for the team itself, of course, it's just, I mean, they've been snake-fitten by this sort of thing over the last few years. The Jacksonville Jaguars released Leonard Fournett. This Yankee Gawakway was traded to the Vikings. but let me start with Fournet. Yeah. Look, they declined his fifth year option. They'd had some trouble with his, you know, with his personality.

But he did run for 1100 yards and he did catch 76 balls last year. Why release him? Yeah, I just think that this is, in part at least, a total rebuild. And they're going young. They've got two first one of picks in the building now, and C.J. Henderson and Caleb on Chase on. This is going to be a multi-year process. pulling themselves up off the canvas.

That team that they had a couple years ago that made the AFC title game, I mean, almost every major player from that team is gone. And I can tell you, going back to April, you know, I had other teams saying to me, keep an eye on Jacksonville, they're the Trevor Lawrence, you know, and that they were going to sort of, you know, spend 2020 retooling and be in the quarterback market in 2021. And so, you know, a lot of this lines up.

And I think, you know, when you're off at a player like Leonard-Fornet, if you are going to have a younger team and you are going to have, and this is going to be sort of, you know, like a good old mental type season for a lot of your younger players, you want to have the right environment there. And for better or worse, there's a lot of water under the bridge with Leonard Fournett. So, you know, I think for Doug Moran,

what he's trying to establish there, not just for this year, but for the future. Culture. And then trying to convince and just trying to convince the cons to keep him beyond this year, you know, culture's a big part of that, like he said. Yeah, yeah. I mean, like, look, In Gakwe took six million less.

I'm sure he didn't want, but they also wanted him, wanted to get rid of him, would do anything to, that's why they did, you know, it's a second and a fifth. It could be a fourth. It probably won't be a third. And I understand that In Gakwe had to take less money in order to get out, but it's kind of the same thing, right? They want guys who want to be there. Right.

And, like, look, like, I think if you're realistic of yourself and I think the guys they're kind of being realistic of themselves, so they're not. winning 11 games this year. You know, like they're not going to playoff this year. And so, you know, if you're honest with yourself about that, what's the priority? The priority is we need the right environment to have our young guys develop. So when we do, you know, get another quarterback team here in 2021, we've got something around them.

And so for guys like DJ Chark, who, you know, really broke out last year, for, you know, younger guys on the defense, like Chase on, like. like Josh Allen, like C.J. Henderson, you know, I think your goal really becomes after Jacksonville, how do we put those guys in the best environment to develop? You know, so if we do draft a quarterback next year, they're walking into a good environment with ascending young talent. And, you know, sometimes it's, you know, coming to reckon with the fact that if you've got a couple guys that are at their end of their rookie deals, Yonach and Giacke and Jacker and Leonard fordette are, and they're disgruntled, those guys can mess with a sort of environment you might want to build for those young players to develop it.

Doug Gottlie, Doug Gottliebend for Colin. This is The HARD here on Fox Sports Radio. Okay, I wanted to run this by you, and I thought it was kind of interesting. You know, you have a guy who, I think history is going to look back and say he was one of the best safeties. I don't know, I don't think of all time, but a legit, you know, Hall of Fame caliber safety who gets cut by the Ravens, right? And, you know, but when you get cut by your own teammates, Earl Thomas is sitting out there and he may want to be with the Cowboys. Is he toxic right now?

Not because it ended poorly in Baltimore, but because of the people who pushed him out were actually his teammates, not the team. Yeah, and Earl Thomas is used to making a lot of money. I wouldn't underrate that piece of it either. You know, he made, you know, 14 million a year in Baltimore in Seattle all those years. He was making over 10 a year. This guy's a guy who's been, you know, gotten really used to making eight figures for the last half decades. And so sometimes with guys like that, you know, can come, it can be a little tough to come to grips with the fact that you're not going to see that money again.

you know, especially when you were on the doorstep of making another $10 million as he was this year. And so, you know, I think he's sort of at the phase of his career now where because all this stuff happened, and because, I mean, let's be honest about it, Doug, he blew his way out of two really good places. Like, it's not like this is the Jaguars. He was running himself out of us. You know what I mean? Like, he ran himself off the team in Seattle and in Baltimore, and those are two teams that won Supergoals over the last decade. And are two of the most stable places in the league.

So I think if you're another team, you sort of shift him from the bucket where a couple of years ago he was a guy you were willing to buy high on. Teams now looking at him are going to want to buy low on him. And they're going to want to say, okay, we'll give you, we'll bring you in here, but we're going to do them for a low money. And we're going to retain the ability to cut the cord if we have to. I think that's what a team like Dallas would look at it, was if, you know, if all of a sudden now he's available for a couple million and you retain that ability to get rid of him. there's trouble. Because as you know, that's a totally different dynamic. You know, like where he was in Baltimore was guaranteed money he had and how much he was making and how much he had made over the last year, he had real leverage in that organization. You know, I think teams

probably be scared to give him that sort of leverage again, which means he's going to have to adjust his financial expectations if he wants back in a good situation in the league. Albert Breer, the MMGB, joining us, Doug Gottlieb. Been for Colin this to Hurd on Fox Sports portrayed at the IHeart Radio app, of course, on Sirius XM as well. Welcome in. This one to me is, I guess, maybe more personally interesting, but not as personally interesting, but I think it's interesting in the grand scheme of things. We're watching the NBA and how they took a couple days off. They postponed games because of the protest over what happened to Milwaukee. Russell Wilson came out last week and said, hey, if there was a game this weekend,

I don't think we'd be playing. I don't know if he speaks for the Seahawks. What are the expectations from the league in terms of protests as we are about a week and a half away from kickoff in Kansas City? I think we're going to see demonstrations. I think that that's almost a given. That we'll see demonstrations from players, you know, at least for week one. Now, whether or not that extends to any sort of boycott, I think it's going to depend on a couple things. And I don't think it's likely right now, but I think a couple things could affect it.

Number one is what happens in the country. That's simple, right? So what Russell Wilson is, well, if we had to go on the field and play a game in the immediate aftermath of what Jacob Blake, then maybe we would do it. Well, you know, right now as it stands, we don't know if they're going to be asked to do that. Like, we don't know if something else is going to happen over the next week and a half, which is sort of the way 2020 is done in general. So, you know, I mean, I think if anything were to happen and God help us all, like, I hope nothing happens.

Sure. But if something were to happen next week, you know, obviously that could affect it. The second thing is owner involvement. You know, and I think that that's something that, you know, we started to see owners get a little more vocal. I don't know if you saw it stuff Jeffrey Lurie said yesterday, but that was pretty strong. And, you know, I think, you know, what players are looking for now, they've got the financial commitment. And I think they want the owners to get the tensions with them. I think they want the owners to talk with them.

You know, I think they want to have that audience. And I think that they want the players, the owners to be a little more hands-on with reference to these areas. And so, you know, I think that's the other part of it is that if you don't get owner involvement, then that could wind up pissing off a few of the wrong guys. And you know how these things go. A few of the wrong guys get upset. Now all of a sudden one thing leads to another and we get a lot of guys upset.

So when you say you want the owners to talk to them about what? I know. I mean, like, just give an audience, you know what I mean? Like, I think it's, and I, you know what? One of the real positive things, Doug, about the last, about the last, what's happened last week was I didn't see actionable items, you know. You know, Frank Wright got in front of his team. This would have been on Thursday morning.

And he was approached by the, you know, their social action committee on Wednesday night. Jacoby Brissette was a big part of that. on Thursday morning, they show back up. And Frank Wright basically says, like, listen, like, I, you know, like, like, as white people, we, you know, we, we like to talk about these things when it's convenient and black people don't have that luxury. And, you know, just saying something like that, recognizing, you know, recognizing that, I feel in a long way with the players. And they were able to that day work for five or six hours with the player development people and come up with different plans that are actionable. And so, I think, like, seeing owner participation in those sorts of things would go a long way. I think as much as anything else, and I know it's sort of an abstract thing,

but I think that the players want to know that the owners have their back. And, you know, I certainly think that the Eagles players probably felt that way after what Jeffrey Lurie said yesterday. And it'll be interesting to see if we see a little more of that, if owners are a little bit more vocal, and they've been in the past. It will be interesting to see. Yeah, especially the Dallas Cowboys, you know, right? I mean, Jerry Jones and his relationship with the president. I mean, I will say this about Jerry, though, Doug.

I mean, like, he, guys who've played there love him. I mean, and I know. No, I think, I think, Albert, that's the, that's the thing. Like, this is the, this is the part, the hard part of the discussion that people are going to have to wrap their heads around. Like, you can be a good, you can be a good dude and not agree politically, right? You can be a bad guy and agree politically. But you can't, I don't believe you can walk into a discussion if you're, forget about an NFL player, an NBA player, if you're any human being, and make it up in your mind that if somebody

doesn't agree with my political views, well, right? Because I heard that, I heard that on ESPN last week. Like, can we dictate who's owning the NBA based upon their political affiliation? Like, no, that's not the spirit of what we're doing here is a democracy. I don't have to agree with you, but as long as you're not impinging on my civil rights. So I think that's the, that's the slippery slope that players can't walk into. If they want a dialogue, great. But if they want to determine who you're going to politically back, that you're asking something that actually is not what we're actually about as a country.

No, and I look, I agree with that. I just think, and I guess we get in a larger discussion of where our country is. I think the inability of people to talk with people that don't agree with them politically is a huge problem in our country in general. And that's one of the great things about a lot of these football teams is that it does bring together guys who are from vastly different backgrounds, different socioeconomic circumstances, different races, all of that. And I think being able to have honest, frank conversations, which I think did happen in a lot of these buildings between coaches and players at the very least over the course of the last week.

And people feeling open, and I think one of the biggest keys in all this, just having talked to some guys who were in these situations last week, I think just the guys feeling free to speak openly. You know, I think it's a huge part of it too. That's how you really get somewhere. You don't get somewhere by standing in front of a room and telling somebody, you know, what to think. you get in front of you you get somewhere by you're having open dialogue and everybody's saying

you know everybody's especially how they feel and then you know finding a way to come to solutions on certain things and again like I think that like I look at the Colts and they have a full point plan coming out of it you know what the Ravens did with their statement there were you know some situation they sat down and got together and they were able to put together, plans that made sense that actually were moving the ball forward, which I think is a criticism of a lot of players to this thing, is that, you know, okay, well, now what? Well, you know, now certain teams are giving you an answer to that question. Albert, great stuff, man.

Last thing, I saw there's a CDC report out there that 94% of people who died from COVID had comorbidities, right? And maybe it's because of the protest. I'm not sure. Maybe it's because we have college football on TV. But I feel like the COVID thing got really quiet now for a week or so. What are NFL teams saying about the challenges of getting ready for a season with COVID-19 out there? They're cautiously optimistic.

I mean, look, the results that they've gotten to this point have been outstanding. You know, they had the false positives a week ago. and I think that that gave them like a good real-life fire drill, because that even happened on a Sunday. You know what I mean? Like so they were, you know, they've been able to sort of see what it might look like if there were an outbreak and that gave them a chance to kind of go through,

you know, all the different things that they would need to go through if it did happen. You know, and I think if you look at the results, I mean, they've got four guys in the COVID list across the entire league, and that's actually up from a couple days ago. It was at one at one point. And among 2,600 players, I don't know how you could argue that's not.

outstanding. Now, there are going to be different, like, there are going to be different things introduced into the environment. Like, all of a sudden, you know, we guys' workdays are going to get a little shorter because they're not going to be in training camp anymore. And that means they're going to be out and about a little bit more. So who are they around? And, you know, the kids are going to go back to school. You know, coaches, wives are going to go back to work. There are all these different things that are going to get introduced into the environment. But, I mean, the one thing I've learned, I mean, daily testing is so important. And being able to test every day has allowed them to contain it.

And, you know, I think as a result, because this is working, now you're getting increased buy-ins from everybody. So, you know, a lot is going to come down to whether or not, you know, people let their guard down. But I think the NFL is showing that it can work. And here's the other thing, Doug. I wouldn't say this. Those are the large-sectional population that believe football would be a super spreader, right?

Do we have any evidence of that? No. I mean, at college, high school, now, yeah, cases. just like you do in the general public. But is there any evidence that football's been like a, you know, been like, you know, some sort of Tinder box for this thing? I don't think so. I mean, it seems to me at least like, you know,

I mean, the NFL teams that either have pads on for three weeks. I saw more 11 on 11th place than I've ever seen in training camp going all the way back to when the rules changed in 2011. And, you know, yet there's not this, there's not any sort of massive outbreak of the virus. I think the anything we're selling right now, you know, with clients and the coaches and the players and everybody in those buildings, it can't be done.

Albert, great stuff, man. Can't wait for football. It's a week from Thursday. And I know you'll be all over until then. The MMQB's website. Check them out on social media as well. Albert, thanks so much for joining us. Oh, thanks, Doug.

Pleasure is all mine. Let's get to John Gulae with the news. This is the Herd Line News. So the Celtics beat the Raptors yesterday, 112 to 94 to take a 1-0 lead in that series. Celtic shot 43% from 3. And their star, Jason Tatum, talked about how the series will go after game one. We're not going to be perfect, but we just need to follow the game plan and play with purpose.

And it just played hard and compete. That's what we did tonight because we know Toronto, they're going to compete. You know, they're not going to give up. And every night, every game is going to be a dog fight. We go out there and give it our all to get with the results. The Celtics are really deep. They have a great coach. They have an emerging star.

Doug, I don't really understand why the Raptors were favored in this series. A better regular season record. And people think that the carryover from the experience of last year gives them the old, you never underestimate the heart of a champion. I'm telling you why. I'm not saying I agree with you. You asked why. We had John Hollinger on earlier.

He said he thought the Celtics would win. I guess my question is, I mean, are we giving them enough shot of a chance to maybe get out of the east. I know they'd be underdogs to the Bucks, but if the Bucks get put into a tough series with the heat, why couldn't the Celtics with their depth and maybe Gordon Hayward coming back for that series? Why couldn't they beat the Bucks?

The Celtics? Yeah. I have them beating the bucks. Yeah? I actually do. You can go to Fox Sports Radio.com, check out our brackets. I have them beating the Bucks. I have the Clippers and Celtics in the NBA finals. And I may have overreacted to how the Lakers were playing

or maybe I'm realistic and think at some point, you know, fatigue on LeBron and the lack of shooting in the matchups. But, yeah, I don't, like, Jason Tatum is emerging as a star. Yep. Not yet really a superstar. I think Kyrie Irving is a guy who can, you know, win a game for you make a shot. Kemba Walker, you mean? I mean. I would say, I say Kyrie Irvin in my brain.

Sorry. Kemba Walker. I mean, and look, maybe it's, we've seen Kemba do it in college, and so we make this. assumption, but he's done the pros too. I just, I like to fit with, with Kemba better than Kyrie. I like, you know, the versatility they have in terms of Jaylon Brown and Jason Tatum and Marcus Smart's ability to guard guys much bigger than him. Like, they have toughness, they have shooting, they have guard play. They're a little, little light inside, but that doesn't seem to affect them against a team like Toronto. And Doug, this is a pretty big story in college

football. LSU's top wide receiver, Jamar Chase, plans to opt. out of the 2020 season and will enter the draft. Chase led all of college football last year, or all of FBS, in yards and touchdowns, and he won the Bolitnikoff Award, which is given to the top receiver in the country. Todd McShay from ESPN has him as his number four overall prospect or pro prospect. Who's number three? Like, we know the two quarterbacks are one and two, right? I don't know who number three is.

I would love to know that one. But anyway, go ahead. Well, it could be the, I'm guessing it could be the tackle from Oregon possibly. Either way, are we going to see more guys like this, top prospects that don't have much to gain opt out of playing if they're in one of the few conferences that are? I guess. I mean, you know, Virginia Tech lost their top cornerback. But just remember, like Joe Burrow wasn't on anybody's draft board is the first round, second round, third round pick. So, look, Chase is obviously a stud. The only reason he's not in the NFL is because, of the NFL.

He would have been one of the top picks if he was eligible to come out last year. Yeah, I think he would have, I don't know. Look, there's a bunch. There was a run on wide receivers really. He probably would have been on that first round draft pick. Yeah, wide receiver. Sure. But it's because of the CB at Collective Barron Agreement, which, again, protects most of the guys.

This is well within his rights. But by not playing, he does open up the door for somebody to surpass him. Remember, Mike Williams did this from USC. He sat out a year and he was never the same. Now, he didn't have the speed. He wasn't as refined. He didn't have the career. But Mike Williams, the USC sat out.

I think he was drafted by the Detroit Lions. Wasn't the same player. But we have actually seen this before. That's John Goulay with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. College basketball lost two legendary coaches,

one over the weekend and one very early this morning. It was reported. John Thompson, the longtime legendary coach at Georgetown, passed away. I share with you just my own personal story playing against Georgetown. Next in the Hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of the HARD weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app. 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 which I'll say it. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 Clifford 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. 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 you 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 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental

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And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different. intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free, iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Doug Gottlieb in Forecall, and this is The Herd. So John Thompson died. I think earlier today, early in the morning, John Thompson was the legendary coach at Georgetown. They won national championship. Hoya Paranoia, right? Hoyas Saksa. He coached not just Alan Iverson, but Patrick Ewing, you know, made it into a dominant program in the Big East.

And he was also a radio host and a talented one in Washington, D.C. After his retirement, and he called games on Westwood won for the national championship in the final four for college basketball. So, look, I think we've kind of gotten out of this part of our job. I think Colin does a really good job of it. I try and do it as well, which is our job as sports host went from being guys that lead discussions, have opinions,

and give you and contextualize historical things. Sometimes guys are too much history, guys. To now, hot take artists. Right? Coming up, hot take. I still think that providing the right historical context is really important. John Thompson took over Georgetown

and was a head coach and coaching the Final Force before it was even close to being normal to have a black head coach and he was very protective as players. Freshman weren't allowed

to speak to the media. Made sure they went to class. He was a father figure. He was a giant of a man. So let me just kind of give you a couple of things which I don't know if you knew, but I'll tell you really quickly.

in the fall of 1994. Do you guys remember fall of 1994? Michigan beat Notre Dame in football on a game-winning field goal. I know I was there. It was my recruiting visit. It was a great football game. Recruiting visit to Notre Dame.

What I didn't know was when I visited Notre Dame, they fly you in, they fly to Chicago, then you get on a little private plane with a dome on it, and then you fly it kind of a... around the, it's like a 30-minute flight at most to South Bend. And you fly right around the Golden Dome and you kind of dip. And then when you land, they immediately take you to the Golden Dome. That's where the president of the university has his office, I think his quarters.

The president was at the time, was named Monk Malloy. Now, Father Malloy was a basketball player in high school. He played with none other than John Thompson. So you walk in to talk Notre Dame basketball. and my freshman class would be the first year he played in the Big East against Georgetown

and I mean you think you're I'm obviously not Catholic I'm Jewish I'd never even I think had a discussion with a priest before the first priest I met

in my life was a basketball junkie and close to your friends with John Thompson and he could not have been more positive in everything he had to say about Big John

fast forward to January of my freshman year and we're playing Georgetown And I think they're ranked like fourth in the country. Alan Iverson's a sophomore. They have Othella Harrington, who's a senior. They have Jahidi White, who played, you know, seven, eight, ten years in the NBA. I mean, he's one of the bigger human beings on Earth and an awesome defensive player in Dunker.

They had Jerome Williams. So, like, we're getting ready for him. And they got, all right, so the point of their press is Y.D. Junkyard dog Jerome Williams. And then Alan Iverson's like the rover. and they had Victor Page who actually led the Big East in scoring. There's a guy who kind of went sideways off the court after he left Georgetown. And a boobu-a-car out.

Now, look, I was really good against the press and able to beat the press, and we nearly beat Georgetown both times we played them. But they did this thing where they were tough, they were badasses, they were talented, they knew it. The first possession of the game, when you're on offense, you bring the ball up the court, and you pass the ball to a wing, They don't let you do it anymore, but there's something called chucking. You're taught when somebody cuts across the lane and you're in between the ball and your man, right?

You guys know that? Remember never taught that about basketball? Ball you man? No, basketball. Ball you man? Well, when somebody tries to cut in front of you, you got to put your body in front of them. In the 90s, they used to teach you to use your forearm in what's called chuck them. Get them a little bit of your forearm.

The difference was Georgetown, the second you passed the ball in for your very first possession, everybody got chucked. Everybody. Hard. And then they would just kind of look at you and the rest would call one foul. If all five guys commit a foul, only one could get called for it.

And it was just kind of like a little intimidation factor, right? Look, what you should know about John Thompson was he was about the players. He was about black unity. He was about making social change. But he was also and keenly aware of the important of getting kids out of whatever environment they grew up in, getting them to college, which gave them a great chance at a bright future.

And I don't know how they didn't win more with. They had Alonzo morning and DeKendomou and Tumbo on the same team. They were awesome when they had Pat Ewing, and they were really talented when they had Alan Iverson. But it was more of what he did to try and help nurture the growth of young men that leaves the biggest impression on me and he'll be missed. Quai Leonard is the best player in the league. Why, that could be bad news for the NBA.

Next in the hurt. 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. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me.

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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 Clifers Show.

This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrate. 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.