The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - March Madness is almost here, J-Mac gives his top 5 players in the NCAA tournament

Episode Date: March 18, 2026

J-Mac gets ready for the start of March Madness by ranking his top 5 players in the men’s tournament. National Champion Miles Simon joins the show to tell Jason why he believe Florida has a real chance to repeat as national champions and why BYU’s AJ Dybantsa has clearly proven to be the best player in the country right now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Carried the offense. The rest of the bats were sleepy. Goodness gracious. Of course, we had Texas winning the first big game in the NCAA tournament. Nice game winning shot. Wait till you see the highlight of their coach, nearly costing them at the end. and special guests we had Matt Liner. Next up, I mean, goodness gracious, five minutes from now,

Miles Simon, if you love the NCAA tournament like I do, you know Miles Simon is a absolute legend. I mean, Jim Nance was one of the great calls. Simon says championship. I mean, come on. That was classic. I could see it in my head right now. I just tease you guys.

That was the first tournament where I won a bracket contest because I loved that Arizona team with the guard play. And my first, my biggest bet was that Arizona. Arizona beating Kansas in the Sweet 16 it was. I remember where exactly I was in college when that happened. I have such a memory for the NCAA tournament. So I'm going to geek out here and give you my top five players in the NCAA tournament. This is difficult.

Obviously, 68 teams and you have a ton of great players. And there's probably going to be some eye rolling. Jayback, how did you leave this guy off? So here we go. Number five. I'm going to go with Michigan Star, Big. 10 player of the year. Yaxel Lendemort, 23 years old.

Just an awesome story. I think we got into it a little yesterday. He didn't really play high school basketball. You know, he had some off-court issues that were not great. And he just proceeded to become an awesome player, went to UAB. And of course, there was a bidding war. Yes, a bidding war we got into for him. Michigan lands up for $5 million.

He turned down a Kentucky offer for over $7 million. in the $7 to $9 million range, she says. He goes on to be the Big Ten player of the year. There he is hitting a game winner against Wisconsin over the weekend. Michigan should be the favorite. They're not Duke injuries and everybody bets Duke. But Yaxel Lendeborg, I have, is the fifth best player in the NCAA tournament. Number four.

All right, we're going to go with the superstar guard from Arkansas, Darius Acuff. Guys, if you haven't seen him, he feels like Derek Rose, Alan Iverson like. That is not hyperbole. And, oh, by the way, he's a better shooter than both of those guys. Look at this sidestep three. He was unbelievable in the SEC tournament. Unbelievable all year. If you want to have some fun during a commercial break,

go look up his 49-point effort in an overtime game this year. Folks, that right there, he looks like Penny Hardaway pulling up in transition, just popping a three. His bag is deep. I don't know that there's a more dynamic guard in a college basketball this year. He's my number four. Number three. I'm going with Cam Boozer.

I know I ticked some people off on Monday when I said he's on a Yokic-type trajectory. No, he's not 6-11, 280. But neither was Yokic, okay, when he was 18 and a half or even 20 years old when he got to the league. Boozer's 18 and a half, and the numbers are staggering. Top 10 in scoring and rebounding, 57% on twos, 40% on threes. Guys, he's a special talent. He's not going to wow you with the athletes. athleticism as some of the other guys. You know, Caleb Wilson, obviously from UNC,

stood him up head to head. He's hurt, so he's not playing. So I don't have him on this list. But I'm just telling you, Boozer makes winning plays. I think it was Casey Jacobson who was on and said he was like, Boozer was four-time All-State, three-time state player of the year, some ridiculous, like, how are you state player of the year as a sophomore? Okay. The guy is just an unbelievable player. His dad, obviously, Carlos Boozer, Cameron Boozer, Ricking in at number three. Number two. All right, this is going to surprise some people, but you guys know I like Arizona a lot.

Arizona has a lot of weapons. I love Coa Pete from his first college game, okay, where he dropped 30 against defending champ Florida, which, by the way, has an NBA front line. This guy I've been in love with. I see a little Paolo Bancaro. Obviously, doesn't shoot the three nearly as well. But as a passer, high IQ, you know, I think I could see him running a lot of high post stuff in the NBA.

great finisher, and the key here is Coa Pete is unselfish. They have a lot of great players, two good guards. They got a seven foot big. They got a wing, Karchenko, who's outstanding, maybe the best glue guy in the country. And Pete just fits in seamlessly. Finishes it with both hands. I'm just telling you, man, you watch his kid, you go like, he looks okay. When it matters most against the biggest opponents, Coeapete's going to cook.

And finally, number one. Sorry to step on you. AJ DeBonsa, BYU. I mean, I'm enamored with this kid. We're going to have some fun talks for the next three months about who's the number one pick. I think for me it's going to be DeBanza. They lose Richie Saunders, probably their second best player.

Huge loss. All DeBonsa does is step up. You can't stop him going to the hoop. His pull-up three could use a little work. But, man, this kid is special. Three-level scorer. Unbelievable athlete. Great finisher.

Did struggle a little against Darren Peterson and no, Darren Peterson's not. Not on the list. Sorry. I have DeBanza as the best player in the NCAA tournament. All right, without further ado, let's get to our guest. I'm sure he's going to critique this. Arizona's finest. Let's bring on Miles Simon, college basketball analyst at Fox Sports and champion with Arizona in 97.

Miles, are you excited for March Madness? I couldn't be more excited, man, to get the tournament started tomorrow, man. And it's going to be so much fun watching so many great teams and great players over these next few weeks. How many times have you and your kids and your friends watch the one shining moment where you were the star and all over it? Come on, man. I know you're going down those YouTube rabbit holes. When people send it to me, that's when I watch it. Unfortunately, like, my kids don't care that much.

So, like, that kind of hurts my heart. Like, they know my daughter's 15. my son is 12. They know what I've done. They've been like around Arizona a little bit. So like people tell them like your dad was this great player. But like the kids, they don't care. They like live in their like own world and their own moment. But I want to go back to like how much money did I win you? Like dude, I heard you talk about like that Kansas game. I want to know and where's my cut? I was, you and Bivie and I love Dickerson. I was a young college guy. So not it was not like six figures or anything close to it. But I remember that tournament was unbelievable.

guys had such a great run. And I want to start, before we critique my top five, do you, is there any player or back court in this tournament that you see could do what you guys did in 97? Because when you listen to the analysis, everybody's like, well, you need good guard play in March. Well, yeah, no, no big Sherlock. We got that. Yeah, the back court that reminds me of our team is actually the Houston back court. Kingston Fleming's, okay, star freshman, Mike Biddy, star freshman, okay, sharp, really good shooter. Maybe I score a little bit better than him, but he probably shoots it. He probably shoots it a little bit better than I do. And then Milos Uzan, Yuzan is an absolute stud for that team,

super versatile. And then you bring Mercy Miller off the bench. That's like the Jason Terry off the bench for our team. So that backcourt actually reminds me of our Arizona team. I like that. That's good. Ooh, that's spicy. All right, let's go to my top five players in the tournament. I had your guy co-opied in there. Listen, if I could have put Burries or Bradley in, probably would have added them. No, Darren Peterson. Did I miss anyone? Anyone jump out at? Braden Smith is about to break Bobby Hurley's record. I couldn't put him on there. Again, this is not an NBA projection. This is just top five in the tournament. Yeah, I think one guy I would add to that list is Thomas Halk from Florida. Oh, yeah. So they win the national championship last year and he was like in a

role player role for that team, nine points per game. but now he's in a starring role for Todd Golden Squad. He went up from nine points per game to 17 points per game this year. But the things I love about him and I got to spend some time around him, and last time we're on this, I talked about Nike Basketball Academy, where Braden Burys, Braden Smith, Lendaborg, we're all there. Like, I coached this guy this summer and his basketball IQ, his athleticism, how hard he plays, how physically he is.

He's good on both ends of the floor. He can knock down threes. think he's going to have a star-type run in the NCAA tournament over these next couple weeks. Some people are off Florida because of that Vanderbilt loss. And for the record, I did have Florida in that game. Vanderbilt murdered him. It was like by 30. And it kind of exposed the back court. I like the kid who transferred from, I think, Princeton and Dorby is a bit of a chucker. But I don't know about Florida. What do you have them doing? Yeah, I have Florida going to the national championship game. I think Lee and Fland have been

have been good enough. Like, they went on a nice run, nice winning streak in the SEC, okay, winning that league. Yeah, they had a, you know, they laid an egg against Vanderbilt and give a lot of credit to Vanderbilt and what they did against Florida.

But this team will be juiced up and ready to go. They have a tremendous front line. And like I said, led by Hauk, Condon, Chinaleau, those guys are really, really good. I think Florida and Todd Golden are going to be a tough out. So let's just hear it. So you have them going to the Natty.

Round out your final four for us. Oh, my final four, I go with Arizona, Michigan, Yukon, and Florida. Yukon? Okay, you got to say more on Yukon. I don't know about that. You're not sold. I like solo ball, like Braylin Mullins, the freshman off the bench, and then Taris Reed. And then there's something to be said about championship coaching.

Like Hurley's going to have these guys prepared. They can really defend. I think they'll be able to score. I think they'll be able to score enough. and then Demery at the point, he's kind of the key for that. If he plays well, sets the tone at like point of attack defensively, I think Yukon gets to the final four. It's weird.

Like, you know, some people go full season data, and then some people are like, let's start around February 1. You know, you got your team jelled. You got the league play. They haven't really beaten anyone in a while, you know? And the way they ended against St. John's, I don't know. Didn't they just beat St. John's? They did, but then they got smoked by them at the garden.

And I'm like, I. Yeah, they also. smoke that yeah they also smoked St. John's. Remember St. John's missed 24 shots in a row against Yukon. That was as impressive of a performance as I've seen from anybody. Interesting. So go

ahead, go ahead. And I was going to say if you look at their region like it is, the east is the toughest region. Like it really is and they could match up with St. John's again. But remember Duke is hurt, Caleb Foster and Gungba's out. Foster for sure. Gungba, we

don't know when he's coming back. So you got the number one seed that that's going to be out. Kansas, I'm not sold on in that region. They've been too inconsistent. Michigan State is good, but I'll take Yukon in that matchup. And then maybe they could see St. John's if St. Johns beats Duke. So I think Yukon has as good a chance of anybody to get out of that region. If St. John's beats Duke? Whoa, Miles, dropping some haymakers here. I don't know. I'm kind of, I took the points with Northern Iowa. St. Johns is weird. So they look awesome in the garden, right? They got the home court advantage. They got the crowd all juiced up. Now they've got to go across the country to San Diego to face northern Iowa.

They're not going to have the fans. I don't, I'm, I'm, maybe I'm overthinking it. I don't know. Yeah, you're definitely overthinking. Zubia Zubia Jafor. Rick Petino is a master in the NCAA in the NCAA tournament. Hopkins is tough. Mitchell's really good. Like St. John's, St. John's is rolling. And I mean, they are going to be a hard out in the tournament. They're so good defensively. They're very athletic at all their positions and just tough to defend. Yeah, they made Yukon look pretty mortal in the Big East tournament. I mean, that was a, what was that 20 point game, basically? You see some of the highlights on the screen. They looked incredible. I just, the shooting ability, like, I think they're really low in twos and three. They just aren't a great field goal shooting team. But again, they had like four

transfer starters, I believe. Yeah, I think defensively, like if they get to that matchup against Duke. I think they're going to cause Duke a lot of problems, especially with Caleb Foster. Caleb Foster being out. And I know Duke played very well in the ACC tournament. Foozer's an absolute stud. Evans is really, really good. But I think that Caleb Foster piece is going to be a big missing piece for this Duke team. How much does peaking at the end of the season matter? I know we've seen some stats. If you lose your first game in the conference tournament, you never win the championship. But I'm just talking like, you know, Florida lost badly, Yukon lost badly, but you don't seem deterred at all.

That's not going to stop them. Is it a motivational ploy? I'll tell you, it doesn't bother me at all because I lived it. So the year we won the title in 1997, we ended up finishing fifth in the PAC 12. Now there's a little kind of like caveats or PAC 10 at the time. There's a little caveat to that. So like going into the last weekend of league play, we were up in the Bay Area of playing Stanford and Cal who were two very, very good, two very, very very good.

two very, very good teams. And we were in like a three-way tie for second. We got swept in the Bay Area. So we lose both games. There's no Pac-10 tournament at that time. So that was our last two games going into the, going into the NCAA tournament. So we lost.

We finished fifth. We had nine losses on the seat. We were 19 and nine going into the NCAA tournament. Like, but that didn't like, like kids, they don't, they don't think about that. They live, they really live in the moment. Like they, for the most part, like as a coach, you talk about like next play.

okay we got to go on to the next game we learn from we learn from those losses and then we move forward to the next task at hand which is now the nCA tournament regular season's over everybody now pretty much has the same record so i don't put too much stock in too much stock into that like bad momentum interesting um we we haven't really talked much about your uh Arizona squad the current one um this is a loaded team man i i think they could have four guys drafted in the first round uh there's a lot of talent but then there's questions about, well, Tommy Lloyd in the NCAA tournament, you know, I'm not going to bash the guy, but he hasn't exactly delivered. Maybe I'm being politically correct. I don't know.

Is the biggest concern for Arizona, the lack of three-point shooting, they just don't shoot them? Or is it maybe their head coach? That's a question mark. Yeah, I don't think the three-point shootings are concerned because they've been dominant without it. They have, like, the most quad-one wins. They've beaten all the best teams, basically, that they've played on their schedule. I think the biggest concern is just maybe that they feel some pressure that they have to get to the final four because there's no Arizona team that's been there since 2001.

But this team is like ready for anything. And what I've loved about this team is that they can win in different style of fights. So like when they play the Houston Cougars and they were down a couple bodies at Houston, like they can grind it out and beat a really good defensive team. Or you play Iowa State in that great semi-furt. final game in the Big 12 in the Big 12 tournament and you play this high scoring game where you're like matching shot for shot and there you see the Jane Bradley shot to end it right there like they can win different styles of fight they're big they're physical they really defend they have a closer

in jaden bradley which i think you need in the NCAA tournament like he's hit he's hit big shots all season long against UCLA Yukon and then obviously the biggest one against iowa state there uh I'm not too concerned about Tommy lloyd because i've watched the adjustments this year He's continued to get better as a head coach. And then they have all the right pieces and chemistry this year and the leadership to go all the way. Let me drill down on Arizona for a sec. So there's this European thing happening around college basketball, especially at the top teams. So Arizona has Krivoss, the big guy from Lithuania, Karchankov, who I love from Germany.

The shooter, Del Orso, is from Australia. I guess just tell me a little bit about what you think is happening with the European. Illinois were seeing it. Arizona, a lot of kids coming over from, they played professionally from like 16, 17 years old. Now they're coming to college and they're huge factors. Yeah, what's happening is the money. So like before these, the top European prospects were just staying,

let's say like Luca Donchitz or Yokic, they're staying within like the European club system with the Real Madrid or Panamanikos and that's where they were growing their game. And they get paid like, they get paid a salary. they were professionals at 18 or 19. But now you have a Krivoss or Karchenkov who can come over. And I don't know the numbers that those guys make, but $300,000, $400,000, whatever the number is at a power for school.

So now these young guys are seeing this chance, play on some of the biggest stages, you know, in basketball. And so it's like almost a no-brainer for these guys to come over and make six figures develop and then get ready for the NBA. And Tommy Lloyd is a master of that. That was his niche at Gonzaga. You know, like Ronnie Turioff and all these guys. Ronnie Turri, if I bring up because he was like the first one.

But he brought a ton of the European influence over to Mark Few and the Zags. Let's go back to Duke real quick and Camboozer. I made a comparison. I said, listen, he's not, he's not Yokic, the two-time MVP. But he looks at 18 and a half like somebody who could turn into a Yokic. high IQ, great passer, you know, deceptively athletic, gets all the rebounds, and when it matters most in the clutch, he delivers. Just your thoughts on Boozer as a player now and what do you think he can be? Man, I'm a huge fan of Boozer, and you kind of hit it on the head.

Like, it's not just the scoring for him. He is so versatile, okay? He is an elite passer. You see in the ACC tournament, they're playing him at the point guard. He's bringing it up. He's initiating the offense. Then when you need a bucket, you can go to a. him in the post just like you could with his dad, right? Because he's 610. And if you want to double

team him in the post, he's going to find the open shooters like on the on the weak side of the floor. And then he's a guy that just brings his hard hat every single night. He's such a competitor. He's always been a winner, whether it was in high school or the Nike EYBL, him and his brother are USA basketball. Like, I love guys who just win, win, win, like over and over again. That's what this guy does. And I think in the NBA, I think he's going to, I think he's going to be an NBA. All-Star because I think the things that he's going to really improve on, he's going to be like a versatile like four-man who's going to be able to handle the ball, okay, even probably run like some inverted pick and roll.

I think he's become a better three-point shooter once he gets to the NBA and really stretch out the floor. And then when you have his like competitive drive and then the way he plays every single night, like that's a guy and that's a guy you want on your team and like to be the face of your organization. All right. One more college question before a pro. You know, I'm workshopping this.

I don't want the number one pick in the draft because there's so many good players. And inevitably, living up to that number one pick is going to be difficult when there's like six or seven guys who could go number one. I overall think A.J. DeBonsa has surpassed Peterson. But I'm curious what you think of DeBanza and, you know, you were around for the Danny Manning and the Miracles Run. I think DeBonza can really do some things in March. Overall critique his game for me. Well, first of all, there's not six or seven guys that can go number one. And I'll just tell you, DeBanza, he's the guy.

He's number one. He has separated himself from the rest of that group. And so I've called about four or five of his games. I was at the Big 12 tournament. This guy is the, he is the real deal in all aspects. Okay, we see the stuff like on the floor. He's six, nine. He's taken over the point guard.

roll. Like Rob Wright is like kind of announced as the point guard, but DeBonza is the guy that has the ball in his hands, making all the decisions for this for this BYU team. He's seen double teams. He's seen triple teams. He's seen it in the post. He sees it on pick and rolls. And that's, and he's handled it all like exceptionally, okay, to still lead the country in scoring, right? And the ceiling for this BYU team, when you look at the bracket, I'm with you. I think they can make a little bit of a run. And now a big part of it is him, but also a big part of, okay, they're going to play Texas, and then you maybe look at Gonzaga for the next game.

But their defense has gotten better. Yeah. Okay. So, like, Coach Kevin Young has done a good job when Saunders went out, okay, and Saunders is no defensive whiz by any means. But he, but he's had to adjust. He's playing some smaller lineups where they switch one through five. He's playing Dominique Diamande, who's kind of been like a beast on defense getting steals, agitating guys.

He's like a 6-6 athletic wing. And the team has kind of bought into that. And so defensively, that was always my concern with them. If they can guard well enough, this team can score. And you put the ball in DeBonce's hands a majority of the time, good things are going to happen. And he could have a magical run through the first weekend. And then when you get to that second weekend, when you have the best player on the floor, a lot of great things can happen. agree. All right, let's wrap up with a question about the

Lakers. A team you know well, they're starting to gel. Big game against the Rockets. There was a lot of questions. Oh, I don't know if Luca, LeBron, and Reeves can play together. And it didn't look great for a moment. JJ Redick seemed to have pushed all the right buttons. Miles, they're on fire right now. Again, you know the team well. You can talk about how you do. But I'm just curious your thoughts on Luca,

Reeves, LeBron, and everything. Yeah, the things that I'm seeing from the Lakers is, number one, is that they're bought in on both ends of the floor right now. And that's why they've won nine of 10, okay, most importantly. But the person who's bought in the most and the guy that they needed to is LeBron.

Okay, he has a little injury. He comes back from injury. The Lakers had found like a little bit of a rhythm. But him, and you can see it like in the games, accepting being the like the third option, that's big for the team. Because you're talking about arguably the greatest player ever, accepting being the third option

and letting Luca and Austin Reeves be the engine on the offensive offensive side of the ball. That's huge for this team and that's uplifting to the whole group because now okay, if LeBron is bought in, then DeAndre Aidan, you better buy in, Marcus Smart, Jared Vanderbilt, Jake LaRitt,

like all those guys, there's no reason to complain anymore, right? And then the other factor, since January 18th, they have a top 10 defense. And the thing that has changed, they are playing the most zone in the NBA in that time. Now, I don't know if that's sustainable to win a championship, but they're playing the most zone.

It's been super, it's been super effective for them. And then, like, when things start to work, like, playing zone more consistently, you get better at it than the guys buying, they, it like breeds confidence within the group. And you can see that. Like, when you watch that Rockets game from a couple days ago and we'll see what happens tonight, like they were just double teaming Kevin Durant. So the game plan, and you could see KD getting frustrated, right?

And like, because he kept having to give up the ball, then we're going to let KD play a one-on-one. They're going to say, all right, Tari-Eason, other Thompson, you're going to have to beat us. And it didn't happen. You can see the Lakers confidence growing game by game. It's almost like you're on the staff there or something. Good stuff.

I've been around the organization a little bit. Yes, he has. Miles Simon, college basketball analyst. Great stuff, man. Enjoy the madness and the NBA as well. Thanks, Miles. Thank you, man. All right.

Great stuff from Miles Simon. Yes, he was on the Lakers staff, folks. The guy is good. All right, coming up next. Oh, boy, come on. Is this real? One former NBA star thinks the MVP race is over? I don't know.

Rachel has the news. I don't know about that. It's coming up next year on the herd. 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 whenever you'd like. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre.

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Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And we were thinking I'm originally calling it. one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers

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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. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an

extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin this went to a billion-dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life.

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening

at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian win. I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface, because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Back here on the herd. Buffalo Bills fan, avert your eyes. Don't see the bottom of the screen. You know I picked the bills for the Super Bowl this year. They let me down. This was your year. You were the chosen one.

Anakin, remember? obviously. All right, I'll stop riffing. Rachel Nichols with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I think that's post-bett bitterness. No, second cup of coffee the day, and I'm not a two-cup guy, but, you know, late night, last night, celebrating.

The championship. Sorry. God. Let's talk about the NFL. A professional league, Jason. What does it matter. What do people care about, please. You know, in this offseason, the Raiders made the United States.

Tyler Linderbaum, the highest paid center in NFL history. And they are, of course, expected to draft quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Linderbaum talked about the importance of that center quarterback relationship shortly after joining Las Vegas. Take a listen here. I think the relationship with the quarterback center is really important, you know, communication, understanding, you know, actions, and putting the team in the best position possible on that play. and, you know, it's certainly important. And, you know, we've got to have a relationship. You know, Lamar and I certainly had a relationship.

And I think it comes down to, it's very important. You know, and that starts throughout the week, you know, with your preparation and game prep, you've got to be seeing the same things that the quarterback's seeing and vice versa. And I think that's what's going to, you know, build a strong unit. So he's making his case for why center is such an important position there. Look, there are definitely some raised eyebrows, Jason.

When he signed that deal, he's making 9 million more per year than the next guy, right? So it's not like a gap of like, oh, a couple million or like, oh, this was record-breaking. 9 million more per year. But, you know, you heard what he just said. Do you think it's worth it? Why would you overpay someone by 9 mil? You could overpay them by 3 mil, and nobody would be like, you could overpay them by 5. 9?

Well, look, I mean, we don't know what the Ravens offered him to stay. but I can't imagine it was eight. So I bet it was more like a, you know, a mill or two over to make him. You know, look, the next guy down is in Kansas City, right? So like if you said, hey, we're going to make you the richest center in the league this year, you could still do that with just a couple million more per year. They made him the highest paid guy in NFL history. And they did it by $9 million a year.

So I'm looking, he was a first round pick in 2022. to. Per pro football focus, not the Bible, but it's just one data point. He's graded out as amazing every single year. Like we're talking top five center. He's given up a total of five sacks in four years as a center. I can call him a top three center. I mean, why would the Ravens let him go? And this just points back to Lamar Jackson and having to pay him and then navigate the rest of the roster.

It's a huge loss. People never factor in the offensive line losses. They are so enormous. That's why this Trent Williams situation at left tackle for the Niners, like, So Linderbombe, this is huge for the Ravens, but even bigger for the Raiders. Because usually, I mean, you come into an all-pro center from a winning organization. I like this Mendoza. By the way, we haven't talked about Mendoza.

Yeah. How much do you like him besides his LinkedIn profile? How much do you like the kid and his prospects? I like him a lot. I like his approach, which I think is underrated as how important that is. Willingness to learn, I think is a big deal. And, you know, look, Matt said it earlier. He's a lot bigger guy than people think, right?

His physical gifts are there. So I'm excited to see how he goes there. And I'm excited about this. I agree, by the way, that this is an incredibly important relationship. I hate it when people call this a non-skilled position. Guess what? You made it to the NFL? You're skilled, first of all.

Second of all, that relationship, you are the center of the guy that sets the line. You're the on-field advisor about coverages, you know, the guy's seeing and everything, especially with a young guy like Mendoza who's this is all going to be new to him, these exotic blitzes and all the other stuff. And Jason Kelsey, what he did for Jalen Hertz, right? I mean, even if the ages are reversed, Tom Brady needed David Anderson in those last couple Super Bowls. That was a big deal.

So I think, I don't know, this is a place I would spend money on. That Kelsey Hertz poll, where'd you get that from? Damn, that was good. On the fly, okay. We have a great staff here. Kelsey's a legend. Yes. Yeah. Well, it makes a difference, right?

All right. Let's tackle NBA. The Thunder beat the magic last night. SGA continued that record, that beaten wilt record. Scoring streak now 40 points in this one, but he scores at least 20 a game. And listen to what former NBA champ Vernon Maxwell says. This is why SGA is the runaway MVP, according to him. Doing what he did, just with that long, we've talked about Lattel.

100 and plus games over 20 points in a row. Ain't nobody's done. Never, never, ever. I mean, you see, ain't nobody had that said, well. It's 62. Yeah, it was crazy. I tell you. So, you know, you know how hard that is to do.

I'll let you go first. Well, I was going to say, as you look like you're a lot to say there. Look, first of all, Vernon, we've learned every record could be broken. So I would put that aside for a minute. But, you know, you obviously do not think that S. She is a runaway MVP. I can give you my opinion. Define runaways.

Like it's no, there's not even a discussion. That's what he just said. What does that mean? Like, blowout city, or is there worth a debate that we could engage over Yokic, Wembenyama, someone? Right. So there are years, certainly, but by the time you get to it, and there's only a month of the season left,

everyone knows who the MVP is going to be. It's just kind of done. I would argue that it's not set. I mean, look, I think Che will win. I think he has a strong sort of momentum through the season. season. I do think this record matters. I think Vernon's right about that. But there has been a real push coming on for victim Rebenyama. And everyone was like, oh, Shea Yokch, Shea Yokic. Yokic has really slipped a third in this discussion with the injury he had and, you know, Aaron Gordon not being there and he

hasn't looked quite the same back from injury. Yokic still, I think, you know, if not the top, one of the top players in the entire planet. But Wemianama, man, I mean, the way he makes an impact offensively and defensively, changes the calculus and the geometry of the game in a Steph Curry-like way just because of his physical gifts and what he can do. There's a case, and I think a lot of people, I'm a voter, and I think a lot of people

are going to make sort of the same calculation I might make, which is if the spurs catch or overtake the fender in the standings, and there are three games back right now, that to me is going to be a real calculus in my vote. Hmm. So the only issue is that's like a team thing, and I think the thunder are just so deep. J-dub has missed, what, 50 games?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And like, it doesn't matter because they've got an amazing roster. Where are the SGA defensive highlights? Rachel, do we have those queued up? Can we get those real quick? SGA defense? Because all I hear is, oh, Luca doesn't play defense. What about SGA? He plays defense. He's okay. He tries. I mean, it's not his greatest skill. It's great his skill. They hide him on the worst offensive player on the other team.

Nobody should look at any of this discussion as a rip on SGA, right? This guy, he's like a metronome. He's so consistent. He's always there. He's super clutch, right? Those baskets he hit the other night. Like, he is there, and he's a great leader and sets the tone for that team. So he will probably win this year, and he will be a worthwhile two-time MVP.

But I will tell you, you know how I am on Wembe. You know how much I think he's going to accomplish in his career. This could be the last year that MVP. is up for grabs for a while. I think you should just give your vote to Wemby. Because I think he's got such a bright future. For this season, Jason. So here's my, let me ask this, Rachel.

So SGA misses 15 games. Thunder probably still go 11 and 4. And he missed some time. Wemby misses 15 games? Yeah. They're below 500. So, I mean, like, and I love Castle

and Harrison Barnes and company have been good. Wemby just impacts the game. I believe more than anyone in the league. And also look, if voters are human beings, right? And there's people, oh, you guys vote the narrative. You can put that aside or not. They're kind of right about that sometimes. I'm not saying you, but in general.

No, no, no, no. I get it. I again, voters are human beings. And also, there's so much judgment room and what makes a valuable player. Some people feel it's this. Some people feel it's that. Right? That kind of thing.

One of the subjective factors is just when you watch a game, how much are you wowed by this guy? And Shea, again, his strongest, strongest attribute is that he is consistent. And that is not to be underrated because knowing what you're going to get from your star is hugely important. But Wembe, man, I mean, he's so flashy.

He's so energizing. He's literally doing things we've never seen before. So I do think there is that factor among some voters of being like, I don't know, man, at some point, who affects the game more? By the way, head to head. Spurs or Thunder.

So three or one? Yeah. I forgot about that. So defense, Wemby. Head-to-head Wemby. Okay. But records, SGA. 20 point.

20 points. I mean, number one, see it all year. Yeah, it's fair. 20 points a game. Whoopty damn. Oh, boy. It's impressive. Yeah, SGA's awesome.

I get that. I would vote Wemby. There you go. J. Mack. Oh, Rachel, with the news. Wow. Well, that's the news. I'm a little rattle.

They're saying stuff. The, my news. I guess they're really hot to get to this next story. the Buffalo Bill's Super Bowl window continues to shrink. Something happened this week that it's not great. We'll talk about that next year on The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHard Radio app.

Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts.

Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down?

Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letter help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel,

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happens. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer-beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth.

He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, He doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history.

You need to tell me what you know. is somebody coming after me. Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything

happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really is. really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian won. I mean, she went down to three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now,

and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. We here at Fox ask you to help us support our troops from daily needs, global emergencies. Help us be there for those who serve.

You just scan the QR code or go visit. Go.com. Go. Fox forward slash Red Cross. You can donate to the service to the armed services today. Back here on the herd, saw this Jalen Waddle trade. from the Dolphins to the Broncos. And I started to ask myself,

well, that's not bad. They didn't give up much the Broncos to get a really good receiver. And then I looked at the Buffalo Bills and I was like, wait, they got DJ Moore from the Bears. But they seem to give up a little bit of draft capital. I don't think those receivers are separated by much.

Waddle, obviously, younger. And, you know, we start talking as a team here. And it's like, well, okay, so Josh, Josh Allen is inching toward 30, hasn't been to a Super Bowl. He's been health. Health has not been an issue for him, which is great, but he takes a pounding. I started to wonder, so is Josh Allen going to win a Super Bowl in Buffalo? They seem to think that the problem was the coach, McDermott.

So they fire him. But maybe it was the GM making all these bad moves, missing on a lot of draft picks. Now, he did hit on Josh Allen. You could just take that one forever, go to the owner and be like, hey, I got us, Josh Allen, MVP of the league. But what about the rest of the roster? And so somebody in our staff is like, well, I don't even know if Josh Allen's going to be a Hall of Famer.

And so the Oscars happened over the weekend. And you guys saw Paul Thomas Anderson had that great movie, one battle after another. And he finally won an Oscar. He's 55 years old. Did you know he had been nominated for 11 Oscars himself, had never won one. He's been making movies since

Boogie Knights in the mid-90s. Sometimes you just wait forever. John Elway, the great Broncos quarterback, keeps getting to a Super Bowl, keeps getting his teeth kicked in. Finally, at 37 years old, they get the coach, they get the running back, everything comes together,

and Elway wins a Super Bowl. Terrell Davis, obviously, the Mile High Salute. I love doing that thing. even though I wasn't really a Broncos fan. And you start to look and you're like, well, Elway at least had offensive skill position players, the three amigos who could forget those guys. And you look at the bills and you're like,

is Josh Allen going to get the supporting cast? Has the GM done enough? And the problem is, and I think I said this, the last time I was hosting like, the Super Bowl window seems to be shrinking. This past season was the year, right? Chiefs down. Mahomes hurt.

Ravens miss. Lamar dinged up. Joe Burrow hurt. Bengals miss. I was like, Patriots, Broncos? Where the hell did these guys? Jaguars? What's going on here?

And I just, we know the AFC is ridiculously loaded. NFC is top heavy. You got the Rams. Then there's, you know, a little space. And you've got, you know, the bears are there. The lions, the Packers. Obviously the defending champion, Seahawks. Niners probably.

probably Eagles. It's just a lot of good but not great. The Rams are the only great team in the NFC. You look at the AFC? Because the quarterbacks are so spectacular. Burrow, Mahomes, Allen, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert. But the teams are more well-rounded. The Patriots, the Broncos.

I don't know. Do the Jags qualify? I don't know. The Texans have a really good roster as long as CJ Stroud doesn't vomit all over himself in January. Like the AFC is just stacked. And frankly, I don't know if Josh Allen's going to wait around the way he plays until 37, like John Elway, to win a Super Bowl. He hasn't even got to one yet.

And, you know, I don't want to dig too deep looking into the schedule, but like, I mean, if they don't get there this year, then you start wondering, well, then you got to pay James Cook, you know. And what, is Josh Allen going to stay healthy into his early? 30s, you know, the way his style of football, you know what happens. Once late November, December, against the big opponents, 10 to 15 carries for Josh Allen. He's taking a pounding. And then in the playoffs, Josh, go save us. And Josh didn't have a great game against Denver and still had them in the mix, and the defense couldn't get stops.

So I just, if I'm a Buffalo Bills fan, I'm a little nervous going forward. Not have we wasted Josh's prime because you've had some great playoff runs? But are we ever going to get over the hump? and get to a Super Bowl and win one. All right, final hour coming up next on the herd. Thrill. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers.

I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. Nice. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

We just contributed to it. We get to ask other people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sacks. Wait, what sex? Is it just me, or does every woman my age

Want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes. They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcast Presents Soccer Boms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet.

Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate. Our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey.

With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they hit a bogo. Well, then you got them. Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow.

Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.