The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - MLB continues to evolve for the better, top prospects of the NFL draft, Joel Klatt

Episode Date: March 26, 2026

Colin loves that MLB keeps evolving with the new ABS Challenge System He talks to Joel Klatt about the top prospects going into the NFL draft including Ty SimpsonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

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She's an outsider to win the French name. and she likes Clay. Listen, Leonard Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now and I actually can win on any surface. 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. 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 funny. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow.

Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming 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. Thanks for listening to The Herd Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m.

to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at foxportsredio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go, hour two. We got Dave Roberts on today. Dan Hurley just stopped by Carlos Boozer. Joel Clats around the corner. Yankees open the season with a 7-0 win over Logan Webb, Aaron Judge, 0 for 5 struck out four times. He's the only Yankee not to reach base, and they roll. A lot of singles, bottom of the order for the Yankees hit great. So one of the advantages, I think, that pro leagues, if they use it,

is that, for instance, like in baseball, you have a minor league system. Use it. And so you can, the pitch clock, they experimented for years with a pitch clock in the minor leagues. the ABS system, balls and strike system, which the pitcher, the catcher, or the batter can initiate, tap it on the head. Not the manager. It can be those three. And so San Francisco didn't use any of theirs last night. The first one was a Yankee challenge.

It was first pitch like the fourth inning. And it's very quick. It's like the Hawkeye and tennis. It's very quick. They put it on the board. The fans can watch. And I got to give Rob Manfred credit. This game was slow, pondering.

four years ago. It's cool. It's fun. It's watchable. It's quick. And I thought this was really good. It's really fast. And the fans can watch the replay up on the board. And I think it's another, every team gets two challenges. If you go to extra innings, you get other challenges. And if you have a challenge and you get it right, you get to keep your challenge. I like it. San Francisco did not use theirs. But it's, I wish the NBA would do some tweaking. I mean, nobody wants to watch 80 three point shots. Nobody wants to watch the last two and a half minutes of an NBA game

take 30 minutes. Like tweak. And Rob Manfred got some heat, but every one of these tweaks has worked and that ABS system, balls and strike system, I thought it was very effective, very quick. The Giants did not

use any of theirs and their manager talked about that. I would have never predicted that we would have played the entire game and had not used two. And then on the other one, I only used the restroom one time tonight, and it happened to be the time I was supposed to be doing a Netflix interview. I was a little more concerned with the score, being five to nothing at the time,

than being at that spot with all due respect. And so I was trying to make sure my belt was buckled, and I came up with some. I sounded dumber than usual during that thing. So as I returned, that's when it had happened. Yeah, I mean, you got to, the modern attention span has limitations. Baseball figured it out. NBA's gotten very repetitious.

I like the playoffs. But I think all these moves are making. They're just fast. They're quick. You can use the minor league system. I've always said this. The NBA should use college basketball and be an ally. And anything you can experiment with, see if you can have a deal with college basketball.

baseball brilliantly uses their minor league system to experiment. They experimented in the minor leagues, and it came off without a hitch last night. It was great. Joel Klad is now joining us. It is three weeks away from the NFL draft. He's got his mock track. We'll get to that in a second, by the way. You're calling UFL games this weekend, which Rick New Heisel is now coaching.

Ted Ginn Jr. is now coaching. I see they implemented a new rule, which I don't know what to make of it. the four points for a 60-yard field goal. But I think one of the things about the UFL that I mentioned yesterday, 46 guys that are on rosters played in the NFL. Did you notice last year that especially, to me, at quarterback, receiver, back, corner, O lines, I still think the best guys are going playing on Sundays.

What did you make of the quality of play last year? I think that it's increased every single year I've done. this. This is going to be my fifth year call in spring football. Remember, it came back as USFL and there was a merger with the XFL and now we've got the UFL. Well, over those five years calls, well, leading into this fifth year, every year the ball gets better. It just does. And the coaching gets better, the entire strategy of the game, because it's a little different with the rule changes gets better. And all the coaches that I've talked to, I just talked with Rick Newheisle and Kevin Sumlin and others throughout the league, they've said the same thing that they've got real

players that have been in NFL camps and that this is the best that the league has ever looked heading into a season from a play standpoint. But I would also just echo one of the things that you were just talking about with the ABS system, which you're exactly right. This is why minor league baseball is so advantageous to the big leagues is because they can try things out. The pitch clock has been outstanding. This comes from a former minor league baseball player. Like I love baseball. It had become so painfully slow, you know, five-hour playoff games. So you do all of that and test all of that in minor league baseball. Well, that's kind of what the UFL has become for the NFL.

Yes. And they've gotten to test some things. This is where we originally saw the new kickoff rule, which then was adopted by the NFL. You bring up the four-point field goal. Listen, giving someone four points for kicking a 60-plus yard field goal is just cool. And so we're going to see if that can happen. I just think that's cool. What I think is a bigger change that we'll see in the UFL this year,

which all the coaches have talked about being highly impactful, is this no punts once you cross the 50? Let's think about that now. That becomes a totally different sequence of events. You can no longer have a defensive player. You know, you get to stop by a foot on third and seven, and the ball's on the plus 40-yard line. They're all holding up their fists like, four, no, we did it.

Fourth down, we did it. It's like, no, you didn't. No, you didn't. Now you're going to have to stop a fourth down. That's going to be a highly impactful play. I'm very interested to see how that affects the entirety of the game and the feel of the game moving forward. I think that one's going to be really interesting. Okay, let's talk draft here.

I do think the Jets, I think he's going to get drafted Ty Simpson in the Jackson Dart space. And I think only one team showed up yesterday to the, and I talked to a couple of execs, only one team showed up to the pro day because the GMs in that 15 to 21 space, don't want to show their hand. They're like, not interested. Because what's going to happen is, like a Pittsburgh's going to have to move up to 15, and they don't want anybody, they want everybody to think they love Will Howard. Aaron's coming back. So they, you know, they may have to jump ahead of the Jets. I do think he's a franchise quarterback. Do you feel when you watch the film on Ty Simpson? Does he feel like a first round quarterback? This year he does. Remember,

You can't just say first rounder because your ability to be in the first round is completely dependent on who's being drafted around you. For instance, Colin, the last two weeks on my show, I gave you a mock draft, which was a traditional mock draft. Then the next week, I did an all-college football draft. As if anybody that played college football was eligible for this year's draft, what would it look like? You know, who are the quarterbacks taken? Mendoza is still taking. Jeremiah Smith has taken. and maybe Julian's saying that's where you would maybe not be a first rounder if you were Ty Simpson,

just based on some of the play in particular in the games that he struggled in last year. Having said that, here's what I'll say about Ty Simpson. He's not the biggest guy, but Colin, this guy makes really big throws. I am so impressed with him every time I turn on the tape with what he does attacking the defense outside the numbers and down the field. And that's really what the NFL is looking for. he is a tough, sturdy quarterback that can make all the throws. And those guys just don't grow on trees.

I think he makes good decisions. I'm very impressed with him. I think he's a good leader. My biggest knock would be his lack of experience. Because I'm a big believer, and I've said this countless times on your show, I think in order to have real success in the NFL as a quarterback, you've got to have a lot of experience in college. Did you know that the two quarterbacks that started the fewest number of games

in this century to win a Super Bowl, the fewest college starts are Sam Donald and Tom Brady, both in the mid-20s. I mean, that should tell you something about what you need moving forward, and he just doesn't have that being a one-year starter. Okay, so I remember years ago, this, I'll go back, this is 15 years ago, I had this discussion with somebody. I liked high school recruiting.

Now with a transfer portal, I pay a little less attention to it. It's not as valuable. they all have to transfer out. But one of the things I noticed was that when you went and got one of these five-star high school kids who was kind of positionless, he was just kind of a big, strong high school kid, he could play a receiver, Roshan. The hit rate was much lower than it should be for other five-star guys who are absolutely receivers or tied ends or a quarterback.

Is that just taken the talented kid who malls high schoolers, it's different. And I look at R. Val R.Vel Reese. this is pro football. And if he goes to the Jets, I don't trust the Jets coaching. There was a guy years ago that went to Arizona, Isaiah Simmons out of Clemson, went to Arizona. I mean, just a freak.

What was his position? Like, I don't think you can learn to play something in the NFL. Now, Arvel Reese is so, I think if he went to Brian Flores, you know, the D.C. for the Vikings, I'm like, yeah, he would work. If he went to Mike McDonald in Seattle, I'm like, yeah, or Robert Sala. There are guys, I think he would absolutely. But I worry about R.Ville Reese going to the Jets where he may be on his second staff,

his second year. He doesn't yet have a position. Are my concerns legitimate, or is he just so good it'll work? Listen, I think that there's some level of truth in what you're saying. However, I do think that it's different, it's different for a position player as opposed to a quarterback. I talked about the need for experience for a quarterback. I think that that can almost be different for a position player. You don't need the experience necessarily.

And in fact, it could show you some level of upside that is not yet reached if a guy hasn't played a lot of football. Orville restarted for one year at Ohio State. Yeah. And Matt Patricia was just, just shaving, you know, the tip of the iceberg, if you will, with what he could do. You know, he starts as an off-the-ball linebacker. with sunny Sully styles.

Then it's like, man, he can blitz really well and he can play off the edge really well. I personally believe, and I know this is high praise, I think he is a Micah Parsons in waiting. That's what somebody said. Because of what I'm talking, you know, because of what he can do in so many different areas. He can cover in space.

He can rush the quarterback. He can play traditional inside linebacker. He can rush in the interior on the blitz. He can bend. do all of these things. Does that take a smart, well-rounded defensive coordinator? Yeah, to your point. I think it does.

And fit always matters, regardless of who you are. Having said that, you got a guy that hasn't even played edge rusher for one full season in his life. And he's that good. It's like, oh, my gosh. Like, imagine what he could be if he gets some level of refinement, even at just that one position as an edge runner. or an outside linebacker in a stand-up position.

So I think he could be really dynamic. Again, I think he's Micah Parsons waiting to happen. So another Ohio State player is fascinating. I keep saying I have this vibe that Caleb Downs is going to go to the Cowboys. And people say, well, I'd be careful. That's what I put him. Okay, yeah, you let's see. Oh, yeah.

Look at that. Boom, you got him going at 12. So I feel like at the start of the year, we all agreed, this guy's this guy is like Kyle Hamilton maybe even better like he's a and then by the end of the year and maybe it's because of the ascension of sunny styles and other players that like we've just forgotten about Caleb Downs like he's he's like the fifth bucky and I'm like no I think the start of the year he was number two behind the Jeremiah Smith we were like Jeremiah and Caleb are the best players. I think in a, I think very few players in this draft will be under drafted. I think almost like

Bain's going to be a little over drafted. It's an average draft. If Caleb Downs drops to 12, it's like, oh, that's a mistake by the, to me, I feel like he is a start day one pro bowl or year two. Am I wrong? A hundred percent. No, you're not wrong at all. In fact, like, we are in total lockstep on this. If you look, it last year in college football and you said, who's the smartest defender in the country, Caleb Downs? Who's the most impactful defender in the country?

Caleb Downs. And we've forgotten about that because we all of a sudden don't value the safety position, you know, from an NFL perspective. It's like, well, to take a guy high, he's got to be a corner or an edge rusher or these fancy, you know, sexy positions that we talk about on the edges.

But the bottom line is, is that this defense, for two years, was largely the best defense in college football, and it was wholly built for and around Caleb Downs. Yes. The entire structure of the defense was because number two is on the field. That's, and that is no joke. With all of those guys, with Sonny Stiles on the field first round, with Arvel

Reese on the field first rounder, with Caden McDonald, the defensive tackle on the field, potential first rounder, maybe right at the back end of the first round early second. The entire structure of the defense was for Caleb Downs to get him. near the football more. Not our Val Rees, not Sonny Stiles. No, no, no. Caleb Downs. And I think we forget that. And then he's not Kyle

Hamilton's size. So then he gets diminished. I've heard man, I got to tell you, my least favorite part of this process, I'm going to get myself in trouble. That's fine. Whatever. Is hearing NFL decision makers just

get on their high horse and they serve a, well, in our league. He's just not big enough. And I'm like, hey man, y'all stupid because this guy is a football playing Jesse and he will.

I mean, think about to Ryan Matthew, you know, and what he was able to, like undersized guys can succeed. Oh, yeah. He is going to succeed. He's going to be an all pro. He's going to be the face of a franchise.

If Dallas, if he's there for Dallas at 12, with the way their past defense played, A second pick in the first round where they can get another corner and probably is pretty good, by the way. Like, sign me up. So I just, I'm not going, I'm doubling down on that. If he goes 12, that would be a huge coup for the Cowboys.

Yeah. Let me look at your mock draft again. You know, the guy, the Miami guys are all good, but it's like the tackle can play guard. Bain's got short arms. whatever. I think Bain's going to get, I think he's going to get drafted by the Bengals.

So you're seeing up right now if you're watching. I've got him to the Bengals. Obviously they've got a needed edge. They lost Hendrickson, so they need a pass rusher. Yeah. They've got a needed edge. And I just keep coming back to, like, in the biggest moments of the season,

what did you do when you were playing the best teams and players that you faced? And like Bain and Francis Maui, Noah and some of these Miami guys, dominated the playoff at the line of scrimmage. I think there's something to that. Yeah, yeah, no, I mean, I, Miami, first of all, the Miami-Indiana games, one of the best college football games I've seen in 20 years. I thought it was just unbelievable.

But, I mean, at the Miami was built around physicality, and when you can play Indiana, a great team, and I can notice your physicality where you're pushing Indiana guys around. It's like, okay, then you're, yeah, yeah, Bain's something else. All right. What is, by the way, why do people think like Mendoza is just a product of a light draft? Like Fernando Mendoza, Colin, this is what drives me nuts. I just can't, I can't stand it.

These guys get on and want to nitpick and it's like, okay, you got your five minutes of fame because you criticize the number one pick in the draft. Watch what he does in critical moments. Third down, on the road, latent games. That's all that we should be measuring. I don't listen to be candid with you. I do not care what you do on second and eight from the minus 30. Like, I don't care. I really don't.

I care what happens on third down, latent games. What are you when your best is needed? And Fernando Mendoza wasn't just good. He was great in those moments every time on the road at Iowa, on the road at Oregon, on the road of Penn State, in the Big Ten championship game throughout the playoffs. Against Miami in that physical game running. I mean, Mendoza is a really great play. He's the number one pick and I'm really, I get really frustrated when I hear all this nitpick.

It's like, oh, good for you. You can criticize what's clearly the number one pick in the draft. Good for you. Well, he's a thicker, stronger Matt Ryan with Daniel Jones, deceptive athleticism and the aggressive and toughness of Andrew Luck. Whatever that is a player. And the football nerddom of Kurt Cousins. Yeah, kind of nerdy.

I like it. Well, personality is a trait. and he's got a perfect personality. Humble, grateful, and owns his personality. He has no problem with it. Loves his teammates. Yeah, 100%. I love my teammates, too. I got a little Mendoza. I love my, I'm easy

to play with. Love my teammate. Okay, give me one, give me one UFL player. Give me one UFL player to watch. Oh gosh. Let's see. I'm a big believer in Tyler Vons, wide receiver on the outside from from Dallas. I'll have him on Saturday.

I think that's a really good one. And then, you know, for my, this Austin Reed, the quarterback that we're going to see this weekend, I'm excited to see him. And one of the things that we're going to see is that the mobile quarterback in the NFL is always a little bit more valuable. And so those are some players that I'm looking at that I think could have a big impact on this week's game. And we'll see how it goes. Good seeing you, Classter.

You as well, man. Always love seeing you. Have a good one. All right. Dan Hurley, Joel Clatt, Carlos Boozer, Dave Roberts, Slater, good show. Matt Carrell, quarterbacks in this league. Got a nice arm. A little small, good arm.

Yeah. The, it is funny about personality to me is a trait when you're getting drafted. I trade is size, arm, athleticism, toughness is a trait. And there's, you know, everybody's looking for comps. I think Tom Telesco, the former Vegas GM, was the first one to throw out Matt Ryan. And I think Matt Ryan chugged a bunch of water right before the weighing at the combine, because he came in a little heavier than he is, because I saw him at ESPN's campus, and he was thin.

That was one of my first things. He's tall and thin. and then he weighed a little bit more, you know, I think, and he got bigger, stronger, a little thicker in the NFL. I think Fernando Mendoza could easily put on weight, and he's just a bigger, more natural 235 with a, I think he's got a pretty good arm, and he's super aggressive downfield, which means you're going to throw some picks. You're going to have some bad throws in the NFL. A lot of the NFL for quarterbacks is, A, can you see the field? He can, and are you willing to let it rip? You know, in college, the college coach is, you know, the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain, all the power.

Sometimes, you know, you don't want to tick off the coach. In the NFL, like, listen, man, we got 70 plays. You're going to have to throw guys open. You got to let it rip. One of my only knocks ever on Aaron Rogers is in big spot sometimes. If he's already got a pick, he plays a little safe. I think, I think Mendoza's more Andrew Locke. You may yell occasionally that he's throwing into coverage, but he likes to throw it downfield.

his ball placement's great, but he's an aggressive thrower. That matters. That's why I've said, I don't want my quarterback to have a ton of picks, but if you're throwing 38 times and have one, you know, and it comes via aggressiveness, I can live with that. You get 13 possessions. You can make it up. There's more snaps today than 15 years ago in the sport.

You used to get 55 snaps. Now you can get 68 snaps. So if I throw a pick, I got two more drives. There's, you know, the game now, there's more plays in football games now than 20 years ago. So when you had 53 plays offensively, I cannot have two picks. Sam Donald threw four against the Rams and had the ball late with a chance to win. It's different now. I want aggressive, throw it down the field, guys, and Mendoza is that.

One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHard Radio app. Search her to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Hi, this is Jay. I'm the producer of the Pauli and Tony Fusco show. Usually in these promos, they ask you to listen to the show. I'm here to ask you, please don't listen to this show. The host are two absolute morons who have the dumbest takes on sports imaginable.

Don't listen to this show so it can get canceled. Whoa, whoa, what the hell are you doing in our studio? Get him, Paulie! Ignore that fool. Listen to the Paul Antonio Fusco show on the IHart Radio app or wherever you get your podcast. He's still moving. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what?

We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to 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 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, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes.

I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert 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. 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 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 Slic Life 12 and 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. Jen, she went. 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, 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. 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.

All right, Sweet 16 starts tonight. First game on the docket tonight. Purdue takes on Texas. Purdue is a handful veteran team. Does it a little differently. More of a Villanova style is going to recruit the high school guys. not going to have that many transfers, maybe one a year that they spend some money on. So I like Purdue tonight.

Matt Painter's built a really, really good program. Arizona plays could be the best team. We've got a lot of NBA guys. So I know J-Mack, that's J-Mack's favorite team. We will have Carlos Boozer. Duke's playing. I think it's tomorrow night. Does it Duke play tomorrow night or night?

Throw the schedule up one more time. Duke plays tomorrow against St. John. Boy, that'll be classic. John's played Yukon. Was it three times? I think it beat Yukon twice. St. John's, I think UConn beat St. John's. St. John's beat UCon.

and St. John's may have beaten them twice, if I recall. They beat them at the Garden in the Biggie's tournament. I mean, it was like a home court advantage. The St. John's team is suspect. But yes, I picked Arizona in the brackets. Let's just say I'm heavily invested in Duke to get to the final four. Heavily. St. John struggles to shoot.

They can shoot. The kid who hit six. threes against Kansas. Career high. He's been playing college basketball for four years. He never hit six threes in his life. Probably not even in a shoot around. He can't hit six threes. And he buried him against Kansas. They won't do that against Duke. But this Caleb Foster stuff, did you see that his parents are saying he's 50-50 going to play three weeks after surgery? That's insane. The Big Ten has six teams in the sweet 16. Yeah. Hey, that Iowa game, Colin, tonight, I am so juiced. If you were here, I would drag you to our favorite watering hole, and I'm going to be run bunches. I think I like

Iowa to win. I'm rooting Iowa so heavily in this one. It's going to be a great game. Those two teams hate each other. And the Iowa coach, by the way, one of the best coaches of the country, Ben McCollum. So Darius A-Cuff for Arkansas, taking on those Arizona NBA guys, that's going to be, that will be probably. Illinois Houston is a great game, too. Arkansas, Arizona will be the most fun to watch. That's my prediction. Probably, yeah. Well, A-Cuff is a. I mean, this is a. I mean, this is a. Alan Iris and Derek Rose type player, yeah. I'm surprised that Alabama's here. They're not going to be here for long.

Michigan's going to thump them tomorrow, you think? Yeah. Lay the lumber, big guy. Yeah. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, you know I've been championing Victor Wembeñama for the MVP for weeks, I believe it.

And guess who's with me? Your guy, Draymond Green. Draymond Green loves what Wembeyanama's doing. Wembe's out here basically saying he wants to win MVP, he wants to win defensive player of the year, he wants most improved, he wants all the awards. Here's Draymond, loving what Wembe's doing.

Until Wembe said, defense is 50% of the game. It was like, oh man, no one realized that? I hated it because he had to do that for that to the NBCet. All of a sudden you turn on TV and everybody's like, actually, maybe Wemma is the MVP. But we got this guy defending entire teams and no one took it into account until he said

well number one defense is 50% of the game well wimby is so much of what wemby does he doesn't get credit for like you have to double him so therefore there's always open corner threes for the spurs and

defensively he has 39 more blocks than the rest of the league would have 75 more blocks that people attacked him but he changes how teams play offensively So he is just, he is one of those force multipliers. He doesn't really get credit

for how he elevates everybody around him. Yeah. I mean, you could get a, San Antonio could be fine, going getting somebody, they're not going to get a cuff. He'll be gone.

But they could go get a player like that who's a huge defensive liability because Wembe's in the paint. Yeah. Whereas when you have a Luca, you know what I mean? Like you do need occasionally some of the great offensive players in basketball history are defensive liabilities.

You know, Magic wasn't great, but he's got Kareem behind him. So Wembe allows you to draft differently. It allows you to acquire differently, play differently. Just even if we don't talk about his offense, what he does, because he's less consistent offensively, but how many open jumpers do you get because Wemby's on the floor and you're a teammate. So he's all, he just changes. He's one of those rare genetically. There's just, I mean, he's obviously put incredible work into it, but he just adds elements to a team that you can't really account for statistically. I can't recall a player, Colin, who's ever had this much hype

and excitement before he's ever played in the playoffs. Okay. LeBron, people were like, oh, this guy, he's really, really good. Kobe, you know, young guy, I can't recall anyone. Like, I genuinely think they're going to win the title this year. He had seven blocks. in 27 minutes last night. And that, again, that doesn't count the other six shots he impacted. So let me put it back to you. So besides Draymond basically saying, I feel heard, I feel seen, finally people are talking defense. When we talk MVP, Wembe versus Shea, I don't care that OKC's two games better.

To me, that's not MVP. Shouldn't the Spurs winning the season series this season, Wemby's four and one head-to-head against SGA, shouldn't that mean something in the MVP race? Yes. Yes, it should. That's why I would vote Wemby MVP. Here we go. We got two Wemby votes here on the show.

I also think you can't be the worst defensive player in the league. And Lucas on a short list of that. I don't think you can win MVP and be atrocious defensively. Well, I'm not going to even deign that with a comment. All right, let's go to the NFL. Colin, Patrick Mahomes, got everybody on the internet worked up yesterday. This video emerged three months after surgery. Look at Patty Mahomes just dropping back casually.

and his camo shorts and just dropping bombs? Whoa. People feel excited. Mahomes wrote day by day felt great being able to throw the ball around today. And people are saying, oh, he's definitely playing week one. However, Ian Rappaport came out to pump the brakes saying there's a lot of uncertainty on his return. This is just three months into a nine to 12 month recovery. Now, I don't know if Rappaport's getting that from the agent or the team, maybe both.

But I will say I was a little shocked to see Mahomes moving that fluidly three months after surgery. Now, obviously, he's not being chased by Michael Parsons here. Best doctors in the world, he's got, you know, the Hunt family is paying for the best doctors in the world. Secondly, is young pro athletes are different than us. Like, I'm sorry, they're different. They heal faster than we do. Every time Jason Tatum's not going to play this year, he'll play this year. And he's really good again.

Like all these guys heal much faster, you know? It's an ACLLCL, though. It's not just like a small thing. You have the surgery in December. And it's like, come on, real. You think he'll play week one? I mean, they just signed Justin Fields like three weeks ago, I think. No, I think my guess is if you ask me when he, I think he's going to play it by week three.

Yeah. I think they're going to draft an offensive tackle and they want to make sure he can block before they play him. You don't want to rush this guy back, then he gets hurt again. That would be like the worst case scenario. Well, the downside is if you go 0-1-1, do you have to? to play in week two because the division's so good. Oh, yeah. That's a good call.

Maybe they'll, you know what? They love the Chiefs on those early games, the schedule makers. They love to put them. What happens in Kansas? See, now the NFL, the Seahawks are opening the season on Wednesday overseas, aren't they? Or no, the Rams Niners are playing in Australia on Thursday. Seattle opens the season Wednesday. They don't know their opponent yet.

but my guess is you would not put Kansas City in because you don't know if Mahomes is going to play. Yes, yes, that's a great call. I would go, you'd have to look at who Seattle's playing. Chiefs Raiders is an opener's fine. Maybe Mendoza starts or, I mean, Kirk Cousins versus Justin Fields. But I think you're onto something there. Maybe the schedule makers will. Well, the NFL wants, I mean, they're putting the Niners up against the Rams in Australia

you because you're getting McVeigh and Shanahan. Purdy's not hurt yet. That'll be week five. So. This guy with his shots of the final sort. Look at that with the smirk too. Oh, man. What a jerk.

All right, NFL draft. Let's go to Ruben Bain. He's the guy with the T-Rex arms, Colin. If he were drafted in the first round, there's a lot of reports that he would be the first eddrusher with the shortest arms taken in the first round. In like the last 25 years or something like that. Bain, though, who was a really dominant player in college?

I mean, he's coming off the edge. He's just a disruptor, a wrecker. He pushed back on the negativity, and listen to who he compared himself to. Like Mike Tyson, he wanted the tallest guy. It wasn't the longest limb guy, but when you felt him, you felt my versatility. I feel like most people didn't know I could just drop in coverage and move around like that. 30 yards down the field, you know? Yeah, anything I'm going to track balls or anything I'm a mask.

I feel like I'm a versatile player, and that's what I showed today, just knowing that I'm out of new. weight, a new body type and style, and I'm just the same player. Yeah. I mean, I think he's a really good player. I think David Bailey is a really good player. I think they'll both be nice NFL players. I don't think they're in the Aidan Hutchison class out of Michigan. I think he's a really, really good player, aggressive, dogged, intense, power player.

I don't think, you know, listen, what's always interesting about the draft is I love watching draft coverage because everybody's unbelievable and 30% of the first round won't be great. I keep going back to Arvel Reese. I know he's a great athlete. We've seen what the Jets do to quarterbacks. Oh, come. Reese is going to be fine. Regarding Bain, so I think what people need to do is go look at how he performed against the potential left tackles we're going to be in the early rounds. Yeah. And, you know, there is a little tape showing him being kept at bay by certain guys. couldn't get to the quarterback. Well, in the NFL, you're going against the best 32 left tackles in the league,

or perhaps right tackles. So I think he drops a little bit. I have him drop into the Ravens at 14. This is the guy who we were talking about second overall. Yeah. I just, you know, you go second overall, Colin. That's risky. By the way, the Seahawks open the season.

They don't know their opponent. It's in Seattle. The Niners, Rams is the one in Australia. I don't love that, by the way, taking one of the best rivalry games in the NFL and sending it overseas. I don't love that. Well, I think they did it because of West Coast it's a little less travel for them.

But it's still a 15-hour flight. I know, but if you were East Coast, what is it? 19 hours, a 20-21-hour flight? I don't know. I mean, I don't love the Australia game at all, but I do love Australia as a country. Yeah, I think we all do. J-Mack with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Hopefully they're still an ally. You never know these days. You just don't know. In Chicago, it's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, F.S.1, and the IHeart Radio app.

Hey, it's us, the 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 a podcast. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend.

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

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

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and Headwere writer Street or 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 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. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice. 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 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only living, 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. UFL kickoff weekend is just a day away. A new season of spring football starts tomorrow night on Fox when a new franchise, the Louisville Kings, takes on the Birmingham Stallions. Then on Saturday, we got D.C. St. Louis on ESPN and Houston, Dallas on Fox.

And the weekend wraps up with Columbus at Orlando Sunday night on ESPN. The UFL season kicks off tomorrow night on Fox. Rick New Heisle, head coach of the Dallas Renegades, joins us tomorrow. He'll have thoughts on a bunch of stuff. A bunch of stuff. You know one of my favorite moments was when Dan Hurley came on today. I've been on this for years. The G-League's nonsense.

The G-League's been around since 2001, 25 years. They haven't developed a single star in the NBA. What does that tell you? What does that tell you? The G-Leaks a bunch of nonsense. You get so much exposure. You're setting records. ratings records. If you're a dad and your kid can play in the NBA, go to college. Go to college. You get

unbelievable exposure. You play in like real arenas, like the intensity of college. It's like, you don't want to play in some parking lot in El Paso. Like college basketball, these games matter a lot. There's a lot of eyes. You get exposure. The coaching's great. And that Nick Nurse coached in G League. There's some good coaches in G. league up and coming guys. But I love what Dan Hurley said when I asked him about college basketball being better these days due to the NIL and he talked about it. Most of those guys are making a smart decision of staying in college where basically

they can now get the same amount of money. But you're also going to get developed better at college than you will in the G League. Because the coaching is better. better facilities, better food, better travel, better arenas, better coaching, better development. I have never been a fan of the G League. You know, in the game, if you go watch the G League, it's got a YMCA feel. Everybody's trying to get theirs. Now, now, the best G League team sometimes is really good.

You know, you get some of those guys. They're meant, like those European teams that Luca was playing well against when he was like 16. he's playing against men. You can get these G-League teams. Some of these guys are older. But the other thing Hurley pointed out to is that, you know, I said, you know, is coaching as a coach, is it different to coach in the tournament where Hurley's been unbelievably successful or regular season?

And he said, actually, he lightens up in the tournament. Here he is. More relaxed this time of year. I think you work so hard to put yourself in position where you're in contention. Now you find yourself with a team that's in contention. You're more relaxed this time of year. When you're coached in December or January, you're really uptight, man. It's like if things start going bad in December, now you're looking at staring down the barrel of,

man, I got two or three more months of hell with this group if we get on a two-game losing streak where you don't worry about picking the pieces up this time of year. go down, you know, it's kill or be killed. Yeah, and I think a lot of that is, I look at college football now and college basketball with much more patience than I watched years ago. And the reason is the transfer portal, right? Like you, you, I remember, I use this as an example, and I don't remember the exact year, but years and years ago, it may have been 10 years ago, when was it?

Now, it wasn't that many. It was a Kansas team that I watched. at like Christmas and they were awful because it was all new guys and then I watched him and like and I had them getting bounced in the bracket I watched them in you know late February and I'm like

that's a totally different team I feel the same way in college football is that I think it's ridiculous to watch like when Ohio State went to Oregon and lost that shootout I'm like Ohio State's going to be better Ohio State's got more high end guys but you got the transfer portal

you got new guys coming in and new assistants and in college football, like I just don't get worked up over September losses anymore. I mean, go look at Miami that ended up in the national championship game. Miami lost to SMU. Now SMU is pretty good program. Lost to Louisville in the middle of the season. They were kind of a mess. Why? Well, they spent a lot of money in NIL. They're bringing new guys in. You know, Carson back, they became a little less relying on him, ran the football a little bit more. it takes long time to get new people in you got the high schoolers the transfer guys the older guys the younger guys the new guys so when i watch college basketball what hurley is basically saying is

you're trying to mold this puppy and you know your best players only spend one year in college right so you're getting a really young kid perdu is unique in which like they're like the villanova model they get some they get some graybeards they get some age on their team but a lot of the top brands the Kansas is in the Yukons, you don't get a guy for more than a year. Maybe two. So, and you're bringing new guys in constantly. So, you know, it's what Hurley's basically saying is, for the time the season ends, I've been able to craft and mold a team that I kind of know what they are.

You don't know what you are in December. I mean, they actually had, they got blown out by Marquette earlier in the year, Yukon. And I don't think Marquette wasn't a very good team this year. So they got, they got shelled. That's what happens. And there we go. Put up the schedule one more time tonight. Purdue is one of the teams I really like.

Iowa and Nebraska feels like a go-either-way game. Arkansas, Arizona, you're going to get a lot of offense in that game. I'm going to take Arizona. Probably take Calvin, Samson, and Houston, though Illinois is a tough out. You know the game is at the Toyota Center in Houston. So a big home court advantage. Illinois was a team I had going into the final four in my brackets. I like them tonight, Colin. That's going to be a great game.

I'm geeked. Hey, don't text me tonight. I'll be so locked in. Phone face down, no alcoholic beverages. It's exciting. Whoa, that is commitment. Wow. Hey, guys, it's us.

The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented it. a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts.

We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, in every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice 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. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. and at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs Tennis Podcasts

for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garros. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerabachina is arguably the best player in the world right now and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis Podcasts on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. 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 hiring. You just understood. That's how personal it got.

Wow. Then after that Game 7, Marquis keep coming to him. 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 Eye Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.